A YouTube Top Ten for 2009

WNBA Guy gives us his Top Ten Moments of the WNBA season.

Brought to You by Harris Dental

Ethan at Actionless Activity wraps up the Year in WNBA hoops:

Despite the various technical difficulties it faced this year, HUGE props to the WNBA for introducing Live Access. I thought I’d see lots of the New York Liberty (disclosure: I am wearing my 2009 Liberty shirt as I type this), but I saw a great many Phoenix Mercury home games. I know all about Cash Four® by the Phoenix Lottery. I know all about Harris Dental. I don’t have a pool (or a house), but if/when I do I’ll be sure to shop at Leslie’s Pool Supply. I know all about Discount Tire. And I know all about the X Factor. Having logged so many hours watching Phoenix games, I had extra reason to want to see them win the title as opposed to off-the-radar Indiana.

...

Finally, my hope for 2010 is that we (the Grand We) are much less defensive about the WNBA and more – for lack of a better word – evangelical. Telling people they’re wrong about the WNBA isn’t going to win hearts and minds. Lamenting what new reason why The Haters™ are or will be dogging on the league won’t inspire people to give the WNBA a fresh look. Show them the quality. Take someone to a game, if you’re in-market. If you’re out of market like me, find ways to be vocal and approachable in your support. I recently wore my Liberty t-shirt to work, and some women came in from out of state who knew Patty Coyle and were agog that a man – out of market, at that, knew who the Liberty was and made the commitment to buy a shirt online.


Looks like I might have to invest in a jersey for Jersey Day at work. So which Atlanta Dream player should I be wearing? Or should I get one of those personalized jerseys with my number and name on the back?

Also: why so many Coke commercials? This is only excusable if it helps pay for Art Eckman.

Ratings Jump for Game One of WNBA Finals

From Sports Media Watch:

The Mercury's 120-116 overtime win over the Fever drew 555,000 viewers on ESPN2 Tuesday night, up 59% from Shock/Silver Stars Game 1 last year (348,000 viewers). Game 1 ranks as the most-viewed WNBA game on cable since '07 (Shock/Mercury Game 4, 669,000 viewers).

Game 1 drew a 2.9 rating in Indianapolis, the highest rating ever for a WNBA game on ESPN in the market. To put that in perspective, Pacers games averaged a 1.5 rating on FSN during the 2008-09 season. In Phoenix, the game drew a 1.8 rating.


Holy Moley? The Fever are more popular than the Pacers? (Sample size: N=1) Who would have thought that?

Then again, at the end of the article, MLS and the NHL have much more viewers for their finals than the WNBA does - even though the WNBA either matches or exceeds those leagues in the regular season. Apparently, there are more casual viewers for MLS and the NHL who will only turn their attention to those leagues during the finals, as if they were waking up out of a torpor. I think the WNBA would kill to have that last-minute finals rush.

The NBA also delivers the demographic breakdown:


• Males 18-49: +15 percent
• Males 25-54: +21 percent
• Females 18-34: +123 percent
• Females 18-49: +176 percent
• Females 25-54: +47 percent

The One-on-Zero

That's what I call it. Others call it the "fast break". The "transition game". And Swanny's Stats has some extra stats involving fast break points.

Most points scored. Cappie Pondexter of the Mercury is the leader with 132 total fast break points, but Iziane Castro Marques is 4th with 103, Angel McCoughtry is 5th with 91, and Chamique Holdsclaw is 18th with 60.

Highest percentage of points scored from fast break. The winner, oddly enough, is Armintie Price. Price has scored 28 of her 93 points this year - 30.1 percent - on fast breaks.

Shalee Lehning is 3rd with 23.5 percent (24/102). Iziane Castro Marques (103/488) comes in 7th with 21.1 percent, and Angel McCoughtry is 9th with 20.9 percent (91/435). It looks like Atlanta really loves the transition game.

Lowest percentage of points scored from fast break. Both this stat and the stat above require at least 20 games. Three players are tied with 0 percent - Tamika Whitmore of the Suns, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton of the Sparks and Brooke Smith of the Mercury.

Most fast break assists. Two Phoenix players rule this stat: Cappie Pondexter (38) and Temeka Johnson (37). However, Shalee Lehning is 4th in fast break assists with 27. Iziane Castro Marques and Kara Lawson of the Monarchs are tied for 15th with 16 fast break assists.

Highest percentage of fast break assists. DeWanna Bonner of the Mercury has only 13 assists on the year, but five were fast break assists for 38.5 percent. Iziane Castro Marques (16/67) finishes 9th.

Most fast break points scored, game. On August 2 of this year, Alana Beard of the Mystics scored 15 points on fast breaks in a game against Indiana. She would also score 10 points on fast breaks on July 3rd against Atlanta.

Other players would light up Atlanta for at least nine (9) fast break points. Deanna Nolan hit the Dream for nine points on August 4th and on August 27th and Becky Hammon hit the Dream for nine fast break points on August 6th. However, Angel McCoughtry scored nine fast break points against the Shock on July 22nd.

Diana Taurasi Named MVP; Lyttle Gets a Mention

Diana Taurasi received the majority of votes for MVP.

(UPDATE: I thought she had received all of the votes, but the corrections are in the comments below.)

The complete list of votes and vote getters:

323 Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
163 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
128 Katie Douglas Indiana Fever
99 Cappie Pondexter Phoenix Mercury
77 Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars
73 Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm
39 Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
27 Deanna Nolan Detroit Shock
10 Sue Bird Seattle Storm
9 Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks
8 Sophia Young San Antonio Silver Stars
7 Sancho Lyttle Atlanta Dream
1 Alana Beard Washington Mystics
1 Candice Dupree Chicago Sky
1 Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky

I'm glad that Sancho Lyttle at least got a few mentions. However, I'm surprised that Erika de Souza didn't even get a mention. I suppose Erika will have to be satisfied with repeating as MVP of the Liga Femenina.

Lyttle, McCoughtry Make All Defensive Second Team

From the WNBA, the top finishers for the WNBA All-Defensive teams are:

First team

Tamika Catchings, Fever
Lauren Jackson, Storm
Nicky Anosike, Lynx
Tanisha Wright, Storm
Tully Bevilaqua, Fever

Second team

Sancho Lyttle, Dream
Angel McCoughtry, Dream
Lisa Leslie, Sparks
Candace Parker, Sparks
Alana Beard, Mystics
Deanna Nolan, Shock


Verrrry cool. It would have been cool to have a first-team defender, but I'll take two second-team defenders. Some teams didn't get anyone on the list.

Note: There are not two different first teams. The first five listed players are the first team; the following six are the second team.

McCoughtry Makes All-Rookie Team

From the WNBA:

McCoughtry, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft presented by adidas, topped the charts among all WNBA rookies in points (12.8) and steals (2.2) and ranked fifth in assists (2.1). McCoughtry’s 2.2 steals per game led the Dream and placed her in the top five among league leaders. She finished the season with two consecutive adidas Rookie of the Month honors. McCoughtry helped propel a team that finished with only four wins in 2008 to second place in the Eastern Conference this season. The Dream advanced to the 2009 WNBA Playoffs presented by adidas, marking the first postseason appearance in franchise history. The 14-game improvement is the second-best single-season turnaround in WNBA history.

The full team:

Angel McCoughtry
DeWanna Bonner
Shavonte Zellous
Renee Montgomery
Marissa Coleman

Hmm. It looks like both McCoughtry and Bonner got 12 votes each and Zellous and Montgomery got 11 votes each. It's going to make the Rookie of the Year voting very interesting.

UPDATE: Click Chris Vivlamore's article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to show your click love.

All-WNBA Teams Announced

They're right here. The list:

First Team

Diana Taurasi
Tamika Catchings
Lauren Jackson
Becky Hammon
Cappie Pondexter

Second Team

Candace Parker
Sophia Young
Lisa Leslie
Katie Douglas
Deanna Nolan


Excuse me while I chuckle. Sancho Lyttle and/or Erika de Souza should have made one of those lists. Lisa Leslie barely squeaked by, and you're telling me that she did a better job this year than Erika de Souza? Surrrrre.

Also to the WNBA: these cannot be the "complete results" unless these were the only 10 candidates. Mathematically impossible, y'know. These are simply the top finishers.

Bonner Wins WNBA Sixth Woman - McCoughtry for ROY?

According to the Montgomery Advisor, DeWanna Bonner (not "DeWanba") of the Phoenix Mercury will be announced as the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year.

There has been a competition between two players - Bonner and Angel McCoughtry of Atlanta - as to which would win the Rookie of the Year and which would win Sixth Woman. The consensus is that they will split the awards...meaning that if Bonner has been named Sixth Woman, then McCoughtry....

UPDATE: It's official. Here is the final vote tally:

20 DeWanna Bonner Phoenix Mercury
10 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream
4 Shevonte Zellous Detroit Shock
1 Kara Braxton Detroit Shock
1 Kristi Toliver Chicago Sky
1 Hamchetou Maiga-Ba Sacramento Monarchs
1 Crystal Langhorne Washington Mystics

(Thanks Phoenix Stan at Swish Appeal.)

Crystal Langhorne Named 2009 WNBA MIP; Lyttle and de Souza Follow

Crystal Langhorne of the Washington Mystics was named the Most Improved Player of 2009. She earned 19 out of 40 possible votes. Congratulations!

The complete list of vote-getters:

Langhorne, Mystics: 19
Lyttle, Dream: 6
de Souza, Dream: 4
Wright, Storm: 4
Harding, Mystics: 3
Quinn, Sparks: 3
Gruda, Sun: 1

Moving on Up in the Ratings

From Sports Media Watch:

ESPN2 averaged 269,000 viewers for regular season WNBA coverage in '09, up 8% from 248,000 last year. WNBA games saw solid increases in key male demographics, including a 14% rise among men 18-49 and a 9% increase among men 18-34.

Maybe this is why they've added a half hour of "WNBA Shootaround" before the playoff games they show.

Take This As You Will

From the Sports Business Daily website:

The WNBA regular season ended on Sunday with the league seeing an average of 8,000 fans per game, up slightly from '08, and the third consecutive year with an average attendance increase. The Mystics led the league with 11,338 fans per game at Verizon Center, a jump of 24.6% from last season. Three...

Hmmm.

Backs Against the Wall

The 100-82 loss by the Dream to the Mercury was the second game of a back-to-back. Let's look at all of the disadvantages that a team has playing back to back. (Note: I'm not trying to establish a narrative of "oh, we would have beaten the Mercury if we weren't playing the back-to-back" - the Merc have to play back-to-backs just as much as anyone else in the WNBA does.)

* A player's muscles are still retaining lactic acid from the night before.
* The player is flying across the country in a coach seat. Imagine a 6'4" woman crammed into a cattle car with wings.
* NBA players have chartered planes. WNBA players get to deal with crying babies in the seat behind.
* Time zone changes. Meaning little or no sleep.
* Bad food.
* Little time to prepare for the game.

We can make guesses about how a team is affected by a back-to-back game - but what really happens? Are teams playing on a back-to-back significantly worse? What are there average margins of victory? Does it matter if the second game of the back-to-back is at home or on the road?

I took at look at every game in the WNBA for the 2009 season which was either:

- the second game of a back to game, or
- the third game in four nights, which can be just as bad. Those games are the fourth game in the game-game-off-game sequence, else they'd be counted as just ordinary back-to-backs.

There are 53 such games this year in the WNBA. Fifty have been played, three are left to play. First, let's see how many such games each team will end up playing:

Chicago: 6
Connecticut: 6
Washington: 6
Los Angeles: 5
Minnesota: 5
Atlanta: 4
Detroit: 4
New York: 4
Sacramento: 4
Indiana: 3
Phoenix: 2
San Antonio: 2
Seattle: 2

To add insult to injury, for the Silver Stars and the Storm one of those two "back-to-back" games is actually the third game of a game-game-off-game series, adding a slight cushion of rest.

Did the WNBA schedulers put this fix in for San Antonio or Seattle? Probably not. One can guess that schedules have to do a lot with arena availability and travel conditions - but the Silver Stars and Storm probably smiled when they looked at
their schedules.

Next up: the average margin of victory for these teams on back-to-back games:

Phoenix: 13.50
Detroit: 13.00
Los Angeles: 3.40
Seattle: 1.50
Connecticut: -0.17
Indiana: -2.00
Sacramento: -2.75
Washington: -4.80
New York: -5.50
San Antonio: -8.00
Minnesota: -11.20
Chicago: -12.00
Atlanta: -12.67

Average: -3.20

On the average, it seems that playing that back-to-back game can take three points off your average. Since the best teams (Indiana, Phoenix) are winning by 3.81 points per game and 3.75 points per game respectively, a back-to-back team can turn a good team into an average team and an average team into a horrible one.

Note that some teams come out quite well in the average because either:

a) they got hot when they were having most of their back-to-backs (Los Angeles),
b) played a small sample size of games (Phoenix), or
c) had big wins that skewed the average (Detroit).

The next question: how do back-to-backs impact the win-loss record of a team:

Back-to-Back Win-Loss Records
(includes Game 3 of game-game-off-game series)

Record: 21-29, .420
Home: 11-4, .733
Away: 10-25, .286

It looks like that when it comes to playing a back-to-back game, knowing that you're going to play that game at home helps. Even when playing those back-to-back games, teams playing them at home win almost 3 out of 4 times. However, teams playing back-to-back games on the road lose 1 out of 4 times.

I then looked at the mathematical correlation between the number of back-to-backs played by a team and its winning percentage. You'd expect an "inverse correlation" - the more back-to-backs, the greater the negative impact on winning percentage.

The correlation is -0.47122, which is a medium correlation - and veering into large territory. So do lots of back-to-back games cause bad records? No. Correlation does not equal causation - the two factors might be related to an unknown third factor. However, it is something to think about as we come into crunch time at the end of the seasons:


Final Back-to-Backs of 2009 WNBA Season

September 10, Detroit plays Game 2 of Back-To-Back: opponent New York
September 12, Atlanta plays Game 2 of Back-To-Back: opponent Washington
September 13, Washington plays Game 2 of Back-To-Back: opponent New York.

Atlanta's Mission: "Win, and You're In!"

With the defeat of the Washington Mystics by the Indiana Fever, the playoff picture is suddenly a lot clearer.

The Dream have 17 wins. The Mystics and the Sun - the 5th and 6th place teams - have 17 losses. Which means that the very best the Mystics or Sun can do is tie Atlanta - which would require both teams to sweep and Atlanta to lose its final two games. Even so, Atlanta wins the tiebreaker against the Sun and with the Mystics it would go to "Best Conference Record."

However, an 18th win by Atlanta ends all speculation - there would be no way the Mystics could catch up (although Washington might still be in the hunt for a lower level playoff spot). But....

...if Atlanta beats Connecticut at home on Friday, September 11th or beats Washington on the road on Saturday, September 12th - we are in the playoffs. Where, we can't say but we will definitely be there. It's just that simple now..."win, and you're in."

2009 WNBA Awards: The Mid-Season Special

She's standing up, and it's time to recognize her.

Ah, if there's a chasm in which a WNBA follower can easily fall, it's letting his or her picks for yearly awards face the scrutiny of others. (Good thing I have blog space to fill!)

If I were handing out awards, here's who I'd give them to, based on the halfway point of the season.

Most Valuable Player: Nicky Anosike - C - Minnesota Lynx

I would put Nicky above just about anyone - even above the major names like Jackson and Taurasi. She's tough and fearless and one of the reasons why the Lynx have suddenly become a team to be feared. She's just in her second year in the league and I think she's going to be one of those players that can just do it all. She's averaging 14.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Lynx, as well as 3.1 steals per game.

All WNBA Teams: I had to bang on some position designations for this one.

First Team

C - Nicky Anosike, Lynx
PF - Lauren Jackson, Storm
SF - Tamika Catchings, Fever
SG - Diana Taurasi, Mercury
PG - Cappie Pondexter, Mercury

Second Team

C - Erika de Souza, Dream
PF - Shameka Christon, Liberty
SF - Sancho Lyttle, Dream
SG - Tanisha Wright, Storm
PG - Jia Perkins, Sky

Rookie of the Year: DeWanna Bonner - G - Mercury

Angel McCoughtry is really good, but I would have to give the nod to Bonner just from the minutes played.

All-Rookie Team

C - Courtney Paris, Monarchs
PF - Megan Frazee, Silver Stars
SF - Angel McCoughtry, Dream
SG - DeWanna Bonner, Mercury
PG - Renee Montgomery, Lynx

Sixth Woman of the Year: Crystal Langhorne - F/C - Mystics

Having 11.6 ppg/7.6 rpg out of only 3 starts in 15 games? She makes a pretty strong argument for the honor.

Coach of the Year

This is a tough one. How do you quantify the difference between the coach and the players? If a coach is also a GM, does player acquisition figure in the ratings?

My rule: best record unless there are other considerations. That makes Lin Dunn of the Fever my nominee.

Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Shannon Johnson - G - Storm

This is usually given to one of the oldest players in the league as an honorarium. Some charity work and general good behavior is required. Lisa Leslie is retiring, but she's a bit too whiny to get the award. Tina Thompson is too much of an intimidator. Since Shannon Johnson has put in her time, and since she hasn't won the award yet, I'll nominate her for the award.

Most Improved Player: Kara Braxton - C - Detroit Shock

Braxton is scoring 11.8 points for game and sh'es been on fire, hitting 64 percent of her field goals. She's getting 7.3 rpg, almost two more than last year. The Shock are banged up, but this has left opportunity for Braxton to show what she can do.

Defensive Player of the Year: Nicky Anosike - C - Minnesota Lynx

Yes, she throws her elbows but with 53 steals and 16 blocks on the year, Anosike is a force to be reckoned with. There aren't too many centers leading the league in steals.

All-Defensive Team:

C: Nicky Anosike, Lynx
PF: Lauren Jackson, Storm
SF: Tamika Catchings, Fever
SG: Tanisha Wright, Storm
PG: Alexis Hornbuckle, Shock

2009 WNBA Preview

It's been a good seven months since the Detroit Shock won their third WNBA title. Seven months is too long for an off-season, and even though there is the minor manner of training camp most WNBA fans can't wait that long to peer into their crystal balls and attempt some sort of divination through the murky clouds of injuries and unanswered free agent questions. The reality of the WNBA is that the entire season for a team can hinge on a smart trade or an injury in training camp, and no amount of number crunching can replace conjecture.

Imperfect knowledge, however, has never stopped humankind from making predictions before. It won't stop us.

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Shock (24-10) - WNBA followers seem more worried about the machinations of "Trader Bill" Laimbeer than they are about the intact core of players he brings to the 2009 season. The only question marks involving this team deal with age - everyone is one year older and one year slower. Picking up Taj McWilliams-Franklin was the big trade for the Shock in 2008, and it was the final piece of the puzzle. Normally you'd expect the 38-year McWilliams-Franklin to lose a step, but Taj has had some very good seasons in her late 30s. Katie Smith will be 35 this year, but she's managed to remain productive since her days in the ABL. Cheryl Ford has hopefully recovered from the knee injury she suffered during the infamous Detroit-Los Angeles brawl. Even if the Fairy Dust runs out and some of the ancients of the Shock turn into pumpkins, expect Laimbeer to make another diabolic trade to restore the magic.

2. Indiana Fever (17-17) - In the weak Eastern Conference, finishing .500 can put you in second place. The Fever has shored up its roster with the addition of Yolanda Griffith, who should be a good fit for coach Lin Dunn's do-it-with-defense Fever. Last season's Most Improved Player - Ebony Hoffman - should improve yet against this season. Tamika Catchings went from a great player to merely a good one in 2008 due to foot and heel injuries - the Fever need Catch fully recovered to break past a .500 season.

3. New York Liberty (17-17) - From a #3 seed last year, the Liberty took the Detroit Shock to the full three games in the Eastern Conference finals. The Liberty will probably need another run of luck this year as well. Janel McCarville finally played up to expectations last year, but can she put the Liberty on her back for two years in a row? The problem is that McCarville doesn't have much help - when the next best player you have is Loree Moore, it means that McCarville will have to force the Liberty into greatness. Don't expect first-round draft pick Kia Vaughn to contribute much that first year.

4. Connecticut Sun (16-18) - Coach Mike Thibault had a young team playing above expectations last year - it earned him Coach of the Year honors. I'm still expecting Lindsay Whalen to regress back to the mean, but if she plays as well in 2009 as she did the previous two years, move Connecticut a notch higher. Asjha Jones played her most minutes ever last year and had her highest field goal shooting percentage ever as well. Is this a sign of great things to come or is it just an aberration? A lot is riding on Amber Holt to improve beyond a good rookie season and give Whalen and Jones some help because Tamika Whitmore won't be the answer.

5. Chicago Sky (15-19) - Finally, Sky fans have some hope. Chasity Melvin was traded but Sylvia Fowles will finally be healthy enough to play a full season…well, Sky fans hope so, anyway. Even playing only half the season "Big Syl" was good enough to make the WNBA's All-Rookie Team and her overseas performance with Russian team Spartak is good enough to make any WNBA GM take notice. With Candice Dupree, Jia Perkins and Armintie Price there is just enough there to make Chicago a playoff contender. If Syl is healthy and Kristi Toliver has a great rookie year then the Sky might become The Little Engine That Could in the playoffs.

6. Atlanta Dream (13-21) - Good news Dream fans! You will win at least three times as many games as you won last year (4). The bad news is that it won't get you into the playoffs. Atlanta's biggest move in the off-season was acquiring Chamique Holdsclaw, but a playoff season for Atlanta depends on three things: a) that Chamique will return to her previous form, b) that Nikki Teasley's knee problems are finally resolved, and c) that Tamera Young's second season will be an improvement over her first. Two of the three items listed might happen, but I wouldn't bet that all three would be true.

7. Washington Mystics (7-27) - Washington should just put up a sign outside the Verizon center - "Permanently Under Construction". New coach, new general manager, same lousy team…at least for 2009. Chasity Melvin isn't the solution to the loss of Taj McWilliams-Franklin and any hope of .500 is going to depend on the "Maryland Mafia" of Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman. One ominous sign for 2009 - after Taj was traded the Mystics lost the final eight games of the season. If it was a tank job, then my sad counsel to Mystics fans is that it's just too much to expect for Coleman to turn the team around in her rookie year.

Western Conference

1. Minnesota Lynx (25-9) - WHAT?? For most WNBA followers, a 25-9 Lynx season would be something out of science fiction - yet it could happen. The 2008 Lynx got off to a great start winning six out of seven, but in the post-Olympics segment of the season the only teams they could beat were Washington and Indiana. This team lost close games due to youth, but that won't happen in 2009. Rookie Nicky Anosike started every game in her rookie season and should only be better this season. The Lynx have Seimone Augustus and WNBA Sixth Woman of 2008 Candice Wiggins, and there's a very good chance that Phoenix might regret the trade of Kelly Miller and rookie LaToya Pringle for Nicole Ohlde. Miller and Pringle bring real value to the Lynx, and the Lynx also picked up Renee Montgomery in the draft - a player many said should have been drafted #1. I didn't have Minnesota as much worse than the Sparks last year, and if there's any team that has been waiting for the chance to break free from mediocrity, it's the Lynx.

2. San Antonio Silver Stars (24-10) - Without the distraction of the Olympics and Becky Hammon playing for the Russkies, the Silver Stars can devote their total focus to more winning basketball. There's really not much difference between last year's Silver Stars and this year's Silver Stars. Hammon, Erin Buescher, and Sophia Young are all back, and when you have a core of good players unchanged from year to year, good things happen. However, my understanding is that Ann Wauters won't be in training camp…and has she signed that contract yet? If she doesn't, I'd drop the Silver Stars to fourth. Katie Mattera isn't even half of an Ann Wauters.

3. Phoenix Mercury (18-16) - Phoenix, we feel your pain. First, we find out that Penny Taylor probably won't be back in 2009. Then, the attempt to pick up Lauren Jackson fell through when she returned to play another year in Seattle. If either of those two scenarios had happened, it might have been a conference title for Phoenix in 2009; now, you're in third place and looking up. Of course, any team that has Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter can't be all bad, but beyond that, the cupboard is bare. Something to ease the pain: Alison Bales will be a lot better than many think she is.

4. Seattle Storm (17-17) - Seattle Storm fans need to gather on center court and give Lauren Jackson a collective hug - her return might have saved the Storm from a last-place finish. Jackson returns with Sue Bird, and Shannon Johnson is still a good player even though she'll turn 35 this season. Beyond those three players, however, it's unlikely that any one else will step up, except maybe Camille Little.

5. Los Angeles Sparks (16-18) - Coach Michael Cooper will be leaving the Sparks after this year to coach the USC women's basketball team. Lisa Leslie has stated that she'll retire after this year. They got out while the getting was good. Lisa is going to hit 36 this year, and her heir apparent, Candace Parker, will miss part of the season due to pregnancy. The Sparks will find out that Betty Lennox can be just as miserable with a big time team like Los Angeles as she was with an expansion team. Tina Thompson will enjoy Lisa Leslie's company, but that might be the only enjoyable part of Los Angeles's season.

6. Sacramento Monarchs (13-21). So who replaces Yolanda Griffith in the hearts of Sacto fans? Rebekka Brunson, who is on the verge of moving from good to great? Ticha Penicheiro, who is still quite capable of great seasons? Crystal Kelly, who had a pretty good rookie season? I hope that the Monarchs fans take one of these three players - or all of them - to heart, because beyond that, they're strictly playing for a lottery spot.

WNBA: Roster Size Shrinks to Eleven

Yes, everyone who has read RebKell not only knows this but has known it for eons. Even Detroit Shock assistant coach Cheryl Reeve let the "secret" slip out in a WNBA post.

Now, we have confirmation in the print media by John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant. So I guess we can say it's not even an open secret anymore.

How Many Days?

From the Hartford Courant via the Women's Hoops Blog:

Next season will begin later (June 6) and end later (Sept. 13) than the normal non-Olympic season. This change has been instituted for a number of reasons; to help European League players return in time to get some practice time (and rest) before the WNBA season starts and to actually allow college seniors the ability to graduate with their class, instead of being forced to choose.

It is too late to start counting?

203 days until the beginning of the WNBA season.