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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008
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 Posted: 07/11/20 3:29 pm ::: |
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| Breland with her previously existing condition and longterm lung damage would be particularly troubling. Hope she is ok.
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toad455
Joined: 16 Nov 2005
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| Posted: 07/11/20 4:15 pm ::: |
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| Cunningham arrived today.
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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| Posted: 07/12/20 3:20 pm ::: |
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Skylar Diggins-Smith 'conflicted' about playing in bubble, happy being with Phoenix Mercury
https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/wnba/mercury/2020/07/12/skylar-diggins-smith-phoenix-mercury-conflicted-wnba-bubble/5423593002/
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| Skylar Diggins-Smith is "conflicted" about playing in the WNBA bubble in Florida but wouldn't go deeper into her reasons. |
Diggins conflicted, huh? Big surprise?
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Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said the advantage of having three elite point guards — Bria Hartley plus Diggins-Smith and Taurasi — is versatility and depth in the back court.
"They're all going to play the 1, they're all going to play the 2 (shooting guard)," Brondello said. "The offense is going to put them in a lot of pick-and-rolls, not just on the ball but off the ball as well, and then spotting them up. They're all great 3-point shooters. |
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| “I'll probably play a little more off the ball, but I guess that's to be determined." |
As I predicted. So maybe there’s hope for them.
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Brondello said that second-year guard Sophie Cunningham reported to training camp Sunday and will practice with the team at soame point next week after a quarantine period.
The Mercury now have 10 players in Florida, all but forward Jessica Breland, whose medical status has yet to be announced. |
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toad455
Joined: 16 Nov 2005
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| Posted: 07/12/20 3:35 pm ::: |
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Hearing Breland is awaiting a medical evaluation and may opt-out. Would suck for the Mercury as there's no decent post players left to pick up.
Cunningham is expected to start training with the team shortly.
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miller40
Joined: 29 Jun 2006
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| Posted: 07/12/20 3:44 pm ::: |
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| Shades wrote: |
Skylar Diggins-Smith 'conflicted' about playing in bubble, happy being with Phoenix Mercury
https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/wnba/mercury/2020/07/12/skylar-diggins-smith-phoenix-mercury-conflicted-wnba-bubble/5423593002/
| Quote: |
| Skylar Diggins-Smith is "conflicted" about playing in the WNBA bubble in Florida but wouldn't go deeper into her reasons. |
Diggins conflicted, huh? Big surprise?
| Quote: |
Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said the advantage of having three elite point guards — Bria Hartley plus Diggins-Smith and Taurasi — is versatility and depth in the back court.
"They're all going to play the 1, they're all going to play the 2 (shooting guard)," Brondello said. "The offense is going to put them in a lot of pick-and-rolls, not just on the ball but off the ball as well, and then spotting them up. They're all great 3-point shooters. |
| Quote: |
| “I'll probably play a little more off the ball, but I guess that's to be determined." |
As I predicted. So maybe there’s hope for them.
| Quote: |
Brondello said that second-year guard Sophie Cunningham reported to training camp Sunday and will practice with the team at soame point next week after a quarantine period.
The Mercury now have 10 players in Florida, all but forward Jessica Breland, whose medical status has yet to be announced. |
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Diggins looks like she’s about to have a panic attack in the video of that interview.
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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| Posted: 07/12/20 3:59 pm ::: |
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Here’s the ESPN video of conflicted Diggins.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.espn.com.sg/core/video/iframe?id=29452272&endcard=false" allowfullscreen frameborder="0"></iframe>
Different team. Still comes off as unhappy. Maybe she’s still struggling with her mental health.
https://www.espn.com.sg/wnba/story/_/id/29452040/phoenix-mercury-skylar-diggins-smith-conflicted-being-bubble-happy-playing
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Later, Diggins-Smith was asked whether her family was with her in the bubble.
"That's none of your business, I'm sorry," Diggins-Smith said. |
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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned
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mavcarter
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Joined: 02 Sep 2010
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011
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| Posted: 07/12/20 4:15 pm ::: |
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| Have to wonder why she agreed to give the interview. She clearly seems not to want to talk the reporter.
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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| Posted: 07/12/20 4:21 pm ::: |
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| Randy wrote: |
| Have to wonder why she agreed to give the interview. She clearly seems not to want to talk the reporter. |
Aren’t they required?
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011
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| Posted: 07/12/20 4:25 pm ::: |
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| Shades wrote: |
| Randy wrote: |
| Have to wonder why she agreed to give the interview. She clearly seems not to want to talk the reporter. |
Aren’t they required? |
I don't know, but if a player says she's not feeling comfortable doing one at a particular time, I think the team or ESPN would give her a pass. I can't see how anybody would want to put on an interview like that.
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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| Posted: 07/12/20 4:43 pm ::: |
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| Randy wrote: |
| Shades wrote: |
| Randy wrote: |
| Have to wonder why she agreed to give the interview. She clearly seems not to want to talk the reporter. |
Aren’t they required? |
I don't know, but if a player says she's not feeling comfortable doing one at a particular time, I think the team or ESPN would give her a pass. I can't see how anybody would want to put on an interview like that. |
You’re assuming she would ever feel comfortable. She seems to hate the more personal questions about family and politics. Most people love talking about their family if things are going well, and it’s hard to use your platform for social justice if you’re annoyed about people asking about your politics. She’s like “Oh no, not another question about BLM.”
Remember when she nearly broke down during the Team USA interview?
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toad455
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Stormeo
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toad455
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| Posted: 07/12/20 5:18 pm ::: |
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PG: Diggins
SG: Hartley/Cunningham/Walker-Kimbrough
SF: Taurasi/Coffey
PF: BTurner/ASmith
C: Griner/Vaughn
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adamj95
Joined: 09 May 2014
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| Posted: 07/12/20 6:19 pm ::: |
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| If Skylar is going to act like that, I don’t see what the point is of her being there and playing.
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mercfan3
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Richyyy
Joined: 17 Nov 2005
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| Posted: 07/12/20 7:14 pm ::: |
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| adamj95 wrote: |
| If Skylar is going to act like that, I don’t see what the point is of her being there and playing. |
$215,000? |
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snlMINAJ
Joined: 21 Jan 2010
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| Posted: 07/12/20 8:44 pm ::: |
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| Wow I can’t believe the bitchiness ...pretty unprofessional if you ask me. Not a good way to handle yourself for an interview, whether or not she wanted to give it.
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WNBA 09
Joined: 26 Jun 2009
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bluedevilaztecfan5
Joined: 16 Mar 2010
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| Posted: 07/13/20 11:44 am ::: |
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If Skylar brings a negative attitude to practice, during games, and off the court than I wouldn’t want her on my team as a player, fan, or coach/staff.
Though if she’s helping win championships than maybe I don’t mind for a few short summer seasons.
That said, if a player only cares about playing well and winning, why should they have to pretend to want to do an interview or act nice for reporters? They get asked invasive questions, private questions, and often times repetitive interviews.
I get that personality goes a long way in representation, teams/fans wanting you, and endorsements. But again, if someone doesn’t care about all of that, who are we to judge how they act?
If we don’t like the way someone treats a reporter/interviewer, or us as fans, than just like in our real lives we can choose not to associate with them- don’t be their fan, don’t follow them, mute them if they are being interviewed, etc.
Also, didn’t she suffer from depression after she gave birth? That, in addition to being Black in these times of social justice, can make someone not very “interview friendly” sometimes.
For me, as a fan and as someone who is on various sports teams, I love a player and teammate who is friendly, engaging and brings good vibes.
But she mentioned feeling conflicted about bubble life, was asked a follow up question, and answered no in regards to elaborating. She was blunt about it. Would it have been better if she smiled and said no I prefer not to go into details?
She is a star of the league, and at one point was advertised a lot.
If she said something like “I won’t go into details, but it’s the conditions and the atmosphere of the country”, than who knows what kind of article title could have come out of the quote.
Again I prefer a friendly player who is engaged. But I also won’t fault someone for not wanting to interview. Maybe their attitude makes me not like them, but I can choose not to follow/watch them. If they’re on my team I can hope they’re heading elsewhere soon.
I would be upset if someone wanted out from my team, but they don’t owe anything to me as a loyal fan. They have to do what’s best for them.
In Skylar’s case, what is most important for me is how she treats her teammates and to a degree how she is with fans.
Dallas fans- was she rude to y’all?
Was there anything negative about her locker room presence coming from other players or staff?
All I really remember is that Dallas seemed to be supportive of her through her pregnancy, then she felt they mistreated her and asked out.
I am still rooting for her post pregnancy success, and hope she does well with Phoenix. And if the conflict of bubble life is too stressful, I hope she gets the mental health support she needs for that.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
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| Posted: 07/13/20 1:02 pm ::: |
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In general, I agree -- relationships with teammates, coaches and staff come first.
But the WNBA is in the entertainment business, and that, to me, adds another layer of responsibility. The $215,000 does not come entirely, or even primarily, because of your skill as a basketball player; it comes because people are willing to pay to watch you play. And if you want to continue to get paid, you need to treat them with respect.
If you just want to play the game and win, you can always go down to the park.
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Rock Hard
Joined: 02 Aug 2010
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| Posted: 07/13/20 2:00 pm ::: |
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| Mrs. Smith had the option not to play this year if she did not feel comfortable playing. The Phoenix team was not going to fire her if she didn't play. Any team with championship aspirations need to have all their key players especially their point guard has to be mentally engaged the entire season.
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J-Spoon
Joined: 31 Jan 2009
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| Posted: 07/13/20 2:36 pm ::: |
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I am going to cut her some slack
Watching the video I got the feeling she wasn't in the best head space, kind of understandable considering everything is so out of whack. You know how sometimes you're pissed off at work but you think you can fake your way through it, keep it short, keep it moving, etc, she probably thought she could do that and only realized while it was happening that she couldn't. Yeah she looks stressed and like she doesn't want to be there in that part of the video. Is it a good look when you're supposed to be pumping up and promoting the league, no not really but shit happens.
And from another angle we have a neighboring thread about media cliches and platitudes, this was a lot more interesting than that.
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calbearman76
Joined: 02 Nov 2009
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| Posted: 07/13/20 5:52 pm ::: |
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I didn't have a problem either. I don't know what kind of prep she was given for the interview but it could be that she thought she was going to talk about basketball. She has been engaging in the past with the public.
If Griner or Taurasi sees a problem I think they will let her know. And if she doesn't listen to them that would be a problem. But for now I don't see any issue.
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Shades
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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| Posted: 07/14/20 2:58 pm ::: |
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https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/recovered-from-covid-sophie-cunningham-embarks-on-second-wnba-season/article_88d794bd-3d7f-52a3-879d-0bb59ca21756.html
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| The former Mizzou star tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this summer. |
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| “I was really fatigued, sore throat, headache and just didn’t feel good for three or four days,” Cunningham told the Post-Dispatch in a phone interview Tuesday from her hotel room in Bradenton, Fla., where she’s in isolation through Thursday before she can enter the WNBA bubble. |
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Cunningham isn’t sure how she contracted the virus, but she first tested positive while living in Springfield, Mo., where she was working out earlier this summer.
“I was training in a private gym, and in gyms, people use the same door handles and use the same floor, which has germs from the ball,” she said. “Who knows. I probably got it from someone at the gym, but I just don’t know.” |
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| “I’ve done every test you can possibly do,” she said. “I’ve done the nasal test, the throat swab, the blood test. I’ve done it all. And I had to spit into a tube for the league.” |
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| “Phoenix cleaned house for this year,” Cunningham said. “What I was told is (general manager) Jim (Pitman) and (coach) Sandy (Brondello) brought in B.G. and Diana, and said, ‘You’re the leaders of the team. Who do you want as your teammates?’ They ended up keeping the three rookies from last year. That’s a real big deal. I don’t think I fully understand it, but Phoenix does not keep rookies. They’re known as a veteran team, so for them to keep us for two years in a row means a lot and means they’re expecting a lot from us.” |
It’s easy. After dumping $615K on three players (Griner, Diggins, Hartley), they needed to keep to keep some cheap players who preferably know the system to stay under the salary cap.
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| “A lot of people are not really liking the situation of being in the bubble. I get it. We’re not allowed to see family or friends for three to four months. But I think right now where I’m at in my career, I think it’s the best thing that could happen to me. I’m taking this opportunity and embracing it.” |
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