3 Things You Need To Know About The NBA Finals

We won't dwell on the obvious. If you care about basketball at all, you know by now that is set for Thursday night in Miami, where the hometown Heat will play the San Antonio Spurs.

Time: 9 p.m. ET.

Broadcaster: ABC-TV.

Led by LeBron James, Miami is defending its 2012 championship. Led by Tim Duncan, San Antonio is looking to win its fifth title.

It's a best-of-seven series.

With those basics out of the way, let's zero in on three things you might want to know if some hoops nut corners you in conversation:

— Tony Parker's "Cat Quickness." , NPR's Tom Goldman waxed eloquently about how basketball purists swoon over the Spurs' style. The players share the ball, move quickly and shoot well. They play "team basketball," something that's not seen a lot these days in the star-dominated NBA. But along with Duncan, the big man who anchors the team, there is a Spur to watch. Tom says that guard Tony Parker's "great shot and cat quickness" make him a "defense-shredding machine."

— LeBron James' Quest For Revenge. In his first trip to the finals, as a Cleveland Cavalier in 2007, James watched the Spurs celebrate "on our home floor" after San Antonio won the championship. "I have something in me that they took in '07," . "I won't forget that. You shouldn't as a competitor. You should never forget that." With the Heat, James lost again in his second trip to the finals — in 2011. "I've lost enough," he also said Wednesday. "I don't need any more fuel from losing. I've lost two finals, so I don't need any more fuel from losing the finals."

— "Old Guys Rule." Perhaps this aging blogger is biased, but this entry in Vibe's "" story struck a chord: "Tim Duncan and Ray Allen [of the Heat] will both play huge roles in this series, both at the age of 37. Allen was huge in Game 7 against Indiana, and Duncan has been huge all season. The two veterans will be big."

Bonus shot:

The Spur who gets the daunting assignment of guarding James is 21-year-old , a second-year player from Los Angeles. You may hear his name a lot — either because he has some success stopping the league's best player or because he gets steamrolled by James. Listen closely to whether ABC's broadcasting team gets Leonard's first name right. , it's pronounced "Kuh-why."

Gatlin Beats Bolt In 100 Meters For The First Time

American sprinter Justin Gatlin has beaten Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt in the 100 meters, edging Bolt by one hundredth of a second at a meet in Rome. It's Gatlin's first win over Bolt in the four times the two have raced each other.

The news was excitedly announced by USA Track and Field Thursday, tweeting "He did it!! beat 9.94 ."

Gatlin ran in the sixth lane at the Rome Golden Gala, part of the Diamond League series, while Bolt ran in the fourth lane. The two men led the field as they neared the finish line, with Gatlin perfectly timing a lunge of his head and upper body across the white line.

Bolt, 26, who on his identifies himself as "the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen," holds the world record in the 100 meters at 9.58 seconds, a time he set in 2009. He has won gold in the event at the past two Summer Games.

Bolt has been bothered by hamstring problems this year, but he told reporters before today's race that he was feeling good and that his training was on schedule.

For Gatlin, 31, who won Olympic gold in the 100 meters in 2004 before being suspended for using anabolic steroids, Thursday's win is a decisive step in the comeback that saw him win the bronze medal in the event at last summer's London Olympics.

Kevin Love likes Wolves' direction

Love Ready For Next Season
Timberwolves forward Kevin Love discusses his recovery from injury, his relationship with new GM Flip Saunders, his future in Minnesota, and his commercial with Kyrie Irving.Tags: NBA, Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves, Flip Saunders, Kyrie Irving

Kevin Love said Thursday in an interview with ESPN's "SportsCenter" that he's "absolutely" past any negativity he felt toward the Minnesota Timberwolves and is confident in the team's future under new president of basketball

Earlier Thursday, Saunders called into ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning," where Love also was an on-set guest and was asked one of the biggest questions of the offseason concerning the Timberwolves by the All-Star forward himself.

"So, I have to get this out of the way. There has been a lot of speculation out there and just so we're clear, I am not getting traded," Love said after Saunders was introduced.

"You are not being traded. Does that make you feel better?" Saunders replied. "Maybe now people will stop calling me."

Love recounted the conversation on "SportsCenter" when asked his feelings about Saunders coming back to the Timberwolves, saying with a chuckle, "I'm in Minnesota … I'm here to stay."

"It's really great to have him aboard and between him and Coach [Rick] Adelman there's just so many years of basketball experience. So to have that and to have a guy who's been to the Western Conference finals and the Eastern Conference finals and just been around so many great players and great talent, it's really going to be big for us and the fans love him," he said.

Saunders coached the Wolves for 10 seasons (1995-96 to 2004-05) and led Minnesota to the 2004 West finals and Detroit Pistons to three consecutive East finals (2006 to 2008).

Most importantly, Love said he and the Timberwolves are "definitely past" any animosity between them. He said he and star point guard Ricky Rubio are organizing a workout with their teammates in Los Angeles.

"We're going to keep working toward our common goal," he said.

Love, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on April 10, said he feels "great."

"If I'm not 100 percent, I'm really close to it, so I'm looking forward to having a very productive offseason," he said.

Love also addressed his prediction last offseason that the Wolves would qualify for the playoffs. Minnesota, beset with several injuries, ended up finishing 20 games under .500 at 31-51. He said the Wolves have what it takes to make good on that prediction this season.

"I think if we're not an injury-riddled team next year, then we're going to be looking very good," he said.

Love can opt out of his contract in 2015. When asked about that decision, he said the Wolves have to "continue to keep building the right path."

"I think we're doing that right now. I think Flip is going to be a big part of our team heading forward," he said.

He said the Timberwolves need to add a "big-time shooter" and mentioned re-signing Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko as moves he'd like to see the team make.

"If our health is at all-time high, then I think we're going to be playing at an all-time high, too. We're really going to have a lot of success," he said.

OMG MY BABIES ARE NOT BEING SEPERATED OMG :')

Anthony Bosch asked A-Rod for money before turning to MLB

According to Teri Thomson, Bill Madden, Christian Red and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News, Anthony Bosch, founder of the Biogenesis Clinic in South Florida, asked Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees for money before agreeing to assist MLB's ongoing investigation into the "PED pipeline" that traces back to Biogenesis. Bosch needed funds to mount a defense against MLB's once-pending lawsuit against him, but Rodriguez turned him down.

At that point, the Daily News reports, Bosch and MLB agreed to collaborate.

"They (MLB) were afraid someone else would pay him,” a source told the Daily News. “Bosch is the only guy that can provide them with what they need."

Dayn Perry
Why I Don't Care About Biogenesis

In exchange for his cooperation, MLB will reportedly be "dropping the lawsuit MLB filed against him earlier this year and paying his legal bills, indemnifying him for any civil liability that arises from his cooperation and providing him with personal security."

Additionally, MLB has reportedly assured Bosch that it will "intervene" on his behalf should criminal prosecution come his way.

Needless to say, any disciplinary action that comes out of this dubious collaboration would be quite vulnerable to appeal, as Bosch will be an easily discredited source of information.

As far as that information goes, a source tells the Daily News that Bosch has information on Rodriguez and Brewers slugger Ryan Braun. Curiously, though, the report claims that Bosch treated Braun during the latter's playing days at the University of Miami. If that's the extent of it, then the question is raised: How could MLB possibly pursue any kind of action against Braun based on what happened during his days as an amateur?

All of this continues to look like an overreach of bizarre proportions on the part of MLB.

Dwayne Johnson talks 'The Hero,' reveals Father's Day plans (Video)

The "Fast & Furious 6" actor also appeared in three other movies this year including "Pain & Gain," "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "Empire State." On top of that, Johnson also has a new reality television competition series called "The Hero," which is set to debut on Thursday, June 6, on TNT.

The actor and wrestling star is the host of the competition and talked to OTRC.com correspondent Tony Cabrera on Wednesday, June 5, about the new show, his "Fast & Furious 6" castmates and his plans for Father's Day.

"The idea of the show was to create a show that not only was entertaining to audiences out there, but also where individuals who are participating, and in this case we have nine great contestants, they got better by the end of the show," Johnson said about 'The Hero.' "I gotta be honest with you, the casting process was amazing. And it brought out a lot of good high quality individuals."

The competition series tests contestants from all walks of life on strength, courage and integrity each week. The contestants are vying for the title of "The Hero" and the big grand prize, which is described as "life-changing."

"We wanted to create epic moments, big epic moments, and when that's the goal, the challenges are insane," Johnson said.

"What was amazing was to see these individuals achieve something and overcome, in such big epic ways, but what was more amazing was to see them fail at it and to see how they responded through that failure and those moments," he added. "Those moments are gonna be heartbreaking for America when they see them. They were heartbreaking for me cause I was right there. Not that I cried by the way - cause I cry on the inside."

Johnson also talked about his love of his "Fast & Furious 6" castmates.

"I love my 'Fast 6' castmates. They refer to me as a superhero. Their check is in the mail. That's all you have to do Tony, you just gotta pay 'em," Johnson joked. "Then they call you anything you want."

The action star is also the father of an 11-year-old girl named Simone Alexandra with his ex-wife Dany Garcia. Johnson will be busy filming "Hercules" in Budapest when Father's Day rolls around on June 16 but he hopes to be able to video chat with his daughter.

"My father's day plans are to be here in Budapest. I'm shooting 'Hercules' and I'm going to be just facetiming with my little girl all day," he said. "That's what I wanna do. That's my Father's Day plan. At least now, unless someone wants to fly in and surprise me."

"The Hero" debuts on Thursday at 8 p.m. on TNT. Check out a preview of the show below.

Draya Michele’s critics use #AskDraya to attack her parenting

Basketball Wives: LA” fans might remember how Draya Michele was ostracized and put down by her co-stars on season 1, but that was nothing compared to the Twitter toughs who attacked her yesterday.

The alleged arrest that happened years ago when Draya’s young son was reportedly left home alone, came back to haunt the reality star again when BET’s “106 & Park” asked viewers to tweet questions to Draya with the hashtag #AskDraya.

For more than 12 hours (and counting), the partygoer was subjected to harsh criticism from Twitter users who questioned whether she’s even a part of her son’s life today.

Draya’s critics compared her son to starving children in Africa and speculated that he sees Santa Claus more than he does his mother.

Though Draya had little to say during “BBW:LA” season 1 when her cast members continued to question her about the incident, she didn’t just sit back and shed tears as her timeline filled with hateful comments about her parenting or lack thereof. She had some strong words of her own.

“Immature haters. I have the same 24 hours in a day as u. You use your time to hate tweet me instead of getting money,” wrote Draya who said she is caring for her son.

“Ahhhh 6 days until I move my mom and son to California !!!! #whathaveyoudoneforyourfamilylately?” read one of Draya’s posts.

Draya’s co-stars warmed to her after she denied the allegations and season 2 viewers may remember Draya weighing the possibility of relocating her family, but that didn’t seem to halt the onslaught of hateful messages.

Viewers will have to tune into “106 & Park” Thursday to see whether there were any questions posed to Draya that did not deal with the alleged abandonment of her son.

“Ratings gonna be thru the roof,” she wrote.


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