Sparks' Candace Parker will be named WNBA MVP

By Dan Arritt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Expectations for a No. 1 overall draft pick often exceed reality. That's not the case for Sparks forward Candace Parker. She was better.

Tonight, one day after accepting WNBA rookie of the year honors, Parker is expected to be named the league's most valuable player. The announcement will come during Game 2 of the WNBA finals in San Antonio and it will make her the first WNBA player to win both awards, regardless of the year.

Sparks' Candace Parker will be named WNBA MVP....

WNBA suspends 10 players and Mahorn for skirmish

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA swiftly suspended the Detroit and Los Angeles players and Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn for their role in a skirmish at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Shock forward Plenette Pierson was suspended Thursday for four games, the harshest penalty, for initiating and escalating the altercation.

Mahorn was suspended for two games as were Shannon Bobbitt and Murriel Page of the Sparks.

"As a team, we're incensed that Rick Mahorn was suspended," Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said in a telephone interview from Houston, where the Shock were scheduled to play the Comets. "He was trying to be a peacemaker and now he's being thrown under the bus."

WNBA suspends 10 players and Mahorn for skirmish....

Leslie, Parker involved in melee with Shock

By VIN A. CHERWOO

Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker are the only players to have dunked in a WNBA game.

On Tuesday night, they were involved in a skirmish — another occurrence more frequently connected with the men's game — at, of all places, The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Parker was one of three players ejected, along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn, after the scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in the Los Angeles Sparks' 84-81 victory over the Shock.

In case you missed the melee, which was late in a nationally televised game on ESPN2, it started moments after Parker and Detroit's Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker.

On the next possession, Parker got tangled up with Detroit's Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As Parker was getting up, Pierson hovered over the Sparks' rookie, who pulled her to the ground.

Leslie, Parker involved in melee with Shock....

Parker's career-high 40 points, 16 boards lead Sparks past Comets in OT

CBSSports.com wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- Candace Parker scored a career-high 40 points and had 16 rebounds, six assists and five blocks to help the Los Angeles Sparks rally for an 82-74 overtime victory against the Houston Comets on Wednesday.

"She's only getting better," Sparks coach Michael Cooper said of Parker, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. "I think she's starting to figure this league out, and she's starting to figure out how our team can function and evolve with her -- not around her, but with her.

"The reason why she's able to do what she does is because 'Smooth' is still a force in this league."

"Smooth" is Lisa Leslie, who had 13 points for the Sparks (12-6), who moved within a half-game of first-place San Antonio in the WNBA's Western Conference.

"Our coaches really emphasize Smooth and I establishing the inside game," Parker said. "When you start hitting inside then crazy, fall-away, off-balance 3-pointers will bank in.

"We have great shooters so it's hard for opponents to come at us."

Parker's career-high 40 points....

It's an encore for a dunking Candace Parker

When the Sparks played host to the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night, the winners of the last nine WNBA most-valuable-player awards started the game.

Of course, Sparks rookie Candace Parker wasn't one of them.

But in only her 13th professional game, Parker reached another milestone, performing a slam dunk for the second consecutive game.

Parker scored a game-high 22 points, the last two on a one-handed dunk with 56 seconds remaining. She also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots to boost the Sparks to a 76-62 victory at Staples Center.

It's an encore for a dunking Candace Parker....