Final score: Storm 73 – Miracle (W) (7-7)

Attendance | 4718

Anthem Xtra Notes | Okay until he got about halfway, then lots

Anthem High Note | Belted it

Anthem Style | Standard, but rushed

Fan Noise | Wow

Signs | I think some of those signs are ringers

Fan Psyche | Rocky game, fantastic ending

Halftime | Unicycles

The theme for tonight's game was composure - being able to play from behind by 9 or 10 points in both halves, not letting the horrible officiating to take anything away from your intensity, not letting the league leaders in trash talk get inside your head, being able to play through offensive droughts and find a way to keep your team in the game. As a team and as individuals, the Storm showed composure tonight that helped them win this game.

Depending on what you believe may or may not be going on behind the scenes with the team - the player who showed the most composure and self-confidence tonight was Michelle Marciniak. She got the lion's share of bench minutes tonight that have been spread between Kate Paye, Felicia Ragland and whoever else is off the IR at the time and made the most of them. Stormrocks and I sat down in the first row during warmups and were a little disturbed / worried / concerned that Michelle seemed to be distancing herself from the team. Since the Miracle were no where to be seen, she was alone on the other end of the court shooting baskets. While the rest of the team were running shooting drills, she was doing solo ballhandling work. When the team started stretching out, she trotted over but kept off to the side. This along with her spotty playing time and the alleged "Get out of my face" comment (we've heard conflicting accounts of that one on the Forum) made us wonder if she was even feeling a part of the team any more.

When Coach Dunn called for her to enter the game, fairly early on in the first half, she did a "who me?" look around to make sure Coach actually meant her. She started off rockily and had more fouls than points for a little while. She was about to be replaced by Semeka (Meek was at the scorer's table) when Michelle pulled the move that kept her in the game and also got her into the game. She literally threw herself at a loose ball with no regard for her body. I don't even remember if she recovered the ball, but from then on the game changed for her. She got whatever mojo back that she had lost and started playing like the 3M the fans have been calling for. She ended the game with a career scoring high and the game winning layup. And we thought she was feeling short timer's disease. I don't know what Coach Dunn has been thinking or what she has been seeing in practice that we can't (and I discourage any of you from trying to figure her out), but she gave Michelle another chance tonight and 3M took complete advantage of the opportunity. None of us really know what is going on behind the scenes, if anything - but if there is some weirdness, hats off to Michelle Marciniak for keeping her head, keeping her professionalism and keeping her composure through it all and through this game.

Lest you think that this was the Michelle Marciniak show tonight (she of course gets the SPoG by the way), we do have other players who need kudos.

Lauren Jackson - reportedly suffering from an inner-ear infection and certainly suffering from a long offensive drought, while not lighting it up yet again did hit some monster baskets including a late-game 3 that got the crowd screaming. She again played strong defense and forced the Miracle to guard her even when she was missing shots.

Kamila "Killa" Vodickova - the rock, the stabilizer, the true and reliable Kamila. I know that Sue may be the fan fave for Storm MVP this year, but I think Kamila ought to win that honor if it were bestowed today. When she has stayed out of foul trouble (re: at Phoenix last night), she has been the solid base from which our offense builds. She is a legitimate outside and inside scorer, and rebounds rebounds rebounds. It is great that she is getting some of the biggest cheers from the fans when she comes out at the beginning of the game and when she gets subbed in or out during the game. She may not always put up huge numbers, but her numbers are solid.

Sue Bird - She still isn't shooting very well, and she does have that nasty league leading turnover stat, but she definitely seems more comfortable with her teammates and herself lately. The Miracle, like most of the other teams the Storm have played so far, kept the ball out of her hands fairly consistently throughout the game. I would say that she played more as a 2 guard tonight than a 1. Even so, her assists were up, turnovers down, and her offense was more in the flow of the game. I know I've touched on this a couple times now, but I think it is important. When the team is successful, Sue doesn't have to force things and be the leading scorer. She can play a more natural game and be more successful herself. Tonight's game was another example of this.

The not so goods:

Adia Barnes - I am absolutely an Adia Barnes fan. I was glad she came off the IR and I'm glad she got so much playing time. I truly believe that her being out was one of the reasons the team lost some of the games over the last week or so - not because she scores, but because of her energy and defense. Well, she brought the energy and the defense, but had more fouls than points or assists. Her shooting is abysmal and the Miracle seemed to dare her to shoot. She unfortunately became a liability on offense because the Miracle let her alone and was able to double team more often. I want her to keep playing. She changes the game when she is in. She gives the team a lift and can shut down the opposing forwards (where was she against Harrison last night?), but girl you got to start hitting your shots. Strong defense can be in vain if the other team doesn't think you can score and leaves you to double another player.

Semeka Randall - ahh, Semeka. I'm beginning to wonder if the "Hard to Handle" nickname doesn't sometimes refer to your ballhandling skills. I don't want to sound too negative because she has improved her game and control as compared to last year, but it seems that she goes butterfingers at the worst times - when the Storm are trying to rally. I could be overstating things, but I'm always a little nervous when she has the ball at the point and is going up the court. If she were to change this one aspect of her game, I think she could really help the team.

Non-factors in tonight's game - Amanda Lassiter played limited minutes and didn't seem to do much. Nykesha Sales was having her for lunch and Coach Dunn brought in Adia. Kate Paye gave up her playing time to Michelle and only got 2 minutes. Jamie and Felicia were DNPs - who knows? Coach Dunn basically went with an 8 woman rotation tonight which isn't really that odd, but she usually goes 9 or 10. Maybe she is changing her ways and settling on a core group. Time will tell.

Overall, we now sit at 7-7 with the hardest part of the season ahead of us. Take a look at the schedule - July is going to be a killer. Last year, we ended June with the same 7-7 record, and ended the season going 3-15. This year's team is very different than last year. Some of the games that the Storm have won this year, like tonight's, would have definitely been losses last year. July will be the true test of what this team is made of. Last year, the Storm went 2-10 in July. We have seen two Storm teams lately - the one that lost to Utah, Portland and last night to Phoenix and then the one who beat the Sting, Phoenix (a week ago) and the Miracle tonight. One team is lethargic, sloppy and loses. The other team is confident, sharp and composed. Who will play through July?

Notes:

The Loud Guy / Defense Guy / Larry Who Shirt Guy was fairly quiet in the second half - did you notice? The players did. We did. Turns out that some asshole threw 7 quarters at him and hit him in the head at one point in the game. He suffered a cut as a result, and because he couldn't find out who did it, decided to quiet down. I'm livid about this. There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to begin. A/ You are at a professional sports game. The idea is to yell and scream as loudly and as often as you can. If this idea offends your candy-assed Seattle sensibility, go back to the stinking Safe where it's illegal to say "You Suck." Here at the Key, we will keep yelling whether you like it or not. B/ If you have a problem with someone, grow a couple and face the person straight up. Besides being rude, dangerous and stupid, throwing crap at someone is cowardly. C/ This individual in particular is one of the best sports fans around and not only wholeheartedly supports this team, but regularly gives up his front row Mariners tickets to come to Storm games. Attacking him is like attacking all of us hard-core fans. If you don't want to be here - get the fu*k out, we don't need your stinking money.

Whew. I'm calm now. That aside, the "Larry Who?" shirts are coming closer to fruition - maybe next week. I'll keep you up-to-date.

There have been 3 (or 4) guys from Australia at the last couple of games who know how to dress for a sporting event - garishly and from head to toe. Looking like they stepped out of a World Cup match rooting for team Australia (exposing my soccer ignorance here since I have no clue if AUS was even in the World Cup, but you get the idea), they had capes and mini-umbrella hats made out of the Australian flag. Can you imagine if all the Storm fans were as dedicated as these guys? A sea of green, painted faces, riots after wins or losses - okay maybe not all good, but maybe we could learn something here.

To continue an already overused Forum phrase - I think the blimp guy is on crack. He is flying the blimp these days like a crazy man, spinning it, dipping down within mere feet of the crowd's upstretched hands, zooming around with reckless abandon. It's cool and all, but he's going to take an eye out with that thing.

So what was up with the switched direction of the game? It was odd that the teams warmed up at the "wrong" ends tonight - they usually do so in front of the opponents' bench - but then they also switched sides during the actual game. Usually, the Storm are on offense on the south end to start the game and then on the north end in the second half. Tonight, it was the other way around. StormFan7 said that it was the same way last night when the Fire played the Miracle in Portland. No explanations from the announcer, no clues from anyone. Weird.

There were several big banner signs around the wall that separates the lower bowl from the upper bowl. They were great, but I'm starting to think they aren't necessarily fan produced. Too clean, too readable and up before any of us got into the arena. Not that having signs made by the Storm are bad, but it would have been nice if they were done by fans. Please, correct me if I'm wrong about the signs' origins.

This was the last home game for a looooong time. Don't forget the Chat for those away games. We also have one televised game coming up and will have another viewing party. We'll keep you posted on the Forum as details are finalized.