Lynx tie WNBA Finals at one game apiece
WNBA: Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Minnesota Lynx even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 79-60 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 15 boards and Minnesota held Los Angeles to 32.9 percent shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1. Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Minnesota dominated on the glass, 46-32, to pull away.
Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks, who head back home for the next two games in the best-of-five series. Candace Parker was quiet with six points on 3-for-12 shooting.
The Lynx are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002. A win in this series would also give Minnesota its fourth championship, which would tie the Lynx with the Houston Comets for most in league history.
Last year the Lynx lost Game 1 at Target Center to the Indiana Fever, but rebounded to win that series in five games. But they know they face an even more capable challenger this year with the star-studded Sparks.
Neither team led by more than five points during an air-tight Game 1 that Los Angeles won at the buzzer on a jumper from Alana Beard. The first 16 minutes of Game 2 were just as competitive, but Moore and the Lynx seized control in the final four minutes of the second quarter.
After going scoreless in the first half of Game 1, Moore got rolling during a 17-3 blitz to close the period. She hit two 3-pointers and a layup, then picked Parker’s pocket and heaved a three-quarter length outlet to a streaking Lindsay Whalen for a three-point play and a 37-25 lead.
US settles for 1-1 draw vs New Zealand
Soccer: Julian Green scored his second goal in two matches, before Monty Patterson’s equalizer forced the United States to settle for a 1-1 draw in an exhibition against New Zealand on Tuesday night.
Lynden Gooch made his U.S. debut as a second-half substitute in a match played exactly a month before the Americans face Mexico to open their final round of World Cup qualifying.
Goalkeeper William Yarbrough kept New Zealand scoreless over 45 minutes in his first international start and third overall appearance. David Bingham couldn’t do the same in the second half, though he could hardly be blamed for Patterson’s strike.
After U.S. forward Jozy Altidore failed to clear a corner kick aimed at New Zealand’s Michael Boxhall, Patterson popped up to thump the loose ball into the net from about 5 yards out.
China coach resigns after loss: Despite boasting one of the world’s highest-spending domestic leagues, China’s dreams of automatic qualification for the 2018 World Cup are fading.
China coach Gao Hongbo quit on Tuesday after a 2-0 defeat in Uzbekistan left his team with just one point from four games in Asia’s last round of World Cup qualifying.
“I spoke with the heads of the Chinese Football Association before the match and we agreed if we couldn`t reach a positive result against Uzbekistan I would stand down from my post,” Gao said.
Despite the poor record on the international stage, there has been massive investment in Chinese soccer in recent years.
Derrick Rose says he suspected ‘rape’ setup
NBA: The night after Derrick Rose and two of his friends had sex with his ex-girlfriend, he had a hunch she was going to claim they raped her, the NBA star testified Tuesday.
Rose said he became suspicious of the woman when she texted later the same day of the alleged early morning attack in August 2013 to say how inebriated she had been and to describe burns she claimed she got on her hands from a fire pit outside his Beverly Hills house. Rose said he believed she was sober and never witnessed any burns the night before.
“It looked like a setup,” Rose said. “It turned out to be what I thought.”
Rose testified for a second day in the $21.5 million lawsuit that claims he and his friends had sex without the woman’s consent when she was incapacitated from drinking and, possibly, drugs. The woman claims the three entered her apartment and had sex with her while she was blacked out after drinking tequila at Rose’s rental house earlier and other booze she had before she got there.
Rose testified he was raised by a single mother, who was his mentor and had taught him to respect women.
Critics of public stadium funding speak
NFL: Critics had a chance Tuesday to weigh in on the Nevada Legislature’s effort to put $750 million in public funds toward an NFL stadium in Las Vegas, a day after lawmakers spent an afternoon watching a promotional video about the project and taking testimony from heavy-hitting proponents in the casino industry.
Opponents complain that lawmakers are willing to meet in a rushed special session and potentially raise taxes for a project partly funded by billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, while they don’t do the same to address education budget shortfalls and mental health funding problems. They also dislike that the convention center plan is being bundled in the same bill as the stadium deal, so people who support convention jobs but oppose the stadium have to vote down the whole thing.
“There’s something very, very flawed in this,” said Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who’s been a vocal opponent of the stadium deal. “Have the courage to vote it down and take the time to do it right.”
NLRB says Northwestern players can tweet
NCAA: In another step toward redefining the amateur status of college athletes, Northwestern has agreed to drop social media restrictions placed on football players after the National Labor Relations Board decided those rules were unlawful.
The ruling affects all 17 private schools such as Stanford, Miami and Notre Dame that compete in the highest level of Division I football. ESPN, using a Freedom of Information Act request to the NLRB, first reported the ruling that was handed down in September.
Djokovic wins 1st match since US Open
Tennis: Novak Djokovic made a winning return following a month-long injury layoff, beating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-3 Tuesday in the second round of the Shanghai Masters. Djokovic hadn’t played a match since losing to Stan Wawrinka at the U.S. Open, pulling out of last week’s China Open with an elbow injury.
The top-seeded Serb was rusty in his comeback in Shanghai – double-faulting four times and making 18 unforced errors with only 13 winners – but he had no trouble dispatching an even more erratic Fognini, who racked up 40 unforced errors of his own.
Kerber advances in Hong Kong: Top-ranked Angelique Kerber overcame five double-faults and fought off eight break points before beating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round of the Hong Kong Open on Tuesday. Kerber is trying to win her fourth title of the year. She will next play Louisa Chirico of the United States.