LOS ANGELES -- Yasiel Puig was scratched from the starting lineup after arriving late for the Los Angeles Dodgers home opener on Friday. Wholesale Blackhawks Jerseys . The rest of the team was already on the field stretching before batting practice while Puig was getting dressed in the clubhouse. He had been slated to start in right field for the afternoon game against the San Francisco Giants, who beat the Dodgers 8-4. "Im sincerely sorry," Puig said through a translator after the game, explaining that he didnt realize stretching and batting practice would be held so early with a 1 p.m. start. Puig said he apologized to manager Don Mattingly and his teammates, and they accepted. "They felt it was OK when I owned up to it and apologized," he said. "I felt bad I wasnt out there playing for all the fans." Instead, Matt Kemp replaced Puig in the lineup after manager Don Mattingly had earlier said Kemp wouldnt start. Kemp came off the disabled list on Friday after rehabilitating from left ankle and shoulder operations. He was limited to 279 games during the last two seasons because of injuries. Puig, last years runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year, was 5 for 20 through his first five games of the season. He wasnt used as a pinch-hitter because Mattingly said the situation didnt call for it. The Dodgers trailed 8-0 after two innings. Mattingly downplayed Puigs mistake. "He truly felt bad," the manager said. "You can tell by his body language; he doesnt hide things well." Mattingly said he thought not allowing Puig to play was more fitting punishment than fining him a couple hundred dollars. "He felt bad he wasnt here and I believe that," Mattingly said. "Hes a good kid. Does he have to grow up and get better? Yeah, but theres a lot of guys like that." It was the latest in a series of frustrations for the team involving Puig. Last week, Mattingly called a team meeting after the 23-year-old Cuban defector made two mistakes on the basepaths during the Dodgers opening two-game trip to Australia. The dynamic right fielder became an instant sensation last year when he made his big league debut in early June and helped lead the Dodgers from last to the NL West title. But Mattingly often was frustrated by Puigs decision-making in the field and on the bases. Puig twice was arrested for reckless driving last year, when his effort on the field also came into question at times. He went 5 for 22 (.227) with 10 strikeouts and committed defensive miscues against St. Louis in the NL championship series. He remains a fan favourite, but the Dodgers want to see Puig grow up, be consistent and show better judgment on and off the field. Catcher A.J. Ellis chalked Puigs mistake up to something that can happen to any player in the mix of day and night games. "Its one of these learning experiences," Ellis said. "Hes going to be fine. Im sure hell be very prompt and on time for the rest of his career, hopefully." Saturdays game against the Giants also starts at 1 p.m. "Ill be here early," Puig said. Blackhawks Jerseys 2021 . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide. Chicago Blackhawks Gear . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. https://www.cheapblackhawks.com/ . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench.(SportsNetwork.com) - The storied rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks will add a new chapter Sunday afternoon when the two teams meet for Game 7 of this Western Conference first round series at AT&T Center. For the second time in the Tim Duncan/Dirk Nowitzki era, these two perennial titans will clash in a Game 7. In the second round of the 2006 Western Conference playoffs, Dallas prevailed in the critical final game. Since Nowitzki turned the Mavericks into a title contender, they are 4-0 in Game 7s. Duncans Spurs have won four titles under his stewardship and his San Antonio team is 2-2 in Game 7s. This series finale will be in San Antonio, which owned the best record in the NBA this season. "You play the whole season to have a Game 7 at home," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. If the Mavs, who won Game 2 in San Antonio, prevail, it will mark the sixth time a No. 8 seed has bested a No. 1 seed. It will also be the second time the dubious distinction happened to the Spurs, who fell in round one three years ago to the Memphis Grizzlies. Game 7 is necessary because the Mavericks defended their home court in Game 6 Friday night. Monta Ellis led a fourth-quarter surge and finished with 27 points Friday as Dallas forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in San Antonio with a hard-fought 113-111 victory. Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points in crunch time, but nearly wiped it all away when he threw an ill-advised pass out of bounds with 1.3 seconds rremaining to give the Spurs one final look. Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys. Patty Mills off-balanced shot at the buzzer was well short and came after the clock struck zero. "My teammates just told me to be aggressive," Ellis said. "My team just believed in me, and I just had to go out there and respond." Nowitzki chimed in with 22 points and Dallas deep supporting cast came up with big plays down the stretch, notably former Spur DeJuan Blair. Parker netted 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs, who led 81-76 entering the fourth and appeared in control before the Mavs rattled off nine straight points midway through the frame. Ellis hit a go-ahead 3-pointer during the run and Blair, who was suspended for Game 5 after kicking Tiago Splitter in the head the previous game, capped it with a three-point play for a 97-92 Mavericks lead with 4:25 to play. After some sensational play from Parker, the margin was one. Dallas Vince Carter made it a three-point game with two free throws, and Blair picked off a Parker pass intended for Duncan under the basket, forcing the Spurs to foul the rest of the way. Dallas made 5-of-8 free throws and hung on despite Ellis head-scratching turnover in the closing seconds. The winner will meet the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. If its San Antonio, Game 1 of the conferences second round will be in Alamo City, but if Dallas prevails in Game 7, the series opener of the second round will be in Portland. ' ' '