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Heat's Miller brings daughter home

MIAMI — Mike Miller is already celebrating, and the NBA Finals have not even started.

The Heat forward and his wife brought home newborn daughter Jaelyn from a South Florida hospital on Saturday afternoon, about two weeks after the baby arrived. Jaelyn had spent some time in the pediatric intensive care unit with four holes in her heart — the condition is called a ventricular septal defect, Miller said — and is now doing much better.

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Giants catcher Posey out for season

MILWAUKEE — San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey is out for the season after having surgery Sunday to repair three torn ligaments in his ankle sustained in a collision at home plate last week.

"He's not going to be back this season," head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said in a conference call with reporters. "He will have another surgery somewhere in the 8- to 10-week mark to take out some of that hardware that the doctors put in. That's already determined. . . . Add that to rehab time, and I don't see him making it back this season."

Groeschner said Posey had two screws inserted into his lower leg to stabilize the ankle over a surgery that lasted about 90 minutes early Sunday morning.

Nowitzki's title-or-bust approach working so far

DALLAS — The biggest party of Dirk Nowitzki's career was going strong. Teammates, friends and the rest of the 20,000 people who had been screaming "MVP!" since the first quarter were on their feet in appreciation of him and the Dallas Mavericks.

Hungry: Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is in his second NBA Finals and is doing all he can to win a championship. AP PHOTO

And Nowitzki wanted no part of it.

A few minutes into the celebration for winning the Western Conference, Nowitzki pried off his new 2011 NBA Finals cap and headed to the locker room.

Reaching the NBA Finals no longer qualifies as a big deal to Nowitzki. He's been there before, in 2006. He was the league's MVP in 2007. He carried Germany's flag into the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics.

As he's made clear on and off the court the last six weeks, all that matters is winning a championship.

"There is no second-place finish in this league," he said. "You get nothing for losing the finals."

The team doesn't. But Nowitzki will walk away from this postseason with a new reputation regardless of whether the Mavs or Miami Heat are crowned champions.

Sure, he's long been an All-Star and a perennial pick for All-NBA, and that MVP award didn't come in a Cracker Jack box. But honors usually have come with the disclaimer, "Yeah, he's a great scorer, but ..." Nowitzki has lacked the unqualified, widespread admiration and appreciation from the average fan.

By powering Dallas past Portland, sweeping the Lakers and showing the Thunder how the big boys get things done this time of year, Nowitzki has redefined his legacy.

"This ride he's been on has been incredible," teammate Jason Kidd said.

Nowitzki is averaging 28.4 points per game in the playoffs, 0.2 behind Kevin Durant for the best overall. He's scored 40 twice, including 48 in the opener of the conference finals.

The real eye-popper is his average of 9.7 points per fourth quarter, the best by anyone in the postseason since 2006 and the best of anyone to get out of the second round since 2003, according to STATS LLC. Among those he trumps are the best by recent NBA Finals MVPs Kobe Bryant (9.6), Paul Pierce (9.0) and Dwyane Wade (8.8).

Heat forward Udonis Haslem covered Nowitzki in the 2006 Finals. He knows the guy he's going to cover the next two weeks will be a much tougher challenge.

Nowitzki has put to rest the idea he's a big man who shoots 3-pointers but is afraid to mix it up in the paint.

"He's just as big a threat down low as he is on the perimeter," Haslem said. "He's a complete player and right now he might be the best player in the playoffs."

Barcelona celebrates latest triumph

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona players rode through the Catalan capital in an open-top bus Sunday, showing off the Champions League trophy they won by beating Manchester United in the final.

Thousands of fans greeted the players as the bus — decked out in the club's red and blue colors with the word "Champions" on the sides — wound its way through the city.

The players later were introduced one by one before a packed crowd of more than 90,000 fans at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, with coach Pep Guardiola carrying the trophy onto the field.

Lionel Messi, who scored in the 3-1 win at Wembley on Saturday night, told the crowd: "I don't have much to say other than to thank you all for your support during this amazing year. Hopefully, there will be many more to come. Long live Barca and long live Catalunya."

Tigers, BoSox split twin bill in Detroit

DETROIT — Jose Valverde and David Ortiz had the two biggest matchups of an exhausting Sunday.

Home sweet home: Tigers runner Andy Dirks slides home as Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek waits for the throw on Sunday in Detroit. The Tigers won 3-0 to earn a split in a day-night doubleheader. AP PHOTO

They split, and as a result, so did the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox.

Nearly seven hours after Ortiz's ninth-inning homer off Valverde gave the Red Sox a 4-3 victory in the first game of a day-night doubleheader, the Tigers closer retired Ortiz to finish off a 3-0 win in the nightcap.

"It was the same for me — I didn't feel anything different," Valverde said. "He's a good hitter and there's nothing you can do about that, but the second game was my time."

In the second game, Justin Verlander (5-3) allowed four hits and walked two in 7? shutout innings, throwing a career-high 132 pitches.

"He's a real proud guy, and you could see the determination in his eyes," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I checked with him, he said he was fine, and he was up for the challenge."

Leyland said he will take advantage of Thursday's off day to give Verlander an extra day between starts.

"During the — I don't even know what inning it was, maybe the fifth or sixth — my velocity started to jump up, and I still didn't feel like I was overthrowing the ball," Verlander said. "I found a rhythm and had my mechanics and the ball was coming out live."

Josh Beckett (4-2) took his first loss since April 5 — his first start of the season. Beckett gave up two runs on five hits and a season-high five walks in six innings.

"Beckett's stuff was up in the first inning, and he gave up a couple runs," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "After that, Verlander never gave us a chance. He's one of the best in baseball. We made him work, but the higher he got into the pitch count, the harder he threw."

Valverde pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save, finishing a 10-hour day that included a 50-minute rain delay before the second game.

Ortiz's game-winning homer in the opener was his first pinch-hit home run in eight years.

"I don't like pinch hitting too much, but I did just what I do as a DH," Ortiz said. "I went to the cages, took some swings and got loose."

Rays 7, Indians 0

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven impressive innings, John Jaso homered, and Tampa Bay beat Cleveland.

Athletics 6, Orioles 4

In Oakland, Josh Willingham hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning, Daric Barton added an insurance run in the sixth and the A's beat Baltimore to complete its first three-game sweep this season.

Angels 6, Twins 5

In Minneapolis, Erick Aybar had three hits and three RBIs and Dan Haren earned his first win since April 17 in Los Angeles' victory over Minnesota.

Rangers 7, Royals 6

In Arlington, Texas, Mike Napoli slid under the tag of catcher Brayan Pena on Elvis Andrus' two-out single in the ninth inning, giving Texas a come-from-behind victory over Kansas City.

Yankees 7, Mariners 1

In Seattle, CC Sabathia allowed one run in eight innings and Andruw Jones lined a bases-clearing double to highlight the Yankees' five-run third inning.

Ichiro Suzuki was hitless in four at-bats for the Mariners.

Blue Jays 13, White Sox 4

In Toronto, Aaron Hill hit his first career grand slam, Corey Patterson added a two-run shot and the Blue Jays routed Chicago.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Mets 9, Phillies 5

In New York, Jose Reyes tripled twice for the third time this season and a refreshed Josh Thole had three hits and three RBIs as the Mets enjoyed a rare offensive outburst.

Brewers 6, Giants 0

In Milwaukee, Yovani Gallardo allowed four hits in eight innings to win his fifth straight start.

Padres 5, Nationals 4

In Washington, Ryan Ludwick had three hits and two RBIs, including a go-ahead infield single in the ninth inning.

Diamondbacks 4, Astros 2

In Houston, Xavier Nady hit a two-run double in the eighth inning, helping Arizona rally for a victory and a series sweep of Houston.

Cardinals 4, Rockies 3

In Denver, Kyle Lohse pitched six solid innings to match a major league high with his seventh win.

Dodgers 8, Marlins 0

In Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw pitched a two-hitter for his second shutout and complete game in his career.

Cubs 3, Pirates 2

In Chicago, Aramis Ramirez ended a long home run drought, Ryan Dempster threw six solid innings and the Cubs beat Pittsburgh in a game delayed by rain at the start.

Kosuke Fukudome was 2-for-4 for Chicago.

Braves 2, Reds 1

In Atlanta, Jair Jurrjens (7-1) outpitched Johnny Cueto (2-2) and Martin Prado hit a two-run homer to help the Braves beat Cincinnati.

Imada ends third at Byron Nelson

IRVING, Texas — Ryuji Imada fell one stroke short of a playoff berth Sunday, finishing in a share of third after shooting a 1-over 71 in the final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Imada, who teed off in third, dropped a shot from the third round en route to a total of 2-under 278 to tie with American Joe Ogilvie at TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas.

American Keegan Bradley, who fired a final-round 68, won a playoff against Ryan Palmer for his first PGA Tour victory after finishing in regulation on 277.

Imada, who failed in his bid for his second PGA Tour win and first in three seasons, made four birdies against five bogeys, including consecutive bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18.

Buffaloes send Park down to minors

KOBE — Orix Buffaloes right-hander Park Chan Ho has been sent to the minors after a string of lackluster performances, the Pacific League club said Monday.

Park, 37, was taken off the active roster following a disastrous outing against the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday in which he yielded six runs in 3? innings, suffering a PL-worst fifth loss.

Park, who had stints in the majors with several teams, including most recently the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets in 2010, has won only one of his seven starts and has a 4.29 ERA.

FIFA clears Blatter, suspends Asia chief

ZURICH — FIFA suspended senior executives Mohamed bin Hammam and Jack Warner over bribery allegations Sunday, while exonerating President Sepp Blatter in the gravest corruption crisis facing soccer's world governing body.

Blatter now is in line to be re-elected unopposed to a fourth term Wednesday after his only challenger, bin Hammam, withdrew his candidacy just hours before being provisionally excluded from all soccer activities by FIFA's ethics committee.

The ethics panel said there was sufficient evidence to further investigate allegations that bin Hammam and Warner, the CONCACAF President, offered $40,000 bribes to delegates at a Caribbean soccer association meeting on May 10-11 in Trinidad.

The payments were allegedly made to secure votes for bin Hammam, a Qatari who heads Asia's soccer confederation, in his campaign to unseat Blatter. The evidence was compiled by American executive committee member Chuck Blazer.

FIFA said bin Hammam and Warner, a FIFA vice president from Trinidad, will now face a full FIFA inquiry. If found guilty, they could be expelled from FIFA and banned for life from all soccer activity.

"We are satisfied that there is a case to be answered," Petrus Damaseb, deputy chairman of the ethics committee, said at a news conference.

Bin Hammam told reporters the suspension is "unfortunate but this is where we are — this is FIFA."

"I should have been given the benefit of doubt, but instead, I have been banned from all football activities," he later wrote on his official website.

Bin Hammam also criticized FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke for introducing new evidence — an email from Puerto Rican officials admitting they received $40,000 and had now returned it — at the post-hearing news conference.

Two officials from the Caribbean Football Union, Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, were also suspended over the bribery allegations.

With FIFA's reputation severely tarnished by repeated allegations of vote-buying and financial wrongdoing, Blatter responded Sunday by saying he regrets "what has happened in the last few days and weeks."

"FIFA's image has suffered a great deal as a result, much to the disappointment of FIFA itself and all football fans," the Swiss official said.

Bin Hammam, who denied any wrongdoing, had asked the ethics panel to investigate Blatter on grounds that he knew of alleged bribe attempts and did nothing about it.

But Damaseb said the five-man panel received "lots of confirmation from every individual conceivable" that there was no evidence to take action against Blatter, who has been in office since 1998.

"Is there a reason I should not believe him?" Damaseb, a Namibian judge, told reporters. "You can disagree with the decision I have taken. I can just give you the reasoning behind our decision."

FIFA stressed that the election will go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday during the congress of 208 national members.

"It's sad — definitely there is a need for change," Valcke said. "FIFA must make the necessary changes so that the institution has systems in place to avoid that something like this happens again."

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Tanaka double guides leaders Reysol past Vissel

KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. — Junya Tanaka scored two first-half goals and Leandro Domingues added another to extend Kashiwa Reysol's lead at the top of the J. League to three points with a 3-0 win over Vissel Kobe on Saturday.

Show of respect: Kashiwa Reysol fans congratulate Junya Tanaka (18) after his 24th-minute goal on Saturday against Vissel Kobe. Reysol won 3-0. KYODO PHOTO

Vissel went into the match at Hitachi Stadium on the back of three straight wins, but a brace from Tanaka inside the space of three minutes soon took the wind out of their sails and put last season's second-division champions firmly in the driving seat.

A third from Leandro Domingues in the 73rd minute made the game safe, giving Kashiwa 19 points from eight matches as the Chiba side continues to confound expectations in its first season back in the top flight.

"The results we have been getting are a result of our preparation," said manager Nelsinho. "We have carried on from what we were doing last year, and that gives us a strong foundation to build on.

"In training the players never doubt what we are doing, and that is the key. Maybe other people are surprised at our results, but that's not the case for anyone at this club."

Both teams took time to find their rhythm, but after some nervy moments Kashiwa took the lead in the 21st minute. Leandro Domingues split the Vissel defense with a perfectly weighted pass into the box, and Tanaka took a touch before rifling the ball home.

It was not long before the 23-year-old had his second. Ryoichi Kurosawa switched the play with a brilliant cross-field ball to the left, and Tanaka left goalkeeper Kenta Tokushige clutching at thin air with a ferocious shot from the edge of the box.

"We expected them to come at us, and the players dealt with this by defending well, waiting for mistakes and hitting them on the counter," said Nelsinho. "Then we found our rhythm and got the two goals.

"We knew we were playing against a team that had won its last three games, and I told the players to go back out for the second half with the same attitude. We knew we couldn't just sit on a two-goal lead, and we were determined to get a third or a fourth."

It was the visitors who almost started the second half with a goal, however, with Vissel pressure almost forcing Reysol defender Naoya Kondo to steer the ball into his own net.

But it took a scrambled clearance from Kunie Kitamoto to deny Tanaka his hat trick at the other end, and 10 minutes later Kashiwa put the result beyond doubt. Hideaki Kitajima broke into space down the left, and the striker squared the ball for Leandro Domingues striding through the middle to sweep home.

Vissel substitute Popo then earned a straight red card for a meaty 86th-minute challenge on Tatsuya Masushima, leaving manager Masahiro Wada to pick the bones out of a miserbale afternoon for the visitors.

"We were playing against the team at the top of the league today," Wada said. "For the first 15 minutes we played at a good tempo and created some chances, and if we had managed to score from one of them it might have been a different story.

"But after Kashiwa scored they were able to play at their own pace, and we had trouble putting together moves on the slippy pitch. Games like this happen, and the important thing now is for the players to put it behind them."

Elsewhere in the J. League, Vegalta Sendai and Yokohama F. Marinos — second and third in the table, respectively, at the start of the day — drew 1-1, while struggling Urawa Reds were pegged back from a first-half lead to finish 1-1 against Albirex Niigata.

The Shizuoka derby between Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata finished 0-0, and Ventforet Kofu drew 1-1 with Montedio Yamagata.

Yokomine trails Lee by a stroke

Nagaoka Niigata Pref. — Sakura Yokomine stayed in the hunt for her first win of the season Saturday, shooting a 1-under 71 to sit one stroke behind South Korean leader Lee Ji Hee.

Yokomine tied for second with rookie Miki Sakai, who finished her round with four straight birdies for a 69, at Yonex Country Club.

Lee shot a 70 and moved to 5 under for the tournament.

Hiromi Mogi (71) and Ritsuko Ryu (72) were two shots off the pace.

First-round leader Park In Bee faded to a 75 that dropped her into a share of 12th at 1 under.

Shinobu Moromizato had her streak of making the cut snapped at 79 dating back to September 2008.

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How to Become a Real Sports Fan

Following various sports such as basketball, can be a fun experience because of the sport and the players in general. People become fans because they like a particular sport, they either like to watch or like to play. Professional sports allows people to see who they want to be, how the best compete at something they love and much more. However, watching sports and playing it does not make you a true sports fan. It takes a while to be a real sports fan. Some people are die fan hard fans while others follow from time to time.

Here are several things that a real sports fan must do:

1) Follow on a consistent basis: When you follow your favorite sport, team or player on a consistent basis, you learn more about the game and you show that you care about what happens day in and day out. If you do not, it isn't a matter of time because this can be done in a few minutes.

2) Talk and think: When you are a real sports fan, you have to talk about the sport occasionally to others who share the same interest or who do not at all. Talking about sports shows that you really care about what happens. When you think about what happens as a result of certain events, it also proves that you are a real fan. Real fans are talkative about their sport when they have to be and take time to think about the sport.

3) Play the sport: Believe it or not, if you are able and you do not play the sport, it shows that you have not really incorporated the sport into your life. By playing the sport, you can compare yourself to the best players in the world, which shows how much you want to be there as well. Following the sport is not good enough because it shows that you cannot do the same.

4) Does something extra: When you really like a sport, you will also try to incorporate something different into your life. Such things include hobbies such as video games that have sports related themes and sports cards. When you participate in these activities, you also form a better bond. If you collect cards of your players, you will buy more occasionally from newer products. You will also follow the sport in further detail because your knowledge on the sport is vital to how well you do in these other activities. In the end, it keeps you another reason to love the game.

5) Length: You can not become a real sports fan by simply saying that you are one. The only way to prove that you are a real sports fan is to follow the sport intensely for a while. This time period should be at least 5 years. In this time period, you should really know a lot about the sport.

6) Learn: When you are a real sports fan, you are always learning new things about what is happening, such as rumors, games and much more. You should learn about various players, legends and stats because it helps you understand the game a little more.

7) Never lose faith: As a person and a fan, you can never lose faith in your sport. If something bad happens, you have to learn to stick it out and to be happy for what has happened. Even you are mad at the event of something, you have to understand that the sport is something that should be loved no matter what.

Being a real sports fan takes a lot of dedication and discipline. If you really love your sport, you should be able to express it but still know that it isn't the most important thing in life.

Sports fan for 8 years now
By Jonathan T Chin

Bruins edge Lightning, book trip to Stanley Cup finals

BOSTON — Vezina Trophy finalist Tim Thomas stopped every shot and gave the Boston Bruins a chance for the biggest prize of all — the Stanley Cup.

Intense struggle: Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis (left) and Boston's Mark Recchi vie for the puck in the second period of Game 7 on Friday night. The Bruins won 1-0 to take the series 4-3. AP PHOTO

Forget their 20-year absence from the finals. Don't talk about their epic playoff collapse of last season. And certainly don't mention their powerless power play.

None of that matters after the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Friday night on Nathan Horton's goal with 7:33 left in the penalty-free Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"I'm just happy to see those guys smiling in the dressing room," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Right now we're four wins from winning the Stanley Cup."

The Bruins will open the Stanley Cup finals in Vancouver against the Western Conference champion Canucks on Wednesday night.

Boston won its most recent championship in 1972 and hadn't reached the finals since 1990, when it lost to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Bruins left far behind the specter of last year's playoff failure. They blew a 3-0 lead in games and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, losing 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers.

"From the beginning of the season, we knew we had some unfinished business," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "Guys were hungry throughout the playoffs."

This season, they squandered 3-2 series leads in the first round against Montreal and then against Tampa Bay. But they beat the Canadiens 4-3 in overtime in Game 7, with Horton scoring the winning goal.

Then the forward, playing in the postseason for the first time in his career after five seasons with the Florida Panthers, came through again with his eighth playoff goal.

"He certainly has played like a big-game player," Julien said.

So has Thomas — all season.

The 37-year-old goalie led the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage after missing all of last year's playoffs because of a hip injury. After offseason surgery, he was as good as ever, and that includes the 2008-09 season when he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie.

"I think a lot of people thought I was over the hill," Thomas said. "I knew it wasn't true. I put in a lot of work over the summer and I've had an unbelievable year. I've been blessed."

He made 24 saves in his third career playoff shutout and second of the Lightning series. Horton's goal spoiled an outstanding game by Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson, who stopped 37 shots.

Thomas' playoff performance is even more remarkable because the Bruins scored just five goals on 61 power plays in the postseason. But there were no power plays for either side on Friday night in the clean, hard-hitting game.

"There wasn't anything out there to call," Roloson said. "Give the referees credit for not disrupting the flow of the game."

Horton beat Roloson by deflecting a pass from left to right across the slot from David Krejci.

"It is hard to explain how good this feeling is," Horton said.

His goal set off a loud celebration among Bruins fans, who have waited a long time for a trip to the finals.

Alonso sets pace in qualifying

MONACO — Fernando Alonso gave Ferrari another boost when he posted the fastest time in Saturday's third practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix, with championship leader Sebastian Vettel fourth best for Red Bull.

Ferrari has been lagging behind Red Bull all season, but this race weekend is the first time it has been faster in practice.

Two-time former F1 champion Alonso was quicker than Vettel in Thursday's second practice, and the Spaniard again made the most of the supersoft optional tires to record a best lap time of 1 minute, 14.433 seconds in the third practice.

McLaren's Jenson Button was second quickest in 1:14.996, while Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa was third in 1:15.024.

Defending champion Vettel clocked 1:15.245, but the German ran on prime soft tires.

Vettel will look to power his Red Bull to a fifth pole position of the season in qualifying later Saturday.

NFL, Dallas want ticket suit dropped

Dallas — The NFL and the Dallas Cowboys have asked a federal court judge to dismiss the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Super Bowl ticket holders who wound up with no seats for the game.

About 1,250 temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington were deemed unsafe just hours before the Feb. 6 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. That forced about 850 ticket holders to move to new seats and 400 others to watch the game from standing-room locations.

A 26-page motion filed by the league and the team on Thursday says the ticket holders aren't entitled to compensation beyond what they've already been offered.

Sumitani bashes go-ahead homer for Lions

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Ginjiro Sumitani hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning as the Seibu Lions edged the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Pinpoint control: Seibu Lions hurler Takayuki Kishi fans seven batters in seven innings in a 3-2 victory over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Saturday at Seibu Dome. KYODO PHOTO

Seibu won its third straight in interleague play and returned to .500 for the season.

The Swallows took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, which featured an RBI single by Wladimir Balentien, and Masanori Ishikawa kept his shutout alive until Hiroyuki Nakajima teed off the left-hander with a game-tying two-run blast in the sixth at Seibu Dome.

After Hisashi Takayama went down on a called third strike to start off the bottom of the seventh, Sumitani lofted the first pitch — a slider — he saw from Ishikawa (3-2) into the seats in left to give the Lions the lead.

"That felt good. This is the first time I've done something like this, so I am especially happy," said Sumitani. "I struck out in my second at-bat against him (Ishikawa), so I was just trying to get on base and create a chance."

Takayuki Kishi (2-1) yielded two unearned runs in seven innings, striking out seven and walking one. Atsushi Okamoto worked the ninth for his sixth save.

"I was doing my best to be aggressive against the hitters. I was really flying out there," said Kishi, who threw 124 pitches. "I've been throwing too many pitches each week, so I need to conserve my energy as much as possible."

Fighters 1, Carp 0 (11)

At Sapporo Dome, Atsunori Inaba played hero with a walk-off single with two outs in the 11th to give Hokkaido Nippon Ham a win over Hiroshima, which lost its third in a row.

Closer Hisashi Takeda (1-0) got the win after two scoreless innings. Carp reliever Dennis Sarfate (1-1) took the loss.

Hiroshima starter Kan Otake left after just 1? innings due to an injury after being hit with a batted ball.

Giants 2, Marines 0

At QVC Marine Field, Tetsuya Utsumi threw a four-hitter in his first shutout of the season, posting his CL-leading sixth win as Yomiuri snapped a four-game skid with a win over Chiba Lotte.

Utsumi (6-1) struck out 10, walked three and stymied the Marines batters with his nasty breaking ball. Hisayoshi Chono and Kenji Yano hit sacrifice flies in the first and sixth, both off Yuki Karakawa (4-2).

Dragons 5, Buffaloes 1

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Hirokazu Ibata went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Takehiro Donoue homered to put the icing on the cake in the ninth inning as Chunichi downed Orix.

Kazuki Yoshimi (4-1) pitched one-run ball over seven strong innings, painting the edge of the strike zone. He struck out four and walked none.

Yuki Nishi (4-2) took the loss.

Eagles 3, Tigers 2 (10)

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Fuminori Yokogawa had a game-winning single in the 10th as Tohoku Rakuten beat Hanshin.

With one out, Yokogawa singled deep to left off Daiki Enokida (1-1) to drive home pinch runner Wataru Nishimura from second. Koji Aoyama (1-1) won in relief.

Hawks 6, BayStars 5

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, pinch hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka hit a game-tying, two-run single with two outs in the eighth and substitute catcher Hidenori Tanoue followed with a go-ahead single as Fukuoka Softbank rallied over Yokohama.

Takehito Kanazawa (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the Hawks, who are undefeated in their last nine games, including two ties.

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Red Sox roll past Tigers

DETROIT — Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford homered in a five-run third inning to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-3 on Friday night.

Grand debut: San Francisco's Brandon Crawford flies out to right field in the third inning against Milwaukee on Friday night. The Giants beat the Brewers 5-4. AP PHOTO

Boston won for the 12th time in 14 games and has scored 34 runs in its last three.

Tim Wakefield (2-1) picked up his 195th career win, allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings.

Rick Porcello (4-3) gave up a season-high six runs in three innings in his first start since allowing one hit in eight innings in a win over Pittsburgh.

"In my last start, I had command of all my pitches," Porcello said. "This time, I was fighting it. I was just trying to find a rhythm and a release point."

Crawford has nine hits in his last 12 at-bats, including two homers and seven RBIs.

Rays 5, Indians 0

In St. Petersburg, Florida, David Price struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings, Casey Kotchman and Sam Fuld both homered, and Tampa Bay beat Cleveland.

Price (6-4) scattered four hits and walked two. The left-hander had given up 10 runs in 11? innings during his previous two starts.

The Rays went up 4-0 in the second on two-run homers by Kotchman and Fuld off Josh Tomlin (6-2). Relievers Joel Peralta and Adam Russell completed the four-hitter.

Tampa Bay's Matt Joyce, who started play hitting a major league-best .367, had three hits — including a broken-bat RBI single during the seventh — in four at-bats.

Blue Jays 4, White Sox 2

In Toronto, Yunel Escobar doubled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning for the Blue Jays.

Right-hander Casey Janssen (2-0) pitched one inning of relief for the win as Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak.

Shawn Camp got one out and Jon Rauch finished in the ninth for his sixth save in eight opportunities.

Royals 12, Rangers 7 (14)

In Arlington, Texas, Melky Cabrera and rookie Eric Hosmer hit consecutive one-out homers in a five-run 14th inning and Kansas City snapped a five-game losing streak.

Cabrera hit a drive over the center field fence off Dave Bush (0-1) to snap a 7-7 tie, and Hosmer gave the Royals a two-run lead. Brayan Pena added a three-run homer off Bush. The Royals won for the third time in 13 games.

Blake Wood (2-0), the sixth Royals pitcher, threw a perfect 13th for the win.

Angels 6, Twins 5

In Minneapolis, Maicer Izturis hit a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning for Los Angeles after scoring five runs in the eighth off three Twins relievers.

Erick Aybar's three-run homer on the first pitch from Dusty Hughes ignited the rally after Twins starter Scott Baker scattered six singles over seven shutout innings. Jim Hoey (0-2) was pitching when Alberto Callaspo's infield single and Russell Branyan's sacrifice fly forged a tie for the Angels.

Jordan Walden worked the ninth for his 11th save in 14 tries.

Mariners 4, Yankees 3

In Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki and Brendan Ryan each hit run scoring grounders in the sixth inning, Franklin Gutierrez robbed Nick Swisher of a home run and the Mariners scored all four runs on groundouts in a win over New York.

Seattle rallied from a three-run deficit to win for the ninth time in 11 games and moved back to .500 for the first time since April 4 by taking advantage of the Yankees' bullpen.

New York starter A.J. Burnett labored through five innings, but gave up just two runs and seemed poised to break a five-game road losing streak. But relievers Boone Logan and Luis Ayala (1-1) struggled as Seattle scored twice in the sixth and the Mariners' bullpen made the narrow lead stand up.

David Pauley (3-0) worked two scoreless innings in relief of starter Michael Pineda.

Ichiro was 1-for-4 with a double and scored once.

Athletics 6, Orioles 2

In Oakland, Ryan Sweeney hit a tiebreaking single as part of a three-run sixth inning and the Athletics held on to beat Baltimore.

Josh Willingham homered and drove in two runs for Oakland, which won despite manager Bob Geren's first ejection of the season.

Designated hitter Hideki Matsui walked twice and drove in a run on a 1-for-3 day for the Athletics.

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McHale set for Rockets

HOUSTON — A person familiar with the situation says the Houston Rockets are close to hiring Kevin McHale as their new coach.

Center of attention: Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki speaks to the media at practice on Friday. Dallas will play the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals beginning on Tuesday. AP PHOTO

The person says the team is negotiating a contract with McHale. The person spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet complete.

McHale would take over for Rick Adelman, who left the team days after his fourth season in Houston.

McHale, a Hall of Fame player for the Boston Celtics, spent 15 years with the Timberwolves in his native Minnesota. He was let go in 2009 and has recently served as a TV analyst.

The 53-year-old McHale would become Houston's third coach since 2003, when Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down for health reasons. Jeff Van Gundy coached the team from 2003-07, taking the Rockets to three playoff appearances.

Houston has missed the playoffs the last two years as it dealt with injuries that have limited All-Star center Yao Ming to just five games since the 2008-09 season. That year, Houston reached the Western Conference semifinals, breaking a streak of seven consecutive first-round exits for the franchise.

Yao's contract expires this summer, but he has said he hopes to continue playing for the Rockets when he recovers from the stress fracture to his left ankle.

McHale's time as an executive in Minnesota was highlighted by drafting Kevin Garnett out of high school in 1995. Other moves and draft decisions didn't go over as well with fans and he began to draw criticism.

McHale's first coaching experience came when he took over the Wolves for the last 31 games of the 2005 season after he fired Flip Saunders. He went back to the front office after that before returning to the position in 2008 after Randy Wittman was fired.

He went 20-43 after taking over that season before the Timberwolves let him go.

McHale was the third overall pick in the 1980 draft, won three championships with the Celtics and was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time in 1996.

CHICAGO — As if the Bulls losing to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals wasn't enough, Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen has added to Chicago's pain by suggesting that LeBron James could be better than Michael Jordan.

Pippen stirred the pot in an interview with ESPN radio on Friday morning, saying Jordan "is probably the greatest scorer to play the game" but James "may be the greatest player to ever play the game."

That set off an explosion on Twitter.

Pippen responded first by posting, "For all of you that don't know, I played the game you keep watching and cheering." He softened his stance later, writing: "Don't get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means get to his level someday."

Jordan and Pippen won six championships with the Bulls in the 1990s. James moved a step closer to his first title when the Heat knocked out Chicago on Thursday, setting up a matchup with Dallas.

DALLAS — Back in the NBA Finals, back to trying to beat the Miami Heat.

Pretty wild how things have worked out for the Dallas Mavericks, isn't it?

"It doesn't really matter that much to me," Dirk Nowitzki said Friday.

"No thought whatsoever," echoed Jason Terry.

Oh, well. So much for the story line of the 2011 Mavs seeking redemption for 2006. If the only two holdovers don't care, nobody else should.

The message Nowitzki and Terry are sending is this club is focused on beating whatever team the NBA playoff bracket throws their way.

They've already gone through LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Lakers and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.

So, for their final act, they might as well get the team everyone's been talking about since last summer — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and a Miami franchise that coincidentally was the club that got in Dallas' way five years ago

Thursday, May 26, 2011

What You Should Know About Endurance Sports Nutrition

Endurance sports are those type of sports in which sportsmen are required to produce prolonged athletic output over a long period of time. Usually such sports are very aerobic in nature.

Obviously, for such sports, you need right nutrition to match the athlete's diet needs. This article provides you with nutrition information that is coupled with very useful details. Endurance sports nutrition together with customized eating plans ensure that the food that you choose will keep you going on before, during and after various competitions.

A remarkable and very well-known author, Suzanne Girard Eberle, MS, RD, is a registered dietician who has her specialty in sports nutrition. She too, understands the importance of endurance sports nutrition because she, herself, is an elite endurance athlete. She tells us all about how endurance sports nutrition works, and how it is supposed to be consumed in right amount during training and also during actual sports.

One of the most comprehensive books of its kind is the prescriptive book written by this endurance athlete, slash dietician. It includes tried and tested advice and suggestions from different endurance athletes who are at the top of their sports.

If you want to find more information and get advice, there are various websites where you can post your questions, if not directly talk to some of the best sportspersons.

For instance, you can avail assistance from Karen Smyers, a triathlete. She is a triathlete, so she knows facts about endurance thrice better than what others do.

Another famous sportsman is the marathon runner Keith Brantly. Everybody knows running for long hours is tough. But you will know that it's actually the easier part. Compared to sustaining the pain that grows in your legs that is not.

You can also try to have your questions answered by the world-known marathon swimmer Tobie Smith. Having endurance sports nutrition during swimming is very important because in swimming, you need to exhibit a lot of energy to overcome two different pressures, pressure under the water and the atmospheric pressure.

And last, but certainly not the least, is the cyclist Kerry Ryan. Cycling is similar to running in regards to the movement of the legs and the endurance of the pain that grow in your legs.

However, you have to be a master of balance to be able to pull cycling off. All of these world-class athletes will happily and obligingly share their knowledge with absolute right because of their many years of training and competing against the world's best.

There are many kinds of sports where endurance sports nutrition can help you maximize your performance. Endurance sports nutrition can help you a great deal in running. As mentioned above, running is the easy part; it is enduring the pain that is constantly present in your lower extremities that you need to endure.

In triathlons, you have to take note of sustaining through the three stages of sport. So endurance sports nutrition is definitely handy if you want to be able to move on to the next stage and not faint in one of the first stages.

The endurance in swimming is not like any other. Why? It is because, like told before, there are two kinds of pressure that you need to think about. There is, first, the pressure that you experience under the water, plus the atmospheric water. So whether you put your face under water or you turn your head out of the water to breathe in some air, the cramps and the pain caused by the pressure should be endured.

In case of rowing, all that matters is the upper body strength. Off course, it also involves coordination with your teammates, especially mind and arms coordination, but if you are weak with your upper body, then rowing is definitely not the right sport for you. Your hands will probably just suffer bruises from your firm grips on the oars, but you arms are the ones that should have high endurance. Endurance sports nutrition can definitely help you survive the boat ride.

Cycling, as we know, is not much different from running. Your legs experience most of the pain, and you have to endure the pain that is constant on your lower extremities. But this time, there is also the balance to think of. And for those who have a hard time balancing, enduring cycling is very hard. So this is where endurance sports nutrition comes in.

Endurance sports nutrition is there to help athletes like you, to become more energetic and resourceful during endurance sports. Remember, more than skills, it's your endurance that can improve your performance after a certain time. So, stop thinking and get moving with the endurance sports nutrition!

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Last season's top four struggle to juggle commitments

Pegged back: Daigo Nishi and Kashima Antlers have not enjoyed a happy start to the J. League season. KYODO

Asian Champions League commitments have undoubtedly played a big part, but last season's top four J. League teams were surely expecting a better start to the domestic campaign.

While the rest of the league has played seven matches, involvement in the ACL means champions Nagoya Grampus and Cerezo Osaka have only six games under their belts while Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers have played five. Current league positions are misleading as a result, but the fact that Gamba is the only one of those four teams in the top half of the table is significant nevertheless.

Grampus, Antlers and Cerezo have managed just two wins between them from a combined 17 games, with only second-from-bottom Montedio Yamagata scoring fewer goals than Nagoya's current tally of five.

Traveling around the continent for a tight ACL schedule has led to tiredness and injuries, with the way that Urawa Reds gave Antlers the runaround in the second half of Saturday's 2-2 draw at Saitama Stadium a case in point.

"In the second half we didn't intend to change anything, but we lost our momentum," said Kashima midfielder Chikashi Masuda. But the ACL alone cannot be blamed for the big guns' malaise.

Nagoya has looked flat and unimaginative, Antlers have struggled to compensate for the offseason departure of striker Marquinhos, and Cerezo's five draws from six games are beginning to make last season's third-place finish look nothing more than a flash in the pan. As a result, Gamba's plain sailing — four wins and only one defeat so far — only highlights their rivals' shortcomings further.

There is still time for Grampus, Antlers and Cerezo to put together a title challenge, but the rest of the league will not wait around forever.

* * *

The drunk-driving arrest and subsequent sacking of striker Lee Jae Min was hardly ideal preparation for Vissel Kobe's game against Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Saturday, but the Kansai club's impressive start to the season continued regardless.

A 1-0 win moved Masahiro Wada's side up to fourth in the table, ending a difficult week and extending a remarkable turnaround for a team that escaped relegation by the skin of its teeth on the final day of last season.

"First of all I'd like to apologize for the trouble caused to the sponsors, fans and everyone else concerned as a result of Lee Jae Min's drunk-driving offense," Wada said. "With regards to this game, our week began with that, but coming off the back of two straight wins made us able to sharpen the focus in training."

* * *

Urawa Reds attacker Mazzolla certainly had an eventful afternoon against Kashima Antlers on Saturday.

The Brazilian, who joined Reds on loan from Sao Paulo at the start of the season, entered the game as a halftime substitute with his team 1-0 down and scored Urawa's equalizer as the hosts fought back to claim a 2-2 draw.

A red card in the dying minutes completed a whirlwind cameo by the 22-year-old, but with the misfiring Saitama side languishing in 16th place, Reds fans will have appreciated the effort.

"I really wanted to give everything I had for the team," Mazzolla said. "I'm happy that we were giving it our all together. We have to prove that Urawa is a team that deserves to move up the table and challenge for the title, and we all have to work to get ourselves out of this situation."

* * *

Coming back to earth with a bump last weekend was Ventforet Kofu, which followed up a 3-1 home win over champions Nagoya Grampus with a 4-0 away defeat to Yokohama F. Marinos.

Hiroyuki Taniguchi and Kazuma Watanabe set the tone with two goals for Kazushi Kimura's high-flying Marinos inside the first 17 minutes, and Masashi Oguro compounded Kofu's misery with two more to make it 4-0 by halftime.

"As you saw, the game was decided in the first half," said Ventforet manager Toshiya Miura. "We let their strikers show their quality by allowing them into one-on-one situations.

"We kept the second half to 0-0, but they weren't taking any risks and only went looking for more goals on the counter. We can't really take any positives out of today."

* * *

Quotable: "Everyone is on the same page, and I think that's very important." — Jubilo Iwata striker Ryoichi Maeda explains the secret of his team's success after hitting 11 goals in its last three matches.

Bruce hit ends Reds' long winless streak

In harm's way: Reds shortstop Paul Janish tries to avoid the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz's attempt to break up a double play in the sixth inning on Tuesday in Philadelphia. The Reds won 6-3. AP

PHILADELPHIA — Jay Bruce erased a frustrating night with one big swing.

Bruce hit a tiebreaking, three-run double in the ninth inning and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 Tuesday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

The Reds had lost eight straight against NL East-leading Philadelphia, including a three-game sweep in last year's division playoff series.

Bruce came in swinging a hot bat. He had four homers in the last five games and was tied for the NL lead with 12. But he struck out three times and popped out in his first four at-bats before clearing the bases against Ryan Madson (2-1).

"I blew it the first time with guys on second and third and one out," Bruce said, referring to his strikeout in the fifth. "I just tried to relax and get something I could handle."

Logan Ondrusek (1-0) retired the only batter he faced to get the win. Francisco Cordero finished for his ninth save in 10 tries.

Drew Stubbs got the Reds started with a one-out bunt single in the ninth. He advanced to second on Madson's throwing error. After Brandon Phillips lined to shortstop, Joey Votto was intentionally walked. Scott Rolen followed with an infield single as third baseman Placido Polanco made a backhanded grab to save a run.

Bruce then ripped a liner to deep right-center to knock in three and give the Reds a 6-3 lead.

"Coming back is kind of our M.O.," Bruce said. "We're never out of a game. The experience has helped us."

Braves 2, Pirates 0

In Pittsburgh, Jair Jurrjens pitched six-hit ball into the eighth inning to lead Atlanta over the Pirates.

Rockies 12, D-Backs 4 (1st)

D-Backs 5, Rockies 2 (2nd)

In Denver, Carlos Gonzalez homered twice and Colorado became the first team to decipher Josh Collmenter's tomahawk-pitching style, rallying past Arizona.

Then the Rockies lost the nightcap when Joe Saunders (1-5) snapped his six-game losing streak and Kelly Johnson hit a solo homer.

Dodgers 5, Astros 4

In Houston, Jerry Sands hit a grand slam and Jay Gibbons also homered as Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Astros.

Cubs 11, Mets 1

In Chicago, Ryan Dempster pitched seven effective innings, Starlin Castro had three hits and two RBIs and the Cubs pounded the stumbling Mets.

Brewers 7, Nationals 6

In Milwaukee, Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning and Brandon Boggs collided with catcher Wilson Ramos to score the go-ahead run, rallying the Brewers past Washington.

Cardinals 3, Padres 2 (11)

In San Diego, Daniel Descalso singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 11th.

Marlins 5, Giants 1

In San Francisco, Ricky Nolasco pitched scoreless ball into the ninth inning and Florida quieted the streaking Giants.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 4, Indians 2

In Cleveland, Josh Beckett picked up his first regular-season win at the Indians' home park, where Cleveland lost for just the fifth time this year.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4

In New York, Curtis Granderson had a tying RBI single in the ninth inning then stole second before Mark Teixeira singled him home.

Tigers 7, Rays 6

In Detroit, Alex Avila's second homer of the game gave the Tigers the lead in the eighth.

Twins 4, Mariners 2

In Minneapolis, Nick Blackburn came through with a desperately needed complete game and Denard Span had three hits and an RBI to lift the Twins.

Ichiro Suzuki went 0-for-4 for the Mariners.

Athletics 6, Angels 1

In Anaheim, David DeJesus hit two homers and drove in four runs, Guillermo Moscoso pitched six scoreless innings to win his first major league start.

Hideki Matsui finished 0-for-4 for the A's.

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Japan Sumo Association promotes 13

The Japan Sumo Association said Wednesday a postwar record of 13 wrestlers will be promoted to the juryo division for the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July—including two who posted losing records at a test meet that wrapped up in Tokyo on Sunday.

Seven wrestlers will be making their debut in the juryo-division while six will be returning to sumo's second tier from the lower makushita class, following the decision taken at a meeting to determine the banzuke rankings for the Nagoya meet.

The move came after 17 wrestlers were banished from the sumo world last month for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal that rocked the national sport to its core when it came to light in February.

The JSA eliminated 17 wrestlers but reduced by the number of ranks in the juryo division for Nagoya, leaving 13 berths to be filled.

Mongolian-born Arawashi and Kakizoe both posted 3-4 losing records in the May Technical Examination Tournament. It is the first time in the modern sumo era for losing wrestlers to be promoted, according to the JSA's media department.

Nadal survives scare

PARIS — It's newsworthy enough when anyone manages to win a set against Rafael Nadal at any stage of the French Open — let alone two sets in the first round.

Survival of the fittest: Rafael Nadal celebrates his victory over John Isner in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday at Roland Garros. Nadal won 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-4. AP

So a buzz built at Roland Garros on Tuesday when unseeded American John Isner pulled ahead of five-time champion Nadal by unfurling his 206-cm frame to pound serves at upward of 225 kph, pushing up to the net time after time for volleys, and generally making the Spaniard uncomfortable for stretches.

"Quite clearly," Nadal acknowledged later, "this is a match that I could have lost."

In the end, he did not. Stretched to five sets for the first time in 40 career French Open matches, Nadal came back to emerge with a 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-4 victory over Isner and reach the second round.

"Really, what it came down to is the way he played in the fourth and fifth sets," Isner said. "I haven't seen tennis like that, ever."

It was the most riveting match of a day that featured reigning U.S. Open and Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters' first appearance at the French Open since 2006, a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova. Others advancing were Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling and Sam Querrey.

Also Ayumi Morita battled back from a set down to beat France's Kristina Mladenovic.

Morita rallied 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 over the 18-year-old Mladenovic to reach the second round at Roland Garros.

"I ran out of energy during the match and wasn't able to move my legs well at times," Morita said. "But I knew that as long as I didn't lose my focus, I would have a chance and so I fought hard," she said.

Two seeded women lost: No. 20 Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion, was eliminated 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 6-2 by Johanna Larsson of Sweden, while No. 22 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia was beaten 6-7 (10-12), 6-3, 6-2 by Vania King of the United States. No. 11 Nicolas Almagro departed with a five-set loss to Lukasz Kubot of Poland.

Good times: Ayumi Morita celebrates winning a point on Tuesday. KYODO

Nadal's bid to tie Bjorn Borg's record of six championships at the clay-court Grand Slam nearly came to a too-abrupt-to-believe halt.

All seemed rather ho-hum when Nadal was leading Isner by a set and a break at 4-2 in the second. But Isner broke back to 4-all when Nadal missed a forehand, and suddenly, a tight match ensued.

"That's when I started to sort of believe a little bit more," Isner said, "and started to play with more confidence and strut around more out there."

Even Nadal was a bit worried. So was Toni Nadal, Rafael's coach and uncle, who would later say that from his perch in the stands he felt "very, very nervous, because losing in the first round is not too good for us."

But his nephew steeled himself, and made zero — yes, that's right, zero — unforced errors in the fourth set, while Isner made 12. Nadal broke Isner for a 2-1 edge in the fourth set, and called that "the turning point."

Isner's coach, Craig Boynton, agreed.

"Rafa getting up an early break in the fourth really helped his psyche," Boynton said.

Big 3 brings Heat within one win of reaching finals

Temperature's rising: Heat forward LeBron James backs down the Bulls' Ronnie Brewer during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday in Miami. The Heat took a 3-1 lead in the series with a 101-93 victory. AP

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade missed a dunk in the first quarter. He didn't score in the second half. He was slow at times, sluggish at others, barely a factor for long stretches of the game.

That is, until it mattered most.

The Big Three is one win away from playing for the NBA's biggest prize, and all three had a huge hand in putting the Miami Heat on that doorstep.

LeBron James scored 35 points, Chris Bosh added 22 and Wade perked up to block as many shots — two — as Chicago made in overtime, as the Heat topped the Bulls 101-93 in a scintillating Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

"You could tell that neither team wanted to lose," Wade said. "Both teams were clawing. If you're a fan of the game, this was a great basketball game. . . . This was will."

Miami will go for the clincher Thursday in Chicago, where the Heat can wrap up their first finals trip since 2006.

"It's one game away," James said. "We're not taking anything for granted."

Derrick Rose scored 23 points for the Bulls, who got 20 apiece from Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. Chicago has lost three straight games for the first time this season, and afterward, the league's reigning MVP pointed the finger of blame at himself.

"It's not over," said Rose, who shot 8 of 27 and turned the ball over seven times.

Still, some doubt may be creeping in. Chicago had its chances, and knew it, but was unable to take advantage of a largely off night by Wade. Rose was guarded in the game's biggest minutes by James, and the MVP past had the upper hand against the MVP present.

"It's extremely hard," Rose acknowledged, "when a 6-8 (203-cm) guy can easily defend you."

The Heat were down by 11 early, led for only 4? minutes in the third and fourth quarters, and had Wade stuck on eight points from late in the second quarter until past the midpoint of overtime.

Somehow, it wasn't a problem. A sleep-deprived Mike Miller — whose wife delivered a baby last week — scored 12 points and made plenty of key defensive plays to help Miami outscore Chicago by a whopping 36 points with him on the floor.

And the stars, well, were stars.

"We know offensively, at times, we have rough stretches," James said. "But we give ourselves chances to win every game because we defend."

James was 11-for-26 from the field and 13-for-13 — his best playoff showing ever — from the foul line. Bosh was aggressive again, making 10 of his 11 free throws. Miami made its last 24 straight from the stripe, and the defense was again the biggest key of all.

"Defense is the reason that we're here," Bosh said. "Defense is the reason that we win every game. And defense is the reason why we have a chance of winning Game 5."

From the Miami perspective, this game will be remembered for how the Heat rallied around Wade — then watched him save his best for last.

"We reminded him in one of the final huddles, this is his time," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The 2006 NBA Finals MVP was in the arena late Monday night, trying to work on some things in one of his customary playoff after-dark sessions.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. This seemed like it would be the latter.

Whatever answer he sought, he didn't find for much of Game 4. Wade made just 5 of 16 shots from the field, lacking his usual lift at the rim. He made a pair of free throws with 1:50 left in the first half for his seventh and eighth points, and didn't score again until overtime.

Better late than never.

"Hey, they're a great team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They compete. They play hard. They play great defense . . . and they made plays at the end."

Bieksa's OT winner gives Canucks chance to play for Cup

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Kevin Bieksa scored 10:18 into the second overtime and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 17 years with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

The Canucks ended the Western Conference finals in five games after getting even 2-2 with 13.2 seconds left in regulation when Ryan Kesler scored with goalie Roberto Luongo on the Vancouver bench for an extra skater.

It will be Vancouver's first trip to the Cup finals since 1994, when they lost in seven games to the New York Rangers. The last NHL team from Canada to win the title was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

Exactly 17 years to the day after they earned their previous trip to play for the Cup, the Canucks used 54 saves from Luongo and a lucky bounce to Bieksa to advance to the finals for the third time in the team's 40-year history.

The puck caromed awkwardly off the glass on the sideboards and out to Bieksa just inside the blue line. His quick shot beat Antti Niemi inside the right post before the goalie — or mostly everyone else on the ice — could find the puck.

"The only guy who knew where that puck was, was Kevin Bieksa and he almost fanned on it," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "It's one of those things you have no control over. We can talk about it all we want. There is nothing we can do about it."

Luongo raised his stick in celebration as his teammates jumped onto the ice. Blue confetti fell from the roof as the sellout crowd chanted, "We want the Cup."

"I think when the puck went in, the goalie was looking behind the net," Bieksa said. "It was an ugly goal, but one I will take.

"It's fantastic. It's unbelievable. To go to the Stanley Cup final is a dream come true."

The Sharks outshot Vancouver 16-9 and 56-34 overall. Despite having a 91-47 shots advantage over the final two games of the series, San Jose lost both. The Canucks won Game 4 on Sunday 4-2 even though they recorded only 13 shots.

Vancouver was down 2-1 after Luongo's gamble left Devin Setoguchi with an empty net 24 seconds into the third period.

But Kesler, who left briefly in the second period with an apparent injury to his left leg, deflected Henrik Sedin's shot through Niemi after a questionable icing call against San Jose. Replays appeared to show that the puck hit Daniel Sedin, but icing was called anyway to set up an offensive zone faceoff for Vancouver.

After claiming the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team, the Canucks are now only four wins away from claiming their first Stanley Cup championship.

Atlanta — The Atlanta Thrashers' sale and move to Winnipeg is not yet official, but Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed spoke on Tuesday as if losing the team is inevitable.

"I think anytime we lose a major sports franchise, it is tough," Reed said.

"It is going to hurt the city but we will withstand it just fine and we will get through it. We have a lot of positive things going on in the sports franchise space that I think we'll be announcing pretty soon that will offset it a bit."

An official announcement concerning a Thrashers' sale and move has yet to be made.

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Okajima headed to Triple-A squad

Boston — Boston Red Sox left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima has cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, the Red Sox said Tuesday.

Okajima, who was designated for assignment last week, will join up with the team on Thursday.

"No teams came in for me and I will stay here in the minors," Okajima said in a blog entry on his website.

The 35-year-old last pitched in the majors on May 9 against the Minnesota Twins and is 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA in seven appearances this season.

Okajima started the season in the minors for the first time after losing a tight race in spring training. He was called up by the Red Sox on April 18.

Okajima played a significant role in the Red Sox's run to the 2007 World Series title by posting a 2.22 ERA in a team-high 66 regular-season games.

He has pitched in at least 56 games in each of the past four seasons.

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Is Your Autographed Sports Memorabilia Authentic

You just purchased a baseball that was signed by New York Yankee great Derek Jeter. But in a world where fake autographs and sports memorabilia is prevalent and people will do anything to make a buck, are you sure that autograph is real? If the baseball came with a certificate of authenticity from Steiner Sports Memorabilia, you can rest assured your Derek Jeter sports collectible is real.

The FBI estimates that about 50 percent of pro sports memorabilia is fake. This fraud costs the industry nearly half a billion dollars in losses each year. Steiner Sports Memorabilia assures it customers of the authenticity of their sports collectibles. According to our research Steiner has exclusive autograph deals with stars like Derek Jeter, Tony Hawk, Joe Torre and Eli Manning just to name a few. To assure buyers that their autographed sports memorabilia is authentic, a Steiner Sports representative personally witnesses the signing. The athlete then signs an affidavit affirming the autograph is authentic. The sports collectible comes with a certificate of authenticity and a tamper-resistant seal.

Most collectors of sports memorabilia have at least one item from Steiner Sports Memorabilia. The company, based in New Rochelle, New York, has been one of the leading providers of pro sports memorabilia since it opened in 1987. Their scope of products goes beyond baseball. The company has products from football, basketball, hockey and just about every other sport.

What kind of pro sports memorabilia can be found from Steiner Sports? You can find everything from the typical collectibles such as sport balls, jerseys and pictures. But Steiner Sports also has unique collectibles such as a 2005 AL East Championship Champagne Bottle autographed by Jeter. Other one-of-kind pieces of authentic sports memorabilia includes a boxing glove autographed by Jake LaMotta, a New York Yankees championship coin set that is framed and a used locker room chair from the 2006 New York Mets. If you have an item you would like signed by your favorite pro athlete, you can send it in to Steiner Sports and they will make every effort to get it signed. The company also has sports collectibles from past sports stars such as Hank Aaron, Pete Rose and Muhammad Ali. Steiner Sports also has pictures of some of the greatest moments in sports history. These include the famous Muhammad Ali-Sonny-Liston fight and Hank Aaron's 715th home run.

Sports collectibles and pro sports memorabilia are a billion dollar business in the United States alone. If you are a serious collector of pro sports memorabilia, purchasing a Steiner Sports product is one of the best investments you can make. Because of the guaranteed authenticity from Steiner Sports and limited availability , the price of the sports collectible will only increase in value as it ages.

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Antlers, Grampus lose as Koreans clean up

SEOUL — Seoul and Suwon Bluewings underlined South Korea's status as east Asia's pre-eminent league by comfortably beating Japanese opponents on Wednesday and progressing to the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League.

Hold me close: Nagoya's Josh Kennedy tries to escape the clutches of Suwon's Mato Neretljak on Wednesday night. KYODO

Korean teams have won the competition for the past two years, and Seoul's and Suwon's progress — along with that of Jeonbuk Motors on Tuesday — meant K-League teams are well placed to make it a hat trick, providing three of the quarterfinalists.

Seoul was a 3-0 winner over a prosaic and disappointing Kashima Antlers, which exited at the round-of-16 stage for the second straight season, while Suwon had a 2-0 victory over Nagoya Grampus.

That meant only one Japanese team — Cerezo Osaka, which beat neighbor Gamba Osaka 1-0 on Tuesday — will be in September's quarterfinals.

In Seoul, a cagey opening half only came to life in the closing stages.

The opening goal came in the 38th minute from a seemingly unthreatening position, but Bang Seung Hwan's speculative shot went through the legs of the covering defender and across the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner of the net.

The second goal, in the 55th, was impressive, with Uzbekistan international Server Djeparov breaking down the left wing and crossing to Montenegrin forward Dejan Damjanovic, who hit a sweetly struck volley past the helpless goalkeeper in the 55th.

Kashima rarely threatened, but should have been given a lifeline in the 71st when an apparently legitimate goal was incorrectly ruled offside.

Ko Myong Jin added a third on the break in the closing seconds. Antlers had committed all bar one outfield player forward for a corner, and when the ball was cleared, Ko capitalized.

Hawks keep unbeaten interleague run going

Nobuhiro Matsuda doubled in two runs in the fifth inning, Tsuyoshi Wada threw six effective innings and the Softbank Hawks edged the Yomiuri Giants 2-1 on Wednesday.

The Hawks are now unbeaten in seven interleague games this season, winning five and tying two.

Matsuda doubled to left off Norihito Kaneto (1-1) to score Hiroki Kokubo and Hitoshi Tamura for a 2-0 Softbank lead in the top of the fifth at Tokyo Dome.

Yomiuri got one back in the bottom half against Wada (3-1) on a two-out RBI single by Daisuke Fujimura, who finished the night with three hits.

Wada struggled early but managed to hold the Giants to one run in six innings for the win.

The 2010 PL MVP gave up six hits, walked three and struck out five in a 100-pitch outing.

Fighters 2, Dragons 0

At Nagoya Dome, Yu Darvish pitched his second shutout of the season in winning his sixth straight start as Hokkaido Nippon Ham downed Chunichi.

Darvish allowed just four hits, all singles, walked one, struck out 11 and didn't permit a runner to reach third base. Yoshio Itoi had an RBI double in the first and Yang Dai-kang added a run-scoring single in the third, both off Maximo Nelson (3-2).

Lions 5, Carp 0

At Mazda Stadium, Takeya Nakamura hit his PL-leading 10th home run — a solo shot — and an RBI single in his first two at-bats as Seibu ended Hiroshima's winning streak at three games.

Buffaloes 4, Swallows 1

At Jingu Stadium, So Taguchi and Lee Seung Yeop delivered back-to-back RBI singles in the eighth inning as Orix beat Yakult for its third straight victory. Yakult has lost five of its last six games.

Marines 5, Tigers 2

At Koshien Stadium, Yuji Yoshimi (1-1) picked up his first win of the season by throwing 5? effective innings as Chiba Lotte beat Hanshin to snap a seven-game winless streak.

BayStars 6, Eagles 6

At Shizuoka's Kusanagi Stadium, Takehiro Ishikawa hit a game-tying single in the eighth inning, his third hit of the night, as Yokohama came back three times to play out a nine-inning tie with Tohoku Rakuten.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Scorching Bosh steps up game to carry Heat past Bulls

MIAMI — Chris Bosh missed his first three shots, and never worried.

The King and I: Bulls forward Luol Deng, left, attempts to guard the Heat's LeBron James in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday in Miami. The Heat won 96-85 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. AP PHOTO

He was in rhythm. He was catching the ball where he wanted. And then midway through the first quarter, he finally saw the ball go through the hoop for the first time.

"That was good enough for me," Bosh said.

And more than good enough for the Miami Heat — who are now two wins away from the NBA Finals.

Bosh made 13 of his final 15 shots on the way to a 34-point night, LeBron James finished with 22 points and 10 assists, and the Heat remained unbeaten at home in the postseason by beating the Chicago Bulls 96-85 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday.

The Heat lead the series 2-1, and the blowout Game 1 defeat in Chicago a week ago seems far, far away for Miami.

"There is absolutely nothing easy in this series," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Dwyane Wade added 17 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which is 7-0 at home in the playoffs and handed the team that finished with the NBA's best record its first losing streak since Feb. 5-7. Game 4 is Tuesday in Miami.

Carlos Boozer finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, which had won the first four meetings of the season with Miami. Derrick Rose finished with 20 points, but struggled from the field again, making only 8 of his 19 shots.

The Bulls held James and Wade to a combined 12-of-30 showing from the floor. Against Bosh, they had no answer.

"It's definitely frustrating," Rose said. "Our will wasn't there tonight. They still found a way to win."

Against the NBA's top field-goal percentage defense this season, Miami shot 51 percent and scored 53 points after halftime. Plus, the Heat were 25 of 29 from the foul line, while Chicago was 16 for 21.

"Rebounding was good," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Challenging their shots wasn't."

That was especially true for one critical stretch of the fourth quarter, when Miami turned a four-point game into one where it had full control. A 9-0 spurt, capped by a three-point play from James with 5:07 left, was all it took to give the Heat an 87-74 edge, and the margin never was less than seven again.

So, meet the leading scorer in the East finals.

It's not Rose, Wade or James. It's Bosh — who took a bit of heat before the series began, when Boozer was quoted saying that Miami has only two great players, a clear nod toward the Heat having a so-called "Big Three."

"I always have respect," Boozer said Sunday night, asked about Bosh's game. "I never didn't have it."

It's mildly ironic that they're going head-to-head, given how last summer went.

The Bulls and Boozer agreed on a five-year deal worth around $80 million, those talks wrapping up almost simultaneously with Bosh — who was a Chicago target last summer as well — deciding to join Miami.

On Sunday, Bosh could have taken a victory lap after the two-great-players comment by Boozer. He declined.

"C-B had it going," James said. "When we have someone going on our team, we continue to go to him."

Recovery from Strenuous Sports Performance Training

What is recovery from strenuous sports performance training about? People who exercise regularly and play sports often spend a lot of time preparing careful sports performance training programmes. These focus on positively building all the areas of fitness and technique important to the successful conduct of their favorite activity. Some enthusiastic runners, cyclists and triathletes plan their year's activities around participation in races (marathon, triathlon, etc) or hoping to perform maximally at each race. In the haste to go faster and stronger, an important aspect of training is often neglected: sports recovery. From the experience of successful athletes though (particularly those in endurance sports) more time spent on sports recovery leads to improvement in the quality of sports performance training as well as optimal results in competition.

What is Sports Recovery?

Exercise at all levels of intensity acts to do one thing to the body: it depletes it. The depletion involves your energy stores (muscle glycogen, blood glucose and fat products in your blood), hormones, and muscle structures. In other words, you use up the body's valuable resources as you exercise and something must be done to replace them.

In order to return to training and to continue conditioning your body to meet your exercise goals, it is

important to create time and take active steps to bring about a re-building of the depleted body resources. This is what sports recovery is all about: the conscious action to help the body return to its optimal exercise state. This is especially important if you are intending to exercise intensively or for long durations soon after an exhausting bout. This could be endurance programme training, multi-stage bike race, or sports competitions that are only 2-4 weeks apart

Why bother with Sports Recovery?

In the very simplest terms you need to bother with sports recovery to keep you physically exercising at the level that you want to. Even more importantly, to allow the body's systems to re-charge sufficiently that your mental edge remains honed to that fine sharpness you desire. A blunted edge comes about from insufficient recovery and can come back to haunt you in these ways: staleness, loss of interest, reduced physical ability, decreased sports performance training tolerance. Yes indeed, the first steps towards over-training.

A good approach to sports recovery will ensure that the quality of your sports performance training and competition is high. This will contribute to you feeling satisfied with your efforts and achievements, and bring about continued confidence in your chosen endurance sport. Good recovery also enables you to exert a greater overall sense of control of your sports performance training destiny!

When should I think about Sports Recovery?

You should consider sports recovery at both macro- and micro-levels. An example of a macro level would be a period of sports performance training preparation time (e.g. a week or month), or the period between competitions on your race calendar. A micro-level consideration would be after a single very hard or exhaustive work-out.

At the macro level, the depletion of resources will have arisen as a systematic and progressive wearing away that parallels your rigorously planned training program. It is not the single mind-blowing training session that is involved here but rather the accumulated effect of all the sessions combined, and possibly inclusive of the race. While a single sports performance training session may leave you feeling fatigued, the depletion of body resources over a period of time (it can be as short as a week or as long as months) will leave you feeling that your ability to physically exert yourself is a little blunted. Your legs feel heavy and tired, and are unable to sustain prolonged effort in the way they used to.

The micro recovery level answers the body's aching need following that supremely challenging sports

performance training session, back-to-back training sessions in some training camp, or the actual huge

effort put into a competitive event (e.g. marathon running) . The latter involves not just the event itself but also the mental stress, increased adrenaline surges, and even mundane activities such as travel to the competition venue.

What are the steps I should take to recover properly?

Ensure that you take account of your macro and micro needs. Maintain an awareness of these using a

sports performance training /race calendar that allows you to visually assess the training and competition phases you are going through. Akin to the periodisation approach to training, this will help you to plan for recovery periods and make these an integral part of your sports performance training plan. Now consider the elements of the recovery: nutrition, structure regeneration, inflammation reduction, hormonal, and mental. Make plans for each of these.

Nutrition involves replacing the resources that you have used up in your prodigious attempts to go faster and stronger. This includes particular emphasis on replacing the following nutritional components: carbohydrates to re-build muscle glycogen for muscle recovery, and minerals and electrolytes to make up for loss in your sweat. The best time to re-build glycogen stores is within the first 3 hours after sports performance training as this is when the rate of glycogen storage is highest. Such storage remains elevated in the next 21 hours but not at the same rate as during what has been called the "critical re-energising window." There is scientific evidence to suggest that the very first hour after your exercise bout is actually the time that your body responds best to glycogen replenishment.

However, for some athletes, there are barriers that need to be overcome to meet this immediate post-

exercise nutrition need. This includes not feeling hungry or not having the correct nutrition available.

Positive steps must be taken to overcome these. Have nutrition available. If you can't stomach eating, then drink your nutrition (energy drinks, carbohydrate mixes). Find nutritional sources that agree with you, and use these.

If you are quite lean (meaning your body fat content is low), you should also ensure that your energy

replacement includes a balanced diet that has FAT and protein in it. Your overall energy needs are higher than someone who has not discovered long distance runs or triathlon training yet (poor people). So meet your higher energy needs and balance the sources of your energy: about 50-60 % from carbohydrates, 15% from protein, and up to 30% from fat.

Reducing your physical exercise is a good idea for 4-5 days after a punishing race. This does not mean

just lying around doing nothing, although that may be the order of the first day or so after competing. You will want to spend time actively stretching those tired and tight muscles, and by the 4th or 5th day, a light spin on the bike or some easy laps will help to keep your mind happy while you rest the muscles, tendons, joints and bones of your body. This is what is called "relative rest" with components of "active recovery."

The sports recovery period is a useful time to catch up with equipment maintenance matters. And in the long run, these really do matter. Clean the sea water out of your running shoes, wash your bike and take it to the shop for a tune-up, wash those hard-worn heart rate monitor straps and, so on.

Finally, there is massage. Do I detect some glee out there? The aim of massaging tired aching muscles is to relieve the tension that has built up in the muscles, as well as to assist in the removal of chemical

substances that build up during exercise and as a result of cell activity. So, just as top cycling teams bring their own masseuses to races (especially cycling tour competitions), you can help your body along with some judiciously administered massage. And if aches or pain persist, perhaps there is an injury that needs some attention from your sports doctor. The recovery period is a great time to have this managed, to deliver you in optimal shape as you return to training again.

All in all then, sports recovery is not something which every athlete thinks about, and some do it better

than others. It's something you should invest your effort into as much as you do your sports performance training preparations. It is an integral part of restoring your body to a condition which allows you to enjoy regular and continuous challenging training and competition.

Dr Low Wye Mun is a sports physician practicing at The Clinic @ Cuppage in Singapore. A Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, he serves on the ACSM International Relations Committee. Dr Low also lectures for the Singapore Sports Council & the Blackburn College diploma programme. More details at http://www.sportzdoc.com

Gymnastics worlds to stay in Tokyo

SAN JOSE, California — The world gymnastics championships will be hosted by Tokyo this October as originally planned, despite earlier concerns about high radiation levels following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the International Gymnastics Federation said Sunday.

The FIG found no scientific basis to call off the Oct. 7-16 event at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, which acts as the main qualifier for the 2012 London Olympics.

FIG president Bruno Grandi said the federation made the decision after consulting with experts who said it would be safe to go ahead as scheduled with the worlds.

"I am relieved. The FIG executive committee was not moved by sentiment and made a composed decision," said Japan Gymnastics Association president Hidenori Futagi.

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Vettel holds off Hamilton in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain — Formula One leader Sebastian Vettel held off Lewis Hamilton to win the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, edging his closest championship contender to capture his fourth victory in five races this season.

The Red Bull driver took the lead for good after the second round of pit stops to beat Hamilton by 0.6 seconds and widen his advantage atop the standings to 41 points over his McLaren rival.

The German lost use of his KERS power boost and Hamilton tucked in behind him, but Vettel clung to the lead over the final dozen laps, becoming only the fifth winner in 21 races at the Catalunya Circuit who didn't start on the pole and the first in the last 11 races.

"A lot of people said today wouldn't be a race—that's why I'm even more happy we made it," Vettel said. "The last 10 laps I felt tires going away and I was praying. On top of that sometimes KERS on, sometimes KERS off. It wasn't an easy race."

Blackpool, Blues down; Ancelotti out

LONDON — Blackpool and Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday, each missing a chance to remain in English soccer's top tier as Wigan scored late to avoid the same fate on the season's final day.

And two hours after the season ended, Carlo Ancelotti was fired as Chelsea manager's following a trophyless season, after he led the club to the Premier League and F.A. Cup titles in 2010. Ancelotti's replacement will be the seventh Chelsea manager since Roman Abramovich bought the club eight years ago.

"This season's performances have fallen short of expectations and the club feels the time is right to make this change ahead of next season's preparations," Chelsea said in a statement. "Chelsea's long-term football objectives and ambitions remain unchanged and we will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager."