Local Sports Digest

REGION
Sabathia namedAL's best in May
CLEVELAND -- Indians ace C.C. Sabathia, who returned from the disabled list to win five games in May, was named the American League's pitcher of the month on Monday.
Sabathia, 25, went 5-1 with a 1.20 ERA last month. In 45 innings, he struck out 38 and pitched more than eight innings in four straight starts. He also posted back-to-back complete games, including a shutout at Minnesota.
Browns sign DT
CLEVELAND -- Free agent defensive tackle Ja'Waren Blair signed with the Cleveland Browns Monday.
The 6-foot-6, 288-pounder played this spring with the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe. He made 24 tackles and one sack.
State baseball
*COLUMBUS -- Chad Rodgers pitched a three-hitter and scored a run and drove in a run to lead Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit to a 4-0 victory over Pataskala Watkins Memorial in the Division II state semifinals Monday.
*Mike Herringshaw pitched a four-hitter and Brian Tallerico homered to lift Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin to a 3-0 victory over Bellefontaine 3-0 in the Div. II state semifinals.
NATION
Duke to reinstatemen's lacrosse team
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University's troubled lacrosse team will play next season, but under strict rules and close monitoring after three players were charged with rape, school president Richard Brodhead said Monday.
"I am, I know, taking a risk in reinstating men's lacrosse," Brodhead said in a statement. "The reinstatement is inevitably probationary."
Brodhead canceled the team's season April 5 after an exotic dancer who had been hired to perform at a March 13 team party told police she was raped by three team members at an off-campus house.
A university investigation also found a history of disciplinary problems involving team members, including underage drinking and public urination.
Brodhead said Monday that he and the school's athletics administrators would rethink their decision to reinstate the lacrosse team if they see any repeat of "patterns of irresponsible, individual or team behaviors familiar from the past."
A faculty committee had recommended the team be allowed to resume play but that its members should be strictly monitored.
NL All-Star voting
NEW YORK -- Cincinnati center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. moved into third place among National League outfielders in the All-Star voting results released Monday and Philadelphia's Chase Utley grabbed the top spot among second basemen.
Griffey, a 12-time All-Star selection, has received more fan votes than any player in major league history. He has 479,963 votes, pushing him past St. Louis Cardinal center fielder Jim Edmonds. Atlanta's Andruw Jones was No. 1 among NL outfielders with the Mets' Carlos Beltran second. The top three vote-getters among outfielders are eligible to start the All-Star on July 11 in Pittsburgh.
Albert Pujols still led all NL players with 1,041,466 votes, though the Cardinals' first baseman was placed on the DL by St. Louis on Sunday with a strained muscle on his right side. New York's Paul Lo Duca was first among catchers with 411,131 votes.
Two more Cardinals led the voting on the left side of the infield. Third baseman Scott Rolen had 471,826 votes and shortstop David Eckstein had 396,464.
Former umpire dies
PHILADELPHIA -- Former major league umpire Eric Gregg, who struggled with weight problems that saw him reach almost 400 pounds, died Monday night, a day after a massive stroke. He was 55.
Bill Elliott to drivefor Toyota this season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bill Elliott will run three races this season for Red Bull Racing as a warmup for its 2007 debut as one of Toyota's initial teams. Elliott, NASCAR's 1988 champion, will attempt to qualify for races in Concord, N.C., Atlanta and Texas. The car make he'll drive has not been decided, but it won't be a Camry because the model has not been approved for 2006 competition.
Favre a no-show
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brett Favre was an unexpected no-show for the Green Bay Packers' voluntary workout Monday morning.
Vindicator staff/wire reports