Ladies First

It’s no big shocker that fans in these parts have more passion for basketball than any other pro sport. Okay, then, so explain why a pro-basketball squad that’s actually won something is virtually ignored while the other, can’t-quite-win-the-big-one team attracts rabid, out-of-their-minds followers?

If you’re into watching the unveiling of a pro-basketball championship banner (and what Phoenician wouldn’t be?), head to U.S. Airways Center when the Phoenix Mercury opens its regular-season home schedule against the Los Angeles Sparks. There’s still time to join the bandwagon for our hometown gals, who won their first WNBA title last season in a decisive game five against the defending champion Detroit Shock (the dramatic series-concluding win also marked the first time in the WNBA’s 11-year history that a team had seized a title on the road).

The nationally televised game will include a championship ring/banner presentation.