400 posts of Talkin’ ‘Bout Practice: a reader’s perspective

Though I’m now somewhat of a writer of this blog, I’ve spent most of the past year or two as a reader of the blog. It’s been one of my favorites, I’m a little bit ashamed to say. With four hundred posts now notched on the blog’s belt (is that even a figure of speech?), here are some of the things I’ve learned from these five wise writers:

• Cheerleader pictures, even if they’re unrelated, make everything better.
• If you include a big picture or video, readers won’t notice that you didn’t actually write anything. (They might even prefer it that way.)
• If you include the name of a popular/attractive female athlete (essentially synonyms) or cheerleader  along with any of the words ‘pics,’ ‘nude,’ ‘bikini,’ or ‘tattoo,’ you’ll get thousands and thousands of site hits from skeeve-balls. Like the writers of this blog.
• It’s okay to discuss repeatedly one college and to act college-aged, but don’t you dare suggest that any of these writers, well-guarded behind believable aliases, might attend that college!
• No matter how often you get it wrong, you’ll get it right eventually.
• Over-linking is tedious and taxing to read, but occasionally very effective and even moving.
• A funny or minimalist or intriguing or bizarre or awesome or unbelievable headline is essential. It can even forgive an insubstantial or absolutely terrible post.
• Sometimes only WTF ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? is a valid response after reading a blog post.
• There is such a thing as too much talk about Derrick Rose, but no such thing as too much talk about Candace.
• If a bunch of ragtag and underqualified writers put their thoughts down often enough with enough effort and consistency, a few genuinely interesting and thought-provoking ideas will emerge.
• Lastly, and most importantly, these are the wisest words in the English language: “I love women. I love basketball. I love women’s basketball.”

Shamm, thanks for always writing, even the posts are short and you whine a lot. Capital, thanks for hating the Cowboys and for coming up with good post ideas. SoCal, thanks for bringing some legit knowledge to the blog. Eags, thanks for making me appreciate D-Mac a little bit more and hate Philly a little bit less. FingerWag, thanks for having an awesome screen-name.  Here’s to another several hundred more rambly, aimless posts.

Parker births baby girl. Aspiring women’s basketball infants everywhere weep, clamor for bottle.

A new generation of Candace is upon us, and somehow it took this blog, these six rabid Parker fans, five days to report it. Sorry, We Talkin’ ‘Bout Practice readers, all dozens of you.

No picture or name is available, but I’ve read a few places that the baby weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. at birth with a height of 20 inches. No word on what colleges are at the top of baby Candace’s list, though analysts’ early predictions are that she’ll pick Tennessee when commitment day rolls around eighteen years from now.

Perhaps most incredible, Parker will probably not miss a day of the WNBA season. She continued working out through the night before the birth, and has said in interviews that she’ll get back to the gym and the Sparks’ recently-opened training camp as soon as her physician gives her the OK.

Here’s hoping that the reigning MVP is also a MVM (most valuable mom), too. Best wishes, Candace!

How did eagles miss this?

It’s official, Candace Parker and Sheldon Williams are married. They tied the knot November 13 when they eloped to Tahoe (huge lake in Northern CA) but managed to keep it a secret until now. Apparently, their schedules were too jam-packed for a big wedding to materialize.

We here at talkpractice offer our congratulations to our favorite sports star and express our condolences for all those were hoping that the engagement would fall through (cough, cough eagles…)

P.S. If you don’t get the title, read our About section!

wnba…kind of the like the nba

so just like the nba, la and san antonio met in the western conference finals, and detroit met up with bos…wait, wait i mean new york (kind of close to boston, right?) in the eastern finals

Sorry Silver Stars' fans - I'm picking Becky Hammon and Co. to win it all.

and now, the two number one seeds duke it out for the title, just like the nba (and exactly like the experts’ prediction. guess mechelle voepel knows her stuff). since la lost and detroit won (opposite of the nba) i’m going to say that the west – san antonio – wins the title. any team that can beat candace parker really shouldn’t lose to anyone. but then again, when have my predictions really turned out right?

Ice Ice Baby

Alright, so don’t get me wrong – I realize that I was ever foolish to think that Candice Wiggins was in any way better than Candace Parker. But that doesn’t mean Wiggins isn’t a prolific scorer in her own right, and she’ll make her mark on the WNBA just like she did at Stanford. And apparently, she already has.

Candice Wiggins – affectionately dubbed “Ice” by our favorite women’s basketball star – won the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the Year Award, which is about as best as she could have hoped for considering Parker wrapped up the Rookie of the Year in the first game of the season. So congrats to Wiggins. This 2008 draft class will be making waves for quite some time.

America Loves Candace Parker

The ESPN Sportsnation poll shows 43% of the US picking the Sparks to win the WNBA title among the four remaining teams. The Shock come in second at 25%, the Liberty at 18%, and Silver Stars – holders of the regular season’s best record – interestingly bringing up the rear at 14%.

What’s even more intriguing is that San Antonio couldn’t even carry its own state, losing that battle to L.A. Now, Texas really doesn’t like CA teams, so I can only attribute that to CP3′s popularity – which actually makes perfect sense. I must say, Lisa Leslie’s decision to have a baby in 2007 couldn’t have been planned better.

The WNBA Playoffs on…(insert cable network here)

It’s been nearly two months (July 24th is the exact date) that we’ve posted about women’s basketball not including Sarah Palin talk or CP3′s relative good-looking-ness. Forgive me if I don’t really count those, but that’s just inexcusable that a blog that prides itself on expecting great would devote this little attention to our game.

So let’s talk about the playoffs.

THE FAVORITES:

San Antonio had the best record in the league and is an odds-on favorite to capture the franchise’s first title. The Silver Stars seamlessly regrouped following the Olympic break, and everyone’s favorite Russian national is ready to bounce back from a disappointing conference finals exit-on San Antonio’s homecourt-to the Monarchs. If the Stars make it out of the West, look out – they went 14-0 against the Eastern Conference this year, including a 2-0 mark against…

Becky Hammon and Katie Smith look to lead their No. 1-seeded teams into the Finals

The Shock. The 2006 Champions would love to erase the memory of their runner-up finish in 2007. The offensive tandem of Deanna Nolan and Smith is fearsome and Cheryl Ford and Taj McWilliams-Franklin pose a formidable threat on the boards. Detroit has recovered well (5-1 to close season) from a four-game nosedive leading into the break-capped off by a double-digit loss to the Silver Stars-and have perhaps the most experience of any Eastern Conference squad. And for a feel good story, McWilliams-Franklin holds the title of “Most Deserving Veteran to Never Win a WNBA Title”, or at the very least, is one of the frontrunners for the crown.

THE DARK HORSE:

But while the experts peg both conference leaders to meet for the title, we love to offer dissenting opinions. And the media should know better than to count out any team that has Candace Parker. The presumable Rookie of the Year after leading the league in rebounds at 9.6 a game (2 rebounds more than the next best rookie Sylvia Fowles)-no easy task since her frontcourt

Can CP3 complete the trifecta in 2008? The experts say no.

mate Lisa Leslie also pulled down 8.9 per contest-and shouldering the offensive burden for the third-seeded Sparks with 18.5 points per game (also the rookie leader and 5th best league-wide) is even on the shortlist of MVP candidates. But it should come as no surprise after she led the Lady Vols to a repeat national championship on a dislocated shoulder and picked up an Olympic gold medal as a top reserve on Team USA. This may be one of Leslie’s final shots at a third ring, but will Parker tire after playing nearly twelve consecutive months of competitive basketball? My guess is no, but you’ll have to excuse the homerism.

THE FIELD:

Defending champion Phoenix finished last in the ultra-competitive West and failed to make the playoffs, but former champions Seattle and Sacramento both look to add to their hardware. While a win for the Storm would be sweet redemption after Force 10 bought the team to keep it in Seattle, championship hopes are slim following the season-ending surgery of Lauren Jackson. If Sue Bird and her clan of veterans can make a run, though, it would be a great story for the WNBA. Neverthless, both the Storm and the Monarchs look to be outmatched in the opening round.

Out East, Mike Thibault is one of the best coaches in the league but has to bring home a championship to women’s basketball titletown in Connecticut. The Sun have the experience-and the heartbreak, having lost in the Finals twice in 2004 and 2005-but did rank in the bottom

It looked good for the Sun in a 87-61 win over the Sparks July 24 – but will Connecticut advance to play the Western Conference champion?

half of the league in points allowed. The Liberty are getting better fast but look to lack the weapons to compete with the Shock should they upset Connecticut. And the Fever may be lucky to still be playing after eking out a .500 record with wins in three of their last four games.

THE PICK:

Los Angeles. Parker picks up the triple crown as the Sparks gain redemption for the Lakers’ finals embarassment and CP3 solidifies her position as one of the best to ever play the game.

Disagree? Offer your opinions in the comments section.

That time of year again.

Ohhh yeah. summer sports are what it’s all about. Baseball’s in full swing and the basketball playoffs are nearing their conclusion. But what sport is the lead story on espn.com concerned with? The annual Scripps national spelling bee.

(Begin Editorial): Now I’ve got major, major respect for all of the kids in the spelling bee. All of them are ridiculously smart and talented, and I’m sure they’ve dedicated an absolutely huge number of hours in preparing for the competition. That’s awesome for them and they have every right to be proud of their accomplishments. In fact, I think someone who did very well at the competition attends a certain institution in Durham…interesting. I always think it’s interesting though that ESPN, the worldwide leader, covers the spelling bee. There’s many other things it could be showing…like tonight’s WNBA game featuring the Los Angeles Sparks against the Indiana Fever!!! YEAAAAH! CANDACE PARKER TAG!

Also…here’s more proof of the awesomness of bill simmons:

Great Sports Anyway you spell it (his liveblog of the 2002 spelling bee – seriously, how awesome is that. i’m sure he got paid some pretty big bucks to liveblog a spelling bee. awesome).

ESPN also did a feature on Samir Patel, a former national spelling bee title contender. Here’s his info:

When he was 9, Samir Patel became a Scripps National Spelling Bee legend by finishing third. Now 14, after five tries and, shockingly, no title, Patel is too old to compete.

Here’s the article: Spelling bee icon Samir Patel moves on to next challenges

(I’ll be completely honest. I cherry-picked these quotes from the article.)

It is unfair — and uneducated, really — that critics dubbed Samir the “Dan Marino of spelling” last summer when he muffed the word “clevis” and finished his fifth and final Scripps National Spelling Bee without a title. Anyone who has stood on that stage, under the hot lights and cameras, knows the bee can be cruelly random.

Solid writing…but really? The Dan Marino of spelling? You mean Samir Patel is of “Italian and Polish” descent? Had some awesome clutch performances for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team? Was an amazing NFL quarterback who started as a rookie qb in the pro bowl?? And, most importantly, the man who shot Boomer Esion (sp?) one of the coldest looks I have ever seen? Wait till the end of the video.

Mothers cooed when his helium voice confidently belted out Y-A-M-A-M-A-I, which, by the way, is a Japanese silkworm. Teenage girls mobbed him, asking for autographs. Samir just innocently giggled and oozed boyish cuteness.

“Is it just my luck, or am I getting all the French words?” he cracked after one brain buster.

No funny commentary needed. But is Elizabeth Merril serious? Do teenage girls really mob pre-adolescent spelling bee title contenders? I should have readjusted some priorities in the early days then…

“I don’t really think girls would go for my looks,” he says. “I’m not the most handsome person ever. My mom thinks I’m too young. Apparently, I’m not allowed to get married ’til I’m 30.”

Brown Power!

He didn’t know of his spelling bee history, either, until he was flipping the channels at home and saw him do a celebrity appearance on the Food Network.

Now that’s pretty baller.

Regardless…major props to all of the spelling bee kids.

I expect better, ESPN

There’s a poll on espn.com right now asking “Who has the toughest job to save his or her sport?” After about 4,000 votes the results are:

44% – Candace Parker

32% – Sidney Crosby

13% – Big Brown

10% – Danica Patrick

I’d say these results are mostly fair, although I don’t really understand the wording “save” the sport. In Candace’s case, yes, she will have a large part in “saving” the WNBA which has been viewed as a joke to most people and struggles to keep its head above water. However, the league is still expanding and I wouldn’t save its in any imminent danger – maybe it should be worded as “generating legitimate interest” in the sport. Sidney Crosby is a solid #2 because it will be difficult to raise the NHL to a sense of relevancy for the common sports fan, but does the NHL need saving? In a recent Harris Poll asking “If you could pick one sport as your favorite”, Hockey ranked higher than Pro Basketball, and the NBA is in fine shape. I believe it ranks higher because Hockey is more of a niche sport – I would guess that most NBA fans are also NFL fans or college ball fans, so because the poll only include your favorite, it ends up with a lower tally. This is not a bad thing for hockey because it means more hardcore fans – with a hardcore fan base, hockey doesn’t need “saving”. Likewise Big Brown isn’t going to “save” Horse Racing – It has its followers as it has seemingly forever and gets its share of coverage around Triple Crown time (although PETA might have other plans). Also, Danica Patrick goes under the “generating interest” column because unlike the other three on this poll, she isn’t at the top of her sport – and a sport that would be “saved” by open-wheel unification, not by one driver.

The real issue in my mind is that ESPN does not have enough respect/coverage of other sports beyond it’s “Big 3″ – football, baseball, basketball. Just because these sports aren’t given equal coverage time by ESPN, doesn’t mean they don’t have large, dedicated followings. What about the MLB? It’s embroiled in a scandal which taints the results of its games for over a decade, and by that Harris Poll has lost 8 percentage points in the last 20 years. Does it need “saving”? Probably not, because it still has a large following, but I could make a better argument for the MLB than for the NHL. Even the NBA has gone through a major “Post-Jordan depression” and has dropped from 13% to 4% in the last decade. Same argument applies.

The bottom line? As much as I love SportsCenter, its time for ESPN to stop snubbing other sports and earn the self-proclaimed title “Worldwide Leader in Sports”. Maybe better wording of polls such as these would be an easy way to get started.

The countdown to 3:30, May 17th begins

(Note: Since I was forced to wake up at this ungodly hour, I decided to do something productive for once and contribute to the blog)

What will you be watching this weekend?

Some summer baseball perhaps? Partaking in America’s past time? Caught up in the intensity of NBA’s playoff basketball, where we may see 3 game sevens in the conference finals? Maybe horse racing and the preakness strike your fancy.

All dumb decisions. This weekend matters for one, and only one, important reason: the WNBA tipoff. 3:30. ABC. Los Angeles at Phoenix. Candace Parker. Diana Taurasi. Mercury and Sparks. LET’s GOOO!

In related WNBA news:

Sports illustrated recently featured a slide show titled: “Athletes with Style”. And Candace Parker was honored with a selection to a list including athletes such as Tom Brady, Maria Sharapova, and Roger Federer.

Here was si.com’s official caption:

Shelden Williams is one lucky man. Not only is he engaged to one of the WNBA’s best rookies, but he’s also got a woman with style. Nikes or heels, Parker (left, with Brittany Jackson) can make it look great.

And umm…I’m not sure if we’ve (or just me) missed Brittany Jackson, but she is a former Lady Volunteer who now contributes to the Atlanta Dream. According to wikipedia, she also works as a model in her spare time.