Wednesday Notes

Fever

Well, I sure jinxed the Fever! The last time I mentioned them I pointed out how they had their longest winning streak in a decade, all without Caitlin Clark. Since then they’ve lost three-of-four, the only win against hapless Chicago. Worst of all was last week’s game in Phoenix. I didn’t stay up to watch the game but in the morning the final result was on my phone screen: a 95–60 loss. NINETY FIVE TO SIXTY?!?!!?

I read the game summary while eating breakfast and learned that both of the Fever’s remaining point guards were lost for the season during the game. Sydney Colson tore her ACL, Aari McDonald broke her foot. Not only did the Fever play roughly half the game without a point guard, but they were also playing a Mercury team that was pissed off that DeWanna Bonner, who ghosted the Fever earlier this year and forced a trade to Phoenix, was booed by the Indiana crowd a week earlier.[1] Thirty five points might have been a good result given all that.

Last night the Fever lost to Dallas at home by one. They had so many terrible possessions where the shot clock was running out and someone who was definitely not a point guard was trying to make something happen. Plus the refs gifted the Wings three points in the fourth quarter. When L and I watched these teams play a month ago, the healthy Fever won by 19 and it wasn’t that close. Yikes.

I guess they do need Caitlin back.

The ESPN crew last night said the plan now is to ease CC back into team practices in two weeks when they have a five-day break between games. That would give her nine games to get back in shape and re-integrated into the team before the playoffs begin. Whether her body holds up this time is anyone’s guess.

At this point I don’t think it’s realistic to expect the Fever to figure it all out and make the deep playoff run people were expecting when the season began. Other than Sophie Cunningham, most of their lauded additions have been mixed at best. Something has just been off about them all year, and that’s before you get to the injuries. With a new CBA coming – and perhaps a lockout along the way – I guess they hit the reset button and try again next year. Only three players are signed beyond this season, so it could be a whole new team beyond Clark and Aaliyah Boston next spring.

Hot Take: August Sucks

This one might blow your mind: I think August might be one of the three worst months of the year, behind only February and January.

Think about it. It’s literally called the Dog Days, because the heat has (most years) been hanging around for 4–6 weeks and anything growing outside is starting to get crispy. After 60 days of hot and humid weather, just stepping out your door sucks the life out of you. Yesterday I went outside to pull and spray some weeds. I was outside maybe 10 minutes. I was not exerting myself. My shirt was completely soaked when I was done. And this was before noon, on a cloudy day.

The kids go back to school. This sucks for the kids – it’s too early – and it sucks for the parents because the first week or so of the month is a mad rush to get all the school supplies purchased, fall wardrobes figured out, schedules planned, etc.

Sports suck in August. I’ve long been on record as hating the NFL preseason, or at least how it comes to dominate the media. Games that don’t matter are given more attention than baseball, WNBA, and any other sport playing real games at the moment. Players are lost for the season because of injuries that occur, again, in games that don’t count for anything. I hate it all.

That said, baseball and the WNBA are also in their dog days, and unless your team is on a hot streak (hello Milwaukee!) it’s easy to get sick of watching them when the excitement of the trade deadline has passed and the drama of the pennant race has yet to really crank up. Plus, with 800 teams making the MLB playoffs, the pennant races aren’t nearly as exciting or interesting as they once were.

The best summer movies have already been released. Same for TV shows, whether on traditional networks or streaming services which are holding any truly good shows for deeper in the fall.

August also sucks because of its tweener status. July has Independence Day and, often, vacations for families who had June sports. September brings the start of fall, a break in the weather, real football, and the excitement that comes with the final third of the calendar year. August can’t compete with that.

To sum up: August is terrible. If anyone ever tries to argue that summer is better than fall – and I have some sympathy for this suggestion – August is the weak spot that collapses that view. However, according to my limited understanding of astronomy, earth science, meteorology, and the Gregorian calendar, it looks like we’re stuck with it.