Parade gives Spurs fans a lot to shout about
SAN ANTONIO— Fans screamed “Go, Spurs, Go!” in unison at the slightest glimpse of a San Antonio Spurs player or coach floating down the River Walk.
It was reminiscent of last season, when the Spurs walked off their team charter to those chants, except the tone Wednesday night was much sweeter.
The victory parade for the Spurs’ fifth NBA title was part celebration and part exorcism.
“It is soaking in, but I’m still going to live it up for about the whole summer,” NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard said. “Thought I would get some sleep after we won the Finals, but I’m still celebrating. ‘Go, Spurs, Go! San Antonio!’ ”
After falling 25 seconds shy of capturing the title last season, the Spurs made another run to the NBA Finals. Except this time, they closed out the Miami Heat in five games for the team’s first title since 2007.
“I cried (last year). I think the rest of the city cried, too,” Spurs fan Rosalinda Gonzalez said. “It made this year’s victory even more sweet. (And) the way we did it. All the games that we won were by a billion points. It was awesome.”
Given a chance to celebrate what they couldn’t last year, Spurs fans endured 90-degree heat to line the River Walk and stand outside the Alamodome for up to five hours before the festivities began. The City of San Antonio estimated about 100,000 people attended the River Walk parade, and more than 60,000 were at the Alamodome.
PRO FOOTBALL Jets release RB Goodson
Mike Goodson’s strange stint with the New York Jets is over.
The troubled running back was released after he failed to show up for the team’s mandatory minicamp. General manager John Idzik announced that Goodson, coming off major knee surgery and dealing with legal issues, was let go with a designation of “left squad.”
Goodson, who attended Klein Collins and Texas A&M, played in just two games for the Jets before tearing two knee ligaments last October. He faces weapons charges and up to 10 years in prison after being indicted in November. He also was suspended the first four games of last season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
TENNIS Djokovic, Serena receive top seeds
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon on Wednesday, while defending champion Andy Murray moved up two spots above his rank- ing to the third seed.
Djokovic, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, is ranked No. 2 but was given the top seeding by the All England Club ahead of top-ranked Rafael Nadal.
Nadal, who is coming off his ninth French Open title, was seeded No. 2 for Wimbledon, which starts Monday.
The women’s seedings stuck to the WTA rankings. Five-time champion Williams has the top spot, followed by Li Na and French Open runner-up Simona Halep.
GOLF Braden, Clark pace junior event
Braden Bailey of Groves and Annika Clark of Highland remained atop the leader board after second-round play in the AJGA Billardfactory.com Junior Championship at The Woodlands Country Club.
Bailey carded a 2-overpar 74 for a 36-hole total of even-par 144 to retain a one-shot lead over Cedar Park’s Charles Kim, who also fired a 74 Wednesday.
Clark opened up a twoshot lead over Monica Dibildox of Saltillo, Mexico, by posting the lowest girls score of the day, a 2-under 70, to post a two-day total of 144. In other news:
After months of indecision over whom to represent, Rory McIlroy announced he will play for Ireland — not Britain — at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
BASEBALL Skeeters rally by Barnstormers
The Sugar Land Skeeters used a threerun fifth inning to erase a three-run deficit and then rallied for two runs in the ninth to beat the Lancaster Barnstormers 5-4 at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
The Skeeters’ winning margin came as a result of Koby Clemens’ scoring on a ninth-inning error and Ryan Langerhans’ RBI single.