How's that for a football headline?  Inspiring, huh?

The judges in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 Monday to make the temporary stay of the lockout injunction permanent, thus keeping the players out of work until at least the June 3rd hearing.  This likely will lead to a reversal of the injunction ruling by the Minnesota court, meaning that the players will remain locked out indefinitely until a new CBA can be reached.

Depending on how belligerent the Players feel (or, more accurately, how belligerent their fearless leader DeMo Smith feels), this could either lead to more earnest mediation discussions or to a whole mess of athletic 20-something year old men pouting and trading in their Mercedes for a Hyundai.  Likely, however, a lockout - prolonged or no - will at least mean that we won't have to worry about the abolition of the draft and the salary cap, since those things will certainly be part of any collective bargaining that is finally agreed upon.  So, unless you were keen on killing the draft and the salary cap and making everyone a Free Agent, this was a win (in the long run) for the fans.

Basically, the main litigation is essentially a done deal, the only question is how quickly the 2 sides can mend their ouchy feewings and sit down and reach the agreement that everyone in the universe knows they're gonna reach eventually anyway.

Kids these days...

One of Ohio State’s strongest and most recognizable traditions is its “gold pants” tradition, where each player and coach affiliated with the team receives a necklace with a gold pants charm attached as a reward for defeating Michigan in their annual rivalry game.

After Ohio State’s 37-7 victory over Michigan last November, the team was expected to receive its seventh necklace in as many years. That was before Gold Pants Club president Jim Lachey said they were holding off on awarding the 2010 team with this year’s gold pants. Members of the club are hesitant to award the team until the NCAA makes a ruling on violations Ohio State committed last year -- which could potentially vacate all of Ohio State’s victories from 2010.

"If they vacate the win, it makes no sense to award the gold pants, at least in our minds," Lachey said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch. "And if you hand them out and say, 'Oh yeah, we'll need to get them back if the win is vacated' - I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a smart way to go.” He later added, “I'll be honest, we don't want to see any 2010 gold pants on the market right now."

This tradition started in 1934 when then Buckeyes coach Francis Schmidt famously said, “They put their pants on one leg at a time, the same as we do!” when referring to the juggernaut Michigan football had become. The Buckeyes beat the Wolverines 34-0 later that year and went on to beat Michigan four straight times.

Del Marsh, the President of the Alabama State Senate says he will refuse to allow the appointments of nine new appointees to the Auburn University Board of Trustees to come to a vote, saying he is unhappy with the process, and that "we can do better".

Though Marsh says his decision is "nothing personal" it is widely seen as a challenge to the reappointment last month of Bobby Lowder to the board, and reflects widespread sentiment among Auburn alumni that the university would do well to move on without Lowder's involvement. Lowder has served on the board since 1983, and has been the focal point of criticism by those who say his micromanagement of Auburn athletics and other university functions has ill-served the institution, despite his donation of millions of dollars to the school over the years.

A lawsuit was filed last week that also seeks to overturn Lowder's nomination to the board.

Around the Farm takes a quick look at how some of the prospects in the Indians system performed in yesterday’s games. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Another tough day yesterday, as the Indians, Clippers, Aeros, K-Tribe and Captains all lost yesterday. I was in attendance at the Akron-Bowie game, and got to see a great pitching performance…just not from Joe Gardner. Bowie’s starter Zack Clark went 8 2/3 innings, giving up just 3 hits and 1 ER. Impressive, but depressing at the same time.

Adam Miller, RP-KIN: 2 IP, H, 4 K

A dominant outing for Miller, who has now gone 3 consecutive appearances out of the K-Tribe bullpen without giving up a run. It’s still going to take a little while to bring his ERA down after giving up 3 ER in 1 IP in his initial outing this season, but he can certainly be forgiven if he had some butterflys pitching in a real, live game for the 1^st time since 2008. Miller now has 7 K and 3 BB in 5 IP in the Carolina League, and his outing last night was in relief of 2010 1^st round pick Drew Pomeranz. I can tell you with absolute certainty that this is the first time a 2003 1^st round pick has pitched in relief of a 2010 1^st round pick in the Carolina League this season. Miller last pitched for Kinston in 2005, and is trying to climb the organizational ladder once again after having fallen off the top rung due to a myriad of surgeries.

• Carlton Smith, RP-COL: 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB. After opening the season with 11 consecutive scoreless appearances, Smith has now allowed 5 ER in his past two outings. By all accounts, his stuff had not taken a huge leap forward, so this is probably just his luck evening out and his ERA normalizing.
• Jensen Lewis, RP-COL: 2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K, BB. Lewis has been living dangerously all season, with a 0.44 GO/AO ratio and more walks than strikeouts. He gave up a bomb last night and now has a 3.78 ERA.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 1-5, HR (3), RBI, R. Solid .325/.400/.525 over his last 10 games. Donald injury puts him next in the line of succession for the hot corner in Cleveland. 
• Josh Rodriguez, LF-COL: 1-2, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB, R, K. Welcome back, old friend. Rodriguez is now 2-13 since being reclaimed by the Clippers, and popped his 1^st HR yesterday.
• Cord Phelps, DH-COL: 1-5, K. If Nino Colla can get a t-shirt supporting Jack Hanahan for the all-star game (http://thetribedaily.spreadshirt.com/), I’m confused as to why no one has designed a Free Cord Phelps t-shirt yet.
• Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 1-4, 2B, BB. Even hotter than Chiz over his last 10, with a .341/.413/.512 line.
• Wes Hodges, 1B-COL: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R. Ok, I’ll admit it. Hodges has been on fire lately. He’s riding a 7 game hitting streak that’s seen him go 11-26 with a HR, 3 2B and 6 RBI.
• Joe Gardner, SP-AKR: 2 2/3 IP, 5 R (1 ER), 2 H, K, 4 BB. In addition to the 4 BB, Garnder also hit a batter. He was sitting between 89-91 with his fastball and had good movement, he just couldn’t keep the ball in the zone. He reminded me way too much of Bad Fausto last night.
• C.C. Lee, RP-AKR: 2 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K. Lee was at 91-93 with his fastball and touched 94 a couple of times. Add to that a biting curve at 81-84, and you have yourself a real RP prospect. The run was earned, but it was created by a 2B that Jordan Henry broke in on only to have it go over his head and a seeing-eye single. He only had 1 ball hit hard off of him in his 2 IP.
• Jared Goedert, 1B-AKR: 1-4 ,HR (1), RBI, R, K. The rehabbing Goedert hit one waaaaay out and also hit one his 1^st AB that would have been long gone if it wasn’t foul by about 5 feet. He also made a crucial error at 1B to allow 2 unearned runs to score. But he’s a bat-1^st guy, so we’ll overlook the error in favor of the bomb.
• Drew Pomeranz, SP-KIN: L (1-1), 4 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB. One start after recording his 1^st professional win, Pomeranz recorded his 1^st professional loss. Some people just can’t handle success.
• Steven Wright, SP-LCC: 6 IP, 3 H, 9 K, 3 BB. An impressive 6 shutout innings for Wright, who must have really had the knuckler dancing last night in Dayton. Too bad the bullpen couldn’t hold it for him.
• Anthony Gallas, LF-LCC: 2-4, HR (4), RBI, R. The kid from Cleveland is raking lately, putting up a .436/.476/.667 line with a HR and 6 2B over his last 10 games.
• Alex Lavisky, DH-LCC: 2-4, 2 2B, K. Local products Lavisky and Gallas combined for 4 of the Captains 6 hits last night.

Around the Farm takes a quick look at how some of the prospects in the Indians system performed in yesterday's games. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday's game.

Rough day for the low A offenses yesterday, as Kinston and Lake County combined for 8 hits in 3 games. Ouch. Fortuneatly, the bigger kids made up for it with wins. The Clip Show took down Charlotte 9-7, and Akron won on getaway day in Erie, 4-1.

Cord Phelps, SS-COL: 2-4, HR (5), 3 RBI, R

Over his last 6 games, Phelps is hitting .476 (10-21) with 3 HR and 10 RBI. That brings his season numbers up to .318/.444/.542 (.987 OPS). He's a switch hitter who can play 2B, 3B and even SS in a pinch. He's walked 26 times in 30 AAA games, showing off his solid approach. I am having a really, really hard time thinking that Phelps shouldn't be in Cleveland right now. Say it with me...Free Cord Phelps. Get it trending on twitter. Tweet it to @MarkShapiro and @IndiansGM. Write it on signs that you take to the ballpark. Write him in on your all-star ballots. Stage a sit-in at the mayor's office. I don't care what it takes, just help me get this kid to Cleveland.

Kelvin De La Cruz, SP-AKR: W (2-3), 5 IP, 2 H, 7 K, 4 BB

De La Cruz really has been solid all year for Akron, never allowing more than 4 ER in a single start and striking out a whopping 42 batters in 31 IP. He's also allowed just 18 hits in those 31 innings, and has an ERA of 2.32 on the year. Now for the bad news; he's walked 23 batters, which is just way too high for a starting pitcher if he want's to go deep into games. He's thrown over 5 innings just once, when he went 6 IP in a start back on April 23. De La Cruz has often been compared to a lefthanded Fausto Carmona with his power sinker and outstanding fastball movement. Unfortuneatly, he also share's Fausto's propensity for walks. If he can shore up his control and cut down on the walks, De La Cruz has as much upside as any pitcher still in the minors not named Pomeranz.

• Jenmar Gomez, SP-COL: W (3-0), 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 3 BB. As the great Steve Buffum would say...hey, we had one of those! Gomez was solid in his return to AAA, striking out 7 for the 2nd time this season.
• Josh Judy, RP-COL: IP, 2 ER, 4 H, K. Time to be concerned? Judy has given up 6 ER in his last 5 apperances (5 IP). He's probably been passed on the depth chart by the next guy on this list.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: S (5), IP, 2 H. Four different players have recorded at least one save for the Clip Show this year, and Putnam is now tied with Judy for the team lead after his 5th last night. He has a 2.29 ERA and 16/4 K/BB ratio.
• Zeke Carrera, CF-COL: 2-5, 2 R, 2 K. Zeeeeeeeke. Carrera stays hot, and is hitting .405 over his last 10 games.
• Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, 2 R, K. Kip is riding a modest 4 game hitting streak and has hit in 9 of his last 10. He's sporting a .915 OPS in his last 10 games.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-AKR: 2 IP, ER, H, K, 2 BB. A chink in the armor? That's Hagadone's 2nd straight appearance where he's given up runs, and his 2nd straight where he has failed to strike out more than he's walked. The ER was given up in his 3rd inning of work after cruising through 2 quick innings. I'm more concered about the walks than anything else.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (10), 2 IP, 2 K. A rare 2 inning save for Burns, as he came into the 8th with no outs and the bases loaded. He promptly induced a run-scoring DP and then got the next batter to fly out before pitching a 1-2-3 9th with 2 K. Can't ask for much more than that from your closer, and it's good to see he has a short memory after struggling in his last 2 outings.
• Jared Goedert, 1B-AKR: 1-3, RBI, BB, K. Goedert's 1st hit on his rehab stint. He's played 1B in both games that he has appeared in so far.
• Matt McBride, DH-AKR: 1-3, HR (6), RBI, BB, R, K. McBride has now gone deep in back-to-back games.
• John Drennen, RF-AKR: 2-4, 3B, 2B, K. Drennen has been one of the more consistent performers for the Aeros this season, and now sports a .262/.377/.466 line (.843 OPS).
• Donnie Webb, CF-AKR: 0-1, 3 BB, 2 SB, K. Despite being held hittless, Webb found a way to employ his considerable speed on the basepaths.
• Brett Brach, SP-KIN: L (3-2), 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB. Brach was the hard-luck loser for Kinston in game 2 of the DH yesterday, giving up 2 runs with one swing of the bat and little else besides that. His ERA rose all the way up to 1.63 after yesterday.
• Tyler Holt, CF-KIN: 2-5, 2B, BB. Kinston only had 5 hits in both games combined yesterday, and Holt had 2 of them.
• Cole Cook, SP-LCC: L (1-4), 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 K, BB. Solid start for the big righty, as all three runs came off the bat of Dayton 1B Donald Lutz, who launched 2 HR off of Cook (giving Lutz 7 HR on the season).
• Jordan Cooper, RP-LCC: 2 IP, 4 K. Cooper gave up 3 ER in his season debut back on April 29 and hasn't given up a run since, striking out 7 in 7 1/3 IP.

Around the Farm takes a quick look at how some of the prospects in the Indians system performed in yesterday's games. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday's game.

Rough day in the system yesterday, as all three affiliates in action took losses. The Clip Show gave up 20 hits and 13 runs in a loss to Charlotte, Akron dropped their 2nd straight to Erie, and Lake County lost to Dayton 4-2. Kinston was spared from the carnage with a scheduled day off.

• Cory Kluber, SP-COL: 5 IP, 6 ER, 11 H, 3 K, BB. Kluber has struggled with his control this year, and when he's been in the zone he has been hittable (like last night). His ERA on the season is now up to 8.04.
• Carlton Smith, RP-COL: 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, K, BB. Smith was the last pitcher in Columbus with an ERA of 0.00 going into last night, but that was spoiled in a big way. His ERA after yesterday's performance ballooned up to 2.35
• Zeke Carrera, CF-COL: 3-4, HR (1), RBI, 2 R. A guy who profiles as a true, old school leadoff hitter, Carrera is now up to .324/.414/.405, on the year, with 14 SB in 15 attempts.
• Travis Buck, 1B-COL: 2-4, HR (2), 2 RBI, R, BB. Buck has gone for .340/.450/.574 since being sent down to AAA Columbus, and is really looking like he would be an upgrade over Austin Kearns at this point.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 2-5, HR (4), RBI, R, 2 K. Speaking of upgrades for aging veterans, my Free Cord Phelps campaign rolls on.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R, K. Just one hit, but it was a bases-clearing double. Up to .291/.457/.487 on the year as memories of his early-April struggles continue to fade.
• Matt Packer, SP-AKR: L (0-5), 7 R (5 ER), 8 H, 2 K, BB. So good for Lake County last season that the 23-year old skipped Kinston entirely, he's finding the Eastern League much more of a challenge than the Midwest League. ERA up to 5.18 on the season after last night.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 2-4, BB, R, K. Chun stays hot in May, and his OPS for the month is still north of 1.000.
• Matt McBride, DH-AKR: 3-5, HR (5), RBI, R, K. McBride took over sole posession of the team lead in HR, breaking the tie with Chen. He's now at.263/.333/.439 for the Aeros on the season.
• Jared Goedert, 1B-AKR: 0-4, BB. Goedert is 0-8 with 2 BB in his two games since being sent on his rehab assignment.
•  Kyle Blair, SP-LCC: L (2-1), 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 K, BB. Blair only lasted 4 innings yesterday, and the 7 hits he allowed represent a career high. ERA still just 3.78 on the season.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 1-4, 2B, K. Washington has played in four games for the Captains, and he's been 1-4 with a K in all four games. Last night was his 1st XBH and 1st game without a walk though.
• Gio Urshela, 3B-LCC: 1-4, HR (4), RBI, R, 2 K. Despite the homer, Urshela is hitting just .133 in his last 10 games for Lake County.
• Alex Monsalve, C-LCC: 3-4, 2B, R. Monsalve has seen a lot of time behind the plate lately as his more highly regarded counterpart Alex Lavisky has struggled. He's showing solid bat to ball ability with a .306/.343/.419 line on the year.

Cleveland Browns players organized their second “players-only” minicamp in as many months, a league source told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.Team members gathered at Baldwin-Wallace College yesterday and are expected to work out together and run drills for three days.

In April, Colt McCoy organized Cleveland’s first minicamp in Texas. McCoy worked with the receivers (Robiskie, Norwood, Massaquoi and Cribbs), running back Peyton Hillis and tight end Evan Moore. The current minicamp will likely see the same players in addition to some new faces. Second round draft pick and wide receiver Greg Little will meet members of his new team for the first time during the session.

With the installation of Pat Shurmur’s West Coast offense coming this season, it’s encouraging to see Colt and Co. getting together and learning the system. The coaching staff gave McCoy a copy of the playbook months ago, and the second year quarterback is showing great leadership in trying to get everyone on the same page despite the NFL lockout.

From Peter King's 5/9/11 Monday Morning QB:

"On Sunday, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reported he's hearing "initial rumblings'' that if the league loses its appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and is forced to open its doors for business sometime this summer, the owners may completely shut down business operations until the players cave and agree to a labor deal. I reached out to a couple of ownership sources Sunday night; both said this was the first they'd heard of such a plan. We'll see if it grows legs as the month goes on. We're still weeks away from the June 3 St. Louis appeals court hearing that could end or extend the lockout."

It appears that the Owners are bound and determined to not lose this thing, and might take the nuclear option if the Players win their day in court. 

What would the result be?  Well, increased litigation and litigation confusion, for one thing.  A longer period of time before the labor mess is solved - definitely.  Assured Mutual Destruction?  Maybe.

And probably some enterprising people will try to scrabble together an alternate league to fill the void, a league that will have almost zero chance of forming in any conprehensive structure by the time Fall rolls around.  Yawn at the Las Vegas Golddiggers and the Raleigh/Durham Tobacconists.

From the outside, this whole thing is like watching a friend's marriage spiral out of control - the parties get too emotional and take things to the "next" level when they didn't have to go there and the next thing you know lawyers are getting rich while daddy tells the kids that mommy is a "Whore" while mommy tells them that daddy is "Prick" and they can't even show up to the same damn soccer game to watch their kids because they hate each other so damn much and it all could've been fixed had they just sat down and realized that no one was going to "win" and worked things out as satisfactorally as they could.

Oh, and, yes, we're the kids in that scenario.

Stay together for the kids, you bastards.

Around the Farm takes a quick look at how some of the prospects in the Indians system performed in yesterday's games. As always, the positions listed below are where the player was playing yesterday.

Tough day in the system yesterday, as the Indians affiliates went 2-3. Columbus split a doubleheader, Akron won their game but the two A ball affiliates lost. 

Austin Adams, SP-AKR: W (3-2), 6 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 6 H, 3 K, 2 BB

Adams, a converted shortstop, is a righthanded pitcher who is shorter than 6'. That alone is usually enough to condemn a guy to the bullpen. But Adams has bucked the trend so far, remaning in the rotation for the Aeros and pitching pretty well to boot. If you throw out his one start where he allowed 3 ER in 2/3 of an inning, Adams has given up 6 ER in 28 2/3 IP with 28 K and 11 BB. He's got plus velocity and a power curveball that flashes plus as well. Considered a "sleeper" going into this season, (I had him at #21 in my pre-season top 50) Adams has already taken a big step forward in his development and should be able to stick in the rotation long-term.

• David Huff, SP-COL: L (3-1), 4 ER, 11 H, BB, 6 K. Huff turned in his biggest strikeout game of the year, but also gave up 11 hits including a HR to take the loss.
• Scott Barnes, SP-COL: W (2-1), 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 6 K, 2 BB. Barnes got roughed up a little, giving up 2 HR. But he got the win, and the 6 K are encouraging.
• Carlton Smith, RP-COL: IP, BB. Smith has still not allowed an earned run this season. He's 1-0 with 17 K and 4 BB in 14 2/3 IP. Gotta be honest, I didn't see this coming from a guy who had a 6.38 ERA for the Clippers last year.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 3-7, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, R, 3 K. Free Cord Phelps. 6 for his last 10 and back up to .313 on the season
• Jason Kipnis, 2B-COL: 3-4, 2B, RBI, R. Kip only played in game 2 of the twinbill. He has hit .342/.444/.553 over his last 10 games, and is up to .283/.390/.465 overall on the season
• Wes Hodges, 1B-COL: 3-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, K. Hey, remember when this guy was a top-5 prospect in the organization?
• C.C. Lee, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 3 K. ERA down to 2.84 on the season after a rough start, and he has 27 K in 19 IP.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (9), IP, ER, 2 H, K. Still averaging 18 K/9, but ERA up to 5.73 on the season as Eastern League hitters are starting to adjust to his funky delivery.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R, 2 K. Love me some Chun Chen. He's hitting .320/.452/.680 so far in the month of May.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKR: 3-4, RBI, R. Fedroff just keeps on hitting, and his batting .358 over his last 9 games.
• Gio Soto, SP-KIN: 6 IP, ER, 4 H, 5 K, BB. Another solid start for Soto, who has yet to give up more than 3 ER in any of his starts this season.
• Adam Miller, RP-KIN: IP, K, BB. Yup, that Adam Miller. That was his 3rd outing for Kinston, and the comeback trail continues.
• Tyler Holt, CF-KIN: 3-3, 2 BB, R, CS. Holt is hitting .375 in his last 10 games, but has been caught stealing in his last three straight attempts.
• Michael Goodnight, SP-LCC: L (2-3), 1 2/3 IP, 7 R (4 ER), 5 H, K, BB. After striking out 10 in 6 innings his last time out, Goodnight couldn't even get out of the 2nd yesterday. His defense didn't exactly help, as 3 of his 7 runs were unearned.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 1-4, BB, K. Washington has been 1-4 with a walk and a K in all three of his starts this year. At least he's consistent.
• Carlos Moncrief, RF-LCC: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB. Moncrief has been moved out of CF and out of the leadoff spot with the return of LeVon Washington, but he hasn't let that slow him down. He's hitting a robus .351 over his last 9 games, and looks like he could be a real breakout player this season.

Ohio State gave their fans a break from bad off-the-field news Saturday by beating UC Santa Barbara to win the NCAA championship in Men's Volleyball. It was the Buckeyes' first ever title in volleyball, and their first national title in any sport since they won the fencing championship in 2008.  Hey, we'll take the good news in whatever shape or form we can get it.