Oh, how I've missed women's basketball. The WNBA season started officially on Thursday (you may have noticed a few references around here), but the first televised game wasn't until yesterday. And the first televised game that I cared about wasn't until this afternoon, when the Liberty had their home opener against the Houston Comets.
Yesterday's much ballyhooed game saw UConn alum Diana Taurasi return to Connecticut playing for the other side (the Phoenix Mercury). The Connecticut Sun play at the Mohegan Sun casino/resort, which was packed with Taurasi fans, though they tried to support the Sun whenever they could. The game wasn't a particularly good one, which was unfortunate, since it was the one carried by ABC. Neither the Sun nor the Mercury looked great -- this early in the season, most teams are struggling to find their rhythm as a team, and none more so than these two teams, which are heavy with rookies or players new to the ball club. On the other hand, today's NY/Houston game was definitely professional basketball -- too bad it was only available on NBA TV. Tina Thompson had a career high 35 points, Becky Hammon poured in 22, and Elena Baranova got in done in a way I'd never seen before. There's nothing like seeing a 6'5 forward make a running jumper; she was also a monster on the glass with 14 boards. On the whole, this is a Liberty team I can get excited about -- and now that I've seen one of my friends off to New York for the summer, I've got a place to stay when I slip away to catch a game.
I spent most of my weekend watching sports -- a couple of good Sox games and the return of women's basketball to its usual place of importance in my life. It was glorious. If you want me this summer, better check the schedule first -- I may already be booked.
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