Throwback Thursday: Joy and Pain

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. Until next time….