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CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland is as hot as one of the blast furnaces ablaze down along the Cuyahoga River.

First there was the arrival of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel in May's NFL draft. On Tuesday, the national Republican Party handed Cleveland its 2016 national convention and hundreds of millions of dollars' in business.

And on Friday the city landed what many would call the biggest prize of all — the return of its prodigal son. Four-time NBA MVP and Akron native LeBron James decided to leave glamorous Miami for gritty Cleveland.

Nobody knows what will be next in the pantheon of really good news, but whatever it is, formerly downtrodden Clevelanders would surely embrace it. When you've had — and still have — as many problems as Cleveland, you take what you can get.

When word got out that James was bringing his considerable talents back to Cleveland, cheers and bleating car horns could be heard echoing off buildings downtown. People stared at their cell phones with expressions of glee and, perhaps, slight disbelief that it was true, King James really was headed home.

The ultimate hope among many sports fans is that James can quench the inexhaustible thirst Cleveland fans have for a championship after a drought of 50 years. It was in 1964 that all-world running back Jim Brown and quarterback Frank Ryan carried the Browns to the city's last championship.

"It's surreal," said a smiling Larry Boothe, 25, who had just purchased a celebratory six-pack. "I never thought it would be a reality."

Lynn Taylor, 51, lovingly mopped ribs, barbecue and Polish boys — the city's signature kielbasa sandwich — with her secret sauce outside her Hough Avenue deli on the east side. She said the GOP convention and James would help bring much-needed cash into the city, although she called James a drama queen for the way he left back in 2010. But she'll take him back.

"Just bring us a championship," she said.

John Dennison drove in from one of the far eastern suburbs to buy a season-ticket package, ready for the season to start and see James play side-by-side with Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in 2011,

"This is great for our area," Dennison said.

The phone number for the Cavaliers' ticket office boasted of James' return in a recorded message but noted that single-game tickets aren't yet available. The extension for season ticket inquiries, not surprisingly, rang busy.

Dave Nelson, 49, had just been wheeled into the recovery room at Fairview General Hospital in Cleveland after knee surgery on Friday when his surgeon approached. Nelson said he doesn't remember what the doctor said about his knee, but recalled: "He said, 'More importantly, LeBron has come back to the Cavs."

"This is where he can come to be great," Nelson said a few hours later. "You can go anywhere to win championships. But if he can do something like that in this city, he'll be remembered forever."

James' return had Cleveland Indians' slugger Nick Swisher fired up.

"I can't wait to meet him," Swisher said. "A guy like that, with the talent he has, single-handedly that guy can win you a championship."

Before the announcement, Gordon Hewitt, 67, and a buddy were headed into a suburban Cleveland theater to catch a movie. Hewitt said he hoped that when they emerged they would learn that James had indeed come home. A few hours later, Hewitt said he was elated and that James' heartfelt words about returning to Cleveland had done much to assuage his longstanding resentment.

Hewitt recalled childhood evenings on the front porch with his father listening to radio broadcasts of Indians games. Every year, Hewitt said, his optimistic father would proclaim that this could be their season.

Maybe James' return will seal the deal on such a proclamation at last.

The rebuilding of downtown Cleveland, the forthcoming Republican convention, and the addition of "Johnny Football" to the Browns all give Cleveland hope, he said.

"We have a lot of things going for us," Hewitt said, "and we should be proud."

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Associated Press writer Kantele Franko in Columbus and AP freelancer Steve Herrick in Cleveland contributed to this report.

DENVER (AP) — Democratic Sen Mark Udall is skeptical of his challenger's proposal to make birth control pills available over the counter, without a prescription.

Udall on Friday said paying retail prices for the pill could actually increase the cost of contraception. Currently, the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to provide cost-free birth control to women. Udall spoke at a news conference highlighting legislation to reverse last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows certain kinds of businesses to opt out of that requirement if it violates their owner's religious principles.

Republican Rep. Cory Gardner's campaign accused Udall of politicizing women's health.

Udall has accused Gardner of wanting to outlaw birth control because he backed proposals to give legal protections to a fertilized egg. Gardner has disavowed one of those proposals.

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ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Michael Phelps surged to the wall and quickly searched for the scoreboard.

He liked what he saw.

Phelps turned in perhaps the most impressive performance so far in his comeback, posting the third-fastest time in the world this year while easily beating rival Ryan Lochte in the 100-meter butterfly at the Bulldog Grand Slam on Friday night.

Despite some problems with his turn, Phelps had the packed house roaring when he touched in 51.67 seconds, considerably faster than the 52.11 he posted at the Santa Clara Grand Prix three weeks ago.

Lochte was a distant second in 53.08.

"I wanted to get under 52," Phelps said, breaking into a big smile. "I was sick and tired of seeing 52.1."

He had no trouble finishing ahead of Lochte, though it really wasn't a fair fight. Phelps' longtime foe also competed in the 200 freestyle, winning the "B" final less than an hour before he returned to the water to face a rested Phelps.

More important for Lochte — his left knee seemed to hold up well.

This is his first meet for the laid-back Floridian since he reinjured the surgically repaired knee at the Mesa Grand Prix in April. It was initially hurt late last year when he tried to catch an exuberant fan and fell into a curb, requiring surgery.

"I hope I lose," said Lochte, who plans to swim a grueling six events in Athens. "It will just make me more hungry."

Phelps is set to swim three events at the weekend meet on the University of Georgia campus, a hastily arranged event that gave some of the top swimmers on the East Coast a chance to swim one more time competitively before the next month's national championships in Irvine, California.

The results from nationals, as well as the Pan Pacific Championships being held in Australia later in August, will determine the U.S. team for the 2015 world championships.

Phelps seems to be right on course, at least in his signature fly, finishing just 0.46 off the time that won the gold at the 2012 London Olympics. The only faster times this year were Thomas Dal's 51.44 in the Belgian Open and Viacheslav Prudnikov's 51.60 at the Russian national championships.

"I am very pleased with being able to go 51," Phelps said. "But in the grand scheme of things, I think it's just a small steppingstone to go where we hope to be."

He is still struggling with the consistency of his stroke. When things are going well, Phelps needs 16 strokes to cover the first 50 meters, 18 for the return lap. When he's just a little off, he winds up gliding into the wall too much, either when he's making his flip turn or coming to the finish.

"I was kind of bummed that I still can't hit a wall correctly," Phelps said.

Added his coach, Bob Bowman, "He looked crazy coming off the wall."

All in all, though, no complaints.

Phelps, who retired after the last Olympics and stayed away from the pool for more than a year, didn't come back to tarnish his legacy, which includes 18 golds and 22 medals overall — far more than any other Olympic athlete.

"I always set high expectations for myself, no matter what I'm doing," he said. "Bob and I have a plan of what I want to do. He knows what it's going to take to get there."

In other events, French Olympic star Yannick Agnel took the men's 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 47.27 seconds, followed by U.S. Olympians Conor Dywer (1:47.44) and Connor Jaeger (1:47.94). Lochte, swimming in that consolation final, actually posted the fourth-fastest time of the evening at 1:48.69, some 4 seconds faster than he went in the morning preliminaries while wearing a non-racing suit.

Allison Schmitt, coming back strong after a disappointing post-Olympic year, won the women's 200 freestyle in 1:58.16. Winner of five medals in London, she struggled a bit with fame and didn't even qualify for the 2013 worlds.

She's back on track with the Rio Games just two years away.

"I have more goals that I want to accomplish, which is why I'm back," Schmitt said. "I'm looking forward to this summer."

In the 400 individual medley, Olympic gold medalist Tyler Clary blew away the field in the men's race. His time of 4:21.66 was nearly 4 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Kevin Litherland. Melanie Margalis finished first on the women's side.

Micah Lawrence touched first in the women's 100 breaststroke, while the men's breaststroke was captured by Nicolas Fink. Seventeen-year-old Kathleen Baker took the women's 100 fly in 59.69, the only swimmer to break the minute barrier.

Of course, Phelps drew most of the attention.

His main foe was impressed by what he saw.

"He swam a fantastic race," Lochte said. "That was really fast."

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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963