Yahoo! News Canada - Basketball Headlines

Heat, Spurs set to play for a title and add to their legacies in Game 7 of NBA Finals

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:17:36 -0400

MIAMI - Game 7s do more than settle championships. They define legacies.

FACTBOX: NBA-Memorable Finals Game Sevens

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:13:59 -0400

(Reuters) - The Miami Heat face the San Antonio Spurs in Game Seven of the NBA Finals on Thursday, marking the 18th time the league's championship series has gone the distance. Here are five of the most memorable Game Sevens in NBA Finals history. - - 1984 - Boston Celtics 111, Los Angeles Lakers 102 Boston's Larry Bird and Los Angeles' Magic Johnson added another chapter to the Celtics-Lakers rivalry in a series that is credited with lifting the NBA to new levels of popularity. This best-of-seven series concluded with the host Celtics withstanding a late Lakers rally. ...

Spurs' Duncan unconcerned about pressure of Game Seven

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:10:37 -0400

By Julian Linden MIAMI (Reuters) - After 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), San Antonio Spurs evergreen power forward Tim Duncan has already seen it all. The 37-year has scaled the heights of the NBA, winning four titles and two league Most Valuable Player awards, and nothing fazes him, not even the prospect of facing the top-seeded Miami Heat in a decisive seventh game of the championship series. ...

LeBron dismisses critics in search of second title

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:54:50 -0400

By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - LeBron James, one win away from a second consecutive NBA title, is refusing to let relentless critics shift him from his goal of earning a place as one of the game's greatest. Despite a remarkable 12 months that has included a maiden NBA title with the Miami Heat, leading the U.S. to a second straight Olympic gold medal and winning a fourth league Most Valuable Player award, James still has his critics. ...

PREVIEW-NBA-Miami, San Antonio prepare for ultimate test

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:08 -0400

By Julian Linden MIAMI (Reuters) - One of the most turbulent championships in National Basketball Association (NBA) history will reach its climax on Thursday when the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs meet in the decisive seventh game of the Finals. Basketball fans in the United States have been whipped into a frenzy of excitement by what has already been a classic series full of wild fluctuations and escalating drama. ...

Canada's women's soccer team drops 1-0 decision to Germany in friendly

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:17:10 -0400

PADERBORN, Germany - Leonie Maier scored the lone goal of the game to lead Germany's women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Canada on Wednesday.

Toronto Raptors new GM Ujiri opts to retain head coach Dwane Casey

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:17:24 -0400

TORONTO - Dwane Casey will remain as the Toronto Raptors head coach, holding onto his job amid a major front office overhaul.

Allen magic keeps Heat title hopes alive

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:15:44 -0400

By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - Ray Allen has made more three pointers than any player in the NBA but with five seconds left and his team three points down on Tuesday, he had not made a single one in the crucial Game Six of the NBA Finals. Miami's only hope of keeping their series with San Antonio, and their season, alive was to make a basket from beyond the three point line and LeBron James tried his luck. The ball bounced out off the backboard, Chris Bosh grabbed it and zipped it to Allen, who with his trademark nonchalance effortlessly made the shot and forced the game into overtime. ...

NBA - Heat rally from brink to set up Game Seven decider

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:08:14 -0400

By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - The Miami Heat forced an already absorbing NBA Finals to a deciding Game Seven after a thrilling 103-100 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday tied the series at 3-3. Miami trailed by 13 points in the third quarter but LeBron James, ditching his trademark headband, turned on the afterburners to spark a Heat fightback. San Antonio were not about to roll over under the weight of the onslaught, however, rallying to eke out a five-point lead with 28.2 seconds remaining as the championship ribbons were being prepared for them courtside. ...

Spurs left to rue missed opportunities against Miami

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:58:25 -0400

By Julian Linden MIAMI (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs were inconsolable after the NBA championship was ripped from their grasp in Tuesday's stunning overtime loss to the Miami Heat. The Spurs were just seconds away from clinching their fifth title when Miami produced a miraculous turnaround to win 103-100 and send the series into a seventh and deciding game. Tim Duncan, who scored 30 points and pulled in 17 rebounds but ran out of gas in the final quarter, was at a loss to explain his team's failure to close out the game. "I don't know what happened in the fourth and in overtime," he said. ...

On to Game 7: James has big 4th quarter as Heat stave off elimination with 103-100 OT win

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:57:19 -0400

MIAMI - LeBron James saved a championship reign, cancelled a celebration.

California city wants team, sues Major League Baseball

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:30:36 -0400

By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Weeks after a fight over the Sacramento Kings basketball team ended with promises of a new arena and a decision to stay in town, a tussle over another ball club is roiling professional sports in California - this time involving baseball. In an action that highlights the big dollars at stake when teams move to a new community, the city of San Jose sued Major League Baseball on Tuesday, alleging it was holding up a proposed relocation by the Oakland Athletics. ...

Two more newcomers to audition for Canada's women's team in friendly vs. Germany

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:42:11 -0400

TORONTO - John Herdman has pleaded patience with his work-in-progress women's soccer team this season.

Heat face crunch time in bid to keep Finals alive

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:09:36 -0400

By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - An enthralling NBA Finals reaches Game Six later on Tuesday with the San Antonio Spurs one win away from clinching their fifth championship and the Miami Heat knowing they must win to keep their season alive. The Spurs ended their run of three home games with an explosive 114-104 win over Miami on Sunday to go 3-2 up in the best-of-seven series, and history suggests that gives them the edge. In Finals series tied 2-2, the team that won game five went on to win the NBA title on 20 of 27 occasions. ...

Connelly new boss at Nuggets

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:38:45 -0400

(Reuters) - The Denver Nuggets named Tim Connelly as their new general manager on Monday after Masai Ujiri joined the Toronto Raptors last month. The first task for 36-year-old Connelly, who spent the last three years as the assistant general manager in New Orleans, will be finding a new head coach to replace George Karl, who was sacked at the end of the season. "We have a lot to do," Connelly told reporters. "The draft (is approaching), then we'll hit free agency. "I'm hoping collectively as a staff we can keep this progressing to where we all want to be. ...

Military has schedule for women to move into combat jobs, including commandos

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:41:31 -0400

WASHINGTON - Women may be able to start training as U.S. Army Rangers by mid-2015 and as Navy commandos a year later under plans set to be announced by the Pentagon that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in elite special operations forces.

History of women in the military moving into jobs closer to combat

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:13:09 -0400

1948 — Law passed making women a permanent part of the U.S. military services

Miami's Big Three on brink of another Finals letdown

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:11:42 -0400

By Frank Pingue SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Nearly three years after the formation of a partnership designed with the sole purpose of winning multiple NBA championships, the Miami Heat's 'Big Three' - LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh - are on the cusp of a second Finals letdown. The All Star trio have been unable to prevent Miami falling 3-2 behind to the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven championship series with the next two games scheduled for South Florida on Tuesday and Thursday. ...

Back home in a familiar situation, Heat try to stop Spurs from winning 5th NBA title

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:03:56 -0400

MIAMI - The Miami Heat weren't supposed to be in this situation. Not now, anyway.

Heat perplexed at inability to catch fire in Finals

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:51:20 -0400

By Frank Pingue SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The top-seeded Miami Heat were at a loss to explain their stunning inability to win consecutive games for nearly a month, a sequence they must break if they are to repeat as NBA champions. Inconsistent play and stiff competition have baffled the Heat, who have surprisingly alternated wins and losses over the last 12 playoff games. "If I knew the answer we would have won two games in a row. I don't know. ...