The Indians are riding a three-game winning streak for the first time this season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Right-hander Danny Salazar allowed five hits in six shutout innings and Nick Swisher and Mike Aviles hit back-to-back homers as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox, 5-2, Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Aviles went 4-for-5.

Here is a capsule look at the game after a DVR review of the Fox SportsTime Ohio telecast:

The Tribe at 40: Certain MLB people are fond of saying that 40 games are needed to get a legitimate read on a club. The Indians are six games under .500 (17-23) and in last place in the AL Central, so they are nowhere close to making the Kansas City Royals or Detroit Tigers nervous. But maybe, just maybe, they are beginning to figure it out -- and an IV drip of Kool-Aid is not required to think so.

On May 10 in Cleveland, the Indians salvaged the finale of a three-game series against the hot Minnesota Twins. The homestand continued with a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, who owned MLB's best record. The Indians played well for the vast majority of innings and led two games after seven -- but went 1-2.

The Indians traveled to Arlington, Texas, and won two of three against the bad Rangers. Then they came to Chicago and took three of four from a club that entered the series riding a five-game winning streak.

Time to party: The Indians won the final three games of the series -- their first three-game winning streak of the season.

They improved to 3-8-2 in series.

Fun away from home: The Tribe is 11-11 on the road.

Left was right: The White Sox (18-20) started four left-handers in the series: Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon and John Danks. The Indians, who have struggled against lefties, did not exactly pound Chicago's quartet -- but they pieced together three victories. The loss Monday night was 2-1 in 10 innings.

Start them up: Tribe starting pitchers Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Shaun Marcum and Salazar each performed splendidly against the White Sox. The combined line of the four righties:

29 IP, 18 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 33 K

Doing his part: Salazar (5-1, 3.50 ERA) navigated traffic from the five hits, three walks and one error, but he made big pitch after big pitch. He struck out eight.

*With runners on first and third and one out in the first, Salazar struck out Adam LaRoche swinging at a 3-2 changeup (89 mph) and Avisail Garcia swinging at a 1-2 changeup (87).

The previous three pitches in the LaRoche AB were fastballs (97 fouled, 97 high, 98 fouled.) The "old'' Salazar would have kept pumping fastballs, as much by necessity as by stubbornness. The new and improved Salazar knows his changeup is now a true second pitch, and he is not afraid to use it, regardless of situation. LaRoche  didn't figure a changeup was coming, let alone to the inner third of the plate.

The overmatching of Garcia meant Salazar preserved a 4-0 lead.

*With runners on first and second and none out in the third, Tribe pitching coach Mickey Callaway visited the mound.

Message received.

Salazar threw four consecutive fastballs to Melky Cabrera before striking him out swinging at an 0-2 changeup (88). He struck out Jose Abreu swinging at 1-2 fastball (97) on the outside corner at the thighs. After walking LaRoche to load the bases, Salazar bowed his neck and struck out Garcia swinging at a 2-2 fastball above the belt.

The previous two pitches to Abreu were fastballs (98 swinging, 96 foul). Based on his stance for, and swing at, the decisive pitch, Abreu appeared to be looking for a changeup. Salazar and catcher Roberto Perez crossed him up because they weren't afraid to challenge a very dangerous hitter.

Stellar defense: With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Cabrera lined a single to right -- the first well-struck ball by the White Sox against Salazar that resulted in a hit.

Abreu stepped in. He fouled a fastball and two changeups before drilling a fastball deep to center. Michael Bourn made a running catch in front of the track; Cabrera,  who had been convinced Bourn wouldn't make the play, began a long retreat to first. Bourn braced against the fence, turned and threw to second baseman Jason Kipnis, who picked a short hop and relayed to first baseman Carlos Santana. Cabrera was doubled off by a half-step.

Bourn not only prevented an extra-base hit and potential uprising, his awareness of the situation ended the inning. Kipnis (pick, strong relay) and Santana (stretch) deserved kudos, as well.

Early thunder: Swisher and Aviles capped the Tribe's four-run first against Danks with solo homers to left. Swisher hit a 1-2 fastball (89) for his first of the season and Aviles hit a 1-2 changeup (81) for his third.

The Indians made it 5-0 in the second.

Finally: The Tribe won despite going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 on base.

Danny Salazar wanted to see the fourth inning for the first time ever at U.S. Cellular Field. to do that he had to hold back on his favorite weapon -- the strikeout.

CHICAGO - Danny Salazar had a simple game plan for Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

"I wanted to go more than 3 2/3 innings at this stadium," said Salazar.

To do that Salazar had to curtail his favorite thing - the strikeout.

"My goal today was cut down on the strikeouts and pitch more innings," said Salazar with a laugh.

It may sound strange, but not if you study Salazar's first two career starts at U.S. Cellular Field.

In 2013, Salazar struck out nine White Sox in 3 2/3 innings on Sept. 13. The cornucopia of Ks was the most by a pitcher in fewer than four innings without allowing a hit since 1916. It also earned him a quick hook because he threw 82 pitches.

In 2014, Salazar returned to the south side of Chicago and The Cell for his second start of the season on April 10. This time he struck out 10 batters in 3 2/3 innings. Along with the strikeouts came six hits, five runs, two walks, two homers, one wild pitch and 93 pitches.

It made Salazar the only pitcher in the modern history to strikeout 10 batters in an appearance that lasted fewer than four innings. The modern era began in 1900, so we're talking about a lot of pitchers and a lot of games.

Salazar (5-1, 3.50) had grown weary of making sideshow history. The only thing he did Thursday night was go six innings to earn the victory in the Tribe's 5-2 win over the White Sox.

Still, two games like those are hard to forget. So when Salazar was at the 3 2/3-inning mark Thursday night, with a comfortable 5-0 lead, it was not surprising that he struck out Emilio Bonifacio on a 97 mph fastball to make sure he had four innings in the book. Why take a chance?

"If I get past 3 2/3 innings, it's good for me and it's good for the team," said Salazar. "It helps my bullpen out so they don't have to pitch so many innings."

Salazar pitched six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks. As for the strikeouts, not too worry, they came as well. He finished with eight.

Teammate Corey Kluber leads the AL with 76 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. Salazar is third with 60 in only 43 2/3 innings.

"Danny had such a good fastball tonight, even with an elevated (107) pitch count," said manager Terry Francona. "So when he needed it, he went to it, and he didn't nurse it in there. He attacked when he needed to and ended up giving us six innings"

The six innings were important to Francona, but not nearly as important as they were to Salazar.

Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson is entering his first season as the Tigers' full-time starter, but he has plenty of experience in the explosive offense.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Continuing our countdown of the top 10 players who will threaten Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott's run at the Heisman Trophy in 2015. Elliott is the current favorite to win the Heisman according to online sportsbook Bovada.

No. 9: Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson

Class: Junior

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 240 pounds

2014 stats: Completed 24-of-37 passes (75 percent) for 436 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Why he's here: By this point, Ohio State fans are quite familiar with the words "quarterback battle." The Buckeyes' version will play out in full force this summer. Auburn had one of those, too. But it didn't last very long because it was assumed all along that Johnson would be the next in line to take the reins of Gus Malzahn's offense. That became fact this spring.

We've seen before what playing in that offense can do for a quarterback. Remember Cam Newton? How about Nick Marshall?

Bovada lists Johnson with 20-to-1 odds of winning the Heisman, not bad for a guy who really hasn't had a chance to show what he can do yet. Johnson had to wait for two years behind Marshall, and has started just two games in two seasons.

But this is about upside and Johnson has plenty of it.

In 13 career games, Johnson has completed better than 70 percent of his passes for 858 yards and nine touchdowns. That was mostly in mop-up duty. Now the former Alabama Mr. Football gets a chance to show what he can do as the starter, and expectations are high.

Why he can win: Newton won the Heisman in 2010 with Malzahn as his position coach and offensive coordinator, his only year in the offense. Marshall took the Tigers to the National Championship against Florida State two years ago during his first season in the offense.

People who have been around the Auburn program think Johnson is a more gifted passer than both of them, and he's entering his third season in Malzahn's system.

There's something to be said for comfort. And comfort in this offense can go a long way. It was a top-10 offense with Newton, and a top-20 offense each year with Marshall at quarterback.

Both Newton and Marshall were gifted runners, more so than Johnson, and Malzahn's offenses have always been run-first. But all that means is that Auburn's offense could be productive in a different way and give Johnson even more of a chance to win games with his arm.

The hype surrounding Johnson has some thinking Auburn is a playoff contender in 2015. If Johnson lives up to that hype, he can become a legitimate Heisman contender.

Top 10 threats to Ezekiel Elliott's 2015 Heisman Trophy run

10. Arizona LB Scooby Wright

9. Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson

The Indians lead the Reds, 45-44, in their interleague series. Cincinnati, however, won three out of four games last season.

Where: Progressive Field.

When: Reds vs. Indians, Friday through Sunday.

TV/Radio: SportsTime Ohio, WTAM AM/1100 and WMMS FM/100.7 will carry the series.

Pitching matchups: RHP Mike Leake (2-2, 3.62) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (4-4, 4.98) Friday night at 7:10; RHP Anthony DeSclafani (2-4, 3.80) vs. RHP Corey Kluber (1-5, 3.79) Saturday 4:10 p.m. and RHP Johnny Cueto (3-4, 3.03) vs. RHP Trevor Bauer (3-1, 3.31) Sunday at 1:10 p.m.

Series: The Indians went 1-3 against the Red last year. Overall, the Indians lead, 45-44.

Reds update: They'll bring a five-game losing streak into Friday's series opener. The Reds outscored the Indians, 22-12, last year in taking three out of four in the interleague series. Kris Negron led the way by hitting .538 (7-for-13) with five RBI.

Indians' update: The Indians concluded a seven-game trip Thursday night with a victory over Chicago to give them a 5-2 record and their first winning trip of the season. The Indians hit .216 against the Reds last year with Jason Kipnis carrying the load at .400 (6-for-15). Kluber won the Tribe's lone game.

Injuries: Reds - RHP Homer Bailey (Tommy John surgery right elbow), OF Jason Bourgeois (left shoulder), LHP Sean Marshall (left shoulder) and LHP Manny Parra (neck) are on the disabled list. C Devin Mesoraco (left hip) is day to day. Indians -- LHP TJ House (left shoulder), RHP Gavin Floyd (right elbow), RHP Josh Tomlin (right shoulder) and C Yan Gomes (right knee) are on the disabled list.

Next: The Rangers visit Progressive Field for a three-game series starting Monday.

Stephen Reich, born in Cleveland and raised -- for the first decade of his life -- in Bedford, had dreams of pitching on the big league diamond. Instead, his career path took him into military service. While he could, he squeezed every ounce out of life. Friday would have been his 44th birthday. Monday is Memorial Day. We look back at a man who made a lasting impact.

Stephen Reich admires the Grand Canyon.Courtesy of Sue Reich 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Stephen Reich sat on the edge of the cliff, his legs dangling. He peered out at the peaks and valleys of the Grand Canyon, at the vast craters, the pointy pinnacles.

He basked in the site's serenity and the sight's supremacy. He appeared calm and at peace, despite sitting on the precipice of peril.

Imagine what his parents, Sue and Ray, thought when they received the photo of their only son, their first-born, the once-little boy they raised in Bedford, Ohio, flirting with danger.

For Stephen, however, this was no random act of risk-taking. This was a pit stop along the adventurous, off-road trail of his life.

He loved the outdoors. As a child, his parents took him to lie on the grassy hills during concerts at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. As an adult, he returned home to Washington, Conn., and hiked along the paths in the Steep Rock nature preserve.

He loved his country. He served in the Army. He played baseball for Team USA.

And he knew, from a young age, that he was fearful beyond belief of living with any regrets. So, he traveled the world. He slept overnight in a Jeep in Gettysburg, Pa., just so he could make it to his sister's field hockey final at the University of Pennsylvania. He visited five continents. He let his legs hang off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

"He was on a mission," Sue said, "to cram as much into his years on this earth as he could."

Mound bound

Sue was impressed, more than anything.

The Reichs owned a modest-sized backyard in Bedford in the '70s, so it's not as though Stephen's infamous hit grazed the moon on its way up. The 5-year-old did, however, crack a second-story window with one seismic smack of a Wiffle ball.

Stephen Reich, left, played little league baseball in Bedford, Ohio.Courtesy of Sue Reich 

Was his early baseball prowess any surprise? This was the same kid who, from the time he could stand upright as a toddler, placed himself in front of the TV and mimicked the pitcher's motions.

"He would wind up and throw the ball," Sue said, "and he would just stand there and watch the pitcher's movement and constantly repeat."

Stephen played T-ball and little league in Bedford before the Reichs relocated to Connecticut when he was 9. A year after his beloved New York Mets prevailed in the 1986 World Series -- the family's first dog was named Mookie after Mets center fielder Mookie Wilson -- he guided Shepaug Valley High School to the Class S state championship.

After Stephen delivered the final pitch, he eagerly jumped up and down as the third baseman corralled the ground ball and tossed it to first. When the first baseman squeezed it for the clinching out, Stephen raised both hands in the air and joined a throng of teammates and fans on the infield grass in front of home plate.

Baseball was part of his fabric. He wanted to play in college and, perhaps, beyond. Several schools recruited him for his mastery on the mound.

A visit to West Point, N.Y., however, altered the trajectory of his life. He was mesmerized by how composed, orderly and resolute the cadets appeared. He interviewed at schools that sought his baseball skill. He interviewed at Ivy League universities that preferred him for his brainpower.

"But he pretty much had his sights set on West Point," Sue said.

Stephen applied early decision and he was accepted. He arrived at the military academy one month after his 18th birthday. He brought only a shaving kit. He walked up a set of stairs and momentarily disappeared.

When he returned, he did so in a military uniform, with his hair cut short. Sue and Ray barely recognized him. So it goes on Reception Day, or "R Day," at the facility. Sue recalls Stephen's first day at West Point: June 28, 1989. That was the day she knew her son was on his own.

"Right from the beginning," she said, "it's the stark reality from a parent's standpoint that now your kid belongs to Uncle Sam."

Dream dashed

Stephen's pinstriped uniform rests in a frame inside the team recreation room at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field. The room was dedicated in Stephen's name in 2013. It contains images of him in his No. 20 jersey and other reminders of his sterling athletic career. His accomplishments on the field made him the first Army player selected to a spot on Team USA, for whom he pitched in 1993.

Stephen Reich carries the American flag at the World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1993.Courtesy of Sue Reich 

He joined a roster littered with future major leaguers, including Todd Helton, A.J. Hinch, Todd Walker, Dustin Hermanson and former Indians pitcher Danny Graves. They spent the summer playing games in Italy, Nicaragua, Cuba and the U.S. They hosted the World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y., where Stephen carried out the American flag and looked up at his parents in the stands. Stephen compiled a 2.48 ERA in 17 relief appearances that summer. He walked three and struck out 38.

"It was such a terrific time for him," Sue said. "He was young, newly out of college and around all of those athletes from all over the world."

After his sophomore year at Army, Stephen had a decision to make: pursue a professional baseball career, or commit to the military and eventual service time. He stayed at West Point.

"He knew that he was going to get the very best education that he would get anywhere," Sue said. "Baseball is always a crapshoot."

Before he graduated, he scattered his name across the program record book. He set the school standard for strikeouts in a game, with 17. He registered that total in his final collegiate game. He also tallied 17 strikeouts in a season-opening, seven-inning affair a year earlier. Stephen posted a 1.11 ERA in his first season at West Point, which earned him entry onto the Freshman All-America team. When he wrapped up his collegiate career, he ranked third in program history in wins, fifth in ERA, first in innings pitched and first in strikeouts. He overcame nerve damage in his throwing shoulder during his junior season to post a Patriot League-leading 2.48 ERA during his senior campaign, which earned him conference Pitcher of the Year honors.

Eventually, after spending time at flight school, Stephen was permitted to audition for a group of big league scouts. If he was signed, he could chase his dream on the diamond.

The Baltimore Orioles brought him on board after watching him throw. In February 1996, Stephen ventured to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for spring training. He proceeded to start a pair of games for the High Desert Mavericks, the organization's High-A affiliate.

Then, the Pentagon called. The Army wanted him back. Stephen was devastated. His baseball dream was dashed.

"He was blindsided by being called back," Sue said. "He did not expect it at all. It was a shock to him. I think he realized that was a final decision and he didn't have any recourse."

The world awaits

The snow melts and the ground thaws. Lawnmowers replace snowblowers. Baseball fields finally breathe after months of hibernation beneath the layer of wintry white.

Stephen wanted nothing to do with the annual summer renaissance. He couldn't bear to watch others peer in at the catcher and wait for the flash of a finger or two. He longed to travel Europe, so when he was requested back by the Army, he asked to be sent across the Atlantic.

"I think it would've been really hard for him to be in the states that summer while people were playing baseball and he wasn't," Sue said. "It was a heartbreak for him, no doubt about it.

"One of the things I was always impressed with was he didn't become embittered by it. He just moved on."

Stephen headed to Germany, where he bought two horses to ride in his spare time. He was stationed in Korea for a bit. He visited New Zealand and Australia and the Philippines and Thailand and Japan. He flew to and from Hawaii on occasion.

It's not as though he was writing travel reviews for Conde Nast. He also spent nine miserable months in Albania during an unusually harsh winter. The soldiers lived in platform tents and they had to shut off their propane tank heaters before they went to sleep to prevent a fire. So, Stephen adopted a stray dog, which slept with him in the tent. The two kept each other warm.

"You could put him in the armpit of the world and he could find the very best reason for being there," Sue said.

Two days

For two days, Sue and Ray lived out every parent's nightmare, the part so horrifying and gut-wrenching that the mind forces itself to interrupt the slumber. This was real life. There was no sleeping, no comfort.

Stephen was a Special Forces soldier. He couldn't tell his family where he was headed when deployed. He only spoke in vague terms.

"You get to guess," Sue said. "But we're not stupid, either. We watch the news. So we figured he was in Afghanistan."

Stephen served four tours of duty in Afghanistan. The final one, as part of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, also known as the Night Stalkers, came in 2005.

Stephen, a Major, was lauded for his ability to fly a helicopter. He wasn't one to provide much vocal authority, but he often led by example, just as he had on the mound for so many years.

"People would fall in behind him," Sue said.

Stephen, seven other Night Stalkers and eight Navy SEALs went on a search-and-rescue mission to recover four other Navy SEALs, three of whom had been killed, in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

Their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

It took two days for soldiers to penetrate the area and secure the mountaintop. During that time, all anyone could tell Sue and Ray was that their son was missing in action.

"I can't even begin to tell..." Sue said, her voice trailing off. "I don't know if there's anything in life that I'll ever face that was more difficult than that."

On the third day, they received the final, chilling word. All 16 members aboard the helicopter had died, 16 years to the day Stephen arrived in West Point: June 28, 2005.

Steep Rock

A plaque rests on the back of a stone bench near the Shepaug River in Hidden Valley, part of Steep Rock nature preserve. The bench and a nearby bridge were dedicated in Stephen's honor. The top of the plaque reads: "If you would seek his monument, look about you." The quote is derived from the monument of Christopher Wren in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

The plaque on the bench dedicated to Stephen in Steep Rock.Courtesy of Fox Sports 

"When the bench was being made and we were trying to figure out something to put on the bench, I was struck by that," Sue said. "Stephen so loved his town and the country and the earth. I think that was important enough for him to sacrifice his life so that wouldn't be changed.

"He always said: 'Don't let anything change in town. Always keep it that way.' That's why we chose to put that there, so that when you look around, you remember him through the surroundings that he sacrificed to keep that way."

Each time Stephen returned from a tour in Afghanistan, he trekked back to Washington for about four days. He told his parents he didn't care to talk to anyone. He just wanted to hike through Steep Rock with his dog. He wanted to decompress and exhale. He wanted to find that peace he discovered on the edge of the Grand Canyon, the peace he enjoyed on the lush field at Blossom.

The innocence and naivete of being a young child at Hale Farm or at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo or at the Natural History Museum -- places he frequented as a kid with his family -- had vanished, but maybe, just maybe, he could rediscover that calming silence at Steep Rock. Sue said her son was "as comfortable in combat boots as he was in Birkenstocks."

"That's where he found the peace that he needed to forge on with the military," she said. "We respected that."

So, after his memorial service, Stephen's parents distributed his ashes throughout Steep Rock.

Washington is a quaint, rural town of about 3,500 in western Connecticut. When news of Stephen's crash surfaced, hundreds of neighbors flocked to the Reich home for support. Friends, relatives and people who barely knew Stephen -- but knew him just enough to sense how much he treasured his time on Earth -- reached out.

In fact, they still do. Friday would have marked Stephen's 44th birthday. Sue still reads messages on the Facebook group for Stephen's Army graduating class. She still hears from his fellow comrades and friends.

Stephen's master sergeant told Sue: "I would have followed your son into battle anywhere."

"When people say those kinds of things, you know he was a good person," Sue said. "He wasn't just a good soldier or a good baseball player."

*****

Note: SportsTime Ohio will air a vignette about Stephen Reich during Indians Live at 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday, prior to Monday's game between the Indians and the Rangers. You can also watch the video below.

A Soldier's Story - Major Stephen Reich from FSN Creative Content Group on Vimeo.

The durability of LeBron James is even more noticeable this season with all the injuries around him.

ATLANTA - Kevin Love's moment came at the 5:22 mark of the first quarter in a first-round playoff game, with a two-handed yanking of his arm by Kelly Olynyk.

Kyrie Irving's time was a little less precise, but somewhere during that same series against the Boston Celtics he injured his right foot.

Overcompensating for the foot strain led to left knee tendinitis for Irving, and when he stepped on Tristan Thompson's foot at 9:47 of the second quarter of Game 6 in Chicago last week, it was obvious Irving was hurting. He wasn't much better in Game 1 against Atlanta on Wednesday.

And speaking of Game 1 - a 97-89 win for the Cavs over the Hawks to begin the Eastern finals - Atlanta's DeMarre Carroll nearly had his season ended by a scary-looking knee injury with about five minutes left. Carroll lucked out, it's just a sprain, and he's even listed as "questionable" for Game 2 tonight in Atlanta.

Where does LeBron James fit in all of this? He, too is a little bruised and battered, but is just 19 minutes away from 43,000 for his 12-year career and is carrying on as if he were made of, well, you know.

"He's the closest thing to Superman there is out there, I guess is the only way to explain it," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said Thursday. "I don't have a logical explanation for it."

If there were ever a season where James was more Clark Kent than Superman, this one is it. He missed a career-high 13 games, almost all of them due to injury and most of them specifically to nagging knee and back issues.

But on Wednesday night, as James was on his way to eclipsing Michael Jordan for the most playoff games of at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists (James finished with 31, eight, and six, respectively), James nearly averted disaster.

A TNT cameraman, seated not along the baseline under the hoop but along the sideline, was behind James when he didn't realized it and served as an awkward landing spot for James' right foot.

James turned his ankle on the play with about nine minutes left in the third quarter and hobbled to the bench. He returned about three minutes later.

"The cameraman, I guess his foot was out further than it should be," James said Wednesday night. "I'm happy that it didn't cost me the rest of the game.  I was able to go out there and make a few plays."

It wasn't the first time during these playoffs that James came up gimpy, only to return with a vengeance. Before James hit the series-turning, game-winning, last-second shot against the Bulls in Game 4, he sharply twisted his ankle when he got tangled up with Derrick Rose on a drive to the hoop.

In Game 6 against the Bulls, about a nanosecond after Irving's injury, James tweaked his back when Kirk Hinrich tied him up for a loose ball. James returned with no obvious problems in both cases.

"It's pretty unique. It really is," Blatt said of James' ability bounce back. "That's another of the things that makes him special and great. He probably, more so than any other player in the league, certainly minutes-wise and the number of hits he takes and the kind of pounding and stress that is put on his body throughout the years, yet still to be out there each and every day performing at the level he does, that's a unique thing. You don't see that everyday."

James is averaging 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 41.4 minutes this postseason. This is his fifth consecutive trip to the conference finals, and he's trying to make it to his fifth straight NBA Finals. Love is gone for the season and it's become increasingly clear that Irving is going to struggle through injuries for the rest of Cleveland's playoff run.

On Thursday, James said "I take my body very seriously," and credited the work he does away from the floor for his relative durability.

"I mean a lot to this team, and I don't want to have to have an injury," he said. "Obviously, I can't predict them. You don't know if they're going to happen, but if you take care of your body beforehand, sometimes it makes the process easier to come back from."

James also knows that injuries can rear their ugly heads in the playoffs. Though he couldn't recall the right season - Cavs fans surely can, it was the 2010 playoffs - James cited a lingering elbow issue that made it difficult for him to shoot as "the most frustrating thing I've been through while trying to make a championship run."

(For a memory boost, James shot free throws left handed in a first-round game against the Bulls that season, and when the Cavs were closed out of the second round by the Celtics he shot 3-of-14 in the deciding game. Then, he left the organization for Miami.)

Given the physical nature of the playoffs, James probably will grimace after a tough foul or hard fall again before this current run is over. And what will go through Blatt's mind when it happens?

"Beside raging fear?" Blatt asked.

See how local track teams and athletes did in Division I and III district meets.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Here are district track results from Friday's Division I and III track meets.

For more information on how to report box scores, please email High School Sports Manager Kristen Davis (kdavis@cleveland.com).

BOYS TRACK DISTRICTS

Note: Top four individuals advance to Regionals.

DIVISION I

At Amherst (See full game story and slideshow by reporter Scott Patsko)

How they finished: 1. Berea-Midpark 122; 2. Medina 117; 3. Avon 79; 4. Strongsville 75.50; 5. Rocky River 51; 6. North Royalton 50.50; T7. Lorain 28; T7. Avon Lake 28; 9. Westlake 24; 10. Amherst 20.50; 11. Midview 19; 12. Elyria 18.50; 13. North Ridgeville 17; 14. North Olmsted 7; 15. Olmsted Falls 1.

Shot put: 1. Sladick (Berea-Midpark) 54-1.25; 2. Bowden (N. Ridgeville) 52-9.25; 3. Gerak (Avon) 50-5.75; 4. Gallitz (Medina) 49-3. 

High jump: 1. Blake (Medina) 6-0; 2. Hiatt (Berea-Midpark) 6-0; 3. Porter (Elyria) 5-10; 4. Glowacki (Amherst) 5-10. 

110 hurdles: 1. Floyd (Strongsville) 14.25; 2. Samol (Berea-Midpark) 14.54; 3. Paster (Berea-Midpark) 15.58; 4. Reilly (Westlake) 15.75. 

100: 1. Cross (Lorain) 11.19; 2. Redwood (Midview) 11.44; 3. Bitter (Avon) 11.53; 4. Scherer (Medina) 11.56. 

4x200: 1. Medina (Morrow, Febus, Scherer, Gargiulo) 1:29.63; 2. Berea-Midpark 1:30.14; 3. Strongsville  1:30.14; 4. N. Royalton 1:32.03. 

1600: 1. Rusek (N. Royalton) 4:25.20; 2. Peterson (Berea-Midpark) 4:25.72; 3. Stump (Medina) 4:25.82; 4. Jankowski (Berea-Midpark) 4:26.40. 

4x100: 1. Avon (Demasiewicz, Choat, Torbert, Bitter) 43.67; 2. Lorain 43.87; 3. N. Royalton 44.61; 4. Berea-Midpark 45.04. 

400: 1. Nugent (Rocky River) 49.47; 2. Davis (Strongsville) 50.41; 3. Smith (Medina) 50.60; 4. Fernandez (Amherst) 51.36. 

300 hurdles: 1. Floyd (Strongsville) 38.24; 2. Samol (Berea-Midpark) 38.48; 3. Febus (Medina) 39.78; 4. McDonough (Rocky River) 39.96. 

800: 1. Hawks (Elyria) 1:57.08; 2. Lucas (Berea-Midpark) 1:59.24; 3. Johnson (Amherst) 1:59.54; 3. Menyes (Medina) 2:00.14. 

200: 1. Cross (Lorain) 22.24; 2. Garguilo (Medina) 22.67; 3. Redwood (Midview) 22.90; 4. Sherer (Medina) 22.92. 

3,200: 1. Powers (Strongsville) 9:36.67; 2. Kane (Avon) 9:44.60; 3. Williams (Rocky River) 9:52.77; 4. Neura (Medina) 9:53.30. 

4x400: 1. Strongsville (Davis, Estremera, Buike, Floyd), 3:32.95; 2. Rocky River 3:42.02; 3. Medina 3:27.11; 4. N. Royalton 3:27.52. 

At Austintown Fitch

How they finished: 1. Austintown Fitch 145; 2. Solon 125; 3. Kenston 65.6; 4. Warren G. Harding 55; 5. Youngstown East 44; 6. Geneva 38; 7. Aurora 36; Kent Roosevelt 33.5; 9. Boardman 30; 10. Tallmadge 29; 11. Canfield 28; 12. Howland 15; 13. Elet 8; 14. Ravenna 5; 15. Lakeside 3.

Long Jump: 1. Herriott (Austintown Fitch) 21-01; 2. Spruce (Kenston) 20-0.25; 3. Baugh (Howland) 19-10; 4. Banks (Ravenna) 19-08.

Discus: 1. Hallof (Canfield) 162-01; 2. Kusky (Austintown Fitch) 156-07; 3. Peterson (Solon) 153-05; 4. Calhoun (Geneva) 146-10.

Pole Vault: 1. Latone (Austintown Fitch) 14-06; 2. Roberto (Aurora) 13-00; 3. McNeal (Tallmadge) 12-06; 4. Brown (Geneva) 12-06.

110 hurdles: 1. Jones (Warren G. Harding) 15.49; 2. Murray (Kenston) 16.45; 3. Williams (Howland) 16.5; 4. Spruce (Kenston) 16.52.

100M: 1. Harrington (Austintown Fitch) 11.25; 2. Green (Youngstown East) 11.29; 3. Sinclari (Solon) 11.55; 4. McWreath (Austintown Fitch) 11.6.

4x200: 1. Austintown Fitch (Hall, Scott, McWreath, Harrington) 1:29.22; 2. Youngstown East (Green, Donadalle, Lynch, Nuckles) 1:30.15; 3. Warren G. Harding (Jones, May, Cole, Jones) 1:30.25; 4. Solon (Jeffrey, Musick, Suggs, Sinclair) 1:30.88.

1,600M: 1. Cohen (Solon) 4:28.11; 2. Kern (Canfield) 4:31.06; 3. Hadley (Boardman) 4:33.03; 4. Rozic (Austintown Fitch) 4:34.43.

4x100: 1. Warren G. Harding (Jones, Cole, May, Murry) 43.13; 2. Kent Roosevelt (Spurney, Brown, Richardson, Scott) 43:38; 3. Youngstown East (Green, Lynch, Moses, Nuckles) 43.48; 4. Austintown Fitch (Hall, McWreath, Smith, Jetomo) 44.

400M: 1. Nuckles (Youngstown East) 49.36; 2. Spurney (Roosevelt) 49.72; 3. Scott (Austintown Fitch) 51.04; 4. Slezak (Kenston) 51.36.

300M hurdles: 1. Jones (Warren G Harding) 40.22; 2. Musick (Solon) 40.39; 3. Favinger (Tallmadge) 41.08; 4. Krohn (Austintown Fitch) 41.22.

800M: 1. Cohen (Solon) 1:56.05; 2. Bell (Ellet) 1:56.89; 3. Shannon (Solon) 1:59.12; 4. Bryan (Geneva) 1:59.66.

200M: 1. Harrington (Austintown Fitch) 22.32; 2. Hall (Austintown Fitch) 22.9; 3. Cole (Warren G. Harding) 23.29; 4. Samarasingh (Aurora) 23.35.

3,200M: 1. Kapes (Solon) 9:32.55; 2. Hadley (Boardman) 9:38.76; 3. Riordan (Solon) 9:39.49; 4. Kern (Canfield) 9:57.9.

4x400: Austintown Fitch (Gibson, Hall, Scott, Harrington) 3:25.15; 2. Kenston (Cooper, Robinson, Poe, Slezak) 3:27.29; 3. Youngstown East (Nuckles, Lynch, Green, Ingram) 3:28.97; 4. Aurora (Conley, Blechschmid, Samarasinghe, Kingure) 3:29.44.

High Jump: 1. Herriot (Austintown Fitch) 6-02; 2. Dillard (Solon) 5-10; 3. Jones (Kenston) 5-10; 4. Bowling (Geneva) 5-08.

Shot Put: 1. Peterson (Solon) 57-11.5; 2. Kusky (Austintown Fitch) 54-10.75; 3. McCollough (Warren G. Harding) 54-03; 4. Zamary (Aurora) 52-01.25.

4x800: 1. Solon (Shannon, Gross, Kapes, Cohen) 8:01.06; 2. Kenston (Robinson, Slezak, Sanders, Cooper) 8:03.77; 3. Tallmadge (Murray, Z. Murray, Kirbaumer, Penix) 8:11.39; 4. Austintown Fitch (Gibson, Linert, Potkanowicz, Schumacher) 8:11.39.

110M Hurdles: Jones (Warren G. Harding) 15.49; 2. Murray (Geneva) 16.45; 3. Williams (Howland) 16.5; 4. Spruce (Kenston) 16.52.

At Brunswick

How they finished: 1. St. Ignatius 148.50; 2. Brunswick 129; 3. Normandy 62; 4. Lakewood 60; T5. John F. Kennedy 49; T5. St. Edward 49; 7. John Adams 44; 8. Highland 43; 9. Garfield Heights 39; 10. Valley Forge 15; 11. Revere 13.50; 12. LIncoln West 7; 13. East Tech 2. 

4x800: 1. St. Ignatius (Huber, Sullivan, Kruchan, Wagner) 8:06.61; 2. Brunswick (Bollam-Godbott, Wolf, Bizon, Kraft) 8:20.93; 3. Highland (Pifher, Ross, Jadach, Gerding) 8:35.07; 4. St. Edward (Baker, Gulling, Papotto, Rodriquez) 8:51.24.

110H: 1. Williams (Bru) 15.46; 2. Young (JFK) 15.67; 3. Rozzel (GH) 15.71; 4. Kiss-Benke (Nor) 15.72.

100: Norris (SI) 10.82; 2. Baker (JA) 10.96; 3. Ajadi (LW) 10.96; 4. Butler (SE) 11.07.

4x200:  1. John Adams (McGraw, Baker, Thompson, Leverette) 1:30.29; 2. John F. Kennedy (Salters, Majette, Diaz, Ware) 1:31.67; 3. Normandy (Olivas, Rondin, Sokol, Jamieson) 1:32.90; 4. Garfield Heights (Miller, Hegler, McCarver, Hudson) 1:32.95.

1,600: 1. Wagner (SI) 4:18.60; 2. Sullivan (SI) 4:18.76; 3. Bollam-Godbott (Bru) 4:23.16; 4. Ludwig (Nor) 4:43.03.

4x100: 1. St. Ignatius (Zuccaro, Cook, Lawless, Norris) 43.17; 2. John Adams (McGraw, Baker, Thompson, Leverette) 43.23; 3. John F. Kennedy (Majette, Salters, Diaz, Young) 44.49; 4. Highland (Hutchins, Kasulones, Burnside, Namoski) 44.69.

400: 1. Leverette (JA) 50.02; 2. Fallon (Bru) 50.15; 3. Ware (JFK) 51.69; 4. Thomas (SE) 52.19.

300H: 1. Sokol (Nor) 40.19; 2. Johnston (Lake) 40.32; 3. Ruddy (SI) 41.16; 4. Pallman (Bru) 42.00.

800: 1. Bollam-Godbott (Bru) 1:56.96; 2. Kruchan (SI) 1:58.91; 3. Pifher (High) 2:00.09; 4. Wagner (SI) 2:01.22.

200: 1. Diaz (JFK) 22.04; 2. Hudson (GH) 22.17; 3. Norris (SI) 22.44; 4. Leverette (JA) 22.84.

3,200: 1. Ambrosio (SI) 9:45.79; 2. Rogers (SI) 9:59.78; 3. Bish (Lake) 10:07.40; 4. Bizon (Bru) 10:11.81.

4x400: 1. St. Ignatius (Janis, Pelligrino, Norris, Huber) 3:27.60; 2. Brunswick (Strazar, Pallman, Wolf, Fallon) 3:28.02; 3. John F. Kennedy (Diaz, Salters, Ware, Majette) 3:30.71; 4. Lakewood (Malone, Lavelle, Toner, Johnston) 3:31.93. 

High jump: 1. Jones (Nor) 6-4; 2. Brink (Lake) 6-0; 3. Hudson (GH) 5-10; 4. Rozzel (GH) 5-10.

Shot put: 1. Zedella (SE) 58-09.50*; 2. Zak (Bru) 56-08; 3. Crosby (VF) 46-11.50; 4. Indre (Bru) 46-07.50.

* District record

At Mentor (see full game story by freelancer Mike Fitzpatrick)

How they finished: 1. Mentor (130); 2. Mayfield (74); 3. Glenville (66); 4. Madison (58); 5. Chardon (54); 6. Cleveland Heights (53); 7. Euclid (51); 8. Willoughby South (44); 9. Eastlake North (36); 10. Brush (32); 11. Painesville Riverside (22); 12. Maples Heights (16), 13. Shaw (11); 14. Harvey (8); 15. W. Geauga (5).

High jump: 1. Douglass (Shaw) 6-04; 2. Lampert (Mentor) 6-04; 3. Petrecca (Eastlake North) 6-03; 4. Daugherty (Mentor) 6-03;

Pole vault: 1. Hill (Eastlake North) 12-0; 2. Kraft (Willoughby South) 11-06); 3. DallaRiva (Mentor) 11-06;

Long jump: 1. Jefferies (Riverside) 21-07.5; 2. Lee (Cleveland Heights) 21-07.50; 3. Williams (Euclid) 20-08.75;

Shot put: Browley (Mentor) 58-01; 2. Grant (Glenville) 53-09; 3. Hunter (Willougby South) 49-03;

Discus: 1. Armao (Mentor) 151-01; 2. Province (Eastlake North) 147-08; 3. Grant (Glenville) 147-03:

110 hurdles: 1. Cherkes (Madison) 14.93; 2. Dixon (Brush) 15.31; 3. Hunter (Mayfield) 15.47.

100: 1. Isabella (Mayfield) 10.73; 2. Smith (Willoughby South) 11.08; 3. Butler (Cleveland Heights) 11.42;

4x200: 1. Glenville 1:29.91; 2. Mayfield 1:30.19; 3. Euclid 1:31.01;

1,600: 1. Sopchak (Chardon) 4:24.85; 2. Bruno (Mayfield) 4:30.19; 3. Elmore (Mentor) 4:31.86;

4x100: 1. Glenville, 43.36; 2. W. South 43.71; 3. Mayfield 43.90;

400: 1.Tillman (Euclid) 50.48; 2. Walton (Mentor) 49.80; 3. Tankovic (Mentor) 50.45;

300 hurdles: 1. Cherkes (Madison) 39.70; 2. Dixon (Brush) 39.72; 3. White (Cleve. Hts.) 40.39;

800: 1. Hunsinger (Mentor) 2:00.44; 2. Williams (Euclid) 2:01.14; 3. Seaton-Todd (Mentor) 2:01.31;

200: 1. Isabella (Mayfield) 22.24; 2. Spates (Glenville) 22.46; 3. Butler (Cleve. Hts.) 22.51;

3,200: 1. Canala (Mentor) 9:45.44; 2. Polakowsk (Mentor); 3. Metzung (Chardon) 9:50.77;

4x400: 1. Chardon 3:26.46; 2. Mentor 3:27.64; 3. Cleveland Hts 3:28.07.

At Nordonia (see full game story by reporter Tim Bielik)

How they finished: 1. Wadsworth 91; 2. Stow 85; 3. Nordonia 84; 4. Bedford 67; 5. Copley 57; 6. Walsh Jesuit 48; 7. Twinsburg 46.5; 8. Hudson 43.5; 9. Brecksville 35; 9. Firestone 35; 11. Buchtel 32; 12. Shaker Heights 11; 13. Cuyahoga Falls 11; 14. Norton 5.

Shot put: 1. Bergan (Wad) 52-11.75; 2. Seme (Wad) 47-6.5; 3. Woods (Bu) 44-11; 4. Vantrease (St) 44-8.75.

High jump: 1. Lawson (St) 6-4; 2. Collins (Co) 6-2; 3. Henderson (Bu) 6-2; 4. Majid (F) 6-0.

110H: 1. Jar. Davis (Co) 14.66; 2. Brandon (Be) 15.17; 3. Baier (Wad) 15.38; 4. Majid (F) 15.56.

100: 1. Ward (Nord) 10.70; 2. Blamble (Wad) 10.92; 3. Odom (Be) 10.93; 4. Smith (T) 11.13.

4x200: 1. Copley (Knight, Bridges, Jar. Davis, Boles) 1:28.36*; 2. Nordonia 1:29.32; 3. Bedford 1:29.97; 4. Walsh Jesuit 1:32.62.

1,600: 1. Gaynor (H) 4:13.62; 2. McVey (St) 4:19.25; 3. Szalay (Wad) 4:20.47; 4. Korodi (Nord) 4:21.92.

4x100: 1. Bedford (Moss, L. Cloud, Odom, Hunter) 42.92; 2. Copley 43.01; 3. Walsh Jesuit 43.50; 4. Twinsburg 43.66.

400: 1. Banks (Nord) 50.43; 2. C. Strozier (T) 51.06; 3. Bogucki (St) 51.12; 4. J. Strozier (T) 51.78.

300H: 1. Jar. Davis (Co) 38.84; 2. Iannetta (Nord) 39.95; 3. T. Cloud (Be) 40.86; 4. Baier (Wad) 41.73.

800: 1. Murphy (WJ) 1:56.26; 2. Beidler (Wad) 1:56.95; 3. Bauman (St) 1:57.54; 4. Padanilam (WJ) 1:58.54.

200: 1. Odom (Be) 21.75; 2. Blamble (Wad) 21.82; 3. Ward (Nord) 22.33; 4. Knight (Co) 22.35.

3,200: 1. Mau (H) 9:18.07; 2. Moyer (F) 9:32.14; 3. Moore (SH) 9:35.02; 4. Hall (St) 9:40.41.

4x400: 1. Nordonia (Iannetta, Mabin, Wahl, Banks) 3:24.65; 2. Walsh Jesuit 3:24.99; 3. Wadsworth 3:25.40; 4. Twinsburg 3:25.83.

*-District record.

DIVISION I DISTRICT

At North Canton 

How they finished: 1. GlenOak 133; 2. Wooster 80; 3. Canton McKinley 70; 4. Massillon Washington 62; 5. Uniontown Lake 54.50; 6. Coventry 51; 7. Massillon Perry 49.50; 8. Louisville 47; 9. Hoover 44.50; 10. Massillon Jackson 43.50; 11. Green 21; 12. Kenmore 4; 13. Barberton 1. 

Discus: 1. Lawson (MCK) 152-10; 2. Compton (GO) 140-08; 3. Gooch (LOU) 139-04; 4. Labriola (MPER) 137-07.

Shot put: 1. Jackson (W) 52-06.50; 2. Labriola (MPER) 51-00.75; 3. Carrick (MPER) 48-09.25; 4. Young (LOU) 48-04.25.

High jump: 1. Thornton (GO) 6-04.00; 2. Perry (MCK) 6-04.00; 3. Dunham (W) 6-02.00; 4. Sims (MPER) 6-02.00.

Long jump: 1. Jasinski (MWAS) 23-01.50; 2. Glover-Williams (MCK) 22-10.50; 3. Blair (W) 22-01.00; 4. Sims (MPER) 21-00.50.

Pole vault: 1. Peare (H) 16-00.00; 2. Kelley (MPER) 15-04.00; 3. Hallbauer (G) 12-06.00; 4. Pollard (GO) 12-00.00.

4x800: 1. Wooster (Cannon, Green, Niro, White) 8:01.12; 2. Louisville (Ni. Chaplick, No. Chaplick, Tornow, Murray) 8:01.84; 3. GlenOak (Holland, Murphy, Nupp, deVries) 8:03.25; 4. Uniontown Lake (Kernell, Zwick, Delahanty, Noble) 8:03.35.

110H: 1. Hall (GO) 14.17; 2. Peare (H) 14.56; 3. Norwood (MCK) 14.89; 4. Larson (GO) 14.92.

100: 1. Harper (MWAS) 10.84; 2. Martin (Co) 11.23; 3. Myers (UL) 11.32; 4. Blair (W) 11.39.

4x200: 1. Massillon Washington (Koch, Kemp, Jasinski, Harper) 1:29.76; 2. GlenOak (Green, Lewis, Feola, Murray) 1:31.38; 3. Coventry (Jones, Martin, Skaggs, Lake) 1:32.44; 4. Canton McKinley (Norwood, Church, Young, Glover-Williams 1:32.95.

1,600: 1. White (W) 4:19.61; 2. Kernell (UL) 4:22.11; 3. Holland (GO) 4:29.56; 4. Tornow (L) 4:31.18.

4x100: 1. Massillon Washington (Koch, Jasinski, Kemp, Harper) 42.94; 2. GlenOak (Green, Murray, Larson, Hall) 43.52; 3. Canton McKinley (Young, Church, White, Glover-Williams) 44.60; 4. Uniontown Lake (Pinion, Juarez, Leonti, Myers) 44.84.

400: 1. Lake (Co) 50.11; 2. Worley (H) 51.51; 3. Feola (GO) 51.69; 4. Howell (H) 52.05.

300H: 1. Hall (GO) 39.61; 2. Burton (GO) 40.80; 3. Collins (Co) 41.25; 4. Hunter (MCK) 41.34.

800: 1. White (W) 1:56.66; 2. Nupp (GO) 1:58.08; 3. Chaplik (LOU) 1:58.26; 4. Miller (MJAC) 1:58.55.

200: 1. Jasinski (MWAS) 21.93; 2. Harper (MWAS) 22.01; 3. Murray (GO) 22.22; 4. Lake (Co) 22.51.

3,200: 1. Kernell (UL) 9:36.54; 2. Chaplik (LOU) 9:37.43; 3. Delahanty (UL) 9:43.10; 4. Stevenson (MPER) 9:43.70.

4x400: 1. GlenOak (Lewis, Nupp, Feola, Murray) 3:26.26; 2. Coventry (Collins, Jones, Skaggs, Burkhart) 3:30.45; 3. Hoover (Howell, Bazzolli, Hollon, Worley) 3:30.56; 4. Massillon Jackson (Hyde, Mallue, Scott, Boutros) 3:31.08.

DIVISION III

At Independence

How they finished: 1. Trinity 110; 2. Gilmour 105; 3. Maplewood 97; T-4. Berkshire 50, T-4. Cuyahoga Heights 50; 6. Lutheran West 48; 7. Villa Angela-St. Joseph 38; 8. Cardinal 28; 9. Independence 26.5; 10. Richmond Heights 24; 11. Bristol 20.5; 12. Badger 20; 13. Mathews 14; 14. Kirkland 12; T-15. Chalker 8, T-15. Newbury 8.

Discus: 1. Stauffer (VASJ) 148-07; 2. Karr (CHA) 136-05; 3. Kaschalk (BERK) 135-10; 4. Kiriazis (CUYA) 129-07.

Shot put: 1. Kessel (LUTH) 48-00.50; 2. Kaschalk (BERK) 46-04.75; 3. Peters (CAR) 44-08.50; 4. Sudberry (GIL) 44-06.00.

High jump: 1. Francis (TRI) 5-10.00; 2. O’Dell (MAT) 5-06.00; 3. Finley (CUYA) 5-06.00; 4. Novicki (BRI) 5-06.00. 

Long jump: 1. Kelly (TRI) 10-08.50; 2. Hollis (GIL) 20-07.75; 3. Hamilton (RICH) 20-02.00; 4. Caja (TRI) 20-00.00.

Pole vault: 1. Pelfrey (CUYA) 13-00.00; 2. Filippi (TRI) 12-00.00; 3. Armstrong (KIRT) 12-00.00; 4. Hollis (GIL) 11-06.00.

4x800: 1. Maplewood (Sparks, Dahmen, Morrison, Hall) 8:06.58; 2. Independence (Anielski, Calvey, Mathew, Polman) 8:22.98; 3. Gilmour (Bouchek, Driggs, Cheng, Phillips) 8:23.01; 4. Trinity (Giulivo, Mosher, Nozak, Zoeckler) 8:32.01.

110H: 1. Francis (TR) 15.43; 2. Wodzisz (TRI) 15.53; 3. Wicks (CAR) 15.68; 4. Novicki (BRI) 16.23.

100: 1. Henry (GIL) 11.14; 2. Storm (BERK) 11.14; 3. Jones (VASJ) 11.34; 4. Wicks (CAR) 11.47.

4x200: 1. Trinity (Caja, Kelly, Dawson, Wodzisz) 1:31.96; 2. VIlla Angela-St. Joseph (George, Hearn, Dowdley, Jones) 1:34.09; 3. Gilmour (Phillips, Hollis, Pryatel, Henry) 1:34.43; 4. Maplewood (Kellar, Shipman, Ventura, Hall) 1:35.42.

1,600: 1. Sparks (MAP) 4:30.11; 2. Morrison (MAP) 4:33.27; 3. Wallace (MAT) 4:34.67; 4. Temple (NEW) 4:40.61.

4x100: 1. Trinity (Caja, Kelly, Dawson, Wodzisz) 44.49; 2. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Walker-Smith, Hearn, Jones, Dowdley) 45.07; 3. Gilmour (Iveljic, Hollis, Asher, Henry) 45.43; 4. Bristol (Koeth, Sabat, Aliberti, Novicki) 45:46.

400: 1. Knudsen (LUTH) 49.17; 2. Storm (BERK) 50.06; 3. Moore (RICH) 52.36; 4. Shipman (MAP) 52.47.

300H: 1. Wicks (CAR) 40.79; 2. Chiancone (GIL) 41.51; 3. Asher (GIL) 41.90; 4. Francis (TRI) 41.91.

800: 1. Morrison (MAP) 1:57.49; 2. Hall (MAP) 1:57.70; 3. Phillips (GIL) 1:57.87; 4. Bouchek (GIL) 2:01.96.

200: 1. Henry (GIL) 22.87; 2. Knudsen (LUTH) 22.99; 3. Dowdley (VASJ) 23.08; 4. Caja (TRI) 23.91.

3,200: 1. Damen (MAP) 9:35.31; 2. Sparks (MAP) 9:45.36; 3. Polman (IND) 9:47.74; 4. Pelletier (BERK) 9:50.81. 

4x400: 1. Gilmour (Chiancone, Asher, Pryatel, Phillips) 3:29.60; 2. Maplewood (Shipman, Ventura, Hall, Morrison) 3:34.51; 3. Lutheran West (Ross, Madachik, Weber, Knudsen) 3:35.90; 4. Berkshire (Noce, Pelletier, Walker, Storm) 3:37.06.

At Norwayne

How they finished: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas 137; 2. Smithville 107.5; 3. Rootstown 61; 4. Dalton 57; 5. East Canton 55; 6. Loudonville 46; 7. Mogadore 40; 8. Hillsdale 34; 9. Lake Center Christian 32; 10. Oberlin 31; 11. Open Door 30; 12. Mapleton 14.5; 13. Rittman 12; Lake Ridge Academy 2.

110 Hurdles: 1. Sampson (St. Thomas Aquinas) 15.55; 2. Smith (Smithville) 15.74; 3. Jackson (Mogadore) 16.25; 4. Schmidt (Open Door) 16:46.

100M: 1. VanSickle 11:42; 2. George (St. Thomas Aquinas) 11:46; 3. Quickle (Loudonville) 11:65; 4. Zavarelli (Lake Center Christian) 11.66.

4x200: Loudonville (Edmondson, Quickle, Bender, VanSickle) 1:32.19; 2. St. Thomas Aquinas (Howell, George, Conctrucci, Guardendi) 1:32.3; 3. Lake Center Christian (Zavarelli, Kurcewski, Schulz, Scott) 1:32.87; 4. Smithville (N. Smith, Smith, Fath, Shane) 1:33.19.

1600M: 1. Coudriet (Smithville) 4:30.21; 2. Conrad (East Canton) 4:30.22; 3. Perales (Oberlin) 4:30.84; 4. Caniford (St. Thomas Aquinas) 4:30.87.

4x100: 1. Loudonville (Edmondson , Quickle, Bender, VanSickle) 44.65; 2. St. Thomas Aquinas (Grosswiller, Howell, Sommers, George) 44.67; 3. Mogadore (Hoffman, Jones, Dunn, Jackson) 45.28; 4. Dalton (Smith, Hershberger, Fitzwater, Reinhardt) 45.31.

400M: 1. Schulz (Lake Center Christian) 50.33; 2. Guarendi (St. Thomas Aquinas) 50.67; 3. Kaut (Rootstown) 52.67; 4. Kurcewski (Lake Center Christian) 52.98.

300 Hurdles: 1. Smith (Smithville) 41.65; 2. McClaskey (East Canton) 42.51; 3. Zaleski (Open Door) 43.21; 4. Reddick (Rootstown) 43.45.

800M: 1. Clark (Smithville) 2:01.73; 2. Paul (St. Thomas Aquinas) 2:02.38; 3. Richards (St. Thomas Aquinas) 2:03.56; 4. Conrad (East Canton) 2:04.66.

200M: 1. VanSickle (Loudonville) 23.68; 2. George (St. Thomas Aquinas) 23.57; 3. Shane (Smithville) 23.57; 4. Kaut (Rootstown) 23.59.

3,200M: 1. Walsh (St. Thomas Aquinas) 9:48.44; 2. Caniford (St. Thomas Aquinas) 9:49.3; 3. Perales (Oberlin) 9:55.35; 4. Courdriet (Smithville) 10:06.16.

4x400: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Paul, Looby, Laubacher, Guarendi) 3:31.88; 2. Rootstown (Reddick, Begue, Kaut, C.Kaut) 3:32.12; 3. East Canton (McClaskey, Owens, Conrad, McCullough) 3:34.4; 4. Smithville (Smith, Lessiter, Kauffman, Clark) 3:35.35.

At Springfield

How they finished: 1. McDonald 124; 2. Mineral Ridge 64; 3. Warren John F. Kennedy 63; 4. Berlin Center Western Reserve 59; T5. Youngstown Christian 30; T5. New Middletown Springfield 30; T7. South Range 29; T7. Lowellville 29; 9. David Anderson 27; 10. Newton Falls; 11. Columbiana Crestview 25; 12. Brookfield 22; 12. Jackson-Milton 22; 14. Lordstown 20; 15. Youngstown Ursuline 16; 16. Waterloo 15; T17. Leetonia 8; T17. Columbiana 8; 19. Windham 7; 20. Wellsville 5; 21. Sal. Southern 4. 

Local individual qualifier:

400: 1. Forney (Wat) 50.68.

GIRLS TRACK DISTRICTS

Note: Top four individuals advance to Regionals.

DIVISION I

At Amherst (See full game story and slideshow by reporter Scott Patsko)

How they finished: 1. Strongsville 113; 2. Medina 102; 3. Avon 82; 4. Berea-Midpark 72; 5. Amherst 54.50; 6. Rocky River 54; 7. North Royalton 53.50; 8. Westlake 28; 9. Avon Lake 27; T10. North Olmsted 25; T10. Olmsted Falls 25; 12. Elyria 11; 13. North Ridgeville 9; 14. Lorain 4; 15. Midview 1.

Long Jump: 1. Acevedo (Medina) 17-10.25; 2. Sievers (Strongsville) 17-9.25; 3. Wickey (Medina) 17-7.75; 4. Piper (Olmsted Falls) 17-7.75. 

Discus: 1. Wilder (Medina) 139-7; 2. Bilinsky (N. Olmsted) 113-1; 3. Robinson (Strongsville) 108-0; 4. Walker (Avon) 104-6. 

Pole vault: 1. Denk (N. Royalton) 13-1; 2. Stewart (Strongsville) 12-3; 3. Buckholz (Berea-Midpark) 11-0; 4. Marken (Berea-Midpark) 10-6.  

100 hurdles: 1. Acevedo (Medina) 15.23; 2. Green (Strongsville) 15.73; 3. Sharer (Avon) 15.81; 4. Bason (Elyria) 16.06. 

100: 1. Chips (Strongsville) 12.86; 2. Nemeth (Medina) 13.14; 3. Badamo (N. Royalton) 13.23; 4. Fayer (Amherst) 13.25. 

4x200: 1. Strongsville (Pritchard, Sievers, Krellar, Martin) 1:43.46; 2. Avon 1:45.18; 3. Medina 1:45.18; 4. N. Olmsted 1:46.25. 

1600: 1. Scarton (Berea-Midpark) 5:15.92; 2. Laird (Avon) 5:19.19; 3. Parker (Avon) 5:20.04; 4. Wolf (Medina) 5:23.08. 

4x100: 1. Strongsville (Pritchard, Sievers, Chips, Krellar) 48.74; 2. Medina 49.42; 3. Westlake 49.85; 4. Amherst 50.08. 

400: 1. Yasenchack (N. Olmsted) 57.20; 2. Martin (Strongsville) 57.69; 3. Joyce (Avon) 58.17; 4. Deloof (Strongsville) 58.35. 

300 hurdles: 1. Brandt (Rocky River) 45.81; 2. Sharer (Avon) 46.79; 3. Higgins (Berea-Midpark) 46.88; 4. Bauer (Westlake) 47.10. 

800: 1. Szivan (Amherst) 2:12.40; 2. DeVito (Rocky River) 2:16.40; 3. Pack (Medina) 2:17.00; 4. Chojnacki (N. Royalton) 2:17.51. 

200: 1. Krellar (Strongsville) 26.15; 2. Joyce (Avon) 26.52; 3. Justice (Amherst) 26.70; 4. Nordwig (Westlake) 26.88. 

3,200: 1. Cullings (Medina) 11:30.68; 2. Bierut (Rocky River) 11:31.45; 3. Faber (Avon Lake) 11:31.50; 4. Kuzma (N. Royalton) 11:31.50. 

4x400: 1. Amherst (Ballard, Gillam, Szivan, Siegenthaler) 4:00.05; 2. Strongsville 4:00.61; 3. Avon 4:02.00; 4. Olmsted Falls 4:02.10.

At Austintown Fitch

How they finished: 1. Solon 130.5; 2. Warren G. Harding 99; 3. Geneva 95; 4. Austintown Fitch 63.5; 5 Boardman 60; 6. Ravenna 43; 7. Tallmadge 36; 8. Aurora 33.5; 9. Kent Roosevelt 26; 10. Howland 24.5; 11. Kenston 23; 12. Canfield 16; 13. Springfield 5; 14. Ellet 4; 15. Youngstown East 2; 16. Lakeside 1.

4x800: 1. Geneva (Deering, Arndt, Marrison, Aveni) 9:21.74; 2. Solon (Sandridge, Naufo, Erkkila, Wise) 9:37.92; 3. Aurora (O. Grohe, Sesny, Grohe, Adler) 9:42.82; 4. Boardman (Green, Cuevas, O’Hara, R. O’Hara) 9:50.66.

100 Hurdles: 1. Jackson (Warren G. Harding) 14.57; 2. Bercheni (Warren G. Harding) 15.9; 3. Harris (Tallmadge) 16.13; 4. Landers (Boardman) 16.31.

100M: Richardson (Warren G. Harding) 12.31; 2. Stroud (Warren G. Harding) 12.75; 3. McCoy (Solon) 12.84; 4. Mowery (Springfield) 13.04.

4x200: 1. Austintown Fitch (Barbel, Rivera, Cameron, Davis) 1:42.79; 2. Warren G. Harding (Stroud, Morris, Cox, Richardson) 1:44.38; 3. Solon (McCoy, Vason, Butler, Mitchel) 1:45:10; 4. Boardman (Cuevas, O’Hara, Green, Landers) 1:46.56.

1600M: 1. Chinn (Ravena) 5:13.31; 2. Craigo (Howland) 5:13.65; 5:34.76; 3. Erkkila (Solon) 5:14.55; 4. Wise (Solon) 5:16.87.

4x100: 1. Warren G. Harding (Stroud, Jackson, Bercheni, Richardson) 47.53; 2. Austintown Fitch (Davis, Rivera, Barbel, Cameron) 48.75; 3. Solon (Pruitt, McCoy, Vason, Butler) 49.3; 4. Ravenna (Starks, Long, Preston, Robinson) 50.67.

400M: 1. Marrison (Geneva) 59.4; 2. Starks (Ravenna) 59.67; 3. Green (Boardman) 59.68; 4. Grant (Solon) 1:00.46.

300 Hurdles: 1. Jackson (Warren G. Harding) 45.14. 2. Bercheni (Warren G. Harding) 45.38; 3. Wilms (Geneva) 47.41; 4. Landers (Boardman) 47.47.

800M: 1. Aveni (Geneva) 2:10.64; 2. Deering (Geneva) 2:17.39; 3. Dolak (Austintown Fitch) 2:18.81; 4. Spurlock (Kent Roosevelt) 2:21.91.

200M: 1. Richardson (Warren G. Harding) 25.39; 2. Rivera (Austintown Fitch) 25.92; 3. Stroud (Warren G. Harding) 26.36; 4. Davis (Austintown Fitch) 26.42.

3,200M: 1. Wise (Solon) 11:23.26;2. Grohe (Aurora) 11:36.76; 3. Murray (Kent Roosevelt) 11:38.41; 4. Zaitzew (Boardman) 12:00.07.

4x400: 1. Geneva (Deering, Arndt, Marrison, Aveni) 3:52.64; 2. Austintown Fitch (Barbel, Davis, Dolak, Rivera) 3:56.92; 3. Solon (Dobbins, Grant, Hawkins, Nouafo) 4:07.76; 4. Kenston (McDonough, Krause, Alarie, Segro) 4:10.17.

Long Jump: 1. Robinson (Ravenna) 16-06.75; 2. Brown (Warren G. Harding) 15-04; 3. Zehner (Tallmadge) 15-02.75; 4. Marsinek (Kent Roosevelt) 15-02.5.

High Jump: 1. Doherty (Geneva) 5-04; 2. Mims (Aurora) 5-02; 3. Graham (Solon) 5-02; 4. Dunlap (Solon) 5-0.

Shot Put: 1. Sensibaugh (Solon) 37-05.25; 2. White (Boardman) 35-11; 3. Twyman (Boardman) 35-08.75; 4. Wilson (Howland) 33-0.

Discus: 1. Sensibaugh (Solon) 148-05; 2. Wilson (Howland) 114-01; 3. Pressman (Solon) 113-03; 4. White (Boardman) 111-10.

Pole Vault: 1. Thompson (Geneva) 12-00; 2. Zehner (Tallmadge) 10-0; 3. Marrison (Geneva) 9-0; 4. Krause (Kenston) 8-06.

At Brunswick

How they finished: 1. St. Joseph Academy 156; 2. Brunswick 141; 3. Magnificat 100.50 ; 4. Highland 63; 5. Bay 58.50; 6. Revere 38; 7. Normandy 29; T8. Valley Forge 21; T8. Lakewood 21; T10. Parma 10; T10. John Adams 10; 12. Josh Hay 6; 13. Garfield Heights 1.

4x800: 1. Magnificat (Frost, Kramer, Bodnar, Ubbing) 9:30.08; 2. Brunswick (Casmper, Pasadyn, Craddock, Scott) 9:31.11; 3. St. Joseph Academy (Seymour, Pellegrino, Battistoni, Wagner) 9:51.96; 4. Bay (Christel, Crites, Voiers, Cusimano) 10:01.57.

100H: 1. Maslowski (Bru) 15.24; 2. Williams (SJ) 15.69; 3. Bierman (Rev) 15.76; 4. Danesi (Bru) 15.81.

100: 1. Adams (SJ) 12.24; 2. Duale (High) 12.32; 3. Lack (Bru) 12.34; 4. Shropshire (JA) 12.46.

4x200: 1. Highland (Duale, Grantier, Lyon, Hoynes) 1:44.81; 2. St. Joseph Academy (Hahn, Zawie, Stottner, Adams) 1:45.73; 3. Bay (Smith, Scarlato, Barnes, Bechtel) 1:46.20; 4. Brunswick (Wojton, M. Neitzel, A. Neitzel, Gibson) 1:46.34.

1,600: 1. Digiacobbe (High) 5:06.01; 2. Craddock (Bru) 5:06.04; 3. Wagner (SJA) 5:07.12; 4. Seymour (SJA) 5:12.87.

4x100: 1. Brunswick (Lack, Maslowski, Gibson, Neitzel) 49.12; 2. St. Joseph Academy (Hahn, Zawie, Williams, Adams) 49.13; 3. Highland (Duale, Hoynes, Grantier, Lyon) 50.33; 4. Magnificat (Feliciano, Sullivan, Harter, Hepner) 51.62.

400: 1. Bechtel (Bay) 57.14; 2. Pacella (Mag) 59.72; 3. Wesley (Par) 59.87; 4. Scott (Bru) 1:00.04.

300H: 1. Maslowski (Bru) 46.02; 2. Hahn (SJA) 47.24; 3. Bush (Mag) 47.77; 4. Bierman (Rev) 48.12.

800: 1. Ubbing (Mag) 2:19.58; 2. Frost (Mag) 2:23.32; 3. Wagner (SJA) 2:23.74; Lauter (VF) 2:24.98.

200: 1. Bechtel (Bay) 25.36; 2. Lack (Bru) 25.77; 3. Adams (SJA) 25.81; 4. Shropshire (JA) 25.95.

3,200: 1. Pasadyn (Bru) 11:19.36; 2. Craddock (Bru) 11:22.37; 3. Seymour (SJA) 11:39.71; 4. Pasiczynk (Rev) 11:40.31.

4x400: 1. Brunswick (Lack, Craddock, Scott, Neitzel) 4:02.22; 2. Magnificat (Harter, Bodnar, Kramer, Ubbing) 4:04.48; 3. Highland (Zuro, Lyon, Sauer, Hoynes) 4:12.29; 4. St. Joseph Academy (Pellegrino, Wagner, Coreno, Stottner) 4:13.46.

Long jump: 1. Williams (SJA) 18-01.25; 2. Bechtel (Bay) 17-08.50; 3. Roche (SJA) 16-11; 4. Langenfeld (Rev) 16-07.25.

Discus: 1. Morrison (SJA) 127-01; 2. Dotson (Nor) 122-05; 3. Gavin (Nor) 116-01; 4. Schauer (SJA) 114-00.

Pole vault: 1. Danesi (Bru) 10-09; 2. Harden (Bay) 10-06; 3. Toole (Lake) 10-06; 4. Kurtz (Rev) 10-00.

At Mentor (see full game story by freelancer Mike Fitzpatrick)

How they finished: 1.Mentor 140.33; 2. Euclid 58; 3. Madison 57; 4. Chardon 54.5; 5. Lake Catholic 51.5; 6. Brush 51; 7. Mayfield 49; 8. Willoughby South 41.33; 9. Painesville Riverside 37; 10. Cleveland Hts. 31; 11. Harvey 30.33; 12. West Geauga 30; 13. Eastlake North 17;14. Maple Heights 8; 15. Shaw. 2

Discus: 1. Harris (Euclid) 137-11; 2. Sullens (Mentor) 110-03; 3. Volk (Eastlake North) 102-7;

Shot put: 1. Harris (Euclid) 42-09; 2. Dippio (Mayfield) 38-03; 3. Sullens (Mentor) 37-08;

Long jump: 1. Reynolds (Brush) 17-00.75; 2. Brozier (Mentor) 16-08; 3. McGregor (Cleveland Heights) 16-06; High jump: Linn (Mentor) 5-2; 2. Greenhoff (Eastlake North) 5-2; 3. Rembert (Euclid) 5-1;

Pole vault: 1. Marshall (Mentor) 10-06; 2. Beebe (Mentor) 10-0; 3. Mann (Madison) 9-06;

100 hurdles: 1. Muhammad (Mentor) 14.63; 2. Reynolds (Brush) 15.71; 3. Agaja (Cleveland Heights) 16.01;

100: 1. Mason (West G.) 12.23; 2. Sellers (Willoughby South) 12.53; 3. Crawford (Madison) 12.62;

4x200: 1. Mentor 1:42.78; 2. Euclid 1:43.58; 3. Brush 1:44.44;

1,600: 1. Reigle (Madison) 5:12.44; 2. Stansbury (Chardon) 5:15.28; 3. Durisin (Riverside) 5:15.50;

4x100: 1. Euclid 49.45; 2. Willoughby South 49.59; 3. Mayfield 50.16;

400: 1. Bull (Lake Catholic) 57.19; 2. Lane (Mentor) 57.89; 3. Handel (Mayfield) 58.62;

300 hurdles: 1. Muhammad (Mentor) 44.70; 2. Reynolds (Brush) 45.40; 3. Ogrinc (Chardon) 46.40;

800: 1. Banks (Chardon) 2:12.05; 2. Rozic (Mentor) 2:19.80; 3. Meyer (Mentor) 2:20.95;

200: 1. Sellers (Willoughby South) 25.01; 2. Mason (West Geauga) 25.27; 3. Bull (Lake Catholic) 25.94;

3,200: 1. Reigel (Madison) 11:12.41; 2. Magro (Mentor) 11:20.97; 3. Park (Chardon) 11:34.39;

4x400: 1. Mentor 3:59.47; 2. Lake Catholic 4:04.71; 3. Chardon 4:05.53

At Nordonia (see full game story by reporter Tim Bielik)

How they finished: 1. Nordonia 105; 2. Twinsburg 99; 3. Brecksville 80; 4. Walsh Jesuit 75; 5. Stow 69.5; 6. Firestone 47; 7. Hudson 30.5; 8. Shaker Heights 30; 9. Wadsworth 28; 10. Cuyahoga Falls 25; 11. Archbishop Hoban 20; 12. Cloverleaf 19.

Discus: 1. Keenen (T) 119-7; 2. Dunn (T) 116-9; 3. Kidd (H) 115-7; 4. Okeafor (Br) 115-2.

Long jump: 1. J. Perry (F) 17-7.5; 2. Stout (St) 17-0; 3. Smith (AH) 16-9.75; 4. Houser (Br) 16-5.

Pole vault: 1. Coghill (Nord) 11-3; 2. Nowacki (Br) 10-0; 3. Bouscher (T) 9-9; 4. Posk (T) 9-6.

100H: 1. D. Perry (F) 14.79; 2. McMillen (AH) 15.08; 3. Thompson (St) 15.47; 4. Svendsen (Nord) 15.58.

100: 1. Jones (T) 12.21; 2. Shaver (S) 12.25; 3. Foote (T) 12.44; 4. Baker (F) 12.76.

4x200: 1. Firestone (Gisstand, Baker, Hood, D. Perry) 1:41.51; 2. Twinsburg 1:41.69; 3. Nordonia 1:44.94; 4. Stow 1:44.97.

1,600: 1. Palazzo (H) 5:05.55; 2. Gurko (Nord) 5:06.59; 3. Renuart (WJ) 5:09.59; 4. Lovett (T) 5:10.82.

4x100: 1. Twinsburg (McKinley, Foote, Sanborn, Jones) 48.91; 2. Stow 49.77; 3. Bedford 49.95; 4. Copley 50.26.

400: 1. Licht (Nord) 57.40; 2. Banks (Nord) 58.69; 3. Tidmore (Be) 59.68; 4. Krieger (CF) 59.69.

300H: 1. Kozsey (Nord) 44.92; 2. Pryce (St) 45.34; 3. Johnston (CF) 45.84; 4. Player (Co) 46.20.

800: 1. Figler (WJ) 2:13.36; 2. Kotchman (Br) 2:14.01; 3. Mesiano (SH) 2:15.96; 4. Dasher (Nord) 2:16.70.

200: 1. Foote (T) 24.86; 2. Shaver (St) 25.11; 3. McKinley (T) 25.51; 4. Gisstand (F) 25.57.

3,200: 1. Reimers (SH) 11:16.10; 2. Carrier (SH) 11:20.03; 3. Risley (Nord) 11;25.96; 4. Leatherman (Wad) 11:30.59.

4x400: 1. Nordonia (Banks, Licht, Dasher, Svendsen) 3:56.75; 2. Walsh Jesuit 3:58.32; 3. Brecksville 3:58.63; 4. Twinsburg 4:00.88.

DIVISION I DISTRICT

At North Canton 

How they finished: 1. GlenOak 135.50; 2. Massillon Washington 82; 3. Green 72; 4. Uniontown Lake 64; 5. Canton McKinley 60; 6. Wooster 48.50; 7. Massillon Perry 48; 8. Louisville 43; 9. Hoover 36; 10. Canton South 22; 11. Massillon Jackson 21; 12. Coventry 16; 13. Timken 13.

Discus: 1. Trissel (CS) 131-11; 2. Hart (W) 120-09; 3. Mogus (G) 113-05; 4. West (UL) 112-01.

Shot put: 1. West (UL) 39-09.75; 2. Stout (MCK) 36-10.00; 3. Brunner (MCK) 35-01.25; 4. Calhoun (G)34-06.75.

High jump: 1. Mills (GO) 5-04.00; 2. Monroe (MWAS) 5-02.00; 3. Spencer (MWAS) 5-00.00; 4. Snow (UL) 5-00.00.

Long jump: 1. Clark (MWAS) 17-11.00; 2. Walton (W) 17-06.50; 3. A. Strickland (T) 17-06.00; 4. F. Strickland (MPER) 16-09.50.

Pole vault: 1. Bury (GO) 12-03.00; 2. Erikson (G) 12-03.00; 3. Jenkins (G) 10-00.00; 4. Weeks (W) 9-06.00.

4x800: 1. GlenOak (H. Werren, Smith, Thompson, G. Werren) 9:43.45; 2. Massillon Perry (Wilson, Hufstetler, Echelberry, Bartolone) 10:03.33; 3. Wooster (Cannon, Nacci, Fash, McKeown) 10:04.35; 4. Hoover (M. Kile, L. Kile, C. Rownd, E. Rownd) 10:13.59.

110H: 1. Spencer (MWAS) 15.56; 2. Guist (LOU) 16.01; 3. Bury (GO) 16.03; 4. Kramer (G) 16.11.

100: 1. Turley (MWAS) 12.27; 2. Wightman (Co) 12.35; 3. Hart (UL) 12.59; 4. Fisher (H) 12.69.

4x200: 1. GlenOak (Hendricks, Hunter, Mills, Smith) 1:43.61; 2. Massillon Washington (Robinson, Lightfoot, McElroy, Lowery) 1:45.85; 3. Louisville (Beaver, Miller, Shearer, Kring) 1:48.13; 4. Canton McKinley (Mitchell, Mayle, Hall, Ming) 1:48.47.

1,600: 1. Thomas (G) 5:12.87; 2. Thompson (GO) 5:19.36; 3. H. Werren 5:20.16; 4. Taylor (MJAC) 5:20.39.

4x100: 1. Massillon Washington (Lowery, Gray, Lightfoot, Turley) 50.00; 2. GlenOak (Lever, Hunter, Lewis, Hendricks) 50.26; 3. Uniontown Lake (Ash, Snow, Meffert, Hart) 51.44; 4. Massillon Jackson (Goraya, Bi. Oliver, Br. Oliver, Campbell) 51.51.

400: 1. Smith (GO) 57.88; 2. Strickland (MPER) 59.54; 3. Pantoja (MCK) 59.66; 4. Miller (LOU) 1:00.96.

300H: 1. Mills (GO) 45.78; 2. Kring (LOU) 47.58; 3. Clark (MWAS) 48.14; 4. Jones (T) 48.54.

800: 1. G. Werren (GO) 2:23.28; 2. Dutton (UL) 2:24.07; 3. Wilson (MPER) 2:24.48 4. Cannon (W) 2:25.34.

200: 1. Turley (MWAS) 24.99; 2. Wightman (Co) 25.03; 3. Strickland (MPER) 26.16; 4. Hendricks (GO) 26.49.

3,200: 1. Thomas (G) 11:28.49; 2. Thompson (GO) 11:42.12; 3. Bartolone (11:44.75; 4. Fash (W) 11:59.14.

4x400: 1. GlenOak (Werren, Hendricks, Mills, Smith) 4:03.45; 2. Canton McKinley (Hall, Meredith, Curtis, Pantoja) 4:09.87; 3. Uniontown Lake (Carneal, Dutton, Hart, Meffert) 4:12.48; 4. Wooster (Ezeji, Walton, Cannon, Sleek) 4:12.62.

DIVISION III

At Independence 

How they finished: 1. Gilmour 154.5; 2. Berkshire 74; 3. Trinity 69; 4. Badger 55; 5 Cuyahoga Heights 49; 6. Maplewood 48; 7. Villa Angela-St. Joseph 39; 8. Black River 33; 9. Cardinal 29; 10. Warrensville Heights 28; 11. Our Lady of the Elms 17; T-12. Bristol 15, T-12. Cornerstone Christian 15; 14. Lutheran East 9; 15. Richmond Heights 6; T-16. Fairport Harding 5; T-16. Chalker 5; 18. Mathews 4; 19. Newbury 3.5.

Discus: 1. Young (TRI) 147-10; 2. Johnson (BERK) 122-00; 3. Yoder (MAP) 119-08; 4. Pop (MAP) 114-03. 

Shot put: 1. Young (TRI) 44-08.75; 2. Falconer (OLE) 35-06.00; 3. Johnson (BERK) 34-10.75; 4. Elwood (MAP) 34-07.00.

High jump: 1. Francis (TRI) 4-10.00; 2. Petrick (CUYA) 4-10.00; 3. Evan (MAP) 4-08.00; 4. Miller (GIL) 4-08.00.

Long jump: 1. Zedar (GIL) 16-10.00; 2. Smith (BR) 16-02.75; 3. Potratz (GIL) 15-05.50; 4. Skertic (BAD) 15-05.25.

Pole vault: 1. Attewell (CUYA) 10-01.00; 2. Zedar (GIL) 9-00.00; 3. Smith (BR) 8-06.00; 4. Urban (FAIR) 7-06.00.

4x800: 1. Gilmour (Greene, Markel, Hlifka, Whetstone) 9:37.72; 2. Berkshire (M. Koziol, Luther, S. Koziol, Dornback) 9:56.18; 3. Maplewood (Watkins, Crouch, Penn, Wakefield) 10:43.13; 4. Trinity (Falcione, Foley, Ibos, Greathouse) 10:49.93.

110H: 1. Karlovic (MAP) 16.27; 2. Miller (BAD) 16.43; 3. Larrison (BAD) 17.07; 4. Ross CAR) 17.23.

100: 1. Cannata (GIL) 12.74; 2. Byers (VASJ) 12.90; 3. Hayes (TRI) 12.90; 4. Elba (WARR) 13.14.

4x200: 1. Gilmour (Miller, Zedar, Davis, Cannata) 1:49.59; 2. Trinity (Campbell, Cortes, Hayes, Francis) 1:50.39; 3. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Walker, Zamora, Byers, Beuck) 1:52.30; 4. Bristol (Kurtz, Tingler, Michael, Goodridge) 1:52.63.

1,600: 1. Markel (GIL) 5:13.52; 2. Triskett (CUYA) 5:29.30; 3. Greene (GIL) 5:35.53; 4. Heath (BR) 5:36.49.

4x100: 1. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Pullem, Walker, Parker, Byers) 52.38; 2. Gilmour (Miller, Potratz, Zedar, Cannata) 62.63; 3. Trinity (Campbell, Francis, Cortes, Hayes) 52.89; 4. Badger (Skertic, Miller, Wilson, Kramar) 53.46.

400: 1. West (CC) 1:00.37; 2. Beuck (VASJ) 1:01.15; 3. Davis (GIL) 1:01.73; 4. Greathouse (TRI) 1:03.02.

300H: 1. S. Koziol (BERK) 47.50; 2. Jones (WARR) 47.94; 3. Larrison (BAD) 49.16; 4. Ross (CAR) 50.21.

800: 1. Hlifka (GIL) 2:18.28; 2. Dornback (BERK) 2:19.76; 3. M. Koziol (BERK) 2:21.70; 4. Whetstone (GIL) 2:22.09.

200: 1. Cannata (GIL) 26.41; 2. Jones (WARR) 26.83; 3. Thomas (GIL) 27.19; 4. West (CC) 27.56.

3,200: 1. Markel (GIL) 11:16.86; 2. Luther (BERK) 11:47.97; 3. Crouch (MAP) 12:12.07; 4. Zedar (GIL) 12:12.92.

4x400: 1. Gilmour (Davis, Greene, Whetstone, Hlifka) 4:08.78; 2. Berkshire (M. Koziol, Pennypacker, S. Koziol, Dornback) 4:15.08; 3. Trinity (Campbell, A. Francis, Greathouse, M. Francis) 4:17.45; 4. Cardinal (Lucarelli, Ross, Kruse, Lechene) 4:18.49.

At Norwayne

How they finished: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas 118.5; 2. Norwayne 99; 3. Rootstown 69.5; 4. Rittman 65; 5. Canton Central Catholic; 6. Smithville 47.5; 7. Dalton 38; 8. Mogadore 28.5; 9. Mapleton 23; Waynedale 23; 11. Loudonville 21.5; 12. Oberlin 17; 13. Hillsdale 14.5; 14. Lake Ridge Academy 12; 15. Heritage Christian 10; 16. East Canton 7; 17. Lake Center Christian 6.

100 Hurdles: 1. McDermott (Rittman) 15.42; 2. Schmidt (Norwayne) 16.24; 3. Grimes (Norwayne) 16.39; 4. Pattie (Rootstown) 16.44.

100M: 1. Wertz (Norwayne) 13.1; 2. Williams (Lake Ridge Academy) 13.21; 3. Jones (Mogadore) 13.23; 4. Rednour (Oberlin) 13.47.

4x200: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Kac. Soehnlen, Kal. Soehnlen, Hoffman, Adams) 1:45.46; 2. Norwayne (Hilty, Graham, Stahl, Wertz) 1:47.54; 3. Rootstown (Whitacre, Kemp, Vair, Brown) 1:48.02; 4. Rittman (Beery, McDermott, Martin, Gasser) 1:48.64.

1600M: 1. Welsh (St. Thomas Aquinas) 4:58.76; 2. Reolfi (Canton Central Catholic) 5:09.46; 3. Miller (Canton Central Catholic) 5:19.31; 4. McDermott (Rittman) 5:25.37.

4x100: 1.St. Thomas Aquinas (Dempsey, Hoffman, Forchione, Adams) 50.39; 2. Rootstown (Whitacre, Kemp, Vair, Brown) 50.79; 3. Rittman (Koenig, Gasser, Beery, McDermott) 51.07; 4. Dalton (Geiser, Knopp, Zaleski, Carathers) 51.32.

400M: 1.Poorman (Smithville) 59.37; 2. Grimes (Heritage Christian) 1:00.35; 3. Stump (Canton Central Catholic) 1:02.17; 4. Powley (Norwayne) 1:02.2.

300 Hurdles: 1. McDermott (Rittman) 46.93; 2. Hilty (Norwayne) 47.7; 3. Doane (Oberlin) 48.81; 4. Schmidt (Norwayne) 49.23.

800M: 1.K. Soehnlen (St. Thomas Aquinas) 2:13.53; 2. M. Soehnlen (Canton Central Catholic) 2:19.2; 3. McDermott (Rittman) 2:24.47; 4. Paul (Canton Central Catholic) 2:25.13.

200M: 1. Adams (St. Thomas Aquinas) 26.48; 2. Poorman (Smithville) 26.6; 3. Jones (Mogadore) 27.09; 4. Carathers (Dalton) 27.14.

3,200M: 1.Welsh (St. Thomas Aquinas) 11:27.68; 2. Reolfi (Canton Central Catholic) 11:32.96; 3. Miller (Canton Central Catholic) 11:38.83; 4. Housley (12:36.94.

4x400: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Kac. Soehnlen, Vinci, Kal. Soehnlen, Pusateri) 4:04.78; 2. Norwayne (Hilty, Schmidt, Powley, Wertz) 4:08.27; 3. Dalton (Knopp, Carathers, Zaleski, Kutz) 4:11.95; 4. Smithville (Poorman, Gerber, Miller, Winans) 4:12.91.

At Springfield

How they finished: 1. McDonald 103.50; 2. New Middletown Springfield 82.14; 3. Berlin Center Western Reserve 70; 4. Columbiana Crestview 64.50; 5. Columbiana 53; 6. East Palestine 50.14; 7. Youngstown Christian 34; 8. Lowellville 27; 9. Warren John F. Kennedy 26; 10. Mineral Ridge 25.14; 11. Jackson-Milton 22.14; 12. Leetonia 20.14; 13. Campbell Memorial 16; 14. Wellsville 11.14; 15. Brookfield 6.14; 16. Heartland Christian 5; 17. David Anderson 4; 18. Lordstown 2; 19, Windham 1.

No local individuals advanced to regionals.

The Cavs are 6-1 on the road this postseason.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James amassed 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 94-82, Friday night at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Cavs center/forward Tristan Thompson had seven points and 16 rebounds.

The Cavs lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final, 2-0. Game 3 is Sunday at The Q.

Here is a capsule look at the game after a DVR review of the TNT telecast:

Quite the paradox: The more banged up the Cavs are, the better they play.

They entered the series without one of their Big Three, Kevin Love, who was injured in round one against Boston and is done for the season.

They played Game 1 against the Hawks with another of their Big Three, Kyrie Irving, dealing with multiple leg injuries. In the run-up to the opener, Irving was hopeful for decent health, but those hopes were dashed during the game when the left knee barked again. Even though Irving logged just 27 minutes, scored 10 and struggled to defend, the Cavs prevailed, 97-89.

Irving desperately wanted to suit up for Game 2, but the knee wouldn't allow it. So the Cavs were without Love and Irving -- and still dominated. (Don't be fooled by the final margin; the Cavs relaxed in the fourth and were outscored, 16-10.)

The Hawks went 60-22 in the regular season and earned the conference's top seed. They were 35-6 at home in the regular season and had gone 5-1 at home in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Yet the Cavs beat them twice in three days at Philips Arena, the second time without Love and Irving. Let it marinate.

Locked in: The Cavs have won five straight at the most opportune time. They trailed the Bulls in the conference semifinals, 2-1, before winning three in a row.

Comforts of road: The Cavs improved to 6-1 on the road in the playoffs. They went 2-0 in Boston and 2-1 in Chicago.

King on fire: The Cavs lead the conference final, 2-0, simply because they have LeBron and the Hawks don't.

Everything else is window dressing.

No revelation here: If the LBJ portion of the Big Three ever goes down, the Cavs are toast.

LeBron continued his fantastic postseason with the near-triple double in 39 minutes. He notched his 53rd career postseason game of 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.

LeBron shot 10-of-22 from the field, but it could have been at least 10-of-19 if the referees had called fouls that were fouls. 

LeBron's stat lines, as superb as they are, don't come close to measuring the breadth of his contributions, especially in the playoffs. King is the ultimate intangible: When  he is on the court, or even on the bench, his teammates -- regardless of their names -- feel as though they can beat anybody, then play like it.

How else to explain, as one shining example, Cleveland's undrafted second-year backup point guard, Matthew Dellavedova?

Give Delly his due: In Game 6 against the Bulls, Dellevedova took over for the injured Irving and outplayed much-celebrated point guard Derrick Rose. The Cavs eliminated the Bulls with a 94-73 victory at United Center.

In Game 1 against the Hawks, Delly was 0-for-6 from the field and scored zero but played sold defense and posted a +10 in 25 minutes.

On Friday, Delly started and played 37 minutes. He scored 11 -- albeit on 4-of-13 shooting -- and had six rebounds, four assists and one steal. He was a +9.

Delly's first field goal of the series was a 6-foot jump-hook over Hawks backup point guard Dennis Schroder with 10:25 left in the second quarter. The Cavs ran an isolation on the left side for Delly, who backed Schroder into the paint. Schroder flopped; the referees had none of it.

Think about that: The Cavs ran an isolation for Matthew Dellavedova in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final, and the result was a successful jump-hook.

More important than the points or any other offensive stat, Delly played a role in bothering Jeff Teague, Atlanta's All-Star point guard. Teague had 12 points (on 5-of-16 shooting) and six assists in 31 minutes. When Teague is off his game, the Hawks are going to be in trouble.

One Teague vs. Delly encounter stood out:

With 6:48 left in the third quarter, Teague stole the ball from Cavs center Timofey Mozgov at the top of the key. Teague dribbled uncontested to the other end and only needed to beat Dellavedova in the restricted area -- but failed to do so. Dellavedova provided enough resistance that Teague adjusted his layup and front-rimmed it. Dellavedova rebounded and passed to LeBron, who eventually fed Mozgov for a slam and 68-56 lead with 6:31 remaining.    

Delly has become the Cavs' version of Daniel "Rudy'' Ruettiger, the undersized Notre Dame scout-team football player in the 1970s who later was the subject of a popular movie bearing his nickname. Rudy and Delly are best known for being relentless, the figurative piece of corn that gets stuck between the teeth -- impossible to get rid of. 

Getting defensive: After LeBron, the reason the Cavs lead the series, 2-0, is their defense. It has been particularly stingy in third quarters.

In Game 1, they held the Hawks to 16 points and turned a halftime tie, 51-51, into a 74-67 advantage. In Game 2, they held the Hawks to 17 points and turned a 54-49 halftime lead into 84-66.

The Cavs, no matter who is on the floor, have stayed true to team defensive concepts for the majority of minutes in both games. They have covered for each other and communicated well -- especially on the perimeter -- and gotten back quickly after missed shots.

The Hawks like to run, and they like to shoot 3-pointers. In the first two games, the Cavs have helped hold them to single-digit fastbreak points each time (nine, eight) and a combined 10-of-49 from 3-point range.

The Hawks' biggest problem in the series has been that their trademark passing and cutting have dissolved into one-on-one and isolation -- a type of basketball that doesn't suit their personnel. The Cavs have had plenty to do with taking them out of their comfort zone.

The gift that keeps on giving: In Game 1, Cleveland's second-leading scorer was  reserve guard J.R. Smith. He shot 8-of-12 from 3-point range and had 28 points in 36 minutes. He posted a +8.

In Game 2, Cleveland's second-leading scorer was starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert. He shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 16 in 34 minutes. He posted a +27.

Cavs General Manager David Griffin acquired Smith and Shumpert from Phil Jackson's New York Knicks in January. Cavs Nation can't thank Zen Master enough.

The Indians have won four straight and six of eight.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Brandon Moss homered and doubled, Jason Kipnis had three hits and Carlos Carrasco gave up two runs in six innings as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3, Friday night at Progressive Field.

Here is a capsule look at the game after a DVR review of the Fox SportsTime Ohio telecast:

Francona's Fun Bunch: Manager Terry Francona's Indians (18-23) have won four straight and six of eight.

During the winning streak, they have outscored the opposition, 19-9.

Reeling: The Reds (18-23) have lost six in a row.

Progress at Progressive: The Tribe is 7-12 at home but has won three of five.

Five for the money: Cleveland's rotation of right-handers Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Shaun Marcum, Danny Salazar and Carrasco was outstanding in its most recent turn. Each pitcher crafted a quality start, with a combined line of:

35 IP, 22 H, 6 ER, 9 BB, 40 K (4-0).

Cookie Express: Carrasco allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven. He threw 70 of 110 pitches for strikes.

Cincinnati's runs against him scored on Billy Hamilton's grounder in the second and Todd Frazier's two-out double in the third. Tribe left fielder David Murphy narrowly missed making the catch against Frazier.

Carrasco put on a show in the sixth.

• Struck out No. 3 batter Joey Votto looking at a full-count fastball (93 mph) on the outside corner at the knees. The at-bat lasted 10 pitches.
• Struck out Frazier swinging at a 1-2 fastball (93) on the outside corner.
• Struck out Marlon Byrd swinging at an 0-2 split-changeup (87). 

Too much complaining: Players from both sides wondered about plate umpire Manny Gonzalez's outside corner(s), but members of the Reds chirped the most. Votto (1-for-4, 3 K) was the most vociferous.

Gonzalez remained calm and didn't eject anyone.

Moss is Boss: Moss went 2-for-4 with a walk. The lefty hit a solo homer to right off right-hander Mike Leake in the third and a two-run double to right off Leake in the fourth. The latter pushed the Tribe's lead to 5-2.

The homer came on the first pitch, the double on the second.

Moss is batting .233 but slugging .459 this season. He has nine doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI.

Dirtbag does his thing: Leadoff batter Kipnis was 3-for-4 with one walk, two RBI and two runs.

He ambushed Leake, hitting his first pitch of the game into center for a single. 

Kipnis is batting .463 (38-for-82) with 23 runs in May.

Full-service player: Tribe catcher Roberto Perez's fingerprints were all over the victory.

1. As usual, he called an excellent game for his starting pitcher. He made sure Carrasco kept the Reds guessing.
2. As usual, he received and framed pitches seamlessly. Those attributes continue to assist the Tribe's staff.
3. He erased two runners (Jay Bruce, Zack Cozart) attempting to steal second. In order to cut down Cozart, Perez needed to pick an off-speed pitch off the dirt.
4. He went 1-for-2 with one triple, two walks and one run. The triple was the first of his MLB career. 

On the bulky shoulders of LeBron James, the Cavs raced out to an early advantage and never looked back, crushing the Hawks, 94-82, and taking a commanding 2-0 series lead.

ATLANTA -- About an hour before tipoff of Game 2 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, I rode the media elevator with TNT Analysts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

I walked out and asked Barkley which team he thought would win Friday's game. As opinionated as anybody in the business, he responded without hesitation.

"I like the Cavs tonight," he said.

I was a bit surprised considering the absence of Cavs starting point guard Kyrie Irving and desperation the Hawks were most likely to play with in an attempt to split the series before heading to Cleveland.

Well, score another one for Barkley. On the bulky shoulders of LeBron James, the Cavs raced out to an early advantage and never looked back, crushing the Hawks, 94-82, and taking a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Here are five observations:

No answer -- After two games, one thing is abundantly clear: Atlanta has no answer for Tristan Thompson.

Opposing coaches have called him a beast and monster and the Hawks have become his latest prey.

For the second game in a row, Thompson outclassed Paul Millsap, Atlanta's versatile All-Star forward, edging him in points (7-4) and rebounds (16-5). Hours after the game, a one-time confident Millsap walked through the bowels of Philips Arena looking dejected -- perhaps even defeated because of the Hawks' inability to finish defensive possessions with a rebound.

"Well, it's part of the game plan, obviously, and we've been doing a great job rebounding at both ends honestly," Cavs head coach David Blatt said. "Also, the spacing on the floor for us has been pretty good, and we're able to attack the glass intelligently because offensive rebounding is a weapon at a number of different levels."

Thompson led the charge once again, pulling in a team-high 16, including five on the offensive end, all of which led to points.

"Offensive rebounding is part of our game," James said after a brilliant all-around performance. "Three-point shooting is part of our game as well. We had 11 offensive rebounds and converted 13 second-chance points. That's all part of our DNA. When we do that we're very successful."

In this series, Thompson is averaging 13.0 boards and the Cavaliers have outrebounded Atlanta, 96-76.

The only two losses of the postseason have come when Cleveland has been outrebounded and it's hard to see a way the Hawks swing that advantage back with Thompson's relentless pursuit.

Slowing down -- The dominance on the glass has led to another problem for Atlanta, a team that wants to get out and push the pace. With so many bodies attempting to crash the glass, the Hawks can't get out in transition. 

After scoring nine fast break points during Wednesday's loss, the Hawks had just eight Friday. In the regular season, the Hawks ranked 13th in the NBA, but that weapon has been taken away. Forced to bring the ball up the court slowly and allow Cavs defenders to beat them to the other end, the Hawks have consistently operated against the Cavs' stingy halfcourt defense with little success.

Changing identity -- Remember the team that went through the entire month of January without a loss, the team that used sharp ball movement to surgically slice up defenses?

It's vanished in the last six quarters.

As the pressure has ramped up, Atlanta has abandoned its identity, the core principles that helped capture the top seed in the East.

"I think we just got to get back to playing unselfish basketball," DeMarre Carroll said after gutting through a knee injury. "I think sometimes we get down and everybody's trying to take over, one-on-one. But at the end of the day, we know we're not moving the ball like we should. We know we didn't play a great game. We know we didn't play a team game. It's just something we've got to get better at. We're down 0-2. It's not the end of the world. We're still confident. We feel we can go to Cleveland and win. We did it in the regular season. We've just got to have positive energy, and get back on the practice floor and get back in the film room and figure it out."

The Hawks were second in the NBA in assists, averaging 25.7 per game. One game after recording 19, they had just 15 on 33 made shots.

"I did feel like the ball was sticking," Al Horford said after a 12-point night. "Credit to them and their defense. We got away a little bit there from playing Hawks basketball. Then you have to give them credit."

While the Hawks have lost their way, the Cavs have made a shift of their own, but in a positive direction. Knowing some of the offense will be missing without Kevin Love and Irving, the Cavs have changed their approach, focusing more on the defensive end.

"We've gotten smarter and ramped up our communication to a level that at times I didn't know we could get to," James admitted. "Flying around and helping one another in a time of need. It starts with this guy (Shumpert). He will be on the all-defensive team in this league really soon. I love the defensive side and having a guy like (Matthew) Dellavedova. He takes the challenge. We understand that ultimately if we want to win long term we have to defend. The ball don't go into the rim all the time and you have to be able to get stops."

The numbers bear it out and James is well aware.

"We're the number one defensive team in the postseason for a reason," he said. "Obviously, they're a great offensive team we're playing against. You can't stop them, just make it tough on them. Keep a body on a guy like (Kyle) Korver, who can break open a game by himself. That's all we can do. They're going to make shots. We saw that tonight, they still made shots. Just try to make it tough on them is all we can ask."

Shumpert once again drew the assignment on Korver, who tops the Cavs' scouting report. The lethal outside shooter scored 12 points in the first half, but was shut out in the second before leaving with an ankle injury.

"I try to approach each game same way," Shumpert said. "Easy way to get myself going is take the best player on other team out of the game. When we get steals and long rebounds and get out in transition, it makes it easy and I get my offensive game going. Keep defensive pressure up and I have to pick my spots."

While it's not just a one-man thing, the Cavaliers' defensive improvement has coincided with Love's absence. It's led to an increase in minutes for Thompson, a much more reliable defender. In the four games against Boston with Love, the Cavs allowed 94.7 points per game. In the eight since his season-ending shoulder injury, the number has dropped to 89.

Bombs away -- The Hawks had a choice to make. With Carroll, the team's defensive ace, hobbled because of a knee injury that nearly prevented him from playing, they could try to let him guard James one-on-one and limit the opportunities for his talented teammates. Or they could help, send different players at him and take their chances with the other players having to knock down looks.

It started with a straight-up approach, which quickly changed after James exploded for 13 points in the first quarter. That shift ultimately led to the Hawks' demise.

"That's how the game presented itself," James said. "When I'm attacking I see guys open when they bring two defenders, I see guys open. I have confidence in my teammates to make shots and make plays. Just need to catch and shoot or make a play. I was able to be aggressive and get to the rim and there were times when they brought two or three guys and I was able to find my guys."

Sending double-teams at James left open shooters as the four-time MVP dished out a team-high 11 assists, eight of which led to three-pointers on a night the Cavs canned 12.

"A lot of the time you find yourself open and a lot of guys cheating and you only got to tell this guy one time that somebody is sinking in too much and he'll find you," Shumpert said. "Him snapping that ball at you. There's energy in that ball when you get it. If he keeps driving it he keeps everybody coming at him and frees you up."

Cleveland was 12-of-30 from distance, outscoring Atlanta by 18 points for the second straight game.

"I think we've got to individually keep our man in front of us, especially myself," Carroll said. "They've got great three-point shooters. But at the end of the day, defense has to figure it out. That's Coach Bud's job and I think he will be ready."

Perhaps he will, but the three-pointer has been Cleveland's biggest postseason weapon. Shumpert led the way with four, but James and Dellavedova each buried a pair, Smith hit one and James Jones stroked three.

"The other night, neither Shump nor James (Jones) nor (Matthew Dellavedova) shot it real well," Blatt said. "But J.R. shot the lights out. What I said before about being a team means that the next night, it's somebody else. As a matter of fact, I think we talked about that two nights ago, the fact that JR's not going to make eight threes every game. Nobody does. So other guys picked it up."

On Wednesday night, Smith's three-point assault demoralized the Hawks. The same happened during Game 2 thanks to a collective effort and a poor decision.

"They got going," Horford said. "They were making shots. They were making timely threes on the break. I think that kind of broke us."

The Cavs have made 44 more triples than their opponents in the 12 postseason games.

Head of the snake -- All-Star point guard Jeff Teague was a load early on Wednesday night, using dribble penetration to get into the teeth of the defense and create shots for himself and teammates.

Attacking a hobbled Irving for much of the night, Teague finished with 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting, the only reason the Hawks had a chance late.

Only one of those made shots, however, came while being defended by Dellavedova, who held Teague to 1-of-5 from the field that night.

The pesky defender picked up right where he left off, keeping Teague uncomfortable and holding him to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting in 31 miserable minutes. Teague missed open threes, layups and floaters, unable to find his rhythm against an aggressive Dellavedova.

Teague's three-point struggles also continued. He was 2-of-6 from beyond the arc and is now 3-of-12 (25 percent) in the series, which is nine points below his season average. The engine of Atlanta's offensive machine, if he can't shake loose from the Delly stranglehold the Hawks won't play another game inside Philips Arena.

LeBron James' greatness is vast and presents itself in many forms -- as was the case in Cleveland's commanding Game 2 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

ATLANTA - DeMarre Carroll only has one healthy knee, but he wasn't about to miss the chance to "play against one of the best players in the world."

He simply couldn't let the experience of playing against LeBron James in the Eastern Conference finals pass him by.

Iman Shumpert shot just 1-of-7 in the previous game. But on Friday night he caught four electric passes from James and stroked in three-pointers because, well, "there's energy in that ball when you get it," Shumpert said.

Cavaliers coach David Blatt is a Princeton graduate who's fluent in several languages. But after Cleveland's 94-82 win over the Hawks in Game 2, which gave the Cavs a commanding 2-0 lead in the conference finals, even Blatt was at a loss to fully describe James' greatness.

"I've got a good vocabulary, but I'm sort of running out of superlatives for that guy," Blatt said.

Welcome to the club.

James' 30 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists gave him 53 playoff games with at least 30 points, five boards, and five assists - now the most in NBA history by two games over Michael Jordan.

LeBron James shot 10-of-22 from the field in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.NBA.com 

He, meaning James, tied Jerry West for fourth in league history with 74 postseason games of at least 30 points, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (75), Kobe Bryant (88), and Jordan (109).

James, in his fifth consecutive conference finals and trying to reach his fifth straight NBA Finals, went up on an opponent in a playoff series two games to none for the 15^th time in his career. He's 14-for-14 in those series.

James' greatness cannot simply be measured by his own statistics, but also by his teammates' numbers and the circumstances under which he performs.

Of the four starters who took the court Friday night alongside James - two were not on the team when the season began and none started for the Cavs when James made his heralded return debut with Cleveland back on Oct. 30.

The Cavs' Big Three has been decimated by injury, only James remains. Kevin Love is gone for the year. Kyrie Irving was out for Game 2 - who knows when or if his ailing left knee will allow him to play to his All-Star level?

And yet there was James, rifling passes to Matthew Dellavedova, and James Jones, and Shumpert for three-pointers. On the road, against the Eastern Conference's best team from the regular season.

The conference's best team was indeed inside Philips Arena Friday night. Per usual, it was the team led by James.

"I have a gift, and that's why I'm able to keep defenses off guard because, you know, they say, OK, we're going to make him score or make him pass," James said. "They really can't make me do what I don't want to do. I play the game the right way. And whatever that moment, that presents itself, I try to do what's best for our team at that very moment."

James made a habit of turning in games like this during the regular season, driving into the lane and zipping passes to wide-open teammates on the perimeter. His 7.4 assists per game were the second-most of his 12-year career.

It was perhaps more noteworthy Friday night because those passes were going to Dellavedova (11 points in Game 2, 0-for-6 shooting in Game 1), James Jones (nine points in Game 2, 0-for-3 in Game 1) and Shumpert (16 points in Game 2). Not Irving, Love, and J.R. Smith (28 points on eight threes in Game 1).

What made James' performance so unique is that he didn't start out trying to distribute the ball. In the first quarter, he wasn't filling in for Irving as the Cavs' primary ball-handler. He was, as he's been since Love went out nine games ago, attacking from the wing and in the post.

Carroll somehow pushed his way onto the court for the start of Game 2 after his nasty fall and sprained knee suffered in the fourth quarter Wednesday. James, knowing Carroll was hobbling, scored seven quick points against him and backed Carroll's much smaller replacement - Kent Bazemore - into the paint for a bucket.

"He's a physical player and he's a smart player," Carroll said. "He knew I was injured so he came at me full force. I would've done the same if he was injured."

James scored 13 points with no assists in the first quarter. He registered nine assists over the next two periods, eight of them were on three-pointers.

James completely changed his approach. Rather than attacking until he reached the rim, he'd drive just enough to attract the Hawks to him before passing off.

"That's how the game presented itself," James said. "When I was attacking, I was seeing guys open. When they were bringing two to me, I was seeing guys open.

"That's my job - to put energy behind that ball when I'm finding them."

As Blatt tried to explain James' in-game wizardry as a passer, he said James "sees things ahead of time." He talked about how James so often throws passes to teammates where it is easiest for them to catch it and shoot in rhythm.

"But probably more than anything else, it's the fact that he's willing to pass the ball and he believes in his teammates," Blatt said. "They feel that, they sense that, and that makes them more efficient and effective shooters."

Can you compare a catcher in baseball to a center in football? If you're talking about the effect injuries to catcher Yan Gomes and center Alex Mack had on the Indians and Browns, respectively, the answer is yes.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Do you have a question that you'd like to have answered in Hey, Hoynsie? Submit it here.

Hey, Hoynsie: I have begun to wonder if there are comparisons between the Browns' struggles after losing center Alex Mack last season to a broken leg and the Indians' struggles after losing catcher Yan Gomes to a knee injury in April. Is that a fair comparison? - Tom Goodsite, Gulfport, Miss.

Hey, Tom: I think that's more than a fair comparison. Gomes might have been a bigger loss because he's a two-way player, contributing as a key part to the defense by handling the pitching staff and also being a middle-of-the-order, right-handed hitter on offense.

Gomes is set to rejoin the Indians on Sunday against the Reds. His return has been eagerly anticipated by his teammates.

Hey, Hoynsie: How long will the Indians stay with Lonnie Chisenhall at third base? What other options do they have? Could Jason Kipnis play there eventually? - Richard Yentch, Montrose, Calif.

Hey, Richard: It was interesting that manager Terry Francona started Mike Aviles at third base in four straight games against Chicago's four left-handed starters earlier this week even though Chisenhall had a better batting average against lefties than Aviles.

Francona has already taken Michael Bourn out of the leadoff spot and cut his playing time so Aviles could be in for more playing time at third. But if Aviles becomes the regular third baseman, Francona would lose a valuable utility man and it would probably stop him from carrying an extra reliever or two at different times of the season.

Third baseman Giovanny Urshela is in the pipeline, but he injured his back in spring training and hasn't been able to stay in the lineup at Class AAA Columbus. He was just activated from the DL on Thursday. I imagine Kipnis could play third, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Hey Hoynsie: I have read on a few different sites that the Brewers may be open to moving Carlos Gomez. He would seem to be a perfect fit for the Indians: impact right-handed bat, great defense and affordable. Any chance the Tribe is kicking the tires? -- Patrick Kenney, North Tonawanda, N.Y.

Hey, Patrick: The Indians are already trying to figure out what to do with one veteran center fielder in Michael Bourn. Now you want them to bring in Gomez?

I doubt Milwaukee would take Bourn in return so they'd have to move another outfielder or two to make room for him. Gomez, 29, is making $8 million this year and $9 million next year. He missed a good chunk of April with a right hamstring injury and his stolen bases are down. Hamstring injuries and a decline in steals. Sound familiar?

Unless the Indians can get back in the race, to me, a guy like Gomez doesn't make a lot of sense. I know it would be a short-term move, but they've got center fielders in the pipeline in Tyler Naquin, Clint Frazier and Brad Zimmer.

Hey, Hoynsie: Recently there has been mention about the Indians losing the first game of so many series. That seemed to be a problem last year as well. What was the Indians record in the first game of series last year? -- Larry Gainer, St. Marys, W. Va.

Hey, Larry: Last year the Indians were 24-28 in the first game of a series. This year, headed into Friday's series opener against Cincinnati, they were 3-10. 

Hey, Hoynsie: The recent 18-strikeout performance by Corey Kluber proved that the problem isn't Corey Kluber. He's now 1-5 with a 3.79 ERA. With a little help from his teammates he could be 6-0. Don't you think it's time for the Tribe brass to bring in some guys who can hit? -- Richard Snyder, Minerva.

Hey, Richard: Kluber is coming off two great starts in which he's allowed one run in 17 innings with 30 strikeouts. Yes, there have been some games where the offense hasn't supported him. He's also had some starts where he's been knocked around by the opposition.

Before Kluber's last two starts, he had a 5.04 ERA. The offense had nothing to do with that.

Admittedly the Indians' offense was hard to watch in April. In May, however, they've scored the third most runs in the AL and have the fourth highest batting average. So what's troubling them isn't just offense.

It's been a long time since a starting pitcher's worth was tied strictly to his won-loss record. A lot of other metrics are used to determine his value. Kluber still comes out fine in that regard, but as Bob Feller said a long time ago the fate of a starting pitcher doesn't always depend on how he pitches, but when he pitches.  

The Browns will begin 10 organized team activities practices on Tuesday, with one practice each week being open to the media. There are plenty of issues heading in, including how will the post-rehab Johnny Manziel look and will Duke Johnson win the starting running back job?

See how the newspapers presented the Cleveland Cavaliers taking a 2-0 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2.

Cover of Plain Dealer playoffs section off Game 2.PD 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - From majestic to the brink, check out two pages of the metropolitan newspapers that are covering the NBA Eastern Conference finals, The Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

At right is The Plain Dealer's front page of its "Conference Finals" section, a four-page recap, that appeared in Saturday's edition.

Click each newspaper image to see a larger picture.

Clearly, each newspaper had a drastically different story to tell their hometown readers after the Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead on the road, defeating the Hawks, 94-82 on Friday.

The Cavaliers now head home with a chance to wrap up the best-of-7 conference finals series in Cleveland with Game 3 on Sunday night and Game 4 on Tuesday.

To see all the latest news from the series by writers at the Northeast Ohio Media Group and Plain Dealer, head over to the Cavs page on cleveland.com.

Cover of Atlanta Journal-Constitution playoffs section off Game 2.AJC 

Check out the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's presentation of its Game 2 Eastern Conference finals content from Friday night in its "Hawks Extra" section at bottom right.

To read the AJC's stories from Game 2, visit its Hawks main webpage.

Also check out the two newspapers' playoffs section covers following Game 1.

Through the last turn in the rotation, the five Tribe hurlers have combined to post a 1.54 ERA in 35 innings, with nine walks, 40 strikeouts and 22 hits allowed.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians' victory on Friday pushed their record on Fridays to 4-3. Cleveland is 6-1 on Wednesdays. The club has a losing mark on each of the other five days.

Unfortunately for the Tribe, Wednesdays only roll around once a week. Fortunately for the Tribe, the aforementioned statistics mean nothing.

Here are five thoughts on the Tribe that hold slightly more merit.

1. Mound mastery: Starting pitching has spurred the Indians' four-game winning streak. Through the last turn in the rotation, the five Tribe hurlers have combined to post a 1.54 ERA in 35 innings, with nine walks, 40 strikeouts and 22 hits allowed.

"It's been pretty unbelievable," said right fielder Brandon Moss. "It takes a lot of pressure off of the offense. They've gone out and done an unbelievable job. I don't really know what else to say other than that. They're going out there, giving us innings, giving us quality innings and keeping us in the ballgame."

2. Pouring it on: The Indians loaded the bases with one out in the second innings. Thanks to a trio of walks by Reds righty Mike Leake and some timely hitting, the Tribe had already plated a pair of runs. They grasped a 2-1 lead and seemed primed to add on, but Carlos Santana grounded into a fielder's choice and Michael Brantley bounced into a force out to end the inning. Often, it seems, the Indians will whiff on such a promising opportunity and then, after the final pitch of the affair, kick themselves for not capitalizing when they had the chance.

That wasn't the case on Friday. Moss greeted Leake with a solo blast to right on the first pitch of the following frame. Moss tacked on a two-run double an inning later. The Tribe scored twice more in the seventh.

"We got right back after them and gave ourselves more opportunities," said manager Terry Francona. "Again, we want to be perfect always with runners in scoring position -- everybody does -- but when you're not, the next best thing is, 'OK, let's come back the next inning or the inning after that and try it again.'"

3. Love at first sight: Leake was reeling entering the third inning on Friday. He issued three free passes in the second, including one to Michael Bourn with the bases loaded. Moss approached the plate to begin the third. He knew Leake would want to establish his command. So, he socked a 90-mph heater that Leake tried to sneak down the middle.

"I'm looking for a pitch middle-middle," Moss said. "I'm kind of in-between with whether I swing at first pitches or not. After I've seen a guy once and I'm leading off an inning, it's not always the best thing in certain situations, but he was struggling with his command, so you know he was going to try to get strike one. I felt like, if he grooves you a pitch, don't take it, don't just let it go. Especially not with the way he manipulates the ball. He can make it sink, cut it, has a changeup. He gets ahead of you and he can become a really tough at-bat."

4. Cold corner: Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was the only Tribe hitter not to reach base via a walk or a hit on Friday. He went 0-for-5 with an error and is now batting .132 over his last 11 games, with five hits in 38 at-bats. He has not drawn a walk during that stretch, either. Chisenhall has compiled a .215/.252/.354 slash line this season. He has drawn six strikeouts and has struck out 20 times.

Chisenhall didn't start any of the games in Chicago, as the White Sox trotted out a southpaw to the mound to begin each contest.

5. May flowers: Jason Kipnis recorded his 12th multi-hit game of the month on Friday, with three singles. He also drew a walk. In May, Kipnis has logged a .463 batting average, a .546 on-base percentage and a .731 slugging percentage. He has scored 23 runs in 20 games.

Listen to our postgame podcast as Dan Labbe looks back on Game 2 and ahead to Game 3.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's back to Cleveland and the Cavaliers are bringing a 2-0 series lead with them. They beat the Hawks, 94-82, on Friday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the game, I talked all things Cavaliers, including the performance of LeBron James, Tristan Thompson getting a truckload of money this summer and even a heart-to-heart with Matthew Dellavedova. Other topics included:

• Putting pieces around LeBron James.
• Kyrie Irving's status going forward.
• The Golden State Warriors.
• Three stars of the game.

Looking to subscribe to our podcasts? We're coming soon to iTunes, but until then, find our RSS feed here. Users of Apple products can go to iTunes and in the Podcasts section, click on File >> Subscribe to Podcast and enter the URL of the RSS feed into the pop-up box.

You can listen to our live postgame show immediately following every game this postseason.

Listen to the podcast in the player above or download it by clicking here.

LeBron James shares the podium with another teammate, a sign of how deep the Cavaliers are.

ATLANTA - On any given night, you never know who will share the stage with The King.

That prestigious spot at the postgame podium has to be earned. In order to reach that destination one has to leave his imprint on the game. And for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the chair adjacent to LeBron James has been occupied by a diverse group of teammates.

This postseason as of late, James has shared the podium with five of his teammates. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have all had their moments sitting side by side with James.

It illustrates how multifaceted the Cavaliers are in conquering victories in a multitude of ways. On Friday night it was Shumpert after his 16 points and four three-pointers helped give the Cavaliers a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

James has never had an issue with sharing, and this is no different.

"It's next man up," he said. "Guys are just taking the challenge. It means everything to me to be able to share this podium with multiple teammates. On any given night Delly and Shump and J.R. and Ky and Tristan [can be here]. It could be James Jones next. It could be anybody."

On Wednesday following the Game 1 road win, Smith shared the spotlight with James after exposing the Hawks' defense by way of eight three-pointers, setting a franchise record.

James began that particular game in foul trouble and Smith kept the team afloat. He nailed some tough, contested threes that took the life right out of Philips Arena. That's how he made his way to the stage.

"It means a lot [to be up there]," Smith said to NEOMG. "We're starting to get more credit for being as deep as we are, which is great. We have a lot of versatility depending on what we need. Guys step up for us."

In the Game 6 closeout game of the Chicago Bulls, Dellavedova and Thompson received the nod. Delly scored a postseason-high of 19 points off the bench and Thompson secured a monster double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds to go with two blocks.

James struggled mightily that game, registering only 15 points on 7-of-23 from the field. Without their contributions, the Cavaliers would have presumably coughed up that game.

"I think that is a sign of a good team," Dellavedova told NEOMG. "Every night someone is stepping up. That's what we need to continue to win in the playoffs."

"You never know who night it is going to be," Thompson said to NEOMG. "I think that's what makes our team really good is that guys are able to step up and bring something to the table every night. You know Kyrie and LeBron are going to do their thing, but it's the next guys that are up that need to bring that extra energy."

So far Timofey Mozgov is the only starter to not have his number called for postgame table duty. He has been playing some consistent ball. It's only a matter of time. He said it "would feel good" to be invited, but he understands how the game works.

"I get your job. If you don't score or rebound, nobody is going to talk to you," Mozgov said sarcastically to NEOMG while laughing. "When you score 20 and get 15 rebounds, they [speak to you]. I see."

Having center stage, the national platform, the notoriety the podium provides is an incredible experience for players. Aside from breaking down the game, the podium can aid in revealing the personal side of a player and can serve as tool to bringing out one's personality.

Also on occasions, it's a site where you may be fortunate enough to meet some of their adorable children. It's a special moment, one that not many experience. But in the grand scheme of things, it's meaningless.

"I mean, I couldn't care less about a podium," Dellavedova said with a deadpan expression on his face. "All that matters to me and the guys in this locker room is winning the game. We're happy for each other when each other do well."

Thompson echoed those sentiments.

"We just talk about trying to get that win," Thompson said. "It doesn't matter who is on the podium. It could be our P.R. staff, as long as we get that win."

In Game 2 the Cavaliers were without two of their regular-season starters and still went into a hostile environment and absolutely shut the place down. It was an eerie feeling. The place was inaudible. It took a total team effort to accomplish that feat. It took players elevating their games.

Who's next? That's the beauty of it. No one knows. That's what makes this Cavalier squad so dangerous. No matter the storm, they weather it flawlessly. They haven't allowed injuries to decide the outcome of the game. They haven't made excuses. They just produce.

The rotating of players at podium doesn't look like it's going to cease anytime soon. The Cavaliers are determined to find the best avenue of winning basketball games. The route to victory may changes from game to game, but the ultimate goal remains the same: leave with the W and the podium selection will take care of itself.

"I can be under the podium, if we win the game, I'm happy," the comedic Mozgov said. "It would feel good [to be up there], but as long as we win the game, I'm OK."

Will Power and the dominating Chevrolets will overpower the Indianapolis 500, but look for Graham Rahal in his Honda to make it interesting.

INDIANAPOLIS -- I tried real hard to justify Graham Rahal winning Sunday's Indianapolis 500. But Will Power is the man in the the 33-car field.

Unless Honda comes up with an Indy surprise under the hood -- and Rahal is racing a Honda -- Chevrolet engines are going to dominate the race as they have dominated the season to date, and Power is behind the wheel of one of them.

Indeed, all the favorites outside of Rahal, who is the hottest driver on the circuit with back-to-back second place finishes, have bow ties under the hood.

Helio Castroneves is the fan favorite with a Chevy. Pole-sitter Scott Dixon is a favorite with a Chevy. Hardly anybody has said a word about Tony Kanaan, but he's fast with a Chevy. Rahal has raced aggressively and well, yet over 500 miles around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway he will need a lot of help from his team and from Honda to take the checkers.

So the man is Power, 34, and he has a Chevy.

The native of Toowoomba, Australia will start second on the grid, and by all accounts has full intention of taking the green flag lead. The 99th Indy 500 will be Power's eighth Indy start, seven of them in the first two rows, with three Top 10 finishes including a best of fifth in 2009.

Power has been consistently fast all month, including a win in the last race, the Indianapolis Grand Prix. While Power has never won at Indy, he made it clear his focus is the checkered flag. "I love milk," he said in reference to the traditional Indy winner's drink.

Castroneves, a three-time Indy winner, is certainly the fan favorite. And, his second-place finish last season shows, even after 14 Indy 500 starts, he can still race up front. But this has been an uneven month for Castroneves as his well-publicized practice crash indicates.

Castroneves qualified well (fifth), but not on the front row, and at the last Indy 500 practice he was only a pedestrian 10th on the speed chart. His win in the pit stop contest was invigorating. But was it enough to trigger win No. 4 at Indy?

Dixon is a former winner as well. And frankly, his 12-race career to date at Indy, and his performance throughout this month, screams loudly he will win again, and soon. Dixon now has eight starts in the first two rows and eight Top 10 finishes at Indy. He has led at Indy in every race but three. Combined with Dixon's pole for this race, it seems like the stars are aligned. But when is the last time a clear favorite actually did it at Indy?

Kanaan is the true wild card as another former Indy winner (2013). He will start inside the second row, has been clean and fast all month, and posted a third-best last-practice speed of 228.490 mph.

All of which makes Rahal and his Honda look like a tortoise chasing hares. Still, it would not be the first time fate and good fortune shined on an unsuspected Indy 500 winner.

"I go into Sunday not thinking I have a great race car,'' Rahal said. "But I think I have a good one. I started 29th in 2011 and finished third. Anything can happen here."

It says here, that is going to happen for Will Power when the race begins, noon Sunday.

What: 99th Indianapolis 500

When: Sunday, 12:05 p.m.

TV: ABC (WEWS Ch. 5), Sunday, coverage begins 11 a.m.

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Track: Oval, 2.5-mile super speedway.

Weather forecast:  80 degrees, afternoon rain. The 200-lap race becomes official after the first 100 laps are completed.

Defending winner: Ryan Hunter-Reay.

On the pole: Scott Dixon (226.760 mph).

Six Cavs players have shared the interview room podium with LeBron James in the playoffs. That's twice the number of the Big Three.

ATLANTA -- The Cavaliers' season was billed as the Big Three. As such, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love would be a team within a team.

Basketball royalty was on one side of the team picture, led by the NBA's most famous player, James, who has borne the nickname of "King" since high school.

The rest of the players weren't middle class, not when they are pulling down NBA salaries. But they were more like all the King's men, trying to put a broken franchise back together again.

When the playoffs began, so did the attrition. At first it was integral reduction, as the Big Three became a Big Two after Kevin Love's season was viciously ended by the shoulder dislocation Boston's Kelly Olynyk inflicted.

Then it was fractional, as the Big Two became the Big 1 1/2. Injuries hampered Kyrie Irving at the most important time in a season in which he made third team All-NBA and finally lived up to his great potential.

Friday night, it became the Big One. James was the last superstar standing after tendinitis in Irving' left knee kept him fastened to the bench.

The great irony now is that the Cavs have coalesced fully as a team as their roster has been reduced. After the old branches were pruned, new growth flourished.

"Next man up," James said Friday after the Cavs took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 94-82 domination of the Atlanta Hawks. "Guys are just taking the challenge.

"It means everything to me to be able to share this podium with multiple teammates every given night," James said. "Delly (Matthew Dellavedova), Shump (Iman Shumpert), J.R. (Smith), Kyrie (Irving), Tristan (Thompson.) It could be James Jones next. It could be anybody."

For a few minutes, it was even "The Matrix," Shawn Marion, on Friday.

Who expected this kind of chemistry? To the Hawks, it must seem like alchemy, the centuries old, impossible dream of turning lead into gold.

Few would dub the players whose names James called Friday night, from Dellavedova to Jones, a "Big Six." (Christy Mathewson had the nickname first, anyway.) Among them, only Irving was part of the Big Three. But the others are playing bigger than anyone thought they could.

All but Thompson can shoot threes, as they wait patiently in the wings until a double-teamed James gives them their cue. Thompson garners offensive rebounds and ensures extra possessions in which to hit the threes. All but Jones are defenders who do not concede an inch.

When James returned to the Cavs, announcing his move in a heart-felt letter to Northeast Ohio in Sports Illustrated, commentators quickly speculated about what a championship would mean, not only for the long-suffering fans, but for James' "legacy."

Somehow, the legacy question has not mattered that much. That is a discussion for the future. What matters is staying in the moment and seizing it.

Remarkably, for all the words written about James, he has made the subtext of the playoffs all about the team. Despite the spotlight that always finds him, he has illuminated the surprising riches in the depths of the roster.

When he had to emphasize himself in volume shooting, his distaste was evident. It was winning ugly. It was not the way James likes to play basketball.

Coach David Blatt openly said, "He has to be aggressive to the point of fault." It was solo basketball, 30 shots to score 29 points, even if the 30^th was for the two points that won the crucial fourth game against the Bulls.

James hated it.

"I'm accustomed to team basketball. I learned as youngster how important a pass is and giving your teammates confidence," James said.

A man who four years declared he would take his "talents" elsewhere, James said Friday, "I have a gift. That's why I'm able to keep defenses off guard. (Opponents) say we're going make him score or make him pass. They really can't make me do what I don't want to do. I go out and I play the game the right way."

The old saying is that, from those to whom much is given, much is expected. Highlights were guaranteed. Wins were expected. A championship was a citywide hope in Cleveland.

The player with the gift, however, gave Cleveland a present too. It was of his maturity, wisdom, and nurturing, and they have made all the difference.

The Browns have added two real players to the offensive line, but the return game is still an issue.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In the first round of the NFL Draft, Browns General Manager Ray Farmer took Cameron Erving at No. 19. Erving is capable of playing anywhere on the offensive line. He has a chance to win the starting right tackle job from Mitchell Schwartz.

Or he could be the right guard, making John Greco the top substitute on the offensive line.

At the very least, there should be no repeat of the Browns using three different centers trying to replace injured center Alex Mack -- as happened last season.

Farmer also believes tackle/guard Michael Bowie could be a major factor.

Here's what ESPN's Terry Blount wrote when Bowie was cut during the 2014 training camp by Seattle:

"Bowie started eight games (in 2013) as a rookie, forced to step in when right tackle Breno Giacomini was injured. It was a bit of a baptism by fire for Bowie, taking his lumps against some of the best defensive ends in the NFL.

"But Giacomini signed with the New York Jets and Bowie was expected to compete with rookie Justin Britt for the starting job at right tackle. That didn't happen. Bowie wasn't in shape and reinjured his shoulder on the first day of camp. The Seahawks signed veteran tackle Eric Winston last week, who came in ready to play, in great shape and able to show what he could do immediately. That meant the end for Bowie."

The Browns picked up Bowie, who spent all of 2014 recovering from his shoulder injury.

In 2014, the same Seahawks decided not to sign Paul McQuistan. The Browns signed him to a one-year deal. He started one game at guard when Greco moved to center for the injured Mack. McQuistan played only 121 snaps.

The Browns had four linemen who played all 1,078 snaps: Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio, Schwartz and Greco.

But when Mack was injured, they couldn't find another lineman to do at least an acceptable job. They went through Ryan Seymour, Nick McDonald and McQuistan.

McQuistan started 40 games for Seattle between 2011-13, but it's obvious the Seahawks thought the veteran was done -- and that's why they let him go. They were right.

Bowie is different because he's only 23. The question is if he will stay in shape and realize the opportunity to revive his career.

The Browns also believe practice squad player Vinston Painter has potential.

So the addition of Erving (a prime prospect), Bowie (who started eight games for Seattle) and Painter will bolster the line -- along with the return of a healthy of Mack. Remember at the end of season, Mack has the option to become a free agent. Schwartz also will be a free agent. So the Browns need depth for 2016.

ABOUT TRAVIS BENJAMIN

Special teams coach Chris Tabor certainly knows how to deliver a vote of confidence. Asked about the Browns dismal punt return situation in 2014 -- and the struggles of Travis Benjamin -- Tabor said: "I expect him to be great."

If this press conference had occurred before the 2014 season, then it would be easier to take Tabor's comments seriously. In 2013, Benjamin had an 11.7 punt return average, including one for a touchdown. In 2012, he had only three chances to return punts -- and ran one back for a 93-yard touchdown.

Yes, Benjamin had "great" moments.

But not last year.

His 8.5 average return was respectable. But he became timid, often letting punts sail over his head or bounce in front of him -- not even wanting to risk a fair catch. The Browns pulled him in favor of veteran safety Jim Leonard, who basically was a fair-catch machine.

Benjamin also had a hard time judging those punts in the cold Lake Erie winds of Browns Stadium.

The Browns ranked No. 28 in punt returns.

Tabor believes Benjamin coming back from ACL knee surgery (October, 2013) was a factor. The man they call "Rabbit" wasn't fully healthy but had a few good games as a receiver. Tabor also suggested that Benjamin being more a part of the passing game may have negatively impacted his punt returns.

Benjamin caught 189 passes for a 17.4 yards per catch average. He played only 36 percent of the snaps, so I'm not buying that reasoning.

Tabor believes the 25-year-old Benjamin can have a bounce-back season, which is possible.

OTHER OPTIONS

Tabor mentioned rookie running back Duke Johnson, who was also an elite kick returner at Miami. He averaged 33.0 yards and ran two for touchdowns in 27 attempts. Johnson never returned punts. Tabor thinks he can so Johnson is an intriguing option.

I've wondered about Justin Gilbert as a punt returner, but Tabor simply said, "He's a kick returner. Some people think he's a punt returner. He is not a punt returner. He is a kick returner."

Last year, the Browns didn't allow Gilbert to return anything. At Oklahoma State, he returned eight punts in 2010 for a 6.9 average -- not much to be excited about.

As a kick returner, Gilbert ran back six for touchdowns and had a 26.3 average in 102 attempts.

ABOUT THE BROWNS:

1. I understand the fascination with Johnny Manziel making his first appearance with the veterans when mini-camp opens Tuesday. The media can watch practice. Remember, no one is tackled. It's mostly guys in helmets and shorts playing the NFL's version of flag football. Unless Manziel looks totally overwhelmed, it's hard to tell much of anything at this time of year.

2. The good news is Manziel appears to have done everything the Browns would want in terms of his off-season rehabilitation program. The coaches are raving about his attitude. But it will take months to figure out where Manziel is as a player in the NFL. That won't become clear until training camp in the summer and the preseason games.

3. It will be interesting to see how veteran receiver Dwayne Bowe looks. Does he still have some speed to get away from defensive backs? The Browns believe so. The Chiefs seemed to think Bowe was close to being finished as a football player.

4. Watching Duke Johnson run the ball and catch passes out of the backfield should be fun. The Browns definitely need a running back who can help in the passing game. Last year, Browns backs combined for only 29 receptions: Terrance West (11), Isaiah Crowell (9), Ben Tate (9). Fullback Ray Agnew caught three passes. Johnson had 38 catches for Miami last season, including three for touchdowns.

5. I'm not very worried that top pick Danny Shelton will miss the first mandatory mini-camp. The academic All-American is finishing up his anthropology degree at Washington. He's smart. He will be able to catch up when it comes to learning the different defensive schemes.

6. I heard good things about how Connor Shaw played in rookie camp. I've always thought Thad Lewis could be a capable backup. Both of those guys could push Manziel to be the top backup behind Josh McCown. But if Manziel looks good, the job will be his. You can be sure the Browns would love it if Manziel really knows the new playbook and can run the offense with confidence.

7. I expect Armonty Bryant to easily make the switch from defensive end to outside linebacker with the goal of rushing the passer. That adjustment begins now. Bryant had ACL knee surgery last October. Does he still have the speed that made the 2013 seventh-round pick so attractive to the coaches last season? He has 3.0 sacks in 17 pro games.