We're back. Minnesota in the summer still can't be beat.

I can get really pessimistic about my favorite teams, and when the Lynx lost to Phoenix and Seattle, I was about ready to write them off. (I mean... who loses to Phoenix?) But then they came up with a huge win Saturday over Sacramento, so they're still in fourth.

It was a surprising loss for the Monarchs. Coach Whisenant just didn't understand why his team had so little energy in such an important game.

Bigger surprise: the Stars beat the Sparks. The Sparks are slipping fast in the West.

No surprise in Washington: the Mystics are officially eliminated from playoff contention. Holdsclaw hates the refs (fine coming?). Coach Stanley is exasperated (pink slip coming?).

The Philly Inquirer today ran this story saying that the league's gamble of sticking a team in a casino has paid off.

I'm not sure in what sense that's true. Yes, the world hasn't ended simply because a pro sports team is owned by a gambling establishment. But last I checked, the Sun were last in the league in attendance, and my sense is that a lot of basketball fans in Connecticut are not happy about the set-up -- partly because it's a casino, partly just because it's not in Hartford.