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-- Houston MitchellBeginning today, Sparks forward Candace Parker will put her rooting interests to the test.
The Boston Celtics play the Cleveland Cavaliers today in the first day of the NBA's regular season, a matchup that will feature Parker's husband, Shelden Williams, with Boston against Parker's brother, Anthony Parker, with Cleveland.
Fans and media aren't the only ones wondering which team Parker will favor. Williams often jokes to Candace, "Don't listen to your brother." Candace's family often jokes they'll disown her if she roots for her husband over her brother.
"Honestly, I’m rooting for both of them to do well," Parker said during the WNBA regular season. "I’m a fan of basketball. It’s fun. It’s great to look at our family and know how special we are."
This isn't new for Parker. On her Twitter account, Parker has often explained she roots for the Lakers but ultimately still favors the Chicago Bulls since she grew up in Naperville, Ill.
After Williams joined Boston as a free agent this off-season, Parker recalled fans immediately asking her what she'll do when the Celtics visit the Lakers at Feb. 18 at Staples Center.
"I don’t know," Parker said, laughing."I know I can’t be wearing my Boston green sitting in the stands of L.A."
--Mark Medina
While the Sparks sat at a conference table during the team's exit interviews three weeks ago in El Segundo, players dutifully noted the strong possibility that it may have been the last time they would see some of their teammates. After reflecting on what unanimously had been considered a disappointing 2009 season, Sparks guard Betty Lennox was asked to look ahead to 2010. But she couldn't.
Said Lennox: "I see nothing but fog."
That's because this off-season carries a lot of uncertainty.
The Sparks are currently involved with a coaching search after Michael Cooper left to coach the USC women's basketball program. They also are coping with Lisa Leslie's retirement following a 13-year career in the WNBA that included three league and All-Star MVPS, two league championships and finishing as the league's all-time leader in scoring (6,263 points) and rebounding (3,307).
The Sparks also may have to address other departures.
Despite signing a three-year deal in March, Sparks forward Tina Thompson says she will spend this off-season contemplating whether she has the energy and stamina to play in what would be her 14th season. Sparks guard Kristi Harrower, a free agent, says she also will be weighing her options from October through February while playing and serving as player and general manager for Bendigo Bank Spirit, a professional team in her native country in Australia.
Although Sparks General Manager Penny Toler said Harrower was the team's lone free agent, she said that doesn't mean she wouldn't look to trade other players.
"When you don't win [the championship], all bets are off," Toler said. "You see what becomes available. What you think is a need may not be a need depending on what other players are available."
With the league announcing today that the Detroit Shock will relocate to Tulsa, Okla., Toler forsees possible player movement within the organization. That gives her one more reason to move ahead in what she imagines to be a busy off-season.
With the WNBA season ending only 10 days ago, Sparks General Manager Penny Toler could have taken a vacation during what she called a "quiet period." After all, she had often remarked during the season she couldn't recall the last time she has taken one.
Toler doesn't plan any R & R any time soon, telling The Times this morning she anticipates "an interesting offseason for us."
That's because there are already a bunch of moving parts.
Coach Michael Cooper left the Sparks to coach the USC women's basketball team. Three-time league MVP Lisa Leslie retired after an accomplished 13 years in the league and is already staying busy during post-retirement.
Though she signed a three-year deal in March, Sparks forward Tina Thompson says she wants to assess how she feels physically before committing to what would be her 14th season in the league. Sparks guard Kristi Harrower said the same thing during the team's exit interviews and has recently become the general manager of the Bendigo Bank Spirit, a professional team in Australia where she is also one of the team's guards.
Soon after the Sparks were eliminated from the playoffs and ended what the team unanimously considered a disappointing 2009 season, center Lisa Leslie recalled a conversation with her husband, Michael Lockwood, that captured her present state all too well.
"My husband was like, ‘Well babe, today is the first day of the rest of your life,'" said Leslie, who retired after an accomplished 13-year career in the WNBA that included three league MVPS, two WNBA championships and finishing as the league's all-time leading scorer (6,263 points) and rebounder (3,307 rebounds). "I was like, 'Yeah I guess so. What am I going to do?' I’ve been looking forward to getting my pen and pad. I have all these thoughts that I’ve been waiting to write and hone in on my direction with what I want to do."
That part hasn't been hard. Even before her retirement ended, Leslie knew she wanted to pursue avenues that involved running her self-named basketball academy, broadcasting and public speaking beginning with Covidien, which promotes liver cancer awareness.
Only three weeks since the team's exit interviews, Leslie has made progress on all three fronts. But there are still details to be ironed out.
Sparks forward Tina Thompson remains uncertain whether she will return for the
Thompson, a 12-year veteran and four-time league champion with the Houston Comets, signed a three-year deal in March, four months after the Houston organization folded.
She said all season long that she would decide her future on a season-by-season basis.
Check back for more on the Sparks exit interviews later today at latimes.com/sports.
-- Mark Medina
Photo: Tina Thompson. Credit: Elaine Thompson / AP.
Even though her goal of a third WNBA championship went unfulfilled before retiring after 13 storied years, center Lisa Leslie told reporters after the Sparks were eliminated in the Western Conference finals that her spirits remained high.
She won four Olympic gold medals, two WNBA championships, three league MVPs and finished her career as the league's all-time leading scorer (6,263 points) and rebounder (3,307). But Leslie, 37, isn't resting on her laurels; she's just gearing up for her next phase in her life.
That will include more time with her husband, Michael Lockwood, and her 2-year-old daughter, Lauren. But it will also include work involving her self-named academy, broadcasting and public speaking.
Said Leslie: "I will stay close to the game because I feel I need to be a part of it.”
The Sparks haven’t done anything the easy way all summer long. Candace had to fight her way back after maternity leave but then led the league in rebounds and double doubles. Lisa had to fight her way back from a knee injury and is leading the team in scoring in her 13th season in the league. We fought our way back from the bottom of the league, with a record of 8-13, to go on a 10-3 run at the end of the season to clinch our playoff spot. We lost a heartbreaker in the last 10 seconds of Game 2 in the first round in Seattle to come back to secure a spot in the Conference Finals.
So we face off against Phoenix in a three-game series. Of the 11 games Phoenix lost in the regular season, five of them were at home. Although we only beat the Mercury once during the 2009 regular season, we beat them in Phoenix. All-time against the Mercury, we are 14-10 when we play in Phoenix. So, we can win in Phoenix. And apparently tonight our players decided that was the way they wanted it to happen./p>
The Sparks, which host the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals tonight at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, will face two players who are expected to be named to the league's All-First team, including forward Diana Taurasi and guard Cappie Pondexter. Taurasi was second in the league in scoring (20.4 points per game), and Pondexter wasn't too far behind with a fifth-best 19.1 points per game.
Leslie, a three-time MVP, and Parker, last year's league MVP and rookie of the year, returned to true form after missing a significant number of games.
Leslie missed 11 games because of a sprained right knee but has averaged 15.4 points per game and has been a catalyst for the Sparks' turnaround during her last season in her storied 13-year WNBA career.
Parker missed the team's first eight games while on maternity leave but has since posted a league-leading 15 double doubles, a league-leading 9.8 rebounds per game and 13.1 points per contest.
-- Mark Medina
Photo: Candace Parker tries to prevent an errant pass from going out of bounds during the Sparks' playoff victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday. Credit: Elaine Thompson / Associated Press
"Nope," Quinn said, laughing.
That's because a Spears concert Wednesday night at Staples Center is preventing the Sparks from playing their home game there. Quinn, a former UCLA standout, doesn't mind returning to her alma mater. Neither does forward Candace Parker, who also experienced playing at USC's Galen Center for last season's Western Conference finals.
"I’m not worried about it," she said. "We’re stepping on the court to play basketball. I don’t believe in all that other stuff. Go out there and play. The basket is the same height. They’re playing on the same court we are."
Not quite. Parker and Sparks Coach Michael Cooper thought the depth perception makes Pauley Pavilion's court appear smaller than the one at Staples Center. Quinn also noted a difference in the rims.
"It's really bouncy," she said. "If you get the shot up over the rim, you'll get most of them in."
Quinn says she shouldn't have a problem with it, given her experience as a Bruin. But if any of the other Sparks do, Parker says too bad.
"They’re playing on the same court we are," Parker said of Phoenix. "So we can’t make excuses."
-- Mark Medina
Photo: Noelle Quinn. Credit: Lori Shepler / Associated Press
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