The Los Angeles Sparks are reeling from back-to-back losses as they prepare to visit the Seattle Storm on Saturday at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.Los Angeles (24-7) is second in the WNBAs Western Conference. The Sparks have fallen 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Minnesota Lynx. They are 3-4 since the month-long Olympic break after going 21-3 before the break.Seattle (14-17) is third in the Western Conference, 10 games behind the Sparks. The Storm has won three in a row and five of seven since the break.Under the WNBAs new playoff format, the top eight teams regardless of conference will qualify for the postseason. The top two teams receive a bye to the semifinals. The third and fourth seeds receive a bye to the second round.Los Angeles is second in the playoff standings, three games ahead of the New York Liberty. Seattle is seventh, a half-game ahead of the Phoenix Mercury and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Washington Mystics.The Sparks suffered a 77-74 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday and an 86-81 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Thursday. The Sparks trailed 67-49 before rallying to cut the deficit to two with 59 seconds to play, but the Dream held on to win. Angel McCoughtry had 32 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray and Essence Carson scored 16 points apiece for Los Angeles.The Storm is coming off an 81-76 victory over Washington, a big win in a battle between teams that are fighting for the last playoff spot. Breanna Stewart had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle. Sue Bird had 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. The Storm shot 54.5 percent from the field while holding the Mystics to 38.4-percent shooting.Los Angeles is led by MVP candidate Nneka Ogwumike, who is third in the WNBA in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.6 points and nine rebounds per game.Seattle is led by Stewart, who is sixth in the league in scoring and second in rebounding, averaging 18.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.Buffalo Sabres Jerseys .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Jeff Skinner Jersey . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. http://www.sabresteamstoreonline.com/authentic-kyle-okposo-sabres-jersey/ .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Thomas Vanek Sabres Jersey . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Conor Sheary Jersey . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long.It is beginning to change nowadays a little bit with Virat Kohlis popularity knowing no bounds, but going into the Delhi Test last year, the last time an Indian crowd cheered an Indian wicket was in Mumbai in 2013-14 when M Vijay fell to make way for one last Test innings of Sachin Tendulkar. You thought this would be the last such instance, but at Feroz Shah Kotla after waiting for a few replays to check for a no-ball, the crowd began to cheer once it was clear Dane Piedt hadnt overstepped. The wicket he earned was Rohit Sharmas. The mode of dismissal infuriated the crowd. Five balls into an innings he looked to clear long-on - yes long-on - and failed. People cheering said Rohit doesnt deserve any more chances; they felt he was blocking the way of other deserving players, and that he wasnt even making bowlers earn his wicket.Perhaps the crowd remembered his dismissal in Southampton the previous year. India were leading the series 1-0, they had conceded 569 on a flat track, needed to get out of there with a draw, and at 210 for 4, 74 runs into a partnership, having done the hard work to reach 28, Rohit hit Moeen Ali straight to mid-off with five minutes to go to tea break. These are the dismissals that get etched permanently.Perhaps that Kotla crowd knew this was a trend that would follow. In Kanpur in this series, on a turning track where India had got off to a good start, he arrested a collapse, added 52 runs with R Ashwin, and then half an hour before stumps he played a nothing shot, finding mid-on off the bowling of Mitchell Santner. You wondered if Rohit can at all score Test runs without playing the lofted shot. You wonder if Anil Kumble and Kohli are wrong to make exceptions for Rohit.One thing is for certain. The policy to play six batsmen on difficult home tracks is justified. With the form that Indian spinners are in, they will need the extra bowler only on really flat tracks. The scoreboard pressure from the extra runs, and the assurance against collapses, that a No. 6 gives can be worth more. The other day in a discussion organised by Cricket Association of Bengal on the sidelines of this Test, Sourav Ganguly paid a big tribute to the man sitting next to him, Anil Kumble. Ganguly said Kumble used to tell the batsmen, You give me runs on the board, I will win you matches.And he did, Ganguly added.Kumble is now Indias coach. This change in strategy seems to be a change driven by Kumble. In Kanpur, without naming anybody, speaking about the shift to using four bowlers, Kohli said the presence of intelligent people in the change room helps. The strategy was under no doubt, the personnel was. Was Rohit, averaging under 35 after 19 Tests, the man for the job?Kohli has always felt so. He is a captain who believes in dominating the opposition. He wanted somebody who demoralised attacks from in-between situations, someone in the Adam Gilchrist mode. Hiss changes the game in one session comment became a millstone around Rohits neck, especially because his inclusion kept coming at the expense of a solid batsman who had earned his chances.dddddddddddd That is liable to put Rohit under extra pressure; he cant live on an island and not know that Cheteshwar Pujara is missing matches because of him. Playing Rohit as the sixth batsman not only got rid of disguised unemployment, it also must have freed his mind a little bit. Yet you wouldnt have wanted to be Rohit walking in at 43 for 4 with New Zealand on a roll in the second innings. The pitch was doing heaps at that time, and New Zealand were pounding in, looking to finally break through.Rohit usually responds to criticism of his lofts gone wrong by saying there is no such thing as a soft dismissal. If the same shot goes for a six, he says, everybody praises it. This defence doesnt cut it with Kumble. In the lead-up to the Kolkata Test, while Kumble praised Rohits second-innings half-century in Kanpur, he also offered a mild rebuke that his first-innings shot was what he would be disappointed with. While Kumble was giving Rohit the confidence of a secured position in the XI, he was asking for more responsibility, to alter his natural game according to the teams needs.Sunday just happened to be a situation where his natural game could work. While New Zealand were on a roll, they also knew they could not afford to concede quick runs because of the first-innings deficit of 112. They had little margins to play with. Rohit came out and slog-swept Jeetan Patel - the best New Zealand bowler in the first innings according to Ajinkya Rahane - for a six. Patel was pushed back immediately.For company Rohit had the man who has once again made it fashionable to cheer an Indian wicket in India. The wicket immediately before Kohlis arrival brings only a moment of disappointment in Indian grounds now. Kohli and Rohit ran away with it, but the shooter and the harsh lbw call against Kohli still left Rohit work to do.After playing one big shot early in the innings, Rohit showed he could score with shots other than the loft. The way he ran away with it against the old ball and against tired bowlers, you could imagine Kohli finally counting the repayment for his faith.Rohit and Wriddhiman Saha first saw off the threatening combination of Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner, and then Rohit went from 29 off 59 to 82 off 132. Without really looking to accelerate, Rohit hurt New Zealand and took the game all but out of their reach. This is an innings that will give him the breathing space - although he said at the press conference he never felt under pressure in this series - but he will need to keep repeating this to completely repay the faith invested in him. ' ' '