Pirate Galaxy » his 35th homer. Sano hit his 22nd and

CLEVELAND -- Robert Griffin III gave the Cleveland Browns some hope with a strong home debut.Griffin threw two touchdown passes in the first half in the Browns 24-13 exhibition loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.Griffin found wide receiver Terrelle Pryor streaking down the right sideline on Clevelands second drive of the game for a 50-yard scoring strike. Griffin connected with tight end Gary Barnridge for a 22-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.Those were two great plays, Griffin said. TP running by a guy and making a play and Gary making an amazing catch. We were able to get things clicking a little bit working the long ballGriffin signed with the Browns (0-2) after being released by Washington. He was 6 of 8 for 96 yards in four series, and ran for 36 yards on three carries -- including a 22-yarder.Devonta Freeman scored on a 19-yard run to cap Atlantas first drive. Matt Ryan played three series and completed 6 of 11 passes for 78 yards.Atlanta (2-0) trailed 13-10 at halftime, but went ahead on Brandon Wilds 32-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The Falcons gained 498 yards, including 224 on the ground.The real story was the line of scrimmage, Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said. For us to have the ability to run the ball like we did, thats a real plus.ROOKIE WATCHFalcons: LBs Deion Jones and DeVondre Campbell were in the starting lineup. Jones, a second-round draft pick, played in the middle while Campbell, taken in the fourth round, played on the weak side.POSITION BATTLESFalcons: QB Matt Simms, who is competing with Sean Renfree for the No. 3 spot, directed a 15-play, 98-yard drive for a fourth-quarter touchdown.Browns: K Patrick Murray, who is competing with Travis Coon, made an extra point after Clevelands first touchdown.INJURY UPDATEFalcons: PK Nick Rose handled all of the teams kicking duties because of injuries. PK Matt Bryant didnt play beacuse of tightness, according to the team. P Matt Bosher left the game with a chest injury after taking a big hit from LB Tank Carder covering a kick. DE/LB Vic Beasley (shoulder), RB Terron Ward (ankle) and S Kemal Ishmael (shoulder) were also out.Browns: WR Corey Coleman, the teams No. 1 draft pick, has yet to play in the preseason because of a left hamstring injury. RT Joe Thomas (back), CB Joe Haden (ankle) and WR Andrew Hawkins (hamstring) were also out. S Rahim Moore was taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.NOT READY YETWR Josh Gordon (quad) returned to practice Tuesday but didnt play. He is suspended for the first four games of the regular season after missing the entire 2015 season for violating the NFLs substance abuse policy.QUOTABLEFalcons: I thought we were sharper than we were in the first week. We made some plays in the passing game and we ran the ball well. -- Ryan on the offense.Browns: As a receiver, if the ball is anywhere in your area you try and make the catch. It was a good ball, great protection. -- Pryor on his touchdown catch.OOPSC Cam Erving fired a shotgun snap over Griffins head in the second quarter, sending the quarterback racing for the ball. Griffin recovered for what would have been a 24-yard loss, but had his facemask grabbed by linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.I dont want to have to coach that, but its something we have to fix, Browns coach Hue Jackson said. That was disappointing to have the ball go over the quarterbacks head.FALCONS DEBUTVeteran DE Dwight Freeney, signed last week, played his first game with Atlanta after signing last week.Its hard to get the rust off, he said. I got about six to eight plays. I felt a little rusty, but thats what preseason is for.FAMILIAR FACEFalcons C Alex Mack, who played his first seven seasons with the Browns, visited with several of his former teammates on the field before the game. Cavaliers Jerseys China . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Custom Cavaliers T-shirts .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. http://www.customcavaliersjersey.com/ . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Cheap Custom Cavaliers Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Kyrie Irving Jersey Large . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. MINNEAPOLIS -- White Sox manager Robin Ventura approached Jose Abreu at his locker following Sundays tight victory over the Twins, and the two shared a joke.It was a moment of levity at the end of a stressful day.Abreu hit two three-run homers and drove in a career-best seven runs, and Chicago used Tim Andersons two-run double in the 12th inning to beat Minnesota 13-11 for a split of their four-game series.I will say that this is my best moment of this season, Abreu said.Abreu, Anderson and Melky Cabrera had three hits apiece, helping the White Sox overcome four homers for Minnesota. The teams combined for 18 homers in the series.Abreu fell one shy of the franchise record of eight RBI in a game, a mark shared by three people, including Ventura.We were joking about the RBI, our record that he owns, Abreu said through a translator. I was one short, but we were all joking about it.While Abreu delivered another impressive performance, Anderson had the biggest hit of the day. With one out and runners on second and third in the 12th, the rookie doubled to deep left against Pat Dean (1-6).Juan Minaya (1-0) earned his first major league win. He pitched a scoreless 11th but walked the first two batters in the 12th. Tommy Kahnle then came in and earned his third career save, retiring Eddie Rosario with the bases loaded for the final out.Im not going to tell you what was going through my mind, Ventura said of Minnesotas threat in the 12th. But theyre not easy.Byron Buxton hit his first career grand slam for Minnesota, and Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and John Ryan Murphy also went deep. The Twins hit 11 homers in the four-game set.To have an offensive day like that, and to really have the guys you want in the game at the end with a chance, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said of the frustrating pitching performmance.dddddddddddd I dont know how many of those weve had that would rank up there with that one.Abreu opened the scoring with a three-run shot in the first. He added an RBI single in the fifth and another three-run drive in the seventh, trimming Minnesotas lead to 9-7.Abreu is batting .370 with 11 homers and 30 RBI in his past 31 games.Hes swinging it, this is what you really expect out of him, Ventura said. I know that its pretty free and easy right now. But even the home runs, thats really more indicative of him. Right now hes feeling pretty good about it, sitting in the middle of our lineup driving in some runs.Buxton had three hits, and Dozier connected for his 35th homer. Sano hit his 22nd and Murphy added his first for the Twins after being recalled a day earlier.TRAILING ONLY KILLEBREWDozier leads the majors with 21 homers since the All-Star break. He has the most home runs of any Twins player since Josh Willingham also hit 35 in 2012.Only Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew has hit more homers in a single season in Twins history.Dont be putting me in Killebrews, in a sentence with him, Dozier said. Thats pretty cool. Weve still got a little ways to go, but thats pretty cool.UP NEXTWhite Sox: Chris Sale (15-7, 3.10 ERA) starts Monday against the Detroit Tigers, who counter with Justin Verlander (14-7, 3.30 ERA). Sale is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings in four starts against Detroit this season. Verlander has allowed more than two runs just once in his past 12 starts.Twins: Molitor said rookie right-hander Jose Berrios (2-4, 9.24 ERA) will be called up to start Monday against Kansas City. The Royals counter with RHP Ian Kennedy (9-9, 3.66 ERA). ' ' '