I know I have fallen off with my blog the past couple weeks, but I assure you I haven't been goofing off. This particular blog just had to happen though, because I've gotten my WCBB mojo back courtesy of hometown homegirl Maya Moore of the UConn Huskies! I was in Chicago this past weekend with a couple friends to check out my Huskies against DePaul. UConn got their asses kicked up and down McGrath Arena for about 35 minutes, but the experience of Coach Auriemma (I love him *sigh*) and the Huskies took over down the stretch. Who came up with the big steal in the waning seconds of the game to give Swanier the opportunity to hit the game winning basket? Uh huh. That's right. Maya Moore baby!
Then, watching the UConn/Rutgers game last night, the kid has 13 points in the first 13 minutes of the game as UConn eventually went on to thrash the Scarlett Knights by 20 and win the Big East regular season title. Did I mention that Moore was just named both the Big East Freshman of the Week (for the TENTH time this season) AND the Big East Player of the Week (first time a freshman has won this award)?
I believe that she could play in the WNBA this very second. I don't mean just make a team either. I mean she could play significant minutes, and maybe even start for a couple teams. Believe me I wouldn't say that about many college kids, and even fewer freshmen. But I really think this kid has got the goods. Am I the only one dreaming of a Catchings/Moore prime time matchup on ESPN? I'm not sure if there are enough kneepads in the world…
If it sounds like I'm being a rah-rah fangirl it's because I am. And I'm proud of it. Shit, just hand me some pom poms and a megaphone. I love this kid! She's got incredible talent, but even more heart. You know what the scary part is? She's this good RIGHT NOW. Uh, she's still got three more years to grow…
So anyway, I said all that to say that I'm starting my official "Maya Moore for Player of the Year" campaign. We all know who will win it but I think when you look at the big picture of what this kid has been asked to do and the role she has had to play, I think there's a STRONG case that can be made in her favor. She's got the stats to back it up, and her team is and has been the top dog (pun intended) just about the whole season. Let's see some history made in WCBB this year!
Uh, yeah. I'm back. Tough week. Anywho, the beginning of my last blog really got me thinking. Since when was the possibility of Mique in a Detroit Shock jersey worse than her in Sparks jersey?? Seriously. Everyone (except Sparks fans) knows that LA was probably the most unpopular team ever. I am a firm believer that every league needs rivalries and players/teams that everyone loves to hate. Most times it's a dominant team and everyone bands together and hopes for their ultimate upset and fall from grace. It's a part of all sports, and the WNBA is no different. So what happened? Wasn't I rooting for the Shock at some point? Oh yeah, the 2003 WNBA Finals vs. who? You guessed it. Those dreaded LA Sparks LOL. Each team had held court and won on its home floor. So, let's jump to the decisive Game 3 in Detroit.
I don't know why I even bother with the first half. It just seems like the games never get really good until the second half anyway. But, you know me, I just can't help it :) Ruth Riley came out SMOKIN'. She was hitting everything seemed like, racking up 10 quick points. With just under 11 minutes to play in the half, the Shock were up 23-9. Damn. But you know the 2 time defending champs weren't going to go out like that. A quick 9-0 run by the Sparks set the game back up on its right side. The Shock went a little cold for the next stretch and LA crept within 1 after a Nikki Teasley 3 point bomb. 31-30 Shock with about 4:30 left in the half. The next few minutes were rough. I mean ROUGH. Hard screens, elbows flying, double fouls, bodies flying everywhere. Brutal. Lisa Leslie picked up her 3rd foul with a little under 3 minutes left, and Dixon picked up her FOURTH 30 seconds later! Sucked for LA. After a few more carcasses were picked up off the court, the half ended with the Shock leading 42-37.
Bad news for LA. Leslie picked up her 4th foul on the opening play of the second half. Niiiiiiiiiiiice. With about 18:30 left, I began to see the heart of a champion in the Shock. Elaine Powell drove the lane and hit a sweet scoop layup AND THE FOUL! The crowd of 22,076 (the largest in WNBA history at the time) roared. Powell, with her shorts falling down and half her ass hanging out, walked around the hoop talking trash to Dixon while trying to hold her shorts up LOL. They Shock were not afraid. They were hungry, you could tell. With every elbow the Sparks threw, Detroit threw two. Deanna Nolan rose up and fired off a three. These players wanted it. 52-43 Shock. Then Ruth Riley started to heat up…again. Back to back foul line jumpers (HELLO LA, you can't double off of Ruth, she's hitting that shot!), then a sweet turnaround over Leslie. She was playing out of her mind! 56-45 Shock w/ 15 minutes left. Timeout LA. The Shock bench was fired up, but Ruth motioned her teammates to calm down, then pointed at the clock. She knew that this game was a long way from over.
And she was right. LA came out of the timeout with a quick answer by LL. But in another completely incomprehensible defensive lapse, she left Riley open AGAIN at the free throw line. Swish. I'm screaming at the TV WTF Lisa, while simultaneously cheering for Detroit. Riley was playing like a woman possessed, with 19 (a then career high). But back came the Champs. Dixon SCHOOLED Powell for a quick deuce, and a Mabika putback got the shock within 7, 58-51 with a little under 13 minutes left. Minutes later, rookie Cheryl Ford picked up HER 4th foul. Would there be any players left to finish the game? LOL. Yeah, it was getting testy up in there. I think the refs just stopped calling fouls and said bump it. Both teams took the gloves off and just started going at it. It was like two heavyweight fighters exchanging uppercuts. Yikes. Mabika, after pushing off on Holland-Corn, went up for a 10 footer and was fouled by Powell. And 1. Just like that LA was back within 2, 64-62 with 8 minutes left in the game. I guess the Sparks felt like they had found something there, so the next couple plays they just ran clear outs for Mabika. She went tearing in the lane drawing fouls. She drew Nolan's 4th as well, and her two free throws tied the game at 66 with about 6:30 remaining.
The next possession, Leslie picked up her 5th. OH JOY! LOL. Delisha Milton Jones silenced the sellout crowd moments later with a looooong deuce. LA was up 2 with 5 minute left! But Ruth. F'in. Riley! Wow, she was just doing it big on both ends. Big shot on offense, then came down and got a nice block on Leslie. Still, LA was up 3 with 2:30 left in the game. Another big bucket by Riley with the shot clock running down pulled the Shock within one 73-72. She was having the game of her life! There were now under two minutes to go, and LA called on their all world, superstar center to bring it on home. But Ruth Riley was having none of that. She stepped up big time and forced LL into awkward, forced shots on two straight possessions. I could feel the excitement building in the Palace as the clock approached one minute.
Detroit ball with under a minute to go, and they were down by 1. LA dropped back into a zone. The Shock zipped the ball around the perimeter, in low to Cheryl Ford, then a quick kick out to Cash on the wing, as Riley slid up to the high post to set a screen. They were making that zone work. Cash sent it to Powell at the top of the key, who then zipped the rock to a wide open Deanna Nolan in the corner. Uh oh. Delisha Milton Jones tried to rotate over, but it was too late. Nolan rose up as only she can, and let that baby fly. As soon as it left her fingertips, I could see the Shock bench slowly rise to it's feet. The fans in the section behind the bench raised their thundersticks symbolically. Wishing. Hoping. Signaling. 'It's good'. I stood up with both arms stretched to the skies. When that ball dropped through the nets we all screamed, Nolan, the Detroit faithful, and I, in perfect simpatico. The Shock had taken the lead 75-73 with 53 seconds to go!
On the next play, the Sparks went to Leslie again, but tremendous post defense by Riley forced her into an impossibly tough shot. She clanked it and out of both frustration and desperation, fouled Cheryl Ford going after the rebound. 6th foul on the Diva! Sayonara! If LA was going to 3-peat, they would have to do it without their superstar and MVP Lisa Leslie. More importantly, that foul sent Cheryl Ford, the rookie, to the line for 2 HUGE free throws. She swished the first and let out a sigh of relief as the crowd erupted. Cheryl then lined up the second free throw, which hit the back of the rim and bounced straight up in the air before lazily dropping through the hoop. 77-73 Shock!
But you know the Champs weren't going to just hand over the trophy. Next possession Mabika hit the pullup jumper on the baseline. Nolan was immediately fouled on the inbounds with 32.9 seconds left. She stepped to the line and strokes two more big ones. 79-75 Detroit. LA threw the counter punch as Delisha Milton Jones went down and busted a three! 79-78 Shock with 23.8 left! Nolan was fouled again, same result. She blazed two like it wasn't nothing, giving her team a three point advantage. Time was running out for the defending champs.
Teasley came down and pulled up for the foul line jumper…not happening. Ford was all over the boards for Detroit and was fouled again on the rebound. Back to the line went the rookie. Pressure? What pressure? 12.5 seconds left, your team needing every point it can get because you know LA ain't going away, a championship hanging in the balance…nah, no pressure at all LOL. The 68% free throw shooter stepped to the line and calmly sank the first. The crowd of 22,000+ was beside itself. They could taste it. Ford gave herself a reassuring fist pump. The second free throw was on its way. Swish. Cut to her father Karl Malone in the crowd, whose head was down as he couldn't even bare to watch. Hell even I had closed one eye LOL. But the crowd bursting into screams was enough to let him know that she had made it. Ford let out a scream on the way back down the court. Yo go, rook! 83-78 Shock.
LA raced down the court frantically trying to keep their fast fading dreams of a 3-peat alive. Dixon bricked a quick three and the rebound went to Powell. She tried to pass it up court, but the ball was tipped out of bounds by the Sparks with 4.6 seconds left. And that's when the unthinkable became reality to the city of Detroit. They had done it! They had completed the greatest turnaround in professional sports history. From worst to first baby! From WNBA bottom feeders the previous season to WNBA Champions! The Palace exploded as the buzzer sounded and made it official. They had knocked off the defending champs and reenergized a struggling Detroit franchise. Bill Laimbeer had made good on his bold predictions when he entered the league the year before: He had made them Champions. What a moment in WNBA history!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the last time I rooted for the Detroit Shock. It all went downhill from there as the Shock eventually became the new team that I love to hate LOL. And now that the Mercury have thwarted their chances at a repeat much like they did to LA back then, there's just no turning back. But hey, we'll always have '03 ;-) To make amends for missing last week, here's the game changing shot by Nolan (bad quality I know, but remember this is coming from VHS) Also check out the closing seconds of the game on one of my other vids:
I heard something this week that made me absolutely sick to my stomach. I know it's just a RUMOR, but the mere thought of it makes me want to gouge my eyes out. There is a RUMOR floating around that Chamique Holdsclaw will be donning a Detroit Shock jersey next season. Gag. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. It's bad enough that my worst nightmare came true when she went over to the Dark Side (LA Sparks). Haven't I suffered enough?? LOL. Now I don't believe this blasphemy for a second, but the mental picture made me sprint for the archives. I needed to return to a time when all was right with the WNBA world. I needed a Mique moment.
Let's go back to a happy time. I'm talking about 2002, that magical year for the Mique and the Mystics, when it seemed like everything was falling into place for them. Well, almost everything. It was Game 2 of the 2002 Eastern Conference semis. The Mystics (coached by Marianne Stanley) won Game 1 at the MCI Center behind 26 points from Mique, and were one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals. Only the Charlotte Sting (coached by Anne Donovan) and their homecourt advantage were standing in the way. But the Mystics had a weapon so secret that even THEY didn't know about it…ME! That's right, my sister and I were in the house for this showdown. Oh God. I was suddenly afraid because I couldn't remember if I actually behaved at this game LOL. What can be more fun than seeing yourself act an ass on TV?
The Mystics got off to a hot start, jumping on the Sting with a 9-0 run. Quick timeout. Although they couldn't throw it in the ocean, the Sting managed to regroup and keep the Mystics from running them out of the gym. With about 12 minutes left in the first half, Andrea Stinson and an unidentified Charlotte post ran the high pick and roll and the post puts it in for two and the foul! The crowd was going nuts, I was too as I watched the tape because I couldn't figure out who the hell she was. When I heard the announcer say, "Summer Erb fouled…and 1!!" I thought I had entered the twilight zone! OMG, you know you old school if you remember Summer Erb. And she got her pose on after making the free throw, taking full advantage of them 15 minutes of fame. LOL! 15-11 Mystics.
Just over a minute later, Andrea Stinson made me put my laptop to the side and pay attention. Now y'all know I love Mique, but I got to get her on this one. She was guarding Stinson on the perimeter. Andrea caught the pass on the weak side and just put the killer crossover on Mique. Jammed them ankles so smooth. Ooooh, left her in the dust and sailed in for the hoop. Mique got OWNED. I couldn't help but to squish up my face on that one. Ouch. 17-15 Mystics. But I have to give Mique props. Stinson tried the same move on her a few minutes later on the opposite side, but Mique wasn't having it. She went for the crossover, but recovered on the backside and when Stinson went up for the layup Mique swatted it into downtown Raleigh! YEAH! Now the universe was back in order LOL.
Erin Buescher came in for Charlotte with about 4 minutes left in the half and energized the Sting. A bucket + the foul, a tough offensive board and putback, and a couple free throws got Charlotte right back in it. After Stacey Dales Schuman and Stinson traded treys, Charlotte had the ball down 1 (35-34) with 35 seconds to go. They went 4 flat with the iso for Stinson at the top of the key, guarded by Dales. Yeah, nice matchup Mystics. Stinson held it until about 20 ticks left then made her move. She threw Stacey a couple breakdown dribbles, and SDS gave ground because she just knew Stinson was gonna try to blow right by her. Sike! Andrea pulled up for three just because. BAM! Bottoms up baby. The crowd went bananas. The Mystics couldn't answer so the Sting went into the locker room at the half with all the momentum and the lead 37-35.
Charlotte got up by 4 early in the second half and both team basically exchanged baskets for the next few minutes after that. Once again Erin Beuscher entered the game and gave the Sting an instant boost, going hard to the bucket then draining a big three. A beautiful alley oop pass from Annie Burgess to Holdsclaw tied the game at 55 with about 5 minutes left, where it remained for two minutes until Coco Miller busted the Charlotte zone with an icy three to give the Mystics the 58-55 lead. After a quick bucket by the Sting, Miller came right back and found the soft spot in the zone AGAIN and knocked down the baseline jumper! Mique let out a yell on the way back down the court. The Washington bench jumped to their feet screaming. The camera zoomed in on the rowdy Mystics fans and guess who I saw? Busted. Right in front of the camera with my mouth wide open and my arms flailing, yelling like I didn't have no home training. So embarrassing. LOL. 60-57 Mystics with 2 minutes left.
Charlotte ran the clock down to about 15 seconds. Andrea Stinson got past Miller on the perimeter, but ran into the help defender. She tried to kick it back out to Staley, but the pass was tipped by Stacy Dales Schuman and eventually picked up by Mique who was immediately fouled. Turnover Sting with 9.7 seconds left!! The Mystics fans in attendance went absolutely crazy! Coco was fouled on the inbound with 8.3 seconds left. She calmly sank both freebies. 62-59 Mystics, Sting ball with no timeouts. They raced down the court and got it to Allison Feaster, who was 0-6 and scoreless for the night. The entire Washington entourage held its collective breath as she pulled up from behind the arc. It took forever for that ball to begin its frightening descent towards the hoop. Everyone rose to their feet, the arena air thick with anticipation. BOINK! Another brick. The Coliseum groaned. The buzzer sounded and the Mystics players charged towards their bench with their arms raised high in triumph. They had done it! The first playoff series victory in franchise history!
I can remember it so clearly, the celebration in front of the Mystics bench. The sheer joy of a franchise and a city of loyal fans that had struggled so long together finally getting over the hump. Some of the players even ran up and slapped hands with the some of the fans that had made the trip to Charlotte. The thrill of being there for that moment is something that I won't soon forget. It's just that now it has to take a back seat to the ultimate remembrance; being in the mix of a Game 5 road win for the WNBA title and laying hands on the trophy baby! Yeah y'all know I had to get that in there. In fact, let me go watch my Game 5 DVD to keep this feeling of nostalgia going LOL. Because truthfully when all is said and done, these are shining examples of the most precious things that I own in this life. Memories.
Well, my Dream is finally coming true. Crap, it's already starting. Yet another bad pun, I know. But get used to it. As I'm sure most of you guys know, the name of our Atlanta franchise was announced last week. The Atlanta Dream. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the press conference. Actually I was there as a volunteer so it was pretty cool to be behind the scenes and see what it takes to put something like that together.
Anyway, I'm not surprised by the name at all as I think I touched on this in one of my earlier blogs. The colors are red, white, and light blue. Ok, not that big a deal for me. But that LOGO. My goodness. I must say that I was a little disappointed in the plain logo. It's so….boring. Looking at it makes me sleepy. Hey, maybe that was a part of the strategy. Sleep…dream…somebody stop me. Please.
Now that the cat's out of the bag, I want to show y'all something. Shortly after the 'finalists' for team names were announced, my sister and I were sitting around talking about what the team name should be. We started thinking that maybe 'Flight' would be a better name in terms of marketing/logo/mascot. So right on the fly, we kicked around some ideas and I got a vision in my head. I want to show you guys our makeshift 'Flight' logo. It's not the best quality pic, but hey what can I say. This was totally spur of the moment, so don't laugh 'cause it's kinda bootleg LOL. My sister sketched this by hand on some random piece of paper, going only by what I was saying was in my head. We were gonna pitch this to Ron and the Atlanta crew…NOT! LOL. Dream on. Oops, there I go again…
Ok, I know it's not Thursday. Hey, life happens sometimes. But now we're all gonna close our eyes…wait, if you close your eyes then you won't be able to read the rest…ok we're all gonna join hands and concentrate real hard and pretend that today is yesterday, and tomorrow is today and yesterday is, well, today….or something like that. Are you confused? Good. So am I. Now we're in the right frame of mind for this week's delve into the archives.
I have to start this off by saying, I love me some Lauren Jackson! She is one of my favorite players in the WNBA. Omg, do I have her in my list of faves on my profile?? Hold up, let me go straighten that RIGHT now……………………………ok I'm back. Had to take care of that. Any "big" girl that can play back to the basket AND step back behind the arc and stroke it like a 2 guard consistently is aight with me. The key word being c-o-n-s-i-s-t-e-n-t-l-y. So sorry Sparks fans but that two handed, Bill Cartwright three-point heave that Lisa Leslie got going on doesn't count LOL.
This game was a 2003 regular season matchup in Connecticut between the Connecticut Sun with first year coach Mike Thibault, and the Seattle Storm with first year coach Anne Donovan. Seattle started Sue Bird, Amanda Lassiter, Sandy Brondello, Lauren Jackson, and Kamila Vodichkova. The Sun countered with Shannon Johnson, Nykesha Sales, Katie Douglas, Brooke Wycoff, and Taj McWilliams Franklin.
The Storm came out firing. LJ set the tone with a bucket off the opening tip and an easy put back on the very next possession. Then she went down on the defensive end and got the block on Wycoff. Gotta love it. After a beautiful no look wrap around pass to Brondello on the break, Sue and the Storm found themselves up 11-0 and looked like they would run away with it. But Katie Douglas buried a triple to finally get Connecticut on the board and sparked an 8-2 run for the Sun. Unfortunately that spark was short lived. They couldn't hit the broad side of a barn after that. I'm talking Brick City. You know it's bad when Taj and Wendy Palmer are at the top of the key taking threes….fake ass LJs….LOL. The Storm were up 28-18 at the half.
I can't lie, the first half of this game was just painful to watch. Both teams shot horrendously, Sun 23%, Storm 32 %. That's some stinky offense right there. Mercifully things picked up a little in the second half. Bad news for Seattle though, as Lauren picked up her third foul a minute and some change into the half. And not too long after Kamila Vodichkova went to the bench with her 4th foul. But that didn't stop Lo-Jack. 6'5 got it at the three point line off the high pick and roll with Sue, took one dribble to blow by Wendy Palmer on the perimeter then two HUGE steps to get to the gut of the lane, kept the ball high in anticipation of body contact (which she did get), and kissed it off glass. 40-29 Storm. Oooooooooh, just silky smooth baby like Soul Glo lol. LJ was unstoppable. Oops, I spoke too soon LOL. Seconds later Silky had to slide her ass to the bench after picking up her 4th foul.
Connecticut came alive when Jackson left the game. Katie Douglas woke up and began hitting from the perimeter. It didn't help that Seattle kept playing hot potato with the rock and turning it over. Suddenly, we had a game on our hands. 44-40 Storm with 10 minutes left! Uh, yeah. LJ back in immediately. The Sun brought in reserves, including Jesse Hicks (remember her?!!). Hicks came in straight ballin! She was all over the boards and she put down some tough baskets against that big Storm frontline. Most importantly she got the 5th foul on both Jackson and Vodichkova within minutes of one another! Banished to the bench. Seattle was in deep doo-doo now. The lead had dwindled to 49-48 with 7:45 left.
Ensuing possession, Hicks was putting in work again. Not one, not two, but THREE offensive rebounds and the putback gave the Sun its first lead! Oh my lord, and ANOTHER offensive rebound and putback on the Sun's next possession to up the lead to 3! And like lightning LJ, Vodi, and Brondello were at in scorers table before Hicks' shot dropped through the nets LOL. LJ came in dropping dimes and dropping bombs to get it back tied up at 56 with 3:30 left. Now here's where the game got weird. Well, specifically, the refs got weird. I will spare you my 'WNBA refs suck' diatribe…for now. But they were starting to call the game strangely. First a phantom foul on a Sun player right in front of their bench which sent Thibault into a tissy, then a foul on Taj when it looked like she had a spectacular block on Lassiter. Hmm, I smelled trouble.
Anyway, Bird bounced back from a couple of hapless turnovers with a sweet drive and score on which she was fouled multiple times before and on the shot. No call. I was up off the bed screaming by now. WTF! 59-58 Storm with 1:40 left. Vodi got fouled and headed to the line where she made the first of two with one minute left in the game. She bricked the second, but Silky got a huge rebound with < 1 min left. Vodi went to the line again where she made both. 62-58 Storm with 35 seconds left. It was getting intense so I had to move to the foot of my bed. Douglas answered for the Sun with the scoop shot off a screen. The Sun then fouled Lassiter, who was a 50% free throw shooter. Unfortunately for them she made both. Oops. 64-60 Storm with 23 ticks left. Timeout Sun.
Out of the timeout, PeeWee Johnson received the inbounds pass, drove the lane, and kicked it back out to Taj McWilliams-Franklin for three from the top of the key!! I fell off the edge of my bed. Are you seriously kidding me?!! Mike Thibault could NOT have drawn that up LOL! Wow! The Sun were right back in this thing 64-63 with 19 seconds left. They fouled Lassiter again, and this time it worked because she choked on both free throws! Now check this out. Y'all not going to believe this. Taj grabbed the rebound off the second missed free throw, dribbled UNCONTESTED coast to coast and got a shot off. All the while I was yelling at the TV "Helloooo, somebody stop ball!!" Taj missed the shot (was partially blocked), but LJ couldn't hang on to the rebound and Adrian Johnson picked up the loose ball and chucked it up there. Seriously, her eyes might have been closed LOL. That ball hit every part of the rim before it went in. 65-64 Sun with 7.7 seconds left!! W.T.F. Timeout Seattle. I think I had started to sweat.
Because Seattle inbounded the ball before they called timeout, Lassiter had to inbound the ball in the back court. It looked like LJ and Sue got their signals crossed because both ended up running to the same spot…and both were open. Nice 'D' Sun. LJ got there first so she took the inbounds pass and put it on the floor. Believe me when I tell you Silky got from beyond halfcourt to the lane with three dribbles. Three. She put the lazy crossover on Taj around the free throw line then took those two HUGE European steps and banked it in with 3.5 seconds left! 66-65 Storm! Holy shit..ake mushrooms! That's why she's a Ledge baby. Then Bird stole the inbounds pass so the Sun had to foul her with 2.4 seconds left. 94% free throw shooter at the line. Connecticut was toast right? Wrong. Bird missed the first. I cursed. Loudly. She put the second one in and put Seattle up 67-65.
What happened next may be one of the most bizarre plays I have ever seen. The Sun had the ball on the far end of the court. They had to dribble the length of the court or make a long pass to even get a shot off with 2.4 seconds left. They opted for the latter. Taj threw the baseball pass towards the sidelines…to absolutely no one. The closest players to the pass were Sue Bird and Rita Williams of the Storm. The ball bounced once inbounds right near the sideline, and for some inexplicable reason Rita Williams jumped up and hit the ball like she was trying to save it or something. What the hell was she thinking??!! Since she touched it and went out of bounds, the Sun got the ball right at the hash in their frontcourt with no time running off the clock! OMG I lost it. That had to be the most retarded play ever. So the Sun had a chance to tie or win the game! Sales inbounded the ball to Taj, guarded by LJ, at the elbow extended. She put the spin move on Silky and had a path to the hoop. Crap. Rita Williams slid over and under Taj and they collided. Lauren Jackson came from behind and for the block at the same time. WHISTLE. Uh oh. Block on Williams? Foul on LJ? What????? OFFENSIVE FOUL ON TAJ! 0.2 seconds left. Oh. My. Goodness. Mike Thibault went ballistic. "Bullshit!" He screamed. "That's bullshit!" Bullshit indeed, coach. Wow.
The "boo"mers rained down on the officials as time expired and Seattle skated out of Uncasville with a narrow 67-65 road win. Whoa. I don't even know what to say after that except, well, Lauren Jackson is the shiznit. And yes, refs suck. Royally. I am so beyond rehab ;-)
Off to see what I can dig up for next week...and it will be on THURSDAY...ha.
I'll be honest. I had a completely different game that I was gonna write about this week, one of the few that didn't involve Chamique Holdsclaw or Diana Taurasi LOL. I did, I swear. But a picture that I posted in another forum triggered my memory of this particular game, so I had to roll with it. I ran home and peeked around in my 2004 NCAA Tourney collection. Found it. Let's dance.
Flashback to the not-so-distant past. 2004 saw a UConn team unlike any we had become accustomed to seeing; they actually lost a few games. Four to be exact. To put it in perspective, the Huskies had lost 4 games combined the previous three seasons. COMBINED. So yeah, there were some folks dangling over the ledge when UConn had lost 4 games, and came into the 2004 NCAA tourney as a #2 seed.
UConn battled all the way to the Elite 8, where they had the pleasure of playing #1 seeded Penn State, featuring Kelly Mazzante, at the Hartford Civic Center for a chance to reach an unprecedented 5th straight Final Four. A #1 seed having to play at what was essentially the home court of their opponent? Now there's a reward for getting a top seed if I ever saw one…HA!
The first half of this game was fairly uneventful. To be blunt, it was downright ugly. With about 20 seconds left in the half, the score was 21-13. Gross. UConn had the ball for the last possession. 10 seconds left. Diana passed to Maria Conlon at the top of the key and cut down towards the basket to wait for a screen. 6 seconds. She went around a faux post screen and darted back up the gut of the lane to receive the return pass from Maria right in front of the Penn State bench. 1.2 seconds. She was tightly guarded so she had to take a dribble and sidestep the defender to create a little space. She let it fly. BUZZZZZEEEEERRRRRRRR. The ball was floating. DT stood there, getting her 'Love and Basketball' pose on. The noise of the horn sounding to signify the end of the half was deafening, but you could still hear that ball scorching through the nets. The crowd went nuts.
Then the camera zoomed in on Dee as she stood there holding the pose. As she got ready to walk off the court, she turned her head to the side and gave the Lady Lions at little mini-Harlem Shake…right in front of their bench! No. She. Didn't. LOL! Ok it was more like the Chino/SoCal Shake but that's only if you're being picky ;) (If you don't know what the Harlem Shake is, well, can't help you on that one. Google or YouTube might help if you need a visual) The refs ended up having to go to the monitors to see if she got the shot off in time (she didn't, so they said), so it was replayed like 100 times. My sister and I have since decided that it was more of a 'shimmy' of the shoulders. Yeah, that's it. That move henceforth became known 'round these parts as the "Shimmy Shake." Brilliance. They took the points off the board, but it was too late. Diana had already gotten the mojo working baby. Penn State didn't stand a chance.
The start of the second half was just brutal for Penn State. About two minutes in, I think Barbara Turner lost her mind. She and Taurasi were the leading scorers for UConn in the first half, with 9 an 8 points respectively. After burying a three pointer with the shot clock winding down, Turner just went on a rampage. She was straight schooling the PSU posts. Two free throws and back-to-back three point plays later Turner had 20pts, the crowd was roaring, and the lead had ballooned to 17.
With the shot clock winding down at around the 12:30 mark, DT curled tight off a screen down on the left block. Her defender, as she had been ALL night, was late getting around the screen, so Jessica Moore's defender stepped up a little to give help. Bad idea. Didn't she hear that DT, along with her ability to read minds, also had eyes in the back of her head? Dee jetted around the screen to the middle of the lane where Maria Conlon zipped a pass to her. Without even turning around, she made a two handed touch pass OVER HER HEAD to her screener Jessica Moore…who then promptly missed the layup! Granted, she did get fouled, but still…That play ended up making the SportsCenter Top 10 the next day. Yeah, it was that amazing.
Kelly Mazzante and the Lady Lions staged a valiant comeback and actually cut the once 20+ point lead down to 9. Sound the alarms! It was 'give the ball to Diana and get the hell out of the way' time. Three point bomb. Want some more? Iso for DT with Kelly Mazzante defending. All American vs All American. What you gonna do Mazz? DT started to back her down to the post. Mazz tried to body up and go for the steal, but she bounced of the brick wall that is Dee and went flying backwards about 5 feet. LOL. Get your weight up homie. Another iso on Mazzante. This time Dee just blew right by her and went up for the short baseline jumper. Kelly had no choice but to foul. Diana knew they couldn't do nothing with her, so she trotted towards her bench after that foul, giving them the face that you see in the pic below. Classic. Those two are teammates now. Hmm, I wonder if this game has ever been discussed amongst them…Uh, needless to say UConn won 66-49. Taurasi finished with 27 and Turner with 26. UConn advanced to its 5th straight Final Four, and we all know how the fairy tale ended.
So all you youngsters reading and folks that still get out and party, the next time you're out getting your boogie on just break out with the "Shimmy Shake" one time for 'em. And don't forget the Monica Wright pose. You'll be the hit of the party, guaranteed ;)
Hey all you WNBA fans out there, just a reminder. Of course we know of our 'Yarders DT and Mone, but we got a few other players that are also taking the time out to blog! Check them out if you can, and show 'em some love. It's some good stuff out there. EDIT: Copy the links into the address bar of your browser.
The Chicago Sky have their own thing going on with their players, and it's pretty cool: http://www.wnba.com/sky/news/Checking_in_on_the_Sky_Overseas.html
Also, Janel and some other overseas players dropped postcards off at wnba.com ;) Holla if I forgot anyone, so I can edit in time. Happy reading!
Well, well. Here we are again for another edition of Throwback Thursday! With my birthday having come and gone leaving me with nothing but a hangover and aching calf muscles (don't ask!), it got me to thinking about the joys and pains of getting older. So, sifting through the archives this week, I was looking for something that showed some of the world's greatest in their prime. A dusty tape that wasn't even in a case caught my eye. Where can you see all the greatest players on the floor at the same time, along with the up and comings? USA basketball baby.
This game was from the 2000 Women's Senior National Team's summer tour. This was their last exhibition game stateside before heading to Australia to prepare for the Olympic Games. They were squaring off in Hawaii against a team of collegians, the USA Select Team, who had won the Jones Cup earlier that summer. Get a load of these starting lineups:
Team USA: Teresa Edwards, Ruthie Bolton-Holyfield, Nikki McCray, Yolanda Griffith, and Lisa Leslie
USA Select: Sue Bird (UConn), Marie Ferdinand (LSU), Brooke Wycoff (FSU), Camille Cooper (Purdue – remember her??), and Kelly Schumacher (UConn)
And those were just the starters. Team USA's bench consisted of Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes (not starting because she was fresh off her 4th WNBA title), Katie Smith, Kara Wolters, Delisha-Milton Jones, Natalie Williams, and Chamique Holdsclaw. That just ain't right LOL. That second unit for Team USA could start for many national teams. I feared for the lungs of the Select team with all those workhorses they'd be going up against. I was hoping to see oxygen tanks by their bench. And believe me, they'd need them. From the opening tip it was off to the races.
I almost felt sorry for the USA Select team. They couldn't get ANYTHING going. Everytime they tried to run something, it was almost like Team USA laughed in their faces (not literally of course). With about 3 minutes in, Kelly Schumacher got what I thought was a great block on Lisa Leslie, but there was a foul called. Ha.Ha. On the ensuing Select inbounds, Griffith got the deflection off a backcourt trap. She pursued the basketball with speed I haven't seen from her since the rigid fingers of Father Time put a choke hold on her knees. One problem, she ran out of real estate. Quick decision. Plow directly into the fast approaching press row table and maybe fracture something, or 'Gail Devers' it and hope for the best? Hmm, I think she'll take door number two Alex...and up and over she went! The crowd let out a collective gasp as Yo went crashing over press row, taking out some poor sap and a gigantic PC monitor along with her. Her teammates rushed over, and Nell Fortner even made the cross court trek to check the damage. Luckily, it looked much worse than it really was. Probably the only thing hurt was that big ass prehistoric Flintstones computer monitor. Ahhh yes, one of the joys of getting older. Flat screens.
Sue Bird was the most impressive of the collegians by far. Wow, I had forgotten just how much speed she had! She was FAST. Maybe those breaks to the nose have slightly altered its angle and made her a little less aerodynamic. LOL. Nahh, just one of the pains of getting older :( She didn't score much but she was dropping some impressive dimes, some of which even her teammates couldn't keep up with. Well at least Schumacher knew what to do with it. She had 4 of the Select team's 5 total points with 10 minutes to go in the first half. Yeah you heard me right. The score was 28-5 ten minutes in. Not cool.
By this time Select's second unit had already started trickling in. We saw the likes of Brandi McCain (Florida), Shea Ralph (UConn), Deanna Jackson (UAB), Jackie Stiles (SW Missouri State) Chantelle Anderson (Vanderbilt), and Loree Payne (Washington). Anyone who remembers Jackie Stiles knows she wasn't afraid to shoot the rock. She came in the game firing away. Too bad she had to fire over Inspector Griffith and her go-go-Griffith arms. Stiles tried to drive the lane hard and pull up for a 13 footer. No ma'am. Yo stuffed the ball right back in her face so hard that she flattened her. Put her right on her backside. But instead of laughing her ass off like I did, Yo reached down to help the kid up…the Griffith way. She grabbed Jackie by the bottom of her jersey near her stomach and lifted her clean up off the court, almost out of her jersey LOL. Damn. Lucky for us Stiles didn't fall face down…
The speed and grace with which Team USA ran the break was a thing of beauty. I mean after every brick by the Select Team, USA got in transition and just ran it down their throats. By halftime it was 50-17. U-G-L-Y. The second half brought much more of the same. Off a Select turnover, Team USA got in attack mode with Dawn Staley leading the break. She had Katie Smith and DMJ flanking her, with Holdsclaw on the trail. Sue Bird tried to get back on defense, she really did. But Dawn had a trick for her that FROZE her in her stance. Dawn went no look, between the legs to the trailing Holdsclaw who immediately dished to a streaking DMJ on the wing for the layup. And 1. "Ooooooooh" went the crowd. Doris Burke said "Put that one in your repertoire Sue Bird!" Do you think Sue heard her? Methinks she did. Fast-forward. 2003 WNBA All-Star game in NYC (we'll get to that one of these Thursdays I bet LOL). West on the break, off a Dawn Staley turnover ironically. Sue Bird hits a trailing Lauren Jackson with a no look, between the legs pass with the same result: bucket and the foul! Remember that? Haaaa...coincidence? I think not.
Ok, back to the massacre in Hawaii. With about 9 minutes left in the game, Sue Bird looked like she had had enough. Swoopes was guarding her and she just decided to go for it. She gave Sheryl the hesitation dribble at the elbow extended, then took off towards the hoop (baseline). Nice try. Swoopes stayed with her step for step and when Sue went up for the layup...SMACK. Sheryl sent the ball flying one way, and Sue flying the other. She went sliding across the floor, rolled over onto her back where she finally stopped sliding, and just laid there completely exasperated. Ouch. Oh well, at least Sheryl helped her up LOL.
The final score was like 97-31. As painful as it was to see the collegians get pummeled like that, it was good to see all of these great players in some of their prime moments. I saw just how much I miss Natalie Williams. Man she was just so physically imposing on the block. And it's always good to see the legendary Teresa Edwards in action. She was 36 when that game took place…in 2000! Anyway, I guess I'll get back to the WNBA next week. LOL. Maybe.
Welcome back for this week's Throwback Thursday. I reached into the archives this week specifically for a game that holds special sentimental value for me. It's the game that defined me as a fan and would lead to me becoming the WNBA junkie that I am. Gather 'round the campfire kiddies. I'm going to tell you guys the story of how I *officially* became a Taurasian.
I will always remember this game because it happened on my birthday! Picture it. Sicily. 1924…Oops, sorry wrong forum LOL. It was January 4th, 2003. Tennessee @ UConn. Hartford Civic Center. Blizzard. Sold out crowd. A 50 game win streak was on the line. Gone were the days of the Fab Four ( Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Tamika Williams) and the Super Soph (DT). It was just Diana and "the kids" as she liked to call them back then. Tennessee came into Hartford with a chip on their shoulders after being stomped out the previous year in the National Semifinals by UConn. Ouch. They were boasting an experienced squad with Kara Lawson and Gwen Jackson as their senior anchors. UConn was number 2 in the nation, but this was their first real test of the season. What does this have to do with the WNBA you say? Well guess who the guest commentator for that game was? None other than Miss WNBA herself, Lisa Leslie! So there's your W tie in )
Now, my sister was a huge Tennessee fan at that time. Well, a Kara Lawson fan to be exact. But I had heard whispers of this Taurasi kid during the previous season, and I had seen what she could do in the 2002 NCAA tourney. I kept telling my sis that there was this chick at UConn that could straight up BALL that she needed to see. She didn't want to hear nothing about no Diana Taurasi. In fact, she used to always refer to her as "Tsunami" because she couldn't pronounce or remember her last name LOL! It was all about "The Law" for my sister. But she wasn't ready for what DT was about to put on her and them Lady Vols…
The game started out sluggish enough, as both teams looked a bit jittery. But about 7 minutes in Dee let 'em know what time it was. After an offensive rebound, Gwen Jackson tried to go back up for two with this punk ass layup. Nuh uh. DT swatted that weak mess from behind and sent it flying into the second row. She turned towards the camera and let out this vicious scream. Before I knew it I was up outta my chair screaming right along with her. My sister=not happy. Then DT made my jaw drop with about 10 minutes left in the half. After inbounding the ball in front of the Tennessee bench, she jabbed stepped towards the hoop then cut back across to receive the pass. She dribbled towards the free throw line with a defender damn near in her shorts. Not even facing the hoop, she rose up for a shot. In mid-air she got herself square to the basket, realized that the defender was right on her, switched the ball over into her right hand to avoid the block, pushed the defender off to clear space with the left, and dropped in a 17 footer. One handed. Did I mention that she did all that in mid air? I couldn't believe it. Even Lisa Leslie was flabbergasted.
Anyway, it was a seesaw battle much of the first half. Knotted up at 26 with about 15 seconds left, Tennessee had a chance to take the last shot of the half. But for whatever reason Kara Lawson took a three pointer just a shade too early and missed. DT got the board, took two dribbles, and let it fly from three quarter court (about 65-70 feet) at the halftime buzzer. SWISH. And I'm not talking about a rear back, one handed heave. That was a shot. I kid you not. It was amazing. My sister had the oomph face something serious :)) On the replay, Pat Summit could be seen walking off the court just shaking her head. That damn Tsunami....
UConn got up by 6 points in the opening minutes of the second half but suddenly went cold, going the next 7 minutes without a field goal. During that time Kara Lawson woke up (she had been 1/9 in the game) to lead the Lady Vols out to an 8 point lead. It looked grim for the Huskies at that point.
Lead by Taurasi, UConn clawed its way back in it. They found themselves down by only one, 54-53, with under a minute left after a sweet double behind-the-back move to the hoop by the freshman Ann Strother. But, a defensive lapse gave the Lady Vols a 56-53 lead with 11 seconds left. UConn called timeout, and I had to watch my sister dance around in anticipated victory. YUCK. But I remember telling her plain as day "Tsunami for three. She gonna send this game to overtime. I'm telling ya". She laughed and told me I was crazy. And a part of me felt crazy for talking trash at that point, but I just had a feeling that Tsunami wasn't going to let her team lose.
What happened next was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. Out of the timeout, much like the play I described earlier, she inbounded the ball almost to halfcourt and ran towards the top of the key. There was a defender hounding her but it didn't even matter. All in one motion she caught the return pass, turned towards the hoop, and fired off a three right in the face of Tasha Butts. Fading left. GANGSTER. When the ball left her hands, I knew it was good. I stood up as she released it and put both arms in the air. I knew it. That ball didn't hit nothing but the bottom of the nets. Boom. The crowd just erupted. Diana just took her fist and pounded on her chest a couple times as she backpeddled down the court. Me, well, I wasn't so poised. I screamed until I couldn't scream no more. I literally ran a lap around the downstairs portion of my house jumping and screaming "I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU!" My sister just sat there, stunned. It was one of the most beautiful shots I had ever seen. I don't think y'all feel me on just how difficult it was though. All your momentum carrying you left, turning 180 degrees with a hand right there in your face, shooting back across your body. Trust me, I've tried it many times in my yard…it wasn't pretty LOL.
The game was over right at that point. Even though there was still overtime to play, I knew that there was no way that UConn was going to lose that game. Dee just wasn't gonna have it. She took over the overtime session and put the Huskies on her back in the crunch. Tennessee had a chance to win it with about 2 seconds remaining, but they put the rock in the hands of their senior, The Law, and she clanked it at the buzzer. Oops. 63-62 UConn. "This is OUR house" Diana screamed as her teammates embraced her, although I'm sure there was an F-bomb somewhere in there. Yeah, I'm sure of it. Did she just curse on national TV?? Oh yeah, I was gonna love this kid! :)) After that, my sister had no choice but to become a fan. DT had won her over. As for me, my fate as a lifelong Taurasian had been sealed. I knew from that day on that I would NEVER bet against this woman. In anything. I don't care if it's a one armed juggling contest. My money's on DT.
So as my birthday approaches, I had to pop my tape in to commemorate the day I became an *official* Taurasian. From crushing the Evil Empire to taking the crown from Motown, it's been a helluva ride. Diana has made the game fun for me again. You never know what she's going to say or do next. She's exciting to watch and so damn funny! Oh, and not to mention that wherever she goes, records shatter and rings follow…So as long as she keeps lacing 'em up I'll be right there in the stands somewhere hollerin like I don't have good sense, cheering my girl on. Sorry Dee, you're stuck with me :))
I wonder if Dee remembers this game? I bet she does ;) Happy New Year to everyone out there! Shout to my girl Smoov for the "inspiration".
I know I have mentioned in one of my previous posts about having pangs of withdrawal since the ending of the WNBA season. This is usually the time when I go into throwback mode. I start thinking about the season that just passed and how much fun I had, then the road down memory lane widens and before I know it I'm back to the "old" days. I have been going to WNBA games since 1998. Yes, I know the league started in 1997, but I don't remember much about that year. That was the tail end of my freshman year of college and…well let's just say I missed the boat on that one LOL.
The annual sense of nostalgia kicked up in me so I had to take it to the archives. I have tapes, that's right TAPES, and lots of them. What we gonna do right here is go back. Way back. Back into time…
Ok I didn't go that far back, but far enough. I reached into the archive and found a 2002 2OT thriller, Mystics@Monarchs. My girl Mique was tearing the league up that year, leading in both scoring and rebounding. That was the year of the 'Magical Mystics Tour' where the Mystics started the season 10-2 en route to a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. It seems like so long ago. So many memories: Rookie Stacy Dales. The infamous wardrobe of Maura McHugh. Ruthie Bolton, guns straight blazing. Edna Campbell cheering on the Monarch bench. Lady Grooms. The great Vicki Bullet. Helen Luz, the Brazilian Bomber. The WNBA getting mad play on Oxygen. Beth Mowins before ESPN introduced her to a flat iron…Ahhh, the good old days. It's fun to see just how much these players and the game have grown. Apparently, some have developed into completely different people. According to the guest analyst of this particular game, the Monarchs could possibly be without their superstar 'Ticha Penachieka' because of an injury. And sure enough when the starting lineups were announced, she wasn't able to go. "I'm not surprised that Cherrapieko's not going to play. She didn't look good warming up" he says. *silence* Really? I bet Sacramento is glad they got rid of 'Penachieka'…er…'Cherrapieko' or whatever her name was. They found themselves and All-Star point guard instead. Sweet.
It was a fun game, though. Lady Grooms blew a wide open layup to win the game for the Monarchs in regulation. I mean she couldn't have been more wide open if she was in the arena by herself. The funniest was watching the reactions of the Monarchs bench. They went from jumping up and down in anticipated victory after seeing the play materialize perfectly, to doubling over in defeat after the block by Roger Rim. Ouch. Mique ends up winning the game for Washington in the second OT with a gangster 3 pointer right in the face of…Tangela Smith! (I wonder if she remembers that LOL). 29 points and 21 boards for Mique, with a final score 87-86. When I saw that score I realized just how spoiled I've become. It took them two overtimes to break 80 points. The Mercury get that in regulation, and we're scratching our heads wondering what went wrong :)) I love this game.
So that's my throw back game of the week. Some of you younger guys probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Sorry about that. This one was from the Mique's Greatest Hits collection. Next time, we'll do throwback, DT3 style! I'm sure more folks will feel me on that one :)
Ok, I didn't want to have to do this. WNBA.com has asked us to vote. Even Diana herself has asked us to vote. And we failed her. A pic of Becky Hammon doing a bad impersonation of Crazy Legs with a basketball (although it is a funny pic) has beaten DT's scream photo over on WNBA.com's Photo of the Year contest. This is unacceptable people. Now, the 'breakdancing' photo is up against the 'fist pump'. No way does the 'fist pump' go down!
There is a legion of Becky Hammon fans spanning the globe that are hacking their own computers in order to vote for Becky hundreds of times a day. They don't eat, they don't sleep, and only work in shifts. So the task at hand is daunting. I know Dee's got some fans over here too, so let's get to voting people! Now I'm not asking you to deprive yourselves of nourishment or anything like that, just spread the word. Mosey on over to WNBA.com and vote for the fist pump. We can't let a random pic of Becky Hammon win over a pic that captures of one of the greatest moments in league history. Well, at least for me! :) Besides, Becky's left foot was probably out of bounds anyway. Turnover.
Oh yeah, its on! Schedules for the 2008 WNBA season were released today, and I must bow to the scheduling gods. The Mercury home opener is NOT on the same day as the Atlanta home opener!! You know what that means? It means that GAgirl will be in the house (May 17) when the CHAMPIONSHIP banner is raised to the rafters and my girls get that bling baby. Ice the champagne and get those cups ready! Then the following weekend (May 23) I'll have front row seats to the first game in the history of WNBA Atlanta. Ok, technically its not front row. But close enough ;)
The schedule is usually not kind to us travelers. It's not perfect this year, but I can't complain too much. At least not out loud.
*[inner monologue] What genius scheduled the Atlanta home opener on Memorial Day weekend when a lot of people will be out of town?? And what's with bringing the defending CHAMPS in on a Tuesday. A freaking TUESDAY. What about my fellow Phoenicians who want to travel to the game? I know it's ESPN2 and all, but I wonder how many people here are gonna give the Purple Reign the middle finger because they'd rather go home and watch them on TV than try to roll downtown right on the tail end of rush hour traffic. There's no way I can go home after work, change clothes, then make it back in time for tipoff. And how the hell can I be expected find a bar that's not sweeping up cobwebs on a big Tuesday night? Come on people. Because you know it's all about accommodating ME…ESPN and the league be damned lol…I wonder if they know that because of the unfreezing process I have no inner monologue…[/inner monologue]
Did I say that out loud?* (quick, what movie was that from?)
Being the junkie that I am, I have already made a tentative tour schedule. Right now I got about 10 Merc games on my to-do list, including the games I'll see on my vacation to Phoenix. The list may get trimmed as the season gets closer, but that's a damn fine starting point. The best part is that to make those 10 "road" games, I would only have to miss one Atlanta home game! It's against Detroit, which makes me care even less…
Stock up the local bars. I'm coming to a city near you.
Here are 10 games you might not want to miss in 2008:
Wouldn't it be cool to have a sports talk show about women's bball? Me and my sister talked about doing something like that a while back. It'd be like the McLaughlin Group, only with hoops. We could be the Orender Group.Yeah. Maybe I'll take my show idea to YouTube. I could get a couple friends together and we could make it happen...hmm…nevermind. Doubt that would work. Put a camera in my face and I'd probably sound like this guy:
Well folks, it's that time of year again. All my WNBA heads know what I'm talking about. It's time when we start asking ourselves that age old question...IS IT MAY YET??? That could only mean one thing. The women's pro hoops scene is officially dead. Ok not dead, just hibernating. As I sat watching the USC women get crushed by Michigan last night it really sunk in. I enjoy watching the youngsters do their thing, but it's just nothing like watching the best players in the world. And it's not like they've dropped off the face of the earth for the winter. They're still ballin! But I can't watch. Dee, LJ, Sue, TT are kicking ass in Russia (how unfair is that team lol!)...and I can't watch. Mique is over in Poland wrecking shop...but I can't watch. FMVP CP23 is ripping it in Turkey...nope, can't watch. Penny is also holding it down in Russia, and I can't watch...Rodrigo...LOL j/k.
But you get the point. I'm going through WNBA withdrawal right now, and it's not fun. I can normally count on the NFL to get me through to the meat of the WCBB season, but the NFL has been boring this year. [mini football rant] I can't even sit through an entire game. If I have to hear about the Patriots pimp slapping another team I think I'm gonna hurl. They even had a member of the '72 Dolphins squad on SportsCenter rapping about the pursuit of perfection, Kurtis Blow style. Wow. Oh, and someone please get that dweeb from PTI off of Monday Night Football. Thanks. [/mini football rant] LeBron's hurt, the Heat suck, I won't get to see Maya Moore and Candace Parker go toe to toe (at least not before tourney time) since someone had the bright idea to cancel the premier matchup in women's college hoops...my sports world is about as fun as a root canal right about now.
I will say that the league has been doing a pretty good job of keeping it interesting this off season. Many players are blogging from around the globe. Cappie, Seimone, Taj McW, Catch, Dee, and Janel McCarville just off the top of my head. There are also occasional postcards from other players. The W is doing a great job of trying to keep us connected, but it's the players that are actually taking the time out to blog and send updates though. And I hope they know we appreciate it.
So what will I do with all this free time? GUITAR HERO III BABY!! I rock so hard at Guitar Hero...in Easy mode. I think my pinkie is retarded. For real. I'm rockin like Lenny Kravitz when I only have to use my first three fingers. Add that damn blue pinkie button and all of a sudden I have the hand/eye coordination of R2-D2. Go figure. That, ladies and gents, is your random fact of the day. My pinkie is retarded. Sleep well.
No, I'm not kidding. These are the actual 'finalists' for the name of the Atlanta franchise sent to founding fans to vote on earlier this week (there's now an official poll on dotcom). Oh, oh, wait. It gets better. One of the color schemes being considered is hot pink/black/silver. Yikes. Oh yes, walking into an a sea of hot pink will definitely be intimidating...or nauseating. Can someone pass the Pepto? Although I'm pretty sure the hot pink would be used as the accent color, or at least I hope that was the line of thinking. So be sure to vote on the least sucky name and color scheme!
Let's get back to these names. WTF? Can you imagine all of the bad puns that we will have to endure in the headlines? 'Atlanta takes Flight against the Sky' or 'The Shock short circuit the Surge'. Can't you just hear Mark Jones "...and here in the 4th quarter, the Sizzle starting to fizzle. Fo shizzle my nizzle! We'll be back after this..." Ugh. And what about mascots? A dude with a 747 on his head for the Flight? I got it, how about a walking power strip for the Surge? I can't even think of anything for the Sizzle, that's how crazy that one is. Damn Sizzle. Seriously?
So, since Dream sucks less than the rest of the names I think that will ultimately be the name of the team. It's just so...blah. Game time, the team will come out of the tunnel to the 'Dreamgirls' soundtrack... (sang in my nasally Beyonce voice) 'We're your dreamgirls, boys...we'll make you happy...' Dude, I can just see it now. Posters and signs: The DreamGirls of Summer. Gross. And what would the mascot for the Atlanta Dream be, a big ass thought bubble? A lady carrying around a pillow and a blanket with pajamas on? Jennifer Hudson in a hot pink jersey?? Ok ok, I'm done. LOL I'm just trippin. I'm sure it won't be that bad. Hey, this is fun though. Y'all should try it! Colors, mascots, slogans, and all the bad puns you can think of. Come on, we got some creative folks out there. Let's hear it. Where's bballfan when I need her? :))
Needless to say I'm a tad bit disappointed in the choices, but eh what can ya do. Gotta play with the hand you're dealt. I'm just ready to get the ball rolling. I'll be right there in my seat when the season starts slapping hands with the weird looking cloud mascot, singing along with Beyonce before tipoff. Yeah, can't wait.
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