donderdag 16 juni 2011

Bruins win!

VANCOUVER -- The Boston Bruins have gone from chokers to champions in 13 months. They capped pick-your-hero night with a Stanley Cup celebration.

Tim Thomas foiled the Vancouver Canucks one last time to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and second-liners Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron provided the offense that brought the Stanley Cup back to Boston for the first time in 39 years. In the process of celebrating their 4-0 win at Rogers Arena in Game 7 on Wednesday night, the Bruins also erased the bitter memory of last year's historic collapse against Philadelphia in the second round.

"We never, never quit, and that's what I'm proud of," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "They're so deserving of what has happened here. It's not a fluke. It's something they earned."

Marchand finished his rookie season with a pair of goals and an assist in Game 7 while Bergeron beat Roberto Luongo twice, including once while Boston was shorthanded late in the second period. Dennis Seidenberg added a pair of assists to help the Bruins send 18,860 disappointed fans into the downtown streets wondering if their team will ever win the Stanley Cup.

The home team had won every game in this Stanley Cup Final until Wednesday.

"It's tough right now," said Canucks center Ryan Kesler, who finished the series with just one point. "It's really tough."

With 37 more saves in Game 7, Thomas now owns the NHL record for most saves in the postseason (798) and a Stanley Cup Final (238) as well as most shots faced in a postseason (849). He allowed only 8 goals in the Final and became the first goalie in NHL history to win Game 7 with a shutout on the road. He is only the fourth goalie in history to post a shutout in Game 7.

"Yeah, I was scared," Thomas admitted in his postgame press conference. "I won't lie. I had nerves yesterday and today. I faked it as well as I could, and I faked my way all the way to the Stanley Cup."

Mark Recchi didn't fake anything after the game. Boston's 43-year-old forward announced his retirement on the ice during the Bruins' celebration.

Recchi went out in style, winning his third Stanley Cup in his home province, just 160 miles from his hometown of Kamloops, B.C. He also went out with an assist in Game 7, giving him 7 points in the Final and 14 in 25 playoff games.

"It's the end for me," said Recchi, who received the Stanley Cup first from Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara. "I'm going out on top and I couldn't happier with this group of guys. Regardless of what happened, this was going to be one of the best groups I have ever played with. We're fortunate to win and we're going to enjoy this."

Marchand didn't make any friends in Vancouver these last 2 1/2 weeks, but he burned the Canucks again by scoring two more goals, giving him at least one in all of Boston's wins in the Final. Marchand had 7 points in the series to give him 19 in his first NHL postseason.

"I think they got really cocky and they thought they were just going to roll over us," Marchand said, throwing one final shot at the Canucks on his way out of Vancouver. "We took pucks and bodies to the net and we were able to pull it off."

On the flip side, Roberto Luongo, who had been spectacular at home in the Final and dreadful on the road, was only average Wednesday after giving up three goals on eight shots in just 8:35 of work in Boston on Monday.

He was beaten by a Bergeron's one-timer in the first period, a Marchand wraparound 12:13 into the second and Bergeron's sliding shorthanded goal a little more than five minutes later.

Luongo again failed to come up with a big, momentum-turning save. He may never live it down.

"What are you going to do? We all want to be better," Luongo said. "That's the bottom line. We're not going to point fingers at one individual. I think as a team, if we all could've stepped up a notch, starting with myself, we could've gotten that job done."

The Canucks were the best team in the regular season for 82 games, and after a near-monumental collapse in the first round against Chicago, they rolled through Nashville and San Jose to get to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1994.

But just as they did 17 years ago, they lost Game 7 to an Original Six team.

"At the end of the day, you've got to give credit where credit is due. Boston played a real strong game," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "They have great goaltending and they were able to score a couple of tough goals around our net and they deserved to win."

Worse yet, Vancouver had the better start to Game 7, but the Bruins withstood the swarm, got a goal from Bergeron with 5:23 left in the first period and went into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead. It was 3-0 by the end of 40 minutes -- and Rogers Arena was silent.

Vancouver held a 21-13 advantage in shots on goal after two periods, but it didn't matter. Thomas was again the far superior goalie.

He made eight saves in the first, 13 in the second and 16 more in the third.

"It was one of the best (performances by a goalie) I've ever seen -- from Day 1 when he played that exhibition game the Czech Republic until the final game," Recchi said. "I've never seen that throughout the course of the whole year."

Ironically, Thomas did not make a save on the Canucks' best chance to tie the game. Instead, it was Chara.

Roughly nine minutes into the second period, Alexandre Burrows collected a turnover from Chara in front of the net and waited until Thomas came far out of his crease before firing at what he thought was an empty net. Chara got in front after the turnover and went down into a butterfly to stop Burrows' shot from going in.

Less than three minutes later, Marchand beat Luongo with a backhanded wraparound goal to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead that ballooned to 3-0 when Bergeron scored a disputed shorthanded goal with 2:25 to play before the second intermission.

The officials had to go to video review for confirmation to make sure Bergeron didn't inadvertently knock the puck in with his hands as he slid into Luongo.

"I knew it was a goal because I didn't touch it once I was on the ice," Bergeron said.

He was right and the Bruins had a three-goal lead heading into the third period.

Twenty minutes later, they were Stanley Cup champions.

"We know it's been since 1972 and they're dying for a hockey championship team in Boston," Julien said. "We are finally able to deliver that to them."

woensdag 15 juni 2011

Game 7 on the way!

Stanley Cup finals

Series tied, 3-3

G	DATE	RESULT
1	June 1	Vancouver 1, Boston 0
2	June 4	Vancouver 3, Boston 2 (OT)
3	June 6	Boston 8, Vancouver 1
4	June 8	Boston 4, Vancouver 0
5	Friday	Vancouver 1, Boston 0
6	Monday	Boston 5, Vancouver 2
G	DATE	TIME	SITE	TV
7	Today	8:00	Vancouver	NBC, CBC

BOSTON -- The hockey sticks were loaded on the plane. The goalie pads were placed in the baggage compartment. The skates were stowed on board.
What about the aggressive playing style that brought three dominant victories at home? The Boston Bruins hoped that also made the 2,500-mile journey to Vancouver in search of hockey's biggest prize in a stirring Stanley Cup finals.
"We have to play the same way as we do at home," center David Krejci said after the Bruins forced Game 7 with a win on Monday night and before they left on their coast-to-coast flight Tuesday.
But the road team has lost all six games. The Canucks' victories have been by a single goal -- 1-0, 3-2 and 1-0. The Bruins' wins have been blowouts -- 8-1, 4-0 and 5-2. The totals: Boston 19, Vancouver 8.
Somehow, the Bruins must unpack the energy and physical play that were missing in the Game 5 shutout loss in time for tonight's finale. In other words, play like a packed house is screaming for them and against the Canucks.
"Our guys have responded well and now we have to make sure we don't get comfortable with our game," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "We're willing to bring it to Vancouver with us, because that's what it's going to take to win."
The fans will be rooting for the first Stanley Cup in the Canucks' 40-year history and against the Bruins' quest for their first in 39 years.
"It's kind of the same thing as here," said Krejci, the NHL playoff leader with 12 goals and 23 points. "Every hit they do, or every shot, the crowd's pretty loud there."
Notebook: Canucks forward Mason Raymond will miss Game 7 and could still be out to start next season with a fractured vertebrae after being checked into the boards 20 seconds into Game 6 by defenseman Johnny Boychuk. Raymond lay on the ice for several minutes before being helped off and taken to the hospital.

dinsdag 14 juni 2011

With Triumph at Queen’s, Murray Looks Forward to Wimbledon

London, England – World number 4 and UK’s top player Andy Murray won his second Aegon Championships title at Queen’s Club, defeating fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, 3-6 7-6(2) 6-4. This is Murray’s 17th title and his first since winning Shanghai in October 2010. The final match was moved from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
“It was an unbelievable week for me,” Murray said. “I started off not playing great but managed to find my way through, and the last two matches were so much fun.” As for the challenge of bagging his homesoil Grand Slam, Murray said: “I really look forward to Wimbledon. It’s been great preparation this week and I’ll work hard the next five or six days to get ready.”
With Wimbledon to begin on June 20, Murray was hoping to become the seventh player in the Open Era to win the Queen’s-Wimbledon double. World number 1 Rafael Nadal did it 2008 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. Murray, also the 2009 champion here, was the first British man to win this event since Francis Gordon Lowe won in 1913-1914 and 1925. Murray will now head to Wimbledon with increased confidence.
Murray has been a finalist in three Grand Slam finals, latest of which is at this year’s Australian Open where he lost to Novak Djokovic. He reached the semifinal of the French Open for the first time (losing to eventual champion Nadal). In this week’s semifinal, he showed a dominant performance in ousting four-time Queen’s champion Andy Roddick. However, he was tested in the final by Tsonga, who dismissed top seed Nadal in the quarterfinal.
Throughout the final, both players were evenly matched, with Murray’s speed countered by Tsonga’s net play. In the first set, Tsonga broke Murray to lead 4-2. Murray had two chances to break back when Tsonga was serving for the first set but he was eventually overpowered by the Frenchman.
The second set is still a close affair. Tsonga continued to play his best tennis, frustrating Murray by saving breakpoint opportunities against him. But in the tiebreak, Tsonga suddenly dropped his first-serve percentages which Murray took full advantage, leveling the match at one set apiece. In the third set, Murray earned his only break of the match, taking a decisive 3-2 lead in the deciding set when Tsonga fired wide a forehand down the line. Murray then held on along the way to close out victory.
Tsonga was aiming to become the first French player to win Queen’s Club and was hoping to earn his first title in nearly two years. His last title came at Tokyo in October 2009.

maandag 13 juni 2011

Mavs' Big Team sheds negative labels with team's first title

Posted Jun 13 2011 1:52AM

MIAMI -- All the smoke and glitter, laser shows and summertime hype generated in this building 11 months ago wasn't enough to overcome the unifying force of energy the Dallas Mavericks unleashed on this night and in this series.
In the end, the Miami Heat's Big 3 couldn't overcome the Mavericks' Big Team, from one through 12.
The old school bunch that fought off the demons that fuel its own collective history of coming up short, the missed opportunities from The Finals against the Heat in 2006 and all the other postseason missteps of the past five years, walked out AmericanAirlines Arena late Sunday night with that Larry O'Brien trophy they'd all dreamed of for years.
"It feels amazing now to know that nobody can ever take this way away from us again," Mavericks star and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki said, "and for one year we're the best team that was out there. That feels amazing."

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Nowitzki and Jason Terry avenged the that six-game loss in The Finals five years ago, closing the door on the Heat's championship hopes on their home floor this time, the same way Dwyane Wade and the Heat did back then.
"Dirk and Jet have had to live with those demons for five years," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "And as of tonight, those demons are officially destroyed."
Jason Kidd's 17-year (and counting) journey, which included two missed opportunities on this same stage in back-to-back seasons with New Jersey earlier in his career, will now include a championship.
Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Brian Cardinal, Ian Mahinmi and all the rest of the "misfits and cast offs," as Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson referred to them during their magical run through this postseason, will walk into the sunset of 2010-11 season as champions.
Even Carlisle, an assistant coach in Indiana when the Pacers lost to the Lakers in The Finals in 2000, finally walks off a winner. His team was resourceful, resilient and relentless in every way imaginable, rallying from large deficits to win three straight games to finish this series, the 105-95 score in Sunday night's Game 6 the largest winning margin in any game in the series.
"This is one of the really unique teams," Carlisle said after praising Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Nelson for putting together such an eclectic group of veterans. "This is my opinion now. This is one of the unique teams in NBA history, because it wasn't about high-flying star power.. Come on, how often do we hear about the LeBron James reality show and what he is or isn't doing? When are people going to talk about the purity of our game and what we accomplished? That's what's special."
Special is the group Carlisle drove to a championship against all odds, against a team in the Heat that many crowned 11 months ago after Wade convinced James and Bosh to join him on a championship quest that ultimately came up short against a group that proved to be a superior team in the end.
"They've made a statement, a colossal statement. Not just about our team but the game in the general," Carlisle said, continuing to stump for his team even as they paraded through the bowels of the building, taking turns hugging and kissing that Larry O'Brien trophy. "Playing it a certain way. Trusting the pass. Our team is not about individual ability, it's about collective will, collective grit, collective guts. We're skilled and talented, too. But our game is on the ground. And the guys we were playing, their game was in the air. Fortunately, as the series went on, we stayed on the ground enough to be able to win it."

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Their path was improbable, given their recent postseason struggles, they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in three of the past four seasons before this one. Their bond proved to be impenetrable, regardless of the situation, be it in Dallas or on the road.
No lead was safe. No team, no matter how much more athletic or how many more superstar names they possessed, could solve them. They finished Portland in six games in the first round, the two-time defending champion Lakers in a sweep in the Western Conference semifinals and upended Team Next, Oklahoma City, in five games in the conference finals.
Yet even with all that work done in the rugged Western Conference, the Mavericks' one-star group was supposed to be no match for the Heat's superstar trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
But it was Nowitzki, playing with a torn tendon in his left middle finger and battling a sinus infection and being clowned on camera by James and Wade about his fever along the way, that shined brightest.
"Man, this is what I obviously played for the last couple of years," Nowitzki said. "I think when you come in this league you want to establish yourself. All these All-Star Games and all those things are nice, in scoring, but when you get to a certain age, you've basically seen it all and all you play for is that ring. And I think that's the kind of energy we had from the beginning this season."
It's the kind of energy they brought to this series, as well. After they lost Game 1 here the naysayers started talking about a potential sweep. Yet the Mavericks persevered, refusing as always to dwell on the doubters. They were down 15 in Game 2 but battled their way back to win that game and even the series before heading home to Dallas, using their trademark balance from the starters and the bench and the big-short artistry of Nowitzki to turn the series around.
"Down 15, we all looked at each other and we continued to believe," Terry said. "We win that game and the rest is history."
Sunday's Game 6 win was a microcosm of this season, this playoff run and this series. The Mavericks trailed by nine points minutes in, trying to fend off the Heat's last-ditch effort to save their season. Minutes later that deficit morphed into a 12-point lead that was down to just two by halftime. Nine times the lead changed hands in the third quarter before the Mavericks did what they did the entire series, and that's rule the floor when it mattered most in the fourth quarter.

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Terry carried the Mavericks early, scoring 19 of his game-high 27 points before halftime. Nowitzki shook off an early ugly 1-for-12 shooting night, pumping in 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to close the Heat out.
It was a fitting way to finish this series, for those two remaining members of the team that suffered the cruelest defeat five years ago in The Finals -- they led 2-0 and were six minutes away from a 3-0 lead before losing four straight games to Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat -- to be the two men to carry the Mavericks over the threshold of this moment.
They can shed the "one and done boys" label they've carried around the past few years, courtesy of those aforementioned early playoff flameouts.
They've wiped clean the stain of a 2007 first-round playoff disaster against Golden State, when the No. 1 seed Mavericks were upset by the No. 8 seed Warriors.
Gone are the painful memories of watching the rival Lakers and San Antonio Spurs hoist that championship trophy in the air on the final night of the season.
There's a permanent smile on Cuban's face. Nowitzki's soft label has been retired and Terry can finally sleep, now that the excruciating defeat from five years ago has been put to rest.
"Going in we never used it as a motivating factor," Terry said, wearing a champagne-soaked Mavericks championship T-shirt while admiring his reflection in the Larry O'Brien trophy as he and Kidd made their final podium appearance of the season. "Two totally different teams. You look at what we did along the way, along our journey, getting past Portland. Nobody said we could. Doing what we did to the Lakers. We continued to grind it out, believing in each other, and showed huge resiliency every time we stepped on the court ..."
Champions at last.

zondag 12 juni 2011

Andy Murray reaches Queens final after crushin Roddick

Venue: Queen's Tennis Club, London
Date: 6-12 June
Coverage: Live coverage on BBC Two, online (UK only) and BBC HD and text commentary (#bbctennis) on BBC Sport website; and commentary on Radio 5 live and sports extra

Magnificent Murray romps past Roddick

Andy Murray gave four-time champion Andy Roddick a grass-court masterclass as he swept past the American in 59 minutes to reach the final of the Aegon Championships.

The British number one produced one of his best ever displays, serving brilliantly and passing at will on his way to a 6-3 6-1 victory at Queen's Club.
Murray is now on the verge of reclaiming the title he won in 2009, with Sunday's final against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga brought forward to 1200 BST because of the threat of rain.
That was a consideration on Saturday too, but such was Murray's brilliance he was off the court in under an hour with the sun still shining.
"It was one of those days where everything is just sort of going your way," said Murray. "Like if there was a net cord, it would have gone my way today. If he hit a good shot, it would miss by just a little bit.

Click to play

Murray delighted with form against Roddick

"Everything I was trying, every passing shot I hit, was always in the right spot. I hardly gave him a chance on anything. Sometimes against Andy you guess on the serves - I guessed right every single time today. I don't really remember him acing me hardly in the match.
"I was just seeing the ball really early, and it's difficult to do that every single day."
Two aces in the opening game set the tone, and he immediately went to work on Roddick's usually fearsome serve, reading it superbly and dictating the rallies with his backhand slice.
There was only one winner in the baseline exchanges, Roddick slicing into the net to give up the break in game two before standing and watching as the Scot fired 12 aces past him in racing through the first set, the last on set point.
If Roddick was banking on a lull in the second set, he was out of luck.

Andy had really good ball control today. I felt like he was working it wherever he wanted to

Andy Roddick

Murray actually raised his level, a forehand cross-court pass and a backhand down the line putting the pressure on Roddick in game one before the American double-faulted and dumped a volley into the net.
The floodgates were now open, with a killer drop shot and a blistering forehand pass giving Murray the double-break at 4-1, two more forehands and a lunging volley making it 5-1.
Roddick was little more than a spectator as the end came racing into sight, apparently asking Murray jokingly to "keep it social" when another forehand flew past him in game seven.
The former world number one briefly prolonged the contest by saving two match points, but could only guide a drop shot tamely into the net on the third to end the Murray demolition job.
Asked afterwards if it was the best Murray had played against him in their 10 meetings, Roddick said: "Oh, yeah, he played great. I felt like I hit the ball well. My serve - I haven't seen it, but I had to be close to 70% [Roddick's actual first-serve percentage was 83%].
"I remember missing one second‑serve return. I felt like I missed a bunch of chips and stuff by an inch or two."
Roddick added: "He's one of the best in the world at taking and controlling paces. He's very good at slow, slow, slow, and then he's able to strike. And he had really good ball control today. I felt like he was working it wherever he wanted to."

zaterdag 11 juni 2011

Canucks take the lead 3-2

VANCOUVER -- All eyes were going to be on Roberto Luongo. Whether he liked it or not, the Vancouver goalie would be the fulcrum of the series. After two substantial losses in Boston, he returned home, needing to prove, yet again, that his psyche isn't made of porcelain. It's not the first time the goalie shouldered that pressure; it wasn't even the first time he felt it this spring.
After two subpar performances against Chicago in the first round, allowing the Blackhawks to bounce back after being down 3-0 in the series, Luongo needed a way to clear his head from the noise and the playoff demons that seemed to plagued him. On the afternoon before Game 7, perhaps the most famous man in this hockey-crazed city had his hand in anonymity, taking a walk along the sea wall in Vancouver's Stanley Park -- just him, a pair of headphones, his thoughts and the splendid view. That night, he buried the Blackhawks and expunged the memories of collapse, of failure, with a 2-1 overtime win.
Nearly two months later, it all seemed a little too familiar. After allowing 12 goals in five-plus periods in Boston, he needed to reboot once again. And on Friday afternoon, just hours before Game 5, the Vancouver goalie took another hike before bringing his team one win away from the Stanley Cup, shutting out the Bruins 1-0 at Rogers Arena.
Shaking off two bad games is literally a walk in the park for Luongo.
"I don't know if they have a sea wall in Boston," he said through a smile after the game, "but I'm going to look for that. ... Sometimes I need to clear my head and put things in perspective. ... I just focus on the journey and everything I need to do to be ready for the game. That's what gets me prepared."
Through the early-going, when the Bruins came out riding the momentum they had generated from two wins at home, Luongo alone kept the Canucks in the game. As his teammates took four penalties in the first period, the netminder made five saves with his team short-handed early, stoning Bruins center Patrice Bergeron twice from the low slot on Boston's third power play. With his team grasping a one-goal lead in the third period, he made the tough and timely saves, the ones that seemed to elude him just days ago. And under the blinding spotlight, Luongo found a way to shine, finishing with 31 saves.

Canucks lead 3-2

GAME 1 Canucks 1, Bruins 0 | Highlights

GAME 2 Canucks 3, Bruins 2 (OT) | Highlights

GAME 3 Bruins 8, Canucks 1 | Highlights

GAME 4 Bruins 4, Canucks 0 | Highlights

GAME 5 Canucks 1, Bruins 0 | Highlights

GAME 6 at BOS, Mon. June 13, 8 p.m. ET, NBC

GAME 7 at VAN, Wed. June 15, 8 p.m. ET, NBC*

* If Necessary

He and the Canucks would need all of them, given that Boston goalie Tim Thomas continued to show his wares against the league's best offense. But Vancouver, almost completely silenced by the Vezina Trophy finalist in Boston, had a few ideas on how to solve him. Thomas, often an aggressive goalie who isn't afraid of white ice, was caught high twice, giving Vancouver open looks into his net. The first, with about seven minutes left in the second period, went to fourth-line grinder Tanner Glass, who amazingly whiffed on the shot.
But in the third period, just five minutes in, Vancouver center Maxim Lapierre did what Glass couldn't do. Stationed on the goal line to the right of Thomas's cage, the agitating winger became the beneficiary of an odd carom off the end boards. Kevin Bieksa's shot from the opposite point found its way right onto Lapierre's stick. He flipped the puck in for his second goal of the postseason, closing Thomas's shutout streak at 110:42.
"[Thomas] does play out, and their Ds do block shots," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "Sometimes all you have is a short-side shot. I think that's what Kevin had right there. [But] it took a bounce the right way, right to the other side."
A little bit of luck, and a long walk, will now give Vancouver the chance to lift a Cup.

Tsonga takes out Nadal

London, England (Sports Network) - Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upset French Open champion Rafael Nadal, while former Queen's Club titlists Andy Murray and Andy Roddick posted quarterfinal victories Friday at the $1 million Aegon Championships, a grass-court Wimbledon tuneup.
The fifth-seeded Tsonga dominated the third set to notch a 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-1 come-from-behind victory over the world No. 1 and 2008 Queen's Club winner Nadal. Tsonga swatted 25 aces en route to victory, his second in seven career tries against Nadal.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and French Open champion Nadal was fresh off his second straight and sixth overall title at Roland Garros. The Spanish slugger bested his great rival Roger Federer in this past Sunday's finale in Paris.
Nadal was riding a nine-match overall winning streak.
Tsonga's semifinal opponent on Saturday will be upstart British wild card James Ward.
Meanwhile, a second-seeded Murray advanced to the final four without even lifting his racquet on Day 5, as eighth-seeded Croat Marin Cilic pulled out of their scheduled quarterfinal affair because of an ankle injury.
The 2009 Queen's Club champion Murray, who lost to Nadal in last week's French Open semis, will battle the third-seeded Roddick in a marquee final-four tilt here on Saturday.
The four-time Queen's Club champion Roddick blew past seventh-seeded Spanish lefthander Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2 in a mere 65 minutes in a rain- interrupted affair.
Roddick will meet the Australian Open runner-up Murray for a 10th time at the ATP level, with the Brit holding a 6-3 advantage in their lifetime series. The American beat Murray in the quarterfinals here at The Queen's Club three years ago.
The former U.S. Open champion Roddick captured this traditional London event from 2003-05 and again in 2007.
The aforementioned Ward was forced into double duty on Friday.
The third round concluded when the 216th-ranked Brit upended 13th-seeded and defending Queen's Club titlist Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a bout that was suspended here on Thursday night after two sets due to insufficient light.
Querrey beat Mardy Fish in last year's all-American London finale.
The 24-year-old Ward then dismissed France's Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-7 (14-16), 6-4 in 2 hours, 7 minutes in Day 5's quarterfinal nightcap.
This week's champion will take home $113,000.

vrijdag 10 juni 2011

Newest Soccer transfer news!

Milan to make a move for Drogba
Milan have shown interest in Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, according to Il Corriere dello Sport.
The Rossoneri are looking to further improve the squad that won the Serie A title this season and they have now set their sights on the Ivorian striker.
Milan chiefs want to ease some pressure on Zlatan Ibrahimovic by signing another quality striker and they see the Chelsea forward as the perfect man for the job.
The Ivorian has lost his starting place at Stamford Bridge following the purchase of Fernando Torres, and he is now reportedly looking to leave the club.
With Chelsea set to complete the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht, Drogba is aware that he is no longer an indispensable member of the squad and is expected to leave in search for first team football.
The Rossoneri will not be able to offer him an automatic starting spot, but the lure of joining such a big club may compensate for the disadvantages.
However, Milan face a stiff competition from Tottenham, who have been tracking the Ivorian during the last few years.
Drogba is now entering the final year of his contract, meaning that Chelsea will be hoping to cash in on him this summer.
Aquilani looking to stay in Italy
Alberto Aquilani is not too keen on returning to Liverpool, his agent has revealed.
The Italy international had a very successful loan spell at Juventus, but the Bianconeri now look unlikely to make the transfer permanent.
The Old Lady have pulled out of the deal after Liverpool refused to lower the asking price, but Aquilani is, nevertheless, looking to remain in Italy.
The Italy international is reportedly followed by Napoli, with his agent admitting that a move to San Paolo was a possibility.
“Aquilani to Napoli? I don´t think it would be an easy negotiation but if the will is there why not?” Franco Zavaglia told Radio Crr.
“I have not spoken to (Napoli sporting director Riccardo) Bigon but the player wants to remain in Italy.
“If something was to come up he would be happy.
“I have not spoken to Alberto but Napoli is an important club.
“If Napoli considered Aquilani to be an important player, he would be open to negotiations.”
Liverpool paid Roma £20 million for Aquilani in 2009, so no wonder the Reds are not willing to lower their asking price, especially considering that the Italian is under contract until June 2014.
Defoe pledges his future to Tottenham
England international Jermain Defoe is adamant he wants to stay at White Hart Lane despite speculations linking him with a move away from the club.
The diminutive forward is still not considered first team regular at Tottenham despite showing some very promising performances this term.
With the player himself often complaining of unfair treatment, he was widely tipped to leave White Hart Lane in the summer, but it looks as though that is not going to happen.
“I’ve always said I love this club and I don’t want to leave,” Defoe told the Daily Express.
“I want to commit myself to the club, hopefully I’ve got many more years.
“You only get one chance, it’s a short career and you’ve got to make the most of it. And now I’ve scored 100 goals, I think, ‘Now I can forget about that and start from fresh’.
“And look forward to getting the next 10 and then look forward to the next season and having a great season.
Defoe admits he is willing to fight for his place in the team.
“When you’re playing with good players you’re going to get the chances. So it’s just down to me to keep focused and make sure that, when I get chances, I finish them.”

Bosox win against the Yankees

Ortiz breaks loose after being plunked, Bosox win

NEW YORK (AP) -- David Ortiz got more than even for getting drilled.
Ortiz broke loose soon after CC Sabathia hit him with a pitch, starting and finishing a seven-run burst in the seventh inning that led the Boston Red Sox over the Yankees 8-3 early Friday in a rain-delayed game that ended at 1:43 a.m.
When it was over, Ortiz seemed more angry at the media - maybe for playing up the possibility of trouble between the teams - than at Sabathia.
"Finally got hit," Ortiz said in a short rant that included some profanity.
After a wait of almost 3 1/2 hours, Josh Beckett (5-2) outpitched Sabathia (7-4) for the third time this season. The Red Sox outscored New York 25-13 while completing their second three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium in a month.
Only a few thousand fans were left in the ballpark when Boston wrapped up its sixth win in a row overall and beat the Yankees for the seventh straight time. The Red Sox are 8-1 against their longtime rivals this year.
"It's not how you wanted it to end tonight, it did and you've got to move on," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
A storm that brought lightning bolts over the Bronx delayed the start for 3 hours, 27 minutes. Shortly after the game began at 10:32 p.m., Beckett and Sabathia began zapping hitters, further ramping up baseball's most-spirited rivalry.
Plunked in the right thigh by Sabathia's 97 mph fastball in the fourth inning, Ortiz swung things in Boston's favor a little later. The Red Sox trailed 2-0 when he singled off Sabathia to start the seventh, and his two-run double off David Robertson capped the big rally.
"He feels good about himself, and he should," Boston manager Terry Francona said.
Bad blood seemed to be brewing from the get-go on a humid night. Ortiz appeared a likely target after homering in the first two games of the series - he irked the Yankees by admiring one of those shots, which came after a brushback, and some in pinstripes talked about how Big Papi looked too comfortable at the plate.
Beckett had already hit Derek Jeter - near the elbow, with his second pitch of the game - and Alex Rodriguez around the hip when Ortiz came up in the fourth with one out and a runner on first.
Sabathia's first pitch was a heater that squarely nailed Ortiz.
"The ball just got away from me," the lefty ace said.
Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt immediately pointed at both dugouts to issue warnings against further hostilities.
"I'm still trying to figure out whether David got hit for something I did," Beckett said.
Ortiz slowly walked to first base as the crowd chanted "CC! CC!" When the inning ended, Sabathia shot a glance toward the slugger before heading to the dugout, where his Yankees teammates met him with fist bumps, high fives, handshakes and back slaps.
"Jeter always gives me a pound after every inning," Sabathia explained.
To Yankees fans, perhaps it was long overdue. In his 15-season career, Ortiz had been hit by a pitch only once by the Yankees, that coming in the 2003 AL playoffs. Rodriguez, meanwhile, had been hit by Boston pitchers 14 times since joining New York the next year.
Curtis Granderson , who hit a two-run homer in the first inning, was clipped on the left foot by Beckett's breaking ball in the fifth. That plunking didn't cause any problems - the three HBPs matched the most by an AL team this season.
Granderson launched his 18th home run right after Jeter was hit. Beckett had been 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings against the Yankees this season, outpitching Sabathia both times. Beckett threw four-hit ball over seven innings in this win.
Sabathia gave up Carl Crawford 's single in the second, then didn't allow another hit until Ortiz singled in the seventh. Jed Lowrie followed with an RBI triple that snaked past right fielder Nick Swisher , Mike Cameron hit a tying double and Jacoby Ellsbury 's single put Boston ahead 3-2.
Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI single that finished Sabathia, Kevin Youkilis greeted Robertson with a run-scoring single and Ortiz doubled to deep left-center field. Gonzalez added an RBI single in the ninth.
The ballpark was fairly filled for the first pitch. During the delay, fans watched Game 5 of the NBA finals between Dallas and Miami on the videoboard, mostly jeering LeBron James and the Heat. There were cheers in the second inning, too, when the Yankees announced ticket stubs could be redeemed for a future free ticket.
Notes: Jeter singled for his 2,990th career hit. ... Yankees C Francisco Cervelli made his third throwing error in two games. ... Yankees DH Jorge Posada was back in the lineup. He was out Wednesday night because his son was having surgery for a skull condition. ... Lowrie started for the first time since Sunday. He'd been out with a sore left shoulder. ... RHP Phil Hughes (shoulder inflammation) threw a two-inning simulated game at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla. He is set to start Tuesday for the Gulf Coast Yankees. ... Last month, the Red Sox lost to the Angels in a rain-delayed game at Fenway Park that ended at 2:45 a.m.

NHL finals, time for game 5

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – I don’t think he’s lying this time. Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said Thursday that he would start goaltender Roberto Luongo (notes) against the Boston Bruins on Friday night in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“You can bet on that,” he said.
Of course, Vigneault said he would start Luongo against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of their first-round series, and he didn’t do it. He benched Luongo and gave Cory Schneider (notes) a surprise start under circumstances that seemed, at least on the surface, very similar to the ones the Canucks face now.

Roberto Luongo will only take a seat in Game 5 if he's chased from the crease.
(Getty Images)

The Canucks had been outscored over two games then, 12-2; they have been outscored over two games now, 12-1. Vigneault had pulled Luongo in back-to-back games against the ‘Hawks; he pulled him last game against the Bruins and could have – should have – pulled him the game before that.
But this is different. Vigneault said Thursday the Chicago series was a “special situation.” The Canucks had lost to the Blackhawks in back-to-back playoffs, and they were in danger of blowing a 3-0 series lead. He said he felt that they “needed to change the momentum a little bit.”
“My gut at that time told me that putting Schneids in was the thing to do,” Vigneault said. “There is one thing [now]: Roberto is the guy, he’s my guy and he’s playing. It’s that simple.”
Well, there is a little more to it than that.
Benching Luongo last time was a big mistake. Vigneault sat a guy who is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender in the regular season – a guy with a mega-million-dollar contract that runs through 2021-22 – in favor of a promising but inexperienced backup. He risked damaging Luongo’s confidence, and he legitimized questions about the team’s confidence in him.
The move didn’t work, though to the Canucks’ good fortune everything worked out for the best. In a bizarre turn of events, Schneider suffered cramps while allowing a goal on a penalty shot and had to leave Game 6 of the series. Luongo allowed the overtime winner in relief, but he came back, won Game 7 in overtime and regained his form, at least until the last two games. Having gone through all that, he actually gained confidence. He not only advanced past the second round for the first time, he advanced past the third.
The Canucks had a 3-2 lead in the Chicago series and were on the road. This series is a 2-2 tie, and the Canucks are at home. Most important, this is for the Cup. This isn’t about gut feelings anymore. It’s about guts. At this stage, you show confidence in the guys who got you here and leave it in their hands.
“You guys should know … the core group and the strong leadership that we have in that dressing room, the accountability that we have in that dressing room, guys aren’t happy with how they’ve played. ” Vigneault said. “They’re aware of it, and they’re going to come ready tomorrow, and they’re going to live in the moment and seize this opportunity.”
Luongo gave up the captaincy to Henrik Sedin (notes) this season and much has been made of how a burden has been lifted off his shoulders. He has seemed more relaxed. That is true. But it is not as though Luongo has stopped facing questions in Vancouver’s hockey-mad media market, and he generally has not avoided them.
He doesn’t always tell people what they want to hear. He sometimes makes excuses when he could own his mistakes. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism. Maybe if he doesn’t admit to himself that he’s at fault the negatives are easier to take. I don’t know. I’m not his sports psychologist.
I do know, though, that Luongo looked and sounded like a captain again Thursday. The Canucks had spent several hours flying back from Boston and they had to make some players available to the media by league directive. Instead of taking the day off, Luongo showed up with three of his defensemen. Most of the questions were directed to him, and even when they weren’t, he took the lead.

Goalie Roberto Luongo, who struggled in Games 3 and 4, sees it like this: "Last time I checked, it's 2-2 in the series ... I don't see why we should be depressed."
(Getty Images)

“Last time I checked, it’s 2-2 in the series,” Luongo said. “So I don’t see why we should be depressed.”
Vancouver fans can see why. Having waited 40 years for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, they were so giddy with the Canucks taking a 2-0 series lead that they partied in the streets after Game 2. At 4:30 a.m., the stragglers among the revelers were still out and about. One carried a homemade Cup on a sidewalk downtown. And now, suddenly, the series has turned, and the Bruins have all the momentum.
Look, it isn’t all Luongo’s fault. It isn’t even close. The Bruins have been pounding the Canucks and wearing them down. The defense has been thinned by an injury to Dan Hamhuis (notes) and a suspension to Aaron Rome (notes). The offense has been struggling to finish scoring chances. The Canucks’ top players – Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin (notes) and Ryan Kesler (notes) – have only one goal and two assists between them in this series.
Asked how he could solve Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (notes), Henrik Sedin said: “I don’t know. Do you have an answer for me? We have to keep doing the things we are. He’s playing well right now like [Luongo] is when he’s hot.”
That says a lot right there. Thomas is hot; Luongo is not.
The theory has been that with so much talent in front of him – the winners of the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team – Luongo doesn’t need to carry the Canucks. His job is not to win games; it’s to not lose them.
That has generally been true. Until now. Luongo’s team is struggling at the most critical point in the season, and at the other end of the ice is a fellow Vezina finalist.
Actually, Thomas isn’t just a fellow Vezina finalist. Luongo already beat one of those in the second round in the Nashville Predators’ Pekka Rinne (notes). Thomas is the Vezina favorite, and he’s playing like it – like a difference-maker, like a leader, making save after save and even mixing it up with miscreants who dare to invade his space in the crease. He’s in a zone, even if he wouldn’t call it that.
“I’ve heard a lot of talk about the zone and stuff over the course of my career, but I don’t feel much different than I did for most of the season right now,” Thomas said. “The puck definitely doesn’t look any bigger. It doesn’t look like a beach ball. It looks like a normal-sized puck. One thing when you’re playing better, you’re just able to track the puck better around the whole ice, and that’s happening well for me right now.”
It needs to happen for Luongo right now, too. With the Cup on the line, with their skaters struggling, with the other goaltender shining, the Canucks need their goaltender to at least balance the scales a bit – to be a difference-maker, to win and not just not lose.
At times like this, you go with your $10-million man, not your backup. It’s that simple.
“We’re all pretty upset with ourselves and our performances,” Luongo said. “So at the end of the day, we’re two wins away from reaching the ultimate goal, so I don’t think it’s a time for us to be putting our heads down or to not have any confidence. I think we’re close, and we want to make sure that we all bring our ‘A’ game.”

Honda to leave CSKA, where next?

Keisuke Honda has told a Japanese newspaper of his desire to get out of a "rut" with Russian club CSKA Moscow.

GettyImages / EpsilonKeisuke Honda won the Asian Cup with Japan in January.

Honda starred for Japan as the Blue Samurai clinched their fourth Asian Cup triumph in January, prompting CSKA to ward off interest from any potential suitors.
But the 24-year-old feels it is time to move on and said he fears the consequences of prolonging his spell in the Russian capital.
"It's agonising," Honda told Nikkan Sports. ''I can't stay like this. I said I wanted Japan to win the World Cup. I was MVP at the Asian Cup in January but I'm still not happy with things.
"I'm happy people give me credit after Japan win games. It's a great feeling. I don't mind getting a hammering when we lose either, although it can sting sometimes. I put that pressure on myself.
"But right now I'm in a rut still being at CSKA. This wasn't what I planned. If I don't accept it I can't live my life. But if I get too used to my circumstances I'll come to a halt. That scares me."

Rafael Nadal winning, winning and winning!

Top ranked Rafael Nadal, second-seeded British star Andy Murray and four-time Queen’s Club champ Andy Roddick were a trio of winners Thursday in the third round of the Aegon Championships, a Wimbledon tune-up tennis event.
clearpxl

The world No. 1 Spaniard Nadal, apparently still adjusting to the switch from his favorite surface to the grass courts, needed three sets to dispose of the gritty Czech veteran Radek Stepanek 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 to advance into the final eight.
Nadal, who continued his dominance on the clay courts against arch-rival Roger Federer in Sunday’s thrilling finale at Paris, amassed six service breaks in Day 4 action.
The reigning French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Nadal will next face fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who advanced after 10th-seeded fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra retired after the first set Thursday.
Second-seeded Australian Open runner-up Murray, who was the 2009 Queen's Club titlist, brushed aside pain from his ankle injury he sustained at the French Open to notch a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over Serbian 14th seed Janko Tipsarevic.
On Friday, the world No. 4 Murray will collide against eighth-seeded Croat Marin Cilic, who trounced Brazilian campaigner Thomaz Bellucci.
Former U.S. Open champ Roddick, bidding for his fifth Queen’s Club crown, blasted No. 15th seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa in straight sets
Up next for the hard hitting Roddick, who ruled this London event from 2003-05 and again in 2007, will be No. 7th seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who knocked off ninth-seeded and former Wimbledon finalist Argentine David Nalbandian, 7-5, 6-1.
Meanwhile, the third-round match pitting No. 13th –seed and defending Queen’s Club champion Sam Querrey and British wild card James Ward was suspended due to darkness.
The winner of the Querrey-Ward encounter will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who posted mild upset in Day 4, when he toppled 12th-seeded former world No. 4 and former U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro.
At Copenhagen, Denmark, world No 1 and crowd favorite Caroline Wozniacki whipped German Angelique Kerber to advance into the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open Thursday.
Wozniacki, winner of the inaugural Copenhagen title last year, was pushed to a tiebreak in the opening set by the gusty Kerber, but regained composure to post a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory in the second round.
The 20-year-old Dane, who vanquished Czech Klara Zakopalova in the last year’s finale here, will continue her return bid to the championship match Friday, when she plays No. 8th seeded Italian Alberta Brianti.
Rising American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, seeded third this week, also advances into the quarterfinals after prevailing over Swede Johanna Larsson 6-7 (1-7), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5). Mattek-Sands is set to square off against German Mona Barthel Friday
Fourth-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova also booked a berth in Friday’s quarterfinal. She will face China's Zhang Shuai, who bested Russian qualifier Galina Voskoboeva in three sets.

Mavericks take Game 5!

Nine players got on the scoreboard for the Dallas Mavericks in a crucial Game 5 win.

Mavs finally find the mark, push Heat to the brink

Posted Jun 10 2011 1:55AM - Updated Jun 10 2011 6:10AM

DALLAS -- Jason Terry tugged on the edges of his jersey and took a good, long look at that sea of screaming faces in the American Airlines Center crowd staring back at him and let it out.
"This is what I do," the Mavericks' sixth man said after draining a shot-clock beating 26-footer over LeBron James with 33.8 seconds to play, icing the game for the Mavericks and choking whatever life was left in the Miami Heat in Game 5 of The Finals.

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Terry's shot was the fitting end to a roller coaster ride that included two dramatic shifts in the final 12 minutes of a game, and really a series that has seen dozens of emotional shifts for both sides over the past 10 days.
The Mavericks head to Miami for Sunday's Game 6 with a 3-2 lead and a chance to do the unthinkable for a team picked by many, including some of their own around these parts, to get eliminated at every turn before now. Yet here Terry and Dirk Nowitzki stand, a win away from erasing the nasty memories from their collapse five years ago against the Heat in The 2006 Finals.
"It's my job," said Terry, who scored eight of his 21 points in a game-clinching 17-4 run the Mavericks used to finish off the Heat 112-103. "All season long, ever since I've been a Maverick, I've been the guy in the fourth quarter they rely on to either make plays or make shots. Regardless of what's going on throughout the three quarters of the game, in the fourth quarter I know I'm depended on to come through."
The sweet-shooting Mavericks team that demolished the competition in the Western Conference playoffs, the one that sank 49 of their 106 attempts from beyond the 3-point line against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in a conference semifinals sweep, went missing throughout the first four games of this series facing the best defensive team in basketball.
But you knew they would find the mark sooner or later. Terry, J.J. Barea and Jason Kidd picked the perfect time to resurface. They toasted the Heat's vaunted defense and toasted the fans in the final home game of a magical season that stands four quarters from the first NBA championship in franchise history.

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Terry said in the minutes after the Mavericks' Game 1 loss, that if they kept getting the looks they wanted they would find a way to solve the Heat defense. He even baited James with a little trash talk after being held scoreless in the fourth quarters of the two games the Mavericks lost, daring James to stop him over the remainder of a seven-game series. He talked more than Nowitzki prefers, but even he had to smile a little after watching the man who fancies himself "Mr. 4th Quarter" finish off the Heat the way he did on this night.
"We all know Jet is a confident young man," Nowitzki joked. "He always has a lot to say to us in the locker room. He's always talking. He's just an energetic guy. He loves to talk and he loves to hear himself talk."
Terry backed it up this time, though. James got the triple-double but Terry and the Mavericks walked away with the win.
"Jet was phenomenal," Nowitzki said. "He was aggressive again from the get-go, I felt. Even in the first half he came in, had a couple of pull-ups, got in the lane, got a floater, I remember. That's the Jet we need. We need him to attack and get in the lane. It opens up a lot of stuff out there."
James spoke earlier in the day about Game 5 being the "biggest of his life" piggy-backing on his middle of the night Tweet suggesting that it was "Now or Never" for the himself and the Heat, who played shorthanded at times Thursday night after Dwyane Wade bruised his hip before halftime and logged just 16 minutes the rest of the way.
Someone forgot to relay that "Now or Never" memo to Terry, Kidd and Barea. They combined for 10 of the Mavericks' 13 makes from beyond the 3-point line, the next one seemingly more crucial than the last.
The Mavericks shot 68.4 percent from deep and used two monster 3-pointers from Terry and one from Kidd, on a sweet feed from Terry after he blew past James and drove to the basket, in the final three minutes to bounce back from a four-point hole and steal back a game they controlled for much of the night.
Barea was magnificent early on, dictating tempo and attacking the heart of the Heat defensive with repeated forays into the trees.
"Barea's penetration was terrific," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "He got going with his outside game and his inside game, which really helped us. Look, we threw in some difficult shots, but when you play as hard as we've been playing, the basketball gods tend to be kinder to you."
Terry finished 3-for-5 from long range, Barea with 4-for-5 from deep with 17 points and five assists and Kidd 3-for-5 from deep with 13 points and six assists. It was the perfect second punch to pair with Nowitzki's 29-point effort.

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"This team has more offensive firepower than any other team that we've played," said Heat power forward Chris Bosh. "They can't get wide-open shots. They can't get layups. They can't have guys [other] than Dirk having a good game."
But this is what the Mavericks do. It's how they reached this point in the season, with a wicked dose of Dirk and the Terry-Barea-led bench coming at teams incapable of defending an offensive dynamo that can beat you from distance or with Barea attacking off the dribble and wreaking havoc. They drained a playoff-record tying 20 shots from 3-point range (20-for-32) in a Game 4 blowout of the Lakers.
The Mavericks are 29-6 this season, regular season and playoffs combined, when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor, and they're 4-1 in the playoffs when doing so. The lone loss was in Game 3 in the first round against Portland. They shot 56 percent (39-for-69) Thursday night.
They are 22-5, regular season and playoffs combined, when they make 10 or more 3-pointers, and are also 4-1 in the playoffs when doing so. The lone loss again was that Game 3 in Portland in the first round.
And they are 24-4 this season, regular season and playoffs combined, when Terry scores 20 or more points, 7-1 in the playoffs. He scored 29 points in that Game 3 loss in Portland.
Game 6 of The Finals in Miami will offer much more pressure than anything they've seen to this point. But counting them out at this point would be as foolish as anything the Heat have done to this point.
Especially with Terry tugging on that jersey and channeling his trash-talking idols from his days growing up in Seattle and the Mavericks that showed up in Game 5 back on track ... it's what they do.
(nba.com)

donderdag 9 juni 2011

Nba Final Game 5

For a championship, LeBron must get his ship going

Posted Jun 9 2011 10:00AM

DALLAS -- He owes it to Miami, the only city that will hug him besides Akron, his hometown. He owes it to Pat Riley and Micky Arison, Miami's president and its owner who came up with the space to fit him on the roster and the cash to pay him a King's ransom.
And obviously, he owes it to himself, the person he must answer to and show that he's capable of doing what it takes to be a winner.
Mostly, LeBron James owes Dwyane Wade. Owes him big-time. He owes Wade a magnificent performance tonight and for however long these NBA Finals last.
Anything less than that, any repeat of Game 4 when LeBron vaporized like sweat on a Dallas sidewalk, and you'll wonder if a relationship built on trust and mutual admiration will suddenly bear watching, pronto, for cracks in the foundation.
Because ultimately, it's all about respect, really, when you peel away the bond these close teammates share. Wade did not push for LeBron last off-season just so they could continue a friendly dialogue and take in the sights on South Beach. In the age of social networking, they could've just texted or Tweeted back and forth an entire season from afar, and maybe went to lunch once or twice when in town. No, Wade wanted LeBron in Miami to win titles. That was always the motive, always the agenda. Let's be very clear about that. The "ship" that Wade wanted most out of this relation-ship was not friend-ship, a nice fringe benefit. Uh-uh.

Champion-ship.
For the past few games, you saw Wade play his guts out, only to watch LeBron flame-out in the most recent fourth quarter. You saw Wade slice constantly through the Dallas defense, attack the rim, wearily carry the club through tough stretches and deliver like a former Finals MVP could. And it was wasted when LeBron chose a curious time to stand in the corner and watch another late Heat lead go up in flames.
You heard

Wade cover for LeBron in the postgame news conference, sticking up for the player who always sits to Wade's right in these sessions, saying how the team needs to do whatever it can to get LeBron going. When the opposite is true.
But then Wade said something Wednesday that could and should serve as fuel for LeBron the rest of this series.
"He feels he let me down," Wade said.
LeBron said he doesn't listen to criticism from the public and the media, and that's probably true to an extent. Because if LeBron absorbed all that abuse, he'd be on medication right now. But he does listen to Wade. He takes what Wade says to heart. And according to sources, Wade had plenty to say to LeBron in the locker room following the game, and then again into the wee hours of the next morning.
"I had a similar conversation with him in the Chicago series," Wade said. "We just talked about the moment more than anything. We talked about the situation and the opportunity we have, you know?"
What Wade told LeBron, in so many words, is not to take this appearance in The Finals for granted, that to assume if Miami loses, there would be more trips in the future. It doesn't always work that way. Even if the Heat does return to the championship round, winning is hardly guaranteed. So much can happen: Injuries (Wade seems especially vulnerable), a weakened supporting cast, or the other team getting hot at the right time. Like Dallas.

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It's true that in the Eastern Conference finals, the roles were reversed. LeBron did the heavy lifting against the Bulls and Wade was trapped in a funk. When that happened, Wade didn't catch nearly as much flak as LeBron did in Game 4, only because of the double standard for LeBron. When Wade struggled against the Bulls, here's what everyone wondered: is he hurt?
But at least Wade tried. There's a difference between shooting 5-for-21 and having a poor offensive night, and taking one shot in the fourth quarter, as LeBron did in Game 4. Wade didn't deliver in a big way against the Bulls because he never got it going. LeBron didn't deliver in Game 4 because he never bothered to get it going.
Also: Wade struggled in the conference finals, not the championship series. That's the ultimate stage where reputations, both good and bad, are formed and crystallized.
LeBron said all the right things Wednesday, about being accountable for his invisibility, about pledging to be more assertive for Game 5. And he probably will.
"I'll just be hard on myself and figure out a way to do better," James said. "I criticized myself. I was hard on myself. I've got to do a better job of helping this team win basketball games, especially late, whatever it takes. If this was the Super Bowl, one game, I'd be kicking myself in the foot."
If he can't do it for himself, he needs to do it for Wade, the player who put LeBron in position to finally claim a title. Wade has had to endure issues this season that he never faced before, all because of LeBron: the hate, the rude receptions from arenas all across the NBA. Wade has been guilty by association, caught in the crossfire between an annoyed public and LeBron.
Through it all, Wade sided with LeBron, eagerly and often, defending him, doing whatever it took to ensure that LeBron didn't have to face the music alone. Even when they appear together in press conference, that's more for LeBron's benefit than Wade's.
So LeBron owes him one. Make that two, since that's what it'll take to seal the deal in a series that's tied 2-2. This goes beyond a friendship and a relationship. This is about championship and in order to repay Wade, LeBron knows he must get his ship together.

(Nba.com)

donderdag 16 juni 2011

2011 STANLEY CUP FINAL

woensdag 15 juni 2011

Stanley Cup finals

dinsdag 14 juni 2011

With Triumph at Queen’s, Murray Looks Forward to Wimbledon

maandag 13 juni 2011

Mavs' Big Team sheds negative labels with team's first title

zondag 12 juni 2011

zaterdag 11 juni 2011

vrijdag 10 juni 2011

Ortiz breaks loose after being plunked, Bosox win

Mavs finally find the mark, push Heat to the brink

donderdag 9 juni 2011

For a championship, LeBron must get his ship going