Posts tagged ‘Washington Mystics’

{picture from WNBA.com}

From 1999 to 2004, two different versions of Chamique Holdsclaw played in Washington D.C.

The first version was drafted by the Washington Mystics first overall in 1999 out of Tennessee and started in the inaugural WNBA All-Star game as a rookie.  Holdsclaw led the team to two playoff appearances, and averaged 18.4 points and 9.1 rebounds a game during her tenure.  She created so much buzz and excitement for women’s professional basketball in Washington D.C. that the Mystics led the league in attendance five out of her six years with the team, averaging well over 15,000 fans per game (close to what the Wizards averaged during that same span, until someone named Jordan came back and spiked the numbers).  Attendance banners were put up in the Verizon Center to recognize this achievement, and this was largely due to Holdsclaw.

But in 2004, another side of Holdsclaw began to emerge, and the positive press about her began to subside.  She missed a series of games down the stretch during the 2004 season, and rumors swirled about whether she was pregnant, suffering from some type of drug addiction, or just plain unhappy with playing in Washington.  Just a few months after the season ended, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, broke the story that Holdsclaw had been diagnosed with depression, and she had been too ashamed to speak up about it earlier.  She never wore a Mystics uniform again.

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[L to R: Reggie Love, Ted Leonsis, President Obama, daugther Sasha & guest, Sheila Johnson.]

With the exception of a Josh Howard, Kirk Hinrich or a Kevin Seraphin signing here or there, from this blogger’s perspective, the Washington Wizards are basically closed for business until training camp.  Unfortunately for me, my basketball jones does not die that easily, so I decided to take my talents to the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

When I initially looked at the Mystics schedule, there were certain games I had ear-marked as “must-sees”.  I wanted to see Chamique Holdsclaw and the San Antonio Silver Stars, I wanted to see Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm, and I definitely wanted to see former University of Maryland star, Kristi Tolliver and the Los Angeles Sparks. But above and beyond those match-ups, the team that intrigued me the most was the Tulsa Shock.

The Shock are led by former Arkansas Razorback head coach Nolan Richardson, who is the winningest coach in Arkansas history and is famous for the “40 Minutes of Hell” full-court press.  He also gave us such college and NBA players like Corliss Williamson, Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, Scotty Thurman, Oliver Miller and Joe Johnson.  Richardson is trying to bring that same frenetic style of play to the WNBA, and so far his team has struggled with a 4-22 record.

Also on the Shock roster is former world-class track athlete and gold medal winner Marion Jones.  Her past has been marred by legal issues ranging from check fraud to performance-enhancing drugs.  So recently, she found solace in basketball — a sport she hadn’t played since she was on North Carolina’s national championship team in 1997.  Jones only plays eight minutes a game for the Shock, and she averages just 2.7 points and a rebound a game.  On her transition to basketball, Coach Richardson said: Read more »

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to cover a WNBA game, the Washington Mystics versus the Connecticut Sun. Some people snickered. Some asked why. Some didn’t care.

And that’s fine. This post isn’t to convince anyone that the WNBA is great or that it’s even better than they think. Plain and simple, the WNBA is worth it. Worth the effort to make sure it works. Worth the support and subsidization of the NBA … although, the current level of the NBA’s assistance is somewhat mysterious.

WNBA president Donna Orender was recently interviewed by Fortune’s Poppy Harlow on CNNMoney.com. When asked if the league gets financial support from the NBA, Orender carefully said, “We are an entity that runs ourselves, but with … I would say we have support from the NBA, but there’s always been these rumors that they’re writing big checks for us …” Harlow interrupted and implored Orender to clear the record on if the WNBA stands on its own feet financially. Ordener responded, “At the league level, we do. Yes.” A bit vague, but certainly indications of progress from Orender.

Individual teams, however, are another story. A report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Henry Unger last December indicated that the Atlanta Dream, in its second season of existence, lost $3 million, although official financial numbers are disclosed.

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It seems that D.C. can’t get enough good sports news these days. Weird.

Yesterday the Washington Nationals took Bryce Harper in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft with the first overall pick … I hear that guy’s supposed to be pretty awesome. Also, SB Nation had their official launch party for SB Nation DC, where I’ll be contributing as a weekly columnist on sports and the media. Big kudos to senior editor Mike Prada for the SB Nation DC launch by the way.

Speaking of … my first piece is up. Of course it’s about Stephen Strasburg, which brings us to Strasmas. I’ll be one of the lucky few going to Strasburg’s debut this evening. And I didn’t have to stand in line or pay scalper’s prices for tickets … just got hooked up by some cool bros who will undoubtedly be receiving some beverages of appreciation from me.

And that brings us to latest bit of good D.C. sports news … today the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the Wizards to Ted Leonsis. Sure, it was a mere formality, but Washington will take all the positive formalities it can get. So a big congrats goes to Mr. Leonsis for becoming officially official and congrats to Wizards fans as well.

Speaking of Leonsis, over a month ago on his blog, Ted’s Take, he wrote that it was time to remove the Washington Mystics “Attendance Champions” banners from the rafters of the Verizon Center.

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