Ladies Night

Two months after releasing the news of her pregnancy, women's basketball phenom, Candace Parker became the first woman to grace the cover of ESPN the Magazine in its relatively short 11 year publication history. Did I mention that she appeared 7 months pregnant, clutching her stomach as if it were a basketball she was showcasing to the world?

Parker made headlines late last year, when news of her elopement to long-time fiance, Sheldon Williams, who is a professional basketball player in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, leaked to the press. Many fans and former teammates where shocked by the news but were not surprised as Parker was expecting to travel to Russia to play overseas during the WNBA off-season and would undoubtedly have no other time to plan a big "dream" wedding. In January, with the official announcement of her pregnancy, fans and media outlets finally understood the motives for the elopement and an explosion of mixed reactions followed. Some argued that her pregnancy was selfish because she could possibly lose her endorsement deals and provide more negative press for the WNBA. Others fully supported Parker and were happy to hear the news.

WNBA commissioner Donna Orender had this to say about Candace's pregnancy, "It's a miracle of life, and it doesn't always happen on your time schedule. That's how it goes, you know? Parker will come back - and we'll have one more fan."

Head Coach of the Los Angeles Sparks Michael Cooper, was quite upset at the thought of losing his star player for the upcoming 2009 season, "Yeah, I cried when I got the news. We need her on the floor," he said. "Her game is truly like Kobe's. She has the moves, the action. She's slinky. Her hands are huge. She palm's a men's basketball."

Parker's expected due date is in early May and she hopes to make a full return by July, which would be in time for the playoffs. "I'm stubborn. I've been through knee, ankle, shoulder injuries. I feed off of doubt, people telling me I won't be able to come back. We'll see about that."

The Women's NCAA tournament kicked off this week, with 2 major upsets after the first two rounds, including #1 seed Duke's stunning 49-63 loss to #9 Michigan State University and#5 University of Tennessee's 55-71 loss to #12 Ball State. The most unexpected loss was Tennessee getting bounced in the first round, capping off the worst season in Tennessee Women's basketball history, in which Pat Summit's team went 22-11. One year ago, Candace Parker was leading Tennessee to the sweet 16 and eventually the 2008 National Championship. Those days are long gone for Coach Summit, who was often seen upset and frustrated with the lack of effort shown by her team on a consistent basis. She went so far as to take most of the team's luxuries away, including their gorgeous bright orange locker room.

"I thought we were tentative, maybe uptight," Summit said. "But you have to give credit where credit is due and that's to the Ball State basketball team. They had a lot more toughness. They beat us to loose balls. They made shots."

The lady volunteers entered this year's tournament with the lowest seed in the program's history but still with expectations to continue Summit's 42-0 record of leading her team past the first 2 rounds.

After weeks of speculation, longtime WNBA veteran, Tina Thompson finally signed a contract with the Los Angeles Sparks. Thompson will undoubtedly play a major role with Candace Parker expecting to miss the first 2 months of the 2009 season. On paper, the Sparks will once again be the favorites but like last season, they will need their guards to step up.

That's it for this installment. Expect to hear more on both sides of the NCAA tournament (Men's and Women's) and also more news on the NBA as the playoffs side draw nearer.

Playoff Push

As the end of the season quickly draws near, teams across the league are looking to improve upon their playoff positions and fine tune every aspect of their game. In the western conference, the Los Angeles Lakers have virtually clinched the number 1 spot, but the remaining 7 spots are still up for grabs. The San Antonio Spurs, who are in the second spot, and the Dallas Mavericks, who are currently holding strong to the eighth and final spot in the western conference, are separated by only 5 games, leaving a lot of space for teams to jockey for the remaining spots in between.

The Phoenix Suns, who have slowly inched their way closer to the Dallas Mavericks, currently sitting 3 & 1/2 games back, are on the outside looking in. The Mavericks have the tougher schedule between the two teams, but the Suns have been very inconsistent this year, especially since Amare Stoudemire went out with an eye injury, shortly after the All-Star break. With less than 15 games left in the season, the Suns will need a major collapse by the Mavericks and also a win in Dallas on Apr. 5th, when the two teams meet for the final time this season.

In the eastern conference, the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic are battling for the 2nd and 3rd spots, as Cleveland has made no plans to relinquish their hold on the top spot in the east. The race for the final spots in the east are not nearly as exciting as the race in the west but the fight for the eighth spot is providing much excitement. Lose 1 or 2 games in a row, and a team on the outside could capture your spot in the playoffs.

In other news around the league, the Houston Rockets have lost key reserve, Carl Landry, for at least 2 weeks, after Landry was shot in the leg following a win over the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday. After going out to celebrate in Houston, a car hit Landry's SUV, forcing him to crash into a utility pole. Landry got out of the car to inspect the damages when the two occupants in the car fired two shots at him. Landry then fled from the scene, running from one of the shooters. In doing so, he was shot in the leg and fortunate to make it to an occupied home close to the scene.

"I could have been dead," Landry said. "The shooter was 10 yards or less away. I'm 6-9 and I had a bright shirt on. I don't know how he missed, but thank God he did and he hit the lower part of my leg."

As of now, Houston police have no leads on the suspects but hope to find the shooters in a timely matter. Landry is expected to make a full recovery and will be back to full-contact within the next week or two.

That's all for this installment! Not much going on in the league besides playoff position jockeying, but expect to hear much more news as the end of the season draws nearer, and we get a better idea of who will be in the playoffs and the possible 1st round match ups.

Feuds, Waivers, Suspensions

This week, Shaq and Coach Stan Van Gundy of the Orlando Magic traded heated words after the Phoenix Suns played the Magic. In what was quickly dubbed as the "Battle of the Supermans," Shaq and up and coming star Dwight Howard traded blows Tuesday night. Howard's team pulled out the win but Shaq, who is turning 37 on Mar. 6, held his own against the 21 year old in his fourth year out of high school. Shaq matched Howard's 21 point, 8 rebound, and 1 block effort with a 19 point, 11 rebound, and 2 block effort of his own. The controversy, according to Coach Stan Van Gundy, came with 4 minutes to go in the third quarter, when Shaq flopped, in an attempt to get the foul called on Howard, and Howard dunked on Shaq. After exchanging words with Shaq on the court, Coach Van Gundy proceeded to express his dissatisfaction with Shaq in his postgame press conference.

"I was shocked... and very disappointed," Van Gundy said with a straight face. "Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight."

Shaq responded the next day by saying, "One thing I really despise is a frontrunner," O'Neal said Wednesday before the Suns' game in Miami. "I know for a fact he's a master of panic and when it gets time for his team to go into the postseason and do certain things, he will let them down because of his panic. I've been there before. I've played for him." He went on to call his former coach a nobody.

Coach Van Gundy responded today by apologizing for hurting Shaq's feelings. Hopefully, that will be the end of the drama between the two for the rest of the season. It seems everyone these days are taking shots at Shaquille.

After the team suspended him for Tuesday's loss, 100-95, against the Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets Forward Carmelo Anthony will be returning to the starting lineup tonight against the Portland Trailblazers. Anthony was suspended after Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers because he refused to come out of the game when Nuggets Head Coach George Karl tried to send in a sub for him in the third quarter. Karl, although unhappy with the suspension, justified the decision by stating that Carmelo "crossed the line between passion and professionalism." Anthony disagreed with the suspension but agreed that he would put the entire situation behind him and learn from it.

Anthony's beef with the suspension makes sense as he had just started to heat up, hitting back to back shots. Karl needs to loosen his reigns on his superstar captain. In no way was Carmelo disrespectful nor did he put any of his teammates down, he simply felt he had the hot hand and wanted to keep the Nuggets in the game. Anthony's peers, Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade would have been allowed to share their opinions with their coach and possibly make the decision if they wanted to stay in the game. The Nuggets went on to lose the game to the Pacers 100-94.

Teams across the league took another step in their preparation for the playoffs by signing players off waivers. The San Antonio Spurs signed Power Forward Drew Gooden, who should fit well in their system as he's a very good rebounder and defender. The Cleveland Cavaliers added Power Forward Joe Smith to their roster, hoping to gain another big man to include in their rotation after Ben Wallace was injured last week. The Miami Heat signed Point Guard Luther Head, surrounding Dwayne Wade with another 3-point shooter. The Phoenix Suns, in an attempt to make it into the playoffs and fill Amar'e Stoudemire's void, also made a key acquisition signing veteran Power Forward Stromile Swift, who should fit in very well with the uptempo style. It will be interesting to see which team benefits the most from the new signings and which teams stay the same or suffer.

That's it for this installment! Make sure to pay close attention to which teams are making moves in the rankings and possible matchups for the playoffs.

Retiring, Signing, Visiting

When fans of the NBA think of the pre-Dwayne Wade Miami Heat, it is virtually impossible not to think of Alonzo Mourning. Mourning spent 11 of his 15 years in the NBA playing for the Heat, averaging 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. During his career, Mourning epitomized the word tenacity. He was known as a hard-nose defender, sacrificing his body to challenge every shot at the rim. His greatest contribution to the organization and city of Miami came in 2003, after he successfully fought a life-threatening kidney disease, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS), requiring him to need a kidney transplant. After his successful recovery from the kidney transplant, Mourning went on to establish his charities, Alonzo Mourning Charities Inc. and Zo's Fund for Life. Zo's Fund for Life was created to raise funds for research, education, and testing for the disease. Mourning retired from the NBA on Jan. 22 as a member of the Miami Heat.

As a way to show their gratitude for all that Mourning has done for the Miami Heat organization and the Miami community, the Heat plan to retire his #33 jersey on Mar. 30, making Mourning the first to have his jersey retired in the history of the Miami Heat. Dwayne Wade had this to say about his former teammate, "If he can hold those tears back at that time, you're not human. It's fitting. You think of Miami, you think of Alonzo Mourning."

The Boston Celtics made news again this week in signings and suspensions. Last week, the Celtics signed free agent Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury. Moore, a journey man in the NBA, having played for now his 9th team in his 10 year career, was signed to provide energy and veteran leadership off the bench. He will also be another big body for the Celtics to utilize in their quest to repeat last year's championship performance. Marbury was the more talked about addition to the Celtics. After, a tumultuous career with the New York Knicks, resulting in the buyout of his contract and subsequent signing with the Celtics. In his first game with Boston against the Indiana Pacers, Marbury dazzled the crowd, scoring 8 points in 13 minutes and igniting a key 16-4 run for Boston in the fourth quarter. Boston went on to win the game 104-99 and Paul Pierce had this to say about his new teammate, "[Marbury] really looked good for no practicing and just coming in and Coach throwing him into the fire. He's a guy who can make plays. He's a pretty good defender at the 1 and 2 and a guy who can knock down shots and get into the lane and find open people."

After news of his arrest for a misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI), Gabe Pruitt was suspended for two games by the Celtics. Pruitt was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on Feb. 26 after failing a sobriety test. Pruitt rarely saw much time on the court prior to the offense, so expect him to be pushed even further down the bench since he's now undoubtedly in Head Coach Doc Rivers' doghouse.

After scoring 45 points in last Friday's 133-113 win over the Toronto Raptors, Shaquille O'Neal led the Phoenix Suns to a huge 118-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. O'Neal followed his 45 point night up with a 33 point performance against the Lakers. The win was much needed for the Suns, moving them 2 games behind Dallas for the final playoff spot in the West. Matt Barnes of Phoenix finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant finished with 49 points in the loss.

In a much anticipated appearance by President Barack Obama, the Washington Wizards had their best performance against the Chicago Bulls winning 113-90. President Obama relaxed in his court side seats, watching as the Wizards had eight players in double figures and quickly pull away from Obama's hometown Bulls in the third quarter. The Wizards should invite President Obama to more games, since it seems to inspire them to play better.

That's it for this installment. Expect to hear more reactions about Marbury's signing with the Celtics and a more in depth analysis into the possible playoff runs for the teams on the bubble. Also, we'll take a look at the upcoming conference tournaments in both Men's and Women's College basketball. Everyone enjoy the beginning of your week and stay safe!