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ByCarlSteward BayAreaNewsGroup SAN JOSE TheSanJoseSharks host their first-ever Stanley Cup Final game Saturday night neck- deep in trouble. It's not the ideal script, but the writing's not com- pletely on the wall just yet. Maybe home ice — and more important, the home fans — can help turn the tide against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that to this point has looked signifi- cantly superior to the Sharks de- spite a pair of wins achieved by a mere one goal, the second ne- cessitating overtime. They had better. If the Sharks expect to stay in this champi- onship series, they have to win Game 3, and if they expect to make a series they realistically have a shot at winning, they also have to take Game 4 at SAP Cen- ter. History is not on their side. Only five teams have rallied from 0-2 deficits in the Stanley Cup round out of 49 that have faced the predicament. Trailing 3-1, the numbers are even worse — only one team out of 32 has come back to win, and that was the 1942 Detroit Red Wings, who actually climbed out of 0-3 hole to beat Toronto. So a home sweep of Games 3-4 is virtually paramount. "We're not reading a lot into where we're sitting right now," said San Jose coach Peter De- Boer. "We just have to take care of business here at home." STANLEY CUP FINAL HomefanscanhelpturnseriestideforSharks PENGUINSLEADSERIES2-0 Game 3:PittsburghPenguinsat San Jose Sharks, 5p.m., Satur- day, TV on NBCSN. TUNEIN By Janie McCauley The Associated Press OAKLAND Shaun Livingston put up nearly 100 free throws at the end of Friday's NBA Finals practice, and that is somewhere around his norm. Cleveland might have built the most expensive roster in the NBA. Way out West, Golden State devel- oped arguably the league's deep- est and best bench with a group of hard-nosed guys like Livings- ton eager to take the pressure off starters Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green whenever their names are called. Or downright outplay the first unit when necessary on the big- gest stage. This close-knit band of backups regularly discusses how depend- able they must be, telling each other to stay ready for any role. "When you see a guy down, you make sure you pick him up and when you see a guy up make sure you keep him level-headed be- cause, you never know what's go- ing to be next in this game," Mar- reese Speights said Friday. "When we're at the gym, it's, 'Come on, let's go get some shots,' or hang- ing out on the road we sit down and talk about it, 'We need each and every one of these players on this team to win another cham- pionship.' Lunch, dinner, brunch, all that, we talk." The reliable reserves did just that in a 104-89 Game 1 Finals NBA FINALS BAND OF BACKUPS CARRY WARRIORS Livingston,close-knitreservesshoulderheavyloadinGame1victory PHOTOS BY MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston (34) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert during the first half of Game 1of the NBA Finals in Oakland on Thursday. Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) dribbles against Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith during the second half of Game 1of the NBA Finals in Oakland on Thursday. WARRIORS LEAD SERIES 1-0 Game 2: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors, 5p.m., Sunday, TV on ABC. TUNEIN By Luke Reid Chico State Sports Information Di- rector BRADENTON, FLA. Zak Stroing refused to give up on his goal to compete at the collegiate level. May 28 he finished his first and final collegiate campaign as an All-American. Stroing, originally from Red Bluff, was one of three Chico State athletes to earn All-America hon- ors on the third and final day of competition at the NCAA Divi- sion II Track and Field Champi- onships at IMG Academy in Bra- denton, Florida, joining Kyle Me- dina and Will Reyes. Stroing finished seventh in the javelin, posting two points to- ward the Wildcats' team score of 23, which was good for 11th in the nation. Medina was the runner- up in the 1,500-meter final, notch- ing his second consecutive All- American mark in the event. He finished fifth last season as a true freshman. Reyes was responsible for 13 of those points. He finished second in the 10,000 meters on Thursday and doubled back with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters Saturday. Events are scored on a 10-8-6- 5-4-3-2-1 scale. The winning ath- lete nets 10 points for his team, second place eight, third place six, and so on. St. Augustine's won the team title going away with 85 points. The Wildcats were the third-highest scoring team in the West Region behind only Acad- emy of Art (33 points) and Azusa Pacific (26). The next highest scor- ing team from the California Col- legiate Athletic Association was Stanislaus State with 15 points. A product of Red Bluff High School, just 45 minutes up the road from Chico, Stroing showed up at the track office as a fresh- man looking for a spot on the team. After being informed that his high school marks were not up to snuff, Stroing promised to be back. Two years later, there he was at last year's Wildcat Invitational, signed up to compete unattached in the javelin. There is no javelin competition at the high school level, but Stroing settled on that as his throw of choice. He had clearly been working at it. Stroing finished third at the Wildcat Invitational and Wild- cats Head Coach Oliver Hanf of- fered him a spot on the team for his senior season. And what a magical season it's been, culminating Saturday when his second throw of the day trav- eled 63.57 meters, farther than any javelin he had ever thrown in competition. That mark got Stro- ing into the finals and three more attempts. On his fifth throw of the day, he increased his personal re- cord to 63.78 meters (209-feet-3), which was good for seventh place. That ranks third best in Chico State history and is the best since 2005. Medina momentarily looked like he would be the Wildcats' first NCAA Champion of 2016, surging past Academy of Art's Valentin Pepiot into the lead with about 150 meters to go. But Ad- ams State junior Oliver Atchison, the defending NCAA champion in the event, outkicked Medina to the finish line. Medina held on for second place one year after finishing sixth in the event as a true fresh- man. TRACK AND FIELD StroingearnsAll-Americahonor Red Bluff High grad is 7th in Division II in javelin for Chico State Staff Reports VolleyballinAugust The Mercy High School Volley- ball Camp is scheduled for Mon- day through Thursday, Aug. 1-4. The camp will take place at the school's renovated gym, which has a new air conditioner and floor. Camps will run 8:30-11:30 a.m. for incoming sixth- and seventh- grade students and noon to 3 p.m. for incoming eighth- and ninth- grade students. Cost is $40 and includes a T- shirt and individualized instruc- tion. All are welcome and registra- tion will take place the first day of the camp. Arrive early to get your spot. Basketball in June The Angie Weir Miller Fun- damental Basketball Camps are scheduled for June at the Lassen View School gymnasium. Camps will be held 9 a.m. to noon June 13-17 for girls and boys going into third and fourth grades and 12:15-3:15 p.m. for girls and boys going into fifth and sixth grades. Camps will be held 9 a.m. to noon June 20-24 for girls and boys going into seventh and eighth grades and 12:15-3:15 p.m. for girls and boys going into all high school grades. Cost is $85 for all grades. For a brochure or more infor- mation, call 514-2712 or write to amillertime25@hotmail.com. SUMMER Camps set up for volleyball, basketball By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press PARIS Two years ago at the French Open, Serena Williams was stunned in the second round by a 20-year-old opponent partic- ipating in only her 13th match at a major tournament. That 6-2, 6-2 loss to Garbine Muguruza was, and remains to this day, the most lopsided defeat of Williams' 338-match Grand Slam career. So guess who the No. 1-ranked Williams will face in the final at Roland Garros on Saturday as she attempts to earn her 22nd major championship and equal Steffi Graf's Open-era record? Muguruza, of course. "I learned so much from that match. I hate to lose, but when I do, I hope it was worth it," Wil- liams said. "That match was def- initely one of those that was kind of needed and worth it." Since that setback, Williams has won 47 of 50 matches at ma- jors, collecting four trophies FRENCH OPEN Williams in final, seeks 22nd major WARRIORS PAGE 2 TRACK PAGE 2 SHARKS PAGE 2 TENNIS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, June 4, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1