The Daily Swish: Elena Delle Donne's ongoing recovery process, Michael Cooper's return, Maya Moore's 40-point performance

Welcome to Monday.

If you're interested in catching up on some of the big games and performances of the weekend you can check out our WNBA scores section, but for now let's take stock of some worthwhile reading (and viewing) material from elsewhere:

• Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chicago Sky coach Pokey Chatman is happy to see her team finally come together for a complete game in their 76-65 win against the Washington Mystics yesterday. And there's a good chance that they'll get better if they can make the playoffs: Elena Delle Donne is still not starting after a bout with Lyme disease and only played a little more than 16 minutes. ‘‘[The lungs are] feeling a little better than the last game,’’ Delle Donne said. ‘‘I think it’s just going to be something I continue to build on but just play into it since obviously we have so many games right now.’’ Read more >>>

• Patricia Babcock McGraw of the Daily Herald wrote a more detailed feature on Saturday about the type of steps Delle Donne still has to go through in order to get back to full strength, but also what her ongoing struggle with Lyme disease means for her career. Due to the way the medical community regards the disease and her need to have quick access to medication, she says she doesn't know if she'll "ever be able to go overseas." Read more >>>
• SB Nation's Peachtree Hoops has plenty about the big developments for the Atlanta Dream this weekend, including a piece about the return of coach Michael Cooper. Erica A. Hernandez of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported that Sancho Lyttle attributed the Atlanta Dream's struggles in an 83-76 loss to the New York Liberty yesterday to a long-standing curse: "I say it’s a curse of the second half. For the six years that I have been here, every time it’s the second half, we play this way until the playoffs," Sancho Lyttle said. "I don’t know why, but I want to live to see the day that we don’t." Read more >>>
• Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times summarized what the San Antonio Stars' 71-65 loss to the Seattle Storm last night means for the Western Conference playoff picture: "Los Angeles defeated Connecticut 70-69 Sunday to keep its hold on one of the final two playoff positions in the Western Conference. Now the Stars (13-16) hold the fourth and final slot in the West, despite dropping the regular-season series against Storm, 3-1." Read more >>>
• Dane Mizutani of LynxBasketball.com wrote a feature about what Maya Moore's 40-point performance on Saturday reflects about her 2014 WNBA MVP candidacy with a quote from coach Cheryl Reeve: "She is not running around trying to get 40 points and she is not running around just taking bad shots," Reeve said. "She is just really special. She’s one of the most special athletes this league has ever seen." Read more >>>

Grid View

Photo gallery from Saturday's game in Tulsa by Troy Littledeer

• Tyler Killian of AZ Central Sports reports that the Phoenix Mercury once again came out slow on Saturday against the Indiana Fever before establishing a number of records with a win despite falling short of the league's all-time record for consecutive assists with a loss on Thursday in Minneapolis: "...getting their 12th consecutive home victory and their 13th overall home win, both new team highs. They also matched a franchise record for wins in a season, with seven games left." Read more >>>
• Kara Yorio of NorthJersey.com wrote a feature story on New York Liberty wing Essence Carson, describing her connection to her hometown of Patterson, NJ, the genesis of her passion for music, and her "transformation from self-described nerd to 'star'." Read more >>>
• SB Nation's college football site Every Day Should Be Sunday had a really good post by Jane Coaston about the experience of being a woman who loves sports despite sexism, especially in the aftermath of sexist reactions to the NFL's suspension of Ray Rice. Sam Laird of Mashable wrote a complementary article exploring two questions about the treatment of female sports journalists in light of how many have been treated on Twitter: "The misogynistic tendencies leads to two clear questions. First, why do male sports fans seem extra motivated to launch hyper-personal attacks online against women in sports media?...How can the sexist vitriol be combated?" No easy answers, but - again - I think that starts on the interpersonal level with men calling out micro-aggressions when they occur on a daily basis. Read more >>>
• espnW tweeted a link to a Nine for IX Short about former LPGA star Jan Stephenson that revolved around the following question: "Should sex appeal be used to lure fans to the golf course?" Obviously, you could substitute any women's sports league for "golf course" and answer that question, but it's interesting to look back on a time when that occurred in golf. I think Keith Olbermann actually addressed this question best last week: no matter how you answer, it's a double-edged sword for both the athlete and the growth of the sport itself. Watch the video >>>
• Justin Schultz of SB Nation's Beyond the Box Score wrote a solid piece in response to debates within baseball about the use of statistics, which could easily apply to basketball: "The problem with sabermetrics isn’t that we’re asking questions we've never asked before; the problem is that people...don’t seem to be trying to comprehend there is more to baseball than what they already know." Amen. Read more >>>

For more of our daily links posts, check out our Around the Web section. If you got links you think we should be aware of, you can stick them in the comments or create a fanshot so we can share them with the Twitter and Facebook world.