Women Can't Compete in the NBA posted by Colin Linneweber

NBA Commissioner David Stern predicted last week that a woman will play in the league within the next decade.

“I don’t want to get into all kinds of arguments with players and coaches about the likelihood,” Stern told Sports Illustrated. “But I really think it’s a good possibility.”

Stern, 67, who became the Commissioner in 1984, said he realizes that many people are skeptical that women could compete physically with men.

However, Stern offered the reasoning behind his belief and he cited examples of other female athletes who have flourished performing athletically versus men.

“If you look at world records, let’s say track and field, you’ll see how the women have moved up to what would have been records several decades ago for men,” said Stern, a graduate of Columbia Law School in 1966. “Watch the WNBA and you see the shooting percentages, the passing and the like. Basketball is a five-person game and you have zones and you can do a variety of other things.”

There is no question that many, many women throughout the world are tremendous athletes.

However, it is utter lunacy to contend that a woman could excel as a player in the NBA.

WNBA players have superb abilities on the hardwood and many of those players could likely trump men’s hoops stars in a contest of shire skills.

Nevertheless, pressed into live action, the weakest man in the NBA would easily outmuscle and outperform the strongest woman in the WNBA.

Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki correctly believes that a woman would falter playing in the NBA.

My favorite things! posted by Jeff Adler

What does everyone think about Bill Laimbeer leaving his WNBA coaching position? How would you like to see Laimbeer taking over the reigns of the Pistons? I have alot of respect for Michael Curry but, Bill Laimbeer would be a nice change for the 2009-2010 season! It might be pure speculation but, I think it's very possible that we may soon have a new coach to take us to the finals next year. What do you think? 

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Inbound link contest winner announced! posted by Earn Money Blogging

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

The whole purpose of this contest was to get our bloggers networking with other webmasters and to start to build up their inbound links which will help their traffic.  Even a few links can help you with the search engines as they will see you as more of an authority on your topic the more inbound links you have.

To learn more about marketing your blog check out this post: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/sports_content-rev_share_faq.html#my_faq_2971

Marija's blog can be found here.  If you're a Knicks fan, check it out: http://www.newyorkknicksnews.com/marijak

The original post announcing the contest can be found here: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/bloggers/weblog/2984.html

And if you're not already signed up with Google AdSense and making money from your blog, check out our Revenue Share FAQ page: http://www.nbabasketballonline.com/sports_content-rev_share_faq.html

Gold Medal Decision posted by Macklen Jackson

I, for one, will be rooting for Becky Hammon and team Russia when it comes to Olympic basketball this summer. And just to clarify something right off the bat: I’m not Russian and I am patriotic. I thought I’d explain that early on, because judging by how Hammon has been scorned as of late, the American public seems ready to jump to irresponsible conclusions.

When team USA’s 23-player roster was released, Hammon’s name was conspicuously absent, despite her stats being at least comparable, if not better than several players who did make the list. Hammon was also the runner-up MVP for the WNBA last season, where she plays for the San Antonio Silver Stars. When the roster size was expanded, she was later added and invited to try out for the team, hoping to make the 12-player final roster. However, Hammon declined this invitation because she had meanwhile been offered a very lucrative deal with the Russian club CSKA Moscow to play professionally during the WNBA’s offseason. This decision led to her inability to try out for the U.S. team and here’s why:

By signing with CSKA Moscow, Hammon was fast-tracked to get a Russian passport, and was subsequently offered a spot on the Russian national Olympic team. The Russian passport was not just a ticket to the Olympics for Hammon. Her dual-citizenship increased the value of her CSKA Moscow contract substantially; dual-citizens are highly coveted by the Russian league because its rules limit the number of foreign players they are allowed to employ, and players like Hammon can conveniently side-step this rule with a Russian passport. So, then it became a matter of straight-up probability. Does she take the sure thing: a guaranteed spot on the Russian team, or turn that down and gamble on a long-shot: making the U.S. 12-player team, for which she was only invited to try out after the invite list had been expanded beyond its original 23. She did not feel that she had a legitimate chance to make the team, and like most athletes, the idea of competing in the Olympics is too good to pass up.

When Violence Is Good posted by Chris Humpherys

Let’s face it.  When was the last time you talked about the WNBA, or even bothered to read a post about it?  David Stern’s decade-long project, known as the Women’s National Basketball Association, has provided hundreds of female athletes with a means to professionally pursue their basketball careers.  It has generated immeasurable interest among young females.  However, it has also been subsidized by the NBA since its existence.  While not entirely devoid of talent (the WNBA has seen the likes of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi and Lisa Leslie), most sports fans would rather watch paint dry than attend a WNBA game.

Rarely will highlights from the WNBA lead a sportscast, never mind be reported.  That was until this week.  In Tuesday night’s Los Angeles Sparks – Detroit Shock game (yes, I had to look up the names of those two franchises), a brawl broke out involving both players and coaches.  There hasn’t been a good ruckus in Detroit in some time, so the fans were due.

Tempers had been flaring throughout the game.  After a made Marie Ferdinand-Harris free throw, Plenette Pierson and league savior Candace Parker got entangled, with both of them hitting the ground shortly thereafter.  Pierson then immediately got up and accosted the young Parker as she lay on the court.  Ultimately, benches cleared, punches were thrown and players were ejected.  Dare I say, more quality contact was made in this scuffle than in most NBA brawls.

Once a girl, Always a girl... posted by Kara Dee Liggett

Interestingly enough, WNBA basketball isn't your grandmother's favorite sport.  Not that it was, but it had potential, in the beginning, when "models" like Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo were preaching about how they dealt with the challenges of being "ladies" in a man's world.  Nowadays, the concern is no longer how to remain a "lady" but, instead, how to dunk like the boys.  For one, the ladies are wearing the shorts hanging half-way down their rears (I'm guilty!) just like the boys...and [GASP] they're even a little guilty of "talking trash" just like the fellas... 

Now, don't get me wrong, not all the players in the WNBA are little replicas of these special "hoopstas" I am referring to, but if you walk into a gym for a high school summer league tournament or if you've been around girls after a high school or college basketball game, you will see a fair share of the girls sporting baggy shorts and big sneakers (I can't believe I just used the word sneakers, but my grandma would be proud!)...

Girls are taking basketball seriously in many respects- the intricacies of the game, the ways in which "flashiness" and solid fundamentals can enhance the effectiveness of a knowledgeable player, and most of all, being a fashion icon can speak volumes before you even step onto the basketball court- but you better bring some game to back up those baggy shorts or you might not be invited back to the gym. 

 All this to say that while the WNBA is the ultimate achievement for the girls who have the ambition and ability to play at that level, it is also the standard for thousands of young ladies who are striving to find their identity in a sport that has been dominated by women who are nothing like the men basketball stars.  And it's good to finally have some girls in the "league" that are feminine, yet tough, without being "girly!"

Inbound link contest - Win $100! posted by Earn Money Blogging

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

We're going to impose some restrictions on the types of links you can get so please see below for the full list of links that do NOT count.

To get started simply go to Google and find other websites and blog that are about the sports and teams that you write about. Email the website owner and ask them for a link by explaining that you think your blog would be a good resource for their readers. Or offer to write a guest post for them with your by-line and URL at the bottom of the article. Or offer to exchange links with them by writing a quick write up of their site and a reciprocal link back to them. Some webmasters will be happy to add you to their blog roll even if you don't give them a link back (which is ideal) but some may want you to link back to them - you can easily do this with a quick blog entry on your blog about their website.

To learn more about inbound links and marketing your blog in general check out this post:

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY 06.23.08 Around the World of Sports in 80 (or so) Sentences posted by S.V. Narine

Hot of the presses comes word of Nomar Garciaparra (my FAVORITE Dodger) being diagnosed with a gene problem that causes him to heal slower than a normal man. Who is this guy the ANTI-Wolverine ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healing_factor)? That has seriously got to be the worst mutant power of all time, but the funniest part of all of this is that he has been diagnosed by his PHYSICAL THERAPIST. These guys aren’t doctors! Nothing against physical therapists, but really, Nomar is more disabled than Lt. Dan ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/) and has spent more time on the disabled list than the Raiders have been an embarrassment, and it took them this long to find out that he has the skeletal structure composed of Faberge egg? I like Nomar as a person, as he seems like a cool guy and it must be incredibly frustrating losing so many years to injury, but man, if I was the Dodgers, I would be greatly annoyed that nobody realized until now that they had signed Samuel L. Jackson from “Unbreakable” to play baseball for them for 3 years.      

Now that the Lakers have left everyone’s thoughts for the summer and visions of Larry O’ Brien trophies dance in their heads, it’s time for some hot WNBA action! While most people’s knowledge of the WNBA peaks at repeat viewings of “Juwanna Mann ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juwanna_Mann)”, the WNBA provides plenty of action like lay-ups, more lay-ups and a dunk every 4 years! All right! WNBA wunderkind Candice Parker, dunked in a WNBA game, only the second time in history that has happened, a feat previously accomplished by her Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie. I will give Parker credit that she dunked in the middle of the game and didn’t have the luxury of her opponents creating an open pathway for her to do it. Also, I didn’t hear the audio, but I hope the announcer calling the game didn’t freak out like the Hindenburg just exploded and reformed in front of his eyes like he did when Leslie was able to “throw it down big person”. That is about the extent of what I know about the WNBA unfortunately, because Vivica A Fox is not part of the league, and there are no guys in drag to keep me amused. The last thing I will say is that the WNBA runs some pretty asinine commercials as they have their star players reciting every legitimate criticism about the league that people have, while running clips of girls just hitting lay-ups all the time. Unfortunately, the league holds themselves to blame for this scrutiny, and the fact that the league is failing because they suffered from a cardinal sin when starting up a new league: they tried to compare themselves to a more successful product, i.e. the NBA. They had them play during the NBA off-season to give basketball fans their “fix”. They had Cynthia Cooper as their marketable star, going out of their way to compare her to Michael Jordan. They ran ads stating “We Got Next”, implying that they can take on the men’s league and can run on the same floor as them. They stole the NBA Jerry West logo and added longer hair to it. They had Rebecca Lobo claim that she will be the first female basketball player. They invaded the NBA all-star game for a few years. After all of this, they were then dumfounded that most people who were fans of the NBA were utterly bored by the WNBA game, and their response was to attack people who compared them to the NBA. It went even so far as Cooper going on “Politically Incorrect” or “Real Time with Bill Mahr” constantly stating that women basketball players are on the same level as NBA ball layers. I’m not going to get into that argument, but the league shot themselves in the foot by trying to compare their players to NBA players and alleging that they were on the same level as the NBA, when CLEARLY they were not and the proof is in the product. Look at the ball they use, it is smaller and lighter than a NBA ball. Even the backers of the WNBA are inherently stating that generally women are weaker and smaller than men, because they have to have a smaller ball to toss around. I understand that it is stupid to say that, because it is biologically true that generally women are smaller than men, but according to these irritating WNBA commercials that are trying to turn legit criticisms of the league (that they are responsible for creating as stated earlier), there still is no gap. Even is even and therefore the cycle continues.

Sun get 1st pick in WNBA draft on April 8 (AP)

The Connecticut Sun will have the first pick of the WNBA draft on April 8. The league announced Tuesday that the draft will be held at the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, N.J. The Sun gained the first pick after completing an earlier trade with the Minnesota Lynx. Top draft picks include Tina Charles of Connecticut, Jayne Appel of Stanford, Kelsey Griffin of Nebraska and Epiphanny Prince, who... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Mercury ink Ashley Paris to training camp contract (AP)

The Phoenix Mercury have signed free-agent power forward Ashley Paris to a training camp contract. The defending WNBA champions announced the deal on Friday without disclosing terms. The 6-foot-3 Paris was released by the Los Angeles Sparks last June. They had selected her in the second round of the draft last April. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Hughes steps aside as Silver Stars head coach (AP)

San Antonio Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes is stepping down to become general manager full-time and promoting assistant Sandy Brondello to replace him. Hughes said Thursday the move is designed to keep the Silver Stars staff together, noting that Brondello has attracted interest from other WNBA teams. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Lynx add veteran perimeter player Maiga-Ba (AP)

The Minnesota Lynx have signed veteran forward Hamchetou Maiga-Ba (HAHM'-shah-too MY'-gah-bah). Maiga-Ba's addition was announced Wednesday. She was an unrestricted free agent, after a total of six years with the Sacramento Monarchs sandwiched around two seasons with the Houston Comets. Maiga-Ba is a native of Mali. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

WNBA veteran Penicheiro signs with Sparks (PA SportsTicker)

The Sparks have signed WNBA veteran Ticha Penicheiro, who helped lead the Sacramento Monarchs to the championship in 2005. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports