"What I Did on My Summer Vacation"

Posted: August 3, 2004

Since a good chunk of its players are heading overseas to participate in the Olympics, the WNBA is in official break mode for the month of August. That gives most players a rare, extended mid-season vacation to rest up, veg out and basically do whatever until the season resumes in early September. A few members of the Mercury took some time out of their soon-to-be not-too-busy schedules to talk about their big plans.

MERCURY GUARD NIKKI McCRAY

“My kids are going to Disneyland. I don’t know if I’m going to go. I think I’ll use that time to rest and really enjoy my house, work out and have fun. I’ll go out on my boat. It’s not a big, big boat. It’s not a pontoon. It’s like a speedboat. It’s pretty nice. I have a log cabin. I live on a lake. My husband will probably fish, and I’ll probably clean the house. I guess that’s what wives do, I guess. I have workout equipment; it’s not a workout facility. I have a sponsorship with Bally’s Total Fitness, so I can always drive over there.”

MERCURY FORWARD GWEN JACKSON

“I'm going home to Alabama. My sister's pregnant, so I'm going home rub her stomach. I'm just looking at it as a chance to see my family. They never really get to come see me and I'm so far over on the side of the world now.”

(On watching the Olympics)
“This year, I hope they show it more. In the last couple of Olympics, they haven't shown women's baksetball like they've shown everything else, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. I think it's going to be a good competition. You've got Lauren (Jackson) and Penny (Taylor) playing for their Australian team, so it's going to be tough.”

(On USA vs. Australia)
“You never know. The women are talented. Having a chance to playing with teams, I know that there's just as much talent over there as there is here. But, I'm a USA fan. Go USA.”

MERCURY FORWARD KAYTE CHRISTENSEN

“I'm very excited about the break. I'm tired. Anna DeForge and I were saying today that out season would be over in about three weeks (without the Olympics), so that would explain why my body hurts so much.

“I'm going to fly out and meet my boyfriend in California, and we're going to take a trip up the coast. We're going to go to Santa Barbara to visit some friends, then Santa Cruz and San Francisco, and we're ending it with about five days in Lake Tahoe.”

(On watching the Olympics)
“I am an Olympic fan. I will definitely be watching, especially since I know some people in it. I'm a volleyball fan. I like watching the beach volleyball. The last Olympics, it was a UCSB alum who won the gold medal. I also really like watching track and field.

“But, I am going to enjoy my time and not necessarily be glued to the TV the whole time, so we'll see.”

(On breaking with team playing well)
“It's tough to stop and it's tough because when we come back we have a really tough schedule. We play some playoff teams right when we come back and we're not going to be together the whole time. We're going to missing two members of our team and that's going to be tough, but it's going to be a good opportunity for us to let our bodies rest, and get in shape again and gain some strength. I've already lost 10 pounds since the beginning of the season, so it will be a good chance to build up some muscle and just work on individual skills. It will be a good break, for sure.”

MERCURY GUARD DIANA TAURASI

“I've got a trip that's going to last a lifetime. Going to Athens, going to the Olympics. I'm just going to try and soak it up as much as possible. After the season's over, I'm taking a good four months off and going to Cancun or Aruba, wherever I can go. I'll turn the cell phone off, and (Director of Communications) Tami Nealy won't even be able to reach me.”