Time Outs

Updated: May 6, 2004

Playing away from the ball. When the final buzzer sounds and Mercury players get some welcomed time off, there are a varied number of ways they like to relax. From movies to books to talking on the phone, there are as many methods of diverson to get away from the game as there are ladies on the team.

We asked a few of your favorite players what they do to unwind during the season and how they like to spend their off time between WNBA campaigns.

MERCURY CENTER ASHLEY ROBINSON

"I love to eat, I love to sleep, I love to hang out and now that I’m in Phoenix I’m going to love to be out in the sun a lot, when it’s not as hot. I like to go shopping, go to movies, and hang out with my friends, most of all. I’ll watch anything. Funny, drama, I love the dramatic movies. I love getting all into it and either being really scared or really kind with the movie. The last movie I saw was Ladykillers and that did not blow me away. I saw Pirates of the Caribbean and I really liked it. It was awesome."

MERCURY GUARD NIKKI MCCRAY

"I watch soap operas. I’m a soap opera fan. I start out with The Young and the Restless, All My Children, General Hospital, One Life to Live, 30 minutes a day each. I watch them every year when I get a chance to go home and during the day (in the season) because you’re pretty free. Practice is from 10-12 and then you have the rest of the day to watch soap operas.

"I love music, just about everything. Gospel, R&B, rap, but only what I hear on the radio. I don’t go out and buy the rap CDs. I love country. I’m a huge fan of LeAnn Rimes and Faith Hill."

MERCURY GUARD DIANA TAURASI

"ESPN. I watch ESPN all day, everyday. Movies, music, I’ll go shopping. I have a lot of CDs and DVDs. I go from Tupac Shakur, who’s my favorite, to Sublime to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. So I’m all over the map. I love SportsCenter, ESPN News, PTI. I just like sports. I like to know what’s going on."

MERCURY FORWARD SHEREKA WRIGHT

"Sleeping and cleaning. For some reason, I’ve just got to clean. I make my apartment a mess, and I’ll get cleaning. I’ll clean or wash clothes or change the apartment around. It’s relaxing.

"I’m a big fan of music videos. I’m always watching MTV, BET. I flip back and forth. My parents tell me I don’t watch enough news. I’m always watching videos. Dad always says, `You don’t know what’s going on in the world. Stop watching videos.’ He’d ask me, `You watch the news today?’ `Oh, yeah dad. I watched it.’ `What do you know today?’ `Uh, stock market’s down."

MERCURY FORWARD PLENETTE PIERSON

"I do a lot of talking on the phone, and I like to watch TV. My favorite shows are on Court TV and Discovery Health. I love watching those shows because they're so informative. I like to watch movies too, but I’m so cheap I don’t even go to the movie theaters.

"During the season, we’re always on the go and with all the traveling I just try to catch up on some rest when I can. I spend a lot of time with my teammates and whoever my roommate is. We might go out and eat, and just talk about things other than basketball.

"I’m getting my laptop when I go home for the All-Star break and I’m so excited because I’ve been away from the computer for what seems like forever. I feel like without it, I’m not in touch with the world. I love the Internet. Checking out all the websites and the chat lines are my favorite things, and instant messaging my friends. I love eBay too. Most of the hotels we stay at have the outlets to plug computers into your phone or an actual Internet plug-in so it’s very easy to surf the Net when we’re on the road."

MERCURY GUARD ANNA DE FORGE

"After practices on the road, I like to rewind and relax. I like watching movies, and it’s also a good time for me to return phone calls. We usually stay in the downtown areas of the cities we go to, so it’s fun to just get out and see the sights. The WNBA is a perfect opportunity for me to see the big cities around the country. Even though I’m tired and the season is very compact and condensed, the teams we play are located in great cities and we do get to see a little of them when we go there to play.

"I’m a big movie fan. Romances are always nice and I like comedies, too. Pretty Woman is my favorite movie of all time, then Boomerang. I love all different kinds of music, although I’m not really a country buff. I like mostly R&B, but I like a lot of different music. I like to read autobiographies and I like to read about Vince Lombardi since I’m a huge Packer fan. My favorite basketball books are Bill Bradley’s 'The Value of the Game' and Phil Jackson’s 'Sacred Hoops.' Those are two very good books.

"In the offseason, I like to travel. I like to go to big cities and sightsee, relax and hang out. I like to work out. Obviously I still have to maintain that. I like to weight train and get on the court to work on fundamentals and my skills to stay sharp.

"I am also involved in putting on basketball camps in the offseason. We give free clinics, we have camps and we do private, individual lessons. I have different basketball camps in different states. I’ll go to Michigan; I’ll go to Wisconsin and Texas. I’m thinking about having one in Phoenix as well.

"Mostly, I just like to take time off and relax. I catch up with my family, my friends and of course, I always like to shop."