No Today like Tuesday

See that guy near the front? That's me!"

So, I want to say that I got laid off of my job. In a nutshell, what this means (besides lots and lots of ramen noodles in my near-future) is that I won't be able to update this blog as regularly (or irregularly) as I have in the past. I'll still do updates, so don't get your panties in a bunch, but I can't make promises as to their frequency and update until I have secured another job.

Okay, now that the depressing part is out of the way, let's get onto the regular update...

The Liberty have their "Theme Night" Schedule up. Nothing too spectacular there. Just the usual.

There's this full article on Shay Doron up on the Jerusalem Post. I know there's more than a few Doron fans who read this site, so go there and get off my back. I like her, too, but come on. There's only so much news I can bring you about her without learning Hebrew.

I only speak two languages: English and Bad English!

For personal appreciation, this goes to the top of my list. Janel McCarville? On ice skates? That just put her bad-assness off the charts.

An aftershock could be felt as far away as Virginia.

AROUND THE LEAGUE...

CBA turmoil. For those without index fingers or who are too impatient to click the link: teams can't sign players until the new deal is reached.

Storm fans are getting back into the swing of things. It always puts a pep in my step when I read stuff like this. Until I remember that the dollar is crashing and the economy is in the toilet. Then I just down some valium and I'm fine.

The new Atlanta franchise is doing well for itself... so far. 1,500 season tickets have been sold so far, which is good, especially considering the time frame. It's not all peaches and cream, however, as sooner or later, their going to have to make due with the scraps of the rest of the league and, you know, actually play a game.

All right. Until the next time I am able to post...

See ya, Space Cowboy...

What makes a Bad Tuesday Good?

Beer. Not just for children anymore.

Saint Patty was seen scouting the Maryland-Duke game. Two ACC powers? The Draft coming up? At least Coyle is doing her homework. The draft class is looking much better than some initial estimates (that is, Parker and a bunch of good, but not great, stuff), so with a seventh-choice, it will be interesting to see what is left. Keep on rockin' the free world, Patty.

Shay scored 14 points for her Israeli team, helping push Ramla over Ramat Hen, 71-67. There's a whole slew of WNBAers down there in the stats. Snow, McWilliams-Franklin, Baker, Price... yeah, check it for yourself.

Jessica Davenport is ripping up the court as well for Challes-les-Eaux in France. She's averaging 13.8 points per game, second on her team and 15th in the league, right ahead of Tiffany Jackson (13.6), might I add.

Shameka Christon isn't doing that badly, either, averaging 17.75 points a game. It's in Spanish, just so you know.

I could keep going on like this. However, thanks to the wonders of...

...THE INTERNET...

...you can look up your favorites, too. Like keeping track of your gals while they're overseas? I found this website that helps out. There's a lot... a LOT... of missing info, but it's good for basic overviews and such. I'm gonna put it up on the link list overhead.

On non-basketball related news, American Gladiators kicks ass. Yeah, some of the events are lame, and the camera angles (as well as the editing) doesn't give the illusion of speed like the previous incarnation did, but damn. It's bad-ass without even trying. Also, Hellga (a.k.a. Robin Coleman) kicks ass. Like some kind of Valkyric Warrior. I could go on and on about what makes her so kick ass, but I don't want to bore you. Besides, this is a basketball blog. Still...

Every guy with Nordic blood or is into spanking just went half-mast.

Some more love for Candace Parker, future LA Spark. Sparks? Sparkser? Sparkette? What is the singular?

A sweet (as in sugar) story about a father and daughter. One has Lou Gehrig's Disease and can barely communicate. The other is a WNBA hopeful. I could make a joke, but the story is just too touching.

Also, the joke would be insanely easy to make.

And with that questionably tasteless joke, I leave you for the day.

See ya, Space Cowboy...

It's Quiet... a bit TOO Quiet...

Zzzz...zzzz...zzzz...

Yeah, not much is happening on the front today. I just don't want to get into the habit of not updating anymore. So... here it is. All of it.

Here's an article about the woman who runs the Li'l Torches shows at the Garden. It's mostly about her work in the NBA, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

In case I haven't pimped it yet, check out Game Notes of Dooooooom (pronounced Doooooom, as the last 'o' is silent). From frequent commentor "Rebecca", it's a nose-dive back into Liberty History, with game recaps and more from back in the day. Some things have changed (posting a winning record consistently), while some haven't (attendance woes). In any case, if you call yourself a Lib fan, then there's no excuse not to check it out. Unless, of course, you're Indiana Jones. The man has GOT to stay away from places with "Doom" in the title.

Pull your heart out once, shame on you. Pull it out twice, shame on me.

AROUND THE LEAGUE...

Candace Parker talks about playing in Los Angeles, as she most likely will with the Sparks number 1 draft pick. The article touches on a bunch of things, really, including WNBA attendance vs. College Ball attendance, the tumultuous place that the Sky are in at the moment, and more.

I told you that the list was short. Sorry.

See ya, Space Cowboy...

Storm to Stay - Who Has Two Thumbs and Called It?

THIS guy!

The Seattle Storm have been sold to a local ownership group. Terms of the sale were finalized in the last couple of days for around $10 million dollars. It's still pending league approval, but that's really a formality, as all four majority owners seem to have deep enough pockets to fund the WNBA franchise. Plus, one (Anne Levinson, former Seattle Deputy Mayor) has experience in owning a women's team, in the Seattle Reign of the now-defunct ABL.

And really, there was no reason for Clay Bennett to keep the Storm. Oklahoma may or may not be a city worthy of an NBA team (I have my doubts, but then again, Salt Lake City does well enough), but why would Donna Orender let a team with a passionate fan-base just slip away? Why would Bennett keep a team that was little more than an albatross around his neck?

Will this have any affect on the Sonics? Probably not. There's WAY too much money to be had. Even if the Sonics tank in Oklahoma, there's still the honeymoon period, and at the end of that time frame (around 4-5 years), Bennett can sell out, make an obscene amount of money, and then ride his deathmobile back down to Hell. Now that Professor Heartbreak has sold off the one piece of baggage that would have dragged his purchase down, the only thing keeping him in Seattle is the Key's lease... which he's trying to get around.

At least THIS set of fans won't commit suicide.

So, rest easy, Storm fans. Your precious franchise is safe... for now. There's no telling what the new CBA deal will do to the WNBA, or whether or not players will continue to play in the US for less money than in Europe, or a million of different things. But for now, raise thy mugs of mead and giveth thanks to the Gods of War.

I couldn't help posting this picture. My Y Chromosome will be the death of me.

How does this affect the New York Liberty, you might ask? It's a decent question, as this IS a Lib blog. Beside being about the WNBA, it also has to deal with the health of the league in general. Look, four women aren't going to pony up 10 million (with the potential to lose over six figures a year) just to say that they own a basketball team. There is room for growth here, and that should send a good feeling gut-punch to every WNBA fan out there.

All right. That's all I got. I just wanted to let you guys know.

See ya, Space Cowboy...

EDIT:

I completely missed it. Loree Moore has signed with Vologda-Chevakata, a Russian club that is heading to the 2008 EuroCup. Her first playoff game with the team is tonight against Hemofarm Vrsac. Did I spell either of those teams' names right? It sounds like I need to cough up some phlegm whenever I pronounce some of those Russian team names.

Oh yeah, and Pat Coyle has a post up on Hoopla. I give her a hard time, but she's a decent coach and has some interesting stuff to say.

For real this time, peace...

Happy New Year '08... Kind of...

Back again. This time, in style!

Yeah, I've been gone for a while. I was busy with work and writing, and then family time and the holidays came, meaning that it was a hell of a time getting things together enough for an update, but I'm here now, and hopefully the ten of you that have stuck around will keep it real enough for me as we ramp up for the season.

I'm thinking of doing a 2007 Year in Review, but then again, I kinda covered that territory already. Thoughts? If I do it, it won't happen until next week. I'm just trying to get back on the saddle with this whole blogging thing again.

It's like I've regressed to some earlier, more primitive state.

Rebecca was kind enough to comment on the whole "cutting out 300-400 sections for season ticket holders" thing, and like I thought, people are getting boned. Hard. If anybody has a different point of view, or has some evidence to back up this hypothesis, please post here.

Essentially, this post is to remind all of you that I am, in fact, alive and still updating this blog. Readership has dropped precipitously and while I don't do this blog to be popular or anything (A WNBA blog focusing on a single team that is currently screwing over their fan base? What's more popular than THAT?), I just wanted to say that I'm here and will be updating more in the future.

Where we're going we won't need roads...

In terms of the news front (that is, the reason you are all here), I have a couple pieces to share...

A while back, the Libs launched their own blog. More publicity? Great. Not linking to your own blog in the article? Not so much.

Blazejowski has some damage control going on over on the main site. I'm actually surprised that she called out Shameka Christon and Tiffany Jackson for being inconsistent. Not that she's exactly WRONG, but there's a lot of blame to go around for a sub-.500 season, and trading away a popular player that won the MVP in the west only to draft a player that was never played... well...

That's pretty thick-headed.

For all of you Shay Doron fans out there, she updated on Liberty Hoopla about her various goings on. There was no mention of her wanting to strangle Pat Coyle, but if you read between the lines, you can see the rage.

Hell hath no fury like a player benched.

There's more, but right now, I need to split. I'll update soon, coo'?

See ya, Space Cowboy...

And on the Eighth Day, there was a Schedule...

And lo, God said, "Let there be light!"

The Lib's schedule is out.

You know I'm lazy because I just copied it off of the site. I have no regrets, nor any shame.

There's a lot to talk about, and frankly, there are a lot better people to do it. However, since this is the first BIG thing to happen to the Libs since the end of the season, I feel that it is my duty to do as well as I can for you folks. In-depth analysis isn't this blog's thing, and I'm apt to put in a completely random photo, but I'll do my best.

Thinking Caps on!

First, the opener is against Connecticut at home. Connecticut finished strong last year, but faded quickly against the onslaught of the Tamika Catchings-led Fever. They will be a strong test for our first game: no Chicago Sky cakewalks this year.

We face several good teams in the first month of play, with the only two non-playoff teams in that span being Washington (who almost knocked us out of the post-season) and Houston, who, despite injuries, did much better than their record suggests. Thankfully, however, there are an average of two to three days between our biggest games, allowing for rest and rehab if needed. See

The longest road trip of the season is, of course, the West Coast long-haul that's going to put a mighty big strain on the Libs. It's directly in the middle of the season, too, starting off June 28th (a Saturday) against the Monarchs, and going through July 8th (a Tuesday) against Becky Hammon and the Silver Stars. The middle three games - Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix - will not be pretty, and are one-day-on, one-day-off. The Sparks won't be TOO much trouble (although games in the Staples Center are always tough), but Seattle won't go down without a fight. And of course, there's Phoenix...

THESE ladies...

This trip could work out one of two ways; it could break our backs or kick us into high gear. I really don't see us coming out of that road trip 3-2 or 2-3, and with a home game against Detroit and a road game in Connecticut immediately following, that stretch will definitely define the Libs as a team. Remember last year, when we played six out of seven on the road? We lost the games we should have won and let teams get back into it every time. That led to the season-worst seven-game skid and almost knocked us out of contention for good.

However, if we are able to get out of that road trip 4-1, we'll be in good shape for the rest of the season. The Shock and Sun games won't mean as much, and after that, we have only one solid team to face (the Fever) - with two against Washington, one against Atlanta, and a game at home against the hapless LA Sparks - before the Big Gap(tm).

See that Gap? If you listen closely, you'll hear "USA! USA! USA!"

That's the Olympics. From July 27th to August 28th, the Libs are out of commission. Doron played for Israel while Weber played for the Germans back in October...

There's a tasteless joke there somewhere...

...while McCarville and Moore put on the stars and stripes. Depending on who makes it to Beijing, the Libs might not have to worry so much about playing together as a team. Still, a long break is always a big unknown.

I won't guarentee anything here, but I see a good set and record for the Libs this season. While we won't know how well ANY team will be until the season gets underway, Atlanta will definitely make for three easy games. Los Angeles needs a major overhaul and without a trade at the draft, that's not going to happen this year. Minnesota should also be similarly distressed this season, but will be tougher on us with one game on the road between a Mercury and Fever game at home for us.

Even those prognostications make me uncomfortable, however, and the rest of the schedule is just too up in the air. If Washington starts to gel like they did at the end of the season, they could make a big push for the playoffs. As long as Catchings stays healthy, the Fever figure to be in it, and the Shock still seem to be the team to beat. The Sun could be first or last, depending on where their streaks fall this year, and the Sky are a big unknown that could flirt with the fourth playoff spot or languish for one more season in the cellar.

The West, meanwhile, is even more open. Phoenix is coming off of a championship season, but they lost their head coach to the Sonics, and without a singular force directing them past their absolute lack of defense, they could collapse. The Storm also lost their head coach, but from the sounds of the politics going on behind the scenes in Seattle, that might be a GOOD thing. Minnesota and L.A. are pretty much out, but Sacramento still stands a strong chance, and there's no reason to think that Becky Hammon won't rally her troops around her again in San Antonio. Houston, like Chicago, figures to be the variable, with either a strong performance that will still probably conclude without a trip to the Finals OR another season of frustrating potential.

None of this will matter, however, if we can't protect our goods in the Expansion Draft, pick well in the regular draft, and have several of our key components back in top knotch shape. If we hit a rough spot and Patty refuses to move to the back of the bench, we could end up with Atlanta at the bottom of the heap.

However, a good season will be likely IF the following things fall into place...

• Muffin and Thor MUST bring their A game everyday, or at least trading off when one is fantastic and the other nightmare-inspiring.
  
• Davenport and Jackson MUST prove that they can play in the WNBA for long stretches. This will also depend on Patty's willingness to play them.
  
• Dutch MUST make strides on improving her defense. She had a good enough shot last year to make up for some of her lapses, but that won't be enough.
  
• Patty MUST play the bench if the front seven aren't up to snuff. Really, what's the difference if we lose with Christon, Moore, and Kraayeveld on the floor instead of Doron, Jackson, and Weber? Remember when she wasn't playing McCarville? Remember what happened when she put her IN?
• 
  

Most likely, it will come down to the wire just like last year. We play nine games in eighteen days to end the season, and a sub .-500 finish won't cut it in this year's post-season, not with all the teams in the East better than last year and with Atlanta as the fall-guy inflating records. The last three games will be easy; the fever in Indiana, the Sky in Chicago, and finally, the Shock at home. At least we finish in New York, but there will be a big difference if we come into that game at 16-17 or 17-16.

It will be a good season, but until we get closer, that's about all the analysis I have in me. And now for something completely different.

I held out as long as I could.

Around the League...

Anybody looking for an internship? The Libs are offering one. It's basic office work, but that's what ALL internships are about. Go out there and make me proud. And if you meet Martina Weber, put in a good word for me.

Apparently, Loree Moore is going to be a guest ringmaster at the Circus this weekend. I don't care much for Circuses... circi? circes?... but then again, if you are, by all means, now you have an extra incentive; flat-out pandering!

The League has it's own coverage of the new season, including these top 10 games to watch. Our September 7th game against the Sky is on there, for good reason. It's going to be national on ABC and will almost assuredly have playoff implications. Well-played, WNBA. Well-played.

Lin Dunn, an assistant under Brian Winters, is now the new head coach for the Tamika Catchings Show. Much like the Neutronians, I have no opinion one way or the other.

The Comets are moving to a new arena next year. Specifically, the Reliant Arena, which holds about 5,800 people. Last year, the Comets averaged about 8,000 people at their games. Admittedly, that might be inflated, but even if that the real number is lower by about 20%, the Comets will be losing out on AT LEAST 600 extra paying customers a night. And what happens if the WNBA (or the Comets) get a boost in popularity in the years to come? I can understand that you want to keep it cozy and intimidating, but this might be TOO intimate. I hope the lower cost will be worth it...

That's all I got in me. Until next week?

See ya, Space Cowboy...

Special Report: Detective Dumbass on the Scene

In place of your scheduled update, here is a mystery...

So, here's something. It's the Season Ticket pricing plan for the 2008 Libs. Notice anything different?

The 300-400 level seats are gone.

Now, the 400 Level seats, I can dig. I went to about ten games last season, and I saw exactly two people up in those seats (I thought they were having sex, but that just might be my overactive imagination). So, losing the 400 level seats is not a big deal. I still think the Libs should sell those seats for $1-5 dollars, but I didn't get a business degree, so what the hell do I know?

But the 300 seats?

Maybe I'm wrong. I've only followed the Libs for a season, and that was just from the first game one. Faithful Lib season ticket holders, let me ask you this; do the Libs open up the 300 level seats later in the season? Or is this a new thing?

Because if this IS a new thing, then I'm not too keen. Sure, it's essentially a re-organization of the ticket prices, with some going up and some going down... but what about people like me who don't want to sit in the endzones? Hey, I make a decent salary (especially now that I sold a book), but I was expecting to buy $10 season tickets. And now, unless I want to sit behind the baskets, I have to pony up more? At a time when attendance is going down, and down, and down.

That dog don't hunt, mon-seen-yoor.

I can understand why the Libs are trying to consolidate the crowds into the lower bowl. The WHA did that back in the 70's to make it seem like more people were at games. What I don't understand is that if they are still going to sell gameday tickets in the 300 section, why not sell season tickets? Is this being grand-fathered in or what? Any help?

See ya, Space Cowboy...