September 9th, 2011: Indiana at New York

Just The Facts, Ma'am: Essence Carson's 18 points led a balanced Liberty attack, and New York held the lead virtually wire to wire in an 83-75 win over the Indiana Fever. Katie Douglas had 17 for Indiana, while Shannon Bobbit's 16 made her the only other Fever player in double figures.

For free t-shirts, Michael Jackson routines, permutations, calculations, friends who need new friends, and why a real green dress is cruel, join your intrepid and overheated blogger after the jump.


Vengeance will be mine upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York. Vengeance, I say! You made me late for a game, and up with this I will not put!

Mom, if you're reading this, happy birthday. Again.

We're up 12 at the half, and the Rutgers girls must have known that Stringer was coming to this game, because they all look inspired- even Tammy Sutton-Brown.

I'm told I missed a 9/11 tribute. I can't honestly say I feel like I missed anything by it. But my thoughts on the atmosphere surrounding this weekend are not appropriate to these Game Notes of Doom, and will be consigned to my head.

I am very tempted to cause violence to the woman in the next row who's randomly cheering for Indiana for no reason I can determine. Even her friends are looking at her like she's a crazy woman. Worse, they were friends with one of the security guys, so no matter how obnoxious she got, we weren't going to get anything done about her. After the game, one of the friends, who were all passionate Liberty fans, joked, “We're going to jump her outside.”

Our brief Shyra Ely sighting was unimpressive and unremarkable. Shavonte Zellous showed the scoring instinct that I remember so well from Pittsburgh- but that's all she can bring to the table at this point. Jessica Davenport wasn't really a factor, and more of one defensively than offensively. She had one excellent sequence where she stole Quanitra Hollingsworth's lunch money. Jeanette Pohlen had quite an intimidating ponywhip (which appears to have quite an interesting personality {@JFP32sPonyWhip}), and we left her open far too often for my liking, but at least she didn't take too much advantage of it. I was surprised she didn't push her size advantage, but Indiana wasn't pushing as hard as they could.

When did Shannon Bobbitt acquire that corner three? Because she was kicking New York's butts from that corner all night. Her low center of gravity also helped her go after our lackadaisical ball-handling. She's not the answer as the only point guard for Indiana, but she's made herself a viable option as a reserve for them, and that's more than I might have said about her a couple of years ago. Tangela Smith showed flashes of the offense I remember from her glory days in Sacramento and Phoenix. Tammy Sutton-Brown looked like she was trying to impress a couple of her former coaches in the first half. She slacked off a bit in the second half, though I can't tell if that's because Lin Dunn reminded her that the only team this game mattered to was New York, or because she's Tammy Sutton-Brown and she regressed back to the mean. We left Katie Douglas open entirely too many times for my comfort, even if she missed most of them. She got a lot of sympathy from the refs after catching a hand to the face during a Tangela Smith foul in a sandwich situation. She was definitely dialing it back on defense, which is a scary thought. Tamika Catchings... one of the least Catch-like games I've seen from her in a very long time. I thought she didn't assert herself, and I understand why- but at the same time, if you're not going to assert yourself, don't complain when you don't get the calls you think you should get, and don't start flopping like a beached dolphin to try and get the calls. You're better than that, Tamika.

Whiz actually played a matchup in the first half! I nearly died of surprise. And then he realized that Sydney Colson was not the answer and put her right back on the bench again. Quanitra Hollingsworth was game on the defensive boards, but couldn't hit water falling out of a boat, and was otherwise ineffective and a liability. Don't just stand there and stare when the ball goes out of bounds. That is a bad plan and you should feel bad for considering it. Kara Braxton wasn't completely horrible tonight, though I think Plenette may have wanted to kill her later causing a shot clock violation by fumbling and then passing off what was supposed to be her shot. No, you didn't see Plenette's face. Classic WTF. Essence Carson- man, she's turned into a real gamer. When it's crunch time, the chips are down, and the cliches are really starting to fly, she's the one who takes her game to the next level. She's closing this season like Mariano Rivera. She hits the big shots, she gets the big stops- she's becoming the player she was at Rutgers, but on another level. Alex Montgomery's three minutes were so unmemorable I almost forgot to note them. I will say that I don't like plans that involve Alex dribbling.

Cappie Pondexter's ankle gave out in the fourth quarter, giving us all a scare. That's why she sat for such a long stretch when she probably needed to be in the game. But it was clear that it was bothering her. She had some pretty moves, but she wasn't moving at full speed. Leilani Mitchell had the big three, and held her own, but I thought she should have worked more on Bobbitt and gotten more involved in the offense. Nice to see signs of life from Nicole Powell, and more importantly a midrange and inside game. Since she can't hit that damn corner shot that she keeps letting other people get, well have to have her use her height more. Plenette Pierson brought the defense, and the rebounding, and the grit. Kia Vaughn was great. She and Essence make a great pair- Kia starts off the show and Essence finishes it.

Whether it's that the Fever's offense isn't that good or we were bringing the defense, I don't know, but I don't think I've ever seen a game with so many shot clock violations or near violations. Not that we were any great shakes in that regard, especially in the fourth quarter when we were very badly trying to run out the clock.

Lin Dunn and Stephanie White wore coordinating outfits. Do they do this often? Please tell me they don't do this often. That brings in several levels of OMGCREEPY.

Lots of giveaways, though none terribly interesting except for the ball exchange at the end (and apparently the intros, which my mom's neighbors got to participate in, but mom missed because she was late, DAMN YOU MTA!). Ball exchange is awesome. Ball exchange with team-autographed balls is even better.

I think the last game of the year was the first formal confirmation we had that the regular Torch Patrol is no longer a dance team, but a work the stands team. They announced the Lil' Torches and the Timeless Torches as the Liberty's two dance teams. They did a combined routine that was awesome- and I usually avert my eyes when the Timeless Torches come on. (If I want to see people my mother's age dance, I'll give my mother Pepsi and watch her go.)

There was a guy in the stands, presumably a party clown, throwing out t-shirts. He was an interesting gimmick, but I'm hoping he isn't a frequent one.

There was a mixer after the game at Brick City, but we wanted to get home. After all, I had these notes to write, and we have a road trip to go on. ROAD TRIP! /is totally psyched

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September 4th, 2011: Minnesota at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Maya Moore's 19 points led the Minnesota Lynx in an 86-68 win over the New York Liberty. Minnesota put five players in double figures and showed stifling defense in the second half. Plenette Pierson's 17 points and eight rebounds led the Liberty.

For raging against the heavens, communication breakdowns, game strategy, ridiculous thoughts, castigation, and a ride on a motorized wheelchair, join your intrepid and regretfully teetotal blogger after the jump.

Dear Prudential Center: communication skills with the Liberty, you need them. No, really, we're not trying to BS you about season subscribers being allowed in an hour and a half before tip time. We just talked to the season subscription people. We just showed you the e-mail that states that we get early entry through either the Box Office entrance or the entrance from the parking garage. And you're still telling us it's not true? Reading comprehension, you lack it. By the time they stopped arguing with the Liberty representative who came over to explain things to them with small words, and managed to unearth a scanner, it was damn near three o'clock anyway.

My goodness, Miss Maya is popular right now, isn't she? I thought I was going to go deaf from the people screaming her name. Of course, because she and most of the other Lynx stars came off late, there were precious few signatures and pictures to get. (Very late. You could hear Charde Houston yelling “Miss Maya, nine seconds!” as the clock ticked down.)

I am so envious of Candice Wiggins's personality. She has so much of it! There are precious few people who can work a room the way she does- it's not the way Spoon works a room, which is a little more serious, or the way Catch works a room, which is very business-like, like she's aware of her role, but pure joyous bubbly personality. It's closest to the way Tully works the room.

Why can't Nicole Powell run that fast when she's on the floor?

The good news is that I'm seeing some #7s come out of mothballs, because we still heart Taj, no matter where her hair has disappeared to. The bad news is there are way too many #23 shirts here, and not just in Liberty blue. God help any of those Maaaaaaaaaaaayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa fans who come into our section, and I'm not even talking about me.

We're down 11 at the half, and it could be a lot worse. I'd like to know why Cheryl Reeve didn't get a technical for charging out to the midline after the jump ball violation on Whalen. Seriously, the way she's been jawing at the refs even as her players shoot free throws on BS fouls, while it brings back fond memories of Bill Laimbeer, kind of makes me want to go down there and smack her. I'd also appreciate if they'd start calling Maya Moore for her blatant push-offs instead of letting her get away with them and then calling Jessica Adair or Amber Harris for a phantom foul. Otherwise, it's going to get very RU-UConn up in here. We've already had a double foul on Plenette and Brunson for a tangle, and I don't know who I'd take in that fight.

I'd also appreciate if we could guard the far corner, damnit.

I cannot guarantee I will be coherent. I cannot guarantee I will be rational. I cannot even guarantee I will not be profane.

Amber Harris brought a nice little midrange jumper along with her on this road trip. She wasn't so lucky on the boards and getting in the lane. Balls seemed to go off her hands and out of bounds a lot, to the point where I wonder how comfortable she is with her height sometimes. Charde Houston got a cameo in the fourth quarter, and was unsuccessful in getting into the scoring column. I thought she was going to mix it up with one of the RU girls at one point. She looks strange bald, but that's just the shock of the semi-expected, not a judgment on her choices or beliefs. Jessica Adair suffered for Maya Moore's sins, picking up the phantom or borderline fouls right after Miss Maya pulled shenanigans. Alexis Hornbuckle got her time in the fourth quarter, and it seemed odd that she was playing point guard while Wiggins and Wright were both on the floor- except that Reeve is off Laimbeer's tree, which means offense out of the point guard is a pleasant surprise, whereas defense out of the point guard is a necessity (Elaine Powell, I am looking at you, but not too long or you'll hurt me) so it makes sense to use Hornbuckle as point to set up more shots for the actual scorers on the floor. It looks damn weird, though. Monica Wright didn't leave much of an impression on me, except for the fact that she was one of the few Lynx players willing to drive the lane, a nice counterpoint to the strong outside shooting presence of her teammates. I can understand why fans of other teams would find Candice Wiggins's on-court effervescence annoying and see it as a taunt. She didn't really do much that made me go OMG GET OFF MY FLOOR NOW, but she didn't have much of an opportunity.

Have I mentioned lately that I would have greatly appreciated if the Liberty would have drafted Rebekkah Brunson when they had the chance? Either chance? Don't get me wrong, Shameka Christon worked out okay for us, but aaaaargh. Sigh. RAEG. She crashed the boards like her life depended on the Lynx getting her rebounds. She brings an edge and a ferocity to Minnesota that they need- almost too much of one sometimes. But she is very much Baby Yo, and the only one with a better claim to that title is Alicia DeVaughn. When she went out of the game with the fifth foul early in the third quarter, I thought that was our chance to strike. Instead, Minnesota seized the reins. Sigh. Rage. Taj McWilliams-Franklin showed off an array of post moves that showed that Mama Taj still has it. She put on a show in the first quarter, and that spurt put the Liberty on their heels in a way that I don't know if they could recover from. Lindsay Whalen ran the show with aplomb and without much pizzazz, and early on I thought Leilani Mitchell's defense was bothering her. Obviously that stopped working after a while. Maya Moore is smooth, and pretty, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NICOLE KRISTEN POWELL STOP LEAVING HER OPEN IN THE CORNER. But for all that, I still think she has a ways to go to be the level of player in the WNBA that she was in the NCAA. She has a much more powerful build than is apparent from the way she plays, and she could be a lot more dangerous is if she's more willing to go further in and use those shoulders- it's nice that she can shoot from the outside, but she needs to be more physical in a productive manner. Please note that a productive manner is not shoving Essence Carson to the ground. Seimone Augustus's jumper is back. I'm scared. It's so pretty!

Fortunately, tonight Kara Braxton was not where lay-ups went to die. It was just where bad passes went to be further bobbled. She wasn't completely horrible, which is damning with faint praise but is one of the nicer things I may yet say about the Liberty in this game. Alex Montgomery, I do not know where your head was, but it was not in this game, and I'm not taking bets as to whether it was in the city of Newark. Fumbles, lousy positioning- her defense was better than her teammates', but that's not saying very much. Essence Carson couldn't find the basket- bad luck, for the most part, but at least she was trying. She always seems to show up late, which is a good thing in close games but a pointless one in blowouts. Quanitra Hollingsworth seemed like she wanted to continue her Roaring Rampage of Revenge, but mostly succeeded in picking up fouls and fumbling the ball. Her one field goal came on a very pretty reverse.

All credit and praise to Plenette Pierson. She showed up and showed out tonight. She was crashing the glass, she was driving the lane, she was putting up the shots, she was playing defense (for the most part). She demonstrated effort, which is the bare minimum I expect from my team. Kia Vaughn let the matchups get into her head a little bit- they were doubling and tripling her at times, and I don't think she was ready for the pressure. Sadly, the entire damn league knows she's not ready for the pressure, which is why they do it. Court awareness, Kia, get you some. I do hope her foot/ankle injury- whatever it was that caused her to go to the floor and then gently collapse into the cockroach-hit-by-Raid position- isn't serious and she feels better soon. Leilani Mitchell left her three-point shot in Minnesota, and the Lynx gladly adopted it and cherished it and called it George. The sad part is that she wasn't the biggest liability out there for the Liberty, despite being mostly a non-factor. That honor almost went to Nicole Powell, except that Nicole at least hit a couple of shots, even if she missed a couple of other easy ones and might as well have been on the moon defensively by leaving players open from the corner repeatedly. Honestly, Nicole, you went to Stanford. Remind me again what the definition of insanity is? Cappie Pondexter better have been playing hurt. Her ankle better be bothering her. Otherwise there is no excuse for that putrid performance she put up. No field goals? Yes, the assists are nice, but she repeatedly passed off good shots to give the ball to teammates who were out of position or double-teamed. It was clear that she did not want to shoot, and when she did start taking shots in the fourth quarter, that she couldn't shoot properly. It was painful to watch, and it can't have been fun to play on.

But the biggest liability in this game for New York was John Whisenant. Why keep running Powell out there when she can't keep up defensively? Why leave Pondexter in the game when she is obviously hurt? Why have either of them out there when it's a 20-point game and Charde Houston is coming in? Why DNP-CD Sydney Colson and Ta'Shia Phillips at that point? Why run injured players into the ground in a game that's long since been lost? Part of being a successful coach means adapting, and Whiz steadfastly refused to through this game. I don't think that's what lost us the game, but that's what gave us the margin. If one of your players has made a point of writing an article for the team web site about playing hurt and the perils of it, perhaps you should be more cognizant of what you're doing to your team, especially when your last two games are against conference opponents, and your most likely opponents in the playoffs. Deplorable game management and reprehensible player management.

Roy Gulbeyan and Maj Forsberg are names that make me go :-/ when I hear them, but the officiating wasn't as awful as I was expecting. The calls they missed were doozies- the repeatedly mentioned pushoff by Moore, Whalen grabbing Plenette's... uh, hips... and all but using her as a vaulting horse, that sort of thing. It was within the realm of error.

To the gentleman who persists in yelling “DEFENSE!” when the Liberty have the ball, and who does it at every game, please be aware that should you come visit section 9, you will not come to a good end. You are like unto a Summer's Eve.

Excellent shooting by the gentlemen playing Tic-Tac-Toe- that was one of the most compelling parts of the day. Nice racing strategy by the guy in the Carson jersey during the go-cart race- the guy in the Pondexter jersey thought he was being slick by going narrow on the turns, and the guy in the Carson jersey realized that he was going to stick and went around him like a slingshot. Of course someone in a Carson jersey is going to have a better grasp on strategy than someone in a Pondexter jersey!

The cluster didn't even end with the game! We tried to catch the Chicago-Indiana game at Brick City, across the street... but the bar across the street from the Pru doesn't have, or doesn't know about, NBA-TV. Fail. So it was a fair piece of fail all the way around.

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August 30th, 2011: Chicago at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A pair of scintillating performances by Rutgers alumnae bookended the New York Liberty's 71-67 victory over the Chicago Sky. Kia Vaughn had 11 of her 15 points in the first quarter, while Essence Carson had 12 of her 14 in the fourth to fuel a fourteen-point comeback. Cappie Pondexter led the team with 19 points. For Chicago, Sylvia Fowles had 22 points and eight rebounds, but Epiphanny Prince was the only other Sky player to break double figures, with 15 off the bench.

For Monty Python references, shiny outfits, some unexpected swearing, and the banks of the old Raritan, join your intrepid and relieved blogger after the jump.

This team is going to kill me one of these days. And if they don't, these damn youth teams will. Look, would it be so hard to get your seats together and not near season ticket holders so you're not standing in our way and having conversations across us? You might not care about the game, but we do.

Our defense is keeping us in this game. That's the only explanation. We can't hit water falling out of a boat, which says something in New Jersey these days.

Kym is shiny tonight. “They said I'd have 45 seconds. /looks up at clock Yeah. Right.” /highlights play “Damn, I was slim back then!” (Yes. Yes, you were. And you were a brick house in more ways than one, bow-chicka-bow-bow.) She has a lot of thank-yous. I can't believe she got away with saying that the team doesn't make money. I think she managed to thank anyone who was any degree of separation from the team.

Seriously, though, if Tari Phillips doesn't get in, there are going to be torches and pitchforks, because I will be holding them.

I have no idea what part of their ass they pulled this out of, and I neither care or regret my use of such language. I think “pulled it out of our ass” is the most accurate possible assessment of this game, and in the interest of journalistic integrity, I have to use the most accurate assessment.

Oh. Coach Donovan was over here. She just passed through the Ice Lounge.

Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton appears to have fallen off the face of the earth. I'm surprised, because she's been an excellent hustle player for them. But maybe that's because Cathrine Kraayeveld is doing the thing where she gets the rebounds and sets the screens, even if they are not the Screens of Death I remember so fondly from when she wore a different shade of blue. She was really looking to get into it with Plenette Pierson at one point, which is an interesting experiment that would probably fail but would be fun to watch from a safe distance. Carolyn Swords was very big, and hey, she played Kara Braxton to a draw. For what that's worth. Has anyone explained the meaning of the phrase 'shot selection' to Epiphanny Prince? Because she appears to be under the impression that it means 'select every shot', and I don't know how far Chicago can get in future years with her throwing up everything that passes through her head. At best, they can be Atlanta, and she and Angel McCoughtry can take turns driving their fans insane. She really should not be taking more shots than Sylvia Fowles in fewer minutes. She took a lot of risks defensively, and sometimes they paid off and sometimes they didn't. Courtney Vandersloot showed some of her court vision and ball awareness, which was nice, and she looked like an average veteran out there, which is a good sign for a rookie. But I don't know if she's the kind of point guard who benefits from watching the flow of the game before getting into it, or if she's the kind of point guard who needs to be in the game to feel the flow of it.

Michelle Snow was a non-factor, except for bouts of defensive holding interspersed with kvetching. It's a shame, because I like when she does heinous things, because then I can drag out her full name from the depths of the WNBA Guide and Register for great mockery. Erin Thorn did her best to try and kill us again, but her teammates didn't get her the ball when she was open. Given that she was the biggest reason they won on Sunday, I'm really surprised by both the lack of adjustment by New York and the lack of awareness by the Sky. Tamera Young, I like your enthusiasm, but projectile should not be the word that comes to mind when I watch you on defense. At least she's gotten some of that horrible hitch out of her shot. It used to make me shudder. I don't know when Dominique Canty took up either masochism or drama lessons, but whichever it is, she needs to not demonstrate it on the floor. She had a couple of spectacular falls that I'm not sure were dives or not. But she's starting to look like a player who's been in the league since 1999. Which, more power to her, and there's something to be said for long runners, but she might need to hang it up soon. Oh, yes, and then there was Sylvia Fowles, Big Syl doing her thing in the middle. I think the thing that amazes me most about her is her vertical. It's really not fair. She's already six-six. What does she need with a vertical like that? She only really needs to get that much higher if she's facing Alison Bales or Liz Cambage! Feed the beast, Chicago. It's not rocket science.

I have no idea why Kara Braxton played so much. I didn't think Whiz was the kind of guy to get distracted by her huge... tracts of land. She hit one of her chippies, and we all reacted like she'd reenacted Spoon's Shot. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it was after she'd blown a couple of easy shots, done a ballerina impression (which is sure to raise the hackles of some old-school Liberty fans to whom the name Bethany is an expletive), and idly watched a ball trickle out of bounds. Kara, there are a thousand undersized post players out there who would happily perform some sort of macabre surgery to use that six-six body that you can't be bothered to keep in shape or use to its fullest potential; do you really want one of them figuring out how to take it? Quanitra Hollingsworth was shaky defensively- sometimes well-positioned, sometimes woefully out of place- and her shooting could use some work, but her rebounding was on point. Alex Montgomery had a better game than the box score would indicate; I thought she played good defense, and except for the one pass that was meant for Calvin Johnson instead of Plenette Pierson... and the shot clock violation she caused by passing off to Kia Vaughn with 2 on the clock... she didn't look horribly lost on offense- at least, no more than the rest of the team did. Every superhero needs her theme music, and Essence Carson's should be “Right on Time”. She was deathly quiet until the fourth quarter, and then it was like she looked at the scoreboard and the out-of-town scoreboard and said, “F*** this, we're not getting any help, we need to win this game.” So she started hitting shots and coming up with loose balls, steals, and rebounds. I think all her stats came in the fourth quarter, or if not all of them, most of them.

I think Nicole Powell's hurt, and I'm not just talking about that shot to the eye that gave her a passing resemblance to a younger Katie Douglas. She wasn't moving well during the game, and it seemed like every time she was coming out, she was having a compress put on her back. (Well, either that, or she was trying to combine cosplay with her uniform; bustles don't mix with sweatpants, Nicole.) Leilani Mitchell couldn't hit a shot, and she had a couple of good looks, but her hands were active on defense. I love a point guard with quick hands. Kia Vaughn started the game on fire- she had 11 of the Liberty's 20 first-quarter points- but after Whiz sat her down, she wasn't the same. She still played well. I don't know if it's a sign of good defense or bad defense, but you could see how hard she was working against Big Syl. It was almost stylized defense. Plenette Pierson was steady when she was in, except for one sequence when it looked like she was going to lose her temper in the third quarter. Whiz pulled her out, and I was worried that he'd left her out too long- maybe he'd misjudged, maybe he wasn't happy with her for some other reason- but things ended up working out for the best. Cappie Pondexter is going to get a lot of credit for this win, and she definitely did her part in the run- but putrid decision-making in the first half helped put the team in the hole in the first place. She was taking bad shots and forcing passes. It wasn't pretty.

Whiz, whatever you say to them in the locker room at halftime, don't say it. Just skip to whatever you say at the quarter break. And stop playing someone who's getting treatment after every appearance. Nicole wasn't doing anything out there, and playing her hurt couldn't possibly help.

It just goes to show that sometimes referees' reputations get ahead of them. When they announced the crew, I freaked out. Of course, part of that was because I misheard Tim Greene as Jim Breeding and nearly had a heart attack because that was the guy Lin Dunn almost hauled off and slugged one game. But Michael Price is a name that strikes fear into the heart of any well-read WNBA fan, and Felicia Grinter has a habit of following the other refs' lead. But the game was fairly well-called as these things go. Chicago had a strangely high number of continuations, but that's as much on the Liberty's stupidity in fouling jump shooters as it is the refs' loose definition of continuation. They let a lot of procedural stuff go, which I mostly didn't mind.

Can I just say that I hate when kids will scream and dance and shout for the camera's attention or for a t-shirt, but they look at you like you've got three heads when you're actually into the game?

Also, Pru Center: bigger signage to delineate section 8 versus section 9, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I am so tired of being an auxiliary usher, explaining to people that they are in fact in section 9, no, really trust me on this one, I have season tickets, even if you don't believe me THERE IS A SIGN ON THE SEAT NEXT TO YOU.

Shoutout to the free throw contest winner and her two hundred dollars. I love a clutch shooter who can hit the money ball.

I'm going to exhale very slowly, and then I'm going to devoutly hope that when I blink, the score still has the Liberty on top.

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August 18th, 2011: Connecticut at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty stormed back from a 19-point deficit to take a three-point lead in the last minute and held on in overtime, 84-81, to beat the Connecticut Sun. Cappie Pondexter had 27 points for the Liberty, while Essence Carson had 19 and Kia Vaughn had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Connecticut's Tina Charles led all players with 29 points and 14 rebounds.

For a studied lack of swearing, bobble-goggles, the Usual Suspects, and illegal drugs, join your intrepid and maybe amusing blogger after the jump.

Stupid bus. Stupid dress code. Stupid evil HR woman. The only reason I saw intros was because I was sitting with my mother for part of the first quarter, before realizing that I missed my regulars in section 9 and heading back across the way.

It's 40-39 Connecticut here at halftime, and our court has been taken over by a large group of dancers who are not completely awful. We've gotten lucky on leaving McCray and Montgomery open for threes that they've missed, but it's also burned us. We're not hustling after loose balls and we're not rebounding, and for some reason Nicole Powell is sitting out. (I toldyou she was hurt last game, Whiz. I know what I'm talking about sometimes.)

The crowd is sparse and dead. I'm getting really tired of people turning around to stare at me when I start chanting DE-FENSE.

This “Remember When” is making me miss Loree and Ashley.

Third quarter interlude: whatever John Whisenant is saying in the locker room at halftime, he needs to stop saying. I've fled to the Ice Lounge to recharge my laptop and keep from swearing at everyone and anyone in sight. Scott Twadorski is acting like Essence Carson personally told him he couldn't have one of her bobble-heads- she's taken three hits to the floor and gotten no calls in her favor- gotten called for the foul on one of them, even.

And apparently whatever was said at the quarter break needs to be said a lot more often. What a comeback! What a defensive stand! What an amazing cluster of officiating incompetency in the last few seconds of overtime!

Tan White showed a distressing tendency to go for a player's injured body parts in the fourth quarter- I'm pretty sure she got in a cheap shot on Plenette Pierson that caused Plenette to hit the deck for the second time. I like her fire, but sometimes it's much of a muchness. There were brief Alison Hightower sightings. I don't remember whether they were relevant to the flow of the game or not. Kelsey Griffin was brought in mostly for defensive purposes, which seemed uncharacteristic. I think the bulk of her minutes were while I was hiding in the lounge, recharging my computer and swearing at our inability to get a rebound. Kara Lawson brought the big offense off the bench.

Tina Charles is a beast, and I have the sudden urge to go strangle Carol Blazejowski. I've missed that feeling. It's been months since I've had it, but watching Charles disassemble our front line reminded me that we could have had her if we didn't trade our first-round draft pick for a player who Los Angeles probably would have had to cut anyway. But I'm bitter, and digressing. Asjha Jones went quietly about her business, scoring with occasional bouts of violence. She's a great complement to Charles, though I wouldn't necessarily call it a Batman-and-Robin relationship. Maybe more Iron Man and Rhodey. Renee Montgomery took a lot of shots, some of which she had no business taking and some of which she had no business hitting. I didn't appreciate some of her theatrics, though. That went double for Kalana Greene, whose blatant dive could have given the Sun the game if they had been able to convert on the possession. She showed an old knack for being in the right place much of the time. Danielle McCray was a threat early, and showed some nice play-making abilities, but didn't seem to be in as much down the stretch.

Someone is going to end up hitting Kara Braxton upside the head by the end of the season. Yes, yes, I know, I know, this is nothing new and nothing to be surprised at, and anyone who's ever seen her play and knows anything about the league knows how inconsistent and lazy she can be. However, she's never done it in New York, and even in New Jersey, we're not exactly gentle. She keeps blowing lay-ups and committing stupid fouls, she's going to hear it from the fans. That all being said, I liked her as a defensive presence tonight. She's good at filling space, even if she's not always sure where that space is supposed to be. She's not afraid to play big, which is rather useful for a post. Sydney Colson had a brief cameo and did not do anything that I recall. Ta'Shia Phillips is not as quick as her teammates think she is. Alex Montgomery saw a lot of time because of our short bench (Nicole Powell was out with what texting and Twittering informed me was a bruised knee) and while she's a nice piece to have, I don't know if she's ready to play high rotation minutes yet. She looked like she was in over her head.

I don't like Cappie Pondexter. Never really have, probably never really will. We all know this and have incorporated the existence of this bias into our readings of my blog, right? However, if she continues to make the laws of physics go away so she can hit big shots, and if she continues to win us games by dint of sheer effort... that's what we brought her in for, and I can respect her talent and appreciate her work. No, seriously, the three that gave the Liberty the lead near the end of the fourth quarter was something out of the Matrix. Whoa. Leilani Mitchell's three-point shot is starting to wander back to her, a message of which I heartily approve. However, her teammates appear to be taking sadistic pleasure in throwing passes that she has to leap to catch in the corner. Guys, there's a reason we call her the fluffy little bunny. Plenette Pierson took a beating late in the game, but she put in work- she was at least following shots, unlike some people I could name. She needs to realize that not all chicks dig the long ball, though. Go towards the hole. Kia Vaughn put in work on the offensive boards. I don't know why she spent so much time sitting in the fourth quarter, unless Whiz was that certain that we were going to need her in overtime... of course, possibly putting her in a little earlier might have meant that we didn't need to take it to overtime, but I'm willing to grant that he's a championship-winning coach and I'm an amateur raconteur in section 9. Essence Carson stepped up bigtime for Nicole- she hit the big shots, she made the spectacular interceptions, she took the hits, she got the final steal.

So much offense from Rutgers players. Somewhere, C. Vivian Stringer is clutching her pearls and wondering where she went wrong.

FOLLOW YOUR SHOTS. If there is one thing I would be screaming at them right now, that would be it. I can't count the number of times that Kara, or Kia, or Cappie, stood and watched a shot that had no chance of going in. FOLLOW YOUR SHOTS. Follow ALL the shots. And chase the loose balls. You can't give a Thibault team extra possessions. You can't give Kara Lawson extra possessions.

These refs. My goodness. My section was overreacting to every call by the end of the game (yes, Plenette, if you stick your foot out and someone stumbles over it, that's a trip; yes, Kia, if you bang your hip into someone it is a foul), but there were some horrible, reprehensible calls. Essence got banged around repeatedly with no call. Plenette took shot after shot with no call. I wasn't the only one questioning the officiating, either; one gentleman on the train remarked that he thought #8 was high; the frightening part was that I thought Humphrey was the best of the lot.

The reviews at the end of the game were enough to drive a woman batty. About the first call, it looked like it went off Tan White, but I'm not completely certain. I don't think there was enough evidence to overrule, but I won't argue too much. And I certainly agree on the second review that Plenette Pierson was clearly out of bounds with the ball. I do, however, think it is germane to the matter that the cause of Plenette being out of bounds was Asjha Jones's arms around her waist, pulling her down in a fair impression of Michael Strahan dealing with an opposing quarterback not named Brett Favre. And by the third review, there was much swearing about the land; sure, Essence can't get a call all night and they finally decide to call a foul for her as the horn sounds and we're all thinking, “Great, we can go home!” Which would be less hair-tearing-out-of if this hadn't been exactly how the Washington game ended TWO BLEEPING DAYS AGO, with the same margin and the same result.

There is what I hope is an unfounded rumor going around about a season subscriber renewal gift being a Pondexter throwback jersey. I don't think I have to tell you why I would start seeing blood at the sight of a black #23 jersey with a name other than Wicks on it. If it weren't for the commute, I'd have been tempted to renew just to set the thing on fire.

I have mentioned I don't like Cappie, right? And that Sue is one of my all-time favorites?

Protip, Port Authority and folks at Newark-Penn Station: do not start pulling a PATH train out of the station, stop it, and hold it for five minutes after a game that went into overtime and was rife with reviews. You will be snarked.

I'm very tired, but I'm glad to be home with the win. Now it's time for ADVENTURE! Go Liberty! Get well soon, Quanitra and Nicole!

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August 16th, 2011: Washington at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Cappie Pondexter's 26 points, including the lay-up that gave her team the lead, led the New York Liberty to a 69-66 victory over the Washington Mystics. New York led by as much as 16 in the game. For Washington, Crystal Langhorne had 25 points and six rebounds.

For tackling, pushing, shoving, glassware, point guards, shenanigans, and things we'd like to never see again, join your intrepid and absent-minded blogger after... oooh, shiny object!

There are words I can use to describe this game accurately and succinctly. Unfortunately, none of them are suitable for the family audience that Swish Appeal is looking for, so I have to find paragraphs and not be succinct. But what else have you come to expect from your intrepid blogger? Surely not brevity!

You're not going to get any cool pregame shenanigans, other than my joy at discovering that with all connections coming through loud and clear, I can make it to my seats at about ten to seven. Of course, that's with minimal delays on a bus and three different trains run by two different transit authorities- and with me cheating out of work three minutes early to catch the early bus. These results are about as normal as Nakia Sanford hitting a three.

I like that the Liberty have upped the number of giveaways available to season subscribers. I like seeing loyalty rewarded. I also love Liberty glassware- it goes with the rest of the house. (And thanks to Melissa for letting me pick up my mom's, too. I'm giving it to her at Thursday's game. She was under the weather. {Well, so am I, but priorities. If I can go to work, I can make the game.})

Lacey really tightened up her rotation. Not that it had much room to be tightened, but Dunlap didn't play and Kerri Gardin only had a couple of sequences. Gardin was mostly matched up with Kara Braxton in Braxton's original role as first post off the bench; Lacey abandoned that matchup when the situation changed. Jasmine Thomas saw a lot of time down the stretch, and while her three-point shot was falling, she wasn't an asset to the rest of the offense, or primarily to the defense. I'm really not sure whether Lacey's doing this to temper her for the future or simply because she's an idiot. On the one hand, if you're playing for the future, and you don't care if you're winning games now, it's a good idea to get your rookie some crunch-time reps. On the other hand, since losing games now gains you nothing except the undying gratitude of the Minnesota Lynx, you might as well try to win now. On the other hand, you'd have to run the table to reach .500, so what does winning games get you other than pride? On the other hand, where did all those hands come from? As for DeMya Walker, she looked slightly less washed up than she did against Connecticut, but she was up to her old tricks: the Sacramento step-through, the traveling, the flopping, and the theatrics. She's pretty much been the same for 11 years. If you're reading this blog, you know DeMya Walker's game.

Nicky Anosike doesn't seem to like us for some reason. I can't possibly imagine why. It's not like she has any past history with any of our players or anything. In any case, she kept making with the grabby hands, and occasionally she even got called for it. Matee Ajavon was her usual ballhogging self. I really only wanted to strangle her once, when she hit the three to give Washington the lead. Well, no, I wanted to strangle her on the flop on the Mystics' first possession, too. Kelly Miller was fairly steady- wasn't awful, wasn't great, and was certainly better than Jasmine Thomas. Marissa Coleman played decent defense, was at least a threat (even if an empty one) from the perimeter, and did a nice job boxing out. But honestly, Crystal Langhorne needs to slap them all upside the head and ask them when she's going to get some help, because she can't do it alone. What amazes me about the way she does it is that she's as glamorous as an R train doing it; she doesn't go on runs and make you whistle in awe. She just keeps going and suddenly she has 25 points.

No, seriously, this exchange occurred with one of my neighbors.

“Who's #1 for Washington?”

“Crystal Langhorne.”

“She has 21 points,” said in a tone of stunned awe.

Kara Braxton, we need to have a long talk. No, not about those, though I'm fairly certain they should be be credited with a block (and if they're not, Thomas should be). I'm talking about your inability to hit a lay-up, despite being the tallest person on the floor. I'm talking about your inability to look over a defense, despite being the tallest person on the floor. I'm talking about your inability to hold on to the damn ball. Honestly, she'd be close to a double-double if she could just get it together. And we needed her to step up- at least she did on defense in the crunch, when we needed her to be a big presence in the middle so the Mystics couldn't steal the game. Now, if she could just hit a damn basket... ahem, moving right along. Ta'Shia Phillips saw one extended run, did not do anything of note, and disappeared off the face of the earth thereafter. Alex Montgomery played excellent defense and lousy offense. Team ACC really brings out Alexandria's Georgia Tech tendencies, doesn't it? Essence Carson played decently, though you'd think she'd know Ajavon's tendencies by now. I mean, it's not like they're from the same draft class, or played four years at the same school, or anything like that.

Cappie Pondexter stole this game for us with shots that flat-out defied the laws of physics, but I still can't get past her forgetting which basket we were at to start the game, which led to us committing an over-and-back violation on the first possession of the game. Why, yes, I did yell “Partial qualifier!” at that play. Some things you just have to heckle, no matter whether they're your team or not. Kia Vaughn must be kicking puppies in her spare time (has anyone heard from @KV15NYCsToes, anyway?) to have earned the foul calls she got. The sixth foul was a legit call. The three before it, I'm not so sure about. She started off well, and then got derailed. Plenette Pierson was on fire in the first quarter, then let it get to her head. And then she got hot again, so it was okay. She brought a little bit of a nasty edge that we needed, given the nastiness that Walker and Anosike were dishing out. A hip check from Anosike did something to Nicole Powell's leg- she was moving gingerly after she took the hit, and sat out a long stretch of the second half- but she wasn't exactly making herself useful before that, either. I don't know how she wangled all the assists. Leilani Mitchell played better than the box would suggest, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe she's healed up a bit and that's what I'm seeing.

You would have gotten halftime notes, but your intrepid blogger needs to eat, so your halftime notes are as follows: the chicken tenders at the Prudential Center are excellent, but the fries they come with are beyond awful. The ratio is unfortunately tilted towards fries, as well. These have been your halftime notes.

The child in the Essence Carson gear during the dress and dribble should have taken her shooting tips from Essence, not Plenette. That baby hook doesn't work for Plenette, it's not going to work for an itty-bitty.

Dear Prudential Center, please please please clarify the signage for your sections. I'm really tired of telling people, “No, this is section 9, section 8 is on the other side of the aisle, now please get out of my seats, yes, really, I know where I sit, I have season tickets, SECTION 8 IS OVER THERE.”

If Sue Wicks's hair gets any darker, I'm going to have to stop differentiating the Sues by hair color and start calling Bird the short one. (These are the perils of being friends with UConn fans; we mean different people when we squee about Sue.)

These refs. My goodness. I'll grant to the Mystics fans that the three calls at the end of the game favored the Liberty (though I think we would all have preferred if they'd waved off the last foul on Coleman). However, there was a fair amount of contact by the Mystics that wasn't called (I'm looking at you, DeMya- nice job flat out shoving Kia to the ground there) and some ticky-tack stuff that was called on the Libs that seemed to be missed at Washington's end (travel upon travel). We were fairly apoplectic by the middle of the third quarter. I'm also curious to know how holding a ball between one's legs counts as a kicked ball (while it might be a violation, I don't think Roy Gulbeyan asked the ball to point on the dolly where the bad woman touched it). Between the hair and the questionable calls, I was starting to wonder if Angelica Suffren was related to Trudi Lacey.

Screw up this badly at Carnesecca Arena. I dare you. Because you will hear me, and you will have no grounds to have me ejected, because I can let you know what you messed up without resorting to profanity or coarse language.

There was a quite a contingent from St. John's around- our point guard and what appeared to be her whole family. (I think I scared her. She changed sections at the half. Damn it, Nadirah, you knew about us before this.)

If you were in section 9, and you know who the very tall young woman was who swung by to say hi to someone at the start of the fourth quarter, please let me know, because I felt like I should have recognized a well-built 6'3” or so young woman.

There were autographs of some kind after the game, and someone who was there can tell me who was signing, because I was too busy tracking down my umbrella and trying to get home, because it's a long haul from Newark to Queens.

After you read these notes, forget this game ever happened. You'll be saner for it.

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August 9th, 2011: Seattle at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Cappie Pondexter's 19 points led all scorers in the New York Liberty's 58-56 win over the Seattle Storm. Sue Bird led Seattle with 17 points, 12 in the first half.

For pink, lost signs, training, more pink, temporal anomalies, missed connections, and protestations of innocence, join your intrepid and easily distracted blogger after the jump.
I'm a little worried about this three-point halftime lead. We've given Seattle too many chances and developed too much of a habit of leaving Sue Bird open. You cannot leave Sue Bird open. I didn't think it was rocket science, but apparently it is. Seriously, guys, rebound the ball. Just because your jerseys are pretty doesn't mean you should stand around and be decorative.

Also, Tanisha Wright? Kia Vaughn will probably splatter you across the court the next time you go knee-to-knee on anyone, especially Cappie Pondexter.

Rebecca Lobo didn't speak a lot, though she did say that now her kids have proof that she played in the WNBA. I have to say, she looks damn good, all things considered. (She appreciated my jersey for some reason. I can't imagine why. ;) I didn't have the heart to tell her that VJ and Sue were my favorites, or that I voted for Tari.)

Seattle has their players well-trained. You don't even have to ask for an autograph; if they see you, they'll come over. I'm not sure if it's because they're such a veteran team, or because they have such a veteran coaching staff with experience in the earliest days of both the WNBA (Darsch with the Liberty, Boucek with the Rockers) and the ABL (Agler with the Quest). Though Allie Quigley also mentioned that she got yelled at for missing someone once, so maybe they also have especially intense training.

I thought we saw a lot of the deep Seattle bench in the first half and never again, but I hallucinated Belinda Snell. Ewelina Kobryn had a little bit of physical presence, but looked lost on the floor. This is what happens when you don't give your reserves real playing time, Coach Agler. Le'Coe Willingham got the bulk of the minutes off the bench for Seattle, and used her lower body effectively inside. She's got a deceptively quick first step for a woman of her size. Katie Smith got the bulk of the rest of the minutes, and I don't care how old she is, you don't leave Katherine May Smith open for a jump shot. She's been hitting those since the Paleozoic Era, you might want to guard her. She also got into it a little bit with Plenette Pierson; between one thing and another, and one player and another, it got awfully Detroit Shock out there at times.

(Please note: Paleozoic Era is a slight exaggeration.)

Foul trouble kept Camille Little and her tush from being a major factor. She got around us a couple of times, but I think our height bothered her. And while the topic of guarding people who are good at hitting jump shots is in the general vicinity of discussion, who in their right mind leaves Sue Bird open? Don't you know what her nickname is? Don't you know what she does to Dick Fain's pants? (Oh, God, that did not come out right, but if you heard his call of Seattle and Connecticut...) This goes double for point guards who grew up in Washington State during Bird's career, Leilani Mitchell. And for Big East players who might have heard of this UConn chick, Essence Carson and Cappie Pondexter. I was surprised she was looking for her offense as much as she was, but I guess that had to do with taking what the defense gives her. It also didn't help that Tanisha Wright had it in her head to go after Pondexter instead of the basket. Seriously, I have no idea when their paths crossed, or whether Cappie has made a practice of kicking Nittany Lion cubs in her spare time, or what happened there, but Wright spent a lot of time throwing shoulders at Pondexter. When she went knee-to-knee with her in the first half, I thought someone was going to splatter her across the stanchion, because that's dirty. It's not a good idea to do crossovers in front of her, though. Swin Cash hit a couple of big shots and got in on the boards, but also spent a lot of time whining about calls. It's not an attractive look for you, Swin. Ashley Robinson's height was a defensive factor, but it didn't feel like she was using it as effectively as she could have. I'm not feeling the hair, either. Sorry, Ashley.

Someone please get Kara Braxton a decent sports bra. Please. I cannot take a month of her running up and down the floor with those things flying loose. Part of Breast Health Awareness should be awareness of how to keep them from bruising oneself or other people. Save the ta-tas, my fellow fans. Save the ta-tas.

Okay, I'm sorry, substantive game analysis will now resume. I should have known better than to believe Whiz when he said Kara wouldn't play tonight. She played, and she played extensively, though there might have been other factors at play. She looked as lost as one would expect of a player who had only shown up the other day. (Plans that will not end well: over-the-top, high passes to Leilani Mitchell. Leilani hops pretty good, but Liz Cambage might have had a spot of trouble corralling that thing.) She needs to be more aggressive on defense, more assertive on offense, and more aware of what's going on. Many things are possible, and I'm hoping one of them is Kara settling in. Quanitra Hollingsworth was shackled by some of the physical play in the post, but she came up with a couple of big plays. Essence Carson's offense was AWOL, but all things considered (all things translating to “that stuff of Sue Bird to save the game”) I think I can live with that. Alex Montgomery hit a couple of shots ,but was otherwise a non-factor.

This was one of those games where Cappie Pondexter did what she gets paid to do- she did just enough to help us win the game. It wasn't spectacular, and it wasn't pretty, and it wasn't a great VGM line, and the free throw shooting was embarrassing, but she did what she had to do, and it was enough. Leilani Mitchell had a small flurry of offense, and kept a steady hand on the distribution, but she was getting eaten alive on defense and wasn't able to rotate properly. Plenette Pierson was getting clobbered out there, and she couldn't get a call for anything short of being strangled. I consider it a minor miracle she was able to come close to a double-double. That might have been why she was backing off a little bit on defense, too. No, seriously, Willingham all but used her as a vaulting horse on one play with no call. Kia Vaughn must have gotten hurt or something, because while she wasn't all that effective (ahem, Kia, you are not Nicky Anosike, do not cheat out on Sue Bird on the perimeter), I'd rather have her in the game down the stretch than Kara when Kara doesn't know the plays and has a tendency to throw really dumb passes. The fact that Kara was in the game late, when we needed a big body, makes me think something happened to Kia. Nicole Powell wasn't much of a factor, and if she was, it wasn't in a good way. She looked frustrated for most of the night.

Hit your free throws, New York. This game would have been a lot easier to win if you weren't going 1-2 all of the time.

It was a very physical game- it got pretty Detroit out there, and not just because of all the Shock players. It felt like Seattle was given every chance to win the game in the last seconds, with some dicey out-of-bounds calls and oddities with the clock, plus it took Plenette all but getting strangled for her to get a call in her favor. Horse-collar tackles are not legal in basketball, Felicia Grinter. Other than those two trends, the officials weren't too bad.

Storm fans showed out, and only a couple of them in Bird gear. I appreciate that aspect of Storm fandom, which is why one lucky fan got the Wheaties box I'd brought with me. (The box was either going to get given to a Seattle fan or signed and used as a gift box. I have others at home, so I wasn't keeping it.) However, someone woefully misinformed the fans with the large Tanisha Wright sign regarding the location of the visiting bench; it's sort of tacky to wave large signs cheering the road team in front of the home bench.

We had pretty good music, what with the operatic anthem and the kid violinists who performed at one of the quarter breaks. I approve this message.

Some crazy woman bid up the “honorary coach for a day” package to $2000. This after they couldn't budge the Chicago road trip package past the opening bid of $800.

(A moment here to give the Mystics their due: they have traditionally done the best BHA auctions, as chronicled by the DC Basketcases, with a lot of action and the players getting very involved to ratchet up the bidding. I always enjoy reading those accounts.)

Ring of Honor nights bring out the best jerseys. Do you know how rare a 2006 Sherill Baker jersey is? Or the 2000/2001/2002 home whites? (Of course, you have to imagine me telling everyone, “This is not my fault! I voted for Tari!” when I get looks at my Lobo jersey.) Sigh. I miss the black-era jerseys.

My throat still hurts a little, but not as much as you might think. I spent two and a half years in improv theater, where I learned breathing exercises and how to project. I don't know if that's what Mr. Solkoff had in mind. “Take a deep breath, in through your nose... now let it out on a DE-FENSE! sound.” Despite the fact that it was an out-of-conference game, this was one of the more important games of the season for us so far, and the fact that we pulled it out says a lot about us.

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July 30th, 2011: Phoenix at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Penny Taylor had 29 points to lead the Phoenix Mercury over the New York Liberty 91-84. New York was led by Nicole Powell's 16 points and six steals.

For narrowly averted swearing, crankiness, defensive lapses, and Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, join your intrepid and sweat-drenched blogger after the jump.
So there was a "Liberty Day" thing going on before the game, which seemed to consist of the Knicks van, face-painting, and balloons. It didn't exactly draw a lot of people.

Shoutout to the girl in the Penny Taylor tank top. Miss, you have excellent taste in jerseys. I also shout out the woman in the orange Sophia Witherspoon shirt and the woman in the white Rebecca Lobo jersey- both of those are old and rare items.

Olayinka Sanni is drop-dead gorgeous up close. Just breathtaking. And I'm impressed with Nakia Sanford's ability to find eyeshadow in Mercury purple.

We're sort of lucky to be only down six at the half, but at the same time, it should be less than that. We lost focus at the end of the the quarter, and I think we let the game get to us. It's been much more physical out there than it usually is with the Liberty and the Mercury, and not just because the Mercury aren't usually a physical team. Maybe the mood was set when Diana Taurasi decided to impede Maddie's progress across the logo during pre-tip rituals, and Kia Vaughn responded with a screen to Taurasi's face on the Liberty's first possession.

I am less thrilled with the officiating than usual, but that's to be expected when your crew consists of Clarke Stevens, Amy Bonner, and Sue Blauch, and Blauch is the crew chief. To be fair, it's equally inconsistent, and if anything we've gotten the benefit of more of the no-calls. (On the other hand, nice job waiting for Essence Carson to damn near get her windpipe crushed and Penny Taylor to get a finger on the ball so you can call a jump ball. Amy Bonner, I am disappointed.)

The previous paragraph was horrifyingly prophetic. The kindest thing I can say is that it felt like the Liberty were playing five on eight for much of the fourth quarter. Further suppositions would not be couched in language appropr for this space, though I have several theories as to how Penny Taylor got away with five steps at a time and Diana Taurasi drew two late whistles on questionable calls.

I'm going to take a moment to bask in the amazingness of the posters the Liberty gave out today. Such a panoply of Liberty history! And only one of the numbers was repeated, and you really couldn't leave off either Sue Wicks or Cappie Pondexter without fans from either the black era or the Foxwoods era fans erupting like Vesuvius. But they covered a lot of ground. Elena Baranova! Ashley Battle! Mama Taj! Sophia Witherspoon! Bethany Donaphin! (We felt they missed a few numbers: it would have been nice to see #12 (either Loree Moore or Ann Wauters), #30 (DeTrina White), or #54 (Barbara Farris).

Ketia Swanier should be starting for this team. She has a better sense of where her teammates are and what they should be doing when they get the ball. She should be starting and Johnson should be on the block if she isn't already. Olayinka Sanni was in for one series and did nothing memorable except wear that cutesy little bow in her hair. Nakia Sanford brought physicality and semi-legal screens, and it felt like she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, no matter what the box score says. Marie Ferdinand-Harris fell short of our shot-a-minute expectations, and she does seem to have learned to pass. She also had one nice defensive play that had us yelling at the Liberty some friendly reminders about LSU's defensive reputation. DeWanna Bonner slipped in for some good rebounds, and she's got a pretty shot that she spent a lot of time working on before the game. (When the Mercury were warming up way before tip, she was practicing, and we blinked and she was gone. I assumed she folded herself into the second dimension, the skinny thing that she is.)

Penny. Bleeping. Taylor. The woman is insidious. She's sneaky fast. She's smooth. She has range. She also gets away with enough steps to get her back to Phoenix and possibly (given Christ-like and/or Iceman-like abilities) back to Melbourne. Phoenix goes nowhere without her. Taurasi, Dupree, Bonner- irrelevant. No Penny, no nada. Temeka Johnson was a waste of time and space. I would not be surprised if Phoenix dealt her before the deadline or flat-out cut her after the season. Kara Braxton didn't really play a lot- maybe she was uncomfortable with her shorts, which looked to be skintight. Diana Taurasi didn't have the kind of game I have become used to- she got called for a lot of fouls, and that one flurry at the end makes her look a lot better than she was. Candice Dupree did her thing, and she was decent, but I'm surprised they didn't look for her more.

Hi, Ta'Shia Phillips! Welcome to New... something! Thank you for rebounding and hitting a free throw! You appear promising and aggressive. Quanitra Hollingsworth was the victim of some dicey calls, but I love how she works on the glass. Relentless. (Really, though, a math major should never commit a three-second violation. Fairly certain graduating early with a degree in math means you can count to three.) Essence Carson's handle was off today- maybe she got caught up in trying to do some of the fancier stuff and forgot to stick to the basics. She may have been in an awkward situation visually, too; I think she's getting to the point where she doesn't think she still needs the goggles, but the goggles still do something, so she wears them during regular game play, but pushes them up when she shoots free throws. Alex Montgomery brought some great defense and a nice dose of needed energy off the bench.

Leilani Mitchell! We missed your steady hand and your ability to hit the open three! I hope this means you're past whatever injuries you had before, because we're going to need you as a point guard so Cappie doesn't have to play the point so she can score. Cappie Pondexter was supposedly fighting off a sore Achilles, and her shot did look a bit off, but she looked about as aggressive as she had been in several games prior, so just how long has this Achilles been bothering her? Kia Vaughn, while I appreciate your willingness to stretch your game out, I'd like it not to come at the expense of hitting lay-ups. Those are critical, crucial, and important. There is no excuse for a center to shoot 5-13 from the field. Plenette Pierson played well, but I think that when she started to rack up the fouls it started to get into her head a little bit, and it affected her play. Nicole Powell brought the on-ball defense, but her inability to rotate to that corner is not getting better. She just isn't fast enough for this system. Don't get me wrong, I love the steals and I love her tips on the boards, but she's exposed in anything other than a man-to-man. And man-to-man isn't much better.

Netball looks like one of those games that would only be good if played by very skilled players. These players were not skilled and it looked like something out of the 1940s.

I'm sure there are a lot more coherent things that could be said about this game, but unfortunately, I'm not the person to say them.

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July 28th, 2011: Washington at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Despite being outrebounded and outshot, the New York Liberty pulled out a 75-71 win over the Washington Mystics. Cappie Pondexter led all scorers with 19 points, with Kia Vaughn chipping in 14 and Plenette Pierson 13. For Washington, Crystal Langhorne was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 18 points and nine boards to pace the Mystics.

For trials, travails, popularity, vengeance, and Rutgers legends who wore #23, join your intrepid and deceptive blogger after the jump.
Weekday night game- you know what this means, no introductory fun times. At the half, the Liberty are down by four, and given that it's been five on eight most of the first half, that's a miracle. The Mystics have only been called for one team foul in the first half... and that was a foul to give with five seconds left in the half. We'll ignore the numerous travels by Crystal Langhorne or Matee Ajavon mauling poor Leilani Mitchell.

Fortunately, Sue Wicks's Ring of Honor induction will make me happy. (Look, MSG flack, it's a good sign that you should stop talking if two mic's stop working when you touch them. Shut up and let Sue be awesome.)

I think my fellow fans have more faith in Victoria Dunlap than Trudi Lacey does, or at least than she did in this game. I didn't even realize she played until I looked at the box score. Kerri Gardin had one brief spurt where she looked like the dangerous weapon she was when she first signed with Washington, but was otherwise a place where we could stash our weakest defender and take advantage of mismatches. Jasmine Thomas's line looks a lot better than she really was- two of those three shots went in by sheer luck, and she looked like she was in over her head for several stretches. Her speed will be a boon to her one of these days, if she learns to corral it, and she seems like she might be able to properly learn the position. I just don't know if she's going to do that in Washington. DeMya Walker's hair looks awful, and we didn't get to see any of her trademark flops. I think that's completely unfair. If we're going to see DeMya Walker miss easy shots once she gets in position, and otherwise play like a shell of an All-Star, we should at least get to see one of her Oscar-winning performances.

I think Kia Vaughn may have gotten into Nicky Anosike's head after a quick start in the first half, because she was pretty much a non-factor for the rest of the game, and she spent a lot of time on the bench. While part of me is disappointed, because I like Anosike, the rest of me does the dance of joyous self-satisfaction. Crystal Langhorne put in a lot of extra effort and scrapped hard on the boards. I'll give her that. However, I can also be exceedingly annoyed at the four-step lay-ups and the off-the-ball holding. I know everyone does it, but she needs to learn to be subtle about it if she's going to do it. Marissa Coleman also did a nice job on the boards, but I felt like she didn't take advantage of her opportunities- Nicole Powell's inability to close out on the corner three left her open an awful lot. I laughed when she ran into a screen by Leilani. No, that is not backwards. Yes, Leilani stonewalled her with a screen. Kelly Miller was brilliant in the first half, keeping Washington in it with her shooting and running things with a steady hand. She wasn't as much of a factor in the second half, though that may have had to do with Lacey's inexplicable desire to keep Thomas in the game when she was fumbling. Ladies and gentlemen, the Washington Mystics!

Whoever punched Essence Carson in the stomach, please be aware that Kia Vaughn will find you one of these days. Kia does not approve of people messing with her teammates.

Alex Montgomery was a hot mess. I'm pretty sure she thought she was supposed to be on Team ACC, and that was why she kept passing and all but handing the ball to Washington. Her defense picked up in the second half, though. Since I'm pretty sure that's what we brought her in for, that says a lot. Quanitra Hollingsworth seems to be shying away from contact more and more as the season progresses; I don't know if she finds the physical play somewhat offensive, or if she can't take the rigors of a full season, or if something else is going on, but come on, Q. You're 6'4. Use it. Go in, grab the board, and put it back up. Don't let it go down to other players' level. Not the greatest game for Essence Carson, but she had one nifty assist to Cappie Pondexter on a loose ball that she bounced sharply to Cappie for the lay-up. It was sweet. Sydney Colson looked pretty good and more in control of herself than usual. The three-pointers helped, too. She's still not ready for the level of play in this league, but she at least looked like she could be ready.

The bad news: Leilani Mitchell is still not much of an offensive option. The good news: at least she's playing tenacious on-ball defense and putting in effort when she gets caught on a mismatch. If we can at least get that out of her, that says a lot. Nicole Powell didn't score a lot, but she showed her rebounding ability and her ability to find her teammates. Her hands were good, though I'm not thrilled about this whole thing where she's bringing the ball up while we've got a point guard on the floor; I was under the impression that that was the point guard's job, and Nicole's not such a great ballhandler that I'd rather have her dribbling than Leilani or the Whiz Kid. Plenette Pierson had a maddening game, best summed up by two offensive possessions: on the first, she left an open, fast-break lay-up short off the rim and gave up the resulting defensive rebound; on the second, she hit a contested sweeping hook thing and drew a foul on the play. There were times when she looked brilliant, and then there were times when we were screaming “PLENETTE! What are you DOING out there, my God!” Because this infatuation with the three-pointer has to stop. I mean it. Cappie Pondexter had hot spurts right when we needed them, and that's all I've ever asked of her. Win the game and get out of the way. She looked disconcerted by the Washington defense, which I guess makes sense, given who was on her, but you'd think experience would win out. This might very well have been Kia Vaughn's game, despite other people's lines. She was going inside, she was getting her shots, and I do think she took Anosike out of her game.

I do love team chemistry: after Essence took that hit to the gut that left her doubled up in pain on the logo at center court, and after she had made her way back to the bench during the resulting timeout, Plenette came over to talk to her, with body language that clearly indicated that she was going to find who did it and make them pay as much as she could. I've seen more of this kind of thing this year from this team: they're willing to stand up for each other, and they're not willing to take crap from other teams, which is a bit of a change from recent years.

These officials. I try not to comment on the officiating without having evidence or at least specific complaints. But the level of traveling that was accepted in this game was abominable. I shouldn't be able to count four or five steps. I shouldn't see a player crossing midcourt with 15 left on a fresh shot clock without losing possession. I shouldn't see a player hit in the gut with no call. I shouldn't see blatant defensive holding without a call. Twardoski, Simpson, and Holtkamp let this game out of hand, and considering the criss-crossing rivalries and points of pride in this game, we're lucky there were no serious injuries. Did we benefit from the lax calls? In the second half, yes. But in the first half, it was absolutely ridiculous what Washington was getting away with. I have said this before and I'll say it again. I don't expect perfection from officials, but I do expect consistency. Don't ignore a player being pulled off the ball at one end of the floor and then call an accidental touch foul on the other.

I'm really starting to get sick of the Rutgers boosters. Look, I understand that you're passionate about your alumnae, but the cheers shouldn't be louder for opposing players than they are for home team players. This goes double when you're cheering more loudly for opposing players than you are for your players that come from the same school. (This is why I loathe the increasing regionalization of teams. Our Girls Syndrome is mean to professionals from strange, faraway lands like Arizona and Texas.)

Finally got to meet my Swish Appeal colleague Ray! Hi, Ray!

Have I mentioned lately that I miss Sue Wicks? Because I really miss Suuuuuuuue. Yes, Sue, you don't like to speak in public, that's why you rambled for three minutes and only stopped because all of the Mystics were standing there staring at you and waiting to warm up. That's why you name-checked all of our greats and Kisha Ford. (Who I loved, and who has made quite a post-basketball life for herself, but who is not exactly VJ or Becky Hammon.)

I liked the feeling of having conquered something that came out of winning this game. We looked rusty, which will happen with a nine-day break. But we found it in ourselves to win this one. Phoenix will be a wee bit more of a challenge, though...

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July 17th, 2011: Tulsa at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The New York Liberty struck early and often, leading by as many as 34 points in a 88-57 win over the Tulsa Shock. Cappie Pondexter led all scorers with 18 points in 21 minutes. New York had four players in double figures, and put everyone on the floor for at least four minutes. Tulsa was led by the 17 points and 11 rebounds of Tiffany Jackson.

For the shame of a proud franchise, the awesome that is Teresa Weatherspoon, team chemistry, burgers, and at least one hot guy, join your intrepid and well-fed blogger after the jump.

I realize that it's a nice Sunday and people don't want to be indoors. I realize that it's still three minutes before tip-off. I realize that the Women's World Cup final is going on right now. BUT WHERE IS EVERYONE? I devoutly hope everyone's in the bars and lounges, because otherwise, this is NOT how we honor Teresa Weatherspoon, this is how we spit in her face and in the face of what she did for this team.

Just for the record, guys? Just because I'm wearing a Rebecca Lobo jersey, that doesn't mean I'm voting for her. I'm voting for Tari! Leave me alone!

Trumpet anthem. I approve of this message, though I'm not sure whether Pondexter did (that was an... interesting look on her face that was either of great pain or great... um, enjoyment).

After hearing several different announcers do different things to Liz Cambage's last name, your intrepid blogger took the direct approach and asked her. I'm wondering if some of the cross-up is because of the different accents.

And Spoon just walked in the building and we gave a cheer and the kid in front of me gave me a dirty look and if he keeps doing that I'm going to kick his chair and if he keeps doing it I'm going to kick HIM.

Halftime, and we're up in a lot of categories. We need to be more careful with the ball, though. A disappointing crowd, but maybe some of them will filter back to their seats now that World Cup is almost over.

What I'm loving about this team is their willingness to go to the wall for each other. Jones drew a charge on Essence that was sort of dicey, and got in a shot on Quanitra while she was on the ground. Nicole, of all people, was the one to throw the shoulder block as they came back up. You didn't see a lot of that last year. Now you've got players stepping up to defend and protect their teammates.

One of the luckiest women in the world is holding the flowers for Spoon, and Spoon retains her ability to work a room. I don't know if she was genuinely stunned at the level of applause she received, or if she just did a good impression of it, but... here we are, T-Spoon, and we're giving you back the passion you gave us for so many years. I almost cried- I don't know how I didn't.

Om nom nom, thirty-point win. Om nom nom, burger. Here's an example of the real communication network in MSG and its properties: in the lounge behind our section, we ran into one of my mom's friends, who asked whether we were going to the barbeque. “Barbeque?” we asked with identical stunned expressions. “Yeah, the barbeque. Go over to section 19 and sign up.” So we did. So I'm full of burger and chips and typing up Game Notes of Doom in beautiful, sunny, muggy Newark.

I didn't like Marion Jones before this because of her previous scandals and shenanigans. I don't like her now because she was flat-out gooning out there, going low on players. She contributed one nice flying block, but other than that, I wouldn't mind seeing her out of the league. Betty Lennox, unsurprisingly, looked rusty. Sheryl Swoopes still has the shot, but her famed defense is not what it was. She committed a lot of holding that the refs either didn't see or refused to believe that Swoopes could be committing, and it ticked me off. Liz Cambage really needs a post coach to show her how to use her size, because she's not using it well as often as she could. She needs to get it together and lay off the dirty play, because I know she's a nice and exceedingly dorky kid. Doneeka Lewis appeared to have found her shot in this game, and she's a lot faster than I remembered, but then she lost the shot, and I'm really okay with that.

Jennifer Lacy does not contribute all that much on the floor. She must be out there for the intangibles. (Or her accessories.) Amber Holt really looks like she was hurried back too soon, and I think that's part and parcel of the problem they're having with the training staff (two staph infections? Really, guys?) She should probably still be rehabbing, or just coming back now. Kayla Pedersen contributed nice defense and got going a little later, but didn't seem ready for this level. She'll be good, but not right now. Tiffany Jackson was allowed to travel, so she was an offensive threat, and what Cambage lacks in rebounding ability, she makes up for in boxing out ability to let her teammates get the boards, which allowed Jackson to have room. Andrea Riley has no sense out there. I've met her, and she's a very nice kid, but she doesn't have the basketball sense God gave a gnat. She's fast, and she's okay defensively, but... she should not be a starter in this league, which only goes to show what's going on with this franchise.

I'm going to say it here and I'm going to say it on every platform I have: Quanitra Hollingsworth got screwed by the refs. She fouled out of the game, and maybe three of them were fair calls. Tulsa got a lot of pity calls, and Q got the worst of it. She did good work on the boards, and I approve of her offense. Felicia Chester needs to bend her knees on her free throws, but I like her rebounding on the offensive glass. Alex Montgomery showed off her offense, and unlike the last game I was at, that didn't impact her defense. She looked like a first-round pick out there. Okay, so it was Tulsa, but still. Our reserves spent a fair amount of time playing against their starters. Sydney Colson had a nice low block on Cambage that got everyone going, because, hello, tiny cute Whiz Kid and big giant Cambage. She got her points from the line, because she kept her hands busy with the ball and thus was often in position to be fouled. The reserves spent a fair amount of time trying to feed Sidney Spencer, and the Tulsa defense spent a fair amount of time guarding her like she was Diana Taurasi, so it seemed appropriate that the last shot was hers. Her footwork is nothing to write home about, but I like her hustle after loose balls. Essence Carson was an offensive spark off the bench in the second half, though it looked like she needed her glasses checked in the first.

I really am worried about Leilani Mitchell. I know tiny guard is tiny and therefore often a liability, but she hasn't looked right- I think her back is bothering her again, and the only saving grace is that Alex and the Whiz Kid have stepped up their games. Nicole Powell didn't really contribute, but fortunately we didn't need her to contribute. Kia Vaughn had a big first half and didn't need to have a second half, though I certainly appreciated her presence after Quanitra fouled out as a deterrent to Tulsa pulling any more shenanigans. Cappie Pondexter did what she had to do, and not much else- but again, we didn't need her to do much else. Plenette Pierson started off hot and spent her time out of the game on the bike, cycling off to nowhere in particular.

Our bench outdid their starters. Our starters look bad in comparison, but it's hard to say a lot about them when they didn't play most of the game. So the brevity of comments on the Liberty starters has more to do with the epic fail of Tulsa and the win of the postgame barbeque.

Tulsa's lack of discipline terrifies me. I'm not even talking about anything that might resemble an offensive scheme or a defensive formation. I'm talking about the plethora of fouls they committed and the fouls they weren't called for. I can't remember the last time I've seen a team go over the limit with time to spare in every quarter, and there were times it seemed like the refs were trying not to call things they would normally have or would have earlier in the quarter because it would put the Shock over the limit. If strong officials don't make a point of curbing the nonsense early, someone is going to get hurt in a Tulsa game soon. The holding by Swoopes and Pedersen, the chop-blocks by Jones... it has to be toned down.

With all due respect to the Tulsa fans and the folks who write about them, the way this franchise has been pile-driven into the ground sickens me. I was never a Detroit fan- but the one thing Detroit did right was run the show. As bad as the Bad Girls were, there was never this sense that complete loss of control was only a couple of wrong steps away.

Ivory Latta looked very cute in her street clothes. According to my usual sort of reliable sources, she's out until at least after All-Star. (For reliable sources, read: one of the nine thousand Liberty fans named Mary was standing next to me and asked her.)

Teresa Edwards looked lonely on that bench, but at least she also looked stylish doing it. I want that blouse, if it comes in XXL.

So, postgame barbeque. No assigned seats, which translates to everyone seeking a table and occasionally sitting with strangers, which I'm okay with; if you're a Liberty season subscriber, we have something in common, and that's cool. Seasoning the burgers was a definite plus. The players were friendly and approachable, though some had longer receiving lines than others. I don't think I've ever seen Nicole smile so much. Leilani and Sydney blend into the crowd. Felicia's fiance is hot- nice work there! Kia showed off her dance moves and model poses. Essence and Cappie were fashionably late. We happily skipped around, schmoozed with our fellow fans, got autographs galore, and left happy. And promptly missed the train, but you can't fight fate, or something like that.

We needed a game like this after that disappointment against Connecticut- and we also needed a game where the team could show their bonding.

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July 15th, 2011: Connecticut at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Second-half shooting woes nipped a comeback in the bud as the New York Liberty lost 68-59 to the Connecticut Sun in Newark. Kia Vaughn led New York with 15 points and nine rebounds. Tina Charles had 15 points for the Sun.

For late arrivals, non-arrivals, and far too much time spent on TV Tropes, join your intrepid and uninspired blogger after the jump.

I'm not feeling an auspicious start for this team. It's past six and I'm still in Brooklyn. With all apologies to the Langhorne family, words cannot sufficiently express how much I hate the MTA. I'm going to miss tip-off, and my season ticket rep is going to hear it again about our renewal being predicated on the ability to make it to the game on time.

Tina Charles is beasting in this first half. She looks unstoppable. I have a feeling of impending doom about this, although we're only down one.

It got kinda church up in here at halftime. I'm really not sure what to think of a church group dancing to gospel music on the floor here. I don't bring my basketball to your church, do you have to bring your church to my basketball?

I... do not think it is a brilliant plan to encourage people to wear youth basketball gear on the day Spoon is being added to the Ring of Honor. Encouraging people not to wear Liberty gear? So they can get a free shirt which is also not Liberty-branded? This... is not exactly what I would call a great marketing strategy, kids. You want your logo plastered on everything, and you certainly don't want people to be afraid to cover up something that isn't team-branded with something that is.

I missed the start of the game thanks to the sterling service of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, so I can't tell you anything about the anthem, or why Danielle McCray started, or any of that other good stuff.

Allison Hightower saw time to stop the hot hand. Five billion is quite an impressive number to put in the box score, but probably not the kind she was looking for. Kara Lawson came off the bench, and people, you cannot leave her open behind the arc. She brought some physical defense, too. Kelsey Griffin did her work on the boards with some nice positioning. Jessica Moore has been taking acting lessons from DeMya Walker. Tan White was relentless and a bit annoying.

Tina Charles could have done a lot worse to us tonight, so I'd like to thank her for going easy on Quanitra Hollingsworth and Kia Vaughn. We did a better job than I expected of keeping her off the boards, though. Danielle McCray started, presumably to take advantage of our lack of size, and she played solidly. Renee Montgomery is fast. I feel like I keep saying that, but she is. I also think she's been spending a little too much time with her friend the football player, because I'm pretty sure that you can't throw low blocks in basketball. Asjha Jones got her work done in her usual style. Same for Kalana Greene, with a dose of hard-nosed defense- I think she played a large part in Cappie Pondexter's inability to put on her cape and save the day.

Felicia Chester scored! And okay, she put in decent effort, and she's got that famed “pro body”. But she needs to get overseas this winter and hone her game. I assume some of the problems about not knowing the plays and where she needs to be on the floor will be resolved with time. However, her footwork and her ballhandling need a lot of help. Sydney Colson had eighteen seconds to look kinda pretty on the floor. Sidney Spencer was, um, out there. Somewhere, at some point. Unfortunately, she did nothing relevant. Essence Carson was back to her inability to see; looks like someone needs new glasses to adjust to the lighting. At least Alex Montgomery discovered this strange new thing called offense that is so rarely seen at Georgia Tech. Her defense suffered for it, but we must all suffer for new and exciting experiences.

Paging Nicole Powell's shot. Would you please come home? We miss you very much. If you miss the robot jokes, I can totally bring them back if it means Powell finds her shot again! Because I'm sorry, no professional basketball player should miss a breakaway layup and follow that up with missing an open three. Her rebounding was all right, but she was slow on defense too. Argh. Grr. Kia Vaughn had some nice moves in the post, and did a nice job on the boards, but her passing and ballhandling were sloppy. I must assume that something's wrong with Leilani Mitchell, and that's why she wasn't diving for loose balls or exerting much of anything that could be considered proper effort. Her shot was off, her defense was lousy... we really need a bigger point guard. All apologies to Leilani and her fans, but I'm running out of patience. Quanitra Hollingsworth got the start in place of Plenette Pierson, and she did a nice job on defense, but offensively... Q, it's okay, you don't have to solve Fermat's Last Theorem in your head, you can settle for calculating the parabolic arc of your free throws. And Cappie Pondexter... I suppose I should be grateful that she wasn't trying to take over the game, but at the same time, that's what she's paid to do. Connecticut's defense did a nice job on her, but she had her moments where she could have taken over and didn't.

Our defense was pretty damn good. Our offense, however, would put the Keystone Kops to shame. Sloppy passing, sloppy ballhandling, tipped rebounds off teammates, tipped rebounds to opponents... it was a hot mess.

The officiating didn't help, either. It got a little chippy out there; perhaps playing in New Jersey brought back UConn-Rutgers memories for the five Huskies and three Scarlet Knights. There were some sketchy out of bounds calls.

Donna Orender was at the game, and was duly honored (though I do hope that they consulted with Kia before giving the Prima Donna a #15 jersey, I'm just saying). She worked her way up and through the crowd, schmoozing the night away.

We were also graced with the presence of Tweety Nolan. I am intrigued by this development.

I'm too tired to give really substantive analysis at this point, but I do think we need to pull it together on offense. We had our chances in the fourth quarter and blew them because we couldn't hit water if we fell out of a boat.

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July 10th, 2011: Chicago at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A furious second-half surge, powered by Essence Carson and Cappie Pondexter, erased an 11-point halftime lead and gave the New York Liberty an 80-73 victory over the Chicago Sky. Carson and Pondexter each had 18 to lead the six double-digit Liberty scorers. Courtney Vandersloot and Sylvia Fowles each had 14 points to lead the Sky, with Fowles adding eight rebounds.

For ratcheting up the intensity, organizational skills, a visit from the Blue Fairy, and the avoidance of caprine qualities, join your intrepid and PUMPED UP blogger after the jump.

Okay, guys, we've gotten the autograph pen sorted out, and I appreciate that. Now, can we sort out who's going out which entrance and when they're doing it?

Also, seriously, people next to me, there are maybe thirty people in our entire section to this point. You can move down a seat, it's okay. Get off my hip.

There's a lot of red in here. Cagers seem to like these weekend games, though I'm reserving judgment because the games I recall with a big Cager presence have been Chicago and Washington, which have the other recent Rutgers players who aren't with the Liberty.

At half, it's 49-38 Chicago, and it could be a lot worse than it is. There are some truly odd air currents in here, especially at this end of the floor, so I'm expecting Chicago to have more trouble with their perimeter offense. Essence Carson is back, with goggles that look more like sunglasses, and her effectiveness has been somewhat limited. Kia Vaughn is not happy with Chicago, and her temper is starting to slip a little bit, but it's all Michelle Snow's fault for kicking Quanitra Hollingsworth while she was down.

We changed seats because there was no room next to us, there were lots of kids in front of us, and the people behind us were rooting obnoxiously for Chicago. Silver lining- t-shirt! And it even says XL!

The only reason this wasn't the best comeback of the day is because of Abby Wambach and Hope Solo, but it was certainly pretty damn awesome. The Cagers who came ot this game because of Epiphanny Prince came away well satisfied with Essence Carson and Cappie Pondexter.

Dominique Canty wasn't with the team, so Erin Thorn was seeing more minutes than even her usual. She, of course, unleashed a Roaring Rampage of Revenge on the team that drafted her, hitting shots late in the clock and being surprisingly pesky on defense. Tamera Young showed her... quantum singularity... tendencies, taking shots she had no business taking. She also got grabby on defense. That's not going to end well. Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton did a great job on the boards- there was a point in the game where she was the leading rebounder. If that's what she's there to do, she's brilliant at it- just as long as you're not asking her to do anything else. Carolyn Swords saw a few scattered minutes and took a hit from her own teammate. She was there to be a reserve post, and that was what she did. Remind me again why they kept Bjorklund? Really, I don't know.

Epiphanny Prince is not a point guard. I'm not sure what Chicago is doing with this offense, but one play sticks out in my mind: second half, on a mismatch, she has Quanitra Hollingsworth in front of her, while Essence Carson valiantly attempts to front Michelle Snow. Snow calls for the ball. Prince takes an off balance jumper. Snow is... not amused. She was also sloppy with the ball. I mean, personally, I really don't care about Michelle Snow's discomfiture, though, because as far as I'm concerned she can take a long walk off a short pier and keep going. One possession, she was so busy looking for opportunities to get in a cheap shot that she kept Chicago from getting a shot off. She also seemed a little more impressed with her outside jumper than she had any reason to be. Sylvia Fowles gets away with an awful lot of tap-dancing on the baseline. There were two or three plays where we were sure that she was out of bounds, but she was allowed to save the ball in to her teammates. She looked dominating in flashes- but for whatever reason, whether it be the rotation of our defense or Pokey Chatman having unexpected brain freezes or Courtney Vandersloot and Epiphanny Prince not being sure what to do with someone that tall- flashes were all she showed. Cathrine Kraayeveld got loose for a corner three, much to our protesting in the seats, but was quiet for much of the game, and it only seems meet that she clanked the shots that could have given Chicago a chance.

If we had managed to lose that game after tying it at 60, Quanitra Hollingsworth would have been the goat, for giving up turnovers and fouls to allow the Sky to answer with a mini-run. Fortunately for Q, we won the game, so I can talk about her burst of offense and play on the glass. I think we had a brief Sydney Colson sighting, but as she didn't do anything memorable, I can't be completely certain of it. Essence Carson got her glasses fixed at halftime and came out firing. When the place was rocking with the “LET'S GO LIBERTY!” chant (that started without cues, by the way, it was awesome), everyone in the building knew that she was hitting the jumper to give New York the lead. The first half had overtones of Stevie Wonder, with her shots being off and her peripheral vision non-existent; I suppose that would make the second half sheer wonder. Sidney Spencer once again stopped a fast break, and once again it wasn't even ours! Her most important contribution might have been calling the out of bounds on one of Sylvia Fowles's rebounds- she got the call right, and she influenced the ref. (Just for the record, influencing the ref is a bad thing, but it's nice to know Spencer has some use.) Alex Montgomery had a few undistinguished minutes. Felicia Chester's wearing #41, which is just disconcerting. That's a number that brings back... memories.

I hope Kia Vaughn's okay. She sat out much of the fourth quarter for reasons we couldn't understand, and then when she went in, it all made sense, because she was wincing and holding her knee. She played solidly in the first half, and made it clear to Snow that cheap shots would not be accepted. It's a pretty bad sign when you're slue-footing your old college buddies. Do not taunt happy fun Kia? Plenette Pierson started the game as the only Liberty player who wanted to score, though in the second half she had to put out a lot more energy defending Fowles and throwing down with Snow- seriously, I thought there was going to be a fight at one point, the way they were in each other's faces, and I don't think I would have minded. Cappie Pondexter joined us in the second half and came up clutch- which is all we need of her. Personally, I consider her a mercenary, a sellsword, a gallowglass, whatever medieval term you prefer; we hire her to hit shots, win games, and eventually get us a title. She has no ties, no connections, no deep roots. When her job is done, it's on to the next one. I was shocked at how passive she was in the first half. Leilani Mitchell was... let's be charitable and say highly ineffective. She was getting tape around her thigh before the game, so that might have impeded her speed, and her shots were not helped by the Winds of Destiny Change thing the arena had going on. Nicole Powell found her shot, played iffy defense, and tracked down rebounds with exquisite vision. She's often hit or miss with those, but today she was on point and on target. Her rebounding kept us in it.

We will have to say farewell to one of the GnoD's favorite running gags. I'm afraid I have to admit that Nicole Powell is not, in fact, an amazingly lifelike android. Evidence to the contrary showed up in the fourth quarter, when the Torch Patrol brought out the cards for the rallying rendition of “Gotta Get Up”. As Whiz discussed things at the start of the timeout with his assistants, the team gathered together. Moving down meant I was able to read lips. Powell's were definitely going “L! I! B-E-R-T-Y!” before Whiz called the players to the huddle. That shows spontaneity and spirit I don't think a robot could manage. Congratulations, Nicole! You're a real girl now!

The crowd really got into it in the fourth quarter. There were several occasions when the only sound came from the fans, getting the “DE-FENSE!” or “LET'S GO LIBERTY!” chants going without cues from the PA. Old school. Amazing. It sounded like more people than there were. That's the kind of Liberty crowd I remember.

Some questionable officiating in this game. But at least we're not USA-Brazil.

I'm amazed at how we pulled it together. At least for the next three days, I LOVE THIS TEAM SO MUCH.

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