They Still Ride in the Back of the Plane
If you think of the WNBA’s 28-game, 71-day schedule as a mile race, the athletes are on the backstretch of the third lap.
For the suddenly streaking Sparks, it’s 17 down, 11 to go. And as with that miler on the third lap, the finish line is beginning to seem farther away, not closer.
Linda Sharp, before she was dismissed as the team’s coach July 16, was the first to talk about one big difference between the NBA and the WNBA.
And here it is, in two words.
Charter. Commercial.
When the Lakers travel cross-country, they fly in a charter jet with sleeper berths. If they’re traveling from, say, Boston to Los Angeles after a night game, they’re home in time to see “Good Morning America.”
This was brought home recently on the Sparks’ flight on July 22 from Charlotte to Los Angeles. Back in the coach section was 6-foot-5 Heidi Burge, who had twisted herself into a pretzel and managed to fall asleep.
And 6-5 Lisa Leslie, knees-to-chin, looked at a magazine.
“I don’t think American women athletes have ever done this,” Sharp said.
“It will take its toll. In fact, I saw a lot of player fatigue after our first real road trip [Houston-Cleveland-Charlotte].”
Once, the NBA suffered in coach.
Jerry West played 14 years for the Lakers and didn’t make it to first class until he could afford to pay for it himself.
“NBA travel was awful in the ‘60s,” he said.
“We were flying and playing all the time. There were stretches of three games in three nights, all on commercial coach flights. It was particularly tough on the 7-foot guys.”
So, welcome to the big leagues, ladies.
And don’t expect charters any time soon.
The WNBA will have substantial losses in its first season, yet the league is already committed to raising the pay scale.
Said Ruthie Bolton-Holifield of Sacramento: “I understand how expensive charter is, but it sure would make this a lot easier. But if it comes down to charter travel or a raise, I’ll take the raise.”
In the meantime, the WNBA season continues as a seamless experience of baggage carousels, cold buses, lobby sitting, 11 p.m. dinners, wondering what day of the week it is. And always, just ahead, coach.
SHOELESS IN PHOENIX
In the wake of Los Angeles’ overtime victory at Phoenix last Friday, Arizonans still wonder, “What happened to Cheryl Miller’s shoe?”
Incensed that her players had lost a second-half lead, Miller reportedly staged an epic locker room tirade, and when it ended, reporters noted her right shoe was missing.
Had she thrown it at someone? Had she stomped it to death?
“I don’t have my shoe and I don’t know where it is,” she said.
Said one player: “She kicked a ball and the shoe went flying with it. The ball almost took off Becky Tibbetts’ head. From what we saw, Cheryl can play soccer anywhere on Earth.”
QUICK CUTS
That Friday crowd of 15,684 pushed Phoenix’s league-leading attendance average to 13,765. The Mercury is the only team with no home crowds under 10,000, remaining that way Monday night when it drew 11,012 to see Phoenix lose to Cleveland, 76-64. It was the Rockers’ fifth victory in a row. . . . The Sparks’ Heidi Burge and her twin, Heather, may be playing on the same team in Europe after the WNBA season. Their agent, Bruce Levy, is wrapping up a deal with an Italian team. . . . UConn coach-WNBA broadcaster Geno Auriemma, on preseason skeptics who said summer basketball wouldn’t sell: “Have you heard one person, anywhere, say that they have a problem watching basketball in the summer? This league has made the game a year-around sport and I think that’s great.”
The Sparks will be playing in what may be a glamour TV game next month in Houston. Sheryl Swoopes, who gave birth June 25, has said she wants to be playing again by Aug. 1. But her agent says the real target date is the game with the Sparks on Aug. 9.
The Sacramento Monarchs (5-10) fired Coach Mary Murphy, replacing her with assistant Heidi VanDerveer, younger sister of Stanford and Olympic Coach Tara VanDerveer. Murphy was also general manager, and those duties go to former Sacramento King Coach Jerry Reynolds.