Can you first discuss the issues currently affecting the Storm and Sonics? A year ago Storm/Sonics president and CEO Wally Walker told you that there were no plans to sell the Storm and was optimistic about the team breaking even financially (Seattle Times, May 5, 2005). The last few months there's been talk of the Sonics leaving town - and possibly state. Is this the typical posturing by a professional sports team or is there something more to it?
The issues are very complex and I could write a whole book just about owners and their fight for arenas. Basically the arguments discussed in our paper can be simplified as the norm for arenas, after 10 years everyone looks to either get a new one or renovate. The problem is the Sonics-Storm are looking for the people of Seattle and the city to foot the bill and the climate is not right for those type of demands. I’ve spoken to plenty of hardcore Storm fans who would rather the team leave town than see money go to sports over education and the arts.
Did that uncertainty hurt the Storm's bid to host the All-Star Game (which once again goes to NY)?
I don’t think it played a part at all. While the Storm did make a strong push to host the game, the league was already thinking about NYC because of all the city has to offer. Plus, The Garden was the original site of the All-Star game. It’ll be interesting to see how Seattle is treated next season because they remain interested in hosting the game and KeyArena would be a great location for that event.
Your father is a college basketball coach, so obviously basketball is in your blood. Have you always been a fan of the women's game, or did that come later?
My passion for women’s basketball did come later. When Adia Barnes arrived at Arizona, I was immediately hooked. I covered the team the previous seasons, but Coach Joan Bonvicini’s early years were brutal until Barnes helped turn the program around. I did enjoy watching Kate Starbird tear up McKale Center, however. But being entrenched in men’s hoops, I did have to teach myself a lot of the history of the women’s game and get into the habit of watching the NCAA tourney. Now, I regularly watch the games and am excited for each new college season even though I don’t cover it. Like men’s college hoops, it has allowed me an outlet for being a fan of the sport without feeling biased.
Do you think you bring a different perspective to your basketball coverage having been raised by coach?
I’m fluent in coachspeak! More than anything, seriously, I know what the lifestyle is like, which probably gives me a different approach than my peers. And from listening to my mother complain about the “media” while growing up, I know the mistakes journalists can sometimes make and try to avoid them.
Did you set out with a goal to cover women's basketball, or did it just happen to work out that way?
I just wanted to cover professional basketball. I discovered real quick that I wanted to stay away from the college ranks because I’m still having trouble not cheering for Arizona, so I worked to cover the NBA and WNBA. The WNBA was handed to me once I moved to Seattle, but I really enjoy covering the top level of sports.
Sports journalism is still highly male dominated, however more and more women are entering the field. Have you found that it's become easier for women to be taken seriously as sports writers by their peers, athletes, and readers?
There’s still a struggle with peers and readers because those two demographics tend to still be older, which can sometimes be an old-school mindset. Athletes are becoming easier to deal with because while there are few women sports print journalists, there are tons in television. Athletes have grown up watching them and being interview by these women, so it’s not unique when I come along. Except that I am black, but sometimes that just makes the interview more comfortable.
What prompted you to write a book about the Storm?
I was approached by Sasquatch Books after the Storm won the title. They were looking to get into the realm of sports literature and thought there was a market for a book on women’s basketball.
Did you receive any cooperation from the Seattle Storm on this project? What has been their response to the book?
Definitely. The WNBA in general is wonderful about giving you access to players and the Storm was very generous with their time and surprisingly honest in their responses to some of my tougher questions. I know Lauren Jackson liked the book and a few diehard fans love it, but the general public hasn’t had a chance to read it, yet, so I’m waiting to hear what thoughts are. For a first book and knowing what a tough 10 months it was putting it together, I’m proud I completed the task.
What difficulties did you encounter researching the book and then getting it published?
It wasn’t difficult getting it published at all because, as I said, the publisher approached me, which is extremely rare. The rapid turnaround was the hardest part. I wrote the book while covering the season and I probably wouldn’t do that again, if the manuscript was needed within a year. There also aren’t enough daily journalists covering the league like there should be, so game detail and issues that popped up that I vaguely remembered from being around weren’t covered enough to fully research. With the Storm, however, I’m a pack rat, so I had all of my old data on them. It wasn’t organized, but boy did it help!
Talk about the evolution of the Storm. Like any expansion team, they started out with a group of "castaway" players. Lin Dunn came in with what she called a "five year plan." Does she get any of the credit for the eventual championship or was Anne Donovan really the catalyst behind the team's turnaround?
What Dunn should always get credit for is the foundation of the team and the fan base. She seriously worked her tail off in getting into the community with that sellable personality and sold people on a concept in a town that just lost its ABL team. Not an easy task. Drafting Lauren Jackson, at the time, was also a risk because people weren’t completely sold on the promise the 19-year-old Aussie had. But the championship is all Donovan’s creation. She made the gutsy trade for Sheri Sam and Janell Burse, she took a chance on Betty Lennox and she coached a memorable Finals against Connecticut. Donovan also gave the organization its professional feel, which is needed when you’re trying to gain respect in a so-called niche sport.
Can you compare covering the Storm vs. Sonics? (i.e. easier access, more editorial support, etc.)
The players on both teams are great and the Seattle Times gives almost equal space to both. I don’t get much backup help with the Storm, which would be the next step for that beat. The biggest difference is there is more of a rush on the NBA beat because so many media outlets cover the team. You have to hustle to be sure you’re not beat on a story. There’s not that pressure on the Storm beat because the other two regular newspapers don’t demand that their reporters write daily about the team. Sometimes I have to compete with myself and the team’s Web site reporters – although our access is different – in order to be sure that I’m challenging myself and getting better every season. The money involved is also different. Since the WNBA places a max on what a player can make, you’re not dealing with too many complicated salary stories regarding free agents.
Why has the Seattle Times become the leader in Storm coverage among the major dailies in the area? Is it something you pushed for or was it a natural evolution based on the team's improvement?
Hey, somebody handed me an opportunity to cover a pro beat that included travel. I took it and ran! But I work 50-50 with my editors. Half of the push was them trying to diversify the sports page when little happens up here in the Pacific Northwest during the summer and the other half of the push was my seeing a league that needs more reporters. I’m not the best, but I know the audience is there and it’s good for my newspaper if I work hard to reach these readers and hopefully make them subscribers of the Seattle Times through intriguing stories about the team they love. Plus it’s great basketball and that’s my muse for writing. I love writing about basketball. I don’t care if it’s Sue Bird or Ray Allen hitting a three-pointer, I just want access to write the story.
How was the decision made to begin sending you to the Storm's away games (something the beat writers in other markets rarely, if ever, do)?
My editor, Cathy Henkel, said we were going to go all out the first season. The response was good enough to continue despite the team losing a lot those first two summers. I am pulled off the road for a few East Coast trips if the team isn’t doing well, but once they won the title in 2004, they legitimized my being around full-time. And Storm fans get real pissy, e-mailing my editor if I don’t travel. Letter writing is a powerful thing.
What changes have you seen in the local coverage of the team in recent years? Are your colleagues taking the team more seriously now (particularly after the championship)?
Coverage is great in Seattle. TV comes to more practices, more players are requested to be on the radio, and more national magazines are doing features on the team. It’s really growing. I hope it spreads across the league.
Is there a community among women's basketball writers?
Yes, but I’m not as linked to the group because I don’t also cover women’s college basketball. Outside of women I’ve worked with in the past and locally, I don’t know as many as I would like. But when I travel to different towns, I do introduce myself and chat with the other women.
How much time do you spend - either from a professional standpoint or just as a fan - keeping up with what's going in women's basketball? Do you have any type of routine you follow?
I live this job. I’m up at 4 a.m. on most days reading stories and blogs to keep up with national news – college and pros – and then I’m writing my own blog. Then it’s off to practice/game, where I’m working on several different stories at once. Then I’m back home to watch games, write stories, talk on the phone, etc. During the WNBA offseason, I try to read the latest women’s basketball books, but this is a new habit over the past three years. And I subscribe to most of the magazines that cover women’s basketball. There are days when I do nothing related to work, but not during the season. My personal interests have nothing to do with sports, though.
There's frequently discussion about the affect blogs have had on politics and the role message boards are playing in the college recruiting game, has the internet had any noticeable affect on professional sports or sports journalism? How about women's basketball specifically?
The WNBA lives on the Web. Fans are frustrated that the Storm is the only team covered extensively and their link to their team is sometimes through blogs and message boards. It makes my job a little tougher because rumors get started on these sites that I have to find the validity of, but it appears to be the future. I’m growing to like blogging because it does allow me the space to write almost everything I want to say about the team instead of being limited to 20-inches.
Probably one of the most frequent complaints you hear from fans is their desire for more media coverage of women's basketball. What's your perspective on the quality and quantity of coverage?
Majority of the journalists who write about the league are quality reporters, they just need to either be assigned to cover their respective teams more or editors need to have more reporters cover the WNBA. Newspapers cover everything from dog races to fly fishing, there’s room for the WNBA.
Are you going to be doing any promotional activities for the book (e.g. signings, appearances, print advertising, etc.)?
Everyone is invited to celebrate the launch of the book with me at the Theater Off Jackson in the International District in Seattle on May 28 from 6-8pm. I will also be at the University of Washington Bookstore on June 3. I’m going to do a signing in Minnesota and possibly New York during the All-Star festivities, but those dates haven’t been finalized, yet.
Game On! excerpt: The WNBA's delicate balancing act from The Seattle Timesp>
Available for purchase from:
Sasquatch Books
Amazon.Com
