(Off Topic) Women's World Championships

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

FINALLY have had a chance to see a game. Got NBATV on right now, and am watching a replay of USA vs Russia.

Some observations....

While I have been sulking the last few days, I have forgotten to keep up with who filled out the final slots on Team USA. Not sure that I know who did but, just saying I am as usual out of the loop. It appears from who I've seen roll off the bench, we've decided to go a little undersized in the post with no Yo or Lisa. (edit: Michelle Snow gives USA some size)

It's a good thing to get back on the horse that threw you and watch a little women's basketball again. Even if I got a jolt looking at Katie Smith, wasn't ready for that. Until tho, I saw a ref call a foul on her, apparently INTERNATIONALLY she can be called for fouls, only stateside she is foul-less. (hmmm, someone still has a tinge of bitterness). And..FYI NBATV...no matter how much you beg me on your scroll, I'm NOT going to get my Shock Championship Gear from WNBAStore.com...(oh yeah, still deeply bitter...but at least now much more functional )

Gawd...its always very nice to see Candace Parker. The Chosen One is still freakish. Just saw her finish off transition from a dish from Beard. Man, she and Catchings on the floor together is just nasty defensively. Shoot. OMG for a minute there I thought they had Parker, Catchings and Swoopes on the floor together...talk about nasty defensively...that would have been ridiculous. Young Ms. Chosen One is leading Team USA in scoring with 14 at the half...dayum...this is going to be a long wait for her to arrive in the W. A looooooooooooooooooooong wait.

Um...Team Russia...you REALLY might not want to leave Tina Thompson unguarded on the wing...She's already KILLING you..just a suggestion tho from the armchair. Now, you see DMJ hoisting from there? let her have that...

Um...ok...well...for some reason this shot did not count. But to close the half Swoopes and Bird connected on the most ridiculous play that never should have been allowed to happen that almost netted two points. How do you get a rebound (Swoopes) and deadfooted toss a baseball pass up court to a streaking guard (Bird) for an uncontested layup in the final ticks? That's not supposed to happen is it?

Who is this Stepanova kid and why does her name sound so familiar

Looking at highlights from other games....daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn...that Cuban team is freakin' athletic.

Why the HELL is Valdamorro still not back in the WNBA?????????

Having now seen the scroll at the bottom, I know this game is going to get a lot closer than it was at the half..gotta see how that happened. Umm...but to open the 2nd half, Bird takes a nasty fall face first into the floor...thank GOODNESS for the mask. Hmmm..think the score tightens because team USA stops efficiently scoring.

Final here...90-80 Team USA.

 

[StevenHW]

Part of MBF's post:

...Some observations....
Even if I got a jolt looking at Katie Smith, wasn't ready for that. Until tho, I saw a ref call a foul on her, apparently INTERNATIONALLY she can be called for fouls, only stateside she is foul-less. (hmmm, someone still has a tinge of bitterness)....

That's because Katie doesn't have Bill Laimbeer to harangue the refs this time around!

BTW, I haven't seen any of these championship games, but MBF, that was a great report! Thanks.


Oh, and one more thing:

Who is this Stepanova kid and why does her name sound so familiar

Maybe because I want to keep bringing it up? I think Maria will return to the WNBA in the 2007 season, with the Phoenix Mercury.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

USA vs Cuba

If you have NBAtv and missed this game earlier (like I did - well, the first half at least), USA vs Cuba will be replayed later tonight (Sat) (10:30p specifically).

To say the poise of Parker continues to impress me would be redundant. Because I could pretty much say that about her every game. Saw her numbers at the half, very solid. Not sure what she finished with, but as Team USAs 2nd leading scorer, she's holding her own. Apparently, the only way to slow her down is to crack her across the bridge of the nose. That's the only thing I've seen that had her remotely slowed down and confused. Tina Thompson is imposing her will on the world.

I had no idea Augustus was on this team, because I've yet to see her other than the camera shot to the bench when they talked about how she hasn't played much. Saw a cameo from Cheryl Ford in the game against Russia. Snow might have gotten first half or garbage minutes in the game against Cuba. But it appears that they are using Milton Jones and the length of Parker to hold down the post. Which I think was effective against Cuba because Cuba really didn't have big bodies in the middle from what I saw. They are athletic (or "freakin athletic" as I mentioned earlier) and you can match them with length and athleticism which works nicely with the Milton Jones/Parker combo. Parker, from what the commentators have said, leads Team USA in blocked shots. Let that sink in for a moment....Throwing Cheryl Ford out there in the paint would have been patently unfair, I don't think the Cubans would have gotten a damn rebound then.

One thing that struck me when I saw the highlights of Team Cuba's upset win over Team France (or Le Bleu as the cool kids call them ) is it appears that they all patterned their game after Sheryl Swoopes, I SWEAR they all have the mechanics of her jump shot. A player from Team Cuba that I liked...Yakelyn Plutin. Nice,athletic post player.

Don't know if you've seen the stat leader stuff or not, but yawn, Lauren Jackson is at the stop (like that's a surprise or something I know) but our friend Miao (the Queen of Points) Lijie has also been lighting up the nets. She's I believe the last time I checked in the top 5 in ppg for tournament play. Hold that thought for some TBFLDWOS* discussion fodder....I was very very happy that FeiFei & Miao were not on the roster this year...but should we consider them for roster slots in 2007? I was always more impressed with Miao than FeiFei, but that might be because Miao got more minutes in 2005.

Team USA will play France and I believe one other team in this round before the single elimination round starts.






* The brutally freaking long dreaded WNBA off season.

 

[NothinButHoops]

Saw a little of the game today 2nd half...And no doubt Candace Parker is the real deal. Not bad to look at either, she's kinda pretty. Anyway her game is evolving. Tenn. should have another strong team & Parker will have so much confidence after playing with all these stars. Can't understand why Augustas hasn't got much playing time. Team USA looks very strong & with all that talent they should win gold for sure. Gotta try & catch the replay tonight.

 

[shayneashley05]

Man I watched that game today (US vs. Cuba) we killed! Candace Parker's amazing for being so young, and today she had the team's high. She should do great things in the coming years with the Lady Vols and in the coming games with the US. I wish I could see a lil' more of USA's bench play...however, like they were saying our bench is really really deep. I was happy to see Seimone get some minutes And sadly it has taken me this long to realize that I don't need NBAtv to watch some FIBA...as they do the replays on FSN.

On a little side note: I must say that I don't quite like how the court's designed.

 

[6th]

10:30, huh? Thanks for the tip. I shall watch it.

 

[6th]

1st impression: For a team (Cuba) that is so "freakin athletic" they sure are settling for a lot of 3 pt jumpers, and missing most of them.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Team USA didn't let them run up and down the court like Team France did. That's when they are more freakin' athletic.

Oooh, a Michelle Snow sighting.

 

[6th]

You can tell our girls are not used to playing together...way too many turnovers. But, with the talent they have, they still dominate. I mean, can you imagine a team with Sheryl Swoopes coming off the bench?

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

USA v France 9/17/06

Hmmmm....see now what 6th talks about re: the first half for team USA.

Eh...not impressed at all with the minutes I saw from Michelle Snow...she got worked by a much smaller player. Bleech. No wonder she just is making cameos.

Eh...I joined about 25,000 people in Knoxville Tennessee holding my breath when the Chosen One came down wrong on her knee trying to make a twisting catch in transition. AND when she grabbed at it after she landed.

Um...let's not get ahead of ourselves announcermen...team USA is playing very well in the tournament...but let's not suggest they don't miss Yo and Lisa. (See: comments about Michelle Snow above). I'll take Griffith or Leslie over the Snow I just saw and over DMJ every day and twice on Sundays.

The dirty side of Katie Smith came out in this 1st half. She gets tangled up with French player then proceeds to swing an elbow at her, THEN throw the ball at her...what did that get Katie? Free throws of course. There are no technical fouls in the international game?!?

Geezus...Ruth Riley is doing the studio show instead of TMF??????? They are REALLY testing my restorative healing powers. (and I am failing ) I am about to have a Finals relapse. Is Deanna Nolan going to show up at some point too? How about Laimbeer? I mean, #@#@....ahhhh...relapse averted...the halftime W highlight package had several highlights of Ruth getting SCHOOLED. and the top highlight was the Buescher miracle shot. Thank you NBAtv...

DMJ...please don't bring the ball up court...you really aren't a ball handler.

Oooh, a Cheryl Ford sighting...

I'm confused on just what these refs are calling fouls. In the 2nd q Thompson got the heck hacked out of her and that got a no call. More no calls in the 2nd half.

Giggle..announcer just announced that a French player blocked a French shot...um..dude, that made no sense for one, and two, that was Parker's block in the stat book.


Man...the turnovers, team USA...c'mon. A lot of these are just silly. Stop trying to make a fancy pass, just make a damn good one.

Ooh...a Seimone Augustus sighting...

Hmmmm..the announcermen are right...the French coach does resemble Bobby Bowden.

Nice push by Team USA...

Team USA vs Team Czech Republic. 3:30pm Monday NBATV...replays to follow.

 

[6th]

Whoa! Even though the US was only up by 9 at half, they still ended up killing their opponent (France) by 35 or so. While I dislike Taurasi, I have to give her kudos for scoring 10 in the 3rd qtr and helping the US start to really pull away.

 

[StevenHW]

Part of Monty'sBiggestFan's post:

Why the HELL is [Amaya] Valdemoro still not back in the WNBA?????????

Don't know much about her. I guess the last time she was playing for a team in the WNBA was shortly before I was a fan.

But here's an article on her:
http://www.fiba2006brazil.com/noticias.asp?l=en&n=161

39 points and six rebounds! Does any WNBA team still have rights to her? Maybe the Houston Comets?

I can't figure out why she has not returned to the WNBA for a long time. Maybe she gets paid higher in other locations?

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

She went nuts during the last Olympics in Athens, and there was some talk that teams were making a run at her then, and I believe Houston might have been the first in line. But I honestly don't understand why she's not in the league right now.

 

[RoyalDiva]

Could it be by choice? Some of the European players don't return to the WNBA because the salaries are less than what the European bball market pays, plus they're more well-known there.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Would obviously have to be by choice at this point, because I know that teams did notice the tournament run she had in the Athens Olympics and did come calling.

My question was more rhetorical.

 

[6th]

Watching the replay of USA vs Czech Rep. Dang! I thought Candace Parker was going to dunk that ball. She seemed to change her mind midway through her jump.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I'm surprised that she didn't; I mean, we know that she's capable and, unlike most other women basketball players, Parker has always struck me as the type of player that would dunk just to show up their opponent... I wonder what made her change her mind?

 

[6th]

Hey, didn't the US women play in a quarterfinal game today?

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Didn't realize this was a quarterfinal, but you are correct 6th. USA played Lithuania today. I just saw the final score scroll by as I flipped to NBATV...which was not close by any stretch of the imagination. But the game started out fast for team LTU...7-2. Giminey Xmas, somebody better guard Tina....Damnit Sue Bird, this is the 2nd time I've seen you get an over and back violation on you...and I've only watched 4 damn games.

Quality minutes for Augustus....yay!

Whoa, Michelle Snow cameo has started...let's see if I like her minutes today. Not so far, she had bad rebounding position on that offensive possession- she got pushed out by smaller player. See announcermen from game against Team France...this is where you miss Yo.

Hmmm...why not stop trying to shoot over Parker? Wait til she sits on the bench and then try to shoot over her replacement.

Yeesh, I could have sworn I told DMJ to not bring the ball up court any more, I mean dang, I know you stole it, but give it up to a ball handler, you almost had it stolen back.

Goodness gracious, team USA's shot selection thus far in the 3rd quarter...lot to be desired.

Memo to team LTU...while you're not trying to take shots over Parker, also don't dribble carelessly near Catchings. Had to have been her 50th steal give or take a few.

Ahhhh Smith got booed by the crowd earlier in the game, then she got stuffed and pushed out of bounds for a no call....that's called karma.

Well...Rick Kamla had started to spill some gossip (read: team notes) about a LTU player who should have been starting let alone playing, but wasn't. Didn't seem like he finished the story. Dangit.

Final 90-56....

Next up...Team Russia

 

[Luv13fan]

Good...

Ahhhh Smith got booed by the crowd earlier in the game, then she got stuffed and pushed out of bounds for a no call....that's called karma.


Next up...Team Russia

Glad somebody felt like leveling her. Sorry... I know we are suppose to be good sports and all. But Damn would I be happy to see Nicole and Brittany Lay a monster Double Pick on Katie Smith.

I would chose Bekkah but Nicole weights more. Then again Combat Barbie seems to be good at the Pic setting.

Off to See Svet's team.
Love me some Svet although somebody went and showed me up in Front of The SVET.
:foot stomp: Gawg Dangit
I wont Name any names but .








[URL]http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp?pc=ZSzeb068&pp=ZNxdm41486US[/URL]

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I heard a rumor that we lost to Russia today....say it aint so...but I suspect that it is.

Wonder if those announcermen STILL think we could live without Yo or Lisa now....I tried to tell them to simma down with that crazy talk. I'm on my way to Fresno so's I'm not gonna get a chance to see what the hell happened. But I suspect it was turnovers and Stepanova. ::sigh::

 

[6th]

Yep, the USA women will be playing for the Bronze just like the men.

 

[NothinButHoops]

Turnovers & 46% free throw shooting. Pretty much a downer after dominating this whole tournament. Well just goes to show, other teams are good as well.
Did not watch it & I know, I'll be sleeping when it replays at midnight.