Spoon returns to the Garden tonight. She will try to show the Lib what they missed by letting her go.

"It wasn't something I took very well," said Teresa. The frustration lingers: "[N]obody even thought I could play this game. So how is a championship team going to call me, and I can't play? That says a lot."

"It was the hardest decision I've had to make in eight years," said New York GM Carol Blazejowski. "We needed to find a way to get Becky (Hammon) in as a starter, and we had other players we had to sign."

Coach Richie was somewhat less gracious -- he thinks she should have hung it up. "She's 38, was a great player and had a great career," he said. "She averaged 30 minutes a game for us last year and is now averaging (7.5). I don't have to say anything else. It's obvious."