It's been a long time...

Hey Everyone,

I'm back in business after a long hiatus.  I'm sorry about that, it's been really busy and if you don't already know, I now am in charge of Community Relations and my website duties have increased as well.  Not  making excuses, there is always time to blog, I mean really, I can do it from my phone so there really is no excuse.

Anyway, I'm done with the apologizing.  It's nice to know that people actually read this which is why I've decided to sit down and write again.  So many things have happened since January 25th... so let's get to it.

First we signed Ticha Penicheiro and that was awesome.  Funny story, (not funny to me), when I was drafted in 2002 to Sacramento, I went out to training camp and Ticha hadn't come back from playing overseas yet.  It seemed like a losing battle to begin with because while I was a combo guard, I was drafted to play the 1.  So when it came time for me to get cut, they let me know that they didn't think I had enough experience, (hmmm, just graduated so what kind of experience), and that of course they had a veteran point guard in Ticha.  So I packed my bags and went home and Ticha continued to be a star and win a WNBA Championship blah blah blah... After we signed her, I needed to call her to get a quote, see if she wanted to do a press conference all of that stuff.  I let her know right from the get-go how I knew her, sure it was awkward but hey, gotta get things out in the open.  Just kidding, we laughed about it and she is one of my favorite players right now. 

She's just really awesome, down to earth and funny.  And when she tells a story or asks for something, she has this reaaaaaaallllly deep voice and then her accent.  Maybe I'll do a player spotlight on her and you'll see what I mean... :)

So, right now we're 3-8 and about to get on the road to play Washington and Atlanta.  Practices have been pretty good lately and really, the team hasn't been playing terribly.  They've come out with great intensity and besides a few lapses here or there, we've been able to see just how good we can be.  These two games on the road are going to be tough though.  Washington wants revenge and Atlanta thinks they can dominate us.  I know the team is ready and even though losing Candace was quite a blow, we can still turn this thing around and make it happen.  Have you taken a look at the standings in the Western Conference lately?  We're definitely not out of it, believe that.

That's all I've got...

I just wanted to check in and talk about the fact that there are still good people out there. I mean I really believe that there are people out there that actually live by the golden rule. Case and point, I took the train home the other day and it was raining, no it was a monsoon. I was standing under this little overhead thing as the wind blew the rain into my face and this lady walks by. I smile at her, kind of. I was shivering and bent over and she smiles back as she passes. Two seconds later, she comes back and hands me an umbrella. AN UMBRELLA! She had an extra one and gave it to me, a perfect stranger.

I'll probably never see her again but she made me smile and I'll definitely pay it forward...

That's all I've got...

Lisa & the Lakers and a couple other things

Last night the whole staff was given tickets to the Lakers game to be there as they celebrated Lisa's career.  It was pretty cool.  There was a special reception in the Chairman's Room before the game and the food was amazing and this picture is the cake they had made for her.  It was a pretty classy party.  I bumped into Andy Garcia accidently and for a minute I thought to myself, I wonder if he's like his character from Ocean's 11 and a couple of guys are about to come get me and take me in the back, then I wondered if he carries a pistol and he's a sharpshooter like his character in the Untouchables... just kidding, he didnt even notice because it was crowded in there.

So the Lakers honored Lisa on-court at halftime by playing a short video and then they gave her a #9 Lakers jersey with her name on the back.  The crowd also gave her a great round of applause which was both nice and surprising because the crowd at Lakers games is TOTALLY different from a Sparks game.  It's like the people there, (at least in the lower bowl), are there watching a show or at a hollywood elite event where you just sit and watch and talk quietly amongst yourselves.  They get into it from time to time but I think I could've yelled out Phil's name from across the arena and he might have turned his head because he heard me.

A couple things, we're trying to plan our holiday party and should have all the specifics by the end of today or early tomorrow so look out for an MVP Alert about that.  I can tell you that I'm 99.7% sure that it's going to be downtownish between 2-4pm... The last thing is that we will most likely also be having a garage sale that day... we have a lot of stuff leftover from the first one in storage and in the office here.  So if you missed your chance to pick up a Sparks trapperkeeper, HAVE NO FEAR.

i'm out, that's all i've got...

A Couple Video Links

Just wanted to post the link to Penny's Two Cents video... yes, I came up with the name - it's pretty corny but so corny that it's kind of awesome.  Penny Toler Gives Us Her Two Cents... I'll probably make it a bi-monthly little video where PT checks in and lets us know where things stand as far as the head coach search and how the college recruiting is going.  She's actually pretty funny so maybe we could make it into a talk show and she could have guests and people call in... LOL... Anyway, here is the link for her video: http://www.wnba.com/sparks/news/penny_twocents_091113.html.

We also partnered with Cedars-Sinai this weekend for their 5th annual 5k Run and Friendship walk to raise funds for ovarian cancer research... here is that video: http://www.wnba.com/sparks/community/runforher_2009.html.  And let me tell you, I walked 3.1 miles in the most uncomfortable shoes EVER... I also didn't do things in the right order... I went to all of the booths before the race started so my bag was heavy with all these energy drinks and power bars, even a spatula... so I was in uncomfortable with a heavy bag that made my neck hurt... I walked with Kathy G. our owner and PT - it was worth it and for a GREAT cause...

that's all i've got.

Sitting at the USC game with my BFF PT watching Coop's team take on Xavier... PT was just saying how huge of a game this would be for Coop's team to win. He's got a couple pretty good kids on his team, I believe #24 was compared to a young Becky Hammon... I say maybe but she did just hit a deeeeep three.

So we finished PT's video on offseason stuff and the head coach search... It's on YouTube right now, go to the LASparks2008 page and click on Penny Toler Gives Us Her Two Cents...

When I leave the game I'll post the link!

Peace out!

PT video interview

check it out... I'm going to be interviewing PT in the next hour or so about mostly offseason plans, including where we are with finding a new coach, but also about next year's team and the draft.  we did it once already and she was pretty classic but I decided I didn't like the look of it - it didn't have that A-game appeal soooooo, I'm about to walk down the hallway and get on my hands and knees and beg her to do it again... she's usually in the mood to be brilliant so I'm pretty confident that she'll say yes. If she says no, I'll do that look that the cat from Shrek does...

Should be a good video that we can hopefully get up this afternoon or tonight at the latest on lasparks.com.  I'll post the link.

Also, if you read my blog a couple days ago, (that I've since changed), I said that the league mistakenly gave us the #9 pick in the 2010 draft.  They were right, we were wrong!  We were going off of the assumption that regular season tie-breaker rules apply also to the draft order tie-breaker rules when in fact they are two completely separate things... that's what happens when you assume and I guess you learn something new everyday and I'm not too big to admit when I'm wrong... though it rarely happens.

So, in summary: 1. check out lasparks.com tonight or tomorrow morning for the PT video interview, 2. I do a great impression of Puss from Shrek and 3. we have the #9 pick in the draft... any questions? 

that's all I've got...

draft lottery

ok so the draft lottery went down today as I'm sure everyone already knows.  the minnesota lynx have the first and fourth picks, sac is at number 2 and connecticut got number three and the windy city is number five...  we sat in there on the conference call and it wasn't all that thrilling - we listened to them put the balls into this machine and then they would start it and it sounded like a washing machine; not those new LG ones that humm but like an old washing machine from like 1985 that moves up and down and in a circular motion when it runs and bangs up against the wall...  but anyway, so yeah, they run this machine and yell out the numbers as they come off and then whoever has that combination - gets the pick... the only cool thing is that PT is pretty much able to look at the draft class and guess who is going to take who... she's usually right on the money...

Sitting in the conference with PT and staff getting ready to listen to the draft lottery. The league sent a release saying that we can't tweet or make any of the order public until they send their release... What the league says, we do... Maybe there is a way I could hints? LOL

Blast From the Past

before you ask, no, I don't have the contact info for her hair stylist...

Penny just stopped by my office and told our PR Coordinator Shawn that he needs to get some sun... Ouch!

In his defense, pale looks good on him...

The Draft Lottery and Not Much More...

The league sent out a release yesterday about the draft lottery being held this week. What that means for those that don’t know is that the order of the first five picks in the 2010 WNBA Draft will be determined. Basically, teams that didn’t make the playoffs are lottery teams however this year, because of a trade, NY doesn’t have a lottery pick and Minnesota has two. After that, the rest of the first round and second and third rounds will be determined by the inverse order of the team’s regular season records.

From the release:
Fourteen balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls will then be drawn to the top to determine a four-digit combination. The team that has been assigned that four-ball combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The four balls will then be placed back into the machine and the process will be repeated to determine the second and third picks.

So that’s how it’s going down this Thursday – should be pretty exciting around here to see where we end up. While the picks will be important, I have to be honest and say that I’m sure the PT will handle her business. I mean really, we had five Olympians on the roster last year and she brought in Betty Lennox and Noelle Quinn. WE saw that team this year every now and then and on paper, it looks pretty good. So have no fear that the missing pieces will be put together and will turn into a product that we all will like.

I’ll probably throw another blog up on Thursday or Friday to let you know what’s going on with the Draft Lottery and how things shake out.

Lastly, I love November… it’s filled with holidays; Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I have to give thanks just for that! Just kidding, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and for those of you that get Veteran’s Day off, enjoy it… I’ll be at Disneyland for my birthday because it’s the happiest place on earth!

That’s all I’ve got…