Minnesota State Sports Briefs: Lynx playoff schedule announced

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MINNEAPOLIS - The playoff pairings for the WNBA were announced yesterday. The defending league champions Minnesota Lynx finished with a WNBA-best 27-7 season mark.

The WNBA playoff calendar has been set for the conference semifinals. In the West, Minnesota will take on Seattle and San Antonio tackles Los Angeles. The Eastern Conference Semifinals will showcase Connecticut against New York and Atlanta against Indiana. Each series is a best-of-three. The Lynx open the postseason Friday at Target Center. Here is the upcoming WNBA playoff schedule for the Minnesota Lynx:

Friday, September 28th - Seattle at Minnesota, 8pm (Game One)

Sunday, September 30th - Minnesota at Seattle, 8pm (Game Two)

Tuesday, October 2nd - Seattle at Minnesota, TBD (Game Three, if necessary)

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The University of Minnesota football team will be back on the practice field today, as they prepare for this weekend's Big Ten Conference opener. The Golden Gophers begin 2012 league play with a road game at arch rival Iowa on Saturday. Minnesota is 4-0, while the Hawkeyes enter the game with a 2-2 record. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

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Renovation costs for Southern California's oldest sports venue keep going up. The "Los Angeles Times" says Rose Bowl officials in Pasadena added six-million dollars to a construction contract to cover repairs for botched upgrades installed before the 1994 World Cup soccer games. Labor costs also went up so crews could finish seating improvements before UCLA's football home opener earlier this month. Renovation costs to the 90-year-old stadium were first projected at $152-million. The project is now being budgeted at $170-million. The winner of the Big Ten Championship game will play in the Rose Bowl in January.

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The Golden Gopher women's soccer team scored a 1-0 win over Michigan State Sunday. Taylor Wodwick of Plymouth netted the game's lone goal. Minnesota is now 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. The Gophers will host No. 14 Wisconsin on Thursday night.

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The NASCAR Circuit heads to the Monster Mile this weekend at Dover International Speedway. It's the third of 10 races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jimmie Johnson holds a one-point lead on Brad Keselowski in the points standings while Denny Hamlin is seven back. Defending Cup champion Tony Stewart is fourth and 10 points back of Johnson.

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After months of hype, the Ryder Cup is finally upon us this week at Medinah's number-three course. Medinah has three courses, and number-three has hosted three U.S. Opens, a U.S. Senior Open and a pair of PGA Championships. The course will play to over 76-hundred yards for this biennial event. Tiger Woods, who headlines the United States team, was the winner of the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships at Medinah. However, Brandt Snedeker, who won the Tour Championship and FedExCup over the weekend, could very well be the hottest player on the U.S. roster heading into the Ryder Cup. The U.S. won at Valhalla in 2008, but the Europeans have won four of the last five Cups overall. World number-one Rory McIlroy leads the Euros.

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