The Indians will host the 2019 All-Star Game. The last time the All-Star Game was played in Cleveland was 1997. Here is a list of the Hall of Famers who performed in that game.

Once practice ended, Thompson and Korver strolled over to one of the baskets inside Cleveland Clinic Courts, alongside assistant coach James Posey and player development coach Vitaly Potapenko, and went to work on a few necessary changes. Watch video

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- In the midst of his worst free-throw shooting season since coming into the NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson has sought help from one of the league's best: new teammate Kyle Korver.

"We just saw each other in the weight room and he said he had an idea for me," Thompson told cleveland.com following Thursday's practice. "Of course, Kyle is one of the best guys to ever touch a basketball and shoot it so if he's willing to give me advice or give me something, I'm going to take it."

Once practice ended, Thompson and Korver strolled over to one of the baskets inside Cleveland Clinic Courts, alongside assistant coach James Posey and player development coach Vitaly Potapenko, and went to work on a few tweaks.

"Yeah, you know, just getting it up, getting the arc," Thompson said of what Korver was telling him. "I think that's the key. He's giving a couple pointers, but the key thing is getting it up and giving it a chance. The more of a line drive you shoot the more perfect your shot has to be so if you get it up and get some arc it gives you a chance to make it in."

Korver, a career 88 percent free-throw shooter, has only finished two seasons under the 80 mark.

He stood on the left side of the lane during their session, talking Thompson through changes and using hand motions to show him the proper form. They worked together on free throws for nearly 20 minutes. 

At this point, Thompson needs all the help he can get.

A 62 percent career free-throw shooter, Thompson has dropped to a dreadful 48 percent this year, which would be second worst behind Detroit's Andre Drummond if Thompson had enough shots to qualify.

Orlando's Bismack Biyombo, Los Angeles' DeAndre Jordan, Miami's Hassan Whiteside and preeminent free-throw disaster Dwight Howard are all connecting at a better rate than Thompson, who went 2-of-6 from the line during Wednesday's loss against Sacramento.

That night, the Cavs finished 17-of-34 as a team, well below their season average of 75 percent, which ranks 22nd in the NBA.

"I think the last couple games we've been shooting from the line pretty bad," Thompson admitted. "That can definitely bite you in the butt, especially when it's crunch time and the going gets tough.

"Everyone likes to say that's free money. Especially a guy like myself, s---, gotta go knock down some free throws. I missed four. It's free money. We have to go down and convert."

On Saturday, Thompson missed all four of his freebies. In January, while the Cavs have been mired in a slump, Thompson is 18-of-44 (40.9 percent) from the foul line.

Things have gotten so bad for him that teams have even employed the hacking strategy to try to slow down Cleveland's offense.

"Think I just got to get back to the basics and stick with the routine and follow through with it, stick with the same routine," Thompson said. "For me I'm going to keep working. You guys know I'm going to work my ass off."

Free throws have become part of Thompson's daily routine, whether after practice, shootaround or before games. He admitted to thinking a bit too much at times and recognizing that he needs to step to the line with more confidence.

But one thing is clear: He's putting in the work to try to get better, using every resource possible, including Korver as a shooting coach.

While it's unfair to expect Thompson to become a better free-throw shooter overnight, especially after months of struggling, the sixth-year pro believes there's plenty of time to make improvements. 

"You can always make changes," he said. "You can always make adjustments. Never too late. It's up to the player. Do they want to make that change and build that muscle memory? Paul Millsap went from dunking the ball to shooting threes."

And Thompson pointed out his own drastic change as he walked off the court Thursday, reminding that he's gone from shooting left-handed when he came into the league in 2011 to being a predominately right-handed player, a switch people initially scoffed at.

Cleveland sports fans wonder about LeBron James' relationship with Dan Gilbert and whether Hue Jackson can be trusted to identify the next Browns quarterback.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are dealing with a lot of distractions, many of them self-created.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There are times when I want to scream, "Just go play ball!"

That's how I feel when watching the Cleveland Cavaliers this month.

I'm not talking just about LeBron James, although he started much of the dialogue about roster composition and other issues.

In general, there is too much talk about too many topics coming from the Cavs right now.

As coach Tyronn Lue told the media Thursday, "Just a lot of distractions. We have to get back to focus on basketball, getting back to winning."

James is right, they need a backup point guard.

But how about making some free throws?

They were 17-of-34 at the foul line in the overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings.

They were 12-of-22 at the foul line in the overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

They lost at New Orleans, a game where the Pelicans didn't have their best player -- Antonio Davis.

And then there were comments in the Cavs locker room about having prepared a game plan for Davis, and then he doesn't play.

Say what?

That's a problem?

How about defending Terrance Jones? He filled in for Davis and scored a career-high 36 points as the Cavs lost 124-122 to the Pelicans.

FORGET GOLDEN STATE

I know, the Golden State Warriors signed superstar Kevin Durant.

"You always try to improve your team," Lue told the media. "Golden State won 73 games and they added Kevin Durant ... you always want to get better."

Lue did continue talking about how the Cavs "have enough on this team to win a championship. We can get better."

But they need to stop talking about Golden State and Durant, at least until they begin beating teams with losing records, such as Sacramento and New Orleans.

In the last 11 games, the Cavs are 4-7 and have been giving up an average of 111 points per game.

Kevin Durant and the Warriors have nothing to do with that.

Nor does the lack of a backup point guard.

I agree with James when he said, "We're not better than last year from a personnel standpoint."

But that's no excuse for the embarrassing basketball being played right now. They remain an extremely talented team.

THEY ARE COMPLACENT

"I just hope we're not satisfied as an organization," James told the media Monday. "I just hope we're not satisfied."

After trying to downplay some of the comments by James, general manager David Griffin added, "In terms of on-the-court complacency, I've seen a lot of that."

The same goes for most fans.

Decent free throw shooting gives the Cavs victories over San Antonio and Sacramento.

That's focus and concentration.

Reasonable defense would have helped them win a few other games in this stretch.

Lue talked about all the Cavs turnovers, and how those are leading to easy baskets for opponents.

"Sometimes, bad shots are like turnovers," he said, meaning they lead to fast break points for the other team.

The Cavs have been playing too much isolation basketball, taking too many quick shots from long range.

They are a team lacking focus and effort, and they seem caught in the spider web of distractions and finger pointing right now.

The Cavs entered January with a 25-7 record. That was without Matthew Dellavedova, last season's backup point guard who later signed with Milwaukee.

Griffin has talked about how the Cavs are more effective being "the hunter" than the "hunted."

He added, "Every year, we put ourselves in position to fight out of something."

That's true.

The way to deal with that situation really is pull together and play ball.

In the meantime, Griffin has until the February 23 trading deadline to find a backup point guard.

Jesus Aguilar, who hit 140 homers in his minor league career with the Indians, could never bring that production to the big leagues.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Jesus Aguilar, who hit home runs everywhere but in the big leagues, has been designated for assignment by the Indians.

They dropped Aguilar from the 40-man roster Thursday after claiming infielder Richie Shaffer on waivers from the Reds. Shaffer played in parts of the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Tampa Bay. Last year, while bouncing between first and third base, he hit .250 (12-for-48) with six doubles, one homer and four RBI.

Shaffer struck out 18 times, while drawing just five walks.

He has shown power at Class AAA, hitting 11 homers with the Durham Bulls last season and 19 each in 2014 and 2015.

Aguilar, 26, was not only out of options, but probably out of luck with the Indians. He's been in their system for nine years and has pounded the ball throughout his minor-league career. Last season he led the International League at Class AAA Columbus with 30 homers and 92 RBI.

He hit 16 homers and drove in a 105 runs at Class AA Akron in 2013. He followed that up by hitting 19 homers at Columbus in 2014 and 2015. In winter ball, he was a terror for Caracas in his native Venezuela. He hit .327 (74-for-266) with 18 homers and 50 RBI in 58 games in 2013.

But all that production never showed itself in the big leagues.

The 6-3, 260-pound Aguilar didn't get a lot of chances with the Tribe. In parts of three seasons in the big leagues, he had 58 at-bats and hit .172. He hit 140 homers in the minors, but not one in the big leagues.

Shaffer was Tampa's first round pick in 2012. The Rays named him the minor league player of the year in 2015.

He has been on baseball's merry-go-round since the end of last season. In November he was traded to Seattle. Later Philadelphia, Cincinnati and now the Indians claimed him off waivers. He has two options left.

The 17th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards are being held at Renaissance Cleveland Hotel on Thursday night.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Here are my Tweets from the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards on Thursday night, Jan. 26, at Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (after PFF retweet):

Tweets by dmansworld474

Cleveland.com sports columnists Doug Lesmerises and Bud Shaw look ahead now that Major League Baseball has announced it will bring the 2019 All-Star Game to Progressive Field. Who might represent the Tribe in the mid-summer classic? Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Major League Baseball is bringing its All-Star Game to Progressive Field in 2019.

It has a tough act to follow.

The last time we had the All-Star Game in Cleveland we also had the MVP of the winning American League team. Sandy Alomar Jr.'s two-run homer in the seventh was the difference.

Two other Indians made the All-Star team: David Justice, who was injured, and Jim Thome. A couple former Indians lined up for introductions. One was cheered (Kenny Lofton, Braves). One was booed (Albert Belle, White Sox.)

All in all a good time was had by most, with the exception of Canadian viewers who weren't too happy that Fox went to commercial break during the playing of Oh Canada.

The All-Star game coming back to Cleveland got us thinking about which Indians might represent the American League on their home turf. The game is two-and-a-half seasons away, so we looked to the future as part of our video debate series, Prepare for List Off.

Cleveland.com sports columnist Doug Lesmerises saw another catcher wearing Tribe colors in the mid-summer classic. I saw a young outfielder and a dominant reliever.

No suspense with the third name. We both saw shortstop Francisco Lindor as the leading candidate to represent the hometown Indians.

Hear us out and come back and tell us where you'd put your money.

Kevin Love was named an NBA All-Star for the fourth time Thursday, picked to represent the East as a reserve by the conference's coaches. He joins starters LeBron James and Kyrie Irving from the Cavs.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kevin Love was named an NBA All-Star for the fourth time Thursday, picked to represent the East as a reserve by the conference's coaches.

Love will join teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving for the 66th All-Star Game in New Orleans on Feb. 19. This will be his first time playing in the game since joining the Cavs in 2014 -- he was a three-time All-Star with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Love, 28, is the only player in the East averaging at least 20 points (20.5 ppg) and 10 rebounds (11.0 rpg), and is shooting 37.6 percent from 3-point range. He's missed five games -- four of them to illness or injury.

Though the Cavs have struggled of late, losing six of eight, they hold a three-game lead in the East and are of course defending champs.

"It's a no brainer," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "I mean, the only guy in the East I think averaging 20 and 10 and he's been playing at a high level all season. I know he's had some knick-knack injuries and food poisoning and things like that, but he's an All-Star for sure."

The other East reserves, announced by the NBA during TNT's Thursday pregame show, are: Boston's Isaiah Thomas; Washington's John Wall; Toronto's Kyle Lowry; Indiana's Paul George; Charlotte's Kemba Walker; and Atlanta's Paul Millsap.

Starting for the East are James, Irving, Chicago's Jimmy Butler, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Toronto's DeMar DeRozan.

The West's reserves are: Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (23 triple-doubles); Golden State's Klay Thompson and Draymond Green; Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins; Memphis' Marc Gasol; the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan; and Utah's Gordon Hayward.

They join West starters Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant from the Warriors; James Harden from the Rockets; Anthony Davis from New Orleans; and San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard.

Is the latest Cavs' drama involving LeBron James and the front office anything to worry about, or just routine psychological maintenance? Doug and Zack welcome Joe Vardon to the podcast to take us inside LeBron's mind. The guys also try to determine whether certain inspirational football quotes came from the Browns' Gregg Williams or the movie "Any Given Sunday." They also chat about the Indians, who will host the 2019 All-Star Game.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's the dog days of winter for the Cavaliers.

Is the latest drama involving LeBron James and the front office an actual battle of wits, or just routine psychological maintenance. The Cavs have several weeks to tweak their roster and several months to solve their on-court woes. 

In the latest installment of the (Unnamed, for now) cleveland.com Sports Podcast, Zack Meisel and Doug Lesmerises welcome Joe Vardon to take us inside the mind of LeBron as the Cavs attempt to survive the harsh winter months. 

The guys also play "Gregg Williams or 'Any Given Sunday?'" as they try to identify which source provided certain inspirational football quotes. The task proved challenging, as the Browns' new defensive coordinator offered up plenty of quotable material in his introductory press conference.

The fifth episode also includes some discussion about former Browns who will head to Houston for the Super Bowl (Taylor Gabriel and Dion Lewis, to name two) and about the Indians, who will host the 2019 All-Star Game. Will that help the Indians recreate the '90s era (only with a possible World Series title)?

Give our podcast a listen below. You can also download it or find it on iTunes. Subscribe to our channel and you'll get every podcast at the first possible instant.

We're also entertaining suggestions for a podcast name and theme song. Submit your ideas via email, in the comments, or on Twitter, to @DougLesmerises or @ZackMeisel.

If you haven't listened before, this is our new plan to bring you cleveland.com beat writers and experts on the most interesting topics in Cleveland sports. We'll hit you twice a week, on Thursday morning and Monday morning, on the Cavs, Indians, Browns and whatever else matters to you.

Our goal is to provide you with a diversion. Whether you're faking your way through the workday or faking your way through your trip to the gym or driving around, we want you to have compelling sports talk. Our intention is to offer conversation on outside-the-box topics that you can't find in other places, entertaining and -- if we're lucky that day -- humorous dialogue and guests who are closer than anyone to the teams they cover.

Ep. 4: How many championships will Cleveland teams win over the next five years?

Ep. 3: What's on the Cavs' to-do list between now and June? Are the right people voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Ep. 2: Does the NBA regular season matter? Are the Indians a lock for October?

Ep. 1: On whether the Browns can handle this monumental offseason

Jackson and Williams showed a little of that competitiveness they promised on Thursday during the South team's final practice. Watch video

MOBILE, Ala. -- Gregg Williams promised things would be competitive when he and Hue Jackson hit the field together. This week at the Senior Bowl they finally got to do just that and they didn't disappoint during the final team drills of the week for their South squad.

"That's always fun," Jackson said following practice. "It's just fun competing and I think that's what football is. It's a competition game and I like it."

"Those things right there are memories for life and we're never going to apologize for having fun and competing," Williams said.

The fireworks really started when Jackson's offense finally broke through and scored on Williams' defense, prompting Jackson to walk over the Williams shouting "touchdown." Williams responded with a curse and told Jackson he "finally got one out of ten."

It just escalated from there, especially since the offense went on a run of scores, though one of them, as you'll hear in the video above, could have been called either way.

Both coaches believe that trash talk serves a valuable purpose for their players.

"You see it be contagious with the players," Williams said. "That's what we want. We want the players to see that we are never going to apologize for competing. I don't know whether you can print this or not, but we're going to s*** talk, we're going to get after it and we want them to know there's hard things about daily practice, but when we can make it fun, let's make it fun."

"I think it raises the intensity of practice," Jackson said. "I think it's all good fun. It's never nothing derogatory, it's just that's how he coaches his guys, that's kind of how I coach our guys and we try to get the best out of them."

-----

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Gregg Williams can't wait to dig in and bring out Jamie Collins' inner Pro Bowler. Watch video

MOBILE, Ala. -- On Monday, the day Jamie Collins signed his blockbuster $50 million extension, he made the short drive from home to visit Hue Jackson and Gregg Williams at the Senior Bowl.

"That was very good to just associate the name, face, voice, and exchange contact information,'' Williams said after a Senior Bowl practice Thursday. "We can talk more and make sure he understands what we have to do defensively from a leadership standpoint, from a culture standpoint and then from a scheme standpoint  -- and he's on board.''

Williams acknowledged that it was a warm welcome to the job for the Browns to wrap up arguably their best defensive player for four years, just a few days after Williams replaced Ray Horton. Collins, who received $26 million guaranteed, became the fourth-highest paid linebacker the NFL with his $12.5 a year average.

"I'm a better coach when you sign up players like that, and now I've got to help him be the best he can be,'' said Williams. "He has some rare gifts athletically that hopefully schematically and concept-wise maybe I can help him be even better -- we not just me, but we."

The knock against the 2015 Pro Bowler, according to former Browns general manager and former Patriots personnel executive Mike Lombardi, is that Collins sometimes freelanced and played with inconsistent effort. Under Williams, that won't be an option. He's made it clear that he won't compromise on effort or toughness.

"You'll love this,'' he said. "I've been hired to be a 'motorcoach.' He had that conversation the other day (with Collins). I'm if not the top guy but one of the top guys in the league about motors. Yep."

Later in the day, Williams told 92.3 The Fan that Collins "may be one of the better players I've had a chance to coach for a long time. I've got seven or eight guys that are in the Hall of Fame right now that I've already coached.  I affect a few things that he has to improve on, give him a little more tools in the toolbox to use in the right way in having checks and say in the scheme.  I can't wait to get a chance to coach him. I can't wait. I'm so excited about signing him.''

As for the chances of Collins resting on his $50 million laurels, it's not going to happen under the motorcoach.

"Just because all of a sudden you decide you're getting paid too much and you don't have to (play with effort), I can't cut you, but just come over and stand by me,'' Williams said. "All the rest of the players want to see, do you mean that with the top dog too? Yep.

"The top dog's going to be the hardest I'm going to be on when he comes in the door the very first day and everybody else is going to march to the same drummer once that guy starts marching to the right drummer.  And the right drummer is me.''

But Williams, who brings 26 years' NFL coaching experience, applauded the Browns for making the deal.

"Unless they're problems off the field, why don't you work hard to keep your own guys?'' he said. "This was a great message to our football team because they have so respect for Jamie, he's a positive influence on the team and is a really, really good football player.''

The Chicago Wolves rallied in the third period Thursday to defeat the Cleveland Monsters, 4-2.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Chicago Wolves scored two goals in the third period to turn back the Cleveland Monsters, 4-2, in an American Hockey League game Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Chicago broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of goals in just over two minutes midway through the third period. Wade Megan scored the first at 12:51 and Samuel Blais got his second of the night at 14:53.

The Monsters are now 19-17-1-3 on the season, fourth in the AHL Central Division behind third-place Chicago, which is now 25-15-3-2. The Monsters are now 3-2-0-0 vs. Chicago this season.

• Game summary
• AHL standings

The Monsters jumped ahead 1-0 just 1:25 into the game when Jaime Sifers potted his fourth goal of the season off assists from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Oleg Yevenko. But the Wolves tied it on a goal by Blais at 15:44.

Chicago moved ahead on a goal by Brett Sterling at 4:44 of the second period, but the Monsters tied it at 6:34 when T.J. Tynan scored his fifth of the season, assisted by Nick Moutrey and John Ramage.

END 2: The #CLEMonsters and Chicago are tied, 2-2, after 40 minutes. pic.twitter.com/XSLyZYhF6a

-- Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) January 27, 2017

Anton Forsberg stopped 29 of 33 shots to fall to 13-9-2. Chicago's Ville Husso had 23 saves. The Monsters were outshot, 33-25, and each team failed on a pair of power plays.

Up next: The Monsters and Wolves will meet again Saturday at 7 in the Q, then the league breaks for the AHL All-Star Classic in Allentown, Pa. ... The Monsters return to action on Feb. 3-4 against the Iowa Wild at the Q.

Officer honored: Prior to Thursday's game the Monsters had a moment of silence for Cleveland police officer David Fahey, who was killed earlier this week. Fahey worked events at the Q and was also remembered at the Cleveland Cavaliers game on Wednesday.

Prior to tonight's game we honored the life of U.S. Navy veteran and dear friend, @CLEpolice Officer David Fahey. You will be missed. pic.twitter.com/8hATKYrhJe

-- Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) January 27, 2017

Check out our Snap story from the Cleveland Sports Awards compiled into a short video. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- It was a night fitting of perhaps the best year in Cleveland sports history. 

From the Cavaliers' drought-ending championship to an incredible run by the Indians, this year's Greater Cleveland Sports Awards captured all of the fantastic moments of the past 365 days. 

If you missed all of the exciting action from the night of celebration downtown, you can watch our Snap compilation video above. 

To follow us on Snap, add username clevelanddotcom. 

RELATED: Watch our FB Lives from Cleveland Sports Awards 

The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James took the top honors at Thursday Greater Cleveland Sports Awards and former Cleveland Indians manager Mike Hargrove received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Greater Cleveland Sports Awards not only celebrated excellence by athletes and teams in the city, it was a continuation of championship excellence that dominated the headlines in 2016.

And the Cleveland Cavaliers, just as they did for winning the 2016 NBA Finals, collected even more hardware on Thursday night at the Renaissance Hotel downtown.

The Cavaliers won the award for Best Moment in Cleveland Sports and LeBron James won Professional Athlete of the Year.

Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said the organization was happy to bring joy to the city.

"Being a part of the [championship] momentum in the city was awesome," Griffin said. "What the Indians did was so special and getting up close and personal for that ride at the same time was really something."

James was not in attendance to receive his award. Former Cavaliers forward Campy Russell accepted on James' behalf.

"This award means a lot, not only to LeBron James but to the Cavaliers and everyone in Northeast Ohio," Russell said. "For all that LeBron has done it's fitting."

ESPN's Jay Crawford was the emcee. Crawford, a native of Sandusky and avid Cleveland sports fan, revelled in the celebration of the event.

Other award winners included:

High School Athlete of the Year

Jaylen Harris, football, Cleveland Heights High School: Harris is a wide receiver who caught 53 passes for 820 yards this past season. He was All-Ohio. Harris will attend Ohio State University in the fall.

Collegiate Athlete of the Year

John Carroll University football team: The Blue Streaks had plenty of highlights this past season. John Carroll ended Mount Union's 112-game winning streak and advanced to the Division III semifinals.

Amateur Athlete of the Year

Charles Conwell Jr., boxing: Conwell, a graduate of Cleveland Heights, was a member of the 2016 Olympic team. He's an 11-time national champion, a two-time USA Boxing national champion and a national Golden Glove champ.

Other winners were Mike Hargrove (Lifetime Achievement Award), Kendra Seitz (Courage Award) and the Mid-American Conference (Gold Medalist Award).

The event included former Indians Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar and Chad Ogea and several players from the current team, former Cavs guard Austin Carr, and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, among others.

"He's going to be a head coach or a coordinator in a hurry when we do what we need to do at Cleveland."

MOBILE, Ala. -- Gregg Williams loves having his son Blake on his staff again, but says he'll enjoy it while he can.

"I can't tell you how happy I am,'' he said. "He's the best young coach I've ever had on my staff on any level. I've got 131 guys coaching in the NFL, NCAA and high school football. He's the best I've ever had, but I can't tell him that 'cause he's my son.''

Williams said Blake, the linebackers coach, will be snatched up soon.

"We won't keep him very long,'' said Williams. "He's going to be a head coach or a coordinator in a hurry when we do what we need to do at Cleveland 'cause people are going to recognize that. They're going to recognize it's not just me. There's a lot of really good people on that staff and there's good players, too."

Blake Williams, who worked at the NFL league office in 2016, brings seven years of NFL coaching experience, including four under his dad. From 2009-11, he was an offensive line assistant with the Saints. In 2012, he coached linebackers and served as defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams during Gregg's year-long suspension for BountyGate. After that season, he was fired by Jeff Fisher.

In 2015, he served as the defensive coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana University after working as a defensive coaching consultant at William Jewell College for two seasons.

Blake Williams got his start as a coaching intern with Washington from 2006-07 and then served as linebackers coach and a strength and conditioning coach for Jacksonville in 2008. A Princeton graduate, he played defensive back for the Tigers.

Brittany Lincicome led the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic 2017 after one round.

CLEVELAND, Ohio --Brittany Lincicome led by two shots entering the second round of the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic on Friday. The event is the LPGA Tour's season opener.

Lincicome shot 9-under 64 on Thursday. Three players were tied for second.

Ariya Jutanugarn, world No. 2 and the reigning Rolex player of the year, was tied for 93rd at 2-over.

Jutanugarn, from Thailand, begins her third LPGA Tour season. She won five times in 2016, including three straight starts in May. Two months later, she won the RICOH British Open -- her first major.

• Pure Silk-Bahamas tee times

World No. 1 Lydia Ko is not in the field, but four of the top 10 are.

PURE SILK-BAHAMAS LEADERBOARD

This is the fifth anniversary of the event. All previous winners are playing.

LPGA TOUR

PURE SILK-BAHAMAS LPGA CLASSIC

Site: Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Course: Ocean Club GC. Yardage: 6,625. Par: 73.
Purse: $1.4 million (First place: $210,000).
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m.).
Defending champion: Hyo Joo Kim.
Previous tournament: Charley Hull won the CME Group Tour Championship to end the 2016 season.
Notes: This is the first LPGA Tour event of the year, kicking off an international schedule of four tournaments before its first domestic event on March 16-19 in Phoenix, Az. ... U.S. Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster begins her 35th season on the LPGA Tour by competing in the Bahamas. The Solheim Cup will be played in Iowa in August. ... Stacy Lewis is in the field. The Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic was her 11th runner-up finish dating to her most recent victory -- June 2014 at the Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship. ... Natalie Gulbis is playing on a sponsor's exemption. ... Also in the field is Michelle Wie, who hasn't won since her U.S. Women's Open title in 2014.
Next tournament: ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open, Feb. 13-16.
Online: www.lpga.com

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Ohio State AD Gene Smith spoke with cleveland.com about the prospect of taking a portion of spring practice on the road.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While Michigan continues to push the envelope on destination spring football practice, Ohio State will be staying in Columbus.

The Wolverines announced earlier this week that they'll hold a portion of their 2017 spring drills in Rome, Italy. Michigan will travel overseas in late April, after the winter period's final exams. The team will hold three practices, including a scrimmage, at the training grounds of professional soccer club AS Roma.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told cleveland.com this week that the university is not entertaining the idea of a similar international trip for the Buckeyes football team.

"We did consider going to Rome," Smith said.

Smith knew the question was coming, and cut the question off before it was done being asked. He has a good memory, and he didn't want to find himself under an unnecessary microscope again after his comments about Michigan moving a portion of spring practice to Florida last year got misconstrued -- most infamously by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

But at a time when Ohio State wants to be on the front end of everything in the college football world, the question had to be asked.

* RELATED: Smith on why Ohio State was comfortable hiring Kevin Wilson

Michigan's trip to Rome will also include educational experiences for players. According to MLive.com, players will also have the option of remaining overseas at the conclusion of spring drills through a study abroad program.

Harbaugh is getting this trip in under the wire, with new NCAA legislation prohibiting off-campus practices during a vacation period outside of a playing season taking effect on Aug. 1.

That rule is considered a direct response to Harbaugh moving four spring practices last year to high school powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., during Michigan's spring break. Michigan has vowed to "continue to be creative" despite the new NCAA rules.

Just don't expect Ohio State to be shaking anything up in this way.

"No, we're not," Smith said. "We're good with what we do."

Flash forward to now. The Cavaliers are in a funk, just 5-7 in January, having lost their way on defense. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two years ago, prior to the NBA trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a pair of moves, changing their identity on the fly and helping them transform into a stingy, scrappy squad capable of frustrating even the best offenses.

Those deals -- adding Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov -- seem like a lifetime ago.

Flash forward to now. The Cavaliers are in a funk, just 5-7 in January, having lost their way on defense.

"Lack of identity on the defensive end probably is hard for us to figure out," general manager David Griffin said prior to Wednesday's loss against the fading Sacramento Kings. "That's been disappointing because I think we won last year in large part because we did have a grit and toughness to us on the defensive end that we have not displayed to this point and all those same people are here. I expect more of us on that end and I know they expect more of themselves as well."

On the season, the Cavs rank 26th in blocks and 21st in steals. 

When the East leaders walk into the locker room at Quicken Loans Arena for Friday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets, the white board hanging prominently outside head coach Tyronn Lue's office will greet them rudely, with their name missing from the list of the NBA's best in opponent field goal percentage.

That's right, that board keeps record of the league's top 15 teams and the struggling Cavaliers have fallen to 17th because of an atrocious recent stretch.

"We got to keep playing harder," Tristan Thompson said. "We got to all play better. It's simple. You see the horses--- out there that we're doing."

In the last 12 games, the Cavs are allowing 109.1 points, which ranks 21st during that period. Opponents are shooting 47 percent.

"We haven't been getting stops," Thompson said. "We're a team that tries to keep teams under 25 points a quarter and we're not doing that.

"I think I can definitely be better, especially being a big, protecting the rim and changing shots, continuing to be better there. It's got to be all five guys on a string. Not just the one-on-one challenge. It's guys on a string, multiple efforts for double-teaming a guy in the post, rotating, cracking back on the other bigs, boxing out, limiting guys to one shot. All those parts that we've kind of taken two steps back and we've got to be better."

In the New Year, the Cavs have already allowed 124 points to enigmatic New Orleans, playing without All-Star starter Anthony Davis. Two nights earlier, the short-handed San Antonio Spurs, missing Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, tallied 118 points. Arch rival Golden State embarrassed the Cavs in a much-anticipated national television game, pouring in 126 points.

In all, 15 of the last 16 foes have reached the 100-point mark.

Recently, Lue spoke about the team's leaky transition defense, sometimes stemming from an increase in turnovers mixed with poor shot selection. After making that a point of emphasis, the Cavs were much better against Sacramento Wednesday, giving up just six fast break points. But there were other issues. They surrendered 42 points in the paint and allowed 11 3-pointers.

"We're getting better at something each time we try to correct it," Lue said. "So once we keep correcting and getting better, we can put it all together and we'll be fine."

So how did the Cavs deteriorate so quickly?

Part of it can be traced back to J.R. Smith's injury. During last year's postseason run, Lue referred to Smith as the Cavaliers' "best defensive player," often taking the challenge against Kyle Korver, who was with Atlanta at the time, DeMar DeRozan, and Klay Thompson.

Smith's speed, athleticism and size on the perimeter allow the Cavs to match up better. His presence keeps the rotations from getting out of whack. There was chemistry -- built over time. However, Smith's defensive numbers prior to his thumb injury weren't great.

With or without him on the floor, opponents shot an effective field goal percentage of 51. There was only a one-point difference in his on-off defensive rating.

Griffin, meanwhile, pointed to complacency, a lack of consistent effort. That has been apparent at times, especially with LeBron James.

The four-time MVP has shown the ability to lock in when needed. He smothered Golden State's Thompson in the fourth quarter of the Christmas Day showdown. He silenced San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard in crunchtime of Saturday's overtime loss against the Spurs. He took the challenge against red-hot Jrue Holiday Monday night.

But given his minute load and the enormous burden he has to carry on offense, it's tough for James to take on those head-to-head matchups routinely and play with all-out effort on each defensive possession. Especially this time of year.

Kyrie Irving has never been a portrait of defense, with Lue using DeAndre Liggins or Shumpert to guard opposing lead guards while trying to hide Irving. 

Perhaps it goes back to the last few roster decisions, as the Cavs have turned their focus to offensive-minded additions.

Last February, they snagged Channing Frye, wanting another floor spacer, a knockdown outside shooter. Griffin and Lue have spoken of Frye being an underrated defender, but the numbers tell a different story.

Then in the off-season, the Cavs failed to re-sign defensive pest Matthew Dellavedova and Mozgov, the lengthy rim protector. Instead, they made a trade for 3-point threat Mike Dunleavy. When that move flopped, the Cavs swapped him out for Korver, known much more for his marksmanship than what he brings on defense.

Given those recent moves, it shouldn't be a surprise seeing the team's defensive numbers nose-dive.

"We have to improve. We've got to get better," Lue said recently. "We always want to get better, but with that being said we understand that when we put offensive teams on the floor -- Channing and R.J. (Richard Jefferson) and we've got scorers and shooters on the floor -- that's not our best defensive lineups or teams.

"A lot of times when we put our best defensive lineups on the floor then we don't have the most shooting on the floor so you have to pick and choose throughout the course of the game which one is working for you that night."

James has termed Cavaliers basketball as defending and sharing. So how do they get back to that? Is it even possible to regain the lost defensive identity?

"When we get to the playoffs and we're able to put in schemes and stuff to stop different teams we're a lot different and we're a lot better," Lue said recently. "On a night-to-night basis it's tough for us defensively. We have to play with effort, play hard and try to cover for our mistakes. We're not the best defensive team one on one so we just have to be better."

Who will start for for Ohio State in 2017? Here's our first stab at it.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State football will enter the 2017 season with too much talent for the number of starting jobs we expect to be open, which made projecting a depth chart for next season at this point pretty tough.

But we're doing it anyway. We've been breaking down the depth chart by position or position group in the last week or so, and we're giving you the full picture here. Ohio State must replace center Pat Elflein (the only senior starter last year), receiver Noah Brown, H-back Curtis Samuel, linebacker Raekwon McMillan, cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore, and safety Malik Hooker.

That's seven slots to fill with spring ball a little over a month away.

* LOOK: Up to date Ohio State football scholarship tracker

Our full first two-deep projection for Ohio State's 2017 depth chart is below. Make sure you click the links for a position-by-position breakdown and explanation on our projections:

OFFENSE

Quarterback: J.T. Barrett, R-Sr.; Dwayne Haskins, R-Fr.; Joe Burrow, R-Soph.

* BREAKDOWN: Burrow, Haskins and the race for the future

Running back: Mike Weber, R-Soph.; Antonio Williams, Soph.

H-back: K.J. Hill, R-Soph.; Demario McCall, Soph.

Receiver: Parris Campbell, R-Jr.; Austin Mack, Soph.

Receiver: Binjimen Victor, Soph.; Terry McLaurin, R-Jr.

Tight end: Marcus Baugh, R-Sr.; Jake Hausmann, R-Fr.

* BREAKDOWN: How much will Ohio State reveamp skill positions?

Left tackle: Jamarco Jones, Sr.; Branden Bowen, R-Soph.

Left guard: Michael Jordan, R-Soph.; Matthew Burrell, R-Soph.

Center: Billy Price, R-Sr.; Brady Taylor, R-Jr.

Right guard: Malcolm Pridgeon, R-Jr.; Demetrius Knox, R-Jr.

Right tackle: Isaiah Prince, Jr.; Josh Myers, Fr.

* BREAKDOWN: A healthy Malcolm Pridgeon gives Ohio State options

Did you miss our Buckeye Talk podcast where we went in-depth on the 2017 offensive depth chart? You can listen below:

DEFENSE

Defensive end: Tyquan Lewis, R-Sr. OR Jalyn Holmes, Sr.

Defensive tackle: Tracy Sprinkle, R-Sr. OR Dre'Mont Jones, R-Soph.

Defensive tackle: Michael Hill, R-Sr.; Robert Landers, R-Soph.

Defensive end: Sam Hubbard, R-Jr. OR Nick Bosa, Soph.

* BREAKDOWN: Will Nick Bosa play enough with so much coming back?

SAM linebacker: Chris Worley, R-Sr.; Malik Harrison, Soph.

MIKE linebacker: Dante Booker. R-Jr.; Justin Hilliard, R-Soph. OR Baron Browning, Fr.

WILL linebacker: Jerome Baker, Jr.; Keandre Jones, Soph.

* BREAKDOWN: Where do Harrison, young stars fit in crowded LB picture?

Cornerback: Denzel Ward, Jr.; Damon Arnette, R-Soph.

Safety: Erick Smith, Sr.; Jeffrey Okudah, Fr.

Safety: Damon Webb, Sr.; Jordan Fuller, Soph.

Cornerback: Kendall Sheffield, Soph.; Shaun Wade, Fr.

* BREAKDOWN: Can Jordan Fuller be the next Malik Hooker?

Did you miss our Buckeye Talk podcast where we went in-depth on the 2017 defensive depth chart? You can listen below:

Cleveland Browns' coach Hue Jackson has one thing on his mind from now until April's NFL Draft.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Saturday at the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, Hue Jackson and the rest of the Cleveland Browns' coaching staff will try to coach the South squad to a win against the North squad, coached by the staff of the Chicago Bears.

While I'm sure Jackson and his staff will go all out to win the game, having the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft probably weighs more heavily on him than the outcome of the Senior Bowl.

Questions like, should he pick a quarterback or a pass rusher? If he wants a quarterback, which quarterback? Should he trade down to get even more picks?

Obviously, there's much to think about. Especially since Hue's job security may depend on how this draft goes.

Crowquill, by Plain Dealer artist Ted Crow, appears three times a week on cleveland.com.