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Yao Ming, Houston Rockets injury-plagued 7-6 star center, is reportedly retiring

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Rockets declined to comment on the Yahoo! Sports report because of the lockout, and the NBA has not received official retirement paperwork from the 8-time all-star.

yao-ming-zydrunas-ilgauskas.jpgHouston's Yao Ming (left) and the Cavaliers' Zydrunas Ilgauskas battling for position during a game in 2007.

HOUSTON, Texas -- Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is retiring, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports.

The 7-foot-6 Chinese star, plagued by lower-body injuries in the second half of his career, has informed the league office that his playing career is over, the website reported.

The Rockets declined to comment on the report because of the lockout, and the NBA has not received official retirement paperwork from Yao.

Yao's contract expired after last season, and the Rockets said they were interested in re-signing him if he came back healthy. Yao said in April in China that his professional future depended on his recovery from a stress fracture in his left ankle.

John Huizinga, one of Yao's American agents, would not confirm the report during a phone interview on Friday. He said Yao's recovery was "on track," but Yao's future with the Rockets has been uncertain for some time.

"He's really enjoyed his time in Houston," Huizinga said. "If he feels that he's recovered enough to play, and if the lockout ever ends, and if the Rockets are interested in him, then there's certainly a good chance he'll stay in Houston.

"But there are a whole lot of 'ifs' in that statement."

An eight-time All-Star selection, Yao averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds in his eight seasons, but his impact on the league goes far beyond the numbers.

Yao single-handedly expanded the NBA's reach throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings for games after the Rockets made him the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consultancy SportsCorp, said Yao's worldwide impact on the league will probably never be duplicated by another player.

"There's never been anything like him before," Ganis said, "and I doubt we'll ever see anything like him again."

Ganis said Yao became an iconic symbol of China's growth and status. He carried the Olympic torch through Tiananmen Square and proudly carried his country's flag during the opening ceremonies in Beijing in 2008.

He also donated $2 million and set up a foundation to rebuild schools in the wake of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan.

"He was the embodiment of the cultural aspirations of the Chinese society," Ganis said. "He always talked about 'team,' always talked about sacrifice, always talked about those who needed help."

Yao was already a larger-than-life national hero in China when he joined the Rockets. He played for the Chinese national team in the six summers before he joined the NBA.

Skeptics doubted Yao was ready for the league, but he made the All-Rookie team after averaging 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.74 blocks in 82 games. He was the only rookie to lead his team in both rebounds and blocks, and the only rookie to rank in the top 20 in three statistical categories.

Yao helped the Rockets reach the playoffs in the next two seasons. Houston acquired versatile star Tracy McGrady before the 2004-05 season, and the franchise envisioned the duo as the cornerstones of a championship team.

The Rockets lost first-round series in seven games in both 2005 and 2007. Yao and McGrady both started encountering injury problems in the seasons that followed.

Yao played in 77 games in the 2008-09 season and with McGrady sidelined, helped Houston reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

But Yao broke his left foot in a postseason game against the Lakers, and underwent complex surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2009-10 season. He lasted only five games at the start of the 2010-11 season, before breaking his left ankle. He underwent surgery in January, and was lost for the season again.

Yao, who turns 31 in September, missed a total of 250 regular-season games over the past six seasons due mostly to injuries to his left foot and leg.

The Rockets missed the playoffs for the second straight season in 2010-11, parted ways with coach Rick Adelman and hired Kevin McHale. McHale said Yao's future with the team was contingent on his health.

"We'd all be really happy if Yao comes back to play, and I hope he can," McHale said. "I think he'll give it his best shot. His body is going to dictate if he can come back and play. That's all going to be laid out in the future."

Ganis said the NBA's popularity in China may never be the same without Yao.

"There was a fascination, with Yao Ming and the Chinese fans," Ganis said. "It was almost like the Michael Jordan effect. The casual fans that Jordan brought to the NBA, when he retired, they simply disappeared.

"That doesn't mean there isn't interest, that doesn't mean there isn't significantly higher, long-term interest in the NBA there. But the numbers the NBA attracted, in Yao Ming's heyday, will never be reached again — unless there's another Yao Ming around the corner."

 


Derek Jeter should be cheered when he reaches 3,000 hits (even if he is a New York Yankee): Bill Livingston

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Jeter has handled himself with consummate professionalism. Focused, driven, consistent for so long, Jeter set the tone for a generation of Yankees who played the game the right way and handled oppressive media attention without letting it diminish them.

derek jeter.JPGView full sizeOK, he's a Yankee, but Derek Jeter will deserve the accolades tossed his way when he reaches the 3,000-career-hits milestone.

Philadelphia with midges, said a friend who had worked with me there in describing Cleveland fans who booed Derek Jeter on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

Eagles fans did indeed boo Santa Claus.

An unruly crowd at the Cotton Bowl in my hometown of Dallas at the Cowboys' very first home game in 1960, a loss by a very bad expansion team, threw ice from soft drink cups at Roy Rogers and Trigger during pregame and halftime activities.

So the waves of boos crashing down when Jeter came to bat here were considerably kinder than the projectiles pelting the King of the Cowboys. They were not as breathtakingly Scroogian as pouring derision on jolly old St. Nick, either.

Still, I have to wonder, beyond the obvious fact of his Yankees uniform, what is so objectionable about Jeter?

At this stage of Jeter's career, Tribe fans should welcome the 37-year-old shortstop's presence in the lineup. He is hardly the menace Alex Rodriguez is. Jeter was 3-for-13 (.231) in the three-game series after returning from injury. He had two doubles and an infield hit. He made a nice diving stop in the field Wednesday night when the Indians won the rubber game of the series.

derek jeter 2.JPGView full sizeJeter only needs a few more hits to reach 3,000.

He left Cleveland three hits shy of 3,000. When he gets there, Jeter will stand alone, the only Yankees player ever to reach the number with the team.

It is a great achievement, although it hardly makes Jeter the greatest Yankee. It says much about the franchise that he will likely be regarded by historians as a member in good standing of the second rank of godlings in the pinstriped pantheon.

Nor am I a Yankees fan. Never was, never will be.

Part of the reason fans hate the Yankees is the incredible economic advantage they enjoy through their cable television deal. Their logo might as well be a dollar sign. The Yankees are big winners because their market size gives them a bigger margin of error than anyone else.

But they are also big winners because of Jeter.

Jeter plays one of the most visible positions on the most visible franchise in the sport. Center field was the signature Yankees position during the era of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Then playing batter became the big thing during the combustible Bronx Zoo days of Reggie Jackson. Jeter might have been the first infielder to become the face of the franchise.

Since 1996, when Jeter arrived and the Yankees started winning World Series again, he has become a player distinguished by both the long haul and the big moments. Baseball stats are like rock strata, one season's accretions pile on top of another's. The geologists who examine these layers will determine that Jeter was the best offensive shortstop ever. He was also one almost nobody thinks was ever a doper.

As for the big moments, they didn't give Jeter the Jerry Westian nickname of Mr. Clutch or the extended season moniker of Mr. November for nothing. With glove, with bat, with head-first dives into the stands, and with one memorable backhand flip, Jeter has been one of the great pressure players ever.

Another friend of mine quipped that maybe Indians fans saw the cap and thought Jeter was LeBron James. Not if they ever saw those plays, they didn't. Even now, in decline, Jeter remains the Yankees' captain.

But even more than that, Jeter has handled himself with consummate professionalism. Focused, driven, consistent for so long, trying to get to the 3,000 milestone now and not turn into a shadow of himself on the journey, never a good quote, but always a cooperative one, Jeter set the tone for a generation of Yankees who played the game the right way and handled oppressive media attention without letting it diminish them.

The same certainly could not be said of Albert Belle, the signature player of the Indians 1990s teams.

Fans have the right to do anything they want at a game, as long as their behavior isn't obscene or dangerous. But when Jeter gets to 3,000, fans everywhere should cheer him as a winner who did not lose his respect for the game, a superstar who did not lose his humility, and a celebrity who did not lose his regard for others.

What Ohio State Buckeyes are offering might not be nearly enough: Terry Pluto

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On the surface, OSU's self-imposed penalties seem a bit soft. The Buckeyes did not suggest a bowl ban or any scholarship losses.

gene smith.JPGView full sizeOhio State Athletic Director Gene Smith discusses the school's plan to vacate its wins from the 2010 football season, including its share of the Big Ten championship and the Buckeyes' victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

Maybe Ohio State has an understanding with the NCAA, knowing what penalties must be self-imposed to keep the NCAA happy and out of Columbus.

If that's the case, great.

But if not, OSU's response to the NCAA's Notice of Allegations dealing with former coach Jim Tressel and players selling memorabilia is rather soft.

The Buckeyes' approach comes down to this: Tressel is out as coach, and he was the problem.

For months, the Buckeyes denied reports they forced Tressel to resign. But now Ohio State indicates it asked for Tressel's resignation because of his failure to report NCAA violations to his superiors.

Tressel also lied to the NCAA about his players trading memorabilia and other items for cash and tattoos.

Could it be OSU wanted to make it appear Tressel resigned purely of his own will so there would be no fan backlash? Now that the popular coach is gone, the school wants credit from the NCAA for dumping the man who won seven Big Ten titles.

OSU also said it would suspend the five players for five games next season -- but that penalty was already in place. Nothing new there.

OSU agreed to give up its 2010 victories and its win in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Since they used players who should have been ineligible in those games, that's the natural consequence.

But other than a "self-imposed two-year NCAA probation," there are no penalties looking forward.

And exactly what a self-imposed probation means is vague.

The Buckeyes did not suggest a bowl ban or any scholarship losses.

Their stance appears to be that Tressel's leaving is a major loss. Star quarterback Terrelle Pryor also is headed to the NFL supplemental draft, so that also is a significant loss.

Of course, Pryor was one of five key players set to miss five games this season for his actions at the tattoo parlor.

While the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles has cleared OSU of any wrongdoing in the sale of cars to football players, the NCAA operates under another set of rules. The organization may still be looking into the sale of cars to Pryor and other football players.

OSU can try to pin everything on Tressel, but someone else had to know the players were often seen at the tattoo parlor run by convicted felon Edward Rife. OSU insists its compliance department does a great job, but it missed the connection with Rife and the players.

OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith is very well-connected with the NCAA. The Buckeyes stress how they have been cooperating with the organization.

So it's possible they know the NCAA will accept these penalties.

Buckeye fans better hope the school is reading the NCAA better now than it did when all this first broke.

Remember how OSU suggested only a two-game suspension for Tressel, even though the players received five games? Then they raised Tressel's penalty to five games.

Now, they take credit for the coach leaving.

It's obvious the school was slow to understand the serious nature of the violations.

When dealing with the NCAA, it's always best to suggest tough sanctions -- because you want them off campus and out of your life. Whenever an NCAA investigation hangs over an athletic program, it feels like the shadow of doom. It makes it hard to recruit, and coaches and players are on edge. They don't know what's coming, but fear it will be awful.

The Buckeyes would be on safer ground had they also offered something else -- perhaps taking away five scholarships for next year. Why five? Because it matches the total of the five ineligible players.

What OSU fans should want is for this issue to be settled quickly. But it's hard to know if what the Buckeyes have offered will be enough to make that happen.

Mitch Talbot, Cleveland Indians get blasted by Toronto Blue Jays, 11-7

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UPDATED: Talbot gets beat up for eight runs in 5 1/3 innings as the Indians lose to the Blue Jays at Progressive Field.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Mitch Talbot enjoys coming to Progressive Field. Fun atmosphere, ample amenities.

Talbot just has trouble pitching there.

As a starter for the home team, that rates as highly problematic.

Talbot gave up eight runs on 11 hits in 51/3 innings as the Indians fell to the Blue Jays, 11-7, Friday night at Progressive Field.

The Blue Jays (43-47) snapped a five-game slide at Progressive Field.

The Tribe (47-40) had beaten Toronto in nine of the past 11 meetings.

The Blue Jays have outplayed the Indians for the vast majority of the first two of a four-game set. But the series is even because of the Tribe's five-run ninth Thursday night, capped by a Travis Hafner walk-off grand slam.

Toronto's payback consisted of three multirun innings against Talbot and four overall.

The Blue Jays scored three in the second, two in the fourth and three in the sixth to build an 8-2 lead. And get this: Jose Bautista, one of baseball's most dangerous sluggers, finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, though he did walk twice.

"Mitch didn't throw enough first-pitch strikes," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "When he got ahead, he couldn't put hitters away. It put us behind the 8-ball."

The Indians repeatedly came up empty with runners in scoring position against lefty Jo-Jo Reyes, who defeated them for the second time this season. Before his victory May 30 in Toronto, Reyes (4-7, 4.57 ERA) had not won a game in the majors in three years.

Reyes allowed three runs -- none earned -- on eight hits in 5 . He walked three and struck out none.

With Reyes long gone, the Indians got busy late and made matters interesting. Trailing, 9-3 in the eighth, they got an RBI single from Asdrubal Cabrera and a two-run double from Travis Buck. Buck picked up Hafner, who had struck out with the bases loaded and none out.

The attempted comeback hit the skids when, with runners on second and third, Orlando Cabrera popped out and Matt LaPorta grounded out against Jason Frasor.

"Our offense showed some life, but it was too big of a hole," Acta said.

The Blue Jays tacked on two in the ninth when Travis Snider hit a two-run double. Snider, the No. 7 batter, went 3-for-5 with five RBI. No. 9 batter Rajai Davis was 3-for-4 with four RBI.

Talbot (2-6, 6.33 ERA) slipped to 0-3 with an 8.40 ERA in five home starts. He has given up 44 hits in 24 innings of those outings.

As a rookie with the Tribe last season, Talbot went 4-9 with a 5.82 ERA in 17 home starts, giving up 108 hits in 89 innings. He offset those issues by going 6-4, 2.58, in 11 road starts.

Talbot has not been the same pitcher, regardless of venue, since straining his right elbow during a dominant performance April 11 against the Angels in Anaheim. He was placed in the disabled list April 17.

Since being activated May 25, Talbot is 1-6 with a 7.63 ERA (46 innings, 39 earned runs, 71 hits) in nine starts.

The question is, how much patience will the bosses have with him? The Indians are fighting to stay in first place and several starters are performing well at Class AAA Columbus.

In his postgame meeting with reporters, Acta sounded as if his Talbot hourglass has precious few grains of sand remaining on the top.

"He's scuffling, so we're going to have to look into that," Acta said. "We're not going to overreact, but we've got to look into things. It's been 31/2 months of baseball. We have to do what's best for our team and look at all our options."

Toronto built a three-run advantage in the second. Adam Lind singled, Aaron Hill walked and Edwin Encarnacion singled to load the bases.

Snyder grounded to first baseman LaPorta, Lind scoring. Talbot struck out light-hitting J.P. Arencibia with a nasty breaking pitch away, but Davis poked a two-run single to left. Davis reached down and hooked a breaking pitch.

The Indians answered with two in their half. LaPorta reached on a throwing error by third baseman Bautista. Rejuvenated Austin Kearns singled, LaPorta advancing to third. Jack Hannahan ripped an RBI single to right-center.

After Lou Marson's sacrifice bunt, Michael Brantley grounded to first to drive in Kearns. Asdrubal Cabrera grounded to short for the third out, but it took a slick play by Yunel Escobar to get him.

The Blue Jays scored two more two-out runs in the fourth to make it 5-2. Encarnacion led off with a double and moved to third on a fly to deep right. Arencibia once again helped out Talbot, grounding to third, but Davis once again stung him, delivering an RBI single up the middle.

The next batter, Escobar, doubled to right-center, Davis scoring easily.

Toronto opened an 8-2 lead in the sixth. Encarnacion reached on what was originally ruled a Hannahan error and changed to a hit. Snider homered to right-center.

Later in the inning, Davis grounded into a fielder's choice. Chad Durbin relieved Talbot and Davis stole second. Moments later, Davis took off for third. Catcher Marson's throw was in time and on-target, but Hannahan failed to secure it. The ball rolled away far enough for Davis to score.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664

On Twitter: @dmansworldpd

Look for the NCAA to hit the Ohio State Buckeyes with more sanctions: Q & A with Doug Lesmerises

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Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer's beat writer for the Ohio State Buckeyes, answers readers questions in regard to the football team and the NCAA investigation.

sugar bowl.JPGView full sizeBecause of Ohio State's self-imposed sanctions, this victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl last January never happened.

As required in the NCAA's Notice of Allegations, Ohio State submitted its response to the NCAA on Friday, self-imposing penalties that were significant, but not severe. Ohio State faces an NCAA hearing Aug. 12. In the meantime, here are answers to some common questions.

Will this be enough to satisfy the NCAA?

Florida attorney Michael Buckner said scholarship reductions are typical penalties when schools play ineligible players, and Ohio State admitted it did that. A bowl ban still doesn't seem out of the question, but may be less likely. The general consensus among experts and analysts is the self-imposed penalties are light. But Ohio State has also been working closely with the NCAA and should have a feel for this. The school had trouble finding a matching precedent to this case, and the guess here is the NCAA will hit Ohio State with something more.

What does the NCAA do with this response from Ohio State? Is it like a plea deal to a judge?

The Committee on Infractions will take it into consideration along with everything else -- how cooperative Ohio State has been, the school's track record with the NCAA, the fact Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor, two of the violators, are no longer around. It's a bit of a poker game, and self-imposed violations make up only part of Ohio State's hand. But the NCAA won't make the penalties less severe, so we know 2010 is gone.

By vacating last season's wins, what happens to the stats and records from last season? Are they all wiped out? Do other schools adjust their records to show themselves as winning?

It's like the games were never played. The Buckeyes don't get losses and other schools don't get wins. Ohio State's record-tying six straight Big Ten titles are now just five straight, because only Wisconsin and Michigan State now share the 2010 conference crown. Jim Tressel's record against Michigan is now 8-1, not 9-1. Ohio State still hasn't beaten the SEC in a bowl, because the win over Arkansas is wiped out. An OSU spokesperson said individual player records and stats will still stand, unless the NCAA tells the school otherwise.

Does Ohio State have to return its Big Ten championship trophy from 2010? Do OSU players need to give back Big Ten championship rings or gold pants for beating Michigan?

The school can't display the Big Ten trophy or Sugar Bowl trophy, but Athletic Director Gene Smith said the decision hasn't been made if they will be returned. The 2010 Big Ten rings were already given out and players will keep them. The Gold Pants haven't been distributed yet for the 2010 win, but it sounds like they will be.

Any word on the sixth player being suspended? (Via Twitter from @MikeDaBuckeye)

Ohio State's response included the addition of one player who was suspended for five games for the start of the 2011 season for receiving benefits from tattoo parlor owner Ed Rife. Nine players on the current roster were named in a Sports Illustrated report as potentially receiving extra benefits, but the families of many players denied that. Linebacker Dorian Bell, already suspended for the season because of a different violation, is the new player in Ohio State's response, according to a source.

What happens to the money Ohio State and the Big Ten earned from the Sugar Bowl? What about Big Ten network money and other TV money? Do they have to give it back?

Smith said there is no financial component to the wins that are vacated. As for keeping the Sugar Bowl money, Smith said, "The BCS is not the NCAA." And that is true.

Why did Ohio State vacate the Sugar Bowl win? The NCAA ruled the suspended players eligible for the bowl game before the game took place.

Ohio State noted in its response that if Tressel would have reported his knowledge of the players' violations, they probably would have been suspended for the first five games of 2010. So an advantage was gained by Ohio State for only those first five games last season. The school wiped out the entire season anyway, including the bowl win, basically as a show of good faith.

Why did Ohio State self-impose a postseason ban on the men's basketball team for the 2004-05 season but not for the football team this season?

Smith doesn't see the comparison between those violations with then-coach Jim O'Brien, which he considered more severe, and these violations.

"Don't compare these two cases, because they're vastly different," Smith said. "We had academic fraud in that one. We had a university representative providing $6,000 in cash. They are different. So you can't take that case and say because they took a postseason ban in basketball they should take a postseason ban here."

What does being on a two-year probation mean?

Nothing, unless Ohio State commits another big NCAA violation. Under probation, if Ohio State has any major violation, the NCAA can hammer the school with any penalties. This is a tough line Ohio State is walking at the moment. Ohio State is already a repeat offender under NCAA rules because of violations committed by former basketball coach O'Brien. But the school argues in its response against getting extra penalties because these violations are of a different type and limited to football. So, by self-imposing probation, the school thinks it should be hit later if it does wrong again, but doesn't want to be hit now for . . . doing wrong again.

Why was Tressel forced out May 30 after he was fully supported at the March 8 news conference by the administration?

Smith said it was for two reasons -- because losing Tressel would help Ohio State's cause with the NCAA and because of mounting public and media pressure. "The biggest thing that changed was the continued public attacks on the institution," Smith said.

What's the relationship like now between Smith and Tressel?

Smith said it wasn't just his decision to ask Tressel to resign, but he said doing so was difficult. He said the two have spoken just twice since Tressel's departure and both have moved on. Smith was angry at Tressel when he first found out about the violations, but the athletic director said both sides are past it.

"Do I wish Jim had come to me at that time? Yes," Smith said. "I've moved on and I've got other things to do. In that moment, yes, I felt betrayed. Why didn't he bring that to me or come to me?"

How does this impact recruiting in the short/long term?

The short-term recruiting implications of having a coach on a one-year leash, Luke Fickell, with unknown sanctions hanging over him are disastrous. Ohio State is losing all kinds of players it has snagged in recent years. Smith said there are casualties in any transition, but he also noted National Signing Day isn't until February. By then, Ohio State will have a permanent coach -- and maybe a chance to get some recruits back in the fold.

Is Mike Vrabel going to be Ohio State's next linebackers coach?

Smith would say only "we haven't made an announcement about that that I'm aware of." One of Fickell's closest friends could join the staff as early as next week.

Is it possible the NCAA will accept Ohio State's response as satisfactory and make the Aug. 12 hearing moot?

Aug. 12 is happening. I'll be sitting in a hallway outside a conference room in Indianapolis, and the Buckeyes will have to face the music. The only possibility of change is if more potential violations emerge and the hearing is delayed, but that seems unlikely.

Does this mean my wife has to apologize for yelling at me about cussing and screaming during those games? (Via Twitter from @FarleyOhio)

New excuse for any bad behavior during football Saturdays last fall -- "Honey, that's been vacated."

-- Doug Lesmerises

Lonnie Chisenhall day to day after taking pitch to the face: Cleveland Indians Insider

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The injury is expected to take four to six weeks to heal, but Chisenhall can play as soon as swelling around the right eye sufficiently subsides.

lonnie chisenhall.JPGView full sizeLonnie Chisenhall, center, will not require surgery after getting hit in the face by a pitch on Thursday. Chisenhall is listed as day to day.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall suffered a non-displaced sinus fracture underneath the right cheekbone after being hit by a pitch Thursday night, Tribe head trainer Lonnie Soloff said Friday afternoon.

Chisenhall is listed as day to day. The injury is expected to take 4-6 weeks to heal, but Chisenhall can play as soon as swelling around the right eye sufficiently subsides. Surgery is not required.

Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva beaned the left-handed Chisenhall in the second inning of the Tribe's 5-4 victory. The ball caromed off the helmet's earflap and shot across the cheek and nose. Chisenhall was replaced by Jack Hannahan.

Given what can happen when a player gets drilled in the head/face with a pitch, the Indians consider themselves fortunate. Chisenhall has shown no signs or symptoms of a concussion, and his eyes checked out fine.

While playing for Class AAA Columbus in June, Chisenhall suffered a concussion during a head-first slide.

"We're very relieved, considering that the kid had a concussion not too long ago, and that he was hit in the face," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "If he doesn't make an appearance in the next three days, we should be able to have him for the start of the second half."

The Indians conclude the pre-All-Star Game portion of the schedule Sunday against the Blue Jays. They begin the "second half" next Thursday in Baltimore.

Chisenhall, or his helmet, likely will be fitted with a mask or protective device until the fracture heals. He wore sunglasses while seated on a clubhouse couch in the afternoon. He was not made available to reporters.

"It looks like Lonnie's gone a couple rounds with Mike Tyson, or the boxer of the day, but otherwise, he's fine," Soloff said. "It's going to be a couple, three days -- and that's a positive for us, and for him. This is good news. Very good news."

Chisenhall, Cleveland's first-round pick in 2008, was promoted from Columbus on June 27. He is hitting .267 with one homer and two RBI in nine games.

Hannahan started at third Friday against Toronto lefty Jo-Jo Reyes. Hannahan, a left-handed batter, entered hitting .309 against lefties, .184 against righties and .216 overall.

Roster shuffle: The Indians officially recalled infielder Luis Valbuena from Columbus on Friday and optioned right-hander Zach McAllister to Columbus. Acta had announced to moves Thursday night after McAllister made his major-league debut.

Luis Valbuena.JPGView full sizeLuis Valbuena

Valbuena, 25, is hitting .313 (87-for-278) with 19 doubles, 12 homers, 48 runs and 56 RBI in 77 games for the Clippers. He is an International League All-Star.

He hit .361 (35-for-97) in June and is hitting .336 (44-for-131) with runners on base and .346 (27-for-78) with runners in scoring position. He has appeared in 46 games at shortstop, 11 games at both third base and left field and five games at second.

"Luis' role is backup utility infielder," Acta said. "That's what [Cord] Phelps was doing here at the end, and we felt Phelps needed to go down to get every-day at-bats. Luis is going to play second when we need to give Orlando [Cabrera] a day off, some third base when need be, and short if he has to."

Valbuena was with the Tribe on May 19-20 but did not play.

Valbuena was solid for the Indians in 2009, hitting .250 with 38 extra-base hits in 103 games. But he dropped his compass in the woods last year, hitting .193 in 91 games.

"I'm so happy for another opportunity," Valbuena said. "I'm ready to do anything they want."

Haf full: Some batters get tight or try too hard with the bases loaded. Travis Hafner? He becomes Zen master Pronk.

According to baseball-reference.com, Hafner's highest career average in any situation with runners on has come with the bases loaded. He entered Friday at .322 (29-for-90) with 12 homers and 108 RBI in 111 plate appearances. His slugging percentage was .822.

Hafner's most recent slam occurred Thursday night in the ninth inning against the Blue Jays, enabling the Indians to secure the 5-4 victory. The previous Indian to hit a walk-off slam with the team trailing by three was Ron Lolich on April 22, 1973. Hafner joined Carlos Santana as Indians with walk-off slams this season; the last time the club did so twice in one year was 2002 (Bill Selby, Jim Thome).

On July 14, 2002, Selby took Yankees closer Mariano Rivera deep. He capped a six-run ninth as the Indians prevailed, 10-7.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664

On Twitter: @dmansworldpd

Cleveland Gladiators aware of trap, still walk right into it in rout at Philadelphia

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Gladiators coach Steve Thonn had a bad feeling about this one, and for good reason as playoff-bound Cleveland gets blasted by the mediocre Soul.

gladiators.JPGView full sizePhiladelphia's Darrell Campbell, bottom right, tackles Cleveland quarterback Kurt Rocco during the Soul's 49-21 victory on Friday night. The Gladiators' Jeff Maddux tried to contain Campbell.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — When you woke up Friday, three things were certain: death, taxes and the Cleveland Gladiators' first-quarter defense.

The Arena Football League's stingiest defense -- allowing just 44 points per game -- had given up less than eight points per game during the first 15 minutes.

They were licking their chops to get a chance to face an average Philadelphia Soul offense, which was without the league's leading receiver, Donovan Morgan, who is done for the season, having been exempted to play in the United Football League.

This game could have been pictured next to "trap game" in the dictionary: likely playoff-bound Cleveland (9-7), with the playoff-fringe Pittsburgh Power on the schedule next week, facing a nothing-to-lose Philadelphia (6-11) team without its star player.

Gladiators coach Steve Thonn had a bad feeling about this one.

"We can't look ahead to Pittsburgh," Thonn said before Friday's game. "It's a hit for them, because [Morgan's] so good. But you don't want to take it like, 'Oh, now we've got them.' Because [Larry] Brackins, the guy that's going to come in, he's capable of catching four touchdowns, too."

The Soul fed the Gladiators a dose of the 6-4, 221-pound Brackins early and often, as Cleveland fell into an early 17-7 hole and scored its fewest points all season in a 49-21 loss.

Donovan Morgan, who?

On the Soul's first drive, Brackins shook a Gladiators defensive back on a double move and hauled in a 15-yard touchdown. Soul quarterback Ryan Vena went back to Brackins on a slant for another touchdown on the next drive, putting the Soul up, 14-0, less than 10 minutes into the game.

In the first quarter, Brackins had five catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns. The backup receiver finished with nine catches for 133 yards and three touchdowns.

As Brackins shined, Gladiators rookie quarterback Kurt Rocco showed he still has a lot to learn, throwing an interception on a long pass to the end zone on Cleveland's first possession.

"He's kind of had his ups and downs like any rookie quarterback," Thonn said before the game. "It's so hard to play quarterback in our league. . . . Usually you don't become a real good Arena quarterback until a year or two into it."

Rocco struggled to move the Gladiators' offense, with his lone highlight coming on a 32-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Troy Bergeron.

Rocco was clearly frustrated as the points piled up for the Soul in the second half, holding his palms up, arms outstretched, while talking strategy with Thonn after a poor play.

Rocco was scrambling for his life at times and missed throws when he could set his feet.

"It wasn't all Kurt Rocco," Thonn said. "Our offensive line is decimated right now. We had second- and third-string guys [playing], so we're trying to piecemeal a line for him. He got no protection and he didn't play good, but I think he got a little gun shy as it went on."

Offensive lineman Jeff Maddux made his debut at center for Cleveland. Joe Blanks was picked up earlier this week, practiced twice and saw playing time. The usual brick wall of Adam Tadisch and Billy Eisenhardt were missed.

Cleveland's quarterback finished 19-of-33 for 201 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also sacked seven times.

The embarrassment boiled over when Cleveland turned the ball over on downs to start the second half. Vena hit Brackins in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown on the next play.

Consider the Gladiators trapped.

Tim Rohan, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Unearned runs end up costing Columbus Clippers against Toledo: Minor League Report

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UPDATED: Also, the Kinston Indians take both games of a doubleheader, while the Akron Aeros and Mahoning Valley Scrappers also win.

Juan Diaz.JPGView full sizeAkron Aeros shortstop Juan Diaz had two RBI on Friday.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Mud Hens 8, Clippers 6 The Clippers Luke Donald (.276) and Jerad Head (.297) homered but Toledo scored four unearned runs after a Cord Phelps error and won the International League game in Columbus.

It was Donald's third homer of the season and Head's 14th.

Righty Jeanmar Gomez (9-3, 2.40) took the loss. He went six innings, allowing seven runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk. He struck out four.

Notes: Head is 7-for-21 (.333) with three home runs and a double in his past five games.

AA Akron Aeros

Aeros 4, SeaWolves 1 SS Juan Diaz (.251) drove in two runs in a four-run seventh, righty Austin Adams allowed one earned run in six innings, and Akron beat Erie (Pa.) in an Eastern League game at Canal Park.

Lefty Eric Berger (2-0, 3.62) pitched 1 innings of relief in earning the win. Berger did not allow a hit, walked two and fanned five.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Indians 6-1, Hillcats 1-0 SS Casey Frawley (.215) hit his 10th homer of the season, RF Abner Abreu (.224) hit his sixth and RHP Brett Brach (6-5, 2.71) threw six strong innings as the K-Tribe won the first game of a Carolina League doubleheader over Lynchburg in Kinston, N.C.

In the nightcap, left-handed starter T.J. House (6-7, 3.95), LHP Chris Jones (3.65) and closer Preston Guilmet (2.02, 22 saves) combined to blank the Hillcats.

A Lake County Captains

Hot Rods 5-1, Captains 1-0 Bowling Green (Ky.) scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth (in a seven-inning game) off right-handed reliever Joey Mihalic (0-2, 9.64) and beat visiting Lake County in Game 1 of a Midwest League doubleheader.

In Game 2, the Hot Rods' Victor Mateo no-hit the Captains, striking out 10. Captains righty Cole Cook (3-9, 4.40) allowed one unearned run in six innings.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Scrappers 4, Crosscutters 3 1B Jerrod Sabourin (.176) singled in Jordan Smith (.358) with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to give the Scrappers the New York-Penn league win over Williamsport (Pa.).

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers 11, Rascals 8 CF Patrick Norris (.306), RF Nick Mahin (.318) and LF Kellen Kulbacki (.293) each had three hits to lead Lake Erie to the Frontier League win in O'Fallon, Mo.


1948 World Series game was a thrill of a lifetime: Cleveland Indians Memories

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Carl Parise of Mayfield Heights was in the stands when the Indians won the World Series in 1948.

This spring, we asked readers to tell us their best memory at an Indians game. More than 600 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 Carl Parise of Mayfield Heights:

Wishing that I had the intellect and ability to express the joy of sitting in the stands of Cleveland Municipal Stadium on Oct. 10, 1948, and watching Bob Feller pitch [the Tribe lost Game 5, 11-5]. How do you tell someone about the feeling you get when your home team wins the World Series and becomes world champions?

The Indians were playing the Boston Braves. The final score was 4-3 of the sixth game of the series in Boston. The Indians won four games to two. I couldn't imagine anything more unforgettable than being there when world champions are made.

Mid-American Conference to reward men's basketball teams for tougher scheduling, postseason wins

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MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher hopes the bonus money for tougher scheduling and for winning will raise the level of the entire league.

kent state.JPGView full sizeKent's men's basketball team plays four teams in 2011-12 that finished in the top 43 last season (Utah State, West Virginia, UAB and Cleveland State); and three others inside the top 100 (Morehead State, James Madison and St. Peter's).
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Mid-American Conference will try to jump-start the league's men's basketball by paying bonuses to programs that reach benchmarks that include scheduling tougher nonleague opponents and winning NCAA Tournament and National Invitation Tournament games.

The MAC has been struggling in recent seasons, and the Ratings Percentage Index -- a computer formula that measures wins, losses and strength of schedules for every team in the country -- reflects that.

The MAC's RPI as a league ranked 18th in the nation last season. Only one MAC team, Kent State, has been a consistent top-100 RPI team, something it has accomplished 12 of the past 13 years. That run includes six seasons in the top 50.

No other MAC team has been in the top 50 more than twice.

MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher hopes the bonus money for tougher scheduling and for winning will raise the level of the entire league.

The plan has been approved, but league athletic directors have not decided how much money will be paid out each incentive reached. They will do so before the start of the 2011-12 season.

According to Steinbrecher, in the past the MAC has split its postseason money evenly. That will no longer be the case. According to the commissioner:

• A percentage of the money still will be shared equally.

• The rest will be handed out based on winning. Teams will be rewarded for their nonconference performance, conference performance, NCAA Tournament appearances, other postseason tournament performances and where they finish in the RPI.

The hope is more teams will schedule aggressively and win, ultimately getting more teams into the postseason and more money into the MAC coffers.

"As more teams have success, hopefully, the [money] pool will grow," Steinbrecher said.

Winning home games and playing quality nonconference teams are the keys to the plan.

Under the mandate, MAC teams must have 15 nonconference home games over the course of any two-season span.

The other key is what Steinbrecher calls " 'right-size scheduling,' which is something you can't legislate, but teams have to do. Better teams have to play better people."

As an example, a rebuilding team with a new head coach can't be expected to have a schedule loaded with teams from the six power conferences and the top 12 overall leagues in the country.

"We looked at every formula under the sun," Steinbrecher said. "But the key is to schedule for where you are at. Kent and Akron, for where their programs have been of late, should be scheduling differently from our teams at the bottom. At the end of the day, it's about scheduling the best teams you can beat."

Kent recently released its nonconference schedule. While it does not have the marquee value of KSU's recent past, it does meet the MAC mandate.

Kent, which finished 2010-11 at No. 63 in the RPI, plays four teams that finished in the top 43 last season (Utah State, West Virginia, UAB and Cleveland State); and three others inside the top 100 (Morehead State, James Madison and St. Peter's).

KSU will play seven nonconference games at home, meaning it will need to play eight in 2012-13 to reach the mandate of 15 over two seasons.

"We're very encouraged the commissioner is continuing to push this issue," Kent Athletic Director Joel Nielsen said. "We're somewhat disappointed there has been some resistance, but not enough to deter us from making progress. I like the parameters we have in place now."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ealexander@plaind.com, 216-999-4253


Cleveland Indians' Asdrubal Cabrera gets start in All-Star Game

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Cabrera gets the starting spot after the Yankees' Derek Jeter bows out because of an injury.

Asdrubal CabreraView full sizeAsdrubal Cabrera

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Asdrubal Cabrera will start for the American League at Tuesday's All-Star Game, the Indians announced Friday night. He will replace injured Derek Jeter, who will not play.

'Jeter, the Yankees' star who won the fan voting for the starting position, 'recently returned from a stay on the disabled list for a calf injury and felt it would be best to rest.

Cabrera was second to Jeter in the fan voting and was voted on to the squad by the players. The decision on a starter and a replacement for Jeter is at the discretion of manager Ron Washington, according to a Major League Baseball representative.

The Tigers' Jhonny Peralta, who formerly played for the Indians, will replace Jeter on the roster.

Cabrera will be featured in a profile in Sunday's Plain Dealer.

OCab to ACab: Congrats on being an All-Star starter

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Indians second baseman Orlando Cabrera said teammate Asdrubal Cabrera is where he deserves to be: starting at shortstop in the All-Star Game.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabera is an All-Star starter -- and teammate Orlando Cabrera could not be happier.

 "What a tremendous accomplishment for him,'' said Orlando, the Tribe's second baseman. "To put yourself in position to be an All-Star is one thing; now he's a starter. That's a big deal, something you don't take for granted. He deserves it as much as anybody.''

 Asdrubal Cabrera finished second to the Yankees' Derek Jeter in fan voting, but Jeter decided to pull out of the game in order to rest. Jeter recently returned from the disabled list because of a calf injury.

 Cabrera, voted on to the American League All-Star Team by the players, was named a starter Friday night. The decision on a starter and a replacement is at the discretion of manager Ron Washington, according to a Major League Baseball representative. Washington manages the Texas Rangers, who won the AL pennant last year.

 The Tigers' Jhonny Peralta, who once played for the Indians, replaced Jeter on the roster.

 "Even though the fans didn't vote Asdrubal in, he's been the best shortstop in the league this year, so it turned out right,'' Orlando Cabrera said.

 Adrubal Cabrera becomes the first Indians shortstop to be an All-Star starter since Lou Boudreau in 1948. Boudreau, as player-manager, went on to win MVP and lead the Tribe to a world championship.

 The last Indians position player to start in an All-Star Game was outfielder Juan Gonzalez in 2001.

 Asdrubal Cabrera entered Saturday hitting .294 with 14 homers, 51 RBI and 55 runs in 87 games. Even with seven errors, he has been a force defensively, stealing hits to the left and to the right.

 Among those Asdrubal Cabrera has credited for his success is Orlando Cabrera, a veteran whom the Indians signed in February. Orlando Cabrera moved from shortstop, his natural position.

 "I'm flattered that he's mentioned me as part of his accomplishments, but what I've said to him are just words,'' Orlando said. "He's the one who goes out and plays. He's the one doing all these things. He's been fun to watch.''

 The All-Star appearance is Asdrubal Cabrera's first. Orlando Cabrera would be shocked if it is his last.

 "He's become a great player, and he has the ability to be an All-Star every year,'' Orlando Cabrera said. "From what I know about Asdrubal, he's going to keep working hard to stay at this level.''

 Tribe closer Chris Perez is the other Tribe All-Star. The game will be played in Arizona.

 Milestone moment: Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit Saturday brought lefty Chris Haney and the 1999 Cleveland Indians back into the news.

 Jeter homered off Tampa Bay Rays lefty David Price in the Bronx for the milestone hit. Jeter became the second player in history to homer for No. 3,000. The first was Wade Boggs, who, as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, went deep off Haney on Aug. 7, 1999, at Tropicana Field.

 After trotting around the bases, Boggs kissed home plate.

 The Indians won the game, though, 15-10. Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome went a combined 7-for-8 with nine RBI.

 

Toronto Blue Jays lead Cleveland Indians, 3-1, through 3 1/2

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Blue Jays lead Indians, 3-1, through 3 1/2 innings.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Blue Jays led the Indians, 3-1, through 3 1/2 innings Saturday night at Progressive Field.

The Blue Jays scored in the first. With one out, Eric Thames doubled to left-center off righty Josh Tomlin. Jose Bautista walked on four pitches.

Lefty Adam Lind flipped a balloon breaking ball into shallow right, Thames scoring and Bautista racing to third.

Just when it appeared Tomlin might be in serious trouble, he buckled down to get Aaron Hill to pop to short and Edwin Encarnacion to pop to second. Encarnacion had four hits Friday night and seven in his previous 10 at-bats.

The Indians answered in the second. Carlos Santana drew a one-out walk from righty Brandon Morrow and advanced to second on Grady Sizemore's single to left. Santana moved to third on Travis Buck's fly to deep left and scored on Matt LaPorta's fly to deep right. Thames made a superb running catch at the track to deny LaPorta extra bases. 

Luis Valbuena, in his first at-bat with the Indians this season, struck out swinging.

Bautista pushed the Blue Jays back in front with his 30th homer. It came with two outs. Ahead in the count, 1-0, Bautista sized up an 85-mph pitch that caught too much of the plate and lined it over the left-field wall.

"Joey Bats'' became the first Blue Jay to reach 30 homers before the All-Star break. He is the first major league with 30 before the break since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.

Bautista entered Saturday with a ridiculous .466 on-base percentage. He was hitting .330 with 73 walks.

The Blue Jays extended the lead to 3-1 in the fourth with a two-out RBI double by Jose Molina. 

Lonnie Chisenhall likely will return to field after All-Star break: Cleveland Indians Chatter

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Chisenhall's modified batting helmet likely prevented a more serious injury after he was hit in the face with a pitch on Thursday.

lonnie chisenhall.jpgView full sizeIndians infielder Lonnie Chisenhall.

Clubhouse confidential: Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, who was beaned Thursday night, played catch with head trainer Lonnie Soloff on Saturday. Chisenhall suffered a non-displaced sinus fracture beneath the right cheekbone and is listed as day to day. He likely will not play today, the last day of the "first half."

"Everything is going according to plan," Tribe manager Manny Acta said. "I'm anticipating having him after the All-Star break."

Chisenhall's helmets have been fitted with a protective device that essentially enlarges the earflap. Closer Chris Perez wore one of Chisenhall's new helmets in the pregame clubhouse. The earflap saved Chisenhall from a much more serious injury when Toronto pitcher Carlos Villanueva drilled him.

The fracture is expected to heal in four to six weeks.

Valbuena's in: Luis Valbuena, recalled from Class AAA Columbus on Friday, started at second base and batted eighth Saturday. He made his season debut with the Tribe.

Acta said Orlando Cabrera was given a day off and will be back in the lineup today.

Stat of the day: The Indians entered Saturday at 9-34 when out-hit.

-- Dennis Manoloff

Injury to Herb Score made a terrible sound: Tribe memories

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This spring, we asked readers to tell us their best memory at an Indians game. More than 600 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 Walter Gibbons of Westlake:

herb.jpgHerb Score was never the same pitcher after he was struck in the eye by a ball hit by the Yankees' Gil McDougald. A fan who was at the game still recalls the terrible sound the ball made then is struck the popular Cleveland hurler.

This spring, we asked readers to tell us their best memory at an Indians game. More than 600 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 Walter Gibbons of Westlake:

On Tuesday, May 7, 1957, against the New York Yankees at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, my favorite Indians player, Herb Score, was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald, breaking numerous bones in his face and leaving him bloodied. I was one of many fans in attendance at that game.

My uncle was the owner of the National Ticket Co. in Cleveland. He owned four box seats on the third-base side of the foul-ball netting in the very first row. I was attending with my grandfather, my father and older brother. I was 11 years old and an avid Cleveland Indians fan and Yankee hater. The likes of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford were my enemies. As kids, we rooted for Cleveland Indians players. Today, fans root for uniforms. Score was my idol and favorite player along with Rocky Colavito.

It was a cool May evening, and with McDougald at the plate, I can recall hearing the crack of the bat and then this horrible sound the ball made when it struck Score squarely in the eye. Being so close to the action, it was horrifying for me and many other fans to see and hear what happened.

Herb was writhing in pain as the medical team and players (both teammates and Yankees) rushed to his aid. I knew he was hurt badly, and what seemed like an eternity, he was carried off the field on a stretcher. I was distraught and worried for his life and prayed for his full recovery. Herb never was the same after that mishap, but he did make his mark as a professional in the broadcast booth for the Cleveland Indians.

That same summer on July 18, 1957, I was severely burned in an accident while playing with friends. The highlight of that summer was receiving a phone call (arranged by my uncle) from my hero Herb Score, while I was recovering in the old St. John's Hospital on Detroit Avenue. Herb assured me he was going to be fine and that I also would recover from my injuries. After my many surgeries for skin grafts and a six-week hospital stay, Herb was absolutely correct. Score returned to pitch for my beloved Indians, and I returned to play for my Salobeck Corners team in Lakewood.


Cleveland Browns opponents' strengths, weaknesses shift amid turmoil in NFL

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A tour through the Browns' 2011 opponents shows that every team has questions to answer when the NFL lockout is lifted.

Brian Daboll.JPGView full sizeFormer Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll will return to Cleveland on Sept. 25 in charge of the Miami Dolphins' offense.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Yes, the Browns have a slew of question marks to answer once the NFL labor dispute is resolved.

But they are not alone. Although the Browns' climb might be steeper than most, every team faces issues exacerbated by the NFL lockout.

Here's a closer look at the hurdles confronting the teams on the Browns' 2011 schedule:

Games 1 and 11 Cincinnati Bengals: They are no closer now than six months ago at resolving their standoff with quarterback Carson Palmer, who vowed to retire rather than suffer another season in Cincinnati. The drafting of elite receiver A.J. Green has had no measurable impact on Palmer's intentions. It's looking as if rookie Andy Dalton will be their opening-game starter against the Browns. If so, the odds of the Browns scoring only their second opening-game win in 13 seasons improves dramatically.

Also, will Dalton's starting wideouts include Chad Ochocinco or will he be throwing to Green and second-year Colt McCoy buddy Jordan Shipley?

Game 2 Indianapolis Colts: Quarterback Peyton Manning had neck surgery on May 23, the second of his career. He has expressed frustration about not being able to work with his trusted therapist with the Colts as a result of the lockout.

manning.JPGView full sizeColts star quarterback Peyton Manning.

Prior to Manning's surgery, the Colts used their top two draft picks to bolster his protection. But the lockout has robbed projected starters Anthony Castonzo (left tackle) and Ben Ijalana (guard) from getting a jump on their NFL careers. It's very dicey to start two rookies on the offensive line in a normal year. Without an off-season program, it could go horribly wrong.

Game 3 Miami Dolphins: Former Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's return to Cleveland likely will be without running back Ronnie Brown and perhaps also Ricky Williams. The new feature back was projected to be second-round draft pick Daniel Thomas from Kansas State. With Chad Henne expected back as the starting quarterback, Thomas could be an instant workhorse for Daboll -- a la Peyton Hillis.

Game 4 Tennessee Titans: Mike Munchak takes over as coach as Jeff Fisher spends a year on the rehabilitation couch after burning out. New offensive coordinator Chris Palmer -- yes, the expansion Browns' first coach -- might be in a position to rush in top draft pick Jake Locker at quarterback. That is, unless the Titans make a move on a veteran, such as Matt Hasselbeck.

A big loss to this team was the departure of defensive line coach Jim Washburn to Philadelphia. Washburn was the man responsible for consistently outstanding defensive fronts in Tennessee for the past 12 years.

Game 5 Oakland Raiders: In a normal off-season, the Raiders might be regarded as one of the surprise AFC teams to join the ranks of playoff contenders. Former offensive coordinator Hue Jackson takes over as the team's sixth coach in 10 years. He put together a good staff and seemed to be in the corner of Jason Campbell, who stabilized the quarterback position a year ago. Hall of Famer Rod Woodson was lured off the NFL Network set to coach cornerbacks, but he likely won't have all-world Nnamdi Asomugha among his pupils. Asomugha is likely to depart in free agency.

Game 6 Seattle Seahawks: The only sub-.500 division winner in NFL history still doesn't know who will be its starting quarterback. Hasselbeck is expected to leave, and backup Charlie Whitehurst doesn't appear to be in line to succeed him. Everyone expects coach Pete Carroll to reunite with one-time USC star Matt Leinart. Good luck with that, Pete.

jim harbaugh.JPGView full sizeNew coach Jim Harbaugh faces high expectations with the 49ers.

Game 7 San Francisco 49ers: New coach Jim Harbaugh embarks on life after Andrew Luck. He will choose between perennially mediocre Alex Smith and rookie Colin Kaepernick at quarterback to revive the long-dormant 49ers' offense. One thing we know about the 49ers is that their special teams will be better after Brad Seely defected from the Browns to coach in San Francisco.

Game 8 Houston Texans: New defensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting Wade Phillips will try to upgrade the league's worst defense by moving 290-pound end Mario Williams to outside linebacker in the team's new 3-4 alignment. That project has not been progressed by the lockout.

Game 9 St. Louis Rams: Quarterback Sam Bradford has to change gears and learn a new offense in his second NFL season. Gone is the West Coast offense taught him by former coordinator Pat Shurmur. In is the New England system brought by successor Josh McDaniels.

Bradford very well could prosper in a more vertical passing attack. But he needs some weapons, and the Rams figure to be active in signing an elite free-agent receiver.

Game 10 Jacksonville Jaguars: This could be an interesting team, as its young, rebuilt defense figures to be better. The question come Nov. 20 is whether rookie Blaine Gabbert has taken the quarterback job from David Garrard. With running back Maurice Jones-Drew and tight end Marcedes Lewis on the field, this is not a bad cockpit for a quarterback.

Games 12 and 15 Baltimore Ravens: GM Ozzie Newsome is using crowbars to hold open his team's Super Bowl window as linebacker Ray Lewis (36 years old) and safety Ed Reed (33 on opening day) limp to Canton. Lewis and Reed are counted on to keep risky No. 1 pick Jimmy Smith on best behavior as a starting rookie cornerback.

But, as always, it comes down to Joe Flacco finding some receivers to make plays. Two new ones were added in the draft, Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss.

Games 13 and 16 Pittsburgh Steelers: OK, we learned our lesson not to write them off as on the decline. If anything, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got better after his four-game suspension last year and appears as committed as ever to restoring his reputation and winning a third Super Bowl ring.

The Steelers will suffer if cornerback Ike Taylor leaves in free agency. Just in case, they stocked up with two cornerbacks in the middle rounds. And, yes, the superb Dick LeBeau is still the defensive coordinator, entering his 52nd season in the NFL as a player or coach.

Game 14 Arizona Cardinals: Is this Kevin Kolb's destination? Marc Bulger's? Kyle Orton's? Or Donovan McNabb's? One of those four quarterbacks is likely to take over a high-powered offense begging for somebody to deliver the ball on target. Derek Anderson won't be back.

Justin Masterson will kick off second half for the Tribe: Cleveland Indians Insider

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Masterson leads the Tribe's rotation in ERA by more than 1.00, but he wants no part of talk that he might be the team's new No. 1 starter.

justin masterson.JPGView full sizeJustin Masterson has been a solid presence in the Tribe's pitching rotation this season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Justin Masterson will start the first game for the Indians after the All-Star break, manager Manny Acta said Saturday. The Tribe opens a four-game series in Baltimore on Thursday.

Masterson will be followed by Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco and, as of now, Mitch Talbot and Fausto Carmona.

Uncertainty surrounds Talbot (2-6, 6.33 ERA in 11 starts). Opening Day starter Carmona also has struggled, going 4-10 with a 5.78 ERA in 18 starts, but he is in the back of the line out of necessity. Carmona was placed on the disabled list last Sunday because of a strained right quadriceps and is not eligible to be activated until July 18.

Masterson is 7-6 with a 2.64 ERA in 18 starts and one relief appearance. He entered Saturday leading the rotation in ERA by more than 1.00. He is 2-1 with a 0.40 ERA in his past three starts.

The ultimate team player, Masterson wanted no part of talk that he might be the Tribe's new No. 1.

"We're all aces," he said. "Each day you go out, you're the ace that day. That's my response."

Carmona threw at 120 feet Saturday and felt good, Acta said. Carmona probably will throw a bullpen today.

Big-time Star: Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is an All-Star starter -- and teammate Orlando Cabrera could not be happier.

"What a tremendous accomplishment for him," said Orlando, the Tribe's second baseman. "To put yourself in position to be an All-Star is one thing; now he's a starter. That's a big deal. He deserves it as much as anybody."

Asdrubal Cabrera finished second to the Yankees' Derek Jeter in fan voting, but Jeter decided to pull out of the game in order to rest. Jeter recently returned from the disabled list because of a calf injury.

Cabrera, voted onto the American League All-Star team by the players, was named a starter Friday night. The decision on a starter and a replacement is at the discretion of manager Ron Washington, according to a Major League Baseball representative. Washington manages the Texas Rangers, who won the AL pennant last year.

The Tigers' Jhonny Peralta, a former Indian, replaced Jeter on the roster.

"Even though the fans didn't vote Asdrubal in, he's been the best shortstop in the league this year, so it turned out right," Orlando Cabrera said.

Asdrubal Cabrera becomes the first Indians shortstop to be an All-Star starter since Lou Boudreau in 1948. Boudreau, as player-manager, went on to win the MVP and lead the Tribe to a world championship.

The most recent Indians position player to start in an All-Star Game was outfielder Juan Gonzalez in 2001.

"To be starting an All-Star Game is an opportunity of a lifetime," Acta said. "Cabby earned the right to be there. It's unfortunate Derek's not going to play, but I think we'll be well-represented by him starting."

Asdrubal Cabrera entered Saturday hitting .294 with 14 homers, 51 RBI and 55 runs in 87 games. He ranked among American League leaders in numerous categories, including hits (104, tied for 6th) and total bases (174, 6th). Even with seven errors, he has been a force defensively, stealing hits to the left and to the right.

Among those Asdrubal Cabrera has credited for his success is Orlando Cabrera, a veteran whom the Indians signed in February. Orlando Cabrera moved from shortstop, his natural position.

"I'm flattered that he's mentioned me as part of his accomplishments, but what I've said to him are just words," Orlando said. "He's the one who goes out and plays. He's the one doing all these things. He's been fun to watch."

The All-Star appearance is Asdrubal Cabrera's first. Orlando Cabrera would be shocked if it is his last.

"He's become a great player, and he has the ability to be an All-Star every year," Orlando Cabrera said. "From what I know about Asdrubal, he's going to keep working hard to stay at this level."

Closer Chris Perez is the other Tribe All-Star player. Acta is one of Washington's coaches. The game will be played in Arizona.

Before the Indians-Blue Jays game Saturday night, Asdrubal Cabrera, Acta and Perez posed with their All-Star uniforms and received an ovation.

Milestone moment: Jeter's 3,000th hit Saturday brought back into the news lefty Chris Haney and the 1999 Cleveland Indians.

Jeter homered off Tampa Bay Rays lefty David Price in the Bronx for the milestone hit. Jeter became the second player in history to homer for No. 3,000. The first was Wade Boggs, who, as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, went deep off Haney on Aug. 7, 1999, at Tropicana Field.

After trotting around the bases, Boggs kissed home plate.

The Indians won the game, 15-10. Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome were a combined 7-for-8 with nine RBI.

Indians pitching coach Tim Belcher gave up Jeter's first hit, a single, on May 30, 1995. Belcher pitched for the Seattle Mariners.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664

NBA seriously needs franchise-player tag: Bill Livingston

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The NBA lockout will not result in revenue sharing among teams. Here's my advice: Don't come back without at least a franchise-player tag.

David STern.JPGView full sizeNBA Commissioner David Stern and the league's owners are hoping to find a solution to their financial dilemma ... any solution should include a hard salary cap, or at least a franchise-player tag.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The NFL lockout gets more publicity, but the NBA lockout is far more serious.

No fan likely will be held hostage in the NFL lockout. All games will be played. You can bet on it (as well as the point spread).

In the NBA lockout, no games may be played this season. I make that at least a 1-in-3 chance. Worse, the sport's commissioner isn't even talking about sensible ways to bind some of the wounds.

The dispute in the NBA, much like that in the NFL, is about how to divide the revenue pie between players and owners. The NBA's pie is, however, more like a tart, compared with the NFL's groaning table of goodies.

NBA Commissioner David Stern claims league teams lost a combined $370 million. This largely is a result of the players receiving 57 percent of the basketball-related income the league generates.

The players express their usual skepticism of ownership's books. The Warriors, who are hardly the Lakers or Knicks, sold for $450 million last season. Also, it was not the players who signed former Cavalier Drew Gooden, a player whose lack of focus makes him untrustworthy with the game on the line, to a five-year, $32 million contract. It was the Milwaukee Bucks who did that.

There is a saying in basketball: "The ball don't lie." It means a missed free throw after a disputed foul is proof of the ball's supposed truthfulness. The money don't lie either. NBA owners need a hard salary cap to protect themselves from, well, themselves, and to make the truth of their lack of fiscal discipline hurt less.

A solution that Stern will not entertain is the sharing of revenue, although that has been the secret to the success of such smaller NFL markets as Super Bowl champion Green Bay. The owners want to get a more restrictive salary cap instead, and Stern, of course, works for them. Even though it is economically better to be the inept Clippers in sprawling Los Angeles than the well-run Spurs in San Antonio, Stern, the self-styled visionary, is hands-off on an obvious solution to the money problem.

The players say they won't accept a hard cap. NHL players felt the same way until a labor dispute ate up the entire 2004-05 season. Hockey has never recovered in the United States, becoming the sport of Claude Rains -- "The Invisible Man" -- unless you have the Versus cable TV channel. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Stern's former top lieutenant, not only led the bitter hockey fight, he returned with a hard cap and "cost security" on payrolls.

Lack of parity, another huge NBA problem, is not even an issue at this moment in the lockout, due to the pinch of the lack of profits. But, in the Cleveland perspective, it is dismaying that no "franchise player" proposal is on the table to prevent player collusion in free agency.

A definition of collusion in this case is much as that of obscenity was to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, who said, "I know it when I see it." I knew collusion when I saw it with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. It can't be proven. But it can be slowed down, if not prevented.

In the NFL, a franchise-player tag can be put on one player per team before he begins his final contractual season. It is not used often because it can anger the player. The tag guarantees such a player either a salary in the top five of the other NFL players at his position or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater. If the tag is not renewed, the player becomes an unfettered free agent after the next season, with his market value determined, in a Darwinian exercise, by what he has done lately.

Clearly, given the inordinate influence a single player can have in basketball, compared with the other sports, the NBA needs such a mechanism to restore competitive balance. Otherwise, fans in the "fly-over" cities, the ones that aren't major media centers or resort towns, are severely disadvantaged.

In the NBA, parity is already largely a myth. Only nine franchises have won championships since 1980 (vs. 14 in the NFL and 18 in Major League Baseball). Team stacking is more detrimental to parity in the NBA than lack of a salary cap is in baseball, given the many competitive checks and balances inherent in the latter game on the field. Team stacking in the NBA takes away the one thing the NFL, to its everlasting credit, can extend to every franchise, no matter how bedraggled it is -- hope.

If Stern can't get a hard cap, he shouldn't come back without a franchise-player clause.

Asdrubal Cabrera gives Cleveland Indians fans a reason to smile with stellar season

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The switch-hitting Cabrera is among the league's best in batting average, hits, home runs, runs driven in, runs scored and fielding. And at Progressive Field, his No. 13 is beginning to pop up more and more on the backs of fans in the stands.

acab.JPGView full sizeWith fielding that is reminiscent of Omar Vizquel and plenty of offensive firepower, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is a star with the first-place Indians and will start for the American League in the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Most Sundays, before the Indians take batting practice at Progressive Field, Asdrubal Cabrera can be found tossing slow balls to a knee-high version of himself in the cage.

His 4-year-old son, Meyer, in a Tribe uniform, swings, connects and takes off for first. As the batter rounds second, Cabrera makes his move, slowly tracing the boy's steps on the basepaths, but the little man always beats his dad's outstretched black Rawlings glove with a dusty slide into home.

Cabrera was about the same age, the son of a truck driver and homemaker in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, when he first picked up a baseball bat and glove, thus beginning a chase that has ultimately led to Tuesday night in Phoenix.

There, Cabrera will be introduced for the first time as a Major League Baseball All-Star, joining closer Chris Perez as the only two players from the first-place Indians.

In 3 1/2 years with the Indians -- 2 1/2, really, given that a broken left forearm stunted last season -- Cabrera has gone from emergency fill-in at second base, to starting shortstop, to this.

"Right now, to me," said Emilio Carrasquel, the Seattle Mariners scout who signed him as a teenager, "he's the best shortstop in the big leagues."

Leaguewide, Cabrera isn't yet in the same stratosphere popularitywise as the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter, who opted out of the All-Star Game to rest an injury after fans voted to start him at short for the American League. But in Cleveland, Indians fans have watched Cabrera, who will start in Jeter's absence, lift their team to first place in the AL Central Division for most of the season's first half.

Collectively, the Indians pitching staff is most responsible for the team's stunning start. But among everyday players, Cabrera, who hasn't missed a game this season, has been a game-changer -- both at the plate and in the field.

"He's been money for us this year," said manager Manny Acta. "This guy has done everything for us. He's won a game with a squeeze [bunt], a single, a double, a triple, a homer and saved a ton of runs for us defensively. He has carried this ball club offensively at times when some of our main guys haven't been hitting their strides."

The switch-hitting Cabrera, who turns 26 in November, is among the league's best in batting average, hits, home runs, runs driven in, runs scored and fielding.

In the home ballpark, where Travis Hafner, Carlos Santana and especially Grady Sizemore jerseys dominate the grandstands, Cabrera's name and number 13 -- which carries special significance in his homeland -- are cropping up this season. Fans are swept up.

"Because he's one of the best shortstops," gushed 8-year-old Alex Ulloa, in the blue Cabrera T-shirt he picked up two weeks ago.

Sizemore was his favorite, but the Cleveland third-grader's allegiance shifted with Cabrera's first-half dramatics.

"Home runs, behind his back, falling down and throwing it," he said after spinning through the turnstiles with his grandpa for last Tuesday's Tribe-Yankees game.

Teammates call him "Cabby" and describe him as quiet, humble and understated. He and his wife, Lismar, met in school in Venezuela and married in 2007. He has snapshots of Meyer and he and Lismar's 12-week-old daughter, Ashley, in his locker. His parents, Asdrubal and Zunilde, stay with them and the kids in Cleveland for a few months of the season. And his favorite dish, prepared by either his wife or mom, is rice with steak and beans.

"He's a simple guy," said second baseman Orlando Cabrera, who isn't related but counsels him like an older brother. "Doesn't need too much to be happy."

Besides the script tattoo of his children's names on his left forearm, the shortstop isn't flashy -- except when filling highlight reels with his glove.

Fans, teammates and the media still marvel at two plays in particular this season.

In late May against the Chicago White Sox, former Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel lined the ball off reliever Joe Smith's glove. Cabrera, moving toward second on the hit, lunged back the opposite direction, barehanded the ball and tossed it behind his back to start a double play.

And last month against visiting Pittsburgh -- again with Smith on the mound -- Cabrera pulled off an incredible bare-handed stab of a one-hopper, turning in one motion to throw out the runner from deep in the hole -- the area near the edge of the outfield grass between second and third. It was the kind of play Vizquel, the master of barehanded stabs, would routinely make.

"That one," said Smith, the benefactor of both gems, "I just kind of stopped and stared at him and waited for him to turn and look at me and I'm like, 'What the hell was that?' "

In his brief major-league career, Cabrera already has been involved in three triple plays, including one in the third game this season and in 2008, when he turned the 14th unassisted triple play in baseball history.

Cabrera, whose $2.025 million contract this season ranks 20th among major-league shortstops, isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season. That's important in a city where baseball fans are painfully accustomed to seeing the team's stars in their prime bolt for more money.

By comparison, Jeter is making $14.7 million this season and Detroit's Jhonny Peralta, whom Cabrera replaced at short for the Indians, is paid $5.25 million.

If the 6-foot, 180-pound Cabrera was somehow gliding below the radar before this season, he isn't anymore.

"Just about every manager in our division who has seen him enough raves about his abilities," Acta said. "Some people that are not in our division have come up to me and compared him, with due respect, to the Omar Vizquel type of player. I won't take it that far. Omar is a sure Hall of Famer to me, but Cabrera just has a street savvy and instincts that you just can't teach."

Asdrubal, dad make a deal

Cabrera was 15, 16 maybe, when he told his father he wanted to give professional baseball a shot. He had followed Vizquel's career growing up. He believed he was good enough to get signed and make the major leagues.

The idea didn't go over well. His dad wanted him to finish school first. Cabrera pushed the issue.

"He told me: 'I'm going to give you one year, one opportunity. If you sign, good, if you don't, you've got to come back.' I said, 'All right,' and that was the deal we made," Cabrera said in a recent Plain Dealer interview.

acabalex.JPGView full sizeCabrera is a favorite among Tribe fans, including 8-year-old Alex Ulloa of Cleveland.

By then, he was already being watched by major-league scouts. Carrasquel, Seattle's scout in Venezuela, said Cabrera was about 15 when the boy first caught his eye. The kid had good hands, hit the ball consistently and was smart.

"He knew what to do with the ball. He was a little bit ahead of some of the players," recalled Carrasquel, whose bloodlines run to the legends of Venezuelan baseball.

Carrasquel's great-uncle Alejandro Carrasquel became the first Venezuelan-born player to reach the major leagues with the Washington Senators in 1939. And his uncle, Chico Carrasquel, who starred for the Chicago White Sox in the '50s, began a string of All-Star Venezuelan shortstops that continued with the White Sox's Luis Aparicio, Cincinnati's Dave Concepcion, Vizquel and now extends to Cabrera.

Baseball in Venezuela was popularized by American oil workers in the 1920s. Although an anti-U.S. political climate has discouraged most major-league teams from running baseball academies there like they do in the Dominican Republic, countrymen who reach the big leagues are celebrated as heroes.

This season, next to the Dominican, no foreign country has more players (62) on major-league rosters than Venezuela, where talent can be signed as young as 16.

The Seattle bird dog with the baseball pedigree thought he'd found another good one in Cabrera.

"When I saw him the first time," Carrasquel said, "I liked him right away."

Within two months of making the one-year-and-done deal with his dad, Cabrera signed with the Mariners. It was also one month after Vizquel became the most recent Indians shortstop selected for the All-Star Game.

After one season in a Venezuelan summer league, Cabrera was off to the United States, alone at 16, in a foreign land, struggling to learn an unfamiliar language.

"Yeah, that was my tough year, I think, for me," he said.

He leaned on long-distance encouragement from his older brother and parents, especially his dad, whom he considers his best friend.

"He told me, 'Do you like baseball? Stay there and play hard and do what you have to do,' " Cabrera said.

Tribe, Mariners make a huge deal

The Indians entered spring training in 2006 knowing they were thin in middle infielders throughout the organization. With Seattle, Cabrera had made the unusual leap, at age 20, from Class A to AAA, the step below the major leagues.

He was steady but not exceptional. But when his name came up in trade talks with the Mariners, the Indians thought he could eventually be an everyday player. They grabbed him for first baseman Eduardo Perez.

Cabrera said he cried when told of the trade. He didn't know what it meant. His agent assured him it was a good move because Seattle had too many players at his position.

He had worn number 11 since Little League because that's what his older brother wore. But when he joined the Indians, jersey number 13 -- Vizquel's number -- was in his locker. Coincidentally, Vizquel also was acquired in a trade with Seattle.

In Venezuela, shortstops and number 13 are special. It's what Concepcion and Vizquel wore. But the number 13 for Cabrera seemed unlucky at first. With the Indians' AAA team in Buffalo, he struck out eight of his first 16 times up.

But in 2007, after hitting over .300 for AA Akron and AAA Buffalo, the Indians called him up as an extra infielder. Eight days later, he became their starting second baseman. The Tribe won 10 of 13, won the Central Division and came within a step of the World Series. Cabrera was praised by more seasoned teammates for his maturity as an untested rookie in the heat of a playoff run. Fellow Venezuelan Victor Martinez, the former Indians catcher and team leader, took him under his wing.

Entering the following season, second base was Cabrera's to lose -- and he lost it. He was out of shape, struggled at the plate and was sent back down to Buffalo.

"That was a little hard for me," he said. "When you play in the big leagues, you want to stay there. When they sent me down, they told me, 'Hey, go work.' "

He did and was back with the Indians by late July. He said at the time, he had learned to relax more at the plate.

By May 2009, Cabrera had established himself as the team's starting shortstop, hitting .308, playing sound defense and providing a valuable piece for the club to build around.

This season, with a healed body and encouragement from Orlando Cabrera during spring training, Asdrubal has discovered newfound power at the plate. His 14 home runs this season are four fewer than his career total of 18.

"He's having an unbelievable year," said Jeter, the Yankees' future Hall of Famer. "It seems like -- how old is he now? -- what you want to see with young guys as they get older and they mature and continue to play, you want to see improvements, and the improvements he's made, especially this year, are pretty impressive."

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, another Venezuelan-born shortstop who wore number 13, considers the 25-year-old Cabrera one of the best at the position in the American League, with the potent combination of speed, power and the ability to hit from either side of the plate.

"One of the biggest reasons the Cleveland Indians are what they are," Guillen said, "is because of Asdrubal."

It's been nearly a decade since Cabrera's father agreed to give him one year to pursue a professional baseball career or return to school. On Tuesday, Cabrera's parents will watch their son play with the best in the world, chosen for the All-Star Game by his peers -- the ultimate tribute.

Cabrera says he's pretty excited about it. He considers the honor a big deal. It's even bigger for his father.

"He was really happy," he said. "He was almost crying when I told him."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: blubinger@plaind.com, 216-999-5531


Let's pull on the reins on the Rory McIlroy bandwagon: Other Voices

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If McIlroy doesn't win at Royal St. George's on England's southern shore, historians and prognosticators should not panic. In his quest for majors, McIlroy is off to an early start.

rory mcilroy.JPGView full sizeRory McIlroy's career is off to a nice start, even if he doesn't win the British Open next weekend.

Rory McIlroy had to play the final round of the 111th U.S. Open, but with an eight-stroke lead at 14 under par, he was already being rushed to canonization by some golf people. Padraig Harrington even proclaimed that McIlroy, the boyish-faced Northern Irishman, would someday surpass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories. And when McIlroy was told about Harrington's prediction during his postround interview at Congressional that Saturday evening, he half-smiled in embarrassment.

"Oh, Paddy, Paddy, Paddy," he said, lowering his curly haired head down on his left forearm. "I'm looking for my first one. That's all I can say. I'm just looking for my first one."

He didn't have to look far. The next day, as if leading a parade, McIlroy marched to his "first one," winning by eight strokes with an Open record 16-under total that shattered Tiger Woods' record of 12 under at Pebble Beach in 2000. And this week at the British Open, he will be looking for his second one. But if he doesn't win at Royal St. George's on England's southern shore, historians and prognosticators should not panic. In his quest for majors, McIlroy is off to an early start.

At 22 and a month, McIlroy won his first major at a younger age than Nicklaus, who was 22 and 5 months when he defeated Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff at the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont; at Congressional, McIlroy was only 10 months older than Woods was when he won his first major, the 1997 Masters.

But let's not rush McIlroy into having to threaten Nicklaus, with those 18 majestic majors, or even Woods, with 14 and holding as he recuperates from knee and heel injuries to his left leg. Let McIlroy win a major every now and then, as all the best golfers have.

If McIlroy were to win, say, seven majors over his career, he would join an elite fraternity. Only 10 golfers have won as many: Nicklaus, Woods, Bobby Jones (13, including six U.S. and British Amateurs in an era when they were considered majors), Walter Hagen (11), Ben Hogan (9), Gary Player (9), Tom Watson (8), Palmer (7), Sam Snead (7) and Gene Sarazen (7). The youngest of that group to win a major was Sarazen, who proudly recalled that distinction at the 1996 Masters when somebody mentioned how skilled Woods was for a 20-year-old amateur.

"Well, when I was 20," Sarazen said, "I won the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship."

Not one, but two majors at 20. Of the others with at least seven majors, Jones was 21 when he won the 1923 U.S. Open at Inwood on Long Island's south shore; Woods was 21 at the 1997 Masters; and Hagen was 21 when he won the 1914 U.S. Open at Midlothian outside Chicago.

'For all of McIlroy's potential and popularity, he has miles to go even to be mentioned in the same reverential terms as any of the gilded group with seven majors. Even with those who won six, like Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo. Or even with those who won five, like Byron Nelson and Seve Ballesteros.

So at Royal St. George's and at every other major to come, just let McIlroy play and see what happens. Don't burden him with somebody's 18 majors or somebody else's 14 majors. His talent, work ethic and mental maturity will tell us how many he'll win over the next 20 years.'

Whatever happens, oh Paddy, Paddy, Paddy, and everybody else suddenly on Rory McIlroy's bandwagon this week at Royal St. George's, just let him look to win his second one.

David Anderson, New York Times
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