July 11th, 2004: Phoenix at New York

New York Liberty 77, Phoenix Mercury 69

The Game Notes are unimpressed with post play, get confused by names, and are not impressed with Kym Hampton's childcare notions.


Now, if this is what this team looks like with only one injured starter returning, I can't wait to see what happens when Tari and Ann are back. Tough and tenacious... and yeah, they let Anna DeForge have the game of her life, but we let Tina Thompson have the game of her life too, and look what that got the Comets. All we have to do is teach Bethany to hit free throws and keep reminding Elena that she's 6'5" and should really be using that, and we'll be good. This team is getting back to what made it such a power in the beginning of the season, and that's the non-reliance on Becky to provide all the offense. While she's getting what she can get, the other players are gtting what they need to get. VJ looks more comfortable out there, Shameka is starting to look more comfortable (which may be related to experience or having Richie the hell out of her face), and of course it doesn't hurt having Crystal back in. I think Crystal may have been a focal point of this game- not only because of her timely offense, but because she provides Patty with a second ace defensive option, which was key in containing Phoenix's big three. Okay, maybe not so much with the containment of Anna DeForge, but y'all have to admit Taurasi and Taylor had rather bad games.

Second bench-related question of the homestand- Shereka Wright? Is she in Carrie Graf's doghouse or something? She didn't play, and I was under the impression she had contributed this season. Speaking of Carrie Graf's moves or non-moves, her big mistake was in riding DeForge too hard- playing her the way Comets fans accuse VanChan of playing Swoopes and Thompson. When she got tired late and the shots weren't falling, that enabled the Liberty to take a gamble by switching Becky, a lesser defender, onto her, allowing the two aces (VJ and Crystal) to take Taurasi and Taylor, thus shutting off anything that might have looked like a Mercury run. The two young posts, Pierson and Ashley Robinson, showed potential here and there, though you probably shouldn't be tied with your point guard for the team lead in rebounds. The previously mentioned Diana looked fallible today, which made me relieved that I didn't get a chance to change my point guard for VGM... did I mention that I went with Anna DeForge?

Having Kayte Christensen and Shameka Christon on the floor at the same time was really confusing, because they have similar last names and wear the same number and were often on each other. Major headache. Ditto when trying to talk while Ashley Robinson and Crystal Robinson shared the floor. And then... oh yes. To whoever was blowing the whistles in... 314? 316? Whatever section that is directly behind mine. Blow that whistle one more time during the game and I'll jam it so far up your ass that the next time you fart everyone will wait for the foul call. *steam comes out of ears* Kate, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you- some autocratic jerk was telling us to all go back to our assigned seats. Probably compensating for something. Probably the same jackhole who thought my videotape last game was a black box full of danger.

Crowd-spotting: besides the usual folk who come to games *big wave to everyone I knw*, Val Ackerman was there. Somehow I don't think she wanted to see Taurasi struggle from the field and the slightly scandalous Anna DeForge go off like a firecracker. It'll probably cause her to lose sleep, but who's going to notice? Also in attendance were Kym and Ariel Hampton- and if Kym always does the one-handed trick with the baby, remind me never to call her as a sitter. Jesus, I thought she was going to drop the poor kidlet, and breathed a sigh of relief every time she handed the baby over for someone to look at. (Also saw her postgame, and this time she had Ariel more safely secured. Phew... although I'm not sanguine about taking a newborn to the Garden- I have images of the kid on a couch someday: "Doc, I keep having these dreams about a loud place with strange lights. What does it mean?" "It means your mother is insane. Now give me money.") Dumbass award of the day goes to: whoever that was who passed Fro a Korie Hlede trading card to sign.

Is La'Keshia Frett going to be the next D-Train? You know, the player that a team or two gives up on, and who ends up resurrecting her career after Blaze decides to give her a shot? I don't know, but she looked good today. Fro', on the other hand, did her looking good after the game (Mom and I have decided that Tari and Linda need to take the team shopping, because it's painfully obvious that these women can't be trusted to pick out their own clothes. I mean, VJ exited wearing something with blue and black stripes that looked like it was on backwards.) In any case, Fro has gone blonde, and from the plebeian seats she looks like a super-sized Becky. Jeez, that would be handy. She was up to her usual cheerleading tricks on the bench, and started the game chatting a mile a minute with Crystal (after the t-shirt debacle- guess she's lost her touch there). Speaking of the Liberty bench... Marianne, shut up, please. Patty's the boss here. And... Ann played with pain since June 18th. Tari breaks her hand in practice. DeTrina sustains a concussion in practice. Erin sprains her back in practice. Does Lisa White just sleep through practice or something? Or is she just incompetent? A third of the roster should not be in freaking street clothes in the same game!

Dinner with the ESPN folks was fun. I'm glossing over most of the details because either the other folks there will cover them or the details really shouldn't be mentioned. Though watching a couple of neophytes try to buy a drink for someone they don't know except passingly is one of the fucking funniest things ever as long as you don't let on that you know the people involved. And two cute blondes cause more than twice the confusion of one cute blonde. Liberty fans are a crazy bunch, and it's always a joy spending time with them. I can't wait for the next wnbatalk meet-up- that should be wilder.

And a nice capper on the day- walking through Times Square (never you mind why I was in Times Square!) I happened to be looking up at the big screen that one of the studios has... and they're running a WNBA commercial. Gave me the warm and fuzzies all over. The Garden was well-populated, Fro was home, the team won... ah for the old days.