Dein erstes Forum » the Spurs arent the only team fueled

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 http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Diego-Costa-Jersey/ . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Thomas-Partey-Jersey/ .Balotelli uploaded on Instagram a picture of the video-game character Super Mario, with whom the Italy international shares a nickname, with text around the image including jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Blank-Jersey/. With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Saul-Niguez-Jersey/ . Rajne Soderberg, the director of the Stockholm Diamond League event, said in an email Friday that the ban still holds. Euromeetings, the organization representing Europes top track events, "will continue to recommend that members do not invite athletes who we believe cause disrepute to our meetings and our sport. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Thomas-Lemar-Jersey/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Running back Marshawn Lynch got his usual Wednesday off as the Seattle Seahawks began their final series of practices for Sundays Super Bowl. Lynch was the only Seattle player not to participate as the Seahawks practiced indoors at the New York Giants team facility. Lynch has been typically given Wednesdays off for much of the season. "Everybodys fine," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "This is the day we rest Marshawn. Wednesday is always a rest day for him. Weve been doing that for years, and its always worked out great. Were in great shape. Were just as fortunate as can be to be in this kind of shape this late in the year." Seattle opened the doors to the Giants facility during practice in an attempt to simulate the temperature the Seahawks are likely to see Sunday against Denver. The indoor temperature dropped to 36 degrees, close to the projected temperature on Sunday. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin was a full participant affter being held out of all three practices last week with a hip injury.ddddddddddddBaldwin was banged up against San Francisco in the NFC championship game. Brandon Mebane was also a full participant after an ankle injury slowed him last week. Team owner Paul Allen and general manager John Schneider watched practice from the sideline and spent a few minutes chatting with Lynch. The Seahawks practiced for 90 minutes and continued with their typical Wednesday routine of having some practice periods with the No. 1 offence against the No. 1 defence. Seattle also had meetings, a walkthrough and lunch. Carroll said the team only plans to practice outside the next few days if they need to. He was pleased with the footing in the Giants facility. "We had great tempo," Carroll said. "The attention to detail was there . It was great work. You could tell how we carried it through all the way till the end of the practice. 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