Öffentlich » emotions out of it," said

SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs beat the Heat. Miami couldnt beat the heat. And there was the story of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. With LeBron James unable to play in the final 3:59 because of cramps throughout the left side of his body, and on a night where an air conditioning failure inside San Antonios arena had temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, the Heat simply withered in the final minutes. As their four-time MVP could only watch, Miami watched as San Antonio pulled away in the final minutes for a 110-95 win on Thursday night in the opener of the title series. "Its frustration and theres anger," James said as he lay on a training table long after the game. "But at the same time, its something you try to prevent, you try to control. I got all the fluids I needed to get. I did my normal routine Ive done. Its something that was inevitable for me tonight. "It just sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point of the season." James scored the last of his 25 points on a layup that got Miami within two. That was the end of his night; he stood still on the baseline afterward, unable to move his left leg because of cramping. His night was over, and soon, so was the game. The Spurs outscored the Heat by 13 the rest of the way, and took the series-opener for the second straight finals. The Heat were outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, Chris Bosh added 18 and Ray Allen scored 16 for Miami. Rashard Lewis added 10 for the Heat. "I think it felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping like that back to the bench," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But at the same time we still had an opportunity." James has dealt with cramping issues several times in the past, including during the 2012 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City -- in a game in Miami. "Were used to having the hotter arena," Spoelstra said. Spoelstra insisted that the Heat would not use the temperature as an excuse, and said James tried to return to the game shortly after the cramp knocked him out. "I just looked at him and said, Dont even think about it. You cant even move," Spoelstra said. James didnt need much convincing. He knew. Cramps, he said, were affecting nearly the whole left side of his body. "Any little step or nudge, it would get worse," James said. "It would lock up even worse. My muscles would just spasm at a 10 out of 10." Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Parker added 19 points and Manu Ginobili finished with 16 points and 11 assists for San Antonio, which improved to 10-1 at home in the playoffs. James was affected throughout the second half, asking for breaks more than once, and some players placed ice bags on the backs of their necks in an effort to combat the temperature. Duncan said the heat was a significant factor in the game. "I dont know what happened to LeBron, but I think all of us were feeling the heat," Duncan said. "We were all dehydrated." If there is a bright side for James -- who used cold towels, drank what he could and even changed uniforms at halftime -- its that Game 2 isnt until Sunday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich acknowledged afterward that James departure obviously played a role in the finish, though lauded the way his team executed in the deciding minutes. "Certainly could have been a different story. Theres no doubt about that," Popovich said. Its not the first time electricity has had a significant impact on a championship event in recent years. The Super Bowl in 2013 between Baltimore and San Francisco was marred by a power outage at the Superdome in New Orleans, interrupting play for 34 minutes. Power was the culprit in Game 1 of the finals as well, arena officials said. "An electrical failure for the power that runs the AC system in the AT&T Center has occurred," Spurs Sports and Entertainment said in a statement distributed in the second half. "We are continuing to work on resolving the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience." Many fans removed the giveaway black T-shirts handed out before the game, obviously wanting to wear as few layers inside the steamy building as possible. "Not NBA Finals worthy," Wade said of the conditions in the locker room afterward. "Ill tell you that. This is crazy." Sean Rodriguez Jersey . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St. Jameson Taillon Jersey . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Austin-Meadows-Kids-Jersey/ . De La Rosa pitched six strong innings to win his sixth consecutive decision, Todd Helton homered and the Colorado Rockies snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers six-game winning streak with a 7-5 victory on Wednesday night. Dave Parker Jersey . -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday. Jordy Mercer Jersey . The 34-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games played in 2013-14 with the Utah Jazz. Jefferson has averaged 14.5 points, 4.BALTIMORE – Kevin Seitzer does not have a doctorate in psychology and the Blue Jays recent offensive slump has him wishing he did. "Now would be a good time to have one," Seitzer joked to TSN.ca before Friday nights game against the Orioles. Its been a tough week. Entering Fridays action, the Blue Jays had lost five of their last six games, scoring a total of eight runs in that span. Baseballs leader with 91 home runs as a team, Toronto didnt hit any in the five defeats. The frustration is mounting, not that Seitzer needed anyone to point it out. "Its mental, emotional stuff," said Seitzer. "We were having so much fun and playing so well that when you hit a little bump in the road nobody likes it. When you dont like it you get mad and when you get mad after an at-bat and you go up for your next at-bat and it doesnt work out the way you want then you get more mad." Now is the time Seitzer gets away from swing-tweaking and mechanical suggestions. He becomes more a mental coach, inviting his group to take a seat on the proverbial couch. "I said, I want you guys to stay aggressive. I want you to compete your butt off on every at-bat but keep the emotions out of it," said Seitzer. "Weve got to keep the emotions in check. Understand that umpires are going to make bad calls you dont like, pitchers are going to hit spots that theyre not used to hitting consistently, were going to go through a little phase where we get painted up a little bit with guys who arent used to doing that." Hes talking about a guy like Minnesotas Kevin Correia, who entered Tuesday nights start with an ERA above six but shut the Jays offence down over six innings. Hes talking about a guy like Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, who baffled Toronto over seven innings last Sunday. Garcia has a pedigree but is only recently returned from a year-long layoff following complicated shoulder surgery. Young Orioles fireballer Kevin Gausman held Toronto to a run over six innings on Thursday but Seitzer felt his offence had its best outing in a week. Gausmans fastball tops out at 98 miles per hour; he has a nasty splitter and a tough slider and hes learned a changeup, an effective weapon to keep hitters off balance. Seitzer liked, despite Gausmans relative dominance, his pitch count hitting 100 in the sixth inning, which forced him from the game. Theres also been some griping about recent umpires strike zones. Players have done a good job of not embarrassing the men in blue, quietly voicing displeasure without causing a scene. Seitzer had a way of handling such situations when he played. "Dont show them up, dont show body language, dont get them all mad but you have to let them know that you know that pitch was outside," said Seitzer.dddddddddddd If Seitzer felt a called strike was a few inches off the plate, hed murmur as much to the umpire. A third baseman and first baseman in his playing days, Seitzer often would speak to the same umpire the next day and would receive admissions of missed calls. He said the conversations often helped to develop friendships with the umpires. One thing he doesnt want his pupils doing: going out of the strike zone because the umpire has a wide one. "The thing Im telling the guys is you cant change your zone," said Seitzer. "You dont want to expand because once you start expanding a little bit then youll expand more. You dont even want to deal with those pitches until two strikes when youre battling and protecting but I dont want you protecting four inches off the plate even with two strikes because, number one, you probably will miss it and number two, if you do put it in play youre going to be out because itll be softly hit." Seitzers ability to relate to hitters is, in part, a result of the experiences he had during his own career. In 1993, following his release by Oakland, Seitzer returned for a second stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. He made a decision. As an experiment, he would no longer allow himself to be affected by negative thoughts. If he went 0-for-5 in a game, hed arrive at the park the next day repeating to himself Youre hot, youre hot until he was convinced the previous nights donut was an aberration. There were times when his hitting coach thought he was crazy. Seitzer said he never went into a prolonged slump in either 1994 or 1995 and in those two seasons he posted OPSs of .828 and .815. Reflecting, Seitzer said his mental experiment laid the groundwork for his future career in coaching although he didnt know it at the time. Hed like Jays hitters to apply his theory. "We have to let that transition again back to the good," said Seitzer. "I said dont fight, dont force, dont try and do too much and dont get mad about it and just keep competing; compete each at-bat." Despite the recent team-wide slump, Toronto continues to lead baseball with 91 home runs (Colorado is second with 84) and is second in OPS (.769). Blips happen. The statistics suggest the Blue Jays will come around. A tough week doesnt negate a strong two-month stretch. "Ill admit I was extremely spoiled rotten watching this offence go night after night," said Seitzer. "Hopefully we can get this sucker turned around quick." ' ' '