They're Baaaaack.

[lethalweapon3]

After a month-plus-long hiatus, the Atlanta Dream are back and ready to roll on their campaign for a third straight WNBA Finals appearance.While they were away, Angel McCoughtry provided what was considered to be the most valuable performance of any player on the gold-medal-winning U.S. Women's National Team, leading the U.S. in scoring off the bench, while providing stifling defensive effort that seemed to spark the necessary momentum to put opponents away.Leading the entire Olympics in scoring? None other than the Dream's Erika DeSouza of Brazil. She was also second in rebounds for the Olympics, and returns after missing the entire first half of the WNBA season.The Dream took a bit of a curb-stomping for stretches versus the Finals-contending Indiana Fever on Saturday, the second night of a road back-to-back, but return to Philips Arena tonight to face the team they beat on Friday, the Chicago Sky. (7 PM, FoxSports South)Epiphanny Prince is back from an injury and is trying to regain her torrid pace from the first half of the year, including 33 points in a win at Atlanta in early June. She hurt her ankle in her last game Tuesday and may not be available. Chicken Little would be happy to know the Sky is definitely free-falling, having dropped their last 7 games and 11 of their last 12. DeSouza will have her hands full with Sylvia Fowles, but got the best of that matchup on Friday as the Dream outscored them in the paint 52-30.The Dream only has to outpace Chicago and New York over the next month to secure a playoff spot. Stout defense needs to be tightened up outside the perimeter, and they'll have to find the right balance to highlight the star-quality efforts McCoughtry and DeSouza can muster on any night.Go Dream!~lw3

[capstone21]

At least one Atlanta basketball team can be successful...unfortantely it is the wrong one

[lethalweapon3]

Well the good feelings couldn't last but for so long. Already, Angel is going AWOL:

http://espn.go.com/wnba/story/_/id/8300116/wnba-angel-mccoughtry-indefinitely-atlanta-dream

Atlanta has another issue to worry about besides how to beat the Lynx. Dream star Angel McCoughtry, who leads the WNBA at 22.7 points per game, might not be playing. Or she might. It seems nobody with the Dream knows for sure.

That's because McCoughtry is not with the team. She didn't make the trip to Washington for Friday night's game against the Mystics. Wednesday, she was at Philips Arena for Atlanta's victory against visiting Chicago, when the Dream honored their Olympic connections in McCoughtry and coach Marynell Meadors (USA) and Erika de Souza (Brazil).

But McCoughtry was in street clothes and not only didn't play against the Sky, she wasn't on the Dream bench. Instead, she sat in the stands. There appeared to be little, if any, interaction between McCoughtry and her teammates. The Dream said she was out for "personal reasons" and that her absence was indefinite.

She sat across from the opponent's bench during Wednesday night's game.

Twitter sleuths suggest she was out clubbing in Atlanta Thursday night while the team was flying out to D.C. for tonight's game against the Mystics. So unless Angel red-eyed, she will not be with them tonight either. And no one on the Dream staff is saying a peep about it. Is this Chamique Holdsclaw Part II?

The trade deadline is August 30 at 8:00 PM. Hold on to your hats, it may get bumpy!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Will Angel care to join her teammates tonight (7 PM, ESPN2) against Collins Hill HS's Maya Moore and the defending champion Minnesota Lynx? They'll certainly need her in uniform and on the floor tonight. Their last two wins showed the team doesn't have the energy or firepower to last four quarters against good teams without her. And Coach Meadors and the team is a little strained trying to avoid explaining her "day-to-day" absence for "personal reasons." We'll see if the drama continues!~lw3