Dein erstes Forum » Edgbaston would be forgotten. After all,

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Chicago Sky rookie Imani Boyette didnt want to continue playing poorly in the WNBA semifinals.The 6-foot-7 center averaged three points and 4.5 rebounds in two double-digits losses to the Los Angeles Sparks. Boyette played better -- much better, scoring all 13 of her points after halftime and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Sky held off the Sparks 70-66 on Sunday to force a Game 4.I hadnt shown up in the series yet -- the lights have been kind of bright, Boyette said. Ive been guarding two of the best players, so I was very much a rookie this series. My teammates have done a really good job of encouraging me and staying on me.Boyette scored seven points in the third quarter as the Sky turned a nine-point deficit into a two-point lead going into the final quarter.Shes a body down there, so she cant go ignored, league MVP Nneka Ogwumike said. We werent prepared for that.Courtney Vandersloot added 17 points and Clarissa Dos Santos had 10 for the fourth-seeded Sky, who have been playing without leading scorer and rebounder Elena Delle Donne. The 2015 league MVP underwent right thumb surgery on Sept. 13.We were confident going into this game because we knew they hadnt seen our best yet, Vandersloot said.Ogwumike had 16 of her 22 points in the first half and Kristi Toliver added 13 for the second-seeded Sparks, who won the first two games of the series at home by double digits.The Sparks made 6 of their 33 shots beyond the arc.Their zone affected us. We didnt adjust, two-time MVP Candace Parker said.Parker shot 3 for 14 from the field for nine points but grabbed 15 rebounds. She averaged 25 points in the other two games. League sixth woman of the year Jantel Lavender finished with six points for the Sparks.Defending champion and top-seeded Minnesota has a 2-0 lead over Phoenix in the other semifinal series, with Game 3 later Sunday.Toliver hit a 3 for a two-point Sparks lead with 1:30 left, but Boyette made two layups and Vandersloot hit a jumper for a four-point lead. Ogwumike missed a 3 with 8 seconds left, and Vandersloot made two free throws to seal it.The Sky opened the third quarter with a 17-6 run to take the lead. Ogwumike and Parker were scoreless in the third, when the Sky outscored Los Angeles 19-8.Our defensive intensity, we were able to stop them a little bit in the second half, Vandersloot said. They scored eight points in the third quarter, and thats unheard for a team that skilled and that many offensive threats.The Sparks led by 15 in the first half, but the Sky scored the final six points of the second quarter to pull within nine.We got up by a lot, and we got a little frazzled, Ogwumike said.Los Angeles won 95-75 and 99-84 in the other games.They were extremely hungry to win, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. We were like that in LA, but not quite like that here.TIP-INSSparks co-owner Magic Johnson was in attendance. ... The Sparks scored at least 93 points in four of their previous five meetings with Chicago. ... During the regular season, Los Angeles led the WNBA with a 48.7 percent field goal percentage, while the Sky topped the league in scoring at 86.2 points.STILL OUTDelle Donne has missed nine straight games. She averaged 21.5 points to share the league scoring title with New Yorks Tina Charles.UP NEXTGame 4 is in Chicago on Tuesday night Cheap Nike Air Max 90 . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Nike Air Max 90 From China . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. https://www.cheapnikeairmax90china.us/ .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Clearance Nike Air Max 90 . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Nike Air Max 90 Outlet . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Writing after Englands excellent win at Edgbaston, I highlighted the inspirational way in which Alastair Cook had played the match. It was as if England fed from his optimism. There were only three days between then and the toss at The Oval, when he had the chance to bowl first on a pitch that looked perfect for the job. He chose to bat, a positive move in most circumstances.England reached 69 for 1 without undue alarm but were bowled for 328, a score well below expectation, never mind par. During his raft of post-match interviews, Cook pointed out that the pitch was anything but a minefield while at the same time admitting that, in hindsight, he wouldnt mind another crack at the game bowling first.My first thought is that Edgbaston took more out of England than they, or anyone else, realised. Much of their cricket at The Oval was lacklustre. The catching was atrocious. More often than not, catching is about concentration - assuming the talent is there in the first place. Even Cook, a naturally animated figure, lacked something of his usual brightness. My guess is that he chose to bat on local advice and on stats provided by Englands data analyst. Misbah-ul-Haq would have elected to bat too but more on hunch that history. Proof, then, that the old cricket saying Its a good toss to lose has traction.Worryingly, England were quickly derailed by the catch claimed by Yasir Shah at square-leg about half an hour into the first mornings play. The batsman, Alex Hales, took issue with the umpires at the end of the day, wanting to know why they gave it a soft out before referring it to the third umpire. Because they thought it was out, probably.Then, a tweet from Stuart Broad suggested something untoward from Yasir, which was unfair. Television evidence was inconclusive and the third umpire had no option but to endorse the original decision, which may well have been the right decision. Cricket is a game of rough and smooth. It was odd that England, or some of the England team, were so incensed by that decision. Their reaction did not follow the pattern of the summer, which has been to take rough and smooth as one. Irritable behaviour never serves a sportsman well because it distracts from the job at hand. Confronting umpires is beyond irritable.Back to Cook for a moment. He also said the defeat was a salutary reminder of how far the team had to go and that talk of being No.1 in the world was clearly premature. By this, he meant that only two of the front five batsmen are pulling their weight; that Moeen is a very handy off-spinner but not up to being the spinner; and that the two frontline seamers looked a little jaded. And if he didnt mean exactly that, the rest of us could see it.He spoke brightly about the series in general and emphasised the spirit between the teams. The captains are good men, whhich sure helps.dddddddddddd Misbah spoke about the legacy of Hanif Mohammed and, indirectly, dedicated the victory to him. He also cheered the fact that it came on Pakistans Independence Day.Misbah is a formidable man, whose batting has improved out of all recognition since he emerged on the Test scene as a late-enough developer 15 years ago. His calmness is a lesson worth absorbing for it reminds us that very little comes from over-reaction. In Urdu, Misbah means the lamp or light and fits Misbahs ability to lead other men with his serious but always considerate nature. Asked if he might retire, he simply said that he would do what is best for the team and for Pakistan cricket at large. Let us hope he sees that he is needed in New Zealand and Australia come November and December. He is 42, so running out of years, but he cleverly manages his limitations in the field and appears each day as if he has slept well.Pakistans achievement cannot be understated. The hammering in Manchester and the crumbling at Edgbaston on the final afternoon were hard to take. Perhaps the need to get back on the horse so soon was an advantage. On the one hand, the longer you dwell on failure, the harder it becomes to avoid. On the other, getting away from the game can be a tonic. My guess is that Misbah was eager to immediately go again because he could sense the vulnerabilities in Englands game. The quicker he could get at them, the quicker Edgbaston would be forgotten. After all, Pakistan had led by more than hundred on first innings in that match - a position they should not have let slip.Come The Oval, come Misbahs turn to provide the inspiration - of thought rather than deed this time. He chose not to dwell on frailties, but to pay attention to the strengths that had given Pakistan the advantage in the first place at Edgbaston, and at Lords. It was around these strengths - strong-willed batting, varied bowling and huge hearts - that his team constructed a famous performance and deserved to level the series.He stoked Younis Khan, who is an exceptional batsman and who found his best game in the nick of time. He promoted Asad Shafiq, who is a natural batsmen with a wit and charm for the business of making runs. He encouraged Sarfraz Ahmed, who is feisty and tasty - an amalgam of the best of Pakistans stumper-batsmen - to go harder. He recalled and wound up Wahab Riaz, who is fast and uncomplaining. He chivvied Yasir Shah, who is alive, interactive and involved. These men shone brightest at The Oval.It is the coach of each team who picks the opposition Man of the Series. Tellingly, Trevor Bayliss picked Misbah-up-Haq. Dont go Misbah, not yet. There are young men who need your light. ' ' '