Associated Press
Mwadi Mabika had 16 points as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Minnesota Lynx 69-58 Sunday.
The Sparks (24-7), coming off an emotional home loss to the Houston Comets, went on a 23-4 run late in the second half.
Katie Smith and Georgia Schweitzer each had 13 points for Minnesota (10-21), which clinched the worst team mark in its four-year history.
Leading by two at the break, the Sparks scored nine in a row to start the second half. Lisa Leslie keyed the run with six points and finished with 13.
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"We expected them to have three or four runs, but once they caught back up, we took it up a notch," Leslie said. "In the second half, we did a better job of finding open players and guarding Smith."
Minnesota answered with five three-pointers and took a 47-46 lead with nine minutes to play, before the Sparks' run put the game away.
"Anytime we tried to make a move, they had an answer," Schweitzer said. "They went to a zone defense a few times and changed the way they were guarding Katie and that really affected how smoothly our offense ran."
With the loss, Minnesota is now 1-24 all-time against Los Angeles and Houston, and 51-51 against the rest of the WNBA.
Minnesota forward Svetlana Abrosimova sat out for the second consecutive game with a lower back strain. Abrosimova, who has missed four games in 2002, is listed as doubtful for the season finale at Houston on Tuesday.
Baseball
The Cardinals unvieled a statue of Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith in front of Busch Stadium. His pose: stretched horizontal to the ground, trying to grab a groundball in the hole. Smith's statue is the 11th outside the stadium to commemorate Cardinals who are in the Hall of Fame.
Golf
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Karrie Webb's latest comeback established a new standard of excellence on the LPGA Tour: the Super Slam. Webb shot a 6-under 66, rallying from three strokes behind to win her third Women's British Open title..…
; Patty Sheehan shot a 4-under 68 to win the Women's Senior Golf Tour's Great Lakes Classic by two strokes ahead of Marilyn Lovander.
Auto racing
Felipe Giaffone narrowly beat fast-closing Sam Hornish Jr. in the Belterra Casino Indy 300 for his first victory in the Indy Racing League. The 27-year-old Brazilian led the final 39 laps on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway tri-oval after the leaders made their final pit stops for fuel. Sarah Fisher, the first woman to start from the pole in a major racing series, led the first 26 laps and finished eighth.…
; Pole-sitter Patrick Carpentier led virtually from start to finish in the Mid-Ohio Grand Prix. Carpentier, who won his first pole in four years Saturday, averaged 106.680 mph to hold off Christian Fittipaldi by 3.2 seconds at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Football
Jamir Miller's season is over, leaving the Cleveland Browns without one of their captains, spiritual leaders and only Pro Bowler. Miller will miss the entire 2002 NFL season after tearing his right Achilles' tendon during Cleveland's 27-15 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday.…
; No. 1 in the postseason. No. 1 in the preseason. Little has changed for the Miami Hurricanes since winning the national championship with a perfect record at the Rose Bowl earlier this year. They're atop the rankings in The Associated Press preseason poll. Despite the return of only 10 starters, Miami edged Oklahoma for the top spot by 14 points in voting by the 74 sports writers and broadcasters.
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Tennis
Carlos Moya didn't surprise many people when he beat Lleyton Hewitt twice this year on clay. The Spaniard's victory over the No. 1 player in the world on a hard court, however, showed how far Moya has come back after beating Hewitt 7-5, 7-6 (5) in the final of the $2.95 million Cincinnati Masters Series.…
; Chanda Rubin upset No. 3 Lindsay Davenport 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to win the JPMorgan Chase Open on in a final between two players making comebacks from knee surgery. Davenport served for the match in the second set after trailing 3-0, but Rubin broke back and went on to win.
Gymnastics
Two years after the American gymnasts' first Olympic medals shutout since 1972, the Aussie misadventure is merely a bad memory. The United States is on its way to being an international force again, with a depth of talent in both the men's and women's programs never seen before. Most of these gymnasts are just now reaching the senior level. Paul Hamm and Tasha Schwikert, winners at this weekend's U.S. Gymnastics Championships, are products of the program.
Olympics
Relatives and athletes joined in a memorial service for the 11 Israelis killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics, standing in a moment of silence, listening to songs and speeches and promising not to forget the victims. The one-hour ceremony took place at the monument to the victims, a large stone tablet placed at the bridge linking the former Olympic village to the Olympic stadium.
