September 21, 2005

Royal Crown:: On the backs of the veteran leadership of Yolanda Griffith and Ticha Penicheiro, the Monarchs finally brought a championship to the City of Sacramento last night when the Connecticut Sun's Nykesha Sales' buzzer-beater attempt caught nothing but air.

The best line I heard all night: "This is the best thing to happen to Sacramento since the Bradford Family moved here."

posted by chicobangs to basketball at 06:09 PM - 30 comments

I live in Sac and didnt watch it.. Go KINGS!!!!!

posted by ELWAY_FAN at 06:41 PM on September 21, 2005

Well, um, Elway_Fan, thanks for reading the post, opening the thread and taking the trouble to type out a note telling everyone how much you don't care about it. They were the best team all year long, and I didn't expect the final to be as close as it was, especially with Lindsay Whalen hurt.

posted by chicobangs at 10:41 PM on September 21, 2005

Groovy, the Maloof Bros. finally got themselves a championship! Maybe now they can pull one off with the Kings!

posted by daddisamm at 10:51 PM on September 21, 2005

Yay!! Go Monarchs!! Those Maloof brothers are crrraaazzyyy!!

posted by tina at 11:13 PM on September 21, 2005

Chico, Nobody cares about the WNBA. I was just reminding everyone about that before the got to your post.

posted by ELWAY_FAN at 12:40 AM on September 22, 2005

Long time Sacramento resident and I am pretty pleased. As soon as Webber was shipped Sacramento wins a championship. Fantastic! It is too bad that this has gotten about zero attention. The attendance numbers are abysmal as well. Good job, Monarchs! Thanks for posting this, chico.

posted by geekyguy at 12:59 AM on September 22, 2005

Yeah, well, tell that to the stadium full of "nobodies" in your hometown who were screaming their nobody heads off for something Sacramento has never seen before: a championship. Tell it to the Maloof brothers, who are the richest nobodies in your hometown, and maybe Vegas too. Tell that to the advertiser-nobodies who throw millions in ad revenue into the game. Tell it to the now hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of nobodies who've become serious fans of the game over the last decade, not just in the other WNBA cities but around the planet, and the casual nobody who believes that pro women's basketball is actually more pleasant to watch, because it requires more strategy and on-court planning than the selfish cartoony leaping streetball bullshit that the men's game has become. All those people are nobody. They don't count. Right. Or are you just suddenly the dictator of what we all have to care about and what is just silly and beneath you? And you felt the need to go out of your way to make sure that we all knew it. Because you don't care about the WNBA Finals, it meant that if we did give a shit about this championship final happening (in your hometown, no less), then that means we're worthless? And you didn't care so much that you had to come back into a thread you thought was beneath your apathy level to repeat how much nobody cared about the Monarchs winning? Look. Just because something doesn't interest you doesn't mean someone else might not actually be enjoying it, somewhere out there in the vast universe that exists outside your own lower colon. Fuck your never-won-a-goddamned-thing Kings, and fuck you, ELWAY_FAN.

posted by chicobangs at 01:49 AM on September 22, 2005

Or are you just suddenly the dictator of what we all have to care about and what is just silly and beneath you? But he's an ass for not thinking the WNBA is the greatest thing to hit pro sports since the forward pass? Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, pot. Please. You know WNBA is the Spofi equivalent of a religious or political thread. You are free to like it all you want chico, but methinks you should lighten up a bit and toughen up the hide. It is most definitely a niche sport. Personally I could also care less about it, but I am glad it is there as an option for female athletes and people who like that sort of game. Just ease up on the "fuck you"s because others don't enjoy it.

posted by pivo at 02:04 AM on September 22, 2005

After losing in the Western Conference finals in three of the past four years Wow, must feel so good to get over that last hurdle. Congrats to the monarchs. Elway Fan, why don't you show your disinterest by not posting in the thread. It's SPORTSFILTER, all sports. Learn it, know it, live it (as brad hamilton would say). It is most definitely a niche sport. I don't see how that justifies someone posting nonsense in the thread. Variety is good.

posted by justgary at 02:26 AM on September 22, 2005

pivo, I never called anyone a nobody because they didn't share my tastes, and I certainly never went into a thread about something anyone else liked and told them they were worthless. I never said the WNBA was the greatest thing ever. (Frankly, I don't think it is. I prefer Olympic Basketball, Men's or Women's.) What I did say was that there are people who do really like it, and to dismiss those people with the first post in a thread as worthless (and then to be loud and repetitive about it) is shortsighted, wrong and just plain rude. So I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my little (and rare - check my comments and see how I'm usually the level headed one in these things) outburst, but go reread what I wrote and tell me exactly where I went out of my way to tell anyone they were a nobody for liking something I didn't, and then call me a kettle again. Go ahead. I'm sick of this shit. Spofi is about more than just NFL/NBA/MLB/NCAA Div I. If I want closed minds and who-cares-what-you-like, I'd listen to fucking ESPN Radio.

posted by chicobangs at 02:30 AM on September 22, 2005

Pretty interesting pic on the Fox Sports site. Three white men smiling around a trophy and a crowd of faceless women in purple behind.

posted by RtV at 03:49 AM on September 22, 2005

Go away, Elway Fan, please. Meanwhile, can someone who follows the WNBA a little more explain why Sun center Margo Dydek isn't more effective? I mean, if I had a center who was half a foot taller than anyone else on the floor, I'd try getting her the ball a little more. It isn't as if she's the female equivalent to Mark Eaton, is she???

posted by ajaffe at 07:29 AM on September 22, 2005

I'm sick of this shit. Spofi is about more than just NFL/NBA/MLB/NCAA Div I. Uh, is it bad that I'm upset that chico didn't mention the NHL? - I kidd, I kidd. Margo Dydek looks like she might break in half at any minute. She should totally hook up with Mark Eaton... That's what we're talking about, right? On preview: What chico said about the team and the championship.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:52 AM on September 22, 2005

If "getting her the ball" means something different to you...

posted by ajaffe at 07:54 AM on September 22, 2005

But he's an ass for not thinking the WNBA is the greatest thing to hit pro sports since the forward pass? No, he's an ass for inviting himself into a discussion about a subject he's not interested in and then telling everyone that it's not worthy of discussion -- and you're, perhaps, a wee bit of an ass yourself for trying to turn this into yet another assault by the ignorant on the WNBA's right to exist. If you truly believe that the core justification for the continued existence of any sport, team or league should be the collective BMI of its couch-sitting Coors-swilling logo-monkey fans, then we better roll up our collective sleeves and get to work purging the many sports, teams and leagues that don't meet this sad-ass criterion. As for, ahem, the subject of the thread: oooh, just you wait. CT's been the bridesmaid for two straight years. Whalen is a big factor but overall it's a very balanced team, and I pick the Sun (and Mike Thibault) as being the most likely to hold it together in the offseason and be strongest next year. Ticha Penicheiro and Yolanda Griffith are All That, but neither one of 'em's a spring chicken.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:33 AM on September 22, 2005

a wee bit of an ass yourself for trying to turn this into yet another assault by the ignorant on the WNBA's right to exist. While I think pivo was off-base originally, I'd say your comment is exactly what he was right about.

posted by yerfatma at 09:08 AM on September 22, 2005

Even though I now live in Sun country, I am still a Mystics' fan at heart. I used to love to go to games at the MCI Center. The Mystics' fans rocked that venue. But until they get their act together in the front office (too many coaching switches) they will continue to waste all that great talent they have. My favorite thing about going to WNBA games (or women's college games for that matter) is seeing all the young kids (boys and girls) smiling. Their mothers enjoy the game too, and the price (and ticket availability) is more accessible than the men's leagues. They bounce up and down and really enjoy themselves. And the league caters to those fans. Congrats to the Monarchs. Thanks for posting this chico!

posted by scully at 09:16 AM on September 22, 2005

While I think pivo was off-base originally, I'd say your comment is exactly what he was right about. In what way? He strawmanned that a)the WNBA was a "niche sport" and b)WNBA fans shouldn't say "fuck you" to those who aren't interested. a) is irrelevant and nobody did b).

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:09 AM on September 22, 2005

Just ease up on the "fuck you"s because others don't enjoy it. the collective BMI of its couch-sitting Coors-swilling logo-monkey fans In that way. The 0 to 60 of it all.

posted by yerfatma at 10:37 AM on September 22, 2005

My favorite thing about going to WNBA games (or women's college games for that matter) is seeing all the young kids (boys and girls) smiling. i went to a some Liberty games when the league first started, and that's what jumped out to me too. i've also seen that at the women's national soccer team's games. it's awesome to hear a bunch of little kids do all the chants that you usually hear at sporting events.

posted by goddam at 10:42 AM on September 22, 2005

Meanwhile, can someone who follows the WNBA a little more explain why Sun center Margo Dydek isn't more effective? Dude, we'd all like to know that. At 7'2", she should be dominant, but her defense is atrocious (though she can block shots) and lord help us if she puts the ball on the floor. Her jumper is decent (as long as she doesn't actually jump), but she is slow up the court, which kills the Sun's running game. Yo pretty much had her way with her in the paint during the finals, and just shot over/around her.

posted by jengirl at 11:50 AM on September 22, 2005

Large Marge just doesn't have very much athleticism, never has. Believe it or not, she was much worse a couple of years ago -- basically a stationary object that anyone who could move could get around, she'd block shots by dumb luck only. I knew Yo wasn't gonna have any trouble with her.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:04 PM on September 22, 2005

Just ease up on the "fuck you"s because others don't enjoy it. the collective BMI of its couch-sitting Coors-swilling logo-monkey fans In that way. The 0 to 60 of it all. Interesting. The second comment is from me; the first is from pivo. So are you saying that pivo's guilty of what he's accusing others of? I mean, he did come in and tell people to "ease up on the 'fuck you' because others don't enjoy it" when, in fact, nobody had done that.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:09 PM on September 22, 2005

lbb Nobody had done that? Did you read chicobangs last line in his 3rd post in this thread?

posted by directpressure at 01:12 PM on September 22, 2005

Sorry if I was a bit obtuse. pivo said, "ease up on the 'fuck you's"; a few comments later you painted everyone not sitting in the first few rows of the WNBA bandwagon as reprobates. Might not be how you meant it, but that's how it sounded.

posted by yerfatma at 01:15 PM on September 22, 2005

chico, that was an awesom 'fuck you'

posted by garfield at 01:43 PM on September 22, 2005

Goddam and Terrapin, I've been to Liberty games here and there and echo your sentiments -- good crowds and a fun atmosphere. Makes me think back to the first season, when I attended a game where the fans cheered everything -- bad shots, turnovers and the like -- and I said to my wife, "This league doesn't have a chance until these people know to boo them when they're playing crappy." Fast forward a few years, and the crowd was doing just that, though I have to say that the Liberty have been a bit too obliging of late...

posted by ajaffe at 01:55 PM on September 22, 2005

Ticha Penicheiro is one hell of a basketball player. Right after I got out of the service, I was living in Norfolk, VA, and decided to take some classes at Old Dominion University, where Ticha was playing her college ball. In the course of volunteering at a charity basketball tournament, I got the chance to meet her, talk to her, and eventually, get on the court with her. Nice young woman, hell of a baller, and much more substantial as a human being than a lot of professional athletes we see on a daily basis. Congrats, T.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:35 PM on September 22, 2005

yerfatma: Sorry if I was a bit obtuse. pivo said, "ease up on the 'fuck you's"; a few comments later you painted everyone not sitting in the first few rows of the WNBA bandwagon as reprobates. Might not be how you meant it, but that's how it sounded. That really wasn't my intention; I intended it more as saying, you don't exactly have to be sitting in the first few rows of the [fillintheblanks] bandwagon to tell someone to take a hike when they interject a "[fillintheblanks] is worthless" into a [fillintheblanks] thread -- and that the perceived lack of mass-of-humanity popularity of one sport, team or league isn't generally seen around these parts as a justification for such interjections. Spofites chime in, "Not interested? Don't read it!" WRT every other sport, league, team, whatever, and the WNBA is no different. directpressure: Nobody had done that? Did you read chicobangs last line in his 3rd post in this thread? I did. I read the whole post, not just those two words of it. And, as chico explained in his fourth post in this thread, he did not, in fact, tell anyone "fuck you" for not liking what he liked.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:46 PM on September 22, 2005

No, he's an ass for inviting himself into a discussion about a subject he's not interested in Some people should practice what they preach!

posted by jojomfd1 at 06:26 PM on September 23, 2005

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