Cleveland State players Anton Grady, Trey Lewis and Charlie Lee honored as Horizon League postseason awards are announced.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State players picked up some post-season hardware Monday as juniors Anton Grady and Trey Lewis were named to the Horizon League first team, and senior Charlie Lee was named to the second team. Grady and Lee were also picked to the five-man All-Defensive team.

It marked the first time since 2011 that CSU had a first-team pick, and the first time since 1993 (Gravelle Craig and Sam Mitchell) the Vikings had two first-team picks. Grady and Lee are also the first CSU players named to the All-Defensive team since 2012.

Grady was the only player to rank in the top six in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, steals and blocks in league games. In 16 Horizon League games, he had a league-best eight double-doubles, ranked sixth in scoring (15.5), first in rebounding (9.4), fourth in field-goal percentage (.541), second in steals (1.8) and third in blocked shots (1.9). Overall, he averaged 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Lewis was fourth in the league in scoring (16.9) and 10th assists (2.9). His 87 three-pointers are a CSU single-season record and second best in the league.

Lee finished the regular season with 22 steals and averaged 3.2 rebounds from his point guard position.

Fourth-seeded CSU opens Horizon League tournament play Friday at 9:30 p.m. in Valparaiso against the winner of No. 5 Detroit and No. 8 Youngstown State.

Horizon League postseason honors

First Team
Keifer Sykes, Green Bay (Sr., G)
Kahlil Felder, Oakland (So., G)
Alec Peters, Valparaiso (So., F)
Anton Grady, Cleveland State (Jr., F)
Trey Lewis, Cleveland State (Jr., G)

Second Team
Juwan Howard, Jr., Detroit (Sr., F)
Corey Petros, Oakland (Sr., C)
Greg Mays, Green Bay (Sr., F)
Matt Tiby, Milwaukee (Jr., F)
Steve McWhorter, Milwaukee (Sr., G)

All-Freshman Team
Paris Bass, Detroit (G/F)
Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso (G)
Jalen Hayes, Oakland (F)
Grant Benzinger, Wright State (G)
Nick Daniels, Oakland (G)

All-Defensive Team
Vashil Fernandez, Valparaiso (Sr., C)
Jordan Fouse, Green Bay (Jr., F)
Dante Williams, Oakland (Sr., F)
Anton Grady, Cleveland State (Jr., F)
Charlie Lee, Cleveland State (Sr., G)

Player of the Year: Keifer Sykes, Green Bay (Sr., G)
Defensive Player of the Year: Vashil Fernandez, Valparaiso (Sr., C)
Freshman of the Year: Paris Bass, Detroit (G/F)
Sixth Player of the Year: Jubril Adekoya, Valparaiso (So., F)
Coach of the Year: Bryce Drew, Valparaiso

Get a preview of the two 2015 Kent District semifinal hockey games set to take place this week.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Four hockey teams are still in contention for the 2015 Kent District title in Northeast Ohio entering the first of the two most exciting weeks of the season. 

Here is a breakdown of both Kent District semifinal matchups in store for local teams and fans:

KENT DISTRICT SEMIFINALS

What: No. 1 University School vs. No. 5 Gilmour. 

Where: Kent State Ice Arena, 650 Loop Road, Kent. 

When: March 2, 7:30 p.m.

See a printable version of the Kent District bracket. 

WHAT TO WATCH

University School: TheNo. 1-seed Preppers coach Andre Lacroix is ready for a what could potentially be a very close, heated rivalry matchup when his team meets No. 5 Gilmour. 

"They've always been tough against us because they are right next to us and are often after the same kids," Lacroix said about the Lancers. "I feel we're a better skating club but they're a more physical club and that may even things up a bit." 

US is fresh off a 12-2 victory against No. 10 Solon in the quarterfinals and has arguably one of the best forwards in the state in Evan Krueger along with a plethora of other capable scorers. 

Gilmour: Lancers coach John Malloy said while his team has plenty of size, he doesn't consider his squad is necessary physical by nature. 

"I think a lot of people look at us and think, because we have a lot of big players, that we're going to be physical." 

The Preppers won both times they faced the Lancers this season by scores of 6-2 and 5-0 and Malloy knows his players has their work cut out for them. 

"US has got a very good team with some great forwards," Malloy added. "It's all going to come down to goaltending. If our goalie (Michael Bridges) puts in a good game, which he's capable of doing, we should be able to at least keep it close."  

Malloy said he felt his team had its most physical game during the quarterfinals against No. 6 Kenston, which the Lancers won, 3-2. 

What: No. 2 Lake Catholic vs. No. 4 Shaker Heights. 

Where: Kent State Ice Arena, 650 Loop Road, Kent. 

When: March 3, 7:30 p.m.

See a printable version of the Kent District bracket. 

WHAT TO WATCH

Lake Catholic: The No. 2-seed Cougars began the district playoffs with a 5-0 win against No. 17 Mayfield before defeating No. 7 Kent Roosevelt in a game Lake Catholic led, 2-1, entering the third period. The Cougars sealed the victory with a pair of empty net goals. 

Alex Piazza provides much-needed veteran leadership and scoring as one of six seniors on the squad. 

Goalie Charlie Denner has been an invaluable piece of the team's defense and will need to bring his A-game on Tuesday. 

The Cougars and Raiders have yet to play each other this season. 

Shaker Heights: Raiders goalie Grant Passell posted his second straight shutout of the postseason as No. 4-seed Shaker Heights upset No. 3 Walsh Jesuit, 3-0, in the quarterfinals. The win came six days after the Raiders defeated No. 11 Mentor, 6-0, in Round 2. 

They have won nine of their last 11 games with one loss and a tie. 

Shaker Heights has a slew of scorers on including Daniel Ritts, Peter Shick and Riley Sweeney, just to name a few. Ritts scored two against Walsh while Shick and Sweeney each netted a pair against Mentor. 

KENT DISTRICT FINAL

When:March 6, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Kent State Ice Arena, 650 Loop Road, Kent.

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your high school sports Tweets and score updates with the #NEOVarsity hashtag. Contact high school sports reporter Robert Rozboril by email (rrozboril@cleveland.com) , on Twitter (@rrozboril) or on Facebook (facebook.com/rrozboril). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

Former Cleveland Browns fullback died last week from heart failure.

Former Browns players Ed Modzelewski, left, and Don Colo were honored as members of championship teams in 2005. (John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer) 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ed Modzelewski was on the verge of retirement from the NFL to become a college assistant coach. But the persuasive Paul Brown convinced Modzelewski to remain with the Cleveland Browns.

Brown needed some insurance just in case his rookie fullback from Syracuse did not work out.

"Ed went to Paul Brown about this opportunity, but Brown said he'd like him to stay because of a young fullback he wasn't sure of," said Paul Wiggin, a defensive end with the Browns from 1957-67. "That fullback was Jim Brown. Ed always joked about that."

Modzelewski, a fullback with the Browns, died last Friday of congestive heart failure at his home in Sedona, Ariz. He was 86. His memorial service will take place next month in Sedona.

"I'm sorry that he's gone," Wiggin said.

Wiggin and Modzelewski were only teammates for three seasons, but Modzelewski made a lasting impression.

"Ed was well liked and a very popular guy on the team," Wiggin said. "He was such a great person and competitor. Something can be said about having guys like that on your team. It's not just about talent because you also win with guys who are a strong locker room influence. And he certainly was."

Modzelewski, known as "Big Mo," was an All-American at Maryland. He helped lead his school to an undefeated record and a Sugar Bowl victory in the 1951. In that game, he rushed for 153 yards and earned the game's Outstanding Player award.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Modzelewski as the No. 6 overall pick in the '52 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Browns after one season. Modzelewski rushed for a career-high 619 yards, and for 61 yards in the Browns' NFL Championship victory over the Los Angeles Rams in 1955.

He retired following the 1959 season. Modzelewski went into the restaurant business with his brother Dick, also known as "Little Mo." Dick played two seasons with the Browns (1964-66) and three years with his brother at Maryland.

"He and I were very close as brothers," Dick Modzelewski said. "We went to the same college. We both made All-American together. We were in business together and we raised cattle on a farm together. Ed will be greatly missed by me and my family."

John Carroll men and women, Baldwin Wallace women, and Mount Union men make NCAA Division III basketball tournament fields.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- John Carroll's men and women, Baldwin Wallace's women and Mount Union's men's basketball teams are headed to the NCAA Division III basketball tournaments, and learned their opponents when brackets were released Monday afternoon.

In the men's bracket, John Carroll (20-6) will play No. 10 Virginia Wesleyan (23-4) Friday in Wayne, New Jersey, on the campus of William Patterson University.

Both teams are coming off overtime tournament defeats. JCU fell to Mount Union in the Ohio Athletic Conference semifinals last week, while Wesleyan lost to No. 1-ranked Randolph Macon in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship.

• Click here for the Division III men's bracket
• Click here for the Division III women's bracket.

John Carroll earned one of 19 at-large bids in the 62-team field and will make its 13^th tournament appearance, and first since 2010. Wesleyan won the tournament in 2006 and is making its 15^th appearance. JCU has won at least one game in nine of its 10 tournament appearances under coach Mike Moran.

Mount Union beat No. 9 Marietta in the OAC championship to earn just its second NCAA berth, and first since 1997. The Purple Raiders (22-6) on Friday play host to Neumann (17-10), which won the Colonial States Athletic Conference.

Oswego State and Calvin College also play at Mount Union Friday and the winners play there Saturday.

Marietta, Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster also made the men's field.

All second-round games are Saturday. Times for the first two rounds are to be announced.

BW also lucky 13: Baldwin Wallace's women also will be making its 13^th tournament appearance. The Yellow Jackets (22-6) drew No. 6 Calvin College (27-0), which will host the game Friday in Grand Rapids, Mich. Calvin won the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Calvin will host the semifinals and final March 20-21.

The Yellow Jackets have made five Sweet 16 and three Elite Eight appearances under Coach Cheri Harrer, who now has 510 career victories. BW won its sixth OAC Tournament championship on Saturday against Capital.

The Yellow Jackets knocked off John Carroll in the semifinals, and JCU also made the field.

John Carroll had never appeared in the women's tournament until last year, and now has two consecutive bids. The 24th-ranked Blue Streaks (22-4), who set a school record for victories, received one of 20 at-large bids in the 64-team field and will face No. 15 Maryville (Tenn.) College (25-3) Friday in Greencastle, Indiana, at DePauw University. Maryville was upset in the USA South Conference final by Greensboro and received an at-large bid.

BW women win OAC: Sophomore guard Sydney Clark and senior forward Audrey Smolik combined for 28 points in a 50-46 victory over Capital. BW swept Capital this season in its three games. Smolik scored 13 and had a game-high nine rebounds and was named tournament MVP. The Strongsville grad finished the tournament with 50 points and 18 rebounds in three games, shooting 61.3 percent from the field. She is 10th all-time at BW with 1,065 career points.

UMU men win OAC: DeAllen Jackson (Akron Hoban) was named MVP and Mount Union won its first OAC tournament title in 17 years Saturday, knocking off No. 9 Marietta, 85-81. Mount Union was led by freshman JJ Kukua with 21 points and Jackson, who had 20. Mount Union made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute.

Case fades: Case Western Reserve's men, who were nationally ranked with a 14-4 record in January, lost six of their last seven games, and were out of the tournament mix with a 15-10 record.

National wrestling qualifiers: Thirteen OAC wrestlers qualified over the weekend for the Division III championships March 13-14 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. John Carroll 149-pounder Dan Mirman (Medina Highland) and Ohio Northern heavyweight Cody Lovejoy were regional champs and 11 others placed among the top three at the Mideast Regional, including Baldwin Wallace junior 125-pounder Jesse Gunter (Coventry), who placed second. Gunter, who is legally blind, placed third at the NCAA tournament last year.

Other local qualifiers are BW's Josh Decatur (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and Garrett Chase, Heidelberg's Robert Dowdley (Ginn Academy), John Carroll's Terner Gott and Todd Gaydosh (Padua), and Mount Union's Jon Garrison (Copley).

NDC's Nagbe POY: Notre Dame College junior Martha Nagbe of Lakewood has been named the Mountain East Conference women's basketball Player of the Year. She helped lead the Falcons to a 17-11 record while averaging 18.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Nagbe finished the 2014-15 regular season ranked in the top 10 in in the MEC in seven different categories, including third in scoring and fourth in steals (1.96)

"I'm so honored and blessed to have received this award. There are so many other deserving players in the MEC, and I'm thankful to have been chosen," said Nagbe in a statement released by the school.

Crowe tops 1,000: Mentor grad Jaron Crowe finished his BW career with 1,002 points and is third in school history with 481 assists.

Diver soars: BW junior Maddie Fortune (Firestone) was named OAC Diver of the Year after sweeping the 1- and 3-meter diving events.

As of now, the Browns are counting on Josh McCown to step in and hold down the fort for them in 2015 until they find their quarterback of the future.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- New Browns quarterback Josh McCown declined to reveal what the Browns told him about their plans to add to the quarterback pile, but a league source told Northeast Ohio Media Group that the club is comfortable heading into the season with McCown as their bridge quarterback until they find their man of the future.

"I'll leave those conversations between myself and the Browns,'' McCown said Monday on a conference call.  "I'm excited about what we're going to do moving forward and building the team. No matter who joins us in that room or what that room looks like, the goal and my part at least is to help us come together and play good football.

"As the veteran in there right now, it starts with me. I'm excited about that and I embrace that, and I look forward to helping that group play good football and going out and doing that myself, too. That's really as much as I can comment on that."

McCown's salary is a strong indication that the Browns are counting on him to start games this season, possibly even the whole season. He agreed to terms Friday on a three-year deal worth $14 million, including $6.25 million fully guaranteed. His 2015 bases salary of $5.25 million is guaranteed, and he can make another $2 million each year based on play-time and playoff incentives.

The overall guarantee of $6.25 million is commensurate with that other "bridge'' quarterbacks make for a season of service, so even if he only starts for a year and then becomes a full-time mentor, the Browns won't have overpaid him.

While McCown's signing doesn't preclude the Browns from picking up another veteran in free agency or drafting a top prospect, the second veteran would likely be more of a backup, and a rookie would probably ride the bench at least part of the season -- unless the Browns land Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. Even then, they might let him learn the NFL ropes for awhile before tossing him into the lineup.

Coach Mike Pettine has repeatedly noted that he prefers starting a veteran over a rookie.

As for Johnny Manziel, he'll have a lot of work to do on and off the field when he gets out of rehab, and the Browns aren't counting on him to be their man in 2015. If he can somehow pull it off, so be it. But Manziel will be working hard on his aftercare program and will also be trying to learn his second new offense in as many years.

For a player who didn't really possess anything resembling an NFL playbook in college, that's a tall order. And the Browns have to be careful not to put too much pressure on him during his critical first year out of treatment.

So for now, barring some unforeseen circumstance, they're comfortable heading into the season with McCown managing games for them while they search for the quarterback who can take them to the next level.

But McCown, 35, downplayed the notion that he signed here because it offered the best chance to start. He also had offers from Buffalo, second-most serious in the derby, and from the Bears and Jets, who viewed him primarily as a backup.

"How much of the decision was based upon that?,'' he said. "For me, it was more of what's the right fit, and if I go there, can we win football games and be productive? And NFL coaching experience was big for me. Just having guys that have been in the league for a while. This certainly qualified for me. As far as both Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) and (quarterbacks coach) Kevin O'Connell - are new to their current positions - but they both have experience in the NFL so I have value on that, for sure.

"Those were probably the main pieces. Any situation, you never know how it's going to shake out, but what you want to be able to do is, when you play, be able to play productive football. That's the key for me."

McCown reiterated that his 1-10 record in Tampa Bay last year was a result, in part, of the Bucs losing new offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford a week before the season to a heart issue. Replacing him was former career college assistant Marcus Arroyo, who worked hard but wasn't up to the daunting task. The Bucs finished 2-14 to earn the top pick in the draft, which most folks believe they'll use on Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston.

"We just weren't good enough,'' said McCown, who's gone 17-32 in his career. "I own my part of that, for sure. If anything, it just lights a fire to get that bad taste out of my mouth because that was not the way certainly I would have hoped to have planned for that season to go. I want to see it changed. Lord willing, I'll never be in that situation again, but I think, too, I'm better prepared if that does happen because I sure did learn a lot."

McCown said he more he studied the 2014 Browns and all the controversy surrounding the team, the more he realized it was a startup regime enduring some rookie mistakes.

"Those are individual incidents (with Josh Gordon and Manziel, etc.) respective of themselves so I don't really get into those things,'' he said. "My visit, like I said, went really, really well. It was thought out as far as the organization went. I talked to everybody. I got a chance to meet with everybody. It really solidified to me that things are going in the right direction.

"It's important to understand and to remember that there's a lot of people going through last year's situation from ownership, to the general manager to the head coach who were all in their first year of something. For me, I take that into consideration and look the totality of it and said, 'It seems like they made a really good step in this first year, all things considered.' That part is encouraging to me."

And if all goes as planned, the Browns will see the 2013 version of McCown, who threw 13 touchdown passes against only one interception in Chicago, as opposed to the one trying to shake off that 1-10 mark from last year.

James Harden's kick of LeBron James' nether regions was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 foul by the league office Monday.

CLEVELAND -- James Harden was suspended for the Houston Rockets' next game without pay by the NBA on Monday for kicking LeBron James in the Cavaliers' overtime loss Sunday, the league announced.

The kick, with 2:08 left in the third quarter, was to James' private parts. Harden was initially called for a Flagrant One foul, which meant the Cavs received two free throws and the ball but Harden was allowed to stay in the game.

The play occurred after James tied up Harden for a jump ball.

The NBA upgraded the call to a Flagrant 2 foul, and Harden will serve his suspension Tuesday night when the Rockets play the Atlanta Hawks. The suspension was announced by Rod Thorn, president of basketball operations for the NBA.

James was not happy about being kicked in his nether regions, and said Sunday he expected the league to "take a look at it."

"Obviously that's not a basketball play," James said. "I have no idea why he would do that, but you know, just two competitors trying to go at it and he won this one."

Harden called the kick a "reaction."

James scored 37 points in the loss; Harden 33 in his team's win. James' two missed free throws with 4.2 seconds left in overtime haunted him and the Cavs.

Cleveland hosts the Celtics on Tuesday.

Ohio State got its seventh commitment in the 2016 recruiting class from Washington D.C. defensive end Terrell Hall.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State continued its success in the fertile D.C./Maryland/Virginia recruiting area.

The Buckeyes picked up a commitment from 2016 four-star defensive end Terrell Hall from St. John's College High School in Washington D.C. on Monday night. Hall announced his commitment on his Twitter account.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Hall is rated the No. 3 weakside defensive end and the No. 42 player in the 2016 recruiting class by 247Sports. He's the seventh member of Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class.

Hall was in Columbus for Ohio State's National Championship celebration at Ohio Stadium on Jan. 24. He also had offers from Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, Iowa, Florida State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and others.

He's the second defensive end committed in the 2016 class, joining Gahanna Lincoln's Jonathon Cooper, who committed in November.

It's OFFICIAL!!! I'm FULLY committed to THE Ohio State university[?] [?] #GoBucks #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/hCBseriTH2

-- Terrell Hall (@_TrillTrell_) March 3, 2015

Hall is the latest pull from the D.C./Maryland/Virginia recruiting area for the Buckeyes. They added Isaiah Prince, Matthew Burrell and A.J. Alexander from that area in 2015, and Jalyn Holmes in 2014.

In the Playoff Preview of Talking Hoops, host Mark Kern and Northeast Ohio Media Group reporters David Cassilo and Tim Bielik preview the looming postseason with Garfield Heights head coach Sonny Johnson, East Tech head coach Brett Moore, Central Catholic forward Antwon Lillard, Shaker Heights forward Esa Ahmad and St. Vincent-St. Mary head coach Dru Joyce, who joined the show via Skype.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – This week's episode of “Talking Hoops,” a weekly video show about Northeast Ohio high school basketball, aired Monday evening. You can watch the archive of the 20-minute show in the player at the top of this webpage.

“Talking Hoops” will air every Monday at 3 p.m. and will feature lots of local teams and players every week.

Join us live next week so you can participate in the show.

Here is a rundown of segments from this week’s show. Click the player at the top of this post to watch the archive video.

Opening Tip: Rapid fire questions and answers about everything Northeast Ohio basketball with reporters David Cassilo, Mark Kern and Tim Bielik of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Coaching call: Dru Joyce of St. Vincent-St. Mary joins the show via Skype to discuss his team's outlook and their mindset with the postseason looming. Garfield Heights head coach Sonny Johnson and East Tech head coach Brett Moore also joined the show in-studio.

Shaker Heights forward Esa Ahmad and Central Catholic forward Antwon Lillard also joined the show in-studio to talk about recruiting and what it will take to make a deep postseason run.

Rearview mirror: Our reporters look back at opening weekend in high school basketball and talk about who lived up to expectations and who still has work to do.

Crystal ball: We look at this week's matchups and the sectional slate to discern who are pretenders and contenders as the season winds down.

We hope you will join next Monday's show live at 3 p.m. and participate in some of the segments. We’ve made it easy. All you need is a free cleveland.com account to comment, or a Twitter account (use #NEOvarsity hashtag). Get the free cleveland.com account here (it only takes a couple of minutes and you’ll have the ability to comment on all stories forever).

Who would you like to see next week on the show?

Follow our high school sports Twitter account, @NEOVarsity and use the hashtag #NEOVarsity to ask questions, keep up with news and give/receive score updates.

See what players and coach from Chagrin Falls and St. Vincent-St. Mary had to say following the Division II Macedonia District semifinals.

MACEDONIA, Ohio – The Chagrin Falls girls basketball eliminated St. Vincent-St. Mary with a 37-21 road win on Monday in the Division II Macedonia District semifinal.

With both teams struggling early in the game to get points on the scoreboard, both teams eventually settled as the Fighting Irish opened with 8-6 lead after the first quarter.

However, the Tigers bounced back limiting the Fighting Irish to only 22 points in the game. Chagrin Falls ended the game on a 31-14 run.

Check back later for video interviews with players and coaches.

What it means

Chagrin Falls will advance to the Macedonia District final on Thursday at Nordonia. The team improves its record to 25-0. The last Chagrin Falls girls team to go undefeated during a season went on to win a state championship.

As for St. Vincent-St. Mary, the Fighting Irish end the season falling to 15-11.

Who stood out for St. Vincent-St. Mary

Annie Santucci: The forward led the Fighting Irish with nine points.

Jane Uecker: The forward chipped in with seven points.

Who stood out for Chagrin Falls

Hallie Thome: The senior post player dropped a game-high 23 points.

Kate Weston: The guard scored six points including two 3-pointers.

Coach Carley Whitney: "The good thing about our team is that we have a lot coming back next year. We've been blessed to go a lot of places that a lot of girls don't even get to go and experience. So long as we learn from this we'll be fine in the future."

Octavia Loll on SVSM taking an early lead: "I said 'let's go.' I was ready. We just made some mistakes and they caught up to them."

Chagrin Falls sound bites

Coach Brittany Anderson: "I hate to say we had a little bit of excuse, but we got stuck in the traffic...so we were a little flustered coming right out of the gate, so I didn't get on their case too much about shot selections and nerves. But I knew once we got settled in that we would be okay."

Hannah Thome helping to start a 15-0 run: "Our offense correlates right into our defense...once those shots fell in our intensity picked up doing really well on defense as well."

What’s next:

No. 1 Chagrin Falls vs. winner of the No. 5 Hathaway Brown and No. 2 Revere, Thursday, 7

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOVarsity and tag your related Tweets and score updates with the #NEOvarsity hashtag. Contact high school sports reporter Nathaniel Cline on Twitter, by email (ncline@cleveland.com) or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

Three left-handers in some bullpens might be considered a luxury, but when it comes to Marc Rzepczynski, Kyle Crockett and Nick Hagadone they could big dividends for the Indians this season.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - One left-hander is a necessity in a bullpen. Two provides balance. Three is probably a luxury that few teams can afford.

It will come as no surprise that one of the teams willing to foot the bill for that many lefties is the Indians, owners of the busiest bullpen in the American League last year.

Last year Marc Rzepczynski led the way among Tribe lefties with 73 appearances. Kyle Crockett was next with 43 followed by Josh Outman at 40 and Nick Hagadone at 35. Outman was traded to the Yankees in August.

While Rzepczynski set a career high in appearances, he pitched only 46 innings as manager Terry Francona's primary left-on-left lefty. One of Rzepczynski's goals this spring is to work on throwing his two-seam fastball inside to right-handers so he can be more than a matchup reliever.

Last year lefties hit .180 (18-for-100) and righties .338 (24-for-71) against Rzepczynski.

Crockett was the Indians fourth round pick in 2013. One year later he was in the big leagues, the first member of the entire 2013 draft to make it to the top.

The Indians handled Crockett carefully. He faced mostly lefties, holding them to a .206 (13-for-63) batting average. Righties hit .283 (13-for-46) against him.

Francona says Crockett's role will eventually expand to where he'll face more right- handers and pitch one or more innings.

"When I say eventually, I mean April and May," said Francona. "It's not eventually like 2018. It's coming up pretty soon."

Hagadone has been trying to find a regular spot in the Indians bullpen since making his big league debut in 2011. He might have finally done it.

He bounced between Class AAA Columbus and Cleveland four times last year. The last bounce came on July 8 and Hagadone spent the rest of the season in the big leagues. He posted a 2.14 ERA with 23 strikeouts and four walks in his final 29 appearances of the season.

Lefties hit .217 (10-for-46) and righties .211 (8-for-36) against Hagadone last season.

"They all have a different repertoire of pitches," said Francona. "You could get a lefty up knowing that if something else happened two innings later, you didn't have to get him up again and burn him because you have another guy. They complement each other very well."

Rzepczynski, who lost 14 pounds over the winter, is mostly a sinker-slider pitcher. He was 0-3 with a 2.74 ERA and one save last year.

"Zep has a dirty sinker that's very good," said Hagadone. "His slider is so nasty that guys will swing at it even if it isn't in the zone because it looks like a strike.

"He's very tough on lefties and been really consistent over the last couple of year."

Crockett throws mostly fastballs and sliders, while relying on a deceptive motion and good control.

"I don't know if Crockett has ever thrown a ball," said Hagadone.

Crockett, as a rookie last year, threw 67.6 percent of his pitches (331-for-496) for strikes. It was that kind of poise that caught Francona's attention as early as last spring training.

"A lot of times last year we brought him in when we needed a strike," said Francona. "That's a tough spot to put a kid in."

Hagadone is the power arm of the three. His fastball averaged 94.6 mph last year and he threw a slider as well.

"The biggest issue for me in the past three or four years has been consistency," said Hagadone. "I've had a lot of good games and a lot of bad games. Up until last year I had never been able to put a real good stretch together where I threw the ball well almost every time out."

Hagadone, 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 35 appearances last season, said correcting his mechanics and working with Ceci Clark, the Indians performance coach in player development, helped him.

"Some people naturally have the skills to keep themselves in the moment and not really worry about what was going on in the game," said Hagadone. "For me, I didn't have those skills. Working with her daily, I work on focus and being able to clear my mind.

"I think it translates to the game."

Three lefties might sound like a luxury, but if they can pitch and Francona is in charge of picking who they'll face and when during a game, it's a luxury that could pay big dividends to the Indians this season.

See what players and coach from Hathaway Brown and Revere had to say following the Division II Macedonia District semifinals.

MACEDONIA, Ohio – The Hathaway Brown girls basketball team eliminated Revere with a 40-34 win on Monday in the Division II Macedonia district semifinal at Nordonia.

In a tight defensive game, the game left little room for error for both teams.

It was neither a good time for a team to go cold shooting in the case of Revere, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, shooting 1-29 from outside the perimeter against No. 5 Hathaway Brown.

Check back later for video interviews with players and coaches.

What it means

No. 5 Hathaway Brown (11-13) will advance to the district final on Thursday at Nordonia to face No. 1 Chagrin Falls (25-0). The five-time state champion coach in Paul Barlow also lives to coach another day after announcing this would be his final season coaching after accepting the athletic director position at Magnificat.

As for Revere, the Minutemen end the season at 19-6.

Who stood out for Hathaway Brown

Jordan Elindi: The junior knocked 11 points for the Blazers.

Dani Lawson: The Blazers' post player dropped 11 in the semifinal game.

Who stood out for Revere

Camyrn Brown: Revere's point guard led the team with 11 points.

Viktoria Farian: The post player chipped in with eight points including six in the fourth quarter.

Hathaway Brown sound bites

Coach Paul Barlow: "I was really proud of the effort we gave. I thought we did a really good job of sticking to the game plan we had coming in defensively...we had some ups and downs this year, played a tough schedule and that takes its toll on a young team that has not had a lot of experience. But I think that schedule paid a lot of dividends in a game like this against a great basketball team."

Elindi: "We came in knowing that it was going to be a rough game...we just need to get into our offenses a little bit quicker, but other than that I thought we played well and as a team."

Revere sound bites

Coach Kevin Verde: "We just didn't deserve to win that game. We didn't play with the intensity and the passion that was needed. We didn't shoot the ball well and when we noticed we weren't shooting the ball well we would go to something else and we kept shooting. Hats off to Hathaway Brown. They had a game plan to go in and obviously let us shoot, we did and it was a recipe of disaster for us."

Brown: "I'm very proud of my team to have made it this far. We just didn't come out and execute well...Hathaway Brown did a really job defensively boxing on our post players and denying me the ball some of the time. You've got to give credit to their defense."

What’s next:

Hathaway Brown vs. No. 1 Chagrin Falls at Nordonia, Thursday, 7

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOVarsity and tag your related Tweets and score updates with the #NEOvarsity hashtag. Contact high school sports reporter Nathaniel Cline on Twitter, by email (ncline@cleveland.com) or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

University School hockey topped Gilmour, 4-3, Kent District semifinal game on Monday.

KENT, Ohio -- No. 2-seed University School hockey defeated No. 5 Gilmour, 4-3, in a back-and-forth Kent District semifinal matchup on Monday. 

The lead changed hands five times, three times in the final period alone. 

"Gilmour played the way I thought they would play," said University School coach Andre Lacroix. "They're going to hit everything in sight and we're going to have to be ready for that." 

Gilmour led, 2-1, after two but US tied the game 2:20 into the third on Robert Engoglia's second goal only to go down by one again soon after on an own goal that was credited to the closest Lancer. 

"Their goalie was unbelievable, When we kicked that goal in, 'I said uh oh, we're done.'" Lacroix said. 

Gilmour goalie Michael Bridges made 31 saves as the Preppers outshot the Lancers 35-11 through three frames. 

Evan Krueger scored about halfway through the third to knot the game at three apiece. 

"I think (Gilmour) got a little tired in the third period and we were still skating very well," Lacroix said. "That's when we went on the power play and were able to take advantage." 

The Preppers evened the score at three and Jackson Johnson netted the game-winner with 3:27 left in regulation. 

What's next

University School vs. Lake Catholic/Shaker Heights, Kent District final, March 6, 7:30 p.m.

University School 4, Gilmour 3

US: Engoglia 2, Krueger, Johnson. G: S. Menges, Kallay, D. Menges. 

Goalies: US, Silver (8 saves); G, Bridges (31). 

Read recaps of girls basketball playoff games played on Monday, March 2, 2015.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Catch up on some of the best girls basketball playoff games in the following game recaps from games played on Monday, March 2, 2015. 

No. 5 Westlake 42, No. 6 Lakewood 36

Westlake girls basketball fell behind early but came back to beat Lakewood, 42-36, in Monday's Division I Elyria Catholic District semifinal. 

Rebecca Essig led the No. 5-seed Demons with 14 points, followed by Monica Fury with 12. 

Mikayla Harper and Madison Clause each scored 12 for the No. 6 Rangers. 

What's next 

Westlake vs. No. 3 Magnificat, Elyria Catholic District, Friday, 8 p.m.

No. 3 Richmond Heights 40, No. 2 Beachwood 39

Richmond Heights girls basketball outscored Beachwood by nine in the fourth quarter to upset the No. 2-seed Bison, 40-39, in Monday's Division III North Ridgeville sectional final. 

The No. 3 Spartans were led by Deja Winters who racked up 22 points. Alicia Ward and Monique Evans scored seven and six, respectively. 

Aryana Jackson paced Beachwood with 14 points, followed by Natalie Hill with 11 and Maurina Nunn with 10. 

What's next 

Beachwood vs. No. 1 Elyria Catholic, Elyria Catholic District, Wednesday, 6 p.m.

No. 5 Hathaway Brown 40, No. 2 Revere 34

Dani Lawson and Jordan Elhindi each scored 11 to help No. 5-seed Hathaway Brown upset No. 2 Revere, 40-34, in Monday's Division II Macedonia District semifinal. 

Christina Passerell also reach double-digits with 10 points for the Blazers. 

Camryn Brown led Revere with 11 points. 

What's next

Hathaway Brown vs. Chagrin Falls, Macedonia District, Thursday, 7 p.m.

No. 4 Berea-Midpark 66, No. 9 Elyria 53

Savana Jankowski scored 16 to help No. 4-seed Berea-Midpark girls basketball beat No. 9 Elyria, 66-53, in Monday's Division I Parma District semifinal. 

Lexy Siggers' 14-point performance was also significant for the Titans. 

Elyria's Sybil Roseboro led all scorers with 19 points. Diavian Rudolph chipped in 10 points for the Pioneers. 

What's next

Berea-Midpark vs. No. 1 North Royalton, Parma District, Thursday, 7 p.m.

The company taking videos of LeBron James Jr. playing basketball has no relation to his father, and it was LeBron Sr. who released the footage.

HOUSTON -- LeBron James made it pretty clear he had grown tired of discussing the basketball prowess of his 10-year-old son last week, at least for the time being.

After a national fury erupted over word that LeBron James Jr., who is in the fourth grade, had already been recruited by college basketball coaches, his superstar dad said "my son's going to be a kid as long as he can be."

"He loves to play the game of basketball, he loves to play video games, he loves to do his homework, that's all that matters," James said. He repeated those words when he was asked immediately after who had actually recruited his son.

Of course, news of unnamed college coaches' interest in James Jr. spread only because James Sr. told a Detroit radio show producer about it while he was standing and talking to some Cavaliers personnel at a pregame shootaround.

And general interest in James Jr. has grown so intense this season primarily because James tweeted a video of his son dominating a youth basketball tournament before Christmas to his now more than 19.2 million followers.

Proud of you son! Great job in Houston and congrats on bringing home 1st place. http://t.co/RuxSx4QMBY #JamesGang #StriveForGreatness #RWTW

-- LeBron James (@KingJames) December 22, 2014

This is the story of how we, as in the collective sports world, have gotten to this point with the young son of arguably the best and (inarguably) the most popular basketball player in the world. It's a story that begins in Houston, where James and the Cavaliers played and lost Sunday.

The name of the company responsible for the videos of James Jr. is TakeMyTalent.com, a small production outfit that creates highlight tapes of basketball players -- primarily in Houston and to a lesser degree the state of Texas -- who want to be noticed by college coaches.

Two of the company's clients included Antino Jackson, now a freshman at the University of Akron, and 2015 Zips recruit Emmanuel Olojakpoke.

From 30,000 feet, it would seem the company is somehow tied to James - it was James who said he was "taking my talents to South Beach" when he left the Cavaliers for Miami in 2010. Only, there is no tie whatsoever.

TakeMyTalent.com is run by Chad Gross, 26, a Houston native who has four partners and employees in the small business.

Gross said he started TakeMyTalent.com in 2013 -- the website remains under construction -- and the company is indeed named after the words James chose for his infamous ESPN special. But as Gross told Northeast Ohio Media Group in an interview, "Kobe (Bryant) used those words first," and at any rate Gross' shooting footage of James' son now is a coincidence.

Another of Gross' clients is the Houston-based youth basketball organization for which James Jr. plays, the Gulf Coast Blue Chips.

Gross said the Blue Chips were playing three miles from his home in Houston before Christmas, and he asked Junior's mother Savannah James if he could capture footage of her son.

"I told her I would send her a private link to the video, that it wasn't going on the Internet. It's for you and your family," Gross said.

Gross said the James Jr. footage was "unlisted," meaning it would not show on TakeMyTalent.com's Youtube channel or pop up in Google searches. All of that changed when James tweeted the precise link to the footage from Gross, on Dec. 22, which sparked reaction across the country to Junior's considerable talents, especially given his bloodline.

New footage from Gross emerged last week following Junior's domination of a tournament in New Orleans. James didn't share the video on social media, but it was posted to Gulf Coast's website, to TakeMyTalent.com's YouTube channel and news outlets (including Cleveland.com) quickly picked it up.

Congrats Bronny and your teammates on winning the championship in New Orleans. You, Bryce and Z are my... http://t.co/nji9pxJz4r

-- LeBron James (@KingJames) February 22, 2015

"I'm glad I went about it way I did, giving the tape to the James family," Gross said. "It wasn't me just throwing their son on TV. LeBron is the one who made that happen."

Gross said he's made less than $1,000 off the James Jr. tape, and wouldn't have made any money had James not tweeted the initial video.

Clay Jackson, who owns the Gulf Coast Blue Chips (the organization has traveling teams through high-school age, and claims Sacramento rookie Eric Moreland as its first alum to reach the NBA) said parents must grant permission before Gross' videos are posted.

Jackson said footage of James Jr. didn't go on his organization's site until after James Sr.'s tweet, and was posted with Mrs. James' permission.

"All the kids are having fun and all of the kids have videos," Jackson told Northeast Ohio Media Group. "That's what we do to get our kids exposed."

Both Jackson and Gross said they thought 10-year-olds were too young for college recruitment, and neither knew which schools had expressed real interest in James Jr.

Jackson said James Jr. plays for Gulf Coast because Jackson asked his parents at the AAU national tournament last year if Junior could play for the Blue Chips in big tournaments.

It was at that AAU event last year, Jackson points out, where footage of James Jr. first ended up on YouTube, though he agrees the buzz around James' son grew this year.

But Jackson doesn't blame James Sr. for the tweet.

"He was just proud of his kid for being a kid," Jackson said. "When a kid works hard in a gym, and dad puts time into him, that's something to be proud of. I don't think he did that for any publicity for his child."

Gross said "we're grateful (James) shared our work to the world.

"Public or private, we wanted (James Jr.) to go home with a video like the rest of the players in Houston," Gross said.

Stat tracker (James' top-line numbers, to date)

50 games, 26.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 7.2 APG, 36.4 MPG

Head games

Rockets coach Kevin McHale gave reporters his plan to defend James before Houston beat the Cavs 105-103 in overtime Sunday.

It's incredible how how things turned out.

"You're not holding him scoreless, you've got to hope you can make him take a lot of shots and make him be as inefficient as you possibly can to get his numbers," McHale said, offering that the Rockets would double James at times and give him room to shoot at others. "We've got to try to see, can he have a 30-point game with 25 shots, keep the assists out of it?"

James scored 37, but he took 35 shots -- the most in eight years and one off his career high. He added four assists.

LeBron James' shotchart against the Houston Rockets on Sunday.NBA.com 

Part of James' ball domination Sunday was due to the absence of point guard Kyrie Irving, who missed his second consecutive game with a shoulder injury.

Without Irving on the floor, James takes on greater responsibility handling the ball.

James also had a hot hand in the third quarter, pouring in 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

But in the fourth quarter and overtime, and no Irving on the floor, the Rockets clamped down on James and quickly honed in on the high-ball screen the Cavs ran for James on nearly every possession.

James was 3-of-11 from the field after the third quarter, matching his 3-of-11 from the foul line for the game.

McHale further offered that James was "a little bit like Chris Paul, where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

"I think LeBron's best games are his 22 point, 13 assists games where he does a little bit of everything," McHale said.

LeBron James' shotchart against the Golden State Warriors last week.NBA.com 

James actually had one of those games last week -- he scored 19 points and dished out 11 assists in a 102-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

He became the most prolific passer to play forward in the NBA that night, passing Scottie Pippen for the most career assists in league history from that position on the floor.

Of course, James' best game last week came against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, when he dropped a season-high 42 points and tied a season best with 11 boards in a 110-99 win. He shot 15-of-25 from the field.

"He's a tough cover," McHale said. "He's been the best player in the world for a long time.

Who's next?

Here's a look at the Cavaliers' opponents and how James last performed against them.

Tonight vs. Boston (41 PTS, 4 RBS, 7 AST in 122-121 win on Nov. 14)

Wednesday @ Toronto (35 PTS, 2 RBS, 4 AST in 105-101 win on Dec. 9)

Friday @ Atlanta (21 PTS, 3 RBS, 2 AST in 127-98 loss on Dec. 17)

Saturday vs. Phoenix (33 PTS, 7 RBS, 5 AST in 107-100 loss on Jan. 13)

"I'm not sitting back and relaxing and watching everybody praise me," Lindor said. "That's not the way I am. We're humans. You have two arms and two legs. I have two arms and two legs. There should be no reason for anyone to be praising me like I'm God because I'm nowhere near that. "I don't want to be God."

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A 7-year-old Francisco Lindor, thin as a toothpick, sat in the back seat of the car after his Little League game.

"I went 3-for-4 today with a double," he told Miguel, his older brother.

Miguel, a high schooler, replied: "I went 4-for-4 with a home run."

That manner of give and take occurred frequently. Even as Lindor aged, his older cousin, Christian, would tell him, "You still don't have the range I have," or, "You still can't make a play like me."

As Lindor drives around Goodyear, where he is spending his second camp with the Indians' big leaguers, he conjured up memories of sprinting around the bases for a defensive circus-induced home run, of nearly throwing out his arm trying to fire the ball to first base, of using a wad of taped-up paper and a broomstick for a neighborhood baseball game.

He also reflects on the days when he was overshadowed by his brother and his cousin.

The circumstances have changed. Lindor is the one oozing with ability, sitting on the precipice of major league stardom. His brother and cousin are finally proud of him and cognizant of his accomplishments. And yet, while he appreciates the praise, he doesn't understand it or seek it.

The Indians' top prospect isn't accepting of his own hype.

"I'm not sitting back and relaxing and watching everybody praise me," Lindor said. "That's not the way I am. We're humans. You have two arms and two legs. I have two arms and two legs. There should be no reason for anyone to be praising me like I'm God because I'm nowhere near that.

"I don't want to be God."

*****

Every summer and every Christmas, Lindor retreated to his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico. There, he gorged on his mother's pork chops, empanadas and rice and beans.

"She's the best cook," Lindor said.

Lindor moved with his father, stepmother and little sister to Florida when he was 12. They deemed it opportunistic to offer the children a chance at a better education and future. Upon relocating, however, Lindor had to leave behind his mother and two older siblings.

He found it easier to make a diving stop on the first cut of outfield grass than to wave goodbye to his family. His time with them was limited to breaks in the school schedule. And, of course, no more home-cooked feasts.

"I missed that a lot," Lindor said.

The rest of the family eventually followed once Lindor signed a professional contract with the Indians in August 2011, two months after they selected him eighth overall in the amateur draft. Now, Lindor spends his winters back home in Clermont, Fla., in the comfort of familiar faces and cuisine.

Lindor was always the skinniest kid in the neighborhood. His mother's cooking is aiding his attempt to alter that.

"I usually try to gain weight every offseason, so it helps," Lindor said. "She's cooking for me. She's making every meal. It helps me out and then I go to the gym and try to put it all together."

*****

Lindor turned 21 in November. When he played 38 games for Triple-A Columbus last season, he was seven years younger than the average player in the International League. Throughout his minor league career, he has been three to six years younger than the average player at that particular level.

"What it says about him is he's a really good player -- and then fortunately for us, he's very mature," said Tribe manager Terry Francona. "I've seen a lot of kids that age that are good that are immature. Probably myself included."

Lindor hasn't been shy about seeking guidance from the Tribe's veterans.

"Sometimes when you're a young kid and a top prospect and you're being hyped up, you have a tendency not to listen to people," said Tribe infielder Mike Aviles. "It's like, 'I'm already good. Why do I need to listen to anything to get better?' He's very receptive of everything, willing to learn.

"It's almost like, 'Do you realize how talented you are? Why are you asking me for help?' But it's kind of cool because he knows we're all at the level that he wants to be, so he wants to ask."

Lindor moved to Florida late in the summer. Almost immediately, he started at a new boarding school in "a small town in the middle of nowhere." It was like college. He resided in one of two boys dorms adjacent to a large barn, across the street from all of the classrooms, the girls dorms and the sports facilities.

Caguas was thousands of miles away. It seemed like hundreds of thousands.

"I got there and I was like, 'What?' " Lindor said. "There were not a lot of things around."

That's when his maturity was first challenged.

"Your mom is not there to help you with your homework or your laundry," Lindor said. "When you have nothing to eat and you're trying to find something to eat, you have to make something in your microwave. She's not there to wake you up in the mornings and tell you to shower, to tell you to go brush your teeth and do the things that they tell you do until you're 17, 18 years old. So it makes you grow up faster. It makes you be a lot more mature.

"It helped me to be independent and make it on my own and go out there and survive."

*****

Lindor is downplaying his victory in the Indians' endurance test, one in which he beat out the rest of the club's position players, including fellow prospects Tyler Naquin, Jordan Smith and Erik Gonzalez at the finish. Naquin playfully calls Lindor "a big cheater."

"I was always one of the fastest kids around," Lindor said. "Whenever anyone told me I couldn't outrun them, I'd do whatever it took."

Lindor still must prove himself, but the stakes are a bit different. Baseball America ranked him the No. 9 prospect in the league. MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus slotted him at No. 4.

"He can impact the game in so many different ways," Francona said. "He just needs to play. That's probably the biggest thing. Things like stolen bases -- when to run, when not to run, why to run. Those types of things, it's not his fault, he just hasn't played that much yet because he's young."

The Indians have demonstrated patience with Lindor. He hasn't skipped any rungs on the organizational ladder. He'll likely begin the season at Columbus, despite incessant outcries from fans for Francona to plug him into his batting order on April 5 in Houston.

"If you get a guy too quick and get him beat up, that's not development," Francona said. "They have to go through a progression. Being 21 and in Triple-A, he saw a lot of things for the first time. At Triple-A, you're looking at some older players and guys who have been in the big leagues. He handled himself pretty well, but there's still a lot of learning going on."

Lindor knows that. He isn't questioning the team's motives. He has blocked out the hype.

Eventually, his brother and his cousin stopped playing the game. His prowess grew. He no longer needed their approval for his exploits on the diamond.

The little league doubles developed into high school home runs. His arm didn't dangle from his shoulder socket after a deep throw from his shortstop position. He forgot what it was like to use a bottle cap or a rock or a scrunched up piece of paper for a baseball.

His wish to play on TV one day -- a desire he routinely expressed to his father as a child -- seemed a bit more plausible. He bought the hype then.

He's ignoring it now.

"That's when I started to realize that, you know what, maybe I have a chance," Lindor said. "Now I can't take it for granted. I have to go day in and day out and give it my all and try to be the best player I can be."

Spring training can be tricky. During the regular season a 10-0 loss is something to worry about. In spring training, there could be other factors at work.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- When is a 10-0 loss not as bad as it appears? You could say never and be absolutely right, but that would mean you've never been to Arizona or Florida to watch a spring training game.

Here's the thing about spring training games: They count for some players, not at all for others and as soon as the real season starts in April no one will remember what happened Tuesday.

For the Indians that's a good thing because the Reds beat them, 10-0, in the Cactus League opener for both teams at Goodyear Ballpark.

Here are six things we're left to ponder after Tuesday's game.

No. 1: Spring training matters for Zach McAllister and Jason Marquis. McAllister is competing for a fifth spot in the Indians' rotation. Ditto for Marquis with the Reds.

McAllister has a safety net because he's out of options and the Indians don't want to lose him. If he doesn't make the rotation, he could easily slip into the bullpen.

Marquis, coming off Tommy John surgery, is in camp with the Reds on a minor-league deal. Not sure if the Reds would put him in their pen if he doesn't make the rotation.

McAllister struck out three, but gave up a run on catcher Devin Mesoraco's two-out single in the first.

No.2: Francona eases his teams into spring training. Being crowned Cactus League champions does not appeal to him.

Some managers have their teams play two or three intrasquad affairs before the start of exhibition games. Francona hates such contests, so his teams often look sluggish in the early part of exhibition season.

Want to know what Francona truly thinks of spring training games? He could have easily started Corey Kluber against the Reds, but instead the defending AL Cy Young winner pitched a two-inning simulated game Tuesday morning.

Kluber, who will be the Tribe's opening day starter on April 6 in Houston, likes to face hitters twice before starting an actual game. Francona, with an eye on Kluber's workload from last year, wanted him to pitch somewhere without a scoreboard and a crowd. The big innings are coming for Kluber, but not on March 3.

Francona is doing the same thing with Carlos Carrasco, who will pitch a B game Wednesday against the Reds, while Josh Tomlin faces the Reds in the Cactus League game at 3:05 p.m. ET. Tomlin, like McAllister, is pitching for a spot in the rotation.

Kluber and Carrasco are in line to be the Tribe's top two starters this season. There is no need to push them this early in camp.

No.3: Francona's lineup is a long way from full strength.

The Reds used what could be their opening day lineup Tuesday with the exception of injured first baseman Joey Votto. The Indians were missing starters Jason Kipnis, Brandon Moss, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher and one of their top reserves, Ryan Raburn.

Bourn and Raburn will be in Wednesday's starting lineup. Bourn worked hard over the winter to get his troublesome left hamstring healthy. Raburn is coming off left knee surgery, but came to camp ready to play because his job might be on the line.

Kipnis, recovering from a surgically repaired left ring finger and a terrible 2014 season, is expected to start playing games this weekend.

Moss had right hip surgery in October, but Francona said Tuesday that he is "streaking through his rehab." The Indians expected Moss to be ready to play games by mid-March. He could be back before that.

Swisher is the last piece to the offensive puzzle. He's coming back from double knee surgery in August. The Indians felt his return would be the hardest to gauge at the start of camp and that hasn't changed.

No.4: The pace-of-play timers made their debut at Goodyear Park on Tuesday. They are to limit the amount of time between innings and pitching changes to 2:25.

It was hard to tell what effect they had on the Tribe's 2-hour, 50-minute game since the rules governing the timers weren't really enforced by the umpires. Pitchers were often throwing their warm-up pitches with fewer than 30 seconds left and at least once a hitter wasn't in the box when the clock expired.

The hitters all seemed to keep one foot in the box or near it. Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco was the only batter who really went for a stroll, but that was usually after fouling a ball off, which is allowed.

It's a good thing MLB has spring training and April to get things straight before the rules are enforced in May.

No. 5: Converted pitcher Carlos Moncrief showed off his strong throwing arm from right field a couple of times late in Tuesday's game. He set a franchise record with 22 assists last year at Class AAA Columbus and it's easy to see why.

No. 6: Francona has been talking about it a lot in the early stages of spring training. He says the Indians' poor defense can be improved if players just do the basic things -- like backing up bases.

Lefty Michael Roth, who made seven appearances with the Angels last year, helped himself get out of an ugly eighth inning by backing up home plate and throwing out Chris Dominguez at third.

"On a day when we didn't do a lot well, those are things you can hang your hat on," said Francona.

The Boston Celtics were demolished by the Cleveland Cavaliers and it wasn't even close.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The young Boston Celtics may be improving and fighting for that final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, they were fish out of water.

They didn't belong, and it resulted in their 110-79 loss that wasn't nearly that close.

It was not a competitive game, as the Cavaliers held a lead of 44 points early in the fourth. Cleveland (38-24) toyed with Boston (23-35) and didn't exert much energy in doing so.

LeBron James got wherever he wanted on the court with little to no resistance, leading the way with 27 points, three rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. He has scored at least 20 points in his last 35 games against the Celtics and he surpassed his former teammate Ray Allen for No. 21 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Kyrie Irving returned to the starting lineup after missing the team's last two games with a left shoulder strain. He didn't miss a beat, going for 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go with six assists.

The Cavaliers have won 12 straight home games and have beaten their opponents by double-digits in 11 of their last 12 victories at The Q.

Every Cavalier starter scored in double-digits. Kevin Love, who was under the weather and a game-time decision, contributed 12 points and eight boards. JR Smith went for 12 points and the Cavaliers are 10-0 when Smith scores 10 or more at home.

Timofey Mozgov provided 10 points, six rebounds and a game-high three blocks in 20 minutes.

Boston's language and constant bickering at one another exemplified they're not quite ready to take that next step into being a true playoff hopeful. They merely served as a warmup for the Cavaliers' opponent on Wednesday night.

Brandon Bass was Boston's top performer with 15 points and five rebounds.

What this means?

Cleveland moved within a game of the Toronto Raptors for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, which is good timing considering who they're playing next.

Bench update

The Celtics outscored the Cavaliers 41-31. Tristan Thompson was the team's top reserve, scoring 10 points and pulling down seven boards. James Jones also chipped in with 10 points.

Who's on deck?

Toronto (38-22) Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre. Cleveland has two wins in three previous matchups. A Cleveland win could insert them into the No. 2 spot in the standings.

The Akron Zips lose their grip on top four seed for the MAC Tournament after falling to Miami on Tuesday.

OXFORD, Ohio -- The Akron Zips' postseason plans took another hit here Tuesday as the Miami RedHawks exploded in the second half to record a 70-63 victory.

The loss drops Akron to 18-12 overall and 9-8 in the Mid-American Conference and eliminates the Zips from a top four seed for next week's tournament. The top four seeds receive a bye to the quarterfinals or semifinals next week at Quicken Loans Arena. Miami is 13-17 overall, 8-9 in the MAC.

The Zips have lost five of their last six. Akron will close out the MAC regular season on Friday at rival Kent State.

Akron held a 23-17 lead at the half, but the RedHawks put up 53 points in the second half. Akron committed 11 turnovers in the second half and finished with 18.

The Zips actually scored the first five points of the second half to build the lead to 28-17 and at that point Miami had been held scoreless for nine minutes. The RedHawks then started their run and finally took a lead at 50-49 on two free throws by Eric Washington, who finished with 16 points.

Miami made 28 of 34 foul shots. The Zips went to the line 13 times and made just six.

Antino Jackson scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Zips. Reggie McAdams scored 14 for Akron and Isiah Johnson had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.

See Ohio high school boys basketball statewide scores for Tuesday, March 3, 2015.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Here are Ohio high school boys basketball statewide scores for Tuesday, March 3, 2015. 

Athens 84, Bidwell River Valley 47

Vincent Warren 60, Marietta 30

Cin. Elder 51, Cin. Oak Hills 41

Cin. Moeller 72, Hamilton Ross 24

Cin. Turpin 50, Cin. St. Xavier 46

Huber Hts. Wayne 116, Riverside Stebbins 48

Liberty Twp. Lakota E. 65, Cin. Winton Woods 49

New Carlisle Tecumseh 63, Sidney 55

Wilmington 87, Cin. Colerain 31

Akr. Hoban 86, Akr. North 60

Alliance 72, Norton 68

Alliance Marlington 89, Wooster Triway 66

Bellefontaine 36, Urbana 35

Can. South 92, Akr. Garfield 75

Canal Fulton Northwest 52, Akr. Springfield 42

Cortland Lakeview 58, Beloit W. Branch 37

Cuyahoga Falls CVCA 70, Akr. East 37

Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 70, Akr. East 37

Galion 53, Port Clinton 45

Lexington 71, Bellevue 35

Lima Bath 64, Tiffin Columbian 46

Mantua Crestwood 64, Ravenna SE 54

Norwalk 70, Bellville Clear Fork 58

Ontario 75, Oak Harbor 45

Parma Hts. Holy Name 71, Fairview 51

Parma Padua 51, Oberlin Firelands 50

Richfield Revere 57, Peninsula Woodridge 56

St. Paris Graham 41, Day. Carroll 36

Streetsboro 51, Mogadore Field 40, OT

Tallmadge 52, Cle. Benedictine 33

Tol. Rogers 54, Bryan 48

Youngs. Mooney 75, Ravenna 49

Apple Creek Waynedale 65, Loudonville 59

Arcanum 46, Anna 45

Bluffton 69, Van Buren 63

Brookville 51, W. Alexandria Twin Valley S. 38

Bucyrus 54, Bucyrus Wynford 49

Casstown Miami E. 46, Milton-Union 33

Castalia Margaretta 55, Ashland Crestview 48

Cin. Clark Montessori 58, Bethel-Tate 52, OT

Coldwater 67, Bascom Hopewell-Loudon 48

Columbiana 64, Hanoverton United 50

Day. Chaminade Julienne 67, New Lebanon Dixie 34

Day. Stivers 63, Jamestown Greeneview 50

Elyria Cath. 84, Oberlin 59

Gates Mills Hawken 67, Wickliffe 54

Jeromesville Hillsdale 67, Smithville 57

Leavittsburg LaBrae 83, Youngs. Liberty 80

Liberty Center 51, Defiance Tinora 50

Lisbon David Anderson 70, Akr. Manchester 56

Metamora Evergreen 46, Montpelier 45

Mt. Blanchard Riverdale 65, Rockford Parkway 56

Newton Falls 70, Middlefield Cardinal 40

Rootstown 63, Andover Pymatuning Valley 50

Salineville Southern 80, N. Jackson Jackson-Milton 51

St. Bernard Roger Bacon 90, Cin. Oyler 36

Versailles 82, New Paris National Trail 46

Warrensville Hts. 85, Cle. St. Martin De Porres 27

Willard 55, New London 41

Youngs. Ursuline 76, Orwell Grand Valley 24

Cin. Seven Hills 41, Cin. Country Day 40

Cortland Maplewood 112, N. Bloomfield 42

Fostoria St. Wendelin 54, Vanlue 48

Glouster Trimble 76, S. Webster 44

Hartville Lake Center Christian 56, Rittman 45

Kinsman Badger 48, Ashtabula St. John 40

Leetonia 56, Warren Lordstown 54

Leipsic 60, Ft. Jennings 39

Louisville Aquinas 85, Heartland Christian 55

Mansfield St. Peter's 61, Norwalk St. Paul 48

McComb 68, Kalida 51

McDonald 65, Youngs. Christian 39

Mogadore 92, Canton Heritage Christian 49

N. Lewisburg Triad 68, Sidney Lehman 66

New Knoxville 62, McGuffey Upper Scioto Valley 52

New Madison Tri-Village 77, Day. Jefferson 25

New Matamoras Frontier 64, Caldwell 55

New Riegel 59, Old Fort 45

Newton Local 55, Cedarville 37

Ottoville 63, Lima Temple Christian 47

Peebles 64, Seaman N. Adams 42

Pioneer N. Central 57, W. Unity Hilltop 55

Plymouth 86, Monroeville 55

Portsmouth Sciotoville 74, Latham Western 54

Russia 89, Bradford 26

Sandusky St. Mary 50, Crestline 44

Southington Chalker 59, Windham 40

Warren JFK 99, Thompson Ledgemont 34

Waterford 52, Ironton St. Joseph 47

Wellsville 48, E. Can. 35

Hot-shooting Kent State gets a big road victory, 81-80, over Bowling Green to remain in the hunt for a top four seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Kent State, left for dead on their homecourt three days ago, return to the M.A.C. Center breathing new life after an 81-80 road victory over Bowling Green on Tuesday night in BG's Stroh Center.

A Dev Manley 3-pointer with 43.4 seconds to play gave the Flashes a 78-77 lead that they nursed to the finish, thanks to a big rebound and two clutch free throws from Jimmy Hall for an 81-77 lead with 3.6 seconds to play. A meaningless 3-pointer from Richaun Holmes accounted for the last of his 29 points on senior night.

The Flashes, cold from behind the arc for the last few games, were 13-of-21 on the night with none bigger than Manley's and one by Derek Jackson when Kent was teetering on the ropes, trailing 77-72.

"Did I see that coming?'' KSU head coach Rob Senderoff repeated, shaking his head.

Certainly not after KSU (20-10, 11-6) was 4-of-22 on 3-pointers in a 71-65 loss to Buffalo. Now it's back home for the season finale on Friday against the Akron Zips.

"Our kids are tough,'' Senderoff said. "And they showed a ton of heart. They played as hard as they could, and made one more play at the end."

While he was dogged defensively down the stretch by the Falcons, KSU's third senior guard, Kris Brewer, had a game-high 21 points, hitting 5-of-6 3-pointers. Manley had 18, Jackson 15 and Hall 17.

"Kris came through huge tonight, you can't play better,'' Senderoff said.

The Flashes began the night one game back of the Falcons (19-9, 11-6) in the loss column, but well back in the seedings, No. 5, for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament.

BG, with a road game next at Buffalo, needed this game to strengthen its hold on the ever-changing top four MAC Tournament seeds.

On a two-game slide, the Flashes clearly needed two immediate improvements. First, a defense that held teams below 65 points in regulation time during all 10 of its MAC wins, had allowed 67 and 71 in its last two losses. Brewer and Jackson were also hooting 22.5 percent and 25.0 percent over the last four games.

As the only two ballhandlers on the team, fatigue had obviously set in, "more mental than physical,'' Brewer said.

By the end of the night the Flashes had solved most of those issues. KSU needs one more win to get in line for a top four seed to next week's MAC Tournament.