June 7th, 2006: Connecticut at New York

Connecticut Sun 75, New York Liberty 60

Even an 11AM tip time doesn't daunt the Game Notes of Doom; fashion reports, yearning for Aussies, lots of elbows, and one sparrow (no hurricane, though).


Okay, first priority before diving into the Game Notes of DOOM: Shameka says she just tweaked her ankle, and that she came down on someone's foot, but that she's okay. I'm skeptical if only because she's Crystal's protégé, and Crystal once said she was okay and then came out for the game in street clothes. Still, it wasn't the knee, and she was walking by the end of the whole mess, so I feel optimistically skeptical, if such a thing exists.

Defense, motherfuckers! Do you PLAY it?
[/Samuel L. Jackson]

Seriously, although the Sun shot better from the field and got way more free throws, it was the lack of defensive intensity that did the Liberty in. Not that it wasn't a physical game, and not that the Sun didn't get the absolute worst of it (how on earth Margo Dydek got elbowed in the eye escapes me, and I also wouldn't have wanted to be her after Becky's elbow went… um… let's just say we were all very glad Margo is not male at that point.) At one point, Cat came back with some nasty bruises on her upper arm, and Becky had a very swollen left eye. So much owie. It made me wince in sympathy for all of them.

So I was hanging out after shootaround with Alison-from-the-Liberty-commercial, and hanging out, and hanging out… and I kinda ended up hanging out with her until the end of the game. It was very cool, since she sits right next to where folks come on and off the court. And thank you, kind and not over-paranoid MSG security, for not kicking me out of the seat I shouldn't have been in. I swear on my life and honor not to abuse the privilege.

There were lots of kids from schools. [b]I[/b] never got to go on cool trips to sporting events when I was in school, darn it! The anthem, in keeping with the school bit, was performed by an AP from a middle school. Interesting voice, very pleasant anthem, though she botched a word- it's fight, not flight.

As mentioned earlier, it was a very physical game. One thing that intrigued me was the number of great screens by both teams. Taj and Margo for the Sun, and Cat, Barb, and Schuey for the Liberty, all set great screens/picks for their shooters. It's a small aspect of the game, but one that I love. Sloppy game, too. Someone forgot to provide coffee to the locker rooms, I guess. Lots of turnovers.

Okay, so Katie Douglas's middle name needs to be something like Clutch, or Assassin, or if you're not a fan of her team, simply Bleeping, because she hits her best shots near the end of the game. She and Megan Mahoney did a great job of keeping Becky from trying to take over the game. Taj made me very glad that I took her for my fantasy team (at least I think I did oh god did I?), because she and Asjha Jones OWNED the paint, along with Margo Dydek. Every game I've watched this season, Margo looks like she's finally gotten used to this seven-two thing and has decided to work it for all she's got. Plus she still has the outside stroke, which makes her a deadly combination and did I just type that about [I]Margo Dydek[/I]?! Whalen doesn't look like her old self, still, but she's looking better, and her recovery, plus the talent of Erin Phillips, is squeezing Jamie Carey out. Miz Phillips, however, sometimes seems to forget that this is not, in fact, Aussie Rules. Summerton seemed really out of it today- did she miss her Vegemite or her coffee? She was having one of those "how long is the court again?" days. Carey and Willingham were DNPs, and as I said earlier, I think Carey is going to spend a lot of time either DNP or essentially DNP.

It seemed that Loree and Sherill were the only ones playing defense today. Srsly. And even though she didn't score, I *loved* how Loree played today. She handled the ball with confidence, netted five steals, and was high rebounder with eight boards. No, I am NOT joking. Sherill at least stayed with her man, though her day on the offensive end… eh, not so much of the good. Our UConn girls made with the showing off in the first quarter, what with Schuey scoring the first seven points of the game for New York and Ashley hitting a 3 on her first touch. They both cooled off, though, and Schuey couldn't stop any of the Connecticut posts. (Ashley at least put a decent tackle on Asjha Jones, perhaps led to believe that this was in fact footy.) Barbara couldn't the broad side of a barn, as much as she tried. Becky was covered too tightly to really get anything going. Shameka… when exactly did she start thinking she was a three-point specialist? Or did she and Erin Thorn do the Freaky Friday thing? Because I'm getting tired of seeing her spend almost all of her time beyond the arc. She's wasting her length. Likewise Cathrine. She looked dreadful today, no matter how much the PA guy loves her name. I would have liked to see more Christelle- I think she might have informed Taj\Asjha that we'd had quite enough of this inside thing from them.

Being so up close and personal intrigued me. Patty actually did some coaching. So did Marianne. What intrigued me most was the huddle at or near the start of the fourth quarter, where Barb spoke up. It's nice to see her embracing her role as team captain. Granted, sometimes I got to see things I did not need to see (Shameka, switch to gel, 'kay? Erin, please borrow and strategically place Emilie's scarf, 'kay?)

Props to the Hartford Courant for sending Lori Riley to the game. I <3 road press. The Prima Donna was in the building, and at one point she was chatting with Blaze. Hopefully she was telling her not to fuck up much more. Our halftime "entertainment" was the extremely annoying Simon Sez guy who I wish would drop off the face of the earth already. Kiesha Brown seems to know everyone on the Connecticut roster. Still trying to figure that one out. We got a motherfucking sparrow on the motherfucking plane! [/Samuel L. Jackson] No, seriously. No. Seriously. There was a sparrow flying through the building. They had to throw out two cups of Gatorade because the bird landed on them and sipped. It was the weirdest and cutest thing. After the game, either she hung back or she came back out, but Margo was signing for people. It was very cool. I took a picture- should have 'em up in a few days. Erin Phillips also wandered out to stare at whatever the post-game kids' event was. She looked a little lost. A few of us teased her about adopting her- "we need an Aussie! We have a jersey for you!" Catty Fashion Report: Marianne, for the love of whatever you believe in, lose the ponytail. Put it in a bun, put it in a braid, wear it loose, chop it off, but the ponytail does nothing. Seriously. It is NOT flattering. If that was Ambrosia Anderson with the light brown hair, wearing the long flowing skirt, I liked the outfit. For all that I'm a blue-jeans and sneaks person, I love a billowing ankle-length skirt. If not… well, whoever you were, that was a nice outfit. Erin put herself together quite neatly, except for the problem that Emilie's Strategically Placed Scarf could have rectified (because, um, it was not that cold in there, and I didn't think she'd be that happy to be inactive). And the pants needed a touch of hot iron. Emilie. My God. I never thought I'd say this, but I think she's even more glamorous than Tari. *whistle* Today she was in black, well-fitted, with a subtle design along the hem of the top, and a white scarf draped oh-so-stylishly about her neck. Is it a French thing, or is she just stylish? Iciss kept it simple, a very nice white blouse with frills down the buttons, and black pants. Not what I was expecting of this rumored fashionista, especially not the shoes (white, flat, soft, leather almost moccasins). Shameka had something gauzy and green, a shade of green that was not pretty but that she wore well. Pink was involved in the designs, which explained the big honkin' pink earrings. [/catty] How do I know what Shameka and Iciss were wearing when they were active? Because the section I was squatting in was the lucky autograph section, and despite threats of checking tickets, they just made sure we had the autograph vouchers. Life is sweet. And Shameka is getting lazy with her autograph; she's down to S. Christon. And disturbingly, Iciss uses about the same number of letters of her name that her predecessor in #3 did/does. Maybe it's a numerical thing? Now comes the Texas Two-Step, a trip from which we could conceivably come back 0-2. Connecticut, man, they still look remarkable. When Lindsay Whalen is your weak link, you have one HELL of a team.