Chicago Sky Announces Expansion Draft Selections

[thirty-two]

Chicago Sky Announces Expansion Draft Selections
NEW YORK, NOV. 16, 2005 – The WNBA’s newest franchise took its first step toward assembling its inaugural roster, as the Chicago Sky announced the 13 players it selected in the 2005 Expansion Draft.

The list includes Jia Perkins (Charlotte Sting); Brooke Wyckoff(Connecticut Sun); Elaine Powell (Detroit Shock); Kiesha Brown (Houston Comets); Deanna Jackson (Indiana Fever); Laura Macchi (Los Angeles Sparks); Stacey Lovelace (Minnesota Lynx); DeTrina White (New York Liberty); Ashley Robinson (Phoenix Mercury); Bernadette Ngoyisa (San Antonio Silver Stars); Chelsea Newton (Sacramento Monarchs); Francesca Zara (Seattle Storm); and, Stacey Dales-Schuman (Washington Mystics).

In addition, the Chicago Sky owns the sixth pick in each round of the 2006 WNBA Draft.

General Manager and Head Coach Dave Cowens, President and CEO Margaret Stender and two of the Sky’s newest members, Wyckoff and Jackson, will be available this afternoon for interviews via a media conference call at 2 p.m. ET.

Chicago had the right to acquire one player from each of the 13 WNBA teams. Each team had designated a maximum of six players who would not be available for selection in the Expansion Draft.

The Sky joins the Charlotte Sting, Connecticut Sun, Detroit Shock, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Washington Mystics in the Eastern Conference. Home games will be played at the UIC Pavilion, located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Season tickets for the team’s 17 home games and two preseason games are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (877) 329-WNBA or on-line at the team’s Web site www.chicagosky.net.

In 2005, the WNBA concluded its ninth season with an action-packed WNBA Finals that crowned a new champion for the third straight year as the Sacramento Monarchs defeated the Connecticut Sun. The WNBA Finals on ESPN2 produced significant increases in ratings (+33 percent) and viewership (+27 percent) versus 2004. As the preeminent women's sports league, the WNBA is the destination for the best women's basketball players in the world.

http://www.wnba.com/news/sky_expansion_051116.html

 

[nathan]

Ashley Robinson (Phoenix Mercury)

Uh oh. There go the title hopes.

:hadnoideathemercurystillexisted:

 

[azsouthendzone]

Chicago is getting an expansion WNBA team? That should make about 300 people happy in the windy city.

 

[thirty-two]

Chicago is getting an expansion WNBA team? That should make people happy in the windy city.

 

[azsouthendzone]

Column: WNBA simply must dissolve
Published on Friday, September 19, 2003

Louie Novak
Kansas State Collegian


The Detroit Shock on Tuesday stunned the sporting world, and I just can't stop talking about it.
The Shock completed their storybook journey from worst to first by capturing the WNBA Championship after defeating the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks in the decisive game three of the WNBA finals.

After winning just nine games in 2002, the Shock now can be proud because they are the best. They are indeed the champions of the WNBA.

Do you know what I think about this unbelievable story? Do you really want to know how I feel about Swin Cash and the rest of the Shock raising the coveted trophy?

I really don't care.

Yeah, that's right. I think the whole league is an embarrassment to sports and professional athletics.

I would rather watch 24 straight hours of the Bob Ross "Joy of Painting Show" than a single quarter of a WNBA game.

I would rather see Bob with his fluffy afro and famous "wet-on-wet" painting technique make happy trees and clouds, then see a single Lisa Leslie free throw.

The WNBA sucks.

I have to admit, I used to think the league was kind of funny. They had that clever slogan, "We got next." They used that really awesome orange and white ball. And they even had someone playing who could actually dunk.

Now I can't even chuckle at the WNBA.

One might wonder, "Why is Louie so critical? Does he despise all women's professional sports? Does he believe men are superior to women?"

Those questions could not be further from the truth.

I respect women athletes. I find myself in awe of professional tennis' Williams sisters. I actually find women's tennis more appealing than men's. This summer I would have been in full support of Annika Sorenstam playing in the PGA if she simply would have qualified. I sincerely like women in some sports.

However, when it comes to the WNBA I have to draw the line. Lets face it, in certain sports women can't play at the same level men can. They can't jump as high, they aren't as fast, they aren't as strong and the excitement of a men's professional basketball game simply blows the WNBA out of the water.

Check that -- a fifth grade boys little league basketball game is more fun than a WNBA game.

The average attendance for the WNBA playoffs this season was an estimated 8,490 people per game.

Few go, and few care. If you disagree with me, ask yourself, "How many games have I watched? Do I own any WNBA apparel? Can I name 10 players in the league?"

I would be impressed if you could name one.

During the offseason, the WNBA shut down the Miami and Portland franchises and moved two others. Attendance continues to plummet and has fallen since 1998. Last year the NBA had to pump $12 million dollars into the WNBA to keep it going.

Even better is last summer, when the players threatened to strike for higher salaries. David Stern almost canceled the season, which I would have celebrated by getting bombed.

But oh no, the girls got what they wanted -- more money. They received an increase of more than 4 percent a year in the amount that teams will spend on salaries, totaling more than 17 percent over four years. They also now have restricted free agencies.

And once again we had to live through another season of turnovers, airballs and botched plays.

Thing is, all the WNBA has to do is go away. I will forgive David Stern and pretend like it never really happened. I will act like the whole thing was just a bad dream.

Because right now the whole thing really isn't funny anymore. The WNBA is just plain terrible.

Louie is a senior in journalism. You can e-mail him at [email protected].

 

[thirty-two]

I will never understand the people out there who think the WNBA should dissolve. I would never wish people to lose their jobs and their ultimate passions. I hope the WNBA continues on and in 20 years the fans can look back at all those ignorant people and laugh.

 

[azsouthendzone]

I will never understand the people out there who think the WNBA should dissolve. I would never wish people to lose their jobs and their ultimate passions. I hope the WNBA continues on and in 20 years the fans can look back at all those ignorant people and laugh.

Funniest post I've ever read. The WNBA sucks. Everyone knows it. It isn't ignorance. Actually, the attendance gets worse year after year. 20 years?? LMAO.

 

[thirty-two]

Funniest post I've ever read. The WNBA sucks. Everyone knows it. It isn't ignorance. Actually, the attendance gets worse year after year. 20 years?? LMAO.

Glad you had a laugh. Maybe you could stop being a troll on this forum and talking bad about the WNBA. You'd be a little pissed off if I went into the hockey forum and continually said the Coyotes suck. Or hockey for that matter.

So you dont like the WNBA, fine. THEN DONT FREAKING POST IN THE THREAD THAT IS ABOUT THE WNBA.