Hope you’re keeping up with Sue Bird’s co-authored blog (with former UConn teammate and close friend Diana Taurasi) on WNBA.com.

In addition to talking about Taurasi’s two-game suspension, her bowling skills and her new video-game fave, Sue also comments on the state of the Storm (as of Monday):

“I think we’ve gotten back on the right path. We lost a tough one in Minnesota, but the way we played was great, then we got a big win in L.A. and L.J. dropped 35 points. We have eight games before All-Star, a crazy schedule, and if we can pull this together, then last week was just a bump in the road.”

Congrats are in order for retired Storm center Simone Edwards. Radford University announced this morning the hiring of Edwards as an assistant coach for their women’s basketball team.

“She has competed with and against the best in the world and has also had the benefit of learning from one of the best post players of all time in Anne Donovan,” said Porter. “Along with that, she opens the door to international recruiting with her connections to the Caribbean countries and specifically to her native country of Jamaica. I believe that her expertise will enable us to take our recruiting and our inside presence to an entirely new level. We are extremely excited that she has decided to join our basketball family and we welcome her to Radford University.”

Since retiring as the last original Storm player last May, Edwards has been working with her foundation, Simone4Children, to help Jamaican youngsters.

UPDATE: Here’s the official release on Edwards’ hiring.

Speaking of Mechelle Voepel … she also has an excellent column today on the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the legislation mandating equal opportunities for women that is, ultimately, responsible for me writing about the WNBA and you reading about it.

“For me, there was a very clear example,” Storm Head Coach Anne Donovan told Voepel of Title IX’s impact. “I was the youngest of the five girls in my family, and my older sisters were all good basketball players. But I was the only one who benefited from it.

“It is our responsibility to continue to talk about Title IX, and make sure our younger players are aware of it.”

Alan Horton will miss tonight’s game due to a family situation, so David Locke will return to the broadcast booth tonight to team with Adia Barnes. Catch all the action on 1150 AM KKNW starting at 7:00 p.m.

Okay, the meeting is over and both Sue Bird and Jim Moore are on the floor completing their final warmups. We have three beat writers and a handful of Storm staffers in attendance.

Sue’s first comment on arriving on the floor: “Is that sweat?” Yes, it is. Jim’s worked up a pretty good-sized sweat while preparing. Later, Sue asks if I’m live-blogging. As a long-time reader, Sue knows all too well I am.

“Do you think she’s intimidated by all the shots I’m making,” Jim asks. No, it doesn’t appear so, but Jim is having some success from outside, especially from the corners.

We’re underway and Jim misses his first shot. Sue knocks down a set shot from the elbow and Jim matches. Sue to the other elbow. Jim misses – after talking some trash.

H

Sue’s mostly shooting gimmes to try to retain control. Jim misses a six-foot banker.

O

… then another shot from the elbow.

R

“Can you do something that’s not nickel and dime,” asks Jim? “You’ve got H-O-R nickel-dime,” retorts Sue, but she does eventually relent and retreat beyond the three-point line.

“You know what they called me in high school?” asks Jim. “All money.”

That would sound so much better if he hadn’t badly missed from the corner immediately afterwards. He was correct – the shots he was making in warmup aren’t going down now.

Jim misses a three-pointer from the left wing.

S

Sue makes and Jim misses a three at the top of the key and his chances are on life support, but he hits the next attempt to “prove it” and stays alive.

“Any guy who shoots long range, their mid-range is wack,” observes Sue, but Jim hits an 18-footer to disprove him.

“I can make these in my sleep,” says Jim of a banker from the left wing (the Tim Duncan shot), and he rattles it home.

Sue hits a left-wing three and Jim misses. Could this be it? Way long for an airball and that’s it.

E and game over.

“He Couged it,” hollers a UW alum in the rooting section (not me).

“I was worried,” admits Sue. “You had me nervous.”

When it counted, however, Sue never ever got a letter.

—————

Jim’s a good sport about the defeat – mostly – but does say he honestly thought he was going to win. Instead, he’ll be donating $200 to the Sonics & Storm Foundation (naturally, Sue’s choice for charity) and attending a game with his kids.

UPDATE: Here’s Jim’s take on the contest from Wednesday’s P-I.

“Bird was not only better but smarter,” he wrote. “She knows that guys who like to throw up threes have a tendency to short-arm shots from close range. An assortment of 10- to 15-footers put me in an H-O-R hole in a hurry.

“I can’t remember how she got S on me, but E was a killer, coming from the left wing, a 20-footer that I usually make in my sleep; the problem being, I was awake, missed it twice and that was that.”