ROCS Blog: women's basketball

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Ron Thulin on the Dallas Wings

This post originally appeared in the Blotch section of the Fort Worth Weekly's website. To consume it there : https://www.fwweekly.com/2017/09/05/sports-rush-state-of-the-wings-with-ron-thulin/

The Dallas Wings have made the postseason in their second year playing in Arlington. Ron Thulin has called their games for both of those seasons on Fox Sports Southwest and the play-by-play man is excited about the team’s prospects for the upcoming WNBA playoffs, and also the future.

In this video interview, Ron and I discussed the team’s youth, depth, and the possibility of acquiring Australian Olympian Liz Cambage.

The Wings will play the Washington Mystics in D.C. Wednesday, with television coverage by ESPN2. If they win that game, they’ll move on to play another single-elimination contest at either New York or Connecticut. Minnesota or Los Angeles await in a best-of-five series after that.

Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through Rush Olson Creative & Sports, Mint Farm Films, and FourNine Productions.

RushOlson.com
Linkedin.com/company/rush-olson-creative-&-sports
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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Talking the 1976 Olympics and Women’s Basketball with Billie Moore

This post originally appeared in the Blotch section of the Fort Worth Weekly's website. To consume it there : https://www.fwweekly.com/2017/08/15/sports-rush-how-the-1976-olympics-shaped-womens-basketball/

In 1972, the members of the United States basketball team declined their Olympic silver medals after losing the title game in controversial fashion to the underdog Soviet Union team.

Four years later, a USA basketball team again watched the U.S.S.R claim Olympic gold, but this time the runners-up treasured their awards.

While the two teams earned the same results, the second group of Olympians differed significantly from the Munich team in one key respect: their gender. Indeed, the Montreal competition marked the first time women from any country had competed in an Olympic basketball tournament. The men played in ’76, too, of course, and Coach Dean Smith’s team reassured American hoops fans by reclaiming gold. But for Billie Moore, the women’s coach, her squad’s finish carried both immediate and lasting significance.

In this video interview, Coach Moore explains how the US nearly didn’t make the Olympic Games despite the presence of future Hall of Famers like Pat Head, Anne Meyers, and Nancy Lieberman. A Hall of Famer herself, Moore also details what their showing meant to the future of the sport.