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mb

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/116517

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0517mercury17.html

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0517mercury17.html

Quote: "Last year is over. Penny's not coming back," first-year Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said. "So that may give us an incentive to play even harder, and now we can do it without Penny."

Quote: The Mercury took two of three from the Sparks last season with Pondexter averaging 20.3 points in those games.

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Admiral_Needa · Joined: 21 Jul 2004 Posts: 63 Location: Tiburon, CA

Smile guys... you're on TV :P

lisa · Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 62 Location: South Phoenix

Considering we were at a disadvantage (our team did not have preseason to develop), we kept it close (and could have won) against the Sparks. And if they're the "best" team in the West, we have the potential to do very well.

cbibat · Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 232

as much as I would have loved a win, I figured with the Sparks being in camp all together and us with Diana, Cappie, Kelly, Tangela dribbling in, that we would be beaten badly. It was a great game!!!! looking forward to a super season!!! :D

gillomfan · Joined: 16 Jun 2002 Posts: 262

I am very pleased with the Mercury's performance today. Considering all the things against us we could have been blown out of the building but we played very well. It came down to the wire and we could have won. I love the poster by Cappie's locker, "Double Vision." That is great. We are going to be just fine and I have the utomost confidence we will repeat.

Love the ring too. I have worn it most of the day and still have it on. It is really nice. Special thanks to the Mercury office for getting them for us. They did not have to do that. It has finally fully sank in we are champions. GO MERCURY!

mb · Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject:

http://www.wnba.com/games/20080517/LASPHO/boxscore.html

http://www.wnba.com/games/20080517/LASPHO/recap.html

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/116582

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0518mercuryside0518.html

mb · Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 11:32 pm Post subject:

http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/quotes_080517.html

Quote: MERCURY HEAD COACH COREY GAINES: “They played hard. I can’t ask for more. Cappie just flew in and Dee just flew in; we haven’t practiced together yet. I was happy. We didn’t win the game. Of course everyone wants to win, but you can’t win every game and we did what we needed to do.”

(On the end of the game) “We were right there. It wasn’t like there was some terrible mix up or players were confused. We just missed a couple of shots and they hit a couple of shots.”

Quote: MERCURY GUARD CAPPIE PONDEXTER (32 PTS, 7 ASSTS):“I feel extremely positive. We only have five players from last year’s championship team and everyone else is new, so we’re still trying to get a feel for each other. I think our inside depth is really good this year. Crockett did a great job of playing physical, pushing Lisa around and making her work for her points.”

(On the last shot)
“I was grabbed twice when I was trying to take the shot. I apologize to the team for getting a technical foul. It was a critical moment and we still had a chance to win the game.”

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mb · Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 11:39 pm Post subject:

http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/mercury_rings_080517.html

Quote: Despite the end result, the start of the Mercury’s title defense still managed to have a nice ring to it on Saturday. Prior to the team’s afternoon affair against the Sparks, the team received their much anticipated championship rings in front of 13,749 screaming fans.

The attendance ranked second all-time in Mercury home openers, trailing only Phoenix’s first game in franchise history back in 1997. The large turnout helped make for an emotional and unforgettable afternoon.

“It was a great ceremony and you could see a lot of people worked hard to put it together,” Mercury General Manager Ann Meyers Drysdale said. “It’s always tough preparing yourself emotionally for something like that and I think the video was really, really well done.”

Quote: Pondexter then pointed to a framed poster next to her locker featuring two WNBA Championship trophies and the phrase: Double Vision.

“This is our motivation, this picture here. Double vision is what we have right now and we want to win another championship, that’s our goal.”

Quote: Pondexter had been playing overseas in the Women's EuroLeague, and didn’t return to the Valley until late Friday night. Despite not enjoying a single practice with the team, Pondexter still finished with an impressive 32 points and seven assists.

“I actually didn’t meet with Cappie until 9:30 this morning,” Mercury Head Coach Corey Gaines said following the team’s 12:30 game. “I wasn’t worried with Cappie though, she’s a trooper. I showed her a couple of plays this morning and she told me she was ready. She scored 32 points tonight and I can’t wait to see what she does with a couple hours worth of sleep.”

Pondexter had trouble departing Turkey late Friday night, but said before the game she didn’t expect it to be an issue.

“I’m working on three hours of sleep but I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” Pondexter said just before the contest. “My trip overseas was a lot of fun and right now I’m just glad to be back in Phoenix.”

As predicted, the frequent flyer miles acquired by the former Rutgers standout were not a problem, although the guard does expect it to catch up with her.

“I’m probably going to feel it tonight,” Pondexter said. “I rode all the adrenaline through the game today and am glad coach already told us we’ll have tomorrow to rest up. I have a feeling I’m going to need it."

Quote: Although it was an afternoon game, the stars were shining for the Mercury on Saturday. Among those in attendance were Suns All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, former Suns Dan Majerle and Mark West, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Eagles Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb.

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