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CLEVELAND -- When the game finally ended, Friday night had become Saturday morning, May had turned to June and Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was tired of trying to predict the weather. James Loney homered twice, four Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a one-hitter and the Rays endured nearly five hours of rain delays before beating the Cleveland Indians 9-2 for their sixth straight win in a game that ended at 2:53 a.m. Scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m., the game was delayed three times before finally resuming at 12:13 a.m. -- 2 hours, 39 minutes after the third and lengthiest delay. Before that there was uncertainty, confusion and, of course, rain. "Its a very awkward way to do this, "said Maddon, who spent the weather stoppages monitoring the storms on an iPad in his office. "But if youre going to stick around that long you might as well win." The teams were delayed a total of 4:49, long enough for the calendar to change before nine innings were played. It ended just before 3 a.m., giving the teams a short turnaround before a 1:05 start on Saturday. It was the majors third marathon game in two days. On Thursday night, Kansas City and St. Louis were delayed an hour before the first pitch and another 4 hours, 32 minutes by rain before the Royals beat Cardinals 4-2 well after 3 in the morning. And about 20 minutes after the Rays got their final out, the San Diego Padres finished off a 4-3, 17-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays that took 4:58. Afterward, Tampa Bays Evan Longoria went on Twitter to thank the few thousand fans who hung around until the end. "A sincere thanks to each and every fan that stuck around to watch that game!" Longoria wrote. "You all made it fun. (hash)ClevelandRocks." Matt Joyce and Loney connected for two-run homers in Tampas five-run third inning off Scott Barnes (0-1), who replaced starter Corey Kluber following the weather stoppages. Loney added a solo shot to make it 6-2 in the eighth. Jamey Wright (1-1) came in for unbeaten Tampa starter Matt Moore and pitched three innings for the Rays, who went an AL-best 18-10 in May. Clevelands only hit was Ryan Raburns RBI double in the fifth off Josh Lueke. Cesar Ramos pitched three hitless innings for his first career save. The teams had little choice but wait out the long delays. With a forecast for heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday, crew chief Fieldin Culbreth and the umpires figured they had to try to get in one game with the possibility the whole weekend could get washed out. The teams arent scheduled to meet again this season. The game was delayed 1 hours, 57 minutes at the start, 13 minutes in the second inning and then for another 2:39 before it started again in front of a crowd that began as more than 30,000 and dwindled to just a few thousand, who waited it out and were rewarded for their patience. At about 11 p.m., Maddon, Indians manager Terry Francona, Cleveland general manager Chris Antonetti and two umpires did a walking tour of the saturated outfield grass to inspect the conditions. Not long after that, the overworked grounds crew was summoned again to get the field ready and at 12:13 a.m. Wright threw a pitch to Nick Swisher. At one point during the third delay, Maddon, with the hood of his blue sweatshirt pulled over his head to try and stay dry, took a stroll through the soggy outfield and thought it might be unplayable. But in the end, he felt Culbreth and his crew handled things well. "It was very confusing to everybody," Maddon said. "Fieldin and the boys, umpiring wise, they were handed this. The group here felt the Indians really wanted to play the game tonight." Francona, too, praised the umpires. "I thought they handled it very well," he said. After thunderstorms blasted through the area, the 7:05 p.m. start was pushed back to 9:02 p.m. and the teams took the field under threatening skies. Kluber got two outs in the second inning when play was halted by rain at 9:18 as Culbreth ordered the grounds crew to put the tarp on the field. But within seconds of the infield being covered, the rain stopped and the game was re-started just 13 minutes later. Kluber gave up a walk and got Desmond Jennings to line out for the last out in the second when the rain resumed after three minutes of play and the game was stopped again at 9:34 p.m. Both Maddon and Francona met separately with the umpires as fans scrambled to stay dry. The Indians announced they reduced $1 dollar hot dogs to 50 cents as a way of thanking fans for enduring the rain. During the third delay, fans watched out-of-town games on the giant scoreboard and cheered when Baltimore beat the first-place Detroit Tigers on a walkoff homer, moving the Indians into a temporary tie atop the AL Central. Joyce said players wondered if they would ever take the field. "We were actually in the dark pretty much the whole night," he said. "Its tough. A lot of guys were ready to go home and play a doubleheader (Saturday)." The Rays came out swinging after the lengthy delays as Joyce and Loney homered off Barnes in the third to give Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead. Yunel Escobar singled with one out, and with two outs, Joyce drove Barnes pitch 411 feet over the wall in right-centre for his 10th homer. Kelly Johnson walked and scored on Longorias double, and Loney followed with his sixth homer, a shot that drew boos from the doused fans hanging around. Held without a hit through four innings by Moore and the journeyman Wright, the Indians cut it to 5-2 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Yan Gomes and Raburns two-out RBI double. NOTES: It was Loneys first multihomer game since Sept. 7, 2007. ... Maddon said there has been discussion about starting Moore on Sunday, built its more likely he will next in Detroit next week. ... Browns offensive linemen, including Pro Bowler Joe Thomas, visited the Indians clubhouse before the game and then crowded into the dugout to stay out of the rain. Thomas couldnt convince one of the rookies to do a belly slide across the tarp for money. ... Indians closer Chris Perez, on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder, will be reevaluated Sunday before the next step in his rehab is mapped out. ... Rays RHP Alex Colome, who made his major league debut Thursday in Miami, was optioned to Triple-A Durham. LHP Jeff Beliveau was recalled, but later optioned so Rays RHP Chris Archer can make his season debut Saturday.WHOLESALE NFL JERSEYS FROM CHINA . The scientists believe the small earthquake during a Marshawn Lynch touchdown was likely greater than Lynchs famous "beast quake" touchdown run three years ago, which also came against New Orleans during a playoff game. CHEAP AUTHENTIC JERSEYS . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseysnfl.com/ . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. CHEAP NFL JERSEYS AUTHENTIC .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. NFL JERSEYS FROM CHINA . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team.By chance, Ronald "Popeye" Jones bumped into Joe Sakic in the weight room of the arena in Denver way back when. It shouldnt have been a big deal. After all, Jones Denver Nuggets and Sakics Colorado Avalanche shared the Pepsi Center. Jones, a 6-foot-8 power forward, had more than casual conversation in mind for their first meeting almost 13 years ago, though. He told Sakic, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, that he had two young boys who wanted to play hockey and no clue how to help them. "He looked at me all the way up and into my eyes," Jones said. "He saw how big I was. He said, Hes going to be huge. Make sure he knows how to skate." So Jones signed up his boys, including youngest, Seth, for skating lessons. Sakics small piece of advice turned around one boys direction. Now, its Seths turn to return the favour for an organization. The 18-year-old Jones has grown into one of the top prospects in hockey and is the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL draft later this month. That pick belongs to the Avalanche — now led by Sakic, the teams former captain who was recently promoted to executive vice-president of hockey operations. "All the goals hes set as a hockey player," Popeye said, "hes been able to accomplish." Hows that for a proud pop? Popeye, Seths mother and other friends and relatives will attend the June 30 draft at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Popeye worked last season as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and lives about 20 minutes from the draft site. Dad was a second-round pick, 41st overall. Seth could be the first black player ever taken No. 1 in the NHL draft. "Im trying to embrace it," Seth said. "Its going to be fun in New Jersey, for sure. I cant wait to share those experiences with my family." It may be a pretty big family reunion in Denver. Jones older brother, Justin, also played hockey and they all got along with Patrick Roys family as they grew up. The Roys and Joneses were close and spent time at each others houses, in fact. And it just so happens that Roy — a former goaltender who also won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche — was just hired to coach Colorado after the rebuilding franchise missed the playoffs. "Jones is a heck of a player," Roy said. "No matter what the decision for our organization — are we going to keep first overall, are we going to move first overall, whatever were going to do, we know that the team that picks first, second or third are going to get three outstanding players." Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin are expected to go 1-2-3 in the draft. The Florida Panthers hold the second draft pick and the Tampa Bay Lightning are No. 3. Based on talent and need, Jones shouldnt drop past the Avalanche. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound defenceman met with members of the Avalanche scouting team last month before moving on to the NHL draft combine in Toronto. He would become the first American picked No. 1 since Chicagos Patrick Kane in 2007 and seventh overall. In a sport where the majority percentage of players are white, its that slice of history he would make as the first black selected No. 1 — topping Evander Kane, picked fourth 2009 &mdassh; that means so much to both of them.dddddddddddd "I dont think about it too much," Seth said. "Hopefully, I can encourage young African-Americans to play hockey and try it when theyre at a young age. Its definitely a white-dominated sport. But there are a lot more that are starting to play." Kane, Pittsburghs Jarome Iginla, Philadelphias Wayne Simmonds and Washingtons Joel Ward are among the more prominent black players in the NHL. Ward was the victim of a series of racist tweets during last years playoffs after scoring the winning goal in Game 7 against Boston. During a preseason game last year, a fan threw a banana on the ice at Simmonds. Those are gloomy signs that, unlike the other big three sports, tolerance is a still a problem. "Theres never been one racial thing that happened to him," Popeye said. "I think his teammates always accepted him for Seth Jones the hockey player, the great teammate, the great team player. He never put himself above anybody. Theyve always accepted him for who he was and never looked at race." Theyve been awed looking at his career arc, though. He blossomed when he was still in elementary school and played in Pee Wee tournaments in Quebec City at 10 years old. The tournaments, however, were meant for kids 11 and 12. And he has won three gold medals in international play, including this year at the World Junior Ice Hockey championship. So, hes already seasoned, globally, as a competitor. Jones played two seasons in Toronto and was stopped in arenas each time he watched Seth play. "Theyd say, What are you doing in the hockey rink? Whats your kid doing out here playing hockey," Popeye said. "Why arent you at the gym playing basketball?" Jones, who averaged a modest 7.0 points over an 11-year career, realized early on that getting Seth to follow in his sneakers was a lost cause. Sure, little Seth tagged along with dad to the gym and theyd bond watching the NBA finals together. But those 1-on-1 father-son games in the driveway never caught steam and Seth did not play organized basketball growing up. He simply had no desire, because hockey was his passion. "That was all the motivation that I had," Seth said. With Popeye on the road, Seths mother, Amy, steered her son down the right path from home. "Mom taught me everything from how to be a young man, to a handshake, eye contact, all sorts of things," Seth said. "She just wanted me to be respectful." Seth spent more time with his dad when the latter was an assistant coach for a few seasons in Dallas. Seth broadened his worth ethic by watching how tirelessly players like Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry prepared for every practice and game all season. "You can tell anyone how to be a pro," Popeye said. "But until they see it with their own eyes, its put a whole new light about what it really takes." Lesson learned. Now its Seths turn to take all hes learned and show a team like Colorado hes ready to make an impact next season. "Its a special category to be put in. Colorado would be special," Seth said, "but at the end of the day, my goal is play in the NHL." That goal is about to be met. ' ' '