First and foremost, I hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend!

Here are some random notes to get you through the day. I will post my preview of the Sparks game tomorrow morning before I head to Miami (Arizona) for the 4th.

WNBA Notes

• Looks like Candace Parker will play on Sunday. More about this in the preview piece tomorrow but it’s not necessarily surprising, considering it’s going to be on ESPN2. Gaines also said today that he was preparing for both Candace and Lisa anyway for the game.
• Silver Stars player Sophia Young participated in a Twitter discussion with fans you can find here.
• Alex Chambers of 13 Teams, 1 Journey blogs about his latest travels to Atlanta and more.
• WNBA Rookie Rankings (DeWanna is 1st!)
• Q posted a great video at Rethinking Basketball of the New York Liberty doing a version of Thriller, RIP Michael.
• The Fever are playing very, very well
• All-Star voting still taking place - vote, vote, vote!

Mercury Notes

• DeWanna Bonner has updated her latest rookie blog. Read it all here!
• Great interview with Kip Helt by PhoenixMercury.com.
• Mercury President, Jay Parry, blogs about joining former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano in D.C. at the Mercury/Mystics game
• Diana nominated for another ESPY!
• You won’t find much coverage of D’s situation here as I consider that a personal issue and you can find that information in numerous other outlets. All too often, it paints the player in a bad light and I simply won’t do that here. All I will say regarding Diana and what happened early Thursday morning is to please reserve judgment. Everyone makes mistakes and she is a genuinely good person, cares deeply about others and the community, is both responsible and honest, and I’ve come to know her as one of the nicest people in the business.  In addition, no one knows the entire story and the whole thing could be blown out of proportion. Thus, keep supporting Diana and the Mercury, especially with their tough game Sunday against the (suddenly healthy) Los Angeles Sparks!

July 3rd, 2009 2:26 PM