Sparks and Beijing teammates Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker were each suspended for one game for their roles in the fracas. (AP)

The WNBA is suspending so many people from Tuesday's incident that the players will have to serve them at different times to play out tonight's games. In all, 10 players -- five from the Shock and five from the Sparks -- along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn were suspended for a grand total of 17 games.

WNBA President Donna Orender said in the release:

"The WNBA and its players represent all that is good about sports: passion, hard work and sacrifice. On a nightly basis our players display extraordinary skill, athleticism and competitive fire. The events Tuesday, however, were inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for. We hold our players to a very high standard and these suspensions should serve notice that the behavior exhibited at the end of Tuesday's game will not be tolerated."

Suspended were:

• Shock forward Plenette Pierson has been suspended for four games for her actions that initiated and escalated the altercation.
• Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn has been suspended for two games for escalating the altercation.
• Shock center Kara Braxton has been suspended for one game for leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation.
• Shock forward Tasha Humphrey has been suspended for one game for leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation.
• Shock guard Elaine Powell has been suspended for one game for leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation.
• Shock forward Sheri Sam has been suspended for one game for leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation.
• Sparks guard Shannon Bobbitt has been suspended for two games for leaving the area of the bench and becoming physically involved in an on-court altercation.
• Sparks forward Murriel Page has been suspended for two games for leaving the area of the bench and becoming physically involved in an on-court altercation.
• Sparks center Lisa Leslie has been suspended for one game for throwing a punch.
• Sparks forward DeLisha Milton-Jones has been suspended for one game for throwing a punch.
• Sparks forward Candace Parker has been suspended for one game for throwing a punch.

The suspensions will be staggered in order to allow enough players to suit up according to league rules. Pierson, Mahorn, Braxton and Humphrey will begin with tonight's game at Houston. Sam will sit out the July 27 game against San Antonio. Powell is injured, but will serve her suspension when she's well.

Bobbitt, Leslie, Milton-Jones and Parker will serve their suspensions tonight. Page will wait until July 25 when the Sparks visit New York.

Did the league get it right? And is Detroit's signing of 50-year-old ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman a smart roster move or a publicity stunt?

When Lieberman played for Phoenix at the age of 39, she set the WNBA's record as the oldest player in the league. Now 50, she'll break her own record. (AP)

The domino-row of events triggered by Tuesday night's fight continues to grow as the Detroit Shock announced that they've signed 50-year-old, Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract. The move brings Lieberman out of the ESPN broadcast booth and puts her back on the court as Detroit looks for a way to make up for the absence of star forward Cheryl Ford, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

That's right folks. Detroit signed Nancy Lieberman to play for them for the next seven days, which will get them to the Olympic break. The moment Lieberman takes the court she will break her own record as the oldest player ever in the WNBA. At 39 years and 54 days old she set the record with the Phoenix Mercury in 1997.

Update from Margaret:

In an interview on ESPN this afternoon, Nancy Lieberman talked about Detroit's game tonight against Houston. "I hope nobody gets into foul trouble," she said, "because then I'd have to play more minutes."

The teams play at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, so you'll get to see how much juice the TV analyst has in her tank.

I'm waiting for the WNBA to announce the repercussions of the Tuesday night's fight between the Shock and Sparks and I'll provide updates as that develops.

But in the meantime, what do you think about the league not dolling out punishments yesterday? I understand they wanted ample time to review every camera angle and possibly interview the people involved, but as the video circulated and comments about the brawl being a good thing for the WNBA festered, the league said no more than "we're investigating." Was that the right decision?

There has been so much talk over who was right and who was wrong in the fight. Or if the WNBA will follow the path of the NBA in terms of fights, brawls and outlandishness. Of all the people I talked to about the incident yesterday, Taj McWilliams-Franklin's thoughts (which is in my story today) seemed particularly poignant.

"It really has nothing to do with our identity or [the identity] of the game," McWilliams-Franklin, a 10-year WNBA veteran, said of the fight. "It was the heat-of-the-moment situation. It happened. It's over. We play on."

The rest of the Mystics I talked to agreed that this was a case of athletes allowing their adrenaline to get the best of them. It just happened to be that they were women, which in today's society draws a significant amount of attention, a phenomenon that remains a mystery to me. Fights happen in sports, regardless of whether the players are men or women.

Mystics-Liberty notes on the jump...

The initial version of this blog post incorrectly reported the cause of Cheryl Ford's injury. She tore her ACL coming down with a rebound with 2:06 to go in the fourth quarter. This version has been corrected.

A WNBA spokesman said today that the league is reviewing tape to determine appropriate action after yesterday's game ended with four people ejected, two technical fouls and one season-ending injury.

To give a sense of the rarity of WNBA suspensions, the AP reported:

In 2005, the Shock's Elaine Powell was suspended five games for striking Washington's Coco Miller during a game. Although Powell has never had the stature of Parker or even Milton-Jones, the league hasn't been shy about suspending a star player. Phoenix's Diana Taurasi served a two-game ban last season for inappropriate conduct toward game officials after a loss to Detroit.

Also, Cheryl Ford will be out the rest of the season after tearing her right ACL coming down with a rebound with 2:06 to go in the fourth quarter. It's a huge blow to the Detroit front court and will greatly impact their options in the post-season.

Finally, sports commenters and the blogosphere have had some interesting takes on the story. Here's a round-up of some of the reactions. I'll add more as I spot them, but feel free to link to your favorites in the comments.

The Seattle Times's Jayda Evans: Return to WNBA Melee

FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock: Don't Make Mahorn the Bad Boy in WNBA Scuffle

WRAL.com's Dave Nathan: Wild Women Attract Attention

Gannett News Service's Mike Lopresti: Brawl Gives WNBA Exposure, Wanted or Not

CBSSports.com columnist Ray Ratto: Girls-Gone-Wild Moment Doesn't Mean WNBA Has Gone to Hell

After battling back to get within one to start the fourth quarter, the Mystics fell to the Liberty in a morning game held before screaming summer basketball campers. Katie was at Verizon Center and said that the team was focused on stopping the Liberty's ability to shoot the three. It didn't work so hot -- New York shot 44 percent from beyond the arc, nailing 10 three-pointers.

Katie sent these quotes from Coach Jessie Kenlaw:

"We've got to become more focused on the little things, disciplined on the little things. That was my focus, because that's where we need to get better. And we're going to continue to work on those things -- drill on those things -- until it happens."

"The tempo wasn't as upbeat as I would have liked it to be in the first quarter, because when we run good things happen for us. We're going to make a turnover or two here running, but that's going to be our new identity. So I would have liked to get off to a better start there, but our defense dictates how much we can run."

To catch up on the details, you can read the AP story, study the box score and the play-by-play.

Were you able to watch or listen to the game from work? Have to explain yourself to the boss? And what did you think of the Mystics' play and Kenlaw's second game as top dog?

Today's 11:30 a.m. game is going to have a lot of people trying to follow the action from their desks. To help you out, here's the live play-by-play and radio Webcast.

And here are starting lineups:

Washington:

Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Monique Currie
Nakia Sanford
Nikki Blue
Alana Beard

New York:

Cathrine Kraayeveld
Shameka Christon
Janel McCarville
Loree Moore
Essence Carson

Feel free to comment live on the game! Let's have a conversation.

Holy moly.

In the waning seconds of the Detroit-Los Angeles game, a scuffle on the floor led to the ejections of three players and a Shock assistant coach. Plenette Pierson, Candace Parker, former Mystic DeLisha Milton-Jones and coach Rick Mahorn were all kicked out of the game. Cheryl Ford left as well due to an injury. Deanna Nolan and Shannon Bobbitt received technical fouls. Los Angeles managed to win, 84-81.

Part of the controversy came from the role of Mahorn, who was also involved in the 2004 Pistons-Pacers brawl when he went into the stands to restrain Ron Artest. He and Lisa Leslie tangled, and she fell to the floor, but each had a different view of the altercation.

"I don't even know why was he pushing me down," Leslie told the AP. "I wasn't swinging or hitting anybody. I was just going to go help my teammate up."

In an interview after the game, she questioned why Mahorn was turning to her, instead of concentrating on stopping his own players from fighting.

Mahorn had a different take.

"I was trying to protect the whole game, the integrity of the game," Mahorn told the AP. "The WNBA is very special to me ... I would never push a woman. This game, I love this game too much."

Both Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer and L.A. Coach Michael Cooper defended Mahorn's actions and reputation.

"Rick Mahorn is known as a peacemaker, from even the brawl we had here with Indiana," Laimbeer told the AP. "He went out there to get people off the pile, and to get people to stop the confrontation. That's who he is, that's what he does."

"We don't have time to waste," interim head coach Jessie Kenlaw said over and over at practice today. She ran the Mystics through their longest session of the year, despite the smooth jazz (the kind you hear in elevators) that started playing in Verizon Center for a season ticket holder event the Wizards were having.

Regular suicide sprints. Mimicking if a player stood and lollygagged. "If you have a question ask," Kenlaw said. "Don't just pretend you know what to do."

After the long practice the Mystics held a closed door team meeting, which all of the players came out of laughing. Washington's never been in a bad mood this season, but they've never been quite this easygoing and carefree. Considering it was after the long practice I was a bit surprised, but as Monique Currie told me "change is good for us." We'll see if change results in two, consecutive solid games tomorrow morning against New York. Yes, tomorrow morning is camp day at Verizon Center and as the Mystics staff reminded me today: don't forget to bring your earplugs. And I'll have a story in tomorrow's hard-copy edition about Alana Beard's slump.

Kenlaw lives by accountability. And the players know it. Here's Currie's take on the different practice styles:

"Jessie's big on every little thing. She really focuses on doing things the right way. She doesn't let things slide. You're accountable for making a bad pass and you're accountable for being in the right position at the right time. Things that will make us better players and a better team. It might take a little bit longer -- practice will be long -- but we're trying to get better and I think Jessie's the right person to make it happen."

The biggest problem Kenlaw's had so far? "I have to realize it takes time to change habits," she said. "They're so conditioned to the little things that I want to hold them accountable for that I have to be patient take a step back a little bit and try to give them enough time to make the adjustments."

If nothing else, the law of averages suggests the Mystics were bound to win a game. Does the law of averages explain the fashion in which they won? Well, who knows, but it was quite the dramatic reversal. The ultimate question is how do they build on it? Building on wins has been their Achilles' heel all season.

The players understood afterward, as you might be able to tell from Taj McWilliams-Franklin's quote in my story for Monday's paper that the adrenaline they funneled into a win today can't sustain the rest of the year. They need to find a tangible way to carry the progress in this win over to more games, beginning with the three prior to the Olympic break.

Here are some quotes from Taj that didn't make it into the hard copy edition.

First on how the defense played: Our defense had some fluidity to it even when we were out of position people were rotating just to help. It was rare that we gave up a wide open shot...people were rotating even when it wasn't their roattion and just hustling back into the play. It's catchy when you play good defense,

And then on how to help that carry over: If everybody commits to doing the defense the way they're supposed to, and they have a clear mindset of what they need to do, we'll be able to sustain that. Even when we don't score like we did tonight. Coach Kenlaw told us in the beginning, in the huddle 'If you don't (stick to your defense) I'm taking you out.' There was no mincing of words. You're either going to do it or you're gonna watch."

On another note, Jessie Kenlaw said repeatedly that she hasn't had time to think about how long she'll serve as head coach or what this season has in store for her or the team. Keep in mind that in eight years as an assistant coach she's never really pursued a head coaching spot.

While the past two days have been dominated by the coaching change, the Mystics' fundamental problems have remained the same. (More on what this past day has been like for Jessie Kenlaw further down in this post.)

The Mystics are 2-5 over their past seven games and only have four, including this afternoon's against Seattle, before the Olympic break. Washington is trying to stave off a third straight loss, but even if they show the emotion that was sorely lacking against New York and Detroit, the Mystics are up against a Seattle team that's won its past seven games - including their last one without reigning league MVP Lauren Jackson, who left the Storm to train with the Australian national team for the Beijing Olympics.

Granted if there's an opponent Kenlaw's familiar with it's the Storm. She spent four years as an assistant coach in Seattle prior to joining the Mystics, but Kenlaw told a few media types before the game how much the team's question on if she would fill in as head coach caught her off guard.

"I was very surprised. I was very shocked. It was totally unexpected," Kenlaw said. "This happened yesterday morning and when they asked me to fill in, when they asked me to do it, I almost said no. You just don't expect it and there's so much to do moving from this seat to the head seat. There's a lot that goes on that I didn't even know about (like meeting with media). It's a huge adjustment."

Kenlaw has spent eight years as a WNBA assistant coach and brushed off questions that she might be auditioning for a permanent position. "I was asked to fill in and coming in I'm just trying to change the mindset of the team."

Here's some more from Kenlaw:

On the immediate changes: "We're going to try to look at the substitution pattern a little bit differently. We're going to try to run a little bit more, be more up tempo. Just minor things like that."

On how the team's reacting to her: "I'm always in the background and that's my role but there's another side of me. I'm very demanding when it comes to certain things on the court and us trying to establish a discipline. So I think you'll see that side of me in trying to enforce things that we need to do a little bit differently."

Starting Lineups:
Washington--the usual:
F-Monique Currie
F-Taj-McWilliams Franklin
C-Nakia Sanford
G-Alana Beard
PG-Nikki Blue

Seattle:
F-Swin Cash
F-Camille Little
C-Yolanda Griffith
G-Sheryl Swoops
PG- Sue Bird

The Mystics just announced that that Tree Rollins has been fired as head coach and that assistant coach Jessie Kenlaw has been named interim head coach.

I have to be brief at the moment because I was on my way out the door to Verizon when I got the news. Here is the team's release.

Update: Just got off the phone with Rollins and here are a few excerpts from my conversation with him.

On his firing: "I've always been able to finish whatever I've started. No matter how bad it's got, I always finished it. I'm not really concerned about winning or losing the game so much I want to go out and compete. I just wanted five people to go out and compete, earn your trip.You're getting paid to do a job. You go out and do that job the best that you can do that job. And the one thing that I'm feeling now is that I'm giving up on my team."

On the losses to New York and Detroit: "We had other games where we didn't look like a basketball team but we came back and competed. Last night no one wanted to be near that court. At the end of the first quarter against New York we stopped competing. And we didn't compete for the next seven quarters...I never felt that [the odds] were stacked against me. We just didn't have personnel to do the job. We started the year off with our share of problems, but we convinced this team that they could still compete."

On what the biggest problems were: "You've got to have a good point [guard] and a good center and you build around those two positions and right now the Washington Mystics just don't have that going for them. Other teams took advantage of that."

On how he thinks Kenlaw will fare: "I don't know what Jessie can do different from what we did as a staff. I'm not saying she won't find something to do differently, but now you still have the same staff just like last year. I knew what we had to do last year when [former head coach] Richie [Adubato] decided to leave [in 2007] when our starting [center] was traded. We didn't miss [Chasity Melvin] as much as we thought we were going to miss her because Nakia stepped up to the plate. It still boils down to the players, who have to step up to the plate and play."

Update: The thing that surprised me most about my discussions with various people today about the coaching change was General Manager Linda Hargrove telling me that if these two recent losses had been regular losses not drubbings, that the coaching change might not have happened.

"It probably wouldn't have happened had we lost those two games, just lost them," Hargrove said. "But the way we lost them and the way we didn't compete...was very much a part of the decision.

"Whenever you are going through a bad stretch sometimes you can keep everybody together on the same page and continue to work toward a common goal," Hargrove added. "I don't think I really felt the connectiveness with our team and Tree for awhile. I think we won some games in spite of maybe not having a real together feeling with everybody."

--My observations from the first Jessie Kenlaw led practice are that she's a completely different style of coach than Rollins. That much was apparent even during his practices, because Kenlaw has a much more fiery directional style. I'm curious to see if she lets it show in the games. According to Hargrove, Kenlaw's "a motivator. She's a disciplinarian. She's a lot of things this team needs."

Kenlaw on what she and Crystal Robinson tried to accomplish today: "The biggest thing is to change their mindsets and that's we talked about and worked on. Today it was all about us. It wasn't about Seattle. It was more about getting our team in the right frame of mind that they need to be in, working hard and making a couple of adjustments and trying to change some habits."

--Alana Beard said the move definitely sent an urgent message to the players, that in many ways responds to the comments Rollins has made over the past few days about the players being accountable. "We're the players. We have to go out there and play the game," Beard said. "We have to come and do our job... Tomorrow's not guaranteed if you want to be here you have to work your butt off to stay here."