LeBron James and the Cavaliers host the Boston Celtics at 8 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavs (4-0) host the Boston Celtics (3-1) as they try to go 5-0 for the first time since the 1976-77 season.

What's up with the Cavs: Entering play Thursday, the Cavs led the NBA with 52 3-pointers -- the most in team history through four games. Kyrie Irving's 15 3s are a team high. LeBron James needs 32 points to pass Hakeem Olajuwon (26,915 points) for 10th on the league's all-time scoring list. J.R. Smith's next basket will be the 4,000th of his career.

Cavs Injuries: None.

What's up with the Celtics: The Cs beat the Bulls 107-100 last night and gave Chicago its first loss. Boston's big acquisition this off-season was Al Horford, and in the opener last week he recorded 11 points, five rebounds, six assists and four blocks. The team says he's just the 12th Celtic since 1983 to post those kinds of numbers in a single game. But he's in the league's concussion protocol and didn't play against the Bulls. He's a nice addition to a team with an emerging backcourt. Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas are off to tremendous starts.

Celtics Injuries: Kelly Olynyk (shoulder surgery) and Jae Crowder (sprained left ankle) are out; Al Horford (concussion protocol) is doubtful; Gerald Green (upper respiratory infection) is questionable.

Projected starters

Cavs

F LeBron James (20.5 ppg; 9.5 rpg; 9.5 apg)

F Kevin Love (21.0 ppg; 8.0 rpg; 1.0 apg)

C Tristan Thompson (4.3 ppg; 9.5 rpg; 1.3 apg)

G J.R. Smith (11.8 ppg; 2.8 rpg; 1.3 apg)

G Kyrie Irving (26.8 ppg; 3.5 rpg; 4.0 apg)

Celtics

F Marcus Smart (7.0 ppg; 5.0 rpg; 3.0 apg)

F Amir Johnson (9.5 ppg; 4.8 rpg; 1.8 apg)

C Tyler Zeller (8.0 ppg; 4.3 rpg; 1.3 apg)

G Avery Bradley (19.3 ppg; 7.8 rpg; 4.5 apg)

Indians fans, left with memories of a great season that fell just a few runs short, can now look to 2017 and spring training. The Indians are slated to play World Series foes, the Chicago Cubs, on Feb. 26, 2017.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - There's always next year - and that isn't very far away. After a nail-biting World Series, the Indians have a spring training rematch scheduled against the Chicago Cubs on Feb. 26, 2017.

When exactly does spring training begin?

The Indians - and nearly all Major League teams -- haven't announced a 2017 spring training schedule yet. 

That should happen soon. Expect pitchers and catchers to report to the team's training complex in Goodyear, Arizona, in mid February. That's about 120 days away.

In 2016, pitchers and catchers reported Feb. 16. Position players arrived Feb. 21. 

First up on the 2017 Cactus League schedule: The Chicago Cubs. 

The Indians are slated to play their World Series foe Feb. 26 at the Cubs' spring training park in Mesa, Arizona.

The Cleveland Indians didn't win it all, losing to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. But they came very close amid great adversity and inherent disadvantages..

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Chicago Cubs' wait for a championship was longer than that of the Cleveland Indians. Both teams, however, made it look as if Moses had a GPS device or at least a road map after a measly 40 years of wandering in the desert.

The Indians' quest for a World Series title heads into its 69th year, an ugly, unwanted way of being No. 1 in deprivation that used to belong to the Cubs. 

Their wait stopped at 108 years Wednesday night when the Cubs beat the Indians, 8-7, in 10 innings in the seventh game of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field.

Perhaps you heard about it. Possibly from Joe Buck after he finished texting congratulations to his BFF, Kyle Schwarber.

MLB's war on the average fan

Progressive Field seemed like Wrigley Field East because Major League Baseball quit caring about the common fans a long time ago with the advent of corporate suites and pricing policies by ticket agencies that amount to class warfare.

Joe Six Pack isn't the target audience anymore. The target is the guy in the thousand-dollar suit, working his iPhone and letting everyone within earshot know how important he is.

"They might have more money than us. Their suburbs might be a little wealthier than ours. That's not going to have anything to do with how the game is played," said Indians manager Terry Francona hours before Game 7 began.

"This city reminds me of our team a little bit," added Francona. "They got pushed around, now they're starting to push back, and I'm happy for them."

The hands full of big bills pushed harder, though. That includes the Cubs franchise itself, with its much higher payroll.

Chapters and verses of the heart

An Indians championship would have had almost a biblical feel to it. It recalls Matthew 20:16: "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many may be called, but few are chosen," although that part about the "last" more properly should refer to the Chicago Cubs and their century-plus of wandering.

Quoting Scripture is risky, unless you believed Tommy Lasorda, when he would invoke the Big Dodger in the Sky.

Los Angeles has gone without a World Series title since 1988. Their latest miss was a loss in the National League Championship Series to the Cubs. So the Big Dodger's Skybox might not be occupied anymore.

The champion Cavs and the runner-up Indians

That part about "many called, few chosen" applies to the NBA champion  Cavaliers, whose number keeps getting called in the NBA draft lottery and who again have The Chosen One and his auxiliaries on their roster.

LeBron James was the overall No. 1 pick in the NBA, as was Kyrie Irving, and Tristan Thompson was fourth. If James had become a big noise in Winnetka, Illinois, and not Akron, then the Bulls would have had the next Jordan after James became homesick in Miami.

But to owner Dan Gilbert's credit, the Cavs spared no expense in winning it all. Their payroll is the highest in the NBA.

The Indians were, by contrast, a brilliant example of cagey small-market player acquisition. Their payroll was 23rd of the 30 major league teams. The Cubs' was sixth.

They are built on their bullpen because relief pitchers are much cheaper than premium starters.

A jackpot in the first round, quality everywhere

Francisco Lindor was the No. 8 draft pick in 2010. (See, see! Those Rip Van Winkle years with Manny Acta in the dugout paid off with Lindor after a 93-loss season).

Tyler Naquin (1^st round, 2012, 25^th), Lonnie Chisenhall (1^st, 2008, 29^th) and Jason Kipnis (2^nd, 2009, 63^rd) were solid choices who showed the Indians don't waste high picks on Johnny Baseballs or Justin Gilberts.

But otherwise, the front office adhered to the developmental principle. These players weren't last, but they weren't first on the list of prospects, either:

Closer Cody Allen (23^rd round, 2011, No. 698 overall); Ryan Merritt, the bat boy-sized pitching hero of the final American League Championship Series game in Toronto (14^th round, 2011, No. 498^th); Roberto Perez (33^rd round, 2008, No. 1,011); Josh Tomlin (19^th round, 2006, No. 581.)

Jose Ramirez was an international free agent, signed for a modest bonus.

Seize the moment

Indians ownership signed off on becoming buyers, not sellers, at the trading deadline.

Andrew Miller and Coco Crisp arrived with the clock ticking down. The 11^th hour became one of the front office's finest.

The Tribe's cleaner hand

Still, many Cubs fans had to be disturbed when the team acquired wife-beater and closer Aroldis Chapman.

The argument works better for those Indians fans with collective amnesia, able to forget the presence of Albert Jojuan Belle here in the 1990s.

Those Indians had an All-Star at every position, tried to slug their way out of trouble, and occupied a sullen clubhouse dominated by the glowering Belle.

Fans tolerated Belle's bullying, including pegging baseballs at a Sports Illustrated photographer, exploding into a profanity-laced tirade at television reporter Hannah Storm during the 1995 World Series, and attempting to run down Halloween egg throwers with his SUV.

Indians fans then booed and viciously taunted Belle when he chased the last dollar and returned to Cleveland as a member of the Chicago White Sox.

There aren't a lot of saints in professional sports. The Cubs just happened to have the notorious villain this time.

The odyssey continues

The biggest "what-if" was the injuries to pitchers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco (the self-inflicted one of Trevor Bauer was plain foolishness and doesn't count) and to their best position player, Michael Brantley.

In the face of that, the Indians made one of the greatest playoff runs in their long history. The team has far longer ties to the city than the other teams. Until after World War II, the only sports history Clevelanders knew was the history the Indians made.

The 1948 team had a great manager and shortstop, combined, in player-manager Lou Boudreau, just as the 2016 team does, separately, in Francona and Lindor.

The desert and the oasis

Since 1948, a lot of bad players played on a lot of bad teams. "This is the last stop before the desert," former Indians executive Dan O'Brien once said.

It was the Cubs fans who were dancing at midnight in the oasis. But the desert   again is blooming here.

LeBron James knows the Indians' players will never get over what happened in Game 7 of the World Series, even if they win it all in 2017. Watch video

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The Indians can already probably tell, but LeBron James hinted that they will never get over happened to them in Game 7 of the World Series.

He knows. James has been on the losing end four times in the Finals.

"You never get past the pain," James said on what was, let's face it, a melancholy Thursday morning in Cleveland. The Cavs play the Celtics tonight at The Q at 8.

"I still think about and dream about or have nightmares about losing in The Finals. I've lost many times in The Finals, I've won a few as well. But you never get past the pain."

In case you were under a rock with no wifi or cell service Wednesday evening, the Cubs completed their comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series to win Game 7, 8-7 in 10 innings. The Indians' streak of no championships since 1948 continues.

James and many of the Cavs players were in their usual spots in a Progressive Field suite. J.R. Smith even peeled off his shirt in the seventh inning to spark a Tribe rally, which actually came the next inning.

James' reaction to Rajai Davis' two-out, two-run, game-tying home run off Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning -- where the Cavs' superstar was shown on the Fox telecast screaming as he flexed his muscles like a pro wrestler entering the ring -- was the second-happiest some Cavs employees have seen him in his 10 years with the organization.

The only time he was happier was on the plane after winning Game 7 of the Finals, 93-89 over the Warriors, according to a source.

Remember, James was Finals MVP after posting a triple-double in that game, a game in which the Warriors failed to score for about the last five minutes and the teams were tied for about four of those minutes.

And yet he said the Indians-Cubs tilt was "probably one of the best Game 7s in any of the sports that we've seen in a long time."

Maybe the Indians can, like the Cavs did, recover from their World Series collapse to win it all in 2017?

James said he didn't think the Indians losing their Game 7 -- they, um, ahem, blew a 3-1 lead, sort of like a basketball team from Oakland that was pilloried all summer for doing the same thing -- necessarily belongs on the long list of Cleveland's painful sports memories. Nightmares like The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, Jose Mesa in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.

Perhaps James feels that way in part because his Cavs erased the city's 52-year drought for major pro sports championships.

"I think the Indians' season was a success," he said. "Obviously to get all the way there and not be able to come out victorious, it hurts, especially for those guys that have worked so hard all season. I think we all can agree that the Cubs was the best team all season and they had the most talent all season long. It's just different in baseball. Have different guys at the mound each game. It's very different, but they had their chance. You can't say they didn't give it their all. They gave a great shot. Just the Cubs was a better team going down the stretch."

As a result of the Indians' losing, he'll have to wear a full Cubs uniform to the United Center on Dec. 2 when the Cavs play the Bulls, because of his bet on the series with Dwyane Wade (no, Wade didn't call or text to gloat yet, James said).

Where to get LeBron's T-shirt

James said the T-shirt he wore to Game 7, which said "Cleveland or Nowhere" was a gift from a friend. It certainly captured the mood of the city the last five months.

Two Game 7s at the very end. One championship. One near, painful miss. A magical ride, nonetheless.

"That's probably the worst thing about sports is when you have such an epic game one team has to lose," James said. "It would have been great for both sides if the game was just called off, 6-6, and both of them get the trophy. Sports is a beautiful thing. It brings so many people together. It can be heartbreaking at times.

Michael Martinez of the Cleveland Indians made the final out of the 2016 World Series, won by the Chicago Cubs. The utility man symbolizes how the Tribe simply ran out of players.

CLEVELAND -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Indians notebook the day after they lost Game 7 of the 2016 World Series to the Chicago Cubs:

1. It's being called "The Greatest World Series Game Ever" by media people for ESPN and elsewhere. It was "epic," as ESPN's Jason Stark correctly labeled it. The 8-7 loss to the Cubs in 10 innings had fans from both teams alternating from a state of bliss to complete panic several times during the 4-hour, 28-minute struggle.

2. The Greatest Game Ever? If you're a Cubs fan, that's true. If the Indians had pulled it out, many of us would feel the same way. Even as a loss, this is a game many of us will never forget.

3. It was a great game ... an epic game ... but in the end, the Indians lost. While you can make a solid case for the Tribe to return to the World Series at some point in the next few years, there are no guarantees.

4. Think about how the game ended. Michael Martinez was at the plate. I kept looking at my scorecard (yes, I still keep score by hand during games). I was wondering, "Don't they have anyone else besides Martinez?" I thought Tyler Naquin was available, but he had slipped in and out of the game as a pinch runner for Roberto Perez.

5. So that left Martinez, who had entered the game for defense in the outfield a few innings earlier. Martinez is a career .197 hitter. He is a good guy, a utility player who has bounced back-and-forth from the majors to the minors during his 11-year pro career. He is 33 years old. In the postseason, he was 0-for-3. His last hit was September 15. He was 3-of-16 in September.

6. This is not about beating up on Martinez. But Martinez at the bat represented the Tribe at that point in the season. As Terry Francona said later, "They tried until there was nothing left."

7. That also was true of Francona, who was missing two starting pitchers (Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar). A third starter (Trevor Bauer) suffered a drone maintenance injury. In my 40 years as a sports writer, I have never written about an athlete "suffering a drone maintenance injury" before. I never thought I'd write anything about athletes and drone maintenance. But there was so much about this season ... well ... you could never make it up.

8. If you want to really know why the Indians couldn't close the deal and beat the Cubs, it was because they needed one more solid starter. Josh Tomlin and Corey Kluber couldn't carry the entire load.

9. Kluber had nothing left. He was the first starter since 1992 (Tom Glavine and John Smoltz) to make at least three postseason starts on only three days of rest, instead of the usual four.

10. Entering Game 7, Kluber (4-1, 0.89 ERA) had allowed only one homer in 30 1/3 innings. Dexter Fowler opened the game with a home run off Kluber. He also gave up a home run to Javier Baez. Both were 400-foot shots.

11. While Kluber's velocity wasn't much below normal, his pitches lacked movement. He gave up four runs in four innings. But here was the real indicator of Kluber's struggles: This was the first time in his big league career he failed to strike out at least one batter in a game. That's according to ESPN.

12. Kluber was trying to beat the Cubs for a third time in nine days. The last starter to win three World Series games was Mickey Lolich. That was in 1968, when he pitched the Detroit Tigers past the St. Louis Cardinals. Get this: Lolich threw three complete games! That was indeed a different era.

13. The Indians lost Game 6 when Tomlin started on three days rest. He gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. Tomlin is a pitcher more effective with more than the normal four-days rest. He had a 5.42 ERA this season when pitching on a normal four-days rest. It was 3.60 ERA when it was five or more.

14. This is not meant to knock Francona for using Tomlin on short rest. He really had no one else. But Tomlin wears down over the course of the season. The Indians gave him nearly three weeks off. He pitched only two innings between Aug. 25 and Sept. 14. Then he finished the season strong after having an 11.86 ERA in August.

15. Andrew Miller also was empty. He allowed two runs in his two innings. I heard this somewhere, then checked it. Miller and Kluber gave up six runs in Game 7. Until that point, they had combined to allow only four runs in the entire postseason.

16. Cody Allen was still firing strikes. He threw two scoreless innings. Allen had a brilliant postseason: 13 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 24. He was 6-of-6 converting saves. He was the most underrated postseason pitcher for the Tribe.

17. Which brings us back to Michael Martinez. He entered the game in the top of the ninth. The score was 6-6. The Cubs had runners on second and third with one out. Francona put Martinez in the outfield. He replaced Coco Crisp, who has a very poor throwing arm after several surgeries in his career. Francona was worried about a player hitting a short fly ball -- and Crisp not being able to throw out a runner from third trying to score.

18. It turns out, Bryan Shaw worked out of the ninth inning, allowing no runs. No balls left the infield. But the Indians were now out of extra position players. And that's how Martinez ended up batting in the bottom of the 10th, making the final out of the game on a slow roller to third base. Crisp was 2-of-4 in Game 7 and batted .333 during the World Series.

19. So many of Francona's moves worked during the postseason. He was as hot as his team, changing pitchers at the right time -- juggling lineups, making in-game substitutions. He also was like his team, out of options at the end.

20. Think about these names: Brandon Guyer, Rajai Davis, Tyler Naquin, Coco Crisp and Lonnie Chisenhall. The Indians nearly won the World Series with that combination of outfielders. It's remarkable how the Indians squeezed so much out of those players. It also shows how much they need to get Michael Brantley healthy for next season.

21. Rajai Davis had perhaps the best at-bat of the World Series when he homered off Aroldis Chapman. He took ball one. Then he fouled off a 98-mph fastball. He fouled off a 97-mph fastball. He fouled off a 98-mph fastball. He fouled off a 100-mph fastball. Finally, he lined a 97-mph fastball over the left field wall to tie the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth.

22. Prior to that at bat, Davis was 0-of-3 vs. Chapman with two strikeouts. Chapman had pitched 41 innings with the Cubs (regular and postseason) and not allowed a home run. Then Davis drove in another run with a base hit in the bottom of the 10th inning.

23. I'm not going to go through each position in the lineup and batting order, I'll simply ask this question: How many of the Tribe position players would be starting for the Cubs? For example, Jose Ramirez is terrific at third base, but the Cubs have MVP candidate at that spot. Take a look, after Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis -- how many would start? And the Cubs are very good at shortstop (Addison Russell) and second (Javier Baez).

24. Mike Napoli had a horrible postseason. He was 9-of-52 (.173) with 1 HR and 3 RBI. He also had some shaky moments at first base. The Indians kept waiting for him to get hot, but it never happened.

25. It's hard to figure out how the Tribe even reached the World Series with all their injuries, much less took it to seven games. The hard part was having the 3-1 lead and then losing three in a row. With their last World Series title being in 1948, the Indians now are the team waiting the longest to win a World Series. Other franchises have not won titles, but they also haven't been around as long as the Tribe.

So does the 2016 World Series against the Chicago Cubs deserve to be added to Cleveland's long list of misery?

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The list of gut-wrenching Cleveland sports moments is one that all Clevelanders can rattle off with ease.

The Drive. The Shot. The Fumble. The Move. The Decision. The Jose Mesa debacle in the bottom of the 9th.

All are forever part of the Cleveland sports fabric. And all, crushing at the time and leading to tears in many cases, have contributed, in some way, to Clevelanders becoming as passionate, unwavering and tough as they are.

The pain burns as fuel, used as inspiration to come back, cheer louder, root harder and stay until the very end, believing eventually that the anguish will transform into unbridled jubilation, something felt four months ago when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended the 52-year title drought, rallying from 3-1 down in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

Unfortunately, the Indians, the Cavs' next-door neighbors, were on the other end of that comeback story Wednesday night, as they squandered a 3-1 series edge and lost Game 7 of the World Series at home despite unleashing their previously un-hittable duo of Corey Kluber and Andrew Miller.

So does the 2016 World Series against the Chicago Cubs deserve to be added to Cleveland's long list of misery?

The (blank)...

"I don't," James said Thursday when asked if he views the most recent loss the same as others. "I think the Indians' season was a success. Obviously to get all the way there and not be able to come out victorious, it hurts, especially for those guys that have worked so hard all season.

"I think we all can agree that the Cubs was the best team all season and they had the most talent all season long. It's just different in baseball. Have different guys at the mound each game. It's very different, but they had their chance. You can't say they didn't give it their all. They gave a great shot. Just the Cubs was a better team going down the stretch."

That's one way to look at it. There are certainly reasons to celebrate the journey.

The Indians were written off by many before the postseason even started. They were constantly reminded about the abundance of injuries - Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes - that would be too much to overcome.

They weren't supposed to beat Boston, but they did. The Blue Jays, coming off a series win against the mighty Texas Rangers, were supposed to have too much offensive firepower for the Tribe's short-handed pitching staff. But the Indians silenced Toronto in five games and fans showered pitcher Ryan Merritt with gifts -- literally.

There was a perception of the Indians: a group of overachievers that the city of Cleveland could be proud of no matter the outcome. But their Game 4 win against Chicago at Wrigley Field, taking a 3-1 lead, changed that whole "just-happy-to-be-there feeling," where the result could be spun like a Miller slider.

At least it did for me.

Sports have a unique way of bringing a community together and burning images into minds. For some, Rajai Davis' two-run blast in the eighth, highlighting a late-game surge and causing James to erupt, will become the memory. For others, it will be the Cubs jumping up and down in the center of the diamond or hearing Cubs fans that invaded Progressive Field sing "Go Cubs Go." Maybe it will be Michael Martinez at bat in a critical spot because the Indians had exhausted all other options, eventually topping a soft grounder to third baseman Kris Bryant for the final out.

Everyone will remember the postseason run his or her own way.

"Obviously I'm there as a support to the Indians last night and as a fan of the World Series but as an athlete, you have to just build off of it and try to get some inspiration from the fact of what you were able to accomplish and see if there is an opportunity and ways for you to get better," James said. "And you look at the game last night, it's just an unbelievable game. It's probably one of the best Game 7s in any of the sports that we've seen in a long time and both teams will try to get better and be better for next season. And I think the Indians did a hell of a job of doing that this year and I know they'll probably come back much better next year as well."

That's next year though. And the truth is, it should have been this year.

Of course, logic has a way of defending losses. Things happen. And the why of something is always important.

Golden State's blown lead had plenty to do with Draymond Green -- the team's most important player -- getting suspended for Game 5, Andre Iguodala dealing with a cranky back, rim protector Andrew Bogut missing the final few games because of a knee injury, Harrison Barnes coming up with a case of the shooting yips and Stephen Curry being less than 100 percent, having already missed time in the postseason with a knee injury that didn't have the proper time to heal.

It also had plenty to do with the Cavs rising to the moment, delivering memorable Finals moments and ripping the title away.

There's no doubt Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love missing the Finals in 2015 played a huge role in the Cavs' loss then. As James pointed out shortly after watching the Warriors celebrate, "We ran out of talent."

He's right. The Cavs did -- at the worst possible time.

The Indians can make the same claim. Kluber looked gassed. Miller looked vulnerable. Trevor Bauer had to pitch late. The Indians had nothing more to give. But, unfortunately, that doesn't change anything. There isn't a parade for second place. I was still numb hours after Game 7, unable to get to sleep and feeling worse than the 1997 World Series. There isn't a separate trophy for the gutty squad that overcomes the most adversity.

Despite all the obstacles -- circumstances that many champions and wanna-be champions have had to deal with -- the Indians took a commanding 3-1 series lead, needing to win just one game, two of them at home, with steely Josh Tomlin and Kluber scheduled to start in two.

Even after the Cubs won back-to-back games and pushed the series to Game 7, the Indians still had what they wanted, and needed, for another Cleveland championship. At home. Kluber on the mound. Miller rested, waiting in the bullpen. Terry Francona pulling the strings.

And yet, the Indians lost, becoming the sixth team to lose the World Series after holing a 3-1 series edge. It happened to the Cardinals about 30 years ago. 

The late-game rally was chilling, typical of a hardened group that doesn't waver. Against the odds again, they pushed a contest that once had the look of a Cubs coronation to a classic Game 7, which took extra innings to complete. And did it by pounding Chicago flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman. 

A yearlong thrill ride, dotted with frustration, anger, joy, pride and even sorrow is over. And the end result is unavoidable.

Cleveland blew a 3-1 series lead and suffered back-to-back losses at home to close the World Series. The formula -- Kluber plus a dominant bullpen -- was at the center of the downfall.

So start thinking of those titles. The 2016 World Series loss belongs on The List. 

Promos leading up to Game 7 of the World Series promised that "history would be made."

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Promos leading up to Game 7 of the World Series promised history would be made.

TV viewers took notice big time as Wednesday's decisive game between the Indians and Chicago Cubs pulled in huge ratings. The 10-inning instant classic won by the Cubs, 8-7, topped 40 million viewers according to overnight ratings. That makes it the most watched baseball game in the last 25 years, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The last game to top 40 million was Game 7 between the Twins and Braves in 1991, which attracted 50 million viewers.

The game was also most-watched individual telecast of the year since the Super Bowl in February.

By comparison, Game 7 of the World Series easily surpassed Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. 31 million viewers tuned in to watch LeBron James deliver Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years back in June.

As you might imagine, Game 7 was an even bigger draw in Cleveland and Chicago. Here in Cleveland, 69 percent of all TVs in use were tuned to the World Series. That number topped 71 percent in Chicago, USA Today reported.

Overall, ratings for the entire series have been up -- the highest-rated since 2004 -- as TV viewers were captivated by the matchup between these two long-suffering teams.

Here's where to watch, listen and stream the Cleveland Cavaliers' game vs. the Boston Celtics tonight.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers play Game 5 of the 2016 NBA season tonight against the Boston Celtics. Here's how to watch, listen and stream the action online.

What: Cleveland Cavaliers (4-0) vs. Boston Celtics (3-1).
Where: Quicken Loans Arena.
When: 8 p.m.
TV: TNT.
Radio: WMMS, 100.7 FM; 87.7 FM La Mega.
Online: Watch TNT.

Celtics notable: Avery Bradley had a career night against Charlotte on Oct. 29 when he recorded 31 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and a career-high eight 3-pointers. 

Cleveland notable: LeBron James (26,915) is 32 points away from passing Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) for 10th on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Catch the coverage from before the game; join in the live chat starting at tipoff; and stick around for full postgame coverage. For all Cavs information, be sure to check out cleveland.com/cavs.

Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis on Game 7 loss in the World Series, "We fought all year, we fought all game, we just came up a little short." Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Indians ran out of pitching early in Game 7 of the World Series. What they didn't run out of was the thing that allowed them to reach the absolute final game of the season in the first place.

"We fought all year, we fought all game, we just came up a little short," said second baseman Jason Kipnis.

If there was a tombstone for Game 7 of the 112^th World Series, from the Indians perspective, that would look good in marble.

The Indians lost Game 7 to the Cubs in 10 innings, 8-7, at Progressive Field in a game that started Wednesday night and ended Thursday morning. Corey Kluber, making his third start in the series, gave up a homer to Dexter Fowler on his third pitch of the game. Kluber was at the wall and about to hit it.

Kluber is ground ball, strikeout pitcher. In four innings Wednesday, he had no strikeouts, one ground ball out and 10 fly ball outs. Eventually one of those fly balls had to go a little farther than the last one and clear the fence.

It happened to Kluber twice as the Cubs started and ended his appearance with homers. After Javier Baez homered off Kluber to start the fifth, the Cubs held a 5-1 lead and their fans, who packed Progressive Field, were out-cheering Indians fans.

But the Indians kept pushing.

In the fifth, Carlos Santana and Kipnis scored on a Jon Lester wild pitch to cut the lead to 5-3. Santana scored from third and Kipnis from second, on a headfirst, dirt-hugging slide.

"The first step was to make sure Santana was going," said Kipnis. "When he went, I saw that the pitch kind of knocked Ross (catcher David Ross) onto his back leg going the other way so he had no momentum carrying him to the ball.

"I got a good jump on it and was going full speed. I was thinking of scoring right away and Sarbie (third base coach Mike Sarbaugh) had his arm waving so we were on the same page. We got two good runs right there."

The problem was Andrew Miller, who relieved after Baez's homer, was as cooked as Kluber. Miller had already pitched 17 innings in the postseason and allowed just one run. The Cubs reached him for two runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Miller said fatigue had nothing to do with his performance.

"I felt pretty good," he said. "I felt like my command was there. My fastball velocity was there. I didn't necessarily spin it as well as I wanted today, but you have to be able to work around that. It can happen in May."

Still, the Indians had asked for so much their three-man rotation and bullpen during their 15-game surge to Game 7 that something had to give. Remember Carlos Carrasco never pitched an inning in the postseason because of a broken right hand and Danny Salazar was limited to two relief appearances in the World Series after missing the ALDS and ALCS with a right forearm problem.

By the eighth inning, the game seemed over. The Indians were down, 6-3. They were four outs away from elimination by a Cubs team that on Saturday night was looking at a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. But Jose Ramirez, the guy with the flaming orange hair, beat out an infield single. Out went Jon Lester; in came closer Aroldis Chapman and his 100 mph fastball.

Brandon Guyer, who hit .333 (6-for-18) in the postseason, doubled Ramirez home to make it 6-4. Then came Rajai Davis with the at-bat of his career. He was choked up so far it looked like he was trying to hit the ball with the bottom half of the bat instead of the barrel.

"A long swing doesn't work against that guy," said Davis. "He throws too hard. I choked up because I was trying to be quick to the ball."

Tribe's Davis: 'I'm going to win this battle.'

Through seven pitches Davis - who came into the at bat with just three hits in the entire postseason - worked the count even at 2-2. Then he yanked a ball to left field that cleared the 19-foot wall at the home run plaza. The score was tied and all those Cubs fans who had tried to out-cheer the Indians fans at their own park, finally heard what Cleveland sounds like.

They've been playing baseball at Progressive Field since 1994 and there's never been a sound like that in the ballpark. Coming two days after Halloween, it sounded like a delirious shriek, like 38,000 voices awakening from a cold-sweat nightmare that has been reoccurring annually since the Indians won their last World Series in 1948.

Davis said he felt the volume of the shriek in his heart. He said it lifted him above the bases as he circled them, watching his teammates leap out of the dugout and the heads of the Cubs players drop in disbelief.

This from someone whose first name means victorious king. Davis' mother told him his first name came to her in a dream before he was born. Could it be any better than that?

The Indians, a team with 11 walk-off wins during the season, needed one more run to finish it. To celebrate a season that no one saw coming.

A season in which they overcame injuries to Michael Brantley, Carrasco and Salazar; where manager Terry Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway maneuvered through the postseason with two and a half starters - Trevor Bauer was never the same after one of his drones gashed the little finger on his right hand - and a bullpen that had no quit in it.

But it didn't happen. Chapman recovered quickly, retiring Santana, Kipnis and Francisco Lindor in order in the ninth to squash any thought of a walk-off win in regulation.

"It was incredible," said Miller. "What a swing by Rajai. What an at-bat. What Guyer did, what everybody did at the end of the game - it exemplifies this team and it's just unfortunate that we didn't have quite enough.

"The Cubs are a good team. They're world champions. The people who watched this game saw that it's 25 guys who can contribute and help us win games. We just made it so close."

The 10^th inning started after a 17-minute rain delay that certainly killed any momentum Davis and the Indians had generated. Bryan Shaw, who escaped danger in the ninth thanks to Javier Baez striking out on a fouled third-strike squeeze bunt attempt and a great play by Lindor with the go-ahead run at third, came out for the 10^th and quickly gave up two runs on a double by World Series MVP Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero's single. Bauer, who started Games 2 and 5, relieved with the bases loaded and struck out Jason Heyward and retired Baez on fly ball to center to end the inning.

It was Bauer's best moment of a checkered postseason and the Indians still had something to give.

Cubs' Ben Zobrist named World Series MVP

Mike Napoli, who hasn't hit much of anything since Sept. 1, struck out against Carl Edwards to start the 10th. Ramirez grounded out, but Guyer walked, took second on defensive indifference and scored on a Davis single to make it 8-7.

But just as Kluber, Miller, Shaw and Cody Allen had been stretched to the limit on the mound, the Indians' bench was empty. Francona had no choice but to send utility man Michael Martinez to the plate. Martinez entered the game in the middle of the ninth in right field when the Cubs put the go-ahead run at third.

Martinez grounded out to third to end it. He jogged slowly off the field as the Cubs began to celebrate their first World Series title since 1908. A sad ending, true, but fitting from the Indians' point of view.

Like so many other players on their roster, Martinez was asked to do not one, not two, but several tasks. He's a switch-hitter who can play all the infield and outfield positions. It's not surprising because that's how the Indians built an edge into this roster that produced 104 total victories, a division title and AL pennant.

From Francona to the coaching staff, from Chris Antonetti and the front office, they asked a lot from their players and they delivered. It just wasn't enough.

"They tried until there was nothing left," said Francona.

The fine announced Thursday was the result of a five-year federal investigation into how Penn State officials handled complaints about former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky before he was charged in 2011 with child molestation.

In this file photo, Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse for an appeals hearing about whether he was improperly convicted four years ago, in Bellefonte, Pa. Gene J. Puskar, AP file photo 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Education is hitting Penn State with a record $2.4 million fine for violating a law that requires colleges and universities to report campus crimes and warn people if their safety is threatened.

The fine announced Thursday was the result of a five-year federal investigation into how Penn State officials handled complaints about former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky before he was charged in 2011 with child molestation.

The agency says Penn State largely ignored many of its duties under the Clery Act. It's the largest fine issued under the law.

It says the school violated regulations when it didn't warn students and employees of the forthcoming charges against Sandusky, who was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.

Penn State says it's reviewing the findings.

By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press

Will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers extend their three-game winning streak when they play the Atlanta Falcons tonight? -- NFL 2016 Week 9 preview.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- NFL Week 9 begins on Thursday night with the Atlanta Falcons visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game is set for 8:25 and will be seen on the NFL Network.

The Falcons have the most explosive offense in the league and lead the league in scoring (32.8 per game) and yards per game at a little over 425 per game.

Quarterback Matt Ryan is an MVP candidate because of those big numbers but he's also a candidate because of his winning drives (32 since 2008). That was on display when he led the Falcons on a long winning drive against the Green Bay Packers last week.

Former MVP Ben Roethlisberger remains questionable (knee) for Sunday when his Pittsburgh Steelers face the Baltimore Ravens, but Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs isn't buying it. He's sure "Big Ben" will return.

Here's a look at some prime games to watch, along with the complete weekend schedule and TV. You can get live scores along with previews and updates from all the games all weekend on our NFL Scoreboard.

PRIME MATCHUPS

Tonight

Atlanta Falcons (5-3) at Tampa Buccaneers (3-4)  

• When: 8:25 p.m., NFL Network
• Why watch:  The Buccaneers have a three-game winning streak over the Atlanta Falcons in their last three meetings. Tampa swept during QB Jameis Winston's rookie year. Falcons WR Julio Jones averages 110.6 yards receiving and has scored seven TDs in nine career games vs. Bucs.

Sunday's Prime Games

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) at Baltimore Ravens (3-4)  

• When: 1 p.m., CBS 
• Why watch: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger worked with the first team this week but there's no word on if he will start. The Ravens are 6-1 against Pittsburgh when "Big Ben" doesn't play. This is the first Ravens-Steelers game with first place on the line in four years. 

Denver Broncos (6-2) at Oakland Raiders (6-2)  

• When: 8:30 p.m., NBC
• Why watch: One of the best defenses (Broncos) against one of the best offenses (Raiders) face off in this historic rivalry. Oakland quarterback Derek Carr has entered the MVP conversation at the midway point of the season after throwing for 513 yards in Tampa ... Both of the Raiders losses have come at home.

NFL WEEK 9 SCHEDULE

Tonight

Atlanta (5-3) at Tampa (3-4), 8:25 p.m., NFL Network

Sunday

Pittsburgh (4-3) at Baltimore, 1 p.m., CBS
Dallas (6-1) at Cleveland (0-8), 1 p.m., FOX
Jacksonville (2-5) at Kansas City (5-2), 1 p.m., CBS
NY Jets (3-5) at Miami (3-4), 1 p.m., CBS
Detroit (4-4) at Minnesota (5-2), 1 p.m., FOX
Philadelphia (4-3) at NY Giants (4-3), 1 p.m., FOX
Carolina (2-5) at Los Angeles (3-4), 4:05 p.m., FOX
New Orleans (3-4) at San Francisco (1-6), 4:05 p.m., FOX
Indianapolis (3-5) at Green Bay (4-3), 4:25 p.m, CBS
Tennessee (4-4) at San Diego (3-5), 4:25 p.m., CBS
Denver (6-2) at Oakland (6-2), 8:30 p.m., NBC

Monday
Buffalo (4-4) at Seattle (4-2-1), 8:30 p.m., ESPN
 

The Indians will exercise Carlos Santana's $12 million club option for 2017 following a strong regular season in which he set several career highs.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Indians have five days after the final out of the World Series to exercise Carlos Santana's $12 million club option for 2017. They will not wait that long.

The Tribe could exercise the option as soon as Friday. It's either that or let Santana become a free agent and that's not going to happen.

Santana is coming off a regular season in which he set career highs with 34 homers, 87 RBI, 89 runs, 151 hits, 68 extra base hits and an OPS of .865. In the postseason, he hit .192 (10-for-52) with three homers and four RBI.

This is a sound move for the Indians. If they didn't exercise Santana's option, they would have to make him a qualifying offer worth an estimated $16.7 million to make sure they received a 2017 draft pick if he signed with another team.

It also makes sense because Mike Napoli is eligible for free agency now that the World Series has ended and it's unclear if the Indians will try to re-sign him. Santana and Napoli were the main power sources in a lineup that finished second in the AL in runs scored. Santana will be 30 at the start of next season, while Napoli is 35.

Manager Terry Francona said several times during the past season that Santana seemed happier than he'd ever been in an Indians' uniform. He accepted the move to DH when the Indians signed Napoli in December and continued to be an everyday presence in the lineup.

In the World Series, he volunteered to play left field at Wrigley Field so Francona could keep his bat in the lineup in the land of no DH. Santana started two games in left field without incident.

Francona proud of Santana's work in left field

In the last four seasons, Santana has never played fewer than 152 games in a season. In six full seasons with the Indians, he's never played fewer than 142 games.

Santana's 2017 option is the final year in a five-year $21 million deal that Santana signed in April of 2012.

Tribe signs Santana to five-year deal

Cleveland sports fans wonder about attendance at Browns' games, Bryan Shaw's tough night in Game 7 and the rigors of pitching on three days rest.

It's the day after the 2016 World Series for the Cleveland Indians and their loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 still stings. - Terry Pluto video Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's the day after and I'm still exhausted from covering the Cleveland Indians amazing run to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series with the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs ended their 108-year drought when they edged the Indians, 8-7, in 10 innings on Wednesday at Progressive Field.

I never thought they'd come close to winning the World Series, and they almost did.

But they still came up one run short ... and there is frustration in that.

There are a lot of colliding emotions. Let's talk about it.

Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe bring you the latest from Berea. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are preparing to take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman was a full participant in practice today and it appears he's on track to play in the game.

That's good news for Terrelle Pryor, even though he was limited with a hamstring today. Center Cameron Erving didn't practice at all with a shoulder injury.

Mary Kay Cabot and I talked about all of that today following practice as well as the quarterback decision between Josh McCown and rookie Cody Kessler.

Browns offensive lineman Alvin Bailey pleaded no contest to drunken driving.

Brown offensive lineman Alvin Bailey pleaded no contest to drunken driving.North Royalton Police Department 

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Alvin Bailey Jr. pleaded no contest Thursday to drunken driving.

Bailey, 25, entered the plea Thursday in North Royalton Mayor's Court. His driver's license was suspended for six months but he's allowed to apply for driving privileges for work. 

As part of his sentence, Bailey will either spend three days in jail or take a three-day driver intervention course by February 2017. He paid an $840 fine after the hearing.

Prosecutors dismissed charges of possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia and failing to comply with a police officer's orders as part of the plea agreement.

A message left for Bailey's attorney, Kevin Spellacy, was also not immediately returned.

Bailey will be suspended for two games, per the league's substance abuse policy. He has a three-year, $6 million contract with the Browns, with $1 million guaranteed. 

Bailey told police that he drank alcohol on the Browns team plane on the way home from a 30-24 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Police stopped him about 1 a.m. Sept. 26 on West 130th Street in North Royalton. The arresting officer said Bailey was driving 50 mph in a 35-mph zone, according to a police report.

The officer followed Bailey's truck, and Bailey turned into the Pawpaw Picnic Area of the Cleveland Metroparks. He parked across two parking spaces and got out of his truck.

The officer ordered Bailey back into his truck, but Bailey initially ignored the officer's commands, the report says. Bailey walked to the back of his truck, then looked up at the officer and said, "What's wrong?" according to police reports.

Bailey told the officer he didn't see him and only pulled over to let the air out of his truck's suspension system. Officers noted that Bailey's eyes were glassy, his speech slurred and that he smelled of alcohol, the report says.

Bailey told police that he picked up food from Panini's in Strongsville on his way home and had a few beers there, on top of drinking whiskey on the team plane, police reports say.

Bailey failed field sobriety tests and his is blood-alcohol content tested at .147 percent, nearly double the legal limit. It later tested at .145 percent at the police station. 

Police searched Bailey's car and reported finding marijuana. Bailey told police he was surprised that marijuana was in the car and said he does not smoke, according to police.

Bailey was benched for the game following his arrest. He has started four of the Browns eight games this season, including in last Sunday's 31-28 loss to the New York Jets. 

"It's unfortunate that I let the team down, a distraction to my teammates and things like that," Bailey said after his arrest. "So it's a mistake that I made. I've got to own up to it, and hopefully we'll be able to work past it."

cleveland.com reporter Mary Kay Cabot contributed to this report.

To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Get ready for the first round of the 2016 playoffs with all of cleveland.com's content from the week.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The 2016 OHSAA high school football playoffs get underway Friday night with 216 teams throughout the state vying for a state title.

Get ready for the action this weekend with all of cleveland.com’s content throughout the week including previews, capsules and brackets.

Join Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and cleveland.com for Friday Night Huddle featuring David Bacon, Dan Labbe and Chris Fedor starting at 6:30 p.m.

Here’s everything you need to get your ready for the first round of the playoffs.

REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL PREVIEWS

Friday games: Divisions I, II, IV, VI

Saturday games: Division III, V, VII

DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWNS

Division I

Division II

Division III

Division IV

Division V

Division VI

Division VII

Check out brackets and schedules for all seven divisions here, as well as the regional quarterfinal TV and radio schedule.

FINAL RANKINGS

Cincinnati Colerain remains No. 1, nine NEO teams ranked in final Ohio Super 25

From St. Ignatius to Bedford, ranking Northeast Ohio's top 25 football teams

St. Ignatius rises to No. 3 in Division I in final cleveland.com football divisional rankings for 2016

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE PLAYOFFS

Archbishop Hoban football coach Tim Tyrrell’s postseason ban reduced, school fined $5,000

Medina’s backfield hive bolsters OHSAA football playoff run

Meet the seven surprise local teams in the 2016 OHSAA football playoffs

ICYMI: A LOOK BACK AT WEEK 10

St. Ignatius' combination of Patrick Ryan and Samuel Snyder won the Week 10 Plays of the Week contest, receiving nearly 57 percent of the vote.

Watch the best plays from Week 10 here.

Top plays may be submitted to hssports@cleveland.com or mgoul@cleveland.com each weekend in the playoffs by 10 p.m. Saturday. Top plays are posted Monday afternoon and voting lasts until noon Thursday.

Avon football completes perfect regular season with 42-19 win over Olmsted Falls

Copley football tops Bedford, 37-20, in regular season finale

Hudson football outlasts Brecksville, 31-28

Lorain stops Cleveland Heights, 14-13, for Lake Erie League crown and playoff aspirations

Mark Bobinski, No. 8 St. Ignatius football run by No. 3 St. Edward, 34-7, at FirstEnergy Stadium

Mentor football keeps playoff hopes alive with 63-34 domination of Elyria

NDCL football roars past Padua, 24-7

No. 21 Massillon Perry football wins Federal League title with comeback win over GlenOak, 30-24

Thomas Wilks' six touchdowns help No. 13 Solon football beat Medina, 51-43, for outright GCC title

See who won the Week 10 Game Balls contest.

Watch the Week 10 Friday Night Huddle rewind, including a full archive of the show.

This is No. 6 vs. No. 10 in primetime, so ... Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State and Nebraska have played four times in the past, but never has the game been like this.

In 2012, the Buckeyes broke their attendance record in a 63-38 win over Nebraska in Urban Meyer's first season, No. 12 beating No. 21.

In 2011, Ohio State blew a 14-point halftime lead at Nebraska and lost when the Cornhuskers were ranked No. 14. 

In 1955 and 1956, the Buckeyes swept the Cornhuskers.

Saturday in primetime on ABC, No. 6 Ohio State hosts the No. 10 Cornhuskers with both teams in the mix for the College Football Playoff. In fact, this is an elimination game when it comes to that. Winner stays on track with a chance to win its division and take a run at the Big Ten title. Loser is probably out for Indianapolis, much less the playoff.

So how are you feeling about it?

Ari, Bill and I talked about what kind of buzz there seems to be with this game. Watch the video, watch the Buckeyes trying to get you excited about it, then vote and tell us how fired up you are for this game.

#BuckeyeNation. We need you.

Early.
EVERY defensive down.

Let's bring the [?] & [?] to The House That Harley Built & #BeatNebraska together. pic.twitter.com/k18ZJ9btMv

-- Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 3, 2016

Jackson said starting Kessler doesn't mean he's giving up on these games. In addition to needing to evaluate him, he said the rookie gives the Browns the best chance to win. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- Rookie Cody Kessler will start Sunday vs. the Cowboys, in large part so Hue Jackson can evaluate him as a potential quarterback of the future.

"That's a fair assessment because that's why he's playing -- because I need to know,'' said Jackson. "I don't want to just say if he does great that doesn't mean that we're not going to draft a quarterback because I think you've got to always have quarterbacks. You've got to keep taking shots until you have the guy that you feel is going to do what you need done.

"But you need to know what's on your team, and the more I'm around guys, the more that I see them in different situations and play under duress and stress and pressure, the more I'm going to know about them. So this is an opportunity for Cody to demonstrate that. But more so than that, it's an opportunity for him to go out with his teammates and help them get a win."

Jackson, who chose Kessler over Josh McCown, indicated Kessler will be the starter going forward. Kessler sat out last week's game against the Jets with his concussion, but was fully cleared on Monday.  

"I need to keep playing him,'' Jackson said.

Jackson said starting Kessler doesn't mean he's giving up on these games. In addition to needing to evaluate him, he said the rookie gives the Browns the best chance to win.

How Corey Coleman's return will help Terrelle Pryor

He said Kessler has played with some uncanny "moxie and poise'' but he needs to see if he can do that over time.

Kessler (0-5) will oppose Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott (6-1).

More to come soon.

Mary Kay Cabot answers reader questions in her weekly Hey, Mary Kay! segment. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- It's time for our weekly Hey, Mary Kay! video. Watch for a new video every Friday at noon.

Today, Mary Kay answers questions about the following:

First, is newly-acquired linebacker Jamie Collins a long-term piece here or is he gone once he hits free agency?

Second, what does the future hold for defensive end Desmond Bryant, who was hurt prior to the start of training camp?

Lastly, a reader asks if it's time for Hue Jackson to stop taking all the blame and start assigning some of it.

Submit your Hey, Mary Kay! questions here.