Adena Andrews.com

Published on espnW.com

American athletes won’t be the only ones rocking the red, white and blue at the world track and field championships in late August. Carol Rodriguez, 25, a sprinter representing Puerto Rico, will also be competing in Daegu, South Korea, host of the 2011 edition of the biannual event.

Rodriguez, the Los Angeles-born daughter of an African-American mother and a father of Puerto Rican descent, holds five national records for the Caribbean island — in the indoor 60 meters and in the outdoor 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and 4×100-meter relay. A 2008 Olympian, Rodriguez won two medals at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean games, and she was named the 2006 Women’s Athlete of the Year for Puerto Rico. She is also an ambassador for first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity.

Each time Rodriguez takes to the track, she’s competing for the national pride of Puerto Rico. But as sole provider for her family, the 2008 University of Southern California graduate has more on her mind than just lane assignments and baton exchanges.

In August 2010, seven months’ worth of mortgage payments for the Rodriguez home in Anaheim were entrusted to the cousin of Carol’s stepfather, but never reached the bank, according to Rodriguez. No charges were ever filed. The financial bind caused the family to lose the house, and Rodriguez’s mother, diabetic stepfather, younger brother and younger sister moved into an overpriced suite at the Hilton in Anaheim.

At the time, Rodriguez was oblivious to her family’s financial struggles. Life seemed grand for this Nike-sponsored pro as she competed in track meets all over the globe.

“I had just finished racing in Canada for a few weeks, when my mom finally told me what was going on [in the fall of 2010],” Rodriguez said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

She decided to take swift action, moving the family out of the hotel and into her three-bedroom home in Hollywood Hills. Her stepfather would later leave the house for full-time dialysis treatment at a local hospital. The escalation of his illness stemmed in part from the stress of losing the home. He is still hospitalized, receiving treatment.

“Most 25-year-olds worry about hanging out with their friends, but I have to take care of my family,” Rodriguez said. “Don’t get me wrong, I go out and enjoy myself, but I know where my responsibility is. My mom took care of me for 18 years, and now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

For Rodriguez, family comes first. And though she was born in California and lives there now, her connection to Puerto Rico allows her to compete professionally for the island. Her last name catapulted her onto the international track and field circuit.

“A coach from the Puerto Rican team scouted me [during] my senior year of high school,” Rodriguez said. “He heard my last name and asked my coach, ‘Is she Puerto Rican? Because her last name is.’ Things just skyrocketed from there.”

Rodriguez’s biological father grew up in the hillside town of Yauco, Puerto Rico. Her African-American mom was raised in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward housing projects.

Rodriguez’s parents fell in love at the Southern California bottling factory where both worked, and they decided to start a family in Anaheim. They couldn’t know that their American dream would one day turn into a nightmare for their biracial daughter.

“Growing up in Orange County as an ethnic person was tough,” Rodriguez said. “My high school track team [at Western High School in Anaheim, Calif.] was mostly comprised of black girls, and when things would go missing from the school locker room, the other teams would automatically look at us.”

Rodriguez’s high school track coach was fired, she said, because of racial conflicts at the school. The next year, Rodriguez transferred to Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, Calif., a nationally known high school track mecca. She found a place in the melting pot of students. The once-shy, curly-haired girl was replaced with her spitfire sprinter alter ego, “C-Rod,” who embraces her Caribbean roots.

“C-Rod is my outspoken side,” Rodriguez said. “She doesn’t care about what is going on outside of the track. She just gets the job done, no matter what the circumstances. She is confident in all that she does.”

Rodriguez stays connected to her Puerto Rican roots via several visits a year with her biological father, grandmother and cousins. She loves eating sugar cane and mangoes fresh from the fields on the Island of Enchantment.

“In Puerto Rico, you can always find me at this one spot called Bebo’s,” she said. “I love their rice and beans and seven-layer cake. I go there because it’s so hard to find good Puerto Rican food in L.A.”

When Rodriguez isn’t nibbling on traditional Puerto Rican fare or spending time with her family, she’s putting in work on the track. Her goals for this season are to adjust to the hectic lifestyle of a professional athlete while gearing up for the 2012 Olympics. She did not advance out of the first round of either the 200 meters or 400 meters at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Rodriguez is also focused on being an average 20-something, even as she faces a little more headwind in her off-track life than most athletes do.

“Meeting goals on the track is important to me, but my family will always be there, ” Rodriguez said. “Maintaining my faith in God is the only way I know how to win for me and them.”

Mariah Stackhouse is the only black woman in the field of 156 competing in the US Open LPGA tour. At 17, she is also the fifth youngest player. When things like this happen, it tells me we still have a long way to go. A black president was the ultimate goal. Now it’s time to work our way down and sprinkle some color into  be predominately white worlds.

Players like Mariah inspire me too because I see a bit of myself in her. African-Americans in predominately white sports are often cut off at the knees when they first start their sport. Growing up as a swimmer I was repeatedly told by classmates and friends, “Black people don’t swim. Especially black girls.” My personal favorite was“How can you get your hair wet?” I could have listened to those comments and stopped swimming because it wasn’t the popular thing. However, my parents (just like Mariah’s parents) encouraged me to succeed in the pool. I won county titles, was recruited by universities and turned my skills into the ultimate summer job as a beach lifeguard and was the only black competitor at the triathlon I did for espnW in March. I didn’t achieve the type of success Mariah has but I’m encouraged that she didn’t let society dictate what she would be and blazed her own trail.

Los Angeles Sparks forward, Candace Parker is injured…again.

A torn meniscus in the right knee will sideline Parker for up to six weeks which equals 14 games or approximately 40 percent of the regular season. Due to injury and pregnancy, Parker has competed in just one full WNBA season (2008) in her four year career.  After four years in the league and plenty of hype,  it’s time for Parker to show and prove on the court why she is one of the highest paid players in the WNBA.

My dad used to tell me, “if you’re still celebrating what you did yesterday, that means you haven’t done anything praiseworthy today”. That’s exactly how we’re treating Parker. We’re still celebrating her dunk, Olympic gold,  rookie of the year award and MVP in 2008. Outside of her rookie season, her most complete season was 2009 . That season Parker played 25 games and led the league in rebounds per game (9.8), blocks per game (2.12) and double-doubles (15).

While Parker’s accolades are amazing, I have to borrow from my soul sista Janet Jackson and say “What have you done for me lately, Candace?”

I want to spout off stats to speak of her on-court prowess but any stats mentioned now are hollow because it’s the start of the season. The Los Angeles Sparks have played just eight games.

While Parker’s presence did garner more interest in the WNBA, it wasn’t because of her on-court performance. Media campaigns, not her jump shot, made her the face of the league.

While the hype built her up, it also broke her down. Pressure to be the WNBA’s savior and the second-coming of Lisa Leslie gave Parker very little time to rest. She went  from winning the NCAA championship for the University of Tennessee, straight to competing in the WNBA about two months later. Throw in motherhood in addition to playing overseas, and it’s apparent Parker, like many other WNBA players, has an unwavering load on her shoulders.

Although it may not seem like it, I want Candace Parker to be great. I want her to be successful for herself, her family and the league. I will never hold another woman back from being her best. But I will call a spade a spade when I see it. Right now, Parker’s situation is the Big Joker.

Wake me in six weeks, when we find out her injury is really season ending and she has a new endorsement deal.

posted on espnW.com on April 7

Imagine being at a Washington Mystics game this summer and hearing this in the pregame intros:

“And now, the starting lineup for your Washington Inova Health Systems …”

Huh?

No, there’s not an imposter in the announcing booth. Thursday the Mystics announced the team has entered a partnership with the health care company, whose name and logo now will appear in large type on the front of player jerseys. On the same day, the Los Angeles Sparks revealed a redesigned jersey which, for the second year, replaces the team logo with the word “Farmers,” as in Farmers Insurance Group, across the front. Both teams will retain their franchise names and will have small team logos present on the upper left of jerseys.

Sponsorship logos on jerseys are not new in the WNBA or professional leagues. In fact, overseas, team and shirt sponsorship is the norm. Last season, four WNBA teams had company logos appear on their jerseys. The Phoenix Mercury were the first in 2009, pairing up with LifeLock for a deal worth at least $1 million annually. MLS often uses corporate sponsorships to name its teams, and logos have become a staple in NASCAR for years. But because it’s not the norm in the big four American major leagues — NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB — replacing team logos with sponsorship logos can appear to fans as cheapening the league and screaming sell out.

What little girl wants to wear a Foxwoods Casino (shirt sponsors of the New York Liberty) jersey to school? She might opt for a corporate-logo-less Amare Stoudemire jersey instead. Coaches always preach the mantra that the name on the back of a shirt doesn’t matter, but the one on the front does. How team-oriented can you feel coming out of the huddle with Inova Health Systems on your jersey?

And according to Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times, logos on jerseys could creep into the NBA, as well. “The NBA is discussing following the WNBA’s lead [with logos on jerseys], already doing so for its D-League teams.” Some NFL teams already lace their practice jerseys with corporate logos. Could game-day jerseys be next?

As teams search for new ways to raise capital during these rough economic times, the trend shows no signs of slowing. In five years, NBA or WNBA fans could be cheering for the Atlanta Coca-Colas or Chicago Harpos.

AP Photo/Rich PedroncelliPamela McGee, left, was the second overall pick in the

1997 WNBA draft. Her playing career spanned three continents and earned her a 1984 Olympic gold medal and two NCAA titles.

posted on espnW on June 3

n 1987, Pamela McGee sat in Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, Calif., with a heavy heart and an unwanted pregnancy in her womb. A
n abortion was scheduled in two days. She came seeking comfort. Instead, her religious convictions turned her world upside down.

She listened to the pastor’s sermon about life being a precious gift. The message was received; she canceled the abortion.

McGee was a standout basketball player at USC, winning NCAA titles in 1983 and ’84, before graduating with degrees in economics and communications. She earned a gold medal at the ’84 Olympics.

But at that moment, McGee was 24, alone and struggling with the prospect of juggling a newborn while continuing her professional basketball career. JaVale’s father was no longer a part of her life.

By leaning on her faith, she found her way.

McGee established a professional career that included stints in the Spanish, Italian and Brazilian leagues, plus two seasons in the WNBA for the Sacramento Monarchs (1997) and Los Angeles Sparks (1998).

By 2008, more than two decades after the fateful day in church, McGee basked in the glory of her decision to become a parent as her son, JaVale McGee, was drafted by the Wizards in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft. That selection created the first WNBA-NBA mother-son duo in history. Since then, Pamela has remained behind the scenes, guiding JaVale’s career as his financial manager.

He is my greatest accomplishment and my greatest blessing,” Pamela said.

That says a lot coming from a woman whose résumé includes an impressive playing career and a WNBA championship as an assistant coach with the Detroit Shock in 2003.

Life wasn’t always rosy, though. In 1996, McGee and her husband of two years, Reverend Kevin Stafford, divorced. A highly publicized custody battle ensued over the couple’s young daughter, Imani, JaVale’s half sister. Stafford argued that Pamela traveled too much as a professional basketball player and could not properly care for their daughter. The courts agreed. Stafford left Pam and JaVale with nothing and forced them to start over.

Then, in 2000, the elder McGee defeated her toughest opponent to date: breast cancer. She’s in complete remission and chooses not to dwell on how long she has been cancer-free.

“Why count the years?” she said. “I’m healthy now and that’s all that matters. I have no time to look back.”

And why would she? Her focus now is on JaVale’s future and life after basketball.

“As JaVale’s financial manager, I talk to him about establishing a financial foundation,” Pamela said. “Whether he is successful in basketball or gets hurt tomorrow, he needs to make sure he has his financial base.”

Like any business relationship, heads often collide. Pamela is working on recognizing when to be a mom and when to be a financial manager.

The latest squabble arose when JaVale, who already owned a Mercedes, wanted to purchase an SUV. JaVale had to ask his financial manager for permission to release the funds to his discretionary account, a process he is required to follow for all his major purchases.

Pamela assessed his assets and denied the SUV transaction.

“I have to keep telling him, ‘You can’t buy the same stuff that LeBron James buys. LeBron is on his third deal,’” Pamela said.

She also likes to remind JaVale that his grandmother scrubbed toilets for $1.25 an hour when she was growing up.

“Don’t think you just got here. There were sacrifices made for you,” she tells him.

JaVale knows his mother’s slogan is, “If it don’t make cents, then it don’t make sense.” So, after the initial rejection, he shopped around. He found a zero-percent financing deal on a Chevy Tahoe, which satisfied his mother.

The arrangement is not the norm for multimillionaires like JaVale, but it’s the law in the McGee household.

Pamela is the captain of JaVale McGee’s team, which includes financial advisors, accountants and agents who work hard to protect her son. Her secret to maintaining his wealth lies in her USC education and negotiating his financial deals as if she were still a struggling single parent living in Flint, Mich.

“Five hundred dollars may not be a lot of money to JaVale, but $500 is a lot for me,” Pamela said.

Since JaVale signed his rookie deal with the Wizards in 2008, Pamela has prepared her son for a potential NBA lockout by having him set up an emergency bank account. Her next big project is forming the right team to negotiate the details of his new contract in 2013, when JaVale becomes a restricted free agent.

Indeed, they have come a long way. From being a single mom home-schooling her son in Europe, to being JaVale’s best friend overseas and now managing his finances, the McGees’ bond is strong. Some call it strange, especially as Pamela yells instructions to JaVale from her second-row seat at the Verizon Center. Others say she has a “crazy stage mom” persona.

“I was there before people knew who JaVale McGee was,” Pamela said. “I was the one who got up at six o’clock in the morning every day before school to practice with him, telling him, ‘Son, if this is what you want to do, then this is the work that you have to put in.’

“If people want to call that crazy, then go ahead. I’m a single parent with a 7-foot son in the NBA who can dunk off two rims with three balls. Now that’s what I call crazy,” she said referring to JaVale’s performance in the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which also earned him a Guinness World Record.

Since that day in the church rafters, her dedication to her son is without question. She has made tough decisions for her family, and it has led her and JaVale to the place they are now, where she’s grateful to work for her son and help him build his legacy on and off the court.

It is the family business, after all.

“The Kennedys do politics,” she said, “And the McGees do basketball.”

By: Adena Andrews

Sheryl Swoopes said she can “still compete with the best of them” at age 40.

posted on espnW on June 20

In 2009, founding WNBA player Sheryl Swoopes was waived by the Seattle Storm. This season, Swoopes is making a return to the league with a new team, the Tulsa Shock. She’s acquired almost every accolade the league offers: seven All-Star appearances, four titles, three MVPs and three defensive player of the year awards. She’s a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the first female basketball player to have a sneaker named after her: Air Swoopes. Now Swoopes is back to write her own ending to an illustrious career.

espnW: How did you feel when you were released from the Storm?
Sheryl Swoopes: I was surprised, but at that point there was nothing I could do about it, so at that point I moved on to other things in my life.

espnW: During your two-year hiatus from the WNBA you played in Europe and Russia. Is there a huge difference from the WNBA style of play and the style overseas?
SS: Coming back to the WNBA style of play, I had to get used to intense practices, one-on-one play and full-court defense. We didn’t do any of that overseas. I told myself I can’t quit. There are so many women out there relying on me to represent them.

espnW: What thoughts went through your mind when contemplating a comeback?
SS: I never really officially retired from the WNBA, I just left the doors open. When [Tulsa Shock] coach [Teresa] Edwards approached me about returning, I kept thinking, “Do I really want to do this?” I talked it over with my family and prayed about it. When God said, “This is the path I want you to take, and this is the plan I have for you,” that was all the confirmation I needed to return to the WNBA. This is what God wants me to do, so I left it in his hands.

espnW: How will life change for your family now that you are returning to the WNBA?
SS: My son, who will be 14 years old in July, understands the demands basketball puts on me. He knows that Mommy is not just a mommy anymore, she is a professional athlete. I’m also blessed to have my mother there for me. She is very supportive and helps take care of him. That eases my mind and takes a lot of pressure off of me.

espnW: By returning to pro sports at 40, you’ve become an inspiration to many women. Do you have any advice for women who still desire to be an athlete but think their athletic prime has passed?
SS: I’ve always been a firm believer in mind over matter. If you don’t believe you can achieve, your body will start to believe this and you’ll be stuck. You have to be positive, and I’m not just talking about athletics, this also applies to life. I’m 40, playing against girls half my age. But they keep me young. My age may be 40 but my body doesn’t feel like it.

espnW: Now that you’re 40, does your body work as well as it used to? Have any parts of your game suffered?
SS: When I got on the court, I found out that I’m not as quick as I used to be and can’t jump as high. But my shot is still there; I can never really lose that. It’s like riding a bike.

espnW: Preparation is key in life and sports, so what did you do to get in shape for this season?
SS: I really didn’t have lots of time to get ready. I had a good two months to get conditioned before training camp so I did lots of running and ballhandling drills in the gym and at home. My routine was work out in the morning, then weightlifting and running at night.

espnW: Now that the season has begun, how are you adjusting to coach Nolan Richardson’s “40 minutes of hell” system, which includes full-court pressure defense and quick offensive plays?
SS: I love his system. It’s a great system for anybody who is an athlete. It’s not a system where the ball has to go through certain players. With the system he runs, it’s kind of a free-for-all. If I were about 10 years younger, I would have loved to play in a system like this. Now, I’m just glad I survived the week of two-a-days in training camp.

espnW: Does playing with younger girls make you feel like a mother figure on the team?
SS: I don’t feel like a mom. I feel like a veteran leader they can talk to. I also try to inform them about the importance of being prepared for life after basketball. Some of us have played this game all our life and it can be taken away in the blink of an eye. What will you do then? We need to be prepared for that.

espnW: How many years do you think you will continue to play basketball?
SS: Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it. I’m just focusing on this year and seeing how my body feels at the end of the season and we will go from there.

espnW: When we look back in 10 years, who will have had the better comeback: Michael Jordan, Brett Favre or Sheryl Swoopes?
SS: [Laughs] I haven’t even looked at it like that. Others consider it a comeback, but I don’t. I think I can still compete with the best of them and I can still play. This is my chance to go out the right way.

Here is a Q&A that the wonderful women at femalsneakerfiends.com did with me. They cater to women who appreciate the smell of new kicks and love high-end athletic shoes. My love for the site was natural. Glad, I found them. Check it out

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Helping put the W in espnW… Adena Andrews is a founding member of the new espnW, a site dedicated to female athletes and fans. Her basketball background, interviewing skills and writing style might have got her the gig, but her kicks are helping her on every step of this new path… by Lori Lobenstine What’s it like working for espnW right from its inception?  (Adena covers the NBA, WNBA, college hoops and more. Her work can be found here.) It is a wild ride! Everything is game at a startup. Ideas are flowing all over the place and everyone is electric. When you have the power of the four letters behind your ideas [espn], the sky is the limit. I’m happy to be a founding member. Adena and her “lime greens” What do professional basketball players say about your kicks when you interview them? I walk into locker rooms and the guys be like, “I see you with the lime green kicks!” Or they will say, “What you know about them Dunks girl?” Sneakers get me respect in the NBA world. My favorite sneaker head moment was when I was rocking some black and white Converse designed by John Varvatos that I had got for free from the Converse gifting suite during All-Star Weekend. I waited in a lobby for two hours for these and they were free, so you know they felt good on my feet. Free always feels better. Anyway, I walked past Dr. J (yes, that Dr. J!) at an Orlando Magic game in Orlando. I had interviewed him earlier that day, so he recognized me. When I walked by he said, “Nice sneakers.” I almost could have died! Dr. J. Mr. Converse. The first ever dunk contest winner. The man whose picture was on my wall as a little girl, complimented MY SNEAKERS! At that point, I could have died a happy woman. I will tell my children that story. “Nice sneakers,” said Dr. J! Speaking of basketball, I heard you were quite a player back in the day. How does your hoops background influence your footwear selection? I played basketball and sneakers were essential for performance. But you also had to look good while doing it. My cousin from Brooklyn would stay with me when I was in middle school, and I would rock his sneakers. The Grant Hills, different color Uptowns, he had them all! So that means, I was styling too! In high school it was the Gary Payton Gloves. I think my mom actually paid full price for those too. So that was a big deal. They were the sneakers I played varsity basketball in. I loved them because they represented the best defender of his time, and I was a defensive specialist on my team. Every rebound and steal belonged to me. Oddly enough, the shoes were so tight, that they cut off my circulation when I was playing. My feet would get tingly and numb while I played. That wasn’t a good look. But I looked and felt fly when I was on the court, and that’s all that mattered. Now all my sneakers are basketball inspired. I fell in love with my first pair of Dunks that I bought in Harlem on 125th at Dr.Jays. They were neon colored. My goal was to wear them when I moved to Atlanta at age 22, so everyone knew the deal when they looked at my feet. I’m from NY and my sneaker game is so sincere! Going even further back, what was the first sneaker you fell in love with? I fell in love with Chucks first actually. There was this AIDS Walk commercial that used to come on television in New York and there were little cartoon characters wearing Chuck Taylor type sneakers. I might have been 12. I kept telling my mom “I want those sneakers. You know from the commercial.” I didn’t know the name of them though. But one day I found them and fell in love. What’s do your friends or family say about you being a female sneaker fiend? At first your friends and family don’t understand your love for sneakers. My friends would always call me a tomboy and say, “Your feet are going to get big if you keep wearing sneakers.” (I have a size 10 foot, so maybe they were right.)  Now my friends love it. They are like “I see you with the new news! Get ‘em.” My one guy friend, who I kind of have a crush on, he may not want to share his emotions with me but he always shares hot sneakers with me. When I was really upset and not speaking to him, he sent me a picture of his Spizike Jordans and said, “I know you’re not talking to me but, I knew only you would appreciate these”. I almost melted. We are cool now. Adena posing with NBA legend Dominique Wilkins. Yes, espnW has its perks! What else would you like to tell other female sneaker fiends? Embrace your love for sneakers. They will open up doors for you. They make you unique. Not every chick can carry herself in a womanly fashion in a pair of Dunks. It takes a special girl to do that and you are that girl.