on, but we lost, we tended to drop our heads. But you have to keep competing every game.In general, Cooper has been happy with 2016 additions Clarendon and post player Elizabeth Williams, whom the Dream also obtained in a trade. Hed like to get Clarendon (11.3 PPG, 3.1 APG) more time at shooting guard

The Atlanta Dream have weathered a few things this year. Such as the realization that Shoni Schimmel, whom they drafted in 2014 and had high hopes for, just wasnt going to work out at point guard. And a six-game losing streak. And the worry that veteran post player Sancho Lyttle might be lost for the season with a foot injury.They ended up trading Shimmel to New York for a draft pick, and then shipping a pick to Indiana for Layshia Clarendon, who is having a solid season in the Dreams backcourt. Atlanta pulled out of the losing skid -- which lasted from June 18 to July 3, including four road games -- and won five of eight before the Olympic break.Lyttle suffered the injury July 15 and had to miss playing in the Olympics for Spain, which won a silver medal. At first, it appeared that Lyttle wouldnt return to the WNBA in 2016 because of what was thought to be a broken bone in her foot. Then it was revealed she had a partially torn tendon that wouldnt require surgery, and coach Michael Cooper said she is day-to-day.She has started running, Cooper said. She hasnt practiced yet, but were very encouraged by her. I couldnt give you a date [for her return], but we hope its going to be pretty soon.Getting Lyttle back in the regular season would be a huge help to the Dream, who have a very challenging closing run before the playoffs. Atlanta is 14-13 and in fourth place in the WNBA standings, as just four teams have a winning record. Realistically, New York (19-8) is out of reach for Atlanta to catch, but now the Dream have to be concerned about others catching them.Chicago (13-13) and Phoenix (13-14) are on the Dreams heels, with Indiana also close at 12-14. Furthermore, six of their last seven games are against Western Conference teams, including Phoenix twice, Los Angeles, and defending WNBA champion Minnesota.Cooper still sounds optimistic about the Dream securing the fourth playoff spot, which would come with a first-round bye. The lower seeds -- No. 5 vs. No. 8 and No. 6 vs. No. 7 -- will compete in single-elimination games in the new playoff format, with the winners then facing the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds in single elimination.Even if Atlanta slides into the 5-8 range, which then would require two victories before advancing to a best-of-five semifinal series, Cooper can see a bright side to that, too, saying he thinks his team plays better when it doesnt have a lot of time off between games.What wouldnt be acceptable is the Dream not making the postseason at all, which was the case last year for just the second time in franchise history. That would take a total plunge over the last two weeks, and Cooper sounds confident that isnt going to happen.While Atlanta star Angel McCoughtry was with the U.S. Olympic team, the Dream players back home went through rigorous practices. They did a lot of running and conditioning work, Cooper said, because he wants the Dream to have endurance to get through this part of the season.McCoughtry won her second Olympic gold medal and brought back that triumphant vibe from Team USA.When shes around so many great players, with her being one of them, Cooper said of McCoughtry, theres an attitude, a mentality and a focus that you have to have. Since shes been back, Ive been asking her questions on different things that they did, and the things she says are things our players need to hear. And she needs to hear it, too.The biggest thing she teaches our other players is that she knows what it takes to win at the highest level. And its not just about one player being able to do that, but all of our players. Sometimes your Olympic player can be that glue that pulls everybody together.Atlanta lost its first game after the break, 90-82 at Chicago Friday, and then beat Connecticut 87-73 in Atlanta on Sunday. Then in a quirk in the schedule, the Dream had a whole week without games -- which they didnt really need after the Olympic break -- before they play Sunday in Atlanta against 11-16 Seattle, another team trying to make a surge into the postseason.When Cooper reflects on what went wrong during the Dreams losing streak in June and early July, he acknowledges that its just part of the big highs and big lows that Atlanta seems to experience. The teams confidence sometimes can plummet.I always tell our players winning is contagious, but so is losing, Cooper said. When there were games that we thought we should have won, but we lost, we tended to drop our heads. But you have to keep competing every game.In general, Cooper has been happy with 2016 additions Clarendon and post player Elizabeth Williams, whom the Dream also obtained in a trade. Hed like to get Clarendon (11.3 PPG, 3.1 APG) more time at shooting guard to take advantage of her perimeter scoring ability, but shes certainly filled a need. Williams (12.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG) has blossomed in her second season in the league after coming from Connecticut.Cooper says Tiffany Hayes is the Dream player who most reminds him of himself in his playing days, as she always given the toughest defensive assignments. But Hayes also has proven to be a consistent offensive presence; shes averaging a career-best 14.6 PPG in her fifth season in the league.The Dream know that as the calendar turns to September, its very tough from here on out. Theyll need McCoughtry (18.4 PPG) to be her Olympian self. Theyll have to clamp down defensively, which Cooper sees as the biggest key. Theyll need a little more from their bench.They also have to remember this is a franchise that, in its relatively short history (starting in 2008), has had a lot of postseason success, including three trips to the WNBA Finals. With so much attention, understandably, on Minnesota, Los Angeles and New York this season, its still worth keeping an eye on the Dream.If we have all our players and are playing the way I know we can play, Cooper said, I still feel we can compete with anybody in the league if were healthy. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Cheap Air Max 90 China . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. http://www.cheapairmax90.us/ . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Cheap Air Max 90 Sale . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Air Max 90 China Wholesale . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. WASHINGTON -- The chief organizer of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics says security is his top concern, well ahead of the Zika virus.Sidney Levy, CEO of the Rio Organizing Committee, said Tuesday that keeping athletes and visitors safe from terrorism and other crime is his No. 1 top priority. He called the biggest fear lone wolf attackers.Differently from Zika, securitys at the top of my list -- the very top of my list, Levy said at a Council of the Americas event. We should never forget that these days we live in a society thats very in danger.The plan is to have 85,000 security personnel on the streets. Levy said the 2013 visit of Pope Francis and the 2014 World Cup were tests for Brazil.Francisco Dornelles, Rios acting governor, warned on Monday that budget shortfalls could compromise security and transit at the games. Levy said intelligence officials from 100 different countries are in Brazil monitoring potential threats.Zika, a virus linked to birth defects, has drawn widespread international concern. Levy stressed he does not worry about the virus and said none of the people working for him has contracted Zika. He pointed to expected cooler temperatures during the Olympics in his attempt to assuage fears.If I have to write on a piece of paper my top 10 worries today, Zika wouldnt be there, he said. Im not saying its not a public health issue. It is a public health issue. But we are going into the winter months in Rio and if you see every statistic of last years mosquitos proliferation in the summer and in the winter, it goes very high up in February and reaches the peak, which is the height of the summer. It starts going down, down, down. Right now its almost zero.Levy said Rio organizers did not expect this level of concern over Zika, and he acknowledged that more people around the world are worried about it than Brazilians are. Several high-profile athletes cited it as their reason for withdrawing from the Olympics.We thought that there were too many people here in the States talking about Zika and this is tooo much.dddddddddddd This is too much. Too many negative comments, Levy said. I think it was good for them to hear other voices.Levy was less optimistic about water pollution, saying Rio failed on its promise to clean 80 percent of it by the Olympics, which are set for Aug. 5-21. He said four of the five sites on the Guanabara Bay are tested daily for bacteria and will not pose any problems and left open the possibility of moving the other.The fifth area is closer to the shore and were testing that and depending on the rain and the wind sometimes good, sometimes not so good, Levy said. If closer to the games we see that this is not good enough, were going to change the location to further down the sea. Were very committed to not put at risk any athlete during the competition.The Associated Press has reported that Guanabara Bay has shown astronomically high level of viruses for which the state is not testing.Another issue is the political turmoil in the country. Levy is unsure about the upcoming vote to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, which likely will take place in August.We do pray for the impeachment vote to happen before the games, Levy said. If that prayer is not answered, we hope that (will) happen after the games. We asked the president personally about that, but he cant control his congress and senate. Were going to have to manage whatever happens. It would be ideal of that to happen before the Olympics.Levy said the subway is almost ready and that the light rail is having its soft opening. Because those modes of transportation are new and Brazil has never hosted an event of this magnitude.Security is, of course, part of the core of the agenda, Levy said. But I would say today the main issue for me is the combination of all that: How to make all that work simultaneously on the very first day. .... First day everybodys watching. Its going to have to work. Thats what worries me. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Nike Baseball Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Authentic Cheap NHL Jerseys Canada [url=http://www.cheapjerseysmlbreplica.c