The world is a big audience, and has myriad tastes. It seems to me that to try and compare men's and women's basketball is an exercise in inanity.

To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, the game's the thing. It is an extension of one's self to watch athletes pour heart and soul into their game.

Parents watch their children in Little League sports with what -- and I write from experience -- sometimes approaches, sometimes exceeds, extreme passion.

Could a Little League team compete with the New York Yankees? On the best day, never!
Does that detract from the game? Of course not!

It's the game, always the game.

And determining what qualifies for media exposure belongs to the programming decision makers, with the viewing audience ultimately casting the final vote.

As a female collegiate athlete I can not comprehend how one can judge the talent of a men???s and women???s team. Obviously they are different, which is why we have two national tournaments-one for men???s and one for women, each equally as exciting. To say that a high school team could beat the best collegiate women???s team is absurd. If one can not appreciate the finesse and athleticism of the athletes participating, then you should not watch a women???s athletic event. In America you have the choice to do what you want, and if you are disappointed, simply do not complain, just turn off the T.V. I know for a fact these women will not lose the passion to play or the drive to win just because someone says our sport is ???dog s**t.??? It will only make us work harder to achieve something you probably never had the chance to do-WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

I had a chance to read the postings on doubleazone.com and the other blog site that you mentioned yesterday about women's basketball. I have to say that I was completely and utterly appalled at Brent's comments about women's basketball. My response to those who share the same feelings as Brent...You are comparing apples and oranges by attempting to compare men's and women's basketball at any level. Although both genders refer to their sport as "basketball," it is actually two different games. Not only do the athletes play differently but even some of the rules are also different.

The heart of the issue is not which is the better sex. (which is where Brent is led astray) The heart of the issue is trying to ensure for women's basketball and other women's sports that the exposure is given and that the same opportunity for enlarging the fan base is there. What do we want for college sports? More and more fans enjoying the games...and if women's sports need a little more attention and exposure to achieve the same goal, so be it.

In the interest of full disclosure I must say that I am not a regular fan of women's college basketball or the WNBA. But for that matter I am also not a fan of the NBA, the MLS, men's major league lacrosse, etc. Nothing against any of those leagues but frankly I just do not find the product they put on the field/floor (or over the air waves) to be something I enjoy watching. As a personal matter, I do not believe that I have any obligation to watch those sports. Being a fan is about personal preference, and I choose not to follow those particular leagues. However, I do believe that as a sports fan in general and a former athlete I do have an obligation to not denagrate the athletes that pour their heart and souls into those games. If someone watches and enjoys an NFL game and lauds those athletes for their passion and desire for their game, shouldn't those sentiments attach to any sport regardless of the relative product on the field. Certainly even the largest detractor of women's sports could not argue that the female athletes don't share the same passion and desire for their sports as their male counterparts. Desire, commitment, passion, heart . . . . any athlete, coach, fan at any level will tell you that these things are separable from talent, production, and performance. Personally, I believe that anyone who is willing to commit themselves to something larger then themselves (as both male and female athletes do) is deserving of praise. This does not mean that we have to watch them, but it does mean that we should respect them.

The issue of the media forcing women's sports on us is a related, yet separate issue. I think the implication that there are political forces out there influencing the television programming is absurd. It is indisputable that women's sports are not as popular as men's, however this does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that they have no value to the mainstream public. I would ask anyone who subscribes this conspiracy theory to think back to the 1998 Winter Olympics. The most mainstream sport in any winter olympics is the ice hockey. And with America watching the men's team went to Nagano and embarrassed both themselves and our country with their poor play and sportsmanship. And who came to our nation's rescue . . . . the women's hockey team, who gave the hockey and medal starved mainstream public something to cheer about. Believe me, as an avid hockey fan I am not going to sit here and say that the 1998 women's team could beat the men's. However, the nation and the public embraced the women's team for what they were . . . . a group of dedicated athletes who represented their country with pride. When the women's hockey team was on this magical run nobody was complaining about the media forcing women's hockey on us. Nobody was complaining about how the product wasn't as good as the men's. Everyone was just watching with pride and enthusiasm. When they appeared on the Wheeties box, everyone applauded. Take another look at the 1998 women's hockey team, or the US Women's world cup team or the numerous other examples of how our country embraces female athletes who play sports the right way. Then try and make absurd statements about the media forcing it down our throats.

Josh,

Your readers have nailed the issue pretty well. Apples and Oranges. The game's the thing. I would like to add my own maxim to this list your readers have made: Brent missed the point!

His blog was a deliberate attempt to be salacious. In the same breath he tries to support these two theses. First, ???Women's basketball sucks.??? Later, ???Women's sports do not suck.??? The fact is he has nothing intelligible to say here because he totally missed the point. Brent???s argument that any collection of competitors suck if they can be beaten by another collection of competitors is ridiculous.

Tell the competitors of the Paralympics or Special Olympics that they suck because a high school track team might be able to beat them.

Tell the U.S. ???Murderball??? team that it sucks because they???d lose a rugby game against the Aussie National Team.

Tell Jason McElwain he sucks because Ron Artest would have stuffed him on those three-pointers. Or because Brent himself would have blocked the shots.

The mere suggestion of it is absurd. What makes those sports and their competitors great is that, when they compete against others similarly situated, they excel. The young women in Boston beat all of the other young women basketball teams. Men and women, the young and old, the experienced and inexperienced, the able-bodied and disabled, the professionals and the amateurs are all incomparable. They all have different skill sets, immutable characteristics, abilities and, surprise surprise, they all play the game differently. The athletes at the top of all of these groups do not suck. Where I come from, if you???re at the top, you???re a champion.

What does it say that there are much better writers out there than Brent? Does it mean that Brent sucks? I submit that it doesn???t matter. Either you like Brent???s style or you don???t. He doesn???t suck. Either you like the style of women???s basketball or you don???t. They don???t suck.

-Steve

Brent... you are the reason that men get a bad reputation. To call out women in such a manner must mean you have no respect for us. As a former women's college basketball player I am offended by your comments, as probably most women are. I am not here to bash you like you bashed women's basketball, I just wanted to make a few points. Women's basketball, as with all women's sports, is something that should be celebrated. We have worked very hard to get to the level that we are playing at now and this should be commended. Men and women are not the same, as Heather stated in a previous comment, and we should not be compared. Our style of basketball is more fundamental and some people, even men I know, enjoy this style of basketball better. And to comment on the fact that a high school team could beat a women's college team is just crazy. Also, women's sports do not get nearly the amount of publicity as men's sports, and the little publicity that they do is well deserved.

I will be honest, I do watch more men's basketball then women's, but over the years I have continually started watching more women's basketball on TV. I do believe this is a trend among many people. Women's basketball is improving and becoming more exciting to watch, maybe you should try it. We are athletes, just like the men, and we do deserve respect. We work very hard at what we love, don't take that away from us. I do agree you are entitled to your own opinion on women's sports, but please try to be more open minded.

As the chair of National SAAC and a female athlete I wanted to take a moment and comment on how proud I am to be a collegiate athlete. Additionally, I am proud to be in the company of female athletes of all divisions across the nation. While the nature of male and female sports has and will always be different, several things are common between athletes of any gender. The female athletes that I've met and worked with across the country dedicate just as much time, determination, energy and heart as any male athletes I've ever met. Despite any outside opinion, I could not be more proud to play an NCAA woman's sport, or be in the company of the amazing and talented female athletes who pour their hearts into their sports every single day across our nation.

As a former women???s basketball player I was absolutely repulsed that you would have the audacity to post such absurd views. Historically speaking, women???s basketball, as a collegiate sport, has come a very long way in a short period of time. It is a sport that requires hard work, skill, strength, finesse, and obviously more sense then you will ever have.

The nerve you have to say that women???s basketball is practically ???dogs**t??? that gets slammed down your throat by television companies. Need I remind that you are merely a spectator looking in from the outside? If you don???t want to watch women???s basketball turn it off. Plus I don???t know why you???re complaining that you???re being forced to watch the games, considering it???s obvious that you???ve been watching since you have a wealth of knowledgeable insight and understanding of how we play.

True women???s basketball fans, besides our families, actually do recognize how great our abilities are and they see we can do things that separate our game from the men???s. To say that women???s basketball players do not have a high level of skill is ludicrous! I don???t even know where you come off saying such a thing. Basketball is a game of skill, men???s or women???s, for anyone to be able to play at an elite level is respectable in and of itself.

Last time I checked men???s basketball has been on the move towards a game composed of selfishness and highlight reels. Women???s basketball has always been and will always be a game of passion, dedication and teamwork; the key fundamentals of the game that are currently decimating several men???s programs. You rarely see female athletes showboating, or transferring because they???re not getting enough playing time. Women???s basketball is still for the love of the game and traditions that make it what it is.

Why would you say that a boy???s high school team could take on a Division I Women???s basketball team? How could you even be so naive to say women???s basketball sucks? I would love to see a high school team take on Maryland. I personally competed against Maryland this season and I know for a fact that there is no way that they would stand a chance. Those girls are bigger, stronger, quicker and better than you could begin to fathom.

The fact that you still have these views on women???s basketball saddens me.

I tried to write my thoughts on this issue: http://sportswritersjournal.blogspot.com/2006/04/everyone-knows-that-there-is-no-crying.html

I have to agree with Brent on this one. We'll respect your right to play as long as you respect our right not to care.

It's interesting that someone mentioned the US Women's hockey team. You're correct that people embraced them for what they were: winners. People could have cared less about their heart and determination if they had finished in 5th.

I also thought it was interesting the US Women's hockey team lost to a slightly-above-average Minnesota boys high school hockey team earlier this winter before the Olympics.

Gee, Brent, you ought'a chat with John Wooden some time. He knows a bit about the game of basketball -- maybe even more than you do -- and thinks the ladies do just fine.

Larry wrote: "And determining what qualifies for media exposure belongs to the programming decision makers, with the viewing audience ultimately casting the final vote."

No. At least, in the West, the women's teams get programming on the big networks because they're coerced to do it if they want a football contract. We wouldn???t see a lot of the women's sports if the conference negotiators didn't force it to be included when negotiating the real sports contracts. Women's sports do not attract an economically feasible audience by themselves. W-VB may in some regions, but not generally.

Is she serious?? Women's contact sports will NEVER attain the interest level of the men's game simply because the ability isn't there! The ONLY reason the WNBA is still around is because it is succeeding where it was meant too: as a funnel for the NBA to leak out it's losses! Heck, even women would rather go to a men's sport, given a choice of where to spend $150.00 on the night! Most people simply don't have the money to fund interest in two pro sports due to the costs! Some women can't face the FACT that men's sports are, for the most part, more interesting! If women sportswriters, coaches, and athletes doubt this, why don't they press for a game at the end of each college season between the men's team and the women's, regardless of the sport? I'd watch it! Can you imagine a basketball game between the top men's team and women's?

Let me address some issues here that I think are just crazy.

Yes, an elite high school boys team could easily whip a collegiate women's team. It would be foolish and contradictory to think otherwise. Elite teams have elite players who go on to play MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL, who you were saying couldn't be compared to women's basketball in that way. Do you honestly think that ANY women's team could stand up against O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, K. Love (answer: Heck no!).

Whoever says that female basketball players aren't talented is an idiot. But just because they're talented doesn't mean that they're exciting to watch. I go to Duke and I'm in the pep band there, and if our women's team made it to the championship, I wouldn't care to go at all. I probably wouldn't watch it on TV, either. It's just that boring. I think what people mean when they compare the genders is that men's basketball is so much more fast-paced and explosive than women's. There's dunking, crazy crossovers (there are CO's in women's, but not as good as men's), and just a power that women's basketball just doesn't have.

There's a reason why the seats are rarely full and the ratings are low for women's basketball. The general public thinks that it's boring. Not much more you can say about it.

Also, we're not being sexist. I have nothing but respect for these ladies and what they do. The fact is just that it's not as exciting as men's.

Women's basketball is so boring, no offense, but it is the worst sport i have ever seen.