Heat Head To 4th Straight NBA Finals

The Miami Heat joined very elite company Friday night when the team won a fourth straight Eastern Conference championship title by beating the Indiana Pacers.

The Heat became just the third franchise in NBA history to ever make it to four straight NBA Finals joining the Boston Celtics (1957-1966; 1984-1987) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1982-1985). But Miami is far from done and is poised to join an even more elite group by winning three straight championships.

The last two teams to make it to four straight NBA Finals, the Lakers and Celtics in the 1980’s, won two championships during their four year runs. Miami already has two championships in the can and could three-peat with a victory in the 2014 NBA Finals.

The teams that have won three-straight championships included some of the greatest players in the history of the game, names like: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

The Heat is now on the cusp of joining that elite group if the team can knock off the eventual Western Conference champion, either the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder. Coincidentally, the Spurs and Thunder are the two teams Miami has beaten the last two seasons to win its two straight championships.

The Spurs and Heat have played each other seven times dating back to 2011 and Miami has won five of the seven games, including four last year in the NBA Finals. The Heat and Thunder have played eight times dating back to 2011 and Miami has a 5-3 record against Oklahoma City, including four wins in the 2012 NBA Finals.

Whoever wins in the Western Conference will be facing a Miami Heat juggernaut that is peaking as the team hits the NBA Finals.

How good was the Heat in the Game 6 victory over the Pacers? With eight minutes to go in the game, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade had a combined 63 points. The entire Pacers team had 67 points.

Miami will get the next five days to rest before the NBA Finals get started next week with Game 1 either in Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

Top Rank – Mayweather Versus Pacquiao Fight Confirmed!

Floyd Mayweather Jr. agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao! 

Top Rank promotion Bob Arum after a series of long negotiation on Floyd Mayweather Jr. camp, successfully revealed the public that the long awaited fight of the century are going to happen soon possibly at the 1st quarter of 2015. Mayweather agrees to fight Pacquiao provided that all his conditions had been met. 

Since Mayweather began his boxing career only with Pacquiao seriously kept on denying a fight with a series of alibi, like Manny drops Arum out, he will still not fight Manny. All those alibi Blood test, 40M, Venue, Fight date, Ring size, Glove size, who enters first, Promoter and now No. 1 contender is just a plain way of saying I don’t want to lose. Floyd has never done that alibi in all other boxers he has fought but only to Manny and there are some other boxers from top rank he has faced there were no problems. Arum said “now at last, fight of the century will happen soon”, and he did not elaborate what are those conditions Mayweather ask, only he said to the press people lets wait and see.(Source: Tprank Brad Cole. MGM LasVegas Nevada) 

source: http://manilalivewire.com/top-rank-mayweather-versus-pacquiao-fight-confirmed

LeBron James Breaks Michael Jordan's Playoff Record for Most 25-5-5 Games

LeBron James has something Michael Jordan doesn't: the NBA playoff record for most games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.

In Monday night's victory over the Indiana Pacers, James tallied 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. It was the 74th time he eclipsed the 25-5-5 plateau in the playoffs, so he now owns a piece of postseason history:

King James' record-setting performance came in his 151st playoff game. Jordan's last 25-point, five-rebound and five-assist effort came on May 31, 1998. It was his 173rd career playoff game, which means James accomplished this feat while playing in 22 fewer postseason contests. 

Ergo, James is better than Jordan. 

Relax, he's not. Indulge your sense of humor for a moment. 

What James has done is incredible. It reinforces his individual dominance and, as Pro Basketball Talk's Dan Feldman points out, lends a helping hand to a great, never-ending basketball debate:

"Is LeBron the greatest player ever?

No. Not yet. He just hasn’t played long enough to deserve it. Being the greatest player ever requires both an incredible peak — check — and a lengthy run of being at least very good. LeBron doesn’t quite have the latter yet.

But he’s getting there. LeBron will retire as the greatest player of all time, and the more he passes Jordan in counting stats, the more difficult that will be to deny."

Rather than use James' latest conquest as another means to pose mind-bending, profanity-laced arguments, though, let's just agree to appreciate this for what it is: spectacular.

As Feldman notes, Jordan still holds the edge if you reset the benchmarks to 30 points, five rebounds and five assists; he has 51 of those to James' 47.

But who gives a flying Lance Stephenson? James has appeared in fewer playoff games than Jordan thus far, so he's going to break that record, too. And when he does, it won't change much, if anything.

Both players are all-time greats. There is no debating that fact. They're two of the best. Instead of pitting them against each other right now, let's zero in on the one guy who is still, you know, actually playing.

Enjoy LeBron for who he is, not how he compares to MJ.

Thanks to James, the Miami Heat are one win away from advancing to their fourth straight NBA Finals and five victories away from successfully completing their three-peat. Focus on that. 

You know James is.

"I'm motivated enough to try to get back the Finals," James said of Stephenson's trash talk following Game 4, per USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. "That's motivating enough, and being one of the leaders of this team, I have to do my job."

His job is to contend for a third consecutive championship now and worry about his ties to Jordan later.

Jumping Bournemouth Pier

Dan Whitby - a freestyle motocross rider - has become the first person to jump over Bournemouth Pier on a motorcycle. He completed the stunt on Sunday, on the second day of the first Bournemouth Wheels Festival.

Photos:

Mayweather Jr.-Pacquiao likely in 2016

Bob Arum thinks that Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao is going to take place – not this year or next but in 2016.

Yes, fight fans from around the world may have to wait that long.

Arum spoke to Reuters about the great possibility, and why he thinks Mayweather is holding his best for perhaps his last fight.

“I think that fight will eventually happen,” said Arum, now in his 80s.

“He (Mayweather) would figure, ‘Why don’t I do those [three] fights for the easy money and then in 2016, with my 50th fight, I could beat the [49-0] record of [Rocky] Marciano by fighting Pacquiao’,” Arum added.

Mayweather is 46-0 with three more bouts left in his exclusive contract with Showtime. Arum sees no problem with the American winning his next three fights.

Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Mayweather chooses his opponents well because he loves that zero in his resume.

 Pacquiao, on the other hand, doesn’t care who is put in front of him. He’s not scared to lose as long as he gives the fans a great show.

The Filipino congressman is 56-5-2 and is 2-2 in his last four fights. But people still come to see his fights. Win or lose Pacquiao doesn’t disappoint.

Fight fans have clamored for the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao the last few years, and a couple of times it came close to happening.

But things always stand in the way.

Mayweather wanted random testing and when Pacquiao agreed, the American turned to the money issue. Then Pacquiao agreed to take a lesser amount, even saying he’d do the fight for charity

Mayweather also said he doesn’t want to work with Arum, saying if Pacquiao leaves Top Rank, then they can sit down and talk.

But Pacquiao just a few days ago extended his promotional agreement with Top Rank, one that would expire on Dec. 31, 2016.

That means Pacquiao is good for three or four fights himself, one coming in November, most likely in Macau, and then a couple more in 2015.

Pacquiao said he’s just waiting for Mayweather to make the move, adding that his lines are open 24/7.

“I’m just waiting for his call,” said Pacquiao.

Arum thinks that call may come in 2016.

By that time, Pacquiao would be 37 and busy with the elections in the month of May, and Mayweather pushing 40.

Arum, now 82, is willing to wait.

Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia donates P94M to Yolanda victims

A Malaysian budget airline over the weekend donated some P94 million in aid to help victims of super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) rebuild their homes.

The aid from AirAsia, via its "To Philippines with love" campaign, amounted to some $2.17 million (P94.741 million), Malaysia's The Star Online reported Sunday.

“We started this campaign as an expression of Asean unity for survivors who lost so much and we are incredibly touched to find that the campaign received donations from people in 75 countries all over the world,” said AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes.

In the fund-raising done via AirAsia Foundation, the AirAsia Group matched contributions from the public and accepted contributions from the airline’s partner companies.

The Philippine Red Cross will be the main recipient of the aid, and will build 345 homes in Panay with public contributions of P46 million.

Matching and partner funds managed by AirAsia Foundation will give P37.4 million to Habitat for Humanity Philippines to build 187 weather- and quake-tolerant permanent houses in Tacloban.

Another P8 million will be given to Hapinoy’s Project Bagong Araw for sari-sari store networks, with some 133 women from Palo in Leyte expected to benefit.

The fourth beneficiary is Rags2Riches Inc, a social enterprise that trains underprivileged individuals in craft skills and helps them earn fair wages.

Figures from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council as of April 3 showed Yolanda left 6,293 people dead, 28,669 injured and 1,061 still missing.

The NDRRMC said Yolanda affected 3,424,593 families or 16,078,181 people in 12,139 barangays in 44 provinces, 591 towns and 57 cities.

It added Yolanda caused P39,821,497,852.17 in damages, including P19,559,379,136.11 in infrastructure and P20,262,118,716.06 in agriculture.

Humanitarian flights

AirAsia was one of the first commercial carriers to conduct humanitarian flights for Yolanda victims, carrying some 5,000 relief workers and survivors and 400 tons of aid items to Tacloban, Cebu and Kalibo.

It also made available 250,000 free seats in its Philip­pine network for relatives to search for loved ones in the affected areas. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News

Heat Rally Late, Beat Pacers 99-87 in Game 3

LeBron James scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade added 23 and the Miami Heat shook off a horrid start to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-87 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Ray Allen added 16 points and led a late-game charge for the Heat, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday night in Miami.

The Heat trailed by 15 in the first half and never led until early in the third quarter.

Paul George scored 17 points for Indiana, shooting 5 for 13 in his return after being concussed late in Game 2. Roy Hibbert scored 16 points, David West added 13 and Lance Stephenson had 10 for the Pacers.