Bleacher Report - Articles by Betsy Ross

Tiger's Troubles Remind Us that Anyone Can be a Reporter

Betsy Ross — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:15:25 -0500

So I settle in Sunday morning in my usual church pew for the sermon, and the minister, who I know is a golfer, starts his address by talking about the travails humans face.

"We endure a lot, but we get through it," he said. "We can survive cold, we can survive sorrow, we can survive our wife going after us with a golf club..."

Most everyone laughed.

So goes the absorption of the social media, 24-hour access, everyone's a journalist world that is now part of our daily lives.

The timeline of when Tiger Woods crashed his car early Friday morning to when we found out in the "traditional" media, to when gossip sites, bloggers, and "tweeters" started talking about it is almost immediately blurred (the "Where were you when JFK was killed" has been replaced by "Where were you when you found out about Tiger?" "I was on Facebook").

And that's even leaving out the National Enquirer story that allegedly triggered this entire incident.

The reality is, though, that speculation over how Tiger got facial injuries seeped into our mainstream media as soon as we found out he was out of the hospital.

How can you get cut up when the accident wasn't violent enough to deploy airbags? Why would you break out a back window to get someone out of the driver's seat? And did they need diapers so badly that he had to leave the house at two in the morning?

Great fodder for bloggers and tweeters, especially since the longer Tiger doesn't talk, the rest of the social media world will.

How do you stop the speculation? Say something. Anything. You've had days now to get the story straight. Your statements on your website are fine, but those just give us more to write—and speculate—about.

But frankly, I don't blame you for not talking to the police. You don't have to, so you're not breaking the law.

And we've seen too many cases where police information or medical records have been leaked to the public and put on the internet—a police chief in Ohio was just found guilty in connection with a break-in at Sarah Jessica Parker's surrogate's residence. A hospital staffer was convicted of releasing Farrah Fawcett's medical records.

I don't blame you for not trusting anyone outside your circle. Once photos of your injuries get out of the medical file, how long do you think it'll be before we see them on TMZ?

Sure, your cuts may not have healed yet. But you need to fill the media void. Don't let the gossip sites and speculators do it for you. Just get out there and say something. Bill Clinton and Martha Stewart can tell you about the dangers of the cover-up.

You might remember Alex Rodriguez was in a bit of a pickle himself at the start of the baseball season with divorce, Madonna, steroids.

You also may remember he took a few days to figure out the message, arranged an interview with a pretty sympathetic reporter (Peter Gammons) and then said yep, I did something stupid.

Now, of course, you can argue that his explanation wasn't the best, and it opened himself up to even more speculation, but at least he came out and said something.

At the start of spring training, he had one news conference on the steroid issue and said, "That's all I'm going to say on this subject."

And it was. And he had a pretty good year, don't you think?

So when Tiger's folks call me for advice (don't worry, I'm not holding my breath), here's what I'd say: Get the message down on what you want to get across, then call a sympathetic golf reporter.

If there's someone at the Golf Channel you like, or Scott Van Pelt at ESPN (Scott, you owe me one if you get the exclusive), call them for an interview in your living room. Give a lengthy interview. Don't have your lawyer beside you. Have your wife sit by your side. Say I'm going to talk about it once, and this is it.

After this, if you want to ask me anything, it's about golf. Have your message. Deliver it firmly and definitively. Don't waiver from it.

Tiger Woods has this advantage over folks like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa and other athletes who have found themselves in a scandal: Tiger Woods can play his way out of controversy.

A-Rod has done it, Manny Ramirez has done it, Tiger can do it, too.

Once he returns to the golf course and we marvel again at what he can do with a wedge and a putter, we'll forget this one-car accident.

Let's hope he doesn't forget it either, but instead, learns from it.

State Championship No Accident for Prepared Cincinnati Academy

Betsy Ross — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:53:13 -0500

Sports champions know, the downpayment for titles earned is paid for months before the competition with hours upon hours of preparation. Sure, everyone does drills and weight training, but the teams that stand out go the extra mile to prepare for the best competition.

For Ursuline Academy in Cincinnati, preparation for its latest championship in volleyball, fourth overall, started two years ago, when the school brought in the Sportsmetrics program to prepare its athletes.

What is Sportsmetrics? It is a training program that helps athletes, especially female athletes learn how to jump, land and balance to help prevent the devastating knee injuries that are epidemic among young female athletes.

Anyone who has followed women's sports, even on a casual level, knows knee injuries seem to hit female athletes hardest. In fact, ACL injuries in women and girls are two to 10 times more prevalent than in male athletes.

Not only does that curtail a young woman's ability to play a sport she loves, debilitating injuries can impair her quality of life 10, 20, 30 years down the road.

Full disclosure, Sportsmetrics is under the umbrella of the Cincinnati Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, a client of our company, Game Day Communications. But what separates Sportsmetrics from similar training programs is that it is the first ACL injury prevention program scientifically proven to reduce knee injuries. It keeps young women healthy, and keeps them playing.

"The Ursuline Academy volleyball team has spent the last two summers participating in the Sportsmetrics program offered by Cincinnati Sports Medicine," said Diane Redmond, Ursuline Academy's athletic director. "The six week program has been a great addition to the Ursuline volleyball team's summer conditioning and has helped reduce injuries among the team.

"Coach Jeni Case and the volleyball team members believe that Sportsmetrics has helped prepare them for a very grueling high school season. The success that the volleyball team experienced with Sportsmetrics has led to the Ursuline Academy Athletic Department offering the program seven weeks prior to the start of the fall, winter and spring seasons.

The UA lacrosse, volleyball, soccer and basketball teams have participated in the Sportsmetrics program since the winter of 2008 through October 2009."

Sportsmetrics certifies dozens of athletic trainers each month to be able to implement the ACL prevention drills with their teams. Schools across the country are now doing the extra work to cut down on knee injuries and prepare their athletes for the long seasons ahead.

The certification process is simple, but the lessons learned can save girls and young women from the misery and suffering of ACL injury.

Can the Sportsmetrics program insure a state title? Not really, but it is an investment in the health and well being of our next generation of female athletes.

Want a College Scholarship? Get Some Media Training!

Betsy Ross — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:21:12 -0400

It's Friday night and the star running back for the area high school team has just scored six (!) touchdowns in a shootout win over a city rival.

"Have you ever had a game like that before?" I ask.

"No, not at all," he said. "I have to give credit to my offensive line. They made it easy for me to get to the end zone. It was a great game plan."

Excuse me?

The guy just had the game of his life, he'll be a high school hero as long as the school is around, he'll never have to pay for his own dinner again, and in the middle of all the celebration he gives credit to everyone else?

That, my friends, is good planning for a college scholarship.

You don't need me to tell you that high school sports, especially high school football and basketball, are becoming big business. You can watch a high school football game just about every week on national television. Rivalries are no longer measured by geographical proximity, but by national competition. Lakeland, Florida, playing De La Salle, California, isn't a tournament, but just another game on the schedule. National champions are crowned by a poll instead of a playoff (gee, that sounds familiar).

The point is, high schools are using their sports programs as much as a marketing tool as a revenue generator. To that end, they want their facilities to be top notch, their programs to be winners and their players and coaches to be good representatives.

That's why more and more high school programs are looking at media training as another tool to get ready for the season. And if the high schools aren't paying for it, the booster clubs-or parents-are.

And here is the reason: If I, as an interviewer, know that a particular player is articulate, thoughtful, and can explain the game experience in 15 seconds or less, I'll go to him or her for my post-game interview. More exposure on television gives mom, dad, and the coaches more video to send to colleges. College coaches see these young players as great representatives for their high school, know that they also will be great representatives for their universities, and, given a close scholarship call between two athletes, will prefer the well-spoken player to one who may not be so trained.

Now, let's face it, if your son is 6'5" and has a cannon for an arm, you don't have to worry too much about how well he does a post-game interview. College coaches will be drooling over the prospect of having him lead their football team. But that's the exception.

The rule in high school sports is that most kids play for the love of the game, they want to play at the next level, but aren't necessarily that physically gifted to have coaches beating down their doors. No, most of them have to write countless letters and send countless videos to schools and hope for a scholarship to pay for the ever-increasing costs of college.

Preparing for games takes long hours of work in the weight room and on the field or court. More and more young athletes are including media training in that preparation as well. The competition is fierce for those scholarship dollars. Why wouldn't you be as prepared as you can be to talk about that six-touchdown game? You never know when you're going to have the game of your life. Preparing for the interviews that come afterward, starts months before.

Parents pay for offseason camps for their players. It's time to look at media training as just another tool to prepare for a college scholarship.

Laurie Orlando, It's Time To Make History Again

Betsy Ross — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:42:11 -0400

So here I am, getting ready to work the sidelines for the University of Cincinnati-South East Missouri State football broadcast Saturday night, and I have college football on the TV in the background.

First game I watch, I see my former ESPN colleague, Cara Capuano, on the sidelines of the SEC game of the week. Then I flip over and see another ex-ESPN colleague, my buddy Pam Ward, back in the booth doing play by play for the Michigan State game.

Cool, I thought, all three of us working games on this big college football Saturday.

And it would have been cool, if it hadn't been so ironic.

Because just the day before, I talked with Gayle Sierens.

Who, you might ask?

For those of us who grew up watching sports, Gayle Sierens is right up there with Neil Armstrong when it comes to blazing trails. The difference: While Armstrong was followed on the moon by 11 other men, Gayle Sierens is the only one to do what she did: Be the first woman to call play-by-play for an NFL game.

I interviewed her for my radio sports show as part of our coverage of the beginning of the NFL season, but also because I was interested in how she got the opportunity in the first place, the reaction to her doing the game, and her eventual decision to give up sports for news. Good call on her part, because she's been on the air at WFLA in Tampa for more than 30 years now.

But part of our discussion included Gayle's thoughts on when another woman would have the opportunity she had to call an NFL game. We mentioned Pam, Lesley Visser, who, earlier this year, became the first woman to do color for a televised NFL game, Andrea Kremer and the like who are more than qualified.

"I think it will happen sooner rather than later," Sierens said.

Could be, especially with the proliferation of games broadcasts on cable and webcasts on the internet offering more opportunities than ever for anyone interested in play by play, not just women, to get into broadcasting.

That leads me to Laurie Orlando. Laurie is senior VP for talent development at ESPN and ironically, was quoted in a New York Times story about Gayle Sierens earlier this year.

"The tapes I get are for women looking for studio and sideline roles," she said. "Our goal is to get the same kind of acceptance for women doing play-by-play."

Well, I, for one, have done college basketball play by play for seven years now, for radio and television, and yes, a number of those games have been ESPN regional broadcasts. But I've yet to break into the regular rotation of ESPN's stable of play-by -play broadcasters. (Laurie, check out my YouTube channel at betsymrosspxp) And I've worked with a number of very competent women, former coaches and players alike, who have served as my color analysts who face the same frustration, getting noticed in a 500-channel universe.

If, indeed, Laurie, you want women to be accepted doing play by play, my suggestion is to have MORE women doing play by play. ESPN's Rosa Gatti told us basically the same thing at this spring's AWSM (Association for Women in Sports Media) convention. She said that ESPN is actively looking for women to fill those play-by-play roles, especially for women's sports.

So let's see if that's true. It's two months before the first women's college basketball games will be televised, and ESPN is making its assignments of broadcast teams for those games. ESPN has led the way in sports for 30 years now, and it's time to make another breakthrough decision: Put more women in play by play roles. That's how women will be accepted.

And that's how ESPN can continue to be the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

In The Beginning: How UC Is Rebuilding Its Women's Basketball Program

Betsy Ross — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:02:10 -0400

In the photo shown, UConn celebrates its national championship at the White House, a month before assistant coach Jamelle Elliott left the Huskies to join UC.

We're a good six weeks away from the official start of college basketball practice, but for Jamelle Elliott and the Cincinnati Bearcats, the 2009-2010 season started back in May.

That's when Coach Elliott was named head coach for the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team, her first-ever head coaching job.

In the process, she left behind a pretty comfortable position as an assistant at the University of Connecticut, where national titles have become as expected each winter as a good Nor'easter.

That day in May, the work began.

Because Coach Elliott not only has to build up the program from its 14-17 record last season, she also has to build up a fan base that is eager for a good dose of optimism. And let's face it, while nothing draws excitement around a team faster than winning, the expectation of better things to come is a pretty tasty appetizer of better days ahead.

And while the Bearcat coaching staff has been doing its work on the road most of the spring and summer recruiting and scouting, now comes the work at home—finding that Bearcat fan looking for a team to support.

So how do you do that? Coach Elliott worked on that this week, with a fan meet and greet at a local auto showroom. But before that, she and her staff had a free kids' basketball clinic. They've met fans under the hot sun at Kings Island. They'll hit the dorms and Greek houses when students return to campus.

But Coach Elliott has done more than that. She's met with former Bearcat players and coaches. She's asked advice. She's taken notes. And she's listened.

Programs don't often turn around on a dime. But Coach Elliott has a pretty good roadmap to follow, thanks to someone else on the Clifton campus, Brian Kelly, who's made Bearcat football 'must see' at UC.

And remember this, when Jamelle Elliott arrived at Storrs, Connecticut in 1992, the UConn women's team had just as many national titles as UC does now—zero. All successful programs have to start somewhere.

The UC Bearcats program starts with Jamelle Elliott.

Is HBO's "Hard Knocks" Ready for the Cincinnati Bengals?

Betsy Ross — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:50:20 -0400

The rest of the world is about to find out what we in Greater Cincinnati already know:

The Bengals are good television.

Take a star-crossed quarterback, a prima donna wideout, and the tortured soul of a once-rising-star coach, and you've got great theater.

That's what HBO is counting on, as "Hard Knocks" prepares for Bengals' training camp later this month in Georgetown, Ky., about 45 miles south of Cincinnati. Director Steve Trout says the choice was surprising to some folks, but not the producers.

"People were surprised why we chose the Bengals," Trout said in a recent interview, "Because we were with the Cowboys last year, and they're a big market team. But we realize the story lines are more important, and the Bengals were one of our top choices."

While the work of shooting the camp won't start until the end of July, preparations have been well under way for several weeks, even before the announcement a couple of months ago.

"We come out and spend a good couple of days scouting all locations in Cincinnati, scouting all locations in Georgetown at their training camp," said Trout. "We meet with coaches, we meet with the owners, we meet with executives, and try to lay out the ground rules of what's going to happen."

And what will happen? Well, that's the fun part. Because, said Trout, no matter what you plan, it's the unexpected that makes the story. "We call it 'being a fly on the wall'," he said.

"So what we expect is being a fly on the wall at a professional football franchise for six weeks, showing you everything from the inside out. And we kind of go in with no expectations, because as things happen, we'll follow it."

With four handheld cameras, six robotic cameras, audio and production assistants, there'll be about 35 members of HBO's crew in Georgetown. And there'll be plenty of material with which to work.

"For every hour you see," said Trout, "there's 200 hours that we shot. So it's .5, one half of one percent of everything we shoot, will end up on air."

But that one half of one percent should be worth the price of admission and more. As T.O. would say, get your popcorn ready.

See more of the Steve Trout interview at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KaxbiDKh4Q

Whitney Wade Wins Duramed Championship

Betsy Ross — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:43:17 -0400

Shooting a best-of-the-day final round of five under par, Glasgow, Kentucky native Whitney Wade charged to the top of the leader board Sunday to win the Third Annual Duramed Championship by one shot over playing partner Jean Reynolds at the Golf Center at Kings Island.

Wade, who was a collegiate golfer at the University of Georgia, was forced to make a birdie put on 18 to avoid a playoff with Reynolds, who tied Wade at 8-under par on 18 with a birdie putt of her own.

Wade, who had stuck her approach shot on 18 to within five feet of the hole, calmly sank the putt to claim her first victory on the Duramed FUTURES Tour with a nine under par 204 for the tournament.

“I had missed a couple of five footers earlier in the round,” said Wade, who won on Father’s Day with her own dad on her bag. “I figured that it was time for this one to go in, and it did.”

Wade also cashes the largest check of her professional career, $17,500. Reynolds, who was tied for fourth with Wade to start the round, ends the day with a four under 67, and an eight under par 205 for the tournament. Third was Misun Cho, at seven under for the tournament.

The leader going into the final round, Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg, struggled on the front nine with two bogies on her first two holes and ended the day with a four over 75. She tied for fourth with Cindy LaCrosse from the University of Louisville with a six under par 207 for the week.

The Duramed FUTURES Tour now heads to the Chicagoarea for the Horseshoe Casino Classic. The top five money winners at the end of the season receive full status to play in 2010 on the LPGA Tour.

Final Leaderboard

1	Whitney Wade	Glasgow, Kentucky	-9
2	Jean Reynolds	Newnan, Georgia	-8
3	Misun Cho	South Korea	-7
T4	Pernilla Lilndberg	Bollnas, Sweden	-6
T4	Cindy LaCrosse	Tampa, Florida	-6

A full rundown of results can be found at duramedfuturestour.com

Rookies Lead Field for Final Round of Duramed Championship

Betsy Ross — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:02:36 -0400

MASON, OH (June 20, 2009) – After tying the women’s course record on the first day of the Duramed Championship, Pernilla Lindberg didn’t worry about what she was going to do for an encore.

Her relaxed attitude resulted in a two-under par 69 on Saturday and a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Duramed Championship being played at the Golf Center at Kings Island.

“I told my brother, who’s my caddy, that I was going to just relax and forget about the eight under (on Friday), said Lindberg, who is playing in only her third event on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. “I started off slowly, but finished strong to give me good momentum going into Sunday.”

That strong finish included birdies on four of the last five holes, to give her the lead in front of another Tour rookie, Cindy LaCrosse, a product of the University of Louisville, who followed up her 65 on Friday with a one-under 70 to stand alone in second place.

“It’s exciting to be able to come her and compete right away,” said LaCrosse, who, like Lindberg, is playing in her third Duramed FUTURES Tour event after graduation. “I’ll just get some rest tonight, because it’ll be difficult waiting around with a late tee time tomorrow.”

Third is Misun Cho with a round of minus-1 to put her at five under for the tournament, and Jean Reynolds and Whitney Wade are tied for fourth at four under par.

Defending champion Stephanie Otteson is tied for 18thwith a one-over par for the tournament along with 2007 champion Seo-Jae Lee. Carling Coffing of Middletown, Ohio, shot seven over par both days. Glasgow, Kentucky native Wade is at four-under par and in the top five for contention on Sunday.

The first pairings on Sunday tee off at 7:30 a.m., with the leaders scheduled to go off at 9:50 a.m. For real-time scoring, go to www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Tickets are available at the Golf Center at Kings Island and are $10 for adults and free for children under 15.

Leader Board for the Duramed Championship

Pernilla Lindberg -10

Cindy LaCrosse -7

Misun Cho -5

Jean Reynolds -4

Whitney Wade -4

Tour Rookie Grabs First-Round Lead at Duramed Championship

Betsy Ross — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:43:12 -0400

In only her third tournament on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, Pernilla Lindberg shot a record-tying eight-under 63 to take the lead after the first round of the Third Annual Duramed Championship this weekend at the Golf Center at Kings Island.

Tied for second was another tournament rookie, former Louisville Cardinal Cindy LaCrosse. Joining her in second place is Samantha Richdale, both with six-under 65s.

Lindberg started the day at hole No. 10 and promptly scorched the course with just nine putts for the first nine holes to shoot her lowest round ever in competition, and tying the Kings Island course record for women, set in 1984 by Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan during the LPGA Championship.

“I’ve been striking the ball good for a long time, but my putting hasn’t really worked,” said Lindberg. “So I’ve put a lot of work into my putting and today all of the pieces fell together.”

Battling gusty winds and temperatures into the 90s, the former member of the Swedish National Team was four-under on the front nine, was five-under after 10 holes, then closed out her round with three straight birdies. She just joined the Duramed FUTURES Tour three weeks ago after playing collegiate golf at Oklahoma State University. She finished tied for 10th last week at the tour stop in Decatur, Ill.

Local favorite, Carling Coffing of Middletown, Ohio, finished with a seven-over par 78. Defending champion Stephanie Otteson shot an even par 71, and the 2007 Duramed Championship winner, Seo-Jae Lee, ended the day one-over par.

The second round of the Duramed Championship starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Golf Center at Kings Island. The leaders will tee off at 2 p.m. The field of 144 is playing for a total purse of $125,000, with $17,500 going to the winner.

Her Mother's Memory Becomes One Pro Golfer's Tour-Wide Cause

Betsy Ross — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:32:22 -0400

Just when you think you’ve reached your cynical zenith in the sports world, when you’ve been T.O. and Manny and A-Rod-ded to death in the headlines, along comes Cindy Lee-Pridgen to restore your faith in sports.

Never heard of her? You will, if not for her good golf, then for her good works.

Cindy Lee-Pridgen is a professional golfer on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA. She’s a native of Malaysia, a proud graduate of Arizona State University, and one of the millions of us who, directly or indirectly, have been touched by cancer.

June 19 of this year is the second anniversary of her mother’s death from cancer. It's also the first day that the Duramed FUTURES Tour is playing at the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, for the Duramed Championship. So in honor of her mother, Cindy has been growing her hair, so it can be cut this week to provide wigs for the thousands of women who lose their hair during chemotherapy.

That’s a great cause in and of itself. But why just stop there? Cindy now is getting the entire tour involved, asking all 144 players to help in some way. There’s a mass "hair cutting party" the Tuesday afternoon of tournament week in Mason, where players will pause in their preparation for the tournament, to give back to their mothers, their sisters, their friends who are in the fight of their lives against cancer. “I'm really excited about this cause,” said Cindy, “and I hope I'll be able to convince a few girls on tour to support it as well!”

But it’s not only the Duramed FUTURES Tour that is taking up Cindy’s passion. The word is going through the ranks of the LPGA, and dozens of players are being encouraged to let their hair grow for charity. Volunteers at the Duramed Championship also are joining the cause, passing up hair trims the last few months so they can donate. A local hair salon is providing hair stylists for the Duramed Championship at no cost to cut the hair, then style the new lengths. Residents of Mason, Ohio, where the tournament is being held, are even volunteering to grow their hair.

As tour communications chief Lisa Mickey reminds us, “It is a compelling and heart-warming story about professional athletes giving back and leaving something behind in the communities where they play."

Just as the PGA Tour and its fans are rallying around Amy Mickelson after her diagnosis, the Duramed FUTURES Tour and its fans are supporting Cindy as well. Cindy just wanted to do something to honor her mother’s memory. In the process, she’s creating a bond that brings together these athletes, and a cause, with a community in a singular effort to fight cancer.

That’s a headline we’d love to see more in sports.

Women's Pro Soccer, Take Two

Betsy Ross — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:40:18 -0400

Tonya Antonucci apologizes for the frog in her throat even before the interview begins. "I hope I'm awake," she says. Rightfully so, because it's 6:30 a.m. her time when our interview on the Women's Pro Soccer league begins.

But Antonucci knows how important it is to get the word out about the new WPS, now about halfway through its inaugural season. So it's the league commissioner herself, not a PR person or communications director, who puts the pot of coffee on early to extol the virtues of the new league.

And it is a NEW league, she reminds you, not a re-launch of the dearly departed WUSA, the outgrowth of the good feelings from the women's World Cup and Olympic titles. With stars like Mia Hamm and the like, how could the league not make it? Well, it didn't—and the WPS promises to learn from that history so it will not be doomed to repeat it—even though Mia is the "Jerry West" action silhouette in the WPS logo.

"First of all, it's a different business model," said Antonucci. "We want to grow (from seven teams), but we want it to be controlled growth. We play in smaller venues, in soccer-only stadiums, if possible. And we have a better handle on expenses with player salaries."

Always a good strategy in the middle of a recession, which, let's face it, wouldn't seem to be the ideal time to start a new league. But Antonucci, who has a solid background in soccer as a player at Stanford and in sports through, among others, Yahoo Sports, was drawn to the league through her former Cardinal teammate, Julie Foudy.

"Julie of course was active in the WUSA, so when it folded, she was looking for opportunities to have another professional league. She asked me to get involved, and she was able to help open doors to sponsors and other league partners to get us ready for launch."

So far Antonucci has stuck with the "steady as she goes" model: The eighth team, Philadelphia, will be added in 2010, along with Atlanta, the ninth. MLS teams are courted as important marketing partners. And youth soccer, while continuing to be an important fan base, won't be the only fan base.

"We want to make sure when people come to our games, young adults, parents, whomever, they come because they want to see world-class soccer," said Antonucci. "We think we went a long way toward that goal when we signed (Brazilian superstar) Marta to the league."

Add the still-familiar U.S. stars like Heather Mitts, Brandi Chastain, and Kristine Lilly to the mix, and Antonucci feels she has the right combination to make sure this version of women's professional soccer sticks around—because, for Antonucci, it's never too early to talk soccer.

Jamelle Elliott Brings UConn Style to UC Substance

Betsy Ross — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:24:26 -0400

Walk into Jamelle Elliott's office at the University of Cincinnati, and you'd have no sense of the basketball pedigree she's bringing to her new job. Nothing blue and white here—no national championship photos from UConn, no pieces of net from this season's title.

Everything here, from the furniture to the throw-to-the-fans mini basketballs, is all Bearcat red and black.

And that's the way she likes it.

"When I first walked in, I really felt comfortable," said Elliott. "I enjoyed the people, I enjoyed the environment, they offered me the job, and here I am. It just felt right."

During a luncheon meeting and quick interview on campus, Elliott talks and moves with the poise and confidence of someone who has been there, won that. During her 12 years as assistant coach at UConn, and her four years of playing for Geno Auriemma, Jamelle has accomplished just about everything you can in women's college basketball.

She was on the team that won the Huskies' first national championship, and was on the bench for the others. She was a four-year letterwinner, and was only the second player in UConn history to pass the 1,000 point and 1,000 rebound milestone. She has coached some of the best post players in the women's game, including Swin Cash, Tamika Williams and, this past season, Maya Moore.

But, as the Monkees sang, that was then, this is now.

The University of Cincinnati does have a couple of national championship banners hanging in Fifth Third Arena, but those are for men's basketball, not women's. And as she becomes the third Bearcat women's basketball coach in just four years, she knows there's a big job ahead to remake a team that didn't win its first Big East Tournament game until this past March. Geno Auriemma gave Elliott his approval to take the job by coming to her news conference in Cincinnati to announce her hiring.

Elliott gives Auriemma all the credit for her basketball chops.

"When I first came to UConn (out of Washington D.C.) it wasn't the national powerhouse that it is today," Elliott said. "Coach Auriemma was just building the program at that point, which is great for me, starting to re-establish the program here at Cincinnati. He surrounds himself with good people, with a good staff. I'm expecting to take the things I've learned from him, and apply them here to the University of Cincinnati."

She has seen how you build a program from scratch; how you recruit locally so the good players, with a high school following, stay home and bring those fans with them; how you change the culture of losing to an atmosphere of winning.

"I just feel in my heart that this is a place that is destined to win and compete, and be mentioned with the names like UConn and Notre Dame and Louisville and Rutgers and teams like that," she said.

"It's just a matter of me putting together a staff that is willing to work just as hard and recruit top-level athletes, and make sure we do things the right way."

Recruiting will be paramount this first year: While the greater Cincinnati has produced its share of Ohio Miss Basketball winners, none has stayed home to play. Elliott looks to change that, bringing in Mark Ehlen, a former Xavier and Toledo head coach who won a state girl's basketball title at a Cincinnati-area high school.

"My plan is to get as many people on campus as possible," said Elliott. "I think if I can get some of these players on campus and show them around, let them spend time with me and my staff and my players, let them know what my goals are, hopefully they'll get a sense that I'm somebody who will take care of them. It's just gonna be a matter of time."

But time is not a luxury coaches have, especially first-year coaches. With staffing and now recruiting, the clock is ticking already for UC women's basketball. Elliott has her slogan for her inaugural season: "Play Hard, Play Smart, Have Fun."

And won't it be fun when UC travels to UConn this upcoming season.

UConn Vs. Tennessee? So 20th Century. UConn Vs. UC Is the New Rivalry!

Betsy Ross — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:40:31 -0400

When I was at ESPN, I knew I was living in a parallel universe when, on Super Bowl Sunday (one that the Patriots were not involved), I opened the sports section of the Hartford Courant and saw the lead story was not football, but UConn women's basketball.

That's when it hit me that the Huskies were not just a sport in that part of the world—they were a religion.

Not, as Seinfeld would say, that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, if you don't have dynasties, you can't have conflict. If there's no Goliath, you can't root for David. So, it has been, for UConn and Tennessee, the dominant two programs in women's college basketball.

Their rivalry made their weekend games must-see TV on the networks. Even after the two teams ended their annual matchup, that didn't end the drama of watching UConn run the table through the tournament this past season, while Tennessee struggled and stumbled into, and out of, the postseason.

So who might next challenge UConn for the hearts and minds of women's basketball fans? Enter the University of Cincinnati. Why do I think a team that won only three games in the regular season against BIG EAST opponents this past year would emerge as a challenge to mighty UConn? The answer is the Bearcats' new coach, Jamelle Elliott.

This may be Jamelle's first shot at the head coaching position, but she brings with her the aura, the tradition, heck, even the smells of being around a winner. No one can deny her pedigree comes from not only playing the game at the highest level possible (as a former UConn player) but learning the game as an assistant coach for 12 at the side of Gino Auriemma.

She even received her former coach's blessing as she accepted the Bearcats job, as Gino flew in for her news conference in Cincinnati.

Does that guarantee her a winning season her first time out? Of course not. What it does guarantee is the University of Cincinnati is back in the recruiting game, especially right in its own back yard. Local basketball talent that once went to UT or UConn, now have to consider staying home to play at UC.

If you're an 18-year old basketball superstar, would you want to move hundreds of miles away, or do you want to perform in front of friends and family while facing the best competition in college basketball? Now these players have a viable option to stay home and still play on a national stage.

And that's where the rivalry comes in. Jamelle will be able to look parents and players in the eye and say, "I know what it takes to win. I've won national championships. I can change the culture of this program and make it relevant again.

We'll be on television, especially when we play UConn. And in the process, you can come see your daughter play in person, every night that we're home." Compelling argument to play your college basketball for the Red and Black.

Jamelle's got a solid foundation on the court, with Kahla Roudebush, Michelle Jones and the rehabbing Shelly Bellman coming back. They're playing for their third coach in their brief college careers--never an easy transition—but I think this one will make their decision to come to UCall worth while.