Monarchs Day Off courtesy of WNBA.com

[Purple Reign]

I Believe I Can Fly
Posted by Matt Wurst (WNBA.com)on Sept. 17, 2005 6:50 p.m. ET


The scene is ARCO Arena, the day is Saturday and the time is, well, who knows what time it is with jetlag rearing its ugly head... But the WNBA Blog has arrived in Sacramento, even getting a big welcome from the unofficial Sacramento mascot to Monarchs practice: The Fly. Or more accurately, swarms of flies. With a Santana concert taking over ARCO on Friday night, the crews had all the doors open to set up for Sunday's Game 3, the flies found their way in kept practice interesting.

The Monarchs held their first practice back at home with as much energy as we have seen these Finals. Nicole Powell was even sporting a big shiner afterwards after colliding with a teammate in drills. that's not to say that they didn't have their share of fun as well as Chelsea Newton and Kristin Haynie paired up to challende Rebekkah Brunson and Olympia Scott-Richardson in a game of taps (also known as the tip-in game). Then a half-court shot bet was laid, but not from the center of the court but at the half line and the sideline. A near impossible shot, right? Well Kara Lawson swished her first shot, then Haynie hit followed right up by Scott-Richardson. Do they practice this? Then, for good measure, Lawson hit it again to silence all comers.

She then proceeded to dance around the court as if the had just won the championship. Maybe she was practicing for later in the week, who knows? But not to be outdone at all, Nicole Powell drained two 3-pointers from NBA range on her tush. That's right, sitting with legs crossed, Powell knocked down two big ones. Not sure when that will come in handy, but you never know...

So how does Coach Whisenant break down his two hour practices? The first 25 minutes are so are dedicated to film, followed by a Speed Break (running session) and stretching. Then, believe it or not, the Monarchs have a special drill designed just for Jump Stop moves. They spend the next 10 minutes shooting, broken up at each basket into guards and posts. Then the assistants organize the break drills, defense drills and offense drills with the starters wearing the black side of their reversible jerseys and the reserves wearing white. The practice rounds out with some scouting work and then free throws. Quite the workout for two hours, huh?

The Sun arrived at the arena still shaking off the cobwebs after their late arrival here last night (see below), but then ran hard and got in a vigorous workout as well. Lindsay Whalen did practice and indicated that she felt better, but would take things one day at a time. The issue is no longer her knee, but her sprained ankle. As you might expect, Brooke Wyckoff was still answering reporters' questions about The Shot. Less than 24 hours to go before game 3 gets underway... Be there - ABC at 4 p.m. ET!

 

[Purple Reign]

Part 2

Be Smart-Be Fit-Be Yourself. Be There.
Posted by Matt Wurst (WNBA.com)on Sept. 17, 2005 7:54 p.m. ET


After finishing up practice and as the Sun were running their tails off in Coach Mike Thibault's practice, the entire Sacramento Monarchs team headed across town to the Ray Robinson Oak Park Salvation Army this afternoon to work out with about 70 Sacramento children and share the importance of a healthy lifestyle with them.

As part of the WNBA's Be Smart - Be Fit - Be Yourself program, the Monarchs led children in exercises and discussons about the importance of nutrition and fitness in their daily lives. Leading the way at the outset were Carla McGhee and Miss Monarch herself, Ruthie Bolton, as emcees. Of course, even though she has been one of the faces of the team and involved with this year's team on a daily basis, she was still brushing up on the pronunciation of some of her former teammates' names prior to the event getting started. Let that be a lesson, kids. You can never be too prepared. Before introducing Kara Lawson to speak to the kids, Ruthie Bolton pulled up her sleeves and flexed, showing that fitness was obviously still important to her even after retiring. It's a good thing the Sacramento Police Department was in the house because Ruthie was bringing out the big guns.

Then Lawson talked about eating the right foods, being active in various exercises and having a good attitude.

"It shows how important the community and you guys are to us for us to be here the day before a big game," Lawson told the crowd."

Finally, before breaking up into individual stations to demonstrate some of the techniques for abs, cardio and good nutrition, various players spoke candidly about the role of fitness and nutrition in their own lives and careers.

"It was certainly an adjustment I had to make coming in as a young player all those years ago," Yolanda Griffith said. "I needed to develop discipline to stay focused because as a rookie, you just want to play. But training is so important."

"I play all year round," Ticha Penicheiro said, "going back and forth, so for me, stretching is very important to stay in shape."

Upon learning that Ticha's birthday is tomorrow, Sunday, the 70 or so students serenaded her with an impromptu rendition of "Happy Birthday," making Ticha blush. Of course, the best birthday present Ticha can get tomorrow would be from her teammates. A Game 3 win.