Local women’s football team does it for the passion - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

A story and video I wrote and shot about a semi-pro women's football team based in Miami. The Miami Fury are in the playoffs and could play in the national championship set for July 30 in Dallas.

Local women’s football team does it for the passion - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

WNBA's top 15 all-time players **Update**

The WNBA released today a list of 30 names its considering for its top 15 players since the league's debut. I don't know that there are too many WNBA fans out there, but here's a list of the names in the pool. Below, you'll find my top 15 (in alphabetical order based on last names) from the list released. Let me know what you think, and if there's anyone you think should've been included in the list; not necessarily in the top 15, but of the 30 names,.

The WNBA's list.
• Seimone Augustus
• Sue Bird
• Ruthie Bolton
• Swin Cash
• Tamika Catchings
• Cynthia Cooper
• Katie Douglas
• Cheryl Ford
• Yolanda Griffith
• Becky Hammon
• Chamique Holdsclaw
• Lauren Jackson
• Shannon Johnson
• Lisa Leslie
• Taj McWilliams-Franklin
• Delisha Milton-Jones
• Deanna Nolan
• Candace Parker
• Ticha Penicheiro
• Cappie Pondexter
• Nykesha Sales
• Katie Smith
• Tangela Smith
• Dawn Staley
• Sheryl Swoopes
• Diana Taurasi
• Penny Taylor
• Tina Thompson
• Teresa Weatherspoon
• Natalie Williams

My top 15.
• Seimone Augustus
• Sue Bird
• Tamika Catchings
• Cynthia Cooper
• Yolanda Griffith
• Chamique Holdsclaw
• Lauren Jackson
• Lisa Leslie
• Candace Parker
• Ticha Penicheiro
• Katie Smith
• Dawn Staley
• Sheryl Swoopes
• Diana Taurasi
• Tina Thompson

I left out Ruthie Bolton, not because she isn't good, but when the WNBA debuted, she was already near the end of her career, so I think her inclusion is based more on her career before the WNBA than during.

My final pick came down to Dawn Staley vs. Teresa Weatherspoon. If you know the two players, you'll know they are similar. But I think Staley was more consistent as a floor general, although Weatherspoon will always be remembered for her half court game-winner to force a game 3 (which the N.Y. Liberty lost) in the 1999 finals against L.A. Sparks.

So what do you think?

Here's who eventually made the top 15, announced at halftime of the WNBA All-Star game on July 23.

Lisa Leslie
Cynthia Cooper
Diana Taurasi
Sue Bird
Lauren Jackson
Katie Smith
Tina Thompson
Ticha Penicheiro
Tamika Catchings
Cappie Pondexter
Becky Hammon
Sheryl Swoopes
Dawn Staley
Yolanda Griffith
Teresa Weatherspoon.

I see Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker and Chamique Holdsclaw were left off my list in favor of Cappie Pondexter, Becky Hammon and Teresa Weatherspoon. To me, Cappie just barely out-edged Augustus; although I'll admit that bad scheduling and overall the period the season is played have contributed to my waning interest in the WNBA. So it's possible I may have overlooked Pondexter's improvement. I think Parker's injuries and pregnancy, which have kept her out of the league for a considerable period of time, and Holdsclaw's bout with depression and premature retirements may be the reason's they were left off the squad.

I'm back. Let's talk Heat. Briefly.

No, I didn't run and jump off a cliff because the Miami Heat made a mockery of my prediction. But I was tempted to.

After declaring the Heat would take the NBA title in six games, I got a nice runny egg, yolk and all, thrown in my face because it was the Dallas Mavericks winning in six. But that's the beauty of sports: its unpredictability. We can crunch numbers all day, rely on oddsmakers and analyze as much as we want, but ultimately never know what's going to happen.

When I made my prediction, I said there's no way the Mavs could beat two of the best players in the league on the same team. What I didn't anticipate was that these two guys would be anything but the best; especially in the final game, which turned out to be the one with the widest winning margin in the series.

I also thought when all else fails, which in this case turned out to be LeBron James' disappearance, Dwyane Wade's ability to take over in critical games would emerge. That didn't happen. Wade finished with just 17 points, four fewer than LeBron. But I don't blame Wade. He wasn't the one who needed to prove he can win a championship; he's already done that. Nor was he the one with the target on his back (no one will ever forget "The Decision" that made the Heat the most hated team.) Memories of Wade yelling at LeBron for passing up a shot to Mario Chalmers in game three of the series still play in my head. Wade was willing LeBron to the finish line, trying to show him what it'll take to win; sort of like when Wade realized back in 2006 that Shaq was going to keep him from winning the championship if Wade didn't take matters into his own hands. So maybe as he saw the lead get bigger while the time cut shorter, Wade just didn't have the fight left to give it his all.

But Dirk Nowitzki did. Despite struggling through the first three quarters, he summoned his reserve tank to ensure his team would be taking that victory route that was prematurely released after game 2. He ensured that Jason Terry wouldn't have to go through the painful process of undoing his championship trophy tattoo. And mostly, he ensured that a group of veteran players, himself included, wouldn't suffer the same nightmares plaguing NBA greats like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller who never won rings. He ensured that the vets on his team would retire as champions.

I said right after the Mavs won (OK maybe not quite after, I took a few moments to mourn) that I couldn't be happier to see another team not called the Heat win. Terry, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Peja Stojakovic and Caron Butler--who didn't suit up due to a season-long injury-- are all veterans worthy of walking away with a ring. And for that reason, this long-term Heat fan, humbly and respectfully bows out.

Why the Heat will win the NBA Championship

When I earlier predicted that the Miami Heat would beat the Dallas Mavericks in six games, I didn't state my reasons why. I was on vacation, staying up as late as 4 a.m. to catch the playoffs, so writing was the furthest thing from my mind.

I've never hidden the fact that I am a Heat fan so I'm sure it's no surprise I'm picking them to win it. But too many people assume my pick is solely based on this factor. You're wrong. It has nothing to do with being a fan and everything to do with the fact that it's almost impossible to defeat a team that has two of the five best players in the league in a seven-game series. And just in case you're wondering who, though I can't imagine anyone would at this point, I mean Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Last night's game proved that. Not quite playing at its best and with two of its 'big three' struggling offensively, the Heat still escaped with a two-point win despite a 34-point showing by Dirk Nowitzki. How? Easy. It's that age-old saying that two heads are better than one. Or in this case, three. Or five. Overall the Heat struggled as a team in spurts, blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth, but it got key moments from Wade, James, Bosh, Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem. The Mavericks? Well, they made it all about the Nowitzki show. And he alone can't down the Heat in a best of seven series.

When the Heat blew a 15-point lead in Game 2, losing 95-93 on Nowitzki's game-winner, I entertained calls and messages from people who couldn't wait to tell me I was wrong. Now I wonder what they have to say. Here's the thing. Miami's known for showing flashes of brilliance then blowing games on moments of complacency. It mirrors the Heat's regular season when it countered long winning streaks with an almost equally losing one. It mirrors its playoff run when it looked like the Heat would sweep through Philadelphia, but characteristically lost Game 4. And a blow out loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to Chicago before rallying four straight wins.

So blowing Game 2 at home against the Mavs was characteristic of a typical Miami meltdown. But the Heat have only allowed one such occurrence in each series en route to the finals. Yes Game 3 came close, but this time it was more to do with the unstoppable Nowitzki with some help from a few questionable officiating calls late in the fourth. Don't believe me? Try explaining how the Heat dominated the Mavs 40-22 in scoring in the paint, but ended up with 12 fewer free throws? Think it had anything to do with Miami hoisting 19 3-point attempts? Dallas took two more. And the Heat (34-78) took eight more field goal attempts than Dallas (28-70.)

But questioning the officiating only goes so far, and can hardly be proven anyway, so when it came down to it, the Heat did what I've long argued they would. They outplayed the Mav's lone star--pun intended-- with major help from Chalmers (12 points) and Haslem (defended Nowitzki's potential game-tying shot at the buzzer,) two of the supposed non-existent role players critics argued the team had sacrificed when it signed James and Bosh in the off-season. It has also had small, but significant contributions from Mike Miller, Joel Anthony and Mike Bibby. Last night Dallas got 15 points from Jason Terry, none in the fourth quarter, and 10 from Shawn Marion. Both are the only other players to score in double figures in all three games so far for Dallas. Tyson Chandler, the Mavs 7-foot center scored 13 in Game 2, but managed a weak 5 points on two fouls in Game 3. His 11 rebounds tied for the game's highest. Nowitzki, also a 7-footer, also grabbed 11 rebounds, as well as the 6-foot-4 Wade.

What do these few statistics, pulled from the many that support my argument, tell you? That the Mavs biggest contributors cannot topple the Heat's. They may come close especially if all of Miami's stars aren't dialed in at the same time, but they'll fall short in the best of 7 series. They tell you that Dirk justifies the comparisons to one of the game's greatest scorers in Larry Bird, but isn't enough to carry his team past Miami's own stars. They tell you that the Mavs would offer a commendable effort worthy of boosting the finals ratings, but the Heat will come out on top.

Tennis, the old man's sport

'Daddy, let's go play tennis,' I said to my dad one early evening after work. Dad obliged and we headed to the court. Now I knew my dad wouldn't be able to match my energy no matter that I'd just come back from work and he'd been resting all day. But I wasn't surprised by how many balls he could still get by me.

My dad is 66 years old and still chases after balls on the tennis court. He couldn't beat me in a real match--really he cannot--but he still has his moments. That's what makes tennis the ultimate old man's sport. What other sport involving speed, footwork and significant use of physical exertion over several hours would you find a 13-year pro still at the top of the game? And I mean individual sports where each player goes mano-a-mano; no help from anyone else?

At 29, Roger Federer is still a young man. But in tennis life, he is considered an elder statesman. Why? Well he's been playing since 1998 so the toll his body has taken over the years qualify him for the status. Yet he managed to hold the world's best player Rafael Nadal, four years younger, to a very tough four-setter before bowing out at the French Open. Oh did I mention that clay court is Federer's worst playing surface and Nadal's best?

It's not just the men's game you find it. The early buzz surrounding the women's bracket at the French Open was the absence of both Williams sisters for the first time since both turned pro. Soon to turn 31 and 30, and with 17 and 16 years of playing as pros under their belt, Venus and Serena Williams are still considered heavy favorites at tournaments. News about their absence dominated the tournament well before two other older players, China's Li Na (29) and Italy's Francesca Schiavone (30) played for the title. Li outplayed Schiavone to earn her country's first major title in tennis.

But none of these guys compare to the oldest player to make the main draw at the French Open: Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan. The 40-year-old won just two games in the second set of her first round match against top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, but she showed up to play just like any other competitor. Wozniacki wasn't even born when Date-Krumm made her French Open debut in 1989.

I tell everyone who cares to listen that they should consider picking up tennis as a fun activity to stay in shape. I joke (I'm really serious) about playing mixed doubles with my husband and kids so I'm not saying tennis is a sport for just the old. But when I ask my dad to join me in a non-competitive rally, it's not because I feel like beating up on him. It's because I know he's very capable of helping me burn some calories while bonding. And really, what's wrong with that?