For the inside info on women's game, try CupofCoffee

Mary Jo Haverbeck, retired associate sports information director at Penn State University, was frustrated.

Here she was, on her way to the 1993 NCAA women's basketball national championship, and she was feeling unprepared.

"I vividly recall going to the Final Four and the name Cheryl Swoopes meant nothing to me," Haverback said. "I worked women's basketball since the early '70s, but I had to do more research."

Finding those necessary facts and figures was not easy.

"Night after night, watching men's games on TV and reading all this complicated analysis. . . . and nothing on the women," said Haverbeck, who worked in sports information for 25 years. "That really bothered me."

Haverbeck did something about her frustration More than a year ago, she created her own Internet site devoted to some of the best women's hoops sites on the Web.

The only trick is getting to it. First you need to get on the Penn State site at www.personal.psu.edu.

Click on staff and find Haverbeck's name in the directory. That will lead you to Haverbeck's home page. A quick scroll down and you'll find the site, Women's College Basketball CupofCoffee. From there, you can bookmark the mile-long URL.

One of Haverbeck's main focuses is on newspaper links and the journalists who cover women's basketball. Currently, she has set up direct links to the local newspapers of the four women's regionals in Pittsburgh, Birmingham, Denver and Spokane. (Suggested reading: Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla's take on why women's basketball is different, posted March 25.)

Haverbeck, who teaches journalism at Penn State, said she began rounding up the names of women's hoop "experts" while attending Final Four tournaments.

"I always keep my list of all the media who sit on press row," said Haverbeck, who will be in St. Louis next week for her 10th Final Four. "My interest is reading what journalists have to say. Journalists are the benchmark of credibility. When I read the beat writer in Connecticut or Knoxville, I feel more confident in the information."

Haverbeck said she has not made an effort to publicize her site. But for those have stumbled upon it, it's been worthwhile find.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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