Sky Reaches WNBA Finals, Faces Tall Task Next

September 4, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

September does not offer any chance of postseason possibilities for Chicago’s baseball teams. It does offer the possibility of a basketball title. Thanks to a 75-62 victory Wednesday in Indianapolis in a decisive Game 3, the Chicago Sky has reached the WNBA finals. Doesn’t really help Cubs or Sox fans (and probably doesn’t mean much to most Bears fans whose season begins Sunday), but the triumph certainly helps the WNBA, which can feature 2013 rookie of the year Elena Delle Donne of the Sky. vs. Phoenix center Brittney Griner (another of its rising stars — as if being 6-8 doesn’t elevate her enough already), among others.

Video below of model Sarah Stephens for your viewing pleasure.

* The WNBA finals begin Sunday in Phoenix with Game 2 there Tuesday. Game 3 will be at the UIC Pavilion, former home of the Sky before moving to Allstate Arena. Blame Garth Brooks for moving the game from Allstate Arena. His music tour is occupying the Sky’s usual homecourt. Game 3 is set for Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. with Game 4 (if necessary in the best-of-five series) Sept 14. at 4:30 p.m. Maybe next season the Sky can put in a request at Allstate Arena for the league finals dates.

* Leading the Sky in scoring vs. Indiana was Allie Quigley, who came off the bench to score 24 points. SHe was 7-of-9 from the field (including 4-of-6 three-point attempts) and made all six of her foul shots in 26 minutes. Delle Donne had four points (1-of-4 from the field) in 21 minutes as she suffers from back problems. Sylvia Fowles added 17 points and Ephiphanny Prince 11. Shavonte Zellous (16 points) was the only Indiana player in double figures. The Sky was 7-of-15 on three-pointers to 2-of-14 for Indiana. The Sky committed only eight turnovers to 11 for the Fever. In case you were wondering how to win a game in which you are outrebounded 35-23.

* Speaking of rebounding, the Milwaukee Brewers failed once again to do so on the baseball field. They lost their eighth in a row, as the Cubs prevailed 6-2 at Wrigley Field for a three-game sweep. Rookie Javier Baez, starting in place of injured shortstop Starlin Castro (likely out for the season because of an ankle sprain) went 1-for-3 with a walk (and no strikeouts) and raised his batting average to .179. Batting cleanup, rookie outfielder Jorge Soler drove in two runs in going 1-for-4 (meaning his average fell to .462). Something says the formerly first-place Brewers were feeling a little more pennant pressure than the last-place Cubs in this series.

* Speaking of feeling pressure, White Sox left-hander John Danks (9-10) allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings to increase his earned-run average to 5.12 as host Minnesota prevailed 11-4. Something says Danks will be available for trade after the season — with the question being: Who would want him?

* On the bright side (and we use the adjective extremely loosely) for the Sox, they will honor Paul Konerko, who is retiring after the season (his 16th with the team), on Sept. 27 with Paul Konerko Night. Maybe the team can draw a full house — or close to it — for the contest. But don’t hold your breath.

* If this is Thursday (which seems highly probable because yesterday was Wednesday — provided that today is Sept. 4, 2014, or a subsequent Thursday), then it is time for another edition of “Sports & Torts” at noon Central time on Talkzone.com with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris. The guest on the highly acclaimed interview program (well, it is held in such high regard in the Spada and Harris households as well as reportedly elsewhere) is Wally Triplett, the first African-American to be a football starter at Penn State. He also was the first African-American to play in the Cotton Bowl. His protrait hangs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, because he is the first drafted African-American to play in the NFL. There were other players drafted ahead of him, and they were undrafted players who had played in the NFL before him, but Triplett does hold a unique distinction. And he does hold a historic spot in the histories of Penn State and the NFL. Podcast of the show also will be available later Thursday (and presumably forever, if not longer) at Talkzone.com.

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Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the efforts of the editorial and video departments at ElliottHarris.com):