10:00 ESPN2 must really be feeling the burn. Britney Griner is still not playing due to knee problems. As far as most of the (non-women's basketball following) universe believes, women's basketball is "something something Griner something". They were probably hoping that they'd announce Griner to the All-Star Game roster, too.
10:03: Crowd is looking realllly spotty at LA.
10:05: Nice of Ogwumike not to force the shot when she saw that she couldn't shove her way to the basket. She looked to pass the ball out. Sparks up on a 10-0 run but this doesn't mean anything. Good basketball teams get runs; LA got theirs right away.
10:07: Annoying Boost Mobile commercial, "It's All About the W". Come to think of it, Griner might still get announced to the All-Star Game. You never know what casual fans are thinking.
10:09: Dupree scores Phoenix's first basket.
10:12: I read an article somewhere on line today about some girls basketball player who wears leggings - which were supposed to be different and popular. (Note: T-shirts under jerseys? Supposedly not popular.) Looking at Taurasi's black leggings. Once again, Diana Taurasi is a fashion trailblazer.
10:14: Have seen Los Angeles fall asleep a couple of times in getting the rebound.
10:17: I really hate it when ESPN shrinks the screen to postage stamp size and surrounds it with factoids. When I want to see a game, I want to see a game.
10:20: My wife asks, "So I'm on my own for the rest of the night?" Yup. I kiss her good night and head back to the game, bringing a cup of chocolate pudding with me.
10:20: Quarter over, LA up 23-16 over Phoenix. The Sparks offensive sets seem to be working. Phoenix is more of an "attack the basket" team tonight.
10:23: Corey Gaines, the Luckiest Coach on Earth, is interviewed by Rebecca Lobo.
10:24: Apparently, Carol Ross agrees with me that Los Angeles is not a grat rebounding team.
10:26: Nice behind the back dribble by Charde Houston, stopped by an A'dia Mathies blocking foul. Houston has a Grace Jones thing going on there. She's so striking looking.
10:28: It looks like the LA fans have now showed up to the game. Traffic must be just like Atlanta's.
10:29: Mercury close to 31-28 in the second. Penny Taylor has added a couple of shots. Have eaten my pudding up and starting to feel sleepy, but with a little over 5 minutes left in the second the game has gone by very quickly. I think I can survive until they name the All Stars, at least.
10:33: Delle Donne, McCoughtry, Taurasi, Griner all named as All-Star Game starters. I can live with those choices. At least three of the four of those players deserve it.
Prediction: At the All-Star Game, the West team will "clear the lane" and Griner will try to dunk. Say, Britney, while you're busy at the ESPYs and at Conan, why don't you play some basketball?
10:35: For some reason, I'm thinking of high school, when I gave a book report that was so long it took a half hour to read. Why I wrote so much about El Cid I have no idea. The other students loved it; they had to postpone a bunch of book reports from Friday to Monday.
10:37: Phoenix hits an 11-0 run. Keep talking, Britney, it seems to be bringing the Merc some luck. Although we missed a nice big chunk of that run with this @#$@%# interview.
10:38: "Family of Quicks" commercial. Very nice little poem - "quick ain't fair". I hate the commercialization of selling kids athletic shoes, though. Whenever a sneaker commercial comes on, I literally won't look at it. I turn my eyes up, or down, or somewhere else in the room. So I have heard this commercial about a hundred times, but I haven't actually seen it.
10:41: Taurasi with a technical foul. Phoenix players have an ungodly amount of technicals. Some stats on that later.
10:44: Houston tries a bounce pass that goes out of bounds. Can't remember who she was passing to but the player didn't see it. Remember, the rule is that a missed pass is always the passer's fault. If the passer didn't think the player could get it, why did she pass it?
10:45: Really, Alana Beard, what are you thinking? Taurasi's got all that reach on Beard. If Taurasi had gone ballistic, my money would have been on her.
10:47: Phoenix now up 46-36. Looks like a Beard vs. Taurasi war out there.
10:50: Phoenix scores like 33 points in the second quarter. Taurasi has 18, Phoenix leads 46-38. Fast game, not even 11 pm in the Eastern Time Zone yet.
Hope now that I can get to bed at a decent time. No guarantee that I'll last the game. Unless halftime is really compelling, I tend to zone out.
10:54: Interesting factoid: Elene Delle Donne does not get hazed like the other rookies across the league. I wonder if its because someone high up either in the Sky or the WNBA said, "Lay off Delle Donne."
11:07: Looks like Alana Beard will be joined at the hip to Diana Taurasi for the rest of the game. No help defense duties for whoever guards Taurasi.
11:11: It looks like at this hour of night, they assume that everyone watching ESPN2 is impoverished. All comeons for free credit scores and fly-by-night college degrees.
11:14: Announcers call Taurasi "so wise and savvy". You use the word "wise" for someone who is old. Taurasi isn't old.
11:15: The WNBA really needs to make drawn foul statistics as part of their basic box score.
11:20: Sparks make a run - closing from 15 to 8 points - when Taurasi is taking a rest on the bench. So she's back.
11:21: The Merc have had four days off, which might be the optimum amount of time off. I remember that horrible loss by Atlanta against the Lynx, when Atlanta had about a week off. Might be interesting to do some stats about league win percentages based on number of days between appearances.
11:27: Phoenix up 65-51 with 1:27 or so left in the third. The game is becoming a real slog and LA hasn't been able to figure Phoenix out. Marissa Coleman hits a 3-pointer, but the Sparks need another run.
11:29: Taurasi on the bench, LA closes again. Third quarter almost over. My wife asks me to run the trash to the curb at "the next commercial", so I will. My midnight bedtime looking better and better.
11:31: Parker hits as time expires in the third after the jump ball. However, she didn't get it off in time.
11:33: Waiting forever for the refs. I'm taking the trash out.
11:36: Returned from trash. Beautiful three-quarters moon in the sky (quite fitting). ESPN has gone to commercial; never did find out what they decided.
11:38: Carol Ross decides that one player guarding Taurasi isn't enough. Phoenix up 67-60.
11:41: Charde Houston picks up foul #4. Picked up a couple of quick ones.
11:43: I wondered what the rule on technical fouls was. Apparently, the rule is that one you pick up your #7 technical foul, you get suspended for the next game. Taurasi is at #6 on the season. Los Angeles is now in the penalty, down by eight, 71:63 with 7 minutes left.
11:45: Parker goes back to the line. Damn you, Sparks, for keeping this interesting.
11:46: Sparks on 18-6 run, Phoenix up 73-71 now.
11:48: Phoenix just up by one point, 73-72. Less than five minutes left. Looks like I'll be staying up. But if this goes into overtime, I'm off to bed.
11:51: There's some useful stats. Parker 7 points in the 4th quarter, 11 in the first three.
11:56: Toliver misses one from about 12 feet unguarded; Taylor hits one falling down. 7-0 Phoenix run. That's the way the night is going for LA. Toliver gets the technical, and I think that Los Angeles's home winning streak will come to an end.
11:58: Too many damned commercials. Hurry up.
12:01: 1:45 left, Parker at the line, and I stop typing. Hey, I only allot myself two hours, anything over that and you gotta pay me.
After the fact: Turns out that Phoenix won 90-84. Los Angeles's 19-game win streak is over. Taurasi scored 15 of her 32 points on the free throw line, where she was 15-17. Shades of Angel McCoughtry.
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