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2B Daily News – Friday, June 21, 2013 2016 OLYMPICS NHL Sharks sign Raffi Torres to 3-year deal AP photo Demonstrators shout slogans during an anti-government protest in Rio de Janeiro's sister city, Niteroi, Brazil, Wednesday evening. IOC: Games will benefit Brazil LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC is ''fully supportive of peaceful protest'' in Brazil and confident the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will bring major benefits to the city and country. Anti-government protests have spread across Brazil in the past week. Triggered by an increase in bus and subway fares, the demonstrations also have targeted the billions spent to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Games. The IOC awarded the Olympic to Rio in 2009, sending the games to South America for the first time and rewarding Brazil for its emergence on the global economic stage. The current scenes of mass protests and police crackdowns have underlined the challenges ahead for Rio. ''The Olympic Games in 2016 will bring significant benefits to the whole population of Rio, improving the city in terms of transport, infrastructure and social housing, as well as bringing a considerable sporting legacy for Brazil,'' the IOC said in a statement Thursday to The Associated Press. The International Olympic Committee said polls have showed that the majority of the population support the games ''and the legacy they will bring.'' The unrest also raised questions about Brazil's ability to provide security for the Olympics. ''We are always fully supportive of peaceful protest and remain confident in the ability of the Games as a powerful catalyst for improving the world through sport,'' the IOC said. City, state and other local governments are spending more than $12 billion on projects for the Olympics in Rio. The demonstrations have coincided with the Confederation Cup soccer tournament, a dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup. In an interview with Brazil's Globo TV network, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he could ''understand that people are not happy, but they should not use football to make their demands heard.'' ''We did not impose the World Cup on Brazil,'' he said. FINALS of the kind of second chance that the Spurs have so rarely given over the years. James found the perimeter shooting that had been lacking for most of the series, hitting consecutive 3s in the third quarter to get Miami going after a ragged start. The reigning MVP also locked down Parker, the focal point of the Spurs offense, forcing him to give the ball up earlier in the shot clock than he wanted. As the game wore on, the Spurs wore down. Ginobili fumbled an easy pass out of bounds, then threw an errant pass behind Gary Neal, opening the door for James, who hit a 17-foot jumper for an 83-77 lead with 5:41 to play. The Heat were made for moments like this. They were made to be tested. They were assembled to have the talent, the makeup and the swagger to withstand even the proudest challengers. And that's what they did. For James, it was another step toward rarefied air. Had the Heat lost, James would have fallen to 1-3 in the NBA's championship rounds, and his legion of critics would have been banging on his door with more ''He's no Jordan'' vitriol. Instead, James delivered with the clutch performances that have now become the norm for him. He rescued the Heat in Game 6, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer that put Miami in position to force overtime on Allen's 3. Then he followed that up with a sterling Game 7 to push those Spurs further toward the sunset of an incredible, decade-long run. James missed four of his first six shots, but started to find a rhythm late in the second quarter. He converted a three-point play on an acrobatic drive to the rim and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 33-27 lead, bringing the white-clad home crowd to their feet. Duncan just wouldn't let the Spurs fade. The 37-yearold had a three-point play, four free throws and another layup that tied the game at 40 and Ginobili's two free throws gave the Spurs the lead again at 42-40. He scored 10 straight point in the third quarter to keep the Heat in it, hitting consecutive 3-pointers, and locked down Parker on defense, all but eliminating San Antonio's offensive focal point. It was a heart-breaking way to end it for these Spurs, who were 21 seconds from title No. 5 when everything went wrong in Game 6. Now, once again, they will face proclamations of their demise. Only this time, it may be harder to hold those off. Back in 2007, when the Spurs swept James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the franchise's fourth title, Duncan found the young superstar for a quiet moment to tell him that the league would one day be his. Now James has four MVPs, two Olympic golds and back-to-back titles on his resume. Duncan has been right so many times throughout his career. This time, it's at his own expense. time with his two-out single in the seventh. Texas, which had lost seven of its previous nine games, pulled within a game of the A's by winning three times in the four-game set. The division's top two teams don't play again until the first weekend of August. ''Any win right now is special, especially against a good team like the A's, especially to win the series,'' Andrus said. Oakland, which went from a seven-game deficit in mid-May to starting this series with a season-high three-game division lead, lost for the fifth time in seven games. ''That was as frustrating as any loss we've had,'' manager Bob Melvin said. ''They played hard on every single pitch and every single out, but it seemed everything that could go wrong did go wrong.'' Kinsler came to the plate in the seventh right after Leonys Martin's hustling infield single, getting to first base ahead of Sean Doolittle (3-2) when the pitcher was taking the toss from first baseman Brandon Moss. That loaded the bases with two outs, and Kinsler hit a full-count pitch through the middle of the infield. Ray Emery. ''Corey has been rock solid all year for us, and when he's got the ball, he's been outstanding, and he's the biggest reason why we're here today.'' Rask was working on a shutout streak of 129 minutes, 14 seconds when Michal Handzus had a beautiful sliding score in the first period Wednesday night off a nice pass from Brandon Saad on a fast break. It was a sign of things to come for the Bruins, who had sustained trouble with the Blackhawks' speed for the first time in the series. Marcus Kruger complet- ed a 2-on-1 break in the second period with his third goal of the playoffs. Kruger and Michael Frolik got down the ice so quickly that there was time for Kruger to poke home his own rebound after Rask stopped his first attempt. ''I thought we gave them a lot of space,'' Bruins coach Claude Julien said. ''It doesn't mean they don't have a pace to their game, but it means we gave them too many options. And the neutral zone for me, not just on the forecheck but even our neutral zone on the counter wasn't very good.'' Zdeno Chara, Boston's 6-foot-9 defenseman, was back during the rush by Kruger and Frolik but was unable to break it up. The 2009 Norris Trophy winner was on the ice for five of Chicago's six goals, with the Blackhawks using their speed to make life difficult on the captain of the Bruins. (Continued from page 1B) with the Heat rattling off 66 victories, including a staggering 27 in a row. They entered the playoffs with an air of invincibility, but were pushed as hard as they've ever been. In the proud Spurs, they faced an aging core that simply wouldn't give in, which had to make this victory their most satisfying yet. The Heat were all but eliminated on Tuesday night, down 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter and five with 21 seconds to play, with the home fans streaming out of American Airlines Arena. Then James hit a 3, Ray Allen hit another, and the Heat outlasted San Antonio in overtime to keep their hopes of defending their title alive. ''It's like you have a second chance on life,'' Bosh said. ''You're not going to waste it. We were revived. We were dead. We brought ourselves back to life.'' The Heat made the most A'S (Continued from page 1B) base, Donaldson never slowed down around third base. Oakland scored single runs to go ahead in three consecutive innings, only to give up the lead each time. Ian Kinsler put the Rangers ahead for the only CUP (Continued from page 1B) shots.'' Chicago held leads of 10, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-4, but Boston rallied each time. The glove-side issue is a tricky little one for coach Joel Quenneville and the Blackhawks, who know that's where the Bruins are trying to go, but don't want Crawford to focus so much on that area that it gets into his head. ''We're very comfortable with Corey,'' Quenneville said, dismissing the idea of inserting backup ''I think he was OK,'' Julien said. ''There's no doubt they went after him and he was OK, because our whole team was OK. I don't think anybody on our team can stand up today and say I thought I had a great game, and that's why we're sitting here today tied 2-all.'' SAN JOSE (AP) — Raffi Torres showed the San Jose Sharks during his short stint both the attributes that make him a valuable player and the negatives of his suspensionfilled history that sidelined him for the final six games of the playoffs. General manager Doug Wilson decided that the rewards outweighed the risks, signing Torres to a $6 million, threeyear deal Thursday that prevents him becoming an unrestricted free agent July 5. ''Every player comes with some level of risk and obviously we're very comfortable with this,'' Wilson said. ''He's really transformed and evolved his game. He's a very effective player. I won't comment and can't comment on the suspension in the playoffs. We think he brings all the skill sets we're looking for: speed, strength, he can shoot and he has a high skill level to play with high-end players.'' Torres showed those skills almost immediately after coming over in a deadline deal from Phoenix on April 3. He had two goals and four assists in 11 regular season games and provided a needed spark with his speed and physical play that helped San Jose wrap up a playoff spot. He then scored an overtime game-winner in Game 2 of first-round sweep against Vancouver and turned himself into a key component on the Sharks. That all ended when he hit Los Angeles' Jarret Stoll in Game 1 of the second round against Los Angeles. Pointing to a long history of impermissible hits that included a 21game suspension for a blow to the head of Chicago's Marian Hossa in the 2012 playoffs, NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan banned Torres for the rest of the second round. It was his fourth career suspension. Wilson and the Sharks said at the time that it was a ''clean hockey hit'' and the principal point of contact was with Stoll's shoulder, not head. The organization was fined $100,000 for the comments, but Torres appreciated the strong support. Torres had committed only six minor penalties in 39 regular games since returning from the Hossa suspension in an effort to change his game. ''I still feel like there wasn't anything wrong with that Stoll hit,'' Torres said. ''At the end of the day, it's something that I'm always going to be working on until the day I'm done playing — thinking the game a little bit more and obviously try not to put myself in a vulnerable position with those borderline hits.'' The Sharks felt Torres' absence as it forced Joe Pavelski to move from third-line center to wing on one of the top lines and hurt the scoring depth that was key to San Jose's success in the stretch run. Instead of having a third line of Pavelski, Torres and either Marty Havlat or Tommy Wingels, the Sharks had to load up their top two lines and got little production from their bottom six forwards. ''That's a line that's tough to match up with and I think would have been a big mismatch,'' Wilson said. ''That was part of the thought process when we did it at the trade deadline to be able to put people in the proper roles. We did miss him.'' Now they will have him for three years in a deal that gives Torres the stability he had been seeking. Since being traded from Edmonton to Columbus following the 2007-08 season, Torres has played for five teams and has not spent two full seasons with any of them. ''Pretty much since I left Edmonton, it's been tough,'' he said. ''You felt like you had to reprove yourself. I felt like I had to do that a couple of times in my career. I still feel like I have a lot more to give to this game especially now with the Sharks. Knowing there will be stability there is something I look forward to. I won't have to worry about anything else except going out there and playing hard.'' Torres has 134 goals and 121 assists in 630 career games, with his most productive season coming when he scored 27 goals in 2005-06 to help Edmonton make it to the Stanley Cup finals. MLB American League West Division A'S Texas Angels Seattle Houston East Division MLB National League West Division W 43 41 32 32 28 L 32 32 40 41 46 Pct GB .573 — .562 1 .444 9.5 .438 10 .378 14.5 W L Pct GB Boston 44 31 .587 — Baltimore 42 31 .575 1 New York 39 33 .542 3.5 Tampa Bay 38 35 .521 5 Toronto 35 36 .493 7 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 40 31 .563 — Cleveland 36 35 .507 4 Kansas City 34 36 .486 5.5 Minnesota 33 36 .478 6 Chicago 29 41 .414 10.5 —————————————————— Thursday's results Minnesota 8, Chicago White Sox 4 Texas 4, Oakland 3 Houston 7, Milwaukee 4, 10 innings Tampa Bay 8, N.Y. Yankees 3 Detroit 4, Boston 3 Seattle at L.A. Angels, late Today's games Houston (Keuchel 4-3) at Chicago Cubs (Garza 1-1), 11:20 a.m. Minnesota (Deduno 3-1) at Cleveland (Kazmir 3-4), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Ro.Hernandez 4-7) at N.Y. Yankees (D.Phelps 4-4), 4:05 p.m. Baltimore (Hammel 7-4) at Toronto (Dickey 6-8), 4:07 p.m. Boston (Lester 6-4) at Detroit (Fister 64), 4:08 p.m. Chicago White Sox (H.Santiago 2-5) at Kansas City (Guthrie 7-4), 5:10 p.m. Texas (D.Holland 5-4) at St. Louis (Lyons 2-3), 5:15 p.m. Pittsburgh (Cole 2-0) at L.A. Angels (Weaver 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Oakland (Colon 9-2) at Seattle (Iwakuma 7-2), 7:10 p.m. Saturday's games Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, 1:05 p.m. Baltimore at Toronto, 1:07 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 11:10 a.m. Houston at Chicago Cubs, 1:05 p.m. Boston at Detroit, 4:15 p.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 4:15 p.m. Texas at St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Pittsburgh at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Oakland at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. Arizona GIANTS Colorado San Diego Dodgers East Division W 39 37 37 36 30 L 33 34 37 36 40 Pct .542 .521 .500 .500 .429 GB — 1.5 3 3 8 W L Pct GB Atlanta 43 31 .581 — Washington 36 36 .500 6 Philadelphia 35 38 .479 7.5 New York 28 41 .406 12.5 Miami 22 49 .310 19.5 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 47 26 .644 — Cincinnati 44 30 .595 3.5 Pittsburgh 43 30 .589 4 Chicago 29 42 .408 17 Milwaukee 29 42 .408 17 —————————————————— Thursday's results Pittsburgh 5, Cincinnati 3 Houston 7, Milwaukee 4, 10 innings Washington 5, Colorado 1 N.Y. Mets 4, Atlanta 3 St. Louis 6, Chicago Cubs 1 L.A. Dodgers at San Diego, late Miami at San Francisco, late Today's games Houston (Keuchel 4-3) at Chicago Cubs (Garza 1-1), 11:20 a.m. Colorado (Chatwood 4-1) at Washington (Strasburg 3-6), 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Hefner 1-6) at Philadelphia (Hamels 2-10), 4:05 p.m. Atlanta (Teheran 5-3) at Milwaukee (W.Peralta 4-8), 5:10 p.m. Texas (D.Holland 5-4) at St. Louis (Lyons 2-3), 5:15 p.m. Cincinnati (Cueto 4-0) at Arizona (Miley 4-6), 6:40 p.m. Pittsburgh (Cole 2-0) at L.A. Angels (Weaver 1-3), 7:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 5-4) at San Diego (Richard 2-5), 7:10 p.m. Miami (Nolasco 4-7) at San Francisco (Lincecum 4-7), 7:15 p.m. Saturday's games Colorado at Washington, 9:05 a.m. Houston at Chicago Cubs, 1:05 p.m. Miami at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee, 1:10 p.m. Cincinnati at Arizona, 4:15 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Texas at St. Louis, 4:15 p.m. Pittsburgh at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m.