FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots released veteran tight ends Jake Ballard and Daniel Fells in the first batch of final cuts. Now comes the really hard part. The Patriots released 10 players on Friday and must reduce their roster by 12 more to get down to the NFL regular-season limit of 53 by Saturday. Tim Tebow could be in jeopardy despite a decent performance in the Patriots 28-20 win over the New York Giants in the exhibition finale Thursday. The third-string quarterback completed 6 of 11 passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also was sacked four times but got poor protection on some of them. "Its not just one game (that matters)," coach Bill Belichick said Friday about the player evaluation process, "although every game is important. But the body of work, the camp, the rate of improvement, the ability to do the things that players are going to be asked to do at their respective positions (also matters)." Belichick spoke before the cuts were announced and gave no indication of which players he might let go. The cuts of Ballard and Fells indicate that Rob Gronkowski could be ready to play sooner than expected after missing all four exhibition games following back surgery. Hes one of three tight ends still on the roster. Tebow is one of three quarterbacks, playing behind Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett. Asked after Thursdays game if he felt that performance improved his chances of making the team, Tebow said, "Im not sure. I dont make those decisions." That decision will depend on whether Belichick feels it would help the Patriots more to have greater depth at another position than by carrying a third quarterback, something hes done just once in the past four seasons. "I dont think its good planning or good insurance for your team to go light at a position and then have no idea where your depth at that position is going to be," he said. "It may be on the roster. It may not be on the roster. But, at least, you want to have some idea where youre headed if you need it." That depth could come from players on the practice squad, the physically unable to perform list or free agents who arent on any team, Belichick said. "I think whenever you put a roster together you look at it and say, OK, were a little heavy here and were a little light here, relative to where your team has been in the past, or maybe relative to what the norm is around the league," he said. "But you do it because you feel you have a higher quality player at a certain position, or you just lack the overall depth at another position. "Thats going to happen somewhere on your roster every year." The Patriots released three other veterans -- defensive end Marcus Benard, wide receiver Johnathan Haggerty and linebacker Mike Rivera -- first-year offensive lineman Luke Patterson and four rookie free agents -- fullback Ben Bartholomew, defensive linemen Gilbert Pena and Scott Vallone and offensive lineman Matt Stankiewitch. The Patriots hoped Ballard could contribute this year when they claimed him off waivers from the Giants in 2012. Belichick knew the knee injury he sustained in the Super Bowl that year, a 21-17 win over the Patriots, would keep him out all last season. But Ballard didnt seem at full strength this summer and didnt catch any passes in exhibition games. Fells played 13 games last season after signing as a free agent from Denver and caught four passes. He had five receptions this preseason. Gronkowski is on the physically unable to perform list and, if he stays there, would have to miss the first six regular-season games. But hes been working out on the field in shorts and a T-shirt and could be ready early in the season. The other tight ends are rookie free agent Zach Sudfeld and Michael Hoomanawanui. The Patriots cut Aaron Hernandez on June 26 after he was arrested. Later that day, he was charged with murder. One decision involves the punter, where Zoltan Mesko had three solid seasons. But free-agent rookie Ryan Allen has had a good camp. "Its been competitive all the way through from the spring to training camp into the games," Belichick said. "We have to talk about that one." Dwayne Harris Raiders Jersey . Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. 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Since coming to the big leagues in late May, La Stella is 6 for 7 with the bases loaded, driving in 13 runs in those at-bats.After one of the greatest offensive halves in league history, the San Antonio Spurs will try to put a stranglehold on the NBA Finals when they visit AmericanAirlines Arena for Game 4 against the Miami Heat. You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. or listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto and TSN Radio 1260 Edmonton. The Spurs shot a Finals record 75.8 percent from the floor in the first half in Tuesdays Game 3. They blitzed the Heat during that first 24 minutes, building a 25-point lead at one point and posting a 111-92 victory. San Antonio registered 41 first-quarter points and led 71-50 after the first half. The Heat stormed back a bit in the third, but the Spurs were too much. They reclaimed homecourt advantage and snapped Miamis 11-game home winning streak in the postseason dating back to Game 1 of last years Finals. "We think we can win on every court. We have the best record on the road, and we love playing on the road. Sometimes I feel like we play better on the road than at home," Spurs guard Tony Parker said after practice on Wednesday. "So I dont think we had doubts that we can win in Miami. Now we realized it was a crazy game and were not going to play like that every night, thats for sure. But hopefully we can keep playing well." Kawhi Leonard was the hero for the Spurs on Tuesday with a career-high 29 points. Leonard, who had scored just 18 points over the first two games of the Finals, shot 10-of-13 from the floor and went 6-of-7 from the free throw line for the Spurs. "I was focused on both ends the first two games. I just got in some foul trouble. Wasnt really able to get into a rhythm, and Heat did a good job by playing aggressive on defense," said Leonard. "I just made shots last minute." In addition to his offensive output, Leonard served as the primary defender against LeBron James, who supplied 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals, but committed seven of Miamis 20 turnovers in the setback. Danny Greeen added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Parker and Tim Duncan contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the victory.dddddddddddd Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made a change to the starting lineup prior to Game 3, inserting Boris Diaw for Tiago Splitter. The decision paid off as Diaw didnt post flashy numbers (nine points, three assists), but he helped facilitate the offense. For the Heat, the loss was bad and ruined a chance at a perfect home record during the postseason, but all is not lost. Miami is 13-0 following a loss in the playoffs dating back to 2012. "Youre always on edge in the postseason, but I dont want to be concerned at this point," James said after practice on Wednesday. "For us we have to make the adjustments. We owned what we had to do today in the film session and well come in with a better mindset tomorrow. But that doesnt mean it results in a win, too. But we have to play with a little bit more focus and a little bit more challenge." Dwyane Wade finished with 22 points, while Rashard Lewis went 4-of-5 from 3- point range en route to 14 points for the Heat. Wade, playing in his 150th career postseason game, surpassed Dirk Nowitzki (3,455) for 17th place on the NBAs all-time postseason scoring list. Chris Bosh had a slow night with only nine points thanks to just 12 touches. Mario Chalmers continued to struggle badly. He finished with just two points and has 10 for the whole series. "You want him to know we still have faith in him, trust in him and we need him," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Wednesday. "And hes been able to play through tough times and been able to bounce back." Spoelstra indicated no lineup changes were forthcoming. The winner of Game 3 of a tied NBA Finals series has gone on to win the series 83 percent of the time (30-6). However, the Spurs won last years Game 3 with the set tied 1-1 and went on to lose in seven games to the Heat. Game 5 will be Sunday night back in San Antonio. 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