BDSM Fans Rejoice - Liberty get Spanked

Balls.

Chicago 77, New York 65

Quick question: what happens when the eighth woman into the game is your point leader, and yet only plays for 16 minutes? Answers along the lines of "You Lose," "You Blow," and "You slit your wrists" are acceptable, as anyone watching last night's game in Chi-town could tell you. This was one of the worst performances of the Libs all year, and this beating came from a team that was eliminated from the playoffs before the final minutes of the game were played.

It didn't start off that badly. It was mostly back-and-forth during the 1st quarter, with the Libs going down by 1 (18-17) at the end of ten minutes. Sure, there were some bad turnovers by the Libs, but that could be attributed to any number of reasons (1st quarter jitters, worries about the US Economy, voodoo). McCarville was playing well (4 pts, 3-4 on all shots), and the entire team was helping out.

The 2nd quarter then starts, and the Libs bring themselves back from a shakey start. Davenport starts it off with 2 solid free throws, and by the time she's taken out five and a half minutes later, she has six points and a defensive rebound. There's a three minute stretch near the end of the quarter that spells a bit of worry, as the Libs can't seem to mount any offense, but the Sky barely manage to capitalize on the opportunity, scoring a six points, but also fouling and turning the ball over just as often. Jackson and Christon score a basket each, however, and things settle back down. Heading out after twenty, the Libs are ahead 38-34.

Now, one could think that, based on the play of the first half, that the Liberty can handle the Sky, and one would be right. The Libs were shakey at points, but they didn't commit too many stupid fouls and they were keeping the ball under control. Patty isn't playing the bench, and while no one is lighting up the board, so to speak, no one is sucking balls too much.

Pardon the layman's terms.

And then the third quarter happened. When the dust settles, the Sky have scored 20 points and are ahead 54-45.

What is it about coming out of the locker room for the Libs that is so detrimental to their playing ability? It happens game after game after game. Last night, they only managed 7 points in ten minutes, and couldn't get the ball out of their zone, let alone shoot it. The last three and a half minutes saw seven missed shots (three of them free throws), and the rest of the quarter wasn't pretty either. The Sky had pulled ahead, and that's the way they stayed.

Sure, another ten minutes were played, but the Liberty didn't play like it. It seemed that after a half an hour of gametime, they were ready to call it quits and give the Mystics the chance to scoot ahead a bit. Davenport does her best to bring the Liberty back (8 points in that quarter), but she's only one woman (one woman who Patty only played for 16 minutes). The rest of the team plays grab-ass with the Sky, back and forth, and then the game ends, 77-65.

The Mystics rejoice as their pact with the Devil is fulfilled.

The end of the game could be best summed up as empty. Basketball was indeed played, but nothing really HAPPENED. Davenport was the only one playing with anything close to passion, and the rest of the team seemed to forget that at one point, they could burn Chicago like Mrs. O'Leary's cow. That quarter totally mystified me; the Libs gave up and stopped caring, and almost, in effect, created a blackhole of playing equal to the size of the UIC Pavillion's court.

Scientists have no answers as to what caused it.

But that's the way it is. The Mystics are now a single win away from the playoffs, despite opening the season 0-8. That means they've gone 15-9 since then. That's a playoff team: that's a team that never gives up. The Liberty? They can't even play a full forty against the Sky. We might make the playoffs yet, but would we deserve it? Based on this game, I have one answer.

Fuck no.

GAME NOTES

• Chicago Sky turnovers: 9. New York Liberty Turnovers: 20. Ouch.
• Chasity Melvin got her eye poked out of its socket at the beginning of the game by Christon (she's fine now). THAT. Is crazy. Thor? A little much.
• The Libs made fifteen fewer shots than the Sky.
• Patty's quote: "You have to forget (the loss)," New York head coach Pat Coyle said. "We have to win out right now. That's what it comes down to." It's kinda hard to forget about losing 10 out of 13, however, especially when no one is getting any time.
• Second largest crowd of the year for the Sky: 5.5K. They're gettin' there...

So, the Libs have three games left and are 1.5 games out. We're officially going to end the season with a sub-.500 record and our players are playing without passion on the floor. Patty refuses to play more than eight players a game and attendance is falling. Fighting for a playoff spot, we've gone 3-7 in our last ten games and can't get any momentum going. Anything else?

For an encore, how about the Libs club a baby seal?

Next game?

Washington Mystics
Tomorrow, 7 P.M.
Bring Holy Water

THE biggest game of the year. A loss, and we're out. That's the way it is, ladies.

AROUND THE LEAGUE...

Washington 65, Connecticut 64
Houston 83, Detroit 71
Seattle 81, Minnesota 67
San Antonio 84, Los Angeles 77

No time. You know which game is a surprise (hint: It's not the Storm-Lynx).

Connecticut @ Indiana
San Antonio @ Sacramento

Connecticut must win this game if they want second place. Indiana can still lose and retain its position. Connecticut, despite their loss to the Mystics, are still playing really well. Indiana is doing their best impression of Lindsay Lohan's career. Despite all of that, Connecticut is on the road and coming off a game last night. I don't like the Fever's chances, but Connecticut is running against statistics. Fever by 4.

Once again, a team (San Antonio) comes off of a victory to play on the road the next day against a contender (Sacramento). The difference being that I don't mind picking against a stronger team here. Sacramento isn't as good as the Stars, but they play their system well (especially at home), and despite San Antonio's astounding away record (11-4), the Silver Stars are going to be tired. San Antonio's gonna get romped like a cow in the middle of a cattle drive.

That Hee-Haw moment brought to you by "Old Goathumper Whiskey".

Sacramento by 6.

That's it. Performance Piece up in the afternoon. Take care, y'all, and take the guns out of your mouths. Save that for when the market crashes due to the overspeculation in real estate and our obscene debt finally crashing down.

Sorry. It's not been a good day.

See ya, Space Cowboy...