The Browns waived struggling kicker Billy Cundiff and replaced him with former Saints kicker Garrett Hartley.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Billy Cundiff's missed 40-yard field goal proved to be the difference in the Browns' 25-24 loss to the Colts last week, and they weren't about to let it happen again Sunday against the Bengals.

Not with the AFC North playoffs on the line and not during Johnny Manziel's big debut at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Browns parted waived Cundiff Saturday and signed Garrett Hartley, who once went 3-for-3 in a Super Bowl victory for the Saints.

Cundiff, the Browns' kicker since last season, had missed a kick in each of his past five games. Cundiff appeared in all 13 games this season and converted 22 of 29 field goals and all 28 PATs.

He was listed as questionable for the game with an injury to his right kicking leg suffered Thursday. The injury cropped up a day after special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said Cundiff had his best practice day kicking at the stadium.

With Cundiff struggling, the Browns have been working out kickers in recent weeks. This week, they auditioned Hartley, Zach Hocker and Nate Freese.
 Hartley impressed them the most.

A 5-9, 200-pound veteran in his seventh NFL season out of Oklahoma, Hartley has appeared in 57 games, all with the Saints from 2008-13. He has converted 82 of 101 (81.2 percent) field goal attempts and 176 of 177 PATs for 422 career points.
 Last season, he appeared in 14 games with New Orleans.

Hartley is best known for his 40-yard gamewinning kick in overtime of the 2010 NFC Championship Game over Minnesota that landed the Saints in the Super Bowl.  Once there, he went 3-for-3 to help beat the Colts.

Cundiff helped Browns opponents to have an average starting field position on kickoffs at the 19.7-yard line, best in the league.

Dion Waiters was suffering from abdominal pains, but tests at a New Orleans hospital came back normal, the team said. Matthew Dellavedova had vomiting Friday night. Both are returning to Cleveland on Saturday, the team said.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters is traveling back to Cleveland today after tests at a New Orleans hospital for his abdominal pains came back normal, the team said.

Waiters was hospitalized overnight in New Orleans' Ochsner Medical Center after he suffered the pains during the Cavaliers' 119-114 loss to the Pelicans on Friday night.

Also, the Cavs report that guard Matthew Dellavedova became sick and was vomiting Friday night and also was admitted to Ochsner for observation and treatment. He did not travel home with the team last night.

The Cavs said that assistant athletic trainer Yusuke Nakayama stayed with the players in New Orleans and all three will travel home today. The team said it will update the status of Waiters and Dellavedova on Sunday when the team returns to practice.

Putting the individual and collective accomplishments of past Heisman winners into perspective, visually.

The 2014 Heisman Trophy will be presented to one of three finalists Saturday night in New York City. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper or Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon will add his name to a prestigious list of previous honorees as the 80th winner of college football's most coveted award.

To put the individual and collective accomplishments of past Heisman winners into perspective, the folks at The Oregonian and OregonLive.com have assembled a trio of eye-popping visuals. Click on the titles above or the links below to view the interactive graphics.

• Heisman Trophy winners, 1935-2013
• Heisman Trophy quarterbacks, 1937-2013
• 31 Heisman quarterbacks, sized up

No. 12 Ohio State beat Morehead State 87-71 in Value City Arena on Saturday afternoon. Inside is the full instant recap.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New Jersey Institute of Technology, Eastern Michigan, North Florida and Incarnate Word, just a few a smaller programs who upset Big Ten teams this week.

Don't add Morehead State to that list. 

Ohio State spent all day Friday talking about approaching every game the same way, and coach Thad Matta even addressed the team about staying focused, about how on any given night ...

You know the rest of that lesson. It hasn't applied to Ohio State.

Matta, who sat the bench as a head coach for the 500th time in the No. 12 Buckeyes' 87-71 win over Morehead State, is now 101-1 vs. unranked nonconference opponents at home. 

Below is the instant recap. 

What it means: You can't learn too much about Ohio State in these nonconference blowouts because the opponents aren't equipped to compete, which seems silly to say considering the upsets that happened in the Big Ten this week. What can you take away? That Ohio State didn't come out sluggish and took care of a team it was supposed to beat on its home floor. Take a deep breath - December basketball is almost over. 

When it was over: When senior center Amir Williams scored on a hook shot to put Ohio State up 54-35 with with 16:41 remaining in the game. 

Leading scorers: Ohio State had four players reach double figures in scoring – D'Angelo Russell (15), Sam Thompson (15), Amir Williams (12) and Jae'Sean Tate (12).

Lovin' Tate: Matta has spent the last week talking about how much he loves freshman Jae'Sean Tate's energy, and that was evident again vs. Mordhead State. One play exemplified that: Tate dove for a ball like it was the Final Four in a 62-48 game with 10 minutes remaining. 

Crucial run: Ohio State finished the first half scoring 24 of the last 32 points to open up a 47-28 lead at the break. The run spanned over the first half's last 8:35 and ended any dreams Morehead State had of continuing the recent string of crazy Big Ten upsets. 

Play of the game: Point guard Shannon Scott caught a pass in transition and was seemingly on his way to attacking the basket before he dished it behind his back to a trailing Sam Thompson. Thompson finished the right-handed layup to put the Buckeyes up 12-2 just over three minutes into the game. 

Williams leaves game early: Senior big man Amir Williams suffered a leg injury with roughly seven minutes remaining. After staying on the floor for a minute, he got up and limped off and into the locker room gingerly under his own power. He finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds. 

OK – you'll get your alley-oop: Thompson is good for one thunderous slam a game, and he grabbed a Scott inbounds pass from mid-air and dunked it home to put Ohio State up 68-50 with roughly eight minutes remaining in the game. 

No Lee: Reserve big man Anthony Lee wasn't at the game because he was attending his grandmother's funeral. Lee was averaging 13.5 minutes , 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. 

What's next: Ohio State plays the fourth of a four-game stretch against overmatched nonconference foes when it hosts North Carolina A&T in Value City Arena on Wednesday. Then the Buckeyes travel to Chicago to play North Carolina – drop the A&T - in Chicago as part of the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels provide Ohio State with its first real test since losing at Louisville on Dec. 2.  

Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke had eight touchdowns and 467 yards total offense in the Division III national semifinal.

ALLIANCE, Ohio – According to the NCAA, the football game played at Mount Union on Saturday was a Division III national semifinal. The fact that it looked like a mid-season Ohio Athletic Conference game merely was a coincidence.

Either that, or Wilmington showed up wearing Wesley College jerseys.

Quarterback Kevin Burke passed and ran for eight touchdowns as Mount Union thrashed Wesley, 70-21, and advanced to its 18^th Stagg Bowl national championship game next Friday in Salem, Va.

The only thing in question by the second quarter was the Stagg Bowl foe for No. 3 Mount Union (14-0). The answer came Saturday evening when No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater held on to beat No. 10 Linfield, 20-14.

Mount Union and Whitewater will play in the Stagg Bowl for the ninth time in 10 years. Whitewater won five of the eight previous matchups.

Mount Union owns 11 national titles, but lost to Whitewater in last year's Stagg Bowl, 52-14. This Mount Union team is a different animal, especially on defense, and Wesley coach Mike Drass had a warning for Mount Union's next opponent.

"They are going to kick somebody's (butt),'' said Drass, whose team lost to Mount Union in a quarterfinal last year, 62-59.

"He's absolutely right,'' Burke responded later, when told of Drass' comment. "We are a different team than last year. We're not the same, barely scooting by, winning by one, two, three points in the playoffs.

"We're a team killing it on all cylinders right now.''

Perhaps envisioning Burke's comments on another team's bulletin board next week, Mount Union coach Vince Kehres covered his face and shook his head as his quarterback spoke. But Kehres acknowledged there is a different feeling in the Mount Union locker room than after last year's 41-40 semifinal victory over North Central.

"Our team is peaking,'' he said.

How bad was the blowout Saturday?

Burke had 366 yards and six touchdowns total offense – in the first half, which ended 56-0. The margin was 70-0 late in the third quarter after Burke threw the final pass of career in Mount Union Stadium, a 13-yard touchdown to senior Luc Meacham. It was Burke's 49th TD pass this season, a career high.

Burke completed 26 of 41 passes for 415 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception, and he added 52 yards rushing and a touchdown. The TDs and passing yards also are career marks for Burke, who improved to 43-1 as UMU's starter and seeks his second national title next week. He did not play in the fourth quarter.

"That kid is so freaking good,'' Drass said. "If you are out of position one iota, he is going to get you, and he is going to get you good.''

Taurice Scott, Sherman Wilkinson and Luc Meacham each caught two touchdown passes. Tailback B.J. Mitchell rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Burke and Wesley junior quarterback Joe Callahan are among four finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, which will be announced Wednesday. Both quarterbacks surpassed 4,000 yards passing for the season.

Callahan had a much different day. Callahan was 36-of-66 for 372 yards and one touchdown, with four interceptions.

As superb as Burke and the Mount Union offense played, it was hardly news.

The real story was Mount Union's defense, which continues to distance itself from last year's crash through thin ice, when it surrendered 151 points in the final three games. The Purple Raiders stand on firm ground after holding John Carroll to 28 points last week and shutting down Wesley's third-ranked scoring offense (51 points per game).

In the 2013 quarterfinal against Wesley, Callahan engineered a stunning rally from a 31-0 first-quarter deficit, passing for 633 yards in a 62-59 loss. There was no such comeback Saturday. Led by linebacker Jonathan Gonell's 2.5 sacks and eight tackles, Mount Union's front seven kept constant pressure on Callahan, forcing numerous bad throws. The Purple Raiders caught Wesley off guard with several new blitz packages and had five sacks.

"We did some things they might not have seen on film,'' Kehres said. "Our guys did a good job of keeping the quarterback caged in there. I thought we had a good plan.''

Though Wesley wideout Steve Kourdossouu tied a Division III playoff record with 17 catches for 256 yards and one TD, Mount Union's starting defensive backs did not get burned for deep balls and consistently broke up third-down passes.

Callahan threw three interceptions in the first half. Two led to touchdowns, including Tre Jones' 85-yard return. Mount Union also converted Will Hiteshue's blocked punt into a first-half touchdown.

It was Mount Union's 86th playoff victory in 100 games, and the Purple Raiders' 85th consecutive home victory overall.

Small, swift receivers such as Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel could be "murder" on defensive backs trying to defend broken plays.

BEREA, Ohio – The welcoming smile on Jim Leonhard's face disappeared the moment the question was posed:

What's it like to mark a receiver who breaks off a route after a quarterback escapes the pocket?

It's as though the Browns' safety was flashing back to so many airtight coverages ruined as a play studied all week on film went off script.

"It's the hardest thing to defend because you can do everything right and still get beat," Leonhard said. "When you're playing a (quarterback) who doesn't move as well or can't extend plays you know if you get your work done early, the pass rush is coming and he's got to get the ball out.

"But with a guy who can extend plays you have to keep going until the whistle."

That becomes the task of defensive backs facing the Browns starting Sunday.

Nobody can say with certainty whether quarterback Johnny Manziel will succeed at the NFL level. His mobility and penchant for improv, however, will stress secondaries and create big-play opportunities for his receivers.

Josh Gordon is a dangerous wideout regardless of the situation. But given the chance to alter their patterns, small, swift receivers like Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel and Travis Benjamin could pose real threats to defensive backs hesitating for a split second as Manziel begins to scramble.

"Those guys should be murder," former Browns receiver Reggie Rucker said. "When Hawkins or Gabriel put their foot in the ground and break off a pattern they can create five yards of space before you realize they've gone the other way."

The Browns have been combating it for years in the division with the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. They got another bitter taste of it last week with the Colts' Andrew Luck and a season ago with the Packers' Aaron Rodgers.

Quarterbacks don't have to be as fast as Manziel or the Seahawks' Russell Wilson. They just need to buy enough time for a receiver to abandon his route and make a play.

The Bills' Kyle Orton did it two weeks ago to the Browns, finding Robert Woods for a 34-yard reception on a fourth-and-3 from the Cleveland 37. It set up Buffalo's first touchdown en route to a 26-10 win.  

"We had that play killed," Leonhard said. "(Woods) runs a slant and Buster (Skrine) has him covered and then (Woods) turns it up field. Any quarterback can do it, but when you have one who can do it on a regular basis it's scary for a defense."

The Browns don't want Manziel vacating the pocket all the time or turning every down into backyard football. They do, however, want to capitalize on what makes the Heisman Trophy winner special – especially in a season when officials are cracking down on defensive holding and illegal contact.

Benjamin said the receivers spent the week working to develop chemistry with Manziel after 13 weeks with Brian Hoyer, rarely a threat to run even on rollouts.

"It's been exciting," Benjamin said. "We (know) that if (Manziel) rolls out of the pocket, we've got to be scramble-drill ready."

Gordon noted that Manziel's unpredictability can turn every receiver, even the ones on the backside of a play, into a potential target.

"It's just a different look, a totally different look," he said. ". . . You don't know what to expect. Everybody's ready, everybody's hot out there."

It takes time for quarterbacks and receivers to read each other when order dissolves and chaos ensues. Wideouts are taught to come back to the quarterback when he's scrambling outside the pocket, but that's not always the best option, Rucker said.

"Everything becomes instinct at that point," he added. "That's when you have a chance to break a DB's ankles and go back the way you just came from. You see the way Roethlisberger does it with guys like Brown. They just go on feel."

Perhaps no play illustrated it better than Roethlisberger's 40-yard TD strike to Brown in the Steelers' 30-27 opening-day win over the Browns. The quarterback escaped a sack, rolled to his right and hit his favorite target in the right corner of the end zone.

"(Joe Haden) covered the route as good as you're ever going to cover it and the play extends and he still covers it well and Roethlisberger makes an unbelievable throw," Leonhard recalled. "Those are heart-breakers for a defense because you did everything right."

Browns coach Mike Pettine, a former defensive coordinator, said such plays are a "big part" of the Steelers' game.

"It's hard enough to defend a conventional offense, and all of a sudden, you have to deal with plays that turn into part two," he said.

After years of trying to defense it, Pettine sounds like a coach ready to see his opponent deal with it. First up are the Bengals on Sunday.

Ten wrestlers from the cleveland.com seven-county coverage region will reach the awards podium at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.

Ten wrestlers from the cleveland.com seven-county coverage region will reach the awards podium at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.

"There are still some areas that could be corrected, but I just tried to get off to a good start," Williams said. "Coach always tells me, and the players tell me as well if I come out with energy it gets my teammates going as well. So I try to come out, play with as much energy as I can and set the tone early for us."

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Amir Williams gingerly limped off the court with about seven minutes remaining in and was met by coach Thad Matta at the edge of the scorer's table. 

Not known for affection, Matta got in really close, stuck his left arm behind Williams' back and used his right hand to give his senior center a firm handshake. 

No. 12 Ohio State's 87-71 win over Morehead State in Value City Arena wasn't over yet, but Williams had already done enough. 

"We have to get production out of the spot," Matta said, "and (Williams) answered the bell." 

Williams walked down the bench, slapped hands with his teammates and then retreated back to Ohio State's locker room to have the ankle he just turned looked at by the trainers. 

By the time he emerged into the postgame interview room – the limp gone – Ohio State (8-1) locked up its third-consecutive win and he had an impressive statistics line that consisted of 12 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, two steals and an assist.

No, he's not a guard. 

"I think I played pretty good," Williams said. 

A former McDonald's All-American, Williams is far more used to being criticized than praised, but if there were a checklist for productive center play, he would have notched them all against the Eagles. Let's go down it. 

• Rebounds: Williams consistently claimed his territory in the paint and never was challenged by Morehead State center Billy Reader. Williams grabbed nine boards – two on offense – to help the Buckeyes out-rebound an Eagles team that led the Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding margin the last six seasons, 30-19. 

• Foul trouble: Williams only had one personal foul but drew two from Reader in the game's first 40 seconds. 

• Blocks: Williams had five. Enough said. 

• Finishing around the basket: Williams got to 12 points by shooting 5-of-6 from the floor. When he got the ball in the post, he moved aggressively and finished with authority. 

• Energy: Matta said the way Williams played was "mobile," which is probably the best way to describe how the senior moved. Though there have been times where he has seemingly lacked energy – which is the true source of the reason some have grown frustrated with him – Williams didn't lack for energy in this game. 

• Bonus: Matta doesn't expect Williams to be the king of assists, but he did throw a beautiful outlet pass over Morehead State to senior Sam Thompson, who finished an unguarded slam to put Ohio State up 10-2 early. 

This was the type of game Ohio State needs consistently from Williams.

"There are still some areas that could be corrected, but I just tried to get off to a good start," Williams said. "Coach always tells me, and the players tell me as well if I come out with energy it gets my teammates going as well. So I try to come out, play with as much energy as I can and set the tone early for us." 

But consistently, though. Can Ohio State expect its 6-foot-11 senior to impact the game like this all the time, not only when the Buckeyes play overmatched opponents like Morehead State? 

Don't forget that Williams had games like this last year during the nonconference schedule, but it never led to the renaissance for the big man who spent the first three years of his career trying to live up to his McDonald's All-American recruitment. 

Ohio State doesn't expect Williams to reach that. But if he can impact the game, play with energy and, well, duplicate what he did vs. the Eagles, that could help the Buckeyes, a team built with dynamic scorers, take the next step forward. 

"I think my energy was there throughout the game," Williams said. "We just took it from there." 

For previous Brownstowns this season, click here.

For previous Brownstowns this season, click here.

Matthew Dellavedova has received a warning for a flop he committed in the loss to the Pelicans.

CLEVELAND – Matthew Dellavedova apparently didn't have a good time in New Orleans.

On top of getting sick with some form of stomach virus, on Saturday The Cavaliers' backup point guard received a warning for violating the NBA's anti-flopping policy during the loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

A video of when this occurred has not been released or discovered. The next time Dellavedova is called for a flop, he will be fined $5,000.

Last night Dellavedova failed to score, but had five rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.

Cleveland State fades late and falls to Bowling Green, 67-57.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Cleveland State looked to be in control early, butt a cold spell led to their ultimate demise, 67-57, to Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon in the Stroh Center.

A pair of field-goal droughts covering a combined 17 minutes was just as devastating to the Vikings as foul trouble. A 7-for-32 shooting effort in the second half for Cleveland State erased a 50-percent shooting effort most of the first.

After a near 90-minute post-game blistering in the locker room, head coach Gary Waters emerged and said the issue in the loss was not offense or defense.

"Bad attitudes,'' he said. "Guys getting frustrated with their teammates. We played a great first half, then let it all go to pot. We became dysfunctional. We let a lot of things get to us. All attitude."

CSU (4-5) was coming off a victory over Western Illinois, but had lost three of its last five and has yet to put back-to-back Division I victories together this season.

The early key in this one was keeping 6-8 Anton Grady on the floor as long as possible to counter BG's 6-9 Richaun Holmes, but foul trouble limited Grady to six points and four rebounds, while Holmes had 14 and nine.

CSU was solid from the beginning as point guard Charlie Lee opened up the perimeter with his 3-point shooting as the Vikings were shooting 50 percent from the field with four minutes left in the half while holding a 31-19 lead.

But with Grady sitting the final minutes with a pair of fouls, the Vikings went cold. At the same point, turnover-prone Bowling Green (6-1) got itself together enough to close to 31-24 by halftime.

The Falcons, with 11 turnovers at the break, made just 8 of 24 shots from the field (33.3 percent), but added 6 of 8 from the line.

CSU remained scoreless from the field early in the second half while BG cut the lead to 31-29 before Waters called a timeout. Frustrated players were either pouting on the bench or rolling their eyes at each other on the court.

"And these bad attitudes caused friction,'' Waters said.  

Grady had his third foul less than a minute into the second half and CSU missed its first four shots. With 15:49 to play, BGSU tied it, 31-31, and Grady was walking to the bench with his fourth foul.

Counting the end of the first half, the Vikings went 9:46 without a point, and 10:23 without a field goal. By the time Grady returned with 7:38 to play the Vikings were down, 53-41, in the jet stream of a 34-10 run by the Falcons. Inside the numbers were just as brutal with CSU shooting 3 of 16 in the second half to that point with seven turnovers as well.

With little resistance inside Holmes was now in the books with 12 points and seven rebounds as BG had a commanding lead on the glass, 31-23.

Waters said the 90-minute cleansing after the game should bode well for the future.

"I think we'll come together now,'' Waters said. "There's too much talent here not to. What I've got to concentrate on is shoring up our interior."

That points to 6-8 sophomore Demonte Flannigan and/or 6-9 Aaron Scales off the bench. They combined for just two points and no rebounds in 17 minutes against the Falcons.

Kevin Burke will be the first Mount Union quarterback to start three Stagg Bowl national championship games on Friday.

ALLIANCE, Ohio – It's hardly a reach to say Mount Union senior Kevin Burke is one of the school's greatest quarterbacks, unless you ask Burke.

"I wouldn't say that,'' he said, with a straight face Saturday after his eight touchdowns fueled Mount Union's 70-14 Division III semifinal victory against Wesley College.

"There's better guys than me. That's all I've got to say about that. Next question,'' he said.

If there are, it's a short list.

Burke on Friday will become the first Mount Union quarterback to start three Stagg Bowl national championship games when the No. 3 Purple Raiders (14-0) play No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater (14-0) in Salem, Va.

Burke led Mount Union to its 11^th national championship as a sophomore in 2012. His only career defeat was to Whitewater in last season's Stagg Bowl. He is 43-1 as the Purple Raiders' starter.

Burke ranks second in school history to 1998 graduate Bill Borchert in total career offense (14,171 yards), passing yards (11,764) and touchdown passes (131).

The 5-10, 170-pound playmaker from Westlake and St. Edward is a big admirer of Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson, and it's not difficult to draw comparisons in style. Even if Burke never threw a pass, he'd be in the conversation as one of the school's best backs. He is both deceptively strong and fast, and ranks seventh in career rushing yards (2,407), well ahead of any other QB.

Burke completed 26 of 41 passes Saturday and set career highs with 415 yards and seven touchdowns. He added an eighth TD on the ground.

"Kevin Burke, you see him on film, he's very active,'' Wesley two-time All-American linebacker Sosthene Kapepula said. "But when you get to play against him, he really takes away a lot of things when you make one mistake. He's very sharp.''

The coming week is a big one for Burke, beginning with a banquet Wednesday night in Salem, where the Gagliardi Trophy winner will be announced. Burke last year became the first junior to win the award given to the top Division III football player, with consideration also given to academics and community service. Burke has a 3.37 grade-point average in business management and interned last year for the U.S. Secret Service. He is involved in numerous community projects in Alliance.

He is one of six Purple Raiders with a Gagliardi Trophy, which no one has won twice.

Burke lives with offensive linemen in a house within sight of the Mount Union Stadium, and when it comes to the spotlight, he sounds like he'd rather be in the trenches with his roommates, where the spotlight rarely shines.

"It doesn't matter to me if I win or don't win (the Gagliardi), to be honest,'' he said. "I came here to win football games, not win awards. I'm practicing every day as if it was my last. I'm playing for the guys who suit up with me. Anything I win as an individual award is a reflection of the team.''

Burke gave the 2,424 fans who braved a chilly, wet afternoon one good, last memory Saturday. His final play at home was a 13-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior and close friend Luc Meacham that made the score 70-0 with 2:22 left in the third quarter. There was no dramatic ending or curtain call for a QB who has had flair for the dramatic on the field. He was fine with that.

"This game ended very well for my career here,'' Burke said. "Playing in my last home game, it was special to throw my last pass to Luc Meacham for a touchdown. Me and him have been through a lot all four years. To get one last pass with him and end this thing the right way was pretty special.''

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Stipe Miocic looks to get his biggest UFC victory yet, as the local star takes on Junior Dos Santos tonight on Fox. Miocic is 12-1 in his career, and enters this match on a three fighting winning streak. Dos Santos has not fought since Oct. 19, 2013, but the former heavyweight champion is also in position...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Stipe Miocic looks to get his biggest UFC victory yet, as the local star takes on Junior Dos Santos tonight on Fox.

Miocic is 12-1 in his career, and enters this match on a three fighting winning streak.

Dos Santos has not fought since Oct. 19, 2013, but the former heavyweight champion is also in position to possibly earn a title fight with a victory.

Stay tuned throughout the night as we will have updates from the other fights as we move toward the main event. Join the conversation in the comments section below to talk about all of the action from Saturday night.

The Padua girls basketball team moved to 3-3 on the season with a victory against Beaumont.

The Padua girls basketball team moved to 3-3 on the season with a victory against Beaumont.

Johnny Manziel will start his first NFL game Sunday for the Cleveland Browns against the first-place Bengals in a must-win game for the Browns. What will Johnny Football do? No even his coaches or teammates have any idea -- but they're all on the edge of their seats. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- He'll dart around like a madman. He'll jump up and down like a kid at Christmas. He'll slap his hands to his head in exasperation and he'll pump his fists in jubilation. Occasionally, he'll need a reminder on the sidelines to calm the heck down.

No, not Johnny Manziel. His offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

"I've got an idea (what Manziel will do), but you never know,'' said Shanahan. "You never know until you get in a game. I'm waiting. I'm sure it's going to happen pretty fast. We'll call a pass play, and he's going to do six spins reversing back and forth outside the pocket.

"I'm going to hold my breath, be yelling half the time, and then probably be running and jumping on top of him excited at the end of it. Who knows what will happen? I think that's why everyone enjoys watching him, and that's why I'm excited to see what he does. It'll be fun."

Set your DVRs and fire up the popcorn. The Johnny Football Era begins at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium. And just to further spice up the long-awaited debut, the 7-6 Browns absolutely must win the game to keep their playoff hopes alive against the first place Bengals, who are 1 1/2 games in front of the Browns at 8-4-1.

"(Coach Mike Pettine) said that even he's excited to see how Johnny's going to do,'' said Hall of Famer running back Jim Brown, a special advisor to the team. "If the coach is excited, you damn sure know I'm excited to see what Johnny's going to do. But  Johnny's going to do well. He's a special guy and we haven't waited too long, so we're going to get the best of him. I think he's going to be successful.''

Brown and others in the organization have been eagerly awaiting this moment for weeks. In fact, it almost happened before last week's 25-24 loss to the Colts, but Pettine decided to give slumping veteran Brian Hoyer one more chance to pull out of his tailspin. Now, it's up to the rookie to try to win these final three games, including road contests against the Panthers and Ravens, to snap the Browns' 11-year playoff drought.

"I'm happy that Johnny's going to get a chance right at this particular time where it does count,'' said Brown, who's been a Manziel supporter all along. "We have a chance to witness what he is about and none of us can say we truly know. I wouldn't want to be sitting here and not have a chance to see what he's done -- and right now.''

Manziel -- schooled on all things Cleveland before the draft by his former quarterback guru and Massillon, Ohio native George Whitfield - endeared himself to Browns fans long before Cleveland traded up in the first round to select him No. 22 overall out of Texas A&M.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle in February, Manziel stressed that he wanted to go No. 1 overall, but "if something happens, and it's the Cleveland Browns, I'm going to pour my heart out for the Dawg Pound and try to win a Super Bowl for Cleveland. I don't care if they've had 20 starting quarterbacks since 1999. I'm going to be the 21st and the guy that brought them the Super Bowl."

That same day, the former Heisman Trophy winner with the party-boy personna set the bar for himself as high as it can possibly go.

"People can call me crazy, and it's not cockiness, (but) I'm going to put myself in (position) to win the Super Bowl every single year," he said. "A 5-10 guy (Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson) just won the Super Bowl in his second year in the NFL. That's unreal. I want to be the first rookie to win the Super Bowl."

The legend of Johnny Cleveland skyrocketed when Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains provided a glimpse into the draft-day drama on a radio interview with Arkansas ESPN.

 "We're sitting there and they keep showing Johnny on T.V. and Johnny and I are texting  and he shoots me a text and he says, 'I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to be there. I want to wreck this league together.'

"When I got that text, I forwarded it to the owner and to the head coach (Mike Pettine),'' Loggains said. "I'm like 'this guy wants to be here. He wants to be part of it.' As soon as that happened, Mr. Haslam said, 'pull the trigger. We're trading up to go get this guy.'''

The world has had to wait more than seven months since that day for Manziel to start a game -- and it's been a whirlwind half-year even without him on the sidelines. It's featured inflatable swans, money phones, money signs, LeBron sightings at practices and games, a visit to the Biebs' house, a bird-flip to the Redskins' bench, a fight involving an overzealous fan, being called "a midget'' by Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and at least two lectures from the staff about being less in touch with his inner frat-boy. But now -- finally -- it's time too see what No. 2 can do on the professional football field.

 "Everybody in the building can feel the buzz,'' said defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil. "Everybody can't wait to get to Sunday. Kyle and his staff have done a great job going back to the Texas A&M stuff and seeing what he did well. I'm glad I don't have to defend it. It could be a major headache, so I like to just watch it from afar and say, 'Yeah, that looks good.' You can't necessarily be as aggressive as you want to because if you get somebody out of a gap or somebody busts an assignment, it can go a long way. The whole world will find out Sunday." 

The good news for Manziel is that Shanahan is determined to let him be his swashbuckling, jitterbugging, improvising, make-magic-out-of-nothing Johnny Football best. And Shanahan is the perfect man for the job. Afterall, he did the same thing with Robert Griffin III in Washington as a rookie in 2012, coaxing a Pro Bowl season and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award out of the fellow dual-threat former Heisman Trophy winner.

You'll see the shotgun, you'll see the pistol, you'll see the read-option and more. You'll see him tuck it and run, and you'll see him stand in the pocket and impress you with what guard John Greco described as a cannon arm. You'll see him rub those surprisingly large fingers together in the money sign after a score like he did after diving into the end zone in Buffalo to polish off that sneak-preview of an 80-yard TD drive.

"The last thing I want to do is take away from who he is,'' said Shanahan. "Once that game starts and that ball snaps, I don't want him thinking about coaching points. I don't want him thinking about how the play is supposed to be. I want him reacting, and hopefully when someone is open, he reacts and lets it rip. Hopefully when someone's not, he reacts and does his deal. You just don't want to take that away from him."

And if Manziel gets rattled like he did in preseason when the Redskins taunted him into raising his middle finger, Shanahan will intervene. But only to a point.

"He naturally gets pretty amped up,'' Shanahan said. "You try to calm him down. You want him to relax, but he's going to be who he is. I'm not going to sit there and tell him how to be. I want him to be himself. You don't want to scare a guy into playing like a robot. He's a talented guy, and you want him to make sure that he can go out there and just let it go and play freely. It's got him a lot of success in the past, and I definitely don't want to be the one who tries to take that away from him."

At Texas A&M, Manziel's offensive coordinator quickly learned when to back off.

"I was fortunate,'' Jake Spavital told cleveland.com before the draft.  "Kliff Kingsbury (former Texas A&M offensive coordinator and current Texas Tech head coach) is one of my good buddies and he told me all about Johnny leading into it, so I had a sense of how to handle him. Johnny was the guy that when he'd come off to the sidelines, I'd let him cool down and then we'd talk and make adjustments. You've just got to find ways to coach certain kids, and Johnny's a very emotional kid.''

The Browns are also prepared for every defender in the NFL to try to make the national highlight reels by getting a lick in on Johnny Football. Even Manziel said "I welcome it and accept it.''

"He's no stranger to it,'' said coach Mike Pettine. "That's the price that he has to pay for who he is and the reputation that he brings with him to the NFL.  Everybody's gunning for him. Everybody wants a sack. I guarantee that anyone who sacks him will stand over him and give the money sign. The best thing is not to get caught up in it.''

Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap didn't try to hide the fact the Bengals will be coming after Manziel early and often.

"The challenge is, even if you do get a good rush on him, he has the ability to make you miss in the pocket,'' Dunlap told reporters. "Kind of like (Tony) Romo and some of those guys who are good in the pocket. But at the end of the day, he's still a rookie. We have to go out there and stop his go-to. When you're struggling with something, you go to your crutch, which is his athleticism.

"We'll treat him as a dual-threat quarterback. With Manziel, he likes to run a little bit more than pass, or extend the play like you've seen in college football. I've watched SEC football a lot because I'm from the SEC, so I've seen him play a few times. We know what he's capable of, and we just want to contain him and press the pocket and I want to get a couple hits on him as well.''

Even the Browns receivers and tight ends are eager to see how this all plays out, and ready for those broken plays that keep on giving. Nate Burleson predicted that Josh Gordon will "get busy'' with Manziel extending plays and tight end Jordan Cameron vows to be on his toes.

"Like I keep saying, no one knows what he's going to do,'' said Cameron. "His play is so sporadic. You don't know if he's going to be over here or there. He's just all over the place and I think that's beneficial for us. It's harder to gameplan against a guy like that.

Will the rook be able to spit out the complicated play-calls in the heat of the moment without sounding like they're in Swahili? Will he have multiple snap-fus with second-time starting center Ryan Seymour?

"He's going to be a little bit challenged,'' said tight end Jordan Cameron. "It's his first time in the heat of the moment calling the bulk of plays we have. I think he'll be fine. He's a smart guy. He'll be alright.''

FirstEnergy Stadium promises to raucous from the moment Manziel runs out of the tunnel to the end, when Browns fans are hoping he has reason to leap into the Dawg Pound.

"I can only imagine,'' said Cameron. "These fans have been wanting to see him and it will be one of those things where the buzz is going to be going pretty crazy in that building. It's a division game in December where there's implications for playoffs and I think it's going to add fuel to the fire and Johnny's going to be out there for the first time so there's going to be a lot of crazy stuff going on.''

Drumroll, please. Let the Johnny Football Era begin.

The Browns offense had only three first downs that didn't come from penalties. The defense was smashed for 244 yards rushing. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I don't feel bad for the Browns...

Or for Johnny Manziel...

I feel for the fans of this team whose hopes were raised by what Manziel was supposed to mean to the franchise. Obviously, Manziel's career isn't dictated by what happened in the 30-0 loss to Cincinnati at FirstEnergy Stadium.

But could it have been any worse? Really? Not just Manziel ... but all of it.

"Shocking," is how coach Mike Pettine described his team's lack of "edge ... focus ... and intensity." And he is so right, because the Browns were physically dominated on both sides of the ball. The Browns have not thrown a touchdown pass in the last four games.

"Frustrating," said Pettine, coaching the first Browns team to be shut out since 2009 (a 16-0 loss to Baltimore).

Fans would say it was not as agonizing as having paid big money to watch his team immediately douse any sense of hope and expectation that had bubbled up all week.

NO DEFENSE FOR THIS

In the first half, the defense and Manziel seemed in an arm-wrestling match to determine who could win the prize for futility. The defense acted as if it had no intention of even attempting to stop Cincinnati's running game. The Bengals took the opening kickoff, chewed up seven minutes and scored a touchdown.

I'm not even going to dig into the rest of the details ... but the defense should not be allowed to escape blame for this fiasco simply because all the focus was on Manziel. The defense was steamrolled for 244 yards rushing!

Manziel was horrible, but so was the disintegrating defense that was a swinging door. The Bengals scored 20 points on their first four possessions. Giving up so many points so early was like taking a Manziel whose teeth were chattering and whose body was shaking -- and dumping a bucket of ice water on him.

None of this is to exonerate Manziel from looking so lost and so rattled. But the defense was embarrassing, and the coaches were unable to make any adjustments to even stall the Bengals' running game.

ROOKIE THIS, ROOKIE THAT

The Browns entered this gloomy gray Sunday with their playoff hopes on football life support. Quickly the plug was pulled on any attempt by the fans to embrace the orange helmets.

If you're a fan and felt somehow cheated by this game, you have a right to be angry. Your team looked disorganized and ill-prepared for an opponent these same Browns had defeated 24-3 in Cincinnati only five weeks ago.

Manziel was 10-of-18 for a mere 80 yards. He rushed for only 13 yards. He was picked off twice. This game was more than a slice of humble pie, it was as if Manziel was eating his way through the entire bakery.

The Bengal defenders mocked Manziel by making his "money sign" after sacking and picking off his passes.

"He kind of brought that on himself," said defensive end Wallace Gilberry.

For Browns fans, it was yet another harsh reminder of what happens to many rookie quarterbacks.

"He looked like a rookie, he played like a rookie," said a somber Pettine. "He made some obvious mistakes that veteran quarterbacks don't make."

Even the most dedicated Manziel fan had to be disheartened by an offense that produced only five first downs -- and two were by penalties. Even the most severe Manziel doubter had to be a bit surprised by the complete collapse of the offense.

As for Brian Hoyer, the displaced veteran starter didn't have to say word. The message was obvious: "I'm not the only problem around here."

NO EXCUSE FOR THIS

More than once, Manziel insisted he "wasn't overwhelmed" by the game.
That's the right thing to say, but it doesn't make it factual. The most disturbing part of Manziel's performance wasn't his passing -- although that was depressing. It was the disorganization of trying to run a basic offense.

When the Browns went to the no-huddle, it looked like Manziel had no clue of how to have his teammates lined up properly. Late in the first half, in the hurry-up, Joe Thomas and Mitchell Schwartz were each flagged for false starts. Neither seemed sure of the snap count.

Manziel also had trouble with the plays coming in from the sidelines. The Browns huddled at the two-minute warning. The team had at least 90 seconds to get the proper players on the field. But Manziel was holding his hands out, as if to ask what was going on.

Finally, he called a timeout -- immediately after the two-minute warning -- to try and sort out the confusion.

I doubt I've ever seen that before.

On the second play of the second half, Manziel turned to his left to hand off to Terrance West. The running back went to the right. Manziel was tackled for a loss. Not sure who was at fault on that play. But remember, this was the second play after they left the dressing room.

Center Ryan Seymour also was flagged for a false start. He drew another flag for being "an illegal receiver downfield," something else that I've not seen for years.

The Browns were at home, so crowd noise should not have been a factor. But Manziel rushed too many throws, not setting his feet and that leads to the ball sailing too high. He was rattled, no matter how he denied it.

The truth is the offense and Manziel looked like they'd just met each other 10 minutes before the game. Not sure how much of this is due to Manziel, but certainly he must take at least part of the blame.

So should the coaches.

For the fans, they certainly deserved better than this from their favorite team.

 

Watch how Twitter reacted in real-time as the Browns were losing the Bengals, 30-0.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns lost to the Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday, 30-0. It was the first career start for rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Prior to the game and throughout the three frustrating hours, Twitter was as lively as always. Check out the Storify below and see how Twitter users were reacting to the ups -- well, the downs -- of Sunday's loss, including their reactions to Johnny Manziel's struggles.

Make sure you click the button at the bottom to load more Tweets to see reaction throughout the entire game.

Kent State improves to 6-2 with overtime victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Jimmy Hall scored 14 points, including a three-point play with 32 seconds left in overtime, and Kent State edged Arkansas-Little Rock, 60-55, Sunday.

Hall ran a pick-and-roll with Kris Brewer, who missed a shot at the end of regulation, for the critical play that gave the Golden Flashes (6-2) a 59-53 lead. The Trojans (4-4) followed with a basket by Ben Dillard, but it took three offensive rebounds to get there and only five seconds were left.

Chris Ortiz added a final free throw for the win.

Ortiz had a key sequence earlier, drawing a charge and then converting on the other end go put Kent State up 56-53 before the teams went scoreless for three minutes.

Devareaux Manley added 12 points for Kent State and Hall had eight rebounds.

Roger Woods led UALR with 12 points while James White and Dillard split 22.

KENT STATE 60, UALR 55 (OT)

KENT STATE (6-2)
Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Hall 6-16 2-2 14, Manley 4-10 0-2 12, Akbar 3-5 0-2 6, Jackson 2-6 0-1 6, Brewer 2-10 2-2 8, Ortiz 4-6 1-2 9, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Lawrence 0-0 0-2 0, Spicer 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 23-60 6-15 60.

UALR (4-4)
Woods 5-12 2-2 12, White 3-7 5-6 11, Hagins 4-12 0-0 9, Thomas 3-10 0-0 7, Dillard 4-6 0-0 11, Smith 0-1 1-4 1, Isom 0-3 2-2 2, Reid 0-0 2-3 2, Leeper 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 12-17 55.

Halftime-Kent St. 35-32. End Of Regulation-Tied 51. 3-Point Goals-Kent St. 8-20 (Manley 4-9, Brewer 2-3, Jackson 2-5, Ortiz 0-1, Brown 0-2), UALR 5-15 (Dillard 3-5, Hagins 1-3, Thomas 1-4, Isom 0-1, Woods 0-2). Fouled Out-White. Rebounds-Kent St. 42 (Hall, Ortiz 8), UALR 34 (Hagins 9). Assists-Kent St. 7 (Brewer 4), UALR 9 (Hagins, Woods 2). Total Fouls-Kent St. 15, UALR 17. Technical-UALR Bench. A-1,018.

History has been unkind to Browns quarterbacks in their first career start since the team returned to the shores of Lake Erie in 1999.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It might require a sturdy shovel and some persistent digging, but it is, in fact, possible to unearth a silver lining from Johnny Manziel's first career NFL start.

He didn't play as poorly as Brandon Weeden did in his.

Manziel completed 10 of 18 passes for 80 yards and tossed two interceptions in Sunday's 30-0 drubbing by the Cincinnati Bengals. In his first career start on Sept. 9, 2012, Weeden went 12 of 35 for 118 yards and four picks in a 17-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

So, maybe Manziel's effort wasn't quite as detrimental to his team as Weeden's was. That would be a glass-half-full perspective. Or something like that.

"The guy is going to be good, but today wasn't his day," said Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry, who wrapped up Manziel for a loss on the Browns' first drive and flashed the rookie's infamous "money sign."

History has been unkind to Browns quarterbacks in their first career start since the team returned to the shores of Lake Erie in 1999.

• Tim Couch completed 12 of 24 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown in a 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 19, 1999.

• Charlie Frye completed 13 of 20 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 4, 2005.

• Brady Quinn completed 23 of 35 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-30 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 6, 2008.

• Colt McCoy completed 23 of 33 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown in a 28-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 17, 2010.

For what it's worth, Brian Hoyer made his starting debut with the Arizona Cardinals in 2012. In the regular-season finale against the Super Bowl-bound San Francisco 49ers, Hoyer completed 19 of 34 passes for 225 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The Cardinals lost, 27-13, at Candlestick Park.

Troy Aikman, the Hall of Fame quarterback who starred at the position for the Dallas Cowboys, often talks about his NFL debut and miserable rookie season. On Sept. 10, 1989, he completed 17 of 35 passes for 180 yards and two interceptions in a 28-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys went 1-15 that year, as Aikman totaled nine touchdowns and 18 picks.

The Bengals swarmed Manziel all afternoon. They sacked him three times and limited him to 13 yards on five rushes.

"His first start, Johnny Manziel's going to do this, do that. The whole hype was on him and what he was going to do to this defense," said Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga. "Everyone always has their first start jitters, the butterflies and whatnot. He's a good quarterback and this is just his first start. (He got) to get his feet wet and see what goes on.

"Obviously, he has two more games left and he could do something. It felt good to not let them score any points. ... Everything was all about Manziel all week. We just focused on us. We focused on what we needed to do to stop the kid and stop their offense."

Silence and a big running game was golden for Bengals running back Jeremy Hill.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Jeremy Hill ran so well on Sunday that only a Cleveland Browns fan was able to hold him back.

Hill attempted to jump into the arms of a Cincinnati Bengals fan in the stands behind the western end zone moments after he scored a touchdown in the second quarter of the Bengals' 30-0 victory over the Browns. But a nearby Browns fan shoved Hill back onto the field for Hill's only negative play of the day.

"I was trying to have a little fun," Hill said. "I tried to jump to the Bengal fan but the other guy came over and pushed me down. But it's all fun and games."

The Browns did not have any fun in their attempts to tackle Hill as he ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns to highlight the Bengals running backs vs. Browns defense in our Sunday Showdown.

The Bengals rushed for 244 yards and a 5.4 yard average on 45 carries. The Browns entered giving up an average of 129.5 per game. Hill and Giovani Bernard (79 yards on 15 attempts) had their way with the Browns.

Hill averaged 5.9 yards per pop. This was a far cry from his 55 yards on 12 carries in last month's loss to the Browns.

"They didn't really do anything different today," said Browns defensive end Desmond Bryant. "Stopping the run for us is an attitude, it's a mentality. We had it the last time we played them. We didn't have it today like we needed it."

Hill was so frustrated following the November loss to Cleveland that he made a few comments about the Browns being "not that good," among other things.

"We didn't go out there and execute or do the things we're capable of as an offense last time," Hill said. "It was no disrespect to them, it was more about our team. It was about motivating my teammates because we can't go out there with performances like that trying to win the division. We did a good job running the football today and hopefully those comments don't mean much anymore."

Several Browns, such as linebacker Craig Robertson, said the team would use Hill's comments for motivation. Except the Bengals were the only inspired team.

"He did talk a lot but he backed it up with his play today," said linebacker Jabaal Sheard. "I don't want to say he did anything spectacular, because it was more on us. It was us up front. We didn't get off our blocks and finish our tackles."

That was the theme from the start as Hill scored from two yards out on the Bengals first possession. He racked up 57 yards on nine carries in the first quarter. Hill continued to bounce through the Browns for positive yards during the second quarter. A combination of poor tackling and his hard running style aided his 103 yards on 16 carries for the half. Hill scored his second touchdown on a 16-yard run where he ran through a forest of Browns more intent on arm tackling.

"When we've had good defensive performances, we've tackled well," said Browns coach Mike Pettine. "We didn't have that today."

Nothing changed in the second half. The Bengals offensive line continued to blow the Browns off the line of scrimmage. The Bengals added an extra offensive lineman on several plays since tight end Jermaine Gresham was out due to injury. H-Back Ryan Hewitt slammed into Browns to open holes for Bernard and Hill. The Bengals running game controlled the pace until the end, including a 10-yard TD run by Rex Burkhead to close the show.

"The difference between today's game and last month is that we were able to run the ball and keep their offense off the field," Hill said. "Winning this game keeps us on top of our division. A loss would've have meant we had to dig ourselves out of a huge hole."