July 2010 Stanford Women's Basketball Archives

July 17th (Belated) Stanford End of the Year Banquet

And now, back by popular demand, J and K, the Junior Bloggers! This is actually a promised piece on the end of the year awards banquet that they are JUST SUBMITTING to C and R. Guess they can’t use the excuse, “The dog ate my homework.” Maybe they can use “a computer viruses ate my paper” excuse. J and K said to look at it as a “summer treat” to tide you over until college basketball starts up again. J would write some of the report and send it to K who would add her comments. K is in RED and J is in Blue (we think). They both write in black and the blue is NOT a hyper link. Got it? All typos, texting lingo, emoticons and bad grammer stuff are theirs, unless they are caused by C's fat fingers typing. C and R love that they argue almost as much as we do.

Oh, some back story info, J and K have brought signs to various games and have been recognized by the various players. They also have stalked the players so well and so much (like good junior stalkers) that the players recognize them. Way to go, they are well on their way to making the C and R Stalking Hall of Fame. Oh, here are some visuals to go with the descriptions in the story compliments of the Stanford Fast Break Club, the group that always seems to have their cameras handy.

Junior Blogger Report on the End of theYear Banquet
K and I got to the banquet as fast as we could – which, granted, was not very fast. Not only are we unable to drive – so we had to put up with our parents going the speed limit – but we had to put up with damp hair, broken blow-dryers, fashion crises and butterflies in our stomachs.  Hey I went really fast considering I had softball right before, literally. Yah well I was the one who hadn't had time to blow-dry her hair because the blow-dryer I was trying to use was... um... not fully functional :) We arrived at about 6:00, half an hour before the dinner was scheduled to start and halfway through the ‘mingle’ time. We stepped in the door after making each other laugh in an effort to rid ourselves of those pesky butterflies. First thing we see - Nneka, very pretty in a grey top and a black skirt, wearing silver necklaces (Nnek-laces?) that we complimented. She laughed and said thanks. She was very nice, dubbing me the girl from the plane and K the girl from the restaurant. Lovely. It was funny though! She definitely has a good sense of humor. My mom kind of started that one.. "Wow, you're so pretty!!!" "Thanks.. hey! You're those girls...." Haha :) Oh ya. Happened many times that night. "Hi! You're pretty!/ Cool/ So good!!!" "Thanks...." then their eyes light up and they go, as K said, "Hey! You're those girls..." LOL

After talking to Kayla and getting our name tags, we meandered a little bit, sneaking looks at players’ name tags to try and see what table number they were at. K had paid extra to sit at a player table, #19, and we had quite a time of it trying to figure out whose table she was at. I gave her a huge scare when I mistakenly read Jeanette’s #13 as #19, so K started freaking out and hyperventilating until I said, “No! Sorry! Sorry! Not her number! She’s 13!” And K glared at me. You killed me on that one. I definitely had my hopes up and you just CRUSHED them. DUDE give me a break I seriously thought it said nineteen! The three looked like a nine okay?! Then we both started freaking out about whose table she was out. Then we saw Sarah Boothe looking at us and trying not to laugh. I guess we were acting pretty nutty. Nothing unusual. And guess whose table K (and later me) wound up sitting at? Yep. Sarah’s. Oh boy. She was a good sport, though, and didn’t mention how insane she must have found us. She didn't even talk to us! One picture and a hello. Okay, awesome. Thanks a lot. Haha. K! Come on. It's not her fault that she was being distracted like for the WHOLE NIGHT by this person who kept talking to her. Geez. Stop hogging the players!! Goodness.

We then went over to assistant coach Bobbie Kelsey and talked to her. We told her that we thought she was very funny and that we loved her and Amy Tucker’s Superhoopsters episode. She must have though we were insane as well, quoting the videos and giggling nervously. She was very nice, though, laughing with us and only shooing us away when she had to – I guess we still come after all those older fans. Hmph. Some things never change! However, we think we come first in the players’ eyes. When we went over and talked to Jeanette, she was very nice and talked to us multiple times. Of course, I had to drag K over to see her, because she’s just a little shy around her idol… hahaha (emoticon thingie that doesn't translate to the blog)  No. I was not shy. I talked to her. I am definitely not shy. Dude! I had to literally DRAG you over there! And I kept saying "Let's go talk to Jeanette!" and you're like "No. That's okay. Let's get sodas." "Nope, let's wait." "But there are people near her!" "But maybe it'll seem too forward this early..." Luckily, to the last one I remembered my sense of humor and said "Goodness, K! You're saying she's cool, not asking her out!!" But no, we were very nice and complimentary and told her we loved her outfit (a pretty floral top and a grey band-aid skirt). She blushed a little – she seems very modest – but returned the compliment and talked to us for what seemed like forever because we were so scared of saying something really stupid in front of her – but was only about five minutes. And she told me she had something for me, which actually made my whole entire life.  And then you go and tear your quadricep and so you can't go to camp and get it. Smart, K. Smart. And YES I know I promised to get it from her. And take her that stupid poster. So I'm gonna look like a total obsessed kid before they even realize it's ME!!! Still. Five minutes with a player – that’s definitely worth $60. And then… we saw Ros.

And let me explain before K jumps in with her annoying comments. Ros was rocking a really pretty red, black, and white cheetah-patterned dress. And I saw her, got something very close to stage fright, went ‘Oh shoot!’ and proceeded to duck behind K. And K, supportive friend that she is, got an evil grin on her face, grabbed my arm, and said “Let’s go talk to her!” Need I say that we did? She was very nice too. She said, “Hey, poster girls!” and we said, “Hi!”. And engaged her in very witty (we thought) conversation. We’ve learned that throw in a lot of compliments and they start to like you. Ros was very nice, laughing with – at? – us and telling me to keep bringing my “ROSALYN” poster to the games so she has a lasting legacy or something. What was I to do? I agreed! So if you see a Ros poster next year, that would be why. I won't even comment here. I wasn't that bad. So, don't sass me. OK what am I supposed to do? Say "Ya, that'd be cool, but you're not cool enough for me to even PRETEND to want to do that." Ya right. Like that'd happen. So shut your mouth and DON'T SASS ME!!

We then talked to Kayla – wow, they didn’t call it ‘social hour’ for nothing – who was looking great in a skirt and pink top. She smiled at us, said “Hey, the poster girls!” and talked to us for a little bit. We left her in peace pleased, flattered, and totally and completely in awe. And then we looked at each other quizzically. For hadn’t Ros just called us the Poster Girls? We think we may have a team name. Oh great. And now we can’t figure out if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

After talking to Kayla we entered the dining room. Wow. Fancy. K and I were suitably impressed. We ducked out of JJ’s way – who had decked out her crutches in fuschia and black tape that matched her outfit, very classy – and split up to our respective tables. We looked at our booklets for a while – not only did they say our names on them, but they had little notes from all the players to the seniors, which was a very nice and personal touch – and then paid full attention to Tara as she started to talk. We thing she summed up the evening pretty well when she said that “It’s a bittersweet evening.” And it was.

She introduced all the classes together. Freshmen first, and then sophomores, etc. She said something nice and something encouraging about every player. K and I were looking at each other and mouthing “So true! Aw! Awwww!” at each other until K’s mom very kindly switched with me so I was sitting with K at Sarah’s table. So then we didn’t just have to mouth it – we could say it! And the best part of the evening (in my opinion) was when Tara introduced Jeanette. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Judging from that laugh I think K remembers what's coming. Not that she could forget, of course. Just pay attention to the story :) Now, before I say what happened, bear in mind that we were both sort of punch-drunk and excited and were, as we always are, a little bit insane. So Tara introduces Jeanette and says, “Jeanette’s biggest fan is here tonight…” and K rises halfway out of her seat and yells “THAT’S ME!” Everyone turns and stares at her, and Tara finishes her sentence. “Tonight… (That’s me!)… her mom.”. Jeanette starts laughing up on stage along with the rest of the Juniors, and so does the audience. To be fair I don't think Jeanette was really laughing on purpose. It was just not very easy not to laugh. Hahaha :D K sinks very low in her seat and tries to not look at anyone but me – especially not at Sarah, who’s trying very hard not to laugh at K but who’s failing miserably. That was horrible. Oh god. And also Tara looks at me as she says that.. What am I supposed to think? Well maybe Tara was trying to secretly tell you in her head "Keep quiet weird poster girl I'm not talking about you." Oh. Funny. Very witty, J. Hahaha, but that definitely gave you quite the laugh. Of course it did!! The entire ROOM was laughing at you! Thanks, J. Thanks again. Did I say at? I meant with! The whole room was laughing with you! Haha :) The rest of the evening passed fairly uneventfully, with speeches from the seniors – Jayne gained much admiration in our eyes for toughing out the speech even though she cried a little bit multiple times. Add that to our admiration of her for toughing out the game against the School-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named with a stress fracture in her foot and she’s got two pretty big fans! 

Editors note-
Did either of you ever go to the Stanford Basketball Camp and get the “thing Jeanette had for you???? Inquiring minds (and our fans) want to know.

This just in, Stanford recruit Chiney Ogwumike (and current Stanford player Nneka Ogwumike’s sister) won the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. Yes, we know she was already honored as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Basketball out of 50 states, but now she is the top female athlete according to Gatorade (she was picked among the 12 Women Gatorade National Players of the Year). In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field. She got to meet Lisa Leslie and Brandi Chastain at an ESPN sponsored luncheon and walk the red carpet at the ESPN ESPY’s and be on TV! Cool. Hope it increases interest and coverage in women’s basketball, says C and R. 

Wait, when did she find time to go to the awards ceremony? First she lead the USA Women's U18 National Team to a Gold Medal in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in June, dominating in scoring and  praised for her leadership skills, and also competing in the San Francisco Pro-Am league on weekends. Does the girl sleep?

So speaking of Chiney and the SF Pro-Am League, and we were, C and R haven’t been able to get to San Francisco to watch the Chiney and the Stanford freshmen and almost freshmen play in the SF Pro-Am League, but that doesn’t mean our intrepid readers haven’t gone. MM reports that “Chiney’s length is incredible” and “even quicker off the floor than Nneka and gets higher than almost any Div 1 player”. He also had great things to say about Sara James and her long outside shooting (good, we need that). “She set and released in a split second - high arching shots that all hit the back of the net the same way. She made some successful forays into the paint”. SJ, Shooter and slasher, love it. We have to get up there.

Ms. MC reports that in her game she got to see Mikaela Ruef (The Roof is on Fire), Sarah Boothe (Booooo-th), Sara James (SJ), Toni Kokenis (nickname pending), and Chiney Ogumike (is A-Okay) play for Golden State. She also reports the pro-am games featuring the Stanford gang are well attended by Stanford alums. And last weekend, about 10 minutes in, who should walk in to the stands but current Stanford team members Jeanette Pohlen, Kayla Pederson and Nneka Ogwumike, giving some sister love. She also said she was impressed by the former and current Cal players (very diplomatic of you, MC). She said Alexis Gray-Lawson was very fan-friendly. She also invited us and everyone else to come on out.

The following blog is NOT paid for by the Jayne Appel fan club, nor by the “I hate Jayne Appel Fan Club”, nor by any fan club because this is a blog about women’s sports and boy don’t we know how nobody pays nobody nohow to write or pay attention to women’s sports, but we digress. We digress because we are rambling, and we are rambling because we don’t want to write what really needs to be said…..Jayne did not have a good All Star game arrrrgh, there we said it. She got many minutes, that’s for sure, but she was also playing against Sylvia Fowles, who would go on to score 23 points, most of them over Jayne, and be the All Star MVP (R was VERY impressed with Sylvia). Jayne looked ineffective and a little lost, as much as we former Jayne supporters and current Stanford supports hate to admit, although the WNBA team only had one practice, which lasted about an hour, so C and R are sure that contributed to the WNBA side not playing well. She also could not move quickly or jump for the ball, and maybe her injures are still bothering her. We did notice Jayne’s teammates did try to get her the ball, but Team USA was just quicker and had a longer arm span, and either stole the pass or knocked it away from her. On the bright side, Jayne was included in the Team USA practices they had prior to the All Star game and is technically on the Team USA roster. 

The announcers spoke at length about Jayne in the third quarter, after Team USA had beaten up on the WNBA team (did you see Jayne at half time icing her nose? She took a hit on a rebound, we think). They said she Jayne has been fighting off injuries and couldn’t participate in her WNBA training camp, and most of her team was over seas early in the season and you need to practice against those types of players early in the season. Those were all salient points but then you look at rookie Tina Charles averaging a double double and leading the WNBA in rebounds. She also didn’t look lost on Team USA, probably because it was a similar system (Team USA is coached by her college coach, Geno, Although he kinda left her out to dry by baiting her with money to try  to take a three point shot, and when she shot and missed TWO, he yanked her and teased her about it.), and Tina is not fighting injuries the way Jayne is. Sigh, C and R were bummed, man. 

Hi, how was your fourth? C and R didn’t lose any fingers or burn down any forests with illegal fireworks, so all in all, a successful 4^th of July. A trip to the beach today shed light on a true Stanford fan when she said, “I hope someone beats Uconn this year, Stanford, heck, I don’t even care if it’s Tennessee, as long as someone beats UConn this year.” Well said, which was hard to do as all our teeth were chattering at another (freezing) day at the beach in July in Northern California. (Hey New York, want some of our fog?)

Don’t forget to watch Jayne Appel ride the bench in the WNBA All Star game tomorrow. It’s weird how that all unfolded. First of all, Team USA coach and current UConn coach Geno Auriemma got the WNBA to change their format of East and West All Stars to WNBA All Stars playing his Team USA. Then someone at the WNBA decided to let the fans vote for anyone, any position, and they will take the top ten fan votes and if they are on Team USA, they will play for Team USA and the others will play for the WNBA. And then the city of San Antonio gets into the act, who, by the way must have the best fans in the world because when all the votes were counted, four of the top ten were San Antonio Silver Stars, one of them being Jayne Appel, who is not exactly All Star material. But she WAS on Team USA, at least in the winter, but apparently she has been dropped and might be added at a later date. So she and Silver Stars Becky Hammon, Michelle Snow, and Sophia Young plus Lauren Jackson were put on the WNBA All Star team. So the coaches added Sancho Lyttle, Iziane Castro Marques, Crystal Langhorne, Penny Taylor, Katie Douglas and Rebekkah Brunson. Oh, the Lindseys Whalen and Harding and Monique Curry were also added because of injured players. Got all that? A little convoluted. So who is on the Team USA Roster? 

The U.S. team is led by Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, and Sylvia Fowles. Tina Charles, Candice Dupree, Angel McCoughtry, Renee Montgomery, Cappie Pondexter and UConn's Maya Moore. Six out of the ten are UConn players. Hmmm, C and R don’t remember Tara VanDerveer stacking her Olympic Team with that many Stanford players. 

Anyhoo, tune in tomorrow to one of the ESPN channels. C and R’s bet is that Team USA will annihilate the WNBA roster, because Team USA is the WNBA All Star roster.

Is it July already? How’s your summer going? Ours is a little slow going, and we haven’t been to SF yet to watch the Stanford young uns in the pro-am league yet, although R did get the letter to buy the Stanford season tickets, so yay, that makes us fell like college basketball is right around the corner. 

In other basketball news, Jayne Appel finished in the top ten for All Star voting, or whatever you want to call this game between Team USA and WNBA All Stars.  So C and R read that if you are voted in the game and are already a Team USA member, you get to play for Team USA. Well, Jayne was at the last 2 USA training camps, although she was injured and yet her name was not on the Team USA roster. It is being reported on the WNBA site that Jayne will practice along side Team USA in the mini-training camp before the All Star game “in hopes of being added to the squad at a later date”. Hmmm. Noticed there were 7 former or current (Maya Moore) UConn players on Team USA roster. Oh, did we forget to mention the USA head coach is the head coach of UConn? 

Plus, Team USA will scrimmage the Australian National Team the day after the All Star game, yet the game is not opened to the public. Double hmmmm. Man, they have a captive women’s basketball audience in town watching the All Star game and the next day Team USA plays Australia and you don’t think to sell tickets, T-Shirts, televise it and advertise and make money!?!! Are we missing something? 

C and R are bummed the Candices are out of training camp (The Candi?). Candice Wiggins and Candace Parker are both injured and out for the year. 

In other news that just might affect basketball…
We forgot to give you the finalized count of teams defecting to the PAC-10. Just the two. Colorado jumped right away and when the big schools in Texas and Oklahoma didn’t budge, the PAC-10 got Utah to have an even dozen. Now there is talk of implementing the change in 2011. The San Fran Chronicle said The PAC-12 was thinking of having two conferences and drawing a line somewhere in Mountain View, so Stanford and CAL would still play each other but UCLA will be in the other division and that was probably going to be our closest rival for the next few years. The funny thing was the PAC-10 was hoping to bring in higher profile schools to make more money off of their football games, and when that failed miserably, the teams are going to lose even more money from the (non) match ups. Utah vs. Stanford in football? Does that sound like a guaranteed sell out at Stanford to you? 

Have a cool Fourth if we don’t hear from you, and don’t blow off any fingers. Let us know if you have seen any of the Stanford Pro Am games.