No one thought a baby born three months premature and weighing just 2lbs 15oz would go on to become the starting point guard of Farmingdale State College’s basketball team (or any other college team). And they definitely didn’t expect her to do it at her full-grown size: 4 feet 6 inches tall, 90 pounds.

Tiffara Steward is an inspiration in every sense. Not only has she overcome the obstacles that are inherent in her own body (which include blindness in one eye, scoliosis causing one leg to be shorter than the other, and partial deafness), she doesn’t even regard them as obstacles. They are merely facts in her life.

Fact: Some of her vertebrae never developed. Fact: She averaged 16.3 points per game last season (her junior year). Fact: She was born missing a rib. Fact: She averaged 2.5 steals per game.

Believed to be the shortest player in the country, Tiffara has a strength far beyond the size of her stature. Looking at a life marked with what others call disabilities, Tiffara sees opportunities. She has always loved basketball and excelled at it. Therefore there was no good reason not to pursue it. Perhaps a joke to the opponent each time she steps on the court, Tiffara is all business in the game. Her teammates and coach recognize her as a wonderful 3-point shooter and a stellar defensive player.

We, at iatg, love her for the passionista she is, pursuing her dream regardless of what others may think when they look at her or how she appears to fit in on the court. This gal steps through her life in power and in confidence.

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In order to get into this year’s NCAA Final Four, Jayne Appel scored a school record 46 points in Stanford’s 74-53 win over Iowa State. She was on fire and her teammates, recognizing this, kept feeding her the ball. But her outstanding performance against Iowa State has little to do with why Jayne is this week’s That Girl. No. Rather we recognize Jayne for the character she portrayed during the next game, the Final Four game, in which Stanford was clobbered by eventual champion University of Connecticut, 76-54.

This Berkeley Regional MVP proved her worth both on and off the court when she continued to fight, muscling through her opponents to throw in a basket, with just minutes left in the game – by which time the game was obviously lost and Stanford’s season was over. Appel fought just as hard, if not harder, despite knowing the likely outcome.

Jayne’s performance and perseverance encourages us to drive on, keep the fight, and keep going no matter what. When things don’t look good, even when things look hopeless, you never know what may happen. And if things don’t end up going your way, go out in style, knowing that you did your best to succeed and take pride in that. No one in the sports world can look down on Jayne Appel for what she did during this year’s NCAA tournament and, by following her example, we can all say the same about the efforts in our own lives…on and off the court.

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It’s a ton of fun to hit the bars and watch the Final Four games with your favorite group of friends. But let us provide a bit of a breakdown for you to help you sound like a professional NCAA follower.

Michigan State
•    #2 rank out of the Midwest Region of the tournament
•    Who They Beat to Make the Final Four: Tournament favorite Louisville by a score of 64-52 (that’s a sizeable difference)
•    Close Call: Had a come-from-behind victory against defending champions Kansas, winning 67-62 despite the struggles of Kalin Lucus
•    Players to Know:
-    Kalin Lucas (#1, Sophmore, 6ft., Guard): His play has brought in the accolades this year and he continues to perform well in the tournament. Big Ten Player of the Year. Team MVP. Averages nearly 15 points per game, nearly 5 assists.
-    Goran Suton (#14, Senior, 6ft. 10in., Center): The big guy can shoot from right under the basket or can take an outside shot, which makes him very dangerous. Averages 10 points per game, 8 rebounds.
•    Famous Names from Michigan State Basketball: Magic Johnson

University of Connecticut (UConn)
•    #1 rank out of the Western Region of the tournament
•    Who They Beat to Make the Final Four: Missouri, 82-75
•    Story of the Tournament: There’s been a lot going on with UConn these past few weeks but the one story that really has impact on this tournament is actually about their coach. Health problems forced Coach Calhoun to watch UConn’s first game of the NCAA tournament from a hospital bed. But he’s made it to the other games.
•    Players to Know:
-    Hasheem Thabeet (#34, Junior, 7ft. 3in., Center): The Tanzania native is likely to be a top 10 pick in the NBA draft. Averages nearly 14 points per game, 11 rebounds.
-    A.J. Price (#12, Senior, 6ft. 2in., Guard): This dominant player’s college career has been stopped and restarted three times in five years, once due to a life threatening brain malformation, once due to suspension, and once due to injury. Averages nearly 15 points per game, 5 assists.

University of North Carolina (UNC)
•    #1 rank out of the Southern Region of the tournament
•    Who They Beat to Make the Final Four: A daunting Oklahoma team, 72-60
•    The Preseason Pick: UNC was voted the number one team before this season started but has battled injury and other problems throughout the season. Coach Roy Williams has called this the most frustrating season of his career.
•    Players to Know:
-    Ty Lawson (#5, Junior, 5ft. 11in., Guard): When he’s on, UNC is tough to keep up with but he sat out the first game of the tournament with a toe injury. Averages 16 points per game, nearly 7 assists.
-    Danny Green (#14, Senior, 6ft. 6in., Forward/Guard): An all-round player, he made a huge impact in defeating Oklahoma with outside shooting and strong defense. Averages 13 points per game, nearly 5 rebounds.
•    Most Notable Basketball Alumni: Michael Jordan

Villanova
•    #3 rank out of the Eastern Region of the tournament
•    Who They Beat to Make the Final Four: Big East Compatriot (or Foe) Pittsburgh, 78-76
•    The Story: They’re definitely the underdog in this group but this team has been on a roll since they slammed UCLA in the second round.
•    Players to Know:
-    Scottie Reynolds (#1, Junior, 6ft. 2in., Guard.): This is the guy who made the game-winning shot with under a second to go against Pitt. His players trust him and he’s playing with a lot of confidence. Averages over 15 points per game.
-    Dwayne Anderson (#22, Senior, 6ft. 6in., Forward/Guard): This guy has amped up his game for the NCAA Tournament and players refer to him as the leader of the team. Averages 9 points per game.

UConn vs. Michigan State, Saturday, 6pm, EDT
Villanova vs. UNC, Saturday 8:45pm, EDT

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Yeah, yeah, there was a game. Yeah, yeah, it was set as Kobe vs. LeBron. Yeah, yeah, there was even the talk in L.A. of Shaq and Kobe bursting into the chorus of “Reunited.” But when the weekend ended, no one cared about the game or the score or Kobe or Lebron; it was all about Shaq. And what made it that much more shocking was it had nothing to do with basketball, nothing to do with Kobe, nothing to do with the plight or fate of the Phoenix Suns. Forget the song, it was all about the dance for ShaqaWockeeZ.

JabbaWockeeZ, the male dance crew that won the first season of America’s Best Dance Crew, flanked Shaq in his unusual introduction to Sunday night’s All-Star game of East versus West. (By the way, if you were wondering, the West won 146-119 and none other than Shaq and Kobe were named co-MVPs.) If JabbaWockeeZ was looking to make a trade, they might want to acquire Shaq in a permanent dance team role as Shaq came out a dancin’ machine, white mask and all, to claim the show.

Surrounded by the rest of the JabbaWockeeZ squad, Shaq jabbed and wockied with the best of them – despite appearing twice the size of any other individual. He came out in full warm-up attire but managed to turn his pants into a cape, however momentary, before skipping down the stairs onto the court once the music died out. Supposedly there was some sort of game to follow.

Of course, only those most familiar with Shaqnanigans could recover from the dance show to put on the game show…which meant Kobe, Shaq, and Phil. The players on the East squad would be doomed to relive the era of the Laker three-peat. And so it went. But no one seems to care. It’s all about the ShaqaWockeeZ.

Should you be interested in the actual basketball of All-Star Weekend, the rest of the weekend’s dancing was good but didn’t compare to the unprecedented Shaq attack. Highlights from the weekend included…
•    The Miami Heat’s Daequan Cook won the Three Point Shootout in OT.
•    5’9” Nate Robinson leaped over Superman Dwight Howard to take the Slam Dunk Contest (wearing all green and now being called “Krypto-Nate”).
•    Bulls guard Derrick Rose became the first rookie to win the Skills Challenge.
•    Shaq and Kobe, former Lakers teammates, shared MVP honors.
•    Kobe Bryant led the tallies with 27 points; LeBron James led the East with 20 points.
•    The West outscored the East in every quarter but the second (where there was only a two point discrepancy, the smallest of any quarter).

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“I’m really excited about the next chapter of my life. I’ve been on an amazing journey that isn’t over yet, and feel blessed to have been able to play the sport that I love.”

~Lisa Leslie

Women’s basketball living legend, Lisa Leslie, announced her retirement from the WNBA today.  She will complete her final season with the Sparks this year after playing in all 12 seasons of the league. The star has two WNBA titles, two finals MVP awards, three league MVP awards, four Olympic gold medals, and she was the first woman to ever dunk a ball in a WNBA game. Since her success as a collegiate athlete at USC, Leslie has been the face of women’s basketball.

Leslie was not a basketball player immediately from childhood. She never thought to play the sport until asked in junior high school, when she was already 6 feet tall (she would later stretch to 6ft 5in). After transferring to a school without a girls’ team, Lisa joined the boys’ squad and continued to fall in love with the sport.

Playing for the early 90’s powerhouse USC team, Lisa averaged 20.1 points per game with a career total of 2,414 points. She earned awards as National Freshman of the year in 1991 and National Player of the Year in 1994. Never willing to lead a life with only one focus, Leslie completed a bachelor’s degree in communications and continued on to earn a master’s degree in business administration.

In 1997, Lisa was drafted to the inaugural Los Angeles Sparks team in the WNBA. She would not play for any other team for the entirety of her career.

Her only break from basketball came 10 years later, in 2007, when Leslie (with husband, Michael Lockwood) gave birth to daughter, Lauren Jolie Lockwood. Leslie is said to have played a pivotal role in teammate Candace Parker’s decision to take a break from the WNBA to give birth to a child of her own.

A mother. An athlete. A model. A life-long student. A mentor. Lisa Leslie will be missed on both the domestic and international women’s basketball scene and in the hearts of any number of young girls looking for a solid role model.  But if there ever were a time for handing on the torch, it is now. Candace Parker is ready and waiting.

photos by tara l. conley, cheryl coward

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