Terry Francona, who guided the Cleveland Indians to their first American League pennant since 1997, was named American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday.Francona wins the award, given by the Baseball Writers Association of America, after guiding the Indians --?beset by injuries and drug suspensions -- to a surprising first-place finish with a 94-67 record. Cleveland also made its first playoff appearance since 2013 and won their first division title since 2007.Im honored, Francona said. ... It also does give me a chance to brag about our guys. If somebody thinks its an individual award, its the furthest thing from the truth. One, its incredible players. Its front office, ownership. The coaches work so hard every day. I wish we could take a bow together.The Indians almost claimed their first World Series title since 1948 before the Chicago Cubs overcame a 3-1 deficit.It was an unbelievably satisfying year, Francona said.Its already been a busy offseason for him, too. The Indians picked up options for his contract in 2019 and 2020, then he had a right hip replacement operation.He received a first-place vote on 22 of the 30 ballots cast and was the only one to be named on every ballot. Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister finished second with four first-place votes, while Buck Showalter of the Baltimore Orioles and John Farrell of the Boston Red Sox had two first-place votes apiece and finished third and fourth, respectively.In Franconas fourth year managing the club, Cleveland overcame significant injuries to star outfielder Michael Brantley, catcher Yan Gomes and starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to win the AL Central title by eight games and improve its win total by 13 games from a season ago.This is the second time Francona, 57, has been named Manager of the Year, having won the honor in 2013 after his first season with the Indians, and he is the only two-time winner in franchise history. He is now the sixth active manager to win the award multiple times, joining Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon, Bob Melvin, Mike Scioscia and Buck Showalter.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Steven Baker .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Cheap NFL Jerseys China For Sale . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/chris-peace-jersey-for-sale/ . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Chuck ONeil .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Jermaine Whitehead . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick.The first Pakenham Cup meeting to be held as a feature Saturday fixture in Victoria has attracted a large number of nominations including 23 for the main event.Pakenham is the fourth regional venue to be granted a feature Saturday meeting of metropolitan status in Victoria, with Ballarat, Mornington and Bendigo already holding one each season.The 23 nominations for Saturdays Listed $200,000 Pakenham Cup (2500m) include recent Ballarat Cup winner Piilote DEssai who has been given 58kg while Puccini heads the weights with 60kg.ddddddddddddhe meetings nine races have attracted a total of 226 nominations with the support races including the $100,000 VOBIS Gold Bullion (1400m), a $100,000 open handicap over 1200m and the $90,000 David Bourke Memorial Handicap (1600m). ' ' '