Mercury Defeat Comets... Again

In an excitement filled nail biter, the Mercury defeated the (Jekyll and Hyde) Comets 76-74 tonight, making it a clean sweep for the season.

It was a tight game, with the exception of the Comets jumping out to a 12-0 lead. The Mercury answered, however, with 14 straight points. There were 9 lead changes, and the score was tied 10 times. It truly wasn't over until the buzzer sounded.

Turnovers: Comets 21, Mercury 22
Fast Break Points: Comets 2, Mercury 22 (OUCH!)
Biggest Lead: Comets 12, Mercury 6
Points in the Paint: Comets 36, Mercury 34
FG%: Comets 37.3%, Mercury 45.9%
3FG%: Comets 26.7%, Mercury 31.6%
FT%: Comets 73.7%, Mercury 87.5% (*See the difference it makes!)
Total Rebounds: Comets 44, Mercury 27

The "on again" Michelle Snow showed up to play tonight, and lead scoring with 21 points, but there was a nice distribution of points:

Michelle Snow 21
Sancho Lyttle 15
Tamecka Dixon 14
Tina Thompson 12
Crystal Smith 8
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba 2
Barbara Turner 2

Lead scorers for the Mercury: Diana Taurasi led the Mercury with 19 (awesome) points, and Cappie Pondexter had 14.

It was a tough loss, but for those of us who suffered through watching Sunday's pitiful performance... it was also a relief!

*Game Side Show Side Note: Sheryl Swoopes was on the bench, looking very fresh and attractive, in a brief but simple and beautiful buttery yellow dress.

U G L Y... Sky Squelch Comets

The only good thing I can say about this game is that the Comets lost by 18, and not 29 (the Sky's largest lead of the game).

Two of the Comets scored double points: Barbara Turner (11) and Tina Thompson (10). And there were no other double figures.

How sad is that?

It is as if we were zombies with concrete sneakers and lead weights on our wrists. I can accept a "tired" excuse, but this went beyond "tired".

And for all of you who think the refs are turning tricks for us... I didn't see it. Not in this game. And not that it would have made the slightest difference!

With a record of 8-17, we're again a full game behind la for 6th place in the West. And we face number 3, Phoenix at home on Tuesday night.

Geez... I hope there's enough time to rest!

16th Makes a Dozen

The planet won again... Mercury 92, Comets 75. Pitiful, really.

Granted, we were without Sheryl Swoopes (still out due to an injury), but they played without Tarausi (who completed her second game of a 2 game suspension... both against Houston).

I'd like to expound upon the highlights, but there were none... well, with the exception of a career high 17 points from Roneeka Hodges.

Not only was this game not fun, it was painful to watch.

Add the rumors that are flying, and it felt oddly like attending a wake, where you know you will see them again... just not in this world.

Comets Collide with Mercury, Planet Wins

We got third, alright... third quarter, that is.

Up by 8 at the end of the third, the Comets lose by 5.

Something is clearly wrong with Tina, with tepid performance and uber-taped leg. Michelle Snow was all but MIA, but our new gals really stepped up their performances.

Smith... 18
Maiga-Ba... 16
Shields... 16
Thompson... 10
Hodges... 8
Lyttle... 7
Byears... 4
Snow... 4
Moore... 2
Williams... 0

I thought, at times, they looked great and together... and at others, tired, flat footed and inexperienced.

Could It Be Three?

It's going to be a tough game in Phoenix tonight, but hopefully we've got the confidence and skill to make it three in a row against the 7-7 Mercury.

They're on a 2 game losing streak, and Diana Taurasi won't be in the building. Of course, Sheryl Swoopes won't be there either!

Officiating & Taurasi's Two Game Suspension

The Mercury's Diana Taurasi was suspended for two games for what the league called "inappropriate conduct toward game officials", in response to a late call in their game Friday night against Detroit.

Taurasi was whistled for an offensive foul while trying to get open for an inbounds pass. She immediately began screaming and headed toward referee Michael Price after the buzzer.

"He’s terrible,” Taurasi said of Price after the game. “We played so hard for 40 minutes and not even to get a chance at the end to make a play. They just took it away from us. That’s complete (bull).”

While grateful that she's serving her suspension in two games against my Houston Comets, and though I didn't witness the "foul" or her behavior, I will say this:

This season's officiating has been horrendous. Between bad calls, late calls and petty calls, the game has grown to be almost excrutiating to watch. Our home games have been played so slow due to all the stops and starts, that it's nearly impossible, as a fan, to get emotionally connected.

So, having witnessed what I have, I'm inclined to side with Taurasi. As a stretch, I could understand a 'T' called on her, as they called on Tina Thompson last week when she protested a call... but a two game suspension from mere words and no contact??? That's over the line.

It's One Thing... And Another

It's one thing to be rebuilding... and another thing to be flailing.

It's one thing to be the worst in the Conference... and another thing to be the worst in the League.

But it's now official.

With Washington's win over Phoenix last night... we now own The Worst record in the WNBA.

I'm not a fair weather fan, ya'all. I plan to stick by my team for as long as they play in a Toyota Center. And that issue, alone, is what has me worried. Do I need to divest my emotions in a team that is teetering on the verge of being relocated to another city... or shifted to a second rate venue in an unsafe neighborhood?

I don't want to worry. And I don't want to abandon. I have invested more than money and reaped more than joy from my 11 year commitment to the Houston Comets. But I am tortured by the thought of giving it all up to another city or to another (financially feasible and otherwise completely undesirable) venue.

For me, it's less about losing games... and WAY more about losing my Comets!