MYSTICS DRAFT DAY PARTY

The enormously fan-friendly Mystics held a draft-viewing party this afternoon at the ESPN Zone in downtown Washington. Although it was a work day, one of the BasketCases was able to attend and provide this eyewitness report. (It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it!)

The festivities got under way at noon, an hour before the draft, with a warm welcome from Mystics President Sheila Johnson and COO Curtis Symonds, two of the most approachable team execs in the league.

As we waited for the draft to begin, Tamara James and Alana Beard modeled the new WNBA uniforms for the crowd, our first in-person glimpse of what the players will be wearing this season.

The players liked the look of the uniforms -- "they will make a statement," said James -- but both found the shorts "too tight." Fortunately, we were told, they come in larger sizes!

USA Today's Oscar Dixon answered questions from the crowd, including the BasketCases' query about why it's so hard for women's sports to get media attention and what he considers when deciding what to cover. Dixon noted the low attendance at some of the NCAA Regional sites, and said a newspaper's job is to cover what its readers are interested in. If attendance doesn't indicate sufficient interest, the paper won't cover the event. "It's not our job to promote a sport," said Dixon.

Alana Beard, now in civvies, mingled with the fans and graciously signed autographs. Asked the inevitable question about Coach G leaving Duke, Alana said it made her sad.


The Mystics' war room was actually in the ESPN Zone, behind glass doors and not far from where the fans were seated. Before the picks of Bernice Mosby and Megan Vogel in the first and second rounds, respectively, Sheila Johnson and Linda Hargrove emerged to tell the crowd in advance of the TV announcement who the Mystics would be choosing and why. They candidly answered questions about the picks and what we should expect. They were extremely excited to get these two players and had had their eyes on them for some time. In the third round, Linda explained they would be picking the best available player. When that turned out to be Gillian Goring, a huge cheer of approval went up from the few die-hard fans who were still left (it was now about 3 PM), many of whom (including the BasketCases of course) had seen Goring play in the ACC. And New York's selection of Shay Doron in the second round also drew loud cheers, as well as the familiar "Shay Shay Shay" chant of the Maryland fans. It was particularly special to see the emotion, joy, and pride on the faces of Shay's parents and Coach Frese, all of whom were with Shay in the WNBA studio.


Linda Hargrove and Sheila Johnson, obviously very happy about how things were going. Linda described Mosby as "a young DeLisha Milton-Jones." She said "you will love her."


Head Coach Richie Adubato explaining what a great athlete Megan Vogel is. When asked about his sweater, Richie said, "It cost two dollars." Well, Richie, as our grandmothers used to say, "You get what you pay for." (Seriously, Richie was, as always, a dazzling display of color.)


A long but extremely fun-filled afternoon draws to a close, as Linda stops to watch some of the action on TV.

Photo Credits: DC BasketCases