New York Liberty 77, Chicago Sky 63
An all-around solid effort from New York does in the Sky.
Now that's more like it. Well, except for the fourth quarter.
So how bad did Brooke Wyckoff get beat up on Friday that she didn't come to New York? Or is she just allergic to the Big Apple? Fowles didn't make an appearance until the second half. I was all, There were nine Sky players before and now there are ten. Bzuh-wha? I don't mean a playing appearance, I mean I don't think she was on the bench for the first half. Maybe she took a separate flight, or was in the middle of a really good book. I don't know, because I'm not Sylvia Fowles. (I don't look nearly so good in a fedora.)
Though Chicago all came off in a bunch, which is usually trouble, they were very obliging to those who approached them, and that includes Stephanie White. They're good kids.
Because of his work in supporting and protecting Title IX, there was a moment of silence for Senator Kennedy before the music. I'm surprised they didn't bring up his work as a civil rights supporter as well. The rendition of "God Bless America" was strong, if a bit drawn-out, but the anthem that followed it... not so great.
In a right and just world, where everyone has access to every and any sport, Cathrine Kraayeveld would have been a quarterback. She's got some throwing arm. She hits the 100s with t-shirts on a regular basis.
Chicago kept drawing the same play for Erin Thorn- open three in the far corner- and she kept getting the shots, she just couldn't hit them until it was too late. The Sky were really asking her to do a lot as a small forward on both eds of the floor, and she gave it a good try. Also, I would love to know what she was talking about with Janel before the game, because I get the feeling it would have been a good laugh. Sharp wasn't all with it today- solid, not spectacular. Toliver's three at the end of the first I thought for sure was going to be the beginning of the end, and I think that for Coyle's Liberty it would have been. The slide would have started in the second quarter, not the fourth. Miss Toliver has an itchy trigger finger. Sometimes, just because you can shoot doesn't mean you should shoot. Mistie Bass has one very effective over the shoulder hook move, and man, is she ever nasty on the boards. It's nice to see a big woman who uses her size, but at the same time, she has an edge to her, a chip on her shoulder. She also has a truly heinous bleach job, but I'm not gonna say that to her face. I don't wanna die.
Canty was the designated floor hitter tonight, and only half of those were dives. I was surprised she didn't look for her shot more, with Fowles's absence and Perkins's lack of production. Perkins got a few shots off, and usually she hits those, but for some reason, about half the shots she managed to create for herself didn't go in. That's not including the defended ones, that's just the ones where she made space. Dupree stepped it up in the second half and especially the fourth quarter. New York's about the only team she could play center against, and she did so beautifully. How the fuck can anyone leave her open? (No, seriously. There was one inbounds play where she was completely alone under the basket and Thorn found her for a lay-up. >:-|) Young... um, there's no polite way to say it, she sucked like a Hoover today. When she's bad, holy mother of God, is she ever bad. Ely didn't have a bad game- not a good one, to be sure, but she was a good complementary piece.
A nice early spurt from Kia helped keep the game in our hands. She was throwing her weight around out there and hitting shots even with contact. That's a huge leap forward for her, and I hope she keeps it up. Ashley did much the same in the fourth quarter, though she also made some dumb mistakes, and she looked weirdly uncoordinated, even for her, like she didn't know how her body was supposed to move. If Erinfreakingthorn is breaking your ankles, you lose all cred as a defensive specialist, just sayin'. Leilani has to stop being scared of the bigger people, because pretty much everyone is bigger than she is. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE, BUNNY. The referees will pity you and give you free throws. She ran a solid game today, though. Tiffany looked really good. Can't put my finger on how or why, since I don't have a box, but I got the sense that she was always in the right place and doing the right thing. Spencer got extended minutes and did just about bupkus with them. Standing there and watching the ball go out of bounds won't make you any friends. Nor will missing the two threes you take, especially not when I'm trying to defend that as your only area of competence to some real skeptics.
I'm sorry Lark didn't get into the game, but I can understand why. (I wonder if it had anything to do with her schmoozing during shootaround, or if she knew she wasn't going to play and decided to talk to the kidlets instead. *shrug*)
Shameka! <3 You can do anything, can't you? The points were nice, the rebounds useful, but what sticks in my mind is that steal. Coo-ee! For all the times I've yelled at Janel for not bringing it on a given night, she was a trooper today. Still a little too inclined towards the boneheaded shot- remember, Nellie, you only get one of those a game, then the gods of sport think you're being arrogant and strike you down- but she busted ass out there on her bad ankle. I hope Essence is okay- she came up kind of funny after one play, though she might have just been dramatizing it for the sake of getting the call, because sometimes referees need a hint like that. Cathrine on the boards, my goodness! It's like someone whacked her upside the head and reminded her she was a power forward, and whoever did it needs to do it more often. She got great position on the boards, and fought hard for the ones that she couldn't get proper position for. I'd rather have 7 and 13 than 13 and 7 any day. Loree woke up late in the game, though her good hands on defense were evident throughout.
As an aside, am I the only one who's ever wondered sometimes if maybe Essence is an android? It really freaks me out how she goes from animated and enthusiastic to that shoulders-squared, head-tilted, politely smiling stance like someone's hit her off switch. Just me? Okay.
Sue Wicks has gotten a bit too old, or perhaps just a bit too weathered, to go bare shouldered. Sorry, Sue. You're still awesome, though.
Some really odd calls in the game. Loree lowers her shoulder into Canty, Canty hits the floor, and... it's a travel? Also, Nakasone seems to use a different set of signals than the ones I'm used to in the W- is she still using the college signals? I know they sign player numbers and the penalty/bonus differently.
Disappointed in the crowd. Not just the size, but a general trend I've been noticing is less gear and less variation in jerseys. Last season, while of course you had mostly Shameka, Loree, Janel, and Essence, you could find a few of anyone else on the team. This season, even last year's Mitchell and Kraayeveld jerseys seem to have gone into storage, and I've seen a grand total of one Vaughn jersey and one Spencer jersey all year. And the old gear is less prevalent than it was last year too. You saw a lot more black and many more #55s, #24s, and #25s in the blue. I know we're on a failboat, but I don't give a fuck, this is still my team.
Congrats to occasional Rebkellian AAMCO, Lucky Fan of the Game who gets to go to the Maggie Dixon!
We need more of this. I don't know that we can keep it up. But we have to. There's nothing to tank for. The ships have been burned, the pick has been traded.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August 30th, 2009: Chicago at New York
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
August 25th, 2009: Detroit at Connecticut
Detroit Shock 90, Connecticut Sun 70
It's not a great night to be the Connecticut Sun. It's a pretty good night to be Crystal Kelly, though.
Well, it was an exciting, competitive first quarter. Then Connecticut ran out of gas, whether it was physically or emotionally, and Detroit took advantage.
Hi, Barbara! Eeee, people recognize me in real life!
Let it be said here and now, for all the world to see: Crystal Kelly is a woman of her word. When she came out to stretch, I asked for her autograph, and she said she'd come back later. This usually means "I'm going to run past you and maybe look at you regretfully but what can I do?". Not for her. She came back with a smile and signed. Major, major props. Good karma.
LOLtastic moment of the day: as Taj was signing for a few Sun fans, Alexis Hornbuckle came flying down the tunnel towards the locker room, yelling, "BEEP! BEEP!" to clear the path. I thought I was the only one who yelled "BEEP!" to get through a crowd.
The anthem singer was... interesting. Lot of bottom to his voice. Not expected from such a slightly built package.
You remember the good karma Crystal Kelly had two paragraphs ago? It showed up for the game. She played very well off the bench, working hard and making things happen (though the exchange of three-point plays with Phillips was funny). Braxton didn't quite seem all there- I mean more than usual- and the jiggling is really starting to give me sympathy pains. SPORTS BRA. FIND A BETTER ONE. Zellous had a really good offensive game, and is starting to look a smidge like Nolan on defense. She needs to realize that if she wants the scrutiny from the refs when she's on offense, so she can get the calls she wants, she's going to be under the 'scope on the other end too. Sanni and Teasley both only played when Mahorn felt comfortable with the lead, and neither of them did anything that would give me or Mahorn any reason to put them in more often. It was actually less weird seeing Teasley in Shock blue than it was seeing her in #6 instead of #42.
Katie Smith's shot is such a thing of beauty, but for the love of God, Katherine, shut up! All night her mouth was going. The three-guard set really worked for Detroit- Hornbuckle makes an excellent forward and clears space for Nolan and Smith to get their shots off. Amazingly, either my powers of observation or Deanna Nolan's offense improved yet again this year- she was doing an unusually great job of getting space and creating her own shot. I know she's always had that skill, but it seemed more pronounced in this particular game. Cheryl Ford- or Sheryl Crow, as the announcer called her at one point- looked... I don't know if desperate is quite the right word, but it's close. She was going inside and throwing up shots with the hope of getting calls, but good luck with that for this crew. Her mobility has significantly decreased, but she's been trying to make up for it with more active hands. Not the world's greatest strategy, since that leads to more fouls, but I'm glad she's making the effort. Taj, while she got a rousing round of applause from the Sun fans who still love her, wasn't much of a factor.
The Sun bench really needs a good clout upside the head, except maybe for Erin Phillips. (Maybe she can be the one to deliver it.) Kiesha Brown was the only one who really showed some metaphorical cojones, and she kept getting called for charges because she was barreling inside. Amber Holt's shots weren't going down the way they had in the last couple of games. The Shock posts completely took Chante Black out of her game- she doesn't have the outside game Gruda has, which means she's stuck down low, which means world of hurt for a skinny rookie. Tamika Whitmore's lack of mobility, and the associated lack of conditioning, really showed tonight because the bench got so much run. She hit a couple of pretty shots, but showed no inclination to go after rebounds or loose balls. Even Phillips didn't look like her usual straight-ahead-damn-the-torpedoes self.
Neither did Lindsay Whalen. For whatever reason, whether it was the way the game was being called, or the physical presence of the Shock in the middle, or preoccupation, she didn't stamp the game the way she usually does. Gruda, at least early in the game and in the third quarter, was able to get away and hit some outside jumpers, but she wasn't enough to carry the whole team on her shoulders. Jekabsone-Zogota played pretty well- not great, but all right. Ditto for Tan White. Ditto for Kerri Gardin. Wow, this bit turned out shorter than I expected. The problem was that Connecticut really wasn't all that inspiring, or inspired.
I knew the refereeing was going to suck when Breeding was the first ref announced. You might know him from such places as the Indiana game at the Garden that almost descended into a brawl. A lot of late whistles, a lot of really odd calls, and a higher-than-average amount of time spent conferring and/or checking with the scorer's table for reasons that never became clear.
All the events tonight involved season ticket holders. I approve of this plan. I also approve of the Sun's extremely generous gifts. Sure, they do the usual array of "prize packs", but when you've got sponsors willing to pony up two $100 gift cards and a pair of diamond earrings, that's pretty fucking sweet. The Sun do a pretty good job of reaching out to folks. I know I've heard Sun fans complain about community and fan outreach, but compared to New York they're the biggest social butterflies in the group.
All in all, not a bad experience- not what I needed as a Liberty fan, since we do have to step on Detroit if we want to climb the ladder, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
August 23rd, 2009: Minnesota at New York
New York Liberty 80, Minnesota Lynx 67
Shameka Christon, Cathrine Kraayeveld, Tiffany Jackson, and the rest of the Liberty serve up some chicken soup for the fan's soul.
Oh, wow, that was fun. We need more games like that, not just for the playoff race, but for the team's and the fans' morale. That second half was a thrill ride, in a good way.
Fun with MSG staff- someone fucked up an assignment somewhere along the line, and after ten minutes of waiting for the gate to lift, the arena staffer at the bottom of the escalator summoned the elevator to get us into the actual arena. Very thoughtful of him, and much appreciated. Missed most of the Lynx because of the delay, but the ones who were still out there were all obliging.
Anthem singer did well until she tried to gussy the rendition up at the end. Keep it simple, keep it classic.
I'm surprised Gillom didn't change up the starting lineup, though it probably wouldn't have done any good.
I hope McCants is okay. That was a rough fall, and what bugged me about it was that her teammates didn't even seem aware that she wasn't there. Either she sucks at staying on her defensive assignment or they're just not the most observant people in the world. I understand why they didn't foul, but I would have fouled. She's got moves. She just can't use them properly. Hollingsworth did better against our posts tha she did against Connecticut's (which makes sense), but you can still see she hasn't adjusted to the speed of the game. I wonder if overthinking is going to be her downfall. Very quiet game from Montgomery. I like her speed- she's a keeper. Humphrey was lighting 'em up in shootaround- she had one shot that successfully dislodged a jammed ball and still went in- but couldn't get started in the game. Combination of defense, really bad shot selection, and bad luck. Montañana played a little bit, but neither yesterday or today would have encouraged me to give her extra run, so I'm not surprised Gillom didn't.
Kelly Miller will always be a fighter and a scrapper, but I don't know what the hell is wrong with her otherwise. I'm used to her being much more effective. Nicky Anosike was damn good against our posts. Houston picked a lot of pockets- I think Gillom drummed the whole "PLAY DEFENSE OR I WILL BENCH YOUR ASS" thing into her head. (Maybe she called Geno?) Hodges also improved her defense from yesterday, with a nasty block on... crap, was it Loree or Leilani? Shooting, not so much. Wiggins tried to win it by herself near the end, but she made the same stupid play today that she made last night, though it mattered less today- down by more than one possession, she drove the lane for two instead of looking for a three. I think she still thinks she's the darling of the Pac-10 and she's going to get a call that will stop the clock. While she's good at drawing contact, and in getting the officials to notice that she's drawn contact, she's not going to get superstar calls at this point in her career. She'll get the benefit of the doubt in a lot of cases, but she won't get ridiculous calls like she used to.
I'll admit that I groaned and grumbled when Erlana checked in late in the first half, because I remembered what happened in the Sun game, and I didn't want to have the momentum come to a crashing halt again. But she must have eaten her Wheaties or taken assiduous notes, or something, because she looked good- she was hitting those shots that she's been missing, she was showing some muscle on the boards, and she was surprisingly useful against Anosike, given the height differential. Ashley scrapped and hustled and stole rebounds like there was no tomorrow, and when Minnesota started considering a little run, she shut 'em up. Leilani didn't hesitate in the lane this time and ran a smooth offense. Kia wasn't great, and for the love of God I wish she'd stop fumbling passes and screwing up easy shots. Tiffany stepped up big in Janel's absence- she came out like gangbusters in the second half.
Speaking of Janel, I hope she's all right. There was talk she tweaked her ankle, but it was her shoulder that looked like it was giving her trouble when she hit the deck. Maybe there was something before, too, because she came out late to warm up, and she didn't play all that well. For all I know, maybe it's the hair- she's all sleek and normal looking now, no more fauxhawk. :( Cathrine had a really great game- she was hitting her threes, she was getting rebounds, she had hands in people's faces, she was making things happen. So was Shameka. When she hit that deep three, I about hit the ceiling with glee. I don't dub this a Meeksiah game- I mean, she only had five rebounds- but she was damn good. Essence appears to be out of favor with Donovan, possibly because she keeps missing easy shots. I'm starting to wonder if she would prefer to start Ashley but can't, either because of the backlash from the Rutgers folks who have show up to more games this season or from within the team. (For that matter, I wonder if Ashley prefers the reserve role, where she can pump everyone up on the bench, then come in with a better idea of what's going on.) Loree wasn't all there offensively, but she did a good job of finding her teammates and kicked ass on defense.
Refereeing was odd, but not "Flames on the side of my face!" bad. Calling an official timeout to get McCants off the floor might have been the proper decision, if at all possible.
The school supplies drive was not the resounding success it could have been among the fans. Apparently giving out cheap purple pens won't make you any new friends among hardcore folks.
They honored Paramus Catholic's girls' team at halftime, AD's alma mater. There was also a dance routine, but the less said about that the better.
The first quarter was a real hot mess for the Liberty. Anosike came out pissed as all hell and kicked the hell out of us. But they ran out of gas, plain and simple. That game in Connecticut made the difference in the second half- Montgomery and Humphrey had shot their wads on Saturday, and the tank was empty.
It felt so good to watch that lead grow. Good for the heart, good for the soul. I like not stressing out over my team.
August 22nd, 2009: Minnesota at Connecticut
Connecticut Sun 98, Minnesota Lynx 94
It's a duel of the point guards and the multi-faceted posts, and it's a helluva ride.
This was FUN. Not the result I needed as a Liberty fan, fun nevertheless.
The morning started off on the right foot with the folks at the Starbucks in Flushing. Warmed the cockles of my heart when the guy at the counter recognized my jersey and the girl working with him started chattering about the Sky. So if you're ever by the Flushing library, stop in at the Starbucks across the street. They may be a soulless corporate entity, but they hire good people.
One thing I've always liked about the Lynx is that they make a point of being fan friendly, even in opposing arenas. This was no exception.
The girl who sang the anthem did a pretty good job. One or two sour notes, but she had power and got stronger as she went on.
Good Lord, the kids behind me. On one hand, I want to applaud their enthusiasm for the game and the team. On the other hand, my eardrums are still numb. I hate Kids' Days.
Hollingsworth isn't ready yet. Her calculations need work. A season overseas might do it, but right now it's a matter of misjudging her moves. I actually liked McCants- she seemed to have the right idea and the right instincts. More than I can say for Montañana- damnit, woman, you have a big body, use it against your matchup. If you'd like, after tomorrow, I can repeat it in Spanish, just to make sure it sinks in. Humphrey was ON her game. She hit some shots that had no business going in, contorting her body in ways I've only seen from guards like Hammon and Whalen. And Montgomery put on a show- her block on Phillips was nasty, and her threes were sweet.
Kelly Miller appears to be missing. Her muscles are still pretty impressive, though. The kids behind me were oohing and ahhing. Wiggins felt like she played much less than I expected. She was stealthy. Anosike, except for one or two defensive plays, was a non-factor, hampered as she was by foul calls (on which, more later). Shame. I wanted to see her do well. Houston was doing all right offensively, but defensively, not so much, which pissed off Gillom, and since Humphrey was contributing more, she had the luxury of sitting her down. (I wonder if running them together, with Houston at the 3, might have been effective, but I hope she doesn't think of it before the Liberty game.) Hodges had some looks, but couldn't get them down, or couldn't get the ball. Also, her defensive fail was strong, though that might have had to do with not being certain where she was supposed to be.
Still like Chante Black's offensive rebounds. I nearly typed Chante Block, which would have been more accurate on Friday, but not by much. I could have sworn Holt hit a couple of her shots, but the boxscore says otherwise, so who am I to argue? Kiesha Brown came in just long enough to spell either Phillips, Whalen, or Jekabsone-Zogota. Whitmore didn't even do that, but she looked awful, so I don't blame Thibault for not giving her more run. Phillips was a little spark off the bench.
I don't necessarily like Lindsay Whalen, but she impresses me more every time I see her. Her determination shone through tonight as she fought for rebounds and drove for shots. I was also struck by how much she talks on the floor- not in a trash-talking way, not in a bad way, but in a point guard way. I approve. Gruda didn't start off really well, frustrated by the Lynx bigs, but got into her groove in the second half. Jekabsone-Zogota had the best offensive game I've seen from her- I knew those shots couldn't keep not falling- but her defense leaves something to be desired, not from lack of effort but from overzealousness and over-physicality. Tan White's persistence continued, both in taking the long shots and in hitting the deck. Gardin couldn't hit her shots, but she had a couple of good defensive plays.
Oy, the refereeing. On the other hand, oy, the Connecticut fans who thought everything Minnesota did and nothing Connecticut did was a foul. But, oy, the refereeing. The most inexplicable calls came from Twardarski, or however you spell his name.
Someone had alerted us to the fact that UConn players often sit in section 18, the one over from us. I was looking over there anyway, because Tasha Humphrey was having a very animated gestural conversation with someone (no, it wasn't Plenette Pierson) in that section, and I thought I saw an older couple who looked related to Coach Gillom. And there was a very pretty young woman in a green shirt a couple of rows behind them, and I thought, "She looks a little like Maya Moore, but... naaaaah." And then a quartet of ballers showed up. (You can usually tell a college athlete. There's something big and self-confident in the body language.) I didn't recognize all of them, but I'm pretty sure the big post was Kaili McLaren. The way they cheered on Montgomery and Houston, though, made it very clear that they were Huskies. I thought the funniest thing I was going to see last night was Moore chair-dancing along with the awful cover of "Proud Mary" that the senior dance team was shimmying to. Then the second half started, and ten seconds in, the post I'm presuming is McLaren got up and belted, "WE WANT RENEE!" I hope they come down today, too, just for the LOLs.
It was a very exciting game, and a fun crowd to be around, even if I didn't agree with them or want them to win.
Friday, August 21, 2009
August 21st, 2009: Connecticut at New York
New York Liberty 85, Connecticut Sun 83
An old-fashioned back and forth between the city cousin and the country cousin, with drama and frustration for everyone.
Oh, my goodness, what a game! We needed for one of those to go our way for a change. What a difference two days of scouting and a coach who knows her ass from a hole in the ground make!
Lovely weather we had, wasn't it? *wrings out hair* I should have realized that would be a bad omen for the Sun. They traveled fairly well.
I'm not completely certain, but I thought I saw Jennifer Gillom and Nicky Anosike in the front row, and I could have sworn I spotted Charde Houston coming into the arena, and there was a very tall woman with copper dreadlocks leaving afterwards, and one of the text messages on Gardenvision mentioned "Naynay", so I think the Lynx were scouting. If that was Gillom in the white suit, and that was Anosike next to her, they were having fun.
Good choral anthem, though util the end it sounded like they were going for the world's record for fastest anthem. Not that I mind, I like a good brisk rendition.
Erin Phillips is crazy. I have mentioned this before, right? She and Ashley almost threw down, and that would have been a wicked awesome fight. Can we make this happen as an undercard in the offseason? Chante Black's instincts on the offensive glass continue to impress me. I'd love to watch her develop. Kiesha Brown was surprisingly ineffective, given the Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Holt's crazy shots persisted in going in, and I think Thibault made the right move putting her in late in the game, when the Liberty had four fouls, given that she's very much a slasher; she had a better shot of making contact and forcing fouls than some of her colleagues. Tamika Whitmore still looks like she needs to either recover from her injury, though at least her shooting form seems to be back in place (even if her accuracy isn't yet).
Holy goddamn, Sandrine Gruda. I really love to watch her work. She has a very smooth, graceful style to her game. I just wish she'd stop demonstrating it on my team. The rebounding shows she's not afraid to get inside, though she's not as effective offensively down there, since teams know they can double down on her. That outside jumper killed us, because Janel couldn't get out on her. Tan White- when did she become a three-point shooter? Have I been misjudging her for five seasons? I thought she was more of a slashing, midrange guard, and there she was bombing threes like she was Laurie Koehn or something. She got the worst of a couple of collisions during the game. You could almost see her hating her life. I don't know if it was a bad night for Whalen or if we were on her, but she really wasn't much of a factor until late in the game. Gardin was a major defensive factor and solid on the glass. They still miss Jones, but I don't think they're losing as much as you think, between the increased touches for Gruda and the work that Gardin does. Jekabsone-Zogota's form is still beautiful, and that last three nearly fucking killed us. I still think we're lucky she didn't get on a real tear like she's capable of.
Surprised Thibault didn't go to the "Euro" lineup sooner; surprised he didn't have a better handle on the clock.
Kia. Hon. Please to be practicing your lay-ups before Sunday, or Nicky Anosike will make your life a living hell. She was a hot mess tonight. I just. I don't even. Ashley was a spark. She makes things happen. They aren't always good things, but in many situations, they are. Her defense was pretty damn tight. Leilani hit a couple of big shots and mostly kept things flowing smoothly, though there's one play that sticks in my craw where she had an open jumper in the lane, and she passed out for what eventually became a turnover. That late in the game, you can't make that kind of mistake. GO TOWARDS THE HOLE. Tiffany… it's funny, I know she played, and I know she played a bit, but I honestly can't remember a thing she did. She must have done something, but I don't remember what it was. Spencer did not suck tonight- if she were always this assertive about getting her shot off, we might actually have a useful component here. She was also part of a nice little strip in the backcourt.
<3, Shameka. <3, Janel. Janel, while occasionally demonstrating acts of incredible stupidity, was also fucking brilliant when it came to the boards and making things happen. Shameka had a quiet first half, but came up big in the third and fourth. So the Meeksiah came late. She had to wait for Shabbos to start. Cathrine and pink don't mix very well. It is a disconcerting look, and such an experiment should never be allowed to happen again. Essence was all right- made some good shots, made some questionable passes. Loree's hands continue to get better every game, at least defensively, and I wonder if that's Byrd's influence coming into play. Everything and everyone got fiercer as the game went on. I think they were determined not to let themselves go completely down the same road they did in Connecticut on Wednesday, a road you guys know all too well from my last set of notes. It is rife with potholes, construction crews, and traffic.
The referees weren't absolutely terrible tonight, but there were a few calls where it looked like Mike Thibault's interesting shades of red were warranted. On the other hand, I was under the impression that it was a shot and the ball back if you fouled someone who wasn't the ballhandler the way Whalen did to Ashley near the end of... regulation, I think.
There were some great plays- spectacular blocks, full body dives, sweeping boards, ifty steals, but the image I keep coming back to is Sandrine Gruda standing on the logo, waiting for the game to start, while Maddie's about to do the letter-by-letter Liberty chant. He almost jumped down her shorts, and I thought Tan White was going to ROFL IRL, she was smiling so big and laughing so hard.
Ashley continues to be the star of MTV- she did a version of the video from "U Can't Touch This". The glasses suit her, in a peculiar way. Erlana watched it during the timeout, figuring (correctly) that she wasn't going to get into the game, so she might as well enjoy the feature.
Things I don't think go well together: offensive linemen and Britney Spears concerts. I could be wrong, but I highly doubted it. There were representatives there from the Jersey Justice and the New York Sharks, both women's football teams in the area. I like to see crossover among teams. It makes sense. Besides, Liberty and Justice for all, right?
All aboard the failboat express: the Liberty rolled out a program where trading in an old jersey gets you 30% off a new one. Yeah, no. You'll have my Lobo jersey half an hour after I'm dead. I'll rock the black until I can't anymore, unless I'm rocking the Comets gear to tell the league "Oh, hey, yeah, you fucked up." Don't encourage people to give up their colors. This Lib still wears black. (Also? If you're going to drop the old colors and teams down the memory hole, using Kym and Spoon in 2001 warm-up jackets does not compute.)
I'm happy with the win. They really gutted it out. Coyle's team would have lost that overtime by ten after a shot like THAT from Jekabsone-Zogota. I don't know where we would have been without Janel and Shameka, but I don't think it would have been a very fun place to be. I'm glad Connecticut didn't have Asjha Jones for this matchup, believe me.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
August 19th, 2009: New York at Connecticut
Connecticut Sun 74, New York Liberty 69
Things get out of control.
Okay, look, guys, if you're going to piss away a 17-point lead and look like zombies in the fourth quarter, could you let me know in advance so I don't spend over seven hours on a bus and an hour on a train to see you do it? Thanks ever so much.
No, seriously, it's great that they're doing heavy work on I-95, because it needs it and the infrastructure of our country should be as strong as possible, but do they really have to have work crews every ten miles slowing things up. Going out of Flushing, it ran me four hours going and three coming back, for a trip that should take less than three.
Respectable crowd for a Wednesday night. Not as many New Yorkers as usual, but that probably also had to do with the day of the week.
I have to give a shoutout here to Tywan and the nice lady from the Sun who helped me swap my extra ticket for Saturday for a ticket to tonight's game. Very helpful and very professional, and that's always been my experience with the Sun box office.
Excellent anthem, even with the sour note near the end. Nice power, and a nice-sounding voice.
The Tiffany Jackson Experiment would appear to be over, as Cathrine reclaimed her place in the starting lineup. I haven't been thrilled with either of them as starters, to be perfectly honest with you, but Cathrine's game seems more suited to a reserve role. She sets good screens, no matter what the refs say, and she keeps her hands up on defense, and sometimes she'll hit a big shot. Sometimes she won't. Them's the breaks. Disappointingly quiet night for Shameka, but not all of it was her fault- Connecticut did a great job getting on her as soon as they saw her doing that thing she does with her feet when she's getting ready to shoot. Loree, to borrow a phrase from the Libertine (wherever he's wandered off to), alternated between bouts of greatness and failure, sometimes even on the same play- the bit where she had the nifty steal and then went "Look, ma, no hands!" and the ball went out of bounds comes to mind. I'm starting to wonder if the "pound the ball into the ground until you see a dent in the floor" thing is a Tennessee problem, not a Shannon Bobbitt problem, because Loree has no sense of goddamn urgency. She's driving the lane more and just generally looking more for her offense, and we're going to need that if this season isn't going to completely go to shit in a handbasket. Janel. Hon. This is not college anymore. Please stop passing to Lindsay Whalen, kplzthx? At least she's going towards the hole, but she's being too pretty about her shots ad passes. Essence finally hit a lay-up. Shame that's the only thing I can recall her doing.
So Leilani's Rebkell-given nickname of Fluffy Little Bunny is appropriate in more ways than one, since the pregame ritual of high-fives, crossed arms, and whatnot involves her hopping up to meet her teammates' hands and arms. Seeing her leap to high-five Cat is hilarious. Bunny fears nothing, not even Erin Phillips. She was finding people tonight. Ashley Battle: where big plays happen. I love a good full body dive. Just. Stop dribbling, AB. Kia wasn't bad in terms of being a body in the paint, and she set a wicked Screen of Death on Lindsay Whalen (and it takes a lot to knock Whalen down), but not so much with the rest of the basketball skills. Spencer did not completely suck tonight, but we appear to have traded a potential lottery pick for Anne Donovan's new microphone. Ladies and gentlemen, the incredible FFO. She'll be here all week. And month. And year. *weeps* Tiffany, stop traveling, OMG. Seriously. AD, you and she need to have a long talk about footwork. Yesterday. Erlana is adorable, in a butch kind of way, but I can only assume her role on this team is as part of the chemistry and energy, because she helped us start choking the lead away.
Lindsay Whalen annoyed me, but that's because I'm a Liberty fan and she was abusing us. (And traveling, but referees' counting skills aren't exactly consistent.) In the second half, a lot of stuff that she was just tossing up there started going in, and I think that reenergized both her and her team (though that may be a redundancy- sometimes I think she's the Energizer battery, and the team is the bunny). I love Jekabsone-Zogota's shot. I'm a sucker for deep follow-throughs. I guess the weird spacing in the font meant that she didn't get to have her married name on her jersey. Either that, or Taj stole all the hyphens when she left a couple of years back, and they just didn't notice until now. There's a smoothness to Sandrine Gruda that I like- she doesn't get down low enough for my liking, but that's the Euro style. And that block on Leilani was beautiful. Tan White hit some big shots. Kerri Gardin, for all that she hasn't played that much since Gruda arrived, was a big part of the Sun's win; she's the dirty work player, much like Cathrine is for New York. She got a few early rebounds, did some offensive work during their run, and played tough defense.
Tamika Whitmore's not ready to be back. Whether it's the knee or further conditioning issues stemming from her new weight plus the time off, she looks like playing is pain. No one should be shining with that much sweat during warm-ups. No matter how much she's pissed me off over the years, I don't like seeing her suffer needlessly. Chante Black did a nice job on the offensive boards. Erin Phillips is still crazy. Surprised that she's fallen so far down the totem pole, though. Her teammates weren't always finding her when she was open. Kiesha Brown did just enough to prove that the Roaring Rampage of Revenge is still a going concern. Amber Holt is... interesting. As soon as the woman next to me said she was awful, she started going on the tear that helped set the table for Whalen's run. It was all out of control, crazy shots. When she missed them... wow, did she ever miss them.
I have one rule of thumb to determine a good coach: if you can tell what they're doing, what kind of strategy they're putting together, that means they know enough to make it obvious what they're doing. Thibault is one of those few. Starting Gardin put a little grit into the lineup, protected Black and Whitmore from foul trouble, and allowed the rotation to stay intact. There was a long stretch where he went with a lineup of Holt, Gruda, Phillips, Jekabsone-Zogota, and Whalen, which doesn't look like it would make any sense, but made the Sun a lot more mobile than the Liberty (especially while someone like Kia was out there) and made them offensively dangerous from all positions. That lineup made the big run.
I despise inconsistent refereeing, especially when the style changes from half to half. Fuck you, Gulbeyan. There were quite a few bad calls, and a few that had very light contact. Gruda was involved in most of the "what is this I don't even-" calls- the one the Sun fans hated (where there was light contact with the lower body), the one I hated (she shoved Janel to the floor!), and the one everyone hated (a loose ball foul on light contact, with a late whistle, after the Liberty had already gotten possession and were starting to move the ball). It was like the refs thought everyone forgot about them and wanted to flex their muscles.
So frustrating. I love this team, but I have no idea what's wrong with them.
Friday, August 14, 2009
August 14th, 2009: Chicago at New York
Chicago Sky 88, New York Liberty 77
You know, before tonight, it would never have occurred to me to compare the New York Liberty to a waterbug, but that's just the way this season has gone.
It's a very New York thing, so let me explain the comparison to those of you who don't have GIANT FLYING ROACHES in your life. You get a waterbug, and it's skulking around generally making weird noises and leaving scrape marks on your paper. That was the first half. Then you find the little fucker and spray him with Raid. That would be whatever the hell AD said at halftime. He goes berserk in a sudden flurry of motion. That would be the third quarter. And then he dies. That... would be the fourth quarter.
Now that you've got the flow of the game, maybe you don't want to read these notes. I can't even promise you no more flying creatures. I can promise you no more roaches, but that's as far as I can take it.
Chicago does odd and extensive stretches, but they were amenable so long as you hollered, since they all went off at once. Erin Thorn hugged the... not ballkids, but young adults who rebound during shootaround. The hugging seemed mutual. Sign of good people.
Whoever that was who thought we needed a rendition of "America the Beautiful" tonight should be locked in a padded cell and forced to listen to that brutal rendition on loop until their mind snaps. Her voice was pleasant enough when she stayed on key and in tune- it's just that she didn't have the voice, the power, or the range to do "America the Beautiful". I preferred the trumpet duo who performed the anthem.
I think Erin Thorn had something to prove. She proved it. She can still shoot, play the point a little, endear herself to some fans, and occasionally throw really dumb passes. I miss her, but that's because of her deadpan sense of humor and because Spencer has done jack shit in the same role. Sharp- I had to correct myself there, I still think of her as K.B. even though she hasn't been a Lib in four years- seems to have the best rapport with Fowles out of the guards for Chicago. It's between her and Thorn. For whatever reason, the starting guards aren't so great at that. Toliver worked well as a microwave kind of player, but I'm surprised Key didn't go to her more to exploit the matchup with FLB a little bit more. Chen was... there. And that was really about it.
To hell with Holdsclaw and to hell with Leslie. Candice Dupree has got to steal the "Smooth" moniker. When she's on, she has such a silken grace to her game that it'll take your breath away. She had one drive to the hoop that was a thing of beauty. If she's on and she's happy and her head isn't up her ass, she's one of my favorite players to watch in the entire league. Fowles is a power underneath. Perkins's ability to get a shot down is uncanny. I swear she has telekinesis on some of those. Canty makes things go. Much the way Kelly Miller was often described as the engine that churned Phoenix to the 2007 title, Canty semed to be the engine that made things go for the Sky tonight- the Liberty started putting together their run right around the time she had to sit with foul trouble. I don't know whether it's because she's a veteran guard who keeps her head and passes well, or what, but it all went to hell when she went out. Ely kicked ass in the first half and the realized that there was a reason she was starting at the three for Chicago.
Hope you feel better soon, Brooke! *sends e-chicken soup into the aether*
I like Cathrine as our sixth woman. She does the dirty work. She sets screens that rarely move, fuck you, Michael Price, she defends decently, she boxes out a lot, she tips out boards. I don't think the fact that she was the only player with a + +/- is a coincidence. Leilani seems to be in the doghouse, but that might just be Donovan's thing about not thinking reserve point guards have any function. I hope Leilani proves her wrong, or at least kicks her in the kneecap to get some playing time. That one play on Fowles, where Fowles made the fatal mistake of bringing the ball down to a level where the Bunny could pounce, was priceless. Ashley's full body dive was pretty awesome too, but AB's energy mostly went off in random directions instead of being channeled into useful pursuits. Kia has the right ideas, but her execution is awful. She'll get an offensive rebound and miss the putback. She'll get fouled and brick both FTs. She'll have a fast break and bounce the ball off her thigh. That sort of thing. Spencer came in, hit a shot, and then went out, never to be seen again. I can't say I object, but at the same time, if we have her, we should find a way to use her. It was good to see Erlana get in, but she really has to work on her chip shots.
So does Essence, OMG. Three blown lay-ups- that is unacceptable for a starting guard on a professional team. Coach Byrd, please get to work on her stat, because this lay-up problem is not a one-game deal, and neither is her questionable ballhandling, and her defensive instincts are starting to fail her. I do like Loree's aggressiveness in the last couple of games, though, and I hope she keeps it up. I'd like to see her get the offense started a little faster, because I think that's affecting our play- spend too much time pounding it between the circles, and your teammates will start thinking, and we all know what that leads to. Janel tried to hard reset the team in the first half by going inside and drawing contact, and she got stuff done on the inside, but either our guards weren't thinking or Chicago was denying her the ball, because, really, seven touches? Tiffany did not impress.
I feel like I'm missing someone... crap, who is it? It's on the tip of my tongue- oh, yeah. Shameka. Forgettable in the first half, except for being the team's leading rebounder. And then she came out in the third quarter and dragged the game back to respectability with everyone on her back. My goodness. Second best quarter I've ever seen a player put together in my life. If she'd dragged us all the way back I'd have hailed her as the Meeksiah and waited for the Rapture right then and there.
I don't know what Coach said at half, but she needs to say it more often. My goodness.
Apparently the only form of traveling that will be called is the up-and-down. Anything that requires counting is unnecessary. No walks, no three seconds- I was amazed that they called a five-second violation, and more stunned that they called an eight-second violation (though the latter might have been because AD would kill them if they didn't). A lot of push-offs went uncalled, and there was one particularly inexplicable foul that was called on Leilani that brought out the boobirds.
I skipped the halftime presentation because I really didn't want to hear MSG fapping about its own.
And then things went batty. No, literally. Somehow a bat got out into the arena and fluttered around for a while before being chased out, but not before it gave the Sky bench a good scare. It was the biggest scare of the night for Chicago. The best laugh was when the sound guy played the theme from Batman afterwards.
I'm disappointed, and we will not speak of that first half, but that third quarter was unfrigginbelievable, and showed what this team can really do. (Although, note to Coach Key? Don't wait until the run reaches a 16-point differential and the opponent is within ten to call timeout.) I'm a Libkid. This is how we roll.