Watch US Open Championship Finals Live Online

Rory McIlroy will not be stopped at Congressional. Any reasonable thought Rory McIlroy will blow this U.S. Open died in the ankle-high grass halfway down the left side of Congressional’s 11th fairway Saturday afternoon. Far in the distance the ball plunked down a few feet from the hole. And right then the tournament was over.

The making of Rory McIlroy as the greatest golfer in the world has needed a moment where he will not be broken. No one doubts the talent – the splendid swing like a great baseball slugger, the smooth gentle putts that roll as if drawn by magnets to the hole – but his story has always included these enormous implosions. Saturday, in round three, he could have wavered. Because play was suspended on Friday, the second round needed to be finished in the morning which pushed his tee time back to 3:50 p.m. To keep his mind focused on Saturday, McIlroy tried to set little goals, the most significant of which was to finish the day 15-under par. The rest of the field surged to catch up, with lots of 66s, 67s and 68s on the scoreboard and yet McIlroy kept pushing ahead – to 12 and 13 under.

Then came the 10th hole on which he had two missed putts for a bogey and following that was his drive on the 11th that rocketed through the soggy air, landing left in the thick rough. Suddenly, he seemed shaky again, the kid in Augusta who somehow wound up by the cabins watching his first major title fly away with every swing of his club. It was just a few month ago when the Rory McIlroy, the golfing superstar from Northern Ireland, had a four-stroke lead lead heading into the final round of the Masters. What happened next was hard to watch as the 22-year old sprayed the ball all over Augusta National Golf Club to shoot 80 and lose a chance to collect his first major title.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon, after three unbelievable rounds of golf, McIlroy will begin the final round of the 111th US Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD with a 54-hole record score of 14-under par and an eight-shot lead over Korea's Y.E. Yang. Yang sits in second place at 6-under par, while Robert Garrigus (USA), Jason Day (Australia) and Lee Westwood (England) each are a total of 5-under par, nine shots off the lead.

Needless to say, golf fans will either witness the greatest collapse in golf history Sunday or something nobody, not even Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus, has accomplished.

Entering the final round, McIlroy leads the field in birdies made (15), greens in regulation (85.19 percent) and head-shaking moments (roughly a dozen or more).

Watch Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Ryan Rhodes Full Replay

"Canelo" Alvarez Stops Rhodes In 12th After One-Sided Scrap There is a tendency for keyboard tappers to go overboard in looking for deficencies in those next big things, the perhaps overhyped phenoms who are presented to us as saviors in shorts. I'm not going to go that route with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Alvarez stayed calm, cool and on message as he whacked Rhodes with combos for 11 plus rounds, and closed the show in the 12th round of a most one sided affair.

Canelo landed six shots, a couple of them sledgehammers to the body, knocked Rhodes back and then kept on firing as Rhodes' corner hurled in the towel as the ref stepped in. That said, I won't place myself in the "Canelo is God" camp, because Canelo isn't. Rhodes did his legacy no favors. Alvarez went 218-590 while Rhodes was 90-343 on the night, stats wise. Canelo, thru a translator, said after that he sensed his body shots were working. If I have to fight the devil, I will." Alvarez (age 20, a month shy of turning 21; 36-0-1 with 26 K0s; from Guadalajara) was 153 1/4 pounds, while Rhodes (age 34; 45-4 with 31 KOs entering; from England) weighed 152 1/2 in this fight for Canelo's WBC junior middleweight crown.

Rhodes said after he underestimated Canelo's power, and that the body attack got to him. Bob Papa called the action, along with Roy Jones, for HBO.

Rhodes switched to lefty at the end of the first, trying to be tricky. Trainer Eddie Reynoso told Canelo to "relax" after the frame.

In the second, Jones made a smart point, lauding Canelo for not being overeager in his hometown. Rhodes again went righty, then lefty. Canelo looked relaxed and on message.

In the third, Rhodes looked to be busier with the jab. The damage came from a right hand that landed behind the head. In the seventh, the left hook worked, the jab worked, the right cross, the same: Canelo was the king of combos and Rhodes' face looked a bit more worn. In the eighth, Rhodes slowed more. Canelo's body work hurt me, in Brooklyn.

In round nine, Rhodes hung tough, we will say that for him.

Watch Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Ryan Rhodes Live Online

Mexico's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will make the first defense of his World Boxing Council super-welterweight title Saturday on HBO, returning home to Guadalajara to fight veteran English fighterRyan Rhodes (45-4, 31 knockouts).

Alvarez, 20, won the belt in March, dominating another Brit, Matthew Hatton, at Honda Center, and his camp informed his promoter about the importance of starting the fighter's title defenses back in Canelo's home country.

The television card also includes a compelling super-featherweight fight between unbeaten Adrien Broner (20-0, 16 KOs) of Cincinnati and Minnesota's Jason Litzau (28-2, 21 KOs).

Alvarez's decision to fight at home has exceeded expectations in terms of attendance, Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez said. Gomez said there are plans to have Alvarez in a co-main event fight on the Sept. 17 card with theFloyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz welterweight title fight, which is most likely to be staged at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

"That's the idea, but Rhodes is a tough fight, a legitimate super-welterweight and Canelo's first real test," Gomez said. WBC jr. middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO) will defend his newly-won title against the WBC’s number 1 contender, Ryan Rhodes (45-4, 31 KO). Having already beaten Jose Cotto, Lovemore N’Dou, and former lineal welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir, Rhodes presents the toughest test of Alvarez’s young career. In his title winning effort in March, Alvarez took a clear, lopsided unanimous decision victory over welterweight European titlist, Matthew Hatton.

Since moving down to jr. middleweight, Rhodes has won 6 straight, followed by December’s TKO win over Rocky Junior as a middleweight.

Alvarez has great power, but also Rhodes has enough power to stop the young champion.

Watch Jun 16, 2011 US Open Championship Live Online

A chance to keep the ball in play and take a bit of the normal, um, excitement that comes with his sometimes wild driver.

Pop three wedges in to bag. Plot every possibility -- we’re talking to the Nth degree -- in practice rounds.

As NBC’s Dan Hicks said Wednesday, “With Tiger out, it’s the Phil Mickelson show coming in.”

“I played the 16th hole six over par, and it ended up costing me the tournament,’’ Mickelson said. “I learned a lot about how to play a U.S. Open that week because a lot of times par 5s, which I normally think of as a birdie hole, in the U.S. Open a lot of times it's the toughest par.

“There have been some Opens where … I'm trying to think of an example, where the par 5 has been the highest … some of the highest scoring averages on the golf course. It's changed my thought process about being overly aggressive in the par 5s.”

Over the years, he’s learned to control his misses and salvage pars. He’s learned to stop putting pressure on himself to hit every fairway -- it just isn’t going to happen -- and play perfect golf.

And those five runner-up finishes? “I might look at it the same way in that I was 0 for 40 something winning a major and I really wanted to win and I'm 0 for 20 something in U.S. Opens,’’ Mickelson said. “The way I see it is when I finally did break through and won my first major, my thought process was not to worry about winning, not to worry about the result, but to enjoy the entire tournament, enjoy the process, enjoy the challenge of trying to win.

I'm going to have fun this week playing and trying to compete in our national championship. … I've been playing some of my better golf. And I also believe that the course setup and the golf course itself provides a great opportunity for me to showcase the way I've been playing. But I can't worry about the result. Each shot is going to be very challenging and each hole will be a difficult par and so forth. And rather than worrying about the result after 72 holes, I'm trying to think about the process of playing the type of golf I want to play around this course.

I don't want to put any time pressure on my ability or belief in my ability to win.’’

“I've always felt as though Tiger helped bring out … has helped bring out some of my best golf over the years,’’ Mickelson said. Watch Jun 16, 2011 US Open Championship Live Online

Watch Game 7 Canucks vs. Bruins Replay Online

Thomas made 37 saves in the second shutout of his landmark finals performance, Patrice Bergeron(notes) and rookie Brad Marchand(notes) scored two goals apiece, and the Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 Wednesday night for their first championship since 1972.

Star goalieRoberto Luongo(notes) again failed to match Thomas’ brilliance, giving up 18 goals in the last five games of the finals.

Mark Messier and the New York Rangers won Game 7 in Vancouver’s last finals appearance in 1994. The Bruins rallied for four wins in five games after Horton’s injury.

Vancouver eked out three one-goal victories at home, while the Bruins won three blowouts in Boston. Watch Game 7 Canucks vs. Bruins Full Replay.

Watch Game 7 Canucks vs. Bruins Live Online

Watch live Canucks vs. Bruins game 7 online, Wednesday, Jun. 15, 2011. Even if you’re Marchand, a 23-year-old rookie, a 5-foot-9 ball of energy for the Boston Bruins.

“Every day,” Marchand said. Wednesday in Vancouver. Marchand is a big reason the Bruins have this opportunity. He was at his best – and the Canucks might say, worst – Monday night in Game 6 with the Bruins facing elimination on home ice at the TD Garden.

That also sparked a flurry of four goals in 4:14, a Cup final record. The Bruins went on to win 5-2.

“The shot he took was an extremely accurate and hard shot from an off wing, and that’s the caliber of a Brad Marchand shot,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. Well, maybe as a Bruins coach. In one sequence at the end of Game 4, he clotheslined defenseman Christian Ehrhoff(notes) in the corner. He submarined winger Daniel Sedin(notes), sending him flying into the end boards. He dropped the gloves as defenseman Keith Ballard(notes) came after him. Sedin chose to take the abuse.

Sedin ended up screaming at a referee, who made a call all right – two minutes roughing and a 10-minute misconduct for Marchand and a 10-minute misconduct for Sedin.

Sedin said. I would rather have a kid like that than a kid that plays with no emotion. It’s a big part of his game, and he’s learning.”

It’s what makes Marchand who he is. A third-round draft pick in 2006, he had zero goals and one assist in 20 games for the Bruins last season. But he had enough spunk to tell Julien he would score 20 goals for the Bruins this season.

Marchand made the team, but he was pegged as a fourth-line guy. Marchand finished with 21 goals, 41 points and a plus-25 rating. (Not sure if he wiped his hands afterward.)

One game left. The Bruins need a hero. Marc Savard(notes) is out with a concussion. So is Nathan Horton(notes), who scored the Game 7 winners in the first and third rounds. The Bruins have scored in buckets and won all three games at home in this series, but they’ve struggled to score and lost all three games on the road – Marchand included. Four points in Boston, zero in Vancouver.

“It’s obviously a tough grind on the mind and body,” Marchand said. You’ve got all summer to recover.” Watch live Canucks vs. Bruins game 7 online.

Watch Game 6 Canucks vs. Bruins Replay Online

The Boston Bruins put Roberto Luongo(notes) and the Stanley Cup back on the shelf.

After another home scoring spree against Vancouver’s wildly inconsistent goalie Monday night, the Bruins are making one last trip west for the big finish to these dramatic Stanley Cup finals.

Brad Marchand(notes), Milan Lucic(notes) and Andrew Ference(notes) scored in the first 8:35 to chase Luongo from his second straight game in Boston, and the Bruins emphatically evened the finals with a 5-2 victory in Game 6, sending the series to a decisive Game 7 in Vancouver on Wednesday night.

For the sixth time in the last 10 seasons, the finals have been stretched to their limit. The home team hasn’t lost in this series, with Vancouver winning three one-goal games and Boston posting three blowout victories. Watch Full Game 6 Replay..

Watch Game 6 Canucks vs. Bruins Live Online

Watch live Canucks vs. Bruins game 6 online, Monday, Jun. 13, 2011. The Vancouver Canucks are just one win away from their first-ever Stanley Cup and with a victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals Monday, they can do just that. If the Canucks win Monday, they will have to skate with the Cup inside TD Garden away from their fans, but there will be at least two Vancouver supporters in attendance Monday as Force and Sully - The Green Men - will make a return trip to Boston for Monday's game.

Yes indeed, the Stanley Cup Final shifts back to TD Garden for Game 6 after Vancouver’s pulsating 1-0 win against the Boston Bruins at Rogers Arena on Friday night. Team Scope:

“Stats are for GMs and player agents; what matters is a win,” Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. Nobody could care about stats.

The Boston goaltender has been so good in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there’s a good chance he’ll win the Conn Smythe Trophy even if the Bruins lose this series. Watch live Canucks vs. Bruins game 6.

Watch Game 6 Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat Replay

Dallas Mavericks win game 6 against Miami Heat. Jason Terry(notes) scored 27 points, Nowitzki added 21 and the Mavericks topped the Miami Heat 105-95 in Game 6 of the NBA finals on Sunday night. The Mavericks won four of the series’ last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter after seeing the Heat celebrate their first title in Dallas after Game 6 of the 2006 finals. James scored 21 for Miami, though was largely quiet after the opening minutes. Chris Bosh(notes) had 19, Mario Chalmers(notes) 18 and Dwyane Wade(notes) 17 for the Heat. When it was over, Mavs owner Mark Cuban ran onto the court to hug coach Rick Carlisle. And James’ wait for his first NBA title will extend into at least his ninth season. Watch Full Replay Of Game 6.

Watch Game 6 Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat Live

Mavs fans have complained for years that, as a result, the referees have taken great joy in punishing Cuban's teams.

On top of that, we're looking at a Game Six, not a Game Seven. We know that the NBA is riding high on the wave of success the regular season and playoffs have brought them, and that wave continues if the series gets extended to one more game. A Game Seven would bring more positive attention to the league, as well as a boatload of extra money.

Unfolding out of this nasty business is of course the game itself. In each of those games, Dallas has shown remarkable focus and composure, regardless of whether the game was a blowout (Lakers) or a come from behind win (Thunder).

If Dallas can go into the game with the mindset that they are not only fighting against the Heat, but also the league's desire to have a Game Seven, the referees working to give Miami an advantage, the clock manager being a hair fast or a hair slow, or even the DJ miscuing up the music tracks, then the Mavs will be prepared. I fully expect Miami to play in the lead for most of tonight's game. Lost amongst the LeBron 24-7 show and Jason Terry's late game heroics was the fact that Miami too got its offense going in Game Five. We've seen many a game this season where a team, brimming with confidence, is cruising along to what appears to be an easy win. Their offense looks great, they're rebounding well, defending the other team competently, and vitory looks like a foregone conclusion. The NBA game moves too fast, there are too many possessions, and the players are too talented to ever think that a game is in the bag. Those missed free throws? The blown fast breaks? The Heat have not paid attention to these small details. If you recall, Dwyane Wade missed the back end of his free throws at the end of Game Four. Dallas escaped with wins while Miami wondered what happened.

Miami should play a great game tonight. Chandler has endured two games where he has picked up five fouls and come dangerously close to fouling out, but has never had to miss extended time due to foul trouble. We already know that Miami is very good at crashing the offensive boards with both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and Dallas has not done a good job staying focused on boxing out Heat players. If Chandler has to sit for any extended period of time, there will be little in the way of Miami taking over the game on both offensive and defensive boards. If Dallas can keep Chandler on the court they will stand a good chance at winning. However, if Miami can attack Chandler and get him into foul trouble and off the court, I expect a Game Seven will be on the horizon. Watch Live Online.

Watch UFC 131 Dos Santos vs. Carwin Free Online

VANCOUVER – The fighters for Saturday’s UFC 131: dos Santos vs. Carwin weighed in Friday afternoon at the Jack Poole Plaza.

Carwin, a late replacement for TUF 13 coach Brock Lesnar, stepped on the scale at 254 pounds, while his opponent, the current number one UFC heavyweight contender, Junior dos Santos weighed in at 239 pounds.

UFC 131 Official Weigh-in Results

Main Card (On Pay-Per-View):

-Junior Dos Santos (239) vs. Shane Carwin (254)

-Kenny Florian (146) vs. Diego Nunes (145)

-Jon Oliv Einemo (261) vs. Dave Herman (233)

-Demian Maia (186) vs. Mark Munoz (186)

-Donald Cerrone (155) vs. Vagner Rocha (155)

Preliminary Bouts:

-Krzysztof Soszynski (205) vs. Mike Massenzio (201)

-Nick Ring (185) vs. James Head (186)

-Dustin Poirier (146) vs. Jason Young (145)

-Joey Beltran (247) vs. Aaron Rosa (261)

-Michihiro Omigawa (145) vs. Darren Elkins (145)

Watch free online Live

Watch Game 5 Canucks vs. Bruins Online Replay

Game 6 is Monday night in Boston, and the Stanley Cup will be there.

The Canucks have scored just six goals in five Stanley Cup finals games against brilliant Boston goalie Tim Thomas(notes), yet they’re one victory away from winning it all.

Neither team found an offensive flow in a Game 5 nail-biter, but Luongo kept Vancouver in it until Lapierre and defenseman Kevin Bieksa(notes) teamed up on a goal that set off a crazy celebration among tens of thousands of fans thronging downtown Vancouver.

Luongo was pulled from Game 4, but coach Alain Vigneault stuck with him for Game 5. The Olympic champion was only occasionally spectacular, but he still narrowly outplayed Thomas, who has received just two goals of support from his teammates in three games in Vancouver.

Thomas made 24 saves in Game 5, but lost his shutout streak of 110 minutes, 42 seconds dating to Game 3. With injured forwardNathan Horton’s(notes) jersey hanging in the visitors’ locker room, the Bruins’ power play regressed to its previous postseason struggles, going 0 for 4.

After two scoreless periods of stellar goaltending in which Boston went scoreless on four power plays, the Canucks finally connected with a supremely heady play by the veteran Bieksa, who used Thomas’ aggressive style against him.

Bieksa deliberately put a long shot wide of the goal, and when Thomas instinctively moved to his glove side to play it, the puck ricocheted off the back boards straight to Lapierre, who put it behind Thomas for just his second goal of the postseason.

Lapierre was a late-season acquisition who largely serves as an agitator for the Canucks, not a scorer. He’s never managed more than 15 goals in a season, and he had just six this season while playing for Montreal, Anaheim and Vancouver.

In the last 21 times the finals were even going to Game 5, the winner went on to claim the Cup 15 times—yet Colorado (2001), Tampa Bay (2004) and Pittsburgh (2009) all overcame Game 5 losses to win it in the past decade.

Luongo receives more criticism than almost any goalie with his level of accomplishment at hockey’s most elite levels, yet he has shown resilience throughout the postseason. He came back from a one-game benching in the first round against Chicago with a 2-1 victory in Game 7, and Vigneault unhesitatingly stuck by Luongo in the finals, ignoring widespread trashing of his $10 million goalie after Boston’s 8-1 and 4-0 home wins.

The Canucks were grateful to return to Rogers Arena, where they eked out two one-goal wins to open the series on late goals by Raffi Torres(notes) and Alex Burrows. Vancouver seemed to be in control when the club left Canada last weekend—but then the Bruins seized charge of the series with two inspired performances after Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome’s(notes) late hit knocked Horton out for the series with a concussion early in Game 3.

Boston is still having tremendous defensive success in the finals, holding 2010 league MVP Henrik Sedin(notes) without a point and limiting NHL scoring champion Daniel Sedin(notes) to one goal. Vancouver’s power play is 1 for 25 in the finals—yet the Bruins just haven’t scored timely road goals to back up Thomas, who allowed one goal in two games in Boston.

Boston had three early power plays in Game 5 and controlled long stretches of play, but couldn’t crack Luongo. Chris Kelly(notes) hit Luongo’s crossbar with an early shot, and Luongo made a stunning point-blank save on Patrice Bergeron’s(notes) rebound shot from the slot during Boston’s third power play.

Watch Game 5 Canucks vs. Bruins Online

If the Bruins can carry their momentum into tonight's game and escpae Vancouver with a victory they will set up a series clinching opportunity in front of their home fans which would be an absolute treat to watch. Vancouver raced out to a 2-0 series lead but that has since evaporated after 2 games in Boston as the B's tied it up after shutting out the Canucks offense in Game 4. Even in the games the Canucks won they by no means were dominant like the Bruins were at home as they escaped with a 1-0 victory in game 1 with 18 seconds remaining and notched a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2. Boston has bee competitive in both game in Vancouver and with so much value on the B's in this one there is no reason not to expect another tight game tonight.

Watch Game 5 Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat Replay

Dallas Mavericks win game 5 against Miami Heat it a very intense game. Watch Full Replay. Final score 110-103. Nowitzki showed he’s shaken most of the effects of a sinus infection, save for a few sniffles, by scoring 16 points at the break. Tyson Chandler had 11 as the Mavericks scored the most points of any team against the Heat in any half this postseason. LeBron James has a triple-double and the Heat are in another nail-biter with the Mavericks in Game 5 of the Finals, is not enough to win game 5. 

Watch Game 4 Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat Replay

Dallas Mavericks win game 4 against Miami Heat it avery intense game. Watch Full Replay. Nowitzki shook off three poor quarters to score 10 of his 21 points in the 4th period as the Mavericks outscored the Miami Heat 21-9 over the final 10:12 for an 86-83 victory in a memorable Game 4 on Tuesday night. The Mavs avoided going down 3-1, a deficit no team has ever overcome in the finals, and guaranteed the series will return to Miami for a Game 6 on Sunday night. Game 5 is Thursday in Dallas

Watch Game 4 Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat Live

NBA Finals Game 4 wednesday, 9:00pm et, June 8, 2011 at the American Airlines Center. Who will win can Miami Heat control Game 4 against Dallas Mavericks.. Game 4 will be a very intense game.. watch live online. Game three looked very familiar to game two with the Heat jumping out to an early double-digit lead before a methodical Mavs team fought back to level it up. Once again, the stage was set for Dirk Nowitzki to carry put the team on his back and win it all, but the stifling Miami defense, who was fantastic for 48 minutes, forced a turnover and a tough look at the last second shot as the Heat won by 88-86. watch Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat live

Watch Game 3: Mavericks vs. Heat Live

NBA Finals Game 3 Tuesday, 9:00pm et, June 7, 2011 at the American Airlines Center. Who will win can Miami Heat control Game 3 against Dallas Mavericks.. Game 3 will be a very intense game.. watch live online.