to move up and down
It couldn’t be a coin flip forever, could it? No Stanley Cup final had gone to overtime in each of the first three games since 1951, and that series never did anything else. The first two games here became as close as games get, more or less, but didn’t have to be. Boston blew a 3-1 third-period lead in Game 1; Chicago squandered a one-sided first period in Game 2; both games came down to a single play at the conclusion of a long and breathtaking series of them, like checkers piled up until the tower fell.
This time, the gap went unbridged. The Boston Bruins pushed their checkers one way and glued Chicago’s to the table, and the result was a 2-0 win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final, for a 2-1 series lead.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Phil Mickelson began his week with a flight back-and-forth across the country. Even longer might be the 18 holes that now stand between him and that U.S. Open title he has been chasing his entire career.
And he’s never had a better opportunity than this one.
Despite a bogey on the final hole of a taxing Saturday afternoon, Mickelson was the sole survivor to par at Merion with an even-par 70 that gave him a one-shot lead over Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker going into the last round.
(Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Hundreds of protesters complaining against the high cost of staging the World Cup rallied in front of the National Stadium in Brasilia just hours before Brazil played Japan in the opening match of the Confederations Cup on Saturday.
Riot police were called up to keep demonstrators from getting too close to the stadium as thousands of fans arrived for the inaugural match in the nation’s capital. The protesters started chanting and marching about a kilometre away from the venue.
(Photo by Beto Brarata/AFP/Getty Images)
Nobody knew what to expect, not really, whether they said they did or not. The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks had been sealed in separate bubbles during this lockout-shortened season, East and West, and by the time they met in the Stanley Cup finals all they had was practice with shadow teams, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Time to find out what they had been missing. The series was a mystery; the game became one too.
And Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final went from a rolling joy to a tense stalemate to a march into the night, past the point where the city lights marked the edge of town. It took three overtimes, and countless near-finishes, until finally with 7:52 left in the third OT, a point shot from Michael Rozsival drifted off Dave Bolland’s stick first, then caught a tiny piece of Andrew Shaw — his knee, it looked like — to end it all. Chicago won 4-3 to open the series. It was the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup final history. All it took was a double deflection that changed direction twice, on Chicago’s 63rd shot of the game. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Pool/The Associated Press)
Rafael Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tournament when he beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final Sunday, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Nadal broke the men’s record for match wins at Roland Garros, where he improved to 59-1, with his lone defeat against Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009. (Photo by Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images)
This will get bloody, oh yes. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins don’t have a natural playoff rivalry — they haven’t met in the post-season in a couple decades — but some rivalries bloom easily, just add frozen water, and this appears to be one of them. Boston’s best chance was to treat Pittsburgh the way they once treated Vancouver, or the way Philadelphia treated Pittsburgh last year. It’s a strength.
But that wasn’t the point. It was the sideshow. The point was that the Bruins beat Pittsburgh 3-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals by creating cracks in their defence, and snuffing out their stars. There was some luck in there, too, but Boston was good, too. This is going to be a series. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)
Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa scored in the second period, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Saturday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Corey Crawford made 21 saves, and the Blackhawks generated just enough offence to improve to 7-1 at home in the playoffs.
Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday.
Eric Abidal, who fought back from a liver transplant to rejoin the team this season, went on to a standing ovation to play his final 14 minutes for Barcelona on Sunday after the club didn’t offer to prolong his six-year stint. (Photo by Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
The rivalry didn’t want to let go.
The long goodbye after 87 years of close proximity needed to be longer. A Game 7 to punctuate the end of their relationship just wasn’t enough for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks … so they had to settle the last Western playoff series they will ever contest with overtime.
Someone’s heart was bound to be broken. (Photo by Nam Y. Huh/The Associated Press)
Serena Williams won her opening match at the French Open, and then achieved a career breakthrough by speaking French to the crowd for the first time.
“I’m a beginner,” Williams said — referring to her French, not tennis.
Her play spoke volumes Sunday. Williams returned to the red clay that tripped her up in the first round a year ago, channeled any lingering frustration into her overpowering strokes and drubbed Anna Tatishvili 6-0, 6-1. (Photo by Petr David Josek/The Associated Press)
