ATLANTA -- The Los Angeles Sparks fell short of the fastest start in WNBA history Sunday when they lost to the Atlanta Dream 91-74.Los Angeles (20-2) had tied the 1998 Houston Comets, who finished the regular season 27-3, for the fastest start. The loss also snapped the Sparks WNBA record nine-game road winning streak to open a season.Layshia Clarendon had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Atlanta. Angel McCoughtry had 17 points, Bria Holmes scored a career-high tying 15 and Tiffany Hayes added 14 points for the Dream (12-11). Elizabeth Williams had nine points and 12 rebounds as Atlanta outrebounded the Sparks 42-34. It was Holmes second career start.McCoughtry scored five straight points during a 12-4 run to close the third quarter, giving the Dream their biggest lead to that point, 69-57, going into the fourth.After Candace Parker hit a 3 and Chelsea Gray made a layup to pull Los Angeles within nine, Clarendon converted a three-point play to make it 78-66 with 5:56 left and Atlanta led by double figures the rest of the way.Nneka Ogwumike had 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles. Parker added 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Sparks.The Dream, ranked fourth in the AP WNBA power poll, were without Sancho Lyttle, who left Fridays 78-72 loss to Indiana with a broken bone in her right foot. Lyttle, who ranks first in the WNBA in steals per game (2.2) and tied for fourth in rebounds per game (8.5), is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.The top-ranked Sparks, who came in allowing 75.1 points per game, gave up their second-highest point total this season -- the most in a regulation game. Los Angeles shot 37.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent (4 of 14) from 3-point range. Carlos Carson Jersey . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Mack Lee Hill Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom-neil-smith-jersey-large-1016n.html . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Ed Podolak Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Rashad Fenton Jersey . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie.DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings rallied to extend their post-season streak to 22, the longest in North American professional sports. Then, they got within a win of making an improbable appearance in the Western Conference finals. Detroit, though, failed to finish off Chicago after taking a 3-1 series lead, losing three straight, including a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 7 against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night. "It stings," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Thursday. "Everybody in our organization is down because we had a great chance to get to the final four. But give Chicago credit because they got it done and we didnt." Holland said he has mixed emotions about the year. He is disappointed Detroit couldnt win one more game, perhaps in Game 6 when it had a third-period lead at home, to advance for a second time this post-season. Holland is encouraged, though, by how well the teams veterans led, and the ways its inexperienced players improved during a rebuilding season. "We have a lot of pieces in place, enough to beat the second-seeded Anaheim Ducks and to be up 3-1 on the top team in the league," he said. "There are a lot of good things going on, but we want to get further than Game 7 in the second round." The Red Wings hope to get past the second round next year for the first time since 2009 -- when they were a win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions -- by agreeing to win-win deals with Damien Brunner, Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Cleary and Drew Miller before they hit the market as unrestricted free agents. "We had teams inquiring about some of them at the trade deadline, but we made the decision to keep them and see how far they could go," Holland said. "Now, wed like to re-sign them if their finances fit in with our finances." As soon as July 5, Holland hopes he can sign Pavel Datsyuk to a new contract so that next season isnt the final one on the superstars deal. "Were going to talk to Pavs agent in a while because we wouldd like to get an extension done," Holland said "But well see because were in a cap world.ddddddddddddquot; It wont cost the franchise as much to re-sign restricted free agents Gustav Nyquist, Joakim Andersson, Brendan Smith and Jakub Kindl. "We want them back, without a doubt," Holland said A year after swinging and missing in attempts to sign Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, Holland doesnt plan to even attempt to make a splash this summer in free agency. "There are no quick fixes and free agency isnt the answer," Holland said. "It is just a tool to get finishing touches, but well explore trades and well keep an eye on players that are bought out of their contracts." The Red Wings are counting on the return of three key forwards -- Darren Helm, Mikael Samuelsson and Todd Bertuzzi --- after they combined to play just 12 games during the regular season because of injuries. They also lost rookie defenceman Danny DeKeyser, who coach Mike Babcock credited with helping them make the playoffs, because of a broken thumb in the first round. In all, Detroits injured players combined to miss 243 games during the regular season and 34 in the playoffs. "We were No. 1 in the league in man-games lost due to injury and the depth of our organization allowed us to stay afloat," Holland said. "If we only add Helm and DeKeyser, were a little better, but we want to do more than that if we can to get a lot better." Goaltender Jimmy Howard was healthy enough to play 42 of 48 games in the lockout-shortened season. He started all 14 playoff games, and did enough to earn a six-year, $31.8 million contract signed in April to stay with the franchise that drafted him a decade ago. Howard has high hopes for the future. "Theres a lot of great things you can take out of this season," Howard told reporters in Chicago. "A lot of guys stepped up for us. The guys have a lot of good experience here moving forward and were moving in the right direction." ' ' '