onner said. That they have. The Spurs won the NBA title each of their previous four trips to the finals, and their win over Memphis improved them to 11-1 i

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi hasnt lost faith in his secondary, though theres plenty to work on after surrendering 872 yards through the air in the last two games, including 540 to Oklahoma States Mason Rudolph in a 45-38 loss on Saturday.Theyve got to understand it works when you do it right, Narduzzi said Monday. It doesnt work if you dont do it right. If you continue to do it your way, were going to have problems.The Panthers had plenty of issues against the Cowboys, namely keeping Oklahoma State wide receivers within arms reach.It started on the first play -- a 91-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Rudolph to Washington -- and never really stopped, the winning score with 1:28 remaining coming after an 86-yard strike from Rudolph to Jhajuan Sales. Narduzzi made sure to spread the blame around, from the coaching staff to pass rush to cornerbacks defensive backs like Avonte Maddox, who spent the majority of the afternoon on the wrong end of highlight reel catches by Washington.Maddox took responsibility afterward, though Narduzzi stressed he has no interest in making personnel changes heading into this weeks ACC opener against North Carolina (2-1).Avonte Maddox is our best corner, Narduzzi said.One who will need to shrug it off quickly if the Panthers (2-1) want to take a step forward in the wide-open Coastal Division. The Tar Heels are the defending division champion and quarterback Mitch Trubisky had touchdown throws of 71 and 75 yards in a breezy 56-28 victory over James Madison over the weekend. Trubisky, however, isnt ready to say his team has a decided advantage while facing the 102nd ranked pass defense in the country.I think theyre a lot better than what theyve given up and I think theyre going to come in here very hungry so weve got to have a great week of practice if we want to do something like that, Trubisky said on Monday. I think theyre going to come in here with the mindset that theyre going to shut us down and really clean up what theyve got going on defense.Just dont expect any sort of major schematic overhaul. Narduzzi made his name by making Michigan States defense one of the best in the country while serving nearly a decade as defensive coordinator for Mark Dantonio and has instituted an aggressive approach in which the Panthers find exotic ways to bring pressure.Pitt can get to the quarterback. The Panthers are tied for fifth in the country in sacks (13) and tied the game in the third quarter against the Cowboys when Ejuan Price barreled into Rudolph and Matt Galambos returned the ensuing fumble 2 yards for a touchdown.The problem is what happens when the rush doesnt collapse the pocket.The (defensive) line definitely has to own some of that, Price said. We left the DBs out to dry and we have to own that.Maybe, but Narduzzi is well aware that the guys in the defensive backfield have to do their job too.They are on an island out there and eventually they have to make a play on the ball, he said. It doesnt really matter what the coverage is. Its hard to give them help all the time.---AP College Football site: www.collegefootball.ap.org Jerry Royster Jersey . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Philip Pfeifer Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/custom-darren-oday-jersey-large-1287z.html . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Dallas Keuchel Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. John Ryan Murphy Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Tim Duncan is so close to his first NBA championship in six long years that the Spurs star isnt worried about the little issue of being rusty once the finals actually start. "My sole focus is trying to get this done, trying to get another championship," Duncan said. "I dont care records; I dont care age. I dont care any of that stuff. I just want to do what I have to do to try to win a championship." San Antonio ended its six-year drought between NBA Finals by finishing a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies 93-86 on Monday night for its fifth Western Conference title. The first sweep in a conference final since the Nets beat Detroit in 2003 also earned the Spurs a nine-day break before Game 1 of the finals June 6. Duncan said the benefit will be the Spurs should be completely healthy with their legs underneath them. "Were going to be a little rusty starting the first game -- its just how it is," Duncan said. "Were going to try to figure out how to practice, how to stay sharp. But bottom line, were going to be a little rusty. Hopefully, we can shake that off real quick and get right back to our rhythm." All the Spurs worked hard to be just four wins away from adding a title to those won in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Duncan was the MVP of the first three of those finals, but hes now 37 and wrapping up his 16th season. Tony Parker said hes been doing his best to get Duncan back to this point for what might be the 6-foot-11 forwards final chance at a championship. He promised Duncan they would return after blowing a 2-0 lead in the conference finals a year ago to Oklahoma City, and speculation is picking up on whether this might be Duncans final season in the NBA. "I think everybody on the team, we really wanted to do it for him," Parker said. The Spurs now wait for Miami or Indiana to come out of the East after they swept two of their three opponents in the West. The Spurs took advantage of a three-day break in the conference finals to come into Memphis and beat a team that had lost only once on its home floor since Feb. 8. They could use some time off between games after a physical series with the Grizzlies. The Spurs helped clamp down on Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol with Duncan, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner and Boris Diaw all taking turns pushing the Grizzlies away from their favourite spots on the floor in disrupting their high-low game.dddddddddddd It worked quite well -- the Spurs outscored Memphis in the paint in the final three games. Randolph, who averaged at least 18 points in the first two playoff series, averaged only 11 against San Antonio. "I know our bigs, they have a lot of bruises," Parker said. "So its going to be great to rest. I know Timmy and Manu (Ginobili), theyre going to love the rest, and were going to regenerate and get ready for whoever were going to play." It wont be easy to remain in the rhythm that the Spurs used to drive repeatedly to the basket and pick apart Memphis on the pick-and-roll. Trying to keep that rhythm and stay in shape over the next week will not be fun, Bonner said. But this is where all the experience Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will come into play. "I cant say weve all been there before, but our three leaders have been in the finals multiple times, and theyre going to lead the way," Bonner said. That they have. The Spurs won the NBA title each of their previous four trips to the finals, and their win over Memphis improved them to 11-1 in closeout games since the 2007 post-season. Nobody in the NBA has been to the playoffs more than San Antonios current 16-year streak, and only the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL have had more consecutive post-season berths (22). Duncan and Popovich have been together for all of those 16 years, the longest in the NBA. Nobody currently in the league has won more games than Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, and their 458 wins have them fifth all-time in the league as a trio. Popovich said hes proud of these players and how hard theyve worked all year with newcomers such as Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green blending well with his veterans. He said these Spurs are a testament to sticking together. "If you stay the course and youve got leaders who are quality character people, you follow them as long as you can," Popovich said. "Ive been hanging on Timmys coattails for a long time." ' ' '