Howdy, and welcome to the debut of the Sun blog.

I'm your host. Tipping is encouraged (I have rent to pay and only so many kidneys to sell).

Hate to start this foray into the blogging world with a correction, but … there were two errors in Thursday's story on Renee Montgomery, one of which is on me and the other due to incorrect information supplied by the league.

■ One —point guard Kiesha Brown is Connecticut's only unrestricted free agent. Off-guard Tan White is restricted.

■ Two — Kerri Gardin (forward), Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (guard) and Erin Phillips (guard) are reserved players, not restricted (as is Greek guard Evanthia Maltsi).

You're probably wondering what the difference is between restricted and reserved, and trying to read the legalise in the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement can be quite confusing. So here's the simple version:

■ A reserved player is a veteran free agent with three or less years of service. Their team has exclusive negotiating rights.

■ A restricted player is a veteran who is "subject to a team's right of first refusal." She can sign an offer sheet with any other team, but would remain with her present team as long as they match the offer.

You shouldn't need an explanation for an unrestricted free agent. Like, duh.

Since we're discussing free agency, it officially began Friday. Players and teams can begin negotiating, but offer sheets and contracts can't be signed until Feb. 1.

Consider this the wooing period.

Here's the list of unrestricted and restricted free agents, excluding Connecticut's:

■ Unrestricted: Renae Camino (rookie free agent); Dominique Canty (Chicago); Tamecka Dixon (Indiana); Kristi Harrower (Los Angeles); Lauren Jackson (Seattle); Kara Lawson (Sacramento); Hamchetou Maiga-Ba (Sacramento); Taj McWilliams (Tulsa); Coco Miller (Atlanta); Kelly Miller (Minnesota); Anna Montanana (Minnesota); Ticha Penicheiro (Sacramento); Ruth Riley (San Antonio); Ashley Robinson (Seattle); Katie Smith (Tulsa); Penny Taylor (Phoenix); Nikki Teasley (Tulsa); Le'Coe Willingham (Phoenix).

■ Restricted: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota); Mistie Bass (Chicago); Ashley Battle (New York); Nikki Blue (Washington); Shanna Crossley (San Antonio); Monique Currie (Washington); Erika DeSouza (Atlanta); Candice Dupree (Chicago); Kristin Haynie (Washington); Roneeka Hodges (Minnesota); Dalma Ivanyi (San Antonio); Temeka Johnson (Phoenix); Jennifer Lacy (Atlanta); Edwige Lawson-Wade (San Antonio); Kristen Mann (Washington); Katie Mattera (Chicago); Jessica Moore (Indiana); Chelsea Newton (Seattle); Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix); Scholanda Robinson (Detroit); Belinda Snell (San Antonio).

Don't read too much in to Jackson and Taylor being unrestricted rather than designated a "core player" (i.e. protected).

Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reported last September that Jackson and the Storm had a verbal agreement.

Taylor has found life in Phoenix quite good. She's not going anywhere.

Smith is another of the big names in that group, but her health is a big concern.

Smith, 36, missed Detroit's final 12 games last season due to a herniated disc. She told ESPN in December that she'd most likely retire if she's not healthy enough to start this season. If she can play, it won't be for Connecticut, although word is she'll be playing in the East (sorry, hopeful Lynx fans).

Where Penicheiro goes is the most intriguing story line. The 35-year-old point guard can still go, and she brings a whole lot of leadership and assists (she's among the league's mentally toughest players, too). A player of her stature would command a maximum guaranteed deal, so suitors have to have both the cap room and less than six guaranteed contract players.

As for Connecticut, if its Renee Montgomery for Lindsay Whalen trade was the "worst kept secret of 2010," then its interest in Lawson ranks a close second.

The Sun don't have a proven small forward, and the market offers little at that position. Either Maiga-Ba and former Sun member Willingham would fit the bill, but neither would come cheap.

Connecticut has more cap room after moving Whalen for a player on a rookie deal, but it wouldn't have enough for the aforementioned forwards unless it sheds some contracts. Don't count on that.

■ ■ ■

One of the less, um, enlightened (or dumb) conspiracy theories about the Montgomery-Whalen trade was that Connecticut was trying to tank 2010 to get the top pick next season and Maya Moore.

Right.

Okay, the W, unlike, say the NFL, has a draft lottery. So even if a team went out of their way to lose, there's no guarantee that they'll get the top pick.

Minnesota, for instance, had the third worst record in 2005. It ended up drafting seventh, behind both Phoenix and Los Angeles, both of which had better record than the Lynx.

Minneosta tied Los Angeles for the worst record in 2007 (10-24), but got the third pick behind L.A. and Chicago (14-20).

The flip side of the draft lottery coin is Phoenix. It finished 17-17 in 2004 and received the third pick in 2005. It went 16-18 in 2005 and got the second pick (Cappie Pondexter). And it was 18-16 in 2006. ... and got the first pick (Lindsey Harding, who was traded to Minnesota for Tangela Smith, a valuable piece to the Mercury's 2007 and 2009 championship teams).

"Anybody out there that thinks that we are trying to get into the lottery next year is out of their mind," Sun coach Mike Thibault said at Tuesday's press conference, "but I've heard it said to me in person several times over the last week. We are here to win a championship.

"I expect this team to win now. This is not wait somewhere down the road. We are going to win and that's the expectation. Renee is a winner. Asjha Jones is a winner. We got DeMya Walker (in the Sacramento dispersal draft) because she is a winner. We believe our first draft pick is going to be a draft-able winner. We have a lot of those kinds of players. We had a tough year last year, and we're not going to have another one."

■ ■ ■

Montgomery is partial to wearing No. 20.

She's going to have to get used to wearing No. 21 as White is No. 20.

Well, that or pay White off.

It looks as if Montgomery has come-to-grips with 21 judging from her Twitter account.

Montgomery, a hopeless Twitter-holic, used the handle, "DaOne 20" prior to Tuesday.

She's since changed to "Da20One."

"Got to get creative with it," Montgomery said.

If Montgomery's Twitter account isn't enough for you, then you can visit her at www.reneemontgomery20.com.

She sure knows her way around the new media.

■ ■ ■

That's all for now. No idea if there will be another post between now and February as there's not much going on.

Vaya con dios.