Public Opinion from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania • 9

Sports GAME TIMES MONDAY, VARY BY JUNE 24, BALLPARK, 2013 PAGE 3B 1B www.publicopiniononline.com PUBLIC OPINION FOOTBALL Inside Cardinals help Stampede win title today By LIZI ARBOGAST When the Harrisburg Stampede hoisted the American Indoor Football championship trophy, a few of them were in a pretty familiar position. Just two years ago, the Chambersburg Cardinals were lifting some hardware of their own after winning the Gridiron Developmental Football League title, and four of those Cardinals Jerell Jones, Josh Finafrock, Eric Duckworth and Jermaine Thaxton joined the Stampede's ranks this season. "Winning a championship never gets old," said Finafrock, a Stampede backup quarterback. "It's a good feeling knowing you were part of something with people you knew so well and grew to really like." The Stampede competed in the AIF title game on June 8 and won 57-42 over the Cape Fear (N.C.) Heroes, a team that had beaten the Stampede twice during the regular season. But Harrisburg pulled together over the course of the season to overcome its nemesis.

"Even when we lost to them, directly after the game, we had a STANLEY CUP FINALS On the verge A 1 Reebok conversation amongst the players," Stampede wide receiver Jones said. "We said that we feel bad about this loss, but deep down inside, we know that we're going to play them again in the championship and we're going to win. We all believed that." In the championship game, Harrisburg showed some serious life in the second half after being tied 20- 20 heading into the locker room. Obviously winning a title is a great feeling regardless, but the AIF championship was the first in Stampede history. For linebacker Jermaine Thaxton, who has been playing with Harrisburg for four Associated Press Making a save: Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford reaches to glove a shot by the Boston Bruins in the first period during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night.

The Blackhawks won, 3-1. Blackhawks enjoy 3-2 series lead BOSTON (AP) Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville says he hopes forward Jonathan Toews will be able to play in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins on Monday night. Toews did not play in the third period of Chicago's 3-1 victory over Boston in Game 5 on Saturday night. The team has not said what the injury is. But Quenneville said after arriving in Boston on Sunday that Toews is doing better.

Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk was not given a penalty on the hit that injured Toews. NHL spokesman John Dellapina says the league has reviewed the hit and there will be no supplemental discipline. The Bruins are missing Patrice Bergeron, who also left Game 5 with an undisclosed injury. The Blackhawks haven't just taken control of the Stanley Cup final series, they've done it while Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara was on the ice. Chicago has scored eight of their nine goals in winning the last two games against Boston years, this one meant that much more to him.

"The feeling is still the same winning a championship it's for all the marbles; you get the hardware at the end," Thaxton said. "But I think the Stampede is higher than Chambersburg because I've been playing with the Stampede for a while. I'm good friends with all the guys here and the coaches; it's a family-based organization." Finafrock, who played with Chambersburg for six years, identifies more as a Cardinal and said See CARDINALS, Page 38 Leading off Auto racing: AJ All- mendinger, above, slid past Justin Allgaier with seven laps to go to win Saturday night's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America. Page 2B. Say what? or all those guys who sure left, make don't you come to Game 7.

We only want the guys who are going to stay in the building for the whole game. You never give up. People gave up on us. They can stay where they are and watch the game at Miami Heat center Chris Bosh after a number of fans left the stadium before Miami rallied for an 1 overtime victory in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Quick hits Chambersburg offers free basketball program for boys Chambersburg boys basketball will hold a free summer basketball program for next year's fourth-, fifth- and sixthgrade boys living in the Chambersburg Area School District.

The sessions will be Sunday evenings until mid-August. Registration or more information is available by contacting Bill Oyler (360-5191, or Boston Marathon winner returns his medal to city BOSTON (AP) The champion of the men's 2013 Boston Marathon returned his winner's medal to mayor Thomas Menino on Sunday to honor the city and those killed and injured in the bombings near the finish line of one of the world's top running events. "Sport holds the power to unify and connect people all over the world," Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia told the crowd through a translator. "Sport should never be used as a battleground." More than 6,400 athletes gathered on Boston Common for the 10K organized by the Boston Athletic Association, the same nonprofit that handles the annual marathon. Spots for Sunday's race sold out in 13 hours online.

A moment of silence paid tribute to the three victims killed in the April 15 bombings and to Sean Collier, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who was si shot and killed April 18 in a search for the suspects. Pirates rally with 7 late runs, sweep series from Angels ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Pedro Alvarez homered for the fourth straight game, Starling Marte capped a three-run ninth inning with a tying single, and the Pittsburgh Pirates added four more in the 10th to beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-9 on Sunday and complete their first interleague sweep on the road. Trailing 6-3 entering the ninth, the Pirates pulled even against closer Ernesto Frieri his second blown save in 19 attempts. SPRINT CUP Truex Jr.

ends skid of 218 defeats By JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer SONOMA, Calif. Martin Truex Jr. snapped a 218-race winless while the 2009 Norris Trophy winner was defending. "I don't think there was one thing said where we really wanted to attack him or go at him or try to hit him or anything like that," said Chicago forward Patrick Kane, who scored two goals in Game 5 with Chara on the ice. "I think we're just playing the way we have.

"Sometimes you worry about one player who you're matched up against on the ice, and I've said this before, it goes to your disadvantage because you worry too much and don't play the game you should be playing. I think we just got back to playing the way we have and the way we know how to." In Game 4, when the Blackhawks beat Boston 6-5 in overtime, Chara was battling in front of the net with Jonathan Toews when Brent Seabrook's shot from the right point beat Tuukka Rask for the game-winner. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville felt his team needed to get more chances at the net after being shut out in Game 3, even when Chara was playing. "We've felt not so much being physical with him, but in the offensive zone we needed to have better possession time and more time in their end," he said. "Whether it was absorbing hits or finishing checks or going to hard areas and not necessarily worrying about him, I think it was getting to the net was our focus." Bruins coach Claude Julien knows the Blackhawks are challenging Chara, but expects his star defenseman to bounce back for Game 6 on Monday night.

"It's pretty obvious that they're throwing the pucks in his corner and they want to get him to turn and tire him out," he said. "He's a well-trained athlete that can handle that, and you'll see that in the next game and hopefully the one after that." Rask also relies on Chara to make things tougher for Chicago's top offensive players. "He's playing against the best players," he said. "It's not so easy to shut them down all the time. He usually does a great job with that and I have no doubts in him." streak with an easy victory Sunday on the road course at Sonoma Raceway.

It was just the second win of Truex's career, first since Dover in 2007. It put Michael Waltrip Racing in Victory Lane for the second year in a row after Clint Bowyer won here last season. Truex worked his way to the front and used strategy to stay with the leaders. He then pulled away after the final restart and built a healthy lead of more than six seconds over Juan Pablo Montoya, who was running second until he ran out of gas on the final lap. Jeff Gordon finished second a week after he was wrecked six laps into the race at Michigan.

Carl Edwards was third, followed by Kurt Busch, who climbed back from a pair of speeding penalties. Bowyer wound up fifth in a strong day for the MWR Toyotas. The race got off to an inauspicious start before it even began with a pit road accident, a mechanical issue for Jacques Villeneuve and an oil line failure for Bobby Labonte. The accident occurred as the cars were headed onto the track and David Reutimann stopped his car on pit road. Alex Kennedy stopped behind Reutimann, and Paulie Harraka slammed into the back of Kennedy.

The damage wasn't significant enough to prevent Harraka from making his Sprint Cup Series debut. But it was a short-lived race for the first driver to advance from NASCAR's diversity program into a Cup race Harraka spun and crashed his car six laps later. Meanwhile, a parts failure caused Labonte to dump oil all over pit road before the race and he was forced to take his car to the garage for a quick repair. Labonte made i it onto the track for the green flag, but his engine failed on the first lap. "It blew up, dude," Labonte said on his radio.

"Something in the bottom engine because it had no oil pressure." See TRUEX, Page 4B INSIDE: Sprint Cup results, Page 3B GOLF Ken Duke wins Travelers event in playoff CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) Journeyman Ken Duke made a foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Chris Stroud at the Travelers Championship to win his first ever PGA Tour event. Stroud had chipped in from 51 feet on the 18th hole to force the playoff. But the 44-year-old Duke made the better approach shot on the second extra hole, bouncing his ball in front of the flag and rolling it close. Duke wouldn't have been there at all had luck not intervened on the 10th hole, when his ball ricocheted off a tree and onto the green to about 5 feet from the pin, allowing him to make birdie.

Canadian Graham DeLaet finished a stroke back in third place. Bubba Watson finished fourth, twoshots behind, after making a six on the par-3 16th hole. STADLER TAKES ONE STROKE VICTORY: Craig Stadler had been there before, and remembered. It was 21 years ago that Stadler faced a similar putt to hang on for victory on a Sunday afternoon. He had a 12-foot par putt remaining to win the Encompass Championship in Glenview, and the setting was familiar to so long ago.

"It looked really familiar to the putt I made a billion years ago at Akron," Stadler said after dropping the curling putt for a one-stroke victory over Fred Couples at North Shore Country Club. "Kind of left to right, just kind of dripped it in the low side." 1992, Stadler sank a putt much like that one to win the World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club by a stroke over Corey Pavin. "I just kind of talked to myself a little bit walking back to it," Stadler said. You made that one, make this one, what the He made it to win on the Champions Tour for the first time in eight years and collect the $270,000 first prize, finishing with a 1-under-par 71 to total 13-under 203. But it was more of an adventure on the back nine than the 60-year-old Sadler expected after a building a fivestroke lead through the first eight holes of the final round.

"I just kind of hit it down the middle and wonder where it goes," Stadler said of his driving, which was erratic down the stretch. "I've never done that in 50 years, but that's where I'm at now." Stadler's eight years and almost nine months between victories is the longest stretch in Champions Tour history. He played in 170 events on the tour between victories and battled health issues the past three years. J.C. Snead had gone almost seven years between titles from 1995 to 2002.

Stadler settled down after bogey's on the 13th and 14th, making par on the next three holes even though he wasn't always in the fairway..