UConn women's basketball

Former UConn All-American Diana Taurasi has tested positive for a banned substance while playing in Turkey.

Here is the story by Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press:

NEW YORK – WNBA standout and former UConn star Diana Taurasi tested positive for a mild stimulant while playing in a pro league in Turkey, her lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday night.

Howard Jacobs said Taurasi’s “A’’ sample came back positive from a Turkish lab last week and she was provisionally suspended by the Turkish league she’s playing in. She has already missed three games with her team, Fenerbahce.
Jacobs said the substance “was not a steroid or recreational drug,’’ and that Taurasi has asked that her “B’’ sample be tested.

“We’re taking it one step at a time,’’ Jacobs said. “I’d rather not say what it is at this stage, they’ve only tested the `A’ sample. Somehow it leaked over in Turkey. We’re waiting for the `B’ sample to be tested. We’ve had some difficulty with getting a date so far, mostly because of the holidays. We’re hoping to get it as soon as we can.’’

Taurasi’s positive test came to light two days after her former Huskies won their 89th straight game, surpassing the UCLA’s men’s winning streak set from 1971-74. Taurasi helped lead UConn to three straight national championships as well as 70 consecutive victories from 2001-03. She was the AP Player of the Year in 2003.

A call to UConn coach Geno Auriemma was not immediately returned. A UConn spokesman told the Connecticut Post the university had no comment.

“While she is fully cooperating with authorities, there are serious doubts about the accuracy of the test results,’’ Jacobs said in a statement to the AP. “We are confident that Diana will be fully vindicated once all the evidence is reviewed. She regrets that someone has violated the confidentiality rules of this process, and will make no further statement at this time.’’

WNBA spokesman Ron Howard said the league had no comment.
Jacobs said he didn’t know what the length of the suspension would be, nor was he familiar with the details of the Turkish league’s anti-doping code. He also said it was too early to know how this might affect her eligibility for the London 2012 Games. The International Olympic Committee bars any athlete given a doping penalty of six months or more from competing in the next games.

Taurasi, who has won two Olympic gold medals, helped guide the U.S. national women’s basketball team to the world championship in early October. She led the WNBA in scoring for a league-record fourth straight year and is a two-time WNBA champion.
signed a multiyear contract extension with the Phoenix Mercury in August.

Reached at the Miami Heat-Phoenix Suns game, Rick Weltz, president of the Suns and Mercury, said the team had no comment.

Taurasi served one day in jail and was suspended by the team for two games in 2009 after pleading guilty to a DUI charge.

She played in Russia for four years for powerhouse Spartak before joining Fenerbache in the Turkish League this season. That league also features WNBA stars Sylvia Fowles, Penny Taylor and Seimone Augustus.

Just two days after the Huskies set the Division I college basketball record by winning their 89th straight game, CPTV will be taking fans back to where it all started Dec. 28.

The network announced today that it will re-air UConn’s 82-71 victory over Georgia Tech at Gampel Pavilion Nov. 16, 2008 at 8 p.m. That was Win No. 1 on the journey into the record books. Maya Moore had 20 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals in 39 minutes in that game, which was tied 34-34 at halftime.

The game will also be available on Hoop Streams, CPTV’s web-based streaming platform. The Huskies’ regularly scheduled game at Pacific will then air at 10 p.m.

Rich

We’re talking win No. 89 and everything else about the UConn women today at noon in a pre-Christmas chat.

UConn’s historical 93-62 victory over No. 22 Florida State Tuesday at the XL Center earned a 0.9 rating, which according to Nielsen represents an average of 878,00 households and 1,171,000 viewers. It was the second-highest rating for a regular-season or conference tournament women’s basketball game on the ESPN family of networks in the last six seasons. The Tennessee/Oklahoma matchup earned a 1.0 rating in 2009 when Lady Vols coach Pat Summit was attempting to earn her 1,000th career win.

The Huskies, who have won a Division I record 89 straight games, and Seminoles drew an 18.1 metered market rating in the Hartford designated market area (DMA). It was the highest women’s basketball rating on ESPN or ESPN2 in this market during the regular-season and conference tournaments since March 11, 2003 when Villanova ended UConn’s 70-game winning streak in the Big East tournament final. That game earned a 19.7 rating on ESPN2.

Last night’s Hartford rating was higher than the Huskies/Stanford game in the NCAA tournament final last April 6 (17.6).

UConn has appeared on ESPN or ESPN2 39 times since losing to Villanova.

Rich

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has been surprised by many things during his 26-year tenure with the Huskies. All-American Maya Moore is an exception.

There is nothing that Moore does any longer, or has done since her first practice as a member of the program, that catches Auriemma by surprise. Along with the rest of the nation, he has come to expect greatness every minute she is in the floor.

Greatness was again Moore’s companion Tuesday at the XL Center. She generated a career-high 41 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks as UConn set a Division I basketball record by winning its 89th straight game.

“There’s something about that kid,’’ Auriemma said. “She has the ability to rise to the occasion. (Tuesday) would’ve been very easy to be so hyped up that she would not be able to play, and instead she’s just one of those great athletes who’s able to block everything out except what’s important. `My team needs me to do this tonight,’ and she sets her mind to it, and she does it. And she has been like that since the day she walked onto the campus.’’

Moore is averaging 19.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks in 29.8 minutes during UConn’s winning streak. She is shooting 52.5 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from 3-point range. And she has also scored at least 20 points in 44 games, at least 30 in seven, has twice surpassed 40 and has 32 double-doubles in this span.

Just as Auriemma has been asked to compare UConn’s current winning streak to the 88-game streak by the UCLA men from 1971-74, he has also been asked to compare Moore and former UConn All-American Diana Taurasi. Who is the better player? Auriemma has routinely stopped short from making a definitive choice, but late Tuesday night he finally came clean.

“Maya Moore has done something that no one else has ever done in the history of college basketball,’’ Auriemma said. “She has been on a team that won 89 straight games. Diana’s in Turkey now probably… I don’t know what she does when she’s not playing. I can only imagine. So I don’t care if she hears this or not. She never won 89 games in a row. So when people start asking me now who is the best player in Connecticut history, I’m going to say, `Maya Moore.’ And she’s a lot nicer kid than that wise guy over in Turkey.’’

Taurasi led the Huskies to a 70-game winning streak (2001-03), which had been the Division I women’s record before Moore and the Huskies roared past that mark in the Big East tournament last March.

Moore, UConn’s career leader with 2,449 points, was asked Tuesday to sum up her performance against the Seminoles. She talked about her desire to get to the free throw line (10-of-11 FTs). Check. She wanted to take care of the ball (zero turnovers in 38 minutes). Check. And she wanted to rebound better than she had in recent games. Check.

But before she finished her response, Moore shifted the focus to her teammates, which she does so often.

“The thing that I’m most happy about is having my teammates that enjoy seeing me do well and to know when I enjoy seeing them do well, it’s just a good feeling,’’ Moore said. “It would be completely different if I had played really well and my teammates were like, `Oh, OK, good job,’ and they’re faking it. But I feel like they genuinely support me and love me and are genuinely happy when I do well. So that’s the coolest thing that I took away from this game.’’

The Huskies have defeated 31 ranked opponents by 25.0 points during the streak. Moore is averaging 20.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 33.3 minutes in these games. And she is averaging 20.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists with eight double-doubles in 16 games against Top 10 teams.

The bigger the game, the bigger the performance for Moore. Auriemma continues to be impressed.

“One of the things that John Wooden used to always say about what competitive greatness is, and that is having the ability to be your absolute best when your best is needed,’’ Auriemma said. “And that’s what Maya Moore is. Maybe that’s what Bria Hartley is, I don’t know. But certainly Maya during all these 89 games has been at her absolute best when it was absolutely needed. And I’ll always remember that and I’ll always admire her for that because that’s not easy to do. I don’t care what the situation is, that’s not easy to do.’’

Rich

Check this out … First a phone call from President Obama last night and now a entry on the White House Blog. Membership certainly has its privileges …

Rich

Geno Auriemma was hit with a tremendous amount of criticism nationwide for comments he made following UConn’s win over Ohio State at Madison Square Garden Sunday. The gist of what he said was that the reason why so many people presently care about the Huskies’ streak is because they are breaking a men’s record. And if it was women’s record it would not be big news.

Tuesday night Auriemma was asked about his comments. And, of course, he took the opportunity to state up what he truly meant.

“I think if you read the whole thing, it was pretty self-explanatory in one sense,’’ Auriemma said. “I think the question that I was asked was in the big world of sports and what we’re doing what does it signify if we were to win 89 games? And I said it could signify whatever you want it to signify. People that love women’s basketball are thrilled to death about it. They couldn’t be happier. Sports fans that appreciate something that’s really unique are thrilled. Those people that love men’s basketball and don’t give two rips about women’s basketball, we aren’t going to change their mind and I don’t care. And then there’s a bunch of people that are being forced to cover it now, and the reason they’re being forced to cover it is because it’s a team that’s breaking a men’s record.

“When we won 70, and we won 71 and 72 and 73, there wasn’t all this because it was just a bunch of girls beating a bunch of girls. And let’s just do what we always do and treat it like…. And I was fine with that. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t criticizing anybody. I wasn’t demanding more recognition. I wasn’t demanding more coverage. I never said that. All I said was I’m amused that it takes a men’s record to get this kind of attention. And I’m OK with it. I wasn’t bitter about it. I was just commenting on how many people now are forced to cover this event. And then after tomorrow they can go back to doing what they were doing, and I’m OK with that too. That’s all it was.

“It wasn’t an indictment of anybody. It was just I’m amused that it takes something like that after all these wins, after all this time. And what normally happens in those situations is exactly what happened. Everybody that had an opinion weighed in. I can’t tell you what I’ve been called in stuff that’s been sent to me or stuff that’s been written. And I get a kick out of it. But, again, like it or not like it we made you pay attention. And if you want to go back, go back. But for this little time you paid attention. And you didn’t have to, but you did. And it’s not my fault that ESPN decided to do a 10-hour … It felt like the Kennedy assassination. People in my family are like, `Turn the TV off, would ya?’ I didn’t do that. They decided to do that. They know how to make a buck. They’re as good as anybody else. So don’t blame me. I’m just the messenger. We’re just out here trying to win games. What can I tell you.’’

Rich

Greg Wooden did not have to be in attendance Tuesday night at the XL Center to witness history being made by the Huskies. He had been a part of history once before in his life when his grandfather, John Wooden, coached the UCLA men’s team to 88 straight wins from 1971-74.

Wooden, 47, could have stayed home in Newport Beach, Calif. and watched the game on TV. After watching the Huskies demolish No. 22 Florida State 93-62 for their record 89th straight win, he could then have sent a congratulatory e-mail or letter or phoned UConn coach Geno Auriemma just like President Obama did last night.

No. Wooden boarded a plane with L.A. Athletic Club president Steve Hathaway at 11 p.m. Monday to head to Connecticut. Wooden said he toured ESPN for about two hours Tuesday before heading to the game.

“I kind of thought that somebody should come here, back from the family and kind of show support,’’ Greg Wooden said. “I know there’s been some articles that certain players have said they’re not really in support of the streak and I know my grandfather would’ve loved to have been here to see this.’’

Wooden concluded his appearance by meeting with the team in the locker room following the game. That was a fitting touch by a gracious man. And it proved to be something special on a special night for the Huskies.

“To have John Wooden’s grandson come in and just show respect for our team, it meant the world to us,’’ All-American Maya Moore said. “You should’ve seen my face when he was complimenting us. It was a really big moment. And it’s great. The way he came and honored our team, it shows the connection between great programs recognizing each other and celebrating together. I thought it was beautiful.’’

Wooden said that his grandfather admired the way the Huskies played. He also said this streak brought back memories of the Bruins’ streak, especially the game they lost to Notre Dame in 1974. He was 10 or 11 at the time.

“My dad and I were sitting in our living room and we were watching the Notre Dame-UCLA game,’’ Greg Wooden said. “And at that point I was pretty young and I couldn’t remember the last time my grandfather’s team lost. So I kind of just thought that this is how it’s supposed to be, we’re supposed to win every game. And I remember my dad throwing something as the game ended. And I go, `What’s wrong?’ `We just got beat.’ `Yeah, I know.’ But it was kind of like we weren’t supposed to lose. So it’s brought back a lot of my early memories of really enjoying watching my grandfather’s teams play.’’

Said Auriemma: “(John Wooden) had come out publicly and said that he liked the way our team played. He enjoyed the way we shared the ball and the way we are unselfish. And Greg said the same thing that his grandfather would tell him a lot of times that `I enjoy watching UConn play’ because it reminded him of how his teams would play and how it wasn’t built around one individual and it was team-oriented. That’s the comparison that I like. I’m not up here trying to tell you that you should make any judgments about who’s better and who’s not. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the actual journey that was taken and how it was done and what these kids did. Because if you say anything less than that, you’re telling Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes that all these 89 wins that they just did are insignificant. And I think anybody out there who’s done significant things, that’s not who I’m talking about, because they would never comment on that. Those that have done significant things, they know that when you do something really significant that’s hard to do they appreciate it. And that’s all I ever wanted is for these kids to be appreciated for what they do and how they do it. Not to be compared to show Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes did it. That’s not the point of this. It never has been. We’ve never asked for it. I’ve never asked for it. I’ve never asked for more attention. I’ve never asked for more attention for my team. I’ve never asked for any of that. I’ve just asked for everybody to admire what these kids do and how they do it and how hard it is to do it. Not that we have 12 high school All-Americans. That’s not the point. And we don’t by the way. We’ve got 11.’’

Rich