Friday WNBA links: Naughty By Nature, Elena Delle Donne's status, and Sheryl Swoopes

It's Friday and there are three games up tonight after a pair last night.

And we begin with the most important news of the day.

The Minnesota Lynx bring you the most important news of the day: Grammy Award-winning hip hop trio Naughty by Nature is still performing and they will do so at halftime of tonight's Lynx game against the San Antonio Silver Stars. For those unfamiliar with hip-hop, Treach - the lead MC - is sometimes discussed as being among the best MCs of All-Time (yes, this list even has him ahead of Kanye West, Snoop Dogg/Lion & Too Short...imagine that) or, if not that, probably one of the most underrated by folks in the mainstream. And if you don't think that highly of him, maybe you can get behind the idea of him being among the biggest influencers of hip-hop style? Read more >>>

Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune had a feature about Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and the influences on her coaching style throughout her life. Although her father may be the biggest influence, among the influences from the current WNBA coaching ranks are Anne Donovan, Dan Hughes, and Bill Laimbeer. Read more >>>

Phillip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune reported that Chicago Sky star Elena Delle Donne hadn't practiced since suffering a concussion on July 24 and her return is still uncertain as they host the Washington Mystics tonight. Read more >>>

Rachel Eldridge of espnW looked at the statistics that make Delle Donne the leading candidate for WNBA Rookie of the Year and the (raw) plus/minus numbers are startling: the Sky are +150 with her on the floor and -30 with her. According to net plus/minus numbers that can be found at the Minnesota Lynx website, Delle Donne has the fourth-best rating in the league with a +21.5 rating, the highest of any rookie in the league. But another interesting point to be made about those net plus/minus numbers: the best and third-best ratings are Sky teammates Epiphanny Prince and Courtney Vandersloot, respectively. Read more >>>

John Laws of ABC 8 in Tulsa offers one example of what sports and star athletes can mean to people: Indianapolis resident John Gaines bought Tulsa Shock season tickets and apparently drives 598 miles to catch every game because Skylar Diggins inspired him after a family tragedy. Gaines will likely be there tonight when the Shock host the Los Angeles Sparks. Read more >>>

Marc Allard of the Norwich Bulletin caught up with Connecticut Sun rookie Kelly Faris about her trip to the White House on Wednesday and the controversial "bunny ears" visible in the group photo with President Barack Obama. Faris says that Obama was in on the joke. Faris managed to make her way back to Connecticut in time for last night's game against the Fever, where - as Tim Fontenault has already described - she made an impact although she didn't make a huge mark on the stat sheet. Read more >>>

Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times opened her recap of the Seattle Storm's 88-79 win against the Phoenix Mercury with a brief explanation of why rookie Tianna Hawkins hadn't been playing as much as other first round picks this season: practice habits. In last night's effort, Hawkins came up big with 13 points and 6 rebounds for the game. Read more >>>

Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reported before the game that Seattle Storm center Nakia Sanford left the team after being signed to consecutive seven-day contracts. With the recent signing of center Ashley Robinson, Sanford's minutes and spot in the rotation seemed to be on the decline. Read more >>>

Beth Fuller of Lovin the WNBA wrote an ode to Sheryl Swoopes on the day the ESPN Nine for IX documentary "Swoopes" aired and discussed her standing among the league's best ever. Comparing Swoopes to Cynthia Cooper, Lauren Jackson, and Lisa Leslie, she declared that Swoopes' ability to have an impact both defensively and offensively makes her the league's best. (Check out the poll below to vote for which you think is the best ever.) Read more >>>

Eric Freeman of Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie blog writes that USA Basketball's new complex in Arizona further cements the NBA's ties to some of the biggest brands in sports: "The goals of USA Basketball are similar to those of the NBA and its franchises: build a brand, leverage it for attention and various tie-ins, and reap the benefits. The new complex is part of that process." It remains to be seen what sort of impact that will have on the women's side, but with the marketing potential of Delle Donne, Diggins, and Griner they could reap individual benefits depending on their position in the pipeline. Read more >>>

Obviously, there are many other links floating around the web today. Feel free to drop any other links you find in the comments or create a fan post if you'd like the share an extended commentary to share with the community.