SUNDAY SPORTS

SEVENTH HEAVEN:  It’s Game 7 time in Chicago. The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks are looking to earn a berth back to the Stanley Cup final as they host the LA Kings in the deciding game of the Western Conference final (6:00 pm Sask time). Chicago was down 3-1 in the series before rallying back to win the last two games.

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CFL:  Training camps will open as scheduled today despite the breakdown in contract talks between the league and its players last week. Negotiations ended Thursday after the CFL rejected the union’s latest proposal. The CFLPA’s proposal responded to offer the league tabled Wednesday — which commissioner Mark Cohon called its “best and final offer.”  Roughrider workouts in Saskatoon are scheduled for 8:00 am and 3:00 pm Sunday.

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WMBL:  The Regina Red Sox will look for their first win over the 2014 WMBL season when they host the Swift Current Indians Sunday at 2:05 pm at Currie Field.  The Red Sox dropped their season opener 4-2 on Friday in Weyburn.  Sunday’s home-opener is the debut of Red Sox skipper Scotty Douglas.

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NBA FINALS SET:  The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder saved the best for last in the NBA’s Western Conference finals.

The Spurs reached the finals for the second straight year by outlasting the Thunder in Game 6, winning 112-107 in overtime. It was the only game won by the road team in the series and the tightest win for the Spurs, who earned their first three victories by an average of 27 points.

Tim Duncan finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Boris Diaw (DEE’-ow) had a team-high 26 points for the Spurs. Duncan scored seven straight Spurs points in overtime, capped by a jumper that put San Antonio ahead 110-107 with 19.4 seconds left.

Kawhi Leonard added 17 points and 11 boards for the Spurs, who now prepare to face Miami in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals.

San Antonio managed to close out the win despite the loss of Tony Parker, who sat out the second half and overtime with left ankle soreness. The Spurs didn’t miss Parker in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 37-20 to go ahead by 10. San Antonio owned a nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 16 points the rest of the period. Westbrook extended the game by hitting two free throws with 9.3 seconds left in regulation.

Westbrook finished with 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Durant had 31 points and 14 boards. Both had seven of the Thunder’s 19 turnovers.

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MLB:  The San Francisco Giants were able to hammer eight-game winner Adam Wainwright last night, but they couldn’t touch Michael Wacha and the St. Louis bullpen Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals allowed just three hits and struck out 13 Giants in a 2-0 shutout at Busch Stadium. Wacha gave up the three hits while fanning seven in six innings. Three relievers combined for three perfect innings.

Oscar Tavares made his major league debut and hit a solo homer in his second at-bat. Tavares was recalled after hitting .325 with seven homers and 40 RBIs for Triple-A Memphis.

Also in the majors:

– Hanley Ramirez was 4-for-4 with a pair of homers, five RBIs and four runs scored as the Los Angeles Dodgers crushed Pittsburgh 12-2. Matt Kemp, Justin Turner and Drew Butera drove in two runs apiece as part of the Dodgers’ 14-hit attack.

– Brock Holt and Jackie Bradley Jr. smacked two-run homers in Boston’s 7-1 rout of Tampa Bay, the Red Sox’s sixth straight win since a 10-game skid. Rubby De La Rosa blanked the Rays over seven innings for his first big league win since 2011, allowing four hits while striking out eight.

– Anthony Rizzo belted a pair of two-run homers and Jason Hammel gave up four hits over seven innings of the Chicago Cubs’ 8-0 shutout of Milwaukee. Darwin Barney’s RBI double capped the Cubs’ five-run sixth.

– Toronto finishes 21-9 for the month after erupting for seven runs in the first inning of a 12-2 laugher against Kansas City. Juan Francisco had three hits and four RBIs, Adam Lind went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Marcus Stroman allowed a run in six innings to win his first major league start.

– Masahiro Tanaka is 8-1 after allowing a run and four hits in eight innings of the New York Yankees’ 3-1 victory over Minnesota. Yangervis Solarte (yahn JUR-vihs soh-LAHR’-tay) hit a solo homer and Brian McCann doubled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth as the Yankees improved to 12-12 at home.

– Will Venable had a season-high four hits and drove in two runs in San Diego’s 4-2 win over the White Sox in Chicago. Tyson Ross limited the White Sox to one earned run and five hits in six innings for his sixth win, with help from Huston Street’s 17th save in as many chances.

– Anthony Rendon went 4 for 5 and hit one of four Washington home runs in a 10-2 rout of Texas. Adam LaRoche, Jose Lobaton, and pinch-hitter Scott Hairston also went deep to support Doug Fister, who gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.

– The New York Mets beat the Phillies 5-4 in Philadelphia on David Wright’s RBI single in the bottom of the 14th. Ruben Tejada had three hits, including his first homer in 553 at-bats and an RBI single while the Mets were building a 4-0 lead.

– Cleveland’s bullpen coughed up a 6-2 lead before Mike Aviles singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth to give the Indians a 7-6 win over Colorado. Aviles also hit a three-run homer, Lonnie Chisenhall added a two-run shot and Trevor Bauer struck out eight in six innings before Charlie Blackmon’s three-run blast tied it in the seventh.

– Houston’s seven-game winning streak is done after Nelson Cruz smacked his 20th home run and had three RBIs in Baltimore’s 4-1 verdict over the Astros. Chris Tillman held the Astros to a run and four hits over 6 2/3s for his fifth win.

– Justin Heyward and Freddie Freeman each had two RBIs in Atlanta’s 9-5 win at Miami. Gerald Laird scored three times while going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

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NCAA SETTLEMENT:  A $40 million settlement has been completed that will pay college football and basketball players dating to 2003 for the use of their likenesses in NCAA-branded videogames.

The payouts could go to more than 100,000 athletes, including some current players. These players were either on college rosters or had their images used in videogames made by Electronic Arts featuring college teams. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say it would be the first time college athletes will be paid for the commercial use of their images.

Depending on how many athletes apply for the settlement, the payments could range from as little as $48 for each year an athlete was on a roster to $951 for each year the image of an athlete was used in a videogame.

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PGA: Bubba Watson has a one shot lead after three rounds of the PGA’s Memorial. He shot a 3-under 69 to stand 12-under for the tournament.  Scott Langley shot a 67 to move into second, one stroke ahead of Hideki Matsuyama.  Second-round leader Paul Casey is four shots back following a 4-over 76.

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FIGJAM:  Golfer Phil Mickelson says he’s done nothing wrong and that the investigation going on regarding possible insider trading will not bother him as he prepares for the U.S. Open. Mickelson says he is co-operating in an investigation involving him, investor Carl Icahn and a Las Vegas gambler. His manager has confirmed that the investigation was the same outlined in various newspaper reports, including the Wall Street Journal.

The papers report that federal investigators are looking into the trading patterns of Mickelson and Billy Walters involving two stocks. The newspapers say the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission are analyzing trades Mickelson and Walters made in Clorox about the time Icahn was attempting to take over the company.

(With files from the Canadian Press)