Mercury Rise to the Top

On Friday, the Phoenix Mercury secured a WNBA championship by defeating the Indiana Fever 94-86, in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. Diana Taurasi scored 26 points in the deciding game and won Finals MVP honors.

The Mercury overcame a 2-1 series deficit to claim the title. It's the Mercury's second WNBA title in three seasons. It's an impressive feat.

But is it the most impressive feat? Does this make the Mercury the best sports dynasty in Arizona history? Yes and yes.

Several professional sports franchises in Arizona have won on a consistent basis. The Phoenix Suns won 50-plus games four seasons in a row (2004-2008). The Arizona Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl last season. The Arizona Diamondbacks, in 11 seasons, have four playoff appearances, including a World Series title in 2001. Every sports franchise in the state has enjoyed some type of success, but not every franchise has enjoyed the Mercury's level of success.

(Continue to Arizona Sportspage)

LifeLock Tops in WNBA

When Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter go up against San Antonio in an opening round WNBA playoff game Thursday, you won't see "Phoenix" or "Mercury" on their uniform jersey tops, except for the small team logo. Instead, you'll see "LifeLock."

Going into the playoffs, the Mercury and their stars Taurasi and Pondexter are entering as the team to beat. The pair are the league's top two scorers, leading the club to the WNBA's best regular season record at 23-11. As the games tip off on ESPN2 -- the Washington Mystics made it and will host Indiana Thursday night at 7 -- the playoffs again will give the WNBA a much needed boost of television exposure after playing its regular during idle summer months.

Since June, Mercury uniforms have been adorned with the LifeLock name, a Tempe, AZ identity theft prevention company. The Mercury are even selling the jerseys that way at the WNBA online store, part of a multi-year marketing partnership with LifeLock. To boot, when existing jerseys with the Mercury name on the front are sold out, only those LifeLock ones will be available.

No other American sports team has gone so far as to actually place the name of a sponsor on its uniform instead of the team name.

(Continue to DMA 7-22 Sports)

WNBA and Baltimore's Angel

Baltimore's Angel McCoughtry

Photo: WNBA.com

With its playoffs set to start Sept. 16, the WNBA is closing out season No. 13, eliciting thoughts, at least here, of the '70s pop group the Bee Gees and "Stayin' Alive."

Yes, the WNBA is still alive -- when some skeptics earlier had predicted a short life span. Still enticing fans into arenas, showing up from time to time on national television and providing a playing platform for the best women’s basketball players in the world.

But when talking WNBA, finding a starting point for conversation is tough for some. The season lasts just over three months during summer, gobbled up by fervent attention to Major League Baseball, NFL training camps and Tiger Woods. No mention hardly on sports talk radio, scant media coverage (sometimes you can’t find the standings in the paper) and limited overall fanfare. Beyond a supposedly core cadre of fans, the women’s professional basketball league seems largely unappealing and invisible.

(Continue to DMA 7-22 Sports)