Cleveland fell to Colorado 18-4 last night at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, allowing spring highs in both runs and hits (26).

(Cleveland Indians) MICHAEL BOURN collected a pair of doubles, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. MICHAEL BRANTLEY (2-for-4), MARK REYNOLDS (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and LONNIE CHISENHALL (2-for-4) also contributed multi-hit efforts. JOE SMITH had the lone scoreless outing by the Tribe pitching staff, fanning a pair over 1.2 frames.

CODY ALLEN, BRYAN SHAW and NICK HAGADONE each tossed 1.0 scoreless inning for Triple-A Columbus in a minor league contest against Albuquerque (Dodgers) earlier in the day.

The Indians are set to host the Oakland Athletics today for a 4:05pm ET first pitch at Goodyear Ballpark. RHP ZACH McALLISTER is set to take the mound opposite A's LHP BRETT ANDERSON.

It's not unusual for professional athletes to tip the cap to those who have surpassed personal best marks; after all, what better compliment than knowing it took extraordinary effort to overtake what was once the best of the best.

Don Cockroft shows reaching the high mark extends well beyond the active competition on the field.

An open letter to Phil Dawson, the man who knocked Cockroft off his perch as the second highest scorer in Cleveland Browns history, may serve as a benchmark of it's own. Cockroft congratulations Dawson for his remarkable career with the Browns and even wishes Dawson the best, including a scenario where the Browns might even face-off against Dawson's new team in a soon-to-come Super Bowl.

Stay classy, Don!

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An Akron woman is off to prison for a ten-month stretch and ordered to repay more than $88,000 in restitution for scamming the state's Bureau of Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability programs as well as a former employer.

Bernice D. Stephens was running her own clothing store while collecting benefits for a workplace injury. She was caught on video tape despite operating the store under another name. A jury found her guilty on fraud charges in December.

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(Bureau of Workers' Compensation) An Akron  woman was sentenced on multiple counts after agents with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) captured video of her running her own clothing store while receiving workers’ comp benefits for a prior workplace injury. Bernice D. Stephens was sentenced March 12 and must repay more than $88,000.

“Ms. Stephens was collecting benefits from the BWC, Social Security Disability and her previous employer,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer. “She’s been brought to justice and has been ordered to return a staggering amount of money she was never entitled to receive.”

The BWC’s Special Investigations Department opened an investigation after receiving an allegation that Stephens, using the name Naomi Miller, owned and operated a clothing store in Akron. The department was also told she prepared income tax returns out of her home. Agents visited her store, called Devotice, and secretly videotaped as they purchased items from her. She told them she made African garments for weddings and events.

Stephens pleaded not guilty to charges of mail fraud, theft of public funds and false statement, but a jury found her guilty of all three on Dec. 13. She was sentenced to 10 months in jail followed by three years of supervised release. She must pay restitution to the BWC in the amount of $88,705.08, plus a special assessment of $300.

Chris Ford and John Duckworth are heroes of the first order after saving a crash victim off 224 and Main around three this morning.

Police say both noticed an SUV that crashed into a guardrail at 2:45 a.m. while westbound just beyond the Main Street exit. The vehicle then went down an embankment, hit a tree caught fire. Ford and Duckworth went into action; Ford began kicking out the windshield, according to WKYC Channel 3 News, while Duckworth used a baseball bat to break out the windows to pull the driver out of the burning SUV.

Duckworth  simply said that he was at the right place at the right time.

As the three were walking away from the wreck and police were arriving on the scene the vehicle exploded.

The driver was taken to Akron General for minor injuries.

An Akron man who used a power-washer to assault a neighbor will spend six months in jail for the attack.

Police said Edwin Heatherly, 71, of Oakland Avenue, was using the power washer to clean off a BBQ grill when his next door neighbor came to complain the grime from the spray was coming onto his house. Heatherly didn't hear the neighbor's attempt to get his attention so the neighbor sprayed his hose at Heatherly.

The power spray cut the neighbor's hands, arms, chin, neck and head.

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(Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh) Edwin J. Heatherly, 71, of Oakland Avenue in Akron, pleaded guilty today to one count of Felonious Assault, a felony of the second degree.

Heatherly was using a high-powered pressure washer to clean his grill on June 14. His next-door neighbor of 30 years became upset because the grime from the grill was coming over the fence onto his house. The victim attempted to get Heatherly’s attention, but was having trouble because he is deaf and mute. He sprayed his hose at Heatherly in an attempt to get his attention.

Heatherly then sprayed his power washer at the victim, cutting his hands, arms, chin, neck and the area behind his ear. Heatherly’s wife called police. When they arrived, they found the victim slumped in his yard, bleeding profusely from his face, arms and hands.

Visiting Judge Richard Reinbold immediately sentenced Heatherly to six months in jail and one year of probation. Heatherly was ordered to have no contact with the victim and pay $43,000 in restitution to the victim.

UPDATE-1:40AM: The missing adult has been found safe and taken home. The Missing adult alert has been cancelled.

Ever heard that adage about canaries in a coal mine? It really isn't about giving miners the bird; it's about giving them advance warning. When the canary drops dead, stops singing, or starts going crazy trying to get out of the cage that's a good sign things are about to go from bad to worse.

Cyprus -- the nation right next to Greece, the other basket case of Euro-economics -- isn't singing. By now, anyone with a bank account there is going crazy trying to get out.

Tweet tweet, though. They're still singing. At the top of their lungs. And it's a warning shot for the rest of the economies of the world balancing huge debt atop huge spending. But the key lesson is governments don't wind up holding the bag, the people do.

Things got kind of dicey in Cyprus when word leaked out a bid to shore up the beleagured nation's economy with a bailout was tied to, among other items, a tax levy that would seize up to 9.9% of private bank accounts to help pay for it. Those affected would get IOU's in the form of bonds in the banks, to back up their "investment" so they could imagine being made whole again after the very same banks got out of bankruptcy conditions.

Notice I used the word "seize" rather than the nicer euphemism of "levy." That's because when voters approve, it's a levy. When the government takes, it's a seizure.

And markets have been experiencing a bit of a seizure since word hit the public. Runs on ATM's left Cyprus cash-starved, and banks were put on holiday through most of the week while officials tried to figure out just how to handle their irrational citizens who thought losing from six to ten percent of their savings was asking a bit much.

This is why bank-states such as Switzerland and the Grand Cayman Islands exist.

What's scary about this is Americans asking "could it happen here?" Europe is an advanced economic system, much as we are. The numbers below in the interactive element from the Associated Press aren't exactly encouraging. There are several elements to this data, but very telling is the lack of growth over the entire continent. 

We face stiff challenges here at home, especially because America is no longer the fortress protected by oceans to the east and west, nearby markets to the north and south and the capacity to fend for ourselves. We are a big element of the global economy, so when Europe, China or India sneeze we feel the chills of a cold coming on. 

Economists like to tell us the consumer helps drive economic recovery, and they're correct. But the fear of consumers they'll see past recessions and depressions is of equal power in leading to stagnation or, worse yet, back-sliding into a repeat of the poor growth marking much of the past four years. Confidence, like reputation, takes a long time to build but a moment to destroy.

The government of Cyprus and the Eurozone bankers are trading on the confidence of the people to help rebuild the economy. Telling savers their bank accounts are fair game is a reputation they can ill-afford now. We don't have to be economists to figure out losing money people work a lifetime to save is bad business.