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"There is no offseason"

Dear Gilbert,

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Dear Gilbert,

Let me start by saying this letter isn’t necessarily for you and I know that you could care less what I have to say but since you took it upon yourself to ridicule and insult an entire group of women I felt it necessary to send a message to young girls and women who may have caught wind of your antics.

I really hate that this happened because as a native Washingtonian I was a fan of yours Gilbert. I am a Wizards fan and you brought excitement to our city. You were different, you had charisma and on top of that you were a pretty damn good ball player. I even bought into the whole hibachi craze with your buzzer-beating game winners. I was excited when you lead us to four consecutive playoff seasons. Yea we lost in the first round three years in a row but still. I could finally represent my home team and not hear a bunch of hate from the haters. We loved you Gil, the entire city was on your side. We even rooted for you when you were traded to Orlando. The hibachi grill was definitely turned off but we still wanted the best for you.

But we all know you crave attention Gilbert. Everyone knows this. A quick scroll down your Instagram feed is a dead giveaway. Besides, what professional athlete brings guns into their locker room to threaten a teammate? Seriously, I know you didn’t graduate from college but a degree doesn’t give you common sense and that was just stupid. Honestly, we shouldn’t be surprised about what you said about the women in the WNBA. How can we be surprised when you publicly disrespect the mother of your children? A woman who apparently isn’t as bad as you make her out to be or you wouldn’t have had four children with her. Or would you? There’s that common sense again. Yea you’re rich. Yea you’ve made well over 100 million dollars during your NBA career. Yea you stole checks for years from the Wizards with that awful 6 year 111 million dollar deal they gave you but money doesn’t make one happy and clearly you are miserable with your own life or just plain bored. [Read more…]

WNBA Free Agency 2016; Indiana Fever

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The Indiana Fever were one of the best teams in the WNBA this past season. Although they finished third in the standings in the Eastern Conference regular season, they made it out of the Eastern Conference as champions and faced the number one seed out of the West, the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA finals. In Stephanie White’s inaugural season she led the Fever to a 20-14 record and an appearance in the WNBA finals where they took the series to five games and were on the brink of bringing home the championship trophy. Disappointed to have lost in the finals the Fever are looking forward to getting back on the court next season and fighting for another chance at a second championship for the franchise.

Tameka Catchings has announced that the 2016 season will in fact be her last as she plans to retire upon its conclusion. Catchings, who is superstar and future hall of famer will have one last chance to cut down the nets. She has a great supporting cast around her who were a huge part of the teams success this season. Bringing in Shenise Johnson from San Antonio proved to be a great move by the Fever in the offseason as she played an integral role throughout the season. She is currently a restricted free agent and I imagine the Fever are eager to extend a contract with her. [Read more…]

WNBA Free Agency 2016; Dallas Wings

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The newly named and relocated Dallas Wings (formally the Tulsa Shock) will look to pick up where they left off last season. Tulsa was one of the best teams in the WNBA last season despite losing their all-star guard Skylar Diggins to an ACL injury. A bitter departure for the fans of the Shock as their team FINALLY clinched a playoff spot after missing out in all of their years in the city.  The Shock finished third in the Western Conference with a record of 18-16 and took on second placed Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs. The Shock, full of young talent, started the season off strong and went on a eight game winning streak in June which tied the franchise record all time win streak. However, this success was short lived. Shortly after losing Diggins the Shock lost ten games in a row and looked to be defeated. Luckily for the Shock, their heroics to start the season kept them in playoff contention despite the losing skid. They eventually were swept by Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs but have much to look forward to next season. With Diggins returning to the line up along with Sims, Williams, and Pierson, who was named to her first all star team, the Wings should do some damage in the west.  [Read more…]

WNBA Free Agency 2016; Connecticut Sun

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At the moment the Connecticut Sun are in search of a new head coach. Back in October, the Sun announced that head coach Anne Donovan had resigned after three seasons with the team. The Sun finished the 2015 WNBA season with a record of 15-19 which was last in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. In their defense, their star and reigning rookie of the year Chiney Ogwumike, was held out for the entire season following her winter knee surgery.  The Connecticut Sun is a team full of young talent and actually were a surprise around the league to start the 2015 season when they went on a seven game winning steak. For a while they were in first place in the Eastern Conference. However, they also went on a two six game losing streaks and at one point dropped 15 of 20 games. Not much to celebrate during the 2015 season but the Sun have much to look forward to in the coming years. [Read more…]

WNBA Free Agency 2016; Chicago Sky

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The Chicago Sky had a very successful 2015 WNBA season. The team finished the season first in scoring in the league with almost 83 points per game and second in rebounding with 36. A huge part of their run last season was the return of a healthy Elena Delle Donne. Delle Donne was named the league’s most valuable player after averaging 23.4 points and having a player efficiency rating of 32.72. Also worth mentioning is Allie Quigley, who signed a multi-year contract before the start of the season, being named the 2015 sixth woman of the year for the second consecutive season. She had a fantastic year averaging almost 12 points per game off the bench and hitting the second most three pointers on the team. Despite being without the services of their all star Sylvia Fowles who decided not to suit up for the Sky last season the team made [Read more…]

WNBA Free Agency 2016; Atlanta Dream

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angel mccoughtry dream

December 7, 2015

The Atlanta Dream finished the 2015 WNBA season in fifth place with a 15-19 record. A disappointing season for a team that made consecutive post season appearances prior. As usual Angel McCoughtry led the way for the Dream averaging 20 points per game and being named to her fourth all-star team. Shoni Schimmel, who was selected in the first round of the 2014 WNBA draft by the Dream and named to the all star team in her rookie season gave the fans in Atlanta a lot to look forward to. Finally, McCoughtry would have the help she needed on the wing to go along with the bigs Sancho Lyttle and Erika de Souza. But for Shoni things didn’t start out as many had hoped. It seemed as if coach Michael Cooper felt that Shimmel didn’t come into training camp in an expected condition and therefore her minutes were limited to start the season. In addition to a rocky start, after the all star break, the Dream decided to part ways with their veteran center Erika de Souza in exchange for Damiris Dantas and rookie forward Reshanda Gray. [Read more…]

WNBA Free Agency 2016

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wnba ball

During the next month we will have a team by team analysis on what we think teams will or should do in free agency this offseason. Free agency usually starts sometime after the new year. Last year players were able to sign their new contracts beginning February 1st. There are a few big names in the market both restricted and unrestricted. Unlike the NBA, many big stars usually stay with the team that drafted them for their entire careers but after former Chicago Sky center and new WNBA champion Sylvia Fowles refused to return to the Sky and was eventually traded to the Minnesota Lynx maybe other stars in search of a championship will start to team up with each other.

During free agency teams will be able to re-sign players who have expired contracts. They will also have to convince players who are unrestricted free agents not to leave for other teams if they desire to retain that player’s services. Teams have the option to “core” a player which means that any one player entering free agency (usually saved for unrestricted agents) will receive a max contract for at least one year. The team and player can also negotiate a long-term deal under the core designation. In exchange, this player does not have the option to negotiate with other teams. The core designation in theory is in place so that teams can retain their star player and avoid having to rebuild if their best player decides to leave. This way, they are able to build around that player, keep fans happy and build a core group.  It may be disadvantageous to the player because the core designation eliminates their chance to explore other opportunities but at the same time it gives that player stability. There are arguments on both sides about whether or not the core designation should stay or be eliminated. At least for now it is here to stay so don’t count on many star players jumping ship. Teams won’t allow it to happen! First up will be the Atlanta Dream.

 

 

Life After Basketball: Armintie Price

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ATLANTA Dream guard Armintie Herrington CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

ATLANTA Dream guard Armintie Herrington CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM

Unlike NBA players retirement after basketball is not your typical retirement for WNBA players. It’s not filled with charity golf tournaments and vacations to exotic destinations or lounging around the house spending time with family and friends. For most professional women basketball players, life after retirement marks the beginning of your second career. Although the living made by basketball is significant most players venture off into other worlds once they hang up their shoes. Many stay close to whats near to them and thats sports. Whether it be coaching, commentating, or training, many former professional athletes are still working in the athletic department. WomensBasketball247 caught up with Armintie Price Herrington who recently announced her retirement after nine seasons in the WNBA to talk about life after basketball. [Read more…]

Epiphanny Prince Suffers Knee Injury

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FIBA/DYNAMO KURSK

FIBA/DYNAMO KURSK

Epiphanny Prince suffered a devastating knee injury during Dynamo Kursk’s fifth round loss to Villeneuve d’Ascq. Prince has already returned to the U.S. to have the injury evaluated from Cushing Law attorneys and filed for a personal injury case through Sweet Lawyers, LLP. This could be a devastating loss to Dynamo Kursk in both their domestic and Euroleague play  if she is out for the remainder of the season.One can have a peek at this web-site in case there is need for legal help. People can also hire a lawyer after an accident if they need the best injury or accident. [Read more…]

Glory Johnson Shares Her Story With Cosmopolitan Magazine

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The sensational 28 day marriage and eventual divorce between WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury star Britney Griner and then Tulsa Shock’s (Dallas Wings) Glory Johnson made headlines nationwide. Glory who recently gave birth prematurely to a set of twin girls who were conceived by in vitro fertilization speaks out again about her worldwind relationship with Griner. This time around she lays it all out with Cosmopolitan Magazine where she makes some very serious accusation against her ex and thanks the magazine for “sharing The Truth w/ the World.”

[Read more…]