August 5th, 2003: San Antonio at New York

New York Liberty 69, San Antonio Silver Stars 60

Becky Hammon looks good, the Superfan contest is rigged, and Tari Phillips does yeoman's work.


Dude! Now that’s what I call pregame rituals. Meeting Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil was way cool- Kate, why didn’t you give her the magnet, though? All the gossip- man, I was down there with kate, LibertyMascot, ImissKym, LibertyJoe, and Danni. That’s a lot of wnbatalkers. recycler, dudette, sorry I missed you. I couldn’t stay down there any longer, though; the national anthem was about to start. Hope you enjoy both your cards and your company.

It all made up for missing every single one of the Silver Stars, even the part where Tausha Mills dissed me. You guys so rock. And it was so cool watching the Liberty warming up so close. I need to do this more often.

Tari is in deep shit. Elena’s starting for her. I think it’s because she’s in deep shit, anyway; it would explain why she went inside the office building before going into the arena, anyway. The anthem tonight, speaking of something vaguely related, was technically beautiful but lacked any emotion whatsoever. Shame, really.

Dydek seems to have decided that she’s going to actually play basketball tonight. Of course. On San Antonio’s first possession, Gwen Jackson leveled one of the guards with a screen; I think it was Spoon because the braids went flying. And Elena seems to have forgotten which team she’s with.

Sheesh. Three possessions, no basket. At least Elena pulled down a couple of boards. Tamika has been utterly useless. I want Tari. Ta-ri, Ta-ri, Ta-ri… holy SHITE, I know the first contestant! That’s Tracy, the Becky Hammon early warning system! But I promised you my vote, LibertyMascot, and I shall remain true.

Ouch, Ferdy just clocked VJ. VJ hits the free throws anyway. Tari just came in for Miko, and Erin’s in for Spoon. Looks like Lindsey and Linda are coming in as well. Good. Maybe we’ll have someone who’s not afraid to go inside on Dydek, because everyone who’s been on the floor so far has been. The Patrol looks good.

Oh, hello, Wanted Midriff Sighting. Jen Azzi just went up for a shot and her jersey went up with her. Hot day-um!

Hey, totally dug the video. We need more people like you to sell this stuff. So far it’s better than Tracy’s. And than the third contestant’s (Gretchen? Hey, as in the Gretchen who hangs out on our board?)

Dailey is very, very conservative with Dydek; she got one foul and that was it for the first half so far, something like a ten minute stretch. It’s halftime now, and Dydek didn’t come back in. He must be saving her for the second half so she’ll have more fouls to give when she does come in.

At halftime the Liberty have the lead, but it’s only by two points- 28-26, bomylab; the gamestats were f*cking with you- and San Antonio has controlled much of the temp. Their interior defense has terrified the Liberty to the point where no one will go in the paint in any way, shape, or form. Meanwhile, the Liberty aren’t hitting very much from the perimeter, while San Antonio is whupping on the inside. As a positive, we have eight more rebounds than they do, but that’s because we’ve been missing more shots. Crystal’s stroke has been nice, but everyone else…. And as for Elena, what’s up with her?

Our halftime “entertainment” is a guy who stretches in ways no human being should ever be able to. Oh, for the love of Goddess, no more. I can only imagine how much grosser it is when you’re close up. Why won’t it end?! WHY!? And why does he even think about doing that to himself?!

Becky has finally found her inner fashionista. Tonight she’s going with a sea green blouse with the white slacks and diamond earrings. She looked damn good. Again with the advantages of being up close and personal. Even Danni had nothing to say on the matter.

HELL YEAH! HELL YEAH! VJ with the drive, VJ with the jumper, Crystal with the three, VJ with the layup, now that is what I am talking about. Go inside, you can always go out later.

Alison… dude… sorry. I screamed for ya. Trust me. I don’t know why people were booing you. I screamed for you and clapped for Tracy, and that was it. Stupid pigeon. I worry about pigeon/bobble-head love. Ah, Lindsey’s volleyball instincts have betrayed her. Damn, that was some spike, though. *grin* Why is he keeping her in? Sorry, Kate, but right now ‘Saki is about the worst player on the court. Though I don’t know why K.B. isn’t playing if she’s suited up. I guess he doesn’t want to test her ankle unless he has to.

Oh, HELL YEAH. Elena off the glass, and the Liberty have the lead. Life is good. Fro’ is looking very, very good. I wonder how much an Afro wig would cost for next game with a big old “Fro Fan” sign in it. Oh, yay, something else for me to go crazy with. Meanwhile, C-Rob with the foul on Dydek- which was BS- and the aforementioned Dydek to the line for two. First one off the back of the rim and NO! Wooooooooo!

Now that’s what I call a good game- you leave with a feeling of elation, but at the same time there’s a couple of flaws you can discuss. And I don’t care that they gave Crystal the Player of the Game award- this was Tari’s game. 12 points, 12 boards, 2 steals and a block that I saw. She was everywhere she needed to be, hustling after every ball and helping play good defense on Margo Dydek, who looked at the beginning of the game like she was actually going to play like an All-Star. But the Liberty clamped down on her. Sylvia Crawley hurt us, but not as much as Dydek could have.

I didn’t even know Jennifer Azzi still had some of those gears. She’s still one of the best point guards in this game, canny enough to know when to pass and when to shoot. Her shot is almost always good. Unless Tari smacks it against the backboard. Marie Ferdinand is the epitome of smoooooooooth. And Goody still got it. And, uh, I thought Shell Dailey was a girl? Someone said that the coach was pregnant, and I recall a picture of a black woman being up as the coach… so why was this guy calling the plays?

Now comes the road trip from Purgatory which will probably make or break their playoff chances, and I have no fuckin’ idea if I want this team to go to the playoffs or not.