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Yahoo Sports AM: The WNBA Finals are a clash of titans


Yahoo Sports AM: The WNBA Finals are a clash of titans

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🚨 Headlines

πŸŒͺ️ Milton causes damage in Tampa: The roof of the Rays' Tropicana Field was destroyed when Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday, while the field at the Buccaneers' Raymond James Stadium was completely submerged in water.

⚽️ NWSL lawsuit: Five former San Diego Wave employees have sued the NWSL and Wave over harassment and discrimination allegations. This comes two months after allegations of a toxic workplace first surfaced.

🏈 WR injury news: Texans WR Nico Collins, the NFL's leading receiver for five weeks, has been placed on IR with a hamstring injury and Colts WR Michael Pittman is expected to miss several weeks with a back injury.

🎾 Wimbledon eliminates linesman: The All England Club will introduce electronic phone calls from next year, ending a 147-year streak of linesmen being banned. This makes the French Open the only major that has yet to make the change.

⛳️”The Showdown”: The previously announced match between PGA Tour duo Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler against LIV's Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau now has a name (“The Showdown”), a date (December 17) and a venue (Shadow Creek in Las Vegas). golf course).


πŸ€ WNBA Finals Preview: Clash of the Titans

(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)

(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)

Championships are sometimes about a David versus Goliath narrative. But the 2024 WNBA Finals will be a battle of giants competing for a title that defines their legacy.

No. 1 vs. No. 2: The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, the WNBA's top two teams, begin their best-of-five finals tonight in Brooklyn (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

  • The Liberty (32-8), who defeated the two-time defending champion Aces to return to the Finals for the second straight season, boast the league's second-best offense and third-best defense, allowing a WNBA-best 10.1 three-pointers per game in this one Season.

  • The Lynx (30-10), who won 14 of their last 16 games in their first 30-win season, field the league's second-largest defense and lead the WNBA in both assists and three-point percentage.

Head-to-head: Minnesota won the season series 3-1, including the final of the Commissioner's Cup, the $500,000 season tournament.

Squad Breakdown: The Liberty are a true super team, while the Lynx have surrounded the league's most unknown superstar with a perfectly complementary cast.

  • New York's Breanna Stewart could go down as one of the top five players of all time, Sabrina Ionescu is arguably the best shooter in the league (aside from maybe Caitlin Clark), Jonquel Jones is a former MVP and Courtney Vandersloot is the best assists player of all time per game. There's also Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive player.

  • Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, the defensive POY and runner-up MVP finisher, is flanked by Courtney Williams – the straw that stirs the Lynx's drink – and a trio of sharpshooters in Kayla McBride, Bridget Carleton and Alanna Smith.

Coach Matchup: Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve is a four-time Coach of the Year (including this season) and four-time champion, both with the Lynx. New Yorker Sandy Brondello was the 2014 Coach of the Year when she won the title in Phoenix, where she coached until 2021.

What's at stake: No matter who wins, history will be made as the Lynx seek a record-setting fifth* championship and the Liberty – the only remaining original WNBA franchise without a title – seek their first.

  • Minnesota built a dynasty behind Reeve and superstar Maya Moore over the last decade, winning four titles from 2011 to 2017, but this is their first return to the Finals since then.

  • The Liberty have appeared in five WNBA Finals, more than any team except the Lynx, but they haven't won it all.

Reading before the game: Three things you should know

*Right at the top: The Lynx (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), Storm (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) and Comets (1997-2000) are tied with four titles each.


⚾️ Mets advance, Dodgers stay alive

(Elsa/Getty Images)(Elsa/Getty Images)

(Elsa/Getty Images)

For the first time since 2015 The Mets are back in the NLCS.

ICYMI: The Mets defeated the Phillies 4-1 on Wednesday night in Queens to secure a spot in the MLB Final Four.

Wild statistics: The No. 6 seed has now defeated the No. 2 seed in the NLDS in all three years since the playoff expansion (Phillies over Braves in 2022, D-Backs over Dodgers in 2023, Mets over Phillies in 2024).

Storybook Season: New York still has a lot of work to do, but the fact that they just booked a trip to the NLCS would have been almost unthinkable a few months ago when they finished May with a record of 22-33, their third-worst of the season. The NL is faltering.

Elsewhere: The Dodgers defeated the Padres 8-0 and forced a winner-take-all in Game 5, while the Tigers (3-0 vs. the Guardians) and Yankees (3-2 vs. the Royals) took a 2-1 lead.


🏈 NFL Power Rankings: Chiefs still on top

(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

The undefeated Chiefs and Vikings Stay at the top of our Week 6 Power Rankings, courtesy of Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports.

Best division in football? Three of our top 10 teams (and four of our top 15) play in the NFC North, the only division in which all four teams are over .500. Unsurprisingly, they lead all divisions with 14 wins.

  • NFC North (14 wins): Vikings (5-0), Lions (3-1), Packers (3-2), Bears (3-2).

  • AFC West (12): Chiefs (5-0), Broncos (3-2), Chargers (2-2), Raiders (2-3).

  • NFC East (11): Commanders (4-1), Cowboys (3-2), Eagles (2-2), Giants (2-3).

  • NFC South (9): Falcons (3-2), Buccaneers (3-2), Saints (2-3), Panthers (1-4).

  • AFC East (8): Bills (3-2), Jets (2-3), Dolphins (2-3), Patriots (1-4).

  • AFC North (8): Ravens (3-2), Steelers (3-2), Browns (1-4), Bengals (1-4).

  • AFC South (8): Texans (4-1), Colts (2-3), Titans (1-3), Jaguars (1-4).

  • NFC West (8): Seahawks (3-2), Cardinals (2-3), 49ers (2-3), Rams (1-4).

Yahoo Fantasy: Players to be traded/selected before Week 6


πŸ“† Oct. 10, 2004: 19 wins in a row

Tom Brady throws a pass in a record-breaking game. (Bernie Nunez/Getty Images)Tom Brady throws a pass in a record-breaking game. (Bernie Nunez/Getty Images)

Tom Brady throws a pass in a record-breaking game. (Bernie Nunez/Getty Images)

20 years ago today, The Patriots defeated the Dolphins for their 19th consecutive victory (including playoffs), breaking the record for the longest winning streak in NFL history.

What a run: The streak began in Week 5 of 2003, included a Super Bowl victory, and finally ended in Week 8 of 2004 after 21 straight wins. After that loss in Week 8, they lost just one more game all season en route to their second straight Super Bowl.

  • Their 21-game streak remains the longest in league history, two ahead of the 2010-11 Packers, who won 19 straight games.

  • The longest active streak belongs to the Chiefs, who have won eleven times in a row. To get past the Patriots, they would have to win every week from now until Christmas.

Interesting fact: The Pats' record-breaking win came on one of the most unproductive days of Tom Brady's career. Although he threw two touchdowns (which is productive), he was only 7-19 with 76 yards and one pick. That's the lowest completion percentage (36.84%) and second-fewest yards in his 333 career starts.


πŸ“Ί Watchlist: ALDS Elimination Games

The Tigers' mascot celebrates Wednesday's Game 3 victory. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)The Tigers' mascot celebrates Wednesday's Game 3 victory. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Tigers' mascot celebrates Wednesday's Game 3 victory. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The ALDS continues tonight in Detroit and Kansas City, where the Tigers and Yankees are just one win away from the ALCS.

  • Guardians (2-1 deficit) at the Tigers (6:08 p.m. ET, TNT/Max)

  • Yankees (2-1) at Royals (8:08 p.m., TNT/Max)

More to watch:

  • πŸ€ WNBA Finals: Lynx in freedom (8 p.m., ESPN)

  • 🏈 NFL: 49ers at Seahawks* (8:15 p.m., Prime)

  • 🏈 NCAAF: Carolina Coast at JMU (7:30 p.m., ESPN2); Middle Tennessee at Louisiana Tech (8 p.m., CBSSN); UTEP in Western Kentucky (8 p.m., ESPNU)

*One-sided rivalry: The 49ers have won five straight times against their NFC West rivals, and it wasn't particularly close as they averaged 15 points per game during the series.


⚾️ MLB Trivia

(Giphy)(Giphy)

(Giphy)

Only one player in MLB history has won a batting title in three different decades. Can you name him?

A notice: 70s, 80s and 90s.

Answer below.


β›³οΈπŸ’ Utah is having a moment

The Black Desert Golf Club is breathtaking. (@BrianOarGolf)The Black Desert Golf Club is breathtaking. (@BrianOarGolf)

The Black Desert Golf Club is breathtaking. (@BrianOarGolf)

The Beehive State has had quite a week. On Tuesday, the Utah Hockey Club won its inaugural game in front of a sellout crowd in Salt Lake City. Today the PGA Tour returns to Utah for the first time since 1963 as the Black Desert Championship tees off 30 miles west of Zion National Park.


Trivia answer: George Brett (1976, 1980, 1990)

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