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Sports |
October 2008
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| No one knows if Lauren Jackson will return to the Storm next season, but it sounds very likely she'll skip town in 2012, at least for that season. Fox Sports in Australia is reporting that LJ will focus on the Aussies Olympic effort in 2012 and probably won't play in the WNBA. "People are kind of banding together right now. The Australian team to me means more than anything. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get back on track, and, look, we won a silver medal. It's not like we bombed out. But for me now I think something I really need to look at is not going back to the WNBA in Olympic years and, instead, focusing on our team, just being around and getting to know people, building relationships. I'll try and be more of a leader, more of a captain." - Lauren Jackson on foxsports.au If you want to read the whole article, click here. I guess it wouldn't surprise me. She's very passionate about her country's Olympic hopes. She'll only be 31 for the London Olympics. So LJ will still have a lot of basketball ahead of her. ...I know that sounds puzzling. Sue Bird finishes third in the MVP voting behind the winner Candace Parker and Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen. But yet Bird can't crack the 1st team All-WNBA. How can you be considered the 3rd most valuable player, but not be considered one of the top five players?
Seattle loses game 1 to LA tonight, but the Storm still put tickets for game 3 on sale tonight. You can check out the press release below for more on the Storm.
Tickets Available Online at storm.wnba.com SEATTLE, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008 - Single-game tickets for the Seattle Storm's second 2008 WNBA Western Conference Semi-Final home game at KeyArena on Tuesday, Sept 23 at 6 p.m. are available to purchase now. Starting at just $14, tickets can be bought online at storm.wnba.com, at KeyArena's East Box Office and at the Team Shop located on KeyArena's West Plaza. The 2008 WNBA Western Conference Semi-Finals is a best-of-three format, with Game 1 hosted by the lower-seeded team and Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) hosted by the higher-seeded team. The L.A. Sparks lead the Western Conference Semi-Finals series 1-0. The Storm is 8-10 in 18 all-time playoff games, including a 6-2 mark during the 2004 season as Seattle captured the WNBA Championship. Two members of that team remain in a Storm uniform (Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson), and 10 of the 12 players on the current Storm roster have postseason experience. Additionally, the 2008 Storm roster boasts five WNBA champions with nine WNBA championships between them (Bird `04, Cash `03 and `06, Griffith `05, Jackson `04, and Swoopes `97, `98, `99 and `00). For additional information on 2008 Storm playoff tickets, call 206-217-WNBA or log on to storm.wnba.com ...It's kind of hard to believe last season's Defensive Player of the Year only made the 2nd team defensive team this year. But that's the case. Lauren Jackson makes the WNBA's All-Defensive Second Team. It must be because she left for the Olympics and had the injury. The Storm's official press release is after the jump. ...The Storm has sent over an official press release of their playoff schedule. Game 1 - Fri Sept. 19 Seattle at Los Angeles 7:30 PM NBATV Game 2 - Sun Sept. 21 Los Angeles at Seattle 2:00 PM ESPN2 Game 3 * Tue Sept. 23 Los Angeles at Seattle 6:00 PM ESPN2 The whole release is after the jump. ...I just received a voice mail message from the team a Storm spokesperson. The Sonics/Storm store is not, I repeat, is not closing its doors. The store is actually called the Team Shop at KeyArena. Here's their website. Here's the story. On an earlier blog, we linked a P-I story about the store possibly going out of business. That's not true. Whatever Sonics gear is left, it'll be marked 90% off until it's all gone. Currently, Storm gear will be the stuff primarily sold at the shop. For what it's worth, the store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am until 6pm. Plus, they open their doors a couple hours before every Storm game. So if you want Sonics gear, you'll get a good bargain...at least while supplies last. If you want Storm gear, it'll continue to be open as long as the Storm remain in Seattle. By the way, Storm playoff t-shirts should arrive soon. The playoffs should begin either Thursday or Friday. Game one for the Storm will be on the road. Game two will be at KeyArena either Saturday or Sunday. ...The Storm have signed point guard Kimberly Beck for the rest of the season. That sounds a lot better than what it truly means. The Storm only have 2 games left in the season. The official release is after the jump. ...Here's a press release from the Storm on playoff tickets:
SEATTLE, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 - Single-game tickets for the Seattle Storm's first First Round home playoff game at KeyArena will go on sale this Saturday, Sept. 6, following the team's contest versus the Minnesota Lynx (approximately 9 p.m.). Tickets start at just $14 and will be available to purchase online at storm.wnba.com, at KeyArena's East Box Office and at the Sonics & Storm Team Shop located on KeyArena's West Plaza.
The Storm is in a tight race in the Western Conference and it's likely that playoff seeding will not be determined until the end of the regular season on Sept. 14. The First Round of the 2008 WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three format, with Game 1 hosted by the lower seeded team and Games 2 and 3 hosted by the higher seed.
The Storm is 8-10 in 18 all-time playoff games, including a 6-2 mark during the 2004 season as Seattle captured the WNBA Championship. Two members of that team remain in a Storm uniform (Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson), and 10 of the 12 players on the current Storm roster have postseason experience. Additionally, the 2008 Storm roster boasts five WNBA champions with nine WNBA championships between them (Bird `04, Cash `03 and `06, Griffith `05, Jackson `04, and Swoopes `97, `98, `99 and `00). It sounds like Storm forward Lauren Jackson's ankle surgery was a success. She had the procedure done in Australia. LJ walked out of surgery and talked to head coach Brian Agler about it. She had a bone spur and scar tissue removed. The 2-time MVP will miss the rest of the regular season. There is an outside chance that LJ will be able to go in the playoffs. ...The Storm's title hopes take a hit tonight. We just got an e-mail from the Storm & Australian Olympic committee. Lauren Jackson will have ankle surgery after the Olympics. In the meantime, she'll play through the pain. LJ will miss 4-6 weeks. She hopes to be back in time for the WNBA Finals, if the Storm make it there. Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Yo Griffith, Sheryl Swoopes and the rest of the team have some work to do. You can read the press release after the jump. ...The Storm sign former Husky Kristen O'Neill to her 4th seven-day contract. Too bad there isn't a point, like the NBA, where you either have to sign the player for the rest of the season or let them go. Either way, I think O'Neill will probably finish the season with the team, unless there's a trade. The official press release is after the jump. ...The Storm have announced that former Husky Kristen O'Neill has signed another 7-day contract with the team. Talk about living week to week and paycheck to paycheck.
The Storm signed former Husky Kristen O'Neill to a second 7-day contract. The Storm's official release is after the jump. By the way, next storm home game is Thursday at noon versus the Phoenix Mercury. It's should be a high scoring game and lots o' fun to watch. ...Storm forward Swin Cash spills the beans during KING5-TV's 5pm newscast. She's received word that she won't be on the 2008 Olympic basketball team. The official roster isn't due to go public for a few more days. Cash has already won a gold medal. She handled the news with grace on the show. She says she'll shoot for 2012. ...They told her to stay close and today Kristen O'Neill finds out why. The Storm have signed the former Husky guard to a seven-day contract. The Storm just cut Kimberly Beck a few days ago. O'Neill isn't a point guard like Beck, but the girl from Meadowdale High School should provide some offense off the bench. O'Neill is 5th all-time at the UW in 3-pointers made. The official press release is after the jump.
The Storm cut Florina Pascalau (according the Seattle Times, for salary reasons) and have traded for F Camille Little. Seattle sent Atlanta a 2nd round pick in 2009 for Little. Little made the 2007 WNBA All-Rookie team. The press release is after the jump. ... |