Tulsa Shock

Sparks tonight VS. SAN ANTONIO When: 5 p.m. Where: Staples Center. On the air: Fox Sports West, NBA TV Records: Sparks 10-17, Silver Stars 10-17 Record vs. Silver Stars: 1-2. Update: After defeating the Tulsa Shock on Friday, the Sparks rose from fifth place in the Western Conference into a three-way tie for third with Minnesota and San Antonio with...

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: NBA TV. Records: Sparks 12-15, Shock 1-24. Record vs. Shock: 3-0. Update: The Sparks, trying to make the playoffs, face Tulsa twice in their last seven games. The Shock has lost 19 games in a row, going into Thursday's game at Seattle. The Sparks are in fifth place and are 21/2 games behind fourth-place San Antonio. The top four teams in each conference make the playoffs. Tulsa is in last place in the Western Conference and has been eliminated from playoff contention.

For (WNBA) openers Defending champion: The Seattle Storm finished last season with a 28-6 record and swept each of its playoffs opponents — the Sparks, Phoenix Mercury and Atlanta Dream. Top players: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury — A five-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, she led the league in scoring last season with an average of 22.6 points. Candace Parker, Sparks — The 2008 most valuable player and rookie of the year was averaging a career-high 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury.

For (WNBA) openers Defending champion: The Seattle Storm finished last season with a 28-6 record and swept each of its playoffs opponents — the Sparks, Phoenix Mercury and Atlanta Dream. Top players: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury — A five-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, she led the league in scoring last season with an average of 22.6 points. Candace Parker, Sparks — The 2008 most valuable player and rookie of the year was averaging a career-high 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury.

For a while, it looked as though the Sparks weren't going to best the league's worst. Then came the second half. The Sparks (10-17) came back from a 34-26 halftime deficit to beat the Tulsa Shock (5-23), 77-70, at Staples Center in front of an announced crowd of 8,962. "I knew we were going to be OK," said forward Delisha Milton-Jones, who had a game-high 23 points. "It was just a matter of time before we collected ourselves. " After scoring the game's first two points, the Sparks trailed the Shock until late in the third quarter, when Marie Ferdinand-Harris converted two free throws with 1:33 remaining to give the Sparks a 45-44 lead.

At the end of last season, the Sparks' Tina Thompson and DeLisha Milton-Jones, weighed down by the bruises and fatigue that come from playing without a true center, pleaded for help. Help is on the way. The Sparks on Monday selected 6-foot-4 center Jantel Lavender of Ohio State with the fifth overall pick in the WNBA draft. The only player — man or woman — to be selected Big Ten Conference player of the year an unprecedented four times, Lavender averaged 22.8 points and 10.9 rebounds last season and is the school's all-time leading scorer (2,818 points)

Ten weeks into the owners' lockout of the players, Commissioner Roger Goodell noted the negative effect the labor dispute is having on the NFL. "Clearly it has had an impact on the fans," Goodell said Wednesday as the owners completed their spring meetings in Indianapolis. "We see it in various metrics. There's been a noticeable change. TV ratings were down on the draft roughly 4 million people. NFL.com traffic [is down], we see that. " Ticket sales also are down. "Fans want certainty," Goodell said.

Jay Triano will not return as the Toronto Raptors' coach next season. The Raptors announced Wednesday that they will not exercise their option on Triano's contract. He will be retained as a consultant and a special assistant to Bryan Colangelo, the team's president and general manager. Triano, an Ontario native, guided the Raptors to a record of 87-142 in his three seasons as coach. The Raptors finished 22-60 this season, last in the Atlantic Division. Frank Hamblen , one of Phil Jackson's top assistant coaches with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls, is a possible candidate to be an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers, according to NBA officials who could not comment publicly.

The St. Louis Blues saw plenty of snow and ice, but no Avalanche. The Blues' game against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night was postponed because of a storm cutting a frigid path across much of the nation. A makeup date was not immediately set for the NHL game, which would have been the first since the All-Star break for both teams. The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, were still hoping to make it to Atlanta for Wednesday night's NBA game. In the meantime, they were stuck in Indianapolis for a second straight day. The men's Big 12 basketball game in Norman, Okla.

Logistics stated Andrea Riley wouldn't leave Oklahoma. The Tulsa Shock, the WNBA's latest franchise, had the seventh overall pick in Thursday's draft, and the Oklahoma State guard's name was all over it, a hometown favorite in waiting. Riley would move from Stillwater about 70 miles east and become Coach Nolan Richardson's cornerstone when league play begins May 15. But a surprise trade intervened, and the high-scoring sparkplug fell to the Sparks, who snatched her with the eighth overall pick.

Jay Triano will not return as the Toronto Raptors' coach next season. The Raptors announced Wednesday that they will not exercise their option on Triano's contract. He will be retained as a consultant and a special assistant to Bryan Colangelo, the team's president and general manager. Triano, an Ontario native, guided the Raptors to a record of 87-142 in his three seasons as coach. The Raptors finished 22-60 this season, last in the Atlantic Division. Frank Hamblen , one of Phil Jackson's top assistant coaches with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls, is a possible candidate to be an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers, according to NBA officials who could not comment publicly.

Ten weeks into the owners' lockout of the players, Commissioner Roger Goodell noted the negative effect the labor dispute is having on the NFL. "Clearly it has had an impact on the fans," Goodell said Wednesday as the owners completed their spring meetings in Indianapolis. "We see it in various metrics. There's been a noticeable change. TV ratings were down on the draft roughly 4 million people. NFL.com traffic [is down], we see that. " Ticket sales also are down. "Fans want certainty," Goodell said.

At the end of last season, the Sparks' Tina Thompson and DeLisha Milton-Jones, weighed down by the bruises and fatigue that come from playing without a true center, pleaded for help. Help is on the way. The Sparks on Monday selected 6-foot-4 center Jantel Lavender of Ohio State with the fifth overall pick in the WNBA draft. The only player — man or woman — to be selected Big Ten Conference player of the year an unprecedented four times, Lavender averaged 22.8 points and 10.9 rebounds last season and is the school's all-time leading scorer (2,818 points)

The St. Louis Blues saw plenty of snow and ice, but no Avalanche. The Blues' game against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night was postponed because of a storm cutting a frigid path across much of the nation. A makeup date was not immediately set for the NHL game, which would have been the first since the All-Star break for both teams. The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, were still hoping to make it to Atlanta for Wednesday night's NBA game. In the meantime, they were stuck in Indianapolis for a second straight day. The men's Big 12 basketball game in Norman, Okla.

For a while, it looked as though the Sparks weren't going to best the league's worst. Then came the second half. The Sparks (10-17) came back from a 34-26 halftime deficit to beat the Tulsa Shock (5-23), 77-70, at Staples Center in front of an announced crowd of 8,962. "I knew we were going to be OK," said forward Delisha Milton-Jones, who had a game-high 23 points. "It was just a matter of time before we collected ourselves. " After scoring the game's first two points, the Sparks trailed the Shock until late in the third quarter, when Marie Ferdinand-Harris converted two free throws with 1:33 remaining to give the Sparks a 45-44 lead.

Logistics stated Andrea Riley wouldn't leave Oklahoma. The Tulsa Shock, the WNBA's latest franchise, had the seventh overall pick in Thursday's draft, and the Oklahoma State guard's name was all over it, a hometown favorite in waiting. Riley would move from Stillwater about 70 miles east and become Coach Nolan Richardson's cornerstone when league play begins May 15. But a surprise trade intervened, and the high-scoring sparkplug fell to the Sparks, who snatched her with the eighth overall pick.

Baylor's Brittney Griner, Delaware's Elena Delle Donne and Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins were the top three picks in Monday night's WNBA draft. No surprises there, but still plenty of excitement among the players, the teams that selected them and the league itself. “There's no question that this draft class has potential to be a moment in time and we'll look back 10, 20 years and remember that class that came in with Brittney, Skylar and Elena,” WNBA president Laurel Richie said.  In the 6-foot-8 Griner, the Phoenix Mercury get one of the top NCAA women's basketball players ever -- second all-time in scoring with 3,283 and first in blocked shots (748, which would be a record in men's college basketball as well)