WEDNESDAY MORNING

The News. Women's basketball has a new National Champion. Congratulations to the Lady Vols, who beat Rutgers last night to claim the crown. The final score was 59-46 (yes, that's right), and unless you bleed orange, it wasn't exactly an exciting game, or the one you'd pick for those one-women's-basketball-game-a-year viewers. Unfortunately the same could be said for the two semi-finals.

The Good News. The end of the college season means it's time for the WNBA draft. The action starts at 1 PM today, with the first round televised live on ESPN2, and the two final rounds on NBA-TV. No cable TV at work? Surely you must have a computer. (You're reading this, aren't you?) You can follow the picks on WNBA.com. Better yet, if you're anywhere near downtown DC, come on over to the Mystics' draft day party at the ESPN Zone, starting at noon. In addition to the usual fun bunch of Mystics players, coaches, owners, and managers (and a BasketCase), Oscar Dixon, the Pro Basketball Editor of USA Today, will be making a special appearance. Dixon not only covers the WNBA for his paper, he also coordinates USA Today's coverage of women's and men's professional basketball. The Mystics have even arranged for fans to email questions to Dixon in advance (askoscar@washmystics.com), so that he can answer them at the party. The BasketCases have already written to ask Dixon whether Charm will be back this season.

The Shocking News. (Well, not to us.) Yesterday, Gail Goestenkors announced that she is leaving Duke to become the new Head Coach of the University of Texas, succeeding the legendary Jody Conradt, who resigned at the end of the season. The BasketCases admire Coach G and wish her all the best, and are glad she'll be in another conference so that we can root for her now (unless the Longhorns ever play the Terps of course!). And we extend our sympathies to the Duke players and fans who no doubt are very sad to see her go.

The Best News. Brenda Frese made a special appearance last night on ESPN's pre-game show. Host Trey Wingo (not to be confused with incoming Maryland recruit Drey Mingo) reported on Coach G's move to Texas, noted the head coaching vacancies at such "major programs" as Duke, LSU, and Florida, then turned to Coach B and asked, "who are you talking to?" Coach B's answer was quick and firm: "I'm not talking to anyone. I work for one of the best A.D.s in the country, Kay Yow's sister Debbie, and I have one of the best jobs in the country." The BasketCases couldn't agree more!