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There was a long period that began in the early 1990s when the Milwaukee Brewers were an afterthought — when 90-loss seasons trumped winning ones, and the days of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor were slowly fading into obscurity.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Behind a pair of dark sunglasses, Dayton Moore's eyes dart around a spring training practice field in sunny Surprise, Ariz., trying to take in everything happening all at once.

CINCINNATI - Same starting five in the rotation. Same back end of the bullpen. Same starting lineup, except for one spot. On the surface, not much has changed with the Cincinnati Reds, and that's exactly how they wanted it.

WASHINGTON - Maybe there's something appropriate about the timing of it all: What's expected to be the first full season together for Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper is supposed to be the final season for their manager, Davey Johnson.

CERGY, France - For Florent Amodio, it may be now or never. The French figure skater was just 19 at his first Olympics in Vancouver, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, in 2010, old enough to appreciate the experience but not at his peak as an athlete. He placed 12th.

PHILADELPHIA - For a team that finished 17 games out of first place, the Philadelphia Phillies are quite confident they can regain the NL East crown they relinquished to Washington after a five-year run.

CHICAGO - As they enter Year Two under Theo Epstein's management regime, the Chicago Cubs insist the pieces are falling into place and that they're poised to make a jump. Never mind all the talk about the long haul.

MINNEAPOLIS - The pitchers who could save the Minnesota Twins aren't ready yet, and they may not be until 2014.

ISTANBUL - The IOC came away with an "excellent impression" Wednesday of Istanbul's bid for the 2020 Olympics, stressing that the city's multi-billion-dollar infrastructure budget will be spent whether or not Turkey gets the games.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Arizona Diamondbacks felt pretty fortunate after three key players were injured during Tuesday night's spring training game.