Fenway Park.It felt like we were on the road for tw

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Miles Bridges missed a free throw, got to the loose ball, dribbled through the lane and leaped to make a backboard-shaking dunk that got Magic Johnson out of his seat.Bridges scored 21 of his 24 points in the first half, grabbed 11 rebounds and had six assists in his home debut for No. 13 Michigan State in an 100-53 win over Mississippi Valley State on Friday night.That first-half performance was as good as any as Ive seen here in a long time, Spartans coach Tom Izzo said.Bridges , a 6-foot-7 freshman, put on quite a show that the fans loved at the Breslin Center, including a former Michigan State great and Hall of Famer. He made an array of shots, including a jump hook and two 3-pointers.Johnson popped out of his seat in a suite and spread his arms wide while showing an ear-to-ear smile when the left-handed freshman soared and slammed with his off hand.That was amazing, Johnson said in a halftime interview with The Associated Press. He is a guy, not only will he thrill Michigan State fans and basketball fans around the country, but the next level, hell be a great player.Bridges was awed by meeting Johnson for the first time and getting praise from him during a brief postgame chat.For him to be that excited about the way I played, for a legend to say that, that means a lot, he said.Bridges helped the Spartans (1-2) get a confidence-boosting win after getting routed by No. 2 Kentucky and losing to No. 10 Arizona by two points, but Izzo kept the rout in perspective.We took a step in the first direction, Izzo said. We did not conquer Rome or anything.Nick Ward, one of Michigan States four highly touted freshmen, had 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds.Reserve Ronald Strother had 12 points and Amos Given scored 10 for the Delta Devils (0-4) who could not slow down Bridges until he decided to set up teammates for more shots in the second half.He actually played about three years older than what he actually is because he smelled that fear and went into attack mode, MVSU coach Andre Payne said.BIG PICTUREMVSU: The overmatched Delta Devils can learn from and build off of the solid start they had against the Spartans, who were leading just 16-14 midway through the first half.With about 7 minutes to go in the first half, they decided to do it their way instead of following the game plan, Payne said. On the road against a high-major team like Michigan State, they make you play.The Spartans closed the first half with 32-9 run and scored 84 points in the last 9:20 of the game.Michigan State: Eron Harris and Matt McQuaid have to play like they did against MVSU for the Spartans to have a lot of success this season because they cant rely on just freshmen. Harris had 19 points and McQuaid scored 15. Both were 5 of 8 on 3-pointers.Eron and Quaido (McQuaid) were in a slump, Bridges said. My job was to get them going. Thats where this game could be important.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Spartans might make voters pause before dropping them down too much following a 19-point loss and a 47-point win with one game left before the next poll.CAUSE FOR CONCERNMichigan State freshman Joshua Langford was limited to three points in 12 minutes, playing through hamstring ailment in his left leg.Josh is dragging that leg, Izzo said. Thats a problem right now.UP NEXTMVSU: The Delta Devils play Massachusetts-Lowell on Tuesday in Virginia.Michigan State: The Spartans host Florida Gulf Coast, which won 21 games last season and played in the NCAA tournament, on Sunday night before going to the Bahamas, where they will open with St. Johns and may face No. 12 Louisville.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Fake Yeezy Boost 350 V3 Shoes . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Fake Yeezys 350 For Sale . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. http://www.fakeyeezy350.com/ . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Fake Yeezys 350 2020 Online . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Fake Yeezys 350 For Sale . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers.CLEVELAND -- When Terry Francona looks across the diamond at Bostons dugout, the Indians manager will have emotions to suppress. It wont be easy.Hes got friends over there -- one of his closest in manager John Farrell -- and strong personal attachments with players like David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. Under normal circumstances, Francona would be wishing them the best.Not now. This October, the Red Sox are in his way.Francona, who guided Boston to a pair of World Series titles and exorcised the Curse of The Bambino before leaving in turmoil in 2011, will face his former team in the postseason for the first time when the Indians meet the Red Sox in the American League Division Series starting Thursday night.There are deep connections between the two franchises meeting for the fifth time in the playoffs since 1995. None, though, are stronger than those for Francona, who is doing all he can to keep the attention directed at the field and the AL East and AL Central champions.I dont think Id want to ignore it, he said Wednesday of his ties to the Red Sox. Theres a lot of history there, a lot of people I really care about. But Ive been here four years. Its not a bad thing when you move on. Sometimes its just time to move on.Cleveland is back in the postseason for the second time in four years and had one more victory than Boston this season while running away with its division. Still, Francona understands the Indians are heavy underdogs in the best-of-five series.I think the way weve played this year, were a worthy opponent and well hold our own, he said. We just need to win one more game than our opponent. Well see if were good enough.Befitting a season in which theyve withstood adversity and key injuries, the Indians will start Trevor Bauer in Game 1 against Rick Porcello, Bostons 22-game winner.Bauer began the season in Clevelands bullpen, but because of injuries to Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Game 2 starter Corey Kluber, the enigmatic right-hander -- who acknowledged he can be difficult to deal with sometimes -- has jumped to the front of the rotation.Francona said Bauers relationship with the Indians is still evolving but he has complete confidence in handing the 25-year-old the ball in the seasons biggest game.I dont think anybody has any trepidation about letting Trevor pitch Game 1, Francona said. I think hes been waiting for this his whole life. And we also think he can bounce back and pitch on short rest and do just fine.The Red Sox and Indians ended last season playing each other in Cleveland and they began this seasoon together on April 4, when the opener at Progressive Field was postponed by snow.dddddddddddd Now, here they are again with much higher stakes.Like Francona, Farrell is doing all he can to keep the focus on the players, a skill he learned from his longtime friend.The one thing that he always spoke of is to be true to yourself, Farrell said when asked how Francona made him a better manager. If youve done your work, if youve prepared to the point of decisions that are to be made, and making those decisions, if youre true to that process, true to yourself, you can live with the scrutiny, the criticism or balance it with times that are successful.And the tough ones, too.When Farrell was battling cancer last year, Francona accompanied him to his first chemotherapy session. The men share a special bond, one forged by baseball and strengthened by shared experiences.At this time a year ago, Farrell wasnt sure how many Octobers he had left and its why hes savoring this one. His illness taught him perspective and grace.I relish every moment of every day, he said.FAMILY AFFAIR: Franconas 82-year-old father, Tito, who played outfield for the Indians from 1959-64, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1.Im going to walk him out to the mound, or hell walk me out, Francona said, and hes going to throw the pitch to (Cleveland bench coach) Brad Mills who is as close to family as you can get. So it will be a very special moment.ROAD WARRIORS: Boston was baseballs best road team after the All-Star break, going 27-17 and finishing an AL-best 46-35 away from Fenway Park.It felt like we were on the road for two months straight, Porcello said.NAPOLIS PARTY: Indians slugger Mike Napoli, whose Party At Napolis T-shirts have become fashion musts in Cleveland, had a career season in his first year with the Indians. He hit 34 homers -- many of them tape-measure shots -- with 101 RBI. He also provided leadership in Clevelands clubhouse and lineup.Farrell, who managed him for two seasons, isnt surprised by Napolis breakout.A smart baseball player, Farrell said. He was probably one of our best baserunners, despite the foot speed, when he was with us in Boston. Hes become a damn good first baseman defensively. But his overall presence, its the same guy every day. There was a calming influence with us. He sees the most pitches of anybody in baseball. Thats going to have an effect on the guys around him in the lineup. ' ' '