Women's Hoops Guru

By Jonathan Tannenwald
Philly.com

Hi everyone,

As Mel has alluded to a few times recently, we're moving this blog to a new platform. From now on, you'll find us at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/womhoops.

There's also a new RSS feed URL that you'll find at the new blog for those of you who read us via Google Reader or other such programs. The short link http://go.philly.com/womhoops still exists, but has been changed to direct you to the new blog.

This version of the blog will stay alive for a little while longer for archival purposes, but there will be no new posts on it.

So come join us at the new site.

(Guru's Note: Kathleen has a column on Lisa Leslie in the post below this one, which is Leslie's final diary installment from China for the Associated Press).

By Lisa Leslie
For The Associated Press

BEIJING — Welcome to the Lisa Leslie Diary. We did it! We did what we came to Beijing to do, to win the gold medal. Of course, this is my fourth gold medal, and it is my last Olympics.

It’s hard to put into words the magnitude of what we accomplished Saturday night — representing your country and being the best in the world.

It was the third time we faced Australia for the Olympic title; that’s just the way it was supposed to be. They’re the second best team in the world and to prove it they’re going home with the silver medal for the third time.

I’m not hating, but someone had to lose — and it hasn’t been us, not on my watch.

I don’t know if I could have picked a better way to wrap up my Olympic career than at the Beijing Games than with this group of ladies. I’ve had a great time fellowshipping with this team. They told me they were going to make sure I went out on top. And they made sure it happened.

I wore all four of my medals during the ceremony because it was something I had dreamed about — to stand on that platform and share with the world what we accomplished.

When we got back to the hotel, there was a crowd of our fans, friends and family waiting to welcome us when we got off the team bus. My family was there, including my husband Michael, who gave me a big hug and congratulatory kiss. What a way to end the day.

But everyone has been so supportive of us; I’m feel so blessed.

This team has been so unselfish and together from Day One. It’s been awesome playing and praying with this group.

Well, I’ve truly enjoyed sharing a little of what goes on behind the scenes at the Olympics. Wow, what way to go out. Thanks for everything and God bless you all.

(Guru's note: Here's the AP Recap; Other accounts will be posted later when the Guru works his desk shift in the office )

By DOUG FEINBERG

BEIJING — Lisa Leslie and the U.S. women's basketball team were once again too good for Australia at the Olympics.

Leslie capped off her illustrious Olympic career with a fourth straight gold medal scoring 14 points in a 92-65 victory against Australia on Saturday night. She joined former teammate Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players ever to win four gold medals.

"It's a blessing for me to be out on this floor, now participating in my fourth Olympics and walking away with a fourth gold medal," Leslie said.

Russia took the bronze medal beating host China 94-81 as Becky Hammon scored 22 points.

The Aussies have now lost to the Americans in the gold medal game in the past three Olympics with all three defeats coming by double-digit margins.

Australia figured this was its best shot to beat the Americans as Penny Taylor and Erin Phillips missed the first half of the WNBA season so that they could train for the Beijing Games. Lauren Jackson left the Seattle Storm two weeks before the Olympic break so she could join her teammates.

Even with their extra training and Taylor returning to the starting lineup after missing the semifinals with a sprained right ankle, the Australians just couldn't match the Americans' depth.

"We've said from day one that top to bottom we are a deep team," said Kara Lawson, who led the U.S. with 15 points. "We just send wave after wave of players at you."

She was 5-for-5 from the field and helped the American reserves outscore Australia's 59-11.

"We weren't going to be the team to let Lisa lose," said Parker, who added 14 points. "We wouldn't let her Olympic career end that way."

Trailing 13-10 late in the first quarter, U.S. coach Anne Donovan inserted her second unit, led by Lawson. Once again, the bench delivered just as it had throughout the Olympics with Lawson scoring the first six points of a 12-2 run to close the quarter as the U.S. took a 22-15 lead.

Then Parker, who has had a relatively quiet Olympics averaging only 8.7 points, took over. She scored eight of the Americans' 10 points to open the second quarter, including two three-point plays. On her second, the 6-foot-4 forward took the ball from the top of the key, dribbled through her legs and drove to the basket for a layup — a play that thrilled the U.S. men's basketball players in the stands and brought a standing ovation from LeBron James.

Lawson closed the half with five straight points to give the U.S. a 47-30 lead, capping the Americans' most impressive half in Beijing. The U.S. shot 63 percent (19-for-30) and held the Aussies to just 22 percent (8-for-37).

Jackson tried her best to rally Australia in the third quarter, but the Aussies could get no closer than 12 in the second half. Jackson finished with a game-high 20 points to lead Australia.

"You can't shoot less than 40 percent and expect to win gold medals," said Australia coach Jan Stirling after her team shot 19-for-76 (25 percent) from the field.

Leslie ended her Olympic career by fouling out with 6:33 left in the game. She left to a loud ovation from the crowd and hugged her teammates.

The U.S. has won 33 straight games in the Olympics with the last loss coming to the Unified team in the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games.

(Guru's note: Here's the AP coverage but we didn't see a story with quotes in our connection. Will update if we find one, but the USA site probably has plenty.)

DOUG FEINBERG and AARON BEARD

BEIJING — The U.S. women's basketball team passed its first test of the Olympics, beating Russia in its closest contest in Beijing. Now it's on to a fourth straight gold medal game.

Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and Tina Thompson added 15 to help the U.S. pull away from Russia 67-52 on Thursday night in the semifinals. The Americans will face Australia in the gold medal game Saturday. The U.S. will be looking to win its fourth straight Olympic gold medal.

The U.S. had been averaging 99.2 points as they cruised through the first six games, winning by 43 points a contest. The closest win was a 38-point rout of Spain, in which the U.S. only led by five at the half.

However the Americans hadn't played a team as good as Russia, which had been inconsistent during the Olympics — barely winning games in pool play. In the quarterfinals, the Russians trailed Spain by 18 in the first half before rallying for an 84-65 victory.

For nearly 23 minutes Russia gave the U.S. all it could handle, taking a 38-33 lead on Maria Stepanova's bank shot with 7:17 left in the third quarter.

Then the Americans scored the next 12 points.

Thompson hit a tough turnaround jump shot to start the run. A 3-pointer by Katie Smith and another by Taurasi, layups by Thompson and Lisa Leslie gave the U.S. a 45-38 cushion.

Stepanova finally ended Russia's drought with a foul line jumper with 3:25 left in the period it was the last points they'd score in the quarter as the U.S. led 48-40 going into the final period.

Russia could get no closer than nine in the fourth quarter.

Stepanova scored 14 points to lead Russia, which will play in Sunday's bronze medal game against China.

U.S.-born Becky Hammon, a naturalized Russian citizen, didn't score until making a free throw with 9:30 left in the game. She didn't hit her first field goal until 2:52 was left in the game and Russia was down by 14. She finished the game with three points going 1-for-6 from the field.

After running through its group, winning by an average of 43 points, the U.S. routed South Korea in the quarterfinals. The only problem they had in the first seven games was in the first three minutes in the opener against the Czech Republic when the U.S. found themselves down 13-2. They went on to win by 40.

On Thursday, the U.S. had a first half to forget as they missed a half dozen layups, shot poorly from the foul line, and turned the ball over. Only the Americans' defense kept them in the game.

Leading 23-21, Russia went on a 7-2 run capped by Stepanova's layup with 2:29 left in the second quarter to give the Russians a 30-23 lead. The Americans scored the next 10 points, including two 3-pointers by Taurasi to take a 33-30 advantage. The U.S. had a chance to go into the break up at least by three, but Cappie Pondexter committed the 13th turnover of the half and Irina Osipova scored a layup on the other just before the buzzer to make it 33-32 at the half.

The U.S. found itself in a new position after the first quarter — trailing. Through pool play and the quarterfinals the Americans never trailed after the first period. On Thursday they couldn't hold onto the ball committing 10 turnovers in the first period, most coming on sloppy play. Lisa Leslie had half of them herself as the U.S. found itself down 16-13 after the first.

The U.S. has won 32 straight games in the Olympics with their last loss coming to the Unified team in the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Australia-China

Even with one of its best players watching from the bench, Australia had more than enough to get back to another women's basketball Olympic final.

Belinda Snell had 16 points to help the Aussies beat host China 90-56 Thursday night, sending them back to the gold-medal game for the third straight time for yet another matchup with the United States.

Lauren Jackson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Australia, which played without Penny Taylor. The team's third-leading scorer sprained her right ankle in the third quarter of a quarterfinal win against the Czech Republic and spent Thursday's game watching from the bench wearing her warmups.

Taylor's absence didn't matter much against China, which managed little more than an array of missed jumpers against Australia's tough defense as the game slipped away before halftime. The question is whether Taylor will be ready to face the Americans in Saturday's final.

They have lost to the Americans in the medal round of the past three Olympics, taking home silver in the past two games and the bronze in Atlanta in 1996.

Bian Lan scored 20 points for China, which will face Russia for the bronze medal on Saturday. Miao Lijie — who came in averaging a tournament-best 19.5 points — finished with 10 but took just four shots.

China's only loss of the tournament had come against the United States in group play. But despite playing in front of a vocal home crowd, the Chinese never stood much of a chance in this one, falling behind by 16 points at halftime and never challenging afterward.

Australia outscored China 21-7 in the second period, holding China to just a pair of field goals in the quarter. Miao found few openings against a defense that had been holding teams to 60.8 points per game, while second-leading scorer Chen Nan went scoreless in the opening half.

China shot 32 percent for the game.

The Aussies managed a balanced offensive showing, with five players scoring in double figures, while dominating the boards for a 56-34 advantage.

China can still win its first medal since taking home silver in Barcelona in 1992. Its only other women's basketball medal was the bronze in Los Angeles two dozen years ago.

By DOUG FEINBERG

BEIJING — Sylvia Fowles and the U.S. women's basketball team were too big for South Korea to handle.

Fowles scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the U.S. to a 104-60 rout of South Korea on Tuesday night and advance to the semifinals of women's basketball.

"I just wanted to come out and make a statement that I'm back and let my teammates know," Fowles said. "I haven't played well since the first two games and I've been down on myself not contributing as much as I'd like."

It's the sixth straight Olympics that the Americans have advanced to the medal round. The only time they didn't qualify for the semis in the history of women's basketball was in 1980 and that's because the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Games.

The Americans will face Russia and San Antonio's Becky Hammon in the semifinals Thursday night. China plays Australia and Lauren Jackson in the other semifinal.

The U.S. has now won 31 straight games since losing to the Unified team in the semifinals of the 1992 Olympics. The Americans were 5-0 in their pool, winning by an average of 43 points. The only trouble they had during group play was in the first 3 minutes against the Czech Republic when they trailed 13-2 before going on to win by 40 points and when they led Spain by five at the half Friday before coasting to a 38-point victory.

On Tuesday, South Korea held tough for the first quarter behind hot shooting. They were 9-for-16 (59 percent) from the field in the period and only were down 25-21 at the end of the period.

The 6-foot-5 Fowles and the U.S. then took over dominating the paint. She was a force on both ends of the floor, giving the Americans second and third attempts with offensive rebounds. On the defensive end she was altering or blocking shots.

"She was dominant tonight," said Kara Lawson, who added 11 points for the U.S. "It's hard to remember that she missed six weeks with that knee injury."

The Americans went on a 18-4 run to start the period as Fowles had four points, five rebounds and a block during the spurt. The U.S. outscored South Korea 26-9 in the period and led by 21 at the half.

Any thoughts of a South Korean comeback were quickly dashed when the Americans opened the third quarter with a 15-4 run. The lead ballooned to 41 behind Fowles, who scored nine of her points in the period. About the only thing that upset Fowles was that she had a chance on the break

She finished the game 12-for-17 from the field and had eight offensive rebounds.

The average height of the South Korea team was 5-foot-10 and the U.S. outrebounded the fourth seed from Group A 50-24 and outscored them 66-28 in the paint.

"That was our goal to go inside and get them in early foul trouble," said 6-foot-4 Candace Parker, who added eight points. "They couldn't match up with our size."

Diana Taurasi added 12 points and Cappie Pondexter had 11.

Kim Kwer-yong scored 14 points and Beon Yung-ha and Jung Sun-min each had 13 points to lead South Korea.

South Korea guard Choi Youn-ah was taken to a local hospital after the loss. She injured her back while going for a loose ball during the game. South Korean coach Jung Duk-haw didn't know the extent of the injury.

Tatiana Shchegoleva scored 19 points as Russia beat Spain 84-65 Tuesday in the Olympic women's basketball quarterfinals to advance against the United States, which beat them prior to the Olympics in the friendly Diamond Tournament in China.

The Unified Team, made up of the former republics of the Soviet Union, won the Olympic gold medal in 1992. Spain was shooting for it first semifinal appearance.

Spain went ahead 28-10 early in the second quarter. But Russia ran off a 20-6 spurt to get back into the game with Spain leading at halftime 40-32 on two late free throws by Anna Montanana.

Russia fought back and led 56-55 after three quarters, helped by eight points in the quarter by U.S.-born Becky Hammon, a naturalized Russian citizen. Hammon finished with 17.

Russia kept pushing to a 63-55 lead early in the final quarter and was never challenged.

Amaya Valdemoro led Spain with 16.

(Guru's Note: And now back to China news. A rare early-morning Guru wakeup allows a remote post off the AP report of the first two quarterfinals games. USA game to come. Delle Donne news in previous post for those of you who hadn't visited.)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING _ Lauren Jackson had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Australia rout the Czech Republic 79-46 Tuesday and advance to the Olympic women's basketball semifinals.

Australia will face China on Thursday night. Miao Lijie scored 28 points to help China beat Belarus 77-62 in another quarterfinal.

It's the fourth straight Olympics that Australia has made the semifinals.

The Aussies suffered a scare in the third quarter when co-captain Penny Taylor sprained her right ankle. She got hurt driving to the basket when she stepped on a Czech player's foot.

"With ankle injuries like that the next 24 hours will be huge," Australia coach Jan Stirling said. "If she's not ready to go, it's part of sport. Someone else will have to step up."

Taylor was helped to the sideline and was grimacing in pain with her head in her hands. Taylor, who finished with eight points, was icing it for the rest of the game at the end of the bench.

"Penny's a huge part of our team and we've got to hope for the best for her," Jackson said. "I don't know what we can do without her so hopefully she'll be okay."

The semifinal matchup should be an intriguing one as China is led by Tom Maher, who was the Australian national coach from 1993-2000, giving Jackson and Taylor their start.

"I have a lot of friends on the Australian team," Maher said. "They are playing us and I don't care about them at all, I just want to beat them."

Maher left Australia after the Sydney Olympics to coach in the WNBA before coaching New Zealand in the 2004 games. He was plucked from the Kiwis by China after New Zealand beat them in the Athens Games.

Maher has China back in the semifinals for the first time since the 1992 Olympics when the host nation won a silver medal.

"I'm delighted for China basketball," Maher said. "It's great to see China back near the top of the basketball tree."

Australia has been one of the top women's teams since 1996 when they won the bronze medal. On Tuesday, they led by three midway through the first quarter when Jackson scored seven points during a 13-3 Australia run to close the period.

The Aussies continued the onslaught in the second quarter, holding the Czechs to a meager two points over the first 8:50 of the period. By the time Marketa Mokrosova hit a 3-pointer from the corner to end the drought, Australia led 36-15.

Taylor's jumper at the buzzer gave Australia a 38-17 lead at the break. The Czech Republic shot a miserable 7-for-36 (19 percent) from the field in the half. It would have been worse had they not hit two of their final three shots.

Hana Machova scored eight points to lead the Czechs, who could get no closer in the second half as Australia's lead ballooned to 41 points. The Czech's finished fourth in Group B.

Belinda Snell added 15 points and nine rebounds for Australia, which won Group A.

(Guru's Note: And now back to AP Olympic coverage. Delle Donne coverage in previous post with more to come.)

By DOUG FEINBERG

BEIJING — Another game, another rout.

Tina Thompson scored 10 points during a 21-0 run in the second quarter and the U.S. women's basketball team beat New Zealand 96-60 on Sunday night.

The U.S. closed out pool play in the same fashion as all its other games in the Olympics — with a blowout. The Americans won the five games by an average of 43 points. With the exception of a rough first half against Spain and the first 3 minutes against the Czech Republic, the U.S. looked unbeatable.

"You got to take care of this to move on," said U.S. co-captain Katie Smith, who added 13 points. "You can't look at this game and think we played well and we're going to move on. It's about what we do in two days."

The U.S. will play South Korea in the quarterfinals Tuesday night. The South Koreans advanced to the next round by holding off Latvia 72-68 on Sunday.

"We don't know much about them yet," Smith added. "They hit a lot of 3s and love to drive and kickout for the open shot."

New Zealand was able to stay close with the U.S. for a quarter behind hot shooting. They were 8-for-16 in the first quarter and only trailed by five at the end of the period.

The U.S. took over in the second quarter turning up their defensive intensity. Lisa Wallbutton's jumper with 7:29 left in the period cut New Zealand's deficit to 29-22 before the Americans scored 21 straight points.

Lisa Leslie started the run with a layup and then Thompson hit three layups and two jumpers over the next 5 minutes as the U.S. stretched out its lead. DeLisha Milton-Jones' reverse layup ended the run with 18 seconds left in the half and put the Americans up 50-22.

"I just happen to be in the right place at the right time," said Thompson, who finished with 15 points. "I actually thought that I missed a lot of shots early that I usually hit."

New Zealand (1-4) finally scored on Jillian Harmon's jumper from the corner just at the halftime buzzer. The Kiwis missed eight straight shots and had three turnovers during the drought.

It was a pretty exciting opportunity," said Harmon, who will be a senior at Stanford this fall. "I think most of us grew up watching these girls. I think I was 10-years-old when Lisa Leslie played in her first Olympics. It was a good experience. I think we played pretty well, all things considered."

The U.S. extended its lead in the third quarter to 38 in the third quarter behind Smith, who had eight of her 13 points in the period. New Zealand got no closer than 31 the rest of the game.

Seimone Augustus added 12 points and Tamika Catchings had 11 for the U.S.

Angela Marino led New Zealand with 17 points and Wallbutton added 14.

"We're here to learn what the Olympics is about," New Zealand coach Mike McHugh said. "This is a 2012 team, maybe a 2016 team."

In other games Sunday, Australia defeated Russia 75-55, China beat the Czech Republic 79-63, Spain routed Mali 79-47, and Brazil topped Belarus 68-53.

(Guru's Note: Latest AP coverage. We'll update from office later today (Friday) ).

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING _ After three straight blowouts, it took a half for the U.S. women's basketball team to get going and beat Spain.

Tina Thompson scored nine of her 17 points during the decisive third quarter run and Lisa Leslie added 14 points and 11 rebounds to help the U.S. top Spain 93-55 on Friday night.

"Spain came out and played really hard. You have to give them credit," Thompson said. "It was a matter that our defense controls so much of what our offense does."

The Americans had won their first three games by an average of 47 points, putting the game away by the half in all the victories. On Friday night, the Americans led by just five at halftime, 39-34, and for the game they turned the ball over a tournament-high 19 times.

"Spain's a good team, they came out really well in the first half," said Diana Taurasi, who had 12 points for the U.S. "In the second half we came out defensively and took care of what we had to."

After a sloppy first half that saw the U.S. have 11 turnovers, the Americans opened the third quarter with a 20-5 run to take control of the game. The U.S. scored the first nine points of the period, including three by Thompson from the foul line when she was fouled hard by Ana Montanana, who was called for a technical foul — the first of the entire Olympics.

"I don't even remember what happened," Thompson said. "Stuff like that happens during a game when both teams are playing physical. You just step up hit your free throws and move on."

Tamika Catchings' putback with 2:53 left in the period gave the U.S. a 59-39 advantage. Spain closed within 16 to start the fourth quarter before the Americans went on a 13-0 run to put the game away.

Candace Parker added 13 points and Diana Taurasi had 12 for the U.S. (4-0). The Americans will close out pool play on Sunday against New Zealand.

Amaya Valdemoro led Spain (2-2) with 17 points.

The U.S. got a brief scare when Leslie left early in the period with a slight hip injury. She was stretched on the sidelines by team trainer Ed Ryan before returning later in the period.

"My hip kind of jammed on me," Leslie said. "I had to get a little treatment on the side, but once it got warm I was okay."

With the win, the U.S. has 29 straight victories in Olympic contests. The last loss was to the Unified team in the 1992 semifinals.

The game looked to be another blowout at the start with the Americans jumping out to a 19-4 lead in the first quarter as they held Spain scoreless for nearly 7:30 minutes. However, Spain wouldn't go away, closing the period with a 13-3 spurt of its own, hitting four 3-pointers. Montanana's 3-pointer at the buzzer closed the gap to 22-17.

"For us this was a good game. It's what we wanted to have," U.S. coach Anne Donovan said. "It was great when Spain made their run and at the end of the first half, we're sitting there with a five-point lead, to see how we're going to respond in that situation.

"The experience we have, along with the young talent we have, was a good combination in the second half."

Spain will finish its pool play on Sunday against Mali.

In other games Friday, Australia topped Latvia 96-73, Russia edged Brazil 74-64, the Czech Republic beat New Zealand 90-59, and China routed Mali 69-48.

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA - USA Basketball President Val Ackerman has earned her own “gold medal” ahead of a projected dual triumph of the USA men’s and women’s teams she is currently overseeing at the Olympics in Beijing, China.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in is set to announce Ackerman on Friday as this year’s winner of the John Bunn Award that goes to a national or international figure who has contributed greatly to the sport, several sources said Thursday.

The board of trustees considers the award named for the first chairman of the Hall of Fame (1949-69) as the most prestigious honor outside of the actual inductions.

Ackerman, 48, was the founding president of the WNBA and served eight seasons before Donna Orender succeeded her on Feb. 1, 2005.

A former academic all-American women’s basketball star at Virginia, Ackerman also served as a staff attorney for the NBA and special assistant to NBA commissioner David Stern.

“Val Ackerman is a pioneer,” Stern said Thursday reacting to the impending official announcement. “She is all about basketball.

“Think about it. She was in the NBA, she was on the FIBA Central Board. She was the president of the WNBA and now she’s the first female president of USA Basketball. Nobody has done more for the sport.”

A graduate of Hopewell Valley Central High in Hopewell Township, N.J., near Trenton, Ackerman was also Virginia coach Debbie Ryan’s first athletic scholarship recipient in the late 1970s.

She was a key force in the formation of the USA Basketball Senior National Women’s Team’s year-long training and tour in 1995-1996 that led up to a gold medal at the Atlanta Games with a 60-0 record. The acclaim over the team also set the stage for pro women’s basketball in the U.S. and the current 12-year run of the WNBA.

“She is a true champion who has made an indelible mark in the world of sports and we applaud her for all her efforts,” Orender said Thursday on hearing the news of her predecessor. “Her unwavering commitment, passion and dedication to the development of women’s basketball has been a source of inspiration to millions of women and young girls all around the world.”

Ackerman is the fourth woman to receive the Bunn Award since its inception in 1973 when the initial honor went to Bunn himself. Hall of Fame Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was named in 1990, while Zelda Spoelstra, head of the NBA alumni association, received the award in 2004. Betty Jaynes, former head of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Assocation, was named in 2006.

The award will be given to Ackerman on Thursday, Sept. 4, in Springfield, Mass., at a banquet that will kick off induction activities for this year.

Former Immaculata coach Cathy Rush is one of six of the newest inductees, joined by longtime broadcaster Dick Vitale, former NBA stars Patrick Ewing, Hakeen Olajuwon, and Adrian Dantley; Miami Heat president and former coach Pat Riley, along with William Davidson, owner of the NBA Detroit Pistons and WNBA Detroit Shock.

Ackerman lives in New York with her husband Charlie and her two daughters Sally and Emily.

Last week, Ackerman was seen last week on national TV at the Olympics chatting with President Bush in the stands during the USA Basketball women’s opening win.

Her efforts behind the creation of the WNBA brought a slew of honors during her eight-year term and in the years since she stepped down. All that remains is for the U.S. to rack up another gold medal on the women’s side and reclaim one on the men’s side.

Right now both goals are on target.

-- Mel

By Doug Feinberg
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING -- Lisa Leslie set a U.S. Olympic record going 7-for-7 from the field as the women's team continued its unblemished run through the Beijing Games with a 97-41 victory against Mali.

Leslie finished with 16 points as the U.S. won its 28th straight Olympic contest; the last loss was against the Unified Team in the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games. The Americans have run over their first three opponents winning by an average of 47 points. They routed the Czech Republic, China, and now Mali.

Katie Smith (2000) and Nikki McCray (1996) held the record for highest field goal percentage, each going 6-for-6 from the field. The U.S. plays Spain next on Friday.

Mali was missing it's top player Hamchetou Maiga-Ba of the Houston Comets, who injured her ankle in a loss to the Czech Republic on Monday. Even with Maiga-Ba, the winless Mali team would have been hard-pressed to be competitive against the U.S.

However, for a brief two-minute stretch in the first quarter Mali gave its fans something to cheer about. Trailing 7-0, Mali rattled off eight straight points, hitting two deep 3-pointers. Aminata Sininta's 3 with 5:34 left in the period gave Mali an 8-7 lead and forced U.S. coach Anne Donovan to call a timeout.

The numerous Mali fans in attendance started snapping pictures of the overhead scoreboard and cheering their team's lead.

It didn't last long as the Americans responded with a 17-4 run to close the quarter as seven different players scored. The U.S. (3-0) continued the spurt scoring the first eight points of the second quarter to build the advantage to 32-12 and led 51-28 at the half. It was only that close as Mali hit five 3-pointers, including three by Sininta.

The U.S. outscored Mali 25-5 in the third quarter and the only suspense left was whether Candace Parker, Leslie, or Sylvia Fowles would become the first woman to dunk in Olympic competition. The trio have all dunked in either college or the WNBA and Fowles was throwing down slams in pregame warmups to the delight of the crowd.

Sininta led Mali (0-3) with 13 points.

Seimone Augustus added 12 points for the U.S., which had five players score in double figures. Tina Thompson, Parker, and Cappie Pondexter each had 10.

In other games Wednesday, Spain beat the Czech Republic 74-55, Russia topped Belarus 71-65, Latvia edged Brazil 79-78, China beat New Zealand 80-63, and Australia routed South Korea 90-62.

(Guru's note. Live from a quick visit to Annapolis -- not the story, but the Guru, who gives you what he was able to find so far from Wednesday's action. Will update later.)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING _ Anete Jekabsone-Zogota scored 25 points, including a lay-up with 2.7 seconds left that lifted Latvia to a thrilling 79-78 victory over Brazil on Wednesday.

Trailing by one, Jekabsone-Zogota caught the inbounds pass and drove to the basket for the lay-in. Brazil had one last chance but Adriana Pinto's foul-line runner bounced off the rim. The win was Latvia's first of the Olympics and left Brazil winless.

"It was a life-or-death game for us that was entertaining, but I'd have preferred the win," Brazil coach Paulo Campos said. "I have mixed emotions but am proud of this group."

Brazil had taken a 78-77 lead with 7.5 seconds left on Zane Eglite's 3-pointer in the back-and-forth game.

Latvia (1-2) was trailing by one with 2 minutes left when Jekabsone-Zogota hit a deep 3-pointer just beating the shot clock to give her team a 72-70 advantage. Gunta Basko added two free throws to extend the lead to four before Kelly Santos' three-point play with 1:24 left cut Brazil's deficit to 74-73.

Pinto gave Brazil back the lead with a jumper before Ieva Kublina's 3-pointer with 20 seconds left gave Latvia a 77-75 cushion.

Eglite found herself open in the corner for her 3 setting up the final play.

"Absolutely I knew the play was going to go through her," Latvia coach Ainars Zvirgzdins said. "I gave her the task and I'm glad she did it."

With the loss Brazil fell to 0-3 and will have a tough road ahead to make the quarterfinals. They will play undefeated Russia on Friday before finishing off the pool play Sunday against Belarus. The top four teams in each pool advance to the next round.

"We look ahead to two great games against Russia and Belarus and it's going to be difficult to advance, but we'll try and do our part," Campos said.

In other games Wednesday, the U.S. continued its unblemished run through the Beijing Games with a 97-41 victory against Mali.

The U.S. has now won 28 straight Olympic contests with the last loss coming in the semifinals of the 1992 games. In Beijing, the Americans ran over their first three opponents winning by an average of 47 points.

Russia held off Belarus 71-65, China routed New Zealand 80-63, and Spain beat the Czech Republic 74-55.

Maria Stepanova had 13 points and nine rebounds for Russia (3-0). Natalia Marchanka scored 16 points to lead Belarus (1-2). She hit four 3-pointers, including banking in one from just inside halfcourt to end the first quarter.

Chen Nan scored 18 of her 26 points in the first half as China (2-1) built a 17-point lead and cruised to the victory over New Zealand. She also grabbed 17 rebounds and had three blocks. Jillian Harmon and Angela Marino each scored 14 points to lead New Zealand (1-2).

Anna Montanana scored eight of her game-high 20 points in third quarter as Spain (2-1) outscored the Czech Republic 30-11 in the period to turn a one-point halftime lead into a rout. Montanana was 9-for-12 from the field. Eva Viteckova led the Czech Republic (1-2) with 12 points.

(Guru's note: Here are some other accounts from elsewhere in the Inquirer wire service system from the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and Washington Post of the USA win over China.)

WITH SPORTSMANSHIP IN MIND, U.S. WOMEN ARE EASY WINNERS

BEIJING — The fans here have been unfailingly polite to the U.S.
basketball teams, going so far as to cheer for them nearly as
ardently as they do their own team.

But as the U.S. women’s basketball team throttled the Chinese,
108-63, on Monday night at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, an
age-old question of international Olympic relations arose.

Leading by 33-11 at the end of the first quarter and by 61-27 at
halftime, the Americans had to confront the conundrum of how to
manage the blowout and keep with the Olympic spirit. Clearly, the
worst player on the American roster would be the best player on
China’s team.

Compounding the difficulty for the Americans was the fact that
arguably their two most talented players, Candace Parker and Sylvia
Fowles, come off the bench.

“It’s a good problem to have,” guard Diana Taurasi said.

Tina Thompson led all scorers with 27 points and Fowles continued
her eye-opening international play with 18 points and eight rebounds.

“They were just way too good for us,” Chinese coach Tom Maher
said. “We’re playing someone who has us outmatched, you can’t analyze
it statistically.”

To the credit of the Chinese crowd, they roared with approval,
gasped and waved flags at every basket. They chanted “China”
throughout the second half, even as the baskets the Chinese scored
were increasingly irrelevant.

“They went on a 7-0 run and I looked up and it was 37,” Taurasi
said of the U.S. lead, laughing because the reaction of the crowd
made the advantage feel smaller.

The United States did not press after halftime. But when your
bench players are still among the best in the world, there is really
no easy way to take pity on an overmatched opponent.

It is a problem that the U.S. women are going to face again this
week. They next play Mali, which is considered the weakest team in
the tournament, on Wednesday. After that is a game with Spain, which
lost to China in its opening game. That is followed by New Zealand,
which is one of the weaker teams.

“We’re not showing everything, so that does concern me a little
bit,” U.S. coach Anne Donovan said. “At the same time, we’ve been
tested for two years.”

The teams that the United States has to be most concerned with,
Australia and Russia, will not appear until the medal round. The
trick will be to stay sharp for those games while playing teams with
inferior talent. Donovan said managing the game could be difficult;
she looked at the statistic sheet after the third quarter and saw
that the star center Lisa Leslie had played just 11 minutes.

“I don’t fear these players losing their hunger and their focus
with the lopsided wins,” Donovan said. “In the past, we’ve been
concerned about that as a staff. In 2004, we were very concerned
about that.”

U.S. Women Demolish China in Basketball

BEIJING — Team USA’s Tina Thompson had taken a behind-the-back
drop pass from teammate Tameka Catchings and had leaped toward the
basket. But Chinese guard Bian Lan ran into Thompson and sent her
crashing into the padded protective barrier in front of several
photographers.

But on this day not even a collision like that could stop
Thompson. She released the ball on contact, and it hit the backboard,
then bounced once, twice on the rim, before falling through, Thompson
slapping the barrier in celebration. In a 108-63 demolition of China
at Wukesong Indoor Stadium on Monday, Thompson made shots from
everywhere on the court to finish with 27 points.

“When somebody is on, the thing you’ve got to do is get them the
ball,” Catchings said. “I don’t remember her missing, except maybe
once or twice.”

Thompson, the Houston Comets star, made her first six shots from
the field and finished 8-for-9 in the first half with 21 points. She
appeared capable of breaking the U.S. Olympic scoring record owned by
her former high school and college teammate Lisa Leslie, who scored
35 points against Japan in 1996.

“She could’ve easily” broken the record, Leslie said afterward.
“She’s so unselfish. I think she got a little gun-shy. We were like,
‘Tina shoot it!’ She was hot, hot, hot.”

Thompson took just five more shots in the second half, stopping
for good after she airballed a short-range jump shot in the fourth
quarter. She still finished with the fourth-highest scoring total for
a U.S. woman in the Olympics — the most since Sheryl Swoopes scored
29 in 2000.

It was another accolade for Thompson, whose resume includes being
the first woman drafted in the WNBA in 1997, four WNBA championships
and a 2004 Olympic gold medal. “If you picked the best five players
in the world, she’s one of them,” said China Coach Tom Maher, who
spent the 2001 season with the Washington Mystics

But despite her heavily decorated career, Thompson is often
unappreciated. “It’s funny. Even in Houston, when they were so
successful, all you heard was (Cynthia) Cooper and Swoopes. They did
their thing, but Tina was the one that always stood out to me,” said
guard Diana Taurasi. “Even in 2004 (at the Athens Olympics) she was
the one that always stepped up and hit big shots. She is our go-to in
a lot of ways.”

Thompson is always identifiable by her bright maroon lipstick,
which has almost become part of her uniform, but she has never been
one to seek the spotlight.

“Recognition is not what I play for. I play this game, definitely
to win,” Thompson said. “I enjoy playing this game and I enjoy
playing at the level that I’m playing at and hopefully, I’ve been a
role model enough to affect one little girl. If that’s possible, for
me, my job is done.”

Thompson, a single mother, brought her 3-year-old son, Dyllan,
with her to Beijing to share in this experience. But she joked that
since the women’s team is staying in the same hotel as the U.S. men,
Dyllan has been wrapped up in superstars LeBron James and Chris Paul.

“He’s seen us for a long time. He might be a little over us,”
Thompson said with a laugh. “It’s on to the new faces.”

James, Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd were all
in attendance as Thompson scored 13 points during a 23-0
first-quarter run that turned an 11-10 deficit against China into a
33-11 lead.

“That was four-peat Tina. That’s the old Tina Thompson that I’ve
gotten to know,” said Taurasi, who is Thompson’s teammate on the
Russian EuroLeague team, Spartak Moscow, in the winter. “There is
nobody that I want to go into a game with more than Tina. She’s a
winner.”

Thomas was asked where she would rank the highest-scoring game of
her Olympic career. “I don’t know if I can rank this moment, this
particular game, but being here in general, it ranks pretty high,”
Thompson said. “It’s the second time for me being a part of the
Olympic games. Considering the caliber of player that we have in our
country, it’s not easy to be on this team. Right now, it’s probably
in about second place. But around the 23rd (the night of the gold
medal game), it might move up, depending on the outcome.”

U.S. women use 23-0 run to rout China

By K.C. Johnson
Chicago Tribune

BEIJING—The Chinese national anthem was sung with as much pride
and fervor, the opening basket cheered with similar gusto.

And while Nan Chen’s two-pointer perhaps lacked the dramatic
impact of Yao Ming’s three-pointer from 24 hours earlier, an electric
atmosphere again pervaded Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Monday
night for the second straight night of U.S. versus China.

Then the game started.

Just like their male counterparts, the U.S. women’s Olympic
basketball team watched China hang in the early stages before
delivering a quick and decisive knockout blow en route to a 108-63
blowout victory.

Team USA closed the first quarter with an astonishing 23-0
run that eventually stretched to the rarely-seen 35-3 run, with Tina
Thompson inflicting the most damage.

Scoring on everything from power moves inside to feathery
soft three-pointers, Thompson had 13 of Team USA’s 23 points in the
first-quarter run that quieted the crowd.

Thompson finished with a game-high 27 points as Team USA
followed up its blowout over Czech Republic with an even more
impressive outing.

"Tina was on fire," guard Sue Bird said. "When you’re on a
run like that, you just have to milk it, enjoy it. We were able to
get a lot of stops and from those stops, we were able to score. That
got us going offensively."

Forward Sylvia Fowles added 18 points, and Candace Parker
contributed 12 as Team USA piled up a staggering 72 points in the
paint.

How dominant was this performance? Lisa Leslie had played
just 11 minutes through three quarters before coach Anne Donovan gave
her six fourth-quarter minutes for some exercise.

"We knew the crowd was going to be in it, so it was good to
start better than we did against Czech Republic," Donovan said. "We
set the tempo right away."

Next up for Team USA, besides a lecture from Donovan on
overconfidence?

Mali on Wednesday, who should prove to be yet another speed
bump on this team’s quest for its fourth straight gold medal.

(Guru's Note: Here's Doug's Account From AP)

By DOUG FEINBERG

AP Sports Writer

BEIJING — The U.S. women's basketball team quickly dashed any hopes China had of an upset, avenging a loss in April with the second American drubbing of the Chinese in as many nights.

Tina Thompson scored 13 of her 27 points during a 23-0 run in the first quarter and the U.S. routed China 108-63 on Monday night, taking the boisterous crowd out of the game early.

"We were really locked in and focused," U.S. co-captain Katie Smith said. "We didn't want to let them stick around. We wanted to let the crowd know that we were ready to play. You don't want to play around with teams, if you have a chance to make a statement and put them away early you do that."

Trailing by one midway through the first quarter, Thompson took over. She made two 3-pointers, a jumper from the corner, two layups, and three free throws during the spurt.

"I just got good looks at the basket tonight," Thompson said. "It was the first time they weren't doubling the post."

By the time Kobe Bryant and the rest of the men's team settled into their seats at the end of the first quarter the U.S. was up 33-11.

The American men beat China 101-70 Sunday night.

After the scoring run, the women never looked back.

Bian Lan finally ended China's 6½ minute scoreless drought early in the second quarter with a jumper that rattled around the rim before dropping in. China missed 12 straight shots and turned the ball over three times during its drought.

The U.S. (2-0) didn't stop at its 22-point lead, extending its advantage to 61-27 at the half. The Americans cruised the rest of the way. Thompson finished the half with 21 points, going 8-for-9 from the field. Her only miss was a 3-pointer.

"It was one of those nights," Thompson said. "Anyone on this team could do it any given night."

She fell short of Lisa Leslie's Olympic record of 35 points set against Japan in 1996.

Miao Lijie scored 16 points to lead China (1-1), which suffered its worst loss to the U.S. in Olympic history, surpassing a 100-62 defeat in 2004.

"I don't feel the defeat today brings too much pressure," said Chen Nan, who added 14 points for China. "The score is not that important."

Sylvia Fowles added 18 points, Candace Parker 12, and Leslie had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the U.S.

The women's team took in the electric atmosphere the night before during the men's victory against China. They were determined to take the crowd out of the game early. The Americans got off to a much better start than their first game, when they found themselves trailing 13-2 to the Czech Republic before turning the game into a rout.

"Watching the game from the stands last night really motivated us," said DeLisha Milton-Jones. "Seeing LeBron (James) block a shot with two hands off the backboard and just the way they were playing defense got us ready. Everyone came into this game knowing the crowd could be a factor."

The U.S. seemed focused to play the host country after losing to them in the gold medal game of the Good Luck Beijing tournament in April. However, that U.S. team only had four players from the current Olympic team on it.

China figured to be the toughest test for the Americans in their pool. Up next will be a matchup with Mali (0-2), which lost Hamchetou Maiga of the Houston Comets to an ankle injury in the third quarter of a 81-47 loss to the Czechs.

In other games Monday, Russia edged South Korea 77-72; Belarus topped Latvia 79-57; and Spain defeated New Zealand 85-62.

In Russia's win over South Korea, Tatiana Shchegoleva and Ilona Korstin each scored 13 points.

Trailing 72-70, Shchegoleva made a free throw and put back a miss to give Russia a one-point edge with 1:23 left. After Kim Yeon-gok missed two free throws, Becky Hammon converted two from the foul line to give Russia a 75-72 lead.

Jung Sun-min drove to the basket on South Korea's next possession, but Irina Osipova blocked the shot. Korstin hit two free throws to seal the victory.

Osipova added 11 points and Becky Hammon had 10 for Russia (2-0).

"I thought it was a very good game and I'm glad we were able to pull out the win," Hammon said. "All their shooters have NBA range, we had to make sure we got out on them."

Choi You-nah led South Korea (1-1) with 13, including a 10-meter (35 foot) shot at the end of the third quarter that gave them a 59-58 lead heading into the final quarter. Beon Yeon-ha added 12, hitting four 3-pointers.

Yelena Leuchanka scored 22 points to help Belarus defeat Latvia. Belarus (1-1) built a 17-point lead in the third quarter before Latvia rallied to cut the deficit to eight early in the fourth. Leuchanka then scored seven points during a 20-5 run to close the game. Gunta Basko scored 19 points to lead Latvia (0-2).

Isabel Sanchez scored 19 points and Anna Montanana added 18 for Spain (1-1), which jumped out to an 11-point first quarter lead and never let up. Trailing by 13 heading into the fourth quarter, New Zealand (1-1) rallied to cut the deficit to six behind Jillian Harmon, who had a game-high 22 points, before Spain pulled away.

The Czech Republic (1-1) scored the first 12 points of the game and never looked back in beating Mali (0-2). Hana Machova scored 14 points to lead the Czech's, who led by 16 at the half and saw the advantage balloon to 40 in the second half. Djenebou Sissoko had 24 points to lead Mali, which got a scare when star Hamchetou Maiga of the Houston Comets sprained her ankle in the third quarter. She scored six points and didn't return. Mali coach Jose Ruiz said the injury wasn't serious.

(Guru's note: Again using the luxury of working the desk and having access to The Inquirer's sports wire database, here's a Chicago Tribune advance of the USA-China game)
By K.C. Johnson
Chicago Tribune

BEIJING—As members of the men’s team did for them the previous
night, players from the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team stopped
by to cheer on their counterparts Sunday night.

But the women weren’t merely repaying a favor. They were
surveying the scene.

Twenty-four hours after the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium
turned into a madhouse while the U.S. men beat China 101-70, the U.S.
women face the same opponent in what likely will be an equally
raucous setting.

To say they were looking forward to the atmosphere is like
saying four-time Olympian Lisa Leslie is a veteran.

"This place is going to be packed," guard Diana Taurasi said.
"The crowd is going to be off the chain."

For the U.S. women’s team quest for a fourth straight
gold-medal to stay on track, it must subdue a Chinese team that
defeated Spain in its first game. It must also bring its track shoes.

"China is very quick and athletic, loves to get up and down
and loves to penetrate and kick," forward Tamika Catchings said.
"That’s their game. They’re able to hit a lot of threes off
penetration and kicking the ball. So for us, it’s going to be really
important to continue to apply pressure and contain them and keep
them in front of us."

Team USA is coming off a 40-point victory over Czech Republic
in its opening game in which it scored 97 points. Fast-paced games
don’t faze them and triple-digit scoreboard possibilities entice
Taurasi.

"China gets after it, but that’s what I’m conditioned to do,
get up and down," she said. "If anything, that’s when I think we’re
at our peak. If you think about it, in the starting five, we have
three point guards with Sue (Bird), Katie (Smith) and I. We just get
it and go and when we get up and down, we can utilize how versatile
everyone is."

Coach Anne Donovan said the new Chinese coach, Australian Tom
Maher, has changed the style of the host country’s program. Beyond
the emphasis on fast-break opportunities, the Chinese also work to
switch aggressively on virtually every ball screen.

A high-scoring game could whip the home country’s passionate
fans into a frenzy. The Americans insists this won’t faze their
focus.

"We already know coming in that everybody is going to root
against us," guard Cappie Pondexter, a former Rutgers star, said. "That’s alright. We just
have to focus in on us and not worry about anything that’s going on
on the outside."

(Guru's note: Besides Doug Feinberg's ongoing coverage of the USA women's team in China for the Associated Press, here are two other stories from other media organzations flowing into the Inquirer data base -- Mechelle Voepel's coverage for her home paper the Kansas City Star, and a column from the Fort Worth paper).

By Mechelle Voepel
McClatchy Newspapers

BEIJING — Fabulous as the Olympic opening ceremonies were for
spectators Friday, they really weren’t as much of a blast for the
athletes.

"As an athlete, you really don’t get to see much of it," U.S.
women’s basketball player Diana Taurasi said. "They have you in a holding
arena where you just sit there with 300 other countries and hang out.
Obviously the best part is walking into the stadium. That’s the biggest
rush.

"(But) they’re l-o-n-g. It’s a long process. "I think we left the
hotel at 5:30 and didn’t get back until 1:30 in the morning. It kind of
throws your schedule off."

Indeed, the U.S. women looked a little sluggish at the beginning
of their Olympic opener against the Czech Republic, but that didn’t last
long. They ended up with a 97-57 victory in which they shot 52.1 percent
from the field and everybody scored.

"Everybody" is a key word for this group, because of how they plan
to play defense. You could call it "Tennessee" style because three Team
USA members — Tamika Catchings, Kara Lawson and Candace Parker — competed
for Pat Summitt’s program, which has won eight NCAA titles and is built on
defense.

"The press we ran at Tennessee – the 1-2-1-1 — we run that here,
too," Lawson said. "Candace is used to being on the top of that, and Catch
is used to being in the interceptor role. Our man-to-man full-court
pressure is also very similar.

"In the first quarter, when there was that lull, Candace was huge
in shadowing the ball, getting steals and helping us pick up the tempo.
Catch was the same way."

The Americans, who are going for their fourth consecutive gold
medal, trailed 13-2 early on. But a 20-4 run that closed the first quarter
put them in control.

"Sometimes in games, you have to ease your way it ... but 13-2 is
not easing your way in," said Diana Taurasi, who finished with a team-high
17 points. "It’s a good feeling we know we can call time out and regain
our poise.

"I think our greatest strength right now is we’re 12 deep and can
bring in players to bring you more energy. Kara and Catch, especially, did
that the minute they stepped on the floor."

President George W. Bush, wife Laura and daughter Barbara all
attended the game, as did the members of the U.S. men’s basketball team.
They are wildly popular with the Chinese fans, who scrambled to get their
pictures as they sat in the stands. The president, meanwhile, spent time
chatting with former WNBA president Val Ackerman while watching a matchup
that was close only for a little while.

Sylvia Fowles and Cappie Pondexter, playing in their first
Olympics, had 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the Americans. Team USA
held the Czech Republic to 36.4 percent from the field.

"We’re picking up (on defense) so much more than we have in the
past," U.S. coach Anne Donovan said. "And players know it’s 3-4-5 hard
minutes, and then you’re out. If you’re not doing that, you don’t get back
in the rotation.

"This is a deep team; you’ve got to stay in that rotation or
you’ll get buried. In 10 days together, I couldn’t ask for one thing more
from this group than how hard they’ve worked at that end of the floor.
Forcing 27 turnovers is exactly what we’ve been trying to accomplish."

By Charean Williams
McClatchy Newspapers

BEIJING — The Dream Teamers were there — J Kidd, King James, Kobe and
the others. So, too, was President Bush. The Beijing Dream Dancers
provided the halftime entertainment.

But the stars were Diana Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter
and the rest of the Dream Queen Team.

They (still) are as good as it gets in the Olympics.

Despite a slow start Saturday night, the U.S. women’s basketball
team plastered the Czech Republic, 97-57. It wasn’t that close, even
though the Americans fell behind 8-0 and 13-2.

"Not every game is going to be like that," said Fowles, who scored
16 points. ". . . We have to take every game as we go, and we can’t take
anybody lightly, because everybody has something to prove against the
USA."

The Americans will tell you the rest of world has closed the gap
on them. They say anybody can beat them on any given game day. After their
40-point victory, it was hard not to laugh and call them Lou Holtz.

Sure, Russia and Australia are capable of beating the United
States but only on a very bad day by the Americans.

The Australians won the FIBA World Championship in 2006 and have
the best player in the world in Lauren Jackson. The Russians beat the
United States, 75-68, in the 2006 world championship semifinals and have
the traitor, U.S. citizen Becky Hammon.

But the United States didn’t have its best post players, including
starting center and team captain Lisa Leslie, against Russia two years ago
in the world championship. And, only a few days ago, the Americans beat
Australia, 71-67.

The gold medal is the Americans’ to lose.

"We’re always expected to win gold," Leslie said. "Anything less
is failing. It’s a lot of pressure to do it, but it’s what we have to do."

The Dream Team sitting in the stands got more applause, more
stares, more chants, more pictures taken of them and needed more security
than their women counterparts. That was nothing new.

But what they saw on the court might not have looked all that
familiar.

For one thing, on one basket, the U.S. women had eight passes
before Fowles scored. For another, Tina Thompson returned from halftime
with freshly applied lipstick.

Then, there was the victory.

The 2004 men’s team was the bronze bust, losing three times on
their way to third place.

The U.S. women have won three consecutive Olympic medals. They
entered the 2008 Games with a 39-1 record over the previous six Olympics,
with the only loss a 79-73 loss to the Unified Team in 1992.

"Our goal," Katie Smith said, "is another gold medal."

They’ll tell you this isn’t going to be easy. They’ll talk about
the need to take it "one game at a time."

For the U.S. women, winning the gold medal is going to be easier
done than said.

((AP story is being updated with quotes, a little tweak in the guru comments and adding russian game)

And now, Doug, take it away, and ask NBC why the download feed from the game to the Guru's Window Media Center operation in his laptop is taking so long)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer
BEIJING -- With President Bush and the first family looking on, the
United States women’s basketball team began its quest for a
fourth-straight gold medal with a rout of the Czech Republic.

Diana Taurasi scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half to lead the
U.S. to the 97-57 victory in the opener Saturday night.

The Americans got off to a slow start, trailing 13-2 giving up layup
after layup to the feisty Czech team. Taurasi finally got the team rolling
much to the pleasure of Bush, who was dressed in a blue shirt and USA cap.
Taurasi’s layup ignited a 20-4 run by the U.S. to close the first quarter.

“Sometimes you think things are going to be easy from the get-go and
they’re not,” Taurasi said. “We’re playing against very good teams that
have been together for a long time.”

The U.S. continued the run in the second quarter behind former Rutgers star Cappie
Pondexter, who scored seven of her 12 points in the period. Her 3-pointer
at the buzzer gave the Americans a 49-31 lead at halftime.

Taurasi and Pondexter also play for the WNBA defending champion Phoenix Mercury.

The Americans continued the onslaught in the third quarter using a
22-5 to put the game out of reach. The U.S. led 75-44 at the end of the
third, sending the President, his wife Laura, and daughter Barbara home.

“I told him if the Czech’s came back and the U.S. lost this game I’d
come and find him,” said USA Basketball president Val Ackerman, who sat
with Bush and his family during the game. “He laughed and responded 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.”

The President gave a wave to the delighted crowd as he left at the end
of the third quarter.

“It was awesome, I know he had to leave early,” said Lisa Leslie, who
is looking to become the first basketball player to win four straight gold
medals. “It’s an honor that he came out and watched us perform and that he
is a fan of the women’s basketball.”

Sylvia Fowles scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half for the
U.S. to go with 14 rebounds.

“Just to come out here tonight and see how many fans were supporting
us and that our President was out here was good,” said Fowles. “Now I feel
like an Olympian.”

Eva Viteckova had 12 points to lead the Czech Republic, which will
face Mali in their next game.

Even with the first family in attendance, the biggest cheer from the
crowd was for the U.S. men’s basketball team, who were sitting behind the
basket watching the game. At the half the Chinese fans went through a roll
call of the U.S. players, who obliged by standing and bowing to the
delight of the fans.

“We knew the men’s team was going to come today,” Leslie said. “They
were saying all day, ’we’re going to come, we’re going to come.’ “

Up next for the women is host China, which beat Spain 67-64 in its
first game.

China beat the U.S. 84-81 in the gold medal game of the Good Luck
Beijing test event back in April. The Chinese team was at full strength
for the event while the American roster only had four players who are
currently playing in the Olympics.

“We gained some confidence, but know that the Americans were at
half-strength,” Chinese coach Tom Maher said. “We have nothing to lose in
this game, all the pressure is on them.” .

WNBA star Lauren Jackson led medal favorite Australia with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Opals opened with an 83-64 win over Belarus.

Australia has lost the last two Olympic finals to the United States but comes into the 2008 Beijing Games as world champions. A close 71-67 loss to the Americans in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament in Hainang last week — the first match between the teams since the Athens 2004 final — highlighted how close the competition could be in Beijing.

The Opals were tentative in the opening stages, but built a 19-12 lead at quarter time and expanded that to 44-28 at the half.

"Our girls were challenged by the fact we have never played Belarus," Australia coach Jan Stirling said. "For us it was a significant game, and I think our recent loss in the Diamond Ball against the USA helped prepare us for today.

"We're just chipping away at a number of things — we've got quite a few things to work on, but I thought we executed pretty well."

In other matches, WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon scored 11 points as Russia beatLatvia, 62-57, Beon Yeon-ha and Choi You-nah each scored 19 points to help South Korea beat Brazil 68-62 in overtime and New Zealand edged Mali 76-72.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was among the crowd at the Olympic Basketball Stadium, which has a capacity of 18,000, for the tournament's opening match.

Suzy Batkovic, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds, said Australia's match against the first-time Olympian Belorussians helped clear "my jitterbugs."

"We have so much more to give. Our chances are extremely high at these Olympics — we've come here to take home gold," she said.

In an afternoon match, South Korea overcame a six-point deficit in the last two minutes of regulation and went on a 11-2 run to start the extra period and never looked back. Brazil had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Micaela Jacinto missed a 15-footer from the corner that bounced off the rim twice before falling out.

(Guru's note: Here's the second in a series of diaries being writen by USA veteran Lisa Leslie, also a member of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, for the Associated Press.

By LISA LESLIE
For The Associated Press

BEIJING — Welcome back to my Olympic diary. I just left the opening
ceremony and it was awesome. China did a great job with the torch lighting
and the fireworks.

But the one thing we all learned is Kobe (Bryant) is the most popular
player here, maybe the most popular athlete at the Olympics. The crowd was
chanting his name, “Kobe, Kobe,” and the volunteers who were supposed to
be guiding us were trying to get autographs. It is so out of control with
Kobe that LeBron James cracked, “I thought I was famous until I got here
with Kobe.” Kobe is big here in China.

Kobe is also (my daughter) Lauren’s favorite player. Kobe has been
playing with her since we’ve been here; I think he is missing his kids.
Her favorites words are “up, up,” because she likes to be picked up and
Kobe has been giving her lifts. But I told Lauren, there is only so high
you can go. I’m 6-foot-5, Kobe is 6-6 and my husband, Michael, is 6-6.

The thing that stood out the most at the ceremony was President Bush,
his father as well as Laura Bush all were there. President Bush addressed
the U.S. team before the ceremony. He wasn’t sure what to say to us, but
told us to just go out and win as many gold medals as we can. I had met
the president once, Laura Bush twice and the last time I took a picture
was with President Clinton. It is honor and I’m glad as a team we decided
to go to the ceremony.

We almost didn’t go because we play our first game Saturday against
the Czech Republic. But we voted and decided to go. Everyone went except
Tamika Catchings, who was getting treatment. But she is OK. We’re all
ready, so we’ll get some rest now because we want to play our best
basketball.

There has been a lot of talk about our game against Australia in the
Diamond Ball pre-Olympic tournament (USA beat Australia 71-67 to win the
title Tuesday), about how physical it was. Australia said we played dirty
and our coaches warned us that the media was going to ask us, or tell us,
what Australia had said during our press conference. The whole thing
actually caught us off guard. I was kind of shocked by it considering they
play a really physical game. It didn’t seem like it was any more physical
than our games with Russia or Latvia. But just play our game and leave all
the rest to the other team. Sorry for beating you up.

Have to end now and get ready for the Czech Republic. But until next
time, keep cheering us on and supporting us as we go for the gold.

(Guru's note: Here's a report from Beijing by Associated Press national sports columnist Tim Dahlberg).

BEIJING _ The Australians were talking about broken bones, black eyes and bad intentions. The Americans weren't biting, which was probably for the best because they wouldn't want to be accused of that, too.

And to think, women's basketball used to be such a civilized affair.

Not any longer. Not in this Olympics, at least.

A few weeks after WNBA players brawled on the court, the two favorites for Olympic gold did some verbal jabbing and counter-punching of their own following a tune-up game that left Australia's Penny Taylor with a badly bruised eye and the rest of her team with some bruised feelings.

The only things missing were some gloves and promoter Don King gleefully crowing from the podium, "These girls really don't like each other."

Actually, that's not true if you listen to the Americans, who say they were just doing their job in Tuesday's game in Haining, China.

It just so happens the job description in women's basketball these days calls for playing physical defense.

Don't blame the players. Celebrate the progress.

The men, after all, have been doing it for years.

"You've got a lot of athletic, strong women going after each other," Katie Smith said. "Nothing dirty, just a hard-fought game."

A bit too hard fought for the tastes of the Australians, who took exception to the bumping and shoving and, yes, even an occasional elbow as the U.S. women ganged up with the singular mission of stopping an unstoppable force in reigning WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.

They did it well enough to hang on for a 71-67 win in the final of the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament, but don't bother inviting the teams for dinner until the Olympics are over.

That includes Jackson, the 6-foot-5 force who also toils for the Seattle Storm.

"People have to stop us somehow, and that's the way they're going to stop us, especially people like us, Penny and myself and Belinda Snell, who you just can't let go to the basket because we'll kill people," Jackson said.

"So they're going to really stop us any way that they can and generally that's when black eyes and broken bones occur."

As King might say, them's fighting words. Except the Americans didn't seem in much of a mood to fight.

"That's not who we are or how we play," forward Tina Thompson said. "I don't have a black eye but I do have bruises. That game was two days ago and I'm still sore."

U.S. coach Anne Donovan blamed the referees for letting the game get out of hand and disintegrating into one of the roughest she had ever seen. But she was unwavering in the commitment her hastily thrown together team has made in its defensive intensity.

"If we don't play defense we don't win the gold," Donovan said.

There's an outside chance that just might not happen in these games, though the U.S. has won the last three gold medals and is riding a 25-game Olympic winning streak. Three of those came against Australia, including the gold medal finals in the last two Olympics.

But Russia is a force here and Australia holds the wild card in Jackson, who is no stranger to rivalries, both real and imagined. In the 2000 Olympics in her home country, Jackson yanked the hair extension of American star Lisa Leslie in a bitterly contested game, beginning what would later become a fierce competition between the two in the WNBA.

"They can have the hair," Leslie said later. "We got the gold."

Leslie said Thursday that she and her teammates weren't all that concerned with what the Australians thought of the game, and instead were trying to concentrate on beginning defense of their gold medal Saturday in an opening game against the Czech Republic.

Anyone involved in women's basketball, though, had to be secretly thrilled with the attention paid the dustup, just as they were with the WNBA brawl in Detroit. While Kobe Bryant and his U.S. men's teammates arrived in Beijing to shouts from adoring Chinese, the women could walk on the streets downtown and the only reason anyone would notice is because they're so tall.

But women's basketball has come a long way in just a short time even though the WNBA still struggles to gain a foothold in the United States. Women can make a living — and a very good one — playing ball around the world now and the gap between the top national teams has narrowed to a point where most Olympic games are competitive.

They play faster and harder. With that intensity comes some hurt feelings, and sometimes some hurt.

In this case it was a black eye for Taylor, and a suggestion that Thompson deliberately threw an elbow to cause it.

"Actually it was a screen," Thompson said. "Just a screen."

Just more proof that the men aren't the only ones who can play games.

(Guru's Note: Posting by remote from home, here is the AP report on the Aussie game. This is the quote story updated in this post. Also note sidebar below on Penny Taylor going home after the Olympics. Prior to the game, Doug ermailed the Guru to tell him his blog is being blocked in China. Could be a penalty for skipping Chinatown in Philly the last two weeks.)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

HAINING, China - Standing on the podium waiting to receive their FIBA Diamond Ball tournament gold medals, the United States women's basketball team had only one thought on their minds: This was only a dress rehearsal. The real performance begins now at the Olympics.

"Being here is great but this wasn't the real show," said Candace Parker, who scored 12 points in America's 71-67 win over Australia in the gold medal game. "It was like an audition for the Olympics. We passed the pre-Olympic test but now we're going to go and take care of business."

This was the first meeting between these two rivals with both teams at full strength since the 2004 Olympics gold medal game, won by the Americans 74-63.

"This is all locked away," said Lisa Leslie, who led the U.S. with 14 points. "This is rehearsal. Now we're getting ready for the big game."

Before Tuesday's game both teams said this contest was merely a tuneup for the Olympics and nothing more. Yet the physical play spoke differently. Players on both teams hit the floor after hard fouls and the game had the feel of an Olympic gold medal matchup not a meaningless game.

"I don't think there has every been a game when we played Australia when it wasn't physical," said Leslie.

Penny Taylor, who led Australia with 19 points sported a blackened left eye after the game. Something she surely will remember if the two teams do meet again in the Olympics.

"I've got a souvenir to take with us," Taylor said, pointing to her eye.

Both teams were raving about having such a high-quality tuneup right before the Olympics.

"I've been to three Olympics games and this Diamond Ball is by far the best in terms of preparation," said Australia's Lauren Jackson, who finished with 16 points in the loss and was named the tournament's MVP. "Everyone has their full teams and the top three teams in the world are here. It's a great lead up to the Olympics."

The Americans were leading 67-65 with 2:04 left when Leslie hit a layup to extend the advantage to four. Taylor answered with a twisting layup on the other end to make it a two-point game.

With the shot clock winding down, Tina Thompson hit a jumper from the corner to restore a four-point lead. Then Australia turned the ball over on it's next two possessions, sealing the win for the U.S.

"This was a great tournament for us in terms of our preparation and I couldn't have asked for more," U.S. coach Anne Donovan said.

The U.S. was also tested by Latvia in its first game. Latvia proved it could be a potential spoiler in the Olympics, beating Russia in the opener. Aneta Jekabsone averaged 29 points for Latvia against the two powerhouse teams and made a strong impression.

"She can play on my team any day," U.S. guard Sue Bird said. "I think she would do well in the WNBA."

While Latvia was impressive, Russia looked disjointed. Becky Hammon made her Russian debut and could lead them only to one victory over Mali in the fifth place game.

In the much-hyped game against the United States, Hammon and her Russian teammates were no match for the Americans.

"You take the win with a grain of salt," Donovan said. "Russia will be ready once the games start."

Russia has notoriously looked out of sorts early on during international tournaments before coming on strong later. At the 1998 World Championships, the United States routed Russia by 36 points in the preliminary round before needing to rally from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat them in the championship.

Mali showed it could compete for short periods of time, but viewed the tournament as a chance to just improve.

"Our goal in the Olympics is to try and beat New Zealand," said Mali forward Kadiatou Kanoute, who played her college basketball at Fordham. "That's the team that we think we have a shot to compete against. The rest of the time is just a learning experience for us."

Taylor Won't Return to WNBA This Season

HAINING, China -- Penny Taylor won't return to the Phoenix Mercury when the Olympics end.

Taylor took off the first half of the season to train with Australia and prepare for the Beijing Games. Now, she has decided not to go back to the WNBA.

"I did make it clear to the team that I wouldn't be coming back this season after the Olympics," Taylor told The Associated Press while practicing at the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament. "I want them to be able to get a team together and didn't want to leave any doors open."

Instead she will head home to Australia to spend time with her family and rest.

The defending champion Mercury sit three games behind third place Los Angeles and Sacramento in the Western Conference. Taylor was a huge part of their championship run last season, averaging 17.8 points and 6.3 rebounds for Phoenix last season. She scored 30 points in the deciding fifth game of the WNBA finals last year.

"I wanted to make sure they had their opportunity to get a full strength team and not wait for anyone," Taylor said. "It's disappointing, but it gave me the opportunity to prepare for this major event."

Taylor's decision caught her Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi off guard.

"Whoa, that's the first I'm hearing of it," said Taurasi over breakfast. "It just means the same thing it's meant the last two months. We'll go with what we have. We just got to keep playing and fighting. We're good enough if we get rolling as we've beaten the good teams. We've just been too average. This league is very good, and we're just not playing at a good level."

(Guru's note: Here we go right off AP)

By Doug Feinberg
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HAINING, China -- Seeing Becky Hammon on the Russian side was exactly what the Americans needed.

Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and the United States pulled away in the second half, beating the Russians 93-58 Monday night in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament.

In a much-hyped matchup against her native country, Hammon scored 10 points, but her adopted team was no match for the Americans. This was the first meeting between the U.S. and Russia since the Russians beat the Americans in the 2006 world championship semifinals.

"She made her choice, and that was up to her," U.S. co-captain Katie Smith said. "We're here to represent our country. We have a nice rivalry with Russia with or without her. It's always been a battle whether she's here or not; we'll always bring our best."

Sylvia Fowles and the U.S. team came out focused and showed flashes of the dominance that has helped them win three straight Olympic gold medals. They got easy uncontested shots on the offensive end while defensively containing Russia.

Hammon wasn't in the 29-player pool used to select the U.S. Olympic team. So she chose another option: playing for Russia.

"It's not an issue anymore; we're playing against Russia now and it's 12 people," U.S. coach Anne Donovan said. "Anyone who puts that uniform on is our opposition. There is no individual that we look at or highlight."

A South Dakota native, Hammon competes for a Russian club team during the winter and became a naturalized citizen there. Since she hadn't played for the United States in any major FIBA-sanctioned international events, she was allowed to compete for Russia in the Olympics, which begin Friday.

Even though she was wearing a Russian uniform, Hammon had her eyes closed and her hand over her heart during "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"I think the pregame was worse than anything," Hammon said. "Once the ball went up, it was just another basketball game."

Hammon entered the game midway through the first quarter as she is still learning the Russian system after only three practices with the team. She missed her first two shots before hitting a 3-pointer to start the second quarter and make it 17-13.

Then the Americans went on a 26-6 run to close the half and put the game away. Taurasi scored seven points during the spurt, including a 3-pointer for a 20-point lead. The Americans extended the advantage to 43-19 at the break.

"We did a good job of putting 40 minutes together," Taurasi said. "We took a step closer to what we are trying to accomplish."

The United States went up by 30 on Katie Smith's 3-pointer early in the third quarter, and Russia got no closer than 19 the rest of the game.

Fowles added 15 for the USA, and Tatiana Shchegoleva led Russia with 14 points.

Up next for the United States is rival Australia in what could be a preview of the Olympic gold medal game.

"We expect it to be a great game and look forward to it," Donovan said.

Russia will face Mali in the fifth place game.

If the United States and Russia meet again in the Olympics, it will be on a much bigger stage with most likely a medal at stake.

"They are the No. 1 ranked team in the world. They have tremendous players on there. Basketball is a game where anything can happen. You want to meet the U.S. as late as possible," Hammon said. "I have been playing against those players for 10 years. I think when the ball goes up it's just going to be another basketball game."

(Guru's Note: Here's the Associated Press story off the Olympic team's exhibition opener.which is now being updated later Sunday night with some quotes provided via USA Basketball email..)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

HAINING, China — Sylvia Fowles scored eight of her 13 points during a
late fourth-quarter run to lead the Americans to a 84-74 victory over
pesky Latvia on Sunday night in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament — a
tuneup for the Olympics.

Unlike past U.S. women’s basketball teams, this group has not had much
playing time together due to injuries, overseas commitments, and the WNBA
season. They were only able to start training for the first time together
last Monday and are still working on developing chemistry on the court.

At times the U.S. players looked to be in total harmony, scoring at
will and containing Latvia. At other times, the Americans struggled,
turniog the ball over and missing defensive assignments that led to easy
baskets.

"For the most part, I think we started the game out with a lot of energy and it kind of died down in the second quarter until halftime," said Fowles. "We were just playing sluggish. We picked it up finally, but I think our defense needs to get much, much better. We need to keep our energy throughout the whole game."

Anete Jekabsone scored 24 points to lead Latvia.

The Americans struggled early defensively as Latvia went up 12-7 in
the first few minutes. Then the U.S. got going with a 24-6 run to close
the quarter. Diana Taurasi scored all seven of her points during the
spurt, including a nifty drive to the basket for a three-point play.

"I'm really pleased for our first time out that we got this win against a very good team," said USA head coachAnne Donovan, a three-time Olympian. "We did know coming in that Latvia was going to be a very good opponent having watched them beat Russia last night and having seen them play in the Olympic qualifier. We can play better, and we tend to play better as we go, but we certainly got all we could handle from Latvia."

Latvia battled back behind Jekabsone and Zane Tamane. Jekabsone, who
scored 34 points in Latvia’s opening win over Russia, hit two 3s late in
the second period to get Latvia within 43-36 with 1:20 left. The U.S. led
by nine at the half, but had a scare when Candace Parker injured her right
shoulder right before the break. She didn’t play in the second half.

Latvia hung tough in the second half behind Jekabsone. After leading
by nine at the half, the U.S. couldn’t put Latvia away. Jekabsone’s
3-pointer early in the fourth quarter pulled Latvia within 71-67 before
the U.S. went on a!13-3 run to finally put the game away. Fowles had two
layups and two putbacks during the spurt.

Tamane added 12 and Ieva Kublina had 10 for Latvia.

Tina Thompson finished with 12 points for the U.S. Sue Bird and
Seimone Augustus each added 11.

Up next for the U.S. is a matchup with Becky Hammon and her Russian
teammates Monday night. Latvia beat Russia 75-69 in its opening game.

Australia beat China 84-70 in the first game Sunday.

(Guru's note: Olympic veteran Lisa Leslie, a top WNBA player for the Los Angeles Sparks, is providing the Associated Press with a diary from the Beijng Games. Here is her first offering, which was written from the first week of training at Stanford, prior to leaving California for Asia. There is video that accompanies this, according to the wire, but you'll have to search elsewhere for that technological graphic presentation as Jonathan has just set out on a two-week cross-country train trip on vacation.)

By Lisa Leslie
For The Associated Press

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Welcome to the Olympic diary of Lisa Leslie. We
just finished three days of training camp at Stanford. It’s been great
training, very grueling getting ready to go to Beijing.

One of the things that is most exciting for me is that this will be my
last Olympics as an athlete. It’s been a tremendous run for me, going from
being one of the youngest players in 1996 to being one of the older — more
seasoned players as I like to say.

I’ve worked hard after having Lauren and taking a season off from the
WNBA. Motherhood has changed me, being a mom full time, a basketball
player part time and now an Olympian once again. I feel like a great role
model, to go out there and compete at the highest level but still be a
mommy. Get the bottles and change the diaper. I always have my hands full,
but I’m loving every minute of it.

The U.S. women’s team lost in the world championship so we kind of
have that hanging over our head. We lost to China in a pre-tournament we
played in April. So this is going to be a challenge for us, but we have
won the Olympics the last three times.

I have three gold medals to prove it and we’re going for our fourth in
a row. We might not be the favorites going in, but in the end, we’re going
to be listening to our national anthem.

We’re on hiatus from the WNBA. We got Diana Taurasi, an awesome point
guard who plays the 1 and the 2. We got Sue Bird, who will start at the
one and who did a great job in Athens. Katie Smith, who is the co-captain
along with myself. And Tina Thompson, who was also a 2004 gold medalist.

That’s our starting lineup, then we have an array of great talent coming
off the bench. You have DeLisha Milton, Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles,
Seimone Augustus, Cappie Pondexter and Kara Lawson oh my God, the roster
is just amazing.

This will be the first time my husband, Michael, and my family will
get to see me play in the Olympics. I have two stepdaughters, Gabriel and
Mikaela, and everybody knows about baby Lauren who is 13 months.

But it will be an exciting time for the whole team, a lot of people
are bringing family and friends. We will meet up with the men’s team in
Shanghai before we play another little tournament before the Olympics.
We’ll get a chance to hang out with the guys, friends, family one big
happy family with one goal: win the gold medal.

Though practice was tough, overall we’ve had a really good time. We
went to a luncheon honoring ESPN and ABC broadcaster Robin Roberts, who received the 2008 Inspiring Women award. I was able to present her with it and all the players got
autographs from her. I was psyched about that.

There was a lot of joking on the bus rides. And obviously everyone was
talking about the little brawl we had with Detroit. We were talking about
Candace being the baby, how she feels out of the crib and mom tried to
help when the big bear knocked her down. Then Auntie “D” stepped in,
trying to hit, though it didn’t quite work out that way, we all got fined,
missed a game and it’s all behind us now.

The next time I will see you all will be in Beijing and until then I
want you to practice two words, Ni hao (NEE-haOW), which is how you say
hi; and fie Xie xie ni (Shay shay NEE), and that means thank you very
much.

(Guru's Note: Here is the first report from China from Associated Press national women's basketball wriiter Doug Feinberg.)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

HAINING, China — After a 13-hour flight from San Francisco, the U.S.
women’s basketball team arrived in China, Friday, ready to begin its next phase of
Olympic training.

First, however, a little sleep.

Unlike the men’s basketball team, which took a charter from the U.S.,
the women flew commercial. Not the easiest way to get some rest,
especially for the likes of 6-foot-5 Sylvia Fowles or 6-4 Candace Parker.

“We take road trips all the time in the WNBA,” forward DeLisha
Milton-Jones said. “This one just happened to be a little further. We’re
used to sleeping on planes.”

The team landed in Shanghai and was greeted by a swarm of Olympic
volunteers. They shuttled the Americans and their mounds of luggage onto
four buses for the two-hour ride to Haining, the site of the 2008 FIBA
Diamond Ball tournament. Lisa Leslie made sure to check on her baby
Lauren, who slept the entire bus ride.

With the team now in China, the players can concentrate strictly on
training and adjust to the surroundings. The distractions, which seemed to
outnumber the practices in San Francisco, are no longer an issue.

\ “Between WNBA and USOC events it seems like we had a lot going on off
the court,” U.S. coach Anne Donovan said. “It’s nice to actually be able
to focus on basketball now and get ready for our first game in the
Olympics on Aug. 9.”

Before the opener, the U.S. will face Latvia on Sunday and Russia on
Monday in the FIBA tournament. Australia also could be looming in a title
game Tuesday.

“Our goal is to win that tournament, but it’s not do or die,” Donovan
said. “We’ll do the best we can and we won’t see Australia and Russia
until potentially the medal round of the Olympics, so we want to do well
against them now. It’s not do or die, we have eight games in Beijing and
that’s what I’m focused on.”

The Americans will head to Beijing after the tournament.

“It’s a long time to be away from home, but its well worth it,” Parker
said. “It’s the longest I’ve ever been away excluding college.”

(Guru's Note: Here's yet another in a series of daily reports From Associated Press women's national writer Doug Feinberg who is with the Olympic group through its Beijing competition.)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. women’s basketball team won’t have to wait
until Beijing to get a glimpse of its main competition in the Olympics.

The Americans are part of the six-team FIBA Diamond Ball tournament
that begins Saturday in Haining, China. The tournament features four of
the top teams in the world with the U.S., Russia, Australia, and China all
playing.

The U.S. will open against Latvia on Sunday before facing Russia the
next day. The Americans could meet Australia in the gold medal game on
Tuesday.

“It’s one of those things that no matter the outcome you have to let
it go,” Katie Smith said. “You can’t get caught up if we beat someone
badly since they might be going through the motions and that’s not what
you’re going to see later on. It’s nice to get a pre-scouting report of
what you’re going to see in Beijing.”

Clearly all eyes will be focused on Monday’s matchup with Russia. Even
before Becky Hammon decided to play for Russia, the Americans were still
stinging from the loss in the 2006 World Championship semifinals.

“They have been a thorn in our side,” U.S. coach Anne Donovan said.
“We weren’t at full strength then, but certainly the players are thinking
about it.”

Hammon’s decision to play for Russia adds intrigue to the matchup.

“It’s just a basketball game. At least we’re going to try to make it
that way,” said Hammon, laughing. “I played against all those girls. Many
of those girls have expressed support for me, which I really appreciate. I
have no ill-will toward anybody on that team.”

After practicing hard for three days in San Francisco, the U.S. team
was ready for competition.

“We can practice, we can run through stuff, but it’s getting out there
and playing teams that have played together,” Smith said. “Guarding the
international game, and having a little bit of that officiating is going
to be nice as a warmup before the Olympic games.

“You get a feeling on how to guard people, their moves. I think it’s
great for us to have that. Get a glimpse of players you know, or you kind
of know.”

Donovan doesn’t want to put too much emphasis on the tournament as she
is trying to get the team ready for the first game of the Olympics on Aug.
9 against the Czech Republic.

“It’s an important piece in our process. We’ll have three days of
practice, one day of practice then we play a game. Keeping it in
perspective is also important for us,” she said. “Getting a look at
Australia and Russia, who we might not see until the (Olympic) medal
round, is important.”

Besides getting an early look at potential opponents, heading abroad
will help the U.S. team get away from some of the distractions that have
plagued the squad while training in San Francisco. The players have had to
go to many WNBA and Olympic events, and they have had a pretty full
schedule.

“The nice thing about going on the road is that we get away from it
all,” veteran DeLisha Milton-Jones said. “I know in the WNBA its almost
nicer to play on the road sometimes because you don’t have so many people
pulling at you. You can just sit in your hotel room and order food or go
out to get something to eat.”

(Guru's Note: A special thanks to the folks at WNBA.Com who drove some heavy traffic this way on Wednesday with a link to the site even though the reporting is actually coming from the Associated Press' Doug Feinberg. And here's another before the Olympic team heads to Asia.)

By Doug Feinberg

SAN FRANCISCO -- Whether it's shooting a 3, driving to the basket, or just scoring inside, the U.S. women's basketball post players have an incredible amount of versatility in their games.

Gone are the days when post players would score only in the paint. This talented group can score anywhere on the court.

"One through five, this might be the most versatile post team in a long time," center Lisa Leslie said. "Players who can shoot from the outside and the inside. Everyone is going to have an opportunity. It's like an orchestra, everyone plays a different instrument and at some point you will have a solo."

Leslie may be the very reason that some of her young teammates are so versatile.

Gone are the days when post players would score only in the paint. This talented group can score anywhere on the court.

Candace Parker remembers watching her teammate play in the 1996 Olympics and then the WNBA. She was impressed at how a post player could do more than just score in the paint. Now Parker leads a new breed of posts, who can do just about anything.

"I really remember her in the Olympics scoring from all over," Parker said. "I emulated her game and wanted to be like that."

At 6-foot-4, Parker is a unique talent who can play all five positions on the floor.

"She's a freak of nature," teammate Tina Thompson said with a smile. "She can be a point forward. She really is the future of the position and the game."

Thompson also has huge versatility in her game. She can step back and shoot 3s or take the ball to the basket as was evident when she led her team to victory in a drill in practice on a last-second drive to the hoop.

"We have the best post players in the world," Olympic coach Anne Donovan said. "They really have so much uniqueness to them that makes their games so tough to play against. Nobody else in the world has as many post threats as we do."

While the versatility and ability to step back and shoot from the outside is relatively new to the women's game, it's been that way for years on the men's side in Europe. Slowly, it's starting to creep into the women's contests.

"If you look at players like Dirk Nowitzki, it's no small part of their game," Thompson said. "Lauren Jackson is one of the best in the world at it. She can score from pretty much anywhere. There are a few others, but they are scattered around. We have so many talented ones here."

Sylvia Fowles, who might be the Americans' best pure post player, has already shown her incredible young talent on the international stage. She had a great tournament at the Olympic test event, averaging 17.0 points and 10.5 rebounds as well as blocking 15 shots in only six games.

"I just go out and have fun," Fowles said. "We really have a talented group and I just do whatever is needed."

Fowles, who missed six weeks of the WNBA season with an injured knee, looks fully recovered on the court. She played in a few games for the Chicago Sky before coming to training camp.

"Have you seen me out there?" she said with a wide grin. "It feels good and so far there hasn't been any swelling at all."

The other aspect of the game that the American post players bring is the ability to play above the rim. Parker and the 6-foot-5 Fowles both dunked in college, and their teammates would love to watch them repeat the feat at the Olympics.

"It would be something to see if they can do it on the international stage," forward DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "It really would bring a new element to the women's game and would be exciting for all the fans to see."

Parker downplays the dunking talk because she just wants to help the team win.

"If it happens it happens," Parker said. "But winning a gold is the number one and only concern I have."

Guru's note: First, Kathleen has a nice feature on the summer league beneath this post. Here is another Doug Feinberg report off the Associated Press with the Olympic women. He also filed some funny quotes in an ensuing story after the Guru bolted the office Monday night, which are tacked to the bottom. Also, there's another AP story below on the WNBA getting high marks in diversity. The Guru will provide coverage Wednesday night on quarterfinals play in the summer league.)

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — There was a time when the U.S. women’s basketball team
could simply show up at the Olympics and outscore anyone. Now, winning
another gold medal might hinge on getting one key stop.

“Up until 2004 in Athens we could just outgun our opponents and win on
the offensive end of the floor,” U.S. coach Anne Donovan said Tuesday at
the training camp at Stanford.

“We rarely have had to lock down people and we paid for it in the
World Championships. So the beautiful thing is that these players
understand that. If we don’t talk about it and we don’t do it, we’re going
to make a very difficult road in Beijing,” she said.

That attitude has filtered down to the 12 Olympians. The U.S. roster
boasts four of the top five scorers in the WNBA — led by Diana Taurasi’s
23.9 points — but that can only get them so far as was evident in a 75-68
loss to Russia in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championships.

Seimone Augustus was on that team and understands what this squad
needs to do.

“Everyone knows what I can do on the offensive end, so defense is key
to my role on this team,” said Augustus, fourth in the WNBA with nearly 20
points per game. “We have enough people who can score, I just know when my
number is called that I need to be able to stop someone.”

The loss to Russia underscored the Americans’ weakness in being able
to get key stops down the stretch.

“That still sticks with us as you never want to get beat,” three-time
Olympian Katie Smith said. “It hurt when we got beat down in Brazil. I
think in any type of championship you got to have defense.

“Nine out of 10 games you’re going to shoot the ball well, but one
game something’s going to happen when you’re not shooting well, or someone
is in foul trouble and you’re going to have to rely on your defense,” she
said.

Because these players have not spent a lot of time together on the
court, developing chemistry on the defensive end was going to be
important.

“The biggest thing about playing defense is being able to trust your
teammates,” said Tamika Catchings, who is one of the Americans’ best
individual defenders. “We can’t just play people 1-on-1, we need to know
that if you do get beat there is someone behind you to step up and help.”

On the second day of training, the U.S. focused mostly on the defense,
doing drill after drill that helps build the necessary trust and defensive
rotations.

“We knew today was going to be all about defense and we had to get a
good night’s sleep,” veteran forward DeLisha Milton-Jones said.

Facing a bunch of male practice players, the team ran through a
certain scenario — they simulated a late-game situation in which they
trailed by three points.

Twice the U.S. rallied to victory — one time on Tina Thompson’s
bank-shot with 3.4 seconds left. But the U.S. also came up short twice,
falling on a defensive miscue.

“It’s a work in progress and the chemistry is developing,” Donovan
said. “Our goal is to get better every day and be ready on Aug. 9.”

WNBA Combatants Become Teammates

With four members of the team involved in last week’s brawl in the
WNBA, tensions could have been high when the team started practice Monday
night at Stanford University. Instead, it helped bring everyone together
as they were all kidding about it.

In one of the drills, Sylvia Fowles accidentally got poked in the eye
by Katie Smith and Diana Taurasi joked that it should be a one-game
suspension. Smith retorted how in Detroit it would probably get four. The
whole team laughed.

“We all like each other,” Taurasi said. “It’s one thing to go on a
team where everybody hates each other and you go, ’I gotta go with these
people.’ But we all like each other. We’ve played with and against each
other for the last 8 or 10 years, so we’re very familiar with each other,
which is a nice feeling.”

WNBA Scores in Diversity

ORLANDO, Fla. — The WNBA has received the first A-plus given in
Richard Lapchick’s annual diversity report card on race and gender.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport study, which grades
professional leagues on the number of participating women and minorities,
shows women own three WNBA teams, up two from 2007 and one the previous
year.

The number of minority head coaches and players increased, but there
was a slight decrease in women and minority assistant coaches.

Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida institute,
said the WNBA has long led the way in his studies and benefited from its
relative youth. The league began play in 1997.

“They started at the same time the (NBA) began its diversity
initiative, so the WNBA was able to include a good pool of candidates from
the very beginning,” Lapchick said.

The WNBA said it had no comment on the study.

Carla Christofferson and Katherine Goodman own the Los Angeles Sparks,
Colleen J. Maloof and Adrienne Maloof-Nassif own the Sacramento Monarchs,
and the Seattle Storm’s owners are Anne Levinson, Ginny Gilder, Dawn
Trudeau and Lisa Brummel.

There are now as many teams with women holding a partial or full stake
in a WNBA team as there are in the NFL and more than in any other sport.
Women own all or part of the St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers and
Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL and the Sacramento Kings and Washington
Wizards of the NBA. Major League Baseball has no female majority
ownership.

Of the WNBA’s 14 teams, five had female head coaches: Linn Dunn of the
Indiana Fever, Pat Coyle of the New York Liberty, Jenny Boucek of the
Sacramento Monarchs, the Houston Comets’ Karleen Thompson and the Atlanta
Dream’s Marynell Meadors.

Five head coaches were black: Thompson, Michael Cooper of the Los
Angeles Sparks, the Chicago Sky’s Steven Key, Corey Gaines of the Phoenix
Mercury and Tree Rollins, who was recently fired by the Washington
Mystics.

(Guru's note: The closest the Guru will get to Asian flavor and the Beijing Olympics over the next several weeks will be at local restaurants in Chinatown near the home office here in Philadelphia as well as some other places on the seaboard.
Several Inquirer sports staffers will be at the games. But in the interim, the reporting most of you will see on a daily basis will come from our good friend and Associated Press national women's writer Doug Feinberg, who is on the scene in training camp at Stanford. Here's his first report.)

-- Mel

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — Without much time to prepare for the upcoming
Olympics, the entire U.S. women’s basketball team was finally on the court
together.

The team began a four-day training camp Monday night at Stanford
University to start its quest for an unprecedented fourth straight gold
medal.

“It’s awesome to see this team from 1 through 12,” U.S. coach Anne
Donovan said. “I’m like a kid in a candy store with all this talent.”

Unlike past U.S. teams, this group has not had any time together on
the court as a whole team due to injuries, overseas commitments, and the
WNBA season. The U.S. has been forced to go with a piecemeal training
philosophy, holding different training camps and tours over the last two
years to help the selection committee choose from a pool of 29 players.

Developing chemistry on the court will play a huge part in the next
few days of training.

“It’s very good to have everyone here. It’s time to go to work,”
two-time gold medalist Katie Smith said. “We haven’t been on the court
together until now and we don’t have a lot of time to prepare. But
honestly, we’ve all played with each other and played against each other.
So it’s more of a refresher course.”

Led by three-time gold medalist Lisa Leslie, who will be playing in
her final Olympics, the team is a mixture of veterans and talented
newcomers. The U.S. finds itself in a different position than it’s
accustomed to coming off a third-place finish at the 2006 world
championships. The U.S. lost to Russia in the semifinals, its first defeat
in major international competition since 1994. Australia won the gold.

“We’re definitely the underdogs,” said guard Diana Taurasi, the WNBA
scoring leader at 23.9 points per game this season. “We’re hungry to win a
gold in the Olympics.”

Leslie didn’t totally agree with the underdog theory.

“I have three gold medals at home and know what it takes to win,” she
said.

Joining Leslie on the team are Smith, and 2004 gold medalists Sue
Bird, Taurasi, Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever and Tina Thompson.
DeLisha Milton-Jones earned a gold medal in 2000 but missed the Athens
Olympics four years later due to an injury. The Americans also have many
newcomers in Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus, Cappie
Pondexter and Kara Lawson.

“I had a hard time sleeping last night knowing I was coming down here
today,” Lawson said. “These are the best players. You’re just anxious to
get on the practice court and mesh as quickly as possible. Everyone is so
talented, it’s like basketball utopia.”

After breaking camp on Thursday, the team will head to China to play
in the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament featuring the other three top teams in
the world — Australia, Russia, and host China.

“Learning to play with each other is a big part of the next 10 days,
not just the Xs and Os,” Donovan said. “It will be a great test in our
preparation. The tournament has all the perceived favorites to medal in
Beijing and I’m sure it will be extremely competitive.”

One intriguing matchup in the Diamond Ball will be against Russia on
Aug. 4. The Russians feature guard Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Silver
Stars.

By Jonathan Tannenwald
Philly.com

The Associated Press is reporting that USA Basketball has named Tamika Catchings, Kara Lawson and DeLisha Milton-Jones as the final three players on the roster for the Olympics.

Here's the full story from the AP's women's basketball writer, Doug Feinberg.

The official announcement will be made tomorrow.

By Kathleen Radebaugh

Philadelphia - Crazy enough, both the Russian national anthem and the Unites States national anthem have the words, “proud,” and “free” within them and conclude with the same thought, a piece of land, a nation, that is part of a greater whole.

Becky Hammon is very proud to be apart of an Olympic basketball team at the age of 31. It may be a different jersey that many hoped she would be wearing, but Hammon felt free enough that when the USA Olympic women’s basketball team didn’t have her on the roster, she could still find a way to play ball in the Olympics.

Hammon will be playing with the CSKA Moscow team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Last summer, USA Basketball released its list of 23 possible players being watched for the Olympic team. Hammon was not on the list.

She is currently a starting guard for the WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars where she is averaging 15.9 points per game and just recently had an exceptional finish against Washington Mystics, scoring 28 points and totaling five rebounds. Hammon’s success with San Antonio is tremendous and definitely worth a look by USA Basketball.

Yet, this is a pattern with Hammon. A tremendous guard out of Colorado State, Hammon wasn’t drafted. She was a three time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and all-time leading scorer (ahem, men and women) with 2,740 points in WAC.

And she probably got good grades.

Hammon found her rookie year in New York, after signing as a free agent.

She thrived playing for New York Liberty. It wasn’t long before she started every game, set season highs, and truly became one of their best point guards even through injury.

Due to her tremendous success with Liberty and then continuing her play with San Antonio, Hammon joins the Elite 3,000 Point/800 Assists Club. She is one of seven players to have accomplished this step in women’s basketball. In total, Hammon totaled 3,180 points and 803 assists.

In March, Hammon started to look for different ways of making one of her biggest dreams, to play in the Olympics, a possibility.

Since Hammon never played for another country in a FIBA, International Basketball Federation, sanctioned-event, she could obtain a passport.

Before Hammon’s regular season started in May, she was in Moscow training with the 2008 Olympic team. It’s safe to say, suicide sprints and 30 minute drills are the just the same on either continent.

Two familiar faces will be with Hammon, Detriot’s Deanna Nolan and Phoenix’s Kelly Miller. In addition, the men’s basketball team has J.R. Holden, a prior Bucknell standout guard, on the roster. Holden hit the clincher for the 2007 Eurobasket Championship for Russia.

Russia apparently likes to win and if that means having a non-naturalized citizen on the team, then maybe they are putting the attention back on the skill of the game, which makes us watch in the first place.

Hammon probably has been thinking about playing internationally, almost concluding her tenth season in the WNBA. What makes it frustrating for most female players is that playing in the United States is a salary decrease. Women make more money overseas, almost three to four times as much.

Diana Taurasi of Phoenix Mercury plays internationally on an Italian passport and Sue Bird of Seattle Storm plays on an Israeli passport.

Both are phenomenal basketball players who are pursing their talents and passions, yet it is not on US soil. Is it acceptable for Taurasi and Bird to wear international jerseys for some months and also WNBA jerseys for the others, or should the WNBA and USA Basketball revamp their thinking on eligible participants and budgets?

Hammon playing for Russia is a wake up call for both organizations.

More of 2006 World Championship failures could happen again and really soon because there are 12 to 13 players coming from every other direction.

The objective is same, win the gold, but U.S. Head Coach Anne Donovan only has a month to prepare a team for Beijing.

Hammon is going to recognize most of the words in the Russian national anthem, because crazy enough, there are in common with our own. In fact, you may find those very same words, “free,” “proud,” and “our land” in a couple others.

By Jonathan Tannenwald
Philly.com

WASHINGTON – Mel mused on here yesterday that Cappie Pondexter, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker would be named today to USA Basketball’s squad for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Those four names just became official, along with five others, at a press conference held at the Verizon Center here in D.C. before tipoff of the nationally-televised Sparks-Mystics game (3:30 p.m., ABC).

The five new names are Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Lisa Leslie.

Three more players will be named later in the summer.

“We have some of the best talent in the world within these nine players,” women’s national team coach Anne Donovan said. “When we get together on July 28, it’s going to be a pretty formidable group.”

Donovan was effusive in her praise of the players selected, singling out Leslie as the squad’s best. She also praised Parker for settling in quickly to the squad.

“We really threw [Parker] into the hot seat and said, ‘Go play, kid,’” Donovan said.

Parker reflected on what it means to be named to her first ever Olympic squad.

“I can remember sitting on my couch watching the ‘96 Olympics, with tears in my eyes watching them get their medals, and telling my mom and dad I was going to be there one day,” she said.

Leslie acknowledged the significance of being named to her fourth Olympic squad.

I just feel really emotional,” she said. “I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I just had a baby. I feel so blessed to be young enough to play in another Olympics, but old enough to now be the leader of a number of great players.”

Donovan also praised Pondexter, the former Rutgers star, for earning her way onto the team.

She’s been a young, eager player that’s really adjusted to her role with USA Basketball, which is quite different than what it is for Phoenix or what it was for Rutgers,” Donovan said. “She’s worked hard to be there, so I’m proud of her for that.”

Donovan acknowledged that with the arrival of Pondexter, Parker, Augustus and Fowles, a changing of the guard might be beginning within the national team.

“Sue and Diana were the last two in Athens that were new players coming on board,” Donovan said. “I just remember Sue picking Dawn [Staley]’s brain-non stop, and I think the same thing’s happening [now]. . . My hope for this team moving forward is that lal these younger players continue to pass the baton.”

USA Basketball Senior National Team Committee Chair Renee Brown noted that of the three spots remaining on the roster, the committee was looking for “another post player, a guard and a wing.”

That post player could well be Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, who is fighting an injury and hopes to be healthy in time to get on the Olympic team.

“We do want to watch her, and watch her injuries to see how she does,” Brown said. “She’s very important to USA Basketball.”

Donovan described Catchings as “another no-brainer in my mind,” adding that she didn’t have to be as “politically correct” as Brown in describing players.

As for the team’s goals in Beijing, Leslie pulled no punches.

“It’s about gold – we don’t settle for anything less,” she said.

The breakdown of players by WNBA team is as follows:

Los Angeles: 2 (Leslie, Parker)
Phoenix: 2 (Taurasi, Pondexter)
Chicago: 1 (Fowles)
Detroit: 1 (Smith)
Houston: 1 (Thompson)
Minnesota: 1 (Augustus)
Seattle: 1 (Bird)

NOTES: The national team will hold a pre-Olympic training camp at Stanford University’s Maples Pavilion from July 28-30. After that, the team will travel to Haining, China, for the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament, with teams involved including Russia, China and reigning FIBA world champions Australia. . .

Donovan’s assistants include Connecticut Sun head coach Mike Thibodeault, Texas head coach Gael Goestenkors and newly-appointed South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, the former Temple coach and U.S. Olympic team flag-bearer at the Athens opening ceremonies.

By Mel Greenberg

Former Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter is likely to be among the USA Olympic women's basketball selectees announced at halftime during Saturday's nationally-televised WNBA game in Washington between the Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks, several source knowledgeable of the choices confirmed Friday afternoon.

The entire squad will not be named, but there are indications through teleconference alerts relayed to members of the media that former Connecticut stars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, who played in the Athens games in Greece in 2004, will also be part of Saturday's announcement.

The notice did not mention any specific players in mentioning the USA Basketball officials who will be on the call.

Rookie Candace Parker, the former Tennessee star who has made a record-breaking debut with the Los Angeles Sparks after her selection as the overall No. 1 pick, is also likely to be part of the announcement.

Parker has already played with the USA senior national women's team.

Although Pondexter's aspirations for an NCAA title fell short at Rutgers where she achieved all-American status, the native of Chicago has already gone on to become a WNBA All-Star and last season was the MVP of the playoffs as the Phoenix Mercury won their first WNBA title.

Taurasi also plays for the Mercury. Her future Hall of Fame stature is already ensured, as is Bird's with NCAA, WNBA,and Olympic titles in their resume. Bird's WNBA ring was acquired with the Seattle Storm in 2004.

If the USA wins another gold medal, difficult as the challenge looms in Beijing, China, Pondexter is also likely to be Hall of Fame bound off a projected career stardom in the pros.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

Sylvia Fowles' "monster" game led the United States into the victory column Sunday with a 92-60 victory over Cuba in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament in China.

Full details are over at the USA Basketball site, but, essentially, the former LSU star and second overall WNBA draft pick of the Chicago Sky towered over the Cubans with 25 points, 18 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Fowles had not played much in the opening loss to Australia, Saturday, because of foul trouble.

The Detroit Shock's Katie Smith added 19 points, while new Seattle Storm player Swin Cash, an Olympic veteran as is Smith, scored 12 points. The United States also got 10 points each from Los Angeles Sparks and Olympics veteran Lisa Leslie, along with former Maryland star Crystal Langhorne, the sixth overall WNBA pick by the Washington Mystics.

Cuba and the United States are each 1-1.

By the time most of you are reading this, the USA squad will have played South Korea in a game that was scheduled to tip off at 2:30 a..m., early Monday morning, EDT.

"I'm really pleased with how we came out today, we started the game really well," said USA head coach Anne Donovan. "It was our focus to start the game very strong and aggressive. We felt like we needed to come right at Cuba and attack them early and we executed that game plan very well.

"I think Sylvia was extra motivated today since she wasn't on the floor very much yesterday due to foul trouble. She came out and had a monster game and Lisa (Leslie) came out and took a smaller role today. It's nice to see the versatility of our players."

Fowles said she was "more focused" in her second outing.

The squad is a youthful group with such Olympic favorites to make the team as Phoenix's Diana Taurasi and potentially Cappie Pondexter, not on the trip. The Los Angeles Sparks' overall top pick Candace Parker of the Tennessee two-time defending NCAA champs is also away from China.

After South Korea, the U.S. takes a day off in preliminary action before meeting New Zealand on Wednesday (10:15 a.m. EDT) and hot China China on Thursday (8:00 a.m. EDT).

Connecticut double: The Guru is taking a quickie trip North on Monday and Tuesday to drop by the WNBA Connecticut Sun's Media Day followed by a visit to UConn for women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma's wrap-up media session.

Besides the array of players with UConn backgrounds who are in camp such as Barbara Turner, rookie Ketia Swanier, and Tanika (nee Williams) Raymond, two former Big Five players will be in Sun camp. One is former Temple star Kamesha Hairston, who was a first-round draft pick a year ago. The other is Villanova departing senior Stacie Witman, who has been signed as a practice player.

Head coach Mike Thibault, an assistant on the USA national squad under Donovan, is stateside and will be at the Connecticut College facility Monday.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

The USA Women's National Team Good Luck Beijing Tournament roster illustrates how quickly things change when it comes to local identification.

Candice Wiggins -- Stanford is now transformed to Candice Wiggins -- Minnesota Lynx in the primary affilation column.

Sylvia Fowles -- Louisiana State is now Sylvia Fowles -- Chicago Sky

And although new WNBA team identifications have severed the longtime court togetherness of Crystal Langhorne of Willingboro and Laura Harper of Cheltenham, dating back to their Philadelphia Belles AAU days and successful run at Maryland, the two remain on the same side this week as USA teammates for the trip to China.

Of course the two have been gold medal winners in the past on other USA squads.

But after the trip to the Olympic city for this year's summer games, the duo post tandem will be on opposing sides as soon as Monday night, May 5 when Harper debuts in Washington with the Sacramento Monarchs in a preseason game against Langhorne's new Mystics team.

And for those Rutgers fans who haven't hunted down the first former Scarlet Knights teammate confrontation of Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson, that will occur on Friday night June 6th, when Ajavon's Houston Comets squad visits Carson's New York Liberty squad at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Helen, at women's hoops, who never sleeps, apparently, has all the details of the USA trip, as does the USA basketball site.

We also were recently appreciate of Helen's advice in a Spanish restaurant in a city south of the Mason-Dixon Line that was in the news during Final Four week.

Helen noted that eating the deserts first in order of courses avoids not getting there because of the major selections on the main entree menu.

Upon further review: We tongue-in-cheek recently noted that we can no longer talk about former Colorado star Kate Fagan, who will soon join the sports department here in the home office.

But since that won't occur for another week or two, her impending arrival to the City of Brotherly Love didn't stop the Guru from using his connections to set in motion her appearance on the draft list for the heavy-duty Philadelphia Department of Recreation NCAA Summer Women's League.

No. 1 vs. No. 2 -- No, we're not talking about UConn-Tennessee, which could come up in discussion Tuesday when Huskies coach Geno Auriemma holds an end-of-season press briefing.

Rather, it's a preseason game in the WNBA -- Los Angeles at Chicago on Thursday, May 8.

The Sparks will visit with former Tennessee star Candace Parker, the No. 1 overall pick of the draft, while Chicago's Sylvia Fowles was the overall No. 2.

The last time they were on opposing sides was in the NCAA semifinal when Tennessee edged the Tigers just before regulation expired.

-- Mel

.

By Mel Greenberg

An email late Monday night popped into the Guru's in-box late Monday night from the Seattle Storm announcing a press conference Tuesday featuring Storm executive Karen Byrant and WNBA president Donna Orender.

A search a few hours later after getting up for air found our Seattle Times colleague Jayda Evans reporting that the WNBA franchise is going to local, unidentified owners.

The future of the franchise, which won the 2004 WNBA title, has been murky with the current owner having made noise about moving the team and the NBA Seattle Supersonics out of town, potentially to Oklahoma where he is from, because of an arena controversy.

But there also was much activity in the Northwest to find a way to retain the popular WNBA team.

If reports become true, Seattle would join Connecticut, the new Atlanta franchise, Washington, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles, as teams not affiliated with a local NBA operation. The total would become 50 percent of the current 14 franchises.

Seattle is still looking for a coach after the recent resignation of Anne Donovan, the coach of the Olympic team.

Also, top stars Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson are currently free agents, although both seem likely to remain in the Emerald City.

The Collegiate Scene

Top-ranked Connecticut and its coach Geno Auriemma made it 300 appearances in team and coaching categories in the AP poll Monday when the Huskies were an unanimous choice this week.

George Washington earned its 100th appearance.

Willingboro's Crystal Langhorne is 38 points away from breaking Maryland's all-time scoring record.

Texas is No. 15 in the AP poll, enabling the Longhorns to continue to add to its appearance stature near the top of the list, as well as continue to appearance streak of former Duke coach Gail Goestenkors.

But in the weekly wire-released Collegiate Basketball News RPI report, Texas was ranked 43rd Monday with a strength-of-schedule ranking of 183.

Speaking of Duke, the Blue Devils will retire recently-graduated Lindsey Harding's number on Jan. 20 when North Carolina State visits.

We'll be at Villanova Tuesday night for a Big East clash in which the Pirates are riding a six-game win-streak and the Wildcats will again try to bounce from a loss -- the current one being last week's slaughter by Connecticut.

-- Mel

(Guru's Note: Jumping rope was never our forte earlier in life, but there's no one less thing to do to keep Jonathan happy in the technological operation of this blog. We figured out how to jump pages on our own when the blog edition is somewhat lengthy, which this is about to be.

So after the first topic, simply click the link below that will appear to get to the end of the column.)

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA _ It's quickly getting to the point that the end of the regular-season rivalry between Tennessee and Connecticut is becoming better for women's basketball than the actual competition, itself.

Think about it.

If the two were still scheduled to play each other, the anticipation and hype would not accelerate until the actual date of the game was near.

One reason is the world now consists of a few more threats to the national championship than just those two teams.

But since Tennessee coach Pat Summitt determined for reasons yet to be definitely clarified to cancel the series, the media, as well as message boards, has continued to debate the significance as well as the cause.

In early September, Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said he would not have anything further to say until after the season and has told questioners to go chase Summitt.

Yet, last week at Big East Media Day in New York City, Auriemma was surrounded by reporters, of which some, not having access over the summer, quickly addressed the Tennessee-Connecticut breakup.

If anything new in his response, Auriemma noted the series was always good as a measuring stick of letting the coaches know where their teams stood in terms of the ultimate title chase.

He mentioned the attention, the increased media interviews, all of which occurs at the Women's Final Four.

Thus, if either or both teams held their poise in the lead-up and execution of the game, it bode well for March.

However, with a bunch of teams in the hunt this season, there are a number of games that could cause the same effect, depending on the records and rankings at the time of the matchup.

It seems that several years ago, the 1-2 Duke-Connecticut game had quite a bit of buildup as did the intra-Atlantic Coast Conference 1-2 showdown between Duke and North Carolina, when both were unbeaten.

Certainly, the Rutgers-Connecticut rivalry in the Big East, considering potential, and market location, could be just as big, especially with at least three potential matchups, besides one that could occur in the NCAA tournament.

Speaking of Rutgers, the other crowded interview table involved Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer and her players.

Stringer quickly tried to put a stop to further questions about last April's controversy that arose a day after the Scarlet Knights lost to Tennessee in the NCAA championship.

That's when national radio talk show host Don Imus made racial and sexual remarks about the Rutgers players that ultimately resulted in his firing and also enhanced the reputation of Stringer's team over the way they handled themselves in a nationally-televised press conference reacting to the Imus remarks.

Now, Stringer says, it's time to just talk about basketball.

Unfortunately, off the court at times the Rutgers program seems to appear like one of those whack-a-mole games at carnivals in which whenever the participant nails a mole back into their habitat, another pops up elsewhere.

Less than 24 hours after Stringer's remarks in New York, a new flap arose, although this one appeared to be nipped quickly in the bud.

ESPN had been preparing a piece on the recent sexual harrassment case involving New York Knicks' coach Isiah Thomas and former team employee Anucha Brown (Sanders), of which a jury in Manhattan ruled in her favor.

Stringer had been shown an edited acount of Thomas' deposition on tape in which he had said that there was a difference to a black man calling a black woman "bitch" than a white man making the same characterization.

The Hall of Fame coach took exception to his distinction and, to save space, you can read further details in their entirety at ESPN.com.

Then on Friday night, Thomas after an NBA game was asked about her reaction and Thomas claimed Stringer did not have the total context of his statement.

"It's easy to get what I said," ESPN.com quoted Thomas. "So don't speak out of ignorance, get the facts about what I said and not the portion that was taken out of context."

On Saturday, ESPN and Newsday reported Stringer and Thomas had spoken to each other and that Stringer apologized. "I responded to a question of which I had partial information and was not aware of the full text of Mr. Thomas' statement.

On a more positive note, last week Stringer was among a group of prominent women's basketball coaches named to a larger 100 most influential educators named by the Institute for International Sport.

The other women's basketball coaches are former Texas coach Jody Conradt, North Carolina State's Kay Yow, Tennessee's Pat Summitt, and Temple's Dawn Staley.

Now click the next line to "jump" to the rest of the blog.

(Guru's Note: To those arriving here from Womhoops Guru, you made it and for those who are wondering what on earth is the Guru talking about, just click the same link.)

By Mel Greenberg

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - For those who thought they'd never ever see any women's basketball player with current or past affilations with the University of Tennessee, junior Candace Parker broke ground Wednesday night when she was introduced as part of the lineup for the USA Basketball Senior National Women's Team against Australia at the Mohegan Sun Arena -- the home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.

Parker then dominated with 23 points and USA completed a two-game sweep of the exhibition series with a 70-66 victory.

"We know who to cheer for and when as long as they aren't wearing Orange," jested Swin Cash, the former UConn and current WNBA Detroit star who quickly arrived here to catch up with the USA group. On Sunday, unlike a year ago, Cash was on the losing side as the Phoenix Mercury completed a comeback from a 2-1 deficit to take the best-of-five WNBA championship series in Auburn Hills, Mich.

With the media contingent known as the horde in abundance, much coverage of Wednesday's action exists around the internet. This is about someone who couldn't make it to the house but will catch up with the USA in Chile as they attempt to win the FIBA Americas Tournament and an automatic berth in next summer's Olympcis in Bejing, China.

That would be former Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter, he No. 2 overall pick by Phoenix in the 2006 draft who went on to become the MVP of the finals as the Mercury toppled the former champion Shock.

Temple coach Dawn Staley, who retiired from the WNBA last summer after an All-Star career and also earned three Olympic gold medals, was asked if she had seen Pondexter during the playoffs.

Three years ago, the native of Chicago ruined Temple's attempt to get to the Owls' arena in Philadelphia for the NCAA regional semifinals and last summer Staley, a prolific point guard for the Houston Comets, had to play opposite Pondexter in the Western Conference.

"Cappie's ready," Staley said Wednesday night of Pondexter's worth to the top level of USA Basketball competition."She's been chomping at the bit to be a part of USA Basketball.

Staley is now an assistant coach on the USA squad to Anne Donovan of the WNBA's Seattle Storm.

``She's a young player, a hungry player. You can see her passion through her play everytime she steps on the floor," Staley continued. "I mean, my hat goes off to her. She didn't win a national championship but a WNBA championship is a pretty good consolation.

"She deserved it," Staley said of gaining a title and becoming MVP. "She had some incredible moments for the Mercury. It probably couldn't happen to a better person because she attacks the game. She plays with such passion, you want her to win."

-- Mel

(Guru’s Note: Kathleen Radebaugh is a senior at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and sportswriter for The Hawk campus publication who previously has written back on the original Womhoops Guru blog reports from the WNBA All-Star game in Washington and the Washington Mystics.)

By Kathleen Radebaugh

TRENTON, N.J. _ Chemicals from one substance transform into another. They meet, bond, and react. Thousands of thousands of different types of chemical reactions occur in the body and are vital to its structure and function.

Watch a women’s basketball game. It is chemistry personified. One will see the thousands of thousands different reactions and transformations players and coaches endure for the win.

In a Sunday afternoon exhibition game, USA Women’s Senior National Team defeated Australia Senior National, 96-64, here at the Sovereign Bank Arena here. Three elements that enabled USA’s crushing win were veterans off of the bench tallying 20 points, young collegiate blood hitting second half three’s, and a full court press forcing turnovers. With elements like these reacting with a talented coaching staff, someone somewhere should be shouting “Eureka.”

Tina Thompson’s chemical reaction was in waiting. Joining the training camp just two days ago, Thompson, starting forward for the Houston Comets (averaging 18.8 ppg), subbed at the top of the second quarter for USA and immediately completed a three-pointer increasing the lead, 21-8.

“Once you step back into the environment, everything just flows,” Thompson said. “It is a different mindset coming in and playing here because you have to be ready at all times. A lot of us on our individual (WNBA and college) teams start the game so you are mentally ready and focused. When you are on the bench, you have to watch the tempo of the game and see how things are going. When you number is called, you just have to step in and make it happen.”

Thompson did not hesitate in her drives to the basket and showed her quickness within the paint with her jump shots and feet work. Thompson finished the afternoon with 21 points.

“We have had short numbers of people, but our intensity has been good since training camp,” said Anne Donovan, head coach for USA Women’s Senior National Team and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. “We just got Tina and obviously it’s a nice addition to pull our offense up. We have some great kids that have been working hard since the beginning of our camp towards our gold medal agility.”

Sunday’s roster of only ten players will increase towards the end of September when the team travels to Chile for the FIBA Americas Tournament that gives the champion a slot in next summer’s Olympics in Beijing, China.

In fact, help will begin to arrive almost immediately, now that the new WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury and previous champion Detroit Shock have completed the playoffs.

The WNBA title game won by Phoenix Sunday in Detroit kept the Mercury’s Diana Taurasi and former Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter away from here. It also caused the absences of the Shock’s Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, and Katie Smith, while Phoenix’s Penny Taylor would have otherwise been with the Australian team.

The USA squad has a total of 27 players on its roster, including eight Olympic gold medalists, five World Championship gold medalists and all 12 members of the 2006 USA World Championship Team.

The two teams, who contested for the 2004 Olympic gold medal won by USA in Athens, Greece, will meet again Wednesday night in Uncasville, Conn., at the Mohegan Sun Arena, the home of the WNBA Connecticut Sun.

This USA chemical equation would not be complete without some young, collegiate elements. Three collegiate players on the team Candice Wiggins (Stanford), Candace Parker (Tennessee), and Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) still have to register their cars for campus parking.

Wiggins, a senior for the Cardinal powerhouse in the Pac-10 conference, scored the second highest number of points (18) Sunday afternoon, completed 3-out-of-4 three-point shots, and only had one turnover. She knows if the ball will go in as soon as it leaves her hands. Her face softens and she begins to shuffle backwards down the court. Within five minutes of each other in the third quarter, Wiggins completed two three’s, stretching the lead to 29 points, 71-42.

Wiggins’ teammate, Courtney Paris, a center for the Sooners, totaled 12 points and three assists. Paris’ size and strength gives her a unique advantage in controlling the post, but she may need time adjusting to a whole new science experiment: pro-ball.

“In college it is a lot easier for me to pick my spot and go get the ball, because I am much stronger than anyone else,” said Paris, whose team is again a favorite in the Big 12 conference. “But tonight, it was a lot harder [wider paint and tougher players] so that is just something I am going to have to adjust to.”

Paris sees herself with the team in Chile, but in order to satisfy Donovan’s wants, she is going to have to rebound more offensively and defensively and keep making her free throw attempts.

With reliable veterans and fresh legs working and reacting together, team USA tested their endurance by starting full court pressure predominately in the beginning of the third quarter.

Australia totaled 28 turnovers and finished the game with a 39.7% field goal percentage. Wiggins led with four steals followed by Parker of the defending NCAA champs and former Tennessee star Kara Lawson of the Sacramento Monarchs tying with three steals apiece. Full court pressure drastically changed the tempo and intensity of the game because Australia in the third quarter started to fight back harder.

USA finished the night with 20 turnovers. Australian guard Jenni Screen’s three pointer brought her team within 12 points of USA in the top of the third quarter and Paris found herself in foul trouble. Jessica Davenport, center for New York Liberty, stepped in and guarded the post, forcing Australia out of the equation.

“I brought in energy and was a presence in the post to help out my teammates,” said Davenport. “Every time I come to a training camp, it gets better and better. We play against each other during the season and now you come in and get to play with each other as a team and that helps a lot.”

Throughout training camp, there is a clear focus as to keeping this chemical reaction as strong as possible.

“No matter how many points you are up, no matter how many points you win by, we want to be almost perfect, if that is possible,” said Thompson. “When you have turnovers like that, it bothers you a lot. It is just one of those things that happens, but you onto the next game with the same focus and try not to make those same mistakes.”

For them, their favorite element is Au. For those of you who have forgotten your science lessons, Au is the chemical symbol for Gold.

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA _ The Guru had a chance to stop by Temple, located up the street from the home office, aka The Inquirer, to take in the end of Friday's Senior National Women's Basketball Team workout.

There's nothing off the drills to report but one observer on the scene was Villanova coach Harry Perretta, who was impressed with the team's offensive sets. As for defense, well, remember not everyone is on board yet due to the WNBA Finals.

Temple coach Dawn Staley, an assistant to USA coach Anne Donovan, got to watch two of her assistants perform with the male practice players against the USA Women.

One was veteran USA Olympic male practice player Darius Taylor, who previously served as assistant director of competitive programs at USA Basketball in Colorado Spring, Colo.

Taylor, a bruising post player, helped develop former Temple All-American Candice Dupree and prepare her for what has become a great career launch in the WNBA.

While Taylor was working the inside attacks, another Staley assistant, Fred Chmiel, was involved in guard play. Prior to joining the Owls a year ago, Chmiel was an assistant with the former WNBA Charlotte Sting.

Among the rookie male practice players was Matt Langel, a former Penn star and ongoing assistant to Fran Dunphy who moved with his former coach to Temple from the Quakers a year ago. He also is married to former Penn guard Tara Twomey.

The practice was announced for McGonigle Hall, causing the Guru to get lost at his own alma mater. The reason is that the gym was actually in the adjoining Pearson Hall.

If Staley caused the problem, she could be excused because her campus geographical knowledge is centered across the street in the spacious Liacouras Center, where her Temple team plays.

McGonigle, which still houses the Guru in a team picture from 1969, is the former Temple athletics home, which gets occasional use when shows and dramas are booked for the Liacouras Center.

Although "Inquirer Sportswriter," "USA Women's Basketball practice," and a few other phrases were not helpful in getting the Guru onto the neighboring parking lot next to McGonigle, the words "basketball manager" and "(Former Sports Information Director) Al Shrier" did the trick.

Sunday's game against the Australian National Team will be 30 miles North in the Sovereign Bank Arena at 1 p.m. in Trenton, the state capital of New Jersey. That will be some three hours before the Detroit Shock and Phoenix Mercury play a winner take-all decisive Game 5 of the WNBA championship series in Auburn Hills, Mich.

A year ago, the Shock had to complete their series-clinching comeback in Game 5 downtown after being displaced in The Palace due to another scheduled event.

This time, of course, Phoenix is trying to come back from a 2-1 defict in the playoffs after evening things Thursday night in the desert.

Sunday's game will cause Australia's Penny Taylor of Phoenix, to miss participating for USA's opponent, while the Americans will be without Detroit's Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, and Katie Smith, along with the Mercury's Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter.

The absence of Pondexter, a former Rutgers all-timer, cost Trenton its chief local draw. The Scarlet Knights' campuses are some 25 miles to the North. However, enough other WNBA All-Stars and former Olympic gold medal winners are on hand to make the event enoyable.

The U.S. beat Australia for the Gold in Athens, Greece, in 2004, which was Staley's last performance, internationally, as a player. The two teams will also meet Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

While the ongoing family situation continues, the Guru remains on thre sidelines from print coverage, but Kevin Tatum will do the honors for the paper Sunday. Kathleen Radebaugh was planning to write a feature for the blog. Erin Semagin Damio, fresh off her sensational coverage of the WNBA playoffs in Phoenix, will be in Casino-ville also known as Uncasville, Wednesday.

Erin will not be in Detroit due to a prior commitment and also needing to be back on her home campus in Boston at Northeastern. She does have some unpublished items to advance the next round and may also offer some travelogue photos from a drive in the actual desert surroundings of Phoenix

Brazilian Steak Sans Paparazzi

Celebrity Stalking Note: Yes that was the Guru dining early Friday night with a USA Basketball Official in Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian Steak House that opened last winter in Center City.

Located at Juniper and Chestnut near Broad St. just below City Hall, the restaurant occupies what used to be the headquarters for Caldwell Jewelers.

While carrots at the salad bar have replaced multi-carat diamonds as a delight of the clientele, the meal was, nonetheless, quite a gem.

Judging by the actions at our table, it's a wonder that there were no collisions in the aisles that are used to get to the salad bar and also bring the various steaks on skewers in Brazilian style to the patrons.

The way the system works, a red/green disc for each person at the table is used to either give a green "tongs up" signal to the waiter carrying the steak to stop by or a red "hold-off for now" notice.

Throughout the night, however, most times the wait staff ran right through the red sign, although we did not rebuff any of the serving attempts.

Motor Music

Here's a tip for you digital music lovers the Guru recently discovered while driving North from here in the land of Soft Pretzel Logic to the Mohegan Sun for a WNBA game.

When using a portable satellite unit such as Sirius or our XM Radio connection or playing an Ipod or other MP3 device through the car radio, radio frequency 88.9 FM will hold steady and not be affected by interference in the New York-New Jersey area from other commercial station. At times, 88.7 may also work.

USA Staff Slot Unaffected By Storm Turbulence in Seattle

So back in the days of last week and beyond going backwards when the Guru would begin to put words on the original womhoops blog, he noticed an ongoing debate at other boards and sites over the future of USA coach Anne Donovan as the head of the WNBA's Seattle Storm, especially if the franchise moves to Oklahoma City or elsewhere,

The ergo of those conversations was whether Donovan could be retained in charge of the Americans without a WNBA job elsewhere.

The answer is: Unless some other disruptive situation, involved with USA procedures, occurs to cause havoc to her future, Donovan will be on the sidelines in Beijing in 2008 for the Olympics no matter what happens to her relationship with the Storm.

Some had assumed one only had to hold a WNBA job to maintain an Olympic coaching position.

The reality is, according to a source at USA Basketball familiar with the rules of each "quad" period, one only had to meet the criteria at the time of his or her selection and not in the ensuing period leading to Olympic competition.

Donovan, who has already won gold as a player, has obviously satisified conditions that got her named to head the squad.

-- Mel