Brittney Griner's bad in so many good ways. Indeed, she may be the most exciting athlete in the Phoenix area. At an athletic 6-feet-8, she is transforming the women's professional game. Used to be that dunking was never seen in the Women's National Basketball Association, now it's de rigueur for Griner. Even with the great Diana Taurasi taking a sabbatical from the Phoenix Mercury this season, Griner's keeping the team in the hunt. (The Mercury won the WNBA championship with Griner and Taurasi leading the way last season.) Griner didn't start the season with the team because of her suspension for domestic violence. Yes, this time it was an elite female athlete under scrutiny for an incident with her significant other. Or, in Griner's case her ex, Tulsa Shock forward Glory Johnson. Griner and her then-fiancée got hit with assault and disorderly conduct charges after a disturbance at their Goodyear home that cops were said to have broken up. Both suffered minor injuries (an indication that blame was shared), and both women later were suspended for seven games after a guilty plea in the incident. Twenty-six weeks of domestic-violence counseling also was required by the court. The pair got married less than a month after the incident, but the union was annulled after it was announced that Johnson was pregnant. Griner, 24, had bad games — for her — on her return to the team, but on July 1, she returned to top form, scoring 23 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and blocking four shots in a victory over the San Antonio Stars. She was the WNBA blocks leader in 2013 and 2014 so now it'll be interesting to see if she can block the infamous incident with Johnson out of her mind and return the Mercury to championship material. Because with Taurasi gone, it's her team.