August 2nd, 2005: Connecticut at New York

Connecticut Sun 72, New York Liberty 65

Katie Douglas loosens up, mullets are only good if they confer power on Elena Baranova, and the Game Notes are actually playing with a full deck.


"She's like a goddess in Minnesota."

"I didn't know they went in for devil worship there."

As you might be able to ascertain, my mom doesn't like Lindsay Whalen.


Katie Douglas has got some range on her; she was putting on a shooting exhibition during warmups, hitting a shot from the G in the secondary logo over by the hash mark. She also got tangled up while practicing with the trainer. I thought she tripped over her own feet, but she claimed that the trainer tripped her. I gotta say, she's really loosened up this year. Yay for her!

Anthem butchery. Goddess in heaven, that was painful. I don't *care* if the kid has a disability, you make damn sure you put someone out there who can sing the anthem without torturing notes or holding them so long that you could be justified in expecting a ransom note. The lady who sang "God Bless America" wasn't bad, although I think she's watched too many seasons of American Idol.

Taj stole Keesh's hair. Not that it seemed to confuse either of them, nor did having Taj listed as #78 on the scoreboard. Keesh was in that place where if she shot it, it was probably going in. I don't know how much having Shameka on her affected her, but I know that when Erin was in the game I had flashbacks to Lindsey Yamasaki. Katie Douglas was the defensive demon, ball hawk, and deadly shooter we've all come to know and... well, know. She put the daggers in. You can't ice ice, and that woman has ice in her veins. Margo seems to be relearning how to use her size to disrupt passes, although, really, what peabrain throws a lob pass to 6'4" being guarded by 7'2"? She also showed that she can, ironically, use her size better when she's outside, because inside she doesn't have the room to work that she needs, and her jumper and its release are still gorgeous. Asjha Jones was amazing. It's great to see one of the Fab Four come into her own; people focus so much on Bird and Cash that Williams and Jones kind of get shoved off to the side. Granted, it would have been nice to see it as a neutral observer, but I'm a basketball fan first and foremost. Derevjanik didn't show me much. Whalen, besides inspiring a quote of the day, demonstrated a classlessness that I had not thought I would see from her, when she went on a fastbreak with nine seconds left and a six-point lead. It may not be a flattering remark, and it may have been stupid for Shameka to be the perp, but it was one of the few times I've been thrilled to see a player flattened the way she was. At least *on* the court, she handles herself like she's entitled, and no second-year player has the right to that kind of attitude, not even Taurasi or Beard. Yes, she has a knack for slicing through defenses like butter, and yes, she piles up assists like a klepto piles up theft offenses, and yes, she's a heady playmaker. She's got game. Doesn't mean I have to like her.

Ah, Shameka. What you will be next year, Goddess only knows. I still maintain that she's not ready yet, that she's not a star yet, that she shouldn't be the focus of the offense yet, but I'm starting to soften a little on the future. I still don't know whether she is *the* answer, but perhaps if they keep her paired with Ann, she's a part of the answer. Of course, keeping players around seems to be a problem in this league. There were some brain farts, but Lord knows she wasn't the only one. I'm looking at Ann's fifth foul, myself, as much as I liked seeing Whalen get smushed. Ann looked... I don't know, out of it tonight. She used to have Margo's number, but not tonight. She got pushed around a lot inside. Part of it may have had to do with Bryan Enterline, but really, the Garden should have dealt better when he didn't buy her flop. Elena had better luck, and notched a double-double. Granted, six of the ten points came in that last elongated minute, but ten is ten. Yay Elena! Who was it so many years ago that described the Miami Sol players as being blue-collar, nose-to-the-grindstone types of players? Elena's getting back to that mentality, and it makes me happy. Maybe she's like Samson: the longer the hair, the stronger she is. Go, Mullet of Power! VJ still seems to be living on another planet, one where basketball is something to be looked down upon. She was a little better tonight, but... man, I don't know what's up with her. Becky did the drive-the-lane trick a little too often for my liking tonight- trying to best Whalen, maybe? Her folks are apparently *still* hanging around, so I'm starting to wonder if they're the problem. La'Keshia was nothin' tonight. I mean, f'real, WTF. Crystal came back, hit a couple of shots, still looked a little rusty, but we really did miss her. Erin actually hit a shot, and that "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" thing competes with "Sister Christian" for Cheesiest Music Clip In Liberty History. Even if it is a righteously cool song. Still, she commits one major flaw on defense that drives me crazy: she watches the ball far more than she watches her offensive player, and it gets her burned and burned bad. Loree got very little run, and already I see t-shirts saying "Give Loree More Minutes". Ah, I love when fans get defensive of the bench. *hugs the bench except for La'Keshia* Catherine sets some wicked screens; Katie Douglas ran into one and went sproing! She was the designated eater of minutes when the fouls started piling up at the end of the game. Amisha and Jennifer may be our best pair for the IR; both of them looked very nice tonight. So did Jess Brungo over on the Connecticut bench. Patty is starting to turn a red so brilliant it can be seen from behind the opponent's bench. (We were in 128 tonight.) Mom and I think that color should be in the new Crayola box. We'd call it Richie Red.

I guess an emergency substitution for the tchotchke is never a good sign. But the original plan was nightlights, and that makes me feel approximately five years old.

They saluted women in the military. It's a nice gesture, but it seems kind of offensive to me to salute an organization that doesn't want a large chunk of the fanbase involved in its activities.

Career fair blew. At least I got a free deck of cards with it. So *yes*, for once, I'm playing with a full deck.