Auburn Hills, Mich. – Phoenix’s fast start made the Mercury the WNBA’s first road champion.
Penny Taylor scored 30 points and the Mercury cruised to a 108-92 victory Sunday over the defending champion Detroit Shock in the fifth and deciding game of the WNBA Finals. Cappie Pondexter added 26 and Diana Taurasi had 17 for Phoenix, the first team to win the title away from home.
The Shock lost the last two games of the series, foiling its bid to become the third WNBA team to win back-to-back championships.
Phoenix, taking some steam out of the fired-up home crowd, raced to a 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter. Taurasi had eight points, including two 3-pointers, in that stretch as Phoenix came out firing against the frazzled Detroit defense. The Mercury led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and led 55-43 at halftime en route to its first championship.
AUTO RACING
Raikkonen tops teammate in Belgium
Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps for the third straight time, beating Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa in the first race since Formula One was rocked by a spy scandal.
World champion Fernando Alonso was third ahead of McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton after an opening corner duel, reducing the rookie’s lead in the drivers’ standings to two points with three races remaining.
Gary Scelzi topped the funny-car field at the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals, edging teammate Jack Beckman by 0.0013 seconds in the final at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Other winners included Melanie Troxel (top fuel), Dave Connolly (pro stock) and Andrew Hines (pro stock motorcycle).
Colin McRae, 39, whose fascination with cars grew into an obsession that led him to 25 wins in a World Rally Championship career, was killed in a helicopter crash in England along with his 5-year-old son and two others.
TENNIS
Russians capture Fed Cup
Svetlana Kuznetsova, routed by Justine Henin in the U.S. Open final last week, won the opening singles match to clinch the Fed Cup final in Moscow with a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 victory over Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.
Elena Vesnina defeated Mara Santangelo 6-2, 6-4 in the second match to make the final score 4-0. The doubles match of the best-of-five format was canceled.
It was the third Fed Cup title for Russia.
Lindsay Davenport won her first singles title after almost a year’s absence from the tour, defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to capture the Bali Open in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.
CYCLING
Hincapie takes Tour of Missouri
George Hincapie took the individual title and his Discovery Channel team claimed the team title in its final U.S. appearance, playing it safe in the final stage of the six-day Tour of Missouri.
Ivan Dominguez of Toyota-United took his second stage of the tour in a mass sprint, finishing in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 13 seconds in St. Louis. He also won the first stage, an 85-mile road race with finishing circuits in Kansas City.
Spanish rider Samuel Sanchez won the 15th stage of the Spanish Vuelta, and Denis Menchov maintained his overall lead in Granada, Spain.
FOOTNOTES
Injury will sideline Rags to Riches
Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches injured her right front leg and will miss the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, but could return next year, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
The 3-year-old filly sustained a hairline fracture of the pastern while finishing second to Lear’s Princess in Saturday’s $250,000 Gazelle Stakes at Belmont Park.
Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors agreed to a new contract that will give him a raise from $3.1 million to $5.1 million for the next two seasons.
Dwayne De Rosario scored the tiebreaking goal and had an assist to lead the visiting Houston Dynamo to an MLS playoff berth with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
