[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 9, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S2776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LADY VOLS

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from South Carolina 
for his courtesy, and the Senator from Arizona as well, and I note the 
presence on the floor of the Senator from Illinois and the Senator from 
Connecticut as well.
  I am sure a great many of the men and women of our Armed Forces, over 
the last few days, have been watching basketball when they could, and 
yesterday I expressed my pride in the University of Memphis Tigers, how 
they got to the finals of the NCAA Men's Division in basketball only to 
be defeated by a very good Kansas team. Well, today I have even better 
news. Last night, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols won their 
eighth NCAA women's basketball championship. They defeated an 
extraordinarily good Stanford team.
  The Tennessee team has very good players. The Senator from Illinois, 
Mr. Durbin, and I talked earlier this morning about Candace Parker from 
Illinois, from his home State. She may very well be the best woman 
college basketball player already. She is likely to be the first in the 
draft today of the WNBA, and this is her last year. She has graduated 
and has played 3 years.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S2776, April 9, 2008, the Record reads: . . . Pat Summit 
. . .
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: . . . Pat Summitt 
. . .


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  There were four seniors who played. But even though there were 
extraordinary players, this one has to be about the coach as well. Pat 
Summitt has won national championships so often, she has made it look 
easy. She won last year as well as this year. She has won back-to-back 
championships before. She has won 983 games. This has been remarkably 
difficult. In her 34 years, she has dominated women's basketball. She 
has defined it. But she has also helped it with her spaghetti suppers 
for visiting players, with her encouraging other coaches, with her 
patience with the news media. She has shown her willingness to change, 
visiting with Phil Jackson about what offense to put in; to react to 
disappointment, playing with her superstar, the young woman from 
Illinois, Candace Parker, who was playing her last two games with a 
dislocated shoulder.
  What I like best about the Lady Vols is not their winning streak over 
the years, it is the example they set. When I was president of the 
University of Tennessee, which was 15 or so years ago, I would proudly 
tell everyone that Pat Summitt and her teams have not only won 
championships, but their players graduated. It was true then and I 
believe it is true today that every single young woman who has played 
basketball for Pat Summitt for 4 years has graduated from the 
University of Tennessee. Pat Summitt not only requires them to go to 
class, she says: You go to class and you sit in the front row. I want 
the professors to know you are there.
  Just a glimpse of Coach Summitt and her young players on national 
television is the best possible advertisement for the University of 
Tennessee that I can imagine. If Pat Summitt were the conductor of a 
symphony, one would say she has mastered the crescendo because she 
always plays the toughest schedule, but somehow she has learned as a 
coach to get the most out of her team, to have them playing the best as 
they get to the NCAA tournament, as they get to the Final Four, and as 
they get to the championship game, as they have so often.
  So congratulations to the players, Parker and Hornbuckle, Bobbitt and 
Anosike and Auguste--those are the young women who played their last 
game last night. But special congratulations to Pat Summitt, whose 
remarkable career reminds us of what a mirror of the best of our 
society can look like.
  I thank the President.
  Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Of course.
  Mr. DURBIN. I wish to address a question through the Chair, although 
it is more a comment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The assistant majority leader is 
recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. And I would like to join with the Senator from Tennessee. 
We did speak this morning about that great game last night, and great 
praise to Stanford for yielding a wonderful squad and great players, 
too, and making it all the way to the finals. But a special praise to 
Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols from Tennessee. We had a special interest 
in the team because of Candace Parker. She is an extraordinary young 
woman, and watching her play with that physical challenge of her 
dislocated shoulder was an indication not only of her skill but of her 
courage.
  When one of the players on the Tennessee team was injured toward the 
end of the game, you could sense the team feeling. There were tears 
running down the cheeks of fellow players. There was the sense of such 
a close-knit unit. That says a lot about them and an awful lot about 
their coach.
  When we get into debates here on the floor of the Senate about title 
IX and women's athletics, I hope we can invite someone like Pat 
Summitt, someone like Candace Parker, and others to come and tell us 
what a transformative experience it has been for them to participate at 
this level of sport and to really achieve so much, not only on the 
court but in their lives, and I salute the Lady Vols.
  I congratulate the Senator.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I thank the Senator from Illinois for his friendship, 
and we both admire a great coach and a great team and a great 
performance, which we saw last night.
  I thank the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The assistant majority leader is 
recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is my understanding the majority now 
has 30 minutes in morning business.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.

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