The WNBA had an interesting tag on its homepage today.

With the headline "Most Deserving," there was a photo of Storm guard Betty Lennox driving to the hoop while being defended by Sacramento center Yolanda Griffith. The excerpt wanted fan feedback on who folks thought should be named as reserves, which will be announced on July 8 and are actually selected by the respective conference coaches.

Earlier I mentioned Storm center Janell Burse should be a reserve for the July 12 game and only excluded Lennox because at the time her numbers didn't sparkle like you know they can. Well, that has since changed. Lennox is averaging 18.6 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (38 for 76) in the team's past five games and Seattle is 3-2 during that stretch. Plus she's collecting steals (10 in the past two games), rebounds, and dishing out passes like point guard Sue Bird. The only thing working against Lennox, 29, is she's in a tough group that includes rookie sensations Cappie Pondexter and Seimone Augustus, along with other vets.

"Betty deserves something? I don't know," said Lennox, falling into her third-person speech, which playfully cracked up the media. "I'm just here to play, do my job and get some wins. That's what Betty is here to do. I know Betty had this in her. This is a Betty you guys haven't seen before, but I'm just out really having fun. I know that I can do these things, it's just when the opportunity presents itself and I'm feeling very confident in myself."

Lennox was an All-Star as a rookie in Minnesota (2000).

"I look at myself from that rookie season to now and I'm a very mature player," she said. "I've been in the league for seven years and I'm hoping I can build off some things. A lot of people are saying, 'Betty you're having the best season ever,' and I'm glad it's coming that way because you're supposed to grow in each year that you play the game of basketball."

Center Simone Edwards' dreams of playing in the Olympics are getting closer.

Edwards, a Storm original who retired in May, is playing with her native Jamaican national team.

The Jamaican women won bronze medals in the Central Games in Mexico City this week. Jamaica defeated Puerto Rico, 71-67, for the final spot to the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Chile, which is the final stage for the country to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Edwards, a 6-foot-4 post player, led her team with 17 points.

Jamaica lost to defending champion Cuba for a chance to play in the title game. Cuba and Mexico automatically advanced to the Americas Championship by advancing to the Central Games championship.

The long-term severity of injuries to Lauren Jackson and Wendy Palmer prompted the Storm to trade center Cisti Greenwalt to Chicago for Ashley Robinson, a 6-foot-4 post player.

Greenwalt, a rookie who was cut during training camp after being drafted by Sacramento in 2005, was intended as a practice player for the Storm, to be developed for the long run.

She wasn't expected to play, except for junk minutes, but with Jackson's daily uncertainty, the Storm (9-8) needs reliable help as it pushes for playoff seeding.

Robinson hasn't played significant minutes either this season, but likes to draw contact and fight for rebounds under the basket, which Jackson (8.0) and Palmer (7.6) provided as the team's leading rebounders.

Robinson's best season since leaving Tennessee in 2004, was 2005 with Phoenix, where she averaged 3.5 rebounds and 19.4 minutes, starting 15 games for the Mercury.

In the Storm's win against the Sky earlier this month, Robinson played three minutes and did not log a stat.

Robinson also is in the same $30,000 salary range as Greenwalt, keeping the Storm under the $700,000 cap.

A high salary was a reason Storm original Simone Edwards, who retired in May, was on the bubble to make the roster. Edwards, 32, is currently playing for Jamaica as her national team vies for a World Championship berth.

Former Washington guard Kristen O'Neill agreed to a one-year contract to play in Spain during the 2006-07 season. O'Neill will play for USP CEU Adecco Estudiantes Club that competes in Division I Liga Femenina Spain, or the top women's league in the country.

O'Neill, who was snubbed by the WNBA because of questions about her quickness and ability to play on the professional level, averaged 7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists at Washington. A native of Edmonds, she is a 6-foot-1 guard/forward.

O'Neill signed with High Five Agency, a new sports management organization that was founded by Susie Jarsoch. Jarsoch worked for the Storm for five seasons in various positions before becoming an agent. She is currently working on signing more local women athletes, but her first signing was San Antonio rookie Shanna Zolman.

The Storm received mixed news on Thursday.

Results from All-Star forward Lauren Jackson's examined left shin showed no more damage than when the injury was last evaluated in May, but she said she is still feeling discomfort and could miss Saturday's home game against Minnesota.

Scheduling does play into Jackson's ability to rest as Seattle has a week in between the Lynx game and a matchup with Indiana on July 9, which is also the final game before the All-Star break. But if the pain doesn't subside by the July 12 mid-summer classic, Jackson could miss it, too.

Currently the Storm is listing Jackson, the Storm's leading scorer (19.6), as day-to-day.

On the flip side, forward Wendy Palmer's return will be prolonged at least two weeks. She had her partially torn left Achilles reevaluated on Thursday and while there was no more damage, doctors didn't like the progress and placed her in a cast for two weeks. Palmer, a 10-year vet who was signed to provide backup minutes for Jackson, has already missed four weeks to deal with the injury.

Brazilian Iziane Castro Marques sat in the team's locker room at the Staples Center examining film of herself prior to the Storm's dominating win over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Castro Marques, a 6-foot small forward, was given the film and laptop by the Storm staff and told to look at what she did in Seattle's season-opener against the Sparks -- when she was 5 for 5 from the field for 11 points and three assists -- in hopes of rekindling that style of play. She has been in a slump since, averaging 2.3 points on the road, and was demoted to the bench on Tuesday. Rookie Barbara Turner, an aggressive 6-foot forward from Connecticut, replaced her in the starting rotation.

Although Castro Marques did start against the Sparks on Wednesday because forward Lauren Jackson was out (shins), Storm coach Anne Donovan said her first lineup change of the season due to causes other than injuries was permanent.

The personalized film session seemed to work. Castro Marques played 19 minutes against the Sparks, her most time on the court since the Storm defeated Chicago at home on June 7 when she played 30 minutes, scoring 11 points on 4 for 7 shooting. Yet, she's said she's concerned about her status in Seattle.

"I was upset because I had been a starter since I got here, so being out of the starting lineup was a big thing for me," said Castro Marques, who was picked up as a free agent in 2005 after being out of the league in 2004. "But we have to do what's best for the team. If not being a starter is going to help us, then that is what I have to be prepared for and try to do my best when I'm on the court."

Donovan said she kept Castro Marques in the lineup for so long, especially with the Storm struggling to find consistency, because she didn't want the Brazilian to lose confidence. Castro Marques agreed that it's a concern.

"About confidence, it's like, if you've been a starter and your coach sits you down for a reason of course that makes you think about your confidence because something is wrong," she said. "I'm not on the bench because it's the best option. Coach asked me to watch tape and [I see] I was flowing, running a lot and very aggressive going to the basket [in the season opener]. I need to do that."

She did attack the basket against the Sparks on Wednesday and without All-Star Lisa Leslie in the lineup due to foul trouble, Castro Marques was able to contribute nine points on 4 for 9 shooting. And that was as a starter. If Jackson is out for an extended time (the Storm has two games remaining before the All-Star break), Castro Marques will remain in the lineup, otherwise it's back to the bench.

The Brazilian spirit isn't hindered, however. The day Castro Marques was demoted, she exited shoot around at KeyArena draped in the Brazilian flag and wearing her country's colors from head to toe in honor of the World Cup. She has met some of the soccer players in the past and is already teasing Storm teammate Edwige Lawson-Wade about this weekend's matchup between Brazil and France. The international players are roommates on the road.

"Another teammate to play!" said Castro Marques, whose country already defeated Jackson's native Australia. E is more into it so we do talk about it, yes, because we're going to be enemies on Saturday."

Bottoms up!

At first it looked like a normal stretching move. The Sparks, as particular fashion, lined up along the halfcourt line with their feet spread wide and bent over reaching for the court, some players able to put their hands on the ground. But after about five minutes and a little rump wiggling while the Storm was on the court stretching just feet from the Sparks, it became clear Los Angeles was quasi-mooning the visitors.

Simone Edwards, a former Storm original who retired in May, won gold with her native Jamaica in last week's Caribbean Basketball Championships played in Kingston.

Simone Edwards with her team's championship trophy.

Her country is vying for a place in the World Championships in Brazil, where guard Sue Bird and Anne Donovan (America) and forwards Lauren Jackson (Australia) and Iziane Castro Marques (Brazil) will compete with their respective countries for an automatic bid to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Up next for Jamaica are the Central Games in Mexico City from June 26-30.

Edwards, a 6 foot 4 forward, reported in an e-mail that her country's men's team also won gold.

Storm forward Lauren Jackson will start today against the Sacramento Monarchs despite a right knee injury. She's wearing a black sleeve around the knee.

Jackson had the injury evaluated on Friday when the team arrived in Sacramento and was told it's either a bone bruise or sprain in the back of the knee. The extent of the damage, if any, hasn't been determined. According to Storm coach Anne Donovan, it's just how much "can she tolerate. She's not playing on an injury as much as she playing and it would be painful."

"You just gotta play with it, there's nothing you can do," said Jackson, who sustained the injury in the first quarter of the Storm's win against Chicago on Thursday. She played 30 minutes, scoring 23 points in the second half.

"It's not broken or anything, so it's fine," Jackson said. "You gotta play through this sort of stuff."

Prior to the afternoon tip, Jackson and Bird were aired live on ESPN's "The Pulse" television show talking about being named to the all-decade team, play overseas, and who has the better music. Jackson joked during the segment that the easiest way to upset Bird is to break her nose, having done so accidentally in 2005. Ironically, seconds later a loose basketball flew toward where the duo sat, hitting Bird on the side of the head. Behind the two, teammates were shooting around to warm up for the game.

"Good thing it wasn't my nose," said Bird, who teasingly got up to leave the set.