none as tenuous or excruciating as this

BEREA, Ohio -- Vince Young doesnt take anything for granted. Not after the road hes been down. Once of the NFLs rising stars before personal problems sidetracked the quarterbacks career, Young signed a one-year contract on Thursday with the Cleveland Browns. Although rusty, Young who hasnt played in a regular-season game since 2011, showed enough during a three-day tryout to get the deal. Its been a long climb back for Young, who wont celebrate with so much work to be done. "Theres no popping the champagne bottle," he said. The 30-year-old Young comes with an impressive resume after going 31-19 as an NFL starter and making two Pro Bowls. He was signed along with free agent QB Tyler Thigpen and linebacker Zac Diles shortly after the Browns completed their first minicamp under new coach Mike Pettine. This is another fresh start for Young, who spent part of the past two preseasons with Buffalo and Green Bay but hasnt appeared in a game since Dec. 18, 2011, for Philadelphia. He has endured financial problems, dealt with emotional issues and tried to balance his personal life while keeping his professional one afloat. Young is thankful for the new opportunity and plans to do all he can to convince the Browns that hes worth hanging onto for a while. After being offered a contract, Young told the Browns that instead of flying home to Texas, he planned to stay the weekend in Cleveland so he could become more acclimated with the teams playbook and to work out. "Right now I have my head down, just wanting to work and show the team, the organization what type of guy I am," Young said. "That was my whole focus and how much hard work I put in." Pettine said there were some moments over the past few days when Young looked like the Young of old. "He took off and ran for a first down, we just finished up a rack of third down plays here and you could tell hes very rusty," Pettine said. "I was just joking with him the other day that rust was falling off in large clumps, but he flashed a couple of times. You dont realize how big he is until you stand next to him. "We talk about all these 6-foot, 5-11 quarterbacks in the draft and then he comes walking out and you say, Oh, thats what theyre supposed to look like." Young acknowledged there were moments he felt like himself, and others when he struggled. "There is definitely some rust on there," he said. "The biggest thing is I just want to get down to my playing shape, eating right and try to get a feeling with the team, what they do with their workouts and things like that. "I just want to be around the team, be around the coaches and show them the part that they never see, the hard work that I do put in. Thats what theyre really about to see now." Thigpen was out of the league last year after playing six seasons with Kansas City, Miami and Buffalo. Hes 1-11 as a career starter with 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. "Its a great opportunity," he said. "I thought for a while there that the door was going to close, but now that opportunity has opened back up. Its time to take advantage of it." Young and Thigpen will be penciled in on the depth chart behind Brian Hoyer, who looked good in his first on-field work since undergoing knee surgery in October. Pettine was pleased with Hoyers progress. He was limited to individual and 7-on-7 drills, and hopes to be cleared for more in June. "As far as his preparation, how he approached the practice field, how he interacted with the players, it was as we expected and then some," Pettine said. NOTES: The Browns have until Saturday to pick up the fifth-year, $5.5 million contract option on DT Phil Taylor for 2015. Taylor promised the teams decision will not affect how he plays this season. "Im still going to go out there and do what Ive got to do for the team," Taylor said. "Im still a Cleveland Brown and Im going to be a Cleveland Brown until Im not." ... WR Nate Burleson was excused from the final day of camp. Doug Gilmour Jersey. The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46, 50-45 for Kennedy. Wrestling proved to be the difference with Kennedy taking Bisping down in the first, third and fifth rounds and keeping him there. The crowd at the Colisee Pepsi didnt like it and neither did Bisping, whose game is built on movement and technical striking. Brad Richardson Jersey. Berdych, coming off a semifinal run at the Australian Open and Davis Cup win over the Netherlands, didnt face a break-point. A semifinalist two years ago here, he will play the winner of an all-French faceoff between Gilles Simon and Nicolas Mahut. http://www.officialnhlstore.com/Edmonton-Oilers.html.J. Miles are out for Tuesdays game against Sacramento because of injuries. Joe Pavelski Jersey. A week after collecting the Professional Footballers Association trophy, the Uruguay international won the 2014 vote by the Football Writers Association on Monday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Jersey. - The NFLs officiating chief has cleared Broncos receiver Wes Welker of any wrongdoing for his hit that knocked Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib out of Sundays AFC Championship.INDIANAPOLIS -- Michigan coach John Beilein had watched his team blow almost all of a 15-point lead, and he was sure he knew how Tennessee would try to take the lead. With 6 seconds left and trailing 72-71, Cuonzo Martin would probably send the ball into Jarnell Stokes, who would try to back into the post or drive. Beilein urged his defenders to buckle down and keep Stokes away from the rim. Jordan Morgan, who scored 15 points, heeded his coachs advice and stood his ground until Stokes lowered his shoulder. The senior forward immediately crashed to the floor -- perhaps embellishing the contact -- but drawing the call that saved the game for Michigan and infuriated Tennessees "Rocky Top" contingent. Big Ten player of the year Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ont., made a late free throw and nobody was more relieved than Beilein when Jordan McRaes 70-foot heave fell harmlessly to the floor as the buzzer sounded on a 73-71 Michigan victory. "We got just enough stops," Beilein said. Tennessee thought they got one stop unfairly. "With the magnitude of this game, I dont think you could call a charge at that point," McRae said dejectedly after scoring 24 points. But the officials did call it, allowing Michigan to reach a second straight regional final. The Wolverines (28-8) have won 10 of their last 11, none as tenuous or excruciating as this one to set up a Sunday showdown against eighth-seeded Kentucky, the 2012 national champion. The Wildcats won 74-69 over fourth-seeded Louisville, which beat Michigan in last years national championship game. Tennessee almost pulled off one of the most stunning comebacks in recent regional memory. With 10:55 to go, Spike Albrechts layup gave Michigan a seemingly insurmountable 60-45 lead. When Stauskas made the last of his three 3-pointers with 3:40 to go, the Wolverines still led 70-60. Stauskas finished with 14 points. For some reason, Michigan went into panic mode and, just two weeks after nearly blowing two big leads in the Big Ten tournament, they nearly threw this one away. The VVolunteers staunch defence limited Michigan to just one basket over the final 3:40 and forced four turnovers in the final 97 seconds to give themselves a chance in the closing seconds.dddddddddddd "I dont think I fouled him," said Stokes, who had 11 points and six rebounds after two straight double-doubles. "But it was a smart play for him to try to take the charge. He pretty much anticipated it." Just as Beilein had predicted. For most of the night, Michigan relied on its shooting stars to stay in control against a defence that had allowed just 54.0 points in its previous eight games. The Wolverines took a 13-point lead in the first half and still led 45-34 at halftime because they were shooting 61.5 per cent from the field and made 7 of 9 on 3-pointers. Michigan didnt slow down early in the second half, either, taking the biggest lead of the game at 60-45. But somehow Tennessee played itself right back into the game. The 11th-seeeded Vols, who had a first-round game in overtime at Dayton, Ohio, just to start their surprising post-season run, cut the deficit to 62-56 with 6:45 left. They got within 72-67 when McRae completed a three-point play with 1:56 to go. They made it 72-69 when Josh Richardson scored the last of his 19 points on a layup with 24.6 seconds left. McRaes layup following another Michigan turnover made it 72-71 with 10.8 seconds remaining. So when the officials ruled Michigans Caris LeVert caught the ball with one foot on the baseline and 9.6 seconds left, Martin made the smart call by giving Stokes a chance to win it with a basket or draw the foul. "We got the ball to Jarnell. Jordan set a screen for him to get him right to isolate him, attack him in the middle," Martin explained. "Obviously we got the ball where we wanted." However, the call went against them. "We heard all week about they had mismatches and how we couldnt guard them inside," Morgan said after letting out a scream at the end. "Were not really soft around here. Thats not who we are." ' ' '