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NBC Sports
6 hours ago
- Business
- NBC Sports
New York and Minnesota still leading the way, both unbeaten heading into Commissioner's Cup play
NEW YORK — The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx picked up right where they left off last season when reaching the WNBA Finals. Both teams have gone undefeated through their first seven games this year with the Lynx set to host Phoenix in a Commissioner's Cup matchup. The Liberty and Lynx faced off last season in the in-season tournament final with Minnesota coming away with the victory. New York got revenge, winning the WNBA championship for the first time in franchise history. The two teams are each 7-0 this season, marking the latest that more than one franchise had been undefeated this long into the season since both the Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks started 2016 winning their first 11 games. New York has dominated its opponents so far, averaging 91.9 points a game, and winning by nearly 23 points a contest. That includes a 48-point victory over Connecticut, the second-largest margin of victory in WNBA history. Minnesota has been finding ways to win close contests. Before beating Golden State by 11, the Lynx had won their previous four games by a total of 18 points. The Lynx and Liberty won't play in the regular season for a few more months with their four matchups coming in the span of a few weeks — the first of which is on July 30. Power poll rankings New York led the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll again. Minnesota was right behind in second. The national voting panel chose Phoenix third and Atlanta fourth. The Dream moved up three places. Las Vegas, Seattle and Indiana were the next three. Washington, Golden State and Chicago followed. Los Angeles, Dallas and Connecticut rounded out the poll. Commissioner's Cup The WNBA will play its annual in-season tournament over the next few weeks. Each team will play the other teams in their conference one time during that window. The West will have six games with the addition of expansion team Golden State. The East will play five. The teams with the best record in each conference will face off in the title game. The winning team receives a $500,000 cash prize pool to divvy up as well as each player on that squad will get $5,000 in cryptocurrency from Bitcoin. Player of the week Allisha Gray of Atlanta earned Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. The Dream guard, who also won the award in June 2023, averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Atlanta win both its games last week on the road over Los Angeles and Seattle. Other players receiving consideration included A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas, Napheesa Collier of Minnesota and Sabrina Ionescu of New York. Game of the week Indiana at Chicago. Caitlin Clark still may be sidelined with a quad strain for this rematch between the Fever and Sky.


San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
New York and Minnesota still leading the way, both unbeaten heading into Commissioner's Cup play
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx picked up right where they left off last season when reaching the WNBA Finals. Both teams have gone undefeated through their first seven games this year with the Lynx set to host Phoenix on Tuesday night in a Commissioner's Cup matchup. The Liberty and Lynx faced off last season in the in-season tournament final with Minnesota coming away with the victory. New York got revenge, winning the WNBA championship for the first time in franchise history. The two teams are each 7-0 this season, marking the latest that more than one franchise had been undefeated this long into the season since both the Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks started 2016 winning their first 11 games. New York has dominated its opponents so far, averaging 91.9 points a game, and winning by nearly 23 points a contest. That includes a 48-point victory over Connecticut, the second-largest margin of victory in WNBA history. Minnesota has been finding ways to win close contests. Before beating Golden State by 11 on Sunday, the Lynx had won their previous four games by a total of 18 points. The Lynx and Liberty won't play in the regular season for a few more months with their four matchups coming in the span of a few weeks — the first of which is on July 30. Power poll rankings New York led the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll again this week. Minnesota was right behind in second. The national voting panel chose Phoenix third and Atlanta fourth. The Dream moved up three places. Las Vegas, Seattle and Indiana were the next three. Washington, Golden State and Chicago followed. Los Angeles, Dallas and Connecticut rounded out the poll. Commissioner's Cup The WNBA will play its annual in-season tournament over the next few weeks. Each team will play the other teams in their conference one time during that window. The West will have six games with the addition of expansion team Golden State. The East will play five. The teams with the best record in each conference will face off in the title game. The winning team receives a $500,000 cash prize pool to divvy up as well as each player on that squad will get $5,000 in cryptocurrency from Bitcoin. Player of the week Allisha Gray of Atlanta earned Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. The Dream guard, who also won the award in June 2023, averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Atlanta win both its games last week on the road over Los Angeles and Seattle. Other players receiving consideration included A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas, Napheesa Collier of Minnesota and Sabrina Ionescu of New York. ___


Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
New York and Minnesota still leading the way, both unbeaten heading into Commissioner's Cup play
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx picked up right where they left off last season when reaching the WNBA Finals. Both teams have gone undefeated through their first seven games this year with the Lynx set to host Phoenix on Tuesday night in a Commissioner's Cup matchup. The Liberty and Lynx faced off last season in the in-season tournament final with Minnesota coming away with the victory. New York got revenge, winning the WNBA championship for the first time in franchise history. The two teams are each 7-0 this season, marking the latest that more than one franchise had been undefeated this long into the season since both the Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks started 2016 winning their first 11 games. New York has dominated its opponents so far, averaging 91.9 points a game, and winning by nearly 23 points a contest. That includes a 48-point victory over Connecticut, the second-largest margin of victory in WNBA history. Minnesota has been finding ways to win close contests. Before beating Golden State by 11 on Sunday, the Lynx had won their previous four games by a total of 18 points. The Lynx and Liberty won't play in the regular season for a few more months with their four matchups coming in the span of a few weeks — the first of which is on July 30. Power poll rankings New York led the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll again this week. Minnesota was right behind in second. The national voting panel chose Phoenix third and Atlanta fourth. The Dream moved up three places. Las Vegas, Seattle and Indiana were the next three. Washington, Golden State and Chicago followed. Los Angeles, Dallas and Connecticut rounded out the poll. Commissioner's Cup The WNBA will play its annual in-season tournament over the next few weeks. Each team will play the other teams in their conference one time during that window. The West will have six games with the addition of expansion team Golden State. The East will play five. The teams with the best record in each conference will face off in the title game. The winning team receives a $500,000 cash prize pool to divvy up as well as each player on that squad will get $5,000 in cryptocurrency from Bitcoin. Player of the week Allisha Gray of Atlanta earned Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. The Dream guard, who also won the award in June 2023, averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Atlanta win both its games last week on the road over Los Angeles and Seattle. Other players receiving consideration included A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas, Napheesa Collier of Minnesota and Sabrina Ionescu of New York. Game of the week Indiana at Chicago, Saturday. Caitlin Clark may still be sidelined with a quad strain for this rematch between the Fever and Sky. The game will be broadcast on CBS in primetime, the first for the network in WNBA history. ___ AP WNBA:


Fox Sports
7 hours ago
- Business
- Fox Sports
New York and Minnesota still leading the way, both unbeaten heading into Commissioner's Cup play
Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx picked up right where they left off last season when reaching the WNBA Finals. Both teams have gone undefeated through their first seven games this year with the Lynx set to host Phoenix on Tuesday night in a Commissioner's Cup matchup. The Liberty and Lynx faced off last season in the in-season tournament final with Minnesota coming away with the victory. New York got revenge, winning the WNBA championship for the first time in franchise history. The two teams are each 7-0 this season, marking the latest that more than one franchise had been undefeated this long into the season since both the Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks started 2016 winning their first 11 games. New York has dominated its opponents so far, averaging 91.9 points a game, and winning by nearly 23 points a contest. That includes a 48-point victory over Connecticut, the second-largest margin of victory in WNBA history. Minnesota has been finding ways to win close contests. Before beating Golden State by 11 on Sunday, the Lynx had won their previous four games by a total of 18 points. The Lynx and Liberty won't play in the regular season for a few more months with their four matchups coming in the span of a few weeks — the first of which is on July 30. Power poll rankings New York led the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll again this week. Minnesota was right behind in second. The national voting panel chose Phoenix third and Atlanta fourth. The Dream moved up three places. Las Vegas, Seattle and Indiana were the next three. Washington, Golden State and Chicago followed. Los Angeles, Dallas and Connecticut rounded out the poll. Commissioner's Cup The WNBA will play its annual in-season tournament over the next few weeks. Each team will play the other teams in their conference one time during that window. The West will have six games with the addition of expansion team Golden State. The East will play five. The teams with the best record in each conference will face off in the title game. The winning team receives a $500,000 cash prize pool to divvy up as well as each player on that squad will get $5,000 in cryptocurrency from Bitcoin. Player of the week Allisha Gray of Atlanta earned Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. The Dream guard, who also won the award in June 2023, averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Atlanta win both its games last week on the road over Los Angeles and Seattle. Other players receiving consideration included A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas, Napheesa Collier of Minnesota and Sabrina Ionescu of New York. Game of the week Indiana at Chicago, Saturday. Caitlin Clark may still be sidelined with a quad strain for this rematch between the Fever and Sky. The game will be broadcast on CBS in primetime, the first for the network in WNBA history. ___ AP WNBA:


NBC Sports
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NBC Sports
Christian Yelich and Milwaukee Brewers continue momentum
CINCINNATI — A bruised right hand didn't have any effect on Christian Yelich. The Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter — named the National League's Player of the Week before the game against the Cincinnati Reds — was back in the lineup and continued his hot streak with a solo home run in the third inning to lift the Brewers to a 3-2 victory. 'Sore hand or not, he crushed two balls tonight. So, he's living up to his Player of the Week (honor),' manager Pat Murphy said. Yelich left a game against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning after being hit by a sinker from Ranger Suarez in the first inning. Once he found out X-rays were negative, the 2018 NL MVP was preparing to make sure he wouldn't have to take a day off. 'Worked on it the rest of the game (yesterday) did some stuff on the flight (from Philadelphia to Cincinnati) and came in early today. It was fine,' he said. 'Once I knew it wasn't broken it was like yeah, we'll get back out there. It's something we all take pride in, showing up for each other and being able to play.' Yelich is a pivotal reason why the Brewers have won eight straight games. He has a nine-game hitting streak — the second-longest active run in the majors — and is batting .450 (18 for 40) with six home runs and 14 RBIs. It is the sixth time Yelich has been the NL Player of the Week, but the first since April 2019. He had three homers last week, including his first walk-off with a grand slam on May 27 against the Boston Red Sox. Yelich extended his hitting streak when he drove Brady Singer's slider on a full count 417 feet to straightaway center and off the batter's eye. 'It was a 3-2 count, not really knowing what was going to happen there. He threw a couple sliders that I swung over, so I knew there was a chance it could show up,' Yelich said. Yelich also lined a ball to center in the sixth inning that looked like might fall for extra bases, but Cincinnati's TJ Friedl made a leaping grab. The 33-year-old is a two-time NL batting champion, but missed 81 games last season due to a lower back injury. Yelich was batting .184 on May 21 but has raised his average 49 points during his streak. He has 13 homers on the season, which is tied for eighth-most in the National League. 'I know he's worked at it. I mean, he takes it really personally,' Murphy said. 'He's been doing it a long time. He feels that responsibility to his teammates. He never gives himself enough credit.' While Yelich is on one of his best streaks in six years, he is trying to maintain his focus on the present. 'Each year is its own year, they're all different,' he said. 'You just try to stay focused on your work in the day-to-day. You know, flush the previous day whether it is good or bad, and have good focus on what you want to do and your approach that day. Kind of stay locked in and put blinders on.'