Canucks' Rome unhappy with ban for Horton hit

BOSTON -- Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome wouldn't change much about the hit on Boston's Nathan Horton that got him suspended for the rest of the Stanley Cup finals.

Rome spoke Sunday for the first time about his finals-record four-game suspension after skating with the Canucks in practice heading into Game 6 on Monday.

"I've got to play on the edge, and I guess that was a little bit over the edge," Rome said.

While Rome has sympathy for Horton, who's out for the series with a concussion, he doesn't feel he did anything extraordinarily dangerous in their fast, hard-hitting sport when he flattened Horton early in Game 3 last week. Rome said he sent a text message to Horton, but hasn't heard back.

“

If I could go back, obviously you don't want anybody to get hurt, but I don't think I'd change the decision.

” -- Aaron Rome

"It's a split-second decision," Rome said. "There's no intent to hurt anybody. If I could go back, obviously you don't want anybody to get hurt, but I don't think I'd change the decision."

Rome delivered his hit after Horton made a pass near the blue line, leaving the Boston forward unconscious on the ice. Horton left the building on a stretcher, and the Bruins rode a wave of emotion to consecutive victories at home.

While Rome was vilified in Boston, his teammates jumped to his defense, claiming a four-game ban was excessive and unprecedented. Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault thought the hit was late, but remained supportive of Rome.

Although Rome's ban is four times longer than any suspension handed out in finals history, he hasn't appealed it, hinting that he feels such a move would be pointless. Rome said the NHL's suspension criteria are "arbitrary," and he doesn't understand why the league ended his chance to skate for the Stanley Cup after a hit he believes was barely illegal.

"I've got to step up. I've got to be physical," Rome said. "That's just part of my game. ... If I had been a half-second, a quarter-second earlier, I probably wouldn't be in this position."

Rome understands why Horton might not be returning his texts, noting he felt similar emotions after San Jose's Jamie McGinn boarded him from behind during the Western Conference finals, giving Rome an apparent concussion that forced him to sit out two games.

Rome had no significant history as a dirty player before this hit. The journeyman defenseman has played in 131 NHL games with three clubs over the past five seasons, bouncing up and down from the AHL before earning a full-time job in Vancouver this year.

Yet his hit inspired the Bruins, who acknowledged rallying in Horton's honor. Before Game 4, Hall of Famer Bobby Orr waved a flag with Horton's name and No. 18 on it during a stirring pregame tribute.

Horton's injury was the most serious development in an uncommonly bad-tempered finals, which began with Vancouver forward Alex Burrows' apparent bite of Patrice Bergeron's finger, followed by related taunts from both teams. Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo also made headlines after Game 5 with comments deemed to be disrespectful of Boston goalie Tim Thomas.

Vancouver leads the series 3-2 going into Monday's game.

Rome's absence has forced the Canucks to use every bit of their deep defensive corps. After veteran Keith Ballard replaced Rome in Game 4, Vancouver rookie Chris Tanev played splendidly in Game 5 as the Canucks pushed Boston to the brink of elimination.

Rome will be a spectator for the rest of June, but he's still working up a sweat in the Canucks' practices.

"You want to be a part of it," Rome said. "Just because I'm not playing, I'm not going to hide in a cave and mope. It's a way to relieve some stress. ... This is nothing that you want to go through, but it makes you stronger and makes you look on the bright side of things."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Liriano flirts with perfection as Twins stay hot

Francisco Liriano got off to a rough start, but since throwing a no-hitter on May 3, he's turned his season around and been lights out.

* - Began with no-hitter May 3 vs. White Soxpowered by

View the original article here

Read more »

Hanson strikes out career-high 14 in Braves win

Braves starter Tommy Hanson is the first Braves starter to strike out at least 14 in a game since John Smoltz in 2005.

powered by

View the original article here

Read more »

Cubs RHP Wood (blister) may be bound for DL

Updated: June 12, 2011, 6:48 PM ETBy Bruce Levine
ESPNChicago.com
Archive

PHILADELPHIA -- For right-hander Kerry Wood and the Cubs, it's now more about adding injury to insult after the team concluded a 2-8 road trip on Sunday.

The Cubs' right-handed setup man may have to go on the DL with a blister on his right index finger.

"Woody's got a blister on his finger and can't go," manager Mike Quade said. "Hopefully it's not anything major, but we will see."

Wood has had to deal with blister problems before in his career. On Sunday, he tried to warm up in the bullpen but had to stop pitching due to the blister. The Cubs' veteran pitcher said he's been dealing with the problem off and on for about a month.

"It's not the first time we've dealt with it," Wood said. "But we had been dealing with it fairly well. I thought we turned the corner. I just think the humidity the past couple weeks has made it worse."

Wood said there was no timetable for how the blister would heal and when he can return, but a trip to the DL is possible.

"Yeah, it's absolutely a possibility," Wood said. "I'm at least a couple of days away so we're not going to mess with it. So it's a possibility."

Although there are no quick remedies for blisters, Wood is confident he can deal with this problem.

"I've had them for the last three or four years," Wood said. "I have a pretty good idea how to handle it. When the humidity [goes up], it seems to get a little worse."

Wood's injury is the latest in a season full of them for the Cubs. The team is hoping to get back Reed Johnson (back spasms), Jeff Baker (left groin strain) and Alfonso Soriano (right quad) this week off the DL. Outfielder Marlon Byrd (broken cheek bone) still is more than a month away from returning.

Wood has a 1-3 record and 3.25 ERA in 24 games this season.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs for ESPNChicago.com.

View the original article here

Read more »

Mavs beat Heat to claim first NBA championship

LeBron James struggled during "crunch time" - the last five minutes of the fourth quarter/overtime with the score within five points - during the NBA Finals. In crunch time during the 2011 NBA Finals, James did not score. Dirk Nowitzki had no trouble scoring.

The Heat made just four of their final 25 field goal attempts from 10+ feet during the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals. The Big 3 was a combined 4-17 over this stretch.

Miami scored eight transition points in Game 6 against the Mavericks, including four transition points off turnovers. The Heat's inability to create transition points off turnovers was a major factor in their demise. --On the other hand in Game 6, the Mavericks scored 20 points off 12 turnovers committed by Miami's Big 3, including 11 of their 15 transition points.

In eight minutes with LeBron James on the bench in Game 6, the Heat scored 21 points and outscored the Mavericks by 14 points. When James was on the court Miami was outscored by 24 points. It was James' worst plus/minus in a postseason game since April 24, 2008 against the Wizards when he was also minus 24.

Nowitzki was able to excel in one-on-one situations in the fourth quarter during the 2011 NBA Finals, making half of his field goal attempts on isolation and post-up plays in the final period.

Jason Terry entered Game 5 shooting under 40 percent from 15+ feet in the 2011 NBA Finals. In Games 5 and 6, Terry found his stroke, making more field goals from 15+ feet than in the previous four games combined. Terry made a series-high seven such field goals in Game 6 to close out the Heat, the most by any player in one game in the 2011 Finals.

Before Cuban bought the team in January of 2000, the Mavs had only 6 playoff appearances in 19 seasons, only four series wins and had never been to the NBA Finals. My, how much has changed: in addition to the two Finals appearances, the Mavs have now made the playoffs for 11 straight seasons - only the Spurs have a longer active streak. And now, of course, they've got their first title in franchise history.

The Mavs bench came up huge in Game 6, scoring 43 points. In fact this season, Dallas was 36-9 in games in which its bench scored at least 40 or more points. So for Dallas... the more its bench scores, the more it wins.

LeBron James averaged 26.7 points per game in the regular season. He averaged just 17.8 points per game in the 2011 NBA Finals. That discrepency between regular season scoring average and Finals scoring average was the largest in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Heat missed 13 free throws and lost by 10 points. The 13 missed free throws are the most misses from the charity stripe by a team eliminated in the NBA Finals over the last 15 seasons.

The Mavericks finished 4-0 this postseason in potential series-clinching games and have now won seven straight overall. that is one shy of the Lakers for the longest active streak.

Rick Carlisle is now 11-3 all-time in potential series-clinching games. Among coaches with at least 10 such games, his .786 win pct ranks 1st in NBA history, ahead of Tom Heinsohn, Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson.

When you are out-numbered 3-1 in All-Stars, its imperative your supporting cast shows up... Lucky for Dirk, that's exactly what happened. In the four wins, Nowitzki's supporting cast combined to score over 75 points while shooting over 52 percent from the field. They were dangerous from downtown as well, including a 10-19 effort in Game 6

Since Mark Cuban purchased the Mavericks on January 4, 2000, the only team with a higher win percentage than his team is the Spurs (including playoffs).

From Elias: Dirk Nowitzki had 22,792 career points in the regular season entering the 2011 postseason. It's the 4th-most points by a player at the time of his 1st NBA title in NBA history, behind only Oscar Robertson (23,578), Wilt Chamberlain (23,442) and Jerry West (22,988).

It was five years ago that Jason Terry had a woeful Game 6 against the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, scoring 16 points on 7-of-25 shooting. But Terry helped fuel the Mavs offense this time around, hitting 19 of his 27 points in the first half.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined to score 62 points in the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals. By comparison, Dirk Nowitzki scored 62 points all by himself in the fourth quarter during the Finals.

When you are outnumbered 3-1 in All-Stars, its crucial your supporting cast shows up. Luckily for Dirk Nowitzki, that's exactly what happened. In the Mavericks' four wins, Dirk's supporting cast combined to score over 75 points, shooting over 52 percent from the field.

The Heat scored 22 transition points on Sunday marking the first time in the 2011 playoffs the Heat scored at least 20 transition points in a game. The Heat are 21-2 this season (including playoffs) when they score 20+ transition points.

MIAMI -- For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He's an NBA champion.

For LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.

A season that began with Miami celebrating the signings of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- along with the promise of championships -- ended on the very same floor, with the Dallas Mavericks hoisting the title trophy for the first time in their franchise history after beating the Heat 105-95 on Sunday night. The Mavericks won four of the series' last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter.

"I really still can't believe it," said Nowitzki, who had 21 points and took home Finals MVP honors.

He and Jason Terry, who led the Mavs with 27 points, were the two remaining players from the Dallas team that lost to Miami in the 2006 Finals.

"Tonight," Terry said, "we got vindication."

James did not. Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended they way they all have so far -- with him still waiting for an NBA title.

He scored 21 points for Miami, shook a few hands afterward, and departed before most of the Mavs tugged on their championship hats and T-shirts. Bosh had 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Wade 17 for the Heat.

"We worked so hard and so long for it," Nowitzki said. "The team has had an unbelievable ride."

So did the Heat. Unlike Dallas, theirs wasn't a joyride.

"It goes without saying," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You're never really prepared for a moment like this. ... Neither team deserved this championship more than the other, but Dallas earned it."

When you are outnumbered 3-1 in All-Stars, its crucial your supporting cast shows up. Luckily for Dirk Nowitzki, that's exactly what happened. In the Mavericks' four wins, Dirk's supporting cast combined to score over 75 points, shooting over 52 percent from the field.

powered by

Make no mistake: Miami lost the Finals, but the blame will be directed at James. Even he knew that after the way he left Cleveland with "The Decision" and all the animus that generated not just in Ohio but around the entire league, the only way he could silence some critics was with a title.

"It doesn't weigh on me," James said. "At all."

Still, he got even more criticism -- and a thinly veiled jab from his former owner with the Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, who reveled in the moment on Twitter.

"Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings," Gilbert wrote. "Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

And the winning owner, Mark Cuban, took what may be perceived as a jab as well: "I could care less about the Heat," he said.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle joined a highly elite group, those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. Only 10 other men are on that list, including the presumably retired-for-good Phil Jackson, one of Carlisle's mentors in K.C. Jones, and Heat President Pat Riley -- who led Miami past Dallas in 2006, and was the mastermind of what the Heat did last summer by getting James, Wade and Bosh on the same team with an eye on becoming a dynasty.

It might still happen, of course.

But even after 72 wins this season, including playoffs, the Heat lost the last game. And that means this year was a disappointment -- except to just about everyone else in the NBA, or so it would seem.

It was five years ago that Jason Terry had a woeful Game 6 against the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, scoring 16 points on 7-of-25 shooting. But Terry helped fuel the Mavs offense this time around, hitting 19 of his 27 points in the first half.

*Heat the opponent in both gamespowered by

"This is a true team," Carlisle said. "This is an old bunch. We don't run fast or jump high. These guys had each other's backs. We played the right way. We trusted the pass. This is a phenomenal thing for the city of Dallas."

Hating the Heat became the NBA's craze this season, and the team knew it had no shortage of critics, everyone from Cleveland (where "Cavs for Mavs" shirts were popular during these Finals) to Chicago (the city James and Wade both flirted with last summer) and just about every place in between lining up to take shots at Miami.

"We could feel it," Carlisle said, noting he was repeatedly told during the Finals that "billions" of people wanted to see Dallas topple Miami.

Given their newfound popularity, meet the new America's Team.

Sorry, Cowboys -- your long-held moniker might have to be ceded to your city's NBA club. When it was over, Cuban ran onto the court to hug Carlisle, then punched the air and whooped.

"I'm so happy for him. I'm so happy for Dirk," Carlisle said.

Carlisle said Riley came down to congratulate the Mavericks after the game, showing "unbelievable class." Nowitzki and Wade exchanged texts at night's end, after Wade couldn't find him during the on-court celebration to shake his hand.

"Their time will come," Carlisle said. "But now, it's our time."

When the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in Dallas during the '06 Finals, plans for their victory parade were announced. The Mavs didn't win another game in that series.

Now, that parade will finally happen. And when it's over, then the league's uncertainty will truly begin. Labor strife likely awaits, and although more talks geared toward movement on a new deal are scheduled for this week, both owners and players are bracing for a lockout to begin once the current collective bargaining agreement expires June 30.

Late Sunday night, the CBA was the last thing on the mind of the new champions of the NBA, whom Carlisle called "the most special team I've ever been around."

Jason Kidd, at 38 years old, got his first championship. Nowitzki got his at 32, Terry at 33. They were featured on the video screen in their building in Dallas during this series on what seemed like a constant loop, each posing with the NBA trophy and looking longingly at it, standing mere inches from it, as if to say "so close, yet so far away."

No more.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined to score 62 points in the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals. By comparison, Dirk Nowitzki scored 62 points all by himself in the fourth quarter during the Finals.

powered by

It's theirs. And for the second time, James went to the Finals, only to see the other team celebrate. San Antonio won in Cleveland in 2007, and four years later, he saw the Mavs party on his new floor.

"It was a failure in '07 when we lost to the Spurs when I was in Cleveland," James said. "It's a failure now."

Nowitzki sealed it with 2:27 left, hitting a jumper near the Miami bench to put Dallas up 99-89, and some fans actually began leaving. Nowitzki walked to the Mavs' side slowly, right fist clenched and aloft.

He knew it. Everyone did.

"We feel it," Wade said. "We'll feel it even more tomorrow."

Spoelstra implored his team to foul in the final minute, and even then, they couldn't catch the Mavericks.

"All I remember is telling those guys that they deserved it," Bosh said. "Hands down, they were the better team in this series. ... All we can do is just admit it and move forward."

What happens with the next deal may affect the Heat more than anyone. Some owners will insist on a hard cap, rolled-back salaries and, potentially, trying to bust some current deals -- which could break up the Big 3 before get another chance to win a title together.

A gloomy end to the season may bring an even gloomier offseason for Miami.

"Every situation has felt like it was an our-back-against-the-wall situation," James said Sunday morning, hours before Game 6 began. "We've been able to figure it out and find our way through and scratch our way through. This is the last test. This is the last pop quiz for us that we need to pass in order to make it all worth it."

They didn't pass.

So therefore, it wasn't all worth it.

"We give credit to the Dallas Mavericks," Wade said. "They're a helluva team. ... We ran into a team that at this time is obviously better than us."

Miami had chances to take command and wasted them all. The Heat missed 13 of their 33 free throws, let the Mavericks score 27 points off turnovers and simply could not get a rebound in the final minutes.

Nowitzki finished 9 for 27, and the Mavs still won. He was 1 for 12 in the first half, and they were still ahead, 53-51, thanks largely to Terry's 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

"Was he unbelievable tonight or what?" marveled Nowitzki.

Down the stretch, Terry made another contribution. He grabbed Nowitzki during a time-out, telling him, "Remember '06." The final minutes belonged to Dirk and the Mavs, and a few German flags waved in Miami's arena during the postgame celebration.

"This feeling, to be on the best team in the world, it's just undescribable," Nowitzki said.

After James got off to such a fast start, he had two points in the final 19-plus minutes of the half.

James didn't score in the second half until a layup with 1:49 remained in the third -- his first field-goal attempt since 1:05 remained in the half. Kidd made a 3-pointer late in the period, pushing the Dallas lead to 79-71, and it seemed like the only people standing in the arena were the players, referees, Cuban and a few guys around the Dallas bench.

Dallas took control in the second half after some wild back-and-forths in the opening two quarters. Miami took its last lead of the game -- the season -- just 64 seconds into the second half, lost it 16 seconds later and chased the Mavericks the rest of the way.

They never caught them.

"I can't believe the journey," said Kidd, who lost two previous Finals trips with the New Jersey Nets. "The journey, the character of my teammates telling me they wanted to get me a championship. Tonight they came out and played well. I came here twice, this being my third time so third time was the lucky charm."

It was 81-72 entering the fourth, after Ian Mahinmi made a foul-line jumper as time expired in the third, just his third basket of the entire series.

None were bigger. The Mavs could taste a title.

"We had no champions on this team," Mavs center Tyson Chandler said. "And we walked away with a team full of champions."

Of the principal characters from the 2006 series, only Cuban, Nowitzki and Terry remain from the Mavericks' side, and for them, the beginning of this championship celebration seemed sweeter than even they could have imagined. Terry won't have to get his tattoo -- the one of the NBA championship trophy -- removed, which he vowed to have done if Miami won this series. Nowitzki will never be in the conversation of 'Best player without a title' again.

James is clearly the one with that most-unwanted label now.

As the night wore on, the smell of champagne permeated from the Dallas locker room, while Miami's was cleaned and vacuumed quickly, towels picked up, shower shoes stacked neatly before each player's locker. Nearby, in the team's usual postgame interview room, the Mavericks posed with the championship trophy, whooping in joy as Miami players filed out in stunned disbelief.

The offseason started earlier than the Heat ever imagined.

"The Greater Man upstairs know when it's my time," James tweeted. "Right now isn't the time."

Game notes
Carlisle improved to 11-3 as a coach with a chance to close out an opponent. ... James got a 21-minute rest in the second quarter in real time, thanks to a midcourt dustup and the referees taking several minutes to look at replays before doling out the technicals. ... Marc Anthony sang the national anthem, then took a courtside seat near the Heat bench.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Fielder HR pushes Brewers past Cards, into 1st

var ESPN_GLOBALS = {"videoPlayers":{"recap09":{"src":"http://assets.espn.go.com/espnvideo/mpf32/prod/r_3_2_0_15/ESPN_Player.swf","height":209,"width":372,"adminOver":"3805638","autostart":"true","playerType":"recap09"}}}espn.video.embeded.play();42,692 (101.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacityHome Plate - Andy Fletcher, First Base - Derryl Cousins, Second Base - Ron Kulpa, Third Base - Angel Campos

When games finished on May 8, the Brewers were a season high 6 games under .500 and were only one game out of last place in the NL Central. Since then, the Brewers have gone 24-and-8, the most wins in the majors in that span and their win Sunday puts them in 1st place for the first time this season.

MILWAUKEE -- Prince Fielder cautioned against making too much out of the Milwaukee Brewers' sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Fielder's go-ahead homer in the sixth rallied the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 victory over St. Louis on Sunday as the Brewers knocked the Cardinals out of first place in the NL Central. "I don't know about a statement," Fielder said of taking three from the Cardinals and gaining the top spot in the division. "It's just good right now. We're playing good baseball. Like I said we haven't been in first place for about a year or two now." Fielder's 19th home run chased Jake Westbrook (6-4) who carried a shutout into the sixth. "I'm just happy I'm coming through," Fielder said. "It's always fun." His blast prompted a curtain call which he reluctantly did. "I'm shy, man. It's cool though," he said. "I appreciate it from the fans. It's kind of cool, especially in the moment." Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa didn't want to assign a whole lot of anguish toward the three losses. "I don't want to be melodramatic," he said. "This is June and we have to be ready for Washington on Tuesday. We came in here to win a series and they outmanaged us and outplayed us." Rickie Weeks started the rally with a single and then scored on Mark Kotsay's double. Ryan Braun drove in Kotsay with a single before Fielder smashed the first pitch 440 feet into the second deck in right field for a two-run homer. Fielder, who went 2 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs, now has 58 RBIs to extend his lead in the NL. With the victory, the Brewers (38-28) took sole possession of first place for the first time since July 9, 2009. It moved them 10 games over .500 for the first time since they were 33-23 on June 6, 2009. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke was happy with the team's progress, especially after starting the season poorly. "It's way too early, but I like how we're playing," he said. The Cardinals (38-29) had been in first since May 19, but have now lost four of the last five and were swept at Miller Park for the first time since April 30-May 2, 2007. Fielder's eighth home run over the last 10 games helped Milwaukee improve its major-league best home record to 25-9. It also set a franchise record for the best start at home. Shaun Marcum (7-2) won for the first time since May 21, a span of three starts that included a loss and then consecutive no decisions. He had never faced the Cardinals. He allowed three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk over seven innings. Kameron Loe pitched a scoreless eighth. John Axford converted his 15th straight save opportunity and 18th out of 20 overall in the ninth. He got a huge lift when Carlos Gomez, a ninth-inning defensive replacement for Kotsay in center, made a spectacular catch in the ninth. Gomez raced back at full speed and turned to catch Rasmus' fly ball just before crashing into the wall. "When I see it, then my instincts going to tell me what I have to do," Gomez said. The Cardinals looked as if they might avoid being swept when Skip Schumaker hit a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded for the first runs. Yadier Molina running from first had to duck as Schumaker's liner sailed over him and into right field. St. Louis tacked on another run on Rasmus' double in the sixth. Westbrook went five innings, allowing four runs and eight hits. Game notes
The Cardinals expect RHP Kyle McClellan (left hip flexor) and OF Matt Holliday (left quadriceps) to come off the disabled list this week. McClellan (6-2, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to start on Wednesday against Washington. Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said Holliday went through a full workout before the game and should be activated on Thursday. ... Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols went 0 for 3 with a walk and had his nine-game hitting streak snapped. ... Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said that when Milwaukee plays the Red Sox in Boston next weekend, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks might each take a turn at DHing. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

View the original article here

Read more »

Cuban defers praise in accepting Mavs' title

Updated: June 13, 2011, 2:56 AM

MIAMI -- Mark Cuban zipped his lips and won a championship.

And when it was time for his old nemesis David Stern to hand him the shiny gold trophy, this was his big chance to say anything he wanted, with everyone watching.

So, what did he do?

He stood behind a 78-year-old man and let him take center stage, a reward for Donald Carter having founded the team 31 long years ago. He brought his wife and three kids on the podium to enjoy the moment. He even realized how corny he was being when he told his toddler son, "This could be yours."

[+] Enlarge Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty ImagesMark Cuban has owned the Mavs since buying the team in 2000.

Then, out came the Mark Cuban most sports fans remember.

He swore in multiple TV interviews to emphasize how proud he was of his fans. He walked into a postgame news conference talking on the phone, hung up and hollered, "Did anybody inform you guys, we're the world champions?!" On his way out, he took the trophy with him and declared it was spending the night in his room.

Meet Mark Cuban 2.0 -- an NBA champion who can be humble one moment, back to his raucous roots the next.

"You know, I probably won't even shower for six months," Cuban said, laughing. "My biggest fear is that I can't remember every little part of it, every emotion, every feeling that I went through as the clock was winding down. ... I was just hoping I could just do an emotional videotape of myself and just keep it. So that's my biggest hope and fear that I'll be able to feel this forever."

Cuban hadn't spoken publicly since winning the Western Conference championship, when he proclaimed "We ain't done yet!"

On Sunday night, he spoke into the microphone with a voice scratchy from screaming and choked with emotion. He talked about being happy for his players, complimenting them for having "so much heart, so much determination and so much more than that."

"I love every one of them," he said.

A pivotal moment in getting to this point came last summer, at Cuban's house. Dirk Nowitzki was a free agent and he wanted Cuban's vow that if he re-signed, the owner would keep the core of the team intact and do all he could to find the pieces needed to make them champions.

“

You know, I probably won't even shower for six months. My biggest fear is that I can't remember every little part of it, every emotion, every feeling that I went through as the clock was winding down. ... I was just hoping I could just do an emotional videotape of myself and just keep it. So that's my biggest hope and fear that I'll be able to feel this forever.

” -- Mavs owner Mark Cuban

He did, and they did.

"I give Mark a lot of credit," Nowitzki said. "He stuck with me through thick and thin. He brought all the right players always in, always trying to spend money and make this organization better and this team better. So Mark is the best."

Nowitzki was among those who appreciated Cuban censoring himself the past six weeks. It started after the Mavs won their first-round series against Portland.

Cuban held his tongue throughout a sweep of the Lakers, which had to be tough considering his past verbal jabs with Phil Jackson and Ron Artest. He remained silent again through the conference finals against Oklahoma City, even refusing to answer questions about why he'd stopped doing interviews.

He kept it up during the Finals, all the more remarkable considering he was front and center during Dallas' 2006 trip to the Finals against Miami, causing such a ruckus he was fined $250,000 -- part of a tab that's well over $1 million.

Sitting next to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, wearing his favorite new hat, he finally explained why his silence.

"The big mystery, huh?" he said. "It didn't make any sense to say anything," he said, reciting the litany of questions he knew would surround each series. "The quieter I got, the more we won. I didn't want to break the karma."

Not that he thought there was a correlation between his silence and the team's success.

"Do you really think these guys are going to play any harder or less hard because of what I say?" he said. "That's disrespectful. They put it on the line. They didn't care if I was naked at every game. They were going to go out there and play as hard as they could."

In a corner of the jubilant locker room Sunday night, coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that he helped convince Cuban to let the players and their performance on the court do all the talking.

"We kind of mutually talked about it," Carlisle said. "He was great about it. He understood and he knew it was the right thing. ... Mark's a much more humble person than a lot of people want to believe. His heart is always in the right place. It gives us the tools to succeed. He was extremely disciplined during this run and it helped us."

During the trophy presentation, and again at the start of his postgame interview, Carlisle used the line, "Our owner is now available for interviews." It was his way of saying the muzzle was off.

"Look, he's a smart guy," Carlisle said. "He understands that certain things are sacred."

Carter started the Mavericks in 1980 after a long, hard fight for an expansion team. He sold the club to Ross Perot Jr. in 1996, and in 2000 he sold it to Cuban. Mr. C, as he's fondly known, has remained a part of the organization and a constant presence in courtside seats directly across from the Mavs bench -- always wearing the white cowboy hat that was part of the club's original logo.

Cuban approached Carter at game's end and asked him to accept the trophy from Stern. It was a classy move and, by Carter's estimation, the continuation of a run of great moves by Cuban this postseason.

"There wasn't a script written for him that I know of, but he played it down exactly on when to say something, when not to," Carter said. "He was everything I would ask an owner to be."

With his voice cracking, Carter added: "I'll just say he has become the owner I've always wanted because of his love of the game. I'd put him up against any of the owners and I've been around for 31 years."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Buckeyes' Gee: Football troubles are temporary

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee told the institution's largest graduating class that a scandal in its celebrated football program is "but a temporary condition."

As Gee opened commencement festivities Sunday for a record 9,700 graduates and about 40,000 family and friends inside Ohio Stadium, he made a veiled reference to the controversy.

"Let me acknowledge on this day of celebration, in this cathedral of triumph and hope, that many Buckeye hearts are heavy," Gee said. "On rare occasion, this great grand building has been home to disappointment and tumult. That is but a temporary condition."

Commencement speaker John Boehner, the speaker of the U.S. House, did not mention the issue.

The university is grappling with the departure of football coach Jim Tressel and star quarterback Terrelle Pryor amid an NCAA investigation into players' trading of signed equipment, championship rings and other memorabilia to a tattoo-parlor owner for cash and discounted tattoos.

Gee assured tens of thousands of alumni and supporters of the university, as well as its new graduates, that things will improve. Evoking the memories of great Ohio State athletes of the past, including football's Archie Griffin and track Olympian Jesse Owens, he said: "Let no one harbor any doubt that the history of this place is enduring and sustaining. Ohio Stadium stands today as it will ever more."

The crowd roared and tooted horns.

Tressel's 10-year Ohio State coaching career ended in disgrace in May when he stepped down for breaking NCAA rules.

He knew players received cash and tattoos for autographs, championship rings and equipment and did not tell anyone at Ohio State or the NCAA for more than nine months. NCAA rules -- and Tressel's contract -- specify that he must disclose any and all information about possible violations.

Pryor announced Tuesday he would give up his senior season with the Buckeyes in the midst of the probe, which had already led to a five-game suspension for him.

Fans and alumni have criticized Gee's handling of the scandal since the memorabilia sales first came to light in December. His office received emails questioning the decision to suspend five players, including Pryor, for five games but allow them to play in the Sugar Bowl.

At a March 8 news conference, Gee was asked whether he'd considered firing Tressel. He responded: "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me."

Gee was joined on the stage Sunday by the university's board of trustees, which has ultimate hiring and firing power over him and athletics director Gene Smith.

He appeared chipper as the university celebrated its biggest academic moment of the year, posing for photographs and shaking students' hands.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Liriano flirts with perfection as Twins stay hot

Francisco Liriano got off to a rough start, but since throwing a no-hitter on May 3, he's turned his season around and been lights out.

* - Began with no-hitter May 3 vs. White Soxpowered by

 

Read more »

Cuban defers praise in accepting Mavs' title

Updated: June 13, 2011, 2:56 AM ETvar ESPN_GLOBALS = {"videoPlayers":{"story09":{"src":"http://assets.espn.go.com/espnvideo/mpf32/prod/r_3_2_0_15/ESPN_Player.swf","height":324,"width":576,"adminOver":"3805638","localSite":"dallas","autostart":"false","playerType":"story09"}}}espn.video.embeded.play();

MIAMI -- Mark Cuban zipped his lips and won a championship.

And when it was time for his old nemesis David Stern to hand him the shiny gold trophy, this was his big chance to say anything he wanted, with everyone watching.

So, what did he do?

He stood behind a 78-year-old man and let him take center stage, a reward for Donald Carter having founded the team 31 long years ago. He brought his wife and three kids on the podium to enjoy the moment. He even realized how corny he was being when he told his toddler son, "This could be yours."

[+] Enlarge Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty ImagesMark Cuban has owned the Mavs since buying the team in 2000.

Then, out came the Mark Cuban most sports fans remember.

He swore in multiple TV interviews to emphasize how proud he was of his fans. He walked into a postgame news conference talking on the phone, hung up and hollered, "Did anybody inform you guys, we're the world champions?!" On his way out, he took the trophy with him and declared it was spending the night in his room.

Meet Mark Cuban 2.0 -- an NBA champion who can be humble one moment, back to his raucous roots the next.

"You know, I probably won't even shower for six months," Cuban said, laughing. "My biggest fear is that I can't remember every little part of it, every emotion, every feeling that I went through as the clock was winding down. ... I was just hoping I could just do an emotional videotape of myself and just keep it. So that's my biggest hope and fear that I'll be able to feel this forever."

Cuban hadn't spoken publicly since winning the Western Conference championship, when he proclaimed "We ain't done yet!"

On Sunday night, he spoke into the microphone with a voice scratchy from screaming and choked with emotion. He talked about being happy for his players, complimenting them for having "so much heart, so much determination and so much more than that."

"I love every one of them," he said.

A pivotal moment in getting to this point came last summer, at Cuban's house. Dirk Nowitzki was a free agent and he wanted Cuban's vow that if he re-signed, the owner would keep the core of the team intact and do all he could to find the pieces needed to make them champions.

“

You know, I probably won't even shower for six months. My biggest fear is that I can't remember every little part of it, every emotion, every feeling that I went through as the clock was winding down. ... I was just hoping I could just do an emotional videotape of myself and just keep it. So that's my biggest hope and fear that I'll be able to feel this forever.

” -- Mavs owner Mark Cuban

He did, and they did.

"I give Mark a lot of credit," Nowitzki said. "He stuck with me through thick and thin. He brought all the right players always in, always trying to spend money and make this organization better and this team better. So Mark is the best."

Nowitzki was among those who appreciated Cuban censoring himself the past six weeks. It started after the Mavs won their first-round series against Portland.

Cuban held his tongue throughout a sweep of the Lakers, which had to be tough considering his past verbal jabs with Phil Jackson and Ron Artest. He remained silent again through the conference finals against Oklahoma City, even refusing to answer questions about why he'd stopped doing interviews.

He kept it up during the Finals, all the more remarkable considering he was front and center during Dallas' 2006 trip to the Finals against Miami, causing such a ruckus he was fined $250,000 -- part of a tab that's well over $1 million.

Sitting next to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, wearing his favorite new hat, he finally explained why his silence.

"The big mystery, huh?" he said. "It didn't make any sense to say anything," he said, reciting the litany of questions he knew would surround each series. "The quieter I got, the more we won. I didn't want to break the karma."

Not that he thought there was a correlation between his silence and the team's success.

"Do you really think these guys are going to play any harder or less hard because of what I say?" he said. "That's disrespectful. They put it on the line. They didn't care if I was naked at every game. They were going to go out there and play as hard as they could."

In a corner of the jubilant locker room Sunday night, coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that he helped convince Cuban to let the players and their performance on the court do all the talking.

"We kind of mutually talked about it," Carlisle said. "He was great about it. He understood and he knew it was the right thing. ... Mark's a much more humble person than a lot of people want to believe. His heart is always in the right place. It gives us the tools to succeed. He was extremely disciplined during this run and it helped us."

During the trophy presentation, and again at the start of his postgame interview, Carlisle used the line, "Our owner is now available for interviews." It was his way of saying the muzzle was off.

"Look, he's a smart guy," Carlisle said. "He understands that certain things are sacred."

Carter started the Mavericks in 1980 after a long, hard fight for an expansion team. He sold the club to Ross Perot Jr. in 1996, and in 2000 he sold it to Cuban. Mr. C, as he's fondly known, has remained a part of the organization and a constant presence in courtside seats directly across from the Mavs bench -- always wearing the white cowboy hat that was part of the club's original logo.

Cuban approached Carter at game's end and asked him to accept the trophy from Stern. It was a classy move and, by Carter's estimation, the continuation of a run of great moves by Cuban this postseason.

"There wasn't a script written for him that I know of, but he played it down exactly on when to say something, when not to," Carter said. "He was everything I would ask an owner to be."

With his voice cracking, Carter added: "I'll just say he has become the owner I've always wanted because of his love of the game. I'd put him up against any of the owners and I've been around for 31 years."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Olivo, King Felix carry Mariners past Tigers

var ESPN_GLOBALS = {"videoPlayers":{"recap09":{"src":"http://assets.espn.go.com/espnvideo/mpf32/prod/r_3_2_0_15/ESPN_Player.swf","height":209,"width":372,"adminOver":"3805638","autostart":"true","playerType":"recap09"}}}espn.video.embeded.play();31,572 (76.5% full) - % is based on regular season capacityHome Plate - Chris Guccione, First Base - Cory Blaser, Second Base - Mike Winters, Third Base - John Tumpane

DETROIT -- For four innings, the Seattle Mariners couldn't hit a ball out of the infield.

Then Miguel Olivo hit one out of the park. "I think that kind of woke us up a little bit," teammate Brendan Ryan said. Olivo hit two home runs and Felix Hernandez pitched eight innings to lead the Mariners to a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Seattle trailed 2-0 and hadn't hit a ball out of the infield when Olivo led off the fifth with a home run. The Mariners scored three runs in the inning, and Olivo added a two-run shot in the eighth. Hernandez (7-5) allowed three runs and nine hits. He struck out six and walked five. Ryan had three hits, and Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer in the ninth for Seattle. Rick Porcello (6-4) went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Porcello was forcing the Mariners to hit a lot of groundballs before Olivo started Seattle's fifth-inning rally with a line drive over the left-field fence. "When you have the kind of pitcher like Felix Hernandez in there, and he sees that we're battling, hitting," Olivo said. "After that home run, that's when he got everything together." First, the Mariners gave Hernandez a lead. One out after Olivo's homer, Chone Figgins walked, and after he stole second, Ichiro Suzuki lined a two-out single over third baseman Don Kelly to tie the game. After Ryan bunted for a hit, Smoak hit a bloop to left-center that dropped between shortstop Jhonny Peralta, left fielder Andy Dirks and center fielder Austin Jackson for an RBI single. Kelly prevented more runs when he went back into shallow left field to catch a popup by Carlos Peguero with the bases loaded for the third out, but the Mariners added a couple more runs in the eighth. After Peguero drew a one-out walk from reliever Daniel Schlereth, Joaquin Benoit came out of the Detroit bullpen and gave up Olivo's second homer of the game and 10th of the season. "When I called timeout, he threw the fastball," Olivo said. "I know he knows I saw the fastball coming, and I know he's going to throw some breaking ball. I just stayed back, and he hangs the change-up." It was the fourth multihomer game of Olivo's career. The catcher was shaken up in the bottom of the eighth when he appeared to be hit in the groin area by a foul ball, but Olivo stayed in the game. Hernandez, last year's American League Cy Young Award winner, allowed a walk to Miguel Cabrera and a single to Victor Martinez to start the bottom of the eighth. Alex Avila hit a two-out single to drive in a run, but Ramon Santiago hit a groundball to end the inning on Hernandez's 126th and final pitch. "Today was hard. I had a little trouble, not good command. I figured out a way to throw eight innings and win the game," Hernandez said. "Walks have been killing me. I've been throwing a lot of walks in the last couple games so I've just got to figure it out, get ahead of the hitters and make good pitches." Smoak's homer off Adam Wilk, his 12th of the season, made it 7-3. Brandon League then pitched the ninth for Seattle. "I thought we were going to win that game -- that was the feeling I had in my gut -- but the add-on runs killed us," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "We let it get away with those runs at the end." Detroit opened the scoring in the second thanks in part to a misplay by Hernandez, who turned and looked to second for a possible force play before throwing too late to first on Dirks' bunt. That infield single gave the Tigers runners on first and second, and Avila eventually drove in a run with a two-out single. Jackson led off the bottom of the third with a double off the fence in left-center and went to third on an error by Peguero, the left fielder. Hernandez came within a strike of getting out of that jam, but Martinez hit an RBI single with two outs for a 2-0 lead. Game notes
The Tigers announced after the game they will call up OF Magglio Ordonez on Monday. Ordonez has been rehabbing his injured right ankle with Triple-A Toledo. ... Cabrera reached base in all four trips to the plate against Hernandez, hitting a single and drawing three walks. Martinez hit two singles with a walk. ... Suzuki had two hits for a second straight game after sitting out Friday night. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

View the original article here

Read more »

NBA will further review altercation after Game 6

NBA commissioner David Stern joins ESPN Radio's Mike Tirico during halftime of Game 6 of the NBA Finals to update the state of labor negotiations in the NBA.

More Podcasts »

 

Read more »

Dodgers get rehab updates on Kuo, two others

Updated: June 12, 2011, 2:58 PM ETBy Tony Jackson
ESPNLosAngeles.com
Archive

DENVER -- At the end of the weekend in which the unreliability of the Los Angeles Dodgers' injury-depleted bullpen has been underscored repeatedly, there was good news before Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, as relievers Hong-Chih Kuo, Jonathan Broxton and Kenley Jansen all took major steps in their efforts to return from the disabled list.

For more news, notes and analysis of the Dodgers, check out Dodger Thoughts from Jon Weisman. Blog

First, setup man Kuo appeared to take a major step forward on Saturday night in his effort to come back from his latest bout with the yips, pitching a perfect eighth inning for advanced Class A Rancho Cucamonga against Visalia. Kuo had hoped to test himself by coming into the middle of an inning with runners on base, but that didn't work out because highly touted pitching prospect Ethan Martin had pitched a perfect seventh.

Still, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the reports he got on Kuo's performance were that the once-dominating left-hander looked much more like himself.

"His velocity was up, which was kind of a good sign,'' Mattingly said. "He touched 96 (mph), where before he was at 92. Last night, he was (between) 92-96, so that tells you maybe he was letting it go a little bit more and feeling free about letting it go.''

Mattingly said it will be Kuo's decision what to do next, which has been the case since Kuo abruptly left the team on May 11 feeling that he could no longer command the ball.

Broxton, the Dodgers' erstwhile All-Star closer who has been on the 15-day DL since May 6 with a bone bruise in his right elbow and wasn't especially effective before that, is now tentatively slated to begin a minor league rehabilitation early next week. Broxton will throw off a mound for the third time on Tuesday and then a simulated game on Friday, a plan Mattingly conceded tentatively sets Broxton up to begin rehab assignment next week.

Meanwhile, although Jansen pitched two perfect innings in his second rehab appearance for Double-A Chattanooga on Saturday night, retired all nine batters he has faced in those two appearances and becomes eligible to be activated on Monday, Mattingly said the club might wait until later in the week to bring him back so that Jansen can make another two-inning appearance for the Lookouts.

"We want to get him stretched out and be able to go two (innings),'' Mattingly said. "He went two innings last night, but is one time enough for that? Just talking theoretically, if he could take today and (Monday) off, then go again on Tuesday.''

Mattingly said with the Dodgers having an off-day on Thursday, that could put Jansen on target to return on Friday night against the Houston Astros. However, Mattingly said that could change if the Dodgers have to use several relievers on Sunday against the Rockies, which might necessitate bringing Jansen back on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Follow Tony Jackson on Twitter: @dodgerscribe

jQuery.getScriptCache("http://platform.twitter.com/anywhere.js?id=HqH9j16pPQUPNsz4pvudWg&v=1.1", function() { twttr.anywhere.config({'callbackURL': 'http://'+location.host+'/nhl/twitter/anywhere'}); twttr.anywhere(function (T) { T('a.twitter-anywhere').hovercards({infer: true}); }); });

View the original article here

Read more »

Yanks put Colon on DL with strained hamstring

NEW YORK -- New York Yankees right-hander Bartolo Colon was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a strained left hamstring.

Outfielder Chris Dickerson has been called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Colon's spot on the team's 25-man roster.

Colon underwent an MRI at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Saturday night, but did not know the grade of the sprain. Manager Joe Girardi said the results of the MRI were "pretty good," but Colon will still need to be shut down for at least two weeks.

"I feel good, I just have a little bit of pain," Colon said through a translator. "I'm on the DL now, but I hope to be back after 15 days. ... After the 15 days, I should be back."

Want to get the scoop on everything in pinstripes? ESPNNewYork.com has you covered. Blog

Colon will continue to work on other parts of his body, but doesn't know when he'll be able to start rehabbing his legs.

"I feel bad because the team needs help and I got hurt," Colon said. "But there's nothing I can do about it."

The 38-year-old suffered the injury while trying to cover first base and left Saturday afternoon's game with two outs in the seventh inning.

Colon (5-3, 3.10 ERA) ended up winning for the third straight start on Saturday afternoon, going 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Yankees shut out the Cleveland Indians, 4-0, at Yankee Stadium. In his last 21 innings, Colon has surrendered just three earned runs.

Hector Noesi, who was summoned from Triple-A to replace Amauri Sanit (disabled list, elbow), could make Colon's next scheduled start on Thursday afternoon against the Texas Rangers, according to Girardi. The right-handed Noesi threw six innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen on Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox before being sent down to the minors.

In four Triple-A starts, Noesi went 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA, allowing nine earned runs and 25 hits over 20 2/3 innings.

"I was a starter (in the minors) and it's normal for me to throw six, seven or eight innings," said Noesi, who was unaware that he might have to step into the rotation. "It's just (easier)."

Although he wouldn't commit to Noesi, Girardi said he's thrown 75 pitches and could conceivably give the Yankees 80-85 if need be. Other internal minor league options to take Colon's turn could be Adam Warren (4-2, 3.53), D.J. Mitchell (4-5, 3.04) or David Phelps (4-4, 2.95).

Colon was en route to snag first baseman Mark Teixeira's flip to retire right fielder Shin-Soo Choo on a grounder, but he came up lame and walked gingerly off the field.

Colon lost out of the fifth spot in the Yankees' rotation coming out of spring training and began the season in the bullpen, but emerged out of nowhere with ace-like dominance after right-hander Phil Hughes was placed on the DL in mid-April with right shoulder inflammation.

Third baseman Alex Rodriguez called general manager Brian Cashman's free agent signing of Colon in February "the signing of the century."

"He's been consistently great all year. 1-A stuff," Rodriguez said Saturday.

Colon's loss couldn't come at a worse time for the Yankees, who are already dealing with a depleted bullpen due to the losses of Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte due to various injuries.

Hughes is slated to make his first minor league rehab start on Tuesday for the Gulf Coast Yankees, but the Yankees don't know when he'll be back.

Colon's weight -- 265 pounds -- could be an issue as he begins rehab, but Girardi said "he's pretty quick for how big he is."

"I think you worry (more) about if a guy's favoring something that he could be hurting his arm," Girardi said.

Colon's success with the Yankees this season comes on the heels of an unorthodox offseason shoulder surgery that involved stem cells being injected into his painful shoulder and elbow.

The doctor who performed the surgery has given HGH to other patients, though he claims that he did not give it to Colon. The surgery is being investigated by Major League Baseball.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. ESPNNewYork.com's Matt Ehalt contributed to this report.

 

Read more »

Two-hit day puts Jeter within 7 hits of 3K mark

Updated: June 12, 2011, 11:51 PM

NEW YORK -- Seven hundred feet of outs later, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was still stuck on 2,991 hits.

But with another one of his classic Jeterian swings, Jeter moved closer to baseball immortality.

The 36-year-old Captain, who will turn 37 exactly two weeks from now (June 26), inside-outed a 2-1 fastball from Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin into right field in the bottom of the fifth inning, driving in Brett Gardner from second and giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. He later delivered a seeing-eye RBI single up the middle past a drawn-in infield off reliever Chad Durbin in the eighth to make it 7-1, and now stands just seven hits away from becoming the 28th player in baseball history to reach the illustrious 3,000-hit club.

"It's impossible for it not be in your head, because I get asked that question all the time," said Jeter, who recorded his 2,992nd and 2,993rd hits in the Yankees' 9-1 rout of the Indians on Sunday afternoon in front of 46,791 onlookers at Yankee Stadium. "I'd love to do it here (at home), but all I can control is having good at-bats and trying to hit the ball hard and find some holes. We have a few more games left, so we'll see what happens."

Jeter, who is batting just .259 and in the midst of the worst offensive season of his 16-year career, has four games left on the Yankees' homestand to make it happen, and according to baseball-reference.com, he's only had as many as seven hits over a four-game stretch eight times this season. But based on how impeccable his timing has been throughout his future Hall of Fame career, it wouldn't surprise anyone if "Captain Clutch" is able to pull it off.

"Derek's meant championships to this organization and he's meant professionalism," manager Joe Girardi said before Sunday's game. "He plays the game the right way. He's meant a lot to this franchise. ... Derek's got a lot of heart and plays the game to win. I think it comes down to his heart, the way he plays the game. Derek's got a lot of heart and he plays the game to win."

Jeter has five championship rings and a World Series MVP award to show for it. But he's just as well-known for his intangibles, the little things he does that don't show up in the box score. And his afternoon at the plate on Sunday was just the latest example of that.

Choosing the 50 Greatest Yankees was a daunting task. ESPNNewYork.com rose to the challenge. Top 50  Rank 'Em

After driving a ball to deep center that Michael Brantley caught just in front of the warning track to lead off the game, Jeter advanced Gardner to third with a line drive to right in his second at-bat. Gardner later scored.

The Yankees were leading just 1-0 when Jeter stepped in against Tomlin in the fifth with Gardner at second. Jeter's goal in his third at-bat was just to hit the ball to the right side and get Gardner over -- another productive out.

Instead, he managed to dunk the ball in front of right fielder Shin-Soo Choo to plate Gardner and give his team a two-run edge.

"My second and third at-bats my job was to move the guy over, so I was just trying to get a pitch that I could hit the other way," said Jeter, who has a chance to become one of the fastest to ever reach the 3,000-hit club. Ty Cobb was the youngest (34 years, 244 days), while Hank Aaron (36 years, 101 days) and Robin Yount (36 years, 359 days) also reached the milestone before their 37th birthdays. "We're still trying to win games here, that's first and foremost."

Still, his teammates want to see him accomplish the feat -- and become just the 11th player in history to get all 3,000 of his career hits with the same team -- at home.

"I hope he gets on a roll and gets it at home. I really want him to do it here," said designated hitter Jorge Posada, who has been Jeter's Yankee teammate since 1995 when they came up from the minors together.

Added first baseman Mark Teixeira: "We'd love to have him get it done here, and I know the fans would love it as well. But Derek's not going to put too much pressure on himself. He knows exactly what he's doing."

Jeter is already the franchise's all-time hits leader. He broke Lou Gehrig's record of 2,771 hits when he drilled his 2,772 career hit on Sept. 11, 2009.

But this -- becoming the first Yankee to ever reach 3,000 -- is a different animal.

"Everyone's talking about it when I'm on deck," Jeter, who went 2-for-5 on Sunday afternoon with two RBIs and a run scored, said. "So I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't thinking about it."

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.

 

Read more »

Cavs owner hails Mavs for beating James to title

CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert got in one final shot after LeBron James fell short of an NBA title.

About 15 minutes after the Dallas Mavericks defeated James and the Miami Heat in Game 6 on Sunday night, Gilbert sent a message on his Twitter page to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban -- a statement that included a jab at James.

“

Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org. Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE.

” -- Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert

"Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org.," Gilbert wrote. "Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

Last summer, after James announced he was leaving the Cavs as a free agent after seven years to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the superstar was lambasted by Gilbert, who accused him of quitting in the playoffs the past two seasons. Gilbert also promised that karma would prevent James from winning a championship and predicted his Cavaliers would win their first title before "the self-proclaimed King" won one.

So far, Gilbert's pledge is holding up.

Gilbert wasn't the only one stung by James' decision. Cleveland fans, who haven't celebrated a major professional sports championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, spent the past year coping with James' departure, which the Akron native announced in a one-hour long TV special.

Some of James' former teammates were also hurt by him leaving.

Guard Mo Williams, who was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in February, said the Mavericks' victory has helped ease some of his pain.

On his Twitter page, Williams wrote, "Dallas just healed my HEART."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Thomas: Focus on ice, not Luongo comments

Updated: June 12, 2011, 11:05 PM

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas has a message for Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and it's not in the form of flattery.

Luongo has taken a few digs at his counterpart, and fellow Vezina Trophy finalist, the last couple of days, and when asked to respond after the Bruins' practice Sunday at TD Garden, Thomas took a different route.

"I did hear about what he said, but I don't really want to go into that," Thomas said. "My focus is on what I can do to help my team win going into Game 6. It's obviously a must-win game and I think it's important for our whole team to focus on that game and what we can do on the ice."

The Canucks lead the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final 3-2 with Game 6 Monday night.

"I know we're in the Stanley Cup final and everything is under the microscope and going to get blown out of proportion, obviously my whole comment I don't think was a negative comment, if you take the whole comment," Luongo said Sunday. "But at the end of the day you know what? I'm one win away from winning the Stanley Cup and that's all I really care about right now. All the other stuff is noise to me."

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault backed up his goalie in French.

"If you look at the comment as a whole, what he said was flattering toward Thomas. But you guys (media) took only the part that made it a headline," Vigneault said.

Prior to the Canucks flying to Boston on Saturday, Luongo suggested that he hasn't been getting enough respect from Thomas in this series.

"I have been pumping his tires ever since the series started," Luongo said. "I haven't heard one nice thing he had to say about me. That's the way it is."

After Vancouver's 1-0 victory in Game 5 on Friday, Luongo made it a point to criticize and critique Thomas on the game-winning goal.

"It's not hard if you're playing in the paint," Luongo said. "It's an easy save for me, but if you're wandering out and aggressive like he does, that's going to happen. He might make some saves that I won't, but in a case like that, we want to take advantage of a bounce like that and make sure we're in good position to bury those."

The Canucks' Max Lapierre capitalized on Thomas being out of position early in the third period in Game 5 and snuck in the game-winning goal.

Bruins coach Claude Julien defended his goalie on Saturday.

"I don't think Timmy is going to make much of that comment (by Luongo). I think you guys (reporters) are making more out of it than Timmy will. Either way, his stats, you know, are proof itself. He's given up six goals in five games.

"The guy that made the comment, I'm not quite sure how many he let in. I think you guys have a good idea, so I don't think he (Thomas) is going to lose sleep over that."

Thomas isn't about to get into a war of words at this point of the season.

"I guess I didn't realize it was my job to pump his tires," Thomas said Sunday with a laugh. "I guess I have to apologize for that.

"Nobody on our team talks specifically about guys on the other team in that way. We've done a good job of focusing on the important things, which is what you can do on the ice and I think that's what helped us to get this far.

"There is obviously going to be talk in the media and they're going to talk about a whole bunch of different topics and that's fine. When I watched playoffs in the past, sometimes it's fun to listen to what is said, but when you're playing, I think the best course is to remain focused on what you can control and that's on the ice."

Patrice Bergeron said the trash talk was something he's seen before.

"We've seen it before, even in previous series, sometimes guys are trying to play the head games and you just can't worry about that and it's part of the sport," he said. "You just have to worry about what you can control."

Joe McDonald covers the Bruins for ESPNBoston.com.

 

Read more »

Cavs owner hails Mavs for beating James to title

CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert got in one final shot after LeBron James fell short of an NBA title.

About 15 minutes after the Dallas Mavericks defeated James and the Miami Heat in Game 6 on Sunday night, Gilbert sent a message on his Twitter page to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban -- a statement that included a jab at James.

“

Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org. Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE.

” -- Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert

"Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org.," Gilbert wrote. "Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

Last summer, after James announced he was leaving the Cavs as a free agent after seven years to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the superstar was lambasted by Gilbert, who accused him of quitting in the playoffs the past two seasons. Gilbert also promised that karma would prevent James from winning a championship and predicted his Cavaliers would win their first title before "the self-proclaimed King" won one.

So far, Gilbert's pledge is holding up.

Gilbert wasn't the only one stung by James' decision. Cleveland fans, who haven't celebrated a major professional sports championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, spent the past year coping with James' departure, which the Akron native announced in a one-hour long TV special.

Some of James' former teammates were also hurt by him leaving.

Guard Mo Williams, who was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in February, said the Mavericks' victory has helped ease some of his pain.

On his Twitter page, Williams wrote, "Dallas just healed my HEART."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

Read more »

Yanks put Colon on DL with strained hamstring

Updated: June 13, 2011, 1:36 AM ETBy Mike Mazzeo
Special to ESPNNewYork.com
Archive var ESPN_GLOBALS = {"videoPlayers":{"story09":{"src":"http://assets.espn.go.com/espnvideo/mpf32/prod/r_3_2_0_15/ESPN_Player.swf","height":324,"width":576,"adminOver":"3805638","localSite":"newyork","autostart":"false","playerType":"story09"}}}espn.video.embeded.play();

NEW YORK -- New York Yankees right-hander Bartolo Colon was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a strained left hamstring.

Outfielder Chris Dickerson has been called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Colon's spot on the team's 25-man roster.

Colon underwent an MRI at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Saturday night, but did not know the grade of the sprain. Manager Joe Girardi said the results of the MRI were "pretty good," but Colon will still need to be shut down for at least two weeks.

"I feel good, I just have a little bit of pain," Colon said through a translator. "I'm on the DL now, but I hope to be back after 15 days. ... After the 15 days, I should be back."

Want to get the scoop on everything in pinstripes? ESPNNewYork.com has you covered. Blog

Colon will continue to work on other parts of his body, but doesn't know when he'll be able to start rehabbing his legs.

"I feel bad because the team needs help and I got hurt," Colon said. "But there's nothing I can do about it."

The 38-year-old suffered the injury while trying to cover first base and left Saturday afternoon's game with two outs in the seventh inning.

Colon (5-3, 3.10 ERA) ended up winning for the third straight start on Saturday afternoon, going 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Yankees shut out the Cleveland Indians, 4-0, at Yankee Stadium. In his last 21 innings, Colon has surrendered just three earned runs.

Hector Noesi, who was summoned from Triple-A to replace Amauri Sanit (disabled list, elbow), could make Colon's next scheduled start on Thursday afternoon against the Texas Rangers, according to Girardi. The right-handed Noesi threw six innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen on Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox before being sent down to the minors.

In four Triple-A starts, Noesi went 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA, allowing nine earned runs and 25 hits over 20 2/3 innings.

"I was a starter (in the minors) and it's normal for me to throw six, seven or eight innings," said Noesi, who was unaware that he might have to step into the rotation. "It's just (easier)."

Although he wouldn't commit to Noesi, Girardi said he's thrown 75 pitches and could conceivably give the Yankees 80-85 if need be. Other internal minor league options to take Colon's turn could be Adam Warren (4-2, 3.53), D.J. Mitchell (4-5, 3.04) or David Phelps (4-4, 2.95).

Colon was en route to snag first baseman Mark Teixeira's flip to retire right fielder Shin-Soo Choo on a grounder, but he came up lame and walked gingerly off the field.

Colon lost out of the fifth spot in the Yankees' rotation coming out of spring training and began the season in the bullpen, but emerged out of nowhere with ace-like dominance after right-hander Phil Hughes was placed on the DL in mid-April with right shoulder inflammation.

Third baseman Alex Rodriguez called general manager Brian Cashman's free agent signing of Colon in February "the signing of the century."

"He's been consistently great all year. 1-A stuff," Rodriguez said Saturday.

Colon's loss couldn't come at a worse time for the Yankees, who are already dealing with a depleted bullpen due to the losses of Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte due to various injuries.

Hughes is slated to make his first minor league rehab start on Tuesday for the Gulf Coast Yankees, but the Yankees don't know when he'll be back.

Colon's weight -- 265 pounds -- could be an issue as he begins rehab, but Girardi said "he's pretty quick for how big he is."

"I think you worry (more) about if a guy's favoring something that he could be hurting his arm," Girardi said.

Colon's success with the Yankees this season comes on the heels of an unorthodox offseason shoulder surgery that involved stem cells being injected into his painful shoulder and elbow.

The doctor who performed the surgery has given HGH to other patients, though he claims that he did not give it to Colon. The surgery is being investigated by Major League Baseball.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. ESPNNewYork.com's Matt Ehalt contributed to this report.

 

Read more »

Mavs beat Heat to claim first NBA championship

LeBron James struggled during "crunch time" - the last five minutes of the fourth quarter/overtime with the score within five points - during the NBA Finals. In crunch time during the 2011 NBA Finals, James did not score. Dirk Nowitzki had no trouble scoring.

The Heat made just four of their final 25 field goal attempts from 10+ feet during the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals. The Big 3 was a combined 4-17 over this stretch.

Miami scored eight transition points in Game 6 against the Mavericks, including four transition points off turnovers. The Heat's inability to create transition points off turnovers was a major factor in their demise. --On the other hand in Game 6, the Mavericks scored 20 points off 12 turnovers committed by Miami's Big 3, including 11 of their 15 transition points.

In eight minutes with LeBron James on the bench in Game 6, the Heat scored 21 points and outscored the Mavericks by 14 points. When James was on the court Miami was outscored by 24 points. It was James' worst plus/minus in a postseason game since April 24, 2008 against the Wizards when he was also minus 24.

Nowitzki was able to excel in one-on-one situations in the fourth quarter during the 2011 NBA Finals, making half of his field goal attempts on isolation and post-up plays in the final period.

Jason Terry entered Game 5 shooting under 40 percent from 15+ feet in the 2011 NBA Finals. In Games 5 and 6, Terry found his stroke, making more field goals from 15+ feet than in the previous four games combined. Terry made a series-high seven such field goals in Game 6 to close out the Heat, the most by any player in one game in the 2011 Finals.

Before Cuban bought the team in January of 2000, the Mavs had only 6 playoff appearances in 19 seasons, only four series wins and had never been to the NBA Finals. My, how much has changed: in addition to the two Finals appearances, the Mavs have now made the playoffs for 11 straight seasons - only the Spurs have a longer active streak. And now, of course, they've got their first title in franchise history.

The Mavs bench came up huge in Game 6, scoring 43 points. In fact this season, Dallas was 36-9 in games in which its bench scored at least 40 or more points. So for Dallas... the more its bench scores, the more it wins.

LeBron James averaged 26.7 points per game in the regular season. He averaged just 17.8 points per game in the 2011 NBA Finals. That discrepency between regular season scoring average and Finals scoring average was the largest in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Heat missed 13 free throws and lost by 10 points. The 13 missed free throws are the most misses from the charity stripe by a team eliminated in the NBA Finals over the last 15 seasons.

The Mavericks finished 4-0 this postseason in potential series-clinching games and have now won seven straight overall. that is one shy of the Lakers for the longest active streak.

Rick Carlisle is now 11-3 all-time in potential series-clinching games. Among coaches with at least 10 such games, his .786 win pct ranks 1st in NBA history, ahead of Tom Heinsohn, Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson.

When you are out-numbered 3-1 in All-Stars, its imperative your supporting cast shows up... Lucky for Dirk, that's exactly what happened. In the four wins, Nowitzki's supporting cast combined to score over 75 points while shooting over 52 percent from the field. They were dangerous from downtown as well, including a 10-19 effort in Game 6

Since Mark Cuban purchased the Mavericks on January 4, 2000, the only team with a higher win percentage than his team is the Spurs (including playoffs).

From Elias: Dirk Nowitzki had 22,792 career points in the regular season entering the 2011 postseason. It's the 4th-most points by a player at the time of his 1st NBA title in NBA history, behind only Oscar Robertson (23,578), Wilt Chamberlain (23,442) and Jerry West (22,988).

It was five years ago that Jason Terry had a woeful Game 6 against the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, scoring 16 points on 7-of-25 shooting. But Terry helped fuel the Mavs offense this time around, hitting 19 of his 27 points in the first half.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined to score 62 points in the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals. By comparison, Dirk Nowitzki scored 62 points all by himself in the fourth quarter during the Finals.

When you are outnumbered 3-1 in All-Stars, its crucial your supporting cast shows up. Luckily for Dirk Nowitzki, that's exactly what happened. In the Mavericks' four wins, Dirk's supporting cast combined to score over 75 points, shooting over 52 percent from the field.

The Heat scored 22 transition points on Sunday marking the first time in the 2011 playoffs the Heat scored at least 20 transition points in a game. The Heat are 21-2 this season (including playoffs) when they score 20+ transition points.

MIAMI -- For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He's an NBA champion.

For LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.

A season that began with Miami celebrating the signings of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- along with the promise of championships -- ended on the very same floor, with the Dallas Mavericks hoisting the title trophy for the first time in their franchise history after beating the Heat 105-95 on Sunday night. The Mavericks won four of the series' last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter.

"I really still can't believe it," said Nowitzki, who had 21 points and took home Finals MVP honors.

He and Jason Terry, who led the Mavs with 27 points, were the two remaining players from the Dallas team that lost to Miami in the 2006 Finals.

"Tonight," Terry said, "we got vindication."

James did not. Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended they way they all have so far -- with him still waiting for an NBA title.

He scored 21 points for Miami, shook a few hands afterward, and departed before most of the Mavs tugged on their championship hats and T-shirts. Bosh had 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Wade 17 for the Heat.

"We worked so hard and so long for it," Nowitzki said. "The team has had an unbelievable ride."

So did the Heat. Unlike Dallas, theirs wasn't a joyride.

"It goes without saying," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You're never really prepared for a moment like this. ... Neither team deserved this championship more than the other, but Dallas earned it."

When you are outnumbered 3-1 in All-Stars, its crucial your supporting cast shows up. Luckily for Dirk Nowitzki, that's exactly what happened. In the Mavericks' four wins, Dirk's supporting cast combined to score over 75 points, shooting over 52 percent from the field.

powered by

Make no mistake: Miami lost the Finals, but the blame will be directed at James. Even he knew that after the way he left Cleveland with "The Decision" and all the animus that generated not just in Ohio but around the entire league, the only way he could silence some critics was with a title.

"It doesn't weigh on me," James said. "At all."

Still, he got even more criticism -- and a thinly veiled jab from his former owner with the Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, who reveled in the moment on Twitter.

"Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings," Gilbert wrote. "Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

And the winning owner, Mark Cuban, took what may be perceived as a jab as well: "I could care less about the Heat," he said.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle joined a highly elite group, those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. Only 10 other men are on that list, including the presumably retired-for-good Phil Jackson, one of Carlisle's mentors in K.C. Jones, and Heat President Pat Riley -- who led Miami past Dallas in 2006, and was the mastermind of what the Heat did last summer by getting James, Wade and Bosh on the same team with an eye on becoming a dynasty.

It might still happen, of course.

But even after 72 wins this season, including playoffs, the Heat lost the last game. And that means this year was a disappointment -- except to just about everyone else in the NBA, or so it would seem.

It was five years ago that Jason Terry had a woeful Game 6 against the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, scoring 16 points on 7-of-25 shooting. But Terry helped fuel the Mavs offense this time around, hitting 19 of his 27 points in the first half.

*Heat the opponent in both gamespowered by

"This is a true team," Carlisle said. "This is an old bunch. We don't run fast or jump high. These guys had each other's backs. We played the right way. We trusted the pass. This is a phenomenal thing for the city of Dallas."

Hating the Heat became the NBA's craze this season, and the team knew it had no shortage of critics, everyone from Cleveland (where "Cavs for Mavs" shirts were popular during these Finals) to Chicago (the city James and Wade both flirted with last summer) and just about every place in between lining up to take shots at Miami.

"We could feel it," Carlisle said, noting he was repeatedly told during the Finals that "billions" of people wanted to see Dallas topple Miami.

Given their newfound popularity, meet the new America's Team.

Sorry, Cowboys -- your long-held moniker might have to be ceded to your city's NBA club. When it was over, Cuban ran onto the court to hug Carlisle, then punched the air and whooped.

"I'm so happy for him. I'm so happy for Dirk," Carlisle said.

Carlisle said Riley came down to congratulate the Mavericks after the game, showing "unbelievable class." Nowitzki and Wade exchanged texts at night's end, after Wade couldn't find him during the on-court celebration to shake his hand.

"Their time will come," Carlisle said. "But now, it's our time."

When the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in Dallas during the '06 Finals, plans for their victory parade were announced. The Mavs didn't win another game in that series.

Now, that parade will finally happen. And when it's over, then the league's uncertainty will truly begin. Labor strife likely awaits, and although more talks geared toward movement on a new deal are scheduled for this week, both owners and players are bracing for a lockout to begin once the current collective bargaining agreement expires June 30.

Late Sunday night, the CBA was the last thing on the mind of the new champions of the NBA, whom Carlisle called "the most special team I've ever been around."

Jason Kidd, at 38 years old, got his first championship. Nowitzki got his at 32, Terry at 33. They were featured on the video screen in their building in Dallas during this series on what seemed like a constant loop, each posing with the NBA trophy and looking longingly at it, standing mere inches from it, as if to say "so close, yet so far away."

No more.

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined to score 62 points in the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Finals. By comparison, Dirk Nowitzki scored 62 points all by himself in the fourth quarter during the Finals.

powered by

It's theirs. And for the second time, James went to the Finals, only to see the other team celebrate. San Antonio won in Cleveland in 2007, and four years later, he saw the Mavs party on his new floor.

"It was a failure in '07 when we lost to the Spurs when I was in Cleveland," James said. "It's a failure now."

Nowitzki sealed it with 2:27 left, hitting a jumper near the Miami bench to put Dallas up 99-89, and some fans actually began leaving. Nowitzki walked to the Mavs' side slowly, right fist clenched and aloft.

He knew it. Everyone did.

"We feel it," Wade said. "We'll feel it even more tomorrow."

Spoelstra implored his team to foul in the final minute, and even then, they couldn't catch the Mavericks.

"All I remember is telling those guys that they deserved it," Bosh said. "Hands down, they were the better team in this series. ... All we can do is just admit it and move forward."

What happens with the next deal may affect the Heat more than anyone. Some owners will insist on a hard cap, rolled-back salaries and, potentially, trying to bust some current deals -- which could break up the Big 3 before get another chance to win a title together.

A gloomy end to the season may bring an even gloomier offseason for Miami.

"Every situation has felt like it was an our-back-against-the-wall situation," James said Sunday morning, hours before Game 6 began. "We've been able to figure it out and find our way through and scratch our way through. This is the last test. This is the last pop quiz for us that we need to pass in order to make it all worth it."

They didn't pass.

So therefore, it wasn't all worth it.

"We give credit to the Dallas Mavericks," Wade said. "They're a helluva team. ... We ran into a team that at this time is obviously better than us."

Miami had chances to take command and wasted them all. The Heat missed 13 of their 33 free throws, let the Mavericks score 27 points off turnovers and simply could not get a rebound in the final minutes.

Nowitzki finished 9 for 27, and the Mavs still won. He was 1 for 12 in the first half, and they were still ahead, 53-51, thanks largely to Terry's 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

"Was he unbelievable tonight or what?" marveled Nowitzki.

Down the stretch, Terry made another contribution. He grabbed Nowitzki during a time-out, telling him, "Remember '06." The final minutes belonged to Dirk and the Mavs, and a few German flags waved in Miami's arena during the postgame celebration.

"This feeling, to be on the best team in the world, it's just undescribable," Nowitzki said.

After James got off to such a fast start, he had two points in the final 19-plus minutes of the half.

James didn't score in the second half until a layup with 1:49 remained in the third -- his first field-goal attempt since 1:05 remained in the half. Kidd made a 3-pointer late in the period, pushing the Dallas lead to 79-71, and it seemed like the only people standing in the arena were the players, referees, Cuban and a few guys around the Dallas bench.

Dallas took control in the second half after some wild back-and-forths in the opening two quarters. Miami took its last lead of the game -- the season -- just 64 seconds into the second half, lost it 16 seconds later and chased the Mavericks the rest of the way.

They never caught them.

"I can't believe the journey," said Kidd, who lost two previous Finals trips with the New Jersey Nets. "The journey, the character of my teammates telling me they wanted to get me a championship. Tonight they came out and played well. I came here twice, this being my third time so third time was the lucky charm."

It was 81-72 entering the fourth, after Ian Mahinmi made a foul-line jumper as time expired in the third, just his third basket of the entire series.

None were bigger. The Mavs could taste a title.

"We had no champions on this team," Mavs center Tyson Chandler said. "And we walked away with a team full of champions."

Of the principal characters from the 2006 series, only Cuban, Nowitzki and Terry remain from the Mavericks' side, and for them, the beginning of this championship celebration seemed sweeter than even they could have imagined. Terry won't have to get his tattoo -- the one of the NBA championship trophy -- removed, which he vowed to have done if Miami won this series. Nowitzki will never be in the conversation of 'Best player without a title' again.

James is clearly the one with that most-unwanted label now.

As the night wore on, the smell of champagne permeated from the Dallas locker room, while Miami's was cleaned and vacuumed quickly, towels picked up, shower shoes stacked neatly before each player's locker. Nearby, in the team's usual postgame interview room, the Mavericks posed with the championship trophy, whooping in joy as Miami players filed out in stunned disbelief.

The offseason started earlier than the Heat ever imagined.

"The Greater Man upstairs know when it's my time," James tweeted. "Right now isn't the time."

Game notes
Carlisle improved to 11-3 as a coach with a chance to close out an opponent. ... James got a 21-minute rest in the second quarter in real time, thanks to a midcourt dustup and the referees taking several minutes to look at replays before doling out the technicals. ... Marc Anthony sang the national anthem, then took a courtside seat near the Heat bench.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

 

Read more »

NFLPA's Smith yet to talk to NFL Alumni leader

Updated: June 12, 2011, 9:12 PM

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- George Martin spent the weekend catching up with his former New York Giants teammates from the 1986 Super Bowl team.

But he also had his current job on his mind as well, as he checked on how many of his old teammates are feeling these days. Martin is the president of the NFL Alumni and he is frustrated that he has not been able to sit down with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the decertified NFL Players Association, to talk about issues and concerns relating to retired players.

Looking for more information on Big Blue? ESPNNewYork.com has you covered. Blog

"There's strength in unity," Martin told reporters at the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1986 Giants Super Bowl team at the Meadowlands Expo Center on Sunday. "Apparently Mr. DeMaurice Smith feels that there isn't. I think it's an absolute shame when you have a person with my accomplishments and my commitment to not only active players but retired players, the fact that we can't sit down and at least discuss not only our similarities but our differences if there are any. I think that's a travesty."

Martin says he has reached out to Smith "on countless occasions to sit down."

"It's been either no response or no," Martin said. "That's really unacceptable. He has a very difficult challenge, I understand. But there should not be any prohibitions why we shouldn't sit down and talk about some of the things we have in common."

Martin was asked what degree of confidence he has concerning Smith having the best interests of NFL retired players in mind.

"I would have to say it is questionable at this point," Martin said. "When you do not have a conversation at this point with the recognized leader of NFL Alumni, how can you say you have the best interest of retired players at heart when you won't even sit down and talk to their leadership. That to me flies in the face of rationale."

Martin and teammate Harry Carson both said that some of their teammates are suffering from injuries suffered during their careers. Some retired players are feeling the lingering effects of concussions suffered during their playing days with loss of memory or, in some cases, depression.

"I thought the health of guys on the surface was pretty good," Carson said of the '86 Giants. "I do know, personally, that there are a couple of guys that have some issues. There are a couple of guys who have reached out to me in the past with these issues. There are some issues there and there are some issues with guys that probably don't know there are issues."

Martin praised NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for being proactive about addressing the concussion situation and helping retired players deal with any issues they may have.

"It seems as if though in the past we have been treated like second-class citizens," Martin said. "We refuse to have that label placed upon us now. Thank goodness that we have had some welcome embrace by Roger Goodell and the current owners. We like the fact that that we are part of the overall discussion and I'm very optimistic we will obtain some significant quality of life issues relative to retired players -- most significant is the pension.

"I think eventually the vast majority of retired ball players will be pleasantly surprised by what will come out of this (new) CBA."

Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com.

 

Read more »