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MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen seemed to have a shiner developing under her left eye after Sundays season-saving Game 4 victory in the WNBA Finals. She shrugged indifferently when asked about it.Part of the game, Whalen said with her trademark flat tone and blank expression. I think everybody on both sides of the floor probably has something. Thats two teams competing.Admittedly, this doesnt sound funny. Yet if you know Whalen, if youve watched her exhibit so much grittiness while maintaining that poker face, if youre lucky enough to have glimpsed the hilarious side of her that family, friends, teammates and coaches see, then you can chuckle at the visual.Its just a tiny slice of everything about her that is just so ... Lindsay Whalen. She couldnt be more Minnesota, which is why shes beloved in her home state. That the Lynx are going for their fourth championship in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET) at Target Center is a big deal. But that home-state hero Whalen has been with the Lynx throughout their six-year run of success has made it even sweeter for fans.Whalen is about getting the job done, not talking about doing it. She might occasionally give an enthusiastic fist pump after a big basket, but for the most part shes just moving right on to the next play.She is never going to let her emotion became fuel for her opponent. Whether Whalen was holding a royal flush or a pair of twos, nobody but her is going to know. Yet when you ask who is the emotional leader of the Lynx, the answer is ... Lindsay Whalen.Her communication is really steady, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. Its thoughtful, firm when it needs to be. But then its also witty. I think thats what her teammates count on from her.And Lindsay is a point guard. When we dont have success, shes beating herself up -- that as the leader, she couldnt get things done. Shes such a thinker of the game. But shes going to focus on the next game or next possession. Shes going to break it down for her teammates. Shes one of the greatest all time.With three WNBA titles and two Olympic gold medals in hand, Whalen clearly has staked that claim. And what Whalen means to this state and the franchise, to her teammates, and also to Reeve -- who laughs and says, I think Im way more volatile emotionally than she is -- is profound.Whalen always seems to bring out the best in the people shes around and the situations shes in.When she is aggressive and leading our train, Lynx forward Maya Moore said, it gives all of us energy and life. Im so proud of her effort; she pours it all out for us every night, and its so inspiring.Or as forward Rebekkah Brunson said in the Lynx locker room Sunday, gesturing over to Whalen, Thats my favorite player right here. I love every part of being her teammate. I love the practice, the travel, the games; I enjoy every minute of it. I wouldnt want to have anyone else leading our team.Last postseason was difficult for Whalen, because by then she was worn down dealing with a lot of pain. She still played in all 10 playoff games in 2015, and had one of the biggest assists of the WNBA Finals against Indiana, getting the ball to Moore for a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that won Game 3.But Whalen didnt feel like her normal self, and had the lowest scoring average -- 6.5 points per game -- of her 11 career playoff appearances between Minnesota and Connecticut, where she was drafted and played her first six seasons.She knew she needed some recovery time, especially with 2016 being an Olympic year. So Whalen didnt play overseas last winter. It was a chance to recharge both physically and mentally.I feel great this year, Whalen said. It was obviously a smart decision. I listened to my body, my coaches, my family about taking a rest and getting fully healthy. It feels good to be able to move and play the way you want to play.It also helped that Minnesota brought in veteran guards Renee Montgomery during the 2015 season and Jia Perkins before this season, which has allowed Whalen to rest more without it hurting the Lynx.Whalen played the fewest minutes of her career this season, averaging 24.6. But she is fresher for the playoffs, rather than just trying to gut her way through them like last season.Her 9.8 PPG in the regular season has improved to 13.6 in the postseason, second to Moores 22.3. Whalen had 13 points, six rebounds and two assists in Minnesotas 85-79 win Sunday. That included baskets on consecutive possessions off Los Angeles turnovers in the crunch-time fourth quarter.She doesnt have to be scoring to help us, but when she does, it makes us that much harder to defend, Moore said. And when shes penetrating, she has such good body control and can get to the free throw line.Whalen always has been fearless going to the basket no matter how daunting the defense looks. It might have been one of those times when she got hit around the eye Sunday. She has taken her share of punishment, including last year when her string of 106 consecutive starts was broken and she had to miss the 2015 All-Star Game after she was poked in the right eye. But her pain tolerance is high, and the bumps and the bruises mean nothing to her.What matters is that the Lynx fended off potential elimination and now will be back home with an opportunity for another championship. Whalen turned 34 in May and knows that everything becomes a little more difficult as you age. But also a little more precious.Yeah, you just dont know how many chances you have left to be in this position, Whalen said. To even get to this point is very hard, because its a great league. 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Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2.TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays expect to make qualifying offers to potential free agents Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion but have yet to decide whether to make the same offer to outfielder Michael Saunders.In a season-ending news conference Monday, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the decision to extend qualifying offers to the sluggers is about as easy a decision as well make.The 33-year-old Encarnacion tied with David Ortiz for the AL lead with 127 RBIs while hitting 42 home runs and batting .263. The first baseman/designated hitter was an All-Star this year for the third time.The 36-year-old Bautista hit 22 homers with 69 RBIs while batting .234 in an injury-slowed season. The outfielder homered twice in the AL playoffs.Bautista (265) and Encarnacion (239) rank second and third behind Carlos Delgado (336) on Torontos career home run list.After Toronto ended a 22-year playoff drought with an AL East title last year, Bautista blasted the Blue Jays into the ALCS with a three-run homer to win Game 5 against Texas, punctuating his shot with a memorable bat flip.This year it was Encarnacions turn, with a three-run drive in the 11th inning to beat Baltimore in the wild-card game.Those guys have had very good careers, have always hit right-handed and left-handed pitchers, and have been a huge part of this organizations success, especially in the last couple of years, Atkins said.Bautista, Encarnacion and Saunders are among nine potential free agents on Torontos roster. The Blue Jays lost in five games to Cleveland in the ALCS, the second year in a row they have lost at that stage of the playoffs.Atkins said Toronto will attempt to reach new contracts with Bautista and Encarnacion in the five days following the World Series, when teams have exclusive negotiating rights with their own free agents.They would definitely be priorities for us, and well look to do everything that we can to take advantage of that window, Atkins said. Thats plenty of time to potentially work something out if its realistic on both ends.Encarnacion signed a three-year, $29 million deal in in 2013 and is coming off a team option at $10 million.Bautista signed a $65-million, five-year deal in 2011. Toronto picked up a $14 million optioon for 2016.ddddddddddddAtkins said the Blue Jays are still pondering what to do with Saunders, who hit a career-high 24 home runs this season and was an All-Star for the first time.Were still working through that one, Atkins said. Its not quite as clear.Saunders was hitting .298 when he won the All-Star final vote spot. HIs average slumped to .253 by the end of the season.The price of a qualifying offer this year is $17.2 million. The offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept.If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club receives a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.None of the 34 qualifying offers was accepted in the first three years of baseballs current collective bargaining agreement, but Colby Rasmus (Houston), Matt Wieters (Baltimore) and Brett Anderson (Los Angeles Dodgers) accepted among the 20 players who received offers last winter.Torontos remaining free agents include right-hander Joaquin Benoit, left-hander Brett Cecil, right-hander R.A. Dickey, right-hander Scott Feldman, right-hander Gavin Floyd, and catcher Dioner Navarro.Right-hander Jason Grilli has a $3 million club option for 2017. Atkins called Grillis option seemingly as near to a no-brainer to pick up as you can get.Toronto still controls closer Roberto Osuna, AL ERA leader Aaron Sanchez and four other starters from the rotation that posted a league-low 3.64 ERA.Were fortunate that we have five starting pitchers returning that we feel good about because that area of the market seems to not quite as strong as some other areas, Atkins said. The areas that we are going to be looking to fill, there seem to be some numbers there.Atkins said discussions have begun on an extension for manager John Gibbons, who will be in the final season of a two-year contract in 2017.All of Torontos coaches will return in 2017 with the exception of assistant hitting coach Eric Owens. He had been with the Blue Jays since the beginning of the 2015 season. ' ' '