If you've ever dreamed of Swin Cash handing you your morning coffee, Tuesday's event is for you. Cash and teammates will be scattered around town serving folks their favorite cup of Joe. Here's more details:

STORM PLAYERS HIGHLIGHT LAUNCH OF NEW SEASON
WHO: Seattle Storm players Shyra Ely, Swin Cash, Katie Gearlds, Ashley Robinson, Kristen O'Neill and Tanisha Wright

Storm Opening Night is this Saturday, May 17, against the Chicago Sky. Tip off is at 7 p.m. Season tickets and packages for the Storm are on sale at www.storm.wnba.com or by calling (206) 217-WNBA..

Seems McDonald's is jumping into the mix, putting its logo on all 14 WNBA team's jerseys during what will be called "WNBA Tipoff Presented by McDonald's." The women will help the fast food chain launch its new Southern-style chicken breakfast sandwich during the opening week of the regular season.

Players sporting logos is nothing new; overseas they are laced in them. But it's a growing trend in America, starting with MLS soccer. And McDonald's isn't new to pro hoops, hosting events with the Indiana Fever and for the 2007 NBA celebrity All-Star game. Guess it's a good sign that a major company sees a value in marketing in the WNBA. Or a cheap way to get some marketing out of rookie Candace Parker without paying her the mega bucks.

Here's to all of the WNBA mothers and a special shout out to my mother. The Storm finally has two mothers on its roster in Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith while CEO Karen Bryant is celebrating her first, giving birth to a girl in April.

For your reading pleasure, here are two articles about athlete mommies.

STORM WINS: Dunn pulled her classic timeout calling the final 30 seconds with her team having little chance to win, but hey, you've got to work on late-game execution some time right? Anyway, the Storm won its final exhibition game 75-64.

HOLDING ON: Slowly, the Storm is gaining confidence. A 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter gave the team a 63-54 lead and now the score is 65-59 with 2:35 remaining in the game.

KENNEDY IN: Rookie Daphanie Kennedy is the last player on the roster to check into the game. The Storm is ahead 59-52 after back-to-back three-pointers by Gearlds and a driving layin by Kennedy that drew a foul. There's 7:25 reamining in the game and the Storm has their largest lead at seven.

HODGES CHECKS IN: If anything can be read from Agler's rotation, it's not looking good for Roneeka Hodges. He said he wanted to play the players who would see time during the season and make final evaluations. As a fifth-year player, Hodges is expensive when accounting the salary cap and she is just checking in with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Storm is ahead 46-45 with 2:02 on the clock. (FYI, Hodges is playing on the wing with twin Lewis.)

FINALLY EXECUTING: The score is still tied (44), but the Storm starters are executing 60 percent better than they did in the opening half. Ely has two blocks in the quarter while Cash and Griffith are doing some dirty work underneath the hoop. Seattle still needs better defense on White, who nailed a three-pointer in Swoopes' face.

THE ZONE: The Storm switched to a zone defense -- partly to slow White, who has eight points. The players are executing it well with Wright picking up a steal and the team forcing Indiana into a shot clock violation. It's halftime and the teams are tied at 33 points apiece.

EXTRA SMALL: Agler said he'd try different lineups and he wasn't joking. G Doneeka Lewis is leading the point with F Cash, F O'Neill, F Swoopes, and F Shyra Ely. Ely and Cash were sharing the center position. On a substitution, Agler put Griffith and Brazilian Kelly Santos in.

NICE DISH: On the scramble, A-Rob found O'Neill for an open 20-footer with 0.4 remaining in the quarter. The shot brought the crowd to its feet and put the Storm ahead 19-18. The crowd, by the way, is solid for an exhibition matchup. Probably about 3,500. There's a Mariners game across town, but the weather isn't a factor.

O'NEILL CHECKS IN: Washington standout Kristen O'Neill just checked in for Katie Gearlds. Gearlds got the crowd pumped with a three-pointer. The Storm leads 17-13 with 1:03 remaining in the opening quarter.

GRIFFITH HITS THE DECK: So, Griffith just took her first tumble, scoring a picturesque layin that drew a foul. Here's hoping that ignites this game because the crowd is lifeless and the Storm has five bad turnovers -- you know, pass to officials or invisible teammates. It looks like the team's first exhibition game instead of the third. But majority of the players did just arrive. The Storm is tied at 11 points apiece with the Fever.

CASH-ING IN: The Storm is down 7-6, but Cash has the mid-range jumper down, making 2 of 3. The Storm is missing its shots underneath and is a little sloppy. Agler has already made two substitutions, playing rookie PG Kimberly Beck for Wright and C Ashley Robinson for Griffith. Agler brought Wright back in for Swoopes. There's 4:49 remaining in the opening quarter.

THE OTHER JACKSON: Washington coach Tia Jackson is sitting baseline with Storm CEO Karen Bryant and former Storm F Jamie Redd, a Washington alum. A few seats down are the four new owners that comprise Force 10 Hoops LLC.

STANDING O: Dunn was just given a standing ovation by the KeyArena crowd and wished a happy birthday by the public address announcer during player introductions.

BIRD AND JACKSON'S RETURN: Agler said co-captains Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson should participate in Tuesday's practice. Bird is expected to arrive in Seattle from Russia late Sunday while Jackson is expected on Monday. Jackson is the only question mark to practice because she needs to pass a physical first. The duo should have four days of practice under the new system with new teammates before Saturday's season opener.

SWOOPES TO START?: F Sheryl Swoopes participated in shootaround this morning and said she's fine to start tonight. The final lineup hasn't been handed out, but coach Biran Agler said the final decision would be up to Swoopes. She called the sprained ankle, suffered in Thursday's practice, "sore." Swoopes did make an appearance at the GSBA Scholarship Awards Dinner gala on Friday, looking stunning, I'm told, in a white vest with slimming black pants. She was a presenter at the event that provides business opportunity for the queer community and those that support it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Indiana coach Lin Dunn is a little bummed an old tradition has been broken. Back in the day she celebrated her birthday, which is today, with Storm forward Lauren Jackson, who turns 27 on Sunday. But with Jackson in Russia, that won't be the case today. Dunn said she's, "not seeing any starters," when she looks out at her team. Tully Bevilaqua stayed in Indiana with Tamika Catchings due an extensive amount of travel the past month. Catchings, while on pace to return from foot injuries, will miss at least five games this season due to rehab. Dunn signed C Kristen Newlin today to fill out the roster. She also hired former Storm assistant Gary Kloppenburg, who was previously with the Charlotte Bobcats. So, it's a reunion all around.

Here are tonight's starters

Storm
F Shyra Ely
F Swin Cash
C Yolanda Griffith
G Sheryl Swoopes
G Tanisha Wright

Fever
F Alison Bales
F Allison Feaster
C Kasha Terry
G Tan White
G Laine Selwyn

The officials are Scott Twardoski, Maj Forberg, and Penny Davis.

Storm co-captains Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird should be returning to Seattle soon, winning the decisive Game 4 of their Russian SuperLeague championship series 101-63 to collect their second consecutive title. Jackson had 30 points in the blowout that was decided at the half. Bird had 13 and four assists, playing a team-high 30 minutes.

Their wrapping up so quickly means the duo can have a week of practice with the Storm before next Saturday's season opener against Chicago at KeyArena. Seattle plays its final exhibition game tonight against Indiana at the Key.

If you're planning to see Tamika Catchings or Tully Bevilaqua on Saturday when Indiana plays Seattle at KeyArena, I hope you brought a picture of both because they won't be in the building. In fact, neither will crowd favorites Katie Douglas or Tammy Sutton-Brown. They are still playing overseas while Catchings isn't expected on the court until mid-season due to continued rehabilitation of injuries to both feet - a torn Achilles suffered during last season's playoffs.

Fans will be able to see rising center Alison Bales and energetic scorer Tan White. Veteran Allison Feaster also practice today in Seattle, but it's just her second session with the team. Basically, according to their public relations spokesman, the Fever will take the court with 10 players and only three were on the roster last season. Oodles of fun for first-year coach Lin Dunn, the Storm inaugural coach from 2000-02.

Indiana is 0-2 in exhibition play like Seattle, losing to Chicago 81-71 and Minnesota 78-64.

Storm F Sheryl Swoopes missed practice today due to her sprained left ankle. Swoopes suffered the injury in the final drill of Thursday's session. Storm coach Brian Agler expected her back today, but Swoopes instead rode a stationary bike throughout the practice. She is listed as day-to-day for Saturday's exhibition finale against Indiana at KeyArena.

Meanwhile co-captains Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson may be a step closer to returning, taking a 2-1 lead in thier Russian SuperLeague championship series today. The decisive Game 4 is Saturday.

F Natalie Doma sounded optimistic in an interview with the Idaho State Journal regarding her being cut on Thursday.

"I'm just taking this experience and moving on with it," she said. "The coaches were all very positive about releasing me. They had good things to say. It's just kind of what happened, and I have a bright future ahead of me."

Doma plans to play in France beginning Sept. 30 and she'll also try out for the Canadian national team, being a native of Victoria, B.C. Those experiences coupled with confidence should make the free agent ready for the WNBA next season.

"It challenged me, and I stepped up the challenge some of the time," the Idaho State grad told the newspaper. "This level is definitely a step above the college level and being able to be here for a few weeks will help me. It was probably one of the hardest things I had to do. I'm used to being in class. [But] They were very positive, and they just wished me the best of luck.

"The future's bright, that's what I'm hearing a lot."

Doma, like most who glance over the Storm roster, was star struck by the names of All-Stars and all-decade players. And that's before co-captains Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson had a chance to arrive.

"It's like the dream team, and I feel very honored to be able to play with these players and have met them," Doma said.