continental showpiece. Small pockets of fa

WASHINGTON -- Nneka Ogwumike had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Candace Parker added 18 points and six assists and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Washington Mystics 95-75 on Friday night to end a two-game skid.Ogwumike was 6 of 7 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. Rookie Evgeniia Belyakova added a career-high 12 points, and Jantel Lavender added 11 for the Sparks (21-3).Emma Meesseman scored 16 points for the Mystics (9-15). They have lost seven in a row.LYNX 79, STORM 72MINNEAPOLIS -- Maya Moore scored 21 points, Sylvia Fowles had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Minnesota beat Seattle for its sixth straight victory.Fowles was 8 of 10 from the field and had three steals and two blocked shots. Natasha Howard scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Lynx (21-4).Breanna Stewart had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Storm (9-15).DREAM 93, WINGS 88ATLANTA -- Reshanda Gray had 22 points and 10 rebounds -- both career highs -- and Angel McCoughtry scored five points during a decisive late run to help Atlanta beat Dallas.Layshia Clarendon had 17 points, including five free throws in the final 23 seconds, for the Dream (13-12). McCoughtry finished with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.Skylar Diggins led Dallas (9-16) with 29 points. The Wings have lost six straight.SUN 94, SKY 89ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Jonquel Jones had her first-career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds -- both career highs -- and Alex Bentley scored 21 points to help Connecticut beat Chicago.Alyssa Thomas and Jasmine Thomas added 16 points apiece and Chiney Ogwumike had 10 for the Sun (8-16).Elena Delle Donne led Chicago (11-13) with 20 points. Cheap Royals Jerseys . 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NICE, France -- In a city that was once the playground of the British aristocracy, Englands millionaire soccer players departed Tuesday looking as far from soccer nobility than at any time in the teams 144-year history.The latest chastening blow to the nations sporting prestige was magnified by the instigators of their downfall in Nice being Iceland, the smallest team to ever qualify for a major soccer tournament which had spent years admiring the supposedly superior English.As the North Atlantic island nation prepared for a quarterfinal against France at its first-ever European Championship, the England team flew home to the latest in a long line of post mortems into why the country which invented soccer and hosts its wealthiest competition has not won a title since the 1966 World Cup.They wont find much sympathy among supporters who spend fortunes following the pampered superstar footballers across the world. Especially not when the country they are returning to has been battered by political turmoil and economic turbulence following last weeks referendum, when the majority of Britons voted to leave the European Union.As flags of St. George were being packed up from beaches on Nices Promenade des Anglais, a swanky boulevard named after the rich English who once bankrolled this swanky resort, supporters reflected on how soccer has only added to the sense of gloom for some at home.Brexit (British Exit) followed by this makes us look a nation of idiots, said 30-year-old Ned Pendleton from London, next to a five-a-side soccer pitch. We are a laughing stock of Europe and the world. I dont feel very proud to be English unfortunately.A professional gambler, Pendleton didnt predict being on the losing side in the referendum and Euro 2016.Im pretty upset about Brexit. Its stupid, he said. Then losing to Iceland embarrassingly is just all a bit of a shambles.Both outcomes opened up a leadership vacuum in two of the most high-profile jobs in England.The search began Tuesday for a new England coach after Roy Hodgson resigned from a job often branded the toughest in soccer coaching due to the weight of expectations that are not matched by constant underachievement.England seem brittle and we need to understand why, English Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn said Tuesday.On the political front, the leave campaigns victory in the EU referendum has set in motion a chain of momentous events in London.British Prime Minister David Cameron announced he will resign after a leadership contest in his governing Conservative Party. Infighting has also consumed the opposition Labour Party as leader Jeremy Corbyn lost a vote of no confidence of his its lawmakers in Parliament on Tuesday.The political volatility has had economic repercussions. The British pound has fallen sharply against several currencies, including the euro, which suddenly made being in France for Euro 2016 more expensive for England fans. The countrys stock market has taken one of its heftiest poundings in years, threatening peoples wealthh as well as undermining the economic outlook.ddddddddddddAnd to cap it all, two of the worlds leading credit ratings agencies, Standard & Poors and Fitch, have downgraded Britains credit rating in light of the referendum result. Those cuts have the potential of making it more expensive for the government to borrow money, thereby accentuating the national debt.The football team deserves to be cut to junk status, quipped Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight.England fans would probably agree, however split they are on the referendum result.Before Mondays 2-1 loss to Iceland, a chant of Were not in Europe anymore could be heard among some fans on the French Riviera.Britain could have to wait two years until the country officially leaves the EU, which it has been a member of since 1973. But the Brexit chant proved more immediately prophetic for Hodgsons team, which froze in the heat of Nice as tiny Iceland pulled off the biggest shock in the countrys sporting history.Jake Connolly and two friends had tickets for the round of 16 game but they were denied entry to the Nice stadium after their tickets flashed up as being stolen. The 21-year-old Birmingham resident said they had to spend the night with police before eventually being granted their freedom.A few fans told us we had a better night than them, Connolly said.And the Aston Villa supporter said he bonded with the French police over anti-European sentiments.It might be hard now, he said, but in the long-run it will be a lot better to be out of the EU.Sipping an espresso in a nearby cafe, Nice resident Thierry Bouaniche was impressed the majority of Britons had voted out of the EU.Most people here are afraid to leave Europe because they dont know what would happen after that, the 57-year-old real estate worker said. I think the English are courageous ... they will manage.The French government rues the decision of British voters to leave the EU but few citizens will lament Englands early departure from Euro 2016.Hooliganism that seemed to have been eradicated from English soccer witnessed a revival at continental showpiece. Small pockets of fans were involved in clashes around games in Marseille and Lille and were teargassed by police. Behavior, though, improved with no disturbances reported in Nice.I am spoilt for choice about how to be embarrassed to be English, Liverpool-born doctor Terry Brown said in the searing sun on the Promenade des Anglais. I dont know why everyone is surprised about the football because England are rubbish.But (Brexit) is reckless geopolitical vandalism by people who had no idea about what they were voting for. We just caused a lot of chaos for ourselves and the rest of the world. Eventually it will settle down. It will just be miserable while we are waiting for it to do so.---Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports ' ' '