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Felipe Massa is in advanced talks with Williams about reversing his decision to retire and return to the team in 2017 if Valtteri Bottas moves to Mercedes, according to a report in LEquipe.Bottas place at Williams suddenly looks in doubt as he has emerged the favourite to replace Nico Rosberg, who retired from F1 less than a week after winning his first world title. Massa stepped away from F1 after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his 250th career start, but could be back in white overalls for 2017 if the team loses Bottas.Though Williams refused to comment on the news of Mercedes approach for Bottas, the LEquipe report suggests the team is preparing a contingency plan if the Finn does depart. Technical chief Pat Symonds has said Bottas experience is crucial for Williams in 2017 as it has signed 18-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll.Massas extensive experience would make him a perfect candidate to replace Bottas and would solve the potential dilemma Williams would face in a driver market thin on available candidates.The report goes on to state Williams will be given a ￡8.4 million discount on its power unit supply by Mercedes if it releases Bottas from his contract to join the world champions. Shaquille ONeal Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Jayson Tatum Celtics Jersey . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-jayson-tatum-celtics-jersey/ . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Red Auerbach Celtics Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Jaylen Brown Celtics Jersey .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. MINNEAPOLIS -- Alana Beard the businesswoman will be opening a Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia, on Oct. 22 with her good friend, Indiana guard Marissa Coleman.But Beard the basketball player is still hard at work at her hoops job too. On Sunday in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at the Target Center, she made the kind of defensive plays we expect from her, with those Inspector Gadget-like long arms and the quick hands that have flummoxed so many foes.But she made something else that wasnt so expected: a jump shot at the buzzer, which gave Los Angeles a 78-76 victory over Minnesota.Obviously, you want the ball in certain peoples hands, Beard said of the game-ending possession, though she wasnt referring to herself. Then it came to my side, and you gotta take the shot. Theres no time for a pass in that situation.The reality is, the Lynx actually preferred Beard take the shot, if anyone did. Shes not the scorer she once was, and thats not her primary role with the Sparks.Los Angeles needs her defensively and as an emotional leader for the team.She brings so much, said Sparks forward Nneka Ogumike, who was the WNBAs MVP this season. Shes a big part of the glue to this team, on and off the court. For her to have a moment like that is special for her career. Its something shell remember, and well remember.But it also goes to show that she is always in the moment. Thats just how she always is, and she capitalized on it.Beard, 34, is the second-oldest player for the Sparks. She was part of what proved to be a talented WNBA draft class of 2004. Three other players from that draft are playing in this series, all with Minnesota: Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson and Jia Perkins. Phoenixs Diana Taurasi was the No. 1 pick that season, followed by Beard at No. 2 by Washington.Beard played her first six seasons with the Mystics, and she was a pretty big scorer then, averaging 16.2 points for her Washington career. But severe ankle problems sidelined Beard for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Even then, the Duke grad was planning her eventual business career, and she knew she could survive without basketball.She just wasnt ready to do that at that point.Its the love that I have for the game, Beard said about what pushed her to recover and keep playing. But I think one huge motivation was when a doctor told me that I would never play again. And another was the Mystics believing I would never play again.I kept going. It was hard at times; Im not going to lie. But you just never know where life will take you, and Ive developed a mindset of staying open to anything.When Beard went cross-country to join the Sparks in 2012, she understood her role would change in regard to offense. But she has remained a fierce and feared defender, along with being a mentor for younger players.Nobody wants to be guarded by her, teammate Kristi Toliver said. Luckily, shes always on my team in practice.Beard dealt with plantar fasciitis last year and was limited to 14 ggames in the regular season.dddddddddddd But this year, she has started every game and been an invaluable resource to second-year guard Chelsea Gray, who also went to Duke.Beard and Gray, who turned 24 on Saturday, played a decade apart for the Blue Devils and for different coaches. But Beard reached out while Gray was still in college, including giving her encouragement when Gray went through knee injuries that hampered her Duke career.She emailed me and we texted a few times then, said Gray, who was drafted by Connecticut in 2015 but came to Los Angeles in an April trade. And from the first day I was here, she was in my ear and was happy I was with the Sparks.Gray has become a more important part of the Los Angeles offense, especially in the past month. She played 30 minutes on Sunday off the bench, scoring 12 points. But it was the last of her four assists that will stand out.The Sparks and Lynx had been battling all game, just as expected. In the fourth quarter, Los Angeles made some very big defensive stops, including two consecutive forced turnovers by Beard on a blocked shot and a steal in the last 2 minutes, 20 seconds of the game.After a layup by Minnesotas Maya Moore with 24.7 seconds left tied the score at 76, the Sparks put the ball in Grays hands to orchestrate the final shot. The top option was Toliver, who finished tied with Ogwumike with a game-high 19 points. The Lynx defense had that covered, though, and Gray was left with one choice: passing to Beard on the right side, in front of the Sparks bench, and just inside the arc.Moore left Beard alone to help on defense, which was understandable when you consider the Sparks other scoring threats. Moore adjusted and tried to contest Beards shot. But Beard swished it, and she fell down after she followed through, soon to be covered with overjoyed teammates.Womens basketball fans might go back in their memory vaults to a somewhat similar shot that Beards Duke teammate Jessica Foley hit to beat UConn in Hartford, Connecticut, during Beards senior season in 2004. That one was a 3-pointer, but a lot else about Sundays shot was the same, including Foley falling down as the ball went through the net.I was probably the first one to get to her, Beard said of that celebration. In this case, Chelsea was the first one to get to me.Beard has been a pro basketball player for 13 years, counting her injured period, but this is her first time appearing in the WNBA Finals. She knows that the Sparks still have a lot of work to do to try to win the title, but shes grateful to at least have the chance.Im happy to be healthy now, Beard said. This is the best Ive felt in maybe five or six years, and you can see it with the way I move. That last shot, that play, is a great example of who weve been all season, just the resilience. These are the moments you kind of live for. ' ' '