4.7 seconds to play, but she helped aggressively on Grays drive on the other end, leaving Beard open for just her second bucket of the game.I dont think Ive ever hit a game-winner, Beard said quie

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a championship series filled with stars, Alana Beard sometimes can get lost with so much attention on Minnesotas four Olympians and the two MVPs in Los Angeles.Thats exactly what happened in the closing moments of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, and Beard hit a jumper from the baseline just before time expired to lift the Sparks to a 78-76 victory over the defending champion Lynx.With the defense collapsing on Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike in the paint, Beard found herself all alone in the corner. She took the pass from Chelsea Gray and knocked down jumper with Maya Moores in her face.As the ball splashed through, Moore put her head in her hands, and the Sparks celebrated a thrilling victory, their second on Minnesotas court this season.You may not recognize the importance of her statistically for us a lot of times, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. But her presence, her leadership, obviously how disruptive she can be defensively, and then for her to hit a shot like that, it was incredible.Kristi Toliver scored 19 points to lead Los Angeles and Parker had 14 points and nine rebounds in her finals debut. League MVP Ogwumike added 19 points for the Sparks in the opener of the best-of-five series.Sylvia Fowles had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Lindsay Whalen scored 18 points for top-seeded Minnesota. Moore scored all 18 of her points in the second half to move into first place on the WNBAs career finals scoring list, but the Lynx committed 16 turnovers and got caught scrambling on the final possession of the game.I think we were more worried about not letting anyone get to the hole, Fowles said. Im not sure exactly what happened on that last play to make her get wide open. But we learned from this.There was a time not too long ago when Beards name belonged on the marquee with players Parker and Ogwumike or Lynx stars Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen. She was the national player of the year at Duke, the No. 2 overall pick by the Washington Mystics in 2004 and a four-time All-Star before injuries set her back.She re-emerged in Los Angeles as a defensive specialist, but she took center stage in Game 1. Before she hit the game-winner, Beard also had a spectacular block of a shot by Whalen and then a steal off an inbounds to set up Ogwumikes bucket for a 76-72 lead.Moore scored on a coast-to-coast layup to tie the score at 76 with 24.7 seconds to play, but she helped aggressively on Grays drive on the other end, leaving Beard open for just her second bucket of the game.I dont think Ive ever hit a game-winner, Beard said quietly. So its pretty cool. Pretty cool.NEW LOOK: In years past these two teams never could have met in the finals because both are in the Western Conference. But the league changed its playoff format this year and seeded all of the teams based on record, not geography. The result in the first year could not have been better for the league with the top two teams throughout the season meeting.I dont think its a fluke that were here now in the finals, Fowles said. Im loving this new format.PARKERS DEBUT: Parker has been one of the leagues brightest stars for years, but has never been able to reach the leagues biggest stage. She hit 5 of 12 shots and had three assists.At first obviously theres some nerves, but you kind of get lost in the game and just trying to execute, Parker said. We had to take it possession by possession because you never know whats going to happen.MOORES MARK: The Minnesota star was 0 for 4 in the first half, but made 7 of 10 shots in the final two quarters to move past Diana Taurasi for first place on the WNBAs career scoring list for the finals. She set the mark with 5:20 to play after hitting a jump shot and converting the three-point play.TOP 20: The WNBA hosted more than a dozen members of the top 20 players in league history for a halftime ceremony. Each player was presented with a ring to commemorate it. Whalen, Moore, Parker and Augustus all participated in the ceremony, and the league extended the length of halftime to allow them to receive their rings and then get back to the locker room to meet with coaches and teammates.UP NEXT: Game 2 is on Tuesday in Minneapolis. Cheap Vapormax Sale . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax Plus . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. http://www.cheapairvapormax.com/ . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Cheap Nike Vapormax China .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax Plus Sale . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. The upshot More batsmen are likely to be given lbw when the fielding captain asks for a not-out decision to be referred to the third umpire, under the new DRS protocol.Why? Because the amount of protection given to the on-field umpires decision - the umpires call - has been reduced. So the fielding team has a greater chance of getting a not-out changed to an out.What has changed? The zone in which more than half the ball must hit the pad for not-out decisions to be overturned has been increased. And the zone in which the ball-tracking projection needed to show more than half the ball hitting the stumps has also been increased. So the bowlers have a larger area in their favour, and batsmen - as well as the on-field umpires decisions - are less protected than before.By how much has the zone increased? Previously, for not-out decisions to be overturned, more than half the ball needed to hit the pad in line with a zone between the middle of off stump and the middle of leg stump, and from the bottom of the bails downwards. Now, the zone is between the outside of off stump and the outside of leg stump. The bottom-of-the bails limit has not changed.And previously, for not-out decisions to be overturned, the bball-tracking projection needed to show more than half the ball hitting the stumps between the middle of off stump and the middle of leg stump, and from the bottom of the bails downwards.dddddddddddd Now, the zone is from the outside of off stump and the outside of leg stump. The bottom-of-the-bails limit has not changed.The increase in the width of the zone is about 3.8 centimetres: half a stumps width (1.9 centimetres) on either side.How will this impact the game? Under the previous DRS conditions, for a not-out lbw decision to be overturned, the ball needed to have hit the pad well in line with the stumps and the projection needed to show the ball pretty much crashing into the stumps. Now, for such decisions to be overturned, more than half the ball still needs to hit the pad in line with the stumps, but not as much as before, and more than half the ball still needs to hit the stumps, but not as centrally as before.Expect to see more reviews of not-out lbw decisions, more on-field decisions being overturned and, in time, perhaps more lbw appeals being upheld on the field. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '