January 27, 1999

The following is not a typical athlete's journal entry. You will not read about how many points were scored, who won, or who was difficult to guard--especially because now it's the offseason. So, you will not find a box score or read about the officiating, either. Instead, you will experience The World According To Me. Each week, I'll be posting another entry, so stay tuned...

Greetings from Seattle, Washington where I am in the midst of an accelerated fitness training program. For the next two weeks I will be living in a gym and exhausting myself physically and mentally. Good thing I'm writing this "World" now. In 14 days it would most likely read, "blah blah blah blah blah."

January was a pretty exciting month. Adventures abounded, fun lurked around every corner and I was fairly successful in sticking to my New Year's resolutions. A chronological assessment of my month follows.

Early January. For the first time in my life I went ice skating in Rockefeller Center. My feet hadn't been in skates since I was a little kid so I was struggling a bit on the ice. I had to hold on to the sides of the rink for a while to prevent myself from falling down and taking some 5-year-old future Tara Lipinski with me. I'm sure I provided some amusement for the folks who were watching. (Keep in mind that the skates made me about 6-foot-7.) If I wasn't entertaining enough, there was a man skating on the ice wearing a red plastic helmet and a hockey jersey. He wasn't holding a stick but was pretending to be playing. He was weaving in and out of people on the ice and scored an imaginary goal about every 15 minutes. At this point, he would throw his arms in the air and celebrate what I assumed was a game-winning goal. (I waited for him to say, "has anybody seen my baseball?" - from Something About Mary). I was just relieved that he didn't think I was an opponent who needed to be checked into the boards. That would've been fun.

My skating experience happened to be the same day the NBA lockout was resolved. As I walked around midtown Manhattan, I ended up right where the union member vote was to be held. I was accosted by news reporters who wanted my take on the end of the lockout (these people were obviously scared that they wouldn't be able to get any kind of sound byte from an NBAer). I answered their questions with my very best vagueness and hoped that the footage would never be seen since I was wearing a babooshka hat that made me look like a Russian tourist.

Mid-January. I took a trip to Ruston, Louisiana as part of the ESPN broadcast crew to do the UConn-LA Tech women's basketball game. After deplaning, I was pleased to step outside into 70-degree weather. I had to chuckle when I turned the radio on and a Barry White-like voice said, "I know it is a little chilly outside, so we're going to warm you up with the next song." They really thought it was chilly down there.WOW. I chuckled again (what does a chuckle even sound like?) when I went to the mall and saw gold teeth for sale. I'm thinking about getting a set of gold incisors for the season, maybe engraved with my initials.

Late-January. I was in the city for a surprise birthday party and saw the Liberty's PR person, Maureen Coyle. I've been trying to convince her to plant a story in Page Six (local gossip column) that I was seen skating in Rock Center doing a triple axle with the latest male Calvin Klein underwear model. Maureen didn't think anyone would believe the story.but what gossip is true?!?

After the party I had to go to the airport and catch my flight to Seattle. The weather wasn't very good and even though my favorite New York weather girl told me "there's a low ceiling, you might not get out" - referring not to the store across the street but the fog over head - I ventured to the airport. I had an enjoyable cab ride with a driver who had driven Spoon last season. He told me they talked about tattoos.Spoon's basketball on her leg and his naked woman tattoo on his thigh. He told me he got the artwork done while he was "incarcerated upstate." Nothing like making your passenger feel safe and comfortable. (Actually, he was a super nice guy who I truly enjoyed riding with). The ride ended up being for naught as my flight was canceled and I had to spend another night in the city.

This extra night gave me time to Just wonder...

 what the indoor temperature must be before someone opens a window (in the winter.)

 if people with glasses still wear black athletic bands to keep their specs secure while working out

 what is the best dog toy ever invented

 why there would be a program on the Learning Channel about the mating habits of monkeys at 12 midnight

 why I'd be watching

 if anyone else was watching

Let me know if there is anything you've been just wondering about! I'll be back in two weeks to my regular schedule (which includes a knitting class with Latrell Sprewell on Tuesday nights. By the way, I heard that he's a "good guy"). Until then. blah blah blah blah blah.