CLEVELAND, Ohio – Earlier today we posted the cleveland.com high school football Top 25 heading into Week 2. You can check it out here. Each week after posting the updated Top 25, we’ll post another story with talking points, including insight into why some teams moved up or down, or in or out of the rankings. We also invite...

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Earlier today we posted the cleveland.com high school football Top 25 heading into Week 2. You can check it out here.

Each week after posting the updated Top 25, we’ll post another story with talking points, including insight into why some teams moved up or down, or in or out of the rankings. We also invite you to provide your input in the comments section, a new feature added to high school stories this school year. Tell us what you agree or don’t agree with. You can even post your own rankings, which we welcome.

Talking point No. 1: Why did St. Ignatius and Glenville drop only one spot each after losing their openers?

While both No. 5 Glenville and No. 4 St. Ignatius lost their openers, we had to consider the competition each played.

The Wildcats lost on the road, 29-0, to a two-time defending state champion Brother Rice (Mich.) team expected to contend for another title this season. The Tarblooders also went on the road, losing 40-24 to No. 2 St. Edward, which looks like a legitimate state title contender itself. Both the Wildcats and Tarblooders staged late-game rallies that, while they came up short, proved each of them is a team to be reckoned with.

This week will provide more understanding of where each team should be placed. The Wildcats travel to No. 1 Mentor on Friday, while the Tarblooders travel to No. 13 Solon. 

Should either team emerge the weekend with an 0-2 start, expect a farther fall in next week’s poll.

Talking point No. 2: Avon’s big jump from No. 14 to No. 6.

Avon’s ability to dominate an Avon Lake, a team many expected to accomplish big things this season, definitely opened our eyes. But it wasn’t just that the Eagles beat the Shoremen, 41-10, it was how they looked doing it.

Week 1 saw many coaches talk about how difficult it is to hit the ground running at the start of the season. But the Eagles didn’t seem to have problems. Despite a new QB in Tommy Glenn, the passing game flourished. And linemen who were undersized compared to the Shoremen, controlled the line of scrimmage.

Of all the teams ranked 6-14 in our preseason poll, Avon had the most impressive performance, and for that, they jumped all the way to No. 6.

Did we have Avon Lake ranked too high (No. 6) in our preseason poll? Perhaps. But the coming weeks will tell us more about how good the Shoremen can be this season.

Talking point No. 3: Say hello to Nordonia and North Ridgeville.

Nordonia was on the Top 25 radar from the beginning, so it’s no surprise that they’ve entered the poll heading into Week 2. However, their 53-35 win over Mayfield was impressive enough for them to debut at No. 19.

North Ridgeville, after 2012’s one-win season, wasn’t expected to show up in the Top 25, but there it is at No. 24, a reward for knocking off Westlake, which had been No. 14.

Talking point No. 4: Say goodbye to Elyria Catholic and Cuyahoga Heights.

We doubt we’ve seen the last of Elyria Catholic and Cuyahoga Heights in the Top 25. 

The Panthers, with healthy QB Jeremy Holley, are expecting big things this season, but got off on the wrong foot against Huron. They can work their way back into the poll quickly as they face No. 21 Elyria this week.

The Redskins got caught on the wrong end of a shootout with Western Reserve despite four TD passes from QB Jordan Martin.

Talking point No. 5: What games will shape next week’s Top 25?

No. 1 Mentor hosts No. 4 St. Ignatius in the week’s marquee matchup. A second-straight loss by the Wildcats could open up a top-five spot for another team.

No. 5 Glenville travels to No. 13 Solon. Should the Comets win, it could signal big moves for both teams in next week’s poll.

Talking point No. 6: What teams are on the bubble?

Along with recent dropouts Elyria Catholic and Cuyahoga Heights, teams such as Willoughby South, Wadsworth, Strongsville, Bedford, John Hay, Brunswick, North Olmsted and Brecksville-Broadview Heights are on the radar as we head into Week 2.

Linebacker Craig Robertson surprises student at North Olmsted High School. Watch video

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- Principal Jeff Stanton entered the mid-day geometry class focused on getting his man. And Stanton's glare made sophomore Zac Alberty squirm with trepidation.

"I was scared. I didn't know what was happening," said a smiling Alberty, a sophomore at North Olmsted High School.

But that sudden fear quickly turned once several reporters, representatives from the Cleveland Browns and linebacker Craig Robertson entered the room to honor Alberty for his hours of dedicated volunteer work.

Alberty volunteers at Youth Challenge, an organization that assists special-needs youth to help them feel comfortable in social settings and get them involved in recreational activities.

Running back Trent Richardson helped honor Nicholas Coffee, an Air Force serviceman home on leave in Litchfield, Ohio.

Coffee and Alberty received tickets to Sunday's home opener, VIP sideline passes, a Browns jersey, and a football.

If the surprise in class wasn't enough, the gifts were overwhelming.

"Today was going good, but this made it that much better," Alberty said.

The surprise was on Alberty, but Robertson found as much joy presenting Alberty with gifts.

"When someone gives back to the community, it's always good to shower people with gifts, especially when they're not expecting them," Robertson said. "And for a kid in high school that has so many things going on, and can still find time for the community, is a credit to him. And it shows he's growing up with his head on straight."

Alberty began volunteering with Youth Challenge when he was in the seventh grade. Last year, he won the top volunteer award for setting the organization's record by logging 309 hours. He has registered 119 hours so far this year.

Here's a second look at the Ohio State Buckeye victory over Buffalo Saturday with a gallery of Marvin Fong images that did not make it into initial slideshow.

Here's a second look at the Ohio State Buckeye victory over Buffalo Saturday with a gallery of Marvin Fong images that did not make it into initial slideshow.

The Browns' casual attitude about finding a replacement for Phil Dawson says a lot about the organization's expectations.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thin to win is a popular expression in golf. Not so much in the NFL ...

As the Browns finalize their roster for the season opener Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, their decisions have begged many questions.

None is more obvious than this:

Giorgio Tavecchio: place kicker or men’s fragrance.

This kicker quandry is not the smell of losing in the air, just the whiff of a team that’s not built to win this season and knows it.

John Hart, the old Indians’ GM, used to say closers grew on trees. The Browns could be accused of believing the same about kickers but under closer roster scrutiny it’s obvious they instead believe putting lots of money (or even a draft pick) into finding Phil Dawson’s replacement would be like shopping for a bow tie to go with a flannel shirt.

They’re not ready to win. Their youth screams it. Their depth at critical spots – secondary, running back – second the motion.

So we have a Tuesday kickoff before the Sunday kickoff -- a competition between the Italian darkhorse Tavecchio and Billy Cundiff. Cundiff was declared the winner.

From Joe Banner to Mike Lombardi to head coach Rob Chudzinski, the Browns are super casual about the pursuit of a kicker.

There's always the two-point conversion, I guess. And, for kickoffs, the T-shirt cannon.

Not making a hard run at Dawson is one thing. His age doesn’t fit their rebuilding demographic.

But there’s a lot of middle ground between deciding to move on from Dawson and not settling on a dependable replacement before now.

Other teams – not necessarily teams on the brink of the playoffs – have used the middle rounds to draft a kicker. Like the Dolphins, who picked Caleb Sturgis in the fifth round.

The Browns used the middle rounds to get higher picks in better middle rounds next season. That was another indication of the rebuilding underway.

In the meantime, they brought in one kicker who never kicked in the NFL before (Brandon Bogotay) and another (Shayne Graham) whose leg left much to be desired on that pesky part of the game – kickoffs.

“In places I’ve been before and situations I’ve been before, we’ve had kickers throughout the course of the season,” Chudzinski said in announcing the cuts last weekend.

“It’s probably the one position where a guy can come in, and it’s unique in that way. There’s not a lot of interaction with teammates and getting to learn systems. It’s pretty much an individualized skill, so I’m not concerned about it. I feel like between the pool that’s there and the guys who have been here, we’ll find the guy that we need.”

Chudzinski might be right. But Chud, Banner and Lombardi should understand if it around here it has the sound of famous last words.

SPINOFFS

• Why do I get the feeling that by season’s end, Phil Dawson will be known in Cleveland as “Kickalicious?”

• Since predicting the Indians would win the wild-card, I have seen Michael Bourn lose track of a fly ball, Justin Masterson leave the mound with a rib cage problem, and the Indians’ bats go as silent as a table of sportswriters when the check comes.

• By popular demand of the United Nations, I have been asked to predict a long reign for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

• University of Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL suffered while celebrating teammate Todd Gurley’s 75-yard touchdown run.

Stunning.

That it happened in college and not after the Browns' drafted him.

• Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan is defending his decision to attend Georgia-Clemson  Saturday night to see his son's first college game. Saturday was the NFL’s deadline for final cuts.

Ryan said most of the Jets’ cuts were made Friday night when he was still at the team facility.

No word on when Ryan's son, Seth, -- as per the family tradition -- will guarantee he'll start by season's end and make All-American.

• Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo claims he has found “something special” in his throwing motion and expects it to be “a great thing.”

Sounds like a big year ahead based on that.

I mean when has that kind of muscle-memory change ever failed to translate, other than from the driving range to the golf course every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

• Diana Nyad swam from Cuba to Florida, finally making it on her fifth try. While needing divers and other means to keep the sharks away. And while wearing a mask preventing jelly fish from biting her tongue.

There’s a finite amount of quit in the universe and -- at the very least -- I got Nyad’s share.

• Two men were arrested for breaking into Wrigley Field and attempting to steal some of the outfield ivy.

Similar incidents have occurred at Progressive Field where there is no ivy but where baseball fans go to any lengths to walk on the same outfield grass where Aaron Cunningham once roamed.

• Oakland head coach Dennis Allen says he will not name a starting quarterback – Terrelle Pryor or Matt Flynn – until game time Sunday against Indianapolis for "competitive reasons."

Just so he knows that doesn’t make him a superior strategist. It just means we know and he knows the coin is still in the air.

• Dennis Rodman is returning to North Korea.

There seems to be a question of whether he is going to pursue his plan to start a basketball league there or plead for the release of an imprisoned missionary.

I’m thinking basketball league.

• Colts’ rookie safety John Boyett, a sixth-round draft pick who has not yet practiced with the team because of injuries to his knees, was arrested outside an Indianapolis bar for disorderly conduct, public intoxication and resisting arrest.

Boyett reportedly told police, “You can’t arrest me. I’m a Colts’ player.”

You may wonder where such a sense of entitlement comes from but at closer look it’s understandable.

Boyett did stay healthy enough to play one game at Oregon in 2012.

• Canton, you might want to answer that blocked call. It's Boyett calling.

• Notre Dame has recalled souvenir “Figthing Irish” soda cups available at Saturday’s opener against Temple because of the obvious spelling error.

“It was an unfortunate mistake,” said university spokesman Dennis Brown.

If that’s his real name.

• Chris Perez pleaded no contest to misdemeanor drug charges. The court ordered him to pay a $250 fine and serve one year of probation, during which he is expected to speak to local high schoolers about the dangers of drugs. He must also complete MLB’s drug-treatment program.

This should put an end to the story.

And I speak for all mature Cleveland sports fans -- are there any other kind? -- when I guarantee this will also put an end to the jokes about the family dog.

The NBA star has a locker but Michael Redd, a former Buckeye, has the whole locker room named for him. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State likes LeBron James. That's a reality.

The OSU players like him. The OSU coaches like him – Urban Meyer said he was a great leader. Lots of OSU fans like him. James didn't go to Ohio State, but his relationship with the school, from talking with Terrelle Pryor to getting a No. 23 OSU jersey from the Buckeyes to hanging around the basketball team, which wears his gear, is almost like that of a former player.

And now he has a locker.

The Buckeyes on Tuesday gave the media a tour of their $19 million expansion and renovation of their basketball practice facilities, which includes separate practice court areas for the men and women, a new shared workout room for the basketball and ice hockey teams, and redesigns of the locker rooms and training areas.

The initial LeBron locker story

But one locker stood out. It was impossible not to notice right away in the men's locker room that amidst the nameplates over the lockers for Aaron Craft, Sam Thompson, Lenzelle Smith and others, there was a No. 6.

First of all, numbers that end with anything between six and nine can't be used in college basketball, because an official only has five fingers on his hand for when he signals fouls to the scoring table. So that stood out. Also, the nameplate for was the NBA's MVP, not a college kid. But maybe he can help the 2013-14 Buckeyes on the court?

“I think that he's going to have to earn his stripes,” OSU coach Thad Matta said.

Former Buckeye star Michael Redd gave $500,000 to the renovation of the OSU basketball facilities and had the men's locker room named for him.Doug Lesmerises

Ohio State said the locker is there to salute James, who made the Buckeyes the first team to wear his Nike gear, with the LeBron logo instead of the swoosh, back in 2007.

“We always want to pay our respects to him for what he did for us in '07 in terms of we were the first LeBron school. And obviously we get tremendous product from him, and I know he's very proud of what he does for us," Matta said.

A school spokesman said the locker is used to house and show off the team's LeBron gear, and it's also not a bad name to have hanging there when recruits come through the locker room.

“There's no question about it,” Matta said. “I've always said if I could have coached him I would have been a lot better coach early on. He's very proud of what we've done and just in terms of his name and being from Ohio and the fact we wear his gear, that's important for us.”

James didn't make a specific donation to this $19 million renovation. But an actual former Buckeye did. Athletic director Gene Smith said NBA All-Star Michael Redd gave $500,000 to the project. And on the wall across from the James locker is the name of the space – The Michael Redd Locker Room.

Late Tuesday afternoon, James responded to the locker on Twitter and Instagram.

SPECIAL S/O AD Gene Smith, Thad Matta, Urban Meyer and the rest of this unbelievable University we… http://t.co/qwBZbP38T1

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 3, 2013

A return to an 18-game schedule is also a return to unbalanced crossover games for Mid-American Conference teams.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference announced its 2013-2014 conference basketball schedules Monday and there will likely be an impact on the ultimate division winners.

For the first time since the 2005-2006 season the MAC is returning to an 18-game conference schedule for the 12-team league. This means playing a complete round-robin of games within the division, but playing only a single game against all but two teams from the opposite division.

The league appears to be more wide open than usual as a pair of MAC West teams, Toledo and Western Michigan, are expected to be much stronger, with Eastern Michigan a possibility as well.

Meanwhile, Akron, Ohio University and Buffalo are expected to lead the way in the traditionally tough East Division, but still must wade through Kent State, and potentially Bowling Green. Kent returns pedigree (13 20-win seasons in the last 14 years), while BG returns impressive size and experience.

With such parity, the ultimate difference between winning the overall MAC title or a division title, could be how a team fares with its four prime crossover games.

"I understand the reasons why we have to play 18 games,'' said OU head coach Jim Christian, who coached at Kent when the MAC last played an 18-game schedule. "But it creates an imbalance within the league. That's not what you want.

"There are no easy games, but this leads to a lot of conversation. I know we want the best formula. But it will be interesting to see how it plays out."

Among all the contenders, Buffalo seems to have gotten the most favorable crossover draw with Northern Illinois and Ball State.

Ohio University in the MAC East and Toledo in the MAC West appear to have the toughest crossover games. The Bobcats must face Toledo and Western Michigan, the two top division contenders, twice each. Toledo not only gets the Bobcats twice, but also must play rival Bowling Green twice as well.

"The other side is, the league was never better, competitively, than when we played everybody in the league twice,'' Christian said. "But you probably can't do that any more. Again, I understand why we are doing it, but I also know there can be some ramifications to an unbalanced schedule. We will have to see how it plays out."

Locally, the Akron Zips will play both MAC West dark horses, Ball State and Eastern Michigan, twice. While Kent is not considered a division favorite, it could take steps toward contention by showing well against Central Michigan and Northern Illinois.

Following are the two-game crossover pairings for each team.

Akron: Ball State, Eastern Michigan

Bowling Green: Toledo, Eastern Michigan

Buffalo: Northern Illinois, Ball State

Kent State: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan

Miami: Central Michigan, Western Michigan

Ohio: Toledo, Western Michigan

Ball State: Akron, Buffalo

Northern Illinois: Buffalo, Kent State

Eastern Michigan: Bowling Green, Akron

Central Michigan: Kent State, Miami

Toledo: Ohio, Bowling Green

Western Michigan: Miami, Ohio

Justin Masterson's injury was diagnosed as a strained left oblique that will sideline him for at least one start and could end his season prematurely.

Justin Masterson leaves the mound Monday in the second inning with a strained left oblique muscle. He'll miss at least one start. 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The news is not good on Justin Masterson.

"He'll miss at least one start," said manager Terry Francona. "The hope is he's not out for the rest of the season."

Masterson, the Tribe's No.1 starter, left Monday's game against the Orioles in the second inning with an injury that the Indians are now calling a strained left oblique muscle. It usually takes four to six weeks to recover from such an injury.

The Indians have 25 games left with the season ending Sept. 29. A healthy Masterson would have made five more starts.

Masterson's injury has already forced Francona to adjust the rotation. Scott Kazmir and Corey Kluber, who is ready to come off the disabled list, were scheduled to share Friday's game against the Mets. With Masterson unable to make his scheduled Saturday start, Kluber will replace him.

Kluber, out since Aug. 6 with a sprained right middle finger, will be limited to 70 to pitches Saturday.

The injury, depend on it's severity, might also put Carlos Carrasco or Josh Tomlin in line for some work in the rotation. Carrasco and Tomlin were recalled from Class AAA Columbus on Tuesday. Relievers Vinnie Pestano and CC Lee also were recalled.

Masterson leads the Indians in victories, innings pitched, starts and strikeouts. He's already won a career-high 14 games.

When asked if he could miss the rest of the season, Masterson said, "In the worse case scenario that could always be the case. But I think we'll take a few more days to assess. When it's based on how I feel, that makes it a little more difficult to say for sure what it's going to be.

"I feel like I'm a decent healer, I like our chances. My hope is to make a few more starts before the season is over and definitely be ready for the playoffs."

The Indians entered Tuesday night's game against Baltimore trailing first-place Detroit by 8 1/2 games in the AL Central and 3 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the second wild card spot. The Orioles and Yankees, however, were in front of them.

"I need to ice, rest and I hope people throw some prayers out there for me," said Masterson. "They said there's a little bleeding in there where the injury is."

The Indians were able to determine Masterson's injury after he had an MRI on Tuesday.

The 6-6, 250-pound Masterson said he barely fit into the MRI tube.

"We almost had to go to the zoo," he said with a laugh.

Francona said what makes the injury so difficult is that Masterson can't resume baseball activities until he's totally pain free.

"Hopefully, that happens like yesterday," said Francona. "We know he's going to miss a start. After that, we just don't know. We'll do that best we can. With these type of things, he's going to miss a little time here."

Tuesday's lineups:

Orioles (72-64): 2B Roberts, 3B Machado, 1B Davis, CF Jones, C Wieters, DH Morse, RF Markakis, SS Hardy, LF Mclouth, P Tillman (15-4, 3.61).

Indians (72-65): CF Bourn, 1B Swisher, 2B Kipnis, DH Santana, LF Brantley, SS Cabrera, RF Kubel, C Gomes, 3B Chisenhall, P Jimenez (9-9, 3.95).

Umpires: H Barrett, 1B DiMuro, 2B Barry, 3B Marquez.

The Indians take on the Orioles tonight at Progressive Field.

Game 138: Indians (72-65) vs. Baltimore Orioles (73-63)

First pitch: 7:05 p.m. at Progressive Field

TV/radio: STO; WTAM AM/1100.

Live box score | MLB scoreboard

» Get updates from Paul Hoynes in the pressbox here

» You can also follow Tweets about the game and post your comments below.

Tweets from @clevelanddotcom/indians

After nearly a two-year wait, Blake Wood returned to the big leagues Tuesday by pitching a scoreless silxth inning against Baltimore for the Indians.

Blake Wood, making his first appearance in the big leagues in almost two years, pitched a scoreless sixth inning Monday for the Indians.Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Seen and heard at Progressive Field.

Clubhouse confidential: Blake Wood made his first big-league appearance Monday afternoon since the final day of the 2011 season with Kansas City. Blake, recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2012, pitched a scoreless sixth inning in the Indians 7-2 loss to Baltimore.

He threw between 96 mph and 98 mph with a strikeout and a walk.

"I thought he was throwing really hard," said manager Terry Francona. "It was his first outing in almost two years and I think he was emotional because it was a long-time coming. He was really firing it.

"It's going to be interesting to see as he gets a few more outings if he maintains that velocity and gets a little more command because that's a big arm right there."

Just a visit: Former big-league manager Tony La Russa was at Progressive Field on Monday for the Tribe's game against the Orioles. La Russa works for Commissioner Bud Selig on special assignments. He's also been involved in the committee to expand the used of replay in baseball in 2014.

Stat of the day: Cody Allen is tied for second in strikeouts among AL rookies with Tampa Bay's Chris Archer with 75. While Archer has thrown 106 innings in 18 starts, Allen has gotten  his strikeouts in just 53 2/3 innings in the Tribe's bullpen.

The Indians have 36 players in uniform. The number will grow to 37 when Corey Kluber is activated to face the Mets on Saturday.

Manager Terry Francona (left) and pitching coach Mickey Callaway have plenty of arms to chose from thanks to the roster expanding in September.Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's getting crowded in the Indians' locker room.

When Corey Kluber comes off the disabled list Saturday to start against the Mets, the Indians will have 37 active players. The limit for big-league clubs in September is 40.

There are so many players in uniform that batting practice at home will start at 4 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. to accommodate everyone. There used to be three hitting groups, now there are four.

The Tribe is carrying 15 relievers and they're running out of room in the bullpen. They're seated two deep on the ground floor in the pen. In Tuesday night's game, at least four relievers were sitting on the roof.

"You can never have too much pitching," said manager Terry Francona, who has used an eight-man bullpen for much of the season.

Francona said he needs that many relievers because starters Danny Salazar, Scott Kazmir and Kluber are having their workload monitored for the final month of the season.

He's back: The mass of bullpen arms does not include utility man Ryan Raburn, who has already made one relief appearance this season. Raburn, however, was activated Tuesday after being on the disabled list with left Achilles tendon and heel problems.

Raburn ran the bases Tuesday before being activated.

"It's good to have his bat available again," said Francona.

New starter: Baltimore will start lefty Zach Britton on Wednesday instead of Miguel Gonzalez as manager Buck Showalter is trying to give his starters and extra day of rest.

The Orioles recalled Britton on Monday from Class AAA Norfolk. This is his third tour with Baltimore this season. He's 2-3 with a 4.76 ERA in six starts this year.

The Indians beat him on June 24 at Camden Yards, scoring three runs on six hits in five innings in a 5-2 victory.

Let's talk: The Indians held a players' only meeting after Monday's 7-2 loss to Baltimore. In their last 10 games entering Tuesday night, the Indians scored just 27 runs so it's a good guess offense was one of the main topic's in the meeting.

After Monday's game Jason Kipnis said the hitters needed to get back to having good at-bats.

"We need to start having those long rallies again instead of just trying to hit the big home run," said Kipnis. "Guys have to realize that they don't have to put all the weight on their own shoulders. It's a team thing and the team is going to get out of it not one individual."

Celebrity tossers: Browns running back Chris Ogbonnaya threw out one of the first pitches Tuesday at Progressive Field. Tribe outfielder Drew Stubbs, Ogbonnaya's roommate in Texas, caught it.

Center Brandon Dubinski of the Columbus Blue Jackets also threw out a first pitch first pitch.

Cavaliers swingman C.J. Miles has worked on his shooting and ball handling this summer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Talking with Cavaliers forward C.J. Miles about what he did in the offseason:

Q: What cities did you visit?

A: Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Dallas and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Q: What did you do to get better at basketball?

A: I worked on a little bit of everything, but really kept trying to get stronger. I worked on my ball handling and really worked on shot form discipline to become a better shooter.

Q: Besides releasing a collection of your music, what was the most memorable moment of your summer?

A: All the times we met up together as a team this summer were the highlight for me. Really getting to bond and work with the guys was great.

The Browns signed kicker Billy Cundiff to a one-year deal today after he tried out in Berea. The Browns also tried out Giorgio Tavecchio.

CLEVELAND --Browns new kicker Billy Cundiff has already gotten a small taste of what it's like to replace Phil Dawson, and now he'll get the full breadth of it.

Cundiff, who spent five games with the Browns in 2009 when Dawson was struggling with a strained calf, was signed to a one-year contract Tuesday. A league source told cleveland.com the deal is worth $840,000, the minimum for a player in his eighth season.

In order to make room for Cundiff, the Browns placed guard Jason Pinkston on short-term injured reserve, where he'll have to miss at least the first eight games of the season with his high ankle sprain.

With Pinkston on IR for at least half the season and Shawn Lauvao recovering from a high ankle sprain and scope, the Browns will rely on converted tackle Oniel Cousins to hold down the position for the time being.

Cundiff, who endeared himself to Browns fans by keeping the Ravens out of the Super Bowl after the 2011 season, tried out today in Berea and beat out rookie Giorgio Tavecchio for the job. Tavecchio, undrafted out of Cal, was waived by the Packers last week.

In relief of Dawson in 2009, Cundiff made all four field-goal tries, including an 18-yard game-winning field goal with 22 seconds remaining in a 6-3 victory over Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium. It marked Eric Mangini's first victory as head ocach of the Browns after an 0-4 start.

He went on to kick for the Ravens the following season, earning Pro Bowl honors after making 26 of his 29 field goal attempts and a league-high 40 touchbacks. He also led the league with a 71.1 kickoff average.

But Cundiff went south in 2011, missing nine field goals during the regular season and hooking a 32-yarder in the waning seconds of the AFC Championship Game that would've tied the Patriots. Instead, the Patriots packed for the Super Bowl and Cundiff was sent packing the following August.

He caught on with the Redskins, but missed five of his 12 attempts (58.3%) that season and was later released. He tried out with the Jets this summer, but was released last week after making all three of his field goals this preseason -- all from 39 yards or less -- and all four of his extra points. Overall, he's made 139 of 184 attempts for 75.5%.

There's at least one area in which Cundiff will make fans pine for Dawson: on kicks of 50 yards or more. Dawson made a league-high 14 of 15 kicks from 50-plus in 2011 and 2012, including going 7-for-7 last season. Overall, he's third in the NFL with a 70.6 conversion rate from 50 yards or more (24-of-34).

Cundiff, on the other hand, has made only 5-of-23 from 50-plus for 21.7%.

The Browns had hoped to try out fellow Pro Bowler Dan Carpenter Tuesday, but he got a call from Buffalo when he was on his way to Cleveland, and opted to take the sure thing instead of competing with Cundiff for the job.

Cundiff will be on the field Wednesday and make his debut Sunday against the Dolphins in the season opener.

As for Pinkston, who injured the ankle Aug. 15 against the Lions, he'll be eligible to return to practice the week before the Green Bay game Oct. 20.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Here are box scores and highlights in boys and girls golf, field hockey, boys and girls soccer, girls tennis and volleyball from Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2013.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Here are box scores and highlights in boys and girls golf, field hockey, boys and girls soccer, girls tennis and volleyball from Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2013.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Late:

Avon Lake Earlybird Invitational

St. Ignatius 75; 2. Amherst 90; 3. Avon 91; Avon Lake 111.

Wagner, SI, 16:32.0; 2. Fasciana, Av, 16:47.8; 3. Villari, AL, 16:48.2; 4. Kane, A, 16:56.7; 5. Thorkelson, SI, 17:01.2; 6. Kardos, Am, 17:01.3; 7. Theis, Buckeye, 17:05.3; 8. Howell, Norwalk, 17:16.3; 9. Reynolds, RR, 17:18.4; 10. Landis, Norwalk, 17:23.1.

BOYS GOLF

Aurora 146, Beachwood 168

At Walden

1. Sloe (A) 34; 2. Avalon (A) 35; 3. Dubin (B) 37.

Notable: Aurora moved to 5-0 in Chagrin Valley Conference play. Junior Chris Sloe shot 2-under 34 and senior Alex Avalon was 1- under.

Avon Lake 157, Westlake 158

1. Steffan (W) 35; T2. Currie (AL) 39; T2. Hessel (AL) 39; T2. Outcalt (AL) 39; T2. Blakely (W) 39.

Brunswick 147, Medina 163, Strongsville 168

At Bunker Hill (Par 37)

1. Monroe (B) 35; 2. Roth (B) 36; 3. Toom (36); 4. (tie) Bator (B),Kerrigan (M), Morgan (M), Zatezalo (S) 40.

Notable: Brunswick tied a school record by firing a 1-under-par 147 to break Medina’s 34-match win streak in the Valley Division of the Northeast Ohio Conference. With Tim Monroe, Justin Roth and Jared Toom each breaking par, Brunswick upped its record to 5-0. 

Chagrin Falls 166, Perry 176

At Fowler’s Mill

T1. P. Berlin (CF) 40; T1. D. Berlin (CF) 40; 3. Bagdonis (P) 41.

Lutheran West 171, Brooklyn 177

At Springvale (Front 9)

Baker (B) 38; 2. Myers (LW) 40; 3. Zubin (LW) 41.

Notable: Lutheran West is now 4-0 in Patriot Athletic Conference play.

North Royalton 151, Stow 152, Hudson 164

At Hinckley Hills

1. Crosier (S) 34; 2. Francisco (NR) 35.

Notable: Connor Crosier shot 2-under.

Orange 162, West Geauga 163

At Highland

1. Forrai (WG) 34; 2. Blum (O) 37; 3. Kemelhar (41).

Rocky River 163, Bay Village 174, North Ridgeville 178

At Big Met

1. Farling (RR) 39; 2. Shepherd (RR) 40.

Shaker Heights 181, Brush 185, Parma 215

At Manakiki

1. Aschoff (S) 43; T2. Marko (B) 44; T2. Hirsh (S) 44.

Twinsburg 159, Cuyahoga Falls 173, Solon 180

1. McAdoo (T) 37; 2. Heath (T) 39; 3. Moskowitz (CF) 40.

Walsh Jesuit 146, Padua 155

At Brookledge

 1. Supelak (WJ) 34; 2. Schley (P ) 36; 3. Liberatore (WJ) 35.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph 180, Benedictine 180

At Briardale Greens

1. Grudzinski (VASJ) 40; 2. Keyse (VASJ) 42; 3. Wesinski (B) 43,

Notable: Villa Angela-St. Joseph won on a fifth-man tiebreaker.

LATE:

HOBAN INVITATIONAL

At Firestone (West)

How they finished: 1. Cincinnati Moeller 288; 2. Walsh Jesuit 289; 3. Upper Arlington 290; 4. New Albany 290; 5. Canton Central Catholic 305; 6. Lake Catholic 305; 7. St. Ignatius 305; 8. Hudson 307; 9. Columbus Wellington Academy 310; 10. University School 312; 11. Tallmadge 313; 12. St. Francis (NY) 317; 13. Stow 319; 14. Green 322; 15. Archbishop Hoban 324; 16.  Gilmour Academy 325; 17. Revere  329; 18. St. Vincent-St. Mary 337.

Top individuals: 1. Liberatore (WJ) 67; Lamping (AM) 67; Coyne (SI) 68; Meola (LC) 68; Kurtz (H) 69; Johnson (WJ) 70; McNutt (NA) 70; Perdue (CW) 70; Z. Mosholder (T) 70; Serif (UA) 71; Glaser (UA) 71.

Notable: Luke Liberatore (Walsh) and Mitch Lamping (Moeller) both posted 67. Lamping was medalist by tie-breaker.

GIRLS GOLF

Avon 198, Keystone 254

At Greyhawk GC (Par 36)

Strack (A) 48; 2. Novotny (A) 49; 3. (tie) Schatschneider (A) and Willis (K) 51.

Notable: Avon is now 5-0 overall while Keystone falls to 2-3.

Avon Lake 186, Westlake 188, Amherst 245

At Avon Oaks

1. Schroeder (AL) 33; 2. Kreider (W) 39; 3. Button (W) 47. 

Notable: Nikki Schroeder led with a 3-under 33. 

Bay 194, Vermilion 258

At Sweetbriar

1. Reilly (B) 43; 2. Lyons (B) 47; 3. Strickler (B) 50.

Beaumont 182, St. Joseph Academy 199, Laurel 226

At Manakiki (Back 9)

1. L.Corrado (B) 44; 2. (tie) J.Corrado (B) and Keefe (SJA) 45.

Green 157, Cloverleaf 187

At Turkeyfoot

1. Babbin (Green) 36; 2. Stanley (Green) 39; 3. Jackson (Green) 40.

Notable: Green is now 6-1 overall, 3-1 in the Suburban League.

Hawken 169, Berkshire 246

At Punderson

1. Cohen (H) 37; T2. Gole (H) 43; T2. Joseph (H) 43.

Hudson 182, Hathaway Brown 191 (won tiebreaker), Solon 191

At Lake Forest

1. Gray (S) 42: 2. J. Goodson (H) 43; 3. Madar (H) 45.

Notable: Alexis Gray was the medalist.

Medina 180, Strongsville 193

At Valleaire

1. Smolinski (S) 43; 2. Sherman (M) 44; T3. Ingram (S) 45; T3. Herrick (M) 45; T3. Pollack (M) 45.

Nordonia 189, Mayfield 192

At Airport Greens

1. Kotnik (N) 40; 2. Kozich (M) 45; 3. Williams 46.

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 191, Kenston 184, Lake Catholic 211

At Fowlers Mill

1. Morris (NDCL) 37; 2. Jereb (NDCL) 39; 3. Poe (K) 40.

Olmsted Falls 185, Brecksville 187

At Emerald Woods

1. Gomez (OF) 40; 2. Morell (B) 43; 3. Bobik (OF) 44.

Perry 226, Conneaut 262, Eastlake North 287

At Powderhorn

1. A.Miller (P) 52; 2. L.Miller (P) 53; 3. Kardohely (C) 56; 4. (tie) Brown (P) and Boley (EN) 60. 

St. Vincent-St. Mary 177, Our Lady of the Elms 242

At Mud Run GC (Par 34)

1. Noethen (SVSM) 38; 2. Chisholm (SVSM) 44; 3. (tie) Roberts (SVSM) and Schoenblaecher (OLE) 46.

Strongsville 180, Medina 193

At Valleaire

1. Sherman (M) 44; T2. Herrick (M) 45; T2. Pollock (M) 45.

Tallmadge 214, Wadsworth 225

At Ridge Top

1. Ho (W) 39; 2. Rice (T) 49; 3. Spataro (T) 52.

FIELD HOCKEY

Hudson 2, Hathaway Brown 0

H (2-2): Russell 2.

Notable: Erin Hoover assisted on both goals.

Laurel 6, Cleveland Heights 0

L: Abby Young 4, Maddie Kennedy 2. C (0-4): None.

Goalies: L, Ostrander (N/A); C, Smith (12 saves).

Magnificat 5, Hawken 0

M: Durkin 3, Pryatel, Beegan.

Goalies: (M) Baker (3 saves); (H) Speroff (22).  

LATE:

North Allegheny 6, Western Reserve Academy 2

N: N/A. W: Carter, Barnett.

Goalies: N, N/A; W, N/A.

BOYS SOCCER

Berkshire 2, Cuyahoga Heights 1

B: Wiley, Garrett. CH: Kozak.

Goalies: B, Green (8 saves); CH, Williams (6).

Copley 7, Tallmadge 2

C (3-1-1, 2-0): Brennan 2, S.Harter 2, Schulte, C.Harter, Davis. T (1-2-1, 0-2): Davis, Williams.

Goalies: (C) Mubarak (1 save), Bentlage (0); (T) Roy (11).

Notable: Brennan and Schulte also had assists for Copley, which outshot Tallmadge, 18-3.

Chagrin Falls 1, Hawken 0

CF (1-2-1): Sukel. H (5-1-0): N/A.

Goalies: CF, Rizzo (5 saves): H, Gilchrist (7).

Kenston 2, Perry 1

K (3-1-1): Bernzweig, Bush. P (4-1): Espinoza.

Goalies: K, Larkin-Gero (3 saves); P, Singer (9).

Notable: The Bombers handed Perry its first loss of the season as Adam Bush scored on an assist from Tyler Cooper with just 8 seconds left in the contest.

Kirtland 10, Newbury 2

K (3-1-1): Jo.Ianiro 4, Ja.Ianero, Sabbath, Hauptman, Cummings, Skrbis, Delciappo. N (0-3-1): Nowak 2.

Goalies: (K) Delciappo (1 save); (N) Kolenic (11).

Riverside 9, Lakeside 1

R (2-2): Munaretto 3, A. Cimperman, Priester, Slavin, Zak, Moreland, Lakeside own goal. L (0-3-1): Kololli.

Goalies: R, Hafer (5 saves); L, Cimorelli (3), Cruz (6), Lunghaufer (9).

Notable: Joe Munaretto posted his second hat trick of the season for Riverside. Adam Cimperman added a pair of goals for the Beavers.

University School 5, Geneva 0

US (2-0-3): Bulucea, Young, Steinhilber, R. Bell 2. 

Goalies: US, L. Wilhelm (2 saves); G, Kopczak (14). 

Revere 4, Highland 0

R (7-0): Branch, Easterling, Dyko, Gillette.

Goalies: (R) Gerberich (1 save); (H) Seaman (2).

St. Ignatius 3, Hudson 0

SI (4-1-1): Sisson, Leonardo, Basic. H (2-3-1): None.

Goalies: SI, Outcalt (2 saves); H, Sockol (7).

St. Vincent-St. Mary 1, Lake Catholic 0

SVSM (1-4-1): Pitman. LC (1-3): none.

Goalies: (SVSM) Ratsavong (5 saves); (LC) McIntosh (8).

Solon 5, Valley Forge 1

S: Welker 2, Adkins, Dunn, Perry; VF: Ohler.

Goalies: (S) Meyer (3 saves); (VF) Hannah (19).

Villa Angela-St. Joseph 3, Euclid 1

VASJ (3-1): F. Porter, C. Porter, Gallagher. E: Hoffman.

Goalies: (VASJ) Gail (10 saves).

LATE:

Archbishop Hoban 2, Holland Springfield 1

AH (4-0): Easton; Mansour. HS (5-1): Burns.

Goalies: (AH) Markowski (2 saves); (HS) Kleinfelter (6). 

Bay 4, Cardinal Mooney 0

Bay (3-0-3): Schmit 2, White, Ruma. CM (2-2-1): None. 

Goalies: B, Southerington (2 saves), Forestner (1); CM, Hess (12).

GIRLS SOCCER

Archbishop Hoban 1, Lake Catholic 0

AH (6-0-1, 1-0): Sheldon. LC (4-2, 0-1): none.

Goalies: (AH) Diestel (4 saves); (LC) Lauderback (9).

Brush 2, Euclid 0

B (3-1-1): Martin, McMillian. E (2-2): none.

Goalies: (B) Woyma (6 sav es); (E) Kendel (10).

Independence 4, Parma 1

I (3-1): A. Henderson (2), Wisniewski, Baran. P: Bartel.

Goalies: I, Spilker (0 saves); P, Lewis (11).

Gilmour 0, Kirtland 0

Goalies: G, Porter (10 saves); K, N/A (6).

Kent Roosevelt 6, Crestwood 1

KR (1-3-0, 0-1-0): (KR) Vaughn, (KR) Vaughn, (KR) Fortson, (KR) Vaughn, (KR) Feetterers, (KR) Britt. C (2-1-1, 0-1-0): Slaker. 

Goalies: KR, Grimm (2 saves), Marsinek (1); C, Nero (6).

Laurel 3, Wellington 0

L (5-0): Mastroianni 2, Felice. W (2-1-1): none.

Goalies: (L) Cade (4 saves), Steele (4); (W) Sparks (20).

Solon 3, Brecksville 0

S (5-1): Kresevic 2, Adelstein. B (2-3): None.

Goalies: S, Confroy (6 saves); B, Farwell (5).

Woodridge 3, Waterloo 1

WO (1-3, 1-0): Schmeltzer, Howard, Whited. WA (0-3, 0-2): Tokar.

Goalies: WO, Miller (5 saves); WA, Ellis (N/A).

LATE:

Beaumont 1, Normandy 0

B: Bovell.

Medina 2, Amherst 1

M: Leckie, Prandi. A: N/A.

Goalies: M, Reynolds (2 saves), Millie (4); A, N/A.

North Royalton 5, Austintown Fitch 0

NR (3-1): Spilker, Steward, Mark, Kuhar, Steward. AF: None.

Goalies: NR, Zeilmann (6 saves); AF, N/A.

Rocky River 4, Clear Fork 1

R (5-0): Elinsky 2, Bennett 2. C (2-2): Helinski.

Goalies: R, Connelly (7 saves); C, Bailey (15).

Notable: Abby Elinsky and Grace Bennett had two goals apiece for the Pirates. 

Strongsville 8, Foothill 0

S (1-0-1): Novak 2, Lisi 2, DiNardo, Erhnfelt, Schirippa, Ross. F (4-1-0): None.

Goalies: S, Hudson (1 save), Baskey 2, Ortenzi 1, Lamb 1 Foothill Moralis 15, Strongsville 

Strongsville 1, Waukegan (Ill.) 0

S (2-1-1): Labbato.

Goalies: Laurell (7 saves); W, Arzate (3).

Notable: Strongsville's first half goal by senior forward Reid Labbato? stood and goalie Reese Laurell earned the team's first shutout of the season.

Western Reserve Academy 2, West Holmes 2

WRA (1-3-1): Berry, Maggie Wise. WH (1-3-1): Schlegel, Neville.

Goalies: WRA, Paparella (12 saves); WH, Scott (2).

GIRLS TENNIS

Beaumont 4, Mayfield B 1

Singles: Barone (B) d. Magyari 6-0, 6-0; Connelly (B) d. Byrne 6-2, 6-0; Ho (M) d. Leone 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles: Knezevic/Cira (B) d. Zimmerman/Tizzano 6-0, 6-4; Rowane/Allen (B) d. Fomachev/Ho 6-4, 6-2.

Chagrin Falls 3, Bay 2

Singles: Quillin (B) d. Mahoney 6-1, 6-2; Mazzola (CF) d. Alelesandrovic 7-5, 6-0; Manchester (CF) d. Messina 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles: Kapes/Primer (B) d. Wagner/O’Neil 4-6, 6-2, 7-6; Kendall/Hazelton (CF) d. Hansen/Poretsky 6-0, 6-1.

Elyria Catholic 4, North Ridgeville 1

Singles: Carroccio, EC, d. Mihalski 6-3, 6-1; Wishner, NR, d. Kozma 6-3, 6-4; Buchs, EC, d. Slone 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles: Stevens/Opalenik, EC, d. McCloskey/Ferrara 6-1, 6-1; Morgan/Lopez, EC, d. O’Neil/Heck 6-2, 6-2.

Fairview 4, Westlake 1

Singles: Fratzke (F) d. Randar 6-1, 6-2; King (W) d. Popa 6-4, 6-1; Vandra (F) d. Baakhihi 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles: Aguirre/Palmer-Tesema (F) d. Steinman/ Martin 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Filkill/ Ford (F) d. Mistry/Desai 6-4, 6-1.

Hawken 5, Westlake 0

Singles: Green d. Dunbar 6-1, 6-1; Rankin d. Choban 6-0, 6-3; Ravishankar d. Golick 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles: Goren/Kerman d. Reddy/Kelleher 6-3, 6-3; Ross/Levin d. Tanker/Ramaschandran 6-3, 6-4.

Hawken 3, Magnificat B 2

Singles: Luffred (M) d. Doody 6-4, 6-2; Liu (H) d. Robenalt 6-2, 6-1; Coyne (M) d. Voelbaum 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles: Mansoor/Washington (H) d. Swartz/Fatica 6-2, 6-1; McBride/Grieg (H) d. Nock/Minotti 6-4, 6-2.

Lakewood 5, Lake Ridge Academy 0

Singles: Shaw d. Al Haddad 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles: Hoffert/Ritschel d. Duncan/Norton 6-0, 6-0; King/Nelson d. Humphreys/Volk 6-0, 6-2.

Notable: Lakewood won second and third singles by forfeit due to illness.

Lake Catholic 3, Padua 2

Singles: Radigan (L) d. Bruk 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; Waso (P) d. Fox 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; Steigerwald (L) d. Mikulasik 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles: Matteo/Morrissey (L) d. Onorato/Castrovillian 6-3, 7-5; Martella/Hanna (P) d. Pfriem/Jeresko 6-1, 6-4.

Midview 3, Brunswick 2

Singles: Rachel Pickering (M) d. Torres 6-2, 6-3; Santiago (B) d. Gipson 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; Bartone (M) d. Spaeth, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Doubles: Nawash/Boyer (B) d. Sedlak/Hogue 6-2, 6-4; Patel/Plas d. Stojanovic/Bowman 6-4, 6-2.

North Royalton 3, Brecksville-Broadview Heights 2

Singles: Wong, BBH, d. Muren 7-5, 7-5; Kauppila, NR, d. Olsen 6-0, 6-1; Farid, BBH, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0.

Doubles: Haines/Packard, NR, d. Knetig/Matto 6-3, 6-4; Baldari/Kostanek, NR, d. Kandanarchichi/Waiwood 6-1, 6-3.

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 3 Gilmour 2

Singles: Althans (G) d. Didovic 6-0, 6-1; Kus (N) d. Hollis 6-4, 6-1; Doe (G) d. Tomsick 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles: Shimooka/D'Angelo (N) d. Lawrence/Kehn 6-2, 6-3; Lah/Zolikoff (N) d. Eritz/Moufawad 6-2, 6-0.

Orange 5, St. Joseph Academy 0

Singles: Young d. Waltos 6-0, 6-1; Nakamoto d. Kahl 6-0, 6-1; Kashyap d. Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles: Stankovic/Tokman d. Ruenemnsaal/Rouse 6-0, 6-4; Krishnan/Rico d. Saracina/McAfee 6-4, 6-2.

Our Lady of the Elms 3, Hudson 2

Singles: Kuzmishin (E) d. Lewis 6-1, 6-1; Axtell (E) def Sachtleben 6-1, 6-2; J. Wang (H) d. Muzilla 6-4, 7-5.

Doubles: Dalieh/Y. Wang (H) d. Figliola/Ahmed 6-4, 6-7, 6-3; O'Flynn/Gupta (E) d. Bagarus/Forrestal 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Revere 3, Avon Lake 2

Singles: Hrivhak (AL) d. Hendrickson 6-0, 6-1; Henry (R) d. Krieg 6-2, 6-7, 6-2; Lifke (R) d. Johnson 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles: Ling/Taylor (R) d. Wanner/Loebick 6-1, 7-5; Hoffman/Sabo (AL) d. Mortimer/Bucci 7-6, 6-1.

Solon 3, North Canton Hoover 2

Singles: Kandakai (S) d. A. Koinoglou 6-3, 6-7, 6-1; Bergman (NCH) d. Bandi 6-2, 6-4; K. Koinoglou d. Moore 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles: Baird/Lander (S) d. Wood/Worstell 6-2, 6-3; Samtani/Smith (S) d. Taylor/Siminides 6-2, 7-6.

Western Reserve 3, Mayfield 2

Singles: King (WRA) d. Vizelman 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8); Deeter (WRA) d. Schmitt 6-3, 6-2; Hufferman (WRA) d. Milenius 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles: Caine/Mulvihill (M) d. Wood/Clayman 6-2, 6-2; Hsu/Rotenberg d. Lui/Zupon 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Woodridge 5, Norton 0

Singles: Pung d. Schmitt 6-4, 7-6; Vanaman d. Rowe 6-0, 6-2; Pinta d. Kraus 6-4, 6-0.

Doubles: Brazis/Simmons d. Miller/Kitchens 6-2, 6-1; Downs/Snyder d. Thomas/Whitaker 6-2, 6-3.

LATE:

OTCA Coaches Cup

Magnificat 5, Medina 0

Singles: Witt d. Deimling 6-3, 6-2; O’Malley d. Ott 6-0, 6-0; Moran d. Speckman 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles: Manimbo/Harvey d. Arnold/Major 6-2, 6-0; Faranacci?Lawless d. Liebler/Greene 6-1, 6-1.

VOLLEYBALL

Avon d. Rocky River 25-10, 25-21, 26-24

Notable: Rachel Steinert had 9 kills and 7 blocks and Alli Novak added 16 assists for the winners.

Avon Lake d. Westlake 25-16, 25-17, 25-13

Notable: Lauren Bakaitis and Katie Mihalik had 8 kills each and Alaina Sliwinski added 20 assists and 4 digs as Avon Lake upped its record to 3-2 overall, 2-1 in Southwestern Conference play. For Westlake, Lauren Kay had 12 digs and Katie Murray had 3 aces. 

Beaumont d. Magnificat 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19

Notable: Defending state champ Beaumont is now 3-0, while Magnificat falls to 2-3. 

Brecksville d. North Olmsted 25-22, 25-21, 25-17

Notable: For Brecksville, senior Emily Sokolowski had 15 kills, freshman Abby Barth had 10 kills and Andrea King 3 blocks. For North Olmsted, McKenzie Zauner had 43 digs and Tia McCord 11 kills.

Cardinal d. Harvey 25-7, 25-17, 25-5.

Notable: Caitlyn Lechene had 17 aces and 30 points. Alyssa Shirkey added 11 kills. Maddie Bean had 19 assists.

Elyria d. Stow 25-18, 14-25, 25-2, 25-19

Notable: For Elyria, Alexis Middlebrooks had 15 kills and Tyra Darden contributed 12 kills. Haley Paonessa led Elyria with 20 digs

Elyria Catholic d. North Ridgeville 25-15, 25-19, 25-8

Notable: Elyria Catholic was led by Allie Kaminski with 12 points including 2 aces. Brooke Nedrich had 13 kills for the Panthers while Jessie Lee added 8. 

Hathaway Brown d. St. Vincent-St. Mary 20-25, 25-8, 25-23, 25-14

Notable: Taylor Paolucci had 12 kills, 9 service points and 3 aces as St. Vincent-St. Mary fell to 3-6.

Independence d. Cuyahoga Heights 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-12

Notable: For IndependenceMegan Screptock 18 kills and 11 digs and 3 blocks; Mallory Trombetta had17 digs while Maia Lentz added 3 blocks and and 4 assists. Hallie Zumack had 25 assists and Meredith Collins 18 assists for the Blue Devils.

Kenston d. Aurora 25-13, 25-20, 25-19

Notable: Jaime Kasiorek had 10 killls, Stephanie Bindernagel had 18 digs and Taylor Curtis had 8 kills and 4 blocks as Kenston opened CVC play with a sweep of Aurora. Kenston is now 3-2 overall. For Aurora, Carly Cabot had 16 assists, while Karly Mitch posted 20 digs and Baylee Worth registered 9 kills.

Maple Heights d. Lorain 25-21, 25-17, 25-19

Notable: For Maple Heights, Courtney Warner had 12 service points and 13 kills, Taylor Lattimore had 26 digs and Ammaarah Williams 5 blocks. Marlena Guice 11 kills for Lorain to go along with 19 digs. Setter Serena Rodriguez had 21 assists for the Titans.

Mayfield d. Normandy 25-16, 25-15, 25-12

Notable: For Mayfield, Alexis Anderson had 11 kills, Grace Coleman had 10 kills and Kyra Mayo had 9 kills. Anna Del Zoppo had 16 digs for the Wildcats and Natalie Browske had 18 assists.

North Royalton d. Hudson 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 15-10

Notable: For Hudson, Krissy Mummey had 15 kills and 6 blocks, while Jordan Mackay added 11 kills and 8 blocks. Celia Cristofoli had 13 kills and 31 assists.

Olmsted Falls d. St. Joseph 25-19, 25-17, 25-18

Notable: Abby Vichill had 11 kills and Kerri Gasper added 10. Abby Davison posted five blocks.

Revere d. Cloverleaf 25-17, 25-23, 25-9

Notable: Meredith Ruetty had 17 service points, 4 aces and 4 blocks as Revere remained unbeaten, 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the Suburban League.

Riverside d. Eastlake North 25-12, 25-17, 25-15

Notable: for Riverside, Melissa Maczuzak  had 11 kills, 15 digs and 2 blocks. Katelyn Selleny added 27 assists and 5 digs.

Twinsburg d. Valley Forge 25-13, 25-14, 25-17

Notable: Zoe Rivet had 24 assists and Natalie Talentino had 18 digs for Twinsburg.

Wadsorth d. Nordonia 25-14, 25-23, 25-18.

Notable: For Wadsworth, Peyton Booth had 12 kills, 12 digs and 5 aces; Maria Sansonetti had 13 assists and Ciera Koons had 7 blocks.

Wickliffe d. Richmond Heights 25-10, 24-26, 15-25, 25-14, 15-12

Notable: Wickliffe is now 5-3, 1-0 in the Chagrin Valley Conference.

Willoughby South d. Geneva 25-16, 25-12, 23-25, 26-24

Notable: Morgan Tippie had 19 kills and 5 blocks and freshman Olivia Scott added 27 assists as the Rebels improved to 3-2 overall, 2-0 in the Premier Athletic Conference.

Amherst d. Berea-Midpark 25-12, 25-18, 25-14

Brooklyn d. Wellington 25-21, 26-24, 25-17

Brunswick d. Garfield Heights 25-7, 25-16, 25-13

Hathaway Brown d. St Vincent-St Mary 20-25, 25-8; 25-23; 25-14

Highland d. Tallmadge 25-9, 25-19, 25-20

Kenston d. Aurora 25-13, 25-19, 25-19

Riverside d. Eastlake North 25-12, 25-19, 25-15

Twinsburg d. Valley Forge 25-13, 25-14, 25-17

Wickliffe d. Richmond Heights 25-10, 24-26, 15-25, 25-14, 15-12

LATE:

Clearview d. Black River 25-16, 23-25, 18-25, 25-10

Notable: Jamie Hozan led the Pirates with 15 points, 3 aces, and 9 digs.

Dalton d. Buckeye 25-17, 25-17

Notable: Katie Galaszewski had 6 assists, 5 digs and 3 block assists for Buckeye.

Manchester d. Buckeye 13-25, 31-29, 28-26

Notable: Maggie Galaszewski had 9 kills, 7 digs and 4 block assists for Buckeye.

Ubaldo Jimenez threw six scoreless innings Tuesday night and Asdrubal Cabrera and Yan Gomes drove in two runs each as the the Indians withstood a three-run homer by Nate McLouth in the ninth inning to beat the Orioles, 4-3.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ubaldo Jimenez didn't strike out 10 batters Tuesday night for the first time in his last three starts. What he did do was throw six scoreless innings, which carries a lot more weight in pitching circles than strikeouts.

The Indians used Jimenez's six scoreless innings and a return to some grind-it-out offense to beat Baltimore, 4-3, at Progressive Field to keep pace in the race for the American League's second wild card spot with 24 games left to play.

What began so well almost ended badly in the ninth inning as closer Chris Perez gave up a three-run homer to Nate McLouth with no one out. Perez, who earlier in the day was found guilty of drug abuse in Rocky River Municipal Court and put on a year's probation for the fourth degree misdemeanor, rebounded to strikeout Brian Roberts and Manny Machado and retire MLB's top home run hitter, Chris Davis, on a ground out to second to give the Indians just their fourth win in the last 11 games.

The Indians are trying to catch Tampa Bay for the second wild card spot. The victory moved them to three games off the pace, but they trailed the Yankees and Orioles, who were two games and 2 1/2 games back, respectively.

Following Monday's 7-2 loss to the Orioles, the Indians held a players' only meeting. They'd lost seven of their last 10 games, while scoring just 27 runs. Their last seven runs in that stretch had all come on home runs, which seemed to indicate that each Indian had taken it upon himself to be the hero.

After that game second baseman Jason Kipnis talked about the value of working the count and passing the torch to the hitter waiting on deck. It looked like somebody was listening.

The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Kipnis and Carlos worked Chris Tillman (15-5, 3.71) for walks to start the inning. Michael Brantley advanced them with a bunt and Asdrubal Cabrera's sacrifice fly made it 1-0.

"That's the game we have to play," said Cabrera. "We have to get as many people on base as we can. It doesn't matter if it's a walk or a base hit."

They tried a similar formula in the sixth and it led to a three-run inning and a 4-0 lead.

Santana opened with a walk. Brantley doubled him to third and Cabrera hit his second straight sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Tillman intentionally walked Jason Kubel -- it was Kubel's third intentional walk since he joined the Tribe on Friday from Arizona -- and Yan Gomes followed with a two-run double off the left field wall. Matt Carson, who pinch ran for Kubel, scored all the way from first.

"We did a lot of good things," said manager Terry Francona. "We played a nice crisp game. We kept the line moving. Everybody contributed whether it was a bunt or a sacrifice fly. That's how we have to play."

Jimenez (10-9, 3.79) struck out 10 in each of his last two starts. The numbers looked good in the boxscore, but Jimenez lost both those games because the Indians scored only two runs in a 3-1 loss to Atlanta and a 5-1 loss to Minnesota.

Tuesday night, Jimenez struck out four, walked two and allowed four hits. The 10 wins are one more than he had all last year when he went 9-17 with a 5.40 ERA in the worst season of his career.

"It's all about the fastball," said Jimenez. "My fastball velocity has been up. I've been able to locate the fastball and throw all my breaking balls off that.,"

Jimenez has become the mainstay of the rotation with Justin Masterson sidelined with a strained left oblique muscle and at least three other members of the rotation on restricted pitch counts.

"We all need to step up as starting pitchers," said Jimenez. "Masterson is our No.1 starter, but he's injured. If we want to make it to the playoffs, all of us have to step up and be there for the team."

• Box score | Scoreboard | Standings

The Orioles loaded the bases against Jimenez in the sixth. Machado, with one out, doubled for the 47th time this season. Jimenez walked Davis, but Adam Jones bounced into a force play at second as Machado went to third.

Jimenez walked Matt Wieters, but got Mike Morse to bounce back to the mound to end the inning.

"This was the third start in the row where it looks like he's got a second wind," said Francona. "He's throwing in to left-handers and that creates the separation between his fastball and off-speed stuff. Man, that's exciting to see."

Francona went to the bullpen even though Jimenez had thrown only 90 pitches.

Rookie Cody Allen and Joe Smith each pitched a scoreless innings, but Perez made things way too exciting. Asked if he considered not using Perez because of what he went through in court, Francona said, "No, I actually thought he threw the ball pretty well. He left a ball up to McLouth. But I thought for the most part he was really pretty good."

Perez and his wife, Melaine, were arrested for having a small amount of marijuana delivered to their Rocky River residence in June.

A crowd of only 9,962 watch the game. It was the smallest September crowd in the history of Progressive Field.

"Of course, we notice," said Jimenez. "We're baseball players and it's definitely not the same when we have a big crowd when it's compared to 9,000 people. A big crowd gets you going a little bit more.

"But what can we do? We're in the playoff chase. We just drew 9,000 people. There's nothing we can do. We have to go out and try to compete in front of whoever is there pulling for us."

Post-game video: Yan Gomes on the win

Watch as Mary Kay Cabot and Tom Reed discuss the news from the Cleveland Browns practice today in Berea, plus a video with Brandon Weeden on taking the next step in this his second year at quarterback. Watch video

 BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns beat writers Mary Kay Cabot and Tom Reed recap what happened today during practice in Berea.

Highlights include: Brandon Weeden excited about getting the season started with the new offense.  Travis Benjamin and Devone Bess co-starting in place of Josh Gordon who is suspended for the first two games. a status update on Barkevious Mingo's bruised lung.  Billy Cundiff, the Browns' new kicker.

Follow on Twitter: @CLEvideos

Here are team-by-team previews in the NFC for the 2013 season

Here are team-by-team previews in the NFC for the 2013 season:

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III applauds during warm ups before a preseason NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Landover, Md. Associated Press 

KEY LOSSES: LB Lorenzo Alexander.

STRENGTHS: QB, RB, WR.

WEAKNESSES: S.

EXPECTATIONS: QB Robert Griffin III revitalized franchise, helping produce first NFC East title in 13 years. He has potential to revolutionize league with running and passing abilities, but missed all or part of four games last year because of injuries and had reconstructive knee surgery in January. If healthy, Redskins are must-watch team. Griffin isn't afraid to speak his mind, even when he disagrees with coach Mike Shanahan, and power play between two is worth watching. Defense ranked 30th vs. pass last season, and hope for improvement lies with rookies Rambo and Amerson and return of S Brandon Meriweather from knee surgery. If Griffin's knee holds up and secondary comes around, Redskins should return to playoffs with room to spare.

NEW YORK GIANTS (9-7)

NEW FACES: OT Justin Pugh, TE Brandon Myers, PK Josh Brown, DE Damontre Moore, LB Dan Connor, DL Cullen Jenkins, S Ryan Mundy, CB Aaron Ross, DT Johnathan Hankins.

KEY LOSSES: RB Ahmad Bradshaw, MLB Chase Blackburn, LB Michael Boley, DT Chris Canty, S Kenny Phillips, TE Martellus Bennett, PK Lawrence Tynes.

STRENGTHS: QB, WR.

WEAKNESSES: LB, OL.

EXPECTATIONS: Another second-half swoon saw Giants miss playoffs for third time in four years. This year, there are questions about O and D lines, linebackers and, suddenly, safety with loss of Stevie Brown to knee injury. If everything comes together, Giants may have chance to play Super Bowl in their backyard. That's asking a lot from all-or-nothing team, probably too much. NFC champion will use Giants' facility to train for Super Bowl. That likely won't be Giants.

DALLAS COWBOYS (8-8)

NEW FACES: S Will Allen, LB Justin Durant, TE Gavin Escobar, C Travis Frederick, DT Nick Hayden, LB DeVonte Holloman, RB Joseph Randle, TE Dante Rosario, CB B.W. Webb, S J.J. Wilcox, WR Terrance Williams.

KEY LOSSES: RB Felix Jones, WR Kevin Ogletree, S Gerald Sensabaugh, DT Marcus Spears.

STRENGTHS: QB, TE, LB.

WEAKNESSES: OL, S.

EXPECTATIONS: Coach Jason Garrett's job could depend on Dallas ending three-year playoff drought. QB Tony Romo got richest contract in franchise history and needs to back it up with first extended postseason run of career. Big concern is uncertainty at guard after injury-plagued training camp that followed subpar 2012 season for free agent pickups Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings. Romo has some good weapons if RB DeMarco Murray and WR Miles Austin stay healthy as complements for WR Dez Bryant. And there's reliable TE Jason Witten. Retooled defense needs big plays from DE DeMarcus Ware and LBs Sean Lee and Bruce Carter. Safety looks shaky with unproven Barry Church and 10-year vet Will Allen, who has been full-time starter once (2006) in career.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (4-12)

NEW FACES: QB Matt Barkley, QB Dennis Dixon, TE Zach Ertz, RT Lane Johnson, NT Isaac Sopoaga, DT Bennie Logan, LB Connor Barwin, CB Cary Williams, CB Bradley Fletcher, FS Patrick Chung, SS Earl Wolff, P Donnie Jones.

KEY LOSSES: WR Jeremy Maclin, WR Arrelious Benn, LB Jason Phillips, CB Nnamdi Asomugha, CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, DT Cullen Jenkins, DT Mike Patterson.

STRENGTHS: RB, QB, OL, DL.

WEAKNESSES: WR, DB, LB.

EXPECTATIONS: New coach Chip Kelly injected new life and new philosophy into franchise stuck doing things same way for too long under Andy Reid. Playoffs a long shot but offense should be exciting. Playmakers LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Mike Vick can thrive in Kelly's system. Defense has to find way to keep team in games. Switch to new 3-4 alignment could take time.

NFC North

GREEN BAY PACKERS (12-6)

View full sizeGreen Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)  

NEW FACES: RB Eddie Lacy, DE Datone Jones, QB Vince Young, LT David Bakhtiari, DL Johnny Jolly, CB Micah Hyde, RB Johnathan Franklin.

KEY LOSSES: WR Greg Jennings, S Charles Woodson, LT Bryan Bulaga.

STRENGTHS: QB, WR, TE.

WEAKNESSES: OL.

EXPECTATIONS: Loss to 49ers in last year's playoffs raised questions again about Packers' defense. Then again, Green Bay does have Aaron Rodgers. The key, as always, is keeping Rodgers' precious right shoulder off ground. He was sacked 51 times last year. Reconfigured line took serious blow when left tackle Bulaga (knee) went down in preseason camp. Bakhtiari, a rookie, now has task of protecting Rodgers' blind side. With potential of grind-it-out running game with Lacy, third straight NFC North crown appears within reach. But can Packers protect Rodgers and buckle down on defense just enough to get past divisional round of playoffs?

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (10-7)

NEW FACES: WR Greg Jennings, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, LB Desmond Bishop, DT Sharrif Floyd, CB Xavier Rhodes, P Jeff Locke, QB Matt Cassel.

KEY LOSSES: WR Percy Harvin, CB Antoine Winfield, P Chris Kluwe, LB Jasper Brinkley.

STRENGTHS: RB, DL, OL.

WEAKNESSES: QB, CB.

EXPECTATIONS: Vikings zoomed past projections last year with seven-win improvement and spot in playoffs, riding Adrian Peterson's 2,097 yards rushing that earned him NFL MVP award. With quarterback Christian Ponder still largely unproven, skepticism of repeat in postseason abounds. With Jennings, Patterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph, Ponder will have better chance, even if Peterson proves he's human and falls short of 2,000. Winfield might be harder to replace than Harvin, with cornerbacks Chris Cook, Josh Robinson and Rhodes tasked with defending NFC North's talented passers.

CHICAGO BEARS (10-6)

NEW FACES: LT Jermon Bushrod, TE Martellus Bennett, G Matt Slauson, G Kyle Long, LB James Anderson, LB D.J. Williams.

KEY LOSSES: LB Brian Urlacher, DE Israel Idonije, LB Nick Roach.

STRENGTHS: RB, WR, DE, CB, special teams

WEAKNESSES: OL. Aging defense.

EXPECTATIONS: Five playoff misses past six seasons led to coach Lovie Smith's firing. Offense appears better — or at least has potential to be better — but defense could take step back, with aging core players such as DE Julius Peppers, LB Lance Briggs, CB Charles Tillman in their 30s. Bushrod, Slauson should be major upgrades on left side of OL, but Bears could be going with rookies on right side in Long, RT Jordan Mills. Even with new additions, unit that ranked among league's worst remains question mark. Still, Bears gave QB Jay Cutler upgraded line. He also has versatile TE and offense-oriented coach in Marc Trestman. But to many, Cutler's out of excuses and possibly running out of time. Expiring contract and relationship with new coaching staff are two major story lines.

DETROIT LIONS (4-12)

NEW FACES: RB Reggie Bush, S Glover Quin, DE Jason Jones, DE Ziggy Ansah, CB Darius Slay, DE Israel Idonije, K David Akers, RB Montell Owens, DT C.J. Mosley, OG Leroy Harris, OG Jake Scott.

KEY LOSSES: OT Jeff Backus, OT Gosder Cherilus, OG Stephen Peterman, LB Justin Durant, DE Cliff Avril, DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, DE Lawrence Jackson, K Jason Hanson, WR Titus Young.

STRENGTHS: DT, WR.

WEAKNESSES: OL, CB.

EXPECTATIONS: Detroit's retooled defensive line with new ends (Ansah, Jones, Idonije) along with perhaps one of NFL's best tandem of tackles (Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley) makes franchise's bid to get back to playoffs a possibility. Quest becomes closer to reality if Matthew Stafford has time to connect with Calvin Johnson behind rebuilt offensive line with three new starters, and Reggie Bush has room to run. Jim Schwartz, entering fifth year as coach, stands to lose a lot if Detroit makes its 2011 postseason appearance look like fluke.

NFC South

ATLANTA FALCONS (14-4)

View full sizeAtlanta Falcons' Steven Jackson catches a pass during a joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals at NFL football training camp at the Falcons' practice facility, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, in Flowery Branch, Ga.AP Photo/David Goldman) 

NEW FACES: RB Steven Jackson, CB Desmond Trufant, DE Osi Umenyiora, FB Bradie Ewing.

KEY LOSSES: OT Tyson Clabo, RB Michael Turner, DE John Abraham, CB Dunta Robinson, C Todd McClure, LB Mike Peterson, OT Mike Johnson.

STRENGTHS: QB, WR, TE, RB.

WEAKNESSES: OL, DE.

EXPECTATIONS: Super Bowl or bust. TE Tony Gonzalez didn't put off retirement for one more year just to make playoffs again. Falcons came up 10 yards short of big game last season, losing to San Francisco in NFC championship, and they've become one of league's most consistent winners over last five seasons. Under coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff, Atlanta is 56-24 in regular season with four playoff appearances and two NFC South titles. If questionable offensive line holds up, team should have no trouble scoring points with QB Matt Ryan, new RB Steven Jackson, WRs Roddy White and Julio Jones, and ageless Gonzalez. Defense isn't nearly as talented, leading coordinator Mike Nolan to experiment with 3-4 alignment. Must get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (7-9)

NEW FACES: S Kenny Vaccaro, WR Kenny Stills, CB Keenan Lewis, TE Ben Watson, DT John Jenkins, DE Glenn Foster, S Jim Leonhard

KEY LOSSES: LT Jermon Bushrod, WR Devery Henderson, LB Jonathan Casillas.

STRENGTHS: QB, TE, RB.

WEAKNESSES: LB, DB.

EXPECTATIONS: Coach Sean Payton's return from season-long bounty suspension has infused Saints headquarters with optimism. Payton once again will work with quarterback Drew Brees as coach resumes play calling for offense that — even without him — ranked second in league last season. New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan overhauled Saints' defense a year after it allowed single-season record 7,042 yards in 2012. If all goes as New Orleans hopes, Payton will guide Saints back to playoffs for fourth time in five seasons.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (7-9)

NEW FACES: LB Chase Blackburn, CB Drayton Florence, WR Ted Ginn Jr., WR Domenik Hixon, S Mike Mitchell, CB D.J. Moore, OL Travelle Wharton.

KEY LOSSES: LB James Anderson, DT Ron Edwards, CB Chris Gamble, S Sherrod Martin, WR Louis Murphy.

STRENGTHS: QB, RB, DE, LB.

WEAKNESSES: OG, CB, SS.

EXPECTATIONS: Panthers have talent to be playoff team, but need to get off to quick start and stay healthy because they are not particularly deep. Ron Rivera's teams started last two seasons 1-5 and 1-6, digging themselves holes they could never overcome. It doesn't help that Panthers face toughest schedule in league based off last year's records and play in competitive NFC South. This could be a make or break season for Rivera.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-9)

NEW FACES: CB Darrelle Revis, S Dashon Goldson, CB Johnthan Banks, T Gabe Carimi, DT Akeem Spence.

KEY LOSSES: S Ronde Barber, PK Connor Barth, DE Michael Bennett, DT Roy Miller.

STRENGTHS: RB, WR, DBs.

WEAKNESSES: OL, TE, pass rush.

EXPECTATIONS: Bucs have missed postseason past five years and don't have playoff victory since winning Super Bowl 11 seasons ago. With wildly inconsistent Josh Freeman entering final year of contract, heat on fifth-year quarterback to prove he's worth hefty pay raise for next season. Club shored up NFL's leakiest secondary by acquiring three-time All Pro Revis, and Goldson, an All-Pro last season with San Francisco. Still, Tampa Bay's playoff hopes likely will ride on Freeman's play. He's surrounded by talented players on offense and became franchise's first 4,000-yard passer in 2012. However, questions about whether he's long-term solution will persist until 25-year-old shows he can lead Bucs into postseason.

NFC West

View full sizeSan Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, left, tosses a football to quarterback Colin Kaepernick during warm ups before an NFL preseason football game against the San Diego Chargers, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)  

NEW FACES: WR Anquan Boldin, WR Jonathan Baldwin, S Craig Dahl, K Phil Dawson, QB Colt McCoy, QB Seneca Wallace, CB Nnamdi Asomugha, S Eric Reid, TE Vance McDonald.

KEY LOSSES: QB Alex Smith, S Dashon Goldson, TE Delanie Walker, K David Akers, WR Randy Moss, DL Isaac Sopoaga, DL Ricky Jean Francois.

STRENGTHS: LBs, RBs, OL, special teams.

WEAKNESSES: WRs.

EXPECTATIONS: Super Bowl return — and win — is what 49ers have in mind after reaching big game for first time in 18 years and falling short of sixth title. Schedule, though, more daunting and division much better. 49ers believe Colin Kaepernick is guy who can lead team to another special postseason. Addition of Phil Dawson bolsters confidence in kicking game. Boast one of best overall defenses, led by LBs Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith. Frank Gore leads ground game. Tight-knit offensive line has played two full seasons together and made big strides during that time.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (12-6)

NEW FACES: WR Percy Harvin, DE Cliff Avril, DE Michael Bennett, DT Tony McDaniel, CB Antoine Winfield, DT Jesse Williams, DT Jordan Hill, RB Christine Michael, QB Tarvaris Jackson.

KEY LOSSES: DT Alan Branch, OL John Moffitt, KR/RB Leon Washington, QB Matt Flynn, LB Leroy Hill, CB Marcus Trufant, TE Anthony McCoy.

STRENGTHS: QB, RB, OL, DB.

WEAKNESSES: DL, OLB, TE, G.

EXPECTATIONS: Super Bowl or bust? Pete Carroll quieted all those complaining about sluggish first two seasons with 11-5 regular season in 2012, first-round playoff win over Washington, then close loss to Atlanta in next round. Settled at quarterback with Russell Wilson, at running back with Marshawn Lynch, and with league's best secondary, led by All-Pros Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman. Seattle expected to battle San Francisco for division crown. But schedule doesn't help with road games at Houston, Indianapolis, Atlanta and New York Giants. Survive those, hold serve at home where Seahawks were undefeated last season and road to Super Bowl may go through Seattle.

ST. LOUIS RAMS (7-8-1)

NEW FACES: WR Tavon Austin, WR Stedman Bailey, OT Joe Barksdale, TE Jared Cook, OL Barrett Jones, OT Jake Long, S T.J. McDonald, CB Brandon McGee, LB Alec Ogletree, RB Zac Stacy, LB Will Witherspoon.

KEY LOSSES: WR Danny Amendola, S Craig Dahl, RB Steven Jackson, LB Rocky McIntosh, S Quintin Mikell.

STRENGTHS: DL, WR, CB

WEAKNESSES: S, RB.

EXPECTATIONS: One of youngest teams also was among most improved in first season under coach Jeff Fisher, shaking off five-year stretch totaling 15 wins — worst in NFL history. More youth must step up to contend in stacked NFC West, so posting franchise's first winning season in decade might be plenty. Speedy Austin and Cook should help rev up offense that features two former No. 1 overall picks in QB Sam Bradford and OT Jake Long, but minus proven commodity at RB. Pass rush among NFL's best, but both safeties are new and OLB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, second-leading tackler last season, suspended first four games.

ARIZONA CARDINALS (5-11)

NEW FACES: Coach Bruce Arians, QB Carson Palmer, RB Rashard Mendenhall, OT Eric Winston, CB Jerraud Powers, ILB Karlos Dansby, ILB Jasper Brinkley, OLB John Abraham, S Yeremiah Bell, OLB Lorenzo Alexander, OG Jonathan Cooper, S-CB Tyrann Mathieu, ILB Kevin Minter.

KEY LOSSES: QB Kevin Kolb, QB John Skelton, S Adrian Wilson, CB William Gay, S Kerry Rhodes.

STRENGTHS: WR, DL.

WEAKNESSES: OL, S.

EXPECTATIONS: 60-year-old Arians brings "throw deep" mentality that will only work if questionable offensive line, weakened further by loss of first-round draft pick Cooper (broken leg) at left guard, can keep Palmer upright. Palmer put up big numbers year ago in Oakland but most of those came after team had fallen behind. With wholesale roster changes, Arians has quickly put his stamp on team, including adding several dozen plays for CB Patrick Peterson on offense. But questions abound on both sides of ball, and if Palmer can't stay healthy, backup Drew Stanton hasn't thrown a pass in regular season since 2010. There's also lack of depth at RB and WR. Playing in toughest division in NFL will make success even more difficult.

Smith said Chudzinski was positioning himself for a head coaching job.

BEREA, Ohio -- Carolina Panthers veteran wide receiver Steve Smith on Wednesday blamed former offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski for some of the team's issues on offense last season.

“The prior offensive coordinator (Chudzinski) really was positioning himself to just apply for that head coaching job," Smith said Wednesday on a conference call with Seattle reporters, according to profootballtalk.com. “I think our offense suffered a little bit because of that.

“At times, we got cute. We did things that weren't necessarily us, like the under-utilizing of (running back) Mike Tolbert. But we're out of that. The past is the past.''

Chudzinski is in his first season as head coach of the Browns. Former Panthers quarterbacks coach Mike Shula is the the team's new offensive coordinator.

“I think Coach Shula is going to change things up, and he has so far,” Smith said. “He just does little different things. Some of it looks small, but we're focusing more on the details, and that's the difference.''

Chudzinski was not available to reporters in Berea to comment after Smith's statement was published.

Carolina ranked 12th in total offense last season (360.7 yards per game), 16th in passing (230.2 yards), ninth in rushing (130.5 yards) and 18th in scoring (22.3 points per game).

The chicken apparently was a gift from Tribe ace Justin Masterson to reliever Cody Allen.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- They say the first rule of making it to the big leagues is to act like you've been there before. It's no big deal, just strut your stuff like normal.

Which is exactly what the live chicken did during Indians batting practice Wednesday at Progressive Field.

The red-brown feathered figure that was set down in center field about two hours before first pitch simply stood among pitchers who were milling about deep center shagging fly balls. It was calm. It was unruffled.

You'd almost think the chicken has spent many afternoons pecking the grass in center field.

Word is that the chicken was a gift from staff ace Justin Masterson to reliever Cody Allen, who also (apparently) is known by the nickname of "Chicken Al." Neither Masterson nor the chicken was available for comment before the game.

Here's to hoping the Tribe's post-game meal isn't fried chicken.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum says he's on schedule to return this season and has had no setbacks since he started working out in late July.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Given that green traditionally means go, it's great news for Cavaliers fans when new center Andrew Bynum says his rehabilitation has "all been green.''

In an exclusive interview with The Plain Dealer, his first since the press conference announcing his signing on July 19, Bynum said he's on schedule to return this season and there have been no setbacks since he started working out at the Cleveland Clinic Courts in late July.

"I moved here a week after the press conference, I've been here ever since -- day in and day out just working,'' he said, referring to the team's practice facility. "I'm there, focused. I'm doing everything I can do to get back. That's what all this is all about for me right now. I just want to play."

After being sent from the Los Angeles Lakers to Philadelphia as part of the Dwight Howard trade before last season, Bynum missed the entire year with a variety of knee problems that culminated in surgery on both knees last March. The 7-0 Bynum, who was an All-Star in 2012, joined the Cavs as a free agent, signing an incentive-laden two-year, $24 million contract with just $6 million guaranteed the first year and a team option for the second.

Both sides entered the deal with their eyes wide open, but General Manager Chris Grant says Bynum has done everything the team's doctors and athletic training staff asked.

"We've been very impressed with Andrew's work ethic and diligence in this process,'' Grant said. "He's doing everything possible to get back on the court as quickly as he can.''

Notice that Grant did not put a date on Bynum's return. While the team thinks it would be great if he was ready for the start of training camp on Oct. 1, if he doesn't hit that exact date, it doesn't mean he's behind schedule.

"It's a fluid process,'' Bynum said. "I have no idea what the schedule's going to be for me. But I'm doing everything I can to be ready. I think with the program that has been made up, we have a good chance.

"I'm optimistic I'm where I should be. Obviously, I want to be playing. But I'm taking baby steps, doing what the team and the doctors tell me. I'm doing my part. I come to work every day. I'm moving in the right direction.''

While he has not been cleared for full-court basketball, he does drills with Vitaly Potapenko, the former Cav who is part of the team's development staff. Bynum does one of three set workouts for three hours a day, six days a week. As a result, his weight has dropped from 305 to 292 -- just a few pounds from his goal of playing in the 280s -- and his body fat has decreased from 12 percent to 9.5. Observers say he is punishing the machines in the team's workout facility, home to some notoriously hard workers.

One day he concentrates on off-balance leg work, with upper body work, basketball and cardiovascular work. Another day is devoted to strength training, lower-body work, basketball and cardio. The third day he does a lighter leg workout in the pool.

His favorite day? The strength training day.

"I feel I get the best work in and I'm the most tired afterward,'' said Bynum, who has been so impressed with the staff and facilities that he has not felt the need to bring in his own personal trainer.

If he's not too tired, he's been getting out and exploring his new hometown. He said fans have been very supportive.

"Right now, there's a lot of love,'' he said. "They're just excited that we definitely can do something this year, and I agree with them. We've got a good team.''

And when they ask how he's doing?

"I'm good,'' he said with a smile.

What happens when one Tribe player give another Tribe player a chicken? The pitchers take it to batting practice, of course. See a Chuck Crow photo gallery.

What happens when one Tribe player give another Tribe player a chicken? The pitchers take it to batting practice, of course. See a Chuck Crow photo gallery.