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Seattle Storm player affected by real storm

When Janell Burse got back to her Houston hotel room Tuesday night and turned on the television, she didn`t flip to ESPN to get the latest on the WNBA playoffs. For the native of New Orleans, must-see TV had nothing to do with basketball.

"The first thing I do is turn on the Weather Channel," the Seattle Storm`s starting center said. "I saw it, and I couldn`t believe it was the city where I grew up, seeing where my family lives completely covered with water."

The scene Burse saw from the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged city was devastatingly bad. But for Burse, the news was mostly good. Her parents, Jimmie and Esther, already had left New Orleans for Houston to watch Burse play in the Storm`s Western Conference semifinal opener on Tuesday, which ended up being a 75-67 Seattle victory. And while they now can`t return home - and don`t know when they can -- they`re able to stay their other daughter, DeAllen, who lives in Houston. Burse owns a townhouse in New Orleans.

Obviously, many other residents of the Crescent City weren?t nearly as fortunate. Toward that end, Burse and the Sonics` Storm T.E.A.M. Foundation plan to collect donations for the relief effort tonight when the Storm play host to Houston in Game 2 at KeyArena and can finish off a series sweep. Every dollar collected goes toward relief.