July 31st, 2004: Connecticut at New York

please note that game notes for the first game at Radio City, in which the Liberty won and Swin Cash lost me a bet by being the first player to run off the stage, have been lost to posterity.

New York Liberty 80, Connecticut Sun 66

The Utah Starzz represent, K.B. Sharp needs to deal with Debbie Black more often, and Elena Baranova's a dork.


Dude. Am I, like, the only one home yet?

Quote of the night- "How is it an eight-point game? Did I lose my lucky urine?"

Life at the stage door isn't all that glamorous. It mostly involved standing around, getting through a book of short stories, and three flurries of activity. Yes, as a matter of fact, the Liberty do travel in that fuuuuuuuuuuugly turquoise bus. They showed up as a mob around 4:30. Some of 'em were already in sweats for warm-up, others slightly more formal; La'Keshia looked like she was going to a board meeting. I passed along rookie cards, so I was happy. (Shameka, Bethany, and K.B.'s rookie cards came out in the last set.) The Sun rookies and assistants, as well as a couple of other entourage sorts (I swear, Mike Thibault had a whole posse on that bus) arrived around 5:20. The Sun veterans arrived around 6, late and bothered, although Debbie Black, of all people, gave us a "hello" as she rushed in. I don't think I've ever seen a team where the rookie/veteran split is as pronounced as with the Sun; perhaps it's because there are so many rookies? And of course, Tari was the last one to show up. *fond smile*

Does anyone have any clue why Taj McWilliams-Franklin would be running through the RCMH lobby forty minutes before gametime? The Gatorade/Powerade/whatever they drink had already been loaded (we saw crates of it come through the stage door).

Rebounding, man. Rebounding started to kill us in the first half, and rebounding- specifically Elena's rebounding- saved us. DeTrina continued showing that offense stuff she brought last night, and one offensive rebound, she came flying out of nowhere for the putback. Mmmm... putback. Elena couldn't get her shots to fall- I mean, she even missed a free throw- but she was ferocious on the defensive end. And of course there was her endgame routine- after the standing O and the players doing their smile-and-wave routine, Elena first bowed, then as she picked up the roses for the team, she curtseyed a couple of times. I don't know what it is about the stage that brings out the goofiness, but I like it. Bethany actually hit two of two at one point- must be that blue moon outside; otherwise the only thing she was good at was eating minutes. (As an aside, the fans I know solely in real life are shocked by the depth of the Board Junkies' dislike and disdain for her. She ain't the world's greatest, but you know, she's a pretty solid little post.) La'Keshia found that offense she had shown against Charlotte, but again, distinct lack of rebounding- she's not a Euro, what precisely is her excuse? If K.B. got to play against Debbie Black every night, she'd be considered the best PG around. She outquicks Black, doesn't get rattled, and if she feels Debbie is invading her personal space she lets loose with a forearm that must have come straight off the mean streets of Columbus. Shameka, on the other hand, was not paying attention when someone said 'watch your back when Black's in the game', 'cause she got her pocket picked but good. She committed a couple of dumb rookie mistakes but also had a couple of nice plays. Crystal got mauled a time or two- she must have some kind of bad karma kicking around or somehing, or maybe she just smells like Tennessee- first an elbow from Swin, then one from Kesha Sales- she was clutch on a couple of those possessions where the shot clock went down to nothing. VJ was mostly the strong but silent type- she came up limping at the end of the first half but was magically healed by the second half. Becky was real fun to watch tonight, though a couple of those plays had me cringing- one where she drove into NyKesha Sales, even though Crystal was running with her comes to mind- however, I admit that generally Becky's mistakes stick out in my mind more than the good things she does, and she had very few mistakes. (Oh, and speaking of Becky- anyone else who saw the highlight video, did you spot the ring on her hand in the last frame where she's pointing to the camera? Very smooth, rubita.)

I want a birth certificate check on Lindsay Whalen. No way in hell she's a rookie. What a playmaker. What a passer. What a combo guard. If you'd told me that the deal was a steal, I would have said, "Yep, Connecticut got robbed." Now I think it's the other way around. I'm converted. For similar reasons, I want a birth certificate check on Debbie Black. That woman doesn't move like she just turned 38. (As an aside, I think mom and I were the only two people in the building who clapped when Debbie Black came into the game. I may be the only person ever to cheer for Debbie Black and not for Becky.) Nykesha Sales has such a knack for scoring that it sometimes seems pointless to put a defender on her; even when Crystal was guarding her, I had flashbacks to the fateful night when Richie thought it was a good idea to stick Lindsey Yamasaki on her. Aiiiiee, the horror! Wendy Palmer was very quiet tonight- I swear, there were moments when she and Elena had this whole 'I'm the better Utah reject- no I'M the better Utah reject!' duel going on; personally, I think Elena won, and Lil Debbie came in second. Le'Coe Willingham is one big woman- 6'0", 200? Maybe. But I don't think it's as well-packed as Tari's is- no, not that way, you pervs, I simply mean that Ms. Willingham is another one who might have to get told to stop going to KFC and start going to the Curves nearest her. (thanks, Slovy, for that felicitious phrase) Taj is one hell of a good post player. If I didn't mention anyone, assume their impact on the game was minimal (although I gotta give the love to the two folks I saw in the Jen Derevjanik T-shirts and the one lady who went all out and got a Derevjanik jersey; it's also gotta go out to the girl in the K.B. jersey)

The refs were another stinkola, this time with the added inability to count to three. Yay! New and disimproved refs!

Did Taj kiss Crystal on the cheek during post-game handshakes? Or am I just having recurring hallucinations of her, longing for her post presence in the lineup?

Oh yeah. Presence. Tari. :swoon: She looked so natural going through the stage door And she was in black and a skirt up to here *holds my hand a couple of inches above my knee* and she... if 1) it were actually possible, and 2) would actually serve some purpose, that is a woman I would turn gay for. So does that mean Tari gets the toaster oven if at some point in my life I'm really a lesbian hiding in a straight's body? *imagines her confusion if that happened*

We had a Sue sighting, hurrah! And I saw a couple of people who had to be some sort of Christon- they looked just like Shameka, only not quite as lanky.

Oh yeah. On Point Magazine is a piece of crap. Their facts are half-arsed and their proofreading isn't even that good. My good deed for the week will be sending them a proofread copy of their mag.