So we took a couple of days off. It was Labor Day. Sue us.

The Liberty, on the other hand, were no letdown in Houston last night: what looked like a mismatch at halftime (the Lib led by ten) went to overtime, but the visitors pulled off the win behind McCarville's career high. "We just didn't have the stops," coach Thompson said.

McCarville also looked pretty good on defense, with acrobatic rebounds and blocks; Lisa Willis set her own new career high too. And yet they needed overtime... go figure.

Last night's other games had less drama: Seattle handed the Dream yet another home loss despite 25 points from ex-Storm hotshot Betty Lennox. Dream coach Meadors spent half an hour with her team in the locker room afterwards; Betty says they discussed "accountability."

And in Washington, the home team played a good half but followed it up with a lousy one: the Fever won going away. Catch, White and Douglas combined for 64 points on better-than-50% shooting; their win puts the Fever clearly in playoff position as the end of the reg-season nears.

Jessie and Steve will be at the beach this weekend, too-- but we'll be back for the last week of reg-season games. Or so we think.

Back right now-- or, really, never away: Q, who asks why the Sparks are now living up to the hype.