Denae Howell

Welcome back guys!! Wednesday’s Women is back with a vengeance. This week we have Ms. Denae Howell, girls’ basketball coach at Price High School in Los Angeles, California. As a former athlete at the high school and collegiate level, Denae is quite experienced in the world of women’s sports. She has played basketball for many years, and was a three-year starter at the University of La Verne. Though coaching was not always her passion, she did know that sports was a huge part of her life, and knew it would somehow factor in the entirety of her life.

Here is a little more from the coach of the Lady Knights of Price High.

Hardwood Diva: When did you realize that you wanted to be a coach?

Denae Howell: I didn’t really realize it until I started in 2004. I always knew I wanted to continue to be involved in basketball after college but I wasn’t sure in what capacity. Once I started coaching I knew this was something I wanted to do.

HDiva: What, if any, obstacles have you faced as a woman pursuing a coaching career in a male-dominated industry?

DH: In my experience this far I haven’t faced any obstacles with regard to being woman. Many of the pressures I feel are the ones I place on myself. I am highly critical and always self-reflect so I can continue to grow as a coach. While basketball is a male dominated industry I believe many female coaches such as Pat Summit, Vivian Stringer and so many others have set a standard that legitimizes female coaches.

HDiva: Did you always know that sports would be your career?

DH: I always knew sports would be apart of my life. I didn’t know it would be in my career but I knew I would be involved in one way or another.

HDiva: Where do you see your coaching career in the next 5-10 years?

DH: In the next 5-10 years I would like to see the girls basketball program at Price well established and successful. My desire is to develop a CIF Championship program. I love the high school game and want to see my Alma mater thrive.

HDiva: What advice do you have for girls interested in pursuing a coaching career?

DH: I would suggest they just stay involved with the game and continue to learn. There are so many great examples out there so maybe find a mentor to learn the mentality of a coach. Be a student of the game first and the coaching part will come.

Hey guys!!  I know I’ve been away for over a week, but I wanted to explain what happened.  At the beginning of last week, I realized that my website was having issues.  For some reason, my site was deleting posts for no apparent reason.  Not sure why…just kept deleting posts.  By the end of the week, six posts were nowhere to be found.  Being that I had no idea what was causing the problem, or how to solve it, I made the decision to hold off on new posts until the problem could be solved.  Well I am glad to say that it looks as if we were able to fix the problem.  All missing posts have been returned…and nothing has gone missing since.  I will be back to the regularly scheduled program tomorrow.

Thanks again for all your support!!  Love ya!

This Wednesday we meet Jill Munroe a.k.a. Stiletto Jill of the sports and entertainment blog, JocksandStilettoJill.com.  Jill describes herself as “a California girl living in a sport’s world.”  With a background in PR, marketing, and business development, she parlayed her skills into positions with Nike, Sony Pictures, and Virgin Records.  In addition to blogging and hosting duties, Jill has made guest appearances on ESPN Radio, and currently contributes to Yardbarker.com, FOXSports.com, and MSN.com.  Here’s a glimpse into the life of a female sports blogger.

Hardwood Diva: How did you begin your career as a sports and entertainment blogger?

Stiletto Jill: I started my blog like many people do. I had just gotten laid off and while searching for a job, I come from an entertainment and sports related background so I decided to combine a few of my favorite things. It really was to keep myself occupied. Once I started my new job, I decided to keep it going and it took off from there.

HDiva: Has it been tough in the sports journalism world being taken seriously as a woman and a blogger?

SJ: It is tough because people tend to assume that if a woman isn’t an ex-athlete, she’s only interested in sports to get after the men. From the blogging stand point, the knock on bloggers is that they don’t fact check and really aren’t “journalist.” I come from a media background, I take it very seriously but it’s a constant battle to fight through the stereotypes.

HDiva: What is your advice to women looking to get their start as sports bloggers?

SJ: My biggest thing would be to not only do your homework but to always carry yourself as a professional. A lot of people will be looking for a reason to discredit you so make sure you stay prepared.

HDiva: What is the most exciting part of your job as a blogger?

SJ: I don’t know if it’s exciting to be a blogger, there’s a lot of work in it. People think it’s super easy to start and maintain one. I think the fact that it’s something I created myself and built from the ground up is what excites me most.

HDiva: Who are some of the women in the sports industry you look up to?

SJ: Taking it way back, I love 70′s icon Jayne Kennedy.  She was a trailblazer, not just as a woman but as an African-American woman stepping into that world. There are a lot of women in sports now, writers, broadcasters etc that I respect and appreciate what they do (Hannah Storm, Pam Oliver etc) but I’m also trying to carve out my own niche.

Clayton Kershaw

The Dodgers reached a deal to keep the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner in Los Angeles.  Pitcher Clayton Kershaw agreed to a $19 million, two-year deal that will keep Kershaw with the team which is currently up for sale.

After a couple of notable situations this weekend, the NBA Commissioner’s office dealt out a couple of suspensions this morning to Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love.

When the referee refused to call what he believed to be a foul on Pau Gasol, Lakers coach Mike Brown became irate.  He quickly had to be restrained by his team and was eventually ejected.  This morning the league made it clear they did not appreciate Brown’s behavior.  He was suspended 1 game (served today against the Sixers) and was fined $25,000 for making contact with a game official when he bumped the ref.

Kevin Love didn’t take to Luis Scola throwing a ball at his….groin area last week when the Timberwolves played the Rockets.  So when the two teams met again, Love made it clear he was going to send a message.  On a hard play, Scola was knocked to the ground and as Love attempted to run back down the court he “accidentally” stepped on Scola’s face. You can find the video and see for yourself.  But nonetheless, the league didn’t like what they saw and suspended the forward two games.  Love said he made sure to apologize to Scola immediately following the game, so hopefully this all blows over.

Lesson learned: the NBA don’t play when it comes to their precious “image.”

In a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants did exactly what they did then to the Patriots.  They beat them with a late game touchdown to win Super Bowl XLVI.  Eli Manning and the New York Giants brought a little life to an otherwise boring game.  Oh, and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots didn’t help much by failing to score on their final drive.  Oh well…such is life in the game of football.

By the way, this makes two Super Bowl wins and two Super Bowl MVPs in two tries for Eli Manning.  Definitely put the ELI in ELITE!

Aaron Rodgers - 2011 NFL MVP

After taking his Super Bowl champion team to a 15-1 record, Aaron Rodgers was the clear favorite in the 2011 NFL MVP race. So it came as no surprise when it was announced that Rodgers was named the MVP for the 2011 season.

In a year of amazing quarterback performances, Rodgers often stood out taking his team to unexpected heights.  Though the season ended quicker than they wished, Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers clearly have a solid squad that will compete in the NFC for years to come.

Man oh man…crazy to think just 7 months ago we didn’t even know if we would have an NFL season.  And now its Super Bowl time.  Patriots vs Giants….who you got?????

Word on the NBA street  is the Los Angeles Clippers have come to a deal agreement with free agent forward Kenyon Martin.

According to source Mike James of the Los Angeles Times, the free agent who was just cleared by FIBA to rejoin the NBA made a decision to hook up with the Lob City All-Stars (I just made that up…and I like it).  Martin, who was most recently with a Chinese team during the lockout, must pass a physical for the deal to be finalized.

Though the Clippers are currently leading the Pacific Division at 13-7, they are thin especially inside and any help Martin could provide will be more than welcome.

Thursday evening the NBA announced the 2012 All Star Game starters.  The East is highlighted by Miami Heat selections Dwyane Wade and Lebron James while the West has four LA players – 2 Clippers and 2 Lakers (too bad this wasn’t last year’s game in LA).  And luckily for the host team Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard was selected as a starter also.  A full list with photos is below.

Though I’m excited about this year’s game, it feels so soon since we’ve only been back for a little over a month.  This is definitely an interesting season, and I’m wondering if the All Star Game will be no different.

2012 All Star East Starters

Derrick Rose

Dwyane Wade

Carmelo Anthony

Lebron James

Dwight Howard

2012 All Star West Starters

Chris Paul

Kobe Bryant

Kevin Durant

Blake Griffin

Andrew Bynum