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David Kahn of Minnesota Timberwolves says comments suggesting a rigged NBA draft lottery were meant as joke

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GM says Cavs winning lottery instead of Wolves was fate, backing off on his earlier quotes that the league "has a habit" of "producing some pretty incredible story lines."

david-kahn.jpgMinnesota GM David Kahn at the NBA draft lottery.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn says his comments about the NBA draft lottery were intended as a joke, simply fate that Cleveland Cavaliers got the first pick and not Minnesota.

After the Cavaliers beat out the Wolves for the top spot Tuesday, Kahn said with a smirk that the league "has a habit" of "producing some pretty incredible story lines."

Cleveland sent owner Dan Gilbert's 14-year-old son for good luck and got exactly that in the annual pingpong ball pop-up. Minnesota has never secured the first pick in 14 entries in the lottery.

Kahn said in a statement from the team Wednesday that he doesn't believe in "jinxes, curses or hocus pocus" and that he doesn't think the Wolves were wronged.

 

More coverage:

An earlier AP report, on cleveland.com, and with video, on Kahn's comments. 

A Starting Blocks poll on Kahn's comments and the draft lottery.

 


NFL lockout 2011: Players insist they will remain unified despite setbacks, frustration

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They don't expect division in the ranks as potential increases for lengthy work stoppage.

Cinesport video

 





For more Cinesport video on cleveland.com, go here.



mike-vrabel5.jpgKansas City Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, a Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High School graduate, says players muct continue to prepare for a season despite the lockout.

NEW YORK, New York -- After a key victory in court by NFL owners, the players say they aren't panicking. Unity remains their motto.


How long they can remain unified is the question being asked just about everywhere else.


"I don't see that as an issue at all," Jets fullback Tony Richardson said. "We have kept saying throughout this process that the players are stronger than ever. That hasn't changed.


"As disappointing as this process is, we've got to go through this on both sides to get to an agreement."


Richardson and Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty were surrounded by dozens of fans as the players were honored Tuesday night at the United Way's Gridiron Gala. Talk centered on their charity work — each was selected a 2011 Hometown Hero for their efforts in the community — and not on the labor impasse now in its third month. Everyone concentrated on the $2 million the dinner raised, not on the $9 billion the owners and players can't figure out how to split.


Naturally, Richardson and Canty were aware that a 2-1 decision Monday by an 8th Circuit Court appeals panel to maintain the lockout until the league's full appeal is heard beginning June 3 is a huge win for the owners.


The wording in that ruling by the majority strongly favored the NFL's argument. The judges indicated they find a great deal of merit in the NFL's claim that lifting the lockout without a new contract with the players would cause chaos and be harmful to the sport.


When asked if a crack in the players' solidarity could result from the likelihood the lockout will last long enough to disrupt the beginning of training camps, Canty said to expect the opposite.


"DeMaurice Smith and the trade association have done a great job of keeping us unified and we'll stay that way," Canty said. "Ultimately, you have to be patient, hold your position and trust the people on your side to get this worked out. We have the leadership to handle the business side of it and we're sticking together, no doubt."


Ah, but there are doubts, the seeds of which have been planted by the league's first significant court victory since the lockout began March 12.


"I think this decision says the NFL really controls the game board here," said Robert Boland, professor of sports management at New York University's Tisch Center. "It is a big turn of fortune because the NFL controls the timing, they can control the clock. This allows the owners to put greater pressure on the players. If the injunction had gone into effect, it would have put the players in control of the game of leverage."


The players still believe they can prove in court that the lockout is illegal. In the meantime — and we're probably talking a month or more before the St. Louis court makes its decision — eyes will focus on how unified the players remain.


Mike Vrabel, like Richardson a member's of the NFLPA's executive committee before it dissolved in March, stresses the need for his peers to go about their business. The players must be prepared to go back to work at any time.


"I certainly understand that the closer you get to training camp and the dates as players we're used to reporting for training camp and playing preseason games and playing regular-season games, this thing becomes a lot more real for everybody involved," the Chiefs linebacker said. "The players aren't out there doing the work they'd normally be doing — they're doing it on their own and they're taking a lot of risk. I think that people appreciate the fact that guys are still preparing for a season."


Boland says the players are in "uncharted territory."


"The players don't have a lot of options now," he added. "Certainly there is enough litigation remaining and they could win. They could have a game changer from their case in front of the NLRB, but there's no indication when a decision might come there.


"So their best bet is keep negotiating."


Others will argue that the latest victory for the owners is not a fumble recovery deep in the players' territory. But after several wins for them — and with another expected soon from Judge David Doty on what to do with TV money promised to the league even if no games are played — Monday was a hard hit for the NFLPA.


"The law is on the players' side if they can survive," said agent/attorney Ralph Cindrich, who has been through every labor dispute between players and owners dating to the 1970s and the NFLPA's infancy. "This is not a game changer for the owners, but it is a serious gain. The TV revenue (decision) in Judge Doty's courtroom is critical now."


If Doty awards the players the $707 million in damages they are seeking, as well as making the rest of the estimated $4 billion from the networks unavailable to the NFL, it would be a setback for the owners. But they could argue that because the NFLPA decertified as a union when CBA talks collapsed in March, it is not entitled to those damages.


Regardless, the spotlight will be on the courts, not the fields, for quite some time.


"Essentially the NFL does want and need to play, but there's really no incentive from a financial and technical perspective to rush that," Boland said. "They can allow the players to come back to them."


Might the players' resolve begin to fracture? NFLPA spokesman George Atallah adamantly doubts it.


"I don't see that," he said. "At the end of the day, it's unfortunate to say it, it's been our responsibility as an association and for the players to prepare themselves for the possibility of missing games, and that's what a lockout is intended to do. You have to prepare yourself, so the reality is that every player ... across the league, they've had the obligation, and we've had the obligation as an association to prepare them for that possible outcome, that unfortunate outcome."


 

Captains Blog - Hoping to get in some games between all the rain

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Former Strongsville High product Anthony Gallas has had a productive spring for the Lake County Captains, despite all the rain.

lavisky-gallas-caps-dugout-to.jpgAlex Lavisky (left) and Anthony Gallas are two former local high school baseball players now blogging about their experiences with the Lake County Captains.

Anthony Gallas of Strongsville High School and Kent State and Alex Lavisky of St. Edward are farmhands in the Indians organization, both currently playing for the Lake County Captains. They will share their thoughts on their season in an occasional blog.

Gallas, 23, was named the Indians Minor League Player of the Week on Monday after hitting .450 (9-for-20) with 5 runs scored, 3 doubles, a homer and 3 RBI in 6 games for the Captains. Last week, he was named the Midwest League Player of the Week and on the year he’s hitting .356 (42-118) with 24 runs scored, 16 doubles, 4 HR and 13 RBI in 31 games.

Gallas filed this update before the Captains defeated Fort Wayne on Wednesday:

Hey we’re on a long home stand out here in Eastlake. Technically I should say a stretch of off days because of this fabulous NE Ohio weather. We’ve had 3 games in a row get rained out. I can’t believe this weather this year, it seriously is the worst I have ever seen for the spring.

So far in May we haven’t played up to our potential and we’re trying to get back on track. Hopefully we will get on the field the next few days and get some rhythm going into Dayton.

It’s always great to play the Dayton Dragons. They have an impressive scoreboard, big league facilities and a sold out crowd every night.

Horse Racing Insider: Zoldan tags Animal Kingdom, Indians as surprises of year

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Youngstown's Bruce Zoldan rates Animal Kingdom and the Cleveland Indians as the sports surprises of the year in northeast Ohio.

 

Bruce Zoldan Animal Kingdom.jpgBruce Zoldan

 Bruce Zoldan rates Animal Kingdom and the Cleveland Indians as the sports surprises of the year in northeast Ohio.

 "They're both exciting the people around here with their success, and everyone hopes the wins keep coming," said Zoldan.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom is the early favorite in the 137th edition of the Preakness at Pimlico. Zoldan, of Youngstown, was excited this week about his horse's chances in the $1 million race. 

"This ride has been so much fun," said Zoldan, a major partner of Barry Irwin's Team Valor International syndicate that owns Animal Kingdom. "The last two weeks have been the most enjoyable I've ever experienced. I wish I could respond to all the emails from friends and racing fans, but there have been thousands of them."

Zoldan wasn't neglecting business this week. He connected by cell phone while making business stops all along the way to Baltimore. Zoldan owns Phantom Fireworks and the Youngstown Phantoms in the U.S. Hockey League. 

 Animal Kingdom is a closer that dazzled fans in winning the Kentucky Derby by 2 3/4 lengths as a 20-1 long shot. The Preakness, at 1-3/16 mile, is 1/16-mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby. Zoldan isn't worried critics say Animal Kingdom, the son of Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux, might not be able to catch the leaders in the 14-horse Preakness field in a shorter race.

"Animal Kingdom won the $300,000 Spiral (at Turfway Park on March 27) at 1-1/8 miles," said Zoldan. "If we don't have any bad luck, like getting boxed in, we should be there again at the end."

Jockey John Velazquez kept Animal Kingdom out of trouble in the Kentucky Derby and perfectly positioned the three-year-old for the stretch run. 

 A Preakness win would make Animal Kingdom the prohibitive favorite to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. The long, 1 1/2-mile, $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 11 is considered the best distance for the big, rangy colt.

Zoldan said no horse in the Preakness is as fresh as Animal Kingdom. He has raced only three times this year, with just six career starts. 

 "He had six weeks off before the Kentucky Derby," said Zoldan. "Trainer Graham Motion said Animal Kingdom is in very high spirits, working well and looking good. Graham is keeping him at Fair Hill Farm (in Chestertown, Md.), only an hour and a half from Pimlico. He wants the horse to enjoy the comfort of being in a home environment and ship him to Pimlico on Preakness Day."

With Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro skipping the Preakness, Zoldan picked Dialed In and Shackleford as the horses to beat on Saturday.

"There are certainly a lot of horses capable of a terrific performance," he said. "That's horse racing. Any horse can have a great day, or a not-so-good day.

"I was hoping Animal Kingdom would just finish in the top three in the Kentucky Derby. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Preakness. I'm taking it one step at a time, and won't let myself think about June."

Preakness plans: Thistledown and Northfield Park are both simulcasting the Preakness Day program on Saturday.

Thistledown is opening the gates at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with a 2:30 first-race post time for the live thoroughbred racing program. The Preakness Day Buffet at the Silks Restaurant is noon-6 p.m.

Northfield has day-night simulcast racing on Saturday, with the gates opening at 9:30 a.m. The harness track is offering only simulcast racing on Saturdays through June. The Preakness Day buffet at the Lady Luck Restaurant is 4-7:30 p.m. 

 Rini breaks collarbone: Jockey Wade Rini broke his collarbone in Monday's final race at Thistledown. Rini's horse, Proper Royalty, won the race by a head and took a spill just past the finish line. The six-year-old mare is trained by Rini's father, Tony Rini. The young jockey should be out about two months.

Big weekend at Pimlico:  The Preakness weekend at Pimlico features 16 stakes races for nearly $2.5 million, topped by the $1 million Preakness. Friday's card has seven stakes races, six for fillies and mares, highlighted by the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for three-year-old fillies. Preakness day will have nine added money races, including six graded events, and also features the return of the Grade III Allaire duPont Distaff.

 Around the tracks: Northfield Park has a batch of free drawings featuring the Preakness, including a draw for the Preakness race with a $5,000 top prize . . . Some of the top horses aiming for the Little Brown Jug in Delaware, Ohio will compete Saturday in the $250,000 Max Hempt Final at Pocono Downs . . . Sevruga demolished a division of the $80,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series event at The Meadows in Washington, Pa. with an overwhelming 17-1/4 length victory in a record  1:55.1 mile . . . Look Lindsay won all three Lebanon Raceway starts in April to be named Ohio's Horse of the Month by the Ohio Chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Attendance will improve with the weather - Indians Comment of the Day

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"I wouldn't worry about the attendance. Things will pick up. We have had one of the crappiest springs in history. The only nice, 70-degree day we had, the ballpark was packed. Who wants to watch a ball game in 50 degree weather with rain? When the nicer weather arrives, that ballpark will be rockin'." - Fatfishblu

tribe-fans-cheer-daytime-horiz-cc.jpgView full sizeIndians fans haven't packed the ballpark regularly yet this season, but weather hasn't helped.

In response to the story Manny Acta honored by All-Star Game coaching invitation: Indians Insider, cleveland.com reader Fatfishblu thinks attendance will improve with the weather. This reader writes,

"I wouldn't worry about the attendance. Things will pick up. We have had one of the crappiest springs in history. The only nice, 70-degree day we had, the ballpark was packed. Who wants to watch a ball game in 50 degree weather with rain? When the nicer weather arrives, that ballpark will be rockin'."

To respond to Fatfishblu's comment, go here.

For more comments of the day, go to blog.cleveland.com/comments-of-the-day.

Cleveland Cavaliers' good fortune gives fans reason to believe 'what's not to like'? Bill Livingston

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For a city and a franchise that needed a break, what was not to like, indeed, about draft lottery night?

irving-ariz-ncaa11-vert-mct.jpgView full sizeKyrie Irving would be an exceptional way for the Cavaliers to transition away from the LeBron era, but fans can't make the mistake of putting too many expectations in front of a still-inexperienced young talent, says Bill Livingston.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For a franchise that had to live through the night of the quitter and The Decision, what's not to like?

For a city that suffered through the 26 straight losses and the return of the false savior in triumph, what's not to like?

For a fan base that often found its anger and discontent muzzled by the inane theory that it was "time to move on" and forget the unforgivable, what's not to like?

"What's not to like?" was the comment of Nick Gilbert, the son of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, that is making all the rounds after the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night. Actually, the context of the 14-year-old's remark was not about the lottery at all. The courageous teenager, asked how he felt when his father said Nick was his "hero," said, "What's not to like?"

But the words certainly apply to the way the ping-pong balls bounced, too. The Cavaliers won the NBA draft lottery again, 52 weeks and six days after LeBron James, the fruit of their victory by ping-pong ball in 2003, gave up in the Boston series in his last home game.

Kyrie Irving, the Duke point guard for all of 11 games last season, is the consensus top player in the draft. The NBA is point guard-crazy right now, just like the college game. Cavs coach Byron Scott rebuilt quickly in past stops at New Jersey and New Orleans with point guards Jason Kidd and Chris Paul, respectively.

Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player. Nobody in the league gets to the basket quicker than Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook. Or does more with a hesitation move, outside Satchel Paige, than Memphis' Mike Conley Jr. Or in limited minutes proves that the essence of spectacle can be brevity more clearly than Dallas reserve point guard J.J. Barea.

In 2005, I followed West Virginia's Mike Gansey, from Olmsted Falls, and teammate Kevin Pittsnogle down a corridor at Cleveland State to the interview room after WVU beat Paul's Wake Forest team, 111-105, in double overtime in the NCAA Tournament. "Chris Paul is the quickest player I ever saw," said Pittsnogle. "He would throw one fake at me, and then a second one, and I'd still be reacting to the first."

Irving is not that quick, but he is considered the lone can't-miss player in the draft -- provided the toe injury that sidelined him for most of Duke's games does not recur. Evidence in the NCAA Tournament was that Irving was just fine. So the Cavs' rebuilding moves at a pace that, if not quite up to that of the very quickest point guards, is still rapidly accelerated.

It is important to note that unlike the pure, dumb luck of the 2003 lottery, the Cavs' victory this time was the sort of luck that is the residue of design. The Feb. 24 trade of the beleaguered Mo Williams and reserve Jamario Moon netted Baron Davis and the Los Angeles Clippers' first pick.

The Clips, being the Clips, were convinced they would pick so low in a thin draft that the player would be of no consequence. They had a 2.8 percent chance of winning the lottery. Yet it was the pick they traded -- a trade made possible solely by Dan Gilbert's willingness to pay more in luxury taxes as he absorbed Davis' $14 million contract -- that will almost surely become Irving.

With the fourth pick, the Cavs might look for a big man. Ryan Hollins' admirable work in setting a tone of toughness and pride was sorely needed in the rematch with Miami at The Q, leading in large measure to the victory. But he is not a long-term solution at center. International players Enes Kanter of Turkey and Jonas Valanciunas, both centers, have a higher talent ceiling than anyone in the draft, including Irving.

As good as the vibe is from lottery night, with Dan Gilbert tweeting Nick's words after the balls bounced the right way, the Cavs should resist the temptation to make Nick Gilbert's comment the focus of next season's advertising campaign. The lure will be great.

But after a Finals loss in 1977, the Sixers started the next season with an ad campaign in which Julius Erving held up his index finger and solemnly promised, "We owe you one." They owed them six before winning it all.

Different situation, different Irving. Just saying.

Follow Bill Livingston on Facebook and on Twitter @LivyPD

Statistics and luck landed the Cleveland Cavaliers the top pick in the NBA draft

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The Minnesota Timberwolves GM might hint that the lottery to determine the NBA draft is fixed, but the league has worked hard to have the system incorporate the mathematics of chance, improve lesser teams and still include the element of luck.

Kahn at NBA draft.JPGDavid Kahn, left, general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin O'Connor, center, general manager of the Utah Jazz, and Nick Gilbert, 14, right, the son of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, stand on the stage representing the final three teams during the 2011 NBA basketball draft lottery.

As the NBA's worst team in 2011, the Minnesota Timberwolves had decent odds of scoring the top pick in the league's player lottery Tuesday night and launching a franchise turnaround. At 25 percent, or one in four, the T-wolves' chances were better, in fact, than any other team, including the second-worst Cavaliers

But when league vice president Lou DiSabatino popped four numbered ping pong balls at random from the NBA's lottery hopper, the Cavaliers came up winners. The Cleveland team had had only a 2.8 percent shot at getting the top pick on that draw. That led T-wolves General Manager David Kahn to hint to reporters, perhaps jokingly, that the NBA's lottery system was rigged to favor teams that were sentimental favorites. 

"This league has a habit - and I am just going to say habit - of producing some pretty incredible story lines" on draft day, a smiling Kahn said, citing the presence on the lottery podium of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's teenage son Nick, who has a serious nervous system disorder. Kahn also mentioned that last year's draft winner, the Washington Wizards, was represented by the widow of the team's owner. 

"As soon as the 14-year-old [Nick Gilbert] came up there, it was lights out," Kahn said of his team's chances. "We were done. This was not happening for us." (Kahn later said he didn't mean to imply the draft was fixed, but expected the NBA would fine him for his remarks.) 

Simple statistics, however, seem to be the real source of the T-wolves' missed opportunity to land a top hoops prospect. While the Cavs' odds were long, they weren't zero. 

Ping pong.JPGView full sizeThen-Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson holds the ping pong balls that won Cleveland the top pick, and LeBron James, in the 2003 NBA Draft.

"There's a difference between improbable and impossible," said Matthew Leingang, a clinical mathematics professor at New York University who has blogged about the statistical probabilities of winning the NBA lottery. "If you have a six-sided die and five of the sides are painted red and one is painted green, you would certainly expect a red face to come up. But that doesn't mean a green face is not going to. The most likely answer is red, but it's not the certain answer." 

The NBA lottery process is a study in the arcane mathematics of chance, and of the league's attempts to boost ailing teams without completely squashinig the role of luck. 

The NBA has set up a system that gives teams with the fewest wins during the previous season a better chance than more successful franchises at landing the top high school or college player. The league has tinkered with the process over the decades, trying to improve its fairness and reduce the opportunities for tampering. 

In the early years of the draft, from 1966 to 1984, a simple coin flip between the East and West conference's two worst teams determined who chose first. Each had a 50 percent chance. The loser got the second pick, with subsequent choices awarded to the remaining teams based on the reverse order of their won-loss standings, from last to first. The idea was to build parity by giving poor-performing teams the best shot at good young players. 

As former Plain Dealer sports writer Burt Graeff pointed out in a 2003 story, the coin-flip method enabled the lowly Milwaukee Bucks to nab UCLA standout Lew Alcinodor in 1969. Alcindor, the future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, led the Bucks to the NBA championship two years later. 

The coin-flip system's relatively high odds that a bad record would land a good player led some critics to complain that teams were deliberately losing games to position themselves in the draft. The Houston Rockets, who dropped nine of their last 10 games in the 1984 season, were the target of some of that speculation. 

Sensitive to the charges, the NBA shifted to a lottery draft in 1985, expanding the pool of low-winning teams competing for the first pick from two to seven, and drawing the winner from envelopes spun in a barrel. 

Ewing.JPGView full sizePatrick Ewing.

The method reduced the odds of winning the top pick from 50 percent to about 17 percent, but it wasn't immune to controversy. Stories abound - which the NBA dismisses as ridiculous - that the envelope holding the New York Knicks' card was bent or marked somehow. That supposedly allowed league commissioner David Stern to recognize and pick it, sending future superstar Patrick Ewing to the team with the nation's biggest TV market. 

The NBA switched the lottery process again in November 1993 to the current ping pong ball method. The system slightly bumped up the chances of the worst team picking the first player, to 25 percent, while lowering the odds for the team with the best record to 0.5 percent. 

 Here's how the process works: 

At the NBA's headquarters in Seacaucus, N.J., 14 ping pong balls, numbered 1 to 14, are put in a pneumatic hopper like those used for Mega Millions and other state lottery drawings. A league executive, watched by reporters and security personnel, opens a valve, allowing four balls to pop out. 

The four balls have 1,001 possible number combinations. To make the calculations easier, the league rounds the number to 1,000, tossing out the "11-12-13-14" sequence. 

Before the drawing, the NBA randomly assigns a portion of those remaining 1,000 ping pong number combinations to each of the 14 non-playoff teams participating in the draft. It's like giving each team a bushel of pre-selected Ohio Lottery tickets. 

The number of combinations that each team gets is "weighted," based on their won-loss record. The worst team - which in 2011 was the Timberwolves - gets 250 of the 1,000 possible ping pong numbers, or a 25 percent chance of winning the lottery. The next-worst team - the 2011 Cavs - holds 199 (19.9 percent odds), the third team has 156 (15.6 percent), and so on, down to 5 (0.5 percent) for the non-playoff team with the best record. 

Only the first three draft picks are made with the ping-pong method. The rest are assigned based on the remaining teams' win-loss records. 

Teams can trade for picks, and, in fact, the 2011 Cavs held the Los Angeles Clippers' eighth pick in addition to their own second one. The Clips' pick had 28 of the 1,000 possible ping pong numbers, and it was one of those sequences - 14-13-7-8 - that scored the top pick for Cleveland. The odds of that happening were 2.8 percent, considerably longer than the T-wolves' one-in-four chances. 

LeBron at draft.JPGView full sizeCleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, the first pick in the NBA draft, holds up his jersey during a 2003 news conference.

Sportswriters have noted that under the ping-pong system, NBA teams with the worst record have won the top draft pick only twice. (One of those was the 2003 Cavs, who were tied for worst and used their pick to land LeBron James.) 

 That seems to suggest that something's wrong with the system, since the most odds-favored, NBA-weighted team hasn't often gotten the top pick. Meanwhile, prior to the Cavs' 2011 win, three NBA teams with odds of 5 percent or less had scored the winning ping pong balls. 

But as probability experts and sports statistics bloggers have pointed out, the probabilities of those outcomes - of worst teams not getting the top pick, and of better teams getting it - aren't that far out of line with expectations. 

One statistics blogger calculated in 2008 that during the current ping pong era, the worst team should win the draft between three and four times, so winning twice isn't much off pace - about 19.5 percent, compared to the expected 21.5 to 25 percent. 

It's also important to note that the relatively few NBA lotteries that have been held - what statisticians call a small sample size - make it hazardous to draw major conclusions about whether the process is tainted. Lots of results over a long period of time are what give numbers-crunchers the confidence to declare a pattern. 

"If you flip a coin ten times and you get heads seven times, you still can't say the coin is fixed," said Leingang. "If you flipped it 1,000 times and it came up heads 700 times, you probably could conclude that." 

Likewise, a couple of decades' worth of once-a-year NBA lottery results "is not enough of a sample to conclude anything," said Leingang. "Just because a team is supposed to get the No. 1 pick 25 percent of the time doesn't mean that, in 20 years, you would expect exactly five times where the worst team got the best pick. 

"We may have to go a couple of hundred times before we get to conclude the NBA is fixing the lottery." 

 

Cleveland Cavaliers keeping calm as Minnesota GM David Kahn keeps venting: Cavaliers Insider

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Dan Gilbert -- for now -- is shrugging off the latest conspiracy theory from Minnesota GM David Kahn. Watch video

gilbert-press-51811draft-jg.jpgView full size"I haven't had a lot of time to go deep on that," Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert told reporters at The Q Wednesday about the comments of Minnesota GM David Kahn on Tuesday. "But I will. I'll check it all out."

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The Cavaliers won the NBA lottery on Tuesday night, but all anybody was talking about on Wednesday was the wrath of Kahn, as in Minnesota General Manager David Kahn.

After the Cavs beat out Kahn's 17-65 Timberwolves for the top spot in the June 23 draft, Kahn said, "This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines.

"Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed. We were done. I told Kevin [O'Connor, GM of the Jazz, who got the No. 3 pick]: 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us and I was right."

A much more gracious Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, whose 14-year-old son, Nick, represented the team on stage during the lottery, declined to comment -- for the moment, anyway.

"I haven't had a lot of time to go deep on that," Gilbert told reporters at The Q on Wednesday afternoon. "But I will. I'll check it all out."

While the league reportedly considers whether to fine Kahn for alleging the lottery was fixed, he didn't help himself, telling CBSSports.com at the NBA combine in Chicago, "The first questions I was asked last night by the reporters were, 'Did I feel that the Timberwolves were jinxed?' You know, we have a poor lottery record. And I want to say for the record, I don't believe in jinxes, curses, hocus pocus, and I don't believe we've been harmed in any way.

"What I said last night, I do believe in the power of story. And I just felt it was a heck of a lot better story for a 14-year-old to beat out two middle-aged executives standing together on a stage on national TV, and that our league has had its own share of luck in being a part of those stories. That's it. Anybody ascribing anything else to it is completely doing their own thing."

He later added, "I'm just saying that, if you look at sports in general, typically fairy tale stories, Cinderella stories, whatever you want to say, those tend to dominate sports. I just knew when you're standing there with a 14-year-old kid, logically the 14-year-old kid ... it had nothing to do with being nefarious."

Kahn told CBSSports.com he wouldn't be surprised if he was fined.

"I've had money taken away from me before," he told the Web site. "It probably won't be the last time. It is what it is."

So close: How close did the Cavs come to having the first and second picks? Minnesota's winning combination at No. 2 was 9-7-5-1. The Cavs had 9-7-5-2.

Wonder what Kahn would have said to that.

Nick's big night: Nick Gilbert was the toast of the town on Tuesday, when he actually trended worldwide on Twitter as @CavsNick. The 14-year-old, wearing a Cavs bow tie, pretty much stole the show. At one point he answered his cell phone during a media crush after the lottery saying, "Yo. Call you back. Gotta do interview." He turned and told his dad it felt like his bar mitzvah.

Gilbert was born with neurofibromatosis (NF), a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time. Nick has suffered through brain surgery, the loss of vision in one eye, four rounds of chemotherapy and countless hours in doctors offices and hospitals. He is the 2011 National Children's Tumor Foundation ambassador, and Tuesday was World NF Awareness Day as part of NF Awareness Month. Thanks to fans who made donations on Facebook and Twitter, Nick raised $70,000 for the foundation.

Not surprisingly, Cavs GM Chris Grant is his biggest fan.

"I thought he was fantastic, I really did," Grant said. "He's 14 years old. He's up on that stage. I thought he was genuine. I thought he was super, outstanding. Any time we need some luck, I'm calling Nick and bringing him right here."

James reacts: LeBron James said he was happy the Cavs won the lottery. James, of course, was their first pick in 2003.

"I'm happy for the franchise, I'm happy for the fans," James said during the Miami Heat shootaround before Game 2 of the Eastern finals against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. "I think it is a good step for them. ... But I've got a lot more things to worry about now than the lottery."

James was asked whether Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, widely viewed as the No. 1 pick in the draft, could be a franchise player.

"If it's Kyrie, I don't think you automatically place the franchise tag on him, but I think he's good enough where, if he continues to work hard, he could be that guy for that team," James said. "It's a tough situation for anyone to be given the franchise tag as soon as they come out of college or high school, but I think he's one of the kids who is up for the challenge."

Irving kept a safe distance from James comparisons.

“I don’t think you can make comparisons to me and LeBron,” said Irving, who attended the lottery. “One, I’m not 6-8. Two, I’m not a high flyer and three, my name isn’t LeBron James. Honestly, you can’t make those comparisons yet. I think I would bring a different feel to the Cleveland organization if they do decide to take me.”

Next step: Irving, by the way, will lead a field of the top 54 players in the NBA draft combine this week in Chicago, where teams will have a chance to meet, greet and evaluate the prospects. All the top players are expected, including Ohio State's David Lighty and Jon Diebler.

First time for everything: According to the Cavs, no team has ever received two of the top four picks since the lottery started. The Houston Rockets had the first and third picks in 1983, but that was pre-lottery.

Also, only two other teams have moved to the first pick from the eighth spot or lower. Chicago moved from ninth to first in 2008, when it took Derrick Rose, and Orlando moved from 11th to first in 1993, when it took Chris Webber and traded him to Golden State for Penny Hardaway.

The last word: From Dan Gilbert, when asked whether the notion of karma crossed his mind on Tuesday. James, you may recall, famously tweeted about karma during the Cavs franchise-record loss at Los Angeles last January. Said Gilbert on Wednesday, "To mind, but not to my mouth yet nor to my Twitter account."


Big Ten officials willing to accept the primetime spotlight on more football -- except for Ohio State-Michigan

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Imagine the wind chill -- despite more Big Ten night games, Ohio State and Michigan officials say the Buckeyes playing the Wolverines in primetime isn't going to happen.

osu-penst-night-08-fong.jpgView full sizeThe prospect of more home night games for the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium is looking more feasible for athletic director Gene Smith -- as long as the game doesn't involve Michigan in late November.

CHICAGO -- Imagine the moon over Ohio Stadium, with 105,000 fans huddled under their blankets, as Ohio State readies for a final drive against Michigan somewhere past 11 p.m.

So far, the athletic directors at Ohio State and Michigan can't imagine it.

The Big Ten is changing. Two days of conference meetings concluded on Wednesday with no resolution about a move to nine conference games instead of eight. But discussion will continue, and the move seems inevitable despite the objections of almost all the football coaches.

Ohio State AD Gene Smith, for one, favors that idea. But even as the league readies for 15 primetime games this season -- the most in its history, Michigan prepares to host its first night game -- against Notre Dame, and Smith is more open to night games at Ohio Stadium than he has ever been, Ohio State playing Michigan at night remains off the table.

"I'm going to fight it like mad," Smith said.

"It's not something I'd want to do," Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said. "Can you imagine what the wind chill would be in the fourth quarter?"

"No," said Michigan coach Brady Hoke. "Not that one."

There remains in the Big Ten's TV contracts the stipulation that night games won't be played in November, and Mark Rudner, the senior associate commissioner who oversees television scheduling, doesn't see that ever changing, especially for the Buckeyes and the Wolverines.

"It's special to begin with," Rudner said. "You're not going to get any bigger by going to primetime."

With uncertainty at both programs, as Jim Tressel faces NCAA sanctions and Hoke ramps up just months after taking over for Rich Rodriguez, in addition to the teams now playing in separate divisions in a 12-team league, what's good for Ohio State-Michigan still matters.

Hoke, for instance, refuses to call the Buckeyes "Ohio State," instead referring to them as "Ohio" at every opportunity. Asked why he does that, Hoke smirked slightly and said only, "I don't know."

Asked if he's always done it, Hoke replied, "Yep."

"Brady's awesome," Tressel said when asked about Hoke, mentioning that he's known him for years and that Hoke visited Ohio State while head coach at Ball State. "Anything that's good for the Ohio State-Michigan game, I'm for. And Brady's good for it."

So far, so are afternoon start times.

But most of the other big games in the Big Ten are ready for primetime.

For instance, Rudner said he knew as soon as the 2011 schedule was announced last year that ABC and ESPN would be asking for Nebraska at Wisconsin on Oct. 1 and Ohio State at Nebraska on Oct. 8 to be played at night. They will be.

In fact, Wisconsin will play four night games, and Smith said he would consider having the Buckeyes play four nights in a season under the right circumstances. For now, the TV deal requires teams to play three night games, if asked, which is why the Buckeyes are playing three night games in 2011 for the fourth time in five years.

gene smith.jpg"It was hurting us to go on the road and sit around all day Saturday to play Wisconsin or Purdue at night," OSU AD Gene Smith said of his decision to embrace more home night games. "So I'd rather have us sit around at home."

In the past, Smith wanted to limit night games in Ohio Stadium. In the last five seasons Ohio State has played 10 road games in primetime -- but only three at home.

No more.

"I'm flipping," Smith said. "It was hurting us to go on the road and sit around all day Saturday to play Wisconsin or Purdue at night. So I'd rather have us sit around at home. Let's be at home and let the other team do that."

One reason he changed his mind is that Smith said he has no fears about fan behavior around an intense home game at night.

"What our fans have done relative to fan behavior, we have to recognize we don't have the challenges we used to have," Smith said. "Now, we've got to stay on top of things. But if you do a survey, our fans love night games."

Two home games at night still won't happen every year, and won't happen this season. The Buckeyes are playing Wisconsin at home at night and Miami and Nebraska on the road. So far, eight Big Ten primetime games have been announced, with another seven on the Big Ten Network to be revealed Thursday night. But the Buckeyes won't have a fourth game.

Wisconsin's four will include two at home against UNLV and Nebraska and consecutive road games against Michigan State and the Buckeyes.

"I kind of got surprised by that a little bit," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said.

Rudner said he thinks the conference will top out at around 15 or 16 primetime games per year, though the networks are always pushing for more. Officials said there is a balance to strike, with the Big Ten not required to seek the extra primetime exposure because they know they get so much attention already.

Even moving the 2006 Ohio State-Michigan game, an undefeated No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown, to a 3:30 start was a special circumstance, and Smith said he heard a lot of complaints from OSU fans.

"Since then I said we're playing at noon or at 1, and the league has been receptive and television has been receptive," Smith said.

If asked to move to 3:30 again for a compelling reason, Smith said he would "suck it up" if it was best for the league, because he's seen that cooperating in those situations can pay off down the road. But Brandon was the only official involved who threw in a "never say never" caveat about primetime. Everyone else was certain that an 8 p.m. start would never be best for the rivalry.

The sun may not be out for a noon start in late November, but at least the moon won't be either.

Smith supports Tressel: In an interview, Smith declined to talk about anything related to the current NCAA violations that Tressel and Ohio State are facing, even turning down questions about how national perceptions may have affected his thinking.

"I'm very supportive of Jim Tressel," Smith said, "and I believe in what we're doing. But I'm not going any further than that."

Smith said the support he and OSU president Gordon Gee expressed at the original news conference on March 8 was the same way he felt now.

Also, the Associated Press reported that Ohio State will not pay Tressel's legal fees for his representation before the NCAA. Tressel has hired former NCAA Committee on Infractions chairman Gene Marsh to serve as his lawyer at the NCAA hearing on Aug. 12.

First-inning bunt is not a problem for Manny Acta: Indians Chatter

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Asdrubal Cabrera played small ball early in a victory over the Royals.

acabrera-bunt-royals-squ-ap.jpgView full sizeAsdrubal Cabrera made his own decision to bunt in the first inning of Tuesday's game in Kansas City, which was just fine with manager Manny Acta.

CHICAGO -- Clubhouse confidential: To all the Indians' armchair managers, Asdrubal Cabrera was acting on his own when he moved Michael Brantley to third with a sacrifice bunt in the first inning Tuesday night following Brantley's leadoff double.

"It's a little early in the game to give a sign for something like that, but we give guys like him the option to swing the bat or do whatever he has to do to advance the runner," said manager Manny Acta. "It's fine with me. . .It worked."

The Indians took a 3-0 lead in the first on Travis Hafner's bases-loaded double.

Social relievers: With the exception of Rafael Perez, every member of the bullpen has a Twitter account. Even bullpen catchers Armando Camacaro and Francisco Morales have opened accounts.

The relievers' feeds are ChrisPerez54 (Chris Perez), thethree8 (Joe Smith), JGerm39 (Justin Germano), SippTony (Tony Sipp), Vinniep52 (Vinnie Pestano) and ChadDurbin37 (Chad Durbin).

Stat of the day: The Indians' 26-13 start is one of the hottest topics in baseball, but it still doesn't compare to what the Tigers did in 1984. They went 35-5 through the first 40 games on the way to a World Series championship.

Chris Perez says heave of frustration won't be repeated: Indians Insider

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It may have been Chris Perez's best pitch of Tuesday night, but the Tribe's closer said it was done out of frustration.



CHICAGO -- First baseman Matt LaPorta, after recording the final putout Tuesday night on a grounder to first, flipped the ball to closer Chris Perez as the Indians lined up to celebrate a 7-3 victory over Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.

Perez, however, was not in a celebratory mood. After catching LaPorta's toss, he threw the ball over the wall in right center while standing between the mound and second base. He did not say if he reached the fountains behind the outfield fence, but it was probably his target.

"I was frustrated that I gave up the single to Melky Cabrera," said Perez. "He's driven in four of the runs I've given up this year. MLB Network has been showing it all day [Wednesday] so I can't hide from it."

Perez said he did it several times in the minors. "But this will be the first and last time I do it in the big leagues," he said.

Perez started the ninth with a 7-2 lead, so it wasn't a save situation. Manager Manny Acta wanted to get him some work because he hadn't pitched in a week. He walked two batters and gave up a run-scoring single to Cabrera.

Perez said his velocity was down in April, but he was throwing 94-97 mph on Tuesday.

"I'm fine," said Perez, 10-for-11 in save situations. "The weather is getting warm and I've been able to throw long toss more consistently than I had been in spring training.

"I've always started slowly and hit my stride around June."

Cleveland Indians beat Royals, 19-1Travis Hafner missed Wednesday night's game with a sore right side.

Warning, warning: DH Travis Hafner, who drove in six runs in the two-game sweep of the Royals, was scratched Wednesday night because of soreness in his right ribs during batting practice.

Acta said he'll be re-evaluated Thursday.

Hafner, who had an three-run double in Monday and Tuesday's victories, is off to a hot start. He's third in the AL in batting average (.339), fourth in on-base percentage (.407) and sixth in slugging percentage (.549). He's hitting .378 (28-for-74) with seven doubles, three homers and 16 RBI in 22 games since April 17, and is at .483 (14-for-29) with runners in scoring position and has eight RBI in the last three games.

Last season, Hafner hit .202 (21-for-104) with RISP.

Hafner had trouble in recent seasons staying in the lineup because of right shoulder problems since having surgery in 2008, but has played in 32 of the Tribe's 39 games.

Court dates: Shin-Soo Choo is scheduled to appear in Mayor's Court in Sheffield Lake on July 21 after being arrested on DUI charges on May 2. He was granted a continuance on his first court date.

The lawyer for Austin Kearns returned to court Tuesday in Nichollasville, Ky., to argue that DUI charges should be dropped. Attorney Todd Hart, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, says the off-duty officer that stopped Kearns was out of his jurisdiction.

The prosecution is arguing that Hart was given permission to stop Kearns' vehicle by the Jessamine County Sherriff's Office. Jessamine District Judge Janet Booth has not ruled on the matter.

Tough decision: Mitch Talbot will make his third rehab start on Thursday for Class AAA Columbus. If all goes well, Talbot will then be ready to be activated.

The question is, what will the Indians do?

Talbot is out of options, but Alex White, scheduled to start Friday against Cincinnati at Progressive Field, has been impressive in two starts since being promoted from Class AAA Columbus.

"These are the kind of tough decisions you like to make," said Acta. "It means we're building depth and that we've progressed over the last couple of years."

Talbot strained his right elbow on April 11 when he beat the Angels. He's been on the disabled list ever since. When asked if Talbot would rejoin the rotation or be put in the bullpen, Acta said, "We haven't reached the point where we're thinking about Talbot going to the pen. But there's always a chance..."

Acta added he would not consider putting White in the pen.

Chicago's Jake Peavy throws three-hitter to beat Cleveland Indians, 1-0

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Justin Masterson threw a five-hitter, but it wasn't good enough to beat Jake Peavy and the White Sox on Wednesday night.

peavy-wsox-tribe-may11-ap.jpgView full sizeChicago's Jake Peavy faced just 29 batters in firing a three-hit shutout in beating the Indians Wednesday night against the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

CHICAGO -- The White Sox entered Wednesday night's game trailing the first-place Indians by 10 games in the AL Central. If they were going to start gaining ground, this seemed like a good time to do it.

It wasn't an emphatic, "Don't forget about us," scream into a damp May night, but Chicago's 1-0 victory at U.S. Cellular Field got the Indians' attention.

Justin Masterson gave up one run in the first inning, but it was one run too many against Jake Peavy. The former Cy Young winner, in just his second start of the season, hog-tied the No.1 offense in the AL on a three-hitter.

Peavy (1-0, 2.40) struck out eight and didn't walk a batter. He threw 111 pitches, 78 strikes.

"Both guys threw very well," said manager Manny Acta. "Peavy went right at our guys. We couldn't get anything going offensively."

Masterson (5-2, 2.52) lost his second straight game and is winless in his last four. With a run here or there, he could have easily won three of those starts. The 6-6, 250-pound right-hander threw a five-hitter and lost. He struck out eight and walked two in his first complete game of the season.

Masterson went 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA in his first five starts of the season. In his last four starts, he's 0-2 with a 2.78 ERA. In three of those games, he's allowed two or fewer earned runs.

"You were watching; don't you think so?" said Masterson when asked if he felt he's pitched as well in his last four starts as he did in his first five. "I felt just as good. Even the loss to Tampa was just one inning.

"We've just been playing a lot of close games. Technically, I'm not getting any victories, but the team is still playing great and that's good to see."

Juan Pierre opened the game with a double down the left-field line. Pierre is hitting .389 (7-for-18) in his career against Masterson. Omar Vizquel, starting at short, singled him to third. Adam Dunn delivered Pierre with a sacrifice fly to center.

"My sinker was a little flat all night," said Masterson. "Pierre did a good job right there, especially hustling to second to get the extra base. It just seemed like the sinker was a little inconsistent."

The White Sox managed only three more hits the rest of the night. Masterson threw 115 pitches, 73 for strikes.

Peavy, coming back from surgery on his right latissimus dorsi muscle, never let a batter get past second base. In a two-game sweep of the Royals on Monday and Tuesday, the Indians scored 26 runs.

Asdrubal Cabrera singled in the first and Shin-Soo Choo singled in the fourth and seventh innings to give the Tribe its only baserunners. Choo was thrown out trying to steal in the fourth. After his single in the seventh, he stole second, but Peavy retired Carlos Santana and Travis Buck.

Peavy retired the last eight Indians in order.

The Indians were missing Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore. Hafner was scratched just before game time with soreness in his right side. Acta said he suffered the injury in batting practice. Sizemore was placed on the disabled list on Monday with a bruised right knee.

"We'll re-evaluate Hafner when he comes to the ballpark [Thursday]," said Acta, when asked if Hafner could be headed for the disabled list.

As for not having both players, Acta said, "[Peavy] probably could have gotten them out too, the way he was throwing the ball. We've won a ton of games without those two guys. We're not going to make an issue out of that. Peavy deserved credit."

Chicago threatened to add to its lead in fifth when Brent Lillibridge led off with a double. Masterson, looking for his first win since April 26, worked a strike-em out, throw-em out double play as Gordon Beckham struck out and Lou Marson threw out Lillibridge on an attempted steal of third.

Masterson and Marson worked the same kind of double play in the third. Dunn struck out and Masterson threw out Vizquel as he tried to steal second.

The game lasted 121 minutes. For Masterson and a team that leads the AL in runs, average runs per game, batting average and on-base percentage, it had to seem a lot longer.

NBA conspiracy theories ... where amazing whining happens every draft: Bud Shaw's Sports Spin

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The Cavs benefit from an old truism: whatever can go wrong in the NBA usually goes wrong for the L.A. Clippers first, Bud Shaw writes in his Spin column.

kahn-oconnor-gilbert-lottery-ap.jpgView full sizeOn the right, you can find a young man of considerable courage and good humor. On the left is Minnesota GM David Kahn, who has a great grasp on failure for his organization and self-pity in post-draft comments.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If the NBA lottery is a forecast of house winnings in the casino biz for Dan Gilbert, hold on to your wallets...

No event invites conspiracy theories quite like the NBA lottery does. A year after losing LeBron James, the Cavs turning up with the top pick could, I suppose, seem league orchestrated.

But only if you're Oliver Stone or those who suspect Osama bin Laden is not only alive but will prove it in a soon-to-air series of "Just For Men" commercials.

Would the same league fix the Patrick Ewing sweepstakes for the big-market Knicks, then conspire to reward little old Cleveland with two No. 1 picks in seven years?

And why exactly? The Cavs cashed in the Clippers' No. 1 for the top pick. That offered a 2.8 percent chance, which is only 2.8 percent higher than my odds of getting hired as Chris Hemsworth's body double in "Thor."

To think the Cavs were rewarded for losing James, you'd have to believe David Stern was greatly bothered by James' departure. Then you'd still need to take a flight of fancy on a magical unicorn to arrive at the believable conclusion that the lottery results were pre-determined.

In fairness to Stern, he couldn't have stopped James and Chris Bosh from pledging Dwyane Wade's fraternity. That said, anybody think he's upset the Heat-Bulls is drawing record ratings?

To think the Cavs were rewarded by the league for losing James calls for a suspension of disbelief not required since audiences settled in to watch Danny DeVito as Arnold Schwarzenegger's brother in "Twins." If the NBA wanted to see things made right for Cleveland, it didn't have to fix the lottery. Not this year.

There's something out there that trumps everything man-made or concocted. It's called doing business with the Clippers. Once they traded away their No. 1 pick in the Baron Davis-Mo Williams deal, we should've seen this coming.

Regardless of the percentages, this was a slam dunk. Over a Kia.

If you bought a broken-down used car off the Clippers, let's just say it would ride like a Rolls and handle like a Formula 1 car. Gisele Bundchen would jump in at the first stop light and beg you to take her away from Tom Brady.

Acquiring the No. 1 pick with the Clippers choice wasn't only in the cards, of course. Gilbert deserves credit. He took on $28 million in Davis' contract for a second pick in the lottery.

Gilbert orchestrated this score. It made good sense. Simply, such a deal for an unprotected lottery pick would've benefited the Cavs no matter the identity of the trade partner. But the fact it was the Clippers -- the most futile franchise in NBA history -- raised the possibility (OK, probability) of the ultimate payoff on Tuesday.

What can go wrong in the NBA usually does so on Donald Sterling's team.

Was getting the No. 1 pick a sure thing for the woeful Cavs? No. Not even close. Not on their own. At least not until a Clippers source, on the day of the Davis trade, told ESPN, "That just shows you how much we hate this draft."Looks bad for the Clips now. But remember, they did get Jamario Moon, too.

clips-sterling-vert-seat-ap.jpgView full sizeDonald Sterling has managed to continually make bad decisions --- and have bad fortune. Which worked out rather nicely for the Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Then again...

Maybe the best Clippers' strategy is to pass in the lottery. They have made the most lottery picks since 1985 by far. Not even close. Of their 22 lottery picks, two (Danny Manning and Blake Griffin) have made the All-Star team wearing a Clippers jersey.

The franchise that picked Benoit Benjamin third overall also ended up with the wrong Bryant. The 1986 No. 1 pick that became Brad Daugherty first went from the Clippers to Philly for the services of Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, Kobe's dad.

The Clippers might have had Kobe, too, but they used the seventh pick to take the late Lorenzen Wright that year. Other Top 10 picks: Bo Kimble (8), Shaun Livingston (4), Chris Kaman (6), Darius Miles (3), Chris Wilcox (8) and -- in 1998 -- Michael Olowokandi (1).

Dirk Nowitzki went eight picks later.

Olowokandi did get his jersey retired. By the University of Pacific Tigers.

SPINOFFS

If conventional baseball wisdom says it's fair to assess a club's chances only after 40 games, the Indians look like a playoff team. If it's not fair, the Indians still look like a playoff team...

A star was born Tuesday night at the draft lottery ... Not Kyrie Irving, Nick Gilbert. Before he publicly won the lottery Tuesday, Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert won the room and the TV audience by giving the stage to his son...

If you're Mayor Frank Jackson announcing more budget cuts and job losses, or Mike Holmgren discussing a lost NFL season, you might want to bring Nick Gilbert to the press conference...

miller-letterman-mug-ap.jpgView full sizeReggie Miller was great from long distance in the NBA.

The highest TV ratings for the Bulls-Heat Game 1 outside of Chicago and Miami? Cleveland. This city just loves its basketball so long as it comes with a side of revenge...

On the second TV in those Cleveland-area homes tuned into Bulls-Heat, 90 percent of Nielsen families were for some reason watching the scene from "Frankenstein" where the villagers storm the castle with torches and battering rams...

Calling the Heat a "whiny bunch," Charles Barkley further positioned himself as the favorite in the next Cleveland mayoral race...

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

NBA referee Ken Mauer and Heat President Pat Riley. -- Tim

Indians' outfielder Michael Brantley and Reggie Miller -- Jim Jaye

brantley-tribe-mug-11-ap.jpgView full sizeMichael Brantley covers great distances for the Indians ... and hits pretty well, too.

Gregg Popovich and The Wizard of Oz -- Steve Kopchu

HE SAID IT

"What's not to like?" -- Nick Gilbert, son of Dan, before the Cavs took home the No. 1 and No. 4 picks.

Well, excuse the nitpick, but the Heat could've lost on the same night.

YOU SAID IT

"Bud:

"Hughie Jennings holds the major-league record for being hit by a pitch 287 times. If LeBron played baseball, how many at bats would he need to break that record?" -- Jim W

I'd have to know how many games Dan Gilbert would be pitching.

"Bud:

"Has Milton Bradley no longer got game?" -- Chas K

Yes. Milton Bradley has game and it's called "Trouble."

"Bud:

"After the emotional reunion of LeBron and Delonte West after the Heat-Celtics series and LeBron's equally improbable apology to Cleveland fans for "The Decision," what could possibly be next -- Art Modell's triumphant return as part owner of the Gladiators?" -- Vince G., Cincinnati

Maybe. The Arena League does represent his best chance at making a football Hall of Fame.

"Bud:

"Recent photos indicate that Bin Laden was coloring his graying beard. One more reason to hate Keith Hernandez." -- Tom Jezeski

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

"Bud:

"With the 3-4 going to the 4-3, and no communication with players, shouldn't Dick Jauron be in China studying fire drills?" -- Michael Sarro

Repeat winners get left out in the cold.

"Bud:

"I thought water-boarding was illegal." -- A wet Indians' fan.

Repeat winners also get a free ticket to "Water Wings Night" at Progressive Field.

CWRU's NCAA baseball tourney debut is grand: NE Ohio College Roundup

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Junior catcher Peter Zak hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning to lead Case Western Reserve to victory in its first NCAA Division III playoff game.

Junior catcher Peter Zak hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning to lead Case Western Reserve to a 5-4 victory over Adrian (Mich.) in the first NCAA Division III Tournament game in Spartan program history Wednesday. The game was played in Marietta, Ohio.

The No. 3-seeded Spartans (31-13) will play Heidelberg, which beat Penn State-Altoona, 12-5, at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The Spartans have set a school-record for wins in two consecutive seasons, and ranked ninth in Division III with a .344 team batting average as of last week's NCAA rankings.

CWRU senior third baseman Chad Mullins was the University Athletic Association Player of the Year after batting .473 with eight home runs and 68 runs batted in. Sophomore shortstop Matt Keen (Tallmadge) has batted .384 with 34 RBI. Keen leads the nation in runs scored (64).

Junior right fielder Sam Alexander is a .387 hitter with four home runs and 51 RBI. Sophomore lefthander Jamie Hora (Twinsburg) is the team's ace with a 7-3 record, a 4.61 earned run average and five complete games.

KSU football scheduling: Kent State has announced its non-conference football schedule for 2012 and 2013.

In 2012, the Golden Flashes will open at home on a Thursday night with Football Championship Subdivision foe Towson and hit the road to face Kentucky, Rutgers and Army.

The Flashes will play a similar schedule in 2013, opening at home against FCS opponent Liberty on a Thursday night, before traveling to Clemson, Penn State and South Alabama.

The Flashes open the season under new coach Darrell Hazell at Alabama on Sept. 3. The home opener is Sept. 10 against Louisiana.

Cleveland Indians, Fausto Carmona lose big to White Sox in Chicago

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Fausto Carmona takes another beating from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

Gallery preview CHICAGO, Ill. — The White Sox put an other bump on Fausto Carmona's head Thursday night at foggy U.S. Cellular Field.

It wasn't as big as the one they left April 1 in the season opener at Progressive Field, but he definitely needed an ice bag to stem the swelling after his night was done.

Chicago completed a two-game sweep of the AL Central-leading Indians with a convincing 8-2 victory. Wednesday night, they won by the narrowest of margins, 1-0, on a three-hitter by Jake Peavy. Thursday night, they did it with offense.

"This team is killing me this year," said Carmona, "but I have to continue to pitch."

Carmona (3-4) allowed eight runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Carmona, in two starts against Chicago this season, has allowed 18 earned runs on 18 hits in eight innings. He has a 20.25 ERA against the White Sox and a 2.56 ERA (16 earned runs in 561/3 innings) against everyone else.

Chicago battered Carmona for 10 runs on 11 hits in three innings in the season opener on April 1. It was a history-making performance. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the most runs ever allowed by a starting pitcher who threw no more than three innings in his team's first game of the season.

Thursday night, Carmona didn't break any records. He was just another pitcher throwing fat pitches over the middle of the plate.

"Fausto didn't have good separation between his fastball and his off-speed pitches," said Tribe manager Manny Acta. "You can't do that against this team."

Paul Konerko put the White Sox ahead, 2-1, with a two-run double in the first. Konerko came into the game hitting .462 (6-for-13) with two homers and seven RBI against Carmona. He went 2-for-2 against Carmona in the season opener.

The White Sox made it 6-1 with four runs in the second. Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run double past third with the bases loaded. Adam Dunn followed with a two-run single.

Alex Rios and Dallas McPherson started the inning with singles. Omar Vizquel bunted in front of the plate in an effort to advance the runners. Santana pounced on the ball, and his throw to third beat Rios, but umpire Eric Cooper called him safe.

Third baseman Jack Hannahan argued the call to no avail.

"I wasn't on the bag when I caught the ball," said Hannahan, "but when I stepped back, I felt the bag, and then I felt him slide in. I thought he was out."

Juan Pierre forced Rios at the plate on a grounder to first to bring Ramirez to the plate.

Carmona managed to keep Chicago scoreless in the third and fourth, but that was just a tease. Konerko walked with one out in the fifth, and Carlos Quentin hit a two-run homer over the left-field fence for an 8-1 lead. Carmona completed the inning, but he was through for the night.

He watched his ERA jump from 3.94 to 4.76, while throwing 87 pitches.

"My slider didn't move, and my sinker was up," said Carmona. "Everything was up."

Acta was working with a short bench and bullpen. DH Travis Hafner missed his second straight game with what might be a right oblique injury, and DH Travis Buck was a late scratch with a case of turf toe. Second baseman Orlando Cabrera was home in South Carolina becoming a U.S. citizen.

The Indians recalled utility man Luis Valbuena from Class AAA Columbus to give them another infielder and bat. Reliever Justin Germano was designated for assignment to make room for Valbuena leaving Acta with a six-man bullpen.

Carmona is 7-5 lifetime against the White Sox. Last year, he was 3-0 against them. This year, it's different -- much different.

The win went to Gavin Floyd (5-3, 3.88). He allowed one run on five hits in seven innings.

Chicago held the Indians, who entered the series as the AL's top scoring offense, to two runs on 10 hits in the two games. It was the first time the Indians have been swept this season.

The Tribe's second run came on Matt LaPorta's homer in the ninth.

"Injuries are part of the game," said Acta. "I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. They pitched well."

The Indians went 2-2 on the this trip.

The highlight of the night for the Tribe came in the eighth when shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera made a barehanded stop on Vizquel's grounder that deflected off reliever Joe Smith. Cabrera, on his knees, flipped the ball behind his back to Adam Everett at second to force McPherson. Everett completed the double play with his relay to first.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158

Cinesport video: White Sox 8, Indians 2

 

For more Cinesport video on cleveland.com, go here.


Cleveland Gladiators' Dan Whalen still backup quarterback despite good play

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Gladiators backup quarterback Dan Whalen played the good soldier. He said all the right things about working hard and preparing as if you're the guy.

whalen-mug.jpgFormer Case Western Reserve QB Dan Whalen remains a backup for the Gladiators.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Gladiators backup quarterback Dan Whalen played the good soldier. He said all the right things about working hard and preparing as if you're the guy.

But he couldn't mask his surprise and disappointment this week at not being named the starter for Saturday's game against visiting Philadelphia.

Coach Steve Thonn called him aside after practice Wednesday to tell him Kurt Rocco would direct the offense again, despite Whalen's decent relief outing in last week's 56-26 loss at Orlando.

"Honestly, 24 hours ago, if you asked me the same question [about who was starting], I would have thought it was flip-flopped," Whelan said. "You've got to go with what the head guys says."

After replacing Rocco in the first quarter last week, Whalen completed 14-of-29 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a score and leads the team with 70 yards rushing. Thonn said he made the switch last week partly because Rocco took a nasty blind-side hit in the back.

But the Gladiators' offense has also struggled in losing three of their last five games after a 3-0 start. Among 18 teams, the Gladiators rank 13th in total offense and passing offense (yards per game), and 14th in scoring.

"We feel like it's not so much what the defenses have been doing to us," Thonn said, "but just what we haven't done on our own. Last week, we had three wide-open touchdowns that we just didn't get."

Rocco has been beaten up the last three weeks, which has created opportunities for Whalen. Thrust into action, the former Case Western Reserve and Willoughby South quarterback led the Gladiators to a win over Tulsa and contributed in a win over Milwaukee.

"We feel good about both of them," Thonn said about his decision, "but we want to get Kurt going back where he's getting a full game. Plus, Dan's getting a lot more experience, so if Dan has to come in, we've got no problem with that, either."

Rocco said the offensive sluggishness was on him, for holding the ball too long at times and missing open receivers.

"I take a lot of blame for that, not making the right reads, not making the right throws at the right times," Rocco said. "We just need to be a little more consistent."

The former Mount Union standout has thrown for 1,434 yards and 23 touchdowns and has scored another five touchdowns on the ground.

Mending: It has been two months since the surgery to repair the Achilles tendon starting quarterback John Dutton tore in the season opener. He has been a regular at practice, rehabbing and being supportive. But whether he will be repaired in time to return this season won't be known for another month.

"This is an injury where you have to let it wait and heal. You can't rush back," Dutton said. "I've broken bones before, but that's nothing compared to this."

Hometown discount: Tying into the Cavs' good fortune in the NBA Draft Lottery, the Gladiators are offering $40 club-level seats for $14 for Saturday's game. One and four for the first and fourth picks in next month's NBA Draft.

Two-fer?: The Indians game should end close to the Gladiators' 7 p.m. kickoff. To capture spillover business, a Gladiators spokesman said team representatives will be handing out $10 discount coupons between The Q and Progressive Field to departing Tribe fans.

Ohio State's Jon Diebler happy to be at Combine, eager to show off his shooting prowess: NBA Draft Insider

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OSU's Jon Diebler happy to get a late invite to NBA Draft Combine.

threebler.jpgJon Diebler, the leading 3-point shooter in Big Ten history, says he likes his chances in a shooting contest against anyone at the NBA Draft Combine.

CHICAGO — Ohio State's Jon Diebler was taking a nap on Monday when his agent called and told him he had been invited to take part in the NBA Combine here. He wasn't on the original list distributed by the NBA, but he was happy to be added.

"Some people were dropping out," he said. "Guys who were supposed to be here didn't show up. They said I was close to getting in and to be ready in case I get a call. Fortunately, I got a call and here I am."

Most of the questions here on Thursday centered on his shoulder.

"I partially separated my AC [acromioclavicular joint] the last game against Kentucky in the first half," he said Thursday. "Took a couple weeks off rehabbing that and getting that healthy, so I'm good now. It's 100 percent now."

Diebler's strength, obviously, is his shooting, and he will take his chances against anybody here in that department, including BYU's Jimmer Fredette.

"I believe I definitely can shoot it with the best of them," Diebler said.

He was asked how he compared to Fredette.

"It's a little different," Diebler said. "Jimmer did so much for his team. Everyone knows he can shoot the ball. His was more off the bounce and mine was more catch and shoot, so there's definitely some differences, but he can definitely shoot the ball as everyone knows."

So who wins a shootout between the two?

"I'm very confident in my ability to shoot the basketball," Diebler said.

Looking up: Cleveland State's Norris Cole is ready to impress the NBA executives here. Right now, he is projected as a late first-round or early second-round choice.

"That's on paper," said Cole, who has been working out in Atlanta with Ohio State's David Lighty, another player represented by agent Joel Bell. "Once I get in the workouts and perform, I feel like my stock is going to go up."

Hitting the books: Potential Cavaliers No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving made a pact with his father, Drederick Irving, that he would get his degree from Duke within five years, even though he's leaving after his freshman season.

What happens if he doesn't?

"That's a punishment that my father is going to have to come up with," he said. "Five years from now, I'm going to be 24. I'm going to be a pretty grown man. So, no offense to my father, but the punishment, I think I can take it."

Jason Giambi, 40, becomes second-oldest player, behind Stan Musial, to slug three home runs in a game

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Giambi drove in all seven runs in Colorado's 7-1 win at Philadelphia. All-time great Musial hit three homers in a game when he was 41.

jason-giambi.jpgJason Giambi an instant after clouting the second of his three homers in the Rockies' 7-1 win over the Phillies.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Jason Giambi became the second-oldest player to hit three homers in a game and tied his career high with seven RBIs, leading the Colorado Rockies past the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1, Thursday night.

Jhoulys Chacin was the beneficiary of Giambi's turn-back-the-clock power display. Chacin (5-2) allowed one run and four hits, striking out a season-high nine in seven innings.

Making a rare start at first base in place of Todd Helton, Giambi went deep in his first three at-bats. The 40-year-old former AL MVP entered 3 for 26 (.115) this season with one home run and four RBIs.

With two chances to match the major league record of four homers in a game, Giambi struck out looking against Scott Mathieson in the sixth and went down swinging against J.C. Romero in the ninth.

Hall of Famer Stan Musial is the oldest player to connect three times in a game. He was 41 when he did it against the New York Mets on July 8, 1962.

Giambi hit a three-run drive into the second deck in right field in the first inning off Kyle Kendrick (3-3). He lined a two-run shot to right off Kendrick in the third. Giambi hit another two-run shot to right off Danys Baez in the fifth.

It was the third time in eight days that a big league player hit three homers in a game. Carlos Beltran did it for the New York Mets last Thursday and Toronto slugger Jose Bautista accomplished the feat Sunday.

Giambi is the 12th Rockies player to homer three times in a game. Larry Walker was the last to do it on June 25, 2004, at Cleveland. Giambi has 419 career homers and 39 multihomer games.

Kendrick started in place of Joe Blanton, who was scratched minutes before the game because of soreness in his right elbow. He allowed five runs and seven hits in three innings.

When Giambi connected in the first to give the Rockies a 3-0 lead, the game was pretty much over. The NL East-leading Phillies have slumped terribly on offense. They have 10 runs and 28 hits in their last six games, going 1-5.

Giambi struck out against closer Ryan Madson with the tying run on second base to end Wednesday night's 2-1 loss. But he looked like the old Giambino in this one.

Giambi was the 2000 AL MVP with Oakland when he hit .333 with 43 homers and 137 RBIs. He hit 41 homers twice with the New York Yankees, and had 32 in his last season as a full-time starter in 2008. He's been a role player the last 2 1/2 years.

During the Barry Bonds trial this year, Giambi publicly admitted that he previously used steroids.

On a night when it rained steadily early in the game, the highlight for Phillies fans came when pitcher Cliff Lee batted for Kendrick in the third. Lee got a loud ovation from the fans who remained in their seats. He was even cheered as walked back to the dugout after striking out.

Lee, off to a subpar 2-4 start, is the fan favorite on a team filled with players who've accomplished more in Philadelphia.

The Phillies got their only run when Raul Ibanez hit a ground-rule double in the fourth.

Game notes
Rockies LF Carlos Gonzalez left in the third with tightness in his left groin. ... Giambi's last multihomer game was with Oakland against Toronto on May 9, 2009. ... Rockies C Chris Iannetta was 0 for 5 with four strikeouts. ... Phillies CF Shane Victorino (right hamstring) missed his fourth straight start. He had an MRI before the game, but didn't know the results. ... A crowd of 45,425 was the 158th straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including postseason play. ... Blanton has already been sidelined this season with elbow problems. ... The Phillies have gone down 1-2-3 in 13 of their last 29 innings. They've scored more than three runs just six times in May and are 8-9 this month. ... Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard is hitless in his last 20 at-bats.

Tribe fan from Westlake catches a lesson in Judaism: Cleveland Indians Memories

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A scramble to catch a ball thrown by a player ends up helping a Catholic teen learn about Judaism.

yarmulke.JPGView full size

This spring, we asked readers to tell us their best memory at an Indians game. More than 600 of you responded. The five finalists and winner were featured during the week leading up to Opening Day. All season long, The Plain Dealer will publish other fan memories -- one each day the Indians are scheduled to play. Here is today's essay by Glenn Bialosky of Westlake:

My most memorable day at an Indians game was on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 1970. I was sitting a few rows behind the Indians dugout. The team that year had acquired Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson. To me, he was the most colorful Indians player that year.

He was warming up before the game by playing catch in front of the dugout. I repeatedly implored "The Hawk" to throw me the ball during the entire warm-up. He, every once in a while, would look toward me and nod his head. I felt confident he was going to toss me the ball at the end of warm-ups.

Just like a movie scene, he looks straight at me as he's walking to the dugout, and, as if in slow motion, here comes the ball to me! I was fixated on that ball; it was mine! I leaped from my seat to grab the airborne ball and, at the same time, my errant elbow was slamming into the head of a young man seated in front of me.

What a scene, the ball firmly in my hands and Jacob's previously well-positioned yarmulke flying through the air to the seats below. I felt good about catching that ball but terrible about disheveling Jacob and his head with religious wardrobe.

For the rest of the game, two young men, both 17 years old, got to know each other. I, a Catholic, and Jacob, a Jew, talked religion and baseball. A baseball game brought two diverse young guys out for a good day at the ballpark!

I still vividly remember that glorious day (41 years ago), with its religious learning experience mixed with a good ballgame, every time I view that ball in my trophy case.

P.S. The Indians beat the Red Sox that day (8-2), and I learned what a yarmulke was all about!

Heidelberg baseball team cruises past Case Western Reserve: Local Colleges Newswatch

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Also, the Cleveland State men's golf team is in 13 place at the NCAA regional championship; Notre Dame College's softball team loses NAIA Tournament game; Kent State earns award for sports excellence.

Junior left fielder Jimmy Abed (Westlake) homered, but the Case Western Reserve baseball team lost to Heidelberg, 8-1, on the second day of the NCAA Mideast Regional on Thursday in Marietta, Ohio.

Heidelberg pitcher Ethan Holt (9-2) allowed one run on four hits in eight innings.

The Spartans (31-14), trailed Penn State-Altoona, 2-1, in the second inning of an elimination game which will resume at 10 a.m. today.

CSU golfers 13th: The Cleveland State men's golf team shot an opening-round 303 and was in 13th place after the opening round of the NCAA regional championship at The Farms in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

CSU, which won the Horizon League championship to earn the automatic bid, is playing in the NCAA regional for the third time in the past four years and the fourth time in the past six seasons.

With a 278, Southern Cal had a nine-shot lead over UCLA and Texas. Ohio State shot a 300 and was tied with Tulsa for 11th.

NDC softball falls: Christine Kasidonis (Brunswick) and Nicole Spehar (Marlington) each drove in two runs, but Notre Dame College lost its NAIA Tournament softball pool-play opener, 9-4, to Central Baptist (Ark.) in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The Falcons (23-20), winners of the American Mideast Conference Tournament after a 12-2 victory over Point Park (Pa.), trailed Central Baptist, 8-0, after three innings.

NDC faces Shorter (Ga.) at 6 p.m. today.

KSU men best in MAC: Kent State earned its third straight Reese Trophy for men's all-sports excellence as the Mid-American Conference handed out its highest institutional awards for the 2010-11 academic year. It was the Flashes' sixth Reese title. Western Michigan claimed top honors on the women's side.

Building at UA: Akron will convert 5,000 square feet in Rhodes Arena into team lounges for the Zips men's and women's basketball programs, and the school will construct a 1,650-square-foot strength-training room that will service four varsity teams.

The Zips tennis and volleyball programs, which like the basketball teams have office and locker room space in Rhodes Arena, also will utilize the strength and conditioning center.

The project is scheduled to conclude in late July.

Honor for Sito: Cleveland State sophomore softball pitcher Tess Sito was named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV team.

Sito had a 3.72 grade-point average majoring in communication. She produced a 24-14 record and 1.58 ERA with 278 strikeouts as a pitcher. She also ranked among Horizon League leaders with a .364 batting average.

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