MIAMI - The last time Dwyane Wade played in an NBA Finals game, he needed fluid drained from his left knee and eight hours of intense game-day therapy just to get into uniform.
[b]Marquise Goodwin Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . The Miami Heat guard later described it in a single word. "Hell," Wade said. It was also worth it, after he scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hoisted his third Larry OBrien Trophy. Now, unlike last year, Wade is not dealing with any injuries heading into the Miamis finals rematch against the San Antonio Spurs. At 32 years old and with 866 NBA games already on his playing odometer, Wade still deals with plenty of aches and pains, good days and bad days, and basically has a standing appointment in the Heat training room. But compared to last seasons NBA Finals, his knees are good as new. "Hes a big-time, huge piece to our puzzle," four-time NBA MVP and Heat star LeBron James said. "To have him out there in the groove that hes in right now, its going to help us." The Heat are looking to win their third straight title and Wade is on the cusp of joining a list of all-time NBA greats. There are just seven players with four championships and at least one NBA Finals MVP award on their resumes: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Magic Johnson, Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and the Spurs Tim Duncan. Wade could be the eighth person in that club. "We just want to continue to add to what were accomplishing," Wade said. Almost forgotten amid all the memories of Wade limping about during last years playoffs — he whacked what was his "good" knee at this time last year, the surgically repaired left one, in a collision with the Spurs Manu Ginobili during Game 6 of the finals — is he had big games when Miami needed him. Through his first 14 games of the 2013 playoffs, Wade was averaging 13.6 points. In the final eight games of that post-season run, starting with Game 7 against Indiana, he averaged 19.8 points. And in the last four games of the finals, he averaged 23.5 points against the Spurs to close the series. As his knees got worse, Wade seemed to get better. "He still found a way last year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He really did. He had some of his biggest games not only in the finals, but Game 7, we didnt think necessarily he was going to even play that game in the Eastern Conference finals." This year, the Heat tried to leave nothing to chance with Wades health. The so-called maintenance plan for Wade — limiting his minutes to save his knees — kicked in on the second night of the regular season. He wound up missing 28 games in all, mostly because of that rest-and-rehab scheme, to ensure that he would be good to go in the playoffs. The results cant be argued. Wade is averaging 18.7 points on 52 per cent shooting, Miami is 12-3 in the playoffs and when getting more than three days rest — like the Heat will have before Game 1 in San Antonio on Thursday night — the perennial All-Star has had games of 23, 14, 27 and 23 points on a combined 60 per cent shooting. "Dwyane is playing great," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday. "He looks a lot more spry and ready to go then he did last year in the finals." Maybe the biggest payoff of the regular-season maintenance plan has been how Wade has closed games in this post-season. Wade is shooting 56 per cent in fourth quarters during the playoffs, the best clip of his career and the best percentage of any guard with more than 30 shots in the final period of post-season games this season. San Antonios Danny Green is second on that list, shooting just under 49 per cent. Wade doesnt like talking about his place in history. But he knows what rarefied air he would be entering with a fourth title run. "I think weve all put ourselves in great situations, and were just going to continue to try to enjoy this moment that were in because its an amazing moment," Wade said. "Its something that, for a lifetime, is going to fulfil us as athletes. Even when we cant play this game, were going to always be able to talk about this." And now, when talking about his health, Wade has another one-word answer: "Better."
[b]Jalen Hurd Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net.
[b]Mike McGlinchey Super Bowl Jersey[/b] .C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday.Siobhan-Marie OConnor is set to continue her fight for a place at the Rio Olympics in the British Swimming Championships. The 20-year-old Sky Academy Sports Scholar is one of GBs rising stars and is in Scotland this week for a crucial event on the swimming calendar that will help determine who will be on the plane to Brazil this summer.OConnor was the youngest in the GB team at the 2012 London Games (100m breaststroke), and she is now looking to conquer again on the biggest international stage after six medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, including gold in the 200m individual medley.Get live updates on Siobhan over the weekend on the @SkyScholarships Twitter accountWith the 100m freestyle first up for OConnor in Glasgow, she said: Im really looking forward to racing on Friday. Weve been training hard for this week for a long time and its great that its finally here.Its good to be up here with the Bath Team as well, cheering on my team-mates for the first couple of days.This will be my second Olympic trials and I really hope I can achieve the results I want and that I have worked for. Skys Sportswomen follows Siobhan-Marie OConnor as she fights for her place at the Olympics OConnor, who recently returned from a seven-week training camp to Austtralia, will compete in the 100m Individual Medley on Saturday and will finish the weekend with the 100m breaststroke and butterfly.
[b]Frank Gore Super Bowl Jersey[/b]. The British swimmers will be nominated for Rio 2016 selection following the trials with the British Olympic Association set to ratify the GB squad later in April. With the Olympic swimming trials taking place this week, we look back at Siobhan-Marie OConnors Masterclass British Swimming head coach Bill Furniss said: This competition is just the next phase of a long and detailed preparation to perform on the day in Rio.After Glasgow we need to refocus on Rio - thats where the competition will be fought and not before. We want our athletes this week to experience pressure, handle pressure and welcome pressure.WHATS COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS...MARCH 19 - May 2: Holly Bradshaw, training in USAAPRIL 12-17: Siobhan-Marie OConnor, British Championships in GlasgowAPRIL: Olivia Breen, training camp in TenerifeMAY 22-30: Sam Oldham, European Championships in Switzerland Also See: About the Scholarship Meet the athletes Blogs Videos Galleries ' ' '
