WNBA Draft (Part II)

Let's continue with our analysis of the 2009 WNBA Draft, picking up with the Sacramento Monarchs.

Sacramento Monarchs

The Monarchs selected Courtney Paris with the 9th overal pick, Whitney Boddie with the 20th overall pick, and Morgan Warburton with the 33rd overall pick of the draft. Paris, who was recently announced as a first-team All-American for a record setting four times during her career at Oklahoma.

Although Paris is a virtual lock to make the team, it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff for the Monarchs try to get Paris to lose a few pounds. Her game is astounding and her body allows her to position for rebounds and score easily from down low, but the Monarchs have a fast-paced system in place, looking to push the ball as much as possible. It will be difficult for Paris to maneuver up and down the court without quickly getting tired unless she loses weight. She will also need to further develop her game. Paris will not be able to simply push her opponents out of the way down low. It will vital that she shows the ability to consistantly score at least 10 to 12 feet from the rim.

Expect Paris and possibly Boddie to make the roster. It will be difficult for Warburton to survive the first round of cuts.

New York Liberty

New York's draft can be summed up in one word, "dreadful." Kia Vaugh will be an undersized big who will most likely not see very many minutes, Abby Waner is just another Erin Thorn with better ball-handling skills, and a better passer. Both will most likely make the team but don't expect them to have a major impact this season.

Connecticut Sun

The Sun chose to take Chante Black with the 10th overall pick in the draft and Lyndra Littles with the 17th overall pick. Black adds size to the frontline of the Sun; however, she will need to hit the weightroom and vigorously attempt to put on some muscle. Otherwise, she will get pushed around with easy and have little to no impact down low. Littles's chances are good but slightly unclear. It would not be surprising if she or another shooting guard/ small forward combo is traded for a post player.

The picks were not amazing but the Sun did get the job done so for now they are winners. It will be interesting it they look to trade some of their guards.

Detroit Shock

The Defending champion shock entered the draft with little to no areas of need. They are balanced down low and also have a nice guard rotation. Shavonte Zellous will need to impress to win a spot on the roster and so will Brittany Miller. Expect to see these two battling it out for the last roster spot even though Zellous is a guard and Miller is a center.

Seattle Storm

The Seattle Storm had major areas that they needed to address in this draft because it still remains unknown whether Lauren Jackson, their franchise player, will re-sign with Seattle or sign with the Phoenix Mercury. It appears as if the Storm were unsure of who to pick in this draft. They took Ashley Walker with the 11th overall pick in the draft and Mara Freshour with the 38th overall pick. Freshour will not make the team but expect Walker to have a chance. The Storm were lacking in the forward and center positions. Whether Jackson chooses to re-sign or leave for Phoenix, Walker will still be a much needed addition.

Overall, the Storm did what they could with thi draft and went in with the intention of finding a big body to play down low. For that, they can be considered a winner.

Los Angeles Sparks

Unfortunately for the Sparks, there were not any point guards remaining on the board, that they confidently felt would make their roster. So what did they do? They drafted two more post players with I am assumming, the intention of trading for a guard. The Sparks took Lindsay Wisdon-Hylton, Ashley Paris, and Britney Jordan in this year's draft. All were immediately placed on the trading block before they were even drafted. The Sparks added Tina Thompson and Betty Lennox to the roster this off-season, giving them even more talent to choose from; however, they are still without a solid starting point guard.

Expect at least one of the three drafted players to be signed and traded, with one, either Paris or Wisdom-Hylton making the roster. Unless of course, Coach Cooper plans on playing 5 bigs and doing away with the need for a point guard. The Sparks are winners for drafting players that they should be able to get a point guard for, but losers for not securing a starting point guard in this draft. They will have to hope that another team is willing to trade with them as on paper, they are once again the favorites to win.

San Antonio

Did not have one pick in the first round and went under the radar for this draft. Expect their picks to do the same. Megan Frazee has a chance to make the team but Sonja Petrovic and Candyce Bingham have little to no shot whatsoever.

Another loss for San Antonio.

That's all for this installment! Check back for news on possible trades and also an analysis of the first few games of the NBA playoffs. I will break down each conference. Enjoy your week!

WNBA Draft (Part I)

The 2009 WNBA Draft took place last week, with Louisville Cardinals guard Angel McCoughtry being chosen by the Atlanta Dream who had the first pick of the draft. Some teams came out of the draft winners, getting exactly what they needed and also possibly getting a few steals. While some others came out loser, making questionable picks and addressing none of the needs for their team. Let's go over our winners and losers.

Atlanta Dream

The Atlanta Dream chose Angel McCoughtry with their 1st pick, Shalee Lehning with the 25th overall pick, and Jessica Morrow with the 27th pick overall. Looking at their roster, McCoughtry is the only likely pick that will stick and win a spot on their roster. With Marques, Latta, Shields, and Teasley all ahead of her, Lehning will most likely be unable to beat out someone for a spot on the roster. The same would virtually go for Morrow, because even though she can bring rebounding and defense to the guard position, her outside shot is very inconsistant and will hurt her chances of making the team.

So even though Atlanta didn't get a reliable point guard, they were still able to add onto their athleticism, youth, and talent by getting Angel McCoughtry. Not to mention, the girl can flat out play! Either way, they are what you would call a "draft winner."

Washington Mystics

The Mystics were also draft day winners. They drafted Marisa Coleman with the 2nd overall pick, Camille LeNoir with the 23rd overall pick, Jelena Milovanovic with the 24th overall pick, and Josephine Owino with the 28th overall pick. Coleman will definitely make the team and if Milovanovic impresses during training camp, she could be an under the radar steal of the draft.

The Mystics will need to address the issue of the lack of depth in the post position so they may have to make a trade but Coleman was the right pick at #2.

Chicago Sky

Unforunately for the Sky, I have to dub them as one of the biggest losers in this year's draft. Kristi Toliver over Renee Montgomery? No, wrong move. The Sky should have drafted Montgomery with the 3rd pick. She has shown the leadership, work ethic, and tenacity that would be perfect for Chicago. She is also in my mind, the better passer and defender of the two. Yes, Toliver is the better shooter but Renee is the better point guard. Other than that, no one else will make the roster.

Minnesota Lynx

The Lynx can thank the Sky for giving them Montgomery. Even without Montgomery, the Lynx had a very solid draft, adding Rashanda McCants and Quanitra Hollingsworth. McCants and Hollingsworth are not locks to make the team but expect to see them in a Lynx jersey at the start of the season.

Phoenix Mercury

DeWanna Bonner will be the only Phoenix draft pick to make the team. Unfortunately for the rest of the Mercury's picks, the team is too talented and deep for them to have an impact and possibly steal someone else's roster spot.

Indiana Fever

The Fever are definitely winners in this year's draft. It is shocking how they addressed nearly every need in the draft and have players that should be able to hang around and make the team. Brianna January will be a very balanced back up point guard behind Tully Bevilaqua and will bring scoring, defense, speed, and energy to the second unit. Christina Wirth will need to consistantly nail shots from long distance to stay with the team. If she does, it will surround Tamika Catchings with more outside weapons. Danielle Campbell is a bit of a stretch to make the roster, even though the Fever are lacking in the post. Expect to see a possible trade made by the Fever for a post player. Maybe a point guard and post player swap between Los Angeles and Indiana?

That's it for this installment! Be sure to check back for part II of the WNBA Draft! I will analyze the picks made by the remaining teams.

Round 1 (East Edition)

Today, the playoffs open up with the defending Champion Boston Celtics beginning their title defense against the Chicago Bulls. Boston will be without their leader Kevin Garnett for the playoffs due to a knee injury that he sustained in the latter part of the season.

"It's not official that he's out for the entire playoffs, but it's official as far as I'm concerned," said head coach of the Celtics, Doc Rivers. "I just don't see how. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see it."

Garnett sprained the knee against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 19, missing the next month before returning for four games. He then re-aggravated the knee against the Orlando Magic while going for a rebound, causing Coach Rivers to make the decision to rest him for the remainder of the regular season, before the playoffs began.

The loss of Garnett should give the Bulls a better opportunity to upset the Celtics in the first round but they will need to play well every game and hope that either Ray Allen or Paul Pierce struggle throughout the series.

The match up between the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will have home court throughout the playoffs, and the Detroit Pistons, expect the Pistons to only win one game, if that. The Pistons made the mistake of trading the foundation of their team, Chauncey Billups, for a player that has known to not be much of a team player, Allen Iverson. The Pistons barely managed to squeeze into the playoffs and were rewarded with the right to play the Cavaliers without Iverson, who is out for the rest of the season with a back injury. This is going to be route so Detroit fans can expect to see more trades this off-season. Iverson is already rumored to be heading to Charlotte for a reunion with ex-head coach Larry Brown.

One of the more exciting match ups should be between the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. Orlando has been a powerhouse all season but the 76ers have a young core group of players that are known to give 100 percent every night, no matter the opponent. Last year the 76ers gave the Pistons a scare in the first round before losing in Game 6 of the series. Expect much of the same in this series, with Orlando barely making it to the next round.

The Miami Heat will be relying on the heroics of Dwayne Wade to beat the Atlanta Hawks. Wade will most likely need to score nearly 40 points per game and get nearly double digits in rebounds and assists. If Wade does not show signs of another Flash sighting, expect Atlanta to blowout the Heat in this series. Atlanta will most likely win and advance to the next round in 5 to 6 games unless Wade is able to pull off a miraculous performance and will his team to a victory.

That's it for this installment! Enjoy this weekend's games within the Eastern Conference.

Round 1 (West Edition)

The Lakers begin their quest for the 14th NBA Championship of their storied franchise against the legendary coach, Jerry Sloan and his Utah Jazz. The Lakers pulled away from the pack of playoff jockeying teams this season, winning the western conference by eleven games and once again entering as the favorite to represent the west in the NBA Finals.

The Utah Jazz have been inconsistent all season, enjoying long winning streaks but also suffering through lengthy losing streaks, one of these losing streaks coming at the end of the season, causing them to fall from fifth in the west to eighth and win the opportunity to play the Lakers in the first round. The Jazz do have a valid excuse for their short comings early this season because many of their players were missing in action due to various injuries. It was miraculous for them to even be in a position to capture the fifth seed. The collapse at the end of the season came when they had been playing very good basketball and had all of their players healthy.

"I think our players will come together and if the effort's not there, then we don't have much of a shot," said Jerry Sloan in an interview before the start of the series. "If you don't play hard, it doesn't make a difference who you're playing."

What was the reason for the collapse? The Jazz were unable to win on the road. Going into the playoffs they were an atrocious 15-26 on the road. Don't expect them to suddenly find the answer against the Los Angeles Lakers. The end of the road will quickly come for the Jazz. Expect this series to go to a Game 5 with the Lakers winning 4-1.

The #2 seeded Denver Nuggets will be facing the New Orleans Hornets in the first round. This series should be a thriller. Expect a lot of flash and high scoring games as these two teams can definitely light up the scoreboard. 

The Nuggets have been unable to make it out of the first round while Carmelo Anthony has been the face of the franchise but this team looks to be more dangerous than previous teams. They have better shooters: Billups, Smith, Kleiza, and Anthony have all had break out games and can take over the game with their scoring if they get hot. Denver's defense has also drastically improved. Chris "Birdman" Anderson is the 2nd ranked shot blocker in the league and he comes off the bench for the Nuggets. 

The Hornets key asset, Point Guard Chris Paul will need to take his game up a few notches for his team to have a shot at winning. In many ways, he will need to play the same roll that Dwayne Wade is playing for the Miami Heat, simply take over the game. In last season's playoffs, Paul was able to do just that and will his team to the Western Conference Finals before coming up short against the Lakers. Paul will need to average nearly a triple-double and also score nearly 30 points per game for the Hornets to have a shot at scoring enough to beat the Nuggets.

Expect to see the Nuggets advance to the second round. Their athleticism and scoring ability should be enough to catapult them to the next round. Their shooters are firing at all cylinders, their defense is continuing to get better, and they seem to lack the stretches in the game where they would make numerous bad decisions and give up easy points to their opponents. Billups's leadership has them looking like a legitimate contender this season. Carmelo Anthony will need to continue with his balanced all-around game and also become more efficient offensively for them to have a shot at making it to the NBA Finals.

The match up between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks is interesting because it is not quite clear who will win the series. The Spurs have suffered numerous injuries this season to three big three: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli. The most recent blow they received was news of Ginobli's season-ending injury to an ankle that has bothered him all season since he had surgery on it in the off-season. Although the Spurs have added key pieces in Drew Gooden and Roger Mason Jr., it will still be up to Duncan and Parker to pull them through the playoffs.

The Mavericks on the other hand, played very well towards the end of the season, moving up to the #6 seed after being picked not to make the playoffs at All-Star break. Their hot streak leading into the playoffs could actually be the momentum they need to quickly disperse the Spurs and move into the 2nd round. Sports analysts do not feel confident that they will advance in the playoffs and it appears to be bothering the Mavs.

"It feels disrespectful when you watch these shows, TNT, ESPN, and they're talking, 'Walk through the Mavericks, that's who you want to play," Jason Terry said. "Ok. We'll see if that's who you want to play."

Unfortunately for Jason Terry and the Mavericks, even though they are hot heading into the playoffs, they are exactly who the Spurs want to play and who they will knock out of the playoffs in the first round. It is difficult to believe that the Spurs who are seeded #3 in the west, will lose in the first round. They have withstood the diversity throughout the season so expect them to get past the Mavericks and meet the Nuggets in the next round.

The final match up in the west involves the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers were able to move up to the fourth seed in the western conference but they are picked as the underdog to advance. The reason for being deemed the underdog? They are the youngest team in the playoffs and most of their players lack playoff experience. It will be up to Brandon Roy, to set the tone in the series for Portland and lead them past the Rockets.

The Rockets on the other hand, have had an up and down season. They lost Tracy McGrady to a knee injury after the All-Star break and yet they are still seeded fifth. Their defense and outside shooters to surround Yao Ming have enabled them to quietly surprise teams around the league and continue to win. 

In this match up, I'm going to pick the underdog to beat out the favorite. Portland has the younger team and lacks experience but they have played every game this season with tenacity and gave 100 percent. Roy will put this team on his back and carry them into the second round where they will lose to the Lakers in another exciting series.

That's all for this installment! Enjoy the playoffs and I will be back to go over the results of the first and and second games of the first round.

Will she pay it back?

After recording 112 consecutive double-doubles and leading her team to the Final Four during her senior year, Courtney Paris has made plans to pay back her $64,000 scholarship to the Oklahoma Sooners.

In a speech on senior night, Paris said, "When you're good enough and don't do something, then you have to take accountability for that and that's your own fault," Paris said last month. "We can win a national championship. If we don't, I'll feel like I didn't earn my scholarship."

Unfortunately for Paris and the Sooner faithful, the team fell short of winning a national championship, when Louisville shocked them in the semifinals last week. Paris has been known to be fearless when it comes to sharing her opinions but her enthusiastic promise to pay back every dime of her scholarship if the Sooners did not return to Norman, OK seemed to be a flighty expectation, even for her.

"I do make good on the guarantee," Paris said after the national semifinal game. "Not today, though. Obviously, I don't have $64,000 waiting, but I do make good on it."

Luckily for Paris, Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione has refused to except Paris's scholarship money. "It's even more meaningful when someone who committed herself for four years to help her teammates become better, making that kind of symbolic gesture," Castiglione said. "But having said that, I don't know of anyone who has had any expectation whatsoever that we would accept the monetary aspect of that gesture."

On Apr. 7, the WNBA announced University of Tennessee Head Coach Pat Summitt as the recipient of the 2009 WNBA Inspiring Coach Award. Summitt was given the accolade because of her impact on female athletes across the country and her dedication and commitment to basketball, her family, and the Knoxville community.

"We are absolutely thrilled to honor Pat Summit for all of her professional accomplishments," said WNBA President Donna Orender. "On the court, she is an extraordinary coach who has won eight NCAA Championships and now holds the all-time record for most wins in NCAA history. But what is more important is that she leads with her heart and soul. Her commitment and dedication to the development of women's sports and her passion for inspiring young athletes to achieve their dreams has been a source of inspiration to us all."

Summit will be honored during the 2009 WNBA season. The date has not yet been announced.

Congratulations are due for the 2009 National Champion Connecticut Huskies. They beat Louisville 76-54 in Tuesday's championship game, finishing the season undefeated at 39-0. It was the third time one of Auriemma's teams has gone undefeated in a season.

That's it for this installment folks! Be sure to check back for final match ups in the NBA Playoffs and also a look at the WNBA Draft!

Final Hours (Women's Edition)

After North Carolina was crowned 2009 National Champions following last night's 89-72 win over Michigan State, it's the women's turn. Tonight the 38-0 top-seeded Connecticut Huskies will battle the #3 Louisville Cardinals at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.

Much like last night's game with North Carolina and Michigan State, the Huskies will be undoubtedly favored to win. The question on everyone's mind is: by how many points will Connecticut win? In the two previous meetings between the Huskies and the Cardinals, UConn has walked out unphazed, winning by 28 and 39 points respectively. Did I mention that the Huskies are also 38-0? They have dominated all of their opponents this season, winning by double-digits in every game. Not an average of double-digits mind you, but by double-digits every single game.

"I think that's the key to our success all year," Moore said. "Not getting too wrapped up in being afraid of, 'What if we lose?' Just getting excited and showing up and playing UConn basketball for 40 minutes."

If UConn is able to defeat Louisville, it will mark the fifth time a team in Division I Women's Basketball, has gone undefeated for an entire season. It will also be the third time that a team under Huskies Head Coach Geno Auriemma has gone undefeated.

Louisville, on the otherhand, is hoping to cut UConn's reign as #1 all season short. The Cardinals have indeed played better since their last meeting against the Huskies in the Big East Championship title game, but it will be a large task and they will need to be near perfect to defeat UConn because the Connecticut program is not known to lose National Championship games.

Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz had this to say about tonight's upcoming match up. "Motivation is not tough if you're honest with players," Walz said. "As for myself, it's going to be fun. There's no question UConn is the best team in the country. There's no doubt. What we have to do is find a way to play better for 40 minutes."

Hopefully, this game will come down to the wire. Fans will either witness the crowning of UConn as the National Champion for the sixth time in program history or the first championship for Louisville and the fall of Goliath.

Congratulations to the National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels! The Tar Heels were able to competely dismantle the Spartans last night in the hostile environment created by hometown Detroit fans. Now North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams can only wait to see which of his players will stay for another season and make another run at a National Championship next year.

That's it for this installment! Check back for news on the 2009 Women's National Champion and information on UNC's title-defending roster for next season. Enjoy the game everyone!

Final Hours (Men's Edition)

After the smoke has cleared and the championship teams have been established for the Men's and NCAA tournament, it is now time to make a decision on who will walk away from tonight's game.

In the Men's championship game tonight, the favorite North Carolina Tar Heels will face off against the underdog and surprise finalist, Michigan St. Spartans. North Carolina who beat Villanova 83-69 on Saturday, has underachieved in the last few years but will have the opportunity to live up to the haughty standards that were cast upon them earlier this year. The Tar Heels were picked to go undefeated this season but when Ty Lawson went out with a bad big toe, many thought North Carolina's season was over. However, when Lawson returned, sporting a large amount of tape wrapped securely around his big toe, once again, fans and sports analysts hopped on the Tar Heel bandwagon. 

"You saw the articles and heard the talk and the whole bit after the 0-2 start and everybody complaining about [Lawson] wasn't as good," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. "He gets a lot of criticism after Tyrese Rice and Jeff Teague, but he doesn't have to take a backseat to anybody. He is tougher now mentally. He is tougher physically."

There is a reason for the rock star-ish hoopla surrounding this team. They bring to the court length, speed, power, athleticism, talent, and most of all, an understanding of the game of basketball. This team understands what they need to do on and off the court to win a championship. 

Michigan State on the other hand, was never a favorite to win the NCAA championship. Although they were seeded #2 going into the tournament, their advancement to tonight's game has come as a shock to most. Too bad they won't be an underdog to the large Detroit crowd that will undoubtedly be in attendance at Ford Field in Detroit. Michigan State will need to be running on full cylinders throughout the game as although they are talented, North Carolina did completely tear them apart offensively and defensively in their previous meeting earlier this season. The Spartans lost by 35 points in that Dec. 3rd match up.

In the last few months, Detroit, or rather, the state of Michigan has had very little to celebrate. Their mayor was impeached, their economy has fallen apart due to the loss of automotive jobs, and their crime has skyrocketed. Michigan State is hoping to not only win a championship but to also reenergize a city that has little to smile about.

"I think they kind of forget about the hard times," Walton said after the 82-73 win over Connecticut. "That's one thing we talked about is bringing hope to the city for a whole weekend. For the moment we were on that court and we won that game, people didn't think about what they were going through outside of this. They were just happy that we won and that they can continue to cheer for us on Monday."

Expect to see Michigan State's Ervin "Magic" Johnson screaming his heart out at the game tonight and maybe even North Carolina's Mr. Michael Jordan in attendance as well. Michigan State will definitely require some magic if they hope to get past the Tar Heels tonight. Enjoy the game everyone! That's all for this installment.

Losing Time, Players, & Money

After a tough season with the Detroit Pistons, it sounds as if future Hall of Famer, Allen Iverson is ready to call it quits. At the moment, the Pistons find themselves fighting to hold onto the 7th playoff spot in the Eastern conference. They are a 1/2 game ahead of the Chicago Bulls and only 2 games ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats who have been on a tear recently. Now with only 7 games left in the regular season, Iverson is stirring up more controversy stating, "I'd rather retire before I do this again," Iverson said. "I can't be effective playing this way. I'm not used to it. It's tough for me both mentally and physically. If I'm able to go out there, I should be able to get it done and I can't right now."

Iverson has been known to over-dramatize things over his career but after only 2 games of coming off the bench, it seems as if he was waiting for the opportunity to share his disgust with the idea of becoming a bench player. His complaints would have been valid but he initially voiced his unhappiness by addressing the lack of minutes he was receiving.

"Eighteen minutes, c'mon, man. I can play 18 minutes with my eyes closed, with a 100-pound truck on my back. That's a bad feeling," Iverson said, after a 79-73 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Now only two days later, he changes his story and claims that he needs to start so that his back does not tighten up. The fact of the matter is, Iverson is not buying into the scheme presented by Head Coach of the Pistons, Michael Curry, and in his past, when Iverson did not agree with the coach, all parties involved usually suffered. General Manager Joe Dumars and Coach Curry will now be faced with the choice of making Iverson happy and having little to no shot of defeating Boston or Orlando in the first round of the playoffs, or dealing with a disgruntled Iverson which would better your chances of advancing in the playoffs but could cause Iverson to leave Detroit after one season. This Iverson distraction will definitely not make it any easier for the Pistons to hold onto the 7th seed.



The Boston Celtics have chose to shutdown Kevin Garnett for the remainder of the regular season. Garnett missed 13 games earlier this season due to a right knee injury and after making an attempt to return sooner than expected, Garnett has been forced to street clothes until the playoffs begin.

Boston Celtics Head Coach, Doc Rivers had this to say about his emotional leader's future, "He's not feeling great and we're just not going to take the chance," Rivers said. "A day of rest . . . it's more just the whole knee strain. We're just going to go day by day. I'd say that because we're sitting him down that we'd probably do it for more than one game. But I'm not sure yet."

Knowing Garnett, even if he had to play on one leg, he would play if it meant helping his team win another championship. He would also sit out for the remainder of the season if he felt he was hurting the Celtics. When you think of the words "teamwork" and "teammate" Garnett should immediately come to mind. It wouldn't hurt if Iverson took a few notes.



As the end of the season draws near, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as favorites for this year's championship. Both have distanced themselves from the teams in their conference and look to be well tuned for the start of the playoffs at the end of the month. Match ups will most likely not be determined until the final week if not the final day of the regular season for the first round of the playoffs, but no matter the opponent, both teams should at least advance to the 2nd round. As for the rest of the teams, it is up in the air how the playoff picture will pan out and how far they will advance. Good luck to all those involved because they will need it.



That's it for this installment! Be sure to check back for an update on the Men's and Women's Final Four. Also, as the regular season comes to an end, we will analyze the first round match ups and discuss the possibilities of upsets occurring. Enjoy your day everyone!