Monday night, the Bruins beat the Blackhawks 2-0 in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden to take a 2-1 series lead. Boston got another goal from its reconfigured third line (Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin), a power-play goal from Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask’s (28 saves) third shutout of the postseason.

If you boil it down, this was basically a perfect game by head coach Claude Julien’s standards: they held Chicago’s power play to 0-for-5 (now 0-for-11 in the series), they had six more hits, four more takeaways, 10 more blocked shots than the Blackhawks and they won 40-of-56 faceoffs (Bergeron was 24-4). This total team effort puts Boston two wins away from its second Cup in three years. Game 3 is Wednesday (8 p.m., NBCSN) at the Garden.

“It’s a chess match,” said Julien. “Both teams are aware of the top players but when you get to this stage, other players feel it and go above and beyond.”

It was the second straight game that Kelly’s line gave Boston a goal and once again it served as the opening tally for the B’s. This time it gave them a 1-0 lead at 2:13 in second period as Kelly stole the puck from Dave Bolland (3 penalties) and passed it to Paille who wristed it by Corey Crawford (33 saves). Tyler Seguin had the second assist on Paille’s fourth goal of the postseason.

Things didn’t go Chicago’s way right from pregame warmups as star forward Marian Hossa went down with an undisclosed injury and ended up not suiting up for Game 3. In his place former BC Eagle Ben Smith skated 10:23 but he was put in an impossible position trying to replace a world-class player when he hadn’t played a single playoff game this year.

“It’s something we prepared for all day, that he might not play, so it happens,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. “Sometimes you’re missing one of your best players and you’ve got to find a way to play without him. We’ve just got to find a way to win.”

Unlike in Game 1 when the B’s had a pair of two-goal leads that they couldn’t protect, this time they learned from their mistakes and squeezed the life out of the Blackhawks. Boston’s shorthanded unit, led by Kelly and Paille, were able to kill two penalties in the third period that both came at times when the Blackhawks would have jumped right back into it with a goal.

“We tried to stay in a compact zone,” said Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg who blocked six shots (one less than Chicago’s whole team). “We kept the shooters to the outside and Tuukka always seems to make the big save.”

Added Rask, “We eliminated most of the rebound opportunities.”

Follow Metro Boston Bruins beat writer Richard Slate on Twitter @RichSlate

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The first two games of the Stanley Cup Final in Chicago were rather even, both requiring overtime to determine winners. The Bruins and the Blackhawks scored five goals apiece. Both teams won one game.

The series shifted to Boston and a decidedly one-sided affair broke out, as the Bruins controlled matters from start to finish in a 2-0 victory Monday night at TD Garden.

Daniel Paille scored for the second straight game and helped create an opportunity for another goal and Tuukka Rask continued to frustrate the Blackhawks with 28 saves as the B’s grabbed a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Wednesday at TD Garden (8 p.m., NBC).

The Bruins outshot (35-28), outhit (31-25) and outhustled Chicago. They ran their penalty kill streak to 27, even producing some nice shorthanded scoring opportunities along the way. And led by Patrice Bergeron (24-4 on faceoffs), Boston won possession on 71 percent of puck drops, all part of a complete effort that tilts the series toward the Black and Gold.

Unlike Game 2, when they limped out of the locker room as if their feet had been dipped in quick-dry cement, the Bruins started strong. Alas, there was nothing to show for it until that revamped third line, led by Paille, again provided the scoring punch early in the second.

Paille, who had an assist and scored the game-winner in overtime Saturday night, first kept the puck in the zone and then set up Tyler Seguin for a pretty good chance that bounded back toward Paille, who was able to pot it. With the B’s on a power play later in the period, Paille’s hustle drew a tripping penalty that led to a 5-on-3 situation.

Although Paille was off the ice after the call and although Chicago technically killed off the two-man advantage, its fourth skater was just coming back onto the ice when Jaromir Jagr fired a beautiful pass to Bergeron, who slammed it past Corey Crawford to make it 2-0 with 5:55 left in the second.

Zdeno Chara and Bryan Bickell went at it in a heavyweight matchup in the closing seconds while Brad Marchand tangled with fellow scrapper Andrew Shaw as this one ended with gloves and sticks strewn about in front of Rask. That does little more than increase the intensity in advance of Wednesday’s matchup, but if the Bruins dominate the way they did this one, it won’t matter.

What they’ll be saying: It was just 72 hours or so ago that many were wondering if the Bruins had the mental toughness to bounce back from a devastating triple overtime defeat. Now, as of Monday night, Boston is halfway to its second Stanley Cup title in three years.

The Bruins defense and Tuukka Rask were once again brilliant, blanking the Blackhawks, who had not been shutout since May 23 against Detroit.

The B’s are now in firm control of the Cup Final and for the Blackhawks to win they would need to win three out of the next four games against a red hot Boston squad that has no intention of slowing down. Of note, in best-of-seven Cup Finals in which teams split the first two games the team that won Game 3 won 21 of the first 25. In 2004, the Calgary Flames won Game 3 but Tampa Bay came back to capture the Cup. - Matt Burke

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One day after the Yankees said they weren’t planning to place Mark Teixeira on the disabled list with his reaggravated wrist injury, they’ve taken a slightly more negative tone.

Brian Cashman spoke to reporters on a conference call Monday and said they may need to give Teixeira more than a few days off.

“I’m leaning, personally, toward a disabled list there,” Cashman said.

An MRI on Sunday showed no further tear to the right wrist sheath which kept Teixeira out for two months. He already received a cortisone shot to treat inflammation. Initially it was believed he would not need to go on the 15-day DL.

The Yankees intentionally kept Lyle Overbay on the roster when Teixeira came back on May 31, just in case they needed him to spell Teixeira at first base. Overbay was thrown into the outfield, despite no experience, just to keep him on the roster.

Teixeira has struggled since his return from the DL. He went 1-of-9 in his first three games, but then hit three homers in four games and it appeared as if he was finding his groove despite the lack of spring training at-bats. But since hitting the last of those three home runs on June 6 he was just 3-for-31 with nine strikeouts.

After being removed from last Saturday’s game, hitting coach Kevin Long told reporters he did not think Teixeira had looking right since his return. Those comments drew some annoyance from Cashman on Monday.

“It is alarming that K-Long would say that to the group of reporters, but he has never said that prior to that,” Cashman said. “This is a lot of times how things work out when things go bad, things get said. If K-Long felt that way, we should have heard that from K-Long.”

Cashman did say he was not mad at Long, however.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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Zack Wheeler knows he has a lot to live up to in the eyes of Mets fans. He just hopes he doesn’t have only one start to do so.

“I don’t think I’m the savior at all,” Wheeler told reporters yesterday in his first press conference with Mets reporters. “I’m just trying to come up here and play the best that I can, help out the team any way I can. I know people are going to scrutinize.”

If anything, the debut of Matt Harvey last summer — and subsequent star turn in 2013 — has raised the bar for Wheeler, who was ranked the No. 8 prospect in baseball by MLB.com prior to the season.

“He set the bar so high because he just took off once he came up here,” Wheeler said. “Hopefully I’ll do well and just be up there with him.”

Wheeler, 23, will be making his major-league debut just 10 miles from his hometown of Smyrna, Ga. But he said he never really had a team growing up, even though he got caught up in the Braves fervor through the 1990s.

In fact, he said he was actually a bigger fan of basketball than baseball growing up.

Wheeler will start the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at 7:10 p.m. Harvey is scheduled to start the opener at 1:05 p.m.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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Neither Clippers VP of basketball operations Gary Sacks or Celtics president Danny Ainge would budge as the sun set on the East Coast Monday.

Los Angeles and Boston had reportedly been negotiating all day on a deal that would have had head coach Doc Rivers and future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett heading West in exchange for promising center DeAndre Jordan, draft picks, potential salary cap relief and/or guard Eric Bledsoe.

As of early Monday night, a source close to the negotiations told CSNNE.com that the two sides were “still at it” in terms of hashing out a deal.

Since the trade rumors heated up this past Saturday afternoon, several snags have occurred in finalizing any deal including the Clippers not wanting to part with Bledsoe and the Celtics wanting to dump the contracts of either Jason Terry or Courtney Lee on Los Angeles. Terry is due $11 million in salary over the next two years and Lee is due $14.4 million over the next three years. To match either of those salaries, the Clippers would likely ship small forward Caron Butler to Boston. Butler’s contract expires after next season. The Celtics seemed resigned to not being able to obtain Bledsoe as the day wore on yesterday, instead shifting their focus to clearing salary cap space in order to eventually obtain a free agent.

Tale of 2 Pauls

The Rivers and Garnett deal to Los Angeles could have repercussions for both Clippers free agent to be Chris Paul and the Celtics’ Paul Pierce.

• Yahoo Sports reported yesterday that Chris Paul would indeed re-sign with Los Angeles if Rivers and Garnett were brought aboard.

• The Celtics are not expected to simply waive Pierce in order for him to sign with the Clippers during free agency, according to the Boston Globe. The Celtics must make a decision on Pierce’s contract by June 30.

• The Celtics could trade Pierce to a non-contender and then that team could buy out Pierce’s contract, allowing him to sign with the Clippers.

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Philadelphia is having a love affair with a hit man. The fans swoon every time Cliff Lee guns down another batter, every time he coldly eliminates another threat with his lethal left arm. For five years now, our city has been head over heels for a hired gun.

There’s really only one problem with this relationship. It is totally unrequited. To Lee, Philadelphia is just another place to display his talents and collect his paycheck. He couldn’t care less about our city or its fans. That’s the cold, hard truth about this one-sided romance.

If there were any doubts left about Lee’s true feelings, they were washed away after his eighth win in 10 decisions against Minnesota last week. At the time, he was six games above .500 on a team three games under it. He was a winner, surrounded by losers. And, for once, he was honest about it all.

Question: If things don’t turn around, do you want to stay?

Lee: I definitely want to win. I don’t know how to say it besides that. I want to win.

Question: Do you think this team can be a playoff team?

Lee: What?

The Phillies are exactly what former manager Dallas Green said they were last month, a model of mediocrity with little real hope of taking one last run at a championship. Lee has watched the stars around him age, get hurt and underachieve long enough now to know he needs to move on again. At age 34, his baseball clock is ticking, too.

There’s nothing wrong with a city admiring a star player the way Philadelphia does with Lee, nor should the pitcher be faulted for wanting to win a championship before he retires. It is the deception surrounding his time here that finally demands some public acknowledgement.

First of all, Lee didn’t sign as a free agent because he loves Philadelphia. He returned — after the most unpopular trade in a generation — because the Phils paid him $25 million a year and had a great team. Secondly, Lee has no emotional connection with the fans. If he did, he wouldn’t answer every question (before last week) with “That’s baseball” or “It is what it is.”

And finally, Lee is really just the latest in a long line of mercenaries who move from city to city, team to team, trying to win for himself and no one else. There’s nothing unusual about that, but it is hardly cause for the over-the-top adulation he has received in his two stints here.

Love Cliff Lee if you must, Philadelphia, but know this now: He’s going to break your heart. With hit men, there are no happy endings.

Peters should study his Eagles history
Jason Peters was revving the engine of his souped-up Camaro at a traffic light in Monroe, La., at 4:45 a.m. last Wednesday, looking for some excitement. The drag race that followed, and then the high-speed chase exceeding 100 miles per hour that landed the Eagles offensive tackle in jail, probably filled his thirst for adventure. Unfortunately, it also exposed him as a reckless fool.

Every day of the four years Peters has been employed by the Eagles, he has been greeted by a mural in the NovaCare Center of Jerome Brown, a Pro Bowl defensive tackle who squandered his life — and that of a totally innocent nephew — in pursuit of similar thrills. Clearly, Peters never learned the lesson Brown provided for all future Eagles.

Even worse, though, is the muted response by a fan base numbed by the stupid acts of its sports heroes. Peters is the best player on the Eagles, and that is all he will ever be to the increasingly jaded people who follow his team. Based on the shrug offered by the populace after Peters’ stupid behavior, the days of relating to players as human beings is over.

In an Internet poll I conducted at WIP radio two days after Peters was arrested, 75-percent said they were more interested in the U.S. Open than in the off-field exploits of Jason Peters. The huge lineman risked his life and that of every motorist in the vicinity, and fans were more interested in rich guys hitting a ball with sticks? Really?

Peters will find a way out of his legal entanglements — the NFL will make sure of that — and it will be business as usual once training camp opens in five weeks. Jason Peters survived his own outrageous irresponsibility this time – which makes him luckier than Jerome Brown, but no smarter.

 Tiger is a strangely interesting figure
Not since the heyday of Muhammad Ali has there been a sports figure as fascinating as Tiger Woods, who just spent a week captivating the Delaware Valley with a charisma that transcends his boring sport. By the end of the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club last weekend, I must admit even I was mesmerized by this very strange man.

He won me over a week ago with a loud, public tribute to the passion of Philadelphia that only a dolt like me would ever consider sincere. Cynics pointed out that Woods offers similar testimonials on most stops on the Tour, but I will always be a sucker for that kind of mush. After all, the man was right, wasn’t he? We are pretty amazing.

And in his own weird way, so is Woods. Like most athletes past 35, he is not the performer he once was, but — while the Phillies struggle to fill seats with aging players in similar decline — he only becomes more compelling. Best-selling author and golfing authority John Feinstein called Woods “a terrible human being” on my WIP radio show last week, and there was no rebuttal argument. Woods’ history with women is an indictment he will never escape.

But Tiger Woods is more than any one scandal or any one tournament. He is, in fact, a sport unto himself — much like Ali was three decades ago. I got to meet the greatest boxer in history one day in the early 1980s in my hometown of Providence, R.I, and the similarities are undeniable. Both are polarizing, both have been great at times and pathetic at others, and both have commanded attention at the exclusion of all others.

I will not miss at all the departure of the U.S. Open and all of the elitist baggage of professional golf that goes with it, but I’ve got a confession to make. For better or worse, I will miss Tiger Woods.

Idle thoughts from Cataldi

» One day after signing Tim Tebow, New England coach Bill Belichick got snippy over questions about the lightning-rod quarterback. Belichick protege Chip Kelly should understand right now that those antics will not play well at all in Philadelphia — at least until he also wins three Super Bowls.

» There was a report over the weekend that the Flyers are seriously considering an end to the Ilya Bryzgalov era. It took them all this time to consider using one of their amnesty exemptions on the biggest free-agent bust in team history? Amazing.

» Jeff Lurie is willing to spend $125 million to bring a better flavor of Philadelphia into antiseptic Lincoln Financial Field. OK, then there’s only one obvious move here. It’s time to bring back the 700 Level.

» Isn’t it time for the Phillies to make the obvious move and bring up Carlos Zambrano? Granted, the veteran pitcher is prone to outbursts and odd behavior, but at least he wouldn’t be boring. The Phillies could use an infusion of personality right about now.

» At age 63, Julius Erving easily dunks a basketball in his new NBA-TV documentary, The Doctor. Twenty-six years after his retirement, he’s still more interesting than any current member of the Sixers — and a better player today, right now, than Kwame Brown.

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During the Phillies’ last homestand John Lannan was antsy.

“I can’t wait to get back,” Lannan said. “I’m getting there.”

The former Nationals pitcher returned to the mound Monday night against his ex-teammates, exactly two months after straining his quadriceps tendon in his left knee against the Reds. Lannan was sharp in a rehab start last Wednesday for Double-A Reading. He gave up seven hits and two runs in seven innings.

“I’ve been honest the whole process and I think I’m ready,” Lannan said after that start.

“It’ll be interesting to see what he can give us,” Charlie Manuel said. “He pitched good before he got hurt.”

Lannan, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal after six seasons in a Nationals uniform, kept the Phillies in games before he got injured.

“I like what I see in Lannan,” Manuel said. “They say he’s been throwing the ball real good [in the minors].”

Making moves

To make room for Lannan, The Phillies placed Jeremy Horst on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow strain.
• Horst has been a disappointment after having a terrific 2012. He finished last season with a 1.15 ERA. This season, Horst has struggled mightily out of the bullpen.
• Horst was 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in 28 games this season. He is 2-2 with a 3.34 ERA for his MLB career. You may recall Horst came over from the Reds in the Wilson Valdez trade.

Phillies farm system can’t compete

The Phillies might be only a few games behind the Nationals in the NL East standings, but they are light years in the rear-view mirror when it comes to the farm system.

Focus on third baseman Anthony Rendon, who was recently called up to play second base. The Nationals are as offensively challenged as the Phillies — except for Rendon. He has been smoking the ball, just like he did in Double-A — he was hitting .444 entering Monday night’s game against the Phils.

The Phillies have nothing like Rendon, who has potential star written all over him, in their system.

“You know Rendon, who is a solid third baseman, will replace Ryan Zimmerman at third and they’ll put Zimmerman at first when Adam LaRoche’s contract expires (after the 2015 season),” a NL scout said. “They’ll figure out what to do with him in the interim. The sky is the limit for this kid. Rendon is an absolute stud.”

You don’t hear scouts say that about any offensive players in the Phillies’ system.

Is Papelbon headed out?

Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon might be on the trade market. The Tigers, Red Sox and Cardinals are all pursuing the All-Star, according to a Boston Globe report. GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. said he doesn’t want to “blow up” the team, but he would consider trading Papelbon for young talent.

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Following two seasons without a winning record or playoff appearance, Jets head coach Rex Ryan would seem to be on the proverbial coaching hot seat. But hot seat or not, Ryan is still one of the biggest selling points of the franchise.

Inserted into the mix this offseason is his complete opposite — buttoned-up new general manager John Idzik. But the man who could fire Ryan has instead partnered up with him to form the “Odd Couple” of the NFL.

“He’s been fantastic. From Day 1, I kind of jumped in midstride, we started hiring coaches together, interviewing and hiring coaches together, going through free agency, evaluating our roster, the draft, post-draft signings, minicamp and now we’re getting into more football type things,” Idzik said.

“In a very condensed period of time, we’ve had varied experiences together and it’s all been good. He’s a joy to work with. Moreover, he makes it fun. I think he’s been energized; he’s a great teacher. My observation is that he has been energized by the whole thing. Certainly I’ve been too. He’s a joy to work with.”

Ryan enters his fifth year in New York with a career regular-season record of 34-30. But it was the first two years where he made the playoffs and posted a cumulative playoff mark of 4-2 that Ryan has earned the lion’s share of his reputation as a great NFL head coach. His honeymoon with the media has worn off, as has the love affair he once had with the team’s jaded fan base. A losing record this year, even as the team is rebuilding, might be enough to send him out the door.

A source within the organization tells Metro, “Rex has bought into Idzik. Whatever direction John came in with, Rex was more than eager to complement.”

The all-in approach from Ryan might be as much about job security as it is about a change of direction. The Jets underwhelmed the past two seasons with aging stars. But Idzik has come in and sliced his way through the roster, adding a mix of underappreciated talent and proven veterans to the locker room.

Ryan remains one of the biggest selling points on this team and Idzik likely knows it. With a reputation as a player’s coach, free agents have traditionally flocked to Florham Park, N.J. to play for the affable head coach.

Dawan Landry played for Ryan when he was a defensive coordinator in Baltimore before coming to New York. His brother, LaRon Landry, started at safety for the Jets last year and he told Metro at the start of organized team activities (OTAs) in May that Ryan was a big part of his coming to the Jets.

“I was the one who told [LaRon] about Rex when he was thinking about coming here. He just makes it fun and he’s a great coach,” Dawan Landry said. “But he also knows his defense and he knows how to play the game of football. So when you have a coach like that, who can really coach but does it a way that you want to play for him, it was a no-brainer for me to come here.”

The NFL makes strange bedfellows and the Idzik-Ryan combo certainly qualifies.

Idzik is pragmatic and thorough, providing a counterweight to his emotional head coach. Idzik’s fresh approach is working with free agents. Among those convinced was Willie Colon, a Bronx native who signed with the Jets this offseason.

“This team has always had a reputation of kind of being a circus. I didn’t buy into that,” Colon told Metro. “You can always change your stars, I believe that. I felt that if I came here, I could help with that.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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1. St. Louis Cardinals (44-25, previous No. 1) – The Cardinals continued their consistent play and remain at the top of the rankings once again this week. They could have fallen out of the top spot by playing their last nine games on the road, but they went 5-4 in that stretch and maintained their major league best plus-102 run differential, as well as the best road record in all of baseball at 25-13. The open up a seven-game homestand Monday against the Cubs and Rangers.

2. Boston Red Sox (42-29, previous No. 3) – Even though the Sox dropped three-of-four to the Orioles over the weekend, they still move up a spot in the rankings because of their success over the Rays earlier in the week. Despite leading the AL East the Sox still have their flaws, especially in the starting rotation of late. The starters are not making it deep into games and injuries have set in. They will return home for three games in two days with the Rays beginning Tuesday before departing for Detroit.

3. Oakland Athletics (42-29, previous No. 5) – The A’s continue to surprise the baseball world and are now atop the American League West standings following an impressive three-game sweep of the Yankees this past week. Pitching has been the key for the Athletics as their 3.64 ERA was third in the AL going into Sunday. Oakland will be put to the test this week with its next seven games on the road against the Rangers and Mariners.

4. Cincinnati Reds (42-28, previous No. 5) – A 5-2 week kept pace with the division leading Cardinals, but the Reds just cannot find anyway to gain much ground on them of late as they trail by 2.5 games after Sunday. Their pitching has been outstanding of late, holding opponents to two runs or less in four of their last seven games. They will host the Pirates for a four-game series this week.

5. Atlanta Braves (41-28, previous No. 2) – Atlanta took the final two games of its weekend series with the Giants, but those were its only two wins of the week. In turn, they drop three spots here. The Braves were outscored 21-12 in their four straight losses to the Padres and Giants. The Braves have a golden opportunity to get back on the winning track as they will play five games in four days against the Mets.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (41-28, previously No. 7) – The Pirates continue to hang tough in the difficult NL Central, trailing the Cardinals by just three games after Sunday. As has been the case in the past few years their pitching has led the way, especially now with young phenomenon Gerrit Cole joining the rotation. Their staff is third in the NL in ERA (3.34) as of Sunday, but things will get very challenging for the Pirates as they begin a nine-game road trip taking on the Reds, Angels and Mariners.

7. Baltimore Orioles (40-30, previous No. 10) – Baltimore is coming off an impressive weekend series against the Red Sox as they won three-of-four and now are in second place in the AL East standings. Their offensive has picked it up as of late as they are now third in the entire American League, averaging 4.86 runs per game going into Sunday. A difficult stretch awaits the Orioles with their next six games away from Camden Yards against the Tigers and Blue Jays.

8. Detroit Tigers (38-29, previous No. 9) – After struggling a few weeks back, the Tigers have turned things around and now have a stranglehold on the AL Central. They have won seven of their last 10 after Sunday’s win, including taking two-of-three at Minnesota over the weekend. Detroit will now be at home for their next 10 games where they are 22-10, taking on the Orioles, Red Sox and Angels.

9. Texas Rangers (38-31, previous No. 4) - Texas had the worst week of the top teams in the rankings and thus dropped five spots. The Rangers have lost six in a row after Sunday, including being swept at home by the Blue Jays over the weekend, in which they were outscored 24-4 in the four-game series. They have now fallen out of first place in the AL West and trail the A’s by three games, who they host for four games this week.

10. New York Yankees (38-31, previous No. 8) – It wasn’t the best of weeks for the Yankees as they lost five in a row on their West Coast trip before topping the Angels on Sunday. They just cannot seem to catch a break on the injury front, as it appears Mark Teixeira reinjured his wrist, which forced him to miss the first month and a half of the season. The Yankees return home Tuesday for six games against the Dodgers and Rays as they look to move up the AL East standings.

11. Colorado Rockies (37-33, previous No. 13) – After a .500 week the Rockies now sit a half game behind the NL West leading Diamondbacks, but have won four of their last seven and are playing good baseball of late. They are second in the National League in runs per game with 5.03 going into Sunday. Colorado will be put to the test as it is set to begin a nine-game road trip traveling to Toronto, Washington and Boston.

12. Arizona Diamondbacks (37-32, previous No. 12) – Despite being swept by the Padres over the weekend, the Diamondbacks still lead the NL West, although by the slimmest of margins. This division is one of the most balanced in all of baseball as every team is above .500 except the Dodgers. Their offense has also been the key to their success as they average 4.40 runs per game, the fifth most in the NL. The Diamondbacks will play their next six games at home as they host the Marlins and Reds this week.

13. Tampa Bay Rays (36-33, previous No. 11) – A 2-5 week has the Rays in fourth place in a very competitive American League East. Their offensive has been scuffling of late as they’ve scored three runs or less in four out of their last five games. Their next 10 games are against AL East opponents, first with three games in two days in Boston starting on Tuesday.

14. San Diego Padres (35-35, previous No. 18) - The Padres made the biggest jump of any team this week, moving up four spots thanks to their six-game win streak. Despite being in fourth place in the NL West, they are just two games out of first place going into this week. Their next six games will give them a good chance to improve on that fourth place mark as they are all against division opponents.

16. San Francisco Giants (35-32, previous No. 14) - It wasn’t an ideal week for the Giants as they lost four of six games and are now in third place in the competitive NL West. The silver lining has been their offense, which has been pretty good of late, scoring six or more runs in six of their last 10 games. The Giants will open a seven-game homestand beginning with the Padres on Monday.

17. Philadelphia Phillies (33-37, previous No. 16) - The Phillies are hurtin’ as of late as after Sunday they have now lost eight of their last 10 games, all of which came on the road. They still remain in third place in the NL East, but still well back of the first place Braves. Their next six games are against NL East opponents as the Nationals and Mets will all make trips to Citizens Bank Park.

18. Cleveland Indians (34-34, previous No. 17) – The Indians were a top-10 team a few weeks back, but now are barley cracking the rankings. Even though they are in second place in the AL Central, they’ve lost nine of their last 14 after Sunday. Pitching has been the biggest issue for the Indians as they have the third highest ERA in all of the American League. They do have a chance to pick up a few games as they host the Royals and Twins this week.

19. Toronto Blue Jays (27-35, previous No. 20) – The Blue Jays are easily the best last place team in baseball as the Rangers found out the hard way this past weekend with Toronto taking all four games. They’ve won eight of the last 10 and will now be at home for their next six, taking on the Orioles and Rockies.

20. Los Angeles Angels (30-39, previously not ranked) – Despite being one of the best teams on paper, the Angels just cannot get anything going and still remain in third place in the AL West, not anywhere near a playoff spot. Even with their powerful lineup they are right in the middle of the AL in runs per game with 4.46. They will continue their 10-game homestand with games against the Mariners and Pirates this week.

*Stats and records through Sunday, June 16

Follow Metro MLB writer Ryan Hannable on Twitter @hannable84

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It was quite a week at the little golf course in Ardmore that many counted out to host a major like the U.S. Open. Not only did Merion Golf Club deliver on its promise — it had many scratching their heads to see if it were conceivable for the East Course to host again.

There was even a scene on the tournament’s first day where Phil Mickelson grabbed the ear of USGA executive director Mike Davis just to tell me how amazing the course and crowds were at the tiny gem in suburban Philadelphia. The Open champion, Justin Rose, shot a 1-over, par-70 to claim the championship.

So, would the USGA consider returning to famed Merion?

“Well, we have to be invited back by the club,” Davis said. “So I mean, I would think we would all want to sit down and digest this. But the club would have to invite us and think about it, it’s usually 10,12,15,20 in this case, 32 years. So I think that’s really what’s got to happen is that we would assess things, they would assess things. But ultimately we’re very reactive. They got to invite us and then at that point is when we start to look.”

Perhaps the most surreal moment of the Open came late Sunday, when the final pairing walked the fairway on 18. Rose was already in the clubhouse, with Mickelson needing a birdie to force a playoff, much like Ben Hogan in 1950. Spectators started inching beyond the roped-off area as soon as Mickelson hit his drive, a clunker which found the deep rough and trees. Mickelson made a great save and actually put himself in better-than-anticipated position as he setup for about a 40-yard chip for birdie.

No sooner had he launched that second shot when the fans stormed the fairway and created a makeshift human wall around the green. The chants of “Let’s go Phil” were probably audible all the way out in Conestoga. Security guards just threw their hands up, unable to stop the rush, prompting one to smile and say, “Only in Philly.”

Mickelson’s chip raced by the cup unsuccessfully as he took second place for the sixth time at the Open. That wasn’t important, not to the fans who were just happy to witness a small piece of golf history. They posed for pictures next to Mickelson’s divot and Hogan’s plaque. They scooped up and pocketed pieces of the famed course. They went home talking about the week that was, an exciting four-day thrill ride that even rain couldn’t put the brakes on.

“Philadelphia is one of the most historic golf cities in the country and they put on a great show,” said Davis. “Great spectators, great golf course, and marvelous. You celebrated history, you celebrated one of the great architectural sites. You celebrated a great championship site, so it was really worth it, I thought.”

What we saw at Merion

Stood the test of time » Perhaps the USGA could have been a little nicer in the course setup — that 266-yard, par 3 on hole No. 3 was brutal — but at the end of the day the East Course reminded everyone that newer isn’t always better. Birdies were few and far between, especially on 18 — no one birdied the hole in the final two days.

The atmosphere » The torrential rains early in the week produced an intoxicatingly disgusting stench of manure in the Spectator’s Village, but the fans didn’t mind, muddy shoes and all. Beers were selling fast, even at $7 a pop, and the smell of cigars permeated the sticky and humid air.

Gearing up » I went into the Merchandise Tent last Wednesday to buy a friend a visor, then decided to wait until later in the week. Bad idea. The store was cleaned out by Sunday, with people stripping down mannequins for items. The entire hat section looked like it had been robbed. Official polo shirts, going for $65 each, were the only things left.

Happy birthday » Phil Mickelson celebrated his 43^rd birthday Sunday, and everyone knew it. The gallery serenaded him early and often by singing “Happy Birthday” and following him up and down the course like lost puppies. He smiled and tipped his cap after an extra boisterous serenade on the sixth green.

Celebrity sightings » Unless you count the talking heads at ESPN as celebrities — and I don’t, sorry Rick Reilly — then star power appeared to be slightly lacking at the Open. We did see Olympic champion Michael Phelps walking around with some nice blonde arm candy.

Out of the Woods » Tiger Woods just wasn’t a factor in this one. Even the crowds that had been stalking him for the first few days had subsided by Sunday. He can point to his putter after recording 11 bogeys, along with a slew of three-putts, over his final 36 holes. Woods praised Merion and apologized to fans. “I’m sorry that the golf wasn’t what I would like to have it,” he said.

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The ongoing saga centered around Allen Iverson’s divorce has taken another sharp and unexpected turn.

Iverson’s former wife, Tawanna, filed legal documents Monday claiming that the former Sixers star abducted his own children. According to TMZ.com, Iverson took the couple’s five children on vacation in Charlotte, NC (May 22-26) and didn’t return the kids to her custody. Iverson is reportedly keeping the kids in a hotel in Georgia.

Tawanna, who has sole legal and primary custody, is asking a judge to intervene and possibly put Iverson in jail. She previously asked a court to make Iverson pay more than $40,000 in back child support. Iverson has countered with legal documents to the contrary. Stay tuned, as always.

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Shawn Stefani lost his ball in the clouds.

Then the crowd lost their minds.

“When the crowd went crazy,” said Stefani, who finished in 60th place, “I knew it went in.”

Stefani hit a hole-in-one on hole No. 17 yesterday during the final round of the U.S. Open at Merion. He’s the first golfer to ace any hole at the Open at Merion, which hosted the tournament for the fifth time. It’s the 43rd ace in the major’s 113-year history.

He smashed the ball with his 4-iron down the 229-yard, par-3 hole. It went over the flag, bounced in and then out of the rough, then rolled 50 feet across the green before it slipped into the cup. Stefani jumped when he heard the crowd.

“I didn’t know what to do but jump up and down for joy,” he said.

As he approached the green, he dropped to his knees and kissed the spot where it landed. He tipped his cap to the raucous crowd.

“We’re in Philly,” he said. “There’s some great fans up here and I know they can be tough on you, and they can love you forever.”

This was his second hole-in-one. His first came at Goose Creek Country Club in his hometown of Baytown, Texas. He was 13.

Ironically, the first hole-in-one at the Open was also on a Philadelphia-based club. Jack Hobens aced the 147-yard 10th hole at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1907.

Officials from the USGA Museum wanted to save the lucky ball.

“It’s hiding right now,” he said. “I’m going to save it.”

Would he ever consider donating it in the future?

“Depends on what they want to do with it,” he said.

He later added: “Well, there’s a price for everything.”

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Will he stay or will he go?

That’s the question on Celtics fans minds this morning, with the consensus being that Rivers has coached his final game in Boston. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who first gave life to the Rivers/Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce package deal to L.A. story in May, joined the Dennis & Callahan morning show on WEEI sports radio Monday morning and said the chances of Rivers going or staying are “50/50.”

“Ultimately, all the cards are being held by Danny Ainge,” Smith said. “It’s a 50-50 shot either a deal gets done or Doc Rivers stays in Boston. I don’t think Doc Rivers will sit out for the year, then do television and all this other stuff. I think he’s going to stay and coach in Boston this year, or he’ll move on because Danny Ainge will see an opportunity to get young and to get a box-office attraction to some degree, if not Blake Griffin, then some quality young guys you can build around.”

It will be extremely difficult for Rivers to come back to Boston after all the flirtation with the Clippers over the last 48 hours or so. Several outlets reported that they expect a decision to be made on Rivers’ future with the Green by Tuesday. As Smith pointed out, there is a chance that Rivers could return to television. He was the lead color analyst in 2004 for ABC/ESPN, then working alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels.

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NBC broke into its U.S. Open coverage, as it did occasionally to provide various sports highlights. But in this case, it appears to have done so exclusively so Costas could trash the Mets and Cubs.

It was the bottom of the ninth, with the Mets trailing 3-0, and Marlon Byrd hit a homer to make it 3-1. Then two more guys get on base and Kirk Nieuwenhuis bombs a three-run homer to right field for the unbelievable come-from-behind win. And yes, of course the Mets all piled on Nieuwenhuis as he jumped on home plate.

Oh, but Costas wasn’t happy.

“And a team 14 games under .500 celebrates as if it just won the seventh game of the World Series,” Costas said. “Another indication of the ongoing decline of Western civilization.”

Hey Bob, we know you wish this was still baseball decorum circa 1940, but it isn’t. Have you watched a baseball game in the past 25 years? Is this a shock to you that a team would celebrate a walk off?

What if the Angels had rallied from down six runs in the ninth inning yesterday to walk one off against Mariano Rivera and the Yankees? The Angels are nine games under .500 and 11 games out in the AL West. Are they allowed to celebrate?

Can we get a ruling, Bob?

The best part of the incident was the tongue-in-cheek response from Mets public relations man Jay Horwitz. Horwitz is a must-follow on Twitter, if you don’t already. The 31-year veteran of the job makes classic quips and is tenure in the job means he can say just about anything without hearing from the men in charge.

Yesterday, after the Costas flap, he aimed his sarcasm directly at Costas. Bravo Jay.

Mets held team meeting in Atlanta tonight. Vowed no more on field celebrations after wins. Players will now yell quietly in lockers.

— Jay Horwitz (@Jay_HorwitzPR) June 17, 2013

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. He promises to never celebrate anything ever in hopes of not offending Bob Costas.

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“This was truly the U.S. Open that nobody wanted to win

Over the course of four-plus excruciating hours no fewer than five men found themselves alone atop the leaderboard. Charle Schwartzel’s view there didn’t last too long, done in by a stretch of six bogeys and a double bogey over eight holes. Jason Day made his charge early, fell back a bit, but still managed to stay in the hunt until missing a 5-footer for par on the final hole.

And then there were three, deadlocked heading into the home stretch. Hunter Mahan and fan favorite Phil Mickelson.

Finally, Englishman Justin Rose, who is often considered “the best player never to win a Major.”

Until now. On a day when Merion gave little — and took away much more — the 32-year-old Rose proved the steadiest, shooting even-par 70 to win the Open by two strokes over both Mickelson and Day, with Mahan in a four-way tie for fourth.

As excruciating as another near miss had to be for Phil — he’ll be second-guessed from here to Pinehurst, next year ‘s Open site for electing to chip rather than putt up the sloping 15th green — it was equally as exhilarating for Rose. Starting the day two shots off the pace, Rose negotiated Merion’s narrow fairways and treacherous greens superbly under the pressure, though he seemed to leave the door open for his nearest competitors when he bogeyed No. 16.

Instead, Mickelson and Mahan promptly slammed it on themselves, Mickelson with his ill-fated chip and Mahan by three-putting for double bogey, followed by back-to-back bogeys. For the 31-year-old Mahan, despite the obvious disappointment, he’ll leave Merion feeling good about himself.

“I played hard until the end and can’t be disappointed or too down with the results,” said Mahan, who shared fourth with surging Jason Dufner (67), veteran Ernie Els and second-round co-leader Billy Horschel at plus-five. “It was brutally hard; a difficult test.”

“It wasn’t fun the last three holes to get birdies. Phil and I had great chances, but none of us could make it. It was rowdy and different today playing with Phil. I probably heard ‘Happy Birthday’ 18 times.

Especially for Rose.

“It feels fantastic,” said the 2011 winner here at Aronimink, who had many in the crowd reminding him of that. “Going forward this will give me a lot of confidence, thinking a childhood dream has come true.

“Doing it on Father’s Day is not lost on me. I thought about my father all day. I wanted to go out and be the man my Dad taught me to be.”

And Sunday his son, largely thanks to back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 moments after Mickelson had holed a 75-yard wedge to draw even, is the U.S. Open champion.

Because Justin Rose finally was able to take command and win the Open no one else seemed to want.

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If not this time, when?

When will the heartbreak of coming close stop? When will Phil Mickelson win a U.S. Open, the one championship that always seems to elude him?

After all, if he can’t do it on birthday, on Father’s Day, with most of the crowd on hand not only urging him on but serenading him, it’s fair to wonder if that day will ever happen

“For me it’s very heart breaking,” said Mickelson, who had to settle for his sixth runner-up finish at the Open at 3-over par, shared with Australian Jason Day, two strokes behind winner Justin Rose. “Also playing very well here and really loving the golf course, I felt, heading in the way I was playing and the position I was in, this was my best chance.

“So this one’s probably the toughest for me. At 43 and coming so close five times, it would have changed the way I look at this tournament altogether and the way I would have looked at my record.”

Unable to sink a putt all day, it finally appeared Mickelson’s fortunes had changed when his 75-yard wedge on No. 10 dropped onto the green, then rolled right into the cup, tying him with Rose for the lead. Later in the day, after Rose bogeyed No. 16 to create a three-way tie with Mickelson and Hunter Mahan, the momentum again seemed to be turning.

Instead, while Rose was parring the final two holes to finish plus-1, Mickelson gambled on a long chip shot at 15 rather than an uphill putt. It left him with a 15-footer coming back, which wouldn’t drop for the decisive bogey.

Story of the day. Story of his Open career.

“If I had won today or if I ultimately win, I’ll look back at the other Opens and think that it was a positive play,” smiled Mickelson, who praised the Philadelphia crowds and the folks at Merion for making it possible to bring the Open here. “If I never get the Open, then I look back and I think that — every time I think of the U.S. Open — I just think of heartbreak.”

And years from now when they remember the 2013 U.S. Open here at Merion, they’ll think of this when it comes to Phil Mickelson: So close and yet so far away.

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One of the many great things about being a Bruins, Red Sox or Celtics fan is that there are countless bars just a few steps away from their home venues. Not every sporting fan base in this country has this luxury.

Hub sports fans can still get that great “all for one, one for all” atmosphere without paying $8 for a watered down Bud Light.

Bruins fans, in particular, like their beer and they like it cheap. Here are the plusses and minuses for watching the game at a bar around the house that Shawmut Bank built.

Vito’s Sports Bar
54 Salem Street
If you want to venture away from the Canal Street bleep-show and get as far away as you can from the North Station T stop crowd, Vito’s in the North End might do the trick. There are three large flatscreens in the front with three smaller screens behind the bar. The painting of boxer Rocky Marciano lets you know it’s a true Boston sports bar and the framed autographed photo of 1990s WWE female wrestler Sable on the women’s bathroom door lets you know you’re in Bruins territory.

The Grand Canal
57 Canal Street
The outside patio is fun if its 75 degrees and sunny (which occurs here two or three times per year) with a scenic view of Route 93. Has plenty of TVs, which is a huge plus.

Boston Beer Works
112 Canal Street
Not the ideal place to watch a game. If you want a giant slice of watermelon in your beer, you probably aren’t much of a B’s fan anyway.

Porter’s Bar & Grill
173 Portland Street
The best thing about Porter’s is that it tends to hide and therefore you might actually be able to get a seat in front of a TV during a Bruins Stanley Cup game (unthinkable, right?). It has 12 beers on tap, one decent-sized projection screen and two small flatscreens behind the bar. There is a chance that this place could be a little too upscale for some die-hards, however. There’s a sign above the bar that reads, “Hippies use the backdoor – No exceptions.” Well, the average 20 or 30-something Bruins fan isn’t known to be too shy around the bong – so Porter’s will likely be a third or fourth choice for true puck heads.

The Littlest Bar
102 Broad Street
It’s a little bit of a hike from the Garden but B’s fans are a gritty bunch. It is what it claims to be – little – and has just a couple of TVs. Still, this place has the potential to get rowdy.

The Red Hat
9 Bowdoin Street
Also a bit of a hike from the Garden. Might want to rickshaw this one. But down those stairs is a solid B’s atmosphere.

Stanza dei Sigari
292 Hanover Street
Want to smell like Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito did in 1972 after a night out on the town? Stanza dei Sigari is your best bet – because you can smoke cigars and rip butts INSIDE.

Hurricane O’Reilly’s
150 Canal Street
As soon as the last goal is scored it has the potential to turn into an episode of Wicked Single – aka a messy grind-fest on the dance floor with a bunch of guys in Lucic jerseys looking to slide the puck past the goalie.
This place will be next to impossible to get into on a game night this week as it is a bandwagon fan’s dream bar.

The Sports Grille
132 Canal Street
It’s a sports bar with lots of TVs, food and beer. Inside you will find tributes to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wayne Gretzky. Guessing the owners are either from LA or Generic-ville, USA.

The Four’s
166 Canal Street
It was once voted the No. 1 sports bar in America by Sports Illustrated and you can eat a sandwich named after Ray Bourque. Another spot that will be next to impossible to get into but if you show up at 3 p.m. or so, you’ll likely be set for a fun night and a $732 tab.

Sullivan’s Tap
168 Canal Street
The quintessential Bruins bar where the PBRs and Bud heavy’s flow like Coors Light, err, water. It’s cash only, so be prepared to slip the fire marshal a couple Abraham Lincolns.

Other options: McGann’s Irish Pub, Stadium sports bar & grille, West End Johnnies, The Greatest Bar, The Harp, Coogan’s

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In the NHL playoffs, home ice isn’t nearly as important compared to the inherent advantage in the MLB, NFL and NBA playoffs.

With that said, Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime win by the Bruins over the Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is a huge result for many reasons. Boston is 7-2 at TD Garden during this postseason so going back there for Games 3 tied at 1, provides the B’s a great opportunity to really take control of the series or at least go back to Chicago tied 2-2. Plus the Blackhawks are only 3-4 on the road this postseason and it’s clear that they haven’t been the same team outside of United Center.

At this point, Bruins fans should be hoping for overtime. The Bruins have become a very solid team in the sudden death moments of playoff hockey. The Game 2 win improved the Bruins’ overtime record in these playoffs to 5-2. In the process, they set a franchise record for most overtime victories in a single postseason. What’s most impressive is that they’ve recorded at least one in each series: two OT wins vs. the Maple Leafs, one OT win vs. the Rangers, one OT win vs. Penguins and now one OT win vs. the Blackhawks. Boston has experienced the highest of highs – Game 7 vs. Toronto, Game 3 vs. Pittsburgh (two OTs) and Game 2 vs. Chicago – and lowest of lows – Game 4 vs. New York and Game 1 vs. Chicago (three OTs).

The NHL has to be psyched about how these first two games played out: overtime wins for both in two excellent American NHL markets leading to stellar ratings and more interest in the Finals than they’ve experienced in a long time. Factoring in the extra sessions, the Bruins and Blackhawks have basically played 10 periods (the equivalent of three regulation games and an extra period) and both teams have scored five goals apiece. One of the best stats so far: the winning squad never led until they ended it in overtime. It’s easy to expect this series to go back and forth the rest of the way. With Tuukka Rask (13-5, .944 save percentage, 1.73 goals against average) and Corey Crawford (13-6, .935 save percentage, 1.72 goals against average) both playing at such a high level, it’s hard to imagine either guy cracking.

Follow Metro Boston Bruins beat writer Richard Slate on Twitter @RichSlate

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It wasn’t the Red Sox’ weekend in Baltimore as the Orioles took three-of-four from the Red Sox, capped off by their 6-3 win Sunday afternoon. Jon Lester was again not the same Lester who opened the season 6-0. It was only his second career loss at Camden Yards.

The Red Sox starter went just five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out eight. His ERA is now 4.37 and he has not won a game since May 15. Lester allowed three runs in the third, including a homer to Chris Davis and then two more in the fifth. Pedro Beato pitched a scoreless inning of relief, after being called up from Pawtucket earlier in the day. Then Junichi Tazawa allowed a run in just 1/3 inning of work, but Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings to finish the game off for the Sox. The Orioles finished with 14 hits.

Will Middlebrooks provided the only offense of the day for the Sox on one swing of the bat — a three-run homer in the seventh. Jose Igelsias extended his hitting streak to 17-games, while Jacoby Ellsbury added two hits in the loss.

The Sox will be off Monday before a day-night doubleheader with the Rays on Tuesday. Felix Doubront and Alfredo Aceves are slated to make the starts, with Clay Buchholz still dealing with a neck injury.

What they’ll be saying: The past month or so for Lester is now a cause for concern as over his last six starts he now has an ERA of 7.20 and in those six starts he’s only made it into the seventh inning once. Walks had been the big issue for Lester during this stretch, but he didn’t walk a batter on Sunday … The Sox lost Mike Carp to an apparent right hamstring injury and with Mike Napoli back in Boston undergoing tests for his dizziness spell, Daniel Nava had to play first base. With pitching staff’s issues/work load of late, another injury is the last thing the team needs, especially with a doubleheader on Tuesday.

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Kirk Nieuwenhuis’s long jump onto home plate and into a waiting throng of teammates was a release for a team in desperate need of one.

“It’s a positive,” Nieuwenhuis said after his three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth powered the Mets to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over to the Cubs Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

The centerfielder, who finished 1-for-3, drilled a 1-0 fastball from Carlos Marmol (2-4) off the Pepsi Porch in right to end a three-game losing streak.

It was only the Mets’ third win this month.

“We really tried to come into this game and get something going,” Nieuwenhuis said.

“If we can’t use this as a spark, I don’t know what else we can do,” manager Terry Collins said. “I hope that gets us going.”

Marlon Byrd started the comeback with a leadoff homer off Marmol in the ninth to cut the deficit to 3-1. Byrd’s 11th homer of the year was followed by a Lucas Duda walk and a John Buck single. Omar Quintanilla’s sac bunt moved the runners over and set the stage for Nieuwenhuis’s first home run since June 23, 2012.

“I was trying to see it out of [his] hand because he has a good slider,” Nieuwenhuis said. “I was just really trying to see it out of [his] hand and read the pitch.”

Before the ninth inning, it appeared as if the Mets were going to let another strong Jeremy Hefner start go to waste.

Hefner yielded three runs — one earned — on five hits and six innings. He struck out five and walked one as his ERA dropped from 4.11 to 3.96. However, the right-hander was the unfortunate bystander of a 15-second sequence that summed up the state of the Mets.

Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, David Wright threw Alfonso Soriano’s routine ground ball high and wide of Daniel Murphy. Murphy recovered the ball by the Mets dugout, but overthrew John Buck to allow Starlin Castro to score. Backing up third on the play, Quintanilla’s throw home was late as Nate Schierholtz slid past the Mets catcher.

The Mets were down 3-0 after one of the most improbable plays in franchise history.

“It was just one of those crazy plays,” Collins said.

But the three runs were all the Mets would allow, as the bullpen contingent of Carlos Torres, David Aardsma and Bobby Parnell (5-3) limited the Cubs to one hit over the final four innings.

“[Hefner] pitched well and our bullpen did the same,” Nieuwenhuis said. “They don’t get as much credit as they deserve. That was a great performance.”

One that came at arguably the most vital portion of the Mets’ season.

Entering Sunday’s finale, the Mets had lost nine-of-11 in June. Their 24-39 record was third worst in MLB behind the Marlins (20-47) and the Astros (25-44). Perhaps most dispiriting of all, the Mets are 13 1/2 games back of NL East-leading Atlanta.

Even with 98 games left in the Mets’ campaign, the season has been essentially distilled to Matt Harvey starts, the All-Star Game and the call-ups of Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud.

“One hundred percent of it,” Collins said when asked before the game how much of the coaching staff’s job is keeping morale high. “It’s not the work side. The work side is commonplace, here. So it’s about making sure the attitude stays positive. That’s why I said [Saturday night] one of the things you’re seeing is — it’s all part of human nature — that when we fall behind 5-0 or fall behind 4-0, you can feel an attitude in the dugout just collapse. That’s where we’ve got to get stronger. We’ve really got to get stronger playing nine innings. Play nine innings as hard as you can play it, and when we’re all done, take what comes. If you have more runs, great. If you don’t, you have to grind out the game. You have to grind out for three hours. It’s what we get paid for. So, right now, our main job [as a coaching staff] is to make sure the attitude stays positive.”

Follow Mets beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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You don’t have to have a body like Usain Bolt to make it in the golf world, but that doesn’t give you permission to let yourself go. “The execution of the golf swing, there’s a physical component to it as well as a swing component,” says Sean Cochran, Phil Mickelson’s personal trainer. “There are requirements of flexibility, mobility, stability and strength in order to execute the golf swing or improve the golf swing.”

At Friday’s U.S. Open, we caught up with Cochran in the American Express Championship Experience tent, where he gave us the lowdown on how the championship player prepares himself to excel on the course.

The three-pronged approach

No. 1: Assess the situation
“What we do is we look at how is the body operating via the requirements of the swing,” Cochran says. “For example, we know that the hips have to rotate a certain amount, the upper body has to rotate a certain amount; I need a certain level of hamstring flexibility, I need a certain amount of core strength. So we’re gonna take them through a series of assessments, and they have to be within certain parameters in order to execute the swing. If they’re outside the parameters then we’re gonna give them some exercises to get them inside, or what’s required of the golf swing.”

No. 2: Work the hips
“The hips are a ball-and-socket joint, so they should rotate a lot,” he says. “Oftentimes we find the muscles around the hips are tight, so what we do is stretch the muscles around the hip to get more mobility. A kneeling hip flexor stretch would be one example.”

No. 3: Strengthen the core
“When we talk about the core, that’s all the muscles on the front, sides, back of the body — it’s this big area,” Cochran says of the misleading thought that the abs are what make up the core. “We often call that the engine of the golf swing, so we’re gonna give exercises for all [of it].” Cochran says it’s difficult to find one exercise that trains everything at once, so you’ll need to do a few in order to get the whole area strong. “Planks are very common and very fundamental for the front side of the core. We can do what we call a glute bridge, which focuses on the lower back and the glutes: You’re on [your back], knees are bent and your hips are off the ground. And then we can do some rotary work for [obliques]: I can take some tubing and do some tubing rotations, so I’m engaging the core and then I’m engaging it in a rotary pattern, which is very similar what it does in the golf swing.”

How Mickelson has improved

“Ten years ago, what I found is that he was very flexible in the lower body but not so much in the upper body. So we needed to get him more mobile in the upper body, and in addition to that, as we progressed, we’ve gotten him stronger in the core, stronger in the lower body and he’s definitively increased his swing speed.”

How he did it:

Stretching
“It’s very common stretches that a lot of people do. We could do hands on top of the [exercise] ball and stretch the lats. We’ll do a frontal shoulder stretch. We can use the foam roll. And then relative to core strength, we did exercises I just described and then more advanced ones with the exercise ball, like physioball crunches, leg curls on the physioballs, Russian twists. The majority of the speed work we do is more rotary speed work with the medicine ball, like medicine ball throws.”

Paying attention to nutrition
“If you have a race car and you give it bad gas, it’s not gonna run too well. The same can be said for any athlete,” Cochran says. “If they’re not putting good food in their body, the fuel they’re putting in their system is gonna be bad and you’re not gonna perform as well as you potentially could.” Mickelson has a personal chef, but that doesn’t excuse him from watching what he eats: “He is actually very astute in his nutrition now — over the years he’s learned,” Cochran says. “He eats a lot of fish these days, a lot of vegetables, salads, some complex carbs such as yams or things of that nature.”

Drinking (lots of water)
“People don’t realize that for your average tour player, through four rounds of golf, every round is gonna be anywhere from four to six miles of walking. So if you do a Thursday through Sunday event, that’s anywhere from 16-25 miles. That’s a lot of walking in a four-day period.”

Tackling the physical before the mental
Golf is very much a mental game, and Cochran says he leaves that training to other professionals. But he does think that an in-shape body is the first building block. “In order to be mentally focused and execute what you want it to do, you need to have a body that can physically execute what you want to do. Once I have the physical foundation built then I can hand it off to those professionals. There’s a whole plethora of sports psychologists that do that. I stick within what I know.”

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As he has throughout the season, Mets manager Terry Collins reiterated before Sunday’s matinee against the Cubs that his thinking in creating lineups is to have players on base when, or if, the middle of the lineup begins hitting.

“We’re trying to get some guys on, in case somebody gets hot,” Collins said. “To where there are guys on base.”

Right fielder Marlon Byrd hit cleanup in the series finale. He entered the game second on the team in home runs with 10, one behind Lucas Duda and John Buck. Even though Byrd has a .253 batting average, he has an on-base percentage of .311.

“We look at a lot of things,” Collins said. “No. 1, we look at, we’re looking at on-base [percentage]. That’s why I moved Marlon to where he’s hitting. He’s been driving in some runs for us. He’s been hitting some home runs; his on-base is good.”

The Mets’ .209 team batting average in June is the NL’s worst and ranks 29th out of the 30 MLB franchises. Only the moribound Astros are worse with a .204 average. The Mets entered yesterday’s game tied with the Rangers for the fewest runs scored this month, with 37 each.

“For the most part, each and every day, you think, ‘This is the day we’re going to break out of this,’” Collins said. “It starts with those guys in the middle. That’s where the run production comes.”

The roster juggling is not limited to position players, as Carlos Torres was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas following Saturday’s 5-2 loss. Right-handed reliever Greg Burke was optioned to Las Vegas and reliever Collin McHugh was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster in the corresponding moves.

Torres had a 6-3 record and a 3.89 ERA in 12 starts with Las Vegas.

“Lately he’s been outstanding,” Collins said of Torres, who arrived as the Mets were on the field stretching. “Two complete games and when you do that, pitching in Las Vegas, that says a lot. He’s been pitching very, very well. I talked to [Triple-A manager] Wally [Backman] the other day and he said that [Torres] would be the one guy he would recommend if we needed help.

“We decided to give him a shot.”

Meet the future

The Mets begin an 11-day, 11-game road trip Monday in Atlanta. Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.84 ERA) is the scheduled starter. Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.04 ERA) and Zack Wheeler will start Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader. Wheeler, who will start the second game and is the team’s top pitching prospect, is making his major-league debut. He will meet reporters Monday afternoon at Turner Field. Wheeler is a native of Smyrna, Ga. — about 10 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Shaun Marcum (0-8, 5.43 ERA) and Jonathon Niese (3-6, 4.15 ERA) will start the final two games of the series.

Follow Mets beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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As each day passes it’s becoming less and less likely that Doc Rivers will return to the Boston Celtics for a 10th season as its head coach.

The Celtics appear set to trade their highly respected coach in exchange for a package centered around Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. Jordan averaged 8.8 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game last season for LA but is believed to have All-Star caliber potential. Jordan was a 2008 second round draft choice out of Texas A&M and can jump out of the building.

Kevin Garnett is expected to be the other piece of the deal that could accelerate the rebuilding process for Boston. Guard Eric Bledsoe could be the holdup for the Clippers in any potential deal as LA wants to have an insurance policy if star point guard Chris Paul leaves the team via free agency on or after July 1.
The Clippers reportedly rejected a deal this weekend in which the Celtics asked for Jordan, Bledsoe and two draft picks in exchange for Rivers and Garnett. The Celtics may hold out in dealing Paul Pierce in a separate deal.

One rebuilding route the Celtics may be interested in exploring is compiling as many draft picks as possible before the June 27 NBA Draft in order to move up in the draft, a strategy the Houston Rockets attempted last year.

A few heads turned in May when the Celtics interviewed Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel, an Everett, Mass. native, at the Chicago combine. Typically, high prospects such as Noel – who is expected to be selected No. 1 or No. 2 overall – are only interviewed by lottery teams. For the Celtics to move that far up the draft, however, they would likely have to part with point guard Rajon Rondo as well.

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The Rangers have moved on from Jon Tortorella and reportedly have found their new man in charge.

Multiple sources are reporting former Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault will take the same position with the Rangers. While he has accepted the position, he has yet to officially agree to a contract and the Rangers have not commented.

General manager Glen Sather had remarked at the time of Tortorella’s firing that they wanted to have a coach in place prior to the June 30 NHL Draft. Former Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff and Rangers legend Mark Messier, who has never coached but publicly expressed interest in the job, were among the final candidates for the job.

Vigneault was fired by the Canucks on May 22 after his team was swept by San Jose in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. But Vigneault had tremendous success in hockey-crazed Vancouver, despite not having won a Stanley Cup. Vigneault was with Vancouver since 2006 and made the playoffs every year but 2007-08.He won the Jack Adams Award as top coach in 2006-07.

He led the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final against Boston in 2011, but lost in a seven-game series.

The Canucks had the best record in the NHL in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. His team suffered a disappointing first-round exit to the eventual Cup champions Los Angeles last season.

Vigneault is a very different coach, in demeanor, than Tortorella, who New York fired May 29. He has a light-hearted demeanor and often joked with the media. Tortorella had become infamous for his confrontational stance with the media.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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UPDATE: June 16, 2 p.m.

The Yankees have announced Mark Teixeira had an MRI on his injured right wrist Sunday, which revealed minor inflammation.

Teixeira had a cortisone shot and will rest for a few days.

The team has not put him on the disabled list, but it is unlikely he will play in the series against the Dodgers beginning Monday.

——————————————————-

For the third time this season the Yankees have gotten a slugger back from the disabled list — only to see them reinjured soon thereafter.

First baseman Mark Teixeira is the latest to face question marks, though he hasn’t officially returned to the disabled list as Kevin Youkilis did last week and Curtis Granderson did last month. Teixeira was removed from yesterday’s game in the fourth inning after two painful at-bats.

Teixeira tore a tendon sheath in his wrist in spring training and did not return to the lineup until May 31. After starting 1-for-9, he showed encouraging signs with three home runs in four games from June 3-6. But since then he is just 3-of-31 (.097) with nine strikeouts. He was hitless in his last 12 at-bats before leaving Saturday’s game.

The team has sent Teixeira back to New York to be re-examined by doctors.

“He just came to us and said he just feels like there’s not a lot of strength there,” manager Joe Girardi told reporters after Saturday’s loss. “I think he just doesn’t feel that he has the whip that he normally has hitting left-handed.”

So far, the Yankees are saying they are not concerned, but torn wrist sheaths have proven problematic in the past. Toronto’s Jose Baustista tore a wrist sheath in 2012, returned from the DL for just two games and then underwent season-ending surgery. Girardi said he did not believe Teixeira was in the same situation, “but he’ll see the doctor [Sunday] and he’ll evaluate it.” Red Sox slugger David Ortiz battled a partially torn wrist sheath for much of the 2008 season, sitting out three months.

Hitting coach Kevin Long admitted after the game on Saturday that Teixeira had been feeling some pain recently and had not been taking his usual batting practice before games.

The Yankees have currently lost five straight.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has done some pretty shady things during his two tenures in charge. Also while he was prime minister in the interim. And when he was prime minister before becoming president for the first time.

(What the hell is up with Russian power structure anyway? President? Prime minister? Which is it, guys?)

Of course, he was also a member of the KGB for 16 years during the height of the Cold War.

But never has he done anything as shady as what Patriots owner Robert Kraft alleged this weekend. Putin, on a visit to the United States in 2005, STOLE KRAFT’S SUPER BOWL XXXIX RING! Like, legitimately stole the $25,000 ring.

Supposedly, Kraft let Putin try the ring on and take a look at it, whereupon he slipped it in his pocket and left the meeting. What?!

Well Kraft went to the White House and said, “Putin totally stole my Super Bowl ring.” But the White House told him to let it go and claim it was a gift, in order to avoid further tension between the two countries. Kraft told this story at an event at the Waldorf-Astoria and apparently he’s tired of the charade.

It’s worth noting this isn’t the first time Kraft has made this claim. Back in 2005 when it happened, he said Putin misunderstood his showing the ring for gifting it to him.

Oh, but wait. Now that the story has gotten more specific and traveled virally around the world — literally — we’ve gotten Putin’s response Sunday morning and no surprise, he denies it all.

“What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird,” Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN. “I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift.”

Oh man, this is getting good. Hopefully we get a stare down between Bill Belichick and Putin. If anyone can bully Putin into giving the ring back, it’s Belichick.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Don’t worry, no shirtless pictures on horseback will be shared.

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So much for all those dire predictions that the pros would bring venerable Merion to its knees here at the 2013 U.S. Open.

As Phil Mickelson warned Thursday – before needing a birdie on the final hole to earn a piece of the lead with unheralded Floridian, Billy Horschel – the old girl was about to get mighty ornery.

The rest of the field learned that Friday when only three players broke par and several others posted astronomical scores. That will set the stage for a weekend where it’s anyone’s guess and what the winning score will be.

Certainly nothing like Rory McIlroy’s record 16-under at Congressional in Bethesda, MD, giving him the 2011 Open by eight strokes.

“At the end of the weekend there’s going to be a guy lifting the trophy,” said McIlroy, who shot even par 70 to match playing partner Tiger Woods, putting both three-over. “It doesn’t matter if he’s plus 5, minus 5 or plus 16.”

As for suggestions Merion was ripe for plucking after all the rain that’s fallen here over the past week would soften the fairways and greens and leave the course vulnerable, McIlroy found that amusing.

“I didn’t hear any of the golfers saying that,” said McIlroy, whose run up the Art Museum steps a la “Rocky” was one of the pre-tournament highlights of his week.

“It was you guys [in the media] saying it was going to be score-able. So you must be very good golfers. It’s tough, but it’s definitely fair.”

Woods agreed, although he felt Friday’s pin placements made it virtually impossible to post a red number.

“It was hard with the wind and the pin locations,” said Tiger, who grimaced frequently due to pain in his wrist he injured a few weeks back. “They were really tough.

“More than anything they’ve tried to protect the golf course with it being as soft as it is. They’re trying to protect par.”

Only Horschel (three-under 67), Steve Stricker and Justin Rose (69 apiece) foiled the plan.

“I was not in the zone today, trust me,” said the 26-year-old Horschel, who won in New Orleans earlier this year. “This golf course, even though it’s soft, is still tough.

“For me it’s all about limiting distractions and not thinking about scenarios, like what happens if I win. Just focusing on what I do best, playing golf.”

Midway through the Open Horschel, Mickelson, Tiger, McIlroy and the rest are ready to go into battle.

Then again, as she proved to all Friday, so is Merion.

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What a difference a few days can make.

The Bruins showed what they’re all about Saturday night as they won Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, 2-1, in overtime on Daniel Paille’s first career OT-winner at 13:48. Chicago played great for the first half of the game but Tuukka Rask (33 saves) kept Boston in it and eventually his teammates joined him. The Bruins earned the split at United Center and they return to TD Garden on Monday (8 p.m., NBCSN) for Game 3 with the series tied 1-1. The win also ensures that there will be a game back in Chicago next Saturday for Game 5.

Chicago’s Patrick Sharp scored his ninth goal (tied with David Krejci for NHL lead) of the postseason at 11:22 in the first period after a huge scramble. Rask made a bunch of saves but Sharp was able to roof it on a turnaround shot. Rask stood on his head for the rest of the frame as the Blackhawks outshot the Bruins 19-4 but only led 1-0. The momentum started to shift as Chris Kelly tied it at 5:02 of the second period with his first goal of the playoffs. Paille had the lone assist on Kelly’s goal – foreshadowing as he received the first star for the game.

Boston carried the play from that point on. Brad Marchand hit the post on a shorthand bid from Paille. Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (26 saves) started to see much more action and he rose to the challenge. He had good saves on Marchand and Krejci before it went to overtime for the second straight game (second year in a row in the Final; fourth all-time).

The Bruins outshot the Blackhawks in the last two periods then also in overtime. Jaromir Jagr continues to be snakebitten, for the second consecutive game he hit the post in overtime. Kelly had a chance to end it and Bergeron’s one-timer challenged Crawford. Adam McQuaid started the winning play by pinching along the boards to keep the puck in then Seguin hit Paille with a great pass. Paille’s shot went off the inside of the post and in.

What they’ll be saying: Call it a hunch but Bruins head coach Claude Julien certainly knows his team in and out. They didn’t start Game 2 together but Julien put Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin on the same line Saturday and they rewarded him as each guy played arguably his best game of the playoffs. All postseason Boston has been looking for any type of production from the third line so this is better late than never especially if it continues for the rest of the series. By improving to 6-3 on the road in the playoffs, the B’s got their most important road win thus far. Boston also set a franchise record with their fifth overtime victory of this postseason, they have at least one in each round: two vs. Maple Leafs, one vs. Rangers, one vs. Penguins & one vs. Blackhawks.

A strange note from the first two games is that the winning team in both instances hasn’t led during the game, rather they’ve scored overtime winners. After all four Blackhawks goals in Game 1 were scored by role players, the Bruins had both goals in Game 2 from bottom-six forwards. Chicago’s power play (0-for-6 through two games) is as bad as advertised. There have been roughly 10 periods of action and both teams have scored five goals. In other words, as we suspected, very little seems to separate these squads.

Follow Metro Boston Bruins beat writer Richard Slate on Twitter @RichSlate

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After dropping the first two games of the weekend series with the Orioles, a solid start from John Lackey led the way in the Red Sox’ 5-4 win over the Orioles Saturday afternoon at Camden Yards.

Things didn’t go as smooth as they should’ve as the Sox led 5-2 going into the bottom ninth, but a two-run home run from Matt Wieters off of closer Andrew Bailey cut the deficit to 5-4. Fortunately for the Red Sox, the game ended on a bad base running mistake by pinch-runner Alexi Casilla. It appeared he forgot how many outs there were and was doubled off first by right fielder Shane Victorino to end the game.

Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes (two hits) both homered for the Sox in the win and Jose Iglesias extended his hitting streak to an astonishing 16-games. Every starter recorded a hit except for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Red Sox trailed 2-0 after the first, but quickly regained the lead scoring three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth.

Aside from allowing two runs in the first inning, Lackey pitched extremely well. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out four. He allowed just three hits after the first inning. Koji Uehara struck out the side in the eighth before Bailey came on for the ninth.

The teams will close out their four-game series tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN) where Jon Lester will get the ball for the Sox as the Orioles will counter with Miquel Gonzalez.

What they’ll be saying: The start by Lackey was a very encouraging one especially with the state of the Red Sox starting rotation. Throwing 101 pitches he probably could have went back out for the eighth, but with a fairly rested bullpen it was not needed. Lackey has now won four games this season and lowered his ERA to 3.08. Despite his 4-5 record, he has asserted himself as the Sox’ No. 3 starter being the most consistent starter behind Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester … Carp continues to produce in every situation he is given — now filling in for the sick Mike Napoli at first base. Of his 33 hits, 19 have gone for extra bases.

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According to a source familiar with the situation, Red Sox first-round pick Trey Ball will fly to Boston on Sunday and is likely to sign a contract this week for below the recommended bonus value to the seventh overall pick of $3,246,000. The news was first reported by Evan Drellich of Masslive.com.

Ball, a left-handed pitcher from New Castle High School in New Castle, Ind. has committed to playing at the University of Texas, but by signing the contract he will turn professional and forgo any collegiate eligibility.

The 18-year-old southpaw, whose fastball is in the mid-90′s, went 6-0 with a miniscule 0.76 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 46 innings this past season. He had been a two-way player, playing center field, but will likely turn his attention to solely pitching once with the Red Sox.

Follow Metro Red Sox beat writer Ryan Hannable on Twitter @hannable84.

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