Log on to WashingtonMystics.com every day to read what Mystics players, coaches and staff are sharing with fans (and each other). Players, coaches and staff rotate throughout the week, with Mystics COO, Greg Bibb, checking in every Thursday.
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Friday, November 6th - Lauren Lafayette encourages readers to "DoRAK". [permalink]
Good Morning Mystics Fans,
Don't you all just love this time of year? The leaves are changing, the air is becoming crisper and folks have started to pack away the ghoulish Halloween decorations for more traditional harvest décor. While I have never been a huge fan of Thanksgiving and Halloween; the holiday season (i.e. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza [my apologies for any I have left out]) is my favorite time of the year and I am so excited!
For many, the pinnacle of the season is in the gift exchange; but for me it is the thrill of seeing the somewhat distant and impersonal demeanor of those around me disappear. This is especially true in and around the District. Similar to other major east coast cities, people in Metro DC do not usually take the time to hold the door for you in a public building, speak in passing or take the time to exchange other pleasantries that are customary in the Midwest. However, during this time of the year the entire "swag" of the city takes step in a more positive direction as residents of the area start to appreciate mankind for the contributions that each of us make, embracing the true spirit of the season.
While this shift will be short lived, (as I have sadly come to find out in my last two years in the area) I will enjoy it while it lasts and hope that the New Year brings about a change for the better in all of us. So taking a cue from the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!!), I invite all of you to "DoRAK" (Do Random Acts of Kindness) throughout the holiday season and try to "Unite [these] individual acts of kindness into a significant movement every day" thereafter to make the world a better place in the New Year.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I looking forward to chatting in 2010!!
Until next time...
Thursday, November 5th - Greg Bibb checks in. [permalink]
Great news from Atlanta last week as Kathy Betty was introduced as the new owner of the Atlanta Dream. Ms. Betty is a well-respected, long-time member of the greater Atlanta business community. I’m excited to meet her at this week’s WNBA business meetings in New York City.
The Dream made great strides on the court last year, completing the second greatest year-to-year turnaround in League history. Atlanta improved by 14 wins, going from 4-30 in the club’s inaugural season to 18-16 last year. Marynell Meadors was named WNBA Coach of the Year and Angel McCoughtry was recognized as the League’s Rookie of the Year. With the new ownership in place, the Dream seems poised to translate on-court success to wining results on the business side of the organization.
The Atlanta announcement followed the arrival of the Tulsa WNBA group just two weeks prior. Thus, in the last month, the WNBA has gone through a significant change and one that I think will pay dividends for years to come. All of these changes followed a post-season of unprecedented success with record attendance at the WNBA Finals and television ratings for the series that grew by over 70% from a year ago.
I have never felt better about where we are going as a League. I think our time is now and 2010 is going to be a banner year for the WNBA and the Washington Mystics. I know we just finished the 2009 campaign, but I can’t wait for training camp!
Welcome
The calendar has turned to November and we are now fully staffed, up and running here at the Mystics front office. I have mentioned some of these folks before, but I thought it would be nice to recognize Dave Deal (Sr. Director of Business Development), Rob Hur (Director of Corporate Partnerships), LaRhonda Lombardi (Corporate Partnerships Coordinator), Chuck Kacsur (Graphic Designer) and Kim Peters (Account Executive) one more time as the Mystics “class of 2010” is all present and accounted for as of Monday. A special welcome to our two new interns, Angie Allison and Andrea Smith, as well.
Happy Anniversary
Here’s a Happy Anniversary wish to Mystics Corporate Partnerships Coordinator Liz Sellers who celebrated one year with the organization on Tuesday. We’re glad you are here, Liz.
Birthday/Halloween Rewind
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have always loved Halloween, in part because it is also my birthday. In fact, my mom was trick-or-treating with my older brothers when she went into labor with me, so you could say I have the holiday in my blood.
The fun factor for Halloween has officially been raised to a new level now though as Adelyn participated in her first trick-or-treat on Saturday night. Thanks to her buddy William Hundt (and his mom and dad), we had a great neighborhood to explore in search of tasty treats. On a night of many memories, I think my favorite was Adelyn’s comments to William while waiting for William to finish getting his candy from a particular house…“hurry up, William, more doors, more candy.” I found this to be quite an astute observation from a two-year old who quickly caught on to how the whole process worked.
Of course, trick-or-treat night was just the final event in what seemed like a week-long schedule of parties and celebrations that took our little “Mystics player” and her mom/chauffer to numerous parties around town. If there was any doubt before, my daughter clearly now has a better social calendar than her father. I just hope to stay hip enough to land invites to future events on her schedule.
If all of the fun throughout the week and on Saturday wasn’t enough, my parents came for a visit on Sunday to say hello to their granddaughter and to wish me a happy birthday. It was the perfect ending to a pretty great weekend….once again affirming my feeling that Halloween really is one of the best holidays.
Quote of the Week
“Do what you want to do, or others will do it first.”
Five Final (and sometimes random) Thoughts
• The NBA season is very young, but one thing is clear…the Wizards are going to win a boat load more games this year than they did during 2008-09. NBA basketball is back in the District in a big way.
• It seems the bar has been raised substantially for the Caps this season…not long ago, a playoff berth was a reason to celebrate, now we hear grumbles from the masses when the team loses…for the first time in seven games…expectations have never been higher for the city’s hockey team and I think they will continue to deliver.
• Congratulations to members of the Pacers Running Group who ran the New York City Marathon on Sunday. Mission Accomplished. Well done.
• Welcome back to Mystics account executive Nicole Jones who has returned to work after surgery to repair a broken ankle. In true competitor style, Ms. Jones suffered the injury during a recent high-stakes kick-ball game…we take winning and losing seriously around here.
• Please enjoy the writings of a couple of guest bloggers over the next two weeks as I will be away from the desk. I’ll be back with a special Thanksgiving edition of this space on November 26.
Until next time,
Go Mystics!
Wednesday, November 4th - Heather Locke checks in. [permalink]
Greetings Mystics Fans!
It has been almost two months since my last blog entry! Much has transpired since September; most of which you are probably aware regarding sports and current events.
My beloved Red Sox were knocked out of the postseason early; Now that the World Series is upon us, I have been reduced to cheering for my 29th favorite Major League team – the Phillies. I like Pedro’s chances tonight against a fatigued Pettitte on short rest.
Luckily, October also presents a wealth of athletic alternatives for the sane baseball fan who can’t stomach the site of pin stripes on the diamond. In the midst of postseason summer ball and my weekly football overload, I attended the Wizards Halloween home opener on Saturday! My prediction is the Wiz will win at least 50 games this year!
As noted, I am sure no one is in the market for a sports update so I’ll quit with the recap (for now). In Heather news: I booked a holiday trip to San Diego! This will be my first New Year’s Eve on the West Coast and I fully intend to celebrate on Pacific time and East Coast time…And Central time….and Mountain time….and what I like to call “Rebel time” in honor of Indiana and Arizona for fighting “the man” in non observance of Daylight Time! I trust that no one will dare accuse me of making excuses to celebrate – I’m trying not to exclude friends who are scattered around the country. (Unfortunately, I don’t think I would survive if I celebrated my friends abroad!!)
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Another first for me is my upcoming trip to State College, PA for my first Penn State football game! I have always had an affinity for the Penn State athletics program and I am honored and excited to see the legendary JoePa in live coaching action. Equally exciting and not to be ignored; I also plan to attend a women’s basketball game in the same weekend! (Insert here: Shout out to an awesome former Mystics intern who works with Penn State women’s basketball. Now I deserve a hook up with some gear or great seats, right?!)
Wishing everyone a great kickoff to the Holidays! I’m looking forward to a Thanksgiving reunion with my family and cousins (pictured in this blog)! While we enjoy the holiday spirit, the Mystics front office is also gearing up for another amazing season. Continue to check the website and contact us to hear about off season fun and new updates for 2010!
Cheers!
Heather
Tuesday, November 3rd - Coach Julie Plank goes all out for Halloween. Check out the pictures! [permalink]
Hello Mystics Fans!
I am checking in from the Midwest, where I have spent the last couple of weeks. It has been a nice break for me, and like I mentioned in my previous blog…I love visiting my Mom and family! This past weekend was Halloween, which I was able to celebrate both in Ohio and in Indiana. Oh how I love decorating the outdoors, dressing up for the kids, and passing out candy to all who stop by. You would not even believe all the costumes I have accumulated over the years! The trick-or-treaters are pleasantly surprised to ring my doorbell, and see ME dressed up, as the door opens. While the little ones may see a clown, a baseball player, or even a monkey, the older kids get scared by the witch, the wizard, and all sorts of other monsters. Check out these pictures of my Halloween fun! The first picture includes my nephews Matt (CC Sabathia) & Tim (Mario), my niece Jenna (OSU cheerleader) and their friends. The other pictures are of my neighbors in Indiana, many of whom still come by during their high school days! Can anyone guess who I am dressed as???
The final picture is of my brother Tom and brother-in-law Jim at Sunday night's World Series game. I was very fortunate to be able to get two tickets this year. Since my brother is turning 60 this December, my Mom and I decided to surprise him with an airline ticket to Philadelphia, to see Game 4. An avid Yankee fan, Tom surprised all of us by actually going to the game. While the easy part was going to the game, the hardest part was getting him to take a day off of work. What an exciting game he saw, with the Yankees winning, after a big 9th inning rally! I was ecstatic to be able to do this for such a wonderful brother and person!
I will be heading back to DC soon, as the draft lottery will be taking place this week, November 5th. It seems like so long ago, when we were awarded the #2 pick in the 2009 college draft. It was nice to pick-up Marissa Coleman, as she will continue to be a great player in the WNBA for years to come! Will the #1 pick in 2010 go to Minnesota, Sacramento, Connecticut or Chicago? We will soon find out…
Congratulations to the city of Tulsa for getting a WNBA franchise in 2010. It was also great news for Atlanta, getting a new managing partner in Kathy Betty. I must admit though, I am sad to see the Detroit franchise leave. After competing against them for so many seasons, you have to admire the winning tradition built by Bill Laimbeer, Cheryl Reeve, Rick Mahorn and the many talented players who came through that franchise. Thanks for some great memories and setting the bar so high for all of us!
Prior to the start of the collegiate season, I will be spending most of my time evaluating our 2009 summer. This would include watching each game from this past season, evaluating our training camp and practices, updating our team’s playbook, and coming up with ideas on how to make our players better. In order to improve as a franchise, you must spend the time critiquing how you do things, and always look for ways to get better. Not only do players have to improve, but our staff does as well. While it is good to recognize the strides our franchise has made this year, I am certainly one to focus more on the future! I get very excited thinking about the possibilities for our 2010 Mystics team!!!
November and December will be spent watching NBA and collegiate practices and games. There are always ideas you can pick-up along the way, as every coach does things differently. It is also important to do our "homework" on who to draft with our #7 pick. We will watch games/ practices of prospects, and talk with their coaches, as well as opposing coaches, in order to gain a better understanding of what they are all about. We will also be identifying players who can help our team from a free agent standpoint. I know Angela and I are anxious to begin conversations with these players in mid-December!
It is fun to follow our own players as they continue to impact their overseas teams. It is important that they improve their own individual games, in order to make our overall team better. I want to thank Mikhail Ovechkin especially, for his constant focus on overseas play. He sends me e-mails about every other day saying, "Langhorne yanked down 9 rebounds", "Coleman nailed another 3-ball", or "Currie exploded for 23 pts". I truly admire his passion and energy that he provides for our team. And his brother, Alex, is not a bad hockey player either!
Stay tuned next time, as I will highlight the top players we will be focusing on in the 2010 draft. I will also update you on how are players are doing overseas, who will be available in free agency, and what changes our team is looking to make for 2010…
GO CAPS & WIZARDS!!!
Congratulations to Greg Bibb for finishing his first ever marathon! However, look out for those Buckeyes this coming weekend in "Happy Valley"!
Coach Plank
Monday, November 2nd - Veronica Sander recaps her weekend. [permalink]
Happy Fall Mystics Fans!
As some of you will remember, I grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia where the lovely James Madison University is (but I did not go to college there). On Friday, I was driving around Harrisonburg and was quickly reminded how beautiful the Shenandoah Valley is during this season. The colors of the trees are so various and vibrant and I found myself missing home this time of year, but feel good to be back in DC today! If you’ve never seen Skyline Drive in the fall, I would recommend checking it out sometime.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Denver Broncos vs. Baltimore Ravens game at M & T Bank Stadium. It was a bitter sweet day as I have been a Broncos fan since birth (and they were undefeated going in) but knew the Ravens have been on a 0-3 streak and really needed this win. Every time I was excited, the sea of Purple around me was not and every time I thought we were picking up on defense, they’d score a touchdown. All in all it was a great game and I was glad to be there with my Broncos jersey under my Ravens gear!
Now, here we are on Monday morning in the Mystics office. Today begins our 30 Prizes in 30 Days Promotion for all renewed Season Ticket Holders! Are you renewed? Today someone will be wining a framed autographed team photo and tomorrow two (2) food vouchers for a Mystics game! There is a different prize for every day and if you renew today, you are in the drawing to win a prize everyday until December 16th. Check out all the prizes here.
Until next time, GO MYSTICS!
Veronica Sander
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