June 22nd, 2004: Los Angeles at New York

Los Angeles Sparks 65, New York Liberty 49

The referees suck, the shooting sucks worse, and the Game Notes have had it the hell up to here with Richie Adubato.


Well, an 18-point drubbing is an improvement over a 24-point drubbing...

What the hell is wrong with this team? I don't know, but I suspect the reason is blonde. I leave it to your judgement whether the blonde is natural, artificial, or both. They play with fire for a brief time, then they go stand around and watch the other team score and keep an eye on how the Yankees are doing. I'm getting sick of it. I'm getting frustrated. Worse, I'm losing my passion for this team. Tell me why I should be crazy for this team and scream my heart out for them when they don't seem to care about what they're getting paid to do. Tell me, because I need a reason to believe.

It was much like the Storm game- the first half, we got outplayed but demonstrated that perhaps we could hang with the big fish. And then there was the second half, and it all fell apart like a mangled house of cards. The posts were ineffective- if Becky is outrebounding everyone except Elena, there is something severely wrong (though Becky's hustle was also impressive). 20-odd three-point shots with 4 or 5 hits- not gonna get it done. There comes a time when you gotta stop taking the three just because they give it to you. Both hands on the rebound, please. *glares at Elena* Ann, get back to the mothership already. VJ, hon, whatever the heck is wrong with you, shake it off. Tari? The hand's not an excuse anymore. If I see Shameka take one more deep three, I am gonna whup her like someone's mama. And to anyone playing the Liberty point guard- we gave up the 'stand around and dribble' offense when Teresa left- quit running that play. Richie, get the **** out of here already and take your ties with you. Or if you're not going to have the kindness to leave, at least toss Bethany into the mix a bit and give Detrina some minutes and get someone off the court if she's not producing, and let the players have some latitude when it comes to running plays, all right?

I'm sure the game was called accurately and dispassionately, by whatever set of rules Michael Cooper handed to the referees before the game. I had a bad feeling when I saw June Courteau on the list, and that was a well-earned bad feeling. Too much rough play was let go, and most of it was by LA, even though Tari and Shameka got away with some stuff. Someone needs to tell Laura Macchi to save the dives for when someone actually goes near her. And while I applaud a supporter of short shorts, there's a fine line, and La Leslie has crossed it. Fortunately, the Sparks did not maintain the fashion disaster of having both first and last name on the uniforms. I was pleased that we kept Mabika effectively out of the game. The elbows were flying, of course, and Elena mysteriously ended up bleeding. *narrowed gaze* Kill! Kill!!! Sorry.

Okay, there was one positive. The stuffed Maddies are so damn cute. Like, utterly. They're furry and adorable and each one seems just slightly different. (Mine, for example, has more pronounced eyelashes and a flirtatious tilt of the head. I dubbed her Tara after the alias of a character in one of my stories.) My mom, our friend, and I spent the entire train ride home playing with them. They are the epitome of cuteness. Have I mentioned that Maddie is the coolest mascot in the WNBA? At least we know what Maddie is, unlike half the mascots in this league who look like rejects from Sesame Street. And of course there was the joy of the social life. One of the best reasons to go to a Liberty game is the people. *hearts Sass and SunnyCat*

Add-ons: Richie? Die. Now. Don't you DARE fuck with my peeps. Spoon needs to lose the Fourth Stooge hair. It's scary. And I'm not quite sure why she had her hand in her crotch during the Sparks' pre-warmup stretching... I didn't waste my time booing her, but I did boo the shit out of Whitmore. *scream yell kick grumble cry*