ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Its a Minnesota father-daughter tradition. Every March, if Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen is home instead of playing overseas, she and her dad, Neil, take in an early day of the state high school hockey tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.A scheduling conflict at the Target Center forced the Lynx to shift the first two games of their WNBA semifinal series with Phoenix to Xcel, the NHL arena 10 miles east of Minneapolis, across the Mississippi River. So when Whalen took the court for Game 1 on Wednesday night, with Minnesota facing archrival Phoenix in this round for the fourth consecutive season, the surroundings were more familiar to her than her teammates.It helped that the Lynx shipped their home court from Target Center rather than using Xcels. Whalen and Maya Moore quickly made themselves comfortable, standing out in a game featuring 11 Olympians from Rio and virtually no defense.Moore scored 13 of her 31 points in the runaway second quarter, and Whalen had 19 points and seven assists as the top-seeded Lynx won easily, 113-95, setting a WNBA record for points in regulation playoff game. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Friday (ESPNews, 8 p.m. ET).They pretty much dominated every facet of the game, said Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi, one of the Mercurys six Olympians. There are a lot of things we have to prioritize, and we didnt do any of them today. We didnt limit anyone. They got what they wanted, when they wanted. Thats just a lack of team defense, which the last couple of weeks weve been pretty good at.Six Lynx players scored in double figures, including reserves Renee Montgomery (11 points) and Natasha Howard (10), as Minnesota shot 63.9 percent from the field. Center Sylvia Fowles had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Taurasi finished with 25 points and Brittney Griner had 16 for Phoenix, which lost despite shooting 53.5 percent from the field. Minnesota owned a 38-20 rebounding edge, limiting the 6-foot-8 Griner to two rebounds, none offensive.Things were so out of hand by the end of third quarter that Mercury coach Sandy Brondello gave Taurasi, Griner, Penny Taylor and Candice Dupree the rest of the night off. Down by 20, theres no use trying to beat a dead horse, Brondello said.The teams hadnt met since June 7, playing their three-game series in the regular seasons first three weeks (the Lynx swept). The eighth-seeded Mercury won back-to-back single-elimination games in the WNBAs new playoff format to reach the semis. But they were no match for the Lynx, rested and fresh after 10 days off and aiming to become the first WNBA team since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks to repeat.Whalen, one of Minnesotas four U.S. Olympians (plus Anna Cruz of Spain), delivered the signature moment in a 14-0 second-quarter run that put the Lynx up 39-25. She finished a fast break with a behind-the-back dribble in the lane and a hesitation layup, wowing the boisterous crowd of 9,013. She waited for a late-arriving Taurasi -- an Olympic teammate in Rio last month -- to sail past before banking it in.Phoenix never came closer than 12 points the rest of the way, and trailed by 25 in the third quarter.I was just trying to push the tempo, Whalen said. Coach [Cheryl Reeve] worked me a lot this year on getting in there, making a move, changing directions. I was able to get it done that time.I almost lost it. Another inch one way and it would have been a turnover and they would have been running the other way. I was a little bit good and a little bit lucky on that play.Said Taurasi: I want to act surprised and I want to act like, How did she do that? But Im not. Ive played with her and against her for so long. She has the ability to do things that no one else in the world can do, especially when shes engaged like that.Shes one of the best players in the world. Sometimes, theyre better than you. Today she made a lot of those plays where she was just better than us.Lynx players wore purple sneakers to honor the memory of Prince, their highest-profile fan who hosted an impromptu victory party at Paisley Park last season after the Lynx won their third WNBA championship in five years. Designated fashionista Seimone Augustus generally picks the color for the Lynx playoff sneakers, but players said this was a team-wide call.Minnesotas home away from homeRelocating playoff games because of building conflicts is an unfortunate fact of life in the WNBA, something the Lynx managed to avoid until this season.Several months ago, Target Center officials pushed back a five-day appearance by Cirque du Soliel, originally slated for the Olympic break, to install a new scoreboard as part of the buildings $130 million renovation. Rescheduling Cirque to Sept. 28-Oct. 2 forced the Lynx to find another venue for Games 1 and 2, abandoning an arena where the Lynx posted the leagues best home record since 2014 (43-8).The Lynx already contracted to play next summer at Xcel, the home of the NHLs Minnesota Wild, during the final stage of renovations. Xcel officials agreed to host these playoff games as well, with the Wild shifting three days of training camp to another location.Xcel general manager Jack Larson said the building hadnt hosted a basketball game since the 2001 state high school boys tournament. So most Xcel workers had no practice experience assembling a basketball floor.The Lynx shipped their court across town on three semi tractor-trailers. Target Center operations director Tom Renner supervised a crew of 20 that put it together in time for the Lynx to practice last Monday. They broke it down for a Wild preseason game Tuesday night, then restored it for Wednesdays shootaround.We could take a second and bemoan it, but it really doesnt do us any good, Reeve said. The mindset is, we are very fortunate we have a beautiful facility in St. Paul. And we said we dont care where the game is played. Its about us being together, and our fans. If were all there, thats our home court.The Lynx, and Whalen, certainly made it feel like home Wednesday night. Cheap Air Max 97 Rose China . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Nike Air Max 97 For Sale . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/ . 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. Cheap Air Max 97 Black China . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Cheap Air Max 97 Green China . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington States football team is in turmoil as the Cougars seek their first win of the season on Saturday against Idaho.A team that was expected to contend for the Pac-12 North instead has opened the season with losses to FCS foe Eastern Washington and Boise State.That prompted coach Mike Leach this week to rip his Cougars (0-2) as soft. Leach also ripped local police and the news media for too much focus on the alleged misdeeds of players.Leach went on an epic rant about his team on Monday.Right now, we have the atmosphere of a JC softball game, he said. Thats what we are, a JC softball team.He added: Ive got receivers running routes that dont even resemble anything we teach. We dont tuck the ball and go straight up field. We do all these stupid moves.We run out of bounds more than any team in the country.Were the easiest team in the country to tackle.We dont like to run and hit, and this is a game for running and hitting.In response, Leach promised his players would undergo a hard week of practice.Idaho, located just 8 miles away in Moscow, has often been a cure for what ailed the Cougars.The Vandals (1-1), who are preparing to drop back to the FCS level in two seasons, are 17-71-3 all-time against Washington State. The Cougars are 26-point favorites in the 92nd meeting between the two closest neighbors in the FBS.Idaho is coming off a 59-14 pounding at the hands of No. 8 Washington last Saturday.Vandals coach Paul Petrino says the game is unlikely to be a defensive battle.Theyre going to score points, Petrino said. Weve got to make sure that we score some points.The teams last played in 2013, a 42-0 win for the Cougars.Theyre a whole different team and were a whole different team, Petrino saaid.ddddddddddddHere are five things to watch as Idaho plays Washington State:LAW AND ORDER-PULLMAN: Leach complained on Tuesday night that local police and members of the media were unfairly focusing on alleged misdeeds by his players. Leach read a prepared statement after practice in which he complained about three recent incidents allegedly involving players that led to assault investigations by police. Leach said he was concerned that the only people being accused of crimes in the cases are football players.AS THE DEFENSE TURNS: Idaho defensive coordinator Mike Breske was fired by Leach following the 2014 season and found a new job nearby with the Vandals. Meanwhile, Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has decided that working in the press box takes him too far from players during games. Grinch stayed on the sideline during a narrow loss to Boise State last week, and will be there again against Idaho. He can give you some pointers face-to-face, linebacker Parker Henry said.AIR RAID: Washington State QB Luke Falk leads all active FBS quarterbacks in passing yards at 366.2 per game, while receiver Gabe Marks already owns the WSU record for career receptions at 247. Receiver Tavares Martin Jr. caught 12 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown at Boise State.THREE IS LONELIEST NUMBER: Both WSU losses are by three points, 45-42 to Eastern Washington and 31-28 to Boise State.AUSTINS POWERS: Idaho punter Austin Rehkow is the NCAA career punting leader with an average of 47 yards per kick. He is on the watch list for the Ray Guy and Lou Groza awards given to punters and kickers. ' ' '