Sports Odds and Ends
PHOENIX, AZ —There were plenty of storylines here at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game and Weekend last weekend in Phoenix, where temperatures stayed above 90 degrees and remained in triple digits during the day and most of the evenings.
Greatness comes full circle
One of women’s basketball’s true trailblazers, Cheryl Miller, coached Team WNBA last Saturday against the USA National Team. She started in college in the 1980s and has been involved in the sport in various ways over the past four decades, including as the first-ever coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, leading them to the league’s second Finals in 1998.
“To come back home, it just feels like my life is full circle, given the opportunity to coach these great players and be part of the dialogue,” Miller told reporters, including the MSR, last Friday. Miller’s legacy wasn’t lost on her players either.
Jonquel Jones (New York) was impressed with her energy: “You know she was a hoopster,” noted the Liberty forward, who finished runners-up in last weekend’s 3-point Shooting contest during All-Star Friday.
Angel Reese (Chicago) this season is coached by Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon and last weekend played for Miller, another HOFer. “I’ve been blessed to be coached by amazing coaches,” the rookie pointed out.
But when the MSR asked Miller to briefly reflect on her rich legacy, she demurred: “No, I don’t obviously talk about legacy because I’m still alive.” But she recalled a piece of advice given to her decades ago by Ann Meyers Drysdale, another Hall member: “That [it’s my] responsibility—and I didn’t get it when I was young and at the height of my career—to pay it forward,” said Miller. “So, my challenge in life is to pay it forward.”
Proud owner
Renee Montgomery is the first former WNBA player to retire and soon afterwards become a team owner: She is currently vice president and part-owner of, and investor in, the Atlanta Dream. She is also the first female owner in the FCF and one of three owners of the FCF Beasts Indoor Football Team.
But last Friday, Montgomery couldn’t hide her excitement as she watched Dream guard Allisha Gray, the only team represented in last week’s game, pull off a historic double-double, winning both the Skills Competition and the 3-Point Shooting contest on the same night.
“We already know she was an All-Star and a great player,” Montogomery told the MSR after Gray’s winning two-fer performance. “Tonight, a star was born. Big night for Big Al.”
Commish on diversity
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, during her midseason state of the league address last Saturday, talked about several things including expansion and charter flights for teams. We asked her about the W’s diversity efforts across the board, both on the court and off it.
“Our diversity initiatives span our coaching diversity initiatives…corporate partners, merchandise partners, media partners. I think it’s a very multidimensional strategy we’ve been focused on,” said the Commish.
“We’re really thrilled with some of the progress that we’ve been able to make. The work is never done. Always more work to do, but it’s something we’re really focused on.”
First-timer
Macalester MBB player Robert Grace IV was in Phoenix working with the Lynx. “I’m here with the Lynx video content team, filling in for somebody. This is my first trip with the Lynx and also my first WNBA All-Star Game. I’m having a good time.”