Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones (3) celebrates his goal with teammate Nicolas Petan (19) during the second period of Memorial Cup final hockey game against the Halifax Mooseheads in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Jones, the son of former NBA basketball player Ronald "Popeye" Jones, is likely to be No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, which will be held in Newark, N.J., on June 30. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Derek Mortensen, File)

by Dan Gelston
AP Sports Writer

By chance, Ronald "Popeye" Jones bumped into Joe Sakic in the weight room of the arena in Denver way back when.

It shouldn't have been a big deal. After all, Jones' Denver Nuggets and Sakic's Colorado Avalanche shared the Pepsi Center.

Jones, a 6-foot-8 power forward, had more than casual conversation in mind for their first meeting almost 13 years ago, though. He told Sakic, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, that he had two young boys who wanted to play hockey and no clue how to help them.

"He looked at me all the way up and into my eyes," Jones said. "He saw how big I was. He said, 'He's going to be huge. Make sure he knows how to skate.'"

So Jones signed up his boys, including youngest, Seth, for skating lessons. Sakic's small piece of advice turned around one boy's direction.

Now, it's Seth's turn to return the favor for an organization.

The 18-year-old Jones has grown into one of the top prospects in hockey and is the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL draft later this month.

That pick belongs to the Avalanche — now led by Sakic, the team's former captain who was recently promoted to executive vice president of hockey operations.

"All the goals he's set as a hockey player," Popeye said, "he's been able to accomplish."

How's that for a proud pop?

Popeye, Seth's mother and other friends and relatives will attend the June 30 draft at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Popeye worked last season as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and lives about 20 minutes from the draft site.

Dad was a second-round pick, 41st overall. Seth could be the first Black player ever taken No. 1 in the NHL draft.

"I'm trying to embrace it," Seth said. "It's going to be fun in New Jersey, for sure. I can't wait to share those experiences with my family."

It may be a pretty big family reunion in Denver. Jones' older brother, Justin, also played hockey and they all got along with Patrick Roy's family as they grew up. The Roys and Joneses were close and spent time at each other's houses, in fact. And it just so happens that Roy — a former goaltender who also won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche — was just hired to coach Colorado after the rebuilding franchise missed the playoffs.

"Jones is a heck of a player," Roy said. "No matter what the decision for our organization — are we going to keep first overall, are we going to move first overall, whatever we're going to do, we know that the team that picks first, second or third are going to get three outstanding players."

Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin are expected to go 1-2-3 in the draft. The Florida Panthers hold the second draft pick and the Tampa Bay Lightning are No. 3.

Based on talent and need, Jones shouldn't drop past the Avalanche. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound defenseman met with members of the Avalanche scouting team last month before moving on to the NHL draft combine in Toronto.

He would become the first American picked No. 1 since Chicago's Patrick Kane in 2007 and seventh overall. In a sport where the majority percentage of players are White, it's that slice of history he would make as the first Black selected No. 1 — topping Evander Kane, picked fourth 2009 — that means so much to both of them.

"I don't think about it too much," Seth said. "Hopefully, I can encourage young African-Americans to play hockey and try it when they're at a young age. It's definitely a White-dominated sport. But there are a lot more that are starting to play."

Kane, Pittsburgh's Jarome Iginla, Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds and Washington's Joel Ward are among the more prominent Black players in the NHL. Ward was the victim of a series of racist tweets during last year's playoffs after scoring the winning goal in Game 7 against Boston. During a preseason game last year, a fan threw a banana on the ice at Simmonds. Those are gloomy signs that, unlike the other big three sports, tolerance is a still a problem.

"There's never been one racial thing that happened to him," Popeye said. "I think his teammates always accepted him for Seth Jones the hockey player, the great teammate, the great team player. He never put himself above anybody. They've always accepted him for who he was and never looked at race."

They've been awed looking at his career arc, though.

He blossomed when he was still in elementary school and played in Pee Wee tournaments in Quebec City at 10 years old. The tournaments, however, were meant for kids 11 and 12. And he has won three gold medals in international play, including this year at the World Junior Ice Hockey championship. So, he's already seasoned, globally, as a competitor.

Jones played two seasons in Toronto and was stopped in arenas each time he watched Seth play.

"They'd say, 'What are you doing in the hockey rink? What's your kid doing out here playing hockey,'" Popeye said. "'Why aren't you at the gym playing basketball?'"

Jones, who averaged a modest 7.0 points over an 11-year career, realized early on that getting Seth to follow in his sneakers was a lost cause. Sure, little Seth tagged along with dad to the gym and they'd bond watching the NBA finals together. But those 1-on-1 father-son games in the driveway never caught steam and Seth did not play organized basketball growing up. He simply had no desire, because hockey was his passion.

"That was all the motivation that I had," Seth said.

With Popeye on the road, Seth's mother, Amy, steered her son down the right path from home.

"Mom taught me everything from how to be a young man, to a handshake, eye contact, all sorts of things," Seth said. "She just wanted me to be respectful."

Seth spent more time with his dad when the latter was an assistant coach for a few seasons in Dallas. Seth broadened his worth ethic by watching how tirelessly players like Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry prepared for every practice and game all season.

"You can tell anyone how to be a pro," Popeye said. "But until they see it with their own eyes, it's put a whole new light about what it really takes."

Lesson learned. Now it's Seth's turn to take all he's learned and show a team like Colorado he's ready to make an impact next season.

"It's a special category to be put in. Colorado would be special," Seth said, "but at the end of the day, my goal is play in the NHL."

That goal is about to be met.

Pennsylvania's Tyler Boyd takes the opening kick off back for a touchdown against Maryland during the first quarter of the Big 33 football game, Saturday, June 15, 2013, in Hershey, Pa. (AP Photo/PennLive.com, Joe Hermitt)

by Jim Carlson

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Tyler Boyd didn't think he had anything to prove at Saturday night's Big 33 Football Classic high school all-star game.

But with an NFL Network audience watching, along with about 8,000 fans in the stands, Boyd showed off the all-around skills that made him a solid recruit for the University of Pittsburgh.

The 6-foot-1 receiver from Clairton returned the opening kickoff 91 yards and had a hand in five touchdowns as Pennsylvania defeated Maryland 58-27.

Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) is defended by San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green during the second half at Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, June 16, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

by Brian Mahoney
AP Basketball Writer

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — With the old Manu Ginobili back, the San Antonio Spurs looked like champs again.

One more victory and their Big Three, not Miami's, will be the one that rules the NBA.

Ginobili broke out of a slump in a big way with 24 points and 10 assists in his first start of the season, and the Spurs beat the Heat 114-104 on Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead.

Tiger Woods acknowledges the gallery after putting on the 18th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Saturday, June 15, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tiger Woods hits down the 18th hole during the fourth round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Sunday, June 16, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Woods matches worst score in a major

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — This isn't the kind of record Tiger Woods had in mind at the U.S. Open.

Woods went out-of-bounds on his second tee shot of the final round at Merion and closed with a 4-over 74. That gave him his worst 72-hole score as a pro in the U.S. Open, and it tied for his high score in any major.

"I did a lot of things right," Woods said. "Unfortunately, I did a few things wrong, as well."

Woods finished at 13-over 293.

His previous high score in a U.S. Open was 290 at The Olympic Club in 1998 and Shinnecock Hills in 2004. Woods shot 294 at Oakland Hills in 1996 as an amateur.

Just two days ago, Woods was four shots out of the lead and very much in the hunt to end his five-year drought in the majors. Then, he went 76-74 for his worst weekend in a major championship. Just over two weeks ago, the world's No. 1 player had won three of his last four events on the PGA Tour and was starting to establish his dominance.