9 season.I dont know if were looking for a spark o

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers dont think coach Mike Tomlin needs to explain himself whenever his gut tells him to bail on convention.If Tomlin wants to go for it -- whether it be a 2-point conversion, an iffy fourth down or a touchdown instead of a chip shot field goal, a choice he made three times at the end of the first half in Sundays 24-9 victory over Cleveland -- thats totally fine by the Steelers. Last they checked, getting into the end zone is what theyre paid to do.It was awesome, man, center Maurkice Pouncey said. I love it. Get some points, man.Something the Steelers did -- eventually -- during an eyebrow-raising sequence that began with the ball at the Cleveland 3 and 5 seconds left in the second quarter. Leading 6-0, a Chris Boswell field goal would have made it a two-score game. Even though Pittsburgh was scheduled to receive the second-half kickoff, Tomlin kept Ben Roethlisberger and the offense on the field.Two incompletions, two Cleveland penalties, a churning 1-yard touchdown run by LeVeon Bell and a 2-point toss to David Johnson later, Pittsburgh led 14-0. It was halfway to ending a four-game losing streak.Just like Tomlin drew it up, right?We need to score points, Pouncey said. (Kicking field goals) never wins. You get a whole bunch of field goals, we been in that situation before.Tomlin insisted there was no ulterior motive for repeatedly trying to get six, and eventually eight, though the timing was auspicious. The Steelers went 0 for 4 in 2-point conversions in a narrow 35-30 loss to Dallas the week before.The message is that we wanted to score, because scoring produces wins, Tomlin said on Monday. And were always generally aggressive in that area of the field.Pittsburgh (5-5) could afford to gamble more than usual against the woeful Browns (0-11) while winning on the road for just the second time this season. A more difficult test awaits on Thanksgiving night in Indianapolis. Drumming the NFLs worst team a short two-hour bus ride from home is one thing. Trying to rein in Andrew Luck and have enough fresh bodies to do it barely 96 hours later is another. The key is trying to maximize every second of down time in between.Honestly I dont like the Thursday games, Pouncey said. Short preparation, the body gets short rest, and as a lineman, we go out there 71 plays (against Cleveland). Every play I touched somebody, trust and believe that.The Steelers havent exactly thrived on short rest recently. Theyve dropped four straight on Thursdays, including a Thanksgiving night loss in Baltimore in 2013 that included Tomlin nearly colliding with Ravens returner Jacoby Jones during a long runback.Pittsburgh went through its usual Monday routine, which includes a series of sprints on the practice field. There will be minimal contact on Tuesday and Wednesday before hopping the plane to Indianapolis. The Steelers hope the sense of urgency and the adrenaline it brings will overcome any lingering aches.Were playing to stay alive, offensive guard Ramon Foster said. Us coming up short on a Thursday? Theres no excuse.The time to get it going is now. Its why Tomlin wasnt particularly surprised when he headed to the team cafeteria for a cup of coffee early Monday and heard music coming from the training room. He popped his head inside and found linebacker James Harrison going through a series of Instragram-worthy workouts just hours removed from becoming the franchises all-time sack leader .On a short week, hes in there doing what he does, Tomlin said. Theres a lot to learn from a guy who approaches his business in the manner he does. And I know our guys recognize that.A little bit of familiarity with the Colts should help. Pittsburgh has thumped Indianapolis each of the last two seasons by a combined score of 96-44, though Luck did not play in last years 45-10 whipping due to injury.Game notes Its unlikely WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot) or RB DeAngelo Williams (knee) return this week. ... S Jordan Dangerfield (groin) and TE Xavier Grimble are questionable.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Lenny Dykstra Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Jacob deGrom Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/tug-mcgraw-mets-jersey/ . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Dwight Gooden Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Darryl Strawberry Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Once he got rolling, Felix Hernandez had little trouble with the reeling Los Angeles Angels -- except Mike Trout.Nelson Cruz hit his 30th home run to lead Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners past Los Angeles 3-2 on Monday night as the Angels matched a franchise record with their 11th consecutive defeat.Hernandez (7-4) struck out eight and pitched into the seventh inning to earn his 150th win and help the Mariners remain two games behind Boston for the second AL wild card.King Felix has 328 career strikeouts against Los Angeles, surpassing Roger Clemens for the most of any pitcher vs. the Angels.Felix was really great tonight again, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Started to get some rhythm going tonight again, good changeup tonight, some strikeouts, a few extra walks, but he hung in there and gave us a great effort.Hernandez gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings. Feeling as though he had little command after giving up early walks and a run in the second inning, Hernandez found his grove. He struck out six straight before yielding a home run to Trout.Trouts seven home runs off Hernandez are the most by any player in baseball.I was trying to strike out Trout, too, but I left that pitch up, Hernandez said. Hes my nightmare. Hes got my number.The Angels had lost 11 straight on three other occasions, but never under manager Mike Scioscia. Last in the AL West, Los Angeles (49-69) is a season-high 20 games under .500.The last time the team dropped 11 in a row was during the 1999 season.I dont know if were looking for a spark or if were looking to grind it out, play our own offense and create or own breaks, Scioscia said. Right now, were just not getting enough done, but we will turn this around and we will play better.Cruz drove Ricky Nolascos 2-2 curveball into the left-field stands in the fifth to become the sixth player in Mariners history with multiple 30-homer seasons. Its the fourth consecutive season Cruz has hit 30 or more.He threw me the first pitch similar, it was a curveball high and I thought it was a ball and was like, `Wow a strike? Cruz said. Then laterr, he threw me another big, looping curveball.ddddddddddddTrout also stole his 20th base, marking the third time hes reached 20 home runs and 20 steals in a season. He became the seventh player in major league history with three 20-20 seasons and is the only one still active, now that Alex Rodriguez was released by the Yankees.Trout belted his 23rd homer in the fifth, making the score 3-2.Nolasco (4-10) issued walks to Cruz and Kyle Seager in the fourth before Adam Lind singled home Cruz, and Mike Zunino singled in Seager. Cruzs fifth-inning homer put Seattle up 3-1.With one on and two outs and the Mariners hanging onto a 3-2 lead in the seventh, Seager hit a deep liner to right field, but Kole Calhoun went over the fence and into the stands to make the catch and end the inning.Edwin Diaz earned the save with a perfect ninth inning. Hes converted all seven save opportunities since moving into the closer role on Aug. 2.The Angels scored in the first when Nick Buss hit an opposite-field double to drive in Cliff Pennington with two outs.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: LHP James Paxton is still dealing with lingering effects from taking a line drive off his forearm in his last outing. The bruised forearm will force Paxton to skip his turn in the rotation Tuesday and might land him on the 15-day disabled list.Angels: RHP Garrett Richards was cleared to play catch for the first time since tearing his ulnar collateral ligament on May 6. Richards threw 25 pitches from 45 feet and will continue with the regimen until the end of the season.UP NEXTMariners: LHP Ariel Miranda (1-0, 6.00 ERA) will start in place of Paxton on Tuesday. Miranda, acquired from Baltimore for Wade Miley at the trade deadline, will make his fifth major league start and third for the Mariners.Angels: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (2-6, 6.00) will make his second start since returning to the rotation after a stint in the bullpen. Chacin took the spot held by Tim Lincecum after he was designated for assignment. ' ' '