minutes.Group D Decider: EHOME survives the stormAvenging their ea

NEW YORK -- The WNBA is back in full swing after the monthlong Olympic break and if the opening weekend was any indication, its going to be an exciting final few weeks.Los Angeles looked to be the team in the best position to maintain its momentum and continuity coming out of the break with only one Olympian on the roster. Yet the Sparks have struggled, dropping their first two games. They fell out of first in The Associated Press WNBA power poll for the first time since Week 6.Minnesota moved into the top spot, but also suffered a loss falling to Connecticut.There are now only three games separating the fourth and 10th spots in the playoff chase, making every game meaningful.---POWER POLL: Minnesota moved back to No. 1 and Chicago climbed to fourth in the AP power poll. A look at this weeks WNBA poll:1. Minnesota (22-5): Coach Cheryl Reeve would like to clinch one of the top two spots so she can get some rest for her four Olympians.2. Los Angeles (21-5): Schedule isnt kind to Sparks down the stretch. Signing Sandrine Gruda will help bolster the roster.3. New York (19-8): Getting Epiphanny Prince back from her ACL injury will make the Liberty more potent offensively.4. Chicago (13-13): Not even the break could slow down the Sky, who are back at .500 and climbing.5. Atlanta (14-13): Nows the time that the Dream usually make their playoff push.6. Phoenix (12-14): The Mercury are finally looking like the team that was predicted to win the WNBA crown this season.7. Indiana (12-13): The Fever have a bad taste in their mouth after a blowout loss to Washington. Itching to get back on the court.8. Seattle (10-16): The Storm split with the top two teams when they returned from Rio and now look to build on an easier schedule.9. Connecticut (9-17): The Sun are one of the hottest teams in the league and have a chance to further try and improve their playoff chances this week.10. Washington (10-16): The Mystics looked great against Indiana before falling to San Antonio. They also lost guard Bria Hartley for the season after she got pregnant.11. Dallas (9-18): The Wings slump continued as they have lost eight straight games. Their chances of making the postseason are fading.12. San Antonio (6-19): The Stars won a game, but are still languishing at the bottom of the standings.---PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Delle Donne had a strong week averaging 26 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3 assists to help the Sky win both their games. Others receiving votes included: Atlantas Angel McCoughtry, Phoenixs Diana Taurasi and Minnesotas Lindsay Whalen,---GAME OF THE WEEK: Phoenix Mercury at New York Liberty, Saturday, Sept. 3. The Mercury will try and continue their rise in the standings as they visit the Liberty.---THE SHOES ON THE OTHER FOOT: Brittney Griner, in partnership with the Mercury and the Phoenix Rescue Mission collected nearly 500 pairs of shoes over the weekend for the Valleys homeless.I am so thankful and overwhelmed by everyones support, said Griner. The generosity from my teammates and the X-Factor is amazing. When I thought of this idea, I never would have dreamed we would have received so many pairs of shoes. This is just one of the many reasons the Mercury family, especially our fans, are known as the best in the WNBA. cheap china jerseys . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. wholesale jerseys cheap free shipping . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.wholesalejerseyscheapchina.net/ .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. cheap adidas nhl jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. After a heated day of competition Saturday, Day 2 of the Boston Major kicked off with teams in Group C and D battling for supremacy within their respective groups. With a chance to clinch a top seed in the main event bracket on the line, the action was certainly fierce. Lets take a look at who was able to make some noise on Sunday.Group C: LGD brings the broomLGD became the first team from Group C to secure a top seed in the main event bracket by defeating both Team Faceless and CompLexity Gaming 2-0.Team Faceless started off with a Medusa-Drow Ranger strategy, but was undone by LGDs last pick Phantom Assassin. LGDs ability to close the distance and force early fights secured them the advantage and ultimately the win. LGDs quick responses to incoming ganks helped them to put Team Faceless in the hole early. Desperate engagements from Team Faceless only hastened their demise as LGD rolled to an almost effortless series win.LGD finished out their day by pouring cold water over the heads of compLexity Gaming, who were hot off a 2-1 victory over Evil Geniuses. LGD, once again, could have been asleep at the wheel as they cruised to another 2-0 victory and secured a top seed in the main bracket, where they will face LGD.Forever Young in the first round.Group D: Battle-tested OG advancesOG had to fight tooth and nail to secure their spot in the main event bracket. The defending Fall Major Champions had the lengthiest journey of all the champions to the main bracket, winning their series against Invictus Gaming.Vitality and Ad Finem 2-1.Despite dropping a close second match to Invictus Gaming.Vitality, OG won the series convincingly. They almost played an identical series against Ad Finem, dropping Game 2 while winning Games 1 and 3.Group C Decider: compLexity in controlcompLexity Gaming, after a surprise upset over Evil Geniuses early in the day, proved they werent just lucky, taking down their North American rivals once more with gusto in a 2-1 victory.ddddddddddddArtour Arteezy Babaev carried his team to victory on the back of his Naga Siren. Even when compLexity reset for Game 2, Evil Geniuses drafted an extremely late-game lineup for Game 3, hoping to hold out long enough to force their style of play upon the game. compLexity was having none of that, securing two kills before the horn and both bounty runes. Already exhausted and downtrodden, Evil Geniuses were unable to cope with being on the back foot so early. Incapable of defending their towers and feeling unsafe everywhere on the map, Evil Geniuses surrendered to compLexity in 30 minutes.Group D Decider: EHOME survives the stormAvenging their earlier loss, EHOME defeated Ad Finem 2-1 in the decider match for Group D to secure a top eight seed in the Fall Major main event. They raced out to a quick lead in Game 1, applying pressure in lanes and rotating in for ganks from the beginning. Though EHOME was able to fight back, their lineup was more focused on protecting their carry, Luna. Ad Finems lineup, filled to the brim with spells for controlling teamfights, was able to keep EHOME at bay while their Sniper slaughtered them from long range. In Game 2, Ad Finem tried to repeat their strategy, but were thwarted by EHOMEs counter-aggression lineup. Negating the high health regeneration of Ad Finems heroes with Ancient Apparition, EHOME was able to rebuff their foes time and time again to even the series. EHOME started off at a disadvantage once again in Game 3, giving up several early kills to Ad Finems aggressive ganks. Choosing to fight rather than hide, EHOME hit back with some aggression of their own. EHOMEs Batrider, played by Yang old eleven Wei Ren, was the MVP of Game 3, snagging crucial pickoffs and chasing down stragglers for extra kills. ' ' '