Val Whiting, a former WNBA player and standout at Stanford, writes a monthly column in the Delaware News Journal on the female athlete. This month, her topic was how playing sports prepares women for the business world, and she chose a familiar subject – Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel, who is the senior vice president for human resources at Microsoft.

“The single biggest asset I have is not my education, not my experience, but my athletic background,” Brummel said in a phone interview.

“If you look, you will find people doing well in business and who were also athletes. You need stamina and pacing in corporate America, having the stamina to be able to perform.”

Beyond the athletic background of members of Force 10 Hoops L.L.C. (in addition to Brummel, an Ivy League Hall of Famer who played both basketball and softball at Yale, Ginny Gilder won a silver medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games as a rower [EDIT: I also completely blanked that Chairperson Anne Levinson played field hockey at the University of Kansas]), there’s plenty of evidence of the value of sports experience here at the Storm. Our CEO Karen Bryant played basketball at UW, and I was counting this last week – around a third of our staff played some sport in college.

Needless to say, I am the odd man out in that regard. Those who can’t … blog.

- The Storm will be participating in next Tuesday’s Salvation Army Celebrity Bell Ringing Day, to be held in front of the Downtown Nordstrom (500 Pine St.) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sheryl Swoopes and the WNBA’s best mascot, Doppler, will join other local celebrities (including Blake Lewis, Warren Moon and Lorenzo Romar, amongst many others) ringing bells and collecting for the Salvation Army’s holiday drive.

- The WNBA announced today that the 2009 WNBA Draft Lottery will be held next Tuesday, the day after the Houston Comets Dispersal Draft. With the Comets ceasing operations, five teams are participating – Atlanta, Washington, Chicago, Minnesota and Phoenix.

The Storm will now pick 12th in the first round and also holds the 38th pick in the third round, having dealt its second-round pick to the Dream for Camille Little.

WNBA.com also has an interesting Dispersal Draft preview from Adam Hirshfield.

There are several layers to today’s news that the Houston Comets are suspending operations. I covered the history angle in an article, while Sheryl Swoopes’ statement also touches on the emotional aspect. However, the realist angle that cannot be ignored is that this sets up a Dispersal Draft next Monday, Dec. 8.

Teams will draft former Comets players in inverse order of 2008 record. Because of tiebreakers, the Storm will select 12th. By that point, it is possible the Dispersal Draft will already have concluded.

As unrestricted free agents, Latasha Byears, Mwadi Mabika, Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, Michelle Snow and Tina Thompson are ineligble. That leaves eight holdover players available:

Matee Ajavon
Tamecka Dixon
Roneeka Hodges (a restricted free agent)
Sequoia Holmes
Shannon Johnson
Sancho Lyttle
Erica White
Mistie Williams

Teams can also draft players whose rights the Comets hold. According to Paul Swanson at the RebKell board, three such players are eligible:

- Renae Camino, an Australian drafted by Houston in the second round in 2006 who has yet to come to the WNBA
- Lucienne Berthieu, originally a second-round pick by the Storm in 2002 who last played in the WNBA in 2004
- Polina Tzekova, a 1998 first-round pick of the Comets who played in Houston during the 1999 season and has not been seen stateside since

With 11 players available and the Storm drafting 12th, it will take a team passing (which has happened in the past) for the Storm to have the option to make a pick.

Sheryl Swoopes and son Jordan talk with KING 5’s John Curley. /Storm Photos

The Storm had a major presence at last Friday’s annual Macy’s Holiday Parade in downtown Seattle. Laura Sgrecci from the Storm Marketing department was there and offers a recap.

Storm guard and WNBA superstar Sheryl Swoopes is used to entertaining thousands of cheering fans on any given night throughout her illustrious career. Yet it was a different stage when she joined the colorful cast of characters in the annual Macy’s Holiday Parade last Friday morning.

Joined by her son Jordan, mascot Doppler and the Storm Dance Troupe, all in festive holiday hats, Sheryl led the way as the Storm contingent traveled the parade route in a bright red convertible courtesy of corporate partner Carter Volkswagen. The Dance Troupe pranced to holiday tunes and the beat of marching bands and tossed T-shirts to the hordes of parade-watchers lined up along the streets. During breaks in the action, Sheryl and Doppler hopped out of the car to greet fans and spread some holiday cheer.

Welcoming the Storm car at the end of the parade route was none other than John Curley, who reported for KING 5’s live coverage of the parade. Curley welcomed Sheryl to Seattle as a full-time resident and offered testimony as a six-year Storm season ticket holder, saying, “If you have not been to a Storm game, you don’t know what you are missing. There is such energy at the Key when the Storm plays.”

The Storm Dance Troupe in action. /Storm Photos