Sports

MIAMI—They lost three times in three months in one of the most overpowering stretches the NBA has ever seen.
Now the Miami Heat have lost three times in five games.
So superb during the regular season, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the Heat have to be something even more for the rest of the NBA Finals.
They have to be perfect.
“We look forward to the challenge,” James said.

TORONTO—Five-time world hockey champion France St-Louis has joined the Canadian team staff for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
St-Louis was named an assistant chef de mission for the Games, joining chef de mission Steve Podborski and assistant chef Jean-Luc Brassard.

TORONTO—Maicer Izturis made sure a strong outing from Blue Jays’ starter Josh Johnson didn’t go to waste.
Izturis drove in the game’s only runs with an RBI single in the eighth inning last night as Toronto pushed its win streak to six games with a 2-0 interleague victory over the Colorado Rockies.

BOSTON—They still are two wins away from their destination, but the Boston Bruins are gathering steam.
Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron scored second-period goals, and Tuukka Rask made 28 saves, as the hard-charging Bruins blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 last night to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup final.

ARDMORE, Pa.—Justin Rose could see all the pieces coming together in this U.S. Open.
The sun was breaking through the clouds yesterday evening at Merion as he stood in the 18th fairway with a one-shot lead.
That famous Ben Hogan plaque was in front of him—a road marker bronze that one pure swing and two putts might be all that stood between Rose and his first major championship.

ARLINGTON, Tex.—Toronto manager John Gibbons knew Chien-Ming Wang could help the beaten up Blue Jays’ pitching staff.
He just didn’t think it would happen this soon.

BROOKLYN, Mich.—Greg Biffle gave Ford a milestone victory—right down the road from company headquarters.
Biffle raced to his second-straight Sprint Cup win at Michigan International Speedway, easily holding off Kevin Harvick after points leader Jimmie Johnson smacked the wall in the final laps yesterday.

SAN ANTONIO—Manu Ginobili ran onto the floor as fans stood and screamed.
He went to the bench, and they chanted his name.
The sights and sounds of so many San Antonio spring nights were back yesterday—and the real party might be just a few days away.

CHICAGO—All Claude Julien could do was appreciate the moment.
Never mind that the Boston Bruins lost, that a key player in Nathan Horton was injured, and that they trail the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final.
That was one epic series-opener—a 4-3 triple-overtime thriller that ranked as the fifth-longest finals game in NHL history.

ARDMORE, Pa.—Phil Mickelson’s round held up—and so did Tiger Woods’ left wrist.
Now Woods needs to find a way to stay out of Merion’s wicked rough.
Mickelson’s three-under 67 was the top score in a delayed first round that was completed this morning at the U.S. Open.