MINNEAPOLIS -- Seimone Augustus was a 13-year-old girl when she watched the Houston Comets win the first WNBA championship in 1997.The Comets would win the first four titles in the league, proving to basketball-loving girls across the country that there was a place for them to pursue their dreams. And Augustus couldnt get enough of them.Two decades later, Augustus and the Minnesota Lynx stand on the precipice of joining those trailblazing women. A victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night would give the Lynx their fourth title, tying them with the Comets for most in league history.Thats just mind-boggling to me, Augustus said. We grew up watching the Houston Comets and those wonderful women the kind of set the precedent for what WNBA basketball is all about. Theyve motivated and inspired us. Now we could be the new Houston Comets of this era if we do what we need to do.They know it will not be easy. Through the first four games of the series, the Sparks and Lynx have pushed each other as far as they can go, which is exactly what the league hoped would happen when it changed the playoff format to seed teams based on record and not geography. Los Angeles won Game 1 in Minnesota and Game 3 back home. The Lynx have responded to each loss with a victory of their own to find themselves right back where they were a year ago -- needing a win in Game 5 at Target Center to bring home a title.Last year the Lynx dispatched the Indiana Fever in front of 17,000 fans, then partied all night long at Princes house to celebrate title No. 3. Another raucous crowd is expected this time around in what would be the crowning achievement for the leagues model franchise, first back-to-back championships in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002.You couldnt ask for anything more, said Lynx star Maya Moore, who scored 31 points in Game 4 to keep Minnesota alive. Its been definitely a dramatic series and one that will go down as one of the best, I think.The Lynx have been here five times in the last six years, but this has been their most difficult finals test. League MVP Nneka Oqwumike, Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver present a star-studded trio to rival Minnesotas, and they have been every bit their equal through four games.The Sparks are chasing ghosts of their own. A victory Thursday night would give them their first championship since Lisa Leslie led them to their second in a row in 2002, and that may have played into their defeat on Sunday. They were so eager to finish the series on their home floor that coach Brian Agler said they have turned their focus in the wrong direction, and it cost them.I think everyone out there was playing to win a championship and not to beat the team we were playing, Ogwumike said. I told coach yesterday in the airport thats exactly how I felt when he put it in that perspective. Having that with a good balance of focus and awareness and effort is exactly what we need.Afterward, Lakers legend Magic Johnson addressed the crestfallen players, telling them to put the loss behind them and be ready because the series was not over.You could hear a pin drop, Toliver said. Everybody was just really locked in to what he was saying. When hes talking, everybody listens and that was exactly what we needed to hear in that moment because in that moment, your emotions are all over the place. He kind of just brought everybody back in and refocused everyone.
Air Max 90 Billig Kaufen . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames.
Air Max 90 Schweiz .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not.
http://www.schweizairmax90.ch/ .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
Air Max 90 Günstig . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff.
Air Max 90 Günstig Kaufen . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Nothing was dull about the way Jason Dufner played golf Friday at the PGA Championship. If anything, it was historic. Dufner holed out from the fairway for eagle, rolled in a putt across the green for par and kept making birdies until he stood 12 feet away from a shot at the lowest score in the 153 years of championship golf. One last birdie attempt didnt even get to the hole, and Dufner had to settle for a record-tying round of 7-under 63. "Probably the worst putt I hit of the day, which is a little disappointing," Dufner said. "But all in all, its a 63, and name on top of the leaderboard. So thats a great position to be playing from." It was the third time in the last seven years at the PGA Championship that a player had a putt at becoming the first player to shoot 62 in a major. Tiger Woods circled the hole at Southern Hills in 2007. Steve Stricker narrowly missed at Atlanta Athletic Club two years ago. Dufner didnt feel disappointed for long. On a rain-softened Oak Hill, where pelt-sized divots were flying and birdies were falling, Dufner surged to a two-shot lead over Masters champion Adam Scott, Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar. At 9-under 131, Dufner tied the 36-hole record at the PGA Championship he now shares with six other players. Dufner was alone at the top, and in the company of some big names in history. His 63 broke the course record at Oak Hill held by Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Webb Simpson, who shot 64 about five hours earlier. Dufner became the 24th player to shoot 63 in a major -- Greg Norman and Vijay Singh, both in the Hall of Fame, did it twice. And through it all, he barely cracked a smile. "Hes very calm," said Stricker, who played alongside Dufner. "Im sure he was churning on the inside. He just told me while we were signing our cards, he was like, This is a lot for a Friday." The possibilities were endless on a day that began with three hours of a steady rain until the sun broke through and took all the bite out of Oak Hill. Simpson also had a chance at 63 until he made a bogey on the 16th hole of his round. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose shot 29 on the front nine to get back into contention. When the second round finally ended, 27 players remained under par -- this on a course that is stubborn when it comes to par. In five previous majors at Oak Hill, only nine players have finished the tournament in red numbers. Jack Nicklaus did it twice. David Hearn is the only Canadian remaining in the field. The Brantford, Ont., native sits tied for 50th place, 11 shots back of the lead. The cut was at 143, the lowest at the PGA Championship since 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club. For all the low scores, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were left behind. Woods couldnt get anything going, exchanging birdies with bogeys during a poor putting round that led to an even-par 70. He was at 1-over 141 and 10 shots back going into the weekend. Woods went to the range with his swing coach, trying to find answers. He has only one score in the 60s in 14 rounds at the maajors this year.dddddddddddd "Obviously, Im going to have to put together a really good weekend," Woods said. "This golf course is pretty soft. Its definitely gettable. Got to hit the ball in play and keep the ball near the hole so I can be aggressive with my putts." Mickelsons swing apparently went missing in the three weeks since he won the British Open. He was all over Oak Hill and still managed a 34 on the back nine until his wild shots caught up with him. Another 71 left him 11 shots out of the lead. Dufner was in prime position to win the PGA Championship two years ago when he had a four-shot lead with four holes to play, only to be tracked down by Keegan Bradley and then beaten in a playoff. Dufner said that day he would only be disappointed "if I never get another chance." And here he is, in record fashion. Dufners popularity has grown the last two years because of his zombie state. He was responsible for the craze known as "Dufnering" in April when someone took a photo of him slumped against a classroom wall, eyes in a daze, during a charity event at an elementary school as the teacher taught children how to relax and concentrate. But there were nerves, no doubt, and Dufner showed them at the very end. A 6-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole put him at 7 under for the round, and his 15-foot birdie putt on the next hole grazed the cup. He followed with two flawless swings on the tough 18th hole, which had yielded only four birdies at that point. That left him about 12 feet below the hole. And he left it short by about 18 inches. There even was a nervous moment on the tap-in, when the ball came off the putter weakly and dove in the right corner of the cup. "Its tough when youre chasing history," Dufner said. "You will be the first one to do something. I dont think Ive been the first to do anything in my life. So it was a little nerve-racking for a Friday. Its usually the pressure you might feel toward the end of the tournament." That part is still to come. Low scores were available to anyone. Even after Dufner finished his round, K.J. Choi had an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to reach 7 under. It narrowly missed, and Choi made bogey on the next hole to end that threat. Scott is swinging the club beautifully, and his only flaw Friday was not holing enough birdie chances when the rain stopped. Even so, he was in the hunt on the weekend for the fourth time in the last six majors. He will be in the final group with Dufner on Saturday. Henrik Stenson, a runner-up at Muirfield, had a 66 and joined Rose at 6-under 134, only three shots behind. Stricker and Robert Garrigus were another shot behind. Dufner is a student of golf history and was thrilled to part of it. But while that 63 put him in the record book, it doesnt guarantee the trophy. Of the 25 previous times that someone shot 63 in a major, only five players went on to win -- Nicklaus and Johnny Miller in the U.S. Open, Norman in the British Open, and Woods and Raymond Floyd in the PGA Championship. Now thats some elite company. ' ' '
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