In case you missed it, WNBA basketball is back

A big laugh.

That's what I got out of Chicago Sky president Margaret Stender when I asked her if she had been kicking back and relaxing during the WNBA's monthlong Olympic hiatus.

Of course, I was only kidding.

If anything, Stender and her staff had to work as much as usual, if not more, over the last four weeks.

Why?

Because a 33-day break smack dab in the middle of a season isn't good for any sports league, let alone a league that has to work tirelessly just to draw 8,000 fans to a game on a good day.

WNBA teams had to spend the last four weeks figuring out ways to keep their product relevant while their stadiums were dark and their best players weren't even on this continent.

"The hardest part (about the break) is the visibility," said Stender, who was thrilled to see the Sky play its first game since July 26 on Thursday - a 69-60 victory in New York. "You just kind of fall off the face of the earth and there are so many people who don't understand the seasonality of our business to begin with. And now it's like, 'Is it over? Are they still playing? I haven't heard about them in so long, what's going on?' That's unfortunate."

To offset the out-of-sight, out-of-mind factor, team officials required at least a handful of players to be in Chicago at all times while others took some personal time off. That way, there was always someone around to do appearances and clinics and to interact with corporate sponsors.

For instance, the players did one clinic for the children of season-ticket holders while doing others at local schools.

They also made appearances at events like the Fiesta del Sol, the Women's Black Expo and the Bud Billiken parade. And they visited local libraries to promote the team's reading program.

Some players also did on-line chats with fans.

"We did a lot when we were here in Chicago," said Sky forward Brooke Wyckoff, who spent a day at Great America and visited family in Cincinnati during her personal off-days. "I'm not really worried about (being forgotten) because pretty much everyone we talked with was excited for us to get back to playing. So many people were tuned in to the Olympics and kind of knew what was going on and were champing at the bit to see some more Sky games."

So what exactly will Sky fans see at the first home game since the break on Sunday - a 5 p.m. tilt with Eastern Conference heavyweight Detroit?

Quality basketball, or the sloppy basketball often seen at the beginning of the season when players who haven't played together in a long time are still trying to find their way together?

"We seem to be jelling pretty well," Sky forward Candice Dupree said even before the team's victory at New York. "It seems like everybody is in pretty good shape."

While in Chicago, Sky players were also working out, and on Aug. 9, the WNBA allowed them to resume normal practices.

"Coming back to practice was like another training camp almost, which wasn't good, but at least we didn't have two-a-days," Wyckoff laughed. "We had a lot of time to work on individual skills, ballhandling, shooting, and we've also put in some new things, some wrinkles that other teams haven't seen before. The break has been a really good thing in that way."

The break also helped the Sky in other ways.

It stopped the momentum of a bad stretch - the Sky lost three of four games before the break - and it gave some banged up players, like starting point guard Dominique Canty (knee), a chance to heal.

The Sky can also now count on a fully recuperated Sylvia Fowles, who was out for seven weeks before helping the U.S. win Olympic gold in Beijing.

"It was just a good time for us to regroup, get everyone healthy and get a fresh start," Wyckoff said of the break. "I think we can use this to our advantage."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com