The Wings face the Stars in San Antonio on Friday, which theoretically could be -- someday -- a very compelling matchup. But it wont be this week, as these are the bottom two teams in the WNBA standings.San Antonio (6-23) is already eliminated from the postseason. Dallas (9-21) is on the cusp of elimination and has lost 11 consecutive games; the Wings last victory came July 5.But if these two teams, which are 4?-hours drive apart, were ever to be competitive at the same time, that could be a lot of fun, right?Admittedly, that scenario seems distant now. But consider this: If someone had told you in 2009 that Minnesota was just two years away from being a franchise that would go on a stretch of winning three of five WNBA titles (and counting), would you have believed it?The Lynx hit the mega-jackpot with Maya Moore as the No. 1 draft pick in 2011. But Minnesota also had hired coach Cheryl Reeve in 2010 and has continued to make astute personnel decisions to be able to become a consistent powerhouse.So there is always hope that if enough of the right decisions are made, and a little luck occurs, a franchise can turn itself around. In the case of the Wings and Stars -- who face some of the same challenges, but also very different ones -- mutual success could help the development of another WNBA rivalry. And every league needs rivalries.New York and Connecticut are the WNBA franchises located closest to each other, but Dallas and San Antonio are the only league teams to share the same state.Albeit a humongous state. Texas was home to the first dominant WNBA franchise; the Houston Comets won four titles, and one of their top players, Sheryl Swoopes, is being inducted into the Naisimith Hall of Fame this weekend.But with the country in the midst of an economic crisis in 2008, the Comets were among the casualties. A year later, so were the Detroit Shock. They became the Tulsa Shock in 2010, and now are the Wings in their first season in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, playing their games in Arlington.Dallas coach Fred Williams, who has decades of experience in womens basketball, has been happy with how the community has responded in the Wing first season in Texas.Everyone here from a fan standpoint has been very supportive; theyve embraced us well, Williams said. It just takes a little while for that to set in and spread.Williams took over coaching in Tulsa in 2014, and last season, the franchise made its first playoff appearance since leaving Detroit. Hopes were relatively high the Wings could follow up with another postseason trip in their first year in Texas. But Dallas hit a rough patch early in the season, losing six in a row, and then again in July. That skid is on-going.For us, when it gets down to that one key basket or free throw or rebound, we havent gotten it, Williams said. Its been different scenarios in games. We have a young team and weve just got to continue to work hard.Good fortune has not been on the Wings side, and it wasnt when the team was in Tulsa, either. Going back to that 2011 draft, when Minnesota got Moore at No. 1 and Tulsa took Liz Cambage at No. 2, a bit of a Murphys law cloud has hung over the franchise.Last year, the team lost guard Skylar Diggins after nine games to an ACL injury. This year, she has averaged 12.9 points in 23 games. She had one of her better games of the season Sept. 4 against Washington with 25 points and four assists.Right now, Id say shes about 95 percent physically, Williams said of Diggins. But mentally shes 100 percent -- shes a competitor whos going to play hard and wants this team to get better.Now, though, the Wings have lost forward Glory Johnson for the rest of the season to a knee injury. Johnson, who missed last season while she was pregnant, averaged 11.3 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds in 18 games this year.Odyssey Sims (14.7 PPG) leads the Wings in scoring. Plenette Pierson (12.3), Karima Christmas (12.2) and rookie Aerial Powers (10.2) are also averaging in double figures. Dallas 83.3 PPG average is good for fifth-best in the league.But defense is the big problem: The Wings allow the most points of any WNBA team -- 88.2 -- and losing Johnson might make that even worse.So the Wings know what areas they will need to improve for next year on the court. There does seem to be positive momentum, though, in regard to off the court. Mary OConnor was hired as Wings president in July, and she sounds optimistic about continuing to raise brand awareness of the team.I believe there is a playing season and a planning season, said OConnor, who has worked in sports marketing in the Dallas area for many years. In the planning season, we will be working a lot in the community figuring out where we can have the greatest impact.And then how does that align with what our players passions are, so we can help them build their identity in the community. We want a team of players who feel at home in DFW and who can make a difference here.The Wings play at 7,000-seat College Park Center on the campus of UT Arlington. Its a good size building for a WNBA team, and OConnor believes its a realistic goal for the Wings to regularly sell out games.San Antonio, by contrast, plays in the cavernous AT&T Center, and the Stars have had plenty of time to become known in the community. Theyve been in San Antonio since relocating there in 2003 from Utah. However, other than Becky Hammon -- now an assistant coach with the NBAs Spurs -- the Stars really havent had a star.San Antonios best showing was in 2008, when the Stars advanced to the WNBA Finals in a very exciting series with Los Angeles.But San Antonio hasnt won a playoff series since then, getting swept by Detroit in the WNBA Finals, and then losing in the conference semifinals in 2009, 10, 11, 12 and 14. This is the second year in a row the Stars have missed the postseason.They got the No. 2 selection in the 2016 draft, and took UConn guard Moriah Jefferson, who is averaging 12.6 points and 4.0 assists as a rookie. San Antonios biggest struggle is scoring: The Stars are, by a wide margin, the most anemic offense in the league, averaging just 72 PPG. (The next-lowest average is Indianas 79.9.)Injuries are one reason for the Stars offensive woes. Guard Danielle Robinson had to sit out this season with an Achilles injury. Then the Stars lost their leading scorer, guard Kayla McBride, to a fractured right foot in July. She was averaging 17.1 PPG through 17 games.So the Stars have to heal and make some personnel moves for 2017, along with hoping the lottery goes their way and they get the No. 1 pick in the draft. Former WNBA player Ruth Riley, now in her first season as San Antonios general manager, is primarily responsible for changing the Stars fortunes. Shell have to bring in a new coach, as Dan Hughes will step down at seasons end.Riley knows what she has in terms of promising young players, but shes also aware that the Stars just dont have enough talent right now.Moriah has shown herself to be an incredible leader and has made the transition from the college game to the pro game at a really high level, Riley said. Putting more pieces together and getting healthy is going to be key.Thankfully, were going to have the ability to get some players because we have cap space, and we will have a high draft pick. Air Max Outlet Wholesale . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Nike Air Max Cheap Wholesale . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. http://www.airmaxoutletcheap.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Air Max Outlet Cheap . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Air Max Outlet Sale .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Just like four years ago in London, Alistair Brownlee grabbed a British flag, slowed to a trot and then walked across the finish line to win the gold medal in the mens Olympic triathlon.He dropped to the ground in exhaustion again.Only this time, moments later he got celebrate with his little brother.Jonathan Brownlee upgraded his bronze from 2012 to silver on Thursday. Plus, he didnt need medical attention after finishing the race at a cloudless Copacabana Beach like he did after his run through Hyde Park, which delayed both his celebration and the medal ceremony.The pair broke away halfway through the 10-kilometer run and Alistair Brownlee finished in 1 hour, 45 minutes, 1 second, ahead of his brother, whos two years younger, by six seconds.They stayed on the ground for a long time, then embraced each other.That was a lot more emotional that Ive ever been before, the younger brother said. In London, gold and bronze were incredible but it wasnt gold and silver. And to achieve that ... you literally could do no better.They had already hopped to their feet by the time Henri Schoeman of South Africa came in 42 seconds later for bronze.Sibling rivalries arent usually played out like this on the Olympic stage, but its actually a moment they thought they might have a chance at four years ago.It was flipping close in the end and then Javier Gomez Noya got between us, Alistair Brownlee said. Today I knew if it went right we could do it.The silver medalist at the London Games, however, wasnt in the field after breaking his left arm two months ago while training for Rio, opening the way for this 1-2 finish by the Brownlee brothers.ddddddddddddAlistair Brownlee said he didnt plan out the replica finish with the flag and the slowing down to a trot. He said he visualizes everything else about the race, the one-loop ocean swim, the steep, hilly, 24-mile bike ride and the 6.2-mile run, but not the ending or the elation.I never allow myself to think about crossing the finish line, he said. You just do it.Ben Kanute of the U.S. got an up-close look at the Brownlees, staying with them coming out of the water and dismounting his bike before fading halfway through the grueling run and tottering across in 29th place.I put myself in a position to finish really well, but that was some of the hardest swimming and biking Ive ever done, Kanute said. and I think by the time I hit 5K on the run, the fireworks just started and it was just trying to survive.Polluted waters were a major concern leading up to the Rio Games, but Alistair Brownlee said he had no complaints.The water on the beach was absolutely fine, he said, and Ive seen nothing to worry about.Except maybe Schoeman, who reached the podium for the first time in a major race and said come Tokyo in 2020 he might be able to hang with the Brownlee brothers.Maybe in four years time, Ill give them a go for that gold.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Nike Baseball Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Authentic Cheap NHL Jerseys Canada Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Nike NHL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Football Jerseys Store Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Jerseys NCAA China Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys ' ' '