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Two shorthanded WNBA rivals come up very short in Thursday action.
The two WNBA teams with the hottest blood proved to be the coldest without their main weapons, still warm from the fiery July 22nd standoff. They have something in common though - both scored the same number of points on the first game night of their shorthanded sentence. The Connecticut Sun cruised past the Los Angeles Sparks, 87-61 at Mohegan Sun Arena. ESPN2 helped the Detroit Shock add laughter to legend (again before a national audience), as they fell to the Comets in Houston 79-61. Both Detroit and L.A. had only eight players in uniform for their games (WNBA minimum), including one hall-of-famer briefly with Detroit just months after celebrating her 50th birthday. The Brawl That Started It AllFor those that have yet to see at least a clip of the now famous incident between the Sparks and Shock in their July 22 meeting with each other at the Palace of Auburn Hills, here are the results, as announced in a memo by the WNBA emailed to media members Thursday: Detroit Suspensions-Forward Plenette Pierson, 4 games for her "actions that initiated and escalated the altercation" -Assistant Coach Rick Mahorn, 2 games for "escalating the altercation" -Center Kara Braxton, 1 game for "leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation" -Forward Tasha Humphrey, 1 game for "leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation" -Guard Elaine Powell, 1 game for "leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation" -Forward Sheri Sam, 1 game for "leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation" Los Angeles Suspensions-Guard Shannon Bobbitt, 2 games for "leaving the area of the bench and becoming physically involved in an on-court altercation" -Guard Murriel Page, 2 games for "leaving the area of the bench and becoming physically involved in an on-court altercation" -Center Lisa Leslie, 1 game for "throwing a punch" -Forward Delisha Milton-Jones, 1 game for "throwing a punch" -Forward Candace Parker, 1 game for "throwing a punch" The WNBA is permitting the teams to enact the suspensions at different times. Parker, Leslie and Milton-Jones all served their single-game penalties during the Thursday affair in Connecticut. The three will be able to partake in L.A.'s Friday game at New York. Bobbitt's two-game absence will be served during the Connecticut and New York games, and Page's two-game break will start with the New York matchup. For Detroit, Pierson and Mahorn's suspensions began Thursday, and neither will be seen on Shock sidelines for over a month, since the team's Sunday July 27th game against San Antonio is their last prior to the WNBA's olympic playing break. Braxton and Humphrey also served their time Thursday. Sam is scheduled to do so on the 27th. Powell is injured and the league has determined she will fulfill her suspension once she is deemed able to play by medical officials. A Finals Preview?Even before the fight, league experts and sports gurus have widely discussed the possibility of a WNBA Finals matchup between Detroit and L.A. The two faced each other in the 2003 series, with the Shock pulling off a gritty 2 games to 1 win. Both remain highly competitive here in '08, and have scorned each other for years, that blamed largely on the rivalry betwixt head coaches Michael Cooper and Bill Laimbeer that dates back to their prime NBA playing days in the 80's. The recent incident though now has thousands more TV-watching eyes on the WNBA, and some players venture to say another Sparks/Shock Finals matchup would work wonders for the league's ratings. "A lot of people are paying attention to the WNBA right now that have probably never followed it," veteran Shock guard Katie Smith told The Associated Press in a July 23rd interview. "Is it the right kind of attention? No. But I don't think the publicity hurts. Maybe we'll meet in the WNBA Finals and there will be even more interest." The 2008 WNBA Finals tip off in September.
The copyright of the article WNBA Brawl Suspensions Costly in Basketball is owned by Mark Fontes. Permission to republish WNBA Brawl Suspensions Costly in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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