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2B Daily News – Tuesday, June 11, 2013 TEBOW (Continued from page 1B) 2010 by Denver. As a rookie, Tebow threw just 82 passes in nine games, starting three. But in 2011, he started 11 games, throwing for 12 touchdowns and six interceptions, and took the Broncos to a wild-card win over Pittsburgh before an AFC divisional playoff loss to New England, 45-10. Despite the Broncos' playoff run, he was traded to New York the following offseason when Denver signed Peyton Manning. Tebow threw only eight passes for the Jets, completing six, ran 32 times for 102 yards and was used mostly to protect the punter. ''Unfortunately,'' coach Rex Ryan said in a statement when Tebow was released, ''things did not work out the way we all had hoped.'' The Patriots have Ryan Mallett as the backup to Brady; they released QB Mike Kafka on Monday. Asked if Tebow had signed, Patriots spokesman Stacey James said, ''I do not anticipate any additional transactions to announce tonight.'' Tebow's NFL career appeared over when the Jets couldn't trade him at draft time and wound up cutting the left-handed quarterback, who won the 2007 Heisman Trophy. But now he is headed to New England, where the man who drafted him as ROLL (Continued from page 1B) Adam Rosales hit a twoout homer in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win over the White Sox in Chicago on Thursday night — and he had already hit a go-ahead shot leading off the eighth inning of a 2-1 home victory over the Kansas City Royals on May 17. Oakland has 10 wins in games decided in the final atbat. ''This is kind of more of the recipe we did last year,'' Donaldson said. ''We know we have the guys here who can pitch. Early on they kind of got off to a little rough start and the bats were able to pick them up. But lately what's been separating us from the other teams is our pitching by far — from the starter to every reliever that comes in and Balfour shutting the door. This is something we're definitely going to have to do over the course of the year.'' Not that Balfour is interested in hearing about his run of saves, 15 in as many chances this year and 33 in a row going back to April 29, 2012, at Baltimore. He is the only closer in the American League without a blown save this season. ''I don't know, man. Don't ask me,'' he said. ''Don't talk to me about that. I don't talk about me, I'll talk about the team.'' And this team has shown some serious resilience dating back to last summer. The A's — with the lowest payroll in baseball last year at $59.5 million — trailed Texas by 13 games on June 30, 2012. With the fourth-lowest payroll on opening day in the majors this season at nearly $65.5 million, Melvin's blue-collar bunch is showing that the A's aren't content with last fall's playoff run. With a majors-best 14 walkoff wins in 2012, Oakland went 94-68 to end a five-year playoff drought. As it has for so long with NBA FINALS San Antonio 1, Miami 1 Game 1: San Antonio 92, Miami 88 Game 2: Miami 103, San Antonio 84 Tonight: Miami at San Antonio 6 p.m. Thursday: Miami at San Antonio, 6 p.m. Sunday: Miami at San Antonio, 5 p.m. x-June 18: San Antonio at Miami, 6 p.m. x-June 20: San Antonio at Miami, 6 p.m. x- if needed STANLEY CUP Boston vs. Chicago Wednesday: Boston at Chicago, 5 p.m. Saturday: Boston at Chicago, 5 p.m. June 17: Chicago at Boston, 5 p.m. June 19: Chicago at Boston, 5 p.m. x-June 22: Boston at Chicago, 5 p.m. x-June 24: Chicago at Boston, 5 p.m. x-June 26: Boston at Chicago, 5 p.m. x- if needed coach of the Broncos, Josh McDaniels, is an offensive assistant under Belichick. And apart from winning Super Bowls, Belichick likes nothing better than sticking it to the Jets. He's had a running feud with Ryan for nearly four seasons, in part because Ryan once said he wasn't hired to kiss Belichick's rings. Belichick was Jets coach for one day in 2000, infamously resigning with a hand-written note. He soon joined New England, and has been regularly beating the Jets for more than a decade. Revitalizing Tebow's career would be another big step toward humiliating New England's archrival. Tebow has been criticized for his throwing motion but has said he wants to play quarterback, not switch positions. Still, the Patriots might need help at tight end after Rob Gronkowski underwent a fourth operation for a broken forearm and faces back surgery. At 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, Tebow has the size to play that spot. Belichick values versatility in his players, having used wide receivers Troy Brown, Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater at defensive back when injuries hit that position. Belichick also has been willing to gamble on players discarded by other teams. Some have succeeded, like wide receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss. this club, the pitching is setting the tone again. ''I think it's something where we're feeding off each other,'' Jarrod Parker said. ''This team is built around pitching and defense. It's something where we're able to keep our team in the game and at any point we've got some big bats and we're able to scratch runs across. I think for us to be solid is what we need, not to be spectacular. We know who we are and we don't try to panic or press. For us to just stay within ourselves and do what we're capable of and things will happen.'' Oakland's starting pitchers have allowed one run or fewer in 11 of their last 23 games, going 13-3 during that stretch. ''You can't say enough about these guys and the work they put in,'' catcher Derek Norris said. ''Sum it up to Oakland A's baseball. This is what we do well — we have a good starting rotation, scratch a couple runs across and close the door with our bullpen. That's what we strive to be, and we're doing a great job of it.'' Balfour and his bullpen mates sure enjoy watching the starters, then backing them up in the late innings. In three recent home games against the White Sox, Oakland held Chicago to three total runs with two shutouts. ''You couldn't ask for any more than that,'' Balfour said. ''It's awesome to watch.'' HEAT (Continued from page 1B) day night in Miami's 10384 victory that tied the series against the San Antonio Spurs at one win apiece. Game 3 is at San Antonio on Tuesday night. If the current trend continues, Miller will be the first sub off the bench for coach Erik Spoelstra. Over a 2 1/2-month stretch earlier this season, Miller saw first-quarter minutes exactly once. He's now gotten them in each of Miami's last three games, after taking the role that had been filled by Shane Battier, who was sent to the bench because of a shooting slump. ''The little things,'' Spoelstra said when asked what Miller brings to the table. ''He does a lot of those things. Very similar to Shane. Some of those things don't show up in a box score, but his effort, his hustle, extra efforts, closeouts. He has a knack for being around the ball. If you see a collision or loose ball, Mike likely is involved with it somehow, some way. You add all those up, those are winning plays.'' And he still can shoot, which helps. Miller's three shots from Game 2 might not seem like much, but they all came at key times. His first gave Miami a lead in the second quarter, and his two others helped fuel what became a 33-5 run. Miller was on the floor for all but the very first field goal in that massive Heat spurt. He replaced Dwyane Wade with 3:11 left in the third quarter, with the Heat up 63-62 pending a free throw by Mario Chalmers. When Wade returned and Miller came out with 7:43 left to play, it was 91-67. Wade's locker is next to Miller's, and at least once this year, Wade asked Spoelstra to find Miller some more minutes. The way Wade sees it, having Miller around without a spot for him to play has been ''an amazing luxury'' for the Heat this season. ''I love it. I love seeing Mike Miller on the floor,'' Wade said. ''I'm just as excited to see him as I am when I'm on the basketball court, because I know what he can bring to this team. And not even just his ability to shoot the ball, but his ability to rebound. Mike is an underrated playmaker as well.'' The problem with Miller's time has been that he's playing behind guys like Wade, Battier and Ray Allen. Good luck cracking into that rotation. Spoelstra was up-front and direct with Miller from the outset. ''He told me from the beginning,'' said Miller, who entertained retirement talk after battling about a half-dozen injury issues last season but is now feeling as good as he has in years. ''If you look around this locker room, I'm playing behind three Hall of Famers. So he's told me from the beginning that it's going to be spot and when he calls on my number I've just got to deliver.'' The Heat's ''Little 12'' — as they tend to call themselves in a nod to Miami's ''Big Three'' of Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh — have been delivering. ''That's when they're at their best. That's when every team is at their best,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ''When the perimeter is making shots, when the bench is playing well, when you have a lot of contributors, that helps you win basketball games.'' Look for more of it in Game 3. Obviously, and wisely, the Spurs' defensive game plan will revolve around James, Bosh and Wade. And what just about every team has encountered over the last three years is the pick-your-poison problem of either overloading on Miami's superstars and playing off the role players, or trying to play someone like James 1-on1 and rolling some very tricky dice. ''When Mike gets the ball, our shooters got the fluorescent light on our team,'' James said. ''They're not even allowed to pass. When Ray and Mike get the ball, they have to shoot it. No matter how close the defenders are, they have to shoot it. When you have that leeway and that confidence, you just have to let it go.'' It's expected that the Heat will try to address their luxury-tax issues over the summer, and Miller knows that he's making too much money — about $13 million over the next two years — to have his game-night attire essentially adhered to the bench. He could be traded. He could be the player the Heat cut loose through their still-available amnesty provision. Or he could stay. All that might get sorted out in the coming weeks. For now, there's a second ring for Miller to chase. ''I've got a lot of basketball left,'' Miller said. ''It's the best I've felt in five years. That might have something to do with the fact I haven't played. Sometimes there's some light at the end of the tunnel even when you're frustrated. So I feel great and, knock on wood, it stays that way.'' World Golf Ranking 1. Tiger Woods 2. Rory McIlroy 3. Adam Scott 4. Matt Kuchar 5. Justin Rose 6. Luke Donald 7. Brandt Snedeker 8. Graeme McDowell 9. Louis Oosthuizen 10. Phil Mickelson 11. Lee Westwood 12. Keegan Bradley 13. Steve Stricker 14. Charl Schwartzel 15. Sergio Garcia 16. Bubba Watson 17. Ian Poulter 18. Webb Simpson 19. Dustin Johnson 20. Jason Dufner USA NIR AUS USA ENG ENG USA NIR SAF USA ENG USA USA SAF ESP USA ENG USA USA USA 13.11 9.86 7.58 6.81 6.37 6.02 5.91 5.67 5.38 5.35 4.99 4.92 4.92 4.85 4.84 4.46 4.44 4.39 4.22 4.04 TENNIS ATP Money Leaders 1. Rafael Nadal 2. Novak Djokovic 3. David Ferrer 4. Andy Murray 5. Roger Federer 6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7. Tomas Berdych 8. Juan Martin del Potro 9. Stanislas Wawrinka 10. Richard Gasquet $5,678,637 $4,517,677 $2,464,619 $2,360,521 $1,384,057 $1,340,692 $1,319,081 $1,197,205 $1,156,071 $971,591 WTA Money Leaders 1. Serena Williams $4,621,750 2. Victoria Azarenka $3,714,651 3. Maria Sharapova $3,472,546 4. Sara Errani $1,947,240 5. Li Na $1,604,537 6. Roberta Vinci $1,104,147 7. Agnieszka Radwanska $1,052,703 8. Caroline Wozniacki $942,461 9. Ekaterina Makarova $893,850 10. Petra Kvitova $873,719 SANTA CLARA (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have signed rookie outside linebacker Corey Lemonier to a four-year contract. The deal was announced Monday, a day before the reigning NFC champions open a three-day minicamp. San Francisco made a trade with the Packers to move up five spots and choose the Auburn standout with the 88th overall selection in April's draft. Also Monday, San Francisco signed fullback Jason Schepler to a three-year contract after waiving him June 3. Fullback Alex Debniak was waived Monday to clear roster space. SPURS (Continued from page 1B) hold off a charging James, then got blown out in Game 2 on Sunday night even though the four-time MVP scored 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting. ''Obviously, LeBron is unbelievable,'' Parker said after the 103-84 loss to the Heat that evened the bestof-seven series at one game apiece. ''He's going to score. But right now the other players, they are playing great, too. So we can't have both.'' James shot an astounding 56.5 percent during the regular season and made 103 3-pointers — the first time in league history someone has made that many 3s while shooting a percentage that high. The improved shooting has made the 6foot-8, 250-pound freight train almost impossible to guard this season, and had the Heat confident that their star player had the antidote for any type of defensive approach against him. The last time the Spurs were in the finals in 2007, they won their fourth title over the Cleveland Cavaliers by daring James to shoot the jumper in an allout effort to keep him from attacking the rim. It worked beautifully when James shot an abysmal 35.6 percent in a four-game sweep. The Spurs have essentially used the same approach this time around, with Leonard and Green sharing time on him and Duncan and Tiago Splitter crashing to double every time James even thinks about coming into the paint. And so far, that efficiency that he showed in the regular season hasn't been there. James had a triple-double in Game 1, but only scored 18 points on 16 shots in the 92-88 loss. He is shooting just 41.4 percent from the field, is 2 for 8 from long range and has only attempted six free throws in the first two games, monumental achievements against the most dominant player in the game. ''I know I attract a lot of attention,'' James said. ''This team has been set up the right way where when I do attract attention, we have guys that can make plays.'' In Game 1, Dwyane Wade kept the Heat in it with 17 points in the first MLB NASCAR MLB Sprint Cup Points Leaders GOLF 49ers sign rookie linebacker National League 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Carl Edwards 3. Clint Bowyer 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5. Kevin Harvick 6. Matt Kenseth 7. Kyle Busch 8. Kasey Kahne 9. Brad Keselowski 10. Greg Biffle 11. Jeff Gordon 12. Paul Menard 13. Tony Stewart 14. Aric Almirola 15. Kurt Busch 16. Joey Logano 17. Martin Truex Jr. 18. Ryan Newman 19. Jamie McMurray 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 21. Jeff Burton 22. Juan Pablo Montoya 23. Marcos Ambrose 24. Mark Martin 25. Denny Hamlin 26. Casey Mears 27. Bobby Labonte 28. Danica Patrick 29. David Ragan 30. David Gilliland 31. Dave Blaney 32. David Reutimann 33. David Stremme 34. J.J. Yeley 35. Travis Kvapil 36. A J Allmendinger 37. Michael McDowell 38. Timmy Hill 39. Scott Speed 40. Michael Waltrip 41. Terry Labonte 42. Ken Schrader 43. Scott Riggs 44. Brian Keselowski 45. Jason Leffler 521 470 452 439 434 418 412 400 398 395 393 385 378 377 374 369 364 363 363 361 356 337 321 296 285 281 255 246 245 239 232 202 194 192 160 133 80 80 75 63 52 29 10 4 1 Upcoming Schedule June 16 — Quicken Loans 400, Brooklyn, Mich. June 23 — Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma, Calif. June 29 — Quaker State 400, Sparta, Ky. July 6 — Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola, Daytona Beach, Fla. American League West Division Arizona GIANTS Colorado Padres Dodgers East Division W 35 33 34 29 27 L 28 29 30 34 35 Pct .556 .532 .531 .460 .435 GB — 1.5 1.5 6 7.5 West Division Texas A's Angels Seattle Houston East Division W 37 38 27 27 22 L 25 27 36 37 42 Pct .597 .585 .429 .422 .344 GB — .5 10.5 11 16 W L Pct GB Atlanta 39 24 .619 — Washington 31 31 .500 7.5 Philadelphia 31 33 .484 8.5 New York 23 35 .397 13.5 Miami 18 44 .290 20.5 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 41 22 .651 — Cincinnati 37 26 .587 4 Pittsburgh 37 26 .587 4 Chicago 25 35 .417 14.5 Milwaukee 25 37 .403 15.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, late Atlanta at San Diego, late Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, late Milwaukee at Miami, late W L Pct GB Boston 39 25 .609 — New York 37 26 .587 1.5 Baltimore 35 28 .556 3.5 Tampa Bay 34 28 .548 4 Toronto 27 35 .435 11 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 35 26 .574 — Cleveland 30 32 .484 5.5 Kansas City 28 32 .467 6.5 Minnesota 27 33 .450 7.5 Chicago 27 34 .443 8 —————————————————— Monday's results Boston at Tampa Bay, late Cleveland at Texas, late Detroit at Kansas City, late Houston at Seattle, late L.A. Angels at Baltimore, late Toronto at Chicago White Sox, late Today's games San Francisco (Lincecum 4-5) at Pittsburgh (Cole 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Milwaukee (W.Peralta 4-7) at Miami (Ja.Turner 1-0), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (Wacha 0-0) at N.Y. Mets (Hefner 1-5), 4:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Cingrani 2-0) at Chicago Cubs (Garza 1-0), 5:05 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 2-9) at Minnesota (Walters 2-1), 5:10 p.m. Washington (Haren 4-7) at Colorado (Chacin 3-3), 5:40 p.m. Arizona (Kennedy 3-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Greinke 3-1), 7:10 p.m. Atlanta (Hudson 4-5) at San Diego (Cashner 4-3), 7:10 p.m. Today's games N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 6-4) at Oakland (Colon 7-2), 7:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Vargas 5-3) at Baltimore (Mig.Gonzalez 3-2), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Lester 6-2) at Tampa Bay (Ro.Hernandez 3-6), 4:10 p.m. Cleveland (Kluber 3-4) at Texas (D.Holland 5-2), 5:05 p.m. Detroit (Scherzer 8-0) at Kansas City (W.Davis 3-5), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 2-9) at Minnesota (Walters 2-1), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (Wang 0-0) at Chi. White Sox (Quintana 3-2), 5:10 p.m. Houston (B.Norris 5-5) at Seattle (Harang 2-6), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games San Francisco at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Atlanta at San Diego, 12:40 p.m. Milwaukee at Miami, 4:10 p.m. St. Louis at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Washington at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games N.Y. Yankees at Oakland, 7:05 p.m. L.A. Angels at Baltimore, 9:35 a.m. Detroit at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Boston at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Cleveland at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Toronto at Chicago White Sox, 5:10 p.m. Houston at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. three quarters and Ray Allen hit three 3-pointers before Parker bailed the Spurs out with the shot of these playoffs. In Game 2, it was Mario Chalmers' 19 points and three big 3s from Mike Miller that helped fuel a 33-5 run and put San Antonio away early in the fourth quarter. ''I think LeBron is the type of player that you have to pay a lot of attention to,'' Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. ''And it's not something that happens that often that he scores less than 20. But I don't think that was the difference why they beat us so badly in the second half.'' That's the biggest problem for these Spurs. They have done what many viewed as impossible. They have stopped LeBron James from scoring. And still, when the two teams boarded their respective planes to head for San Antonio, the defending champion Heat were the ones walking with a renewed swagger, with new life. The Spurs haven't hosted a finals game since 2007. They're going to need the energy, the juice, the charge that should come from a passionate fan base eager to once again see the only show in town playing on the biggest stage. Because they've thrown everything they've got at James in the first two games. And wouldn't you know it, it's worked pretty darn well. Yet there they were on Sunday night, staggering out of American Airlines Arena, their victory in Game 1 a distant memory. Instead, the realization was creeping in that they've done as well as can possibly be expected against the league's brightest star, and still they need to do so much more to stop James and the Heat from running away from them the way they have run away from everyone else for the last two years. ''It wasn't just LeBron attacking us or getting those 13 points,'' Ginobili said of James' awakening during the game-deciding run. ''It was just the whole Miami team was killing us. ... So it's not just that he turned it on. It was Miami that turned it on.'' WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE W 2 2 2 1 1 1 Sparks Minnesota San Antonio Seattle Phoenix Tulsa L 1 1 2 2 3 5 Pct .667 .667 .500 .333 .250 .167 GB — — .5 1 1.5 2.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Atlanta 4 1 .800 — Chicago 4 1 .800 — Washington 3 1 .750 .5 New York 3 2 .600 1 Connecticut 1 3 .250 2.5 Indiana 1 3 .250 2.5 WESTERN CONFERENCE —————————————————— Today's game San Antonio at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Wednesday's game Connecticut at Indiana, 5 p.m. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE FC Dallas Salt Lake Portland Seattle Galaxy Colorado Vancouver QUAKES Chivas USA W 8 8 5 6 6 5 4 3 3 L 2 5 1 4 6 4 5 6 8 T 4 3 8 3 2 5 4 6 2 Pts 28 27 23 21 20 20 16 15 11 GF 23 24 24 19 22 15 18 13 13 GA 17 16 16 15 18 12 20 23 26 EASTERN CONFERENCE Montreal New York Philadelphia Houston Kansas City 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 5 5 3 5 3 Pts 26 25 22 22 22 20 17 12 8 6 GF 22 23 22 19 18 15 16 11 12 6 GA 15 19 24 14 13 9 16 19 19 24 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Saturday's games San Jose at Colorado, 6 p.m. FC Dallas at Portland, 2 p.m. Toronto FC at D.C. United, 4 p.m. Montreal at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. New England at Vancouver, 7 p.m.