Catching Ducks

Stuff's actually happening in non-college basketball!


As reported before, Storm Coach Agler and CEO Bryant are overseas scouting/recruiting/wooing. Jayda Evans has an update.

One thing they've done already (most of the good stuff can't start until February 1st) is re-sign Allie Quigley (to a training camp contract, I assume). They also waived the rights to some peeps that haven't been in a Storm uniform for quite some time.


Looking forward to the Olympics (I CAN'T WAIT!!!!) Sue Bird says, basically, they're going to have to suck it up and deal with not having the training time their competition will.

Svetlana Abrosimova seems optimistic about Russia's chances, and would really like a gold medal to add to her collection. (Did you know? She's been playing for her national team since she was 17!)

Labels: Seattle Storm, sports

From "My Heart Will Go On" (6.17):


[In an alternate universe...]

Balthazar: Boys, boys, boys. Whatever can I do for you?

Dean: We need to talk.

Balthazar: Well, you seem upset Dean.

Dean: The hell with the boat, Balthazar?

Balthazar: What boat?

Sam: The Titanic.

Balthazar: Oh, yeah, the Titanic. Yes, well, it was meant to sink and I saved it.

Sam: What?

Balthazar: Well, it was meant to bash into this iceberg thing and plung into the briny deep with all this hoopla and I saved it. Anything else I can answer for you?

Sam: Why?

Balthazar: Why what?

Dean: Why did you un-sink the ship?

Balthazar: Because I hated the movie.

Dean: What movie?

Balthazar: Exactly

Labels: Supernatural

Last year UConn played Duke twice. Once in the regular season and once in the NCAA tournament. Both were hideous blow-outs. (UConn won by 36 and 35, respectively.)

This year was different.... sort of.

Maya Moore is gone, Duke has a great point guard and a spiffy freshman post player.

Sophmore post player Stefanie Dolson got in early foul trouble. Senior guard Tiffany Hayes (who scored a combined 68 points in her last two games -- a UConn record) bonked heads with a Duke player late in the first half and had to go to the locker room. UConn's freshman phenom Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had a not-phenomenal shooting night (2-10 for 6 points).

And yet....

UConn won 61-45.

Not as spectacular as last season's wins, but definitely solid.

Freshman post Kiah Stokes is really starting to come into her own. Last season Stefanie Dolson was their only reliable post player, and when she got into foul trouble (see: the Final Four game against Notre Dame), they were in deep doo-doo. But Stokes played really well, with 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 points, 2 assists, and a steal in 28 minutes of play.

Labels: UConn basketball

From her post at Monkey See entitled "The Agonizing SAG Red Carpet: Come Back, Ryan Seacrest! Never Leave Again!":


"For years, these [awards show red carpet] chats were done by Joan Rivers, who specialized in later saying mean things about what everyone was wearing. This last part, she still does on a separate show. But Rivers is out of the red-carpet game, and much of E!'s coverage is now anchored by Ryan Seacrest, the man whose official job in Hollywood is Host Of Most Things, and whose unofficial job is Doing Things That Seem Like Stupid Jobs Until You See Other People Trying To Do Them And Realize Hey, I'll Be Darned, That Ryan Seacrest Knows Something. Seacrest does the Golden Globes, he does the Oscars, he does the Emmys ... essentially, he handles your high-end red-carpet events, such as they are. (Hey, everything has a high end. Even a very short fencepost.)"

Labels: Linda Holmes

I watched the Washington vs. Arizona State game last night. ASU has a much better record, but it was a close game. (Five ties, seventeen lead changes!) Unfortunately, ASU pulled out the win. Boo, hiss!

Seattle Storm coach Brian Agler and CEO Karen Bryant are overseas, scouting new players and visiting old ones. Karen Bryant tweeted Tanisha Wright's new hair-do.

UConn reporter John Altavilla wants Connecticut to join the ACC. Why? Because he likes the food in Durham, North Carolina.

Labels: college basketball, Seattle Storm, UConn basketball

I miss Veronica Mars. (And Veronica Mars.) This is from the pilot episode:


[In English class...]

Veronica: "Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest: the soul, uneasy and confined from home, rests and expatiates in a life to come."

Mrs. Murphy: And what do you suppose Pope meant by that?

Veronica: Life's a bitch and then you die.

Labels: Veronica Mars

From "TV Crossovers We Want To See":

The Walking Dead and Supernatural

The Winchester boys used to happily trek all over the country, laying waste to supernatural beasties, so living in a post-apocalyptic landscape would give them plenty of opportunity to ride around taking down herds of zombies, with plenty of abandoned classic cars to choose from. They could spend a few days with a ragtag group of humans on the run from walkers, giving them tips on how not to act stupid all the time. And if the brothers decide that Lori's bug-eyes are really a sign that a demon has inhabited her body and that she needs to be destroyed… well, so much the better.

Labels: Supernatural

You know how sometimes you'll like a singer/band, and you get all excited when you hear they're going to be performing on a talk show, then you watch the talk show, and discover that they're not really that good of a singer?

Adele REALLY IS that good of a singer.

Labels: music

From "iPromote Techfoots":


Sam: Carly, Freddie, this is my personal chef, Sonya.

Sonya: Yoohoo!

Carly: What?!

Freddie: You hired a personal chef?!

Sam: Well, my mom doesn't feed me... and since I have some real money now, why not? Sonya, make me a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes.

Sonya: Yes, Miss Sam!

Carly: I like grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes.

Sam: Make that two, Sonya.

Sonya: Yes, Miss Sam!

Freddie: I like grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes.

Sam: Tough nubs.

Labels: iCarly

From episode 3.3:


[Going over the results of a nation-wide car survey...]

Richard: This whole survey throws up some fascinating stuff. Like the Porsche 911. A favorite car of mine, known for its... somewhat scary handling sometimes. Ninety-six percent of 911 owners in this survey claim to be absolutely satisfied with their car's handling, which is very good. It leaves four percent, and they probably were entirely satisfied with the handling of their 911 right up until they hit the tree. Then they changed their mind.

Jeremy: Yeah, but think of it this way. The people who got their bone marrow and their eyes are very satisfied with the handling of the 911.

Labels: Top Gear

It's been a little over three months since I moved in to my new place, and I thought you might like an update!


Things That I Expected To Love and Do, Indeed, Love:

1) The pantry: Awesome. Nice, deep shelves. Handy, because it's right there in the kitchen. Today I was at the grocery store and my favorite chili was on sale. It was so nice to know I could stock up and not have any problem storing it.

2) The library: I have my own library! I still get happy just thinking about it!!! Last Thursday, while it was snowing, I sat in my library with a cup of tea and a book, and I left the blinds open so I could watch the snow fall on the trees behind my condo. Bliss!

3) Ceiling fans: I swear I sleep better with my ceiling fan blowing a light breeze on me. They're going to be great in the summer, too!


Things That I Didn't Give Any Thought To, But Now Love:

1) The dishwasher's "delay" function: The dishwasher was the only brand new appliance in the condo, and it has some features I'd never seen before. The one I find myself using is the "delay" function. I can postpone the load for 2, 4, or 8 hours. At first I thought, "Why would I use this? Why would anyone use this?" But then one evening I wanted to start the load before I went to bed, but I didn't want it to start right that second, because I still had to take my shower. I hit the "2 hour delay" button and voila! I woke up the next morning with clean dishes. I now use this almost every time I do dishes.

2) The dryer: This is seriously the best dryer I have ever had. Ever. I stuck in my bedspread, and in less than an hour it was completely dry. With previous dryers, I would check on the bedspread every half-hour or so, and turn it so that wet spots were facing out. I went to check on my bedspread in this dryer, and it was already done!


Thing That I Didn't Give Any Thought To, But Now Hate:

The washer: Despite being part of a matched set with the awesome dryer, the washer is a complete piece of crap. Replacing it is my #1 priority. It's a side-loading washer, and the rubbery stuff they use around the door to keep water from leaking out doesn't dry properly. Over the years, black mold/mildew has grown in there. I've scrubbed it with bleach (and continue to do so) but it's disgusting and has to go. I have no idea if it's still on the market, but DO NOT BUY the Maytag "Neptune" washer. (The dryer is great, though!)


Overall:

Yay! Things are great!

Labels: moving

From his twitter, upon realizing he had 350,000 followers:


Misha Collins: We are now 350,000 strong! If we held hands we'd encircle the globe! But if we really tried to do so, thousands would drown in the oceans.

fenhueisen: unless u have many many barges

Misha Collins: That would be prohibitively expensive. We'd need to suck it up & take the collateral damage.

Labels: random silliness, Supernatural

A recent post:


Backstory: I got an ear infection while scuba diving in Thailand because I got a small piece of seaweed lodged in my ear.

hi honey-
sorry to hear about your ear. i saw a movie on the sci-fi channel about that once. he turned into a swamp thing. good luck with that.
love-
mom

Labels: random silliness

Apparently this dude is a highly-respected YouTube review. (Yeah, me neither.) At any rate, he's got a great review of the EXCELLENT show Dollhouse:



[h/t Whedonesque]

Labels: Dollhouse

Over at WNBAlien, Richard Cohen has done an in-depth analysis of each team's free agency picture. He starts by defining all the terms, for those of us still confused about "reserved" and "cored", and not sure of the difference between an unrestricted and a restricted free agent.

Here's the important one: Seattle Storm:

"Unrestricted Free Agents: Sue Bird, Katie Smith, Belinda Snell, Tanisha Wright

It’s a good thing that Storm fans have grown to trust head coach/GM Brian Agler, or that would be a pretty damn scary list. With Lauren Jackson missing for the first half of the 2012 season training with Australia for the Olympics, and having traded away both Swin Cash and Le’coe Willingham at the start of this month, now every guard worth anything from last year’s roster is an unrestricted free agent."


Other items of interest:

Phoenix Mercury: "The most obvious hole is at the point [guard position], because none of [Ketia] Swanier, [Andrea] Riley or [Alexis] Gray-Lawson are likely to be the answer. Sue Bird would be the first choice by a mile, but Seattle would’ve cored her if they’d felt there was any chance that she would leave.

Atlanta Dream: "Tanisha Wright would be a great fit as well, but Seattle likely wouldn’t have allowed her to become a true unrestricted free agent unless they were certain she was staying in Storm green."

Connecticut Sun: "[If they wanted to get a new guard] Sue Bird would be the obvious Holy Grail for a team just down the road from UConn, but it’s very hard to see her leaving Seattle."

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "Amphipolis Under Siege" (5.14)


Ares: Ow, Athena is beating you like a dog out there. Put a poultice on it, it's gotta sting.

Xena: Thanks.

Ares: Hey, don't feel bad. After all, you're fighting the god of wisdom and warfare.

Xena: Don't forget weaving.

Labels: Xena

Last week, in an effort to watch some college basketball that made sense for me to watch, I recorded the Washington @ Washington State game.

Going into the game, WSU had the better record, and UW was missing two important players due to injuries. (One was out for the season, the other out for just that game.)

WSU was supposed to win the game, and beat UW for the first time in sixteen years. (The truly ironical bit is that WSU's coach used to coach UW, so she's switched from the winning side to the losing!)

Amazingly, Washington's players stepped up, and won the game 60-51! Particularly impressive was freshman point guard Jazmine Davis, who was high scorer with 25 points. She got them in a variety of ways, too: driving to the basket, layups, and three-pointers.

All my previous basketball-watching has been professional (the Storm) or elite college (UConn). It was obvious, even to my untrained eyes, that neither UW or WSU was anywhere near UConn's level. Very enjoyable game, though! (Especially since the right team won!) I think I may try to watch another UW basketball game...


By the way, WSU's losing streak against UW isn't their worst -- they've actually lost 52 in a row against Stanford! To be fair, Stanford is in the elite level of schools, so that's not as shocking. But still! I almost feel bad for WSU. Almost.

Labels: college basketball

From "Bodyswap" (3.4):


[Cat and Lister are playing Scrabble.]

Cat: Hey hey hey, I've got you now, buddy! J, O, Z, X, Y, Q, K!

Lister: That's not a word.

Cat: It's a Cat word.

Lister: Jozxyqk?

Cat: That's not how you pronounce it!

Lister: What does it mean?

Cat: It's the sound you make when you get your sexual organs trapped in something.

Lister: Is it in the dictionary?

Cat: Well it could be, if you're reading in the nude and close the book too quick. Jozxyqk!!!

Labels: Red Dwarf

A twitter conversation between (former UConn player, current ESPN broadcaster) Rebecca Lobo and (UConn coach) Geno Auriemma, after a severe power outage last November:


Rebecca Lobo: Spent 7 days with no electricity (or tap water or heat). Would you marry your current spouse if you lived in Little House on Prairie days?

Geno Auriemma: only if she could hunt, cook, and chop wood.

Rebecca Lobo: She'd have to do all 3. Blowing a whistle and yelling at 18-yr-olds not the most useful survival skills.

Labels: UConn basketball, weather

Jeopardy had a WNBA question!

[h/t the Storm twitter feed]

Labels: WNBA

From their post about Michelle Williams's Golden Globes outfit:


"And I like the weight of it, and the way it moves. Now, that being said: Do I wish it gave her more of a waist? Yes. Do I suspect she doesn't have a very well-defined waist? From years of seeing her, yes. Do I personally share that affliction? To my endless irritation. So do I sympathize? I do. Do I ever think about doing that Cher operation where they remove a rib to give you a waist? Totally. Do I think that is totally insane? Obviously. So do I understand the need to make your clothes give you what your body didn't? Absolutely. All that aside, do I think this is very pretty? I actually think I do. Do I think she needed the headband? Not entirely. Am I in love with her red nails? Totally. AM I EVER GOING TO STOP ASKING MYSELF QUESTIONS AND THEN ANSWERING THEM? Probably not. Sorry."

Labels: The Fug Girls

UConn finally managed to win a televised game, and I completely spaced on mentioning it. (Have I mentioned how sick of being sick I am? 'Cause I am.)

Anyway, they played the University of North Carolina (Camille Little's alma mater, btw), and they smooshed UNC like a bug. Thank goodness, frankly. I was sick as a dog that day, and when I turned on the game (after my afternoon nap), it was the end of the first half and the score was 51-16. It was soothing to know I was going to be watching a blow-out.

The final score was 86-35, and it could have been worse. Late in the first half UConn's deeeep bench guard was put in the game. With 12:46 left in the second half, UConn was up by 50. For the last ten minutes or so of the second half, they were playing that deeeep bench guard, their deeeep bench post, and their other deep bench post.

Even up by 40+, the UConn players were still playing hard. At one point in the second half, there was a loose ball. The two players running it down? Both UConn guards.

Labels: health, UConn basketball

Iris is unhappy with the cluster of Storm home games in August. (Lauren Jackson is excited, though!)

Jayda Evans explains why the schedule was so late this year (it's usually out in December).

She also noticed that the WNBA is advertising the first game of the season (LA @ Seattle) as Candace Parker vs. Sue Bird, which assumes that Sue Bird will re-sign with Seattle, and not be lured to Phoenix.

Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA

From "The End's Not Near, It's Here" (4.16)


Kirsten: You're making crepes?

Ryan: Yeah. Taylor sent Kaitlin a griddle from France.

Kaitlin: With a super-long note about how I need to broaden my breakfast horizons. She's 6,000 miles away and still annoying.

Labels: The O.C.

From "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" (3.09):


Rory: These bells make me homesick.

Sam: You mean like church bells and stuff?

Rory: No. My brother Seamus gets lost all the time, so my dad made him wear a bell around his neck so we can always find him.

Sam: Smart.

Labels: Glee

Sorry I haven't been blogging more -- I've got a nasty cold.

But in the meantime, here's an interview with Sue Bird! (h/t Svetlana Abrosimova!) Based the awkwardness of her answers, I'm guessing her answers were translated into Russian, and then the whole article was translated back into English. Fun!

Labels: health, Seattle Storm

From "Art Burn" (5.07):


Jane: Money. Money, money. I love money. I'd shovel it down my throat if I could.

Daria: You're kidding, right?

Jane: Of course, Daria. I'd chew it slowly and stop when I felt full.

Labels: Daria

From "Intervention" (5.18):


Tara: Everyone, before we jump all over [Buffy], people do strange things when someone they love dies. When I lost my mother, I did some pretty dumb stuff like lying to my family and staying out all night.

Anya: Buffy's boinking Spike.

[pause]

Willow: Oh. Tara's right. Grief can be powerful, and we shouldn't judge—

Tara: What are you, kidding? She's nuts!

Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Swish Appeal tweeted "Expect the [Phoenix] Mercury to make a run at UFA Sue Bird." (UFA = unrestricted free agent.) Jayda Evans replied:


"Shouldn't every team?"

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "Oliver's Dream" (1.1):


[Geoffrey is being evicted from his theater after not paying rent.]

the landlord: No! I do not want any trouble! You are crazy! Please.

Cheryl: He’s not crazy.

Geoffrey: Not anymore.

the landlord: You attacked me with a knife!

Geoffrey: Oh, that was a prop.

Labels: Slings and Arrows

Interview with Coach Agler and CEO Bryant.

Labels: Seattle Storm

From the pilot:


Vecchio: We've got some fishing rods, a rifle last used by Chuck Conners, and a bag of rice. So, what's your plan?

Fraser: We wait for them to come.

Vecchio: Yeah? And?

Fraser: Then we arrest them.

Vecchio: You see, that's such a simple plan that the American mind automatically tends to discount it, so let me run it back to you: We wait here. Gerard and God knows who else comes -- sometime when? We're not sure. And then, when we least expect it, they shoot us dead with automatic weapons. Any part I left out?

Fraser: Yes. I need Gerard alive to testify, so we can't kill him.

Vecchio: Oh, I don't think we're in any danger of doing that.

Labels: Due South

From "Trouble" (3.05):


[Russell and Franklin are vampires.]

Russell: As always, the deposit will go to your trust account.

Franklin: But I want cash.

Russell: Last time you had any real money you ended up at the slots in Biloxi slaughtering a church group of elderly women.

Franklin: They wouldn't let me have a turn!

Labels: True Blood

The Pope believes that same-sex marriages "threaten the future of humanity itself". Jimmy Kimmel explains how it will happen:



[h/t AfterElton]

Labels: GLBT

From the fifth episode of the first season:


The Dowager Countess: You are quite wonderful, the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal.

Isobel Crawley: I take that as a compliment.

The Dowager Countess: I must have said it wrong.

Labels: Downton Abbey

It's always cool when actors on shows you watch like the same sorts of shows you do. Here's a little twitter conversation between Nathan Fillion (Captain Mal on Firefly) and Joel McHale (Jeff on Community):


Nathan Fillion: Dear @joelmchale, Please tell your cast I love your show. I'm watching every episode back to back. Thanks for the hard work.

Joel McHale: Dear @NathanFillion, the cast would like to say thank you & that they love Castle, Serenity, Firefly, your big hands, dreamy face, & body.

Labels: Community, Firefly

The first episode of the new season aired last night, but I haven't watched it yet.

It's getting hard to avoid spoilers.

I'd better go watch!

Labels: Downton Abbey

From Fuzzy Logic by Darby Conley:


Rob: I'm just saying you shouldn't have called yourself a "professional" interior decorator on TV. I mean, you've never been paid for it.

Bucky: Satchel paid me.

Satchel: Yeah, I gave him some paint and a dollar to paint my wall.

Rob: You mean you gave him a can of paint, he made that mess in your room, and then you paid him for doing it?

Satchel: Um... Yeah. I admit it doesn't sound so good when you say it out loud.

Rob: [to Bucky] Maybe you're not as crazy as I thought.

Labels: Get Fuzzy

From "Hold On to Sixteen" (3.08):


[Kurt thinks Sebastian is getting a little too close to his (Kurt's) boyfriend, Blaine.]

Kurt: I don't like you.

Sebastian: Fun. I don't like you either.

Kurt: I don't like the way you talk to my boyfriend. I don't like your smirky little meerkat face. I don't like your obnoxious CW hair. I'm on to you.

Sebastian: Let's get a few things straight: Blaine's too good for you, New Directions is a joke, and one of us has a hard luck case of the 'Gay Face' and it ain't me. Odds are by the end of the school year, I'll have Blaine and a Nationals trophy, and you'll have khakis and a Lima Bean [coffee shop] apron and that gay face.

Kurt: You smell like Craigslist.

Labels: Glee

Exciting game -- it went into overtime -- but a bummer of a loss.

Why do the teams I love fail to make free throws in important games? In the Storm's last game of the season they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and today the UConn players could only make one out of every two free throws. (I'm not kidding. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis: 1-2, Stefanie Dolson: 1-2, Bria Hartley: 3-6, Kelly Faris: 2-4. Tiffany Hayes managed 6-8, but that's it!)

Labels: UConn basketball

From the pilot episode:


Duncan: I'm a professor. You can't talk to me that way!

Jeff: A six-year-old girl could talk to you that way!

Duncan: Yes, because that would be adorable!

Jeff: No, because you're a five-year-old girl and there's a pecking order!

Labels: Community

UConn will be playing at Notre Dame tomorrow (Saturday). The game will be airing on CBS, so even people without cable (cough cough, Soto, cough cough) could watch it if they wanted to.

These teams played each other four times last year, the last game being in the first round of the Final Four.

Notre Dame won.

Notre Dame's team is basically unchanged from last year. UConn lost Maya Moore.

Massey Ratings is predicting UConn by 3, with a 58% certainty. In other words, it should be a close game.

The game starts at 1:00 pm PST.

Labels: UConn basketball

Interviews with Chicago Sky coach Pokey Chapman and Seattle Storm coach Brian Agler. (Agler's interview starts about halfway through.)

The Storm website has already set up "2012 Draft HQ". Minnesota, the reigning champions, has the number three pick. 'Cause they need more talent. [eye roll]

Jayda Evans addresses rumors about the Storm drafting Baylor's Brittney Griner or Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins. (Short version: Yes, they could each enter the draft if they really wanted to, but it's very unlikely that either will.)

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "Safe"


[Shepherd Book, a preacher, has been shot.]

Book: That's... that's quite a lot of blood, isn't it?

Mal: Just means you ain't dead.

Book: 'Fraid I might be needing a preacher.

Mal: That's good. You just lie there and be ironical.

Labels: Firefly

Apparently Soto has already watched both seasons of Community that I got him for Christmas! In honor of that awesomeness, here's a bit from an early episode:

[Jeff, a former lawyer, is trying to convince Troy, a high school football star, to join their college's football team.]

Labels: Community

From "iQ":


[Carly wants to impress a guy she likes...]

Carly: So, I have to learn about boring Russian films and how to speak Mandarin Chinese.

Sam: He speaks Chinese?

Carly: Fluently, and all I know is [in Mandarin Chinese] Wo bu zhi dao!

Freddie: What's that mean?

Carly: I don't know.

Sam: How could you not know what it means?

Carly: I do know. It means "I don't know."

Labels: iCarly

Battlestar Galactica, as a 1990's computer game.

Spoilers! (And if you don't know anything about BSG, it won't be "spoilers" so much as, "huh?" and "what?")



[h/t io9]

Labels: Battlestar Galactica

Swin Cash writes about the trade: "The business of basketball is always hard for fans to understand. One of the hardest things for me after receiving the news was seeing so many heartfelt messages on Twitter (@swincash). To know that I had an impact on so many individuals from afar was humbling. I just want you to know I will never forget the Seattle fans; they were truly my sixth man."


Jayda Evans has a proper Seattle Times article about the trade. She's also been chatting on twitter: "I think there's another big move coming. Leaning toward [the Storm] trading No. 2 pick..."


Meanwhile, in Russia...

Svetlana Abrosimova tweets: "Had first team practice of the year. It's so nice to see Sue Bird in UMMC uniform! Everyone look rested and recharged!!!"

Labels: Seattle Storm

Originally posted in 2010:


The submitter of this conversation lives 1,200 miles from her mother, and was sick at the time...

submitter: I miss you.

her mom: you just want me with you when you’re a sicky. i made popcorn for you saturday night. you didn’t show up so i ate it all

Labels: random silliness

I've posted this before, but I need a little break from the Storm drama:




And here's the deleted scenes from the "movie", with commentary!

Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight

You can read the whole thing here.

Regarding Swin Cash: "Big, true small forwards aren’t easy to find in this league – just look how long Chicago have needed one, for example – and the Storm could have serious problems replacing her."

Regarding Le'Coe Willingham: "Some of her skills overlapped with starter Camille Little, but when those attributes are hustle, energy, grit and toughness in the paint, you don’t mind a little duplication." He wonders if she'll be the starting power forward or first post off the bench, like she was for Seattle.

Seattle has a lot of work ahead: "There’s a lot more to come from Seattle this offseason. Well, there kind of has to be, seeing as their current list of contracted players reads something like this: Camille Little, Ashley Robinson, Lauren Jackson (who won’t be showing up until after the Olympics). That’s it. From a Storm fan perspective, obviously you hope the remaining key parts are coming back. Sue Bird is priority number one, closely followed by Tanisha Wright, with another year of Katie Smith trailing in third. After that, you have to hope there are other moves in the offing as well."

He throws out a lot of names of free agents that could theoretically join the Storm now that they've dumped some money from the payroll (Shameka Christon, Alana Beard, Erika de Souza, Monique Currie, Crystal Langhorne, Ann Wauters...) and does some vague speculation about who they might take at the #2 draft pick: "One presumes that Seattle have decided that someone who’ll be available at #2 can come in and help them right away, and was worth making this move."

He also speculates: "It could easily be used as a trade chip to try to help the Storm a little more immediately than the rookie might manage."

He agrees with me that this is a great move for Chicago ("Hard to fault a move that adds two solid veterans, fills a glaring need, and gives up only a pick in a draft full of question marks.") and a big question mark for the Storm ("They gave up two central pieces of their rotation, including a key starter, for a complete unknown (who’s the #2 even going to be?)").

In summary, "When I first heard about this trade, I instantly though Seattle had to be getting more back. Surely the #2 pick in this draft wasn’t enough for both Cash and Willingham? Turns out, they were even throwing in a second-rounder to complete the deal. That tells me that Agler must have big plans for that cap space (even though he isn’t really meant to be talking to free agents yet)."

Labels: Seattle Storm

A reader sent in this story for their article "The Most Horrifying Period Stories You've Ever Heard":


The Fun Guy And Me

The second time I tripped on mushrooms was my senior year of college (can you tell where this is headed?). I was alone in my apartment and ate the caps and stems. I was enjoying staring at various moving patterns on my pillowcases and listening to the imaginary ocean waves when I had to pee. I went to the bathroom and noticed the blood in the bowl. Usually, I have no cramps until I start my period and this was no exception. However, I completely forgot about the concept of periods and just assumed I was bleeding from the inside out. Specifically, I believed that there were tiny trolls with teeth and nails shredding up my internal organs. I laid in bed curled in the fetal position, for what seemed like hours, begging the trolls to leave my body, until I went to sleep.

Labels: health, random weirdness

....And I don't think I like it.

The Storm traded Swin Cash and Le'Coe Willingham to the Chicago Sky in return for the #2 (overall) draft pick this year.

It's a great deal for the Chicago Sky. They have never been to the playoffs, so they keep getting high draft picks (Sylvia Fowles, Epiphanny Prince, Courtney Vandersloot...) but have very few veterans. They don't really need yet another rookie, but they can really use two vets like Swin and Le'Coe. (Swin's a star, of course, but Le'Coe should help them a lot, too. Swish Appeal pointed out that in the "offensive rebounding percentage leaderboard", Le'Coe Willingham was in the top five. Chicago's Sylvia Fowles, a 6'6" "true 5" player, is #6.)

For the Storm.... Well, that really depends on who the #2 pick is, doesn't it? The 2012 class is considered to be relatively weak, but hopefully we can get someone good with the #2 pick.

I'm really going to miss seeing Swin Cash and Le'Coe Willingham in Storm uniforms. Swin's first season with the Storm was 2008, which is the year I went to my first Storm game. And, to me, Le'Coe Willingham and Svetlana Abrosimova are the duo that brought us our 2010 championship.

But I understand why Coach Agler and the Storm had to do it. They haven't had a top four ("lottery") pick since Sue Bird in 2002. That's the price of making it to the playoffs every year! They need new blood.


Here's Jayda Evans' take on the trade.


Richard Cohen at WNBAlien has promised an article about it, but in the meantime he tweeted, "Counting just players currently under contract, Seattle Storm's current starting lineup is TBA/TBA/TBA/Little/Robinson on opening day." (Lauren Jackson will be in Australia, and Sue Bird & Tanisha Wright haven't yet signed new contracts.)


Swin Cash tweeted a farewell: "To the City of Seattle, teammates, staff,my #Cashforkids girls& #STORMCRAZIES I say thank you for the love&support! Blessed to have helped bring another ring to the Emerald City."



Meanwhile in Russia....

Svetlana Abrosimova is currently nursing an ankle injury:

"Just played my first game this year. Streetball in the snow with a soccer ball:)"

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "Kyle Whitaker's Got Two Sacks" (2.07):


Dana: My brother can beat up your brother.

Natalie: My brother's a grad student in comparative literature. My mother could beat up my brother.

Labels: Sports Night

Every month I like to go back through my blog and read all the entries from that month in previous years. When I was poking through all the old January posts, I found this one, from January 3, 2009, in which I proudly declare that I had stuck to my daily exercise routine for two years.

I guess I've gotten so used to the exercise that I stopped keeping track, but I did some quick arithmetic and realized that since this is January 2012, I have been exercising daily for five years!

That's pretty cool.

Labels: health

From "I Loathe a Parade" (4.06):


Tad: I also like it when they throw candy from the floats.

Daria: Since when do you eat candy? You told me it was poison.

Tad: Oh, it is, but every piece I catch is one cavity some other boy or girl will never get. That's what makes it so rewarding.

Daria: Tad, when you brush your teeth, do you ever scrub right through to your brain?

Labels: Daria