BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Pat Summitt wondered when her young Tennessee team would finally get through its growing pains and finally figure it out.
Ball State gave her the emphatic answer: maybe next year.
The Cardinals stunned the two-time defending national champions 71-55 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, snapping one of the more remarkable streaks in college basketball history.
It is a good thing for Roger Federer that he isn't a woman. Or maybe it is too bad that Candace Parker is. After all, they are in the same boat, but in very different classes of travel. Federer is in first, while Parker appears to be in stowage.
The ship both are sailing on is the Love Boat. Federer announced happily on his Web site Thursday that he is about to become a father. Parker is pictured on the cover of ESPN the Magazine scheduled for release on Friday in full bloom – pregnant.
In December, news broke that the WNBA's Jordan -- Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks -- had eloped in Reno with fiancée Shelden Williams. The couple had been engaged forever, and the timing seemed odd. A month later, Parker confirmed reports that she was pregnant with her first child. A plan to spend four months playing in Russia during the offseason (for $1 million, no less) went in the drawer, and it's not clear if Parker (due this spring) will suit up for the Sparks this season.
The suspicion would be that the couple didn't plan to have a baby right now. Parker is the subject of the cover story in ESPN The Magazine this week, where she tells Allison Glock that the pregnancy was as much of a shock to her as it was everyone else. (The full cover can be seen after the jump.)
Sometimes you can watch so much basketball you forget how hard it really is to dunk. Guys like LeBron James and Dwight Howard make highlight reels for dunking on a daily basis, and any college basketball player worth his weight in Nikes can throw it down when given the chance.
That is where Brittney Griner comes in. See, we've never had a female basketball player that made dunking look easy. Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker have both flushed it before, but it looked more like they were trying to avoid ripping their arm out of socket than to dunk. Griner is 6-foot-8 and can dunk on the run, in traffic and even, as the video after the jump will show, in a girl's grill.
Griner is heading to Baylor next season with the expectations of the world on her shoulders. That will probably be the first time you see Griner, though, because though she's a McDonald All-American this season, her high school won't let her miss class. To go to an All-American game. Yes, shaking your head at this point is acceptable.
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.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Pat Summitt wondered when her young Tennessee team would finally get through its growing pains and finally figure it out.
It is a good thing for 
In December, news broke that the WNBA's Jordan -- 
Sometimes you can watch so much basketball you forget how hard it really is to dunk. Guys like 
Last month, Sacramento authorities reported that 
(And now, for my best Billy Bush impersonation.) Beyond Landlord status at Duke and becoming Atlanta's fifth overall pick in 2006 draft, 
