With Sunday’s come-from-behind 91-88 win at Phoenix, the Seattle Storm won the Western Conference Championship and advanced to the WNBA Finals for the second time in franchise history. The Storm trailed by as many as 19 points and was down 12 with 3:21 to play, but finished the game with a 15-0 run capped by Sue Bird’s game-winning three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in what was a tie game. The victory swept the Mercury, the defending league champion, and kept the Storm undefeated in the postseason.

Already, the Storm posted the best winning percentage in a regular season in Seattle pro sports history, going 28-6 (.824) to tie the WNBA record for wins in a season, including 17-0 at home. The Storm has swept through the first two rounds of the postseason and awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Atlanta Dream leads the New York Liberty 1-0.

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals will be played on Sunday at 12 noon with Game 2 on Tuesday at KeyArena. The Storm would also host Game 5, if necessary, on Tuesday, Sept. 21. For tickets and more information, check out stormbasketball.com.

OKC’s Nenad Krstic attempts to play the role of hockey goon in a world championships warm up match between Serbia and Greece.  It managed to get him arrested.

From ESPN:

The fight began when Greece forward Antonis Fotsis had moved threateningly against Serbia guard Milos Teodosic, who had fouled him. Krstic grabbed Fotsis by the throat and threw a chair toward Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who was pursuing him. The chair hit Yannis Bouroussis, who had not played because of a hand injury, and left him with a bloody wound on the side of his head.

The teams were finally separated after they had carried the fray off the court.

Prosecutor Costas Simitzoglou released Krstic pending an investigation into the brawl. Investigators from Greece’s sports violence squad will examine video footage of the game and take statements from witnesses before deciding whether to bring charges.

Krstic returned to his hotel after being released and was due to leave Athens for Belgrade later on Friday. The rest of the Serbia team returned earlier.

“I don’t know the rules, but I hope I won’t be punished,” Krstic told Serbian media. “An [act of] stupidity was committed, and I hope they will not punish us. The Greeks started the brawl, there were no guards and the [Greek] fans entered the court … If they punish me, they must do it to others as well.”

The late Dennis Johnson was (finally) among those inducted into the Hall of Fame today.

Basketball Hall of Fame for Dennis Johnson (NBA.com)

DJ is gone, the victim of a fatal heart attack in 2007, but Donna and the family will be the emotion, Larry Bird and other former teammates will be the memories, and anyone who saw him play will be the rooting section.

Dennis was a unique player on unique teams who is being inducted in unique circumstances. That much is obvious.

It goes beyond the void, though. DJ is entering the Hall of Fame not out of some emotional tug by voters — he would have gone in years ago if that was the case — but because he was one of the great stoppers of his generation and an integral part of championship teams in Seattle (1979) and Boston (1984 and ‘86).

Oh, and Larry Bird called him the best teammate he ever had.

Not one of the best. Not some schmoozing statement about how it was a privilege to play with Johnson, the kind of canned statements typically released around balloting time.
Larry Legend said, flat out, DJ was the best, and he said it numerous times years before the election.
Good luck finding more of a shining statement.

Games are often about match-ups. Unless you want the opposing team’s superstar shooting guard, or small forward, to light up the scoreboard, you need a defender that is up to the task. But, you do not want a player whose game is so out of balance that he becomes a liability on the other end of the floor, like the 76ers’ Bobby Jones.

A very good all-around game, intelligent team player, and a superstar defender: Dennis Johnson.

Gone, but not forgotten.

any Sonics fans feel free to show up in your green and gold to get on TV this thursday…

Come see Lenny Wilkens,Gus Williams and Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon on King5’s New Day Northwest this Thursday am, Aug 5th. Be in the studio audience to cheer them on as they talk Sonics, basketball history! Seats are free! Audience in at 9:30…

I’m really leaning toward the Sacramento Kings as the team I want to follow this year. Something about DeMarcus Cousins that I want to follow. I have this weird feeling that him and Tyreke Evans are going to be one of the most entertaining duos in the NBA when it comes to the sheer “holy sh!t did they really just do that?” factor. I’m looking for cheap thrills right now and they seem like the type of crew I could follow.

If only their jerseys weren’t so damn ugly…