There was a moment earlier this season when there was a bit of a strange sound in Nneka Ogwumikes voice when she was asked about the difficulty of facing defending champion Minnesota. Ante Rebic Dres .Was that a little edge we heard from Ogwumike? She of the perpetually cheerful disposition and easy, bubbling laugh? Yeah, it sounded that way.She wasnt growling or anything like that. But she basically said she was pretty sure the Lynx were focusing on the Lynx, not the Sparks. Thus, the Sparks needed to do the same thing: focus on themselves.Maybe you could call it part of the competitive evolution of Ogwumike, who accomplished a career milestone by being named the WNBAs MVP on Tuesday. She has always been a selfless player, going back to her great career at Stanford, the kind of player who was just concerned with what was best for her team.She has maintained that attitude through her five years as a professional, including some challenging times with the Sparks. Los Angeles has made the playoffs every year since drafting Ogwumike at No. 1 in 2012. But the Sparks have won just one postseason series, 2-0 over San Antonio in her rookie year.Ogwumike has played for three WNBA coaches, if you count executive vice president/general manager Penny Tolers 12-game stint as coach after Carol Ross was fired in July 2014.Ogwumike has had to play out of position at times, especially last year, filling in the gaps depending on the Sparks personnel. She has learned to guard players at different positions, using speed, quickness, leaping ability and those Stanford smarts to try to stop guards, forwards and centers.At 6-foot-2, Ogwumike is what some coaches admiringly call bouncy. Ive compared her to Tigger before, and it seems apt. But there is also an explosiveness to her that seems more refined and effective this year than ever before. Which is saying something, because she has been a very good player from the first time she stepped on a WNBA court.And then, of course, theres the making a ton of shots thing. That reached a new level for Ogwumike this season.Her field goal percentage in her first four seasons: 53.5, 56.6, 52.0, and 52.5. All very respectable, as her scoring average climbed from 14.0 PPG her rookie season to 16.5 last year.This season, shes shooting a ridiculous 66.5 percent from the field (244-of-367). Her efficiency as a scorer leads the WNBA. Its at a historical level, and it was a key factor in her winning the MVP award. She also averaged career highs in scoring (19.7), rebounding (9.1), assists (3.1) and blocked shots (1.2).Statistically, Ogwumikes numbers made a very compelling case for MVP. But you can also point to things like the praise-filled note Los Angeles coach Brian Agler sent out to media members urging them to strongly consider Ogwumike because of everything she does, even when its hard to measure statistically.Sometimes on teams, the glue player is someone whos never going to be an MVP or win any other league honor. But shes the best at keeping everyone light when thats needed, making sure there are no gaps in communication between the players or coaches, and generally taking responsibility even for things that arent her fault.Ogwumike has always done that, and then add to it just that little bit of edge that seemed noticeable -- barely, but there -- this season. It has nothing to do with arrogance or irritation; its about honing a kind of fierce competitiveness that Ogwumike knows the Sparks will need to make a title run.Ogwumike is someone that all the Sparks know they can count on. Her impressive stats were the hard data needed to earn the MVP honor. But the winning personality she brings to the Sparks just adds a layer of evidence that this was an honor she definitely earned. Dresovi Ivan Strinic . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Ivan Rakitic Dres . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. http://www.dresovihrvatskereprezentacije...e-vrsaljko.html . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Seven months ago, South Africa were not keen to play a day-night Test match, primarily because they had never done it before. Five months ago, they agreed to the fixture, after being assured of adequate preparation time. Now, on the eve of a match which has been dominated by discussion over their stand-in captain Faf du Plessis ball tampering offence, they are - in coach Russell Domingos words - very excited about featuring in only the third fixture of its kind. What changed?When they said they changed the seam, made it black and it would have better visibility, things started changing, du Plessis said. We just wanted to be part of something and not miss out and see whats its all about.Cricket South Africa made it clear that keenness and not cash changed the players minds, and confirmed that Cricket Australia did not offer any financial incentive for their participation in this match. Instead, the hosts promised South Africa two warm-up matches, one pre-series, one mid-series under lights, and agreed to use the pink ball for a winter series between South Africa A and Australia A. Six of the current Test squad members were part of that series.South Africa A lost both unofficial Tests but gained reassuring experience. At the time, Vernon Philander still had some doubt about the balls softness but his report was better than last years, when even Australian players believed the ball needed improvement.It was those concerns that initially dissuaded South Africa. In chats before the World T20, when Australia visited South Africa for three T20s, and at the IPL, South African players spoke to the Australian players and read the comments around the pink ball. There were a lot of question marks around it and at the time, it didnt sound like it was ready for it to be perfect, du Plessis said.Since then, the ball has undergone changes and players are more comfortable with it. Steven Smith confirmed it doesnt swing as much because of the extra layer of lacquer, but it still is most effective under lights: If you look at pink-ball statistics, most wickets have been lost in the third session of play. That is the pattern that has happened.For Faf du Plessis that is not a major issue because two-thirds of the game happens during the day. With the sun setting at around 8pm, only some part of the final session takes place in complete darkness. When you say day-night, you think everything is happening at night but most of it is happeninng in the day. Dres Marcelo Brozovic. Its only an hour of night game. Its actually a short time, du Plessis said.But a significant part of the second session will be played in the twilight period when it is said to be most difficult to bat. South Africa have tried to downplay the twilight period and are taking inspiration from Quinton de Kock, who scored 122 in the first warm-up and felt so comfortable that he didnt play the second.The beauty of Quinton de Kock and the way he plays is the simplicity he gave with that answer about the pink ball. Its just another ball. Someone asked him about batting at dusk, he said it was the easiest time to bat. So thats the sort of attitude we are going into it with, Russell Domingo, South Africas coach, said. Its just another cricket ball. It might be a different colour. Its just another cricket pitch. They have all played under lights before. Were not too concerned whether its pink, white or red at the moment. We just want to play the Test match.The ball aside, South Africa are also looking forward to the match because it presents them with the opportunity to make history. After achieving a third successive Test series win in Australia, they have the opportunity to become the only team to whitewash Australia 3-0 at home. Several South African players have called a 3-nil scoreline, their mission.Despite the attention on the ball-tampering claims, South Africa still consider themselves to have the advantage because of the state of the Australian team. Their XI has five changes from the Hobart Test, including three debutants, and du Plessis did not hide the satisfaction he is getting from seeing Australia in strife.When you see all the changes they are making now, that brings pleasure to me as a captain to see that what we are doing is creating something in the Australian team that they feel they need to change. If I was sitting in that team, a lot of changes means you are trying to change everything in your team. Id rather be sitting on my side, du Plessis said.His coach was more cautious and warned that Australia wont go down without a fight, especially in a match this important. I dont think there has ever been an Australian team that has just given up or been easy to beat, Domingo said. We know they will be desperate to do well and get their cricket going again. Cheap MLB Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping cheap nfl jerseys Cheap Jerseys USA China Jerseys Cheap NFL Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys For Sale Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys ' ' '