Fan of the WNBA or not, you've got to admit one point: It's hard to imagine female pro basketball players becoming so full of themselves that they thumb their noses at the notion of playing in the Olympics.

?There are people in the women's game who would die to go to the Olympics,? said the Mercury's Diana Taurasi, who will be part of the women's team representing the United States in Athens. Actually, the local pro scene will be thoroughly represented in basketball competition in Athens, as two Suns players are part of the men's team.

Yes, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion take the pre-historic view ? at least among NBA players ? that representing the United States is worth the sacrifice.
Heck, it might even be fun. That's a point the two players make enthusiastically.

Stoudemire, who has never visited Europe, said, ?It gives you a chance to see the world.. . . It's going to be a great experience for me.?

Said Marion, ?It's a chance to play on a great stage.

?I worked hard for it.. . . I think I earned it.?

Marion and Stoudemire were added this past spring, a time when men's players were departing and joining the team at such a frenzied pace that any plans to print men's basketball programs would have been postponed. When Stoudemire was being considered for a spot early this year, he all but called reluctant players a bunch of fat-heads.

?You'd have to be a weirdo to turn that down,? he said at the time.

Today, he's moderating his statements.

?I don't think they're necessarily idiots,? he said. ?I think they just don't want to take the chance of going over there and having terror attack.?

And yet, ?It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal, the way I look at it. It's too hard for me to turn it down.?

Even so, everyone is aware of security issues.

Marion admitted that the situation is ?scary, a little bit.. . . The world is a little crazy. But we should be fine.?

Taurasi has been involved with USA Basketball and its travels since she was a freshman in high school, ?And I've never had a problem. I don't think this should be any different.

?Day-do-day dangers are everywhere. It's not going to be any different at the Olympics.?