Different game. Different venue. Same old Sue Bird. Same result for the Seattle Storm, too. Bird made a tiebreaking jumper from the foul line with 2.6 seconds left and the Storm beat the Atlanta Dream 79-77 in Game 1 of the WNBA finals on Sunday.
Check out the Top 10 plays from the Finals where Seimone Augustus and the Lynx defeated Angel McCoughtry and the Dream with some amazing plays along the way.
Candace Parker wanted to focus on all of the good parts of the Los Angeles Sparks' win over the Detroit Shock. Unfortunately, it will be the final 5 seconds that everyone else is going to remember. Parker was one of three players ejected along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn after an ugly scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in Los Angeles' 84-81 victory. "To be honest, I don't recall exactly what happened," said Parker, who led Los Angeles with 21 points. "I'll have to watch the tape." The skirmish started moments after Parker and Detroit's Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker. On the next possession, Parker got tangled up with Detroit's Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As she was getting up, Pierson intentionally ran into her, setting off the melee. Parker threw a punch at Pierson before being tackled by Detroit's Deanna Nolan. Players and coaches from both teams joined in, and Mahorn knocked Lisa Leslie to the court at one point.
After losing in the first round of the playoffs five straight years following their first title, Bird, Jackson and the Storm are champions again. Sue Bird jumped into Lauren Jackson's arms to celebrate the Seattle Storm's second WNBA championship and admitted that, after six years of waiting, this title was sweeter than the first.
I have been a follower of the WNBA since the 2003 season. I first watched the WNBA by accident (at first I thought it was a Pistons game), but that's all I needed to start my love for the league. People can bias the women's game, but the women of the WNBA can play really well. The league's best moments range from the Sacramento Monarchs giving the city's first professional sports title, Detroit's worst-in-league last season to best-in-league and champions the following season, Teresa Weatherspoon's half-court game winner or the WNBA's version of "The Shot" in front of 16285 at Compaq Center in Houston (which is also capacity for NBA games), the Los Angeles Sparks comeback in 2007 vs. Sacramento (LA was down 19 to start the 4th quarter, came back to tie at the end of regulation, and capture the win in double overtime), or the Comets Dynasty of 4 straight titles. The video highlights clips from the 2005-2007 season with some clips from seasons prior to 2005. My video includes half-court shots, buzzer beaters, clutch shots, game winners, blocks, and other highlights worth watching. Clips courtesy of WNBA . com
To commemorate Boost Mobile's new marquee partnership with the WNBA, stars Cappie Pondexter and Candice Wiggins use Boost Mobile's phones to put a new twist on the age old game of HORSE.
Game #7 from Tee Moore's archives. The Phoenix Mercury were still seeking an end to their losing streak against the Los Angeles Sparks at Staples Center after digging too much of a hole to climb out of in their last meeting, losing by two. With Penny Taylor already fulfilling her commitment to the Australian national team, she re-joined the likes Diana Taurasi and Tamara Moore as they sought a way to take down the tandem of Lisa Leslie, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Mwadi Mabika and get their first win against Los Angeles since 1997. Broadcast courtesy of AZ-TV
