I fell asleep...and I had a very good DREAM.

What is up with the Dream? They beat San Antonio last night, 92-84. It was a tight game throughout, 18 lead changes, but Atlanta really played well in the 4th quarter to capture the 8 point win. I would just like to say I am so happy for Chamique Holdsclaw. She is such a great player that had some bad luck and to see her rebound so nicely is just a happy story. She was the team leader with 21 points for the Dream and the team has one 4 in a row. FOUR in a row! I really like this team, it's a collection of great players that compliment each other so well. I had them out of the playoffs until next season but look out, they are coming on strong now! They only had 10 turnovers in the game and forced San Antonio into 18! They scored 50 in the paint, showing that Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle are really catching their groove. Michelle Snow and Angel McCoughtry each dropped in 11. Just a great game; multiple double digit scorers, protected the ball, got the rebounds. If they keep playing like this, look out Chicago, Atlanta is taking your seat!

The Sparks won a big game in the West, they beat Seattle by 4 in Overtime. Noelle Quinn had a career high 23 points in the game (8 in overtime) to help the Sparks knock off Seattle (who have lost 2 tough games in a row). Even though Katie Gearlds might not be the bigtime player for the Storm, losing her for the next four weeks is big. It's been confirmed that Gearlds tore her posterior cruciate ligament in her left knee Tuesday night against Phoenix. She does so much off of the ball that losing her will hurt the Storm. But, the Storm are resilient, they will rebound. With the LA win and San Antonio loss, the Sparks have pulled to within 1 game of 4th place in the West. The Sparks are on a roll, they had 4 players in double digits; Lisa Leslie came back and had 15 points, Candace Parker had 18 points. They out-rebounded the Storm by 11 (42-31) but they still can't hold onto the ball (14 turnovers, 4 by Parker). Where did the Storm go? I know it was a close game but it seemed like in the end it seemed like the usual that showed up for them: Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson. Someone else needs to step up in the final moments to help this team come together.

Tonight's Games
So we have a few good ones:
Detroit @ Washington (7:00 pm)
Connecticut @ Minnesota (8:00 pm)
New York @ Sacramento (10:00 pm)

Washington, Minnesota and New York will win (first win under Donovan).

Other News:
The Tuesday announcement that Sacramento Monarchs/Indiana Fever forward Yolanda Griffith has retired brought a sense of sadness to me. I always felt that Yo-Yo was under-rated as a player. I mean, she did play on 2 Olympic Gold Medal teams (2000, 2004) but I never felt she really got the respect she deserved. Perhaps it is because she didn't play for media friendly teams? Or perhaps she's just a quiet woman on and off the floor. You know, the player that scores 30 points and you go, "When did that happen? Where was I?" She's also the type of player that gets things done without the ball, she can pass and defend. I would always say that I would never drive to the hoop if Yo-Yo was standing there.

She had originally signed to play for the University of Iowa in 1989 but had to remove herself from her signed contract due to the birth of her daughter. She went to Junior College and eventually transferred to Florida Atlantic University (a Division II school) where she graduated in 1993. From there she played overseas in Germany and in 1997, she finished as the top scorer and rebounder in the EuroLeague, averaging 24.7 points and 16.0 rebounds per game. In 1997 she was the ABL's first pick in the players draft going to the Long Beach Stingrays. She was the 1997-1998 ABL Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the All-ABL first team. She finished second in MVP voting to Natalie Williams (her future 2000 Olympic team mate). She scored 1,133 points for the ABL, in 2 season!

Her 11 year WNBA stats tell the story:

• 2nd in rebounding in the WNBA with 2,444 (second to, you guessed it, Lisa Leslie)
• 4,238 points
• 323 blocks
• 2005 WNBA Champion
• 1999 second overall draft pick (from the ABL)
• WNBA MVP & Defensive Player of the Year Award winner in 1999 (her first year in the WNBA)
• seven-time WNBA all-star
• not counting this season, she started every game except 1 in her 11 year WNBA career
  

Right now she is the Assistant Coach for Indiana and her expertise will come in handy for the team. Best of luck to you in the future, Yo-Yo, your game will be missed.