The Buckeyes assistant would be an interesting hire for a MAC school one day.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Kerry Coombs came here to win national championships and coach first-round draft picks. 

He's won a national championship, and he's coaching first-round draft picks.

So, he's happy at Ohio State.

"That's why we came here and that's why we're staying," Coombs said Thursday, two days before Ohio State will take a run at another national championship in a two-step process that begins with a College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson.

"This ain't bad," Coombs said on bowl media day, looking around a hotel ballroom filled with the Ohio State talent and national title hopes.

"Again," he said, referencing the Buckeyes' 2014 championship. "Again."

But, maybe, not forever.

Coombs bucked any idea that he would have gone with Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, who is taking over as the head coach at Cincinnati. Cincinnati is Coombs' city, where he won a high school state championship while coaching at Colerain High for 16 years, and the place where he entered the college coaching ranks at Cincinnati in 2007.

* The Coombs rule: Fearlessly be yourself

"There's nothing to talk about with that," Coombs told cleveland.com, calling any discussion of it "stuff driven by outside folks."

Still, it's probably fair to consider that Coombs' promotion to co-defensive coordinator on Dec. 10, the same day Fickell was officially named Cincinnati's new boss, may have been something more than coincidence.

Urban Meyer hired the best man from his wedding, former Browns linebackers coach and NFL defensive coordinator Billy Davis, to replace Fickell, so Coombs said all the particulars of new titles will be dealt with by Meyer when the season's over.

"But I'm good," Coombs said.

He is always good. Loud, smiling, overflowing with energy, the 54-year-old couldn't be anything but good.

That's why he'd make a great hire as a head coach for the right college program, one looking for a shot in the arm and a new lease on life. Fickell bided his time for two decades at Ohio State and landed the Cincinnati job after years as a coordinator. Coombs wouldn't leap right to that kind of program.

But if sometime in the next couple years a MAC team in Ohio is looking for a boost, that AD should look at Coombs. Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck, 36, is a college football darling after leading the Broncos to a 13-0 record and a Cotton Bowl berth. He'll get a big job after next season.

Coombs is Fleck plus 18 years and with white hair.

And he'd be interested.

"In the right situation, absolutely, absolutely," Coombs said.

Like Fickell, Chris Ash and Tom Herman, Coombs has been going through Urban Meyer Head Coach finishing school.

* Coombs was right, I was wrong

"The one thing you learn here is how to do it," Coombs said. "I thought I knew how to do it. I knew exactly how to run a high school program. When I came here, the exposure to exactly the plan, and the plan works, and how to run a program, is incredible. I don't think there's anybody in our profession who doesn't want to do that at some point in time."

But Coombs doesn't have an agent. It's not his priority, not the way Ash made it a career priority, not the way Fickell chose to make it a career priority in the last year.

What's Coombs want to do?

"Win. Just win, wherever I'm at," he said. "And I'd like it to be at Ohio State.

"I don't like it. I love it. Because I get to be with and among the best in the country. I think everybody in their life, at least most of the people I hang around with, want to be the best at what they do. They want to be around the best. And that's what this is and that's hard to find at a lot of places."

He's not in the mode of pursuing a job. But he wouldn't mind running a program again.

"I'm waiting for the next chapter, whatever it is," Coombs said. "I very well could be here for the rest of my life.

"I don't spend any of my days worrying about that. I really don't. I'm having too much fun and and enjoying my guys and this environment."

That's exactly why one day, another school should be interested in him.

Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe talk all things Browns on today's daily video. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are preparing to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. They likely know who their quarterback will be when they do it, too.

Mary Kay Cabot and I discussed everything that happened today in Berea as the Browns get ready for their season finale. We talked about Robert Griffin III being cleared to return to practice and more than likely starting against the Steelers. We also talked about the possibility of the Browns having another new center this week and we got into Terrelle Pryor's future and whether Sunday could be his final game with the Browns.

Terrelle Pryor's agents likely want him to test the free agent market, where players often hit the jackpot. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- Terrelle Pryor has contemplated the notion that Sunday's season finale in Pittsburgh might be his last in a Browns uniform.

He'll be an unrestricted free agent March 9, and if the Browns don't extend him by then, they risk losing him on the open market.

As it is, his agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, have shelved extension talks until after the season -- and likely want him to test the market, where players often hit the jackpot.

"I just know they told me they were waiting, so that's all I had to hear,'' said Pryor. "It's my first time, I've been cut so many times. I wasn't good enough. Now it's my agents' turn to do their jobs and put me in the best position for myself. I believe in them and trust them.''

A fourth-year pro, Pryor knows as well as anyone it's a business, and that anything can happen.

"Like I said before, I have the utmost respect for Hue (Jackson), but at the end of the day, it's got to make sense for both sides,'' he said. "That's the only thing I know about contracts, it's got to make sense. I love to play for Hue and I played my hardest and I'm getting more experience as I go and there's things I could do better obviously and we all can. But that's just the thing were striving for, as LeBron, his mantra is: strive for greatness.

"I love to play for him and I enjoy playing for him this year and I'd love to play for him longer. But at the end of the day, it's got to come down to what my agents think is right for me.''

Pryor admitted that he's thought about this being it for him in Cleveland, despite the fact the Browns started talking to his agents months ago about a new deal, including talks that took place in Cleveland.

"Yeah, you always gotta think about that, especially in my situation being a free agent this coming up after this game,'' said Pryor, who's playing with a torn ligament in his right middle finger that will require surgery a day after the season. "Obviously it's something that you think about.

"I was talking to somebody and I said, 'man it would be great to see what our fans would be like for 7-2, 8-1, 9 and whatever,' because I thought that place was electric. Even when we were 0-14 coming into the game, we still had a lot of fans there and after the game it felt like it was 60,000-70,000 there cheering loud.

"You can see how bad they want us to win, so it's something you've got to think about and something I think about. But I can't control that and it's not my call. It's the guys upstairs, but I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity they gave me and I'm grateful to be on this team no matter what the record is.''

RG3 will start vs. Steelers barring a setback

Pryor is 87 yards shy of his goal of 1,000 yards in his first season as a receiver. He was well on his way to the coveted milestone until Robert Griffin III returned to the lineup the past three games and struggled with the passing game. In those three outings, Pryor has caught only  eight passes for 58 yards. If Cody Kessler or Josh McCown had been starting, he'd undoubtedly have his 1,000 by now -- a remarkable accomplishment for the converted quarterback.

"Anytime you set goals, everybody has goals coming into the season and stuff like that but at the end of the day I think a victory overrules it and like I said, I know I could get 1,000 yards,'' he said. "I believe I'm the type of player and I know that, but this is really about the team. It could happen. It's not far away at all. It's easy, so it's just taking it one play at a time and just go making plays, try to be there for Rob or Cody, whoever's starting.''

After Griffin's first game back, Pryor tumbled from 11th in receiving yards to 22nd. Now, he's 28th with 913. He's also 29th with 70 receptions and has four TDs. He'd undoubtedly have more TDs if he was used more in the red zone.  

"We've had about six quarterbacks or so this year but I believe in whoever's back there, because coach Hue's putting them back there,'' Pryor said of RG3 getting the nod in Pittsburgh. "I've got to handle my job and get open and if it comes my way, make a play.''

If the Browns can't reach a deal with Pryor before March 9th, they can always franchise him for about $16 million in 2017. But they're also trying to keep linebacker Jamie Collins, who's set to hit the market in March, and can only franchise one of them.

The Rosenhaus' will likely sell teams on the fact that Pryor had four different starting quarterbacks this season, including a rookie in Kessler and a veteran in RG3 who was benched all of last season and hurt for most of this year.

If Pryor had played with an established QB, he very well could've made the Pro Bowl in his first year at the position. He's still learning the nuances of beating top-notch cornerbacks, but some teams will view him as a No. 1 receiver and be willing to pay him like one.

Even former Browns receiver Travis Benjamin received $6 million a year from the Chargers in free agency last offseason. In Cleveland, 2016 No. 15 overall pick Corey Coleman is the No. 1 wideout, and the Browns will probably be reluctant at least at the outset to give Pryor No. 1 money, which is in the $9 million to $14 million a year range.

"I just love competing against the best,'' Pryor said. "I get the best corner every week and I love competing against the guys. These past three games for me haven't been well, there's multiple reasons for that. I just really want to go out and play the best that I can and really enjoy victories.''

And if they win this week, his second Browns victory could also be his last. 

Doug, Ari and Bill wrap up Day 4 from the Fiesta Bowl where Ohio State and Clemson held media day.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Dwayne Haskins dropped a mini-bomb on Thursday at Ohio State's Fiesta Bowl media day when he said he thinks J.T. Barrett won't be back as the Buckeyes' quarterback next year.

Don't read too much into that. Who knows where Haskins is getting his hunch from. But it's interesting to ponder as Barrett prepares to guide Ohio State into the College Football Playoff and a possible national championship.

So we talked about Barrett's future, how the playoff might impact that and some other tidbits from media day in our daily Fiesta Bowl Buckeye Talk podcast, which you can listen to below:

If you missed our full Fiesta Bowl preview podcast last week, you can find it on our iTunes page along with all of our other Buckeye Talk podcasts.

Our Buckeye Talk Podcast is available for you to listen on iTunes, Soundcloud and Stitcher.

Alford has taken over kickoff and punt return duties for the Browns. So far, he's been able to take advantage. Watch video

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns' newest return man, Mario Alford, calls himself a risk taker.

"A good risk taker," he clarified. "I don't want to do nothing crazy."

"I am always for the risk taker, the smart risk taker," special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said last week when asked about Alford grabbing a bouncing football, spinning out of a tackle for a 12-yard return vs. Buffalo. "That was a good play by him because had he just let the ball roll, that gunner is going to be there and probably wait for it to stop about the 3-yard line. He picks it up and goes around the corner and we start the drive at the 31 or 32 yard line. That was a good play by him."

Alford has been thrown into the fire as a return man. He was added to the practice squad the week prior to the game in Buffalo, was elevated to the active roster the day before the game and was back to receive the opening kickoff.

"The Browns called me and were like, 'Hey, we want to sign you to the practice squad. When you get here, work your way up, see if you can be our return guy,'" Alford recalled. "So I came in, caught the ball well. From there, that's kind of how it happened."

Alford and his speed have certainly given the moribund return game a boost, but who is he? Here are a few more things to know about the speedster out of West Virginia.

He's one of 14 kids

Not only that: Alford's the baby.

"I was pretty much spoiled," he said. "Everybody used to always try to baby me, so it was fun."

Alford grew up in Greenville, Georgia, about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta. His dad, Wardell, worked at Georgia Pacific, providing for his mother, Mildred, and all those kids.

"Salute to my mom, my dad, I don't see how they did it, honestly," Alford said. "Growing up, everyone was stable. We didn't have much, but we had because my father, he worked all the time, so he provided us whatever we needed."

Wardell passed away last December. Alford said that it meant a lot that his dad was able to see him get drafted.

"I wish he was here for this day," Alford said, "we'd still be celebrating. It means a lot. I know he's proud of me, looking down on me. It means a lot."

Mario Alford provides lift in return game

He was originally going to play college football for Arizona

Alford was a highly-rated JUCO prospect who was on his way to play for the Wildcats after transferring from Georgia Military College. That changed, though, all thanks to one man: Tony Gibson.

Gibson was the assistant coach at Arizona who got Alford to commit, but then Gibson ended up taking a job with West Virginia. So Alford followed him.

"He was my guy, so I decommitted with him and (went to) West Virginia," Alford said.

It was a particularly good fit for Alford because, even though he grew up in SEC country, the style of football in the Big 12 was most appealing.

"I liked the Air Raid, so I knew the Big 12, that's all they did," he said. "SEC's more of a downhill, hit the nose, so I wanted someone who was going to get the ball out, stretch the field, throw it in the air more."

That's not to say that he didn't get his shot to face some SEC competition. He returned a kickoff 100 yards against Alabama in the Mountaineers season opener in 2014.

He ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at his Pro Day

"I didn't run well at the (NFL Scouting) combine," Alford said when asked about the draft process that ended in him getting selected in the seventh round by the Bengals. "That's OK, I made it up at Pro Day."

Did he ever. According to NFL.com's Bryan Fischer, he ran 4.27 in the 40, .16 faster than his combine time.

Cincinnati selected him 238th overall. the 5-8 Alford thinks a lot of teams overlooked him because of his height. Alford appeared in just one game his rookie season, against the Browns, when he caught one pass for 15 yards.

Alford got work during the Bengals' first preseason game as a kickoff and punt returner, but he injured his ankle and was eventually waived on Sept. 3.

"I'm sure if I wouldn't have got hurt at the Bengals, I'm sure I would have been the return guy," Alford said.

Instead, he had to play the NFL's waiting game. The Jets added him to their practice squad on Nov. 16. He wasn't there long -- the Jets waived him Dec. 6 and the Browns picked him up a week later.

It's all Hue you know

Alford can partially credit his time with the Bengals and then-offensive coordinator Hue Jackson with ending up here.

"Hue's my guy," Alford said. "He was at Cincinnati. He always told me I'm going to be a hell of a player some day. He told me just keep fighting, keep working, looking up to the older guys."

That message sounds familiar if fans have been listening to players talk about Jackson this season. Jackson's personality and approach really speak to a player like Alford.

"Hue's an inspiration, man," Alford said. "He's a fighter. He don't want the big name guys, you feel me? He wants the guys who don't have any name and make them to a brand. I love Hue a lot."

Even moreso now because Jackson and the Browns are giving him a shot.

"When I get out there on the field, I look back at the time when I was sitting at home, when I was watching everybody else on Sunday," Alford said. "Now it's like, I'm here now and I'm going to prove to all 31 other teams why you should have all ... picked me up. I'm going to give them something to remember."

----

Follow me: on Twitter | on Facebook

Women's Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes will look to derail Rousey's comeback on Friday night. Dominick Cruz will also face off against Cody Garbrandt.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The history of the UFC's greatest fighters after a major loss is a mixed bag.

Chuck Liddell never recovered from a knockout loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Anderson Silva dethroned longtime champ Rich Franklin in epic fashion. Later on, back-to-back losses to Chris Weidman removed the aura of invincibility from Silva.

But there are examples of the opposite as well. In his prime, Matt Hughes recovered from a loss to BJ Penn to reign over the welterweight division seemingly forever.

Georges St-Pierre became, arguably, the greatest fighter of all time after his shocking loss to Matt Sierra. More recently, Conor McGregor overcame his defeat to Nate Diaz and became the third UFC fighter to win belts in multiple weight divisions.

At Friday's UFC 207, we'll find out which group Ronda Rousey falls into when she takes on a Amanda Nunes. Here's a look at that showdown and the other two headlining fights for UFC 207.

Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey (UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship)

It'll be weird to see Rousey walk out first during Friday night's main event, considering she's still the face of women's MMA. But Nunes deserves more respect than she's gotten during the lead-up to UFC 207. The 28-year-old destroyed Miesha Tate in claiming the title and will look to impose her brutal striking style on Rousey early and often.

Most experts are predicting Nunes in this fight. But even they admit a lot of this comes down to Rousey's mindset. Does she really want this? I think so. And she'll have to want it bad to beat Nunes. This will be a war where Rousey will have to overcome tough moments to finish Nunes, who has bad cardio, in the later rounds just like Cat Zingano did back in 2014.

Prediction: Rousey via armbar in fourth round

Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt (UFC Bantamweight Championship)

Ohio-native Garbrandt talked his way into this fight. Now he'll have to punch his way out of it, which is no easy task against perhaps the most elusive pound-for-pound fighter ever in Cruz.

Cruz has a history of destroying Team Alpha Male and there's a good chance that will continue against Garbrandt. But the difference here is Garbrandt's confidence and knockout power. We've never seen Cruz knocked out, but there's little doubt all Garbrandt needs is one punch. I think he'll get it. Though, it better come early.

Prediction: Garbrandt via first round KO

T.J. Dillashaw vs. John Lineker

It's interesting how similar this fighter vs. brawler matchup is to Cruz vs. Garbrandt. No doubt, the winner is next in line for a title shot. Unlike Garbrandt, Lineker is a little too flatfooted and he's never faced anyone nearly as well rounded as Dillashaw.

As long as Dillashaw is focused on this fight and not the title match he thinks he should have gotten, he'll do just fine.

Prediction: Dillashaw by unanimous decision

Mixed martial artist champion Ronda Rousey seemed invincible--until her amazing winning streak was snapped by a shocking defeat at the hands of former world boxing champ Holly Holm late last year.

Mixed martial artist champion Ronda Rousey seemed invincible--until her amazing winning streak was snapped by a shocking defeat at the hands of former world boxing champ Holly Holm late last year. The defeat sent Rousey into seclusion and a downward spiral so bad she contemplated suicide. But 13 months later, she's getting back in the ring to battle Amanda Nunes in Las Vegas. Can she make a comeback? What do you think?[?]

PERSPECTIVES

Holly Holm, whose 2015 knockout of Rousey was the biggest upset in UFC history, thinks it's all up to Ronda:

"Anything can happen," Holm told The Post. "I do think it comes down to what Ronda shows up. Is she going to get hit and question herself? Or is she going to get hit and think, 'Nope not tonight, not again.' That's going to be the moment."

 

But Amanda Nunes told Rolling Stone she's coming for Rousey big time:

"Ronda Rousey is the biggest name and I want to make a statement," Nunes said. "I've been training for this girl my whole career in the UFC. I have a chance to defend my belt against her and show everybody the real champion."

 

Clearly, Rousey's been training for this moment.

What a difference! [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] @RondaRousey #FearTheReturn #UFC207 @UFC pic.twitter.com/U8LUeJmvGZ

-- Chris Manley 2016 (@ChrisManley2013) December 29, 2016

But Rousey hasn't fought in more than 400 days. Experts say if she loses the bout, her UFC career is over. There is so much more on the line for Rousey than there is for her challenger. Can Ronda Rousey perform under this kind of pressure?

Ronda Rousey returns but it's no easy task to recapture bantamweight belt >>

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Get the latest updates and analysis from the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 31 against the Boston Celtics.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers face the Boston Celtics on Thursday in Game 31 of the 2016 NBA regular season.

Follow along in the comments section as Joe Vardon and Chris Fedor bring you observations and analysis throughout the game.

Make sure to follow Vardon and Fedor on Twitter.

Game 31: Cavs (23-7) vs. Celtics (19-13)

Tipoff: 8 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.

TV/radio: FoxSports Ohio, TNT; WTAM 1100 AM; 87.7 FM (ESP)

Cavs probable starting lineup: LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Tristan Thompson, DeAndre Liggins, Kyrie Irving.

Celtics probable starting lineup: Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Amir Johnson, Al Horford, Avery Bradley.

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

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Celtics coach Brad Stevens went to an Ohio State football practice in September and sounds like he's rooting for the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sounds like Celtics coach Brad Stevens will be pulling for Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs.

Stevens, whose Cs are in Cleveland Thursday to play the Cavs, said he visited a Buckeyes football practice and coach Urban Meyer in September while Stevens was "in town for a wedding." Stevens said his father went to Ohio State's medical school, and his wife, Tracy, is a Rocky River High School graduate with family members who have ties to Ohio State.

Hard to fathom he wouldn't be pulling for Ohio State when the Buckeyes play Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve.

"It's pretty cool to follow their success," Stevens said.

As for Stevens' visiting Columbus, he got into practice thanks to Ohio State basketball coach Thad Matta, who was Stevens' first boss at Butler University.

"I called Thad and said, 'Let's going to football practice. Do you think you can get me in?'" Stevens recalled. "He's got some pull down there it seems like. That's a good thing. So we sat over there. They're pretty impressive."

Richard Jefferson threw down an alley-oop dunk off a pass from LeBron James in the first half against Boston.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cavaliers veteran forward Richard Jefferson continued to display a certain spring in his step with an alley-oop dunk off a pass from LeBron James in the second quarter Thursday against the Boston Celtics.

Jefferson beat Celtics forward Gerald Green on a backdoor cut, and James found him with a lob pass to give Cleveland a 38-37 lead with less than nine minutes left in the first half.

Richard Jefferson dunks on Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson

Jefferson registered a pair of thunderous dunks in Sunday's Christmas Day win against Golden State. After the first, he was given a technical foul for winking at Warriors forward Kevin Durant. The league later rescinded that technical.

RJ's still throwing down. [?] #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/lJ10HYwSLX

-- Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 30, 2016

Mentor's boys basketball forced 20 turnovers and allowed just nine third-quarter points as the Cardinals beat Bay, 91-70, to stay undefeated.

MENTOR, Ohio — Mentor coach Bob Krizancic’s halftime change to his team’s full-court pressure made an immediate difference as his team turned a 3-point halftime lead into a 91-70 win against Bay on Thursday.

The Cardinals (5-0), ranked No. 8 in the cleveland.com Top 25, switched their pressure into a 2-2-1 to start the second half. That adjustment led to a 17-2 run to start the second half and forced seven Bay turnovers in the third quarter.

Mentor outscored Bay, 28-9, in the third quarter.

“The big difference was they had to earn every shot,” Krizancic said. “They had way too many good looks in the first half. I thought defensively, that’s why we got a lot of transition buckets. That’s why the good third quarter.”

Mentor forced 20 turnovers and committed just 12.

Eleven different Cardinals scored led by Jack Korsok’s 17 points. Caden Kryz added 13, and Xavier Cheek and Manning Trubisky each scored 12.

The Cardinals grabbed the lead for good early in the first quarter with an 11-0 run. They led by as much as 13 in the first half before No. 19 Bay (6-3) cut it to three at halftime.

Blessing ended the third quarter with this 3. #NEOvarsity @MentorAthletics pic.twitter.com/WvAglQNtUu

— Tim Bielik (@bielik_tim) December 30, 2016

“We weren’t rotating on the press. We should have picked off a lot of those 30-, 40-foot lobs, and they’re getting great 3s,” Krizancic said. “We were just slow reacting.”

Erik Painter had a game-high 21 points for Bay, and RJ Sunahara added 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. The Rockets hit 12 3-pointers, but only made eight shots inside the 3-point arc.

“I think we understand what we have to do defensively and how fast we have to play,” Bay coach Jared Shetzer said. “That Mentor team, and we knew this coming in, was as fast as that John Glenn team we saw down at state last year.

“I think we’re ahead of the curve last year in terms of trying to play fast. But unless you’re playing teams that play that way, you’re not really getting better. You’re just practicing against yourselves.”

Mentor’s 91 points scored marked the fourth time in as many games the Cardinals scored at least 85 points. They have scored more than 90 three times and had 87 on Wednesday against Barberton.

“We’ve got to force tempo,” Krizancic said. “We’ve got to be in the 80s and 90s. For years, that’s six years we’ve went to regionals and states twice, we’re averaging between 87 and 90. That’s tough for high school. But I mean that’s our goal. And they’re getting it.”

Mentor hosts Solon on Tuesday, and Bay will travel to Valley Forge on Jan. 6.

Cleveland State commits 20 turnovers and is 16-of-26 from the free throw line in a 76-75 overtime loss to Green Bay.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State lost a big lead, battled back to tie late, but lost in overtime to Wisconsin Green Bay, 76-75, in the Horizon League opener for both teams Thursday in the Wolstein Center.

Green Bay's Trevor Anderson split a pair of free throws with 5.8 seconds left in overtime to lift WGB to the win as Cleveland State's 3-pointer at the buzzer failed.

CSU guard Rob Edwards had 22 points to lead all scorers with Bobby Word adding 18. WGB, which forced 20 CSU turnovers and had 22 offensive rebounds, was paced by Charles Cooper with 19.

The game went to overtime as both teams struggled at the free throw line. Green Bay's Tevin Findlay missed a pair that could have won it with two seconds. That made it 16-of-31 for the Phoenix from the line. The Vikings at that point were also a tepid 16-of-26.

After shooting 32.4 percent in the opening half, the Phoenix began to find their range the final 20 minutes. What was once a 13-point CSU lead in the opening half became a 39-37 Green Bay lead with 16:34 to play. It was the first lead of the game for the Phoenix.

The two teams played back-and-forth the rest of the second half until Green Bay got a mini lead, 62-57, with 4:34 to play. But the Vikings battled back and took a 67-65 lead with 57 seconds to play.

The Phoenix used one of their offensive rebounds to tie the score, then CSU committed one of its turnovers giving Green Bay a shot at the victory. Findlay was fouled going to the hoop, but missed the two free throws sending the game to overtime.

The first half: Cleveland State made a statement early, building a 16-3 lead behind a pair of Bobby Word 3-pointers before the Phoenix put back-to-back scores together that cut the Vikings lead in half.

Cleveland State would get their lead back up to 13 points on several occasions only to see Green Bay cut it back to six, and then to one before a late hoop was good for a better cushion.

Word had 14 points and the Vikings held a 33-30 lead at the half.

Up next: The Vikings host Milwaukee on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. After that, CSU goes on the road next week at Wright State and at Northern Kentucky.

Horizon news: The Horizon League has four teams with nine or more non-conference victories, including Valparaiso, Oakland, Northern Kentucky and Wright State.

The league also has four teams with losing records: Detroit, Milwaukee, CSU and Youngstown State.

LeBron James scored 23 points on the eve of his 32nd birthday and the Cavs beat the Celtics 124-118.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James is officially done playing basketball as a 31-year old.

The year went pretty well for him.

James scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter of his last game before his 32nd birthday, which is Friday, and the Cavs edged the Celtics 124-118. Cleveland was ahead by 20 in the third quarter and 18 at the end of the period, and watched its lead dwindle all the way down to one point with less than a minute left.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 32 points and 12 assists, but left the game with 53 seconds to go with an apparent right hamstring injury. He had converted layups on consecutive possessions to keep the Celtics from taking over.

Kevin Love added 30 points and 15 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas paced the Celtics with 31 points and Avery Bradley contributed 23.

James had an odd game. He nearly hit on his 46th career triple-double with 11 assists and eight rebounds, but he also committed eight turnovers. His block of Al Horford with 3.2 seconds to go ended the Celtics' hopes. James shot 9-of-18 from the field but just 3-of-7 from the foul line.

James logged 43 minutes. Irving played 42. The Cavs committed 18 turnovers as a team, which led to 22 points for Boston.

At age 31, James led the Cavs to their first championship and the city's first in a major pro sport since 1964. He was heralded by maybe 1 million people in the parade downtown afterwards. Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press made him their athlete of the year in 2016.

Almost as an aside, he has the Cavs at 24-7 and in first place in the East. Cleveland's next game is New Year's Eve in Charlotte.

"It was a great year," said James, who shares a birthday with Tiger Woods. "I told my wife last night it was one helluva year. Not only for me in my professional career but for me as a father, a husband and things of that nature, my family is happy and my foundation, it's been a great year.

"But I'm not a start-over guy on the first of the year, I just try to continue it," James continued. "Keep it going. I'm not New Year's resolution guy, I don't say 'let's get to a new start.' Let's just keep it going. My calendar doesn't stop. My hours continue to go and we want to continue to be as great as we can be even going into Jan. 1."

The Cavs have now won 11 straight with James in the lineup and 11 out of the last 13 overall. James is third in Cavs' history with 721 games played, having passed Bingo Smith on Thursday.<div class="s2nPlayer-wHKq2fhNXy-238581-4480" data-type="single"></div><script type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.sendtonews.com/player2/embedcode.php?SC=wHKq2fhNXy-238581-4480&autoplay=on&sound=on" data-type="s2nScript"></script>

Comparatively, this was a quiet scoring game for James against Boston. Coming in, he was averaging 29.7 points in 43 regular-season games against the Celtics -- his highest average against any opponent.

"LeBron with the ball is as good of a driver and playmaker as there is the league," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "LeBron rolling to the rim is as good as most bigs in the league. He can pretty much do whatever he wants at any of the five positions."

The Celtics had a good look at a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds remaining, but Jae Crowder's attempt clanged off the rim. Richard Jefferson grabbed the rebound and converted both free throws for a four-point advantage. Jefferson finished with 11 points off the bench.

Catch up on Thursday's statewide boys basketball scores from around the OHSAA, courtesy of The Associated Press.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Catch up on Thursday's statewide boys basketball scores, courtesy of The Associated Press:

Akr. Firestone 92, Copley 86

Batavia Amelia 59, Cin. Clark Montessori 53

Bellbrook 59, Tol. Cent. Cath. 47

Blanchester 61, Augusta, Ky. 43

Brooklyn 53, Independence 52

Buford, Ga. 61, Huber Hts. Wayne 54

Cambridge 75, Lore City Buckeye Trail 48

Champagnat Catholic, Fla. 61, Cornerstone Christian 58

Cin. Christian 66, Oxford Talawanda 48

Cin. Moeller 58, New Mission, Mass. 45

Cin. Shroder 48, Cin. Purcell Marian 47

Cin. Summit Country Day 78, Ridgeland-Hardeeville, S.C. 45

Cin. Wyoming 64, Granville 29

Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant 41, Raceland, Ky. 39

Coldwater 62, Celina 52

Cols. St. Charles 66, Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 42

Day. Carroll 51, Cols. Watterson 42

Day. Stivers 67, Day. Northridge 58

Fairview 56, Cuyahoga Hts. 29

Fostoria 69, Northwood 63

Garfield Hts. 88, Euclid 85, OT

Gates Mills Gilmour 68, Willoughby S. 62

Gates Mills Hawken 72, Parma Hts. Valley Forge 49

Green 81, Akr. Garfield 68

Hedgesville, W.Va. 68, Painesville Harvey 31

Hilliard Bradley 51, Hilliard Davidson 28

Kenton 75, Marion Harding 72

Loveland 61, Cin. College Prep. 43

Maria Stein Marion Local 52, St. Henry 42

Massillon Perry 63, Canfield 56

Mentor 91, Bay Village Bay 70

Milford Center Fairbanks 64, Waynesfield-Goshen 47

Mowrystown Whiteoak 59, Batavia Clermont NE 45

New Lexington 71, Corning Miller 37

Ottawa-Glandorf 56, Perrysburg 51

Pandora-Gilboa 50, Leipsic 43

Pettisville 52, Defiance Tinora 33

Pitsburg Franklin-Monroe 54, Union City Mississinawa Valley 41

Portsmouth 65, Edgewood, Fla. 53

Richwood N. Union 55, Mt. Blanchard Riverdale 28

Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington 58, St. Patrick, Ky. 42

Springside Chestnut Hill, Pa. 57, Wilmington Christian Academy 50

St. Bernard Roger Bacon 64, Philadelphia Roman Catholic, Pa. 41

Tol. Waite 67, Ottawa Lake Whiteford, Mich. 60, OT

Troy 63, Spring. Shawnee 60

Van Wert Lincolnview 51, Kalida 48

Willard 73, Madison 48

Cols. Upper Arlington 57, Bethel Park, Pa. 34

Groveport-Madison 68, Steel Valley, Pa. 60

Brunswick 53, Macedonia Nordonia 37

Parma Padua 70, Marysville 64

Rockford Parkway 91, Dola Hardin Northern 25

Tol. Maumee Valley 56, Delphos Jefferson 53

Batavia 58, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place 44

Swanton 76, Spring. Emmanuel Christian 32

Youngs. East 73, IDEA Public Charter, D.C. 61

Berlin Hiland 61, Whitehall-Yearling 53

Day. Dunbar 58, West Salem Northwestern High School 53

Boyle Co., Ky. 60, Worthington Kilbourne 45

Detroit U-D Jesuit, Mich. 55, St. Vincent-St. Mary 49

Cols. Linden McKinley 66, Warsaw River View 28

Heath 95, Howard E. Knox 54

Montpelier 52, Metamora Evergreen 45

Morrow Little Miami 69, Goshen 45

Kettering Alter 65, Grainger, Tenn. 62

Pomeroy Meigs 72, Hayden, Ala. 58

Manchester 82, W. Union 58

Covington 58, Sidney Lehman 48

Day. Belmont 64, Tipp City Bethel 62

Piqua 75, New Carlisle Tecumseh 68

Russia 65, Troy Christian 45

Bryan 54, McComb 36

Maumee 44, Millbury Lake 41

Warren Harding 64, Fairmont Senior, W.Va. 57

Cin. Colerain 75, Clawson, Mich. 38

Cin. Elder 57, Logan 49

Ev. Bosse, Ind. 69, Springboro 57

N. Royalton 56, Bedford 40

Parma Hts. Holy Name 85, Medina Highland 50Pepsi Cola Holiday Battle of the Bridge Classic

Blanchester 65, Augusta, Ky. 45

Georgetown 57, Mt. Orab Western Brown 48

Sardinia Eastern Brown 59, Fayetteville-Perry 54

Latham Western 59, Beaver Eastern 53

Waverly 73, Piketon 61

Portage, Ind. 68, Day. Miami Valley 38

Greater Beckley Christian, W.Va. 79, OVC 74

Lincoln County, W.Va. 66, New Matamoras Frontier 40

Antwerp 75, Edon 62

Hicksville 53, Edgerton 49

North Laurel, Ky. 65, Cin. St. Xavier 48

Reynoldsburg 65, Olmsted Falls 42

Thomas Worthington 93, Tol. Woodward 63

Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 68, Hannibal River 49

Cols. Hartley 58, Alliance Marlington 45

Cols. Ready 56, Tuscarawas Cent. Cath. 51

Proctorville Fairland 65, Day. Chaminade Julienne 58

Cle. Rhodes vs. Cle. Hts. Lutheran E., ppd.

CFB Bowl games for Dec. 30, 2016, include the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Hyundai Sun Bowl and Capital One Orange Bowl.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 2016-17 College Football Bowl season continues with five games Dec. 30.

Some maintain that there are too many bowls (this season: 41). I do not. I cannot get enough of college football, in general, and even nondescript bowls can produce notable accomplishments by individual and team.

For the first time, I am going to pick bowl games against the spread -- entertainment purposes only, of course. It better be EPO because, for as much as I love college football, I do not pretend to be an "expert.'' Leave that to the likes of Phil Steele.

For me, college football is fun. Nothing but fun.

For 28 Bowls through Wednesday, I had gone a disastrous 10-18 ATS, including losses in 10 of the most recent 12. I am leaning on "favorites,'' and they are fizzling. As an addendum, what has happened to teams that I picked during their games borders on the absurd, requiring 5 hours of explanation. And don't get me started about the reports from the so-called "experts'' that I studied before making the selections.

All that said: This is a no-excuse exercise, and I am responsible for my drowning. Picking CFB Bowls ATS is every bit as difficult as Nick Camino told me it would be.

Even though this is for fun, I was so angry about the losing ways that I irrationally switched all of my picks for Dec. 28-29 one hour before post publication. All -- except one. I tried but could not get myself to come off Pitt beating Northwestern by more than 5 1/2. Of course Northwestern won outright.

Lines are from MGM Mirage via vegasinsider.com as of the afternoon before first game of group. All times Eastern:

DEC. 30

1. AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL

• Who: Georgia (7-5) vs. TCU (6-6)
• Where: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn.
• When: Noon
• TV: ESPN
• DMan's pick: Georgia +3.

2. HYUNDAI SUN BOWL

• Who: No. 18 Stanford (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
• Where: Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Tx.
• When: 2 p.m.
• TV: CBS
• DMan's pick: Stanford -2 1/2.

3. FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY BOWL

• Who: Nebraska (9-3) vs. No. 21 Tennessee (8-4)
• Where: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.
• When: 3:30 p.m.
• TV: ESPN
• DMan's pick: Tennessee -6.

4. NOVA HOME LOANS ARIZONA BOWL

• Who: South Alabama (6-6) vs. Air Force (9-3)
• Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson.
• When: 5:30 p.m.
• TV: American Sports Network.
• DMan's pick: South Alabama +14.

5. CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL

• Who: No. 6 Michigan (10-2) vs. No. 11 Florida State (9-3)
• Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
• When: 8 p.m.
• TV: ESPN
• DMan's pick: Florida State +7.

LeBron James' 32nd birthday is Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. LBJ has more than held his own against Michael Jordan at the same age.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Numbers have a way of cutting through the clutter and crystalizing matters.

With that in mind, I give you the following:

Two all-time-great NBA players. Exact same age.

Player A                                         Player B

14                    Seasons                            9

1,015                Games                          667 

39,518              Minutes                   25,842

9,951             Field Goals                   8,079

.498                     FG%                          .516

1,395              3-Pointers                      287

.341                   3-Pt%                         .301

6,247             Free Throws                 5,096

.742                    FT%                           .846

7,289              Rebounds                    4,219

7,057                  Assists                     3,935

1,696                  Steals                      1,815

790                     Blocks                        684

27,544                Points                     21,541

27.1                     PPG                            32.3

199              Playoff Games                   111

8,383           Playoff Minutes             4,645

1,758           Playoff Rebounds             741

1,348           Playoff Assists                 738

5,572           Playoff Points                3,850

28.0             Playoff PPG                     34.7

7                  NBA Finals                           3

3                  NBA Titles                            3

4                  League MVP                        3

Who you got?

If you want the more productive one, all biases or preconceived notions aside, you take Player A. The more efficient one is Player B, but the more productive one is Player A.

As you can deduce from the headline of this post, Player A is LeBron James at 32 years, 0 days, and Player B is Michael Jordan at 32 years, 0 days. LeBron turned 32 today -- Dec. 30, 2016.

LeBron has said he is chasing the "ghost'' of M.J. Based strictly on age, he is doing just fine.

As I wrote in October, LeBron enjoyed a significant head start by entering the NBA out of high school, whereas Jordan played three seasons in college. But LeBron need not apologize for having begun to take the association by storm in his teens instead of his early 20s. There were no guarantees; he could have flopped.

Nor is it LeBron's fault that Jordan did not play in the NBA in 1993-94, pursuing a baseball career instead. Jordan did not return to the NBA until late in the 1994-95 season, at 32 years, 1 month. Nor is LeBron responsible for Jordan having "retired'' after the 1997-98 season, eventually returning in 2001-02 with Washington.

No question that LeBron has plenty of work to do in order to keep pace -- in one area in particular. Jordan finished with six rings, all with the Chicago Bulls. He won three straight, 1996-98.

But who is to say LeBron can't continue to hang with M.J.? I've seen enough from LBJ, his team-building, and his will to win to think that he can.

Kyrie Irving left the Cavs' 124-118 win over Boston with a right hamstring cramp late in the fourth quarter and did not return.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavs said Kyrie Irving left the team's 124-118 victory over the Boston Celtics Thursday late in the fourth quarter because of cramping in his right hamstring.

Irving scored a game-high 32 points, but left the game after finishing a layup with 53 seconds left that put the Cavs ahead by three. He was clutching and trying to work out his right hamstring, and didn't return.

The team doesn't believe the injury is serious, but Irving stopped short of saying he'd be OK for the Cavs' game Saturday in Charlotte.

"We'll see how I feel in the morning," said Irving, who scored nine in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 12 assists. He said he had a date with a "cold tub" when he got home.

Boston couldn't ruin LeBron's birthday

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said there was no concern Irving might miss time, explaining a cramp is "way different" than a hamstring pull or (obviously) a tear.

Irving was cramping in the first half, too, but said he felt better when he came back after halftime. He said he banged knees with LeBron James in the first half, then experienced cramping in his calf first, followed by his hamstring.

Irving, 24, missed two games this season after a bout of tired legs. Irving and James scored 18 consecutive points down the stretch in the fourth quarter while Cleveland was attempting to hold off a furious Boston comeback. The Cavs led by 18 when the quarter started but were up just one with 47.3 seconds to go.

LeBron James said he was "horrible" against the Celtics because of his eight turnovers, but he also just missed a triple-double.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- What did LeBron James give himself for his 32nd birthday?

How about an "F" on his report card from the Cavs' 124-118 win over Boston Thursday, hours before one of the NBA's best players of all time turned 32.

"I think I was horrible tonight," James said. "In every facet of the game, I was just pretty bad and it's unacceptable. I can't do that if I want to help this team get to where we want to get to. So, if there was a report card, I'd give myself a 'F' for tonight's performance. I just got to be better."

So we're clear, James just missed a triple-double with 23 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. He shot 9-of-18 from the field and scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter, while the Cs were racing back from an 18-point deficit. James closed the game with a strip-block of Al Horford with 3.2 seconds left and the Cavs ahead by four.

But, you see, James also had eight turnovers, tying a season high. And at least one of them was really, really bad.

Cavs survive on LeBron's birthday

Jae Crowder had just buried a 3-pointer to cut the Cavs' lead to 113-108 with 3:26 left. Kyrie Irving threw the ball in-bounds to James, who nonchalantly tapped it back in Irving's direction for him to bring it up the court.

But James' tapback was lazy, and Avery Bradley was lurking. Bradley stole the ball and dunked it. Three-point game.

My concentration at different parts of the game (was off)," James said. "I had eight turnovers and some of them were just plain stupid turnovers, especially the one that Avery Bradley got in the backcourt. I was just not concentrating on the game so it's not always about the statistics or not. It's about how I go out and I approach the game. So, I was happy that I got two All-Stars alongside me and I was able to carry us to a win."

He was talking about Irving (32 points, 12 assists) and Kevin Love (30 points, 15 rebounds).

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said James apologized to teammates on the bench and in the locker room for the Bradley steal.

Irving left game with leg cramp

Irving didn't want to levy such a tough, failing grade against James afterwards.

Lue had seen his Cavaliers let a late fourth quarter lead slip away against the Boston Celtics last year.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue walked to the podium for his six-minute postgame session and let out a huge sigh of relief while gazing at the stat sheet in front of him.

Lue had seen his Cavaliers let a late fourth quarter lead slip away against the Boston Celtics last year. And while the Cavs came close to watching it happen again, as a 20-point lead shrunk to one on three separate occasions in the final few minutes, they were able to hang on for the 124-118 win.

Here are five observations: 

No white flag - Up by 18 at the start of the fourth, Lue summoned his usual group of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye.

It's clear he wanted to put Boston away quickly and then pull his mainstays. But it didn't quite go according to plan.

"They put their third unit in the game and I think he threw in the white flag as they've got a game tomorrow and we wanted to come in and put Kyrie and Bron to start the fourth quarter to put the game out," Lue admitted. "They came in, played hard and scrapped. They were able to come back and change the game."

Boston opened the fourth quarter on a 19-7 run, exploiting Irving and Frye's deficiencies in the pick-and-roll.

That's one of the dangers of Lue's five-man group. With Frye in the game instead of Tristan Thompson, Irving's troubles defending the pick-and-roll get highlighted.

The Celtics used the set four straight possessions, getting nine points before Lue had to bring back a few starters. The Cavs also lost track of floor-spacing Jonas Jerebko a few times. He scored seven points in the first six minutes.

"Marcus (Smart) and (Tyler) Zeller and Jerebko, those guys came in, Jaylen (Brown) as well, they came in and gave them a big spark and they basically just took the energy away from us," James said.

The Cavs were outscored, 35-23, in the fourth. But made enough plays late. 

Coming through - Following the game, James was clearly dissatisfied with his play, giving himself an "F."

"That guy is so special. He gives himself an F and he still ends up with 23 (points), 8 (rebounds) and 11 (assists)," Irving said. "That's what makes the greats great right there, just taking accountability and then moving forward. Said what he had to say in front of the team and then we move on. That's what being a great team is really about, just having great players step up to the plate."

That's what James did. He overcame an eight-turnover night and made a few critical plays down the stretch.

As soon as Boston cut the lead to one, James' driving layup pushed the Cavs back in front by three. A few possessions later, he earned a trip to the free throw line after bullying his way inside against Smart.

With 8.5 seconds left and the Cavs holding a four-point edge, they needed another stop, as the Celtics still had one timeout remaining and the Cavs' best free throw shooter was on the bench with a hamstring cramp. A bucket by the Celtics would have cut the lead to two points and they would have fouled immediately and then who knows.

But it didn't get to that point because James swiped the ball from Boston's Al Horford, sealing the victory with a pair of Love freebies.

"Once the ball went into Horford I figured it was probably going to be some hammer action on the backside or some guys going from flare to flaring," James said of Boston's after-timeout play. "I know Horford's tendencies from playing against him a lot and I just tried to make the clean strip and I was able to do that."

Making somebody else beat them - With 21.3 seconds left, after James had just split a pair at the line, the Cavs were clinging to a two-point lead. 

Isaiah Thomas, who finished with 31 points, received a handoff and screen from Jae Crowder before angling to the left wing. With two defenders closing in, he snapped a pass to Crowder on the right wing for an open 3-pointer that bounced off the back rim and into the arms of Richard Jefferson.

It was a great look for Crowder, who is a 40.8 percent 3-point shooter and had made a triple a few minutes earlier. Still, Tte goal was to keep Avery Bradley or Thomas from making the winning shot. After all, Bradley buried a dagger against the Cavs last season.

"Last possession of the game we said we wanted to double team and trap it and we can get back to him and then live with the results. He missed the shot," Lue said. "We know Isaiah can score the basketball and he can come off and you can make a mistake so we made somebody else beat us. Fortunately for us Crowder missed a shot."

And that's the problem the Celtics will continue to have against the Cavs -- unless free agent prize Horford provides more than six points, four assists and one rebound in 29 minutes.

If it becomes all about Thomas and Bradley, the Cavs will use bigger defenders (DeAndre Liggins, Iman Shumpert and James) against that duo and force someone else to step up and make plays.

Can anyone else do it consistently?

Irving joins elite company - Early on, Irving was in distribution mode, tallying five assists in the first quarter.

"Just realizing the amount of attention I'm commanding when I get in the paint," he said. "Just seeing opportunities for my teammates, my drives in the lanes, realizing I could almost get my shot off or shot any time I come down, so now it's about playing that in-between game and getting everyone else involved and make sure everyone is involved in the offense. It's a different team game when everyone feels good about getting the ball."

Irving finished with a team-high 12 assists. It's the fifth time Irving has reached double-digit helpers in the last seven games. It's the fourth time in the last five games. He did that once all of last season.

Even more impressive, the Celtics boast one of the elite defenders, Bradley, who has stymied numerous top-level lead guards this season.

Prior to Thursday, only six point guards (John Wall, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Tyler Ennis, Russell Westbrook and Goran Dragic) tallied 10 assists or more against Boston in the last two years.

Irving...yes, Irving, becomes the seventh.

Filling in for J.R. Smith - He goes by R.J. so if you flip around Jefferson's initials you get J.R. That's just a coincidence. But Jefferson's rise coinciding with Smith's absence is not.

When Smith went down for 12-14 months, Lue said a committee would have to fill in. He also singled out a few different players, including Jefferson.

The 36-year-old veteran has heeded the message. In the five games since Smith's injury, Jefferson is averaging 7.2 points in 22.1 minutes.

He hasn't been nearly the 3-point threat Smith is, shooting 15.4 from long range during the stretch, but continues to come up with crucial plays.

"R.J. has been great for us and he's finally gotten in better shape than he was earlier in the season," Lue said.

On Thursday, Jefferson scored 11 points on 2-of-2 from the field, including 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also added three rebounds, including an important one in traffic following Crowder's missed three.

The Indians are in a good position to follow their success from last season in 2017. As the new year dawns on Sunday, here are some resolutions for the Tribe to consider.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - With the calendar flipping to 2017 on Sunday here are some resolutions that the Indians should consider for the coming season.

1. Manager Terry Francona: To have a pain free season now that he's had an artificial right hip installed. Mentally, however, no manager ever has a pain free season.

2. Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations: To remember that there is no such thing as a perfect team. After getting Andrew Miller in July and Edwin Encarnacion in December, it's tempting to sit back and let things unfold. But a baseball season seldom goes the way you think it will go and no one knows that better than Antonetti.

3. Owner Paul Dolan: The Dolan-owned Indians have never been this well positioned for multi-season success. Dolan paid the freight for Miller and Encarnacion. He's spent the last two years refurbishing Progressive Field. This is his window and he should resolve to enjoy it.

If the fans turn out, so much the better.

4. Edwin Encarnacion: To just be average. That's average as in 39 homers and 110 RBI per season, Encarnacion's average power numbers over the last five seasons.

5. Trevor Bauer: To declare his fingers a no-fly zone for his drones.

6. Carlos Carrasco: To intentionally walk Ian Kinsler the next time he faces him.

7. Rajai Davis: To have at least one more moment in his career to match the emotion of his game-tying homer in Game 7 of the World Series. One stipulation, if it's not with the Indians, it can't be against them.

8. Chris Gimenez: To take at least one more turn with the Tribe. He's at three and counting.

9. Yan Gomes: To stay out of harm's way and avoid all locker-room cleansing, slump-busting ceremonies.

10. Brandon Guyer: To avoid those body-seeking inside pitches, at least the ones over 95 mph.

11. Jose Ramirez: To stay forever orange and keep hitting .355 (50-for-141) with runners in scoring position.

Tribe's Jose Ramirez calls his haircut "Orange"

12. Michael Brantley: To swing away for as long as he wants to without experiencing pain in his right shoulder.

13. Corey Kluber: To fire a warning fastball the next a trespassing coyote comes calling.

Tribe's Kluber brushes back coyote

14. Wile E Coyote and friends: To take the long way around Kluber's property.

15. Andrew Miller: To keep batters tumbling to the ground with two-strike, back-foot unhittable sliders.

16. Cody Allen: To keep doing whatever he was doing in the postseason. That's about as close to perfection as you can get.

17. Bryan Shaw: To obtain a new supply of rubber wedding rings to drive Tiger manager Brad Ausmus to distraction.

Tribe's Shaw wins ring debate

18. Jason Kipnis: To keep Jobu's shrine stocked with rum now that Mike Napoli is gone.

19. Francisco Lindor: To add a second Gold Glove to his collection.

Tribe's Lindor goes from gold to platinum

20. Michael Martinez: To replace the memory of making the last out in the World Series with a good one as soon as possible.

21. Danny Salazar: To reduce the walks and keep his right arm healthy and strong.

22. Carlos Santana: To celebrate his walk year with - what else - plenty of walks and home runs, just like last season.

23. Ryan Merritt: No resolution is going to match pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings in your second big league start to help put the Indians in the World Series in Game 5 of the ALCS. But how about having a good spring training so when the need for a starter arises, your name is the top of the list?

Merritt goes from Goodyear, Ariz., to World Series

24. Josh Tomlin: No resolutions needed because there is no need to change a thing. In the last two seasons, including the postseason, Tomlin is 22-12 in 44 games, including 43 starts.

25. Roberto Perez: To push for more playing time in 2017. He stepped out of the shadows in October, starting all 15 postseason games behind the plate.

26. Lonnie Chisenhall: To continue to be an adaptable player in Francona's style of managing. He moved from third to right field in 2015. Last season he excelled against right-handers, hitting .295 (100-for-399) with eight homers, 53 RBI and a .784 OPS.

27. Tyler Naquin: To have another opportunity - maybe two or three - to flash the 'Rock On' horns at home plate in 2017.

28. Dan Otero: Last year Otero resolved to pitch every game as if it was his last. It worked just fine. So why not resolve to do it again?

29. Zach McAllister: To turn in his third straight solid season in relief. Last season McAllister averaged 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

To Indians fans everywhere, Happy New Year.