Atlanta Dream Opens Season As Contender For WNBA Title

June 5th, 2015

Sam Crenshaw talks about Atlanta sports and soccer with “A Closer Look” hosts Denis O'Hayer and Jim Burress.

While the Atlanta Hawks were denied a chance to play in the NBA finals, another professional basketball team in the city is looking to get back to a familiar place.

The Atlanta Dream begins its eighth season in the WNBA Friday in New York, and plays its home opener Sunday afternoon at Philips Arena.

Led by WNBA MVP candidate Angel McCoughtry, the Dream is considered a favorite to reach the WNBA finals for the fourth time since 2010.

A WNBA championship remains elusive for the Dream, which is coached by former Los Angeles Lakers star Michael Cooper, now in his second season.

Atlanta was upset in the Eastern Conference finals a year ago and returns most of its star power – including forward Sancho Lyttle and center Erika de Souza.

As veteran Atlanta sportscaster Sam Crenshaw said on “A Closer Look,” fans cheering on the Dream “are in for a big summer.”

“This group has been to the championship round a couple of times,” Crenshaw told hosts Denis O’Hayer and Jim Burress. “They know what to do.”

Crenshaw’s also hopeful the Dream can expand its fan base due to the Hawks season, which featured sellout crowds.

“Basketball in general is on fire in our community,” he said.

The biggest women’s sporting event in the world also kicks off this weekend. The U.S. women’s soccer team is a favorite in the Women’s World Cup, which takes place through July 5 in Canada.

But the Americans, who play Australia on Monday, haven’t won since 1999.

Men’s international soccer returns to the Georgia Dome next month with the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It’s the continental championship for a region that includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Off the field, CONCACAF officials have been embroiled in an international soccer bribery scandal that has resulted in six arrests and 14 indictments by the U.S. Department of Justice and the resignation of Sepp Blatter, the head of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body.

Crenshaw said he doesn’t think those matters will deter hardcore soccer fans from turning out in Atlanta on July 25.

“The folks are going to show up, that’s what you hope anyway,” he said.

The Atlanta Braves are back home after a West Coast road trip. Crenshaw talked about the team’s continuing bullpen struggles, and the return to Atlanta next week of former Braves Craig Kimbrel and Justin and Melvin Upton, now with the San Diego Padres.