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2B Daily News – Wednesday, June 19, 2013 STANLEY CUP FINALS WIMBLEDON Venus pulls out, cites back injury By HOWARD FENDRICH AP photo Boston Bruins right wing Jaromir Jagr (68), of the Czech Republic, ties up Chicago Blackhawks left wing Bryan Bickell (29) during the third period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals in Boston Monday. He's not playing? Injury secrecy part of NHL culture BOSTON (AP) — Marian Hossa is one of the Chicago Blackhawks' top scorers, with three game-winning goals already this postseason. And then, suddenly, he wasn't in the lineup for a team that needed all the scoring it can get. Hossa's surprise scratch from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals — and the one-word explanation, ''upper,'' for the part of his body that was injured — is part of a long-running cat-and-mouse game NHL teams play on the theory that any information about injuries is a competitive disadvantage. ''I think that's self-explanatory,'' said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, declining to explain why he declined to explain the secrecy surrounding Hossa's injury. Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots from the depleted Blackhawks to help the Bruins win 2-0 on Monday night and move two wins from their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the series returns to Chicago for a fifth game. Hossa is expected to play in Game 4, Quenneville allowed, but only after making clear that ''I'm not going to get exactly what the injury is or where it occurred.'' ''It's sort of a secret society in the A's (Continued from page 1B) two. Kinsler scored on a tworun single by A.J. Pierzynski. Kinsler was at second base and had to hold up FINALS (Continued from page 1B) the Heat an 84-82 lead with six minutes to go. The Heat led 89-86, but Tony Parker hit a step-back 3 and a layup to take back the lead. After Allen's big shot from the corner sent the game into overtime, James scored on a layup for a 101100 lead with 1 minute to go. The Spurs had a chance to take the lead in the closing seconds, but Manu Ginobili's drive was thwarted and Allen hit two free throws. Bosh blocked Danny Green's 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the defending champs lived to fight another day. Parker finished with 19 points on 6-for-23 shooting and eight assists and Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio. Green, who broke the NBA Finals record for 3pointers, had just three points on 1-for-7 shooting. After a vintage first three quarters from Duncan had the Spurs steamrolling toward the championship, James delivered a vintage performance of his own in the fourth. Tentative and flustered through the first three, James went into fullon attack mode in the fourth to force a Game 7. It was the force-of-nature showing that had been all too rare for James in these finals, hockey world and in the injury world,'' Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland said. ''You don't want other teams having any injury information at all.'' Asked if he had seen Hossa or had a chance to talk to him, Bolland said, ''I don't know.'' You don't know if you've seen him or talked to him? ''I don't know if I've seen him,'' Bolland repeated with a sly smile. Hossa's mysterious injury may have been a turning point in Game 3, but it is hardly unusual in the secretive world of hockey injuries. Players and coaches say they just don't talk about what's hurting, partly because they don't want to seem weak in a sport where they hit each other for a living. But mostly, they don't want let the other team know where to aim. ''If I'm going out to battle and I have an injury to any part of my body, I don't want the other side to know what it is,'' Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said. Injury information can also help the opponent strategize. Quenneville was so concerned about giving the Bruins advance notice of even a few minutes that he didn't let substitute Ben Smith skate in the warmup even though there was a chance he would need to play. ''I just didn't want to tip our hand that there's something going on,'' the coach said. ''Ben was ready. I knew he was doing everything,'' Quenneville said. ''We were hopeful that Hoss was playing, and Ben was doing everything to get ready. He was ready.'' It worked. ''I'm still surprised,'' Thornton said. ''I don't know what happened to him.'' No hard feelings, Bruins coach Claude Julien said. After all, he would do — and has done — the same thing. ''I respect that from other teams. When you're playing against each other, you know exactly where everybody is coming from,'' Julien said. ''There's times where you have to protect your players, and I understand it. I know it's frustrating for you guys as media. You're trying to share that information. The most important thing for us, we can take the heat for that, is protecting your players.'' So, how to tell if an injury is minor? When a team actually admits it exists. ''I'll share one with you: Yesterday in a warmup, Zdeno Chara fell down, got a cut over the eye,'' Julien said, making light of the mishap in the way that only a coach two wins from an NHL title will do. ''I'll let you know about that. That's not a hidden injury. momentarily to make sure the ball dropped before running and then was waved home by third base coach Gary Pettis. The jarring hit jerked Kinsler's head backward, but he reached over with his foot to touch the plate, picked up his helmet and got up to go back to the dugout. Home plate umpire Paul Nauert appeared to tell Kinsler about the cut, and rookie teammate Jurickson Profar cringed when he saw it. While getting stitches, Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister also screened Kinsler for any concussion symptoms. When Kinsler ran back onto the field, he had a bandage on his face and there were several spots of blood on the front of his jersey. but the Heat have never needed it more after Duncan took it to them the first 36 minutes. Duncan hit his first eight shots of the game, conjuring the dominant form that brought four titles to San Antonio between 1999 and 2007. But he long ago handed the reins of the Spurs offense over to Parker, letting the speedy French point guard take over as Duncan grew older. Until Tuesday night. After getting a vintage performance from Manu Ginobili in Game 5 to take control of the series, the Spurs got a throwback effort from Duncan to start Game 6. With the Heat leading 4033 and threatening to pull away with 7:30 to go in the first half, Duncan scored San Antonio's next 13 points to start a 17-4 run that gave San Antonio a 50-44 lead at halftime. Duncan has never scored more points the first half (25) of a finals game in his career, a performance reminiscent of his 32-point, 20-rebound, seven-block game in Game 1 of the 2003 finals against New Jersey. But this one was so much more important. They entered the game with title No. 5 sitting right there in front of them. They had two cracks to bring the trophy back home to San Antonio, but the last thing they wanted was to have to play a Game 7 against LeBron James on the road for the championship. There have only been five Game 7s in the finals since 1978, with the home team winning all those contests. The last road team to win a Game 7 for the title was the Washington Bullets over the Seattle SuperSonics in 1978. Chalmers was 4 for 19 over his last three games, but came alive in this must-win for Miami. He made 5 of 7 shots, including two 3s, in the first half to get the Heat out quickly. Wade seemed to tweak his left knee after being whistled for an offensive foul early in the first quarter, but he looked fine moments later when he dunked over Duncan to tie the game at 16. It's been 12 games since the Heat have won two in a row, a startling stretch of inconsistency for a team that won 27 straight in the regular season and figured to turn this postseason into a coronation rather than a competition. But the short-handed Chicago Bulls put up an inspired fight in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Indiana Pacers took them the full seven in a rugged conference finals and the Spurs picked them apart in three of the first five games in this series. For most of the last two months, the Heat have preferred to wait until they were in serious trouble before finding that extra gear that only they seem to have. Down 2-1 in the series, James, Wade and Bosh combined for 85 points to even the series. It doesn't get any more serious than what the Heat faced when they walked into American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. One more uninspired performance from their three All-Stars, one more lazy night on defense, one more loss and the Heat were done for the season. The prospects of falling to 1-2 in NBA Finals appearances since James, Wade and Bosh united in 2010 loomed over a team that was constructed to win not just one title, but multiple crowns. In the unflappable Spurs, the Heat may be facing their biggest challenge yet. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili have teamed to win three championships, so they know what it takes to deliver in the finals. And youngsters like Green and Leonard have shown that even when LeBron and Co. flex their muscle, like they did in Games 2 and 4, they come right back at them. For as much as James and the Heat had riding on this finals appearance, the Spurs may have even more. Duncan is 37, while Ginobili will soon turn 36 and is in the final year of his contract, giving the feeling that after so many premature proclamations of demise for this core group. AP Tennis Writer After 16 consecutive years of always showing up at Wimbledon, winning five titles along the way, Venus Williams pulled out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament Tuesday, citing a lower back injury. Williams, who turned 33 on Monday, never had missed Wimbledon since making her debut there in 1997, although she lost in the first round a year ago. She won the singles trophy — it happens to be called the Venus Rosewater Dish — in 2000-01, 2005 and 2007-08, to go with two more major championships at the U.S. Open in 2000-01. But Williams has been dealing with a bad back for a while, playing only three matches in the last two-plus months. She was clearly hampered by the injury during a three-set, three-hour loss to 40th-ranked Urszula Radwanska of Poland in the first round of the French Open last month, then cited her back when she and younger sister Serena withdrew from the doubles competition in Paris. The older Williams said after the singles loss at Roland Garros — her first opening-round exit there in a dozen years — that the inflammation in her back made it painful to serve hard, limiting one of the best parts of her game. Once ranked No. 1, Williams is currently No. 34. Still learning to live as a professional athlete with an energysapping autoimmune disease, Sjogren's syndrome, she has two first-round losses in the past four Grand Slam tournaments. That includes her defeat at Wimbledon last year, the first time she'd left a major championship that early since she lost in the first round of the Australian Open in 2006. ''With what I've gone through, it's not easy. But I'm strong and I'm a fighter. You know, I don't think I'm just playing for me now. I think I'm playing for a lot of people who haven't felt well,'' Williams said after her loss to Radwanska. ''I think for me today, it's a positive to be able to play three hours. I'm constantly finding ways to get better and to feel better.'' Play begins at Wimbledon next Monday. Serena Williams, who is ranked No. 1, will be a big favorite to win what would be her sixth Wimbledon title and 17th major championship overall. She's won 31 matches in a row, the longest single-season streak on the women's tour since Venus put together a 35-match run in 2000. SHARKS Source: Couture agrees to extension SAN JOSE (AP) — The San Jose Sharks have agreed to a contract extension with star center Logan Couture to keep him off the market next summer. A person familiar with the deal confirmed the extension Tuesday, which was first reported by Comcast SportsNet California. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract can't be signed until the free agency window opens July 5. Couture is owed $3 million next season in the final year of a two-year, $5.75 million contract. Couture would have been eligible to be a restricted free agent next summer. The 24-year-old Couture has emerged as one of the Sharks' top players. He has led the team in goals the past two seasons and often drew the toughest defensive matchups this season. MLB American League West Division A's Texas Angels Seattle Houston East Division MLB National League West Division W 43 39 31 31 27 L 30 32 39 40 45 Pct GB .589 — .549 3 .443 10.5 .437 11 .375 15.5 W L Pct GB Boston 44 29 .603 — Baltimore 41 31 .569 2.5 New York 38 31 .551 4 Tampa Bay 36 35 .507 7 Toronto 34 36 .486 8.5 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 39 30 .565 — Cleveland 35 35 .500 4.5 Kansas City 34 35 .493 5 Minnesota 31 36 .463 7 Chicago 29 39 .426 9.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Boston 5, Tampa Bay 1, 1st game Cleveland 4, Kansas City 3 L.A. Dodgers at New York, ppd., rain Toronto 8, Colorado 3 Baltimore 5, Detroit 2 Boston 3, Tampa Bay 1, 2nd game Oakland 6, Texas 2 Minnesota 7, Chicago White Sox 5 Houston 10, Milwaukee 1 Seattle at L.A. Angels, late Today's games L.A. Dodgers (Undecided) at N.Y. Yankees (Undecided), 9:10 a.m., 1st game Baltimore (Tillman 7-2) at Detroit (Porcello 4-3), 10:08 a.m. Kansas City (Mendoza 2-3) at Cleveland (Masterson 8-5), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Capuano 1-4) at N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 6-5), 4:05 p.m., 2nd game Colorado (Nicasio 4-2) at Toronto (Buehrle 3-4), 4:07 p.m. Tampa Bay (Hellickson 4-3) at Boston (Dempster 4-7), 4:10 p.m. Oakland (Milone 6-6) at Texas (Grimm 55), 5:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Sale 5-5) at Minnesota (Correia 5-4), 5:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Lohse 2-6) at Houston (Bedard 2-3), 5:10 p.m. Seattle (J.Saunders 5-6) at L.A. Angels (C.Wilson 5-5), 7:05 p.m. Thursday's games Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 10:10 a.m. Oakland at Texas, 11:05 a.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 11:10 a.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Boston at Detroit, 4:08 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Arizona San Diego Colorado GIANTS Los Angeles East Division W 37 36 37 35 29 L 33 34 35 34 39 Pct .529 .514 .514 .507 .426 GB — 1 1 1.5 7 W L Pct GB Atlanta 42 30 .583 — Philadelphia 35 37 .486 7 Washington 34 36 .486 7 New York 27 40 .403 12.5 Miami 22 47 .319 18.5 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 45 26 .634 — Cincinnati 43 29 .597 2.5 Pittsburgh 42 29 .592 3 Chicago 29 40 .420 15 Milwaukee 28 41 .406 16 —————————————————— Tuesday's results N.Y. Mets 4, Atlanta 3, 1st game Philadelphia 4, Washington 2 L.A. Dodgers at New York, ppd., rain Toronto 8, Colorado 3 N.Y. Mets 6, Atlanta 1, 2nd game Pittsburgh 4, Cincinnati 0 Houston 10, Milwaukee 1 Chicago Cubs 4, St. Louis 2 Miami at Arizona, 9:40 p.m. San Diego at San Francisco, late Today's games L.A. Dodgers (Undecided) at N.Y. Yankees (Undecided), 9:10 a.m., 1st game Miami (Fernandez 4-3) at Arizona (Cahill 3-8), 12:40 p.m. San Diego (Stults 6-5) at San Francisco (Bumgarner 6-4), 12:45 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Capuano 1-4) at N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 6-5), 4:05 p.m., 2nd game Washington (G.Gonzalez 3-3) at Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 6-4), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (Nicasio 4-2) at Toronto (Buehrle 3-4), 4:07 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Marcum 0-8) at Atlanta (Medlen 3-7), 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Locke 6-1) at Cincinnati (Arroyo 6-5), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Lohse 2-6) at Houston (Bedard 2-3), 5:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (E.Jackson 3-8) at St. Louis (Westbrook 2-2), 5:15 p.m. Thursday's games Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 9:35 a.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 11:10 a.m. Colorado at Washington, 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at San Diego, 7:10 p.m. Miami at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m.