MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee.The journey to get here I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing when you surround yourself with good people how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Folwes blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early in the fourth quarter. Parkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead, putting the Lynx in trouble.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason format with the field ordered by overall record regardless of conference sure worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes and 11 ties with no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish befitting a game for the trophy.Even Johnson was there, wearing all black while sitting courtside to root for the Sparks team hes a part-owner of and spoke to after the loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, were playing baseball in Los Angeles at the same time in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions so I give them a lot of credit to.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too, with Timberwolves players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica in the seats to support the women they share an arena with. Stitched Lakers Jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Los Angeles Lakers Gear . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/ . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Lakers Jerseys 2020 . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Lakers Jerseys China . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. CHICAGO -- Suppose the ivy could talk. Think about it.What would you ask it? What would it say?On a magical Friday night on the north side of Chicago, the World Series will arrive at Wrigley Field for the first time in the lifetime of everyone from Kyle Schwarber to David Ross, from?Albert Almora?to Joe Maddon, from Eddie Vedder to Bill Murray.The last time, before this night, was Oct. 10, 1945. That was 25,950 days ago. That was 622,800 hours ago. That was a dozen presidents ago.But only one ivy crop ago.The ivy withers every winter and regenerates every spring. The leaves fall off, but the vines remain. It has been that way since the ivy was first planted in 1937. So not only does that ivy cover the outfield wall and make Wrigley famous. That ivy has seen it all.It was there when Cubs starter Hank Borowy was knocked out in the first inning in Game 7 of that 1945 World Series. It was there when Mark Prior and Kerry Wood couldnt finish the deal in Games 6 and 7 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. It was there, basically, for everything.So what would that ivy say if we could just ask it about this year? About these Cubs. And about Friday night at the corner of Clark and Addison, Cubs versus Indians, Game 3 of the 2016 World Series. A night of history. A night of celebration. A night to appreciate all the Fridays in all the Octobers where all a World Series meant was happening somewhere else.What would the ivy say? I dont believe it, former Cubs reliever Dan Plesac?said.What would the ivy say? Uncharted territory, said grounds-crew member Dan Kiermaier (who is, yes, the brother of Kevin, the Rays own human highlight reel in center field).What would the ivy say? I ... must ... hang ... on ... to ... this ... vine ... to ... see ... us ... win ... it. ... all, quipped ESPNs Doug Glanville, a one-time No. 1 draft pick of the Cubs.Now the Cubs cant win it all Friday evening, obviously. This World Series is tied at one win apiece. So nobody can win anything before at least Sunday. And lets not ever forget that the Indians arent exactly the Washington Generals, so they have no interest in letting the Cubs win, period.But that doesnt make this night any less memorable. Not when it has been 71 years since the last game of this magnitude at Wrigley. Not when there were no fewer than 16 (yes, 16) different places you could find the words WORLD SERIES plastered or painted or electrified all over Wrigley on Thursday -- on the dugout roof, on the dugout railing, sprayed onto the infield grass or shining brightly from every video board and message board in the joint.And not when the ivy has begun to turn red.If your team is still standing and youre actually playing baseball at Wrigley Field and the ivy is turning red, Glanville said Thursday, that means youve done something great [because] you have to play pretty late in the season to see red ivy. ... That only happens one time of the year. The problem for the Cubs is that its been like Halleys Comet. When it only comes around like every 75 years, thats not good. But if you can make it an annual event, now youve got a dynasty.When these Cubs arrived back at Wrigley the other night, several hours (and one airplane ride) after their Game 2 win in Cleveland, they got an instant reminder of what had happened in this ballpark the last time they played a home game, a mere four days earlier.The locker room was a mess, catcher David Ross reported, with a laugh. We walked in last night at about 2:30 [a.m.], and they still had the fans going on the carpet if that tells you anything. It was a wreck in here.It was the last vestige of the cleanup following a raucous celebration Saturday night, the night the Cubs eliminated the Dodgers in the NLCS and earned the right to bring the World Series back to Wrigley. But it wasnt only the baseball team that celebrated that night.There were 42,386 people inside Wrigley Field -- and who knows how many thousands outside the gates. And their own celebration was just as loud, just as long and just as emotional. It was a not-so-sneak preview of the sort of electricity you can expect to see at Wrigley again on Friday.ddddddddddddBetter power up the spare generators.I have never been to a sporting event in my life like Saturday night, said Plesac, who actually grew up hating the Cubs as a White Sox fan in Indiana -- until he pitched for the Cubs in 1993 and 94, and began to understand what makes the franchise so unique. I mean, I walked around this ballpark -- and goose bumps.He watched 42,000 Cubs fans hug and bond and sing Go Cubs Go with tears streaming down their faces. And the only word he could think of to describe them was euphoric -- because theyd waited a lifetime for this night. So they wouldnt let it go, couldnt let it go.Thousands remained inside the gates of Wrigley for nearly two hours after the game, trying to hang on to the moment. The streets of Wrigleyville were so jammed well after 2 a.m., it looked like rush hour in a lot of towns.People were not ready to go home, said Leah Spagnoli, the general manager of Yak-Zies, a famed Clark Street hangout for the past 27 baseball seasons. The energy that night was unlike anything Ive ever seen. It was dreamlike.When players finally left the park well after midnight, they were blown away by what they saw -- the sight of decades of bottled-up emotions spilling into a party that looked as if it might never end.Just getting out of here was kind of crazy, Ross said. The parking lot over there where our families are was just wall-to-wall with people and family, and everybody hugging and congratulating them. ... I dont think we got out of here until 1, maybe 2 oclock in the morning. So it was crazy. I heard even the Dodgers bus couldnt leave right away.And the bash was still going the next day, too. Utility man Chris Coghlan told a tale of venturing out of the house to go to Whole Foods the day after the game and running across a different buzz all around town, complete with dogs trotting around wearing Cubs jerseys.But it feels as if that buzz began six months ago and has barely let up since. You will feel it right through your TV screen Friday night, because this World Series is the culmination of a special journey, not just of a baseball team but of a fan base.This has been unlike anything Ive ever experienced before, said Spagnoli, who has worked at Yak-Zies for eight years. The energy is different. The people are different. The crowds are different.Her grandfather, Kenny Miller, founded the original Yak-Zies at a different North Side address in 1966. Her father, Joe, then ran this location for more than two decades after it opened in 1990. So theyve been dealing with Cubs fans for half a century. But never, ever have they had a year like this year, as people gravitated toward a special team and a special ballpark.Were third generation, Leah Spagnoli said. And this is what weve been waiting for.But of course, this is what all the generations of Cubs fans have been waiting for -- that season that didnt break their hearts. That season when the ballpark was the big stage for the baseball team, not the other way around.So on this night, as the World Series heads back to Wrigley Field, youll be able to feel the presence of Ernie Banks and Ron Santo, of Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson, of Fergie Jenkins and Rick Reuschel, of all the stars who never had a moment like this one. But for Wrigley and the Cubs of 2016, nostalgia is finally just the background noise in a much bigger saga.We are very much aware of everything thats gone on in the past, Maddon said Thursday. But we have to live in the present. Otherwise, youll never be able to get to this juncture in the season.Well, theyve clearly pulled off that juggling act because here they are. Its Game 3 of the World Series, in the shadow of the reddening ivy. So if last weekends euphoria was any sort of preview of what is to come Friday night, you know what that means.Yeah, Spagnoli said. Order a lot more beer. ' ' '