e-Zine April 2005 by Mel Greenberg INSIDE SCOOP™… Generational Finals And so here we are in has made the Owls into a Indianapolis, at a most unique nationally-ranked team that also Women’s Final Four, one that had a 25-game win streak until promises to be a little more Rutgers applied the brakes in the sedate with the party crowd than second round of the tournament. last year’s raucous doings in New Orleans. Meanwhile, Michigan State and Baylor are both here for the first This may be remembered as the time, and Louisiana State is here generational finals for one simple for a second time after making a reason: the NCAA Women’s debut last season. Tournament will reach its 25th birthday next season. It could be a big weekend for LSU in the RCA Dome, especially if Appropriately, the kid star players former coach Sue Gunter is named of the early days of NCAA to the Naismith Basketball Hall of competition back in 1982 are now Fame class of 2005 to be becoming the forefront of a new announced on April 4. generation of talented and successful coaches. WNBA Houston Comets and former Mississippi coach Van Consider this: In the spring of Chancellor, who was the winning 2000, former Louisiana Tech star U.S. Olympic coach in Athens, is Kim Mulkey-Robertson was hired also a candidate for induction. at Baylor, Dawn Staley was hired at Temple, and Joanne P. McCallie Pat Summitt of Tennessee, was lured into Michigan State. already a Hall of Famer, is still All three programs were nowhere around after setting a new NCAA on the map of prominent women’s career record for men and basketball at the time. women’s coaches with 882 wins prior to the Final Four. Five years later, Staley, who had no previous coaching experience, e-Zine Page 2 But did you know that all three of the Los Angeles Sparks for the other coaches here, including Delisha Milton-Jones and the 13th LSU’s Pokey Chatman, have all overall pick in the April 16th draft. played against Summitt’s Vols in their careers? Donna Orender, the new WNBA president, will be making her Mulkey-Robertson was 6-0 as a debut among the college crowd player and helped knock here at the annual WNBA- Tennessee out of the first sponsored party for the coaches’ Women’s Final Four in 1982. convention. Joanne McCallie, then known as Former president Val Ackerman Joanne Palumbo, lost a close was named the new president of game at Northwestern when she USA Basketball, the first female to was the high scorer for the hold the post, and will serve Wildcats in a 1987 meeting with through the Beijing Olympics. Tennessee. The draft may not be as star- Chatman, of course, regularly studded as last year’s Diana went up against Tennessee when Taurasi-Alana Beard-led she was a star guard for LSU in selections, but there is still talent the late 1980s and early 1990s. to add to the pro league. The games promise to be most At this hour the Charlotte Sting interesting. still hold the first overall pick, ***** having jumped several spots when Over in WNBA land, the long- the lottery was held. [RS] expected Chamique Holdsclaw trade was finally made with the former Tennessee superstar sent from the Washington Mystics to Spread the word – Annual TEAM REAL SPORTS memberships available for just $14.99 and it includes the exclusive members only T-Shirt. Call 800-650-0122. .