The city of Detroit has a dynasty. It isn't the Red Wings, the Pistons and certainly not the Lions or Tigers. It is the Shock. They ended the improbable San Antonio Silver Stars playoff run with a three game sweep in the finals. Shock forward Katie Smith was named series MVP. Sorry to disappoint Flyers fans, but she did not sing a stirring rendition of God Bless America. This is the third WNBA title the Shock has captured in the last six years...

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick arranged for a downtown victory celebration and declared the communities love and support for the team. He also declared them a dynasty. Of course, these days you really don't want to be close to Kilpatrick, but a little positive spin for a guy staring jail in the face is a good move on his part. If he's lucky, three to six is what he is facing and he'll be out by the time they are in pursuit of their seventh title.

The Shock qualifies as a dynasty because they have to be considered favorites to reach the playoffs next season. Coach Laimbeer has built a young, strong, talented team that has many years ahead of them. Four of their players have nine years in the league, but the rest are babies by comparison. Toss Cheryl Ford being injured late in the season into the mix and, if anything, they stand to be a better team next season. General Motors may be bombing out in the Motor City, but the Shock could be rolling WNBA Championship trophies off their assembly line for a long time.

Before packing it up for the winter hibernation the league handed out its last piece of hardware. Candace Parker won the MVP in what was a righteous, albeit surprising vote. Many associated with the league had expressed reservation about awarding Parker both the ROY and the MVP. That would have made sense if she didn't truly deserve them, but she most definitely did.

League attendance was up this year and the games that sold the highest were contests featuring Parker. It was rare for the Sparks to hit the road and not be playing to a sell out or near capacity crowd. When LA visited Seattle in the regular season the Key arena opened up sections that had never been used for Storm games. People were willing to sit in the nosebleed section to watch Parker. When a player puts asses in the seats, attracts new media attention and is consistently atop relevant statistics it would seem to be an easy choice to name her MVP. Congrats to the league for doing the right thing. Although congrats really have to go to the folks who did the voting.

With the season complete, let's take a look at the state of the WNBA. This was the best draft season since the leagues inauguration. While some of the rookies displayed jitters most of them fit in seamlessly and benefited their team. The competition for ROY may have been as stiff and numerous as MVP, so that shows the depth of the draft.

As mentioned, attendance increased in 2008. The WNBA has a core following that consists of women, girls and men who, like myself, are willing to admit that if we went one on one with Lauren Jackson we would be smoked like a salmon. What the league has to do is try to grab that everyday sports fan. The level of play is there, but they need to work on their promotion.

The opened the season with a ridiculous campaign that had WNBA players spouting negatives about the league and women athletes in general. The ads would end with a voice over saying "She doesn't believe it, do you?" They were heavy handed and looked like the smear ads that run during political campaigns. As is often the case with negative advertising they did more to discourage viewing than to encourage a new audience. The women who did the ads hated them and they were pulled early on.

The league needs remarketing. One way to create more interest would be to expand the schedule. Thirty four games aren't enough to build momentum or even provide exciting races. Furthermore, it causes the players to head overseas in the off season to play in leagues to supplement their meager WNBA income. When Rebecca Lobo signed a free agent contract with the Houston Comets her bonus was a PT Cruiser. Can you imagine handing the keys to a PT Cruiser to a NBA player? He would laugh and then ask where his ride was being stored.

By expanding the schedule they would pull in more attendance simply by getting the core following to come out for more games. Additionally, it would allow others to see what is developing in the league and come on out. This would allow teams to increase payroll and get even better performance since players often report to camp immediately following the end of the season in leagues in Russia, Italy, Australia, etc. Playing with jet lag is no fun and can lead to injury and sluggish performance.

Women athletic programs are important. The WNBA is the beacon of women's professional sports. Its success could lead to more exposure for women's soccer and softball and could open the door for a women's hockey league. There is a NWHL in Canada, along with a women's baseball league, but good luck finding them.

I'm never my irreverent self when discussing the WNBA because I want to give it a positive spin. I hope they capitalize on their success by improving the league.

NBA: European Vacation

Having fleeced the EU of so many of its better players, the NBA decided to give the folks across the pond a taste of what it is all about. Unfortunately, unlike the NHL and MLB they have scheduled exhibition games abroad. I guess the thinking is that we can't sell exhibition basketball to the natives, so we'll take it elsewhere and try to generate some revenue.

I think the most enterprising idea is the game pitting the Orlando Magic against CSKA Moscow. Much like when the Russian Army team dropped the puck in the Philadelphia Spectrum, this game might cause the Magic to step up their preseason regimen and play like it counts. Other than this game, paying the Heat, Hornets, Wizards and Nets to vacation in Europe seems more like a winning proposition for those four teams.

That leads me to believe that the Phoenix Sun and the Denver Nuggets must be wondering who they pissed off in the NBA front office. While those four teams are seeing the lights of Paris and downing pints of bitter in London, these lucky pups are off to the desert to play a game outdoors. The start time is at night, so the threat of overexposure is limited, but it is a poor substitute for Europe. In case you aren't interested in playoff baseball, the start of the NHL, or college football make sure to set yourself a reminder for this clash from Indian Wells, CA taking place tomorrow night and being televised on TNT. Along with the chance to see Shaq, like he's going to do anything this early into the campaign, you will get to hear Charles Barkley. I love both of those guys, but I think I have other plans for Saturday night.

While on the subject of exhibitions, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost their inaugural game to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Afterward Coach P.J. Carlesimo said, "We're a new team, so I expect we'll have rough patches. I just hope we don't stink as bad as those Sonics did last season."

Next week we concentrate solely on the NBA and give the men their time in the sun. I'm trying to talk my wife into sending me to Europe so I can get up close and personal with the games being played on foreign soil, but it's not working. So, next week, from Seattle, I'll start talking this NBA up big time.