Spurs rout Heat 113-77 in Game 3 of NBA Finals

The San Antonio Spurs set an NBA Finals record with 16 3-pointers in a 113-77 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, taking a 2-1 series lead.Danny Green hit seven of nine 3s in his 27 points while Gary Neal was six of 10 from deep in his 24. Tim Duncan chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who responded to a 19-point drubbing in Game 2 with a blowout of their own.Miami's four-time MVP LeBron James was held to 15 points on 7-of-21 shooting. James also had 11 rebounds and five assi

More SportsJune 12, 2013

S. Korea squeezes past Uzbekistan in World Cup qualifier

South Korea squeezed past Uzbekistan 1-0 in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, taking a huge step toward another appearance at the quadrennial tournament.On the rainy night at Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Korea built a first-half lead on an own goal by Uzbekistan and hung on for dear life for the crucial victory. The win kept South Korea at the top of Group A with 14 points, three better than Uzbekistan. Iran, which has 10 points in third place, was to play Lebanon early Wednesday in Korean

SoccerJune 11, 2013

Russia to host 2015 Taekwondo Championships

Russia was selected to host the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships at a council meeting of the sport’s governing body in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday. The World Taekwondo Federation members voted for the Russian city of Chelyabinsk over Brazil and Vietnam for the biennial competition scheduled Sept. 16-23 in 2015. During the meeting, the council members also made selections for other WTF events. Ivory Coast earned the right to host the World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in Abidjan in Novemb

More SportsJune 11, 2013

Nadal bags 8th French title

PARIS (AP) ― If Rafael Nadal truly was going to be challenged, if his bid for an unprecedented eighth French Open championship would be slowed even a bit, this might have been the moment.Leading by a set and a break 70 minutes into Sunday’s final against David Ferrer, another generally indefatigable Spaniard, Nadal faced four break points in one game. The last was a 31-stroke exchange, the match’s longest, capped when Nadal absorbed Ferrer’s strong backhand approach and transformed it into a cro

More SportsJune 10, 2013

Uggla’s 2 homers power Braves past Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Dan Uggla had two homers and four RBIs, Freddie Freeman drove in three more runs with a double, and Mike Minor kept the Atlanta Braves’ rotation rolling with six solid innings in an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.Minor (8-2) allowed a run and six hits, struck out six and walked three while helping the NL East leaders gain a split of the four-game series. The left-hander is 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA over his last seven starts.Atlanta’s rotation has yielded four ru

BaseballJune 10, 2013

Park In-bee wins Wegmans LPGA Championship for second straight major

Park In-bee captured the Wegmans LPGA Championship for her second straight major title in New York on Sunday.The world No. 1-ranked female golfer defeated Catriona Matthew of Scotland in the sudden death playoff at the Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York.On the third playoff hole, the par-4 18th, Park scored a birdie to beat Matthew for her seventh career LPGA win and her third major overall. Park claimed US$337,500 in the winner's check.On the decisive hole, Park found the fairway o

GolfJune 10, 2013

Makarova and Vesnina win French Open women's doubles

PARIS (AFP) -- Russian fourth seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina won the French Open women's doubles title on Sunday by defeating top seeds Sara Errani amd Roberta Vinci of Italy 7-5, 6-2 in the final.It was a first Grand Slam title for the Russian pair and it was the first time they had beaten the Italians in five attempts, their last encounter being a semi-final loss at the Australian Open in January.Errani and Vinci have been the dominant women's doubles team in the world over the las

More SportsJune 9, 2013

[Newsmaker] Son wins gold at Asian Gymnastics

Gymnast Son Yeon-jae won three gold medals at the Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, becoming the first South Korean to win gold at an international rhythmic gymnastic event.The 19-year-old began her winning streak by clinching the individual all-round final on Friday with 72.066 points in the multi-sport competition combining hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. She outperfomed Rakhmatova Djamila of Uzbekistan with 70.599 points and Deng Senyue of China with 70.250, who t

More SportsJune 9, 2013

Palace Malice scores upset

NEW YORK (AP) ― Palace Malice took charge on the turn for home and won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, holding off Preakness winner Oxbow and Kentucky Derby winner Orb.The win gave Todd Pletcher his second Belmont win in six years, and vindicated the trainer’s support of a 3-year-old who came into the final leg of the Triple Crown with only one victory.Palace Malice, who finished 12th in the Derby and skipped the Preakness, covered the 1 1/2 miles in a slow 2:30.70 on a fast track following a 24

More SportsJune 9, 2013

Pressel takes 2-shot lead at LPGA

PITTSFORD, New York (AP) ― Morgan Pressel slogged through rain and muck to take the lead Saturday after two rounds in the LPGA Championship. Next up is a 36-hole marathon Sunday.“I run a lot,” Pressel said, laughing. “I’m in plenty good of enough shape to get through 36 holes tomorrow.”She shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday at Locust Hill to reach 6-under 138 ― two shots ahead of the top-ranked Park In-bee and Chella Choi in the second LPGA Tour major of the season.Park had a 68 to give herself an op

GolfJune 9, 2013

Marlins outlast Mets in 20

NEW YORK (AP) ― In the longest major league game in more than three years, Adeiny Hechavarria hit an RBI single in the 20th inning and the Miami Marlins outlasted the New York Mets 2-1 on Saturday, well after Matt Harvey left with lower back tightness following another stingy start.Steve Cishek retired Daniel Murphy on a fly ball to the left-field warning track for the final out of a game that took 6 hours, 25 minutes. It started 5 1/2 hours before the Belmont Stakes ― and still ended around an

BaseballJune 9, 2013

After last year’s debacle, Serena beats Sharapova for French Open title

PARIS (AP) ― Serena Williams knew, of course, that 11 years had passed since her only French Open championship.She also knew, of course, what happened a year ago in Paris: the only first-round Grand Slam loss of her career, to a woman ranked outside the top 100, no less.Eager to repeat the elation of 2002, and motivated by the disappointment of 2012, Williams used terrific defense and her usual powerful hitting in Saturday’s final, closing with a crescendo of aces ― three in the last game ― for

More SportsJune 9, 2013