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INDIANAPOLIS -- Adreian Payne scored 18 points and Gary Harris and Branden Dawson added 15 each to lead No. Custom Mets Jersey . 22 Michigan State to its second Big Ten tournament title in three years with a 69-55 upset of No. 8 Michigan on Sunday. The third-seeded Spartans (26-8) are getting healthy and will have some momentum entering the NCAA tournament with four wins in five games. Top-seeded Michigan (25-8) was led by Big Ten player of the year Nik Stauskas with 17 points and Derrick Walton Jr. had 11, but the Big Ten regular season champs had their seven-game winning streak come to an end. It was never really close. Michigan State took control with an early 12-0 run, led 38-29 at halftime and opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt to make it 46-29. Michigan never got closer than 10 points again. The Spartans had lost their previous two meetings with Michigan this season but werent about to lose again Sunday. For the first time all season, Michigan State started the same five players for a fifth straight game. Harris, who hurt his left shoulder early in the second half, returned later. Harris, an Indiana native who never got to play for a state basketball title at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, took advantage of this opportunity. He scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half. Dawson, another Indiana native who was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player, scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half. Michigan State has four tournament titles since the Big Ten started the event in 1998. Michigan, meanwhile, will be waiting to see if this ugly loss could cost it a No. 1 seed in next weeks NCAA tournament. The Wolverines, who narrowly escaped with wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, were not their usually strong shooting selves as they played for the third time in three days. They avoided matching their season-low point total when Zak Irvin hit a 3 with 15.9 seconds to go and their shooting percentage (31.5) nearly matched a season low, too. Michigan shot 31.1 per cent from the field in a 63-61 loss to Charlotte on Nov. 24. And they were outrebounded 38-28. Michigans problems started early. The Spartans went on a 12-0 run to take a 16-9 lead -- and never gave it up. They led by as much as 25-14 in the first half, getting Michigans top two big men -- Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford -- into early foul trouble. Coach John Beilein even was called for a technical foul midway through a dreadful half. Harris finished it off emphatically by taking a pass at midcourt and driving right through Michigans defence for a one-handed dunk to make it 38-29. Things didnt get any better for Michigan in the second half. Michigan State scored the first eight points to make it 46-29, then closed it out with a late 10-4 run that extended the lead to 69-52. Daniel Murphy Mets Jersey . Barcelona says Pique tore a muscle in his right leg. The Spain international will miss Spanish league games against Almeria and Valladolid, but should be back for the Champions league match against Manchester City on March 12. Ike Davis Jersey . KINGS TAKE FREEWAY SERIES The Los Angeles Kings stormed the Anaheim Ducks early in Game Seven, building a 3-0 first-period lead on their way to a 6-2 decision, earning the Kings a rematch with the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Catcher Yan Gomes finds no issues in making a long-term commitment to the Cleveland Indians. He is confident the franchises strides in a turnaround 2013 season will carry over to future success starting this season. Gomes and the Indians completed a $23 million, six-year contract Monday after his breakout performance last season. "It goes into what it means to be in this organization. Youve got younger guys like ourselves just wanting to be here," Gomes said. "Were potentially signing a big amount of our careers. Theres not another place I would want to be with, especially from the top to the bottom here. Its the organization you want to be with." That feeling is mutual, even if Gomes provided a small sample size of the impact he can make behind the plate and with the bat. Assistant general manager Mike Chernoff and others in the front office are impressed with Gomes constant work to better learn Clevelands pitchers so they all find a comfort zone together. Gomes deal includes club options for 2020 and 21 that could bring the total to $42 million over eight years -- or even $48 million with escalators. "This is the organization I want to be with, that actually made it pretty easy," Gomes said before the scheduled opener in rain-soaked Oakland. "Im so thankful for that. My wife and I are excited to be Cleveland Indians for a while now. ... We got a little taste of the post-season last year. Thats what we play for." Gomes hit .294 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs in 88 games last season, his first with the Indians. The Indians went 49-30 when Gomes started, and manager Terry Francona went with Gomes during crucial games down the September stretch. "Its kind of been the motto of my career -- Ive always had to battle. Its not going to stop," Gomes said. "This is a huge blessing getting a contract like this, but now were talking about taking this team to another level." His new deal supersedes a previous one-year contract for 2014. The deal replaces a contract he agreed to in early March calling for a $513,000 salary in the majors and $281,000 in the minors. Gomes receives a $500,000 signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the contracts approval, and salaries of $550,000 salaary this year, $1 million in 2015, $2. Authentic New York Mets Jersey. 5 million in 2016, $4.5 million in 2017, $5.95 million in 2018 and $7 million in 2019. Cleveland has a $9 million option for 2020 with a $1 million buyout, and if that is exercised the Indians would have an $11 million option for 2021. The options may escalate by up to $3 million each based on MVP voting, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, and All-Star appearances. "Hes shown us that hes worth this contract," Francona said. "We have that much faith in him, and thats pretty amazing for a young kid with that kind of track record, or lack of track record, for us to buy in that much. So thats a pretty good compliment to him." Negotiations began during spring training. The deal with Gomes will keep Clevelands young core together for years to come. "You hope that these deals are win-win deals," Chernoff said. "They all want to be here. Its an environment, a culture, that people want to be a part of." The 26-year-old -- the first Brazilian-born player in the majors -- began last season at Triple-A Columbus, but after being brought up in April he stayed the rest of the year and was a major contributor as the Indians made the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Gomes was acquired from Toronto on Nov. 2, 2012. "He is the guy that, in spring training as were having these talks with him about a long-term contract, hes putting in more and more time to try to get to know the pitchers to build on where he was last year," Chernoff said. "Hes also a great organizational story. Our scouts worked really hard to identify Yan with Toronto and find a way to get him in a deal." Gomes was set to start and bat ninth in the season opener. Francona expressed his gratitude for the process. "I got a chance to maybe have a little bit of a front-row seat and it was kind of cool," he said. "Because those things just dont happen, in todays game especially, with the amount of dollars were talking about. ... To see them kind of work through it was really interesting. Its kind of a proud moment for our organization, because we got a guy that we really think a lot of tied up for a long time. Hes going to be a big part of what we do." cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
