Dein erstes Forum » this season, neither club

When last seasons NBA Finals ended, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was all smiles. For a few minutes, that is. Popovichs first order of business after the seasons final buzzer sounded in Miami was to go and embrace Erik Spoelstra, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, giving everyone hearty hugs and offering genuine words of congratulations after the Heat topped his Spurs in Game 7 of one of the most dramatic, thrilling championship series in league history. The pain of losing started setting in later, and lasted for months. But now, the dream scenario for San Antonio has arrived. Starting Thursday, the Spurs get a rematch in the NBA Finals against the only team to ever beat them in a championship series. San Antonio will be holding home-court advantage, so if another Game 7 awaits, the Spurs will have the decided edge this time around. If that wasnt enough, the Spurs even got basically five full days between games to get healthy and prepare. It is, without question, everything the Spurs could have wanted. "We know what were going against," said Spurs guard Tony Parker, who added that he has great respect for what the Heat have done in this four-year run. "Its a great challenge." There are so many things that would seem like a distinct San Antonio advantage right now. First, while everyones better at home, the Spurs dominate in San Antonio, winning 103 times in their last 123 games there. Over the past four seasons, the Spurs are also 25-5 when having three or more days between games. Maybe most importantly, having nearly a week between the end of the Western Conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals gives Parker plenty of time to get his ailing left ankle ready to go for Game 1. "Ill do my best," said Parker, who didnt practice Tuesday but is hoping to play in the series opener, as the Heat expect he will. This is San Antonios sixth trip to the NBA Finals. The Spurs won it all in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, the last title in that run coming when San Antonio swept a Cleveland team that featured a young LeBron James making his debut on the leagues biggest stage. James is no finals apprentice anymore. Hes been to the title round three times since, winning the last two. And James is quick to point out that the Spurs arent the only team fueled by hunger in this championship round. "Both teams have motivating factors," James said. "They have a motivating factor. We have our own." Losing the finals is one thing. Losing the way the Spurs did last June, thats something else. Forget Game 7 for a moment. Game 6 will be replayed for as long as there are replays, unforgettable for both how the Heat rallied and how the Spurs collapsed. A 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter was erased, in part because Mike Miller scored three points on one shot while wearing one shoe. And a five-point lead with 28.2 seconds left, well, you know the rest. Manu Ginobili misses a free throw. James makes a 3-pointer. Kawhi Leonard makes one of two free throws. James misses a 3-pointer. Chris Bosh out jumps Ginobili for the rebound. Ray Allen started backpedaling to the right corner, hoping for a chance. ABCs Mike Breen described what happened next like this: "Rebound Bosh ... back out to Allen ... his 3-pointer ... BANG!!! Tie game!" The Heat went on to win in overtime that night, then found a way to win Game 7 and the title, 95-88. When this season began, Popovich started camp by showing his team Games 6 and 7, painful as it was. "I try to learn something every game I watch," Popovich said. "Thats what we do." And while there were plenty of teams that looked like contenders this season, neither club was surprised that the end result is the first NBA Finals rematch since 1998. "We got wined and dined with some of the other teams that kind of popped up and showed greatness throughout the year," Allen said. "The Clippers looked great. OKC, they had their issues and then they popped up. Memphis looked good at the end of the year. Indiana was always hovering. But if you go back to the beginning of the year, most people said the same thing. Pop knew how to manage his team to get to this point. Same thing with us." In other words, maybe Spurs-Heat II was meant to be. "It was," Allen said. ___ Associated Press Writer Raul Dominguez in San Antonio contributed to this story Cheap Vapormax Plus Green . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Vapormax Plus For Sale . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. http://www.cheapvapormaxplus.us/cheap-vapormax-plus-gold/ . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. Vapormax Plus Black Mens . The Major League Soccer teams were scheduled to play on Saturday night, but their game was rescheduled after Stu Tudor was hit during a pregame storm. The 54-year-old lieutenant in the Columbus Fire Department is in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Ohio State Medical Center. Cheap Vapormax Plus Black . Mars announced Saturday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will join him as part of his halftime show. Super Bowl halftime performers often have collaborators.It was going so well for the Winnipeg Goldeyes. That was until the top of the final inning. Holding a 3-0 lead, the Goldeyes gave up four runs in the top of the seventh inning and lost 4-3 to the St. Paul Saints in the second half of a modified doubleheader at Shaw Park Tuesday night. Winnipeg did win the first game 4-0, which was the completion of the June 14 game that was suspended by rain. The two results leave the Goldeyes with a 5 1/2 game lead over the Saints in the American Associations North Division. Winnipeg scored all three of their runs in the third inning of the second game. Tyler Kuhn singled in Sam Kimmel and reached third on an error. Josh Mazzola then singled in Kuhn. After going to second on a balk, Mazzola scored on a Casey Haerther single. Goldeyes starter Matt Jackson cruised through six scoreless innings, striking out 10 Saints and giving up just five hits. "I had a lot of swings and misses today," said Jackson, who threw 103 pitches in the outing. "I had a lot of movement on my change-up and my slider and my curveball. It kept them off-balance enough that things tilted in my favour and (catcher) Luis (Alen) called a great game." In the top of the seventh, everything changed, as the Goldeyes turned to their bullpen. Cephas Howard gave up a lead-off single and, after getting the first ouut, was replaced by closer Kissock.ddddddddddddAfter getting the first batter he faced, Kissock surrendered five consecutive hits, an inherited run and three earned runs. Kaohi Downing came in to get the final out of the inning. Winnipeg brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Kuhn flew out to centre field and Mazzola struck out looking to end the game. Kissock took the loss for Winnipeg, while Saints starter Nick Barnese hung around long enough to earn the win. Dan Sattler pitched the ninth inning for his 13th save of the season. In the completion of the June 14 game, the Goldeyes built on 1-0 lead when the game was suspended in the bottom of the third inning to shutout the Saints 4-0. Donnie Webb scored on a fielders choice in the bottom of the third, while Jake Blackwood had an RBI triple and Luis Alen had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Chandler Barnard pitched six scoreless innings to get the win, while Jeff Shields, who only pitched on June 14 and will start one of the games in the doubleheader tomorrow, suffered the loss. The five-game, three-day series continues Wednesday night with a doubleheader. The first of two seven-inning games at Shaw Park will begin at 5:00 p.m. The second game will follow roughly 30 minutes after the first game is completed. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '