Keyboard Quarterbacks

By Karen Bailis

Substance abuse, public breakups and poor life decisions have stolen the luster from pop stars Britney Spears and Whitney Houston. Singing careers sometimes are as fleeting as shooting stars.

And then there’s basketball. Meet shooting stars Brittany Spears and Whitney Houston, who play for Colorado University. Spears, a 6-1 freshman forward, is reigning Big 12 rookie of the week and leads the conference in points and blocks. She appears unlikely to assault a vehicle with an umbrella, shave her head or be photographed without undergarments. Houston is a 5-5 sophomore point guard known for her speed. She can play the drums and sing so well that she sang the national anthem before a Colorado game last season. Unlike her namesake, who had the honor before Super Bowl XXV, she did not lip-sync. Coincidentally, Bobbi Brown was a guard on the team who graduated in 1982.

The duo is gaining national attention for reasons that have more to do with their famous names than basketball. ESPN was on campus recently to record a spot – complete with paparazzi -- with Houston and Spears and to interview them for the network’s “College GameDay,” which aired yesterday. Unlike the more famous women with the names Houston and Spears, these two appear on the way up. Their team is 12-2 and ranked No. 23 by the AP.

By Karen Bailis

Fact: The Knicks are 5-10 and on Thursday suffered one of the franchise’s most humiliating losses.

Fact: The Knicks are more painful to watch than an “Ishtar” marathon.

Fact: Next to Eli Manning, Isiah Thomas is the most vilified man in New York sports these days.

Fact: Thomas is an embarrassment to the Knicks and the NBA.

Fact: Anne Donovan, the coach of Seattle’s best basketball team -- the WNBA's Storm – resigned Friday. Donovan led the Storm to a WNBA championship in 2004. She’s the second-winningest coach in league history. The Storm made the playoffs in four of Donovan’s five seasons as coach. She also took the Charlotte Sting to the WNBA Finals. She’s the head coach of the women’s U.S. National Team. The 6-8 center is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and won a national championship in college.

Fact: Donovan’s resignation agreement with the Storm bars her from coaching another WNBA team through 2008, not an NBA team.

Fact: I’m just saying – it couldn’t be worse, right?

By Mark La Monica

None of us can fix the Knicks, unless of course, James Dolan or one of his minions is a Keyboard Quarterbacks fan and reads this.

We doubt it, since if he had the time to read our little Web nook, then he has no excuse for presiding over the worst excuse for a New York sports team. At 4-11, the Knicks have the sixth worst record in the NBA. Of course, after a 748-point to Boston on Thursday night, it's a wonder the Knicks found four teams capable of scoring less points than them for a few hours.

However, here's an idea to make the Knicks infinitely more watchable on television. And the Dolan family, already cable television magnates, will be able to get behind this plan.

We all know about Walt "Clyde" Frazier's auspicious penchant for vocabularic flare and invention. He's been thriving and surviving (when he's not swooping and hooping) for years behind the microphone.

It's time to capitalize on it from a viewing standpoint instead of just impersonating his schtick with your friends or on calls to WFAN.

It's time for "Clyde TV."

Every time the omnipotent Clyde drops a word never before associated with the game of basketball, a little graphic pops up on the screen and gives a definition of the word.

Or, MSG could flash three different definitions and ask viewers to text their answer choice to "CLYDE." Viewers could then compete for prizes for most correct answers each game. Or do it online through MSG's Web site. This has remarkable potential in a time when the team does not. And should the Knicks ever resemble the teams of the early 1990s and win games, having this function in place already would greatly benefit the Dolans' pockets.

When Clyde throws out a word that is not a word outside of Clyde's World, a little "That's not a real word, just a 'Clydeism'" graphic could pop up onto the screen. Or they could ask the viewers to guess if it's a real word or not.

Seriously, this could be sports' answer to "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars."

It could revolutionize the way we watch the Knicks on Dolan's MSG Network. Heck, it could even make us watch the games, especially later in the season when the Knicks are fighting for the right to screw up another high placement in the NBA lottery.

But, wait, there's more.

Back in the day, unconventional polysyllabic words that appear in English essays and nowhere else were called "50-cent words."

We can apply this to Clyde TV, too. Each time he throws out a big word, a cash register pops up onto the screen and displays the total amount of money Clyde's vociferous vocabulary has yielded on the night.

Any time he throws in a word in another language, that's worth a $1. Any time he makes up a word, that's a 50-cent debit.

If the Knicks' PR people were smart, they'd hook up a charity to the Clyde TV On-Screen Money Meter, move the decimal point two places to the right for home games and donate the money. In other words, if Clyde's expansive implementation of his own terminology totals $4.50 in a game, MSG would then be on the line for $450 in donations for that night. Add that up and that's a lot of good that could be done in the name of awful basketball.

Clyde TV would dish. Clyde TV would swish. Clyde TV would bound. Clyde TV would astound.

It's either this or we actually pay attention to the game.

By Karen Bailis

Is it a coincidence that the source of spoken sludge, Don Imus, is slated to return to radio just as women's basketball season is kicking into high gear?

Newsday's Neil Best reported the other day that Imus and his band of blowhards will return, on WABC, the first week in December. The Rutgers women's basketball team, the target of the racist rant that got him bounced from the airwaves, plays 2006 NCAA champions Maryland Dec. 3 as part of the Jimmy V Classic. It will be on ESPN2.

Perhaps Imus and sidekick in sexism Bernard McGuirk should watch. At the very least, they'll see an entertaining game that benefits cancer research. At most, they might have something enlightening to say on the air about it. Too much to hope for? Probably. But we can dream. That's what the Rutgers team likely has been doing since its dream season ended in April a few points shy of a national crown. The squad woke up to a nightmare after Imus and McGuirk said what they said. The women of Rutgers emerged stronger and perhaps better poised to make another championship run.

Three of Rutgers' starting five are on the watch list for the Wade Trophy, which is presented annually by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to the national player of the year. Essence Carson, Matee Ajavon and Kia Vaughn are the backbone of the team that fell to Tennessee in the national championship game and that returns all five starters and nine letterwinners. They're also a few of the women who stood up strongly and fiercely and told Imus just whom he'd messed with.

“I’m not a ho. Unless they've given `ho' a whole new definition, that's not what I am," Vaughn said at the time.

“You don’t get too many opportunities to finally stand up for what you know is right,” Carson said. “I know we’re at a young age but we definitely understand what is right and what should get done and what should be made of this. We’re happy — we’re glad to finally have the opportunity to stand up for what we know is right.”

We can only hope that he's taking their words with him when that "ON AIR" sign lights up and he leans into the microphone.

By Karen Bailis

People magazine agrees with Don Imus, at least on some level.

The magazine called Tennessee women’s basketball phenom Candace Parker one of its 100 most beautiful people of 2007. I’m sure she’s flattered, but I’m not sure she felt the same way when Imus called her team “cute” compared with what he and his band of idiots called Rutgers. I’m also sure she’d much rather be known as MVP of the Final Four, which she is, and, of course, as NCAA champion, which she is.

Parker’s looking glam in the People pages amid snaps of the usual sexy suspects Halle Berry, Eva Longoria (sans makeup!) and Jennifer Garner. The only other athletes so honored are Laila Ali, who’s been spending more time dancing with the stars than in the boxing ring, and beach volleyballer Gabrielle Reese. I could find nary a male athlete.

Good for Parker that she looks as good in makeup and a dress as she does throwing down in her sweaty orange-and-white baggy tank and knee-length shorts.

But does it matter? Well, yeah, if she wants to cash in after college. As perhaps the best to play the game, she’ll make roughly $30,000 as a rookie in the WNBA. She’ll make about $80,000 more if she plays overseas. But as perhaps the best to play the game and have a pretty face, she could stand to make millions on Madison Avenue.

Let’s hope that by the time she joins the pro ranks, which could be as soon as next season, the WNBA and other sports professionals have figured out how to market a Candace Parker.

So far, no one’s found the formula and the playing field is littered with failed or failing professional leagues because of it.

Sexy or sporty? Sure, sex sells. Why else would a “100 most beautiful” list exist? Why else would Anna Kournikova still be the most Googled – and ogled – woman athlete?

But why can’t sporty sell, too? Parker is the best player on the best team in the country. And she can play above the rim. The lack of above-the-rim play has long been the knock men use against the women’s game.

Well, here’s a woman who’s shown she can dunk with some consistency and is likely to unleash her slam with greater abandon once she doesn’t have the steely stare of Pat Summitt to contend with. Imagine a matchup between her and Lisa Leslie, the only player to dunk in a WNBA game. The prospect should be inspiring the dunkers who confine their acrobatics to practice to bring it on in primetime.

And it should be inspiring the marketing geniuses to put together reels of Parker dunks, blocks, steals and celebratory chest bumps and saturating the airwaves and every web video site with them.

Back to People. Parker was featured among stars dubbed “Hot in ’07,” holding a basketball and wearing a backless leopard-print dress, her hair unbraided and flowing down her back. Sexy AND sporty.

In the text, she confides she doesn’t wear makeup when she’s on the court. “Some players wear makeup to games, but I can’t because I’m always wiping my face. That would be very unbeautiful!”

Indeed.

“But I don’t really worry about how I look when I am playing. You’re thinking about winning, and winning is a beautiful thing!”

Right on!

By Adam Abramson

Mets had a matinee date. Yankees were rained out. Rangers were blacked out. Islanders and Knicks are just out.

Tough night for TV.

But I discovered something rather disheartening because of my television conundrum: I don’t really care about the NBA anymore. I watched a Tigers-White Sox game over the Spurs-Nuggets which actually had intrigue because Denver won Game 1.

Right now many of you are saying “join the club.” But I don’t want to. I want to care about the NBA. I’ve always cared about the NBA.

I have a feeling I’ll care around the end of May, when I can count the number of playoff teams on one hand. I want to care now, but I just can’t and I’m not sure why.

That’s all I wanted to say. If you want to care, but can’t either, feel free to empathize with a comment.

By Karen Bailis

New York is in the house -- or, in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

Is it just coincidence that the two teams that moved on to the championship game in the women’s NCAA tournament each start two players from New York City? Rutgers, who smothered LSU with C. Vivian Stringer’s “55” defense and lit up the Tigers with 8-of-10 three-point shooting in the first half, has Kia Vaughn of the Bronx and St. Michael’s Academy down low and Epiphanny Prince of Brooklyn and Murry Bergtraum on the perimeter. Tennessee, who came back from 12 down with 8:18 to go against North Carolina, couldn’t have done it without point guard Shannon Bobbitt of Manhattan and Bergtraum or Nicky Anosike of Staten Island and St. Peter’s.

Neither LSU nor North Carolina has a New Yorker on its roster, and they’re going home. Rutgers even has the benefit of freshman guard Brittany Ray of the Bronx and Aquinas coming off the bench.

It isn’t about the address, but about what the New Yorkers brought to the court. They had attitude to spare, toughness, and they all lifted their games to a different level.

In the first semifinal Sunday night, Rutgers got the jump on LSU, literally. Vaughn, the 6-4 center, won the tip when LSU’s 6-6 center, Sylvia Fowles barely got off the ground. That could be a metaphor for the rest of her night. Fowles, who’d dominated the tournament with stellar play on both sides of the ball, was swarmed by Rutgers defenders. Vaughn managed to keep her off the block and had help from 6-1 forward Heather Zurich. Vaughn got into foul trouble about halfway through the first half, but her 6-4 backup center, Rashidat Junaid, took over where she left off.

Although Vaughn’s stats don’t stand out – she had 8 points, all in the second half; 4 rebounds; and 2 blocks in 25 minutes – the sophomore had a tremendous impact on LSU’s stats, namely Fowles’. Fowles, who had entered the game averaging 17.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, was held to 5 points, tying her lowest output of the season. She had 7 rebounds and 4 turnovers.

Rutgers’ offense fed off its defense, as it always does, but this time it was a feeding frenzy. Matee Ajavon was 4-5 from three-point range. Essence Carson was 3-6. They finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
“We were hitting shots. I think we were like 80% in the first half from three-point range,” Zurich said. “With the three, you live by it or die by it. We knew in the second half if our shots weren't falling, that we couldn't always be going for that. So, we tried to get some penetration inside and get some points off rebounds. Kia stepped up inside and that was basically it."
Prince did a little bit of everything. But, for a change, her defense and dishes came before her scoring. The freshman guard had 7 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and just 1 turnover in 39 minutes. That’s a royal performance by Prince.

Rutgers’ 59-35 semifinal win puts them in their first-ever national title game. They also set some records with their defense, holding LSU to the fewest points in a Final Four, the lowest field goal percentage, 26.4, and fewest field goals, 14.
“Wow – that’s the best way to describe what's happening right here," Stringer said. "I am so proud of these young ladies.”
Rutgers will face Tennessee Tuesday night for the women’s NCAA basketball championship. Tennessee got a bit of revenge on North Carolina in the Vols’ 56-50 win. The Tar Heels had eliminated them last year, in Cleveland, in the regional final.
During her halftime pep talk, Coach Pat Summitt exhorted her team to take care of the ball after being plagued by turnovers in the first half.
“It’s about possessions,” she said. “It’s also a game of wills. Let’s see how tough we are.”
There were none tougher than Bobbitt, the smallest player in the Final Four at 5-2, and Anosike, a 6-4 forward/center. They both were seemingly everywhere, grabbing key steals, rebounds and making big shots.
Bobbitt, a junior college transfer, matched up against All-American point guard and All-American talker Ivory Latta. Bobbitt did some talking of her own and had to be separated from Latta by a ref after giving her a shove. The speedster stayed glued to Latta, stride for stride, except when the Tar Heels star sat with foul trouble and after two hard picks by LaToya Pringle sent the former Rucker Park stalwart heels over head onto the hardwood. After the first, Bobbitt recovered and hit a three-pointer. After the second, she sat stunned for a few seconds at midcourt, then went to the bench, shooting the cheering UNC bench a stare that said, “Watch out, I’ll be back.”
She was all about hustle, chasing after loose balls, coming up with 4 steals and rattling Latta in the first half. She finished with 6 points on two 3s and 1 assist in a woeful shooting night for the Vols. Part she was part of the defensive clampdown Tennessee laid down in the second half to hold usually high-scoring UNC to 2 points as the Vols went on a 20-point run.
“We just turned up the intensity," Bobbitt said. "Defense wins games."
Anosike was a big part of the win. She had the unenviable assignment of going up against UNC’s many bigs, including Erlana Larkins and Pringle, who were each held to 4 points. Anosike, not a prolific scorer, matched Wade Trophy winner Candace Parker with a game-high 14 points. More importantly, in a game that saw Tennessee shoot a measly 27 percent (the lowest percentage for a Final Four winner), Anosike grabbed 7 rebounds. In addition to her 3 assists, she blocked 4 shots and picked up 5 steals. In the physical, defensive battle Tennessee had a record 20 steals.

Anosike’s layup with 2:04 left was huge, tying the score at 50. The Tar Heels wouldn’t score again, while the Vols went 6-8 from the free-throw line to win the game.

Who knows what will happen when the New Yorkers meet up on the same court with the championship at stake. There will be trash-talking. And defense will rule the day. But it all might come down to one non-New Yorker who can play every position: Parker, from Naperville, Ill., has made it her mission to bring a seventh championship banner to Thompson-Boling Arena.

After the win over UNC, she held up one finger to the crowd and yelled, “One more.” I don’t think she was hailing a cab.

By Mark La Monica

Thanks to my extensive contacts in the fashion industry, i.e. someone in the fashion industry has my e-mail address, I scored an invite to last night's NBA Court-Ture '07, a fashion show at the NBA Store featuring the spring line of Jared M.

He makes clothes for tall people. Ballers are tall people. Seems like a good fit.

Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Channing Frye, Jared Jeffries and David Lee of the Knicks were scheduled to attend. Kenyon Martin of the Nuggets and Antoine Wright on the Nets were also on the list of dudes to walk down the mini-runway They did.

It was a fairly weird scene inside the NBA Store as the worlds of fashion and pro hoops collided. Think the party at Shark's house in "Any Given Sunday" combined with the pool room scene in "Hitch" and that just about sums it up.

NBA folks are considered fashionable, despite David Stern's attempts to change that fashion. Fashion people aren't necessarily considered sports folk. This was wonderfully illustrated when, on several occasions, fashion media asked former NBA star Jimmy Jackson what team he plays for now. Oopsies. Jackson isn't in the league anymore.

"I tell them, 'I'm in between jobs,'" Jackson said.

After a line like that, I had to keep asking him questions. He didn't disappoint.

What did he say to the guys when he saw them before the show?

“I told them 'Don’t trip.' As basketball players, we think we can do everything," Jackson said. " But this a whole different environment when you walk down a runway. I’ve done it before. I did it with Karl Kani, a long time ago when Karl Kani was real hot.”

What if they trip? Bump their heads? Stumble? Anything

“I’m gonna watch, and I’m gonna laugh, and I’m gonna tell ‘em about it,” Jackson said.

There were no trips, falls or stumbles. Watch my little video below and you'll see.

Note: This was shot from an elevated spot above the runway using a handheld camera while stretching over the heads of four girls in front of me. The footage is raw and strung together with a special little soundtrack for you old-school fans out there.

By Karen Bailis

The New York Liberty lucked out Monday when the Minnesota Lynx inexplicably passed on the opportunity to take former University of Minnesota star Janel McCarville in the WNBA dispersal draft.

The 6-2 McCarville’s numbers with the Charlotte Sting, which folded last week, weren’t stellar. Last season, she averaged only 14 minutes per game, 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. But her two pro seasons were marred by injuries. She’s playing overseas now, having recovered from back injuries, and is posting numbers reminiscent of her Kodak All-American college career: 14.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 4.3 apg and 3.7 spg.

The Liberty, which had a subpar 11-23 season last year, needs a hard-nosed player with her size (220 lbs.) and post skills. However, after taking veteran All-Star forward Tangela Smith in the draft, the Lynx might still try to acquire the popular McCarville in hopes of adding some punch to its disappointing play and attendance.

McCarville was part of the inside-outside tandem with flashy point guard Lindsay Whalen that took the Golden Gophers to the Final Four in 2004 and was the No. 1 draft pick in 2005. The Lynx might be willing to deal to get her, but it’d be wishful thinking to dream they’d give up last year’s No. 1 pick, Seimone Augustus. And, really, she’s the only player worth acquiring. The 2005 Naismith Player of the Year and 2006 WNBA Rookie of the Year averaged 21.9 ppg, No. 2 in the league, and ranked in the top 10 in the league in nine other categories. No one else on the Lynx averaged in double figures last year.

Could there be a multi-team deal in the works? Problem is, Liberty GM Carol Blazejowski has not proven herself to be an aggressive drafter or trader. Draft day is April 4, and the season opens May 19.

Dispersal draft:

1. Monique Currie, Chicago Sky
2. Tangela Smith, Minnesota Lynx
3. Janel McCarville, New York Liberty
4. Helen Darling, San Antonio Silver Stars
5. Kelly Mazzante, Phoenix Mercury
6. Teana Miller, Washington Mystics
7. Tye’sha Fluker, Seattle Storm
8. Yelena Leuchanka, Houston Comets
9. Sheri Sam, Indiana Fever
10. LaToya Bond, Sacramento Monarchs
11. Ayana Walker, Los Angeles Sparks
(Detroit and Connecticut passed. Center Tammy Sutton-Brown and forward Allison Feaster are unrestricted free agents and weren’t included in the draft. They can sign with any team when the free-agency period begins Jan. 15.)

By Karen Bailis

Who says there’s no parity in women’s college basketball?

On Sunday, at least four contests proved that more women’s teams are evenly matched. In all four, unranked teams beat ranked ones, with a margin of no more than 10 points.

In the closest game, No. 25 New Mexico fell to Utah, 49-48. The loss snapped the Lobos’ (10-5) 35-game
home winning streak in Mountain West Conference games that dated back to 2002. The Utes (9-6) came back from a 14-point, first-half deficit. Jessica Perry scored the winning basket with 1:34 left.

Look for Texas to replace New Mexico in today’s new AP poll, as Texas (10-4), which started the season ranked No. 25, upset No. 10 Purdue (14-3) on Sunday. Texas coach Jody Conradt, second on the all-time collegiate basketball wins list, has been frustrated this season by blowout losses to No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Tennessee. It was her team’s first win this season against a ranked opponent. Star forward Tiffany Jackson scored 20 points, including 6-for-8 from the foul line, to power her team. Purdue, under new coach Sharon Versyp, beat No. 9 Baylor convincingly earlier this season but lost to a struggling Notre Dame.

Purdue also has beaten Mississippi State (10-5), which knocked down No. 20 Arkansas (15-3) on Sunday, 81-73, after trailing by 10 in the second half. The Bulldogs are no strangers to tough competition, playing with Arkansas in the stacked Southeastern Conference. The SEC boasts five teams ranked in the top 25. Mississippi State, dominated by freshmen and sophomores, went on a 13-3 run that tied the game at 47 with 13:47 left. Their 45 rebounds to Arkansas’ 32 made a difference, along with sophomore Marneshia Richard’s 23 points and four steals. It was MSU’s first win over Arkansas since 2004.

Also in the SEC, Mississippi (13-4) downed No. 11 Vanderbilt (14-2), 76-66. Mississippi used a balanced attack and had five players in double figures. Armintie Price led them all with 21 points and three steals for a career total of 336, breaking the school record 333 held by her coach, Carol Ross. Mississippi as a team had nine steals and outboarded Vandy, 47-27. It was Ole Miss’ first win against a ranked opponent in three tries this season.

It’s no surprise that two of these games were SEC matchups. Most of the teams from that powerhouse conference could pull an “upset” of a ranked opponent at any time. They learn a lot from playing the best on a regular basis. The Big 10 Conference’s highest ranking is Purdue’s No. 10, which is sure to fall, but Ohio State’s No. 7 could rise after its Saturday win against Kentucky and Michigan State likely will fall from No. 19 after the thumping it took from No. 1 Maryland. Texas’ Big 12 Conference provides stiff competition too, with No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 and 2004 National Champions Baylor.

By Karen Bailis

It doesn’t get better than this. A knock-down, drag-out between No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 UConn, the Yankees-vs.-Red Sox of women’s basketball, on national network TV. A dunk by player of the year candidate Candace Parker in front of a sold-out Hartford Civic Center. And a 70-64 Tennessee win powered by Parker’s 30 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. That after Connecticut mounted a comeback after being down by as many as 18 points in the second half.

The classic matchup was the cherry on top of a triple-header of women’s college basketball on CBS that started at noon with a 53-51 nail-biter with No. 7 Ohio State victorious over never-say-die, unranked-for-now Kentucky. The second game wasn’t much of a contest – No. 1 Maryland defeated No. 19 Michigan State, 97-57 – but the exciting aspect was seeing the defending national champions’ balanced attack has only improved with the addition of transfer Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood.

Sure, I could have been outside enjoying the record-breaking 72-degree January weather in Central Park, but how often is there a triple-header of great women’s college ball on national TV? Fuhgeddaboudit. I popped open the window, turned off the phone and planted myself on the couch for six hours of hard-court magic. I could frolic in the park on some other spring-like January day, right?

It was like March in January inside the Hartford Civic Center. There’s no better rivalry in women’s college basketball. It started in 1995, UConn’s undefeated season, and the Huskies lead the series, 13-9, with the Vols taking the last three games. The players and the fans always circle it on their calendars when the schedules come out. It’s the biggest game of the regular season. In fact, for a few seasons, the two met twice in a home-and-home series as if they were conference rivals. The two Hall of Fame coaches, Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma, relish facing off and matching game plans. They’re a study in contrasts, but both understand what they and this rivalry have meant for women’s basketball.

They’ve helped put The Game on the map, and this game was no different. If Summitt and Auriemma are the foundation, then Parker is the future. Though Tennessee (14-1) got off to a shaky start very early, the Huskies (14-1), lacking a superstar since the 2004 graduation of Diana Taurasi, had no answer for Parker. It was her 29th straight game in double figures. She was a monster inside. Auriemma threw different defenders at her, but she shook them off like they were standing still. Her defense, previously considered about the only weak point in her game, was evidenced by her six blocks and a steal. And her flashy yet smart play was on display on a fastbreak as she and Alberta Auguste trailed speedy point guard Shannon Bobbitt, who had just come up with steal. Bobbitt, a Bergtraum product, bounced a nifty pass between her legs to Parker, who with no room to score, flipped the ball over the defender to Auguste to go up 26-20 with 5:55 in the first half. Parker finished with a team-leading four assists.

The two teams were relatively evenly matched on the stat sheet. The difference came from Parker and the 1-2 3-point punch of Bobbitt and Sidney Spencer, who each knocked down three from behind the arc. The Huskies came up with only two three-pointers, but the second-half play of Charde Houston kept them in the game. She scored 16 of her 23 points in the second half and was the only Connecticut player in double figures.

Tennessee led 41-29 at the half, the first time Connecticut has trailed at the mid-point all season.

Parker had 16 in the first 20 minutes – she played all 40 – but her exclamation point came at 18:20 of the second half, when she took a Spencer steal in for the slam. It was her sixth career dunk and her fourth this season.

Parker is the fifth woman to dunk in a college game and has dunked the most. She joins Michelle Snow of Tennessee, Sancho Lyttle of Houston, Charlotte Smith of North Carolina and Georgeann Wells of West Virginia. Lisa Leslie is the only WNBAer to dunk in a game.

Problem was, the dunk, Parker’s first against a ranked opponent on the road, ignited Connecticut’s offense. The Huskies went on a 31-15 run, carried by Houston. A three by guard Mel Thomas – she scored Connecticut’s only two – tied the game at 58 with 4:47 left. UConn forward Brittany Hunter had the chance to take the Huskies’ first lead since early in the first half when she was fouled while tying the score at 60. She missed the free throw. UConn as a team shoots only 64 percent from the line.

Spencer’s three-pointer at 3:47 – her first basket of the second half – helped seal it for Tennessee. It was 63-60. She finished with 14.

After Parker made a Connie Hawkins-like acrobatic fastbreak shot that kissed off the backboard to go up 65-60 with less than two minutes left, it was over but for an amazing power shot by Houston from within a smothering Tennessee double-team. She brought it to 67-64 with :23.5 left, and it was as close as UConn came.

The game was classic UConn-Tennessee all the way, from Auriemma’s technical in the first half, to a large Tennessee lead that evaporated even more quickly than it was built, to a deafening crowd of 16,294, to outstanding individual performances and gritty team efforts.

"In some sense, a small sense, it's still the Red Sox and the Yankees. It still is," Auriemma said. "But there's still a lot more good things going on in college basketball now. That's just the reality of it."
I’d be surprised if one of these two isn’t still standing in the Final Four.

*

Tennessee and UConn have long reaches. The other two televised matchups of the day featured teams that all have links to one of the two rivals. The architect of Kentucky’s remarkable turnaround of the past four years is coach Mickie DeMoss, who shared the bench with Summitt for 18 years. An assistant of DeMoss is Niya Butts, a two-time NCAA champion at Tennessee. Former UConn star Tamika Williams, also a two-time NCAA champ, is an assistant at Ohio State. OSU head coach Jim Foster hired Auriemma as an assistant when Foster was the head coach at St. Joseph’s (Pa.). Former Tennessee assistant Al Brown assists Michigan State head coach Joanne P. McCallie, as does Semeka Randall, part of Tennessee’s 39-0 national champion team in 1998. Point guard Wiley-Gatewood transferred to Maryland last year from Tennessee.

*

Family tree aside, the UK-OSU meeting had the makings of an ugly blowout when Ohio State led 24-15 at the half after Kentucky (12-4) big Sarah Elliott was shackled with two fouls and two points. Elliott was the only Kentucky player with any hopes of containing Ohio State’s walking double-double, Jessica Davenport, who finished with – yes – a double-double, 24 points and 12 rebounds. Elliott came alive in the second half and finished with 18 points. She tied the game at 51 with 1:07 left. Marscilla Packer hit a jumper at the foul line with 16 seconds left to put OSU (13-1) up 53-51. Davenport deflected Samantha Mahoney’s last-second shot at tying the game.

Senior center Davenport’s 1,944 career points are second to the great Katie Smith’s 2,578, whose No. 30 is the only woman’s to hang from the Schottenstein Center Value City Arena’s rafters.

*

The Michigan State-Maryland game was never close. Is there that much space between No. 19 and No. 1 in the women’s game? Yes. Especially a No. 1 team whose first six players average in double figures and a No. 19 team that lost its top two scorers in history to graduation last year. Still, the 97-57 final score was a bit of a surprise, but it was quite a show. MSU’s 6-9 freshman, Allyssa DeHaan, was expected to pose more of a scoring challenge to Maryland’s post tandem of Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper. But they’ve been dealing with the more imposing 6-7 Duke center Alison Bales for the past three seasons, so no problem. Though DeHaan swatted five blocks, three of them in the first four minutes of the game, she was never a factor. Langhorne scored 28 on 13-for-14 shooting and led five scorers in double figures, including Jade Perry’s 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Victoria Lucas-Perry’s 20 led MSU (12-3).

It was supposed to be the Terrapins’ (17-0) first test against a ranked opponent, though the national champs had struggled in their season-opener against Middle Tennessee and also the unranked Temple Owls. They definitely made a statement.

"Just a lot of fun today. We really talked about being able to make a statement," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "We got after it in so many dimensions of the game."

We’ll see what they’re saying next week against ACC rival No. 3 Duke (15-0).

*

New York state of mind. In addition to junior college transfer Bobbitt, Tennessee has another player from New York City: Nicky Anosike of Staten Island and St. Peter’s. Connecticut’s much-ballyhooed freshman, Tina Charles, starred at Christ the King, as did Maryland’s second-ranked career scorer, Shay Doron. The Terps’ Christie Marrone of Brooklyn went to St. John Villa Academy.

By Mark La Monica

Mardy Collins was way out of line with that hard foul. The game was already over by then. And it was a regular season game. In December. And it's Mardy Collins.

Carmelo Anthony escalated things with his Stephen Jackson right-handed haymaker. If not for that punch, the scuffle would have ended there and the Pistons-Pacers brawl references would not exist beyond Sunday evening.

If not for that punch, the Knicks would have no point of motivation to wake up and realize they can actually make the playoffs this season. Sure, the team is poorly constructed, poorly managed and poorly owned. But have you looked at the Atlantic Division recently?

It's exceptionally ugly. Uglier than, say, the scene inside Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

The Atlantic Division is a combined 46-73 after Saturday night's games. Twelve of those wins have come against each other and another three came against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Knicks are 9-16. Seven games under .500 -- the line of demarcation for mediocrity for everything in life except batting average -- and still only 1.5 games out of first place. The Nets, Celtics and Raptors all have nine wins but have also played fewer games.

There is still 69.5 percent of the season left, but have we seen anything from any Atlantic team to reasonably believe the division title won't go down to the final week? If anything, we've been given reason to consider lobbying David Stern to ban the default Atlantic champion from the playoffs.

Isiah Thomas needs to harness the emotion displayed by Nate Robinson, Jared Jeffries, Channing Frye and the rest the players into positive energy. Use it to motivate the team into realizing what's possible this season.

So, what's possible this season? The playoffs are possible this season.

The Knicks likely won't advance beyond the first round of those playoffs, but getting there -- no matter how they do it -- would be a huge step in the right direction for the franchise. Fans would be excited with the sign of progress.

Since it's going to take quite a few more years to actually make the Knicks a good team and since owner James Dolan doesn't understand much about the salary cap, Knicks fans must find the small things to embrace.

A trip to the playoffs with this lot wouldn't be so bad, would it? No matter how short that trip is. It would also assure Thomas keeps his job for another season or so.

Then again, for some Knicks fans, maybe this brawl wasn't such a good thing after all.

By Mark La Monica

Some things stand the test of time. Allen Iverson's "We talkin' 'bout practice" monologue is one of those things.

Where would we be without YouTube to let us go back in time on occasion and relive some old school joy? Hope this helps you get through the day.