This is a Man’s World

No love for "A-Train".

Artis Gilmore. Adrian Dantley. Bernard King. George McGinnis. Buck Williams. Maurice Cheeks.

Lynette Woodard. Dino Meneghin. Aleksandar Nikolic. Antonio Diaz-Miguel. Denise Curry.

We all know the guys on the first list, but who’s on the second list? Who the hell is Denise Curry?

I’ll tell you who. She, as well as Meneghin, Nikolic and the others, is a Hall of Famer. Bernie King, Mo Cheeks? They’re on the outside still.

I bring this up because Lynette Woodard is entering the Hall this weekend. Now, I’m sure in her own way Woodward is a great lady. I’m sure she’s a good tipper, always tucks in her bed, passes on the left, and plenty of other things.

I’m also damn sure she doesn’t belong in any Hall of Fame until the A-Train pulls in ahead of her.

Say what you want, but Lynette couldn’t make my high school’s varsity basketball team, let alone the Sonics. You say she’s a great woman’s player? I say so what. I’m pretty certain I’m the best player in my neighborhood in East Vancouver, but does that mean I get to go to the Hall?

Look, if the Hall of Fame wants to make a separate wing for women’s players and “contributors” like Nikolic, that’s great. Go right ahead. But to put those people in the real hall while Mo Cheeks has to wait for a call every spring to see if he’s in is a travesty.

Here’s the bottom line – until more than 27 people watch the WNBA’s championship on TV, until the league can survive on its own without the NBA’s financial backing, then it’s a sideshow, and its players are second-tier athletes who don’t deserve to be on the same stage as Larry, Magic, MJ, and Wilt.