SUPER BOWL 2012

Tumbling Down



What a day. Tuesday started off with a root canal for Matee Ajavon, followed by an early afternoon Earthquake that sent thousands of people all over the DMV scurrying out of office buildings, Metro stations, museums, and monuments. And all this was quickly followed by the gut-wrenchingly terrible news of Pat Summitt's pre-Alzheimer's dementia diagnosis (*see links below). So should we be surprised that the Mystics' day ended badly, with yet another tumble down the standings . . . this time from an overtime loss to the visiting LA Sparks, 86-82? No, nothing surprises us anymore.



With their 21st loss (their 6th in a row, a season high), the Mystics have now been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Not that any Mystics fans, this late in the season, expected anything different. But now it's official. The Mystics' streak of play-off berths ends at two: 2009: yes. 2010: yes. 2011: no. All that remains this season for the Mystics is to play for pride.



Frankly, as we sat there in an almost empty arena watching last night's game (reported attendance 8,441), it was hard to understand how the Mystics could lose yet another close, winnable game, at home no less, to a struggling team. The BCs have never claimed to be great basketball minds, but that doesn't mean we weren't at times scratching our heads over some of GM/HC Trudi's substitutions. For example, in the first quarter, we wondered why Marissa Coleman was sent to the bench just after (following a bumpy start) she seemed to find her groove. Then later, Kelly Miller seemed to have a hot hand from beyond the arc, hitting two big 3-pointers midway through the 4th Quarter. Yet, in the final minute of regulation, Kelly was parked on the bench, where she remained for most of the OT period. Less than a minute after re-entering the game (at the 2:00 mark), Kelly nailed her 3rd three to give the Mystics a short-lived OT lead. (For the record, Victoria Dunlap was again a DNP; we're beginning to think GM/HC Trudi has given up on her first round draft pick.)



The BCs kinda feel like yesterday's was the second earthquake we've experienced in the last year. After the October massacre, Mystics fans (the BCs included) felt like the earth moved under our feet. We were completely thrown off balance by the decision of Sheila and her cohorts that GM Angela and HC Julie no longer figured in the Team's plans. And then we were rocked again by the aftershocks of Lindsey and Katie deciding that they no longer wanted to play for such a franchise. But even after all that bad news, we didn't anticipate that the Mystics would tumble down all the way from first to worst in the East. Even we couldn't imagine things being this bad.



There are so many people to feel sorry for here. We feel sorry for the long-time, long-suffering Mystics fans. And we really feel sorry for the players. How can we not feel for Crystal Langhorne, who's proven herself to be a consummate professional and competitor, carrying the Mystics on her (aching) back all season. Last night, she played all 45 minutes, put up 28 points, pulled down 9 boards, dished out 3 assists . . . and still her team lost.



Ironically, the Mystics' front office began their season ticket renewal campaign last night. Good luck with that.



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*Links to articles about Pat Summitt: Here, here, here, here and here.