15 March 2015
Tamika & Kobe
10 November 2014
Life Overseas
Really nice article about Bria Hartley (UConn, Mystics) and Kayla McBride (Notre Dame, Stars) playing together in Hungary:
Boris Lelchitski, an agent for Hartley and McBride, said smaller towns often had the best women’s basketball teams because they viewed them as a source of pride and would “gladly afford those teams out of the budget in the town.”
Recently, the W.N.B.A. created “time off” bonuses of up to $50,000 per team to give to players who limit their overseas competition to three months or less. But for Hartley and McBride, who, as W.N.B.A. rookies, had salaries that were among the league’s lowest, the extra money available from playing in Europe was difficult to eschew, even though other players had negative experiences in Sopron.
Shenise Johnson, McBride’s teammate with the San Antonio Stars, played here in 2012 and told McBride that she found the town to be boring, even though the residents were nice. Kelly Faris, Hartley’s teammate at Connecticut, and Tianna Hawkins, a Mystics teammate, had played for Sopron and did not enjoy it.
“They were like, ‘Good luck,’ ” Hartley said.
Hartley, who is from North Babylon, N.Y., and McBride, of Erie, Pa., became friends in high school at the 2010 McDonald’s all-American game, but competed at rival colleges: Hartley at UConn and McBride at Notre Dame. They had offers to play for separate teams in Turkey, but they chose Sopron in large part because of each other.
Boris Lelchitski, an agent for Hartley and McBride, said smaller towns often had the best women’s basketball teams because they viewed them as a source of pride and would “gladly afford those teams out of the budget in the town.”
Recently, the W.N.B.A. created “time off” bonuses of up to $50,000 per team to give to players who limit their overseas competition to three months or less. But for Hartley and McBride, who, as W.N.B.A. rookies, had salaries that were among the league’s lowest, the extra money available from playing in Europe was difficult to eschew, even though other players had negative experiences in Sopron.
Shenise Johnson, McBride’s teammate with the San Antonio Stars, played here in 2012 and told McBride that she found the town to be boring, even though the residents were nice. Kelly Faris, Hartley’s teammate at Connecticut, and Tianna Hawkins, a Mystics teammate, had played for Sopron and did not enjoy it.
“They were like, ‘Good luck,’ ” Hartley said.
Hartley, who is from North Babylon, N.Y., and McBride, of Erie, Pa., became friends in high school at the 2010 McDonald’s all-American game, but competed at rival colleges: Hartley at UConn and McBride at Notre Dame. They had offers to play for separate teams in Turkey, but they chose Sopron in large part because of each other.
Labels: UConn basketball, WNBA
28 October 2014
Swin Cash Interviews Becky Hammon
17 October 2014
Pick & Roll
01 June 2014
Quote of the Day: Rebecca Lobo
From her twitter:
"Overheard -- Boy : 'What's your favorite basketball team?' My 9-yr-old : 'WNBA or college?'"
"Overheard -- Boy : 'What's your favorite basketball team?' My 9-yr-old : 'WNBA or college?'"
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball, WNBA
16 May 2014
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From his preview of the Phoenix Mercury:
"Harnessing [DeWanna] Bonner and turning her into the player she can be for this team will be one of [new coach Sandy] Brondello’s primary objectives. Awful threes from ridiculous distances have become Bonner’s trademark, and that’s not something you want to be known for (unless you’re Tina Thompson and they go in on a regular basis)."
"Harnessing [DeWanna] Bonner and turning her into the player she can be for this team will be one of [new coach Sandy] Brondello’s primary objectives. Awful threes from ridiculous distances have become Bonner’s trademark, and that’s not something you want to be known for (unless you’re Tina Thompson and they go in on a regular basis)."
Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA
15 May 2014
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen/Twitter
From his twitter, and a response:
Richard Cohen: Hey, you'll never guess, but Candace Parker is gonna be newly dedicated to defense this yr. Again. Once more. Honest. Every possession.
tollick: when does she start? Because the answer was not "during the pre-season game."
Richard Cohen: Hey, you'll never guess, but Candace Parker is gonna be newly dedicated to defense this yr. Again. Once more. Honest. Every possession.
tollick: when does she start? Because the answer was not "during the pre-season game."
Labels: WNBA
14 April 2014
Thoughts on the Draft
The WNBA draft was today. When Stefanie Dolson didn't get picked by the first five teams, I had a slim hope that the Storm would be able to draft her. But then the Washington Mystics grabbed her at #6, right before our pick.
With the 7th pick, the Storm took UConn guard Bria Hartley. My first thought was... don't we need a post? But then I thought... yay! A UConn player!
I turned on my computer at that point and discovered that the Storm had traded Hartley and last year's first round pick Tianna Hawkins to Washington in return for Crystal Langhorne.
My thoughts are.... confused.
On the one hand, we definitely need a post, and Langhorne is a very good player.
But on the other hand, she's 27. Not super old, but not young, either. We gave up two young players for one not-so-young player. At some point, don't we need to start preparing for the future? And we don't want to tank this year, because next year's draft is dreadful. (Outside of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, of course.)
And Langhorne, while a great player, isn't very tall. 6'2", I believe. We will be a VERY short team next year.
In the later rounds, the Storm went all Pac-12 and picked up Michelle Plouffe from Utah and Mikaela Ruef from Stanford. I can't imagine Ruef making the team, but Plouffe is intriguing. She's got a little more height (6'4"), and I remember her causing endless trouble for Washington over the last two years.
By the way, the Langhorne trade was not the biggest trade news of the day. Connecticut (which had the #1 pick), traded Tina Charles to New York in exchange for their #4 pick and center Kelsey Bone. Rumor is that Tina Charles wanted out, and told the Sun she would sit this year if they didn't trade her. She was MVP in 2012, so that's a pretty big loss for them. But they picked up Chiney Ogwumike and Alyssa Thomas, so I'm sure they'll be fine.
Connecticut and Washington are young teams. I can seem them battling for the eastern conference in a couple years.
With the 7th pick, the Storm took UConn guard Bria Hartley. My first thought was... don't we need a post? But then I thought... yay! A UConn player!
I turned on my computer at that point and discovered that the Storm had traded Hartley and last year's first round pick Tianna Hawkins to Washington in return for Crystal Langhorne.
My thoughts are.... confused.
On the one hand, we definitely need a post, and Langhorne is a very good player.
But on the other hand, she's 27. Not super old, but not young, either. We gave up two young players for one not-so-young player. At some point, don't we need to start preparing for the future? And we don't want to tank this year, because next year's draft is dreadful. (Outside of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, of course.)
And Langhorne, while a great player, isn't very tall. 6'2", I believe. We will be a VERY short team next year.
In the later rounds, the Storm went all Pac-12 and picked up Michelle Plouffe from Utah and Mikaela Ruef from Stanford. I can't imagine Ruef making the team, but Plouffe is intriguing. She's got a little more height (6'4"), and I remember her causing endless trouble for Washington over the last two years.
By the way, the Langhorne trade was not the biggest trade news of the day. Connecticut (which had the #1 pick), traded Tina Charles to New York in exchange for their #4 pick and center Kelsey Bone. Rumor is that Tina Charles wanted out, and told the Sun she would sit this year if they didn't trade her. She was MVP in 2012, so that's a pretty big loss for them. But they picked up Chiney Ogwumike and Alyssa Thomas, so I'm sure they'll be fine.
Connecticut and Washington are young teams. I can seem them battling for the eastern conference in a couple years.
Labels: Seattle Storm, UConn basketball, WNBA
04 November 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From his 7/21/13 column:
"New York stuck with the same starting lineup that was destroyed in the opening quarter of Thursday’s disaster, but they began the game much better. Well, Cappie Pondexter dropped the ball out of bounds on the opening possession, but in general they started better."
"New York stuck with the same starting lineup that was destroyed in the opening quarter of Thursday’s disaster, but they began the game much better. Well, Cappie Pondexter dropped the ball out of bounds on the opening possession, but in general they started better."
Labels: WNBA
09 October 2013
Quote of the Day: Jon Altavilla
From the UConn/Connecticut Sun reporter:
"Negotiations designed to create a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the WNBA and the Player’s Association have essentially been going on since the All-Star break. It is important the issue gets resolved for many reasons; consider players can’t be signed or business done until a structure is in place. It could take several months, especially if the players feel put upon by ownership to give up things they don’t want to give up. But one thing I strongly hear is coming is that an extra player will be added to each roster, which makes entirely too much sense to be true."
"Negotiations designed to create a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the WNBA and the Player’s Association have essentially been going on since the All-Star break. It is important the issue gets resolved for many reasons; consider players can’t be signed or business done until a structure is in place. It could take several months, especially if the players feel put upon by ownership to give up things they don’t want to give up. But one thing I strongly hear is coming is that an extra player will be added to each roster, which makes entirely too much sense to be true."
Labels: WNBA
09 September 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From WNBAlien, discussing a New York vs Phoenix game in July:
"After coming off the bench in the first half, Plenette Pierson started the second half for New York. She didn’t look back to full speed after re-injuring her right knee recently, but she’s always been the kind of player who’ll give you everything she’s got – however much that might be. And when you’re a power forward in the Eastern Conference, you only get two chances to face Candice Dupree’s defense each season – it’d be a shame to miss them."
"After coming off the bench in the first half, Plenette Pierson started the second half for New York. She didn’t look back to full speed after re-injuring her right knee recently, but she’s always been the kind of player who’ll give you everything she’s got – however much that might be. And when you’re a power forward in the Eastern Conference, you only get two chances to face Candice Dupree’s defense each season – it’d be a shame to miss them."
Labels: WNBA
07 September 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From his twitter, a quote that kept floating through my head during tonight's game:
"Ooh, Lindsey Moore getting Q1 minutes. Hey Connecticut, that's a dis."
[We lost, but at least Lindsey Moore didn't come into the game until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Much more respectable!]
"Ooh, Lindsey Moore getting Q1 minutes. Hey Connecticut, that's a dis."
[We lost, but at least Lindsey Moore didn't come into the game until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Much more respectable!]
Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA
31 August 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From this WNBAlien post:
[Chicago Sky coach] Pokey Chatman has a strange tendency to rest all her star players at the same time. It was a bad idea when there were only two in Chicago, and [Sylvia] Fowles and [Epiphanny] Prince sat together. It was a bad idea when Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas kept being subbed out together in Indiana Fever games last year. It’ll be a bad idea tonight if Eric Spoelstra thinks "y’know what, I’m gonna try a lineup without LeBron, Dwyane or Chris”. There’s really no good reason why Fowles, Prince and [Elena] Delle Donne should ever be sat next to each other on a bench, unless they’re in a park on a sunny day having lunch.
[Chicago Sky coach] Pokey Chatman has a strange tendency to rest all her star players at the same time. It was a bad idea when there were only two in Chicago, and [Sylvia] Fowles and [Epiphanny] Prince sat together. It was a bad idea when Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas kept being subbed out together in Indiana Fever games last year. It’ll be a bad idea tonight if Eric Spoelstra thinks "y’know what, I’m gonna try a lineup without LeBron, Dwyane or Chris”. There’s really no good reason why Fowles, Prince and [Elena] Delle Donne should ever be sat next to each other on a bench, unless they’re in a park on a sunny day having lunch.
Labels: WNBA
21 August 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
This seems like the kind of thing my dad or I would notice. From his column about the games on 8/17/13:
"Maybe we all should’ve known this result was coming for New York – it’s now the ninth straight game where they’ve alternated between a win and a loss. It’s creating a pretty pattern of Ws and Ls on their schedule page, but not helping them much in the standings."
"Maybe we all should’ve known this result was coming for New York – it’s now the ninth straight game where they’ve alternated between a win and a loss. It’s creating a pretty pattern of Ws and Ls on their schedule page, but not helping them much in the standings."
Labels: WNBA
14 August 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From his twitter:
"You know how I sometimes enjoy the chess match in WNBA games? This Conn-Atl game is like high-stakes chutes and ladders..."
"You know how I sometimes enjoy the chess match in WNBA games? This Conn-Atl game is like high-stakes chutes and ladders..."
Labels: WNBA
05 August 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From twitter:
"*deep breath* Gotta credit [Phoenix coach] Corey Gaines - yes, me crediting Gaines - for being 1st WNBA coach to try extended time in zone D under new rule. That said, it'd be awfully difficult for it to be any worse than their man-to-man (ahh, that feels better ;) )."
"*deep breath* Gotta credit [Phoenix coach] Corey Gaines - yes, me crediting Gaines - for being 1st WNBA coach to try extended time in zone D under new rule. That said, it'd be awfully difficult for it to be any worse than their man-to-man (ahh, that feels better ;) )."
Labels: WNBA
02 August 2013
Quote of the Day: Richard Cohen
From the July 3rd WNBAlien column about the New York @ Phoenix game:
"There was a hilarious moment – as long as you’re not a Liberty fan – in the middle of the second quarter. [Diana] Taurasi didn’t have an angle to enter the ball to [Brittney] Griner in the post past Kara Braxton, so she looked up top instead and threw a small cross-court ball-fake. Despite the ball never leaving Taurasi’s hands, Braxton turned her head, and then her entire body, and then took a couple of steps away from Brittney freaking Griner on the low block. The same player New York were double-teaming every time she touched the ball within 10 feet of the basket. Taurasi simply tossed the ball in to Griner – probably barely managing to make the pass before she pissed herself laughing – and Griner had a desperately easy finish. Braxton turned around just in time to foul Griner as she completed the layup. Oh, Kara."
"There was a hilarious moment – as long as you’re not a Liberty fan – in the middle of the second quarter. [Diana] Taurasi didn’t have an angle to enter the ball to [Brittney] Griner in the post past Kara Braxton, so she looked up top instead and threw a small cross-court ball-fake. Despite the ball never leaving Taurasi’s hands, Braxton turned her head, and then her entire body, and then took a couple of steps away from Brittney freaking Griner on the low block. The same player New York were double-teaming every time she touched the ball within 10 feet of the basket. Taurasi simply tossed the ball in to Griner – probably barely managing to make the pass before she pissed herself laughing – and Griner had a desperately easy finish. Braxton turned around just in time to foul Griner as she completed the layup. Oh, Kara."
Labels: WNBA
27 July 2013
All-Star Game
The WNBA All-Star Game was today. It was actually pretty entertaining, and a close game.
There was lots of respect and love for Tina Thompson, which was nice to see.
There was lots of respect and love for Tina Thompson, which was nice to see.
Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA
25 July 2013
Catch & Liz
23 July 2013
Tina Thompson Article
From SI.com. I thought this part was particularly interesting:
"On the way to establishing those towering records, Thompson made another less heralded but no less influential contribution to the league: She provided young players with a template for how to be a successful female professional athlete, even when mom gets added to their résumés. After Thompson's son, Dyllan, was born in May 2005, the two traveled together wherever Thompson played, Stateside and overseas. 'I took a chapter out of Tina's book when I became a mom,' says 2008 league MVP Candace Parker, who took her own daughter, Lailaa, on the road with her soon after she was born in May 2009. 'It's been great to have my daughter share that experience with me and get to be a little worldly. Tina showed me that was a good idea.'"
"On the way to establishing those towering records, Thompson made another less heralded but no less influential contribution to the league: She provided young players with a template for how to be a successful female professional athlete, even when mom gets added to their résumés. After Thompson's son, Dyllan, was born in May 2005, the two traveled together wherever Thompson played, Stateside and overseas. 'I took a chapter out of Tina's book when I became a mom,' says 2008 league MVP Candace Parker, who took her own daughter, Lailaa, on the road with her soon after she was born in May 2009. 'It's been great to have my daughter share that experience with me and get to be a little worldly. Tina showed me that was a good idea.'"
Labels: Seattle Storm, WNBA
