Shot Clock Violation. Although the FIBA World Championship gets underway today, there are reports from a Brazilian WNBA fan (thanks, BCBG!) that the Lithuanian team may not be able to enter the country. It seems they did not get the malaria shots they needed for a Brazilian visa in time. Hello, team manager???

The Maher the (not so) Merrier. Mystics fans watching the USA play China later today may notice a very familiar face on the bench for China: their coach, Tom Maher. As the BasketCases recall all too well, Maher, the former coach of the Australian national team, was brought up from down under to coach the Mystics in 2001. He was coach number five for the team, entering its fourth season. After running the team into the ground finishing with a 10-22 record, tied for worst in the league, Maher "resigned" in early 2002. (We long-time Mystics fans have really suffered, haven't we?)

Back to School. Okay, loyal blog readers, can you name the Mystics Head Coach who succeeded Tom Maher? If you said "Marianne Stanley" without having to look it up, you would not only be correct but, like the BasketCases, you would also be long-suffering. (And you have our condolences.) Stanley, who coached the Mystics in 2002 (going 17-15, the team's first winning season) and in 2003 (9-25, yikes!!) and then "resigned" (a common move by Mystics coaches) was most recently an Assistant Coach for the New York Liberty. Well, Stanley has just left the Libs and signed on as an Assistant to legendary Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer. It sure is getting harder and harder to keep track of all the Mystics coaching alums!