Let the record show that Swin Cash is a bigger person than most of us.

And that has nothing to do with her being 6 feet 1.

Since she won't do it, let's raise a proper rant on her behalf.

It is baffling, frustrating and insulting that Cash was left off the United States women's basketball Olympic team.

You know how she found out? A brief phone call last week to say no-go, not even as one of three alternates. And no explanation.

Cash should be headed for Beijing as part of a U.S. squad chasing its fourth consecutive gold medal in the sport.

In 2004, the McKeesport native was two years removed from helping college powerhouse Connecticut pull off a storybook 39-0 season, complete with NCAA tournament title, when she made the Olympic team for Athens and saw limited action as one of the younger players.

Now, at 28 and with two WNBA championships added to her resume, Cash is at her prime. The versatile forward could certainly help the United States.

Here's how an utterly disappointed Cash handled the snub.

"I thanked them, and I wished them well," she said by phone this week as her Seattle Storm team had a rare five days between games in the WNBA schedule. "I'm not going to cancel myself out of USA Basketball or anything."

A real malcontent, that Cash.

There was some speculation that she was considered something of an attitude risk because she was less than delighted that she didn't play more in 2004 in Athens. You would think people immersed in the sport would know better.

The 12-member U.S. team is coached by Anne Donovan and overseen by a senior team committee. The final three players chosen were forwards Tamika Catchings and DeLisha Milton-Jones and guard Kara Lawson.

Catchings, who turns 30 next week, and Milton-Jones, 33, have won Olympic gold. Lawson, 28, has not.

Just last month, things looked rosy for Cash. She was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame, the Storm was rounding into shape and the Olympics were on the horizon.

Now, Cash has spent several days answering questions about being left off the U.S. roster. She said support has been strong from many areas, including her Storm teammates, and a lot of people seem to be upset about it.

Not her.

"You have to put the basketball aside and think like a business person," Cash said.

Still, it stings.

"My whole thought process has been focused on playing over there," she said. "It actually didn't occur to me [that I might not]."

Since Athens, Cash has remained part of the national team and participated in training sessions and exhibition games leading up to the 2008 Games, including "friendlies" in China before the final team selection.

"I did all the things they asked me to do. I thought I had an opportunity," she said.

"It gives you motivation to work even harder. It makes you want to come back even stronger. It was very hurtful not to be part of the team, but it gives you a chance to show your character."

Cash might have started that process.

In the three games since she got that call with the unexpected news, she has averaged 13.3 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists -- above her season averages of 11.7, 5.6 and 1.8. That's also slightly above her career averages of 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and equal to her WNBA average in assists.

The Storm is riding a six-game winning streak.

Cash helped Detroit win WNBA championships in 2003 and '06 -- making her one of six women to have won an NCAA title, a WNBA title and an Olympic gold medal -- before being traded to Seattle in February.

Although the Pacific Northwest is farther from home than she has played for any length of time, she calls it "a refreshing start, but I loved my time in Detroit and helping establish them as one of the elite teams."

She said she is fully recovered from a herniated disk last summer.

It turns out Cash might still go to Beijing, but not the way she had expected. Plans for her to work as a broadcaster for NBC could be finalized in the next week or so.

"I think about all the knowledge and experience I have and why not share it with all the viewers, from someone who has been through what they are going through?" she said.

"I don't have an ego. I don't need to have a basketball in my hands all the time to be productive."

Broadcasting is something she has thought about pursuing, but she always figured it would come after her playing career. She admits that "it will be strange" watching and not playing.

And wrong.