WNBA
I think I helped break the internet a little. Thank you to Henry Abbott for adding to the respectful discourse about the WNBA.
With her eyes on Olympic Gold, Lauren Jackson plans to not play for the WNBA in 2012.
The Suns
Barbosa is back in Phoenix. He may see playing time this week, but don't bet on it. He did apparently have a nice no look pass in practice though. Yay for seeing the court (or not seeing it) well! Also, it looks like his mother is still sick, but on the upswing from a very bad lung infection.
Amare is back at practice and still wearing his goggles. Barnes is playing with the starters in scrimmages in place of Hill. And Alando is having trouble with his hamstring. Before that though, he was performing at a high level.
More on the Suns' new identity. I'm still holding my breath.
The Suns played an outdoor game last Saturday night against the Nuggets in Indian Wells, California. The result? It was cold and windy. Oh, you mean you want to know the score? 77-72, Denver. Honestly, which team did you think would win a cold outdoor game?
The only really exciting thing was a pair of blocks by Lopez that almost literally knocked my socks off. Well, those were the only notable moments unless you like watching Raja Bell walking around with his arms completely inside his jersey in order to keep warm.
Other NBA
Looking for work? Don't knock on Stern's door.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
I got more records than the KGB
The Suns
10 questions about this Suns' season: Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune
Insight into Porter's playbook (now with muddled metaphors!)
“I’ve never been a big believer in having 10,000 plays and then wind up only running five of them,” he said. “I’m more of a believer in having just a few, making sure those plays have a lot of wrinkles and options.”
The Suns spent an hour ironing out the wrinkles on one such play in Wednesday’s morning session.
So are wrinkles good? Or bad?
Also from that article:
When the Suns broke the huddle under former coach Mike D’Antoni, they chanted "Suns!" Under Porter, that mantra has changed to "Defense!"
I'm cautiously excited about seeing how they do with this defense oriented approach.
More on Porter's defense and how players are adapting to it.
Nash is in favor of fewer minutes, but not fewer games.
"If I could miss 10 or 12 games and go to the Bahamas, that sounds good," Nash said. "If I have to stay here, I might as well play. But to shift the minutes around a little more and change our style just a little bit to preserve guys' legs ... I think that's possible."
I'm just ridiculously in favor of there being backups for Nash that might let Barbosa return to his natural position. The man just doesn't see the floor well, and that's ok. You'd never ask Nash to post-up, or Shaq to start jacking up threes, so why is it a problem if LB is a (really good) undersized shooting guard?
Speaking of Barbosa, he left training camp to be with his very ill mother in Brazil. My thoughts are with them.
Also in that article:
The players [ran] gassers for every missed free throw.... "I have to change that around because they didn’t run that many," [Porter] said. "There were too many free throws made."
Diaw poked STAT in the eye and now Amare may wear goggles for the rest of his career. It isn't serious, but he's just a cautious guy.
Also in that article: Barbosa hasn't set a date to come back from Brazil yet. The Suns do not expect him back before next week, at the earliest.
A fairly nay-saying look at the upcoming season. Some positive bits, but also featuring many phrases in the vein of as if his feet are nailed to the floor and collection of dinosaurs.
Other NBA
Photo from the Plain Dealer
Information about Anderson Varejao, his off season, and his ankle injury.
The injury also prevented Varejao from playing for Brazil in an Olympic qualifier. Surprisingly, he received criticism in his own country for sitting out the qualifier and rehabbing his ankle.
How is this surprising?
"What was tougher for me is the media in Brazil didn’t know what was going on," Varejao said. "I didn’t know why. Everybody started talking like I didn’t want to play for the national team. That was tough. Brazil is a soccer country. Basketball is not that big, so they didn’t really know what was going on."
No, really, I think that even if they had known why he didn't play for Brazil, they would have been disappointed. Especially b/c he played in the playoffs even with the sprain. And claiming that basketball fans around the world don't know about it when their favorite player is injured? Is shortsighted in the age of the internet.
Varejao said the ankle is still swelled a little, but not as bad as it was.
Which, aside from some questionable grammar, is both good and bad. Obviously.
The Spurs count their blessings and come up with three.
Lawrence Pedowitz's review of the NBA's referees has been completed. He found that Donaghy was the only ref who acted illegally. But, as Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, points out: "If this had been an independent investigation we would have gladly cooperated," Lauro told ESPN.com's Mike Fish. "But we knew this was going to be a PR effort. ... It is a way that David Stern can say, 'I put nice little ribbon on this whole case and the only person that has ever done anything incorrect is Tim Donaghy.' That really was the whole purpose of the report."
I gotta say, I agree. I'm on the fence about if there are other refs who were fixing games or doing things that were worse than favoritism, but I don't trust Stern at all.
The Warriors' mascot is named Thunder. The new OKC team is the Thunder. Conflict!
"For the sake of not making things confusing, we're going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy."
He just might have one -- leave Thunder in China during the team's upcoming trip to Asia.
"He might get lost in the crowd over in China," Rowell said. "There are 1.3 billion people there."
General WNBA
Lauren Jackson will be a free agent and the Storm are bound and determined to keep her. Also, no matter what the title of the article says, she doesn't want to think about the issue yet.
WNBA Finals
You may be able to stop Nolan, but the Shock have more options than that. For instance, they have Taj McWilliams-Franklin. And other veterans like Katie Smith. Also, the awesomeness of Bill Laimbeer. But mostly, they have Taj.
Doris Burke's diatribes about how the Mystics are eeeeevil for trading Taj to a contender have been bothering me a lot during ESPN's coverage of the Playoffs. I'm glad that someone else put it into words. If I had tried, it might have come out as *keyboardsmash*
I would also add that the Mystics picking up a 8.3ppg/3.7rpg 22 year-old rookie center (in Humphrey) is a lot better for rebuilding than the Grizzlies picking up a 4.8ppg/4.9rpg 26 year-old center who has been playing professionally for 7 years (in Kwame Brown). So please don't even begin to compare this to the Gasol trade, Ms. Burke. Thank you.
10 questions about this Suns' season: Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune
Insight into Porter's playbook (now with muddled metaphors!)
“I’ve never been a big believer in having 10,000 plays and then wind up only running five of them,” he said. “I’m more of a believer in having just a few, making sure those plays have a lot of wrinkles and options.”
The Suns spent an hour ironing out the wrinkles on one such play in Wednesday’s morning session.
So are wrinkles good? Or bad?
Also from that article:
When the Suns broke the huddle under former coach Mike D’Antoni, they chanted "Suns!" Under Porter, that mantra has changed to "Defense!"
I'm cautiously excited about seeing how they do with this defense oriented approach.
More on Porter's defense and how players are adapting to it.
Nash is in favor of fewer minutes, but not fewer games.
"If I could miss 10 or 12 games and go to the Bahamas, that sounds good," Nash said. "If I have to stay here, I might as well play. But to shift the minutes around a little more and change our style just a little bit to preserve guys' legs ... I think that's possible."
I'm just ridiculously in favor of there being backups for Nash that might let Barbosa return to his natural position. The man just doesn't see the floor well, and that's ok. You'd never ask Nash to post-up, or Shaq to start jacking up threes, so why is it a problem if LB is a (really good) undersized shooting guard?
Speaking of Barbosa, he left training camp to be with his very ill mother in Brazil. My thoughts are with them.
Also in that article:
The players [ran] gassers for every missed free throw.... "I have to change that around because they didn’t run that many," [Porter] said. "There were too many free throws made."
Diaw poked STAT in the eye and now Amare may wear goggles for the rest of his career. It isn't serious, but he's just a cautious guy.
Also in that article: Barbosa hasn't set a date to come back from Brazil yet. The Suns do not expect him back before next week, at the earliest.
A fairly nay-saying look at the upcoming season. Some positive bits, but also featuring many phrases in the vein of as if his feet are nailed to the floor and collection of dinosaurs.
Other NBA
Photo from the Plain Dealer
Information about Anderson Varejao, his off season, and his ankle injury.The injury also prevented Varejao from playing for Brazil in an Olympic qualifier. Surprisingly, he received criticism in his own country for sitting out the qualifier and rehabbing his ankle.
How is this surprising?
"What was tougher for me is the media in Brazil didn’t know what was going on," Varejao said. "I didn’t know why. Everybody started talking like I didn’t want to play for the national team. That was tough. Brazil is a soccer country. Basketball is not that big, so they didn’t really know what was going on."
No, really, I think that even if they had known why he didn't play for Brazil, they would have been disappointed. Especially b/c he played in the playoffs even with the sprain. And claiming that basketball fans around the world don't know about it when their favorite player is injured? Is shortsighted in the age of the internet.
Varejao said the ankle is still swelled a little, but not as bad as it was.
Which, aside from some questionable grammar, is both good and bad. Obviously.
The Spurs count their blessings and come up with three.
Lawrence Pedowitz's review of the NBA's referees has been completed. He found that Donaghy was the only ref who acted illegally. But, as Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, points out: "If this had been an independent investigation we would have gladly cooperated," Lauro told ESPN.com's Mike Fish. "But we knew this was going to be a PR effort. ... It is a way that David Stern can say, 'I put nice little ribbon on this whole case and the only person that has ever done anything incorrect is Tim Donaghy.' That really was the whole purpose of the report."
I gotta say, I agree. I'm on the fence about if there are other refs who were fixing games or doing things that were worse than favoritism, but I don't trust Stern at all.
The Warriors' mascot is named Thunder. The new OKC team is the Thunder. Conflict!
"For the sake of not making things confusing, we're going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy."
He just might have one -- leave Thunder in China during the team's upcoming trip to Asia.
"He might get lost in the crowd over in China," Rowell said. "There are 1.3 billion people there."
General WNBA
Lauren Jackson will be a free agent and the Storm are bound and determined to keep her. Also, no matter what the title of the article says, she doesn't want to think about the issue yet.
WNBA Finals
You may be able to stop Nolan, but the Shock have more options than that. For instance, they have Taj McWilliams-Franklin. And other veterans like Katie Smith. Also, the awesomeness of Bill Laimbeer. But mostly, they have Taj.
Doris Burke's diatribes about how the Mystics are eeeeevil for trading Taj to a contender have been bothering me a lot during ESPN's coverage of the Playoffs. I'm glad that someone else put it into words. If I had tried, it might have come out as *keyboardsmash*
I would also add that the Mystics picking up a 8.3ppg/3.7rpg 22 year-old rookie center (in Humphrey) is a lot better for rebuilding than the Grizzlies picking up a 4.8ppg/4.9rpg 26 year-old center who has been playing professionally for 7 years (in Kwame Brown). So please don't even begin to compare this to the Gasol trade, Ms. Burke. Thank you.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Them young girls they do get weary, wearing that same old shaggy dress
In the aftermath of the second and third dunks in a WNBA regular season game, I've been thinking about the reaction of (most of) the (male dominated) media a bunch. So I wrote up (what turned out to be) an angry rant, and thought I'd post it.
First of all, if you watch a basketball game without any dunks and don't enjoy it *because* of the lack of dunking, you don't actually like basketball at all. You should be watching And 1, or better yet, nothing but dunk contests.
If you are among those complaining that the league sucks because they don't dunk? You have no place complaining that they should treat Candace Parker's dunks as a matter of course. That dunking regularly "is how it should be, and shouldn't be celebrated." I have two things to say about this pattern of complaint: a) you will never be happy with women playing pro-ball, and b) people who claim that dunks=enjoyable basketball are *the main reason* that the WNBA and its fans celebrated these dunks (and in part Candace Parker's presence in the league) as a milestone.
You helped set the bar. Many of you are members of the media, and you used that power to help put forth the opinion that basketball needs dunks to be exciting and worth watching. Never mind that this opinion shows a lack of interest in the game itself (regardless of gender). If that's what it apparently takes to make the game more interesting to watch, *of course* the WNBA is going to celebrate Candace Parker's recent dunks.
You can't have it both ways.
First of all, if you watch a basketball game without any dunks and don't enjoy it *because* of the lack of dunking, you don't actually like basketball at all. You should be watching And 1, or better yet, nothing but dunk contests.
If you are among those complaining that the league sucks because they don't dunk? You have no place complaining that they should treat Candace Parker's dunks as a matter of course. That dunking regularly "is how it should be, and shouldn't be celebrated." I have two things to say about this pattern of complaint: a) you will never be happy with women playing pro-ball, and b) people who claim that dunks=enjoyable basketball are *the main reason* that the WNBA and its fans celebrated these dunks (and in part Candace Parker's presence in the league) as a milestone.
You helped set the bar. Many of you are members of the media, and you used that power to help put forth the opinion that basketball needs dunks to be exciting and worth watching. Never mind that this opinion shows a lack of interest in the game itself (regardless of gender). If that's what it apparently takes to make the game more interesting to watch, *of course* the WNBA is going to celebrate Candace Parker's recent dunks.
You can't have it both ways.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Me like Sergei Federov
An all Suns edition in anticipation of Game Two tonight!
Nash was apparently sick with the flu in Game One, but he's better now. If it's the same strain as hit my friend L, it was the flu of near-death. I'm really impressed that he pulled off a performance like he did.
I think tonight can go really well, and will--as long as the Suns' bigs don't get in such foul trouble so early.
I know that the skills competitions on All Star Saturday aren't indicative of actual game ability, but it came as no surprise to me that Tim Duncan could make a three. Horror, yes. Surprise, no.
All season long, they've kicked butt at closing games. (46-5 when leading going into the 4th.) So what happened in Game One, and how can they avoid that kind of melt-down in the future?
The Suns have been nominated for the Professional Sports Team of the Year in the Sports Business Awards presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. That's a lot of words to say that a periodical (a magazine? a newspaper?) think that the Suns are a first class organization. In fact, they're the only NBA team nominated. Pretty cool.
Kurt Thomas really has joined the forces of evil, and calling a Spurs player "Dirty" is redundant. Just sayin'.
We (the Spurs) had to get through the Lakers. The Bulls had to get through Detroit, Detroit had to get through Boston. That’s always part of NBA history. If they don't get through the Spurs this year (*washes my mouth out with soap*), it won't be because of any mental block.
The best extended metaphor to describe this series in the history of ever. This made me laugh and laugh and then quote it at people. Here, let me quote it at you! A new nobleman, Steve Kerr, has armed the warriors with a new lance. Saint George's lance was named Ascalon, the Suns' lance is named Shaq.
Ok, ok--one non-Suns item. I'm rooting for the Caps tonight in their game 7 against the Flyers. How awesome would it be for them to get into round 2, when they weren't supposed to even get into the playoffs? *knocks so much wood for tonight's games*
Nash was apparently sick with the flu in Game One, but he's better now. If it's the same strain as hit my friend L, it was the flu of near-death. I'm really impressed that he pulled off a performance like he did.
I think tonight can go really well, and will--as long as the Suns' bigs don't get in such foul trouble so early.
I know that the skills competitions on All Star Saturday aren't indicative of actual game ability, but it came as no surprise to me that Tim Duncan could make a three. Horror, yes. Surprise, no.
All season long, they've kicked butt at closing games. (46-5 when leading going into the 4th.) So what happened in Game One, and how can they avoid that kind of melt-down in the future?
The Suns have been nominated for the Professional Sports Team of the Year in the Sports Business Awards presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. That's a lot of words to say that a periodical (a magazine? a newspaper?) think that the Suns are a first class organization. In fact, they're the only NBA team nominated. Pretty cool.
Kurt Thomas really has joined the forces of evil, and calling a Spurs player "Dirty" is redundant. Just sayin'.
We (the Spurs) had to get through the Lakers. The Bulls had to get through Detroit, Detroit had to get through Boston. That’s always part of NBA history. If they don't get through the Spurs this year (*washes my mouth out with soap*), it won't be because of any mental block.
The best extended metaphor to describe this series in the history of ever. This made me laugh and laugh and then quote it at people. Here, let me quote it at you! A new nobleman, Steve Kerr, has armed the warriors with a new lance. Saint George's lance was named Ascalon, the Suns' lance is named Shaq.
Ok, ok--one non-Suns item. I'm rooting for the Caps tonight in their game 7 against the Flyers. How awesome would it be for them to get into round 2, when they weren't supposed to even get into the playoffs? *knocks so much wood for tonight's games*
Monday, April 21, 2008
Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor?
Again, it's been awhile since my last update. This time it's because I was very sick for about 2 weeks. Blech. Some older links are mixed in here, mostly because I found them interesting and/or important. Enjoy!
The Suns
Saturday's Game One loss against the Spurs was pretty hard to take. To lose a 16 point lead and have it go into two overtimes (one of which happened on a 3-pointer from a 7-footer) before finally losing on a last second shot? Just really hard to swallow. In the post game interviews, the Suns all looked so sad. Shaq was barely audible, and Hill looked like he probably had been crying. It broke my heart.
May Tuesday's game go much better, without dumb fouls and dumber luck.
Game recaps: Associated Press, Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune
It looks like Diaw is key for this first round matchup (and in my mind, the entire playoff run).
Unrelated to the playoffs, Barbosa met Shaq first when he was 7 years old. They shook hands, and then Shaq broke LB's gym's backboard. It didn't get fixed for a week and a half.
Other NBA
Apparently the new owners of the Sonics had no intent to keep them in Seattle, no matter what they told the NBA or the previous owner. I know this is old news, but it's important context to the fact that the NBA team owners approved the Oklahoma City relocation. A few things stood out to me in the second article.
One: Clay Bennett hopes no one understands the concept of context. Bennett said his words had been misinterpreted. When he wrote, "I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can," he meant he was determined to find a way for the Sonics to remain in the city. Ha!
Two: Bennett is...facing a class-action lawsuit brought by season-ticket holders who say they were duped into buying tickets under the premise the Sonics wouldn't leave. Crazy!
Three: And this week former team owner Howard Schultz announced plans to sue to get the team back, saying Bennett did not make a good-faith effort to secure a new arena deal as he promised when he bought the team in 2006. I'm glad *someone* is paying attention to the emails from the first article, since David Stern seems to be so prone to flattery. Even if Seattlites don't like Schultz either.
The Nuggets had major bus problems on the way to game one. Bad omen there with black smoke and everything.
Isiah Thomas finally got fired, but he's been kept around seemingly for kicks. My friend Anna suggested that this may be to avoid paying out the nose to let him go. Whatever it is, I'm glad he's (mostly) gone to stop the poisoning of that franchise (and the league as a whole).
FIBA and Other International Ball
Here, have an overview of Olympic qualifiers and the Olympic games themselves.
Brazil is optimistic about their chances to get through the Olympic qualifiers. I'm definitely rooting for them.
Tiago Splitter's sister, Michelle, has been dealing with leukaemia for awhile, and recently had a recurrence. I hope her health improves.
Shabtai von Kalmanovic treats the members of his basketball team (Spartak) really really well. That includes Dianna Taurasi, Sue Bird, and Tina Thompson. He has a little more than a smidge of smarm though.
Becky Hammon signs with the Russian national team to play in the Olympics. This was weird to me, until I read that article. She's right, her choices were to sit on my couch and watch the Olympics, or play in the Olympics. It made it an easy decision.
The WNBA
The WNBA draft happened while I was not busy maintaining this blog. It was a pretty awesome (if semi-predictable) draft, and the Mystics got a pretty good (and local!) pick-up in Crystal Langhorne.
The Seattle Storm (who are my preseason guess for a championship) recently entered into a sponsorship deal with Olivia Cruise Line. This is (probably) due in part to their off season pick up of Sheryl Swoopes (longtime spokesperson of Olivia). This is the first time that I know of that a WNBA team has officially entered into any kind of partnership with a high profile member of the lesbian (or gay) corporate community. However! Their press release on this cracked me up and not in a good way. The only time that they mentioned anything about the GLBT nature of Olivia was when they mentioned famous personalities that had been involved with the company in the past (and present). Entertainers and athletes aligned with Olivia have included stars such as Melissa Etheridge, Heart, KD Lang, Missy Higgins, Paula Cole, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and the Storm’s own Sheryl Swoopes. No other GLBT mention, even though olivia.com literally announces that it's "Where Lesbians Go."
The New York Liberty are going to play an outdoor game this year. It marks the very first regular season game of it's kind in pro-ball. Male or female.
Tamika Catchings is working hard to rehab from last year's torn Achilles Tendon. She wants to help win the Fever a championship, and she really really wants to play in the Olympics.
WNBA Transactions:
* Nikki Teasley, who was my favorite Mystic two years ago and who I still love a lot, is pregnant. I was all excited for her, b/c a little Mystic baby! But then she got let go, for reasons that had nothing to do with her pregnancy. Raise your hand if you believe that. No, me either. Pretty crummy.
* Former Mystic, Stacey Dales retires from the Chicago Sky to focus on broadcasting.
* The Minnesota Lynx picked up Ashley Awkward. This is mostly notable because my sister will love her name. She came from Australia's WNBL, and it'll be interesting to see how she does in the WNBA.
* Sue Bird re-signed with the Seattle Storm.
* Yolanda Griffith gets signed to the Storm. Yes, they're collecting fairly old players, but I have the feeling that they're going to be really good.
* The Phoenix Mercury lock Dianna Taurasi down for another three years.
* The Mercury sign Yuko Oga from Japan. I don't know much about Japanese women's basketball (they'll be in the Olympic qualifiers in Spain in June), so I can't wait to see her play.
The Suns
Saturday's Game One loss against the Spurs was pretty hard to take. To lose a 16 point lead and have it go into two overtimes (one of which happened on a 3-pointer from a 7-footer) before finally losing on a last second shot? Just really hard to swallow. In the post game interviews, the Suns all looked so sad. Shaq was barely audible, and Hill looked like he probably had been crying. It broke my heart.
May Tuesday's game go much better, without dumb fouls and dumber luck.
Game recaps: Associated Press, Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune
It looks like Diaw is key for this first round matchup (and in my mind, the entire playoff run).
Unrelated to the playoffs, Barbosa met Shaq first when he was 7 years old. They shook hands, and then Shaq broke LB's gym's backboard. It didn't get fixed for a week and a half.
Other NBA
Apparently the new owners of the Sonics had no intent to keep them in Seattle, no matter what they told the NBA or the previous owner. I know this is old news, but it's important context to the fact that the NBA team owners approved the Oklahoma City relocation. A few things stood out to me in the second article.
One: Clay Bennett hopes no one understands the concept of context. Bennett said his words had been misinterpreted. When he wrote, "I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can," he meant he was determined to find a way for the Sonics to remain in the city. Ha!
Two: Bennett is...facing a class-action lawsuit brought by season-ticket holders who say they were duped into buying tickets under the premise the Sonics wouldn't leave. Crazy!
Three: And this week former team owner Howard Schultz announced plans to sue to get the team back, saying Bennett did not make a good-faith effort to secure a new arena deal as he promised when he bought the team in 2006. I'm glad *someone* is paying attention to the emails from the first article, since David Stern seems to be so prone to flattery. Even if Seattlites don't like Schultz either.
The Nuggets had major bus problems on the way to game one. Bad omen there with black smoke and everything.
Isiah Thomas finally got fired, but he's been kept around seemingly for kicks. My friend Anna suggested that this may be to avoid paying out the nose to let him go. Whatever it is, I'm glad he's (mostly) gone to stop the poisoning of that franchise (and the league as a whole).
FIBA and Other International Ball
Here, have an overview of Olympic qualifiers and the Olympic games themselves.
Brazil is optimistic about their chances to get through the Olympic qualifiers. I'm definitely rooting for them.
Tiago Splitter's sister, Michelle, has been dealing with leukaemia for awhile, and recently had a recurrence. I hope her health improves.
Shabtai von Kalmanovic treats the members of his basketball team (Spartak) really really well. That includes Dianna Taurasi, Sue Bird, and Tina Thompson. He has a little more than a smidge of smarm though.
Becky Hammon signs with the Russian national team to play in the Olympics. This was weird to me, until I read that article. She's right, her choices were to sit on my couch and watch the Olympics, or play in the Olympics. It made it an easy decision.
The WNBA
The WNBA draft happened while I was not busy maintaining this blog. It was a pretty awesome (if semi-predictable) draft, and the Mystics got a pretty good (and local!) pick-up in Crystal Langhorne.
The Seattle Storm (who are my preseason guess for a championship) recently entered into a sponsorship deal with Olivia Cruise Line. This is (probably) due in part to their off season pick up of Sheryl Swoopes (longtime spokesperson of Olivia). This is the first time that I know of that a WNBA team has officially entered into any kind of partnership with a high profile member of the lesbian (or gay) corporate community. However! Their press release on this cracked me up and not in a good way. The only time that they mentioned anything about the GLBT nature of Olivia was when they mentioned famous personalities that had been involved with the company in the past (and present). Entertainers and athletes aligned with Olivia have included stars such as Melissa Etheridge, Heart, KD Lang, Missy Higgins, Paula Cole, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and the Storm’s own Sheryl Swoopes. No other GLBT mention, even though olivia.com literally announces that it's "Where Lesbians Go."
The New York Liberty are going to play an outdoor game this year. It marks the very first regular season game of it's kind in pro-ball. Male or female.
Tamika Catchings is working hard to rehab from last year's torn Achilles Tendon. She wants to help win the Fever a championship, and she really really wants to play in the Olympics.
WNBA Transactions:
* Nikki Teasley, who was my favorite Mystic two years ago and who I still love a lot, is pregnant. I was all excited for her, b/c a little Mystic baby! But then she got let go, for reasons that had nothing to do with her pregnancy. Raise your hand if you believe that. No, me either. Pretty crummy.
* Former Mystic, Stacey Dales retires from the Chicago Sky to focus on broadcasting.
* The Minnesota Lynx picked up Ashley Awkward. This is mostly notable because my sister will love her name. She came from Australia's WNBL, and it'll be interesting to see how she does in the WNBA.
* Sue Bird re-signed with the Seattle Storm.
* Yolanda Griffith gets signed to the Storm. Yes, they're collecting fairly old players, but I have the feeling that they're going to be really good.
* The Phoenix Mercury lock Dianna Taurasi down for another three years.
* The Mercury sign Yuko Oga from Japan. I don't know much about Japanese women's basketball (they'll be in the Olympic qualifiers in Spain in June), so I can't wait to see her play.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Pour myself a cup of ambition
Geez, it's been a little bit. This is going to only cover through Tuesday for the most part, and only the NBA. I'll have another post up soon (hopefully today) with WNBA and FIBA as well as stuff from last night. Sorry, I know all two of you wait with baited breath for these posts.
The Suns
Win number four was terrific on Saturday night. I didn't get to listen or watch stats, but a friend (smileyqueen114) was at the game and she texted me with excitement and awesomeness. For instance, did you know that it was the Gorilla's birthday on Saturday? Neither did I. Happy 28th, Go!
Win number five wasn't too shabby either. They're really playing well and having fun and earning the respect of their opponents. I seriously couldn't ask for more.
Recaps: Associated Press, Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune
With those wins, the playoff picture looks a lot better.
Monta Ellis wants to have a race with Leandro Barbosa. Ok, so maybe he doesn't *want to* per se, but he definitely talked about it.
Bell's defense has gotten markedly better lately. I really think that he missed Marion when the trade first happened. Or as he put it: My energy level personally went through a little down period when that trade happened.
Whaddya know, the Boris Diaw that won the Most Improved Player in '06 still exists somewhere in there. Maybe he's trying to win it again this year. He's thinking, if I take every other year off and really step it up in the even numbered years, that award is mine! Ok, maybe not.
Permit me some Sports Night quoting for this next link.
JEREMY Not fitting in is how qualified people lose jobs.
ISAAC Yeah, but a lot of time it's how people end up working here.
I just love my team!
I worry about articles like these. It just sounds like Marion all over again. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentences as Lebron and Kobe and KG, but I just... When I hear him say things like, I put in the time and the effort and the work to be an elite player and ... my teammates and coaches notice, even if other people don't notice it, it's like listening to Marion talk last summer. And that scares me a bit.
Other NBA News
Shawn Marion was out for two games because of back problems (or if you read comments on azcentral.com, because Pat Riley wants to get a good pick in the draft lotto). What I want to know is: was he in a car when he backed into an object in a garage? Because I really didn't read it that way, and I laaaughed.
One of the reasons that I was unable to listen to the Suns beat the pants off the Kings on Saturday night was because I was at the Wizards v Clippers awesomefest. Seriously, I wanted to shake some sense into all those people who left before the end of regulation. Let that game be a lesson to them. Four points in seven seconds to take it into over time! And Chris Kamen on the kiss cam! Awesomesauce!
Arenas thought he'd be back this week, but then on Monday the doctors said not yet. Who knows when he'll be back. If he doesn't come back this season, he might not come back to DC at all. I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
The Rockets lost! Finally!
The Nuggets score points like it's going out of style. I care very little about either team, so that article is going to stand on it's own.
The Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City reached a preliminary agreement on a lease at the Ford Center, pending NBA approval of the team's move. Considering how Stern seems to feel about Seattle, it looks like a pretty definite move.
*puts on armchair psychologist hat* This guy seems like he's running from something. But he'll have great stories when he stops running.
The Suns
Win number four was terrific on Saturday night. I didn't get to listen or watch stats, but a friend (smileyqueen114) was at the game and she texted me with excitement and awesomeness. For instance, did you know that it was the Gorilla's birthday on Saturday? Neither did I. Happy 28th, Go!
Win number five wasn't too shabby either. They're really playing well and having fun and earning the respect of their opponents. I seriously couldn't ask for more.
Recaps: Associated Press, Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune
With those wins, the playoff picture looks a lot better.
Monta Ellis wants to have a race with Leandro Barbosa. Ok, so maybe he doesn't *want to* per se, but he definitely talked about it.
Bell's defense has gotten markedly better lately. I really think that he missed Marion when the trade first happened. Or as he put it: My energy level personally went through a little down period when that trade happened.
Whaddya know, the Boris Diaw that won the Most Improved Player in '06 still exists somewhere in there. Maybe he's trying to win it again this year. He's thinking, if I take every other year off and really step it up in the even numbered years, that award is mine! Ok, maybe not.
Permit me some Sports Night quoting for this next link.
JEREMY Not fitting in is how qualified people lose jobs.
ISAAC Yeah, but a lot of time it's how people end up working here.
I just love my team!
I worry about articles like these. It just sounds like Marion all over again. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentences as Lebron and Kobe and KG, but I just... When I hear him say things like, I put in the time and the effort and the work to be an elite player and ... my teammates and coaches notice, even if other people don't notice it, it's like listening to Marion talk last summer. And that scares me a bit.
Other NBA News
Shawn Marion was out for two games because of back problems (or if you read comments on azcentral.com, because Pat Riley wants to get a good pick in the draft lotto). What I want to know is: was he in a car when he backed into an object in a garage? Because I really didn't read it that way, and I laaaughed.
One of the reasons that I was unable to listen to the Suns beat the pants off the Kings on Saturday night was because I was at the Wizards v Clippers awesomefest. Seriously, I wanted to shake some sense into all those people who left before the end of regulation. Let that game be a lesson to them. Four points in seven seconds to take it into over time! And Chris Kamen on the kiss cam! Awesomesauce!
Arenas thought he'd be back this week, but then on Monday the doctors said not yet. Who knows when he'll be back. If he doesn't come back this season, he might not come back to DC at all. I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
The Rockets lost! Finally!
The Nuggets score points like it's going out of style. I care very little about either team, so that article is going to stand on it's own.
The Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City reached a preliminary agreement on a lease at the Ford Center, pending NBA approval of the team's move. Considering how Stern seems to feel about Seattle, it looks like a pretty definite move.
*puts on armchair psychologist hat* This guy seems like he's running from something. But he'll have great stories when he stops running.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
You can't step into the same river twice
The Suns
Thursday's game was a big win. I didn't get to see a lot of it, but I appreciate that even after (or while) adjusting to Shaq, they can still get out there and play small ball with the Warriors.
All that, and 4 technicals. I kind of love that (as an isolated incident), because it shows an injection of spirit into the team that's been lacking this year. I hope it continues, although without the Ts. I also really love the bit in that article about the triangle offense. D'Antoni finally says what I've been thinking since I heard of it: Any time anyone has three guys on a side of the court, someone can call it a triangle. Exactly!
Game recaps: Associated Press, Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune.
Shaq is an pretty good playmaker. In his words, the great John Wooden said the true definition of a great player is how you make everyone else play around you, so it's my job to take (my teammates) to the next level.
Barbosa knows his shortcomings, and wants to work on them. His goal? To be number one in steals for the league. I have nothing but ridiculously positive things to say about that.
Shaq sends the bench scattering in the game against the Grizzlies. I love stories about what happens on the bench, and I love to see these guys poke fun at one another. This article gave me the warm fuzzies.
There's more about that in this article about Gordan Giricek. Highlights for me included Shaq apologizing to the man who split his lip when Shaq dove into the stands, and Iavaroni coining the word Shaqlimated. I already had been using Shaqceptance, this is a great new one to use. Thanks, Marc!
Other NBA News
Caron Butler comes back, is the leading Wiz scorer, helps win a game against the Cavs, and turns 28. All on the same day. I hope he plays again on Saturday against the Clippers when I'm there watching.
LeBron James is on a very misguided Vogue cover.
FIBA and Other International Stuff
Nene is recovering, doesn't know how he'll be for the Olympic qualifiers this summer, and really likes God. A lot. If that's how he gets the strength to beat cancer, more power to him.
Glendale, Arizona wants to become the home of USA Basketball. No big surprise, Jerry Colangelo is pushing for that to happen.
Apparently, Switzerland attracts Brazilian basketball players. Who knew?
The WNBA
The Mystics are helping to sponsor a walk to raise money for people with breast cancer. It's May 11th at 9 am. It sounds very cool.
WNBA Moves:
* Bo Overton has resigned from his post as the head coach and GM of the Chicago Sky amidst allegations of sexual harassment. I hope we get more news on that. Steven Key, formerly assistant coach, has been named GM and head coach.
* The New York Liberty have re-signed Janel McCarville and her faux-hawk.
Thursday's game was a big win. I didn't get to see a lot of it, but I appreciate that even after (or while) adjusting to Shaq, they can still get out there and play small ball with the Warriors.
All that, and 4 technicals. I kind of love that (as an isolated incident), because it shows an injection of spirit into the team that's been lacking this year. I hope it continues, although without the Ts. I also really love the bit in that article about the triangle offense. D'Antoni finally says what I've been thinking since I heard of it: Any time anyone has three guys on a side of the court, someone can call it a triangle. Exactly!
Game recaps: Associated Press, Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune.
Shaq is an pretty good playmaker. In his words, the great John Wooden said the true definition of a great player is how you make everyone else play around you, so it's my job to take (my teammates) to the next level.
Barbosa knows his shortcomings, and wants to work on them. His goal? To be number one in steals for the league. I have nothing but ridiculously positive things to say about that.
Shaq sends the bench scattering in the game against the Grizzlies. I love stories about what happens on the bench, and I love to see these guys poke fun at one another. This article gave me the warm fuzzies.
There's more about that in this article about Gordan Giricek. Highlights for me included Shaq apologizing to the man who split his lip when Shaq dove into the stands, and Iavaroni coining the word Shaqlimated. I already had been using Shaqceptance, this is a great new one to use. Thanks, Marc!
Other NBA News
Caron Butler comes back, is the leading Wiz scorer, helps win a game against the Cavs, and turns 28. All on the same day. I hope he plays again on Saturday against the Clippers when I'm there watching.
LeBron James is on a very misguided Vogue cover.
FIBA and Other International Stuff
Nene is recovering, doesn't know how he'll be for the Olympic qualifiers this summer, and really likes God. A lot. If that's how he gets the strength to beat cancer, more power to him.
Glendale, Arizona wants to become the home of USA Basketball. No big surprise, Jerry Colangelo is pushing for that to happen.
Apparently, Switzerland attracts Brazilian basketball players. Who knew?
The WNBA
The Mystics are helping to sponsor a walk to raise money for people with breast cancer. It's May 11th at 9 am. It sounds very cool.
WNBA Moves:
* Bo Overton has resigned from his post as the head coach and GM of the Chicago Sky amidst allegations of sexual harassment. I hope we get more news on that. Steven Key, formerly assistant coach, has been named GM and head coach.
* The New York Liberty have re-signed Janel McCarville and her faux-hawk.
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