The main concern going into the Cleveland Cavaliers game with the Miami Heat on Thursday night was that the fans of Cleveland would do something to embarrass the city. Not once was it mentioned that it might actually be the team that did the embarrassing, but that is exactly what happened as the Cavaliers went down 118-90 without a fight.

Getty ImagesLeBron James and Daniel Gibson Are Still BFFs

Getty ImagesLeBron James With His New Beaus Chris Bosh And Dwyane Wade

"Can we please start the firesale? If these guys have no desire to play for the Cavs, then why make them stay?" -The Great Michael

John Kuntz / The Plain DealerAlthough fans had hoped to get some retribution, Miami's LeBron James leaves Cleveland with a big win over the Cavaliers. Meanwhile, plenty of real problems remain behind in the city.

Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme, who's come under heavy fire for his two interceptions against the Panthers, has officially been named the starter for Sunday's game in Miami.

John Kuntz / The Plain DealerJake Delhomme is hoping he knocked the rust off vs. the Panthers and that he'll make fewer mistakes in Miami.

CLEVELAND -- Browns coach Eric Mangini confirmed what's been obvious all week: that quarterback Jake Delhomme will start Sunday against the Dolphins.

Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy is idle again today with his high ankle sprain, and Mangini said he'll decide tomorrow if McCoy is healthy enough to be the third quarterback.

Delhomme will get the nod following his 24-23 victory over Carolina, a game in which he threw two interceptions and has come under heavy fire from fans and media.

Delhomme now has 29 interceptions and only 10 touchdowns in his past 15 games, but was coming off a high ankle sprain and hadn't been healthy since the first half in Tampa Bay Sept. 12. 

In other Browns news:

* Wide receiver Josh Cribbs (foot)returned to practice today, and Mangini is hoping he can do more than return punts and kicks in Miami. 

* Browns idle today include: running back Peyton Hillis, linebacker Scott Fujita, and nosetackle Shaun Rogers. Hillis is absent for a personal reason, but will play in Miami. Rogers (hip) is also expected to play.

"The chemistry between Hammy and Hegan is unrivaled. They are absolutely hilarious together. Mike has such awesome baseball stories." -The Great Michael

Scott Shaw / Plain Dealer file photo

A Cleveland team looks to beat a Miami team at last ... and it won't be easy.

View full sizeAP FileJust figured we'd use this picture of Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne in his Michigan days in case any Browns fans needs an extra incentive to root against him when Cleveland visits Miami on Sunday.

1. Make the Browns one-dimensional. This is really the most obvious key for the Dolphins. ... The Browns are 3-1 this year when Peyton Hillis runs for over 100 yards. Hillis is really what makes this Cleveland offense go. If you can keep his impact on the ground somewhat limited, you then force the Browns to turn to the air - and Jake Delhomme.

With rookie quarterback Colt McCoy likely out on Sunday (he hasn't practiced this week), Delhomme will start his third game of the season. Though he is 1-1 in his two previous starts this year, Jake has thrown six interceptions in three games -- including two last week against the Panthers.

The Dolphins should be able to drop an eighth man in the box to contain Hillis when you consider that the Browns don't exactly have a threat on the outside at receiver. Their leading receivers are Hillis and Ben Watson. No receiver has over 300 yards receiving. And outside of Josh Cribbs, who is still slowed a little by a foot injury, the Browns have no speed threat. If I'm Mike Nolan, I'm going to use a ton of run blitzes to fill any running lanes and force Jake Delhomme to beat me with his group of receivers.

2. Protect the football. I said yesterday that the easiest way for an inferior team to steal a win was by making big plays on special teams. But I should have said that great special teams play was the second easiest way. The reality is that bad teams can steal wins when they create turnovers. That's the easiest way - and that's what the Browns have done this year.

The Browns have forced 23 turnovers through 11 games this year - the third most in the league. And ten of those turnovers were forced in their four wins - including wins over the Saints and Patriots. If Cleveland can force Drew Brees to throw four interceptions, then Chad Henne needs to be careful.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver and Pro Bowl return man Josh Cribbs didn't practice Friday, but the the versatile offensive weapon will likely play against the Miami Dolphins, coach Eric Mangini told reporters Friday.

"I think we're a week further along than we were last week," Mangini said of Cribbs. "A lot of this is getting his maximum, the best he can be for Sunday. So, I didn't have him practice (Thursday). It wasn't a setback. More of an adjustment of the plan."

Mangini was asked to what extent Cribbs would be available in a game situation. "The starting point will be as kick returner/punt returner, and then we'll go from there," he said. "There will be a package of things that he will do if he's available."

PD Browns reporter says Haden's play has made people forget his slow sprint time before the NFL draft. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Welcome to today's edition of Starting Blocks TV, our Web video show about what's going on in Cleveland sports. Today's show is hosted by Chuck Yarborough and Branson Wright.

The Cavaliers had a disappointing performance Thursday night in a blowout loss to the Miami Heat and LeBron James at The Q. What was the most fretful part of the loss?

Today's guest, Plain Dealer Browns reporter Tony Grossi, says he was disappointed by the Cavs' lack of intensity, and the affection that the Cavs players showed for their former teammate during the game. What was most disappointing to you? Cast your vote in today's Starting Blocks poll.

Joshua Gunter / The Plain DealerJoe Haden

Also, Tony answers questions from his weekly "Hey, Tony! feature. He talks about whether Peyton Hillis should be a candidate for NFL MVP; Art Modell; whether he still thinks the Steelers are in decline; and how Browns cornerback Joe Haden has made people forget about his slow 40-yard dash time before the draft.

Check back later today for a special Cavs edition of SBTV, as PD columnist Bud Shaw provides his take on Thursday night's Cavs game.

Chicago Cubs' great third baseman, Ron Santo, is dead at the age of 70 as a result of complications from bladder cancer.

View full sizeAP FileRon Santo, the ever-loyal Chicago Cubs third baseman some say is one of the best players never elected to the Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 70.

Chicago -- Ron Santo, one of the greatest players in Chicago Cubs history and a longtime WGN radio announcer whose devotion to the perennial losers was made obvious night after night by his excited shouts or dejected laments, has died. He was 70.

"Ronnie will forever be the heart and soul of Cubs fans," Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement Friday. He praised Santo for "his passion, his loyalty, high great personal courage and his tremendous sense of humor."

Santo died in an Arizona hospital from complications of bladder cancer, according to WGN Radio. Santo was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 18 and later lost both legs to the disease.

A nine-time all-star in his 15-year career, Santo was widely regarded as one of the best players never to gain induction into the Hall of Fame. The quiet sadness with which he met the news year after year that he hadn't been inducted helped cement his relationship with the fans.

But nothing brought fans closer to Santo -- or caused critics to roll their eyes more -- than his work in the radio booth, where he made it clear that nobody rooted harder for the Cubs and nobody took it harder when they lost. Santo's groans of "Oh, nooo!" and "It's bad" when something bad happened to the Cubs, sometimes just minutes after he shouting, "YES! YES!" or "ALL RIGHT!" became part of team lore as the "Cubbies" came up short year after year.

"The emotion for me is strictly the love I have for this team," Santo told The Associated Press in August 2009. "I want them to win so bad."

Santo played for the Cubs from 1960-73 and wrapped up his career with the White Sox in 1974. He joined the Cubs' radio team in 1990.

Santo battled myriad medical problems after he retired as a player, having undergone surgery on his eyes, heart and bladder after doctors discovered cancer. On his legs alone, he underwent surgery more than a dozen times before they were ultimately amputated below the knees -- the right one in 2001 and the left a year later.

Don Kessinger, who played shortstop with the Cubs from 1964-1975 and perhaps saw more of Santo's play at third base than anyone else, said what he remembers most is how hard his teammate played every single day.

Kessinger said Santo deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, and cannot understand why he was never elected.

"It's hard for me to believe he wasn't elected, and I'm surprised the veterans committee didn't see fit to put him in," said Kessinger. "It would have meant so much to Ron Santo to be elected into that awesome hall."

Born Ronald Edward Santo in Seattle on Feb. 25, 1940, Santo was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was 18. But he kept it from the team until he made his first All-Star game in 1963, and fans didn't know about his diabetes for years after that.

Even though the Cubs failed to make the World Series in his lifetime, Santo once said his association with the team probably prolonged his life.

"If I hadn't had this when my troubles started, I don't know if I would have survived," he said in September 2003. "I really mean that. It's therapy."

Santo was a fan favorite on a team that included Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins. Many taverns near Wrigley Field include photos of Santo, including one in which he famously clicked his heels as he ran off the field.

By all accounts, it was a tremendous career. In his 14 years with the Cubs and his final season across town with the White Sox, the third baseman hit .277 with, 2,254 hits, 342 home runs and 1,331 runs batted in. He also was named to the All-Star team nine times won the Gold Glove award five times.

He hit .300 or better four times, had the best on-base percentage in the league in 1964 and 1966 and led the league in walks four times.

But the team routinely finished at or near the bottom of the standings.

One of the few times the Cubs didn't was in 1969, when they finished second after leading the New York Mets by nine games as late as Aug. 16. That year, a photograph was taken of Santo that became synonymous with both the team's failure and the supposed curses that have long haunted the team: There, in the on-deck circle at Shea Stadium, is Santo, a bat on his shoulder as a black cat scurries past.

Santo's disappointment with being passed over for induction into the Hall of Fame was well known to viewers, who watched him receive the news on the phone in 2003 thanks to television cameras he allowed inside his house when he thought he would be getting in.

In 2003, he was honored by the Cubs, who retired his No. 10, hoisting it up the left-field foul pole, just below Banks' No. 14.

"This flag hanging down the left-field line means more to me than the Hall of Fame," Santo told the cheering crowd at Wrigley Field when his number was retired.

"This couldn't be any better," he said. "With the adversity that I have been through if it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

Santo had been active in fundraising for diabetes research, with his Walk-for-the-Cure raising millions of dollars.

"This game would be the perfect time for Matt Roth to shine. I hope he does, seeing as how he really hasn't put up any big numbers so far." -theksukidd73

Joshua Gunter / The Plain DealerCleveland Browns' Matt Roth sacks Oakland Raiders' Charlie Frye for a loss in the third quarter Sunday, December 27, 2009 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland. The Browns won the game 23-9.(Joshua Gunter/ The Plain Dealer)

Browns coach Eric Mangini "satisfied'' with answer from the league on the controversial ending of the Panthers game.

CLEVELAND -- Brown coach Eric Mangini said he was "satisfied with the answer we got back from the league'' on the controversial ruling at the end of the Panthers game that nearly cost the Browns the victory.

He declined to get specific about what the NFL told him, but indicated that they agreed with his take on what actually should've happened.

The play in question was the 28-yard catch by Brandon LaFell to the Browns' 24 with four seconds remaining that set up John Kasay's 42-yard field goal attempt, one that glanced off the left upright.

Mangini argued that LaFell was touched by cornerback Sheldon Brown inbounds and that the clock should've ru down to zero. When officials decided to review whether or not it was a catch, Mangini was assured that even if the catch was upheld, there'd be no time left to attempt the kick. Instead, the catch stood, but officials left four seconds on the clock for the kick.

Fortunately for he Browns, Kasay missed it. Otherwise, Mangini could've ended up on the hotseat.

“That happens a lot and everybody is trying to do their best to get it right, I get that,'' said Mangini. "If you’re on the plus side of that decision you’re happy, and if you’re on the down side of it you’re miserable. It just depends where you sit.''

John Kuntz / The Plain DealerBrowns coach Eric Mangini knew that time should've run out before the field goal attempt against Carolina. The league apparently agreed with him.

LeBron James played the role of bully and he played it well.

APUnlike the Cavaliers, LeBron James had plenty to smile about.

CLEVELAND ------ LeBron James sat at the podium between Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade following the Miami Heat's victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. And after James answered a series of questions, Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock left the Q and A session unsatisfied.

Whitlock writes how James refused to jump on the highest road and apologize for the pain he caused the fans who loved him for seven years.

He won’t express remorse, he says, because his intentions were good. The Decision, he says, was created to help kids.

BP drilled for oil in The Gulf with the best intentions, too. The captain of the Titanic intended to get its passengers across the Atlantic Ocean in record speed. Jim Jones intended for his followers to drink Kool-Aid and go to heaven.   
 
People apologize for the consequences of their behavior. James can’t grasp that because his immense, God-given talent allows him to negate the consequences of his improper actions.

James undercut the brilliance of his performance by mocking the Cavaliers with non-stop trash talk and taunting body language, writes Whitlock. James looked like a bully. James and the Heat have perfected the art of beating up bad teams. They’re 11-1 against teams with sub-.500 records. The Heat are 12-8 overall.

You do the math. Ponder what it says about the Heat. 

James learned in high school how to dominate inferior talent. We’re still waiting for proof he knows how to compete against equals.

The King came and conquered

Yahoo.com reporter Adam Wojnarowski writes how LeBron James remains the King in Cleveland and in Akron.

And despite all of the chants, jeers and boos, the Cavaliers fans should now direct their anger at the Cavaliers.

And Wojnarowski suggest that LeBron was never loved here, just the idea of LeBron was.

They made James into the ideal of what they wanted him to be, but never was: the hometown hero, the prodigy who lived to deliver them from their long, suffering sporting demons.

 

 

 

Not about LeBron

The ending to Thursday's game between the Cavaliers and the Heat quickly switched the focus from LeBron James to the Cavaliers.

The Tin Man is no longer jealous. The Cavaliers don't have hearts either.

Fanhouse.com reporter Pat McManamon writes how the Cavs played pretty much like a bunch of guys who hope to be playing in Miami next season, not a group that truly wanted to win Thursday night.

"I'm embarrassed," said guard Mo Williams, who played hard but not always well.

"That's what hurts so much," said Anthony Parker. "The fans showed up like that, and we let them down."

If this game did anything, writes McManamon, is that it allowed the rest of the nation to say it could validate James' decision, that his best chance to win a championship really is in Miami. Not Cleveland. This was what James left, and it was what James left Cleveland with.

 Throwing in the towel

A fan threw a towel in the direction of LeBron James on Thursday night, but the towel, like most of the Cavaliers' shots, fell short. The fan was escorted out, but more important;y, writes ESPN's Michael Wallace, the Cavaliers should have thrown in the towel based on their performance.

But Wallace got a chance to watch how other events transpired.

To James' credit, he largely ignored the chaos that started when someone threw a battery from the stands that landed right in front of the Heat's bench. That drew a warning from the public address announcer.

As the Heat's lead grew, so did the craziness in the stands. One fan wearing a Heat jersey was showered with cups of beer in the upper deck. He didn't duck. Instead, he basked in the beer until he was escorted out.

Then came towel man. Maverick Carter, James' business manager, left his courtside seat moments later and had to be escorted through the crowd by three bodyguards. James, meanwhile, was oblivious to his surroundings. Or at least he did a remarkable acting job.

Local native Pierre Woods released for the second time by the New England Patriots.

APPierre Woods

Pierre Woods, a graduate of Glenville High School, was released for the second time this season by the New England Patriots.

The Patriots signed outside linebacker/defensive end Eric Moore to their 53-man roster and released Woods who was released at the end of training camp in September,  re-signed by the team on Nov. 17, and now released again.

Woods spent the last four seasons in New England. He played in three games for the Patriots, recording three tackles and one sack.

 

MASSILLON, Ohio - Chagrin Falls' football team has to settle for second place for the second consecutive season at the Division IV state tournament. The Tigers were victims of 14 unanswered points by Columbus Bishop Hartley in a 34-13 loss today at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Bishop Hartley's Omar Lane (5) scores a touchdown in the first quarter in the Division IV high school football championship football game against Chagrin Falls Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, in Massillon, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

MASSILLON, Ohio - Chagrin Falls' football team has to settle for second place for the second consecutive season at the Division IV state tournament.

The Tigers were victims of 14 unanswered points by Columbus Bishop Hartley in a 34-13 loss today at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The loss snapped Chagrin Falls' winning streak at 10 games, denying the Tigers their first state title, while the wins gives the Hawks their second state crown.

Unranked Hartley closes its season with a seventh straight win and a 13-2 record. Falls, ranked No. 12 in The Plain Dealer and final state poll, also ends at 13-2.

Plain Dealer columnist Bud Shaw calls on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to apologize for the team's performance and love-in with LeBron James in last night's 118-90 loss to the Miami Heat at The Q. Watch video

Cleveland, Ohio -- Nearly 2,500 of you have voted (as of 2:30 p.m.) in today's Starting Blocks poll on just what was the worst and/or most embarrassing part of last night's 118-90 fiasco at the hands of the Miami Heat.

We put that poll online just before 9 a.m. Plain Dealer columnist Bud Shaw, in a special edition of SBTV, tells hosts Branson Wright and Chuck Yarborough that he voted even before the poll went up.

And he did.

Bud's Facebook status on the heels of the game noted that the Cavs have just lost their fans.

What's with all this making nice DURING the game? The performance -- or lack thereof -- from the Cavs was so bad that Bud calls for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to speak out and apologize for it.

Bud also expresses disappointment in new Cavs coach Byron Scott saying he didn't have a problem with opposing players -- and yeah, we're talking LeBron James -- hanging around the Cavs bench DURING the game, laughing and joking with his former teammates. Bud notes that if ex-Brown quarterback Derek Anderson can be castigated for laughing on the sidelines with a current teammate during a shellacking on national TV, Cavs' guard Daniel "Boobie" Gibson has some explaining to do, too.

The problem, Bud surmises, is that the Cavs just didn't get what this game meant to Cavs fans, who now probably are going to stay away in droves, as the cliche goes. A Gilbert apology might be a start towards getting them back ... but it's only a start, Bud says.

Oh, and in keeping with Cleveland's tradition of naming bad moments in sports, Bud's come up with a nickname. But you'll have to watch the video to find out what it is.

LeBron James and his Miami Heat played -- and won -- their first game in Cleveland since he left for South Beach. Now, they want another first: first place.

View full sizeAssociated PressThe Miami Heat are hoping to put LeBron James emotional return to Cleveland behind them and build on the 118-90 shellacking they handed the Cavaliers.

Like first place, for example.

The Heat haven't woken up in first place on any day since this season began, and that largely stems from a simple trend that's disturbing to James, coach Erik Spoelstra and just about everyone else in the Miami locker room. The Heat feast upon the NBA's losing teams, and struggle with the league's winning clubs.

Miami is 8-2 against teams below .500, 4-6 against teams that don't have losing records. And a winning team -- Atlanta, albeit without injured guard Joe Johnson, who may miss six weeks with an elbow issue -- comes in for a visit on Saturday night.

"We know we haven't played up to par against some of the best, the plus-.500 teams," James said after the Heat rolled past Cleveland 118-90 on Thursday night. "So we've got an Atlanta Hawk team that's coming into our building on Saturday, which is a plus-.500 team, and we're going to try to keep this momentum going."

There does seem to be some real momentum now for Miami.

At 12-8, the Heat have matched a season-best by moving four games over .500, and have won three in a row after a loss in Dallas last Saturday night. It was after that defeat where Miami held a players-only team meeting for about 40 minutes, clearing the air and talking about what works best on the floor.

All three of the wins since -- over Washington, Detroit and the Cavaliers -- came against sub-.500 clubs.

So Atlanta might provide the first true test since that sitdown. Spoelstra has been pleading with the Heat to play at a faster tempo for the past couple weeks, and he'll do the same on Saturday, thinking that's the formula Miami needs to beat the better clubs around the league on a regular basis.

"It became abundantly clear, we need those relief opportunities, particularly for our attackers to get to the rim," Spoelstra said. "That paint is so packed in the half court that it really opens things up for us. It's a symbiotic relationship: us defending, rebounding, then getting out in the open court. You can't do one without the other."

In Cleveland, it all worked.

The Heat left Cleveland hoping getting through the emotional rigors of James' homecoming might provide a springboard for the second quarter of the season.

James set a season-high for points with 38, matched a season-best by hitting 60 percent of his shots, plus put together the sort of dominant stretch in the third quarter that Cavaliers fans got used to in his seven years in Cleveland -- and that Heat fans have waited to see.

The NBA's two-time reigning MVP hit his first seven shots of the third quarter, scoring 19 points in just under 61/2 minutes. He was 10 of 12 from the floor in the quarter, his only misses coming from 26 and 31 feet out, and gave a knowing look to the Cleveland bench when his 24-point period was done.

Meanwhile, the Heat bench was thrilled, with good reason.

"Brothers in arms," Spoelstra told the team in the locker room afterward.

He'll expect the same approach on Saturday, even without 20,000 hostile fans there to provide some sort of motivation to James and the rest of the Heat.

"We've seen it at times," Spoelstra said. "So we've been here before. Now we need to do it consistently."

Browns receiver Josh Cribbs is determined to do more in Miami this week than return kicks and punts.

Gus Chan, The Plain DealerBrowns wide receiver Josh Cribbs hopes to be able to do more this weekend in Miami despite a foot injury.

CLEVELAND -- Browns receiver Josh Cribbs, who returned to practice today with his foot injury, said he can be effective in Miami on both on special teams and offense.

"It felt pretty good out there,'' he said. "Of course, it's not 100 percent, but I can move around and be effective in both aspects of the game. I found that out. I can be effective on offense as well.´´

Last week against the Panthers, Cribbs returned punts and kicks, but took himself out of the game when he felt he wasn't helping. He said he's anticipating making it through the Miami game. He also said the warm weather should help.

"I would hope so,'' he said. "I think it loosen it up and I'll be able to probably do some more things.´´

Colt McCoy is itching to get back to action, but it won't be this week in Miami.

John Kuntz / The Plain DealerColt McCoy is doubtful for the Miami game with his high ankle sprain, but can't wait to get back on the field.

CLEVELAND -- Browns quarterback Colt McCoy (ankle) is doubtful for Sunday's game in Miami, but said today he's determined to get back on the field this season.

"I'm glad I haven't talked to you guys before today, because I've been in the tank,'' he said. "I never missed a practice, never missed a game. I kind of pride myself on that a little bit.''

Mangini said he'd decide Saturday if McCoy could be the third quarterback, but it's not looking good.

Five Browns are questionable: Eric Barton (shoulder), Kenyon Coleman (knee), Josh Cribbs (foot), Shaun Rogers (ankle, hip) and T.J. Ward (thigh). Three are probable: Lawrence Vickers (calf), Floyd Womack (knee), and Eric Wright (knee).

Mark Solis, whose Twinsburg football teams have compiled a 32-14 record and made three playoff appearances in three seasons, has been told his supplemental coaching contract will not be renewed and he doesn't know why. "I can tell you right now that I have done nothing morally or ethically wrong," Solis said on Friday, about five hours after hearing...

Twinsburg football coach Mark Solis said he was not told why his supplemental coaching contract is not being renewed. - (Lonnie Timmons III / The Plain Dealer)

Mark Solis, whose Twinsburg football teams have compiled a 32-14 record and made three playoff appearances in three seasons, has been told his supplemental coaching contract will not be renewed and he doesn't know why.

"I can tell you right now that I have done nothing morally or ethically wrong," Solis said on Friday, about five hours after hearing the news from assistant principal/athletic director Alex Popovich.

"I am beside myself. I could understand if we weren't winning games. I could understand if I treated kids poorly. I could understand if I had done something to deserve this."

Twinsburg finished 2010 with a 10-2 record and reached the Division I regional semifinals, making the program one of nine in the state -- and one of three in Region 2 -- to make the playoffs in each of the past three years. Popovich could not be reached for comment.

Solis came to Twinsburg from Elyria, where he had resurrected that program and led it to the first playoff appearance in school history in 2005. He repeated that performance at Twinsburg, getting the Tigers into the playoffs for the first time in five years in 2008.

His teams at Twinsburg, Elyria and Ashland Crestview have compiled an overall record of 94-37.

Hamilton's contract not renewed: Elyria football coach Steve Hamilton has been informed his supplemental contract will not renewed for the 2011 season.

The Elyria graduate compiled a 4-6 record for the second consecutive season and ends his four-year tenure at 11-29.

"Steve did a lot of good things," said Elyria Athletic Director Jerry Chizmar. "He's a hard worker and good role model, but it's time we go in another direction."

Hamilton was given the option to resign, according to Chizmar.

"Steve didn't want to resign because he didn't want to give his players the impression he was giving up on them," said Chizmar.

Attempts to reach Hamilton were unsuccessful. Chizmar said he will continue to teach health and physical education at the high school.

SVSM volleyball coach steps down: Mary Howard, the state's winningest high school volleyball coach with more than 600 victories over 35 years, is stepping down.

Howard has coached at her alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, since 2000. Before that she won 448 matches at Archbishop Hoban. She leaves with a 631-232 overall record.

"I've spent 35 years coaching a sport that I love," Howard said in a news release. "I've had the honor of coaching some amazing student athletes over the years. I came to SVSM in 2000 and take great pride in the stability I was able to bring to the Irish program."

She led Hoban to state titles in 1980, 1990, 1991 and 1992, and runner-up finishes in 1987 and 1988. She is a hall of fame member with the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association, Summit County and Hoban.

Amid the catcalls and boos, LeBron James sought shelter from the storm before tipoff Thursday night at The Q. He approached Mo Williams, who returned his embrace. The booing reached a new crescendo.  Anderson Varejao also hugged James, and J.J. Hickson made amiable small talk after that. It was just like the Cavaliers to do that.  The message in...

Amid the catcalls and boos, LeBron James sought shelter from the storm before tipoff Thursday night at The Q. He approached Mo Williams, who returned his embrace. The booing reached a new crescendo. 

Anderson Varejao also hugged James, and J.J. Hickson made amiable small talk after that. It was just like the Cavaliers to do that. 

The message in body language was that they held no grudge against the superstar who gave a poor effort in last season's playoff series with Boston, who left them too late in the free agency period for the franchise to entertain any thought of acquiring a top free agent. 

They made nice. They wanted everyone to just get along. 

Maybe it was misleading. But the trend continued in the game. No one gave James a hard foul as he poured in 24 third-quarter, garbage time points. No one knocked him on his butt on a drive. 

The Cavs are a soft team with no inside deterrent, a team that has to outwork and outscrap top opponents. That game plan went away about halfway through the first quarter. Probably, no amount of hustle could make up for the talent deficit, given that the Miami Heat, and especially the former Cavaliers superstar, were at the top of their game. But it would have been nice if the Cavs had tried. 

The fans would have appreciated at least a small sign that the players were as passionate about the outcome as they were. The reporters, whose turnout was more appropriate to a second-round playoff series than an early December game, expected some indication that the Cavs, too, knew this was a big game. 

But it seemed to be a regular little homecoming game reunion at times in the second half, as the Miami lead ballooned to a grotesque 38 points. 

It was hard to tell from Dan Gilbert's Pressbox in the Sky, to which writers are assigned, whether James was chatting up Cavs bench players or assistant coaches during several third quarter free throws at the Cavs end of the floor. Giving media members a whiff of what's going on between players and coaches or players and players was long ago sacrificed by an image-conscious, money-grubbing league. Courtside media seats became season ticket-holders' seats for big bucks. Thursday night's jollity between James and members of the Cavs seemed to exclude assistant coach Chris Jent, anyway. In one television replay when that was going on, Jent looked particularly grim, despite his close association with James here. 

Daniel Gibson said at practice Friday that it might have looked like he was smiling at James, but that the conversation between the pair was not cordial. Well, whatever. 

But if former Browns quarterback Derek Anderson caught heat for a moment of levity on the bench during a blowout loss with Arizona, what manner of criticism might the Cavs have faced after they caught the Heat at full blast and put up the resistance of marshmallows over a campfire? 

It was even more amazing that coach Byron Scott, who experienced the Lakers-Celtics grudge games as a Lakers starter, gave the players a pass after the game. Scott explained Friday that the players were hard enough on themselves after the feeble effort and he didn't need to pile on. 

James has always been a man-child, a leader in locker room pranks and those ridiculous Busby Berkeley musicals the players used to stage during pregame introductions. Making him feel more uncomfortable couldn't have hurt. He did enough harm as it was, with a box score line of 38-5-8 in points, rebounds and assists he amassed in three quarters of play. 

The Cavs trotted out several current and former Browns and Indians players and comedian Drew Carey, all clad in Cavs jerseys, before the game. Among them were Shaun Rogers, Bernie Kosar, Travis Hafner, Jensen Lewis, Josh Cribbs. The crowd roared long and loud. Hafner actually turned away from James' during his pregame powder toss. 

No one who actually played in a Cavs jersey did as much.  
 

Browns rookie quarterback Colt McCoy walked to his locker Friday afternoon, snarled at the walking boot sitting in front of it and kicked the boot out of the way.  Then he talked to reporters for the first time since getting the high ankle sprain diagnosis a few days after the Jacksonville game.  "I'm glad I hadn't talked to you...

Browns rookie quarterback Colt McCoy walked to his locker Friday afternoon, snarled at the walking boot sitting in front of it and kicked the boot out of the way. 

Then he talked to reporters for the first time since getting the high ankle sprain diagnosis a few days after the Jacksonville game. 

"I'm glad I hadn't talked to you guys until now because I've just been in the tank," he said. "I never missed a practice, never missed a game. I kind of pride myself on that a little bit. It's part of it. My dad was a coach. You just don't miss unless something's broke." 

McCoy, who sat out the Carolina game and is doubtful for Sunday's game in Miami, is determined to get back on the field sometime during the final four games of the season. Jake Delhomme has officially been named the starter for Sunday. 

"As a competitor and a quarterback, that's all you want," he said. "You want to play. You want to be involved. I'm doing everything I can to get back out there as fast as I can. It's killing me more than it ever has. 

"Even though we lost two games, we really felt, as a team, we were really getting close. We beat Carolina, which was great, and we have a big [game] this week. Hopefully, we'll get a good report at the first of next week and go from there." 

McCoy said the ankle is coming along and he will have it re-evaluated Monday. 

"The recovery, the rehab, everything has been going really good," he said. "We'll wait and see how it feels after the weekend." 

McCoy, who was the starter in victories over the Saints and Patriots, has channeled his frustration into dissecting defenses and absorbing game plans. He was on the sidelines during the Panthers game last weekend, play sheet in hand. 

"You can't let it affect you so much that you're not involved with your team or your coaches, so I've really plugged into that," he said. "I watch as much film as I always do, and I'm interacting with my teammates. I'm still involved as much as you can be while you're doing rehab." 

But he wasn't about to get drawn into a quarterback controversy when asked if he will be re-installed as the starter when healthy. 

"I'm not even going to go there," he said. "My focus is to get my foot right. What happens then, I don't know. It's just a bummer. I just have to go out there and make sure it feels OK." 

McCoy said he's still encouraged that it's his left ankle and not his right plant-foot, the one Delhomme and Seneca Wallace sprained. 

"I think it's a positive because a lot of the things we do as quarterbacks are on your right foot," he said. "The doctor said from the very beginning that you can't put a time frame on something like this because every person is different. Even with a high ankle, there's still things that are different from mine than were from Jake's or Seneca's." 

McCoy did whatever he could to help Delhomme during the Panthers game -- even if he felt a little funny doing it. 

"[Delhomme has] played for 15 years, so sometimes it's hard to say, 'Did you see that?', but I help him out if I can," said McCoy. "Jake can play on any team in the NFL. The guy's a veteran, he's a pro, he knows what he's doing. I'm just glad to have somebody like him around here. He's been huge for me." 

Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll chuckled at the notion of the rookie helping the 12-year veteran, but says it's legit.  </p>

"[McCoy] can see the game, yes," said Daboll. "In the games that he's played so far, he's been great. Coming off on the sideline with the pictures, he'll say 'I saw him here, I saw him coming.' It's because he studies his tail off." 

McCoy defended Delhomme for the beating he has taken for his two interceptions in Sunday's 24-23 victory over Carolina. 

"He missed a lot of time," said McCoy. "But Jake is fine. I can guarantee you that kind of stuff doesn't affect him. He's played for so long. I think we have a real good game plan this week going into Miami, and I think we've got a good grasp on what they do and some areas to attack, and I look for Jake to play great this weekend." 

McCoy also appreciated the endorsement last week from Delhomme, who called him the Browns' quarterback of the future. 

"Obviously I'm humbled," he said. "That's great. I appreciate it. But I know I've got a lot of ways to improve. 

"Knowing where I want to be, I've got a lot of work to do. I just can't wait to get my foot healthy and get back out there and start working on those things."   

See a photo gallery from the game here. MASSILLON, Ohio — Twelve minutes might seem trivial during a 720-minute football season, but it was pivotal Friday for Columbus Bishop Hartley.

Chagrin Falls' Jack Campbell is the last man to get a hand on Noah Key of Columbus Bishop Hartley on his way to the end zone. Key ran for 130 yards in the game and Hartley won the Division IV title 34-13. - (Thomas Ondrey / The Plain Dealer)

See a photo gallery from the game here.

MASSILLON, Ohio — Twelve minutes might seem trivial during a 720-minute football season, but it was pivotal Friday for Columbus Bishop Hartley.

The Hawks' fourth-quarter domination was too much for Chagrin Falls to overcome in a 34-13 Division IV title-game victory at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The win gave unranked Hartley (13-2) its seventh straight victory and its second state title. Chagrin Falls (13-2), ranked No. 12 in the final state poll, was sent home with a second-straight runner-up finish.

"When you're down, 20-13, but have the momentum, you've got to put your foot on the gas and close the door," said Chagrin Falls coach Mark Iammarino.

Iammarino was referring to Hartley's response after his Tigers closed the gap with 2:17 left in the third quarter on Kurt Vidmer's 2-yard touchdown. It capped a six-play, 37-yard drive set up by Spencer Diedrich's 25-yard punt return and a facemask infraction against Hartley.

The Hawks answered by scoring two touchdowns during a three-minute span.

Quarterback Austin Underwood connected with Jacob Matuska for a 10-yard touchdown pass during a six-play, 65-yard march sparked when Omar Lane turned a second-and-21 situation into a 48-yard gain.

"That was like the straw," said Iammarino.

Lane explained how the big-gainer came on a buck-sweep.

"I had a great block from JaWaun Woodley, who set up the edge for me," Lane said.

Hartley immediately got the ball back when Drake Jones pounced on an onside kick on Chagrin Falls' 46. Jones was a thorn in the Tigers' side, adding an interception and a blocked field goal to his effort.

Six plays later, the Hawks had a 34-13 lead when Noah Key scored on a 17-yard jaunt as part of a game-best, 130-yard performance.

Chagrin Falls was forced to play catch-up all day because the Hawks quickly went ahead, 14-0.

Hartley scored on its first play from scrimmage when Lane, who rushed for 117 yards, scampered around right end for a 52-yard touchdown as Brent Wable kicked the extra points.

The Hawks pulled ahead, 14-0, four minutes later on Underwood's 43-yard touchdown pass in the left flat to Woodley, capping a six-play, 57-yard drive.

"It's a little disheartening when you prep all week and they come out and score two quick ones, but it's a testament to our guys," said Iammarino. "It was big plays in the first half and when you have a team with a lot of speed, like they do, that can happen."

Most of Falls' 95 rushing yardage came between the tackles as Bradley Munday had a team-high 38 yards.

"[Hartley] plays a 3-3-stack and that's a quick defense," said Tigers' two-way senior tackle Dan Driscoll. "We just needed to get better blocking on the edge."

Hartley extended its lead to 20-0 less than a minute into the second quarter on Key's 60-yard touchdown, the finishing touch of a 10-play, 88-yard march where the Hawks' fake punt kept the drive alive.'

"We're going to do everything to win that game," said Hawks coach Brad Burchfield. "Whether it's an on-side kick or fake punt, as many possessions as you can get is huge."

Chagrin Falls got on the board with 6:46 left before intermission on Tommy Iammarino's 11-yard touchdown pass to Munday. It was the 10th play of a 61-yard drive that included Diedrich's 12-yard pass to Munday off a triple reverse.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4665