Women's Sports

Sylvia Fowles brings off the third dunk in WNBA All-Star history during last Saturday's All-Star Game:



Above anything else great athletes sell sport. What, then, can the WNBA do to attract more fans? More of this, of course.

Today I call your attention to what seems to me another worthwhile program sponsored by Nike:

Nike is supporting local efforts to unlock the potential of kids and young adults across the country by investing up to $650,000 in grants. Through NikeBackYourBlock.com, non-profit organizations and schools with programs in sports, education, advocacy and/or mentoring are being given the opportunity to apply for grants up to $5,000 in cash and Nike products.

WHO: Any registered 501(c)3 youth-serving non-profit organizations and schools that unlock the potential of youth through sports, which provide educational, mentoring or economic develop activities for youth and women are eligible to apply.

WHAT: Nike is supporting local organizations across the country by investing up to $650,000 in grants. There are two grant opportunities; the National Grant Program, in which an organization applies directly to its nearest NikeRetail location, and the Community Grant Program that operates through Nike Factory Community Stores in Northeast Portland, South Chicago and New Orleans.

WHERE: Organizations apply via: www.NikeBackYourBlock.com and will get partnered with a local Nike community store.

WHEN: Applicants should enter now! The winning organizations will be notified no later than October 1, 2009.

WHY: Sports effect social change and Nike is committed to improving society though youth sports.

There doubtless are many, many youth-focused organizations that could use this grant money. Please encourage any you know to apply.

Furthermore, the program already has a number of deserving applicants—e.g., 3M Track Club, Silicon Valley Glory, Central Florida Athletic Association, Pennsylvania Regional Ballet—that you can support by voting.

After some time off following the birth of her first child, WNBA MVP Candace Parker returned to the basketball court earlier this month. In addition, she recently answered questions submitted by readers on TIME.com. Some of her answers underestimate the potential women have as athletes (cf. my last post). But if not her words, certainly her deeds harbinger what is to come in women's sport:

It isn't hard to find comments, online and elsewhere, that mock, disparage, or generally discount the idea of a woman with large muscles; a powerfully built woman, so it seems anyway, is at once an undesirable and an impossibility. Although the comments aren't all phrased the same way, all spring from the same few fallacies.

We often hear, for instance, that large muscles make women too much like men. Implicit in this thinking, of course, is the notion that muscles are the exclusive property of men. Yet such isn't a biological imperative, otherwise women would be utterly incapable of growing large muscles, which we know isn't true. Rather, this is merely a social construct; one horribly antiquated and useless (nay harmful).

Then, some say women are incapable of rivaling men in strength and other measures of athletic performance. These I call antievolutionists, because implicit in their thinking is that human biology is static and unchangeable. When in fact even our brains are malleable. (The brain is not only the most complicated organ, but also the one perhaps most responsible for production and regulation of hormones, including muscle-building hormones.) And if you think lasting physiological change results only from natural selection or breeding, well, that would be wrong too.

Women have been denied opportunities to flex their muscles for most of history. Should it surprise anyone, then, that there is ground to be made up? (The two exceptions we know of from history—Sparta and Dahomey—also give the lie to the naysayers' arguments.)

Nevertheless, now female athletes routinely do things that a generation or two ago no one thought possible.

Women adapt easily; they evolve more rapidly than men. (Could it be any other way?) Given time they will rise up and compete with men in athletics, as they do now in most other facets of life.

The quiet resolve shown by powerlifter Jessica Gallagher in the following video is typical of female athletes; why I foresee a day nearing when they will be formidable rivals to their male peers:

Voice of America recently reported on the growing popularity of women's professional tackle football. The D.C. Divas, stars in this report, having won the IWFL Eastern Conference Championship, will face the Kansas City Tribe, winners of the Western Conference, on July 25 in Round Rock, Texas, to decide who will be 2009 IWFL World Champions. Additionally, IWFL Championship Weekend will include All-Star and North American Championship games, a meet-and-greet, and more, all of which should make for an action-packed four-day celebration of women's tackle football.

Back in May I told you about HP's "Moms for Simplicity" campaign starring Dara Torres. Well, the saga continues:

"On the Road with HP Moms" is a new blog from HP covering the exciting travels of three digital moms and their interaction with Dara. The moms were chosen by Dara to attend this week’s swimming event [the National Championships] as part of the HP Moms for Simplicity contest.

You can follow our three mom’s video diaries, photos and exclusive interviews with Dara at the brand new http://momsforsimplicity.com/. Also, make sure to follow @hpmoms on Twitter for up-to-the minute updates.

I hope that you will check out the site and enjoy seeing one of the toughest female athletes of our time as she attempts to re-write the record books once again! [Next up: the World Championships in Rome.]

Speaking of tough female athletes. The forthcoming Carano-Cyborg fight is, to my mind, this summer's main event. Last month we watched Carano choke a poor fellow out. It seems only fair that we give Cyborg her turn as well:

Venus and Serena won their semifinal matches today, setting up another all-Williams Wimbledon final this Saturday. Serena had to battle to get past Elena Dementieva. In the next semifinal Venus made short work of Dinara Safina—the top seed, oddly enough—keeping alive her quest for another championship, viz. her third straight and sixth overall.

The essential thing that hasn't changed since last year: the sisters continue to be the dominant athletes on the women's tour.