Transition Points: WNBA LiveAccess is Finally Both Live and Accessible

So I have finally gotten to watch some games. Which is good.

Just yesterday I got it to work on not only Safari but Firefox as well.

The archived versions of games are of course the smoothest way to watch, but the live stream is also improving.

There's a little bit of a Blair Witch Project effect going occasionally...

But bottom line is this: you cannot be a fan of that which you cannot see.

LiveAccess is therefore a huge leap forward and although fans should hold the WNBA to a higher standard, the WNBA is getting there with limited resources. So kudos.

Will have some thoughts on a few games I watched later.

For now...some other thoughts...

Part 1 of Storm 10th Anniversary Documentary posted

The first part of the 10th Anniversary documentary that the Storm showed on Storm vision at the first Storm home game on Sunday has been posted on the Storm's 10th anniversary website (click here). It's worth a look.

I recall at the game that Lin Dunn got a large round of applause at the game when she first appeared. Which is funny because I think I've seen posts from a Fever fan or two that have not been quite so pleasant...

Kobe: the Mad Mamba

It's been quite an impressive Finals series to watch. Last night's game was one of the better NBA Finals games I've seen in a few years. Kobe Bryant is determined to win a championship without Shaq and get that monkey off his back.

Mike Wise of the Washington Post had a particularly funny characterization of Kobe in this morning's article, "Hey Kobe, Smile! You're Winning":

It's as if he doesn't want to merely defeat Howard and the Magic; he wants to disembowel them.

Once genteel this time of year, friendly even, as he flashed his telegenic grin chatting amiably with whoever crossed his path.

Now the mad Mamba looks like he wants to take your lunch money. Meet you behind the cafeteria. Dunk maliciously on your children.

What I find funny about this is that all the attention is on Kobe and his ability to win without Shaq...but he's doing so with one of the deepest rosters we've seen this decade.

I'm a San Francisco 49ers and it reminds me of how the 1995 Niners helped Steve Young get the Joe Montana monkey off his back by bringing in any Pro Bowl player who would take a pay cut to play for them.

This is not a slight on Bryant or Young -- but I'm not entirely sure what has been proven by replacing Shaq with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza...plus the veteran clutch savvy of Derek Fisher. So Kobe can win with one All-Star future Hall of Famer (2000-2002) or a bunch of really good players (2009?), but not on a team with three other Hall of Famers (2004)? I'm not really sure this gets a monkey off of his back yet...

Mickael Pietrus' foul on Gasol

Here's one for all those people out there who have quit watching the NBA because it sometimes just becomes a display of hyper-masculine bravado rather than actual basketball:


OK...so recap: did Gasol have to dunk at the end of a game that was already decided and would put the Lakers up 3-1? No. Probably not.

But in what alternate universe is there any justification for Pietrus' actions? Hitting a player in the air and then talking trash? Fouls like that could jeopardize a player's career and even though Gasol landed without getting hurt, Pietrus needs to be suspended for that one.