CONCACAF GOLD CUP

Group A

Costa Rica 5 Cuba 0

21 year old Marcos Ureña scored a pair of goals and Real Salt Lake's Alvaro Saborio added another as Costa Rica opened up the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 5-0 route over Cuba. Heiner Mora and substitute Joel Campbell also added goals for Los Ticos. Cuba meanwhile has not won in the Gold Cup since 2003 when they defeated Canada 2-0. Saborio, the lone MLSer on the Costa Rican squad scored his 23rd international goal and second of 2011 having also notched a goal against China in a March friendly. Saborio scored twice for Costa Rica in the 2009 Gold Cup against Guadeloupe.

Mexico 5 El Salvador 0

After a scoreless first half, Mexico scored 5 times after the break to route El Salvador 5-0. Manchester United's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez netted a hat trick and Efrain Juarez and substitute Aldo De Nigris also scored for El Tri as Mexico matched Costa Rica's game one output to leave the two Central American squads tied atop Group A. With the 3 goals, Chicharito now has scored 17 times with the Senior National Team in just 24 games. Rafa Marquez who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls came on as a second half substitute in the 67th minute after Mexico went up 4-0. El Salvador, meanwhile, features a pair of MLS players on their roster, Portland Timbers defender Steve Purdy and Real Salt Lake midfielder Arturo Alvarez, but neither appeared in their opener.

Stanley Cup Finals - Game 2

VANCOUVER 3 BOSTON 2 - Vancouver leads series 2-0

Goals:

VAN- Alex Burrows 2 (9), Daniel Sedin (9)
BOS- Milan Lucic (4), Mark Recchi (3)

The Canucks took a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night as they brought Canada one step closer to having a Championship team again. Alex Burrows, public enemy number one in Boston after his game one biting incident with Patrice Bergeron, scored his second goal of the game 11 seconds into the overtime period to give the Canucks the win. It was the second fastest goal ever scored in an overtime period behind Montreal's Brian Skrudland scored 9 seconds into Game 2 of the 1986 finals for the Montreal Canadiens against the Calgary Flames. The Bruins once again find themselves in a big hole, but they know all too well that this series is far from over. Already once this postseason, the B's overcame a 2-0 deficit when they bounced back to beat the Canadiens in 7 games. And last year they were on the wrong side of the Flyers erasing a 3-0 series deficit, eventually blowing a 3 goal lead in Game 7 to get themselves eliminated. The series returns to Boston tonight for Game 3 so expect the Garden to be rocking as the Bruins try to get themselves back into the series. Puck drops at 8 Eastern, but the game will be televised on Versus.

Some other notes on Game 2:

*Vancouver's first goal was their 18th power play goal of the postseason. Boston meanwhile who got a power play goal from Mark Recchi in the second period only has 6 and has converted just 8.6% of the time in the playoffs.

*Only four teams have rallied to win the Stanley Cup finals after following behind 2 games to 0. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the last to accomplish the feat back in 2009 against Detroit.

*43 year old Mark Recchi's goal was his 3rd of the postseason and his 59th career playoff goal in 184 games. This is the 14th time Recchi has suited up for the postseason with appearances for the Canadiens, Flyers, Hurricanes, Penguins and Bruins.

*After scoring two goals in a game just twice during the regular season, Alex Burrows has now done it twice in the postseason tallying both goals in Game 7 against Chicago and now in Game 2 against the Bruins.

*Canuck center Manny Malhotra returned to action for the first time since March 16th when he was struck in the eye with a puck. Following multiple surgeries, Malhotra wasn't supposed to be back for any of the postseason, but his return ahead of schedule provided a huge emotional lift for the Canucks. The 30 year old Mahotra skated just 7:26 in 13 shifts. In his first season with the Canucks he had 11 goals and 19 assists in 72 games.

*Vancouver's top defenseman Dan Hamhuis missed Game 2 after injuring himself on a hipcheck of Milan Lucic in Game 1.

*After tallying 12 points in 5 games against the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals, Henrik Sedin has been shut out in 2 games against the Bruins.

Top Tens

Men's Tennis Rankings

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 12070 points
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 12025 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 9230 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 6625 points
5. Robin Soderling (Sweden) - 4595 points
6. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4150 points
7. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 3490 points
8. Gael Monfils (France) - 2780 points
9. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2440 points
10. Andy Roddick (USA) - 2200 points

Out: Jurgen Melzer (11)



Women's Tennis Rankings

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 9915 points
2. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - 8215 points
3. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 7935 points
4. Li Na (China) - 6475 points
5. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 5920 points
6. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 5221 points
7. Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - 4646 points
8. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 4018 points
9. Marion Bartoli (France) - 3740 points
10. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 4645 points

OUT: Jelena Jankovic (15)



FedEx Cup Points Leaders

1. Luke Donald 1432 (2)
2. Bubba Watson 1411 (1)
3. Mark Wilson 1321 (3)
4t. Matt Kuchar 1247 (-)
4t. Phil Mickelson 1247 (6)
6. Nick Watney 1241 (4)
7. K.J. Choi 1236 (6)
8. David Toms 1229 (5)
9. Gary Woodland 1170 (10)
10. Martin Laird 1129 (8)


OUT: Rory Sabbatini (13)



AL Leading Hitters (through Sunday)

1. Jose Bautista TOR - .348 (63/181)
2. Matt Joyce TB - .348 (64/184)
3. Adrian Gonzalez BOS - .339 (83/245)
4. David Ortiz BOS - .325 (69/212)
5. Jhonny Peralta DET - .320 (57/178)
6. Michael Young TEX - .319 (74/232)
7. Miguel Cabrera DET - .313 (63/201)
8. Paul Konerko CHW - .313 (68/217)
9. Mitch Moreland TEX - .313 (55/176)
10. Jason Kubel MIN - .310 (62/200)



NL Leading Hitters (through Sunday)

1. Joey Votto CIN - .338 (72/213)
2. Jose Reyes NYM - .337 (82/243)
3. Lance Berkman STL - .329 (55/167)
4. Andre Ethier LAD - .325 (69/212)
5. Matt Kemp LAD - .323 (71/220)
6. Gaby Sanchez FLA - .321 (71/221)
7. Yadier Molina STL - .321 (59/184)
8. Placido Polanco PHI - .320 (74/231)
9. Brett Wallace HOU - .319 (61/191)
10. Hunter Pence HOU - .310 (77/248)




AL ERA Leaders (through Sunday)

1. Josh Beckett BOS - 2.01 (4-2)
2. Jered Weaver LAA - 2.14 (7-4)
3. Alexi Ogando TEX - 2.20 (6-0)
4. Dan Haren LAA - 2.29 (5-3)
5. Michael Pineda SEA - 2.30 (6-2)
6. Gio Gonzalez OAK - 2.49 (5-3)
7. Jeremy Hellickson TB - 2.64 (7-3)
8. Trevor Cahill OAK - 2.65 (6-3)
9. James Shields TB - 2.77 (5-4)
10. CC Sabathia NYY - 2.80 (7-3)



NL ERA Leaders (through Sunday)

1. Josh Johnson FLA - 1.64 (3-1)
2. Jair Jurrjens ATL - 1.75 (7-2)
3. Kyle Lohse STL - 2.41 (7-2)
4. Charlie Morton PIT - 2.52 (6-2)
5. Roy Halladay PHI - 2.56 (8-3)
6. Tim Lincecum SF - 2.59 (5-4)
7. Shaun Marcum MIL - 2.78 (6-2)
8. Tommy Hanson ATL - 2.82 (6-4)
9. Cole Hamels PHI - 2.83 (7-2)
10. Anibal Sanchez FLA - 2.97 (5-1)



Photos Courtesy (in order of appearance):

livetennisguide.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
whatsinthegolfbag.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com

French Open Champions

Congratulations to China's Li Na and Spain's Rafael Nadal for bringing home this year's French Open singles titles. Na became the first Chinese athlete, man or woman, to bring home one of tennis's Grand Slam singles titles when she defeated the reigning French Open champ, Italy's Francesca Schiavone in straight sets 6-4, 7-6. Na, who is expected to make the jump to 4th in the World in today's new release of the WTA rankings played in her first Grand Slam final earlier this year when she lost at the Australian Open to Kim Clijsters. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the 6th time by defeating rival Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1. The win was his 10th career Grand Slam title and he tied Bjorn Borg for the record of most French Open wins. In his career Nadal is now 45-1 at the French Open, losing only in 2009 to Robin Soderling. Against Federer, who himself has 16 Grand Slams to his name, he improved to 17-8 and 5-0 at the French Open.

NBA Finals - Game 2

Ok, so if you haven't heard by now, the Miami Heat had a total meltdown at the end of Game 2. Already up 1-0 in the series, Dwyane Wade hit a corner 3-pointer with 7:13 to play in the 4th quarter to put Miami up by 15 points. Admittedly at this point I changed the channel in disgust opting to watch the two worst teams in the National League (Houston and San Diego) play one another. I did however flip back a few minutes later and see that it was now 88-77 and then 88-81. Then 90-84. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Dallas tied the game and then took the lead. HOW??? Let's look at what Miami did in the last 7 minutes of the game on offense.

Possession 1: Up by 15 - Dwyane Wade - missed 3-pointer
Possession 2: Up by 13 - Mario Chalmers - missed 3-pointer
Possession 3: Up by 11 - LeBron James - missed driving layup
Possession 4: Up by 9 - Chris Bosh - missed 21 footer
Possession 5: Up by 7 - LeBron James - fouled by Tyson Chandler on a drive, hits two free throws.
Possession 6: Up by 6 - LeBron James - missed 16 footer
Possession 7: Up by 4 - Chris Bosh - turnover
Possession 8: Up by 2 - Udonis Haslem - missed 15 footer
Possession 9: Up by 2 - LeBron James - missed 3-pointer
Offensive Rebound - LeBron James - missed 3-pointer
Offensive Rebound - Udonis Haslem - turnover
Possession 10: Tie Game - Dwyane Wade - missed 3-pointer
Possession 11: Down by 3 - Mario Chalmers - made 3-pointer (blown coverage on inbounds play)
Possession 12: Down by 2 - Dwyane Wade - missed 3-pointer

12 possessions, 5 points. And their only basket came when Jason Terry blew a coverage on an inbounds play after going DOWN by three points allowing LeBron James to find a wide open Mario Chalmers for the uncontested 3-pointer. Other than that? Miami took 10 shots and missed all of them, including 6 3-point attempts. Over the final 7:13, Dallas was outscored 22-5 by the Mavericks, one of the biggest meltdowns in finals history. Instead of running plays, Miami instead opted for isolations and settled for contested long jump-shots. Dwyane Wade had 36 points, but he did not attempt a 2-point shot (he hit 11 of 13 of those in the game) or a free throw (12 attempts prior to the meltdown) in the final 7:13 instead shooting 3s and missing them. Wade and James combined to hit just 4 of 14 3-point attempts, which isn't BAD, but it isn't good either. Perhaps more telling is that Miami attempted 30 3-pointers in Game 2. Dallas, a team known for their 3-point shooting, only attempted 17.

Dallas meanwhile was able to get out in transition a little bit and make some shots and for the third time this postseason, erased a 15 point deficit.In Game 1 against the Lakers, they trailed 60-44 with 10:38 to play in the 3rd quarter before stealing the game 96-94 in L.A. In Game 4 against the Thunder, the Mavs led the series 2-1, but they trailed Oklahoma City, again on the road, 99-84 with 5:05 to play before going on a 17-2 run to close out regulation and a 28-6 run to finish their 112-105 overtime win. And now this. Three road games against three GOOD teams. Unbelievable.


In Game 1, Miami had a considerable rebounding edge grabbing 16 offensive rebounds and outrebounding the Mavs 46-36. In Game 2 Dallas made the adjustment and outrebounded Miami 41-30 limiting the Heat to just 6 offensive rebounds. Still, Game 2 featured 20 Mavericks turnovers that led to 31 Miami points. And they STILL found a way to win. To make matters worse for the Heat, they not only wasted a big game for Dwyane Wade with his aforementioned 36 points, but they also wasted Mike Bibby's best game of the postseason. Bibby scored 14 points draining 4 3-pointers (the same amount he'd hit in each of the first three 5-game series), but it was for nothing. It was the first time this postseason Bibby'd been in double figures. Equally concerning for the Heat, Chris Bosh hit 4 of 16 shots in Game 2 after hitting 5 of 18 in Game 1. AND he got torched by Dirk on the game's final play. Where's his head going to be at headed to Dallas (where he's from) for Game 3?

Speaking of Dirk, let's not downplay the fact that he led the Mavericks with 24 points, including their final 9, despite playing with a torn tendon in his left middle finger. This included lefty layups to tie the game at 90 and to win it. Any questions about his toughness and his ability to perform under pressure have to have been answered by what he's done this season. Dirk didn't do it alone though. Shawn Marion kept the Mavs in the game with 20 points, Tyson Chandler had 13, Jason Terry scored 8 of his 16 in the 4th quarter and Jason Kidd hit another big 3-pointer during the stretch run. Consider that Dallas won this game despite the turnovers, despite losing backup center Brendan Haywood to an injury, despite getting 0 points from Peja Stojakovic (again), and the fact that they needed to play "The Custodian" Brian Cardinal in the second half.

So what does this mean for the series? While I don't expect Miami to melt down and get swept in Dallas, the bigger factor is that Dallas now has some of their swagger back. Instead of limping home down 2-0, they're tied a 1 game apiece, and they now should have no doubts that they can hang with this Miami team. And we still haven't seen the best from Dallas's bench yet as Stojakovic and Barea still haven't gotten hot. Don't be surprised to see Dallas take a 2-1 lead tomorrow night on their home floor and really make this series exciting.

French Open - Men's Semifinal Matchups

(1) Rafael Nadal vs (4) Andy Murray

Nadal and Murray have met 14 times since 2007 with Nadal winning 10 of those matches including their only match this year. All four of Murray's wins have come on the hard court and Nadal has won all 3 of their matches on Clay including this year at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo. While the two have never met at the French Open, this isn't the first showdown at a major. The two have faced off at the Australian Open twice (each winning one), Wimbledon twice (Nadal winning both) and the U.S. Open (won by Murray).

2011- Nadal 1 Murray 0
2010 - Nadal 2 Murray 2
2009 - Nadal 2 Murray 1
2008 - Nadal 3 Murray 1
2007 - Nadal 2 Murray 0


(2) Novak Djokovic vs (3) Roger Federer

Djokovic and Federer have played each other 22 times since 2006 with Federer winning 13. Djokovic has been hot lately though winning all 3 matchups this year including in the Australian Open semifinals. The two players have never met in the French Open, but they've faced off 7 times in Grand Slam events with Federer winning four including the finals of the 2007 U.S. Open, won by Federer. The two have played three times on clay, most recently in 2009 at ATP World Tour Masters Rome won by Djokovic. Federer won the other two.

2011 - Djokovic 3 Federer 0
2010 - Federer 4 Djokovic 1
2009 - Djokovic 3 Federer 2
2008 - Federer 2 Djokovic 1
2007 - Federer 3 Djokovic 1
2006 - Federer 2 Djokovic 0

Stanley Cup Finals - Game 1

VANCOUVER 1 BOSTON 0 - Vancouver leads 1-0

Goals:

VAN- Raffi Torres (3)
BOS - none

Notes:

Torres scored with 19 seconds to play in the third period making it the latest regulation goal in a 1-0 game in Stanley Cup finals history. The previous mark was with 5:44 remaining set in 2007 by the Ducks' Samuel Pahlsson... Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo combined to make 69 saves in Game 1 with Luongo saving 36 for the shutout. It was Luongo's 3rd shutout this postseason. All three have come in Game 1s... Both teams combined to go 0 for 6 on powerplay opportunities including a 5 on 3 advantage for Boston for 1:32 in the second period... Vancouver defenseman Dan Hamhuis left the game with an injury in the second period and did not return following a check on Milan Lucic. Hamhuis has a goal and 5 assists this postseason... Vancouver has won the first game of every series they've been in this year. Boston meanwhile has now lost 3 of its 4 Game 1s... The Bruins were shutout for just the second time this postseason and for the first time since Game 1 against Montreal in the opening round... Game 2 of the series will be Saturday night in Vancouver. As with Game 1, the game will be broadcast on NBC.