Could This Be Yolanda Griffith?

NothinButHoops

NothinButHoops

Starter
#3
#3
WTF...please tell me this isn't so:confused:
I mean WHY? Swoopes was one player I had a hard time seeing in Green, now Yo? Noooooooooooooooooooooocrap...
This would really hurt & suck for the Monarch faithfull!
 
Purple Reign

Purple Reign

Starter
#4
#4
I understand that Yo is not the player that she once was, but man what happened here in Sacramento. If she can play one more year, what has happened here that is driving her away from this organization and these fans?:confused:
 
NothinButHoops

NothinButHoops

Starter
#8
#8
I will watch, but not without a heavy heart...
If it does happen, maybe the inactivity of this off season is a big reason?
I refuse to see Yo in anything other than Sacramento Monarch purple.
 
D

Den-Den

Bench
#9
#9
as per the Sacramento Bee this evening:

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/844312.html

It's a sad day in Monarch land, and there are ALOT of pissed-off fans out there...

Coach T was on the radio this evening with Koz and Koz asked him about the rumours--let's just say that either Coach T is a phenomenal actor, or he was just as shocked as the rest of us. Seems like it must be true--I find it hard to believe that these two reporters would publish such a headline if it were not. I feel like I was punched in the gut, and can only imagine how Ticha, Bekka, Chelsea and the others must feel.

I was really excited about the preaseason game, but just can't see myself watching Yo in Seattle green.
 
A

allaboutusgirlz

Prospect
#10
#10
To All -

This is truely a crazy time, but I doubt that Yo just up and left. We all know that Yo is so much classier of a person than that. What made me sick is that Wiz had the nerve to make it seem like he had no clue. He knew, period! Moreover, whether Yo retired or as it seems she goes to another team, the inactivity is still that, inactive.
 
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6th

6th

Homer Fan Since 1985
#13
#13
Den-Den said:
Seattle and Tacoma, Washington papers are reporting similar info to the Sac Bee...

I really would not have expected this from Yo.
Click to expand...
No judgement until I find out the reason behind it.

Something else that really ticks me off is reading the comments by Seattle fans. The don't even appreciate getting her. Makes me sick!!
 
6th

6th

Homer Fan Since 1985
#14
#14
I'm tired and should already be in bed. Needless to say, I am too bummed. I need to know why. I need to know the real reason, and I don't want to hear spin.

Did Whiz not offer her the money she deserves in relation to her status in the WNBA...to her status on the Monarchs? Did they not offer her anything besides player status? Did Seattle offer her a coaching job after a year as a player? Does she want to have a chance at another ring, while the Monarchs did nothing in the off-season?

No matter what the answer, it just makes me sick. There has never been a player that I idolize more.

I know this probably all sounds rather melodramatic to some people, but I don't care. I am just that sick.
 
HoopMatron

HoopMatron

Bench
#15
#15
I'm heartsick that Yo will not finish her career in Sacramento. I can't think of a single reason why she wouldn't, unless something went drastically wrong with the management or coaching staff. Or, is Candace going to school in Washington?

This is just the most miserable news I've heard....


GO MONARCHS!!!
 
Luv13fan

Luv13fan

Bench
#16
#16
Hmmm...

Part of me is kinda surprised by all of this.

I fully expected Yo to retire.

Part of me isn't surprised at all...
She gets to play 15-20 minutes. Doesn't have to carry the franchise, and may have got more money than the Monarchs were willing to spend.

Between DeMya, Kara, and Pay raises for Nicole and Bekkah maybe there just wasn't enough.

However, I guess I wish her the best.
 
HoopMatron

HoopMatron

Bench
#17
#17
Okay, I've had a chance to sleep on this and this morning I woke up angry.

The front office blew this one big time. There is no way Yo should finish her career in anything but Monarchs purple. I fully expected her jersey to be hanging from the rafters in Arco (and I know it still will, but I'll get into that later). I expected if she decided not to retire this year, she would do a full tour of the league as a Monarch for her grand finale.

For that not to happen had to be a screw up by John Whisenant of monumental proportions. There can't be any other reason for it -- even if Seattle threw the maximum salary at her, the Monarchs could have matched. If Seattle can afford Yo, with Jackson, Bird, Swoopes and Cash on the roster, why can't the Monarchs?

About the jersey in the rafters thing, I've never been a fan of players like Joe Montana or Jerry Rice who leave their "home" team to play a few years of their waning careers, then somehow get traded back to finish out. It seems like there's an asterisk behind their number somehow. It's going to seem the same for Yo. It'll be 33* up there for me.

Whisenant has to provide a darn good reason for this -- I want it today, although he can wait until 4:31 to provide it so Yo can have her moment in Seattle. But I'm truly on the verge of cancelling the season tickets over this one, and I'm calling my season ticket rep to let her know.
 
D

Den-Den

Bench
#18
#18
Last night on the radio with Koz, Coach T said that the only reason he could see Yo leaving was because she really wanted another ring. Nothing was oing to happen in Monarch land that would have assured that--no matter what Wiz tried. Most free agents were staying where they were, or had requested to be traded elsewhere. Even Swin Cash ok'd the core, sign and trade deal that Laimbeer executed with Seattle.

I do not for a second believe that Wiz was not willing to give her the moon to keep her. But the Monarchs are in a rebuilding period, and not one of us honestly believes that we will win a championship this year--even if he was able to tweak the roster. Our style of basketball takes time to build championship teams. And there was not really even one player out there that he could have signed that would have brought that to this team. Just my opinion...

Yo, however, is the one whose shoulders this clearly lays upon. I am a very loyal person, and value that highly in others. Let's not forget that Yo had wanted once before to leave for Connecticut and that elusive championship ring.

I know that this is a business, however, this one really sucks. Yo was not just a player for the Monarchs. She WAS the Monarchs. I personally, would not have been able to do this if I were in her shoes. Perhaps this has been part of the difference between the men and the women's game. It somehow seems more personal when a woman leaves her team for appeared rosier places. Probably not "fair", but it is what it is. I had fully not expected Yo to return, but was expecting to retire her jersey to the rafters. To have to watch her play elsewhere was never in my thought process.
 
Purple Reign

Purple Reign

Starter
#19
#19
To me this makes no sense for Yolanda or for Seattle. But after getting over the shock of it all last night, I can understand why Sacramento may not have given her some guarantees, if she was looking for any. If the Monarchs have any hopes for the post season in '08, those hopes are going to lie on the shoulders and the knees of the young front court of Walker, Brunson and Powell. A 38 year old arthritic knee'd Hall of Fame player was looking at being on the outside.

Where I have a huge problem with this whole off season is that Griffith represents the fourth key player leaving the '05 championship squad via free agency, without replacing any of them in value WHATSOEVER!!!!

The organization to me has not decided if it is rebuilding or competing. It is hard to do both.
 
lshakespeare

lshakespeare

Prospect
#20
#20
It's not over till Yo is wearing that dreadful green and rust!

We can speculate all we want, but it will not be final until the coaches want us to know. I imagine they are getting a lot of attention preseason with all this hubbub and drama. We can write letters, scream, pull our hair out--but we won't know the truth until they have a press conference. I almost would rather see Yo playing somewhere then retiring into nowhereland. I hate to see the Storm get her though--they are going to have one heck of a team this year!

Darn it, what would I do with all my Yo "we can do it" signs?
 
Purple Reign

Purple Reign

Starter
#23
#23
Yolanda Griffith will be wearing Seattle Green. I am not a firm believer that stockpiling older players translate into instant greatness. I do think that Seattle will make the playoffs, but I do not think adding an older Griffith and Swoopes guarantees a championship or even advancing past what they have done.
 
D

diggining

Bench
#24
#24
I'm not inclined to blame the front office for this one. It seems that Yo really told the Monarchs that she's going to retire, and then she goes and signs with Seattle. They certainly would've resigned her if she's willing to come back. Yo chose to leave, and she did it. The sickening part of the deal is not that the front office let her go--it's that she's willing to play another year, but not with the Monarchs.
 
Luv13fan

Luv13fan

Bench
#25
#25
All on Yo

Purple Reign said:
To me this makes no sense for Yolanda or for Seattle. But after getting over the shock of it all last night, I can understand why Sacramento may not have given her some guarantees, if she was looking for any. If the Monarchs have any hopes for the post season in '08, those hopes are going to lie on the shoulders and the knees of the young front court of Walker, Brunson and Powell. A 38 year old arthritic knee'd Hall of Fame player was looking at being on the outside.

Where I have a huge problem with this whole off season is that Griffith represents the fourth key player leaving the '05 championship squad via free agency, without replacing any of them in value WHATSOEVER!!!!

The organization to me has not decided if it is rebuilding or competing. It is hard to do both.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you on that. Along with the notion that all of these Hall of Famers in Seatlle does not guarentee a Championship.
I know I mentioned money in an earlier post. But after crunching the numbers the Monarchs had more than enough to Max out YO. My guess is that she took a pay cut to play in Seattle.

I lay this squarely on YO. One of the few things I don't blame Team Whiz for. This was her choice. PERIOD. Now why she made the choice remains to be seen and we may not find that out ever.

What does completely astounds me is How completely and utterly unprepared for this the Monarchs are. Whiz claims he was proceeding as tho YO was not coming back. Yet all the way up to Damn near Draft day, NO MOVES to replace her. (If you even can replace her) Hell we can't even Kick Poor Brittany Wilkins around any more. We haven't heard one thing about Training Camp contracts. No major or minor FA signing. Perhaps that was the writing on the wall that Yo needed to jump ship.

And Yeah I would love to recieve some e-mail from Whiz explaining exactly WTF he has been doing all off-season. (and No I don't expect that he will) Why he essentially stood still after he lost Haynie, and knew he was loosing YO. (whether it was to retirement or Seattle he knew she was going)

I am definately making plans to go to the Pre-season game. I want to see it, and I want to see how our ladies respond. BTW any news on when players will be rolling in from Europe. Will they be on time? I guess that is the only advantage Seattle has is that Swoopes and Yo will be there.
 
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Monty'sBiggestFan

Monty'sBiggestFan

Starter
#26
#26
I think they have decided that the pieces they have can compete. A rebuild would involve blowing up the young core. They just spent a lot of money to secure that.

The players who left chose to leave. You can't trade somebody you don't have signed and I would have liked to have not had lost anybody to expansion myself either. If you'd rather have had Buescher and/or Maiga-Ba, you would be chosing them over players just secured long term. I think the front office decided which direction it wanted to go. Either you have the commitment to that or you don't. They apparently do. I had a conversation with coach a little over a week ago, and that seemed to be her sentiment.

If somebody chooses to not be a part of that, I can't begrudge them that. That same person was ready to walk in 2005 because she had the same feelings and look what happened when the trades didn't happen to accomodate that request.
 
U

uncommonclay

Bench
#27
#27
well, if it is true ...

i get it ... Yo wants to play on the best team, and Seattle will be a better team, they may challenge for the title ... the Monarchs won't, Yo would toil away and hover around .500, and may or may not make the playoffs ...

yeah, it's heartbreaking, but i get it ...
 
kennadog

kennadog

Dog On It!
#28
#28
As sad as it makes me, Yo has nothing to prove and nothing more to play for EXCEPT another championship. So I can understand why she did it. *sniff*

6th, you might want to rethink not going to the Sonics games, at least the first one.Those of us who love Yo, should fill the arena to the rafters and show her how much she has meant to the Monarchs team and its fans. I will cry, tho. :(
 
A

allaboutusgirlz

Prospect
#30
#30
I believe Yolanda is very loyal to Joe and Gavin Maloof for all the opportunities and memories. Moreover, she would like this team to grow and flourish. And the bottom line is that she will ALWAYS be a MONARCH in her heart. We need to cherish the memories created and anticipate those to come. :)
 
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