Farmingdale Games to air

The National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) Pro League will take center stage this Saturday at 12:00 PM E.D.T., when the league holds its 2003 Draft, at the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Sports Radio Network (WSRN), the exclusive internet broadcast partner of the NWBL, will present live and exclusive coverage of the draft. The webcast can be accessed from Sports Radio Network's official website at http://www.sportsradionet.com.

Last year the internet station provided exclusive coverage of both the draft and the 2002 NWBL Pro-Cup tournament.

"We are excited to continue our relationship with the NWBL," said Sports Radio Network CEO Rob Goldenberg. We believe that our coverage will be an opportunity for the league to continue taking advantage of new technologies like the internet to grow its fan base."

The league will consist of six national franchises that play a 20 game regular season during the spring from February 1 to April 13, 2003. Following the completion of the season each team will have the opportunity to compete in the Pro-Cup Tournament to crown a new NWBL champion for 2003.

Last year's 2002 Pro Cup Champion Houston Stealth will be joined by the 2002 Pro Cup runner-up the Chicago Blaze, the Birmingham Power and the Springfield Spirit as the league's returning franchises. The league will also introduce two new franchises the Grand Rapids Blizzard and the Tennessee Fury, who will make their home in Knoxville.

"The NWBL is the other professional women's basketball league in the United States," said NWBL President Patrick Alexander. This weekend will be a showcase for our league to demonstrate its growth and potential. Last year our league featured some of the most talented players in women's basketball today."

While, Tamika Catchings, Rebecca Lobo, Sheryl Swoops, Kelli Miller and Coco Miller, who all currently play in the WNBA, where amongst the NWBL's most renowned players last year, this year the NWBL will continue to feature some of the best and brightest women's basketball has to offer.

National sensation Sue Bird, a graduate of the University of Connecticut and top pick of the 2002 WNBA Draft, will be among the players that will be assigned to one of the NWBL franchises. Bird, who played for the WNBA's Seattle Storm this past season, will play for the Springfield Spirit this spring.

The NWBL draft will consist of 8 rounds. Franchises can look back at the November NWBL Pre-Draft National Combine that was held in Chicago to select players from.

"Players from across the country came to Chicago with the hopes of continuing their dream to play basketball professionally," said NWBL Vice-President/Player Personnel Director Mike Walker, who watched more than seventy players audition for a chance to be drafted.

Sports Radio Network's draft coverage will be anchored by Rob Goldenberg and Alon Avital, who webcasted the 2002 NWBL Draft and called the 2002 Pro-Cup Tournament. Mike Walker will also join the duo, as he did last year to provide his expert analysis.

"We are quite proud as a young league to head into our third season and know the thousands of fans of the NWBL are going to be quite surprised and excited about the wealth of professional talent playing in the NWBL this spring 2003!" stated Mike Walker.

"We are pleased to be involved with the NWBL," said Goldenberg, whose Sports Radio Network will webcast the draft live and host an archived copy on their website, available on demand. "Last season our coverage reached a nationwide audience of fans, proving that there is a growing appeal for both the medium of webcasting and women's professional sports."

Sports Radio Network a full service broadcasting outlet for amateur and professional sports, has already gained recognition as a leader in web-based sports programming.

In 2001, Sports Radio Network burst on to the scene with its live and exclusive coverage of the United States Basketball League's (USBL) Long Island Surf franchise. Following its presentation of 13 regular season games, the station carried the 2001 USBL post-season tournament.

Once again in 2002, the internet-based station was the exclusive home to the USBL Post-Season Festival, with fans in more than 15 countries, including Canada, Israel, Australia, France, Great Britain, Switzerland and Belgium listening to the webcasts. Not only did Sports Radio Network provide audio coverage of the post-season festival via the internet, but the play-by-play voices of Rob Goldenberg and Alon Avital were used by Pegasys Video of Enid, Oklahoma for their highly- heralded television broadcasts.

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