2013 NBA Finals: Manu Ginobili turns back the clock for Spurs

He had alternated between old, ineffective and downright done in the NBA Finals.

Coach Gregg Popovich, stubborn soul that he is, decided to start his ancient Argentinian swingman anyway — for the first time in San Antonio’s 100-game season.

He did this only in the crucible of the Spurs’ season, Game 5 against the Heat, probably the last hurrah of an era before the home fans, most of whom were worried sick their turn-back-time year was coming to an end.

Then Manu transported himself Sunday night.

His team and this town, the people he sent into an absolute tizzy with a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, took the thrill ride with him, and suddenly LeBron James and theMiami Heat are on the ropes.

Ginobili had not had those kind of numbers since 2008. He looked weathered, worn-down in the first four games — about to capitulate every time his drive was stopped.

And he went back anyway, found a place of confidence and calm from another era.

“I needed it,” said Ginobili after the Spurs jumped on the Heat in the second half and took Game 5 by force, 114-104, to forge a 3-2 series lead. “I was having a tough time scoring and I need to feel like the game was coming to me an. It felt great. To feel that I really helped the team get that 20-point lead was a much needed moment in the series.”

Much needed? It was a godsend for San Antonio, who wondered when and if their one-time all-star would make an appearance in the series.

There are few things in sports more compelling than a former star finding something within from another time, when he was younger, faster, better and the entire NBA wasn’t questioning his relevance as a player.

“He did seem dejected,” Tim Duncan said afterward. “He’s an extreme competitor. He wanted to play well. He wanted to play well really badly.”

It’s absurd to think when this season started that the San Antonio Spurs would be one victory in Miami away from stunning LeBron and the defending champions for their fifth championship over three separate decades.

But that’s where we are.

Manu played like Manu, Danny Green demanded the spotlight each time he stepped behind the arc and let fly a beautiful arching rainbow jump shot, and Duncan and Tony Parker played their parts to perfection.

It’s all in doubt, of course, if Ginobili doesn’t have the game he had. In one of the more candid moments for a player laser-focused on a championship, Ginobili himself admitted retirement in the offseason was an option.

“There’s a small chance,” the Spurs’ wingman said Saturday. “It’s not that I’m really considering, but I can never say ‘no’ for sure, because I sometimes consider it. . . . It’s been 18 years doing this. You kind of get tired and you want to enjoy a little more time at home sometimes. You go back to Argentina to see your people, and you think about it.”

He barely made more than three of every 10 shots he took in the first four games. He was shooting just a paltry 34.5 percent from the field, and the Heat was not fooled by either the deceptive fakes that used to freeze so many defenses or the step-back jumpers that he used to take after he had created space against a defender.

NEWS SOURCE:http://www.washingtonpost.com

Australia, Sri Lanka combat to make it to the final four of ICC Champions Trophy 2013

Defending champions Australia will have to put David Warner's bar brawl controversy behind when they face Sri Lanka in their final league fixture in London on Monday to decide the last of the remaining ICC Champions Trophy semi-final places.

It will be a virtual quarterfinal clash between the two sides at The Oval.

Australia have just one point from two games, starting their campaign with a defeat to England and then having their game against New Zealand washed out.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka started with a loss to New Zealand. Sri Lankan batsmen gave a better account of themselves in their stunning run chase against England to romp home against the hosts. Led by Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 134, they chased down the 294-run target with relative ease to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

For Australia, it would not just be about tackling the threat posed by Malinga but also to regroup in after Warner's altercation with England batsman Joe Root.

Australia's regular skipper Michael Clarke continues to battle back problems but is hopeful of returning to action. It will be a big test for stand-in skipper George Bailey to turn Australia's fortunes around.

Australia bowlers Clint McKay, James Faulkner and Shane Watson need to add more sting to their attack against the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

NEWS SOURCE:http://indiatoday.intoday.in

5 things learned in Game 2 of Stanley Cup finals

CHICAGO (AP) - Five things learned in the Boston Bruins' 2-1 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night:

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ALL TIED UP: Many believed Boston and Chicago were the two best teams in the NHL this season, both possessing a lethal blend of potent offense and stingy defense. (Pipe down, Pittsburgh fans. The goal-a-palooza that was Sid the Kid and Co. was a sight to behold, but you have to at least fake some defense.) So it is fitting that the Bruins and Blackhawks head to Boston tied at one game each. The first two games haven't always been pretty - ahem, Brandon Bolllig - but they have been fast, entertaining and, most important, evenly matched. Fans are definitely getting their money's worth, and few can argue that the Kings or Penguins would make for a better matchup.

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WORKING OVERTIME: Of course this game went to overtime. After Boston and Chicago needed OT to settle 10 games already in this postseason, including the 1-hour, 52-minute and 14-second marathon that was Game 1, there was no way this one was going to be settled nicely, neatly or in a timely fashion. At least this one didn't turn into a night-day game, however, with Daniel Paille scoring 13:48 into the first overtime. No doubt there will be extended practices Sunday after such a short night. Boston is now 5-2 in overtime this postseason while Chicago is 4-2. Oh, and it's not just the Bruins and Blackhawks logging extra hours. Game 2 was the 26th OT game of the postseason, tied for second most in NHL history. The record of 28 was set in 1993.

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THE OLD MEN: Kids these days are such slackers. Jaromir Jagr has been playing longer than some of the Bruins have been alive. Really. That's not an exaggeration. Yet there the old man was, leading Boston with five shots Saturday night, and coming close to ending the game a few times, including banging a puck off the crossbar in overtime. "I wanted to help the team. It was still a tied hockey game,'' he said. "To score a goal would have been huge.'' Jagr wasn't the only one doing the senior set proud. Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, two of Chicago's more veteran players, led the Blackhawks with seven shots each, and Sharp had Chicago's only goal.

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WHAT IF? Hossa's disallowed goal isn't the reason the Blackhawks lost Game 2, but it sure is fun to speculate. Shortly after Sharp gave Chicago the lead in the first period, Hossa appeared to double it. But the goal was waved off, with officials saying play should have been stopped because the referee had lost sight of the puck. Intermission came, the Bruins woke up, the Blackhawks dozed off and the rest is history. "It would have been nice to get it, but those guys make the call they see on the ice,'' Sharp said. "As a team, we've been in situations where we've had some bad bounces and were forced to regroup quickly, so it didn't affect us too much.'' Had Chicago gotten that goal, however, who knows if Boston could have overcome a two-goal deficit?

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HELLO AGAIN, CHRIS KELLY: Kelly's tying goal in the second period was his first in the postseason since April 12, 2012, against Washington. Big deal, you might say, that was only last year. But the drought had dragged on for 23 games - or nearly the equivalent of the home schedule in this lockout-shortened season. "Just because he doesn't see himself as a goal-scorer doesn't mean he has to continue to have a goose egg on his stats,'' Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Sometimes that stuff, whether you like it or not, will weigh on you. When you get a night like that, it certainly takes a lot of weight off your shoulders and creates some positive thinking and some positive energy moving forward.'' The other positive is Boston's record when Kelly scores in the postseason: a sparkling 10-1, including Saturday night's victory.

NEWS SOURCE:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

McIlroy staying on Tiger's tail

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Rory McIlroy was walking with his father and a cop on the way out of Merion when a fan reached over a railing, shook his hand, and summoned the glories of his recent U.S. Open past.

"Just like Congressional, Rory," the man said. "Just like Congressional."

Only this was nothing like Congressional in 2011, when McIlroy beat a hapless field of barn horses by Secretariat lengths. The kid from Northern Ireland, all freckles and shaggy hair, was suddenly golf's new It Boy back then, and the one assigned a burden that no golfer of this generation, or any generation, should be asked to bear.

McIlroy was anointed the Next Tiger despite overwhelming evidence there won't ever be a Next Tiger.

Sergio Garcia. Adam Scott. Aaron Baddeley. Those three ex-Next Tigers have combined to win a grand total of one Grand Slam title, or 13 fewer than Tiger Woods, and that one wasn't seized until Scott won the Masters in April at age 32.Yes, when a 23-year-old McIlroy scored his second major victory at last year's PGA Championship he was 128 days younger than Woods when he won his second. And yes, McIlroy is more talented than all the supposed heirs to Tiger's throne who preceded him.

But in 63 career PGA Tour starts, McIlroy has already missed nine cuts, or the same number Woods has missed in 288 starts. So Rory might be the Next Phil, or the Next Faldo, or the Next Trevino, or the Next Watson. He's just not going to be a worthy sequel to the guy he played with Thursday and Friday at Merion, and the guy he'll likely play with again Saturday from four shots back of the lead held by Phil Mickelson andBilly Horschel at 1-under.

And that's A-OK, too. McIlroy seems to get this. He seems to understand that Nike's $200 million investment in him -- cool Tiger/Rory commercial included -- doesn't make the comparison of Tiger (78 PGA Tour victories) to him (6) any more legit.

Only that won't make the comparisons go poof in the night, comparisons that gain momentum when they're paired together in a major for the first time. With Woods a long way from wearing his trademark Sunday red, McIlroy stood out Friday in his bright orange Nike shirt and matched Tiger stroke for stroke, both finishing their 26-hole journey at 3-over for the tournament, likely landing them in the same third-round pairing.

McIlroy badly wanted to make his last putt of the day, a makeable birdie that would've given him a 69 to Tiger's 70, but couldn't will it into the hole.

"I was really trying to hole that putt so I didn't have to play with you again tomorrow," McIlroy joked with Woods. "You've got the pleasure of playing with me."

They shared a good laugh over that one, advancing their playful bromance. Tiger and Rory had already made like friendly, C-flight ham-and-eggers in their pairings in tour events, exhibitions in China, and match-play pickup games at the Medalist, and they spent their fair share of tee-to-green time together at Merion, where Scott looked very much like the third wheel he'd predicted he'd be.

"Of course there's banter," McIlroy said. "It doesn't change that it's a U.S. Open or whatever. We still get on well, and there's still a good bit of chatter out there, and a bit of a needle every now and again ... . It's always good if I'm playing with him."

To his credit, Woods has assumed a big-brother role with McIlroy -- Tiger was photographed at the U.S. Open champions dinner flicking the back of Rory's ear like you might imagine a young Peyton pranking a younger Eli. Woods appears to have the kind of respect for McIlroy's talent, competitiveness and athleticism that he didn't have for the challengers before him.

But then again, Arnold Palmer took Jack Nicklaus under his wing in the early days before their relationship came undone. The same thing could happen to the Tiger-Rory dynamic if McIlroy, the former No. 1 player in the world, starts regularly beating Woods, the current No. 1 player in the world, the way Jack started taking down Arnie.

Rory dusted the Open field with his record 16-under score at Congressional, but that field didn't include an injured Tiger. McIlroy did win in Woods' presence at last year's PGA, and did delete the sad images (or most of them, anyway) of his Masters meltdown in 2012 by winning multiple majors at an absurdly young age.

Only he still has a lot of growing up to do, a truth never more apparent than when he committed golf's equivalent of a felony by quitting the Honda Classic with a toothache, and a relatively mild one at that. Of course, a conquest of Woods (bad elbow and all) and Merion would suddenly leave McIlroy looking like the most mature 24-year-old on the planet.

"I've been telling everyone for a while my game's close," he said. "And to get through two rounds of the toughest test in golf, the U.S. Open, and play the way I did, it's very promising going into the weekend."

Promising? Nothing much is promising at Merion. This course is a small, angry beast that McIlroy said "puts you under pressure from that first tee shot." The threesome of Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke, and David Toms -- major winners all -- came in at a combined 43-over par, leaving the field as a big underdog for the weekend.

McIlroy said he was ready for this kind of fight. Wednesday, he ran the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Rocky Balboa form, and tweeted a picture of his arms raised in triumph. Rory said he's watched all the Rocky movies ("Is it seven or eight?" he asked), and enjoyed every last sequel.

But McIlroy understands the difference between Hollywood and a great story from his hometown of Hollywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. Deep down, Rory knows he isn't going to pull a Rocky-sized upset and become the Next Tiger.

He also knows that doesn't mean he can't beat the one and only at this U.S. Open.

NEWS SOURCE:http://espn.go.com

Yankees miss chances, lose to A's in 18 innings

OAKLAND, Calif.—Mariano Rivera had warmed up several times already before finally entering to a standing ovation for his likely Oakland Coliseum farewell. In the 18th inning, 5 1/2 hours after first pitch, the potential winning run aboard and just about everybody eager to call it a day.

With no room for error, Rivera allowed Nate Freiman's game-winning, broken-bat single and the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

"We definitely didn't want it to end like that," Rivera said. "It's give and take. A game like this, you don't want to lose it. It's the way it happened."

As a day game after a night game turned into a night game after a day game, John Jaso singled off Preston Claiborne (0-1) to start the decisive rally and went to third on Seth Smith's soft single to shallow left field against Rivera.

Rivera issued only the 39th intentional walk of his 19-year career to Jed Lowrie before Freiman ended the 5-hour, 35-minute game on New York's getaway day to Anaheim for a weekend series with the Angels.

"A little broken-bat blooper over the third baseman, and the other one the same place," Rivera said. "You can't do anything about it."

Freiman knew he had it, raising his right arm in triumph.

"I knew that was not getting to the left fielder. I knew it was falling," he said.

Moments later, Freiman received a whipped cream pie in the face to celebrate his first career game-ending hit. He had entered the game in the top of the 16th.

Mark Teixeira, Travis Hafner, Kevin Youkilis and Vernon Wells—batting fourth through seventh in New York's lineup—went a combined 0 for 28 with 12 strikeouts.

"I think it's probably a little more frustrating because you can look at how you had an opportunity here and an opportunity there," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "A lot of guys probably look at that, but it doesn't change the result."

Each team used seven pitchers and threw 255 pitches. In all, 137 batters came to the plate—short of the season high of 156 during Oakland's 19-inning win over the Angels in April and also the 20-inning game between the Marlins and Mets last Saturday.

"It was very taxing even winning the game. To lose could have been demoralizing," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "These are awful games to lose."

The AL West-leading A's (41-27) won their 11th in a row at home, 21st in 26 overall, and moved a season-best 14 games above .500 to extend their best start since 1990. They became the first American League team to play two 18-inning games in one season since Oakland and the Washington Senators did so in 1971.

New York made a dramatic play in the bottom of the 15th to keep the game going.

Pinch-hitter Coco Crisp singled to left with one out and Wells made a perfect throw to catcher Chris Stewart, who blocked the plate and absorbed a collision to prevent Brandon Moss from scoring the winning run.

The A's had already begun streaming out of the dugout to celebrate.

The Yankees had runners in scoring position in each of the extra innings through 14, stranding 11 baserunners. They left 13 on base in all while dropping their seventh in a row at the Oakland Coliseum.

Winning pitcher Jesse Chavez (1-0) struck out seven in 5 2-3 scoreless innings.

Chavez fanned Youkilis and Wells with two on to end the 13th, then Hafner and Wells in the 15th.

Jerry Blevins escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 11th with two strikeouts. Pat Neshek worked out of trouble with runners on first and second in the 12th.

Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer in the first as New York ended a season-long five-game stretch without a long ball, but the Yankees didn't score again on another day of missed opportunities.

"We had plenty of opportunities and we couldn't cash in," Stewart said. "We were just unlucky."

After Smith's tying, two-out double in the third, Oakland didn't reach base again until Jaso's bloop single leading off the ninth.

Oakland won the season series 5-1 for its second-best mark against the Yankees in franchise history. The 1990 club went 12-0.

The A's tied it at 2 in the third on a close play at the plate. Smith doubled off the wall in right and the relay throw was on target to Stewart, who tagged Jaso with his glove but had the ball in his bare hand.

Jaso was called safe by plate umpire CB Bucknor, drawing an argument from Girardi.

"I caught the ball against my chest, with both my glove and hand," Stewart said. "I had the ball in my hand and I thought I had tagged him with both but he said he saw the ball outside of the glove. I didn't think I had my hand and glove separated. I thought they were together."

Earlier in the inning, Derek Norris' RBI groundout scored Chris Young, who drew a leadoff walk. Eric Sogard followed with a single before the A's pulled off a double steal.

Jarrod Parker, riding a three-start winning streak for Oakland, was helped by a pair of double plays in the first four innings.

Hiroki Kuroda's winless stretch reached five starts since he beat Toronto on May 17. He became the third Japanese-born pitcher with 1,000 innings in the majors, joining Hideo Nomo and Tomo Ohka.

Girardi bumped Jayson Nix up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order from eighth a night earlier to shake things up and get the Yankees going, but Nix went 1 for 5 with a strikeout to end the 12th.

It was the longest day game in Coliseum history.

NOTES: Yankees captain Derek Jeter had his surgically repaired left ankle examined by Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C., and was cleared to resume baseball activities and running. .. Rivera received a surfboard and a bottle of white wine from Napa Valley from the A's in a pregame ceremony, along with a $10,042 donation to his foundation. ... New York agreed to contract terms with Notre Dame 3B Eric Jagielo, who signed for $1,839,400. He was the 26th overall pick in last week's draft and one of three first-round selections by the Yankees.

NEWS SOURCE:http://www.denverpost.com

Play Begins in US Open's Return to Merion

Under cloudy skies and with weather prospects dicey for the rest of the day, the U.S. Open returned to the Merion for the first time in 32 years.

Cliff Kresge, a 44-year-old Floridian ranked No. 551 in the world, hit the first tee shot of the first round early Thursday, the first of 156 players on the historic course.

The marquee group was scheduled to tee off shortly after lunchtime. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are together as the top three players in the world rankings, although a forecast calling for severe storms in the afternoon could delay or interrupt their round.

Phil Mickelson also had an early tee time — 7:11 a.m. — after making an overnight flight from San Diego, where he watched his oldest daughter graduate from the eighth grade.

For all the extraordinary effort it took to shoehorn a modern-day championship onto the historic but intimate course, there was nothing anyone could do about the 6½ inches of rain that has soaked the Philadelphia area during the last week. Sunny days Tuesday and Wednesday helped dry out things a bit, but one look at the radar Thursday morning indicated that stormy skies would return in a matter of hours.

The various forecasts led to a USGA news conference Wednesday that covered topics like hail, standing water and the dreaded "potentially damaging winds." At one point during a long and otherwise straight-laced opening statement, USGA vice president Tom O'Toole spoke about the presentation of the championship trophy — then rolled his eyes skyward and added: "which we hope will be Sunday."

The forecast also renewed calls for officials to break with U.S. Open tradition and allow players to lift, clean and replace balls in the fairway if the conditions get nasty.

"I would be a fan of being able to clean the mud off," said Matt Kuchar, a two-time winner this year on the PGA Tour. "I think it's one of those really rotten breaks in golf. Driving it in a divot is a rotten break, but most of us can figure it out from there. You drive down the middle of the fairway and you have mud on the ball and you have no idea what's going to happen, you have no real control. It seems like a guy might be rewarded more for missing fairways in those situations, being in the rough, not picking up the mud."

Nice try. But such protestations went nowhere fast.

"We wouldn't be adopting that rule this week," O'Toole said. "And if it was so bad, then the obvious response to that, or consequence, would be we probably wouldn't be playing."

Any major disruption would be a shame, given that the U.S. Open has waited 32 years to return to the course where Olin Dutra overcame a serious stomach illness to win in 1934, where Ben Hogan hit the picture-perfect 1-iron approach to No. 18 before winning in a playoff in 1950, where Lee Trevino pulled a rubber snake out of his bag at the first hole of the playoff when he beat Jack Nicklaus for the title in 1971, and where David Graham became the first Australian to win the trophy in 1981.

It would also dampen the drama of Tiger Woods' pursuit of his first major in five years, a reasonable proposition given that he's already won four times on the PGA Tour this year. And Adam Scott's hopes of becoming the first to win the Masters and U.S. Open back-to-back since Woods in 2002. Weather permitting, Woods, Scott and 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy have an early afternoon tee time Thursday, a grouping of the top three players in the world rankings.

NEWS SOURCE:http://abcnews.go.com

Jason Kidd, newly retired as a player, will coach Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets hired Jason Kidd as their coach Wednesday, bringing the former star back to the franchise he led to its greatest NBA success.

Kidd retired this month after one season with the New York Knicks, his 19th in the NBA. The Nets decided to hire him to replace P.J. Carlesimo

despite his lack of coaching experience.

"Jason Kidd has a long and legendary history with the Nets and with the city of New York," Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement. "He has the fire in the belly we need.... Welcome home, Jason."

The move reunites Kidd with the franchise he led to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002-03, when it played in New Jersey. He spent 61/2 seasons with the Nets, averaging 14.6 points, 9.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds, and is their career leader in numerous statistical categories.

Terms of the deal that made Kidd the 18th coach in franchise history were not disclosed. The Nets will introduce Kidd on Thursday in a news conference at Barclays Center.

The Clippers rescheduled some interviews in their coaching search, said several NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins was scheduled to interview with the Clippers' front office Wednesday, but he was attending an NBA competition committee meeting in San Antonio, the executives said.

The Clippers and Hollins now are scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Los Angeles. Hollins will meet with the Denver Nuggets about their head coaching opening Saturday.

Former Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan was supposed to meet with the Clippers on Thursday, but his meeting was canceled. The Clippers' interest in McMillan was lukewarm, one executive said, and they might not interview him.

Indiana Pacers associate coach Brian Shaw was interviewed by the Clippers on Monday for the opening, and former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott interviewed with the team in L.A. on Tuesday.

—Broderick Turner

ETC.

NASCAR's Leffler killed in accident

NASCAR driver Jason Leffler died after an accident Wednesday night at a dirt track event at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway.

The 37-year-old Leffler, a two-time winner in the Nationwide Series, was pronounced dead shortly after 9 p.m., New Jersey State Police said.

Leffler finished last Sunday at Pocono in his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start of the year.

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Cesar Elizondo scored the go-ahead goal in extra time to lead the Carolina Railhawks to a 3-1 win over Chivas USA in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup at Cary, N.C.

Brian Ackley added an insurance goal for the NASL team with a header off a corner kick later in extra time.

Carolina, which beat the Galaxy in the third round for the second straight year May 29, will play at either Real Salt Lake or the USL Pro Charleston Battery in a quarterfinal June 26.

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Theodore Whitmore resigned as Jamaica's soccer coach amid a World Cup qualifying losing streak.

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Top-seeded Roger Federer looked rusty but beat German wild card Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany.

Four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt and Tomas Berdych advanced to the third round at Queen's Club in London.

Hewitt defeated Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-3, and Berdych held off a strong second-set challenge from Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker to win, 6-1, 6-4.

Miller Barber, the unique-swinging golfer who made the most combined starts on the PGA and Champions tours, has died. He was 82.

NEWS  SOURCE:http://www.latimes.com