Then someone let the Manu monster out of his cage — and Detroit’s title train was suddenly stopped in its tracks. Manu Ginobili
scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and finished
9-for-10 from the floor in the second half as the San Antonio Spurs won
Game 1, 84–69.
Ginobili’s acrobatic offensive feats, combined with San Antonio’s smothering defense, shocked the defending champs.
Ginobili grabbed rebounds (he finished with nine), raced downcourt at a
speed the Pistons have yet to muster, and lurched through the lane,
either absorbing contact or seeking it out, before finishing with a
picturesque finger roll.
Team leader Tim Duncan
took a more conventional approach — but produced similar results. He
had 26 points and 17 rebounds to go along with a couple of blocks. [NBA Finals Coverage]
Position Matchups There are several excellent head-to-head matchups in the NBA Finals, including Tony Parker(above) vs. Chauncey Billups. We break the series down by position. More
Mark Teixeira, Rangers
Even though his team took a beating, Teixeira was red-hot at the plate
this week. In his last six games, he hit .391 with 3 homers (16 for the
season), 4 doubles and 10 RBI.
Virtual Finals Jerry and Shawn are deciding the NBA Finals on the Xbox using NBA Live. Shawn's Pistons won the first two games. Check out the recaps and images from the games.
With three straight wins, including the Indy 500, you’d think driver Dan Wheldon
would be feeling some love. But when he arrived in Texas for the
Bombardier Learjet 500 on Saturday, he found an 800-square foot mural
of hot new star Danica Patrick and fans standing in
line for 10 hours to get her autograph. She finished fourth at Indy.
Wheldon has a shot at becoming the first driver ever to win four
IndyCar races in a row and five in a season.
The controversary of Game 1 came in the fourth quarter when a little man named Manu Ginobili raced in circles up the court in his usual chaotic style before barreling into a stationary 6’ 9”, 240-pound Ben Wallace,
who seemed mostly annoyed by this little gnat buzzing around his
domain. As the ref whistled a blocking foul on Wallace instead of a
charge on Ginobili - the correct call - Big Ben flung his headband and
got a technical, sending Detroit into a spiral.
BASKETBALL NBA Finals Piston at Spurs
Sun. June 12, 9 p.m. ABC Spurs at Pistons
Tues. June 14, 9 p.m. ABC Spurs at Pistons
Thurs. June 16, 9 p.m. ABC
BASEBALL Interleague Play Red Sox at Cubs
Sat. June 11, 3:05 p.m. FOX Athletics at Braves
Sat. June 11, 3:05 p.m. FOX Red Sox at Cubs
Sun. June 12, 8:05 p.m. ESPN
HORSE RACING
Belmont Stakes Sat. June 11, 6 pm NBC
(all times are Eastern)
Adam Eaton,
San Diego Padres The
right-hander upped his record to 9-1 by beating Cleveland with 7
shutout innings and 9 strikeouts on Thursday. He was 2-0 with a 1.29
ERA for the week.
Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians Eaton’s
victim on Thursday fell to 2-9 while his ERA ballooned to an unsightly
5.00. Westbrook’s been rocked for 10 runs and 14 hits in his last 13
innings.
