Check out action and feature photos of St. Vincent-St. Mary boys basketball player Josh Williams.

AKRON, Ohio -- Josh Williams is a two-year starter for the St. Vincent-St. Mary boys basketball team and a University of Akron basketball recruit.

The senior leads the Irish in scoring at 18.2 points per game and leads the team in assists (70) and steals (33).

As a junior, Williams averaged 13.5 points, 3 rebounds and totaled 103 assists and 41 steals in helping SVSM to the Division II state finals. 

He currently lives in Akron with his parents Jerry and Consuela and carries a 3.4 grade point average in the classroom.

Watch a live video broadcast on cleveland.com of Saturday’s sold out boys basketball game between national Top 10 powers St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Throughout the remainder of the season, keep an eye out for more special cleveland.com player action/photo galleries featuring some of Northeast Ohio's top high school basketball stars.

Check out action and feature photos of St. Vincent-St. Mary junior Henry Baddley.

AKRON, Ohio -- St. Vincent-St. Mary boys basketball player Henry Baddley is quickly making a himself one of the most highly-recruited juniors in Northeast Ohio.

Baddley has come on strong in his junior season, averaging 17.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to go along with 24 blocks and 23 steals for the unbeaten Irish. He is also shooting 64 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line.

Watch a live video broadcast on cleveland.com of Saturday’s sold out boys basketball game between national Top 10 powers St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Throughout the remainder of the season, keep an eye out for more special cleveland.com player action/photo galleries featuring some of Northeast Ohio's top high school basketball stars.

See photos of Kansas commit Carlton Bragg of Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Villa Angela-St. Joseph senior Carlton Bragg is one of the most sought-after recruits to come out of Northeast Ohio in the last 13 years. 

The 6-foot-10 Kansas commit is averaging 19.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season and is shooting 56 percent from the field.

Bragg was named second team Division III All-Ohio in 2014 after averaging 18 points per game and helping the Vikings reach the state championship game.

Watch a live video broadcast on cleveland.com of Saturday’s sold out boys basketball game between national Top 10 powers St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Throughout the remainder of the season, keep an eye out for more special cleveland.com player action/photo galleries featuring some of Northeast Ohio's top high school basketball stars.

See action and feature photos of Villa Angela-St. Joseph center Derek Pardon.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Villa Angela-St. Joseph senior Derek Pardon committed in June 2014 to play basketball at Northwestern.

Pardon, a 6-foot-8 center is averaging 12.1 points per game this season and 7.9 rebounds with 60 blocked shots. He is shooting 64 percent from the field.

He averaged 11.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a junior in helping the Vikings reach the state finals and was a sophomore on the VASJ squad that won a state title in 2013.

Pardon is the second Northeast Ohio player to commit to Northwestern since Chris Collins took over as head coach in 2013. Westlake's Gavin Skelly is already seeing playing time for the Wildcats.

"Academics are No. 1 for me, and they rank very high," Pardon said. "Also, the campus is beautiful and it's a major market."

Watch a live video broadcast on cleveland.com of Saturday’s sold out boys basketball game between national Top 10 powers St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Throughout the remainder of the season, keep an eye out for more special cleveland.com player action/photo galleries featuring some of Northeast Ohio's top high school basketball stars.

Kyrie Irving and John Wall will square off tonight in a matchup of two of the NBA's best point guards. But that happens more and more in the league lately.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Kyrie Irving and the Washington Wizards' John Wall are two of the NBA's best point guards, but they aren't alone.

The last time the Cavaliers played an NBA game, on Feb. 12, Irving squared off against Chicago's Derrick Rose, a perennial threat if healthy.

In the coming days and weeks, Irving will battle Golden State's Stephen Curry, Toronto's Kyle Lowry, Atlanta's Jeff Teague, Memphis' Mike Conley, and Miami's newly acquired Goran Dragic.

So the individual Irving-Wall showdown when the Cavs and Wizards play in Washington tonight will be special, but similar matchups aren't all that rare in an era of proliferation of elite point guards.

"It's an epidemic," Cavaliers star LeBron James said last month, when asked about the point guard phenomenon. "It happens like that."

James was talking about the cyclical nature of the NBA, where the league seems dominated by one position one the floor, and the position rotates every decade or so. He named just about every star NBA player he could think of to prove his point, talking about the era of the "bigs" with Brad Daugherty, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1980s and the "wings" in the 1990s with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Reggie Miller.

(James listed off more names, but, let's get on with it, shall we?)

Now, it's the point guard. Latest case in point: the Most Valuable Player of last week's NBA All-Star Game was Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma City. A point guard.

The MVP of last year's All-Star Game? Irving.

Wall is no slouch, either. He's only the best player on a Wizards team that is barely in front of the Cavs for fourth place in the East. A half-game separates Washington and Cleveland.

"(Tonight's game) is going to be one of those marquee matchups that both will downplay, but they know they're special," James said Thursday, speaking of Irving and Wall.

Irving, an All-Star for the third time in four seasons, is averaging 21.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. His assists and rebounds are actually career lows, but this is the first season he's played with James (and an overall talent-laden Cavs with Kevin Love, et. al).

Wall, in his fifth season, is averaging 17.6 points, a career-high 10.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game. He and Lowry started ahead of Irving at the All-Star Game last week.

The Cavs and Wizards each own a victory over the other this season. On Nov. 21 in Washington, Wall erupted for 28 points in a 13-point victory for the Wizards (Irving scored 22). On Nov. 26, the Cavs won by 26 in Cleveland on a night when Irving scored 18 points but Wall was limited to just six.

"Why not? It's fun," Wall said today following the Wizards' shootaround, when asked if he looks forward to playing against Irving. "It's very exciting going against one of the other top point guards, it makes the game that much more exciting."

Wall said Irving "does everything, he's a great offensive player.

"He can do everything offensively, he can shoot the ball, attack the basket, he's probably one of the top two, if not the best point guard finisher in the paint. He gets guys involved, he's got a nice handle, and he's showing he can win games on his own."

Despite a scenario presented by QB consultant George Whitfield, the Cleveland Browns can't possibly justify burning two more first round picks in a draft day trade up for a quarterback -- Bud Shaw's Spinoffs.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Say what you want about Ray Farmer's handling of the first round of the draft last May. Just be happy he's in charge and not QB consultant George Whitfield.

"If they make that decision to bring (Marcus Mariota) in, that's big for him to get a chance to go in and compete with Johnny (Manziel)," Whitfield told Northeast Ohio Media Group at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. "I'd be very curious to see the city of Cleveland's reaction, welcoming another big-time quarterback."

Here's one reaction. Who's the big-time QB already on the roster?

Manziel finished the season looking like the Browns' third-best quarterback, behind Brian Hoyer and Connor Shaw. Small sample but Bill Belichick taught us to only go by what we see.

Here's another reaction: No. No. A thousand times no.

Mariota presents the same transition concerns Manziel did. Those concerns just come in a bigger package. Bringing in Mariota would require giving up No. 12 and No. 19 (and probably more) in a trade. It would be the third time in four years the Browns drafted a QB in the first round.

Unless you're getting Andrew Luck, that makes about as much sense as trusting the opinion of a QB consultant talking up his clients, past and present.

* Arizona head coach Bruce Arians on college quarterbacks and their readiness for the NFL:

"So many times, you're evaluating a quarterback who has never called a play in the huddle, never used a snap count. They hold up a card on the sideline, he kicks his foot and throws the ball," Arians told NFL.com

"That ain't playing quarterback. There's no leadership involved there. There might be leadership on the bench, but when you get them and they have to use verbiage and they have to spit the verbiage out and change the snap count, they are light years behind."

And that's when offensive linemen have to help Johnny finish the play call.

* Major League Baseball will implement time-saving rules to speed up pace of play in 2015.

They include requiring hitters to keep one foot in the batter's box, making managers stay in the dugout during replay reviews, a more prompt return to play after commercials and timed pitching changes.

It's about time. Pitching changes are real show stoppers.

As far as I'm concerned, anything short of catapulting relievers to the mound should be on the table.

* Bill Belichick wore a hoodie with his name on it at the scouting combine.

As if it weren't already his signature.

* Jack Nicklaus on Tiger Woods:

"I think he's struggling more between his ears than anyplace else."

Tiger will have an answer for Nicklaus as soon as the seven swing tips he hears on a continuous loop in his mind stop so he can think of a response.

* One final word on the Browns' logo: By some of the reaction, you'd think they were putting a logo of an elf riding sidesaddle on bull mastiff on the helmet.

They're not touching the helmet.

Move along. Nothing to be too concerned about here.

For the second straight winter, thick ice and trophy walleye have been a winning combination for Lake Erie ice fishermen.

CATAWBA ISLAND, Ohio -- Lake Erie is the Walleye Capital of the World, and not just under balmy summer skies. For the second straight winter, thick ice and trophy walleye are a winning combination.

"The last time we had good, thick ice two winters in a row was back in the late 1990s," said Lake Erie Program Administrator Jeff Tyson of the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW). "And even then, I'm not sure we had ice this thick or walleye fishing that was so good."

The premier ice fishing the last few weeks has caused traffic jams at Catawba Island State Park and Camp Perry, the Ohio National Guard facility west of Port Clinton. Both are top locations for accessing the ice.

The surprisingly good winter walleye bite has the ODOW listing of ice fishing guides skyrocketing to 93 people using air boats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles to ferry anglers to top ice fishing locations.

The cost generally ranges from $80 to $100 per angler. To fish with South Bass Island or Kelleys Island guides requires a $90 round-trip airplane ride. On Friday, Griffing Flying Service at Port Clinton Airport was booked solid.

Tyson was out on the ice on Monday, heading north of the Crane Creek area. He found thick ice and slow walleye fishing. Some veteran fishermen report the ice cover is excellent -- up to two feet thick in spots -- but the walleye aren't biting quite as greedily as they did last winter.

The crowds of anglers with noisy power augers, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles could be partly to blame. The best walleye locations are in only 20 to 30 feet of water where fish are staging for the spring spawning season in March and April.

"We're into a real finesse bite this week," said Mike Johnson of Holland, Ohio. "Last winter I could almost guarantee a limit of walleye. This winter it's been quite a bit harder. There's little consistency. You can go back to a spot where you killed them the day before and not catch a walleye."

Johnson, who operates Reel Sport Charters at Channel Grove Marina in Marblehead during the summer, has downsized the baits he and his customers are lowering through a hole with stubby ice rods and 2- and 4-pound test fishing line. Earlier in the winter, some ice guides were scoring with fat, juicy offerings that matched chubby spoons like the Little Cleo with three lively emerald shiner minnows.

"This week, I'm fishing with the smallest jigging spoons I can find, usually No. 3 or No. 5 Swedish Pimples in silver and green or 3/8-ounce Buckshot lures in blue and silver," said Johnson. "And I'm tipping them with just minnow heads."

Johnson said the schools of walleye have spread out. A good sonar unit is needed to find them. Moving early and often if the fish aren't biting is a must.

After last winter's explosion of walleye, anglers have been arriving from all around Ohio and the Midwest this year. Tyson estimated the weekend crowds at 3,000 to 5,000 fishermen, with non-fishing snowmobilers helping to fill the parking lots.

While snowmobilers want to experience the novelty of a winter lunch at sleepy Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island, a happening party town during the summer, there are dangers. Plunging through thin ice into frigid water can easily be fatal. A father and teen-aged daughter on a snowmobile had to call the Coast Guard for help after becoming disoriented in a whiteout during last weekend's blizzard.

The safest ride across the ice is in an airboat, handling open water or ice cracks with ease. John Gribble of DB Sport Fishing Charters is one of four airboat guides out on the ice, making two trips each day at 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. in a sturdy, camouflage-draped air boat created by Bob Hanko of Cranberry Creek Marina.

"Everyone got spoiled last year when schools of walleye stayed put for days at a time," said Gribble, whose summertime fleet of 10 boats docks at Geneva-on-the-Lake. "I've moved up to seven or eight times a day this winter just trying to find walleye. The fish seem to be moving about a quarter-mile to the northwest each day.

"I'm on my second move right now," he said Friday morning. "Just moving 15 feet to up to a quarter-mile can be the difference for success. I take out 12 guys a day and put them in pop-up heated shanties. Working together with guide Zack McBride of Kent and my customers, we can put two and two together and get the best walleye bite."

Lake Erie ice fishermen are in a good mood this week. With weather forecasts predicting a few more weeks of Arctic temperatures and thick ice, this winter could be one of the best on record for catching walleye.

Lefty Kyle Crockett went 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 43 appearances last year as a rookie for the Indians. Watch video

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Indians pitchers and catchers went through their first official workout Friday at the team's spring-training site.

There are 30 pitchers in camp and about half threw bullpen sessions. The sessions lasted eight minutes, covering 35 to 40 pitches. Pitchers could throw all their pitches.

Lefty Kyle Crockett worked through his bullpen session. Last year the rookie was a pleasant addition to the bullpen. The fourth-round pick out of the University of Virginia in 2013 made it to the big time in a hurry. Upon his arrival, he showed their was a reason for his rapid ascent.

Crockett went 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 43 appearances. He struck out 28, walked eight and allowed six earned runs in 30 appearances. He did a nice job against lefties, holding them to a .206 (13-for-63) batting average. Right-hander fared better, hitting .283 (13-for-46).

Crockett, the first MLB pick from the 2013 draft to make the big leagues, opened the season at Class AA Akron. He threw 15 2/3 scoreless innings in 15 appearances for the RubberDucks with six saves before being promoted to the Indians on May 16.

He made his big-league debut on the same day against Oakland, but was optioned to the minors, this time to Class AAA Columbus, on May 22.

Crockett appeared in six games in Columbus, posting a 1.04 ERA. The Indians recalled him on June 13 and he stayed the rest of the season.

With Crockett, the Indians featured three strong lefties in the bullpen along with Marc Rzepczynski and Nick Hagadone.

ESPN's Bill Polian says the upcoming draft is loaded with running backs and pass rushers. Watch video

INDIANAPOLIS -- The 2015 version of the NFL combine is a far cry from the hoopla associated with last year's version, starring Johnny Manziel and Michael Sam.

Nor does it have the charade that followed linebacker Manti Te'o in 2013.

"And of that trio, only Te'o made it," said ESPN NFL analyst and long-time NFL executive Bill Polian. "Maybe that tells you something. From a GM's perspective it's good there's none of that [this year]. Let's concentrate on what we should -- football."

With the exception of Florida State QB Jameis Winston, this NFL combine does not have the buzz as in year's past. This current class does have a number of players who can make an impact. Polian, who built the Buffalo Bills into a four-time Super Bowl participant as their GM, likes the possibilities.

"It's a pretty good draft from top to bottom," Polian said. "It's better at running back than it's been for a while. It's cyclical. There are some good pass rushers here. But it's up to the clubs to make the right choices."

The Cleveland Browns hope to make the right choices with 10 picks overall in the draft.

Polian, recently elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said the Browns have to solve their QB issues.

"This [ownership] group inherited a good team that was built by the Holmgren-Shurmur regime," Polian said. "Josh Gordon has never really contributed anything, so his loss isn't that big of a deal. They've got good running backs, and the defense is good. Solve the QB puzzle, and you're on your way."

Check out a collection of photo galleries featuring top Northeast Ohio high school basketball players.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Looking for action and feature photos of some of Northeast Ohio's top high school basketball players as they head into state tournament action? Find them here on cleveland.com.

Throughout the remainder of the 2014-15 season you can see photo slideshows of the area's top college recruits as well as up-and-coming stars. New galleries will be added each week, featuring game action pictures and feature photos shot by Northeast Ohio Media Group and Plain Dealer photographers.

Log into the comments below and tell us which players you think deserve their own galleries.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph

Carlton Bragg
Brian Parker
Derek Pardon

St. Vincent-St. Mary

Jibri Blount
Josh Williams
Henry Baddley

Check back for more slideshows next week.

Watch Jameis Winston's press conference from Friday at the NFL Draft Combine. Watch video

INDIANAPOLIS -- Friday was mostly uneventful at the 2015 NFL Draft Combine, at least until Jameis Winston showed up. The Florida State quarterback who has been embroiled in controversy held a rousing press conference that covered everything from his past to his expectations at the next level.

Winston said multiple times he expects to be the face of an NFL franchise and talked about what it would mean to go No. 1.

John Carroll QB Mark Myers isn't at the NFL combine, but he is on the draft radar. He is ranked ninth among QB draft prospects by analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns won't have to look far for one of the top 10 college quarterbacks this spring. John Carroll senior Mark Myers cracked analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s list of top 10 QBs in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Kiper added Myers (6-5, 220) to his list this week at No. 9. He was the lone QB not from an FBS college on Kiper's list.

"I feel really good about the situation. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,'' Myers said.

Myers was not invited to the NFL combine in Indianapolis this week. Instead of running and throwing for scouts, the St. Ignatius grad from Pepper Pike spent Friday afternoon working out at Speed Strength Systems in Chesterland.

Myers is to attend the University of Toledo's pro day March 16 and work out in front of scouts there, along with JCU All-American receiver Aramis Greenwood and Notre Dame College lineman Doniel Gambrell.

Here are Kiper's Top 10 QBs heading into the combine:

1. Jameis Winston, Florida State
2. Marcus Mariota, Oregon
3. Brett Hundley, UCLA
4. Bryce Petty, Baylor
5. Garrett Grayson, Colorado State
6. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
7. Bryan Bennett, Southeastern Louisiana
8. Rakeem Cato, Marshall
9. Mark Myers, John Carroll
10. Grant Hedrick, Boise State

Kiper had this to say about his new list on espn.com:

"The names that weren't on the previous ranking are the final three on the list -- Cato, Myers, and Hedrick. I'm not sure any QB has moved up for me more in the past month than Hedrick, who has a chance to stick on a roster. He lacks height (he is just under 6 feet) but does a lot of other things well. Frankly, it's a pretty thin class and I wouldn't be surprised if we see more movement after Petty, as pro days will shift some evals for guys down the list. Blake Sims (Alabama) was on the edge here."

Myers hired an agent Thursday, Cleveland-based Andy Kabat, who is at the combine.

"I didn't realize how much buzz there would be (about Myers) until we arrived here,'' Kabat said in a phone interview. "A lot of scouts have been asking about him.''

Myers, a left-hander who missed training camp with a broken throwing hand, played 12 games in 2014 and led JCU to its second consecutive playoff berth while breaking numerous school records. He completed 67.3 percent of his passes (255-of-379) for 3,428 yards and 41 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. He averaged 13.4 yards per completion and had a passer rating of 176.8, which ranked fourth in NCAA Division III.

John Carroll used a pro-style offense with Myers under center, and he was strictly a pocket passer who did not score a rushing touchdown.

"That definitely gave me an opportunity to prove myself,'' Myers said. "I've been under center since I was at Ignatius. (JCU) Coach (Tom) Arth really stepped up with the pro offense and put a lot on my plate. He wanted me to work toward this year and the next level, and made it as realistic as possble.''

Myers could follow the career path of Arth, also a St. Ignatius grad, who was an undrafted free agent out of John Carroll. Arth became an Indianapolis Colts backup for three seasons behind Peyton Manning, and he played in NFL Europe.

Myers began his college career at Pittsburgh, played three years at John Carroll and broke many of Arth's JCU records. Myers won't have to explain where John Carroll is to most NFL coaches or executives. For a Division III school, John Carroll has a long list grads who have played, coached or been executives in the NFL, including Don Shula, London Fletcher, Chargers GM Tom Telesco, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman. JCU's defensive coordinator last season, Chris Shula, recently was hired by the Chargers.

Another local quarterback, Michigan State junior Connor Cook of Hinkley Township, had been ranked as high as fourth by Kiper last season, but elected to return for his senior season. Cook is a Walsh Jesuit grad.

Left-hander Nick Hagadone outlasts Zach McAllister on Friday to win the sprint competition for Indians pitchers on the first official day of practice in spring training. Watch video

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- On the first official workout of spring training Friday, strength and conditioning coach Joe Kessler broke out a new drill for pitchers.

The official name is performance testing, but what it came down to was a series of sprints that kept going until there was only one man left running. In this case it was lefty Nick Hagadone, who outlasted Zach McAllister to win the competition.

The final four sprinters were Hagadone, McAllister, Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and prospect Ryan Merritt. Manager Terry Francona was backing Merritt.

"I told him he better not quit or he was going to get sent down," said Francona, kiddingly. "I figured he'd give me a pretty good effort."

On Hagadone's last sprint, veteran Scott Atchison raced back onto the field to sprint with him.

"You looked like you had another 10 sprints in you," said Atchison.

Some of the position players, whose first official practice isn't until Tuesday, watched the pitchers run. One was Jason Kipnis.

"I was yelling nothing but encouragement," Kipnis told Atchison.

The position players will go through the same drill.

"Joe and I discussed it in the winter," Francona said. "He wanted to implement some different types of testing with a competitive nature behind it. After he explained it to me, and we walked through it with Millsie (bench coach Brad Mills, who organizes spring training),  I really liked it."

Francona thought it was a good exercise because the pitchers were working hard, but laughing and enjoying themselves.

"I didn't see it coming down to Hags and Zach," said Francona. "Everyone else had Hags. He wasn't even tired. He could have kept going.

"And I knew Kluber would be there. I thought he might win."

On today's recap video, Mary Kay Cabot, Tom Reed and Dan Labbe talk Jameis Winston and more. Watch video

INDIANAPOLIS -- "Jameis Winston Day" has come and gone at the 2015 NFL Draft Combine. The quarterback met with the media on Friday and lived up to the hype. And said he wanted to be the face of a franchise, well, a lot.

I wrapped up Friday at the combine with Mary Kay Cabot and Tom Reed. We talked about Winston's press conference and whether they would take him with the No. 1 pick. We also discussed the Browns controversies taking center stage and what we learned over three days in Indianapolis.

Get complete coverage of Friday at the combine and more at cleveland.com/browns.

Get live updates and analysis as cleveland.com's reporters bring you the latest on the game between the Cavs and Wizards.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Cleveland Cavaliers will play their first game of the second half of the season on Friday night against the Washington Wizards.

Get live updates and analysis as cleveland.com's reporters bring you the latest on the game in the comments section below.

Make sure you're following Chris Fedor, Chris Haynes and Joe Vardon on Twitter.

Game 56: Cavs (33-22) vs. Wizards (33-21)

Tip off: 8 p.m. at Verizon Center

TV/radio: ESPN, Fox Sports Ohio; WTAM AM/1100, WMMS 100.7 FM

Cavs probable starting lineup: Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Timofey Mozgov.

Wizards probable starting lineup: John Wall, Otto Porter, Paul Pierce, Nene and Marcin Gortat.

FREQUENTLY REFRESH this page to get the latest updates. If you're viewing this on a mobile app, click here to get updates and comment.

How big of a bullpen will Terry Francona want this season? An eight-man group? Nine? Ten? Twenty-five? Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- How big of a bullpen will Terry Francona want this season? An eight-man group? Nine? Ten? Twenty-five?

In the fifth (and penultimate) installment of our Cleveland Indians spring training roundtable, Zack Meisel, Paul Hoynes and Bud Shaw discuss Francona's use of the bullpen and whether all of those arms will have enough energy to get through the 2015 campaign. How will Cody Allen be used? Will Bryan Shaw's arm fall off? Will Scott Atchison need a walked to get to the mound? Can southpaws Kyle Crockett and Nick Hagadone excel again? What about C.C. Lee?

This unit has plenty of depth and the team added Scott Downs and Anthony Swarzak to challenge for a spot on the roster.

On Monday, we'll have our final segment, in which the reporters make their picks for most important player on the team and where the Indians will finish in the division.

Spring training roundtable, part four: The defense can't be any worse, can it?

Spring training roundtable, part three: Who will hit where in Terry Francona's lineup?

Spring training roundtable, part two: Will the rotation be as good as advertised?

Spring training roundtable, part one: Did the Indians do enough during the offseason?

Ellet defeated Buchtel to win its first Akron City Series postseason championship in 20 years.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Weather may have caused several schools to postpone their boys basketball games on Friday.

But the games that were played were full of excitement and some big performances.

Here's everything you need to know from Friday's games.

Also, see a list of Friday's scores across Ohio, a roundup of Top 25 games in the area and Saturday's schedule.

Ellet tops Buchtel to win City Series

Led by a career-high 29 points from senior center Breaon Brady, Ellet, ranked No. 24 in the cleveland.com Top 25, defeated Buchtel, 73-59, to win the Akron City Series postseason championship for the first time since 1995.

A.J. Gareri added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Orangemen.

The win was Ellet's 17th in its last 18 games.

Andrew Valeri returns for Mentor

After missing a month due to a thumb injury, No. 17 Mentor's Andrew Valeri returned to help the Cardinals beat Strongsville, 93-64.

Micah Potter led the Cardinals with 25 points in the win.

Thirteen Mentor players scored in the win, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

West Shore Conference race ends in three-way tie for title

Entering Friday, Bay and Elyria Catholic were tied for first in the West Shore Conference with Midview and Avon tied for second.

Of those four teams, Midview was the only team to win on Friday.

Losses by Bay and Elyria Catholic, and Midview's 83-73 win against Lakewood forced a three-way share of the conference championship.

Elyria Catholic fell to Rocky River, 62-49, and North Ridgeville beat Bay, 82-79, in overtime.

"This league has been so crazy this year. So we prepared as if we were playing for the conference championship," Midview coach Troy DiFranco said. "We couldn't control what was happening elsewhere. But we wanted to know at the end. I told them before overtime was over with Bay and North Ridgeville regardless of who wins that game, that I was really proud of how they played last night."

Daimion Mahone led the way for Midview against Lakewood with a season-high 27 points.

Where we were

Two of the area's top 15 teams met in Garfield Heights where the No. 8 Bulldogs held off a ferocious rally from No. 14 Brunswick to win, 54-50.

Reporter David Cassilo was in Garfield Heights for all the action and discussed how Garfield Heights won despite losing a 21-point lead in the second half.

In Perry, No. 20 Kenston bid farewell to the Chagrin Valley Conference by defeating the Pirates, 72-66. With the help of 26 points from CJ Maynard, the Bombers earned a share of the CVC Valley Division championship with Perry.

Reporter Tim Bielik was in Perry and broke down how Maynard and Jay Weemhoff stepped up for Kenston in the second half.

Other Top 25 games

No. 4 Shaker Heights 51, No. 22 Medina 48

No. 10 Green 59, Revere 51

No. 13 Berea-Midpark 48, North Olmsted 39

Coverage from other media outlets

Copley gets complete effort in win over Wadsworth (Akron Beacon Journal)

Coventry beats rival Field, 85-66 (Akron Beacon Journal)

Buckeye tops Keystone, 70-55 (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)

Lutheran West wins at Columbia, 44-42 (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)

Rocky River defeats Elyria Catholic, 62-49 (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)

Ben Hauser heats up in Highland's win (Medina Gazette)

Black River can't survive big chill against Firelands (Medina Gazette)

North Ridgeville knots up WSC with win over Bay (The Morning Journal)

Ledgemont community congregates to say goodbye (The News-Herald)

What's next

Saturday's action is highlighted by the game between No. 1 St. Vincent-St. Mary and No. 2 Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Tune into cleveland.com for a live video broadcast from the game with Dan Labbe and Mark Kern on the call.

See a list of postponements and cancellations for high school basketball for Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015.

See a list of postponements and cancellations for high school basketball for Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015.

Kendrick Perkins, a 12-year veteran, is in the final year of a five-year deal.

NEW YORK - Kendrick Perkins will soon be a free agent and has narrowed his choices to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Perkins is in the final stages of negotiations for a buyout from the Utah Jazz and is strongly leaning towards signing with the Cavaliers, but will make his decision on Sunday, sources said.

Perkins, 30, is the "best available big" and gives the Cavs "things they don't have," according to a source. He is said to view Cleveland as "an attractive destination."

Oklahoma traded Perkins to Utah at the trade deadline on Thursday.

The 6-10 Perkins joined the Thunder during the 2010-11 season and immediately gave them some needed toughness. With their enforcer, the team reached the Western Conference Finals three times in four years. Perkins lost his starting job to second-year player Steven Adams this season.

The 12-year veteran is in the final year of a five-year deal. Most of Perkins' $9.6 million salary has been paid. He is due just over $3 million for the rest of this season. Perkins is averaging 4.0 and 5.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game.

The Cavaliers play at New York on Sunday at 1 p.m.

- NEOMG reporter Joe Vardon contributed to this report.

Come to cleveland.com Saturday at 7:15 p.m. to watch live video of sold out boys basketball game between No. 1 St. Vincent-St. Mary and No. 2 Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – cleveland.com will air a live video broadcast of Saturday night's sold out boys basketball game between national Top 10 powers St. Vincent-St. Mary and Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

The video stream from VASJ will start around 7:15 p.m. with a short pregame show. (Exact time depends on what time the JV game ends). The varsity game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m.

You can watch the game live on cleveland.com with the broadcast team of Dan Labbe, Mark Kern and David Petkiewicz. Click play in the player below to watch live tonight.

Live streaming video by Ustream

We also invite you to chat with fellow fans and ask your questions for the broadcast team, as well as reporters David Cassilo and Tim Bielik, in the comments section below. Click here for a free account to post comments if you don't have one yet.

If you can’t watch the game live, there will be an archived video of the game online later.

The nonleague game features two teams ranked in the Top 10 in the nation, as well as Nos. 1-2 in the cleveland.com Top 25.

SVSM (19-0) is ranked third in the country in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, while VASJ (17-2) is slotted at No. 9.

St. Vincent-St. Mary is ranked No. 1 by cleveland.com and VASJ is No. 2.

Future college players fans may be interested in watching are: Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s Carlton Bragg (Kansas), Dererk Pardon (Northwestern) and Brian Parker (Marist), as well as St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Jibri Blount (Cleveland State) and Josh Williams (Akron).