The Women's National Basketball Association
The second season of the Women's Basketball league or the WNBA started June 11th. The players, coaches and fans are ready for another amazing year. The WNBA made history last year when it started it's first season in the face of adversity. The WNBA was the third and only sucessful women's league set up. The first league founded in the 70s died because of a lack of funds. The second established in '91 wasn't taken serious because of lower baskets and ridiculous spandex uniforms. Now the WNBA is back with more funds and more respect. The atheletes got started playing together in the 96 summer Olympic games, and now even though they all compete for different teams they share a common goal: to show the world that girls can play!
| Eastern Conference
Charlotte Sting Cleveland Rockets Detroit Shock New York Liberty Washington Mystics | Western Conference
Huston Comets Los Angeles Sparks Phoenix Mercury Sacramento Monarchs Utah Starzz | Visit the WNBA Hompage for more information |
| Dawn Staley- When Dawn Staley visits her home town of Philly she is greated with a 100-foot mural of herself posed to do a no-look pass. She has traveled around the world and met millions of new people but her attitude stays down-to-earth. "Iwouldn't change the way that I grew up for anything in the world." she says, "I didn't grow up being a materialistic person, and to this day I'm not like that." |
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| Rebecca Lobo- At six-foot-four Rebecca Lobo was used to standing out in a crowd. Now she is even more noticeable with her Basketball career taking off. Rebecca has had a jogging date with the president and an appearence on Letterman after leading UConn to an undefeated national championship. Image isn't everything for the emerging star. "It's not about what you wear." she says, "It's about how you feel. Being a women means being strong, whatever you are wearing" |
| Sheryl Swoopes- Sheryl already has her very own Basketball shoe called Air Swoopes and she credits her sucess to her mother who kept her grounded in high school. She has her own advice to give girls that write to her and ask whether boys will like them if they play sports. "I tell them first that the boys I played with usually came to respect and like me, and second that that was the last thing that crossed my mind. I always wanted to beat the boys." | 
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The WNBA has been an inspiration to many girls that need the encouragement to go out pick up a ball and have fun. The development of women's sports leagues create not only the encouragement for girls to play but a goal to reach for. Look out for the Women's World Cup, a soccer competition coming to the United States Summer 99.
Write about your favorite team in the WNBA or your favorite player. Do you think that women's sports get enough respect? Maybe you have had a personal experience that gave you insight on Women and sports. Write to us on the Voices page and share your ideas, comments and incouragement!