NEWS » getting any younger. Dickey turned 39 in October an

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took pains to make sure guard Tony Parker was well rested for the playoffs. "I barely played in April," Parker said. "I was joking with Pop if I was still with the Spurs." The break has paid off. Parker scored 29 points and San Antonio took a 3-0 lead in its Western Conference semifinal series against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 118-103 victory on Saturday night. Parker has scored 29 or more points in three of his last four playoff games. He had 20 points in the first half alone in Game 3 against Portland. "Hes been the engine for us," Popovich said. "He started out really well tonight. He made shots, he involved everybody else. He was playing great D at the other end. Hes really playing a whole complete game." The Spurs led by as many as 23 points in the first half, building a big early lead just as they had in the first two games of the series in San Antonio. "I think it just happened," Parker said of the third straight game with a big jump on Portland. "We just wanted to come in and have a good start, take care of the ball and play good defence like we did at home." The teams meet again on Monday night at the Moda Center. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Portland, which pulled within eight points in the third quarter but couldnt get any closer. The Blazers were hurt by 15 turnovers and only six points from their bench. "Theyre just persistent," Aldridge said. "They play championship basketball and thats what we have to get to." No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. In 2003, the Blazers rebounded with three wins after dropping the first three against Dallas, but ultimately lost the first-round series deciding game. San Antonio, the top seed in the West, is vying for a second straight trip to the finals: Last season the Spurs fell to the Miami Heat in seven games. The winner of the series goes on to meet the winner of the conference semifinal between Oklahoma City and the Clippers. The Thunder lead that series 2-1. San Antonio has dominated this one. On Thursday night, the Spurs built a 20-point lead and won 114-97. The Spurs routed the Blazers 116-92 in the series opener after a hard-fought seven-game series against the Dallas Mavericks. The Blazers were without reserve guard Mo Williams, who has a groin injury. Williams played just 9 minutes in Game 2, and the Spurs backups outscored Portlands 50-19. Williams has consistently brought a spark and leadership off the bench the whole season, and has capably filled in while Lillard rests. Earl Watson and Will Barton helped spell starter Damian Lillard in Game 3. The Blazers took a brief 13-12 lead midway through the first quarter on Lillards step-back jumper. It was just their second lead of the series. But Parker pestered the Blazers and his finger-roll layup put the Spurs up 25-15. Marco Belinellis falling-down jumper pushed the lead to 28-17 before the first quarter was over. Parkers back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Spurs a 58-35 late first-half lead and they went into the break ahead 60-40. Portland rallied to start the second half, pulling to 64-52 after Nicolas Batums 3-pointer. He hit another 3 to narrow it to 68-60, but the Spurs kept the Blazers from coming any closer and led 83-69 going into the fourth. Parkers layup and free throw gave San Antonio a 100-81 lead in the fourth. Portland mounted a rally to get to 103-91 on Robin Lopezs layup with 5:46 left but it was too late. "Pop, you have to give him credit. He looked at the big picture, and rested me (the last month)," Parker said. "When we started the playoffs, he told me Be ready to play 37-38 minutes a game, were going to need you to play at your best. And so far its working." Portland advanced to the second round for the first time in 14 years by defeating the Houston Rockets in six games, clinching the series with Lillards amazing 3-pointer at the buzzer at home for a 99-98 victory in the deciding game. The Spurs have a 3-2 series advantage over Portland in the playoffs, sweeping the previous meeting in the 1999 conference finals. The teams split the regular-season series 2-2. NOTES: Before Game 2 in San Antonio, Blazers forward Thomas Robinson saw a snake in the locker room at the AT&T Center. Because the snake hissed, the team at first thought it was a rattlesnake, but it later turned out it was not venomous. So before Saturday nights game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked if his team had seen any critters in the Moda Center: "We expected a Beaver but we didnt see one," he laughed. ... Tim Duncan moved past Karl Malone into fifth place all-time for career playoff points. He trails only Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal. James Harden Rockets Jersey . The 29-year-old German, the 2011 overall World Cup champion, says she has decided "to end my career now. Austin Rivers Jersey .com) - Al Horford collected 19 points and 16 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks held off a furious rally to beat the Detroit Pistons 106-103 on Friday night in a game between two of the NBAs hottest teams. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authen...Rockets-Jersey/. Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Clyde Drexler Rockets Jersey . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday. Tracy McGrady Jersey . Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five.If there is anything worrisome about the Blue Jays off-season, its the face theyve really done nothing to upgrade their starting pitching. Grant you, there is still time and the logjam is sure to break once some team signs Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka. Just consider though, whats happened to the Blue Jays pitching staff over the past two seasons, partly through injuries and mainly through underachieving. In 2012, the Jays used 34 pitchers, (33 if you dont count catcher Jeff Mathis, who mopped up in two blowout games), which was a club record for pitchers used in a season. They lost Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek to long-term injuries in the month of June alone in a span of just a few days. By the end of the season, they had only two pitchers with over 30 starts in Henderson Alvarez and Ricky Romero, who were also the only two to crack 180 innings on the mound. Last season wasnt much better. John Gibbons utilized 31 pitchers and for the bulk of the season, didnt use one starter in his rotation who had been part of John Farrells crew the year before. Injuries struck again with Morrow, Josh Johnson and J.A. Happ all missing significant time with injuries. Luckily, R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle found their "sea legs" in late May and early June and paced the staff the rest of the way. Dickey finished with a staff-leading 34 starts and 224.2 innings pitched with Buehrle right behind with 33 starts and 203.2 innings. Still, neither of these vets is getting any younger. Dickey turned 39 in October and Buehrle will be 35 in March. No other starter on the Jays staff cracked 140 innings. Esmil Rogers, who was in and out of the rotation, had 20 starts and pitched 137.2 innings. All you have to do is look at the last five World Series winners to see the value of a healthy and durable staff, not to mention one peppered with star power. The 2009 Yankees used 24 pitchers over the course of the season, but their staff was led by three horses in lefties C.C Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and former Blue Jays righty A.J. Burnett. Sabathia and Burnett each broke 200 innings and Pettitte pitched 194.2. And, of course, having Mariano Rivera in the pen didnt hurt either. The 2010 Giants top four starters, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Jonathon Sanchez each made 33 staarts and pitched at least 193.dddddddddddd1 innings with Cain and Lincecum breaking 200. The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals pretty much used just six starters all season. Edwin Jackson was acquired late in the season in the same three-way deal that brought Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays. He supplanted Kyle McLellan in the rotation, but the ttwo combined for 29 starts and nearly 220 innings. Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook all had over 30 starts and Carpenter peaked out with 237.1 innings. Of the last five World Series champions, the 2012 Giants had the most healthy and durable group. Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito all had at least 31 starts with Cain and Bumgarner throwing over 200 innings. The other three had between 180-190 innings. In fact, the Giants only had two other starts that season that had to be filled by other pitchers. Last years champions, the Boston Red Sox had to go through a little bit more adversity. They used 26 pitchers over the course of the season, including 11 starters, but they still had four starters, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Ryan Dempster and Felix Doubront, who were able to go to the mound 27 times. If Clay Buchholz, who made 16 starts, hadnt been injured, he may have challenged for the Cy Young Award. The bottom line to all of this is, the Blue Jays staff as stands is nowhere near good enough to contend. The Jays need two proven effective starters between now and the start of spring training. However, Im afraid with the heavy competition for the few quality pitchers available, GM Alex Anthopoulos will be fortunate to get one. How far this may have set the Jays back is hard to say, but in the last five June drafts, the Jays have failed to sign three of their top pitching selections. Lefty James Paxton, a Canadian no less, refused to sign with them after being chosen #37 overall in 2009. In 2011, Tyler Beede who went 21st overall to the Jays, chose the college route rather than signing with the Jays, while last June, the Jays backed off on signing Phil Bickford, whom they had taken 10th overall. The Jays have some significant pitching prospects in Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin, but none who figure to be ready for breakout seasons in the Majors just yet. ' ' '