Shock treatment: Women's basketball

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TV This Week
Shock treatment: Women's basketball
By Diego Vasquez
Aug 30, 2006 - 1:00:00 AM

Rarely has a league been so thoroughly dominated by one conference as the 9-year-old WNBA, where Western Conference teams have won eight of the young league’s first nine championships.

The Detroit Shock, the only Eastern squad ever to break through for a finals victory, are looking to make it twice in four years when Game 1 of the WNBA finals tips off tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. They face the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs.

The Shock lived up to their nickname in 2003, when they knocked off two-time defending champ Los Angeles, so they certainly know how to carry the underdog mantle. The Monarchs haven’t dropped a game yet in the playoffs, and most of their wins have been blowouts. Detroit has stayed sharp with closer games, including one conference finals loss.

Plus, Shock guard/forward Deanna Nolan is on fire, upping her season average of 13.8 points per game by four points to lead the team in scoring.

It’s been a year of mixed fortunes for the WNBA. Though TV ratings are up double-digit percentages over last year, they’re still miniscule compared with other sports. And while the league says it’s close to profitability for the first time, the San Antonio News Express reports average per-game attendance this year dipped to an all-time low of 7,480, down 31 percent from its 1998 peak of 10,864.

If the Shock, coached by Detroit Pistons great and media magnet Bill Laimbeer, can win again, it might garner some welcome good publicity for the league.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	A look at fashions for fall, healthy school lunches and the “Today Throws a Wedding” celebration.
7 p.m.	ESPN	"Major League Baseball" (S)	Two probable playoff teams, the Tigers and the Yankees, battle in the Bronx.
8 p.m.	ESPN2	"WNBA Basketball" (S)	Game one of the WNBA Finals.
8 p.m.	Fox	"Bones" (D)	Season premiere. The team looks into a train wreck that claims the life of a U.S. senator.
9 p.m.	ABC	"20/20" (N)	Former “World News Tonight” anchor Elizabeth Vargas presents seven scenarios that could change life on Earth as we know it.
9 p.m.	Fox	"Justice" (D)	Series premiere. Jerry Bruckheimer's legal drama, which follows a firm that craves news-making cases. Sounds like “The Practice: CSI.”
10 p.m.	FX	"30 Days" (R)	Season finale. Show creator Morgan Spurlock does 30 days in a Virginia county jail.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ABC	"Good Morning America" (N)	Gayle “I'm-not- Oprah's-lover” King guests.
7 p.m.	USA	"Tennis" (S)	Early-round play from the U.S. Open in New York.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"College Football" (S)	ESPN kicks off its college football season with an SEC game between Mississippi State and South Carolina.
9 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	"Who Wants to be a Superhero" (R)	Season finale. The two finalists are interviewed by Stan Lee and attend stunt school.
10 p.m.	NBC	"Windfall" (D)	Cameron looks for a second chance from Beth while Peter gives up on marriage counseling.
10 p.m.	Discovery	"Most Evil" (N)	Handy helper or just plain creepy? Factors that contribute to a person's likelihood to become a serial killer.
10 p.m.	History Channel	"American Eats" (N)	Mmm, spam. The history of canned food in this country.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	A performance by Jessica Simpson.
8 p.m.	ESPN2	"WNBA Basketball" (S)	Game two of the WNBA Finals.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"College Football" (S)	Neither Nevada nor Fresno State are high-profile teams, but both have high-scoring offenses.
9 p.m.	TV Guide Channel	"Joan and Melissa Emmy Fashion Wrap" (N)	The ever-critical Rivers clan recap the best and worst of last weekend's Emmys.
10 p.m.	Discovery	"Survivorman" (N)	A man is stranded on a Costa Rican peninsula with just his clothes, three pens, a multi-tool and some swimming goggles.
10 p.m.	TLC	"Cover Shot" (R)	A woman who just ended a four-year engagement gets a shot in the arm with a new makeover.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Time	Network	Program	Description
11 a.m.	CBS	"Tennis" (S)	More early round coverage of the U.S. Open.
3:30 p.m.	ABC	"College Football" (S)	No. 1 Ohio State takes on Northern Illinois in a non-conference tilt.
8 p.m.	ABC	"College Football" (S)	No. 2 Notre Dame travels to Atlanta for a considerably more difficult game against Georgia Tech.
8 p.m.	CBS	"A Day in the Life of Television: A Museum of Television & Radio Special" (A)	Dennis Haysbert narrates what goes on behind the scenes at 12 different TV shows.
10 p.m.	Showtime	"Boxing" (S)	Heavyweights James Toney and Samuel Peter square off in Los Angeles.
10 p.m.	CMT	"Broken Bridge" (N)	CMT changes it up a bit with a look at the U.S. Army's missile program.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Time	Network	Program	Description
11 a.m.	CBS	"Tennis" (S)	More early-round U.S. Open play from Flushing, N.Y.
8 p.m.	NBC	"NASCAR Racing" (S)	The Sony HD 500, live from California.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"College Football" (S)	In-state rivals Louisville and Kentucky do battle.
8 p.m.	ESPN2	"Major League Baseball" (S)	The Angels try to keep their playoff dream going against the Tigers.
9 p.m.	Discovery	"Inside the Twin Towers" (N)	Another angle on the events of 9/11, this one from inside the towers.
10 p.m.	VH1	"Flavor of Love" (R)	Flav has a party and asks his guests to feel out the contestants. We ponder whether he means literally.
10 p.m.	E!	"Girls Next Door" (R)	The girls play with the animals at the Playboy mansion, and by that we mean the cute furry ones, not the men.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.