Open Thread: Four Games for Friday, starting at 7:00 PM ET

1. New York Liberty (11-21) at Indiana Fever (15-17), 7:00 PM ET

These two teams have been 2-2 in their four games up to this point. The Liberty will try to get a winning record against the Defending Champs tonight in their house at that. Won't be an easy task, but it's possible since the Fever may just coast until the Playoffs.

2. Connecticut Sun (9-23) at Washington Mystics (15-17), 7:00 PM ET

If you're in the DC Area, turn on Monumental Network by using new media, via your iOS device or your computer.

Even though the Mystics have clinched a playoff berth, they certainly don't want to be team that earned Mike Thibault's worst ever regular season, because they're 15-19 if they lose tonight and Sunday. Winning tonight will do two things for DC. First, they will be no worse than Coach Thibault's 2009 Connecticut Sun team which finished with a 16-18 record, his worst to date based on a win and loss perspective of course. Second, the Mystics would clinch a winning record at Verizon Center.

I thought I'd be looking forward to NBA season at this point of the year in the preseason. Right now, I do have some morbid curiosity on how this team can do in the postseason, even though I don't have any real expectations either. That doesn't mean that I give DC no chance in the playoffs, so don't call this additional bulletin board material Nate!

3. Atlanta Dream (17-15) at Chicago Sky (23-9), 8:30 PM ET

ATL tries to get its fifth straight winning season. It also will clinch a #2 spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs if it hasn't already. The Sky will try to go for a 25-9 season.

4. San Antonio Silver Stars (11-21) at Phoenix Mercury (18-14), 10:00 PM ET

The seeding for the Mercury is now decided. However, PHX will still go for a 20 win season nevertheless. And really, I think this team should have been a 20 win season to begin with. The Stars... well, the Draft Lottery's soon.

Top Summer Tunes I didn't play

Because I can't think of a song for the day.

Well, there was a lot of great or popular summer music out there, but some songs were too suggestive/explicit after looking at YouTube, or I just didn't like the songs:

• Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" - If you don't know why Miley got the idea of twerking on Robin Thicke, well, you see some of that here. And I never was a fan of the random teddy bears showing up in scenes intertwined with twerking. Like she says in the song, "Only God can judge her."
• Robin Thicke's "Give it 2 U" with 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar - I actually linked or embedded "Blurred Lines" back in June since it was the hottest summer hit on the charts and that was the edited version, not the unrated one which you can Google up and I think it was banned from YouTube last June because of topless women. Even the edited video had some parts that made me blush and I don't really like that song that much. I like the beat of this song however, and this video was well choreographed, used actual HBCU Dance teams from Alabama State and Albany State (GA) Universities. I basically didn't feel comfortable embedding it when I saw a float of choice when 2 Chainz starts his rap. Many of the ideas in this video and Blurred Lines were suggested by Thicke's wife, actress Paula Patton, who was in Precious, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and 2 Guns, among others.
• Justin Timberlake's "Tunnel Vision." - Like the unrated version of Blurred Lines, there's nudity with topless women dancing, not provocatively, but just saying that is enough not to play. I do like Timberlake's music and the song is good, but I can't play it. He and Timbaland make good stuff but the video wasn't appropriate.
• Jennifer Lopez's "Live It Up" - Saw a bit too much bumper at times. But then I did play "Blurred Lines", the edited version...
• Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop," - I hate that song. I like "Can't Hold Us" which I linked earlier. But I wasn't a fan of "Thrift Shop."
  

• Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" - just an audio clip from Vevo, but there are some videos available too. Playoff time?
• Lady Gaga's "Applause" - Didn't get a chance to play it. Sunday sounds like a good time to do it. She definitely doesn't wear much in a lot of the video and there is a scene of her in a bra that resemble's Janet Jackson's Rolling Stone cover, but there's always some symbolism with her. Either way, we expect craziness from Lady Gaga who is just...OUT THERE.
• Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" - Didn't get a chance to play it yet. Playoffs?
• Avicii's "Wake Me Up" - Didn't get a chance to play it yet either.
• Capital Cities' "Safe and Sound" - Also didn't get a chance yet.
• Maroon 5's "Love Somebody" - Didn't get a chance yet.

Enjoy your Fridays everyone!