WNBA Ball
The WNBA season is coming to an end, and now it comes down to the Fever and the Mercury. Personally, I don’t even care who wins the finals. I love DT and I always love to see her play well and succeed. I’ve never been a fan of the Fever, but I do love Catchings and Douglas and they have fought long and hard to get to the Finals as well.
In so many ways I think that the Fever is more hungry for a ring, but hunger doesn’t mean much when you are facing a team whose bench could probably stay afloat against a lot of teams starters.
This also brings me to back to Taurasi. Is she the MVP this season? In my opinion yes, she has been amazing for her team all season long…….. minus the DUI. And that is what I am talking about. The WNBA is in a no win situation with DT and the MVP award. If she wins, there will be so many people that say she doesn’t deserve it because of the DUI. If she doesn’t win, then people are going to argue that her off court issues shouldn’t matter when it comes to an award that is for on court performance.
Like I said, in my opinion Taurasi is the MVP, but either way it goes, I guess I will understand both sides of the argument. I think that anyone that has ever lost someone due to a drunk driver can understand that even more.
As far as the All-WNBA Team this season… I thought they were perfect picks! When I had heard that LJ was on the 1st team, I asked Becky (Hammon) if she was picked and she told me that she made first team and laughed because she knew something before me …. (Don’t get used to that Becky! lol). If Becky wouldn’t have been picked for the 1st Team this season I was going to be pissed! So luckily she was and this blog isn’t a big-time rant and rave about it.
But the picks overall I was happy with. I know that some people were pissed off about Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker making it, but come on! Parker impressed the hell out of me! She missed part of the season and still led the league in double doubles and rebounds per game! That is damn impressive! She deserved her spot. As for Lisa Leslie…. I think she deserved it. She got injured and still came back and did her thing.
I’ve heard people say Sue Bird should have been on at least 2nd Team. I don’t think so cause as far as guards go, she definitely didn’t shine more than Becky, Cappie, Katie, or Tweety.
Now, on to Lauren Jackson. This is the 2nd season in a row that the Storm has made it to the playoffs and LJ has had to ride the bench and the Storm gets knocked out in the first round. But yet, the Storm will be resigning LJ to a 2 year deal once free agency starts. I don’t know if I would take LJ at this point. I’m sure Mercury fans were thanking God they ended up not getting her! LJ is one of those players that I don’t think can play hard and stay healthy for an entire season. I think those days are over for her. LJ played great for Seattle up until the end of August when she started riding the bench…. crunch time! So what is the point of having a player play great for you all season if you have to subtract them from the roster when it matters most?
I guess now it comes down to whether LJ will play her Russian season with Spartak, that’s where the big money is. If she does play in Russia, I don’t think that the Storm can realistically believe that she will be healthy enough by time WNBA playoffs come around next season to play hard for them… if she even lasts that long. And for that matter, can the Aussies realistically even depend on LJ being healthy for the World Championships in 2010? I guess it all remains to be seen.
Speaking of athletes that I don’t understand haha, let me bring up Ann Wauters. Ann showed up for San Antonio in August….. AUGUST!! When it was first said that Wauters would be showing up late for the Silver Stars because she needed to rest… I was pissed! Ann was not under contract but yet the Silver Stars were willing to sign her at the halfway mark of the season. What pro athlete does that??? I mean granted, Ann really isn’t a WNBA player, she is an international player. But what team allows a player to say they need the rest and they will show up later????? With an 11 man roster, a team that didn’t have depth to begin with allowed this. It is hard for me to comprehend that entire situation still. But what is even harder for me to comprehend is how the Silver Stars went out and signed Katie “Sloth” Mattera as a replacement until Ann got back…….. WTF!!! I think the whole Ann situation is what screwed the Stars this season. Next season the Stars will look totally different. VJ has retired, Erin has retired, and there are only 4 players under contract and Ruth Riley is cored….. so they BETTER look different! ok enough venting… NEXT lol!
The Lynx…. this team is going to be AMAZING next season! Augustus went down early and this team still competed and got better and better. With Augustus back next season, this team is going to be TOUGH! They are young, fast, and have a shit load of talent! I am looking forward to watching them next season!
Team USA Basketball
First camp is Wednesday morning and Taurasi, Cappie, and Catchings won’t be there because of the Finals. But Jayne Appel, Lindsay Whalen and Kara Lawson are all recovering from injuries so they will not be there. Sylvia Fowles is also still having foot problems and probably won’t participate much.
I’m still trying to figure out what USA Basketball’s obsession with Kara Lawson is… I just don’t get it lol!
College Ball
I can’t wait to see my UConn girls tear it up again this season! There is only one new player on the squad this season, Kelly Faris, so chemistry among the team should still be there, but how will they do without Renee? I guess we will see!
I will also be keeping my eye on Stanford, I can’t help but like that program! And of course Baylor, I think that everyone that is into women’s basketball wants to see what Brittney Griner will be bringing to the table. 6′8 and can dominate!
Oh… and I can’t forget about overseas ball! Russian basketball will be dominated by Spartak and UMMC again. It sucks to know going into a season knowing what teams will be in the finals before it even starts. But hopefully EuroLeague can offer up some competitiveness this winter.
