The Sparks have felt underestimated all year, and that might not change as we head into a new chapter of the WNBA postseason with two best-of-five semifinal series.The Minnesota-Phoenix matchup pits teams that have won six of the last nine WNBA titles. The other semifinal, Los Angeles versus Chicago, has a team that won its last of two titles 13 years ago and a team that has never won a championship -- and has felt underestimated since losing 2015 league MVP Elena Delle Donne to a thumb injury on Sept. 7.But one of the most intriguing things about the semifinals is how very little that went on in the regular season is actually an indicator of what were about to see.Phoenix had a losing record and was the last team to secure its playoff spot as the No. 8 seed. Yet the Mercury have ousted the Nos. 3 and 5 seeds in the single-elimination format and seem to be playing as we initially expected they would.Despite losing Delle Donne -- whose return doesnt seem likely -- the Sky still secured the No. 4 seed and then won their second-round playoff game 108-98 over No. 6 seed Atlanta.Los Angeles had one identity before the Olympic break, and a different one afterward. Now, with a week and a half away from competition to prepare for the semifinals, will the Sparks reboot and return to their more dominant selves of May-June-July?Then theres the team that wants the playoffs to go exactly as the regular season did: Minnesota, which finished a league-best (and franchise-best) 28-6. The defending champions wont beat themselves. If theyre to be defeated in a best-of-five series, it will take an extraordinary effort. Are any of the other three teams capable of that? Heres a look at both matchups.No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 8 PhoenixBeing a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament is usually not much fun. It means you have a first-round game against a team thats almost indistinguishable from you. So you and your near-twin, the No. 9 seed, duke it out just to see who has to face the top seed. (Save for 1998, the one year in the womens tournament when a No. 16 beat a No. 1. We wont mention the details, Stanford fans.)However, this isnt the NCAA tournament, where the gap between a No. 8 and a No. 1 is typically quite vast. Going into this season, most people expected Minnesota and Phoenix would be the top two in the 12-team league.The change in the playoff format, which did away with the division between conferences, was supposed to help prevent a matchup such as the Lynx versus Mercury happening before the WNBA Finals. Theyve met in either the Western Conference semifinals or finals four of the past five years.But for a lot of this season, the Mercury were as up and down as a thermometer in the Midwest during September. In their two playoff wins, though, the Mercury have been more like a thermometer in Phoenix in July: up, up, up.One can imagine Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve saw this coming during the Olympics, if not earlier. As an assistant with the U.S. team, she witnessed Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner coming alive during the Rio de Janeiro Games. She knew how much potential Spains Marta Xargay had to impact the Mercury, which won WNBA championships in 2007, 09 and 14.Minnesota had a couple of hiccups during the season, but nothing more than that. The Lynx won all three regular-season games with the Mercury, although its been awhile: Their most recent meeting was June 7.The Lynx -- who won WNBA titles in 2011, 13 and 15 -- led the league in both offensive and defensive rating. They have kept their cohesion as a unit ever since their first championship, which is amazing.You can look at this series through the prism of the aforementioned star power, led by Minnesotas Maya Moore versus Phoenixs Taurasi, two do-everything legends. Or the Lynxs Sylvia Fowles versus the Mercurys Griner, two classic-style centers.But even those who are more role players in this series are also stars in their own right. Such as Minnesotas Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson, and Phoenixs DeWanna Bonner, Candice Dupree and Penny Taylor.Both teams are getting older -- Taylor will retire when the season ends -- and so its a good time to really appreciate what these two organizations have brought to the WNBA. Even if theyre not meeting in the seasons last series.No. 2 Los Angeles vs. No. 4 ChicagoIts probably helped the Sparks cohesion to have a no one picked us to win the 2016 title chip on their shoulder. That way, they can direct any irritability more outward than at each other.And its definitely helped them to have the change in format. In the old system, the Sparks would have been facing Seattle in a best-of-three series and then, if they won, either Minnesota or Phoenix in another best-of-three.That would have been daunting for a team that went 21-3 before the Olympic break and 5-5 afterward. Not to diminish the Sky, but in this set-up, they are now all that stands between Los Angeles and the Sparks first WNBA Finals appearance since 2003. (Chicagos lone WNBA Finals appearance was in 2014.)Much to their credit, the Sky have won four of their six games since Delle Done was hurt. And Chicago rested some of its starters in one of the two losses -- the regular-season finale against Seattle -- because there was nothing to gain from that game. So kudos to the Chicago players and coach Pokey Chatman for the mental toughness and pride it takes to compete this well without one of the biggest stars in the league.The Sky put in another inspiring performance in Wednesdays playoff victory against Atlanta. But the Dream were vulnerable in the post with Sancho Lyttle being hurt and Elizabeth Williams, although she was Most Improved Player this season, still being a young player in growth mode.In short, the Sky go from facing a team that had difficulty exploiting Chicagos potential weaknesses without Delle Donne to a team that should be able to expertly take advantage of her absence, both offensively and defensively.L.A.s Nneka Ogwumike is the favorite for MVP; Candace Parker also is a candidate for that award. And the Sparks bring Jantel Lavender off the bench. That is a fearsome post trio. As for the perimeter, Alana Beard is still one of the most potent one-on-one defenders, and fellow guard Kristi Toliver has improved her defense while still being a feared 3-point shooter. Veteran Essence Carson and youngster Chelsea Gray have been good pickups for the Sparks at guard, too.This wouldnt be a good matchup for Chicago even with Delle Donne in the lineup. Without her, the Sky really need some players to overachieve the entire series to get three victories.The Sky have a true, experienced point guard in Courtney Vandersloot, who is coming off her best overall performance in a playoff game. Cappie Pondexter, who won two WNBA titles with Phoenix in her career, is still very capable of being a big-time scorer. They have some youthful, athletic posts to go along with veterans Jessica Breland and Erica de Souza. And guard Tamera Young has been with the Sky longer than anyone; this is her eighth season in Chicago.But the numbers dont add up very optimistically for the Sky. The Sparks were second in the league in defensive rating, third in offensive rating. The Sky were second on the offensive side -- but 11th defensively.Los Angeles won the three regular-season meetings -- one in May, one in June, one in July -- by double digits. But that was before the switch flipped during the Olympic break.Los Angeles lost 2-1 to Detroit in the 2003 WNBA Finals. Despite having franchise icon Lisa Leslie until 2009, and having her career overlap two seasons with that of Parker, and then adding in another No. 1 draft pick with Ogwumike in 2012, the Sparks have not been in that final showcase series for 13 years.This is their chance, if they can play up to their abilities, to end that drought.Nike Air Max Plus Sverige . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Nike Vapormax Herr Rea . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. http://www.airvapormaxsverige.com/air-max-tn-rea.html .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Vapormax 97 Sverige . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Nike Zoom Sverige . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage.ARDMORE, Pa. -- Phil Mickelson knew it was going to be close, so he made sure his group could finish the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday. The rule when a round is halted because of darkness is that players have the option to complete a hole. Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley were on the 17th with the sun falling fast when Lefty spoke to Dustin Johnson in the group ahead of them. "We told DJ and his caddie, Keith Sbarbaro, we may hit one shot and they looked out for it," Mickelson said. Mickelson and Stricker were still on the 17th green when Bradley went over to the 18th green. The Johnson group, still in the fairway, moved to the side so Bradley could hit his tee shot. If the horn were to sound, Mickelsons group would be able to play the final hole because at least one player (Bradley) had teed off on the 18th. "They moved out of the way, and Keegan hit a tee shot, and they went back and finished the hole," Mickelson said. "It was nice of them so we could finish." It turned out they didnt need to rush. The horn didnt sound until everyone in Mickelsons group was on the 18th hole. Mickelson made a 20-foot birdie for a 72 to share the clubhouse lead. Stricker got up-and-down from 40 yards short of the green for a par. He shot 69 and was one shot behind. Bradley had no chance of making the cut. Thats why it didnt matter that he rushed over to play his tee shot on the 18th. It was critical for the top players to finish, and that included the group behind -- Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker. Rose made par for a 69 and joined Stricker at one shot behind. Because the second round wont finish until Saturday morning, the last few groups of the third round likely wont tee off until mid-afternoon. The last thing anyone wanted to do -- particularly Mickelson, Stricker, Rose -- was to return to Merion at the crack of dawn to play one hole, and then come back some eight hours later. "We had to wait about two or three minutes on the tee," Rose said. "And I was getting nervous. Kuch ... suddenly grabbed the club and he was ready. That was definitely taking one for the team." ------ Graeme McDowell has already moved on to other majors. He may as well. McDowells is out of the hunt for a second career U.S. Open championship. McDowell, the 2010 champ, was 7 over after a 77 on Friday in the second round at Merion Golf Club. "Im temporarily dejected," he said. "This game is not about your bad weeks. Of course, its about the major championships, and youre trying to prepare yourself as well as you can coming into weeks like this. "Ill shake it off and Ill get ready for The Open Championship in a few weeks time. Thats my next target. The Irish Open and the French Open between then. Ill be competitively sharp going into Muirfield and Ill continue to draw on this season." McDowell had double bogeys on the 10th, 11th, 17th and 18th holes. He posted just three birdies in the second round. "Its not the way I wanted to play the last couple of days," he said. "But this place is very hard." ------ PANS MOVE: The surprise of Fridays play at the U.S. Open were a pair of amateurs -- Michael Kim of Cal and Cheng-Tsung Pan of Taiwan. They were 2 under for their round and among those who didnt finish. Pan must finish his round Saturday morning. He had two birdies and no bogeys to zip into a tie for third place at even par. Kim is 1-over so far and tied for eighth. Pan, a 21-year-old from Taiwan, is a junior at the University of Washington. He missed the cut in his other Open appearance in 2011, saying he was too excited and had too many distractions to play his best game. This time, Pan said he embraced the pressure that comes along with a major. "I feel I belong to that kind of place," he said. "Im not saying Im good enough, but I love this kind of feeling and the competition is great. I just want to be here always." -------- DONALDS DAY: Luke Donald holed out a chip for birdie on the short par-3 13th to reach 4 under and top the leaderboard in the U.S. Open. Not for long. He bogeyed Nos. 4-7 to totally spoil his round Friday. Donald was at 4 under Thursday before play was suspended, and finished with a 2-under 68 on Friday. He added a 72 in the second round to leave him even par for the tournament. The English star had a run of five bogeys in six holes on his back nine in the second round. "The greens have been tricky to read all week," he said. "They seem to be breaking a little bit more than Im seeing, hence a couple of lip outs. But you try not to panic iin U.dddddddddddd.S. Opens." Donald, playing in his 10th U.S., has never won a major. The former world No. 1 played a pair of practice rounds last week at Merion to get used to the course. He even posed for a photo with David Graham, winner of the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion. "I asked him, Whats the secret?" Donald said. "And he said, Keep it in the short stuff. Obviously, I think most of us know that and its all about doing it." The 35-year-old Donald failed to make the cut last year in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco because of putting failures. He has never finished better than 12th in an Open (2006) and missed the cut three times since his 2002 debut. He was 45th in 2011 and 47th in 2010. Donald and Lee Westwood are the only players to be No. 1 without having won a major. Hes glad to at least be in the hunt this year. "I havent played very well, but when I saw this place last week, I thought it was a good fit for my game," he said. "Its nice to come here and feel like Im swinging pretty well and Ive got a chance. So, hopefully, I can throw a good one in tomorrow and really be in the mix come Sunday." ---------- DOUBLE DIP: Carl Pettersson saw double on No. 5. Pettersson had to check his backswing after an errant shot from No. 2 rolled his way and smacked his ball off its spot. Pettersson stopped his swing and backed off the ball, chuckling at the truly bizarre shot. The wayward ball came from Brandon Crick. He had to hit from where the ball landed. Pettersson placed the ball at its original spot. He probably wished his ball was whacked into the cup -- he had a bogey on the par-5 hole. "Luckily, I wasnt in my downswing, because if I would have missed the ball, it would have been, I dont know what the ruling would have been on that," he said. "But it might not have been good. I regripped and hit a decent shot after that." ---------- LAWRIE Honour: Paul Lawrie fought back with a 71 and feared he would miss the cut. The day wasnt a total loss. Hours later, the former British Open champion was among those selected for the Order of the British Empire in the Queens Birthday Honors. More that his performance on the course, the Scot was recognized for his foundation that helps pay for kids to get into sport. It started with golf and now includes soccer, rugby and some tennis. "I wanted to do it before I won the Open, but I didnt think I was a big enough name and didnt think sponsors would be interested or the kids would want to participate in the events," Lawrie said. "All of a sudden, I win the Open. Its getting pretty big and growing every year, but I have to say a lot of people do a lot of good work." Lawrie holds the major championship record for the largest comeback in the final round, making up 10 shots in the final round at Carnoustie in 1999, and beating Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a playoff. "Its a huge honour," Lawrie said. ---------- LOCAL FAVORITE: Jim Furyk had the home crowd on his side. He just fa