SAN ANTONIO - LeBron James should be used to the NBA Finals by now. After five trips to the championship series in eight years, it would make sense if he had a been-there, done-that attitude when stepping onto the sports biggest stage. He doesnt. On Wednesday James took a seat inside a makeshift interview area, sneaked a quick glance at the NBA Finals signage that was off to his left side, and beamed like a kid in a candy store. Just a couple years removed from being ripped for not delivering in the moments that decide championships, James seems more comfortable in these surroundings than ever. "Im blessed, man," James said. "Thats all I can say." And then, without stopping, the four-time MVP said much more. "This is my fifth appearance in a finals," he continued. "Im blessed. I was a kid who watched so many finals appearances and, you know, watched Michael Jordan and watched Shaq and Kobe ... we watched throwback finals games. ... I just wished maybe I could see the finals verbiage behind me and be a part of this." His wishes come true again Thursday night, when James and the Miami Heat open these finals against the San Antonio Spurs, the NBAs first championship-series rematch since 1998. The Heat are going for a third straight title, the Spurs are trying for their fifth crown since 1999. If Miami wins, the perception will be James came through. If Miami loses, the perception will be he didnt do enough. James knows thats the reality. He doesnt mind. "I play for my teammates, our team, the city of Miami, my friends and family, and I gave it all for that," James said. "And at the end of the day, win, lose or draw, Im satisfied with that. I dont get involved in what people say about me and my legacy. I think its actually kind of stupid." By now, the story behind James rise to a champion is no secret. He left Cleveland in 2010 because he felt Miami gave him a better opportunity to win titles. In 2011, when Miami lost to Dallas in the final round, James said he was relying too much upon proving his doubters and naysayers wrong. So the next season, he vowed to play the game the way he had in the past. Championship No. 1 came in 2012, championship No. 2 came last season in an epic seven-game series against the Spurs, and now the shot at No. 3 is here. "Hes really taken his game to a whole other level," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "Obviously as an individual hes grown, as a man, both on and off the court from his own experiences. So I think hes done a phenomenal job. ... If I sit back and look from afar, hes done an unbelievable job under the microscope that hes been under since he was 16 years old of doing things his way and been very successful at doing them." If James is feeling pressure right now, it doesnt show publicly. Away from the public eye, though, teammates have marveled all season about how someone who makes more than $50 million a year in salary and endorsements is working perhaps harder than ever. "Nothing he does is normal," Heat forward Michael Beasley said. "He practices wearing a weight vest. Does that sound normal?" James spent the majority of his question-answering time Wednesday laughing or smiling. Off-stage, he joked with a few other people, chatting and seeming as relaxed as he would if this was the eve of a Heat-Spurs game in January, not one in June. The Spurs are worried about stopping James, they know that wont happen. "We understand LeBron is the best player in the league and just physically hes just a monster," San Antonio forward Tim Duncan said. In 2007, when the Spurs swept Cleveland, James was still learning. In 2011, he felt like he absolutely had to win, and failed to get it done. In 2012 and 2013, he just played the game the way he felt it needs to be played. And its no coincidence that its all fallen into place since. "Every time I come up here and talk to you guys or I do something, you know, very well on the basketball floor or off the floor, my city is rewarded by that," James said. "My family is rewarded by that, my friends are rewarded by that, the kids and all the kids in the world that look up to me are rewarded by that. Thats enough to get me by. Everything else is extra credit." Stitched Lakers Jerseys . According to a release sent by the league, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only team to exceed the cap. Their total salary expenditure of $4,417,975 was $17,975 over the salary cap of $4. Fake Lakers Jerseys . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship. https://www.lakersjerseycheap.com/. However, the intensity and physicality that has characterized the postseason so far has caught Gretzky by surprise. "Its a little bit risqué right now," Gretzky told Philadelphia radio station 97. Lakers Jerseys China . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap. Lakers Jerseys 2019 . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt.(SportsNetwork.com) - Postseason baseball returns to the Steel City for the first time in 21 years on Tuesday when Justin Moreau, Russell Martin and the Pittsburgh Pirates host Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds in the National League wild card game at PNC Park. There have been over 600 playoff games contested in Major League Baseball since the Pirates lost to the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1992 NL Championship Series. None of those games, though, have included the Pirates, who are back in the postseason for the first time since their last winning season way back in 1992. This will be the first playoff game in Pittsburgh since Game 5 of that 1992 NLCS. "Thats a long wait," said Pirates second baseman Neil Walker. "Our focus is winning games and series, and we play for each other more than anything else. But we also play for the city and the fans. After teasing its fans with two straight second half collapses, Pittsburgh put it all together this season behind NL MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen and ended the year, 94-68. The Pirates spent a good deal of time atop the NL Central and were 26 games above .500 on Aug. 8. However, they were a .500 team in 48 games after that, but won five of six to close the campaign. In fact the Pirates cemented their season by sweeping the Reds over the weekend to secure homefield advantage for the wild card game, outscoring their NL Central foes, 16-6 in the process. "Itll be electric," Bucs outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "This city, its sports fans ... they love their sports. Theyve had their Steelers and their Penguins, and have been waiting on their Pirates. And here we come. "We wanted to make sure were able to bring it back to Pittsburgh. One game. Now its time to get it done." Pittsburgh had five All-Stars at this years Midsummer Classic, but none shined brighter than McCutchen, who continued to state his case as one of the best young players in the game. McCutchen hit .317 with 21 home runs, 84 RBI, 27 stolen bases, a .404 on-base percentage and .508 slugging percentage in 157 games. He became just the fourth major league center fielder since 1947 to have consecutive seasons of hitting .300 with a .400 slugging percentage and .500 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, joining Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr. In addition to the great McCutchen, a big reason behind the Pirates success was the man that will be taking the ball on Tuesday, left-hander Francisco Liriano. Signed as a free agent this winter, Liriano missed the first month of the season recovering from a broken arm, but showed no ill effects of the injury upon his return and ended the year, 16-8, while pitching to a 3.02 ERA. Liriano, the Pirates first postseason starter since Doug Drabek, struggled against the Reds, going 0-3 with a 3.70 ERA against them in four starts. However, the Dominican hurler was terrific at PNC Park, where he has just one loss in 11 starts (8-1) with a sparkling 1.49 ERA. Pittsburgh, as a team, was 50-31 in front of its fans this season. While the Pirates are back in the postseason for the first time in over two decades, Cincinnati is making its third appearance in four years after going 90-72.dddddddddddd Like Pittsburgh, the Reds were in cruise control for the better part of September, despite being six games back in the NL Central as late as Aug. 10. Still and all, Cincinnati essentially knew it would be postseason bound in some capacity after taking three of four from Arizona from Aug. 19-22. The Reds, though, enter the postseason riding a five-game losing streak after losing three straight home games to the Pirates. "Youve got to block it out," manager Dusty Baker said of the rough finish. "Its a situation where its a new season. What you did previously, it doesnt matter. What you didnt do previously doesnt matter. Now you start the season all over." Cincinnati has something to prove this October after an awful collapse in last years NLDS. The Reds had won the first two games of that series with the San Francisco Giants, only to lose the final three at home in the best-of-five set to the eventual World Series champions. Johnny Cueto made only eight pitches in that series before leaving Game 1 with a strained oblique and will take the ball for the Reds Tuesday following an injury-plagued 2013 that saw him make three trips to the disabled list. "Its a really meaningful game for me," Cueto said via translator Tomas Vera. "This is the most important game of the season. All I have to do is keep doing my job. Baseball is still the same. I hope to do what I have to do." After missing 2 1/2 months with a lat strain Cueto returned to make two starts late in the season and allowed just one earned run in 12 innings. He ended his year 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA. "Im going to be normal. Im going to be the same guy," Cueto said. "What happened to me in San Francisco, I was excited. I was so emotional for the game and I think I overdid it too much. I really dont know what happened that day or how I got to that point." As bad as Liriano was against the Reds this season, Cueto has been the exact opposite versus Pittsburgh, posting a 13-4 lifetime mark against the Pirates with a 2.37 ERA in 21 starts. "They have a great team," Cueto said. "They have really good players so Im going to have to do my job as well." The matchup between Cueto and Liriano is just the third in postseason history between two starting pitchers from the Dominican Republic. In both 1999 and 2004, Pedro Martinez faced off against Bartolo Colon. "I want to tell my people in the Dominican Republic to follow this game," Cueto said. "There are two Dominicans on the mound. I want to give advice to all the youth in the Dominican that you have to work hard and continue working hard to do things like this." The Pirates took 11 of their 19 meetings with the Reds, including five of the nine matchups in Pittsburgh. Tuesdays winner will face NL Central champion St. Louis in the NLDS beginning on Thursday. ' ' '