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Theme Week: Women of Ginter '11: Sue Bird

Welcome to Women of Ginter '11 Week!  Today's woman is Sue Bird, champion women's basketball guard.

According to Bird's Ginter card bio:
Sue grew up in New York City seemingly with a basketball attached to her hand.  She became a two-time All-American at Connecticut, where she set records for three-point accuracy, won two NCAA titles and was named 2002 Naismith Player of the Year.  A three-time Summer Games gold medalist, Bird - still one of the best point guards in the game - led the Seattle Storm to WNBA crowns in '04 and '10.
From her write-up, it is clear that Sue Bird is deserving of a "World's Champions" card in the Ginter set.  Sue currently plays for the Seattle Storm (you can view her official Storm page here).

 In addition to her accolades that Topps mentioned on her card, Sue Bird is also the sixth player ever to win an NCAA Championship, a WNBA Championship, and an Olympic gold medal.  Topping it off, Bird also won a National high school championship in her younger days!

Although Sue plays for the little watched WNBA, she is a much larger presence thanks to her work with various charities and a big 'ol sponsorship deal with Nike.  In fact, she has a very Nike-centric official website here where you can find out more about this Woman of Ginter '11.  Bird also recently purchased a house in Seattle (this year marked the tenth year she played in the rainy city for the Storm).

Finally, it should be noted that Bird is still a dominating force on the court (and thus Topps made a great choice for her inclusion in the set).  In fact, I found at least one article lauding Bird and arguing that she should be named the WNBA's MVP for the 2011 season!
And finally, just in case you thought Bird had no baseball connections...

As we continue the Women of Ginter '11 Week, it will be interesting to see whether or not Topps made a wise move by including each woman in a set of "The World's Champions."  For Sue Bird, there is absolutely no way one could argue that she is not worthy of such a moniker...and for that, Topps deserves credit for including her in the set.

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at another woman in the set - and we'll try to determine if she is as worthy of inclusion as Sue Bird is.  Quite honestly, Bird is probably going to be tough to beat as she has an incredible resume!

Image sources:
http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/sue_bird/  
http://www.sports-wired.com/women/photo.asp?F=sue_bird&Image=wos155.jpg
http://www.sports-wired.com/women/photo.asp?F=sue_bird&Image=wos149.jpg
http://www.sports-wired.com/women/photo.asp?F=sue_bird&Image=wos146.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/bremertonian/other/SueBird51.jpg

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