First up: Jolene Anderson.

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Head coach Marynell Meadors said she is proud of how some of her players have made headway as faras effort even thought they’ve been long eliminated from the playofs.

I’d be happy to quote a little bit from the story, but it’s an Associated Press article via the NYTimes.com. Hat tip to the Women’s Hoops Blog for the find.

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David King of the San Antonio Express-News takes a good, long, in-depth look at the diminuative point guard and her struggled to make a name for herself, including her struggles as she decided to join Team Russia for its’ playoff run. One of my favorite parts of the article doesn’t detail Becky’s stateside troubles, but those within her own Olympic squad across the pond.

It also helps that Hammon, who has three years left on what is reportedly a $2 million contract with CSKA, won over members of the national team. Some had objected to the idea of playing with a U.S. point guard, both in the media and with Grudin, before the 2007-08 season.

“There was a big question mark about ‘How is she going to fit in with the Russian girls? How is she going to treat them? Is she going to be a pain in the butt on this team? Is she going to be a good teammate? Is she going to be somebody we can trust and rely on?’” Hammon said.

“And after they saw me on a day-in and day-out basis, they’re like ‘OK, we’ll take her.’”

King also provides a basic Olympic primer for those who want to know what to expect prior to the Olympic games.

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All teams will be off as a bulk of players prepare for international competition. Some players have already left, but most will join their teams this week to begin practicing for the basketball competition starting the second week of August.

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But here’s what the skirmish proved: There is passion in the women’s game. For many, the WNBA is a below-the-basket game played by the old girls club. The brawl has revealed the players to be competitive athletes who would not be more at home on the Ladies PGA Tour. No one is advocating turning the WNBA into the WWE, but an outpouring of pure emotion is never bad for a sport. 

The fact that a bunch of people are talking about the league now can’t necessarily hurt, but the question has to be asked whether a fanbase that includes some alienation from other more prone-to-violence sports might risk turning off some viewers if these fights become more commonplace.

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Detroit Shock forward Cheryl Ford is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury.

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At least the league’s not sweeping it under the carpet with its coverage.

Safe to say Candace Parker and Delisha Milton-Jones are getting suspended for a game, though.

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Well, that’s because it was — and since we’re talking about it, it’s because he was fired Saturday. From the Washington Post:

General Manager Linda Hargrove said the completely demoralizing nature of the back-to-back losses to New York (77-56) and Detroit (99-62) was the tipping point. The embarrassing losses put the playoffs farther out of reach for the Mystics (8-14), who’ve qualified for postseason play four times in their 11-year history.

“It probably wouldn’t have happened had we lost those two games, just lost them,” Hargrove said. “But the way we lost them and the way we didn’t compete . . . was very much a part of the decision.

“Whenever you are going through a bad stretch sometimes you can keep everybody together on the same page and continue to work toward a common goal. I don’t think I really felt the connectiveness with our team and Tree for a while. I think we won some games in spite of maybe not having a real together feeling with everybody.”

I guess you can ask yourself why he can’t get a full season to see if the team buys into his plan, but when you get your ass handed to you twice in a row, sometimes you don’t get to ask the questions.

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