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3B WEST HAWAII TODAY | SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2016 SPORTS HOWE: Those who saw Howe play knew his impact NBA: Splash Brothers lead the way as Warriors take control of series CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B Cleveland was threatening to take control early in the third of Game 4, leading by eight. Less than 30 seconds later, the lead was down to two. Stephen Curry 3-pointer. Splash. Klay Thompson 3-pointer. Splash. The Warriors suddenly had life. Cleveland’s lead was 83-81 when James scored with 10:21 left, and it was about seven minutes before the Cavaliers managed another field goal. A 12-1 run in the fourth put the Warriors on top for good, and that 11-point margin was the exact difference between the teams when time expired. “I went with my best players in the fourth quarter … and it didn’t work,” Lue said. All James could do then was glumly slap hands with a few of his teammates, his face hardly showing any emotion. Fans started leaving long before the final horn, quite possibly for the final time this season. The Eastern Conference championship banner for this season is already swaying from the rafters in Quicken Loans Arena, and “2015-16” has been added to the banner displaying Central Division titles next to that one. James delivered those. The one he wants most may be out of reach, but the Warriors aren’t writing him off. “At any moment, the guy can just turn into an uncontainable player,” Warriors guard Andre Iguodala said. “You’ve got to have the appropriate fear.” A team that calls the Cavs’ arena home might win a championship this weekend, though it won’t exactly become worldwide news if the Lake Erie Monsters — the Columbus Blue Jackets’ affiliate in the American Hockey League — finish off a sweep of the Hershey Bears and hoist the Calder Cup on Saturday night. It’ll be nice, but it’s not the title Cleveland craves. Since the Cleveland Browns won their last football title in 1964 — the championship game wasn’t even known as the Super Bowl then — Cleveland has experienced 147 NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL opening days with title dreams that ultimately were dashed. (Yes, an NHL team was briefly here.) Over that span, 56 different franchises in the four biggest U.S. sports leagues have at least one championship. James returned to Cleveland after four successful years in Miami to end that drought. His summer might start as early as Monday, the drought still there. But for now, all James is thinking about is Game 5. “We’ve got to come in with the mindset that our coaching staff will give us a great gameplan,” James said. “And we’ll execute that.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B player honors six times, and came out of retirement at age 45 to play in the World Hockey Association alongside sons Mark and Marty, his passion burning as hot as ever and his elbows still brutally sharp. He finally retired at 52, after the Hartford Whalers were absorbed into the NHL, but he never left. The “Gordie Howe hat trick” — a goal, an assist and a five-minute fighting penalty — is part of hockey slang, reflecting every element of his game. Not just the goals, though he scored 786 in 1,687 NHL games and 121 in 285 WHA contests. Not just the assists, though he recorded 1,023 in the NHL and 248 in the WHA. And not just his strength and ruggedness, assets that made him both feared and admired. “He was a gentleman but he was also very much a tough guy,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference Friday. “He showcased the best of what Canadians like to think of themselves as, highlighted with our national sport and our national identity on an international stage through a national pastime.” Howe grew up in rural Saskatchewan but made his career in the big city without forgetting the work ethic that was the core of his upbringing. He was a lively and engaging storyteller and always had time to give a child an autograph, a gleam in his eye and a pun on his lips. The iconic photo of Howe playfully hooking his stick around the neck of a toothy, 11-year-old Wayne Gretzky — not knowing the blond kid would someday break his scoring records — captured Howe’s essence perfectly. Gretzky always insisted that those who call him “The Great One” are too generous because he considered Howe the best of all time. “Unfortunately we lost the greatest hockey player ever today, but more importantly the nicest man I have ever met,” Gretzky said on Twitter. “Sending our thoughts and prayers to the Howe family and to the millions of hockey fans who like me loved Gordie Howe. RIP Mr. Hockey.” Among those fans are hockey players who never saw Howe play but respected his remarkable feats. Austrian-born forward Michael Grabner, 28, of the Toronto Maple Leafs lamented the loss of “a true legend … . No one will forget you Mr. Hockey.” Buffalo Sabres winger Evander Kane, 24, also shared his sorrow on social media. “He was one of my owners of my junior team and was a big reason I wear the number 9,” Kane tweeted. Those who saw Howe play knew his impact. “So many generations of players wanted to play like Gordie Howe,” former Philadelphia Flyers captain Bobby Clarke told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He was the ultimate professional hockey player.” That was all he wanted to be: a good pro, a good husband who nursed his wife Colleen through the ravages of dementia, a good father to Marty, Mark, Murray and Cathy, a good citizen of the hockey community he loved. “Gordie’s toughness as a competitor on the ice was equaled only by his humor and humility away from it. No sport could have hoped for a greater, more-beloved ambassador,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. One personal note: After the Kings won the Cup in 2012, a club executive was kind enough to bring it to my home, and we went outside to have a bright background for our photos. From a neighbor’s home came a bellow of surprise, followed by the neighbor himself, his arms filled with scrapbooks containing old but carefully tended hockey cards. “Gordie Howe!” he said. “I’ve got to see Gordie Howe’s name on the Cup!” Rest well, Gordie, reunited with your beloved Colleen and once again skating fearlessly into the corners of an eternal hockey game. Oh, and Rocket? Monsieur Beliveau? Don’t forget those elbows. They’re probably laughing and bracing for it now. North Hawaii’s Traven Lee attempts to steal third as Hilo fielder Nohea Lerma applies the tag in Friday’s District 4 Minors baseball tournament game at Old Airport Park. RICK WINTERS/WEST HAWAII TODAY BASEBALL: Action continues through the weekend at the Old Airport fields After allowing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning, Joaquin struck out the next three batters, leaving a runner stranded at third. With a 10-0 lead in the bottom of the second, the young North Hawaii pitcher walked two, but struck out two, to keep the shutout intact. Joaquin seemed to only get stronger as the game progresses, saving his best performance for the third inning. With a 14-0 lead, he struck out the first two batters he faced before being pulled because of the strictly enforced pitch count rules. Speaking about his performance, Joaquin said his curveball and slider was working well in the game. The North Hawaii pitcher has been working on the two pitches for a little over a year. “He has some years pitching and playing. That experience gives him an edge,” North Hawaii coach Earl Hoshida said. “He is pretty strong.” Offensively, Leyton Neves led North Hawaii with four hits, including a triple in the top of the second which scored a run. Joaquin was solid at the plate as well, picking up two hits. He led off the top of the second with a double and scored on Neves triple. Easton Hoshida and Traven Lee also had two hits apiece for North Hawaii. Lee had three RBIs. “The kids played well today,” Earl Hoshida said. “They hit the ball and made plays.” Kia‘i Yasso had most of the offense for the Hilo squad. He had a triple with an RBI. Taren Segoria-Tanonaka took the loss on the hill. With the loss, Hilo will now await the loser of Kona and North Hawaii today. That game will take place on Sunday at 10 a.m. The winner of today’s game will advance to the championship game on Monday at 11 a.m. and will play the winner of Sunday’s game. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B GOLF Henderson, Lee share lead at Women’s PGA SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Brooke Henderson and Mirim Lee withstood a wild weather day to share the lead at 2 under halfway through the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Playing in the afternoon, Henderson and Lee fought heavy rain, wind and a significant drop in the temperature Friday at Sahalee Country Club. After six straight pars, Henderson birdied the par-3 17th, but the 18-year-old Canadian bogeyed the 18th for a 2-over 73 that dropped her back into a tie with Lee. Lee started on the back nine and surged when she got to the front, making three birdies before dropping a shot late. The South Korean player shot a 69. Top-ranked Lydia Ko was a stroke back along with Gerina Piller and Brittany Lincicome. Ko scrambled to a 70 in her bid to win her third straight major. Piller had a 69, and Lincicome shot 70. Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, the winner of her last three tournaments, was 3 over after a 75. Inbee Park missed the cut after winning the event the past three years. A day after wrapping up an LPGA Hall of Fame spot, the South Korean followed her opening 72 with a 79. Park has been dealing with inflammation in the tendons and ligaments around her left thumb. Michelle Wie also dropped out, shooting 78-80. FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Daniel Berger shot a season-best 6-under 64 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Berger had six birdies in his bogey-free morning round to reach 9-under 131 at TPC Southwind, and nobody caught him atop the leaderboard. Berger has started well, despite breaking in a new driver and 3-wood after his old clubs finally cracked last week from age. Tom Hoge, part of a threeway tie for the lead after the first round, was second after a 69. He birdied the final two holes in the next to last group. Dustin Johnson, the 2012 champion, had a chance to catch Berger until dropping three strokes on the final two holes. Johnson finished with a 69 after wiping out four birdies and an eagle with three bogeys and a double bogey on No. 18 with what he called bad swings at the end. That finish left Johnson tied with Phil Mickelson (65) and Brooks Koepka (65) at 5 under. Mickelson, winless since the 2013 British Open, matched his low round this year with six birdies and one bogey. He’s here fine-tuning his game for the U.S. Open next week, the one major that has eluded him in his career. CONSTELLATION SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FLOURTOWN, Pa. — Two-time defending champion Bernhard Langer pulled within a stroke of leader Brandt Jobe in the Constellation Senior Players Championship. Langer shot a 2-under 68 at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club in the third of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major championships. Jobe topped the leaderboard at 2 under after his second straight 69. Langer had three front-nine birdies to make the turn in 32, dropped a stroke on the par-4 10th and parred the final eight holes. The German star won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts. He won the Regions Tradition last month in Alabama for his sixth senior major and 27th career victory on the 50-and-over tour. Only six players were under par after two rounds on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course. Scott Dunlap had a 69 to match Langer at 1 under. Vijay Singh followed his opening 69 with a 74 to drop to 3 over. John Daly had his second straight 76. CURTIS CUP DUBLIN — Bailey Tardy and Monica Vaughn teamed to win two matches to help the United States tie Britain and Ireland 3-3 after the first day of the Curtis Cup amateur matches. Tardy and Vaughn beat Meghan MacLaren of England and Maria Dunne of Ireland 1 up in the morning foursomes matches to pull the U.S. to 2-1 at Dun Laoghaire. In the afternoon fourball session, Tardy and Vaughn topped MacLaren and fellow English player Alice Hewson 2 and 1. After another round of foursomes and fourball matches Saturday, the biennial competition will close Sunday with eight singles matches. The United States needs 10 points to retain the Cup, and Britain and Ireland needs 10 1/2 to reclaim it. The U.S. leads the series 28-7-3, winning 13-7 in 2014 in St. Louis. U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Hannah O’Sullivan and Mariel Galdiano also won a four-ball match for the United States, beating Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey and England’s Charlotte Thomas 1 up. The 18-year-old O’Sullivan is from Chandler, Arizona, and the 17-year-old Galdiano is from Pearl City, Hawaii. England’s Bronte Law played in two winning matches for Britain and Ireland. The UCLA player teamed with Northern Mehaffey to edge O’Sullivan and Galdiano 2 and 1 in the morning, and joined Ireland’s Leona Maguire in the afternoon to top UCLA teammates Bethany Wu and Sierra Brooks 4 and 3. LYONESS OPEN ATZENBRUGG, Austria — France’s Gregory Bourdy shot a 3-under 69 for a share of the Lyoness Open lead with South Africa’s Zander Lombard. Lombard had a 70 to match Bourdy at 7-under 137 at Diamond Country Club. France’s Gary Stal was a stroke back after a 71. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


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