By TOM WITHERS

The Associated Press

 

CLEVELAND — Chris Perez was stunned, surprised and shocked.

And he was hardly alone.

The Cleveland Indians somehow pulled out a game they had no business winning.

“Best game I’ve ever been a part of,” said Perez. “It was the craziest, most fun ... obviously, it stunk to give up a home run but it was still fun.”

Yan Gomes hit a 3-run homer in the 10th inning as the Indians, revived by Seattle fielding errors in the final two innings, beat the Mariners 10-8 on Monday to complete a 4-game sweep and continue a season that’s shaping into one to remember in Cleveland.

Gomes, who also homered in the second, drove a 3-2 pitch from Charlie Furbush (0-3) over the wall in left, giving the Indians their fifth straight win, their third walk-off over the Mariners in four days and one of the most improbable victories in memory.

As Gomes reached the plate, he was mobbed by his teammates following the comeback that became necessary after Cleveland’s bullpen gave up homers in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings.

“You don’t look up very often and see your opponent score three straight innings and you win,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “That was interesting.”

Incredible, really.

It was the Indians’ first 4-game sweep of Seattle since 1981 and the rally gave Cleveland its 18th win in 22 games.

Joe Smith (2-0) won despite giving up a go-ahead homer to Justin Smoak in the 10th and the Indians improved to a major league-best 21-7 since April 20.

Ryan Raburn hit a 3-run homer for Cleveland, which opened a 2 1/2 game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. The teams play a 2-game series starting today.

The Mariners got a tying homer by Kyle Seager in the eighth off Vinnie Pestano and a go-ahead shot by pinch-hitter Endy Chavez in the ninth off Perez but couldn’t close it out because of their own miscues.

“It was another weird game,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “We’re just on the south side of things right now.”

The Indians were an out away from losing in the ninth when Seattle closer Tom Wilhelmsen dropped an underhanded toss while covering first, allowing the Indians to tie it at 7.

After Smoak homered in the 10th, the Indians were three outs away from losing when the Mariners helped them again.

Michael Brantley singled and Drew Stubbs followed with a bunt that Furbush, seeking his first career save, fielded but bobbled. The left-hander rushed his throw to first and would have had Stubbs — umpire Tim Timmons called him out — but Smoak dropped the ball.

Gomes then delivered his game-winning homer, taking an unexpected trip around the bases after it looked as if the Indians were finished.

“Moments like that, you just want to get back to your teammates,” said Gomes, “just run around and make sure you don’t miss a base. It was exciting. You just don’t know what to do with your hands. I was like, ‘Wow, this game’s done’.”

It was another sign of resiliency by the Indians.

The final three innings bordered on the absurd as the Mariners took the lead only to give it away with bone-headed plays.

Wilhelmsen’s error in the ninth not only cost the Mariners a certain win but it allowed Perez to escape a loss after he gave up the homer to Chavez. It was another bad outing for Perez, who allowed back-to-back homers in the ninth on Saturday but wound up getting a win.

With Seattle trailing 6-5 in the eighth, Seager homered off Pestano, who recently came off the disabled list, into the Mariners’ bullpen for his fifth homer.

The Indians took a 6-5 lead in the seventh off Yoervis Medina without hitting the ball beyond the infield grass. Starter Hisashi Iwakuma was tagged by the Indians for five runs in four innings but the right-hander settled in and retired the final seven hitters he faced. He gave up seven hits and struck out six in six innings.

Indians starter Scott Kazmir didn’t get out of the fourth as the teams combined for 10 runs and 14 hits through four innings. Raburn and Gomes hit back-to-back, 2-out homers in the second, when the Indians caught a break to take a 4-2 lead.

With Carlos Santana on with a 1-out double, Mark Reynolds just missed a homer, flying out to the track in left. Brantley walked and Raburn fell into an 0-2 hole and appeared to take strike three but plate umpire Laz Diaz called Iwakuma’s pitch a ball to give Raburn new life.

He made the most of it, connecting for his fifth homer to make it 3-2. Gomes followed with a shot onto the pedestrian porch in left.

NOTES: The Indians are 10-1 against the AL West. ... Indians RHP Brett Myers (elbow) will make his second rehab start on Wednesday at Double-A Akron. ... Indians RHP Justin Masterson was chosen AL pitcher of the week. He pitched 16 scoreless innings in wins over the Yankees and Mariners, allowing just seven hits and striking out 20. ... The Indians have won 13 of their last 15 at home.

By BARRY WILNER

The Associated Press

 

BOSTON — Where the Super Bowl will celebrate a half-century of existence will be decided this week by NFL owners.

They have two choices for the 50th anniversary game in 2016: the San Francisco Bay Area and South Florida.

The 49ers’ new stadium is being built and is scheduled to open for the 2014 season. With the NFL showing a penchant for bringing is championship game to new venues — Dallas and Indianapolis very recently, New Jersey next February — Santa Clara would appear to have a strong chance. Only once has the Bay Area staged a Super Bowl, in 1985 at Stanford Stadium.

“I think with the new stadium ... we can host a Super Bowl there,” said Hall-of-Fame receiver Jerry Rice. “It’s going to be awesome. So I realize there’s a lot of history at Candlestick. To stay competitive in the NFL, this is something we have really needed for a long, long time, and I think it’s going to be awesome.”

Not so awesome for the Miami area was a defeat in the state Legislature earlier this month that could severely damage its hopes of being chosen as the 2016 host. Or, for that matter, for South Florida to beat Houston for the 2017 game should it lose to San Francisco for the 50th edition. Both sites will be decided today.

The Dolphins were denied public money for a stadium upgrade. Multi-billionaire Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross contends $350 million in stadium improvements are badly needed but he doesn’t want to pay for them by himself. Nor does he want a scaled-down renovation of the 26-year-old facility.

“The House leadership has made our efforts to bring the Super Bowl back to Miami and South Florida much more difficult,” said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee.

Miami does have experience on its side, having hosted 10 Super Bowls, tied with New Orleans for the most. All of the South Florida title games have been successful, although the only outdoor Super Bowl played in the rain was held there in 2007 when Peyton Manning and the Colts won the championship.

“This is not the stadium we had hoped we could include in the bid,” Dolphins’ CEO Mike Dee said. “But we will be there when the NFL owners vote and we’ll put our best foot forward.”

A three-quarters majority of the 32 owners is required on the first ballot today. If neither city gets that, then a simple majority wins on the next ballot.

The loser in the 2016 bidding will face Houston for the 2017 Super Bowl. Houston hosted the 2004 game.

Texans’ owner Bob McNair is cautious about his city’s chances, even with South Florida’s political and financial struggles.

“Certainly what happened doesn’t help Miami’s bid. There’s no doubt about that,” McNair added. “But that doesn’t say that the owners couldn’t decide to still go to Miami.”

For years, it was thought the NFL would seek to stage the 50th Super Bowl in Los Angeles, where the first one was played (but did not sell out) on Jan. 15, 1967. But with no franchise in LA and no suitable stadium projects approved, that hope disappeared.

Next Feb. 2, the game goes outdoors in a cold-weather site for the first time, at MetLife Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. If that gamble pays off for the NFL, look for other cities in similar climates — Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver — to bid for future Super Bowls.

The league also has expressed great satisfaction with how Indianapolis handled the big game in 2012. New Orleans is a regular bidder and Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the power outage during last year’s game will not impact voting on the Big Easy hosting another Super Bowl.

The 2015 game will be played in the Phoenix area.

USA Football survey shows few youth concussions: Fewer than 4 percent of youth players surveyed in a USA Football-sanctioned study suffered concussions in the 10 leagues examined.

Most injuries among nearly 2,000 players on more than 100 teams in six states were minor, with the youngsters returning to play the same day. More than 90 percent of the players did not suffer any injuries; of those who did, the most common were contusions (35 percent) and ligament sprains (15 percent).

No catastrophic head, neck or heat-related injuries were reported.

Indianapolis-based Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention conducted the study in Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia.

The Delphos Herald

 

DELPHOS — The Northwest Conference coaches voted for the league’s baseball and softball All-Conference teams Monday night at Jefferson HIgh School.

A tie in the voting by baseball coaches resulted in the selection of Co-Players of the Year for the 2013 baseball season. Matt Jay, a senior catcher from Columbus Grove, and Damian Helm, a junior pitcher/outfielder from Crestview, both tallied 174 points out of a possible total of 180 to share the POY honors.

Crestview’s Jim Wharton was the unanimous selection of his peers as the Coach of the Year. Wharton led the Knights to a 9-0 record and an outright NWC championship.

Jay hit .500 for the conference-runnerup Bulldogs, scored 27 runs, had 37 hits and 36 RBIs. Helm was 7-0 on the mound for the Knights with a sparking 0.49 ERA. He struck out 62 batters and walked only three in 42 2/3 innings; he also hit .359 and had a .410 on-base percentage.

Jay was joined on the First Team by Columbus Grove teammates Trey Roney (senior pitcher/1B; 123) and senior shortstop Brandon Benroth (99). Helm is joined by Crestview junior teammate Bryce Richardson (shortstop/pitcher; 139).

Other first-team players are junior Colin Stolly (pitcher/shortstop; 164) and Sam Huffman (senior pitcher/center field; 134) of Lima Central Catholic, Jefferson senior rightfielder/pitcher Drew Kortokrax (128), junior shortstop Trent Phillips of Bluffton (112) and sophomore outfielder Tanner Stippich (90) of Allen East.

 

VAN WERT YOUTH BASEBALL

STANDINGS

Buckeye Boys Pony League

Team Record Win % GB Home Away RF RA Last 10 Streak

VW Elks 1197 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

VW Alspach Gearhart 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Willshire 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Wren 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Convoy 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Middle Point 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Antwerp 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Payne 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Plumbers 0-0 - 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0

Tri-County Little League

Team Record Win % GB Home Away RF RA Last 10 Streak

Delphos Pirates 4-2 .667 - 1-2 3-0 31 33 4-2 Won 3

Delpha Chevy Reds 3-2 .600 0.5 1-1 2-1 34 23 3-2 Won 3

Young’s Waste Service Yankees 2-1 .667 0.5 0-0 2-1 26 12 2-1 Won 1

Delphos Braves 3-2 .600 0.5 1-2 2-0 27 27 3-2 Lost 2

VFW Cardinals 3-2 .600 0.5 1-1 2-1 27 33 3-2 Lost 1

Treece Landscaping Rockhounds 2-2 .500 1 0-1 2-1 23 25 2-2 Won 2

K of C INDIANS 1-1 .500 1 1-1 0-0 13 8 1-1 Lost 1

Ft. Jennings Musketeers 2-3 .400 1.5 2-0 0-3 22 37 2-3 Lost 2

Greif Rangers 1-3 .250 2 1-2 0-1 25 34 1-3 Lost 2

1st Federal Athletics 1-4 .200 2.5 1-3 0-1 35 31 1-4 Lost 4

Inner County League

Team Record Win % GB Home Away RF RA Last 10 Streak

Middle Point Blue 3-0 1.000 - 3-0 0-0 21 7 3-0 Won 3

Moose 1320 The Herd 3-0 1.000 - 2-0 1-0 29 17 3-0 Won 3

Middle Point Gold 3-1 .750 0.5 2-0 1-1 36 8 3-1 Won 1

Lee Kinstle Pirates 1-2 .333 2 0-2 1-0 17 24 1-2 Lost 1

VW Optimist Reds 1-2 .333 2 0-0 1-2 9 18 1-2 Lost 2

VW Service Club Red Sox 1-3 .250 2.5 0-1 1-2 18 36 1-3 Lost 1

VW Federal Astros 0-4 .000 3.5 0-2 0-2 24 44 0-4

Delphos Minor League

Team Record Win % GB RF RA Last 10 Streak

Reds 1-0 1.000 - 8 2 1-0 W1

Tigers 1-0 1.000 - 10 7 1-0 W1

Dodgers 1-0 1.000 - 9 7 1-0 W1

Orioles 1-0 1.000 - 5 2 1-0 W1

Mets 0-1 .000 1 2 8 0-1 L1

Cubs 0-1 .000 1 7 10 0-1 L1

Indians 0-1 .000 1 7 9 0-1 L1

Pirates 0-1 .000 1 2 5 0-1 L1

-----

SCHEDULE

MONDAY’S GAMES

Tri-County Little League

K of C Indians vs. Young’s Waste Service Yankees, 5 p.m. at Jubilee Bank of Berne Field

Greif Rangers vs. 1st Federal Athletics, 6:45 p.m. at Jubilee Bank of Berne Field

TODAY’S GAMES

Buckeye Boys Pony League

Delphos PL vs. Plumbers, 5:30 PM

Inner County League

Moose 1320 The Herd vs. VW Optimist Reds, 5 p.m. at Smiley Park-Field 2

VW Federal Astros vs. Middle Point Gold, 6 p.m. at Smiley Park-Field 4

Middle Point Blue vs. Lee Kinstle Pirates, 6:45 p.m. at Smiley Park-Field 2

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Tri-County Little League

Young’s Waste Service Yankees vs. Delphos Pirates, 6 p.m. at Delphos LL

K of C Indians vs. Treece Landscaping Rockhounds, 6 p.m. at Jubilee Bank of Berne Field

Ft. Jennings Musketeers vs. Greif Rangers, 6 p.m. at Smiley Park-Field 4

VFW Cardinals vs. Delpha Chevy Reds, 7:45 p.m. at Delphos LL

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Inner County League

VW Optimist Reds vs. Lee Kinstle Pirates, 6 p.m. at Smiley Park-Field 4

VW Service Club Red Sox vs. Middle Point Blue, 6 p.m. at Middle Point-Field B

Moose 1320 The Herd vs. Middle Point Gold, 6 p.m. at Middle Point-Field A

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Tri-County Little League

1st Federal Athletic vs. Greif Rangers, 5 p.m. at Jubilee Bank of Berne Field

Treece Landscaping Rockhounds vs. VFW Cardinals, 6 p.m. at Delphos LL

Delpha Chevy Reds vs. K of C Indians, 6 p.m. at Smiley Park-Field 4

Ft. Jennings Musketeers vs. Young’s Waste Service Yankees, 6:45 p.m. at Jubilee Bank of Berne Field

Treece Landscaping Rockhounds vs. Delphos Braves, 7:45 p.m. at Delphos LL

By JEFF LATZKE

The Associated Press

 

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs opened the Western Conference finals resembling the past champions who’ve been there so many times before.

The Memphis Grizzlies looked like the first-timers still trying to adapt to their first conference finals appearance.

Tony Parker had 20 points and nine assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points and the Spurs struck first by beating Memphis 105-83 on Sunday.

San Antonio raced out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, then came up with a response when Memphis rallied to get within six in the second half. Both teams pulled their starters with over 5 minutes left and the Spurs leading by 21.

“I can promise you this: Nobody’s happy in our locker room because we were up 2-0 (in the West finals) last year and we lost,” Parker said. “It’s just one game. It means nothing. We still have a long way to go.”

The Spurs avoided a repeat of their Game 1 loss when the teams met two years ago in the first round. The Grizzlies went on to knock San Antonio out of the playoffs as the top seed that time.

Memphis has lost its opener in each round in this year’s playoffs, recovering from an 0-2 hole in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers and an 0-1 deficit against Oklahoma City in the West semifinals.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in San Antonio.

“We just didn’t play well. It’s not anything specific,” coach Lionel Hollins said. “It’s just that we were running too fast, we missed some layups, we were taking bad shots and our defense was really awful. And the Spurs played well.”

The NBA’s stingiest defense wasn’t up to its usual standards, allowing the Spurs to hit 53 percent of their shots and a franchise postseason-record 14 3-pointers while All-Star power forward Zach Randolph struggled. Randolph had just two points, getting his only basket with 9:26 left in the game.

He had a playoff-best 28 points and 14 rebounds in his last game, as Memphis eliminated defending West champ Oklahoma City in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies started to rally as soon as Randolph came out of the game for the first time in the second half. Quincy Pondexter made a baseline cut for a layup off Darrell Arthur’s pass, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 10-0 burst. Jerryd Bayless’ 2-handed fast-break dunk off a steal got the Grizzlies within 62-56 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

The comeback was short-lived, though.

Bayless missed a 3-pointer on the next trip and Manu Ginobili made one at the opposite end to spark an 11-1 response that immediately restored the Spurs’ lead to 16 by the end of the quarter. Leonard hit a pair of 3-pointers and Gary Neal had one as San Antonio kept pouring it on in the fourth.

The four regular-season meetings were all won by the team with more points in the paint but perimeter shooting proved to be a bigger factor in the playoff opener. Memphis, which was second in the NBA by holding opponents to 33.8-percent shooting on 3-pointers, let San Antonio make 13 of its first 24 from behind the arc and finish 14-of-29.

Danny Green connected three times and scored 16 and Matt Bonner hit four of his five attempts for 12 points.

Pondexter led Memphis with 17 points, Marc Gasol scored 15 and Mike Conley had 14 points and eight assists.