Monarchs Watch: Day 19 - Final Day

Sacramento Monarchs: 1997-2009

The WNBA made the announcement. There will be a dispersal draft held on December 14, 2009 for the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs - or at least this version of them - are dead.

From the WNBA announcement:

A Dispersal Draft involving Sacramento Monarchs players will take place Monday, Dec. 14, WNBA President Donna Orender announced today. Orender also announced the league will seek to add a team to the Bay Area for the 2011 season.

“A number of potential investors have come forward and expressed interest in relocating the Monarchs to the Bay Area, a market that we continue to see as desirable,” said Orender. “Ultimately, we made the judgment that we would not be able to complete a transaction in time for a successful new-market launch in 2010. We will therefore focus our energy on adding a team in the Bay Area for the 2011 campaign.”

I wouldn't be expecting a Bay Area team arriving for some time. Frankly, the WNBA needs to stay at 12 teams and it needs to stop expanding. The current league franchises need some age behind them, and I don't want to see a 16-team league for some time to come.

So this is it. It's over, and the fans of Sacramento have my condolences. You got a championship, you got to see Yolanda Griffith and Ticha Penicheiro, but you also got shafted by the Maloofs. You got the best and you got the worst. I'm just sorry that a great franchise has to go in such a manner.