New Article (Complex): Disaster Casting: If the Key Players in the NBA Lockout Were Movie Characters
It’s day 1,981 (roughly) of the NBA Lockout. Colors seem to be fading. We have no food, no jobs…our pets’ heads are falling off! In fact, the lockout is eerily similar to a movie script: there have been shocking plot twists, heroes, villains, and unexpected revelations. But will there be a happy ending? Sure, if Requiem for a Dream is your idea of a happy movie ending. So in the spirit of laughing to keep from crying, we’ve found the movie character equivalents of the key players in the lockout. Now, if we could all just leave the theater and go home to watch a damn basketball game…
Read the entire article here: http://www.complex.com/sports/2011/11/disaster-casting-if-the-key-players-in-the-nba-lockout-were-movie-characters#1
Retro Article (Complex): The 5 Stupidest Reasons to Hate on the WNBA
“The NBA Shoves It Down Our Throats”
I hear complaints all the time that the NBA tries too hard to promote the WNBA to their audience via commercials on television, having WNBA players participate at NBA All-Star Weekend, coverage on NBA.com, and things of that sort. To the people who believe, by doing this, the NBA is “shoving the WNBA down our collective throats,” I have a couple of suggestions for you: 1) There is this magical thing commonly referred to as “sight” that most humans are fortunate enough to possess. The great part about it is that we generally have the ability to avoid looking at things we don’t want to. It’s as easy as moving your “eyes” (you know, the two big balls of white goo housed in our head that allow us to see) in another direction. Thus, if you’re not a fan of the WNBA, that’s fine; simply look away and don’t visit websites that talk about it. Problem solved! 2) In that same vein, as humans, we have been blessed with the ability to utilize our fingers to manipulate things (that’s what she said). If you simply cannot tolerate a WNBA commercial or article, I recommend using said fingers to select a different channel (I know it is a painstaking process) or navigate to a website that talks about how much the WNBA sucks.
Read the entire article here: http://www.complex.com/sports/2011/10/the-5-stupidest-reasons-to-hate-on-the-wnba
Retro Article (SLAM): On the Road with the Phoenix Mercury
Probably the most fun I’ve ever had covering women’s basketball, I spent a week with the Phoenix Mercury on an extended road trip in the summer of 2010. Check out the link below for all five pages of my journey for SLAM.
“How was it?” My fiancée excitedly asked. I had just arrived back in Phoenix after spending the past week in Seattle and Los Angeles with the Phoenix Mercury, 2009 WNBA Champions. Being a lifelong fan of the WNBA, she was excited to hear the intricacies and behind the scenes scoop of life on the road for a professional athlete.
“Umm…,” I poetically replied. If I’m honest, I had no clue how to articulate the extent to which the previous week impacted me; it was that profound. I thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued.
“My faith and admiration for professional athletes has been renewed.”
Bold? Yep. Exaggerated? Not at all.
As I’m sure the reader can attest to, my response wasn’t remotely close to what my fiancée expected. “Okay…what exactly happened on that trip?”
“If I tell it right,” I replied, “I think it could really change the way some of the doubters look at the WNBA; maybe, finally, help the players get some long overdue respect.”
Don’t believe me? Keep reading.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/womens/2010/07/on-the-road-with-the-phoenix-mercury/
Impromptu survey: What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think of the WNBA?
Retro Article (SLAM, 2009): The WNBA Doesn’t Need Fixing…We Do
There is absolutely no refuting that 2009 was a monumental year for the WNBA or that the league itself had a substantial amount of victories. Admittedly, these might be “small” by comparison but for a league that has struggled to gain widespread acceptance for 13 years, any amount of success and progress should be notable.
I came across an article by Josh Levin for Slate that illustrates perfectly what I’m speaking of. In it, Levin argues that in spite of well documented increases in ratings, viewers, attendance, and coverage that the WNBA is a faltering league and needs “fixing.”
Instead, what really needs to be fixed is us.
Levin’s assertion isn’t ground-breaking or revolutionary by any means, and one we’ve all heard before. However, Levin seemingly ignores the momentum the WNBA has gained after 2009 and states that, in reality, there is “little evidence the WNBA is primed for mainstream success” and that he can think of two ways to “fix” this (apparently) broken league.
1. Ignore the male fan base completely and solely market to the female, gay and lesbian community.
2. Or, simply “appease” the male fan base and adopt the rules of the now defunct Liberty Basketball Association.
Now, at first glance, you might not have any glaring issues with the above options. However, according to the rules of the Liberty Basketball Association, the women in the league would wear skin-tight (and see-through) uniforms that were incredibly revealing, play on a shortened basketball court, and lower the rims to a height of 9-2 with the idea being to entice “real men” (I use this term loosely as my definition of a man is far different) into watching the league. By having women play virtually in lingerie, on a shortened rim and court, the theory is that more men would watch or pay attention. Thus, leading to an increase in the male fan base that the WNBA (as Levin describes) are apparently so desperately longing for.
Levin’s whole premise is based on points that are false; and (as we learned is Psychology 101) correlation does not mean causation.
To begin, he argues that the WNBA is failing. I do suppose it depends on your objective definition of the word; it’s no secret the WNBA has never been a cash cow or that franchises are losing money, but it’s also well-documented that the net losses are improving. Levin twists examples in his favor such as the “thousands” of tickets that were bought to fill up the upper deck in Indiana and Phoenix for the WNBA Finals as negative and making light of the huge rating increases (upwards of 40 percent) for ESPN2. He also talks about the Detroit Shock moving to Tulsa and how it’s a sign that the WNBA is failing as a whole. Somehow, Levin ignores the fact that the city of Detroit is in an insane amount of hurt and that all the professional sports teams in that city aren’t exactly rolling in dough. More importantly, there is a clear twisting of facts going on here and it saddens me. The amount of progress the league has made in 2009 should be regarded as triumphant. Instead, it’s become (once again) material for fodder.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/womens/2009/10/the-wnba-doesn%e2%80%99t-need-fixing/
I want to mate with the weather in Phoenix right now - 58 degrees, overcast after rain…perfect.
Retro Article (SLAM): Hoop Dreams, 15 Years Later
“People always say to me, ‘when you get to the NBA, don’t forget about me’. Well, I should’ve said back, ‘if I don’t make it to the NBA, don’t you forget about me’.”—William Gates, Hoop Dreams
We haven’t forgotten.
Fifteen years ago, a landmark documentary changed the way we viewed the proverbial dream many children have of playing professional basketball. As with millions of youth across the globe, Arthur Agee and William Gates dreamt of one day playing in the NBA; the only difference with them and others is they were actually gifted enough to make it there. Growing up in the inner-city of Chicago, Agee and Gates were recruited early on to play high school basketball at a suburban prep school. Immediately, they found that their dreams of playing in the NBA would come at a much higher price than they originally thought. Academics, money, family troubles, and politics were just some of the newfound barriers they would have to face. Throughout it all, they never lost faith in basketball, and in doing so captured the collective hearts of moviegoers everywhere. Never before had a film given us a glimpse of this journey as it was actually occurring.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/blogs/the-w/2010/03/hoop-dreams-15-years-later/
Retro Article (SLAM): In Defense of Brittney Griner
“Did you see that girl baller drop that other girl the other day?” My friend not-so-intelligently asked me. Obviously, he was referring to Baylor’s freshman phenom Brittney Griner punching a Texas Tech player on March 3, 2010.
I nodded, and began to state how disappointed I was that the whole incident happened. I spoke with a morose tone as if I had the right to critique Brittney Griner as a young woman. We conversed for a while regarding the fallout after the punch, how it reflected badly upon women’s basketball especially with such a supreme talent like Griner, and how there is no excuse for something like that in the game. Then, I had somewhat of an epiphany – I realized I have no room to judge or ridicule Griner.
And neither do you.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/college-hs/college/2010/03/in-defense-of-brittney-griner/
Ohio State’s Sammy Prahalis. SICK. Watch for her.
Retro Article (Magazine): Goran Dragic Beats the Spurs
From Goran:
Before Game 3 against the Spurs, I was talking to Alvin and he said, “Kid, be aggressive. Play your game and don’t worry if you make some mistakes.” I just listened to his advice. When I got in the game, I penetrated right away and ended up scoring. Then I hit a shot from the three-point line. After that, I just knew it was going to be a great day. When I made the 4-point play I felt that every shot I took was going in. The paint was open and it seemed that we could get whatever we wanted offensively. Even though we were up a lot at that point we continued to play the pick and roll against Tim Duncan. They were switching so we just tried to penetrate and find open shots.
It was great because we were 18 points down and we ended up coming back to win by 14, which was amazing. We know that as a team, if we are down, we just have to stay focused and at some point we’ll make a run.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/06/sunrise/
Retro Article: Becky Hammon and the Power of Belief
“At the end of the day, when I look back, I just want to be someone who treated everyone the same,” said a humble Hammon. “From my teammates to the person who turns the lights on in the gym, I want to be known as someone who respects others and treated them well. Someone will come along who breaks records and things like that, but giving back and being a good steward is forever.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/womens/2010/06/the-power-of-belief-2/
Retro Article: Lauren Jackson - The Upward Spiral
Ever wonder what Lauren Jackson’s favorite Nine Inch Nails album is?
“My favorite Nine Inch Nails album is…well, I have two,” says a smiling, reflective Jackson. “Year Zero and The Downward Spiral.”
Ironically, The Downward Spiral is probably the worst way to describe Lauren Jackson on and off the court. The album centers around a dark and heavy metaphorical journey for writer Trent Reznor dealing with melancholic themes throughout. At times, it can be depressing and weary. But there’s nothing depressing or pessimistic about Jackson; if anything, The Upward Spiral would be a much more fitting title for Jackson’s career.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/womens/2011/06/the-upward-spiral-lauren-jackson-without-equal/
BREAKING: I’ve obtained video of myself destroying my laptop.
New Article (SLAM): Ann Strother Wants to Change the World
I remember it like it was yesterday…
It was a relatively normal August day in Castle Rock, Colorado. The year was 1998. I was a new student at Castle Rock Middle School and couldn’t have been more nervous. In fact, I think I vomited that morning. I’m fairly introverted and extremely shy by nature; being the short, funny-looking new kid was absolutely terrifying.
As I made my way through the main hallway, I spent a few minutes trying to spot other kids who also had no clue where anything was.
“Well, apparently, I’m the only new kid,” I remember thinking. “This blows.”
A tap on my shoulder would change my entire outlook.
“Excuse me,” the voice said. “Do you know where 8th homeroom is?”
I turned around to respond.
“I…um…I have no id…,” I said, smoothly, while performing a double-take.
There stood Ann Strother. All six-feet of her, or so it seemed. I had never seen someone my age who was that tall, much less a girl.
“Wow,” I said, stuttering. (Again, so smooth.) “Ball…you…er…I mean, you play ball?”
“A little,” said Ann with a smile.
And so our friendship began.
We eventually figured out where our classes were and hung out all the time. We played one-on-one after school and would go to each other’s basketball games. Ann would go on to star at UConn with Diana Taurasi (winning two National Championships) and was selected in the second round of the 2006 WNBA Draft.
Fortunately, we’ve managed to keep in touch over the years. I caught up with Ann recently to discuss her new non-profit foundation, Outward Bounce.
Read the entire article here: http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/womens/2011/11/ann-strother-wants-to-change-the-world/
Location: Starbucks.
That moment when someone is standing so close behind you in line that you can feel their breath on your neck. No matter how much you scoot forward, they follow. But you don’t do anything about it…other than complain on tumblr.
This is me.
