A Difficult Quiz?

From Frisco Del Rosario:

1. Explain how you calculate a pitcher's earned run average.
2. Name five current Lakers other than Kobe.
3. Name all of the golf masters tournaments.
4. Who is the winningest college Division I men's basketball coach and which years was he at the school(s) he compiled that record?
5. Which NFL player recorded the most career touchdowns, what years and who'd he play for?
6. Name the last ten Heisman Trophy winners and where they played in college.

A heads-up: Frisco didn't write this quiz, so we won't blame him for #3, as there are no "golf masters tournaments." There is the Masters Tournament, which is one tournament. Undoubtedly they meant to ask for #3, "name all of the golf Grand Slam tournaments.

The sports information director in charge of women's basketball at the University of the Pacific was given this quiz because she wanted to work at ESPN - before offering an interview, they wanted to test her sports knowledge.

Some comments:

1. It seems that what ESPN cares about is: baseball, pro basketball, golf, men's college basketball, men's college football and pro football. No other sport actually exists as ESPN: I watch women's college basketball on ESPN but virtually nothing else. Aside from poker, I don't remember any other "sports" being represented there. Maybe a few MLS games.

2. How hard are these questions? I can only answer one of them - the pitcher's earned run average question, since I used to follow baseball very closely. (Old baseball, that is.) You would have to follow six sports closely enough to get those questions, and you'd have to follow them in some depth - two questions ask you for the name of more than one person.

I suspect that #1, #4 and #5 might be the easiest, because each asks you to recall one prominent fact. #2 and #3 ask you to have intermediate knowledge about a sport (pro basketball, golf). #6 can only be answered by college football mavens.

3. Was it a fair quiz? Is this one of those cases at Southern polls in the 1950s where one group of voters is asked to spell "cat" and the other is asked when the Edict of Nantes was revoked? That, I don't know. My question: how many of these can you get right? Frisco del Rosario implies that the majority of ESPN talking heads couldn't get all of these right, and I concur - I'd be surprised to meet some that could get three right.

You can get the answers by highlighting the text in white below.

1. Earned run average is simply earned runs divided by innings pitched.
2. Any five of these names will do: Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Larmar Odom, Josh Powell, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton.
3. The Masters, the US Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. Double points if you call the British Open "The Open". If I were the woman who was asked this stuff, I would have answered the Kraft Nabisco, the LPGA Championship, the US Women's Open, and the Women's British Open and dared the man to claim otherwise.
4. I believe that for coaches who have only coached at current Division I schools, the men's basketball leader is Bob Knight. 1965-71 at Army, 1972-2000 at Indiana, 2001-08 at Texas Tech. I believe this is 42 seasons.
5. Jerry Rice: 1985-2000 at San Francisco, 2001-04 at Oakland and 2004 at Seattle.
6. In reverse chronological order: Mark Ingram Jr, Alabama; Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; Tim Tebow, Florida; Troy Smith, Ohio State; Reggie Bush, USC; Matt Leinart, USC; Jason White, Oklahoma; Carson Palmer, USC; Eric Crouch, Nebraska; and Chris Weinke, Florida State.

Career Blocked Shot Leaders

Margo couldn't leap very high, but she never needed to.

The amazing thing about the WNBA career blocked shot records (to me at least) is how quickly the number of blocks drops as you move down the list. The top career shot-blocker has almost 900 career blocked shots, but the #10 career shot-blocker is actually under 300 blocked shots.

Height also doesn't guarantee one a place on the blocked shots career list. I have a list of 22 WNBA players who were (at least at one time) listed as 6'6" or taller. How many of those players are on the Top 10 career list of shot-blockers? Just one. As for the others, the 6'8" Maria Stepanova comes the closest at #19.

One of the players on the blocked-shot list below is only 6'2". There are a lot of things that come into play to be a leader in blocked shots. Tenacity, quickness, longevity, for example. Height is simply one of many factors, but as it turns out, the tallest woman ever to play in the WNBA is also its career blocked shots leader.

Most Blocked Shots, Career

1. Margo Dydek, 877
2. Lisa Leslie, 789
3. Lauren Jackson, 485
4. Tangela Smith, 452
5. Ruth Riley, 393
6. Tammy Sutton-Brown, 392
7. Taj McWilliams-Franklin, 327
8. Yolanda Griffith, 321
9. Elena Baranova, 320
10. Vicky Bullett, 288

- italic type denotes inactive player

Robbery, Plain and Simple

She can turn her back on you, but not vice-versa.

It isn't suprising that the career steals leaders in the WNBA would be those players that are still active - cumulative stats work like that in a league with such a short history. Players in italics are those players that were inactive as of the 2008 season.

Most Career Steals

1. Ticha Penicheiro, 655
2. Sheryl Swoopes, 632
3. Tamika Catchings, 532
4. Yolanda Griffith, 529
5. Nykesha Sales, 490
6. Lisa Leslie, 476
7. Shannon Johnson, 467
8. Teresa Weatherspoon, 465
9. DeLisha Milton-Jones, 440
10. Sheri Sam, 438

Best Assist/Turnover Ratios

Call her "The Pest", but call her fantastic as well.

One of the old fashioned metrics used to evaluate the effectiveness of a player - usually a point guard - is that of the "assist/turnover ratio". The idea is that anyone with a high assist/turnover ratio is very good at finding the right person to pass to. The "assist" part means that the person she passes to scores, and the "turnover" part means that she doesn't make a bad pass that ends up in the hands of the defense.

Here are the best assist/turnover ratios in WNBA history. Bold type indicated an active player.

Assist/Turnover Ratio - Career Leaders
(minimum 150 assists)

1. Debbie Black, 612/233, 2.627
2. Ticha Penicheiro, 2023/889, 2.276
3. Jennifer Azzi, 638/281, 2.270
4. Niele Ivey, 228/102, 2.235
5. Teresa Weatherspoon, 1338/603, 2.219
6. Dawn Staley, 1337/643, 2.079
7. Lindsey Whalen, 808/395, 2.046
8. Ukari Figgs, 472/232, 2.034
9. Noelle Quinn, 229/113, 2.027
10. Jennifer Derevjanik, 173/87, 1.989

Note that Nikki Teasley is #11 on this list with a 1.985 ratio.

WNBA Windex (TM) Women

Gee, I can't figure out why the Fever wants her.

If you're unfamiliar with Windex, it's a liquid used to clean glass. Another way to clean the glass is to get an offensive rebound. Dick Vitale created the famous All-Windex Team, honoring the best offensive rebounders of college basketball, and the expression stuck.

So who is the best in the WNBA at getting the offensive board? There are two ways to look at the problem: persistence and effectiveness, as well as a combined metric that looks at total offensive rebounds multiplied by offensive rebound percentage - rewarding players for both.

All names in bold font are active players.

Most Offensive Rebounds, Career

1. Yolanda Griffith, 1045
2. Lisa Leslie, 826
3. Taj McWilliams-Franklin, 794
4. Chasity Melvin, 741
5. Natalie Williams, 733
6. Tina Thompson, 662
7. Cheryl Ford, 568
8. Murriel Page, 566
9. Tangela Smith, 560
10. Lauren Jackson, 554


Highest Percentage of Offensive Rebounds as Total Rebounds
(min 100 Total Rebounds for career)

1. Tonya Washington, 64/116, 55.2 percent
2. Wanda Guyton, 84/162, 51.9 percent
3. LaToya Pringle, 52/102, 51.0 percent
4. Laura Harper, 68/137, 49.6 percent
5. Kisha Ford, 106/218, 48.6 percent
6. Danielle McCulley, 52/107, 48.6 percent
7. Shay Murphy, 63/130, 48.5 percent
8. Jessie Hicks, 174/361, 48.2 percent
9. Bridgette Gordon, 78/165, 47.3 percent
10. Andrea Gardner, 52/111, 46.8 percent

Among the top ten rebounders of all time, Yolanda Griffith has the highest percentage with 42.9 percent.

Career Leaders in Offensive Rebounds x Offensive Rebound Percentage

1. Yolanda Griffith, 448.10
2. Chasity Melvin, 304.88
3. Natalie Williams, 293.28
4. Taj McWilliams-Franklin, 283.72
5. Latasha Byears, 230.67
6. Lisa Leslie, 216.18
7. Adrienne Goodson, 215.85
8. Tamika Raymond, 207.00
9. Murriel Page, 199.85
10. Tina Thompson, 198.21

Dunking Trivia

Who was the first woman to dunk:

a) in a high school game?
b) in college?
c) in the WNBA?

Spawn of MZone has the answers for you.

By the way...I wonder if anyone ever dunked in the ABL....

Worst at the Free Throw Line

You never call Stacey Thomas to shoot your technicals.

Let's imagine that you're a coach. You're down by two, the ball is in your hands, and there's six seconds left on the clock. You have to carry the ball all the way downcourt to score.

You know the bad guys are going to foul someone. Therefore, you want the ball in someone's hands who can make those clutch free throws in case of a foul.

And yet, there are active players in the WNBA who have mastered the art of Shaq Fu when it comes to free throw shooting. How can you hit 60 percent (or less) of your free throws and still be in basketball? Well, like Shaq, you need to compensate with some other skill - an ability to rebound, or to avoid turning over the ball, or shooting very well.

If you see any of the players below at the free throw line shooting those criticial two shots, you had better grab your Maalox if you're a coach, and a rosary if you're a fan.

(Side note: The worst shooting percentage of all time could arguably be Lenae Williams's 0-for-5 lifetime free throw shooting for the Detroit Shock in 2002.)

Worst WNBA Free Throw Shooters

(minimum 150 attempts)

1. Stacey Thomas, 112-217, 51.6 percent
2. Armintie Price, 143-276, 51.8 percent
3. Val Whiting-Raymond, 95-176, 54.0 percent
4. Tamika Raymond, 229-422, 54.3 percent
5. Sharon Manning, 103-188, 54.8 percent
6. Nakia Sanford, 337-599, 56.3 percent
7. Vanessa Hayden, 129-220, 58.6 percent
8. Tracy Reid, 189-321, 58.9 percent
9. Tiffany Jackson, 91-152, 59.9 percent
10. Cheryl Ford, 501-835, 60.0 percent

- bold face denotes player active in 2008 season

Annie Oakleys

Azzi: A Hall of Fame Gunner

Why will Jennifer Azzi be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame? Oh yeah, she had a great college career and she won two gold medals for the United States, and she played in both the ABL and WNBA, but what's amazing about Jennifer Azzi is her ability to hit the long-range shot.

You need at least a 0.300 clip from beyond the 3-point line to be considered a long-range gunner. That's equivalent to a 0.450 2-point field goal percentage. Hitting 0.400 from beyond the 3-point line is nothing short of astonishing if you can do it regularly. Not surprisingly, there are only nine women who have played in the WNBA with a percentage over 0.400 and who have over 100 3-point attempts.

Even though Azzi is only 60th all time in 3-point shots attempted - Katie Smith has far and away the most tries with 1,862 - Azzi has the most attempts among our Annie Oakleys.


Highest 3-Point Field Goal Percentages
(minimum 100 attempts)

1. Jennifer Azzi, 158-345, 0.458
2. Laurie Koehn, 92-205, 0.449
3. Cathy Joens, 46-110, 0.418
4. Sidney Spencer, 85-205, 0.417
5. Kristen Rasmussen, 59-142, 0.415
6. Sandy Brondello, 114-278, 0.410
7. Jackie Stiles, 65-160, 0.406
8. Jamie Carey, 84-207, 0.406
9. Eva Nemcova, 131-326, 0.402
10. Korie Hlede, 83-209, 0.397

Update: Fixed at least three typos in this post. Sheer dogged professionalism here at Pleasant Dreams. Where's my proofreader?

On Shooting Field Goals

Jackie Stiles (#10) should just let Cara Consuegra shoot.

One of the great things about basketball is that there is a lot of action. It was the invention of the 24-second clock that changed basketball from becoming something like football and baseball. Baseball's selling point is that there is a potential for action, and every ball or strike changes that potential by forcing the pitcher to adjust what he does. Football's action is actually the result of a long march downfield and all of the "hard hitting" disguises the fact that there's really not much of anything going on in football - the famous phrase is "violence punctuated by committee meetings", with a lot of that clash of bodies contributing nothing to the final result.

Instead, basketball is a collection of mini-dramas with the goal of taking a ball and putting it into the basket. Each of these dramas is interesting in itself, and each of these dramas plays out in brief periods of time. If the attempt succeeds or fails, the other team will get a chance to do what the first team couldn't.

Baseball doesn't care where the ball is hit, as long as it's hit between the two foul lines. Football doesn't even require that you carry the ball to the endzone to score - you can always kick the ball between the uprights if you are forced to. Basketball, on the other hand, requires that the ball be fired through a small circular rim not much bigger than the ball is. (Basketball and golf have that much in common.)

Like making a putt from six feet, people underestimate just how difficult this task is. It's very hard to put that ball through the rim when a) you only have 24 or 30 seconds to do it, b) there are very specific rules as to how this ball may be carried to the hoop, c) you can make only minor physical contact with someone while moving with the ball, d) for women, the rim is suspended in the air so high that it can't be reached by a simple jump and e) there are possibly people who are taller than you who could just bat the ball away as you hurl it.

For some reason, Europeans look at the 2-point field goal and the 3-point field goal as entirely separate acts. They are calculated in different columns, with record-keeping separate. In America, the 3-point field goal is seen as a special kind of field goal, with the 3-point column a subset of the 2-point column. Even though the record keeping doesn't really matter, I think the Americans are looking at it the right way.

There are 48 WNBA players who played their entire careers without scoring a field goal. You would think that those careers would be short, but they're not as short as one might think. Cara Consuegra was given 15 games and 50 minutes of play to try to get the ball in the bucket. Five attempts. All in vain. She did, however, make two of four free throws, but a free throw is not a field goal.

At the other end of the table, there are only 31 players in WNBA history that have made 1,000 field goals. Only one has made 2,000, and one is very close behind her. Those players might end up playing on the same team this year. It's truly an amazing thing to make a field goal.

Here are the WNBA leaders in field goals made:

Most Field Goals, Career

1. Lisa Leslie, 2188
2. Tina Thompson, 1915
3. Sheryl Swoopes, 1721
4. Tangela Smith, 1701
5. Lauren Jackson, 1615
6. Katie Smith, 1575
7. Vickie Johnson, 1545
8. Chamique Holdsclaw (*), 1531
9. Yolanda Griffith, 1497
10. Nykesha Sales, 1481

(*) contracted to the Atlanta Dream

High Endurance Players

#14 just keeps going and going and GOING and....

What does it mean to have a high average minutes per game? It means three things:

a) that you have a lot of talent,
b) that you have a lot of endurance, and
c) that you avoid drawing fouls.

Any coach would want a player that was good at all three. As a matter of fact, when you look at the WNBA carrier leaders in minutes per game, it's a virtual all-star list. The following are the players that you can't get to leave the court for love nor money - nor would you want them to leave.

Most Minutes Played Per Game, Career

1. Cynthia Cooper, 35.185
2. Katie Smith, 34.800
3. Jennifer Azzi, 34.674
4. Tina Thompson, 34.440
5. Chamique Holdsclaw, 33.876
6. Tamika Catchings, 33.693
7. Candace Parker, 33.606
8. Sheryl Swoopes, 33.375
9. Sue Bird, 33.221
10. Seimone Augustus, 32.919

- bold indicates contracted to the Atlanta Dream

Top Ten WNBA Players Who Have Started Every Game

One of the few times you'll see Lisa Leslie resting.

Even with the over 600 players of the WNBA, there are exactly 20 players who have started every single game they played. If you came to the arena to see these people play, you knew not to miss a minute.

Top Ten WNBA Players Who Have Started Every Game They Played

1. Lisa Leslie, 340 games
2. Lauren Jackson, 237 games
3. Sue Bird, 226 games
4. Nikki Teasley, 186 games
(tie) Vicky Bullett, 186 games
6. Nicole Ohlde, 170 games
7. Diana Taurasi, 167 games
(tie) Cheryl Ford, 167 games
9. Alana Beard, 162 games
10. Cynthia Cooper, 124 games

- bold type indicates Atlanta Dream player

Never Got a Start

Coach Blodgett no longer has to sit if she doesn't want to.

There are some players who work hard, come to practice, give everything they've got - but when they're announcing the starting five, they just never make it there. They always get their first minutes replacing someone else.

Here are the WNBA's Top Ten in players who have never started a game.

Most Games Played With No Starts
(bold type denotes active player)

1. Laurie Koehn, 120 (WAS 2005-08)
2. Tricia Bader-Binford, 100 (UTA 1998-99, CLE 1999-2002)
3. Carla McGhee, 81 (ORL 1999-2002)
4. Linda Frohlich, 72 (NYL 2002-03, IND 2006, SAC 2007)
5. Cindy Blodgett, 65 (CLE 1998, SAC 1999-2001)
6. Sandora Irvin, 63 (PHO 2005-06, SAS 2007-08)
7. Tracy Henderson, 61 (CLE 1999, 2002-03)
8. Tiffany Jackson, 59 (NYL 2007-08)
9. Tai Dillard, 57, (SAS 2003-05)
10. Kim Smith, 55 (SAC 2006-08)
(tie) Amaya Valdemoro, 55

Trivia

If I were to ask someone "what is the greatest number of regular season games ever played in a WNBA season by a player?" I'm sure the answer would ring back "34". Why? Because there are 34 games in a typical WNBA season, and it's impossible to play more than that maximum number.

Unfortunately, the answer would be wrong. Let's say that a player on Team A is traded to Team B in mid-season. The player has played in all of Team A's games up to this point. However, Team B has not played as many games as Team A, and has more games left to play than Team A. The player goes to the new team, and plays in all of Team B's remaining games. The result is that such a player could end up playing in more than 34 reguar season games.

There are two WNBA players who have played in more than 34 regular season games in one year, due to such a mid season trade. One has played 36 games in a season and the other has played 35 games in a season

Hint: they were both traded to the same team in the same year. Furthermore, they are both still playing for that team.

Update: Answers in the comment section.

Longevity Since 1998

It really wasn't that long ago.

With the announced retirement (after 2009) of Lisa Leslie, and with the number of players who took the court in 1997 who are still playing in the WNBA down to about seven, I thought I should take a look at the players that debuted in 1998 that are still playing in the WNBA.

Players who started playing in 1998 that were still playing in 2008:

Allison Feaster (missed 2007)
Olympia Scott (missed 2003)
Tully Bevilaqua (missed 1999)

Players who started playing in 1998 who have played every year since:

Margo Dydek
Murriel Page
Tangela Smith
Ticha Penicheiro

Butterfingers

"...those who can't do, teach...."

These are the leaders in turnovers/minute in a WNBA career:

Minimum 1 minute: Cory Chambers, 2 TO, 1 MP, 2 TO/MP
Minimum 10 minutes: Marcedes Walker, 4 TO, 11 MP, 0.36 TO/MP
Minimum 20 minutes: Angie Hamblin, 7 TO, 29 MP, 0.24 TO/MP
Minimum 50 minutes: Cara Consuegra, 11 TO, 50 MP, 0.22 TO/MP
Minimum 100 minutes: Jenny Boucek, 22 TO, 112 MP, 0.20 TO/MP
Minimum 500 minutes: Rhonda Blades, 80 TO, 630 MP, 0.13 TO/MP
Minimum 1000 minutes: Kristen Veal, 124 TO, 1019 MP, 0.12 TO/MP

Three Point Chuckers

I'll bet she's behind the arc....


Which WNBA players have taken most of their shots as three point attempts? The abbreviated list is below. And believe it or not, there was one player in history who only took five shots, all 3-pointers!


Minimum 5 FGA: Chandra Johnson, 5 FGA, 5 3PA (100 percent)
Minimum 100 FGA: Laurie Koehn, 222 FGA, 205 3PA (92.3 percent)
Minimum 500 FGA: Kelly Mazzante, 811 FGA, 548 3PA (67.6 percent)
Minimum 1000 FGA: Tully Belivaqua, 1074 FGA, 619 3PA (57.6 percent)

Super Career Scoring Combinations

For just a couple of years together....

There's a rumor that Tina Thompson, formerly the face of the Houston Comets, will be hooking up with Lisa Leslie as the newest member of the Los Angeles Sparks. What makes this potential signing particularly interesting is that Leslie and Thompson are 1-2 in career points in the WNBA.

I decided to look only among the top 16 scorers in WNBA history and see if any of them had played on teams with each other. I then determined the combined career points of those players - even if they only played together briefly. (Why the top 16? I wanted an easy to calculate Top 10 List.)

Here are the teams - and the years - you had to be watching if you wanted to see the WNBA's top career scorers playing on the same team (*):

1. Lisa Leslie, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Mwadi Mabika, Sparks (2005-06) - 13,456 career points
2. Sheryl Swoopes, Lauren Jackson and Yolanda Griffith, Storm (2008) - 13,425 career points
3. Lisa Leslie, Delisha Milton-Jones and Mwadi Mabika, Sparks (2000-04) - 13,087 career points
4. Tina Thompson and Sheryl Swoopes, Comets (1997-2000, 2002-07) -10,028 career points
5. Katie Smith and Betty Lennox, Lynx (2000-02) - 8,556 career points
6. Yolanda Griffith and Tangela Smith, Monarchs (2000-04) - 8,342 career points
7. Lauren Jackson and Betty Lennox, Storm (2004-07) - 8,081 career points
8. Chamique Holdsclaw and Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Sparks (2007) - 7,737 career points
9. Nykesha Sales and Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Miracle/Sun (1999-2006) - 7,717 career points
10. Vickie Johnson and Becky Hammon, Liberty (1999-2005), Silver Stars (2007-08) - 7,515 career points

* - Top 16 Career Scorers only considered

Trivia

Name every head coach that has led a team to a WNBA championship.

Coaches

Houston Comets (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) :
Los Angeles Sparks (2001, 2002):
Detroit Shock (2003, 2006, 2008):
Seattle Storm (2004):
Sacramento Monarchs (2005):
Phoenix Mercury (2007):

(Answers in comments.)

Most Career Minutes Played Without Taking a 3-Point Shot

"Hey, why take unnecessary chances?"

1. Cheryl Ford * (4817)
2. Nakia Sanford * (3754)
3. Katie Mattera * (2213)
4. Alisa Burras (2052)
5. Sancho Lyttle * (1835)
6. Pollyanna Johns-Kimbrough (1730)
7. Vanessa Hayden * (1673)
8. Chantelle Anderson * (1571)
9. Kara Wolters (1290)
10. Bernadette Ngoyisa * (1116)

* - denotes active player

Mighty Mites

There are seven WNBA players who have been listed at either 5'2" or 5'3" tall at some time during their careers. You certainly can't look down (figuratively speaking) on any of the players listed below - but can you tell me who they are?

1. Who says small women aren't tough? She got suspended by the WNBA this year for her role in a fight.
2. Worked at a resort in Vermont before playing in WNBA its inaugural year.
3. Played alongside tallest player in WNBA history in 1999 - she has the longest career of the height-challenged players and 16 career blocked shots.
4. You might see her in Indiana next year if you look closely. In a sense, she's the opposite of #3.
5. She was a Rookie of the Year.
6. The last we saw of her (!) was when she was waived by two teams in 2004 two years after playing her last WNBA minute.
7. Lady Lion who played in WNBA's inaugural year.

Incidentally, all of these women have at least one career blocked shot. "The more you know...."

Update: Answers will be in the comments section.