Pat Summitt Receives Arthur Ashe Award

This documentary on Pat Summitt, the most successful coach in U.S. collegiate basketball, almost moved me to tears.

 Additional Link:
Pat Summitt's Wikipedia Profile

Nike "Voices" Advertisement

I don't get it how people of the past could discriminate against women playing sports. Our society has grown meteorically from the days when women were not allowed in track events longer than 800m. Nowadays, female sports stars are just as big as their male counterparts. Case in point are the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, where the women's prizes have been upgraded to the same level as the men's event. 

I just love the new Nike "Voices" advertisement. It features pioneers of women's sports like Joan Benoit Samuelson, Lisa Leslie, Diana Tauresi, and Marlen Esparaza "directly addressing the viewer about their own experiences with gender discrimination." Leslie and Tauresi are established basketball stars, while Esparaza is an amateur boxer. Benoit-Samuelson won the first ever women's Olympic marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Read: Nike Celebrates Title IX, Female Athletes with ‘Voices'

As a sportsman myself I find sportswomen naturally attractive. There is something inherently beautiful seeing a female sprint hurdler skim over those ten flights of hurdles with grace, or watching a female tennis star trade ground strokes with an equally fierce competitor.

Our world today is not perfect. There are still places in the world where women are treated as second-class citizens, with their basic rights trampled. Although there are still sports which prohibit the Olympic participation of the fairer sex, those disciplines remain the minority.

Cheryl Miller (USA, Basketball)

I must admit that, save for the basketball movie "Annie O.", I hardly know anything about women's basketball. I grew up devouring Philippines' number one sporting passion, but I hardly paid attention to the women's game. While watching a documentary about Reggie Miller, I came across the achievements of his famous sister, Cheryl.

 Photo from Slam Online

Cheryl was a game changer for women's basketball. In high school, Miller posted averages of 32.8 points and 15.0 rebounds. She was the female embodiment of a Wilt Chamberlain, as she scored a staggering 105 points as a high school senior. The 6'2 tall Cheryl attended the University of Southern California, leading her school to two NCAA championships, on top of her numerous individual accolades.

After college, she was even drafted into a men's professional basketball team. Injury, however, cut short her competitive days. Miller had won gold medals with the United States Women's national basketball team, helping her country to first place finishes at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Source:
Wikipedia

Lauren Jackson (AUS, Basketball Beauty)

Lauren Jackson has been a fixture in her country's national basketball squad in the past decade. The 1.95m (6'5)-tall Center/Forward led the Aussies to three straight Olympic Silvers, a World Championship gold and a Commonwealth Games gold.

At the 2000 Olympics, Jacskon distinguished herself on home soil scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds against basketball powerhouse United States. Indeed, such number for a 19-year old playing at world's biggest stage in front of a highly partisan crowd speaks much of Jackson's mental fortitude.

Photos from blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com, courtsidepost.com and Wikipedia

The lanky blond was the top overall pick in the 2001 WNBA draft. Her list of accolades is daunting, having won the WNBA Most Valuable Player award thrice. Jackson had also led the Seattle Storm to two championship trophies in 2004 and 2010.

Additional Link
Lauren Jackson's Official Site