Storm
WNBA Finals: Bird back in college nest

By Jayda Evans
Seattle Times staff reporter

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES The Storm's Sue Bird, who wears a mask to protect her surgically repaired nose, is averaging 6.2 assists in the playoffs.

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Connecticut, we have a conundrum.

Whenever the Storm travels to the Nutmeg State, a switch happens. In the home of the men's and women's NCAA champion Connecticut Huskies, basketball fans have problems separating their college allegiances from those for the WNBA's Sun, the relocated Orlando Miracle franchise bought by the Mohegan tribe in 2003.

For the fans, when Sue Bird travels to the arena located inside a casino, it's an easy bet the place serves as a reminder of the Storm guard's UConn days. The Eastern Conference champion Sun has had four sellouts in its two-year history, and two occurred when the Storm visited.

Bird, a two-time All-American, is one of the diamonds in the Huskies' championship chain, along with Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash and Rebecca Lobo. So, as the WNBA prepares to crown a new champion, tipping off its best-of-three Finals series tomorrow on ESPN2, those in Connecticut can't lose.

"There will forever be a group of people who will always be fans of Connecticut players like Diana, Swin, Rebecca, myself, the list goes on forever," Bird said. "But I've noticed a change. It stinks for me, but there are more Sun fans now.

"I'll tell you, the first time (in 2003) you could definitely see a lot (of my jerseys), but this season there were less, and I saw a negative sign. It was something like, 'We're going to cage the Bird.' "

Gasp! Cage the beloved Bird?

Tickets: Priced from $16 to $90, available through Ticketmaster, online at storm.wnba.com or at 1-877-WNBATIX. Sunday's game is a near-sellout of the lower bowl. If the lower bowl is sold out, tickets will be available in the upper level. Tickets for Game 3 won't be sold until after Sunday's game determines whether it is necessary. KeyArena policy: Because of security, gates will open an hour and a half before game time instead of the usual hour. Fans are urged to arrive early.

This is the woman who worked her way back from a torn knee ligament in her freshman season to lead UConn through an undefeated campaign capped by the NCAA championship in 2002. Now she has a chance to become the only player to win championships on every level — having won her first Olympic gold medal in August and a national high-school championship while playing at Christ the King High in Queens, N.Y.

Bird also would join the five-member club of WNBA players, including three from Connecticut, who have won college, WNBA and Olympic titles.

Driving along her hometown street in Syosset, N.Y., Bird's mother, Nancy, pressed two fingers to her lips as she tried in an interview before the Olympics to explain her youngest daughter's successes. There weren't any easy words.

"How do you make it like it's normal?" she asked with a shrug.

Nancy, who still lives in the same house where Sue grew up, says her daughter's bedroom hasn't changed. Bird, who will turn 24 on Oct. 16, awoke to yellow wallpaper accented by trophies from soccer to track and, of course, basketball.

The neighborhood resembled a Norman Rockwell painting in Bird's day. Her mother made cinnamon toast and hot chocolate after the kids sledded down a slope at Berry Hill Elementary in the winter and served as lifeguard in the summer during pool parties in the backyard.

But basketball always marked the calendar days. Older sister Jennifer mastered academics at Yale while Sue mastered full-court presses.

"I'm glad Sue found her niche in sports," said Nancy, who raised the children with their father, Hershel. "Jen was a tough act to follow. But I always told Sue, 'I don't want another Jennifer Bird.' "

Instead, fans are starting to rediscover the player who struggled through rookie trials in 2002 and a nagging knee injury last summer. Bird is wearing a cast and protective mask on her surgically repaired nose, but it hasn't hurt her game.

Bird is averaging 6.2 assists in the playoffs, including 14 in the Storm's win Tuesday to clinch the Western Conference championship. Now she'll face Sun rookie Lindsay Whalen, who is averaging a team-leading 15.4 points and 4.6 assists in the playoffs.

In their only meeting this season, neither Bird nor Whalen had a memorable game in a 71-64 Sun win, a result that can be attributed to the Storm's flat play after the return of reigning league MVP Lauren Jackson, who was visiting her sick grandmother, who has since died, in Australia.

No one expects flatness in both teams' first Finals appearance.

"Even though I've never been to a WNBA Finals, I've played in a lot of championship games," Bird said. "I know there's a lot of emotion, a lot of anxiety in those games. But once you get to that point, you've done all the preparing. You just go out and play."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com

WNBA Finals

Seattle vs. Connecticut (best-of-three series):

Game 1: Tomorrow, 4:30 p.m., at Connecticut.

Game 2: Sunday, 4 p.m., at KeyArena.

Game 3: Tuesday*, 6 p.m., at KeyArena.

TV: All on ESPN2. Radio: All on KJR (950 AM).

*If necessary

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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