Get your questions ready and join Terry Pluto today at noon as he talks Cleveland sports. Hear Terry's thoughts on the Browns' loss to the Bills, the Cavaliers' struggles and more.
Terry Pluto tackles your questions live every Tuesday at noon.
Get your questions ready and join Terry Pluto today at noon as he talks Cleveland sports.
Hear Terry's thoughts on the Browns' loss to the Bills, the Cavaliers' struggles and more.
You can jump in the chat room and ask your questions as well as interact with other users and respond to Terry's remarks, or you can just listen. The chat will also be made available shortly after its completion in mp3 format.
"This three yards and a cloud of dust, hope the other team misses a field goal or your defense holds thing is not working. We need what I thought we needed at the beginning of the season: speed, speed and more speed. We may kill Peyton Hillis and our receivers only scare our fans." - rayandnay
View full sizeChuck Crow | The Plain DealerJosh Cribbs is one of the few players on the Browns fans would consider fast.
"This three yards and a cloud of dust, hope the other team misses a field goal or your defense holds thing is not working. We need what I thought we needed at the beginning of the season: speed, speed and more speed. We may kill Peyton Hillis and our receivers only scare our fans."
What positives can we take from last night's game in Miami? Who are some of this team's most tradeable assets? Mary Schmitt Boyer will answer those questions and more in a live chat today at noon.
Chat with Mary Schmitt Boyer at noon.
What positives can we take from last night's game in Miami? Who are some of this team's most tradeable assets?
Mary Schmitt Boyer will answer those questions and more in a live chat today at noon.
You can jump in the chat room and ask your questions as well as interact with other users and respond to Mary's remarks, or you can just listen. The chat will also be made available shortly after its completion in mp3 format.
Remember, you can also send her questions to Hey, Mary! Those answers will appear in the newspaper and online every Sunday.
On Tuesday, we asked high school basketball fans to give us their top Northeast Ohio teams. We took the top 10 from The Plain Dealer's Top 25 and added a space for fans to write in a team. Here are the results as you ranked them, along with the top write-in school:
Here are the results as you ranked them, along with the top write-in school:
cleveland.com User Top 10 (1,467 total votes)
1. Mentor (326) 2. Garfield Heights (221) 2. St. Edward (221) 4. Cleveland Heights (168) 5. St. Vincent-St. Mary (93) 6. St. Ignatius (81) 7. Brush (78) 8. Benedictine (73) 9. Cleveland Central Catholic (64) 10. Shaker Heights (42)
Top write-in teams: St. Peter Chanel (6), Strongsville, John Hay (5).
Fans were able to vote for three teams among the group listed. They also had the option to write in their own candidate. The poll opened on Tuesday morning and closed on Wednesday, December 15 at 5 p.m. The final rankings above reflect the teams that received the most votes along with a note for the team or teams that received the most write-in votes. Individual votes were not weighted. Teams are ranked on the number of total votes they received.
Check back next Tuesday for your chance to vote in next week's fan poll.
Cleveland native and SI.com reporter Joe Posnanski writes about his early memories of Bob Feller. He writes how he grew up on the legends of Jim Brown, Paul Brown and Jesse Owens, but there was nothing like the stories about Feller. Mostly, though, there was the legend of Bobby Feller, Rapid Robert, the Iowa farm boy who at age...
Cleveland News/Plain Dealer Historical Photograph CollectionBob Feller in the dressing room following his one-hitter win over the Boston Red Sox May 1, 1955.
Cleveland native and SI.com reporter Joe Posnanski writes about his early memories of Bob Feller. He writes how he grew up on the legends of Jim Brown, Paul Brown and Jesse Owens, but there was nothing like the stories about Feller.
Mostly, though, there was the legend of Bobby Feller, Rapid Robert, the Iowa farm boy who at age 17 took the mound at League Park in Cleveland, threw his hardest fastballs, and scared the living hell out of grizzled baseball men who thought they had seen it all.
Posnanski tells the story when he first talked to Feller, at a card show. This is where Feller, before signing a baseball card for Posnanski, asked him who was the greatest pitcher of all time. Posnanski told Feller it was Sandy Koufax.
To his credit, Feller did not seem put off by my answer. He, in fact, treated it with a measure of respect — the answer was wrong, sure, but it was more misguided than anything else. He set me straight. “How many games did Koufax win?“ he asked. “What did he win? Hundred fifty games?” There was a small stack of papers on the table, and Feller reached over and took one, handed it to me. These were stat sheets. They were put together to estimate what Bob Feller’s career numbers would have looked like had he not gone off to war from 1942-45. The estimate was that he would have won 373 games, struck out 3,651 men and thrown five no-hitters. The strikeouts and no-hitters would have been records.
Posnanski also writes about his favorite Feller quote when it comes to Feller's Opening Day no-hitter in Chicago in 1940. It is still the only no-hitter thrown on Opening Day.
“Name the only game in baseball history where every player on a team went into a regulation nine-inning game and came out of it with the same batting average.” That was Feller’s no-hitter. Each White Sox player came into the game hitting .000 and left hitting the same three digits.
Feller, writes Hill, was unlike some famous athletes who jilted this city, discarding its affections so cavalierly, he never did. Feller was all that was good about athletes from the golden age of sports. To those men, fans mattered; an athlete’s standing in the public’s eye accounted for something; it wasn’t all about the benjamins or the Nike ads or the starlet on his arm.
Nobody can doubt he was an American hero, though most people would ascribe his fame to his ability to throw a baseball harder than anybody else in his generation. Feller was mindful of the fame that gift from God brought him; he was proud of it. His ability to throw a baseball drew crowds to him and earned him a plaque in Cooperstown.
But Feller was more than just a baseball player. He volunteered during World War II. He fought for his country.
Yes, his name will be revered in baseball circles forever, but fans do him an injustice when they forget who Bob Feller was: an American hero in the historical sense of the word.
Feller was on a promotional tour. He pitched to a few members of the media before a Class A San Jose Giants game. After Kimball hit a few of Feller's pitches around the park. Feller went into his bag of tricks.
The next pitch was belt-high over the plate, and I drove it deep into the left-center field gap, and it one-hopped the fence.
Feller gave me a look. The catcher said, "Uh-oh, here comes the deuce."
Feller then broke off a beautiful curveball that seemed as if it broke a foot and a half. I waved at it weakly. Feller smiled, as if to say, "How'd you like that, kid?"
Coach Eric Mangini said he's earned the right to finish the season as the starter.
John Kuntz, The Plain DealerColt McCoy will start Sunday at Cincinnati.
Updated at 11:13 a.m.
BEREA -- Browns coach Eric Mangini stepped out of character on Thursday and named Colt McCoy his starting quarterback.
Not just for Sunday's game in Cincinnati. For the remainder of the season.
"I felt like he's earned this opportunity and I want to give it to him," Mangini said. "I want to see how he continues to grow. This is by no stretch just trhowing a young guy in for the sake of throwing a young guy in. If I didn't think he could go out and lead us and be successful doing that, then I wouldn't make this decision. But I do feel that way and I feel strongly about it."
Mangini said the decision was his and he informed President Mike Holmgren after he arrived at it.
McCoy hasn't played since suffering a high left ankle sprain in Jacksonville on Nov. 21.
Mangini said McCoy was "excited, but also determined" upon hearing the news.
At the same time, veteran Jake Delhomme handled his demotion well, Mangini said.
"He couldn't have been more supportive, not only of Colt but of the whole team," Mangini said. "Colt is incredibly lucky to have someone like him in the building at this point of his career. You can't ask for a better player, a better person."
Mangini said he has not determined whether Delhomme or Seneca Wallace would serve as the No. 2 quarterback Sunday in Cincinnati. It's likely that role would go to Wallace because he would have to be No. 2 to contribute in some Wildcat packages.
PD columnist says Feller was unflinchingly devoted to Cleveland and the Indians.
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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 Branson Wright.
Livy talks about Feller's legacy; how the pitcher went into World War II even though he could have avoided service; and how devoted he was to the Indians and to Cleveland.
SBTV will be back Friday with Plain Dealer Browns reporter Tony Grossi answering questions from his weekly Hey, Tony! column.
In the meantime, don't forget to try to beat Chuck Yarborough and Branson in this week's "You Pick the Winners" contest. You can win a weekly prize and become eligible to win a $250 gift card at season's end.
Dwyane Wade gets more love in Miami than LeBron James.
(Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer) LeBron James pregame ritual before the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavs game Dec. 2, 2010.
The Miami Heat fans did the best they could to show support for LeBron James. They wanted to show LeBron, despite what Cleveland fans think, that Miami loves him.
It was a valiant effort. It was an attempt at a massive group hug for LeBron and a simultaneous finger to the Cavs.
But it was hardly the Miami equivalent of what Cleveland fans did Dec. 2 in Quicken Loans Arena. Not even close.
That was never going to happen. Not only because that experience in Cleveland two weeks ago was a much bigger event in that city than this was here Wednesday night.
But mostly because the passion isn't equal. Not for LeBron James. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
There's something in the way of a true love fest for LBJ, and that's Dwyane Wade.
You could tell the difference Wednesday night. After the Heat fans did their best to make the game an anti-Cleveland event, it became a basketball game, one that the Heat was struggling in throughout the first half.
Who woke up the arena? Wade.
Riley and Scott
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott credits Heat President Pat Riley for getting him into coaching. Scott also credits Riley for luring away LeBron James, writes Ohio.com's Jason Lloyd.
Last summer, Scott said he had a few words for Riley the next time the two met. It happened Wednesday night in Miami.
Riley and Scott passed each other and quickly exchanged pleasantries during James' free-agency meetings in downtown Cleveland in July, just days after Scott was hired as the Cavs' new coach. But that was before James chose the Heat over the Cavs. The two haven't spoken since, although Riley sent his former player a note on Wednesday and Scott hoped they could catch up after Wednesday's game.
''The most difficult thing that any coach is ever going to go through is how to deal with losing,'' said Riley, who would not speak specifically about James or the Heat. ''We lost five out of six games and they thought Armageddon was coming down here.''
Riley can empathize with Scott who is on a nine-game losing streak with the Cavs. Rily has experienced some tough seasons in Miami, particularly when the Heat won 36 games in 2001-02, 25 games the next season and 15 games in 2007-08.
Indians legend had baseball knowledge that spanned decades, say Plain Dealer columnist and Indians beat writer.
Watch video
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Welcome to a special edition of Starting Blocks TV, our Web video show about what's going on in Cleveland sports.
With the passing of Cleveland sports legend Bob Feller last night, Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto joins Branson Wright in studio, and Plain Dealer Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes checks in by phone to share their memories of the Indians great.
They talk about his career on the field and what more he might have accomplished if he had not served in World War II; they also talk about what they will moss most about seeing Feller at spring training and at Progressive Field; and their favorite Feller moments.
Was the performance Wednesday night in Miami all about effort? Will J.J. Hickson be able to play his way off the bench or is he on his way out of town? Mary Schmitt Boyer answered those questions and more in her weekly podcast.
View full sizeHector Gabino | El Nuevo Herald | MCTDaniel Gibson and the Cavaliers put up much more of a fight Wednesday night against LeBron James and the Heat than they did two weeks ago.
Was the performance Wednesday night in Miami all about effort? Will J.J. Hickson be able to play his way off the bench or is he on his way out of town?
Mary Schmitt Boyer answered those questions and more in her weekly podcast, recorded earlier today on cleveland.com.
Among the topics Mary talks about:
- Will we see Jamario Moon back in the rotation any time soon?
- Will the current labor dispute play a role in the Cavaliers' thinking when they start exploring trade options?
- Who is the best player on this team right now?
- Will the Cavaliers have an All-Star this season?
- What's going on with Leon Powe and why can't he get regular minutes?
Click on the play button below to listen to the podcast or download the MP3 version to listen on-the-go!
Podcast: Mary Schmitt Boyer talks Cavaliers
Remember, you can also send her questions to Hey, Mary! Those answers will appear in the newspaper and online every Sunday.
Cleveland Indians will invite shortstop Adam Everett to big-league camp in hopes of him improving leaky infield defense.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians have signed shortstop Adam Everett to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp in February.
The Indians have been looking for a backup shortstop because of Asdrubal Cabrera's penchant for injury and Jason Donald and Luis Valbuena's struggles to replace Cabrera last season when he missed time with a broken left forearm. Everett, 33, has played 832 of his 846 games at shortstop over 10 big-league seasons with Houston, Minnesota and Detroit.
The Tigers released Everett last year. In 2009, he helped settle the Tigers suspect defense. Detroit tied the Twins for first place in the AL Central that year, but lost a one-game playoff.
The Indians need a dependable glove for their leaky infield. Everett owns a career fielding percentage of .975 (85 errors in 3,558). In 2006, he finished second in fielding percentage among NL shortstops with a .990 fielding percentage while finishing third in total chances with 688.
Offense is not Everett's calling card. He's a .243 (655-for-2,698) lifetime hitter. His best season was 2004 when he batted .273 (105-for-384) with 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 15 steals, 31 RBI and 66 runs scored in 104 games for Houston.
Everett was Boston's first round pick in 1998 before being traded to Houston.
DSN's lineup of all-star hosts are on the air from now until 11 p.m. and you can get in on the discussion by posting in our chat room and calling into the shows.
Join Greg and Brian weekdays from 9 a.m.-noon.
There's always plenty to talk about in the world of Cleveland sports and today's no different.
DSN's lineup of all-star hosts are on the air from now until 11 p.m. and you can get in on the discussion by posting in our chat room and calling into the shows.
Remember, you can watch the live video stream or listen to the audio-only stream and interact with the studio via chat room, Twitter, Facebook, phone or email.
Enough video exists to show that Bob Feller was a rare pitching talent. More recent video features him as a great ambassador for baseball.
Plain Dealer/APBob Feller in 1938, at age 19.
Cleveland, Ohio -- Bob Feller began his wondrous big-league pitching career with the Cleveland Indians as a 17-year-old in 1936.
Fortunately for baseball fans, by the time Rapid Robert was fanning batters at a stunning, unprecendented rate, there was -- relatively primitive as it may have been -- video capability.
It would be sweet if full-game film of some epic Feller performances existed, but if any does, it hasn't been discovered.
So, we settle for what is available, and it's certainly enough to display Feller's greatness. Also, videos of Feller in retirmement, in his role as an ambassador for the game of baseball and for the Cleveland Indians. Videos are from YouTube.com unless otherwise noted.
Video: Bob Feller in 1936, at age 17 and shortly after setting an American League record with 17 strikeouts in a game, throwing and getting tips from former Indians pitching great George Uhle.
Video: Bob Feller, in a video called "Speed Ball," throwing his fastball to be measured by U.S. Army equipment that measured artillery shell velocity. It's the late 1940's, after an arm injury slowed Feller's fastball. Still, he was clocked here at 98.6 miles per hour. The machine clocked Feller's pitch as it crossed home plate. The velocity of pitches now is measured when the baseball leaves the hand, when it is at maximum speed and hasn't slowed some between the mound and home plate. Thus, this pitch, experts say, would have easily been over 100 mph by today's measuring method.
Video: Film clips and vintage photos touching on Feller's life and his baseball career.
Video: From Vimeo.com, Bob Feller pitching. Note Bob wearing uniform Nos. 14 and 16, instead of the No. 19 he wore for most of his career. In this video, Feller fires two fastballs past Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame slugger Hank Greenberg, who, like Feller, volunteered for military service after Pearl Harbor.
Video: Bob Feller interviewed in 1990 by the late Cleveland broadcaster, Nev Chandler, on Cleveland's WEWS/Channel 5 Eyewitness News "Live on Five." They talk about Feller's military service and baseball career, and about the 1990 Indians.
Video: From the Canton Repository. Bob Feller was famous for his accessibility to the media, and more important, the public. Here, from the Indians' 2008 spring training in Winter Haven, Florida, Feller and a friend talk with former Repositiory reporter Andy Call. Bob signed thousands upon thousands of autographs. He talks about that, and is seen signing, too.
Video: Bob Feller speaks to fans before the Indians' last eshibition game in Winter Haven in 2008. The team moved to Goodyear, Arizona for spring training beginning in 2009.
Video: From FOX Sports West at the Indians' Progressive Field in 2009, Bob Feller talks with Los Angeles Angels announcers Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler (a former Major league infielder) about the Indians winning the 1948 World Series; Bob's 1940 Opening Day no-hitter; his service in the U.S. Navy; and more.
Video: Bob Feller, then 90, pitching to fellow Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, then 52, at the 2009 Hall of Fame Classic in Cooperstown.
Video: ESPN's report on Wednesday night that Bob Feller had died. Tim Kurkjian talks about Feller's career.
Will U.S. Sens. Rob Portman or Sherrod Brown buck their respective parties on any major votes next year? Will Halle Berry win another Oscar? Which team will have the best record in town?
APAn emotional Halle Berry makes Hollywood history by winning an Academy Award for "Monster's Ball" (2002). Will she pick up another statuette in 2011?
Ohio and Northeast Ohio saw a lot of changes in 2010 -- new leadership coming in at the state level and in Cuyahoga County, some of the older leadership appearing in court, new sports heroes appearing and old ones taking their talents elsewhere.
What changes will we see in 2011? That's the focus of this poll. We're asking four questions in each of four categories -- politics, sports, business and general interest. Make your predictions by the end of 2010, and we'll bring them back at the end of 2011 to see whether cleveland.com users as a group are any better at predicting the future than economists and crystal-ball gazers.
Will new U.S. Sen. Rob Portman or incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown ever buck their respective parties on a major vote? Will Halle Berry win another Oscar? Where will American Greetings' headquarters be heading by the end of the year?
"I love how everyone is making the Browns' quarterback situation this year out to be another black mark against Mangini. All three quarterbacks have been injured. It's not a quarterback carousel. It's injuries and a depth chart." - jaceczko
View full sizeJohn Kuntz | The Plain DealerThings did not go according to plan this season with the Browns quarterback plan.
"I love how everyone is making the Browns' quarterback situation this year out to be another black mark against Mangini. All three quarterbacks have been injured. It's not a quarterback carousel. It's injuries and a depth chart."
"Just play hard right now and don't allow teams to dictate the play. I was very disappointed after the first game. This doesn't completely make up for it, but it's a start. It's time for this team to become physical." - tudefit
View full sizeAP PhotoLeBron James and the Heat were too much for the Cavaliers on Wednesday night, but fans were happy with the effort.
"Just play hard right now and don't allow teams to dictate the play. I was very disappointed after the first game. This doesn't completely make up for it, but it's a start. It's time for this team to become physical."
"With the strong inside presence of Dallas Lauderdale and Jared Sullinger, outside shooting of Diebler and overall games of Lighty, Buford and Craft, the Bucks will be hard to beat." - tribeguru
View full sizeMichael Conroy | Associated PressThad Matta has built a strong inside-outside combination on the Buckeyes roster this season.
"With the strong inside presence of Dallas Lauderdale and Jared Sullinger, outside shooting of Diebler and overall games of Lighty, Buford and Craft, the Bucks will be hard to beat."
Branson Wright takes a seven-game lead over Chuck Yarborough with three weeks to go.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Frank Amato of Sunbury went 14-2 last week to win a $25 gift card and qualify for a spot in the finals in our "You Pick the Winners" football pick 'em contest.
Host Branson Wright stretched his lead over co-host Chuck Yarborough by going 11-5, and 128-78 overall. Chuck went 9-7 and is 121-85. Mr. Wright (all the time) stretched his lead thanks to victories by Arizona and Philadelphia's victory over Chuck's unbeatable Dallas Cowboys.
Branson will stretch his lead even longer this week when St. Louis, Arizona, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Houston all come away with victories.
Each week, fans can go online to cleveland.com/footballpicks and make their predictions. The winning prognosticator gets that $25 gas card and the opportunity to be the guest of SBTV hosts Chuck and Branson on "You Pick the Winners," streaming on cleveland.com.
In the event of a tie, we'll use the total score of the Browns game as a tiebreaker, which is how Matt emerged the winner in this week's contest. Whoever comes closest to the total without going over will prevail. If there's still a tie after that, we'll do a random drawing. See official contest rules for further details. Whoever makes the most correct picks will become a finalist for a $250 gift card to be awarded at the end of the season. (OK, it's not much; this is mostly for fun.)
How many games will the Cleveland Browns win down the stretch?
John Kuntz/The Plain DealerEric Mangini
The Cleveland Browns have three games left in the regular season, all against conference foes. The Browns are at Cincinnati (2-11), host Baltimore (9-4) and host Pittsburgh (10-3).
There has been so much backlash with the names that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who acknowledged the negative reaction in an interview with WGN Radio in Chicago on Thursday, may make a change.
So what should the Big Ten do? Keep the names, or make a change. What two names can you come up with?