New Additions, New City

I've been gone for a while trying to get a handle on the obstacles that life has thrown at me. Well lets take it back for a moment, Tulsa training camp was the hardest preseason workout that I've ever been thru in my career. I mean at one point in 5 and a half days we had 11 practices. Talk about being prepared! 40 Minutes of Hell is no joke, Im sad that I didn't get the opportunity to fully understand the system and enjoy wrecking havoc on other teams. While trying to figure out Coach Richardson's system, we had a disagreement that was hard for both parties to recover from. Both sides tried to reconcile our differences but ultimately it was my decision to make a move and start over new somewhere. I felt as if I wasn't able to contribute to the success of the team and that I was holding them back. Everyone knows that when you are unhappy with circumstances that are presented to you, it can make something you love to do something that you dread doing. That was the point that I was at and I expressed that to Coach Richardson and he made the trade. Im officially a New York Liberty!

Wow, back in the east once again! It really feels weird now that Im on the east coast again and not in Detroit but I couldn't have asked for a better place to be traded to. I received the warmest welcome from the staff and players here that I've ever received. I've had so many Liberty fans send warm wishes to me on Twitter and Facebook. I think New York will definitely a place that I can call my basketball home. Everything happened so fast, I received the phone call from Coach Richardson that I had been traded on Monday morning and about 2 hours later I received a phone call from Blaze (NY Liberty GM) stating that they would like me to leave that night... Whew, I had nothing packed and hadn't figured out anything as far as getting the dogs and my car to New York. I explained that it was impossible for me to take a flight out that evening and I left early the next morning. I get into New York, head to my living quarters, then Im whisked away to my first practice. It was great but yet overwhelming to get out there and have to be on a crash corse on about 50 plays as well as learn what your new teammates like to do. I got thru it and felt better about the transition, Im anxiously awaiting for Friday when I can put on my Liberty uniform for the first time. Not only did I move to New York but I also had to change my number because we all know that Cappie Pondexter wears 23, so I changed my number to 331 I changed it to 33 because Scottie Pippen wore it and he was one of the best players that was known for doing all the little things that helped win games and thats what I want to do for the Liberty. I got a new puppy!

While in Tulsa, Hump surprised with a new puppy. I was so excited because I had been really down about the things that I was going thru. We named her Kylie, she's a Chihuahua and the cutest thing ever.

Thats all for now, look for updates after my first game as Liberty and also new pics! Anything else you want to hear about just ask and Ill do my best to answer your questions in the next blog.. I love my fans!!

Transitioning In Tulsa

The much anticipated first day of training camp with my new coaching staff, new teammates, and new city. From the first day that I touched down in T town the people have been so warm and excited about our team being here. As most of you know Coach Richardson is well known for his system called "40 minutes of Hell". My teammates and I were very nervous about what to expect for the first day of training camp, much to our anticipation it really wasn't that bad. His practices are mentally and physically demanding. I say mentally and physically demanding because his system seems to be structured chaos, the only way you can make a mistake is to stop movement, at times we aren't quite sure what we are suppose to be doing. Good luck to all the other 11 teams trying to scout our offensive sets! Now lets talk about getting mentally tough... Coach Richardson has us running 3 laps around the court with our hands above our heads... Whew Im tired thinking about that! All the players that have been here and that are still here will both grow physically and mentally tougher as the course of the season goes on. Well as a veteran this year I have the upper hand on these rookies, as you know we drafted Amanda Thompson and Vivian Frieson. We have a lot of rookies on this years team and the vets decided to hand down duties to the rooks from day one. Well some of the rookies complied with the duties that were placed upon them while others were a little more defiant to the idea that the vets ruled them. So as the days went on and they became more and more defiant the vets were determined to really put the rooks in their place. We stole their car keys and then made them wash all of the vets cars. Yes we even had Marion Jones out there scrubbing the cars down. With all that said, life in Tulsa isn't so bad at all, I have great teammates and staff around me so we will be fine. We are finding our way on the court and we are very excited to get on the court and face another team to see what we can accomplish.. Watch out WNBA because the Tulsa Shock is coming through!

First Official Visit To Tulsa, Oklahoma

The time of the year has come that I must begin to start thinking about my move to Tulsa Oklahoma. Just recently I made my first trip to Tulsa to meet the staff, workout and unveil the new Shock uniforms. I must say I was nervous about this trip because Im a big city girl and now Im having to go to an extremely small city. I was worried it was going to be like when I landed in Lubbock Texas oh so many years ago. I was expecting to see cows, tumbleweed and just bunches of farm land. Tulsa actually is a very nice city, with limited entertainment. The first person that I met when I arrived at the hotel was my new teammate Marion Jones.

Wow, Marion Jones really is my teammate! What a honor it is to have the World's Fastest Woman(to say the least) playing next to me. On top of the sheer excitement that I was trying to contain, the first thing that she said to me after we introduced ourselves was that she follows my blog! DID YOU HEAR THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUTTA MY MOUTH? MARION JONES FOLLOWS MY BLOG(little old me)!!!! I guess I have some pressure put on these blogs now huh? Ill be sure to say nothing but nice things about her in these blogs! Okay in all seriousness, she's a very nice woman and Im thinking I cant wait to see her on the court.

Well I got my opportunity to see Marion on the court sooner than expected because the coaches called us in for a workout that very next morning. So Alexis, Marion and myself have us a mini workout that morning. For me it was just great to get back on the court after leaving overseas because of an injury. If I must say so myself, for those who have all these negative things to say about the league and even more so about the Tulsa Shock for signing Marion Jones, this woman is an athlete and will prove to each and everyone of her haters that she's not only a track star but also a basketball player. I know that all my teammates will enjoy playing with her, she's a hard worker and has lots of energy! The Tulsa Shock will surprise plenty of people that are overlooking us! Now on to the new leaders of the pack... This staff is no Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn or Cheryl Reeve!

Umm adjusting to the new style of coaching will be difficult for the players that moved in from Detroit. As most of you know, the coaching staff that we had in Detroit was truly one of a kind. I haven't really heard Coach Richardson get after someone but Im sure its nowhere near how Bill was. I think Coach Richardson philosophy will be difficult for a lot of people to handle! I say this because there is a strategy to all the running and trapping! Not only that, the fast paced game will tire us and other teams out, but my motto is nothing in life is suppose to be easy, so all I can say is that Im going to get out there and work hard on my conditioning and endurance so that Im not my teams weakest link. We look to have a great fan base out here in Tulsa!

The people in Tulsa are ready for this new team to come in and bring some excitement. When I say I was only there 2 days and there were tons of people asking if I play for the Shock and telling me they are going to be at the games. I cant wait for the first game to hear these fans get loud and blow the top off of the BOK center. While the fans are trying to blow the top off of the BOK center Ill be starting my process of giving back to the community. I will be getting involved with local youth mentoring programs throughout Tulsa attempting to be a role model that the kids can actually talk to and interact with. I will also try to get them out to the game and try to change their outlook on life! Wish me luck, this is something that I've been wanting to do for a long time and now Im finally putting this thing into action! Im urging everyone to come out and check out the Tulsa Shock because we are going to be exciting!

God Bless America

Whew, I never thought the day would come for me to finally board that plane and head back to the good ole USA! This day didn't come without some trial and tribulations, if it did it just wouldn't be right! On Thursday, March 18th I was given permission to leave Israel and go home (jumps up and down excited)! Here's where all the problems start, I call US Airways to change my flight they inform me that if I want to leave on Friday, March 19th the change fee would be $800(difference in the price of the ticket) plus $250(change fee), I had to sit back and think how bad did I really want to leave Israel! I decided that I would check out my other options, well my other options were slim pickings because the next time that I could fly on that airlines was on March 27th and I had to pay $400(difference in the price of the ticket) plus $250(change fee), decisions decisions! I opted out out of both those options and just decided to purchase a whole new ticket and leave when I wanted. So when all my plans were finalized, my roommates threw me a going away party at our apartment and quite a few people showed up! It was the nicest thing that has happened to me by my teammates overseas. I had a blast and was sad to leave those guys! We will meet again soon!!

So on my flight home, I was so excited to just be on that flight that it was very difficult to sleep! Not only was I excited and couldn't sleep but the guy that was sitting next to me had the worst smelling breath ever. It seemed like it was messing with me, the smell kept finding its way to my nose no matter what I put over my face! Not only did his breath stink, when he fell asleep he slept with his mouth open and kept leaning towards me! How did I ever get so lucky? Usually like 30 or 40 minutes before the flight lands people get up and go to the bathroom and prepare themselves to see their loved ones. You know brush your teeth and wash your face, not this guy he slept the entire time until it was time to get off the plane! Instead of selling drinks and duty free items they should sell toothbrushes and toothpaste especially on these long flights! I really need to start carrying mints and gum on all flights just for situations like this one! Im running off this flight when it land, 11 and a half hours on a flight with someone with stinky breath makes for a terrible flight!

Home sweet home!!! Im going to lay on my sofa and watch every show that comes on until I fall asleep. I miss everything about America and my home! I never want to leave again, sike Ill be gone to Tulsa in a month!

The Revolving Door In Ramla Israel!

So many people think that its all fun and great for professional athletes to travel abroad and experience new cultures but the truth is.... Just as great as it seems we also have to deal with things that are so foreign to us when it comes to this profession. Where o where do I begin? In this profession its both tough on the coaches as well as the players to perform to the best of their abilities due to different circumstances. Well since I've been in Israel(3 short months) I have had 3 coaches! When I arrived my head coach (formerly my assistant coach from 3 years before) was demoted to assistant coach and another coach was brought in! This change occurred all because we lost one game that we should have won and because we didn't have morning practice 2 days in a row! The next coach that they brought in was someone who coached a team that was in last place in the league! That went well for a while until we came up on the task of winning the Israeli Cup. Our opponent was our arch rival Ramat HaSharon(featured Kia Vaughn, Sheri Sam, Laine Selwyn, and Ambrosia Anderson), needless to say it was a tough battle for our team that became even tougher when I went down early in the 3rd quarter with a shoulder injury. My team fought hard while I was out of the game and came back from a 17 point deficit to bring the game within 6. Here's where all the mess starts to happen... Im sitting on the bench in obvious pain but yet cheering my teammates on and Ive got 15 people( obvious exaggeration) in my ear telling me to get back into the game. Im telling them what is a one arm bandit suppose to do out there. Their only concern was to win the game, so me being the person that I am, I enter the game still in pain but just going to hush all the people! I get out there and my teammates start calling plays for me and on top of that I STILL HAVE TO GUARD KIA VAUGHN! O my gosh, I make it thru the game but of course my teammates are concerned about my arm but others are concerned that we didn't win the game! There's no time to ponder on what went wrong in the game because as soon as the buzzer went off to end the game our newly hired head coach quits unexpectedly! So now Im hurt and we have to sit and wait to see who will be our next head coach and we have the next round of the playoffs starting in 2 days! Well after the game I take it upon myself to ask to see someone about my shoulder and weigh my options! Of course they always tell us that nothing major is wrong just rest for a few days, I sit back and think about all the hard work that I put in to get my shoulder healthy after surgery and all the games that I missed this past season in the WNBA and make another tough decision and decide to sit out! This news is like a natural disaster hitting Ramla Israel, I have the fans telling me that Ramla wont take the championship if I dont play, and the organization telling me that I will be good enough to play even if Im not 100%! I stand strong to my decision and I dont play! Well now that my head coach has quit and I've made it clear that I will protect myself and not play, the team must decide who our next head coach will be.... well what do you know, my assistant coach(formerly my demoted head coach) is not back in the driver seat! Who would have ever known? Here comes my second job, I turn from player to assistant coach!

We are heading into the first game of the five game series against Ashdod(features Natasha Lacy, Christi Thomas, and Ashley Walker). We are clearly the undersized opponent in this one and everyone has lost faith in us because Im not playing, but I have all the confidence in my team and I know that even though Im on the sideline in jeans I can still contribute! So my team takes the floor and Im looking at our opponent and it seems to me that they think this will be an easy game because we are a man down..... NEGATIVE!!! We jumped out on them early and smashed there hopes of an easy game, they fought back and even regained the lead but that didn't stop us! My duties as an assistant coach was some substitutions and helping calm players down and giving my advice on how to execute on offense and defense(one of my many leadership skills I learned in Detroit studying Katie Smith and Deanna Nolan)! The game goes on and its coming down to the wire... we have about 1 minute to go in the game and we are tied, I have a player at the free throw line shooting 2! She misses the first one and everyone gasps, there is a small problem with the announcer on the microphone, he's screaming in the mic every time we are on the free throw line! Everyone is calmed down and the announcer is relieved of his duties, we shoot the second free throw and its good! Time out is called, My player that missed the free throw is crushed about missing, I simply walk over to her and say no worries we are about to get a monster stop and we ARE going to win this game! She looks at me like yea ok, time out over, they get the ball and what do you know the ref calls a traveling violation, our ball! Im jumping and screaming and nervous all at the same time.. my team is poised and get to the other end of the court and get fouled! We are shooting 2! We make both free throws and now we are up 3, Im thinking we cant go into OT my team wont survive, I look at the scoreboard and realize we are up 3 and if we foul they will shoot 2 free throws and I start screaming FOUL FOUL FOUL! No one hears me, but at the last possible second Noelle Hears me and foul Natasha Lacy just as she's on her way to the basket! Whew close call! She steps to the line for the first one CLANG, she misses it! She makes the next one and we advance the ball, they end up fouling and we knock down to more free throws! WE WIN, WE WIN! My first game as an assistant coach and we win a game that the odds were against us! Wow what an amazing feeling! Now that we won that game I have the task of rallying my girls for another win at home!

I just relived that moment in this blog!! I've learned many lessons in my life and I know that the things that I have experienced from sitting on the bench and learning from great leaders like Katie Smith, Deanna Nolan, Rick Mahorn and Cheryl Reeve will make me a better player and a better leader as I enter a new chapter in my career! TULSA HERE I COME!

P.S. My shoulder is doing good.. Sitting out is a precautionary measure! Definitely have to make sure Im healthy for my first season in Tulsa!

Part taking in the rich culture that Israel has to offer

The playoffs is the time where most teams are at a peak in the season, everyone knows their role and is fulfilling it to their best ability. Well my team has a bit of difficult with that! Everyone thinks that basketball is basketball all over the world and its true in some aspects. Let me try to explain the difference between WNBA basketball and international basketball! WNBA basketball is based on talent, skills and the ability to fit within a system, international basketball is based on your citizenship. If you are an American, you will play 40 mins and be expected to win all games yourself. This concept is hard for the international players because that limits their time on the court. With that said this is why my team has such difficulty! Unlike most teams who have 3 Americans, we have 4 players who have either played in the WNBA or who are currently playing in the WNBA which leaves one spot open for the rest of the team to play! This is one of our major barriers that we have yet to find a happy medium with. Its hard to be a player that is expected to do so much and be so close to the Israelis! I say this because they wanna play just like the next person but their is only 40 mins for them to split between 4 players! Its hard to win a game to advance to the next round in the playoffs and have your teammates upset because they didn't play the mins that they thought they would. But what do I know, I've never been in this position ever in my life (sarcastically speaking). I explain to them all the time that its not about the mins you play but about what you give us when you are out there! We then have this never ending argument about how they cant get into the game because they play for a minute then get taken out of the game (I haven't been there before either)! I let the issue go and tell them to go get a dvd of any Detroit Shock game starting in 2005 and tell me that you couldn't find something to do in those few mins on the court that could possibly lead to more mins the next game! Enough for that needless to say we moved on o the second round of playoffs and have so many more games to come!

After working hard its always a plus to party hard, so on Friday here in Israel they have holiday called Purim, which is similar to our Halloween in which they dress up in costumes! So since Im loved by everyone over here and Im so silly, the sports channel here wanted to do something special with a couple mens and women's basketball players for Purim! So I met with the producer, crew and the mens basketball players and found out that my role was to be a costume designer and I had to dress all of the mens players! Can u say hilarious!!!! There was one bit of information that they waited til the last minute to inform me that I would be wearing a costume and they had it already picked out to me! The costume of choice was a DOMINATRIX! I was a good sport about it and put it on, I got into character quick after my make-up and costume was on. I had a blast doing the show, hopefully when it airs everyone who watches it will die laughing too. So on to my own costume of choice for my first Purim party, I searched high and low for the right costume and I found it after 2 whole hours of searching, I was gonna be a Brazilian Carnival Queen! My outfit was banging, my roomies also got into the spirt, they were dressed as Little Bow Peep, a Gypsy, and a Bunny!!! We were one of the few Americans that actually got into the holiday spirit! We even enter the costume contest but we didn't win, Austin Powers won!

Often times we complain about our life being hard but really we are BLESSED and it takes seeing someone in down and out to make us realize that we could have it worst! The city where I play in is known for crime and poverty, the team is the only positive thing going for the people of this city. After shopping all day looking for our Purim costumes, we are driving thru our neighborhood when I spot a young girl who may have been 8 or 9 years old digging thru the garbage near the bakery. I ask my teammate to stop the car so that I could see what she was digging for, it turns out that she was digging for the bread that the bakery had thrown out! Our hearts went out to the little girl, we turned the car around and went back! We tried repetitively to get her to come over to the car but of course she spoke no English and we didn't speak any Hebrew, after she got close enough to see what we wanted, we gave her 200 shekels ($50 USD)! If u could've seen the look on her face it was truly priceless! Moral of the story give from the heart because you never know whose life you might change with just a small gesture!

Jerusalem.. The Place Where It All Started

Well for the first time in over a month I actually woke up and left my apartment while the sun was still shining. Today was destined to be a wonderful day. Why you ask? Today is the day that I head to Jerusalem on a sightseeing venture with Noelle Quinn, my assistant coach Noa Ricanti, Edwige Lawson-Wade and her sister. This day was deemed to be an adventure from the moment we hit the road. All five of us decided to pile in my Mazda 6 (which was the biggest car of all of us) and set out towards Jerusalem, which was only 35 to 40 minutes away from Ramla. Well me are on our merry little way when my car starts to act strange! We all glance at each other like did you hear that? Needless to say we keep going never hesitating to check out the noises, so about 10 minutes before our scheduled arrival in Jerusalem, the car decides that its gonna make the noises louder and not pick up speed at all! Luckily we are near an exit off the highway and make it to a safe destination before the care just completely quits on us. We call the rental car company and they tell us wait 20 to 25 minutes and we will have you another car! As we wait on the arrival of our replacement car we decide to walk the streets and see some of the sights in the village that we were in, we didn't have to go far. On the side of the road there was a stand that was selling some bread and hummus (Israeli dip), we venture over and check things out when we realize they are actually cooking something over there. The Israeli people are very resourcefully, they have made a metal barrel in to some sort of barbecue pit and place a round pan over the top to cook one of the local delicacies. We were amazed by the popularity of this style of cooking because we all know that if we say this in America we would think that something was wrong and never give the food a try. So after we are done exploring we notice that twenty five minutes come and gone and still no sign of a car, after an hour of patiently waiting the tow truck with another car arrives. We all cheer for the new car until we get it off of the tow truck and realize that its a Hundai Accent. Lets see we have 5 people in the car 2 of which are 6' and over and 2 which at 5'9" or 5'10" and a short person in the back! Lets talk about a tight squeeze, Noelle and my knees are in the dashboard while the others are practically sitting on top of each other. All that doesnt matter at that point because we were just glad to have a car to continue our journey up the road to Jerusalem! That joy all ended when we got on the highway and realized that this car is not so great after all because it has no pickup! We were getting passed by all the old people on the road driving 60mph, so that made a 10 minute drive more like 25 minutes.

Ahhh we made it to Jerusalem finally and I have my camera in hand all ready to snap a picture of everything! The first thing we see after getting out of the car is this building with writing all over it. I know what you are thinking, its just graffiti, we see it everyday in the states but actually it was a building that had been up for a hundred years and when it was taken apart the first time the builders wanted to make sure that every stone was put back into its exact place as before so they numbered every single brick! Can you imagine how long that took to put it back together again? Next stop was inside the walls of the Old City, we are making our way through the crowded streets trying to make our way to the next stop, but we cant quite make it there in a timely manner because every shop owner along the way tries to drag you into his store to have you purchase any and everything within his store! Geez can I please see the sights before I start spending my money on things that I don't even know the meaning of? Whew, I make it out without purchasing anything, I'm one of the few survivors that can actually say that. Next stop the area where Jesus met his mother for the last time, where his body was brought after being taken off the cross and bathed, and also the cave where his body lies. You want to talk about a chilling experience, well this is it! As we enter this area, in the front entrance was the place where the people brought Jesus after being taken down from the cross to be bathed. Noelle, Edwige and myself had the opportunity to do what some many others wish they could do and that was to place our hands on the very place that Jesus laid his head for the last time. Behind the place where they bathed Jesus, there was a mural of his last moments before his burial! Its so amazing to actually see these events in one picture. Next step was to view the place where Jesus met his mother for the last time, the area was beautiful, everything was a shiny gold and just a marvelous sight to see.. Now to the what everyone comes to Jerusalem for, thats the place where Jesus' body was laid to rest! It was an experience that you cant describe what emotions are going through your body as you enter the cave where his tomb is and actually get to kneel and pray before his body.

As I sit here and try to describe the sights and emotions that I was experiencing, I feel them going through my body all over again! All in all this was my favorite trip in all my years of playing professionally overseas. I KNOW that Ill NEVER forget this trip ever in my life! If you get the chance you should come experience and gain the knowledge that I have from visiting Jerusalem.