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. Discount Nets Jerseys . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Cheap Brooklyn Nets Jerseys . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. http://www.cheapnetsjerseys.us/ . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Brooklyn Nets Jerseys Online . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. China Nets Jerseys . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Winning makes everything easier, particularly selling tickets. After playing the best hockey in franchise history down the stretch, the Columbus Blue Jackets have enjoyed an upsurge at the box office in recent weeks. The team says it has seen a 13-per cent improvement in season-ticket renewals from one year ago, when the Blue Jackets were coming off perhaps their worst season in the NHL and sold around 7,000 season tickets. The team has sold almost 1,000 new season-ticket plans including fans who upgraded to larger packages. Its a major difference from when the club was a doormat -- especially for those charged with talking to the fan base and selling them tickets. "Theres no question a lot of the conversations are more pleasant than they were perhaps last year," Blue Jackets senior vice-president and chief marketing officer John Browne said with a laugh. "People are very emotional about it, very passionate about it. They want their opinion to be heard. Theres no question over the last few months as the team continued to play really well, those less-than-friendly conversations are far fewer than they were." Its been a remarkable turnaround. Those visiting the teams website at www.bluejackets.com are now greeted by a picture of fans smiling while a scrum of players celebrate a goal. Emblazoned over the scene are the words, "The Best Is Yet To Come." After having far and away the worst record in the league during the 2011-12 season, the Blue Jackets came out of the owners lockout and were dead last in the league (5-12-2) again in late February. But then, spurred on by new acquisitions, wily veterans and up-and-coming players, they went on a 19-5-5 tear that tied them with Minnesota for eighth place in the Western Conference. They missed out on the playoffs in a tiebreaker. They drew a capacity crowd of 19,002 to their season finale at Nationwide Arena, welcomed more than 17,000 in each of the two home games before that, and finished the year averaging 14,562 in attendance. "The crowd was electric," centre Brandon Dubinsky ssaid after the final game, a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Nashville.dddddddddddd. Dubinsky previously played for the New York Rangers and came over in the ballyhooed deal that shipped Rick Nash -- Columbus captain and the franchise record holder in almost every offensive category -- to the Big Apple last summer. The fans were caught up in the sudden reversal of fortune by the team. "They really appreciated the hard work that was put in and us proving everyone wrong. All the so-called experts picked us to finish dead last," defenceman Jack Johnson said after the season. "Its kind of the old, when someone says you cant do it youre determined to prove them wrong. Everyone around the city really appreciated it." Now the teams website also carries the prompt, "Next season starts today. Get the best seats now." Most of the team is expected back next season, including old hands R.J. Umberger and Fedor Tyutin, rising young stars Cam Atkinson and Matt Calvert and relatively recent acquisitions Marian Gaborik and Nick Foligno. The club also has three first-round picks in the June 30 amateur draft. Adding to the excitement is that the Blue Jackets (along with longtime nemesis Detroit) move to the Eastern Conference next season. That means less travel, easier access to broadcast road games for fans who have to work the next day and renewed interest in potential rivals. "We know from research that the NHL has done, in addition to Columbus Blue Jackets fans, eight of the top 10 teams that they identify with as other teams they follow are Eastern Conference teams," Browne said. So the first step was earning some respect by winning games. Now general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and director of hockey operations John Davidson must keep the fans engaged with a team that continues to be competitive. "I havent heard the building that loud," said forward Jared Boll, the Blue Jackets longest-tenured player, the next day after the season ended. "It just shows you these fans are really here to stay and they want a winning team." China Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Gear Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys ' ' '