Earnest Byner's outstanding effort kept the Browns in the game until, for the second straight year against Denver, a demoralizing ending. This was the Browns' fourth chance to get to the Super Bowl, which four teams play for on Sunday.

Associated PressEarnest Byner (44) has just been stripped of the football by Jeremiah Castille (on the ground, right), losing the fumble while on his way, it seemed, to what would have been a game-tying touchdown (with the extra point).

This Sunday, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears play for the National Football Conference championship, and the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers play for the American Football Conference title. The winners will meet in the Super Bowl.

Five times, the Browns have come within one win of playing in football's biggest game. This is about their fourth chance.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns advanced to the 1987 season AFC championship game with one of the most forgotten playoff games in team history, a 38-21 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Cleveland.

The game is a mere footnote in part because of what it followed by a year and preceeded by eight days.

In the 1986 posseason, the Browns won a playoff game for the first time in 17 years, a memorable 23-20 comeback decision over the New York Jets in two overtimes. The next week, one of the NFL's most historic games, known simply as "The Drive:" when John Elway led Denver to a 23-20 conference title win over the Browns in overtime.

The only lasting significance of the Browns' playoff win over the Colts a year later is that it set up a rematch, a Browns-Broncos AFC championship game in Denver on Jan. 17, 1988. It would be another classic, to be remembered as "The Fumble," when a late turnover by one of the Browns' most relentless players all but ended what might have become yet another overtime game.

Pro-Football-Reference.com details the 1987 Browns and the 1987 Broncos. It has the boxscore and statistics for the championship game, a 38-33 Denver win.

Tony Grossi, Browns beat writer for The Plain Dealer, covered the game. His complete game story is included in The PD's Browns History Database, which includes Plain Dealer stories on every regular season and playoff game the Browns have played.

Grossi wrote, in part:

The loss was even more harrowing to the Browns than the overtime defeat at the hands of John Elway in Cleveland a year ago.

Instead of The Drive, the Browns will have to live with The Fumble during the long offseason.

A tremendous comeback by Bernie Kosar and the Browns was foiled when Denver cornerback Jeremiah Castille stripped the ball from Earnest Byner as he was burrowing to the Denver end zone for an apparent tying touchdown. It was the seventh play of a frantic Cleveland drive that began at its 25 with 3:53 left.

Castille knocked the ball from Byner's left arm near the one-yard line and recovered at the three with 1:05 left.

The 75,993 fans at Mile High let out a sigh that echoed across the Rocky Mountains.

"I broke to the outside and cut between two guys and the ball came out," said Byner. "I should have tucked it in more."

After three plays, Denver punter Mike Horan ran out of the end zone for a safety with eight seconds left.

"I told Earnest that this football team would not be in the position it was today without him," said coach Marty Schottenheimer, choking back tears, "His heroics, the kind of game he had, was what put us in the position to win."

Byner scored two touchdowns in a breathtaking, 21-point third quarter for the Browns and had a 53-yard reception in the touchdown drive that tied the game at 31:31 with 10:48 to play.

That touchdown, coming on a four-yard pass to Webster Slaughter, culminated a brilliant comeback that saw the Browns erase a 21-3 halftime deficit.

Outplaying Elway in a losing cause for the second year in a row, Bernie Kosar completed 16 of 22 passes in the second half for 246 yards and three TDs.

Video: From youtube.com, NBC's pre-game show includes interviews with Bernie Kosar and John Elway.

Video: From youtube.com, NBC wraps up its pre-game show.

Video: The Browns, trailing 21-3 at halftime begin their comeback. From youtube.com.

Video: After a Broncos touchdown, the Browns answer. Denver leads, 28-17, and it's still the third quarter. From youtube.com.

Video: The Browns' third touchdown in the third quarter. They've cut the Denver lead to 28-24. From youtube.com.

Video: From youtube.com. After a Denver field goal, the Browns drive 87 yards to, remarkably, tie the game, 31-31.

Video: The Browns, trailing 38-31, begin a drive on their 25 with 3:53 to go, hoping to march for a tying touchdown. They almost get there. From youtube.com.

John Elway makes the plays - some spectacular - when needed for the third time in four years. This was the Browns' fifth, and most recent, chance to get to the Super Bowl, the game that four teams play for on Sunday.

Plain Dealer Hanford Dixon (photo) and Frank Minnifield gave the Browns one of the best cornerback duos in NFL history, but they and the rest of the Browns' defense couldn't solve John Elway.

This Sunday, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears play for the National Football Conference championship, and the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers play for the American Football Conference title. The winners will meet in the Super Bowl.

Five times, the Browns have come within one win of playing in football's biggest game. This is about their fifth chance.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 1989 Cleveland Browns weren't as good as the 1986 and 1987 teams which had lost American Football Conference championship games to the Denver Broncos.

Browns fans were hopeful, though, that this team had an edge with its first-year head coach, Bud Carson. He had been the coordinator for the great Pittsburgh Steelers' defenses in their first two Super Bowl championship seasons, 1974 and 1975. Carson was the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator when they lost the 1979 season Super Bowl to the Steelers.

Maybe, Carson could find a way to keep Denver quarterback John Elway from stopping the Browns a game short of the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.

Pro-Football-Reference.com details the 1989 Browns and the 1989 Broncos, and has the boxscore and statistics from their meeting in the AFC championship game.

Plain Dealer Browns beat writer Tony Grossi wrote about the game played at Mile High Stadium on Jan. 14, 1990, won by Denver, 37-21. His complete Browns-Broncos game story on The Plain Dealer's Browns History Database.

The Broncos were embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers, 55-10, in the Super Bowl. All five teams -- the Baltimore Colts and Minnesota Vikings, once each, and the Broncos three times -- that have defeated the Browns in a conference championship game then lost in the Super Bowl. Their losses were by a combined score of 175-54.

Grossi wrote, in part:

Carson tried everything to get to Elway, but only Carl Hairston recorded a sack. Carson blitzed linebacker Clay Matthews or safety Thane Gash most of the first half. He nearly always had five defenders rushing. But Elway would simply scramble free and wait for his receivers to duck behind the Browns' secondary.

"You can't expect somebody to cover for 10 seconds," said Matthews.

"We flushed him, he ran, got rid of it, big play," said defensive end Andrew Stewart. "Elway's a gamebreaker. A couple times, Al Baker had him. He rolled out and before you knew it, it was a 40-yard gain."

"He kept putting points on the board and they got further and further away," said tackle Michael Dean Perry.

After Elway's last touchdown pass, the Broncos teed off on the ailing Kosar, who played the first half with a specially made rubber splint on his right index finger.

Kosar rebounded from a 7-of-23 first half and made the game close, thanks to Brennan's two touchdown catches, the latter one coming on a juggling grab as he landed on his right shoulder in the end zone.

The game was televised by NBC, with Dick Enberg doing the play-by-play and coaching legend Bill Walsh providing analysis.

Video: NBC's introduction to the game, and Denver's first drive, which ends in stunning fashion.

Video: This game was just 3-0, Broncos, with six minutes left in the first half. Then, a big, big play by Denver.

Video: Many expected a high-scoring game, but the halftime score was 10-0, Broncos. Then, the Browns opened the second half with a touchdown drive.

Video: Denver leads by 10 again.

Video: Late in the third quarter, the game is on the verge of being a blowout.

Video: It's still late in the third quarter, but the Browns charge back into the game by passing out of the no-huddle offense and then forcing a Broncos turnover.

Video: The Browns had cut the Denver lead from 24-7 to 24-21 early in the fourth quarter. Things looked good for them as the Broncos faced a third-and-15 at their own 38, but...

Video: The Broncos are in control.

Video: One game short again.

The annual IGFA World Record Game Fishes book arrived the other day, a January treat that can read like a telephone directory, yet stir a desire to round up the fishing rods and tackle and plan a fishing adventure.

IGFA The International Game Fish Association this month released its annual "World Record Game Fishes" book, which contains thousands of freshwater and saltwater records. Dream big, anglers.

 The annual IGFA World Record Game Fishes book arrived the other day, a January treat that can read like a telephone directory, yet stir a desire to round up the fishing rods and tackle and plan a fishing adventure.

Published each winter by the International Game Fish Association, it is a book of dreams. It lists thousands of freshwater and saltwater fishing records set by anglers around the world. Some of the angling records are within reach of Cleveland area fishermen.

The IGFA all-tackle category lists the heaviest game fish of each species. The line class marks are set according to the strength of the fishing line. For example,  10-pound test line is designed to break from the weight of lifting 10 pounds. For most freshwater fish listings, the line strengths range from 2- to 12-pound test.

There are separate saltwater and freshwater record lists for both regular and fly fishing tackle. The youth records are split into smallfry and junior categories for boys and girls 16 and under.

 There are local anglers whose names are included in the bible of fishing.

The most recognizable mark belongs to Gus Gronowski of Parma, who caught his IGFA winner while trolling for walleye on LaDue Reservoir on Aug. 15, 1992. Gronowski vividly remembers the strike, the fight and a 37-pound, 10-ounce channel catfish coming to the net. 

 "It was a fishing trip I'll never forget," said Gronowski, still a regular on LaDue Reservoir. "I remember every minute of the experience. It was a wonderful morning because my wife, Lynn, was with me. A lot of fishermen still bust my chops, saying it was luck. I tell them the big fish was hooked by luck, but landed with skill."

It isn't the largest channel catfish in the IGFA book. The all-tackle record holder is a 58-pounder from South Carolina's Santee-Cooper Reservoir in 1964. On 12-pound line, however, Gronowski's big cat reigns supreme.

Not all of Ohio's best are in the IGFA book. Fred Sulek has the all-tackle IGFA record for a 12-pound, 13-ounce saugeye - a walleye-sauger hybrid - caught from Ohio's Clendening Reservoir on Nov. 19, 2001. The largest saugeye listed in the Ohio All-Tackle Records is a 14.04-pounder landed by Roger Sizemore of Orient, Ohio from Antrim Lake on Nov. 24, 2004.

Muskie anglers have battled to catch the biggest fish, leading to scandal over the years. Pete Provan's 40-pounder caught from Piedmont Lake in southeast Ohio on June 2, 1997 is a trophy, not a giant. But no one has done it better on light 8-pound test line, according to IGFA records. Ohioan Rodney Kelm set a 6-pound line record with a 4-pound, 3-ounce sauger caught from the Maumee River at Grand Rapids, Ohio. 

 Despite the many millions of walleye caught over the years from Lake Erie, Ohio walleye have failed to make the IGFA book. Ohio's heaviest, a 16.19-pound walleye caught by Tom "Blacky" Haberman of Brunswick from Lake Erie on Nov. 23, 1999, could have made it. If Haberman had spooled his spinning reel with 2- or 6-pound test line, he would have set a line class mark. The all-tackle mark is a legendary 25-pounder from Tennessee's Old Hickory Lake caught by Mabry Harper. 

IGFA World Record Game Fishes is sent to members of the organization. Many join just to get the record book. The $40 annual dues include the record book, bi-monthly newsletter The International Angler, free admission to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach, Fla., a 60-inch fish measuring tape and IGFA decals.

The annual book has fishing stories by top angling writers, usually dominated by tales of salt water fishing to satisfy its core audience. There is information on how to enter a fish for the records, as well as application forms. The IGFA Species Identification, with illustrations and information of popular game fish, is a delight.

 New in 2011 is IGFA's All-Tackle Length Record category for catch-and-release fishermen, with 60 freshwater and 67 saltwater categories.

 For information or membership, visit igfa.org. 
 

Think small and you could make the IGFA record book

 Wander through the IGFA World Record Game Fishes and you'll be impressed by the size of the all-tackle winners. It's hard to visualize a 123-pound flathead catfish, 418-pound Atlantic halibut or a 1,376-pound blue marlin. 

 Think small, and you could see your name in the book.

An angler needs to go no further than Cleveland Harbor to bid for an IGFA mark, targeting chunky rock bass that could possible set a line class mark. Cleveland rock bass swimming around the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are known grow larger than IGFA record holders, which range from just under 2 pounds to 3 pounds. Also within reach in Ohio are records for green sunfish, redear sunfish, yellow perch and white perch.

Cast to them with a fly rod and the odds improve of setting an IGFA record. The freshwater fly rod records for yellow perch and rocky bass are mostly  under 2 pounds, and not much larger for white perch. Nile perch are another matter. A 110-pounder was caught on a fly in 1994 in Tanzania. 
 

No. 1 Ohio State overcame its frustration and moved to 20-0. Watch video

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Enough was going wrong.

With easy shots in the lane falling off the rim and the Illinois lead up to eight at one of the loudest arenas in the Big Ten and freshman Jared Sullinger the only sign of life on offense, Ohio State suffering its first loss of the season Saturday made sense.

Yet Illinois was having its own problems, with star Demetri McCamey on the way to his worst game of the year and sophomore J.D. Richardson standing around on offense like he didn't know what else to do.

If you had to pick one of the teams inside Assembly Hall to find a way without getting frustrated, there's no doubt you'd take No. 1 Ohio State.

"That's the difference between them being 20-0 and us being 14-6," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "They find a way to win games."

The Buckeyes (20-0, 7-0 Big Ten) found a way Saturday, pulling out a 73-68 victory over the 23rd-ranked Illini (14-6, 4-3) even after giving up a crucial offensive rebound in the final 33 seconds that led to a Mike Tisdale 3-pointer that cut the Ohio State lead to one.

After freshman Aaron Craft made two three throws to increase the lead to three, Ohio State anticipated the ball screen that McCamey would use on the next possession, effectively switched on it and saw Jon Diebler knock a pass away from Tisdale, though Weber thought there was a foul.

But the real test for the Buckeyes had come at the first timeout of the second half, after blowing the lead they held for most the first half, trailing by a point at the break and coming out sluggishly.

"We've been here before, we've been down worse on the road in the Big Ten and we need to get stops," Diebler said of the message the seniors gave the freshmen at that break. "That's how you win games in this conference."

"Unflappable, just like coach always says," senior David Lighty said. "We got in the huddle and said time to pick it up, no more playing around."

Meanwhile, McCamey, the Illini's leading scorer at 16 points per game, clearly let Craft's aggressive defense get to him. He finished with just five points on 2-of-11 shooting, with five assists and four turnovers in 31 minutes, his playing time affected by foul trouble.

"He didn't play well. He just didn't play well," Weber said of McCamey. "He's been so good for us, he's been our guy, and we still found a way to stay close. He got in a little funk and instead of just making the easy pass and hitting people when they were open, he kept trying to make plays. Craft and different guys were aggressive on him and fought him through screens.

"Their guys, if it's not there, they make the next play, they make the next pass."

Typically, that pass was to Sullinger (27 points, 16 rebounds). In the first eight minutes of the second half, as Illinois lengthened its lead to eight, Sullinger was the only reason Ohio State didn't get blown out, scoring all nine of the Buckeyes' points. Then came a 14-0 Ohio State run highlighted by a Deshaun Thomas 3-pointer that tied it, a Diebler three that gave Ohio State the lead again, and another Thomas three that extended the lead.

"Pride, heart, composure," Sullinger said, saying what the Buckeyes showed in their best win of the year.

The Buckeyes had won tight games against lesser Big Ten teams, but nothing like this. The 14th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers come to Columbus on Tuesday night, but it won't get much tougher than on the road at Illinois.

The Buckeyes proved they could handle that.

The Vikings had a clear path to the backboards and combined that with their typical defense and hot shooting on Saturday.

View full sizeJohn Kuntz / The Plain DealerJeremy Montgomery scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half Saturday against Wright State, as Cleveland State built a dominating advantage that was never threatened in a 65-46 victory.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State has battled tooth and nail in recent weeks, but only had a .500 record to show for it.

Which means it was a welcome walkover for the Vikings on Saturday. With Wright State short its best inside player, Cooper Land, the Vikings had a clear path to the backboards and combined that with their typical defense and hot shooting to earn a 65-46 men's basketball victory at the Wolstein Center.

"They made all the tough plays tonight," WSU coach Billy Donlon said. "The pace they play, we weren't ready for."

The triumph gave CSU a half-game edge in second place in the Horizon League ahead of Butler. Three CSU players reached double figures, Jeremy Montgomery with 17, Aaron Pogue with 15 and Norris Cole with 14 and 10 rebounds.

Wright State (13-8, 6-3) shot a miserly 26.8 percent (11-of-41), even with CSU (18-3, 7-2) taking the pressure off much of the second half.

"We were focused on the defensive end," head coach Gary Waters said.

The Vikings overcame a 17-12 disadvantage in turnovers. Montgomery paced CSU early, scoring 12 points in the opening half. The 6-2, 190-pound product of Chicago drove hard to the hoop for baskets and also dropped in a pair of 3-pointers as the Vikings easily led from the opening tip.

Any notion of a Raiders challenge was erased quickly. The Vikings stormed to an 18-5 lead and kept the margin at 13 or better the rest of the afternoon.

With no inside presence, offensively or defensively, on Wright State, the Vikings dominated the rebounding from the outset and finished with a 39-20 advantage.

There was little the Raiders had to counter, as they never shot the ball well enough. They missed 13 of their first 16 shots in trailing 26-11.

By the half, CSU's lead was 33-20. With 6:55 to play and the Vikings holding a comfortable 51-36 lead, the Raiders still had more points from the free-throw line (19) than from the field (17) and that included three 3-pointers.

The only down side for Cleveland State was a lack of extended minutes for the bench. Once again the backcourt of Cole (31 minutes), Montgomery (34) and Tre Harmon (36) played nearly the whole way. The only starters who saw fewer than 30 minutes of action, Pogue and Tim Kamczyc, sat primarily due to foul trouble.

The Vikings now have a few days of rest before going on the road to play at Illinois-Chicago on Thursday, and Loyola on Saturday.

Defense does it again for Cleveland State, which is now is fully recovered from a spanking at Butler two weeks ago.

View full sizeJoshua Gunter / The Plain DealerCleveland State's Luda Ndaya (24) and Charlie Woods make life difficult for Wright State's A.J. Pacher during the second half of the Vikings' 65-46 victory Saturday at the Wolstein Center.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When the game was over, the box score was shocking.

Not only had Cleveland State defeated Wright State, 65-46, but the 4,615 fans at the Wolstein Center saw the Vikings give up only 11 field goals.

How often does a defense force a team into more turnovers (12) than field goals (11)? How does a team good enough to beat Butler -- yes, Wright State did that -- shoot only 27 percent from the field?

Hardcore Cleveland State fans know how something like this can happen. At home, the Vikings can make a very good team look downright awful. They have won a school-record 14 in a row at the Wolstein Center. They are 18-3 overall, 7-2 in the Horizon League.

More importantly to coach Gary Waters and his players, their confidence has returned. It was Jan. 7 when Cleveland State traveled to Butler and were spanked, 79-56.

"Our guys went into that game thinking they were great, 15-1 and all that," said Waters. "We did tell the players that Butler was at home, and they were about to face the most intense, desperate team that they had all year. The guys nodded, but most of them were thinking, 'Hey coach, we're 15-1, don't worry about it.' And that game was almost over [Butler took a 21-4 lead] before it began."

Two nights later, CSU traveled to Valparaiso, blew a 10-point lead in the first half and lost, 64-58. Suddenly, a team that had dreams of creeping into the Top 25 poll and hosting the Horizon League tournament was humbled and hurting.

Waters held two meetings.

The first explained that Butler was just one loss. He talked about how Butler still had to come to Cleveland State, and how the Horizon League is indeed a crazy place. Consider that it's not Butler in first place, but Valparaiso (7-1). It's not Butler (6-2) in second place, but it's CSU (7-2). Wright State is right behind at 6-3.

Yes, Butler dismantled Valparaiso, but the Bulldogs have lost road games to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wright State. Cleveland State has crushed both of those teams.

"The Butler game was good for us," said Waters. "It got us refocused, especially on defense."

His second meeting was to pull the team back together, to concentrate on rebounding, on defending, on intimidating teams at home.

"This is our house and our goal here is to bring the pain," said Aaron Pogue. "We needed to get our sense of urgency back."

Pogue played like it with 15 points and eight rebounds. Waters said Strongsville's ever-hustling Tim Kamczyc was critical to a pressure defense that has held opponents to 39 percent shooting this season.

On their new 3-game winning streak, the Vikings won by 10 at Youngstown State, by 12 over Detroit at home and then this dominating performance over Wright State.

North Canton Hoover product N'Gai Evans entered averaging 14 points for Wright State, but was held to 1-of-5 shooting by the Vikings' Tre Harmon, who played Evans tighter than the shoes on his feet.

CSU senior guard Norris Cole had 10 rebounds -- compared to 20 for the entire Wright State team. He also threw in 14 points, had six assists and kept order on the court as CSU patiently moved the ball against Wright State's zone.

"I admit, I got irate about the Butler game because of our lack of intensity," said Waters. "But we got it back now. And when we play like this, we're hard to beat."

Anthony Parker remained in Cleveland to receive treatment for his strained lower back.

View full sizeJoshua Gunter / The Plain DealerAnthony Parker was out of the lineup again on Saturday night, needing more treatment for his ailing back after seeing some game action against Milwaukee on Friday.

CHICAGO -- After playing 14 minutes Friday night against Milwaukee, guard/forward Anthony Parker did not travel with the Cavaliers for Saturday's game against the Bulls. Instead, he remained in Cleveland to receive further treatment for his strained lower back.

Parker made one of two shots and had two rebounds and an assist in the Cavs' 102-88 loss.

"I expected last night that he would be a little sore. I think he took a couple of shots, playing that guard position, going through screens," coach Byron Scott said before Saturday's game. "Trying to get through and get over screens, you're going to get hit. So I expected he was going to be a little bit sore. I think the last minute of the game that he played -- I wanted to limit him to 15 minutes -- I was really looking at him and I saw him grimacing, so I knew then it probably was getting a little tight."

This is just how it goes for the Cavs. Every game Scott gives a player a chance, they get hurt again. The same thing happened to Christian Eyenga out west. After spraining his right ankle at Phoenix on a Sunday, he looked good enough to earn more time at Los Angeles on Tuesday, but hurt himself again.

Scott was asked if he was getting gun-shy with regard to injuries.

"I was a shooter back in the day," he said with a smile. "I'm never gun-shy."

OK, how about snakebit?

"Maybe that might be the best word," he said, laughing. "It's just one of those things. We just can't get healthy -- at least everybody. Obviously, it puts you in a bind. I thought for the minutes [Parker] played last night, it was such a big difference because he knows how to play.

"It was good to see him out there. I'm not saying we took a step back, but I think we all knew he was going to be a little sore. It just depends how he reacts the next couple of days."

Conversely, Chicago power forward Carlos Boozer, the former Cav who missed three games with a sprained left ankle, returned to the starting lineup on Saturday.

"They've been going through it, too," Scott said of the Bulls. "It's just been one guy at a time."

Rose blooming: Scott knows point guards, having played with Magic Johnson and coached Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. He loves Chicago's Derrick Rose.

"I look at a young man who had a lot of hype coming out of college," Scott said. "His first year was pretty good. It seems like each year he just gets better. The thing everybody thought about him was you've got to take away his lanes to the basket and make him a jump shooter. Well, now he's shooting the heck out of the ball.

"He's worked extremely hard on his game. You can tell that. He's to the point right now where the only guy who can stop Derrick Rose is Derrick Rose."

Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes share a history of big plays and trouble off the field.

View full sizeMatt Slocum / Associated PressLove him or hate him, Ben Roethlisberger remains the Steelers' most dynamic offensive force entering Sunday's AFC title game, says Bill Livingston.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- They were the Pittsburgh Steelers' Bad Boy Battery from Ohio. Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes.

Sunday in Pittsburgh, the troubled and troubling pair, who both began the season serving NFL-mandated suspensions, will be on opposite sides with a Super Bowl berth at stake. Roethlisberger, from Miami of Ohio, will still be throwing passes for the Steelers. Holmes, a Florida native who was a collegiate standout at Ohio State, will be catching them for the New York Jets.

No other players, even such Steeler icons as Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann, seized quite so big a moment so dramatically as Roethlisberger and Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII two years ago against Arizona. Roethlisberger threw, and Holmes made the greatest Super Bowl-winning catch ever.

At Big Ben's best on the field, he is as strong-armed and hard to tackle as Bradshaw, his Hall of Fame predecessor. Big Ben has even made the better big plays.

At his best, Holmes is loved by slow-motion replay even more than Swann, his acrobatic Hall of Fame predecessor. Holmes plays as he lives, on the edge, near the boundaries, often cornered. He stands, literally, at the divide between good and no good.

Last week, late in the game against Baltimore, Roethlisberger hurled the ball deep into the night toward a rookie sixth-round pick named Antonio Brown from another Mid-American Conference school, Central Michigan. Brown went out of bounds near the goal-line pylon 58 yards later, with the ball pinned to his helmet with one hand. It recalled the crazy/lucky Super Bowl play when the Giants' David Tyree used his head to catch Eli Manning's pass on the drive that spoiled the Patriots' perfect season.

Roethlisberger's play was not anything new to those who saw him at Miami of Ohio. Even then, teammates dealt uneasily with Roethlisberger's arrogance. But swagger comes with the quarterback position, and, surely, the NFL would humble him. That theory, however, was wrong.

View full sizeWinslow Townsend / Associated PressWith his resume of Super Bowl heroics, it was hardly surprising that Santonio Holmes delivered a clutch TD reception along the sidelines against the Patriots' Kyle Arrington last weekend.

Holmes might be the best "boundary receiver" since Raymond Berry perfected the science of sideline tight-roping in the 1950s.

With the Jets leading the Patriots, 14-11, on third-and-6 from the red zone last Sunday, Mark Sanchez threw to Holmes in the deep corner. Defender Kyle Arrington left them a window of opportunity that seemed to have shutters on it. Holmes lunged, fully extended, tapped both toes on the turf as he caught the ball, and crashed down, inbounds, on one knee. It was Willie Mays and Vic Wertz, if Mays had had to dive headlong, while wearing shoulder pads.

The play was not anything new to those who saw Holmes' catch-run-dive touchdown to begin the stunning Ohio State comeback at Michigan in 2005. Game officials stupidly penalized Holmes for excessive celebration then, but the dive, with two Michigan defenders closing on him from behind, was the smart play.

Neither Roethlisberger nor Holmes, however, has been so smart off the field.

Roethlisbeger has been accused of sexual assault twice, by a hotel employee in Reno, Nev., in 2009 and in the men's room of a club in Georgia last year after an encounter with a drunk, under-aged college student. Roethlisberger had two bodyguards with him that night, who made human barricades of themselves and prevented the woman's friends from going after her.

Holmes beat the Browns in the final seconds of overtime this season, in the game in which the Jets tipped Cleveland's season toward despair and disappointment. He is playing for New York because Pittsburgh let him go for a fifth-round draft choice. It simply is easier to find wide receivers -- see Antonio Brown -- than quarterbacks.

Holmes, who was in and out of trouble at Ohio State, has a long, dirty laundry list of incidents in the NFL. They included disorderly conduct, domestic violence (those charges were dropped), marijuana possession, and throwing a glass at a woman in an Orlando club. Finally, he was suspended before the current season began for substance abuse.

Looking back on their greatest moment together, in the last minute of Super Bowl XLIII, it is a metaphor for their lives.

Roethlisberger, inside the Cardinals' 10, with the Steelers trailing, 23-20, pumped once, then pointed downfield, directing traffic, finally throwing for Holmes in the deep corner. Only after the ball was on its way did Roethlisberger see defensive back Ralph Brown in its flight path. Interception, he thought, distraught. Three Arizona defenders in all were around Holmes, and the sideline took away any remaining space and became a fourth one.

The ball barely scraped over the trouble, clearing the leaping Brown by the length of his hand. Holmes caught it, just inside the sideline, then withstood a jarring shove and a crash landing. Only 35 seconds remained to play.

For both players, however, life's boundaries haven't been so easy to see. Nor have its difficulties been compressed to 60 minutes on the field of play.

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Future Hall of Famers LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor signed with the Jets this season for one reason -- to get to the Super Bowl.

View full sizeWinslow Townsend / Associated Press"I always dreamed of winning my own championship," Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson said this week. "It would be anything and everything I could ask for in my career."

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- It's tough for a Browns fan to find a rooting interest in this AFC Championship Game.

In one corner you have the dreaded Pittsburgh Steelers, zone-blitzing their way to, what, a second Super Bowl appearance in three years and third in six years? They're trying to secure their seventh Lombardi Trophy.

The very names of Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison and Hines Ward conjure Browns woe. As teammates, they're 13-1 in games against Cleveland.

In the other corner are the New York Jets, the team built by Eric Mangini -- during and after his stint as their coach.

The Jets have their share of Browns antagonists. Braylon Edwards, the one-time LeBron James wannabe. Santonio Holmes, the ex-Ohio State receiver who wrecked the Browns' 2010 season with a catch-and-run TD in overtime. Mark Sanchez, the San-chise quarterback hand-delivered to the Jets by Mangini.

No, this is not a warm-and-fuzzy matchup for Cleveland football fans. If there is anyone to root for, it may come down to two long-time stars on their last legs who are trying to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in their careers.

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson and linebacker Jason Taylor signed with the Jets this year for one reason -- to get to the one game they have never played in.

"I think it would mean everything to me, to be honest to you," Tomlinson said on a conference call this week. "I've dreamed about winning a Super Bowl championship since I was 6 years old, being a huge Cowboys fan, seeing them win three in the 1990s. Football was everything to me. I always dreamed of winning my own championship. It would be anything and everything I could ask for in my career."

Tomlinson, 31, has the credentials for automatic entrance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after he retires. His 13,404 rushing yards place him sixth on the NFL all-time list. Only Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith have reached the end zone more than Tomlinson's 159 touchdowns.

But his post-season appearances have been marked by deep disappointment.

View full sizeAP photo"You want the ring," says Jason Taylor. "If you're not winning as a team and getting a chance to be a champion, it's not worth it."

With the San Diego Chargers, the team that made him the NFL's fifth overall draft pick in 2001, Tomlinson suffered four one-and-out experiences in the playoffs. The only time the Chargers won in the playoffs was after the 2007 season. They advanced to the AFC Championship Game, but lost to New England. Tomlinson watched most of the game from the bench because of a severe knee injury.

"That was difficult," he said. "It was like I've never experienced before, being in that type of game and not having the opportunity to do much to help my team. But as you think about it, injuries happen at times and whenever they happen they're out of your control. To me, it was just bad timing."

Many thought Tomlinson was done when he hit the 30-year-old wall last season. His 730 yards and 3.3-yard rushing average were the worst of his career. The Chargers released him.

Refreshed with the Jets, Tomlinson led the club in rushing with 914 yards in a complementary role with Shonn Greene. His six TDs were second on the Jets to Edwards' seven.

"I think I had a solid year, really solid," Tomlinson said. "For a guy that wasn't a feature back, a guy that split time, I'm happy with the way it turned out. The coaches gave me the opportunity to get 1,000 yards in the last game, but I chose not to. For me, it wasn't about the yards. I came here for the opportunity to win a championship."

Taylor, 36, has waited even longer. He is in his 14th NFL season since leaving the University of Akron, drafted in the third round by the Miami Dolphins. Taylor's five sacks in a specialist role with the Jets give him 132.5 in his career -- the most of any active player. But he, too, has suffered nothing but disappointment in the playoffs.

Prior to this season, Taylor appeared in the postseason four times, never advancing past the second round. This is the first time he's made it to the conference championship game. He has earned six trips to the Pro Bowl, but his career resume is missing the one bowl game that matters.

"This is the ultimate team game," Taylor said this week. "That's what you want. You want the ring. All the other things are great -- the Pro Bowls and all that [junk] is fine. But if you're not winning as a team and getting a chance to be a champion, it's not worth it."

Taylor probably will retire after this year. If this is his last game, his athletic career would have come full circle. He was born in Pittsburgh and played high school ball here while idolizing the Steelers.

Ohio State freshman Deshaun Thomas was born to shoot, and Saturday against Illinois, that was just what the Buckeyes needed. Watch video

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Four things I think after Ohio State's Saturday win over the Illini.

1. Plenty of people, including me, have noticed that freshman Deshaun Thomas has a tendency to shoot the ball the moment he touches it, like he's not allowed to do anything else. But his lack of a conscience can come in handy, too, like when he nailed the game-tying 3-pointer in the second half against Illinois on his first shot Saturday, just like he was taking another practice jumper in an empty gym.

"I shoot them in practice like that. I just look calm and be ready to shoot," Thomas said, smiling while admitting his lack of nerves. "That's what I do, shoot the ball. I just felt relaxed, and once you relax it goes in."

The ball found Thomas after Ohio State broke the Illinois press, down three points with 9:29 to play.

"As a coach, you're almost happy, you think it's a good thing, it'll bounce off and we'll go down to the other end, but he makes it and then he makes another," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said of Thomas. "He's a good player and you need somebody to make those special plays when you're going to find a way to win a game."

Thomas finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.

2. The Buckeyes made their 14-0 run late in the second half with Thomas in the game and William Buford on the bench. Buford made a face like he was shocked when he was taken out with 10:29 left and Illinois ahead by six.

But after the game, coach Thad Matta said Buford was dealing with a twisted ankle that contributed to his reduced minutes. Matta did ask Buford if he was OK before sending him back in with less than a minute to play, and Buford's final free throws with 3.5 seconds left iced the win. Matta did not sound at all concerned about the ankle.

3. Matta's dominance over a good Illinois program is pretty stunning. He's now 9-3 against the Illini at Ohio State, and that's after losing his first game in the 2004-05 season. He has a winning record against nine Big Ten schools, all but Wisconsin (7-8) and Michigan State (6-6). His Illinois record in his fourth-best mark, behind Penn State (13-0), Northwestern (9-1) and Michigan (12-2).

4. David Lighty was undeniably off Saturday, going 3-of-14 while missing several runners in the lane.

"Oh my goodness, I missed so many shots today, I don't know what was going on," Lighty said.

But he was 2 for 2 at the line, part of the free-throw success that helped win the game. Entering at just 67.5 percent, the Buckeyes were 24 of 27 (88.9 percent) at the line.

"We just shot a lot after practice," Lighty said. "That's a big thing for us."

One man's theory that Eric Mangini never got over his first love, the New York Jets.

View full sizeBill Kostroun / Associated PressAt the very least, it would seem that Eric Mangini deserves a playoff share from the New York Jets, says Tony Grossi.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Observations, opinions and some facts on the AFC and NFC championship games ...

• Give him a ring: I have this theory that Eric Mangini never got over his first love, the New York Jets, the NFL franchise closest to his hometown of Hartford, Conn. That he feels connected to their success. That he would do anything in his power to see them win the Super Bowl.

The evidence:

Mangini has never criticized anyone connected with the Jets for his abrupt dismissal as coach following a 9-7 season in 2008. Never said a bad word about Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, his long-time friend, who didn't lift a finger to save Mangini's job when owner Woody Johnson reportedly felt slighted by Mangini's cold shoulder in New York.

As Browns coach, Mangini surrounded himself with as many Jets coaches and players he could round up. I think the number was as high as 16 (coaches and players) at one point. Some of that had to do with insecurity. He felt he needed a core group of Jets players to spread his gospel to the players he inherited in Cleveland. Some of it was the common practice of bringing along coaches with whom he was comfortable and knew would never challenge his authority.

Then there were the trades.

On the first day of the 2009 draft, Mangini gave the Jets their franchise quarterback, Mark Sanchez, for the bargain basement price of three non-elite players -- defensive end Kenyon Coleman, safety Abram Elam and quarterback Brett Ratliff -- and the Jets' first- and second-round picks. To not demand the Jets' first-round pick in 2010 was irresponsible. That should have been the deal-breaker.

Mangini then traded two more times in the first round and collected a pair of sixth-round picks. The net result was center Alex Mack, linebacker David Veikune, cornerback Coye Francies and running back James Davis.

Then in the middle of the 2009 season, Mangini delivered the Jets enigmatic receiver Braylon Edwards in exchange for receiver Chansi Stuckey and linebacker Jason Trusnik, and third- and fifth-round draft picks in 2010. They became guard Shawn Lauvao and safety Larry Asante.

Whatever your feelings about Mangini as a coach and a person, these trades qualify as two of the worst in Browns history. There is no disputing that. At the same time, they fitted the Jets with extremely valuable pieces to their roster.

Finally, Mangini contributed to the Jets' championship-game run this season on two more occasions. He masterfully defeated the Jets' nemesis -- Bill Belichick and the Patriots -- in a regular-season game right before the Jets came to town. Not only did Mangini provide the Jets the video blueprint to confounding Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he enthusiastically broke it down in further detail in a guest column in the New York Post the week of the Jets' epic playoff game against New England.

In effect, Mangini has been moonlighting as a consultant for the Jets since they fired him. At the very least, he deserves an AFC Championship Game ring if they beat the Steelers.

• How to scout receivers: While the Browns have languished in drafting receivers high, the Steelers have reloaded their wideout stable with exciting mid- and late-round picks.

In two seasons, Mike Wallace has established himself as the league's most feared new deep threat. He was a third-round pick from Mississippi, No. 84 overall, the same draft in which the Browns used second-round picks on Brian Robiskie (No. 36) and Mohamed Massaquoi (No. 50).

In the 2010 draft, the Steelers took Emmanuel Sanders of Southern Methodist (third round) and Antonio Brown of Central Michigan (sixth). As rookies playing as the fourth and fifth receivers, they combined for 44 catches and 543 yards. In their second year in Cleveland, Massaquoi and Robiskie had 65 catches for 793 yards.

• It's a quarterback league: The quarterbacks of all four semifinalists were first-round picks. The Jets' Sanchez was No. 5 in 2009. Chicago's Jay Cutler was No. 11 in 2006. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers was No. 24 in 2005. Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger was No. 11 in 2004.

Two of the four QBs who lost in the divisional round also were first-round picks, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Atlanta's Matt Ryan. The other two were New England's Brady (sixth round) and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck (sixth round).

As long as Brady is active, struggling teams will always cling to the hope of finding a diamond in the rough at the sport's most important position. But the way the NFL has changed in just the last 10 years, it's unrealistic and counterproductive to think you can locate "the guy" outside the first round.

• The next great hope: Rodgers' ascent into the league's circle of elite quarterbacks guarantees the Packers will trade backup QB Matt Flynn in 2011 or 2012, rather than lose him to free agency.

In 2008, Packers GM Ted Thompson followed the franchise tradition set forth by Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren when he drafted not one, but two quarterbacks even though Rodgers was entrenched as the heir to Brett Favre.

In the second round, the Packers took Brian Brohm of Louisville. In the seventh round, they took Flynn of LSU. Brohm fell by the wayside but Flynn has developed into a quarterback that many think can be a winner operating the West Coast offense.

Without a doubt, the Packers will net more in a trade than they've invested in Flynn -- because there are only so many incoming quarterbacks graded as first-round picks each year and the teams without QBs keep throwing their lines in the water for them.

Also, expect Thompson to draft another quarterback this year to replenish his quarterback farm system. This is what Holmgren is trying to establish in Cleveland -- a constant feeding ground to the position which then can be used as effective trade bait. But you have to find "the guy" first.

• He knows D-linemen: Butch Davis never lived down the selection of Gerard Warren with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2001 draft. That foul tip was unfortunate because Davis had a good eye for defensive linemen.

In 2003, Davis used a seventh-round pick on a defensive end from Boston College named Antonio Garay. Garay lasted only one year with the Browns, but he developed into a useful interior lineman and was a key contributor for the Chicago Bears when they went to the Super Bowl following the 2006 season. Garay was an effective starter at nose tackle in 2010 for the Chargers.

Also in 2003, Davis brought a total unknown to training camp named Israel Idonije. He was a native of Nigeria and signed as an undrafted free agent from the University of Manitoba. Idonije spent that season on the Browns' practice squad, then was cut. Like Garay, he found his way to the Bears. He's been with them seven years now and this season was moved to starting left end -- the side opposite marquee free agent Julius Peppers.

Benefiting from the attention teams gave Peppers, Idonije turned in eight sacks for the Bears, tying Peppers for the team high.

• The tangled web: This non-playoff note comes courtesy of Darrin Gant of the Charlotte Observer.

Rob Chudzinski was hired as Carolina offensive coordinator. He replaced Jeff Davidson, whom Chudzinski also replaced as Browns offensive coordinator in 2007. Chudzinski was replaced in Cleveland by Brian Daboll in 2009. Daboll was just hired by Miami to replace Dan Henning, whom Davidson replaced in Carolina in 2007.

The Aeros turned out the lights and made off with the cake at the Monsters' party Saturday night, scoring once in each of the first two periods and prevailing, 2-1, at The Q.

View full sizeJoshua Gunter / The Plain DealerThe Monsters' Patrick Rissmiller finds a soft landing after colliding with Houston's Colton Gillies in the second period of Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Aeros at The Q.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Monsters had the winning streak, the home ice and the revved-up fan base.

But the Houston Aeros had the multiple goals.

The Aeros turned out the lights and made off with the cake at the Monsters' party Saturday night, scoring once in each of the first two periods and prevailing, 2-1, at The Q.

Houston (26-18-1-3) overcame a difficult travel schedule to win for the sixth time in seven games. The Aeros had beaten Texas at home on Friday and did not arrive in Cleveland until midday Saturday.

The Monsters' five-game winning streak ended in front of a crowd of 11,821, most of whom generated plenty of noise. No club in the four-season history of the franchise has won six straight.

Monsters center Mark Olver's goal streak ended at five games, as did goalie John Grahame's winning streak.

Lake Erie slipped to 21-20-3-4 primarily because of a power play that shot blanks in six opportunities.

"Bottom line: Our power play cost us the game," Monsters coach David Quinn said. "No ifs, ands or buts about it. When you have six power plays, you have to score. Other than that, we played pretty well. It was a good hockey game."

The Aeros took a 1-0 lead at 7:25 of the first period. Lake Erie's skaters lost track of left winger Robbie Earl, who sliced through the slot and went low blocker on Grahame for his 14th.

Houston leads the AHL with 30 first goals. It improved to 21-6-0-2 when scoring first.

The second period proved to be a study in frustration for the Monsters. They were 0-for-4 on the power play, including two 5-on-3 situations (1:22, 22 seconds).

"Our power play cost us the game," Quinn said. "I can't say that enough. It will be addressed."

In the final minute of the second, Monsters defenseman Jonas Holos committed a tripping penalty. The Aeros capitalized at 19:41 when center Warren Peters did the necessary dirty work from the right side of the crease. Former Cleveland Baron Jon DiSalvatore earned one of the assists.

The Monsters pulled within one at 3:25 of the third, right winger David van der Gulik jamming a rebound past goalie Anton Khudobin. Otherwise, Khudobin (25 saves) was terrific.

"That kid's an NHL goalie," Quinn said. "He's as good as it gets in this league."

Lake Erie could have used T.J. Galiardi, who was demoted from the parent Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday but returned to the Avalanche on Friday to replace an injured player. Galiardi performed well Thursday in the Monsters' 2-1 overtime victory over Rochester; it was his first game with the club since the 2008-2009 season.

The Monsters host Peoria Sunday afternoon in the fourth of a five-game homestand. They are 12-6-2-2 at The Q.

In his 12th NBA season, Cleveland native Earl Boykins is having the last laugh on his doubters.

View full sizeTony Dejak / Associated Press"I think the longer that I've played, more and more people are starting to appreciate the way I play the game," says Earl Boykins (driving past Cleveland's Ramon Sessions on Friday). "People see it, but they don't want to believe it."

CHICAGO -- Earl Boykins still can't believe it when he sees his name on the Milwaukee Bucks roster and the number 12 under the heading "years in the league."

"It's different now when I look at the game notes and see double digits by my name," he said. "I could remember when I was a rookie and I'd say, 'Man those guys are old -- playing that long.' Now I'm the older guy."

Boykins, the former Cleveland Central Catholic and Eastern Michigan star, is 34 now, although he looks almost exactly the same as he did his rookie year with the Cavs in 1998-99 -- a fact that has not escaped a teammate.

"My face hasn't changed," admitted the 5-5 Boykins. "Keyon Dooling asked me, 'Man, what's wrong with you? You're the only guy who's never aged. Most of us are losing our hairlines or going bald. You've got the same haircut. You don't ice. You don't stretch. What's wrong with you?'"

Boykins laughs, long and hard. Truly, he is getting the last laugh.

For a player who was never drafted and who has had to prove himself over and over again in the NBA, he is now tied with Spud Webb and trails only Calvin Murphy (13) and Muggsy Bogues (14) for number of seasons by players 5-9 or shorter. Only Bogues, at 5-3, was shorter.

There is absolutely no drop off in his game, either. His nine points and four assists in Friday's victory over the Cavs meshes with his season averages of 8.1 and 2.6. He has played an increased role since Brandon Jennings went out with a left foot injury that required surgery in mid-December.

He has had some of his biggest games in the Bucks' biggest victories -- 22 at the Lakers on Dec. 21, 19 at Sacramento on Dec. 23, and 26 against Dallas on Jan. 1. Milwaukee is 5-0 when he scores 17 or more points -- in those games he led the team with 20.6 points on 56.7 percent shooting (38-67), 50 percent from 3-point range (9-18) and 90 percent from the line (18-20).

Boykins, whose dad carried him to games in his gym bag when Boykins was a baby, has never doubted for one minute he could -- and would -- be a pro.

"I remember I was 9 years old when I decided I was going to be in the NBA," Boykins said. "From that point on, every decision I made, as far as my life, has been around making it to the NBA."

Michael Olowokandi, now retired, was the top pick in the draft in 1998, but Boykins has more career points (5,570-4,135) and games (615-500). Even though his career has spanned 12 years, Boykins says there are still doubters.

"Earlier in my career, the biggest misconception was that my career was going to be based on speed," he said. "I think I had a lot of people fooled for a long time. They just used me as a guy who was faster than everyone. Now I think the longer that I've played, more and more people are starting to appreciate the way I play the game. People see it, but they don't want to believe it. I've played the same way everywhere I've been.

"I think my career is based on coaches. I always knew that in order for me to have a chance in this league, I had to have a coach that was not confident in me but confident in his ability to coach the game. Even getting recruited in college, whichever coach chose to let me play was taking a risk.

"Even at this level, my ability to play is not based on me. It's based on whether the coach has enough confidence in his coaching ability to not worry about what other people say. I'm rare in that regard. Most careers are based on what a player can actually do, whereas my career has never been based on that."

He credits former Golden State Eric Musselman with giving him his first real chance in 2002-03.

"He was the first coach to say, 'OK, I don't care about the height, I don't care about the size. I'm going to give you the ball and you're going to prove whether you can play,'" Boykins said.

"He not only gave me the ball, but he gave me the ball in the fourth quarter. That's what separated me from other players -- not only can he play during the game, but in crunch time he not only can play but he can win games. That's where my career changed."

A three-year contract with Denver followed, but he was traded to Milwaukee during the 2006-07 season and then kicked around with stints in Charlotte, Washington and even Italy for a season. He did think he'd return to Cleveland for a third time about four seasons ago, but instead the Cavs used a guard corps that included Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Eric Snow.

"I thought I would be a Cavalier and I would have a chance to play with LeBron [James] and help win a championship," Boykins said. "I guess they felt their point guard situation was good enough and they decided not to bring me in. I don't hold a grudge. If someone feels that what they have is better than I am, I never take it personally.

"Whenever I've played the Cavs, it was always, 'Do you really believe these guys are better basketball players? Or are they just taller?' I think it came down to I wasn't tall enough to be a Cavalier. I think it was just that simple."

Boykins said he wasn't surprised James left.

"I think he became more frustrated than anything," Boykins said. "Once he believed he couldn't win, it was over. There wasn't anything anyone else could do."

Nor is he surprised at the Cavs' struggles.

"Not only do you lose your star player, you lose your leader, you lose both your centers," he said. "The two toughest positions to fill in the NBA are point guard and center. When you lose your point guard and your center in the same season, it's hard to win."

So James was the point guard?

"Forget the labels," Boykins said. "If you have the ball and you're making the decisions, you're the point guard."

Boykins has not made any decisions about how long he wants to play. Because he played little in his early seasons and has avoided injuries, he thinks he can continue to play for quite some time and then maybe he'll be able to accomplish the one thing that has eluded him so far.

"The only thing left for me to do is win," said Boykins, who has lost three times in the first round of the playoffs, with each series going five games. "I want to win bad."

Jamison scores 31, but Cavaliers can't quite get over the hump and drop 16th straight.

View full sizeChris Sweda / Chicago TribuneThe Cavaliers' J.J. Hickson takes the brunt of this charge by Chicago's Derrick Rose in the second quarter of Saturday's game. Rose started slowly, but made key shots late to turn back the Cavaliers' comeback hopes.

CHICAGO, Ill. — The Cavaliers had their chance on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls.

Behind 31 points and 11 rebounds by Antawn Jamison, short-handed Cleveland cut Chicago's 20-point third quarter lead to 77-75 with 4:37 left in the fourth quarter. But the Bulls scored 11 straight points and the chance was gone.

The Bulls went on to record a 92-79 victory, sending the Cavs to their 16th straight defeat, 26 of 27 overall and 20 straight on the road to fall to a league-worst 8-34.

The franchise’s single-season record for consecutive losses is 19, from March 19 to April 18, 1982, while the single-season record for consecutive road losses is 21, from Jan. 13-April 14, 2003.

Derrick Rose had 24 points and eight assists for the Bulls, who improved to 29-14. Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Luol Deng had 20 points and 12 rebounds.

J.J. Hickson finished with 13 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Cavs.

Third quarter update: Bulls 72, Cavs 62. Derrick Rose had a quiet first half and was just 1-of-6 with four points and four assists. But he scored eight of the Bulls' first 15 points in the third quarter as Chicago pulled out to a 63-43 lead with about seven  minutes left.

Undaunted, Antawn Jamison had eight points as the Cavs went on a 17-4 run to close to 67-60. A jumper by Rose and a 3-pointer by Kyle Korver nudged Chicago's lead back to 72-60 but a tip by Jamison at the buzzer kept the Cavs within 10.

Halftime update: Bulls 48, Cavs 38. Starting point guard Ramon Sessions, who replaced the injured Mo Williams, lasted just 11 minutes in the first half before leaving with a right abdominal strain.

Given that coach Byron Scott never knows from one minute to the next who's available, the Cavs did well to cut Chicago's 17-point lead to 10 by halftime.

Carlos Boozer has been tough inside and had 11 points and four rebounds, while Luol Deng had 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

Daniel Gibson led Cleveland with 10 points in the first half. Antawn Jamison had nine  points and seven rebounds, and J.J. Hickson had six points and eight rebounds as the Cavs out-rebounded the Bulls, 27-23.

First quarter update: Bulls 22, Cavs 17. Luol Deng hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulls some separation.

Moments earlier, J.J. Hickson grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup to get the Cavs within 19-17. The game was close only because both teams were as cold as the temperatures outside. Chicago shot 33 percent in the first quarter, Cleveland 29. Brrrr....

Cavs starters: F Christian Eyenga, F Antawn Jamison, C J.J. Hickson, G Daniel Gibson, G Ramon Sessions.

Bulls starters: F Carlos Boozer, F Luol Deng, C Kurt Thomas, G Derrick Rose, G Keith Bogans

Injuries: Anthony Parker (low back strain), Leon Powe (right knee surgery), Anderson Varejao (torn tendon, right foot) and Mo WIlliams (left hip flexor strain) are out for Cavs. Joakim Noah (right hand, thumb) is out for Bulls.

Inactives: Powe, Varejao, Williams for Cavs. Noah for Bulls.

Officials: Greg Willard, Nick Buchert and Gary Zielinski ./P>

Three things to watch:

1. Will Scott's juggling of the starting lineup, inserting Daniel Gibson at guard for rookie Manny Harris, and rookie Christian Eyenga for newcomer Alonzo Gee, make any difference?

2. With the return of Carlos Boozer, will the Bulls try to go inside more instead of settling for jump shots?

3. Can anybody besides Derrick Rose stop Derrick Rose?

By Barry Wilner, Associated Press Unemployed at 28, Scott Hamilton needed a place to work. So he created one. Hamilton's Stars on Ice celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with, what else, a 25-city tour. Hamilton, who retired from regularly performing in 2001 after a series of health issues, remains the producer of what he calls "such a wild...

By Barry Wilner, Associated Press

Unemployed at 28, Scott Hamilton needed a place to work.

So he created one.

Hamilton's Stars on Ice celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with, what else, a 25-city tour. Hamilton, who retired from regularly performing in 2001 after a series of health issues, remains the producer of what he calls "such a wild adventure."

"Just putting the shows together at first, at times it seems like yesterday, at times it seems like four lifetimes ago," says the 1984 Olympic champion and, for years, figure skating's primary TV voice. "To see we have endured and the tour has survived over the years -- at times thrived -- and to kind of be in awe of all the skaters that came through it, it's way beyond anything I would have dreamt or conceived."

View full sizeRick Bowmer / APOlympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen is touring with "Stars on Ice" this year. The tour stops in Cleveland on Sunday, April 3.

The current 11-member cast includes Vancouver Olympics gold medalist Evan Lysacek and bronze winner Joannie Rochette; Turin Games silver medalists Sasha Cohen, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto; and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, co-winners of the pairs gold in Salt Lake City. Returning to join regulars Todd Eldredge and Michael Weiss for the anniversary shows are Ekaterina Gordeeva, who won gold in 1988 and 1994 in pairs with husband Sergei Grinkov; and four-time world champion Kurt Browning, probably the most popular tour skater aside from, well, Hamilton.

It's an impressive group that adds to a Who's Who collection through a quarter century of touring America, Canada and Asia. From the humble beginnings of 1986, when Hamilton and Rosalynn Sumners headlined shows in small college arenas, to sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden featuring Torvill and Dean, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt, Brian Orser, Tara Lipinski, Alexei Yagudin, Ilia Kulik, Sarah Hughes, Paul Wylie and Dorothy Hamill, Stars on Ice has sought to be innovative, challenging and fun.

Lysacek, who first saw the show in 1992, two years before he began skating, believes Hamilton's creation has had a profound effect on his sport.

"I was aware Scott had developed the idea, nurtured it and really revolutionized what show skating was," Lysacek says.

"The type of skating in Stars On Ice has changed the sport, added something. The reason being sort of the disappearance of professional skating on both the competitive and show level. Stars on Ice has become the only place for the opportunity to explore, be creative and grow as an artist and as an athlete."

Where Stars on Ice has been trendsetting is in the use of ensemble numbers. Most other tours either have a theme built around characters, such as Disney on Ice, or simply are exhibitions in which skaters perform one or tour routines and are done for the night, a format used by Champions on Ice until it folded in 2008.

Hamilton wanted something else. He had been on Ice Capades and seen Ice Follies, the traditional shows, but he envisioned the skaters being artists, entertainers and athletes in a different manner.

"The idea was that one skater trying to carry a show would probably not have the endurance to sustain a career to make a tour work," Hamilton says. "But the idea of an ensemble with many skaters, from the Olympics, great, entertaining skaters, could provide a memorable evening for an audience."

The group numbers in which all the skaters partake are unique to Stars. Yamaguchi knows the skaters anticipate each year what those ensemble routines will be, and believes the audiences do, too.

"Skaters are used to being individuals on the ice," the 1992 Olympic champion says, "but to interact with a large group or act out certain roles was different and a challenge for all of us. It was something most of the skaters looked forward to and were able to grasp how much the audiences enjoyed them and wanted to see what we came up with next."

Adds Browning, "The group numbers become entities that live forever with the cast and the audience."

Hamilton and his manager, Bob Kain, used their numerous contacts throughout skating to get the tour rolling. Kain even came up with the name.

Quickly, Stars on Ice became a place Olympic-eligible skaters turned to when they were ready to leave competition. By 1990, the tour's fifth season, Hamilton and Sumners were joined by Debi Thomas, Kitty and Peter Carruthers and Orser.

Three years later in what co-producer Byron Allen calls "taking it to a new level," Yamaguchi, Wylie, Gordeeva and Grinkov were aboard.

"When Kristi joined the tour, it really took off," Allen says. "Roz and Debi were wonderful stars in their own right, great skaters and show women, but Kristi took it to a new level. She has such grace and exudes such class.

"With Scott as the veteran and creative guy and the backbone, then we had this lovely young woman who had the world at her feet . . . it just doesn't get any better than that."

At times, though, things got worse.

Canada's Rob McCall, a former cast member, died of AIDS in 1991. Tragedy struck the tour again in 1995 when at November rehearsals in Lake Placid, Grinkov died on the ice of a massive heart attack. He was 28, and he and Gordeeva had a 3-year-old daughter.

"It happened in front of everyone and everyone saw it and felt it," Gordeeva says. "And I even felt terrible because everyone went through the pain, sudden and terrible pain, when this thing happened with Sergei.

"I am very thankful for them and their support to me for the dedications they did for Sergei; every day on the show they did a small pause for Sergei. It was right in a number and that was very special."

In 1997, Hamilton was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He was back on the next tour, but later had a brain after retiring from regular performances. He beat that affliction, too.

"What brought us all a little closer and is still part of the bond today is that we went through that," says Sumners, who never missed a show in her 13 years with Stars on Ice. "We all held Katia and Scott up with what they went through.

"They did not just have the support of us on Stars on Ice, but the entire country, and that was incredibly amazing. That's how close the audience had gotten to us through Stars."

Hamilton realized that bond couldn't be forged -- and a tour that some years crisscrossed the country for 60 shows couldn't have existed -- without sponsors footing the bills. Discover Card was first aboard, followed by Target and, since 2003, Smucker's.

"We had an owner in International Management Group and they really wanted it to be successful, but you need the financial support and we knew title sponsorship was necessary to even get off the ground," Hamilton says.

Along with Discover Card's involvement came a charity affiliation with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Target's charity was Target House at St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and Smucker's brought along the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and their literacy programs.

"Most of these kids have never seen anything like Stars on Ice, not even on TV, or done anything like that," six-time U.S. champion Eldredge says. "Who knows, some kid in, say, Columbus, Ohio, ends up being a skater someday just because we went there and met him or her and they got interested in skating because we were there."

Twenty-five years later, Stars on Ice is still there. With, Hamilton, hopes, another 25 years ahead.

At least.

"Stars on Ice was brave enough in its inception to chart new ground," he says. "Now that we have hit this milestone, once we get past patting ourselves on the back and thanking the audience, we should look at new elements of the show. That's what we've always been about and what we always want to be about."

Virtually everything coach Keith Dambrot tried in the final six minutes worked for the Zips (11-8, 2-3), as they overcame a four-point deficit.

AKRON, Ohio -- Sometimes, it takes the coach to coax a team out of its slump.

Akron's Zips, on a three-game losing streak, had the look of a basketball team ready to extend its agony, trailing a hot Bowling Green team late in the men's Mid-American Conference East Division game Saturday night at Rhodes Arena.

But virtually everything coach Keith Dambrot tried in the final six minutes worked for the Zips (11-8, 2-3), as they overcame a four-point deficit and topped the Falcons, 63-58. The effect of Dambrot's moves was fitting. The win was his 150th, against 70 defeats, in his seven seasons at Akron.

Winning this one was a relief.

"I felt like I had blown three saves, like a closer in a slump," Dambrot, who called his game's work "average," said of the losses. "You lose confidence, the edge a little. That's not just for players, but for coaches, too."

Dambrot stuck with two players who had struggled the entire game, 7-0 center Zeke Marshall and guard Steve McNees, and when he told the Zips to give Marshall the basketball, it worked. Dambrot chose to go with valuable backup guard Darryl Roberts in crunch time. His decision to go big with Marshall and forwards Nikola Cvetinovic and Brett McKnight on the floor together paid off, especially at the defensive end and on the boards.

Marshall played hard but had little -- including no points -- to show for it in his first 22 minutes. But, with 5:43 to go, he swished an eight-foot jump hook, and 50 seconds later, tied the game at 48 with a dunk off a nifty, over-the-top entry pass by McNees.

The Zips held Bowling Green (8-11, 3-2) scoreless on seven possessions following Marshall's first hoop, and passed the Falcons for good when Roberts -- who scored 17 points in 25 minutes -- canned a contested 3-point shot from the baseline by the Akron bench for a 51-48 lead with two minutes left.

"It was a set play, a screen-and-roll play," Roberts said. "Brett [McKnight] and I popped. People have told me I wasn't open, but I was focused on the rim. When I shot it, it looked good all the way. When Brett swung it to me, I knew I'd have an open shot."

McNees hadn't scored since getting six points in the game's first three minutes. But after Roberts' trey, Cvetinovic stole a Falcons pass and McNees took advantage by hitting a 3-pointer from above the left side of the key to boost the Akron lead to 54-48 with 56 seconds to go.

McNees and Roberts, both seniors, have hit key shots throughout their Akron careers.

"We had lost three in a row," McNees said. "Me and Darryl are used to winning. Enough is enough."

Roberts netted six straight free throws in the final 31 seconds and Marshall hit two to clinch the win.

Bowling Green had won seven of its last nine games.

Coast to coast around the NBA.

View full sizeWinslow Townsend / Associated PressRay Allen has kept his 3-point stroke in fine shape this season for Boston, and will soon be the NBA's all-time leader in treys made in a career.

CHICAGO -- Coast to coast around the NBA.

Passing the torch: One of these days, Boston's Ray Allen is going to break Reggie Miller's career record for 3-pointers. Heading into Saturday, Allen was 25 shy of Miller's 2,560.

Miller doesn't mind, figuring Allen's final mark will never be broken.

"We're in the flash of the ESPN Top 10 highlights of everyone wanting to dunk and cross-over and be spectacular," Miller said during a recent TNT broadcast. "Shooting is boring, it takes time and you have to spend hours working on your craft. Players don't want to put up the sacrifice to do it.

"That's why I applaud Ray Allen, at 35 years old, getting ready to break my record in the next month and a half. He is the best shooter in this league and that's sad because there should be some young gun-slinger coming up saying, "I'm going to shatter Ray Allen's record." There's no one alive that's going to break his record."

Trying to fit in: Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy blames himself for Gilbert Arenas' slow start since arriving from Washington last month.

"Gil is struggling right now, and the biggest thing he is struggling with now is me," Van Gundy told AOL Fanhouse reporter Tim Povtak. "I'm harder on point guards than anyone else. He's not playing with a great deal of enthusiasm. He's not enjoying playing. And I'm a big reason. There is an adjustment he's going to have to make."

For the first time in his career, Arenas is strictly a backup. "I don't always know what's expected," he told Povtak. "Offensively, I'm not real comfortable, but I'm making the passes to Ryan [Anderson] and J.J. [Redick] to get them going. That's what I do.

"I'm used to playing 40 minutes, where you don't have to be aggressive all the time. That's one of the problems. Used to be, I'd pass it, pass it, get everyone going, then usually have time to find my groove. But by the time that happens here, I'm usually out of the game.

"I'm out there now, just trying not to make mistakes. Everyone has different [coaching] styles. And once you learn them, it's easy. Once they learn you, they trust you. When I was first with Eddie Jordan [in Washington], I used to get subbed every 15 seconds."

Van Gundy says Arenas and the Magic will work things out.

"This isn't an easy adjustment for anyone," Van Gundy said. "When Rafer [Alston] came in [two seasons ago], he knew I was an [expletive]. He was used to it. When Gil first came, he was playing well, and we weren't putting a lot on him. He was playing free. But the more we put on him, the harder it's been. I'm not saying it's my fault, but it's my responsibility to help make it work."

Grading period: NBA TV issued mid-season progress reports last week, and analyst Brent Barry is surprised by the Chicago Bulls (in a good way) and the Cavaliers (not in a good way).

"I'm very impressed with Derrick Rose," Barry said. "I didn't think that we would see this type of accelerated improvement out of him. Carlos Boozer has been doing this same thing for years in the league, just a tremendous offense threat. He does have some liabilities on the defensive end.

"The issue with these two guys together, I don't know what they did during the time Boozer was out, I don't know if they got on eHarmony.com and hooked up, but the symbiotic play that they have had this quickly is what surprised me the most. They found some sort of chemistry a lot quicker than I thought it would happen. [Coach] Tom Thibodeau has done a great job of getting these guys together and that has been the most impressive thing to me so far."

Of the Cavs, "I'm surprised at how disappointed I am. I thought Byron Scott would be able to get something out of these guys with Antawn Jamison being the professional that he is, trying to get Daniel Gibson and J.J. Hickson on board with coming out every night and competing. Then you see [Anderson] Varejao go down and that is basically ripping the heart out of that Cleveland team with the energy and they way he brings it every night. ... Very disappointing season."

New defensive coordinator Dick Jauron will find Rob Ryan tough to replace, at least in two notable categories, sports columnist Bud Shaw writes in his Sunday Spin.

View full sizeLynne Sladky / Associated PressOK, so Dick Jauron isn't going to win a charisma contest. But he does provide the experience and track record as a defensive coordinator that the Browns need to assist rookie head coach Pat Shurmur, says Bud Shaw.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Here's your new defensive schemes to study and, of course, the latest copy of Roget's Thesaurus...

The quickest conclusion we can reach concerning the switch from Rob Ryan to Dick Jauron is that the Browns no longer are favored to win the weekly defensive coordinator press conference.

And that the Browns couldn't find a more polar opposite if they had announced the hiring of Ned Flanders.

Ryan vs. Jauron is the 3-4 vs. the 4-3. It's Southwestern Oklahoma State vs. Yale. It's Four Loko vs. a glass of skim milk.

Ryan is The Dude from "The Big Lebowski." Jauron wouldn't get the reference and wouldn't waste his time looking it up.

During the course of the 2010 season, if I remember correctly, Ryan stopped just short of guaranteeing 16 consecutive Steel Curtain-type performances. He declared himself unsurpassed as a defensive whiz and wasn't shy in sending Browns' president Mike Holmgren the message that it would be "dumb as hell" to break up Eric Mangini's staff.

Ryan signing as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, Miami picking Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator and special teams coach Brad Seely opting for San Francisco would, in Ryan's mind, support that contention.

Meanwhile, the Browns' own coordinator search was beginning to look like my high school dating record. Lots of talk, no agreement reached and some clear rejection.

Jauron enters as not only the Browns' top choice, but a good pick. Expect him to install a defense that mirrors his conservative, solid image.

The Jauron hire was timely, and not only because the search was beginning to drag. Defense is the tie that binds the NFL's Final Four as they play for a spot in the Super Bowl. The Steelers, Jets, Bears and Packers were Top 10 in overall defense, Top 6 in scoring defense.

Rob Ryan's Browns were a respectable 13th in scoring defense.

In that category -- but especially in bravado -- Ryan will be a tough act to follow.

View full sizeStephen Savoia / Associated PressSure, it's going pretty well right now, but can Braylon Edwards really hold onto a Super Bowl run?

If Phil Savage is still wondering why there's so much "woe-is-me" in our town...

Either the Steelers or Braylon Edwards and his human airplane act are going to land in the Super Bowl. This may seem like a classic no-win for Browns fans but those two insults are not created equal.

For people here, seeing the Steelers in another Super Bowl would be like passing a football-sized kidney stone, whereas the Jets in the Super Bowl is just a sharp stick to the eye. At least with the other eye there's still a chance you'll see the game-winning pass in the Super Bowl bounce off Braylon's facemask as the clock runs out.

Hi, I'm Barry Bonds for Jenny Craig...

A judge ruled Bonds' former San Francisco Giants teammates must testify in his perjury trial. Bonds was present for the ruling and -- according to one news report -- was "dressed in a dark suit and slimmed down from his SF playing days."

All those players from the Steroid Era who slimmed down after retiring really should share their weight loss secret with the rest of us.

SPINOFFS

Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton announced he hired an agent. This time it's not his father...

What sport besides golf allows TV viewers to call in rules violations that disqualify players, as happened with Padraig Harrington and Camillo Villegas in the past few weeks? The best strategy to avoid that? Don't be good enough or popular enough to earn any TV time, and then tee it up from the fairway...

My suggestion that the Cavs unleash a "Witness ... Eyenga" marketing campaign to replace the buzz over LeBron James fell on deaf ears at The Q...

But it opens the door for the Indians to promote one of their talented young players without looking like copy cats. Coming soon: "Witness Kipnis" billboards...

Nike and the Indians can thank me later...

In Florida, the joke is the Tampa Bay Rays signed Manny Ramirez (39 in May) and Johnny Damon (37) to appeal to Florida's retirees. It's even funnier to think of either of them playing left field...

And the winner is:

AFC: Steelers 20, Jets 17

NFC: Bears 17, Packers 16

HE SAID IT

View full sizePD file photoBrian Daboll, otherwise known as the man who launched 1,000 backhanded compliments.

"The Dolphins probably just got worse. You know I'm always going to shoot you straight. ... When he was in New England, he was never a guy that I would have considered the brains of the operation." -- New Orleans fullback Heath Evans, to ESPN 760, on Miami hiring former Browns' offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

HE ADDED IT

"Good luck to him. He was always nice to me -- good dude." -- Evans, leaving you to wonder what he would've said about Daboll if he, you know, wasn't such a likeable guy.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

Former NBAer Tom Chambers and actress Glenn Close -- Jrm.

Eric Mangini (before massive weight loss) and so-called comedian Bill Maher. -- JT

Derek Jeter and golfer Dustin Johnson. -- Rich Menendez.

Al Davis and Charles Montgomery Burns. -- Steve Miller

YOU SAID IT

(The Greatly Expanded Sunday Edition)

"Bud:

"Is the definition of a small market team the size of the owner's wallet?" -- Tom

That, and the number of sledding hills at the ballpark.

"Bud:

"Concerning that time when Dan Gilbert promised Cavs fans a championship before Miami gets one, how is that working out?" -- Tom Hoffner, Broadview Heights

So far, he's not wrong. But here's my guarantee. I'll win a six-pack abs competition before Byron Scott and Gilbert admit this team is rebuilding.

"Bud:

"Were you surprised by Cam Newton's decision to go pro? Doesn't it seem like he'd be taking a cut in pay?" -- Jim Lovelace

Seem?

"Bud:

"Heard Juan Castillo's name as a possible OC hire. Love the guy! But does that mean we're leaning toward the Southwest Coast offense?" -- Steve Miller, Cleveland

Yes. And a "Border Patrol" nickname for the O-line.

"Bud:

"Can you confirm the rumor that, after being fired by the Browns, Eric Mangini tried to convince Mike Holmgren it would be a strategic advantage to withhold naming a replacement until an hour before the 2011 season opener?" -- Jeff, Westlake.

No. Just the offensive coordinator.

"Bud:

"Just noticed in a Cavs box score we have Gee playing for us. Is that E. Gordon Gee, the OSU president? I didn't think he would lower himself to play with our Sisters of the Poor." -- Jim B., Concord, Ohio

That's not the same Gee. The only connection to the OSU pres is that whenever the Cavs tie the score in a game this season, Byron Scott has come to think of it as a win.

"Bud:

"So do you think that Eric Wedge has hailed a cab for Milton Bradley yet?" -- Dan Brickner, Sylvania

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

"Bud:

"Seriously, your newspaper, not the Onion, ran a story featuring the coach of the Washington Generals trying to pep up Cavs fans. What, was Hector Marinaro's line busy?" -- Jim, Shaker Heights

Repeat winners get hit in the face with a bucket of confetti.

By Steve McMorran, Associated Press ADELAIDE, Australia -- Lance Armstrong will hoist himself into the saddle today for the last stage of his final cycle race outside the United States, with no hope of winning the Tour Down Under and with emotions as inscrutable as at any time in his career. If Armstrong feels any pangs of nostalgia or...

By Steve McMorran, Associated Press

ADELAIDE, Australia -- Lance Armstrong will hoist himself into the saddle today for the last stage of his final cycle race outside the United States, with no hope of winning the Tour Down Under and with emotions as inscrutable as at any time in his career.

If Armstrong feels any pangs of nostalgia or regret that this portion of his career is ending, he is unlikely to reveal it. His public persona as the final curtain prepares to fall is warmer than in the past but still controlled.

View full sizeJames Knowler / APSeven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, center in red, will ride the last stage of his last race outside of the U.S. today in Australia.

The seven-time Tour de France winner said before this farewell race began that he expected to feel no particular emotions when this substantial part of his career draws to a close. He will climb off his bike at the end of the 56-mile street circuit in downtown Adelaide and, he says, he will walk away, perhaps a little more sore and weary at 39 than as a young man, but without remorse.

He enters an uncertain future. Exactly how his life and career will pan out from here is not yet decided: he has hinted at a return to triathlons and mountain biking events, which were his first love before he became the world's most celebrated road cyclist.

And the questions that have dogged his career remain as a vague shadow even over this farewell. He has never tested positive to a banned substance, but even in the past week as he rode the undulating roads of South Australia state, a report in Sports Illustrated examined allegations new and old of his connection with doping.

He has refused to discuss those reports, though via his Twitter feed, on which he heavily relies to communicate with fans, he tweeted Friday that he expected to be vindicated when the U.S. anti-doping agency studied the substance of the Sports Illustrated report.

Armstrong takes some solace that his popularity with fans -- many of whom have been inspired by his recovery from testicular cancer and others who admire his dedicated efforts to support the fight against that disease -- is largely unmoved by rumor or speculation.

He calls it the Starbucks index, the difference between the public's reaction to him and the efforts of others in the media or within cycling to connect his achievements with the taint of doping. Armstrong says that if he's standing in line at Starbucks it's unlikely the person next in line will confront him and call him a drug cheat. More likely, he says, the fan would shake his hand and seek his autograph.

And Armstrong knows his fans.

In Australia, on his third visit in three years, he remains immensely popular and respected.

Fans clamor for his signature at the start and finish lines of every stage and line the race route with signs thanking him for competing in the race and wishing him success.

Armstrong responds to that support and fans find him relaxed, accessible and courteous.

"Really, hat's off to them," Armstrong said of the Australian spectators after competing in the fifth stage of the Tour Down Under on Saturday, ending in the rural township of Willunga.

"I think it's good to have top level pros here and top level racing, but it's really the fans, I think, that make this difference.

"You see at Willunga and you see on the climbs how many people there are and how enthusiastic they are, not just for myself, but for everybody. It's a great atmosphere."

More than 100,000 will watch the last stage of Armstrong's last race today and likely most will wish him well. His wife and young son will await him at the finish and soon after he will fly to Brisbane for a charity ride expected to raise more than half a million dollars for victims of floods in Queensland state.

A healthy Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana should make the Tribe's lineup card more formidable.

View full sizeScott Shaw / The Plain DealerThe Indians' lineup should look a lot better with a healthy Grady Sizemore back in the leadoff position in 2011.

Hey, Hoynsie: How do you see the Indians' starting lineup this year? -- Johnny D'ambrosia, Garfield Heights

Hey, Johnny: Manager Manny Acta hasn't called looking for advice, but if Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana are healthy, here's how I see it: CF Grady Sizemore, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, RF Shin-Soo Choo, C Carlos Santana, DH Travis Hafner, 1B Matt LaPorta, 3B Jayson Nix, 2B Jason Donald, LF Michael Brantley. If Sizemore isn't ready, or Acta feels he wants to hit him lower in the order, Brantley would hit leadoff. If Donald shows he can play third base in spring training, he could be at the hot corner with Nix moving to second.

Hey, Hoynsie: If the Dolans can't compete in a game without a salary cap, why don't they sell the Indians to someone who can? We fans are being held hostage to inferior ownership and have no recourse. It's deja vu -- Vernon Stouffer and Nick Mileti -- all over again. -- Burt Laderman, Aurora

Hey, Burt: Fans always have a recourse no matter how unhappy they are with a team. Don't buy a ticket or turn off the TV/radio.

Hey, Hoynsie: Remember the gibberish about Tribe's "business cycles"? Which cycle is the Tribe in now? When and what is the next cycle? How many cycles does the team need to endure for management to be committed to winning? -- Ronnie Taylor, Cleveland

Hey, Ronnie: The only person with more cycles than the Indians is Lance Armstrong.

The last time the Indians felt they were in a "win cycle" was before the 2009 season when they signed Kerry Wood and traded for Mark DeRosa. We all know how that cycle finished.

I'm not sure what Fortune 500 word describes the cycle they're in now, but I would call it "regrouping." When the next win cycle rolls around will depend a great deal on what the Indians find out about their young players this year.

Hey, Hoynsie: So now that we've given one-year deals to both Chris Perez and Asdrubal Cabrera -- isn't it almost an absolute lock that if they both have pretty good years they most certainly will leave in free agency? Hard to imagine Chris Perez going out and saving 30+ games and re-signing with the Tribe. So much for a rebuild, huh? -- Mark Cesarik, Chicago

View full sizeChuck Crow / The Plain DealerAsdrubal Cabrera won't be going anywhere -- unless the Indians want to make a deal -- until the end of the 2013 season.

Hey, Mark: A player needs six full seasons in the big leagues to qualify for free agency. Perez has two years and 135 days service time. That means the Indians control him for four more years. Cabrera has three years and 27 days service time. They Indians control him for three more years.

Hey, Hoynsie: Before a player is eligible for arbitration, how is his salary determined? Can the Indians simply set a player's salary using guidance from the league and precedents? -- David Bruno, Chagrin Falls

Hey, David: The minimum big-league salary for a rookie in 2011 is $414,000. That's the starting point.

Before a player qualifies for arbitration -- three years in the big leagues or being in the top 17 percent of players with more than two, but fewer than three, years of service time -- the club determines what he'll earn. The Indians, like most teams, have their own pay scale to determine what a player is worth, but it can't be less than the minimum.

Often players in that position sign split contracts, which pays them one amount in the minors and another in the big leagues.

Hey, Hoynsie: Do you think that Mike Hargrove was hired for a possible front-office job if the Indians fail to contend this year? -- Rachel Vazquez, Cleveland

Hey, Rachel: No, I don't.

Hey, Hoynsie: From your article this week, you seemed pleased that the Tribe settled its arbitration cases. What, maybe only 10-15 cases each year go to arbitration? Were you concerned that the Tribe would low-ball the players? -- Angelo Torres, Ohio City

Hey, Angelo: The Indians haven't gone to arbitration with a player since 1991. I don't think they accomplished that by low-balling players.

I thought there was a chance Shin-Soo Choo could go to arbitration this winter. Based on the players he would have been compared to -- Matt Kemp, in particular -- I don't think he could have made much more than he did by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.975 million.

Hey, Hoynsie: I was just researching Joel Skinner's historical contributions to the Tribe in the box scores, and besides being interim manager after Charlie Manuel, wasn't there a time in the 2007 or 2008 season when he substituted as manager for one or two games when Eric Wedge was out for personal reasons?

If so, are not these game or games also considered on his record for major-league managerial experience, too? The Web sites I researched did not have these game or games recorded as such. -- Dane Shellhouse, Shelby

Hey, Dane: The wins and losses go on the manager's record, not the man who substitutes for him.

-- Hoynsie