Chicago @ Atlanta; Tulsa @ Los Angeles

Attended the Chicago @ Atlanta game.  This was a "big game" - the two teams were #1 and #2 in the Eastern Conference respectively - and the crowd was actually decent.  It wasn't like one of the crowds Atlanta would have had in Year 1, but the pink pompoms made a fine showing on television.  We actually had four people up on Media Row for this one, and probably the AP guy down near courtside.

I wrote this game up.  This was a low shooting game but very, very suspenseful, tight almost all the way.  Elena Delle Donne?  The real deal.  She was in the zone, she's one of those players who can shoot anywhere from the court.  I overheard two male fans walking by - not your typical-looking fans, either, young men - who were impressed by Delle Donne and wondering how Atlanta was going to "lock her down".

McCoughtry was trying to get her team involved, but every pass she threw had too much mustard on it.  One practically knocked Erika de Souza's fingers out of the way; I wonder how anyone could have caught it.  I suppose at some point McCoughtry must have thought "it's up to me now" and began shooting away.

She scored 20 points, but when you're shooting 6-for-26 - less than 25 percent - other teams will be glad to let you get your twenty.  It was practically a one man show out there and with Hayes held out of the game due to knee soreness it proved how lacking Atlanta is compared to Chicago.  Lyttle and Hayes leave a massive hole in Atlanta's game that can't be filled with spare parts like Willingham or Clements.

Not that those spare parts didn't try.  The third quarter was great, with Atlanta closing it down to two points, I believe.  Despite shooting like the middle school backup girls team, this game was never really out of reach for Atlanta.  I felt sad for the Dream that they lost it and hope that Washington on Wednesday night will be a different story.

(* * *)

I got the chance to talk to three people.  I went into the Chicago locker room and had a chance to talk to Fowles.  I don't think I asked her anything worth asking, though, and should probably have just left after the other questioner stopped talking.

When I listen to myself on tape, I never want to stutter so my questions are always word salad, fifty to one hundred word excursions with a point buried somewhere on the side of the road.  It's acutely painful.  It might not be a matter of asking better questions, but of asking questions better.  Keep it down to 20 words or less.  Put the point in the front of the question.

Fred Williams was gracious as always.  I also spoke to Pokey Chatman.  I like Chatman, she will give you more than just a couple of sentences, willing to outline a little of her thought process.  Furthermore, she mumbles a little bit, but I like that because it means that I'm not the only one who's a bit verbally challenged.  (I'm also surprised at how relatively short she is compared to other coaches and players I've talked to.)

But still!  Listening to myself on tape is horrible!  I'll get a few more chances to practice my interview technique - just a couple of more games I'll have a chance to attend, one against Washington and the game on the eighth against Phoenix.

My friend asked Fred offhandedly how many games the team has won without Tiffany Hayes.  (I like that Fred said that he wasn't going to destroy a player's career to win a game by playing her injured.)  I later looked it up.  The answer is one.  Atlanta is 1-7 without Tiffany Hayes.  Most of those games, however, were without Sancho Lyttle, too, so if Hayes is the spark then Lyttle might be a can of gasoline.

(* * *)

Last night, I topped off the weekend with Tulsa at Los Angeles.  Didn't pay much attention to it until the exciting fourth quarter comeback and then the two overtimes.  Coach Klopp's team still can't close out a game; he's 0-7 in games decided by five points or less.

Scary moment.  Ogwumike made a shot and Candace Parker came over to embrace her.  Their heads collided and Ogwumike suffered a cut above her eye.  Nothing really serious, but a lot of blood.



The Sparks pulled it out in overtime #2.  People might ask why I like the WNBA; I can point to that Tulsa/Los Angeles game for the answer.

(* * *)

We were supposed to close on selling the house this afternoon.  The realtor for the buyer did a walk-through on Sunday; I suspect if there was something wrong I would have heard it.

The time to meet at the lawyer's office was at 1 pm.  At noon, I get an e-mail from Ruth.  "Her condo-deal got messed up," was the reason for the postponement.  Our hope is that Wednesday will be the big day.