The time is here. Becky Hammon will leave the San Antonio Silver Stars following Sunday’s game against the Detroit Shock to join Team Russia as they begin their quest for Olympic supremacy with its newest, most-visible citizen in the Stars’ point guard.

David King of the San Antonio Express-News takes a good, long, in-depth look at the diminuative point guard and her struggled to make a name for herself, including her struggles as she decided to join Team Russia for its’ playoff run. One of my favorite parts of the article doesn’t detail Becky’s stateside troubles, but those within her own Olympic squad across the pond.

It also helps that Hammon, who has three years left on what is reportedly a $2 million contract with CSKA, won over members of the national team. Some had objected to the idea of playing with a U.S. point guard, both in the media and with Grudin, before the 2007-08 season.

“There was a big question mark about ‘How is she going to fit in with the Russian girls? How is she going to treat them? Is she going to be a pain in the butt on this team? Is she going to be a good teammate? Is she going to be somebody we can trust and rely on?’” Hammon said.

“And after they saw me on a day-in and day-out basis, they’re like ‘OK, we’ll take her.’”

King also provides a basic Olympic primer for those who want to know what to expect prior to the Olympic games.

(This is my headline from the column I’m talking about in this post… because that’s what they really wanted to write, it’s just too long).

I wanted to show off this column because it touches on a different aspect of the Becky Hammon-Olympics fiasco. Are people really seeing this Russia as the old-school Soviet Union? Is that what’s driving this controversy?

For me, the main question I thought had arisen was simply having Becky play for another country. Why wasn’t there this much of an uproar over minor league baseball players with some small sliver of ancestry playing in the last Olympics and/or World Baseball Classic?

It’s hypocritical… and while yes, the spirit of the Olympics with professionals being bought for their services is being eliminated, it wasn’t Becky who sold the country out.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.

Some column highlights from Newsday.

 Hammon has no Russian ancestry and had never been to the country before singing a contract to play professionally there. Yet, under Russian rules, a player who has not played for another country internationally can become a naturalized citizen and then play for the Olympic team.

And that’s what Hammon, the MVP of last year’s WNBA season, decided to do after she was not one of the first 23 players invited to contend for spots on the U.S. team. She decided she was going to go where she was wanted.

“I didn’t say no to USA Basketball,” Hammon recently told the Houston Chronicle. “The option for me to play for USA Basketball really wasn’t an option. … I don’t think people would be as upset if I was playing for Switzerland. God loves Russia just as much as God loves America.”

Again, let us know.

It’s been a week since Becky Hammon announced her intention to play for the Russian National Team in the 2008 Olympics, and there’s been a bit of reaction, which certainly can’t hurt the sport since it’s garnering larger mainstream media attention — but not much.

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I came across this article from India about Geethu Anna Jose, a 6-foot-1 center who’s apparently getting interest from some of the WNBA teams, according to an article in the Hindustan Times. It’s an interesting read about a woman from a league that doesn’t get much play when you consider the leagues around the world.

A good performance in the Big V League would propel Geethu closer to fulfilling her dream of playing in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA), the most high profile women’s league in the world.

Geethu has already received feelers from WNBA scouts and her performance would strengthen her case, and also put the spotlight firmly on Indian women basketball players, some of whom have elicited enquires from other foreign leagues.

Found a basic bio of Geethu here. Give it a read… we might be seeing her in the league soon enough.

Prior to signing her new contract, Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi was making about $49,000 per season in the WNBA. But that middling sum is trumped by what she’s making in Europe — as are most WNBA players who play overseas — and that trend is led by Shabtai von Kalmanovic.

But rather than cherry-pick from a pretty great feature, I’ll simply show you to the Los Angeles Times’ Web site.

(First off, this post needs a hat tip to the newly-found, long-running ChicagoSkyTalk.net)

San Antonio Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon recently gained Russian citizenship and is now able to play for the Russian National Team.

I’m kind of torn on this. To me, one of the things I would most like to accomplish would be to represent my country in something to which I’ve dedicated my life (Olympic journalism, anybody?), but Hammon spends so much time in Russia already, why should it be any different than somebody coming from another country and obtaining dual-citizenship in the U.S.

To each her own, but what do you think? Should Becky take the chance to earn Olympic gold with a country not of her birth or is she a traitor to the red, white and blue (of the U.S.)? Leave a comment and let us know.

The women of Team USA return to the practice tour next week in Spain and head coach Anne Donovan is itching to get back to work, it would seem. From DetroitShock.com:

“I am very excited to resume our training,” said 2008 U.S. Olympic Team head coach Anne Donovan. “We have a chance to compete against the top two professional teams in Spain in March and then travel to Beijing in April and go against five Olympic teams in the test event. These will be the final two times our team will be able to train before the WNBA season begins. I’m looking forward to getting the players back on the court - from veterans like Katie Smith and DeLisha Milton-Jones to newcomers who really impressed me last year like Janel McCarville.”

USA will have some decent competition during their Tour of Spain, as they take on two of the top-ranked Spanish League teams on March 17 and 20.

Well, looks like the city of Seattle’s basketball outlook just keeps getting better and better.

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Lauren Jackson will play in the WNBA this season, taking only a short break (five games, apparently) to prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

It was suggested the Australian captain might sit out the WNBA season to devote herself to the Olympic campaign.

But Jackson’s agent Bruce Kaider said a deal had been struck that satisfied Jackson, Basketball Australia and Seattle. Jackson, who is currently playing in the lucrative Russian league for Spartak, will start the WNBA season for Seattle on May 17. She will play until July 12, when she will return to Australia for a training camp.

The Opals will also play a pre-Olympic tournament in China from August 2-5.

After getting word of an ownership group stepping up to attempt to take control of the team and keep the Storm in Washington, this is added good news for new coach Brian Agler.

Now if we can get us a collective bargaining agreement, we might just see if Seattle can mount another playoff run.

Although most have been good ones, it’s nice to see some other ladies get their run.

Candice Wiggins, Stanford’s stellar shooting guard, had a great profile in the Los Angeles Times.

Ask about her most memorable moment from the Tennessee game and Wiggins doesn’t bring up the game-tying free throws she converted with 1:32 remaining in regulation, the 16-foot jumper she made on the next possession or the steal that led to two more foul shots and a four-point lead with 32 seconds left.

The moment that remains frozen in her mind is when she missed two free throws with 16.9 seconds remaining, allowing the Lady Vols to tie the score at the buzzer and send the game into overtime. It’s that brand of mentality that impressed UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier when she recruited Wiggins out of La Jolla Country Day High.

Wiggins was also named USA Basketball’s Top Female Athlete of 2007, so congrats to her. Hopefully, she’ll get some run in Beijing.

(AP Photo / Paul Sakuma)

With the end of the year drawing close, we take a brief look back at the Australians and how they performed this year.

Well, The Melbourne Age did, at least.

Of course, there’s All-World Lauren Jackson, but the rest of the Opals starred as well, especially Penny Taylor, who along with teammate Belinda Snell, were part of the WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury.

Opals Penny Taylor and Belinda Snell were members of the title-winning Mercury, who after disposing the Storm overcame Detroit 3-2 in a gruelling finals campaign.

Taylor was named both an All-Star and a member of the All-WNBA First Team, alongside Jackson.

It capped a sensational 12 months for 2006 world championship MVP Taylor, whose talent has long been recognised within basketball circles, but who has always been dwarfed by Jackson’s considerable shadow.

Of course, the Opals are still the team to beat in the upcoming Olympics, but they understand the Americans will likely be their biggest challengers. Should be fun regardless.

(The Age / Wayne Taylor)