Val Ackerman: Hi, everyone! Welcome to the 8th season of the WNBA. We are glad the season is finally underway and are looking forward to great competition this year. Hope you will all be joining us this Saturday at 4 p.m. ET for the rematch of our 2003 finals between the Sparks and the Shock at the Palace of Auburn Hills - ABC will show all the action. Now we are ready for your questions.
Val Ackerman: Our Board of Governors recently met in New York and we agreed to expand our Finals to 5 games (from the current 3) beginning in 2005. Only time will tell whether we will expand the Finals further, but we felt that because the Finals represent WNBA basketball at its best, and a longer series would allow for a better test of the Championship teams, an expanded format certainly made sense.
Val Ackerman: I'm very confident that the WNBA All-Star game will come to Houston! One reason we have waited is because we and the team both wanted the game to be presented in the new Toyota Center, and now that the building is up and running, I don't believe it will be long before the All-Star game will come to Texas. We recently announced that the 2005 All-Star game will be held in Connecticut, and I'm certain that it will be a very exciting event for the league and our fans.
Val Ackerman: Do you mean do I follow what shockfrontoffice, keeganoz and pilight have to say? Who doesn't?
Val Ackerman: We'd like to get back 14 teams in the near future, and I'm confident that will happen by the 2006 season. A number of NBA and non-NBA cities have shown interest, and we are working now to identify the markets which would give us the best chances for fan support as well as the most committed and qualified ownership structures.
Val Ackerman: We wouldn't be where we are today without the great support we have had from fans around the country (like you!), and our mission, simply put, is to continue to attract new fans to the league and women's pro basketball. If you've had a great experience at one of our games, I absolutely encourage you to spread the word -- bring friends to games, talk up the league at your office, school, or workplace, and if you feel strongly enough, contact the team directly and see if there is any way for you to assist them.
Val Ackerman: What we want most for our teams at the coaching level is people who are knowledgeable about basketball, who can relate to and motivate our players, who understand the importance of activities off the court and their role in helping to sell the league, and who can generally withstand the rigors of coaching in a professional sports environment. I'm less concerned about the gender makeup of our coaching staffs than I am about these qualifications being met. I also believe it has been a plus for the WNBA to have attracted both coaches and players from the NBA because of the sophistication they have brought to the league, and I'm equally heartened that former players are beginning to join our coaching ranks (Suzie McConnell Serio in Minn, Korie Hlede in Detroit, Lisa Harrison in Phoenix). One area that I hope will change is in the representation of women in the coaching ranks of men's basketball.
Val Ackerman: No, I don't foresee eliminating back-to-backs. We do work to minimize them and to make sure that the second game is not more than a time zone away.
Val Ackerman: We think the campaign does both -- it highlights the athleticism and skill of our players and also gives our fans a glimpse of what our players represent as people. We know that what happens on the court is the essence of the league, and every game is a commercial about what our competition now represents. The ad campaign merely supplements that and, we hope, creates another level of interest in our players for the people who follow the league.
Val Ackerman: We think the campaign does both -- it highlights the athleticism and skill of our players and also gives our fans a glimpse of what our players represent as people. We know that what happens on the court is the essence of the league, and every game is a commercial about what our competition now represents. The ad campaign merely supplements that and, we hope, creates another level of interest in our players for the people who follow the league.
Val Ackerman: Our collective bargaining agreement with our players contains a minimum age eligibility requirement, which is 22 years of age for most of the players coming into the league. The effect of that is that the WNBA is deliberately a post-collegiate professional opportunity for our players, which we think makes sense given the rigors of playing in the league and the benefits - social, educational, etc. - that players get when they go to college. It certainly helps our sport when college fans get to see their favorite stars for four years and they come into the WNBA with name recognition.
Diana Taurasi: "Hello, everybody."
Diana Taurasi: "Actually, I don't think it will be a problem at all. I like the question because it puts us in the playoffs... With the Olympics, if you stay mentally prepared, it won't roll over to the season at all. See you in the playoffs, Lisa..."
Diana Taurasi: "It's fun! The tongue - that's just a little thing we did with our college teammates when we made a great play."
Diana Taurasi: "Lauren Jackson - that's an easy one."
Val Ackerman: It'll be the best player in the league (I'm not getting myself in trouble on this one).
Diana Taurasi: "Alright - I'm out. Check out our game against Seattle next Thursday - June 3 - on ESPN 2. And tonight at the NBA Draft Lottery - I'll be representing the Phoenix Suns..."
Val Ackerman: Thanks for joining us today - we appreciate all of your support and hope to see you at a WNBA arena this summer!
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