MIAMI -- For the entirety of the regular season, the supremacy of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference was brought into ser

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MIAMI -- For the entirety of the regular season, the supremacy of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference was brought into serious question by the Indiana Pacers. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Cheap Shoes Fake . Then came the playoffs. And the question was answered -- emphatically. The Heat became the third franchise in NBA history to reach the title series in four consecutive seasons, a laugher of a conference-title finale getting them there again Friday night. LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 25 points, and Miami eliminated the Pacers for the third straight year with a 117-92 romp in Game 6 of the East championship series. "Im blessed. Very blessed. Very humbled," James said. "And we wont take this opportunity for granted. Its an unbelievable franchise, its an unbelievable group. And we know we still have work to do, but we wont take this for granted. Were going to four straight Finals and we will never take this for granted." Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each scored 13 points for Miami, which trailed 9-2 before ripping off 54 of the next 75 points to erase any doubt by halftime. The Heat set a franchise record with their 11th straight home post-season win, going back to the final two games of last seasons NBA Finals, leading by 37 at one point. "The group loves to compete and loves to compete at the highest level, and be pushed to new levels," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Indiana led the East for much of the regular season, one where the Pacers were fueled by the memory of losing Game 7 of the East finals in Miami a year ago. So they spent this season with a clear goal: Toppling Miami as kings of the East. The Pacers were two games better in the regular season. They were two games worse in the post-season. Game 7, this time, would have been in Indianapolis. The Pacers just had no shot of making it happen, not on this night. "Its bitterly disappointing to fall short of our goals," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Its bitterly disappointing to lose to this team three years in a row. But were competing against the Michael Jordan of our era, the Chicago Bulls of our era, and you have to tip your hats to them for the way they played this whole series." Paul George had 29 points for Indiana, David West scored 16 and Lance Stephenson -- booed all night -- finished with 11. "No regrets. All of us played hard. They were just the better team, and they won," Stephenson said. So now, the Celtics and Lakers have some company. Until Friday, they were the only teams in NBA history to reach the Finals in four straight years. The Heat have joined them, and their quest for a third straight title starts in either San Antonio or Oklahoma City on Thursday night. "Its all about 15 special men and what theyve been able to accomplish these last four years," said Heat managing general partner Micky Arison, who handed the East title trophy to Greg Oden. "Just a little bit more work to do, but Im really proud of the incredible job that these guys have done." The way they played in Game 6 made a prophet out of Bosh, who predicted Miami would play its best game of the season. The numbers suggested he was right, and then some. Miamis largest lead at any point this season, before Game 6, was 36 points. Indianas largest deficit of the season had been 35 points. After a layup by James with 3:39 left in the third, the margin in this one was a whopping 37 -- 86-49. James night ended not long afterward. "It was just one of those games that we want to play from beginning to end," Bosh said. "Here on our home court, we wanted to make a statement." There were the now-requisite Stephenson events, adding intrigue to the first half. The Indiana guard walked over to James and tapped him in the face in the opening minutes, stood over him after both got tangled under the basket, and got whistled for a flagrant foul for striking Norris Cole in the head in the second quarter. It was the end of a memorable series for Stephenson, none of which really had anything to do with basketball. His string of newsworthy moments from these East finals started when he talked about the health of Wades knees before the series and reached an apex in Game 5 when he blew into James ear and walked into a Heat huddle. When it was over, Stephenson went out and shook hands with plenty of Heat players, as did the rest of his teammates. "To work so hard and to get to where we are now really hurts," Stephenson said. The Heat were bothered by it all -- "angry," Spoelstra confessed -- but got the last laugh. Big Brother, again, reigned supreme in this rivalry. Vogel was using the big brother-little brother analogy earlier in the series, telling the tale of how at some point in every sibling rivalry the younger one has to make a stand. Indiana thought it would happen now. The Heat, obviously, had other ideas. "Theyve won championships," West said Friday when asked if the Pacers considered themselves Miamis equal. "No, were not equal." West said those words about eight hours before game time. They were in no dispute at nights end. NOTES: James appeared in what became his 100th playoff victory. ... The Pacers are now 7-12 against Miami in the last three postseasons, and 20-10 against everybody else. ... Wade and Udonis Haslem are going to the NBA Finals for the fifth time in nine seasons -- with a 15-67 season on their record during that stretch as well. ... Chris Andersen returned from a thigh injury, scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 13 minutes for Miami. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Cheap Shoes Wholesale .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Cheap Shoes Website . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/ . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Don Zimmer wasnt a fixture in baseball forever. It just seemed that way. He played alongside Jackie Robinson on the only Brooklyn Dodgers team to win the World Series. He coached Derek Jeter on the New York Yankees latest dynasty. And his manager once was the illustrious Casey Stengel. For 66 years, Zimmer was a most popular presence at ballparks all over, a huge chaw often filling his cheek. Everyone in the game seemed to know him, and love him. Zimmer was still working for the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior adviser when he died Wednesday at a hospital in nearby Dunedin. He had been in a rehabilitation centre since having seven hours of heart surgery in mid-April. "Today we all lost a national treasure and a wonderful man," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. Zimmer started out as a minor league infielder in 1949, hitting powerful shots that earned him the nickname "Popeye." He went on to enjoy one of the longest-lasting careers in baseball history. And oh, the stories he could tell. "I loved listening to him every day," Billy Connors, a coach under Zimmer with the Chicago Cubs, told The Associated Press. Zimmer played on the original New York Mets, saw his Boston Red Sox beaten by Bucky Dents playoff homer, got tossed to the ground by Pedro Martinez during a brawl and was Joe Torres right-hand man as the bench coach with the Yankees. "I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me. He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game," Torre said in a statement. "The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Alis. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man," he said. A career .235 hitter in the big leagues, numbers could never define all that Zimmer meant to the game. He did have tremendous success, too -- his teams won six World Series rings and went to the post-season 19 times. Zimmers No. 66 Rays jersey had been worn recently by longtime Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley in tribute. The Rays hosted the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night, and Foley was crying in the dugout. Earlier this season, the Rays hung a banner in the front of the press box at Tropicana Field that simply read "ZIM." There was a moment of silence at Dodger Staddium for Zimmer before Los Angeles played the Chicago White Sox. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Cheap Shoes Free Shipping. "On behalf of Major League Baseball and the many clubs that Popeye served in a distinguished baseball life, I extend my deepest condolences to Dons family, friends and his many admirers throughout our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. Zimmers biggest admirer was his wife "Soot" -- they were married at home plate during a minor league game in 1951. Two years later in the minors, Zimmers path took a frightening turn -- he was beaned by a fastball and left in a coma, and doctors had to put metal screws in his head. He recovered well enough to wear a lot of uniforms during his 56 years in the majors. He played for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington. He managed San Diego, Boston, Texas and the Cubs. "Probably the best baseball man I knew," Connors said. Yankees executive Hank Steinbrenner echoed that sentiment. "I loved Zim. I loved his passion. He was a great, great guy. He was a great baseball guy," he told the AP. "Everybody loved him." Steinbrenner, son of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, said Torre and Zimmer were the "perfect team" during New Yorks run that brought four titles in a five-year span. "Joe was low-keyed. Zim would get fired up. He was a bench coach for real," Steinbrenner said. "He was an extremely important part of the 1990s success." Zimmer hit 91 home runs and had 352 RBIs in 12 seasons. He started Game 7 when Brooklyn beat the Yankees for the 1955 crown and was an All-Star in 1961. The next year, he played under Stengel on the 1962 expansion Mets, who famously went 40-120. "Dont blame them all on me," Zimmer once said. "I got traded after the first 30 days." Zimmer was the 1989 NL Manager of the Year with the Cubs and was at Yankee Stadium for three perfect games, by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series and by David Cone and David Wells in the late 1990s. "Its a sad day for the game of baseball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said after a 3-2 loss at San Diego. "Don impacted lives from the time he put a uniform on in the minor leagues until today." Zimmer is survived by his wife; son Thomas, a scout with the San Francisco Giants; daughter Donna, and four grandchildren. ' ' '