Alayne Ingram is in her first season as the PR Director for the Sparks. Born and raised in Lansing, MI, she played four years of college basketball before being sent out into the working world. She’ll provide a constant, behind the scenes voice to Sparks basketball. With weekly blogs during the offseason and daily and sometimes hourly blogs during the season, Bringin’ the “A” Game keeps it real. If you’ve got a question, send an e-mail to a-game@la-sparks.com or click Ask "A" Game to see the response.
December 12, 2008
I’m not going to lie; it was a HUGE shock to hear about the Comets. It isn’t so much that I’m a Comets fan but you think about a franchise that won the first four WNBA Championships, brought us Cynthia Cooper and really was a cornerstone in the league. I just felt like it was unbelievable. There isn’t a lot to tell though; their previous owner realized it wasn’t working out and the league took it over back in June/July. Over the course of the rest of the season, they had a lot of interested potential investors but what it came down to was that there just wasn’t enough time to make the deal work. The league, (meaning the WNBA League Office), is not set up to run a team. They have neither the resources nor the time that a franchise needs to grow and thrive. So, long story short, no more Houston Comets. Taking all of that into consideration, it means absolutely nothing when you think about the strength of the WNBA. This is an isolated incident that deals with ownership. Not to be repetitive from what you’ve already read/heard, but the league is the strongest it has ever been – with ratings, attendance and sponsorship all on the rise. I’m going to tell you what, we went to Houston twice this season and it really is a cool place. They play in Reliant Arena which is small but homey and their game entertainment and fan support is awesome. Honestly though, my favorite thing is definitely BY FAR, the mall there…
In the wake of the Houston era coming to a close, there was a dispersal draft to place players on other teams held on Monday. There were five players that couldn’t be touched as they are Unrestricted Free Agents and can begin negotiating with whatever teams they want. These players were Tina Thompson, Michelle Snow, Latasha Byears, Mwadi Mabika and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba. The dispersal draft went like this:
1. Atlanta Dream (4-30) Sancho Lyttle C 6’4 4 Houston
2. Washington Mytics (10-24) Matee Ajavon G 5’8 1 Rutgers
3. Chicago Sky (12-22) Mistie Williams F 6’3 3 Duke
4. Minnesota Lynx (16-18) Roneeka Hodges G 5’11 4 Florida State
5. Phoenix Mercury (16-18) Sequoia Holmes G 6’1 1 UNLV
6. Indiana Fever (17-17) Erica White G 5’3 1 LSU
Also, yesterday the league conducted the Draft Lottery. It was pretty interesting because for the first time in WNBA history, it came out exactly as the odds said it would. We don’t have a pick in the first round because we traded it to Washington to bring back “Sunshine” DeLisha Milton-Jones. We will pick in the second and third rounds with the number 22 and 35 picks. I can’t wait until April to see who we pick – if you remember we picked Sidney Spencer with the #25 pick in 2007. That’s all I’ve got.
November 26, 2008
Well it’s Thanksgiving time and not only does that mean football and food but it also means college basketball Thanksgiving tournaments. Penny & Coop are hitting the road this weekend to several of the local colleges hosting tournaments to try and get a look at the up and coming talent. Not only are they looking at the seniors but they have to prepare for the future of the Sparks meaning keeping an eye out for potential in freshman, sophomores and juniors. It was pretty interesting knowing that while we are all looking to next year, they are looking at building teams for 2010, 2011 and beyond.
That being said, there are a lot of things going on around the office. Candace stopped by last week to meet with Penny and Coop, sign some jerseys and she also did a webisode that will come out on our website and in our monthly newsletter. There is some pretty exciting information in her webisode so make sure you check it out. On top of that, we’re about a month in with new team President Kristin Bernert. It looks like she’ll be a good fit for us. We can’t hold it against her that she used to be with the Shock, (even though we may want to and even though her dogs are named after two former Shock players). Perhaps we can look into legally changing the dog’s names to that of Sparks players. She is actually very smart and has some great ideas for the future of our organization. I’ll tell you this about her; she is very intense and serious about us being a success. I have asked her on more than one occasion if she sleeps…
This is a short one, all I can think about right now is that tomorrow, I’ll be staring down a table full of food trying not to think about the “trainer’s tips” I saw on the Biggest Loser last night for how to eat a healthy Thanksgiving meal. I’ll leave you with something inspiring, I talked to Murriel Page last Friday and she told me that she is being inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame. She asked me to send her some pics of herself for their presentation. I thought that was awesome and she deserves it. Murriel is one of the nicest, hardest working players I’ve ever met.
I’m thankful to be here and to have the opportunity to talk to you. I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!
That’s all I’ve got…
November 19, 2008
Not only is it almost free agent time but Coop and Penny are just about ready to hit the road and start scouting the college talent. As a matter of fact, I think Coop might be heading out to some games as early as this weekend. This is an exciting time for us in the office because even though it’s the offseason, we have already started working on theme nights for next season and more interactive things for the website. This past weekend we had an event with Cedars-Sinai; the thing I liked the most was actually getting to meet everyone. I introduced myself to a few of our longtime followers and some of them said they actually read the blog – which felt good but also added a little pressure to continue to be my witty, charming and interesting self. It’s not easy being me… just kidding.
So with Thanksgiving next week, January will be here before you know it and then February and then all of a sudden it will be Media Day in May and then our season will open in June. One cool thing that came from the meetings I had in New York a couple weeks ago was that our broadcasting schedule this year should be pretty full. We are “the” team that everyone wants to see. What that basically means is more TV games for us and more specials and exclusives on our players. It isn’t confirmed but don’t be surprised if you see the Sparks on national TV on opening day.
A few things to look for in the coming months:
- Lisa featured in USC Trojan Family Magazine in Spring 2009
- Candace launching several projects with Adidas
- The free agent game starting in December
I’ll finish with this, I don’t like to do things just to do them, I want it to matter. So, I want to know what you want to know or want me to talk about. Send me an e-mail at a-game@la-sparks.com with a topic that’s on your mind. It can be anything, what actually goes on at the office, what is the new President like, what you would like to see on the website, ANYTHING! The first five people that send me an e-mail, I’ll give you some behind the scenes access to the Sparks. I don’t know what yet, maybe an invite to practice, maybe lunch with someone in the office, maybe Coop’s cell phone number… JUST KIDDING ON THE LAST ONE. But seriously, let me know what’s on your mind and remember, if you have a question I’ll answer it. Starting next week, I’ll be introducing you to some of the people in the office…
November 12, 2008
Picture it, 10pm LAX, all I have with me is my backpack and my carry-on bag. As I confidently pass through the security checkpoint I notice a uniformed man smirking at me. I think to myself, what’s in my bag that would raise a red flag? He tells me he needs to check it and I smile politely, (kind of annoyed but appreciative of their efforts at keeping us safe), trying to remember what’s in there and then it hits me, MY HAIR GEL. All of a sudden I’m in a state of panic, who knows if New York City has Luster’s Texturizing Styling Gel???? Long story short, he takes my gel and I’m left to wonder how I’ll make a good impression on the good people in the WNBA offices if my hair is a tangled mess.
But alas, NYC has a nifty place called Duane Reade and they do carry what I needed. The day is saved. So the WNBA offices are quite fancy, no really. They are in this pretentious kind of building that even though the address is on Fifth Avenue, you have to go down side streets to get in the doors, (that took me 15 minutes to figure out). Then they have these machines that scan your license and practically make you a paper id badge right on the spot, then you can slide it through a little bar code reader that will allow you access through the turnstile. FANCY! So I was instructed to go to the 15th floor to meet up with one of the other PR people only to find out that the WNBA and NBA actually have about 8 floors in this building. On David Stern’s floor, there is a basketball court built into the floor. FANCY!
So for the first part of the day, I have a few meetings with the various departments at the WNBA; PR, Community Relations, Marketing, Website, and Broadcasting. They were actually quite informative and I realized just how valuable the Sparks are. Everybody is and wants to be involved with us. In the afternoon, I went to a meeting at Sports Illustrated with some people from the league and Candace. They were all over her, asking her questions about the season, what she’s been doing since the season and her plans for next season. That went well and will hopefully turn into a few stories.
The next day we met with seventeen magazine and People Magazine. Candace handled it like a pro and I expect a few calls in the near future. On Thursday morning, we got up at the crack of dawn to drive from NY to Bristol, CT to the ESPN studios which was awesome! We took of tour of the campus and Candace did appearances on ESPN First Take, ESPN News and ESPN International. She also shot a “This is Sportscenter” commercial. I’ve been sworn to secrecy about the commercial since it won’t come out until 2009. I’ve added some pics to my blog that I took with my cell phone during my covert operation to bring you a behind the scenes look. I will tell you this, there is an elevator and a staircase involved… does that give you any clues? Probably not.
That’s all I’ve got.
October 22, 2008
Here we go… this is my first year with the Sparks as PR Director and what a ride it has been so far. I won’t even go into what it was like meeting the team for the first time. I will tell you that they made me dance in the center circle and it was nothing short of ridiculous. I’m standing in there with our players and I’m thinking, THE Lisa Leslie, I’ve technically met her before at a basketball camp although she didn’t remember and I had to be “that girl” who brought in the picture to prove it. But having the opportunity to travel and work with all of these players has been phenomenal. From the players, to Coop and Penny, they really are great people. It hasn’t been easy, think back to the brawl in Detroit, but I guess that’s life in PR.
The purpose of this blog is to provide a constant, behind the scenes voice to Sparks basketball. On my blog page, you’ll find my blog entries and also a place for fans to ask questions and I will try very hard to respond to as many as I can. I’ll blog weekly during the offseason and during the season daily and maybe even hourly depending on the circumstance. I can promise you this, I’ll write about the games, the road trips, what happened in practice and most importantly, I’ll give you my honest opinion. That’s how I am, straight to the point and mildly blunt. I’ll even throw in some special guests here and there.
I’ll leave you with this, a lot of people are wondering what happened? How did our season end in September???? Honest answer: I don’t know. There isn’t an easy answer or a person to blame. It feels like our trip to the Finals was stolen. I’ll never forget that last 1.3 seconds on Saturday, September 20. Just before that, when D put back that lay-up and we went up I thought, “Yes! We’re out of here!” The crowd was stunned and quiet, seemingly ready to boo our trophy presentation. And to tell you the truth, when Sophia Young made that shot, it took every single person in the arena a moment for it to register because we all knew there was no way that San Antonio was going to survive and that WE were going to the Finals. But that didn’t happen and it was like being punched in the gut in the dark. The only thing worse than that was the following day when the PR Director, (that’s me), told the players that they had to stay at their lockers and endure 30 minutes of media while “We Are the Champions” played in the background, over the cheers. I think that sums up why my answer is I don’t know. It happened in a flash and before we knew it, we were at the airport with nowhere to be but home. In the final meeting of the season, I had every player fill out a post-season questionnaire and the goal for next year was the same on every sheet: bringing the championship back to LA.
I don’t know where this blog will lead but until next time, that’s all I’ve got.
