Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 10, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B2 ABORIGINAL DAY LIVE AT LUNCH AT THE WINNIPEG FREEPRESS NEWS CAF� Get a sneak peek of Canada's most exciting National Aboriginal Day celebration as The Winnipeg Free Press Cafe hosts performers from Aboriginal Day Live & Celebration. Thursday June 7 Indian City featuring Pamela Davis and William Prince Thursday June 14 Indian City featuring Don Amero and Ray Stevenson Thursday June 21 Adam James Presents aboriginaldaylive. com # ADL2012 For more information about Aboriginal Day Live and Celebration, June 23 at The Forks visit THURSDAYS AT 12 NOON TO 1PM JUNE 7 - 21, 2012 237 McDermot Ave. 943- 0682 wfpnewscafe@ gmail. com SPORTS B2 SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2012 LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao tried to turn his welterweight title fight with Timothy Bradley into a brawl, but it was Bradley who won a split decision to end a remarkable run by the Filipino fighter. Bradley won 115- 113 on two scorecards, while losing by the same margin on the third. The decision was roundly booed by the crowd at the MGM Grand arena. Pacquiao never put Bradley down, but hurt him in the early rounds and landed the harder and cleaner punches throughout the fight. Bradley fought well in spurts and tried desperately to take the fight to Pacquiao, and scored enough points with the judges to win the 147- pound title. On the undercard, Randall Bailey, who was trailing on all three ringside scorecards, landed a huge right uppercut to stop Mike Jones in the 11th round Saturday night and win a piece of the 147- pound title. Bailey, who dropped Jones the round earlier with a right hand, put him down late in the 11th and referee Tony Weeks waved the fight to a close at 2: 52 of the round as Jones struggled to get off the canvas. In another fight, two- time Olympic gold medallist Guillermo Rigondeaux retained his super batamweight title with an impressive performance against Teon Kennedy. - The Associated Press M IAMI - LeBron James finally got a Game 7 victory, on his third try. Next up, the NBA finals - and his third try at that elusive first championship. A year after watching someone else celebrate on their home floor, the Miami Heat were the ones dancing at midcourt. James had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Chris Bosh hit a careerbest three 3- pointers - the last sparking the run that put it away - and the Heat won their second straight Eastern Conference title by beating the Boston Celtics 101- 88 in Game 7 on Saturday night. Miami opens the title series in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. The Heat got there by outscoring Boston 28- 15 in the fourth quarter, with the " Big Three" of Wade, Bosh and James scoring every Miami point. " We decided to come together and play together for a reason," Wade said. Wade scored 23 points, Bosh finished with 19 and Shane Battier added 12 for the Heat, who won a Game 7 for the first time since 2004 - Wade's rookie season. Now it's back to the finals, where Miami fell in six games to Dallas a year ago. Rajon Rondo finished with 22 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for Boston, which got 19 points from Paul Pierce in what might be the last game of the " Big Four" era for the Celtics. Boston took out its starters with 28.3 seconds left. By then, workers already had a rope around the perimeter of the court, preparing for the East trophy presentation. " Give them credit," Rondo said. " They spread the points out as a team tonight. Give them credit. They played great tonight as a team and we just came up short." When Heat President Pat Riley was shown on the giant overhead video screen in the moments just after the final buzzer, the crowd screamed. Riley finally acknowledged them with some claps, before the 2012 Eastern Conference champions logo was shown as players below the scoreboard high- fived and hugged, all wearing the new T- shirts and caps that marked the accomplishment. The screams kept coming, first when Alonzo Mourning took the microphone - " We still got a lot of work to do," Mourning said - and then again when he handed the trophy to Heat owner Micky Arison. " A roller- coaster ride," Arison said. A roller- coaster game, too. In a roller- coaster season. All worth it - for now, anyway. The next step awaits, another shot at the finals. In a championship- orbust season, the Heat board a plane for Oklahoma City on Sunday. " We have been through a lot," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. James and Celtics coach Doc Rivers - who teared up often postgame - shared a long embrace when it was all over. Before coming to Miami for Game 7, Rivers had packed for Oklahoma City, a trip he won't make, set to now spend his time seeing if James can win that first title. " I told him to go do it," Rivers said. Down by seven at the half and eight early in the third quarter, Miami started clawing back. An 8- 0 run tied it at 59- all, capped by Wade hitting a jumper, and then the fun really started. There were six lead changes and five more ties in the final 7 minutes of the third. Bosh scored with 29 seconds left for the last of those ties, and it was 73- all going into the fourth. Six games decided nothing, and nothing was decided in Game 7 until the very last moments, neither team yielding much of anything. Battier's 3- pointer with 8: 06 left in the third cut Boston's lead at the time to 59- 57. And back and forth they went. For the next 13 minutes, a span of 46 dizzying, unbelievable possessions, neither team led by more than two points. That finally changed when Bosh his third 3- pointer with 7: 17 left. James made a runner on the next Miami trip, and suddenly the Heat had their biggest lead of the night to that point, 88- 82 with 6: 54 remaining. They were on their way. " He was big time - every shot, every defensive play, every rebound - we missed him," James said of Bosh. " We're just happy to have him back at the right time. If it wasn't for him and the rest of the guys that stepped up, we don't win this game." NOTES: Strange but true: Manny Pacquiao - from the Philippines, the country where Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's mother hails from - planned to delay the start of his fight Saturday night so he could see Game 7. Pacquiao is a Celtics fan. - The Associated Press HEAT 101 CELTICS 88 Heat wave bye to Boston LeBron, Bosh push Miami into NBA final versus Oklahoma City By Tim Reynolds HE'S a cornerstone to their franchise, but the Winnipeg Jets might have some competition in their attempts to lock up goaltender Ondrej Pavelec with a new deal. Reported Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday night that Pavelec - a restricted free agent come July 1 - may be in contract talks with a team in the Kontinental Hockey League, hinting at a potential " one- year, big- money offer." These rumours first began in April when the Free Press reported speculation out of the Czech Republic that the Slovakian- based HC Lev Poprad team was relocating to Prague, will play in the KHL and might be pursuing Pavelec. As one of the Czech Republic's biggest stars, Pavelec - who grew up in Kladno, near Prague - would be a huge draw for the KHL and a team based in his homeland. The Jets, not surprisingly, offered up a " no comment" when reached by the Free Press , but sources say GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has been in contract talks with Allan Walsh, the Czech star's agent, and is trying to sign the 24- year- old to a new deal. Walsh replied to an inquiry on the rumour Saturday night via email, offering a " no comment regarding the CBC report." Pavelec was arguably the Jets' MVP in 2011- 12, posting a 29- 28- 9 record with a 2.91 goals against average and .906 save percentage. He just completed the final year of a deal signed in 2010- 11 that paid him $ 1.3 million this past season and is looking at a hefty pay hike. As a restricted free agent, the Jets need only make Pavelec a qualifying offer to retain their negotiation rights to him. But two factors are likely also at play here: 1. If the KHL is indeed an option for Pavelec - and it most certainly is - then this rumour certainly can't hurt his bargaining position in negotiating with the Jets. 2. The ongoing uncertainty about whether the 2012- 13 season will start on time, if at all, means a RFA like Pavelec could play in the KHL during a lockout. ed. tait@ freepress. mb. ca Twitter: @ WFPEdTait - with files from Gary Lawless KHL team rumoured to be chasing RFA Pavelec By Ed Tait LYNNE SLADKY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LeBron James drives to the hoop as Boston's Brandon Bass waves helplessly in Game 7. JULIE JACOBSON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Manny Pacquiao ( right) en route to losing a controversial decision to Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Bradley shocks Pacquiao By Tim Dahlberg B_ 02_ Jun- 10- 12_ FP_ 01. indd B2 6/ 10/ 12 12: 20: 15 AM ;