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MIAMI -- The last piece of confetti had landed, the Miami Heat championship celebration was officially over and many in the crowd of revelers were starting to make their way to the exits. Players and coaches remained on the stage. They were in no hurry to leave. Every member of the NBA champions stood and watched a giant video board play highlights of Miamis march through the playoffs, from LeBron James MVP-caliber plays on both ends to Ray Allens season-saving 3-pointer in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and countless moments in between. "Its a special group," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You know what? This season started over nine months ago with that trip to China and we were able to experience so many cool things together in the regular season. But at times, it just seems to be going by so fast." So maybe thats why the Heat arent ready to stop celebrating this title just yet. With an estimated 400,000 people lining the downtown Miami streets, the Heat held their parade and an in-arena rally afterward Monday. James stood atop a double-decker bus with a cigar in his mouth for the parade. Shane Battier blew kisses to the crowd, Dwyane Wade raised three fingers aloft and Chris Andersen flapped his arms in a nod to his "Birdman" moniker. "Its the ultimate," James told Sun Sports, the Heat broadcast partner. "Its the ultimate. This is what I came down here, to be able to have a parade at the end of the year. Im extremely blessed, man. It doesnt get any better than this." Several players held super-soaker squirt guns and sprayed water on fans, confetti dotted the streets, and horns honked from all directions. Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and team president Pat Riley stood in the front of one bus, while Spoelstra -- his championship cap turned backward -- waved and clapped at fans. "Miami parties better than any city in the world," Spoelstra said. "But it took nine months, nine months of incredible sacrifice, not only by these men right here but everybody in our organization, grinding it out every single day, ups and downs, highs and lows. And to have a culmination like Game 7 in front of all of you here is incredible." Wade said that without the fans, Miami wouldnt have found a way to win the title. "Its humbling. Its very humbling to be here," Wade said, gazing out at the enormous crowd. "I envision a lot of things. I cant say I envisioned this. This parade down Biscayne Boulevard was once a vision by Coach Riley and now weve taken this ride three times. Its special." When Riley got hired by the Heat, he talked at his introductory news conference about his vision of a parade down Biscayne Boulevard. It took Riley until 2006 to deliver on that hope, but now with three parades in eight seasons, the Heat are getting used to these celebrations. "Their names are going to be respected and honoured," Riley said. "And thats all we have. All we have is the name on the front of the shirt, which is the Heat, and the name on the back of the shirt. And thats why we play." Miami became the sixth franchise in NBA history to win consecutive championships, after topping the San Antonio Spurs in this years finals for the third title overall for the Heat franchise, needing a Game 7 to get it done. Wade and Udonis Haslem -- a Miami native who said "this is what its all about" -- are the only players to be part of all three titles, and Wade insisted Monday that the city is going to be his home now for good. "This is my home. Theyve treated me well since Day One," Wade said. "Ill be here for probably the rest of my life in this amazing city. I thank the Miamians for accepting me as one of their own." Miami needed to win Games 6 and 7 of the finals to capture the title, and needed a huge late comeback in Game 6 just to force the ultimate game. Down by five with less than a half-minute left in regulation, James and Ray Allen made 3-pointers -- Allens coming with 5.2 seconds left -- to force overtime, and the Heat ultimately prevailed to get into Game 7. "I have to say that is the biggest shot I ever hit in my career," Allen said. Along the parade route, one vehicle carried a number of uniformed military personnel. The Heat have honoured military members before every home game in Miami for the past several seasons. Police reported no major problems, and bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs were spotted working their way through the crowd. City officials banned fans from carrying backpacks, though several were spotted along the route and some people were searched randomly for security reasons. The huge crowds and parking difficulty did not seem to take away from the fans celebratory mood. "Its the excitement of something that doesnt come around too often, even though weve been lucky to experience it two years in a row," said Heat fan Blake Thames, who made the trip down from Palm Beach County. Some fans began arriving before sunrise Monday, and traffic into downtown was extremely heavy as people hoped to get close enough for a glimpse of the celebration. "It hasnt hit me yet," James said. "This is unbelievable to be a part of such a great franchise and to be able to go back-to-back." Players spent the weekend celebrating. Some are planning to start vacations later this week, while others will remain in South Florida for at least a few more days. "All the fans that were seeing here is who supported us throughout the whole season, man," James said. "This is the least we could do is ride through the city and show our appreciation." ------ Associated Press Writers Jennifer Kay and Kelli Kennedy in Miami contributed to this report. Where Can Buy Cheap Jerseys . 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"It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- No. 1 seed South Carolina womens soccer saw its historic season end in the NCAA Elite Eight after falling to second-seed North Carolina 1-0 Friday night at Stone Stadium. With the loss, the third-ranked Gamecocks finished the year at 21-2-1.After the Tar Heels opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, South Carolina had a tremendous chance at an equalizer in the early stages of the second half when it was awarded a penalty kick. Gamecock junior forward Savannah McCaskill set up the opportunity when she collected a long pass and raced into the right side of the box, where she was taken down. South Carolina senior striker Sophie Groff lined up for the kick and rifled a shot that was turned away by UNC goalkeeper Lindsey Harris near the left post.North Carolinas first-half tally came on a give-and-go play by forward Madison Schultz and midfielder Annie Kingman. Schultz slipped it to Kingman, who passed it right back to set the striker up near the top left corner of the box. Schultz collected the pass and chipped an arching shot into the top right corner of the net past the outstretched arms of Gamecock freshman goalkeeper Mikayla Krzeczowski.The Gamecocks saw several scoring chances early in the match, starting in the ninth minute when a ball in from midfield found Chelsea Drennan. The senior flicked a header towards a streaking McCaskill near the top of the box, but a UNC defender was there to cut off the pass. In the 15th minute, South Carolina was inches away from breaking through following a coorner kick from Drennan.dddddddddddd Her service in connected with McCaskill, who put a blistering header on target that was cleared off the line by a defender at the last second. Senior center back Kaleigh Kurtz alertly attempted to put home the rebound, but Harris was able to recover and make the save.Kurtz again nearly put the Gamecocks on the board the 41st minute when she tried her luck from distance near the left side of the box. The Greer, S.C., native fired a dipping attempt that sailed by Harris before dinging off the crossbar. South Carolina boasted a 9-8 shot advantage in the opening 45 minutes.The Gamecocks final quality bid for an equalizer came in the 63rd minute after another corner from Drennan. Her ball in found senior defender Paige Bendell, whose header fell to McCaskill deep inside the box. McCaskill one-timed a header that missed just wide right, and the ball went out for a goal kick.Krzeczowski totaled six saves on the night, including a huge stop in the 76th minute to keep the Gamecocks within one. A deflection in the attacking third left Schultz with a breakaway opportunity, and Krzeczowski alertly came off her line and threw her body in front of the shot to stifle the scoring chance.South Carolina outshot the Tar Heels 16-14 for the match and put nine attempts on frame. The Tar Heels held a slight 6-5 advantage in corner kicks and put seven shots on target. ' ' '