The struggling Chicago Sky host the WNBAs hottest team in a Wednesday matinee at Allstate Arena.The Los Angeles Sparks (18-1) carry a seven-game winning streak into the clash and need just two victories to match the now-defunct Houston Comets record 20-1 start in 1998.Chicago (8-11) has dropped four of its last six games while searching for a winning combination. The Sky are fifth in the WNBA Eastern Conference after employing their fifth different starting lineup of the season in last Sundays 100-95 victory over Phoenix.Nneka Ogwumike tops the Western Conference-leading Sparks with a 19.1 scoring average and 8.4 rebound average and leads the WNBA with a .701 shooting percentage. Chicago-area native Candace Parker is next, scoring at an average of 16.9 pointsChicagos Elena Delle Donne is second in WNBA scoring, averaging 20.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She collected a season-high 38-points in an 87-82 loss to Minnesota on July 5 in Minnesota.Guard Allie Quigley, usually first off the bench, had 29 and 21 points in Chicagos last two games.Delle Donne will travel to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics later this month as a member of the U.S. womens national team.The Sparks beat the Sky 98-85 on June 14 in Los Angeles as Ogwumike topped all scorers with 27 points and 12 rebounds.Parker has dominated previous meetings as Los Angeles has taken five straight and six of eight from Chicago over the past three seasons. She has averaged 22 points and 7.2 rebounds in those games. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Carolina Hurricanes Store .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Carolina Hurricanes Pro Shop . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Fake Hurricanes Jerseys . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Sir Ian Bothams inspirational qualities on and off the cricket field have been well chronicled. The great deeds that won him the reputation as one of the greatest England cricketers in history have been followed in retirement by indefatigable charitable commitments approached with the same gusto. Now those energies will be committed to a new challenge: the chairmanship of Durham, a county that needs leading to a secure and lasting future.Durhams tired old board was sacked in its entirety last month as part of the punitive measures imposed by the ECB after the games governing body reluctantly provided the financial assistance, and expertise, they needed to stop them falling into bankruptcy.Botham, an English cricketing icon, not least in the north-east, has now accepted a largely figurehead role for a restructured county which will operate as a community interest company; the man expected to bang the drum, rouse the spirits and help bring in the money, while the rest of the new board, as yet not divulged, work on the small print of recovery.Not that there is much money to be had. Unemployment in the north-east is among the highest in the country and figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest the region has been worst hit since the credit crunch of 2008. But Durham have a knack of uncovering cricketing talent which must be preserved whatever challenges present themselves.Ben Stokes - an allrounder in Bothams mould who has welcomed his involvement as brilliant - Mark Wood, Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison have all made the grade at England level. And, unlike some other counties, they draw their talent from all social classes.Harmisons past comments help keep the response to Bothams return in proportion. I would love to help out in any shape or form but its easy for ex-players like me to say that, he said recently. What we need are financial experts.Daily involvement will not be Bothams remit, rather more the need whenever he can to inspire, bully and cajole businesses and individuals in the north-east to prove their affection for Englands newest and most northerly first-class county. As someone who has raised more than ￡12m for charity, largely for leukaemia research, and predominantly by the method of yomping into the sunset down hills and dale until he could yomp no more, Bothams emotional right to request a little largesse from others cannot be questioned.His love for the region, especially its big-heartedness and open spaces, is unquestionable. He lives a few miles over the border, in North Yorkshire, in a 17th Century farmhouse which has led him to be fondly dubbed the Squire of Ravensworth, but his affinity is with Durham. He spends much of his leisure time in country pursuits such as fishing on the nearby River Tees which rushes across untamed Pennines valleys and forms the historic border.His association with the north-east stretches back to the time he joined Durham for their inaugural county season in 1992 - a host of injuries finally silenced him as he retired the folllowing season.ddddddddddddHe will hope that his second coming is more triumphant because then his body hurt, his career was almost spent and his reputation could not be matched by performance. He described his last hurrah as one of the worst decisions he had made and, as various studies of his cricketing career have made plain, he made one or two.These were bleak times for Durham as they struggled to adjust to life as a fully-professional county and, mistakenly in hindsight, committed to building an international-sized stadium in the relatively small market town of Chester-le-Street. From there, their financial problems have grown.Chairman Botham: the very thought will bring smirks around the cricket circuit, although not in his line of sight. After all, he is the least governable of men. At the height of his fame, during one of his many wars with officialdom, he once stood up before a cricket dinner to condemn cricket administrators the world over as gin-soaked old dodderers.Approaching his 61st birthday, English crickets greatest roisterer has now joined them, even if his preferred tipple is likely to be a decent swig of good red wine.It is tempting to remark on this fine example of poacher turned gamekeeper, except that any image concerning Botham and country sports is dangerous. Chris Packham, the mild-mannered presenter of BBC Springwatch, attracted his ire earlier this year, for condemning the deliberate killing of birds of prey on grouse moors to protect the stock of birds. Botham took to the airwaves to condemn him as an extremist.That he will be an absentee chairman for large chunks of the year is inevitable, certainly as long as his Sky TV commitments persist - and, as if to illustrate that, he will not take up the role until he returns from Englands Test tour of India. Having attracted a chairman of world repute, Durhams next task is to find a vice chairman of complementary qualities - someone more taken with the minutiae of life.Botham, as his cricket commentary reveals, is a man of unyielding opinion and not overly obsessed by facts. He has never coached, not held an administrative or business post. But he is perfectly placed to attract star names to fund-raisers, to shame the business community into supporting the county once more, or to lobby support for Durham in the NatWest Blast and turn around some of the most disappointing T20 crowds in the country. And his rebellious air, in a county that feels mistreated by the ECB, will also not go amiss. He described himself as privileged but warned of challenging times ahead.If you care about Durham cricket - or even if you dont, but Sir Ian Botham thinks you should - you may be hearing from him soon. For the good of English cricket, it is to be hoped that this second coming is a good deal more successful than the first. There is a valuable job waiting to be done. And the red wine will be very palatable. ' ' '