Talking the business of sports

Drama was once again missing from the 2022 WNBA playoffs on Sunday. In the first game of the day, the Dallas Wings led by as much as 31 before holding on for an 89-79 win over the Connecticut Sun  to force a winner-take-all Game 3. Later on, the Seattle Storm completed a two-game sweep over the Washington Mystics with a 97-84 win in Game 2. The Storm will now face the Aces in the semifinals. 

Another new playoff format has debuted this year, as the league has scrapped the first- and second-round byes in favor of a standard three-round bracket format. The first round will be best-of-three, while the semifinals and Finals will be best-of-five. 

It's also important to note the first round series' will use a 2-1 format, which means the higher seed will host Games 1 and 2, while the lower seeded team will host Game 3, if necessary. The semifinals and Finals, though, will use a standard 2-2-1 format, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2 and 5, if necessary, and the lower seed hosting Games 3 and 4, if necessary. 

The #WNBAPlayoffs bracket presented by @Google is set ✅ First round starts this Wednesday, August 17 on ESPN 2 🤩 pic.twitter.com/iwULG82YTP

Here's a look at the entire schedule:

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