Friday, August 30, 2013

August 30th, 2013: Indiana at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Indiana Fever jumped out to a 14-0 start, but the New York Liberty fought back before succumbing 73-67. Tamika Catchings had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Fever, while Shavonte Zellous added 21 points. Kelsey Bone led New York with 13 off the bench, 11 in the third quarter.

For role reversals, parents who just don't understand, the perils of travel, wanting to be The Man, lots of dancing, and the inability to write, join your intrepid and wordless blogger after the jump.

Hello again, loyal readers and interested passers-by! We're coming to you in staggered, or possibly staggering, spurts from the Prudential Center on a Friday night that could not be any more welcome if it tried. (Trust me, you don't want to know.) It's the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever, one more time, one team looking to stave off a tie-breaker, the other to clinch it, both teams looking to their playoff hopes.

Solid national anthem. I could do with less gasping.

Miss Dance of the United States 2013 is wearing a ridiculously huge crown. That thing is about a foot tall. Seriously.

I'm pleasantly surprised that we're only down five at the half. Given that we opened up the game giving Indiana a 12-0 hole shot and generally looking more like everyone was focused on Plenette's birthday celebration, getting it down to manageable levels is a definite improvement. People are coming in too, which is also an improvement.

Play of the game is not in fact Leilani Mitchell's banked-in, shot clock buzzer-beating three. Here's the sequence: Cappie Pondexter is trapped in the corner, hounded by an Indiana double-team. She hurls the ball in desperation to the opposite corner, where Leilani Mitchell leaps up and quickly touches it over to Alex Montgomery, who swings it to DeLisha Milton-Jones for a right-angle three. The crowd WENT WILD, no lie. Which is good, given that you could almost taste the sarcasm coming off the crowd in the first quarter.

That could have been worse. No, seriously, that could have been worse. Other than wanting to smack Kara Braxton upside the head with Cappie Pondexter, I'm okay with this. (No, don't ask me how I was planning to accomplish that feat. Let me wallow in my hyperbole. It's the only thing keeping me from freaking out at these uncouth gentlemen on the PATH train. Only two more games in exile. I can make it.)

Jasmine Hassell... um... there's no polite way to put this. At all. And it's horribly hypocritical, but I'm not paid to play basketball. But Jasmine Hassell appeared to have dealt with the expiration of her seven-day contracts by drowning her sorrows at McDonald's, or possibly Krispy Kreme. She appeared to be close to the girth of Erlana Larkins, though a good bit shorter. I suppose she was able to throw the extra weight around and thus be a peskier defender, but no. Not a good look. Jessica Breland rebounded well, but stupid fouls kept her off the floor more than I think Lin Dunn would have liked. I still think she and Erlana Larkins need to play more together. The last time I saw the Fever, it looked like they had a good chemistry together. Erin Phillips was uncharacteristically off her game. She always plays low, but it seemed like she was much closer to the floor than anything else. And I do not approve of her kicking Leilani Mitchell in the Achilles. I wanted Layshia Clarendon to do well tonight, if only because there was a Bears fan in the next section over and happy Bears fans make me happy (and yes, also because she seems like a fairly awesome human being, and I like it when fairly awesome human beings succeed at things), but her shot was off (even the one she hit got a little help from the backboard) and she had a fumble in front of the Fever bench that could have been very costly.

We kept leaving Briann January open. This was not as bad a plan as I feared. We kept passing her the ball. This was less of a good plan. No, seriously, she played the interior passing lanes well, a fact that the Liberty remained distressingly oblivious to throughout the bulk of the game. She did appear to attempt to use her mad l33t martial arts skillz at one point, which is not a good plan in the game of basketball. Shavonte Zellous had the lane pretty much whenever she wanted it, and she was popping shots from all over the floor. Her help defense in the post was also crucial to shutting down the Liberty attack. Karima Christmas came up with all the things. She's one of those players who can do things, and you don't remember them, but without her the team probably doesn't win. She's growing on me, despite her unfortunate name. (I worked with a Karima who was a raving lunatic. Evil, evil woman. As you can tell, she even spelled it the same way.) Erlana Larkins got in and mixed it up on the glass, and early on she was taking it to the rack with some success. She had fun matching up with Kelsey Bone. And by fun, I mean pain, just to make it clear. Of course, Tamika Catchings was Tamika Catchings- deadly when we decided that guarding her from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter was a waste of time, powerful slicing through the rack, surprisingly effective in boxing out bulkier players, like a bolt of lightning when it came to intercepting passes, and occasionally reckless with the body. That's Catch. That's how she rolls.

Leilani Mitchell is getting a lot of positive fan support. Almost too much. If she were blonde, it would worry me more. But there's a roar and a cheer from the crowd whenever she gets in the game. She played all right- the two big threes make her look better than she was overall. It does worry me that she's getting shoehorned into that three-point shooting role; yes, it's one of her skills, but I don't know if it's one of her strengths, and I'm not sure if it's because she's looking for a way to contribute so that Bill doesn't forget that she exists, or if it's the only thing that her teammates think she can do anymore. Alex Montgomery kept taking long twos, which is frustrating, but it's a habit that the entire team has gotten into, which annoys me. She defended, she rebounded, she hustled. If her shot were more consistent, she'd probably be starting; as it is, she's been playing the lion's share of the minutes at the three. Kelsey Bone had a fantastic game off the bench, especially the third quarter. She was aggressive on the boards and went hard in the paint. We had been worried that she was picking up Kara Braxton's bad habits, which are legion, but apparently that's not the issue. That's a relief. DeLisha Milton-Jones was solid- good deflections, okay shooting, nothing remarkably stupid that I can remember off the top of my head.

Plenette Pierson relied entirely too much on her jumper for my liking. Granted, she was being doubled in the post (like pretty much everyone), but I'd have liked to see her take it to the hole with a little more force. Kamiko Williams got the start as a formality, but she only played the first couple of minutes before returning to her seat on the bench. If she could shoot, she might have a shot at sticking on a roster, but she's not a good shooter, and unless there's roster expansion next year, there's no room in the league for a player with only one skill. Katie Smith wasn't great, though she had one big shot that should have been a lot bigger. We'll get to that in a bit. Cappie Pondexter was clearly bothered all night. She can't get lift on her shot, which means that she can't get her shot off, which means that she goes for the foul instead of attempting to make the shot. The next to last possession for the Liberty was a complete debacle. She got the ball and never relinquished it, which ended in disaster. I mean never relinquished it. I mean, the ball did not leave her hands until the shot went up, despite the fact that her teammates were open. It was bad. It was embarrassing. That possession, and Plenette allowing Zellous to go to the rack on the Indiana possession, sealed the game. Kara Braxton, except for one brief and utterly unexpected stretch in the fourth quarter, was a hot mess who deserved nothing more than to be sworn at repeatedly. Throwing shots at the rim without caring whether they were actually shots, fumbling, not catching passes... and then there was a spurt in the fourth quarter where she was hitting shots, rebounding with authority, and even being sneaky by knocking a ball out of bounds off Briann January's back. Then she remembered that she was Kara Braxton and went back to doing stupid things, but it was nice while it lasted.

I don't know why the officials didn't review Katie's shot from the corner. I thought it might have been a three. Taj, Barb, and DeLisha all thought it should have been reviewed. Nothing. And then they decide to review Christmas's basket at the end of the game. Because that totally affects the outcome, y'all. There were a lot of shaky calls in this one- missed on both teams, to be fair, but overall, the three gentlemen calling this game seemed to be anticipating fouls instead of calling the action as it happened.

Crowd got into it as the game went on. Defense was strong for most of the game. Offense just went AWOL. We'll be okay. I keep telling my neighbors to take deep breaths and think of Chiney Ogwumike.

No, seriously, I'm down for shutting down everything with five games left. The tragic number approacheth. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with regrouping next year and not having to go to Newark more than twice this year.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

August 27th, 2013: Minnesota at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Lindsay Whalen had 18 points for Minnesota, and New York shot a paltry 25% from the field, as the Lynx romped over the Liberty 73-46. Maya Moore added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota; New York was led by the 13 points of Cappie Pondexter.

For fail, swollen feet, missed shots, fear of Rebekkahs, too much pink, and ounting the days, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump.


We're almost to the end of our years in exile. That's what I have to hold on to as I weather train delays and missed connections because the Q59 is an evil, evil bus and there are too many trains involved in getting to Newark. I consider it a miracle that we're only down 18 to the Lynx at the half, because we've been shooting badly and the place is mostly empty.

No, put it this way: there were still caps being given out to people arriving midway through the second quarter, and they were only supposed to go to the first 4,000 people. There are way too many Lynx fans here. (We dealt with two of them through a spare pair of floor tickets handed to us by a friend. She doesn't like being up that close, and neither do we. And since they were on the Lynx side of the floor, they were happy. And since we didn't have fans cheering for everything the Lynx did two rows behind us, we were happy. Everyone wins! :))

Halftime featured breast cancer survivors being given custom jerseys at center court, and an adorable hug between Essence Carson and her mom. (Dang, her mom's young, or at least young-looking.)

So far, play of the game is Lindsay Whalen's no-look pass to Rebekkah Brunson. The alley-oop to Devereaux Peters to finish the first quarter was right up there too. And I'll eat my pink-and-white breast cancer awareness cap if Cappie Pondexter's heel isn't bothering her, because there's no way that Lindsay Whalen with the ball is visibly faster than Cappie Pondexter without the ball.

Somehow, despite the uniforms being standardized, the Liberty managed to have the ugliest BHA uniforms in the league. The shade was repugnant, and black and seafoam green do not go as accenting colors. Yet another reason to detest pinkwashing.

I can't with this team. We get Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore to go 8-24 from the floor, and we still manage to lose by an amount that makes me have to do complex arithmetic in my head. We get to the line more often than they do and force them into 15 turnovers, and we still lose by 26. I can't. I am no longer capable.

Rachel Jarry had the unfortunate task of being assigned to Plenette Pierson. I don't think this was the matchup that she was looking for, and she kept getting tangled up in Plenette's arms. That sounds much more interesting than it is, but you know the way Plenette gets her arm hooked with her defender's and suddenly she looks like the victim. The one shot she took, she missed badly- but she crashed the boards something fierce as soon as it left her hand, and almost came up with the o-board. Lindsey Moore got some time near the end of the game and burned Leilani Mitchell on a play that she apparently didn't get credit for. I thought she'd managed to get a basket and a steal, not necessarily in that order. Amber Harris even got into the action late in the game. We gave up a basket to Amber Harris, you are all fired, OMG. Sugar Rodgers hit a three, because apparently the only people in the building who remembered that Sugar Rodgers can shoot a little were the Georgetown alumnae, Cheryl Reeve, and every fan of any faction of the Big East. The steal she had to get a fast break going was pretty nice, too. Again, it's like she did that a bit at Georgetown. Devereaux Peters kept thinking she had a jump shot, which helped us a good bit. Those long arms got all up in the rebounding, and especially on defense. I was pretty sure she had more than one blocked shot. No, seriously, the arms were everywhere. Monica Wright spent more time than I expected thinking she was a point guard, even with Whalen on the floor. The pull-up at the free throw line was working for her. So was occasionally having Cappie Pondexter defend her, but we'll get to that later, this paragraph is long enough as it is.

Rebekkah Brunson scares me. I like her and everything, no matter how strangely she spells our name, but when she's in game mode, that's a woman I would not want to meet in a well-lit alley, let alone a dark alley. I'm pretty sure at least two of her rebounds came simply from glaring at people around her. She's fierce and tough, and you knew all this coming in. Janel McCarville kept going outside to shoot, and it looked like that might be a bad sign when she hit the three-pointer early on, but she cooled off from the field after that. She did a nice job setting screens and moving the ball around. It should come as a surprise to no one that she and Lindsay Whalen have a very good two-man game- there was a nice play early on where they went back and forth for a while before Whalen bounced off a McCarville pick and took it to the hoop. Seimone Augustus's shot was pretty, but the rim was not her friend this evening. I got the feeling she might not have been playing at full speed, but they didn't need her to play at full speed. Maya Moore is a lot more solid than I remembered her being, which I think I always remember about her- I keep thinking she's more of a three than a combo forward. She picked up her double-double in the most efficient fashion possible, getting both her tenth rebound and her tenth point on a sweet little putback. I think she might have taken Bill's stupid threat a lot more personally than she was willing to let on. Lindsay Whalen played like the ultimate maestro of the offense. Okay, maestra, whatever, I don't speak Italian. But she was brilliant. Even when she wasn't making the first pass, she was making the pass that led to the pass. And this was the night she decided to break down whichever defender happened to be in her general vicinity (which was usually Cappie Pondexter) and go right to the basket. She was awesome.

Toni Young demonstrated her vertical with a sick block near the end of the game, but that was pretty much when she got the bulk of her minutes. She and Leilani Mitchell had a bad miscommunication on a play that shouldn't have taken as many attempts to get right as it did. She also blew a defensive assignment badly. Leilani Mitchell made the offense run more smoothly, but I'm not sure that engine lubricant is a good comparison for a professional basketball player. Alex Montgomery brought the hustle, but not much else. Even her defense was off tonight. And I really wish that if she were going to shoot the long jumper, she'd make sure that her feet were behind the line, especially since she overshoots a lot of the time, which means that she's passing up potential three-point chances for big fat zeroes and bad rebounds. DeLisha Milton-Jones was hot early, but cooled off later, and I don't see the wisdom in trying to play her alongside Plenette. Neither of them is really a three at this point in their careers, and the age and lack of mobility that they share really doesn't go well against Rebekkah Brunson and Devereaux Peters. That was not great matching up by Bill. Kelsey Bone had the best game of the bench players, though I wish she would be more assertive. She at least got after rebounds, for the most part, but she has got to hit her bunnies. Her defense was... not terrible.

Which is more than I can say for Kara Braxton. Her offense was horrible. Her defense was terrible. Her passing was atrocious. Her rebounding was appalling. Arguably, the best play she made all night involved using her... er... um... the things were supposed to be aware of the health of all night... as springs to bounce off her defender for an and-1. That is not what we mean by being physical. Kamiko Williams rebounded well, but if she's going to take the midrange to long jumpers, she's got to practice shooting them so that she can actually hit them instead of creating long rebounds for the other team. Either that, or she's got to actually be a defensive presence instead of just a rebounding presence. I don't know what was the matter with Katie Smith, either. Her defense went from so-so to completely awful ("swinging gate" should never be a description of your defense, Katie May). She had one really horrible fumble on the sideline that made me shake my head. (And is also making me think of the really awful one that Kara had when Gulbeyan clearly signaled deflection. My head hurts again, thanks, Kara.) Plenette Pierson tried to carry the team, but she's not a reliable jump shooter, and she was getting pretty tightly defended. Cappie Pondexter still isn't herself. She couldn't keep up with Lindsay Whalen on defense, and her shots were falling funny on offense. Whatever's wrong with her, I hope it heals soon, even if that means not playing on it.

Yes, I'm saying that it might be time to SHUT.DOWN.EVERYTHING. There's nothing to be gained by making the playoffs, and the kids need more reps together. That means Kelsey, Toni, and Kamiko, Bill. Alex, too. Not Kamiko with the vets, not Kelsey with the vets, not DeLisha. That means either resting or benching Cappie until her heel, uh, heals. That means looking to the future and the Garden instead of a first-round exit against Chicago or Atlanta.

Officiating was all right. Denise Brooks had a good catch on a strange out of bounds call where Janel McCarville got hit by the ball a couple of times and Roy Gulbeyan still wanted to give the Lynx back the ball. Brooks corrected him. I don't know if she used a spritz bottle.

I skipped the auction on the concourse, so I don't know what kind of cool things were offered to raise money. I generally don't get involved in that sort of thing. I'd always rather go red than think pink.

There were hecklers in the endcourt who decided to act like it was a Lynx home game, up to and including disconcerting the free throw shooter. They weren't in Lynx gear, so I'm assuming they were generic rabble. Whatever the case, they can go step on a field full of Legos.

It's kind of adorable that my husband's Sophia Witherspoon jersey is getting as much attention as it is. People remember. Random people on the train ask us about the team and tell us stories about knowing the early Maddie. Someone who said she was Sophia Witherspoon's godmother went squee. Huh.

The defense was solid. That's all I can say. I mean, overall the Lynx shot well, but that was buoyed by Whalen. But the offense... my college team shoots better than that. And I'm not talking about St. John's, I'm talking about my low-level D-III alma mater.

If we don't beat Indiana, seriously, SHUT.DOWN.EVERYTHING.

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Sunday, August 25, 2013

August 25th, 2013: New York at Connecticut

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty took a critical win on the road, knocking off Connecticut 74-66. Plenette Pierson led New York with 18 points, with Cappie Pondexter adding 14 and Katie Smith 13. Kelsey Griffin notched a double-double for the Sun, with game highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Tina Charles added 18 points and nine rebounds for the short-handed Sun.

For fashion commentary, injuries to more than pride, numerological symmetry, the treadmill dance, and the relaxation of restrictions, join your intrepid and liberated blogger after the jump.


Good afternoon, everyone! We're coming to you on joyous tape delay from Mohegan Sun Arena, where the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun face off yet again.

In case you're wondering about the difference in salutation, Mohegan has apparently loosened up their security restrictions. I plopped my backpack down on the table and declared my awareness of the contraband that would force me to check my bag. Normally, the security people appreciate it, but in this case, the woman said that they'd recently changed the rules on laptops at basketball games, so I could bring my lovely Jocelyn in. I then mentioned that I had water and cookies for the bus, and she said, "Fine, but don't get me in trouble." So rest assured, Donna, the bottles and cookies will remain untouched for the duration of the game. I swear it on my honor as a former Girl Scout. (Three years, Troop 4839 of the Greater New York Council.)

For the first time in as long as I can remember, Kara Lawson shot around with the rest of the team, then signed autographs. She's normally a very difficult get, so the ink junkies around me were pleased. She still looked pretty emotionally wrecked, though. She looked like she needed a hug.

There was no organized fan bus for this game, but a fair number of Liberty fans always make their way to Mohegan, and I already see a few scattered pockets in the somewhat more expensive seats. We got ours for free, so I'm okay with not being among my people.

It feels weird to be wearing a Kym Hampton jersey instead of my usual Lobo jersey, but given my... issues... with UConn fans purporting to be Sun fans, I decided not to give them any potential ammo.

Connecticut uses the same entrance song that the Liberty have been attempting to use, except they play through the whole thing. It's a bit of a culture clash.

Hello, random and loyal reader! I'm still not used to people coming up to me and complimenting me on things. It's a pleasant and validating feeling.

Anthem was okay. Nothing to write home about. Halftime consists of a dance clinic. I don't know if I approve, but I'm not big on dance teams, and the Liberty's teams beat the pants off Connecticut's anyway.

42-35 Liberty at the half. Could be more, but we have no idea where the three-point arc actually is (four shots with a foot or a toe on the line). Could be less, but Renee Montgomery shook Leilani Mitchell off for a three to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter. Tina Charles is hitting those midrange fadeaways, which is usually not a good sign for the opponent, but we're getting more possessions off rebounds. Plenette Pierson's overshooting is quite weird. Stop shooting over the basket, Plenette. Kara, if you could actually play something that looks like defense, that would be super, thanks.

Leilani's most important rebound tonight might have been during the shooting contest, since the guys were so wild that the ball went into the huddle. It started so well, then turned into a hot mess.

I sort of really want Barbara Farris's jacket. What a beautiful shade of blue! (It's almost Pirate blue. Barb, did you raid Big Jackets' closet?) Taj's dress is also on point, though the more I think about it the more I realize it looks like an Arizona green tea can.

I have to admit, I love when Bill plays to the crowd's boos and tries to fire them up. And I do love that the Sun play the Imperial March for him. We really need to do that. Own your villainy, Bad Girls! It's okay to be bad!

I appear to have misplaced my husband. Have you seen a black-haired guy in a Sophia Witherspoon jersey and a tall striped hat? Oh, there he is.

So are the Sun keeping the t-shirts back as long as possible to make sure people stay in their seats until the end of the game? Because there was a pretty substantial exodus as soon as the last of the t-shirts went out, and I can't say that I blame them. The ship is continuing to sink.

Sydney Carter didn't make any egregious mistakes that I can recall. All things considered, that's an upgrade for Connecticut. Kayla Pedersen played briefly to give Kelsey Griffin a break, but I don't recall her doing anything other than getting my hackles up (nothing she did, just the general sense of unease I get when Sun fans cheer her). For reasons beyond my understanding, Mistie Bass decided she didn't feel like mixing it up in the paint today and started taking outside jumpers. Mistie, you are not Tina Charles. Get in there and hit someone. You've handled Plenette Pierson and Kara Braxton before, so why are you backing out? I mean, I don't mind, I'm a Liberty fan, but as a basketball fan I do not approve of players doing things badly that they have no business doing and not doing things that they tend to do well. Iziane Castro Marques was all over the place with her shot. It arced high, it went long- she even took her free throws at an angle. Whatever floats your boat, Izi. Whatever gets you through the losses.

Kelsey Griffin actually played really well. Stop staring at me like that, just because I don't understand why she starts doesn't mean I can't give her credit when credit is in fact due. She was deadly from the far corner and hustled hard on the boards. She was solid on defense, too. Just a really good all around game. Kalana Greene needs to not be afraid to shoot. She had the ball near the end of the shot clock on at least two possessions and just kept passing off. I know Kalana's jumper is questionable at best, but you have to not be afraid of the ball when your team's trying to keep possession. If the ball's in your hands and it shouldn't be, that's something you need to talk to your teammates about, not run away from. Her defense was good, though. Tan White did a lot of stupid things. She committed unnecessary fouls (I think hers was the fifth foul in the fourth quarter, which evened out the bonus situation). She took bad shots. She made bad passes. Tina Charles had the jumper working in the first half, but in the second half, we shut her down. She only had one basket (plus four free throws) in the second half, and those were all in the fourth quarter. Granted, Donovan sat her for a fair spell, but I think we were into her head. Renee Montgomery hit big threes, but she also tok some questionable shots. I mostly remember the threes, to be honest.

Good rebounding out of Toni Young. She blew a defensive assignment badly, but made up for it on the other end later on. She missed the dunk during shootaround. DeLisha Milton-Jones continues to befuddle me- not because she's not moving well, but because she's having a lot of trouble catching passes. I didn't think she'd had any trouble with her hands or wrists, but she's fumbling a lot of things I expect her to catch. She was satisfied with long jumpers. Alex Montgomery took a brutal sandwich of a hit (and got called for the foul), and did a little bit of everything. I wish she'd watch her footwork on those jumpers, because we really need her to get behind the line if she's going to be on the line, but I'll take offensive efficiency from her any time. She was even bringing the ball up a few times, and while I'm not sure how much I like that, she wasn't completely awful at it. Leilani Mitchell was a defensive liability, but watching her cut through the lane like a hot knife through butter brought back memories of much better times. Kelsey Bone got in Tina Charles's face a bit better than Kara Braxton did, and rebounded solidly, but she committed stupid fouls and turnovers that I would have expected from Kara.

Cappie Pondexter really didn't look like herself. I know the foot's been bothering her, and I've heard rumors that she's nursing a broken finger, but her shot was way off. She still got the job done, and appeared to be the only player on the floor who actually knew where the three-point line was (I know I'm harping on this, but Cappie's three came right after two long twos; it felt like a miracle that someone actually remembered where to shoot from). Kara Braxton started the game with a violation on the opening tip, and it didn't get much better from there. She kept forgetting to put her hands up on defense, which is a pretty basic thing to forget. She did manage to tip rebounds out well on the offensive end, even if she didn't necessarily grab on to them herself. Katie Smith had one embarrassing moment where she turned the ball over because she ran out of bounds- at thirty-mumble, I do expect her to know the dimensions of a basketball court. I think it's interesting that she's asserting herself more on the offensive end as the season goes on, and I wonder if that has to do with moving back into the backcourt and not being relied on as much for her defense. It's nice to know that she's still trying to contribute. Kamiko Williams rebounded well, especially in the first half, and had a nice little defensive sequence where she forced Renee Montgomery into a hurried shot after it looked like Montgomery was going to get a clean look at a three. Someone needs to talk to her about her footwork on her shot, though. I should not see feet crossing on the followthrough. I'm not expecting Kamiko to be a great offensive threat, but I'd at least like her mechanics to be solid. Plenette Pierson lit it up in the fourth quarter. Her lateral movement on defense still isn't great, but she got the job done. Once she stopped overshooting the basket, though, her offense was back on point. She had a smothering block near the end of the game that just slammed the door and put the game past the point of no return.

It's hard to put my finger on why the Liberty kept control of this game for most of the way. There were times, especially in the third quarter of dread, that the Sun seemed to threaten, but overall it felt like the Sun were sort of going through the motions. New York made enough defensive stops to keep the game out of reach, and hit enough shots, especially and-1s, to pace the Sun. The three-point plays were especially reassuring, since we haven't been seeing a lot of them recently.

Officiating didn't seem particularly deplorable, except for when Alex went smush. Katie went down a couple of possessions later, but that was more of a flop than Alex's fall was. We did get to see the application of a fairly obscure rule- ball went off Michael Price while he was out of bounds. Since the official is part of the playing surface, that was a turnover on the Sun, even though the ball bounced back into play.

Our trip in was incredibly speedy- 2:25, when the inbound trip is usually around three hours. I'm expecting our trip back to be longer, because the universe needs to balance its scales somehow.

We needed a good solid win on the road against the pitiful remnants of the Sun, and we got exactly what we needed. I just hope Cappie's feeling better before we have to host the Lynx.

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Friday, August 16, 2013

August 16th, 2013: Washington at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Washington withstood a 14-0 first half run by New York to pull out the road win 66-57. Matee Ajavon had 16 points and seven assists for the Mystics. New York was led by the 14 points of Katie Smith.

For pain, suffering, frustration, lost jerseys, a lack of responsibility, and other things I can't remember, join your intrepid and sore blogger after the jump.

Hello, everyone! Here we are again, the New York Liberty and the Washington Mystics.

Mike, I am disappoint. I bust my butt to get to the game early, when the gates open, and you have the rookies in and out before the gates even open? How is a Johnnie supposed to holla at Nadirah McKenith if she's off the court before the fans can even come in? Hmph.

Washington sent a bus. They made t-shirts. "Every game is a home game." Well, I suppose with the precipitous drop in Washington attendance since Sheila Johnson sent everything to hell, I suppose every game feels like it's being played in a cavernous arena with a disinterested and apathetic crowd.

Of course, today is the one day security actually finds my sandwich. The one day I actually bring one... I haven't eaten since a cinnamon roll at 1:00, and I was hard at work for four hours after that.

Gorgeous anthem.

Today was the school supplies drive for Garden of Dreams. Apparently there was hand sanitizer. Gosh. How exciting.

Tamika Raymond is in the house for reasons unknown. She came over to reminisce with Mike Thibault, and Katie Smith wandered by to say hello.

Oh, Barb. You need to let that dress out a little bit, or get it in a larger size. I know from extensive personal experience: having the rolls outlined is not a good look.

Hey, at least we held off the collapse until the fourth quarter.

Tierra Ruffin-Pratt looked like she heard the scurrilous rumors that her classmates had passed her in the rookie rankings, and was determined to take back her place as the most surprising success of the class of 2013. She shook Katie Smith off her on defense repeatedly to get open jumpers, and she was fighting for rebounds every chance she got. She was very physical, and paid the price for it.. (Katie got in a pretty good hit on her, too. Katie is a Bad Girl, after all.) Kia Vaughn (who actually started the second half) threw her body around like nobody's business, setting screens and picks and boxing out viciously. We kept throwing her passes. She doesn't even go here anymore! She was strong on the inside. Tayler Hill played briefly, and it was amusing to watch the young Buckeye going up against the old Buckeye when she was matched with Katie Smith, but amusement value was all she provided. Nadirah McKenith looked solid but unremarkable. Emma Meesseman went hard after the ball, but her judgment was not always the best. She'll learn. And she'll be scary when she does.

Michelle Snow still looks like she has a hedgehog on her head. Seriously, Michelle, whoever told you that was a good look for you lied to you, or didn't like you, or something. She was a defensive force on the inside, but was ineffective on offense and spent a lot of time whining. She's awfully good at that. We kept leaving Ivory Latta open for threes, which you'd think we would stop doing at some point, but whatever. She broke Alex Montgomery's ankles on a crossover, to the point where we thought Alex was genuinely hurt. Monique Currie got into the scrum, got a lot of fouls called on her, and couldn't get love from the rim. She's pretty good at complaining to officials too. Matee Ajavon looked awfully good, much to the glee of the Cagers in the next section over from us and to my incessant grumbling. I do not like that woman. But she shot well and her on-ball defense was tighter than a pair of compression shorts. She and Cappie were going at each other like it was personal (which, since they go back a ways, it probably is). Crystal Langhorne did her thing, though she did it more from the perimeter than I was used to. Then again, that's the shot we were giving her, so that's the shot she took. Lang always seems to go with the flow, which is why I think she's a good supporting veteran for a team that wants to go young.

DeLisha Milton-Jones... for one thing, it looks really weird having her in a Liberty uniform, and it does not help that she's taken #1, which is Maddie's number. Given Maddie's species and DeLisha's reputation, certain words inevitably come to mind. She looked like she was still very uncomfortable around strange teammates and a new coach. She had a lot of dropped passes and issues hanging on to the ball, and she got called for the bad fouls that Plenette usually gets called for. She was quite unhappy. Leilani Mitchell was unremarkable, though she did a halfway decent job on Latta, unlike most of the rest of the team. Alex Montgomery hit the deck a lot. I mean, a lot. I mean four or five times. She has to work on her shot, though. If Katie fires off a perfect pass for an open J, the open J needs to be hit. And so do the driving lay-ups. I love her heart and hustle, but I need a little more consistency from Alex on the offensive end. (And to please have a hand up on Ajavon on defense.) Kelsey Bone played a little bit- boxed out well, but couldn't penetrate the Mystics' defense and couldn't get into position on defense, so she went to the bench quickly every time she got into the game. That trend bothers me, by the way, because those minutes went to DeLisha instead of Kelsey or Toni. Clearly we're trying to win for this season, even though we're already up a creek without a paddle, but I'd rather see Kelsey and Toni get the development.

I don't know what was up with Cappie Pondexter. Yes, a fair amount of it was Washington's defense, but she vacillated between going into triple coverage by herself and passing to cold shooters in triple coverage. Folks who saw her at the end of the game said she was getting her ankle taped, which would just be perfect. Kara Braxton was a hot mess tonight. Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and had trouble hanging on to rebounds- I know she got a lot of them, but she did a little more tapping out than I like to see out of a big girl. Kamiko Williams got a lot of touches early for reasons I didn't understand, and she took advantage of that time on offense early, but wasn't able to keep up with the pace of the game on defense. Plenette Pierson seemed determined to show up DeLisha and Vaughn in a battle of physicality. I'd have liked to see her get more touches; I think she would have done more with them than Kara or even Cappie did. Katie Smith found her stroke late, but she was several steps behind both Currie and Ruffin-Pratt on defense the entire night.

No, seriously, I do not like that Bill is going with players who are- in basketball terms- the same age as dirt.

The officiating was decent. The crowd was in an uproar when Alex got called for a blocking foul, but Alex hadn't come anywhere near establishing position in front of the offensive player.

Dee Kantner really knows how to put on a show- I got to the chalk talk late because autographs. She's got a great sense of humor.

The season subscriber coasters are pretty boss. I don't know if they're graphite or slate or something, but they're heavy and have the logo carved into them. Boss.

That third quarter should be dropped down the memory hole, for both teams.

I'm too tired to be anything more than mildly argh at this game.

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Saturday, August 10, 2013

August 10th, 2013: Los Angeles at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Los Angeles Sparks continued their successful East Coast road trip with a resounding 85-67 win at the New York Liberty. Jantel Lavender led the Sparks off the bench with 18 points and eight rebounds. Kristi Toliver added 16 points; Lindsey Harding and Candace Parker had 12 each. Cappie Pondexter led New York with 22 points.

For clangs, bounces, rebounds, quick passes, that jerk in the corner, milkshakes in the yard, and rookies, join your intrepid and weary blogger after the jump.


1:00 games sound very good in principle, except when you live two hours from the arena and like to get to the game when the gates open. Then you're leaving at ten in the morning and swearing profusely at all things transit related.

Friends or acquaintances or something of Candace Parker were in the building, so she spent a lot of time chatting with them. Everyone came up to her for autographs and pictures while she was talking. She multi-tasked well. I missed out on getting her autograph, but that's because I didn't want to interrupt her conversation and she was already done with our side by the time she escaped the conversation.

Penny Toler seems to have tamed the thing on her head, so that it looks like hair instead of two dead tribbles tied together. I guess that's an improvement.

The hat is complete! Well, until Chucky's seven-day contract runs out and Bill brings in another temp. Cappie was actually somewhat less than surly about it! And here I thought she was as much of a morning person as I am.

The pregame dance crew wasn't bad. I've definitely seen worse.

Sparse crowd so far, but we do have nineteen minutes to go before tip, and PATH is borked for construction. Judgment will be withheld until further notice. The ones that are drifting in seem to be curiosity seekers, for the most part. Sigh. And entirely too many people cheering for LA, even if you factor in Carol Ross's posse in their purple sparkled boas and tiaras.

Props to the lady in the Toni Young jersey. Money where your mouth is, indeed.

Fantastic anthem. Two trumpets, and I was ready for the game to start as soon as they were done, it was that stirring.

One of these days we're going to get a delay of game for the prolonged pre-tip nonsense. I think we need to lay off one of the routines, and as fun as Leilani Mitchell in a leopard-print pimp hat is, I'll give that up before I give up Maddie on the logo.

The good news: the hustle is back for the Liberty. The bad news: no one on this team can shoot today. The Sparks look very slick and very fancy, and they're shooting much better than we are- but they're also being very sloppy with the ball.

Yes, I know I was on Jeopardy!, but please don't hug me, person I only know through four degrees of separation.

Substitute announcer has consistently had issues with Ogwumike and Alana Beard. Sir, her name is not Amanda or Alanna. Did no one hand you a pronunciation guide?

Whoever this jerkface is trying to get a defense chant going when the Liberty have the ball, I hope no one finds out who he is without security being around.

Say what you will about the "Three to See", this game has attracted more casual fans and curiosity seekers than Chicago or Tulsa did. To be fair, Tulsa was a night game.

I'm pretty sure the Liberty are buying replica jerseys off the website for their temps. Chucky's jersey looks cheap, and we all know the issues about Prahalis's jerseys. I do not think I approve of this message.

The Sparks really are a Hollywood team. When they're on, they look real pretty. When they're off, you can see what's behind the scenery.

Both assistants were working with Farhiya Abdi pretty intensely before this game (and before the Connecticut game) and it was clear why- she's got a basketball body, and she looks like she should have all the moves, but then she'll dribble the ball off her knee and have to fumble to grab it. She missed her first easy opportunity by passing back out, but capitalized the next time. Jenna O'Hea made herself no friends by converting the fast break lay-up with three seconds left in a blowout game. I keep expecting her to go for threes, but the Sparks really seem to be using her more to set picks and move the ball around. I'm surprised. Then again, Marissa Coleman's shot looked like it was falling again, so maybe they didn't need offense from O'Hea so much as they needed someone who wasn't inclined to make dumb mistakes. Coleman held her own with Cappie all up in her business. Jantel Lavender put in work, and they needed her to put in work, with the foul trouble that Nneka Ogwumike got into in the first half. Her teammates did a great job of finding her down low, and she was able to make room both for them and for herself by extending her range to the midrange J. A'dia Mathies played briefly at the end of the game, and drove as fearlessly as she did back at Kentucky. Ebony Hoffman threw her weight around on the inside and showed off her outside shot, though not her outside shot-making so much.

Candace Parker was a force to be reckoned with in the paint on defense. Her hands were up and all over everything. I think there were at least two Liberty possessions where the idea of going into the lane was erased as surely as if Big Syl or Brittney Griner lurked around the rim. She had a lot of trouble getting clean shots, and a lot of the ones she did get rimmed out or went off the glass. She got to the line and didn't seem frazzled. Well, except for the play where she stayed tangled up with Kara Braxton like she was either trying to get a foul or start a fight (and really, starting a fight with someone who goes toe to toe with a lineman on a regular basis is just stupid, Ace). Nneka Ogwumike got in foul trouble very early in the first quarter and again in the second quarter, and never really got an opportunity to establish herself (granted, with Lavender, they didn't need Ogwumike to establish herself). Alana Beard, despite occasional attacks of being called Alanna or Amanda, was solid on both ends of the floor. Kristi Toliver (from "Marlyan", according to today's roster card; well, we always knew Maryland had no D...) showed off the ice water in her veins, hitting shots when the Sparks needed them. For a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, she moves pretty fast. (I think she'd be Raphael. Maybe Michelangelo, but she seems more mouthy and less goofy. Coleman, on the other hand, strikes me more as a Donatello, or even a Venus.) (Yes, I went there. Maryland's band plays the theme as an alternate fight song. It's totally acceptable.) Lindsey Harding's court vision was on point. She did a great job finding her teammates, and an equally good job driving the lane to create opportunities for herself. When she's on, she's really pretty to watch.

I loved Coleman's baseline find of Lavender rolling to the basket. But the prettiest set of plays was the series of quick touch passes that led to Candace Parker scoring on the inside- granted, it was on the third shot, which is why it won't end up on the highlight reel. Parker's thorough block of Cappie looking for her own highlight reel moment might, though. The word "pwned" was thrown around on that one.

O HAI Chucky Jeffery! You can totally stick around if you want to, with your awfully nice handwriting and your ability to play the passing lanes quickly. If she's serious about playing in the WNBA, she's going to have to bulk up, because while she's not in DeWanna Bonner territory, she's awfully thin. She's going to have to work on her shooting, too. But I love her motor and her nose for the ball. Kelsey Bone looked more interested in playing volleyball than basketball today- lots of batted balls, not enough firm rebounds, and really lousy ballhandling. I do expect her to be able to catch passes, but even that was lacking today. Toni Young showed a little bit of a jump shot and had a really nice rebound, but was no match for the Sparks' interior presence. Leilani Mitchell got the extended minutes we were looking for, but the halfcourt heave didn't go down (and since we usually lose when she hits it, I was okay with that). She did well enough staying on Toliver. Alex Montgomery's shot abandoned the building, and I think she was a little tentative after the first couple didn't go down. Talk about a streak shooter. But she was rebounding and defending and going for loose balls as she always does.

Given the early hour of this game, and the fact that yesterday was Friday night, I'm assuming Kara Braxton showed up to this game either drunk or hung over. There's no excuse for her to be missing the shots she was missing today, not even the usual excuse that she's Kara Braxton and can thus be expected to suffer from frequent and recurring cases of rectocranial inversion. Rebounds fell into her hands, and at least she had the presence of mind to grab them, for the most part. Katie Smith could not stick with Toliver for love nor money, and she managed to blow the lay-up on a two-man breakaway. Her shot reappeared in the second half, but overall, she looked thoroughly done- and more, like she was frustrated at the situation. She committed some very stupid fouls for no good reason, and could easily have been called for one or two more (why are you trying to hip-check Ebony Hoffman, why do you think this is a good idea?) Kamiko Williams was bringing it on defense, but we can't continue to have her in the starting lineup if Katie is also not contributing. Plenette Pierson's jumpers kept rimming out, and her passing was not as sharp as it was against Washington- but then again, the Sparks did a better job of playing the passing lanes than the Mystics did. Cappie Pondexter brought it on offense in the second and third quarters, and she was trying to keep the team in the game as much as she could, but one woman can no longer do it alone in this league. We just could not shoot today.

I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not frothing at the mouth and furious at another blowout loss. Until the fourth quarter, when it was clearly garbage time, the fire and intensity that were sorely missing in the last few games were back. We were fighting for boards, we were driving the lane, we were getting down on defense. The Sparks' passing attack was very good, and we just could not get anything to drop.

Officiating missed a couple of entanglements, but I can't complain overall. Do try not to act so surprised.

Missed the tae kwan do demonstration at halftime, but that's okay. Missed the season subscriber coasters, but the poor unlucky wretch assigned to our account was quick to reassure us that they'd be available for the rest of the season. Relax, Melissa, we don't bite. Much.

Even at 20% off, I'm not buying a jersey. Sorry.

I'm disappointed, but not frustrated. Or maybe it's frustrated, but not disappointed. We played decently enough. If we make the playoffs, we make the playoffs. If we don't make the playoffs, we get a lottery pick. It is what it is.

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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

August 6th, 2013: Los Angeles at Connecticut

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Another sterling performance from Tina Charles wasn't enough for the Connecticut Sun to pull out a comeback win, losing 74-72 to the Los Angeles Sparks. Charles had 25 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. Allison Hightower added 12 points, seven as part of a fourth-quarter surge. Kristi Toliver led four Sparks in double figures with 19 points, adding nine rebounds; Nneka Ogwumike had nine boards as well, to go with 15 points.

For pounding, the flashing red light, squeaky indignation, signs, lots of traveling, and ADVENTUR!, join your intrepid and bilocational blogger after the jump.

No, this is not a hallucination, and no, I have not cloned myself. That would be a terrifying thought. Some things you have to do while you're still young enough not to regret them too much the next morning, so while I had the day off from work to attend the Liberty's home win against Washington, I decided to make my way across two railroads to Flushing and go up to Connecticut to see the Sparks and the Sun.

Very smart move by Golden Global, to have their sales people wearing Mohegan Sun shirts. There are also buses to Foxwoods, Mount Airy Lodge, and ResortsWorld on the same block, and people were getting confused. This is a bad thing. Also, don't sit in the guide's seat when there are lots of empty seats on the bus. That's just rude.

And of course we're going around. Why should anything try to be normal today? The gods of transit are mocking me.

Made it on time, and got to watch a fantastic game. I think the anthem singer forgot a line- the anthem seemed odd, for reasons I can't put my finger on. Nice deep voice, though.

The Sparks are really hyper. If Ivory Latta ever ends up on that team, they may actually be a viable alternative energy source. And I don't know if they've changed the shade of purple on the Sparks jerseys, but I kind of like it.

Nneka Ogwumike and one of Carol Ross's posse just wandered into Geno's. This is why I like eating after games. I still remember the corruption of Megan Frazee through chocolate chip cookies. (Oh, Nneka. The deli's the most overpriced part of the food court.)

Carol Ross's sister and some other folks showed up in purple (well, closer to lavender) (Lavender?) sparkles and taffeta, with a good half dozen tiaras among them. Bridget Pettis and Sandy Brondello got a good laugh out of them.

Has anyone informed Penny Toler that there's a dead animal on her head? Seriously, that hairpiece is an atrocity unto fashion, as were Sandy Brondello's pants. Oh, Bronds.

(O HAI Kara. Wolters, not Lawson. She's at the pizza window. I wonder if she ordered the Kara Wolters...) (And she brought Kelly Faris with her. O HAI Kelly.)

Ebony Hoffman showed off her range and her physicality, helping body Tina Charles up all night. She did commit some pretty dumb fouls and complained about those far too vociferously for my liking. Jenna O'Hea didn't really get to set up outside as much as I was expecting- if anything, she was mostly used as a defensive substitution for her height and wingspan. She drove Kelly Faris crazy late in the game when the Sun were trying to get the last two inbounds...eses. Marissa Coleman showed off some boogie moves during the entrance video, and I can't remember a darn thing she did on the actual court. I know she went into the game; I know she came out of the game. But that's all I remember.

Jantel Lavender put in work. She had the first... six, I think?.. for the Sparks and pulled them ahead in the second quarter. She put in a lot of work defensively too. Neither she nor Nneka Ogwumike is big enough to take on Tina Charles individually, but together they were entirely too much for her to be comfortable with. There was a point where it seemed like verything she shot was going in, but she cooled down in the second half; perhaps the defensive intensity was taking something out of her. Nneka Ogwumike never stopped fighting on the offensive boards. I mean never. I think she had two o-boards on the same possession twice. She and Lavender were both working the baseline well. So was Lindsey Harding. I don't remember Harding being this fast, but I have the feeling that I say that every time I see her play, if that makes any sense. She spearheaded the attack, whether it was just bringing the ball up in a hurry to initiate the offense or if she was driving to the paint for a midrange J or a lay-up. Alana Beard brought the defense and the hustle. I always knew that she was on the floor, even if she wasn't putting up the stats- she was in the scrum, she was playing defense. Kristi Toliver has icewater in her veins (though given the hyperactivity of her team, maybe it's semi-melted Icee)- twice her team needed her to hit a basket at the end of the shot clock, and twice she did. The third time, the shot was off line, but I think that was one of the ones that the Sparks tracked down. She needs to learn to keep her temper better- she got T'd for giving the ref a large piece of her mind. The folks around me referred to her as a bully for all the calls she was getting; I got them down to brat, because really. Toliver's the size of a kindergartener, how is she supposed to bully anyone?

The Sparks' dedication to rebounding was truly phenomenal. And when they're in their defensive mindset, everyone seems to play the role they were born to- the guards go low to come up with the steals, the forwards tangle on the floor, and the posts come up with big blocks and rebounds up top. All the parts fit together.

I liked Mistie Bass's skirt, but I think pretty much everyone would have liked to see her in uniform, on the floor, putting LA shots into the third row.

Kayla Pedersen has to have the world's worst luck when it comes to getting block/charge calls. Two different times she made the move to get herself in position and neither time a call was made. I think it would have been a block the first time and a charge the second time, but on general principles, the call needed to be made, period. She hustled hard, but couldn't get her shots to go down. Tan White had a brief hot streak- unfortunately, that made her decide that she was the hot hand, when she clearly wasn't. Watching her hoist ill-considered bricks was a sad, sad thing, especially from seats eight rows up from the baseline. She went after ballhandlers well, though. Kelly Faris was intense defensively, and the three she hit was huge, but I think she was in over her head, and I definitely wouldn't have had her inbounding on the last possession- with the way the Sparks were pressing the issue, she looked very flustered.

The folks with the Brazilian flag must have been heartbroken that Iziane Castro Marques didn't play.

Kalana Greene was pretty much useless. Her defense wasn't there, and she brought nothing on offense. At least Faris could shoot a little, but Greene got to thinking that she was Renee Montgomery or something. Montgomery was fast, and quick, and hit the ground an awful lot (maybe there's something about the name and number- Alex Montgomery had the same issue in the matinee). She was more effective going to the basket and trying to draw contact, though she had a huge three that got the crowd going. Kelsey Griffin took advantage of her opportunities early, but spent more time than she should standing there and watching her jumpers clang off the rim. You are a forward, Kelsey. It would behoove you to go after the rebound. That's pretty much what you start for, isn't it? Hustle plays? Allison Hightower's defense was solid through most of the game, but she wasn't able to get her shot going until the fourth quarter, when the Sparks were really putting the pressure on Tina Charles and letting everyone else take whatever came open. Hightower went to work on the left side, her strong side. I like that she doesn't tend to do stupid things. Even if she isn't contributing a lot positively, she's contributing very little negatively. Tina Charles, despite a fondness for the fadeaway that puts Cappie Pondexter to shame, put in work in the paint. She started hot and never really went cold, just settled into a steady warmth, rather like sunlight on a spring afternoon. (Yes, I'm tired and slightly loopy despite the three Diet Cokes, or perhaps because of them.) She was getting bodied up and going for boards. If this were my first Sun game, I'd understand her previously published frustrations with her teammates.

Anne Donovan, whatever gremlin told you that fuschia and orange go together lied to you. It is a bad combination and you should feel bad for wearing it.

The last couple of possessions, with the foul count the way it was, made for an interesting chess match. Ross won, but Renee Montgomery was one bounce off the back of the rim from getting the win for Connecticut.

Connecticut fans are notoriously hard on officials, but this crew was extremely disappointing, especially considering Denise Brooks. (To her credit, she did make the trickiest call of the night, catching the over-and-back committed by the Sparks on an inbounds across the length of the frontcourt into the backcourt.) There was a lot of contact that could have been called and did not appear to be called evenly. (That being said, Connecticut fans never saw a whistle on their girls that they agreed with.)

Section 19 is really the place to be if you're looking for the kind of fans I like to hang out with- loud, passionate, snarky, supportive, and merciless.

Carol Ross earned the T by going way too far out on the floor, but Amy Bonner deserved Carol Ross's wrath for the non-call. That was a vicious hit.

I missed halftime, and did not partake in Asian night (unless you count the overfried and wontonesque nature of my taco bowl).

Why is there no satellite connection in Lyme? /shakes fist angrily towards the sky

I have absolutely no regrets about pulling this double-header, though perhaps I have some about that $10 I put in the slots. This was a great game, and now I'm looking forward to the Liberty-Sparks match-up on Saturday.

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August 6th, 2013: Washington at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty fended off their habitual third quarter malaise to come back and beat the Washington Mystics 93-88. Alex Montgomery and Cappie Pondexter each had 21, with Plenette Pierson chipping in eight points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. Crystal Langhorne led all players with 24 points and 11 rebounds for Washington.

For the cursèd MTA, streaky shooting, momentarily divided loyalties, stripes, and calling it a comeback, join your intrepid and relieved blogger after the jump.

Good morning, everyone, and here we are again, at the Prudential Center for yet another morning game to pander to large groups of disinterested and unruly children. This time the Liberty are taking on the Washington Mystics, and it looks like it's going to be one of those days.

As usual, we left three hours before tip, with the intention of getting to the arena sometime around the opening of the gates. We took the E train from Jamaica Center, as we always do, and traveled through Queens. The trip from Roosevelt Avenue to Queens Plaza seemed a little longer than usual, but I didn't think anything of it until the train stopped, the automated voice announced "This is Queens Plaza", and I looked up at red brick wall.

One problem: Queens Plaza is a white-tiled station with two westbound tracks. Uh...

We had been shunted without warning or announcement onto the F line, a line that our conductor was not familiar with. We were rerouted to the proper line, but by then the damage was done, and we were a good half hour later than we had planned to be- today, the one day that I wanted to be early because of Nadirah.

Look, we all have our players who we love for less than rational reasons. Let me have my moment.

I do not know what game official #55 is watching, but I don't think it's this one. We've been getting beat up without too many calls, though the situation has improved in the second quarter. Alex Montgomery's 13 second-quarter points lead the way for New York. Crystal Langhorne's looked tired and pained but still leads the Mystics with 10. We have to get to the line somehow, even if it means sacrificing a virgin.

And I don't know how the virgin was sacrificed, but we got to the line in the fourth, and I am exceedingly grateful. Of course, the one game I needed to be quick and painless was the game where the officiating crew had to dither over several calls. (If the gods of transit are willing, you'll understand why I was in such a hurry.)

I would greatly appreciate if Matee Ajavon would not attempt to kick our dog. I would also appreciate if Monique Currie would not attempt to trip our dog. And whoever that was that tried to knock over Maddie's beach chair needs to have their own chair overturned. Stay classy, Mystics.

I like the way Emma Meesseman goes after boards. She still seems to be a little leery of contact, but much less so than the average European forward, especially at her age. I don't know if she's ready to run with the big dogs yet, but she's brilliant as part of the bench gang. (Which, WNBAlien is correct: that group of rookies needs a catchy nickname.) Tayler Hill looked the most unready of the group- that step on the sideline was absolutely killer when she drained the three that had to be called off. Tierra Ruffin-Pratt was ferocious, both in good ways (on the boards, slashing in the lane) and in bad ways (that mind-numbingly dumb foul when Pondexter hit the three, even if it turned out not to be relevant because she missed the free throw and then we missed the shot on the offensive rebound, augh). I understand what Thibault meant when he worried about the young players picking up bad habits from the veterans- she looks like she's been taking advice from Snow and Currie as to how to comport herself on the floor. Those are not the players I'd choose to give decorum lessons. Nadirah McKenith looked very solid when she was in- got a bit flustered when she had Cappie Pondexter dogging her steps, but name me a rookie who wouldn't be. She held her own, and I tried not to be happy about it. There was one drive where I thought she was going to replicate the Creighton shot, but she passed off to Langhorne for a basket. Kia Vaughn seemed irked at the existence of her former team- she didn't get caught on the illegal screen when Leilani Mitchell hit the deck, but when it was Pondexter, the foul got called. Everyone, act surprised that there are different rules for stars and bench players. I think she was working her jumper more than usual, but I'm not sure.

Theory: Washington's rookies, especially McKenith, are developing well because they're among their peers instead of being thrown in with the veterans. Corollary: McKenith's acclimation has been especially good because she's among her classmates instead of having to worry about veterans questioning her authority as point guard on the floor.

I'm surprised that Monique Currie and Plenette Pierson didn't drop the gloves by the end of the first half. Currie knocked Pierson down twice; the first time, Pierson was holding her left knee, and we were all afraid she was down for the count. Currie spent a lot of time barking at the refs for imagined indignities, but really, she should have spent the entire game in foul trouble. Matee Ajavon got Alex Montgomery in the face twice and induced a lot of jump balls. We kept leaving her entirely too open for my comfort, but she missed most of her open shots. She's got quick hands, though. I'll give her that. Michelle Snow spent a lot of time arguing with the refs, but she does have a pretty outside shot. She had that falling a lot today. She reached over players for a lot of her rebounds. Ivory Latta was content to shoot deep threes. Like, ridiculously deep threes. Ivory, you are adorable and highly caffeinated, but you are not Tina Thompson. I'm really not sure how well she meshed with her teammates, especially the primary unit. Maybe that's part of the problem, at least in their losses. Crystal Langhorne looked like her back was bothering her in the first half, but that didn't stop her from getting to the rim, or beating everyone and their mother for rebounds, or putting up pretty midrange jumpers, or just generally being awesome because she is Crystal Langhorne and that's how she rolls.

(Yes, I like Langhorne. Yes, this might be bias on my part. No, I don't care.)

Toni Young looked very athletic and very out of her depth. Stupid fouls and missed shots that she should be hitting as a forward on the professional level. She didn't have it today. Chucky Jeffery got a very brief appearance in order to give Cappie Pondexter some rest at the end of the third quarter, but I don't think she was actually being used as a player so much as a placeholder. Kelsey Bone was physical, but she seems to have been more tentative lately. This is the second game in a row where she's backed out and passed the ball back out instead of going up strong with it. She's a big girl- she has to go up without fear. Her touch around the basket is improving, though. Leilani Mitchell got good minutes and hit a huge three at the end of the shot clock to fire the team up. But it's not a good sign for the Liberty (or perhaps it's a good sign for the Mystics) that McKenith was with her step for step. Alex Montgomery caught fire in the second quarter with 13 points, and got going again in the fourth. She was always in the middle of the scrum, and she paid for it, taking two separate hits to the face. That's the version of Alex Montgomery who wowed us in the preseason, and the one that we need to step up if we really do want to make the playoffs. (Which we may not. But given that this is Bill Laimbeer, he probably would prefer to make the playoffs and then deal for a lottery pick. He's a competitive mother- shutyomouth!)

I think Kamiko Williams is starting for her defense and rebounding. I'm okay with that, except that this is not 1997 and you can't start a two-guard at small forward anymore, no matter how defensive-minded she is and no matter how well she rebounds. She went well after the offensive boards, and made offense for herself off o-boards and fast breaks- her interception early on was a thing of beauty. Katie Smith looked very done on defense, which is a bit of a problem when that's her primary purpose these days, but the swooping twisting lay-up she hit late in the game was beautiful. I just didn't think Monique Currie was so well known for her speed that she could be consistently a step ahead of Katie. Cappie Pondexter had issues with her handle today- she kept getting trapped in corners and on the sideline by the Mystic defense. But she hit the fadeaways when it counted, and I commend her for keeping it together when she got hit hard by Ruffin-Pratt on the three-pointer. And in the fourth quarter, she started getting the fouls when she was attacking the basket, and that swing in the free throw shooting was enough to decide the game. Plenette Pierson was solid, always moving, even when that direction was downward (she took a few spills, and not just the ones that Currie provided for her). Her passing in the post was phenomenal- more than anyone else, she made the extra pass on the inside. Kara Braxton's defense was so-so, but we asked her to be a big target in the middle, and she hit all her shots. I could have done without the fumbling, but if that was the price of getting solid offense and decent boxing out from her, I can accept that.

The defense clamped down big time to close out the game. That's where having the bb Mystics out there didn't help Washington- at least for now. But maybe Thibault wasn't thinking about winning that game so much as he was thinking about winning one three years down the road, and maybe three years down the road the rookies don't allow a shot clock violation to happen twice, and maybe Tayler Hill remembers the dimensions of the court.

The officiating had a lot of us quite irked, especially in the first half where there were hits that we felt were highly illegal. And Brewton, Smith, and Mauer seemed to default to jump ball at every opportunity, including one procedural one when they weren't sure if the ball went off Montgomery or Currie. We got away with a few too. That I'll grant. And I think Laimbeer letting the officials know how displeased he was turned the tide.

LOL of the game: in the fourth quarter, Ivory Latta was stretching out and bopping along to the music. Mike Thibault looked at her, and though I didn't hear, I saw him say a word that looked suspiciously like "no". She stopped. Aww, Mike, don't you realize that she can't help it? Her blood flows with Pixie Stix and Red Bull.

Having two Camp Days diluted the product. Way too many large swathes of empty seats; if there had only been one, the place would have been packed out. And I'm really not sure what it says about the future of our society if the kids from the Ivy League Day Camp are the ones yelling every sports term in the book except the ones that pertain to basketball. I think they were just being punks, but still. Sheesh.

Air Maddie was a bit over the top today, but I suppose Maddie was in a bad mood after the Mystics treated him like a dog.

This was the fourth quarter we needed after all those horrible third quarters we've been having. Maybe this turns it around, or maybe this is the aberration. I don't know. Maybe we're just powerwalking on the treadmill of mediocrity. I don't know.

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Saturday, August 3, 2013

August 3rd, 2013: Connecticut at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Tina Charles scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half to power the Connecticut Sun to an 88-66 win at New York, adding 14 rebounds, seven offensive. Renee Montgomery had 18, going 4-4 from beyond the arc. Kara Braxton led New York with 18 points, while Plenette Pierson and Cappie Pondexter each had 17.

For frustration, bad manners, good manners, confusion, and exhaustion, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.

Good evening, everyone! It's a Saturday night special here in Newark as the New York Liberty host the Connecticut Sun I'm really getting tired of Connecticut, to be honest; between all the games I've seen there and the ones here, I think I have more games under my belt than some of the Sun players.

Downtown Dribble was today, so there are large groups of lost, loud people wandering around with basketballs. This is not going to end well unless the season subscriber behind me gave up her tickets.

Thank you for picking up my hat, Toni.

Superjudy is here for Connecticut, and that might be their best asset, to be honest.

Madam President is holding a chalk talk tonight, but I decided not to attend. Your dashing reporter will be in attendance instead, and he says that Madam President is looking into a lot of stuff we've been kvetching about.

The pregame entertainment looks suspiciously like Vegas showgirls in training. Dear God no. Do not want. I'm pretty sure that if this were streamed on the internet, it would be illegal to watch it.

One of the worst anthems I've ever heard in my life, and I've heard some pretty dreadful anthems.

It's a one-point game at the half, as fancy rope jumpers take center stage. The officiating has been lousy in this one, at least from my POV as a Liberty fan, but it's been hard to tell sometimes because more people than usual have decided to stand in the aisles during play. Plenette Pierson has gone off. There's a lot of standing around and staring at shots, especially from Connecticut. Did I mention the lousy officiating? Tan White might have a case for the travels called on her spin move and her jump pass, but there's flat out tackling going on that's barely getting called. Mistie Bass has had more of an effect on the game than Tina Charles.

And I don't know what Anne Donovan said in that locker room, or whose life Tina Charles had to threaten to make miserable, but that second-half surge was vintage Donovan and vintage Sun. I can't even put my finger on where everything went wrong for New York. That's what bothers me. It was just a complete... collapse is too dramatic a word. Deflation might be a better one. Disastrous. Frustrating. Endemic. Time to panic. Those also come to mind.

Misight have customized for her off the league website, and that's not acceptable for a professional player, even the most temporary of plyers.hich I don't know why, we've played Connecticut about seventeen times this year, they should be familiar with Bass's physicality by now. She got her offense going in the fourth quarter too, but by then everything was going Connecticut's way and she was only a small part of the tidal wave. Kayla Pedersen played so briefly that I thought her insertion at the end of the game was her first appearance, despite the fact that I have her down for a foul in the second quarter. Iziane Castro Marques came in briefly a couple of times, once as what looked like a desperation move and once at the end. Kelly Faris brought hustle and a well-timed three-pointer. She was all over the place on defense. Tan White's first two shots beat the buzzer- the first one the quarter horn, the second the shot clock buzzer. She was energetic and fast-moving. I'm glad she's healed up, but I wish it wasn't against us.

Allison Hightower is an All-Star. I'm not sure why people keep forgetting that, but she really is. She's a good shooter, she slashes to the basket well, and she's a solid defender. Unlike a lot of players in this league she seems comfortable with her off hand, or at least comfortable enough to take a right-handed lay-up to the right side of the basket instead of trying to force it to her dominant hand. People left her open and she made them pay for it. And I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to try and put Leilani Mitchell on her, but that's a mismatch she must have enjoyed. Kelsey Griffin did a fantastic job of hitting the open opportunities she got when defenders turned to Tina Charles. I still think she'd be better served by being a bench player, as that kind of grit and hustle generally works better on the bench, but at this point, I think she's the better option to start if it comes down to her or Bass. Renee Montgomery ran a good offense and kept hitting threes. We kept leaving her open for them. Why would you even leave Renee Montgomery to go help elsewhere when she's beyond the arc? Yes, she misses a lot of those shots, but she hits a lot of them too. She's a streaky shooter, and if she's on a hot streak, you can't just ignore that fact and stick to the plan. Sometimes the plan has to change. I barely even remember Kalana Greene's existence, for which I am deeply apologetic, especially since the only thing I remember is that she tackles pretty hard. Tina Charles was relatively quiet and passive in the first half, content to launch fadeaway jumpers and not contend for rebounds. In the second half, she was hitting everything she looked at, going hard to the basket (even after her own misses) and putting them back. We couldn't stop her. I'm not completely sure we even tried. She put on a show.

I actually feel kind of bad for Samantha Prahalis. At least her home jersey was spelled correctly on the first shot (or they did a more professional job of covering the gap where the misplaced letter was but the number was out of position on the back. It looked like one of the bootleg Pondexter jerseys, or like something they ordered for her as a customer through wnba.com. that's not appropriate for a professional league and a professional player, even the most temporary of players. I wasn't impressed with her, although one of those turnovers should have been given to Kamiko Williams on the fumble. Toni Young looked very much like she was in over her head- after a spate of frustration fouls and bad defense, she got put on the bench until Bill made the line change at the end of the game. Kelsey Bone rebounded well and had quick hands in the lane, but she couldn't get the bunnies to drop and seemed a little tentative when she did snag her rebounds- instead of going up, she was backing the ball out, and I think at least one of those ended up being a turnover. She's got to work on that. Leilani Mitchell was okay- not great, but also playing out of position, since Bill thought it would be a brilliant idea to play her at the two with Prahalis. Tiny guards are tiny. Tiny guards are not effective against Connecticut. Alex Montgomery brought good defense and an insistence on taking elbow jumpers.

I have no idea why Kamiko Williams was starting at the three- defense, maybe? Or Bill figured that Anne was playing four legitimate starters, so he could play four legitimate starters to even the playing field? I don't know, but she contributed one really nice steal (if Kara hadn't fumbled it she would have gotten an assist) and a strong slice into the lane. She's not a WNBA starter yet, certainly not at the three in 2013. Katie Smith looked done. I mean, for heaven's sake, the woman has been playing high-level basketball for almost as long as I've been alive, and she manages to run out of bounds on a baseline drive? Really? No defense, no offense, no veteran savvy- that's not the Katie Smith we need if we're going to salvage something decent out of this season. Kara Braxton went to work in the paint, going hard at the Connecticut defense, but her positioning on rebounds was so-so. Plenette Pierson was also great in the paint. She was more with the jumper and the strange exaggerated follow-through and the jackknifing leg motion, but she cut to the basket a few times as well. Cappie Pondexter showed up just in time to pad her stats and look like she was an integral part of the game. Yeah, okay. Whatever.

The effort fell off a cliff in the second half. I don't know what happened, but that's the fourth home game in a month where that's happened, and it irks me. Tough as nails comebacks on the road are all well and good, but you can't let them happen on your own homecourt. That does rather defeat the purpose, doesn't it?

I don't know what security's issues have been lately, but I really feel that it's inappropriate for the bag checker to ask me to catalog everything in my bag after I've already opened it further for his inspection, and if I ask for the security tag, please don't be snide with me. I have season tickets. I come here often. Far too often. And one of my friends who's in a wheelchair (motorized- sometimes she gives the kids in her family rides on the back) was telling me about the grief they gave her at the last camp day- she was there with three kids, and security tried to force her into the wheelchair section without the three kids she was with, then griefed her about bringing the kids into the wheelchair section with her. Uh. You wanted her to leave three minors unaccompanied ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND CRAZY WOMAN?

Officiating was pretty lousy. It felt like five on eight for the first three quarters. Then Bill got his technical for yelling at the refs and Cappie started getting bad calls in her favor. Just lousy all around.

Lots of retro gear has been showing up on small children lately. We're talking about Elena Baranova and Loree Moore here, not just Spoon or VJ or Meka. I'm not sure if this is a reaction to the team as currently composed, a reaction to the lousy selection of merchandise available, or a sign that our first generation of fans is spawning.

Ran into one of our Johnnies on the way home. That made things a little better, but not much. I'm still very, very frustrated with this team.

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