I do not have any high definition programming coming through my television screen and from what I have been told, I do not know what I am missing. That is probably true but to those who do have HD capability, you may be happy to know that the entire slate of WNBA games being televised on either ABC or ESPN2 will be available in HD.

Here's the complete release:

ESPN2 and ABC to Present Entire WNBA Schedule in HD
Season Tips Off on ABC June 6 with the Defending Champion Detroit Shock at L.A. Sparks

For the first time ever, every regular and postseason WNBA game will be televised in high definition on ESPN2 HD and ABC HD. The networks will combine to televise 13 regular-season WNBA games, the WNBA All-Star game, and up to 15 postseason telecasts, starting with the defending champion Detroit Shock at the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, June 6, at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

This will also mark the first year of the new eight-year rights extension between ESPN and the WNBA through the 2016 season. As a result of the new agreement, every ESPN2 game will be offered on ESPN360.com ESPN's broadband sports network, and ESPN International networks in Atlantic (sub-Saharan Africa), Pac Rim (Australia/NZ), Latin North, Latin South, Latin Caribbean, Latin Brazil, Middle East, as well as on ESPN Australia HD and ESPN Brazil HD. Live coverage of up to 15 games will also be available on ESPN Mobile TV.


The ESPN2 schedule will tip off with a WNBA Tuesday opener on June 9 at 7 p.m., when Tamika Catchings and the Indiana Fever host the Seattle Storm, led by Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson. Overall, ESPN2 will televise 12 regular-season games and ABC will air two.


ESPN2 will extend its coverage into the postseason with coverage of the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals, conference finals and finals, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 16. The complete schedule will be announced at a later date.

COMMENTATORS
Carolyn Peck and Nancy Lieberman will alternate as game analysts and will be joined by rotating play-by-play commentators Terry Gannon, Dave Pasch and Pam Ward with reporters Heather Cox and Rebecca Lobo. Fans can also follow Lobo, Lieberman and Peck on Twitter throughout the season: @RebeccaLobo (http://twitter.com/RebeccaLobo), @NancyLieberman (http://twitter.com/nancylieberman) and @CAROLYNPECK (http://twitter.com/CAROLYNPECK).


OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
* WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday, July 25, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC, from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
* Five appearances by the Sparks, featuring All-Star center Lisa Leslie, who will retire after this season.
* 2008 WNBA Finals rematch between the Shock and San Antonio Silver Stars on Saturday, August 29, at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
* No. 1 Draft pick Angel McCoughtry from Louisville will make her national television debut with the Atlanta Dream against the Minnesota Lynx and No. 4 Draft pick Renee Montgomery of Connecticut on Tuesday, June 30, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
* Top Draft picks and former Maryland Terrapins teammates Marissa Coleman (No. 2) of the Washington Mystic and Kristi Toliver (No. 3) of the Chicago Sky will square off Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
* Full-access coverage with live microphones on players/coaches/referees, exclusive locker room interviews, and above and below the rim cameras for select telecasts.
* Fans will also be able to follow the action on ESPN's MVP application, which will include video highlights, recaps, statistics and features.
* ESPN.com coverage will include weekly original content, such as blogs and columns from Mechelle Voepel and Power Rankings by Melanie Jackson. Additional content includes game previews, recaps, stats and standings.

2009 Schedule on ESPN2 & ABC
DATE TIME (ET) MATCHUP NETWORK
Sat., June 6 2:30 p.m. Detroit at Los Angeles ABC
Tues., June 9 7 p.m. Seattle at Indiana ESPN2
Tues., June 23 7:30 p.m. Phoenix at San Antonio ESPN2
Tues., June 30 7 p.m. Minnesota at Atlanta ESPN2
Thurs., July 9 9 p.m. Sacramento at Seattle ESPN2
Tues., July 14 7 p.m. Los Angeles at Connecticut ESPN2
Thurs., July 23 7 p.m. Chicago at Washington ESPN2
Sat., July 25 3:30 p.m. WNBA All-Star Game (Mohegan Sun Arena) ABC
Tues., July 28 7:30 p.m. Phoenix at Connecticut ESPN2
Tues., Aug. 4 7:30 p.m. New York at Detroit ESPN2
Tues., Aug. 11 9 p.m. New York at Los Angeles ESPN2
Tues., Aug. 25 10 p.m. Chicago at Los Angeles ESPN2
Sat., Aug. 29 3 p.m. Detroit at San Antonio ESPN2
Sun., Sept. 13 3 p.m. Los Angeles at Phoenix ESPN2

Few things have irritated UConn fans more in recent years more than the fact that they were unable to get ESPNU, which would show much of the Big East tournament and an occasional regular-season tournament. Word is that the UConn hierarchy refused to agree to play Texas in a one-day event in San Antonio later this year until it received guarantees that the game would not be televised on ESPNU.

Well, it should be comforting to Nutmeg Staters that significant progress has been made in making ESPNU available in the greater New Haven area.

Here are the details courtesy of a couple of press releases courtesy of ESPN's Tilea Coleman.

COMCAST ADDS ESPNU AND ESPN360.COM TO LINEUP WITH CONTENT ON TELEVISION, ON DEMAND AND ONLINE


BRISTOL, CT AND PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 19, 2009) – Disney and ESPN Media Networks and Comcast Corporation today announced an agreement to add ESPNU to its Digital Classic level of service and ESPN360.com to Comcast.net. Comcast will launch ESPNU in a majority of its cable systems in time for the start of the college football season. This includes Comcast's southern systems which will enjoy coverage of ESPNU's new Saturday game-of-the-week Southeastern Conference (SEC) package. Comcast will also make ESPN360.com available to its high-speed Internet customers for no additional charge through Comcast.net, which reaches 17 million unique users per month, also in time for this year’s college football season.

With this agreement, ESPNU will have more than 46 million subscribers and ESPN360.com will be available to nearly 41 million homes, a majority of broadband homes in America.

“ESPNU and ESPN360.com have been growing in popularity due to the dynamic live-event programming we’ve been adding to them, and we are thrilled Comcast will offer them to their huge fan base,” said David C. Preschlack, executive vice president, Disney and ESPN Media Networks. “This agreement is a tremendous step forward in serving fans – both on television and online -- while growing our collective multi-platform businesses.”

“Comcast continues to be the place for sports fans to turn to for all the college, professional and high school sports action they want – on television, online and on demand,” said Matt Bond, executive vice president, content acquisition for Comcast Cable. “ESPNU and ESPN360.com will add to the thousands of live sports events that fans already watch on Comcast today.”

ESPNU provides college sports fans with more than 550 live events annually and televises some of the top Division I conferences in the nation, including: the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, SEC, Sun Belt and WAC. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA that includes extensive coverage of 22 NCAA Championships, including sports from each of the three collegiate seasons.

ESPN360.com is ESPN's 24/7 broadband sports network which offers more than 3,500 live, global sports events annually. ESPN360.com has grown to more than 41 million subscribers and is available nationwide. It has more than tripled its distribution in just two years. ESPN360.com is available at no additional charge through Comcast.net to Comcast High-Speed Internet customers. In addition, ESPN360.com is also available at no cost to approximately 18 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks (those with “.edu” and “.mil” domains).

With ESPN360.com, Comcast.net customers will be able to catch sports action online all day and all night. Comcast.net offers extensive content with more than 130,000 videos from providers such as ABC News, CBS News, Fox Sports, Disney, E!, G4, The Weather Channel, CelebTV, and others. Comcast.net is one of the Web’s most visited and deeply engaging sites; 293 MM visits from more than 17.1 MM monthly unique visitors, consuming 4.3 billion page views (source: comScore, March 2009).



DIRECTV TO OFFER ESPNU IN ITS CHOICE PACKAGE

ESPNU’s Distribution More Than 46 Million Subscribers

Disney and ESPN Media Networks and DIRECTV, Inc., today announced an agreement to widen its distribution of ESPNU to DIRECTV's CHOICE™ programming package beginning July 1. ESPNU will now be available to more than 46 million college sports fans across the country. As part of the agreement, DIRECTV will also launch ESPNU HD by the end of the first quarter 2010. Additionally, ESPN Classic will be repackaged into the DIRECTV SPORTS PACK.

ESPNU provides college sports fans with more than 550 live events annually and televises some of the top Division I conferences in the nation, including: the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, MAC, SEC, Sun Belt and WAC. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA that includes extensive coverage of 22 NCAA Championships, including sports from each of the three collegiate seasons.

“ESPNU is committed to college sports programming 365 days a year, and this move to DIRECTV’s CHOICE package allows better access for college sports fans -- nationwide -- to all of the quality content provided on the network," said David C. Preschlack, executive vice president, Disney and ESPN Media Networks.

“DIRECTV continues to offer the best sports programming to its customers,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV, Inc. “By expanding the distribution of ESPNU, we take that commitment to another level for all college sports fans across the country.”

Talk about your tough acts to follow, Marisa Moseley is coming in to replace UConn lifer Jamelle Elliott who spent 17 years in Storrs as a player, a graduate assistant in the business office and assistant coach. More than one time in the last few years, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Elliott did the best coaching job on his staff.

Obviously Auriemma thought enough of the former Boston University forward to offer her a job since I am sure he did not lack in resumes to sift through.

I found it ironic that this weekend my return home from Colorado Springs took me through Minneapolis (although I was in the airport for only a couple of minutes before boarding my flight to Hartford). I also find it amusing that among the candidates I speculated would be nice fits as UConn assistants, I mentioned a Minnesota assistant who works with post players. Of course it was Minnesota Lynx assistant Jen Gillom and not Moseley. Staying on the "it's a small world" theme previously in this blog I mentioned Norfolk, Va. and Minneapolis as the most likely sites for UConn's first and second round games in the 2010 NCAA tournament. Here is how I came to that conclusion:

Since conference opponents aren't allowed to meet until the regionals, you can cross out Notre Dame, Louisville and Pittsburgh as potential sites. A subregional including UConn would either need to be hosted by a team which doesn't make the NCAA tournament or would be an eight or nine seed. That would seem to preclude Tennessee, Duke, California, Oklahoma, Florida State, Arizona State, Iowa State, Texas and Xavier since barring some severe underachieving they will be seeded too high to have UConn sent there. That leaves four candidates. I can't see UConn being shipped to either New Mexico or Seattle (where Washington would be the host). That leaves either the subregionals where Old Dominion or Minnesota are the hosts. Do you think the story line of Moseley going back to Minnesota as an assistant at UConn might get a little bit of play in Connecticut newspapers?

Of course that is a long ways away.

Geno Auriemma said he was looking for somebody young, energetic and a good teacher to work with UConn's post players to join his staff. It appears he is getting all of the above as UConn is hiring former Boston University forward Marisa Moseley as the new assistant coach.

Moseley has spent the last two years as an assistant coach at Minnesota.

“Marisa is a rising star and one that I feel lucky to have as a big part of our program,” said Minnesota coach Pam Borton in Moseley's bio on the Minnesota official website. “She is a great teacher of the game, relates well with our players, and is a tireless worker. Her energy and emotion has been an wonderful addition to our vibrant staff.”

Moseley also the 2006-07 season at Denver. She also had a year as a production assistant at ESPN.

Moseley's connection with UConn came when she worked at Auriemma's camp.

Moseley graduated from Boston University in 2004 finishing with 114 blocks, the third most in BU history. Moseley was a captain at BU as a junior and senior. As a junior she helped the Terriers into the NCAA tournament. Facing UConn in the first round, Moseley had six points and four rebounds in a 91-44 loss at Gampel Pavilion.

Moseley will replace Jamelle Elliott, who left after 12 seasons to become the head coach at Cincinnati.

When Asjha Jones looked around and saw the dozen or so media members, all rather eager to have a chat with the former UConn star, I'm sure at least a part of the reticent Jones must have wished she was still back in Russia playing for Russia Superleague champion UMMC Ekaterinburg.

When I approached her table, Jones reluctantly raised her head. I couldn't resist having some fun at her expense and said "don't look so happy to see me." She chuckled and said "it's not you, I just hate to talk." The ironic part of it is she is quite good at it. My first season covering UConn was Jones' sophomore season and while other reporters gravitated towards quotable sorts like Shea Ralph, Svetlana Abrosimova, Tamika Williams, Swin Cash and even Sue Bird (who would talk forever even if she rarely ever said anything). I mentioned one day that I considered Jones to be the best quote on the team and as they have done many times, they looked at me like I was nuts. I said 'forget the persona, the occasional stare down if she didn't like the question and listen to her answers.' I always found her to be the most honest, to the point member of any UConn team I covered. When it comes to basketball, she was and is incredibly insightful. I'm not sure her quiet demeanor will ever allow her to pursue a coaching career (although Carla Berube has done quite well for herself) but she would be an outstanding teacher either on the basketball court or off of it.

OK, now to the point of the entry. I went to Connecticut Sun media day fully expecting to do a story on how nearly the entire team was in camp from the first day, something that can not be said in recent years. But after spending about 10 minutes speaking with Asjha about her UMMC Ekateriburg team's recent Russia Superleague title at the expense of former Huskies Bird and Diana Taurasi, the chance to get some rest before reporting to camp, the continued quest to lead the Sun to its first title made me change my mind and write a piece on Jones. It will appear in tomorrow's Register.

Here's a snippet of what she said about playing in the memorable UMMC Ekaterinburg/Spartak Moscow Region games.

"It's amazing, you have Lauren Jackson coming off the bench over there (for Spartak)," Jones said. "Her and Sylvia Fowles were sharing a spot. At those games the fans are excited. It is crazy inside, you can't hear anything, the coaches are nervous. As a player we have been there many times but to look at a team and see a Lauren Jackson on the bench is crazy. Our teams are all-star teams, we have the best players in the world from every country."

The Sun are at the WNBA training camp maximum of 15 but since the Sandrine Gruda and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota aren't expected to report to camp until late June and early July respectively, there will be no need to make any cuts until they need to get down to 11 players for the season opener. When Gruda and Jekabsone-Zogota report after competing in the European championships, the Sun will have to let two players go. The first exhibition game is Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena, also the site of the regular-season opener against Washington.

Since I have received a request to reveal what Tiffany Hayes said about next season's potential backcourt pairing with good friend Caroline Doty, here you go:

"It is going to be different because me and Caroline can do a lot of things. I can shoot, she can shoot. I can run the (point), she can run the (point). I can drive, she can drive so it is either/or with us. It's not like it was with Renee. It is definitely going to be different. Everybody else is talking about how me and Caroline individually can't replace Renee but together we can do a great deal. We are going to work at it."

Here is Maya Moore's take on the same subject including her shoot out to classmate Lorin Dixon.

"I know Lorin is more than capable of taking a lot of point-guard load but the things the Lorin doesn't necessarily bring, Caroline or Tiffany can bring. They will complement each other really well. The thing Lorin has is her ability to push the ball. We are always going to be a running team but I imagine we will step it up even more with Lorin at the point. It will be an interesting mix but we will make it work."

As you can imagine, most of my attention in my time at the USA Basketball team trials in Colorado Springs last week was focused on current UConn players Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes as well as incoming freshman Kelly Faris. But I did some interviews with a look towards the future.

I had a nice sit down with UConn commit Samarie Walker (OK, she was sitting and I was standing since she had a grueling journey en route from her Dayton, Ohio home). Most of our conversation have been documented in previous blog entries.

The first interview I conducted was with Court Coach Russ Davis, who happens to be the AAU coach of UConn commit Lauren Engeln. I also had a nice chat with Stanford rising sophomore Nneka Ogwumike with much of the interview having to do with her younger sister Chiney who is most definitely on UConn's recruiting radar. Since Chiney was invited to last year's 18-and-under trials, I was certain Chiney (pronounced Che-Nay) would be in Colorado Springs. However, if she received an invite and declined, that was news to her big sis.

Nneka made it clear that the sisters are not a package deal. Nneka would love to see Chiney at Stanford but is not putting any pressure on her to choose the Cardinal.

"I know as much as you do, I am not trying to sway her one way or another," Nneka said. "I am just letting her do her thing, when she has questions about the recruiting process I let her know 'this is what they did for me.' Other than that, the decision is solely up to her. She asks me questions but I am never pressuring her or badgering her to do anything."

I asked Nneka to describe Chiney's game.

"I have centralized my game inside and tried to work on it," Nneka said. "She started working around the paint earlier than I did which has definitely improved her game in the sense that she is not limited to one thing. There are several different things you can do at different positions, how to be a post with ball handling skills and I think that is one of her biggest assets."

Now to my interview with Russ Davis, he has been involved with the California girls' basketball scene for more than a few years and sees similarities in Lauren Engeln's love for basketball to another California product who played a little ball at UConn.

"I have been around a long time so I remember Diana (Taurasi) when she was playing in the sixth grade on," Davis said. "She is not Diana, nobody is Diana but she loves the game and plays like her. One of my favorite Diana stories is Diana was a counselor one year at Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis and she was up for an ESPY. They wanted her to go to Vegas for the ESPY awards and she didn't want to go because she wanted to stay back with the high school girls and play in the pick-up games with all the other counselors. She is just a rare breed. Lauren is the same way as far as that. I am not comparing them (as players), I am comparing their love of the game and how much time they put in, how they will try to find a pick-up game or play wherever they can."

Davis coaches Engeln on the Cal Swish Black team which also includes fellow promising high school juniors Cassie Harberts and Lyndsay Sherbert. He utilizes Englen at a number of positions on the court.

"The biggest thing with Lauren is if you watch her play, you can tell that she is a basketball player," Davis said. "She is a long and lanky and in the last three months she has done the personal training and really worked on her strength too. I am really happy with her latest because she is crashing the boards, going to the hole strong. She can play multiple positions, we play her at the 1 (point guard), 2 (shooting guard), 3 (small forward). She is a big guard, she can guard bigger people, she is long, athletic and she is a girl who just plays basketball all day long. She doesn't do anything particularly flashy, she is one of those types who will work with her high school team and practice two hours, will go with a personal trainer for an hour and then come to practice and shoot for two hours. She does that every day, she just wants to be the best she can be. She wants to play against the best so it became an easy decision for her where she wanted to go."

Davis was on vacation in Hawaii in August when UConn coach Geno Auriemma reached out to him inquiring about Englen's recruiting situation. When Davis told him she was still wide open, Auriemma used the next NCAA-mandated viewing period as a chance to jump on a plane, fly across the country to see Engeln play before flying home the next morning.

"That's when I knew he was really interested," Davis said. "It was just a matter of Lauren believing and wanting it. That is a big-time commitment and she wanted that. When she went on the visit, met the players, saw the coaches, it became pretty evident to me that was where she was going to go. Once they offered, it was just a matter of her crossing the t's, dotting the i's and making sure it was a done deal.

"She wants to play against the best and she wants to be the best, if that in Connecticut, if that is in San Diego, if that is in Alaska, that is what she wants to do. It doesn't really matter where it is at, that is what she wants. She went with her family out to the Final Four to watch them, watched them win a championship and that made them even more excited."

When July hits, Engeln and her Cal Swish Black teammates will be rather busy playing in the End of the Oregon Trail Tournament from July 5-9, the Swish Summer Shootout in California on July 10 before heading to Chicago for the Nike Summer Showcase. From July 21-25, they will be in Nashville, Tenn. for the Music City Madness event. The hectic schedule will end with participation in the Nike Nationals from July 28-31 in Augusta, Ga.

A few housekeeping items from the announcement of the 28 finalists for the World University Games and Under-19 teams.

Stanford leads the way the five representatives as Jayne Appel, Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen are among the 14 WUG finalists while Ogwumike and Sarah Boothe made the cut for the U-19 squad.

UConn is next with Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes being invited back for the World University Games' team training camp and incoming freshman is still in the mix for the U-19 squad. Cal and Ohio State with one player on each squad are the only other schools with multiple representatives.

The Pac-10 tops all conference with seven candidates followed by the Big East's six and five SEC players being named finalists.

There have been just five colleges to have three teammates on the same World University Games team (not including 2003 when a team of Big 12 All-Stars and in 2007 when North Carolina-Charlotte represented the U.S. at the World University Games). Stanford and UConn currently have three players in contention although two of the 14 players will need to be cut before the team leaves for the World University Games.

Here are the trios who accomplished the feat
Wayland Baptist 1973 (Janice Beach, Brenda Moeller, Cherri Rapp)
North Carolina State 1979 (Genia Beasley, Debbie Groover, Ginger Rouse)
Tennesee 1983 (Shelia Collins, Lea Henry, Mary Ostowski)
Southern California 1987 (Karon Howell, Monica Lamb, Rhonda Windham)
Auburn 1991 (Ruthie Bolton, Linda Godby, Carolyn Jones)

Three UConn players have played for the U.S. in the World University Games. Kerry Bascom was a member of the 1991 championship team, Kara Wolters played in the 1995 and 1997 events while Nykesha Sales was a teammate of Wolters on the 1997 championship team.

An interesting note is that Bascom still owns the U.S. mark with a 58.8 3-point percentage in the event, Wolters holds the U.S. record with 13 blocked shots in 1997 and her 70.7 field-goal percentage that year was the standard until Sylvia Fowles broke it in 2005. Sales' 32 points against Cuba in 1997 is the third highest scoring game for a U.S. player in the WUG (Ruthie Bolton had 40 against Romania in 1991 and Katrina McClain 38 against the People's Republic of Korea in 1985).

With that, let's call it a wrap in terms of coverage from my trip to Colorado. Now my focus turns to tomorrow's Connecticut Sun media day.

UConn teammates Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes were among the 14 players named finalists for the U.S. team which will compete in the World University Games. Two players will have to be cut before the team leaves on June 25 for Belgrade, Serbia.

Just my opinion, but at least one of the cuts figures to be a post player since Charles, Stanford's Jayne Appel, Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, Jacinta Monroe of Florida State and Xavier's Ta'Shia Phillips all made the list of 14. Also making it were Stanford's Kayla Pedersen, Georgia's Ashley Houts, Alexis Gray-Lawson of California, Oklahoma's Whitney Hand and Danielle Robinson and Danielle McCray of Kansas.

The biggest omission to me was Dawn Evans of James Madison. I was extremely impressed by her play but seems to me like the committee did a heck of a job with the selections based on what I saw in the two days I was at the trials. I would imagine picking among the point guards must have been pretty difficult because they all seemed pretty comparable to me.

UConn incoming freshman Kelly Faris was among the 14 finalists for the Under-19 national team but neither her future UConn teammate Samarie Walker nor former Trinity Catholic star Da'Shena Stevens made the cut.

This is the second year in a row I thought Tierra Ruffin-Pratt should have made the cut and pretty stunned that Nebraska incoming freshman Lindsey Moore and DePaul's rising sophomore Keisha Hampton did not make the list of 14.

Of the 24 players I said I would have named to the teams, 15 of them made the cut.

As for the UConn contingent here is my take on why they got the nod.

Maya Moore: Not the hardest choice. Reminds me of the scene in Brian's Song when they are making cuts in the Chicago Bears training camp. They go down the list of rookies and either say yes for "let's keep them" or no for "thanks for stopping by." When they say the name Gale Sayers, the George Halas character scoffs and says "are you kidding me?" I'm sure it took less than a second for them to make that decision.
Tina Charles: In a camp full of gifted post players, Charles was a standout. She was utilized more in the high post than she is at UConn but still seemed at ease.
Tiffany Hayes: Wasn't overly impressive in the three sessions I saw but she brings so many intangibles to a team. She can shoot from the perimeter, is a standout defender, can drive to the basket (and was attempting to do so as much as possible), rebound, run an offense so it isn't a shock she made the squad.
Kelly Faris: Pretty much the same deal as Hayes, more than anything else she does on the court, she is a great teammate and makes any team she is on better.

The only member of the 2008 U-18 team in camp who didn't make the list was Rutgers rising sophomore Nikki Speed.