Women'Sports Wire


	Professional Sports LA Sparks Win WNBA Championship and bring another winning team to Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, CA. Less than three months after honoring the NBA-champion Lakers, fans on Wednesday celebrated the Los Angeles Sparks' WNBA championship that cemented the city's claim to the title "Hoopville." Hundreds of fans crowded below the steps of City Hall as officials honored the Sparks, who beat the Charlotte Sting 82-54 Saturday to sweep the best-of-three WNBA championship series. Lisa Leslie raises the proclamation given by L.A. Mayor James K. Hahn saying Sept. 5 is Sparks Day. "Thanks to all my teammates for making me play better ... and passing me the ball," said center Lisa Leslie, who had 24 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven blocked shots in the final game. The Sparks were 28-4 during the regular season and 6-1 in the playoffs. They won 19 of their 20 home games. Coach Michael Cooper, a member of five championship teams with the Lakers in the 1980s, was greeted with chants of "Cooop!" "They always say a good coach is only as great as his team, and we have a great team here," Cooper said. General manager Penny Toler declared Los Angeles "Hoopville NBA-WNBA." Mary Shipp of Gardena said the Sparks deserve more attention. "We don't get enough publicity," she said. "I think we'll be here next year. They have the right mix of people in the team." Mayor James K. Hahn sent boxes of doughnuts down from the podium to the crowd, saying he had made a bet for 10 dozen with Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. "I knew I didn't have to pay up," Hahn said. Police Chief Bernard Parks said he was going to cite the Sparks. "The team is considered armed and dangerous," he said. "They're also wanted for robbery -- they robbed all the contenders of any chance of winning the title. They're wanted for kidnapping -- they kidnapped the WNBA title and brought it to Los Angeles." Guard Tamecka Dixon echoed the call of Shaquille O'Neal at the Lakers' rally. "Can you dig it!" said Dixon, one of only three Sparks from the original 1997 roster. The Sparks' title win marked the first time any team other than the Houston Comets has won the championship of the five-year-old league. The Lakers beat Philadelphia in June for their second consecutive NBA title. The last time two teams in the city won league titles in the same year was 1988, when the Lakers were NBA champions and the Dodgers won the World Series. [Source: LA Sparks, AP]

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