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The Lions rise to the top of the Super Rugby may have caught the competition off guard, but Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd says the Johannesburg are deserved leaders.And the second-year Super Rugby coach says the debilitating effect travel can have during the play-offs could play into the hands of the red-hot South African side.The Lions have won seven of their last eight games to lead by a point from the four Kiwi outfits on the overall ladder. The Chiefs, Crusaders, Hurricanes and Highlanders are all a point behind each other from second to fifth.Under competition rules, only the top-qualifying New Zealand side can host a quarter-final with the three others - if they maintain their lofty perches - forced to travel to Australia or South Africa.There will be some hellish travel involved if the Lions host a semi-final and/or the final, Boyd said.People keep talking about how good the NZ conference has been but the Lions deserve to be top, he said.Theyve only lost three games. Theyre a very tough team to play and you add on the hostile environment of Ellis Park in Johannesburg and its a real tough contest.The Lions are favoured to keep top spot, with their last two regular season games against the lowly Kings and Jaguares.In the last 15 years of Super Rugby, the top-qualifying side has won the title on 12 occasions. The runners-up have done it twice while the Highlanders broke the mould last year by winning from fourth.Boyd said the Highlanders achievement was exceptional - capped by beating his team in the decider - but he noted they didnt have to contend with a draining trip to South Africa in the play-offs. Albert Belle Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Cody Carroll Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. https://www.cheaporioles.com/1748i-b-j-surhoff-jersey-orioles.html . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. J.J. Hardy Jersey .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Boog Powell Jersey . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. The Chicago Sky are locked in as the No. 4 seed in the upcoming WNBA playoffs, but the Seattle Storm will be jockeying for position when the teams meet in the final game of the regular season on Sunday at KeyArena in Seattle.Chicago (18-15) is second in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games behind the New York Liberty and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Atlanta Dream, which lost to the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday.The Sky, who will be without star Elena Delle Donne when they play Seattle, will enjoy a first-round bye as the fourth seed in the playoffs regardless of the outcome of Sundays game.Seattle (15-18) and the Phoenix Mercury are tied for third in the Western Conference. Seattle and Phoenix both have clinched playoff berths with one game remaining on their regular-season schedules. One will enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, the other as the No. 8 seed.Seattle won the season series against Phoenix and would hold the tiebreaker advantage if it finishes with identical records. Neither team can move ahead of the Indiana Fever for the sixthh seed because the Fever won the season series against Seattle and Phoenix.ddddddddddddSeattle has won six of nine games since the Olympic break. The Storm are coming off an 86-62 loss to Phoenix. Breanna Stewart had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jewell Loyd and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 11 points apiece for Seattle.Chicago has won three in a row and seven of nine since the Olympic break. The Sky are coming off a 92-68 victory over the New York Liberty. Both teams sat key starters, including Delle Donne and Tina Charles. Tamera Young had 22 points and nine rebounds for Chicago. Allie Quigley came off the bench to score 18 points.Delle Donne, who is second in the WNBA in scoring at 21.5 points per game, underwent surgery on her injured right thumb on Tuesday. The team has provided no timetable for the return of the reigning WNBA MVP, but Delle Donne tweeted that she will be back on the court in no time. ' ' '