Oh baby! It's time for Leslie to show her kids she's back

When a woman becomes a mother, it can be difficult for her to turn off those motherly instincts.

Just ask Lisa Leslie's potential teammates for the U.S. women's national basketball team.

Some of them were in Chicago this week taking part in evaluations and practices so coaches can piece together just the right mix of talent for a U.S. Olympic team.

In the meantime, Leslie, the WNBA veteran and three-time Olympic gold medalist, was watching out for everyone's best interests. She was also at the practices and is hoping to get another gold medal at the Beijing Games this summer.

"I think it was (Stanford star) Candice Wiggins who came out of the hotel with some shorts on and (Leslie) told her that she had to put on pants because it was too cold outside," chuckled LSU center Sylvia Fowles. "(Leslie) is the motherly figure."

It makes perfect sense since Leslie actually is a mother. The 6-foot-5, 35-year-old center gave birth to her first child, daughter Lauren, last June and missed the 2007 WNBA season.

Leslie's team, the Los Angeles Sparks, went on to have its worst season in franchise history. And now, everyone is thrilled about it.

Of course, you know where this is going.

The ineptitude of the Sparks last summer put them in the draft lottery and gave them the best chance to win the No. 1 pick, which they did.

They then used that pick in last week's draft on former Naperville Central and Tennessee star Candace Parker, a 6-foot-4 guard, forward and center who many believe will be the best player in the history of women's basketball.

"I've been saying, 'You guys (management and players) better thank me," Leslie laughed. "This is perfect. Who would have thought we would finish in last place, though? That wasn't a part of our thoughts until late in the season and it's like, 'Wait a minute, let's do the numbers here.'

A mathematician isn't needed to decipher that Leslie plus Parker equals wins. Lots of wins.

"Now the focus doesn't have to be on me," Leslie said. "With Candace, it's kind of like, 'Pick your poison.'

"I watched her this year. "I'm a super fan and I think she's great. (Parker has a) great personality and we have so many similarities. It's going to be fun. That'll be my new little sister. I'm looking forward to teaching her everything I know and learning from her as well."

Leslie pointed out that having a player of Parker's caliber on the floor should bide her time to fully get back into the swing of things.

Having gained 35 pounds during pregnancy and endured a Caesarian birth, Leslie has been challenged to get her body back.

"I had this whole reconstruction going on with my abs. Then you have the whole hip movement that plays a part (in pregnancy)," Leslie said. "I was going from a point where I could barely walk. To make that whole progression to this point is major."

Call it a major success. Her teammates have barely noticed a change.

"You really can't even tell she was out," said Oklahoma star Courtney Paris, the only college junior in the national team pool. "It seems like (Leslie) is 100 percent in shape. She's making all the moves, she's versatile and she's coming back as a real leader, too."

In a matriarchal kind of way.

"Really, they said that?" Leslie laughed when told they call her the team mom. "I'm not that old, but I could see why they'd say that."

Good odds for NU

There's a good chance someone from Northwestern will end up with the national player of the year award for women's college lacrosse. Of the 18 players nominated for the prestigious Tewaaraton Trophy, four are Wildcats -- Christy Finch, Hannah Nielsen, Hilary Bowen and Meredith Frank.

Of course, there's a reason Northwestern is so well represented. The Wildcats are the three-time defending NCAA national champions.

Top-ranked Northwestern (13-0) hosts No. 11 North Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Blast from the past

It's Women's Sport Weekend at Northwestern. But the present isn't the only thing being celebrated. Included in the festivities was an alumni dinner Saturday night featuring former basketball great Anucha Browne Sanders (yes, she's the woman who successfully sued Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks for sexual harassment).

Also on tap is the return of softball legend Lisa Ishikawa-Sliwa. The three-time all-American and former NCAA single-season strikeout record holder will throw out the first pitch at today's noon doubleheader against Purdue at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

Northwestern, No. 13 in the nation, has won 11 of its last 12 games and is 6-0 at home. In those six games, the Wildcats have launched 11 home runs and averaged 8.3 runs per game.

Learning the ropes

Pro basketball isn't quite the same as college basketball. That's one of many lessons the WNBA's latest class of rookies will be learning as training camps open around the league within the coming weeks.

Over the last three days, the "rooks" were tutored on just about everything else they'll need to know to get their careers off to the right start.

At the WNBA's Rookie Orientation at the O'Hare Hilton, rookies took "classes" about nutrition, hydration, peak performance, image building, hair and makeup and fashion.