August 16th, 2003: Connecticut at New York

Here's another one from the Wayback files. I find the damnedest things on this computer sometimes, I swear.

Tamika Whitmore makes strange fashion decisions, Richie Adubato does not make substitution decisions, and all in all, it's not a very good game.


8/16/2003

Gretchen, whatever you’ve been saying to the pigeons, I think it’s working. There are at least two of them wandering around the Garden as I type. Has Wilbur been spreading the word to his feathered friends? And the pigeons weren’t even the weirdest thing coming in. Miko showed up in pajama pants. Pale blue pajama pants with red devils with pitchforks. Tamika is very strange. K.B., Erin, Bethany, and a coupla the other girls wandered in (and out again in K.B. and Tamika’s case). Tari, of course, showed up at 2:30 pretending to be on the phone. Honestly, someone needs to reset her internal clock. We need to raise funds for that.

The Sun is a very light-hearted team, I find. Debbie Black was chatting with C-Rob before the first shootaround- they played in Colorado with Tari, ya know. And yes, Brooke Wyckoff knows about Wyckoff Avenue. Katie Douglas is playing on a bad foot- we need to take advantage of this. Manners do get you something, even if it’s just teasing.

Dude. How the hell do you leave Nykesha Sales open? And how the hell does a good point guard like Pee-Wee not find the open woman? And how does Pee-Wee get a rebound over and awawy from Tamika? Free throws are our friend right now, but we can’t keep letting the Sun get the good stuff on the glass. There are way too many Johnsons on that court- Adrienne and Shannon for the Sun, VJ for the Liberty. Rebounds are killing us. So is Jessie Hicks. Nykesha Sales, however, is really something else. She’s finally doing what everyone’s been wanting her to do since she started in the WNBA- hustling, scrapping, playing with heart. She has so much talent, and it’s starting to blossom.

Speaking of blossoms, Linda just checked in and immediate hit a jumper from the elbow on a pretty play and got to the line. She, K.B., and Elena have all contributed. Fro’ dumped Debbie Black on her arse. Honestly, if someone told me in 1999 or 2000 that we could trade Rebecca Lobo and get the better of the deal, I would have laughed in their face. But Fro’s really developing into a real player, a capable reserve with a nice touch and good heart.

Speaking of Fro, why is the IDIOT taking her out?! She’s got more stuff goin’ than some of her teammates. And the stupid mutt is keeping everyone in a lather. Menawhile, Connecticut is bombing from long range and banging in the paint and has an eleven-point lead. Richie’s blowing his top, just called a timeout.

Spoon and Debbie Black have baskets in the same game. This has got to be a record. And this continues to be a game of bad choices and bad judgement on all accounts. The refs have swallowed their whistles. The coaches have made bizarre substitutions. The players have made bad passes and sagged off on defense at too many bad times. People have been discussing players, and the consensus is that these players want that coach gone. The players aren’t the only ones. I used to have respect for him, but I’ve lost it. He and Spoon need to take the same flight out of town.

Dogs at halftime. And that’s where this game has gone- to the dogs. We can’t rebound, we can’t shoot, we can’t defend, and oh, we can’t get decent chemistry going either. Welcome to basketball hell. (Am I the only one who has noticed the weird connections between these two teams? There’s the time when they had the three Johnsons out there, then two different combinations of former Utah players {three out of Wendy Palmer, Jessie Hicks, Debbie Black, and Elena Baranova}. And then they had the three former Colorado players out there {Crystal Robinson, Tari Phillips, and Debbie Black}. Everyone knows everyone in this game, I swear.)

We keep scratching and clawing, and they just hit a basket and make it hopeless again. VJ is doing all she can, but she’s only human. (I think.) It’s nice to see Tamika showing some signs of being a power forward, but we need more points out of Tari and more of everything that is offensive out of Crystal. And dear God, we need Nykesha Sales to get out of this game.

There are miracles in this world. The ball went off Debbie Black, but the ref initially awarded it to Connecticut. Tari blew a fuse and VJ ran up and pointed insistently at Black. And the ref corrected the call! Of course human error popped up again, but this time from the scorer’s table; Elena’s three was initially credited to the Sun, and though they gave the Liberty the points, they also gave Connecticut the points. Guys, we’re already having enough trouble making up this deficit, the last thing we need is Connecticut getting a further advantage.

Their bench is what killed us. Wendy Palmer was stroking it, and Jessie Hicks was strong in the middle. They both ended up in double figures. Our bench might have been effective IF RICHIE HAD PLAYED THEM!!!!!!! K.B. needed to be playing a lot more than she did; what she showed near the end of the game was incredible aggression and brilliant playmaking. She was one of the few bright spots. Unforunately, she wasn’t a klieg light, just a flashlight. Coach Jackass ran VJ ragged, and Crystal to a lesser extent. Did he forget that we needed to play two more games in two days? Bethany never got out of her warm-ups, and the only reason Lindsey was out of hers was because she took them off; she never got in the game. We could have used warm bodies in the garbage time, just to get our aching starters and major rotation players time to ice up. At least Tari fouled out to rest. And now they have to go to the land of Drew Carey, rock ‘n’ roll, and boiled water. Does Richie want to get fired so he can go run with the boys again?

We didn’t deserve to win this game. Going a step further, I’m not sure if we deserve to be in the playoffs. I love this team to pieces as a team, and for the most part as people, but there comes a time when you have to wonder. Games like this make me think that this team has lost a good part of the heart that used to make them stand out from the crowd. I see lackadaisical play, as if certain players just don’t care. At other times, I see players who mentally show up one game and then space out another night. There are times when I miss Sue and Kym more than anything. Where is the hustle? Where is the heart? Where is the emotion? “Pure heart, pure passion, pure basketball” my ass. Show me that, and I’ll believe. Until then, I’ll believe only in the lottery.

Oh, and as if things weren’t bad enough, Becky’s briefly glimpsed good fashion sense disappeared again: the evil plaid shirt, white shorts, and slipper-like shoes. After Thursday, you’d think practical shoes would have come back into vogue. Danni, we need to team up with our moms and drag that girl shopping.