There are those supporters of women's basketball -- heck, women's sports in general -- who want it to remain a bastion, the exception to the rule of major sports where money and hype have created monsters wearing both uniforms and whistles around their necks.

	Holdsclaw said the Mystics would never be a great team under Darsch.

So when the news comes out that Chamique Holdsclaw, perhaps the biggest name in the game, and her Washington Mystics coach Nancy Darsch had a recent clash, those people cringe. A piece of advice ... well, two actually: Get over it and get used to it.

This was bound to happen sooner or later.

The WNBA isn't going to be any kind of kinder-and-gentler professional league, and that evidence is already piling up. The players aren't satisfied with their pay, the league claims poverty. Players and coaches clash. Coaches yell at referees and get fined. Bodies fly under the basket, and occasionally, a tussle ensues.

No matter how cheap the tickets and how worthy the role models, this is still modern pro sports.

Holdsclaw was upset with Darsch after playing just one minute of the final nine minutes (and pulled for good with 6:21 remaining) in an 84-69 loss to Sacramento last Friday. Afterward, Holdsclaw said she was "insulted" by the benching and that the Mystics would "never be a great team" under Darsch. Washington, considered to be among the top teams in the Eastern Conference, sits in third place at 6-6 behind Cleveland and Orlando. But it is still the best start in team history.

Darsch did not respond publicly to Holdsclaw's comments, but held a 15-minute private meeting with Holdsclaw, who apologized for publicly criticizing Darsch. Afterward, however, Holdsclaw told the Washington Post her feelings toward Darsch hadn't changed.

"I feel what I feel," Holdsclaw said in the Post. "I just have to live by it and die by it. I don't think it's something that will get better, but as a professional I can't worry about it. I'll just have to overcome it."

Holdsclaw is a perfect candidate for something like this to happen. Not because she is a head case or has a bad attitude, but because she is a star. And make no mistake, star players are the most important thing this league has to offer right now. With attendance sagging and television ratings stagnant, the WNBA has to hope that it will get a boost next summer from the publicity generated by the U.S. Olympic team, which is stocked with the WNBA's most marketable names.

	Nancy Darsch might be calling a "thumbs up" play, but her star, Chamique Holdsclaw, gave her a thumbs down.

Interestingly enough, this incident pushed the league's television coverage forward. For the better part of 3½ years now, NBC, ESPN and Lifetime have been covering the WNBA in the most positive, public relations-friendly way possible. All features and feel-good stories, very little in the way of controversy.

On Monday night, during its broadcast of the Los Angeles-Washington game, ESPN got Pat Summitt on the phone, game analyst Jay Bilas asked a couple of tough questions and it was treated like news -- not fluff.

Summitt told Bilas she spoke to Holdsclaw after the incident.

"She was frustrated, and she was concerned about what was happening," said Summitt, who also called Darsch.

"I was concerned for Chamique, and I was concerned for Nancy," Summitt continued. "I think they both want to focus on the team and move forward."

Summitt told Bilas that she "would never condone that behavior," but added "this is a new problem for Chamique. What she was probably feeling is a lot of pressure. Chamique is a great competitor, and Nancy is a great competitor."

East vs. West
There is more than a gap between the WNBA's two conferences -- it's a Grand Canyon.

Six of the eight teams in the Western Conference have winning records, while only two teams in the East have records better than .500 -- and just barely at that, with Cleveland at 7-5 after a 5-1 start and Orlando at 7-6.

West teams own a 25-8 record against East teams thus far, the top four teams in the West bettering that number at 17-1 with only Phoenix's loss to Cleveland blemishing the mark.

Charlotte and New York, the Eastern Conference's playoff representatives last season, are a combined 7-18 this year.

While the Rockers might be the team benefiting most from the discrepancy of quality of play, it's the Minnesota Lynx who are having to pay the most. The Lynx are 6-0 vs. Eastern Conference teams this season and 2-4 against the West. At 8-4, they would have the best record in the East right now.

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