July 8th, 2007: Sacramento at New York

New York Liberty 71, Sacramento Monarchs 61

The Libkids bring the Maalox Moments, Rebekkah Brunson is made of awesome, and the Garden is shiny!


These crazy, kooky kids. I love them to death, but someday they're going to give me one last Maalox moment.

Was out and about pregame, seeing 'most everyone arrive at an ungodly hour (seriously, three hours before tip and then some). Shay + toothpick = wowgay. I spent a lot of that three o'clock hour blushing. I didn't realize people were actually reading my stuff, what can I say? I think my favorite pregame comment was from a friend of a friend in 219 (paraphrased): "Of course we won the Detroit game. Our coach was back- Erin Thorn."

Shiiiiiiiny new scoreboards. Font needs a little work- it was hard to tell apart the 0s, 3s, and 8s, but wow, shiny. Also, shiny new stanchions (sp?) and transparent two-sided shot clocks, with auxiliary shot clocks welded onto the "arm" of each stanchion. The next road trip and ASBreak will allow the rest of the array to be put into place, which is most excellent and will probably also be very very shiny. I'd like more stats and less out of town scores, though; do we really need four copes of the out-of-town scoreboard running?

Monarchs took every second they could for shootaround, though I did get to congratulate Kara on her upcoming nuptials (no, did not comment on the musical choice, although I've sometimes been tempted to get her attention by belting out "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy", if only because that's… not something you'd expect to hear in New York, is it?). The coaching staff didn't seem to be on the floor, even, but Boucek had them in in a hurry. Fro promised to sign after the game, but I don't know if she fulfilled that promise.

I think they're starting to run short of people interested in singing the anthem, because I think this was the second game of the season where they brought the singer in from in-house. The Garden in general seems to be getting more insular- cost cutting?

So I've been hearing these stories about how Rebekkah Brunson's been off the hook this season, that she's a beast, a monster, unstoppable, unbelievable. Um. Yeah. Wow. Seriously, now I'm thinking it would be a hard choice to pick between her and Ford. Baby Yo looks more and more like her "mama" every day. Mama Yo is starting to show her age a little bit, but she's still not someone I'd dare cross. Ticha still can't shoot, but it's still fun to watch her. Powell was awfully quiet, though she was hitting her shots in practice. Chelsea was really up in everyone's business on defense, and I spent a lot of the game shrieking at the Liberty not to play silly buggers with passing the ball to whoever she was guarding. Lawson really didn't get her shot going, which surprised me, though her first make was a pretty, pretty floater in the lane; if you're going to take your sweet time to hit a shot, that's a good one to make your first. I was not impressed with Scholanda Robinson; control seemed to start slipping when she was in, although some of that might have had to do with overlapping with Haynie- I'd have to look at a full PBP to be certain of that, but she doesn't seem to be playing within herself. As for Haynie… she's a nice kid, but she doesn't have the guts to control her team. I think she's the wrong point guard for a veteran team- I think she needs to be the voice of experience to younger players, and she's not going to get that in Sacramento. Atkinson has a knack for getting things done, and I suspect she'll move up on the depth chart by the end of this season.

That first quarter was unbelievable… and it was enough to save the game for us. Problem is that the kids haven't developed killer instinct yet, and they rather need to be told that. The boy and I suspect that That Moron has been telling them to relax at the half when they have big leads, and that would be stupid. I know I've been saying that I have no expectations for this team, but I meant it in the results sense, not in the sense that they don't learn anything from the experience. It didn't help that Loree got so frazzled in the fourth quarter, and I'm sorry, I would have pulled her after the third hesistant, telegraphed pass. She was slipping back into old habits, and we can't afford to have her do that; she's the only irreplaceable part on this team. Fortunately, she got herself straightened out in the end. She and Erin work really well together- they spot each other well on the floor, and each has her role with the team. Loree makes everything happen in a basketball sense, and Erin tells everyone what to do, even if what she's telling them is "Do what Loree tells you". Unfortunately, I think Erin has to spend time coaching the team that she should be using on her own skillset. Meanwhile… dear Sista Christon, please stop jacking up bad shots. Trust your teammates. They don't bite, or at least if they do, they only do it to the opposing team. I know you have the best shot under pressure… but that doesn't mean get yourself into situations where pressure will be applied, 'kay? But keep hustling on the boards. Cathrine picked her spots, something she's getting really good at. Just out of curiosity, am I the only one who thinks she's getting blonder and blonder? It's disconcerting, and I'm not sure I approve, but I am sure that I'm not going to be the one who tells her if it doesn't look good on her. Janel was damn fierce today, about the only one who wasn't taking any crap from Brunson. I would have appreciated less foul trouble, but I would also have appreciated better refs; if B, then A. Not one of Tiffany's stronger games, but again, fouls. Kid's gotta learn when to back off. Same for Lisa. I think we could have stood with a couple of more minutes of Jess, as long as someone informed her that she is not particularly decorative, and thus cannot stand on the court like a statue, admiring Brunson's rebounding and post moves. Not unless she's taking some goddamn notes. Ashley came in, made things happen, and has unbelievably dorky taste in music. I knew there was a reason I liked her.

I think my favorite play of the game was Chelsea's physics lesson; that is, what happens when something encounters an irresistible force, in this case, Loree's shoulders.

I finally caved and bought myself the Davenport T. Now I can match the jersey and the shirt, in a perverse, past/future kind of way.

Waited after the game at the Monarchs bus. The few folks who were getting on the bus did so promptly, but I was amused that the bus pulled out at pretty much the same time that Kristin Haynie wandered down 33rd with a posse. I don't know where a Michigan girl got a posse in New York- maybe they have them for rent, I don't know. She and the aforementioned posse met up with Lindsay across from the Garden. Robinson wandered out the employees' exit, but I didn't want to bother her, not when she was a) traveling with her kidlet, and b) traveling with Rebekkah Brunson. A) is tacky; b) is suicidal.

When all is said and done, we won this game, and we played a brilliant first quarter and kept them even in the second quarter… but we lost the second half. If this season is to be a learning experience, then they have to learn to keep the pressure on, because Indiana and Detroit aren't about to give up 16-0 runs, and we have to worry about the Eastern teams before we get around to worrying about the Westerners.

Still, it cannot be said enough for the record: I love this team.