Tips & Tricks » Dakota State NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Saturday, Jan. 17 S

CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona thinks nerves are a good thing at this time of the season. If thats the case, the Indians manager hopes his players are on edge sometime into October. Scott Kazmir struck out a season-high 12 in six innings, Nick Swisher hit a grand slam and the Indians continued their playoff push with an 8-1 win over the New York Mets on Friday night. "This is a fun time of year," Francona said. "When you show up to the ballpark and youre nervous about the game, thats really exciting." Kazmir (8-7) struck out at least one batter in each inning, including the side in the first, third and sixth. The left-hander, who has been pushed back in the rotation for extra rest over the last month, held the Mets to four hits, allowed no walks and hit a batter in winning for the first time since Aug. 4. The Mets took Kazmir with the 15th overall pick in the 2002 draft, but he never pitched a game for them. Kazmir was dealt to Tampa Bay two years later for pitcher Victor Zambrano. The trade turned out to be one of the worst in Mets history as Kazmir made the All-Star team twice with the Rays and Zambrano went 10-14 in parts of three seasons in New York, and was out of baseball in 2007. "Its great it was against the team that drafted me, but that definitely wasnt crossing through my mind when I was out there on the mound," Kazmir said. "Were playing for a playoff spot right now. Thats the one thing Im thinking about when I go out to the mound." Kazmir, signed as a minor league free agent after pitching in an independent league last season, fell one strikeout short of his career high, which came when he struck out 13 against Oakland on Aug. 25, 2007. "Getting 12 strikeouts, thats the most Ive gotten in a long time," he said. "Just to be able to throw my fastball consistently in the location I wanted to, thats something I was very pleased with." "Thats the best Ive ever seen him pitch and I saw him pitch in Tampa for a while," Mets manager Terry Collins said. Swishers grand slam came in the eighth and Carlos Santana added two RBIs. Cleveland entered Friday three games out of the second wild-card spot. The Indians have won three of four on their homestand after losing ground in the playoff chase during a difficult road trip. "I wish we had a better record, but were in this every bit as much as about four or five other teams," Francona said. Swishers grand slam was the eighth of his career and produced fireworks exploding from the scoreboard. Earlier in the day, the team announced that Swisher, as a thank you to the fans, is paying the bill for the team to have an extra fireworks show on Sept. 21. "Weve got to keep winning games," he said. "This team lost close to 100 games last year. For us to just be in this spot, it goes to show you what this organization is doing." Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler (7-4) allowed three runs in five innings and lost for the first time in his career on the road. The right-hander, who was called up on June 18, won his first five decisions away from Citi Field. Justin Turners seventh-inning homer, his first of the season, accounted for the Mets run. The Indians played the game without outfielder Michael Brantley, who returned to his home in Florida to be with his wife, who is expecting their first child. Clevelands first two runs came on sacrifice flies by Santana in the first and Michael Bourn in the second. Santana added an RBI single in the fifth and Lonnie Chisenhall had a run-scoring double in the sixth. Wheeler, 23, is considered one of the top prospects in baseball. The Mets won 10 of his first 14 starts and hes only the second rookie in team history to win five straight road decisions in one season. Jerry Koosman won his first six road decisions in 1968. NOTES: While the live chicken the Indians used as a good luck charm Wednesday has been returned to its owner, the bird was still being talked about Friday. Rumours of Boston players eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games in 2011 surfaced after Francona was let go by the Red Sox following that season. Asked if he enjoyed his most recent chicken experience better than the first, Francona laughed and said, "As long as the chicken wasnt drinking beer, were good to go." ... Mets LHP Scott Rice, who leads the majors with 73 appearances, will have sports hernia surgery and miss the remainder of the season. ... Niko Lanzarotta, an 8-year-old Indians fan with cerebral palsy who had a special wish granted last month at Progressive Field, will return to the ballpark Saturday. Prior to the July 24 game, Lanzarotta asked Santana and 2B Jason Kipnis if they would hit a home run for him. Both players did and Niko will receive the home run balls from the fans who caught them. ... RHP Corey Kluber, who has been out since Aug. 6 with a sprained middle finger, will be activated to start Saturday for the Indians against LHP Jonathon Niese. James Worthy Lakers Jersey . Henrik Samuelsson and Luke Bertolucci also scored for the Oil Kings, who are now 9-0 on home ice in the playoffs to cut Portlands series lead to 2-1. Chase De Leo and Mathew Dumba responded for the Winterhawks, who suffered just their fourth loss in their last 46 games, a string of success running all the way back to Jan. Derek Fisher Jersey .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/anthony-davis-lakers-jersey/ . Old times for a defence that has looked just plain old recently? "No," safety Ryan Clark said. "We used to be much better than that. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Jersey .com) - Jahlil Okafor had 21 points, Tyus Jones scored 16 with 10 assists and No. JaVale McGee Jersey .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The so-close-and-yet-so-far-away feeling for NFL prospects might be epitomized by Zach Zenners hotel window at the East-West Shrine Game this week. My window looks out on the ocean, the three-time All-American running back from South Dakota State said Wednesday morning from St. Petersburg, Florida, but I havent been there yet. Oh, surely there must be time for some pleasure amid all the business. I just got done taking a Troutwine test, Zenner pointed out. Well then, that fun performance profiling surely reflected Zenners intelligence and intangibles such as competitive desire and mental toughness. Perhaps his reaction time on the test mirrored his acceleration on the field. A color will be spelled out, like the word red, for example, Zenner explained the psychological evaluation. But the color of the word red will be black. And youre supposed to identify the color of the word. You read red, but the color of the word is black, so you need to select black. Its all in a day in the life of a player trying to make a bigger name for himself at a college football all-star games. A player from an FCS program, like Zenner, has been a star for a while, but in the buildup to the NFL Draft in May, he has to overcome the stigma of playing on the smaller-school level. There are so many success stories, of course, but the perception still remains. Just this past Saturday, Coastal Carolina All-American linebacker Quinn Backus represented the FCS level well by claiming American team MVP honors with six tackles and an 87-yard pick-six at the Medal of Honor Bowl in Charleston, South Carolina. The three biggest all-star games are up next. The Shrine Game and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, California, will be played Saturday, while the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, will follow on Jan. 24. Zenner will get a long look from NFL teams. What must be particularly intriguing to them is the 6-foot, 220-pound back is the only Division I player, and just the second in NCAA history, to rush for at least 2,000 yards in three different seasons. He has a patient, north-south style, but can find another gear in the open field, as evidenced by five runs of 75 yards or more in his college career. Hes also a solid pass catcher. Zenner is one of 11 FCS players at the Shrine Game. At last years game, an FCS quarterback, 2013 Walter Payton Award winner Jimmy Garoppolo from Eastern Illinois, was named the offensive most valuable player. Its been great being here, its been an honor, its been interesting and a good experience so far, Zenner said. I think Im doing OK. The interviews go pretty fast because I dont have any, like, previous arrests or anything to explain. On the field Monday, I was a little rusty, but yesterday I had a better practice. So, hopefully, Illl have another good one today.dddddddddddd It takes a little bit to get used to. I think everyone did well in college. But I was part of a high school all-star team, so Ive been in a similar situation. Its the same thing as getting to a college for the first time. Everyone was the big dude in high school. Its a similar feel except at a higher level. While Zenner is focused on fulfilling his NFL dream - he also will participate at the leagues annual scouting combine in Indianapolis next month - he has a pretty good fallback plan. As part of the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class, an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship awaits him for medical school. The inaugural recipient of the Mickey Charles Award, which honors academic achievement by an FCS student-athlete, Zenner carried a 3.86 grade point average before completing his undergraduate work at SDSU last month. But, oh, does the Minnesota native ever wish he could find time to get to the beach this week. I want to take advantage of it, but I wont have time today, he said. Maybe tomorrow, I might. FCS Players in Upcoming All-Star Games All Times ET East-West Shrine Game Saturday, Jan. 17 Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida 4 p.m. (NFL Network) East Roster (head coach Mike Singletary): Derrick Lott, DT, Chattanooga; Dean Marlowe, FS, James Madison; Tre McBride, WR, William & Mary; Davis Tull, DE/OLB, Chattanooga; Tye Smith, CB, Towson West Roster (head coach Jim Zorn): John Crockett, RB, North Dakota State; Kyle Emanuel, DE, North Dakota State; Tevin McDonald, FS, Eastern Washington; MyCole Pruitt, TE, Southern Illinois; Xavier Williams, DT, Northern Iowa; Zach Zenner, RB, South Dakota State NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Saturday, Jan. 17 StubHub Center, Carson, California 4 p.m. (ESPN2) American Roster (Mike Holmgren): Tony Bell, SS, UT Martin; Antoine Everett, OG, McNeese State; Jerry Lovelocke, QB, Prairie View A&M; Zack Wagenmann, DE, Montana National Roster (Mike Martz): Malcolm Agnew, RB, Southern Illinois; DeAndre Carter, WR, Sacramento State; Ace Clark, SS, Western Carolina; Nick Easton, C, Harvard; Channing Fugate, FB, Eastern Kentucky; Jake Rodgers, OT, Eastern Washington; DeAnte Saunders, CB, Tennessee State; Ross Scheuerman, RB, Lafayette; Corey Simmons, TE, Northwestern State Senior Bowl Saturday, Jan. 24 Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama 4 p.m. (NFL Network) Accepted Invites (head coaches Ken Whisenhunt of the North roster and Gus Bradley of the South roster): Nick Boyle, TE, Delaware; Imoan Claiborne, CB, Northwestern State; David Johnson, RB, Northern Iowa; Dezmin Lewis, WR, Central Arkansas; Kyle Loomis, P, Portland State; Robert Myers, OG, Tennessee State; Jaquiski Tartt, S, Samford; Lynden Trail, OLB, Norfolk State; Tyler Varga, RB, Yale ' ' '