WNBA

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Lynx have signed free agent shooting guard Erin Thorn, formerly of the Chicago Sky.

NEW YORK -- WNBA attendance rose again this year and TV viewership is at its highest level since 2005 as the league's 15th season heads into the final stretch.

There's also good news on the business front with the recent announcement of a league-wide marquee deal with Boost Mobile that includes placement of the company's logo on the jerseys of most teams.

The WNBA reported attendance has increased by about 2 percent through last week compared to a corresponding point last season, marking the fifth straight year of improvement.

SEATTLE -- Sue Bird is in the eye of the hurricane.

As she races to the top of the key, keeping her dribble alive, keeping her head up and allowing her eyes to scan the frontcourt, the hoop computer in her head assesses the possibilities.

She can square up and quick-trigger a jumper. She can run off a screen and decide whether to drive, pass or shoot. She can fire a pass to Swin Cash or Katie Smith curling around a pick.

CHICAGO -- Kobe Bryant has yet to call Chicago Sky center Sylvia Fowles.

Like any NBA player contemplating competing overseas during the lockout, Bryant would get more helpful information than a Frommer's travel guide from his WNBA counterparts.

SEATTLE -- Awkwardly navigating on a pair of metallic red crutches, Seattle Storm center Lauren Jackson hobbled onto the floor, under the KeyArena spotlight during Tuesday afternoon's player introductions.

And watching her stand uncomfortably during the national anthem before her team's 79-71 win over Washington, I couldn't help thinking how unfair sports can be.

For the third time in the past four years Jackson is out of the lineup, after suffering a torn labrum and undergoing surgery June 30 on her left hip.

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Mercury coach Corey Gaines stands near midcourt and surveys the players running past him, occasionally shouting encouragement and admonishments.

There are a couple of athletic post players that catch his eye, along with some decent ballhandlers and a couple of shooters.

Mixed in is some, well, other talent, including a player who can't dribble without looking at the ball and another with a white headband and a mop of gray hair who, from a distance, is a dead ringer for Izzy Mandelbaum from "Seinfeld."

SEATTLE -- Along with now being a two-time WNBA champion and continued recognition as arguably the best women's player in the world, something else changed for Lauren Jackson in the offseason.

She grew one inch.