Wnba Finals

Seimone Augustus scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half to help the Minnesota Lynx surge past the Indiana Fever, 83-71, at Minneapolis to even the WNBA finals at one game apiece. Tamika Catchings led the way as usual for Indiana with 27 points and eight rebounds, but the Fever's defense faded after a dominant start. The series now moves to Indiana. Game 3 is on Friday and Game 4 is on Sunday. ETC. Tiger Woods announces World Challenge field Tiger Woods announced the 18-man field for his annual World Challenge, to be played the week after Thanksgiving at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

The second makeover of the Dallas Mavericks in as many seasons just got tougher. Star forward Dirk Nowitzki had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right knee Friday and the 11-time All-Star isn't expected to resume on-court activities for about six weeks. Dallas opens the regular season Oct. 30 against the Lakers at Staples Center. The 34-year-old Nowitzki has experienced swelling in the knee most of the preseason, twice having the knee drained since training camp started Sept.

The Detroit Shock took command from the opening tip Sunday night to rout the Connecticut Sun, 79-55, and advance to its second trip to the WNBA Finals. The Shock, which won the title in 2003, will take on defending WNBA champion Sacramento in a best-of-five series beginning Wednesday. "There was no adjustment except in the players' attitude and how they approached the game," Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer said of the Shock's rebound from a nine-point loss to Connecticut in Game 2 Saturday.

  For the millions of you unaware, the WNBA (it's like the NBA, only women play) Finals are underway. Many of you may yawn at that news, but there is at least one person who takes the WNBA Finals very seriously: Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve. Late in the third quarter of Game 2 against the Indiana Fever, Reeve became irate when Lynx player Lindsay Whalen was called for a technical foul for complaining to the ref that she was fouled on a play. Reeve became incensed and proceeded to demonstrate exactly how you complain to a ref. Reeve stormed onto the court and then back to the bench, ripped off her jacket and threw it at a person on the Lynx bench.

  For the millions of you unaware, the WNBA (it's like the NBA, only women play) Finals are underway. Many of you may yawn at that news, but there is at least one person who takes the WNBA Finals very seriously: Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve. Late in the third quarter of Game 2 against the Indiana Fever, Reeve became irate when Lynx player Lindsay Whalen was called for a technical foul for complaining to the ref that she was fouled on a play. Reeve became incensed and proceeded to demonstrate exactly how you complain to a ref. Reeve stormed onto the court and then back to the bench, ripped off her jacket and threw it at a person on the Lynx bench.

Here is a look at how the Los Angeles-Detroit best-of-three series matches up: GUARDS -- Nikki Teasley and Tamecka Dixon vs. Deanna Nolan and Elaine Powell. Nolan, averaging 15 points in the playoffs, had a horrific fall in the Eastern Conference clincher against Connecticut and sustained a bruised pelvis. She is listed day-to-day although Coach Bill Laimbeer said Wednesday he expects her to start. Powell (6.0 points) can force her offense at times. Teasley (8.

The Indiana Fever had two chances in 29 hours to advance to its first WNBA finals. Deanna Nolan wouldn't let it happen. Nolan had a franchise playoff-record 30 points, and the Detroit Shock advanced to the championship round with an 81-65 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Lindsay Whalen took jump shot after jump shot Tuesday, testing her injured left knee while her Connecticut Sun teammates ran some drills at the other end of the court, preparing, if necessary, to move on without her. Whalen helped the Sun to the best record in the WNBA and home-court advantage throughout the postseason. But now a small fracture in the knee might keep the guard from the WNBA finals, which begin tonight with the Sun playing Sacramento.

PHOENIX -- With the poor-shooting Phoenix Mercury on the verge of elimination, Coach Paul Westhead decided to run the offense through Cappie Pondexter. It was a wise move. Pondexter scored a game-high 26 points, including a driving bank shot with 21 seconds to play, and the Mercury defeated the Detroit Shock, 77-76, on Thursday night to force a deciding fifth game in the WNBA finals. The finale is Sunday afternoon in Auburn Hills, Mich.

The game's first play was its indicator play. Cynthia Cooper, the WNBA's premier scorer, took on the league's premier defender, Teresa Weatherspoon. Cooper won. It was a layup down the paint and she left Weatherspoon behind, which is where she left New York defenders Vickie Johnson, Sophia Witherspoon and Vickie Johnson at different points throughout the game. Cooper won all night. She won on drives, three-pointers and assists. And one more thing: championship composure.

Seimone Augustus scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half to help the Minnesota Lynx surge past the Indiana Fever, 83-71, at Minneapolis to even the WNBA finals at one game apiece. Tamika Catchings led the way as usual for Indiana with 27 points and eight rebounds, but the Fever's defense faded after a dominant start. The series now moves to Indiana. Game 3 is on Friday and Game 4 is on Sunday. ETC. Tiger Woods announces World Challenge field Tiger Woods announced the 18-man field for his annual World Challenge, to be played the week after Thanksgiving at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

Of course, the ball wasn't in Candace Parker's very capable hands all afternoon. It only seemed that way. Yet when it needed to be there most — it wasn't. The Sparks, trailing by a point against the Minnesota Lynx, came out of their final timeout with six seconds remaining. Parker did not get the opportunity to get involved as Sparks guard Alana Beard's 16-foot jumper went off the rim. Game over. Season over. And an emotional Parker pulled her jersey up over her eyes.

Best-of-three series Game 1: Thursday at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Game 2: Sunday at SPARKS, 12:30 p.m. Game 3: Wednesday at Minnesota, 5 p.m. x-if necessary; all times Pacific

The Seattle Storm are champions again. Seattle completed its undefeated march through the postseason, beating the Atlanta Dream, 87-84, on Thursday night at Atlanta for a three-game sweep in the WNBA Finals. The Storm won each of its seven postseason games for its second WNBA title. The Storm also won the 2004 championship. Swin Cash scored 18 points to lead a balanced offense as Seattle overcame 35 points by Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry . Lauren Jackson , who had 26 points in each of the Storm's first two wins in the series, had 15 points and nine rebounds and was voted MVP of the Finals.

Taiwan's Yani Tseng won the Northwest Arkansas Championship at Rogers on Sunday for her third LPGA Tour victory of the year, shooting a six-under-par 65 to rally past second-round leader Michelle Wie . Tseng birdied four of five holes early on the back nine, then held on for a one-stroke victory over Wie with a birdie on No. 18. Tseng finished at 13-under 200. Wie (69) gave up the lead on the back nine — the same half of the course she played in seven-under 28 during a scintillating stretch Saturday.

Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury are heading to the WNBA finals, and Lisa Leslie is heading off to retirement. Taurasi scored 15 of her 21 points in the second half and added seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Mercury past the Sparks, 85-74, on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. The Mercury, seeded No. 1 in the West, will open the best-of-five WNBA finals at home Tuesday against Indiana, top-seeded in the East and a 72-67 winner over Detroit earlier Saturday.

The WNBA championship series begins tonight, and it features a matchup even the players--and at least one coach--would pay to see. It's the league's premier scorer, Cynthia Cooper of the Houston Comets, against the league's premier perimeter defender, Teresa Weatherspoon of the New York Liberty. Van Chancellor, the Houston coach, gets in free tonight at Madison Square Garden, but he talked Wednesday as if he'd pay to see the best-of-three series.

The Shock got what it wanted. The WNBA got what it wanted. And the two-time champion Sparks got what they didn't want -- a third and deciding game in the WNBA finals. Detroit blew a 19-point lead Sunday but came back on two free throws by Deanna Nolan with 12.1 seconds to play to edge the Sparks, 62-61, before 17,846 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. On Tuesday, the longest season in WNBA history will end. It will be the third Game 3 played in the finals.

After the final buzzer sounded, Sparks forward Candace Parker untucked her jersey in frustration. She had seen the Sparks fluctuate between two phases: allowing Phoenix to dictate its fastbreak system before the Sparks fought to chip away the deficit. The end result -- a 103-94 Game 1 loss Wednesday to the Mercury in the Western Conference finals in front of 6,389 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion -- was a reflection of what Parker described as "allowing them to play their game." It also resembled a broader theme, one she and other teammates noticed throughout the season when the Sparks sputtered to an 8-13 record despite boasting five Olympians.

This was the matchup Lisa Leslie had hoped the Sparks wouldn't have in the first round of the WNBA postseason. Yet, she also knew that facing the Phoenix Mercury was inevitable if the Sparks were going to win the West. The inevitable is now. Phoenix, seeded No. 1 in the West, visits the Sparks for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion tonight, boasting the league's top offense (92.8 points per game). "I don't have any magical formula where we do one, two or three things and we'll win," said Leslie, who could be playing in her last home game before retiring after a storied 13-year career.