clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Maya Moore drops 26 on Seattle Storm, faced Jennie Finch in MLB softball game in one day

Maya Moore discusses preparing for the MLB's Legends & Celebrity Softball Game after dropping 26 points against the Seattle Storm on Sunday (video via Pioneer Press).

My father grew up not far from and graduated from the same college as Bobby Dandridge, a former NBA All-Star who got himself a pair of championship rings while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and then-Washington Bullets (now Wizards).

My father is a few years older than Dandridge and would tell these stories about him just embarrassing all comers around the area in both high school and college, to the point where for a long time I just assumed the guy was in the Naismith Hall of Fame (and apparently my Dad is not alone in believing he should be there). Unfortunately, I don't have any recollection of any specific story because the stories amounted to the basketball equivalent of "I walked three miles uphill to school and back through blizzards in Virginia" - tall tales that seemed to get taller and blurrier with each retelling, leaving some vague understanding of the moral while the details just become a sort of secondary concern.

In other words, I have no actual recollection of Dandridge and any story I tried to piece together for you would probably sound so absurd that you'd cease to pay attention.

For whatever reason, I thought about how the story of Bobby Dandridge's heroic feats were passed on to me when I heard about Maya Moore following up her dazzling scoring performance for the Minnesota Lynx by playing in the Legends & Celebrity Softball Game at Target Field as part of Major League Baseball's 2014 All-Star festivities.

The real story of the day: Moore scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the third quarter, including 9 in the first three minutes of the second half, to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Seattle Storm in a game that was not quite as competitive as the 77-60 final score. Afterwards, she played in the MLB's celebrity softball game and got a hit off of softball legend Jennie Finch.

Possibly embellished story that some unsuspecting child might hear one day: Maya Moore was a two-sport athlete who once played pro basketball and in some softball league. On one day, she had something like her 10th consecutive 30 point game and then dominated a softball game with a grand slam off of Jennie Finch hours later.

Here's to impossible tales of heroism and the heroes that inspire them.