Storming ahead: Seattle’s winning team – Anthony B. Robinson, Crosscut

Two weeks ago I ventured off my usual turf here at Crosscut to write about Seattle sports. I focused on the Mariners, Seahawks and football Huskies, arguably the “big three” of Seattle sports. I lamented their lack of leadership. Recent events (Seahawks’ shuffle, Mariners’ prevarications, and Huskies’ inability to win in the fourth quarter) seem only to have confirmed those observations.

But a fair number of readers called attention, quite rightly, to my sins of omission. I had failed to mention other Seattle pro teams, most especially Seattle’s WNBA team, the Storm, which on Sunday (Sept. 5) swept into the WNBA finals with a very impressive come-from-behind win in Phoenix. The Storm is in the midst of a year in which its regular season record (28–6) established a new high for the best single season winning percentage in Seattle pro sports. With an .824 winning percentage, they surpassed the 2005 Seahawks (13–3, .813).

Upstart Dream face favorite Storm – Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com

“What they’ve done is pretty unbelievable, especially now because the league is so tough,” said veteran guard Ticha Penicheiro, whose Los Angeles Sparks were the first domino to fall for Seattle in the postseason. “It shows what kind of players they have, and their coaching staff has done a tremendous job. It shows the value of keeping your core together.”

The two-player core of Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird dates back to 2002, when top draft pick Bird joined Jackson in her second WNBA season. Tanisha Wright was drafted in 2005. Swin Cash joined the Storm via trade before the 2008 season began, then another deal brought Camille Little during that summer.

Finals Notebook – Mel Greenburg, Wom Hoops Guru

In a pre-game chat with Atlanta Dream coach Marynell Meadors on the sidelines in New York before Sunday night’s WNBA Eastern Conference finals opener in Madison Square Garden with the New York Liberty, the Guru noted to her, “You can be the `Zelig’ if women’s basketball.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve seen it all,” Meadors laughed while turning to tell Dream owner Kathy Betty how far back she and the Guru go in time.

Continuing Storm Week on Northwest Cable News, color analyst Adia Barnes was last night’s guest.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at 2:18 pm and is filed under 2010 Playoffs, in the media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.