Game features high-powered offenses, but both teams have defensive difference-makers, too.

Associated PressAuburn's Nick Fairley (right) sacks Louisiana State quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

Auburn and Oregon, ranked as college football's top two teams, continue to prepare for Monday night's BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona.

Plenty of offensive fireworks are expected. Auburn features its Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Cam Newton. The Oregon offense is keyed by tailback LaMichael James. He finished third in Heisman voting, behind runnerup and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

(Plain Dealer reporter Bill Lubinger writes about Luck and his father, Oliver, a former Cleveland St. Ignatius and NFL quarterback)

Both the Tigers and Ducks have some defensive difference-makers, too. The best of them is probably Auburn junior defensive tackle Nick Fairley. The Lombardi Award winner will be one of the early picks in the NFL draft, if he decides to go pro after Monday's game.

Al.com, the website for a number of newspapers in Alabama, and OregonLive.com, of the Oregonian, are sister publications of The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. The Alabama and Oregon publications cover the teams in the national championship game.

Charles Goldberg writes about Fairley for al.com.

Late last season, he was just another guy with potential who started had two games.

Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker remembers Fairley.

"I was walking down the hall the other day and I just so happened to look up and I saw the Outback Bowl celebration picture. And I saw Nick's little face in the middle of it. And I'm sitting here and I'm trying to like ... 'Wow. No one really knew,'" Rocker said. "No one knew what Nick would be. And then all of a sudden this transformation for Nick started in the spring when I started to tell everyone where to line up and he knew where to line up immediately, and I said, 'That was a great sign.'"

Fairley hasn't slowed down since. The former Williamson High standout holds the Auburn single-season record for tackles for a loss with 21 this season, including 10.5 sacks, and one more will give him that school record, too.

Ducks defense

Despite Fairley's presence for Auburn, most pundits feel Oregon has the better overall defense.

Mark Schlabach writes for ESPN.com:

As good as the Ducks have looked playing offense in coach Chip Kelly's spread offense, Tigers coach Gene Chizik said he's just as impressed with Oregon's speed and athleticism on defense.

"They have basically a three-down-lineman scheme, which is tough in terms of trying to run the football," Chizik said. "They do a great job with their blitzes, which gives you problems pass protection-wise. They play a lot of guys, they rotate a lot of guys, they have a ton of speed, they play really hard, and they're very well-coached. It becomes increasingly clear that this is not a good team but a great team. We have our work cut out for us."

Ducks-Tigers links

Auburn's offense is about more than Cam Newton, by Lindsay Schnell for the Oregonian and OregonLive.com.

An interview with Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs, by Matt Hayes for SportingNews.com.

A look at both teams' assistant coaches, by Evan Woodbery for al.com.

The Oregon-Auburn championship game matchup is an unusual one, by Ivan Maisel for ESPN.com.

A story on the task facing Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, by John Hunt for the Oregonian and OregonLive.com.

Both offenses are difficult to contain, by Ted Miller for ESPN.com.

Oregon is winning fans from around the country, by George Schroeder of the Register-Guard in Eugene, Ore.

Auburn's Cam Newton and Oregon's LaMichael James play in high-powered offenses, by Kelly Whiteside for USAToday.com.

Rich Rodriquez leaves Michigan as the first coach in more than a half-century to go winless in the Ohio State-Michigan game. OSU's Jim Tressel has the best record ever. See the records of each coach involved in the rivalry.

Associated PressOhio State coach Jim Tressel, left, talks with Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez before the 2009 game in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Also:

All-time Big Ten standings and year-by-year records

Data Central sports index

Full Ohio State coverage from The Plain Dealer

Ohio State's Solomon Thomas and Terrelle Pryor, and Arkansas' D.J. Williams talk about the game.

Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer Ohio State's Solomon Thomas, on the ground, secures his win-clinching interception against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State's 31-26 Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas on Tuesday night in New Orleans could be called well-deserved or lucky, well-played or sloppy.

It will never be called boring.

The Times-Picayune in New Orleans -- a sister newspaper of The Plain Dealer -- and its nola.com website covered the game. Following are videos from nola.com:

VIDEO: Ohio State defensive lineman Solomon Thomas talks about his game-clinching interception.

VIDEO: Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor talks about the Buckeyes sticking together.

VIDEO: Arkansas wide receiver D.J. Williams talks about star Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett.

Internet sensation Ted Williams, the homeless man from Columbus with the golden announcing voice, has a lengthy rap sheet, but the Cavaliers insist they're not backing down from their offer to hire him.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In spite of reports of his lengthy rap sheet, the Cavaliers are still interested in hiring Ted Williams, the homeless man from Columbus with the golden announcing voice.

"We'll look into it," Tracy Marek, senior vice president of marketing for the Cavaliers, said of Williams' criminal background. "We believe in second chances and second opportunities. The gentleman deserves an opportunity to explain certain situations. We're not jumping to conclusions. It's not fair."

During Wednesday's game against Toronto at The Q, the Cavs even urged fans to visit their new Web site, WeWantTedWilliams.com, to send a note to Williams, 53, who became an overnight Internet sensation after the Columbus Dispatch posted a video of him and his amazing voice on Monday, when he was discovered panhandling.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Williams said he'd trained to be a radio announcer before drugs and alcohol took over his life. He says he's been sober for two years.

Williams has become a media celebrity since the story broke, but news of his criminal background tempered the enthusiasm on Wednesday evening. Records from Franklin County municipal court show numerous arrests, and he spent time in prison for theft and forgery. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge as recently as May 14, 2010.

Before that news broke, Marek went on a Columbus radio show Wednesday morning to offer Williams an unspecified job with the Cavs. Quicken Loans also offered him unspecified assistance with housing. Numerous other organizations, including NFL Films, indicated their interest in Williams before his background was known.

Williams was scheduled to appear on NBC's The Today Show on Thursday, but there were reports on Wednesday that he was unable to board a plane to New York because he didn't have any identification. He listed "streets of Columbus" as his home address in the court records.

Asked on Wednesday noon if the Cavs didn't need to do some sort of background check on Williams, Marek said, "We're going to start with our heart first. We're going to start from the perspective that we think this is an amazing individual who has a lot of components in him that represent who we are and what our DNA is."

The fit between team and coach never seemed comfortable. Losing three games to Ohio State by a combined 100-24 score didn't help.

Marvin Fong, The Plain DealerFormer Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez talks with Ohio State coach Jim Tressel before the Buckeyes' 37-7 win over Michigan on Nov. 27.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After two years or so of speculation and recent, premature reports of the event, Michigan has fired football coach Rich Rodriguez.

The Wolverines won 15 games and lost 22 in three seasons with Rodriguez in charge. They lost all three games to Ohio State, getting outscored by a combined 100-24 and extending their losing streak to the Buckeyes to seven games.

Michigan owns college football's all-time winningest football program. The school in Ann Arbor even holds a 57-44-6 advantage in its series with Ohio State.

Mlive.com, the website home of Plain Dealer sister newspaper Ann Arbor News and other Michigan newspapers, features extensive coverage of Ridriguez's dismissal.

The firing is, of course, a national story. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com writes that Rodriguez and the Wolverines were not a good pairing:

Rich Rodriguez never truly fit with Michigan. His background didn't fit. His personality didn't fit. His style of play didn't fit. His style of players didn't fit. Even his accent didn't fit.

The hope heading into this odd marriage was that Rodriguez's track record of winning would make the fit factor go away. Michigan fans could learn to love an outsider -- not talking about an Ohio State guy, a real outsider -- if he won Big Ten championships and BCS bowl games.

But Rodriguez didn't win. At least not fast enough. He lost a lot of games his first two seasons and lost games by wide margins this fall. Saturday's 52-14 disaster against Mississippi State in the Progressive Gator Bowl -- the worst bowl defeat in Michigan history -- brought more shame to a shaken program.

It was the final straw for Rodriguez and Michigan fired the coach on Wednesday, ending his turbulent three-year tenure at the school.

Rich and what-next links

Candidates to be the next Michigan coach, on CBSSports.com.

Some reasons Rodriguez was let go, by Matt Hinton for rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports.

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon will lead a national search for the next coach, Mark Snyder writes for the Detroit Free Press.

Louisiana State coach and Michigan alum Les Miles is getting his team ready for a bowl game, and isn't talking about his old school: an Associated Press report on Sports Illustrated's SI.com.

Stanford coach and former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh probably won't be the next coach at his alma mater. At least so thinks his brother, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, as reported on the Baltimore Sun's Ravens Insider.

A FoxSportsDetroit.com report on Rodriguez's firing, by Dave Dye.

Rodriguez probably won't be included in the University of Pittsburgh's coach search, according to a source, writes Joe Schad for ESPN.com.

Michigan had to make a change, writes Stewart Mandel for Sports Illustrated's SI.com.

What's next for Michigan?: Adam Rittenberg writes for ESPN.com.

Michigan's next coach must be aware of 25 (mostly humorous) requirements, Mike Lopresti writes for USAToday.com and Gannett.

Rich Rodriguez simply didn't coach the Wolverines to enough wins, writes Ivan Maisel for ESPN.com.

Newcomer Alonzo Gee makes his first start for the Cavaliers as Anthony Parker misses the game against Toronto with a bad back.

View full sizeRon Schwane / Associated PressRookie forward Alonzo Gee got his first start as a Cavaliers Wednesday night against Toronto.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Byron Scott surprised the media an hour before last night's game against the Toronto Raptors at The Q when he announced that starting small forward Anthony Parker would sit out with a bad back and newcomer Alonzo Gee would start in his place.

He didn't give Gee the strongest vote of confidence, however.

Asked why he was starting Gee, who just joined the team on Dec. 28 after spending time with Washington and San Antonio, Scott smiled and said, "Well, for one reason, I don't know who else to put at that position."

Then the coach added more seriously, "I think he's really come along pretty well. He's starting to understand what we're doing on both ends. He's still not close to where he has to be, but, obviously, that's because he hasn't been here.

"But in the week he's been here, he's picked up everything that we're doing pretty well. It's just a matter of putting him out there. He's with a veteran group out there, and I think he'll do fine."

Scott said Parker's back had been acting up for a while.

"We didn't have him go through any practice yesterday, and in shootaround [Wednesday] it kind of stiffened up," the coach said. "We thought tonight would be a real good chance to rest him and we'll see how he feels [Thursday]."

No look: Scott said he could not wear the sort of mask Anderson Varejao wore Wednesday to protect his broken cheek bone. He tried to wear the sort of goggles Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wore during his playing career with the Lakers, and he didn't like those either.

"It wasn't a good look for me," Scott said. "I kept getting poked in the eye. I just said, 'You know what? I'm just going to have to risk it. These things don't look good on me.' I experimented with them in practice. That was about it. I just didn't like them. Anything on me, besides a wrist band and tape, I didn't like. I couldn't function with that thing on."

DeRozan fan: Boston's Doc Rivers is a big fan of Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan.

"He's playing terrific," Rivers told reporters after the Celtics beat the Raptors on Sunday. "I don't think he gets enough news or credit, probably, because of their record. He's playing great basketball. He really is. He's improved his little in-between game. He attacks the basket. He gets to the basket every night. He creates fouls. He plays hard. He's a great find for them. He's playing terrific."

Dupree gone: The Raptors waived forward Ronald Dupree before Wednesday's game.

Daniel Gibson leaves injured as the Cavaliers are dominated in the second half by the Raptors.

View full sizeJoshua Gunter / The Plain DealerMo Williams scuffles with Toronto's Jose Calderon for a loose ball in the second quarter of Wednesday night's game at The Q.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Final observations from the Cavs 120-105 loss to the Raptors on Wednesday night at The Q:

It's hard to remember a weirder day in Cavaliers history. The first half of the day was dominated by the job offer to Internet sensation Ted Williams, the homeless man from Columbus with the golden voice. Before the game came the news of his long rap sheet. Then came the horrendous defense against the Raptors, which really was a crime.

it leaves you wondering about the future of the franchise. While the Williams story diverted attention for the day, the harsh reality is this is a terrible team that is getting worse. It's taking an eight-game losing streak on the road, where it could lose all five games.

There's no pride in the locker room. Nobody seems all that upset with the losing. I've never seen anything like it, and I don't know how general manager Chris Grant goes about fixing it.

I do know one thing. Hiring a homeless man isn't going to help _ unless he can play some D.

Final: Raptors 120, Cavs 105. It was not a great day in Cavalier-land.

First, the team rushed to offer an unspecified job to Internet sensation Ted Williams, the homeless Columbus man with the golden announcing voice, before finding out he has a 15-page rap sheet in Franklin County Municipal Court.

Then they were booed heartily during a weak effort that resulted in a 120-105 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in The Q. It was the Cavs' eighth straight loss and their 18th in 19 games. Now 8-27, they start a five-game trip to the West Coast on Friday in Golden State.

Antawn Jamison led the Cavs with 32 points, but they were an offensive and defensive mess, and they lost two starters to boot.

Anthony Parker didn't play at all because of a bad back, and Daniel Gibson, just back from missing two games with a bruised left thigh, suffered a sprained left ankle and limped off with five minutes left in the third quarter. He did not return. He had 13 points and six assists in 25 minutes.

J.J. Hickson did not play at all.

Andrea Bargnani had 25 points and eight rebounds, while Leandro Barbosa added 22 and Jose Calderon 20 points and 17 assists for the Raptors, who snapped a three-game losing streak and are now 12-23.

Third quarter update: Raptors 90, Cavs 84. Antawn Jamison is all the Cavs have going for them. He has 27 points but nobody else is doing anything offensively or defensively.

In addition, Daniel Gibson limped off with about five minutes remaining. He missed the previous two games with a bruised left thigh, and it looked as if he may have re-injured it. Still no J.J. Hickson.

Halftime: Raptors 66, Cavs 63. With an absence of defense -- and, at least temporarily, Anderson Varejao -- the Raptors got back into the game with a 40-point second quarter.

Toronto made 15 of 23 shots, 65.2 percent, in the second quarter, including 4 of 5 3-pointers (80 percent). Not bad for the worst 3-point shooting team in the league.

Antawn Jamison is having a monster of a game with 19 points. He has made 7 of 9 field goals including all three of his 3-point shots.

Andrea Bargnani scored 14 points in the second quarter, many when Cavs coach Byron Scott rested Varejao and inserted Ryan Hollins. J.J. Hickson did not play a minute in the first half. Stay tuned.

First quarter update: Cavs 38, Raptors 26. In one of their best quarters in recent memory, the Cavs shot 66.7 percent overall and 66.7 percent from 3-point range (4 of 6) in pulling out to a big lead on the Raptors.

Antawn Jamison had 12 points, Daniel Gibson added nine (including two of three from 3-point range) and the masked Anderson Varejao had five rebounds. Raptors have lots of injury problems and they did play last night at Chicago.

Cavs starters: F Alonzo Gee, F Antawn Jamison, C Anderson Varejao, G Daniel Gibson, G Mo Williams.

Raptors starters: F Linas Kleiza, F Amir Johnson, C Andrea Bargnani, G Jose Calderon, G DeMar DeRozan.

Injuries: Anthony Parker (back), Joey Graham (right quad strain) are out for Cavs. Jerryd Bayless (sprained left ankle), Reggie Evans (fractured right foot), Sonny Weems (back spasms) and Peja Stojakovic (swollen left knee) are out for Raptors.

Inactives: Parker, Graham, Jamario Moon for Cavs. Evans, Stojakovic for Raptors.

Officials: Jason Phillips, Bennie Adams, Scott Bolnick.

Three things to watch:

1. How will Gee perform in his first start after just eight days with the team?

2. Will wearing a mask to protect his broken cheek bone hamper Varejao?

3. Can the Cavs snap their seven game losing streak before heading out on their five-game West Coast trip?

Before we look ahead, here's a look at 10 final thoughts from Ohio State's 31-26 win over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday night.

View full sizeMarvin Fong / The Plain DealerMike Adams led the Buckeyes in the celebration after Tuesday's thrilling finish to the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome.

NEW ORLEANS -- Whomever the starting quarterback is for Ohio State in the first game of the 2011 season against Akron on Sept 3, how about the Buckeyes start him out in the no-huddle?

Before we look ahead, here's a look at 10 final thoughts from Ohio State's 31-26 win over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday night.

1. The no-huddle was perfect: It should go down as one of Jim Tressel's better coaching moves at Ohio State.

"That was our No. 1 plan," tight end Jake Stoneburner said. "We did it all bowl season. We wanted up-tempo, fast-paced, and we didn't think they'd be ready for that one. It really gassed them and we were able to make plays."

The Razorbacks agreed, with middle linebacker Jerry Franklin admitting the pace didn't allow the defense to communicate, and they weren't expecting it in the slightest.

"We really didn't see it that much on film at all," Franklin said.

You can thank that decision for Ohio State's 28-7 lead.

2. Backing away from it would have been questioned forever in a loss: In the second half, the Buckeyes tried to grind it out, missed on some third downs, and if Arkansas had completed the comeback, this game would have gone down as a prime example of Tressel getting too conservative, too soon. It works against Minnesota or Indiana. It doesn't work as well against Ryan Mallett.

"I felt we played well the whole game but some of the three-and-outs were uncalled for," quarterback Terrelle Pryor said. "I think we were trying to run the time out and hold the ball and you can't do that against a great quarterback. But I can't say enough about our defense."

3. The onside kick is still stunning: Tressel plotted it for weeks. Weeks. Take it as a sign of respect for Mallett, and remember it as the rare time when Tressel took a risk and put his defense in bad position.

"We thought we could punch it in the middle, and we had kind of decided leading up to the game that if we scored, we would come back and try to come up with what we call a punch surprise," Tressel said. "See if we could get the ball right back and maybe get some momentum. It didn't work.

"That's what happens sometimes. They went down and scored, because you know we gave them the ball at midfield. So that wasn't a great thing."

4. The idea of the least-known of the Suspended Five icing the game with an interception is almost too much, but just what Solomon Thomas needed: The other four suspended players were offensive stars -- All-Big Ten players, major recruits, NFL prospects, faces of the program -- and there was that other guy.

"It's good to wash my name of negativity. It's really good," Thomas said. "A lot of people were offended because I hadn't even played and I sold my gold pants and sold my ring. They felt I was really a spoiled brat for selling my stuff that I haven't even earned. I got a lot of remarks about not even earning those gold pants. So it's not revenge, but it just shows we're all hard workers.

"I just want to thank Buckeye Nation. It's amazing to come back and, not redeem myself, but to show I can provide for this team and this nation. I'm not a starter. I haven't really contributed much to my defense. I don't look at myself as a bad player. I'm not contributing because of great players ahead of me, but I feel like we're all playmakers on The Silver Bullet defense."

5. The biggest playmaker? Cameron Heyward: He was out of ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper's top 25 draft prospects entering bowl season, but jumped back to No. 21 with maybe the best game of his career. Some analysts thought he could fall to the second round -- that's doubtful now. More importantly, a Buckeye who did it right on and off the field for four years went out on a high note.

"Cam was a beast," Tressel said. "He was all over the place."

6. Sacks, sacks, sacks: Mallett was sacked four times. Pryor wasn't sacked at all, but evaded them at least that many times. If you want an example why Tressel will lean toward a dual-threat quarterback rather than a pocket passer for the rest of his coaching career, the Sugar Bowl was it.

View full sizeMarvin Fong / The Plain DealerWhen Ben Buchanan had his punt blocked by Colton Miles-Nash in the dying minutes of Tuesday's game, it capped another frustrating effort by the OSU special teams.

"One of the categories that Terrelle did a great job winning in the quarterback battle this particular game [was] the sacks," Tressel said. "We had zero sacks, and [the Arkansas defense] lived on minus-yard plays. To have no sacks against the Razorbacks, it's huge."

7. Special teams were special for Arkansas: Ohio State lost its only game this season thanks in part to special teams, with Wisconsin returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. A blocked punt almost cost the Sugar Bowl, and the Razorbacks pinned Ohio State deep with three punts inside the 5. That doesn't sit well with Tressel.

"Gosh, we spend so much time on the punt," Tressel said. "And we had lost some guys that were on the punt protection team in the course of the game. I don't know if we didn't do a good enough job teaching maybe some of the back-ups. I don't know."

8. Farewell RichRod: Rich Rodriguez was Rich Rodriguez, just a less successful version of himself. But his firing on Wednesday really falls on his hiring in the first place by former AD Bill Martin. Michigan doesn't have to get a Michigan man, just a Michigan-style man. The Wolverines are in the same place Nebraska was after firing bad-fit Bill Callahan after four years, and the Cornhuskers found Bo Pelini.

9. Calling all corners: These were the defensive backs out at one point Tuesday night: Tyler Moeller, C.J. Barnett, Corey Brown, Chimdi Chekwa, Travis Howard and Jermale Hines. Considering the Buckeyes played five backs most of the night, that meant they were on their 11th best DB at some points. Talk in the press box was about whether the Buckeyes would have yanked the redshirt of first-year cornerback Bradley Roby with one more injury.

10. Beating Oregon: The national title game between Auburn and Oregon is Monday. Tressel reminded everyone again Tuesday, as he has before, that Ohio State was the only team to beat the Ducks in the calendar year 2010, in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2010.

I think that means he thinks his team is pretty good.

The Cavaliers defense is a catastrophe as their losing streak to stretches to eight.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When Byron Scott talks about his defensive principles, he refers to his "C-fense."

No, the C does not refer to catastrophe -- although it well might after Wednesday's 120-105 loss to the Toronto Raptors in The Q.

The Cavaliers gave up 62 points in the paint and allowed the worst 3-point shooting team in the league to shoot 50 percent from behind the arc and 56.8 percent overall.

How does that happen? It's one thing if you're packing the paint and daring guys to shoot from outside. But how is it possible to surrender the middle and the outside?

"That's a good question," Scott said after his team lost its eighth straight and its 18th in 19 games to plummet to 8-27. "We just didn't guard tonight. Bottom line, we just didn't do a good job of guarding anybody on that floor.

"We've got to take it personal. When you're one-on-one with a guy, it's got to be personal. Sometimes when those guys scored, it didn't hurt. It's got to hurt. It's got to be painful."

It was painful to watch, that's for sure. After taking a 15-point lead in the first quarter, the Cavs gave up 40 points in the second quarter and were outscored in the final three periods, 94-67.

Andrea Bargnani had 25 points and eight rebounds, Leandro Barbosa tied his season high with 22 points and Jose Calderon added 20 points and a season-high 17 assists as Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 12-23.

"Everybody did something huge in the game," Bargnani said.

The same could not be said for the Cavs. Antawn Jamison had 32 points, making 11 of 21 shots, including five of seven 3-pointers. But Anthony Parker didn't play because of bad back, and Daniel Gibson, returning from missing two games with a bruised left thigh, left in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle. His status for the upcoming West Coast trip that starts Friday in Golden State is not known.

J.J. Hickson did not play because he missed a mandatory practice on Monday.

As a result of all that, the Cavs were a mess. After five years as one of the best defensive teams in the league under Mike Brown, now they look like they've never heard the word.

"We need everybody communicating and we need everybody contributing," a visibly frustrated Jamison said. "It's not going to be two or three guys on the offensive end or a certain guy defensively that can do it.

"Guys are frustrated, but we need to be frustrated when teams score as easily as they do on us or when we have breakdowns and we are not in the correct positions. That's when you need to be upset, not because of missing shots on the offensive end. Offense is not the problem. Defensively, you have to have that pride. You have to find it in yourself to not let your teammates down and just really go out there and make a difference.

"Right now I don't think, as a team, everybody has that notion or has that as their top priority. We have got to find a way to have the guys out there playing on the court have that priority that defensively we need to start playing better and realizing the reason we are in this situation is what we are doing on the defensive end."

Big things, and big names, are expected of Browns' President Mike Holmgren in his search for a new coach, Bud Shaw writes in his Spin column.

View full sizeMatt Rourke / Associated PressWith a coach that chooses the wind over the ball in overtime, is it fair to wonder if Marty Mornhinweg's candidacy with the Cleveland Browns is really a lot of hot air?

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- You may already think you know what makes a successful coach -- like anyone the Steelers hire and those coaches not named Mornhinweg.

NFL teams have commissioned studies analyzing what types of coaches are successful. ESPN recently traced the findings.

According to New York University's analysis of 84 NFL head coaches from 1992-2009, the most successful fell into the 41-49 age group when they were hired. They had at least 11 years of experience. Over a five-year span as assistants, their teams averaged double-digit wins.

Browns President For Now Mike Holmgren is conducting a search expected to include Marty Mornhinweg, the former head coach of the Detroit Lions and now the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. Yep. Yep. Yep. He's a statistical fit.

In addition, Mornhinweg has ties to not only Holmgren but to Browns GM Tom Heckert. In fact, no one knows Mornhinweg better than Holmgren and Heckert. If anyone knows the West Coast offense as well as Holmgren it's Mornhinweg.

As a 38-year-old head coach, Mornhinweg took over a bad Lions team and went 5-27 in two seasons. In a 2002 overtime game against Chicago, he won the toss and took the wind instead of the ball. Chicago kicked a field goal for the victory.

I am not aware of any university study extolling the benefits of not taking the ball in OT.

I am aware of an unofficial poll of Browns fans between the ages of zero and 100 overwhelmingly saying that if Holmgren introduces Mornhinweg to a town hoping the president would either coach the team himself or bring in Jon Gruden or John Fox, he has a lot of explaining to do.

I can't think of a tougher sell.

In the meantime, if you were pining for a more-proven head coach, you can hope Holmgren's interview schedule is seeded like the playoffs.

The wild card round featuring candidates like Pat Shurmur and Marty Mornhinweg. With Gruden and Fox getting a bye as the favorites.

SPINOFFS

View full sizeLynne Sladky / Associated PressA day in the life of the 'Heatles' reminds basketball fans that you can't buy me love (except in South Florida) from a nation of basketball fans who want to boo eight days a week.

LeBron James says the Miami Heat calls itself the Heatles. You know like the Beatles, because of their rock-star lineup, I guess. Given the modesty on display when James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined up, apparently Humble Pie was deemed too obvious...

Terrelle Pryor's childish slam of former Buckeyes' quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, a critic of the five suspended OSU players -- "Has he beat Michigan?" -- begs the question: Doesn't that make beating Michigan too important for the players to sell the gold pants that come with it?...

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wasn't happy that Phil Jackson was asked about the Mavs losing Caron Butler and said Butler would be hard to replace. So Cuban called the 65-year old Jackson the "boy toy" of Jeannie Buss. That is what is known in the comedy biz as an especially loud knee slapper ... if the audience is nursing home-bound and the knees are replacements...

How much more emphatic can Holmgren be that he "probably" isn't a candidate to coach "right now" ... without, you know, saying he is not a candidate. Period. ... End of story. ... Maybe. ... Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

HE SAID IT

(And then he said it again)

"How many games have we won since he's been quarterback? A lot of games now, a lot of games, from the very beginning. He's walking in the door, he's just learning how to put on an Ohio State uniform, and we won a lot of games. A lot of football games. A lot of football games. That's still the bottom line. Still the bottom line." -- OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, Jim Bollman, on Terrelle Pryor, on Terrelle Pryor.

HE SAID WHAT?

"To tell you the truth, I am who I am." -- Pryor, in one of the most insightful statements by a tattooed leading man since Popeye said, "I yam what I yam and tha's all what I yam."

YOU SAID IT

"Bud:

"Finally, justice for Ohio Skate University." -- Joe S

Look, I know critics don't believe Jim Tressel took a hard-enough line with his rule breakers. But that's not true. For instance, he limited Pryor to one Sugar Bowl chest bump with the head coach. There. Message delivered.

"Bud:

"Does The Plain Dealer provide compliance officers for your column?" -- Tom Hoffner, Broadview Heights

No, thank goodness. That loophole allows me to sell my column for big money, a lucrative arrangement those unfamiliar with the industry might better know as a "paper route."

"Bud:

"I heard the Cleveland fan who won the Chevy Camaro decked out in Browns colors at halftime of Sunday's Browns-Steelers game asked if it could be re-painted in yellow and black." -- Tim

He did. But he excitedly rescinded the request when he heard the Browns were going to interview Marty Mornhinweg.

"Voice of Reason:

"During the third quarter of the Browns-Steelers telecast, when Dan Fouts made the comment, 'We should be seeing Ben Roethlisberger sitting..." was the rest of his comment "...in jail" edited out on purpose?" -- Dan Okress

Allegedly.

"Bud:

"At 10-6 and winner of the 2010 Staff Predictions panel, what do your fellow scribes owe you for the victory?" -- Jeff Heldt, Westlake

At our staff dinner while covering the Browns in Super Bowl LX, I am exempt from chipping in on the Groupon Deal of the Day.

"Bud:

"I'm having trouble helping my son with his math home work. The question: In the last 10 years, Mr. Rooney's team has had two coaches and has won two championships. If Mr. Lerner's team has had five coaches, how many championships has his team won? In the back of the book the answer is 0. Could you explain this?" -- Edward Aube, Broadview Heights

Stephen Hawking couldn't explain this.

"Bud:

"Since the Indians are already charging major-league prices for a Triple-A product, isn't the fact the home opener is on April Fools Day just a bit redundant?" -- Jeff Bing

First-time "You Said It" winners receive a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection.

"Bud:

"When Eric Mangini's relatives immigrated from the old country and landed at Ellis Island, is it possible his last name was shortened to Mangini from the name Mismanagegini?" -- David Orloff

Repeat winners receive an onside kick in the stomach.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and Joan Rivers -- Dan Coughlin.

Cris Collinsworth and Mike Wolfe (A&E's American Pickers) -- Mal

John Larroquette (Captain Stillman in "Stripes") and Columbus Blue Jackets TV analyst Bill Davidge -- Jeff Heldt, Westlake

Auburn coach Gene Chizik and Eddie Van Halen; Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema and actor Rob Riggle. -- Michael Rossen, Solon

Led by a contrite Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State came together as a team to win the Sugar Bowl in what was one of Jim Tressel's finest coaching jobs.

View full sizePatrick Semansky / Associated PressWith the controversy that swirled around his team and the prestige of a humble Big Ten Conference riding on the Buckeyes, coach Jim Tressel did a masterful job of preparing his players for Tuesday's Sugar Bowl against Arkansas, says Bill Livingston.

NEW ORLEANS -- On the winner's podium, scarlet confetti swirled around Terrelle Pryor, who was so sore and battered he had to be helped up to the stage in order to receive the victory salute.

Almost lamed late in Ohio State's 31-26 Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas as it concluded Wednesday morning, forced from the game for one snap in the last half-dozen plays, the Buckeyes' quarterback seemed to symbolize the agonizing road his team had taken.

They call this city the "Big Easy," but that is chamber of commerce hokum. Little has ever been easy in a city that survived pirates, redcoats, the Civil War and Hurricane Katrina.

Nothing was easy for OSU here. That was the point. That was the beauty of it.

"It's funny because you always hear stories about adversity and how, if you push through, lessons lie at the end," said second-string defensive end Solomon Thomas. "It's where you have such adversity, it's such a blessing and it's so drastic."

The Arkansas Razorbacks stormed back from a 28-7 deficit in the first half. After blocking an Ohio State punt, they had two chances in the red zone in the last 69 seconds to win the game. Thomas drifted into pass coverage on the second one and buried Razorback quarterback Ryan Mallett's final pass in his belly as he fell to the ground.

"This has really taught me how to deal with adversity next season. I just turned 22, so I think it comes along with age," said Thomas.

View full sizeMarvin Fong / The Plain Dealer"The main thing was definitely I didn't want to let the seniors down," a hobbled Terrelle Pryor (aided by teammates Etienne Sabino, left, and Andrew Sweat after Tuesday's game). "That's a tight group. And I didn't want to be so selfish to not come and play for the guys."

The story line before the game began was the suspension of five OSU juniors -- Pryor, Thomas, DeVier Posey, Boom Herron and Mike Adams -- for the first five games of next season for selling OSU championship rings and trinkets for cash and discount tattoos. Would the seniors feel forsaken by or forgiving toward them? Would it break the Buckeyes or bind them together?

The victory will be remembered as one of coach Jim Tressel's finest coaching jobs. By his calm demeanor amid the frenzy of the suspensions, he focused his team on the job at hand. He made the scandal-plagued players' pledge to return next season more about honoring the seniors and less about their own chances on the Sugar Bowl stage. And they delivered for him.

Mawkish as it seems, they actually did put their selfishness behind them and play for such teammates as Brian Rolle, Ross Homan and Cameron Heyward.

Homan is from Coldwater in western Ohio, a small-town guy who could have resented the flash and sizzle of Pryor.

After all, Pryor had been an intriguing disappointment this season, the Iowa game and his dramatic fourth-and-10 conversion aside. No one could have predicted, as the focal point of the scandal, that Pryor would re-assemble the jigsaw of his startling talents in a bowl game, the Rose last season, the Sugar Tuesday, and become the outstanding player again.

Homan, however, supported the star-crossed Pryor, no matter what.

"We came together as a team, over the last couple of weeks, and we came out here with something to prove," said Homan, meaning coach Jim Tressel's 0-3 record against Southeastern Conference teams and Ohio State's overall 0-9 embarrassment against the nation's top league.

"From the top down, we had the mentality that we had each other's back and we were in this together no matter what," Homan said.

Heyward, the senior defensive end, and Dexter Larimore, the powerful senior defensive tackle, got three of the four sacks the Buckeyes registered on Mallett.

"We looked through film. And we saw that he had trouble with his mobility and throwing on the run," said Heyward. "We figured if we got to him quicker, he was going to have a tough time."

Homan's running mate, senior linebacker Rolle -- fast, fierce, undersized, the Florida kid the sunshine schools didn't want -- saw the effect of the pressure.

"After the first couple of series, I kept telling them, 'Keep getting after them.' You could see the [Arkansas] offensive line talking trash to each other. That lets us know they're not in their scheme," he said.

As for Pryor, he showed a sense of contrition that was lacking earlier in his emotion-less apology for the scandal before the Buckeyes left Columbus. He said he knows he is not ready for the NFL, that he needs to grow up more, on and off the field.

Then he said, "The main thing was definitely I didn't want to let the seniors down. That's a tight group. And I didn't want to be so selfish to not come and play for the guys."

"All for one, one for all" is a cliched slogan for teamwork. With a celebrity athlete like Pryor, the "one for all" thing is, like the Buckeyes' hard-won victory, seldom the easiest part.

The Ohio native and one-time Baltimore Ravens quarterback is expected to jump to the San Francisco 49ers and declined a Browns interview.

AP Photo/Hans DerykStanford football head coach Jim Harbaugh declined a Browns interview.

BEREA -- Stanford's Jim Harbaugh, the hottest coaching commodity in the college ranks, will not be a part of the Browns' coaching search.

 The Browns informally extended Harbaugh an invitation to be interviewed recently and he declined, a source said.

 The Browns  will not confirm or comment on a coaching candidate unless he has already interviewed, per club policy.

 Harbaugh also turned down the chance to return to his alma mater, the University of Michigan. ESPN reported that Harbaugh would meet on Wednesday with the San Francisco 49ers.

 The Browns never seemed hot on Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback who also coached quarterbacks with the Oakland Raiders.

 On Monday, Browns President Mike Holmgren said that the club's list of potential candidates to replace fired Eric Mangini includes college coaches. Though Holmgren was not asked directly about Harbaugh, it was assumed that his name would have to be on the list.

Stanford's record in four seasons under Harbaugh was 29-21 after a 40-12 win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is the hands-down choice to be the first player in the draft if he opts to leave early for the NFL draft in April. Harbaugh's overall record, including three years at University of San Diego, is 58-27.

 Harbaugh was born in Toledo and played for coach Bo Schembechler at Michigan. Harbaugh led victories over Ohio State in 1985 and '86 -- the only two years he played against the Buckeyes.

 In an interview recently with The Plain Dealer's Bill Lubinger, Oliver Luck, Andrew's father, said, "He's been out on the West Coast for a while ... but Jim is, just like me, an Ohio guy. He's made so many stops with his dad in Ohio and over the border in Michigan that, at the end of the day, he's really a Midwestern guy.

 "He told me the best award he's won so far this year -- and he's gotten a bunch of them -- is the Woody Hayes coach of the year award. He said, 'That means more to me than anything because even though I'm a Michigan guy, Woody, Bo, they're gods.'"

 Harbaugh's well-traveled playing career in the NFL, which started with the Bears, took him to Baltimore in 1997. He played one season in Baltimore, two years after the Browns were moved out of Cleveland and renamed the Ravens. Harbaugh's brother, John, is now coach of the Baltmore Ravens.

Crozier, 20, was a business management major who came to JCU from LaSalle College High School in suburban Philadelphia.

View full sizeMatt Crozier

He died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The former Cleveland-area resident at one time attended St. Paschal Baylon elementary school in Highland Heights. Crozier was a business management major who came to JCU from LaSalle College High School in suburban Philadelphia. He was the son of Dave and Helene Crozier.

"Matt was everything you hope for when you bring someone into your program," JCU men's basketball coach Mike Moran said in a school statement. "When we recruited him, we knew right away the kind of impact that he would make not only as a player but as a person. He worked hard, had the right attitude and was an excellent representative of his family, his community, his school and his team."

Ohio Athletic Conference teams that played games Wednesday night observed a moment of silence in Crozier's honor.

The forward-center was an honorable-mention All-OAC player as a sophomore and was taking a medical redshirt this season.

He appeared in 58 games over the past two seasons, and was a major contributor on the JCU teams that won the 2009 and 2010 OAC regular-season championships and earned bids to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In two seasons at JCU, Crozier totaled 608 points and 376 rebounds, and earned numerous awards, including OAC Player of the Week (Nov. 30, 2009) and Most Valuable Player of the 2009 University of Scranton Radisson Invitational.

At LaSalle, he averaged 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game as a senior and was a first team All-Catholic player for the Explorers.

Plans have been announced for a funeral Mass Saturday in Yardley, Pa., at 10 a.m. at St. Ignatius of Antioch Roman Catholic Church.

There will also be a funeral Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Gates Mills at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Calling hours will be at the Fioritto Funeral Home in Lyndhurst from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Look for UFC President Dana White to spend a lot of time talking about a third match between Frankie Edgar and St. Edward High School's own Gray Maynard.

View full sizeEric Jamison / Associated PressGray Maynard, left, is worked on by his corner during his UFC lightweight mixed martial arts title match against Frankie Edgar last Saturday in Las Vegas. The fight was declared a draw.

The next big UFC fight features perennial middleweight champion Anderson Silva, whose career dates back so long ago that Fred Flintstone probably ordered his first fight on Di-Rock TV, against Vitor Belfort on Feb. 5.

UFC 126 also will pit Forrest Griffin (17-6-0) against Ohio native and former algebra teacher Rich Franklin (28-5-0 with one no contest) in a light heavyweight battle.

But for Silva (26-4-0), victories have become so expected that it's possible that his UFC 126 match against the 19-8-0 Belfort won't get half the interest it deserves. Instead, look for UFC President Dana White to spend a lot of time talking about a third match between Frankie Edgar and St. Edward High School's own Gray Maynard.

Maynard, 11-0-1, gave Edgar, 13-1-1, the only loss of his UFC career in April 2008. Edgar, the lightweight title holder, was looking to avenge that defeat in UFC 125 this past weekend, but came up short. Not short enough to lose, mind you, but short. The two warriors battled to a split-decision draw, with two of the three judges scoring the fight, 48-46, for each fighter, and one judge coming up with a 47-47 tally.

Maynard, in the postfight news conference, looked upset. He felt the first round was clearly his, but in the end, that round might have cost him the victory. The official tally showed he threw 97 strikes, a furious pace in which he tried to take advantage of knocking down the champion and earn the knockout.

Asked if he thought the fight should have been stopped at that time, a disconsolate Maynard said he wasn't sure, but it certainly could have been.

Maynard, cuts evident under his eyes, was even more depressed-looking when White interrupted the news conference to announce that Edgar's next title defense would be against WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis. However, White backtracked later and said Pettis would have to wait.

"I had the whole Pettis thing with the belt on my mind and so I said, 'Yeah, Pettis gets the next shot,' " White told yahoo.com. "But then when I thought about it more, how can I in good conscience not give that shot to Gray Maynard? It's a no-brainer. He came in there and he fought his [tail] off and he deserves that rematch. That was a great fight, and they deserve to do it again."

The fight hasn't been scheduled yet.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: cyarborough@plaind.com, 216-999-4534

Cavaliers center/forward Leon Powe is out six weeks following knee surgery.

 

APCavaliers center/forward Leon Powe, shown in a game against Dallas, will be out for six weeks after having surgery on his right knee.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers injury list continues to grow.

Leon Powe, the backup center/forward, had surgery on his right knee today to repair a meniscus tear.

Powe had played in Wednesday's game against Toronto, but was on the injury list Thursday with a bruised knee. He underwent an MRI Friday, which revealed the tear.

The Cavs release said is expected to be out approximately six weeks.

The Cavs are already without Daniel Gibson (ankle) on this trip and Joey Graham (quad) is still on the injured list and Anderson Varejao is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Anthony Parker (back) is questionable for tonight's game at Golden State.

Isaiah Williams, John Adams' 6-3, 250-pound senior defensive end/offensive and defensive tackle, has given his oral commitment to Akron. "The Akron coaches and players showed me a lot of love during my visit," said Williams, who also received offers from Toledo, Ball State, Bowling Green and Youngstown State.

John Adams lineman Isaiah Williams, pictured during team conditioning drills in 2009, has chosen to play for Akron. - (Tracy Boulian/The Plain Dealer)

Isaiah Williams, John Adams' 6-3, 250-pound senior defensive end/offensive and defensive tackle, has given his oral commitment to Akron.

"The Akron coaches and players showed me a lot of love during my visit," said Williams, who also received offers from Toledo, Ball State, Bowling Green and Youngstown State.

"The facilities are excellent and the coaches told me I'd have a chance to compete as soon as I get here."

Williams, who accounted for 30 tackles and five sacks, also visited Toledo and Bowling Green.

"I will play defensive end at Akron because that's my better position," said Williams, who plans on majoring in architecture. "I'm going to have to bulk up some but I don't know how much yet."

Filiaggi commits to CSU: Elyria Catholic senior center fielder Jasmin Filiaggi will sign a national letter of intent Monday to play softball at Cleveland State.

"I really wanted to go there and play," said Filiaggi, who batted .400 with 29 stolen bases and posted a .943 fielding average as a junior. "So when I visited there and they offered, I said yes.

"I already know a lot of the players there and it felt comfortable the minute I got on campus."

Filiaggi said she doesn't know what position she'll play for the Vikings but will major in psychology. 

AUBURN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Bruised and battered, but not beaten. Walsh Jesuit senior goaltender Joe Brodar, along with the rest of his Warriors teammates, wore the well-deserved look of winners Friday night. Even though they had to settle for a 4-4 tie with University School, it had the feeling of victory at The Pond in Auburn Township.

AUBURN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Bruised and battered, but not beaten.

Walsh Jesuit senior goaltender Joe Brodar, along with the rest of his Warriors teammates, wore the well-deserved look of winners Friday night. Even though they had to settle for a 4-4 tie with University School, it had the feeling of victory at The Pond in Auburn Township.

That's because the Warriors, who had never beaten the Preppers in four previous meetings, never gave in to the offensive onslaught put on by the talented home club. Facing 71 shots, Brodar and the Warriors came within a minute of getting the win.

"We knew what we were going up against," said Brodar, who was credited with 67 saves. "Obviously, we wanted to win. We gave up one late, but we played with them most of the way. We came together as a team."

Clinging to a 4-3 lead entering the final period, the Warriors were forced to play most of the final 15 minutes in their end of the ice as the Preppers controlled the puck.

Rebounding a drive by senior Ian Robertson, US got the equalizer as senior Joey Ryder popped home the puck past Brodar. It was more of the same in the extra eight-minute session, but the clubs finished even in the Red North Division contest.

"We'd have liked to win, but we blocked shots and played for our goalie," said Walsh senior defenseman Greg Shupe, a stalwart on the back line. "It's better than a loss. [US] is all over the place and quick. They know where they are all the time."

Giving up an early goal to US senior Alex Stefanski less than two minutes into the game, the Warriors came back on goals by sophomores Scott Young and Lucas Matson to lead after one period, 2-1.

In the second period, US tied it on a goal by senior Connor Clemens, only to have Walsh take a 4-2 lead on goals by freshman Dawson DiPietro and senior Cory Stockard. US got one back on a power-play goal by Robertson with 1:19 left in the period.

Then it was the frantic third period and overtime, with Brodar stopping all but one Preppers shot.

"There was hardly a person in the building who believed we could win," said Walsh coach Pat McKendry, whose program is in its eighth year. "We just preached one shift at a time. US is a heck of a hockey team and they threw every thing at us."

The Preppers were forced to go without leading scorer Matt Wipper, out with a knee injury. Still, US coach Bill Beard was not making any excuses.

"You take 71 shots, you expect to get more than four," said Beard. "Their goalkeeper played really well. Walsh played the way they wanted to and we couldn't crack them."

The Preppers stand 8-7-4 overall, 3-2-1 in the division. Walsh is 6-8-2, 1-3-1.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jmaxse@plaind.com, 216-999-5168

AKRON, Ohio — Buchtel coach Steve White called it a case of superior numbers. Firestone coach Joe Wojcik said it was more that his undermanned team stopped doing the things that kept the game close in the first half.

Buchtel's Jazel Garrett drives to the basket past Firestone's Christian Stevens during the first half at Firestone High School. - (Ed Suba Jr. /ABJ)

AKRON, Ohio — Buchtel coach Steve White called it a case of superior numbers.

Firestone coach Joe Wojcik said it was more that his undermanned team stopped doing the things that kept the game close in the first half.

Whatever the reason, it was a runaway 78-53 victory for visiting Buchtel in an Akron City Series boys basketball game Friday night.

Sophomore guard Erron Cosey jumpstarted Buchtel's offense early in the third quarter. Fans were still settling back into their seats as Cosey scored on a driving layup, then stole the ball near midcourt on the next possession.

Cosey drove the length of the floor and slammed home a one-handed dunk as he was fouled. After completing the three-point play, he swished a 3-pointer on the next possession for a 47-32 lead and the rout was on.

"Coach is always telling us to play defense, and that's going to be our offense," Cosey said. "That's how we came out and played. We're a real athletic team and we get dunks. It always gets us excited."

Forcing turnovers and scoring often off offensive rebounds, the Griffins pushed the lead to 59-39 by the end of the quarter.

"I knew eventually we would pull away," White said. "They only played six people. We can play 13-14 people. We knew our pressure would wear them down."

Cosey finished with 14 points. Marlon Oden led the Griffins' balanced attack with 17 points. Jazel Garrett had 15 points.

Buchtel improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the ACS. Firestone slipped to 4-3, 2-1.

Corbin Bates led the Falcons with 15 points. Darius Carter had 11 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.

The first quarter was back-and-forth, with four lead changes, until Oden got hot from behind the 3-point arc. Oden hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, then hit a 3-point shot from the left corner on the next possession.

He ended the quarter with another 3 from the left corner to finish an 11-0 run and give the Griffins a 19-11 lead.

Bates nearly matched Oden's shooting spree with two 3-pointers wrapped around a second-shot basket by Carter to pull the Falcons even, 19-19, at the start of the second quarter.

"I thought we played a good first half," Wojcik said. "They're quick. Their pressure got to us. In the first half we handled it. In the second half we didn't. We tried to go as fast as they did and we can't do that."

Wojcik said his team missed starting point guard Stefan Willis, who was sick.

Bob Migra is a freelance writer in Westlake.

BURTON, Ohio — Winning all of your games is great, but it doesn't always prepare a team for what's to come. In winning their first seven games of the season, Berkshire's girls were blowing everybody off the court. Friday it appeared to be more of the same when the Badgers went on a 15-2 run to open up a...

BURTON, Ohio — Winning all of your games is great, but it doesn't always prepare a team for what's to come.

In winning their first seven games of the season, Berkshire's girls were blowing everybody off the court. Friday it appeared to be more of the same when the Badgers went on a 15-2 run to open up a 39-25 lead on visiting Kirtland late in the third quarter.

But things got ugly for the hosts in the fourth period before hitting two free throws in the final 44 seconds to take a 41-36 victory in a matchup of unbeaten teams. The Badgers are 8-0, 4-0 in the Chagrin Valley Conference, while Kirtland falls to 8-1 and 3-1.

"We haven't played a close game all year," Berkshire coach Dennis Lory said. "They picked it up a notch in the fourth quarter like they always do and we didn't handle it very well."

In fact, the Badgers went without a field goal in the final period and were dangerously close to putting a goose egg on the scoreboard for the final eight minutes. The two late free throws were their only points of the quarter.

"In my opinion it was a little bit of panic," said 6-1 junior Harley Adler, who led all players with 18 points and also blocked six shots and pulled down a team-high four rebounds.

Indeed, Berkshire committed eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, allowing Kirtland to go on an 11-0 run to cut the margin to 39-36 with 2:17 left in the game. However, the Hornets didn't score another point.

"It was an exciting game," said Kirtland coach Bob Bell. "It was a hard-played game. We made a lot of mistakes. That was the difference. It boils down to fundamentals. The turnovers against their full court pressure was the difference.

Kirtland turned the ball over 22 times, 13 in the second half. The Hornets stayed in the game despite making only six of 26 two-point field goal attempts (23 percent). They were led by junior guard Kaitlyn Kish, who hit 5 of 8 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points, and Kelsey Polak with eight points.

"I thought our defense was outstanding," Lory said. "We still had enough to win but we didn't play our best down the stretch."

Adler, who also played outstanding defense to hold Kirtland's Rachel Borowske to just five points -- all in the first period, was backed by Alyssa Ronyak with 10 points and Meghann Wright with eight points.

PADUA, Ohio — It's hard to keep a good team down. Lake Catholic's hockey team found that out Friday as Padua, winners of five of its past eight contests, dug deep to knock off the Cougars. The Bruins made it a thriller for the fans before Dave Nowak converted on a power play late in the third period in...

Lake Catholic's Keith Parker watches this shot go wide left during Friday's game at Padua. - (Joshua Gunter / PD)

PADUA, Ohio — It's hard to keep a good team down. Lake Catholic's hockey team found that out Friday as Padua, winners of five of its past eight contests, dug deep to knock off the Cougars.

The Bruins made it a thriller for the fans before Dave Nowak converted on a power play late in the third period in a 2-1 win.

It kept Padua (12-8, 2-4), which had been in the basement of the Red North Division before the contest, relevant for next month's Baron Cup -- the top five teams from the division qualify.

"Tonight was a big game for us," Bruins coach Doug Hauser said. "We found ourselves down, 1-0, and it's been like that a lot of games. But we didn't get discouraged. I think this might be the game we look back on and realize we became a team."

Nowak's goal was a lesson in discipline as the squad peppered Cougars keeper Keith Parker all night, but had little to show for it.

When Lake Catholic defenseman Nigel Bennett picked up his third penalty of the contest, Nowak capitalized.

Jared Bogdan and Nick Placko crashed the net hard and Nowak slipped it past Parker for the game-winner with 5:29 remaining.

The senior forward's shot was just one of many as the Bruins held a 36-23 advantage in the category.

"It was just a matter of time," Nowak said. "I was screening the goalie and it was sitting on the line, so I buried it."

Lake Catholic (5-12-2, 1-4-1) got on the board first with a little more than three minutes gone in the second period when Joey Duffy converted a one-timer.

The lead was short-lived as the Bruins took advantage of some open ice.

With both teams playing a man down, Matt Hartman tested Parker with a shot low and to the right.

The junior deflected it, but forward Mike Palasics was there for the rebound to tie things up with 7:37 left in the period.

The Cougars were shorthanded with four regulars missing the game for a variety of reasons.

"It hurts missing two of our defensemen," Lake Catholic coach Shawn Sadler said. "The boys aren't used to rolling four deep instead of six.

"It was a combination of Padua working hard and us not winning the small battles. We wanted to take advantage of this one, but there are still games left where we can get a handful of [wins]."

Brad Bournival is a freelance writer in North Royalton.