THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012
PAGE 23
NBA FINALS
Heat hold home court, take 2-1 lead over Thunder
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MIAMI — LeBron James and the Heat remember the pain from a year ago.
They needed two wins for a title and never got another, their superstar player coming up small in the biggest moments — *a* finals failure for which
James has accepted the blame.
He seems determined not to let it happen again.
James had 29 points and 14 rebounds, and the Miami Heat took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals with a 91-85 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.
Dwyane Wade had 25 points, seven
rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who were in this same position through three games last year, then didn't win again against the Dallas Mavericks.
Kevin Durant had 25 points for the Thunder, but picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and had to go to the bench when they had seemed to
have control of the game.
"It was frustrating," Durant said. "Of course we had a good lead and they came back and made some shots. We fouled shooters on the 3-point line twice. It's a tough break for us, man. You know, I hate sitting on the bench, especially with fouls."
The Thunder were just 4 of 18 on
3-pointers and hit only 15 of 24 free throws. Harden, the Sixth Man of the Year, shot 2 of 10 for his nine points. Westbrook finished with 19 points.
The Heat survived their own fourthquarter sloppiness — nine turnovers — by getting enough big plays from their Big Three.
New head coaches impressed with Big 12, adjust
Game 4 is Tuesday night.
BIG 12
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From left are Trent Johnson, in a 2011 file photo; Bob Huggins, in a 2011 file photo, and Bruce Weber, in a 2012 file photo. The Big 12 has a trio of new coaches; Johnson at TCU, Huggins of West Virginia, and Weber at Kansas State, who'll spend their summers getting to know a new league.
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First-year Kansas State coach Bruce Weber is so new to the Big 12 that he called into his first league teleconference from Champaign, Ill., as movers were packing his family's belongings for the journey to Manhattan, Kan.
Weber, West Virginia's Bob Huggins and TCU's Trent Johnson are the newest coaches to join the Big 12.
Weber, who was fired by Illinois in March after nine seasons, has been impressed with what he's seen so far after being immersed in the Big Ten.
"The success of the Big 12 as a basketball conference, a football conference, is just pretty eye-opening to be honest. Our whole staff, that's the one thing we've talked a lot about," Weber said Thursday in a call with reporters. "Comparing to the Big Ten, probably a little better athlete and maybe a little bit more open, up and down."
Huggins said that one of the changes that fans in Morgantown are most excited about in the leap from the 16team Big East to the Big 12 will be the true round-robin schedule.
It should help the Mountaineers generate some heated rivalries before
long.
"There were times, I think we played at Syracuse four years in a row and I think Louisville played at our place four years in a row. You don't get to see
all the teams." Huggins said. "I don't think you develop the rivalry like you do when you're playing people on a home-and-home basis like we're going to be able to do."
Johnson left LSU after four seasons to take over at a school that got an invitation to the Big 12 based on its football success.
"There's some excitement, but also
there's a curiosity and there's a wait- and-see approach or a wait-and-see attitude. Can we compete? Can we get it done at this level? And that's good," Johnson said.
MLB
MLB,KU Hospital partner to provide first aid for events
On June 6, 2012 the University of Kansas Hospital was named as "The Official Healthcare Provider for Major League Baseball AllStar Week."
In a news release by the hospital, Major League Baseball Properties and University of Kansas Hospital announced that KU physicians and nurses will be
providing first aid during All-Star Week.
The hospital is the primary health care provider for the Royals players. This agreement expands the roles of the hospital to provide further care for both fans and players.
Bob Page, president and CEO of The University of Kansas Hospital, said he is excited to be a part of All-Star Week and is thankful for the Royals' support.
"The University of Kansas Hospital will provide our fans
the best care available if they need medical assistance at any of our All-Star events," said Lou Koskovolis, senior vice president of corporate sales & marketing for the MLB. "We are thrilled to have this level of comprehensive health care experts on our team."
All-Star Week is July 6 through 10 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. For more information, check out www.allstargame. com.
—Roya Ibrahimi
MLS
Sporting KC gets win No.9 over Toronto
KANSAS CITY, Kan.—C.J. Sapong and Julio Cesar scored in the first half to help Sporting Kansas City beat Toronto FC 2-0 on Saturday night, spoiling the debut of new manager Paul Mariner.
Mariner, who had been Toronto's director of player development, took over last week when Aron Winter was fired when a 1-9-0 start
Graham Zusi had his eighth assist for Sporting (9-3-1),moving
him back into a share of the MLS lead with Dwayne De Rosario of D.C. United, and Jimmy Nielsen made three saves for his sixth shutout.
Sapong put Kansas City up 1-0 in the 18th minute, scoring from close range after a cross from Jacob Peterson, and Julio Cesar added an insurance goal in the 35th when he volleyed home Zusi's corner kick from the top right corner of the 6-yard box.
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