The new early-round single-elimination WNBA playoff format has the No. 8 seed Phoenix Mercury as a Cinderella team heading to New York to play the No. 3-seeded Liberty in a second-round game Saturday.Phoenix (17-18) upset fifth-seeded Indiana 89-78 in Indianapolis in the first round Wednesday. Mercury guard Diana Taurasi scored 20 points and wing player DeWanna Bonner had 11 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter. Post player Brittney Griner added 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.After a re-seeding of the teams, Phoenix was paired with New York (21-13) at 7 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to play a best-of-five semifinal series against No. 2 seed Los Angeles beginning next Wednesday.New York is led by WNBA Most Valuable Player candidate Tina Charles, a post player who became just the third player in league history to be the leading scorer (21.5 points a game) and rebounder (9.9). She is the first member of the Liberty to lead the WNBA in either category.Although the Mercury were the final team to clinch a playoff berth, they are more talented than the No. 3 vs. No. 8 matchup suggests with U.S. Olympians Griner and Taurasi on the roster. Charles was their teammate in the Rio Games. Her battle in the paint against Griner is worth watching in the elimination game.Although Griner has won the leagues Defensive Player of the Year award in each of the past two seasons, she has faced difficulty subduing Charles. The Liberty center has averaged 26.6 points and 11.0 rebounds in three games against Phoenix this season.The Liberty, 10-7 at Madison Square Garden this season, closed the regular season on a three-game losing streak and went just 3-5 following the Olympic break. New York had more than a week off to prepare for this win-or-go-home game, which will be played at Madison Square Garden, where the Liberty went 10-7 this season.New York won the regular-season series against Phoenix 2-1, going 1-1 in games at Madison Square Garden, including a 92-70 win in the most recent meeting on Sept. 3. Dwight Howard Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Jonathan Isaac Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-d-j-augustin-magic-jersey/ . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Vince Carter Jersey . JOHNS, N. Vince Carter Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Despite a rare finish outside the top 20 in the Directors Cup standings, Florida State is pleased with gains the past three years under athletic director Stan Wilcox.The university announced Friday that Wilcox has been promoted to vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics as part of a contract extension that will expire June 30, 2020. Wilcoxs original contract was scheduled to expire in August 2018.Wilcox became Florida States athletic director in August 2013 from Duke, where he was the senior deputy director of athletics. In three years, the Seminoles have won national championships in football (2013) and womens soccer (2014).A major priority of Wilcoxs tenure has been improvements to most of the universitys athletic facilities. The most ambitious is a renovation of Doak Campbell Stadium set to be completed before the start of the season. The $50 million project adds the Champions Club to the south end zone along with a new scoreboard in the north end; new ribbon boards and a sound system; new restrooms in the concourse; and structural improvements to the bowl area.ddddddddddddThe stadium renovations are just the first phase. In an interview with The Associated Press, Wilcox said that plans to renovate the rest of the stadium are in the preliminary stages, but that those could run $200 to $400 million.You are always going to be in the facilities business along with recruiting, Wilcox said. Student-athletes are savvy consumers. When they go around and do their visits, they are seeing what everyone is doing. They want to see where they are going to play, practice, eat and live. That is why we have upgraded all of the locker rooms. ' ' '
