Last month, Sacramento authorities reported that Candace Parker, the greatest women's basketball player in the world, eloped with longtime boyfriend/fiancé Shelden Williams, a current Kings back-up. That development hardly affected Parker's on-court status, but this one might: according to European club coach Gundars Vetra, Parker is expecting her first child.
Vetra would know: Parker had been in talks to play for his Russian club (Ekaterinburg) during the WNBA offseason. The apparent pregnancy would, um, prevent that. It will also (I assume) prevent Parker from playing for the L.A. Sparks this season.
And while a discussion on the inherent challenges of professional women's sports is a bit beyond the purview of this post, let it be said that losing an incredible superstar like Parker for a season is a blow for the WNBA. It's the equivalent of Michael Jordan retiring at his peak to play baseball. Hearty congratulations Parker and Williams, nonetheless. They are almost Sacramento's power couple right now, and I've never read a bad word about either.
(And now, for my best Billy Bush impersonation.) Beyond Landlord status at Duke and becoming Atlanta's fifth overall pick in 2006 draft, Shelden Williams' basketball career has been in a malaise. Al Horford rendered Shelden superfluous in the ATL, and Williams became the supposed sweetener in Sacramento's Mike Bibby sell-off. Here in Sactown, Williams has never grasped the rapt attention of the Kings coaches nor the fans. He has been mired on the bench, seeing the scraps cast aside by Sacramento's more cherished youngsters.
On the other hand, his personal life seems to be going swimmingly. He has been engaged to former Tennessee superstar Candace Parker, without question the best women's basketball player in the world. In the WNBA offseason, Parker stays with Williams in Sacramento. Inseparable, the pair.
The pair had apparently been planning a big wedding, but according to Melody Gutierrez of the Sacramento Bee, they couldn't wait any longer and decided to elope in Lake Tahoe last month.
At least Donté Greene can return that crock pot he got on sale in preparation of the wedding. No word on whether the pair will put together a big reception. If so, I hope Candace doesn't invite fellow L.A. icon Kobe Bryant, because he and Francisco Garcia do not get along.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker is an amazing basketball player averaging over 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists a game. She is one of the leading candidates for WNBA rookie of the year. In this video we talk to Parker and find out to which NBA superstar her fans are compairing her. We also catch up with Coach Michael Cooper who shares with us his successful coaching philosophy.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
WNBA star Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest American Olympians in history, winning four gold medals in four consecutive Olympics. In this video we catch up with Leslie and two of her Sparks teammates -- Candace Parker and Delisha Milton-Jones -- who teamed up with her on the USA basketball team. Find out which athlete most impressed Parker, and how President Bush supplied the players with some laughs. Also, around the 2:45 mark, find out how the Sparks plan on celebrating the Olympic achievement.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
WNBA star Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest American Olympians in history, winning four gold medals in four consecutive Olympics. In this video we catch up with Leslie and two of her Sparks teammates -- Candace Parker and Delisha Milton-Jones -- who teamed up with her on the USA basketball team. Find out which athlete most impressed Parker, and how President Bush supplied the players with some laughs. Also, around the 2:45 mark, find out how the Sparks plan on celebrating the Olympic achievement.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
WNBA star Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest American Olympians in history, winning four gold medals in four consecutive Olympics. In this video we catch up with Leslie and two of her Sparks teammates -- Candace Parker and Delisha Milton-Jones -- who teamed up with her on the USA basketball team. Find out which athlete most impressed Parker, and how President Bush supplied the players with some laughs. Also, around the 2:45 mark, find out how the Sparks plan on celebrating the Olympic achievement.
FanHouse blogger Enrico Campitelli Jr. is on the scene in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. The U.S. Olympic Team is the only country other than the host nation with their very own training facilities located in Beijing. They've contracted out a relationship with Beijing Normal University to set up the kind of training center our nation's top athletes have come to expect.
During a tour I took of the facilities the other day I got the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the ladies hoops stars -- including Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, and Diana Taurasi, among others – in the middle of a closed practice. They seemed light and loose during their shoot around, as they should with the rest of the world struggling to even compete with our dominant women's team.
More photos of the basketball team as well and the men's water polo squad after the jump.
Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast! One moment Plenette Pierson and Candace Parker are jostling for position, and the next Rick Mahorn is shoving Lisa Leslie to the ground and Cheryl Ford is being carted off in a wheel chair.
In other words: one second the WNBA isn't even a speck in the casual sports fan's peripheral vision, and the next it's a guaranteed hot topic in thousands of newspapers, blogs and talk radio shows across the country, not to mention on endless loop on SportsCenter. But hey, all publicity is good publicity, right?
Try telling that to David Stern (or better yet, Mahorn) this morning. But while this is certainly a figurative black eye, I'm guessing all that really comes of this is a bunch of people who never liked the league in the first place cracking a few more jokes. If you must, please don't compare it to the Malice at the Palace just because it happened to take place in Auburn Hills (fans were never even close to being involved) nor Danica vs. Milka just because it involved female athletes (at least actual haymakers were thrown last night, not just towels).
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
There are over 7.5 million high school student-athletes in the nation and 12 of them were nominated for one of the most coveted awards in sports, The Gatorade Athlete of the Year award. This year's presenters included some big names, Matt Leinart, Greg Oden, Candace Parker, Allyson Felix and Mia Hamm. We were there and caught up with this year's winners.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
In this exclusive video we hear from basketball star Lisa Leslie who tells us what it takes to win the gold at the Olympics, something she has accomplished three times. This summer in China, Lisa will be joined by her teammate, basketball sensation Candace Parker. Around 2:00 into the video Lisa tells us how she prepares for the summer games and sports has nothing to do with it.
Last month, Sacramento authorities reported that Candace Parker, the greatest women's basketball player in the world, eloped with longtime boyfriend/fiancé Shelden Williams, a current Kings back-up. That development hardly affected Parker's on-court status, but this one might: according to European club coach Gundars Vetra, Parker is expecting her first child.
(And now, for my best Billy Bush impersonation.) Beyond Landlord status at Duke and becoming Atlanta's fifth overall pick in 2006 draft, 
ADVERTISEMENT
