Ladies and Gentlemen,

The 2008 Cleveland Browns have been picked by many of the "experts" to win the AFC North. Now that reality is upon us, it's looking like the "AFC North Champs" are looking like they could be this seasons biggest disappointment. Their 10-6 record in 2007 was nice, but 2008 is going to bring the Brownies back to earth. Facing one of the toughest schedules in the league and with injuries continuously piling up, it looks like it could be one of "those" years for the Browns.

Twice already, Darrell Rasner has watched first-inning home runs clear the walls of big league ballparks and continued to pitch, unwilling to allow a momentary lapse to spoil his afternoon.

The Yankees lacked that resilience from some of their starters through the season's first month, but for a second straight start, Rasner continued to give the Yankees what they need. The 27-year-old hurled six innings of two-run ball and Derek Jeter finally hit his first home run on Saturday, as the Yankees defeated the Tigers, 5-2, at Comerica Park for the first time in five tries this season, also ending a six-game losing streak to Detroit dating back to 2007.

After missing out on a roster spot in the last week of Spring Training, Rasner has grabbed his new opportunity and appears to be running with it, calling it "gratifying." His performance has helped to stabilize the club's rotation after Phil Hughes was lost to injury and Ian Kennedy needed further seasoning.

"You've got to know your limitations, and I know mine," Rasner said. "I'm not going to try and throw 95 miles an hour. That's not my game. I just really want to refine my four pitches and throw them all. I'm just continuing to do what I was doing in Scranton. I try to keep it simple. I don't want to overthink things."

"It's ABC," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He's been effective. There's no one that says you have to be fancy and you have to be overpowering. You just have to be effective and change speeds."

Rasner, a touch-and-feel right-hander, was bit for a first-inning run when rookie Matt Joyce popped his first big league home run, a solo shot to right. He settled in to throw five scoreless innings and protect a lead for the Yankees.

Comparing Rasner to Hughes and Kennedy, who both slogged through April winless before departing on separate paths, Girardi said that Rasner has been "a real nice shot in the arm." He speculated that Rasner's previous big league experience may give him a more mature approach.

"I think sometimes you try to do too much," Girardi said. "You think, 'OK, I'm here, I have to do a little bit of everything.' [Rasner] is more experienced and really calm, and understands his body and his stuff probably better than the other guys."

Rasner, 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before being recalled on Sunday, was charged with a second run when Kyle Farnsworth allowed an inherited runner to score in the seventh. He scattered four hits while walking one and striking out one in the effort, abandoning a spotty changeup in the first inning but getting by with a mixing of his fastball, curveball and cutter.

"I wanted to continue to do what was working for me and that was working fast, throwing strikes and mixing everything in for strikes," Rasner said. "I didn't want to change a thing. I wanted to keep my aggressive side."

"That's a tough lineup," Jeter said. "I wouldn't want to pitch against them, and he shut them down."

Jeter produced the game's first run when he reached Tigers right-hander Jeremy Bonderman for a solo home run, his first of 2008, with one out in the first inning.

The homer ended a string of 184 at-bats without a homer for Jeter, his longest stretch to open a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Melky Cabrera also worked a bases-loaded walk off Bonderman in the first to provide Rasner with two early runs.

"I'm back in the home run race now," Jeter said. "I don't hit a lot of home runs, but it's good to get at least one."

New York added one in the fourth, as Robinson Cano worked a two-out walk and scored on Wilson Betemit's booming double to deep center. The hit was costly as Betemit pulled up with a strained right hamstring jogging into second base, and he was to be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Bonderman allowed hits to both batters he faced in the fifth, including an RBI double to Bobby Abreu, as the final two runs scored in Bonderman's five-run, six-hit performance, his shortest outing of the year.

Bonderman walked four and struck out three before being relieved by Bobby Seay, who surrendered a run-scoring double to Jason Giambi. After the game, Giambi said that Rasner's quick strike-throwing approach helped spur the Yankees on both sides of the ball.

"He's great to play defense behind," Giambi said. "He just goes in there with a game plan and going in there pounding strikes. I think as a team, offensively, that definitely helps us get going. You're kind of excited, and you know you're going to be on your toes."

Farnsworth worked out of the seventh inning by allowing an inherited run to score, surrendering an RBI double to Gary Sheffield, the second run charged to Rasner. Joba Chamberlain threw a hitless eighth, striking out one. Closer Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth to record his 10th save, and he expressed his satisfaction with Rasner's performance in helping New York get back to .500 at 19-19.

"That's what we need from these young guys," Rivera said. "He stepped up big for us. He has pitched two games and won two games. It's great. I hope he continues doing it."

In only their second year in existence, the New York Titans are headed to the National Lacrosse League Eastern Conference Finals. After knocking Minnesota out of the playoffs in their first round match on Saturday, May 3rd at the Xcel Energy Center with an 11-8 victory, the Titans are ready to take on John Tavares and the Buffalo Bandits at HSBC Arena Saturday, May 10 at 7:30pm in the do-or-die Eastern Conference title match. The Calgary Roughnecks will be hosting the Portland LumberJax in the Western Conference Finals on Saturday, May 10 at 7:30pm. The winner of the East Division matchup will host either team from the West, as both the Bandits and the Titans have better regular season records than Calgary and Portland.

The NFL is considering starting its Thursday night season opener an hour-and-a-half earlier to avoid clashing with the Republican National Convention. The game, in which the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants will be the home team, now is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 4 and will be televised by NBC. League spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday that the NFL is talking with the network about changing the game's starting time to 7 p.m. Sept. 4 also is the concluding night of the Republican convention.

Linebacker Clark Haggans was expected to find some moderate demand in free agency. Though on the wrong side of 30, he had been an effective player of late in the Steelers' 3-4 system. But it didn't happen. He languished on the shelf, drawing only a visit to the Cleveland Browns and an eventual concession that he might have to return to the Steelers even though his agent had declared that he wouldn't return to Pittsburgh. Per Adam Schefter of NFL Network, Haggans has agreed to terms with the Arizona Cardinals. It's a one-year deal, of unknown terms. Surely, Haggans didn't cash in. In Arizona, Haggans will be reuinted with former Steelers assistants Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. The move might have come earlier, but we're told that the Cardinals were only $100,000 under the salary cap prior to the formal extension of receiver Larry Fitzgerald's contract.

Keep an eye on evolving situation involving Jets' defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson. He might, just might, become a target of the Panthers. They tried to include him in the transaction when they traded for former Panthers defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. But Carolina wanted draft picks -- they received a third- and fifth-rounder -- and didn't want to inherit Robertson's big contract, according to sources. Cincinnati, Denver and Detroit have been involved in trade talks with the Jets regarding Robertson (6-1, 317 pounds). The Bengals reportedly were going to give the Jets a fourth- and fifth-round pick, but he failed Cincinnati's physical and the deal fell through.

The Newark Star-Ledger reported cap issues may make it difficult for the Oakland Raiders to pay cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, a player the New York Giants covet. According to the report, Oakland is only $500,000 under the cap. That figure is the top 51 on their current roster and they'll be able to shave some of that (perhaps by cutting RB LaMont Jordan), but it doesn't include the money they'll have to pay their rookies (Darren McFadden maybe?). Plus, you need more than $500k to operate during the season. Does this mean the Giants will trade for Asomugha? But it's definitely a situation that bears watching.

When Pacman Jones's agent said last week that Jones would be interested in joining the Patriots, the words were construed by some as the team having interest in Jones. That is not the case. According to a league source, the Patriots will not pursue Jones.

Matt Leinart has stepped up his throwing regimen, and it appears he'll be ready to participate in mini-camps beginning in May, according to USA Today. Leinart, who has been throwing a few days a week with receiver Larry Fitzgerald, is happy with the rehab of his fractured left collarbone and anticipates being able to fully participate in offseason camps and workouts.

"If we keep shocking teams, let's keep it rolling," Cougars guard Kyle Weaver said. "It works. Our style works." Two blowouts in as many East Regional games, two ridiculous defensive showings cobbled together within 48 hours, have made everyone else in an NCAA bracket pared to 16 survivors fully aware of WSU and its ability to make things happen the old-fashioned way. Now the fourth-seeded Cougars (26-8) will see if their defensive smothering can cause overall No. 1-seed North Carolina (34-2) any discomfort at all, if even just an occasional shortness of breath, when these teams meet Thursday in the Tar Heels' backyard in Charlotte, N.C. "I think we can bother them," Weaver said. "It's hard to stop a team, to shut a team down, like North Carolina. But I think we can slow them down."

Recently signed TE Ben Troupe, 6 feet 4, 270 pounds, seeks an expanded role with the Bucs. He longs to get back to the success of his first two seasons, when he was featured in the Tennessee offense. He caught a combined 88 passes for 859 yards in 2004 and 2005. His production dipped markedly the next two seasons to a combined 18 catches for 197 yards, he says, for good reasons. The Titans' "quarterback carousel" played a role, Troupe said, as the team shuffled through Billy Volek, Kerry Collins and Vince Young. "You take Billy Volek out three days before the (2006) season and Kerry Collins comes in, and he's learning the offense on the fly," Troupe said. "It was an unfair situation. Then you take him out and put a rookie quarterback (Young) in, and he's trying to find his way. Then going into the next year, obviously, Vince Young was more comfortable with certain players. And anything that's going to make him more comfortable is going to be (supported) by the team." Troupe says he also lacked the support of offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who was fired after last season and now holds the same post at UCLA. "No offense to Norm Chow, but he wasn't making the transition from one year to the next. That's why he's back in college," Troupe said. "I appreciate him regardless. He didn't like me. It had to be bigger than football." Troupe envisions no such issues in Tampa.

The season starts up again today, so I thought it a good time to reflect on the first half of the season and also look ahead to the second half and the playoffs. There have been a few blockbuster trades that have happened and at least one more that looks like it will happen and this has changed the outlook for the second half.

So I was discussing National Signing Day with a buddy and we started to talk about the basketball recruiting of kid's in middle school and this article from Pat Forde over at ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2930720). So I did some research and put together the best recruiting class of 2015. These middle school ballers will be diaper dandies at your college program soon, they just have to get through four years of...

LSU defensive end Kirston Pittman was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, the school announced Monday. Pittman, who missed all the Tigers' 2005 and 2006 seasons with foot and ankle injuries, formally applied for an extension in early January. After reviewing Pittman's documentation, the NCAA granted the additional year of eligibility.

Indiana football players James Bailey and Demetrius McCray were arrested on misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges after complaints of loud music at their apartment. Bloomington police officers were called late Saturday to the apartment of Bailey and McCray.