Group of Seattle Women Buy WNBA's Storm

'Crazy people to do some crazy things,' billionaire says of his lavish hoop jones

(NEWSER) - Basketball-crazy Russian billionaire Shabtai von Kalmanovic is pouring money into women's hoops—flying WNBA players to Russia in the off-season and paying them 10 times what they make in the US. Players like Diana Taurasi are put up in luxury digs and chauffeured around. "They should be treated like people of art, like stars," Kalmanovic tells the Los Angeles Times. More»

It's no NBA—but it shouldn't be, argues blogger. Plus, some players are hot.

(NEWSER) - The WNBA finals are going on, which has—in the past—led Sam Greenspan to joke, “Man I hope one of the players lands a one-handed breakaway dunk to seal the best-of-one series!” The league is “universally ripped on,” he writes for 11points.com, but the time has come to give it a break, and here’s why:

• The playoffs don’t go on forever: “As much as I love them, even I find the NBA playoffs to be farcically slow.”

Hall of Famer to play for short-handed Detroit for 7 days

(NEWSER) - Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman is headed back to the WNBA at age 50, reports ESPN, which is losing her from its airwaves to the Detroit Shock, a team she played for and coached. Lieberman signed a 7-day contract to help a team hurt by injury and looming disciplinary action; she’ll be the league’s oldest player ever—breaking a record she set in 1997, at 39. More»

Seattle locals float buy bid to hold off relocation

(NEWSER) - The Seattle SuperSonics’ owner said today he will move the team to Oklahoma City. Clay Bennett isn’t satisfied with the Sonics’ current arena, where the lease expires in 2010; he gave the city a deadline to plan a new stadium, which passed this week. Bennett wants to void the lease’s last two years, and claims the b-ballers lost $17 million last year due to the stadium, the AP reports. More»

Mercury smother the Detroit Shock, 108-92

(NEWSER) - Champagne was flowing after the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Detroit Shock, 108-92, in the final game of a 5-game championship series last night, reports the Arizona Republic. Cappie Pondexter, the series MVP, had 20 points in the second half, and teammate Penny Taylor led the scoring with 30 points in an offensive showdown. More»