Candace Parker Still Has Nightmares...

about LaToya Pringle guarding her.

So said North Carolina Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell, when Pringle's number was retired a fwe days ago.

And this has got The Summitt - the Lady Vols message board, all up in arms.

They have gone back through the record books, and Parker's career low in points apparently came facing other teams, not the Tar Heels and Pringle.

Therefore, these rabid fans say, Hatchell was lying! She was trying to pump up Pringle at the expense of Candace Parker, and she should be ashamed!

What none of these foaming-at-the-mouth fans -- who are all outraged by this -- seem to want to consider, is, maybe Candace Parker, learning that Pringle's jersey was t be retired, called up Hatchell and gave her that little anecdote. Or maybe Parker and Pringle, who are in the WNBA together, albeit on different teams, are friends, and Parker told Pringle that and Pringle told her coach, and that's where the quote came from.

Now - I dont' know whether that's true or not, but I'd certainly give Hatchell the benefit of the doubt rather than getting my knickers in a twist about it, the more so because...it's no big deal.

But, as any sports fan knows, to rabid sports fans, any slight, imagined or otherwise, is a big deal, and absolutely must never be forgiven, and must be brought up, over and over and over again.

The Summitt is certainly not unusual in having these types of fans, but I just do have to laugh every time I read that board, because most of the people there do wear orange colored blinders.

For example, in particular during the off-season when there's no basketball going on, discussion at The Boneyard would have a few threads on the Lady Vols.

So, over on the Summitt, you'd get people making snarky comments "We should call The Boneyard The Summitt II, because they sure are obsessed with us."

Not seeming to realize the fact that they are obsessed with the Boneyard - why else read a rival team's board to begin with?

But of course, if you go to the Summitt, you see an equal number of threads discussing the UConn Huskies, but if someone jokingly refers to the Summitt as the Boneyard II (coff, coff) they are met with outrage! They aren't obsessed with UConn, it's the other way around.

I just have to laugh...