Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

ATLANTA (AP) — Beaten twice in one day and just plain beat, the first-place Atlanta Braves were ready for some rest.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Two residents of the center were stabbed by another resident at the Baptist Towers Apartments in southwest Atlanta shortly before 11 p.m. Monday, Atlanta police told WSB-TV.

Units responding to the call about the stabbing found the woman dead in her second-floor apartment at the facility on Myrtle Street, Atlanta police Capt. Tim Peek said.

Ellen Hall Varner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that her mother, Mary Oliver, was killed in the attack. Varner said her mother would have turned 76 on Tuesday.

A second victim, a man in his early 70s, was stabbed multiple times in his upper torso and face in his apartment on the seventh floor of the assisted living facility, Peek said. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

Police say they apprehended a suspect — later identified as Greary Otis — near the scene and had him in custody Tuesday. Otis is charged with murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses, according to Fulton County jail records. Otis was hospitalized for minor injuries, police said. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer.

Officers “were able to recover two knives that did have blood on them,” Peek said.

“There does not appear to be any definite relationships between the parties at this point,” Peek said.

“We’re unclear on the actual motive,” he added. “We don’t know why the person chose to do whatever he did.”

The suspect, who lives on the fifth floor, is accused of stabbing the man on the seventh floor, then going down to the second floor where Oliver lived.

Varner said the suspect kicked her mother’s door in and began attacking her.

“Immediately when you come in the door, her kitchen is to the right,” Varner said, describing her mother’s apartment. “He got one of her butcher knives out of there and went in and started stabbing her. She was in bed.”

The facility’s on-site security guard was apparently making rounds outside the tower when the stabbings occurred, Peek said.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

DeKalb District Attorney Robert James, in an afternoon news conference, said Ellis is charged with extortion and other felonies for soliciting campaign contributions under threat.

The indictment, as read by James, says Ellis extorted CIBER Inc., a vendor in DeKalb, by threating a local manager. The indictment says Ellis threatened to tell CIBER’s CEO the local manager, Joanne Wise, delivered poor customer service if she did not agree to a campaign contribution. The indictment said Ellis acted similarly with other vendors and used DeKalb employees to draft lists of contractors doing business with DeKalb for the purpose of extorting them for campaign cash.

The indictment was returned even as a lawsuit brought by a member of a special purpose grand jury was trying to force DeKalb County Judge Mark Anthony Scott, who was overseeing the special purpose grand jury, to release their report on the investigation that possibly led to the indictment.

It was not immediately known if that report was made public.

For a year, the grand jury investigated possible corruption in the county water and sewer department contracts and eventually it led to search warrants being executed at Ellis’ home and office and at the home and of attorney Kevin Ross, the CEO’s former campaign manager.

Ross was not indicted. None of the companies named in the search warrants were included in Tuesday’s indictment.

Here are the charges against Ellis:

Count 1 – Criminal attempt to commit theft by extortion. Between Feb 17, 2012 and March 21, 2012, attempted to commit theft by extortion. As public official to obtain campaign contribution, Cyber Inc. and JoAnne Wise, threatening to take and withhold action to prevent Cyber Inc. from receiving business from DeKalb. And to end its business with DeKalb after Wise did not respond to demand for money and to say they would not contribute.

Count 2 — Ellis threatened to hurt her reputation if she did not contribute to his campaign.

Count 3 — On June 25, 2012 tried to extort campaign contribution Power and Energy Services. Brandon Cummings did not respond to requests for contribution and after was told Power and Energy would not contribute.

Count 4 — Sept. 25 2012 – Conspiracy with Kevin Walton director of purchasing for unreasonable restraint of trade. Told Walton to prevent work for Power and Energy.

Counts six and seven – Ellis put notes in files that Power and Electric did not return phone calls.

Count 8 — Theft by taking services – ordered Walton to use DeKalb Board meeting agendas and contracting information to create a list of vendors awarded contracts to include contact information so could use vendor list to solicit contributions.

Count 9 — For delivery of the lists for Walton during working hours to R.L. Brown and Associates to make calls

Count 10 – Conspiracy to defraud a political subdivision. Theft of property using Kelvin Walton and three others. Told Walton during normal working hours to use board of commissioner meeting agendas and data to create lists of vendors to use for soliciting campaign contributions.

They have more international players on their roster than any other team in the NBA, and even their American players don’t come straight from America to the league.

It’s the hard way to build a roster, requiring patience, discipline and investment that few teams are able to muster these days. And it’s paying off in a big way for them in the NBA Finals.

There is Danny Green, who was cut three times and spent a summer in Slovenia, drilling every 3-pointer in sight and running away with the finals MVP award.

There is Gary Neal, who was undrafted out of Towson University and spent three years kicking around Turkey, Spain and Italy before being discovered by the Spurs, scoring 24 points in a Game 3 victory that put them back in control.

There is Boris Diaw, the once-promising Frenchman who was on his way out of the league before the Spurs brought him in, playing surprisingly stingy defense on LeBron James and finding Manu Ginobili cutting to the basket for easy buckets in a Game 5 win that moved the Spurs one victory away from the franchise’s fifth title.

How do they find these guys?

General manager RC Buford has assembled an unparalleled scouting staff and worked with Gregg Popovich to establish a system and culture over the last 15-plus seasons that allows them to identify the exact attributes that will allow a player to succeed in San Antonio.

“Our management staff, RC does a great job with his scouts showing us who is out there, who is available,” Popovich said earlier this season. “And we all sit down and decide who we want to bring in. Once we bring them in, we do take a lot of time trying to develop them.”

It takes communication. It takes trust. It takes commitment to do what the Spurs do. It also takes a willingness to think outside the normal parameters of team building, to consider players that don’t fit the prototypical mold.

“When you look at a basketball player and you’re trying to evaluate someone, in my opinion you’ve got to look past the typical biases and preconceived notions on what an NBA player is and should look like or should be; what their pedigree or path should be and really get down to the guy’s talent and character and work ethic,” said forward Matt Bonner, who played in Italy and was acquired in a trade from Toronto. “Is this person going to make our team better and can he play? I think when you do that you can get a more accurate portrayal of a player and what their value potentially could be.”

The commitment to drafting and developing came early for Buford and Popovich. Situated in small-market San Antonio, they knew they couldn’t afford to throw millions at the free agent market every summer to fill holes in their roster. They certainly got lucky getting the No. 1 pick in 1997 when Tim Duncan was available, but their moves to surround him with a championship-caliber supporting cast all came the hard way.

Game 6 is Tuesday night in Miami, where Duncan will have a chance to win his fifth title 14 years after his first. Along the way he has gone from the focal point to a supporting role, all thanks to the system the Spurs have in place.

“I think development is a big part of that,” Buford said. “The better prepared you can be to fill in the holes behind that success of an aging group, the smoother the transition might be.”

Tony Parker was the 28th pick out of France in 2001. And despite being well known and coveted thanks to his stellar international play for Argentina, Ginobili fell to the second round in 1999 and didn’t come to the NBA for another three seasons.

“Ginobili that was a pick that a lot of people knew was going to be good,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said. “It’s just at the time a lot of people didn’t want to wait for him.”

The Spurs were willing to wait, and it’s paid off handsomely with the left-hander helping them win three titles and then registering 24 points and 10 assists in their Game 5 victory over Miami. He has also helped other foreign players like Tiago Splitter and Nando De Colo make the transition to the United States.

“The first years I started to feel like a guide to the new guys, it felt great, because I needed that at the beginning,” Ginobili said. “Being sort of an icon or staple player on this team feels really good. I’m very lucky. And at the same time, it’s great to have so many international players that went through some of the things you went through.”

Assistant coach Chad Forcier also deserves plenty of credit. He worked hard with Green to smooth out his jumper and has spent countless hours with many of the projects the Spurs have taken on over the years. The long and winding road that many of these players have taken to get here comes through in the hunger they show on the court.

“Just dealing with the reality that I wasn’t going to get drafted, that’s like a crossroad for a lot of guys coming out of college,” Neal said. “You realize you’re not going to get drafted and there’s a great chance that you might not become an NBA player. You kind of have to make your mind up that you want to continue on professionally and take the European route and take it seriously.”

When they arrive in San Antonio, they see a lot of other players just like them. A bond is formed and a support system is fostered.

“I think there’s a lot of guys with the Spurs who didn’t have the easy way, one-and-done in college and then bam, you have a career,” Bonner said. “A lot of guys on our team have had to go through the journey of maybe all four years of college, maybe the D-league, maybe overseas. I think that builds character and it makes you appreciate playing in the NBA and playing for an organization like the Spurs that much more.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press

Then LeBron James got “the look” and things were never the same for the Heat.

James put the team on his shoulders and ran wild on the Boston Celtics for 45 points and 15 rebounds in Game 6. After that, James and the Heat never looked back en route to the Big Three’s first NBA championship.

This year, the Heat are once again staring elimination in the face and it will likely come down to just how far James and his fellow Big Three members Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can carry the Heat.

LeBron has said repeatedly that he wants the majority of the responsibility for how the Heat performs in the 2013 Finals. When the team has been firing on all cylinders, Miami has looked unbeatable against the San Antonio Spurs.

But when Miami has been playing poorly, as the team did in Games 3 & 5, the Heat resembled a junior varsity squad trying to keep pace with the Spurs. The question is can James once again reach into his veritable bag of tricks and pull out more Game 6 magic.

So what can the Heat expect out of LeBron heading into Game 6? Based on his history in closeout playoff games, Miami will likely get a big output of points, but it may not be enough to put the Heat over the top.

Since he was drafted into the NBA, LeBron has played in eight games that would closeout a series. In those games, James’ teams are just 2-6 overall; but LeBron Has played well in almost every one of the games.

James averages 29 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the closeout games while shooting an average of 43.5 percent from the field. The only question is can he once again elevate his game to another level and get the Heat to a crucial Game 7 where anything can happen?

“We look forward to the challenge,” James said. “We’re going to see if we’re a better team than we were our first year together.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Elton Augustin was sentenced Tuesday. Prosecutors say Augustin worked at an illegal nightclub in Atlanta from June through August 2007.

They say he and two other Atlanta police officers got more than $10,000 in cash to provide security and prevent other officers from investigating illegal activity at the club. That activity included gambling, prostitution, drug sales and permit violations.

The other two officers, Lucius T. Solomon and Eric Jones, were also convicted of bribery charges. Solomon also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and got 12 years in prison. Jones pleaded guilty to conspiring with Augustin to accept bribes and is awaiting sentencing.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Three teams have gone into Game 6 of the NBA Finals on their home court down 3-2 in the series and then gone on to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The 2010 Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the Boston Celtics in seven games, as did the Houston Rockets in 1994 over the New York Knicks. Finally, the Lakers also pulled off the feat in 1988 by beating the Detroit Pistons.

Now, the Miami Heat will try to join this very select club and avoid what happened just two years ago when the Dallas Mavericks came to Miami and knocked out the Heat in Game 6 and celebrated a NBA championship on the home court of the Heat.

“This is the reason that you play 82 games, to get home-court,” Heat forward Chris Bosh said. “And we have to defend home-court.”

One uniting factor running through two of the teams that did win Game 6 and the series is Miami Heat president Pat Riley. The former coach was in charge of the 1994 Knicks team that lost to the Rockets and also the head coach of 1988 Lakers that knocked off the Pistons after trailing 3-2.

Riley was also president of the last Heat team to bring the Finals back to the AmericanAirlines Arena down 3-2 in 2011. In three shots, Riley is 1-2 and has a chance to even his record if his latest handiwork with the Heat can come back.

Finally, if Heat fans want one more thing to worry about heading into Game 6; in the last 25 years, only one team from Texas that made the NBA Finals lost the series. On the other hand, the only to lose was the 2006 Dallas Mavericks which went down at the hands of Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MIAMI (AP) — 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.

The San Antonio Spurs can finish Miami off Tuesday night in Game 6, reaffirming themselves as one of the league’s greatest franchises.

If so, the Heat and their Big Three once again go from celebrated to devastated, just as they were two years ago when they came home from Texas facing this same predicament.

“We’re going to see if we’re a better team than we were our first year together,” James said.

The Spurs took a 3-2 lead with their 114-104 victory Sunday night. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were all brilliant again, and Danny Green added to what could become one of the most out-of-nowhere finals MVP campaigns ever.

One more victory makes the Spurs 5-0 in the NBA Finals, keeping pace with Michael Jordan’s 6-0 Chicago Bulls as the only teams to make it here multiple times and never lose.

“We understand Game 6 is huge,” Parker said. “Obviously, you want to finish in the first opportunity you get. We understand that Miami is going to come out with a lot more energy, and they’re going to play better at home. They’re going to shoot the ball better. Their crowd is going to be behind them.”

None of that mattered two years ago.

Clearly reeling and their psyches shaken after dropping two straight games in Dallas, the Heat were blitzed early in Game 6. They never recovered, Chris Bosh inconsolable as he made his way back to the locker room afterward while the Mavericks celebrated at center court.

James had to endure the criticisms that came with not getting it done in the finals, a story line that was put to rest last year but will be back again if the Heat don’t manage to put together consecutive victories.

“We challenge ourselves to see if we’re a better team than we were,” Wade said. “Same position no matter how we got to it.”

The Heat would also host Game 7 on Thursday. They’re trying to join the 1988 and 2010 Los Angeles Lakers and 1994 Houston Rockets as the only teams to rally from 3-2 down by winning the final two on their home floor since the NBA Finals went to a 2-3-2 format in 1985.

Of course, the Heat — who won 27 in a row during the second-longest winning streak in league history — haven’t put together consecutive victories now in close to a month.

“We’re in a position where it’s a must-win and everything that we’ve done all year comes to this point, and we have to win,” Heat guard Ray Allen said. “We’ve found ourselves in so many situations this year, and we’ve thrived in tough moments because this is a tough team. We will be ready for Game 6.”

So will the Spurs, and the Heat know it.

“I’m sure this team, they’ve been here before many times. They understand winning that last game is one of the hardest things you’re going to do. And we understand it as well,” Wade said.

“But you know what? It’s the game; we’ve got to play it. I like our chances, just like they like their chances, in this series and in Game 6. We’ll see. We’ll see which team, which style is going to prevail.”

Their four titles have made the Spurs respected but never beloved. Their first, in 1999, came following a 50-game lockout season, and they certainly weren’t the team to help the NBA regain its jilted fan base.

Victories in 2003 over New Jersey, 2005 over Detroit and 2007 over James’ Cleveland Cavaliers were all low-rated, lukewarm-interest series in which the Spurs were supposed to win and did, just not in a way that erased the idea that they had boring players with a boring brand of basketball.

Win this one, though, and they will surely get their due. They would be knocking off the league’s winningest team and the game’s best player, with Duncan at 37 and Ginobili soon to be 36, behind a more wide-open offense that has helped Green break Allen’s finals record for 3-pointers.

Not that they’re thinking about that, or anything else beyond Game 6 at this point.

“We’ll reflect back and let it hit us when it’s over. We still have a lot more work to do. There’s still some business to be done. We have to carry it out and finish it,” said Green, who was cut previously by the Cavaliers and Spurs and now has made 25 3-pointers in the first five games.

It looked as though the game was finally passing by the Spurs last year, when the young Oklahoma City Thunder blew by them with four straight victories after San Antonio had taken a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

The Heat routed the Thunder for the championship and the Spurs brought back essentially the same team, believing another year in their system for players like Green and Kawhi Leonard was a better option than seeking out some quick-fix outsider.

That’s almost always been the Spurs’ way, and it’s on the verge of again being the model for an NBA title — at the expense of the Miami one that once appeared to be the way champions would be built.

“I think every one of us wants this very badly from the top on down,” Duncan said. “We’re trying to play that way.”

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A 1.5 percent increase was approved for firefighters and police.

The council on Monday approved the pay hikes and budget for the new year beginning July 1.

Workers say they deserve a pay raise, especially after city council members voted to give themselves a significant pay increase.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said he believes employees deserve the recognition.

The review by the National Council on Teacher Quality was released Tuesday and found colleges’ education programs are not adequately preparing future teachers. The review criticized their admission standards, training and value.

The ratings were based on a set of key standards, such as instructing prospective teachers how to implement the Common Core academic standards, teach non-native English speakers and manage classrooms. Colleges and universities were rated on a four-star system.

In Georgia, five teaching programs received the lowest rating of no stars with a consumer alert designation.

Spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, Tim Callahan, says questions have been raised about the report’s methodology.

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority’s board of governors approved the design at a meeting Tuesday.

The proposal by 360 Architecture is meant to provide direction for ongoing design work and doesn’t necessarily represent the final structure. It includes an exterior meant to evoke falcon wings and giant windows to showcase a view of the city at night.

Tuesday’s approval clears the way for the design team to create a detailed schematic design. The stadium’s design is expected to be finalized in April 2014.

State and city officials have signed off on the $1 billion stadium in downtown Atlanta. Officials estimate $200 million in public bonds will be used to build the new, retractable-roof stadium.

BOSTON (AP) — Five things learned in the Boston Bruins’ win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals Monday night:

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SUPAH TUUKKA: Tuukka Rask is proving the Bruins right for putting their faith in him. Rask watched the Bruins’ entire 2011 Stanley Cup run from the bench while Tim Thomas led Boston to the NHL title, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the process. But after the enigmatic Thomas decided to take a year off from playing there’s been no drop-off. Rask’s numbers this postseason are even better than Thomas’ were two years ago: 14-5 with a .946 save percentage and a 1.64 goals-against average. (Thomas was 16-9, .940, 1.98). Rask had 28 saves Monday night to post his third shutout of the playoffs and extend his shutout streak to more than 122 minutes. He’s the biggest reason the Bruins are ahead 2-1 in the series.

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LIVELY LINE: The revamped third line of Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin paid off for the second straight game. Boston coach Claude Julien bumped Paille up from the fourth line in Game 2 and he ended up scoring the winner in overtime. Kelly scored Boston’s other goal in the 2-1 win and assisted on Paille’s goal Monday that put the Bruins up 1-0. “I think we are just putting pucks on net and reading plays,” Paille said. “I think we are managing the puck a little bit better. Just on my goal, you saw Kells go in, and I went in and then I shot. I think we are just not giving them enough time to think with the puck and we are able to get it.” Kelly and Paille also drew penalties that led to Patrice Bergeron’s goal with 5:55 left in the second, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead. “We’re having fun. The three of us are working hard and having fun, which is nice,” Kelly said. “It’s always fun, but some days are more fun than others.” Indeed.

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FACE-OFF FOLLIES: Patrice Bergeron won 24 faceoffs on Monday night. That’s eight more than Chicago won as a team, and nobody had a worse night in the circle for the Blackhawks than Michal Handzus, who was a perfect 0-for-10 for a Bluto-like average of 0.00. “That’s definitely something that we take a lot of pride in and we talk about a lot,” Bergeron said. “We have some really good centermen, so it’s not just about the four centers, it’s about everyone on the ice chipping in and helping to get those battles.”

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DAVE’S NOT HERE: Chicago defenseman Dave Bolland had a rough night. He was called for three of Chicago’s six penalties and made two mistakes that helped lead to Boston’s two goals. The first was a turnover that led to Paille’s goal 2:13 into the second period. The second was cross-checking Kelly into the net and Chicago goalie Corey Crawford with 8:00 left in the second. A second Chicago penalty led to a brief 5-on-3 for Boston. Bolland was out of the penalty box, but didn’t have time to get back into the play before Bergeron put Boston up 2-0 with 5:55 left in the second. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville didn’t have much to say about Bolland after the game. “Haven’t talked to him yet,” Quenneville said. “We’ll reassess and reevaluate the game.”

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HISTORY MAY NOT HELP: The Chicago Blackhawks trailed the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in the Western Conference finals then won the next three games. So a 2-1 deficit against the Boston Bruins certainly isn’t too big to overcome. It’s just that one comeback may not be the same as another. “I think they’re a little bit different team than Detroit was,” Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford said of the Bruins. “They’re able to sit back and wait for us to collapse defensively. You can’t block everything. But we made some plays, we had some good shots and had a couple of the chances went just wide.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Officials said Tuesday that an unidentified Gwinnett Medical Center employee was recently diagnosed with tuberculosis. Officials say all of the facility’s employees must take annual tuberculosis skin tests in June. Authorities say the employee likely developed the disease in mid-May and is expected to recover.

Authorities say 133 letters have sent to patients who had the most direct contact with the worker between February and May. The letters advise patients who had direct contact with the worker to undergo testing for tuberculosis.

Officials say no other Gwinnett Medical Center employees have tested positive for the disease.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

After nearly three full games (13 periods), the Bruins and Blackhawks got past their pleasantries and engaged in a full-on brawl in the waning seconds of Game 3.

With roughly 20 seconds to go and the Bruins leading 2-0, Zdeno Chara dumped Bryan Bickell to the ice on front of the Boston net. Bickell tugged on Chara’s jersey and then cross-checked the much taller defenseman in the side.

Had the cross-check come in the middle of the game, Chara no doubt would have let it go without responding. Such is the price one pays while protecting the front of the net. However, with the game in hand, Chara decided to send a message to the Blackhawks that if they want to camp out in front of the net, they’re going to have to pay a price.

Chara clobbered Bickell, smothering him into the ice and remaining on top of him for several seconds until a sea of white and black sweaters converged upon them.

Out of the scrum emerged Brad Marchand and Andrew Shaw, who said before the series that he’d like to model his game after the pesky Bruins winger. Neither player landed any punches while standing, but after they wrestled each other to the ground, Shaw delivered a heavy right punch to Marchand, who was lying on his back on the ice. It may have violated “the code,” but it likely just canceled out Chara’s bullying of Bickell.

Given there’s so much at stake during these games, it’s almost a guarantee that neither team will be going out of its way to retaliate or threaten to drop the gloves in Game 4 and beyond — at least not unless a game is pretty much over, like it was in Game 3.

Regardless, messages were sent loud and clear. The Blackhawks, who could not generate any traffic in front of Tuukka Rask all game, know they’re going to have to endure a certain level of punishment if they hope to accomplish that. And both ways, the Bruins and Blackhawks know that they won’t be receiving Christmas cards with friendly holiday greetings from each other come December.

Game 4 will take place Wednesday night at the TD Garden.

(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders had a viral sensation last year with their bikini rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen’s ubiquitous “Call Me Maybe”.  Well they are back, and no matter what you think about the Dolphins, I think we can all get behind their cheerleaders’ rendition of Taylor Swift’s “22″.

Click the audio links to hear the conversation…

After playing four extra periods in the first two games, the Bruins made an early night of it with second-period goals by Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron to win 2-0 and take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

Rask stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the 2013 playoffs.

Corey Crawford made 33 saves for the Blackhawks.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the matchup of Original Six teams returns to Chicago for a fifth game. The teams split the first two games there, with the Blackhawks winning Game 1 in triple-overtime and the Bruins stealing home-ice advantage on Paille’s goal in the first OT of the second game.

But this time the intrigue came before the opening faceoff instead of after the end of regulation.

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and Chicago forward Marian Hossa were both injured during warmups. But while Chara needed just some stitches after his collision with teammate Milan Lucic, Hossa was a late scratch with an unspecified injury.

Hossa, who has three game-winning goals in the playoffs this year, was tied for the team lead with 15 playoff points and was third on the Blackhawks with 17 goals during the regular season.

It was a loss the Blackhawks couldn’t afford.

Not with Rask stopping everything that came his way.

The Bruins’ goalie, who was a backup to Conn Smythe-winner Tim Thomas in the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup run, didn’t face as difficult a test as in the first period of Game 2, when the Blackhawks sent 19 shots at him but managed just one goal. But he stymied them all game and got some help from the post on Bryan Bickell’s shot with 42 seconds left in the game.

The puck caromed off the right post and the goal light flickered on briefly, but play continued for another 30 seconds before the whistle blew and the game degenerated into fisticuffs. Chara was on top of Viktor Stalberg, pounding away, and Andrew Shaw got the better of Brad Marchand.

By the time it was all sorted out, the benches were a little emptier but the scoring column for Chicago was still blank.

After a scoreless first period, the Bruins made it 1-0 when Paille slapped in the puck at 2:13 of the second, falling to one knee for extra power. It stayed that way until late in the second, when the Bruins picked up their first power plays of the game on two nearly identical plays, with a Bruin racing to the net and a Blackhawk undercutting his skates and sending him crashing into the left post.

Boston set up their offense during the 11-second two-man advantage, and just five seconds after it expired — but before Dave Bolland was able to get back into the play — Jaromir Jagr slid one across the middle, past Lucic in the center to Bergeron on the other side for the easy one-timer.

It was Jagr’s 197th career playoff point in 199 games, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the NHL’s all-time postseason points list.

Notes: Jagr had been tied with Paul Coffey on the career postseason scoring list. … Two of Jagr’s playoff points came on goals scored against the Blackhawks when they were swept by Penguins in 1992 final. … Boston’s Gregory Campbell, who broke his leg blocking a shot in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, attended the game. … The Bruins have killed off 27 straight penalties in the playoffs. … Boston’s David Krejci entered the game tied with Chicago’s Andrew Sharp for the most goals in the postseason with nine. The Bruins center entered the game leading all scorers with 23 points. … The Bruins are attempting to win a Cup for the second time in three seasons for the third time in their history. They also did it in 1939 and ’41 and again in 1970 and ’72. … Bruins won their seventh straight home playoff game. … The Blackhawks fell to 3-5 on the road in the postseason. … Ben Smith, who played just one game this regular season and none in the playoffs, replaced Hossa in the lineup. … Stalberg replaced Brandon Bollig in the lineup for Chicago.

(© 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

Well, Crosby’s not even doing the complaining himself, leaving his agent, Pat Brisson, to be his mouthpiece. As Damien Cox of the Toronto Star passed along on Friday, “Sidney Crosby’s agent is convinced Zdeno Chara of the Bruins intentionally punched Crosby where he had broken his jaw in Game 1. Nasty.”

Game 1, in case you have forgotten, took place two full weeks before the agent spread the word. The reason may be because it took a while to not only find footage of the “punch” but to then display in slow-motion in such a way that it looked to be a heavy blow to the jaw. In real speed, Chara’s “punch” of Crosby was nothing more than a shove with his left arm, which only came after Crosby had grabbed the back of Chara’s shoulder pads following a whistle in front of the Boston net.

But in super slow-motion, and with some sort of mega zoom, Crosby and his agent were convinced that Chara had purposefully taken the time to carefully target Crosby’s exposed jaw with a direct jab in the middle of a scrum. And so they gathered the video and sent it along to TSN, which was happy to “report” on the wretched assault on hockey’s golden boy. (TSN’s Darren Dreger actually took Chara aside to show him the video. Chara is in the middle of playing for the Stanley Cup.)

The play in question came just five minutes into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Tuukka Rask covered a puck, and Chara shoved Brenden Morrow out of the crease. Crosby reached out with his left hand and grabbed the back of Chara’s neck. Chara turned, saw Crosby grabbing onto him, and shoved him with his left hand to separate himself from Crosby. The Penguins’ captain did not let go of the Bruins’ captain, and after exchanging a few words, they were eventually separated by officials.

While the Zapruder-esque slow-motion footage provided by TSN looks damning for Chara, the video at regular speed (uploaded to YouTube by user @dafoomie) of the “incident” shows it for it is: nothing.

First and foremost, if Crosby’s jaw was not able to withstand the punishment that takes place during Stanley Cup playoff games, then the plastic shield guarding his jaw should never have been removed from his helmet. But it was, and that’s not any opponent’s fault.

“[Team doctors are] comfortable with it coming off, being hit and things like that,” Crosby said of the removal of his face shield prior to the series against the Bruins, thereby indicating his jaw was OK.

If Crosby wanted special treatment due to an injury from which doctors determined he had already recovered, then he shouldn’t have been on the ice at all.

Secondly, and perhaps worst of all, is the fact that this may be the first time in history that a hockey player has complained publicly about generic post-whistle roughhousing two weeks after it happened. Hockey is a man’s game, played by self-respecting tough guys who can get gashed open by a skate blade and still pretend like it doesn’t hurt. And yet, there is Crosby, upset he was shoved by a man whom he had grabbed seconds earlier. Accusing Chara of targeting his jaw two weeks after the fact is no doubt an unprecedented move in hockey’s rich history. (Continued…)

The “intentional” assault on Crosby’s jaw was used to explain why the 25-year-old was so upset at the end of the second period of that game. On his way off the ice after the second with the Bruins leading 1-0, Crosby said something to Chara, drawing a laugh from the 6-foot-9 defenseman. Crosby then bumped into Rask and appeared willing to get into a jousting match with the netminder. Then, after Evgeni Malkin and Patrice Bergeron fought each other and fell to the ice, Crosby and Chara confronted each other at the center ice faceoff dot. They exchanged words, with Chara leaning over to look Crosby eye-to-eye, and they eventually walked to their respective locker rooms.

Crosby went on to be held without a single point as his Penguins were swept by the Bruins.

Crosby did sort of refer to the play in question after the game.

“They’re letting a lot go out there, and the more it gets like that, the more it’s going to escalate,” Crosby said of the referees, who penalized him for interference as well as slashing in Game 1. “You can only control and channel that stuff so much. You keep letting guys do that stuff, you’re just going to push the envelope. That’s something we obviously want to stay away from, but it’s kind of a natural thing when it gets like that.”

Crosby might not have referred to the “punch” specifically at the time, because he knew his video team would need some time to rewrite history before it went public.

Just like the many instances of Crosby doing things on the ice that the most talented player in the world does not need to be doing, it’s disappointing to see. It’s why those of us who had hoped we were seeing the next Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux have come to terms with the fact that we simply are not. Crosby may be more talented than anyone else on the planet, but the more he gets caught up in nonsense like this instead of simply dominating hockey games, the less likeable he becomes.

That shift Crosby had in double overtime of Game 3 in Boston, when he lost his helmet and went on a determined rampage to try to score the game-winning goal? That’s the Crosby we all want to see. Knowing he’s capable of that but seeing him get tangled up in this is what makes it so difficult to embrace Crosby as this generation’s greatest player.

By coming out and not only claiming a regular post-whistle shove was a direct punch but also claiming Chara purposely targeted an injured jaw is a legitimately low and contemptible action by Crosby, who continues to act like he is bigger than the game. Hopefully some day, he’ll learn he is not.

Read more from Michael by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

Click the audio links to hear the conversation….

MIAMI (AP) — Five things to watch for in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, as the San Antonio Spurs try to clinch their fifth title and end the Miami Heat’s reign on Tuesday night:

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves waited a long time to get going.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Last year, about 18 percent of adults participating in a national health survey described themselves as current smokers.

The nation’s smoking rate generally has been falling for decades, but had seemed to stall at around 20 to 21 percent for about seven years. In 2011, the rate fell to 19 percent, but that might have been a statistical blip.

Health officials are analyzing the 2012 findings and have not yet concluded why the rate dropped, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC released its study Tuesday.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. It’s responsible for the majority of lung cancer deaths and is a deadly factor in heart attacks and a variety of other illnesses.

Concerned about the stalled smoking rate, the CDC launched a graphic advertising campaign last year that was the agency’s largest and starkest anti-smoking push. The campaign triggered an increase of 200,000 calls to quit lines, and CDC officials said thousands of smokers probably went on to kick the habit. The CDC did a second wave of the ads earlier this year.

The new report is from a survey of about 35,000 U.S. adults. Current smokers were identified as those who said they had smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and now smoke every day or some days.

The rate was only 9 percent for people ages 65 and older, but about 20 percent for younger adults. More men than women described themselves as current smokers.

The report did not include teens. About 16 percent of high school students were smokers in 2011, according to an earlier CDC report.

Patrick Reynolds, executive director of the Foundation for a SmokeFree America, told The Associated Press that he was elated that the adult smoking rate, for years at about 20 percent, had dropped below that longstanding plateau.

He said factors he thinks have contributed to fewer adults smoking include rising state and federal tobacco taxes, more spending on prevention and cessation programs, and more laws banning smoking in public.

“This is a real decline in smoking in America. I’m ecstatic about it. It’s proof that we are winning the battle against tobacco,” he said by telephone from Los Angeles.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

BOSTON (AP) — Tuukka Rask watched most of the action at the other end of the ice. And when the Blackhawks did make a late charge, he was ready.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

The show, Mayhem in the AM, was broadcast on 790 The Zone Monday morning. In a statement, General Manager Rick Mack said the station regrets comments made about ex-New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason.

The 36-year-old suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS patients lose the ability to speak and move, which has happened to Gleason.

The station lists the hosts as Nick Cellini, Steak Shapiro and Chris Dimino. But Mack didn’t give the names of those fired.

During the segment, two of the on-air personalities took a call from a third host who pretended to be Gleason by using a voice that sounded automated — mimicking another famous ALS patient, Stephen Hawking.

The host pretending to be Gleason told a series of jokes and eventually asked the two others to do him a favor by smothering him.

All three took to Twitter Monday evening to apologize to fans and others who criticized the segment. Listeners and critics turned to the station’s Facebook page to call for the hosts’ termination.

Gleason played for the Saints between 2000 and 2006. Team Gleason, an organization named after the former NFL player, is geared toward finding a cure for ALS, raising awareness of the disease and connecting patients to technology, equipment and services tailored to fit their needs.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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