So I realized that I wrote an enormous amount Thursday night and pretty much nothing since. My apologies. I got back into Boston very late Friday night and had to wake up very early for rowing practice the next day. Then my brother was visiting -- we went to see Wicked for his birthday, which was, of course, fabulous.
But I did watch the game on espn2 last night, and I want to extend an enormous congratulations to Phoenix on winning their first championship. I grew up watching Diana Taurasi win championships, and it's nice to see her back at it (is there a level she hasn't won at?). And of course, Penny Taylor had a fabulous game, and Cappie Pondexter played great -- she was totally deserving of the MVP award, though you could make an argument for any one of those three.
Kudos to Detroit also for playing a great series, particularly Cheryl Ford, who played with knee injuries all playoffs and exacerbated them at the end of Game Four, but logged 12 minutes in the title game, and Deanna Nolan, who hyperextended a knee in Game Four and wasn't definite to play but logged 38 minutes and led the team with 27 points. Best of luck to Cheryl and Deanna in getting healthy this offseason.
Katie Smith (18 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds) and Shannon Johnson (13 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds) also fought hard, but in the end it wasn't enough for the Shock. Each of Phoenix' starters scored in double figures, led by Taylor with 30 points. Pondexter had a double-double with 26 points and 10 assists, and Taurasi added 17 points, 6 assists, and 10 rebounds. Reserve Kelly Mazzante stepped up in a big way, scoring 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting from behind the arc.
Anyway, you all saw the game (I hope) and read the articles from those who were there -- I don't need to recap it all. Here's to the end of a great 2007 WNBA season!
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