Catching Ducks

From "Right To Remain Silenced" (episode 4.17):


Grif: Who's the prosecution?

Sarge: Well, I am, of course.

Simmons: You're the judge and the prosecutor? That's a conflict of interest!

Sarge: I object to that as speculative. And I also sustain my own objection!

Labels: Red vs. Blue

I seriously need some cute to cheer me up after tonight's game against Phoenix.

This should help:

Labels: random awesomeness

Seriously, what the heck, Storm? What was that mess???

Blech.

Storm lose.


On an even more depressing note: Tulsa beat L.A. tonight. (Good for them!) Why is that depressing? Because Tulsa split their series with L.A. this year. Seattle lost all their games against L.A. Soooo sad when Tulsa has a better record against a team than we do.

Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA

From "Adam's Family" (4.2):


George: Home sweet home.

Adam: It's a shit hole.

George: Yes, but it's our shit hole, so show some manners.

Labels: Being Human

[h/t Life is good & bad]

Labels: history

From his twitter, someone snarkily asked, "What did you do in high school? Besides be in the unofficial D&D club in your friend's basements." He replied:


"I drove the Enterprise."

Labels: Star Trek

This twitter conversation is between Seattle Storm players Ewelina Kobryn (who is Polish) and Tina Thompson (who is American):


Tina Thompson: [Alysha Clark, Shekinna Stricklen, Ewelina Kobryn, Svetlana Abrosimova, and Camille Little:] You guys want to go see Sparkle tonight?

Ewelina Kobryn: will u translate me ???:))):p

Tina Thompson: ha! Yep!

Ewelina Kobryn: Im going :)) let me know what Theater Movie ?)

Tina Thompson: you can ride with Alysha! She has the info, don't want to tweet that lol

Labels: Seattle Storm

From his recap of yesterday's New York at Seattle game:


"The first quarter went pretty much exactly how Agler and every Storm fan dreamt it. There was an impressive combination of ball movement and dribble-penetration on offense, with speed and execution that’s been rather rare in Seattle this year. They weren’t shooting the lights out from outside, because they didn’t need to. They were creating good shots by moving the ball inside, with [Seattle's] Camille Little particularly effective despite being matched up against the physicality and nous of [New York's] Plenette Pierson. And whenever the opportunity was there they were pushing the ball, running the floor, and looking for quick scoring opportunities. [...] Shekinna Stricklen joined the fun, entering earlier than usual for Katie Smith and contributing extra energy and pace to the Storm offense. By the end of the first quarter, Seattle led 28-9, Liberty coach John Whisenant had already picked up a technical while trying to wake his team up, and the Storm were rolling. Seattle, comfortably the worst rebounding team in the entire WNBA this year (especially on the offensive end), were even ahead 11-6 on the glass, with 6 offensive boards already. That first quarter was a 10-minute ass-kicking."


Bonus!

"Stricklen has improved as the season’s worn on, and her willingness to run the floor and leak out at every opportunity creates break chances that few other Storm wings have looked for in recent times. And Sue Bird will find her if she’s open."


More Bonus!

"Hilariously, Tulsa center Liz Cambage missed her flight back from Australia, according to the Shock. So she might not make her season debut on August 30th after all, although the team say they are rebooking her."

Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA

For tonight's game against New York, the Storm did something they hadn't done all season: They played eleven players. As they were warming up on court, I genuinely thought it seemed like a lot of people, but that's just because it's the first time the entire roster has been available! Finally, Lauren Jackson is back, and everyone is healthy. Finally!!!

The first quarter was AMAZING. I'm going to re-watch it for sure. The Storm had a 28-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, and played the Liberty pretty evenly the rest of the way, winning 84-66.

It was so good to see LJ looking like herself. Ann Wauters played some decent minutes, too. And seeing them out there on the floor together? Crazy.


My only complaint is the same as Richard Cohen's: "Hate to criticise anything in Storm performance, but I'd love to see LJ's answer to missing endless 3s be going inside, not 'jack another 3'." Although apparently Sue Bird was encouraging her to shoot.


But he had something nice to say in this tweet: "[Seattle's Camille] Little vs. [New York's Plenette] Pierson at the 4 is a fun matchup. Two of the most underappreciated post players in the women's game."


Also enjoyed Jayda Evans' tweet about Katie Smith's technical foul. A fan asked her why Smith got the tech, and Evans' response was, "No. But bet was some Aussie lingo [LJ] taught."

Labels: Seattle Storm

From her liveblog of tonight's game:


"The biggest cheer of the night -- when the jumbo screen displayed "No Injuries" for the Storm. It's been a long time folks. Four different players have missed games due to injuries."

Labels: Seattle Storm

From this WNBAlien post:


"Friday’s second and final game featured the Tulsa Shock, who’ve played hard but still won only 3 games all year, and the Chicago Sky, who’d lost 12 of their last 13 games coming into this one. If you paid to see this in person, I applaud you."

Labels: WNBA

Oh, Parker.

Labels: Leverage

From episode 5 of series 1:


[Sally is the probation worker for a bunch of teens doing community service.]

Sally: This is your chance to talk about community service.

Alisha: It's... bullshit.

Sally: So do you think that you have learned anything?

Curtis: Yeah. Don't get caught.

Sally: Fine... how do you think you have changed?

Nathan: I think I'm taller.

Labels: Misfits

This was a close game, pretty much throughout. Indiana had a lead at the beginning, but the Storm closed the gap, and took the lead. They held on to that lead for most of the game, but threw it all away in the last few minutes.

With 16 seconds left, the Storm still held a one point lead. With half a second left, Indiana hit a three-pointer. Game over.

In her first game back, Lauren Jackson didn't quite seem to fit into the system. I think she'll be fine, though.

My biggest complaint about the game was that Katie Smith was the fifth player on the court late in the game. I would have much preferred to see Shekinna Stricklen (who had a great game) or Svetlana Abrosimova (who is the fifth remaining member of the 2010 championship team) out there with Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Camille Little, and Tanisha Wright.

Labels: Seattle Storm

From her twitter:


"Opals yellow and USA blue make Seattle Storm green."

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

BBC America's new trailer:

Labels: Doctor Who

I couldn't pick just one from his recap of the Minnesota @ Seattle game:


"This was a shockingly entertaining game. Not that it’s usually painful to watch Seattle in front of their enthusiastic Key Arena crowd, but they’re typically a methodical, grind-it-out kind of ballclub under Brian Agler. From the start of this one they were playing with a higher tempo, looking for quick offense when it was available, and playing with unusual fluidity offensively. Hopefully they can bottle that approach for games against weaker opponents. Because unfortunately, they ran into a juggernaut. The Lynx were ridiculous offensively for much of this game, and Seattle – consistently one of the best defensive teams in the WNBA over recent years – couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Within the rules, virtually nobody can when the Lynx are in this kind of mood."


"Alysha Clark, who continues to give everything she’s got and show significant improvement as an emergency post for Seattle, drained a three that looked like it might give the Storm some momentum heading into the halftime break. Only for Maya Moore to drill her own three at the other end. Minnesota weren’t going to let the Storm have anything in this one."


"With the gap down to 7 heading into the fourth quarter, and a Wright jumper narrowing it to 5 only seconds later, the Key Arena crowd was going nuts. Then you blinked, and it was over again. Moore rained in a pair of threes, the second after Rebekkah Brunson charged all over the floor grabbing a series of offensive boards. Then Augustus dropped in a pair of long jumpers with consummate ease. Suddenly, the gap was up to 16, and it was goodnight Vienna."


"The Storm can actually be very pleased with this performance, despite losing by double-digits on their own floor. Sometimes, the other team just plays out of their mind offensively and there’s not a lot you can do. If Seattle can actually play with this pace and rhythm offensively more often, it’ll stand them in good stead going forward. Along with the fact that when Jackson, Thompson and Wauters come back, the interior options vastly improve."


By the way, LJ should play 10-15 minutes tomorrow.

Labels: Seattle Storm

The Storm held on longer than I'd expected, but eventually the depth, talent, and healthiness of the Lynx won out.


The good news: Lauren Jackson is back! And she is expected to play on Thursday against Indiana. Woo-hoo!

Labels: Seattle Storm

From her livechat on ESPN.com:


[She was asked what other Olympic sport (besides basketball and soccer) she wishes she could compete in.]

"I'm not sure which one I'd want to compete in, but one of the sports that I went to watch live was water polo. I can definitely tell you that I would not want to play water polo. It looks like the toughest sport I've seen in my life. I went to women's water polo and they are legit athletes. I'm pretty sure I would drown."

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

Officially, Sue Bird will play against Minnesota tomorrow night.

She was back at practice today, and even talked to the media.


On the other hand, Lauren Jackson will NOT be playing. I believe she's back in Seattle (Nineteen hours ago she tweeted that she was leaving Australia. Her first tweet since was seventeen minutes ago.) but after traveling all day and having less than twenty-four hours to recuperate, I can understand her not playing tomorrow. Still: bummer.

Labels: Seattle Storm

From his WNBAlien post about Saturday's L.A. at Seattle game:


"[Coach Agler] also had the same problem with LA that’s reared its head every time Seattle have run into the Sparks this year: Kristi Toliver. If she could play every game for the rest of her career against the Storm, Toliver would be regarded as the best player on the planet."

Labels: Seattle Storm

I saw this on Please don't do a special episode about me:


Sometimes people in fandom go:
I don’t care about the male hero at all
but I love that recurring morally ambiguous female character
she should get a spin-off
where she tries to stay on the good path
helped by a female sidekick
she’s clearly in love with

and I’m like
yeah, Xena was awesome.

Labels: Xena

The Storm had seven players for their game against L.A. tonight. (An eighth, Tina Thompson, played less than five minutes.)

Considering that, they put up an impressive fight. But, alas, they still lost.

They were actually ahead at the end of the first quarter, and only down by two at halftime. But L.A.'s depth and talent were just too much.

Minnesota's up next. Hopefully Sue Bird will be feeling better. Hopefully Lauren Jackson will be back in Seattle and feeling well enough to play. Hopefully Tina Thompson's knee injury will be healed enough so she can play more than five minutes.

Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully.... Against the best team in the WNBA.

On Thursday the Storm finally got to 10-10. I think after Tuesday we'll be back down to 10-12, and have to fight to get back to .500 again. Sigh.

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "Bloody Mary" (1.05):


Sam: Might not be [a supernatural death]. It might be just some freak medical thing.

Dean: How many times in Dad's long, varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing? And not some sign of an awful supernatural death?

Sam: Almost never.

Dean: Exactly.

Labels: Supernatural

Translated: Sue Bird on Northwest Sports Tonight:

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "The Nana" (1.23):


Seth: So what's the G.P., R.A.?

Ryan: I have no idea what you just said.

Seth: Game plan, Ryan Atwood.

Ryan: You're just using initials now?

Seth: Yeah. They save time.

Ryan: Well, not if you have to translate.

Seth: G.P.

Ryan: Game plan?

Seth: Good point.

Labels: The O.C.

First, the video of Sue Bird on New Day Northwest. Best part is ~3:15 when Sue talks about having to guard LJ in the USA/Australia game:


Speaking of LJ, she has some messages for us. On the Storm website there's a nice message explaining why she's not back yet, and tonight she tweeted, "#StormCrazies Go Storm, I am with you guys tonight, CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK THERE. YAY... Cheer my little Bird, T, Milli & co loud. I will be"

The WNBA made a cool little post-Olympics video:

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

There were a few moments in tonight's game that showed some rust on the team. Not as many as I expected, honestly, but they were there.

Ann Wauters is still not playing. Tina Thompson wraps up her knee every time she sits down. And the surprise: Sue Bird only played the first quarter. She never came back out after halftime. Turns out she has a stomach bug. (Side note: I can barely function when I'm feeling queasy. I cannot imagine playing basketball with an upset stomach!)

The game was pretty even for the first quarter. Phoenix pulled ahead in the first part of the second, but after two timeouts less than a minute apart, Seattle went on a 8-0 run, got the lead, and never let go. (In her article Jayda Evans mentioned it being a 6-0 run, Ped thought it was a 6-0 run, but I was pretty sure it was 8-0. Play-by-play actually says it was 10-0! But the first 8 were relatively close together -- 5:29-4:02 -- and the last two points came at 2:56. So that's why I thought it was 8. Not sure why Jayda and Ped were confused .... ;) )

Final score 72-58, but that's generous to Phoenix.

Labels: Seattle Storm

Kevin Pelton writes for the Storm website. (He does all the stats stuff they do.) During tonight's game he tweeted:


"I would describe tonight's officiating as 'minimalist.' "


Bonus quote!:

"When I play pickup basketball, I now refer to all long threes as Tina Thompsons."

Labels: Seattle Storm

I never watched Gilmore Girls, but I ran across this quote and was immediately transported back in time to when I watch General Hospital religiously. The quote is from "Kiss and Tell", apparently:


Lorelai: I was watching General Hospital the other day and you know, they have a new Lucky 'cause the old Lucky went to play something where he could have a real name. So the old Lucky had this girlfriend, Liz, who thought that he died in a fire. So then they bring on this new Lucky and you're all like "OK, I know that's not the old Lucky because the new Lucky has way more hair gel issues" but still, Liz was so upset about his supposed death that you could not wait to see them kiss, you know?

Rory: When do you have time to watch General Hospital?

Lorelai: OK, let's get back to the point. What do you think about the whole Liz/Lucky kissing thing?

Rory: I think they're actors being paid to play a part so it's nice that they're living up to their obligations.

Labels: TV

First game's on Thursday -- woo hoo! Even if it will be without LJ -- boo, hiss!


Sue Bird is back at practice.


The rest of the team has been getting ready. Ann Wauters is still out. Tina Thompson will probably play limited minutes.


A rare interview with Tanisha Wright.


A new downtown Seattle commercial (again, WHY?) with a brief-but-adorable glimpse of Sue Bird:

Labels: Seattle Storm

The Seattle Times has a good gallery of photos from the Taylor Bridge Fire.

1, 15, 54, 61, and 62 were the best, I thought. The house in 8 looked familiar.

Labels: weather

I just found this site, and it seems pretty cool. This quote is from Can We Talk About Why We Really Love Princess Leia?:


"Leia’s solidity is one of the primary reasons why Amidala doesn’t hold up in the prequels. Though there are hints that they share a similar nature, from their aptitude for politics to their willingness to get their hands dirty when the fight is on, Padme only ever comes off as a faded version of her daughter. Like Lucas took Leia, scrubbed her squeaky clean, and left her too long in the sunlight. All the vibrancy is bleached out, that key spark is missing, and the prequels are poorer for it."

Labels: Star Wars

Lauren Jackson had always said that if Australia won gold, she'd take some time off after the Olympics to celebrate back home.

Well, apparently she's celebrating anyway.

She's going to miss her own Bobblehead night!!! Boo, hiss.

Labels: Seattle Storm

From "Justice" (4.3):


[Lister takes the witness stand.]

Kryten: Name?

Lister: Dave Lister.

Kryten: Occupation?

Lister: [pause] Bum.

Kryten: Sir, would you describe the accused [Rimmer] as a friend?

Cat: Take the Fifth!

Kryten: Sir, please answer the question. Remember you are under polygraphic surveillance: Would you describe the accused as a friend?

Lister: No, I'd describe the accused as a git.

Kryten: And who would you say feels most fondly for him?

Lister: Well, I do.

Labels: Red Dwarf

From "The Girls Night Out Job" (4.13):


Sophie: How do we disarm [the bomb]?

Tara: You're asking me?

Sophie: You were in the army.

Tara: You stole paintings; that doesn't mean you know how to draw.

Labels: Leverage

France put up a bit of a fight at the beginning of the game, but the result was never really in doubt. USA won the gold, 86-50.

I was much more anxious about the previous game: Russia vs. Australia. That was a much closer game,but Lauren Jackson had a fabulous second half and Australia won the bronze -- woo hoo!


US women win 5th straight gold, rout France 86-50: "The names change on the U.S. uniforms, but the results don't. Teresa Edwards, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie got the amazing run started and now Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings have continued it. With young stars Parker, Maya Moore and Tina Charles a big part of the success in London it doesn't look like the run will end anytime soon."


USA Basketball quotes: Geno Auriemma: "I mean, you can’t apologize for being really good. The reason [the media] don’t think there’s any competition is because they don’t have to be here playing. We know what the competition is, we know how good these other teams are, and we know how hard we have to work to make it look easy, because it’s not as easy as it looks. We do what we do in the United States and we take great pride in our basketball program. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, it doesn’t matter who the players are, there’s a certain level of expectation when you coach and play for USA Basketball. That expectation is to win, and we take it very seriously. Maybe in those other sports, there isn’t that same expectation in the United States that you’re going to win all the time, but we’re not going to start losing just to make them feel better back home."


Women's Basketball Bronze Medal: Lauren Jackson Leads Australia To Medal Over Russia: "After ending the three previous Olympics with a loss to the United States, Lauren Jackson earned her fourth consecutive Olympic medal and Australia's fifth with a win in the bronze medal game over Russia, 83-74."


No upsets as USA claim gold against France, Australia -- bronze: "Russians have previously complained about the aggressive defending by the Australians so they came out as the aggressors this time, crossing the line of dirty play more than they are used to. That didn’t stop the Russian coach Sokolovsky to complain about Australians getting away with too much."


London Finals: Bird, USA Golden Again: "Sue Bird and the USA women are golden again. The USA extended its domination of women's basketball competition at the Olympics to two decades, winning a fifth consecutive gold medal by crushing France in Saturday's final at London's North Greenwich Arena, 86-50. The win was the 41st in a row for the U.S. women in Olympic play, a streak that dates back to 1992. That was the last time the USA was unable to bring home gold."


What USA Women's Basketball's Defense Did To France In The Third Quarter Of The 2012 Olympic Final: "During the third quarter of the USA women's basketball team's 86-50 win in the 2012 Olympic final, BBC commentator John Amaechi said of France's offensive performance, 'Their scoring has gone from anemic to ... something worse than that.' "


U.S. women did not generate buzz, but did generate fifth straight gold: "While hordes of journalists attended every practice and game of the U.S. men's team, the women saw just a handful on a regular basis. They were well aware their journey lacked a certain kind of drama: They weren't doing something for the first time, as the U.S. women's water polo team did in winning a gold medal; they didn't leave outcomes in doubt, as the U.S. women's soccer team did in beating Canada in the final seconds of their semifinal. They weren't on a redemptive mission, and no tragic personal stories fueled them. They didn't stir up controversy on twitter, didn't show up in viral photos they'd live to regret; didn't wear ill-advised t-shirts that proclaimed, 'Greatness Has Been Found,' as the U.S. soccer players did after they won a gold medal."

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

From "Locked Up":


[Menacing guys approach Andre and Beck.]

Andre: We're gonna die!

Beck: Don't act scared.

Andre: I'm not acting!

Labels: Victorious

Team USA finally wears down Australia, advances to gold medal game: "There’s always a game within the game – and even though Australia would extend a 32-28 second quarter lead to as many as seven before the break, the tide had already turned with 6:11 to go in the second quarter. The reason? Liz Cambage was exhausted. Up to that point, Cambage had scored 13 points and dominated the game, but she was also completely out of gas. She leaned over at the free-throw line, hands on her knees, and had to come out of the game."


London 2012: Will semis loss to the U.S. be the end of an era for Australian women's basketball?: "Nor was [Australian guard Kristi Harrower] regretting her team's failure to game the system by losing their final preliminary round game, as Russia has all but confessed to doing, in an effort to avoid meeting the U.S. before the final. No, that would have been 'un-Australian,' as Harrower, team captain Lauren Jackson and Opals' coach Carrie Graf each independently described it when the question was put to them."


USA Women's Basketball Vs. Australia: Tina Charles, Asjha Jones & The Five Minutes That Changed The Game: "While Minnesota Lynx teammates Augustus, Moore, and Whalen have already drawn praise for bringing their WNBA championship-caliber chemistry to London, the defensive play of Charles and Jones - that has helped the Connecticut Sun establish themselves as the top defensive team in the Eastern Conference in the first half of the 2012 WNBA season - was just as significant in shifting momentum in favor of the U.S."


And from the USA Basketball site, Coach Auriemma's best quote:

On the decision to move to a two-three zone in the second-half:
I would love to say that it was really strategic on my part, but it was more out of desperation. We couldn’t guard her – there was nothing we could do. We had a couple of our bigs in foul trouble, and their two bigs were just killing us. So, we had played it a little bit this tournament and we were actually pretty bad for not having spent a lot of time on it. That and making a couple shots on the other end proved to be the difference.

Labels: Olympics

Remember how I said Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird talked to the team at halftime of the last game? Apparently Sue Bird really made an impression on Seimone Augustus:


On the team’s second half effort:
When Sue Bird has to yell at you about something it’s a problem and I think everybody took it personally at the way we defended in the first half. It was very disappointing to see [Liz] Cambage get easy shots like she did, so they came out and played awesome and the second group just took it upon themselves to be a little more aggressive and put the pressure on Australia early.

On the reserves sparking the 16-6 run:
Coach talks about it all the time, it could be any player on a given night. Angel McCoughtry has been a great job for us coming off the bench early, and tonight it just so happened to be the Minnesota Lynx and a few players from Connecticut that sparked that fire; and it was a matter of Sue Bird yelling at us in the locker room, which is unheard of. When Sue has to yell at a player it’s a problem, so we wanted to come out and bring the energy.

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

I managed to stay unspoiled for this game, despite the fact that I watched it a full twelve hours late. I almost wish I knew that we'd win, though, because yikes! It was a close one.

Australia was ahead at the end of the first quarter and the end of the first half. After halftime, though, the Americans figured out how to defend Liz Cambage, and by the fourth they had a comfortable-ish lead.

Apparently, at halftime Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi did most of the talking.

Speaking of Sue Bird, she ... well, she decided her team needed her to score some points, so she did.

Final score 86-73.


Next up: France in the gold medal game.

As lovewomensbball tweeted: "France win the silver medal! #TweetsFromSaturday"

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

From his twitter:


"You've really gotta make sure you hold your flag the right way round in a match between Hungary and Italy."

Labels: Olympics

Lots has been written about the USA/Australia game tomorrow...

Here's two.


Also, for some reason, Apolo Ohno dropped by the team's practice. He looks really short.

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

I quoted her tweet the other day, but now her husband has written an article about showing their kids her gold medal:


"These are the best athletes in the world," the announcer was saying, over an Olympic event that was blocked by my 7-year-old's silhouette -- her head, ears and pigtails backlit by the TV screen. A light bulb buzzed to life above that head and she said, without turning around, "Mom, you were in the Olympics, right?"

"A long time ago," my wife said from her armchair.

"Still," our daughter said, checking the math of her own logic. "That means you ... were one of the best people in the world ... at basketball." ("And yet you can't even microwave oatmeal," she seemed to imply.)

Labels: Olympics

A conversation between Richard "WNBAlien" Cohen and Dishin' & Swishin':


WNBAlien: Big upset on cards in the handball quarters, with Iceland 4 down to Hungary at halftime. Can't quite believe I just typed that.

Dishin' & Swishin': you owe me 15 seconds of my life back that I read it

WNBAlien: Hungary won in double-overtime, by the way ;).

Dishin' & Swishin': make that 17 seconds

Labels: Olympics

Ignore the parts that are a Nike commercial, and enjoy the rest of it:




[h/t S#*! my mouth says]

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

Poor Canada. There are many (women's) team sports where the U.S. and Canada are on equal footing (ice hockey, soccer, etc.). Basketball is not one of them. As Richard Cohen pointed out, Canada came into the game knowing they were going to lose.

The U.S. basically doubled up Canada's score throughout the game. Final score was 91-48.


Today I ran across a couple articles with good Geno Auriemma quotes:

"Someone put shirts in our rooms that said 'Road to Respect'. I thought that was kind of dumb. Sue Bird has won two gold medals, two WNBA championships, a million championships in Europe, world championships for the U.S., and a couple of national championships with Connecticut. If they don't respect her by now, then screw them."

"When you coach the underdog, you always have the back door open. You can always say, ‘We didn’t have enough talent.’ Or ‘We didn’t have tradition.’ Me? I don’t like being the underdog. I like coaching the best team with the best players, and then if we lose, it’s my fault. It’s like playing cards. I don’t want to win on the seventh hand because I get lucky. I want to have four aces right off the bat.”


Next up is Australia. They beat China (although it was close for most of the game). Lauren Jackson has officially scored the most points in Olympic history.


I watched the USA/Canada game online, so I didn't hear the announcers, but I did watch the the final quarter of the Australia/China game on TV. (The fourth quarter was all that they aired.) At the end of the game the announcers (some dude I didn't recognize and the idiotic Carolyn Peck) started talking about how the Americans are "going to have to find a way to deal with" 6'8" Elizabeth Cambage.

...Apparently they've forgotten that Cambage played in the WNBA last year, and therefore EVERY PLAYER ON THE TEAM has played against her. I'm not saying that she isn't talented -- she is -- but Tina Charles, Sylvia Fowles, and Candace Parker have all faced her before. And not just in the WNBA, but during the 2010 World Championships, too! Oy.

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

I saw it on and even the king began to wonder:


Ninth Doctor: Absolutely no paradox allowed, it isn't happening.

Tenth Doctor: Okay, well, we can have a few, but this is serious.

Eleventh Doctor: YOU get a Paradox! YOU get a PARADOX! EVERYONE GETS A PARADOX!

Labels: Doctor Who

Three random (non-Olympic) bits about three Olympians:


The 5,000 corridor: Katie Smith, the cleanest of dirty guards


Lauren Jackson, Sonic Reducer


A commercial for downtown Seattle (why???) featuring Sue Bird:

Labels: Seattle Storm

As usual, from her twitter:


"Today I showed my kids my 1996 gold medal for the 1st time. My 5-yr-old asked, 'Why'd it take so long to get here?' "

Labels: Olympics

Last one!

Question 30: A reason to watch Doctor Who?


It's fun!

Labels: 30 Days of Doctor Who, Doctor Who

The U.S. went a little crazy today. They broke Team's USA's previous Olympic record for number of assists in a game (old record = 30, new record = 33) and tied Team USA's records for points scored (114). Needless to say, they won: 114-66.


This concludes the group play. On Tuesday they play Canada (North American rivalry FTW!) in the quarterfinals.

Here's the bad part: Australia will play China in the quarterfinals. If Australia wins, they'll play the U.S. in the semifinals. That means that the U.S. and Australia can't get gold/silver like they have the last three Olympics. Which means (assuming we beat Australia), Lauren Jackson can only get a bronze, at best.


Anyway....

I enjoyed this Washington Times article, Olympics 2012: The real Dream Team: USA women’s basketball: "Every year there’s a new, sweeping headline about Team USA’s male basketball players, whether they’re a Dream Team, Redeem Team, Dreaming Team, or anything. They endure the glare and ever-present pressure of the media for being a Dream Team every four years, usually coming up with the gold and enduring hellfire should they fail, condemning the next Olympic team to be another Redeem Team. Silly men, they could take a lesson from their counterparts, the women: don’t lose. The USA’s women’s basketball team hasn’t lost a game in the Olympics since 1992, the same year that the men stole all of the thunder from every sport in Barcelona. They’ve been as dominant as one can be in any sport, and they’ve managed to keep their mouths shut throughout the experience as well. The same could not be said for the men."


In Olympic non-basketball news (gasp!), check out this side-by-side comparison of two vaults.

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

From "The God Complex" (6.11):


[The Doctor and Rita talk by Joe's dead body.]

Rita: What exactly happened to him?

The Doctor: He died.

Rita: You are a medical doctor, aren't you? You haven't just got a degree in cheese-making or something?

The Doctor: No, no. Well, yes. Both, actually.

Labels: Doctor Who

Question 29: The moment you fell in love with Doctor Who?


The first episode I ever saw was the first episode of modern Doctor Who, "Rose"

At the very end of the episode Rose says goodbye to Mickey, then runs towards The Doctor. She has the most amazing look of joy and excitement on her face at that moment.

Right then, I knew that I would be watching this show for years. And I have!

Labels: 30 Days of Doctor Who, Doctor Who

I was so cranky with Ann Meyers Drysdale and her inaccuracies, I actually tweeted it.

Based on her twitter feed, I obviously wasn't the only one. Props to her for owning up to her mistakes and apologizing.


My favorite response to ALL the ridiculousness we're getting from that group of announcers, though, comes from Women's Hoops Blog:

"In the battle of the randomly prepared basketball announcers what’s-his-name on the sideline gets mispronunciation demerits, the whole group gets multiple demerits from turning Liz’s Olympic dunk into a story about Lauren v. Leslie. And Annie – -Love ya. You’re the most humble superb athlete I’ve ever met. But I believe Candace is going to ask you for the bonus money she earned with that mythical Championship."

Labels: Olympics

A twitter conversation between Lauren Jackson and Richard "WNBAlien" Cohen:


Lauren Jackson: Does GB have a women's league? I have 1 more year in me in Europe. I reckon I'd love it here...

Richard Cohen: @laurenej15 We barely have a league, and you'd be lucky to earn enough to keep your hair blonde.

Labels: Seattle Storm

Question 28: A character you didn’t like at first, but just needed convincing?


River Song. She seemed so smug when we first met her in "Silence in the Libary"/"Forest of the Dead". But now I love her. And if you know who she is and what her relationship with The Doctor is, she seems much more likable in the library episodes.

Labels: 30 Days of Doctor Who, Doctor Who

The Czech Republic had a hot start, going on a 10-0 run at the beginning of the game. They even led at the end of the first quarter. But then the Americans took over, and won 88-61.


I'm starting to get to the point where I want to hit the mute button during the games. The play-by-play announcer is fine, but Ann Meyers Drysdale is awful, and their court-side reporter is worse. In two different games, Meyers Drysdale has mentioned Candace Parker winning a WNBA title. THIS NEVER HAPPENED.

That sort of nonsense makes me start to hate Candace Parker again, but then she was awesome during the end-of-game interview, and I remembered it's not her fault that the media is obsessed with her. (In the interview, the dreadful court-side reporter asked her what her favorite dunk was. She said, "donut". He was confused, so she mimed dunking a donut in coffee. Ha!)


In other news, Lauren Jackson got to meet Prince William and Kate Middleton. (Last picture in the gallery.)

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

As seen on the Doctor Who Tumblr:


"Rupert Graves is going to be in an episode of Doctor Who this season. Benedict Cumberbatch is in the new Star Trek movie. Christopher Eccleston is gonna be the villain in Thor 2. It’s like everyone accidentally walked into the wrong classroom and are too British and polite to leave the lecture."

Labels: Doctor Who, Sherlock

Question 27: Favorite character that appears in one episode?


I'm going way, way back to the first series episode, "The End of the World": Jabe.

Labels: 30 Days of Doctor Who, Doctor Who

Labels: Doctor Who

From the Tacoma News Tribune, Nothing big about Bird except game: "At London’s Olympic Park, Sue Bird doesn’t look much like a world-class athlete. Bird – standing at a generous 5-foot-9, 150 pounds – could easily be taken for a spectator as she strolls past Olympic gargantuans such as New Zealand shot put athlete Valerie Adams; 350-pound Holley Mangold, the U.S weightlifter; or even U.S. tennis player Serena Williams and her powerful thighs."


From SportsPageMagazine.com, Team USA ready for business in quest for Olympic gold: "[All] 12 players [on Team USA] have at least one teammate on the roster from either their college years or the WNBA, and that does not include overseas professional play. This Olympic team is not only talented, but used to playing together, which makes for a dangerous combination that will make them tough for their opponents to stop."

[For the life of me, I can't figure out who Angel McCoughtry and Candace Parker have played with. The others are easy, but those two?? Overseas, yes, but college and/or WNBA??]


From the Storm website, London Day Five: Jackson Passes Leslie in Win: "Storm star Lauren Jackson was the story. During the third quarter, Jackson tied Lisa Leslie's career mark for Olympic scoring with 488 points. A free throw in the final minute of the period pushed Jackson past Leslie. At the time, the NBC Basketball Network reported that Jackson became the all-time Olympic leader, but Brazil's Janeth Arcain holds the record with 535 points over four Olympic Games. Jackson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, giving her 497 for her career - 38 shy of Arcain with two more group games and the medal rounds to play."


From Jayda Evans, Storm All-Star Lauren Jackson nearing all-time Olympic scoring record, LJ is quoted as saying, "I didn't know about that until a few minutes ago. I haven't even thought about it. I guess it means I'm old. It's a great honor, but we're really just trying to win games."


From the Times Union, US women basketball players used to Olympic rules: "The U.S. women's Olympic team has an edge over its male counterparts when it comes to international basketball: The style of play is second nature to them."


Finally, from SI.com, U.S. women's basketball quietly on the brink of history in London: "The U.S. women's basketball team is on the cusp of what may be the most impressive collective accomplishment of the London Olympics that you've never heard of. If coach Geno Auriemma's crew can win the gold medal -- and they're as overwhelming a favorite to do so as any entrant in any Olympic event -- they'll become the first to win five straight in a traditional team sport, which is to say any game in which a ball is kicked, thrown or whacked."

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

From "Stuck in an RV":


Jade: WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!

Tori: Yeah. Thank you, Catherine Obvious!

Trina: ...What?

Tori: I said "Thank you, Catherine Obvious!"

Robbie: [to the others] Did she say "Catherine" Obvious?

Andre: [to Tori] It's "Captain Obvious".

Tori: What?

Jade: The expression is "Thank You, Captain Obvious".

Tori: It's not Catherine?

Trina: No.

Beck: Who would Catherine be?

Tori: Catherine could be a captain....?

Labels: Victorious

Question 26: Favorite special?


"The Runaway Bride", with "The Next Doctor" being a close second.

Labels: 30 Days of Doctor Who, Doctor Who

The U.S. had control of this game pretty much the whole way through. Turkey made a run here and there, but that's it. Final score: 89-58.


I've noticed something: the really cool fast break plays usually seem to involve either Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi or Lindsay Whalen/Seimone Augustus/Maya Moore. Hmmm.... I think I see a pattern.


Speaking of Maya Moore, one of the many things I love about her is that when she's on the bench, and her team has a good play, she immediately jumps off the bench and bounces up and down. If she's really excited, she'll spin her towel around, too. Other players will get up, too, but she's always the first, and always the most excited. Adorable!


The other big Olympic news was that Lauren Jackson surpassed Lisa Leslie's record for points scored. At first it was reported that she had the all-time record, but people who are smarter than NBC and FIBA pointed out that a player named Janeth Arcain still had more points. LJ will almost certainly surpass Arcain in a game or two, but -- being LJ -- she doesn't care. She's just happy that Australia beat Brazil today.

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm

From the twitter of "Sue Bird's hair", during today's game:


"Offensive foul on me?! I FIND THAT OFFENSIVE!"

Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm