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2B Daily News – Friday, June 7, 2013 Athletics 5, White Sox 4 - 10 innings NBA Karl out as Denver coach AP photo Chicago White Sox's Tyler Flowers left, is tagged out at home plate by Oakland Athletics catcher Derek Norris during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Chicago on Thursday. Rosales homers, helps A's win CHICAGO (AP) — Adam Rosales hit a two-out homer in the top of the 10th inning, and the Oakland Athletics had a season high four home runs in a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night. Rosales' fourth homer of the season came off White Sox reliever Matt Thornton (0-2), a 1-1 pitch that was just fair to left field. Yoenis Cespedes hit two home runs for the second time in three games. Josh Reddick also connected. All four homers were solo shots. A's reliever Jerry Blevins got the win (5-0) while Grant Balfour earned his 14th save in as many attempts. The A's have won six of seven and 17 of 20. Oakland is 12-2 during a 17-day stretch without a day off. The White Sox have lost nine of their last 10 games and have been outscored 47-26 in their last nine games. Chicago has lost all four games against Oakland this season. White Sox starter Jose Quintana went 7 2-3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. he did not walk a batter but gave up three home runs. Oakland starter Dan Straily pitched seven innings, gave up four runs on six hits, walked two and struck out three. After Straily retired the first seven batters he faced, the White Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the third. Gordon Beckham singled to center, but was forced at sec- SERENA (Continued from page 1B) the past hasn't worked, so I'll have to try to do something different.'' Williams never gave Errani a chance to switch things up. Errani, Williams' coach Patrick Moratouglou explained, ''needs to rally, she needs to run, and then she's really, really dangerous.'' But, he continued, Williams ''decided to refuse to let her play.'' Simple as that. The 31-year-old American won the first nine games. When Errani finally got on the board, 37 minutes in, she raised both arms overhead as the crowd roared. FINALS (Continued from page 1B) ter. Chris Bosh had only two of his 13 in the final period. James shot an airball on a 3-pointer on his first shot attempt, then was soon back to the step-in-front- of-himat-your-own-risk force that has made him the game's best player. But San Antonio handled that and everything else Miami did, even while only shooting 42 percent from the field. Forced to seven grueling games by the rugged Indiana Pacers in the East finals, the Heat clearly enjoyed the more wide-open flow of this game, making 18 of their first 30 shots. But the Spurs' defense got better as the game went along, and San Antonio held the Heat to seven points in the first 8 1/2 minutes of the final quarter. Miami outshot and outrebounded San Antonio in the first half, yet led only 52-49 after coach Gregg Popovich hurried Duncan back onto the floor for an inbounds pass with 0.8 seconds left, which the three-time finals MVP caught and lofted for a jumper that fell in at the buzzer. The Heat stayed ahead, realizing this would be a ond when Tyler Flowers hit into a fielder's choice. Alejandro De Aza doubled down the right field line, scoring Flowers. Alexei Ramirez's bloop single to short center scored De Aza. Ramirez then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch by Straily and scored on Alex Rios' single to center. The A's broke up Quintana's perfect game with two outs in the fourth when Cespedes drove a 1-1 pitch into the leftcenter stands to make it 3-1. Oakland closed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fifth when Nate Freiman led off with a single to center and scored on Rosales' double just inside the third base line. Beckham led off the fifth with a walk, Flowers' double pushed Beckett to third and De Aza singled to score Beckham. Oakland again closed Chicago's lead to one run in the sixth when Cespedes hit his second homer of the game — and 13th this year — a one-out drive to right-center. The A's tied it at 4 in the seventh on Reddick's longball to right field, his second of the season. The White Sox played without manager Robin Ventura, who was excused from Thursday and Friday's games to attend his daughter's graduation in California. Bench coach Mark Parent filled in for Ventura on Thursday, while pitching coach Don Cooper will manage Friday. Williams accumulated a 40-2 discrepancy in winners — yes, 40-2! — showing off a full array of talents. She won 28 of 33 points she served, helped by five aces, including one at 123 mph (199 kph). She smacked 10 return winners. She mixed in overhead smashes, powerful groundstrokes, even a drop shot. ''She was playing,'' Williams' mother, Oracene Price, summed up, ''like Serena of old.'' It felt like a routine firstround match for one of the sport's greats against a qualifier or wild-card recipient ranked somewhere in the 200s, not someone ranked No. 5 and a semifinalist at three of the past five major tournaments. Errani's also an accomplished doubles play- er, having won three of the past four Grand Slam titles in that event. ''I really believed I had a chance and I was trying to fight,'' said Errani, now 0-6 against Williams. ''Maybe on the outside, people will think that's not true. But I know that I tried, right until the end.'' Made no difference. Moratouglou thought one reason Williams was so terrific was what happened Tuesday in the quarterfinals, when she was pushed to three sets by 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova after having lost a total of 10 games through four rounds. ''It was good for her to feel danger for a moment,'' Moratouglou said. Sharapova certainly dealt with plenty of tension against Azarenka, the winner of the past two Australian Opens. Good as she was in the first set, Sharapova was shaky in the second, and it took her a while to straighten things out after a 35-minute rain delay that preceded the third. Up an early break, Sharapova double-faulted four times in a single game to make it 2-all. Serving for the match the first time, at 5-2, she let four match points slip away, then double-faulted on the last two points. Finally, at 5-4, she steeled herself, serving out the victory at love, punctuated by her 12th ace. ''I did the job,'' Sharapova said. ''I just hope that I can improve for the next one.'' nailbiter after 10 of their 12 wins coming into the finals were by double digits, until Parker's free throws gave San Antonio a 77-76 edge with 7:47 remaining. James set up Bosh for a jumper on the next possession for his 10th assist, but Leonard made a follow shot and Parker turned James' turnover into a spinning layup and an 81-78 lead exactly halfway through the fourth. Green's 3-pointer right after James missed one pushed the Spurs' lead to seven at 88-81 with 2:12 to go, before a drive by James and three free throws by Ray Allen pulled Miami back within two, setting up Parker's basket that put it away. It was an entertaining start to a matchup that seemed years in the making between perennial contenders, the Spurs making their fifth appearance and the Heat their fourth. Commissioner David Stern called it "probably the most anticipated finals in who knows, 30 years," likely more a bit of hyperbole in his final state of the league address than a comment meant to slight fans of the Celtics, Lakers, or Michael Jordan's Bulls. It came with the promise of beautiful basketball between two fluid offenses who were built differently but share common beliefs and a healthy respect. The Spurs, a quiet dynasty who value system over stardom, never ask for attention and too often haven't been given it. The Heat have been never been out of the spotlight from the moment James and Bosh showed up to join Wade, James vowing multiple titles as lights flashed and music boomed, showing they were going to be loud and impossible to ignore. Little beyond their Big Three back then and unable to win a title in their first year, the Heat have a assembled a deep supporting cast loaded with 3-point shooters that turned them into a 66win powerhouse this season, sending the Spurs to the finals in the unfamiliar role of underdog. They handled it just fine. The Spurs hadn't played since May 27, when they finished off a sweep of Memphis in the Western Conference finals, and even Popovich said he didn't know what to expect. San Antonio turned it over on its first possession, leading to Wade's fast-break dunk. Then the Spurs ran off nine straight points, showing the rest helped more than DENVER (AP) — George Karl is following general manager Masai Ujiri out of Denver. Less than a month after winning the NBA's Coach of the Year award, Karl's tenure with the Nuggets is over after 8 1/2 seasons. His departure comes shortly after Ujiri, the league's executive of the year, left to become GM of the Toronto Raptors. ''So, we lost a GM now and a coach, what's next?'' tweeted Nuggets big man Kenneth Faried. Karl had a year left on his contract. Calls and emails to Karl's representatives were not returned Thursday. The Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers also have head coaching vacancies and the Memphis Grizzlies have given coach Lionel Hollins permission to speak with other teams. ''George has been an instrumental part of our success over the past decade, and we appreciate everything he did to keep us among the top teams in the Western Conference,'' team President Josh Kroenke said in a statement released Thursday. ''He is a Hall of Fame coach whose legacy in Denver will last for years to come. George is a legend in the game of basketball and I could not have more respect for him as a person and coach.'' His players shared that feeling. ''I had a great relationship with him and I was honored to be coached by him,'' forward Danilo Gallinari told The Associated Press in an email. ''Hopefully the management now will do smart choices.'' Karl guided the third-youngest team in the NBA to the third-best record in the Western Conference with a franchise-record 57 wins, but the Nuggets were bounced from the first round of the playoffs for the fourth straight season. The 62-year-old Karl kidded down the stretch that he'd rather not be Coach of the Year, only because of the track record of those coaches getting let go. He led the Nuggets to nine straight playoff appearances and a 423-257 mark in the regular season. Those 423 wins rank second in team history behind Doug Moe (432). The news of Karl parting ways was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. Recently, reports have surfaced that the Clippers might be interested in talking to Karl about their vacancy. All this week, Karl was evasive when he showed up at the team's facilities to watch potential draft picks work out for the Nuggets. Karl declined interview request after interview request as he made his way from the gym to his car. Karl has drawn plenty of heat since losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. It was another early exit under his watch. The only time Denver advanced past the first round under Karl was when the team reached the Western Conference finals in 2009. Karl did a masterful job this season with a lineup that had no bona fide star, was riddled by injuries to several starters and wound its way through a grueling early-season schedule in which 22 of the team's first 32 games were on the road. He relied on a high octane offense and a deep bench to simply wear out opponents, especially in the thin air of the Mile High City, where his team went an NBA-best 38-3 at home. The Nuggets won their last 23 games at the Pepsi Center in the regular season and went 24-4 overall after the All-Star break. That's why the Nuggets were a big favorite heading into the Golden State series to open the playoffs. But Denver sorely missed Gallinari (knee) and fell in six games to a Warriors squad that was led by the sharp-shooting Stephen Curry. A two-time cancer survivor, Karl changed his coaching style after returning from throat cancer in 2010. He delegated more duties at practice, relying on his assistant coaches to do much of the teaching. In addition to Denver, he's also had coaching stops in Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle and Milwaukee during his 25-year career. His 1,131 regular season wins are among the most in NBA history for a coach. any rust hurt. Only Duncan, who has remained among the NBA's best at 37, looked out of sync. He missed all five shots in the first quarter before going to the bench late in the period with his second foul. The Heat had a 38-29 lead by the time he returned, and he quickly got on the board with an inside basket en route to a 12-point second quarter. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE W FC Dallas 8 R. Salt Lake 7 Portland 5 Los Angeles 6 Colorado 5 Seattle 5 Vancouver 4 QUAKES 3 Chivas USA 3 L 2 5 1 5 4 4 4 6 8 T 4 3 7 2 5 3 4 6 2 Pts 28 24 22 20 20 18 16 15 11 GF 23 21 22 21 15 16 16 13 13 GA 17 15 14 15 12 13 17 23 26 EASTERN CONFERENCE Montreal New York Philadelphia Houston Sport. K.C. N. England Columbus Chicago Toronto FC D.C. W 8 7 6 6 6 5 4 3 1 1 L 2 5 5 4 5 4 5 7 7 10 T 2 4 4 4 4 4 5 2 5 2 Pts 26 25 22 22 22 19 17 11 8 5 GF 22 23 22 19 18 15 16 9 12 6 GA 15 19 24 14 13 9 16 17 19 24 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Wednesday's Result Philadelphia 3, Columbus 0 Saturday's games D.C. United at New England, 4:30 p.m. Portland at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Real Salt Lake, 6:30 p.m. Vancouver at Seattle FC, 7:30 p.m. MLB American League West Division Texas Oakland Los Angeles Seattle Houston East Division MLB National League West Division W 36 37 26 26 22 L 23 25 34 34 39 Pct GB .610 — .597 .5 .433 10.5 .433 10.5 .361 15 W L Pct GB Boston 37 24 .607 — New York 34 25 .576 2 Baltimore 34 26 .567 2.5 Tampa Bay 32 27 .542 4 Toronto 25 34 .424 11 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 32 26 .552 — Cleveland 30 29 .508 2.5 Minnesota 26 31 .456 5.5 Kansas City 25 32 .439 6.5 Chicago 25 33 .431 7 —————————————————— Thursday's Results Detroit 5, Tampa Bay 2 Baltimore 3, Houston 1 Boston 6, Texas 3 Kansas City 7, Minnesota 3 Oakland 5, Chicago White Sox 4, 10 innings N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, late Arizona Colorado GIANTS San Diego Dodgers East Division W 34 32 31 27 25 L 26 28 28 32 33 Pct .567 .533 .525 .458 .431 GB — 2 2.5 6.5 8 W L Pct GB Atlanta 37 22 .627 — Philadelphia 31 30 .508 7 Washington 29 30 .492 8 New York 23 33 .411 12.5 Miami 16 44 .267 21.5 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 39 21 .650 — Cincinnati 36 24 .600 3 Pittsburgh 35 25 .583 4 Chicago 24 33 .421 13.5 Milwaukee 22 37 .373 16.5 —————————————————— Thursday's Results N.Y. Mets at Washington, ppd., rain St. Louis 12, Arizona 8 Philadelphia 5, Milwaukee 1 San Diego at Colorado, late Atlanta at L.A. Dodgers, late Today's Games Minnesota (Correia 5-4) at Washington (Karns 0-1), 4:05 p.m. Texas (Tepesch 3-4) at Toronto (Rogers 12), 4:07 p.m. Cleveland (U.Jimenez 4-3) at Detroit (Verlander 7-4), 4:08 p.m. Baltimore (Hammel 7-3) at Tampa Bay (Archer 0-1), 4:10 p.m. L.A. Angels (Hanson 2-2) at Boston (Doubront 4-2), 4:10 p.m. Houston (Lyles 3-1) at Kansas City (Shields 2-6), 5:10 p.m. Oakland (J.Parker 4-6) at Chicago White Sox (Sale 5-3), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 6-4) at Seattle (Bonderman 0-1), 7:10 p.m. Today's Games Pittsburgh (Liriano 3-2) at Chicago Cubs (T.Wood 5-3), 11:20 a.m. Minnesota (Correia 5-4) at Washington (Karns 0-1), 4:05 p.m. Miami (Fernandez 3-3) at N.Y. Mets (Harvey 5-0), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (Wainwright 8-3) at Cincinnati (Leake 5-2), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Lee 7-2) at Milwaukee (Figaro 0-0), 5:10 p.m. San Diego (Volquez 4-5) at Colorado (J.De La Rosa 7-3), 5:40 p.m. San Francisco (M.Cain 4-3) at Arizona (Corbin 9-0), 6:40 p.m. Atlanta (Maholm 7-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 6-2), 7:10 p.m. Saturday's Games Texas at Toronto, 10:07 a.m. Minnesota at Washington, 1:05 p.m. Cleveland at Detroit, 1:08 p.m. Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 1:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 1:10 p.m. Oakland at Chicago White Sox, 1:10 p.m. Houston at Kansas City, 4:15 p.m. L.A. Angels at Boston, 4:15 p.m. Saturday's Games Miami at N.Y. Mets, 10:10 a.m. Minnesota at Washington, 1:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 1:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 4:15 p.m. San Diego at Colorado, 4:15 p.m. St. Louis at Cincinnati, 4:15 p.m. Atlanta at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. San Francisco at Arizona, 7:10 p.m.