Should the Browns go after Sam Bradford? Maybe, but at least one writer thinks it's not likely to happen.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's Browns off-season, which means all options are on the table for the team's always-open quarterback position.

There's the draft and possibly making an RG3-type deal to move up to get one of the top two guys -- something ESPN's Chris Mortensen said the Browns probably shouldn't do. There's free agency, and that list is downright unimpressive. There's the old standbys -- Brian Hoyer (again), Connor Shaw (no) and Johnny Manziel (who won't be ready).

If none of those options excite you, there's the trade market. That's how we land on oft-injured, still-promising Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford, the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, has had promising moments in his career when he's played a full season. He threw for over 3,500 yards and 18 touchdowns in his rookie season and threw for 3,702 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2012. Bradford played in 10 games in 2011 and just seven in 2013 before missing all of 2014. But those seasons when he's been healthy -- he's interesting.

Could it actually happen, though? ESPN's Pat McManamon doesn't see it:

"Everything the Rams have done since this off-season has been tailored to keeping Bradford, and, assuming he's healthy, making him the starter. Coach Jeff Fisher recently even said the team will add a quarterback in the off-season, but it would not be about 'challenging' Bradford."

There's that. And then there's the potential cost:

"Perhaps the only way would be if a team makes a ridiculous offer that might include two first-round picks. Is it worth the Browns giving up that much, then committing $50 million in the next four or five years? For a guy coming off his second ACL surgery?"

McManamon lays out his full case here. Go read it. Then head back to this post for more links:

• Would a Ginn homecoming fit the Browns? (Fox Sports Ohio)
• Cleveland Browns Mock Draft: 7-Round Predictions, Post-Combine (Bleacher Report)
• Dawg Pound Journal: Taylor Gabriel training to take next step as big-play WR (ClevelandBrowns.com)

NFL links

• On the bubble: 25 AFC players who could be cut (NFL.com)
• 2015 NFL Combine: 25 Takeaways include Risers/Fallers/Pro Days (CBSsports.com)
• Tweener? Who cares? Teams are valuing versatility more than ever (SI.com)

"You're constantly looking to create environment, motivation, tactics. Nobody in the world understands that the No. 1 person that wants the players to play the best - it's not the family, the AAU coach - it's the head coach. Our lives are tied to it." Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State is coming off its worst loss of the season, has dropped two games in a row and now finds itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble. 

Nebraska has lost its last five, the last of which an ugly 74-46 home loss to Iowa on Sunday. 

When the two meet in Value City Arena on Wednesday evening, both are in dire need of a turnaround. How Nebraska coach Tim Miles and Ohio State coach Thad Matta have approached trying to get one is vastly different. 

Miles, who led the Cornhuskers to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, has banned his players from its locker room and lounge and has forbidden them from talking to the media. 

Matta, meanwhile, has tried to keep a more mellow, positive approach.

Though Miles' decision to lock his team out of its locker room seems extreme, Matta downplayed it by saying "you'd be shocked by how many coaches do that." 

"You hear coaches talk about doing that all the time. I have a guy on my staff who said every week that his stuff was in a garbage bag outside the locker room," Matta said. "As a coach, you're doing everything you can. At times, you almost feel like you're begging guys in a certain point in the season to do their best. 

"You're constantly looking to create environment, motivation, tactics. Nobody in the world understands that the No. 1 person that wants the players to play the best -- it's not the family, the AAU coach -- it's the head coach. Our lives are tied to it."

Matta told his players about what Nebraska is going through to drive home the point that the Cornhuskers are coming to Columbus desperate to right the ship. 

"He told us just to give us a heightened sense of urgency," senior Sam Thompson said. "Now they definitely have a cause. They've been called out by their coach and they are going to come in with the goal to prove him wrong." 

* When reviewing the tape from Ohio State's loss at Michigan on Sunday, Matta tried to get to the root of why the Buckeyes were outscored 31-11 to start the game. While analyzing the tape, Matta found fundamental things that need to change for Ohio State moving forward. 

"We all say we are going to get off to a great start," Matta said. "Sometimes it's not that easy. For us, I would rather our guys say, 'Hey, we're going to come out and execute. We're going to come out and communicate on the defensive end. We're not going to stop our cuts short on offense.'

"I hit pause (on the film yesterday) and said, 'Why didn't you?' and the young man said, 'I don't know.' I wasn't very happy. Those are the things that I want to get corrected. Just the mind of doing your damn job every single possession."

* With four regular season games remaining, Ohio State is still in good position to make the NCAA Tournament. Because the Buckeyes are relying on so many young players, Matta was asked if he has had to have a special discussion with his team. 

He didn't. 

"I had a team meeting one time and said, 'How many freshmen know how to get into the NCAA Tournament?' And they didn't know," Matta said. "It's been seven years (since then), but everyone knows now. But with those guys, I like sort of where they are in terms of how they're playing and how they are getting better. 

"I would hope if not, the four seniors that have been here would be telling them those things. I am sure they (know all about the NCAA Tournament). I don't like to bring it up." 

Ohio State made the initial top 10 for four-star Louisiana defensive tackle Glen Logan. But don't get excited. The Buckeyes haven't fared well in Louisiana.

COLUMBUS Ohio - Urban Meyer has never signed a prospect from Louisiana. 

That wouldn't be surprising if that were only during his time at Ohio State considering Ohio's distance from Louisiana, but that extends back to his time at Florida.

That's how hard it is to pull elite in-state talents away from LSU. 

And that's why Ohio State hasn't spent much time recruiting Louisiana. 

* Inside John Curtis - The New Orleans powerhouse that helps explain why Ohio State doesn't recruit Louisiana

But the Buckeyes have done enough to impress four-star defensive tackle Glen Logan of Destrehan, La., at least initially. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive tackle included the Buckeyes in his top 10. 

The schools to make the cut, in no particular order, were Alabama, Arkansas, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Ohio State and Texas A&M. 

Top Schools (So Far) Alabama[?] Arkansas [?] Clemson[?] Florida[?] FSU Noles LSU[?] Miami[?] Oklahoma[?] Ohio State Texas A&M[?]

-- Zeus #97[?][?][?][?] (@glen_logan97) February 24, 2015

Rated by 247Sports the No. 15 defensive tackle in the 2016 recruiting class, Logan is considered an LSU lean. That's no surprise given the way LSU coach Les Miles has kept the best in-state talents home. 

That's why Ohio State making Logan's first list doesn't mean much. It's not that the Buckeyes don't have a chance, but they just don't spend a lot of time pursuing talents in that area because the percentage chance of getting them to come north is very low.

So Ohio State is alive for now. But not a program on which to bank in this recruitment.  

We asked where you thought Ohio State's offense improved the most in 2014. Here are some of the best responses.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- What would've happened if Ohio State played Virginia Tech in November instead of the second week of the season? Not surprisingly the consensus is that many would like the Buckeyes' chances.

* Ohio State football season TV Rewatch: 5 ways the Buckeyes' offense improved in 2014

The offensive line took the brunt of the blame for that week two loss, but also received a lot of praise when we asked you on Tuesday where Ohio State's offense improved the most during the 2014 season.

While many of you credited the offensive line, the response was generally wide-ranging. Below is a sampling of some of the best responses, along with my take:

Shap: The offensive line, particularly guard Billy Price and center Justin Boren, improved tremendously throughout the year. The line looked horrible in the Va Tech disaster but you have to give credit to Ed Warinner for doing a tremendous job of molding what turned out to be one of best lines in the country. They looked dominant in those last three games.

Landis: For my money, the offensive line was the most improved group on the team. When you look at how bad they were against Navy and Virginia Tech, and how they played against Alabama, it's night and day. Price in particular really started to come along once he moved from the right side and settled at left guard next to Taylor Decker. With that said, I still see room for improvement, particularly with the pass protection. Ohio State was 71st in the country in sacks allowed last year.

Ohiobred: The offense improved the most in the deep ball passing game. Last year with Braxton as QB, the defenses were able to key on our wide receivers with double teams, blitzes, and tight coverages. The perfect example of that was shown in the first two games. When V Tech played zero defense we could not hit anyone long and when we finally established the deep ball, our running game took off with no safety blitzing. At the end of our championship run, what was the plays that opened up our running game . Think about the long touchdown throws against Wisconsin and Alabama early. The defenses were on their heels the rest of the game.

Landis: I agree that the deep ball helped the offense find another gear. Those plays showed most in the final three games of the season, but it was something that was evolving throughout the year. You're right, Ohio State couldn't do it against Virginia Tech, and my thought was that every team would try to play Ohio State that way until the Buckeyes proved they could throw the ball. The next true test came against Michigan State, and the Buckeyes came out looking to establish the passing game early to set up the run. When Jones took over at quarterback, his big arm made the defense back off even more.

John in Columbus: I watched every play of every game in 2014. In my view, Tom Herman immediately assessed following the VA Tech loss, that the Buckeyes had to make Defenses pay for daring them to do one thing or another. Herman unleashed the vast talent he had -- but the talent was largely untested. By spreading the ball around to Michael Thomas, Devin Smith, Dontre Wilson, Corey Smith, Nick Vannett, Jeff Heuerman, Evan Spencer, and oh yeah...running it with a guy named Zeke Elliott -- the Buckeyes became unpredictable, hence, unstoppable. And I totally forgot to mention J.T. Barrett -- who made everyone else around him better, more confident, and constantly wide open ... Following the Michigan State game in East Lansing, the Spartan's Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi said of Ohio State's Offense... "They were playing a different game than we were. They were playing at a level that we could not match." Multi-pronged attack. Think of Floyd Mayweather with two right arms and 3 left arms.

Landis: I like the Mayweather analogy, John. It's true that Ohio State started hitting teams in a lot of ways with a lot of different people. If you look at the numbers, it was almost an even split with rushing yards and passing yards, which is the balance you look for. I'll stop short of calling the offense unstoppable, though. Let's not forget that this team was prone to lull periods against Minnesota, Indiana and Michigan. They also turned the ball over quite a bit, but never really got punished for it. Dynamic? Certainly. Unstoppable? There are still things to clean up.

jaydee75: Big improvement in the wide receiving corps. Those guys had a really hard time getting open in 2013 on anything that wasn't a bomb or a screen. (Remember the Big Ten championship game against Michigan State? Remember when Urban Meyer called them a "clown show" a couple years ago?) Michael Thomas, Devin Smith, Evan Spencer (for leadership and blocking, mostly, but he was also a dependable receiver) and Jalin Marshall stepped up. If that hadn't happened, no national championship.

Landis: I think with all of the big numbers Elliott put up down the stretch run, some people overlooked the receiving corps and the strides it made. Some of the acrobatic catches I pointed out in the season rewatch came in big moments. And as some others noted in the comments, the blocking of the receiving group was huge on some of the big runs Elliott busted.

 

Four Tribe relievers made 70 or more appearances in 2014. Bryan Shaw led the American League with 80 outings.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- As Trevor Bauer leaned against his locker and answered a reporter's questions, Bruce Chen stood behind the reporter and made faces at his fellow pitcher.

Bauer kept his composure. It hasn't taken long for Chen to fit in with his new teammates.

Not every interaction went so smoothly on Wednesday, though. Infielder Zach Walters, recovered from flu-like symptoms, refused to answer any questions about his outlook on the season at hand. Walters only quipped that he is "going to mix a great Gatorade" this season.

Here are some quick hits from Tribe camp.

Brantley's balky back

The Indians continue to be a bit cautious with left fielder Michael Brantley, but manager Terry Francona insists that the Silver Slugger Award winner is healthy. Brantley has been bothered by a balky lower back.

"He's doing fine," Francona said. "He went out this morning and did some stuff on the field. There's no reason on Feb. 25 [to overdo it]. He's getting all his work done."

Rest for the weary?

Four Tribe relievers made 70 or more appearances in 2014. Bryan Shaw led the American League with 80 outings. Cody Allen tied for second with former teammate Joe Smith, toeing the rubber 76 times. Marc Rzepczynski pitched in 73 games, fifth in the AL.

Francona said the staff is in the process of determining how that batch of relievers will prepare for the 2015 campaign.

"The biggest thing is common sense and listening to them," Francona said. "They're getting ready for a long season. They're not necessarily trying to prove themselves here, but like hitters, you want to be ready when the season starts. Your ERA or batting average doesn't mean a lot here. You want to be feeling good when you leave here."

Allen, Shaw, Atchison and Rzepczynski figure to be the four bullpen lynchpins again in 2015, though Francona said he is intrigued by the potential of southpaws Kyle Crockett and Nick Hagadone, among others. Francona often relied on an eight- or nine-man bullpen last year, and he used them an AL-record 573 times.

"Sometimes the roles change from year to year, depending on production and things like that," Francona said. "It wouldn't surprise me if Crockett ends up earning more time. I think he's getting better. It'll be interesting to see where Hagadone goes this year. He made so many strides last year and he came into camp feeling really good about himself.

"The more depth you have, the better it is. It gives you a chance to win every night and not pitch guys too much."

Free bird

Brandon Moss, working toward completion of his recovery from off-season hip surgery, hit on the field for the first time on Wednesday. He had been taking his hacks in the batting cage. He also reported that he has passed all of his agility and running tests to this point.

"I think he was dying to get on the field," Francona said. "He kept telling the trainers, 'I'm not going to swing any differently in the cage.'"

Presidential Lady, a 20-year-old broodmare, might be the best equine investment Michigan horseman Ed Zubkoff Jr. has ever made.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Presidential Lady, a 20-year-old broodmare, might be the best equine investment Michigan horseman Ed Zubkoff Jr. has ever made.

"Whatever I do these days, I can't make the wrong move (with Presidential Lady)," said Zubkoff, a happy La Salle, Michigan horseman who is racing many of the frigid weekday nights at Northfield Park this winter.

Zubkoff bought Presidential Lady for a paltry $450 at the 50^th annual Blooded Horse Winter Sale two winters ago in Delaware, Ohio. Presidential Lady was 18 at the time and, in Zubkoff's view, "a beautiful mare in excellent shape."

Presidential Lady hasn't changed in appearance, but her value has skyrocketed because of her kids' recent success.

Zubkoff bought the mare in February, 2013. Eight months later, while watching the Governor's Cup at The Meadowlands, announcers mentioned two-year-old winner JK Endofanera was a stakes-winning son of Art Major and Presidential Lady.

That caught Zubkoff's ear. A quick computer search proved that, indeed, Zubkoff owned a mare with an exciting history long ago as a race horse, winning 9 of 44 races and $375,000. Her recent history as a broodmare, though, is simply spectacular.

Presidential Lady's last foal to make it to the races was the blazing two-year-old filly JK She'salady. A winner of all 12 of her starts in 2014, the precocious daughter of Art Major was named Harness Horse of the Year last weekend at the Dan Patch Awards in Orlando, Florida. Two-year-olds had won Horse of the Year in the past, but never a filly.

Both young pacers were bred and owned by New York's 3 Brothers Stable made up of Ronnie, Steven and Alan Katz, who add JK to horse names to honor their father, Jack Katz. They sold Presidential Lady, said Alan Katz, well before her latest foals exploded on the scene.

What did Zubkoff see in her? A nice, inexpensive mare that may still produce a few quality foals. But most importantly, she was from a line that included Cam Fella, a pacing star Zubkoff admired.

"I sure didn't know much about Presidential Lady when I bought her two years ago, but everyone in the business does now," said Zubkoff by telephone on Wednesday. "I get calls almost every day about her. A guy recently made a serious offer of $100,000 for her."

Zubkoff has bred her twice to The Panderosa, an Ohio sire, producing a yearling colt and another baby ready "to drop any day now." The value of those youngsters, said Zubkoff, should reach six figures at the sales.

The 20-year-old mare will have lots of time off to recover before going to New York in December to be matched with Art Major at Blue Chip Farms, the sire of her most famous offspring. Zubkoff said she's "a big, beautiful good-looking thing," and her colts or fillies will always be valued as a full brother or sister to the absolute best pacer of 2014.

The rewards could be spectacular. In the meantime, Zubkoff will continue to be a road warrior, training horses at his Michigan farm and trucking his standardbreds to racetracks in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana.

"It's what I do," he said. "Ship and race. On Monday night, it was Cheyenne Knight in the sixth at Northfield."

With Ryan Stahl in the sulky, 10-year-old Cheyenne Knight ($10.40) notched his second win in his last four starts, pacing a mile in 1:58.3 in the $5,500 pace.

Driving stars on top again: Although it's only the second month of 2015, you won't have to look far in the national dash standings to note how Northfield's perennial driving stars are doing. Aaron Merriman, nipped at the wire for the national title in 2014, is back on top again with 131 victories in 604 races. The champ in 2014, Ronnie Wrenn Jr. is third with 122 wins in 458 starts. Veteran East Coast reinsman Corey Callahan is separating the Northfield Park stars with 127 wins.

'Virgin,' Artspeak top Dan Patch: Color's A Virgin was named Three-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year at the Dan Patch Awards on Sunday in Orlando, Florida. Artspeak took top honors among the two-year-old pacing colts. They were the only Ohio standardbreds to capture an award.

The winner of the prestigious Jugette at the Delaware County Fairgrounds for hometown trainer Brian Brown, Color's a Virgin won in 1:52.4 with Trace Tetrick in the sulky. A winner of 17 of 25 last season, she won $684,322 for Emerald Highlands Farm in Mt. Vernon.

Artspeak, owned in part by Joe Sbrocco of Brecksville, was the nation's premier freshman colt pacer for trainer Tony Alagna. The son of Western Ideal won 8 of 10 races and $742,185. His top stakes wins were in the New Jersey Sires Stakes, The Metro and Governor's Cup.

Veteran Sweet Lou was voted Pacer of the Year. Shake It Cerry took Trotter of the Year honors.

Terry Francona on the Indians defense from 2014: "We shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times. It doesn't make it impossible to win, but it does make it a lot harder." Watch video

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians have a defensive drill that manager Terry Francona calls "rapid PFP."

The translation goes like this: pitcher's fielding practice on the dead run. Infielders are involved as well.

Bench coach Brad Mills runs it and it's fun to watch. Pitchers and infielders turn 3-6-1 double plays. Pitchers field bunts and throw to third. They field squeeze bunts while charging the plate. Name a combination of ground ball outs involving pitchers and it's likely you'll see it in this drill.

"It's impossible to replicate game speed, but this is close," said Mills.

The action is continuous based on how fast Mills can roll a bunt down the first or third baseline or hit a ground ball with his fungo bat.

"It's a really good drill," said Francona. "It's game speed. You use your whole infield and you tie them into the pitchers.

"One of the biggest things is that when the opposing team hits a ball 80 feet or less you want to get an out. How often do you see the in-between play where it doesn't get executed? So we really want to do that a lot and at game speed.

"Millsie does that drill great."

The Indians led the big league with 116 errors last year. They finished tied for eighth in the AL with 139 double plays.

The Cleveland Browns are still in the running for veteran quarterback Josh McCown, who visited on Tuesday and Wednesday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Quarterback Josh McCown wrapped up his visit with the Browns Wednesday without a contract, but they're still in the running to sign him, a source told Northeast Ohio Media Group.

McCown, who also visited the Bears, Bills and Jets, will consider other teams as well, the source said. The Bills are also still believed to be under consideration.

He'll take a few days to talk things over with his family and could make his decision by the end of the week.

If McCown signs with the Browns, it will likely spell the end of Brian Hoyer in Cleveland. In addition to an opportunity to compete for the starting job, McCown, 35, will serve as a mentor for Johnny Manziel, Connor Shaw and any young quarterback the Browns decide to bring in. Hoyer still wants an opportunity to start, whereas McCown has said he's willing to take a backup role.

The Browns haven't shown any sense of urgency in re-signing Hoyer, and didn't meet with his agent at the NFL combine. Hoyer also hoped to meet with Browns general manager Ray Farmer before free agency begins March 10, but that hasn't happened.

McCown, on the other hand, spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting with the Browns and enjoyed the meetings.

In 2007, he was coached by current Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who was then Raiders quarterbacks coach. McCown went 2-5 as a starter that year, with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But the two enjoyed working together and would look forward to the opportunity to do so again, a source said.

McCown would be able to help DeFilippo implement the new scheme and also serve as almost another coach on the field and in meeting rooms. Manziel will be learning a new offense, and McCown would be able to help him with the nuances of it.

A third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2002 out of Sam Houston State, McCown is the older brother of former Browns quarterback Luke McCown, a fourth-round pick in 2004 who started four games for the Browns before being traded to Tampa Bay on draft day in 2005.

The Bucs, who own the No. 1 overall pick and might draft Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, released McCown after a disappointing season in which he went 1-10 and threw 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. McCown, who was replaced during the season by Mike Glennon, but then reclaimed the starting job, earned a 70.5 rating, second-worst in the NFL to Jacksonville rookie Blake Bortles.

The sub-par season followed a stellar year with the Bears that earned McCown his two-year, $10 million free agent contract with the Bucs. In 2013, McCown threw 13 touchdowns and only one interception en route to a 3-2 mark for the Bears. He finished with a 109.0 rating. Overall, McCown has a home record of 17-32 in his 12 seasons with six teams.

Ohio State basketball 2015 commit JaQuan Lyle will undergo knee surgery on Friday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- JaQuan Lyle, who became the fifth member of Ohio State's 2015 basketball recruiting class when he committed last month, will undergo surgery on his meniscus on Friday.

Lyle posted the news on his Twitter account on Tuesday night.

John Mahoney, Lyle's coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., told Northeast Ohio Media Group that Lyle will miss the rest of his prep school season, but an exact timetable wasn't given.

A source close to the situation told NEOMG that Lyle's injury is similar to one suffered by Buckeyes freshman D'Angelo Russell during his senior season of high school. Russell's father, Antonio, told the Columbus Dispatch then that the recovery period for such a surgery is four to six weeks.

The source also said the nature of injury is not severe and that Lyle could still be playing, but opted for surgery now.

Surgery on my meniscus Friday. [?]

-- JaQuan Lyle (@JMamba5) February 25, 2015

Assuming Russell's departure after his freshman season, Lyle is a valuable addition to the 2015 recruiting class. The 6-foot-5 Lyle, a four-star prospect according to 247Sports, has a big body and can play either point guard or shooting guard.

The Indiana native and former Oregon signee was forced to play a year of prep school ball after a credit issue kept him from enrolling at Oregon prior to this season. The Ducks were in the running along with the Buckeyes, LSU and Missouri to land Lyle in the 2015 class.

Lyle committed to Ohio State after visiting for the Buckeyes' win over Maryland on Jan. 29, but he has yet to sign his National Letter of Intent. He can sign with the Buckeyes when the regular signing period begins on April 15. 

The Buckeyes signed four 2015 players -- Mickey Mitchell, Austin Grandstaff, A.J. Harris and Daniel Giddens -- during the early signing period in November.

For his big league career, Carlos Santana has hit better at first base (.270) than catcher (.241) or designated hitter (.257).

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Scribbles in my Tribe spring training notebook:

1. A year ago, the Indians were trying to make Carlos Santana into a third baseman. He also was going to be the backup catcher. Now, he's the starting first baseman. "I'm happy wherever they let me play," said Santana. "But I like being in one spot."

2. Santana played 26 games at third last season, making six errors. He caught 11 games, but suffered the second concussion of his career. Terry Francona praised Santana for trying different positions, but the manager knows the plan for 2014 makes far more sense. Santana plays first, period. He may occasionally be the designated hitter. But that's it.

3. No one can be sure if the switch to third was why Santana hit so poorly. He was batting .162 on June 1. Maybe he was worried about his defense. Or maybe, he was just in a slump -- and he is slump prone. But once he was left alone at first, he began to hit.

4. Last season, Santana batted .274 and hit 20 of his 27 homers in the 94 games he played at first. As a catcher, he was 3-of-34 (.088). At third, he was 12-of-93 (.129). As a designated hitter, he was 19-of-81 (.235).

5. Santana really doesn't like to be the DH. That's why he volunteered to play third a year ago. Now, the Indians have no plans to catch him unless it's an emergency. Yan Gomes owns the position, with Roberto Perez as the backup.

6. Santana was signed as an infielder by the Dodgers in 2005. I was looking at his early career, and he made 21 errors in 66 games at third in the minors. He played the outfield in 60 games, making seven errors. In 2007, the Dodgers put him behind the plate, where he played when the Tribe traded Casey Blake to the Dodgers for Santana in 2008.

7. Santana never looked comfortable as a catcher. Francona admitted that Santana also seemed to be hit with a lot of foul balls banging off his face mask. His reactions seemed a bit slow. He also wasn't nearly the defensive catcher or strong presence when it came to calling a game -- at least when compared with Gomes and Perez last season.

8. But Santana has really bloomed at first. "Playing there helps me and the team," he said. For his entire career, he has hit better at first (.270, .887 OPS) compared to catching (.241, .790 OPS) and DH (.257, .773 OPS).

9. The bonus is that Santana has been a defensive asset at first, especially after Nick Swisher (hobbled on bad knees) was a disaster early in 2014. Swisher made nine errors in 52 games; Santana had five in 94 games. "He also had a stretch where he made some unbelievable plays over there," said Francona. "I know he's happy about playing in one place. It seems to have been more settling for him."

10. Francona also believes that all the work that Santana did to play third has helped him at first. He worked hard on ground balls and charging bunts. Those attributes work at either position. At 5-foot-10, he is short for a first baseman, who often faces high throws. But overall, he was at least average with the glove last season. Santana's 27 homers led the Tribe and ranked 12th in the American League. His bat is his best asset. Fans sometimes dwell on his poor batting average (.231), but he led the American League in walks (113). His on-base percentage was .365, 11th in the AL. He'll be 29 on April 8, and first base is his best spot.

The Rams' owner plans to build a new stadium near Los Angeles. If the Rams move, St. Louis will join L.A. and Cleveland as two-time losers in NFL relocations, and the Rams will have played a role each time.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Welcome to football's saddest and smallest fraternity, St. Louis. We feel your pain.

You are on the verge of losing the Rams, which originally belonged to us, but we'll get to that in a minute. St. Louis could join Cleveland and Los Angeles as the only cities to lose two NFL franchises since 1945.

On Tuesday, the Inglewood, California city council approved plans for a $1.86-billion football stadium and redevelopment in partnership with Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who could move the Rams back to Southern California by the 2018 season.

NFL owners have the final vote on such a move, but rarely have stood in the way of franchise relocations. St. Louis isn't giving up without a fight and has a competing proposal to keep the team.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders announced last week they are seeking to build a shared stadium in the suburban Los Angeles city of Carson. That could affect the Rams moving to L.A.

If the Rams do move, they will have left all three cities in the twice-snubbed club.

The Rams were founded in Cleveland and were the first NFL team to change cities when they departed for sunny Los Angeles in 1946.

Cleveland, of course, also lost the Browns in 1996. Then-owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore, where they were almost called the Baltimore Browns, but became the Ravens. Cleveland was without football for three years. The expansion Browns were born in 1999.

Greater L.A.. has been without an NFL team for 20 years. In 1995, Anaheim and Los Angeles lost the Rams to St. Louis and the Raiders to Oakland.

The NFL has yearned to return the nation's second-largest market since those teams played their final games in Southern California on Christmas Eve 1994.

There have been numerous false starts.

L.A.. appeared destined for the NFL's 32^nd team in the early 2000s. The NFL was set to grant the city an expansion franchise, but Houston billionaire Bob McNair's bid outshone offers from Los Angeles, and the Houston Texans were born.

Other teams have flirted with L.A., or used the empty market as leverage to get new stadiums, including Seattle and Arizona.

Los Angeles has had difficulty putting a firm stadium plan in place during the two-decade void. The Inglewood project calls for an 80,000-seat, 60-acre stadium being added to an existing 2009 plan to redevelop the former Hollywood Park racetrack site with homes, offices, stores, parks and open space and a hotel. It is not to receive any up-front public financing, the Associated Press reported.

St. Louis has been down this road before. It lost the Cardinals to Phoenix in 1988 and was without NFL football until the Rams arrived seven years later.

The Rams' 1946 move from Cleveland to Los Angeles often is overlooked, but was no small matter, then or now. The Rams were the defending NFL champions, having defeated the Washington Redskins in one of football's most memorable title games, 15-14, in 1945.

The Rams' move in 1946 now is viewed as among the most important franchise relocations in all of sports. Their departure gave Cleveland, then the country's sixth-largest market, over to the Browns, who began play in the new AAFC that same year.

The move also paved the way for baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants migrating to California in 1958 as the pro sports western migration took hold.

"It truly was the perfect storm," football historian Chris Willis told the Northeast Ohio Media Group last year. "It was a win-win for everyone, and you don't see that happen very often in these type of situations."

A completely different kind of storm swept through the NFL in 1996 when Modell moved the Browns. "Our team, our colors" became a rallying cry as Cleveland fans and city officials pressured the NFL into not calling the Baltimore team the Browns. Cleveland was able to keep the colors and name. The NFL eventually granted Cleveland expansion franchise No. 31, which began play as the new Browns in 1999, and the team is considered a historical continuation of the original franchise.

NFL franchise relocations since 1945:

1946: Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles

1960: Chicago Cardinals to St. Louis

1982: Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles

1984: Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis

1988: St. Louis Cardinals to Phoenix

1995: Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis

1995: Los Angeles Raiders to Oakland

1996: Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, renamed the Ravens.

1997: Houston Oilers to Memphis, and to Nashville in 1998, renamed Tennessee Titans

Note: The Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego in 1960, and the Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs in 1963. Both teams were in the AFL, which later merged with the NFL.

Share your thoughts on where you think Ohio State's defense improved the most over the course of the 2014 season.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer hesitated to call Ohio State's defense championship-caliber midway through the season. He could see the improvement, but wasn't convinced.

A shutout in a conference championship game, and a stellar performance against college football's most prolific offense in the national championship game probably went a long way in easing Meyer's concerns.

Ohio State's defense came into the 2014 season with plenty of questions to answer, particularly when it came to pass defense. The Buckeyes ended the season as the first champions of the playoff era.

Where do you think Ohio State's defense made the greatest improvement in 2014? Which defensive players stood out to as the biggest difference makers? Who made the biggest jump?

Give your take in the comments section, we'll take the best and post them Thursday afternoon. Also look Thursday morning for a breakdown of the progression of the defense using our TV Rewatch posts from the season and notes from the national title game.

* Ohio State football season TV Rewatch: 5 ways the Buckeyes' offense improved in 2014

* How Ohio State's offense improved in 2014: What you said, What I think -- Bill Landis

The podcast took a look at the big weekend ahead in local hoops.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In the final week of the regular season, the boys basketball reporters reflected on what has happened so far. It was among the many highlights on the Full Court Press podcast this week.

Joining the podcast this week were No. 21 Holy Name coach Jeff Huber and No. 10 Green coach Mark Kinsley.

With hosts David Cassilo, Mark Kern and Tim Bielik leading the way, boys basketball top players and surprise teams were among the discussion points.

Here's an archived version of the show, which was live at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Below is a rundown of what was included in Wednesday's show. (note: there is a 12-second delay)

0:00-7:43: Handing out some regular season awards.

7:44-13:34: Holy Name coach Jeff Huber.

13:35-19:33: Top games of the week ahead.

19:34-24:54: Green coach Mark Kinsley.

24:55-End: Predicting the weekend's games.

If you wish to leave a comment, click here to sign up for an account if you don't have one already.

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your high school sports Tweets and score updates with the #NEOVarsity hashtag.

Gavin Floyd has undergone two major surgeries in as many years on his right elbow, but the Indians signed him to a one-year $4 million contract.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - After a long search, Gavin Floyd finally returned to the center of Gavin Floyd.

"I hadn't felt like that in 10 years," said Floyd. "I refined a lot spiritually, mentally and physically. I felt like I was able to start over and get back to focusing on what was natural."

Then a bone in Floyd's right elbow that is as hard to spell as it is to pronounce broke. Goodbye all that was natural. Hello to the surgeon's knife for the second time in as many years.

After missing all but five starts of the 2013 season with the White Sox because of Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Floyd signed as a free agent with Atlanta. He started the 2014 season on the disabled list in in the minors, but made it back to the big leagues on May 6, allowing one run in seven innings against St. Louis.

It was Floyd's first of nine starts and they all went well except for No. 9. Well, that's not exactly true.

On June 19, Floyd threw six scoreless innings and earned a 3-0 victory over Washington in his ninth and final start of the year. He started the seventh, but called for the trainers after he heard a pop from his elbow after throwing a curveball to Jayson Werth.

Floyd had fractured the olecranon bone in his right elbow joint. The injury blindsided Floyd.

"It's definitely unexpected when your elbow breaks," said Floyd.

Floyd, 32, underwent surgery on June 25. Dr. David Altchek inserted screws in Floyd's elbow to stabilize it and help the healing process.

The olecranon bone is the prominent bone in the elbow joint. It is not common to break it.

"I've heard it happens more in younger kids because they have a growth plate," said Floyd. "It was definitely a rarity, I would say. I've never met anyone else who has had it."

Two major elbow surgeries in two straight years might not be a record, but it's has to be close.

"It's tough because the first time you have Tommy John, no mater how much success in the surgery there is, you're not entitled to be in that 95 percent success rate," said Floyd. "You could easily be in that five percent.

"You question a lot of things. You think about your future . . . Then when it happens again . . ."

Floyd said his faith in God helped him get past the surgeries.

Dr. Altchek, who performed Floyd's Tommy John surgery in 2013, played a part as well.

"I trusted what the doctor was saying," said Floyd, regarding his second surgery. "He said once it heals you're going to be back to normal. I trusted in that and I just continued my work and got ready like I normally do."

The Indians signed Floyd to a one-year $4 million deal on Dec. 16. He can earn another $6 million in incentives. GM Chris Antonetti said on the day the deal was announced that Floyd was guaranteed a spot in the rotation providing he got through camp healthy.

Floyd, who came to camp early, has made all his scheduled bullpen appearances, but the Indians will probably ease him into the Cactus League schedule that begins Tuesday.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we started him slow," said manager Terry Francona. "I'll leave that up to Mickey (Callaway, pitching coach). Mickey will get with me and give me his recommendation before we all get together.

"It wouldn't surprise (if we started him slow), but I'm not sure he's going to have to."

Floyd has traditionally worked into spring training slowly, but he sees himself as being part of the opening day rotation when the season begins April 6 in Houston. Now, however, there is still time to prepare.

"You have to be realistic," he said. " "I just started throwing my curveball a couple of bullpens ago. I know where I'm at. If I compared it to other spring trainings, I'm very similar in effort, pitches, velocity and the amount of pitches I'm throwing."

It might not be the happy spot that Floyd found himself in last year in Atlanta before his elbow went pop, but it's a place to start.

The Browns might allow oft-injured former Pro Bowler Jordan Cameron to leave via free agency.

BEREA, Ohio -- On a day Cleveland went logo loco, the local football franchise also announced Brownie the Elf would return for another season.

Now that he's not using his hands to make the Johny Manziel money sign -- see countless Twitter avatars -- the club might need to employ him as a tight end.

Although the Browns' quarterback quandary continues to dominate headlines, there are no easy answers at a position of growing importance. Should they retain oft-injured Jordan Cameron? Spend big money to acquire a tight end in free agency? Or select one in the draft? 

The best solution might involve a kid named Clive Walford, who sounds like he should be a love interest of Lady Mary Crawley on Downton Abbey. But that's getting ahead of our story.

It wasn't long ago the Browns appeared set at tight end after Cameron enjoyed his breakout Pro Bowl season in 2013. Remember when fans were concerned about giving center Alex Mack too much money because the team would need it to re-sign Josh Gordon and Cameron?

The tight end possesses good size, high character and acrobatic pass-catching abilities. The only thing scarier than his athletic ability is his medical file. That's what makes re-signing him or placing a franchise tag on Cameron so problematic. He's sustained a concussion in each of the past three years and also missed time last season with a shoulder injury.

Despite having the league's third-most salary cap space, it's understandable why the Browns might balk at committing to Cameron. They have until Monday to decide whether to franchise him for one season at $8.8 million. It's a tough call and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Browns allow him to walk.

View full sizeBrownie the Elf is back, but his pass-catching skills are limited.city-data.com

At his best, the USC product represents the new breed of tight ends who stress defenses in the seams with the matchup problems they create. Picture Cameron's 80-yard touchdown against the Panthers in Week 15.  

But he's not the only tight end of value who could hit the market March 10. The biggest name is the Broncos' Julius Thomas. The 6-4, 251-pounder grabbed 24 TD receptions over the past two seasons, making him one of the league's top red-zone threats. But Thomas comes with injury concerns, as well.

There's also the matter of who's throwing the passes. Teams must ask themselves whether the tight end would thrive without Peyton Manning as his quarterback and Demaryius Thomas creating space for him at wide receiver?  

Regardless, he should attract ample suitors and the Browns probably would need to seriously overpay for Thomas' services. Other free-agent possibilities include Dolphins' Charles Clay and Ravens' Owen Daniels. Clay is an intriguing figure, but he could command $6 million per season on the open market. He's also coming off an injury-plagued season. There's a strong chance Clay remains with the Dolphins.

The Browns are meeting with Eagles' discard James Casey, who has a combined six receptions in the past two seasons. The club already has dependable depth tight ends in Gary Barnidge and Jim Dray.

If the Browns don't re-sign Cameron, their best bet to land an impact tight end might be in the draft, perhaps in the second or third round.

A dream scenario is University of Minnesota's Maxx Williams -- likened to the Cowboys' Jason Witten -- falling to them at No. 43 overall. Considered the best prospect at the position, Williams is 6-4, 249 pounds with good hands and NFL bloodlines. (His father, Brian, is a former Giants' center.) But if the Broncos lose Thomas it's easy to imagine them snatching Williams late in the first round.

That brings us to our man, Clive. Walford is 6-4, 251 pounds of attitude. He showed improvement in each of his four seasons at Miami and impressed scouts with his Senior Bowl practice week.

"I am the best tight end in this draft ... because I can block, I can catch, I can run after the catch, do everything that a tight end is expected to do," said Walford, who registered 44 receptions for 676 yards and seven TDs last season.

Scouts have questions, however, about his consistency and penchant for mental mistakes. Who else, then? Maybe, Ohio State's Jeff Heuerman as a mid-round alternative.

There are no certainties here for the Browns other than they need a good tight end. Absent a high-profile quarterback, they must surround whoever wins the job with talent at the skill positions to compete in the AFC North.

The Browns should get a quality receiver if they dedicate a first-round pick to acquiring one. The tight end options are a different story.

As for Brownie, he might be able to throw a decent stiff arm, but he lacks good foot speed and catching radius. Besides, many NFL talent evaluators see him as a two-dimensional figure.

Walsh Jesuit's Kailey Francetic takes sixth; Cuyahoga Falls' Erika Shane finishes eighth at OHSAA Division I diving state championships in Canton.

CANTON, Ohio — Strongsville senior Julia Oppedisano led the Division I diving state finals entering the last three dives, but couldn’t hold on and finished fourth Thursday at C.T. Branin Natatorium.

The fourth-place finish equals her showing in 2014.

Oppedisano’s quest for a state title was ultimately decided by two factors. First, the degree of difficulty on her final three dives was not as high as some of the girls she had led entering the final round and they ultimately passed her in the standings. Second, on her final dive of the meet — a reverse somersault one-and-half twist free — she totaled just a 34.80. Katie Polk, the state champion from Centerville, scored a 52.50 on her last dive and a total of 162.30 on her final three dives to surge past Oppedisano, who totaled 126.20 over her final three dives.

“I’m just more disappointed that I didn’t do the dive how I usually do it,” Oppedisano said of her final dive.

A year ago, Oppedisano was happy with her fourth-place finish. That was because it came after a 14^th-place finish at the state meet her sophomore year, in which she suffered a dislocated shoulder on her fourth dive of the meet and then gutted out seven more dives.

What happened in layman’s terms on Oppedisano’s crucial last dive of the Thursday's meet is she got going a little too fast as she “hurdled” down the board, ended up getting a good takeoff but then found herself somersaulting too fast to execute the dive well enough to register a high score. Typically, Oppedisano said she scores 7s on the dive, but on Thursday she scored between 4 and 5.5 on all seven of the judges' cards.

Polk of Centerville won the competition with a score of 524.95. Estee Pryor (521.30) and Nikki Waters (512.25) for New Albany finished second and third. Oppedisano scored 502.25 to finish in the fourth spot. Pryor, a senior, and Waters, a sophomore, both finished second and third a year ago. Entering the final three dives of the day, Oppedisano led Waters by 7.1; Pryor by 9.65 and Polk by 13.40.

Tim Crow, Oppedisano’s club diving coach, said Oppedisano had actually fallen to third entering her final dive and would’ve need to score 8.5s on the last effort to likely collect enough points to have come away a state champion.

“Overall she had such a great meet it’s hard to be upset about one dive,” Crow said. “You are trying to do eleven in a row and it’s difficult. She really didn’t miss anything except for that one at the end.”

Minutes after the tournament Oppedisano was on the deck receiving a hug from her father, Jim. He exchanged fist bumps with his daughter after her first two dives of the final round as she appeared to be closing in on a state title.

“He just said good job,” Oppedisano said when asked what she and her dad talked about.

Oppedisano, who will attend Michigan State on a diving scholarship, was not the only diver from Northeast Ohio to medal. Walsh Jesuit senior Kailey Francetic (475.30), who finished fifth a year ago, finished sixth this year, and Erika Shane (467.90) of Cuyahoga Falls duplicated her eighth-place finish from 2014.

“I feel like I dove really well today. I only messed up on one dive today. I did the best I could today, so that’s all that matters,” said Francetic, who qualified for the state meet all four years of her high school career, finishing eighth as a sophomore and 14^th as a freshman.

Nine girls from Northeast Ohio helped make up the field of 24 divers. Abby Villenauve of Hudson finished 10^th; Madison Posk of Twinsburg finished 14^th; Ryleigh Macalla of Rocky River finished 16^th; Olivia Kreft of Solon finished 17^th; Nicole Rzepka of Solon finished 19^th and Megan Peepers of Avon Lake finished 24^th.

Look back on what some of the draft's top prospects had to say at the NFL Draft Combine last week.

We asked where you thought Ohio State's defense improved the most in 2014. Here are some of the best responses.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Wednesday belonged to Ohio State's offense, so it's only fair that we give the defense its spot on Thursday.

* Ohio State football season TV Rewatch: 5 ways the Buckeyes defense improved in 2014

Before posting my season rewatch on the Buckeyes' defense on Thursday morning, I asked where you thought Ohio State made the most progress defensively over the course of its run to a national championship.

Many of you came away most impressed with the pass defense. Below is a sampling of some of the best responses, along with my take:

BuckAg: Pass Defense!!!!!!! A lot has been said about the fabulous coaching to handle the transition of quarterbacks, development of offensive line and Ezekiel Elliott ... But a coaching decision that hasn't gotten much play was after the Va Tech loss was when Ohio State decided to begin challenging receivers rather than play passive!!! Without the aggressive defensive backfield play Cooper probably has a much more productive game in the Sugar Bowl and Ohio State might not have gotten to the CFP Championship.

John in Columbus: In my opinion if the 2013 Buckeyes had just half the pass Defense that they enjoyed in 2014, the Buckeye's would be celebrating back-to-back National Championships right now.  The pass Defense in 2013 was deplorable.  Michigan, Michigan State, and Clemson threw the ball at will.  When Christian Bryant went down with a broken ankle in garbage time against Wisconsin that season, the secondary collapsed.  It wasn't very strong to begin with.  Urban vowed to get that side of the ball "cleaned up" in 2014 and he did.

Landis: Agreed. There was a stark difference in the pass defense after the Virginia Tech game. Even against Cincinnati, they gave up the three big hits, but it was still improved. Guys were running open all over the field during the Virginia Tech game. I think you have to consider that a lot of teams Ohio State played were run heavy, but in the big games (Michigan State, Alabama, Oregon) the Buckeyes weren't beat with the pass the same way they were last year.

buckeyebobby: The linebacking corps is another position that improved. The emergence of Darren Lee was a huge factor and he was in full beast mode from the Michigan game to the national title. Dare I say he might be a better player than McMillan the number one linebacker from the 2013 class? Just think for this upcoming season - Perry, McMilan and Lee and possibly Hilliard. 

Landis: Lee had a great finish to the season, probably the best defensive player over the last four games. But I would hold off on declaring him better than McMillan. First, they play two different positions, and I think McMillan will probably improve the middle linebacker spot now that it's his job. The future is definitely bright. Don't forget about Dante Booker playing as a sophomore next year.

Cybersophist: The key was surer tackling on all levels. I don't have the stats, but I would bet that yards after contact were down significantly from the last two seasons. Short runs didn't end up stopped by safeties. Pass receivers went down on contact. 

Landis: I don't have the stats either, but that's one thing Urban Meyer talked about at halftime of the National Championship. He was asked what the key to holding Oregon down was, and he said, "We're tackling." That was also huge against Amari Cooper, who didn't really get anything after the catch in the Sugar Bowl.

* How did Ohio State's offense improve in 2014: What you said, what I think -- Bill Landis

 

The Fly Fishing Film Tour visit on Friday at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has become the ultimate fly fisherman's party.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Fly Fishing Film Tour visit on Friday at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has become the ultimate fly fisherman's party.

"The museum is one of the most unique places on the F3T tour," said Amos Crowley of Hunting Valley, who promotes the events. "All of the museum exhibits will be open, there's a ton of food, fly fishing exhibits, fly guides from around the region and, of course, some of the best fly fishing videos ever seen."

The F3T is a series of fly fishing adventures. The segments range the wilds of Alaska to the Bahamas, Mongolia, Oregon, Southern California and even some of America's carp streams. For a brief look at various trailers, visit flyfilmtour.com.

"The outdoor videography is superb," said Crowley. "What makes the segments especially unique is that there is a story to go with each one, whether it's simply great entertainment, a conservation effort, or guys surfing and fly fishing the same waters in Iceland. It is our hope the high-quality films and the story-driven content will inspire people to take advantage of our amazing local resources."

F3T founder Chris Krieg, a Montana native, is emcee for the Cleveland event and will discuss the creation and evolution of the 13-year-old film tour, the largest of its kind.

Tickets are $15 and support the museum. They can be purchased online or at the Orvis store in Woodmere; The Backpackers Shop in Sheffield; and Chagrin River Outfitters in Chagrin.

Cabin fever cured: Fly fishermen are out of luck on the local steelhead rivers and streams with this winter's deep freeze, but there's no need for cabin fever. In addition to F3T, there are a batch of fly-fishing and fly-tying seminars on tap in the next few weeks. Get the long list from the updated Outdoor Calendar.

Getting into the act next week is Chagrin River Outfitters. The Chagrin Falls shop has a free seminar on swinging flies for Great Lakes steelhead trout with Michigan guide Kevin Feenstra on Thursday at 6 p.m. Following is an all-day series of switch and spey rod seminars with Jerry Darkes on March 7 starting at 10 a.m.

New licenses needed: Ohio's anglers need to upgrade Sunday to a 2015 fishing license, a $19 bargain for Buckeye anglers. With the Lake Erie walleye fishing through the ice in full swing, wildlife officers will be enforcing the spring limit. It falls from six to four walleye per day Sunday through April 30.

ODOW Open House: Sportsmen can get the inside scoop on the new deer hunting seasons and regulations and other wildlife issues at the annual Division of Wildlife Open Houses on March 7 at the five ODOW district offices from noon-3 p.m.

Memorial for Babson: Prominent local outdoorsman John Babson died Feb. 21 and has a memorial service Saturday at 11 a.m. at the McGorray & Hanna Funeral Home of Westlake. Wearing his signature cowboy hat, Babson was a familiar volunteer for many years at banquets put on by his two favorite sportsmen's clubs, the Woods and Waters Club and Safari Club International. He owned Babson's Garden Center in Westlake.

Classic champ: Pro bass angler Casey Ashley was casting a Zoom Super Fluke Jr. rigged on a homemade fish-head spinner on Saturday to win the Bassmasters Classic and $300,000 on Lake Hartwell, just around the corner from his South Carolina home. Ashley caught five final-day bass weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces. With some ice on the lake during the first day of fishing, it was the coldest Classic in history as Ashley's 50 pounds, 1 ounce defeated day-two leader Takahiro Omori (44-3), day-one leader Dean Rojas (43-13) and Jacob Powroznik (43-1).

WU Deer Camp Tour: Deer hunting stories will abound around Ohio in March as the Whitetails Unlimited conservation group hosts two stops of its popular Deer Camp Tour 2015. The traveling whitetail shows are featuring TV hunting star Travis "T-Bone" Turner of Bone Collectors at the Grand Valley Dale Ballroom in Columbus on March 12 and at Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center in Cambridge on March 27. For information, visit whitetailsunlimited.com.

Ohio's army of deer hunters have the chance to go to both WU Deer Camp and visit the popular Ohio Deer & Turkey Expo at the Ohio State Fairgrounds on March 11-13.

Out and about: A crusade by Kevin Bernaciak and other hunters to stop Ohio wildlife officials from closing a campground site at Woodbury Wildlife area has prompted state wildlife officials to allow 25 campsites at the area this year from Oct. 9-Dec. 7 for deer hunters... Gun groups are incensed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wants to ban commonly-used .223 caliber hunting ammunition under a convoluted claim the bullets are armor-piercing... Legendary light line fisherman Dick Swan of Clare, Michigan, creator of the noodle rod genre of trout and salmon rods, died Friday at 85.

Follow all local hockey teams with cleveland.com's printable brackets, broken down by districts.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Local teams are headed to the quarterfinals of this year's Ohio High School Athletic Association state hockey tournament and you can follow all the action with cleveland.com's printable brackets, broken down by districts, below. 

Brooklyn District bracket

Kent District bracket

Be sure to check back with cleveland.com as these brackets are updated continuously throughout the tournaments and to check out game coverage and more. 

Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your high school sports Tweets and score updates with the #NEOVarsity hashtag.

Contact high school sports reporter Robert Rozboril by email (rrozboril@cleveland.com) , on Twitter (@rrozboril) or on Facebook (facebook.com/rrozboril). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.