Via Storm Tracker:

Okay, so, WNBA.com is choosing its Photo of the Year. The first round of the voting gives fans  the chance to choose a photo for each specific team. Currently, they’re highlighting the Seattle Storm. So, Stormies, come on, let’s go vote!

I’m having a hard time choosing between the two below:

“Team Line-up”

“Passion”

I like the first one (coz I’m crazy about wide shots lately) but I also really, really, really like the second photo coz the photographer practically just nailed Sue’s passion for the game with that shot. Plus add to that the fact that I’m such a (or used to be such a) rabid Sue Bird fan LOL.  Anyway, these awesome photos were taken by Terrence Vaccaro.

Three Storm players are in (voted in, btw)!

Congrats, Sue, Swin, and LJ.

The starting line-ups for the 2009 WNBA All Star Game are as follows:

[West]
Sue Bird, G SEA
Becky Hammon, G SA
Lisa Leslie, C LA
Swin Cash, F SEA
Lauren Jackson, F SEA

[East]
Katie Douglas, G IND
Alana Beard, G WAS
Sylvia Fowles, C CHI
Candice Dupree, F CHI
Tamika Catchings, F IND

I say, not bad. Put away the loss at Indy (which I completely didn’t wake up to coz I’m putting my health over basketball addiction nowadays), I think we’re on the right direction.

The team hasn’t still gelled that well but it’ll come in time.

・Tanisha Wright finally playing what she does best — awesome defense and not point-guarding. Now we can only hope PeeWee Johnson stays healthy to provide substantial help to Sue.

・Sue Bird — Bird, Bird, Bird, Biiiiiiiird is the word. Seriously, if ever she retires I would be really depressed. And lol at someone from Stormfans.org, if only we could clone Birdy and put Birdy1 at point guard and Birdy2 at shooting guard, that would be freaking awesome.

・I hope Swin stays healthy and finally free from the back and knee problems. Awesome defense against Augustus during the win over the Lynx btw.

・Lauren Jackson. ‘Nuff said. Thank you for staying in Seattle. ^__^

Game 1: at Sacramento Monarchs WIN 71-61

Game 2: vs Sacramento Monarchs WIN 80-70

Game 3: at Indiana Fever LOSS 66-73

Game 4: at Minnesota Lynx WIN 88-71

UP NEXT: at Chicago Sky 0500H JST

The Houston Comets — winner of four WNBA trophies and one of the eight original franchises in the league — is no more.

Fans discuss and lament. This almost happened to my team a year ago. Thank God these women exist or else the Storm would have been dead (or stuck in Oklahoma where Kevin Durant and the rest of the Sonics are now). So, thank you, Force 10 Hoops.

PS — Aaww, I thought I forgot the sting of losing in the first round.

Here we go again. Four first round exits in a row. It gets tiring. Especially when you know you coulda won it but didn’t. I’m not gonna rant about how my team had injuries all season long and how we lost to the most crap-tastic team on the planet (who celebrated on the center logo — what low-class turds they are). I think I just need to sulk and feel sad a  little bit about the Storm’s season-ender, need to wallow for a while before I start looking forward to May 2009 (oh, there’s still the college season pa pala) and get all excited for the new Storm lineup (I dunno who will be traded and who will be back and who will retire).

But anyway, here’s hoping San Antonio swallows the Diva and Divalette and Dirty Milton-Jones and the rest of those SpOrks for lunch. I think I need a whole week before I can manage to cheer for Becky Hammon and Co. though. And I also need some time before I bring back the old layout.

My happiness does not depend on whether the Storm wins at Sta(b)les Center today. I repeat, My happiness does not depend on whether the Storm wins at Sta(b)les Center today.

I was telling that to myself when I woke up this morning. And well, with that in mind, why am I so *ugh* freakin’ irritated and annoyed and owwww what the hell!

The story of the game is L.A.’s usually unreliable guards bringing it big time AND the Tanisha Wright (G SEA) that I was harping on about last season reappeared! Talk about those turnovers. Maaaaan, what a major choker. She better redeem herself in Game 2 or else…

On second thought, Sue might have just been sucessful as a one-woman-wrecking crew. Seriously. If not for those bloody turnovers and those breaks that we didn’t capitalize on, we coulda won this game.

But oh well, it’s over. I think we were down 17 at some point, then chipped away at the lead til we got it down to 6, and then the breaks went in favor of L.A. and then it was over. Bloody hell, the game was over.

Argh.

Get back to Key Arena, Stormies. And play better next time. And please, Brian Agler, sit Tanisha Wright when she’s fumbling passes and making sloppy plays. Srsly.

And now it’s down to EIGHT teams.

One game at a time, Stormies, one game at a time :D

Well, I didn’t wake up in time for that Mt. Fuji-Viewing Grape-Picking Wine-Tasting Tour.

Boohoohoohoo.

I spent about 4 hours sulking on my bed (oh so comfortable airbed), which prolly was the main reason why I didn’t wake up at 4 freakin’ AM (the bed, not the sulking).

And then, at 1130~ish (JST), the Storm hosted the visiting Minnesota Lynx. And for most of the game, they were being massacred by Seimone Augustus, Lindsey Harding, Candace Wiggins, and Anna DeForge. But then during the 3Q, Sue Bird (0 for 4 during the first half) keyed in about 10 points in a heart-stopping run that chipped down the Lynx lead until eventually we got the game. Sue Bird dropped 22 monster points again. When will the dotcom people ever see her as a huge candidate for that prestigious award?

BTW, there was a scary moment in the game where Sheryl Swoopes went up to block Candace Wiggins’ shot and came down on the floor — and didn’t get up for quite a while. A stretcher was brought out and my God, the 9000~ish that attended the record-setting game (for most wins in a season in franchise history) fell eerily quiet. I just read from the Storm Blog that Swoopes was unconscious for a few seconds but came to and recognized everyone around her. Good thing it was just a concussion. I thought something happened to her back, or head, or neck, or whatever. Kevin Pelton reports that Swoopes is fine.

21 wins 10 losses – best conference record in franchise history. 15 wins 1 loss – best home record in franchise history (and prolly the league, I just haven’t checked yet). We’re atop the Western Conference and if we continue playing like this, the chance to win that trophy is looking really really good. And gads, LJ isn’t there. I can’t imagine what’ll happen to the Storm when she gets back from surgery. Freakin’ awesome, this team is.

Okay so the good things don’t end there. I now think that the universe must be conspiring to make me happy and feel better about missing the trip (that I was waiting for for weeks, mind you). I ain’t gonna diss Paulo Coelho today. Some other time maybe.

After the Storm game I had to figure out how to watch the 2008 UAAP Cheerdance Competition. I’ve always watched that contest since I was in freshman year (whoa, it feels like eons already). Last year I missed out on one of the best performances by UP in ages because I was stuck recuperating my lungs inside a hospital in Chofu.

So anyway, thanks to Lau who told me to get TFC so I could watch the competition (because I’m stuck here and not with the gang in the trip), I was able to witness the performances. And wow, I mean, wow. I admit that UP’s routine wasn’t perfectly clean but man, there’s only so much oomph that one can handle and the UP Pep Squad brought it, really brought it. The concept was just whoa, and I like the theme, and the music (pinikpikan) and aaargh, it feels pretty good to be a UP grad right now.

Why?

Because we freakin’ won, that’s why!

I’m saving the commentary for later when the fog inside my head clears. I’m just happy that the UP Pep Squad won. Here’s their routine btw:

So anyway, I glanced outside my window and it is raining hard (complete with thunder and lightning very very frightening) and I just thought that, okay fine, I feel a whole lot better already, universe. Thank you very much for this day. :)

ETA: A much much better view of the routine [ here ].