CHICAGO IN COMMAND OF FINALS

The Philadelphia Flyers didn't take a penalty in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, and even they were a little embarrassed about that. They promise to play a little more physical in Game 2 Monday night, hoping the insertion of pest Daniel Carcillo at forward, along with defenceman Oskars Bartulis, will help them play “Flyers” hockey, a little closer to the edge. “We came here to get one win in Chicago and that's what we're trying to do,” Flyers forward Simon Gagne said. Carcillo is going in for James van Riemsdyk, the rookie who was a non-factor in Game 1, while Bartulis subs for Ryan Parent, a little spooked of late and who was trusted for only one shift in Game 1. Carcillo could be the sparkplug. “Danny (Carcillo) brings intensity, and he brings more than that, he's got skill, he can be a player, too,” said teammate Ian Laperierre after the morning skate. “He's not a big guy, but he's going to bring a physical aspect,” said Gagne. “He's going to run around and finish every check. He can make some plays. He scored some big goals for us against Jersey in the first round. “The first game wasn't that physical, but we expect that to change. Danny is going to help with that.” Michael Leighton will start in goal for the Flyers; Antti Niemi for the Blackhawks. Chicago plans no changes to its lineup. Forward Andrew Ladd skated on his own Monday morning, but will miss Game 2 with Tomas Kopecky – the goal scoring hero of Game 1 -- again subbing for him. The Hawks are expecting the Flyers to step up the intensity. “They are probably pretty mad at themselves,” said Chicago forward Patrick Kane. “They scored five goals on the road and don't come up with the victory. “So I'm sure as the series goes on, it will probably get a little more intense and the physicality will pick up a bit. But it seems like they're a pretty nasty team. I guess you expect it from them.” That said, the Flyers weren't out for retribution after what they termed a “dirty” Game 1 hit by Adam Burish on Lukas Krajicek. “It's the playoffs,” Laperierre said. “You've got to suck it up. You can't worry about what happened last game, because it might cost you two minutes or four minutes and it could cost you the game.” Burish said he wasn't “looking to make any friends.” (Toronto Star)

DUKE TAKES NCAA TITLE

CJ Costabile lived the dream. As a youth, Costabile imagined scoring the game-winning goal. As a sophomore long-stick midfielder for Duke, Costabile did just that, scoring just five seconds into overtime to lift the No. 5 seed Blue Devils to a 6-5 victory decision over unseeded Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament final at M&T Bank Stadium on Monday. On the opening faceoff of overtime, Costabile popped the ball away from Fighting Irish senior Trever Sipperly and collected it. He sprinted into the offensive zone and fired a shot from about 10 yards over goalkeeper Scott Rodgers' right shoulder to set off a wild celebration just outside the Notre Dame cage. It was the fastest goal to start an overtime period in NCAA history, and it concluded the lowest-scoring game in NCAA history. "Everyone kind of thinks about that," Costabile, who won six of 10 faceoffs, scooped three ground balls, and caused two turnovers, said of his game-winning goal. "You think, 'Oh, maybe I can do something like that.' For it to actually come true, it's fairy tale stuff. You don't think it's going to happen, but I guess it kind of happened." Duke coach John Danowski said players integral to the team's faceoffs and transition have always had the green light to shoot, and Costabile recognized that no Fighting Irish defenders were sliding to him as he carried the ball into the box. "They were really tight on the attackmen," he said. "So I took my lane. … I kind of just let it rip and saw the back of the net move and saw Max [Quinzani], [Zach] Howell and Ned [Crotty] jump around me." (Baltimore Sun)

~STORY OF THE WEEK~
HALLADAY PERFECT IN MIAMI

Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game in the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 win over the Florida Marlins on Saturday night. The Phillies’ Ace did not allow a hit nor a walk in nine innings pitched to post the 20th perfect game in major league history. Wilson Valdez scored the run for the Phillies off of a Cameron Maybin fielding error. It was the second perfect game in the MLB this month alone, Dallas Braden doing it for Oakland against Tampa Bay back on May 9th. It’s the first time in the modern era that there were a pair of flawless games in the same season. Halladay was acquired by Philadelphia in the offseason in a blockbuster trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners, and prospects; Travis D'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek, and Michael Taylor to the Toronto Blue Jays. Shortly after the trade, Halladay agreed to three-year $60 million extension with Philadelphia. In 77 innings pitched this season, Halladay is 6-3 with a 2.22 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. In other news, the Suns fell to the Lakers in a homecourt Game 6, giving LA the Western Conference title and a chance to become champions of the year 2010 in the NBA finals beginning this week against the Boston Celtics.

BOSTON ADVANCES TO FINALS

One title has never been enough. Not for the Boston Celtics. The league's most-decorated franchise avoided the biggest playoff collapse in NBA history and earned a chance to hang an unprecedented 18th championship banner from the rafters, beating Orlando 96-84 on Friday night to eliminate the Magic in six games and advance to the NBA Finals. Former LSU star Glen Davis returned to the court just two days after a scary concussion left him staggering around the court in Game 5 and scored six points with seven rebounds in 18 minutes. He entered the game to a standing ovation and left to another. Davis has averaged 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds during the 2010 Playoffs, and plays a key role in the Celtics run for the NBA title. Another former Tiger, Brandon Bass, was on the losing end of the series. Bass played in seven of the Magic's playoff games and averaged 2.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. (LSU)

UNORTHODOX BUZZER BEATER GIVES LA GAME 5

SUNS RALLY COMES UP JUST SHORT AS LAKERS TAKE 3-2 LEAD

Kobe Bryant had Ron Artest wrapped in a bear hug, which was then engulfed by a group hug, all while shiny purple and gold streamers poured from the sky. Bryant was beaming, jovial at last. To that emotion, he could have added surprised, elated and maybe even relieved. As a tie game dwindled to its final seconds Thursday night, Bryant shot an air ball and Artest turned it into a buzzer-beating, game-winning and possibly series-turning layup. The Los Angeles Lakers danced away with a 103-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns, and a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals. “As a group, it’s always fun to have wins like this,” Bryant said, his mood substantially improved from earlier in the week. The Lakers are one victory away from a third straight trip to the N.B.A. finals and a chance to defend their title. Game 6 is Saturday in Phoenix. It is unlikely the series can get any wilder or weirder than it was Thursday night. Suns Coach Alvin Gentry, struck by food poisoning, vomited in the first half and needed intravenous fluids at halftime. The Lakers blew an 18-point lead in the second half. The Suns nearly forced overtime on a bank-shot 3-pointer by Jason Richardson with 3.5 seconds left. Then Artest, who might have left as the most vilified player in the building, became the Lakers’ unlikely savior. With the score tied at 101-101, Bryant took an inbounds pass on the sideline, then turned and flung a 3-point attempt. Artest charged into the paint, caught the ball and quickly laid it back up as time expired, setting off a spectacular celebration at Staples Center. Bryant finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists — a total that did not include his unintentional feed of Artest on the game’s final play. Artest, who joined the Lakers last summer to provide toughness and defense, was asked if it was the biggest shot of his career. “Biggest layup,” he said with a smile. “I missed a lot of layups during the regular season.” Fans have found Artest alternately thrilling and maddening, and he was both Thursday night. His decision making and shooting have been heavily critiqued. With about a minute to play, and the Lakers clinging to a 101-98 lead, Artest shot an errant a 20-foot jumper, the crowd groaning before he even released it. Pau Gasol grabbed the rebound and passed back to Artest at the 3-point arc. Seeing an open shot, Artest launched and missed again, to more groans. In the timeout that followed, Coach Phil Jackson tried to give Artest — who was 1 for 8 at that point — a quick primer on good shots versus bad shots. “He was trying not to listen to me, very hard,” Jackson said with a grin. Yet Jackson sent Artest back onto the floor for the final 51.5 seconds. “I actually questioned it myself when I put him out there on the floor,” he said. It turned out to be a good decision. As Jackson noted, “He has an uncanny knack of doing things.” The Suns, who did not hold a lead in the second half, nearly orchestrated their own miracle, after their own series of misfires. Channing Frye, Steve Nash and Jason Richardson all missed potential tying 3-pointers. But Richardson got another chance, and banked in a shot from 27 feet with 3.5 seconds left. For a moment, the Suns were the ones hooting and skipping across the court. “It was a crazy game,” said Nash, who led the Suns with 29 points and 11 assists, including 9 points in the fourth quarter. Two nights earlier in Phoenix, the Suns had tied the series and sent Bryant into a foul mood. Asked to describe his emotions afterward, Bryant had said, sarcastically, “Jovial.” This time the feeling was genuine. Derek Fisher had 22 points, his most productive game of the postseason. Gasol started to reassert himself in the paint, finishing with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Lamar Odom contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds. Bryant and Andrew Bynum had four blocks apiece. The trends now favor the Lakers. In the history of 2-2 ties, the team that wins Game 5 has gone on to win the series 83 percent of the time. Nash frustrated the Lakers defense all night with his slippery moves and smooth shooting. He was at his best down the stretch, scoring on a 3-point play, feeding Amare Stoudemire for a layup and hitting two long jumpers over Gasol. Phoenix again used heavy doses of zone defense, holding the Lakers to a series-low 41.8 percent shooting. The Suns’ bench, a key to their victories in Games 3 and 4, was not nearly as effective on the road. Frye scored 14 points, all in the second half, and Jared Dudley had 10 points. No other reserve had more than 3. Dudley was the only Suns reserve to score in the first 30 minutes of play. On the Suns bench, they were just hoping to keep their coach upright. Gentry became ill early in the game and vomited in a trash can by the bench. It was not intended as a symbolic gesture. “I ate at a restaurant today that will not be named,” Gentry said. “But for some reason it did not sit well with me.” Gentry felt better by the end of the game, and then not so much. “We’re not happy, I can tell you that,” he said. “We’re very disappointed. We’re not jovial.” (NY Times)

MAGIC DEFIANTLY FORCE GAME 6

The sweat was still dripping down his face when Paul Pierce bid this city goodbye last week. The Celtics were heading to Boston for two games and were comforted by the thought of sweeping the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics’ next road game, Pierce thought, would be in Phoenix or Los Angeles in Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals. The farewell proved premature. An overtime victory by the Magic on Monday forced Game 5 here Wednesday, and Orlando sliced another game off the Celtics’ once-commanding series lead with a 113-92 victory at Amway Arena. Boston will host Game 6 on Friday with their series stranglehold downsized, 3-2. “I still look at it like we’re climbing a huge mountain, but we’re playing better,” Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy said. A few days ago, the prospects for a Lakers-Celtics finals rematch of two years ago seemed certain. But from coast to coast, the Suns and the Magic have hammered reminders that no such series is concrete. Boston once had the answers. Now Orlando holds both the mental and physical advantages as the Celtics’ frontcourt was decimated Wednesday. Kendrick Perkins was ejected in the first half for a second technical foul, and in the third quarter Dwight Howard’s elbow sent Glen Davis crashing to the floor. As the rest of the Celtics raced upcourt, Davis tried to get up and fell to the floor again. He got up and stumbled to midcourt like a punch-drunk boxer, crashing into the arms of the referee Joey Crawford. Davis, who lost a tooth, went to the locker room when the quarter ended. The Celtics’ team physician Brian McKeon determined that Davis had sustained a concussion. “He’s a physical guy,” Boston Coach Doc Rivers said of Howard. “He’s doing what he can do and we just need to do a better job of taking the hits, I guess.” With his front court in disarray, Rivers inserted the seldom-used Shelden Williams, who had not played in the series, when Rasheed Wallace fouled out with just under five minutes remaining. The daunting odds of winning the series has been discussed repeatedly, much to the annoyance of the Magic and the chagrin of Rivers. N.B.A. teams are 93-0 in series in which they lead by 3-0. It is foolproof as a mathematical equation until one team breaks free of the past. The Magic used another simple mathematical formula Wednesday. Three points are worth more than 2. Jameer Nelson unleashed four 3-pointers, Matt Barnes made three and Mickael Pietrus and J. J. Redick each made a pair of 3’s among Orlando’s total of 13 in 25 attempts. Howard had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. “We have a long battle in front of us,” said Nelson, who followed a splendid effort in Game 4 with 24 points. “It can be done just one game at a time.” The Celtics’ offense sputtered, never gaining its rhythm. Rajon Rondo, who struggled with muscle spasms in Game 4, scored 19 points, but missed 6 of 11 free throws. Pierce scored 18 points. “They were making shots,” Rivers said. “It’s tough to get a tempo when you don’t get misses.” Rivers even juggled his rotation in search of a spark and played the little-used Marquis Daniels and Nate Robinson for stretches in the second half. Daniels, too, sustained a concussion. The Celtics collapsed early as the Magic rediscovered its touch from beyond the 3-point arc. Six players combined for nine 3-pointers in the first half as Orlando surged to a 57-49 lead. “The team that has been the most physical has won the game,” Rivers said. “I thought it was us for the first three and Orlando for the last two.” He added, “We need to win one game, and let’s hope it’s the next one.” Shortly before the half ended, the referee Eddie F. Rush compounded Boston’s troubles. He tagged Perkins with a foul as Perkins wrestled with Marcin Gortat for inside position. Perkins showed his dismay by jumping up and down, shouting and walking away from Rush. Rush quickly assessed Perkins a technical for the outburst, and another when the decision further agitated Perkins. The technicals resulted in Perkins’s ejection and brought his postseason tally to seven, which draws an automatic one-game suspension. But the N.B.A. will review the sequence, and there is a chance Perkins’s second technical could be rescinded. In all, the referees slapped players with five technicals (three for Boston and two for Orlando). Orlando rebounded from a day that had an ominous beginning. Rashard Lewis, a nonfactor with a total of 28 points in the first four games, revealed at Wednesday’s shootaround that he was playing despite a viral infection in his stomach and felt drained early in games. He received intravenous fluid before Game 5 and responded with his best game of the series by scoring 14 points, including Orlando’s first 7 of the fourth quarter. “Regular season, I probably would have sat out,” Lewis said. “Not to make no excuses, it is the playoffs.” The N.B.A. also upgraded two Magic personal fouls to flagrant-1’s: Barnes shoving Kevin Garnett in the back, which caused Garnett to spill into Van Gundy in Game 3; and Howard’s pivot while rebounding that caught Garnett with an elbow in Game 4.

COLORADO ON FIRE; ONLY 4 GAMES OUT OF FISRT

A couple days ago, Rockies manager Jim Tracy celebrated the fact his offense ignited for double figures in runs. But on Tuesday night, he reminded everyone that he doesn't mind a low-scoring game when the Rockies win. Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki homered within the first three innings, then the pitching of rookie Jhoulys Chacin and the bullpen, plus a stellar defense, brought home a 3-2 victory over the D-backs at Coors Field. The victory opened a three-game set with Arizona and six-game homestand against National League West foes. It marked the ninth time in 10 games that the Rockies have scored four runs or fewer, but they're 6-4 in those contests. They've won three consecutive games, with Sunday's offensive outburst in an 11-7 victory over the Royals serving as the aberration. Chacin (3-2) held the D-backs to two runs and four hits in six innings, while striking out five. Manuel Corpas (fourth save) capped a strong bullpen effort by striking out Mark Reynolds looking with a runner at second to end the game. Third baseman Ian Stewart made two notable defensive plays, and second baseman Clint Barmes added one of his own. "Hitting is a very cyclical thing; we can be hot as a firecracker and then go dead cold and only get two or three runs," Tracy said. "But that formula there, that will win on a lot of days -- good pitching and very solid defense." Even without consistent offensive production, the Rockies (23-22) appear to be finding their stride. Unlike last season, when they dipped to 12 games below .500 before igniting and finishing the season in the playoffs, the Rockies haven't even dug themselves a hole in the West. They're four games behind the Padres. The Rockies' best baseball is doing its patented better-late-than-never arrival. Tulowitzki's homer was his fourth in five games -- to improve his total to five -- with the Rockies winning each of those games when their shortstop went deep. Hawpe launched his fourth homer and is hitting .319. With Ubaldo Jimenez at 8-1, 0.99 going into his start against the D-backs on Wednesday, Jeff Francis having posted a 0.68 ERA in two starts since leaving the DL and enough relievers hot, the Rockies could be in good shape when it's necessary. The Rockies began a run of 12 consecutive games against the NL West on Tuesday. There are still injuries to key players. Jorge De La Rosa (left middle finger) hasn't returned to the mound since late April, projected closer Huston Street hasn't pitched at all and outfield sparkplug Carlos Gonzalez is dealing with a nagging wrist injury. But the Rockies demonstrated on Tuesday that they have enough to win now and could improve. "This season has really tested our depth, and I think we've done pretty good for the situation that we were placed on early in the year," said Stewart, who dove, rolled over and threw from the seat of his pants to retire Reynolds to open the seventh, and reached into the D-backs' dugout for a Justin Upton foul pop in the ninth. Chacin improved to 3-0 against the NL West this season. Counting a scoreless inning of relief against the D-backs in his season debut, Chacin threw 15 1/3 scoreless innings against NL West competition and beat the Giants and Dodgers in his first two starts. But he gave up nine runs, 11 hits and six walks in losses to the Nationals and the Cubs. This time, Chacin triumphed, despite throwing 41 pitches in the first two innings. Between the second inning and the D-backs' two-run sixth, no runner reached second base. "The pitching coach [Bob Apodaca] talked to me and said, 'Relax and do what I did in the first two games,'" Chacin said. Reynolds said, "He was throwing a lot of off-speed stuff, and he was keeping us off balance pretty good. We just weren't able to get anything going against him." Rockies relievers Matt Belisle, Joe Beimel and Corpas were just as effective, although Stephen Drew's single past a diving Barmes to open the ninth made Corpas work. Corpas, a right-hander, usually uses a sinking fastball on his throwing arm side and a slider on his glove side. But Corpas said the sinker was ineffective on Tuesday. He threw sliders for much of a nine-pitch confrontation with Reynolds. Finally, with a 2-2 count, Corpas fooled Reynolds with a four-seam fastball that, truth be told, surprised Corpas, himself. "I never throw a four-seamer," he said, smiling.

RANGERS FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY

The Texas Rangers voluntarily pushed themselves into bankruptcy on Monday to facilitate the team’s sale to a group of investors led by Chuck Greenberg and the team’s president, Nolan Ryan, for about $575 million. The team and Major League Baseball took the unusual step so that the new owners would not be saddled with much of the debt held by the current owner, the HSG Sports Group. In a statement, the team said the bankruptcy was “prepackaged” and supported by baseball and the HSG Sports Group. It also said the sale of the team would produce enough money to pay the Rangers’ creditors in full, including players, like Alex Rodriguez, who were still owed millions of dollars in salary. The team said it asked the bankruptcy court for a hearing within 45 days, and it hoped the sale would be completed by midsummer. The club said it had assets and debts of between $100 million and $500 million. “This agreement assures an orderly process to expeditiously transfer Rangers ownership to the Greenberg-Ryan group, and it protects the franchise’s baseball operations,” Bud Selig, baseball commissioner, said in a statement. The league will also loan the Rangers money so that the team “continues to meet all of its obligations while the sale is being completed.” The HSG Sports Group defaulted on more than $500 million in loans last year, prompting Thomas Hicks, who leads the group, to look for investors to buy the team. The Greenberg-Ryan group was chosen above the other bidders in January. The sale was first supposed to be completed by the beginning of the season. The lenders to the HSG Sports Group, though, have argued that there are at least two more lucrative bids for the team that must be considered. They have been pushing baseball — thus far unsuccessfully — to reconsider those bids. The decision to push the team into bankruptcy was done without their consent and could lead to protracted delays in court as a consequence, according to one lender who asked not to be named because he did not speak for all lenders. At the same time, the lenders welcome the court’s involvement because they believe the judge is more likely to consider alternative bids for the team. A bankruptcy court judge in the Northern District of Texas will now hear the case, which includes the possibility of his agreeing to consider alternative bids for the team. In documents filed with the court, the team listed its 30 largest unsecured creditors. They include Rodriguez, who is owed $24.9 million in deferred compensation; Kevin Millwood, who is owed $12.9 million; Michael Young ($3.9 million); and Vicente Padilla, Mickey Tettleton and Mark McLemore. The team also owes money to Tickets9.com, Rawlings Sporting Goods and the New Era Cap Company, among others. The Rangers are the second major league team in a year to enter bankruptcy. The Chicago Cubs last October joined their previous owner, the Tribune Company, in a Chapter 11 filing. (NY Times)

YANKEES FALLING APART

Even before Rivalry Week ended with a thud - or more specifically an Alex Rodriguez strikeout - Joe Girardi already was looking forward to its conclusion. Hampered by a rash of injuries - and undermined largely by a poor week of pitching both in the rotation and in the bullpen - the Yankees won just two of seven games against Boston, Tampa Bay and the Mets. They suddenly are a season-high six games behind the Rays - who took the rubber game in Houston Sunday - in the AL East after another failed comeback bid in the ninth inning of Sunday night's 6-4 loss at Citi Field. "It's been a tough one," said starter CC Sabathia, who was tagged for six runs for the second time in his last three starts, including two homers by previously powerless Mets outfielder Jason Bay. "We have a veteran ballclub and we have to keep pushing through until guys get healthy and we get our full lineup back." It's true that the Yankees are without one-third of their regular starting nine - Jorge Posada last week joining Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson on the disabled list. But fill-ins such as Francisco Cervelli, Juan Miranda, Kevin Russo and Marcus Thames have provided several key hits in recent games. Derek Jeter rapped three hits Sunday night to reach 2,800 in his career, but Mark Teixeira was 2-for-27 before a fluke infield hit during the ninth-inning rally after Brett Gardner had been called out on a close play at first. "As far as the replay, you can't tell either way. If he gets on there for us, it's a big hit," said Girardi, who argued the Gardner call. "The replays, from what I understand, were not conclusive either way, so what are you going to do?" Teixeira's second hit set the stage for Rodriguez as the go-ahead run against closer Francisco Rodriguez, but K-Rod fanned A-Rod on a full-count changeup to seal the Mets' rubber-game victory. "It's right where you want to be, a great matchup. He gave me some pitches to hit but I fouled them back. . . . You wish you could have those back," A-Rod said. "But I think it was a good sign the last two innings. For a game that was 6-0 to come down the last at-bat, I'll take my chances there." Still, asked about mounting disappointment over a week's worth of failure against divisional and geographical foes, Rodriguez acknowledged, "There's no question there is a lot of frustration, because we know we're capable of doing a lot more, but collectively we're just not getting it done right now." Even before the game, Girardi had admitted "we've had better weeks, I think you could definitely say that." He listed what he described as a "multitude of problems," including a fallback in starting pitching, bullpen issues and an inability to hit in the clutch. "If you push the panic button every time you have a bad week, you'd probably push it more than once," Girardi said. "We just haven't played particularly well. . . . Obviously we want to get back to winning series after series and playing better." (NY Daily News)

~STORY OF THE WEEK~
BOSTON TAKES 3-0 SERIES LEAD

RONDO MAKES PLAY OF A LIFETIME IN CELTICS VICTORY
The Celtics had had a night to sleep on it, but they still weren't done raving about the play of the night in Saturday's Game 3 victory over the Orlando Magic. Sunday afternoon at the team's practice facility in Waltham, the Celtics were still buzzing about "the steal" -- the game-changing hustle play that Rajon Rondo made against Orlando's Jason Williams in the second quarter of Saturday night's game. With 8:34 to play in the second, Rondo dove between the legs of the sprinting Williams, pried the ball out from between his ankles, hopped to his feet and finished with a layup to give the Celtics a 19-point lead, 37-16. Rondo's teammates still haven't stopped talking about it. "Me and my friends were just talking about that play," captain Paul Pierce said Sunday. "That's going to be a play that the next 20 years, you're going to see them replaying in all the NBA commercials. The next 20, 25, 30 years. That's how great that play was." "Where he’s from?" asked Glen Davis. "He’s from Mars. He’s a different player. For him to show the energy like that, we feed off things like that. I tip my hat off to Rondo." In addition to burying the Magic in the second quarter, both on the scoreboard and emotionally, the play served to fire up a Celtics team that's now poised to sweep Orlando and advance to the NBA Finals. "It's inspirational," Pierce said. "When you see a guy hustling for the ball when he looks like he has no chance to get it, dive on the ball, come up with a huge play, that can spark your team. And that's what it did. It was one of the ultimate hustle plays that you see in basketball." Even after a complete and utter annihilation of the Orlando Magic in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, a game that the Celtics dominated early and never looked back, Doc Rivers insisted that this series wasn't over. His team had won the game, yes, but they hadn't broken the Magic's spirits. "They're going to come back in the next game and they're going to give us their best shot," Rivers said after Saturday night's 94-71 laugher. "They're a competitive group, and we know that. Quite honestly, we're not good enough to let up. I can tell you that. And they're good enough to get it going. And so we have to be very conscious of that." There you have it. Straight from the coach's mouth -- the Celtics have this Magic team down, but not out. But then you listen to the guy manning the other sideline. He's singing a totally different tune. (NESN)

ONYEWU SAYS HES BETTER THAN EVER

Oguchi Onyewu participated in full training with the United States soccer team Thursday, but he had a hitch in his stride as he ran sprints and seemed to be favoring one leg slightly. If reporters noticed this, though, Onyewu said he had not. “I don’t feel it,” he said. “I feel fine; I’ve been doing a lot more extensive running than that. I was just doing more fitness at the end.” The World Cup opener for the United States is June 12 against England. The 6-foot-4 Onyewu, an imposing presence on the back line, has not played in a match since Oct. 14, when he ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee during a World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica. Onyewu did not make it onto the field before his club season with A.C. Milan ended, but he said he had trained with the Italian team for two months, working on fitness, positioning and his touch on the ball. His sprinting and cutting were secure and confident, Onyewu said, adding that he did not think he would be too rusty after the seven-month match layoff. “Thankfully, I’m at the point right now that I can compete,” Onyewu said. “I’ve been training regularly. I’m game fit right now.” His first action since the injury will most likely come in a friendly Tuesday against the Czech Republic in East Hartford, Conn., or May 29 against Turkey in Philadelphia. “I don’t think right now if you watch training you can say I’m behind anyone else in terms of my speed of play or anything like that,” Onyewu said. He did, however, seem sensitive to doubts expressed on Internet message boards and in newspaper articles that he could return as the same player. “I’m going to go out there and agree with them,” Onyewu said. “I won’t come back how I was. I’m going to come back stronger. I’m going to use this year to prove that.” But until Onyewu plays a match, it will be impossible to tell whether he is fully recovered. Charlie Davies also insisted he felt fit enough to play in the World Cup, but Coach Bob Bradley thought otherwise. Of course, Davies did not have a familiar sports injury, but rather sustained fractures to his leg, elbow and face during a car accident in October that left one person dead. There was no clear timetable for his return. When Onyewu had surgery, doctors said he would be back in cleats in six months. So far, he has been right on schedule. After Onyewu practiced for the first time with the national team on Wednesday, Bradley cautioned that because the drills have a fast tempo and are in a compressed space, “sometimes as a player coming back from time off, it’s almost more difficult than a regular game.” Bradley said of Onyewu: “You can see moments where maybe to release a pass takes a split second too long, but we’re always confident those are the kind of training sessions that get players back where they need to be quickly.” The unsettled back line received more encouraging news Thursday, when Carlos Bocanegra (abdominal strain) and Chad Marshall (hamstring strain) participated in full drills. Jay DeMerit (abdominal strain) did partial training but said he felt better each day. Last June, Onyewu and DeMerit played obstructively in central defense as the United States defeated Spain, then the world’s No. 1 team, at the Confederations Cup in South Africa. DeMerit said he thought it would take two matches for Onyewu to regain his full sharpness. “It’s little things like marking men and having mental sharpness that comes along with games,” DeMerit said. “We have to find that relationship again and make sure we’re on the same page.” Goalkeeper Tim Howard said that Onyewu seemed fine and that “all his movements are good.” Onyewu’s injury occurred in the 83rd minute of the United States’ final World Cup qualifying match. He backpedaled, attempting to head a corner kick, when he thought he had been kicked in the hamstring by a Costa Rican opponent. “I could have sworn until I saw the video that somebody kicked me,” Onyewu said. “I was looking for the referee. I thought I got fouled.” When he looked down, though, Onyewu saw that his left kneecap had migrated upward to his thigh. He started waving to the bench for the trainer. “I immediately knew it was going to be a long time before I’d get back on the field,” he said. The rehabilitation was painful at times and stressful, Onyewu said, forcing much self-evaluation. “It’s not easy watching your team play and knowing you’re not capable of doing that just yet,” he said. Yet Onyewu said he was fortunate that he had not had any setbacks in training, that he did not push his body too hard too quickly. The last mental hurdle to overcome was to feel confident that he could jump and land safely. Something that once seemed so natural had led to his injury. In the back of his mind, Onyewu said he asked himself, “Do I want to do it?” His doctors said that the tendon had been reinforced by surgery and fully healed. Finally, jumping became second nature again. “Once you don’t think about it anymore, it’s in the past,” Onyewu said. Although he did not play again for A.C. Milan after the injury, Onyewu did make news when the club announced this week that he had signed a contract extension, agreeing to play for free in the 2012-13 season. “This season has been lost with me, in terms of the playing,” Onyewu said. “It was just a sign of good faith that the club was able to stick by me.” In return, he said, “I wanted to show my dedication back to them.” (NY Times)

FLYERS OUTPLAY CANADIANS AGAIN

Perhaps this was why the Montreal Canadiens seemed so loose and so confident when they arrived here on Wednesday. They knew that if they just stayed the course, if they just made a few adjustments and got to the net a little bit more and capitalized on their opportunities, things would be fine. One goal would turn into several. That's exactly what transpired on Thursday night. Tom Pyatt had a goal and an assist and Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves as the Canadiens cut their deficit to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 at a raucous Bell Centre. The Canadiens, who had been shut out in the first two games of this series and outscored by a 9-0 margin in Philadelphia, can even things up with another victory in Game 4 on Saturday afternoon. (NHL.com)

CLASSIC COME-FROM-BEHIND IN ATLANTA

In a homestand where the improbable seemingly became possible, the Atlanta Braves saved their most improbable feat for last. Pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad hit a one-out walk-off grand slam to cap off a seven-run ninth-inning rally to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-9, on Thursday afternoon at Turner Field. The comeback was the largest in franchise history, marked only the 23rd time in baseball history that a walk-off grand slam overcame a three-run deficit and was only the second time it was done by a pinch-hitter. Conrad, who came up with the Braves trailing, 9-6, was thinking anything but historic finish when he got into the batter's box to face Reds closer Francisco Cordero, who was second in the National League in saves and had successfully closed 13 of 15 previous attempts. "Oh no, especially after I went up there with the wrong helmet on," said the 30-year-old switch-hitter. "I was on deck getting ready to face [left-hander Arthur] Rhodes and I ran in and had to change my shin guard and got my other bat but forgot to change my helmet. So I had to move past that pretty quick to get focused for that at-bat. I was just [hoping to] get something up in the air, try to keep the ball off the ground, try to stay out of the double play. He threw me some good pitches and I'm lucky it got up and [I] hit it far enough." Whether he actually had the distance also was debatable, as the drive to left was deflected over the wall at the 380 mark in left-center-field by Reds left fielder Laynce Nix. "I was rounding first, and from my angle, it looked like he brought it back," said Conrad. "I put my hands on my helmet, like, 'No way he brought that back. At least we got the sac fly.' Then the fans went crazy and they kept running around the bases. So I started sprinting to get to home plate as fast as I could. Talk about a change of emotion. Going from he caught it to winning the game with a walk-off is pretty cool." The whole third of an inning was pretty cruel from a Reds perspective, as they bungled the 9-3 lead they'd built over the previous eight innings. Reliever Mike Lincoln had retired six consecutive hitters, and he was headed for what appeared an easy save. The Braves made sure it was anything but easy. Back-to-back singles by Troy Glaus, his third of the game, and Eric Hinske opened the inning. Shortstop Yunel Escobar then hit a hard ground ball past shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Nate McLouth's two-run single ended the day for Lincoln and brought in Nick Masset, the losing pitcher Wednesday night. Masset walked David Ross to reload the bases, then Martin Prado followed with what appeared to be a double-play grounder to third baseman Miguel Cairo. But Cairo never got the ball out of his glove. Another run scored on Cincinnati's fourth error of the day. "They gave us a couple opportunities there in the ninth," said Chipper Jones. "The play to short and the play to third. You give good teams four and five outs in an inning and it usually costs you." Fans at Turner Field expected Jason Heyward to collect, but Wednesday night's hero would strike out against veteran lefty Arthur Rhodes, setting up the showdown with Conrad. That led to the pitching change, the helmet confusion and eventually, the 2-2 fastball that Conrad took over the wall -- or at least close enough to it before finding "a bridge" courtesy of Nix. Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first Major League win for Atlanta. The rookie right-hander was the last of four Braves relievers, who limited Cincinnati to one run and five hits over the final 7 2/3 innings. "Our bullpen did a pretty darn good job under real tough circumstances," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "[Jonny] Venters and [Jesse] Chavez are one- and two-inning guys, not three-plus inning guys, so we had to really piece it together and they held them." The heroics of the unheralded members of the bullpen and the rally, which took place without either Jones or Brian McCann in the lineup after both had been removed with the game apparently out of hand, got starter Tommy Hanson off the hook. Hanson was roughed up for eight earned runs in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest start of his Major League career. "Hanson was light-headed when he took the mound in the first inning for whatever reason and he could never get it going," said Cox. "We were trying to get him through at least three or four innings so we could go to the bullpen, but I had to go get him in the second inning." Hanson hurt himself by allowing a two-out single to opposing pitcher Mike Leake, who had two hits on the day and is now hitting .353, and a walk that loaded the bases. The next seven batters reached, with six hits and a walk, including a Joey Votto grand slam and a two-run double by Nix that signaled the end of Hanson's day. "I don't want to sit here and make excuses," said Hanson, who saw his ERA rise from 2.88 to 4.17 and has allowed 13 earned runs over his past two starts, covering 8 2/3 innings. "I've pitched sick before and did fine. Falling behind guys and not hitting my spots. Pretty much that's about it. I didn't do a good job of pitching today." His Cincinnati counterpart, Leake, did. Leake appeared headed to 5-0, allowing three runs -- one earned -- on five hits, over six innings, striking out six and walking one. He also induced two double-play grounders, to get him out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings. But sloppy defense and an improbable ninth inning changed that. The win gave the Braves a 5-2 record in their seven-game, three-team homestand, while the Reds, who begin Interleague Play with a three-game weekend set in Cleveland, dropped their second in a row for the first time since May 2. The last team to come back from a six-run deficit to win in the ninth was the Indians on May 25, 2009. They scored seven in the ninth to beat the Rays, 11-10. For the Braves, it's their largest ninth-inning comeback in franchise history. The largest ninth-inning comeback for any team in history is the Tigers on April 25, 1901. They scored 10 in the ninth to overcome a nine-run deficit against Milwaukee for the 14-13 win. The Braves head to Pittsburgh for a weekend series brimming with confidence, knowing that anything is possible and from anyone. "Let me tell you something. He might not look very big, but that's a strong kid right there," said Jones of Conrad. "I've seen him quick-snatch guys throwing 95 before. Home run, double, whatever, is not out of the question with Brooks Conrad. I wasn't really expecting [a grand slam] at that particular point, but I'll never doubt him again." (MLB.com)

LAKERS SNATCH 2-0 SERIES LEAD

Provident. Divine. Blessed. Whatever the Lakers are — and no doubt, Amar’e Stoudemire is home at night thumbing through his thesaurus — this much is clear through the first two games of the Western Conference finals: there is no stopping them. The Lakers jumped to a 2-0 series lead Wednesday night with a 124-112 romp over the Suns, who have provided as much resistance as a collection of Saguaro cactuses. The decisiveness of the Lakers’ victories has already begun to set Los Angeles fans’ sights past Games 3 and 4 in Phoenix, and on toward their nemesis Boston, which opened the Eastern Conference finals by winning the first two games in Orlando. Parts of the last 90 seconds were played with fans in the upper reaches of Staples Center serenading their team’s eighth consecutive playoff victory with chants of “We want Boston.” “Well, what can you say?” Phoenix Coach Alvin Gentry said as he sat down in the interview room. “We can’t slow them down. I thought we played well offensively, but every time we tried to make an adjustment to slow them down, they go somewhere else.” A little while later, as he was standing outside the locker room, he tapped into a familiar feeling from the days when he coached the Clippers. “As I said, we’re open for suggestions,” Gentry said. “We’re not going to grow in the next three days.” The first task will be figuring out a way to limit Kobe Bryant. Bryant, rejuvenated since having his swollen left knee drained late in the first-round series against Oklahoma City, torched the Suns for 40 points in the opener, when he made Hill look like he was in danger of needing another ankle operation with a crossover dribble that sent the 37-year-old stumbling backward to the floor. In Game 2, Bryant was Kobe the Facilitator. He managed 21 points, but when Phoenix sent double teams at him, Bryant eagerly moved the ball. He finished with 13 assists, the most by a Laker in the playoffs since Magic Johnson’s 13 in 1996. With the ball in his hands as the first-quarter clock ran down, Bryant started toward the basket, then passed the ball to a wide-open Ron Artest in the corner. Artest, with the crowd on its feet, made the shot as the buzzer sounded and Bryant celebrated a 36-24 lead by pointing both his index fingers at Artest. It was a point well made — if you leave the other Lakers wide open, Bryant was more than happy to put the ball in their hands. In the fourth quarter, after Phoenix had clawed back from a 14-point deficit to tie the score at 90, that meant delivering the ball to Pau Gasol, who scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the final period — most of the time being single-covered by Stoudemire. “It’s my responsibility and Pau’s responsibility to make the defense have to do something,” Bryant said. “If they play straight up single coverage, then we’ve got to go to work. And then once the defense adjusts, it’s our responsibility to make the right play.” In the fourth quarter, that meant delivering the ball to Jordan Farmar, who hit a 3-pointer from the corner to start the period and another that boosted Los Angeles’ lead to 104-95. It came during a stretch in which the Suns turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions — including two by Steve Nash. They never got closer than 8 points after that. No matter how slick the Suns’ offense looked at times — Nash was effective in creating dunks for Stoudemire or open 3-pointers for Jared Dudley, who made five, and Jason Richardson, who had 27 points — they only rarely stopped the Lakers. In the two games of the series, the Lakers have shot 58 percent from the field. It is a familiar problem for Phoenix. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs in 2006 and 2007, it prompted the Lakers to retool, and they have repeatedly hammered the Suns. It was the Lakers’ ninth victory in 11 meetings since they acquired Gasol in January 2008. “We have to figure it out,” said Hill, who scored 23 points and helped lead the Suns’ third-quarter charge. “We’ve scored enough points, but they’re scoring at will. I don’t really know what the answer is.” And if the Suns were grasping for answers, they also did not have the right words. Stoudemire, who called Lamar Odom’s 19-point, 19-rebound performance in Game 1 lucky, said he did not have any regrets. Odom managed 17 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and did his best to take the high road. But when asked if anyone had called him lucky before, Odom could not suppress a smile. “Yeah but I don’t think this is the time or place to go over that,” Odom said, netting the last uncontested point of the evening at the Suns’ expense.

FLYERS IN COMPLETE CONTROL

The Montreal Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference finals because their goalie was humbling opponents and now they are in trouble in the series because the Philadelphia Flyers' goalie is humbling them. Michael Leighton posted his second consecutive shutout to give the Flyers a 3-0 win and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. "Everyone wants a great story, and (Leighton) is the perfect example," Flyers center Blair Betts said. Leighton has been a vagabond goalie as a pro, with five American Hockey League cities and five NHL stops. But he has stopped 58 of 58 shots in this series and 124 of 128 (.969 save percentage) since replacing injured Brian Boucher. Going back to Game 7 in the second round, Leighton hasn't given up a goal in 165 minutes, 50 seconds. "He's very loose, very relaxed," Betts said. "You can feel a confidence and strong mentality about him. He doesn't seem nervous." Leighton is the first goalie to post back-to-back shutouts against Montreal in a playoff series since the Buffalo Sabres' Bob Sauve in 1983 in Montreal. The last goalie to post back-to-back playoff shutouts against Montreal on the road was Detroit's Terry Sawchuk in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1952. The series heads to Montreal for Games 3 and 4 Thursday and Saturday with the Canadiens wondering what they have to do to put pucks past Leighton. "He's unbelievable," Philadelphia left wing James van Riemsdyk said of Leighton. "He made big stop after big stop and he really helps change the momentum of the game. He kept us in there all game long and he's unbelievable." Coming into the series, Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak was expected to be a difference-maker, but he has given up seven goals on 36 shots. While Leighton is the spotlighted player, the Flyers' power play (4-for-10 in this series) has also been the story. Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne had power- play goals, with Gagne's tally giving him six goals in six games since coming back sooner than expected from a foot injury. "We are shooting the puck more," Philadelphia right wing Claude Giroux said about the power play. "Any time you shoot the pick more you obviously get a better chance of scoring and the pucks are just finding the holes." The Canadiens are hoping they get a boost from the loud crowds at the Bell Centre. "We got to go back and make sure (our home arena) makes a difference," Montreal defenseman Hal Gill. "We can't just go out back and expect it to all change, we have to work at it. They're a good team, they're playing well, they have momentum, and we have to find a way to break that momentum and make it go our way." Montreal's most dangerous forwards, Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, combined for 12 shots Tuesday, but couldn't solve Leighton who was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the season. The Flyers, who have won six in a row for the first time since the 1995 playoffs, are hoping they play better in Game 3 and become less reliant on their goaltending. "We are at our best when we are at our simplest," Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger said. (USA Today)

LAKERS TAKE GAME 1 BEHIND KOBE
SUNS DEALT WAKE UP CALL IN LOS ANGELES
Lamar Odom found his groove early on Monday, and the rest of the Lakers bench followed suit. How about that? The bench looked like the Lakers' Bench Mob of old. Odom, the sixth man, came off the Lakers bench in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at Staples Center, and he came out shooting. His shots were falling, too. Odom scored 19 points and had a playoff career-high 19 rebounds in the Lakers' 128-107 rout over the Suns. "I didn't want to wait," Odom said. "I said to myself, `If I'm going to have a bad game, I'm going to have a bad game coming out swinging. I'm not going to wait and let the game come to me.' " The Suns are known for their productive bench, but they looked more like GO INSIDE THE LAKERS: For the best around-the-clock coverage of the Lakers, visit our Inside the Lakers blog. the Lakers bench when it's ineffective. The Lakers outscored the Suns, 44-35. Jordan Farmar made 4-of-6 shots and scored 10 points and Shannon Brown made 3-of-6 shots. Josh Powell had a crowd-pleasing dunk after a missed Kobe Bryant shot. "They played extremely well, and defensively they did a good job," Bryant said. "It's tough to gauge scoring (128) points. I felt they did a great job in that stretch holding the lead. Obviously, Lamar carried the ball for that group." And the Suns bench dropped the ball, making just 13 of 32 shots. (LA Daily News)

MEMORIES OF A FALLEN TEAMMATE

Parny Hagerman sat in the bleachers at Klockner Stadium on Sunday and wiped away tears with both hands. The Virginia women’s lacrosse team had scored a goal 12 seconds into its first-round N.C.A.A. tournament game against Towson, and the emotions of the moment were set free. For the past four years, Hagerman had joined two other mothers of Cavaliers lacrosse players, Sharon Love and Kitsy Duff, on road trips to see their daughters play. They would usually find outlet malls wherever they traveled, and Love would usually find the perfect gift for her daughter Yeardley, a senior this season who played defense. “Yeardley had a way of hugging her mother that showed how much she cared,” Hagerman said. “She was just the most adorable child any parent would want.” On Sunday, Sharon Love sat in the stands wearing a blue-and-orange ribbon with angel’s wings, as Virginia took a 14-12 victory in its first game since Yeardley Love was found dead in her apartment May 3. George Huguely, who was a senior on Virginia’s men’s lacrosse team and who had dated Yeardley Love, has been charged with first-degree murder. Just before the game ended, Sharon Love and her older daughter, Lexie, were escorted to the field. One by one, the Cavaliers ran up and embraced them. “It was really great to see Mrs. Love and Lexie, because I see Yeardley in them, in their laugh,” Marye Kellermann, a senior attack for Virginia, said. Yeardley Love was honored throughout the game, starting when the often-seen picture of her wearing a Virginia warm-up suit, eyes shining, was shown on the stadium scoreboard. A moment of silence followed, but when the public-address announcer thanked everyone afterward, the crowd of 2,270 remained silent. Finally, a fan a few rows from the field yelled, “Let’s go U-V-A!” The crowd responded with a lengthy and emotional standing ovation. The Virginia players wore warm-up T-shirts that said: “One Team. One Heart. One Love.” They also wore black patches on their jerseys that had the word “LOVE” displayed in white. And the Towson players wore wristbands with Love’s initials on them. “Going out on the field and feeling a sense of emptiness knowing Yeardley’s not there, that’s definitely been the hardest thing the past couple of weeks,” Kellermann said. Less than three minutes into the first half, Virginia led by 3-0, and Klockner Stadium had begun to shake. Towson tied the score five times, but Virginia never trailed, never wavered and never lost track of the afternoon’s focus. When Kaitlin Duff found Charlie Finnigan for the final goal with 1 minute 58 seconds remaining, it did not heal everything or make everything feel as it once did. But it did give the Cavaliers, Sharon and Lexie Love, and plenty of others here a chance to exhale. Caity Whiteley, who was one of Love’s roommates, was one of three Virginia players who scored three goals. “I know I wasn’t ready to be done,” Virginia Coach Julie Myers said. “I don’t think the girls were even close to being ready. We still need to be together as we take the next steps.” Sixth-seeded Virginia (14-5) will face third-seeded North Carolina (16-2) in a quarterfinal match next week in Chapel Hill. On Saturday, the top-seeded Virginia men’s team defeated Mount St. Mary’s to advance to an N.C.A.A. quarterfinal next weekend against Stony Brook. After the women’s game, the Virginia players held up pieces of paper with Love’s No. 1 on them as the Cher song “Believe” boomed over the loudspeaker. The song became something of a team anthem after the Cavaliers’ bus driver played it during trips to Virginia Tech and Maryland last month. Lauren Benner, a junior goalie, said Love and the rest of the team danced and sang along during those bus rides, but on Sunday, the paradox of the song’s chorus — “Do you believe in life after love?”— was not lost. “I mean, love is everywhere,” Benner said. Sunday was the first time the Cavaliers spoke publicly since Love’s death. They remembered her as a caring, gentle young woman who brightened rooms with her smile. Whitaker Hagerman, a senior attack, remembered when Love went to practice as a goalie on April Fools’ Day two years ago and waited for her coaches to notice. Benner remembered the bus rides to road games, when Love would beg for a good back scratch, offering a shoulder massage in return. Kellermann remembered how jittery Love became when she saw squirrels on campus, even if they were 30 feet away. These moments always seemed to end the same way, with Love laughing and that indelible smile returning. “She was just so beautiful inside and out,” Kellermann said. “Every day whoever she was with, she made their day better.” With the win against Towson, Virginia’s season will continue. The players will have another week to pull together, another week to gather memories. After going through two weeks they would like to forget, they are focused on honoring a teammate they hope will never be forgotten. (NY Times)

CIVIL RIGHTS GAME CLASSIC
The Civil Rights Game rose to the occasion, as a series of big plays late, including Drew Stubbs' two-run triple in the sixth, culminated with a perfect relay by the Reds to nail the tying run at the plate and deny the Cardinals' comeback bid. Mike Leake took the victory, moving to 4-0 in seven starts to begin his career. The Reds now find themselves just a half game out of a highly competitive first place position in the National League Central, facing the Cardinals on Sunday with a chance to overtake #1. After pleasing a loud, sold-out crowd with a unforgettable win Saturday night in Cincinnati, the Reds will look to do it again and complete a weekend to remember.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~
CANADIANS AND FLYERS ADVANCE

The players on the Philadelphia Flyers’ bench, which had been a dark place as they tumbled into a three-goal abyss in Game 7, suddenly jumped up and down, slamming their sticks against the boards. The Bruins had too many men on the ice, they shouted. The referees, too, had noticed. Handed a power play with nine minutes left, the Flyers did not let the chance slip away. Simon Gagne, a forward who missed the first three games of the series with a broken bone in his right foot, scored to lift Philadelphia to a stunning 4-3 victory and to a four-games-to-three Eastern Conference semifinal series victory Friday night at the TD Garden. “I don’t think anybody in that room feels we’ve accomplished anything yet,” said Chris Pronger, the 35-year-old Philadelphia defenseman. But this victory was special. The Flyers became the third team in Stanley Cup playoff history — the Toronto Maple Leafs (1942) and the Islanders (1975) were the others — to win a series after losing the first three games. It was fitting that Gagne played the hero. His goal at 12 minutes 52 seconds of the third period was his fourth since returning to the lineup on May 7. With the Flyers facing elimination in Game 4, Gagne scored in overtime. “He’s got a gift, and that gift helps us win hockey games,” said Peter Laviolette, who was hired as Philadelphia’s coach on Dec. 4 to lift an underachieving team. “And he’s doing it under the toughest of circumstances.” The Flyers, who finished the regular season with the seventh-best record in the conference, will host the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 on Sunday. Inspired by a boisterous capacity crowd, most waving yellow towels, the Bruins took a 3-0 lead in the first 14:10 of the game. The first two goals were on power plays, handed to the Bruins because Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere were too rambunctious. “It was emotion, trying too hard,” Briere said. “We were crossing the line at the beginning of the game.” Milan Lucic scored his second goal of the game on a rush for a three-goal Bruins lead. The fans were delirious, turning up the volume of the din at the Garden. At that point, Laviolette called his only time out of the game and summoned his team to the bench. The focus of his message: just score one goal before the end of the period. At 17:12, Philadelphia scored on a shot by the rookie forward James van Riemsdyk that dribbled off his broken stick. The Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart got his stick on the puck, too, but it slipped under the pad of Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask — so slowly it barely hit the back of the net. No matter; it was van Riemsdyk’s first playoff goal. “Our mind-set was that if we were going to go down, we were going to go down swinging,” said Mike Richards, the Flyers’ captain. Philadelphia closed to 3-2 on Hartnell’s second goal of the playoffs. His linemate Ville Leino tried beating Rask with a spinning backhand, but Rask stopped the shot with his left pad. Hartnell charged toward the loose puck and whipped it into the far side of the goal at 2:49. The crowd began to buzz, nervously. Boston killed a hooking penalty on Marc Savard, but the Flyers had momentum. Briere tied the score at 9:39 when he carried the puck behind the goal at high speed, whirled, then stuffed the puck past Matt Hunwick and Rask. “We call him sneaky,” Hartnell said of Briere. “He’s sneaky around the net.” The Flyers regrouped around goaltender Michael Leighton — who had replaced the injured Brian Boucher in a Game 5 victory — and dominated the final two periods. With 8:45 left, the Bruins received the too-many-men penalty, an egregious error at such a critical point of the season. Two men hopped on the ice as one player hopped off. “They’re calling it throughout the whole playoffs, and we’ll leave it at that,” Boston Coach Claude Julien said. The communication among players, Julien said, had to be better than ever these days. There was a breakdown at one of the worst moments possible, and Boston’s collapse, which included losing a three-game lead and a three-goal Game 7 lead, was soon complete because of Gagne. “The team that won tonight deserved it,” Julien said. (NY Times)

CELTICS ELIMINATE CAVS

The pride of Akron, Ohio, walked away in silence Thursday night, moving swiftly and purposefully away from profound disappointment and into the great unknown. LeBron James is out of the playoffs, and perhaps out of Cleveland. His title run was clipped prematurely once again, this time in the second round, by the Boston Celtics, who completed a six-game series victory over the Cavaliers with a 94-85 win at TD Garden. The Celtics will face the Orlando Magic for the Eastern Conference crown. James will face countless questions about what went wrong, and even more about what comes next. James plans to become a free agent July 1, with the Knicks, Nets, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and others lining up to woo him. When the final buzzer sounded, just before 11 p.m., it officially started the clock on his free agency, and the most anticipated N.B.A. off-season in history. An hour later, dressed in a black-and-white windbreaker, James sat on an interview podium, looking drained. He scratched his head. He fielded a dozen questions but betrayed no emotions and offered little insight. “I’m going to approach this summer with the right mindset,” James said. “Me and my team is going to figure out what’s the best possibility for me. I love the city of Cleveland, of course, the city, the fans. Another disappointing season, to say the least, but at the same time we have a great time together. So we’ll see what happens.” James was repeatedly frustrated by a Celtics team that was deeper, more talented and more defensively tenacious throughout the series. Playing with a sore right elbow, an injury he constantly played down, James averaged a stout 26.8 points, 7.2 assists and 9.3 rebounds. But he shot poorly and committed 19 turnovers in the final three games, all losses. Boston largely succeeded in keeping James out of the paint, forcing him to become a jump shooter. James claimed his second straight Most Valuable Player award, but he was overshadowed in the series by Rajon Rondo and, in the end, by the Celtics’ still-formidable threesome of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. After the final buzzer, James — who was criticized for failing to congratulate the Magic after the Eastern Conference finals last spring — lingered and shared embraces with the Celtics. Then, jersey untucked and stare fixed straight ahead, he walked through a tunnel and stripped off his Cavaliers uniform for perhaps the final time. “First of all, I want to win,” James said later. “That’s my only thing, that’s my only concern.” James said the Cavaliers were committed to winning — a fact that was evident in their acquisitions of Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison in the last year. But a series of postseason failures will raise reasonable doubts about James’s desire to stay with Cleveland. The Cavaliers have never acquired a true second star to pair with James, and are considerably less talented than the Magic, the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, the Cavaliers had the league’s best record for the second straight season, and James said he was “definitely surprised” to be out of the playoffs so soon. “A friend of mine told me after the game, ‘I guess you have to go through a lot of nightmares before you finally accomplish your dream,’ ” James said. “And that’s what’s going on individually for myself right now.” James was alternately spectacular and sloppy in the finale: he collected a triple-double with 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists, along with a team-high 9 turnovers. His shooting was erratic (8 for 21). As a team, the Cavaliers had 24 turnovers, leading to 27 points for the Celtics. “We just never got a rhythm in this series,” said Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown, whose job status is also in doubt after another postseason flameout. He declined to speculate on James’s future, saying: “Right now, we just lost a series. I’m not thinking about that.” The Boston crowd delivered a series of parting taunts, most prominently a chant of “New York Knicks” each time James stepped to the free-throw line. In the final minutes, the fans added one more, a sing-song style “LeBron is leaving!” Nearly lost in the Cavaliers’ shocking early exit was the sudden revival of the Celtics. Two years removed from a championship, the Celtics had been dismissed as too old, too creaky and too fractured to contend for another Eastern Conference title. Now they are four victories away from another finals appearance. They open the Eastern Conference finals Sunday at Orlando. “One thing we don’t lack, and that’s confidence,” said Garnett, who re-emerged as a force in the series. He added, “I thought we hit our stride at the right time.” Cleveland’s high-priced acquisitions came up short. O’Neal, who was acquired to match up against Orlando’s Dwight Howard, was rarely effective at either end of the court against the Celtics. Jamison was possibly worse: a dud on offense and a liability on defense. He was repeatedly exploited by Garnett, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds Thursday. Jamison went 2 for 10 from the field in Game 6 and shot 42.2 percent in the series. A day earlier, James had expressed absolute confidence that the Cavaliers could save the series. “Because they got me,” he said. True as that may be, the Cavaliers needed much more. Mo Williams, the second-most criticized Cavalier in the series, initially answered the call, with 20 points in a tight first half. But he had just 2 points after halftime. The Cavaliers erased a 10-point Celtics lead in the first half, fell behind by 12 in the third and faced an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. They pulled to 4 points down after James hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Then everything fell apart. James fumbled the ball on a crossover move, starting a Rondo fast-break layup. Seconds later, Pierce hit a 3-pointer, and the arena rocked with anticipation. Then came a Rasheed Wallace 3-pointer, a Williams turnover and another fast break, finished by a thundering Garnett dunk for an 88-74 lead with 5 minutes 50 seconds to play. James’s pending free agency hung over the series like a damp rag. With the Cavaliers on the brink of elimination, it only grew heavier. First came the “New York Knicks” chants — a taunt instigated by Bill Simmons, an ESPN columnist and lifelong Celtics fan, via Twitter. In the second quarter, the in-house video camera found a fan wearing a Knicks jersey with James’s name across the shoulders, over the No. 6 — the number James plans to wear next season, wherever he lands. In Cleveland, paranoia over James’s intentions warped perceptions of the series, especially after his detached, lackluster performance in Game 5, a 120-88 Celtics rout. Disillusioned fans were in full meltdown, flooding Cleveland talk shows with conspiracy theories: James does not care anymore. James has mentally checked out. James is tanking games to justify leaving. With the fury came heresy: fans actually dared James to go. Commentators were no kinder, speculating endlessly about James’s makeup and his desire. It might be weeks or months before anyone knows what exactly was bothering him in this series — the sore right elbow, teammates, coaches, a personal matter or some as-yet unannounced injury. James acknowledged that his elbow injury “limited me some,” but left it at that. On free agency, James stressed that he had merely given himself options. “You never can predict the future, but at the same time you hope for things that’s much brighter than what’s going on right now,” he said. Then he pushed a pair of sunglasses on his face, strapped on a backpack and departed the arena, destination unknown. (NY Times)

#365 : ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY POST : #365
FLYERS FIGHT ELIMINATION

The Philadelphia Flyers, a battered team seemingly held together only by an inexhaustible supply of athletic tape and resolve, defeated the Boston Bruins, 2-1, on Wednesday to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series, which looked all but over seven days earlier. After losing the first three games of the series, the Flyers have won three games in a row to force a deciding seventh game Friday in Boston. Philadelphia will try to join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 Islanders as the only playoff teams to overcome a 3-0 series deficit. A team has lost the first three games of a Stanley Cup playoff series 162 times. Only 11 times has the trailing team won the next two, and a trailing team forced a Game 7 just six times. Philadelphia goaltender Michael Leighton stopped 30 shots. Milan Lucic scored Boston’s only goal with a minute left. Leighton played his first game in eight weeks Monday, entering after Brian Boucher sprained his knee in the second period of the Flyers’ 4-0 victory. Mike Richards polished off an extended scramble Wednesday by knocking in his fifth goal of the playoffs to give Philadelphia the lead at 6 minutes 58 seconds of the first period. “For us, it was all about the start,” Richards said. “We were going to initiate, and not sit back and see what they were going to do.” The Flyers had a power play four minutes later, but Boston forward Trent Whitfield had the best chance on a short-handed breakaway. Whitfield shoveled his shot into Leighton’s midsection, though, and the first period ended with the Flyers clinging to a one-goal lead. But the Bruins had begun to attack, taking the final five shots of the period. Although they did not score, they pushed the puck into the Philadelphia zone and stayed there. Six minutes into the second period, Boucher, in a suit and tie, was shown on the big screens at center ice. As the crowd crooned “Boosh,” he somberly waved at the cameras, then blew a kiss to the fans. That fired up the crowd, but the game had become taut and testy. Boston center Marc Savard received a high-sticking penalty with 11 seconds left on a hooking penalty on Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn, and the action suddenly turned frenetic. Boston’s Daniel Paille elbowed Scott Hartnell 34 seconds later. What was supposed to be a lengthy two-man advantage for Philadelphia ended after only 12 seconds when Chris Pronger, the Flyers’ 6-foot-6 defenseman, knocked down the 6-9 Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara in the slot. But the Flyers still had a power play, and they scored on it. Because the Flyers had four skaters on the ice and Boston had three, Philadelphia forward Daniel Briere had lots of room to drift across the crease with the puck and wait for his best shot. He lifted a short-side shot that went over Tuukka Rask’s glove and sailed into the net. The goal, Briere’s sixth of the playoffs, gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead at 16:20 of the second period. That got a roar from the crowd, as did a message that flashed on the big screen moments later that the Pittsburgh Penguins had been eliminated from the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens. “I don’t want to be satisfied with coming back in this series — I want the last one,” Briere said. (NY Times)

RAYS BEST TEAM IN THE MAJORS

TAMPA BAY DOMINATES FORMER ACE IN ANAHEIM

Jeff Niemann took a shutout into the eighth inning, Evan Longoria had a homer and four RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 on Tuesday night in Scott Kazmir's first start against his former team. The Rays improved their major league-best record to 23-10 and increased their AL East lead over the Yankees to a full game after New York was rained out in Detroit. The victory was only their second in 16 games at Anaheim since former Angels bench coach Joe Maddon became Tampa Bay's manager. Niemann (3-0) was charged with two runs and six hits over 7 1-3 innings, struck out four and stranded a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings before handing a 6-0 lead over to the bullpen. The 6-foot-9 right-hander has pitched at least seven innings in five of his last six starts, and came within one out of doing so the other time. Niemann departed after giving up a leadoff single to Brandon Wood and a one-out walk to Bobby Abreu. Torii Hunter greeted Lance Cormier with an RBI single, and Kendry Morales singled to load the bases. Randy Choate came in and walked Hideki Matsui on four pitches to force in a a run, but Grant Balfour restored order by striking out Howie Kendrick and retiring Michael Ryan on a fielder's choice grounder. Kazmir (2-3) threw 108 pitches in five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks. The two-time All-Star has failed to reach the seventh in any of his six starts this season, after spending the first two weeks on the disabled list because of a right hamstring strain that interrupted his spring training regimen. Kazmir, Tampa Bay's career leader in wins, starts, innings, and strikeouts, was traded to the Angels last August 28 for three players. One of those players, second baseman Sean Rodriguez, was 2 for 4 with a double and scored the game's first run in the third inning on the first of Carl Crawford's three consecutive singles. The next batter, No. 3 hitter Ben Zobrist, laid down a squeeze bunt to the right of the mound and was thrown out by Kazmir as Jason Bartlett crossed the plate. Longoria made it 3-0 with a two-out RBI single in the fifth, then doubled the margin in the seventh with his eighth homer after Scot Shields relieved Trevor Bell with two men on and no outs. (AP)

MAGIC SWEEP HAWKS

The Orlando Magic defeated the Atlanta Hawks 98-84 last night to sweep their Eastern Conference semifinal series 4-0. Orlando jumped on Atlanta in the second quarter and the Hawks could never get close enough to make it a game. High scorers were Vince Carter with 22 points for the Magic and Jamal Crawford with 18 points for the Hawks. Orlando will play the winner of the Cleveland-Boston series in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. (Gather.com)

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

PERFECTION IN OAKLAND

ANGRY & YOUNG, DALLAS BRADEN THROWS PEFECT GAME AGAINST BASEBALLS BEST TEAM

Dallas Braden’s handful of major league wins grew by one on Sunday. And it was one that will live in the annals of baseball. Braden, an Oakland Athletics left-hander, fired a perfect game against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in a 4-0 victory. It was the 19th perfect game in major league history and only the 18th victory of Braden’s career. “Pretty cool,” Braden told reporters in Oakland. “I don’t know what to think about it just yet. There’s definitely a select group. I’d like to have a career more than today.” At 26, Braden is the youngest pitcher to throw a perfect game since Mike Witt of the Angels in 1984, when he was 24. The last pitcher with fewer career victories at the time of his perfect game was Charlie Robertson, whose 1922 gem for the Chicago White Sox was the second win of his career. Braden gained a measure of fame last month when he harshly criticized the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez for crossing the pitcher’s mound after a foul ball, supposedly violating an unwritten rule of baseball etiquette. Rodriguez dismissed Braden then as having only a handful of wins. Braden is 18-23. After the perfect game, Braden hugged his grandmother Peggy Lindsey, a Mother’s Day moment that was especially touching because Lindsey raised Braden after his mother, Jodie Atwood, died of skin cancer when he was a high school senior. Apparently, Lindsey is just as feisty as her grandson. When she met with reporters after the game, she said, “Stick it, A-Rod!” Told of Lindsey’s comment after the Yankees’ loss to the Red Sox in Boston on Sunday night, Rodriguez threw his arms up and said, “uncle, uncle” as he walked away from reporters. He was more measured before the game, noting that Braden beat the team the Yankees are chasing in the American League East. “Good for him, he threw a perfect game,” Rodriguez said. “And even better, he beat the Rays.” Braden did it by striking out six and throwing 109 pitches for his first career complete game. The final batter, Gabe Kapler, had resonance. In Chicago last July, it was Kapler who hit the ninth-inning fly ball that the White Sox’ Dewayne Wise corralled at the wall to save Mark Buehrle’s perfect game. Kapler was a tough out for Braden in the sixth inning Sunday, seeing 12 pitches before fouling out. But in the ninth, he swung at Braden’s 3-1 fastball — 87 miles per hour — and bounced it to shortstop Cliff Pennington, who threw to first baseman Daric Barton to end the game. Braden lifted his arms as Barton and catcher Landon Powell embraced him. Braden pointed to the sky to honor his mother and soon found Lindsey, wearing a pink-and-white A’s cap, by the Oakland dugout for a tearful hug. “It hasn’t been a joyous day for me in a while,” Braden said. “With my grandma in the stands, it makes it a lot better.” The perfect game significantly raises the profile of Braden, who grew up in Stockton, Calif., and joined the Athletics as a 24th-round draft choice out of Texas Tech in 2004. In an interview with Baseball America three years later, Braden said he partied too much in high school and fell in with the wrong crowd, jeopardizing his baseball potential. “I came real close to taking it away from myself, then my grandmother stepped in and kind of slapped me back into shape and got me going,” he said. “I told my grandma that someday she would watch me pitch in the majors.” Braden reached the Athletics in 2007 but went 1-8 with a 6.72 earned run average. He has improved each year since, and in an interview last Wednesday with CSNBayArea.com, he defended his place in the game. “I didn’t know that there was a criteria in order to compete against A-Rod,” he said. “I didn’t know that. I’m pretty sure that everybody that dons a major league uniform has earned the right to pitch at this level, and has earned the right to face whomever steps in that batter’s box.” In that same interview, Braden acknowledged never having met Rodriguez. But he called him “an individualistic player” and said he was “not a fan of his antics,” a reference to other questionable plays in Rodriguez’s career. Braden also said the mound-crossing incident should teach Rodriguez to respect the game’s unwritten rules, though many baseball people said they were unaware of the one about treading on the mound. Yet Braden has said he believed so strongly in it that he would have had the same reaction if his grandmother had committed the offense. In the visitors’ clubhouse in Boston on Sunday, the Yankees’ A. J. Burnett watched Braden and Lindsey celebrating. Remembering the Rodriguez imbroglio, Burnett cracked, “Grandma, I love you, but don’t cross my mound!” (MLB.com)