Michael Voepel
@MAVoepel
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Writer for : women's college basketball, WNBA, volleyball. Began covering sports in 1984; grateful to still be doing this. (He/him)
Kansas City
Joined March 2009
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Kim Mulkey has walked all over the court and all over the officials and hasn't managed to get a technical fouls. This has been wild.
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In sports media, we're lucky to tell stories of others’ journeys. We have our own, too. Part of mine is being transgender, and I'm transitioning to male. Byline now M.A. Voepel, pronouns he/him. Please feel free to call me Voepel, MV, Michael, Mike; I’m good with them all. 😊…
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Both
@MCzinano
and
@CaitlinClark22
could have complained about officiating but are not. They are talking about their pride in the team and what they have accomplished for
@IowaWBB
and the success of women’s basketball in general.
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Indiana Fever team kneeling during National Anthem tonight at WNBA playoff game in Indianapolis.
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The group following
@CaitlinClark22
at John Deere Classic Pro-Am; that is
@IowaWBB
assistant coach Jan Jensen leading the pack. By my count, Clark is 4 over through 6 holes, has not missed a fairway, and I have lost count how many autographs she has signed.
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"Oh, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done." -Susan B. Anthony
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The sweetest dog I've known went to Heaven today. Those who cherish animal friends understand this love, and this grief. Thanks for getting me through my deepest sorrow, Mom's death, & bringing so much joy in your 12 precious years on Earth. Love you eternally, my darling Fiona.
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That Diana Taurasi, Sabrina Ionescu and Geno Auriemma spoke at Kobe and Gianna Bryant's memorial today really speaks to how sincere his interest in and commitment to women's basketball was. We can hope that truly does inspire and motivate others.
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Asked if Vic Schaefer explained why she was out all 4th quarter, Morgan William showed total respect: "He doesn't have to, he's the coach."
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What a moment for
@usavolleyball
women: For the first time since volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1964, the U.S. women have won gold. USA has had some real heartbreakers over decades, including 3 losses in final. That's why you see all these tears. This is a very big deal!
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I think "Sport Center" needs to do a commercial with Stanford libero Morgan Hentz where she's walking around the office, and every time someone drops something or it falls off a desk, she keeps it from hitting the floor. :)
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Concern over
@PhoenixMercury
head coach choice is many-layered, including about implicit bias in hiring. A Black woman who played in
@WNBA
was elevated to Mercury interim head coach to clean up the messes of the previous year and half and worked to rebuild players' confidence ...
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Looks like
@ChampStaley
and coach
@dawnstaley
’s
@GamecockWBB
team are both Best in Show.
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The
@WNBA
would not have launched without David Stern, yet he never sought to be given all the credit for league. He tended to give that to others, especially Val Ackerman, deservedly so. But he deserves to be remembered as someone who had an enormous impact on women’s sports.
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Sources have confirmed to ESPN that Courtney Vandersloot has agreed to a one-year deal with
@WNBA
defending champion
@chicagosky
. (This improves their grade from yesterday, by the way!)
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Hope student-athletes seek emotional support services if needed. It's OK to grieve loss of something you care about so much. For many seniors, this ends organized sports, a lifelong journey they've been on. Now it ended abruptly, making transition harder. Take care of yourselves.
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It's not just that Ayoka Lee had an NCAA-record 61 points (!!!!), it's also how efficient she was: 23 of 30 from the field and 15 of 17 from the free-throw line. Plus 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Just a fabulous performance from the
@KStateWBB
center. It was amazing to watch.
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Who else teared up when
@Graytness_15
told her parents via TV interview, "I love you, thank you so much for supporting me, your sacrifice for me and now your daughter's an Olymp... a gold medalist!" I'm sure all of
@GamecockWBB
nation did.
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.
@GamecockWBB
's
@dawnstaley
and
@ArizonaWBB
's
@AdiaBarnes
made history at the Women's Final Four; it's cool to see them on the same staff for USA Basketball.
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There are new
@ArizonaWBB
fans across the country after an amazing performance by the Wildcats this entire NCAA WBB tournament. Congrats to
@AdiaBarnes
and her team. So impressive. I think we'll see Arizona at the Women's Final Four again.
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A huge hand to
@GamecockWBB
, a team that was perfect all season until tonight. It's heartbreaking to see senior Zia Cooke in tears leaving the court after she had such a great game. But this team has been so important to women's basketball. Congrats on all they have accomplished.
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Fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena just gave a standing ovation to
@KUWBball
legend Lynette Woodard, the AIAW career scoring record-holder.
@CaitlinClark22
on Wednesday passed Woodard’s major-college WBB mark of 3,649 points.
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Hope all college women, high school girls' hoops players watch Game 5 of WNBA Finals tonight. These are the best women in the world.
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Anyone who has ever dealt with Holly Warlick likes and respects her. She’s a truly good, kind, hard-working person who has done her best in an impossibly difficult situation after going through a heartbreaking loss. No one could have shown more loyalty or class than she has.
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Years back, I left phone recording a
@PhoenixMercury
postgame press conference and ran to locker room for additional interviews. Returned for phone, wrote story, and later glanced at my photos. There was one of Brittney Griner, who had taken a selfie making a funny face. ...
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Consider 2021 for
@UofLWBB
's Dana Evans. Lost ACC tournament final heartbreaker by 2 points. Lost in Elite Eight to eventual NCAA champ Stanford. Was expected to be 1st-round pick, went in 2nd round. Traded in June to
@chicagosky
. Just won
@WNBA
championship. That's resilience.
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I really don't write/Tweet about officiating much. But what we all just saw
@TroyTrojansWBB
... that was brutal.
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She’s represented USA with honor across world, seeks 5th Olympic gold. Those fortunate to cover
@S10Bird
’s amazing career would add: win or lose, from teen to 40-year-old, she’s ultimate spokesperson for sport, too. Always thoughtful answers, treating people with respect.
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A beloved bedtime story in the Taurasi-Taylor home likely will be, "Tell me again about what happened the night just before I was born." Congrats to Penny Taylor, Diana Taurasi & big brother Leo on arrival of
@PhoenixMercury
& X-Factor's favorite newborn. Her timing was sublime.
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Not that long ago, if someone told you South Carolina at Mississippi State WBB was an advanced sellout and the talk of the town, you'd have said, "What on earth are they giving away to fans?" Dawn Staley and Vic Schaefer have created programs that changed SEC/national landscape.
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Ava Jones lost her father, and she and her mother were seriously injured, when struck by a car in July at an AAU tournament. Wednesday, the Kansas teen signed with
@IowaWBB
, who have stood by her and her family.
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Congrats to
@KStateWBB
's Ayoka Lee on setting the NCAA WBB single-game scoring record with 61 points today in a 94-65 win over Oklahoma.
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A truly tragic day in women's basketball: legendary player and coach Anne Donovan has passed away at age 56 from heart failure. Devastating news. A wonderful person and so important in women's sports.
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Look, Candace Parker is one of the greatest hoops players we will ever see. She is one of the players who has made the WNBA what it is. She has earned the right to play where she feels is best for her.
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I may look and sound a little different.😊Glad to be who I’ve always been inside. Dedication to covering women’s sports, a lifelong joy as well as job, and admiration for all involved – players, coaches, execs, fans, referees, colleagues – that stays exactly the same. Thanks!❤️
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On a snowy Saturday, more than 25,000 people attended two WBB games in Iowa.
@IowaWBB
drew 13,843 and
@CycloneWBB
11,568, with 2 native Iowa kids -
@CaitlinClark22
and
@ashley_joens24
- scoring a combined 65 points. And this isn't unusual here. Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa.😊
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I loved what
@HuskerVB
player
@bekkaallick5
said about crying after national championship match loss: "This is a really great team. How I feel right now is just the price you pay for caring." What great perspective by a young athlete.
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Credit the UConn players: this year and last year, they couldn't have been more gracious to media, even through their tears, in the locker room after very tough Final Four losses. It's a difficult time, and they handle it well ... despite not having much practice at losing.
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What a magnificent year for
@_ajawilson22
:
@WNBA
regular-season MVP and champion, FIBA WWC MVP and champion.
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We all know this was an emotional season for Candace Parker, not making Olympic team, losing Pat Summitt. What a finish for her. WNBA champ.
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Both
@iowawbb
and
@KStateWBB
players wore shirts honoring Hawkeyes recruit
@avajones_35
, who was injured by impaired driver in July. Ava, who is from Nickerson, Kan., is here at Kansas State tonight with family.
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Everywhere you turn here at John Deere Classic Pro-Am, about 70 miles east of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, you see No. 22. Lots of
@IowaWBB
and
@CaitlinClark22
fans. 😊
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Raise your hand if you're still speechless after the end of the
@LVAces
-
@wnbachicagosky
battle. Keep your hand up if you're equally thrilled for Dearica Hamby but crushed for Courtney Vandersloot. Wow, what a game.
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Lastly, for those who may say, "Well, Becky Hammon's coaching experience was all in the NBA before she became a WNBA head coach" ... if you don't consider her *16 years* as a WNBA player a clear difference from the Mercury hire, we can't have a serious conversation.
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What the Lynx did today in Washington D.C. is a microcosm of 22 years of community service by the
@WNBA
. Thousands of kids have been positively impacted by interaction with the compassionate, strong, successful, and talented athletes, coaches, and GMs from the league.
#givingback
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Commissioner
@CathyEngelbert
said with one day between Games 2 and 3 of the
@WNBA
Finals on Wednesday and Friday going from Pacific Time to Central Time, the league will pay for charter flights for both the
@chicagosky
and
@PhoenixMercury
.
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We may see
@Reese10Angel
and
@CaitlinClark22
as U.S. Olympic teammates someday and they will get along just fine. Both are intensely competitive & supremely talented. Like all great players, they know how good the other is. I’m thrilled they both have so much ahead of them.😊
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Congratulations to the Seattle Storm on their third WNBA championship. The common denominator is Sue Bird, the No. 1 draft pick in 2002 who at age 37 - the oldest player in the league - has once again won a title.
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There are legendary people in sports, and Tara VanDerveer is one of the very best. A coach who kept growing, learning, listening to players. She always wanted the best for them and for WBB. Hard to think of
@StanfordWBB
without Tara, but her stamp remains forever on the Cardinal.
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Pat Summitt would have been thrilled to see the crowd at Mississippi State tonight. She wanted those kinds of environments all across the country for WBB.
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Asked
@CaitlinClark22
after
@IowaWBB
's second-round game if she had ever talked to
@S10Bird
, and she said, "No, and I want to so bad!" Today, she got to meet Sue Bird, had a 41-point triple-double, led Iowa to first women's Final Four in 30 years. Talk about having a great day.😊
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From
@ESPNStatsInfo
: Tonight,
@CaitlinClark22
's 79 points scored or assisted on are the most by any Division I player in a game over the last 25 seasons.
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At some point, you realize you need to have faith that your happiness/well-being is worth pursuing, and also have faith in other people's kindness and grace. Grateful for a company that supports all of its employees, for terrific family and friends, and for societal progress …
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It's hitting me how bummed I am that we don't get to watch
@ArizonaWBB
play anymore this season. The way the Wildcats scrapped and hustled through the tournament, they were just a delight and an inspiration. One of the most fun runs we've seen in the NCAA WBB tournament.
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She was part of literally the entire history of American television. A brilliant comedian, a generous person. What a life, what a talent, what a legend. How fortunate we were to witness the greatness, goodness and kindness of Betty White.
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This is such great news for the WNBA. The more exposure, the better, and hopefully this will help the league move forward to necessary expansion sooner.
CBS Sports Network will broadcast 40 WNBA games beginning next month when the season opens.
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3K
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.
@dawnstaley
noted the fact that 29 years ago in her senior season at Virginia, her Cavaliers lost to
@taras_tweets
and
@StanfordWBB
in the 1992 national semifinals. Here's the eerie thing ... the score in that game was 66-65, too.
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Sources tell ESPN that an agreement is in place for guard Allisha Gray to be traded to
@AtlantaDream
from
@DallasWings
. Details being finalized.
@Graytness_15
was 2017
@WNBA
rookie of year out of
@GamecockWBB
and was 3x3 Olympic gold medalist in 2021.
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It's only because an athlete is so amazingly special that the end of her career is so difficult and heartbreaking. Thanks for taking WBB on the ride with you,
@Lindsay_13
. Your play was amazing to watch. Now, we get to watch you coach, and you'll be great at that, too.
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Christyn Williams of
@UConnWBB
: "I've had my ups and downs during my time here at UConn. Everybody knows it. It just feels really good to be able to play this basketball game as well as I did... I am a complete player, and I feel people have forgotten that."
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Breaking
@WNBA
news:
@AtlantaDream
trade to get No. 1 pick from
@WashMystics
today. Mystics now have No. 3 and No. 14. WNBA Draft is Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Time to adjust those mock drafts again.😊
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Did you cry your eyes out at the end of "A League of Their Own" with the shots of the older women playing ball and the message the movie sent about women's love for sports despite such limited opportunities? I sure did. Thanks, Penny Marshall. The movie still gets me choked up.
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So ... Dawn Staley and Vic Schaefer will meet again in the NCAA tournament.
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Perhaps a good time to mention again that
@MarchMadnessWBB
goes to two regionals starting next season, when they will be in Greenville, S.C., and Seattle.
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The
@WNBA
players diligently did their homework, advocated for their beliefs, spoke out, and influenced Georgia's Senate race by endorsing Raphael Warnock last summer. They undeniably made an enormous difference.
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I have the great honor of receiving Gowdy Award next month from Naismith Hall of Fame, and wanted to do that as authentic self, hence this announcement now. Fear can keep us paralyzed for decades, especially when we think we will lose all that is dear to us, including career …
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No one who has had a chance to interact with Brittney Griner is surprised that she wanted to chat with flight crew on the way home. That's her personality.
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I don't usually say this about voting, because there are alway a lot of opinions. But ... the voter who left
@breannastewart
off the all
@WNBA
first team has some explaining to do. I mean, come on. That's just dumb.
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In terms of entertainment value, pretty sure we'd all give the first Olympic women's 3x3 tournament an "A-plus" grade. Worth getting up early or staying up late for, definitely. So much fun to watch.
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Holly Warlick stepped into the toughest of situations, following her mentor and friend Pat Summitt as
@LadyVol_Hoops
head coach. She gave it all she had.
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Cool to see
@KUWBball
and
@LASparks
great Tamecka Dixon honored tonight by her alma mater at the Sunflower Showdown game. Kudos to all the
@KStateWBB
fans here at Allen Fieldhouse who also applauded the Jayhawk legend and two-time
@WNBA
champ. …
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603
@SXMCollege
@NicoleAuerbach
@breannastewart
@WFinalFour
By this logic, Teresa Edwards, Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Jackie Stiles, Alana Beard, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Nneka & Chiney Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Elena Delle Donne, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu & many others weren't great college players. Will Stewart tell them? 🙄
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Ready to watch
@CaitlinClark22
in her *other* sport, golf, as she plays today in the John Deere Classic Pro-Am. Lots of
@IowaWBB
fans on hand to follow her. 😊
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Consider sophomore Lauren Jensen played for Iowa last season before transferring to
@creightonwbb
... and then hit the decisive 3-pointer to beat the Hawkeyes today. You couldn't have written that script any better for her. One of those unforgettable
@MarchMadnessWBB
stories.
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Complete truth from
@LVAces
coach
@BeckyHammon
: "I don't know that anybody in this league has been dealt a tougher hand than Vanessa Nygaard."
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Letter writing station for Brittney Griner set up at
@StanfordWBB
’s Maples Pavilion before today’s game.
@dawnstaley
and
@taras_tweets
will be wearing BG shirts for game; same shirts will be for sale on-line.
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Congrats to Breanna Stewart for being named WNBA MVP, Natasha Howard for winning most improved, and Sue Bird for getting her third Kim Perrot sportsmanship award. A lot to celebrate for Storm as they open semifinal play today vs. Phoenix (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
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More than two hours after beating national team,
@OregonWBB
team still at arena signing autographs and taking photos with fans, who are willing to wait in long lines to interact with Ducks. Seeing looks on the young kids’ faces after talking to their heroes is priceless. 😊
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As a competitor,
@Candace_Parker
has an all-business game face. But that smile was so golden as she went to the bench in the final seconds of tonight's
@chicagosky
victory that closed out the semifinals. She came home to Chicago this season and brought
@WNBA
Finals with her.
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588
Have seen every NCAA women's tournament. What we just witnessed from
@CaitlinClark22
is one of the best performances there has ever been in this tournament. First 40-point triple-double in tournament history.
@IowaWBB
going to WFF for first time since 1993. Congrats to Hawkeyes.
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I feel like this photo should be Tweeted all over Belgium. :)
@EmmaMeesseman
and
@MestdaghKim
, two terrific basketball players for
@WashMystics
, are headed to
@WNBA
Finals. They're two really great people, too. Glad to have them in the
@WNBA
.
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Geno Auriemma said of
@UConnWBB
's position now nationally: "Who cares? The object is get through the season, get in the NCAA tournament, see what happens. This year we’re like every other team in the country, God forbid. Horror of horrors." (That's sarcasm at the end, btw).
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Geno Auriemma on looking down the sideline at Tennessee and not seeing Pat Summit: "It wasn’t the same. I miss having her there."
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.
@nnekaogwumike
is only season MVP in
@WNBA
history who’s not been named to an Olympic team. She turns 31 on July 2; was on 2014, ‘18 World Cup teams. No
@StanfordWBB
grads have made U.S. Olympic team since Jennifer Azzi and Katy Steding in 1996, when
@taras_tweets
was USA coach.
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566
How many people want to buy the Maya Moore wings poster? I'm betting a lot more than just Lynx fans.
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564
Gary Blair's coaching career ends as
@AggieWBB
season does, but his influence goes on. He's spent most of his adult life committed to growth of girls' and women's basketball. He always talked about other legends of game, making them the focus. He deserves his flowers, our thanks.
7
24
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Kudos to all who are covering and watching the WNBA playoffs. And, of course, to the teams who are providing us with such great entertainment. We've already had so many great moments even before the WNBA Finals!
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Bravo to
@MuffetMcGraw
, who nails the exit interview. In her Zoom teleconference, she was upbeat, funny, thoughtful, supportive of her protege and
@ndwbb
successor Niele Ivey, and enthusiastic about how she can best help women in different ways now that she's leaving coaching.
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