World podium finish. She said her father, also her

Despite losing their last game by 24 points, the New York Liberty clinched the third seed in the playoffs. You can bet New York will come out focused and coach Bill Laimbeer will have his squad ready to play the Connecticut Sun on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.On a night when New York honored one of the WNBAs all-time greats, the Liberty laid a big, fat egg against the Seattle Storm on Wednesday and lost, 102-78.The Liberty were still licking their wounds after the loss when they honored the career of Swin Cash, who is retiring after this season. Named one of the 20 greatest WNBA players of all-time, Cash is calling it quits after 15 seasons.Shes not the scorer she once was, but Cash has been credited with helping MVP candidate Tina Charles develop. Charles leads the Liberty with 21.2 and 9.9 rebounds per game.Last week, Charles reached 4,000 career points, which elicited high praise from Laimbeer.We talk about inside that shes the best post player in the world, men or women, he told reporters. Shes that consistent and that dominant. Theres more to her that were waiting to see.Charles has recorded 16 double-doubles, and in seven other games she has fallen one rebound shy of a double-double.While New York has secured a playoff spot, the Sun still have hope of earning a berth. The Sun are one of four teams -- Seattle and Phoenix are 1 1/2 games ahead and Washington is one game ahead of Connecticut -- jockeying for the final two spots in the playoffs.The Sun have had five days to rest since seeing their modest two-game win streak snapped in a loss to Maya Moore and the Minnesota Lynx.Alex Bentley, the Suns leading scorer at 13.9 points per game, and Chiney Ogwumike (12.1 ppg) had off games and didnt do much damage until late in that contest.In the first meeting earlier this season, Charles scored 32 to lead the Liberty to an 80-72 win on June 16 in Connecticut.On July 17, Charles struggled but Cash and Sugar Rodgers picked up the slack in an 83-76 win over the Sun in New York.After Fridays game, the Sun play host to the Chicago Sky on Sunday.The Liberty hit the road and travel to Dallas for a Sunday date with the Wings. Cheap Air Max 90 Sale . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.cheapairmax90.us/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Cheap Air Max 90 For Sale .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Air Max 90 China Wholesale . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. KILLINGTON, Vt. -- Mikaela Shiffrin woke up this morning all nervous and edgy. By the end of the afternoon, it was hard to wonder why.With her 95-year-old grandmother among the thousands cheering her, Shriffin won her sixth straight World Cup slalom Sunday after building a healthy lead in the first run and holding off some hard chargers in the second.The overall World Cup leader had a combined time of 1 minute, 27.95 seconds. She was followed by Slovakias Veronika Velez Zuzulova, 0.73 seconds, and Switzerlands Wendy Holdener in 1:28.81.Norways Nina Loeseth, runner-up in Saturdays giant slalom, was fourth in 1:29.29 -- 0.01 seconds ahead of Slovakias Petra Vlhova. The top five finishers from the first run finished in the same positions.Shiffrin said she put a lot of pressure on herself about racing in the East. And Sunday began with a sense of dread.I told myself, maybe I just should not do this, she said, adding she did not shake the feelings until the second run. I was worked up and really nervous.But the skier who attended Burke Mountain Academy in northern Vermont had no shortage of fans behind her.Thank you so much for cheering so loud, she told those packing the two grandstands and lining the bottom of the course.Shiffrin spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her family, including her grandmother.It was amazing that Nana was here to watch, said Shiffrin, thanking her for the unconditional love and the incredible pies. Ive never been prouder of doing anything than winning a race in front of my Nana.Shiffrin also won the first slalom of the World Cup season in Finland. With a first in slalom and fifth in GS at Killington, she has extended her World Cup overall lead. She has 325 points to 168 for the runner-up, Switzerlands Holdener.This weekends World Cup races were the first for Killington and the first inn 38 years in Vermont.dddddddddddd There was a big crowd again Sunday, though perhaps slightly smaller than the 16,000 for Saturdays giant slalom. The grandstands were again filled, with spectators piled up dozens deep alongside the course.Velez Zuzulova called this her favorite race in North America.The crowds have never been like this in Aspen, she said of the Colorado stop on the womens circuit. They were making noise for me, too, she added. They were cheering for everybody.This was Velez Zuzulovas 26th World podium finish. She said her father, also her coach, had set the second-run course, and she felt it had been perfect for her. She was running 30th -- next to last -- in the second run and that meant much tougher conditions than when she started seventh in the first run.It was a fight right from the start, she said.Holdener, who had her ninth top-three finish, spoke of the challenge of catching Shiffrin.We are getting a step closer this year than last year, she said. Shes still really dominant. To get even closer, we need to build our confidence.Shiffrin is just 21 but already has 22 World Cup victories, tying her for 19th on the womens career list. She gets a kick at looking at the records, but says the important thing is to love what you do.When asked about her role for young female skiers -- many on hand this weekend -- she acknowledges thats becoming more important to her.As people tell me that theyre inspired by what Im doing, I start to inspire myself as well, she said. But youre skiing for yourself, not for anyone else. . You cant worry about other peoples approval.The womens World Cup circuit moves to Lake Louise, Alberta, for two downhills and a super-G on Dec. 2-4. ' ' '