-1: Lynx (Last Week: 0). Well, they did lose to Sacramento, the worst team in the Western Conference, at home. But because I didn't want to be home on a Tuesday, and to pay homage to this article about the WNBA from the Associated Press published late Monday night, I went to the Lynx's game against Washington.
My fucking God, what a game. They were outmuscled by the taller Mystics early; from my vantage point, it was like senior high schoolers playing against freshmen. But somehow they chipped away to tie it at the half. Offensive rebounds and Mystics PG Lindsey Harding (a former Lynx player) were constant problems all game. They were down nine to start the fourth but got the lead late when PG Renee Montgomery started copying Harding and driving to the hole.
But that's when it started to really get weird. C Nicky Anosike had two free throws to extend the lead to three but missed the first. At the other end, Chasity Melvin got another of Washington's many offensive boards and laid it in to tie the game. Then with 4.9 seconds left and the ball from half-court, F Charde Houston failed to inbound within five seconds. Now Washington was playing for the game, but Harding, who finished with a game-high 27, missed her jumper. Phew.
It was virtually a one-on-one street ball matchup in overtime. Montgomery scored 18 of her career-high 21 points in the last two minutes of the 4th and OT, and you should've seen her getting screens from SG Candice Wiggins and penetrating for layups-and-ones. But Harding continued killing the Lynx. Why didn't Coach Jen Gillom ever try to double Harding? The Mystics were a mess without her handling the ball. And yet they were fouled shooting from three two times in the last 8.6 seconds of the extra session. Marissa Coleman and then Harding had chances to completely erase three-point deficits. Both times they made the first, made the second ... and missed the third. In what could be the greatest nail-biter in franchise history, the Lynx won in OT, 96-94. I got my bang for the buck -- which was free, thanks to a guy rushing to get into the arena 10 minutes before the tip, a man who truly is one of God's children.
They're tied with Phoenix for the lead in the West, so they're the Twin Cities' best-kept secret. The Lynx have a home-and-home with San Antonio, then host Atlanta in their annual weekday afternoon game attended by girls participating in the team's camp afterward.
-2: Wild (Last Week: -2). Martin Havlat I know. Shane Hnidy, Jamie Fraser and Jaime Sifers? Don't know 'em, don't care. It's great to see that ESPN The Magazine said the Xcel Energy Center was ranked as the second-best building in American sport, and I'm heartened that new Coach Todd Richards is keeping Mike Ramsey as an Assistant Coach. But on the downside, GM Chuck Fletcher tried hard to get Montreal C and Captain Saku Koivu to sign with the Wild and join kid brother Mikko and failed when he decided to sign with Anaheim instead. I guess it ain't easy to get even hockey players to join teams in flyover country, huh, Fletch?
-3: Twins (Last Week: -1). They're down here after a 2-3 week. They took two of three at home against Detroit to climb within two of the AL Central lead, but have promptly given it back after dropping two to the Yankees, also at the Dome. It's infuriating to see that this club still suffers an inferiority complex against the biggest spenders in all of American sport. I hate the playa and the game, just to let you know. The getaway game is this afternoon, then they complete their homestand and the first half of the season against the White Sox before Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan (the J&J&J Boys?) go to
No comments:
Post a Comment