SPARKLING ALL-STAR PERFORMANCES BY THE "L.A. TRIO"!!!!

You probably could have won some money from your buddies if you bet them that Candace Parker had never played in a WNBA All-Star game until Saturday's tilt in Connecticut. C.P. is in her 6th pro season, but because of injuries, maternity, or Olympic activity, she had never played the in league's stellar event. Saturday, she made up for lost time and set a WNBA All-Star Game record with 23 points (old record was 22 points set by Swin Cash) pulled down 11 rebounds, and walked away with MVP honors.

Candace called it a "lot of fun and a great experience", but she also missed most of a family experience back in Los Angeles this weekend. When the Sparks 2013 schedule came out, there was nothing to indicate that the All-Star Game was to be played on July 27th. It simply showed several "off days" following the Sparks v Seattle game on July 24th, so C.P. and her husband, Sheldon Williams, figured it would be a perfect time to hold the Williams' family reunion. By the time they figured out that it was the same weekend as the All-Star Game, plans were too far along and retreat was not an option.

 Kristi Toliver and Nneka Ogwumike performed well for the West All-Stars. Kristi's sister, Carli, was in CT. for the game and so was N.O.'s dad. They got to see the Spark's trio kick the West into gear in the second half as they were on the floor together for the team's surge to success. Kristi was in the running for MVP honors. She scored 21 points in 22 minutes and knocked down 3 of 6- three point attempts.

Kristi:"I wasn’t paying much attention to that, but Candace made big plays at the end of the game. It was well deserved. If the MVP was going to go to anybody besides me, I would obviously want it to go to one of my teammates. I am very happy for her."

Nneka put up 6 points and 4 boards in her first All-Star appearance. Afterwards, N.O. talked with me about the experience.

Nneka: "It was real exciting. I had a lot of fun out there. Glad we were able to get the win and obviously represent the MVP in the West with the Sparks. It was just a really good time being able to celebrate different things like the success of the league and  celebrating a legend like Tina Thompson. It was just great to be out there."

I will more from the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, including a Glorious All-Star birthday surprise in my next blog.

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