SPORTS - Hunter, Angels come up short in 3-2 loss to Yanks (AP)

SPORTS - Hunter, Angels come up short in 3-2 loss to Yanks (AP)

AFP – Toulouse's captain and flanker Thierry Dusautoir is tackled by a Montpellier player during the French …

by Chris Wright Chris Wright – Sat Jun 4, 5:33 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – Toulouse scrapped their way to an 18th French league crown on Saturday, justifying by a whisker their favourites' tag to edge underdogs Montpellier 15-10 at the Stade de France in the Top 14 final.

Eschewing the flair both sides had shown in making the trophy match, Saturday's showdown was a cagey affair as Toulouse, despite dominating, had to battle back from a seven-point deficit and survive some wayward kicking from veteran David Skrela before emerging with a deserved victory.

To get so far Montpellier, who only finished sixth in the regular season, had nipped Castres 18-17 in the play-off, then edged much-vaunted Racing-Metro 26-25 in the semi-finals, while Toulouse breezed past outgoing champions Clermont in their last-four game.

On paper Toulouse should have walked it, having finished the regular campaign top of the heap while coach Guy Noves was experiencing his 11th final.

That record made them overwhelming favourites to land another crown against a side whose only previous silverware comprised a second division crown in 2003 and a European Shield a year later.

But it was only in the final quarter when Toulouse finally made their overall superiority count as Nicolas Bezy swept over a pair of late penalties as Montpellier buckled under the pressure of defending a wafer-thin lead.

"You have to make your superiority count," said Noves, who admitted he thought it might not prove to be his day.

"When David was missing his kicks I said to myself 'it's just not possible' - it was complicated. I thought at one stage it might slip away," a relieved Noves told French television.

"Finally we made our domination count," he added.

The win marks the end of an era for Toulouse with Clermont-bound Skrela only one of a raft of aging players in the out-tray.

But despite his less than stellar finale he saluted a "magnificent season."

"We dominated almost the whole match. This is a special feeling - I've experienced some great moments with this club," he acknowledged.

Seven others will leave the red and black this summer - including Byron Kelleher and Frederic Michalak - as Toulouse, whose incoming reinforcements include New Zealand centre Luke McAlister and Australia scrum-half Luke Burgess, turn a page.

Joint Montpellier coaches Fabien Galthie and Eric Bechu have transformed their fortunes from potential relegation candidates to true title contenders - but in the end Toulouse were too good, as Galthie admitted.

"In the end we had difficulty keeping the ball and directing the game. Well done Toulouse, they were better than us," Galthie said.

But Saturday saw a blank scoreboard for an opening 25 minutes which Toulouse dominated in terms of possession only for their rivals to make the breakthrough.

France outside half Francois Trinh-Duc found Timoci Nagusa and the Fijian wing promptly seized his chance, kicking forward, retrieving and sprinting through, his deft footwork seeing him elude a clutch of defenders to touch down under the posts.

By contrast, compatriot Rupeni Caucaunibuca, who notched two tries in the semi-final win over outgoing champions Clermont, was seeing little opportunity to shine.

Argentinian Martin Bustos Moyano converted for 7-0.

Skrela came into the game with a lingering doubt over a knee problem and missed a trio of kicks before he at last got the four-time European champions off the mark just before the break when Georgian Mamuka Gorgodze was caught offside.

Yet that did not puncture Montpellier's self belief and barely 60 seconds after the restart Trinh-Duc restored the seven-point advantage with a drop goal as nonchalant as it was accurate.

Skrela again reduced the arrears for 6-10 seven minutes into the second period but his next two efforts sailed wide and his frustration was apparent.

But Montpellier kept on handing out chances and the 32-year-old gratefully accepted the next gift, trimming the deficit to a single point with 14 minutes left in boosting his ratio to a mediocre three out of eight.

Skrela then took his leave of the proceedings with youngster Bezy coming on.

And with ten minutes left Toulouse finally took the lead their overall dominance warranted, Bezy thumping over after a flagrant foul by Gorgodze.

Montpellier were losing their discipline and scrum half Benoit Puillaughe was yellow-carded as he conceded yet another penalty which Bezy gratefully despatched to settle the outcome.

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SPORTS - Toulouse edge Montpellier, bag 18th French rugby crown (AFP)

SPORTS - Toulouse edge Montpellier, bag 18th French rugby crown (AFP)

AP – Cristie Kerr hits a fairway shot on the ninth hole during second round play at the LPGA ShopRite Classic …

By TOM CANAVAN, AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Jun 4, 8:40 pm ET

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Cristie Kerr was in the zone on the range before the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic and even a double bogey on the 12th hole didn't cause her to lose focus.

"Yeah, I think it's maturity," the 33-year-old Kerr said Saturday after shooting a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Catriona Matthew heading into the final round.

"But I recognize that you can make some birdies on the stretch coming in. It just didn't feel like a bad double. It sounds odd, but just didn't feel like I made double. So when you make a stupid mistake or something happens and you make double, you get more mad at yourself."

Kerr didn't get angry. She just made up for the mistake with three birdies on the final five holes to move within a good round of her first victory of the year and her 15th on the LPGA Tour.

The last birdie came from roughly 8 feet the par-5 18th and gave Kerr an 8-under 134 score on the Bay Course at Seview, where the 20 mph wind of Friday's opening round was replaced by a mild breeze.

The result was 54 sub-par rounds compared to 13 the day before. If the conditions don't change, a low score will probably be needed Sunday to collect the top prize of $225,000.

Kerr intends to be ready, especially with 12 players within five shots of her lead, including fellow American Brittany Lincicome just two shots back and third-ranked Jiyai Shin three behind.

"I think it starts with the mindset, `Are you ready to go low?'" said the fourth-ranked Kerr. "`Are you ready to, no matter what comes at you? Are you able to handle it?'

"I felt like I was like that today. I pray every day I'm in that mindset. Because that's a good place for me, very intense, knowing what I've got to do, taking care of my job."

Kerr, who won this event in 2004, took care of business Saturday, rolling in eight birdies along with her double bogey.

Her one mistake was missing the small green at No. 12, a 320-yard par 4. Her flop shot on her third shot ran off the green and her chip ran about 8 feet past the hole. When she missed the putt she fell two shots behind Matthew, but rallied with a 30-foot birdie at No. 14, a birdie on the par-3 16th and then the final hole.

"It was weird making double, but I didn't feel like that bothered me because I had been playing great today, and I didn't feel like I did too much wrong on the hole," Kerr said. "So I just stayed composed and keep going."

Matthew is looking to become the first player in her 40s to win on the LPGA Tour since Helen Alfredsson won in China in 2008 at 43. The 41-year-old mother of two who has won only three times in 17 years on tour, had a 67 on Saturday. Her last win was the 2009 British Women's Open, 11 weeks after she gave birth to her second child.

Alfredsson is doing color commentary for the Golf Channel this week.

"As you said, I've been on tour a long time," said Matthew, who had six birdies and two bogeys. "I've learned from those situations before and I'll be nervous tomorrow. So I just need to hopefully learn from being there in the past and cope with it."

Lincicome, looking for her first win since 2009, was alone at 6 under after shooting a tournament-best 64 that featured seven birdies and no bogeys.

"I drove it well, I hit it to most of the greens well and I just seemed to make everything," said Lincicome, who was tied for 30th after the opening round. "Nothing really went in yesterday so I must have been saving them for today."

Lincicome has not won since capturing the Kraft Nabisco Championship with an eagle on the final hole for her first and only major.

"I am just looking to win and get back in the winner's area, even the same zip code," she said. "It's been a while so it's nice to be near the top of the leaderboard. It's nice to be back in the media room and getting asked questions about my round. Everything is going in the right direction. I am working hard and playing well."

First-round leader Jiyai Shin (71), fellow South Korean Amy Yang (67) and American Mindy Kim (65) were tied for fourth place, three shots behind Kerr. Brittany Lang (66) and Shi Hyun Ahn (67) were four shots behind the leader.

Anna Nordqvist (68), Katie Futcher (68), I.K. Kim (70), Karen Stupples (70) and Haeji Kang were all at 139, five out.

There were some amazing second-round turnarounds.

Birdie Kim followed an opening-round 85 with a 70, but still missed the cut at 4 over. Beatriz Recari of Spain shot a second-round 65 to move from a tie for 89th to a tie for 20th at 1 under. Sandra Gal, who was a shot behind Shin after the opening round, had a 74 and also was at 1 under.

Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer were at 1 over after rounds of 71.

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SPORTS - SAfrica Olympic committee head rules out 2020 bid (AP)

SPORTS - SAfrica Olympic committee head rules out 2020 bid (AP)

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SPORTS - Recchi scores, but Bruins fall (AP)

SPORTS - Recchi scores, but Bruins fall (AP)

AFP/Getty Images – Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (R) of Mexico throws a punch at Sebastian Zbik of Germany during their WBC World …

– 20 mins ago

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr dethroned Germany's Sebastian Zbik by majority decision to seize the World Boxing Council middleweight title in a showdown of unbeaten fighters.

Chavez Jnr improved to 43-0 with one drawn on judges scores of 115-113 and 116-112 while the third judge scored the bout a 114-114 draw.

Chavez secured his first world title in the same city where his father, a three-division world champion set to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame next week, captured his first world title back in 1984.

"I will have to fight a long time and win many more titles to be the equal of my father," Chavez Jnr said.

"I would like to win more titles and create an excellent career, but there are no shortcuts or easy roads to victory."

Zbik, in his first pro fight outside Europe, fell to 30-1. He had not fought since last July, when he took a unanimous decision over Argentina's Jorge Sebastian Heiland at Hamburg.

Chavez plans to make the first defense of his crown against Argentine southpaw Sergio Gabriel Martinez, 47-2-2, in October at Las Vegas.

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SPORTS - Li wins French Open for China's 1st Slam title (AP)

SPORTS - Li wins French Open for China's 1st Slam title (AP)

AP – China's Li Na kisses the cup after defeating Italy's Francesca Schiavone in their women's final match …

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich, Ap Tennis Writer – Sat Jun 4, 9:15 pm ET

PARIS – As China's Li Na tossed the ball while serving at match point in the French Open final, a cry from a fan in the stands pierced the silence at Court Philippe Chatrier.

Distracted, Li stopped and let the ball drop. The words of support were in Mandarin: "Jia you!" — which loosely translates to "Let's go!" After so many years of "Come on" and "Allez" and "Vamos," there's a new language on the tennis landscape.

Li became the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a Grand Slam singles title by beating defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (0) at Roland Garros on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Li used powerful groundstrokes to compile a 31-12 edge in winners, and won the last nine points of the match, a run that began when the fifth-seeded Schiavone was flustered by a line call she was sure was wrong.

"China tennis — we're getting bigger and bigger," said Li, who is projected to rise to a career-best No. 4 in Monday's new WTA rankings.

She already was the first woman from that nation of more than 1 billion people to win a WTA singles title, the first to enter the top 10 in the rankings, and the first to make it to a Grand Slam final — she lost to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open in January.

Thinking back to that defeat, Li said: "I had no experience. I was very nervous. For my second time in a final, I had the experience. I knew how to do it. And I had more self-confidence."

Tennis is considered an elite sport in China, and while participation is rapidly increasing, it still trails basketball, soccer and table tennis, among others. But Li's victory was big news back home, where the match finished shortly after 11 p.m. local time on a holiday weekend.

State broadcaster CCTV posted the banner, "We love you Li Na," on their gushing coverage, and announcer Tong Kexin pronounced: "This has left a really deep impression on the world." People at the Green Bank Tennis Club on Beijing's northern edge gathered to eat barbecued food, drink beer and watch the events from Paris on a big-screen TV set up on a court. Some waved Chinese flags during the postmatch trophy ceremony.

Li broke away from the Chinese government's sports system in late 2008 under an experimental reform policy for tennis players dubbed "Fly Alone." Li was given the freedom to choose her own coach and schedule and to keep much more of her earnings: Previously, she turned over 65 percent to the authorities; now it's 12 percent. That comes to about $205,000 of the $1.7 million French Open winner's check.

"We took a lot of risks with this reform. When we let them fly, we didn't know if they would succeed. That they have now succeeded, means our reform was correct," said Sun Jinfang, an official with the Chinese Tennis Association. "This reform will serve as a good example for reforms in other sports."

At her news conference, Li wore a new T-shirt with Chinese characters that mean "sport changes everything," and offered thanks to Sun.

"Without her reform, then possibly we wouldn't have achieved this success," Li said.

When a reporter mentioned the June 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square and asked whether her victory could spark a sports revolution, Li said she's "just" a tennis player and added, "I don't need to answer ... this question."

Her tennis game, filled with flat forehands and backhands, looks better-built for hard courts, rather than the slow, red clay of Paris. Indeed, Li never had won a clay-court tournament until Saturday. She lost in the third round in three of her previous four French Opens, including against Schiavone a year ago.

But Li's movement on clay is better now, Schiavone explained, saying: "She slides a little bit more."

Li repeatedly set up points with her backhand, then closed them with her forehand, and she finished with 21 winners from the baseline, 15 more than Schiavone. Only after Li controlled the first set and the early part of the second did Schiavone begin working her way into the match.

"I tried to push more, to risk more," Schiavone said.

She broke to 4-all in the second, and held to lead 6-5. The 12th game was pivotal.

Serving at deuce, Li smacked a backhand that landed near a sideline but initially was called out by a line judge, which would have given Schiavone a set point. But Li began walking up to take a closer look at the mark left in the clay by the shot, and chair umpire Louise Engzell climbed down to examine it, too. She told Schiavone the ball touched the line. Schiavone leaned forward and pointed at the spot in question, discussing the ruling with Engzell; the restless crowd began whistling and jeering, as French Open spectators often do when a player vigorously questions a call. Engzell's call stood, and eventually she returned to her perch.

Schiavone wouldn't win another point.

"That ball was out," she said later. "Sure, you get angry. ... So what do you do? You're playing tennis, you have to go back to playing tennis and think about what you need to do. Obviously, I think it was a big mistake. But it's up to the tournament and others to watch that match again and evaluate the call."

Li is 29, and Schiavone turns 31 later this month, making for the oldest combined ages of French Open women's finalists since 1986. Perhaps that's why neither appeared to be too shaken by the stakes or the setting — until the latter stages.

"The young people, they just play 100 percent all the time. (Li and Schiavone) are more selective. They know when to play the big points and not use too much energy when it's not really necessary," said Li's coach, Michael Mortensen. "They use their brains more than the young ones are doing."

Serving while ahead 4-2, Li missed four forehands in one game to get broken for the only time all match. Schiavone, as demonstrative an athlete as there is, leaned over, punched the air and shouted, while the vocal support group in her guest box launched into one of its many songs saluting her in Italian.

Schiavone then held for a 5-4 lead. In the next game, she moved within two points of tying the match at a set apiece by hitting a backhand return that skipped off the baseline oddly, producing a swing-and-miss whiff by Li. All told, there were five times when Schiavone was two points from winning the second set — but she never got closer than that.

The fifth time came on that call she didn't like. Schiavone put a backhand into the net on the next point to make it 6-all. In the tiebreaker, two of Li's points came on volley winners, and one from a passing shot she hit that Schiavone volleyed into the net. The other four tiebreaker points ended with return or groundstroke miscues by the Italian.

When Schiavone's backhand sailed long on match point, Li fell to the court, covering the back of her white shirt with rust-colored clay.

Schiavone was the fourth consecutive top-10 seeded player that Li beat, including three-time major champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.

There's nothing subtle about Li's style of play: Essentially, she pounds the ball hard, pushing opponents back near the baseline, and hopes to outswing them. Li never let Schiavone get comfortable, never let her employ the all-court, net-rushing strategy that worked so well for what had been 13 consecutive victories at Roland Garros.

In 2010, Schiavone became Italy's first female Grand Slam champion. This time, it was Li who bit her lower lip when accepting the tournament trophy, and who mouthed the words while China's national anthem was played and its flag was raised at the stadium for the first time. Chinese players had won three women's or mixed doubles Grand Slam titles in the past. But none at the French Open. And none in singles.

"Amazing," Li said. "I got a text message from my friend. They said they were crying in China because they saw the national flag."

___

Howard Fendrich can be reached at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

___

Associated Press Writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report.

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SPORTS - Hall of Famer Johnson dies at 81 (AP)

SPORTS - Hall of Famer Johnson dies at 81 (AP)

AP – Los Angeles Angels' Bobby Abreu (53) steals second base as New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano …

– 17 mins ago

ANAHEIM, Calif. – By his own count, Torii Hunter has robbed at least 35 players of home runs. He tried to add Robinson Cano to his list, and risked serious injury doing so.

The nine-time Gold Glove winner went headfirst into the first row of seats behind the lower fence in the right-field corner in a valiant attempt to catch Cano's drive off Ervin Santana with two out in the fourth inning. Hunter emerged unscathed, but couldn't come up with the ball, and the New York Yankees got the jump-start they needed in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.

"There's a tall wall, then there's a short wall. Out of my peripheral vision I saw the tall wall and I thought I was there," Hunter said. "I got close to catching it, but the short wall stopped me a little bit and tilted me over. It went out of my reach. I was just trying to make a play for Santana because he was out there pitching his butt off. I hit some guy. His friends were yelling: `Get off my friend.' It was a Yankee fan."

Cano, whose 12th homer came on a 3-2 slider, was optimistic that he had the distance. But he got concerned when he saw Hunter closing in on the ball.

"I think if he caught that one, I would have run to right field," Cano said with a grin. "It's the kind of thing where you say `Go, go go, go,' then you see him jumping and you say `Oh, no.' But then when I saw the ball bounce, I said, `OK. We're cool.' It's a good thing it ended up being a home run. I've never been robbed of a home run, and I hope it don't happen, either."

CC Sabathia came within one out of his second complete game in three starts, and Alex Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth for the Yankees, who lost the series opener by the same 3-2 score.

"CC was smart. He had a lot of off speed, keeping guys off balance," Hunter said. "He still throws 94, 95. He's a smarter pitcher than when I saw him in Cleveland all the time. The last couple years, he's changed. He pitched well. That's why he's one of the best, if not the best in the game."

Sabathia (7-3) allowed two runs, one earned, and seven hits. The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner has won his last four starts and gone at least eight innings in all four — his longest career streak in that department.

"My changeup was really what kept me in the game," said Sabathia, who is 7-2 since April 23 after going 0-1 in his first four outings. "The only reason why I pitched eight innings tonight was because they were being aggressive early in the counts and I was able to get some swings on 1-0 and 0-1, which kept the pitch count down. I was able to get some weak fly balls and ground balls with that pitch. A couple of years ago, I probably would have been in trouble."

Rookie Peter Bourjos chased Sabathia with a two-out RBI single in the ninth on the left-hander's 107th pitch, and Mariano Rivera retired Erick Aybar on a first-pitch popup to shortstop for his 15th save in 18 chances. It was Rivera's 1,003rd appearance, overtaking former Yankees Hall of Fame closer Goose Gossage for 14th place on the career list.

Rodriguez snapped a 1-all tie in the sixth with his 10th homer of the season and No. 623 for his career, driving Santana's 1-1 pitch into the rock pile in left-center field after a leadoff walk to Curtis Granderson. The two RBIs increased A-Rod's total to 1,864, tying Mel Ott for ninth place. Next up is Willie Mays at 1,903.

"I don't really think about that too much right now," Rodriguez said. "Once I'm done playing, I'll be able to take a deep breath and think about all those things and appreciate them. But right now, we're fighting for our lives with every pitch."

Santana (3-5) allowed seven hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked three. The right-hander is 1-4 in his last seven starts against the Yankees after winning his first four. He was moved up a day in the rotation after Dan Haren was scratched because of stiffness in his lower back.

"Ervin pitched well. He didn't make too many mistakes," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Cano got a 3-2 breaking ball and Alex Rodriguez got a fastball that got maybe a little too much of the heart of the plate, and they hit them out. But he certainly gave us a chance to win."

Derek Jeter was 1 for 3 with a walk, leaving him with 2,985 hits — tied with Sam Rice for 28th.

The Angels tied it in their half of the fourth with an unearned run after Jeter committed his fourth error of the season, just two fewer than he had all of last year.

The five-time Gold Glove shortstop booted a grounder toward the middle by Howie Kendrick following a leadoff double by Alberto Callaspo, who scored on Jeff Mathis' sacrifice fly.

NOTES: Kendrick was reinstated from the disabled list after missing 14 games because of a right hamstring strain, and was 0 for 3 after getting hit by a pitch his first time up. OF Reggie Willits was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. ... A ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Dean Chance, who was the Angels' first Cy Young winner in 1964. In five starts against the Yankees that season, he was 4-0 with a 0.18 ERA, four complete games and three shutouts. The Angels' only other Cy Young winner — Bartolo Colon — will face his former team in Sunday's series finale just five days after pitching his first shutout since July 5, 2006.

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SPORTS - Heat shake off collapse, say they're up for Game 3 (AP)

SPORTS - Heat shake off collapse, say they're up for Game 3 (AP)

AP – Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade listens a question during a media availability before basketball practice, Saturday, …

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Jun 4, 4:43 pm ET

DALLAS – After two days of intense film study and painstaking analysis of the final 14 possessions in their end-of-game collapse in Game 2 of the NBA finals, the Miami Heat finally came up with the reason why.

It wasn't a highly technical reason.

"We let one go," Dwyane Wade said.

And entering Game 3 of the NBA finals, the Heat will try to let Game 2 go again. The way Miami sees it, carrying over the stigma of that loss — one of the worst late-game collapses in finals history — would only doom them again Sunday night when the scene shifts to steamy Dallas for the first of three games on the Mavericks' home floor.

Dallas rallied from 15 points down in the final 7 minutes to beat Miami in Game 2, outscoring the Heat 22-5 to finish the game and knot the series. Thanks to that win, Mavs' fans still may see another NBA championship celebration, only this time, by the Western Conference champions and not a Heat team that hoisted a trophy at Dallas after the 2006 finals.

"In the playoffs, it's a win or a loss. However it comes by, it's a win or a loss," Heat forward LeBron James said. "We've moved on from Game 2, seen the mistakes we've made. Seen some of the great things we've done as well. It's a win or loss. The series is tied 1-1. We never get too high or too low in the series. We haven't gotten too high or low in the regular season as well."

Game 3 is crucial for so many obvious reasons, like the Heat wanting not to deal with another stumble and the Mavericks wanting to keep momentum rolling and retain home-court advantage. Statistically, there's proof that it's a Texas-sized swing game as well. Since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the finals, teams have now split the first two games 12 times. In the previous 11, the winner of Game 3 has always gone on to win the championship.

Big whoop, both teams said in response to that one.

"We just can't let up. We're not good enough to just relax," said Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who led Dallas' late-game charge in Game 2 at Miami. "We need to play with an edge at all times in every game. So hopefully (Sunday), with the crowd behind us, we're going to have a great game. Just looking at this one game."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was more succinct.

"I think both teams have bucked a lot of those numbers and odds up to this point already," he said. "We're a non-traditional team."

Maybe that's one of the reasons why the Heat were so loose Saturday.

Players arrived at the arena around noon, most with headphones on as they walked off the bus, bobbing heads in time with the music and nodding to people as they walked by. James and Wade were chatting and laughing, a few players checked out the turf that would host an Arena Football League game later Saturday night and some stretched their arms to tap the goalposts as they walked across the floor where a basketball court will be Sunday.

The mood couldn't have been more different from when they walked off the floor in Miami on Thursday, stunned by what just happened.

"We're coming home, but we know that's no guarantee of anything," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We've lost at home this year in the playoffs. Now Miami has as well. The venue has significance, but it never guarantees anyone anything. ... The mistake that we're not going to make is feel like coming home is going to be something that helps get us over the hump. It's not going to be like that. Both these teams are too good of road teams."

Including the playoffs, the Mavericks have won 34 road games this season, tops in the NBA. Miami ranks second with 32.

The Heat also haven't lost consecutive games since early March, winning after all six of their most recent losses by an average of 11.7 points. And in their last 24 games away from home, they're 17-7.

All good signs for Miami now, given that if it doesn't win one of the next three in Dallas, the season will end here.

"We've been a pretty resilient bunch all year," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "We've bounced back every time we've been knocked down. I'm expecting the same thing with this situation."

There's stats the Mavs can point to as ones they like as well, including one that seems particularly significant: Miami rarely wins in Dallas, period.

Dallas has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the teams at home, six of those coming in single-digit games. Of course, one of those two exceptions was the last time the Mavericks hosted a finals game, June 20, 2006, when Jason Terry missed a potentially game-tying 3-pointer, Wade got the rebound, threw the ball skyward as time expired and Miami prevailed 95-92.

"We're looking at Game 3. That's the only thing on our mind right now," Terry said. "We're at home. What does that mean? It means our building is going to be crazy. We're going to play with a lot of energy. Some of those shots we're missing better go down. That's what home court is all about."

The series is even.

So, too, was the level of confidence both sides were showing Saturday.

Come late Sunday night, neither of those statements will keep ringing true.

"I know I'm excited for the game tomorrow," James said before Miami's workout session on Saturday. "It hurt. We had time to let it hurt us as much as it could yesterday after the game. But today is a new day. And we're back and focused. We're a confident bunch. Me personally, I'm looking forward to the challenge. It's going to be fun."

___

AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Dallas contributed to this report.

___

Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

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SPORTS - Analysts wonder if labor will cost NBA momentum (AP)

SPORTS - Analysts wonder if labor will cost NBA momentum (AP)

AP – Miami Heat's Chris Bosh, left, LeBron James, center, and Dwyane Wade, right, prepare for the start of …

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Jun 4, 6:40 pm ET

DALLAS – So far in the NBA finals, television numbers have been skyrocketing, as was the case around the league for much of the season. ABC and ESPN had record viewership numbers all season for NBA telecasts.

Some would suggest interest in the league has never been higher.

Which begs the question: Would those eyeballs come back if next season is interrupted by labor strife?

It's one that ABC and ESPN analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy hope they don't see answered.

Both expressed concern Saturday over the direction the league's labor rift may be heading. More talks between the NBA and its players are scheduled to take place in Dallas over the coming days, though both parties — even while indicating some progress may have been made at a negotiating session in Miami after Game 1 of the finals — still appear to be bracing for a lockout to commence when the current collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30.

"Very concerned," Jackson said. "It's been an all-time great season from top to bottom. You can't go anywhere where people are not talking about the great stories that have occurred throughout the course of the year. It's important ownership, management, players, union get together and try to keep this momentum going. I think there's more than enough money available to make a deal where everybody will be happy. It's going to be interesting."

The NBA wants a hard salary cap, which players absolutely do not want to see. The current salary cap system allows for certain exceptions that permit teams to exceed it, such as to re-sign their own free agents. They wouldn't have that luxury under a hard cap system, potentially forcing teams to make some difficult decisions to stay below the threshold.

The league has also said it wants to cut player-salary costs by nearly $800 million a year.

Despite all the pressing labor matters, fans are watching in droves.

ABC's broadcasts of the first two games of the NBA finals drew an average of 15,347,000 viewers, up 28 percent over the last Miami-Dallas finals series in 2006 and even up 3 percent over what two traditional powerhouse franchises — the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics — lured last year. And around the league, viewership on regional sports networks was up 13 percent this season, the NBA said.

"If this does go to a lockout, it's different than the NFL," Van Gundy said Saturday. "There are real economic hardships that some teams are facing in the NBA losing money. The NFL, it's just, 'How much more do you want to make?'"

Months of NFL labor talks broke down on March 11 and plenty of discussion sessions since have not ended that dispute, placing the 2011 season in jeopardy. The NBA played a 50-game schedule instead of the customary 82 in the 1998-99 season because of a lockout.

"If you have a well-managed team, where whoever is making the business and basketball decisions, you should be guaranteed two things," Van Gundy said. "One, that you can earn a profit and two, that you have a chance to compete for a championship, no matter what city you're in. And I think right now, you can't say that that's possible under this system. But the first qualifier is being managed properly, and there's a lot of teams you could go say that the players (should not) have to buy you out of your mistakes."

Van Gundy is not cringing at the thought of a lockout this summer, though he clearly does not want to see next season interrupted, either.

He sees some potential benefits if everyone is forced into a break this summer, most notably rest from the demands of a long season, especially for young players — many of whom started training camp in September, play all fall and winter and then get asked to participate in summer leagues and other offseason workouts.

"God bless the lockout," Van Gundy said, "until September 1."

With two major leagues facing the same dilemma — even though the problems plaguing both are different — Jackson suggested it might be a good idea to get negotiating sides from the NFL and the NBA in the same room to work through deals.

"Let's get them all in a room and say, 'Fellas, do you understand what's at risk here? Do you understand what's going on in society today? Do you know how many people are hurting and struggling?'" Jackson said. "I'd bring football people in the same room and say, 'OK, let's find a way to get this done.' We can get it done where everybody's happy and continue to keep the momentum going."

___

Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

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SPORTS - Florida St. comes from behind to beat Alabama 9-5 (AP)

SPORTS - Florida St. comes from behind to beat Alabama 9-5 (AP)

AFP – China's Li Na kisses the trophy after winning the French Open. Li made sporting history when she …

by Allan Kelly Allan Kelly – Sat Jun 4, 12:23 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – Li Na made sporting history at the French Open on Saturday when she became the first player from China and from Asia to win a Grand Slam singles title.

The 29-year-old from Wuhan defeated defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) to take her place in the pantheon of Chinese sports stars.

Li clinched the watershed win with a superb 7-0 tie-break performance in the second set, falling onto her back in the red dirt when Schiavone hit long on match point.

It was a thrilling display of shot-making from the Chinese player who has said she hopes that by winning a Grand Slam title she will act as a catalyst for the growth of tennis in her giant homeland.

For 30-year-old Schiavone it was a bitter pill to swallow one year after she upset the odds to become Italy's first and so far only Grand Slam women's champion.

"I was 4-2 up and she tried to come back, but I just had to stand up again and I made it. I think everyone in China will be so excited," said Li, who has been a pioneer for the sport in her country throughout her career.

"I was nervous but I didn't want to show my opponent."

Schiavone said: "She played well. I couldn't push her from the baseline. Then we were closer. One has to lose, one has to win. She deserved to win."

In what was the the oldest Grand Slam singles final in 21 years, the combined ages of the two players was 60 years and 79 days.

Schiavone was looking to her claycourt expertise and experience of winning here last year to make the difference, while Li said that having played and lost a Grand Slam final already this year in Australia would help her confidence.

With the final broadcast live on television in China, where interest in her exploits has spiralled, Li had the first break point of the match on a sultry, still afternoon on the Philippe Chatrier centre court but she clattered a forehand long.

A tense, closely-fought start to the final pitted the wiry Schiavone's vicious top spin and tactical guile against the more powerful flat-hitting of the athletic Li and it was the Chinese seventh seed who drew first blood in the fifth game.

A poorly executed drop shot from Schiavone gave Li two break points and she took the second of these when an under-pressure Schiavone hit a forehand wide.

Li then held serve three consecutive times to take the first set 6-4 in 39 minutes and she looked in total charge of the final going into the second set.

She earned three more break points as Schiavone struggled to contain her weight of shot and the Chinese player let out a shout of triumph as she converted the final one of those.

Schiavone badly needed to find an answer to her opponent's domination and by throwing in some more variety in the next game she crafted her first break point of the final in the next game.

Li though swatted that aside with a big first serve and then confidently moved out into a 2-0 lead.

Another netted drop shot gave Li a further break point in the fifth game, but with the court wide open the sixth seed blasted a shoulder-high forehand into the net with a 4-1 lead on offer.

Li was proving steady as a rock on her own serve as she comfortably held for 4-2 and she saw another break point against Schiavone go astray in the next game.

The missed opportunities immediately came back to haunt her as she flung in three unforced errors when serving for a 5-3 lead and Schiavone pounced to secure her first service break of the match.

Both players then held serve twice to force the tie-break.

Li dominated that from the start, sweeping it 7-0, to gleefully write her name into the record books and open what could be a new era for the sport of tennis in China.

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SPORTS - Cazorla scores twice as Spain beats US 4-0 (AP)

SPORTS - Cazorla scores twice as Spain beats US 4-0 (AP)

AP – Spain's Santiago Cazorla, left, fights off the defensive pressure of he United States' Tim Ream during …

By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Jun 4, 6:50 pm ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Santi Cazorla scored twice to give World Cup champion Spain a 4-0 victory over the United States on Saturday as the Americans tuned up for the Gold Cup.

The victory avenged a loss in the semifinals of the 2009 Confederations Cup, when the Americans won 2-0 to snap top-ranked Spain's 35-match winning streak.

The international goals were the third and fourth for Cazorla in his career. He had not scored for Spain since a September 2009 World Cup qualifier against Estonia. Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Torres also scored for Spain, which started just six of the 11 players it began the World Cup final with last July.

Carles Puyol was recovering from knee surgery, Xavi Hernandez is resting after a grueling season for Barcelona, and Iker Casillas, Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriguez were on the bench for the start. Seven of Spain's starters were from Barcelona and Madrid, which played each other in four intense matches over 18 days.

Barcelona won the home-and-home to advance to the Champions League final, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey, and the teams drew in the league match.

The United States was missing Landon Donovan, who was back at the hotel with an undisclosed illness. U.S. Soccer spokesman Michael Kammarman said Donovan wasn't feeling well, and the decision was made to let him rest for Tuesday's Gold Cup opener against Canada in Detroit.

Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Steve Cherundolo came in as second-half substitutes, and captain Carlos Bocanegra didn't dress.

The crowd of 64,121 was the largest to watch a U.S. soccer game in New England, though just a bit short of a sellout. Many were red-clad supporters of Spain, and those there to see the Americans lost their enthusiasm after the home team fell behind 3-0 in a 13-minute span in the first half.

The most spirit they could muster was a "Let's Go, Bruins!" chant in support of the NHL team scheduled to play the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals later Saturday night.

Spain dominated the game, even moreso in the first half, with its first good chance in the ninth minute was waved off for offside. Negredo hit the crossbar in the 13th minute, and Spain finally scored in the 28th when David Silva worked the ball in and sent it across to Cazorla, who put it into the upper corner of the net to the goalkeeper's right.

In the 32nd minute, Xabi Alonso popped one from behind midfield to Negredo as he outran the defense, collected it outside the box and left-footed it into the net.

Cazorla scored again in the 41st minute, leaving goalkeeper Tim Howard banging his hands on his thighs in frustration.

Torres made it 4-0 in the 73rd, knocking it off one goalpost, then the other before it trickled over the line.

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SPORTS - Out of gas: Allgaier wins Nationwide race (AP)

SPORTS - Out of gas: Allgaier wins Nationwide race (AP)

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SPORTS - UFC's Lesnar has surgery for digestive disorder (AP)

SPORTS - UFC's Lesnar has surgery for digestive disorder (AP)

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SPORTS - James says Heat ready to move on from momentous meltdown (Reuters)

SPORTS - James says Heat ready to move on from momentous meltdown (Reuters)

AP – Boston Bruins left wing Mark Recchi scores past Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo during the second …

– 2 hrs 34 mins ago

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi ended a couple of playoff droughts that were starting to get a bit old.

The oldest player in the NHL at 43, Recchi scored his first goal in 12 games on a power play after the Bruins had only scored five previous times with the man advantage in the entire playoffs.

The goal gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, but the Canucks rallied to win 3-2 in overtime Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals. Only four of 46 teams have overcome a 2-0 deficit to win with hockey's biggest prize on the line.

It's a trophy Recchi has won twice, and the British Columbia native says he will retire if he adds a third title this year. He did everything he could Saturday night, going hard to the net to convert on the power play. The Bruins had one goal on 33 prior chances on the road.

Boston moved 6-foot-9 defenseman Zdeno Chara away from the net and back to the point, and his long wrist shot was deflected by Recchi over Roberto Luongo as the Bruins backed up their pledge about getting more traffic in front after they were shut out in the opener. But it wasn't enough for Boston, which needs to recover quickly before hosting Game 3 on Monday night and Game 4 on Wednesday night.

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SPORTS - History-maker Li wins French Open for China (AFP)

SPORTS - History-maker Li wins French Open for China (AFP)

AP – NASCAR driver Justin Allgaier celebrates with his crew after he won the Inaugural STP 300, a Nationwide …

By RICK GANO, AP Sports Writer Rick Gano, Ap Sports Writer – 1 hr 51 mins ago

JOLIET, Ill. – With the finish line coming fast on the final lap, Justin Allgaier saw Carl Edwards' car start to wobble as it ran out of fuel. And that's when Allgaier knew he would be able to get around him.

Allgaier made his move for the lead coming into the third turn and once he got by, his tank was empty, too. Somehow the momentum from having just a little bit more fuel allowed Allgaier to coast to the finish line Saturday night with Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne closing fast on both cars.

It was the only time Allgaier led all night at his hometown track, the Chicagoland Speedway. What a way to get his second career victory in the Nationwide Series, by winning the STP 300.

"I didn't know if we had enough time to get by him or not," said Allgaier, a native of Riverton. "He started wiggling pretty good and I knew he must have been out, so I got a big grin on my face ear-to-ear and turned left and as soon as I got even with him, mine ran out of fuel. I had just a little bit more momentum. I had probably an extra 100 feet of being on the throttle and not having the gas go."

Edwards, the points leader in the Sprint Cup series, thought he had enough fuel left to make it.

"With about five or six to go Justin really started coming so I just laid it down and started going," Edwards said.

Edwards said his initial reaction was to try to block Allgaier but then realized that might cause a wreck.

"As he went by me, he ran out of fuel, too, so if I could have gone just a little farther, literally 100 feet farther or 150 feet, I think we would have won the race," Edwards said. "They deserved it. They played the strategy better. But man that was tough to roll across that line with the engine shut off and just watch the car in front of you rolling, too. Another second of fuel it would have been a different story."

And what a story Bayne was in his first race since April 23 following a mysterious illness. He just couldn't quite catch Allgaier and Edwards, even after they ran out of gas.

"You know sitting there I was thinking as we were catching them at the line when they were out of gas, I'm like `Man, I should have started going six laps earlier,'" Bayne said.

"It was an awesome day for us, good recovery here."

Bayne spent time at the Mayo Clinic, doctors weren't sure of the causes of the inflammatory condition. Symptoms included impaired vision, fatigue, nausea and initially some numbness in his arm. But he was plenty good Saturday night after starting 31st and working his way up. And then he nearly won the race.

"Like we never left off," he said. "I'm really thankful to be back, where I could be sitting there in the hospital with a patch on my eye seeing two of you," he said. "I'm just thankful to be back and have everything OK."

Rain washed out qualifying and Bayne started 31st based on practice times. He quickly moved up 15 spots in the first 12 laps, passing Danica Patrick on the way. And by lap 20, he was all the way in 12th and then reached 10th on lap 23. On lap 57, the budding star had climbed all the way to sixth, showing that he had lost nothing during his long layoff from racing.

Bayne got to fifth on the 125th lap and then to fourth two laps later after a restart.

Patrick, in her first race since March 19, finished 10th. She started the race in the 16th position.

"To get that finish at a race that I haven't been in a car for a long time was a real positive," she said.

Whether she'll make the jump to NASCAR on a pretty-much full-time basis has been the big question. Patrick has made it known how much she enjoys competing at the Indianapolis 500 where she finished 10th last weekend.

Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Joe Nemechek earlier in the day were in Kansas City to qualify for Sunday's sprint cup race and then made a little less than an hour flight to compete in the Nationwide race.

Edwards took the lead on the 10th lap from pole sitter Aric Almirola and was ahead for 77 of the first 100 laps.

Sadler passed Edwards on the 152nd lap before Edwards took it back on the 175th. Edwards led for 144 laps on the 1.5-mile oval.

There were 21 lead changes and 12 drivers led, a Chicagoland Speedway record for a Nationwide race.

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SPORTS - Chavez dethrones Zbik for middleweight title (AFP)

SPORTS - Chavez dethrones Zbik for middleweight title (AFP)

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SPORTS - Cristie Kerr leads LPGA ShopRite Classic after 36 (AP)

SPORTS - Cristie Kerr leads LPGA ShopRite Classic after 36 (AP)

AP – File - In this Saturday, July 10, 2010 file photo, Jacques Rogge, left, President of the IOC, listens …

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By GERALD IMRAY, AP Sports Writer Gerald Imray, Ap Sports Writer – Thu May 26, 10:41 am ET

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa's Olympic committee president ruled out a bid for the 2020 Summer Games on Thursday after the government said it was not the right time.

The surprise announcement ended the widespread expectation that Durban would be put forward as a candidate to bring the Olympics to Africa for the first time.

Gideon Sam told The Associated Press that his committee would only bid if the government gave its backing, and the project "was off the radar for now" after South Africa's cabinet said it preferred to focus on national priorities.

"Our position is very clear," Sam said. "We would bid only if the government gives the go-ahead."

Asked if he was ruling out a bid from a South African city for 2020, Sam replied "Definitely."

Earlier Thursday, South Africa's government said it was not the right time for the country — which successfully hosted Africa's first soccer World Cup last year — to bid for the Olympics.

"Cabinet considered the request by the South African Sports Federation for the country to bid for the hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games," the statement said. "Cabinet has decided that it is better for the country to consolidate the gains of the 2010 FIFA World Cup for now and rather focus the country's attention to the delivery of basic services to all South Africans."

Cabinet spokesman Jimmy Manyi told the AP that there was no support for a possible bid within South Africa's government, leaving Sam's South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) with no option but to abandon its hopes of bringing the Olympics to Africa.

"No Olympic movement in any country can bid for an Olympics without government support," Sam said. "We always said we would be guided by the government. It is important to be guided by the people with the resources.

"There is not much a sport organization can do without government support."

Sam said South Africa might reconsider a bid for another Olympics "some time in the future."

Durban had been considered South Africa's most likely bid city, with July's International Olympic Committee session in the east coast city a perfect springboard for it to launch itself as a candidate.

The announcement Thursday came three days after the IOC opened the 2020 bidding process, inviting national Olympic committees to submit the names of candidate cities by Sept. 1.

So far, Rome is the only city put forward as a candidate.

Other possible contenders include Tokyo; Madrid; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The host city will be selected by the IOC in 2013.

The IOC said it accepted South Africa's decision and looked forward to an African bid in the future.

"The decision to bid for the Olympic Games requires not only the support from the sports community but also the full backing of a country's government," the IOC said in a statement. "We can only praise the great support South Africa received from the sports movement in its interest in hosting the Games but respect the government's decision not to go forward for social and economic reasons.

"We look forward to receiving a bid from Africa in the future."

After South Africa's successful hosting of the World Cup, the country was widely considered ready — a favorite even — to stage the Olympics in 2020. No African country has ever hosted the games. Cape Town bid unsuccessfully for the 2004 Olympics.

A 2020 bid from another African country appears unlikely. Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco have been mentioned as possible future candidates, though none appears ready yet to launch a bid.

South Africa's cabinet said in a brief statement that it wasn't ready to endorse an Olympic bid so soon after the country's historic — and widely praised — hosting of the continent's first World Cup.

Durban emerged as the front-runner in an internal process run by SASCOC, but Sam told the AP in an interview in London last month that the city — which hosted matches at the World Cup — would still require at least $4.5 billion to build new venues for the Olympics.

It was another major financial commitment to a sporting event that South Africa's government was not ready for.

The supply of basic services was a top issue in last week's local elections in South Africa.

The dominant African National Congress party, which has controlled the country since 1994 but lost some ground in the elections, has faced accusations that it has not done enough to alleviate poverty and provide services.

Some communities have held violent demonstrations over their lack of services such as electricity, running water and basic infrastructure.

___

AP Sports Writers Stephen Wilson in London and Andrew Dampf in Rome and Associated Press Writer Anita Powell in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

___

Gerald Imray can be reached at http://twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP

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SPORTS - Sloppy England scramble Swiss draw (AFP)

SPORTS - Sloppy England scramble Swiss draw (AFP)

AFP – England's midfielder Frank Lampard scores a penalty during their Euro 2012 qualifying football match …

by Rob Woollard Rob Woollard – Sat Jun 4, 5:07 pm ET

LONDON (AFP) – England fought back to snatch a 2-2 draw in their Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland here Saturday after two goalkeeping errors from Joe Hart threatened to send Fabio Capello's side spinning to defeat.

A Frank Lampard penalty and a second-half strike from substitute Ashley Young saved England's blushes after two first-half goals goals in three minutes from Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta gave Ottmar Hitzfeld's side a 2-0 lead.

But while England may take a crumb of satisfaction at having gained a draw which left them top of Group G on goal difference after closest rivals Montenegro drew 1-1 later against Bulgaria, Capello will be dismayed by a poor display.

Two bad mistakes by England gifted Switzerland their goals, and in the second half when the home side dominated, Capello's men were unable to find the winner having clawed the game back to 2-2 after 51 minutes.

Darren Bent, spearheading England in the absence of the suspended Wayne Rooney, prompted howls of disbelief when he missed an open goal from eight yards on 71 minutes out that would have sealed a vital three points for England.

Capello had encouraged his players to take holidays following the end of the Premier League season two weeks ago, and in a disastrous three-minute spell midway through the half England looked as if they were still on the beach.

However, Capello insisted his players were tired. "The difference between the two sides was that we lacked energy, always the same problem," he said.

"The Swiss were fresher. However, we ended up with a good result, I got a good reaction from the players in the second half but as always at this stage of the season we were without energy."

Switzerland coach Hitzfeld was satisfied with a point but admitted he was disappointed his side were unable to defend a two-goal lead.

"If I had been offered a 2-2 draw at Wembley beforehand I would have taken it," Hitzfeld said. "But we wanted to win. In the first 10 minutes we had more shots on goal than in our game against last game put together."

"There's a little bit of disappointment of course. If you're leading 2-0 in England there's hope that you can hold on. But there's no reason to reprimand the team. They did everything they could."

Hart was at fault for both of Barnetta's goals on 32 and 35 minutes, which both came from free-kicks out on the left.

The first came when Barnetta swung in a hopeful setpiece that eluded everyone in the box and bounced past the England goalkeeper to make it 1-0.

It got worse three minutes later. This time the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder drilled his setpiece towards the near post, and when England's two-man wall of Theo Walcott and James Milner parted, Barnetta's shot squeezed past Hart.

Capello however refused to blame Hart for either goal.

"The first should have been cleared by a defender heading it away and the second those two players should never have parted. That was a really big mistake," said Capello.

The disgust of England captain John Terry was evident but crucially the home side were able to conjure an immediate response, Jack Wilshere surging into the penalty area only to be brought down by Arsenal team-mate Johan Djourou.

Lampard stepped up to blast in the spot-kick and England had been given a vital lifeline.

With Young replacing Lampard at half-time, Capello had clearly decided England needed more pace in attack and the home side threatened within seconds of the restart, when Walcott burst forward only to be brought down by Djourou.

England appealed for a penalty but referee Damir Skomina was unimpressed.

Yet England did not have long to wait before they were level. Milner clipped a cross to Leighton Baines, on for the injured Ashley Cole, who chested into the path of Young for the Aston Villa striker to drive home.

The momentum clearly with England, it looked only a matter of time before Capello's men took the lead.

A lovely run and pass from Wilshere released Bent on 65 minutes but the striker took too long to get his shot away and Swiss keeper Diego Benaglio cleared.

Then on 69 minutes Walcott sliced open the Swiss defence and squared for Young, who scooped his shot over the bar.

But the most glaring miss came two minutes later, and Bent was again the culprit.

Young went on a mazy solo run and shot to test Benaglio, whose save fell invitingly into Bent's path. Yet with an open goal awaiting Bent somehow managed to shoot over the bar.

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SPORTS - China savors Li Na's French Open win (AP)

SPORTS - China savors Li Na's French Open win (AP)

AP – Li Na of China holds the trophy after defeating Francesca Schiavone of Italy in two sets 6-4, 7-6, in …

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press – Sat Jun 4, 1:35 pm ET

BEIJING – Li Na's landmark French Open win Saturday drew a massive outpouring of support in China, captivating a nation where tennis' popularity has been growing rapidly.

"People now can feel it, that Chinese tennis is just too tough. This has left a really deep impression on the world," announcer Tong Kexin said on state broadcaster CCTV. "Li Na truly deserves to be called a great champion."

CCTV added the banner "We love you Li Na," to their gushing post-match coverage after Li became China's first Grand Slam champion by beating Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the women's final.

The official Xinhua News Agency sent out a news flash shortly after Li's victory.

"In such a great final, Li Na deserved the win," Xinhua wrote.

Excitement was all over the faces of fans who gathered at the Green Bank Tennis Club on Beijing's northern edge to eat barbecue, drink beer and see China's long wait for a Grand Slam champion finally come to an end. Watching the award ceremony on a big-screen TV set up on the court, they cheered, jumped the net and waved Chinese flags.

"Throughout China's history people knew nothing of tennis. Now we're standing on the summit of the world game," said Zhang Yueming, the club's general manager.

Chen Jiaojiao, who said she hails from Li's home province of Hubei, called the win "a huge boost of confidence for Chinese tennis."

"She's brought the country so much glory. She's really incredible," Chen said.

China is experiencing the second wave of Li fever this year following her runner-up finish at the Australian Open that saw her dubbed "the pride of China" by the mainstream media.

Chinese tennis federation head Sun Jinfang was widely quoted at the time as comparing Li to Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and Olympic hurdle champion Liu Xiang, until now China's best known international professional athletes.

Still, the celebrations on Saturday might have been bigger under different circumstances. Li clinched the victory shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time on a holiday weekend when many Chinese had left the cities to visit family. Tennis is considered an elite sport in China and while the numbers of players are growing quickly, it still runs far behind basketball, soccer, table tennis and other sports in numbers of participants.

Li's victory is expected to change that, a prospect she addressed in her post-match remarks to CCTV.

"I hope that lots of kids see my performance and in their hearts feel that one day they can do even better than me," she said.

Tennis fan Shi Xinli predicted the win's effect on Chinese tennis would be "like a mighty storm."

"I don't know how many kids are going to be taking it up, how many parents are going to be paying for lessons," said Shi, a stock investor.

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SPORTS - Burrows scores fast in OT, Canucks lead Bruins 2-0 (AP)

SPORTS - Burrows scores fast in OT, Canucks lead Bruins 2-0 (AP)

AP – Vancouver Canucks left wing Alex Burrows scores the winning goal during the first overtime period as …

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham, Ap Sports Writer – 1 min ago

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – In a mere 11 seconds, Alex Burrows used the strengths of the Boston Bruins' two best defensive players against them.

In one electric moment, the Vancouver Canucks' scrappy forward made sure he'll be remembered for something other than his infamous bite in the Stanley Cup finals.

Everybody knew Burrows was fast. Just not this fast.

Burrows circled the net and scored a stunning goal right off the overtime faceoff, capping a three-point night and ending the Canucks' 3-2 win in Game 2 Saturday night with the second-speediest overtime goal in NHL playoff and finals history.

Vancouver took a 2-0 lead in the finals heading to Boston for Game 3 on Monday thanks to the brilliance of Burrows, who avoided suspension for this game after being accused of biting Boston's Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 — but still endured criticism from fans and media.

"My parents don't really like the negative press I get sometimes," Burrows said. "It hurts them, not me. My dad told me I should go out and score some goals, because that's what's really going to hurt them."

Burrows scored on a power play in the first period, and he even set up Daniel Sedin's tying goal midway through the third period with a sharp pass from the slot.

And after the overtime draw, Burrows received a pass from Sedin and streaked down the side, eluding Boston captain Zdeno Chara behind the net. He extended his stick for a wraparound shot, beating out-of-position goalie Tim Thomas for his second goal of the game.

"As soon as I got the puck, I knew I was going to fake a shot and then try to beat him," Burrows said. "I lost the puck in front of Tim Thomas, but I got it back, and I got it in."

Burrows' speed turned the strengths of Chara and Thomas into huge problems. Although the 6-foot-9 Chara is a massive obstacle, he wasn't mobile enough to match Burrows' slick turn behind the net, not even with his enormous reach.

Thomas is an aggressive goalie with a Vezina Trophy at home, but his aggression sometimes gets him away from the net.

"We knew our scouting report on Thomas," Burrows said. "We know he likes to come out and challenge and freeze you, so if I shoot there, I think he stops it and covers all the angles, so I wanted to walk around."

Burrows' goal nearly was the fastest OT goal in finals history, taking just a bit longer than Brian Skrudland's goal for Montreal 9 seconds into Game 2 against Calgary on May 18, 1986.

"Burr comes in to make a sick play," said NHL scoring champion Sedin, who tied it with 10:23 left in the third period. "It was crazy. Outreach a 6-(foot)-9 player? I didn't think he was going to be able to score from where he was. I don't know what happened, but it was really nice to see it go in."

Roberto Luongo made 28 saves for the Canucks, and Thomas stopped 30 shots for the Bruins. He was left lamenting his positional error after another otherwise strong finals game, which ended with his net unguarded.

"A mistake is a mistake, no matter what," Thomas said. "You've just got to move on."

Only four teams have rallied from an 0-2 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup finals in 46 tries, although Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins did it against Detroit in 2009.

Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic scored for the Bruins, who trailed 0-2 in the first round against Montreal — losing both games at home — before rallying to win the series in seven games.

"It was better today than in Game 1, and we're going to have to keep that up if we want to score some more goals," Lucic said.

Recchi put the Bruins ahead in the second period with a power-play goal just 2:35 after Lucic scored Boston's first goal of the finals. Recchi, the NHL's oldest active player at 43, ended the Bruins' 5-for-68 power-play drought with a deflection from the slot.

"I think we lost the game ourselves," Boston forward David Krejci said. "Obviously they played well, but we had the game in our hands and we just gave it away."

The Canucks got a pregame boost from the inspirational return of center Manny Malhotra, who hadn't played since incurring a career-threatening eye injury on March 16. The Canucks also played without top defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who missed his first game of the playoffs after getting hurt midway through Game 1 while delivering a check. Andrew Alberts filled in, playing his first game in four weeks.

But until Sedin's late goal, Boston played a second straight game of impressive shutdown defense against Vancouver's vaunted top line featuring the NHL's last two scoring champions — Daniel and twin brother Henrik Sedin.

Turns out the Bruins should have been paying attention to Burrows, their less-heralded linemate who has 17 points in the postseason.

"We're not a team that panics," Vancouver center Ryan Kesler said. "We're a team that bears down. If we're going to lose, we're going to lose giving it our all. Every shift counts in the playoffs, and we battle right to the end."

Burrows scored his first goal while skating on Vancouver's second-team, power-play unit with just 12 seconds left in the man advantage, taking a short pass from Chris Higgins and flicking a shot under Thomas' arm.

The Bruins had scored just one goal in their previous seven periods of playoff hockey before Lucic finally ended the drought in the second period. The Vancouver native bulled into the slot and batted the rebound of Johnny Boychuk's shot under Luongo's extended pad.

The goal ended Luongo's playoff shutout streak at 137 minutes, 26 seconds.

Recchi put the Bruins ahead 2:35 later, scoring just their second road power-play goal of the entire postseason. The veteran forward from nearby Kamloops, British Columbia, artfully deflected a heavy shot by Chara, who moved back to the point on Boston's power play after playing in front of Luongo in Game 1.

The Bruins had just one goal on the power play in six games before Recchi scored. Recchi, who plans to retire if the Bruins win the Cup, hadn't scored in 11 previous playoff games since April 30.

The Sedins' line finally connected midway through the third period after Daniel took the puck away from Chara in Boston's end. Burrows eventually found Daniel Sedin on the other side of Thomas' net, and the Hart Trophy finalist fired home his ninth goal of the postseason.

Malhotra seemed unlikely to make an impact on Vancouver's playoff run when a deflected puck hit him in the face nearly three months ago. He needed two operations around his left eye, yet the cerebral faceoff specialist and defensive forward surprised the Canucks with his rapid recovery, returning to practice three weeks ago.

After a false start before Game 1, Malhotra was ready Saturday. When he stepped on the ice wearing a full face shield for pregame warmups, Vancouver's fans rose and roared, waving white towels — and when his face appeared on the scoreboard between warmups and the opening faceoff, the crowd chanted his name.

When Malhotra stepped onto the ice 1:48 into the first period for a faceoff at center ice, he got an arena-shaking ovation — and he won the draw cleanly.

Malhotra played nearly 7 1/2 minutes and won 86 percent of his faceoffs.

Vancouver is chasing the first NHL title in its four-decade franchise history after two previous failed trips to the finals. The Bruins haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1972, losing their last five finals appearances.

NOTES: The Canucks haven't lost at home since May 7. ... Alberts hadn't played since May 3, sitting out nine games as a healthy scratch. ... Thomas broke Andy Moog's franchise record for minutes played in a single postseason. Moog played 1,196 minutes during Boston's run to the 1990 finals. ... Vancouver native Cobie Smulders, who plays an avid Canucks fan on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and in real life, attended the game with her partner, Taran Killam of "Saturday Night Live."

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