San Antonio pulls away late to take 3-0 series lead

Spurs took a 3-0 lead in their first round series against the Grizzlies on Friday, beating the 96-87 in a game that was closer than the previous two blowouts but still ended with the results we expected.

Memphis did well to hang in the game against San Antonio, trailing by one point at halftime and briefly jumping ahead in the third quarter. The Spurs wouldn't let a tragically depleted Grizzlies roster actually pose a threat to sneak out a win and force an unnecessary Game 5, though. A Kawhi Leonard corner three with just under a minute to play sealed the game after it bounced around the rim, hit the backboard and then fell back in.

Leonard led the way for the Spurs, scoring 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting while knocking down six of his nine triples. He did play 42 minutes, but it happened while Tim Duncanran out there for just 14. In this series, clearly Gregg Popovich knows that all Duncan needs to do is stay loose and engaged. There's no need to expend him for any real cause.

The rest of the starters also played smaller doses, with Tony Parker finishing with 24 minutes played while Manu Ginobili played 27. The Spurs will be well-rested for their probably second-round series against the Thunder, who in turn have had to face the relentless Mavericks instead of the sad Grizzlies.

1. Respect to the Grizzlies

This is what their injury lists looks like this season, just as a reminder.

Memphis had so many injuries that 28 people played for them this season. And this team, missing Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and more, trailed the Spurs by just three points with three minutes left in the game.

Look, there's not much to say. San Antonio was going to win this series. Kudos to Memphis for making this game tricky after a couple blowouts, even if it didn't matter on the final scoreboard.

2. Marvel at Kawhi Leonard's defensive abilities

Wanna watch Kawhi Leonard swallow a basketball pass? You're welcome.

Leonard was great on the other end, too, scoring several big buckets down the stretch for the Spurs to seal their win against Memphis. But mostly, we just like watching in awe as Leonard destroys opposing players when they have the ball in their hand.

3. Let's get this series over with

This isn't fun or fair to the Grizzlies, who were a good team ravaged with impossible injuries. This isn't fun or productive for the Spurs, who are one of the NBA's best teams and have been burdened with beating Memphis rather than facing a real opponent that could actually cause them trouble. Game 4 comes on Sunday and mercifully, that series can then come to an end.

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Patrick Kane nets winner in 2OT, Blackhawks beat Blues to stay alive

ST. LOUIS — The Chicago Blackhawks finally got a goal from one of their top stars. Patrick Kane's first of the playoffs saved the defending Stanley Cup champions' season.

Kane scored on a backhander early in the second overtime and the Blackhawks avoided first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues early Friday.

"We've played in a lot of overtimes with this team and had some long stretches here in playoff runs, so when you get those opportunities sometimes you come up big," Kane said. "Sometimes you get lucky, too."

Kane's fifth career overtime playoff goal, tied for third on the career list, was his first of the series and fellow standout Jonathan Toews still has none. Both assisted on Artemi Panarin's goal in the final second of the second period for a 3-1 lead.

"I don't think I was very good in that first overtime or very good at all tonight," Kane said. "It's one of those things I tried to tell myself just to get confidence going into that fifth period and try to make some plays."

Kane, who led the NHL in scoring with 106 points, circled the net to corral his own shot that slowly slid wide, and poked it past Brian Elliott at 3:07 to send a standing-room crowd of 19,956 home unhappy.

"I tried to make a move around a guy who was maybe trying to block my shot," Kane said. "Made a move, saw the puck and tried to get one on net there. Fortunately enough, it kind of squeaked out to the other side.

Elliott's stick got tangled up with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's skate on the play, so he was late crossing the crease.

"The plane's at 3. Let's get playing," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We've got to find another way to make them crack."

David Backes, who got the winning goal in the Blues' 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1, tied it on a deflection that slipped past Corey Crawford with 5:10 to play. Rookie Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz also scored for St. Louis.

"We played one of our better games," said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who assisted on all three goals. "It's going to be a tough place to win. We won the last two there, though."

Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov also scored for Chicago, which takes the series back home for Game 6 Saturday night.

"Tough to give up another lead like that, but we didn't crack," Crawford said. "We stuck with our game and we're excited to go back home now."

Chicago won despite being outshot 46-35, and helped road teams improve to 19-15 in these playoffs.

"I don't know if that's the way we drew it up," said defenseman Duncan Keith, who led all skaters with 42 minutes of ice time. "It would have been nice to just hang on to that lead but Kaner came through."

The Blackhawks have won three of the last six Cups, but also are trying to avoid first-round elimination for the third time in six seasons.

Kane and Toews were paired on the top line for Game 5 and both assisted on Panarin's seemingly back-breaking goal with 0.4 seconds left in the second period for a two-goal cushion.

The Blues are trying to end a string of three consecutive first-round playoff exits. In 2014 they had a 2-0 lead on Chicago and then lost four straight.

"I don't think our mind-set changes at all," Fabbri said. "A tough one to end here, but we're going to let this one go."

Chicago stayed alive without Andrew Shaw, suspended for one game for making a homophobic slur at the end of Game 4.

The teams combined for 11 game misconduct penalties at the finish of the Blues' 4-3 win in Game 4 on Tuesday. There were no penalties in the first period of Game 5.

NOTES: Joe Sakic had eight career overtime goal and Maurice Richard had six and Glenn Anderson also had five. ... Fabbri was among the rookie leaders with 18 goals during the regular season. ... Blues D Carl Gunarrsson returned after missing game with an upper body injury. Rookie Joel Edmundson sat after playing the first four games. ... The Blackhawks inserted David Rundblad in place of Michal Rozsival, who was minus-3. Fs Brandon Mashinter and Dale Weise also played with Tomas Fleishmann out.

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KANE NETS WINNER, BLACKHAWKS BEAT BLUES IN 2OT

Chicago Blackhawks' Artem Anisimov controls the puck during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey first-round Stanley Cup playoff series April 21, 2016. ((AP Photo/Jeff Roberson))

ST. LOUIS --

The Chicago Blackhawks finally got a goal from one of their top stars. Patrick Kane's first of the playoffs saved the defending Stanley Cup champions' season.

Kane scored on a backhander early in the second overtime and the Blackhawks avoided first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues early Friday.

"We've played in a lot of overtimes with this team and had some long stretches here in playoff runs, so when you get those opportunities sometimes you come up big," Kane said. "Sometimes you get lucky, too."

The Blackhawks thanked fans for staying up late in a tweet overnight and supplied a note for sleepy supporters to use at work or school Friday:

Kane's fifth career overtime playoff goal, tied for third on the career list, was his first of the series and fellow standout Jonathan Toews still has none. Both assisted on Artemi Panarin's goal in the final second of the second period for a 3-1 lead.

"I don't think I was very good in that first overtime or very good at all tonight," Kane said. "It's one of those things I tried to tell myself just to get confidence going into that fifth period and try to make some plays."

Kane, who led the NHL in scoring with 106 points, circled the net to corral his own shot that slowly slid wide, and poked it past Brian Elliott at 3:07 to send a standing-room crowd of 19,956 home unhappy.

"I tried to make a move around a guy who was maybe trying to block my shot," Kane said. "Made a move, saw the puck and tried to get one on net there. Fortunately enough, it kind of squeaked out to the other side.

Elliott's stick got tangled up with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's skate on the play, so he was late crossing the crease.

"The plane's at 3. Let's get playing," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We've got to find another way to make them crack."

David Backes, who got the winning goal in the Blues' 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1, tied it on a deflection that slipped past Corey Crawford with 5:10 to play. Rookie Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz also scored for St. Louis.

"I thought we played one of our better games," said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who assisted on all three goals. "It's going to be a tough place to win. We won the last two there, though."

Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov also scored for Chicago, which takes the series back home for Game 6 Saturday night.

"Tough to give up another lead like that, but we didn't crack," Crawford said. "We stuck with our game and we're excited to go back home now."

Chicago won despite being outshot 46-35, and helped road teams improve to 19-15 in these playoffs.

"I don't know if that's the way we drew it up," said defenseman Duncan Keith, who led all skaters with 42 minutes of ice time. "It would have been nice to just hang on to that lead but Kaner came through."

The Blackhawks have won three of the last six Cups, but also are trying to avoid first-round elimination for the third time in six seasons.

Kane and Toews were paired on the top line for Game 5 and both assisted on Panarin's seemingly back-breaking goal with 0.4 seconds left in the second period for a two-goal cushion.

The Blues are trying to end a string of three consecutive first-round playoff exits. In 2014 they had a 2-0 lead on Chicago and then lost four straight.

"I don't think our mind-set changes at all," Fabbri said. "A tough one to end here, but we're going to let this one go."

Chicago stayed alive without Andrew Shaw, suspended for one game for making a homophobic slur at the end of Game 4.

The teams combined for 11 game misconduct penalties at the finish of the Blues' 4-3 win in Game 4 on Tuesday. There were no penalties in the first period of Game 5.

NOTES: Joe Sakic had eight career overtime goal and Maurice Richard had six and Glenn Anderson also had five. ... Fabbri was among the rookie leaders with 18 goals during the regular season. ... Blues D Carl Gunarrsson returned after missing game with an upper body injury. Rookie Joel Edmundson sat after playing the first four games. ... The Blackhawks inserted David Rundblad in place of Michal Rozsival, who was minus-3. Fs Brandon Mashinter and Dale Weise also played with Tomas Fleishmann out.

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Houston Rockets Vs. Golden State Warriors Live Stream: Watch Game 3 Of NBA Playoffs

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The Golden State Warriors didn’t need Stephen Curry to take a 2-0 lead over the Houston Rockets in the NBA playoffs. Will Steph return for game 3 on April 21? HollywoodLife.com wants you to catch this game so click to watch!

  

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Four Years After #Linsanity, Hornets PG Jeremy Lin Quietly Thriving On Social Media

Who is the top NBA player on YouTube in terms of subscribers and views?

When Kyle Nelson walks into a boardroom to pitch a prospective client about his social intelligence and analytics company, MVPindex, chances are that no one can answer the above icebreaker; in fact, that has never happened to the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of the Dallas-based company.

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images).

It’s been over four years since the #Linsanity movement, Jeremy Lin’s rise to national prominence as a player for the New York Knicks. The five minutes of fame on the hardwood quickly came and went for the current Charlotte Hornets point guard, but what has quietly remained is his social influence.

“Jeremy loves living in social,” said Nelson, adding that Lin touts 535,000-plus subscribers on YouTube along with 53 million video views. “… He enjoys giving full access to his fans, and that kind of personality on social and that openness gets rewarded. Fans see it, they follow it, and they engage in it.”

According to MVPindex, which calculates athletes’ follower counts, engagement and online sentiment into an index score, Lin currently ranks in the top five among NBA players, with the likes of James, recently-retired star Kobe Bryant and 2015 MVP, Stephen Curry.

After signing with the Golden State Warriors in 2010, Lin received about a thousand ‘Friend’ requests to his personal Facebook page overnight, and his then-agent, Roger Montgomery, immediately created a Twitter account. Little did the Harvard graduate know that his journey into the social space was just beginning. Still, it took some initial prodding and urging from a college buddy and personal trainer, Josh Fan, for Lin to give it a chance.

The two met through mutual friends during their undergraduate days in Boston and have remained close ever since — literally. Wherever Lin has traveled in the NBA, Fan has followed, splitting time between basketball trainer and social strategist.

At the outset of their digital expedition, Fan recognized the growing popularity of two celebrity YouTubers, Ryan Higa and Kevin Wu, and suggested that they start there.

“We enjoyed their content ourselves and naturally, we gravitated towards them,” Fan said of Higa and Wu. “…Our initial strategy was to meet with them, and jumpstart Jeremy’s social media presence and see if he was comfortable behind the camera. Through that process, it opened Jeremy’s eyes to the world of social media and the reach you could have on social.”

Added Lin: “You’re removing some of the barriers behind your public life and your private life. As I was becoming a little more known among the public, it scared me that I might lose my privacy. I also don’t think I was comfortable in front of cameras for a very long time. The one thing I loved about social media is you control the product and what comes out. I am not saying anything through a reporter, and then he or she writes what they want to write. With social media, I can write what I want when I want to write it.”

With a trusted friend behind the camera, Lin initially created two separate YouTube videos with Wu and Higa, garnering close to eight million views.

He saw the early social success in the Fall of 2011 and finally was sold on what Fan had been telling him for a year straight. The two now live in the same Charlotte complex and constantly discuss ways to leverage Lin’s presence across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and other channels. 

So, what’s been the social strategy for Lin and Fan, who has taught himself on the fly how to edit videos, create engaging copy and operate in the digital ecosystem?

Plain and simple, it’s posting content that they would want to consume themselves. There’s a “Christian element” to a lot of what Lin posts, whether it’s a faith verse, a moral cause he supports or a particular value he strives to exhibit in his daily life.

Each week, the duo plans a content calendar around Lin’s practice and game schedule. Regardless if it’s Lin or Fan actually sending a Tweet or creating an Instagram post, Lin is always dialed into the conversation about how he presents himself online.

(via Jeremy Lin/Instagram).

Scroll through his Instagram — where he is among the top 30 most-followed NBA players — and there are more traditional photos with fans and ‘Throwback Thursday’ images with family members. Conversely, Lin sports his unique hairstyles, gives fans a behind-the-scenes look into his workout regiment and even documents his grocery shopping on hoverboards with, yes, Fan still behind the camera filming.

In mid-March, Lin joined Snapchat, a platform tailored to real-time, quick-hitting images and videos. The millennial-dominated channel allows Lin to hit a younger audience and be more freewheeling.

For someone who was weary about pulling back the curtain on his life, Lin has now gone “full tilt” on social. 

“It’s important to show who I am off the court,” Lin said. “Society is so quick to assume things about who you are. People see my demeanor on the court, they see an Asian guy from Harvard, and they assume a lot of different things. Who I am off the court, a lot of people would be surprised by those things. Part of why I am more understood or part of why my brand is more in line with my personality is because we have been able to push out the more off-the-court side through social media.”

Mark works in Talent Marketing at Atlanta-based sports and entertainment marketing agency, CSE. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkJBurns88. He can be reached at mburns@groupcse.com.

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Washington Capitals: Five Takeaways From Their Game 2 VictoryPRIL 1

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(Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

, 2016

The Washington Capitals are coming off one of their best seasons in franchise history, and now, they are taking that dominance that they had all season into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On a loud Saturday night inside an electric Verizon Center, Washington took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the eighth-seedPhiladelphia Flyers with a 4-1 victory Saturday.

Of course, there was a lot working for the Capitals; in fact, every single part of the team was performing to their best potential, and not much went wrong. Without further ado, here are five takeaways and five things to know from the Capitals victory, as the team prepares to head to Wells Fargo Center for Game 3.

Braden Holtby is Back in Beast-Mode

Prior to the post-season, Holtby’s numbers were somewhat concerning. He allowed nine goals through his last three regular season games, and barely tied Martin Brodeur‘s season wins record. However, Holtby realizes the circumstances now, and each save counts. The Flyers fired 42 shots on goal, and he stopped all but one.

Watching Holtby between the pipes Saturday, you could see him playing a much more aggressive game. He held his own, stepped up to the shots he faced and appeared much quicker. His best save came in the third period, when he robbed Shayne Gostisbehere with a sensational glove save.

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10-men Leicester City keeps title dream alive with last-second equalizer

eicester City stretched its lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points by salvaging a a dramatic 2-2 draw with West Ham after star striker Jamie Vardy was shown a red card after scoring in the first half.

A great start for Leicester City went sour in the second half with Vardy's red card for diving. After Vardy was sent off and Leicester was down to 10 men, West Ham scored twice and was on the verge of sending the Foxes to just their fourth loss in league, but a controversial penalty call (and equalizer) handed the hosts a valuable point. Here's how it went down.

Vardy's opener on 18 minutes.

The Vardy red card early in the second half.

A penalty kick and goal for West Ham's Andy Carroll 84 minutes in.

Then West Ham's Aaron Cresswell scored this beauty for a late 2-1 lead.

Fighting to come back, Robert Huth was taken down in the box with almost a chokeslam, but no call from the ref.

And then, a possible make-up call here resulting in a penalty kick and goal, as Leonardo Ulloa finished past Adrian.

What a heart-pumping match, and a great comeback from being down a man. Luck is on Leicester's side, and a big-time trophy may be in the club's trophy case before long.

Tottenham, who is in second place, can cut the lead to five on Monday when it plays Stoke City.

For news, stories, results and more, follow us:

- @CBSSportsSoccer - @RGonzalezCBS - Facebook

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Warriors' dominance: a 2nd straight title inevitable?

he Golden State Warriors plow into the playoffs with a record 73 wins under their belt and championship rings already on their fingers.

Their domination of the league this season, coupled with the perception that San Antonio and Cleveland are the only real challengers to the Warriors' throne, has cast a feeling of inevitability on this year's NBA playoffs, which begin Saturday.

"I just can't think of a scenario in professional basketball, at least one that I've lived through, in which a team that is this dominant and this complete on both ends of the floor doesn't end up doing what it has set out to do," NBATV analyst Brent Barry said this week.

The league has long fought a perception that the postseason is too predictable, that the best teams always win. Casual fans point to the incredible drama in the win-or-go-home NCAA tournament as the ideal model and lament the perceived lack of upsets in the NBA with its seven-game playoff series that favor the most talented teams.

But a closer look at recent history reveals plenty of surprises along the way. Last year's playoffs were chalky, with the top two seeds in each conference advancing to the conference finals and the top-seeded Warriors beating the Cavaliers " seeded second in the East " in the Finals.Before that, the sixth-seeded Nets beat No. 3 Toronto in the Eastern quarterfinals, fifth-seeded Memphis made a run to the Western Conference finals in 2013 and a No. 8 seed has beaten a No. 1 seed in 2012, 2011 and 2007.

LeBron James needs no convincing.

His top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers lost to No. 3 Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals in 2009 and No. 4 Boston in 2010, the infamous series that preceded James' exodus to Miami.

"The regular season doesn't mean anything at this point," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said Friday. "We have two months to play our best basketball and compete and get it done."

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PGNiG podpisał dużą umowę z Azotami

foto: Bloomberg

Gazowniczy koncern dostarczy Grupie Azoty 4,5 mld m sześc. błękitnego paliwa w terminie do września 2019 r. Szacunkowa wartość umowy to 3,3 mld zł.

Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo oraz Grupa Azoty podpisały nową umowę na sprzedaż błękitnego paliwa. Na jej podstawie i kontraktów dwustronnych gazownicza grupa będzie dostarczała surowiec do pięciu podmiotów z Grupy Azoty. Chodzi o zakłady zlokalizowane w Tarnowie, Puławach, Policach, Kędzierzynie oraz do firmy Siarkopol.

Umowa obowiązuje do września 2019 r. W całym okresie jej obowiązywania wolumen dostarczanego paliwa może wynieść łącznie nawet 4,5 mld m sześc. W efekcie wartość kontraktu szacowana jest na około 3,3 mld zł.

- Wynegocjowana umowa stanowi nowy etap współpracy pomiędzy naszymi spółkami. Dzięki podpisaniu kontraktów, otrzymujemy nie tylko gwarancję stabilnych dostaw, ale także rynkowe mechanizmy zapewniające pozyskiwanie gazu w cenach powiązanych z indeksami giełdowymi - zachwala Mariusz Bober, prezes Grupy Azoty. Dodaje, że umowa wprowadza innowacyjne rozwiązania dla realizowanych dostaw, które wynikają z konkurencyjnej oferty złożonej przez PGNiG.

Zawarta umowa ramowa ma charakter otwarty i umożliwia zawieranie dodatkowych kontraktów na kolejne wolumeny w przyszłości. - Podpisana umowa z naszym największym, a zarazem strategicznym odbiorcą gazu, to „nowe otwarcie" w historii naszych relacji. Cieszę się, że wypracowaliśmy z Grupą Azoty nowe satysfakcjonujące zasady kilkuletniej współpracy - twierdzi Maciej Woźniak, wiceprezes ds. handlowych PGNiG. Jest przekonany, że to pozwoli grupie nie tylko utrzymywać pozycję lidera na rynku gazu w Polsce, ale również przyczyni się do szybkiego wzrostu sprzedaży.

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Rybicki: żegnamy wojownika ringu. Pogrzeb Henryka Średnickiego

W Dąbrowie Górniczej pożegnano Henryka Średnickiego jedynego polskiego mistrza świata w boksie amatorskim.

Foto: Andrzej Grygiel / PAPPogrzeb Henryka Średnickiego w Dąbrowie Górniczej

- W ringu był wojownikiem, wchodził do niego, by wygrać. I wygrywał – powiedział o zmarłym mistrz olimpijski Jerzy Rybicki.

Krzyż przekazała rodzinie podczas uroczystości pogrzebowej w dąbrowskim kościele doradca prezydenta Agnieszka Lenartowicz-Łysik.Średnicki zmarł w niedzielę po długiej i ciężkiej chorobie. Pośmiertnie został przez Prezydenta RP Andrzeja Dudę odznaczony Krzyżem Kawalerskim Orderu Odrodzenia Polski za wybite osiągnięcia sportowe oraz szkoleniowe.

- Miałem szczęście bywać z Henrykiem na zgrupowaniach, turniejach. Byłem świadkiem jego sukcesów. Wszyscy byliśmy dumni z jego osiągnięć, które stanowiły efekt nie tylko talentu, ale i ciężkiej pracy – wspominał Rybicki złoty medalista igrzysk w Montrealu (1976).

Średnicki był pięć razy mistrzem Polski, dwukrotnym złotym medalistą mistrzostw Europy i mistrzem świata z Belgradu (1978, kategoria musza 51 kg), dwa razy uczestniczył w olimpiadzie. Stoczył 377 oficjalnych walk, z których wygrał 339 (większość przed czasem), osiem zremisował, 30 przegrał.

Nigdy nie został znokautowany. Po zakończeniu kariery zawodniczej zajął się pracą trenerską. W dąbrowskim kościele żegnali mistrza oprócz rodziny dawni i obecni zawodnicy, trenerzy, działacze i kibice.

Średnicki od dawna zmagał się z zaawansowaną cukrzycą, ostatnio do tego doszło zapalenie płuc. Zmarł w szpitalu w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim w wieku 61 lat. Został pochowany na cmentarzu w Będzinie.

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