I'm glad you finally got Eric goodwin in a nice mention here Jayda. Way overdue. I think more wnba players are seeing the effects he and his twin brother aaron are dong, not only with NBA players. They are markting geniuses for sure.

Parker will get her time in the spotlight. She has to earn her keep. Wait until her third season to see where she is at. That is usually the point when so called "great" college players sort of fizzle out in the WNBA.

$4 million? That certainly beats her annual WNBA salary, eh? In Los Angeles, there are a lot of people here looking forward to the Storm season home opener this week and Candace is a big part of why. In WNBA fan-dome circles here, to some, she is the equivalent of the second coming of Magic. She has certainly brought a lot of added interest to the Sparks and it will be interesting to see what attendance is like for the first La-La land game. It would certainly be hard to pick and choose your big-hit moments though, when you constantly have everyone in the media dubbing you as the next big thing. I probably just said a lot of stuff that is just taken for granted, but there it is anyhow!!!

As a big UConn fan, I can't understand why Diana Taurasi never enjoyed the level of Madison Ave success Parker has attained so quickly. Taurasi came into the league with as much hype (compare the rating generated in her debut to Parker's), she has a great game, and arguably a more dynamic personality, yet her only major endorsement is Nike. Even Sue Bird got more than that. Did her people simply not market her properly?

I love the level of excitement Parker has brought to the league. Looking at Chicago's attendance numbers this year, they need a sellout badly. I can understand why a few ladies would feel resentful, but right now the WNBA is barely a dot on the radar. How do the vets expect respect or money when there is no pool from which to draw? You can't get something out of nothing. They need to recognize players like Parker, Maya Moore and Brittney Griner will only help to build that pool.

Daeschel-

I'm a big UCONN fan too, but as great as Sue and Diana were there, Candace can play any position on the floor and change the game tone at any given time. Taurasi could never do that more than 45 seconds. She could play point guard, cross some one over and make them look so ridiculous and drive to the hoop for an easy layup. Then she would run back on defense and make horrible fouls and trash talk like none other. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

Parker can keep her composure and talk to the refs when "needed" to without beaing a drama queen ranting and raving on the court like Taurasi.

Parker got her deals before she even played a single WNBA game, so I don't know how Taurasi's, as you put it, lack of composure is relevant.

If you want to watch the Storm tonight, try MSG network. They televise all of the Liberty's games.

Taurasi's actions on the court at UCONN is what really cost her many deals.

Any athlete whining and bitching on the court is a bad thing, I don't care who you are. People recognize it. Writers, TV people, coaches, and most importantly the FANS.

How many girl basketball players want to be like "DT" and how many like CP3"? I guarantee a lot more of those girls parents would rather take them to see Candace than Taurasi. Diana can be a "nice person/player" when she wants to be. That is her biggest disadvantage

If you don't think Candace whined about reffing in college then you weren't watching many Vol games.

Amen, SECdevottee!

Lauren had some nice things to say about Candace. Other than that, I think it's a pretty typical response from the veterans. You aren't supposed to gush about the rookies unless they're on your team.

Part of why Parker is getting SO much attention (besides the brilliant work of her agent) is that she is the "dream package": pretty and apparently straight.
That easily outweighs the considerable amount of whining and showboating she did at UT, in terms of desirability in the marketing world and around the WNBA.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Swoopes sounds catty. She had her time to shine in Nike commercials and what not, so why can't she be happy for this Parker kid? Women are too jealous of one another to be suportive of the new players. Parker will bring in fans that wouldn't give two hoots about the WNBA, that means more revenue for all doesn't it? Keep hatin' Swoopes while Parker is somewhere counting her dough.

KT--Perhaps you have a little Houston hatin' going on, but that wasn't the intent of Swoopes' comment. She was not talking about herself at all. I didn't print the entire quote, just the meat, because I think I'm going to use other parts later. Yet, so that we're fair to Swoopes, she was giving props to the other young players like Cappie Pondexter, Lauren Jackson, and I believe Alana Beard. She named them by name as people who also deserve to get paid. She knows she's a pioneer, had her time in the spotlight, and is looking forward to what the next level brings for the up-and-comers. She’s not crying about getting her due. At least she wasn’t that day when I quoted her.

Some think this is a "catty, hate-on-Parker" article. I come to read it, and gee, it's just a couple of women expressing their opinion. And get real, Summiteers! You've never seen male football players going in to childish snits because a new player comes in and gets paid more than they do? And all of a sudden *they* want their contract renegotiated because they've been "disrespected." *That* sounds catty to me...and yet it's only women that tear each other down?