t victories Tuesday to advance to the semifinals as group winners in their respective qualify

MINNEAPOLIS -- The disappointment and emotion were still raw when Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve walked into the postgame news conference with Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. Defense and rebounding, two things the Lynx are known for, failed them in the fourth quarter when they absolutely needed it, costing them the back-to-back WNBA titles they sought to complete their dynastic résumé.Reeve began her opening remarks by congratulating the Sparks on their 77-76 victory and WNBA title, and expressed pride in her own players. Then she addressed something that has been simmering with her and other WNBA coaches for years: the quality of the leagues officiating.A controversial no-call on what looked to be a 24-second violation on Nneka Ogwumikes turnaround jumper from the right baseline with 1 minute, 12 seconds to play -- which put the Sparks ahead 73-71 -- was at the heart of the criticism. The officials initially signaled for a review, but it never happened.I thought I saw them do this, said Moore, meaning a review. But they didnt. It doesnt mean anything now.This followed an egregious mistake in Game 4, when officials overlooked a backcourt violation on the Lynx with 26.1 seconds left and Minnesota up by two. The next day the league admitted the refs blew it and apologized.That two such errors could occur in the final two games of a close, hard-fought championship series angered Reeve.Nneka Ogwumikes shot was not good, Reeve said. It was reviewable at the time when she shot it. The referees at that point didnt think anything was wrong. They didnt understand it was the end of the clock. They didnt hear the shot clock.Reeve continued, her voice rising: Its really unfortunate that players continually put themselves out there playing and competing at a really high level, whether it was the eight-second call in the game in L.A. -- doesnt matter, OK? The game today, its not fair to the players. 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.A photo tweeted postgame by Lynx associate head coach Jim Petersen showed the ball still in Ogwumikes hand with the shot clock at zero.Asked how the league might fix the problem, Reeve said: I dont get paid enough to have to do somebody elses job, too. Just get the simple things right. Simple. Eight-second call, shot-clock violation. Get the simple things right and well live with the other stuff that happens in a game.Reeve soon circled back to the reason the Lynx lost: their inability to defend and rebound at crunch time.In the fourth quarter the Sparks shot 55 percent and outrebounded the team with the best rebounding percentage in the league 10-5. It seemed unfathomable that the Lynx gave up 14 offensive rebounds on the night -- two on the possession with Ogwumikes game-winning putback -- to a team that ranked 10th in the league in rebounding.Its unfortunate, said Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson, who was denied a record fifth WNBA title. We knew the keys to the game would be defense and rebounding. I feel like in the last five minutes we werent getting the stops we needed. Then it came down to a rebound. But we knew those were going to be the keys. We just didnt get it done.The sellout crowd of 19,423 stood and screamed as the Lynx, trailing by eight with 3:06 to play, suddenly came to life. Moore, whose 23 points and 11 assists nearly stole the game for Minnesota, hit a technical foul shot, then a left wing 3-pointer around a screen. Moore found Brunson (nine points, nine rebounds) for a short turnaround. Then Lindsay Whalen stole a Kristi Toliver pass and drove for a layup. Eight points in 61 seconds. Tie score.More big shots followed. Ogwumikes disputed jumper. Augustus with a trademark left-wing pull-up. Then Brunson, making the second of two foul shots for a 74-73 lead with 23.4 seconds to play. The Lynx seemed on the verge of a miracle.But there would be no league record-tying fourth title, and no back-to-back championship. In those final seconds the Lynx couldnt stop Candace Parker (28 points and 12 rebounds), who drove for a layup with 19.7 seconds left, or league MVP Ogwumike, who showed the same tenacity on that final possession the Lynx exhibited for six years.They scored at will in the paint in the second half, Reeve said. We had them at 34 percent [from the field] in the first half. We were defending our tails off. Then in the second half, we didnt get it done. If we go look at a shot chart right now, its not going to be pretty.Lynx center Sylvia Fowles, who dislocated a finger in the third quarter but kept playing, fought back tears in the locker room. So did Moore, Brunson and almost everyone else. Whalen hugged each player individually, then slumped at her locker. Janel McCarville, her teammate at the University of Minnesota, put an arm around her, but Whalen was inconsolable.I think we answered L.A.s calls, Fowles said. They answered our calls. Unfortunately it came down to a one-possession game. In a situation like that, you should never be up by one possession with a team like Los Angeles. Youve got to give them credit for coming out and playing today, especially in that environment. Air Max 720 Wholesale Uk . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Fake Air Max 97 Uk . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/ . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Authentic Air Max 90 . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Air Max 95 Wholesale Uk .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Italy and Latvia claimed their second straight victories Tuesday to advance to the semifinals as group winners in their respective qualifying tournaments for mens basketball at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.In Turin, Italy defeated Croatia 67-60 in Group B. Marco Belinelli led the hosts with 19 points while Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 for the 1992 silver medalists. Croatia can still reach the semifinals with a win in its final group game against Tunisia.In Group A, Francisco Cruz scored 12 points in the final quarter to help Mexico beat Iran 75-70. Despite a game-high 20 points by Behram Yakchali, Iran had its second straight defeat and was eliminated from the competition.Mexico and Greece have already secured their semifinal spots before playing each other Wednesday.In Belgrade, Dairis Bertans scored 18 points in Latvias 71-59 win over the Czech Republic to earn the Baltic state top spot in Group B. The Czechs will play Japan for the second semifinal berth.In Group A, Puerto RRico bounced back from Mondays opening defeat against host Serbia by beating Angola 91-81.dddddddddddd Led by Carlos Arroyos 18 points, Puerto Rico saw a 27-point lead reduced to just 10 in the final quarter.Earlier Tuesday in Manila, France rallied from a 10-point deficit against the hosts to beat the Philippines 93-84, and Canada defeated Turkey 77-69 on the opening day of their qualifying tournament.Nando De Colo scored 11 points in the third quarter and 27 overall to help France overcome a strong start by the Philippines. New Zealand is the third team in Group B.In Group A, NBA point guard Cory Joseph led Canada with 21 points, while Turkeys Sinan Guler scored 14. Canada can secure a semifinal spot as group winner by beating Senegal on Wednesday.The winners of the three six-nation qualifying tournaments will be added to the 12-team draw in Rio. ' ' '