Winston. The Seminoles scored touchdowns on four straight po

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MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is scheduled to have surgery this week to fix a nagging nerve problem near his right thumb.The injury contributed to Braun having one of the least productive full seasons of his career. He went hitless in three at-bats in Sundays 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs to finish the year hitting .266 with 19 homers and 81 RBIs in 580 plate appearances.Braun said Sunday the rare procedure involved going into the thumb and freezing the nerve. The problem, which carried over from the 2013 season, affected his swing.Brauns subpar production was one key reason the Brewers were 9-22 down the stretch to get eliminated from the post-season after spending five months atop the National League Central.If I was relatively healthy, if I was performing up to the standard I set for myself that wed be in a different place as a team. It makes it that much more difficult for me personally to accept the way the season went, Braun said.Neither Braun nor manager Ron Roenicke knew much about the specifics of the procedure or recovery time. But Braun remained hopeful it would finally fix a lingering issue.The whole reason we hadnt done it sooner was because there isnt a lot of experience in doing this specific surgery that Im getting done, he said.The 2011 NL MVP missed the final 65 games of last season after being suspended as part of the Biogeneis doping scandal.But the extra time off didnt help. The career .307 hitter was at .301 on July 26 but tailed off the last two months of the season.I dont think we were that far off. If we get back to that, we still have a really nice player, Roenicke said before Sundays loss. But we do need to get back to that. ... I think he feels like if he can get this thumb issue behind him, he can be that same player again.Braun will certainly be back. Its unclear how much of a housecleaning there might be in the off-season though after the late-season swoon.Its been a hard year. It has. Its been the hardest since Ive been here, said fourth-year manager Roenicke.Milwaukee finished in third place in the division at 82-80, out of the playoffs for the third straight year.On Sunday, Anthony Rizzo had a two-run homer among his three hits to lead the Cubs. Rizzo went deep to centre off Mike Fiers (6-5) in the first.Jacob Turner (6-11) allowed four hits and two runs in five-plus innings. He beat Milwaukee for the second time since being traded from Miami in August.The Cubs are building for the future with Rizzo and rookie right-handed hitters Javier Baez and Jorge Soler. Chicago was 31-28 since July 28.Theres always optimism and now you can see it around everywhere. We each got to keep the course, though, Rizzo said.THE .300 MANAll-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy, playing first base, went 2 for 4 to finish the year hitting .300. Roenicke started him at first in the finale hoping he could reach the .300 plateau. Lucroy over the weekend set the single-season record for most doubles by a catcher with 46.I mean its great and dandy but for me it doesnt really matter right now, Lucroy said, because Im still going to go home and be (mad) for a month until I calm a little bit from the way its been the past month.BREWER FINALE?Second baseman Rickie Weeks didnt play in what may well have been his last game with the Brewers, who are unlikely to pick up his option next year. The right-hander spent the season in a platoon with young left-handed hitter Scooter Gennett. Weeks was drafted second overall by Milwaukee in 2003.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: Three players finished the season on the disabled list. OFs Justin Ruggiano (left foot) and Ryan Sweeney (hamstring) have been sidelined since late August. RHP James McDonald spent the whole season sidelined with shoulder inflammation.UP NEXTCubs: Stocked with promising prospects, Chicago finished 73-89 for the year, seven wins better than 2013.Brewers: When asked before the game, Roenicke said it was uncomfortable not knowing about his immediate future. GM Doug Melvin said this weekend that the fates of Roenicke and the coaching staff had not been decided. Roenicke is under contract through next season.___Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP Angel Di Maria Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. Azzeddine Toufiqui Paris Saint-Germain Jersey .C. -- The Bobcats announced theyve signed centre Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract. http://www.parissaintgermainfcstore.com/Women-Gianluigi-Buffon-Paris-Saint-Germain-Jersey/ . -- The Minnesota Vikings released reserve cornerback A. Marquinhos Jersey . -- Peyton Manning is the only player in this Super Bowl who has won the big game. Stanley NSoki Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries.PITTSBURGH -- Asked to nitpick his astounding college debut, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. Forgive him if it took awhile. There wasnt much to choose from. "I got sacked," Winston said. "I dont like getting sacked." OK, so theres one thing. Good luck on coming up with two. The redshirt freshman nicknamed "Famous Jameis" surpassed even his own lofty expectations in the 11th-ranked Seminoles 41-13 romp over Pittsburgh on Monday night, completing 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns while adding another on the ground in a performance that left everyone but his teammates stunned. "I wasnt surprised," cornerback LaMarcus Joyner said. "I told him pregame you go against the best every day ... and the way you rip us apart sometimes in scrimmages, we know you can do it against anyone in the nation." You wont find Pitt arguing. The Panthers had been pointing to their ACC opener from the moment the program announced it was leaving the decaying Big East nearly two years ago. Instead, it served as the backdrop for a coming out party that will certainly fuel comparisons to Johnny Manziels unlikely rise to folk hero and Heisman Trophy winner at Texas A&M last fall. "I was certainly impressed with him," Pitt coach Paul Chryst said. "He did a good job of making plays and extending plays." Rashad Greene caught eight passes for 126 yards and a score and Nick OLeary hauled in three touchdown passes for Florida State but the night belonged to the athletic 6-foot-4, 227-pound kid from Hueytown, Ala., that certainly looked at home in front of a national audience in a stadium that also houses the NFLs Pittsburgh Steelers. "Its Monday Night Football," Winston said. "We come in and play Monday Night Football in a pro stadium? I was so pumped for that." Looked like it. Winston won the starting job during training camp, edging out Jacob Coker to become just the third freshman to start a season opener for the Seminoles. Dont plan on him giving up the gig anytime soon. A star outfielder on the school baseball team, Winston is considered the latest in a line of two-sport threats at Florida State, a list that includes Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward. Ward, however, didnt become a star until he finally cracked the starting lineup as a junior. Winston appears to already be there a game into his career. He connected on his first 11 passes, missing on his 12th when wide receiver Kenny Shaw couldnt quite get his right foot all the way inbounds. "I was confident I got it in," Shaw said with a laugh. "Im used to the refs not being on our side." Winstons only other incompletion came while he escaped pressure late in the third quarter. By then the Seminoles were in command 31-13 after Winston spent three quarters serving up what the Seminoles hope is an appetizer of things to come as they battle Clemson for ACC supremacy.dddddddddddd Twice Winston pulled himself free from a defensive linemans grasp to find a receiver downfield. He converted a first-and-28 with a 36-yard strike to Greene and even served as the lead blocker for Devonta Freeman when the running back broke into the secondary. "He could use some work," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher joked when asked about his quarterbacks impromptu cameo as a fullback. Pitt quarterback Tom Savage passed for 201 yards and a touchdown for Pitt but also threw a pair of interceptions. Or, as many interceptions as Winston had incompletions. Pitts defence, which ranked 17th in the country last season, appeared unsure on how to stop him. Wary of the speed of Florida States wide receivers, the Panthers gave Greene and company plenty of room to manoeuvr. Too much, as it turned out. Way too much. For all of Winstons precision, often he was throwing to teammates who didnt have anybody in dressed in blue within arms reach. "We never made them uncomfortable," Chryst said. "Give them credit. Weve got to tackle better, but they ran through our tackles." The Panthers were primed early looking to prove they belonged in the better, deeper ACC after more than two decades of middling success during their two decades in the Big East. If Savage was nervous about kick-starting a collegiate career that was on life support for more than two years, it didnt show. The quarterback who led Rutgers to a 12-1 record as a freshman in 2009 hit Devin Street for a 31-yard gain on Pitts first drive, Savages first completion in a game in 1,024 days. For a few minutes, the 23-year-old appeared in a hurry to make up for lost time. He hit Street again for 16 yards before finding Manasseh Garner for a 4-yard touchdown to give Pitt a quick 7-0 lead. The toss completed a full career arc for the well-travelled Savage, who transferred to Arizona in 2011 before moving on to Pitt last year. His previous touchdown pass came on Oct. 23, 2010, while playing mop-up duty for the Scarlet Knights in a 41-21 loss to the Panthers. It was a nice moment, but all it did was set the stage for Winston. The Seminoles scored touchdowns on four straight possessions to end the first half. Winstons first scoring toss went 24 yards to OLeary -- the grandson of golfing great Jack Nicklaus -- to tie the game. The two hooked up early in the second quarter when Winston flipped to an open OLeary in the back of the end zone to make it 14-7. Winston bulled over from 5 yards out the next time Florida State had the ball, and he finished a sublime half with a 20-yard strike to Greene that left little doubt Winston was ready for the big stage. ' ' 'd. "This is a game where we have to play well and this is something where we lost them and now hopefully were here for the long run and were players that they count on." ' ' '