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DANIELOCHOADEOLZA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Stephen Curry, le , and Klay Thompson celebrate a er wining the final World Basketball match against Serbia at the Palacio de los Deportes stadium in Madrid, Spain. ByMarcusThompsonII BayAreaNewsGroup OAKLAND Stephen Curry will not play in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and he may not be the only Warriors star to opt out, the Bay Area News Group has learned. According to multiple sources, Curry had already told USA Basket- ball he will not be playing for a gold medal. He will instead let his right knee heal. The Warriors released a statement from Curry late Monday morning. "After a great deal of internal thought and several discussions with my family, the Warriors and my rep- resentatives, I've elected to withdraw my name from the list of eligible play- ers on Team USA's preliminary roster for the 2016 Summer Games in Bra- zil. I recently informed Jerry Colan- gelo of this decision. "My previous experiences with USA Basketball have been incred- ibly rewarding, educational and enjoyable, which made this an ex- tremely difficult decision for me and my family. However, due to several factors — including recent ankle and knee injuries — I believe this is the best decision for me at this stage of my career. It's an incred- ible honor to represent your coun- try and wear 'USA' on your chest, but my primary basketball-related objective this summer needs to fo- cus on my body and getting ready for the 2016-17 NBA season." This is good news for the Warriors, who usually like their players in these high-profile opportunities because it helps the overall brand. It's a smart move by Curry, who is piling on the mileage now that the Warriors are champions and are playing deep into the playoffs. At 28, he should still be a top player when the 2020 Olympics roll around. He also has one more year to get through before signing his max- imum contract. And with the War- riors two wins away from a second consecutive championship, a fresh Curry would be optimal next season. WARRIORS Currywon'tplayinOlympics MVP says injuries a factor in decision Due to a lack of sign-ups, the Red Bluff Spartan Football Junior Spartan Football Camp scheduled for June 14-16 at Red Bluff High School has been cancelled. Organizers say they hope to of- fer the camp next year. The Red Bluff High School var- sity, junior varsity and frosh Spar- tans summer football condition- ing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Monday, June 13 in the Red Bluff High stadium. The program will run 7-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday with fall practice beginning on Aug. 1. FOOTBALL Junior Spartans camp cancelled Summer conditioning to start Monday for high school teams ERIC RISBERG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Cullen, top, collides with San Jose Sharks' Logan Couture, bottom, during the first period of Game 4of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday in San Jose By Curtis Pashelka Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE The Sharks began to come in waves, putting the kind of pressure on the Pitts- burgh Penguins that had been missing for the better part of the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final. Then, near silence, as Eric Fehr's goal with 2:02 left in the third period put the finishing touches on a 3-1 Penguins win in Game 4 that pushed the Sharks to the brink of elimination. Ian Cole and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins, who took a three-games-to-one lead in the series with Game 5 on Thursday night in Pitts- burgh. "There's no quit in our group," said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. "We had the best road record in the league. We'll show up and try to get this thing back here for Game 6." After two periods of frustra- tion, the Sharks finally solved Penguins goalie Matt Murray 8:07 into the third period, as Melker Karlsson's wrist shot from the hash marks cut Pitts- burgh's lead in half and electri- fied the sold out crowd at SAP Center. The Sharks kept their foot on the gas for rest of the third pe- riod, but couldn't find the equal- izer. Now the Sharks and their fans can only hope that this wasn't the last home of the sea- son. Through four games they haven't held the lead once; their victory came in sudden death. "We've been chasing the whole series by not scoring first," DeBoer said. "It affects all parts of your game. We've got to find a way to get on the board STANLEY CUP FINAL Sh ar ks p us he d to t he brink by Penguins Pittsburgh takes 3-1 series lead back home By Jon Krawczynski The Associated Press OAKLAND He flexes his mus- cles and he barks at the crowd. He blocks shots and he kicks op- ponents. He hits 3s and he de- vours rebounds. Draymond Green has had his fingerprints — and shoe prints — all over these NBA Finals as his Golden State Warriors have dominated the first two games of their highly anticipated re- match against Cleveland. LeBron James and the Cava- liers have used all their defen- sive energy trying to keep Ste- phen Curry and Klay Thomp- son from beating them, which has opened the door for Green to take control. He hasn't just walked through that door. He has kicked the thing down. Green averaged 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the Oakland games and has spearheaded the Warriors' dom- inant defensive effort against the Cavaliers. The result has been victories by a combined 48 points, the most ever in the first two games of an NBA Finals. The intensity and ferocity he brings the Warriors have been crucial throughout the playoff run. But it has also manifested in some on-court antics that have turned the hard-nosed, prideful underdog into some- thing of a villain. "When you look at him as a competitor, you want Dray- mond Green on your team and you probably can't stand him when you have to face him be- cause he keeps his foot on the gas and he's going to do what- ever it takes to win ballgames as far as a competitive spirit is con- cerned," said ABC analyst Mark Jackson, who coached Green for two years at the start of his ca- reer. Green had several run-ins with Oklahoma City Thunder tough guy Steven Adams in the Western Conference finals and that has carried over to the championship round, when he kicked Kyrie Irving in the chest in Game 1. Players have long made a habit of kicking their legs out while taking jump shots to try to draw fouls, with Reggie Miller, Manu Ginobili and Rus- sell Westbrook just a few of the NBA In te ns e or d ir ty ? Gr ee n wa lk in g li ne i n Fi na ls By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press PARIS It would be hard to blame Novak Djokovic for not exactly be- ing thrilled, as he began his as- cension to tennis' upper reaches, about having to deal with a couple of all-time greats such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. "At the beginning," Djokovic said, "I was not glad to be part of their era." That eventually changed. He rose to the challenge. "Later on, I realized that in life, everything happens for a reason. You're put in this position with a purpose, a purpose to learn and to grow and to evolve," Djokovic con- tinued. "Fortunately for me, I re- alized that I need to get stronger, and that I need to accept the fact that I'm competing with these two tremendous champions." Djokovic said this Sunday eve- ning, after beating Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the French Open final to finally capture the trophy that had eluded him. With it, he completed a career Grand Slam, joining a group of seven other men, including Federer and Nadal. But Djokovic also now has done something neither Federer nor Nadal, for all of their accom- plishments, ever managed: win four Grand Slam titles in a row, a feat last pulled off by Rod La- ver in 1969. Djokovic's major trophy count is now up to 12, trailing only three men — Federer (who has 17), Nadal (14) and Pete Sampras (14). Just as tennis rivalries of the past served to boost all parties — Sampras vs. Andre Agassi, say, or Bjorn Borg vs. John McEnroe — Djokovic credits his two key con- temporaries (and Murray, too) with forcing him to figure out ways to get better. TENNIS Wh at w e le ar ne d at French Open: Dj ok ov ic r os e to challenge MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green greets fans a er the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2of the NBA Finals in Oakland on Sunday. The Warriors won 110-77. CURRY PAGE 2 OPEN PAGE 2 GREEN PAGE 2 SHARKS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, June 7, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1