Everyone who has any interest in basketball should check out the WNBA, especially in Chicago. The Sky were surprisingly impressive, and beat the Minnesota Lynx 79-76 at the University of Illinois - Chicago Pavilion. The Sky were down early, but compounded the full-court pressure on the Lynx to wear them down and create many scoring opportunities in transition in the second half. This is as complete of a WNBA team that exists; however the Sky, as witnessed that Saturday night, suffer a similar fate as most Windy City professional sports franchises: untimely injury.
Sylvia Fowles sprained an ankle in the last seconds of the 4th while defending against a late comeback attempt by the Lynx. She's out of the lineup for at least a few games at the worst possible time for her team; the Sky is contending for a spot in the playoffs, and can ill-afford to go to battle without their all-star center. Newly signed rookie and legendary Chinese Olympian and pro Chen Nan gives this team another smooth outside shooter and quick inside power at 6'6" & 199, but doesn't yet possess the "killer instinct" owned by Fowles. That will come for Nan, with more playing time per game from head coach and GM Steven Key.
Again, the Sky possesses enormous potential when healthy; as do the Cubs, Sox, Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, and Fire. But the women are closer to 100% than the aforementioned men in town, and, like the Chicago Wolves (who will share the Allstate Arena in Rosemont IL with the Sky beginning next season), offer a more affordable (and just as exciting) experience to year-round sports-hungry consumers such as myself. Furthermore, I believe this franchise will become one of the premiere organizations in women's sports, and sooner rather than later. The WNBA is here to stay, and will see the Chicago Sky rise to stardom in the near future. This team is so deep in young talent, they will still be a delight to watch, even without Sylvia for a short time.