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2B Daily News – Tuesday, June 18, 2013 Bruins beat Blackhawks, lead Cup finals KINGS BOSTON (AP) — Tuukka Rask shut out the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night and got enough help from the Bruins' offense to do it without another exhausting overtime. After playing four extra periods in the first two games, the Bruins made an early night of it with second-period goals by Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron to win 2-0 and take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup finals. Rask stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the 2013 playoffs. Corey Crawford made 33 saves for the Blackhawks. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the matchup of Original Six teams returns to Chicago for a fifth game. The teams split the first two games there, with the Blackhawks winning Game 1 in triple-overtime and the Bruins stealing home-ice advantage on Paille's goal in the first OT of the second game. But this time the intrigue came before the opening faceoff instead of after the end of regulation. Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and Chicago forward Mar- ian Hossa were both injured during warmups. But while Chara needed just some stitches after his collision with teammate Milan Lucic, Hossa was a late scratch with an unspecified injury. Hossa, who has three gamewinning goals in the playoffs this year, was tied for the team lead with 15 playoff points and was third on the Blackhawks with 17 goals during the regular season. It was a loss the Blackhawks couldn't afford. Not with Rask stopping everything that came his way. The Bruins' goalie, who was a backup to Conn Smythe-winner Tim Thomas in the team's 2011 Stanley Cup run, didn't face as difficult a test as in the first period of Game 2, when the Blackhawks sent 19 shots at him but managed just one goal. But he stymied them all game and got some help from the post on Bryan Bickell's shot with 42 seconds left in the game. The puck caromed off the right post and the goal light flickered on briefly, but play continued for another 30 seconds before the whistle blew and the game degenerated into fisticuffs. Chara was on top of Viktor Stalberg, pounding away, and Andrew Shaw got the better of Brad Marchand. By the time it was all sorted out, the benches were a little emptier but the scoring column for Chicago was still blank. After a scoreless first period, the Bruins made it 1-0 when Paille slapped in the puck at 2:13 of the second, falling to one knee for extra power. It stayed that way until late in the second, when the Bruins picked up their first power plays of the game on two nearly identical plays, with a Bruin racing to the net and a Blackhawk undercutting his skates and sending him crashing into the left post. Boston set up their offense during the 11-second two-man advantage, and just five seconds after it expired — but before Dave Bolland was able to get back into the play — Jaromir Jagr slid one across the middle, past Lucic in the center to Bergeron on the other side for the easy onetimer. It was Jagr's 197th career playoff point in 199 games, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the NHL's all-time postseason points list. Back home, Heat try to stop a 5th Spurs NBA title MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat weren't supposed to be in this situation. Not now, anyway. Coming home from Texas with their season on the line in 2011 was one thing. They were at the end of their first year together — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh still trying to figure it all out and clearly a long way from it. But this season they were the NBA's best team, one that lost three games in three months and made losing three times in one series look unlikely, if not downright unimaginable. The San Antonio Spurs can finish Miami off Tuesday night in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, reaffirming themselves as one of the league's greatest franchises. If so, the Heat's Big Three once again go from celebrated to devastated. ''We're going to see if we're a better team than we were our first year together,'' James said. The Spurs took a 3-2 lead with their 114-104 victory Sunday night. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were all brilliant again, and Danny Green added to what could become one of the most out-of-nowhere finals MVP campaigns ever. One more victory makes the Spurs 5-0 in the NBA Finals, keeping pace with Michael Jordan's 6-0 Chicago Bulls as the only teams to make it here multiple times and never lose. ''We understand Game 6 is huge,'' Parker said. ''Obviously, you want to finish in the first opportunity you get. We understand that Miami is going to come out with a lot more energy, and they're going to play better at home. They're going to shoot the ball better. Their crowd is going to be behind them.'' None of that mattered two years ago. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Minnesota Sparks Phoenix Seattle San Antonio Tulsa W 4 3 3 2 2 1 L 1 2 3 3 4 7 Pct .800 .600 .500 .400 .333 .125 GB — 1 1.5 2 2.5 4.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Atlanta 6 1 .857 — Washington 4 1 .800 1 Chicago 4 2 .667 1.5 New York 4 2 .667 1.5 Connecticut 2 5 .286 4 Indiana 1 5 .167 4.5 —————————————————— Monday's results No games scheduled Today's game Washington at Seattle, 7 p.m. Wednesday's games Minnesota at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Clearly reeling and their psyches shaken after dropping two straight games in Dallas, the Heat were blitzed early in Game 6. They never recovered, Bosh inconsolable as he made his way back to the locker room afterward while the Mavericks celebrated at center court. James had to endure the criticisms that came with not getting it done in the finals, a story line that was put to rest last year but will be back again if the Heat don't manage to put together consecutive victories. ''We challenge ourselves to see if we're a better team than we were,'' Wade said. ''Same position no matter how we got to it.'' The Heat would also host Game 7 on Thursday. They're trying to join the 1988 and 2010 Los Angeles Lakers and 1994 Houston Rockets as the only teams to rally from 3-2 down by winning the final two on their home floor since the NBA Finals went to a 2-3-2 format in 1985. Of course, the Heat — who won 27 in a row during the second-longest winning streak in league history — haven't put together consecutive victories now in close to a month. ''We're in a position where it's a must-win and everything that we've done all year comes to this point, and we have to win,'' Heat guard Ray Allen said. ''We've found ourselves in so many situations this year, and we've thrived in tough moments because this is a tough team. We will be ready for Game 6.'' So will the Spurs, and the Heat know it. ''I'm sure this team, they've been here before many times. They understand winning that last game is one of the hardest things you're going to do. And we understand it as well,'' Wade said. ''But you know what? It's the game; we've got to play it. I like our chances, just like they like their chances, in this series and in Game 6. We'll see. We'll see which team, which style is going to prevail.'' Their four titles have made the Spurs respected but never beloved. Their first, in 1999, came following a 50-game lockout season, and they certainly weren't the team to help the NBA regain its jilted fan base. Victories in 2003 over New Jersey, 2005 over Detroit and 2007 over James' Cleveland Cavaliers were all low-rated, lukewarm-interest series in which the Spurs were supposed to win and did, just not in a way that erased the idea that they had boring players with a boring brand of basketball. Win this one, though, and they will surely get their due. They would be knocking off the league's winningest team and the game's best player, with Duncan at 37 and Ginobili soon to be 36, behind a more wide-open offense that has helped Green break Allen's finals record for 3-pointers. Not that they're thinking about that, or anything else beyond Game 6 at MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE GOLF World Golf Ranking 1. Tiger Woods USA 13.06 2. Rory McIlroy NIR 9.52 3. Justin Rose ENG 8.19 4. Adam Scott AUS 7.35 5. Matt Kuchar USA 6.69 6. Phil Mickelson USA 6.17 7. Luke Donald ENG 6.07 8. Brandt Snedeker USA 5.97 9. Graeme McDowell NIR 5.59 10. Louis Oosthuizen SAF 5.28 11. Steve Stricker USA 5.21 12. Lee Westwood ENG 5.07 13. Charl Schwartzel SAF 4.97 14. Keegan Bradley USA 4.84 15. Sergio Garcia ESP 4.81 16. Jason Day AUS 4.50 17. Jason Dufner USA 4.40 18. Ian Poulter ENG 4.39 19. Bubba Watson USA 4.36 20. Ernie Els SAF 4.32 21. Webb Simpson USA 4.29 22. Hunter Mahan USA 4.22 23. Dustin Johnson USA 4.09 24. Peter Hanson SWE 3.68 25. Nick Watney USA 3.57 26. Bo Van Pelt USA 3.51 27. Matteo Manassero ITA 3.49 28. Jim Furyk USA 3.37 29. Bill Haas USA 3.30 30. Zach Johnson USA 3.22 31. Rickie Fowler USA 3.16 32. Branden Grace SAF 3.12 33. Henrik Stenson SWE 3.12 34. Billy Horschel USA 2.92 35. Martin Kaymer GER 2.90 36. Thorbjorn Olesen DEN 2.90 37. G.Fernandez-Castano ESP 2.87 38. Kevin Streelman USA 2.86 39. Jamie Donaldson WAL 2.77 40. Scott Piercy USA 2.76 FC Dallas Salt Lake Portland Seattle Galaxy Colorado Vancouver QUAKES Chivas USA W 8 8 6 6 6 5 5 4 3 L 3 5 1 4 6 5 5 6 8 T 4 3 8 3 2 5 4 6 2 Pts 28 27 26 21 20 20 19 18 11 GF 23 24 25 19 22 16 22 15 13 GA 18 16 16 15 18 14 23 24 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 5 3 2 1 L 3 5 5 4 5 5 5 7 7 11 T 2 4 4 4 4 5 5 3 5 3 Pts 26 25 22 22 22 20 20 12 11 6 GF 22 23 22 19 18 18 18 11 14 7 GA 17 19 24 14 13 13 16 19 20 26 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Wednesday's games Houston at Montreal, 5 p.m. Colorado at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Chivas USA at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Portland at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at D.C. United, 4 p.m. Chicago at Columbus, 5 p.m. Kansas City at FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Houston, 6 p.m. Seattle FC at Real Salt Lake, 6:30 p.m. Sunday's games New York at Philadelphia, 2 p.m. Colorado at Portland, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at Chivas USA, 8 p.m. this point. ''We'll reflect back and let it hit us when it's over. We still have a lot more work to do. There's still some business to be done. We have to carry it out and finish it,'' said Green, who was cut previously by the Cavaliers and Spurs and now has made 25 3-pointers in the first five games. It looked as though the game was finally passing by the Spurs last year, when the young Oklahoma City Thunder blew by them with four straight victories after San Antonio had taken a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. The Heat routed the Thunder for the championship and the Spurs brought back essentially the same team, believing another year in their system for players like Green and Kawhi Leonard was a better option than seeking out some quick-fix outsider. That's almost always been the Spurs' way, and it's on the verge of again being the model for an NBA title — at the expense of the Miami one that once appeared to be the way champions would be built. ''I think every one of us wants this very badly from the top on down,'' Duncan said. ''We're trying to play that way.'' NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Carl Edwards 3. Clint Bowyer 4. Kevin Harvick 5. Matt Kenseth 6. Kyle Busch 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8. Greg Biffle 9. Brad Keselowski 10. Tony Stewart 11. Paul Menard 12. Kasey Kahne 13. Martin Truex Jr. 14. Joey Logano 15. Aric Almirola 16. Jeff Gordon 17. Jeff Burton 18. Ryan Newman 19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 20. Kurt Busch 21. Jamie McMurray 22. Juan Pablo Montoya 23. Marcos Ambrose 24. Mark Martin 25. Casey Mears 26. Denny Hamlin 27. Danica Patrick 28. David Ragan 29. David Gilliland 30. Bobby Labonte 31. Dave Blaney 32. David Reutimann 33. J.J. Yeley 34. David Stremme 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 538 507 489 476 456 452 447 443 430 417 415 407 405 405 404 398 390 389 389 384 375 361 342 314 305 299 277 265 261 256 245 214 213 209 178 158 83 80 75 63 52 39 10 4 1 Upcoming Schedule June 23 — Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma June 29 — Quaker State 400, Sparta, Ky. July 6 — Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola, Daytona Beach, Fla. July 14 — New Hampshire 300, Loudon, N.H. July 28 — Crown Royal Presents The Your Hero's Name Here 400 at The Brickyard, Indianapolis (Continued from page 1B) Ranadive sought the advice of Chris Mullin. The former Warriors All-Star and general manager — whom D'Alessandro worked under from 2004-08 in Golden State's front office and is likely to take an official consultant role with the Kings soon — left Ranadive convinced he had found his man. ''He told me Pete's the smartest guy out there,'' Ranadive said. D'Alessandro spent the past three seasons as vice president of basketball operations in Denver, which won an NBA-franchise record 57 games last season before losing GM Masai Ujiri to Toronto and firing NBA Coach of the Year George Karl after falling to Golden State in the first round. He replaces Geoff Petrie, who has overseen Sacramento's basketball operations since 1994. Short and scrawny since he could remember, D'Alessandro's dream evolved over time. He had once hoped to play in the NBA, as many young boys often imagine. ''It became pretty clear by the time puberty hit that that wasn't going to happen for me,'' D'Alessandro said. ''But I wanted to be in it. I really wanted to be in it.'' D'Alessandro often went out on a boat with his uncle Pete, a commercial fisherman whom he was named after. He would take time on the boat to reflect and read the book ''Basketball's Fastest Hands: Little Men Who Make Big Plays.'' Later, he asked his eighth grade guidance counselor to introduce him to Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca at St. Johns while attending school there. He served as video coordinator — ''when there were no video guys'' — for Carnesecca, earned his law degree from Nova Southeastern University in May of 1994 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1995. D'Alessandro served as the campaign manager for New York Congressman Rick Lazio's successful reelection to the House of Representatives. During that campaign, D'Alessandro met his wife, Leah. The couple now has two children: daughter Kate, who turns 4 on June 29, and 17-monthold son Benjamin. The trio attended the news conference with D'Alessandro's parents, Tony and Adele, who live in central Florida and took a latenight flight from New York, where they had attended a wedding. The family and team officials even serenaded D'Alessandro with happy birthday wishes, and he blew out three candles on the cake, saying ''you can guess my wish.'' ''He's been successful his whole life. I really believe he'll turn this thing around here in Sacramento,'' his father said. D'Alessandro later held a temporary job as a paralegal making about $9 an hour before moving back into the sports world with a Washington D.C.-based agency founded by Bill Pollak. After seven years representing NBA and international players, he got the call from Mullin to work for the Warriors. While he might've had an opportunity to be Denver's GM, D'Alessandro said Sacramento's new regime offered him a chance to build a fresh foundation. ''I think there's a time in your life where you have to look and say ... 'When are you going to step out and when are you going to do your own thing? When are you actually going to take a leap and believe what you can do?''' he said. ''I've always been that second guy. I've always been that guy who could help and had success at that, and I feel I'm ready.'' D'Alessandro takes over basketball operations for a franchise that fell on hard times in the final years under the Maloof family, whose name has already been wiped clear of everything in and around the arena since Ranadive took over last month— right down to the new asphalt laid over the spaces that once marked the family's spots in the staff parking lot. After making eight straight playoff appearances, the Kings have failed to make it to the postseason the last seven years and have the second-worst record in the NBA during that span. D'Alessandro's first item of business in Sacramento will be the draft on June 27, when the Kings have the seventh overall pick. Sacramento also must decide what to do with Tyreke Evans, the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year who is set to become a restricted free agent. D'Alessandro said he already has reached out to volatile but talented center DeMarcus Cousins, who has averaged 16.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game his first three seasons while struggling with defense and discipline, calling him an ''incredible talent'' who will be part of the team's rebuilding plans. Above all else, the new GM said he's ''looking for people who take their jobs seriously.'' He also made it clear that Malone, a longtime NBA assistant who spent the past two seasons with Golden State, would have been his choice for coach. MLB MLB American League National League West Division West Division A's Texas Seattle Angels Houston East Division W 42 39 31 30 26 L 30 31 39 39 44 Pct .583 .557 .443 .435 .371 GB — 2 10 10.5 15 Arizona Colorado GIANTS Padres Dodgers East Division W 37 37 35 35 29 L 32 34 33 34 39 Pct .536 .521 .515 .507 .426 GB — 1 1.5 2 7.5 W L Pct GB Boston 42 29 .592 — Baltimore 40 31 .563 2 New York 38 31 .551 3 Tampa Bay 36 33 .522 5 Toronto 33 36 .478 8 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 39 29 .574 — Kansas City 34 34 .500 5 Cleveland 34 35 .493 5.5 Minnesota 30 36 .455 8 Chicago 28 38 .424 10 —————————————————— Monday's results Texas 8, Oakland 7 Detroit 5, Baltimore 1 Kansas City 2, Cleveland 1 Toronto 2, Colorado 0 Chicago White Sox at Houston, late Seattle at L.A. Angels, late W L Pct GB Atlanta 41 28 .594 — Washington 34 35 .493 7 Philadelphia 34 37 .479 8 New York 25 39 .391 13.5 Miami 21 47 .309 19.5 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 44 25 .638 — Cincinnati 43 28 .606 2 Pittsburgh 41 29 .586 3.5 Chicago 28 39 .418 15 Milwaukee 28 40 .412 15.5 —————————————————— Monday's results San Diego at San Francisco, late Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 5, Washington 4 Toronto 2, Colorado 0 Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, late Miami at Arizona, late N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, late Today's games Oakland (J.Parker 5-6) at Texas (Darvish 7-2), 5:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Archer 1-2) at Boston (Doubront 4-3), 10:05 a.m., 1st game Kansas City (E.Santana 5-5) at Cleveland (U.Jimenez 5-4), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 6-2) at N.Y.Yankees (P .Hughes 3-5), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (Francis 2-4) at Toronto (Rogers 2-2), 4:07 p.m. Baltimore (Hammel 7-4) at Detroit (Verlander 8-4), 4:08 p.m. Tampa Bay (Odorizzi 0-0) at Boston (Aceves 3-1), 4:10 p.m., 2nd game Chicago White Sox (Axelrod 3-4) at Minnesota (Pelfrey 3-6), 5:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Figaro 1-0) at Houston (Lyles 3-1), 5:10 p.m. Seattle (Bonderman 1-1) at L.A. Angels (Blanton 1-10), 7:05 p.m. Today's games San Diego (Cashner 5-3) at San Fran. (M.Cain 5-3), 7:15 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Harvey 5-1) at Atlanta (A.Wood 0-0), 10:10 a.m., 1st game L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 6-2) at N.Y.Yankees (P .Hughes 3-5), 4:05 p.m. Washington (Detwiler 2-4) at Philadelphia (Lee 8-2), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (Francis 2-4) at Toronto (Rogers 2-2), 4:07 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Wheeler 0-0) at Atlanta (Maholm 7-5), 4:10 p.m., 2nd game Pittsburgh (Morton 0-1) at Cincinnati (Latos 6-0), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Figaro 1-0) at Houston (Lyles 3-1), 5:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Samardzija 3-7) at St. Louis (Wainwright 10-3), 5:15 p.m. Miami (Eovaldi 0-0) at Arizona (Delgado 0-0), 6:40 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Baltimore at Detroit, 10:08 a.m. Kansas City at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at N.Y. Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Colorado at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Chi. White Sox at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 5:10 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday's games San Diego at San Francisco, 12:45 p.m. Miami at Arizona, 12:40 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at N.Y. Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Colorado at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 5:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m.