ERST LESEN! » d can name four of them pretty easily. Its that la

MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit, too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee. Parker also was left off the U.S. Olympic team after helping them to a gold medal in the previous two Games.The journey to get here, I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing, when you surround yourself with good people, how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker said she heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Fowles blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early in the fourth quarter. Parkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance, was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason seeding format based on overall record regardless of conference worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes, 11 ties and no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish, befitting a game for the WNBA trophy.Johnson, a part-owner of the Sparks, wore all black while sitting courtside to root for his team. The Hall of Famer gave the players a pep talk after their loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, also played Thursday night in Los Angeles in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions, so I give them a lot of credit, too.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too. Timberwolves players at the game included Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica.---This story has corrected spelling to Fowles in 11th paragraph.Rafael Camacho Jersey . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Simon Mignolet Jersey . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Caoimhin-Kelleher-Liverpool-Jersey/ . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Joe Gomez Liverpool Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Daniel Sturridge Liverpool Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Technically, there are five spots available on the U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team that will be unveiled on Sunday night at the end of Olympic Trials. But not really. And Ashton Locklear knows it.We all do the math in our heads, Locklear said. I think you kind of have to. You need to know whats going on around you.Barring injury or a catastrophic drop in form, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and Laurie Hernandez are heading to Brazil next month.That leaves one position open -- maybe -- the one Locklear and good friend Madison Kocian will try to convince national team coordinator Martha Karolyi theyre worthy of during what may be the most important 48 hours of their athletic lives.No pressure or anything.I definitely need to prove myself, Locklear said. I definitely need to show consistency.Its a testament to the depth of the powerhouse program Karolyi has built that the only real lingering drama with less than a month to go before the games centers around who will serve as the anchor on uneven bars. The top choices are the fluidly elegant Locklear -- who helped the U.S. to team gold in the 2014 world championships -- and the precise Kocian -- who won gold on her favorite event at the 2015 world championships.Both provide compelling arguments. Locklears cumulative uneven bars score during the two preliminary meets leading up to Olympic Trials was 0.3 better than Kocians total. Yet Kocian provides Karolyi with flexibility in the all-around, heady territory considering she broke the tibia in her left leg just above the ankle at the end of February.I didnt really think it was going to be fractured or anything, Kocian said. I went to doctor, he told me it was fractured. I melted down. I broke into tears. I didnt know what that meant for me.What it meant for the 18-year-old Texan was two weeks in a cast, another two on crutches while wearing a protective boot and six-plus weeks of limited training while most of the crowded elite field -- really, if the U.S. were allowed to field two five-woman teams it would turn the race for gold into an intramural -- kept pressing forward.I drove myself crazy in the beginning, Kocian said. It was really hard. I had to stay off bars 3-4 weeks, Id never stayed off that long.In a way, it may have been a blessing. Sure, sitting for the better part of two months was difficult. It also gave her a chance to recharge mentally, no small thing in a world where the relentless grind of training can wear occasionally wear down bodies and motivation in eequal measure.ddddddddddddKocian believes shes more focused than ever, buoyed by her strong performance at the U.S. championships two weeks ago, where she finished fifth in the all-around thanks in part to a floor routine she and her coaches basically threw together on the fly.It was important for her to prove besides being a bars specialist she is a steady competitor on floor and beam, Karolyi said.Kocian was planning on vaulting at Olympic Trials but was told by Karolyi not to bother out of fear it may affect her still tender ankle.She told my coaches she didnt want to take any risks, Kocian said. She knows its not really worth it right now. Its not really going change my position on the team.Kocian isnt sounding presumptuous, but she knows her best shot at making an impact on a team heavily favored to defend the gold it won so easily in London four years ago is on bars, beam and floor. The vault will be there in case the U.S. should need it.Thats not the case for the 18-year-old Locklear, whose career path was altered when she fractured her L4 vertebra in 2013. She spent months in a brace and when she was finally cleared soon realized floor exercise and vault werent exactly ideal ways for someone with lower-back issues to spend their free time.So she focused on bars and beam, figuring the extra practice time would give her an advantage. It was a risky strategy, the gymnastics equivalent of a high school senior applying to just one college in hopes of getting accepted.Locklear is well aware that Karolyi has five women in mind and can name four of them pretty easily. Its that last one, though, that will be tricky. Maybe its Locklear. Its more likely its Kocian. At least, at the moment. And thats where things can get stressful.Its hard because were really good friends and we both want each other to do their best, Locklear said. Im pretty sure she watches me too. Were competitive with each other but were best friends too.The friendship will be tested this weekend, though in the big picture the decision will hardly impact the Americans chances of standing atop the podium after team finals on Aug. 9.The difference between Locklear and Kocian can be measured in small fractions. The U.S. won the 2012 Olympics and 2014 and 2015 world championships by at least five points. Whoever makes the team will likely come home with a gold medal -- possibly more than one -- in their suitcase. ' ' '