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CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona walked into his workout day media session on Thursday a few minutes behind schedule, prompting MLB senior vice president Phyllis Merhige to ask what took him so long.I was doing my hair, he deadpanned.Thats a classic response from Francona, who doesnt let a day go by without joking about his baldness, his prominent nose, his lack of a sophisticated vocabulary or his middling talent on a baseball field. You would never know Francona won a Golden Spikes Award as college baseballs best player at the University of Arizona in 1980 or that he hit .274 over parts of 10 big league seasons (albeit with 16 home runs in 1,731 at-bats).Given his penchant for self-deprecation, Francona might blanch at the suggestion that hes on track to be a Hall of Fame manager. But as he oversees another deep run into October, the depth of his résumé and testimonials of his players and peers help make the case on his behalf.I think a lot of guys in here would tell you hes going to be in [Cooperstown] one day or hes well on his way, said Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis. For us, its more about how well he handles players and how much he respects everyone in the clubhouse. Hes such a good guy. You dont get in the Hall of Fame for being a good guy. But you get in on what hes done and the career hes had.Nineteen years after he made his managerial debut with a 68-win team in Philadelphia, Francona is mingling with more elite company. He has two titles in his portfolio -- the first of which broke an 86-year-old curse in Boston. He ranks 30th on MLBs career list with 1,381 career victories, and he looks like a sure bet to pass Hall of Famers Earl Weaver, Dick Williams and Tommy Lasorda by the end of his current deal with the Indians. He is under contract through 2018, and the Indians hold club options for 2019 and 2020.Franconas .533 career winning percentage is a tick below Tony La Russas .536, and Francona takes his managerial game to a different level in October. In 49 playoff and World Series games with Boston and Cleveland, he has amassed a .633 winning percentage (31-18). Among managers with at least 25 postseason games on their résumés, that ranks third behind Ned Yosts .710 (22-9) and Joe McCarthys .698 (30-13).While Baltimores Buck Showalter and San Franciscos Bruce Bochy were tormented by bullpen nonperformance or ill-fated bullpen decisions in the early stages of the playoffs, Francona was on a roll. He massaged a depleted Cleveland staff to a sweep of Boston with aggressive bullpen use, and he kept each player on the 25-man roster engaged.When Francona summoned right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall to make a rare start against a left-handed pitcher, Chisenhall responded with a three-run homer off Bostons?David Price to lead Cleveland to a 6-0 victory. And when he called upon Coco Crisp and Brandon Guyer to start, they responded with big games.Francona has long been hailed as a players manager, which can have both positive and negative connotations. In his case, the absence of walls provides a better insight into player psyches that gives him an edge when it matters most.Francona has mastered the art of communicating with players and letting them know he is in their corner, while simultaneously cultivating a harmonious relationship with the Cleveland front office. As many managers have discovered in an age of greater front-office intervention, relations can get strained when either side becomes territorial.He has the ability to blend the front-office message to the old-school message and get everybody on board, said Indians reliever Andrew Miller, who previously played for Francona at Boston in 2011. Theres a big skill in translating that down to the players. We have all these guys in the front office now who are so smart at crunching all the numbers.But if players arent hitting in a spot in the lineup theyre used to or theyre being asked to do something nontraditional, getting them to buy in isnt always easy.Francona played for 16 managers in his professional career and collected enough insights to develop a style that worked for him. One of the biggest lessons he has learned is that honesty makes it easier for a manager to walk the line between friend and authority figure.It seems kind of silly to be around a bunch of guys you really like and not enjoy them, Francona said. They know and I know there are a lot of times I have to deliver a message thats not what they want to hear, and I dont particularly enjoy it.But they also know Im never going to do something in a game besides try to win and do what I think is right. And they all respect that. I think thats why it works so well.The mood could have gone south in Cleveland this year, when Michael Brantley suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in May or when?Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco went down with arm injuries in the span of a week in September. But Francona kept the spirits high, and the players made his job easy by bonding deeply as a group. Francona took a mental inventory on Thursday and couldnt recall a single time this season when he pinch hit for a player or lifted him from a game and that player complained.Thats pretty rare, he said.Each day brings a new moment to savor at this time of year. During the American League Division Series, Francona got to sit back and enjoy the sight of his 82-year-old father, Tito, who had a long MLB career, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1. And he showed genuine emotion at a news conference to announce the establishment of The Larry Doby Youth Fund, which has raised $1 million to help disadvantaged children and address the problem of youth violence in Cleveland. Francona called it the proudest moment in his baseball life.Now its back to baseball -- and the inevitable self-deprecating wisecracks that make Francona so much fun to be around.When informed that former Indians executive-turned-Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins refers to him as inclusive in his approach, Francona jokingly asked, Whats inclusive mean? After the laughter subsided, Francona did his best to explain why his approach works for him.I had the good fortune of playing for 16 major league managers, and part of that was because I wasnt very good, Francona said. But thats a lot of ideas and a lot of personalities, and you learn a lot.I was with Dallas Green where hed walk in and he could command that room just by staring at you. I cant do that, so we do it a lot of times with humor. Players may not all be Ivy League guys, but if youre not true to yourself, they can see through it and you might as well go home.A lot of teams with more star power and higher payrolls have gone home for the offseason, but the Indians and their manager keep on springing surprises. If Cleveland can overcome the skeptics and win a World Series, it will make for a heck of a line on Terry Franconas Hall of Fame plaque. Adidas NMD Saldi . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Adidas NMD Scontate .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. http://www.adidasnmditalia.it/ . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Adidas NMD Italia .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Scarpe NMD Italia . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. TAMPA, Fla. -- After two losses, first-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter wants to change the culture of a team that hasnt won a playoff game in 13 years. Hell have a good model of what hes seeking on the other sideline when the defending Super Bowl champions come to Raymond James Stadium.When Im talking about the culture ... Im talking about the 53 players, the 10 practice-squad guys and however many coaches we have, Koetter said. The best teams that Ive been on beat with one heart, and they count on the guy next to them to do their job every time, and they win and lose together.The Buccaneers (1-2) have dropped two straight games, a lopsided 40-7 loss at Arizona and a 37-32 setback on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams that included a 70-minute lightning delay with two minutes left in the game. Tampa Bay moved into scoring position at the Rams 15-yard line and had five shots at a game-winning touchdown in the final minute but came up short.Denver is off to a 3-0 start despite starting an unknown commodity in second-year pro Trevor Siemian at quarterback. The former Northwestern player had a coming-out party in Sundays win over the Cincinnati Bengals with four touchdown passes.Hes obviously very young, and this will be his fourth time as a pro, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Wednesday. Hes handled himself really well. ... I think the good thing is he knows hes on a good football team and tries to stay within himself and do his job. Weve got a long way to go, but he continues to work at his trade each and every day.In throwing four touchdown passes Sunday, Siemien was just the ninth player in the last 40 years to do so in one of his first five NFL games. The last one? Tennessees Marcus Mariota against the Buccaneers in last years season opener.The Buccaneers brought in defensive coordinator Mike Smith, but the results have actually gotten worse. Tampa Bay is giving up 33.7 points per game, the most in the NFL and the most ever for a Buccaneers team afteer three games in the 41-year history of the franchise.ddddddddddddYou have to realize that of whatever the number is, 101 points or whatever it is, our offense has contributed way, way too much for that, Koetter said. We moved up one spot in turnover margin, from 32nd to 31st.Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston typifies the highs and lows of a young Tampa Bay team -- he leads the NFL with eight touchdown passes but is also one interception off the league high as well with six, to go with two costly fumbles he has lost as well.In Sundays loss to the Rams, Winston reset his career high with 405 passing yards but saw a fumble returned 77 yards for a touchdown and his only interception of the game set up another Los Angeles touchdown. There is small progress -- the Tampa Bay defense, held without a takeaway in the first two games, came up with two Sunday, including Kwon Alexanders interception return for a touchdown.The Bucs have a daunting two weeks ahead, facing both teams from last years Super Bowl, first the Broncos and then a Monday night game at Carolina, which has owned them in recent years. Tampa Bay will need a major upset to avoid going into its Week 6 bye with a disappointing 1-4 record.The Broncos are in a very different place from the Buccaneers, trying to sustain a high level of success despite a lack of proven experience at quarterback. There are higher expectations when a franchise has won multiple Super Bowls, and Kubiak understands the challenge of repeating a teams success over time.This is a tough league, he said. Youve got 32 organization. Everybody puts in the work and grinds at this thing. Its a very, very difficult league. I think what youre always looking for is consistency -- consistency in your preparation, consistency in your approach from the top down. I think thats what youre looking for as an organization. ' ' '