Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has been demoted to 3rd string. Josh McCown is the starter going forward. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- Mike Pettine demoted Johnny Manziel from Browns starting quarterback to No. 3 in the span of a week after reviewing the film.

But it wasn't the kind of film any head coach wants to see.

Pettine benched his 2014 first-round pick after video surfaced on Monday of Manziel partying over the weekend in Austin, Tex.

The video was taken three days after Manziel was named the starter for the final six games of the season, and after Pettine sat him down and gave him a stern warning to behave off the field -- especially during the five days off for the bye weekend.

But Manziel partied it up on Thursday and Friday nights, and then tried to pass off the video as old on Monday when asked about it at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, where he was volunteering.

"It was something that we felt had violated the trust that we had put in him before the bye coming out of the Pittsburgh game and it was a decision we made as a result of it,'' Pettine told the Cleveland Browns radio network Tuesday.

Josh McCown, who threw for a franchise-record 457 yards in a 33-30 overtime victory over the Ravens  on Oct. 11, will start against them again on Monday night football at FirstEnergy Stadium and will be the starter 'going forward.' Austin Davis will be back him up, and Manziel will probably not even dress for the game.

"I informed the quarterbacks of that decision after I sat down and spoke with Johnny, Flip (John DeFilippo) and Kevin (O'Connell) after practice today,'' Pettine said in a statement. "Johnny will be the third quarterback. I've spoken to Ray (Farmer) and Jimmy (Haslam) to inform them of my decision, and they are in full support.''

Pettine stressed in the statement that Manziel's talk is still cheap, just like it was all of last season. Only this season, Manziel was fresh off 10 weeks in an addiction treatment center and the Browns hoped things would be different.

 "Everyone in this organization wants what is best for Johnny just like we do for every player in our locker room,'' Pettine said in the statement. "I'm especially disappointed in his actions and behavior because he has been working very hard. The improvements from last year to this year have been tremendous, but he still has to consistently demonstrate that he has gained a good understanding of what it takes to be successful at the quarterback position on this level.

"It goes well beyond the field. We are going to continue to support him in every way possible, but at this point, we've decided it's best to go with Josh as the starter going forward."

Manziel's benching means that the Browns might not have another chance to evaluate him this season as their possible quarterback of the future. It also means they'll have to look long and hard at selecting a quarterback high in the draft. As it stands, the 2-8 Browns have one of the top three picks in the draft and a clear shot at one of the premier prospects.

The decision to demote him all the way to No. 3 could mean the Browns have reached the end of their rope with Manziel and that they're ready to move on at some point in the near future.

If they don't cut him -- which seems unlikely during the next six games -- they could always hang on and see if someone is willing to trade for him.

But the demotion is a stunning turnaround from last week, when the Browns handed Manziel the reins and gave him a chance to prove that he's their quarterback of the future.

"(It's) disappointing -- very,'' said Pettine after practice but before he made the decision. "I can't stand here and say it's not whatever word we want to use - disappointing, frustrating."

Pettine got Manziel's version of the story on Monday night, and then met with him again on Tuesday after practice, along with DeFilippo and O'Connell. Pettine also talked to Haslam and Farmer before making his decision, and again after.

"It's all part of the frustration, the disappointment,'' said Pettine of Manziel's pattern of missteps. "When the behavior repeats, it's certainly a cause for concern.''

Pettine acknowledged that his warning to Manziel about not messing up once he handed him the job factored in.

"The conversations that we had, it adds to it,'' he said.

It remains to be seen if Manziel will check back into rehab again. Sources close to Manziel believe he's relapsed from his program of sobriety. The partying videos are the latest in a long string of incidents for the troubled quarterback.

The day he was named the starter last Tuesday, he was also cleared by the NFL of domestic violence during his Oct. 12 roadway incident with his girlfriend, Colleen Crowley. But he admitted to drinking that afternoon, which sent up a red flag for the Browns organization.

Two weekends ago, during a mini-bye after the Bengals game, Manziel was splashed all over social media partying back at Texas A&M, a series of photos which the Browns also found disturbing. Manziel also threw a water bottle toward a fan at a golf tournament in May, and police were called to the scene.

Manziel's benching was also foreshadowed on the team's in-house radio show, Cleveland Browns Daily. The co-hosts, Nathan Zegura and Matt Wilhelm, harshly criticized Manziel in the two shows leading up to the move, saying the party video was a slap in the face to the organization.

Bustedcoverage.com first published the video that was posted on DJ LX's Instagram account of Manziel partying at the Summit Rooftop Lounge on Friday night in Austin. The video shows Manziel holding a bottle of what looks like champagne and singing and dancing in the DJ booth. The caption on the Instagram read, "Sippin on Dom Perignon for no reason with Johnny Manziel.''

Another Instagram photo of him at Austin's RIO rooftop lounge was published on Thursday night. A source confirmed for cleveland.com that Manziel was at RIO on Friday.

Later Monday afternoon, after DJ LX removed the video from his Instagram account and made his account private, TMZ Sports published a story saying that it had obtained its own footage of Manziel partying at Summit Friday night. The site said multiple witnesses saw Manziel "boozing'' at the clubs on back-to-back nights.

While volunteering at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank on Monday, Manziel wouldn't admit he was partying in Austin and tried to pass the video off as so yesterday.

"You know there's all kinds of people that come out,'' he said. "Videos can be old. Videos can be all kinds of different things. So like I said, I'm not in a state to be able to speak on it because my focus has been on this today and what really matters in this game on Monday. So that's where my focus has been. I did get a chance to relax. So I haven't seen anything like that, and I'm not going to be able to speculate on it right now."

Asked specifically Monday if the video was old, Manziel said, "I haven't seen it, so I can't speak on it."

The song that Manziel was singing in the video, March Madness by Future, came out in mid-March, when Manziel was in rehab at the Caron addiction treatment center. Even if the video was old, it still occurred after he left rehab for an unspecified addiction.

"I've been here for this (volunteer) event, and that's really what I want to talk about, the things that are really important, not what I'm doing off the field,'' he said Monday. "It's what we're doing here in the community and what we're doing to get ready for this game on Monday night. So that's where my focus is, and I haven't had my focus anywhere else. I know that."

Manziel only acknowledged that he went home to Texas and returned to Ohio Saturday morning and attended the OSU-Michigan State football game.

"The bye week was great,'' he said. "I got a chance to go to see the Ohio State-Michigan State game. For all of the Ohio people, I don't think it went as well as they would've liked to but I got a chance to go back home for a little bit and come back early on Saturday and just get a chance to start looking over for the game and watched Baltimore play and obviously get kind of a jump on them and come here today and do this. I was very excited to do that.''

Manziel noted that he returned to Ohio a few days early, like he said he would. The players had five days off, from Thursday through Monday.

"(I was) able to come back early on Saturday, see a cool game and then get to spend some time getting ready for the week and for the game on (Monday) which is obviously going to be really big,'' he said. "I think this will be my first night game at FirstEnergy other than a preseason game since I've been here, so really looking forward to seeing what the atmosphere's going to be like, especially for a Monday night game.

"I'm pumped. I'm looking forward to this week of prep, getting a chance to get a day off on Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for but it's a big week and I'm very excited to be back here and ready to go.''

Manziel promised Pettine before he left for the bye weekend that he wouldn't make headlines during the five days off.

"I let him know that I'm not going to do anything that's going to be a distraction to this team or be an embarrassment to the organization,'' Manziel said before leaving town. "I'm going to get a chance to go and relax like everybody else in this locker room is. I don't think they're going to have to worry about me this week."

Unfortunately for everyone involved, they did. And now, Manziel's career with the Browns could be almost over.

Davis is one snap away now that he's No. 2 on the depth chart behind Josh McCown.

BEREA, Ohio -- Quarterback Austin Davis hasn't taken a snap for the Cleveland Browns yet this season, but that doesn't mean his time in Cleveland hasn't been eventful.

Davis signed with the team in early September. Less than a month later, he was given a two-year contract extension. Now Davis finds himself the beneficiary of head coach Mike Pettine's decision to demote Johnny Manziel to third-string.

"Josh McCown is our starter. Austin Davis is our two," Pettine said on Wednesday prior to the team's practice. "Johnny is our three. I won't speak beyond that right now. Things can change. As far as declaring a starter for the rest of the year, we will see how this plays out in the short term."

"You don't have to be around long to know that circumstances change quickly," Davis said after practice, "and decisions get made for whatever reason and you can't worry about the things you can't control, I guess. So you just have to be prepared for what situations you're put in and, for me, that's be the (backup) this week and be ready to go."

Davis was signed as an undrafted free agent by St. Louis following the 2012 draft. Davis was cut the following season and spent time on Miami's practice squad before re-signing with the Rams last October. Davis was added along with former Browns quarterback Brady Quinn after an injury sidelined then-starter Sam Bradford.

Davis started eight games for the Rams last season, throwing for 2,001 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He managed consecutive 300-yard passing games against Dallas and Philadelphia with six combined touchdown passes in his third and fourth starts respectively. He struggled in his final two starts, completing fewer than 60 percent of his passes and throwing four interceptions.

Davis said he's "absolutely" itching to play again.

"You don't play the game not to play, if you will," he said, "but at the same time, I want Josh to stay healthy and play well. I think just the environment of a quarterback room works better when you root for one another and you help the other guy plays well and he encourages you and you encourage him. That's just how I see things and that's how I approach it."

Signing less than a week before the Browns' opening game presented challenges for Davis getting ready to play for his new team. Now that he's a snap away, he assured reporters he'd be ready if called upon.

"I feel good with what we're doing. I've been here long enough to have an understanding of what we're doing, and I've done everything I can up to this point to learn it and to understand it," Davis said. "So, yeah, it's different than if I would have played Week 2 or Week 3. To me, the expectation is to have a complete understanding of what we're doing, and I've tried to put in the extra time to do that because you don't ever want these types of situations to come up, but they do."

With all the talk this week of Browns quarterbacks and bye weeks, how did Davis spend his?

Cleveland sports fans and readers have been so loyal, and they are so worthy of being thanked.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I feel grateful today.

Grateful that I can still write for a living. Grateful that you read us at The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.

Grateful that Roberta and I have been married for 38 years, and she still has no interest in putting me on waivers. Just shows that she was blessed with a double-dose of God-given patience.

Grateful that you are still out there, reacting to and even complaining about what I write.

Since returning to the Plain Dealer in 2007, I have written a "Thank You" column for every Thanksgiving. Because a long time ago, I figured out that without you there is no us.

No readers, no one will want me to write.

THE AGONY OF THE ORANGE HELMETS

And I'm writing this not long after the Browns announced that Johnny Manziel has fallen from starting quarterback for the rest of the season to third-stringer. With the Browns preparing for Monday Night's game against Baltimore, this really is another one of those "Only In Cleveland" stories.

No matter what you think of the decision by the Browns or the conduct of Manziel, it's a mess. We should be used to this. Being a Cleveland sports fan is about dealing with letdowns.

Constantly.

Browns fans are the most abused. Year after year, it's unrequited love followed by anger ... then resignation.

It's getting geared up for the draft...

The new coaching staff...

The new quarterback...

Then being dragged into a ditch of disappointment by the reality of the regular season. That's why I can't believe you're still out there ... reading me.

And why I remain eternally grateful.

THERE'S LEBRON'S HOMECOMING

I know, being a Cleveland sports fan means suffering. It means wanting to believe something good will happen, but doubting it ever will.

I remember when I first heard that LeBron James was coming back. I kept thinking, "Something will go wrong." But after the Cavs lost in The Finals, I realized that so much went so right.

You can wonder if the Cavs would have defeated Golden State with a healthy Kevin Love and/or Kyrie Irving. But I loved how they played with such heart in the postseason. I so appreciated how James became a serious leader. I found myself pulling for David Blatt because so many were so quick to dismiss the coach from Europe.

Matthew Dellavedova...

J.R. Smith...

Tristan Thompson...

Timofey Mozgov...

James...

That was the starting lineup for several postseason games. How did The Finals even last six games with that group? Especially given how Golden State has proven to be a powerhouse once again this season.

The Cavs are back, with a healthy Love and a more confident Blatt. And yes, there are a bunch of guys hurt, too. Maybe they'll win title, maybe they won't. But they are a legitimate title contender with a player who has led his team to the NBA Finals in each of the last five seasons.

I'm thankful for a chance to write that story as it unfolds.

OUR TRIBE, OUR SPORTS FAMILIES

Like many fans, I sometimes become frustrated by the Indians. It could be because Major League Baseball refuses to have a salary cap. It could be because I do wish ownership would spend a little more.

But I am thankful the Indians do have a Cleveland-based family such as the Dolans owning the team and putting money into the ballpark. When I grew up with the Tribe in the 1960s and early 1970s, there were stories that the team would move. Former Plain Dealer Sports Editor Hal Lebovitz exposed one of those plots, and saved the team for the city.

As long as the Dolans own the Tribe, they will stay here. Cleveland will remain the smallest media market with MLB, NBA and NFL teams.

I grew up with the Tribe. I wrote a book called Our Tribe, about how my father talked about Bob Feller, Hal Trosky, Lou Boudreau and so many other stars from the 1930s and 1940s as if they were members of our family.

So many of you were given the Browns as a birthright, and remained loyal. That's something none of the ownerships here -- be it before the move or after -- will ever fully appreciate.

My father gave me the Indians. I'm already planning my trip to spring training. Know why I can do that? Because of you. Because you read me and the rest of us.

THE REAL GAMES, THE REAL STORY

"You get paid to go to ball games."

My father once said that to me when I was in my 20s and complaining about my job. The words had power because he spent much of his life working in the warehouse at old Fisher Fazio foods. I worked there for several summers. It was good, honest work with a decent paycheck.

But it was nothing like the joy that I'm able to take from my job. That's true even in these days where no one is sure what will happen to newspapers or where we are headed in the galaxy of the Internet.

More than 40 years ago, my first byline appeared in the old Cleveland Press as I covered some high school games. I was a student at Cleveland State and working part-time at that long-gone afternoon paper. I wrote those stories on ... get this ... a typewriter and paper!!!

I receive some emails wondering how I can keep writing these laments about the teams, year after year. In some cases, it's decade after decade. Some fans say they feel sorry for me.

Are you kidding? After all these decades, I'm still being paid to write about sports.

And for that, I'm so grateful to you ... the readers.

What to expect from a Jim Harbaugh Michigan team heading into Saturday's game in Ann Arbor.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- I'm not an expert on Michigan football, just a simple man with a DVR and a cool remote that lets me watch plays in slow motion.

But there's no denying that the Wolverines are doing things a different way this year under Jim Harbaugh. Michigan comes into Saturday's game against Ohio State with a 9-2 record, and a four-game winning streak predicated on strong defense and an offense that isn't flashy but does enough to win.

That might sound familiar.

That's exactly how Michigan State beat Ohio State last week.

* Ohio State Rewatch: What happened to Buckeyes offense?

This isn't saying that Michigan will win this week, we'll give those reasons on Friday as we always do when we give five reasons each team will win. This is an early look at what to expect from Michigan on Saturday.

Here's what I came away with after watching some plays from Michigan's win over Northwestern, and its loss to Michigan State. Let's start with the defense.

Michigan's defense

The Wolverines are very confident in their base defense, it seems. I wouldn't expect anything tricky this week, because the Wolverines are already pretty diverse on defense. In the games that I watched, I saw mostly 3-4 fronts with Royce Jenkins-Stone (No. 52) playing a stand-up defensive end/linebacker role on the end of the line.

But there were also some four-man fronts in running situations. Michigan will blitz, and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin is good as disguising it. Ohio State's pass protection struggles will be tested against a defense with 29 sacks, but it's about more than the pressure.

Michigan is very strong on the back end with cornerback Jourdan Lewis and safety Jabrill Peppers back there. Lewis is the best corner, expect him matched up with Michael Thomas a lot. In the Michigan State game, Lewis saw a lot of Spartans leading receiver Aaron Burbridge. MLive.com has an excellent breakdown of how that matchup played out here.

What I noticed is that most throws were contested, Spartans quarterback Connor Cook had small windows because even when Lewis got beat off the line, like he did on this play, he recovered in time to break it up.

Bill Landis, cleveland.com 

Lewis is second in the country in passes defended with 22.

Peppers is a different. A good cover guy who will line up over slot receivers, he's also fast enough to come up and take away plays on the perimeter, like a Vonn Bell does for Ohio State. Here's a play from the Northwestern game where Peppers comes up and blows up an option.

Ohio State could also take advantage of an overly-aggressive Peppers with some smart play designs.

My biggest takeaway from watching these games is that Michigan will try to take away the run and make Ohio State pass. Few teams have had success running the ball against Michigan. Indiana had over 300 yards in an overtime loss, but that's the only monster game the Wolverines have allowed on the ground.

It's a sound defense, strong against the run and stifling against the pass. The Wolverines have allowed only six touchdown passes all year.

Northwestern had some moderate success in the first half with a quick underneath passing game that attacked the linebackers. Michigan State got its passing yards with some double moves, and by attacking the guys in the secondary not named Lewis and Peppers.

But until Ohio State proves it can throw the ball, expect Michigan to be coming downhill at Ohio State's run game early and often, just like Michigan State did.

Michigan's offense

The Wolverines defense gets a ton of credit for the team's success, and rightly so. But this offense looks like it's becoming increasingly proficient and more balanced. In the two games I watched, which were both from earlier in the year, I saw 32 offensive plays. Twenty of them were runs, 12 were called pass plays.

It's sort of flipped now with Michigan's passing attack becoming more of a weapon.

Of the 12 called pass plays, seven were play action. So even though quarterback Jake Rudock has become a much better player over the last few weeks, his success still starts with the run.

De'Veon Smith is the feature back running behind an offensive line that's improved from last year and was getting off the line well in both games I watched. These counter looks with Smith went for some nice yardage in both games. Everyone comes off the ball to the right, and Smith cuts it back to left through a hole off-tackle.

Bill Landis, cleveland.com 

It sets up the passing game for Rudock, who over his last three games has thrown for 1,033 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. He looked calm in the pocket, even when the pressure was there and he's big enough to see over the pressure to still deliver throws.

He can move, too. Rudock scored a rushing touchdown on a well-run read-option against Northwestern.

Receiver Amara Darboh and tight end Jake Butt are his favorite receivers. Butt can be deadly off of play-action. Here's a play from the Northwestern game where Butt chips a linebacker then cuts back to the sideline. He couldn't be more open because the play action is sold so well. Butt takes it 32 yards to set up a touchdown.

The Wolverines also like to find different ways to get the ball to receiver Jehu Chesson. On this play Chesson starts lined up inside the formation like a tight end, then comes back across the formation and his wide open for Rudock off a play action boot. 

Bill Landis, cleveland.com 

Bill Landis, cleveland.com 

Michigan will run the fullback out of heavy sets, and did it four times out of the 20 running plays I saw. The fullback handoffs are quick and kind of tricky, almost like a triple-option handoff to an up-back.

And don't forget about Peppers on offense. He'll run it, he can throw it, he's a weapon. Think of him like you'd think of an Urban Meyer H-back. Get him the ball any way you can and watch him go.

After nearly forfeiting the decisive game of the American Basketball League Finals, the Cleveland Pipers win two buzzer-beaters and the final game on the road to become champions.

'George Steinbrenner's Pipe Dream: The ABL Champion Cleveland Pipers' by Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston.  

In the new book "George Steinbrenner's Pipe Dream: The ABL Champion Cleveland Pipers", Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston tells the story of Cleveland's only modern-day pro basketball champion to date. The book is available from Northeast Ohio book stores and online from KentStateUniversityPress.com and from Amazon.com. The suggested retail price is $18.95.

Look for daily excerpts through Friday this week in The Plain Dealer and on cleveland.com. This excerpt, the fourth of five, explores the trials the team faced in the championship series.

***

To play ... or not to play the championship game

If there were to be a fifth and final game in the ABL Finals against Kansas City, it would be played -- where exactly?

The site was still in the argumentative stage. Most leagues with a modicum of professionalism would have decided where their showcase series would be played before it actually was being played. But that was the ABL, disorder wrapped in confusion, surrounded by chaos.

The Pipers thought the decisive game was to be played in Cleveland, the Steers in Kansas City. But the Ice Capades were booked into Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium for April 8, 1962.

Mike Cleary, once the Pipers general manager, now the Steers GM after becoming the first man ever fired in pro sports by George Steinbrenner, announced the plans. The fifth game, if necessary, would be held at Kansas City's little Rockhurst College in Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse. This enraged Steinbrenner, who thought ABL commissioner Abe Saperstein had promised otherwise.

After the Pipers lost the first two games in Kansas City, they took a pair of two-point victories at the buzzer in Cleveland Arena. Given new life by back-to-back buzzer-beaters, Steinbrenner, incredibly, was willing to snuff any chance for the championship, ruin the culmination of the season and thwart the dreams of his players because he did not get his way on the site for the fifth game.

It smelled of cost considerations, as Steinbrenner tried to avoid another trip to Kansas City because it had turned into a financial hemorrhage.

Next, ABL Commissioner and Harlem Globetrotters impresario Abe Saperstein decided the final game would be played in St. Louis - after a one-week delay to set up a Globetrotters game as the preliminary attraction.

Backing off from that preposterous idea, Saperstein then said the fifth game would be played in Cleveland on Tuesday, April 10.

Somewhere in this hectic flurry of indecisiveness, the Steers were offered a co-championship with the Pipers. They declined.

This was followed by another flip-flop. Back the game went, Saperstein blustered, to Rockhurst College at 8:15 Sunday, April 8.

The late notice, by telegram on April 7, of that decision, claimed the Pipers, made it impossible to arrange transportation on short notice in an era when all teams traveled on commercial planes.

Amid all this waffling, Steinbrenner said the Pipers would forfeit.

"That suits me fine," said fiery Jack McMahon, the Steers' coach. "You can bet we'll be there. We came (to Cleveland) for two games in the first half playoff and beat them. We had the best record in the league. I think it's about time we had the home court for a change."

"We're not going," said the Pipers' general manager, Ben Flieger.

The only team at Rockhurst College on Sunday, April 8 was Kansas City. The Pipers did not show up. The game was not forfeited.

Saperstein next telegraphed that he had reached a final decision by "usual sporting gesture of tossing up coin. Result controversial game must be played previously designated college gym in Kansas City no later than Monday night, April 9."

Citing "the good of the league," the Pipers voted to play, boarding a 10:30 p.m. flight Sunday that was due to land in Kansas City at 2:30 in the morning of the championship game.

"It's too bad we have to play in some dinky college gym," said Steinbrenner.

All the Pipers except center Connie Dierking boarded the plane. The center had not overcome his fear of flying and was reported to be driving to Cincinnati to catch an overnight train to Kansas City.

"If he doesn't make it to the court on time," Bob Sudyk wrote in the Cleveland Press, "Cleveland's stock will drop lower than anything in Kansas City's stockyard."

"The boys are fighting mad about the situation," said coach Bill Sharman, "and I only hope that the confusion of the last 24 hours doesn't upset them too much on the court."

It didn't.

Surrounded by the controversies that had probably been encoded in their principal owner's DNA and that certainly were mostly his fault; with their acrophobic big man riding the rails; with the whole long, exhausting, exasperating season almost forfeited on account of their owner's unreasonableness; with very few friends around in the climactic game - the Pipers nevertheless were ready.

On the evening of April 9, 1962, four Rockhurst College freshmen held signs that read, "Welcome Pipers to our 'dinky gym.'"

Attendance was estimated at 3,000, double the listed capacity.

So rare is a Cleveland championship that fans today probably would expect it to be an event worthy of the Rapture.

Nothing so apocalyptic occurred.

"Cleveland didn't have anybody in the stands other than the guys on their bench. My recollection is that Steinbrenner did not come to the game. I'm sure John McLendon was there," Cleary said.

The Pipers, booed thunderously, scored 106 points. The Steers, cheered thunderously whenever they showed signs of life, scored 102.

At halftime, Sharman said to Cleary, "Hey, when this game ends, I've got a flight to L.A. It's the only one I can catch. Can you have someone take me to the airport? I'll pay the guy."

Cleary grabbed an intern to be Sharman's chauffeur.

Kansas City cut the lead to 101-98 with 2:15 to play. Dick Barnett missed. "Rabbit" Barnhill, a mite at 6-1 in a giant's game, rebounded and whipped the ball to Johnny Cox for the three-pointer to clinch it.

Supposedly, the Pipers, in a touching gesture, handed the title trophy, not to Sharman, but to McLendon, who was there to support his former players. Sharman, of course, had already raced off to L.A.

As for the trophy, Cleary said, "I'm sure there was something, but I never saw it."

Only Barnett was paid. "I got $17 for the five games," he said. "But I never told anyone about it because I didn't want my teammates to feel bad."

A second season depended on turning the Pipers into a team the NBA had to have.

"We could play in a church league and pack the house with Jerry Lucas," Steinbrenner said.

***

Adapted from the book "George Steinbrenner's Pipe Dream: The ABL Champion Cleveland Pipers" (c) 2015 by Bill Livingston. All rights reserved. This text may not be reproduced in any form or manner without written permission of Kent State University Press, Publishers. For information, call the publisher at 800-247-6553 or visit their web site: KentStateUniversityPress.com.

Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston will be signing copies of his new book about the Cleveland Pipers at the Crocker Park Barnes & Noble, 198 Crocker Park Blvd. in Westlake on Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 7- 9 p.m.

About the series:

Excerpts from "George Steinbrenner's Pipe Dream: The ABL Champion Cleveland Pipers", the new book by Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston, publishing this week in The Plain Dealer and on cleveland.com.

Monday: The Cleveland Pipers, champions of a visionary league, were undermined after being admitted to the NBA by their owner's overbearing personality and insecure finances. (Click here)

Tuesday: The Pipers' pioneering coach, John McLendon, and stormy owner, George Steinbrenner, were on a collision course from the start. (Click here)

Wednesday: The Pipers' players revolt, and Steinbrenner's strong-arm actions force McLendon to resign. (Click here)

Thursday: After nearly forfeiting the decisive game of the ABL Finals, the Pipers win two buzzer-beaters and the final game on the road to become champions.

Friday: Against all odds, the Pipers sign Ohio State superstar Jerry Lucas, seemingly assuring a successful future.

Windy weather has limited fishing over the past week: Ohio Fishing Report

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Windy weather has limited fishing on Lake Erie over the past week. Here is the weekly fishing report for Lake Erie, as provided by the ODNR Division of Wildlife:

Walleye

Where: Night fishing has been good off Kelleys Island and around Cleveland harbor.

How: Most walleye have been caught by trolling with crankbaits.

Notable:

• The Lake Erie water temperature is 44 off Toledo and 51 off Cleveland according to the nearshore marine forecast.
• The daily bag limit for walleye in Ohio waters of Lake Erie is 6 fish per angler. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15 inches.
• The daily bag limit for yellow perch is 30 fish per angler in all Ohio waters of Lake Erie.
• The trout and salmon daily bag limit is 2 fish per angler. The minimum size limit is 12 inches.
• The black bass (largemouth and smallmouth bass) daily bag limit is 5 fish per angler with a 14 inch minimum size limit.

"National championships come around every so often, but you play that team every year," senior linebacker Joshua Perry said. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A team that has won 48 of 52 games in the last four years isn't very familiar with defeat of any kind. Losing to Michigan is an especially foreign taste to Ohio State.

Only fifth-year seniors like Braxton Miller, Nick Vannett and Chase Farris have any connection to watching the Wolverines win. As every Ohio State fan knows, Michigan's only victory in the last 11 years of the rivalry came in 2011.

As a freshman quarterback, Miller was 14 of 25 for 235 yards and two touchdowns in that game, also running 16 times for 100 yards. Miller overthrew DeVier Posey in the closing minutes, just missing what could have been a go-ahead touchdown, as Ohio State lost in Ann Arbor 40-34.

That was first-year interim coach Luke Fickell vs. first-year Michigan coach Brady Hoke. That was a long time ago.

Since then? Ohio State won a national title and got back to winning against Michigan. The current OSU seniors have title rings and 3-0 records against the Wolverines that could remain perfect forever with a win Saturday.

After Saturday's 17-14 loss to Michigan State, senior linebacker and captain Joshua Perry cheered himself up with that prospect.

"The one thing that's really going to make me feel better is getting that fourth pair of Gold Pants and so that's just a mission for me and I know a goal for a lot of the seniors," Perry said.

Hopes of repeating a national title have dimmed. Maintaining that perfection may be almost as valuable as a championship.

"When I first came in I told my dad, that would be really really cool to leave here like that," senior left tackle and captain Taylor Decker. "I've seen videos of former players here in the NFL and that'll be a point of trash talk for them if they didn't win four pairs of Gold Pants."

That's right, four trinkets commemorating a win over Michigan became commonplace for Ohio State seniors for a while.

The senior classes of 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007 all went 4-0 during their careers as Jim Tressel dominated Michigan. Before that, only the 1963 and 1937 Ohio State seniors walked out on four-game winning streaks. Freshman eligibility was different back then, so actually playing while beating Michigan four times is especially rare.

"That would be another unbelievable accomplishment if our senior class could finish this up," senior defensive tackle Tommy Schutt said. "That's something not very many people who have played at Ohio State can say. Another thing that would make our careers even better would be to have a sweep against them.

"My four years here, the rivalry transcends that, but for me to be able to say our class did our part in winning four of those games, I think that would be huge, I think that would be everything," Decker said. "Them having a big year and good year this year, I think that'll make it even better if we can cap off our senior year, our regular season, with a win up there to get our fourth pair."

The seniors are in charge of getting the Buckeyes over Saturday's loss as a team. But they've talked about their own legacies.

"Being 3-0 against them, that's something we've talked about, something we're going to pride ourselves on and use as motivation," Schutt said."

It's not a national title. But it's close. And that national title isn't going away. Among the eight national titles claimed by Ohio State in 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002 and 2014, only once has a title come during a four-year win streak against Michigan.

Again, freshmen weren't eligible then, but only Ohio State's 1963 senior class went out 4-0 against Michigan and with a national title, having won it as sophomores in 1961.

These seniors could be the first to win a title and be on the field for four straight Michigan wins - the best of both worlds.

"That's something to brag about, something you can always talk about, something people around here through all of eras of Ohio State football can really appreciate," Perry said of that potential 4-0 mark. "National championships come around every so often, but you play that team every year."

LeBron James mourned the loss of an 18-year-old from Wisconsin whom he had befriended but died Wednesday of cancer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James played Wednesday in Toronto with a heavy heart because of the passing of an 18-year-old he had befriended who lost her battle with cancer.

Ebony Nettles-Bay, of Madison, Wisconsin died from complications of a rare, aggressive soft-tissue cancer she contracted in 2013.

In March of 2014, Nettles-Bay, a talented high school basketball player, famously met James when he was a member of the Miami Heat and his team was in Milwaukee to play the Bucks.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, James invited Nettles-Bay to lead the Heat out onto the floor from the locker room that night.

On Wednesday night, James wrote "R.I.P. Ebony" on the Nike shoes he wore in the Cavaliers' 103-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors. James scored 24 points and passed Reggie Miller for 18th on the all-time scoring list.

Before the game in an Instagram post memorializing her, James said he "shed a few tears" over word of Nettles-Bay's death.

R.I.P Ebony! Truly will miss you as well as you're loved ones will as well! Incredible spirit and energy about u that not many can say they carry daily! Shed a few tears when they came and told me today but I know you're in a better place now. Will never forget the smiles and laughs we shared together! #LiveOnEbony #TheHellWithCancer

A photo posted by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Nov 25, 2015 at 3:55pm PST

Earlier this year James met with several sick children, many of them suffering from cancer, during an event at The Q through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

He also sent a care package to a 19-year-old suffering from a brain tumor in Indianapolis.

Former Browns' standout Josh Cribbs is starting youth flag football leagues.

BEREA, Ohio - Former Browns' receiver Josh Cribbs is starting area flag football leagues for kids ages 6-11.

Such leagues have been around forever, but the three-time Pro Bowler has opted to put his name behind the project in response to parents' concerns over head injuries.

Many contact sports are dealing with the specter of concussions at all levels. None more than football. Clinical research has tied repeated head trauma to memory loss, depression and dementia.

Browns have led NFL in concussions since 2012

"A lot of parents are worried about concussions with their kids in contact sports," Cribbs said. "I want my son to play contact sports but my wife is so scared that every time she watches a football game she thinks somebody is going to get knocked out.

Josh Cribbs is starting area flag football leagues

"My (6-year-old) son (Israel) will play football. It probably will be flag football up until high school. I want him to wait as long as possible."

What is the right time for parents to enroll their football-loving kids into organized tackle football?

Debate it over another round of turkey and stuffing and take part in our cleveland.com poll. Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend.

Can the Ohio State offense get going or will the Wolverines defense dominate like the Michigan State defense did last week? Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The idea that the defending National Champions are going on the road as underdogs to a first-year coach might be outrageous enough in itself.

The 112th edition of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry on Saturday could get weird, just like the way Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh are around each other.

The Buckeyes play the Wolverines in Michigan Stadium with a noon kickoff in the final game of the regular season. Big Ten Championship implications are on the line. The winner of this game would go to Indianapolis if Michigan State loses to Penn State, and that game is a 3:30 kickoff after this one.

The winner won't know what the win means completely, other than beating your rival, which is plenty, until later.

So what could happen Saturday? Here are our outrageous predictions.

Doug Lesmerises predicts two touchdown passes for J.T. Barrett

Ohio State is tied for 65th in the nation with 17 touchdown passes. A year ago, the Buckeyes were tied for fourth in the nation with 42 touchdown passes.

That dropoff is insane. That's why this prediction qualifies as outrageous.

Last year, Barrett threw at least two touchdown passes in nine of his 12 starts. This year? The Buckeyes have thrown at least two touchdown passes in five of 11 games.

So managing two touchdown passes against a Michigan pass defense ranked fourth in the nation that has given up six touchdown passes all year? That's definitely outrageous.

Barrett has nine touchdown passes, with two coming in his red zone role against Penn State and three in his first start against woeful Rutgers. In his last two starts, he threw one touchdown pass against Illinois and one against Michigan State.

Maybe even one against the Wolverines would qualify as outrageous.

Bill Landis predicts a defensive touchdown for Michigan

A pick-six to be more precise. Michigan has one of the best secondaries in the country, and they're aggressive against good receivers. When corner Jourdan Lewis is matched up with Michael Thomas, he could jump one of those hitch routes near the sideline that have worked so well for Thomas this season.

If Lewis does that, he can return one for a touchdown. That would be the first defensive touchdown scored against Ohio State since Penn State did it last year.

Ari Wasserman predicts Ohio State will have less than 175 yards of offense

There was a point before the season when we all thought it was reasonable to expect Ohio State would average 50 points per game. Now we're at the point where I think it's possible Ohio State will fail to reach 175 yards of total offense for the second consecutive week. And it isn't entirely because of Michigan's great defense. 

Ohio State's offense has looked off season, and last weekend's loss to Michigan State was when it finally got bit in the form of a loss. It's just hard to imagine that whatever is wrong -- a problem that's lasted almost three months -- will get fixed in a week. 

Four of our pickers think No. 4 will lose and five think No. 7 will lose.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's that time of the year. Something in college football should go wrong this weekend.

As No. 8 Ohio State prepares for a visit to No. 10 Michigan, the Buckeyes have plenty of teams above them who could go down this weekend, creating an opportunity for the Ohio State-Michigan winner.

No. 3 Oklahoma is a 7-point favorite at No. 11 Oklahoma State on Saturday.

No. 4 Iowa is a 1.5-point favorite at Nebraska on Friday.

No. 5 Michigan State is an 11-point favorite vs. Penn State on Saturday, if starting quarterback Connor Cook is back healthy.

No. 6 Notre Dame is a 4-point underdog at No. 9 Stanford on Saturday.

No. 7 Baylor is a 1.5-point favorite at No. 19 TCU on Friday night. 

What do our picker say? They say things could go wrong. Among our six prognosticators, our three Ohio State writers and three readers, there are 16 picks against those six teams ranked Nos. 3 through 7.

Only one picker thinks Baylor will win and only two think Iowa will win. Beyond the games, we have picker pride on the line - if there's any left.

Here are the results from last week:

* Reader Tony Marusic 15-6

* Doug 15-6

* Bill 15-6

* Reader Andrew Moore 14-7

* Reader David Safier 14-7

* Ari 13-8

Now, the overall standings:

Teams

With Tony's help last week, Team Bill gained three games on Team Ari to pull back ahead by seven after the gap had narrowed. Team Doug is happy to be back within 10 games of second.

* Team Bill 346-138

* Team Ari 339-145

* Team Doug 329-155

Readers vs. Us

We tied the readers last week. Not losing ground is a highlight of our terrible picking season.

* Readers 518-208

* Cleveland.com 496-230

Now introducing this week's pickers ...

Team Bill, basically in a victory lap, adds Jon Wilson of Beavercreek, Ohio. He can be found on Twitter @buckeye7254.

Team Ari welcomes Dan Gregorich of Cincinnati, who is on Twitter @somewhitepunk.

Team Doug brings in Cole Freshkorn from Columbus and needs him to go undefeated. He is on Twitter @freshsixseven.

The games:

FRIDAY

Navy at Houston

Navy: Bill, Dan, Jon

Houston: Doug, Ari, Cole

Washington State at Washington

Washington State: Doug, Bill, Jon, Cole

Washington: Ari, Dan

Iowa at Nebraska

Iowa: Doug, Bill

Nebraska: Ari, Dan, Jon, Cole

Miami at Pitt

Pitt: Everyone

Missouri at Arkansas

Arkansas: Doug, Dan, Jon, Cole

Missouri: Ari, Bill

Oregon State at Oregon

Oregon: Everyone

Baylor at TCU

Baylor: Doug

TCU: Ari, Bill, Dan, Jon, Cole

SATURDAY

Ohio State at Michigan (Ari, Doug and Bill will reveal picks Friday)

Ohio State: Dan, Jon, Cole

Indiana at Purdue

Indiana: Everyone

Maryland at Rutgers

Maryland: Doug, Ari, Bill

Rutgers: Dan, Jon, Cole

Northwestern at Illinois

Northwestern: Everyone

Penn State at Michigan State

Michigan State: Everyone

Wisconsin at Minnesota

Wisconsin: Doug, Ari, Bill, Dan, Jon

Minnesota: Cole

Clemson at South Carolina

Clemson: Everyone

North Carolina at NC State

North Carolina: Ari, Bill, Jon, Cole

NC State: Doug, Dan

Alabama at Auburn

Alabama: Everyone

UCLA at USC

UCLA: Bill

USC: Doug, Ari, Dan, Jon, Cole

Louisville at Kentucky

Louisville: Doug, Ari, Dan, Jon, Cole

Kentucky: Bill

Ole Miss at Mississippi State

Ole Miss: Ari, Jon, Cole

Mississippi State: Doug, Bill, Dan

Florida State at Florida

Florida State: Doug, Bill, Dan, Jon, Cole

Florida: Ari

Texas A&M at LSU

Texas A&M: Ari, Jon

LSU: Doug, Bill, Dan, Cole

Notre Dame at Stanford

Notre Dame: Ari

Stanford: Doug, Bill, Dan, Jon, Cole

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State

Oklahoma: Ari, Bill, Dan, Jon

Oklahoma State: Doug, Cole

Ranked No. 19 in the cleveland.com preseason boys basketball Top 25, the Raiders and their guard-heavy team say they have a “chip” on their shoulders.

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio – There’s an unrest inside the south gym of Shaker Heights High School.

Ranked No. 19 in the cleveland.com preseason boys basketball Top 25, the Raiders and their guard-heavy team say they have a “chip” on their shoulders.

“Going from No. 1 to 19 in the polls, we’re the underdog,” senior guard Jeramie Burge said.

Much has changed since Shaker Heights held that ranking. Center Esa Ahmad took his 6-foot-9 frame to West Virginia. Second-leading scorer David Wright transferred to Euclid, and wing Braun Hartfield moved to Garfield Heights.

Coach Danny Young said his answer to those departures is more pressure defense, much more than his recent Raiders teams.

See the Raiders in action during practice and here what they’re saying leading up to the season. Read more on Shaker in its preview capsule below.

Shaker Heights Raiders

2014-15 record: 20-7, 8-2 in Northeast Ohio Conference (lost to Garfield Heights in regional final).

Coach: Danny Young (seventh season).

Alignment: Division I, Solon district.

Returning starters: Amani Redus (6-1, Jr., G, 9.2 points).

In the rotation: Kevin Bishop (6-4, Fr., F), Dale Bonner (6-2, So., G), Jeramie Burge (6-1, Sr., G, 3.2 points, 1.2 assists), Jordan Burge (6-3, So., G, 2.3 points, 1.0 assists), Cory Ivory (6-3, So., F, MLK transfer).

The skinny: With Esa Ahmad now playing for Bob Huggins at West Virginia, Danny Young’s Red Raiders will become a guard-oriented team with Redus and the Burge brothers back. Bishop could make an impact as a freshman, while Bonner showed his promise last season on the JV squad. … A lot more players from that JV team will be in this season’s rotation, including 6-3 sophomore Jaylin Garner, a linebacker on the football team. … Shaker opens play in the new GCC on Dec. 4 at Strongsville, followed by a Dec. 11 home game with Solon. They travel to Warrensville Heights on Dec. 12 and visit Garfield Heights on Dec. 23 for a regional final rematch.

Click here for Shaker Heights’ 2015-16 schedule

For more high school sports news, like NEOvarsity on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Contact high school sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.

Ohio City watering hole Old Angle is involved in NBC Sports's online poll to name the best Premier League soccer bar in America. You can vote to help the locals in this match.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Soccer on the tube.  A pint of Newcastle going down the hatch. A bar full of boisterous blokes.

Can life get any better?

Not to the football fanatics at the Old Angle, who regularly find themselves in nirvana during Premier League games. The Ohio City bar -- 1848 West 25th Street, Cleveland -- has developed a loyal following for the English professional football league.

So much so that NBC Sports considers it one of the best Premier League/Soccer Bars in America.

NBC Sports is running an online poll to name the best such bar. Old Angle has been scoring a Top Ten throughout the poll, which includes 80 bars across the country.

The Ohio City watering hole is the only area bar in the competition; the closest competitor is Fado in Columbus.

"We are up against bars in much larger markets, and a few chains, but we've been holding our own," says owner Alex Gleason. "There are a lot of great soccer bars in Cleveland, like Parnell's or Merry Arts or Fox and Hound, so we're honored to be on this list representing the area."

To vote, go to bestplbarcontest.nbcsports.com/homepage.

Old Angle, which opened in 2003, has been one of the "trending bars" listed on the Web page for much of the competition.

"We'll often have 100 people coming here on a Saturday morning for the games," says Gleason. "But it's not just the number of people - these fans are very passionate with a real knowledge of the game."

Voting ends Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Soccer aside, this is a cool bar with a laidback vibe, where everyone is welcome. So go ahead and show your support. For more info on Old Angle's soccer scene, go to facebook.com/OldAngleSoccer.

We didn't wait until Michigan week to write about Jim Harbaugh and Michigan. In fact, we've written a lot about him through the scope of recruiting the last 10 months. Inside are seven things you must know about Jim Harbaugh the recruiter.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- We didn't wait until Michigan week to write about Jim Harbaugh and Michigan. In fact, we've written a lot about Harbaugh through the scope of recruiting the last 10 months. 

So here are seven things you need to know about Jim Harbaugh the recruiter: 

1. The story behind how Harbaugh got Andrew Luck: One of Harbaugh's biggest selling points, at least to quarterbacks, is what he was able to do from a developmental standpoint with Luck, now an emerging star with the Indianapolis Colts. 

But how did Harbaugh go down into the Houston area and land Luck? We'll give you the whole story behind that trip, but you need to know that Harbaugh scooped and dropped Frito pie on his shirt. Click here for the full story. 

2. Harbaugh is friends with G-Eazy and Big Sean: A few of Harbaugh's first moves at Michigan were becoming friends with rappers G-Eazy and Big Sean. Harbaugh Tweeted a picture of himself wearing a G-Eazy hat and after Big Sean released his latest album -- "Dark Sky Paradise" -- Michigan made an edit to the album cover that read "Go Blue." Harbaugh, who referred to Big Sean as a friend, posted that on his Twitter, too. 

So what's the point of all of this? Well, if you scroll through Harbaugh's Twitter timeline, you'll find that most of his Tweets are reposted around 1,000 times. The G-Eazy and Big Sean Tweets, though, reached over 3,000 retweets. 

It's smart. It's branding. It's a way for Michigan to become one with some of the biggest names in pop culture, and prospects respond to that. Click here for the full story.

3. Harbaugh isn't emphasizing recruiting Ohio: ... Yet? 

In the 2016 recruiting class, the first class Harbaugh is assembling at Michigan, the Wolverines have 21 verbal commitments. None of them are from Ohio. 

The 2016 offers breakdown gives us an idea as to how that's possible. Of the 225 reported offers Michigan has issued according to 247Sports, only seven are to prospects in Ohio. Michigan has sent out 33 offers to prospects from Florida, 33 to Texas, 28 to California, 12 to Michigan and 11 to New Jersey. 

The same is true in the 2017 class. Though Michigan offered four-star offensive guard Matt Bockhorst from Cincinnati St. Xavier on Monday evening, the Wolverines have only offered seven Ohio prospects out of the 137 offers reported. Again, Florida (21), Texas (15) and California (11) lead the charge. 

Want to know theories for why? Read the whole story here. 

4. Does Harbaugh have a teenage spy in Ohio? Not intentionally. But maybe? 

There's a 15-year-old named Clay Williams who lives minutes away from Ohio State's campus, a boy who is a devout Michigan fan despite having a grandfather who played alongside Howard "Hopalong" Cassady on the Buckeyes' 1954 national title team.

Oh, one more thing: This boy also sometimes knows top-secret recruiting information before the world does. Read the full story here. 

5. Harbaugh sends digital birthday cakes: What makes the world of recruiting so awesome these days is that a coach can reach anyone in a matter of seconds through social media. Harbaugh did that on four-star defensive back Jonathan Jones birthday, presenting the prospect of Orlando (Fla.) Oak Ridge with a digital birthday cake. 

[?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] WHAT!?! S/o to UMich for the love [?][?][?][?] pic.twitter.com/do96yg7Lvk

-- J.Jones (@KingCaarlos) November 19, 2015

6. Harbaugh, Urban Meyer and James Franklin in a three-way battle for New Jersey in recruiting: Ohio State is currently engaged in an intense, three-way war with Michigan and Penn State for supremacy in New Jersey, one of the most densely-populated areas for elite high school football talent in the country. 

The most ironic part of that war? It turns out that the biggest contribution Rutgers brought to the Big Ten is how it's indirectly making Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State better. Read the full story here. 

7. Harbaugh and virtual reality: Michigan and Jim Harbaugh are experimenting with virtual reality headsets for visitors who aren't there one game day so the prospect can experience what it would be like to run out of the tunnel in the Big House. Read the full story here. 

Now bowl eligible, the Akron Zips look to increase their victory total for the season up to seven while Kent State wants to snap four-game losing skid.

CLEVELAND, Ohio --  Friday's noon Akron-Kent State football game at InfoCision Stadium takes on a consistent air of drama with more angst surrounding the loser over praises for the victory. Being a consistent winner is something neither program has enjoyed for decades.

Only one team has a chance at a winning season this year as the Zips (6-5, 4-3) have used the back end of the Mid-American Conference ranks to become bowl eligible. Yet even that is a dubious honor right now as the cash-strapped university will now have to find the funds to get coach Terry Bowden's crew to a December bowl game.

"For the first time in 10 years, we are bowl eligible,'' Bowden said after the latest victory over Buffalo, and at his weekly media session. "I want to thank the players for that."

A victory over the Golden Flashes (3-8, 2-5) will make Akron a more marketable 7-5 bowl team. Also, the cache of Bowden's football pedigree will likely get the Zips a good bowl trip, perhaps even to the Bahamas.

The Zips will be looking to make this all happen on a day they will honor former Akron and Cleveland Browns quarterback Charlie Frye.

For the second straight season the Golden Flashes will need an upset triumph to make the off-season somewhat palatable, as they are currently on a four-game losing streak.

"It's a big game, guys are looking forward to it,'' KSU head coach Paul Haynes said at his weekly media briefing. "After all the dust clears and the hype goes away, it's about who executes the best. It comes down to two things. Who wants it more, and the execution of the game."

If there is an emotional edge for the game, it may belong to Haynes, the former KSU player, alum, and now head coach, who has been a part of many rivalries from Ohio State-Michigan, Michigan-Michigan State plus Akron-Kent.

"This is my heart, here," Haynes said of the rivalry. "I've been a part of this one as a player and a coach.''

Last season, Kent mustered enough offensively to earn a 27-24 triumph over the Zips that kept that Akron team from becoming bowl eligible, and kept both teams with losing seasons. The 2015 Flashes are much more inept, offensively, than they were last season. The offensive line is arguably worse and there is no anchor at quarterback.

So far this season, Kent's offense has failed to score a touchdown in five of 11 games, and only once against Division I opponents have the Golden Flashes scored more than two offensive touchdowns. Kent had four in an overtime loss to Marshall. If there is any hope to be drawn from KSU's offense, it did put up two scores in its last outing, a 27-14 setback to Central Michigan.

The Zips are in much better shape. They have won three straight games and four of their last six after a slow start to the season. The defense has been more than solid all season. Now the offense is improving by the week, scoring 37 and 42 points in Akron's last two games as quarterback Tommy Woodson.

In the last two games, victories over Miami and Buffalo, he has passed for a combined 479 yards and five touchdowns.

"It's just a big game,'' Bowden said of the rivalry. "Every year that is the No. 1 goal. To beat your rival."

Here is the rest of the MAC Schedule for the week.

FRIDAY

Western Michigan (6-5, 5-2) at Toledo (9-1, 6-1), noon, CBS Sports Net: The Broncos can salvage a somewhat disappointing season with a road upset at Toledo. But the Rockets, coming off a road win at Bowling Green, will be tough to handle at home with tailbacks Terry Swanson and Kareem Hunt both at full strength and the UT defense back on top of its game.

Kent State (3-8, 2-5) at Akron (6-5, 4-3), noon, ESPN3: A late season roll with three straight wins has propelled the Akron Zips to bowl eligibility. Quarterback Tommy Woodson is coming off a four-touchdown game over Buffalo, arguably his best performance of the season. Kent is going in the opposite direction, having lost four straight as scoring remains a huge challenge.

UMass (2-9, 1-6) at Buffalo (5-6, 3-4), 4 p.m., ESPNU: A very disappointing exit for UMass, playing in its final season in the MAC. UB needs a win to become bowl eligible.

Central Michigan (6-5, 5-2) at Eastern Michigan (1-10, 0-7), 1  p.m., ESPN3: CMU holds out hope of getting a share of first in the MAC West, but must win and hope for help from others.

Mike Pettine demoted Johnny Manziel not just because he partied over the bye weekend when he promised he wouldn't, but because he lied about it and tried to cover it up. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns coach Mike Pettine has come under heavy fire from fans for demoting Johnny Manziel for partying, but it was actually more for lying to him about it, as first reported here on Wednesday.

And the Browns still might not know the extent of Manziel's wild bye weekend, which began in Austin, Tex. on Thursday and Friday nights. A source told cleveland.com that Manziel also lived it up until the wee hours of Saturday night at XO Nightlife in Columbus, Ohio after he attended the Ohio State-Michigan State game that afternoon.

The source said patrons were prohibited from taking photos or videos of Manziel while he was at the club.

The lying is what Pettine meant when he repeatedly said Wednesday that Manziel had violated the team's trust. It's also a major reason Manziel was disciplined after this round of partying and not for the others. Manziel was also out on the town during his mini-bye weekend two weeks ago at Texas A&M, and admitted to day-drinking on Oct. 12, just hours before his roadway argument with his girlfriend, Colleen Crowley.

It was bad enough that Manziel -- who spent 70 days in inpatient rehab in the offseason -- broke his promise to Pettine and partied hard most of the weekend. But the more egregious error was lying to his offensive coaches when they grilled him Monday about the partying video that first surfaced that afternoon on bustedcoverage.com, sources told cleveland.com.

"To me, it's the trust and accountability part of it,'' Pettine said Wednesday. "Just right on the heels of discussions that not just I had with him but (quarterbacks coach) Kevin O'Connell and Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo). That trust was violated."

When reporters from cleveland.com and a few other local outlets interviewed Manziel at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank on Monday shortly after the video hit the internet, Manziel tried to pass it off as dated.

 "Videos can be old,'' he said. "Videos can be all kinds of different things. So like I said, I'm not in a state to be able to speak on it because my focus has been on this today and what really matters in this game on Monday. So that's where my focus has been. I did get a chance to relax. So I haven't seen anything like that, and I'm not going to be able to speculate on it right now."

Asked specifically if the video was old, Manziel said, "I haven't seen it, so I can't speak on it."

 In the 30-second clip first posted on DJ LX's Instagram account, Manziel is seen singing and dancing in the deejay booth at Summit Rooftop Lounge with a bottle of champagne in his hand.

The caption on the Instagram read, "Sippin on Dom Perignon for no reason with Johnny Manziel.''

Later Monday afternoon, after the video went viral on the internet, DJ LX not only took it down, but deleted it from his Instagram. When ESPN Cleveland's Tony Cartagena reached him to ask him about the video, the deejay responded that it was old.

But an eyewitness told cleveland.com on Monday that Manziel had been at the Austin bars on Friday night. What's more, as more photos surfaced on the internet, it became apparent that the video was from Friday night afterall.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer echoed on Thursday cleveland.com's report from Wednesday that Manziel had lied to the coach. He also reported that Manziel enlisted his buddies to join in the cover up.

Manziel ultimately came clean on Tuesday when Pettine questioned him again.  

The dishonesty is likely what left tackle Joe Thomas and receiver Brian Hartline were referring to when they alluded to more reasons for demoting Manziel than a 30-second video of him enjoying himself over the bye weekend.

"I'll let coach (Mike) Pettine dig into the justification, but I think it's probably more than what you see on the surface from a TMZ report or whatever report,'' said Thomas. "Like I said, we support coach's decision, and I'll let him kind of dig into the details of why he made the decision that he made.''

Hartline, responding specifically to a question about fans thinking that Pettine overreacted, backed up Thomas' assertion that the coach's decision to demote Manziel from starting quarterback to third-string was more about a pattern of behavior than an isolated incident.

"That's the thing (fans) don't understand,'' said Hartline. "You're talking about stuff that's in the locker room that you don't know all the facts to and you are making a lot of assumptions. That's kind of where we're standing right now, right? How we handle our business and how we go about things is on us and we stand behind the coach and the decisions. I think you guys heard Joe, Joe did a pretty good job. Kind of explained everything."

Asked to elaborate, Hartline said, "I'm just saying that it's an in-house thing that kind of spills outside because Johnny is Johnny. The people in the locker and the people upstairs know the whole story and how they feel about the whole situation. Regardless, moving forward, Johnny had a great practice today, he's not going to let it slow him down. Sometimes you gotta take one step backwards to go four or five steps forward and that can be the case."

So while Pettine has been getting drilled on social media by angry fans for too harsh a punishment, it was more about the lying and the attempted cover-up than the partying.

"It will be a process (to earn back the trust),'' said Pettine. "There is no magical solution to that. We tell our players, 'You lose trust in buckets and you regain it in drops.' I think that certainly applies here."

Something transpired in the Cleveland Cavaliers' locker room following their frustrating loss to the Toronto Raptors.

TORONTO - It took longer than usual for the locker room to open to media members after the Toronto Raptors manhandled the Cleveland Cavaliers down the stretch in the fourth quarter, resulting in the conference champs losing 103-99 Wednesday night.

As soon as you entered the room, the mood was tense. There was a somber feeling of a squad that had just lost a playoff game. Players were visibly frustrated and shocked. Tristan Thompson's head was tilted downward, as if he were ashamed of himself.

"It's up to the bigs," he said to cleveland.com. "We're playing too soft. Not tough enough. We have to step up."

This would be the theme of the evening.

Kevin Love and Mo Williams were sitting at their locker stalls quiet, with puzzled expressions glued to their faces. LeBron James emerged from the shower with a nasty snarl. The reverberations of an unacceptable outcome was everywhere.

Before the media was granted postgame locker room access, the players addressed a lack of toughness, heart and defensive awareness displayed in the fourth quarter Wednesday. James and James Jones demanded more.

"It wasn't a team meeting. It's just another game," Mo Williams said of the postgame team chat. "When you lose games, we just discuss things we could have done better and we need to do going forward. That was basically it."

The Cavaliers were neck and neck with the Raptors for three and a half quarters before Toronto went on a 9-0 run to eventually pull off the victory. Head coach David Blatt said he felt fatigue and their numerous injures played a factor in the loss.

"I thought that we got tired for obvious reason," he said. "We are very shorthanded. I thought our guys played hard. I thought we ran out of gas."

James was later asked about fatigue and he said, "No, it's not an excuse." Well, what about the injuries? He quickly responded, "It's not an excuse. ... We got to get better" and then voiced his disappointment and concern with the absence of physical play.

"It's all a mindset," James stated. "It comes from within. I've always had it. My upbringing had me like that, so it's either you got it or don't."

After James addressed the media, he walked over to Jones, Kevin Love, Williams and J.R. Smith and began breaking down their defensive shortcomings very animatedly. He wasn't quiet about it. He was trying to get a message across. Jones subsequently joined in agreement. It soon became a group discussion in the middle of the locker room.

Bismack Biyombo's name was mentioned. He came up with six boards and six points in the final quarter. He had two uncontested dunks in the final minute and a half that eliminated any chance of the Cavaliers making a comeback. Toronto had six "and-1s" in the quarter.

"We have to hold each other more accountable and we have to play better, and we will," James said. "But I don't think we improved tonight."

Kyle Lowry, who had a game-high 27 points, was pushing, shoving, and elbowing Jared Cunningham whenever he got the chance. For his part, Cunningham didn't back down. He pushed and shoved right back. But he can only do so much.

Cleveland didn't intimidate Toronto at all. When asked, Bismack didn't mince words about their roughhouse nature.

"The most important thing is that we played tough," Bismack told cleveland.com. "Cleveland is a good team, but when they come in here, they feel like we are the tough ones and that's what we want to accomplish as the definition of the Toronto Raptors."

Despite the Eastern Conference's best record at 11-4, every one of Cleveland's losses have come on the road. A lack of physicality is the current diagnosis.

"You got to have a bunker mentality when you go on the road," James said. "We've got to understand that it is you guys versus everyone else, versus the fans, versus the opposing group. Adversity is going to happen. You've got to have a bunker mentality that it's just us."

The Cavaliers take on the Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina on Friday, a team that has won four consecutive games. Dominant at home, it seemed like the Cavaliers were on the right track.

What a difference a road game makes.

"We've got to learn to play on the road again, which we did last year at some point," James said. "We just learned how to start winning games on the road and we haven't been able to do it thus far."

Plain Dealer reporter talks all things Cleveland sports in his weekly podcast.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Was demoting Johnny Manziel to third-string the right call for Mike Pettine? Will the Browns beat the Ravens?

The Plain Dealer's Dennis Manoloff talked all things Cleveland sports in his weekly podcast with me on Friday.

Among the other topics discussed:

* Would a win on Monday night mean anything?

* The Cavaliers recent play.

* Would the Indians actually be willing to trade a young pitcher for a bat?

You can download the MP3 or listen with the player above.

Be sure to follow DMan on Twitter.

Keep in mind, no one likes to lose and sometimes athletes don't tell reporters their true feelings after losses. But the Cavs have been extra testy this year when beaten.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A couple items to keep in mind as you consider the Cavaliers' three-game losing streak, and the reactions to each loss from LeBron James, David Blatt, et. al:

1. No one likes to lose.
2. What somebody says to the media immediately following one of those losses isn't necessarily representative of how he's feeling at the moment.

So there shouldn't be much alarm over how James' reaction to the Cavs' Wednesday loss to Toronto differed from Blatt's or that the team seems to be extraordinarily upset after a loss.

The Cavs will try to end their road losing streak tonight in Charlotte.

"It's not frustration," James said Friday. After Cleveland's 104-99 loss to Toronto, James and James Jones held a players-only meeting and LeBron was again critical of his team's mental toughness.

At 11-4, the Cavs hold the best record in the East and haven't played a game with a full complement of players because of injuries.

"It's not being complacent, that's all," James said. "We understand how good we can be. I don't think it's frustration, it's just, this is, to be 11-4 and be mad after every loss, I like it."

Blatt, meanwhile, told reporters after the Raptors game that fatigue was the culprit for Cleveland's defeat, choosing not to call out his players.

"I wasn't giving them a pass," Blatt explained Friday. "I was explaining what I thought happened. But there was no pass given, that's for sure. And if they're upset about it? Good. They should be."

The Cavs were to have Thanksgiving dinner together in Charlotte on Thursday. James said he wasn't able to enjoy it, though, because "my family wasn't here and the Cowboys got (blown) out."

Browns Mike Pettine, when given a chance to shoot down reports that Johnny Manziel lied to him about his bye weekend partying, declined to do so. Browns players were told Manziel was demoted because of the cover-up Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- Browns coach Mike Pettine did not deny Friday that Johnny Manziel lied to him about his partying over the bye weekend, again citing 'trust' issues.

"I already addressed it,'' said Pettine. "I said that trust and accountability was where we had a shortfall.''

Browns players were also informed by Pettine on Tuesday that Manziel's demotion was more about the cover-up than the actual partying, sources told cleveland.com Friday.

That's what left tackle Joe Thomas was referring to when he said Wednesday there was more than met the eye.

"I'll let coach (Mike) Pettine dig into the justification, but I think it's probably more than what you see on the surface from a TMZ report or whatever report,'' he said. "We support coach's decision, and I'll let him kind of dig into the details of why he made the decision that he made.''

On Wednesday, cleveland.com first reported that Manziel had been dishonest with the coaches about his activities over the bye weekend, which led to his demotion from starter to third string.

 Among other things, he tried to pass off the partying video that surfaced Monday as old to his coaches -- the same way he did to reporters on Monday when he was questioned about it at the Greater Cleveland Food bank, where he was volunteering.

 The Browns might not even know the full extent of Manziel's weekend escapades.
In addition to him partying at clubs in Austin, Texas, on Thursday and Friday nights, a source told cleveland.com that he was out late Saturday night at XO Nightlife in Columbus after attending the Ohio State-Michigan State game that afternoon.

The source said patrons were prevented from taking photos and video of Manziel while he was in the V.I.P area of the crowded club.

Pettine, who spoke about Manziel's demotion at length on Wednesday, did not shoot down reports that Manziel lied to him, including one Thursday by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. In that report, Glazer stated that not only did Manziel lie to Pettine, he instructed his buddies to lie as well.

That's consistent with what happened after the partying video hit the internet. DJ LX, who first posted the clip on his Instagram account, deleted it and made his account private. He later told Tony Cartegena of ESPN Cleveland that the video was old.

But other photos of Manziel that were posted on social media that night showed him wearing the same clothes that he had on in the video, during which he's seen singing profane lyrics and dancing in the deejay booth while waving a bottle of champagne.

A source also told cleveland.com Monday that Manziel had been in the Austin bars on Friday night.

Related: Johnny Manziel tried to pass the video off as old

"I addressed this situation in detail on Wednesday, and when I say I'm sorry to disappoint, I'm not really,'' he said. "I'm just not going there today. We've got a game to get ready for Monday night. I'm moving forward. Asked if Manziel will be active for the Monday night game against the Ravens, Pettine said, "I haven't done the worksheet yet, but that always comes down to projected health, where we are at other positions, so I haven't made that decision yet.''

Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who spoke to Manziel about the partying video and his bye weekend, also declined to confirm or deny that he was lied to.

"I'm going to leave those conversations between myself and coach,'' he said. "I'm sure you guys can appreciate that.''

He said he supports the decision "100%'' but admitted it was a painful one.

"It's disappointing,'' he said. "I'm not going to lie. You have a player that I think we would all agree in this room has come so far from a football standpoint from the product he put on the field from a year ago. To go out on the road and play that way against a very good Pittsburgh Steeler defense, it's very disappointing. But at the same time, the decision was made and we're going in that direction.''

Asked if he still thinks Manziel can be the guy for a team, he said "yes.''

"I like what I've seen. I really do,'' he said. "Even the jump that he made from the Cincinnati game to the Pittsburgh game was a huge jump. I think we'd all agree on that as well.

"I think Johnny's played enough football where we know what we have in him and as we all know a six-game season in the NFL is a long stretch. A very long stretch. We're a long way from the end of the season, so you don't close doors on anything. You never say never in this profession. So to say Johnny Manziel won't play again this season, I'm not ready to say that.''  

He stressed that Manziel is a work in progress, just like everyone else. "Some of us are dealing with different issues than others,'' he said. "We know Johnny's issues and we're working with him every day and there's no doubt in my mind Johnny's going to bounce back.''

He said he feels that way because "I know the person more than a lot of people. We all make mistakes. We all hope as an organization he's learned from the mistakes he's made. We're going to keep working with him.  As for Manziel's chances of playing over the final six games, he said. "Josh could play the rest of the season or we could make a change. You just don't know.''