#-1: Lynx (Re-Entry!). In the current sports environment where it still seems negative (even though there are sprouts of life springing up here and there), it's good to see that the Lynx are reliable enough to take them for granted -- at least for now. They began their 2015 regular season with wins at home over Tulsa and at Indiana.
This could shape up to be one of the more unpredictable seasons in the franchise's history. On the one hand nothing has changed: The Big Four of Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Maya Moore and Rebekkah Brunson (and the importance of these three can be different from the order I put them in) are still there, and they likely comprise the engine that will power the team, wherever it ends. They also, in my estimation, have a raw and still-unproven bench, something that seemed to be their undoing in losing to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Western Conference Finals.
That series, culminating with a Game 3 ass-kicking, seemed to herald a new world order. But the Mercury was dealt a stunning surprise when their leader, Diana Taurasi, decided she will take this season off. It was probably for fatigue and wear-and-tear purposes; Taurasi and many other WNBA players play overseas leagues, which play during the fall through spring. A lot of them, then, play year-round. The difference, however, is pay -- namely, those overseas leagues pay more than the WNBA, much more. So, when Taurasi decided she needed to rest her body, she decided to in order to gear up for the season that is more lucrative for her. You would think that America would lead when it comes to women's sports, but its pro b-ball league is deemed not as important as those in, say, Russia and Turkey, even though I think most (and the best) players hail from the U.S. That seems to be a problem, no?
But back to the Jynx. As what purports to be the team's main rival got hit with a surprise, Minnesota was as well. Mere days before training camp began, Center Janel McCarville, who pivoted the squad to its WNBA title in 2013, announced that she was sitting out the year as well. I doubt it has anything to do with a beef with the Lynx; as far as I know the club still holds her rights. So I am left with thinking that she needs rest for her overseas club just like Taurasi does. Even if that were the case the timing of that decision seemed to take the organization by surprise. On the first day of training camp her teammates and Head Coach Cheryl Reeve said all the right things about missing McCarville. But you have to think that at the very least they were upset that they didn't get a head's-up, which McCarville clearly did not give them.
To plug that hole in the lane the Lynx got Asjha Jones and slipped Damiris Dantas into the starting 5, although she is being spelled for about half the game. So far, so good. We'll see if this team doesn't skip a beat, or if it succumbs to getting really old really fast. Right now they are playing Seattle at Target Center. They will then embark play at Phoenix and Los Angeles.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -1). Now the correction comes. I think. After salvaging a split with Boston by winning Thursday, they just finished a 1-5 homestand by getting swept by the power of the American League, the Kansas City Royals, and it will take me a long time to get used to writing that. They went from leading the American League Central Division by one game to trailing K.C. by two. The big problem now is offense; they are just not scoring. Their run output their last five games, in which they only won once: 2, 2, 1, 0 and 2.
Today (Thursday) is a travel day. They visit Texas over the weekend for three games, then do this hybrid home-and-home with the St. Louis Cardinals. They are at Busch Stadium for games Monday and Tuesday, and then the Cards come to Target Field for the first time ever Wednesday and Thursday. Hmmm ... I'm a Redbirds fan. Maybe I'll go to one of the games.
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