TAMPA, Fla. - God's favorite song is "Rocky Top" and He smiled on Pat Summitt and her Lady Vols one more time as they extended their strangle hold on women's basketball with an unprecedented eighth national title in back-to-back fashion.

For all the prognosticators who picked the trendy Cardinal, Tennessee made sure they knew just how wrong they were. The Lady Vols came out determined to show the country just how silly they were to ever doubt them. This one was over early as Tennessee cruised to a 64-48 victory.

Candace Parker was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player as she scored 17 points to lead all scorers and grab nine rebounds. But make no mistake, tonight's game belonged to Nicky "Sticky Fingers" Anosike.

Continue reading "Rocky Top Of The World" »

Posted by Jeff Lippman at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. - Well, if most of the country's prediction that Stanford wins the national title is to come true, it'll have to happen in come-from-behind fashion.

Jillian Harmon sank a jumper as time expired to close the gap, but Tennessee holds a 37-29 halftime advantage. And they're doing it without much help from Candace Parker.

Continue reading "Nicky Ano-Sticky Fingers" »

Posted by Jeff Lippman at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. - I really don't understand how Tennessee does it.

Top-seeded and a top-ranked team all year, the owners of seven national titles somehow manage to find ways to fancy themselves underdogs every year.

Last year against Rutgers, the darlings of the postseason, the media tabbed the Scarlet Knights the juicy pick. And now, once again, Tennessee finds themselves up against a very chic Stanford team.

Well, the Lady Vols won last year, proving the truism that trends always fade, and this year, I think they are going to do the exact same thing.

Continue reading "Why Do I Think Tennessee Will Win?" »

Posted by Jeff Lippman at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. - Candice Wiggins isn't everything and Stanford knows that's the reason they're one game from winning their first national championship since 1992.

The Cardinal wouldn't be meeting Tennessee on Tuesday had Wiggins not put them on her shoulders at times, scoring 44 points against UTEP in the second round and 41 against Maryland to reach the Final Four, but they also wouldn't be here were it not for the emergence of Wiggins' supporting cast.

And I'm not talking about Stanford's trees, 6-foot-4 freshman and sophomore centers Kayla Pedersen and Jayne Appel. They played great for Stanford all year. Sort of like a triumvirate of talent, that was more than enough to take home regular season and Pac-10 Tournament titles. To win it all, Stanford needed more than that and they've gotten it in a big way.

Continue reading "Wiggins Isn't Everything" »

Posted by Jeff Lippman at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)