Hey y’all! I have been so busy this month. I finally have time to sit down and get everyone caught up on what has been going on in Dallas. I know all of y’all are Seahawks fans, but “HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!??” I think the Terrell Owens and the Cowboys receivers vs. Tony Romo and Jason Witten bickering is over. I didn’t know whose side to take on this one. TO is a huge Lady Vol Fan, but Witten is a Vol! I stayed neutral throughout all that drama. I think the media made something out of nothing. TO has been on his very best behavior since he became a Cowboy. So please leave my BOYS alone. It’s looking like the Cowboys are not going to make the playoffs anyways. BUMMER!

STORM FANS! I have said it before and I’ll say it again – Storm fans are the best fans in the WNBA! I think your only competition might be the Mavs fans! They are terrific. They have the longest sellout streak going in the NBA right now. How incredible is that? My challenge to my faithful Storm Fans is to start our own sellout streak. The energy the Mavs fans bring reminds me so much of Storm fans. The Mavs just had a seven-game homestand. It was amazing how the team fed off of the energy. The only downfall was that the other teams that aren’t used to playing in a packed arena fed off that same energy. Every home game ended up being a nailbiter. The Mavs came out on top, going 6-1 during that homestand. The only loss was a double-overtime game against a healthy San Antonio Spurs squad. In 2009 we need to get KeyArena rocking on another level! Let’s further prove that Storm fans aren’t just the best in the WNBA but the best in all sports!

I still have more bragging to do about these Mavs Fans. Mavs season ticket holder Neal Hawks came up with this brilliant idea to give up his courtside seats to military personnel on a special day called “Seats for Soldiers.” This year American Airlines flew in 150 soldiers that are currently rehabbing injuries suffered while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. They took a 45-minute flight from San Antonio to DFW. I was lucky enough to get tag along with Mavs Sideline Reporter Emily Jones on this special day. We greeted the soldiers at the airport and rode on the charter buses with them en route to dinner.

I was supposed to be interviewing different soldiers and just hearing their stories to assist Emily in finding a good story for the game broadcast. I don’t know how well I did interviewing, but I did have great conversations with a few of the men and women on the bus. From the airport we went to Abacus. Abacus is one of the top restaurants in Dallas. Abacus Chef Kent Rathbun is BIG TIME! He’s been Iron Chef, on the CBS Morning Show and he has been featured in multiple magazines. Chef Rathbun put it down for the Soldiers. I normally don’t eat at high-end restaurants like Abacus, but I was not going to pass up free food from Chef Rathbun. As we say down south, “He put his foot in it.” I wasn’t even hungry but ate anyways. Glad I did. So we get to the game and guess who the Mavs were playing? The team formally known as the Seattle Super Sonics! I was excited to see some of the guys, but I have to say I do wish they were still in Seattle. The team formally known as the Seattle Super Sonics played hard, but the Mavs came out on top.

From talking with the soldiers I learned that I have no idea what the word “war” really means. The men and women in our military are truly a group of unselfish Americans. I felt so proud to be in their presence. What heart it must take to go fight and protect people you don’t even know. They just know they love our beautiful country and plan on keeping us safe. Seats for Soldiers was one of those experiences that I will never forget. I left at the end of the day feeling so blessed. Thank you to all of our men and women serving in the U.S. Military.

Courtesy Mavs.com

I finally heard from Kristen and Swin. Kristen was so sweet. She told me the best part about Ireland is she gets to work out whenever she wants. LOL! I used to try to get Kristen to leave the gym. I never could talk her into leaving early. She was consistently the first person in the gym and the last person to leave. I told her a lot of her needs to rub off on me and just a little of me needs to rub off on her. She seems so happy and I’m guessing she might be home by now. There might be some Kristen O’Neill sightings in the area. Swin and I are never online at the same time. One morning I woke up to a cute little message from Swin. Swin’s nickname is grandma. Her message was, “Very wise like a granny.” LOL! Love you, Swin!

So many people have asked me if the Storm is OK since the Comets folded. I want to make sure everyone saw this quote from Karen Bryant, the Storm’s CEO, on the Storm’s future. She said, “It’s definitely a loss, there’s no doubt about that. But as it relates to our future here, our future continues to be bright. We’re focused on our 10th anniversary of playing in Seattle and have a lot of momentum already.”

I think that answers all question about the Storm. OUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT!!!

Being home has been a great time. I’ve started to miss playing so bad. I don’t miss being in Europe, but I do miss being on the court with my Storm teammates. Everybody should be on their way home for the holidays. I wish all my lovely teammates safe travels back home. Happy Holidays to you from me! 2009 is going to be a blast!

Hey y’all! Sorry it has taken me so long to write. I have been pretty busy this offseason. So, let me get you all caught up on what I’ve been up to. …

I decided to stay in the U.S. of A. and not go play in Europe this offseason. I am home in Grand Prairie, Texas. This is my first time being home for longer than two months since I left to go to college in 2000. I am taking advantage of this time to just be here. My little sister, Katrina, and I hang out at least three days a week. I think that’s my favorite part about being home. We have a blast together. I think she needs to move to Seattle this summer with me. I don’t how she will feel about leaving the South for the Northwest! I’ll try to talk her into it.

Other than hanging with Trina, I’ve been doing an internship with the Dallas Mavs Broadcasting Department. I am having a ball. I cannot believe all that goes into having professional basketball games broadcast on TV. When you are playing you don’t really think about it. I just come to the gym, get dressed, warm up, listen to coach and then go play. So, thank you Seattle Storm Broadcast Team! :) My boss lady with the Mavs is Anita Green, AG for short. I heard rumors that she used to be a scary boss! She has been quite lovely! Love, love, love AG! (A little brown nosing never hurt anybody!) LOL!

My favorite days to work are game nights. Every game I work I get to observe and learn from different people doing their job. Y’all know I have no problem meeting new people, so this is right up my alley. Last week I observed the NBA Loggers. I had great teachers in Damien and Darryl. I logged the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers game and the second half of the Spurs game.

This week, I had to work the Lakers game, but not for the Mavs. I was a runner for the Lakers’ Broadcast team. A runner means that I do all the leg work in the arena for that particular team – make copies, get water, bring stats and whatever else the producer needs. I kind of felt like their secretary for the day. HA! LUCKY ME, THOUGH! I got to meet the Lakers announcers, also. I got way excited when I shook the hands of Stu Lantz and Joel Meyers! EXCITING! That was a fun day on the job. I went and peeked in on the interview with Phil Jackson also. Could not miss that! If you didn’t know already, he is so tall! I’m always amazed when someone can make me feel short.

The Mavs have great analysts as well. I’m looking forward to shadowing as many of them as they will let me. Rolando Blackman is one of the Fox analysts for the Mavs. I am super excited to learn from him. Seattle fans that do not know Ro Blackman, please go look him up. I’ve always been a Mavs Fan and he is one of our legends! I was also thinking … since the Sonics are gone, I say all Seattle bball fans just become Storm and Mavs Fans! LOL! Still can wear green!

The most exciting thing I’ve done while being home was going to the Mayor’s Gala. I was so happy to be able to dress up. I went with some of my infamous guy friends from grade school – BJ, Marcus, Brent and Doc. We had a great time. I got to meet the Mayor of Dallas, Tom Leppert. With all the election hoopla this year I’ve been feeling all political. LOL. I came in contact with people that I normally wouldn’t brush shoulders with. It was so inspiring being around a group of successful people. I felt so grown up.

All the Storms (hehe) that I have spoken with are doing well. Balling! Every time I talk to one of them they had 20+ points and 10+ boards. I probably talk to Shyra and T the most. Shyra’s team beat someone by 103 without her. Her coach told her to rest that game. Ha! 103 POINTS! WOW! I haven’t spoken with Kelly, Kristen or Swin! I’m sure they are doing just as well as the rest of my teammates.

To all the girls, Lola (my toy fox terrier) is doing just fine. She gets treated like my mom’s first grandchild. It’s hilarious. If it was up to my mom we would carry Lola everywhere we went. She has taken over my whole family, pretty much. She’s had some sleepover requests; I wasn’t invited. LOL! She is one of the cutest dogs I’ve ever been around so I can’t blame them. She gets it from her Mama!

Well y’all, that’s all I have for now. I’m going to go enjoy this warm Texas weather and make my way to 24-Hour Fitness so I can get a membership. I have to work off these home-cooked meals Kathleen Robinson, my mama, has been whipping up!

ARob