Finals

The finals have started and the contestants are the Detroit Shock representing the East and the San Antonio Silver Stars representing the West. That is correct; it is the Silver Stars representing the West. A team that was not picked to make the playoffs advanced through the conference by knocking off the early favorite LA Sparks in the West finals...

It should be noted again that their coach, Dan Hughes did not win Coach of the Year.

As for the Sparks, their attitude may have been their downfall. They perpetually cruised through the season and the playoffs with a sense that their talent would suffice and they would win. The hardnosed approach toward them that was initiated by the Storm was picked up by the Silver Stars. Ann Wauters and Ruth Riley were expendable in terms of fouls since they weren't the prominent scorers.

While Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker have the size and strength to go toe to toe with Wauters and Riley, that isn't Leslie's game and Parker draws those whistles that often go against a rookie. Maybe next season the calls will go Parker's way, but if they don't the Sparks may want to start scouting NCAAW teams to find out if a Charles Oakley in a sports bra is on any roster.

Detroit was expected to get by the NY Liberty and did, although the Liberty did take it to the limit and kept the scores respectable. Like San Antonio, NY went further than expected. Unlike LA, Detroit did not rest on its laurels.

Detroit has already captured Game 1 of the best of five series. San Antonio has the home court advantage, but it didn't matter in the first contest. While their players discuss "changing things around" for Game 2, it may be that they have finally met their match. The same things that made Detroit the favorite throughout the playoffs factor into this match up to determine the WNBA champ. The Shock has the edge in both the starters and the bench. Their mid season acquisition of Taj McWilliams-Franklin may have brought about charges of collusion if it had occurred in the NBA. Like the Lakers getting Pau Gasol some may have felt that this deal gave Detroit too much of an edge.

Since no former employee is involved in this transaction it was simply a case of the Washington Mystics realizing they were going nowhere and deciding to shed some payroll. The fact that Taj ended up on a team so rich in talent that the All Star is now a bench player was a lucky circumstance for the Shock. But, it simply demonstrates their roster superiority.

It should be added that the Sparks also had a superior roster on paper. It just didn't carry over to hardwood.

While the Silver Stars became my bracket buster by knocking off LA, I'm still going to take Detroit in 4. I don't think they want to play a deciding game in San Antonio, so they will do their utmost to confine the final games to the Motor City. The low score of Game 1, 77-69, suits the Shock and they will attempt to keep it that way for the remainder of the series. The Silver Stars are going to have to explode offensively which means they will have to work the perimeter, or risk going inside. You can imagine the consequence of going inside against a team coached by Laimbeer and Mahorn.

Rookie of the Year

The WNBA are handing out their season awards like they are the state quarters, but they did get around to naming the ROY. LA's Candace Parker was the unanimous choice. She established herself by having the best rookie season in league history. The MVP has yet to be announced, but with the prevailing opinion being that she also got the Sparks back into the playoffs she still deserves that hardware.

NBA

Perhaps missing the sound of Dikembe Mutombo's creaking joints, the Denver Nuggets have added Juwan Howard to their training camp roster. Paul McCartney turned down the offer, so failing to secure one of the Fab Four; the Nuggets did the next best thing and went for one of the Fab Five. "We really wanted McCartney." Coach Karl admitted. "For one thing, he's younger."

Having rid himself of that pesky Avery Johnson who was constantly trying to find ways to improve the team's game and motivate his players, Mark Cuban has announced he will be more active in the managing of the Dallas Mavericks. He will be there to assist Coach Rick Carlisle throughout the season. "Think of it like me being George Steinbrenner and Rick being all of those managers The Boss fired throughout the ‘70' and ‘80's." Cuban explained.

In an effort to upstage Cuban, David Stern revealed the findings of the league investigation into the gambling activities of its referees. Needless to say Tim Donaghy was the only bad apple in the spotless barrel.

After 14 months and several million dollars spent, the league has decided that it will establish a hot line where teams can report suspicious activities. In other words, if they think a ref is throwing their games. Both Mutombo and Kobe Bryant have requested the number so they can report any referee who dares to charge them with a foul.

Additionally, the league will monitor fraternization between the refs and players. Most players feel this is unfair because it will cut down on their chances to meet babes. Said one player who requested to remain anonymous, "Those tight gray t-s they wear, along with their polyester pants, them dudes are chick magnets and now we can't hang and chill after the game. Is David Stern going to provide the honeys?"

Interestingly, Stern also stated that gambling education would be provided to players. This confused most of the players asked because they are aware that refs don't make squat and they wouldn't waste their time gambling with them. The same player quoted above said, "Dudes who have to squeeze into economy class on commercial flights to make the next game ain't exactly my idea of high rollers."

When not kidnapping teams from Seattle, the owners of the Oklahoma City franchise are making life hard for Nor Cal. In case you weren't aware the Golden State Warriors have a mascot named Thunder. Since that is the name of the relocated franchise, owner Clayton Bennett has asked that the mascot's name be changed. The Warriors understand the delicacy of the matter and have agreed to a name change. Their President, Richard Rowell said, "We are thinking of doing something to honor Bennett. Our first idea for a new name was Up Yours Fat Okie, but the league ruled against it."

It appears that Shawn Kemp's basketball career is at an end. If you think I am as stoned as Kemp, let me explain. Kemp had been signed by a team in Italy, but he was released when he failed to report to camp on time. He claims that he was checking on his house in the Houston area to see if it had sustained damage from Hurricane Ike.

If the reason is valid remains to be seen, but his past was probably a deciding factor in the team's move. Now that they have the gambling problem eliminated, perhaps the league will ask Kemp to author their drug policy.

We'll wrap up the WNBA next week and get closer to tipping off the men.  Don't gamble with a ref and, if your name is Thunder, respect the sovereignty of the Oklahoma franchise.