So how big were the ratings? Game 1 of the Bruins / Blackhawks NHL Stanley Cup Final earned a 4.8 overnight rating on NBC Wednesday night, up 100% from Kings / Devils Game 1 last year (2.4), and up 50% from Bruins / Canucks Game 1 in 2011 (3.2).

The 4.8 is the highest overnight for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final since Red Wings / Flyers on FOX in 1997 (5.1), and the third-highest Game 1 overnight since the final returned to broadcast television in 1995. Only Panthers / Avalanche Game 1 in 1996 (5.2) and the aforementioned Red Wings / Flyers game earned better numbers.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins battled for 112 grueling minutes in the fifth-longest Stanley Cup Final game in NHL history, until an Andrew Shaw deflection goal at 12:08 of triple overtime handed Game 1 to the home team, 4-3.

The game-winner came after the Blackhawks successfully pinched in the offensive zone, with the puck ending up on defenseman Michal Rozsival’s stick at the top of the zone. He shoveled the puck toward the Bruins goal, and it deflected off of a screening Dave Bolland in the slot. The puck then spun off the knee of forward Andrew Shaw and in behind goalie Tuukka Rask, setting off a raucous celebration inside United Center.

“It’s what we needed to do,” said Shaw. “We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty at this point.”

It wasn’t, and it wasn’t going to be. The Blackhawks and Bruins played the kind of game many expected: brutal and tough, with players earning every inch of ice against their opponents.

Outside of United Center on Wednesday night, there was torrential rain, severe storms and tornadoes spotted roughly 30 miles away from Chicago. Inside of United Center, there was controlled chaos.

The Bruins looked like they were on the verge of putting the game away in the third period.

A pair of Milan Lucic goals had spotted them a 2-0 lead; Brandon Saad’s first of the playoffs for the Blackhawks cut the lead 2:17 after Lucic’s second goal in the second period. Then, in the third, Patrice Bergeron’s bullet of a shot beat Corey Crawford from the left side, giving the Bruins a power-play goal on their first opportunity of the series and a 3-1 lead.

Dave Bolland cut the lead to 3-2 with 12 minutes left in regulation, on a takeaway by Andrew Shaw that became a pass to Bolland for a one-timer. Johnny Oduya tied the game just over four minutes later with a shot that glanced off the left skate of Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference and past Rask.

Then Shaw won it after 52:08 of overtime hockey, the fifth longest game in Final history.

The Chicago Blackhawks look to cap one of the strongest regular-season performances in NHL history with a Stanley Cup punctuation mark, while the Boston Bruins have the entire "Boston Strong" nation behind them as they look to hoist the Cup for the second time in three seasons.

Heading into the playoffs the Blackhawks were the team to beat in the Western Conference and they showed their dominance early, dispatching the Minnesota Wild in five games. Chicago found itself down 3-1 against the Detroit Red Wings in Round 2 (sportsbooks had the Blackhawks at plus-310 to beat Detroit at that point in the series), but they showed their championship mettle by coming back and winning the series in seven games. Chicago finally punched its ticket to the Cup finals after beating a very good Los Angeles team in five games as a minus-140 series favorite. The Blackhawks have gone 12-5 in the postseason, providing backers with plus-5.10 units of profit on an individual game basis (betting one unit per game) and their games have gone under the total at a 7-5-5 clip.

The Bruins found their toughest test in the first round, needing seven games to get past a pesky Toronto Maple Leafs team, including an incredible Game 7 comeback. The Bruins then cruised to a 4-1 series win against the overmatched Rangers in Round 2 and swept Cup favorite Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals. Boston has gone 12-4 this postseason, netting their backers plus-7.20 units of profit while the over/under split sits at an equal 7-7-2.

Here is something you won't hear very often - Israel beat England in Football. Against all odds, the David and Goliath match-up turned in Israel's favor in the last minutes of the game with a goal by Ofir Krieff to put Israel up 1-0.

There was a sense of pure delight among the Israel players after they finished their home UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals with a 1-0 victory against England, even if they bowed out at the group stage.


"I wanted to run over to him but afterwards I saw nothing because everybody was all over me"

Ofir Krieff talks about coach Guy Luzon

Goalscorer Ofir Krieff, playing in front of his home-town Jerusalem crowd, dedicated the win to coach Guy Luzon while Nir Biton explained what an honor it was to captain this side as he summed up the three years of preparation ahead of the tournament.

Ofir Krieff, Israel midfielder


To score in the capital city, in my home town, in front of my home fans, is a fantastic feeling. We did a really good job. The credit goes to the team and not to me even though I scored. It's all thanks to the great work of the staff and the players.

I think that we had a really good tournament overall. To win four points against these kind of teams is a big achievement. We had some criticism and it wasn't always right. This team has a lot of potential and we proved it today against England which is nothing to take for granted.

When I scored I just thought that we had finally got the win after this hard work. The credit goes to Guy [Luzon]. It was highly important to finish with a good taste because of him and I'm happy that we gave him this goodbye present. “I wanted to run over to him but afterwards I saw nothing because everybody was all over me”.

What do I take from this tournament? Great guys, and we had three years of preparation which was insane. I will take all of these forward with me in my life. I played with talented players here.

Boris Kleyman, Israel goalkeeper


I'm used to the fact that goalkeepers are always being criticized. It doesn't matter how good you are, you will concede in the end. I know what I'm capable of and people that see me know me for the good and the bad. I will keep going my way and believe in myself.

I have done a lot of hard preparation over the year. I didn't play too much for Hapoel Tel-Aviv so it was mainly preparation for me. I don't think we started as well as we could have done but things were fixed in the end. We conceded in the 92nd minute against Norway and we broke down against Italy.

It's hard to describe the fans in one word. We are so happy to finish with a win, especially so that Guy will go in his new direction feeling good.

Nir Biton, Israel midfielder


It started with great excitement and it got better because we played better even though we got a bad result. In the closing match we gave it our all and we played great. It's a great result and we are highly satisfied.

“I can't believe only a week has passed. We prepared for this tournament for the last three years and it went by in a minute”. I enjoyed this tournament so much and I think this is the biggest experience of my life. I realized before the tournament how much of an honor it is to be captain of this team. It's not every day that an Israeli player gets the chance to lead his team at an U21 EURO. This is pride in a way I can't describe.

The Miami Heat kept saying it didn't matter, that LeBron James affects the game in different ways and this sudden disappearance of his scoring wasn't the ominous sign that it may have seemed to be.

They were wrong.

With James struggling again to impose his will, the defending champion Heat lost Game 3 to the San Antonio Spurs 113-77 at AT&T Center Tuesday night and now trail 2-1 in the NBA Finals. They did it with three-pointers, setting an NBA Finals record with 16 in the game. And they did it with an extended run, finishing the game on a 69-33 tear after a tie at 44.

As such, the odds of the Spurs winning the fifth title they so desire turned in their favor yet again: In Finals in which the first two games are split, the Game 3 winner has gone on to win it all 12 out of 13 times. Game 4 is in San Antonio on Thursday.

James, who had two points at the half when the Spurs led 50-44, missed 11 of his first 13 shots and finished with less than 20 points for the third consecutive game for the first time since the Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 that haunted him so. The Spurs are the ones haunting him now — again.

"We didn't do anything right tonight," James said. "We can't play like that on either side of the floor if we want to win."

The Spurs broke open a close game, tied at 44, with a 69-33 run. And it wasn't Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobili at center stage, but role players like Gary Neal, Kawhi Leonard, and Danny Green. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobili at center stage but role players Gary Neal, Kawhi Leonard, and Danny Green.

Neal, who had scored in double-digits four times in 16 playoff games, finished with 24 points and hit six three-pointers.

"All of my teammates and Pop, they do a great job of encouraging me to continue to shoot the ball," Green said.

Leonard was spectacular in defending James and added 14 points. Green had 27 points and hit seven of nine three-pointers.

"When I'm aggressive defensively it helps me get into a rhythm offensively," Green said.

Just once all season had he scored less than 20 points in consecutive games, and it didn't happen in the playoffs until the Finals. It happened just five times in the regular season and twice in 16 playoff games before they faced the Spurs. He was 14-for-33 coming in and shot 7-for-21 in Game 3.

For all the talk about how the Heat haven't lost consecutive games since Jan. 10, it wasn't as if the Spurs weren't a resilient bunch too. Barring a three-game losing streak to end the regular season that had everything to do with their lack of health, they had lost consecutive games once since Dec. 18. They were 35-6 at home during the regular season.

Duncan wasted no time in setting the Spurs' tone at the start, attacking Udonis Haslem in the lane for the sort of bucket that had been so tough to come by in Game 2. He kept it going nearly six minutes later, roaring past James in the lane for a dunk that came off of a Parker penetration pass and put them up 11-4. In between, they kept the Heat to just two of nine shooting while Bosh's latest futile stretch came in the form of his one of five start from the field.

The Heat eventually responded, and early aggressiveness from Wade going to the rim sparked his eight-point first quarter as the Spurs led 24-20 entering the second. It was a good sign for the home team, as they had won one of the previous eight quarters in these Finals coming in (the Heat won five, and the teams tied twice).

"I didn't recognize our team tonight," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We got what we deserved out there."
But it wouldn't have lasted until halftime if not for Neal, whose 14 points before the break were about as unexpected as the notion that James would have just two on 2-for-8 shooting in that same span. The Spurs' first double-digit lead of the Finals had become a 44-44 tie after a 14-4 Heat run, but a Parker three from the right corner stemmed that tide and Neal capped the half with a three-pointer at the buzzer that put San Antonio up 50-44.

Duncan played quarterback yet again, starting the break with a quick outlet pass to Parker and another to Neal on the left wing for his shot. But there had been missed opportunities — two consecutive wide open threes that were missed by Matt Bonner midway through the second and eight turnovers that led to 10 Heat points.

The Spurs pulled away yet again midway through the third quarter, and it had everything to do with Duncan's desire. After his jumper and a Green three put the Spurs up 11, Duncan blocked an out-of-control layup from Mario Chalmers and lunged toward the baseline to keep the ball in bounds and start the fastbreak. With Duncan falling into the front row and Green attacking the rim on the other end en route to getting (and making) two free throws, their run that began late in the second quarter stretched to 15-2 and they led 59-46.

June 6

 1918
— Casey Stengel, after being traded by Brooklyn in the offseason, made his return to Ebbets Field a memorable one. In his first at-bat, Stengel called time, stepped out of the batter's box and doffed his cap. A bird flew out and the fans broke into laughter.

 1934
— Myril Hoag hit a major league record six singles in the New York Yankees' 15-3 rout of the Boston Red Sox.

 1939
— The New York Giants hit five home runs in the fourth inning in a 17-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at the Polo Grounds. With two out, Harry Danning, Al Demaree, Burgess Whitehead, Manny Salvo and Joe Moore connected as the Giants scored eight runs in the inning.

 1945
— In the first game of a doubleheader, Boston's Boo Ferriss scattered 14 hits to beat Philadelphia 5-2. Ferris, 8-0 on the year, tied the AL mark held by Chicago's John Whitehead for wins at the start of a career.

 1948
— Erv Dusak Red Schoendienst Enos Slaughter and Nippy Jones homer in the sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Phillies 11-1 in the first of two games. Phillies pitcher Charlie Bicknell gave up 18 total bases in the inning.

 1965
— Tom Tresh of the New York Yankees connected for three consecutive home runs in a 12-0 rout of the Chicago White Sox. Tresh hit his first homer right-handed off Juan Pizzaro in the first inning, then went to the other side of the plate and hit two against Bruce Howard in the third and fifth innings.
 
1975
— Cleveland manager Frank Robinson hit two three-run homers in a 7-5 win over the Texas Rangers.

 1975
— California's Nolan Ryan pitched a one-hitter for a 6-0 win over Milwaukee. Ryan's bid for a no-hitter was foiled by Hank Aaron's single in the sixth inning.

 1986
— San Diego Padres manager Steve Boros was ejected before the first pitch of the game with the Atlanta Braves when he tried to give umpire Charlie Williams a videotape of a disputed play in the previous night's 4-2 loss to Atlanta.

 1992
— Eddie Murray drove in two runs at Pittsburgh to pass Mickey Mantle (1,509) as the all-time RBI leader among switch-hitters.

 1995
— J.D. Drew of Florida State hit a record-setting three homers in his final three at-bats in a 16-11 loss to Southern California in the College World Series. Drew finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs and 12 total bases, also a series record.

 1996
— For the second time in major league history and first in the AL, a cycle and a triple play took place in the same game. Boston's John Valentin hit for the cycle, while Chicago turned a triple play in the Red Sox's 7-4 victory. In 1931, Philadelphia's Chuck Klein hit for the cycle in the same game that the Phillies turned a triple play against the Chicago Cubs.

 1998
— Jason Lane's grand slam capped a five-run ninth inning as Southern California won its first NCAA title in 20 years, beating Pac-10 rival Arizona State 21-14 in the College World Series.

 2003
— The New York Mets ended Seattle's 13-game road winning streak with a 3-2 win in the first meeting between the teams. It was the longest streak in the majors since Detroit's 17 straight road wins in 1984.

 2006
— Baltimore's Corey Patterson had his run of successive games with a stolen base stopped at nine in a 6-4 loss to Toronto. It was the longest run in the majors since Rickey Henderson had an identical stretch in 1986.

 2007
— Trevor Hoffman became the first major leaguer with 500 career saves when he closed out the San Diego Padres' 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Today's birthdays: Junichi Tazawa 27; Matt Belisle 32; Jeremy Affeldt 33; Mark Ellis
35.

Source: Associated Press