My Pick for Dumbest Statement of the Week

I was browsing through Jayda Evans' blog online about the Storm and on the comments page of one of her entries, someone said that Lauren Jackson can't play defense and is the dirtiest player in the WNBA. Stand up now and clap for the biggest load of crap I've seen all year.

I'll address both issues. The first one, apparently, is about how she doesn't know how to play defense. Obviously the person who posted this has not seen a Storm game. If she/he had, she/he would realize that LJ blocks shots to a tune of 1.52 blocks a game, which is fifth in the league. An amazing feat considering she's doing it in thirty minutes and it's not like she can cleanly jump off the ground with her shin splints. Again in limited play, her rebounding is incredible. I'm counting this as a defensive trait because it limits the other team's second chance points and gives the Storm more chances to score. LJ has 7.9 rebounds a game. Apart from this, LJ is always in the middle of the lane affecting the shots of the other team. She doesn't always get the stat for the block, but she certainly has something to do with it. Quoting David Locke, LJ "stonewalls" the players driving through the lane. To say that she doesn't play defense well is preposterous and, frankly, makes me boiling mad. LJ gives everything out there offensively and she goes back to the other end of the floor and gives even more defensively. Don't knock LJ on that because, seriously, if you've seen a Storm game or listened to one over the radio, you'd know that that is a pile of bull. With all that she goes through for the team and with all that she has put herself through to play well on defense, she does not deserve this crap.

As for the other statement, calling LJ the dirtiest player in the league, I beg to disagree. It doesn't hurt that the person that the poster said she heard say this is Cheryl Ford, from a dirty-playing team, the Detroit Shock. LJ doesn't mug people like the Shock do or like the LA Sparks do. She doesn't take swings at them like Mwadi Mabika did against the Silverstars or Michelle Snow did right before the All-Star game. I won't even go into detail into all the crap the so-called role model of the WNBA, Lisa Leslie, pulls every single game. It's really no surprise she is booed in practically every arena she plays in. I was watching a game once and the announcers said that she gets booed because she is such a good player and so we pay attention to her. While she is a good player (ugh), I can guarantee that that isn't why people are booing. They're booing because of all the dirty play and unsportsmanlike conduct Lisa has been known for through the years. Lauren Jackson plays a physical game, I can admit that. But, by far, she is not the dirtiest player in the league. She isn't even close, in my opinion.

I'm extremely pissed off, especially because the person that wrote this comment has made some very negative statements in the past about Storm fans and about the Storm, while in the guise of being a Storm fan. The sheer lack of knowledge this person possesses leads me to believe that he/she is just a troll, someone trying to stir the pot because they have nothing better to do. I'd like to suggest that before stirring the pot, get your facts straight first and read up more on what you are saying.

I'm done ranting for now.