BALLIIIIIIIIIIN'

Ok...

I have a confession to make. I've been watching women's basketball.

Not because there's nothing else on. Not because I let the remote stop on it. No. Its because I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Don't get carried away now. You're not gonna see me rocking Lisa Leslie jerseys or copping any Nike Air Swoops (although they caught my eye a couple times flipping through Eastbay back in the day).

But I actually enjoy watching it from time to time. Can you blame me? My beloved Atlanta Hawks have been losing for damn near 10 years and the NBA playoffs (especially the 2007 Finals) have been kinda lackluster lately after the first round. My favorite players keep getting hurt or suspended for fighting and I'm growing tired of hearing multi-millionares demand trades and cry like babies.

Sometimes I just want to see some ball (basket-, foot- and base-)getting played sans outside commentary about a player's criminal history, alleged steroid use and/or baby mama drama.

Its been a long journey though. I, like so many of my male counterparts never gave the ladies a chance. Yes, I was one of the many calling it the Why Nobody Bothers to Attend league. When the WNBA first started, I was actually looking forward to it, but for the wrong reasons. I just wanted to see some women running, thinking it was gonna be like seeing Pamela Anderson on Baywatch. I wanted to see some eye candy. I had grown tired of hearing my mom talk about how fine she thought Scottie Pippen was or listening to my aunt go on and on about how cute Isiah Thomas looked in his bootyshorts.

Needless to say, I was disappointed. The WNBA women looked like some dudes. Hardly any of them had breasticles and most of them had cornrows, looking like they was fresh outta Alto. Their marketing department tried to convince us that Lisa Leslie was pretty, but I mean, she aiiiiighht. Really, the only thing I found REMOTELY attractive about the WNBA was Gina Thompson's lips. Plus, none of them could dunk (sorry, that Lisa Leslie attempt was not a dunk, that was more like a strong layup).

But last season, I caught some of the games, and watched the WNBA playoffs at length, and I was impressed. I always knew that we had some female ballers out there. I saw plenty dudes get served at the old Run N' Shoot by girls and I remember Chamique Holdsclaw balling at Tennessee and landing the cover of SLAM years ago. But man, the 2006 WNBA Playoffs was very entertaining.

So, I started watching some games at the start of this season, and I'm still impressed (though I'm disappointed to see Chamique retired). Last night, I was watching the Sparks vs. Storm game and man, I swear I saw this white girl named Lauren Jackson playing like the female version of Tim Duncan. She was unstoppable!

The games move much faster than the NBA games too. From what I see, they don't do that 1997 Utah Jazz/2003 San Antonio Spurs shit where they just eat up the clock. They don't do that 1997/2005 Miami Heat shit when they just throw the ball down low and pound and pound and pound. No. These chicks run and gun, and take high percentage shots in the process. The don't slow the game down with zone defenses or stop the clock by flopping, trying to pass it off as "good defense." THEY PLAY BALL! And they go hard every play.

They don't oversell you on alot of BS either. You're not gonna be bombarded with Eva Longoria sitting courtside. You don't have to sit through corny-ass intro music from the Pussycat Dolls either.

If Atlanta had a WNBA franchise, I'd support it. I mean, pro basketball in the summer time? What more can you ask for? Its better than baseball.

So, if you haven't already, give the ladies a chance. Ladies, I urge you to support them. Fellas, I insist you do the same. Now, I gotta keep it real. They haven't made much improvement in the looks catagory. Sue Bird is kinda cute and soon-to-be pro Candice Parker is fine as hell, but that's about it.