From this morning's Charlotte Observer Buzz column, which collects brief, anonymous reader mail:

"To Mr. Tapscott and Mr. Johnson: Players get traded in the WNBA all the time. Is it possible to trade coaches?

"Hey Mr. Johnson, over here, we are the other team ... the Sting ... the one with the talent. Now could we please have a coach?"

The Silver Stars (5-16) have multiple injuries to potential starters (one of whom, Thomas, might return). The Mercury (7-12) struggled with late-arriving players, and perhaps with team chemistry issues as well; the current-model Mercury has won four of their last five. You can argue with some personnel decisions, but there's little reason to think the SASS or the Mercury's records indicate an incompetent coach.

The Sting are now 3-17 and have yet to win a game on the road; they suffer from no major injuries, have made no changes to their starting lineup, and play four of five starters for 29-34 minutes per game. (The fifth, Tammy Sutton-Brown, plays 24.) I can see why the Charlotte organization might not want to install a new head coach right now, but isn't it time for coach-and-GM Trudi Lacey to step down in favor of one of her own assistants? Dee Brown resigned midseason in 2004. Minnesota GM-and-coach Brian Agler fired himself (but remained GM) midway through the lousy Lynx season of 2002; the team has been on the mend since. If Trudi fired herself as coach, but remained GM, she could continue to draw a salary, the franchise would show that it cared about wins and losses, and the Sting could at least get some sort of fresh start.

And this sort of thing just rubs salt in Charlotte's wounds.

Here's Charlotte's contact info. If you do write, be sure to tell them you support the team and the league-- you might even express enthusiasm about the new arena, which, I'm told, might do wonders for attendance there too.