Simone4Children *** Storm Salutes Simone Edwards The Seattle Storm plans quite a tribute to the last of its original players Tuesday night. Simone Edwards' retirement assists the Storm in complying with the salary cap. Subtracting her "veteran's salary" makes room for two younger players on the Storm roster. (Seattle Times, May 23, 2006).   Simone Edwards Retires from WNBA Simone Edwards, the last original member of the Seattle Storm, announced her retirement on Friday May 19th. Unable to secure a place on the final roster, she opted not to be available for other WNBA teams and retired instead. Simone has a large fan base in Seattle, and is loved for her team spirit, her warm heart, and her ties to her adoptive city of Seattle. Simone will participate in the Carribean games, and is still available for playing in the more lucrative European leagues. (Seattle Times, May 19, 2006).   Storm Cuts Center Taylor Seattle Storm's backup center Lindsay Taylor wasn't able to resolve her problems relating to an achilies tendon injury, and she was cut from the team after practice on Wednesday. The bad news for Taylor is good news for Simone Edwards, as it appears to provide her with a safe spot on the team's start-of-season linup. Coach Donavan had perviously said that she wanted to have a 12-woman team, but that for salary reasons she would probably have to cut a veteran. As the last remaining veteran of the Storm's original season, those comments tended to point toward Simone Edwards as being the most likely candidate to be cut. Under the WNBA salary rules, the minimum salary for veterans such as Simone is considerably higher than for those of less experience, making it difficult to keep veterans on the team without running into salary cap problems (Seattle Tiimes, May 18, 2006).   Saturday May be Simone's Last Game in Seattle? Tiffani Johnson's arrival in Seattle as a backup post player may spell the end for Simone Edwards, Seattle Storm's last original player. Coach Donovan said she would like to carry 12 players on the roster, but one veteran may be cut for salary reasons (Seattle P.I., May 10, 2006).   Storm Evaluating Players Into Exhibition Season Although the Seattle Storm could carry twelve players on their roster, seven-year veterans Simone Edwards and Tiffani Johnson are vulnerable to being cut for salary reasons.   Simone Edwards has Conflicting Calls Simone Edwards was called to return to play for the Seattle Storm in 2006, but also was asked by the Prime Minister of Jamaica to market and compete for her country's team in the Caribbean Basketball Championships, June 12-18 in Jamaica. Perhaps she can do both? (Seattle Times, May 2, 2006).   CHAMPIONS! Seattle Storm Topples Sun for Title "Original Storm players Kamila Vodichkova and Simone Edwards did more than anyone likely expected last night. The often-overlooked centers combined for 20 points and pounded the glass for eight rebounds. They helped bury the difficult memories of expansion in a celebratory shower of Storm-colored confetti." (Seattle P.I. October 13, 2004).   Seattle Toasts a New Champion "Enveloped by the unrestrained joy of 17,027 fans in sold-out KeyArena, the Seattle Storm captured the eighth WNBA championship with a 74-60 victory over a game but overmatched Connecticut Sun, ending a 25-year title drought for a city starved for a professional winner." (Seattle P.I., October 13, 2004).   Doff your cap and Hail the Storm "Hail to Simone Edwards, who like Vodichkova is one of two Storm "originals" and is the team's unofficial link to its roots." (Seattle P.I., October 12, 2004).   If the Storm's Not on your Radar, it's Time to Start Cheering "They're on the verge of bringing Seattle its first professional sports title in 25 years, but if you're not one of the several thousand die-hard fans, you may not know much about the Seattle Storm" (Seattle P.I., October 9, 2004).   Simone Edwards Putting in Extra Work "Reserve forward Simone Edwards could not afford a water break at yesterday's Storm practice. Instead, the little-used, 6-foot-4 post spent her down time under the practice facility's northeast hoop."(Seattle P.I., September 3, 2004).   Scouting the Storm "Throw in Vodichkova, newly acquired center Janell Burse and Seattle roster original Simone Edwards and the Storm is stacked with quality posts."(Seattle P.I., May 20, 2004)          Copyright 2006-2007 - Brookridge Associates Inc. All rights reserved.