Monday evening WNBA links: The Los Angeles Sparks' 2OT win, Sylvia Fowles' reaction to first playoff berth, and Women's Equality Day

A friend of mine jokes that there's a conspiracy to only televise WNBA games that will be absolutely horrible blowouts.

While the two nationally televised games over this past weekend weren't that terrible, there might be room for debate about whether they were the best showcase for the WNBA.

The consensus among the Swish Appeal community was that the Los Angeles Sparks' 90-88 double overtime win over the Tulsa Shock last night was not a well-played basketball game albeit dramatic. Even the fact that it was dramatic because a light bulb suddenly flickered on for the Sparks in the final quarter was a source of frustration.

On Saturday, a few of us probably would've preferred to see the 2012 WNBA Finals rematch between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever in which Lynx wing Maya Moore dropped a career-high 35 points.

But perhaps we're just a tough crowd around here - for others, the televised games brought exactly what (and who) people wanted to see. And for at least one person, last night's game was a perfect set up for Women's Equality Day today.

• Dennis J. Freeman of News4UsOnline summarizes the Los Angeles Sparks' 90-88 double overtime win by writing, "This is what you live to see if you are a true basketball fan. What we got in the Sparks-Shock game was forced turnovers by exceptional defensive play, some unparallel shooting and a good-old fashion display of wills. You got punch and counterpunch. You got Tyson-Holyfield on the hardwood. This is what you come to see at a professional basketball game. It was all of that and a bag of chips." Freeman takes on the women's basketball "haterade department" directly by noting that real basketball is about that display of wills rather that the aerial show of athleticism in the male version of professional basketball. Read more >>>

• Janis Kacens of Love Women's Basketball has the video of Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker headbutting teammate Nneka Ogwumike during a celebration in the first overtime of last night's game. It was a bizarre moment that the Sparks seemed to find humor in...and as Kacens observes one of "some bloopers". Watch the video >>>

• Anthony Oliva of WNBA.com talked to Tulsa Shock guard Skylar Diggins about her shooting struggles during her rookie year and what she's doing to turn it around. In addition to discussing the adjustment to the longer 3-point line, Oliva mentions her adjustment to both playing off the ball more (which people seem to forget that she did quite a bit during her senior year) and coming off the bench. Read more >>>

• Terrence Thomas of the San Antonio Express-News reports that the Silver Stars are still focused on the playoffs despite being three games behind the Storm in the Western Conference and suffering a number of injuries to their star players. Tuesday night's rematch in San Antonio presents a major opportunity for the Stars: the winner will claim the regular season series and the tiebreaker should the teams end the season tied. Read more >>>

• Odeen Domingo of the Arizona Republic highlights the missed opportunities for the Phoenix Mercury in their 81-73 home loss to the Seattle Storm on Friday night, which included a failure to capitalize on forced turnovers and a failure to take firmer control of third place in the Western Conference. With the win, the completed a regular season sweep of a Mercury team that entered the season as the favorite to win the WNBA title among many. Read more >>>

• Phil Ervin of Fox Sports North recapped the Maya Moore's 35-point performance in an 84-77 Minnesota Lynx win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday night that "relative few witnessed" due to ESPN choosing to broadcast the Dream-Sky game instead. Ervin also notes that, "Moore did her best to downplay any individual praise on what's a huge feather in her MVP candidacy cap." In related news, her pink game-worn jersey from that game sold for $6,750 in the auction afterward. Read more >>>

• Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune describes Maya Moore's second Player of the Week award as well-deserved and well-timed. Deserved because she has the title of most points scored in a game during 2013 and well-timed because the Minnesota Lynx have their rematch against Bill Laimbeer and the New York Liberty tomorrow. Sky rookie Elena Delle Donne was awarded the Eastern Conference award, netting her league-high fourth of the season. Read more >>>

• Patricia Babcock McGraw of Chicago's Daily Herald reported that the Chicago Sky briefly reflected on the team's first playoff berth with a photo in the locker room on Friday night before returning to the big picture: winning the Eastern Conference and getting homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Nevertheless, center Sylvia Fowles feels good about putting years of disappointment behind her. Read more >>>

• Sheri Warren of Sheri On Sports summarized the Sky's win over the Atlanta Dream on Saturday also noting that All-Star center Sylvia Fowles was featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune's sports section. While there has been talk of whether Delle Donne is the most famous female athlete in Chicago elsewhere, how much is Fowles doing to break "the testosterone barrier in Chicago Sports"? Read more >>>

• Bryce Covert of Think Progress.org wrote up a Women's Equality Day article about six policies that could help women economically, including something related to a point Lisa Leslie made in her MAKERS video (regarding the dismissal of her former USC coach Marianne Stanley): ending salary secrecy to end pay discrimination. Check out MAKERS.com for far more on Women's Equality Day. Read more >>>

For more on the past weekend, check out our WNBA Scores section with recaps from our writers and community. If you have other links to share - and there are obviously others - feel free to drop them in the comments below or create a fanshot to share with the community. If you have a longer commentary to make, make a fanpost that we can place on the front page.