Ohio State moved to 14-10 (4-7 Big Ten) with a win at Michigan on Saturday night. Watch video

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ohio State played arguably its best defensive game of Big Ten play, and it ironically came against arguably the best offensive team in the conference.

The Buckeyes got a 70-66 win at Michigan on Saturday night, one of their rare full-game efforts that ended with them holding off a late Wolverines charge in the final two minutes. Ohio State made free throws, had some big stops at the end and got good contributions from just about everyone.

Frankly, it was a little weird that it all came together like that on the road when it's been so difficult for Ohio State to do something like this at home. The Buckeyes moved to 14-10 (4-7 Big Ten) with the win. It was Ohio State's first win in Ann Arbor since 2011.

Watch the video here to hear Bill Landis' quick thoughts after Ohio State's win.

James, who entered the game against the New York Knicks Saturday night needing 12 points, buried an elbow jumper midway through the second quarter, giving him the historic tally.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Inside the building he raves about constantly, LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 28,000 points. 

James, 32, entered the game against the New York Knicks Saturday night needing 12 points to reach that mark. He buried an elbow jumper midway through the second quarter to give him the historic tally. 

With this basket, #LeBronJames became the youngest player to reach 28,000 career points! Congrats, King.#DefendTheLand #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/SE2qL7Iw5b

-- NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2017

James scored 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range during a dominant first half.  

Sergio! Sergio! Sergio! The popular Spaniard Sergio Garcia is locked in at the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2017.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sergio Garcia was the clubhouse leader by three shots as of suspension of the third round at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in United Arab Emirates. Darkness halted play.

• OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC TEE TIMES

The conclusion of the third round of this European Tour event happens late tonight Eastern Time. Dubai, Arab Emirates is 9 hours ahead of ET.

Garcia completed his three rounds at 16-under. Henrik Stenson was in second. Ian Poulter and Prom Meesawat were tied for third, five back.

Everyone on the first page of the leaderboard had completed three rounds by end of play Saturday.

Other than Sergio's surge, the biggest news from the Desert Classic has been Tiger Woods' withdrawal because of back spasms. Woods shot 5-over 77 in the first round but failed to start the second.

Woods, ranked in the high-600s in the world, was coming off a missed cut at the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open last week in California. The Farmers was his first official PGA Tour event in 17 months. He has been recovering from multiple back surgeries/procedures.

Woods owns 14 major championships, none since 2008.

Two major winners from last year, Stenson (Open Championship) and Danny Willett (Masters), are in the field. Stenson and Willett are ranked fourth and 13th in the world, respectively.

• OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC LEADERBOARD

EUROPEAN TOUR

OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC
Site: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Course: Emirates GC. Yardage: 7,328. Par: 72.
Purse: $2.65 million.
Television: Golf Channel -- Thursday 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., 5:30-8:30 a.m.; Friday, 1-4 a.m., 5:30-8:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3:30-8 a.m.
Last week: Jeunghun Wang won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Notes: Tiger Woods played in the Dubai Desert Classic for the eighth time. He has won twice, in 2006 and 2008, and has a career scoring average at Emirates Golf Club of 68.71. He previously played Dubai in 2014. He tied for 41st, 10 shots behind Stephen Gallacher. ...Willett won last year by one shot over Andy Sullivan and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Later in 2016, all three played in the Ryder Cup for the first time. ... Sergio Garcia is making his first European Tour start of 2017. He tied for 11th two weeks ago in the Singapore Open, joint sanctioned by the Japan and Asian tours. ... Rory McIlroy withdrew with a rib injury suffered in Abu Dhabi and is not expected to play again until March. ... Ernie Els is a three-time winner in Dubai, the most of any player. Els is not in the field this year. ... Woods having played in Dubai meant 2015 remains the only calendar year as a professional that he did not play outside the United States except for the British Open.
Next week: Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
Online: www.europeantour.com

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Cleveland Monsters lost to the Iowa Wild, 1-0, in overtime Saturday night in an American Hockey League Central Division game at Quicken Loans Arena.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Iowa Wild did the first and only scoring at The Q on Saturday night, beating the Cleveland Monsters in overtime, 1-0.

Zach Mitchell notched the winning marker on a breakaway at 3:37 of the 3-on-3 overtime, giving the Wild a sweep of the two-game weekend series in which the Monsters were held scoreless.

Picking up a point with the overtime loss, Cleveland stands at 20-18-2-3, in fifth place in the AHL Central Division. Iowa, winning its franchise-record sixth in a row, improved to 24-19-4-1 and strengthened its hold on fourth place.

The Monsters were held to 17 shots on goal. Steve Michalek, stopping them all, improved to 9-9 with the win.

Brad Thiessen took the loss in net for Cleveland, stopping 23 of 24 shots.

Cleveland was 0-for-4 on power play opportunities. Iowa was 0-for-3.

Monster mash: Attendance at The Q on Saturday was 13,810, second-largest of the season ... Markus Hannikainen wears number 37 in Cleveland, but it probably should be 71, as in the state-crossing interstate highway. The left wing was called up by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday for a team-leading eighth time this season ... Sonny Milano, Cleveland's second-leading scorer, played his 100th AHL game Saturday ...

Next up, the Monsters play the Admirals in Milwaukee on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. They'll be home in Cleveland next at 7 p.m. Friday against the Manitoba Moose.

Bill Belichick agreed with the Browns position in the 2011 draft-day deal that saw the Falcons trade a boat load of draft picks for wide receiver Julio Jones. Now he has to deal with Atlanta's dynamic playmaker in Super Bowl LI.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -  For one day at least, Bill Belichick may have more explaining to do than the Cleveland Browns.

Yes, it is possible. Bear with me.

One of Belichick's big challenges in Sunday's Super Bowl is to neutralize Atlanta's dynamic wide receiver Julio Jones, an immense talent the Falcons acquired in a huge draft-day deal with the Browns in 2011.

Belichick was an unofficial advisor in the trade. He told Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff he would pass on the deal if it were him when Dimitroff, a friend, asked his advice in the hours before the draft.

Not only because trading five picks, including two first-rounders, for Jones was so steep a price but because Belichick wasn't sure Jones was all that special in a draft he believed was deep at wideout.

Informing the exchange between Dimitroff and Belichick recounted in Michael Holley's book "War Room" was Belichick's concerns about Jones' ability to consistently get open on intermediate routes. He felt Jones didn't play as fast as the stopwatch timed him. Dropped passes were also an issue.

Dimitroff listened, then swallowed hard and made the deal for the sixth pick in the first round. He wanted to give Matt Ryan, his franchise quarterback, a playmaker defenses had to respect.

He recognized that giving up a No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 in 2011 and a No. 1 and No. 4 in 2012 was a deal that would define him as a GM. And it has.

Here are the Falcons with the top-rated NFL offense trying to beat Belichick and the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Simplified to that extent, it makes it easy to wonder what Belichick and the Browns were thinking.

They were thinking pretty soundly, actually. Atlanta had Ryan at age 26 and a team ready to break through, The Falcons went 10-6 in 2011 and 13-3 in 2012. 

The Browns won four games with a new head coach (Pat Shurmur) and mediocrity at quarterback (Colt McCoy, Seneca Wallace).

What made it look so bad for the Browns wasn't what they received in return. It was what they did with the picks they received: Phil Taylor, Owen Marecic, Greg Little, Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson (with the final fourth-rounder used to move up to get the Alabama running back.)

It wasn't a bad deal. It was a badly executed deal. There's a difference.

Good as the Falcons were in 2011 and 2012, they had as many losing seasons as winning seasons in Jones' first five years even as he showed his talents. They won one playoff game before this season. One of their losses: a 24-2 beatdown.

The Browns, meanwhile, are still ensconced in the straight man role while other teams get the last laugh (if you hadn't noticed). It's probably not much of a consolation to say they've made bigger blunders far more recently than getting five picks and passing up Julio Jones in 2011.

For today at least, Jones is a far bigger threat to Bill Belichick's football acumen. Whether he's running post patterns or intermediate routes.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph welcomed back senior guard Will Butler from an ankle sprain and topped Mentor in their boys basketball matchup Saturday night.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Will Butler whipped the basketball behind his back with ease, finding Noah Newlon for a 3-pointer that beat the halftime buzzer.

Until that point, Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s offense sat in neutral for much of its boys basketball game against visiting Mentor. Butler missed the last week with a sprained ankle, but he came off the bench Saturday night for a needed 66-61 victory.

VASJ (11-5), ranked No. 17 in the cleveland.com Top 25, needed this because of the way it played a week ago against St. Edward, one of the area’s Division I powers. The Vikings also needed, coach Babe Kwasniak said, because of the way they played the previous night in a win against Youngstown Valley Christian.

Thirteenth-ranked Mentor (11-5) presented another big-school hurdle.

And they needed Butler for it.

Noah Newlon's 3 at the buzzer. Watch Will Butler's pass. pic.twitter.com/dJzwWAcA0I

— Matt Goul (@mgoul) February 5, 2017

“I saw it in his face during the St. Ed’s game,” Kwansiak said. “He looked like his dog got shot. I played him and I shouldn’t have.”

Butler recouped in the six days since then, came off the bench Saturday and score 15 points. The broad-shouldered, 6-foot-1 senior guard hit three 3-pointers in the second half, and had two in the fourth quarter.

“He brings everything. He literally can do everything,” said VASJ junior point guard Jerry Higgins, who scored 21 points. “He can play one through five. When he was out, we were missing a guard as well as a big.”

Higgins scored the go-ahead basket on a jumper near the top of the arc that answered Manning Trubisky’s go-ahead 3. The see-saw stretch of the final five minutes concluded with Higgins scoring the final six points — his jumper, two free throws and finally a layup off a turnover before time expired.

Mentor tried to set up a tying 3 with 23.6 seconds left, but could not get a shot off. Kwasniak had his players foul to force a reset by Mentor. The Cardinals’ possession ended with Danny McGarry scooping up a loose ball and heaving it down court to Higgins.

“I thank my point guard for being great,” Butler said after greeting his teammates with high-fives as they exited the court. “My big man Alonzo Gaffney for being great and everyone else for being great.”

Gaffney added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. With Butler and Higgins leading the way, VASJ needed all of it to stave off Mentor.

The Cardinals knocked down 11 3s on the road. Trubisky led them with five 3s and 21 points. But Mentor lost for the second time in as many nights.

Coach Bob Krizancic said he reminded his players at halftime about why they lost Friday to Greater Cleveland Conference-rival Solon, 75-73. Krizancic said he pointed to baskets given up at the end of the second, third and fourth quarters.

“We talked about every possession counted and those possessions are huge,” he said.

One 3 by Newlon initiated the spark.

Butler and his teammates strolled back to their locker room with a confidence boost. Around this time last year, the Vikings lost and Mentor and went on to win 10 straight en route to a Division III state final appearance.

“We remembered when we lost at their place, and one of our goals is to go undefeated at home,” Higgins said.

VASJ is three home wins from achieving that.

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.

The Knicks, who are greeted every day by questions of whether or not they will deal Carmelo Anthony, trailed by as many as 27.

NEW YORK -- LeBron James reached another milestone in one of his favorite places to play, and Kevin Love saw that the grass is a dark shade of brown at Madison Square Garden.

James went over 28,000 points for his career and scored 32 for the game in the Cavs' 111-104 win over the New York Knicks. Cleveland had lost five of its previous six on the road.

Love, who has again been sucked into rumors of a possible trade to New York for Carmelo Anthony, posted 23 points and 16 rebounds after missing the last two games with a sore back.

The Cavs (34-15) almost surely won't trade Love to the Knicks, but if they did, Love got a taste of what that might look like for him.

Going from the defending champs to a possible lottery team full of dysfunction would not be pretty. The Knicks, who are greeted every day by questions of whether or not they will deal Anthony, trailed by as many as 27.

The Cavs have beaten the Knicks nine consecutive times, and the first two games this season were not close -- Cleveland won by 29 on opening night and by 32 here on Dec. 7. The Knicks haven't won a game against the Cavs since the season opener in 2014, the first game of the Big 3 era in Cleveland.

Speaking of Anthony, who actually stripped Love and blocked one of his shots early in this one, he finished with 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting. Anthony stole the ball from James and dunked it with 59.8 seconds left to cut the Cavs' lead to 106-101. Love, returning serve, answered with a 3-pointer with 44.4 to go.

The Knicks (22-30) were led by 23 from Brandon Jennings.

Kyrie Irving (right quad soreness) missed his sixth game this season. The team announced about 60 minutes before tip that Irving wouldn't play. DeAndre Liggins started in Irving's place and finished with five points and three rebounds.  Tristan Thompson added 12 points and five boards. Channing Frye and Kyle Korver scored 14 and 11, respectively, off the bench.

Derrick Rose (sprained left ankle) didn't play for the Knicks.

At 32 years and 36 days, James became the youngest player to reach 28,000 career points, surpassing Kobe Bryant (33 years, 131 days). He needed 12 points to get there when the game started, and reached the milestone with a long jumper at 6:49 of the second quarter.

James posted five rebounds, 10 assists and shot 12-of-20. He's scored at least 30 points 11 times this season, and has posted at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 33 games (including 24 of the last 30 games).

James entered play averaging 28.5 points per game in 25 contests (regular season and playoffs) at Madison Square Garden. His emphatic dunk with 24.2 seconds remaining was the exclamation point -- pushing Cleveland's lead to 111-101.

"It's a special building," James said. "It's the greatest building in the world to play the game of basketball. So it's always fun to be here. These fans understand the game, they love the game so it's always fun."

NEXT: The Cavs continue this four-game road trip Monday night at 7 against the Washington Wizards.

Amidst the latest speculation about his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers that won't seem to go away, Kevin Love sent a reminder of his value.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- What sore lower back? What trade rumors? 

Amidst the latest speculation about his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers that won't seem to go away, Kevin Love sent a reminder of his value. 

Love scored 23 points on 7-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He added 16 rebounds and one new poster dunk.

Showing that he's not feeling any ill effects from a sore back, which forced him out of two straight games earlier this week, Love drove to the basket late in the second quarter and dunked over the top of New York Knicks center Willy Hernangomez, causing the Cavaliers' bench to explode with excitement.

LeBron James led the cheers. 

Kevin Love dunked and the Cavs bench got HYPED [?] pic.twitter.com/GGbMLDLkn0

-- Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 5, 2017

(h/t @BleacherReport)

Byeong Hun An led after three rounds at Waste Management Phoenix Open 2017.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The PGA Tour's Waste Management Phoenix Open, where players and fans annually put on quite a show, unfolds Feb. 2 through today at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.

Byeong-Hun An was 16-under and led by one shot entering the final round. Martin Laird was in second place. Four players were tied for third, four back.

Among those who competed this week: Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson.

• Waste Management tee times

Spieth has won eight PGA Tour titles, including two majors. He is ranked sixth in the world. Through three rounds at Waste Management, he was tied for 21st at 8-under.

Thomas, Spieth's close friend, was cut, thus denying his bid for victories in three straight PGA Tour starts. In his first five official starts in the 2016-17 season, he finished T8, 1, T23, 1 and 1. The two most recent victories came on the Hawaii swing. Thomas is ranked eighth in the world.

Matsuyama, defending champion at Waste Management, is ranked fifth in the world. He was tied for third at 12-under.

Rahm won the Farmers Insurance Open last week in California. He was tied for 17th at 9-under.

Fowler, world No. 14, is one of the game's most popular players. He was tied for 17th at 9-under.

Watson and Mickelson have won a combined five Masters and own tremendous resumes at TPC Scottsdale. Watson missed the cut; Mickelson was tied for 12th at 10-under.

• Waste Management leaderboard

Players are extra-motivated at this event because of huge galleries that take pride in making noise. The par-3 16th hole, in particular, is famous for creating a football-type atmosphere in a stadium setting.

Sunday's live leaderboard:

PGA TOUR
WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN
Site: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course: TPC Scottsdale. Yardage: 7,216. Par: 71.
Purse: $6.7 million (First place: $1,206,000).
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS Sports).
Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama.
Last week: Jon Rahm won the Farmers Insurance Open.
Notes: Justin Thomas is playing for the first time since sweeping the Hawaii events. The last player to win three consecutive PGA Tour events was Rory McIlroy in 2014 (British Open, Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship). ... Jordan Spieth at No. 5 is the highest-ranked player in the field. ... Rickie Fowler last year had a two-shot lead with two holes to play until losing to Matsuyama in a playoff. Fowler, coming off a victory in Abu Dhabi, has not won anywhere in the world since then. ... Steve Stricker makes his 2017 debut. He turns 50 in three weeks. ... Harris English is playing for the last time before getting married next week. ... The tournament last year reported having 618,364 fans for the week. ... Phil Mickelson has another opportunity to become the first four-time winner of the event. A victory also would give Mickelson seven victories in Arizona, breaking a tie with Johnny Miller. ... Mickelson (twice), Mark Calcavecchia and Grant Waite hold the course record of 60. ... Asked if he would be willing to allow caddie races on the 16th hole that the PGA Tour banned, Commissioner Jay Monahan said he "doesn't expect to see any change on that front."
Next week: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Online: www.pgatour.com

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Here are Saturday's boys basketball scores from around the OHSAA, courtesy of The Associated Press.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Here are Saturday's boys basketball scores from around the state, courtesy of The Associated Press.

Ada 58, Dola Hardin Northern 55

Akr. Kenmore 80, Can. South 55

Andrews Osborne Academy 77, Cin. College Prep. 60

Ansonia 74, Houston 64

Antwerp 64, Montpelier 49

Apple Creek Waynedale 56, Jeromesville Hillsdale 53

Archbold 46, Defiance Tinora 34

Athens 74, Cols. Watterson 49

Bascom Hopewell-Loudon 54, Tiffin Calvert 39

Bellevue 51, Castalia Margaretta 48

Botkins 54, New Bremen 50

Bowling Green 65, Lima Bath 62

Bucyrus Wynford 70, Sycamore Mohawk 60

Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 73, Fairfield Christian 66

Cardington-Lincoln 82, Mt. Gilead 80

Carey 68, Vanlue 50

Carlisle 53, Hamilton Badin 44

Carroll (Ft. Wayne), Ind. 48, Van Wert 30

Centerburg 60, Sparta Highland 51

Cin. Indian Hill 54, Loveland 38

Cin. Mariemont 61, Goshen 48

Cin. NW 64, Cin. Mt. Healthy 53

Cin. Summit Country Day 59, Cin. Woodward 44

Cle. Benedictine 72, Gates Mills Gilmour 42

Cle. VASJ 66, Mentor 61

Collins Western Reserve 62, Plymouth 60

Cols. Eastmoor 61, Lewis Center Olentangy 45

Cols. Hamilton Twp. 59, Cols. Whetstone 52

Cols. St. Charles 53, Bloom-Carroll 45

Columbus Grove 66, Continental 28

Cornerstone Christian 77, Orange 47

Coshocton 56, McConnelsville Morgan 37

Dalton 65, Creston Norwayne 44

Day. Christian 76, Cin. Clark Montessori 61

Day. Oakwood 63, Spring. Greenon 42

Defiance 52, Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 51

Defiance Ayersville 56, Pettisville 52

Delaware Christian 61, Granville Christian 38

Delphos Jefferson 48, Arlington 41

Delphos St. John's 59, Van Wert Lincolnview 41

Dixie Heights, Ky. 67, Lockland 40

Elyria 66, Elyria Cath. 63

Fairborn 58, Centerville 54

Findlay 62, Lima Shawnee 43

Findlay Liberty-Benton 56, Lima Cent. Cath. 52

Frankfort Adena 62, Portsmouth W. 59

Fredericktown 64, Howard E. Knox 43

Ft. Loramie 65, Maria Stein Marion Local 49

Gahanna Lincoln 78, Day. Northridge 56

Garfield Hts. 63, Medina 45

General McLane, Pa. 74, Lawrence School 48

Greenwich S. Cent. 79, Ashland Mapleton 61

Grove City Christian 74, Sugar Grove Berne Union 44

Hamilton 62, Harrison 29

Hamler Patrick Henry 47, Tontogany Otsego 46

Haviland Wayne Trace 45, Kalida 31

Holgate 54, Stryker 34

Hundred, W.Va. 76, Beallsville 58

Huron 65, Willard 54

Ironton St. Joseph 63, New Boston Glenwood 53

Jackson Center 58, Minster 55

Johnstown Northridge 65, Thornville Sheridan 53

Kenton 75, McGuffey Upper Scioto Valley 59

Kinsman Badger 83, Cle. Nexus 59

Lancaster Fairfield Union 48, Granville 34

Logan 55, New Albany 49

Lorain 81, Tol. Scott 53

Mansfield St. Peter's 84, Crestline 61

Marietta 59, Albany Alexander 57

Marion Pleasant 56, Delaware Buckeye Valley 30

Martins Ferry 62, Richmond Edison 48

Mason Co., Ky. 74, Mt. Orab Western Brown 65

Massillon Washington 60, Ashland 57

Miamisburg 68, Troy 58

Middletown Fenwick 63, Cin. St. Xavier 54

Milan Edison 50, Oberlin Firelands 42

Miller City 61, Mt. Blanchard Riverdale 31

Monclova Christian 57, Tol. Emmanuel Baptist 47

N. Baltimore 80, Northwood 43

N. Robinson Col. Crawford 61, Bucyrus 30

Nelsonville-York 51, Corning Miller 50

New Knoxville 50, Lima Temple Christian 48, 3OT

New London 50, Monroeville 42

New Riegel 37, Tiffin Columbian 32

New Washington Buckeye Cent. 55, Morral Ridgedale 44

Norwalk St. Paul 47, Ashland Crestview 40

Old Fort 76, Arcadia 45

Olmsted Falls 77, N. Ridgeville 56

Ontario 46, Bellville Clear Fork 43

Ottawa-Glandorf 77, Napoleon 57

Painesville Harvey 62, Geneva 59, OT

Pandora-Gilboa 46, Bluffton 37

Parma Hts. Valley Forge 73, Mayfield 50

Peebles 70, Bainbridge Paint Valley 64

Philo 53, Newark Licking Valley 36

Pickerington Cent. 67, Newark 66

Piketon 64, W. Union 51

Piqua 60, Milton-Union 47

Plain City Jonathan Alder 61, Galion 38

Portsmouth 77, Wheelersburg 75, OT

S. Charleston SE 64, Spring. Emmanuel Christian 48

Sandusky 66, Sandusky Perkins 56

Shelby 87, Clyde 67

Sidney 61, St. Marys Memorial 47

Smithville 55, Doylestown Chippewa 28

Springfield 71, Wilmington 48

St. Henry 77, Celina 58

Sylvania Northview 73, Bedford 62

Sylvania Southview 55, Tol. Cent. Cath. 53

Thomas Worthington 47, Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 44

Trenton Edgewood 61, Oxford Talawanda 40

Trotwood-Madison 98, Day. Dunbar 89

Union City Mississinawa Valley 70, Ft. Recovery 49

Upper Sandusky 59, Attica Seneca E. 51

Van Buren 60, Delta 36

Vermilion 56, Norwalk 35

W. Liberty-Salem 61, West Salem Northwestern High School 52

W. Unity Hilltop 46, Edgerton 44

Washington C.H. Miami Trace 68, Chillicothe Unioto 61

Waterford 61, Beverly Ft. Frye 51

Wauseon 60, Holland Springfield 43

Willow Wood Symmes Valley 61, Crown City S. Gallia 55

Wooster 69, Orrville 41

Worthington Kilbourne 55, Grove City Cent. Crossing 42

Xenia 83, New Carlisle Tecumseh 39

Youngs. Boardman 66, Warren Howland 50

Bellaire 55, Wintersville Indian Creek 54

Cadiz Harrison Cent. 59, E. Liverpool 43

Kyrie Irving said he was "bumped" in the thigh during the Cavs' win over Minnesota Wednesday night and that's why he didn't play Saturday against the New York Knicks. Watch video

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving said he was "bumped" in the thigh during the Cavs' win over Minnesota Wednesday night and that's why he didn't play Saturday against the New York Knicks.

The Cavs' PR staff called Irving's injury "right quad soreness," while coach Tyronn Lue said it was a "thigh contusion" that kept Irving out of Cleveland's 111-104 win over the Knicks.

At any rate, Irving told cleveland.com "I'm fine" and "I'm playing Monday" against the Washington Wizards.

LeBron reaches 28K points, Cavs win

Irving didn't play at all in the fourth quarter of a 125-97 blowout of the Timberwolves. He scored 14 points and dished out a career-best 14 assists, and didn't mention the injury nor did he seem to be favoring his right leg. But he apparently missed shootaround Saturday and was ruled out about 60 minutes before tip Saturday night.

Taking a step back and considering the bigger picture, the Cavs won for the fourth time in six games in which Irving didn't play. Which means they've won four games against NBA competition with no true point guards.

All season, the Cavs have played without any veteran backup point guard. Anyone who even occasionally checks in on the team knows this, as it's been a story since Matthew Dellavedova signed his big free-agent deal with Milwaukee over the summer.

LeBron James has been putting public pressure on the front office to sign or trade for someone. The need is magnified on nights when Irving doesn't play.

James scored 32 points and dished out 10 assists with five turnovers against the Knicks. DeAndre Liggins started in Irving's place, but with Irving out James is the point guard. He played 40 minutes, even though it's February now and coach Tyronn Lue said all along this was the time when James' minutes were supposed to drop.

The Cavs' offense ground to a halt in the fourth quarter, when they were outscored 36-27 and committed six turnovers, which led to 11 Knicks' points. They led by as many as 19 in the quarter.

"Instead of LeBron playing 32 minutes he had to play 40 because we messed around with the game," Lue said. "He got a little tired but we had to keep him on the floor so we had to slow the game down and just try to take advantage of our half-court offense, which they switched a lot of stuff and made us stagnant."

James did score nine in the fourth, with a crucial, pinpoint assist to Kevin Love for a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left after the Knicks had cut their deficit to five points.

Is this pass real life? pic.twitter.com/gN1yrcwBUh

-- NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 5, 2017

Sources said the team likely would not sign one of the free agents (Jordan Farmar, Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich) who tried out last week to a 10-day contract in response to Irving's injury, essentially because Irving isn't really hurt.

The only other point guard by trade on the roster, of course, is Kay Felder, a rookie who played 14 minutes and scored four points off the bench. After a decent first half, Felder was a minus-14 in a disastrous five minutes in the third and fourth quarters, as Cleveland's 27-point lead melted away.

The Cavs hold out high hopes for Felder as early as next season, but for now are not counting on him come playoff time.

So depending on whether Irving plays or doesn't, and until general manager David Griffin makes a trade or signs someone, the Cavs are trying to win games with one or no point guards.

Here's what fans wanted to know following the Cavs' 111-104 win over the New York Knicks Saturday night. Watch video

NEW YORK -- Here's what fans wanted to know following the Cavs' 111-104 win over the New York Knicks Saturday night:

• How did Kyrie Irving injure his right thigh, forcing him out of Saturday's game?
• Did LeBron James play too much "hero ball" against the Knicks?
• Isn't Kevin Love cheaper, better, and younger than Carmelo Anthony?

Also see:

Irving tells cleveland.com he'll play Monday; Cavs now 4-2 with NO point guards.

James reaches 28,000 career points while Love reminded grass definitely isn't greener in New York.

Anderson Varejao is not an immediate option for the Cavs.

Even if you can somehow remember a 2016 Super Bowl commercial, I'd wager that you can't remember the advertiser who paid for it. That's why Super Bowl ads as a zeitgeist of American culture are something of the past, writes Bruce Horovitz.

Bruce Horovitz, is a Cleveland nativeBruce Horovitz 

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia -- There was a time when Super Bowl advertising mattered.

It mattered to the advertisers. It mattered to the viewers. And, yes, Super Bowl ads once signaled something significant about the zeitgeist of American culture.

That time is past.

You wouldn't know that, of course, by the near $400 million that 30-plus advertisers are expected to dole out on this year's contest -- at roughly $5 million per 30-second slot. You wouldn't know it by the social media barrage of online Super Bowl ads whose sole purpose is to promote the televised Super Bowl ads. Nor would you know it by the growing litany of media outlets that rank the Super Bowl spots from best to worst.

Here's how you know it: You can't name one.

Go ahead. Without checking Google or Bing or YouTube, try to recall a single Super Bowl commercial from last year's Big Game. Or for that matter, the year before.

Super Bowl ads 2017: What type of commercials can you expect to see?

Unless you're in the advertising, marketing or public relations business, I'm betting that you can't. Even if you can somehow remember a 2016 Super Bowl commercial, I'd wager that you can't remember the advertiser who paid for it.

It's enough to give every 2017 Super Bowl advertiser angina.  

How did this happen?

In one word: overload. There's such a constant electronic flood of information, misinformation and irrelevant stuff, that it's now become next to impossible for one Super Bowl advertisement to stand out.  

Only a handful accomplished that over the years. Like when Mean Joe Green snatched the Coca-Cola from an adoring fan, chugged it, then tossed the kid his jersey. Or when basketball legends Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played a mythic game of "horse" for a Big Mac. Or when that cute kid, dressed as Darth Vader, thinks he's managed to magically use "the force" to start the VW in the driveway.

But no Super Bowl ad comes remotely close to the impact of the one Apple aired in 1984. That's when Apple Computer turned Super Bowl advertising on its head with a commercial for the Apple Macintosh that did what no ad had done before: It left a bigger impression than the game.  

The day after the 1984 Super Bowl, when office workers still met around water coolers to discuss the previous day's events, almost no one was talking about the football game -- a 38-9 blowout by the Los Angeles Raiders over the Washington Redskins. They were talking about the "1984" ad. It featured a blond babe running with a sledgehammer, who frees an auditorium full of pathetic captives of a Big Brother figure, by tossing the hammer at a mega-screen that all are watching. When that screen exploded, Super Bowl advertising as we know it exploded, too.

Never mind that the ad aired just once on national television. By Apple's internal estimates, it earned more than $150 million in pure PR value -- and that was just the first year. Macintosh sales were super-charged.

Try to imagine that today. A Super Bowl ad that stops traffic. A Super Bowl ad that gets more hype than the game. A Super Bowl ad that garners more headlines than a provocative Donald Trump tweet.

A sorry state.

To stand out at Super Bowl LI, ads are going for stunts

Through the years, we've seen and heard it all. We've seen Budweiser frogs and lizards and, yes, way too many beer-trudging Clydesdales. We've seen Danica Patrick incessantly tease us about her turbo-charged sex appeal. We've heard Bob Dylan uncomfortably posing, perhaps, the most inane question of all time in a Chrysler Super Bowl commercial: Is there anything more American than America?

We've seen it all -- and we're tired of it.

For many Millennials, most of whom are wise to the ways of Madison Avenue, Super Bowl ads are just another effort to get them to purchase unhealthy, environmentally unfriendly or overpriced stuff that they really don't want or need.

For many Millennials, Super Bowl ads aren't funny or cute or heartwarming. They're pathetic. To them, a Super Bowl commercial is about as relevant as a Rolodex.

Their way of life isn't about sugary drinks, calorie-laden chips and beer -- or the commercials that hype them.

It's not that Super Bowl ads don't matter anymore. It's that we've reached a tipping point where they arguably matter more to the advertiser than to the key consumer.

Which brings us to Donald Trump. No, not President Trump. But the pre-presidential version, who back in 2012 -- just five years ago -- co-starred in a Century 21 Super Bowl commercial.

Of course, you don't remember it. No one -- but, perhaps, Trump himself -- does. It was imminently forgettable -- featuring several other B-list celebs, including former NFL star Deion Sanders and Olympic speedskater Apolo Ohno. Mocking his own role on "The Apprentice," Trump plays the part of a hardheaded home buyer who strikes a tough deal with a savvy Century 21 agent -- only to discover that he's been outsmarted -- and overpaid for the house.

"I want a do-over," Trump rants.

If only that same line were to air in today's Super Bowl -- with Hillary uttering it. Then, somebody might remember it.

35 epic Super Bowl commercial failures

For what it's worth, you won't see Century 21 in this year's Super Bowl. But in Republican-friendly Houston, I'm betting that Trump shows up somewhere. Not in a commercial for beer, soft drinks or software -- but more likely in some sort of self-congratulatory self-promotion.

There was, indeed, a time when Super Bowl advertising mattered. But when most folks can't even remember a commercial that starred the future president of the United States, it tells you just one thing.  

That time is past.

Sad.

Bruce Horovitz, a Cleveland native, is a former Los Angeles Times marketing columnist. For 20 years, he was USA Today's lead writer on Super Bowl advertising when he was that paper's marketing reporter.

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Some players were highly-rated prospects, others weren't rated at all. Check it out.

New England's Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will win their fifth Super Bowl making them arguably G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The New England Patriots (16-2) play the Atlanta Falcons (13-5) in Super Bowl LI this evening.

This will be New England's seventh Super Bowl with Bill Belichick as coach and Tom Brady at quarterback. The tandem have won four so far and will have a chance to win their fifth.

A fifth win means Belichick and Brady would surpass Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers and also Bill Walsh and Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers. A fifth win would therefore make Belichick and Brady arguably the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time).

Meanwhile, this is the first Super Bowl for Falcons' head coach Dan Quinn and quarterback Matt Ryan. The Falcons will be under a lot of pressure to do their best impression of Eli Manning and the New York Giants. The Giants are the only team to beat Belichick and Brady in the big game (2008, 2012).

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

Fox has coverage of Super Bowl LI. Here's how you can find it on your TV as well as how to watch the game on your computer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Super Bowl LI featuring the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots will take place on Sunday night at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff time will be at 6:40 p.m., and FOX 8 will have the broadcast of the game.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will be calling the action, with Erin Andrews and Chris Myers reporting on the sidelines. The game will also be streamed on the FOX Sports Go for computers and mobile devices.

Here is the full FOX schedule for Sunday leading up to the game:

11 a.m.: NFL Films: Road to the Super Bowl

Noon: Skip and Shannon: Undisputed

1-2 p.m.: FOX Super Bowl Kickoff

2-6:30 p.m.: FOX Super Bowl Sunday

Here are channel finders to find your local Fox main network affiliate:

Time Warner channel finder

AT&T U-verse channel finder

Dish Network channel finder

DirecTV channel finder

Postgame coverage will be on FOX as well as FOX Sports 1. Locally, FS1 is channel 317 on Spectrum, 651 on AT&T Uverse, 219 on DIRECTV and 150 on Dish.

The New England Patriots have remained three-point favorites vs. the Atlanta Falcons since the conference championships.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The New England Patriots are three-point favorites to win Super Bowl 51 on Sunday in Houston against the Atlanta Falcons, according to sports betting site Bovada.

The Patriots opened as three-point favorites. According to Forbes.com, Super Bowl odds tend to fluctuate in the two weeks from conference championships to the final game.

Of course, those are not the only odds at stake Sunday.

* Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the favorite to win Super Bowl MVP, according to OddsShark.com, followed by Falcons QB Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones.

* The over-under is set at 59 points. The over-under on Luke Bryan completing the national anthem is 2 minutes, 15 seconds. Odds also are high that he will wear blue jeans instead of "any other pants or shorts."

* In case you are wondering, the Patriots are way too early favorites to win next year in Minneapolis. New England has 6-to-1 odds of winning Super Bowl 52, according to FootballLocks.com. The Falcons are 10-to-1, while the Browns sit last with the San Francisco 49ers at 300-to-1 odds.

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.

Quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots face quarterback Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- OneUp Sports called to ask about my prediction for Super Bowl LI, which pits the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night in Houston.

DMan's Super Bowl poll

The Patriots will play in their ninth Super Bowl. They seek the fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history, all of which would be with Bill Belichick at coach and Tom Brady at quarterback. The Falcons seek their first Super Bowl title in their second appearance.

DMan's Super Bowl prop ''bets.''

The line I "played'' was Patriots -3. Entertainment purposes only, of course.

NFL players earn money throughout the playoffs, not just in the Super Bowl.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Winning Super Bowl LI is about more than hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons will also get a payout, whether they win or lose.

Not only that, NFL players receive bonuses throughout the playoffs.

Here's the breakdown for each level reached:

Wild Card game (division winner): $27,000.

Wild Card game (non-division winner): $24,000.

Divisional round: $27,000.

Conference championship game: $49,000.

Super Bowl loser: $53,000.

Super Bowl winner: $107,000.

You know those players that say they'd rather not get to the Super Bowl at all if it means they'll lose? Those players have probably won the Pro Bowl.

This year, Pro Bowl winners made $61,000, or $8,000 more than whoever loses on Super Bowl Sunday.

If it's Meyer's offense, how much does an offensive coordinator hire really matter? Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer's offense, Urban Meyer's offense, Urban Meyer's offense, Urban Meyer's offense.

At Bowling Green, at Utah, at Florida, at Ohio State, it was, is and always will be Urban Meyer's offense.

So why is his offensive coordinator such a big deal?

There was a time during Jim Tressel's tenure at Ohio State when fan frustration over the Buckeyes' more conservative offense led to calls for Tressel to hire an new offensive coordinator. I can vividly remember standing in a hallway at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in 2008 and asking Tressel if he'd ever surrender play-calling duties.

From a story in mid-September 2008:

"I don't know, maybe my ego wouldn't let me," Tressel said. "Or maybe I'm a workaholic. I couldn't read comic books all day. I've got to go watch film."

Since Tressel had just finished explaining how he seldom tells the defensive coaches what to do or what to change, he figured without his play calling, he'd be a man without a purpose.

"I'm not sure I could not help on either side of the ball," Tressel said. "What am I going to do, go eat bonbons?"

Oh, that bonbons quote. For Tressel's entire 10-year run at Ohio State, Jim Bollman served as the offensive coordinator, but we knew this was Tressel's show. The way the offense stagnated in 2011, when Tressel was gone but Bollman still served as the coordinator during Luke Fickell's one year in charge, showed how much Tressel had been running things. The Buckeyes were 79th in the nation in scoring that season.

So Meyer isn't eating bonbons. But the idea that the 2016 Ohio State offense didn't do what Meyer had hoped - why exactly was that?

He was still the guy on the headset with final say on Saturdays, even as Ed Warinner called the plays, still the boss who could shape a gameplan during the week. In January of 2016, after the Buckeyes finished the 2015 season with a Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, Meyer vowed that the Buckeyes would throw it more often and more effectively in 2016.

Ohio State went from the 100th-ranked passing offense in 2015, at 189 yards per game, to the 81st-ranked passing offense in 2016, at 214 yards per game. In 2014, Ohio State had the 52nd passing offense, averaging 247 yards per game.

Meyer knew those numbers, the drop in passing offense from 2014 to 2016, the lack of balance between pass and run. His first answer on what new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson will bring to the Buckeyes?

"Throw the ball better," Meyer said.

* What Kevin Wilson will bring to Ohio State

Again, Meyer could have insisted on that in 2016, could have demanded the Buckeyes work on that. He's a busy guy. But he's an offensive guy. Like Tressel did, Meyer entrusts the defensive side of the ball to the assistants. But offense is his expertise - he came up as a receivers coach - so why will it take a change of assistants from Warinner and Tim Beck to Wilson and Ryan Day to get this side of the ball back on track?

Could Meyer or should Meyer have done more himself to get the offense where he wanted it in 2016?

"That's what these next two months are all about," Meyer said Wednesday. "That's all going to take place. Starting three days ago I started a complete statistic evaluation. I didn't realize we rushed for more yards than any other school in the country the last five years. I'm getting all these things we did well, and same thing, what we didn't do well. What you find out, productivity in the passing game has really hurt us, and we need to be more productive.

"Now, what does that mean? I hear the term receivers must separate. Exactly. Quarterbacks must be more accurate. Exactly. And the offensive line must do - we gave up 25 sacks this year. That's not acceptable.

"So those are all things that we're going to really focus in on."

None of that is a surprise. Once he gets done with his latest recruiting class on the first Wednesday of each February, Meyer always talks about diving into self-analysis.

So here's a version of the bonbons question. Obviously, Meyer is deeply involved in the offense. But can he do more? Can he take more control of this offense, or does he need a coordinator at the wheel?

"No, I can't be more ... those are great questions. I want to be the head coach, and I want to run special teams. I want to be the game manager and the motivator," Meyer said. "I'm very involved in the offense, but I try to hire the best possible guys I can to coordinate, because coordinating the offense isn't calling a play. That's the misunderstanding.

"Coordinating the offense is the practice, the motivation, inspiration of the staff in that room right there. Those are all titles of the coordinator, not so-called who called the reverse. That really has no bearing on the coordinator. Does that make sense?

"That's where I think on the defensive side of the ball, we really struggled (in 2013) or whenever that was, and fire this guy, get rid of this guy, do this, do this. We made it work. And it wasn't necessarily the defense called, it was the whole package that performed the last three years at a very, very high level. Obviously great players, but I loved what was done in that room."

Meyer got there by bringing in Chris Ash, changing the defensive strategy to be more aggressive and creating a coordinator combo in Ash and Luke Fickell he could trust.

After two years of offensive questions, that's what he's looking for on the offensive side now with Wilson, assisted by Day. Meyer is entering his 16th year as a head coach and Wilson will be his seventh play caller (see video at top of the page). Five of them coordinated an offense that in at least one year ranked among the 10-highest scoring teams in the nation. Warinner was the only one who didn't.

Now here comes Wilson, into Meyer's offense. And Urban Meyer says he needs him.

Video: Urban Meyer looks for his offensive mojo