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Another NASCAR milestone approaches as Jimmie Johnson chases fourth 600 title

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A win Sunday night would be Johnson's fourth in NASCAR's longest race, trailing only Darrell Waltrip's five spring victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

nascar-gen-6-car-design.jpgView full size 

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson is focused on chasing victory at the Coca-Cola 600. He says he's not thinking about his championship legacy.

A win Sunday night would be Johnson's fourth in NASCAR's longest race, trailing only Darrell Waltrip's five spring victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Johnson could also strengthen his series points lead with his third win this season as he chases his sixth Sprint Cup title. And a win would be a record seventh at Charlotte.

It's a resume already worthy of NASCAR's Hall of Fame-- perhaps even in the running for NASCAR's greatest driver -- but that is not something the 37-year-old Johnson is ready to think about.

"I just don't pay attention to it all," Johnson said. "It's very difficult to think about where I fit in while I'm still racing. I think of drivers' careers ending mid 40s. I still have 10 years or so to even think about that."

He's got plenty of others thinking about it as Johnson's milestones pile up. He captured his fourth Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte last week, a record.

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, a four-time Sprint Cup champion, called Johnson's career phenomenal.

Johnson had won several off-road racing titles when Gordon backed him to team owner Rick Hendrick. Johnson drove his first Sprint Cup race for the team in 2001 and joined the series full time the next season.

Combine Johnson's talent with Hendrick's resources and the skill of crew chief Chad Knaus and "the rest is really history in what his career has been and the numbers that he has put up I think speak for themselves," Gordon said.

Johnson's numbers at Charlotte speak very loudly, too. He won three straight Coca-Cola 600s from 2003 through 2005, a stretch that also included victories in the fall races in 2004 and 2005. Johnson won here in October 2009, tying Waltrip and Bobby Allison for the all-time mark of six Charlotte victories.

"How do I describe his career? Do we have that much time?" said Matt Kesenth, who leads the series with three victories this season.

Johnson believes his success in the non-points all-star race gives him confidence for Sunday. His winning All-Star car is still in NASCAR's technical section and the team couldn't get it back in time to run in the 600.

coca-cola-600-starting-grid.jpgView full size 

"We have a lot to work from, but it's still a new weekend," Johnson said. "(The) race is much different than before. We feel like we have a good direction and we'll see where things stack up at the end of the night on Sunday."

NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France gave an update on the sport's Gen-6 car, which was put in use this year and he says has brought tighter, closer racing to the tracks.

"That's the hallmark of NASCAR," France said. "We boldly say that. We don't talk about that's sort of part of it, that's the steak on the plate for us. Our fans have come to expect us to deliver on that that as much as possible."

Expect Johnson to get pressured from many fronts during the race.

Sprint Cup super power Joe Gibbs Racing has three cars among the top eight starters, including pole sitter Denny Hamlin, who led qualifying with a track record of 195.624 mph Thursday night. Kenseth, who won at Darlington two weeks ago, will start third while Kyle Busch starts eighth. Busch has won 11 times at Charlotte in the Nationwide and Truck series, but never on NASCAR's biggest stage.

Defending champion Kasey Kahne, Johnson's teammate, will start near the front in sixth.

Kurt Busch of Furniture Row Racing looked like he had taken his second straight pole after Darlington before Hamlin caught him by about five-hundreths of a second for the top spot. Kurt Busch led 69 of the first 73 laps at Darlington before fading to 14th. He'll give it another go Sunday night.

"We know we've got some good things going right now," he said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start at No. 11. He was on his way to victory in this race two years ago when he famously ran out of gas on the final lap and got passed by winner Kevin Harvick.

Danica Patrick is running her second Sprint Cup race at Charlotte. She finished 30th in 2012 and hoped to build on that in his first full season in the series. However, her engine was leaking oil during Saturday's first practice session and her team was going to change it out, moving her to the back of the field for Sunday night.

Johnson can't escape some critics. He jokingly took aim at them after his all-star win, saying he was simply "lucky."

"That's what people say. There's no talent involved, we just got lucky tonight," he said back on May 17.

If Johnson won't tout his achievements, others in the garage are happy to do it.

"People can say whatever they want about him, but I don't know how you can't say that he's not the best ever," Kenseth said.

Johnson will think about those sorts of accolades later on when he's finished winning races. There are too many standouts through the years, Johnson says, who have had wonderful careers and he's simply happy that his name is mentioned among them.

"We just have the questions and the conversations" about who's the greatest driver, Johnson said. "I'm glad we have those conversations in our sport."


Young, aggressive federal prosecutors lead investigation into Jimmy Haslam's Pilot Flying J

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Defense attorneys call David Lewen and Francis "Trey" Hamilton meticulously prepared and fair. Defense lawyers say the federal prosecutors seldom back down, a trait that will help them as they investigate the inner workings of a company that is ingrained in the culture of Knoxville, Tenn., and has garnered the interest of fans in Cleveland and executives with the NFL. No one has been charged in the investigation.

haslams.jpgBrowns owner Jimmy Haslam speaks with reporters last month about his family's business, Pilot Flying J. 

Two young federal prosecutors who have tackled high-profile cases and have been lauded for their legal skills are leading the government's investigation into Browns owner Jimmy Haslam's family business, Pilot Flying J.

Defense attorneys call David Lewen and Francis "Trey" Hamilton meticulously prepared and fair. Defense lawyers say the federal prosecutors seldom back down, a trait that will help them as they investigate the inner workings of a company that is ingrained in the culture of Knoxville, Tenn., and has garnered the interest of fans in Cleveland and executives with the NFL. No one has been charged in the investigation.

In the six weeks since federal agents raided Pilot Flying J in Knoxville, Haslam has gone on the offensive, refusing to stay quiet as the FBI and IRS investigate a company rebate scheme that lawsuits say withheld tens of millions of dollars from trucking companies.

Haslam has told reporters that he knew nothing of the scheme, a statement that is contradicted by an FBI affidavit that claims he knew about it from sales meetings. He pledged to correct botched discounts with trucking companies by making internal changes and reaching out to executives with payments, a move he said would go toward fixing the sullied image of his company.

Prosecutors, however, have said nothing. U.S. Attorney Bill Killian's office will not give even the most basic information about the case or its prosecutors. Lewen and Hamilton, as well as a spokeswoman for the office, did not return calls seeking comment.

But interviews with defense lawyers and a review of court records and several high-profile cases offer a glimpse of the prosecutors handling a case that could affect Haslam's family business and his NFL franchise.

"They're thorough prosecutors, very meticulous," said James Bell, a longtime Knoxville defense attorney.

Defense attorney Hugh Ward, a former federal prosecutor who worked with Lewen and Hamilton in the Knoxville U.S. Attorney's office, agreed: "They're excellent prosecutors, very knowledgeable and very diligent. Both are good people, personally. They're top of the line."

Based on their past work, the matching of Lewen and Hamilton on the case appears somewhat unusual.

Lewen is a former military lawyer who often serves as a prosecutor of major drug crimes. Though there is no hint of drugs involved in the investigation of Pilot Flying J, defense attorneys say the fact that Lewen is in the case speaks about the case's complexity and his skills.

He has years of experience dealing with the hierarchy of drug gangs -- the layered organization of cocaine and marijuana kingpins and their slingers. Public records list his age as 37.

Hamilton handles white-collar crime, though he has done other criminal cases, as well. Records list his age as 41. Both have taken on high-interest cases.

In 2009, Hamilton prosecuted Steven Archer, who the prosecutor said became incensed that a black man lived with a white woman. A jury convicted Archer a year later of civil rights violation for placing a 7-foot burning cross in the neighbors' yard. In a sentencing memo, Hamilton blasted Archer's racism and refusal to admit what he had done.

"Despite this overwhelming evidence of (Archer's) racial animus in setting fire to the cross -- itself a universally accepted act and symbol of racial animosity -- (Archer) refused to accept responsibility for his commission of a federal civil rights offense and contended during trial that he burned the cross for a reason other than race," Hamilton wrote in court documents.

A judge sentenced Archer to six months in prison and six months in a halfway house.

Bell, the defense attorney who represented Archer, praised Hamilton's professionalism and tenacity. Others say the same about Lewen.

"He's tough but fair," said Michael Cabage, a defense attorney. "He's not going to grant you mercy just to grant you mercy. He is going to prosecute you to the fullest extent. I've never heard a bad thing said about him, other than defense attorneys whining that he is too tough."

Take the case of Daniel "Dan-Dan" Cole.

Last year, Lewen urged a judge to sentence Cole to 41 years in prison -- a sentence so severe that it is almost unheard of in federal courts -- for running a methamphetamine and painkiller business in Eastern Tennessee that he protected with weapons. Cole had pleaded guilty to the drug charges.

"Such a sentence would also protect the public from future crimes of (Cole)," Lewen wrote in court documents. "(Cole) is a repeat drug dealer and violent thief, and he manifested an explicit and unequivocal intent in this case to escalate his crimes through the use of lethal force in the course of his drug dealing in Tennessee. The threat that this defendant's activity poses to the public cannot be seriously disputed."

A judge agreed and sentenced Cole to 41 years.

A drug prosecutor switching to work on complex cases occurred in Cleveland in the early 2000s. The U.S. Attorney's office moved Ronald Bakeman from major drug crimes, where he oversaw cases that used wiretaps, to a terrorism case. And in Knoxville, which has a smaller U.S. Attorney's office than Cleveland, pairing two prosecutors with different backgrounds can become necessary.

"It is probably because of (Lewen's) experience in complex cases," said John Sammon, a former IRS criminal agent and a retired federal prosecutor in Cleveland.

Sammon said that complicated drug cases with several defendants are often similar to white-collar prosecutions.

"You work from the bottom to the top," he said.

At least a few of Haslam's employees have retained defense attorneys, lawyers in the case said. Tom Ingram, a spokesman for Haslam, said the Browns owner and CEO has retained a team of attorneys, "some of whom have done criminal defense work." Ingram has stressed that Haslam had no idea of the scheme.

It is unclear when the investigation will be completed, and some expect it to take months for federal agents to process what they have seized from Pilot Flying J.

Until then, Lewen and Hamilton will oversee a case that has interest far beyond Knoxville, to Browns fans and the offices of the NFL.

Is Asdrubal Cabrera the right choice to bat third for the Cleveland Indians? Hey, Hoynsie!

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The Tribe may be well above .500 in late May, but there remain plenty of questions in Paul Hoynes' mailbag.

Hey, Hoynsie: How long will Terry Francona leave Asdrubal Cabrera in the No. 3 spot before considering moving him down to sixth or seventh? He seems to be hitting into a lot of double plays and stranding or not advancing runners. -- Bob Price, Erie, Pa.

Hey, Bob: I don't anticipate that happening. If you want insight into how Francona manages, check out how he kept Jason Kipnis at the top of the order when he struggled in April. Francona believes patience is a virtue.

Hey, Hoynsie: Jason Kipnis. Wow was I wrong! I guess it's not a sophomore slump. I did let my early-season thoughts go to my head. -- Mariah Freeman, Marion

Hey, Mariah: Don't feel bad, everybody does it. You wouldn't be a fan if you didn't. The thing with baseball is that the season is so long that you can never climb too far out on the limb because it's liable to break.

Hey, Hoynsie: Most fans feel the writing is on the wall for Asdrubal Cabrera to be traded. So I was wondering, if the Indians traded him to St Louis, any chance Oscar Taveras and/or Michael Wacha (who I thought they should have drafted) would be included? If not who would they want from St Louis? -- Brad Shaub, Los Angeles

Hey, Brad: Why would the Indians trade him now when they're playing well and contending?

Hey, Hoynsie: Following up the recent question about the odds of re-signing Mark Reynolds. Is it safe to assume that the Tribe is at its payroll ceiling, and will need to shed a contract to make room for a potential deal to keep Reynolds, not to mention long-term deals for Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley? If so, do you think there is a chance they may look to move Michael Bourn after the season for prospects? As nice as it is to have him, seems like he may be the easiest of our high-dollar players to replace with the current ensemble. Reynolds looks like the best of our off-season haul so far, love his power and clutch hitting. -- Eric Kennerk, Bay Village

Hey, Eric: Not only are you working overtime, you're making me tired. It's still May. Sit back and enjoy the game before redoing the whole roster.

Hey, Hoynsie: Think of the ramifications when using an eight-man batting order. No DH and no pitcher hitting. More quality at-bats for hitters, also less chance of injury to pitchers while they bat. It would create a third way to manage a game. Futuristic, eh? -- Lauren Sparow, Lakewood

Hey, Lauren: I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

Chris Perez: Cleveland IndiansView full sizeChris Perez hasn't had a lot of reasons to be smiling in the last week, and that is irritating some Tribe fans. 

Hey, Hoynsie: Why is it OK for Chris Perez to shoot his mouth off about ownership, the fans, and seemingly anything else that crosses his mind and then act like a petulant child when a sportswriter presses him about blowing a two-run lead? How could he have possibly won the Good Guy award in 2011? -- Rory Wohl, Chagrin Falls

Hey, Rory: Look, I don't care if a player snaps at me after a bad performance. It comes with the territory and shows some fire. Cleveland's Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association doesn't just give the Good Guy award to the most friendly guy. Sometimes it goes to the guy who gives us the best quotes or who is always available to answer questions after a game win or lose.

Perez is always interesting to talk to and is always at his locker following a save or blown save.

Hey, Hoynsie: I am a big fan and love our great start, but still feel the Tigers have an advantage in starting pitching. Is it realistic for Tribe fans to hope for Cliff Lee and his $25 million contract to return to Cleveland and be a solid 1-2 punch with Justin Masterson or am I just dreaming? -- Ken Lasky, Brooklyn Heights

Hey, Ken: Sweet dreams.

Hey, Hoynsie: Saw the postgame interview with Chris Perez after he gave up those two homers in the blown save vs. Seattle. Shockingly, he was not exactly professional. Does Nick Swisher or Jason Giambi pull him aside for a chat? Or is it so routine for him anymore no one notices? -- Nick Kynyk, Dublin

Hey, Nick: Sometimes ballplayers get upset with their performance. Sometimes the 10-minute cooling-off period before they open the locker room isn't enough. Sometimes they don't like the questions reporters ask. I don't think many baseball players go to charm school. If they're unhappy, you usually know it. It's just part of the gig.

Hey, Hoynsie: Are the Indians trying to break the record for most player transactions in a year? They were averaging nearly a move every day for most of the season. I never remembered a team being so active. It seems like manager Terry Francona and the Indians' top brass are treating every game like it's Game Seven of the World Series. Trust me, I have no complaints, just wondered if I'm imagining all this? -- John Siko, Garfield Heights

Hey, John: No, you're not imagining it. The first two months of the season have been a blur of moves. Francona keeps saying it's not as crazed as it looks. Some of the moves are made so players such as Nick Hagadone can get the repair work he needs in the minors instead of struggling in the big leagues. Still, it's hard to keep pace.

Hey, Hoynsie: I have not seen Francisco Lindor or Alex Lavisky in any of the minor-league box scores. Are they both injured? -- Ali Meyer, Chagrin Falls

Hey, Ali: Lavisky has a broken toe and is rehabbing in Goodyear, Ariz. Lindor is playing every day at Class A Carolina.

Hey, Hoynsie: To my great dismay, the Indians are using "Day O" over the PA system as some sort of half-baked rallying cry. Two questions. Why do they want to imitate the Yankees? And, more importantly, how did "Day O" ever come to be construed as some sort of inspirational cheer? It's from an old Harry Belafonte song. -- Kevin Kolke, Strongsville

Hey, Kevin: I've always felt that you pick your battles. This is one I chose not to fight. But I do love the Banana Boat song: "Six foot, seven foot, eight foot, bunch. Daylight coming ..."

Hey, Hoynsie: Why is Jason Giambi still at DH, given his diminished skills and a batting average below the Mendoza line? Isn't there anyone in Columbus that would be an upgrade? -- Robert Raiz, Cleveland Heights

Hey, Robert: Terry Francona feels Giambi brings more to the Indians than his bat, so you'll have to take it up with him.

Hey, Hoynsie: Do you think there is any chance the Indians resign Mark Reynolds before the end of the season? Given his hot start, I'm sure there will be plenty of teams willing to pay him, but I'm hoping we can sign him to a multi-year deal. -- Steve Jason, Los Angeles

Hey, Steve: I'm sure there will be some discussions, providing Reynolds continues to be a productive player, but I'd be surprised if anything happened before the end of the year.

Hey, Hoynsie: This has been one of the most exciting years in a while, but I am a little concerned about the starting pitching. Will there be any trades to get a big-time starting pitcher? -- Yanni S, Beachwood

Hey, Yanni: First the Indians will test their own pitchers: Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. If they aren't the answer, and the rotation is a problem, then they'll start talking trade.

Hey, Hoynsie: With the terrific play of Yan Gomes, is Lou Marson about to be Wally Pipped? -- Gene La Suer, Des Moines, Iowa

Hey, Gene: No doubt, Gomes has played well. As for Marson, first he has to get his sore right shoulder healthy. He does have an option left so he could be sent to Class AAA Columbus.

Hey, Hoynsie: After watching the two-game series with the Tigers, it just seems like the Tribe is still a few players away from being serious contenders. Would you agree? -- Thomas Ryan, Fostoria

Hey, Thomas: No team is perfect and I believe the Tigers are still the team to beat. But when the Indians went to Detroit and took two out of three from the Tigers, what were your thoughts then? It's a long season and the two teams are going to play each other 14 more times.

Hey, Hoynsie: How is Matt Laporta doing so far this season? -- Frank Piontek, Plains, Pa.

Hey, Frank: LaPorta is hitting .294 (15-for-51) with three doubles, four homers and eight RBI in 14 games at Class AAA Columbus. Going into the weekend, he'd made nine starts at first base.

-- Hoynsie

Tribe made Jon Lester work, but couldn't get the win: Cleveland Indians Chatter

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Indians had a chance to get a rare win against the Red Sox lefty, but couldn't hold on.

boston-lester-trib-2013-ap.jpgView full sizeJon Lester may not have been at his very best Saturday, but the Boston lefty still impressed the Indians. 

BOSTON -- Seen and heard after Saturday's game at Fenway Park.

Clubhouse confidential: The Indians made lefty Jon Lester put in an honest day's work, but they couldn't beat him.

They reached him for four runs and 10 hits in seven innings. They made him throw 124 pitches, third most in his career. When Lester left, the Indians held a 4-3 lead, but the Red Sox rallied for a 7-4 victory to get him off the hook.

"Lester is a good pitcher," said Michael Brantley, who had two hits against him. "We had quality at bats against him, but unfortunately we didn't come out with the W."

Lester is 6-1 lifetime against the Tribe.

Sticky fingers: Manager Terry Francona has no problem with pitchers who use pine tar or rosin.

"So much more often than not it's guys trying to get a better grip on the ball," said Francona. "The days of Gaylord Perry I think are long gone.

"You want the pitcher to have the best grip. Even on the other team, you want them to get the best grip so they're not whacking one of our guys."

Stat of the day: Vinnie Pestano was the first Indians' reliever to lose a game this season when he was charged with Saturday's loss. The relievers were 8-0 with a 3.40 ERA before Pestano allowed four runs in the eighth inning.

Extra umpire sounds like a good idea to Terry Francona: Cleveland Indians Insider

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Terry Francona thinks a fifth umpire being added to each crew in the big leagues is a win-win situation for all parties.

BOSTON -- Terry Francona is in favor of a fifth umpire being added to each crew working in the big leagues.

He thinks it would give them an umpire in the sky to help the four on the field make the right calls during a game. Remember, this is coming from a manager whose team benefited from Angel Hernandez's missed call on what should have been a game-tying homer by Oakland's Adam Rosales on May 8.

"A fifth umpire would give them a built-in day off because those guys get beat up," said Francona before Saturday's 7-4 loss to Boston. "He could also be the official scorer. He could have monitors in front of him so he's seeing exactly what we see.

"There are a lot of games when both dugouts are complaining about balls and strike calls. This way they could have the communication on the field. Whether it's a teaching tool after the game where the fifth umpire could say, 'Hey, your strike zone wasn't very good tonight.' Or he could say, 'They (the two teams) were complaining about nothing.'"

Francona said the fifth umpire could help the plate umpire during the game.

"Maybe he could tell a guy after the inning, 'Hey, you better tighten up your zone,'" said Francona, adding it would be a win-win situation.

"You've got the umpires getting the same view we are," he said. "If there are plays in question, and I'm not sure how that would work, they could go, 'Hey, you got the play wrong.'"

Commissioner Bud Selig has said the use of replay will be expanded in 2014. Of course, that's been said before. As for the details of how to make it work, Francona said, "I'll let the people who are a lot smarter than me figure that out."

He does have an answer to the old guard who say the use of replays will take the human element out of the game.

"I do like the part about humans being involved in the game," said Francona. "But having one more human [as the fifth umpire] might make it even better."

Forget about it: Jason Giambi is 42 and in an 0-for-24 slump. Is there a link between Giambi's age that fact that he hasn't had a hit since May 9.

"Bleep, no," said Francona. "I'll tell you what, ask me that when he's 44. I think he's got himself in a position lately where his bat speed is better. He was battling a [stiff] neck for a while and getting in position where he couldn't show his bat speed.

"I actually think he's feeling better about himself. I think that's why he's mad."

Giambi is hitting .150 (9-for-60) with three doubles, two homers and 12 RBI.

Bronx-bound: The Yankees claimed left-hander David Huff on outright waivers Saturday. Huff will join the Yankees' big-league club.

Huff was designated for assignment on Thursday when the Indians recalled lefty Scott Barnes. He made three appearances with the Tribe this year, posting a 15.00 ERA, while allowing five runs on seven hits in three innings. He struck out five and walked one.

The Indians selected Huff with their first pick in the 2006 draft. He had his best year as a rookie, going 11-8 with a 5.61 ERA in 2009. After that he had trouble staying in the big leagues.

Thank you: GM Chris Antonetti returned to Cleveland on Saturday morning. He came to Boston on Thursday when Francona returned to Fenway Park for the first time as an opposing manager after leading Red Sox for eight years and two World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

"I appreciated that more than anybody will ever know," said Francona. "I know Chris is getting ready for the draft. I know he's busy. And I know why he came. It meant a lot to me.

"He didn't say anything to me about it. I know he came for moral support because I had some anxiety."

Finally: The Indians' 7-4 loss was their first this season when they led after seven innings. ... Scott Kazmir's five-and-fly performance was his 26th start against the Red Sox. Only Roy Halladay and Andy Pettitte, among active pitchers, have more.

Northeast Ohio high school sports scoreboard for Saturday, May 25, 2013.

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Baseball District tournamentfinals

Baseball

District tournamentfinals

DIVISION I

EUCLID DISTRICT

Mayfield001 000 0-- 1 5 0

Mentor000 012 x-- 3 6 0

May (12-16): Schreiber (L). Men (22-5): McClure (W, 9-1).

Notable: Eiswerth (Men) Sac, RBI.

HUDSON DISTRICT

Hudson000 000 0-- 0 0 2

Brunswick021 000 x-- 3 7 1

H: Saran (L). B (21-9): Michalik (W, 6-1).

Notable: Salisbury (B) 2B, 3B.

LORAIN DISTRICT

Avon Lake330 000 0-- 6 8 0

Midview000 000 0-- 0 6 0

AL: Morrissette (W, 4-1). M: Stephenson (L).

Notable: Morrissette CG, 1-4, 2 RBI.

STRONGSVILLE DISTRICT

St. Ignatius001 010 0-- 2 3 0

Normandy001 000 0-- 1 5 2

SI (24-6): Margevicius (W, 8-0). N (16-13): Marano (L, 3-3).

Notable: Khoury (SI) 2-3, R.

DIVISION IV

EUCLID DISTRICT

Fairport000 000 0-- 0 1 0

Cuyahoga Hts.000 110 x-- 2 4 1

F: Dennison (L). Lowther (CH) 7-2).

Notable: Denner (CH) 2B, RBI.

Softball

District tournament

DIVISION III

N. RIDGEVILLE DISTRICT

Independence001 000 0--1 6 2

Columbia011 000 x--2 4 2

I (10-8): Sirna (L, 7-3). C (26-4): Minarchick (W, 11-1). HR: Kunath (C).

Notable: Kunath 1-1, 2-BB, R, RBI.

Boys track

District meet

DIVISION II

LAKEVIEW DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 129; 2. Lakeview 89; 3. Woodridge 801/4; 4. (tie) Garrettsville Garfield, Mooney 67; 6. Crestwood 63; 7. Streetsboro 361/4; 8. Liberty 33; 9. Hubbard 241/4; 10. Champion 231/4; 11. Newton Falls 22; 12. Girard 11; 13. Pymatuning Valley 10; 14. LaBrae 4.

Shot put: 1. Anderson (GG) 50-71/4 (district record); 2. Jones (Hubbard) 49-31/4; 3. Lowther (Lakeview) 48-81/4; 4. Penza (Mooney) 48-7. High jump: 1. Bishop (Champion) 6-1; 2. Radwanski (GG) 6-0; 3. Workman (GG) 6-0; 4. Lessears (Woodridge) 6-0. Pole vault: 1. Sprague (CVCA) 13-6 (district record); 2. Miller (Lakeview) 12-0; 3. Harris (CVCA) 12-0; 4. Harte (PV) 10-0. 110H: 1. Carroscia (CVCA) 14.85; 2. Thurman (Woodridge) 15.49; 3. Staton (Newton Falls) 15.75; 4. McCann (Woodridge) 15.75. 100: 1. Britt (Mooney) 11.24; 2. Helms (Liberty) 11.26; 3. Fannin (Crestwood) 11.45; 4. Franklin (Streetsboro) 11.45. 4x200: 1. Mooney 1:30.44; 2. CVCA (Dunkley, Schwarz, Kortze, Mosher) 1:32.57; 3. Streetsboro (Rancher, Williams, Franklin, Williams) 1:32.58; 4. Crestwood (Fenrich, Spurlock, Daugherty, Fannin) 1:35.56. 1,600: 1. Adams (CVCA) 4:27.72 (district record); 2. Harris (Lakeview) 4:30.04; 3. Fitzgerald (Crestwood) 4:32.58; 4. LeBay (CVCA) 4:33.70. 4x100: 1. Mooney 44.35; 2. Lakeview 45.02; 3. CVCA (McLean, Mosher, Dorrell, Dunkley) 45.49; 4. Streetsboro (Burton, Williams, McMiller, Franklin) 45.51. 400: 1. Kortze (CVCA) 50.31; 2. Williams (Streetsboro) 50.34; 3. Helms (Liberty) 50.77; 4. Peakes (Mooney) 51.89. 300H: 1. Carroscia (CVCA) 38.86 (district record); 2. Radwanski (GG) 40.41; 3. Hall (Lakeview) 40.97; 4. McCann (Woodridge) 41.59. 800: 1. Adams (CVCA) 1:58.02 (district record); 2. LeBay (CVCA) 2:00.88; 3. Faiken (Woodridge) 2:01.03; 4. Harris (Lakeview) 2:01.11. 200: 1. Coleman (Mooney) 22.99; 2. Fannin (Crestwood) 23.20; 3. Williams (Streetsboro) 23.58; 4. Bryant (Girard) 23.82. 3,200: 1. Wojcik (Woodridge) 9:56.28 (district record); 2. Frederick (Woodridge) 9:59.25 (district record); 3. Richmond (Liberty) 10: 05.91; 4. Bockoven (CVCA) 10:06.83. 4x400: 1. CVCA (Adams, Schwarz, Carroscia, Kortze) 3:26.90; 2. Crestwood (Klock, Kager, Stephens, Spurlock) 3:32.67; 3. Woodridge (Spreitzer, Jenkins, Dryer, Faiken) 3:34.21; 4. Hubbard 3:34.51.

MIDVIEWDISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Orrville 100; 2. WS Northwestern 94; 3. Norwayne 83; 4. Holy Name 65; 5. Triway 571/2; 6. Vermilion 491/2; 7. Firelands 461/2; 8. Buckeye 381/2; 9. Elyria Catholic 33; 10. Chippewa 31; 11. Black River 29; 12. Lutheran West 12; 13. Clearview 10; 14. Keystone 9; 15. Brookside 31/2; 16. Wellington 1.

Shot put: 1. Zimmely (Norwayne) 50-91/4; 2. Karres (Vemilion) 50-1; 3. Miller (Orrville) 49-7; 4. Kearney (Triway) 47-01/2. High jump: 1. Stair (Triway) 6-81/2 (meet record); 2. Infield (Orrville) 6-2; 3. Lewis (Vermilion) 5-10; 4. Wintrow (Chippewa) 5-10. 110H: 1. Lyons (Orrville) 15.38; 2. Infield (Orrville) 15.43; 3. Smith (Holy Name) 15.89; 4. Dodge (Firelands) 15.94. 100: 1. Yoder (WSNW) 10.79; 2. Husain (Holy Name) 10.88; 3. Smiley (Holy Name) 11.09; 4. Rankin (Elyria Catholic) 11.12. 4x200: 1. Norwayne (Gore, Zimmerly, Harris, Beery) 1:29.31 (meet record); 2. WSNW (Duncan, Nolletti, Smith, Yoder) 1:30.24 (meet record); 3. Orrville 1:30.44; 4. Triway 1:32.31. 1,600: 1. Jeffers (Firelands) 4:32.17; 2. Beger (WSNW) 4:34.91; 3. Kazek (Black River) 4:37.70; 4. Masella (Holy Name) 4:41.43. 4x100: 1. WSNW 43.64; 2. Norwayne 43.93; 3. Triway 45.02; 4. Black River (Varney, DeMarco, Berard, Phillips) 45.59. 400: 1. Beery (Norwayne) 49.87; 2. Coleman (Orrville) 50.60; 3. Kearney (Triway) 53.09; 4. Bacisin (Black River) 53.16. 300H: 1. Gore (Norwayne) 40.96; 2. Schwensen (Vermilion) 41.02; 3. Dodge (Firelands) 41.29; 4. Lyons (Orrville) 41.32. 800: 1. White (Orrville) 1:59.29; 2. DePauw (Holy Name) 2:02.13; 3. Berger (WSNW) 2:04.14; 4. Wertz (Norwayne) 2:06.02. 200: 1. Yoder (WSNW) 22.04; 2. Jhusain (Holy Name) 22.22; 3. Koza (Lutheran West) 22.59; 4. Smiley (Holy Name) 22.74. 3,200: 1. Gallagher (Buckeye) 9:57.72; 2. Kazek (Black River) 10:09.42; 3. Amato (Elyria Catholic) 10:12.78; 4. Stout (Chippewa) 10:13.67. 4x400: 1. Norwayne 3:28.58; 2. Orrville 3:29.06; 3. Triway 3:37.62; 4. Firelands (Adkins, Reynolds, Jeffers, Ruffner) 3:39.

PERRYDISTRICT (A)

How they finished: 1. Chagrin Falls 107; 2. Perry 77; 3. Benedictine 75; 4. Hawken 69; 5. Buchtel 61; 6. Warrensville Heights 60; 7. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 58; 8. Grand Valley 44; 9. Cleveland Central Catholic 43; 10. Fairview 39; 11. Beachwood 23.

Discus: 1. Woods (Buchtel) 148-11 (district record); 2. Marabito (Hawken) 124-8; 3. Oscar (Grand Valley) 122-2; 4. Goebel (Chagrin Falls) 121-6. Long jump: 1. Hurd (Perry) 22-4 (district record); 2. Harkey (Hawken) 21-41/2; 3. B. Munday (Chagrin Falls) 21-3; 4. Farmer (Warrensville) 20-63/4. Pole vault: 1. Lauria (Perry) 13-0; 2. Beyer (Perry) 11-0; 3. Berry (Hawken) 11-0; 4. Calabrese (Benedictine) 10-0. 110H: 1. DeMoss (Warrensville) 15.14 (district record); 2. Sullins (Beachwood) 15.36; 3. Glanton (Benedictine) 15.80; 4. Pilarczyk (Grand Valley) 15.99. 100: 1. Hurd (Perry) 11.46; 2. Blatnik (NDCL) 11.60; 3. Clark (Benedictine) 11;65; 4. Brown (CCC) 11.67. 4x200: 1. Warrensville (Farmer, Johnson, Edwards, DeMoss) 1:32.34; 2. Buchtel (Mosley, Gaiter, Davis, Skipper) 1:33.23; 3. Benedictine (Clark, Allen Glanton, bottoms) 1:34; 4. Hawken (Drockton, Floyd, Estrin, Harkey) 1:34.31. 1,600: 1. Beebe (NDCL) 4:33.15 (district record); 2. Bistritz (Chagrin Falls) 4:33.86 (district record); 3. Berry (Hawken) 4:34.33 (district record); 4. Gessic (Perry) 4:39.15. 4x100: 1. Chagrin Falls (Munday, Wallace, Iammarino, B. Munday) 43.26 (district record); 2. Buchtel (Mosley, Skipper, Gissendaner, Davis) 44.69; 3. Perry (Cooper, Beyer, Hurd, Z. Hurd) 45.38; 4. Warrensville (Kirby, Farmer, Johnson, Diaz) 45.62. 400: 1. Bottoms (Benedictine) 49.92; 2. King (CCC) 51.20; 3. Gaiter (Buchtel) 52.66; 4. Edwards (Warrensville) 52.76. 300H: 1. DeMoss (Warrensville) 39.70; 2. Sullins (Beachwood) 40.90; 3. Hart (Grand Valley) 41.72; 4. Glanton (Benedictine) 41.85. 800: 1. Beard (Fairview) 1:59.96 (district record); 2. Stoner (CCC) 2:02.62; 3. Stapulionis (Chagrini Falls) 2:04.11; 4. Bryant (Chagrin Falls) 2:04.21. 200: 1. Munday (Chagrin Falls) 22.42; 2. Bottoms (Benedictine) 22.66; 3. Hurd (Perry) 22.69; 4. King (CCC) 23.12. 3,200: 1. Berry (Hawken) 10:03.27 (district record); 2. Frandanisa (NDCL) 10:03.45 (district record); 3. Beebe (NDCL) 10:25.71; 4. Sampsel (Chagrin Falls) 10:30.31. 4x400: 1. Warrensville (Farmer, Edwards, Johnson DeMoss) 3:30.13; 2. Chagrin Falls (Iammarino, Wynveen, M. Munday, B. Munday) 3:30.51; 3. Buchtel (Johnson, Wilson, Hambrick, Gaiter) 3:32.34; 4. Benedictine (Glanton, Mallet, Bottoms, Williams) 3:34.34.

PERRYDISTRICT (B)

How they finished: 1. Ashtabula Edgewood 120 ; 2. Orange 100 ; 3. Jefferson Area 90; 4. Bay 73 ; 5. University School 68; 6. John Hay 62; 7. Wickliffe 54 ; 8. Padua 50; 9. Cardinal 33; 10. Ravenna 6 ; 11. Conneaut 3.

Shot put: 1. Fitchet (Edgewood) 49-0 (district record); 2. O'Connor (Jefferson Area) 46-0; 3. Harrah (Edgewood) 42-8; 4. Bullock (University) 42-11/2. High jump: 1. Chase (Jefferson Area) 6-4; 2. Manhard (Edgewood) 6-3; 3. Bell (University) 6-2; 4. Minosky (Padua) 6-1. 110H: 1. Harris (Orange) 15.12 (district record); 2. Monosky (Padua) 15.41; 3. Pendleton (Edgewood) 15.83; 4. Qureshi (Cardinal) 16.31. 100: 1. Carter (Orange) 11.28; 2. Wells (John Hay) 11.73; 3. Flynn (Orange) 11.76; 4. Smith (Edgewood) 11.82. 4x200: 1. John Hay (Ray, Wells, Mills, Sanders) 1:33.75; 2. Wickliffe (Powall, O'Donnell, Fenton, Moore) 1:34.75; 3. University (Pentecost, Oriella, Bell, Bennett) 1:34.87; 4. Cardinal (Smock McCaslin, collier, Qureshi) 1:35.24. 1,600: 1. Kantor (Jefferson Arear) 4:234.20 (district record); 2. Fell (Bay) 4:38.20; 3. Orr (Bay) 4:40.77; 4. Filla (Cardinal) 4:41.41. 4x100: 1. John Hay (Sanders, Wells, Williams, Ray) 44.55; 2. Orange (Haris, Henderson, Flynn, Redus) 45.21; 3. Edgewood 45.31; 4. University (Bell, Oriella, Pentecosxt, Bennett) 45.42. 400: 1. Carter (Orange) 49.06; 2. Chase (Jefferson Area) 51.33; 3. Moore (Wickliffe) 52.31; 4. Didonato (Edgewood) 52.36. 300H: 1. Minosky (Padua) 38.25 (district record); 2. Lynch (Edgewood) 39.05 (district record); 3. Harris (Orange) 39.08 (district record); 4. Pendleton (Edgewood) 40.64. 800: 1. Kantor (Jefferson Area) 4:34.20 (district record); 2. Fell (Bay) 4:38.20; 3. Orr (Bay) 4:40.77; 4. Filla (Cardinal) 4:41.41. 200: 1. Carter (Orange) 22.75; 2. Wells (John Hay) 23.26; 3. Flynn (Orange) 23.31; 4. Ray (John Hay) 23.46. 3,200: 1. Hautz (Bay) 10:11.49 (district record); 2. C. LeMay (Edgewood) 1013.23 (district record); 3. J. LeMay (Edgewood) 10:19.88; 4. Molnar (Wickliffe) 10:28.64. 4x400: 1. Jefferson Are 3:32.48; 2. Wickliffe (Monturi, Vuraich, O'Donnell, Hoffman) 3:33.88; 3. Edgewood 3:35.84; 4. University (Gannon, Jacobs, Oriella, Pentecost) 3:36.02.

SALEMDISTRICT

How they finished: 1. St. Vincent-St. Mary 1191/2; 2. Poland Seminary 67; 3. West Branch 65; 4. Salem 62; 5. Fairless 58; 6. (tie) Manchester, Field 54; 8. CF Northwest 50; 9. Struthers 45; 10. Canton C.C. 27; 11. Southeast 211/2; 12. Tuslaw 16; 13. Norton 11; 14. Canton South 9.

Shot put: 1. Shivers (Salem) 55-11/2; 2. Stone (Southeast) 50-61/4; 3. Pape (Struthers) 50-51/4; 4. Filp (WB) 49-63/4. High jump: 1. Morales (Struthers) 6-4; 2. Robbins (WB) 6-2; 3. Wukotich (Salem) 6-0; 4. Wooldridge (SVSM) 6-0. 110H: 1. Quinn (Salem) 15.17; 2. Smith (CFNW) 15.60; 3. Dukes (Manchester) 15.96; 4. Bucher (Fairless) 16.06. 100: 1. Campbell (SVSM) 11.02; 2. Cobham (Field) 11.25; 3. Colangelo (CCC) 11.27; 4. Coontz (Southeast) 11.32. 4x200: 1. SVSM (Sensabaugh, Wooldridge, Bickley, Campbell) 1:29.18; 2. Struthers 1:30.77; 3. Fairless 1:32.78; 4. Salem 1:33.55. 1,600: 1. Iacofano (SVSM) 4:24.44; 2. Campbell (SVSM) 4:27.52; 3. Ziegler (Norton) 4:28.45; 4. Lohnes (WB) 4:29.63. 4x100: 1. SVSM (Lockett, Bickley, Wooldridge, Campbell) 43.31; 2. CFNW 44.05; 3. Poland Seminary 44.69; 4. Salem 44.93. 400: 1. Neff (Fairless) 50.41; 2. Casalinova (CFNW) 50.56; 3. Sensabaugh (SVSM) 50.91; 4. Hiznay (PS) 51.16. 300H: 1. Partika (PS) 40.99; 2. King (PS) 41.06; 3. Ross (WB) 41.89; 4. Semler (Field) 41.89. 800: 1. Phillips (Tuslaw) 2:01.16; 2. Ware (WB) 2:02.94; 3. Slaaven (PS) 2:04.24; 4. Becker (Manchester) 2:04.56. 200: 1. Campbell (SVSM) 22.38; 2. Wooldridge (SVSM) 22.62; 3. Morales (Struthers) 22.73; 4. Holness (Struthers) 23.38. 3,200: 1. Iacofano (SVSM) 9:42.65; 2. Lohnes (WB) 9:59.10; 3. Daily (Manchester) 10:11.88; 4. Oswald (SVSM) 10:12.33. 4x400: 1. Poland Seminary 3:28.54; 2. CFNW 3:30.49; 3. Fairless 3:30.68; 4. Salem 3:32.07.

LATE RESULTS

DIVISON I

AMHERST DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Berea 99;2. Medina 81; 3. Brunswick 68; 4. Avon 62; 5. Midpark 48; 6. NorthRidgeville 47; 7. North Royalton 46; 8. Avon Lake 38; 9. Amherst 34; 10. Olmsted Falls 31; 11. Strongsville 23; 12. Lorain 20; 13. Midview 16; 13. Westlake 16; 5. Elyria 11; 16. Rocky River 9; North Olsmted 5.

Shot put: 1. Hierholzer (Medina) 59-21/4; 2. Seipel (AL) 55-11/4; 3. Bowden (NR) 50-41/4; 4. Portik (AL) 50-21/2. High jump: 1. Ondo (Midview) 6-4; 2. Barwise (Berea) 6-2; 3. Hartill (Brun) 6-2; 4. Stenger (Medina) 6-2. 110H: Floyd (Strong) 14.72; 2. Wiley (Avon) 15.23; 3. Scheerer (Ber) 15.26; 3. Scheerer (Berea) 15.26; 4. Gib (OF) 15.48. 100: 1. McCall (NR) 11.26; 2. Yohman (Brun) 11.49; 3. Hildreth (Lorain) 11.54; 4. Bitter (Avon) 11.55. 4x200: 1. Berea (Robertson, Harris, Fultz, Samol) 1:29.98; 2. Medina 1:30.86; 3. Avon 1:31.65; 4. North Royalton 1:31.94. 1,600: 1. Zupan (Berea) 4:22.98; 2. Styles (midpark) 4:23.76; 3. Hawks (Elyria) 4:30.23; 4. Carroll (Berea) 4:31.23. 4x100: 1. Brunswick (Pinzone, Hartill, Yohman, Fallon) 43.56; 2. North Ridgeville) 43.92; 3. Berea 44.04; 4. Medina 44.26. 400: 1. Fultz (Berea) 49.68; 2. Myers (Midpark) 50.06; 3. Sonego (NR) 50.85; 4. Squeri (West) 50.88. 300H: 1. Wiley (Avon) 39.46; 2. Emert (Brun) 40.16; 3. Gib (OF) 40.51; 4. Floyd (Strong) 40.52. 800: 1. Zupan (Berea) 1:56.96; 2. Kardos (Amherst) 1:57.90; 3. Glowacki (Amherst) 1:58.54; 4. Menyes (Medina) 1:58.80. 200: 1. Yohman (Brun) 22.82; 2. Bitter (Avon) 23.38; 3. Woods (NR) 23.48; 4. Sonego (NR) 23.83. 3,200: 1. Menear (Brun) 9:29.52; 2. Villari (AL) 9:34.85; 3. Pecoraro (Avon) 9:37.89; 4. Reynolds (RR) 9:40.33. 4x400: 1. Berea (Neumann, Carroll, Zupan, Fultz) 3:23.77; 2. Brunswick 3:24.36; 3. Westlake 3:24.95; 4. North Royalton 3:25.95.

LAKEWOOD DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. St. Ignatius 174; 2. St. Edward 144; 3. Normandy 93; 4. Cleveland JFK 50; 5. Lakewood 46; 6. John Adams 43; 7. Rhodes 31; Parma 31; 9. Garfield Heights 18; 10. Valley Forge 14; 11. East Technical 8; 12. Collinwood 7; 13. Max Hayes 3.

Discus: Zedella (SE) 194-3; 2. Zedella (SE) 161-5; 3. Kavalec (SI) 160-8; 4. Anielski (Norm) 153-4. Long jump: 1. Smith (JFK) 21-10; 2. Schafer (SI) 20-61/2; 3. Woods (Rhodes) 20-5; 4. Jones (Norm) 20-5. 110H: 1. Wasik (SE) 13.89; 2. McVey (SI) 15.53; 3. Jeffries (SI) 15.59; 4. Wells (Rhodes) 15.90. 100: 1. Young (SE) 10.74; 2. Thomas (JA) 10.86; 3. Norris (SI) 10.90; 4. Crawford (SE) 10.99. 4x200: 1. St. Edward (Young, Crawford, Warfield, Schenkelberg) 1:30.14; 2. John Adams 1:32.29; 3. St. Ignatius 1:32.43; 4. Normandy 1:33.20; 4. Normandy 1:33.20. 1,600: 1. Wagner (SI) 4:32.51; 2. Trentel (SI) 4:38.63; 3. Boatman (Lake) 4:39.33; 4. Schleckman (Lake) 4:43.31. 4x100: 1. St. Edward (Warfield, Young, Wasik, Crawford) 42.84; 2. St. Ignatius 43.22; 3. John Adams 44.72; 4. Normandy 45.79. 400: 1. Smith (JFK) 49.31; 2. Woods (Rhodes) 52.13; 3. Hill (Rhodes) 52.17; 4. Spilka (Norm) 52.79. 300H: 1. Wasik (SE) 38.47; 2. Jeffries (SI) 40.78; 3. McVey (SI) 41.39; 4. Conroy (SE) 42.50. 800: 1. Wagner (St. Ignatius) 1:58.74; 2. Navratil (SE) 1:59.12; 3. Bartram (SI) 2:00.59; 4. Fioritto (SE) 2:02.07. 200: 1. Smith (JFK) 21.71; 2. Young (SE) 21.78; 3. Norris (SI) 22.22; 4. Crawford (SE) 22.68. 3,200: 1. Miller (SI) 9:34.74; 2. Arquillo (SI) 9:44.88; 3. Vonderau (Parma) 10:06.66; 4. Koval (SE) 10:13.18. 4x400: 1. St. Ignatius 3:28.87; 2. St. Edward 3:29.33; 3. Rhodes 3;30.29; 4. Normandy 3:30.84.

MENTOR DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Mentor 106; 2. Chardon 81; 3. Glenville 76; 4. Euclid 65; 5. Mayfield 62; 6. Cleveland Heights 61; 7. Willoughby South 42; 8. Eastlake North 37; 9. Lake Catholic 34; 10. Madison 20; 11. West Geauga 19; 12. Riverside 18; 12. Brush 18; 14. Maple Heights 12; 15. Harvey 81/2; 16. Shaw 11/2.

110H: 1. Gomes (WG) 14.47; 2. Mlack (Char) 14.66; 3. Coleman (Euc) 14.86; 4. Robinson (Glen) 14.96. 100: 1. Hunt (WS) 10.80; 2. Isabella (May) 10.99; 3. Gibson (CH) 10.99; 4. Hickman (Glen) 11.09. 4x200: 1. Glenville (Robinson, Jackson, Hickman, Riggs) 1:30.10; 2. Mentor 1:31.90; 3. Euclid 1:32.50; 4. Mayfield 1:33.10. 1,600: 1. Gudowicz (Men) 4:26.24; 2. Green (EN) 4:30.82; 3. Sopchak (Char) 4:30.82; 4. Bruno (May) 4:236.63. 4x100: 1. Cleveland Heights (Jones, Powell, Hudson, Gibson) 42.89; 2. Will. South 43.19; 3. Glenville 43.89; 4. Euclid 44.0. 400: 1. Riggs (Glen) 49.70; 2. Dowdy (men) 51.30; 3. Dhyll (Glen) 51.60; 4. Hudson (CH) 51.70. 300H: 1. Robinson (Glen) 38.70; 2. Mlack (Char) 38.90; 3. Gomes (WG) 39.70; 4. Gordon (may) 40.20. 800: 1. Mellon (May) 1:57.80; 2. Pritchard (LC) 1:58.40; 3. Keipert (Men) 1:59.40; 4. Car (EN) 2:00.10. 200: 1. Gibson (CH) 21.90; 2. Hickman (Glen) 22.0; 3. Jones (CH) 22.30; 4. Fedrick (MH) 22.40. 3,200: 1. Elswick (Char) 9:14.30; 2. Jordan (Char) 9:37.10; 3. Gudowicz (Men) 9:41.70; 4. Green (EN) 9:53. 4x400: 1. Glenville (Robinson, Lett, Riggs, Dhyll) 3:23.40; 2. Mentor 3:24.70; 3. Cleveland Heights 3:27.50; 4. Euclid 3:28.50.

NORTH CANTON DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. GlenOak 81; 2. (tie) Mass. Jackson, Canton McKinley 71; 4. Massillon 68; 5. Wooster 67; 6. Green 54; 7. Uniontown Lake 53; 8. North Canton Hoover 49; 9. Hoban 44; 10.Massillon Perry 35; 11. Akron Garfield 22; 12. Louisville 21; 13. Timken 11; 14. Barberton 7; 15. Coventry 5; 16. Kenmore 2.

Discus: 1. Boykins (GO) 151-3; 2. Daniels (CM) 149-10; 3. Burch (CM) 147-9; 4. Tayse (Perry) 147-4. 110H: 1. Whitfield (Mass) 15.24; 2. Vinciguerra (Green) 15.27; 3. Corle (Green) 15.32; 4. Elsass (Mas. Jack) 15.32. 100: 1. Richardson (CM) 10.81; 2. Robinson (AG) 10.87; 3. Preston (Woo) 11.17; 4. Johnson (Tim) 11.18. 4x200: 1. Canton McKinley 1:31.33; 2. Wooster 1:31.42; 3. GlenOak 1:33.03; 4. Hoban 1:34.61. 1,600: 1. Busken (GO) 4:31.68; 2. Hyde (MJ) 4:33.04; 3. Thomas (Louis) 4:34.15; 4. Tornow (Louis) 4:35.01. 4x100: 1. GlenOak 43.93; 2. Massillon 43.93; 3. Akron Garfield 44.33; 4. North Canton Hoover 44.51. 400: 1. Angel (Green) 51.20; 2. Conley (Mass) 52.05; 3. Johnson (MJ) 52.66; 4. Latson (Hoban) 53.02. 300H: 1. Elsass (MJ) 39.52; 2. Williams (MP) 40.29; 3. Whitfield (Mass) 40.40; 4. Orsini (Hoban) 40.41. 800: 1. White (Wooster) 1:57.02; 2. Reed (MJ) 1:59.42; 3. Berg (MJ) 1:59.89; 4. Axeson (Hoban) 2:00.20. 200: 1. Richardon (CM) 22.01; 2. Robinson (AG) 22.19; 3. Johnson (Timken) 22.48; 4. Lidge (Wooster) 22.89. 3,200: 1. Kernell (Lake) 9:33.03; 2. Humrichhouser (Wooster) 9:35.53; 3. Wind (MJ) 9:49.39; 4. Hernandez (NCH) 9:51.94. 4x400: 1. Green (Kitchen, Wieland, Thompson, Angel) 3:27.88; 2. Hoban 3:29.09; 3. North Canton Hoover 3:30.53; 4. GlenOak 3:31.37.

Girls track

District meet

DIVISION II

LAKEVIEW DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 118; 2. Girard 851/2; 3. Crestwood 83; 4. Woodridge 79; 5. Streetsboro 56; 6. Garrettsville Garfield 48; 7. Lakeview 40; 8. Ursuline 36; 9. LaBrae 26; 10. Libertgy 21; 11. Pymatuning Valley 19; 12. Newton Falls 17; 13. Hubbard 16; 14. Mooney 131/2; 15. Champion 2.

Discus: 1. Svonavec (GG) 114-0; 2. Hahn (GG) 109-5; 3. Barreca (Newton Falls) 109-1; 4. Beatty (Lakeview) 105-9. Long jump: 1. Young (CVCA) 17-5; 2. Hess (CVCA) 16-51/2; 3. Gabriel (PV) 16-41/2; 4. King (Streetsboro) 16-23/4. Pole vault: 1. Gillespie (Woodridge) 9-0 (district record); 2. Trebella (Girard) 8-3; 3. Buchanan (CVCA) 8-0; 4. Platek (CVCA) 7-6. 100H: 1. King (Streetsboro) 15-5 (district record); 2. Gunther (LaBrae) 15.10; 3. Julian (Streetsbaoro) 15.67; 4. Palmer (Girard) 15.92. 100: 1. Young (CVCA) 12.59; 2. Carnatha (Ursuline) 12.73; 3. Trebella (Girard) 12.87; 4. Palumbo (Lakeview) 13.14. 4x200: 1. Girard 1:47.65; 2. Streetsboro (McMiller, Melice, Julian, Woods) 1:47.65; 3. Woodridge (Howard, Graham, Conrad, Lessears) 1:49.28; 4. Hubbard 1:55.10. 1,600: 1. Bockoven (CVCA) 5:21.24; 2. Spreitzer (Woodridge) 5:28.56; 3. Dryer (Woodridge) 5:29.16; 4. Hall (Girard) 5:36.44. 4x100: 1. Ursuline 50.89; 2. Streetsboro (King, McMiller, Julian, Woods) 51.07; 3. Lakeview 51.99; 4. CVCA (Tiber, Hewitt, Johnson, Delaney) 52.38. 400: 1. Chiller (Crestwood) 59.92; 2. Thomas (Hubbard) 1:00.59; 3. Powell (Ursuline) 1:01.03; 4. Kagy (Girard) 1:02.10. 300H: 1. Gunther (LaBrae) 46.86; 2. Midgley (Crestwood) 47.08; 3. Zigman (Crestwood) 47.33; 4. Julian (Streetsboro) 47.34. 800: 1. Blair (CVCA) 2:22.76; 2. Myers (CVCA) 2:24.53; 3. Lukac (Liberty) 2:26.07; 4. Sorrick (Crestwood) 2:26.27. 200: 1. Young (CVCA) 25.84; 2. Hall (Girard) 26.05; 3. Carnatha (Ursuline) 26.89; 4. Palumbo (Lakeview) 27.39. 3,200: 1. Soltisz (Crestwood) 11:49.48; 2. Roberts (Crestwood) 11:55.38; 3. Kiley (Woodridge) 12:15.74; 4. Yeager (CVCA) 12:16.21. 4x400: 1. CVCA (Bockoven, Myers, Hess, Young) 4:06.60; 2. Crestwood (Rector, Midgley, Thut, Chiller) 4:07.47; 3. Girard 4:07.68; 4. Lakeview 4:14.40.

MIDVIEWDISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Orrville 127; 2. Triway 115; 3. Keystone 100; 4. Vermilion 82; 5. Lutheran West 43; 6. WS Northwestern 40; 7. Hathaway Brown 35; 8. Holy Name 32; 9. Laurel 23; 10. Chippewa 151/2; 11. Brookside 15; 12. Firelands 111/2; 13. Buckeye 10; 14. (tie) Black River, Coventry 6; 16. Wellington 1.

Discus: 1. Cruise (Triway) 120-11; 2. Ragland (Lutheran West) 107-6; 3. Dawson (Triway) 103-10; 4. Palmer (Orrville) 102-6. Long jump: 1. Gates (Keystone) 17-2; 2. Bartlome (Vermilion) 17-13/4; 3. Brooks (Triway) 16-71/2; 4. Koerner (Black River) 16-11/2. Pole vault: 1. Brooks (Triway) 10-6; 2. Jarrett (Orrville) 10-3; 3. Kingsboro (Keystone) 10-0; 4. Plybon (Orrville) 9-6. 100H: 1. Quillen (Keystone) 15.43; 2. Scott (Orrville) 16.10; 3. Mahr (WSNW) 16.11; 4. Brooks (Triway) 16.26. 100: 1. Gibson (Orrville) 12.58; 2. Peters (Keystone) 12.77; 3. Gates (Keystone) 12.90; 4. LaForce (Vermilion) 12.91. 4x200: 1. Vermilion (Bodeker, LaForce, Morris, Bartlome) 1:46.95; 2. Orrville 1:48.16; 3. Brookside (Kerstetter, Pierce, Danchisen, Holley) 1:49.35; 4. WSNW 1:50.53. 1,600: 1. Muhlenkamp (Triway) 5:27.52; 2. Wargo (Keystone) 5:29.63; 3. Bierly (Lutheran West) 5:44.20; 4. Alberts (WSNW) 5:45.30. 4x100: 1. Vermilion (LaForce, Rossi, Morris, Bartlome) 50.36; 2. Keystone (Gates, Tuttle, Quillen, Peters) 50.55; 3. Orrville 51.63; 4. WSNW 52.45. 400: 1. Turner (Laurel) 1:01.70; 2. Plybon (Orrville) 1:01.91; 3. Rings (Holy Name) 1:03.63; 4. Warner (Chippewa) 1:03.92. 300H: 1. Quillen (Keystone) 45.67; 2. Brooks (Triway) 46.07; 3. Eby (Orrville) 46.10; 4. Young (Laurel) 47.93. 800: 1. Thomason (Holy Name) 2:28.01; 2. Nuti (Lutheran West) 2:28.48; 3. Stiffler (Orrville) 2:29.90; 4. Nicoll (Vemilion) 2:30.56. 200: 1. Peters (Keystone) 26.11; 2. Morris (Vermilion) 26.42; 3. Rosner (Triway) 26.61; 4. Wrobleski (Buckeye) 26.70. 3,200: 1. Woodruff (Orrville) 12:07.07; 2. Muhlenkamp (Triway) 12:19.99; 3. Wargo (Keystone) 12:24.90; 4. Cowap (Hathaway Brown) 12:46.50. 4x400: 1. Orrville 4:13.71; 2. WSNW 4:18.78; 3. Vermilion (Bodeker, Rossi, Nicoll, LaForce) 4:20.33; 4. Holy Name (Rings, Thomason, Coughlin, McHugh) 4:21.58.

PERRYDISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Orange 85; 2. Lake Catholic 831/2; 3. Harvey 70; 4. (tie) Perry, Padua, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) 60; 7. Chagrin Falls 58; 8. Wickliffe 491/2; 9. Beachwood 41; 10. Kirtland 27; 11. Cardinal 25; 12. Jefferson Area 18; 13. Edgewood 12; 14. Conneaut 6; 15. (tie) Cleveland Central Catholic, Fairview 4.

Shot put: 1. Hallisy (Lake Catholic) 40-101/4 (district record); 2. Zabinovec (NDCL) 37-93/4; 3. Sunmonu (Perry) 34-10; 4. Porter (Wickliffe) 32-103/4. Discus: 1. Hallisy (Lake Catholic) 125-7 (district record); 2. Zbinovec (NDCL) 122-6 (district record); 3. Cole (Conneaut) 105-5; 4. Pagan (Harvey) 103-4. High jump: 1. Straus (Kirtland) 5-1; 2. Willis (Orange) 5-0; 3. McGuire (Chagrin Falls) 4-11; 4. Jay (Padua) 4-11. Long jump: 1. Crofoot (Perry) 16-51/2; 2. Fedele (Lake Catholic) 16-4; 3. Pewrryman (Beachwood) 15-6; 4. Cool (Perry) 15-3. Pole vault: 1. Myers (Wickliffe) 10-6; 2. Cool (Perry) 10-6; 3. Shoskes (Orange) 9-0; 4.DeVivo (Jefferson Area) 9-0 . 4x800: 1. Padua (Kraft, Adams, Carroll, Jancewicz) 9:56.52 (district record); 2. Lake Catholic (Bull, Biats, Dalpiaz, Newhart) 9:58.63 (district record); 3. Chagrin Falls (Girouard, Cantlay, Dustin, Allen) 9:59.95 (district record); 4. Cardinal (Dhayer, Loze, Kruse, Timas) 10:12.99. 100H: 1. Rice (Harvey) 15.90; 2. DeVivo (Jefferson Area) 16.84; 3. Simpkins (Wickliffe) 17.04; 4. Plescia (Padua) 17.09. 100: 1. Johnson (Orange) 12.81; 2. Crofoot (Perry) 13.21; 3. Giel (Padua) 13.32; 4. Kadas (Kirtland) 13.55. 4x200: 1. Beachwood (Perryman, Gaines-Smith, Kahn, DeVaughn) 1:47.50 (district record); 2. Harvey (Rice, Jones, Kelley, Daniel) 1:48.92; 3. NDCL (DiFranco, Miller, Lonchor, Stewart) 1:48.93; 4. Orange (Baez, King, Willis, Harris) 1:50.16. 1,600: 1. Ubersax (Orange) 5:32.48; 2. Dustin (Chagrin Falls) 5:41.89; 3. Allen (Chagrin Falls) 5:42.10; 4. Sell (Perry) 5:42.65. 4x100: 1. Beachwood (Perryman, DeVaughn, Gaines-Smith, Kahn) 50.44; 2. Orange (Baez, Johnson, Willis, Harris) 50.51; 3. Perry (Hanno, Crittle, Cool, Crofoot) 51.20; 4. Harvey (Rice, Daniel, Britton, Kelley) 51.43. 400: 1. Stewart (NDCL) 58.65; 2. Bull (Lake Catholic) 59.19; 3. Daniel (Harvey) 1:01.15; 4. Kelly (Cardinal) 1:01.22. 300H: 1. Rice (Harvey) 47.42; 2. Crawford (Orange) 47.56; 3. Fedele (Lake Catholic) 48.88; 4. Dinishak (Cardinal) 49.25. 800: 1. Adams (Padua) 2:19.51 (district record); 2. Cantlay (Chagrin Falls) 2:21.29 (district record); 3. Girouard (Chagrin Falls) 2:21.67 (district record); 4. Hopson (Padua) 2:21.68 (district record). 200: 1. Stewart (NDCL) 26.28 (district record); 2. Johnson (Orange) 26.42 (district record); 3. Crofoot (Perry) 26.63 (district record); 4. Daniel (Harvey) 26.94. 3,200: 1. Ubersax (Orange) 11:57.76 (district record); 2. Barcelo (Chagrin Falls) 12:13.52; 3. Newhart (Lake Catholic) 12:17.23; 4. Domen (Lake Catholic) 12:24.28. 4x400: 1. Lake Catholic (Fedele, Bukovec, Delpiaz, Bull) 4:06.30; 2. Chagrin Falls (Cantlay, Lutig, Lang, Girouard) 4:06.55; 3. Beachwood (Richardson, Hopson-Boyd, DeVaughn, Perryman) 4:07.87; 4. Padua (Kraft, Bialosky, Jancewicz, Giel) 4:14.63.

SALEMDISTRICT

How they finished: 1. St. Vincent-St. Mary 128; 2. Poland Seminary 70; 3. Canton South 69; 4. Salem 58; 5. West Branch 55; 6. CF Northwest 47; 7. Marlington 46; 8. Fairless 401/2; 9. Southeast 34; 10. Field 28; 11. Akron North 181/2; 12. Waterloo 18; 13. Manchester 15; 14. Struthers 14; 15. Alliance 10; 16. Norton 3; 17 (tie) Springfield, Tuslaw 2.

Discus: 1. Trybend (Salem) 136-8; 2. Trissel (CS) 125-10; 3. Forney (Wateloo) 116-8; 4. Wright (Salem) 113-10. 4. Long jump: 1. Fennell (CFNW) 17-3; 2. Vaughn (CS) 16-81/2; 3. Rodgers (Marlington) 16-7; 4. Laury (SVSM) 16-51/4. Pole vault: 1. Simmons (Fairless) 11-0; 2. Gorbach (SVSM) 7-0; 3. (tie) Morrison (Manchester), Rush (Fairless) 7-0. 100H: 1. Fennell (CFNW) 14.97; 2. Spotleson (PS) 15.09; 3. Church (Field) 16.02; 4. Vaughn (CS) 16.28. 100: 1. Thompkins (CS) 12.43; 2. Goedecke (SVSM) 12.65; 3. ; 4. . 4x200: 1. SVSM (Davis, Goedecke, Taylor, Laury) 1:45.96; 2. Canton South 1:48.34; 3. Poland Seminary 1:48.98; 4. Salem 1:49.37. 1,600: 1. Rossetti (SVSM) 5:16.15; 2. Reeves (Marlington) 5:22.49; 3. Davis (West Branch) 5:23.61; 4. Rogenski (PS) 5:30.03. 4x100: 1. CFNW 50.13; 2. Canton South 50.84; 3. Salem 51.87; 4. Poland Seminary 52.30. 400: 1. Laury (SVSM) 58.68; 2. Burts (Akron North) 1:00.40; 3. Tubbs (WB) 1:00.49; 4. Gearhart (Field) 1:01.50. 300H: 1. McCullough (Southeast) 48.10; 2. Rozaieski (Marlington) 48.82; 3. Theil (WB) 48.94; 4. Church (Field) 49.80. 800: 1. Mendiola (SVSM) 2:17.19; 2. Haas (SVSM) 2:21.44; 3. Mason (Marlington) 2:21.93; 4. Luli (Waterloo) 2:22.77. 200: 1. Davis (SVSM) 25.24; 2. Goedecke (SVSM) 26.04; 3. Bush (CCC) 26.42; 4. Burts (Akron North) 26.72. 3,200: 1. Iacofano (SVSM) 11:26.32; 2. Mi. Klim (PS) 11:36.53; 3. Mc. Klim (PS) 11:46.97; 4. Maher (Salem) 12:00.59. 4x400: 1. SVSM (Mendiola, Rossetti, Haas, Laury) 4:06.28; 2. West Branch 4:08.64; 3. Struthers 4:13.39; 4. Southeast (Klouda, Coontz, Ralston, McCullough) 4:14.23.

LATE RESULTS

DIVISON I

AMHERST DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Amherst 89; 2. Medina 88; 3. Brunswick 64; 4. Lorain 59; 5. Bay 55; 6. Rocky River 461/2; 7. AvonLake 391/2; 8. North Olmsted 37; 9. Strongsville 331/2; 10. North Royalton 27; 11. Olmsted Falls 26; 12. Westlake 241/2; 13. Berea 21; 13. Elyria 21; 15. Avon 18; 16. North Ridgeville 9; 17. Midpark 4.

Shot put: 1. Bohan (Avon Lake) 43-11/4; 2. Pallini (medina) 39-0; 3. Lyle (Westlake) 35-33/4; 4. Moran (Medina) 34-41/2. High jump: 1. Martin (Strong) 5-6; 2. Bohan (AL) 5-4; 3. Medic (NR) 5-2; 3. Kasper (Amherst) 5-2. 100H: 1. Augustin (OF) 15.86; 2. Moore (Amherst) 15.97; 3. Ritzroy (Brun) 16.64; 4. Rezek (Bay) 16.85. 100: 1. Rogers (Lorain) 12.51; 2. Dearmas (Lorain) 12.70; 3. Bechtel (Bay) 12.81; 4. Shagovac (Amherst) 13.01. 4x200: 1. Lorain (Rogers, Dearmas, Scott, Goodman) 1:45.01; 2. Amherst 1:45.23; 3. Bay 1:46.20; 4. Brunswick 1:46.71. 1,600: 1. Scavuzzo (Medina) 5:20.46; 2. Mariner (Elyria) 5:21.88; 3. Voiers (Bay) 5:22.40; 4. Vidacs (NR) 5:24.41. 4x100: 1. Lorain (Rogers, Dearmas, Scott, Goodman) 49.99; 2. Amherst 50.21; 3. Brunswick 50.37; 4. North Olmsted 50.40. 400: 1. Bechtel (Bay) 56.42; 2. Duber (Ol. Falls) 56.88; 3. Champe (Amherst) 57.37; 4. Lesiecki (RR) 58.74. 300H: 1. Moore (Amherst) 45.38; 2. Maslowski (Brun) 46.20; 3. McDonough (RR) 46.27; 4. Northeim (Amherst) 48.28. 800: 1. Connelly (RR) 2:16.37; 2. Szivan (Amherst) 2:17.03; 3. Pack (medina) 2:17.27; 4. Camper (Brun) 2;18.98. 200: 1. Rogers (Lorain) 25.95; 2. Paster (Berea) 26.82; 3. Dwulat (NR) 27.0; 4. Dearmas (Lorain) 27.06. 3,200: 1. Britton (Bay) 11:02.97; 2. Vince (Amherst) 11:13.82; 3. Pasadyn (Brun) 11:24.86; 4. Camardo (Strong) 11:25.33. 4x400: 1. Amherst (Sands, Szivan, Shagovac, Champe) 3:55.56; 2. Brunswick 4:00.24; 3. Medina 4:01.49; 4. Rocky River 4:02.04.

LAKEWOOD DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. St. Joseph Academy 194; 2. Lakewood 115; 3. Magnificat 103; 4. Normandy 53; 5. Valley Forge 43; 6. Cleveland John F. Kennedy 42; 7. Parma 38; 8. Collinwood 27; 9. Cleveland MLK 14; 10. Garfield Heights 12; 11. John Adams 8; 12. Rhodes 4; 13. East Technical 3.

Discus: 1. Morrison (SJA) 107-6; 2. Rave (SJA) 107-4; 3. Dotson (VF) 104-2; 4. Gavin (Norm) 97-9. Long jump: 1. McGrath (SJA) 16-41/2; 2. Cummings (Parma) 15-111/2; 3. Bray (JA) 15-6; 4. Bloodsaw (Collin) 15-0. 100H: 1. Williams (SJA) 16.15; 2. Hahn (SJA) 17.22; 3. Lippucci (Norm) 17:30; 4. Napoleon (Collin) 17.40. 100: 1. Cummings (Parma) 12.48; 2. Appling (MLK) 12.61; 3. Willims (JFK) 12.73; 4. Simpson (Collin) 12.86. 4x200: 1. St. Joseph Academy (Caja, Sedlak, Leon, McGrath) 1:44.96; 2. John F. Kennedy 1:47.22; 3. Lakewood 1:47.76; 4. Magnificat 1:48. 1,600: 1. McGuire (SJA) 5:27.30; 2. Hasman (Lake) 5:29.58; 3. Frost (Mag) 5:33.68; 4. Steve (SJA) 5:44.52. 4x100: 1. John F. Kennedy (Washington, Hale, Young, Williams) 51.28; 2. St. Joseph Academy 52.50; 3. Parma 52.55; 4. Magnificat 53.70. 400: 1. Sacha (Lake) 58.45; 2. Ubbing (Mag) 1:00.01; 3. Sedlak (SJA) 1:00.10; 4. Brown(Lake) 1:00.79. 300H: 1. Caja (SJA) 47.42; 2. Herman (Lake) 49.14; 3. Sullivan (Mag) 49.82; 4. Hahn (SJA) 50.08. 800: 1. McGuire (SJA) 2:26.25; 2. Christie (Lake) 2:26.82; 3. Meyer (Mag) 2:27; 4. Armbruster (SJA) 2:28.91. 200: 1. Hale (JFK) 25.68; 2. Williams (JFK) 26.18; 3. Appling (MLK) 26.23; 4. McGrath (SJA) 26.41. 3,200: 1. Shaw (Lake) 11:57.94; 2. Walker (Mag) 12:06.91; 3. Bresnahan (SJA) 12:11.37; 4. Latham (Lake) 12:19.66. 4x400: 1. Lakewood 4:05.91; 2. St. Joseph Academy 4:09. 81; 3. Magnificat 4:10.64; 4. Garfield Heights 4:20.81.

MENTOR DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. Mentor 123; 2. Chardon 73; 3. West Geauga 69; 4. Riverside 661/2; 5. Beaumont 61; 6. Mayfield 56; 7. Cleveland Heights 52; 8. Euclid 47; 9. Madison 43; 10. Willoughby South 35; 11. Brush 161/2; 12. John Hay 11; 13. Shaw 2; 13. Eastlake North 2; 15. Maple Heights 1.

100H: 1. Richardson (WG) 14.79; 2. Muhammad (Men) 15.36; 3. Sargen (WG) 15.68; 4. Sotkovsky (men) 16.39. 100: 1. Ferrante (Char) 12.19; 2. Johnson (Beau) 12.20; 3. Baechle (Beau) 12.66; 4. Abshaw (CH) 12.74. 4x200: 1. Beaumont (Baechle, Zippert, Cannata, Johnson) 1:44.60; 2. Cleveland Heights 1:45.30; 3. John Hay 1:47.40; 4. Riverside 1:47.50. 1,600: 1. Woods (Men) 5:25.33; 2. Stansbury (Char) 5:25.77; 3. King (Char) 5:32.72; 4. Page (River) 5:33.01. 4x100: 1. Cleveland Heights (Porter, Wakeel, Kidd, Abshaw) 49.51; 2. Beaumont 49.56; 3. West Geauga 50.05; 4. John Hay 50.93. 400: 1. Ferrante (Char) 57.90; 2. Handel (May) 1:00.70; 3. Liberatore (River) 1:00.90; 4. Sargent (WG) 1:01.40. 300H: 1. Muhammad (Men) 45.75; 2. Richardson (WG) 46.69; 3. Price (Euc) 47.07; 4. Loetz (Char) 47.80. 800: 1. Rozic (Men) 2:21; 2. Banks (Char) 2:21.70; 3. Rohwer (Brush) 2:21.90; 4. Strauss (River) 2:25. 200: 1. Ferrante (Char) 24.40; 2. Johnson (Beau) 24.80; 3. Baechle (Beau) 25.60; 4. Tsengas (River) 25.90. 3,200: 1. Brickman (Mad) 11:33.39; 2. Woods (Men) 11:45.52; 3. Robinson (Men) 11:47.27; 4. Durisin (River) 11:49.53. 4x400: 1. Riverside (Strauss, Kokal, Tsengas, Liberatore) 4:07.40; 2. Cleveland Heights 4:09.80; 3. Mentor 4:12.00; 4. Euclid 4:15.

NORTH CANTON DISTRICT

How they finished: 1. (tie) GlenOak, Massillon Perry 98; 3. Canton McKinley 84; 4. North Canton Hoover 741/2; 5. Massillon Jackson 651/2; 6. Green 65; 7. Louisville 46; 8. (tie) Hoban, Uniontown Lake 45; 10. Massillon 19; 11. Wooster 16; 12. Kenmore 5; 13. Akron Garfield 1.

Discus: 1. Gower (Lake) 114-3; 2. Knop (Perry) 108-5; 3. Baker (NCH) 106-8; 4. Oprisch (Perry) 105-7. 100H: 1. Fleming (GO); 2. Taylor (CM) 15.06; 3. Pannell (Hoban) 15.22; 4. Barboza (Mass) 15.72. 100: Luke (Perry) 12.06; 2. Green (CM) 12.51; 3. Beaver (Louis) 12.64; 4. Bradley (GO) 12.73. 4x200: 1. Mass. Perry 1:44.67; 2. Canton McKinley 1:45.06; 3. GlenOak 1:47.68; 4. Mass. Jackson 1:48.88. 1,600: 1. Hinderer (NCH) 5:20.76; 2. Taylor (MJ) 5:28.26; 3. Gre. Taylor (MJ) 5:31.99. 4x100: 1. GlenOak 51.16; 2. Louisville 51.21; 3. Mass. Jackson 51.76; 4. Massillon 51.81. 400: 1. Hooker (Green) 58.25; 2. Green (CM) 1:00.20; 3. Dearing (MP) 1:00.94; 4. Bentler (NCH) 1:01.02. 300H: 1. Taylor CM) 45.90; 2. Rankin (Louis) 46.62; 3. Fleming (GO) 46.75; 4. Barboza (Mass) 47.02. 800: 1. Rector (Green) 2:16.57; 2. Genetin (MP) 2:19.31; 3. Cropper (NCH) 2:19.38; 4. Fockler (GO) 2:20.88. 200: 1. Luke (MP) 24.92; 2. Green (CM) 26.02; 3. Simmons (Hoban) 26.42; 4. Vance (Lake) 26.75. 3,200: 1. Taylor (MJ) 11:30.54; 2. Thompson (GO) 11:31.96; 3. Musser (MJ) 11:36.39; 4. Tweedie (Lake) 11:40.71. 4x400: 1. Massillon Perry 3:57.84; 2. Green 4:05.71; 3. GlenOak 4:09.68; 4. Wooster 4:13.84.

Boys tennis

DISTRICT TENNIS

DIVISION I

At Oberlin College

Singles – Championship: Dunbar (Cloverleaf) d. Sandberg (Walsh Jesuit) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; Third: Griffin (St. Ignatius) d. Thomas (Jackson) 3-2, injury ret.; Semifinals: Anzalone (Willoughby South) d. Boslet 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles – Championship: Pennington/Ong (Copley) d. Michelich/Craven (Westlake) 6-0, 6-3; Third: Shankman/Yang (Solon) d. O'Connor/DeMarco (Hoover) 6-3, 6-3; Seimfinals: Aten/Du (Copley) d. Goldberg/O'Brien (Solon) 6-3, 6-3.

DIVISION II

At Harvard Park

Singles – Championship: Gardner (Poland Seminary) def. Abdul-Aal (Warren JFK), 7-6 (4), 6-0. Third: Noall (Gilmour) def. Paczak (Cortland Lakeview), 7-6 (6), 7-5. Semifinals: Gardner def. Paczak, 6-1, 6-3; Abdul-Aal def. Noall, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

Doubles – Championship: Lee/Yadav (Hawken) def. Stroup/Hribar (University School), 6-2, 6-2. Third: Beilinson/Smedira (Orange) def. Guthrie/Walker (Perry), 6-2, 6-2. Semifinals: Stroup/Hribar def. Guthrie/Walker, 6-1, 6-3; Lee/Yadav def. Beilinson/Smedira, 6-0, 7-6 (4).

Boys lacrosse

Playoffs

Hudson 27, Mentor 0

H (17-1): Vehar 4, Lori 3, Nye 3, Mougey 2, Elffers 2, Wiese 2, Zubal 2, Gregory 2, Menedez 2, Brady, Coberly, Lindroth, Motter, Palumbo.

Goalies: H, Zickel (1 save), Carlson (2), Vaughn (0); M, Posipanka (13).

Solon 16, Hoover 7

S (14-4): Littman 8, Caito 2, Barksdale, Brown, R. Gallagher, Schultz, Sensibaugh, Slagle. H (8-11): Nickle 3, Davis, England, Garver, Smith.

Goalies: S, Karn (11 saves); H, Porter (15)/

St. Ignatius 20, Brecksville 1

SI: Vitale 3, Siragusa 3, Maruna 3, Joseph 2, Avdey 2, Fisher 2, Brogan 2, Ellis, Bill, Wilhelm. B: Savena.

Goalies: SI, Haag (1 save); Amentea (1); B, Robie (14); Szablicki (1).

Late result

Orange 7, Walsh Jesuit 6

O: Bonda 3, Raupp, Tomsic, Iimmel, Sonkin. WJ: Hird 4, Brown, Puckett.

Goalies: O, Rukin (12 saves); WJ, Fiocca (10)

Boys rugby

State semifinals

DIVISION I

Moeller 40, Westerville 38

St. Edward 22, St. Ignatius 13

 

Lowther strikes out 18 for Cuyahoga Heights in district win: High school roundup

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Cuyahoga Heights pitcher Zac Lowther turned in a masterpiece performance in his team's biggest game of the year. Lowther allowed one hit and walked one while striking out 18 in a 2-0 win over Fairport in Saturday's Division IV district final baseball game at Euclid's Kurt Stanic Field.

Cuyahoga Heights pitcher Zac Lowther turned in a masterpiece performance in his team's biggest game of the year.

Lowther allowed one hit and walked one while striking out 18 in a 2-0 win over Fairport in Saturday's Division IV district final baseball game at Euclid's Kurt Stanic Field.

Dylan Denner's double and RBI paced unranked Cuyahoga Heights, which had just four hits off Logan Dennison of the Skippers, ranked 13th in the state.

Mentor 3, Mayfield 1: Louisville recruit Kade McClure limited Mayfield to five hits while walking one and striking out 10 to lead the Cardinals to a Division I district title. Mentor had six hits, one being Corey Plavcan's double that scored Dan Trimble with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth.

Girls district track

Division II at Salem: It was no contest as St. Vincent-St. Mary scored big in the running events to win with 128 points, followed by Poland Seminary with 70.

Imani Davis got it going for the Fighting Irish when she topped the 200-meter runners with a time of 25.24, and was part of the winning 4x200 relay along with Katie Goedecke, Alexis Taylor and Chelsea Laury in 1:45.96. Julia Mediola punched in at 2:17.19, followed by teammate Cynthia Haas in 2:21.44 to finish 1-2 in the 800.

Marissa Rossetti was the 1,600 champ (5:16.15), as was Laury in the 400 (58.68) and Rachel Iacofano in the 3,200 (11:26.32). Mendiola, Haas, Iacofano and Rossetti also won the 4x800 in 9:34.65, while Mendiola, Rossetti, Haas and Laury won the 4x400 relay in 4:06.28. Southeast got 10 of its 34 points when Kately McCullough cleared the 300-meter hurdles in 48.10.

Division II at Midview: There were plenty of local heroes, beginning with third-place Keystone (100 points), which had Jenna Quillen as the 100 and 300 hurdles champ with times of 15.43 and 45.67. Teammate Emily Peters won the 200 in 26.11, as did long jumper Brittany Gates at 17-2. Breoni Turner won the 400 (1:01.70) for ninth-place Laurel (23), the 800 champ was Therese Thomason (2:28.01) of eighth-place Holy Name (32) and fourth-place Vermilion (82) was led by high jump champ Hannah Bartlome, who cleared 5-2.

Bartlome, AuBree LaForce, Annie Rossi and Mallory Morris led Vermilion's 4x100 relay to first place (51.52), while LaForce, Bartlome, Mallory and Abbey Bodeker teamed up to win the 4x200 relay in 1:46.95. Hathaway Brown had its 4x800 relay of Colleen Lavelle, Julia Weil, Cristina Gurney and Sophie Richards turn in a first-place time of 10:20.23.

Division II at Lakeview: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy routed the field with 118 points, with Girard finishing second with 851/2.

The Royals won the opening event, the 4x800 relay, as Alex Blair, Mia Yeager, Mallory Myers and Sammy Bockoven punched in at 9:54.90. Autumn Young was the 100 (12.59), 200 (25.84) and long jump (17-5) champion, and Bockoven won in the 1,600 (5:21.24). Blair and Myers finished 1-2 in the 800 with times of 2:22.76 and 2:24.53, respectively, before Bockoven, Myers, Young and Katie Hess made up the victorious 4x400 relay in 4:06.60.

Destiny King won the 100 hurdles with a district meet-record time of 15.05, and Marra Woods was the high jump champ with 4-9 for fifth-place Streetsboro (56). Tori Chiller cooled off the 400 field with a first-place time of 59.92, while teammates Abby Soltisz and Challis Roberts were 1-2 in the 3,200 after running 11:49.48 and 11:55.38, respectively, for third-place Crestwood (83).

The discus tandem of Edie Svonavec and Caroline Hahn led the pack with efforts of 114-0 and 109-5, respectively, while Svonavec added the shot put title with a stadium-record toss of 42-61/4 for sixth-place Garrettsville Garfield (48). Emily Gillespie cleared a district record 9-0 to win the pole vault for fourth-place Woodridge (79).

Boys district track

Division II at Salem: Much the same as the girls, with St. Vincent-St. Mary running away from the rest of the field with 128 points.

Poland Seminary was a distant second with 70 points. Parris Campbell won the 100 and 200 with respective times of 11.02 and 22.38, then joined Jordan Sensabaugh, Jarel Wooldridge and Fransohn Bickley on the winning 4x200 relay, which ran 1:29.18. Vincent Lockett teamed with Bickley, Wooldridge and Campbell to run in 43.31 to beat the 4x100 relay field. Mick Iacofano and Nick Campbell finished 1-2 in the 1,600 with times of 4:24.44 and 4:27.52, respectively. Iacofano also won the 3,200 in 9:42.65, and teamed with Campbell, Brian Heller and Matt Oswald to capture the 4x800 relay in 8:12.98.

Field had 54 points, 18 of which came in the long jump when Brian Henshaw and Preston Semler finished first and second with efforts of 21-73/4 and 21-6, respectively.

Division II at Midview: Seventh-place Firelands (461/2) and eighth-place Buckeye (381/2) proved they could go the distance as the Falcons had Brady Jeffeers run a first-place time of 4:32.17 in the 1,600, and the Bucks had Ryan Gallagher topped the 3,200-meter runners when finished in 9:57.72.

Holy Name was fourth (65), thanks in large part to Kevin Masella, Mark Keppler, David Terschak and Brian DePauw, who passed the baton in 8:36.65 to win the 4x800 relay. Ted Achladis' toss of 145-2 won the shot put and lead Elyria Catholic to a ninth-place finish (33). Thirteenth-place Clearview earned its 10 points when Gerrell Williams won the long jump in 20-8.

Division II at Lakeview: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Valley scooped up an abundance of titles en route to winning the team crown with 129 points. Host Lakeview followed with 89. Evan Carroscia won the 110 hurdles in 14.85 and 300 hurdles in district-record time of 38.86, while Ryan Adams set a district record in the 1,600 in 4:27.72 and in the 800 by running 1:58.02.

Sherman Kortze won the 400 in 50.31 before he, Adams, Carroscia and Benny Schwarz won the 4x400 with a time of 3:26.90. Jake Sprague added a district record-breaking effort of 13-06 in the pole vault. Woodridge was third with 801/4 points, with 18 of those coming in the 3,200 when Matt Wojcik was first in 9:56.28, followed by Alex Frederick's 9:59.25, both of which were district-record performances. Also turning in a district-record showing of 156-5 was discus thrower Matt Monroe of sixth-place Crestwood, which had 63 points.

Boys lacrosse

Solon 16, North Canton Hoover 7: Sam Littman's eight goals, Steven Slagle's six assists and goalie Bryan Karn's 11 saves paced the Comets.

 

Who has the right engine and the right luck to win Indy? Elton Alexander analysis

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Leading up to Sunday's race, Chevrolet engines seemed to be on top. Will that still be true by the checkered flag?

INDIANAPOLIS -- It looks like a potential repeat of 2012, when most thought Honda drivers had no chance at winning the Indianapolis 500 against the faster Chevrolet drivers on the grid.

Sunday, look for a Chevrolet. But it's not a sure thing. Like 2012, Honda dropped more than a few new engines into the field for Carb Day, and suddenly the speed charts dominated all month by Chevys now had Hondas at the top.

This is still early in the tech development which began in 2012, now that there are two engine suppliers for the Indy Car Series. Each driver must get a predetermined amount of mileage and wear out of each engine before moving on to the next. But every generation of an engine has benefit of lessons learned on the track.

Last year at Indy, Dario Franchitti was considered a Honda also-ran, starting 16th on the grid. But he was one of several drivers who received new engines, and went on to win his third 500 title.

A couple of Chevrolet drivers apparently caught on to timing the arrival of their "next generation" engine in time for Sunday. Count three-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves, his teammate, Will Power, and Marco Andretti in that group.

Here are the drivers fitted with new engines: Castroneves, Power and Andretti with Chevrolets. Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Franchitti, Takuma Sato, James Jakes, Ana Beatriz, Justin Wilson, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Charlie Kimball and Alex Tagliani all with new Hondas.

Andretti has been blazing all month, and will start on the outside of the front row. He has yet to win at Indy, although in 2006 he went into Turn 3 on the last lap with a city block lead over Sam Hornish, came out of Turn 4 still ahead by car lengths, only to see Hornish flash past him at the finish line.

It could well be another photo finish as pole sitter Ed Carpenter, the Penske team of A.J. Allmendinger, Will Power and Castroneves all seem to have what it takes. Add Franchitti and his Honda teammate and former winner Dixon to that group as well.

But in the end, this looks to be Marco Andretti's race, which would be the first on the track for that family since grandfather Mario won in 1969.


Terry Pluto's Talkin' ... about Cavaliers' draft options, some improved Browns and how the Tribe landed Yan Gomes

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's the unofficial start of summer this weekend, and just another big lottery week for the local basketball team. So we're talkin' ... About the Cavaliers... While they like to pretend they weren't sure who'd they were going to take in 2011 -- Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams -- Irving was their man. I wrote that...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's the unofficial start of summer this weekend, and just another big lottery week for the local basketball team. So we're talkin' ...

About the Cavaliers...

While they like to pretend they weren't sure who'd they were going to take in 2011 -- Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams -- Irving was their man. I wrote that several months before the draft. Others in the NBA knew the Cavs were in love with the Duke point guard.

Last season, they were captivated by Anthony Davis, believing the Kentucky big man was, by far, the best player in the draft. They also knew it would take a few years for Davis to mature as a pro, but he definitely was their top choice.

They had the No. 4 pick, which became Dion Waiters. They did try to move up -- offering their entire draft (No. 4, 24, 33 and 34) to New Orleans for the draft rights to Davis, but were turned down.

If the 2013 draft were today and the Cavs couldn't make a major deal, I believe they'd take Nerlens Noel. But there's a month to go, and they are still doing homework on Noel and others.

They also will make some type of trade, even if they keep the top pick. They don't want to add four more rookies. They have picks 1, 19, 31 and 33. It's not hard to imagine them trading 19, 31 and 33 to move up.

When it comes to Noel, the Cavs like the following:

1. He is a "high energy" defender. He can block shots (4.4 per game), rebounds well and can run;

2. He's coachable and likes to play hard, not always the case with young big men; and

3. He's only 19 and won't be 20 until April. He is likely to grow (6-11) and certainly add weight to his 206-pound frame.

They worry about the following:

1. He is only 206 pounds. Will he be able add enough weight and strength to defend bigger men in the low post?

2. He had ACL surgery in February. He won't be ready to play until Christmas, and his rookie year could be rocky because of his age, inexperience and the knee issues; and

3. Offensively, he is very raw. Lots of dunks, not much else.

The Cavs have put a major emphasis on defense, and he is the most likely player to impact that end of the court in this draft. But the franchise is not close to being sold on him, as it was with Irving and Davis. They are looking at various options.

1. Otto Porter is the one small forward who ranks tops at that position by nearly every team.

2. Ben McLemore can score. The idea of a three-guard combination of Irving, McLemore and Waiters has a certain appeal. Suppose they make Waiters an explosive sixth man, much as James Hardin was with Oklahoma City early in his career.

3. Anthony Bennett is a 6-7, 240-pound power forward who may be the best scorer in the draft. The Cavs scouted him often.

Maybe they deal the No. 1 pick and drop a few spots to take one of these players. Lots of options are being discussed beyond Noel, or dealing the No. 1 pick for a veteran player.

About the Browns...

little-ravens-smith-2012-jg.jpgView full sizeGreg Little's solid play in the final two-thirds of the 2012 season has been reinforced by good work in the off-season, say Browns coaches. 

1. Greg Little has been one of the most impressive players in the minicamps. The Browns are excited about how he has embraced the new offense and performed in downfield passing schemes. The new coaches know Little is a tough guy who likes to block, doesn't miss games and his skills will translate once they actually start tackling.

2. Little led the team with 53 catches last season. He had 11 in the first five games, along with four drops. He seemed to be falling out of favor, then finished with 42 catches in the final 11 games -- dropping two. It was a significant step forward in his second season.

3. Little did lead the team with six drops; Josh Gordon and Trent Richardson had five each. Owen Marecic dropped all four passes thrown to him.

4. Marecic is still on the roster, but offensive coordinator Norv Turner rarely uses pure fullbacks. He loves formations with two tight ends. They have been pleased with Jordan Cameron, because the former Division I basketball player can run and catch the ball. But last season, he had some minor injuries and is out with a pulled groin. Durability will be the key.

5. Gary Barnidge (signed from Carolina) is rated as a good blocking tight end. They think he can do a little more as a receiver. Kellen Davis (signed from Chicago) is another strong blocker. He had eight drops in 2012 compared to 19 receptions. Brad Smelley may find a role, because the former Alabama H-back is a good receiver. He caught 34 passes as a senior in 2011.

6. Travis Benjamin has surprised the staff with his sure hands. He may be the fastest player on the team and has been viewed as a punt returner. He did catch 18 passes last season, averaging 16.6 yards and two touchdowns. Turner is having some fun figuring out how to utilize his speed.

7. Lots of passes are being thrown to running backs. Montario Hardesty has done a good job, which is a surprise because he has dropped passes in the regular season. Newcomer Dion Lewis also looks good as a receiver. Trent Richardson caught 51 passes last season, showing good hands.

8. Richardson is out with a leg injury. Every year, Hardesty has to prove he can stay healthy. Those injury histories led the Browns to bring back Brandon Jackson. He is a good receiver, and his contract is not guaranteed. Chris Ogbonnaya also has impressed with his overall play.

9. When the Browns see veterans such as Brian Hoyer or Jackson available and the price is right, they will sign them -- especially if they are under 30. They believe some players here had a sense of entitlement, so adding a few new faces raises the level of competition.

10. While Hoyer doesn't have the strong arm that the Browns would prefer, they like his quick release, leadership skills and attitude. They view Brandon Weeden/Jason Campbell/Hoyer as an upgrade over Weeden/Colt McCoy/Thad Lewis.

About Yan Gomes...

gomes-tribe-2013-midswing-cc.jpgYan Gomes has been a revelation for the Indians, says Terry Pluto. 

The story of how the Tribe grabbed Yan Gomes begins last summer, when they purchased Esmil Rogers from Colorado for $150,000. While the right-hander averaged 94 mph on his fastball, he had a career 8-11 record and 6.77 ERA for the Rockies They ran out of patience, and sold him to the Tribe.

The Indians bought him because he threw hard. Worth a look. But suddenly, he began to throw strikes with a nasty breaking ball. Rodgers had a 3-1 record with a 3.06 ERA after arriving. In the winter, GM Chris Antonetti pursued Mike Aviles, a gritty infielder and a favorite of new manager Terry Francona. The Blue Jays wanted Rogers ... a lot.

The Tribe liked Gomes, because he was a young catcher and the Indians had no one besides Lou Marson behind Carlos Santana. Toronto had J.P. Arencibia, a catcher who hits for power.

The Blue Jays also weren't sure what was the best position for Gomes. They used him at first, third and behind the plate. He batted .204 in 104 plate appearances last season. But the Indians knew Gomes bounced between the minors and Toronto four times. He played more innings at first base (119), than third (54) or catcher (49). He batted .328 (.938 OPS) with 13 homers in 79 games at Class AAA. He was only 25.

It seemed Toronto wasn't sure what to do with Gomes, and the Indians convinced the Jays to add him to the trade. Rogers has a 5.16 ERA in the Jays' bullpen. Aviles has been a super-utility man, batting .280 with three homers and 15 RBI heading into the weekend, playing third, short, second, left and right fields.

Gomes has been pounding the ball, batting .311 with five homers and 12 RBI in 64 at-bats. He's thrown out eight of 13 baserunners, and the Tribe believes he has the talent to be a starting catcher.

With Mark Reynolds now playing mostly third base, the Indians can use Santana at first or designated hitter several times each week -- allowing Gomes to catch. As for Marson, he is coming back from a shoulder injury. He does have a minor-league option left, and he'll probably be sent to Columbus when healthy -- assuming Gomes continues to produce.

About the Tribe...

allen-rocks-tribe-2013-cc.jpgView full sizeCody Allen has emerged as a very impressive fireballer for the Indians' bullpen. 

1. Cody Allen entered the weekend with a 2.05 ERA, and he been eye-popping lately. His average fastball is 95 mph, and his breaking ball is 84. He has been wiping out hitters. In order, he fanned Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta in a recent game. The scouting staff found him at High Point College, and he was the 698th pick in the 2011 draft. He blew through the minors, a 1.74 ERA in 98 innings before reaching the Tribe last year. Allen is one reason the Tribe could trade Rogers to Toronto.

2. A few days ago, Michael Bourn grounded into his first double play of the season. That happened only twice last year, 20 times in his eight-year career. I love how he ripped a base hit up the middle against the Tigers, but never stopped running and hustled it into a double. Bourn entered the weekend hitting .320. His speed allows him to take the extra base, and he's 7-of-8 on steals.

3. Bourn had that crazy play where the ball bounced off his glove and over the wall for a homer for Miguel Cabrera, but he is terrific in center. He threw out Jacoby Ellsbury at home Friday night. He covers a Wyoming-sized chunk of real estate and averaged 151 games the last four years. He missed three weeks with a finger injury, and the Tribe wants to keep him fresh by resting him a bit this summer -- especially since Drew Stubbs also is superb in center.

4. The Indians aren't saying much because he is set for another rehab start early next week, but there is concern about Brett Myers. The veteran gave up three runs, four hits and walked four in 4.1 innings with Class AA Akron on Wednesday. His velocity was "not real good," according to one scout. Myers says he's healthy, but has battled arm problems since spring training. He just didn't tell the team until the end of April.

5. Unless Myers shows significant improvement, the Tribe shouldn't bring him back so soon -- or at least not in the rotation. From the free-agent signings to sending prospect Lonnie Chisenhall back to the minors after a slow start, the Tribe acts as if it wants to win now. This version of Myers doesn't help.

For the Cleveland Indians, patience begins with the boss: Bud Shaw's Sunday Sports Spin

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Terry Francona didn't wait years to manage Jason Giambi to throw him overboard in the season's first two months, Bud Shaw writes in his Sunday Spin.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Terry Francona manages to keep the faith...

Francona has brought more cowbell to the Indians' season. His team got baseball's full attention by winning 18 of 22 games and forging ahead, however briefly, of the Detroit Tigers. The only gripe some have with the show locally is they'd like a lot less Jason Giambi.

May is much too early to make significant pronouncements, whether it's to say the Indians are for real this time, or that Giambi is finished because he's mired in a 0-for-24 slump.

There's a reason why Nick Swisher recently called Francona the "best manager on the planet." Swisher's appreciation -- and that of many teammates -- is based on the consistency and trust Francona brings to his relationship with players, especially veterans.

(We pause here for your "fried chicken and beer in the clubhouse" zinger)

OK? Feel better? Moving on.

francona-giambi-2013-spring-cc.jpgView full sizeTerry Francona has been Jason Giambi's biggest supporter since spring training, and made his continued patience with the slumping slugger profanely clear Saturday. 

Asked Saturday in Boston if Giambi's struggles (.150 batting average) were age-related, Francona's reaction was predictable.

"Bleep no," he said.

Giambi is 42. Francona has wanted to manage Giambi since he came across him in the minors for the first time. Not surprisingly, Francona said to ask him again "when he's 44."

That's a manager exaggerating a stance on behalf of a beloved player. It's fair to ask again at the All-Star break. They didn't sign him, after all, because he beats out infield hits with head-first slides into first.

For now, Giambi has appeared in 18 games. That's a small sample. He missed the first 10 games. Only three times has Francona played him on consecutive days. So it's not as if the manager is running him out there every 24 hours. Or watching the offense consistently sputter because of him.

There is one valid aspect of Giambi's age. At 42, he's probably not going to get better with significantly fewer at-bats.

Whether Francona is convinced when he says "lately his bat speed is better," or when he talks about Giambi dealing with a stiff neck, he's sending a message of support and calm to his clubhouse. There's a lot of respect for Giambi in there.

"The saving grace is that before he steps in the batter's box, he's already valuable," said Francona.

So, you say, make him a coach? After all, Giambi was a candidate for the manager's job in Colorado. The dynamic changes if he becomes a coach. It's just not the same.

There might come a time when that makes the most sense. It's not Memorial Day.

SPINOFFS

• Kentucky coach John Calipari hopes the Cavs pick his guy, 206-pound center Nerlens Noel, No. 1 overall. He also predicts the Cavs will be one of the elite teams in the league soon based on similarly wise choices in the draft that brought Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson.

"Don't sell your [season] tickets," Calipari told The Plain Dealer.

Unless it's the only way you can afford to buy Noel a protein shake or 10.

• Still waiting for the first college coach to say, "Draft my guy No. 1? You can't be serious. Not only isn't he ready for the NBA, he's a pipe cleaner with arms."

And/or a surgically repaired ACL.

• Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, a dedicated amateur guitarist whose band is called the Underthinkers, has released an album titled "Everywhere at Once.

Dan Gilbert and Machine Gun Kelly are officially on the clock.

• European Tour chief executive George O'Grady apologized for saying most of Sergio Garcia's friends are "colored athletes in the United States."

If he'd defended Garcia by saying the Spaniard had "black" friends, it wouldn't have been offensive, just entirely lame.

Colin Montgomerie has had just about enough of the uproar over Garcia's "fried chicken" reference aimed at nemesis Tiger Woods. Montgomerie feels the same about the controversy over O'Grady's word choice.

"We're all frightened to say anything," Montgomerie said at the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth. "Somebody should tell us what to say because no one is quite sure what is right or wrong."

Yes. Who knew there'd be sensitivity to "colored" and "fried chicken," especially when the words come from inside a sport as historically diverse as golf.

• Miami pitcher Alex Sanabia spit on the baseball after giving up a home run Monday against the Phillies. He said he didn't know you weren't allowed to do that, leaving only one question.

Does Alex Sanabia know Colin Montgomerie?

It's really not that gross after the first 10 viewings

• The Yankees' Curtis Granderson missed 38 games with a broken bone in his forearm, the result of being hit by a pitch in spring training. Ten days after returning on May 14, Granderson got hit with another pitch that broke a knuckle. He'll miss a month.

That's enough to make Grady Sizemore look like the picture of health and No. 1 benefactor of good fortune.

• The Rams have signed 6-10, 403-pound undrafted free agent Terrell Brown, who played at Ole Miss. They will attempt to move him from defense to offensive tackle, and it is expected to take the entire team to do it.

• Philadelphia's Michael Vick told radio host Dan Patrick he's still the fastest quarterback in the NFL. Not wanting to brag, he failed to mention he's also the league's quickest fumbler.

Alex Rodriguez doubled his money by selling his Miami estate for $30 million. He previously flipped a Manhattan condo for a $2.5 million profit.

Two more reasons -- to go along with his warm personality -- for the common man to feel a connection with ARod.

Brian Hoyer joined the Browns' this week. The St. Ignatius grad said there's "no doubt I have the capability to be a starting quarterback."

For the record, he was speaking in general. And some NFL people agree with him.

That distinction is necessary because it wouldn't be a particularly bold statement as it pertained to post-1999 Cleveland, where starting quarterbacks multiply like potholes every December.

• A Fox Sports Kansas City TV graphic during a Royals' game asked the audience to pick a young player with which to start a franchise in 2013. The choices: Bryce Hunter of the Detroit Tigers was one choice. So was Matt Jones of the Orioles and Mike Trout of the Yankees.

kcroyalssnafu.jpgView full sizeWhat, we didn't proofread all the graphics for today's game? No problem ... how wrong could they be? 

One problem: Bryce Harper plays for Washington. Matt Harvey pitches for the Mets and Mike Trout plays for the Angels.

The real problem: The Royals over the last 10 games (2-8) were beginning to pay the same attention to detail on the field.

• Redskins' coach Mike Shanahan said quarterback Robert Griffin III is "very special" and can be "one of the best ever."

The unspoken caveat: "If we don't get him killed first."

HE SAID IT

"Out of 10, I would give it a 40." -- Nick Swisher on the birth of his daughter, Emerson Jay, this week.

Now we know the mathematical equivalent of "awesomeamazingness."

YOU SAID IT

(The Expanded Sunday Edition)

"Bud:

"When Tiger Woods hits one in the water, how is that his ball crosses the hazard three feet from the cup?" -- Wayne Kuznar

That call is up to Tiger and the playing partner he intimidates.

"Bud:

"Is a sports writer's travel per diem still called 'Meal Money'?" -- Tim G

Yes. If the FDA considers hops and high fructose corn syrup a meal.

"Bud:

"Now that Thursday's PD will be eliminated, does that mean the 'Spin' column will be really, really expanded on Sunday or will us dedicated readers be forced to live in futility?" -- Jim D, Richmond Heights

The Thursday paper will be in print on news stands. It just won't be home delivered. But I think you meant to say "even more futility."

"Bud:

"What does it mean when I Google 'Nerlens Noel' and a picture of Sam Bowie comes up?" -- Vince G, Cincinnati

Not sure but if you Google his name and "NBA body" you get a picture of Manute Bol.

"Bud:

"Now that Clevelanders have been exposed to first names such as Nerlens and Barkevious, is it time to reveal what real first name 'Bud' has replaced?" -- Chas K, Cleveland Heights

I thought it was fairly obvious from my column picture. It's short for Budfabio.

"Bud:

"How many consecutive home runs does it take for a major-league closer to become a Wal-Mart greeter?" -- Johnny Mack, Bainbridge

There are a few stops in between for failed athletes before you get to Wal-Mart greeter. Sportswriter and "You Said It" contributor. But neither pays as well.

"Hey Bud:

"While I don't usually turn to a Plain Dealer columnist with questions of cosmic import, could you please explain to me how Jose Canseco's head got into Michael Bourn's mitt?" -- Pat

First-time "You said it" winners receive a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection.

"Bud:

"Would Sergio Garcia have been better off to suggest pancakes?" -- Connie G

Repeat winners get an apology.

Cleveland Indians implode late, suffer 7-4 loss to Boston Red Sox

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The Indians were their own worst enemy Saturday in a 7-4 loss to Boston at Fenway Park.

BOSTON -- The lead and the game were in Vinnie Pestano's hands in the eighth inning Saturday on a wet afternoon at Fenway Park. They each slipped away, but the fault wasn't entirely his.

Pestano allowed consecutive two-out RBI doubles to Mike Carp and Dustin Pedroia as Boston came from behind to beat the Indians, 7-4. The Indians have lost four of their last five after winning 12 of their previous 15.

The Indians took a 4-3 lead in the seventh against Jon Lester when Mike Aviles scored on a wild pitch. Things were set up perfectly for the Tribe's top three relievers -- Joe Smith, Pestano and Chris Perez -- which has seldom been the case in the first two months of the season.

Smith came out for the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning. The baton was passed to Pestano, but this is not the same Automatic Vinnie who dominated the eighth inning over the last two seasons. He just came off the disabled list on May 16 because of a sore right elbow and was only throwing between 87-88 mph Saturday.

Pestano retired Jose Iglesias to start the eighth, but Pedro Ciriaco sent a fly ball to left that gave Michael Brantley fits before it bounced off the Green Monster for a double. Pestano struck out Jacoby Ellsbury, but Carp, pinch-hitting for Jonny Gomes, doubled off the Monster to tie the score. Carp, who hit three-run homer off Justin Masterson in Friday's 8-1 victory, is hitting .500 (6-for-12) with six RBI against the Indians this season.

Indians-Red Sox boxscore | Scoreboard | Standings

Pestano had Pedroia down in the count, 0-2, but hung a slider and Pedroia knocked it off the Monster for the lead. After loading the bases on an intentional walk to David Ortiz and an unintentional one to Mike Napoli, Pestano gave up a pop to Daniel Nava into short left. It seemed like a sure third out, but fell between Brantley and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera as two runs scored for a 7-4 lead.

It was Pestano's fourth appearance since he came off the DL. Asked how he felt, he said, "I'm throwing 87-mph fastballs right now, so that's something we gotta address."

Pestano (1-1) usually throws between 92 mph and 93 mph.

"I don't feel my elbow at all," said Pestano, whose ERA jumped from 2.45 to 5.25. "Like I said, I'm trying to throw the ball as hard as I can. It's just not coming out."

A strong wind blew from left field to right for most of the game. It played havoc with the Indians in the eighth. Brantley went back on Ciriaco's ball, but it drifted behind him before hitting the Monster.

"I wanted to catch it," said Brantley. "I knew the wall was coming up. I just couldn't get back to the wall fast enough."

On Nava's pop up, Cabrera called Brantley off, but the ball fell at least 10 feet to his left.

"Cabbie is out there," said manager Terry Francona. "He thinks he's under it and he looks up and the wind brought it back 20 feet and it ends up being in no man's land."

Francona has seen the Monster produce a lot of magic for the Red Sox as their manager from 2004 through 2011. "The wind plays a factor in the wall," he said. "That's part of this ballpark."

The Indians have been trying to keep Pestano sharp since he came off the disabled list. With their improved offense, the bullpen hasn't been used as much. Pestano felt the inactivity may have led to his elbow problems. So he pitched an inning in Friday's loss only to take the loss himself on Saturday.

"It's becoming a common theme for me lately, coming in and not getting the job done," said Pestano.

The Indians came into Saturday's game with nine straight errorless games. The streak ended with a thud as right fielder Ryan Raburn and third baseman Mark Reynolds made errors. Left-hander Scott Kazmir pitched five decent innings, but even he was guilty of a mistake.

After the Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first on Nick Swisher's double, Kazmir had two outs in the second when he balked Iglesias to second base. Ciriaco followed with an RBI single.

In the fourth, with the Tribe leading, 3-1, Raburn overran Iglesias' double off the grandstand along the right-field line as Nava scored to make it 3-2. In the sixth, after Iglesias singled, Ciriaco bunted to third. Reynolds made a bare-hand grab, but his throw was wild as Iglesias went to third and Ciriaco to second.

Gomes followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Cleveland Gladiators lose at Pittsburgh after fourth-quarter collapse

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The Pittsburgh Power scored 27 unanswered points, and defeated the Cleveland Gladiators in an Arena Football League game in Pittsburgh Saturday night.

glads.jpg

By Mike Vernon, Special to The Plain Dealer PITTSBURGH, Pa. - When Steven Sheffield zipped a pass just over the fingertips of Gladiators defensive back Marrio Norman for a 16-yard touchdown, the Cleveland lead vanished for good in a 55-44 loss.

The pass led to the 20th of 27 unanswered fourth-quarter points for the Power, giving it a 48-44 lead on Cleveland.

"We just fell apart," Gladiators linebacker Joe Phinisee said. "You just hate to lose. This is a division game."

The next two plays would clinch the game for Pittsburgh.

Cleveland quarterback Bryan Zbydniewski tossed an interception on the next play, and Sheffield threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stafford to give the Power a 55-44 lead that would prove to be the final margin. Pittsburgh's 55 points are the most it has scored all season.

Yet Saturday wasn't always successful for Sheffield.

Phinisee cut off a third-quarter Sheffield pass in the Gladiators' end zone and started running along the wall at Consol Energy Center. Four times, a Power player dove, trying to tackle him as he sprinted downfield.

"I saw all these linemen and got nervous," Phinisee said. "They're some big boys, man. I [thought] I was going to get hit hard against that wall."

The Power (3-6) was on its 11-yard line, looking to close the gap on a 37-28 fourth-quarter lead by the Gladiators (2-7). Instead, it only widened as Phinisee's 49-yard interception return gave Cleveland a 44-28 lead that wouldn't hold for very long.

The interception was the third consecutive turnover by Sheffield after he fumbled and threw  another interception. All three turnovers came during Pittsburgh's scoreless third quarter.

"I'm not happy with the way I played," Sheffield said. "It was a very average performance."

The Power looked like a beaten team entering the game's final 12 minutes before its late charge.

While the third quarter was futile for Pittsburgh, the team may have played its best first half of the year.

Early in the second quarter, Stafford caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Sheffield and had to shuffle his feet before crashing into the back wall in the end zone. The 14-7 Pittsburgh lead was its largest of the season -- until its score in the final minute.

The first-half accomplishments didn't stop there. The Power took a 28-24 lead into the locker room at halftime -- the team's highest-scoring first half of the season.

The game ended for Pittsburgh just like it started -- with the Power riding some of its best play of the season and the Gladiators searching for answers. Gladiators wide receiver Thyron Lewis had a game-high 107 receiving yards but couldn't help Cleveland overcome the late Pittsburgh run.

"We just didn't finish," Lewis said. "Point blank, we just didn't finish on our end."

Mike Vernon is s freelance writer in Pittsburgh.

Sunday, May 26 TV and radio sports listings for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

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Highlights include Indians game at Boston.

CLEVELAND, Ohio

Today's TV and radio sports listings

AUTO RACING

7:30 a.m. Monaco Grand Prix, WKYC

Noon Indianapolis 500, WEWS

6 p.m. Coca-Cola 600, WJW

BASEBALL

1:30 p.m. West Michigan at LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS, AM/970

1:30 p.m. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay, TBS

1:35 p.m. CLEVELAND INDIANS at Boston, SportsTime Ohio; AM/1100, FM/100.7

1:35 p.m. AKRON AEROS at Erie, AM/1350

2 p.m. Miami at Chicago White Sox, WGN

8 p.m. Atlanta at N.Y. Mets, ESPN

COLLEGE BASEBALL

1 p.m. Indiana vs. Nebraska, Big Ten Network

1 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference final, ESPN2

2 p.m. Big 12 final, Fox Sports Ohio

2 p.m. Conference USA final, CBSSN

5 p.m. SEC final, Louisiana State vs. Vanderbilt, ESPN2

COLLEGE SOFTBALL SUPER REGIONALS

Noon Florida vs. UAB, ESPN

3 p.m. UAB vs. Florida, ESPN

3 p.m. Oregon vs. Nebraska, ESPNU

5 p.m. Arizona State vs. Kentucky, ESPN

6 p.m. Nebraska vs. Oregon, ESPNU

8 p.m. Teams to be determined, ESPN2

GOLF

7:30 a.m. BMW PGA Championship, Golf Channel

1 p.m. Crowne Plaza Invitational, Golf Channel

3 p.m. Crowne Plaza Invitational, WOIO

3 p.m. Senior PGA Championship, WKYC

3 p.m. Bahamas Classic, Golf Channel

NBA CONFERENCE FINALS

8:30 p.m. East, Game 3, Miami at Indiana, 8:30, TNT

NHL CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

8 p.m. Western Conference, Game 6, Los Angeles at San Jose, NBCSN

SOCCER

3:30 p.m. MLS, Houston at Kansas City, NBCSN

5 p.m. MLS, COLUMBUS CREW at New York, Fox Sports Ohio

11 p.m. MLS, Seattle at Los Angeles, ESPN2

TENNIS

5 a.m. French Open, first round, ESPN2

10 a.m. French Open, first round, Tennis Channel

Noon French Open, first round, WKYC


Indians at Red Sox: Get updates and post your comments

Cleveland Indians dealing with Vinnie Pestano's drop in velocity

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Manager Terry Francona says Vinnie Pestano's drop in velocity is not a medical issue.

pestano-reax-2012-horiz-cc.jpgVinnie Pestano is dealing with a a drop in velocity since coming off the disabled list on May 16. 

BOSTON -- The Bullpen Mafia has taken some hits this year.

Closer Chris Perez had to excuse himself from a game recently in Detroit because of a stiff right shoulder and there's still questions as to whether he's 100 percent. Now set-up man Vinnie Pestano, just off the disabled list with a sore right elbow, is dealing with a drop in velocity.

"I told Vinnie when he came off the disabled list, "There might be a little rust,'" said manager Terry Francona. "But like a hitter with a track record, this is a pitcher with a pretty impressive track record with the way he competes, the way he cares. I wouldn't want to run away from him. I just want to help him."

Pestano came off the disabled list on May 16. He made his fourth appearance Saturday since being activated and gave up a career high four runs and four hits in the eighth inning to turn a 4-3 lead into a 7-4 loss to the Red Sox.

When healthy, Pestano throws between 92 mph and 93 mph. He was throwing between 88 mph and 89 mph Saturday.

"Mickey Callaway (pitching coach) and Kevin Cash (bullpen cash) have been talking mechanics with Vinnie. They'll get it straightened out."

Pestano was not available for Sunday's game against the Red Sox after pitching Friday and Saturday and throwing a combined 49 pitches as the Indians try to rebuild his arm strength.

"In spring training, when guys start throwing, they have to build arm speed," said Francona. "That's what he's doing now. . .There are no medical issues. We got him through that. Now we just have to get him back to being Vinnie."

Francona said there will be no problem finding an alternative for Pestano on Sunday because of the Tribe's eight-man bullpen.

"We're in pretty good shape," said Francona. "Perez, Joe Smith, Rich Hill, Bryan Shaw, Matt Albers and Cody Allen are available. We had a tough game Saturday in the bullpen, but we have a good bullpen.

"We have so many different ways to go. On days when someone might not be ready to go, I never feel handcuffed. That's an unbelievable feeling."

Today's lineups:

Indians (27-21): CF Bourn, 2B Kipnis, DH Cabrera, 1B Swisher, 3B Reynolds, C Santana, LF Brantley, SS Aviles, RF Stubbs, P Kluber (3-3, 5.19).

Red Sox (30-20): CF Ellsbury, RF Nava, 2B Pedroia DH Ortiz, 1B Napoli, C Saltalamacchia, LF Carp, SS Drew, 3B Iglesias, P Doubront (3-2, 5.61).

Umpires: H Guccione, 1B Cuzzi, 2B Hallion, 3B Kulpa. Hallion, crew chief.

Key matchups:

Red Sox vs. Kluber: Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava are 1-1.

Indians vs. Doubront: Nick Swisher is 5-for-15 and Michael Brantley is 2-for-7.

Kluber vs. Red Sox: Kluber is 0-1 with a 14.54 ERA (seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings).

Doubront vs. Indians: Doubront is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA against the Indians.

 

 

 


Terry Francona trying to keep Asdrubal Cabrera fresh: Cleveland Indians chatter

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The Indians are trying to reverse a trend in Asdrubal Cabrera's game in which he's had great first halves the last two years only to slump after the All-Star break.

 

Asdrubal Cabrera flies through the air with the greatest of easeThe Indians are trying to keep Asdrubal Cabrera strong and rested for a whole season . 

BOSTON -- Seen and heard Sunday at Fenway Park.

 Clubhouse confidential: In the last two years, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera has hit a combined .290 with 25 homers and 93 RBI before the All-Star break. After the break, he's hit a combined .247 with 16 homers and 67 RBI.

To combat that, manager Terry Francona has tried rest him in various ways, which is not always easy with an eight-man bullpen. Sunday, for example, the All-Star shortstop made his second start of the year at DH.

 "In the past, there has been talk about him playing himself into the ground and I don't want that to happen," said Francona. "He's playing really good baseball. He's being really aggressive on the bases. His quad still probably isn't perfect, but he's still really playing the game. . .So you just look for spots to monitor it."

 Balk me: Here's what happened on Scott Kazmir's second-inning balk on Saturday. Catcher Carlos Santana gave Kazmir a sign and Kazmir nodded in approval. Santana thought he shook him off and gave him another sign when Kazmir was just about to start his delivery.

"I tried to step off the rubber, but I flinched," said Kazmir.

 Jose Iglesias went from first to second on the balk and scored on Pedro Ciriaco's single.

 Stat of the day: Michael Brantley (56-for-177) entered Sunday's game hitting .316, a season high.

 -- Paul Hoynes
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Cleveland Indians open two-game series against Reds Monday in Cincinnati

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UIbaldo Jimenez will try to get back on the winning path Monday when he faces the Reds and Mike Leake at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati to open a two-game series.

 

jimenez-horiz-2013-cc.jpgUbaldo Jimenez will faces the Reds and Mike Leake on Monday afternoon in Cincinnati 

Where: Great American Ball Park.

 When: Monday afternoon and Tuesday night.

 TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio; WTAM 1100-AM/WMMS 100.7.

 Pitching matchups: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (3-3, 6.04) vs. RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 3.26) Monday at 1:10 p.m. and RHP Zach McAllister (4-3, 2.89) vs. RHP Mat Latos (4-0, 3.17) Tuesday at 7:10 p.m.

 Season Series: Indians and Reds split six games last year, the Indians going 0-3 in Cincinnati and 3-0 in Cleveland. The Indians lead, 42-39, overall.

 Indians: Last year Shin-Soo Choo hit .407 (11-for-27) with three homers and four RBI against the Reds for the Indians. Now he'll be facing the Indians. Asdrubal Cabrera hit .292 (7-for-24) with two homers and five RBI against Cincinnati last year.

 Reds: They're leading the National League in runs in May. Last year Brandon Phellips hit .462 (12-for-26) with two homers and eight RBI and Joey Votto hit .435 (10-for-23) with three homers and seven RBI against the Tribe. Latos went 1-0 in two starts, but gave up nine runs on 15 hits to the Indians.  

 Injuries: Indians -- C Lou Marson (right shoulder), RHP Brett Myers (right elbow/forearm), RHP Josh Tomlin (right elbow), RHP Frank Herrmann (right elbow) and RHP Blake Wood (right elbow) are on the disabled list. Reds -- OF Chris Heisey (right hamstring), OF Ryan Ludwick (right shoulder), LHP Sean Marshall (left shoulder) and RHP Nick Masset (right shoulder).

 Next: The Reds visit Progressive Field on Wednesday for the start of a two-game series.
 --  Paul Hoynes
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Tony Kanaan wins Indianapolis 500

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Takes the lead just before a late caution to claim victory.

IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing.jpgView full sizeTony Kanaan celebrates by drinking the winners milk after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday. 

 Indianapolis -- There are a lot of popular drivers in the paddock and on the track in open wheel auto racing. But few draw more cheers and tears like Brazillian Tony Kanaan.

 So the outpouring was loud and long when he won the scintillating 97th Indianapolis 500 under caution, after the last of a record 68 lead changes by a record 14 different drivers.

 "This is it,'' he proclaimed after the wreath hit his shoulders and the milk hit his lips. "I made it. They have to put my ugly face on that (Borg-Warner) Trophy.

  He took the point in typical TK fahsion with a bonzai restart on lap 197, blazing past leader Ryan Hunter-Reay while holding off rookie Carlo Munoz into the first turn.

 Starts and restarts are Kanaan's trademark a he is noted for picking off drivers like ducks in a pond. The same happened here, and as if my magic, as soon as he was in the lead, friend and former teammate Dario Franchitti hit the wall behind him, bringing out the caution that would lead to his pace car escort the near deafening cheers.

 "I got a little bit of luck today,'' Kanaan said. "I was looking at the stands and it was unbelievable.

 Moments later Dario Franchitti would bring out the last caution of the day, allowing Kanaan to soak in the cheers with a pace car escort for the first Indy 500 victory of his career. As he got out of the car he threw both fists into the air and screamed.

 "If there's anybody that deserves to win, it's him,'' said Marco Andretti, who finished fourth.  

 

Politics aside, Chris Penso follows his dream to officiate and will work U.S. National team friendly in Cleveland

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Dover man has worked in a variety of jobs but never lost his appetite to officiate

chris_penso.jpgChris Penso of Dover will be officiating the U.S.-Belgium soccer game Wednesday at FirstEnergy Stadium. 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A decade ago, Chris Penso fell seven votes shy of becoming a 21-year-old mayor still working toward his accounting degree at Kent State.

The former manger of a family-owned pizza shop wanted to bring change to his hometown of Dover, located about 20 miles south of Canton in Tuscarawas County. Ambition and the road less traveled have enabled Penso to fulfill another goal: to bring order to soccer fields around the globe.

Last year, the sport’s governing body, FIFA, approved him as an international referee, one potentially capable of officiating World Cup and Olympic games. Sixteen years after working his first youth soccer game for $22, Penso will serve as the fourth official in the United States- Belgium exhibition match Wednesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“Had I become mayor I would never have had time to devote to travel and training (for officiating),” said Penso, who made a second unsuccessful bid for office in 2007. “It’s funny how everything happens for a reason. I couldn’t be happier, I’m in a great place.”

Penso, who lives in Akron with his wife, has packed plenty into his 31 years. Beyond his political dalliance, he has worked briefly as Transportation Security Agency screener and highway state patrolman. The one constant has been his love for officiating. The most vocal soccer moms and disgruntled Sunday-league amateurs have been unable to sour him on it.

In 2006, Penso was earning $50,000 with the Ohio State Patrol when he marched into the lieutenant’s office and told him he’d rather be issuing yellow cards than speeding tickets.

“I probably reffed three games in a 19-month span while going through the training and working on the job,” he said. “Officiating is a young man’s job and if I wanted to make a career of it I had to dedicate more time to it.”

His parents, Kent and Lisa, who own Penso’s Pizza in Dover, were skeptical, but supportive. He worked his way through ranks, reaching Major League Soccer in 2009.

Penso sees similarities in patrolling highways and soccer fields. Both involve making split decisions, administering rules, explaining decisions, managing personalities and keeping emotions in check. He’s had amateur players spit on him and take swings.

His soccer supervisors appreciate the way he arbitrates games.

“He’s definitely the good cop,” said Don Wilbur, who evaluates referees for the MLS and FIFA among other soccer organizations. “Chris is someone of high character on and off the field. He works hard and keeps his nose clean.

“He’s got a bright future ahead of him and it wouldn’t surprise me if he made it to a World Cup one day.”

Officiating soccer at highest level is a demanding and grueling profession. In a sport where one call can change the course of a 1-0 game, officials must be in position to make it.

That’s why you don’t see any white-haired men running up and down fields like in the NFL. Each season, Penso must earn his FIFA re-appointment, an honor that comes with a 45-year-old age limit, he said. Penso is one of just seven American FIFA referees.

His ultimate dream is to be selected for the 2018 World Cup.

His desire and schedule keeps him moving. He worked an MLS game in Salt Lake City on Saturday before flying to Edmonton, Alberta where he will referee the Canada-Costa Rica match on Tuesday. His wife, Tori, can sympathize. She, too, is a soccer referee.

Tori and many of Penso’s family and friends will attend Wednesday’s friendly at the stadium. His role as a fourth official in Cleveland will have him on the sidelines, controlling the bench areas, administering substitutions and acting as the “fourth set of eyes” for the referee and his two assistants.

Soccer officials communicate through headsets and Penso will be looking for any off-the-ball transgressions such as a punch or kick the referee might not detect. Keeping the peace between Clint Dempsey and Vincent Kompany is a long way from calling under-12 youth games in New Philadelphia.

“These last 16 years have been quite an experience,” Penso said.

The referee said he would have cherished the chance to govern his hometown, a longing first implanted as a high school senior attending city council meetings for his Advanced Placement government class. After his officiating career ends, he might return to Dover to take over the pizza business.

Maybe he gives politics, a tough game by another name, a second chance. Penso better keep the yellow and red cards handy.


Terry Francona says thanks for the memories: Cleveland Indians insider

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Maybe Terry Francona had to get away from Boston to realize he will always be a part of the Red Sox.

Terry Francona Indians manager Terry Francona walks into the visitor's dugout Thursday before the opening of a four-game series against the Red Sox. 

BOSTON -- After a visit to the mound Saturday during the Tribe's 7-4 loss to the Red Sox, manager Terry Francona received a standing ovation from the fans behind the Indians' dugout. It wasn't the first time it happened during the Indians' four-game series at Fenway

 "I don't know how to say it," said Francona, who managed eight years in Boston. "You're coming back the dugout, you're losing. It's almost embarrassing.

 "But this is a really special place. They do things here like no other place. I mean that in a complimentary way."

 Francona led the Red Sox to five straight postseason appearances, including World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

 "Baseball is so important to people here," he said. "It think it was (Boston columnist) Mike Barnicle, who said, "Baseball's not a religion, but the Red Sox are.' So when you're the manager here, it creates a headache sometimes. You can't have all that passion and interest without a couple of headaches.

 "It doesn't mean it's not a helluva place."

 After the Red Sox collapsed in 2011, the Red Sox fired Francona. It was an unpleasant split.

 "I caught my fair share of flak when I was here because you're the manager,"
Francona said. "But you also see how they react now. Once you're one of them, I think you're kind of almost maybe one of them.

 "I think they realized I caught a break. I'm just a normal guy who loves baseball and got a good team and tried not to screw it up. I was really lucky. I caught a big break."

 Not a lot of managers would say that. In fact, several contend they invented the game.

 "I worked hard, but I caught a big break," said Francona. "I came to a team that was ready to win and we did. Then it's time to move on and I felt I caught another break. I love being here.

 "It's helped me look back on Boston a little fonder now that I'm here."

 In the fifth inning Sunday, when Michael Bourn was called out on a bunt in front of the plate, Francona came out to argue. The crowd chanted "Tito, Tito, Tito."

 Now what? The Bullpen Mafia has taken some hits this year.

 Closer Chris Perez had to excuse himself from a game recently in Detroit because of a stiff right shoulder and there's still questions as to whether he's 100 percent. Now set-up man Vinnie Pestano, just off the disabled list with a sore right elbow, is dealing with a drop in velocity.

 "I told Vinnie when he came off the disabled list, "There might be a little rust,'" said manager Terry Francona. "But like a hitter with a track record, this is a pitcher with a pretty impressive track record with the way he competes, the way he cares. I wouldn't want to run away from him. I just want to help him."

 Pestano came off the disabled list on May 16. He made his fourth appearance Saturday since being activated and gave up a career-high four runs and four hits in the eighth inning to turn a 4-3 lead into a 7-4 loss.

 When healthy, Pestano throws between 92 mph and 93 mph. He was throwing between 88 mph and 89 mph Saturday.

 "Mickey Callaway (pitching coach) and Kevin Cash (bullpen cash) have been talking mechanics with Vinnie. They'll get it straightened out."

 With an eight-man bullpen, Francona feels he has enough arms to wait for Pestano.

 "We have so many different ways to go," said Francona. "On days when someone might not be ready to go, I never feel handcuffed. That's an unbelievable feeling."

 Cut man: Scott Kazmir threw his cut fastball for the first time on Saturday and liked the results.

 "It was a good pitch for me," he said.

 On the whole, wasn't overly with his five-and-fly even though he allowed two runs and struck out six.

 "I made some pitches when I needed too, but I battled through everything," said Kazmir.

 Finally:  Brett Myers (right elbow) will make a rehab start Monday for Class AAA Columbus. . .Daisuke Matsuzaka is still rehabbing at Class AAA Columbus from an oblique injury.
 


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