e-Zine April 2004

Inside Scoop™ by

Wolverines in Cinderella Clothing – Women’s Hoops The onset of April in women's Vols a comeback win over Baylor in the is a transitional time semifinals. because the NCAA Women's Final Just how Butts got to the foul line is Four that will be played Sunday and another story with a referee making a call Tuesday in New Orleans will mark the on a scramble for a loose ball in a end of one of the most competitive situation that begged for him to swallow seasons ever. his whistle and let the players decide the But it is also a month of new game in overtime. beginnings because as quickly as a A firestorm of criticism erupted across champion will be crowned, attention the country not helped by the NCAA's will then turn to April 17, the day of the refusal to allow the official to be WNBA draft and the date we'll learn interviewed by a pool reporter from the which teams will be the recipients of news media. The aftermath will continue one of the most talented senior to flow this weekend, especially later in classes to play the game. the tournament when the issue is certain First things, first, however, and that to be brought up in the annual media means looking at the field and the so- session with the NCAA tournament called Wolverines in Cinderella committee chairperson. clothing who are known by their In both collegiate and pro circles, school names of Minnesota and LSU. officiating is the item one hears most Tennessee and Connecticut are discussed in need of major improvement back again. That may not be new but in women's basketball, except upgrading the Volunteers, with a little help from is not as easy as it might seem. the sports' No. 1 problem, had two Meanwhile, two days later Butts came daredevil escapes in the Midwest back and broke Stanford's heart with a regional against Baylor and Stanford. shot with 1.7 seconds and Tennessee You could say Tennessee played was on its way to another Final Four. its off with the 5-11 senior The match up with LSU in the guard making two foul shots in the semifinals reunites two rivals in the final eyelash of a second to give the Page 2 of 9 April 2004

Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg rugged . choice of the WNBA , Tennessee has been struggling since and sophomore Barbara Turner were the point guard Loree Moore suffered a knee offensive guns, especially in the East injury in the Duke game in January and final against Penn State that ended the was lost to the season. collegiate career of with But coach 's group has the Nittany Lions. found ways to win close games, but not as Junior Jessica Moore was inventive as what Butts did at Oklahoma huge in helping Connecticut contend with City. and Shrya Ely are UC Santa Barbara's size in a physically two other key players to watch in the grueling win in the East semifinals. Orange and White uniforms. Connecticut is making a nostalgic trip Connecticut's trip is nostalgic in its unprecedented fifth straight trip to because the Huskies made the first of the Finals as the Huskies try to match their eight Final Four trips in 1991 where Tennessee's NCAA record by winning a they lost the semifinals to Virginia. third-straight national title. However, the -led There were thoughts coach Geno Cavaliers then lost in overtime in the title Auriemma's squad was in trouble game to Tennessee. following a late season loss at Villanova and a loss to Boston College in So much for the oldies. Connecticut's second home - the Hartford As for the debutantes, yeah, well, Civic Center - in the Big East tournament great storylines, great efforts, but major semifinals. surprises - not really when you go turn The Huskies had also yielded a huge the page back earlier in the season. lead against Duke in Hartford in January. Overall, the comforts of home are still Minnesota was rocking with a 15-0 the comforts of home and Connecticut win streak to get started, a run that didn't have to leave the state with a sub caused former Golden Gophers coach regional in Bridgeport and the East finals Brenda Freese, now in her second in Hartford. season at Maryland, ``if Minnesota was Senior , likely the name ever going to get to a Final Four, this is to be uttered on April 17 as the overall first their year.'' Page 3 of 9 April 2004

Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg

Freese spent the 2001-02 season in leave taken in early February because of Minnesota in turning the program an acute bronchitis condition. dramatically around to a winner before Her assistant Pokey Chapman has Maryland came with a tantalizing offer to guided the Tigers in her absence. join up with the Terrapins. Still, LSU isn't really coming out of The inside-outside attack of senior nowhere. Many thought the Tigers might guard and 6-2 center make the finals a year ago. The players Janel McCarville, who plays even bigger to watch, who also made the team a than her size, have made the Golden preseason favorite to thrill the locals, are Gophers a force. sophomore Seimone Augustus and But in mid-February, Whalen broke senior Tameka Johnson. two bones in her right hand and missed The key against Tennessee will be to seven games. Minnesota took an produce a better rebounding effort than immediate dive, hence the No. 7 seed. when the two met earlier in SEC However, Whalen made a great competition. recovery and returned for the start of the Connecticut has the experience over tournament where she torched Minnesota, but the Gophers are showing opponents including Duke, the No. 1 no fear so this could be an interesting Mideast seed, and the top team in the game if the Huskies' defense has no final AP poll. answer for McCarville. The fact that Minnesota was a different team without Whalen than with Déjà vu. her only helps to make her value higher when the WNBA teams begin making Penn State's Rene Portland will their picks. receiver her second coach of the year award from the Women's Basketball LSU, only an hour away up the road Coaches Association. Her first occurred from New Orleans at Baton Rouge, in 1991, ironically, in New Orleans. becomes a sentimental favorite and also because the Tigers have been without On Saturday, the Kodak all-American coach Sue Gunter, who is on a medical team will be announced, along with the Page 4 of 9 April 2004

Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg

AP coach and player of the year. The there are a slew of players who are first female Wooden Award winner – top close to the elite of the elite. female college basketball player – will be announced, April 10. Without regard to ranking, here goes: Connecticut senior Diana Taurasi - History lesson. Her stats may not have reflected her This is not LSU's first national ability this year, but if this was baseball, semifinals appearance, even though it is how many times does she drive runners the Tigers' NCAA finals debut. In 1977, home with the game on the line. Some the team knocked powerful Immaculata are already calling her the WNBA's out of the semifinals of the AIAW LeBron James in terms of stature if not tournament in Minneapolis and then lost similar circumstance. to Delta State in the title game. Minnesota senior Lindsay Whalen - One of LSU's stars was a center from As previously noted, look at the Gophers Australia named Maree Jackson. Years with her and without her - enough said. later, her daughter has Duke senior - Her become a sensation with the Seattle personality may not consist of the same Storm in the WNBA and last season was flair as another well-known senior, but the league's Most Valuable Player. her game does a lot of talking. It's not Consolation four. totally her fault that her supporting cast has failed to show several times in big- Here's one person's view of the four time situations. programs who should have won titles by now but haven't. The quartet is Georgia, Stanford senior - There Auburn, Virginia, and, after this week, were times this season where she made our newest entry - Duke. one scratch one's head over the way the Cardinal and she fit together. But in the The top five. Vanderbilt game with the seconds ticking What a year it's been for talent, in the Midwest semifinal, she showed especially in the senior class. Picking a coolness under fire in kicking that pass to top five is not easy because, technically, Kelly Suminski, who hit the mark and Page 5 of 9 April 2004

Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg kept Stanford alive into the Tennessee Florida's . She's right game. there with the elite and a name we Houston center - The should hear throughout the summer in senior guard-forward was a scoring the pros. machine and carried the Cougars to new Kansas State's Nichole Ohlde. Hurt heights. by the Wildcats' annual collapses. But The others. her pro career should be intriguing. Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, the LSU's Seimone Augustus - An Nittany Lion scoring machine should be immediate star next season in the post saluted for a great career even though Taurasi-Beard era. we don't know how she'll adjust to the [RS] WNBA after the physical pounding she got from UConn.

2004 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship

Sunday, April 4, 2004, ESPN Tennessee vs. LSU Connecticut vs. Minnesota 6:00 p.m. CST 8:00 p.m. CST

Tuesday, April 6, 2004, ESPN Winners meet at 7:30 p.m. CST Page 6 of 9 April 2004

Authority in Women’s Sports™ by Brian Straus

FREEDOM STILL STANDS – Women’s Soccer

Spring’s arrival has seemed to have “You just don’t just want to give up little impact on the dwindling hopes of a on it,” he said. You believe in [WUSA Women’s United Soccer Association Founder John Hendricks] and that rebirth. The February deadline for something will get restarted. Either potential sponsors to submit a letter of way, you can’t just waste three years intent passed quietly, plans for a third of good hard work. You go forward.” summer festival seem to have been abandoned (according to a source with The focal point of Gabarra’s effort a potential venue) and the individual to maintain the Freedom’s pulse is a spearheading the league’s series of exhibition games he hopes reorganization effort - former Boston will augment his former players’ effort Breakers President and General to stay involved in high level soccer Manager Joe Cummings - has left his during 2004. Only a small percentage post and taken a front office job with can count on the U.S. national team Major League Soccer’s New England for training and a paycheck. The rest Revolution. are filtering into the United Soccer League’s W-League and the WPSL, Daunting news to some, but not two semipro circuits that play a Washington Freedom Head Coach Jim summer schedule. Gabarra. Note there is no ‘former’ attached to his title. Gabarra still is hard The Freedom kicked off its 2004 at work trying to organize exhibitions for campaign on March 26 with a 6-0 his league champions, running triumph over the University of voluntary practices and directing the Louisville before 1,641 fans. The team’s ambitious youth programs. He Freedom fielded a selection of players still comes into the office and works only who remained in the Washington for a small portion of the money area, including Founders Cup MVP generated by the Freedom’s youth and Women’s World Cup stalwart camps and teams. Gabarra said he is Abby Wambach, and guest players unwilling to throw in the towel, leaving like Heather Mitts and Christie the Freedom the last WUSA team Rampone (formerly Pearce). The standing. team conducted a clinic in Cincinnati Page 7 of 9 April 2004

Authority in Women’s Sports™ by Brian Straus

on Saturday before playing the “The motivation was to offer our University of Cincinnati (another 6-0 team and our players who don’t have Freedom victory) and Xavier University a national team commitment the (3-0 to the Freedom) as part of an chance to still put on the Freedom abbreviated round-robin tournament the uniform and be a pro player and get a following day. little appearance fee and get a game Gabarra said that a portion of the in,” Gabarra said. “If they want to money generated from ticket sales and continue playing in the W-League or camp fees would be paid to the WPSL that’s a 10 to 20 game season. Freedom players who participated, I figure I could offer them another four allowing them to continue - at least for a or five before that season, a couple weekend - to play professional soccer. after, and then you have something close to a real professional season.” Gabarra will lead the Freedom against the University of Maryland on If Hendricks’ somehow manages to April 4 as part of the annual Kicks secure the sponsors needed to bring Against Breast Cancer tournament in back the WUSA in 2005, Gabarra’s Germantown, Maryland then into an Freedom will have had quite a head April 10 match against the NCAA start. champion North Carolina Tarheels in [RS] Virginia Beach, Virginia. During the summer Gabarra and assistant coach EVENT DETAILS: Clyde Watson will run the Freedom’s June 17-20 National Sports Center, camps and youth teams. Gabarra said Blaine, Minn. he also intends to field a Freedom June 24-27 The Home Depot Center, “reserve team” of WUSA players, Carson, Calif. college players and select high school graduates against a variety of W- League and WPSL sides. Page 8 of 9 April 2004

Olympic Preview – Athens Greece by Brian Straus

Great Expectations - Triathlon (Third of a seven-part series) The United States was unable to 1,500 meter swim, a 40 kilometer bike claim a medal in the inaugural Olympic ride and a 10 kilometer run. triathlon in Sydney, but hopes are much higher heading into this summer’s Baltimore’s Joanna Zeiger finished Games in Athens. As May’s ITU World fourth over that distance in Sydney, Championship in Portugal approaches, missing out on a medal by 17 seconds. the United States boasts the planet’s top- Since then American women have three female triathletes. surged to the top of the ITU world ranking. The first official triathlon was held in California 30 years ago, but the Idaho’s Barb Lindquist tops the list, inspiration for the sport goes all the way followed by Laura Reback (North Palm back to Pierre de Coubertin, the founder Beach, Fla.) and Sheila Taormina of of the modern who said Livonia, Mich. The latter has been in 1875, “we need a sport that combines especially busy in the past month, swimming, cycling and running, which vaulting into the top three thanks to a are all so popular....” second place finish (2 hours, 17 minutes, 21 seconds) at the Bay Islands The rise in triathlon participation and International Triathlon on March 6 and a the commercial success of events like gold medal performance the Ironman led to the sport’s inclusion in (1:57:51) at the ITU Pan American the Olympic program at a distance that, Championships in Acapulco on March according to the International Olympic 27. Committee’s website “correspond to the longest distances adopted by the A University of Georgia business respective International Federations school graduate and former Waffle (FINA, UCI, IAAF), regarding the House waitress, Taormina, 35, won a disciplines carried out in a stadium.” gold medal at the 1996 Olympics as part Thus the Olympic triathlon consists of a of the U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay Page 9 of 9 April 2004

Olympic Preview – Athens Greece by Brian Straus

team, then turned to triathlon in 1999. The trio is not guaranteed the United She finished sixth in Sydney. States’ three berths in the Olympic triathlon. Qualification is an involved Lindquist, 34, is a Stanford graduate and process that will include the results of another former swimmer who finished three upcoming races, including May’s fourth at last year’s world championship world championship. The top American and famously won the richest purse in finisher in each of the first two will the sport’s history last August, when she qualify, while the third spot will be filled took home $250,000 from the Life Time by a formula including past results Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis. Reback, following the third race in Washington 28, placed second at last year’s world State in June. [RS] championship.

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