following a loss last month by gaining 148 yards

SARASOTA, Florida – On a pristine, cloudless Saturday morning before his Blue Jays took to the field to play the Orioles, manager John Gibbons assumed his familiar perch behind home plate to watch his charges take batting practice. That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. To his left stood his high school baseball coach, Syl Perez and on his right, Frank Arnold, Gibbons high school football coach. The two are spending these early days of camp with the man they mentored. Its a chance for the men to catch up, reminisce about old times, and for Gibbons to share his pro experience with two people whove helped him along the way. "Your high school years are very big years in forming who youre going to be," Gibbons told TSN.ca. "When youre in athletics, if you get the right guys, it can steer you the right direction, teach you discipline, the work ethic and all the right stuff that benefit you in life." Arnold, 72, is a legend in Texas high school football, a state where "football is king," as Gibbons likes to remind the uninitiated. Gibbons played but didnt start at MacArthur High School in San Antonio. He was a running back, although in hindsight, Arnold thinks Gibbons was better suited to play linebacker because he was athletically inclined and had good instincts. Arnold also took notice, almost immediately, of Gibbons upbringing, especially his supportive parents, William and Sally. "Great kid, great family, never had, you know you have some parents who are a little overbearing, his parents were right there to support him," said Arnold. He had a knack for baseball, although Gibbons admits he was a late bloomer, especially offensively. A senior catcher graduated after Gibbons sophomore season, a year in which Gibbons played the outfield, and Perez had someone else pegged as the teams next catcher. Gibbons was still an unknown commodity. The coaching staff tried him at third base. It wasnt the right fit. "I dont care where I put John Gibbons, he was a catcher," said Perez. "I mean, it was in his DNA. He carries himself like a catcher." Perez had Gibbons and the would-be catching successor get behind the plate and simulate throwing out base stealers. "I timed him," said Perez. "From the time the sound hit the mitt to the time it hit the shortstop or second baseman at the bag. The other young man was very accurate but John was kind of like a Nolan Ryan. He was not very accurate, or not as accurate, but he would only average two seconds and sometimes slightly less than that. The other kid was 2.3, 2.4." Funny thing, Gibbons ended up catching that year. The other kid played third base. Both were all district at the end of the season, Gibbons in spite of a batting average below .200. He was that good defensively. His game rounded into form in his senior year, thanks to a scout named Buzzy Keller, who in advance of the baseball season, instructed Perez on a new hitting philosophy featuring a more compact swing. Perez coached up Gibbons and the results were immediate. "John batted .500 in 19 games and he hit 10 home runs," said Perez. "Its not that he hit 10 home runs, its how far he hit those 10 home runs that really got him to be a lot more noticed. A lot of our practices were very, very well attended and of course, he went 24th overall in the first round (1980) to the Mets." A series of injuries derailed Gibbons big league playing career, the nail in the coffin being the Mets acquisition of Gary Carter before the 1985 season. He stayed around the game, coached at various levels over a number of years, and by 2004, was into his first run as manager of the Blue Jays. "Hes old school and the old school way of thinking is, good catchers become good managers," said Perez. "Theyre the only ones looking the other way at the entire defence. Lets face it, he may have been not a starter in his major league life but when hes in the bullpen catching and working with folks like the Dwight Goodens and such, Im sure hes going to learn some things." Gibbons credits Arnold and Perez with teaching him some of the tactics he employs to this day. "You get to this level, its a little different," said Gibbons. "Guys are very successful when they get to this level so theyve got a good idea of what they do. Theres not as much coaching, teaching and things like that and you give these guys a little more leeway because theyre adults. But theres a lot of the same principles that work. I dont care if youre in high school or big league baseball, you have to have discipline. You still have to play the right way." Gibbons fair, jovial but stern-when-he-needs-to-be personality endears him to those who know him best and have known him the longest. "Personally, I think he has the demeanour, the ability to work with people," said Arnold. "I hope he gets lucky this year because last year they had some bad luck, in my opinion, with injuries and other things. I follow him, I watch him all the time and Im very proud to say that I was around him." Arnold continued, "John is going to be the same on the docks with some dock workers as he is at some high class place with the boss. I just think hes a quality person. Hes not flashy, he is what he is but hes always good to people." Coming off a disappointing 74-88 season, a startling and uncomfortable thud after the offseason hype of a year ago, Gibbons knows there is pressure to rebound. His mentors know it, too. "Nobody wants you unless you win," said Arnold. "I dont care what level, what league so I wish him well and hope he has some great luck this year. I hope some of the guys have some great years because I think he deserves it." Gibbons is aware the fan base is angst-ridden, unsure of whether the Blue Jays can compete in the ultra-tough American League East. He knows about the Twitter faction thats popularized the "FireGibby" hashtag, understands and accepts its a fans right to be upset, but wants to be clear about something he says wont change, win or lose. "I want people to know that I care about Toronto, I care about Canada, and nobody wants to win for the fan base more than I do because I know they deserve it." David Wright Mets Jersey . 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Tom Seaver Mets Jersey .com) - Thursday marks the official debut of a new dirt racing surface at Meydan Racecourse.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Johnny Manziel said his first NFL start left him with a sour taste in his mouth.Clevelands polarizing quarterback vows to be more decisive in his decision making this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.Manziel was 10 of 18 for 80 yards, and the Browns barely broke 100 total yards in a 30-0 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week.I have to be more confident and trust in my eyes and trust what Im seeing out there on the field, Manziel said. I felt like I was a little hesitant last week on a couple of throws and it really did hurt me throughout the game.Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Cam Newton will start at quarterback barring any setbacks before Sunday. Newton will return to the lineup after suffering two fractures in his lower back in an automobile accident on Dec. 9.Browns coach Mike Pettine said while Manziel struggled in his NFL starting debut, he didnt get much help from his teammates — on either side of the ball.Theres very little that went well for us, Pettine said. It was one of those games where it snowballed early, we fell behind and never got into a rhythm offensively and couldnt get off the field defensively.Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson said Carolina plans to borrow a page from the Bengals playbook on how to stop Manziel. Johnson said the Bengals got pressure on Manziel with their front four, mixed up coverages, and at times kept a spy locked in on the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner.Its a copycat league, so ... Johnson said with a smile.The Panthers defence has improved dramatically in the second half of the season and moved up to 16th in the league. Carolina will be plenty motivated to slow down Manziel, and not only because theyd rather not see the rookie making any money gestures with his fingers in the end zone.At 5-8-1, Carolina still has a chance to win the NFC South. Carolina trails New Orleans (6-8) by a half-game and can win the division if it wins out and the Saints lose once.DECEMBER FREEZE: The Browns are trying to end a troubling pattern of late-season collapses. Theyve lost 10 straight games in December, with the last win coming on Dec. 9, 2010 at Kansas City.dddddddddddd Cleveland is a woeful 3-19 in December since ending the 2009 season with four straight wins that saved coach Eric Manginis job. Mike Pettine had the Browns at 6-3 and hes spent this week getting his team to focus on finishing strong.I cautioned them about looking back and cautioned them about looking forward, Pettine said. These opportunities are few and far between. Weve got a real bad taste in our mouth. Weve had it now for a month, and we need to get rid of it.STEWART ON A ROLL: The Panthers are expected to get DeAngelo Williams back from a broken hand, but it might behoove Rivera to stick with his hot hand: Jonathan Stewart. Stewart is averaging more than 100 yards rushing over the past three games. However, in the past Rivera has remained most loyal to Williams, the teams all-time leading rusher, and started him whenever healthy.RUNNING AWAY: Holes in Clevelands defence, an early-season issue, have reopened. Last week, the Browns gave up 241 yards rushing as Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill backed up his harsh assessment of Cleveland — worse than I thought — following a loss last month by gaining 148 yards and scoring twice. The Browns took bad angles, missed tackles and let the Bengals run wild.We did a lot of the little things wrong across the board, whether it was awareness, gathering information presnap to aiming points to how we played blocks, Pettine said.RED ZONE BLUES: The Panthers have struggled scoring touchdowns, all too often settling for field goals. Last week they reached Tampa Bay territory on all 11 possessions, but managed just one touchdown and four field goals. You cant win consistently in this league if you kick field goals, Rivera said.FINDING STABILITY: The Panthers have won back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the season. That can be at least partly attributed to a semblance of continuity on the offensive line, where the Panthers will start the same lineup for the fourth straight game.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL___AP Sports Writer tom Withers in Cleveland, Ohio contributed to this report. ' ' '