Storm Makes Second Round of Cuts

- While taking Sunday off, the Seattle Storm made the decision to waive training-camp invitees La'Tangela Atkinson and Kasha Terry, bringing the roster to 13 players. 12 are now in camp, with Suzy Batkovic-Brown (spending this week on her honeymoon after her marriage last weekend) the only player remaining overseas. Amongst that group, the Storm has two invitees remaining - guard A'Quonesia Franklin and guard Aja Parham.

Franklin

Parham

"I think it's a tribute to them that they're still here if you look around the league at who's getting waived and who's released right now," said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. "They've worked hard and they're good players. They can play in this league, and that's why they're here."

The deadline for finalizing rosters is Thursday, and Agler indicated the working assumption is the Storm will not make its final cuts to reach an 11-player roster until then.

Having a slightly smaller group will help the Storm's regulars spend more time on the court, an important consideration after Agler said the team appeared to wear down in the fourth quarter of Saturday's preseason loss at Phoenix.

"I think reps is the most critical thing right now," he said. "We've got a few days to prepare. Hopefully we'll make use of them."

- For the first time all training camp, the Storm had a couple of players on the sidelines during Monday's practice, though neither injury is considered serious.

Forward Swin Cash was watching her teammates, but not because of anything relating to her back surgery. Cash has experienced some swelling in her left knee.

"That's the extent of it," explained Agler. "She's going to get back out, hopefully tomorrow, doing some things."

Rookie Ashley Walker was also sidelined due to her calf.

"She's fine - she'll be back out tomorrow," said Agler. "In the past, she's had some issues with her calf. After that game the other night where she played extremely well, she had some tenderness there and we wanted to get it checked out."

Stormin' The Community This Week

Leading up to Opening Night on Sunday against the Sacramento Monarchs (6:00 p.m., TICKETS), the Storm will be involved in a number of community events this week. A rundown:

Tonight
Lauren Jackson will throw out the first pitch before the Mariners face the Baltimore Orioles tonight at 7:10 p.m. Visit Mariners.com for tickets.

Tuesday
The Storm and Forecasters Pub will present a special Storm Trivia Night at the Redhook Ale Brewery in Woodinville starting at 8 p.m. Storm players Sue Bird, Camille Little and Katie Gearlds will act as co-hosts for the event. No reservations are accepted on Tuesday nights, so guests should arrive early to secure a table. All ages are welcome.

Wednesday
In honor of the Storm’s 10^th Anniversary, Pagliacci is renaming its most popular pizza the ‘Storm Primo’ at its Queen Anne location. Plus, from 5-6 p.m. that day at the Queen Anne location, customers can buy one slice for regular price and get a second slice of equal or lesser value for $1.50 – and meet Storm players Janell Burse, Shannon Johnson, Ashley Robinson!

Thursday
Storm players will be on hand for the reopening of the First A.M.E. Child and Family Center in Seattle, renovated with support from Pitney Bowes. Last year, the Storm won a learning and reading center renovation as part of the Fast Break to Reading Competition Presented by Pitney Bowes. Storm employees contributed their time to help complete the renovation.

This event is not open to the public.

Sunday
The Storm is “Stormin’ for the Cure” to celebrate survivors of breast cancer and to raise funds for breast cancer research. Join Doppler and the Storm Dance Troupe for this year’s Komen Puget Sound Race for the Cure on Sunday, June 7 at Qwest Field. What a great way to get warmed up for Opening Night! Registration is $25. Click here to sign up.

Batkovic-Brown Wedding

The Sydney Telegraph reports on Storm center Suzy Batkovic's wedding to Matt Brown on Saturday (which is already yesterday in Australia). Check out a photo of Batkovic and her wedding party, all of them Opals players (Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor and former WNBAer Trish Fallon). The wedding took place in Cronulla, just south of Sydney.

Jackson is due back in Seattle tomorrow, while the latest on Batkovic (who will henceforth be known as Suzy Batkovic-Brown) is that she will be in town for the Storm's Opening Night matchup with Sacramento on June 7. Whether she is in uniform will depend upon whether she arrives in time to undergo a physical and complete the necessary paperwork prior to the game, though either way she would not be part of the rotation having just flown nearly 18 hours.

Storm Wraps Up Preseason

Aaron Last/Storm Photos

The Seattle Storm's preseason finale will be Saturday night in Phoenix against the Mercury, and Head Coach Brian Agler has indicated he sees the game as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the start of the regular season just over a week away. After the Storm practiced Friday in the Valley of the Sun, Agler said he'll draw his starting lineup from the group of Sue Bird, Shannon Johnson, Tanisha Wright, Camille Little, Ashley Robinson and Janell Burse. The players likely to be in the Storm's rotation will get the bulk of the playing time.

"Obviously we need to keep improving in our defense," said Agler of his focus for the game. "That and playing together, trying to get our people acclimated to playing together and go from there."

Though Swin Cash got in her first work with contact during Friday's practice, Agler does not necessarily expect her to see any action against the Mercury as part of her rehab process.

"I don't know if we'll get that far," he said. "I have no idea, but we'll see. I envision her, though, getting back in the swing of things here next week. She didn't necessarily play herself out today, so that was a good thing."

As for evaluating the players fighting for roster spots, that was done in part during Thursday's series of scrimmages between the Storm, the Mercury and the Sacramento Monarchs. "They got plenty of time," said Agler, who enjoyed the format and singled out Robinson as playing well in the scrimmage setting.

WNBA.com Season Preview

WNBA.com's season preview series checked in with the Storm yesterday. Check it out:

With the departures of Griffith and Swoopes, the Storm have two open slots in their starting lineup to fill and a new rotation to get used to with a number of new players on board for 2009. Health will once again be a concern, but if Jackson and Cash can return to their pre-injury form, the Storm will have a legitimate Big Three to build around in hopes of an another championship run.

Road Trip

Kasha Terry and Janell Burse battle for a rebound in practice. Aaron Last/Storm Photos

After spending the first week and a half of training camp in Seattle, the Storm is ready to head out on the road for the first time. The team flew to Las Vegas this afternoon and will join the host Sacramento Monarchs as well as the Phoenix Mercury for a three-team controlled scrimmage tomorrow. Friday, it's on to Phoenix for Satuday's exhibition finale against the Mercury. Since the Storm hosted Sacramento in its home preseason game, the WNBA's three westernmost teams will know each other intimately by the start of the regular season.

The Storm has now had eight days of practice, having taken Tuesday afternoon off before returning to the floor at The Furtado Center for a session Wednesday morning.

"I think we're improving," Head Coach Brian Agler said afterward. "I think that's a better question to ask after we play, how we stand. We've really been proactive on trying to get a lot of things in. When you do that in a short period of time, you don't get the reps that you want on certain things. I like how we're advancing, but how sharp we are trying to do those things, that's another question."

Agler explained that the coaching staff will use the two settings for different purposes. On Thursday, the focus will be on evaluating talent. The teams will alternate playing quarters against each other - two teams on, one team watching.

"I think tomorrow will be a good (test)," said Agler. "Tomorrow we'll get a chance to watch people in more of a controlled situation, up close. I think it will be a good evaluator."

Saturday, the focus changes to what Agler calls "our last dress rehearsal." Rotations will be more "game-like" as the Storm prepares for the regular season. The lineups will be different from the ones Agler used in the Storm's previous preseason game.

"We have Tanisha (Wright) now and we see Tanisha playing big minutes for us this year. She'll get some quality time. Obviously Sue (Bird) will be on the court. Sue didn't play the last game."

Then there could be a wild card on Saturday - the potential availability of Swin Cash, who is making progress in returning from her back surgery and continues to feel good.

"I sort of envision Swin trying to get in the swing of things sometime either Saturday or early next week," Agler said. "Everything's based on her. Knowing Swin and knowing how well she's feeling, I would guess she'll get on the court more in practice as time goes on. If she feels like she can go, then we'll give her some minutes."

Storm in the News

In case you've yet to see it, I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of a resource we're providing on stormbasketball.com - our new "In the News" page, which collects links from local sources and around the country covering your Seattle Storm. It's a great archive for past article as well as a chance to see what's being said each day.

While on the subject, I wanted to point you in the direction of a few news stories and blog posts, in case you hadn't seen them.

- This morning, the WNBA released its leaderboard in terms of jersey sales. Storm guard Sue Bird ranked fourth on the list, which counted from last October through this April. The Storm ranks fourth in terms of most popular merchandise.

- The Seattle Times continues to deliver excellent daily Storm coverage. Last week, columnist Jerry Brewer wrote about how life is different for the Storm now as an independent franchise and the opportunities this has provided. I also enjoyed beat writer Jayda Evans' look at the long-running rivalry between Storm rookie Ashley Walker and Sacramento center Courtney Paris (and Paris' twin sister Ashley, who plays for L.A.).

- You should know Patrick Sheehy from his Chasing the Title Storm blog. He's writing this season for SportsPageMagazine.com, and at media day decided to focus on the newcomers to the Storm and learn a little bit more about them.

- No WNBA blog is more thought-provoking than Rethinking Basketball, which is back in our blogroll after an offseason hiatus. Author Q was at the Key for last week's preseason titlt against Sacramento and has a detailed take on the action on the floor as well as the atmosphere.