Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Minnesota Lynx wore out the New York Liberty over the course of the game, taking a 80-62 win on the road. Seimone Augustus led all scorers with 22 points, while Taj McWilliams-Franklin notched a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). Cappie Pondexter led New York with 15 points; Essence Carson added 13 off the bench as the only other Liberty player in double figures.
For a lost and found in a border town, the passing of the hat, things that should have been, five chances without a basket, and a startling lack of sense from Stanford alumnae, join your intrepid and adrift blogger after the jump.
Good evening, everyone! Here we are at the Prudential Center.
It's 44-33 at the half, and I'm pleasantly surprised. The Liberty are throwing a lot of alley-oop passes, and the ones that are working are working, and the ones that aren't working are going out of bounds and looking exceptionally stupid. Essence Carson is playing very well. Kara Braxton, less so. The Lynx look a little sloppy, but their passing game is nice.
For some reason, security is being anal about autograph collecting. Either the league needs to make it clearer that it's not welcome, or the Liberty need to lighten up. We want everyone, darn it!
I missed most of the pregame festivities, arriving to the arena in the middle of the anthem.
It's strange to see Erin Thorn as the last player off the bench. She's not actually a point guard, and it's not good for her to be used that way. Devereaux Peters was strong on defense in her minutes, though I thought she had a block. Maybe it was just a deflection. Jessica Adair seemed to get called for fouls at every opportunity. I wasn't happy with some of her lower-body moves, though. She seemed to be going out more for the Vikings than the Lynx at a couple of points. I like her opportunistic nature, though. She cleans up garbage well, which is not an insult. Candice Wiggins is a fun personality off the court, and I really like her, but on the court, she needs to keep her head on straight. She commits really stupid frustration fouls when she gets beaten on a play. We're lucky she didn't go off, because this could have been a lot worse. Monica Wright looks like she's coming into her own. She's assertive offensively and uses her hands well on defense. She's starting to show why she was a first-round pick, and why the Lynx are keeping her.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin took a hard shot to the gut that had her bent over a garbage can in the first half. Defensively, she was more than capable, and as always, she was in excellent position to nab rebounds. She's Mama Taj. She's immortal and awesome and we still love her. She got a lot of applause during intros. Lindsay Whalen really wasn't much of a factor. Yes, the offense ran more smoothly with her in there, but that's about all I can say about her. Reeve went with a lot of Wiggins-Wright in the backcourt. Seimone Augustus is a joy to watch if you're a basketball fan and a nightmare if she's playing against your team. She's just so smooth, and has such a pretty jumper, and then every so often she reminds you that she went to LSU and can play a little defense on the best in the game, too. Effortless is not the right word- natural might be a little closer. I like Maya Moore less and less every time I see her. Yes, she's talented, and yes, she's a force, but she also throws people around a bit recklessly and uses her reputation as Maya Moore to get away with it- or, when she doesn't, starts protesting it like it's an affront to the dignity of humankind. Don't body-check people into the boards, and you won't get called for the foul. Rebekkah Brunson started off well enough to have us screaming in frustration, and even when she tailed off offensively, she got it done on the boards.
The Lynx don't give up on loose balls. They rebound like their lives depend on it.
DeMya Walker's shot abandoned her today, and she took one really bad hit that several of us thought should have been a charge. I suspect the compressed timeframe may have not done her any favors. Kelly Miller continues to improve, or at least seem more comfortable with her teammates. She still looks like she found the wall and smashed repeatedly into it, but she's doing a better job of finding her teammates. But she got beaten too badly for Whiz to be comfortable with her, and that meant running Leilani Mitchell into the ground, but we'll get to that later. Kia Vaughn got work done on the boards, but she's got to hit those little shots in the lane that came up short or went awry off the rim. She had good looks. She needs to hit her good looks. Essence Carson was, for me, the player of the game- solid on offense and tough on defense, with one block that I'm reliably told was very athletic, and a Top Ten worthy lay-up off an alley-oop that hung out on the rim for two seconds before leaning out and tipping gently in to get the crowd going.
Poor Leilani Mitchell looked like she'd been ridden into the ground by the end of the game, but she was a gamer. She worked the long rebounds when no one else on the Liberty seemed willing to get the job done and went down to the floor to force jump balls. She's got pretty impressive hops, too; she might have had a chance on the jump with Augustus if she hadn't misjudged her leap. Nicole Powell was less awful than usual tonight, hitting some of her shots, and her defense was marginally better. I'd still like to see her be a more aggressive rebounder, but between the improvement and the fact that she was stretching out her back before intros, I'm willing to give her a pass. Plenette Pierson wasn't a statistical factor, and though she was hustling like always, I suspect that the Lynx's skill sets combined with Whiz's bizarre love of alley-oops to put her out of her comfort zone. Kara Braxton appeared to have left her brain at home, which says a lot when it comes to Kara Braxton. She started the game off with three straight dumb plays. It's no wonder that Kia played the starter's minutes. Cappie Pondexter came down with a bad case of what Mike Lupica once referred to as "Wanna Be The Man Disease", forcing a lot of shots against multiple defenders. I know she's our primary offensive option, and she's going to take the lion's share of the shots because she's supposed to take the lion's share of the shots, but I'd like to see better judgment from her. She's got good court vision. I'd like for her to use it.
Play that should have been the play of the game: Nicole's no-look, over-the-shoulder pass to Cappie, but Cappie missed the jumper on the wing. Cappie, if Nicole goes all Ticha on you, you have to hit the shot.
I was not thrilled with the lack of attention paid to tripping in this game by the refs, on both teams, and I found the discrepency in jump balls between the two halves interesting. I suspect that I'm going to be paying attention to this a lot, since the Liberty appear to be lacking in judgment as to when to foul. How do you win the foul battle 12 to 20 and lose the FT attempts 17 to 11?
The natives are already restless. We heard a few shouts of "We want our money back!" from the other side of the arena. I'm going to lay off of that until at least June. They showed a little life today, and everyone's going to look bad against the Minnesota Lynx. I do wish Whiz had come back with Kelley and Alex when Reeve came with Thorn and Peters.
I feel bad for Coco Miller. It must be uncomfortable staying in a seat for two hours with a stick wedged in that particular spot. You'd think she'd at least have some emotional reaction when her sister scored.
Lots and lots of credit to the security staff at the Prudential Center. Your intrepid blogger and her dashing husband left the Clipboard O' Doom under their seats in their hurry to get to the chalk talk, and security was very patient and thorough in looking for it. No luck yet, so if you happened to have been at the game last night and found a gray Saunders clipboard, please let us know. You can keep the cash.
Post-game had a chalk talk with Teresa Weatherspoon for season subscribers. After a bit of a delay, Kym Hampton introduced Spoon, with a mix of puffery and the bizarre humor that always marked those teams. Spoon opened up with imitating the Louisiana drawl, which I'm hoping she tries to do in front of VJ one of these days. Then she gave back some of the love for Kym. See, this is why that team still holds a place in my heart- they still love each other (not like that... probably...) ten, fifteen years later. Think Leilani and Kia will have that? Things don't go your way, "then suddenly you've got a bunch of angry fans, because this is New York and they expect you to perform". She's exhorting us to be the sixth man (preaching to the choir, Spoon, but hey). "Get your butts in the seats!" This is our team, she says, (and yes, Spoon, we know that, that's why we rip them). "Follow them wherever they go." And then someone shouted preach, and the next thing I know Kym's got someone's Rangers cap and is hitting up Laurel Richie for money. This is why I love that team. She's really hammering home that the team needs us- and we're hammering back that the team needs her just as much. Seriously, do not shovel BS at Liberty fans. We shovel back, and then we hit you with the shovel. And then someone came up to the podium who had found her on Twitter, and Spoon hugged her and shouted her out, and I do not believe there is a single player on the Liberty who would do that, and that is the difference between the Libs in black and the Libs in blue.
Then Kym introduced Laurel Richie, who seems a little shell-shocked at Spoon's passion and Spoon and Kym's routine. She's so tiny compared to them! Argh, she just used "herstory". C'mon, ma'am. I love the kibitzers around me, too. "I just want to slap somebody on the ass"- and then she stopped, abashed, and then Spoon slapped her on the butt. She wants to be part of the community and is proud of the community that the league has built. "We don't do it the same way- we do it differently-" but women are still athletes. More emphasis on support. "What about the Olympic break?" the press asks, and she seems a bit shirty that people assumed that the league wasn't prepared. Madam President, don't forget that not all WNBA Olympians are American- that bit about going for the fifth straight gold medal might not fly in Seattle or Atlanta. More squee about the fan base. We get it, Madam President, now please say something substantive. I mean, we got our money's worth with Spoon, but say something that means things. Though I wonder now how much she considers this an extension of her mission from Girl Scouts, supporting women and the strength of women.
We didn't exactly learn anything earth-shattering, but Spoon and Kym's comedy act was worth the price of admission.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
May 22nd: Minnesota at New York
Sunday, May 20, 2012
May 20th, 2012: New York at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 16-3 second-half run by the Connecticut Sun put away the New York Liberty 92-77. Tina Charles had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Sun in their home opener, while Asjha Jones added 20 points. Cappie Pondexter led the Liberty with 18 points, and Plenette Pierson had 16 points to go with a team-high five rebounds.
For a disturbing lack of faith, defective All-Stars, brown Sharpies, a note of class, and tiny Huskies, join your intrepid and perverse blogger after the jump.
The third weekend of May. The New York Liberty. The Connecticut Sun. Stop me if you've heard this one before. Hockey-style, it was a back-to-back home-and-home over-hyphenated opener for both teams.
I'm surprised there wasn't more of a spectacle made of the Sun's home opener. Last year I recall there being more pyrotechnics and stuff being given away. They're doing a lot of stuff through the season, though, so maybe that's it. I do like how they use the catwalks to throw t-shirts from above. The upper deck appreciates it.
I am also quite squee at the Banner of Honor. They started with Margo Dydek and Nykesha Sales, and yes, I did take off my hat in honor of Margo's memory. I hope we're able to see a few more numbers go up.
There were sound issues during the pregame kids' cheerleading routine, which led to the routine being extended, which led to an annoyed Liberty team having to navigate around a tumbling mat for the first three or so minutes of their warm-ups. Between that and the Sun's very extended, through-the-crowd intros, Whiz was already screaming for a delay of game before the game even started. Given that he's lucky he didn't get an administrative technical for playing silly buggers with the starting lineup last night, he really didn't have a leg to stand on.
Before the anthem, there was a moment of silence for a long-time season ticket holder and one of the arena riggers. It's nice to see one of the lesser-known people shown a little appreciation, even if it's posthumous.
Kelley Cain played a couple of long stretches due to the back-to-back and foul trouble for both Plenette Pierson and DeMya Walker, and she looked... well, she looked like a player with bad knees, bad hips, a bad back, and no high-level experience, traveling up on a bus for the second half of a back-to-back. She blew free throws, couldn't hit lay-ups, and was out of position on both ends of the floor. I am not optimistic about her prospects. Alex Montgomery also got extended time, due to the fact that Nicole Powell was awful, and she showed her defensive skills, but she was a liability on the offensive end. She's there, and she doesn't do anything bad, but she wasn't an option. DeMya Walker seemed to be taking the return to Connecticut badly, getting a little slap-happy and not necessarily smart. She's a defensive player, and her defense was sub-par. That's not going to fly. Kia Vaughn got burned so badly by Tina Charles at one point that I thought her uniform might have been singed, but she was otherwise not too bad. She's got to play smarter if she wants her starting job back, because Kara Braxton is the more talented player; the only way she's going to outshine Kara is with effort. Maybe, with a little more familiarity with her teammates and a little time under her belt with Whisenant's facocta system, Kelly Miller will not look awful out there, but right now she looks old, she looks slow, and she's a worse liability on offense than half the team (which is not a good sign, because the consistent offensive options on this team are fairly limited). She did have a couple of nice passes, so there's hope yet. Essence Carson has got to be more assertive on offense, especially if she's going to be playing the 2/3. We need someone to be offensively assertive off the bench, and Kia misses too many chippies for that.
Our Nicole Powell is defective. I demand a replacement. If she can't shoot, and if she can't keep her defensive positioning, and if she can't rebound, she is a load. She is a waste of space on the floor and on the roster, and now that Shameka Christon is active with the Silver Stars, she is going to be judged harder and more often. Alex is outplaying her, and she has more talent than that. Leilani Mitchell's shot selection leaves a little to be desired, but she's got a better idea of how the team and the system need to run. When she came out in the first half with a 37-30 lead, I bet my husband a quarter that by the next PG substitution, the Liberty would lose the lead. He owes me a quarter. Plenette Pierson is playing her tuchus off out there, and if things keep going the way they are, she's going to snap and go full on Detroit Shock on her teammates. She's playing defense, she's going to the hoop, she's rebounding- there's only so much she can do, guys. Some of the rest of you need to start pushing the wagon too. That includes you, Kara Braxton, and your remarkable ability to stand there and look decorative. She was able to get some of her offense going, but she needs to be more reliable down low. As big a target as she is, she can be a monster if she puts her mind to it. Cappie Pondexter took some stupid shots, but I get it. She was out there with some offensively inept lineups. (I found them pretty offensive, too, rimshot.) If you're in a position where you gotta be the man, you gotta be the man. (Woman. Whatever.)
Whiz is entirely too married to his system. It's not working with this personnel. Worse, the team is showing a lack of discipline in committing stupid fouls and stupid turnovers, with such a deliberate offense that Stringer is probably screaming for them to shoot. The fundamentals are lacking, and we expect better than that in New York, even when we're in Newark.
Allison Hightower got good looks, but they didn't go down. Where she made her mark was with sticky defense and heads-up loose ball plays. I really, really like her. Sun fans probably don't appreciate her enough. I'm putting in a very early nomination for Sixth Woman of the Year. Renee Montgomery got six of the quietest assists I've ever seen; it took looking at the box score and thinking about her drive-and-dish plays to realize that Asjha Jones or Tina Charles completed those passes. Mistie Mims kept getting called for fouls. I'm not sure how deserved one of them was; the other three seemed like pretty solid calls. Kelsey Griffin has slid down in the rotation for a reason. I think it's time for her to put up or go back to Alaska. I just hope that her job isn't secure for non-basketball reasons. Chay Shegog got into the game! She was really sweet at the game at the Garden, so I was cheering for her to get on the scoreboard. At least she got a rebound!
Kalana Greene sprints faster than I realized. She picks her spots well. She and Hightower are an interesting switch-off; if the minutes are to be believed, they were straight substitutions for each other. ŽI suspect that she only starts because she's a pedigreed Husky, though. Danielle McCray has a knack for getting things done, but also displayed some impressive wrestling moves- she had one pin on (I think) Essence Carson that was more Big Ten than Big XII. I don't know how well Kara Lawson has adjusted internally to being more of a distributor, but on the floor it seems to be working (though it's mighty strange). Still, there is no excuse to leave her open for three. That is a bad plan and people should feel bad for it. Asjha Jones went about her business as Asjha Jones does. She had a nice little outside shot going, she banged for boards, she went at it with Plenette, and generally looked like the last Olympian. Tina Charles was beautiful to watch on the inside, with tips and slick inside moves. But we had to have Sidney Spencer oh god shoot me now.
I love watching the Sun's hands in motion. You'll rarely see a Connecticut player bail on a defensive play.
The Sun shot 26 free throws in the first half. Every one of them was earned. Things got dicey in the second half, but most of the questionable calls went in the Liberty's favor.
I love meeting people at games. Not just the usual suspects, but people like the Siena season ticket holders in the next line over from us, who've been going to games there for 18 years, or the former Monarchs season ticket holders who came to the game in their Lawson and Powell jerseys. (Hmmm. Maybe I should wear the Bolton on Tuesday?) I love traveling fans! Boom de yada! Boom de yada!
Seriously, though, if one more person at Mohegan had asked me "oh, are there any UConn girls on the Liberty roster?" I was going to lose my temper. Three different times I was asked that. There are other colleges, you know.
Shoutout to Star Wars Rebel Assault. The Death Star Bonus rocks. Disregard this paragraph if you are under 21 years of age. Underage gambling is very bad.
I cannot say enough good things about the pork flautas at Sol Toro. Absolutely divine. Sol Toro in general is excellent, but the pork flautas stand out. (Actually, so do the warm chips to start you off. Om nom nom.) If you've got a coupon or a voucher, or if you're feeling a touch spendy, go for it.
I maintain that our offseason moves positioned us for a tank job, and so far we're doing it right. If we're going to fail, let's fail big time. And our next game is against Minnesota. Weeeeee!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
May 19th, 2012: Connecticut at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty got out to seven and eight-point leads repeatedly in the game, but the Connecticut Sun fought back every time, eventually taking a 78-73 win at Madison Square Garden. Tina Charles had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead a balanced Sun attack that put five players in double figures. Cappie Pondexter's 19 points led the Liberty, with Plenette Pierson adding a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
For shameless ogling, stupid point guard plays, home sweet home, surges, ebbs, flows, and mouths that ought to be washed out with soap, join your intrepid and head-desking blogger after the jump.
There's no place like homecourt. There's no place like homecourt. There's no place like homecourt.
And I didn't even have to click my heels to do it. That's good; my sneakers are in such disrepair that if I tried it they might fall apart on me.
Your intrepid blogger will be coming to you on tape delay from Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Famous Arena and the real home of the New York Liberty. Sorry, Cory Booker; you seem like a pretty cool guy and I know you've gotta rep your city, but we're the New York Liberty, not the Newark Liberty. And it'll be good to be home, though if the Liberty play like they did in the preseason, it's not going to seem so good.
They allowed season ticket holders to take a tour of the new Garden if they wanted, or to just wander around and go to their seats if they wanted.
Donkey of the day to whoever in MSG security decided to disallow autographs at the opposing tunnel. Whether it was the guy chalking the seats and just trying to assert his authority, or someone above him, come on, man. Chay Shegog is remarkably patient with technical difficulties.
DeMya Walker knows how to work a crowd. It's a good thing.
It's 41-33 New York at the half, and there's a lot of talking and a lot of things that are just this side of dirty. The four technicals overstate the matter, though. The Sun's three have all been for language, while Plenette Pierson threw a 'bow. Zachara is probably tired of watching her mother hit the floor, though; DeMya got the worst of some knee-to-knee contact and was writhing for a while.
The anthem singer's voice cracked, and she seemed to have forgotten she had a microphone. You don't have to project if you have a mic.
Halftime is the Super Bowl halftime a la Maddie and the various Torches. LOL WUT.
I love the new video this year. I think the segue from practice footage to game action works very well with the theme. Ready, steady, go indeed!
I've had to stop myself from fangirling at Mel Greenberg a couple of times. I may not be able to again.
Kelsey Griffin, it is not couth to sling your leg out into traffic and then flop like you got fouled. She was defensive, and that was it. Renee Montgomery came off the bench, and I am inclined to believe that it was because Thibault wanted either a more defensive lineup, or one less wild. Her speed continues to impress, but sometimes it gets the better of her. Where did all this offense come from for Allison Hightower? It's not the kind of thing I expect from an LSU alumna not named Seimone Augustus. She also played very sticky defense. It cost her at the end of the game, and I hope she's all right. Mistie Mims provided veteran leadership (even if Montgomery got the tech despite her intervention), so-so shooting, solid rebounding, and a couple of nice screens. I forgot how useful a piece she was; she reminded me very much of her Mistie Williams days in Houston.
I'm not crazy, right? Kalana Greene pronounces her first name kah-LAY-nuh, right? Long A? Like Alana Beard? The announcer kept referring to her as kah-LAH-nuh, and at one point he emphasized it so intently that I was sure it was a deliberate mispronunciation. Either that, or we've been saying it wrong for years. In any case, she played the passing lanes quite well. Danielle McCray hit a couple of shots in the first half that were worth noting, and then there were fouls and she sat down. I kept forgetting Kara Lawson was out there, except when some rocket scientist decided to leave her open for a three. This is a bad plan. Asjha Jones was annoyingly stealthy at times, and was more than a match for Plenette. Tina Charles is too good.
I love watching Mike Thibault play metaphorical chess with substitutions. I also love his occasionally over the top reactions. We could hear him barking from the 18th row. I mean, I can understand insult heaped on top of injury when he was announced as Tom Thibault during the tech call, but he's gotta switch to decaf.
Essence Carson, if you do Tari Phillips's show-the-ball trick one more time, I'm going to start a petition to change your number to 24. Stop attempting to hand the ball off to the opposing team. Good things did happen when she was in the game, but I'm far too hung up on some of the stupid plays to work with her on them. I'm sorry, Essence. Kelly Miller was announced as the starter, but was yanked right before the team took the floor. No idea what that was about. In any case, she ran a decent offense, but the tape on her calf worries me, especially when combined with her age. She looked distressingly slow, and of course, there was that gods-awful what-was-that-I-don't-even that I've blocked out of my memory from the corner that could have been the tying shot but was nowhere near anything vaguely useful. Kia Vaughn came off the bench and really played well, though she had a couple of blank moments. DeMya Walker looked good, too. We'll see how she is tomorrow with a slightly dinged up knee and a back-to-back situation.
Leilani Mitchell, do not hit people in the face. It has a tendency to overshadow your solid passing and valiant attempts to defend post players. I still think she's better for this team until Kelly Miller gets more used to the system and her teammates. Kara Braxton was her usual frustrating, athletically-bipolar self; one second she was pulling down strong offensive rebounds and getting shots in off the glass, the next, she was staring at rebounds as they went by her and missing bunnies. And I'm sorry, but as a well-endowed woman, I hurt every time I see her bouncing. "D-D-D-Defense!" does nto mean defense with DDD cups. Better bra, please. Nicole Powell had a couple of decent tips and wasn't as horrible on defense as she could have been, but she needs to be more of an offensive option. Not even more of a consistent option, but an option at all. Plenette Pierson mixed it up as always and got it going from the right side. Cappie Pondexter tried to take over the game in the fourth quarter, but we need someone to support her, and she needs to stop taking stupid off-balance shots. She can't do everything.
The officiating was... interesting in the first half. There was a lot of ticky-tack stuff called on Connecticut, and I can understand why they were ready to explode. It evened out a little more in the second half, though.
I say this as journalistically and objectively as I can: daaaaaaaamn, Kym Hampton can get it. After the makeover and such, she's down even below her playing weight, and she knows she looks good. Also, I loved her dress.
J.R. Smith brought his daughters, kitted out in Liberty gear. Iman Shumpert was filmed so as to avoid any shots of his injured knee. Larry Johnson was also in the house. They were down the row from Anne Donovan. Coco Miller was a few rows behind them (poor Kelly caught an awkward moment when one fan asked her about playing against her sister this year).
They don't even bother announcing Sue Wicks anymore. Happened to see her while the dance team was doing the rally song. "L-I-B-oh, Sue got a haircut- E-R-T-Y"
The new Garden is growing on me. I skipped the tour, but apparently my fellow subscribers were less than thrilled with the lack of Liberty in the new decorating scheme. It still looks very corporate and cold, but it's starting to develop a little bit of self.
This team still needs to find an identity, and they need to find it fast.
Monday, May 14, 2012
May 14th, 2012: Chicago at New York
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Five Chicago players went into double figures, led by Epiphanny Prince's 15 points, and the Sky never trailed as they knocked out the New York Liberty 89-57 in a preseason matchup. Shey Peddy and Carolyn Swords each had 14 off the bench for the Sky, with Swords notching a double-double with ten rebounds. Plenette Pierson led the Liberty with 14 points.
For a lack of chemistry, a need for nametags, the urge to go bra shopping, OH GOD MY EYES, and a cute kid in a Kym Hampton jersey, join your intrepid and successfully caffeinated blogger after the jump.
Slower than the MTA at rush hour! More ponderous than a locomotive in molasses! Able to leap to giant conclusions in a single game! It's... the Game Notes of Doom, back from their brief hibernation and cranky like a night owl in the morning!
So far, I am pleased with their choice of the center sections, or at least part of them, for the season ticket holders. We were placed pretty much dead center. I am much less pleased with the new floor. The first problem is that the endcourts and sidelines are now seafoam green. The second, much larger, problem is that Spoon's number is missing from the floor. Look, guys, you couldn't even properly respect her number by putting it in the rafters- now you don't even leave it in its perverse place of honor? I have my issues with the Tropical Skittles color scheme, and with this gods-awful cover of Kurtis Blow that is playing right now. But forgetting your own history... that's a bigger problem.
If this were Blaze, I would assume they were thinking of new ways to hack off the season ticket base. But this isn't Blaze. This is a regime that was supposed to be better. The Detroit Shock were better than this. The Monarchs were better than this. It doesn't make any damn sense. (According to data garnered from Melissa {our season ticket rep, henceforth known as "that poor unlucky wretch"}, the decal will be back for the regular season, so we're standing down from orange alert, but it's still not great forward thinking.)
I like the new shield design on the Sky shirts.
I try not to jump to conclusions based on preseason games, but it's very hard not to. And if those conclusions are true, then we're on an express train to Failville, with only the promise of a lottery pick that doesn't quite fit waiting at the station.
Rosters only given out to season subscribers of a certain level, I suspect, since Melissa, that poor unlucky wretch, stopped by and never gave us one. Kind of a bummer when you don't know who everyone is.
Carolyn Swords came off the bench and went into the paint like her life depended on beating up the New York Liberty. Professionally, it probably does, but it looked like there was a lot more at stake. She was very physical, which is about dang time, as far as I'm concerned. Shey Peddy did a lot more than I realized while looking at the floor; every so often I looked at the stats and did a double-take when I realized she was in double figures. (I think I was mixing her up with Epiphanny Prince. You can smack me upside the had later, Sky fans.) Ticha Penicheiro looked a lot older than she did last year. Still has a little of the old magic, but only in very brief flashes. Tamera Young's giant elbow sleeve was a bit distracting, and she still has that bizarre hitch in her shot. Otherwise, she is who we have always thought she was. Felicia Chester got a fair bit of time, especially in the second half, and I don't remember her being so much of a slue-footer/tripper, but I think she's playing for her career. I don't think it's going to work, based on that game. Sydney Carter played a bit, but her primary goal seemed to be to get Plenette Pierson into a frothing fury.
I have come to a surprising conclusion, one that I suppose has been building for a few years and through quite a bit of travel: I really like Eshaya Murphy. She seems to be in the right place at the right time. She's a hustle player. She seems protective of her teammates. At least from what I've seen on the court, she seems like someone who would be a good locker room presence. She probably shouldn't have been taking as many shots as she did, and that's her fatal flaw. Ruth Riley set screens and boxed out. She seems to have recognized what her role will be when Sylvia Fowles comes back. Epiphanny Prince was a nightmare for us on the offensive boards, and her shots always seemed to be coming from late in the clock or unlikely positions that resulted in a general deflation of the screaming kiddies. Le'Coe Willingham mostly played in the first half, and somehow managed to sink what I felt was the dagger- her second three was an off-balance mess of a shot that managed to catch nothing but net, and I knew we were pretty much toast if that kind of thing was going in for Chicago. Courtney Vandersloot disappointed me. She looked unsure of her teammates and unsure of herself. As old as Ticha looked, she's going to have to shape up in a hurry when Options 1 and 2 return from National Team duty.
A team with Courtney Vandersloot and Ticha Penicheiro shouldn't be committing two eight-second violations and a shot-clock violation. I'm just saying.
Kelley Cain, you have three reasonable options and one less reasonable option: 1) lose a bit of upper body weight; 2) gain strength and bulk in your calves; 3) let mama drag you and Kara Braxton to Orchard Corset so at least you won't be falling out; 4) do nothing and eventually break some part of your lower body because you are top-heavy. She's got the ability to board, and she's certainly got the ability to be physical- her first play was to check Penicheiro into the stanchion- but I fear for her durability, especially when the West Coast Swing Of Doom approaches. Maybe I'll be more optimistic about her when her team actually knows who she is. Laura Broomfield played long enough to miss a couple of shots, get a couple of offensive rebounds, and generally show that she wasn't going to have a place on this roster. Raffaella Masciadri didn't look half-bad for someone who just arrived. I'm usually impressed with someone whose first touch results in free throws. She does seem to be primarily a shooter, so if she can't play Whiz's defense she'll be gone no matter what we in the stands thought of her. Alex Montgomery looked awful. Unless the Knicks and her buddy Iman exert a metric ton of pressure, she's gone. Kelly Miller was better defensively than I remember, but she didn't look like the point guard we needed. Also, I fear that someone's going to stage an intervention for what's left of her legendary bangs. The horror, my friends. The horror. Plenette Pierson played well in fits and starts, but she was whaling on Sydney Carter something fierce. I've come to the conclusion that Carter must have been whispering a constant stream of "Gig 'em" at her. Essence Carson looked like one of the few players who gave a genuine damn about the game for the Liberty. Don't let the +/- fool you. She was playing pretty good defense and getting on the boards.
I don't know if Nicole Powell didn't play because she had a hand problem, because Whiz already knows he's keeping her, or because she was pretty bad today. But except for one shot and the first rebound of the game, she looked pretty awful. Which, sadly, is what we have come to expect from Nicole Powell. Kia Vaughn oscillated between being a presence in the post and a decorative light fixture unable to go after a simple rebound without screwing it up. I do wish she'd get it together already, though. DeMya Walker looked a little fuzzy at the start of the game, but then she got her offense going and starting hitting the floor with her usual regularity. (It's been a while since we've had a Libkid. Zachara's adorable and seems ready to steal Liberty fans' hearts.) Leilani Mitchell was pretty solid- looked a little rusty communicating with her teammates, but we'll get to that later. Cappie Pondexter started slow, but she got revved up at the end, and she was reaming her teammates out during one particular timeout. Trust me, they deserved it. I usually think Cappie can take a long walk off a short pier, but her teammates deserved every second of what appeared to be a lot of yelling.
Kara Braxton did not dress. Well, in basketball terms. I mean, she was wearing clothes and everything. I didn't see her on the bench in the first half, but I might have been hallucinating.
Monique Ambers has the little scooter for her... Achilles? Now, the important question: does she have the little horn that she can toot at people to get them out of the way? Seattle fans might remember Wendy Palmer and her scooter. Lady Grooms is still part of the bench crew, at least at home. The new guy really needs to up his dress style.
Kelly Miller did not appreciate Peddy's hands to the face that went uncalled. Things got sloppy late, but the refs were pretty much on top of things.
Tamera Young came up hobbling at one point in the second half, trying to play the possession on one leg. For whatever reason, Chatman wasn't calling timeout. Yes, it turned out to only be a cramp, but if a player is hopping up and down on one leg, don't pass her the ball. Murphy looked steamed at Chatman after that possession.
Stringer and the rest of the Rutgers coaches were there. (I admit, I spotted Chelsea Newton at first and assumed she'd come as a Monarch... then I saw Stringer.)
As you'll see, the place was absolutely packed with school groups. (I am being a bit disingenuous. For whatever reason, they emphasized putting more people on our side, leaving those sections across from us empty. I think there was a camera involved somewhere.)
I do not agree with the push towards Times New Roman Italic. This is the Sparks' font, kids. (Please, God, if You are mischievous, let Hollingsworth come back just so we can issue a #9 jersey in Sparks font and Lib colors.)
Overall, I am exceedingly disappointed in the Liberty's performance against a Sky team missing both Fowles and Cash. Either get it together or fail in such epic fashion that Jim Lewis and Nolan Richardson can only shake their heads in awe.