Quiz on commas: Although women's college basketball in Connecticut is a marvelously entertaining and increasingly popular sport it is not hard

to remember when it was not so popular. Only a few years ago my friends and I could decide on a Sunday afternoon to go to a women's basketball game at the University of Connecticut and believe it or not we could get seats for free near center court. Of course that was before names such as Rebeccca Lobo Jennifer Rizzotti Kara Wolters and Carla Berube became household words. Lobo's book HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE which she wrote with her mother was a best-seller for a brief time in Connecticut. If more than a couple of hundred fans showed up for a game it was considered a big turnout and games were played in practically silent gyms. Nowadays it is almost impossible to buy tickets to a women's game and you can't get seats even in the Civic Center unless you know someone.

Indeed who would have predicted ten years ago that women's basketball would become so wildly popular in Connecticut? Well people who have watched the growth of women's basketball in southern states are not surprised. The enormous campus arenas at the state universities in Tennessee North Carolina and Georgia are filled to capacity for every home game. The coach for Tennessee's Lady Vols Pat Summitt has achieved nearly godlike stature in that state. A tall striking figure on- and off-court Summitt commands respect wherever she goes. My youngest sister Ruth Ann who lives in Tennessee says you can't get near Pat Summit after a game. "You'd think she was a rock star" she says. Although Geno Auriemma Coach of the UConn women's team doesn't yet enjoy that kind of support he is rapidly becoming a widely recognized figure. In Connecticut we no longer say there is basketball in college sports and then there is women's basketball; we say there is men's basketball and women's basketball.

Although women's college basketball in Connecticut is a marvelously entertaining and increasingly popular sport, it is not hard to remember when it was not so popular. Only a few years ago, my friends and I could decide on a Sunday afternoon to go to a women's basketball game at the University of Connecticut, and believe it or not, we could get seats for free near center court. Of course, that was before names such as Rebeccca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti, Kara Wolters, and Carla Berube became household words. Lobo's book, HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE, which she wrote with her mother, was a best-seller for a brief time in Connecticut. If more than a couple of hundred fans showed up for a game, it was considered a big turnout, and games were played in practically silent gyms. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to buy tickets to a women's game, and you can't get seats, even in the Civic Center, unless you know someone.

Indeed, who would have predicted ten years ago that women's basketball would become so wildly popular in Connecticut? Well, people who have watched the growth of women's basketball in southern states are not

surprised. The enormous campus arenas at the state universities in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia are filled to capacity for every home game. The coach for Tennessee's Lady Vols, Pat Summitt, has achieved nearly godlike stature in that state. A tall, striking figure on- and off-court, Summitt commands respect wherever she goes. My youngest sister, Ruth Ann, who lives in Tennessee, says you can't get near Pat Summit after a game. "You'd think she was a rock star," she says. Although Geno Auriemma, Coach of the UConn women's team, doesn't yet enjoy that kind of support, he is rapidly becoming a widely recognized figure. In Connecticut, we no longer say there is basketball in college sports and then there is women's basketball; we say there is men's basketball and women's basketball.

Practice 1: Using Correct Punctuation in a Letter Correct the comma usage in the following letter. If you have questions, refer to the comma usage rules you have just reviewed to help you insert (or delete) commas and other punctuation marks in the appropriate places. 111 W 1111th Street New York New York 11111 January 1 2008 Dear Lynne Can you remember what it was like trying to teach students, how to use the comma. I am having a very funny and somewhat frustrating, experience teaching commas to my students because they find the subject incredibly boring. Do you blame them. Their solution alas to the problem of when to insert a comma is to sprinkle commas throughout their essays as if they were chocolate sprinkles on an ice cream cone. While I like the idea of ice cream I have to point out to them that there are rules that must be followed or the reader will end up very confused. One of my students actually told me that she decided to put them in at a rate of two commas for every other sentence she figured this would make her writing look more "professional." Do you have any suggestions for how I can make commas more fun. Any advice you can offer will be much appreciated. Sincerely

Joy

Practice 2: Using Commas Correctly Insert commas in the appropriate places in the following sentences.

A long river the Mississippi can be said to divide the United States into two parts 1. west and east. When you are traveling west from Philadelphia you arrive in Chicago long before 2. you arrive in Salt Lake City. "Seeing the country by car" said my tour guide "is really the best way to learn 3. what being an American is all about." 4. Getting to a scheduled airline flight these days can be very difficult due to the requirement that you take off your shoes and jacket throw away your water bottle and show your ticket before you enter the gate area. On the other hand there is no mode of travel that is faster easier simpler and 5. more modern than air flight. 6. Trekking however is actually my favorite way to see the countryside. My family favors camping vacations which include sleeping eating and even 7. showering out in nature. 8. The hazards of camping can include mosquitoes ants and sometimes bears.

After being awakened by our first bear we drove to town the very next day and 9. bought a big tent. 10. My mother has always told me that the best education is earned in the following ways: traveling to new places reading good books and conscientiously practicing all the hard grammar rules.

Practice 1: Using Correct Punctuation in a Letter 111 W. 1111th Street New York, New York 11111 January 1, 2008 Dear Lynne, Can you remember what it was like trying to teach students how to use the comma? I am having a very funny and somewhat frustrating experience teaching commas my students, because they find the subject incredibly boring. Do you blame them? Their solution, alas, to the problem of when to insert a comma is to sprinkle commas throughout

their essays as if they were chocolate sprinkles on an ice cream cone. While I like the idea of ice cream, I have to point out to them that there are rules that must be followed or the reader will end up very confused. One of my students actually told me that she decided to put them in at a rate of two commas for every other sentence. She figured this would make her writing look more "professional." Do you have any suggestions for how I can make commas more fun? Any advice you can offer will be much appreciated. Sincerely, Joy Practice 2: Using Commas Correctly A long river, the Mississippi can be said to divide the United States into two parts, west and east. When you are traveling west from Philadelphia, you arrive in Chicago long before you arrive in 2. Salt Lake City. "Seeing the country by car," said my tour guide, "is really the best way to learn what being an 3. American is all about." 4. Getting to a scheduled airline flight these days can be very difficult due to the requirement that you take off your shoes and jacket, throw away your water bottle, and show your ticket before you enter the gate area. On the other hand, there is no mode of travel that is faster, easier, simpler, and more modern 5. than air flight. 6. Trekking, however, is actually my favorite way to see the countryside. My family favors camping vacations, which include sleeping, eating, and even showering out 7. in nature. 8. The hazards of camping can include mosquitoes, ants, and sometimes bears. After being awakened by our first bear, we drove to town the very next day and bought a big 9. tent. 10. My mother has always told me that the best education is earned in the following ways: traveling to new places, reading good books, and conscientiously practicing all the hard grammar rules. 1.

Name______________ Class:_________

Although women's college basketball in Connecticut is a marvelously entertaining and increasingly popular sport it is not hard to remember when it was not so popular. Only a few years ago my friends and I could decide on a Sunday afternoon to go to a women's basketball game at the University of Connecticut and believe it or not we could get seats for free near center court. Of course that was before names such as Rebeccca Lobo Jennifer Rizzotti Kara Wolters and Carla Berube became household words. Lobo's book HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE which she wrote with her mother was a best-seller for a brief time in Connecticut. If more than a couple of hundred fans showed up for a game it was considered a big turnout and games were played in practically silent gyms. Nowadays it is almost impossible to buy tickets to a women's game and you can't get seats even in the Civic Center unless you know someone.

Name:_______________ Class:___________

Indeed who would have predicted ten years ago that women's basketball would become so wildly popular in Connecticut? Well people who have watched the growth of women's basketball in southern states are not surprised. The enormous campus arenas at the state universities in Tennessee North Carolina and Georgia are filled to capacity for every home game. The coach for Tennessee's Lady Vols Pat Summitt has achieved nearly godlike stature in that state. A tall striking

figure on- and off-court Summitt commands respect wherever she goes. My youngest sister Ruth Ann who lives in Tennessee says you can't get near Pat Summit after a game. "You'd think she was a rock star" she says. Although Geno Auriemma Coach of the UConn women's team doesn't yet enjoy that kind of support he is rapidly becoming a widely recognized figure. In Connecticut we no longer say there is basketball in college sports and then there is women's basketball; we say there is men's basketball and women's basketball.