TGIF WNBA links: What Seimone Augustus can do when 'locked in', Lindsay Whalen's new contract, San Antonio's new player (and ordinance)

It's Friday and I skipped links yesterday, so here we are with a recap of WNBA-related things that have occurred since Wednesday.

• Kata Fagan of espnW discussed why Geno Auriemma is a good fit for the U.S. women's basketball team, beginning with the fact that there are five UConn players on the team. Auriemma is the first repeat coach of the team. Read more >>>

• Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune reports that Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wants 2011 WNBA Finals MVP Seimone Augustus to "understand that this is still her team." Wednesday night's 23-point performance from Augustus was an example of what Reeve likes to see when Augustus is "locked in". While she doesn't necessarily fit neatly into this season's MVP discussion on paper, it's hard to disagree with what Reeve said. Read more >>>

• Youngblood also laid out Maya Moore's August Western Conference Player of the Month credentials, which isn't a bad addition to her MVP portfolio. Sylvia Fowles, a strong MVP candidate in her own right, was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month. Read more >>>

• Phil Ervin of Fox Sports North reports that the Minnesota Lynx have agreed to a contract extension with star point guard Lindsay Whalen. In addition to detailing her impressive statistics, Ervin lists a rare WNBA salary figure: three years at approximately $107,500 per season, a max contract according to the current CBA. Read more >>>

• The Economist will have an article in its Sept. 7 print edition about the inequities between men's and women's sports worldwide, which includes a brief discussion of the WNBA maximum contracts. Rather than saying pay should be equal across all sports it makes a simpler point: "Differing public appeal may explain some of the gap, but not all of it." The discrepancy in media coverage might be part of that: "40% of American athletic participants are female. But they receive less than 5% of all media coverage." Read more >>>

• Andrew Snook of the Atlanta Sports Photography Examiner called the Atlanta Dream's 89-80 overtime win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night "one of the best games of the WNBA season". In addition to sealing the Dream's number two seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Erika de Souza recorded her 15th double-double of the season, tying a career-high for a single season. Read more >>>

• Ben Johnson of the Tahlequah Daily Press reports that Tulsa Shock rookie Angel Goodrich participated in an hour-plus special practice at her high school on Tuesday. There was no mention of whether she'd be back in action for the Shock in tonight's game against the Los Angeles Sparks. Read more >>>

• The Tulsa Shock tweeted on Wednesday that Liz Cambage will be returning to Australia for the remainder of the 2013 season, as expected.  Read more >>

• Jake Sundstrom of the Silver Star Stream blog writes that Chelsea Hopkins will bring speed and shooting to the San Antonio Silver Stars as she replaces Davellyn Whyte, who is out for the remainder of the season with an Achilles injury. Although she is a mid-major product, it's also worth noting that she began her career at Duke meaning she showed some promise as a top-tier talent out of high school. Read more >>>

• Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie blog has taken note of Sophia Young planning "on voting 'no' on a same sex marriage bill that doesn't really exist". The San Antonio non-discrimination ordinance that apparently triggered Young's comments was voted on yesterday after "drawing top-line Republican opposition from such heavyweights as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott", according to the AP.  During the course of the intense debate, Councilwoman Elisa Chan called gay people "disgusting", but also wants people to know she has many friends who are gay. Although none of those interviewed in the AP article seem to be confused about what the ordinance is about, opponents do seem to fear its consequences. One group suggested that the ordinance would allow men to use women's restrooms (which is inaccurate). One Texas official in the AP article said, "I consider this an attempt to impose a liberal value system over the objection of millions of Texans." Regardless of statewide liberal conspiracies, the San Antonio city council voted 8-3 in favor of protections for the LGBT community. KSAT has a video with reaction to the vote. Also, Councilwoman Elisa Chan - who has called gay people "disgusting" - wants everyone to be clear that she has gay friends.

Obviously there are more links out there worthy of consumption, so feel free to drop those in the comments below or create a fanshot. If you have a longer commentary to make about something, writing a fanpost will make it much easier to share with the community and place on the front page.