ASHBURN, Va. - Of course Matthew McConaughey would want to hang with Robert Griffin III after a Washington Redskins practice. The Oscar-winning actor, a huge Washington fan who was in town to appear at a team charity event, wore an old-style Redskins yellow T-shirt and walked buddy-buddy with the franchise player as they strolled away from the field following Wednesdays off-season workout. Griffin was asked if he noticed McConaughey on the sidelines during practice. "I think if I was a woman, I would notice it a lot more," Griffin quipped. Still, RG3 was the player who drew the biggest scrum of reporters, and he remains the linchpin of the teams championship hopes. But this off-season is bit more tranquil for the 24-year-old quarterback with the disarming smile. Its not two years ago, when he was the shiny new centre of attention, the No. 2 overall pick with unlimited potential. And its certainly not last year, when he heaped attention on himself with his "All in for Week 1" campaign while recovering from a serious knee injury amid growing discord with coach Mike Shanahan. The RG3 of 2014 still loves his slogans — "The Movement" and "Win everything, win every day" are his current chart-toppers — but the knee brace is gone, and so is Shanahan. All is calm under new coach Jay Gruden, and, at least for the moment, Redskins stock doesnt soar nor crash every time Griffin opens his mouth. "Weve got a new coach, and weve got new additions, whether its DeSean Jackson, Ryan Clark, (Jason) Hatcher, all those guys that are here doing great things," Griffin said. "And the story lines dont all lead back to me. And thats fine." Its a firm reset for Griffin after a 3-13 year that included a late-season shutdown, but hes still the same image-conscious perfectionist. Hes learning a new offence, and his fundamentals are getting some tweaks under the new coach. Overall, however, Grudens take on Griffin sounds somewhat similar to Shanahans. "Hes mature beyond his years already," Gruden said. "Hes obviously got a lot more maturing to do, but as far as his work ethic is concerned, about how he handles himself on and off the field, I dont think thats going to be that big of an issue. Its just a matter of how you handle the media scrutiny sometimes. "Like I said, hes a perfectionist. He doesnt like negative publicity. He doesnt like negative plays to happen. He wants everything to be right. He wants everybody to love Robert, and thats not going to be the case at the back position." True to form, Griffin tried to set the record straight about his views on off-season work. A year ago, he was confident he could make a strong return from the knee injury despite missing off-season practices. He now wants all to know that he didnt mean to devalue the importance the April-June workouts. "When you have a hand dealt to you where you dont have an off-season, you dont use it as an excuse," Griffin said. "And that was the message that was trying to be sent last year. I didnt have the opportunity to have that off-season. I was getting healthy, getting ready for the season. You dont whine about it; you dont cry about it, and I think maybe it was taken the wrong way and people thought I didnt need it. You always need it." For the most part, though, Griffin has avoided talking about last year — because it would be tricky to do so without dissing Shanahan. No sense rocking the boat while everything is good. "Everybody wants me to compare this year to last year," Griffin said. "We havent played any games yet, and even when we do play the games, Im still not going to compare them. That question will not be answered." NOTES: WR Jackson remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. Gruden called it a "minor tweak" and said he hopes Jackson is back next week. ... Gruden for the first time experienced the sauna-like conditions of the Redskins garage-style news conference room. "You guys cant afford an air conditioner in here?" the coach said. "You guys quit writing bad stuff about us and maybe well get an AC in here and move you out of the garage." The remark earned a rare ovation from reporters, and Gruden was brought a green towel to help wipe away his sweat. ___ AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ___ Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAPNew Orleans Saint Erik McCoy Jersey .C. - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Danny Granger, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem are still not ready to play and will miss Wednesday nights game against the Charlotte Hornets. New Orleans Saint Jerseys China . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. http://www.cheapsaints.com/.5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32. Cheap New Orleans Saint Jerseys Online . The former Toronto FC designated player played three of his 15 professional seasons with the team. New Orleans Saint Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Jersey . Andrew Luck couldnt believe his ears. Colts fans couldnt believe the scoreboard, and the Kansas City Chiefs couldnt believe their incredibly bad luck.DETROIT -- Drew Smyly acknowledged thinking about the possibility of throwing a no-hitter. When Yan Gomes broke up his bid with a two-out double in the fifth, Smyly shifted his focus to simply winning the game to help his team end a skid. Smyly allowed four hits and matched his career high by pitching seven innings, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 Sunday to avoid avoided a four-game sweep. Smyly (6-8) noticed after two innings that he had held the Indians hitless. "If any pitcher says they dont notice it, theyre lying," he said. "You think about it." The left-hander ended up allowing only one run -- on Gomes seventh-inning homer -- walked two and struck out six. "They didnt see a lot of the same pitches back to back," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Joba Chamberlain walked two in the eighth, and Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation. The AL Central-leading Tigers (54-41) stopped a four-game losing streak and increased their lead over Cleveland to 5 1-2 games. "Its huge to come and get the win to end that little streak," Smyly said. "But thats baseball, youre going to go on a lot of hot streaks, youre going to go on some cold streaks and you just try to weather the storm." Josh Tomlin (5-7) allowed four runs, six hits and a walk over 4 1-3 innings. Cleveland (50-48) had reached a season-high three games over .500 by winning four in a row. "It was a great series for us," Tomlin said. "Took three games from them, but I came up short." Detroit gave Smyly some support offensively, scoring two runs in the first and two more on Torii Hunters drive deep into the left-field seats in fourth. Austin Jackson led off the first with a double and scored on Ian Kinslers single. Kinssler came home on Victor Martinezs sacrifice fly.dddddddddddd Indians relievers C.C. Lee and Kyle Crockett stranded a total of five runners by combining to strike out the last two batters in the fifth and the sixth. Cleveland manager Terry Francona was pleased with his pitchers performances against Miguel Cabrera, who went 0 for 4, and Victor Martinez, who was 3 of 15 over the four-game series. "Those guys in the middle are pretty special," Francona said. "And, I thought we did a good job against them." Nick Castellanos hit an RBI double for a four-run lead in the eighth inning, taking some pressure off Nathan, who was greeted by the fans with a mix of cheers and boos after giving up a game-losing hit in Saturday nights loss. "I dont think it hurt that he got back out there," Ausmus said. NOTES: Tigers RHP Justin Verlander (8-8, 4.88) is to face Arizona LHP Vidal Nuno (0-1, 3.00) when Detroit begins a seven-game trip that continues against the Los Angeles Angels. ... Martinez played first base, giving Cabrera a day of relative rest as a designated hitter, and may play there while Cabrera moves to third for a game or two against the Diamondbacks. ... The Indians will stay on the road, expecting to put called-up LHP T.J. House (1-2, 4.40) on the mound against LHP Kris Johnson (0-1, 5.40) Monday night and called-up RHP Danny Salazar on Tuesday night at Minnesota. ... Detroit and Cleveland optioned the 26th players they had for Saturdays doubleheader, sending RHP Drew VerHagen to Triple-A Toledo and RHP Zach McAllister to Triple-A Columbus. ... Tigers owner Mike Ilitch attended the game on his 85th birthday. ... The Indians had won a season-best five straight on the road. ... Cleveland had won a season-best five straight on the road. 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