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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Scott Brooks has always valued his mothers toughness. Joe Flacco Nike Jersey . After his father left when he was not yet 2 years old, Lee Brooks raised him and his six older siblings by working multiple jobs, building and rebuilding automotive parts and working in the fields of Northern California. Even as a player and coach in the NBA, she held him to the highest of standards. She hates flying and refused to get on a plane to see his teams with one exception: the NBA finals. So Brooks payoff for guiding the Thunder past the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals was finally getting his 79-year-old mother to come to Oklahoma City to see them play. Game 1 of the finals will be Tuesday night in Oklahoma City, with either Miami or Boston paying a visit -- along with Brooks mother. "Thats going to be a great time in my familys life. Its just nice to have her around, and its going to be great," Brooks said Friday, when Thunder players were not required to practice but most were expected to drop by to work out. "My family will also be there, my wife and kids. "Its a great opportunity for all of us to kind of reflect on what weve done to get to this and who has helped us, because you dont get to this position by yourself." Brooks mother is among the teams most avid fans. She subscribes to NBA League Pass and frequently pulls up a stool in front of the television and yells at the screen during Oklahoma Citys games. She said last year that if she ever came to a game, she "might be thrown out." Lee Brooks has seen a few Thunder games in Sacramento, close to her home in Lathrop, Calif. She honoured her promise to come see her son play when he was on the Houston Rockets during their run to the 1994 NBA title. When he was hired as Oklahoma Citys coach in 2008, she didnt lower her standard a bit. "Its either finals or bust. Shes always been that way," Brooks said. "Shes tough. Shes as tough as nails. "If I had her toughness, I would have been a starter in the NBA instead of a backup." Brooks has credited his mother over the years for instilling in him the toughness, perseverance and unwillingness to quit for him to play 11 seasons in the league as an undersized point guard and then to earn his way as a coach. It all started with a work ethic. To make ends meet, his family used to work in the fields -- topping onions and picking walnuts -- and made it by on a "week to week" basis. He got better at basketball by sneaking into a community centre gym late at night to work out. Hed dribble a ball five blocks to get to the gym, then run back home because it was late and he was scared. Last summer, he held a free basketball clinic to give back at the gym -- which the city has named after him. "It takes a lot of people to get you to the position that you are as a player in the NBA and as a coach in the NBA," Brooks said. Now, hell get a chance to join a group including Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Bill Russell that has won championships as both a player and a coach. Dallas Rick Carlisle joined that fraternity last year. "Its an honour. Im blessed to be able to do what I do and to coach the group of guys that I have," Brooks said. "When youre a kid, you always dream about playing in the NBA and then winning a championship. "Now, I have the chance to do it as a coach. No complaints, no complaints, its a good life that we all have." Blaine Gabbert Jersey . -- Moving from California to frozen Montreal was just one of the adjustments Jamaican international goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts had to make when he was traded to the Impact in November. Steve Johnson Jersey . -- Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg played almost half of Wednesdays Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at St. Ray Lewis Jersey . STARS IN TORONTOIf there are two players on the Toronto Maple Leafs that will stand out as being Brian Burke acquisitions, it will be Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, two young players with star potential that had fallen out of favour with their previous teams. Derek Wolfe Jersey . The 19th-seeded Thornhill, Ont., native, will face a true clay test in the next round when he plays Argentinas Juan Monaco after the 13th seed defeated Czech Lukas Rosol 7-6 (4), 6-0, 7-6 (5). Tamba Hali Jersey . The Goldeyes have signed outfielder Dan Barbero and right-handed pitcher Brian Beuning, acquired right-handed pitcher Stephen Kahn from the Laredo Lemurs and placed infielder Amos Ramon on the inactive list, retroactive to June 17. TORONTO -- Dario Franchitti was trying to be polite. The defending champion at the Honda Indy Toronto wanted to give credit to the top qualifiers for giving themselves a shot at winning the race. But Franchitti couldnt ignore the man in the room who has challenged and beaten him at Exhibition Place more than anyone else in the past three years. "Theres a bunch of guys each week that you have to compete with and most of them are up here (in the top six). Unfortunately that group is getting bigger and bigger and its getting tougher," said Franchitti, before turning to rival Will Power. "But weve definitely been fighting tooth and nail for what is it, three years now?" "Yeah. Its good fun," replied Power. Franchitti won the pole in qualifying Saturday with a time of 59.3510 seconds to earn a chance of winning in Toronto for a fourth time. To do it, hell need to overcome the car next to him on the starting grid after Power rallied from a difficult day to qualify second in 59.3757. Power, the 2007 and 2010 champion, held the pole last year but was spun out and stalled by Franchitti during the race. Franchitti escaped the incident without penalty, which incensed Power, who was later knocked out of the race entirely by Canadas Alex Tagliani. This year, Power was relieved to finish second after struggling to post strong times through each round and being nudged out of pole position by Franchitti in the dying seconds of qualifying. "Were happy to start on the front row," he said. "Obviously we all know what this race is about. Plenty of crashing and bashing, so if we can survive that well be in good shape." Power lost his temper early Saturday when he locked tires with Simon Pagenaud in practice before being blocked by Takuma Sato in qualifying. "I gave (Pagenaud) the Australian go away when he came to apologize," said Power. "But its all good. Im not a racing queen, I dont know what happened there. He blocked me on the back straight and kind of ran into me, but its all good from my end. Im not out to get him or anything. I just want a good clean race and do the best with what Ive got." Justin Wilson earned the third spot, followed by Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon on the 11-turn, 2.824-kilometre street course ahead of Sundays 85-lap race. The top four hold seven titles in Toronto, with Wilson having won in 2005 and Bourdais topping the podium in 2004. Tagliani finished sixth in 59.5616 seconds, but the Lachenaie, Que., native will start 16th after being penalized 10 starting spots for changing an engine Friday. Elvis Dumervil Jersey. He said the result still gives him a chance to win the race for the first time. "I think you know you always try to do the best thing you can in qualifying," he said. "First of all the pit selection is important in every race so you have to get everything you can out of the car. I mean the 10-grid penalty, people had it in the past. "But this race is a race of survival and you can still make it to the front with different strategy, tires, so I dont think we can count ourselves out of the race just because we have that penalty." Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has won two races in a row, qualified seventh, followed by Helio Castroneves in eighth. Local favourite James Hinchcliffe finished ninth, but the Oakville, Ont., native will also start 10 spots back in 19th after incurring the same engine penalty as Tagliani on Friday. "Its tough out there, this is IndyCar, its a lot of good drivers and its only a tenth-of-a-second that sort of makes a difference," said Hinchcliffe. "Our big thing is we were using up our tires quicker than other guys. I think the second lap was always my quickest and I didnt have a chance to improve on that so its too bad. We have to take the penalty so well start 19th and see what we can do from there." Pagenaud, meanwhile, qualified tenth. Franchitti counted himself fortunate to win his third straight pole during an eventful, if often unlucky season. Despite winning his third Indianapolis 500 title in May, mechanical troubles have left the defending series champion eighth in the points race, 70 behind Power for the overall IZOD IndyCar lead. His poles at the Milwaukee IndyFest and the Iowa Corn Indy 250 ended in disaster when he failed to finish either race, with engine troubles keeping him out of Iowas race entirely. "All we can do is show up with a fast car and play the hand were dealt in a race," said Franchitti. "Its all we can do. ... You just got to roll with the punches and get on with it. But at least the Target cars are fast." Notes: Franchitti needs one more win to pass Bourdais and Torontos Paul Tracy for seventh on the all-time wins list. Franchitti heads into Sundays race with 31 career victories. ... The day started under the threat of rain after a morning downpour made for a wet track prior to the final practice, but qualifying ran under the sun in mild temperatures. ... Taglianis best result at Toronto was second place in 2001. Hinchcliffe finished 14th last year in his rookie season. ' ' '