Longoria broke a tie with a solo homer in the eighth inning

DETROIT -- An offensive lineman who played back in the 1950s, Dick Stanfel didnt have a lot of stats floating around to help his Hall of Fame case.What he had was people like Marv Levy who were willing to stand up on his behalf.I realize he played so long ago that a lot of the people that are voting now dont even remember the time, but this guy is so deserving, said Levy, the Hall of Fame former coach of the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. I remember going back to Hall of Fame meetings where guys like Gino Marchetti and Artie Donovan would tell me he was the best offensive lineman that ever played.Nearly six decades after the end of his playing career, Stanfel is being enshrined posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week. In a class of inductees headlined by more recent luminaries Brett Favre and Tony Dungy, Stanfel offers a history lesson -- a chance for fans to learn about and appreciate one of the games standouts from the pre-Super Bowl era.Stanfel played seven seasons with Detroit and Washington, leading the Lions to NFL championships in 1952 and 1953. He earned All-Pro honors five times in his relatively short playing career.You hate to use the word technician, but he was, Hall of Famer Mike Ditka said. Dick was a hell of a football player.Stanfel would eventually work for Ditka, serving on his staff with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints as part of a coaching career that spanned 40 years.Stanfel died last year at age 87. Hed come close to making the hall in 1993 and 2012, falling short as a finalist.After dads death, we pretty much had resigned ourselves that he would just be forgotten, Stanfels son Rich said.Instead, Stanfel was selected as a finalist again last August by the seniors committee, a couple of months after his death. He was voted in last February and will be enshrined Saturday in Canton, Ohio, with the rest of his class.Rich Stanfel said the family has been ecstatic that Dick finally made it in.Were really happy to be a part of this, he said. Its been pretty much an amazing ride for us right now.After being drafted by the Lions in 1951, Stanfel missed that season with a knee injury. He recovered from that setback and played the next four years with Detroit.After three seasons with Washington, he ended his playing career at age 31; Redskins coach Joe Kuharich left to go to Notre Dame, and Stanfel went with him as an assistant coach.That type of move would be unusual nowadays -- and the early retirement might have hurt Stanfels Hall of Fame chances -- but Rich Stanfel said the financial ramifications of going from playing to coaching were different then.Im glad dad took that opportunity, Rich Stanfel said. He might not have gotten another opportunity to coach, and he made an entire career of it.Levy, who was the coach at California from 1960-63, hired Stanfel as a line coach. Stanfel had played at the University of San Francisco and was born in the area.He blew me away with how well he taught, said Levy, who will be Stanfels presenter for his enshrinement. I recall one instance when he wasnt happy with how a guard was pulling and trapping an outside linebacker, so he stepped in -- no pads, no helmet -- to demonstrate, and Ive never seen anybody do it better than he did.By the mid-1980s, Stanfel was with the Bears, coaching their offensive line. He was part of Ditkas staff in 1985 when Chicago dominated the league en route to a Super Bowl title.He was the most consummate line coach Ive ever been around, Ditka said. He was a great teacher, and he related to the guys.Stanfel was on Ditkas staff in New Orleans before retiring from coaching after the 1998 season. He could have easily dropped off the radar as a Hall of Fame candidate after that, but Levy in particular wouldnt let it happen.Marv Levy would always come back to that committee when they asked him, `Who do you think should be in? Rich Stanfel said. And hed always, you know: `First and foremost, Dick Stanfel.Levy insists he wasnt alone in the push to help Stanfel reach the Hall of Fame, an effort that at long last has succeeded.I and so many other current Hall of Famers are really elated that this so-well-deserved honor is finally taking place, Levy said. Ive been among many whove campaigned for him.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Discount Shoes Black Friday . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. China Shoes Black Friday . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Buy Shoes Black Friday .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. BALTIMORE -- Matt Wieters hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Jason Grilli in the eighth inning, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.The Orioles pulled within three games of the first-place Blue Jays, who had won four in a row.Michael Saunders tied it at 3 with a two-run homer against Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez in the seventh.Jonathan Schoop walked with two outs in the Baltimore eighth and Wieters followed with a drive to right off Grilli (4-2) for his 12th homer of the season.Brad Brach (8-2) picked up the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Zach Britton got his league-leading 39th save.METS 7, MARLINS 4NEW YORK -- Curtis Granderson came off the bench and homered twice, powering the Mets to the victory.Asdrubal Cabrera extended his recent tear at the plate, hitting a two-run homer in his return to the lineup after missing one start due to a sore left knee. Rookie right-hander Seth Lugo (2-2) pitched six effective innings and Jeurys Familia earned his major league-leading 43rd save as the Mets won for the eighth time in 10 games.By taking the first two games of the four-game series, New York (68-64) moved ahead of slumping Miami for second place in the NL East.Christian Yelich hit a two-run homer for the Marlins, who have dropped four straight and six of eight overall. Tom Koehler (9-10) got the loss.NATIONALS 3, PHILLIES 2PHILADELPHIA -- Max Scherzer struck out 11 in eight innings, helping Washington to the road win.Scherzer (15-7) allowed two runs and three hits. Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 37th save.Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff (9-13), who had walked just six batters in his last eight starts, issued three walks and yielded five hits and three runs through six innings.Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer in the seventh for Philadelphia, which has dropped six of eight to fall 12 games below .500.CUBS 3, PIRATES 0CHICAGO -- Kyle Hendricks threw seven dominant innings to lower the majors best ERA to 2.09 and Anthony Rizzo homered in the Cubs 21st victory in August.Hendricks (13-7) allowed three hits and walked one. Carl Edwards Jr. worked the eighth and Aroldis Chapman finished the four-hitter for his 31st save as the Cubs improved to 21-6 this month, one win shy of the best August in franchise history set in 1932.Rizzo belted a two-run homer off Chad Kuhl (3-2) in the first and Miguel Montero added an RBI single as the Cubs improved to 84-47.Kuhl allowed four hits in five innings as the Pirates lost their second straight after winning four in a row.INDIANS 5, TWINS 4CLEVELAND -- Francisco Lindor drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning and Cleveland extended Minnesotas losing streak to 12 games.Lindors double off Alex Wimmers (0-1) snapped a 4-4 tie and helped the Indians maintain their lead over second-place Detroit in the AL Central.Rajai Davis hit a three-run homer and Jason Kipnis added a solo shot for Cleveland, which trailed 4-1 in the second after the Twins knocked around Josh Tomlin. Dan Otero (4-1) pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings, Bryan Shaw worked out of a jam in the seventh and Andrew Miller got five outs for his third save since joining Cleveland.Minnesotas current slide is the thiird longest in club history.dddddddddddd The Twins lost 13 straight in 1961 and a team-record 14 consecutive games in 1982.TIGERS 8, WHITE SOX 4DETROIT -- Ian Kinsler homered and drove in four runs, helping Detroit rally for the win.Kinsler came into the game hitting .085 (4 for 47) in his last 13 games, but he hit a two-run homer in the fifth and added a two-run single in Detroits four-run sixth inning.JaCoby Jones had two hits and two RBI for the Tigers in his major league debut. Bruce Rondon (5-2) picked up the win in relief of Daniel Norris, who allowed three runs in five innings.Todd Frazier homered for Chicago. Matt Albers (2-6) got the loss.CARDINALS 2, BREWERS 1, 10 INNINGSMILWAUKEE -- Zach Duke stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout in the 10th after Randal Grichuk hit an RBI single in the top half of the inning, lifting St. Louis to the road win.Seung Hwan Oh (4-2) pitched out of a jam in the ninth to get the win. Duke got his first save with the Cardinals by striking out pinch-hitter Manny Pina after Matt Bowman walked three batters.The Cardinals Jhonny Peralta led off the 10th with a single off Corey Knebel (0-2) and moved to third on Yadier Molinas ground-rule double. Jeremy Hazelbaker, who ran for Peralta, scored the winning run on Grichuks flare to right.St. Louis Adam Wainwright and Milwaukees Wily Peralta dueled for seven innings, leaving a 1-1 game for the bullpens.ASTROS 3, ATHLETICS 1HOUSTON -- Collin McHugh threw six scoreless innings for Houston, and Colby Rasmus and Evan Gattis homered.Rasmus put Houston up 1-0 with a homer in the second inning in his first at-bat since returning from the 15-day disabled list. Rasmus went on the DL on Aug. 5 with a cyst in his right ear.Gattis hit a solo homer in the seventh to make it 3-0.McHugh (9-10) allowed four hits and struck out five. Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his sixth save.Houston remained two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.Oaklands Kendall Graveman (10-9) allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings.RAYS 4, RED SOX 3BOSTON -- Evan Longoria broke a tie with a solo homer in the eighth inning, clearing Fenway Parks Green Monster and rallying Tampa Bay to the victory.Tampa Bays Luke Maile hit a two-run drive with two outs in the seventh for his second career homer. Enny Romero (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win and Alex Colome got three outs for his 29th save.Hanley Ramirez hit his 18th homer and drove in two runs for Boston. Clay Buchholz (5-10) took the loss, pitching the eighth and allowing Longorias 31st homer.BRAVES 7, PADRES 3ATLANTA -- Julio Teheran won for the first time in 10 starts, and Braves rookie Dansby Swanson drove in three runs.Teheran began the night with the lowest run support in the major leagues, but the two-time All-Star used a rare offensive outburst by Atlanta to earn his first home victory since last Oct. 2, a span of 14 starts.Oswaldo Arcia homered for San Diego. Edwin Jackson (3-5) was charged with five runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings.Teheran (4-9) allowed two runs and struck out eight in seven innings. ' ' '