The city is looking at scaling back plans to make Edmonton the basketball capital of Canada because the province won’t put money into the project. A proposal adopted last year would have seen Canada Basketball train nine of its 10 teams full-time at the Saville Community Sports Centre on the University of Alberta’s South Campus. The men’s senior team, under general manager and National Basketball Association star Steve Nash, would have used Edmonton as a part-time base. But the province has decided not to provide the $1.9 million requested for 2013, so the plan will now involve having only the senior women’s team permanently located in Edmonton, according to a report released Wednesday.

BRISTOL, Conn - (BasketballBuzz)- Kayla Alexander from Milton Ontario becomes the latest Canadian to be drafted by a WBNA team. Alexander, the Syracuse Orange all-time leading scorer (2,024 points) and only player to reach the 200-mark was drafted by the San Antonio Silver Stars with the eight overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft in Bristol, Connecticut. The 6'4 centre Canada's roots in the NBA are also getting deeper with 11 Canadians Other Canadians drafted in the WNBA Tammy Sutton Brown - (Toronto, ON/Rutgers) - Charlotte Sting Cal Bouchard - (Aurora,ON)- Detroit Shock - 60th pick overall in 2000 The San Antonio Silver Stars of the WBNA have started their own Canadian Women's Basketball pipeline. Kim Smith - (Mission, BC/Utah) Other Canadians women to play in the WNBA Kalisha Keane - Michigan State Stacey Dales-Schuman - (Brookville, ON/ Since the league's inception in 1997, seven Canadian players have been drafted by or named to a WNBA team. In addition to Sutton-Brown and Dales-Schuman, Amber Hall of Vancouver, British Columbia played for the Portland Fire in 2002; Angie Ball of Pickering, Ontario was named to Charlotte's opening day roster in 2001; Cal Bouchard of Aurora, Ontario was drafted by the Detroit Shock as the 60th pick overall in 2000; Merle Lynn Lange-Harris of Toronto, Ontario played for the Phoenix Mercury in 1999; and Kelly Boucher of Calgary, Alberta played for Charlotte in 1998.

The San Antonio Silver Stars have signed have signed Canadian forward Kalisha Keane for the upcoming WNBA 2012 season. Kalisha earned the the 2011 Big Ten Player of the Year at Michigan State and has spent the 2011-12 offseason with Croatia’s Gospic CO where she has averaged 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds through 14 EuroLeague games. The 6-1 forward is also a member of the Canadian Senior Women’s National Team, most recently helping Team Canada to a third-place finish at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship where she averaged 7.5 points and 3.0 rebounds through six games.

"My whole mind-set right now: We have the pieces on this team to win a championship," Sutton-Brown said.

The W.N.B.A. has signed a long-term deal with Boost Mobile that will put the cellphone company’s logo on the jerseys of 10 of the league’s 12 teams.

If the WNBA, now in its 15th season, is going to make a more-than-niche name for itself -- especially now, with an extended lockout facing the NBA -- it's going to have to generate crossover appeal, with the All-Star Game one place to draw those who wouldn't otherwise see women pros play hoops. San Antonio's All-Star Game was just that -- a game -- when it could've been a weekend. There were no skills or 3-point-shooting contests. No rookies vs. veterans game. No non-basketball celebrities.