September 10th, 2013: Phoenix at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree each had 18 points to lead the Phoenix Mercury over the New York Liberty in New York's last home game of the season. Diana Taurasi added 17 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Katie Smith led New York with 17 points; Plenette Pierson had five points, six assists, and 15 rebounds.

For the end of the road, shirts, overcoming adversity, squeaky children, and appropriation, join your intrepid and unburdened blogger after the jump.

Barring a perverse application of the word "miracle", this is it. This is the last time I will have to shake my fist to the heavens at the Q59 being fifteen minutes late so that I miss the intricate network of connections and fall into disaster like a misplayed line of dominoes. This is the last time I will rub the head of the little sculpture that stands at the top of the stairs leading to and from the L train platform. This is the last time I will have to cram myself into the Newark train, the last time I will have to fight with the SmartLink reader. If there is mercy in this world, this is the last home game for the Liberty. I'm tired. I'm done with this trip. Eighteen, and eighteen, and eighteen, and I'm done.

We didn't even get a perfect attendance award this year. The on-court photo was open to all season subscribers. I don't do cameras, and it's postgame, so... no. I want to get out of Newark as quickly as possible and leave the years of exile behind.

Don't get me wrong, the Prudential Center has grown on me as an arena. For an autograph hunter, it's well laid out. The lounges are nice. The seats are comfortable. But I miss my Diet Coke, and I'm tired of people not reading signs, and I'm ready to go home.

Today's commute, which has so far taken me an hour and just barely gotten me to World Trade Center, is certainly not doing New Jersey any favors. I missed the anthem (though apparently I didn't miss much; Kym's really lost her voice) and I missed the start of the ceremony to honor Katie. I saw the framed jerseys from the Lynx and the national team, and I saw the check that Cappie gave to the scholarship fund in Logan, but I don't know what else there was. They were down to the medium shirts by the time I arrived, but I think I know how to offload one of those.

There are distressingly sparkly preteens performing at the half. I try not to watch that kind of thing. It tends to lead to nothing but trouble. It's a miracle that we're only down two, given that Cappie's not playing. (She could look worse. She doesn't look bad. The lipstick is a bit much, but that's looking for trouble.)

We're currently seeing a slideshow of Katie Smith being awesome, which has a bejeezus lot of Team USA pictures. Haven't spotted any Quest pictures in there, though they went all the way back to Ohio State and her very unfortunate collegiate hair. Gee, I wonder why.

Katie did manage to sneak in one good shot during the ceremony- "thank you for coming, those of you who made it". Or words to that effect. But it came off as "LOL empty seats".

We're having a bit of an issue getting a hand in DeWanna Bonner's face. I know it's usually good strategy to let her bomb away from quarter-court, but if she's hit two of them, perhaps you might want to consider guarding her. Of course, Diana is being Diana and hitting jumpers in stride.

Nothing says front-runner louder than a Griner jersey and a color-coordinated Heat cap. GTFO, kid.

I don't care that we lost. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. But we fought to the last possessions. We took a full-strength Phoenix team down to the wire. I'm okay with losing so long as we fight, and we fought, even without Cappie- maybe especially without Cappie.

What happened to Chardé Houston? I missed the story behind the facemask, but I blinked and she was wearing it, and I assume that she didn't magically generate it by twitching her nose. Despite the extremely memorable facemask, I don't remember what she actually did. Jasmine James saw a fair number of minutes in the backcourt, and it looked like Taurasi was taking the kid under her wing a little bit. There were a couple of teaching moments. She definitely looked like a rookie and like a midseason replacement, but she looked like she might find a way to belong if she goes overseas and works on her overall game. Lynetta Kizer was extremely physical, especially with Plenette- there were a couple of points near the end of the game where I thought Plenette was going to make some very pointed suggestions on where Kizer could go at her earliest convenience, in addition to perhaps derogatory remarks directed at Kizer's ancestry and preferences. She kept trying to extend her shooting range, and I'm not sure she has that range. Alexis Hornbuckle threw a wicked tackle on Leilani on the fast break- right move and everyone knew it, but it was still a hard hit. She was there for her defense- nothing more and nothing less. Krystal Thomas gave good minutes in relief of Brittney Griner. Obviously, she's not nearly the inside presence that Griner is- she doesn't have the reach and she doesn't have the height, even with the hair, but she gets the job done. She has a bit of the Mercury tendency to whine, but she's the only one of the bench players for whom that is a major problem. I had forgotten how much I enjoy watching Penny Taylor play. She's workmanlike yet graceful. She accepts her fouls, moves on, and hits the big shot. She doesn't give up on what she sees as an opportunity- if she sees a ballhandler who looks uncomfortable bringing the ball up, she'll take a couple of extra swipes before heading back up court. It's good to see her back in the game.

Again, if DeWanna Bonner is hitting the long threes, you might want to change up your defensive scheme and prevent her from getting them. I mean, I don't get paid for this, but it only seems logical. To be fair, the first time Bonner tried to go for one of those deep ones in the second half, she got swatted. She nailed one in the fourth quarter that sealed the game, for all intents and purposes. I do wish she'd use that frame of hers a bit more than just setting up as a spot-up shooter. Oh, and she needs to stop complaining every time a foul is called on her. Brittney Griner mostly wasn't looking for her shot, as near as I could tell, especially in the middle of the game. The Liberty defenders were playing her pretty tough. But she gave it back just as hard on the other end. And when the attention came to her, she did well finding her teammates- she had an awfully pretty drop pass to Briana Gilbreath. Gilbreath was often used in offense-defense substitutions, and to make lineups difficult for the Liberty to defend. Candice Dupree was smooth, especially in the fourth quarter, when she lit up the Liberty with paint jumpers. She's awfully pretty to watch. If I liked Phoenix more, I could watch her and Penny Taylor in the frontcourt all day. Diana Taurasi was Diana Taurasi. She fired away with no hesitation and no need to set her feet. She drove the lane hard. She set up her teammates. She ran her mouth at Plenette Pierson, which is generally not considered among the world's greatest ideas. She got Alex Montgomery good in the face, hard enough to spin her into a ref; she also got Alex with a shoulder to the chin very late in the game, one that was not called anything. She kvetched a lot to the refs. I can't bring myself to feel bad for her potentially missing an irrelevant game.

Kamiko Williams came off the bench briefly to spell players on defense. She failed pretty spectacularly on offense. That should have been a fast break lay-up, and it turned into a botched rebound and a turnover. We finally got to hear Mike W. give the proper cadence for DeLisha Milton-Jones's name, though she did seem to be trying to deny him that pleasure. I don't know if I would have gone to her for the last shot, not at this time in her career. She should have been a more effective matchup than she was. Kelsey Bone needs to follow her damn shot. She looked scared of Griner (which doesn't make sense, didn't they play against each other at some point?) and didn't find her mojo until late in the game. Alex Montgomery fought for every loose ball and stuck tight on defense. She was great. She's grown a lot on me this year. She saw an opportunity to make her mark, and she took it. I hope

Toni Young started the game off looking fearless. She went right at Brittney Griner on the boards, using her incredible leap to steal away rebounds from the taller center. (Reminded me a bit of how Amber Thompson from St. John's played against Griner at the Maggie Dixon a couple of years ago.) She was also trying to extend her shooting range, which wasn't a bad experimental idea if Bill really wants to transition her to the three. She tipped out a lot of rebounds. Plenette Pierson picked up most of them. The rims were not kind to her. But she was fighting hard on both sides of the floor and absorbing a lot of contact. I can't be mad at her. Leilani Mitchell was not practical in this game. I don't mean that as anything about her, but Taurasi was regularly the shortest Mercury player on the floor. You can't put Leilani on the floor against that lineup. She's just too adorably tiny. Kara Braxton had flashes of decency, punctuated by using her... er... assets as a very successful distraction against Bonner, before returning to steady states of apathy and indolence. In other words, she's Kara. Katie Smith's shot was on tonight, but in a twisted way, that might have set up the end of the game- pretty much everyone knew the pass was going to her, which resulted in a turnover. But it was a great way for her to leave New York behind.

You know it's been an injury-plagued season when even the team surgeon has been down for a while. Okay, so she was fighting cancer and kicked its butt, so she's awesome, but still. She got a round of applause and a personalized jersey from the team.

Refs can take a long walk off a short pier as far as I'm concerned. Lots of contact going uncalled, and a lot of issues with getting the out-of-bounds calls right- there were three or four hotly contested questions of possession. I thought Bill was going to blow a fuse. And then you wonder why people are getting hit in the head.

It's over and I'm relieved. The season's not technically over, and you won't be rid of me for another week yet. But there's nothing left but pride and development. There's a freedom in that, a weight lifted.from my heart, perhaps a beat skipped at the thought of having a lottery pick in reasonably capable hands. The merciful blow has come.

So goodbye, Newark. Goodbye, ridiculous hike from Penn Station. Goodbye, creepy street people who cluster around the benches and eye us as we enter the station. Goodbye, extra train ride. Goodbye, Pepsi. Goodbye, stupid people standing in our line of sight. Goodbye, lousy signage. Goodbye, three years of failure and churning. Goodbye, Prudential Center.

The years of exile are over. Next year, at the Garden!

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September 6th, 2013: Atlanta at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Atlanta Dream put four players in double figures and took over the game in the second quarter to beat the New York Liberty 70-57. Angel McCoughtry led the Dream with 16 points, adding seven rebounds; Érika de Souza had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Kara Braxton led New York with 17 points before fouling out.

For flailing at fail, missing wheelchairs, late nights on the E train, runaway centers, and a lingering agony, join your intrepid and crumby blogger after the jump.

It's almost over now, almost over now...

I have to learn to be more specific in my wishes. We have the Shock front office, and we have a calendar, but it's a boring calendar with boring photos that we've seen before. Okay, guys, fine. Raise the bar next year. Y'all did cars in Detroit and found a way to make Elaine Powell look kind of pretty, y'all can find a New York theme and style up the team.

This New Jersey mix they're doing for "Thank You Newark" night is pretty awesome. Somewhere, though, someone in the stands is angry that Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi weren't included if it was going to be a New Jersey mix instead of just Newark-and-its-environs.

Barb. I love ya. You were solid for us as a player and you appreciate the value of your vote. But you have to stop with the horizontal stripes. You are not in playing shape anymore. You do not have the figure for horizontal stripes. I know this from personal experience. Mama Taj's dress, however, is on point.

It's probably not a good sign that Kamiko fumbled and Kelsey dropped her pants during warm-ups. But that's okay. I'm almost hoping we hit the tragic number tonight to end it.

"Single Ladies" does not go there, music. Someone get Kia Vaughn out of the DJ booth and back to the Mystics game.

Plenette, it might not have been tactful to crow about going back to the Garden during the thank you to Newark, but I'm down with that.

Normally I detest the addition of "God Bless America" to the pregame festivities, but the singer was awesome. So was the anthem singer.

I am not happy with Ruth Riley right now. Her and her stupidly spaced jersey... I don't like Cappie and the Miami Sol were the team of my heart, but you do not kick my players. EVER. I'm not thrilled with running Cappie back out there on the injuries, but I'm not Bill Laimbeer (I'm way too short).

Seriously, this season cannot be over soon enough. I don't usually say this as a WNBA fan, but between the utterly ridiculous number of injuries across the league and the epic fail that has been my team at home, this season has been too long for me. I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way, either. I suspect there are Sun fans, Silver Stars fans, even Fever fans, who would like the parade of injuries and incidents to stop.

Ruth Riley played like she was trying to make Bill Laimbeer proud of her. Her fouls were tough and physical, especially that kick on Cappie (yes, still irked, no, not letting go, yes, I retain the urge to yell "SWEEP THE LEG!" at her). She did try to get her outside jumper going, but the rim was not amused and spun her shots out pretty much the entire time. Yes, even her free throws. I cackled maniacally at that. Alex Bentley demonstrated her superb knack for hitting shots late in the shot clock, even from awkward angles. I think three of her baskets came late in the clock- I know she had a deuce as the shot clock expired. That's an impressive knack, and against every other team in the league I hope it lasts her entire career. Aneika Henry brought physicality in surprisingly few minutes- I don't know if Fred Williams was trying to rest her for the playoffs or if she's nursing some kind of injury (she had on a shoulder brace that could have passed for armor at a Renaissance Faire) or if Señor Fred thought Riley was playing better for some bizarre reason. Tiffany Hayes annoyed me. I hate seeing bench players take four steps and not get called for traveling. I hate seeing bench players throw shoulders and not get called for the offensive foul. It's one thing if you're going to grant Jordan Rules to a superstar, but there is no known universe where Tiffany Hayes is a superstar. Okay, she did kill us from the corner in the second quarter, because we have no pattern recognition and refuse to cover someone who keeps hitting shots from the same spot, because why would we want to do that? She still annoys me.

Armintie Herrington jumps like she's got coiled springs in her legs. She skied for boards and saved a lot more than the two offensive boards that she was credited with. Her hands were spectacular on defense today- there was one sequence where she got the ball stolen from her and stole it right back without any hesitation. Her shots in the lane were going off strong, but her teammates seemed to be expecting them. Érika de Souza was a beast in the paint. No one was stopping her. Granted, no one seemed to be trying, but even when some form of effort was detected, she powered her way to the basket. Jasmine Thomas took advantage of her teammates' quick hands, as well as her own, to pry away steals and get the break going. She had a couple of unfortunate moments with Katie Smith- ran her over on a charge, got her in the face on a hit. The rim would appear to like Le'Coe Willingham. She got very lucky on one of her shots in the fourth quarter, but we'll get to that in a moment. I kept getting distracted by her hair, to be honest- it looked like either the braiding came undone or the ponytail was trying to escape. I seem to recall that hair being attached to a couple of pretty tough picks.

Interesting moment in the second half- Liberty shot missed, rebound went out of bounds as Willingham and Henry converged on it. After it was determined that the ball went off Atlanta, Willingham and Henry had a very... animated... conversation. Obviously, from nineteen rows up on the other side of the court, I couldn't tell what they were saying, but whatever was going on there, it unsettled Fred Williams enough that he called timeout shortly afterwards.

I don't know why Toni Young was so thoroughly buried on the bench in this one. It's not like we ever had a puncher's chance. She got in and hit her first jumper, and that made us happy. Leilani Mitchell continues to get a ridiculous amount of pop from the crowd, to the point where it's starting to genuinely freak me out, and I don't think she's responding well to it. She's become more tentative as a shooter (which is not a good sign when that's about the only thing you're being allowed to do) and didn't get much else done on the floor. You should have heard the place when she hit the free throw on the defensive three-seconds call. You'd think she hit a buzzer-beater. I expect better from Liberty fans. Kelsey Bone showed flashes, but not much else, and her defense against de Souza was weak. You have to go hard on her. She's one tough motha- okay, I'm shutting my mouth, which I wish the drunk guy across from me would do, because he can't sing, and definitely not in falsetto. DeLisha Milton-Jones had nothing today. Couldn't get a shot to fall and seriously got blocked by Le'Coe Willingham. Lots of blocks were occurring, but someone with DeLisha's legendary wingspan should not be getting blocked by a shorter player with less vertical. Alex Montgomery was tough, and her shot showed up. Huh, she took fewer shots than I thought. She was one of the few players who actually took it to the hole. Leilani had a pretty find for her.

Sir, please do not attempt to moonwalk on a moving train while under the influence of something stronger than alcohol. Sir. Sir, you are not Nicki Minaj. Your sh*t does not, in fact, bang bang.

I've been beating this drum like Dave Grohl on a solo, but Cappie Pondexter is hurt. The left heel is bothering her. She had to go to the locker room with a lower leg issue. She can't take a fadeaway if she can't land on her back foot. She can't move with the kind of quickness needed to defend a ballhandler if her knee is refusing to bend properly. And we saw it happen when Jasmine Thomas blew past her and left her in a heap on the floor. I've been railing at Tina Charles for shutting down, but it's time for the team to shut Cappie down. It's for everyone's good. Kara Braxton got off good shots and couldn't get a lot of them down. She started hot, then got shut down until the fourth quarter. We spent a lot of time shrieking "KARA!" at her stupid moves. Katie Smith is strong. Running into her is not the most brilliant plan in the world, Tiffany Hayes. People who run into Katie Smith tend to bounce. Her defense was better than the last couple of games, but that is damning with faint praise. We thought she might have gotten away with one on the three-pointer that was reviewed and confirmed. Plenette Pierson was solid. She's been fighting through a lot this season. I'm not going to argue with her.

Funniest moment of the night: Kara Braxton attempted to chase a loose ball and ended up leaping over the bench, as so many players do. Instead of climbing over the Dream bench to get back on the court, she ran down the aisle behind the scorer's table, parallel to the action on the court, and ran back onto the court through the gap by the Liberty bench. Smart, in a bizarre kind of way, but bizarre at the same time, and ineffably Kara.

Pregame martial arts display was pretty awesome. Halftime dancers, not so much. Didn't stay for the wheelchair game, because to be honest, I wanted to get out of Newark as soon as possible. Have I mentioned that I'll be glad when this expedition is over? Because I will.

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August 30th, 2013: Indiana at New York

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

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

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

Solid national anthem. I could do with less gasping.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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August 27th, 2013: Minnesota at New York

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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August 16th, 2013: Washington at New York

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gorgeous anthem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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August 10th, 2013: Los Angeles at New York

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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August 6th, 2013: Washington at New York

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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August 3rd, 2013: Connecticut at New York

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

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

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

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

Thank you for picking up my hat, Toni.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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July 18th, 2013: Chicago at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Chicago Sky raced out to a 13-0 start and never looked back in beating the New York Liberty 75-55. Elena Delle Donne led the Sky with 23 points, adding six rebounds. Carolyn Swords had 12 points and five steals, Eshaya Murphy added 12 points off the bench, and Epiphanny Prince had 11. For New York, Plenette Pierson and Kelsey Bone each had a team-high 11.

For epic fail, trying very hard not to swear in front of children, runaway cotton candy, drastic measures, and purported food, join your intrepid and clogged blogger after the jump. (Monopoly time at the Golden Arches, yay for cheap food!)


Good morning! I think. I don't know what this dance routine thing is supposed to be, but I don't think I like something that starts with a little boy talking about how his pants are sagging on the ground.

Chicago has a tendency to zerg rush the exit, but at least I got Carolyn Swords after two years of being ignored. I'm pretty sure Elena Delle Donne will be back at some point. That's a fair exchange.

There are an awful lot of people in Sky and Delle Donne gear around. Actually, strike that. There's an awful lot of people in Delle Donne gear around (including someone I recognize as one of the Sun's superfans; really, Judy, this is how you're gonna roll?) I was hoping the ridiculousness of the start time would keep too many visitors out, but apparently not. I eagerly await the dying down of the hype.

I don't know if I've mentioned how much I hate Camp Days. I don't like children. Being around thousands of them is not my idea of a good time. The things I do for my team. And now I've had to suffer Miley Cyrus. Someone will have to pay for this.

Gorgeous, gorgeous anthem. And it all went down hill from there. It's 41-25 Chicago at the half, and it could have been a lot worse. I'm no longer sure that Cappie Pondexter and Bill Laimbeer can co-exist, and the wrong choice might doom this franchise for the next five years. The first quarter was one of the hottest messes I've seen out of this Liberty team in... gosh, at least a week! At least the second quarter was equal-opportunity ugly. Leilani Mitchell and Alex Montgomery look like the only players working out there. I'm disappointed and sad and frustrated.

Mama Taj looks like she's wearing a bustle and fake hooves. Oh Mama Taj no.

If we had made a heroic defensive effort and held Chicago scoreless in the fourth quarter, we would still have lost this game, that's how inept we were. I'm embarrassed for them. I'm embarrassed by them. I'm also pretty sure the Chicago Sky got more fans out of that game than the Liberty did, which I'm pretty sure defeats the purpose of a camp day game. (Well, okay, we all know the real purpose of a Camp Day game is to inflate attendance, but that's neither here nor there.)

I've mentioned before that I really like Eshaya Murphy. That remains true today. She took the shots that were given to her and hit most of them, and she took care of most of the little things as well. The one play that stands out was actually a missed shot- she went for a three, and as soon as it was off her fingertips, she was crashing the boards- already sure that it had missed, she was ready for the o-board. Two Liberty players beat her to the spot, but it's that kind of effort I appreciate. Sharneé Zoll-Norman ran a decent offense the second time she was in. The first time that she was in, she looked very much like she was in over her head- bad passes, bad decisions, bad shots. Allie Quigley played very briefly in both halves and took one shot (it was a long two, to be fair, but I'm still surprised she took a shot that wasn't a three, and still annoyed that it didn't occur to anyone on the Liberty that guarding her might be a good plan). Tamera Young can't shoot free throws. She played one half with the elbow sleeve on and one half with it off. There are a lot of tattoos under that sleeve- not as piecemeal as Cappie or Deanna Nolan, but not as put-together as Augustus or Griner. (Yes, you're going to get a lot of random side observations in these notes, it's not like the game was very much to write home about.) I don't remember her doing much else than missing free throws. Michelle Campbell was very physical and very tough in the middle. I don't know what went on between her and Kara Braxton, but it got very physical near the end of the game. There was a lot harder and more vicious bumping than I expected.

I'm a bit distracted right now. There's a really tall dude in front of me and a dude in full Duke basketball kit, so I'm intrigued and trying to figure out if they're anyone in particular.

Swin Cash seems to have issues with Detroit. Gee, I wonder why. She and Plenette Pierson were going at it hammer and tongs, and her dramatics were in full force. She seemed to be settling a lot for threes, which I thought was interesting; I was under the impression that she was the four in the lineup with Delle Donne. Epiphanny Prince started the game off hot, and even though she cooled off alter, by then they didn't need her. She showed flashy hands on defense, too. Courtney Vandersloot blended in with the rest of her teammates, but in a way, that's what a good point guard is supposed to do. She didn't have to take the risks she took last time- she had open passes to her teammates and set them up well. Elena Delle Donne hit shots from all over the floor, and even though she has one of the strangest free throw wind-ups I've seen in my life, she gets the job done. The fact that she missed a free throw stuns me. I'm not quite sure how she managed four blocks- I remember one of them well, but maybe I was mixing her up with Carolyn Swords on defense. Swords played really well defensively. My beloved traveling companion brought up an interesting point: Swords is playing like the player we expected Cathrine Kraayeveld to be before she decided she wanted to be Laurie Koehn when she grew up. Boils my blood. But I'm a bitter St. John's fan. No, seriously, she was great at breaking up passes to the inside and coming away with the ball.

Chicago got excellent bench play; to be honest, they probably could have gotten more. But given how much grief Pokey Chatman has gotten for not having her big guns in the game at times, I can't blame her for keeping them in a lot.

I'm not sure why it seems like Leilani Mitchell has slipped to the back of the rotation, but it's clear that the offense runs a lot better when she's making the decisions. Plus/minus is nto usually a good stat for single players in single games, but the fact that she managed a +13 in a 20-point loss says a lot for what she brought to the table. She flat-out stole a rebound from Swords late in the game- and this was not her standard style of sneaking in and grabbing the ball low, this was straight up in the air over Swords's head. She's doing her damnedest to prove everyone from the beginning of the season wrong. Kamiko Williams brought energy and defense- she had a great defensive sequence on Delle Donne in the fourth quarter as Delle Donne brought the ball up. I don't know if I like how much she's looking for her shot, though. That makes me wonder if Bill's not sure where to fit her into the system. Kelsey Bone was good on offense, but she was standing around staring at a lot of rebounds today. Get on the boards, Kelsey, you're 6-3 and broad-shouldered! Throw your weight around! Her shot found her in the second half, though I'm not sure how much of that was finding her touch and how much of that was the lack of interest Chicago had in defending her during a game that was long since in the bag. Alex Montgomery has mastered the art of the baseline save, and no one fights for loose balls like her. She brought the fire that was missing from the rest of the team. Her throw from the baseline set up Leilani's first three. And she's taking more of a leadership role on the floor, too, which I thought was interesting- she was in with Cappie, Leilani, and Kara at one point, and it looked like she was the one calling the huddle during the official timeout for blood on Swords's leg. Avery Warley was a solid rebounder, and got her basket on a wild tip-in that almost didn't get credited to her.

The bench play makes the game sound tolerable for the Liberty, doesn't it? Too bad we had five other players see time in the game.

Toni Young's vaunted athleticism was missing in action for much of the game. I expect great leaping feats from Toni, and she let smaller players outrebound her consistently for the first three quarters or so. She did have one pretty putback late in the game. Katie Smith was unremarkable on both ends of the floor, which is a bit of a problem when she's our vaunted defensive stopper with veteran savvy and all those other things they like to say about players near the end of their shelf life. She was a non-factor. Plenette Pierson got the start again, and got stupid fouls. She took a lot of outside jumpers, and a lot of them didn't go down until the end of the game, when it didn't matter anymore. And it's becoming clearer and clearer that her knee is making her a liability on defense. That's a problem for a player who's as hard-nosed as Plenette in a style as physical as Laimbeer's. It's hard to be a Bad Girl when you can't move. Kara Braxton was even dumber than usual today, which takes a lot of talent for Kara. She was missing bunnies, blowing passes- I thinka t one point she actually mistook her head for the basketball and the basketball for her head, which is the only reason I can think of for how badly she blew that lay-up. She wasn't rebounding, she wasn't defending, she wasn't scoring- Braxton vs. Swords is not supposed to be a KO in favor of Swords. And Cappie Pondexter... I'm not 100% certain Cappie didn't show up to this game hung over. Her passing was abominable, when she passed. Her shooting was abominable. Her defense was non-existent. She got dinged for two offensive fouls because of her recklessness and carelessness and probably should have been nailed for a third. (Seriously, do not poke people in the face, refs notice that.) She looked like she wanted to take everything on her shoulders, except that today she didn't have shoulders.

Also, whoever's fault it was that Leilani got stuck guarding Delle Donne on that one possession, come over here so I can beat you with a "Basketball for Dummies" book, specifically explaining why having a 5-5 point guard in single coverage on a 6-5 combo forward is a bad idea.

The kids were loud at all the most annoying times, and not actually during the game, though I can't blame them. At least no one hit me with a thunderstick, though it came close.

I wanted to be stabbed in the ears and eyes during the "Libz Bop" segment, because none of them can sing and Kamiko really can't sing Adele. (Though it did establish that Essence rocks the pink leopard-print pimp hat better than either Leilani or Plenette.)

Officiating was sketchy. Quelle surprise. Can we not with the hitting Alex in the face?

Things that worry me as a Liberty fan:

*Why is Bill playing power games with Leilani? Is she not 100% physically? Right now, she's the best of our point guards/players what can handle the ball a bit.

*The regrettable recto-cranial inversion that is clearly impeding Cappie Pondexter's vision.

*Plenette's knee.

*Kara. Just Kara.

*Has Bill lost the team? Or only part of it? Because somewhere along the line, there seems to have been a general busting of give-a-damns from the veterans and a lot more intensity from the rookies.


It's a very collegiate thing to do, but if I were in Bill's position and needed to shake things up, I'd use the theory that playing time is earned, not given, and start Leilani, Kamiko, Alex, Toni, and Kelsey. Bench Cappie and let her stew. Bench Kara until someone can slap a brain into her head. Bench Katie until she finds her veteran resolve to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. Bring Plenette off the bench- she's always played best as a sixth woman, and this might get the stress off her knee. He won't do it, but he needs to make a major change in the atmosphere of this team. The last few games have been putrid and shameful. Something is wrong and needs to be fixed.

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July 14th, 2013: Indiana at New York

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 31-6 third quarter by the Indiana Fever turned a nip-and-tuck game into a romp over the New York Liberty, 74-53. Erlana Larkins led five Indiana players in double figures with 15 points, adding six rebounds. Plenette Pierson led New York with 12 points off the bench.

For frustration, bad judgment, rudeness, detours, lack of movement, and dilatory habits, join your intrepid and incensed blogger after the jump.

Good evening, everyone! It's a Saturday night special here in Newark, as New York faces Indiana.

Indiana's sweet. I don't know if it's the old-school sensibilities of Lin Dunn and Mickie DeMoss, or just a good collection of personalities, but everyone who was asked to stopped and signed, either coming or going.

Normally, players are off the floor by 35 minutes before the clock ends. 30 is the usual max. The Liberty events people brought on a dance performance at about the 29-minute mark. Briann January and Erlana Larkins were unfazed and continued practicing their pick-and-rolls even as people in turquoise tank tops did strange gyrations. (If January can hit free throws with both the basket and the floor vibrating. I don't think we can disconcert her.) Then January came off and Larkins shot alone. She finally came off at the 23-minute mark. That kind of work is why Briann January has made one of the best post-ACL comebacks the league has ever seen. That's why Erlana Larkins is back in the league. That's why they both have rings. Indy may not have all the talent, or all the explosiveness, or the other pretty things, but they have indomitable will and one heck of a coach.

Very sparse crowd so far. 19 minutes to go, but it's an odd start time.

I want my full "Start It Up", Libs. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Why "God Bless America"? And why didn't they just have her do the anthem? Because the anthem was lousy and the "God Bless America" singer did a fantastic job hitting the high notes.

It's been a close game throughout, and I just wish more of the people showing up late had seen all of it. Alex Montgomery has been phenomenal on the boards, clearing pretty much everything and forcing disruptions when she can't just pull down the board. Plenette Pierson went on a scoring tear in the first quarter like she wanted to prove a point. Toni Young also looks good. This is going to be a humdinger of a finish.

Seriously, the place really started filling up in the second quarter, like everyone forgot what time the game started. That's one thing I'm not going to miss about the Prudential Center- lots of late arrivals getting in people's ways.

I'm impressed that Karima Christmas recovered from that open-field tackle by Kara Braxton to start the second half. She looked like she wsn't sure where she was when she initially got up.

Aaaaand so much for that theory about it being a humdinger of a finish. We utterly fell apart in that third quarter. It was quite infuriating. We actually booed at the end of the quarter. At least the kids played with more intensity in the foruth to make it look somewhat less utterly humiliating, though by that point the damage was done.

Sasha Goodlett's first basket came on a gorgeous spinning pass from Tamika Catchings. She brought the physicality, if not always the smartest plays. Layshia Clarendon was missing shots in practice that I know are usually automatic for her, but she was more successful with them in the game. She gave good minutes, though I don't appreciate her knocking over Leilani Mitchell on a drive late in the game. Erin Phillips is back to being Erin Phillips, diving for loose balls all over the floor and hitting sweet jumpers (though I'm not used to her shooting threes like she was Katie Douglas or something). She made our ballhandlers' lives miserable. Jasmine Hassell... um, I liked her hair? I know she played, and played a fair amount, but about all I can remember is when she committed dumb fouls.

Tamika Catchings barely had to play and she still wrecked any kind of game planning Bill Laimbeer did. Her defense was on point, to the point where Toni Young couldn't be an offensive factor if Catchings was on her, no matter what our guards seemed to think. The only thing I would worry about if I were a Fever fan is her struggles from the three-point line. In the long run, that could affect moving Catch (back) to the three, but given that the first step would be to acquire a center somewhat taller than Erlana Larkins, I think that's a much more long-term issue. Briann January ran a solid offense and was deadly from the corners. Can we not leave her open? Would that be too much to ask? I guess it was. Karima Christmas did work on the boards, fighting for every ball. She is truly, impressively tough. She brought the defense, too. Shavonte Zellous had the green light to shoot, and the rim got her a couple of times. Right now, her role on this team is to score. Unlike most of Indiana's players, she doesn't seem to be expected to bring the blue-collar lunch-bucket hard-working clichéd defense. That's not to say that she's getting special treatment or anything, just that she has a different role. And someone's gotta keep the scoring up. Erlana Larkins did work on the inside. She stepped back for a couple of jumpers, but most of her baskets came deep in the paint. She went at it hammer and tongs with whoever was on her and whoever she was on.

(Remind me never to take the 33rd Street train at Journal Square again. This train is full of children, and one of them is not wearing any pants. Diapers are not appropriate outside garb, lady, put some pants on your child. Also, hey, if you just got your carriage kicked out of the conductor's operating position, your response should not be to go stand there as soon as the conductor moves into the next car. Too much stupid today. Cannot COPE OMG.)

Kamiko Williams looked like she was in over her head the first time she came into the game, though she adjusted somewhat in the fourth quarter and looked more comfortable aggressively driving to the basket. I'm not sure if Bill was happy with her decision-making, though. Plenette Pierson was a sparkplug in the first half on the offensive side of the ball. She was ripping Indiana up with drives and jumpers. But in the second half, she was much less effective, and her inability to move properly on defense was much more evident. Two straight plays, Catchings demolished her and she stood there. There was a loose ball in the third quarter that she would normally be rolling for, but she took two steps and backed off. If it's that obvious from the 19th row, maybe Bill needs to take a good look at her. Avery Warley did a nice job drawing fouls on Fever defenders in the first half. She's a useful part, and I can see why Phoenix kept her around last year when they were desperately seeking mediocrity. Leilani Mitchell played very briefly in the first half (we were wondering if she was injured, since Laura Ramus was stretching her out like a rubber band) but got much more time in the second half. She kept getting called for fouls when she got knocked over. It was very unfair. Alex Montgomery was all over the place. I love the way she goes for loose balls. Love it. She was the only one consistently bringing effort out there.

Kara Braxton is as dumb as a brick, but this doesn't surprise anyone by now, I hope. She used her height well on the boards, especially when Larkins was on her (she also seemed to be using her, er, other assets against Larkins, but that might be a bias in perception). Kelsey Bone was solid, and again I have to wonder if she ever played club volleyball- she knows how to keep a ball in the air. I'd like to see her hit the bunnies with more consistency, but I can accept that from a rookie so long as I can be certain that that rookie will develop. Toni Young reminds me in a weird way of the Slinky dog from Toy Story. It's something in the way she moves. She's developing surprisingly fast at the three, in the lineup with Kelsey and Kara. Her athleticism is a sight to behold. Katie Smith got the toughest assignment of the night, guarding Tamika Catchings to open the game, and it wore her down fairly quickly. Didn't help that she couldn't really get a lot of shots because her teammates were having issues finding her over and through the Indiana defense. (To demonstrate the importance of Catchings to this team, I almost called it the Tennessee defense.) She got pretty frustrated about that. Cappie Pondexter's judgment was even worse than usual tonight. She took a lot of bad, quick shots and botched two end-of-quarter possessions by not paying attention to the clock. If that's the lead guard she's going to be in Laimbeer's system, we're in a lot of trouble.

I don't know what happened in that third quarter. Maybe it was a confluence of all kinds of events that spelled disaster for the Liberty: Lin Dunn making halftime adjustments like a boss, Plenette's knee acting up, Cappie deciding to put everything in her own hands, increased intensity from the Fever, a good run of bad luck, an inability to shoot the ball, bad decisions. But it was ugly and relentlessly so. Bill used two timeouts and Mama Taj looked ready to chew sand and spit glass. By the end, it was a 28-point deficit and the crowd was starting to boo- those who weren't leaving, that is. (To the family who decided to leave in the middle of play: really? You're going to make me get up with a laptop on my lap, while the game is going on? You can't wait two minutes for the quarter break? I would say obscene things to you, but it's late and I'm tired.)

The officiating didn't help, but I'm not going to pin everything on them. It sure seemed like Indiana was getting the advantage on calls, even in the first half when the game was still exciting.

Too many dance groups today, including little girls in shiny short skirts that made me extremely uncomfortable. I really hate the outfits some of these troupes wear. Feels too much like something I should be watching in a trenchcoat.

Nothing more to be said. Regroup, heal up, and be ready for Chicago.

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