Congratulating the Phoenix Mercury for winning the 2007 Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Championship.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of the resolution to congratulate the Phoenix Mercury for bringing the first professional

basketball title ever to the Valley of the Sun.

The Mercury became the first team in WNBA history to clinch the league title on the road when it defeated the Detroit Shock in Detroit on September 16 to win the championship series 3-2. The Mercury relied on a variety of stars, from point guard Cappie Pondexter to former Connecticut star Diana Taurasi. Penny Taylor, Kelly Miller and Tangela Smith also averaged in double figures as the Mercury set the league scoring record for the second straight year.

I remember back in the 1960s when I was in college and things were a tad more sexist. You had half-court basketball. It has sure changed today when you watch the women in the WNBA outshoot and do things that most males wouldn't dream of being able to do. It has truly emerged as an increasingly popular sport and impressive sport.

It is no coincidence that all the high scoring occurred under the watch of Coach Paul Westhead, a Shakespearean scholar who taught actual classes while serving as a men's basketball coach. He devised a style 20 years ago as coach at Loyola Marymount that made the Los Angeles school the epicenter and really the founder of the high-scoring, I shouldn't have said that quite that way because there were others who did run-and-gun basketball, but Loyola Marymount was the first team that regularly scored more than 100 points. He took that show to George Mason University in Northern Virginia before returning to the pro game as an assistant a few years later.

In 2005, he resurfaced in Phoenix and helped turn a middle-of-the- pack team into a champion. At 68, with titles in both the NBA and WNBA to his credit, he has resigned, but not before helping to bring a trophy to a city that has long waited for one.

Congratulations to Coach Westhead and to all the Mercury and its fans.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 654) congratulating the Phoenix Mercury for winning the 2007 Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Championship.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of H. Res. 654, a bill that congratulates the Phoenix Mercury basketball team for winning the 2007 Women's National Basketball Association Championship.

H. Res. 654, which has 53 cosponsors, was introduced by Representative Ed Pastor on September 17, 2007. H. Res. 654 was reported from the Oversight Committee on October 4, 2007, by voice vote.

On September 16, 2007, the Phoenix Mercury beat the Detroit Shock 108-92 to win the Women's National Basketball Association Championship. This was the first national championship for the Phoenix Mercury basketball team.

The Phoenix Mercury team was led by three aggressive players, Ms. Cappie Pondexter, Ms. Penny Taylor and Ms. Diana Taurasi, who scored 73 points of the team's 108 points to dominate the Detroit Shock team.

I commend my colleague, Representative Pastor, for congratulating the Phoenix Mercury basketball team for winning the 2007 Women's National Basketball Association Championship. I urge swift passage of this legislation and would just like to extend personal congratulations to Ms. Cappie Pondexter, who lived in the community where I lived, attended school there, and, of course, went on to become a great female basketball player.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker. It is with great pleasure that I rise today to congratulate the Phoenix Mercury on becoming the 2007 winner of the Women's National Basketball Association Championship on September 16, 2007, in the final game of a five-game series that Phoenix won by an impressive 108-92 score.

This is the first championship for the Phoenix Mercury, and the first title won by a road team in the league's history. The event also places the Mercury Coach, Paul Westhead, in the unique position of being the first coach to ever lead a team to a championship in both the National Basketball Association and the WNBA courts.

The WNBA started 11 years ago. Since that time, its fan base has continued to grow each year as more and more sports enthusiasts have become appreciative of the athletic talents of women. This year's victory game, in which the Mercury posted a 73.3 shooting percentage in the first quarter, clearly shows that women have rightfully earned a spot in the limelight of this sport.

The magic events of the September 16th game created an impressive run of records that are truly deserving of recognition. Therefore, I am very proud of to have sponsored this resolution honoring the Phoenix Mercury, a superb team that has combined hard-work, sportsmanship, raw talent, and a will to win into a modern day success story--a success that was aided by great coaching and a strong front office organization led by owner Robert Sarver. I am most certainly wishing them all the best as they continue to bring outstanding basketball in the future to fans worldwide.

As Coach Westhead recently quoted when referencing this victory and which serves as a thoughtful reminder to all walks of life, ``Isn't it amazing how much can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit?''