NFL
2022 America: a condemned place. Yet, one with redemption promised. And on an (of course) rescheduled January night, a hoops heroine raced, surprisingly ahead of schedule, onto the Wintrust Arena court.
It was Azzi Fudd’s first game in Chicago. On Wednesday night, in a freer yet still perilous 2026, Fudd makes her return.
Time never stands still, and to the delight of women’s basketball fans worldwide, the sport improved while the world healed.
Unlike Fudd’s rising Dallas Wings and a healthier America, however, the Sky regressed over the preceding five years.
Hear Team NBS out, Sky Riders, as there have been plenty of false starts on the Express! Wednesday night’s contest, fittingly on the USA Network, offers Chicago an opportunity to measure its height against an opponent whose moniker fittingly implies constant flight.
Sky Express Returns Home
Before turning their attention to an overdue home opener, it would be to the Sky’s advantage to reflect on the positives of their impressive Sunday triumph.
In Minnesota, the prowling Lynx are always a difficult club to defeat. Chicago had the luck to avoid Minnesota’s best player, Napheesa Collier, who is out until June with an ankle injury. The Lynx tried to compensate for Collier’s absence with physical defense.
Indeed, the Chicago Sky attempted 25 free throws, while the Lynx tried only 12. Not to imply that the Lynx played a dishonest, rugged play method. True, Rickea Jackson left the contest with a non-contact injury. However, the play passed an ethical eye test: there was no malice involved.
More important than the usual scapegoating of officials (albeit understandable, given past wrongs against both teams) is how the Sky handled end-game adversity.
Minnesota, trailing for most of the game, surged in the final two minutes. Yet the Sky had enough coal in their Express to steam into victory’s depot. Especially impressive were the leadership of new Skyrider Jacy Sheldon and the poised shooting of rookie Gabriela Jaquez. The duo both contributed 31:41 minutes for a Sky team short four vital players.
Hopefully, the Sky now has enough respect to earn a home game in the first contest next season, rather than the fifth! Wednesday’s showdown won’t make up for the confusing schedule irregularity.
For a championship franchise, though, the excuse meter always rests at 0. Chicago must continue its positive momentum to pick up crucial wins in a playoff race that is getting more difficult.
Flight Risk
Dallas has not escaped its regular-season captivity. Since their 2016 relocation from Tulsa, the Wings still have not flown into the Finals heights.
Last season, UConn star Paige Bueckers joined longtime Wing star Arike Ogunbowale. Despite Bueckers’ rookie of the year campaign, Dallas again saw its dreams grounded with a 10-34 non-playoff record. With a third star in Fudd, the Wings’ eyes can finally find justification in searching for our heavens.
When Fudd makes her proud return to Chicago this week, it will be a reflection moment for both Sky and Wings fans.
The returning hero of a pandemic age soars full circle.
A home team rises from the ashes of frustration into an era dawning with promise.
For one night, America forgets its troubles and watches in Chicago. In a new world promising both awful terrors and novel delights, hoops heroines replace past amusements with unquenchable passions.
