Mercury Rise to the Top

On Friday, the Phoenix Mercury secured a WNBA championship by defeating the Indiana Fever 94-86, in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. Diana Taurasi scored 26 points in the deciding game and won Finals MVP honors.

The Mercury overcame a 2-1 series deficit to claim the title. It's the Mercury's second WNBA title in three seasons. It's an impressive feat.

But is it the most impressive feat? Does this make the Mercury the best sports dynasty in Arizona history? Yes and yes.

Several professional sports franchises in Arizona have won on a consistent basis. The Phoenix Suns won 50-plus games four seasons in a row (2004-2008). The Arizona Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl last season. The Arizona Diamondbacks, in 11 seasons, have four playoff appearances, including a World Series title in 2001. Every sports franchise in the state has enjoyed some type of success, but not every franchise has enjoyed the Mercury's level of success.

(Continue to Arizona Sportspage)

LifeLock Tops in WNBA

When Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter go up against San Antonio in an opening round WNBA playoff game Thursday, you won't see "Phoenix" or "Mercury" on their uniform jersey tops, except for the small team logo. Instead, you'll see "LifeLock."

Going into the playoffs, the Mercury and their stars Taurasi and Pondexter are entering as the team to beat. The pair are the league's top two scorers, leading the club to the WNBA's best regular season record at 23-11. As the games tip off on ESPN2 -- the Washington Mystics made it and will host Indiana Thursday night at 7 -- the playoffs again will give the WNBA a much needed boost of television exposure after playing its regular during idle summer months.

Since June, Mercury uniforms have been adorned with the LifeLock name, a Tempe, AZ identity theft prevention company. The Mercury are even selling the jerseys that way at the WNBA online store, part of a multi-year marketing partnership with LifeLock. To boot, when existing jerseys with the Mercury name on the front are sold out, only those LifeLock ones will be available.

No other American sports team has gone so far as to actually place the name of a sponsor on its uniform instead of the team name.

(Continue to DMA 7-22 Sports)