Last week: I was set to write my usual weekend round up when the most preposterous thing happened. I learned that the children’s book I wrote is being banned.
“J is for Justice: An Activism Alphabet” is being banned, I suspect because it has the word justice in the title. Or maybe it is because the overarching message to kids is that their voice is important. That they can speak out about the injustices they see in the world. Maybe Q being for quilt and having a depiction of the AIDS quilt did it? I dunno why anyone would clutch their pearls over a board book, but they have. And while I didn’t put any sports figures in that book, there are in the pitches I have sent my editor.
What a way to kick off Pride month!
But I’m back at it! Even if it’s not looking good for our big two teams. I’ll get back to covering the other teams later this week.
— Veronica
Hitting the Panic Button like it’s Snooze on a Monday morning.
I don’t run marathons. Heck, I barely run for the bus. When my daughter was playing soccer she asked me why I didn’t go out running with her. This is why I play 16” softball. I run to first base. Huff. Puff. Then run to second. Repeat. This is to say, I know that mile 20 is supposed to be the hardest mile. You got that far, you can feel the end, but your body is like, “THIS IS BULLSHIT!” But y’all. Our big two might have hit that wall sooner than expected.
The Chicago Sky: We have lost four in a row. The team’s PR folks got it correct in that
Shooting consistency remains an area of focus heading into the second month. Chicago's field goal percentage has swung from a season-low 28.6% to a season-high 48.0%, a range that reflects volatility not from one player but across the roster. Diggins, Cloud, and Jaquez have each had standout individual shooting performances this season, but have yet to put together an efficient game simultaneously. When that happens, this offense will be very hard to stop.
For me, I am looking at what happened between the first time we saw the Minnesota Lynx (we won 86-79) to the last time (we lost 58-79). Thank the goddess we don’t have to go up against them again. And what I am seeing is the classic tale of two teams - Minnesota is getting better and we are not.
Yes, we lost Jackson, but a good team doesn’t lean into, “Welp! I guess we have a hole in our roster,” rather it finds a new level of grit in that loss. And by team I mean the coach and management as well. And they need to get us another forward.
Who else is a forward? ANGEL MF’ING REESE.
Yup, this trade is gonna loom over the team until we win. The first week of the season many fans were forgiving of the trade. Now? I’m finding more friends on the petty side of the bar.
Oh and some defense. In our 104-111 loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo we had FIVE players score in double digits. The team’s social team thought it was something to celebrate, but IMO, it’s embarrassing. Where’s Stephanie White when a team needs her? Not fired, Skip - but you should be.
What’s Next? The team the Sky front office assembled after trading away Reese for basically nothing needs to be hard at work filling the Rickea sized hole on the team. Coach needs to do his job. Use Latricia Trammell, who is a better coach than her record shows, to her fullest.
The Chicago Stars: Thank the gods for Louisville or we’d be dead last.
Worse than our standing is our goal differential. A goal differential is the difference between the goals we get (5) and the goals (24) we allow. Last week I reported that we were at -17. This week we are at -19. NOT GOOD.
Again, as much as I love that we have one-third of Triple Espresso, she is not enough. Giving up 24 goals is the worst in the league, but so is scoring only 5 goals. I don’t even want to look into how many shots on goal our keeper, Alyssa MF’ing Naeher, has faced. She is an icon and a brick wall…when she has a defense to give her a fighting chance.
What’s Next? The NWSL is off for most of June (this is frankly homophobic) for the Men’s World Cup. It’ll give the team to rest and tune up. The USWNT (US Women’s National Team) is playing two friendlies (aka practice or scrimmage matches) in Brazil. Other national teams are also playing friendlies. Buy hey, the front office has oodles of time to make some corrections.
While this newsletter and the larger project of supporting women’s sports is my passion project, I still need to buy groceries and buy nachos at games.
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