Final score: Storm 70 – Sparks 73 (L) (2-2)

Attendance | 8652

Submitted by | StormFan7

Lets start this out on a positive note: we shot 28.8% (?) and still almost won vs. the Sparks. If LA had lost they would have been done for the season.

Our plane was late and once we finally got to board they called "2004 MVP". I said that if LA was taking this flight that LL would probably go up there to board first.

The Grecos were out in full force. There must have been like 30 of them. We (Shed and I) were in the middle of the aunts and uncles. They are really nice people and saw that we had Greco week. I promised them that we would have it again and we will. Michelle acknowledged her fans (and there were many) by smiling and waving. If only she could have played for them. She could have brought energy to the team if only AD had put her in.

The Kamila foul: She gets smacked in the face and winces a little and moves on. If it were any other player (like LL) they would have flopped and whined till they got the call.

In other Kamila news: She got her game back and really looked more comfortable out on the court.

LL's "DUNK": She went up, missed but grabbed the rim and it let out this big CLANK. I told the woman in front of us "I don't care if you win the game. You could even win the championship and I wouldn't care. You know why? Because I saw Leslie BIFF IT and that to me is the best play ever".

Milton really has LJs number when it comes to playing D on her.

The Storm often drove to the basket and would pass it out. They should have just went for the layup. They passed the ball way too much and it cost them the game. Also, Lennox should not have taken those last two shots. She was cold and there were other people (like Bird) that she could have passed to.

Oh and what is up with the Sparks jerseys? I will let NS get in to the details about this one.

CLANK!!

Submitted by | StorminCali

I met up with Socky, Durty Socky, Shed and SF# at the Fox Sports Bar & Grill for some pre-game grub and toasts. Spotted Lucky, aka Crazy Cigarette Smoking Lady, avoided her the rest of the night. We had a mini-shrine set up behind us in homage to the Shrine, got our good voodoo vibes all in order, stretched out our Sprit Fingahs, then headed into the Stables Center.

Previous to the game SF# and Shed made up some very sexy shirts that so boldly say "Who wears shorts shorts?" We attempted to get La Leslie's attention during the warm ups but she was off in her own little world. Who would've guessed that?

Socky had the distinct pleasure of talking to Tully before she ran back into the locker room. She told Tully to have the bail money ready for us, Tully laughed and replied that it was a "deal". After that SF# and I got to talk to some of Greco's crew, including her mother. She told us how much she appreciates our support of Greco and we told her how much we love having her on the team. She says they hope to make it up to Seattle so I leave it up to you lot to make them feel welcome....like you'd do anything less!

While standing near courtside the HULA-infected Ann Meyers walked passed us so SF# & I grabbed her attention to chat with her briefly. I shook her hand and asked her "Seattle in 8th?" To which she replied "I don't know what I'm talking about." SF# exchanged some words with her as well.

SF#:  Our shirts say "Who wears short shorts" for Lisa Leslie.
AM:  Real women wear shorts.

At least I got her to finally admit what many of us have known for years.

Socky took much better notes during the game than I did. With Sally Bell leading the 3 blind mice we knew that we were in for a game filled with craptastic officiating. Sally Bell is not one to disappoint and made sure her comrades followed suit. If June Corteau is the Worst Ref Ever then its obvious Sally Bell is a VERY close second.  Blech!

We won the first tip off, but before that even happened Socky and I noticed something peculiar about LA's jerseys. Not only did they have their last names on them, but their first names as well. Bet that was Leslie's idea. Anyway, Milton-Jones looked either like Miln-Jons or Mitn-Joes the entire night. Oh yeah, and D'Nasty's 2 missed free throws? That was all the Sockstress yelling "cheeeeeeeese" during her shots.

Ok, the BEST MOMENT OF THE NIGHT: Heh. Leslie gets the ball on a fast break, fires her jets, aims for the basket, takes air, goes for the dunk, and CLLLLLLLLLLLLANK!  HAHAHAHAHAHA! She backrims it!  It was the Clank Heard Round The Staples Center. It was beautiful! Worth the entire nail-biting night. Imagine all the Sporks fans standing on their feet feeling it coming and then the biggest CLANK ever. EVER! Oh man, couldn't stop laughing after that one.

SECOND BEST MOMENT: Teasly was guarding Bird and hackin away as the Sporks do. No foul was being called, of course, why would one be called?  Bird got tired of it quickly, lowered her shouled and full on SLAMMED into Teasley. Knocked her flat on behind! Teasley quickly got up all "oh what? Lemme at her! Lemme at her" and Sue just walked off like "Heh, how'd the floor feel?" It was beautiful.

Despite our horrible shooting we stayed right in the game. Our defense was pretty tight, keeping LA from getting too many easy buckets. They had to work for it. And its not that our offense wasn't working b/c we had some nice open lookers, good screens and cuts, the shots just weren't falling. The last 5 minutes were tense but we just couldn't make the easy buckets under the basket. Not to mention that the hacks weren't being called AT ALL.

Ooo, lemme tell you, the ladies in front of me were about to meet my foot several times, especially when they didn't understand that me yelling "SIT DOWN" behind them wasn't a fun chant for the hell of it. Lennox had 2 open 3s at the end of the game to tie it. TWO!  Didn't hit either one of them. So sad. But hey, we beat them by 26, what's losing by 3? Just that little nagging thing of winning on the road, but some highlights...

* Yeah we lost by 3 but Burse and Sam are showing just how valuable they are. Sam kept us in the game. Burse hustled and fought for every loose ball, got to the line a lot that way.

* Kamila looks good. She looks really good. Whatever was nagging before seems to be almost completely gone.

* Adia is looking quicker. She had this BEEEEEEEAUTIFUL reverse layup that was just.....beautiful. She hit the floor once, pretty hard, and I jumped since this was where she tore her ACL last year, but she bounced up pretty quickly and kept at it.

* I heart Tully. Oh so very much!  She's one feisty lil bulldog. If I could've bottled up the look she had on her face after Phantom Foul #45613546 I'd unleash on my bosses and they'd never bother me again. She picked Leslie's pocket in the first half. Leslie was in the paint about to go up when Tully came outta nowhere, or so it seemed, swiped the ball, and took off for the other side of the court. Leslie was left standing wondering how anyone got their hand into her pocket with her shorts being so tight.

* Betty Lennox is Bombs Away Betty, aka BABS.

* Despite winning, the Sporks still don't look all that impressive. They're still not gellin, not flowing. Dixon wasn't passing at all, Whitmore looks off in her own world, and not even T-Spork can pull them together. Let's hope they continue to implode.

And that my Stormies, is that. In final I'll leave you with these parting words:

CLLLLLLLLLLLLANK!

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