Faith Dupree sidelined for season

Tennessee’s post depth took a hit Monday with the announcement that forward Faith Dupree would be sidelined for the season because of lower back pain. The freshman had been bothered by back spasms and a decision was made to spend this season working on her core strength and flexibility off the floor so that she would be healthy on the court next year.   Full Story

Tonight at 8:15 p.m. EST the New England Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts in the controlled atmosphere of the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana. One of the Pats' cornerbacks is Duquesne alum Leigh Bodden. Bodden, who was one of three Dukes inducted into the DU Sports Hall of Fame last month, will have the opportunity to introduce himself to a national NBC audience.   Full Story

Reporter Mike Sullivan spoke to former WNBA star Lisa Leslie about an issue that is very important to her -- finding a cure for liver cancer ...   Full Story

Kara Lawson is making her off-season home in Knoxville for now as she rehabs a quadriceps injury and waits for college basketball to begin. The former Lady Vol, who has made a name in the WNBA and on the U.S. Olympic team, is also a standout television broadcaster for ESPN, and she will handle the doubleheader next month in San Antonio featuring Tennessee and Texas Tech and Connecticut and Texas.   Full Story

Basketball practice officially begins today for the Lady Vols, but Tennessee got in one last session Thursday afternoon under the workout format that included a familiar face in Nicky Anosike. The WNBA All-Star center for the Minnesota Lynx took the practice court with the young team in what was beneficial for both.   Full Story

PITTSBURGH – New England defensive back Leigh Bodden (football, 1999-02), former WNBA player Candace Futrell (basketball, 2001-04) and Orlando Sharks forward Damien Pottinger (soccer, 2000-03) comprise the 2009-10 Duquesne University Sports Hall of Fame class announced Monday.   Full Story

When Shanna Crossley needed another knee operation this past summer – she had missed the previous WNBA season to recover from ACL surgery – the news was devastating. Was she done? Was basketball, a sport she had played her entire life, over? But the former Lady Vol shooting guard recovered, returned to play this season and had her love of the game reinforced.   Full Story

The New York Liberty went from reaching the conference finals a year ago to missing the playoffs this season. Loree Moore, a former Lady Vol point guard, managed a solid season despite the team’s struggles and will take some time off to rest and then look for an opportunity to again play overseas.    Full Story

ATLANTA – A sellout crowd – heavily dotted with orange – was treated to a postseason-worthy performance between the Sparks and the Dream on Sunday as Los Angeles, behind 23 points from Candace Parker, defeated Atlanta, which was without the services of Chamique Holdsclaw because of a sore knee.   Full Story

The Chicago Sky, trying to get positioned for a playoff spot, play the next three games on the road in a stretch that could loosen up the logjam of teams trailing first-place Indiana. Shyra Ely took the time Thursday for an interview in which she talked about playoff hopes, her blink-and-you-miss-it first step, addiction to Twitter, time at Tennessee and advice for this year’s Lady Vol team.    Full Story

Duquesne 2009-10 schedule includes the inaugural Chuck Cooper Classic on December 5, 2009. The twin-bill opens with two Division II West Virginia teams matching up before the Dukes take on Division I independent Savannah State. This story provides more detail about Duquesne's Chuck Cooper, "... one of (DU's) all-time greats..."   Full Story

Nicky Anosike and Charde Houston, the Lynx’s representatives in the 2009 WNBA All-Star game this weekend, consider the selection to be the result of a pact they made April 21, 2008 – the day they reported to camp for Minnesota after being drafted in later rounds – to prove themselves as players at the pro level.   Full Story

Nicky Anosike moved into the starting lineup at Tennessee midway through her freshman season and was a stalwart at the spot for the next three-and-a-half years. She started her first game as a pro for Minnesota, and has yet to leave the lineup. The former Lady Vol and current Lynx center is having an All-Star worthy season just one year after her All-Rookie Team debut in the WNBA.   Full Story

The Washington Mystics continue to rule the roost in the Eastern Conference. Full Court's Jim Clark brings you the weekly wrap on the ups-and-downs of the WNBA East.   Full Story

Special to Full Court Press from Sart-Eustache, Belgium When FIBA's EuroBasket Women 2009 started two weeks ago, many observers listed Russia as heavy favorites for the title among the 16 teams in the competition, with host nation Latvia, Spain, and Hungary also getting nods. Instead, once the dust settled, France stood atop the podium as European Champions.   Full Story

In a year that boasts greater parity within the WNBA's Western Conference, holding serve by winning at home is critical. Still, road road victories are particularly precious, and thus far have spelled the difference between who's on top of the Conference and who's not.   Full Story

VandyMania caught up with Jennifer Risper the week of her return to Nashville following a waiver from the Chicago Sky. The popular 2009 SEC Defensive Player of the Year is back working in a familiar environment.    Full Story

The Washington Mystics are off to a roaring start in their pursuit of redemption, leading the East in the early going with a 2-0 record. At the opposite end of the spectrum, after the Indiana Fever squeaked out a Tuesday night win on the road against Seattle, the Chicago Sky and the New York Liberty share the Eastern Conference basement, each having lost the only game played thus far.   Full Story

There will be a lot of fresh faces on the 2009 Washington Mystics, both in the front office and on the floor. But will the changes be enough to overhaul an underperforming franchise that averaged a league-low 69.7 points and finished 10-24 last season? The answer just might be, "Yes."   Full Story

“Rebuilding” is not a part of Sun Coach Mike Thibault’s vocabulary. Last year, he re-made his team among the youngest in the league, but the Sun still made the playoffs, losing to the Liberty in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. This year, the team looks different yet again, but the team is likely to be much improved over last season.   Full Story

ATLANTA – When Chamique Holdsclaw walked onto the Philips Arena floor for pre-game warmups the first person to greet her was Tamika Catchings, who wrapped her former Tennessee teammate in a huge hug. Afterwards – the Dream won its season opener in double overtime – Holdsclaw conducted her post-game interview in a whirlpool, the result of the on-court battle against her fellow Meek.   Full Story

The survey says: A Sparks-Shock Final with LA taking it all in 2009. At least that's the verdict of 42 percent of the league's general managers, who also have Lisa Leslie pegged as their preseason choice as this season's MVP in her final year in a WNBA uniform.   Full Story

The track record says the league has a way of throwing curve balls at you when you aren't expecting them. This year, at least, some of those curves include good news, writes Full Court's Bob Corwin.   Full Story

Has the men's game become too muscle-bound? Before the catcalls begin, let's pause for a sec. If there were a card to carry, I'd be a card-carrying fan of the NBA and men's college basketball. I find little point in the all-too-frequent comparisons of the athleticism and skills of male v. female basketball players. Despite overlapping rules, they're playing two different games, in my opinion.   Full Story

Thursday’s preseason game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever featured free tickets to fans in Indy and early looks at Fever favs Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas and Tully Bevilaqua. With the absence of the Sky’s Sylvia Fowles and a seasoned starting five, the Fever triumphed 74-67 and 6,500 vocal fans witnessed a fast-paced, sometimes rough and tumble victory.   Full Story