Listen to Browns Insider tonight at 8 p.m. as our crew talks about the Browns' off-season.
The tournament entry form is available now, and the fee is $200, as it was for the inaugural tournament in 2013. The event is expanding to 16 teams on the East Side and 16 teams on the West Side, with the title game Sunday, Aug. 17 at Classic Park in Eastlake.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Think your slow-pitch softball team is the best in Greater Cleveland? Here's your chance to prove it.
Entries are being taken for the 2014 Plain Dealer-Cleveland.com Softball Championship. The tournament will be held this August and culminate with the East Side champion and the West Side champion playing at Eastlake's Classic Park, home of the Lake County Captains, on Sunday, Aug. 17.
The date for the championship had been originally announced as Saturday, Aug. 16, but has been moved to Sunday, Aug. 17 because of a conflict at Classic Park.
Last year's inaugural tournament featured eight teams from the East Side and eight from the West Side. The West Side champion, Laria Softball, held off the East Side champion, the Ohio Lawmen, 18-17 for the title at Classic Park.
Plans this year are to expand the tournament to 32 teams, 16 on the East Side and 16 on the West Side. The East Side tournament will be held Saturday, Aug. 2 at Victory Sports Park in North Ridgeville. The West Side tournament will be Saturday, Aug. 9 at Victory Sports Park.
The championship game will be Sunday, Aug. 17 at Classic Park.
The entry fee is $200 per team. The first 16 teams to enter in the East Side and West Side brackets will be accepted into the tournament.
CLICK HERE to enter your team and pay the entry fee.
Here are some frequently asked questions about the tournament:
Which teams are eligible?
Any team that is based in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage or Summit counties.
How will the field be decided?
For this year's tournament, the first 16 East Side teams and first 16 West Side teams to register and pay the entry fee will be allowed into the field.
Are players from outside the area allowed to play?
Yes. However, 20-player paper rosters must be turned in before the opening games. Once the paper roster is in place, no changes will be allowed. Players will be asked to show identification at the game sites.
Will there be home-run limits?
To keep the action moving, there will be a six-home-run limit in the East Side and West Side tournaments at Victory Sports Park. For the championship game at Classic Park, there will be no limit on home runs.
What do the winning teams receive?
The East Side and West Side champion teams each will receive a team trophy and individual medals at Victory Sports Park. For the championship game at Classic Park, the winning team will receive a trophy, and both teams will receive individual medals.
What other paperwork is required of teams and players?
Aside from the player roster submitted by each team, each player will be required to sign a liability waiver.
Can players be rostered on more than one team for the tournament?
No.
Is there an age requirement?
All players in the tournament must be 18 or older at the time of competition.
What ball will be used and who is going to provide them?
44/375 balls will be used at Victory Park. The 47/525 ball will be used for the championship game. Balls will be provided by Anaconda Sports.
What bats will be allowed?
Any softball bat that is an approved softball bat by the USSSA, ASA, ISA, and NSA. New models as well as the past bats from all associations will be accepted.
What are the uniform requirements?
It is requested that teams wear full matching uniforms (hats, shirts, pants/shorts), but the only requirement is that they have matching shirts with player numbers on the front or back.
What else to I need to know?
Any disputes including tournament rules, the draw, umpires, equipment, rostering and protests, will be resolved by the Tournament Committee, and that decision is final.
What if I have more questions?
Contact David Campbell, Northeast Ohio Media Group Sports Manager and tournament co-director, at dcampbell@cleveland.com.
RHP Justin Masterson (1-0, 0.00) takes on Cubs left-hander Travis Wood (0-1, 7.94) today in Mesa, Ariz. while RHP Aaron Harang (1-0, 1.80) faces San Francisco right-hander Yusmeiro Petit (0-2, 9.00) today in Scottsdale. Both games start at 4:05 p.m.
GOODYEAR, Arizona -- The Indians continue Cactus League play with a pair of splitsquad games on the road in Arizona today.
RHP Justin Masterson (1-0, 0.00) takes on Cubs left-hander Travis Wood (0-1, 7.94) today in Mesa, Ariz. while RHP Aaron Harang (1-0, 1.80) faces San Francisco right-hander Yusmeiro Petit (0-2, 9.00) today in Scottsdale. Both games start at 4:05 p.m.
Where to listen to the games: Indians vs. Cubs is on WTAM 1100 AM; Indians vs. Giants on MLB.com
Read Tweets from @hoynsie and chat with other fans in the comments section below. Click here to participate on a mobile device.
Here are tips on how to pick your best bracket for NCAA Tournament 2014.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - NCAA Tournament 2014 is upon us, and everyone is scrambling for pencils and tips on how to fill out their bracket for March Madness.
L. Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and a co-author of the book "Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won (Three Rivers Press)."
In the book, Wertheim and University of Chicago finance professor Tobias J. Moskowitz examine some of the most popular sports truisms and use statistics to reveal how games are won and lost.
This is a repost of a 2012 cleveland.com interview with Wertheim in which he gives data-based advice and tips on how to produce your best bracket:
1. Don't outsmart yourself
Filling out a bracket is like investing money, and by nature, people have this trait that is called "action bias." We don't want to look back and say we did nothing. Anyone can buy blue-chip stocks or T-bills and just play it safe.
We are gamblers by nature. We want to say we found Google before it was a huge company.
In the tournament, it's the same way. Everyone wants to say they were the one who picked the 2-vs.-15 upset or VCU to make the Final Four. That's the fun of the tournament.
But we found that when you go crazy with the underdogs, you're bracket-busting yourself. It's fun to pick that way, but statistically speaking, you are better off picking blue-chippers.
2. Don't buy into momentum
We couldn't find any data to suggest that there really is such a thing as momentum. That's hard for sports fans to understand, because everyone has had a time when they've felt "hot" in a game.
In fact, it all correlates with random chance. Think of it in terms of coin flips. If you flip six heads in a row, it doesn't have any bearing on the next flip. It could be a head or a tail. It's the same if a team has won six games in a row. That run has no bearing on what will happen in the seventh.
If you're looking at streaks, look at something meaningful that may cause a streak -- such as a player leaving the lineup or coming back because of injury. Something like a team losing a player to a season-ending ACL injury might be significant.
3. Do think about location
One thing we did find is that there does seem to be some correlation between a crowd and whether a team wins or loses.
It's all because there is a crowd influence on the referees, who tend to make calls in favor of the home team.
The closer the game, the bigger the advantage is on referee calls for the home team. And the later in the game, the bigger the advantage is.
So if a team is playing in a regional nearby, or there's a game between similar seeds and you think the crowd will favor one team, that's something to look at.
Brett Clark goal lifts Monsters past Charlotte.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Brett Clark scored with 4:08 left in the game to lift the Lake Erie Monsters to a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday at Time Warner Cable Arena, earning the Monsters a split of their two-game weekend set.
Clark's goal came moments after Charlotte had tied the back-and-forth game. Clark was alone at the inside edge of the right faceoff circle, took a feed from David van der Gulik and sent the puck top-shelf for his fourth goal of the season.
Trent Daavettila and Karl Stollery had a goal and an assist each for the Monsters (26-28-0-6), while van der Gulik had two assists. Kent Patterson had 21 saves to earn his first win.
Notes: Daavettila has a goal and two assists in his first two games as a Monster... van der Gulik has two goals and four assists over his last three games... Stollery has a goal and eight points over his last eight games... The Monsters are now 7-9-0-0 against the West Division this season, and they conclude the four-game season series against the Checkers with a 2-2-0-0 record... The Monsters are 10-16-0-4 on the road this season... The Monsters were 0-6 on the power play, and 5-5 on the penalty kill ... The Monsters return to Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday to play host to Toronto at 7.
Live chat, live updates as the 2014 NCAA Tournament field is released tonight at 6 pm.
The Browns threw more passes than any other NFL team last season. That trend has to stop, and Ben Tate will help. But he also needs help in the backfield.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I love the signing of Ben Tate -- if the Browns don't stop there.
Tate is an excellent sign with a contract worth "up to $7 million" over the next two seasons. It depends upon his production.
And when Tate is healthy, he is very good.
But you know the rest …
The broken foot in 2010, missing his entire rookie season.
The hamstring and foot injuries in 2012 that limited him to only 65 carries.
The four broken ribs he had last season -- and he played through those. It was the fifth one that sent him to the injured list for the final two games.
But even with the broken ribs, Tate still ran for 771 yards (a 4.3 average) last season.
That's why the Browns need to find at least one more running back. I'm not talking about someone such as Carlos Hyde late in the first round. Look later in the draft.
Use those picks in the first few rounds on a wide receiver, a quarterback, a linebacker and a guard. I'd like a cornerback, too, since we're on a fantasy shopping spree.
Dig deep
The Browns need what Hall of Fame baseball manager Earl Weaver called "deep depth" at running back.
Yes, they have Dion Lewis coming back -- he missed all of last season with a broken leg.
Remember the excitement over Lewis in the preseason? And then, the injury.
Edwin Baker showed up late in the season and revealed a bit of promise. But let's not get carried away. He had 171 yards and a 4.0 average in the final three games of the season. He looked like the second-coming of Leroy Kelly because he wasn't the 115-year-old Willis McGahee.
There's also Chris Ogbonnaya, who I hoped would be a decent fill-in at running back. He had a concussion. He had two fumbles in key spots. In the last five games, he rushed for only 44 yards in 18 carries.
Yes, the Browns traded Trent Richardson to the Colts for a first-round pick (thank you, Joe Banner for that). But he averaged only 2.9 yards per carry for the Colts. He lost his starting job by the end of the season.
I believe the Browns never saw the real Trent Richardson because of the two knee surgeries he had in 2012 -- between the end of the Alabama season and the start of his rookie year.
The Browns ranked 27th in rushing last season. They were dead last out of 32 teams with only four rushing touchdowns.
Guess what team led the NFL in pass attempts last season? Yes, those orange helmets.
A team with Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell starting 13 of the 16 games threw more passes than anyone -- including Peyton Manning's Denver Air Show.
That can't happen again.
Facts of life
Running backs get hurt. They get beaten up. They get run down.
But you need them.
And more than one, especially one with an injury history such as Tate's.
The exciting part of the Tate signing (besides the modest price) is that he's only 25 and has not been a starter most of his career. He should have some productive miles remaining in his legs.
Furthermore, he is anxious to play here. He wants to prove a point about the value of running backs in the league, and especially what he can do if given a chance to be a featured back. He has tapped into the love affair between Browns fans and their team with some very cool twitter posts.
If Tate has a repeat of 2011 when he dashed for 942 yards (5.4 average) and four touchdowns -- he'll become one of the team's most popular players.
New Browns coach Mike Pettine talked about the need of an "all-weather offense" when he was hired.
He is so right.
And new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan understands the need for a running game. In 2012, Washington drafted Alfred Morris in the sixth round. He has rushed for 2,888 yards over the last two season for Shanahan.
So it's time to do some draft discount shopping again, because Shanahan knows what to do if the Browns manage to find a promising runner in the bargain bin.
Michael Bourn, leading off and playing center field for the Indians on Snday, left their Cactus League game against the Giants with a strained left hamstring.
MESA, Ariz. -- Center fielder Michael Bourn was removed from the Indians Cactus League game Sunday against San Francisco in Scottsale, Ariz., with a strained left hamstring.
Bourn left the game in the second inning with what the Indians called a "mild' strain of the hamstring. After last season, Bourn had surgery on the same hamstring. When spring training opened, Bourn said the hamstring was fine and that he was running well.
Last spring the Indians signed Bourn to a four-year $48 million contract.
Bourn, a former Gold Glove center fielder and the NL's leading basestealer srom 2009 through 2011, hit .263 for the Tribe and appeared in 130 games. He scored 75 runs, but stole only 23 bases, while registering a .316 on base percentage.
The Indians said Bourn's condition will be updated Monday.
The Buckeyes are opposite the No. 3 seed Syracuse and in the South region, which will hold its regional final in Memphis
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State is playing a homestate team in a nearby location in the first round of NCAA Tournament 2014 on Thursday.
The Buckeyes are the No. 6 seed in the South Region and will play No. 11 Dayton, featuring Ohio State transfer Jordan Sibert, in Buffalo. The Flyers are coached by former Ohio State assistant Archie Miller.
The regional final for the South will be held in Memphis. The Buckeyes have reached the Sweet 16 four straight years, the only team in the nation to do that.
This is Ohio State's worst seed since the Buckeyes were a No. 8 seed in 2009 and lost in Dayton to Siena in their first game. But the Buckeyes, who likely would have been sent somewhere out West if they had been a No. 5 seed, dropped a spot from bracketology projections earlier in the week and got to stay closer to home as a result.
The No. 3 seed opposite the Buckeyes in Buffalo is Syracuse, a team Ohio State beat to reach the Final Four in 2012. Syracuse plays Western Michigan, the MAC champ, in the first round.
Here are the seeds and first-weekend sites for Ohio State under Thad Matta.
2006 - No. 2 seed, Dayton
2007 – No. 1 seed, Lexington, Ky.
2009 – No. 8 seed, Dayton (that was luck)
2010 – No. 2 seed, Milwaukee
2011 – No. 1 seed, Cleveland
2012 - No. 2 seed, Pittsburgh
2013 – No. 2 seed, Dayton
2014 - No. 6 seed, Buffalo
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In preparation for the boys basketball state semifinals, the coaches from East Tech, St. Edward, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa-Angela St. Joseph were part of a conference call with media members across the state. Here are the highlights from what the local coaches said. Division I
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In preparation for the boys basketball state semifinals, the coaches from East Tech, St. Edward, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa-Angela St. Joseph were part of a conference call with media members across the state. Here are the highlights from what the local coaches said.
Division I
1. East Tech's guards worry St. Edward coach Eric Flannery
The four guards of East Tech (KT Taylor, Johnell Free, Anthony Carmon and Markell Johnson) give the Scarabs a backcourt edge over St. Edward. It's an area of the game that worries Flannery.
"They're extremely skilled and quick and can get to the basket," Flannery said. "You win basketball at this level with guards, and that’s why they're here."
2. The Scarabs needed to score less to win
Although East Tech was scoring close to 90 points per game early in the season, it worried Scarabs coach Brett Moore. He knew they would have to play a different style in March.
"You have to win those games in the 50's and 40's," Moore said. "You need to adjust your mindset."
To get his team ready, Moore made sure to schedule games against teams that play different styles, including Green.
3. Malcolm Walters is a pretty good guard too
While East Tech's guards get most of the attention, St. Edward has been led by Walters all year long. His willingness to focus on the team before himself made a big difference.
"Malcolm has been a pleasant surprise. He’s the unsung hero for where we’re at."
4. Moore took some tips from Mentor before the year
After East Tech lost to Mentor in the district final last season, Moore talked to Cardinals guard Jeff Foreman about how they prepared for their season. Foreman gave Moore some insight on how Mentor conditions itself during the offseason. As a result, Moore instituted some drills from the cross-country team.
Division II
1. St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce responds to comments from Poland Seminary
Dru Joyce felt the comments from Poland Seminary coach Ken Grisdale regarding the makeup of the Irish were out of touch. Following the Irish's 54-42 regional final win on Saturday, Grisdale criticized Joyce's team for only have one starter from the state of Ohio. "(The Irish) are good players. But they are not Ohio players," Grisdale told the Youngstown Vindicator after the game.
Joyce hopes that those comments were just made in the heat of the moment and felt that Grisdale did not understand the circumstances of how Joyce's players came to St. Vincent-St. Mary. "Those things are said. But at the end of the day, it's all about the kids," Joyce said. "I guess there was one comment that I don't want to play in Division I because I would lose. I guess that's a comment that shows how out of touch his statements were. I don't choose what division we play in. The Ohio High School Athletic Association makes that decision. If you look at my schedule, I play mostly Division I schools. I'm just going to play whoever lines up in front of me, and give it my best."
2. State semifinal brings back memories for Irish
The Irish's road to yet another state championship begins with the team that beat them in the state championship game last year. Bishop Watterson defeated St. Vincent-St. Mary, 55-52, to win the state championship last year.
Joyce knows the Eagles are extremely balanced and believes whoever sets the tempo of the game will be the one who plays for a state championship on Saturday morning. "I thought last year, they controlled the tempo," Joyce said. "They don't want to go fast. They would prefer to play a little slower game. It's up to us to try to change that."
3. Bishop Watterson is the hunted.
Vince Lombardo knows his Bishop Watterson team has had a target on its back after winning the state championship last season. They are back, and he gives a lot of the credit to the eight seniors that make up most of his rotation, including their leading scorer Matt Hughes (13 ppg), who was last year's MVP in the Division II state tournament.
"The maturity our guys have has been evident throughout the year," Lombardo said. "Our guys have really, really impressive to me in their approach to the daily work we've had to do ... they just battle through things and really pull together. It's a great group of young men. They play very well together and have a lot of trust in each other."
Division III
1. Schedule prepared Villa Angela-St. Joseph
One of the first things Viking coach Babe Kwasniak credited to leading his team to the Division III state semifinal was the schedule his team played.
"The schedule of the year paints the picture of the season we’ve had," Kwasniak said.
The Vikings played 10 games against teams that made the district championship, six games against teams that made the regional championship and four games against teams that are the state Final Four.
2. Columbus Bishop Ready plays like Wisconsin
When breaking down his opponent, Kwasniak said that Columbus Bishop Ready is similar to a Big Ten team.
"They remind me of high school’s version of Wisconsin," Kwasniak said. "They get the shot they want. Defensively, they are a good a team as we’ve seen."
3. Bishop Ready will need to shoot well
With Carlton Bragg and Dererk Pardon down low for Villa Angela-St. Joseph, the Silver Knights will need to play well from the outside to get the victory.
"You obviously have to shoot the ball well," said Silver Knights coach Don Worstell. "They have some rim protecters that make it tough to get offensive rebounds and get to the basket."
4. The Silver Knights expected to make it this far
Bishop Ready has felt all season that it is talented enough to make it to Columbus. With an experienced lineup, 2013-14 was a season the program had been looking forward to.
"We just have such good chemistry," Worstell said. "We’re pleased but not surprised that we’re here."
The team starts five seniors and likes to spread the shots around between them.
Contact high school sports reporter David Cassilo by email (dcassilo@cleveland.com) or Twitter (@dcassilo). Contact sports reporter Tim Bielik by email (tbielik@cleveland.com) or on Twitter (@bielik_tim). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.
No. 12 seed North Dakota State could be a darkhorse, while No. 3 seed Creighton could use some help from Oklahoma State to get to the Final Four.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Smart pick is what could change the whole field in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament 2014, if Marcus Smart can lead No. 9 Oklahoma State past No. 1 Arizona in the round of 32 and shake up everything.
Those games will be held in San Diego, with the other West games played in Spokane, San Antonio and Milwaukee, with the four winners meeting up in the Sweet 16 in Anaheim next weekend.
The new numbers-based sports analysis website fivethirtyeight.com projects Arizona as having a 42.4 percent chance of reaching the Final Four from the West Region, No. 2 Wisconsin as having a 15.6 percent chance and No. 3 Creighton as having a 12.2 percent chance. For these picks, I asked my dog what she thought.
The favorite: No. 1 Arizona. The Wildcats will be in familiar territory on a Final Four path that would take them from San Diego to Anaheim on the road to North Texas. Arizona lost the Pac-12 Tournament final to UCLA but has just one bad loss this season, at Cal, while putting together good nonconference wins over Duke, Michigan and San Diego State. If forward Brandon Ashley hadn't been lost for the season after injuring himself in that Cal loss, the Wildcats might be the most popular pick to win the whole tournament. But he's gone.
Cinderella to watch: No. 12 North Dakota State. The 25-6 Bison lost by 17 at Ohio State in December, but they have nonconference wins over tournament teams Delaware and Western Michigan and beat Notre Dame as well. The Bison make more than half their shots with a long frontcourt, so a Sweet 16 run over No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 4 San Diego State could be ahead.
High seed going down: Sorry Bo. No. 2 Wisconsin snapped out of a midseason slump to win nine of its last 11, and the Badgers have the best nonconference wins in the nation, beating two No. 1 seeds in Florida and Virginia, as well as St. Louis. But Wisconsin had trouble hanging with Michigan State on Sunday and lost to Nebraska to end the regular season, and No. 7 Oregon should cause a lot of problems in the round of 32.
Player who will break out: Can the best player in the country break out? Doug McDermott leads the nation in scoring at 26.9 ppg, but let's set his four-game over/under point total for leading the Blue Jays to the Final Four at 130. That's more than 32 per game. And Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart, whose biggest headlines this season came from a run-in with a fan that drew a three-game suspension, should remind people about his game while the No. 9 Cowboys push Arizona, and maybe very well beat Arizona, in the round of 32.
Who wins it: No. 3 Creighton could get help into the Elite Eight with upsets of No. 6 Baylor (by No. 11 Nebraska) and No. 2 Wisconsin (by No. 7 Oregon). In the regional final, McDermott will shoot over either Arizona or Oklahoma State and get the Big East (you know Creighton is in the Big East this season, right?) into the Final Four.
Read updates and chat with other fans as the Cleveland Indians face the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear Ballpark in a Cactus League game. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m.
GOODYEAR, Arizona -- The Indians take their 14-3-2 Cactus League record back to Goodyear to face the Reds today. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m.
RHP Corey Kluber (0-0, 4.50) takes on Cincinnati's Mike Leake (0-0, 3.60).
Where to watch/listen to the game: SportsTime Ohio and indians.com
Read Tweets from @hoynsie and chat with other fans in the comments section below. Click here to participate on a mobile device.
After straining his left hamstring running the bases Sunday, Michael Bourn says he should be ready for the season opener on March 31 against Oakland, but there are no guarantees.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Center fielder Michael Bourn will miss at least a week with a strained left hamstring, but says he should be ready to open the season on March 31 against the A’s in Oakland.
Manager Terry Francona was asked if Bourn would miss “three to five days" with the injury and said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a few days more than that.”
Recovery from a hamstring injury usually takes at least four weeks.
Bourn said the injury is not in the same location where he had surgery on the same hamstring after last season.
“They’ll take it slow with me, of course,” said Bourn. “Other than that, I feel good. I had a test just now and I have strength in it. I feel very upbeat about it.
“They called it a mild strain and I’m happy with that.”
The Indians have 12 exhibition games left before opening the season. Bourn said he would not rush back into spring training games for fear of the hamstring becoming a season-long problem.
“You always have to be leery of that,” said Bourn. “You always have to stay on top of it to make sure everything is OK. That’s why I’m going to take my time and try not to rush back into spring training games.
“If I have to go without playing spring training games, that will be fine with me. But I think I will be able to play some spring training games before I leave here. I’d like to get a few at-bats before the season starts.”
The Indians end the exhibition season with two games against the Padres in San Diego on March 28 and March 29.
Regarding the season opener, Bourn said, “I think Ill be ready for opening day, but I’m going to make sure I’m healthy. It’s a long season and I’m going to make sure I’m ready to play baseball.”
Francona agreed.
“When Bournie plays, he needs his legs, that’s his strength,” said
Francona. “We will try to be wise and use good judgment with him.”
Bourn said he tweaked the hamstring going from first to third base in the first inning on a single by Nick Swisher. He scored on a bases-loaded walk and played defense in the bottom of the first.
In the second he grounded out and was replaced by Tyler Naquin in the bottom of the second.
Asked if Bourn will be out three to five days, Francona said, “We don’t really know. He’ll go through a progressive of rest, treatment and testing. When they turn him loose, we’ll be glad to have him back.
“But I don’t want to push the trainers because then we’ll run into a mistake.”
Bourn will be able to start hitting before he comes back to play.
The Indians signed Bourn, 31, to a four-year $48 million contract last February.
Francona was not ready to discuss options to replace Bourn in center field and the leadoff spot if Bourn is not ready for the season. Michael Brantley, however, would be the logical choice.
For the remainder of spring training, Francona said he can play Brantley, Matt Carson, Jeff Francoeur, Nyjer Morgan and utility men Mike Aviles and Elliot Johnson in center.
Michael Brantley can take over for Michael Bourn in center, but who will cover Brantley's spot in left field?
GOODYEAR, Arizona -- The Indians spring training has been more live a revival meeting.
Everyone has been excited, everyone is happy.
And no key players were hurt -- until Sunday.
That's when Michael Bourn felt something wrong with his hamstring as he ran from first to third base.
It was the left hamstring, the same one that had what the Tribe media guide called "minor surgery … distal hamstring debridment."
And Bourn had been just fine until Sunday.
Perhaps Bourn is right when he admits that the injury is to his same hamstring, but not the same spot as the surgery.
And Bourn is accurate when he said the problem is a "mild strain."
But there has to be some question about him being ready for the opener. He is a 31-year-old center fielder who "needs his leg," as Manager Terry Francona said.
So the Indians are expected to be careful with Bourn. For Bourn, the story for the rest of camp should be rest and rehabilitation, making sure that hamstring stays strong when he returns. The Tribe needs Bourn to exceed the .263 (.676 OPS) with 23 stolen bases that he had last season.
There will be no rushing him back into action, because the last thing he needs is another hamstring setback.
Gotta love Brantley
Which brings us to Michael Brantley.
Guess who takes over for Bourn, playing center and batting leadoff?
Brantley did exactly that in 2012, when he played 149 games in center. He batted .288 (.750 OPS) , and he played part of that season with a sports hernia that required surgery in the off-season.
Brantley was the leadoff hitter in 25 games last season, batting .320.
He's solid in center, superb in left field and hit an outrageous .375 with runners in scoring position.
Brantley has never complained about switching from center (his natural position) to left -- making room for Bourn.
And he seems utterly unconcerned about where he bats in the order, although he has said he likes to lead off. He gave up that spot to Bourn, too.
Now, he's ready to take over those roles if needed.
Who's in left?
The question is who will replace Brantley in left? Part of the reason the Tribe signed Bourn to a four-year, $45 million deal in 2013 was due to a lack of outfield prospects.
The Indians have a platoon of David Murphy and Ryan Raburn in right field.
Yes, they could play both. But Murphy has struggled against lefties. For his career, Murphy is .259 (.657 OPS) vs. lefties, .280 (.816) vs. righties. Coming off a season where he batted .220, the Tribe is hoping to keep Murphy playing against righties.
Raburn was better against lefties, (.308) than righties (.243). He also had some calf and Achilles issues last season. The Indians don't want to play him every day in the outfield.
And they prefer to keep Nick Swisher at first base, although he has played some outfield in the past.
When they signed Jeff Francoeur, the Indians thought he could have a bounce-back season -- much as Raburn did a year ago.
He is an outstanding outfielder in right or left field. He batted .285 with 20 homers and 87 RBI for the Royals in 2011. But the last two years have been a drop-off to the point where he was cut by the Royals and Giants last season (hitting .204, .538 OPS).
He is batting .241 (.624 OPS) with two doubles in 29 spring at bats.
Veteran Nyjer Morgan is in camp and had a couple of good games early, but he's batting .200 (.613 OPS) and has battled minor injuries.
The best outfielder in the group hoping for a roster spot has been Matt Carson (.292, .893 OPS). Elloit Johnson (.367) was in center field for Monday's game against the Reds, and he could earn a roster spot.
If Bourn is out for a significant stretch, Francona will probably use several players in right and left. He is a master lineup juggler, as he proved last season.
Bourn's injury will force him to do it again.
No. 1-seed Wichita State has teams with a combined 52 NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances to wade through to win the Midwest Regional bracket.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Murderers Row is one thing ... a firing squad is something else. But that is what undefeated and Midwest Region No.-1 seed Wichita State has to deal with for its NCAA Tournament 2014 run. What you read as follows is not pretty as you fill out your Final Four brackets.
To face just half of the list in this bracket that includes defending national champion Louisville, plus annual Final Four contenders Duke, Michigan, Kentucky, Louisville, and Texas would be considered tough.
But to that list add home state rival Kansas State, Iowa or Tennessee, Arizona State, and possibly North Carolina State from the Big Boy ranks. Then drop in mid-major honchos St. Louis, UMass, and possibly Xavier.
Nobody shooting blanks from that list.
Here's your trivia answer at the bar: Louisville, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Texas and Kansas State have a combined 52 Final Four appearances. Tennessee and Xavier are on a very short list -- two of the top four -- with a combined 44 NCAA Tournament appearances without a Final Four appearance.
Wichita State (two Final Fours) should get a crown of some sort if the Wheat Shockers just make it to the Sweet 16. That said, the beauty of the tournament is, win one game, and two teams are eliminated; the one you beat and the one your next opponent beat.
So, daunting as that gauntlet is to start -- facing the winner of Kentucky-Kansas State in its second game -- should WSU get past that coach Greg Marshall's team should at least be able to exhale a bit. Then they have a week to prepare to face Louisville in Indianapolis, less than 120 miles from the Cardinals campus just to advance to the regional finals where any from a list of Michigan, Duke, Texas or Tennesse will await.
Like I said, it's not pretty.
• Full Midwest Region capsules
The favorite: No. 4 Louisville. Been there, done that as recently as last year.
Cinderella to watch: Crazy as it might sound, No. 1-seed Wichita State.
High seed going down: No. 3-seed Duke won't get to the regional finals.
Breakout player: Nick Stauskas. The Big Ten Player of the Year shows his stripes on the national stage.
Who wins it: Michigan. A nice combination of firepower, athleticism, and experience.
The Akron women will host a party as they find out who they play and where they go when NCAA Tournament pairings are announced Monday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's party time at Akron as the women's basketball team will host a NCAA Tournament Selection Show party beginning at 6 p.m. Monday in the Tommy Evans Lounge on the second floor of Rhodes Arena.
Head coach Jodi Kest (call her JoJo, she'll tell you why) and the rest of the team will be on hand for the 7 p.m. announcement on ESPN.
This will be the first NCAA Tournament trip in school history for the Akron women, who won the Mid-American Conference Tournament over Ball State on Saturday to punch their ticket to the tournament.
We will share comments and observations from the evening here so come back shortly after 6 p.m. for updates from the festivities.
Out of the 121 bracketologists who picked the 2014 NCAA tournament field, only one got all 68 teams correct, according to the Bracket Matrix.
Out of the 121 bracketologists who picked the 2014 NCAA tournament field, only one got all 68 teams correct, according to the Bracket Matrix.
That bracketologist was Patrick Stevens of our sister site Syracuse.com.
Stevens, the bracket guru for USA Today before being hired by syracuse.com last summer, correctly predicted all 68 teams. It's the second consecutive year -- and third time in five seasons -- he's gone 68-for-68. He has missed three teams total over the last five years (2011 UAB, 2011 Southern California and 2012 Iona).
And if that doesn't impress you, consider this: He seeded 67 of the 68 teams within one line. The exception was Connecticut, which he moved up to a 5 when VCU lost and wound up being a 7.
In the 68-team era, the most teams seeded within one line on the Bracket Matrix previously was 65.
Stevens also had 35 of 68 teams seeded correctly.
One of the keys to the perfect bracket was Stevens' selection of N.C. State. Only three of the 121 bracketologists had the Wolfpack making the tournament.
Here are some other keys, from Stevens' Twitter feed:
N.C. State ... The least amount of bad among the remaining teams. Not the greatest endorsement, but three best Ws away from home does help.
-- Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 16, 2014SMU ... If the Mustangs make it, it will be against the historical norm of borderline teams with poor nonconference schedules being excluded
-- Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 16, 2014Green Bay ... The wild card. That victory over Virginia makes the Phoenix interesting. Not sure they get clemency for home Horizon semis L
-- Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 16, 2014I raised the hopes of N.C. State fans and lived to tell the tale. Talk about living dangerously.
-- Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 16, 2014Since 2007, no at-large team has been seeded 9th or worse and also had a noncon schedule worse than 250th. 2006 Air Force last to do that.
-- Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 16, 2014One additional note: Stevens jumped from approximately 8,000 followers on Twitter to more than 14,100 last night, partly thanks to a tweet from ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. Stevens said it took him five years to reach 8,000.
If you care about this stuff and don't follow @D1scourse - then fix that. 68/68 correct.
-- Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) March 16, 2014Overall No. 1 seed Florida is the favorite to get out of the South, while No. 4 seed UCLA could go down early to No. 13 Tulsa.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State has reached the Sweet 16 four straight years, the longest run of any team in the country. But the Buckeyes did that as a No. 2 seed three times and a No. 1 seed once. Now the path to Memphis, home of the South Regional on the second weekend, must go through No. 3 seed Syracuse, presumably, and that's if No. 11 Dayton doesn't muster a full complement of in-state little brother syndrome and take down the Buckeyes in the opener.
Given how this season has gone for the Ohio State, the fact that a fifth straight Sweet 16 doesn't seem impossible right now is a good sign. Beyond that? Not so much.
The favorite:
No. 1 Florida. The Gators are the overall No. 1 seed after running through a perfect SEC season and beating Kansas and Memphis in the nonconference. Florida is balanced, with five players scoring between 14.2 and 8.9 points per game, and experienced, without a freshman on the roster, and the safest pick to reach the Elite Eight in the entire bracket.
Cinderella to watch:
Everyone wants to watch No. 12 Stephen F. Austin, which hasn't lost since November and plays a turnover-forcing style, just like first-round opponent VCU. Go ahead and watch. It's No. 5 seed VCU, which once was a Final Four underdog three years ago but isn't a Cinderella anymore, that will win that game and then march to the Sweet 16.
High seed going down: No. 4 UCLA. Bruins coach Steve Alford is terrible at the NCAA Tournament. He was 3-6 in the NCAA Tournament as the coach at Iowa and New Mexico, and lost to No. 14 Harvard as a 3 seed with the Lobos last year. Now he's facing second-year Tulsa head coach Danny Manning, who made the tournament for the first time running a team but who is awesome at the NCAA Tournament, thank you very much 1988.
Player who will break out:
Anyone who figures out Ohio State, tell the rest of us. We know what the Buckeyes are - offensively-challenge, sometimes defensively brilliant - but we don't know what they're going to do. Remember, the whole world is picking Michigan State to win the whole thing, and the Buckeyes just beat the Spartans on the last day of the regular season.
Most of the analysis on the No. 6 seed Buckeyes this week will come down to the insightful take of "they could lose to Dayton or they could go to the Sweet 16." Want a sure thing, though? LaQuinton Ross will be a tournament beast, however long Ohio State lasts, continuing the trend he started at the Big Ten Tournament, where he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds. Also watch New Mexico big man Cameron Bairstow, who averages 20 points and seven rebounds and dropped 24 in a nonconference matchup with Kansas.
Former Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden has a new home.
Former Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden has found a new team -- the Dallas Cowboys. He reportedly agreed to a 2-year deal with them today.
Weeden, the 22nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, played two years in Cleveland. He completed 55.9% of his passes, threw for 5,116 yards, 23 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in 23 games. He lost his starting job to Brian Hoyer last season and, after returning as the starter following Hoyer's season-ending injury, lost his job to Jason Campbell later in the year.
Weeden was released last week along with Campbell.
Read what people are saying about Weeden's new deal with the Cowboys on Twitter in our Storify below.
Check out more than 20 links to Final Four predictions, region by region breakdowns, our $10,000 bracket contest and an in-depth look at whether the Big Ten's veteran talent can beat out these young kids.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - IS YOUR BRACKET DONE YET?!
You have a little time. But not much. While your are pondering your upsets, peruse our total coverage of the Big Ten, Ohio State and the entire NCAA Tournament field.
Our overall preview this year focused on the old men of the Big Ten vs. the hot freshmen around the country. But we jumped into analyzing the field on Sunday, and there will be plenty more of that to come Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ohio State vs. Dayton kicks off the true first round on Thursday in Buffalo.
Ari and I talked about that matchup, and here's a list of everything else out there for you.
Tournament Overview
Where are you Jabari Parker? It's Big Ten old men vs. the kids around the country
8 veterans to watch, including Adreian Payne, Doug McDermott and Aaron Craft
8 freshmen to watch, including Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis
The 6 best Big Ten freshmen who may or may not do something in MarchRegion breakdowns
West: Picks, upsets, breakout players - Doug Lesmerises
South: Picks, upsets, breakout players - Doug Lesmerises
East: Picks, upsets, breakout players - Ari Wasserman
Midwest: Picks, upsets, breakout players - Elton Alexander
Without NBA talent, Buckeyes need new tournament formula
10 things to know about Ohio State vs. Dayton
TV, start time and ticket info for the Buckeyes and the Flyers
Who will win, Ohio State or Dayton? Vote in our poll
Ohio State's recent NCAA history near home
Final Four picks
Doug Lesmerises: North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Creighton
Ari Wasserman: Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona
Bill Livingston: Iowa State, Louisville, Florida, Creighton
Elton Alexander: Michigan State, Michigan, Florida, CreightonBracket necessities
Vegas odds to win the national title and reach the Final Four
Tips for filling out a winning bracket
Take part in our $10,000 bracket contest
All the gametimes and announcing crews
