Hall of Famer Anne Donovan Dead at 56

Anne Donovan shown imploring the troops as coach of the Connecticut Sun.
The Hall-of-Fame player and coach died last week of heart failure at the
age of 56.

WILMINGTON, NC—Last week, Connecticut sports, the WNBA and women’s basketball lost a great one. Anne Donovan, the only person to have coached both the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty, has died on Wednesday of heart failure at her home in Wilmington, NC. She was 56.

A native of Ridgefield, NJ, the 6-8 Hall of Famer played her college ball at Old Dominion where she followed Nancy Lieberman and led the Lady Monarchs to the national championship in 1980. In her college career, Donovan averaged a Double-Double (20 points, 14.5 boards).

“Annie was so quiet and kind, but she was such a competitor,” said Lieberman, who was a senior at Old Dominion when Donovan was a freshman. “She didn't have to brag. She just did her business, and everywhere she went, she won. I'm just sick at hearing this. I'm so sad.”

Lieberman had been an assistant coach with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings since 2015.

After college, with virtually no opportunity for women to play professionally in the U.S. in the early ’80s (Donovan graduated from Old Dominion in 1883), Donovan headed overseas and played for five years in Japan and Italy. The Olympics, however, were a different story. Although she did not play in the 1980 Moscow Games because of the United States boycott, she led the U.S. to gold in 1984 and 1988. She also coached Team USA to a gold medal in the 1988 Olympic Games in Beijing.

A trailblazer in women's sports, Donovan became the first female coach in WNBA history when she took over the reins in Seattle in 2003 and led the Storm to their first WNBA title the next season. A young Sue Bird was one of the leaders of that team. “I’m very happy that we finally have a woman coach win a WNBA championship,” Donovan said at the time, “and obviously happy it was me.”

Donovan also coached the Indiana Fever, Charlotte Sting, as well as the Liberty and the Sun during her WNBA coaching career. She led the Sting to the finals in 2001.

She was hired by the New York s an assistant coach in 2009. In 2011, Donovan accepted the position as head coach at Seton Hall where she coached until 2013. Then it was on to Uncasville where she succeeded Mike Thibault as head coach of the Sun. Indeed, Donovan’s tenure with Connecticut was sandwiched in between arguably the two greatest coaches in franchise history—Thibault, and Curt Miller, who succeeded Donovan. Ironically, both coaches were in Uncasville when they got the news of Donovan’s passing after Thibault’s Washington Mystics handed Miller’s Sun their first home loss of the season.

“I’ve just been told the news about the passing of Anne Donovan, so it puts the simple game of basketball in perspective,” Miller said after the game. “On behalf of our organization, our thoughts and prayers and condolences are with Anne’s family and friends. Obviously, I was fortunate to take over for and follow in Anne’s footsteps here. Her legacy in the game of basketball is well felt and has deep roots. We lost a pioneer for the game of women’s basketball. She will be missed, but her legacy will live on.”

“On the basketball court, she won championships before she got here, she won Olympic gold, she was a Hall of Famer—all the basketball part,” Thibault said. “But the other part is she’s just a good human being who cared about her friends. She has a lot of close, close friends and I think that’s one of the things that’s telling about people is when they’re out of the game. All the basketball stuff goes away when you have that kind of stuff happen.”

While with the Sun, Donovan coached the likes of Katie Douglas (pictured),
Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery and Kelly Faris.

With the Sun, Donovan coached the likes of Katie Douglas, Renee Montgomery, Kelly Faris and Tina Charles. Charles, the former UConn superstar who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Sun in 2010 and was named WNBA Rookie of the Year, played for Donovan in 2013 and was deeply affected by the news.

“It hurt bad,” said UConn's all-time leading rebounder, who now plays for the Liberty. “To be totally honest, she was the only coach that I played for that coached me and challenged me and forced me to be better. At a young age, I didn’t understand it.”

Donovan was inducted into was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and was in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

She is survived by four sisters and two brothers.

—Staff Reports

U.S. Selected as 2026 World Cup 'Tri-Host'

Alexi Lalas (right) shown playing for the U.S. in the 1994
World Cup, he last year Copa Mundial was held
in the United States.

 

By Bob Phillips


MOSCOW—As the world prepares for the 2018 World Cup, to be played in Russia beginning on Thursday, FIFA announced in an unprecedented move that the 2016 tournament host will be “North America,” with Mexico, Canada and the United States sharing honors as host nations.

This will be the first time three countries will simultaneously play host to Copa Mundial, the world’s most popular sporting event. In 2002, Japan and South Korea served as co-hosts.

Tagged as “United 2026,” North America was selected with 134 votes to Morocco’s 65, by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, in Moscow on Wednesday. United 2026 is expected to generate in excess of $11 billion in profits. The United States did not qualify for this year’s tournament.

The 2016 tournament will expand to 48 teams from the current 32, and will consist of 16 three-team groupings from which the top two will advance to the round of 32. Mexico has served as host nation twice previously (1970 and 1986), and the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994. This will be Canada’s first time hosting the tournament.

Existing infrastructure, including a bevy of world-class stadiums already built, was one of FIFA’s primary reasons for selecting North America over Morocco. The U.S. has proposed hosting 60 of the tournament’s 80 matches—including all from the quarterfinals onward. MetLife Stadium in New Jersey has been projected as a favorite to host the final if the North American triad is selected. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., was the site of the World Cup Final in 1994, when Brazil defeated Italy for the world championship.

The selection flies in the face of a proposed ban on Muslims entering the country by Donald J. Trump, who currently serves as president. Rest assured, the man who sees himself as the United States’ supreme leader wrote to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, stating that his whackadoodle visa policies would not apply to the World Cup.

Whew! Doesn’t that make you feel better?

Those connected to the sport at its highest levels are hoping that the tournament returning to North America will generate the kind of excitement seen in 1994.

“I lived the power of what a World Cup can do for an individual country,” said Alexi Lalas, one of the stars of the U.S. team in 1994. “We haven’t had a lot from a positive perspective to be happy about as of late. That’s something we could use and look to as a shining light.”

—with staff reports

Sun Throttle Lynx, Improve to League-Best 7-1

By Bob Phillips

Courtney Williams led the way with a game-high 22 points as the Sun
overcame the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx, 89-75.

UNCASVILLE—Heading into Saturday afternoon’s game, Connecticut Sun fans  were no doubt wondering which Minnesota Lynx team would show up: last year’s WNBA champs who finished the regular season with a 27-6 record, then bouncing the Washington Mystics in three straight games in the WNBA semifinal round before outlasting the then-defending champion Los Angeles Sparks in a hard-fought Final series, won by the Lynx, 3-2, or this year’s version that stumbled early, suffering through a four-game losing streak (three of them on the road), and entering the game with a 3-5 record.

Records aside, Minnesota was led by the immensely popular Maya Moore, the leading scorer and second leading rebounder in UConn history, Lindsay Whalen, who cut her professional teeth with the Sun before heading back to her home state, and Seimone Augustus (11.9 points per game). Oh, I almost forgot to mention Sylvia Fowles, the Lynx’s 6-0, 220-lb. force in the paint average a double-double on the season (16.8 points, 11.9 rebounds).

No, forget the records. This one was going to be a war.

And you know what? It was for much of the game. But led by Courtney Williams’ game-high 22 points and Jasmine Thomas’ 18, the Sun stopped the defending champs, 89-75, before 6,771 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena—an excellent crowd given what a glorious spring weekend afternoon the region enjoyed. Chiney Ogwumike added a double-double (11 points, 11 boards) and Shekinna Stricklen popped in 11 for the Sun, who improved to 7-1, the best record in the league, and tying their best start in history. They are also 4-0 on their home court.

UConn legend Maya Moore came home and put up 17 points for the Lynx,
but it wasn't enough as Connecticut topped Minnesota on Saturday.

(photo by Bob Phillips)

Fowles led Minnesota with—what else?—a Double-D (20 points, 14) boards, while Moore added 17 and Cecilia Zandalasini 11 for the Lynx, who fell to 3-6.

The score was knotted at 20-20 at the first turn, but the Sun cranked it up in the second period and took a 44-38 lead into the locker room at intermission. Connecticut, which shot a respectable 43.8 percent from the floor in the first half (14-for-32), held Minnesota to 35.1 percent (13-for-37, including 2-for-12 from beyond the arc).

The Lynx looked to gain control when they opened the second half with a 14-4 run, and grabbed a short-lived 52-48 lead. But the Sun responded with a 13-0 run and never looked back after that.

“This league is about runs, and that’s a championship team,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller of the Lynx third quarter run. “You know they were going to make a run at us. I thought we were a little sluggish out of the locker room.”

“[Minnesota] is always going to make runs and how you react to them—how you respond—is extremely important,” said Jasmine Thomas. “It’s a sign of our maturity

Moore, the former UConn superstar, was not happy with her team’s inability to reach down and grind out a victory on the road.

“It’s always a combination of one team’s will and the other team increasing focus and will. It’s a game of wills,” she said. “We have to control what we can control and I have to continue to take care of the ball and not set ourselves up. We missed a lot of shots we normally make, combined with not willing ourselves to be better in the fourth. It’s disappointing, but we’re going to keep pushing to fix the things that we can.”

Next the Sun will entertain Mike Thibault, Elena Delle Donne and the Washington Mystics on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

—with staff reports

WNBA All-Star Format Announced

NEW YORK—The WNBA has announced a new format for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018, which will be played on Saturday, July 28 in Minneapolis.

Under the revamped format, two captains will draft the 2018 All-Star teams from the pool of players voted as All-Stars.  The captains will be the two All-Stars, regardless of conference, who receive the highest vote totals. 

To complement the change from the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference that was used in the previous 14 All-Star Games, the WNBA will also implement a new voting process for selecting the 22 All-Stars.  Rather than having to select an equal number of players from each conference, voters will now choose the All-Stars without regard for conference affiliation.

The selection of 2018 All-Stars will be conducted through a combination of voting by fans (40 percent of the vote), current WNBA players and head coaches (20 percent each), and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (20 percent). 

Fans will be able to vote for their top 10 players regardless of position or conference.  Players, coaches and the media panel will each vote for 22 players, selecting nine guards and 13 frontcourt players regardless of conference.  Players and coaches may not vote for members of their own team.

“Delivering on the promise to constantly innovate and entertain is driving this All-Star format change for our fans and partners,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. “This bold and innovative approach to Verizon WNBA All-Star provides an opportunity to put the best of the best in our showcase event.”

On Tuesday, July 17, the pool of 22 All-Stars will be announced.  In the following days the captains will draft their respective teams from the remaining 20 All-Stars to form two 11-player rosters.  Specific details about the draft will be announced at a later date.

The All-Star rosters will be revealed on Thursday, July 19 during ESPN2’s telecast of the Washington Mystics at the Dallas Wings (8 p.m. ET tip-off). 

The head coaches for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 will be the head coaches of the two teams with the best records following games on Friday, July 13.  The head coach with the best record as of that date will coach the team captained by the highest vote-getter.

On Friday, July 27, the All-Star team captains and head coaches will meet to determine starters for Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018.  The starting lineups will be revealed that night on ESPN2 (7 p.m. ET) during a live telecast of the WNBA All-Star Welcome Reception in Minnesota.

WNBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon will tip off on Tuesday, June 19 at 2 p.m. ET and will conclude on Thursday, July 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET.  WNBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through WNBA.com (desktop or mobile) or the WNBA App (available on Android and iOS).  Fans may also vote for up to 10 players per day on Twitter.  All current WNBA players on team rosters are eligible to receive votes.    Additional details regarding voting can be found at http://www.wnba.com/.

Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 will be played at Target Center on Saturday, July 28.  ABC will televise the All-Star Game at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.  For ticket information, fans may visit lynx.wnba.com/allstar/.

—Staff Reports

Romero Named Atlantic League Co-Player of the Month

NEW BRITAIN–The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball has announced that infielder Deibinson Romero of the New Britain Bees has been named the league’s April/May Co-Player of the Month along with infielder Jordany Valdespin of the Long Island Ducks. Lancaster’s Nate Reed was named April/May pitcher of the month.

Romero takes home the player of the month award after posting a .354 batting average with five home runs, seven doubles, 22 RBI, and 17 runs scored over the course of 30 games in April & May.

2018 marks Deibinson’s Atlantic League debut during his 13th season of professional baseball. Last year, the infielder played in 72 games for Veracruz of the Mexican League, and collected a .268 batting average with six home runs, 36 RBI, and 29 runs scored.

The 31-year-old began his professional career in 2006 within the Minnesota Twins organization. He spent nine years in the Twins farm system, reaching as high as the Triple-A level in both 2013 and 2014. This also included a two year stint playing in New Britain Stadium with the Rock Cats from 2011-12, where he posted career highs of 19 home runs and 78 RBI in 2012. The slugger also spent time with both the Pirates and Yankees organizations in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

In 1,081 career minor league games coming in to this season, Romero owns a .263 batting average with 105 home runs, 584 RBI, 537 runs scored, and a .349 on-base percentage.

“We are very pleased to hear that Deibinson has received this honor,” Bees general manager Brad Smith said. “He has been a strong contributor so far this season and is well deserving of this accolade.”

—Staff Reports

Sun Improve To 5-1; Best Start in Team History

By Colleen White

UNCASVILLE—When the Connecticut Sun raced out to a 3-0 start to the season, scoring over 100

Jonquel Jones (35) scored a season high 20 points in the Sun's 110-72
 victory over he Sky.

 
points in two of those games, there were nonetheless some skeptics who thought the team’s sprint out of the gate might have been somewhat deceptive because the first three games were at home. But now, two games into their first road trip of the 2018 season, the Sun remain unblemished and look, if possible, even better than they did before they left.


On Friday, the Sun improved to 4-0 with a resounding 110-72 win over the Chicago Sky before 4,131 fans at Wintrust Arena n the Windy City. The 110 points scored by the Sun tied a single-game franchise record, and a 62-point second-half performance set a team record.

Jonquel Jones and Alex Bentley each had 20 points—season highs for both—leading the scoring parade that saw five Connecticut players score in double figures. Chiney Ogwumike (17 points, seven rebounds), Courtney Williams (15 points) and Alyssa Thomas (10 points, 13 rebounds) also scored in double digits.

For Thomas, it was her second double-double of the season.

Morgan Tuck, who grew up in nearby Bolingbrook, Ill., had a season-high nine points, the first seven points of the fourth quarter. Connecticut played a solid defensive game as well, scoring 33 points off of 23 Chicago turnovers.

Diamond DeShields (15 points), Cheyenne Parker (12) and Courtney Vandersloot (11) scored in double figures for Chicago, while former UConn star Gabby Williams added six points, four assists, and grabbed five rebounds. Stefanie Dolson did not play.

The Sun led by just three, 34-31, with a little over five minutes left in the second quarter, but finished the period on a 14-2 run to take a 48-33 lead into the locker room at intermission. After the Sky cut the Connecticut lead to nine with 6:24 left in the third quarter, the Sun outscored the home team 20-12 to end the third period, then opened the fourth period with a 17-5 run to put the game out of reach.

Next, it was off to the nation’s capital where the Sun stopped the Washington Mystics, 88-64, before 5,176 fans at Capital One Arena to improve to 5-0. Connecticut opened the game on an 11-2 run and led at every turn. A stifling Sun defense held the Mystics to 36.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 3-for-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.

Jasmine Thomas led all scorers with 25 points, while Bentley (15), Ogwumike (11 points, 9 rebounds), and Alyssa Thomas (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) also scored in double digits for Connecticut, which improved to 5-0—the best start in franchise history.

Ariel Atkins led Washington with 14 points, while Tianna Hawkins and Monique Curry added 10 point each for the Mystics, who are coached by former Sun mentor Mike Thibault. Former Delaware star Elena Delle Donne, who left the Mystics previous game early with dehydration issues, did not play.

Alyssa Thomas had a double-double (19 points, 17 boards) in the Sun's
82-77 loss in Atlanta Tuesday night.

The Sun early season run came to an end on Tuesday night when former UConn star Tiffany Hayes poured in a game-high 22 points to lead the Atlanta Dream to an 82-77 victory over the Sun before 2,830 fans at McCamish Arena.

The Sun got off to a fast start, and led 25-18 at the first turn. But Atlanta rallied in the second period and led 45-40 at intermission.

The Sun came back and trailed by just one at the third turn, and tied the game at 64-64 with 8:11 remaining in regulation, but the Dream closed out the game by an 18-13 margin to send the Sun down to defeat for the first time in the 2018 campaign.

Alyssa Thomas led the Connecticut offense with a 19-point, 17-rebound, 7-assist performance, shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the charity stripe. Ogwumike and Bentley (12 points each) and Courtney Williams (11) also scored in double digits for the Sun. Damiris Dantas (15), former UConn and Sun star Renee Montgomery (12), and Angel McCoughtry (11) scored in double digits for the Dream.

After scoring 100 or more points in three of their first five games, the Sun offense finally had an off night, shooting just 36.6 percent from the floor vs. Atlanta.

The Sun next head to White Plains, NY, where they will face the 2-3 New York Liberty on Thursday night at the Westchester County Center. Tip-off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Boston and MSG+. As with all WNBA games, the contest will be steamed live on WNBA League Pass. The Sun return home on Saturday to entertain Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen and the defending champion Minnesota Lynx. Tip-off at the Mohegan Sun Arena is slated for 2 p.m.

—with Bob Phillips and staff reports