Beltran’s Homer Earns Cheers; Pagan’s Wins Game

With a full count and two outs in the fifth inning Wednesday night, Carlos Beltran walloped a pitch from the St. Louis right-hander Kyle McClellan. The ball soared far over the head of right fielder Jon Jay and dropped halfway into the second deck at Citi Field.

His home run merely tied the score in a game the Mets won, 6-5, on Angel Pagan’s 10th-inning home run, but the larger-than-usual crowd seemed to give Beltran’s 15th home run a louder-than-usual round of applause.

How many more Beltran home runs will Mets fans get to cheer?

With Plenty of Practice, Teenager Advances to Face Djokovic

The practice sessions, presumably, are over for now between Novak Djokovic, the player who is already a major champion, and Bernard Tomic, the 18-year-old who is hoping to become one.

 On Wednesday, Djokovic and Tomic will play for real in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

“You know, I think he has a respect for me; I’ve got a much bigger respect for him,” Tomic said in his low-key baritone drone that bears a certain sonic resemblance to Andy Murray’s.

But like Djokovic (and Murray) before him, Tomic, the young Australian with the unconventional game, is making his mark at the highest level and has now gone further at Wimbledon than either of them at age 18.

Cuban Makes the Most Noise With a Title

For years David Stern, the commissioner of the N.B.A., had collected fines from Mark Cuban, the Mavericks’ owner. On Sunday night, the 2011 N.B.A. finals served up one last irresistible subplot when Stern was called upon to present Cuban with the Larry O’Brien championship trophy.

The intrigue was enough to keep some dejected Heat fans rooted to their American Airlines Arena seats after the Mavericks’ title-clinching 105-95 victory in Game 6. Would the congratulatory moment contain all the warmth of a Bill Belichick midfield handshake with Eric Mangini?

In one final series twist, Cuban moved aside to let Don Carter, the Mavericks’ original owner, accept the trophy from Stern. Those few steps back by Cuban represented one giant leap forward for his public image.

The Mavericks’ star player, Dirk Nowitzki, used this postseason to shine and buff his reputation and legacy and, so, too, did Cuban. Gone were the petulant outbursts that cost him $250,000 in fines for acts of misconduct during the 2006 finals between the Mavericks and the Heat.

Woods to Miss U.S. Open

 Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he would not play in the United States Open next week at the Congressional Country Club near Washington.

Woods, who has been trying to rehabilitate his left knee and Achilles’ tendon, both of which were injured when he hit a shot during the third round of the Masters, said the injuries have not sufficiently improved.

“I am extremely disappointed that I won’t be playing in the U.S. Open,” Woods said in a statement posted on his Web site. “But it’s time for me to listen to my doctors and focus on the future. I was hopeful that I could play, but if I did, I risk further damage to my left leg.

“My knee and Achilles’ tendon are not fully healed,” he added. “I hope to be ready for the AT&T National, the next two majors and the rest of the year.”

Woods originally was diagnosed as having a Grade 1 sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee — on which he has had four surgeries, most recently to reconstruct his anterior cruciate ligament. A mild strain to his left Achilles’ tendon, which also had been injured previously, also was found.

The injuries occurred when Woods hit his second shot at the 17th hole of his third round at the Masters in April. His ball was on the pine straw beneath the Eisenhower tree left of the fairway, and his foot slipped during a vigorous swing that required him to substantially bend both knees.

He missed the Wells Fargo Championship four weeks later, then withdrew after nine holes of the Players Championship the next week. He said at that time that reports about the severity of the injury were exaggerated, and that he expected to be ready for the United States Open.

“It’s been a frustrating and difficult year, but I’m committed to my long-term health,” Woods said. “I want to thank the fans for their encouragement and support. I am truly grateful and will be back playing when I can.”

Obtained by: Larry Dorman

Collins Picks His Spots to Rant, but Doesn’t Hold Back

 Terry Collins burst into the Mets’ clubhouse after a dreary loss and ripped into his players. He told them they needed to perform better and could not become deflated and give up when they fell behind in a game, as they just had. Minutes later, he repeated the message to reporters and said the team needed to go 9-2 over its next 11 games.

But this wasn’t Wednesday night, when Collins did something similar, berating his team, after a 9-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and then barely controlling his anger as he answered questions from the news media.

This happened April 13, after a tough loss to the Colorado Rockies that left the Mets with a three-game losing streak. He was hoping his fiery words would inspire his players, but they did not. Instead, the Mets were swept in a doubleheader the next day, making a mockery of everything Collins intended.

The Mets also lost another doubleheader two days later, leaving them with seven losses in a row and a 4-11 record. Who knows how often during those two doubleheaders Collins wanted to storm back into the clubhouse and blow his stack again? But he couldn’t because his players might start tuning him out the way some did in Houston and Anaheim in his previous incarnations as a major league manager.

But the 62-year-old Collins cannot completely suppress the characteristics that make him who he is: an intense, combative, sometimes hot-headed and always hypercompetitive baseball man.