Ohio Sports News

Last Update on March 11, 2010 01:30 EST

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Reds prospect Mike Leake threw two crisp innings in Cincinnati's 6-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.

Leake, the eighth overall pick in last year's draft, allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one.

Leake followed Mike Lincoln and Arthur Rhodes for the Reds. Lincoln struck out two over two hitless innings in his second spring start, and Rhodes allowed a hit in the third.

Lincoln struggled in Cincinnati's first spring game, allowing four earned runs and seven hits in 1 1-3 innings against Cleveland.

Trevor Reckling, one of Los Angeles' top pitching prospects, gave up a run and a hit in two innings.

The Angels finished with just three hits.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Grady Sizemore hit a grand slam in a nine-run fourth inning to help the Cleveland Indians beat a San Diego Padres split-squad 10-5 on Wednesday.

Wade LeBlanc yielded one run over three innings but Cleveland put 10 men on base before making an out against Aaron Poreda and Jackson Quezada in the fourth.

David Huff, trying to win spot in Cleveland's rotation, gave up one run and three hits over three innings. The left-hander led the Indians with 11 wins as a rookie in 2009.

Matt LaPorta, acquired by the Indians in the 2008 trade that sent CC Sabathia to Milwaukee, went 0 for 1 in his first spring appearance. LaPorta had surgery on his left hip and big toe in October.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Deonta Vaughn made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left then made the game-saving strip just before the buzzer and Cincinnati beat Louisville 69-66 on Wednesday night in the second round of the Big East tournament.

The 11th-seeded Bearcats , who had never won a game in the tournament until Tuesday's opening-round win over Rutgers, advanced to the quarterfinals against third-seeded and seventh-ranked West Virginia.

Edgar Sosa had 28 points for the defending champion Cardinals , but he was stripped by Vaughn as he was headed toward a possible game-tying 3-point attempt.

Yancy Gates had 16 points for Cincinnati, which finished with a 54-33 rebound advantage, including 28-9 on the offensive end. Vaughn had 10 points

Reginald Delk hit a 3 with 9.7 seconds left to bring Louisville within 67-66 before Vaughn's free throws made it a three-

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State's Evan Turner loves the Big Ten tournament because the games come as if they're on a conveyor belt, coaches don't have time to devise intricate defensive plans and players can let their natural instincts flow.

The games at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis are like playground games with capacity crowds.

The fifth-ranked Buckeyes, winners of 13 of their last 15 games, will try to back up their top seeding in the tournament when they play in the quarterfinals at noon on Friday. The Big Ten co-champions will meet the winner of Thursday's first-round game between eighth-seeded Michigan and ninth-seeded Iowa.

The Buckeyes have won seven of their last 10 games in the conference tournament.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) -- LeBron James is expected to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers' lineup against the Philadelphia 76ers, while Antawn Jamison remains day to day.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown said on Wednesday that he expects James to play when the Cavaliers visit Philadelphia on Friday.

James has missed two games to rest a tender right ankle he twisted last Friday against Detroit. Brown wanted to use the break in the schedule to allow James to rest.

Jamison missed the fourth quarter of Monday's win against the Spurs with a sore left knee. An MRI on Tuesday showed no damage, but Jamison says he has a cyst in the knee that periodically fills with fluid.

He will be a game-time decision Friday, but plans to be ready on Sunday when Cleveland hosts Boston.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Former Browns quarterback Derek Anderson has apologized after saying Cleveland fans "don't deserve a winner" following his release.

Anderson was let go by the club Tuesday, ending an uneven five-year stint with the Browns. In an e-mail to The News-Herald after his release, Anderson wrote he will never forget that Browns fans cheered when he was injured on the field. He called them "ruthless" and said he hopes when he comes back to Cleveland with another team that "we roll them."

On Wednesday, Anderson says he regrets some of the things he said. He adds his remarks are out of character and that he had some great times playing in Cleveland, "especially during the 2007 season."

Anderson made the Pro Bowl in '07, but had two sub-par seasons after that.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Four Dominican Summer League players, including a pair of New York Yankees prospects, have been suspended for the first 50 games of the season following positive tests for steroids under baseball's minor league drug program.

Yankees pitcher Israel Tolentino and catcher Josue Rodriguez were penalized along with New York Mets pitcher Melvin Colon and Cleveland Indians outfielder Steven Lebron.

Tolentino and Lebron each tested positive for boldenone metabolite, the commissioner's office said Wednesday. Rodriguez tested positive for metabolites of stanozolol, and Colon for nandrolone.

Eleven players have been suspended this year under the minor league program, including six from DSL rosters.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- It seems every team has something to prove heading into the Big Ten tournament.

Ohio State's Evan Turner, the conference player of the year, will try to give the No. 5 Buckeyes a shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. No. 6 Purdue wants to prove it can beat the big boys without injured forward Robbie Hummel. No. 13 Wisconsin wants to beef up its resume for NCAA seeding.

No. 11 Michigan State has suspended Chris Allen for at least the tournament opener. Illinois is trying to snap a 3-game skid. Northwestern has 19 wins and is trying to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Minnesota will attempt to break into the field after a strong finish.

The games begin Thursday in Indianapolis.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A father and son have won Naismith Awards as the top prep boys coach and player in the country.

Jared Sullinger, a 6-foot-9 senior who led Columbus Northland High School to an undefeated season, was honored Wednesday as the top player.

His father and coach, James "Satch" Sullinger, received the award as the top boys high school coach.

Northland is ranked No. 1 by USA Today. The younger Sullinger, who has signed to play at Ohio State next year, led the Vikings to the state title a year ago.

Cypress-Fairbanks senior Chiney Ogwumike won the girls award and the top girls coach was Sean Casey of The Peddie School in Highstown, N.J.

The awards are presented by The Atlanta Tipoff Club.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Bengals are trying to reach a deal with free agent receiver Antonio Bryant, the team's latest attempt to find a complement for Chad Ochocinco.

Bryant visited the team Tuesday and left without an agreement. The 29-year-old receiver had career highs with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and seven touchdowns for Tampa Bay in 2008, but was slowed by knee problems last year.

The Bengals signed Laveranues Coles a year ago. He struggled and was released after one season, leaving the Bengals in need of a receiver.

A deal with Bryant would make it unlikely the Bengals sign Terrell Owens, who was in town on Wednesday to meet the team.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard got another chance to impress NFL scouts, this time on their own turf.

The quarterback and receiver who led Cincinnati to back-to-back Big East titles were the main features at the university's pro day at Nippert Stadium on Wednesday.

Pike threw to Gilyard and others near the conclusion of the workout, and came away happy with his improvement from the NFL scouting combine last month in Indianapolis. Gilyard caught some of his passes and was pleased with his improvement in his 40-yard dash time.

Twenty-six teams were represented at the workouts, a prelude to the NFL draft in April.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Jensen Lewis and Rafael Perez seem to go unnoticed by Cleveland Indians fans -- until they fail.

Both relief pitchers received plenty of unwanted attention in 2009, as Cleveland's bullpen went bust. The Indians converted only 25 of 43 save chances, a 58 percent success rate that tied Baltimore for worst in the American League. It was a key reason for a 65-97 record, Cleveland's worst since losing 105 games in 1992.

Lewis and Perez have blazed a trail of success thus far this spring, pleasing new manager Manny Acta. He knows how important the duo is in handing a lead to closer Kerry Wood.

Wood's talent often went unused a year ago as the Indians blew leads before he even warmed up.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- The Cleveland Indians agreed to terms with the remaining 32 unsigned players on their 40-man roster Wednesday.

All of the players agreed to one-year contracts for 2010, including starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, second baseman Luis Valbuena and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. Left-hander David Huff, who led the team with 11 wins as a rookie in 2009, also agreed to a deal.

Others agreeing to terms are right-handers Justin Masterson, Jensen Lewis, Chris Perez, Mitch Talbot, Joe Smith, Jess Todd, Anthony Reyes, Hector Ambriz, Carlos Carrasco, Hector Rondon and Jeanmar Gomez; left-handers Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp and Kelvin De La Cruz; catchers Lou Marson, Wyatt Toregas and Carlos Santana; infielders Andy Marte, Matt LaPorta, Brian Bixler, Jason Donald, Wes Hodges and Carlos Rivero; and outfielders Michael Brantley, Trevor Crowe and Nick Weglarz.

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