Indiana Leaves Lynx Out In The Cold

The Indiana Fever has won its first WNBA championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx 87-78 to take the series three games to one.  Tamika Catchings was not only the leading scorer for the Fever with 25 points, but she was also named the league's Finals MVP.

For the Lynx, the 2011 champions had the best record in the WNBA this past season with a returning cast that included Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whelan, and Maya Moore.  Even the month-long Olympic break couldn't slow them down.

But as the weather turned cooler, so did their shooting.  This became painfully obvious in the playoffs, as the Lynx barely got past the Seattle Storm in the first round, and had a closer-than-it-looked two game sweep of the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Lynx came in as the heavy favorite against the Fever, but surprised everyone when they were outhustled, outplayed and outscored by a short-handed Indiana team which was missing their leading scorer in Katie Douglass.  Minnesota only won Game 2 after coach Cheryl Reeve's jacket-doffing tirade protesting a questionable call by the officials resulted in her and Whelan earning technical fouls, which ended up making the sports highlights shows that usually ignore the WNBA.

For Seimone Augustus, it could be that she was distracted by events off the court.  First, there was the incident where she was stopped by a traffic cop near a shopping mall for having an air freshener hanging off her car's rear-view mirror.  Of course, it could also be that Augustus got a DWB violation.  That's Driving While Black.

Next, she and her partner held a news conference to announce that they were supporting the efforts of those who want to defeat a Minnesota constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage, and that they would like to get hitched next year either in this state or Iowa.  Better plan on Iowa, ladies, because even if the measure is defeated, same-sex marriage would still be illegal in Minnesota.

Congratulations to the Indiana Fever.  If nothing else, they taught the Lynx a valuable lesson:  It's tough to win back-to-back championships, especially when the tank is running on empty after going at full speed all season.