been watching a lot of women's college basketball, which i love. a brief comparison to the men's game. despite the 30-second clock, the game is slower and, obviously, played exclusively below the rim, although the athleticism seems to intensify every year, unlike the men's game, which plateaued long ago. it's somewhat more of a team game, although the men's college game is far more team-oriented than the nba. the passing is perhaps better overall, with fewer amazing no-look-type assists; but there are fewer players who can break you down off the dribble. there are fewer dominant rebounders, and the guards rebound more in the women's game, and probably it's more guard-oriented than the men's game. they are just as good, or better, shooting the three-pointer, but they will miss shots from elsewhere worse; there are a lot more bricks and airballs, even on layups (not too surprising in a way given that they're not dunking or dropping the thing in from above etc). this too is slowly improving as more girls shoot more younger. they react differently to getting hurt; they'll actually sob rather than merely grimace.

but whatever. the women are magnificently competitive, and there are transcendent players; like marissa coleman last night for maryland (and coleman can shoot with absolutely anyone), or candace parker, or epiphanny prince (playing right now for rutgers), or maya moore.