Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/11422
2B – Daily News – Wednesday, June 2, 2010 LeBron says Cavs have edge in free agency FRENCH CLEVELAND (AP) — One month from the start of the NBA’s free agency frenzy, LeBron James said he’s not close to making any decision. However, he has handicapped his field of suitors. The Cleveland Cavaliers lead the pack. In his first interview since the Cavs’ season ended with a shocking, second- round loss to Boston, James told CNN’s Larry King that Cleveland has ‘‘an edge’’ to re-sign him when the greatest collection of free agents in league history hits the open market on July 1. King, who interviewed James at the two-time MVP’s home near Akron on Tuesday, asked the superstar if Cleve- land has ‘‘an edge going in?’’ ‘‘Absolutely,’’ James said in a por- tion of the interview released by the net- work. ‘‘Because, you know, this city, these fans, I mean, have given me a lot in these seven years. And, you know, for me, it’s comfortable. So I’ve got a lot of memories here. And so it does have an edge. ‘‘It’s going to be a very interesting summer and I’m looking forward to it.’’ Also during the interview, which will air Friday on CNN’s ‘‘Larry King Live,’’ James said he can’t wait for July 1 to arrive and that he has not yet decid- ed where he’ll sign. ‘‘I’m far from close,’’ he was quoted as saying in a transcript posted on WEWS-TV’s website in Cleveland. ‘‘July is still a month away, less than a month away. I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t began to strategize exactly.’’ James also made his first comments about former Cavs coach Mike Brown, who was fired in the aftermath of Cleveland’s startling loss to the Celtics. James said he was sorry to see Brown let go after five seasons. ‘‘He was a great coach, five great years we had together and we turned a franchise that hadn’t seen a lot of things in a lot of years,’’ James said. ‘‘But ultimately, we both, myself and Mike Brown, didn’t accomplish what we wanted to, and that was (win) the NBA championship. And I think we wanted it more than anybody else. ‘‘So it’s unfortunate. I wish him the best and I think he’s going to have a great coaching career.’’ Before sitting down with King, James had not talked any media mem- bers since the Cavs were eliminated by the Celtics, who then knocked off Orlando and will meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals starting Thursday. James believes the Celtics can beat the Lakers and win their 18th NBA title. He also plans to meet with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others in a star- studded summit of free agents to talk about their future plans. ‘‘I am the ringleader,’’ James told King. The New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets and Los Ange- les Clippers are among a group of teams expected to make a strong push for James, who is humbled by all the attention as well as recent comments by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who wants him to sign with the Knicks, and President Barack Obama, who would like to see him step into Michael Jordan’s shadow with the Bulls. Scoreboard MLB West Division Texas A’s American League WL Pct GB 27 24 .529 — 28 25 .528 — Angels 26 28 .481 2.5 Seattle 19 31 .380 7.5 East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 35 18 .660 — New York 32 20 .615 2.5 Toronto 31 23 .574 4.5 Boston 30 23 .566 5 Baltimore 15 37 .288 19.5 Central Division Minnesota 31 20 .608 — Detroit WL Pct GB 26 25 .510 5 Chicago 22 28 .440 8.5 Kansas City 22 31 .415 10 Cleveland 19 31 .380 11.5 ——— Tuesday’s results Boston 9, Oakland 4 Cleveland 3, Detroit 2 Kansas City 6, Los Angeles 3 New York 3, Baltimore 1 Tampa Bay 7, Toronto 6 Texas 9, Chicago 6 Minnesota at Seattle, late Today’s games Oakland (Sheets 2-3) at Boston (Matsuzaka 3-2),4:10 p.m.,CSNC Baltimore (Bergesen 3-3) at New York (P.Hughes 6-1), 4:05 p.m. Cleveland (Carmona 4-3) at Detroit (Galarraga 1-1), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Price 7-2) at Toronto (Marcum 5-1), 4:07 p.m. Los Angeles (Kazmir 3-5) at Kansas City (Davies 4-3), 5:10 p.m. Texas (Feldman 2-5) at Chicago (Floyd 2-5), 5:10 p.m. Minnesota (Slowey 6-3) at Seattle (Cl.Lee 3-2), 7:10 p.m. West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 31 20 .608 — Dodgers 29 22 .569 2 GIANTS 27 23 .540 3.5 Colorado 27 24 .529 4 Arizona 20 32 .385 11.5 East Division WL Pct GB Atlanta 30 22 .577 — Philadelphia 28 23 .549 1.5 Florida 27 26 .509 3.5 New York 26 26 .500 4 Washington 26 27 .491 4.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 31 22 .585 — St. Louis 30 23 .566 1 Chicago 24 29 .453 7 Pittsburgh 22 31 .415 9 Milwaukee 21 31 .404 9.5 Houston 18 34 .346 12.5 ——— Tuesday’s results Colorado at San Francisco, late Atlanta 7, Philadelphia 3 Cincinnati 9, St. Louis 8 Florida 6, Milwaukee 4 Houston 8, Washington 7 Pittsburgh 3, Chicago 2 Arizona at Los Angeles, late New York at San Diego, late Today’s games Colorado (Francis 1-1) at San Francisco (Cain 3-4),7:15 p.m.,CSNB Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 3-2) at Atlanta (D.Lowe 7-4), 10:05 a.m. Arizona (E.Jackson 3-6) at L.A.(Monasterios 2-0), 12:10 p.m., MLBN PAID ADVERTISEMENT New York (J.Santana 4-2) at San Diego (Richard 4-3), 3:35 p.m. Chicago (Zambrano 1-3) at Pittsburgh (Duke 3-5), 4:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Gallardo 5-2) at Florida (Volstad 3-6), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Lannan 2-2) at Houston (W.Rodriguez 2-7), 5:05 p.m. Cincinnati (LeCure 1-0) at St.Louis (Carpenter 6-1), 5:15 p.m., ESPN North Division GOLDEN Golden League WL Pct. GB OUTLAWS 72 .778 — Calgary 6 3 .667 1 Victoria 6 3 .667 1 Edmonton 3 7 .300 4.5 St. George 2 5 .286 4 South Division Yuma Tucson WL Pct. GB 7 3 .700 — Orange Co. 5 3 .625 1 Maui 3 4 .429 2.5 3 7 .300 4 Tijuana 2 7 .222 4.5 ——— Tuesday’s results St. George at Chico, late Maui at Edmonton, late Tijuana at Yuma, late Victoria at Tucson, late Today’s games St. George at Chico, 7:08 p.m. Orange County at Calgary, 12:35 p.m. Maui at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Tijuana at Yuma, 6:30 p.m. Victoria at Tucson, 7 p.m. NCAA NCAADivision I Baseball Regionals Double Elimination First round games Friday At Senator Thomas J.Dodd Memorial Stadium, Norwich, Conn. Game 1 — Central Connecticut State (33-21) vs.Florida State (42-17), 11 a.m. Game 2 — Oregon (38-22) vs. Connecticut (47-14), 4 p.m. At Davenport Field, Charlottesville, Va. Game 1 — Virginia Commonwealth (34-24-1) at Virginia (47-11), 1 p.m. Game 2 — St.John’s (40-18) vs. Mississippi (38-22), 5 p.m. At Jim Patterson Stadium, Louisville, Ky. Game 1 — Illinois State (31-22) vs.Vanderbilt (41-17), TBA Game 2 — Saint Louis (33-27) at Louisville (48-12), TBA At Carolina Stadium, Columbia, S.C. Game 1 — The Citadel (42-20) vs.Virginia Tech (38-20), TBA Game 2 — Bucknell (25-33) at South Carolina (43-15), TBA At BB&T Coastal Field, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Game 1 — N.C. State (38-22) vs.C.of Charleston (42-17), TBA Game 2 — Stony Brook (29-25) vs.Coastal Carolina (51-7), TBA At Russ Chandler Stadium, Atlanta Game 1 — Elon (38-22) at Alabama (37-22), Noon Game 2 — Mercer (37-22) at Georgia Tech (45-13), 4 p.m. At McKethan Stadium, Gainesville, Fla. Game 1 — Oregon State (31-22) vs.Florida Atlantic (35-22), 1 p.m. Game 2 — Bethune-Cookman (35-20) at Florida (42-15), 4 p.m. At Mark Light Stadium, Coral Gables, Fla. Game 1 — Florida International (36-23) vs.Texas A&M (40-19-1), TBA Game 2 — Dartmouth (26-17) at Miami (40-17), TBA At Plainsman Park, Auburn, Ala. Game 1 — Southern Mississippi (35-22) vs.Clemson (38-21), Noon Game 2 — Jacksonville State (32-24) vs.Auburn (40-19), 4 p.m. At Baum Stadium, Fayetteville, Ark. Game 1 — Kansas State (36-20) vs.Washington St.(34-20), TBA Game 2 — Grambling State (22-30) at Arkansas (40-18), TBA At L. Dale Mitchell Park, Norman, Okla. Game 1 — Oral Roberts (35-25) at Oklahoma (44-15), 11 a.m. Game 2 — North Carolina (36-20) vs. California (29-23), 5 p.m. At UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Austin, Texas Game 1 — Louisiana-Lafayette (37-20) vs. Rice (38-21), 11 a.m. Game 2 — Rider (36-21) at Texas (46-11), 4:30 p.m. At Lupton Baseball Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas Game 1 — Arizona (33-22) vs.Baylor (34-22), Noon Game 2 — Lamar (35-24) at TCU (46-11), 5 p.m. At Goodwin Field, Fullerton Game 1 — New Mexico (37-20) vs.Stanford (31-23), TBA Game 2 — Minnesota (30-28) at Cal State Fullerton (41-15), TBA At Jackie Robinson Stadium, Los Angeles Game 1 — UC Irvine (37-19) vs. LSU (40-20), 2 p.m. Game 2 — Kent State (39-23) at UCLA (43-13), 6 p.m. At Packard Stadium, Tempe, Ariz. Game 1 — Hawaii (33-26) vs.San Diego (36-20), 2 p.m. Game 2 — Wisconsin-Milwaukee (33-24) at Arizona State (47-8), 7 p.m. NBAFINALS Boston vs. L.A. Lakers Thursday: at L.A. Lakers, 6 p.m. Sunday: at L.A. Lakers, 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 8: at Boston, 6 p.m. Thursday, June 10: at Boston, 6 p.m. x-Sunday, June 13: at Boston, 5 p.m. x-Tuesday, June 15: at L.A. Lakers, 6 p.m. x-Thursday, June 17: at L.A. Lakers, 6 p.m. x - if needed STANLEY CUP Chicago 2, Philadelphia 0 Game 1:Chicago 6, Philadelphia 5 Game 2:Chicago 2, Philadelphia 1 Today: at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Friday: at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. x-Sunday: at Chicago, 5 p.m. x-Wednesday, June 9: at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. x-Friday, June 11: at Chicago, 5 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1.Kevin Harvick 2.Kyle Busch 3. Matt Kenseth 4. Jeff Gordon 5.Denny Hamlin 6.Kurt Busch 10. Mark Martin 11. Carl Edwards 1,898 1,869 1,781 1,760 1,732 1,726 7. Jimmie Johnson 1,694 8. Jeff Burton 9. Greg Biffle 1,657 1,648 1,635 1,602 12.Ryan Newman 1,547 13. Clint Bowyer 14. Martin Truex Jr. 17. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1,493 18. Joey Logano 1,520 1,461 19.David Reutimann 1,422 20. Juan Pablo Montoya 1,371 21. Kasey Kahne 22.Paul Menard 1,364 1,359 23. AJ Allmendinger 1,323 23.David Ragan 25. Brad Keselowski 1,318 26. Scott Speed 27. Brian Vickers 28. Elliott Sadler 1,323 1,258 1,158 1,150 29.Sam Hornish Jr. 1,125 30. Marcos Ambrose 1,123 31. Regan Smith 32.Travis Kvapil 33.Bobby Labonte 34.Robby Gordon 35.David Gilliland 36.Kevin Conway 37. Mike Bliss 38.Joe Nemechek 39.Max Papis 40.David Stremme 41.Dave Blaney 44. Casey Mears 45. Boris Said 46. Michael Waltrip 47.Terry Cook 1,116 1,064 1,015 963 907 801 621 509 499 474 456 42. Michael McDowell 385 43. Bill Elliott 372 331 252 200 164 48. Robert Richardson Jr.155 49. Aric Almirola 49. Johnny Sauter 154 154 Upcoming Schedule June 6 — Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500, Long Pond, Pa. June 13 — Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, Brooklyn, Mich. June 20 — Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma June 27 — Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Loudon, N.H. Nationwide Points Leaders 1. Brad Keselowski 2.Kyle Busch 3.Kevin Harvick 4. Carl Edwards 5. Justin Allgaier 6.Paul Menard 7. Joey Logano 8. Greg Biffle 9. Jason Leffler 10.Tony Raines 11. Brian Scott 12. Steve Wallace 13.Trevor Bayne 1,946 1,945 1,852 1,689 1,681 1,513 1,398 1,368 1,350 1,249 1,245 1,244 1,235 14. Brendan Gaughan 1,231 15. Michael Annett 16. Scott Lagasse Jr. 1,149 17.Kenny Wallace 18. Reed Sorenson 1,095 19. Mike Wallace 1,216 1,137 1,064 20.Joe Nemechek 1,046 Upcoming Schedule June 5 — Federated Auto Parts 300, Lebanon, Tenn. June 12 — Meijer 300, Sparta, Ky. June 19 — Bucyrus 200, Elkhart Lake, Wis. June 26 — New England 200, Loudon, N.H. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 9 0 2 29 18 2 1,543 1,533 15. Jamie McMurray 1,521 16.Tony Stewart Salt Lake 6 3 1 19 21 11 QUAKES 53 1 16 13 10 Colorado 5 3 1 16 10 7 Houston 5 5 1 16 16 13 FC Dallas 2 2 6 12 11 11 Seattle 3 5 3 12 9 14 Chivas USA 3 7 1 10 13 17 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 6 1 2 20 14 8 Toronto FC 5 4 1 16 15 14 New York 5 5 0 15 11 15 New England 3 6 2 11 13 17 Chicago 2 3 4 10 12 13 Kansas City 2 5 2 8 9 13 Philadelphia 2 5 1 7 10 17 D.C. 2 8 0 6 7 20 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Today’s games Columbus at San Jose, 7 p.m. Houston at New York, 4:30 p.m. FRENCH OPEN Tuesday, at Stade Roland Garros, Paris Purse: $21.1 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Clay-Outdoor Men Singles Quarterfinals Robin Soderling (5), Sweden, def.Roger Fed- erer (1), Switzerland, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Tomas Berdych (15), Czech Republic, def. Mikhail Youzhny (11), Russia, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. Women Singles Quarterfinals Francesca Schiavone (17), Italy, def. Caroline Wozniacki (3), Denmark, 6-2, 6-3. Elena Dementieva (5), Russia, def. Nadia Petrova (19), Russia, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Men Doubles Quarterfinals Lukas Dlouhy, Czech Republic, and Leander Paes (3), India, def.Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski (8), Poland, 6-1, 6-3. Julian Knowle, Austria, and Andy Ram (10), Israel, def. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, Brazil, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-0. Wesley Moodie, South Africa, and Dick Nor- man (4), Belgium, def. Marc Lopez and Pere Riba, Spain, 6-1, 6-4. Daniel Nestor, Canada, and Nenad Zimonjic (2), Serbia, def. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, and Oliver Marach (6), Austria, 7-5, 6-3. Women Doubles Quarterfinals Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Mar- tinez Sanchez (2), Spain, def. Monica Niculescu, Romania, and Shahar Peer, Israel, 6-2, 6-4. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katari- na Srebotnik (12), Slovenia, def. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals Vania King, United States, and Christopher Kas, Germany, def.Tathiana Garbin, Italy, and Marcin Matkowski, Poland, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 tiebreak. Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan, and Julian Knowle, Austria, def. Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Leander Paes (2), India, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 10- 7 tiebreak. DEALS Major League Baseball American League CHICAGO—Placed 3B Mark Teahen on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 31. Recalled INF Brent Lillibridge from Charlotte (IL). MINNESOTA—Placed INF Alexi Casilla on the 15-day DL.Recalled INF Matt Tolbert from Rochester (IL). SEATTLE—Recalled LHP Garrett Olson and RHP Sean White from Tacoma (PCL).Desig- nated RHP Jesus Colome and RHP Kanekoa Texeira for assignment. Sent INF Jack Hannahan outright to Tacoma (PCL). TEXAS—Placed LHP Derek Holland on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Pedro Strop from Oklahoma City (PCL). TORONTO—Traded LHP Dana Eveland to Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Ronald Uviedo. National League ARIZONA—Acquired LHP Dontrelle Willis and cash considerations from Detroit for RHP Billy Buckner. CINCINNATI—Placed RHP Mike Lincoln on the 15-day DL. Optioned RHP Carlos Fisher to Louisville (IL). Recalled RHP Logan Ondrusek and RHP Enerio Del Rosario from Louisville. HOUSTON—Placed RHP Chris Sampson on the 15-day DL. Purchased the contract of RHP Casey Daigle from Round Rock (PCL). Designated RHP Evan Englebrook for assignment. ST. LOUIS—Purchased the contract of INF Aaron Miles from Springfield (Texas). Optioned OF Allen Craig to Memphis (PCL). National Hockey League ATLANTA—Signed LW Jeremy Morin and C Eric O’Dell. DETROIT—Signed D Nicklas Lidstrom to a one-year contract. FLORIDA—Agreed to terms on an entry- level contract with G Jacob Markstrom. ST. LOUIS—Signed C Jori Lehtera. Named Scott Mellanby assistant coach. Major League Soccer MLS—Fined New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe $2,500 for public criticism of offi- ciating. NEW ENGLAND—Activated G Matt Reis from the disabled list. National Football League BALTIMORE—Named George Kokinis senior personnel assistant. SEATTLE—Signed TE Anthony McCoy to a multiyear contract. College MCNEESE STATE—Named Nick Boudreaux football equipment manager. NEW MEXICO—Announced the retirement of associate athletics director for media rela- tions Greg Remington and football equipment manager Rudy Garcia, effective June 30. ST. BONAVENTURE—Announced junior G Malcolm Eleby has left the men’s basketball program. (Continued from page 1B) Federer had a set point at 5-4 in the third, when there was a tremendous exchange. Federer jumped to stop an overhead smash, but Soderling flicked an over-the-shoulder back- hand volley winner. Soder- ling then took the next two points with service win- ners at 139 mph and 138 mph to hold for 5-5. With Federer serving at 30-15 in the next game, the first rain delay arrived, delaying play for 75 min- utes. When action resumed, Federer went up 40-15 — then proceeded to lose four points in a row, including two missed fore- hands and a double-fault. Armed with that break, Soderling served out that set with an ace. "I just missed too many chances today," Federer acknowledged. The crowd began pulling loudly for him, cheering each point he won — and jeering Soder- ling whenever he ques- tioned line calls. Federer broke to go up 2-0 in the fourth set, but just when it seemed he was restoring order, just when it seemed Soderling might crack, that momentum stalled. Federer missed three shots to help Soderling break back. Then, after another brief rain break, Federer made three unforced errors in a game to get broken again. Ahead 5-4, Soderling served out the match, then walked to the net, pounding his fist on his chest. Asked which victory was bigger — over Nadal in 2009 or Federer in 2010 — Soderling said: "It's a tough question. They're both big wins, of course." Of course.