CLEVELAND - The agent for Browns free agent safety T.J. Ward says the Pro Bowler remains hopeful of signing a long-term deal with the team. Ward is eligible to hit the open market next week. His agent, Josh Arnold, said in a statement Tuesday that he began "detailed contract discussions" with "multiple" Browns executives at the NFL combine in Indianapolis last month and that the talks have continued. However, the sides have not yet reached an agreement. Ward is coming off his best season as a pro. On Monday, the Browns placed their transition tag on centre Alex Mack and not Ward, who started all 16 games and made a career-high 129 tackles with two interceptions last season. Arnold said he and Ward "remain open to further discussions with the Browns." The Browns drafted Ward in the second round in 2010. Discount Lakers Jerseys . Lawrie was hit on the hand by Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto in the second inning of Sundays 4-3 loss to the Reds. Isaac Bonga Jersey . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. http://www.cheaplakersjerseyschina.com/. The Thornhill, Ont., native, who is ranked 11th in the world, said hed hoped he would be ready when Canada begins its World Group first-round tie against Japan in Tokyo on Friday. Rajon Rondo Jersey . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Cheap Lakers Jerseys . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter.MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Clemsons Dabo Swinney is sounding like someone whos getting comfortable under the brightest lights as well. Meyer has coached in four previous BCS games. Hes never lost. Swinney has taken his team to the BCS one other time, and lost by 37 points. Of course, come Friday night, none of that will matter. The seventh-ranked Buckeyes (12-1) and the 12th-ranked Tigers (10-2) will be squaring off in the Orange Bowl, where Meyer will aim to keep his BCS record perfect and Swinney will try to have his team, as he put it, "continue to climb the mountain." "When you have an opportunity to come to a BCS ball game and lose it, you want to get back and have another opportunity," Swinney said Thursday. "Theres only six teams, I think, in the country that have been in two BCS bowls the last three years, and were one of them. So its a great opportunity for us to have a chance to win one." Meyer would say the same thing. His team had visions of playing in Pasadena, Calif. for the BCS national championship next week, but the loss in the Big Ten title game -- the first under Meyer in 25 games since he took over in Columbus -- knocked the Buckeyes out of the title picture. So instead, Ohio State headed to South Florida, where Meyer will look to add the Orange Bowl to his BCS collection that already includes two title-game wins and a Sugar Bowl victory while at Florida, and a Fiesta Bowl triumph from when he coached Utah. "Its a chance to go compete," Meyer said. "Whether its checkers or ping pong, were going to try to win the game. Our job every time we keep score is to win. Its the mentality we try to create within our program. Whether its the Orange Bowl, whether its the eighth game of the season, were trying to win the game." Clemson lost the Orange Bowl two years ago to West Virginia, 70-33 -- the game turning when the Tigers fumbled the ball away in the second quarter, on a play where they would have taken the lead. Innstead, the floodgates opened.dddddddddddd The Tigers are 21-4 since. "This team has more than responded," Swinney said. ------ Heres five things to watch in the Orange Bowl: THE QB BATTLE: Tickets to the Orange Bowl arent inexpensive, but the shows that Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller can put on may make the admission price seem like a bargain. Boyd has accounted for 38 touchdowns this season; Miller has scored 32 with either his arm or his feet. Its Boyds finale; it may be Millers as well if he elects to go pro, as some expect he may. BUCKEYE D: If theres a weakness on a team thats 24-1 in the past two seasons, it may be Ohio States pass defence. Each of the Buckeyes last four opponents have completed at least 60 per cent of their passes, throwing for 1,363 yards in that stretch. And with that