Seven days, four games, and hope. In its most basic form, that was what the Shock's West Coast swing was all about last week. It was a four-game trip that would put the Shock into the WNBA playoffs or send its players back to all corners of the globe after Wednesday's season finale against New York. Life on the WNBA road is different from other major-league sports. The hotels are nice, but not five-star hangouts.
Charter flights are nonexistent.
Wake-up calls are early. The submarine shop is as good a place as any to have lunch. For a team of women who are used to much shorter road trips, a seven-day excursion can be trying. The Shock needed to overcome the grind because the playoffs were a possibility, however remote. They needed to leapfrog three teams, all of whom were within two games of each other, but the carrot was there.