Elton Alexander puts Ohio State at the top of his ballot. How do the next 24 shake out?

View full sizeAP Photo | Nam Y. HuhJared Sullinger and the Buckeyes are on the top of many voters' ballots this week.

AP POLL

How Elton voted for the week of January 31, 2011 

1. Ohio State; 2. Kansas; 3. Texas; 4. Pitt; 5. BYU; 6. Purdue; 7. San Diego State; 8. UConn; 9. Duke; 10. Notre Dame; 11. Texas A&M; 12. Villanova; 13. Missouri; 14. Kentucky; 15. Minnesota; 16. Georgetown; 17. Louisville; 18. Washington; 19. VCU; 20. Xavier; 21. Wisconsin; 22. Vanderbilt; 23. Florida State; 24. Cleveland State; 25. Florida

Kipnis, like third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and pitcher Alex White, are on track to get their chances for big-league prominence.

Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer Jason Kipnis in the Indians' Progressive Field locker room earlier this month, during the team's winter developmental program.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians have won 134 games and lost 190 over the last two seasons.

Their roster includes few veteran impact players.

One of the positions they need to stabilzie is second base.

All of which means that Jason Kipnis is well-positioned to some day, maybe soon, be designated "2B" on the Tribe's lineup card.

Kipnis, a left-handed hitter, won the Lou Boudreau Award as the top position player in the Cleveland farm system last season. He starred at high-Class A Kinston and AA Akron, then helped AAA Columbus win the International League championship by hitting .455 (10-of-22) with three doubles, two triples and two home runs in the playoffs.

Jim Ingraham writes about Kipnis for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal:

Kipnis is a breath of fresh air. His energy and enthusiasm for the game comes through even while sitting in a chair in the clubhouse during a break from the Indians' winter development program.

The Indians selected him in the second round of the June 2009 draft out of Arizona State, where he was an outfielder, and the Pac-10 Player of the Year. A 5-foot-11 left-handed hitter, Kipnis was moved to second base during the Instructional League following the 2009 season.

"When they told me they were going to move me to second base, I didn't know what it meant," he said. "I thought, ‘Does that mean I'm not a good outfielder?' But they said second base is a better situation for me, and once I started playing it, I took a liking to it."

Kipnis did more than take a liking to it. He'll begin the season playing second base at Columbus, and he is now projected to be the Indians' second baseman of the future, perhaps as soon as sometime during the 2011 season.

"There's a big difference between the two positions," said Kipnis. "In the outfield, you just stand around, track a fly ball and throw it in. At second base, there is more stuff to do."

Which is fine with Kipnis, because he's got places to go.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Indians coverage includes Terry Pluto's report that manager Manny Acta thinks the young pitchers could give the Indians a boost; Paul Hoynes' "Hey, Hoynesie!," also, "Terry Pluto's Talkin;' " and, Hoynes' story on outfielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Tribe talk

Indians Prospect Insider continues its countdown of the top 50 prospects in the Cleveland organization. Tony Lastoria writes about No. 43, left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland, and No. 44, right-handed pitcher Cole Cook.

A story about outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, by the Akron Beacon Journal's Sheldon Ocker.

Expect outfielder Grady Sizemore and pitcher Fausto Carmona to remain Cleveland Indians, by Tony Lastoria of Indians Prospect Insider.

Manager Manny Acta is ready for baseball to begin, by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

Lonnie Chisenhall has a chance to be the Indians' third baseman some time this season, by Jim Ingraham for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal.

Cavaliers set team single-season record with 20th consecutive loss.

Orlando, Fla. -- After all his team has been through in this difficult season, Cavaliers coach Byron Scott will not allow himself the luxury of talking in theoreticals.  

With his squad setting a single-season team record with its 20th loss -- a 103-87 setback at the hands of the Orlando Magic on Sunday evening in Amway Center that extended the team record for consecutive road losses to 23 -- Scott was asked if this sort of effort nightly might have stopped the streaks before they got this far.  

He thought for a minute.  

"It's hard to say," he said as his team dropped to 8-39 with its 30th loss in 31 games. "I think if we had everybody healthy, we wouldn't have . . ."  

Then he stopped himself. "There's a lot of ifs," he said.  

A lot of injuries, too, and Daniel Gibson has another one. He left in the fourth quarter with a sore left quad that has been bothering him for a couple of days. He made just 2-of-9 shots in 25 minutes Sunday and sounds doubtful for today's game at Miami.  

 "It was really bothering him tonight," Scott said. "I saw him before the game and he was getting treatment. It's black and blue. Daniel's a warrior. He wants to try to go. We'll have to take a look at it [today]. I think we might have to shut him down for a game or two."  

 Scott inserted rookie Manny Harris into the starting lineup in place of Gibson on Sunday, and Harris responded with 20 points, six rebounds and three assists. He also had four turnovers. Fellow rookie Samardo Samuels added a career-high 16 points, thanks to some nice passes from Harris.  

 "I was able to get in the lane and make a few plays to get him some open shots, and when they didn't help too much off him, I was able to get some myself," Harris said. "This is the game we both got better."  

 After the Cavs closed to within 56-43 at halftime, Harris made a jumper and a layup to open the second half and Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy looked like he was trying to pass a kidney stone. After a timeout with 10:39 left, Brandon Bass pulled up for a 13-footer and Jameer Nelson nailed a 3-pointer for a 61-47 lead that effectively neutralized the Cavs' threat.  

 "On the offensive end, we [settled for] one pass, one shot, instead of trying to make them work on the defensive end," Scott said. "Sometimes we're our own worst enemy."  

On the other hand, the Cavs hung tough despite a decided disadvantage in size and talent. They were within 17-13 midway through the first quarter, but the Magic closed out the period on a 16-4 run, and that pretty much was the ball game.  

Orlando never led by more than 22 as each team scored 70 points in the final three quarters. The Cavs were outrebounded, 61-35. But they were outscored just 46-40 in the paint and outscored the Magic on fast breaks, 20-16.  

Dwight Howard had 20 points and 20 rebounds in three quarters of work, and Ryan Anderson finished with a career-high 23 points and 16 rebounds as Orlando improved to 31-17.  

However, if the Cavs hadn't ended the first quarter so poorly . . . oh, right, no theoreticals.  

 "We can't allow ourselves to get down by 16 or 17 points and then expect to try to come back," Scott said. "The first quarter was a killer. We get down, 33-17, and then it's an uphill battle all night long and against good teams like this, it's going to be hard to win.  

"We've just got to find a way to stay closer the first half of the game, and then hopefully, we can make a run the second half."  

Browns' Alex Mack scores touchdown, but Pro Bowl not exactly riveting entertainment a week in advance of the Super Bowl.

View full sizeCleveland Browns center Alex Mack (55) of the AFC runs the ball in for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the NFL Pro Bowl football game, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011 in Honolulu. (AP Photo/ Marco Garcia)

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) — A tropical rainstorm moved in from the Pacific and cleared just before the Pro Bowl began on Sunday. What followed was a sloppy show that was not exactly riveting entertainment a week in advance of the Super Bowl.

The NFC's 55-41 victory, a game not nearly as interesting as that score would indicate, did nothing to repair the tattered image of the NFL's all-star contest.

New England's Bill Belichick, the AFC coach and a man of even fewer words than usual, might have come closest to summing up the game with his mumbled cliche, "It is what it is."

MVP DeAngelo Hall had one of his team's five interceptions and returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown to help the NFC match a Pro Bowl scoring record in a 55-41 victory over turnover-prone AFC. He gets a new Cadillac for his efforts.

"I was just about to buy another SUV," the Washington Redskins cornerback said, "so to come out here and grab one for free, I like that."

AFC quarterbacks Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Matt Cassel each threw first-half interceptions to help the NFC blow open a 42-0 lead in a performance ugly even by the historically low standards of this game.

Fittingly for this strange contest, center Alex Mack of Cleveland scored the final touchdown on a 67-yard pass play that featured two laterals with 16 seconds left.

Carolina's Jon Beason returned the fifth interception thrown by the AFC, and second by Matt Cassel, 59 yards for the NFC's final touchdown to match the single-team scoring record set in the NFC's 55-52 victory in 2004.

"It feels amazing. It was a lot of fun," Minnesota's Adrian Peterson said. "We came out and put up a bunch of points and had some fun doing it, so it was a good day."

Belichick, after his Super Bowl favorite Patriots lost to the New York Jets in the divisional playoffs, had to watch his AFC squad muddle through a first half that ended 42-7.

Pro Bowls are, by their nature, laid-back affairs, seemingly played at half speed by players whose biggest concern is to get on the plane home without injury.

The AFC, though, took that attitude to an uncomfortable extreme early on before coming back to outscore the NFC 41-13.

The NFC led 42-0 after Steven Jackson waltzed through the AFC defense for a 21-yard touchdown — and there still was 4½ minutes left in the second quarter.

Rivers, starting in place of injured Tom Brady, was picked off twice in the first quarter, the second by Hall.

"You underthrow one just a hair and they intercept it," Rivers said. "You get a deflection for an interception. ... They had all the breaks early."

Manning, in his 11th Pro Bowl, came on briefly in relief and his second pass was picked off. Then Cassel got his chance and quickly joined in the spirit of things, throwing his second pass of the game directly into the hands of Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield.

But just when it appeared it would be the most one-sided game in Pro Bowl history, eclipsing the Joe Theismann-led 45-3 NFC rout of the AFC in 1984, the AFC scored three touchdowns in a row. The last came on the game's seventh turnover, when Devin Hester tried to hand the kickoff return to Hall, but the ball fell to the turf. Montell Owens of Jacksonville scooped it up and ran it in 10 yards for the score to make it 42-21 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

With his seven extra points, tying a Pro Bowl record, along with two field goals, David Akers moved ahead of Morten Andersen (45) for most career Pro Bowl points with 52. The Philadelphia kicker would have had more but his 36-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter bounced off the right upright.

"Morten Andersen was a mentor of mine and I competed with Morten for a job in Atlanta and he taught me a lot," Akers said, "so it means a lot to be able to pass a legend like that."

The game returned to its traditional home in Hawaii after a one-year detour to Miami, much to the approval of the players involved.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick started but played only the first quarter, completing 5 of 10 passes for 59 yards.

Peterson rushed for 80 yards in 14 carries for the NFC, including a 14-yarder to set a Pro Bowl record with four career rushing touchdowns. Atlanta got good performances from Matt Ryan (9 of 13 for 118 yards and two touchdowns with an interception), Michael Turner (eight carries for 53 yards) and Roddy White (five catches for 69 yards).

Notes: A 70-yard punt by Mat McBriar of Dallas in the first quarter tied for second-longest in Pro Bowl history. ... The state of Hawaii is paying the NFL about $4 million this season and next to keep the Pro Bowl team in Honolulu. Location for the contest is up in the air after 2012. ... Peterson had been tied with three career rushing TDs with Earl Campbell, Chuck Muncie and Mike Alstott. ... Tony Gonzalez added to his Pro Bowl record for career receptions (42) and moved into first in TD catches with his sixth. ... The attendance of 49,338 was just shy of a sellout.

Should the Cleveland Browns make an offer for quarterback Kevin Kolb.

View full sizeAP fileThe Browns might show some interest in the Eagles' Kevin Kolb.

Nothing can be done until the NFL and the players union come to an agreement, but while both sides wait it out, the Philadelphia Eagles will listen to offers for quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Kolb is "available" because the Eagles will franchise tag Michael Vick. Since the Cleveland Browns already have a quarterback in Colt McCoy, should the Browns still make an offer for Kolb?

There's a report that the Eagles would like a second-round draft pick or a late first-rounder for the 26-year-old Kolb, who is 11-14 with 2,082 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He also fumbled the ball five times in his seven appearances last season.

Curtis Young will share sights, sounds and experiences from the Super Bowl in a blog on cleveland.com this week.

Green Bay PackersCurtis Young will be on the sideline for Super Bowl XLV as a member of the Packers' practice squad.

What a whirlwind.

In 10 months, Curtis Young, a former three-sport star at Glenville High, went from NFL castoff to minor- league football castoff to the Super Bowl.

He will be on the Green Bay sideline in Arlington, Texas, as a practice squad linebacker the Packers signed just after Thanksgiving.

Just don’t crane for his No. 60 jersey on your widescreen.

Practice squad players don’t get to suit up. They usually don’t get to travel with the team to road games, either. He was left behind throughout the Packers’ thrilling playoff run. He won’t get a cut of the winner’s or loser’s share and has no idea whether he even gets a ring.

But this is the Super Bowl, and Young, 24, is just grateful to be part of it — given how his bumpy football season has played out.

“Life is like a roller coaster. You’re going to have ups and downs,” he said recently by phone between practices for the big game with Pittsburgh

“I just look at all the obstacles I went through as the downs, and this is my start of a new roller coaster. I’m going back up. That’s how I’m looking at it.”

The Browns and Cincinnati Bengals took a look at Young before and after the 2010 NFL Draft. At 6-1, 270, he was considered too short to play outside linebacker.

With Green Bay this week, it’s Young’s job to help the Packers prepare for All-Pro Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison, a Coventry High graduate and a 6-0 Kent State long shot who also was discarded as undersized.

Harrison also happens to be one of Young’s two favorite players — along with stellar Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney — and an inspiration growing up because he outperforms his height.

“I think I can be better,” Young said. “I just need the opportunity.” Young still lives across the street from Glenville, where he was a standout in football, basketball and track.

Then, Young went by Curtis Smith — taking the last name of his mother, Roxine Smith, from kindergarten through 12th grade. In college, he changed his name to the one on his birth certificate, Curtis Young, because of the financial paperwork involved for his football scholarship.

He helped Ted Ginn’s Tarblooders reach the Division I state semifinals for the first time in 2004, averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds as an inside force on the basketball team as a senior, and ranked among Ohio’s best in the shot put and discus for Glenville’s state champion track teams.

Young’s strength and agility — especially for a thick man — earned him a football scholarship from the University of Cincinnati, where he played for former coach Brian Kelly.

After failing to catch on with the Browns, Bengals or any other NFL team, Young, who didn’t play organized football until 10th grade, wound up last fall drafted 48th as a defensive end by the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League.

The six-team UFL, for the unfamiliar, is a place where football players go to either be discovered, like Young, or to resurrect a career — like Sacramento quarterback Daunte Culpepper and the once-promising and convicted Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett.

But after a 27-10 season-opening loss at Hartford, head coach Dennis Green went on a rampage and got rid of almost a dozen players. Young was one of them and still hasn’t a clue why. By mid-September, he was out of a job.

Young returned to work out in Cleveland, to a neighborhood on the East Side that he says was among the city’s worst as a kid.

“When I was younger growing up, whew,” he said. “The only thing I haven’t seen was probably someone murdered up close. Lost a lot of friends and things like that.”

While Young stayed in shape, Cleveland agent Vince Calo worked the phones. The Packers were interested. They told Young to stay focused and keep working.

He was one of about 12 players invited for a workout in early November.

Green Bay signed him to the practice squad Dec. 1, where he has been ever since.

“They see something in him,” Ginn said. “They see mental toughness. They see hard work. They see he’s a team player, a tough kid and a good kid.”

“I feel like it’s a foot in the door,” Young said, “and maybe if I perform good enough, I can get my other foot in the door.”

A door that has led to a trip to the Super Bowl, “a blessing in disguise,” is how his father, Curtis Young Sr., who works for the Cleveland Water Department, sees it.

Young’s position coach is former NFL sack monster Kevin Greene.

Young’s teammates affectionately call him “Baby James Harrison” and “Baby Freeney.”

Practice squad players prepare for games just like the regular players — but unfortunately, without the perks — because the distance between them and the playing field on Sundays is only an ankle sprain, torn ligament or concussion away.

It’s not something a backup necessarily hopes for — that the player in front of him goes down —but an NFL reality.

“I’m just being patient, waiting for my opportunity to come,” he said. “One day.”

The national spotlight finally found the 6-2, 195-pound BYU guard last week when the Cougars hosted San Diego State. The native of Glens Falls, N.Y., did not disappoint as he bolstered his national Player of the Year résumé with — for those who had yet to see him — a jaw-dropping 43 points behind an array of rise-and-let-fly 3-pointers, floaters, step-back jumpers, crossover dribble-drives and feathery free throws.

AP Photo Jimmer Fredette celebrates BYU's 71-58 upset of San Diego State on Wednesday.

Norman Chad offers his guide to watching the Packers and Steelers in this year's Super Bowl.

View full sizeJEFF HAYNES | AFP | Getty ImagesBen Roethlisberger and the Steelers are seeking another Super Bowl to add to their collection this Sunday.

Who doesn’t watch the Super Bowl? I recently polled all of America and discovered that the only people not hunkering down to football on the upcoming gridiron national holiday are the proprietors of the 2,639 nail salons operating in Los Angeles.

Anyway, Packers-Steelers is a wonderful matchup for a wonderful nation. And, as a public service, I am here to provide my 45th annual Super Bowl Sunday Viewing Guide (for Super Bowl Parties of Six or More).

The game will be televised by Fox. Which means, of course, that the network is arranging for Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez to handle all replay challenges.

Keep food and beverage preparations simple. I have eight words for you: Pigs in a blanket, PBR in a can.

The NFL is selling $200 tickets to watch the game from outside Cowboys Stadium, on television. That sounds pricey, but it includes a Super Bowl program and a scarf (for real). And if you walk to the game, you can save money on stadium parking spaces that are going for as much as $900 (I assume that includes a car wash or a lap dance).

As you may have seen on those Visa commercials, there are four men who supposedly have been to every Super Bowl. First of all, I need to see ticket stubs from these gents to believe this cock-and-bull claim. Second of all, Couch Slouch has watched every Super Bowl on TV — including the pregame shows — which, I believe, is far more impressive.

Here is a Super Bowl fact that you will find only here, unless you carpool to Starbucks every morning with Peter King. In the past 10 years, 10 different NFC teams have reached the Super Bowl. (Note to my D.C. friends: The Redskins aren’t one of them.) In those same 10 years, only the Steelers, Patriots and Colts have represented the AFC, with the exception of Super Bowl 37, when the Raiders inexplicably qualified.

This is actually the Steelers’ eighth Super Bowl appearance. That’s eight times in the past 37 years, which compares favorably with Spencer Tracy’s nine best-actor Oscar nominations over a 32-year period (1936-67) and Laurence Olivier’s nine Oscar nods over a 40-year span (1939-78). On the other hand, the Browns, Jaguars, Lions and Texans have never played in the Super Bowl, though Matt Millen once was on course to get the Lions there by 2525.

Terry Bradshaw was 4-0 in Super Bowls, Ben Roethlisberger is trying to go 3-0. In between, here is the list of Steelers starting quarterbacks: Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Scott Campbell, Bubby Brister, Steve Bono, Todd Blackledge, Neil O’Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Jim Miller, Kordell Stewart, Kent Graham and Tommy Maddox. Moral of the story: None of us is promised tomorrow, and even if tomorrow comes, you still might be several seasons away from a well-thrown pass.

I’m a Steelers fan, but it’s hard not to like the Packers. Who doesn’t root for Green Bay? It’s a town of 100,000, and the team is owned by the people — we’re talking Norman Rockwell’s America, only chillier. In addition, the Lambeau Leap remains an unmatched, beloved celebration; if, say, a Jets player jumped into the stands at New Meadowlands Stadium, he would probably have to pay for a personal seat license.

Some of you may be unaware that there are new overtime rules in effect for the postseason. It’s now called “modified sudden death,” which, I guess, is similar to moving to Boca Raton. No one really knows what these new rules are. For instance, on the opening possession of overtime, a field goal does not end the game, but a safety does. And it gets even more complicated than that — there’s a chance not a single soul in Cowboys Stadium will know when overtime officially ends, other than Mike Pereira.

Oh, yeah, the game itself — you probably want to know who’s going to win. I usually provide the EXACT FINAL SCORE of the game; I can’t do that this year. All I know is this: It will be the first Super Bowl to go to overtime, and the Steelers will prevail. I’m not sure when it might end, but it should involve a fumble, an alleged tuck, a booth review and more mayhem than a Charlie Sheen staycation.

Norman Chad is a freelance writer in Los Angeles.

The Orlando Magic didn't want to become a victim of the Cavaliers.

John Bazemore / Associated PressStan Van Gundy had nothing to get upset about when his team played the Cavaliers on Sunday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the worst team in the NBA, and because of that, the Orlando Magic didn't want to become that team.

So the Magic gave the Cavaliers their 20th straight loss and their 30th defeat over their last 31 games.

On OrlandoSentinel.com:

"You definitely don't want to be that team that they get the monkey off their back," said guard Jason Richardson, who scored 12 points and was one of five Magic players to score in double figures. "You want to go out there and try to bury them, and we did that tonight."

Not only did Dwight Howard do his thing with 20 points and 20 rebounds agains the Cavaliers. The Magic dominated the Cavaliers on the boards, outrebounding them 61 to 35.

Great Scott

Tim Povtak of AOL's Fanhouse.com writes how Byron Scott is about to visit a place where he hoped he'd never visit again.

The Cavaliers are three games away from tying the league record for consecutive losses. Scott was a member of the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies team that lost 23 straight during the 1995-96 season.

"It was harder as a player because I'd never been through anything like that before,'' Scott said Sunday night before the Cavs' game against the Magic. "The first time, I didn't handle it very well.''

Scott declined to elaborate – there was still a game to be played, after all – but he told reporters last week in Cleveland that the losing as a player drove him to drink for the first time in his life.

"Coors Light,'' he said, then chuckled.

"I'm not saying it's easier, but I'm able to deal with it better now,'' he said. "Of course, I get down. After games, I'm down. When I go home, I'm down. But by the time I wake up the next day, I'm all right. And I'm ready to go at it again. It's back to work.''

The Orlando Magic, when asked before Sunday's game, would not take losing as well as Scott.

"I don't even want to think about what that's like,'' said Magic center Dwight Howard. "If we had lost 29 of 30, the whole team would be on a suicide watch. Stan (Coach Van Gundy) would be in the hospital.''

 
New position

Ohio.com reporter Jason Lloyd writes how J.J. Hickson has emerged as a better rebounder.  Hickson went into Sunday's game against the Orlando Magic with at least 14 rebounds in six of his last 10 games.

He also had a 20-rebound effort and two when he grabbed 17.

Cavs coach Byron Scott has said he's fine with Hickson shooting occasional jumpers, but he doesn't want him falling in love with the shot. Hickson clearly was in love with it early on this season and missed quite a few. The move to center — along with a pointed conversation with Scott a few weeks ago — seems to have cured him. Now his first focus is on rebounding. He went scoreless on five shots Sunday against the Magic, but grabbed 11 rebounds in 22 minutes.

  
Game stories:

Cleveland.com: Streak hits 20.

Ohio.com: Cavs fall to Magic.

It's Super Bowl week, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about Browns quarterback options. Of course, the Cavaliers losing streak is nearing historic proportions while - despite the latest storm warnings - spring training is just around the corner for the Indians.

Get live sports talk now at cleveland.com/dsn

The Browns hired former Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple for the same position here, and hired former Browns assistant Bill Davis as their linebackers coach.

View full sizeJ. Pat Carter / Associated PressMark Whipple.

CLEVELAND -- The Browns have hired former Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple as their quarterbacks coach and former Cardinals defensive coordinator Bill Davis as their linebackers coach, a league source told the Plain Dealer.

With the  hiriing of Whipple, the Browns may or may not hire an offensive coordinator. Head coach Pat Shurmur has already said he'll call the offensive plays.

Whipple spent the past two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes, serving as quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and assistant to head coach Randy Shannon. Whipple was fired along with Shannon after the 2010 season.

He was quarterbacks coach of the Steelers from 2004-2006 and was credited in part with the early success of Ben Roethlisberger, who went 13-0 in 2004 and became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in 2005.

Whipple was an offensive assistant from 2007-2008 in Philadelphia, where he worked with Shurmur and Browns general manager Tom Heckert.

The hiring of Davis represents a homecoming for the defensive assistant, who was born and raised in Youngstown and is the son of Bill Davis, the former Browns vice president of player personnel.

Davis was linebackers coach of the Browns in 1999 under Chris Palmer. He's been an assistant for 19 seasons with eight different teams, including the Steelers, Panthers, Packers, Falcons, Giants and 49ers..

In 2009 as Cardinals defensive coordinator, Arizona was fifth-best in points allowed. But in 2010, the team slipped to third-worst in that category. Davis was fired by head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was on the Browns staff with him in 1999 as special teams coach.

Cleveland Browns hire Mark Whipple as QB coach.

J. Pat Carter / Associated PressMark Whipple is now the Browns' coordinator position.

A league source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter that former University of Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple agreed this morning to become the Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach.

Also, ESPN's James Walker writes:

Coach Pat Shurmur said when he was hired that he would call the Browns' offensive plays next season. With Shurmur's background (he was the St. Louis Rams' offensive coordinator last season) and with Whipple's play-calling experience, Cleveland does not think it will need an offensive coordinator.

Watch video as Browns center Alex Mack scores a touchdown in the Pro Bowl.

The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl is the most boring of all the All-Star Games in professional sports. But there was one (can you say staged) highlight that at least Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack will never forget.

The first of a three-part series, WFNY debates which Cleveland team is closest to a title. First up, the Cleveland Indians.

Greg Fiume/Getty ImagesCan the longest-tenured manager in Cleveland get the Tribe back to the top?

The Cleveland Indians have only one starting pitcher projected to have an ERA below 4.50 in 2011. That doesn’t bode particularly well for their playoff chances, I grant you.

But consider this: only one of the current Cleveland regimes has shown the stability and creativity to build an organization from the ashes and make it competitive. In 2002, Mark Shapiro traded Bartolo Colon to the Montreal Expos for three prospects. The fans shrieked. The dynasty was over. The glory days of the late ‘90s were gone for good.

Except they weren’t. Through shrewd trades and strong player development, the Indians front office (much of which is still intact) developed All-Star after All-Star. These players won 93 games in 2005 and came within one game of the World Series in 2007—a World Series in which they’d have been prohibitive favorites.

The one weakness of that front office appeared to be their drafts. But in the last several years, that deficiency seems to have been transformed to an asset: the Indians 2010 draft was ranked as the best in MLB by Baseball America.

Couple the strong front office with a particularly weak division and there’s no reason the Indians can’t make the playoffs. The AL Central is projected to have the fourth highest average opening day payroll out of the six MLB divisions. This isn’t the AL East—the Twins are NOT the Yankees.

Nor are they the Steelers.

To my eye, the Browns seem to suffer from three simultaneous problems that could delay their playoff hopes: a significant lack of talent, a terribly good division, and an inability or unwillingness to commit to a full-rebuild. The last of these interests me most.

Each time the Browns hire a coach, the fans pretend that they’re willing to accept the trials that accompany a change in philosophy and personnel: restocking the roster and retooling the priorities. Then, like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the Browns lose some games, the fans go ape, and the coach gets fired. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseam. Will this time be different with a young and inexperienced head coach who wants to revamp both the offense and defense and an aging “czar” with only four years left to prove his worth? I sure hope so, but forgive my cynicism.

The Cavs, on the other hand, appeared to be one of the more stable, coherent franchises in professional sports over the last decade—guided by a singular focus. From the moment the organization drafted LeBron James, everything revolved around him: acquiring the appropriate complements, keeping his entourage happy, making sure with every move that he’d be here forever.

Except now he’s gone, and the organization looks vestigial and empty, without direction or purpose. Sure, the Cavs will infuse some talent with the draft, but remember that even LeBron James—arguably the most talented player in NBA draft-history—took three years to get his team to the playoffs. And what’s the chance of finding another one of those anytime soon?

So yes, while the Indians’ rebuild may not be particularly fun to watch, it’s not crazy to believe it might be nearing an end—and after only two years. We’ve already found our catcher of the future in Carlos Santana. Carlos Carrasco, Drew Pomeranz and Alex White could be the front-end of the rotation as early as 2012. The albatross contract of Travis Hafner will be up after next year, while Shin-Soo Choo—one of the best players in the sport—is under affordable club-control for at least three more seasons.

There’s reason for hope here in C-Town, and I’m here to tell you that it wears Red, White and Blue.

You can't be a Packers fan without the latest Packers news. Read about Charles Woodson, the advantage of playing indoors and order your very own cheesehead.

View full sizeMilwaukee Journal Sentinel via MCTBraylon Edwards may not believe it, but Cleveland absolutely can embrace a Michigan man like Charles Woodson.

There might not be a more rabid fan base in the NFL than the cheeseheads in Wisconsin, but the brown-and-orange-clad residents of the Dawg Pound might compete for the title - and this week, many of those Browns fans are cheering for a Packers Super Bowl win.

Here's the latest news on your new "favorite NFL team."

Charles Woodson shows he's leader of the pack.

Despite Braylon Edwards' claims, Cleveland can embrace a Michigan man. Hey, our team's new head coach was born in Ann Arbor after all. The Kansas City Star's Randy Covitz profiles our team leader.

Now that the Packers have reached Super Bowl XLV, Woodson, voted by his
teammates as one of the club’s captains for the playoffs, will deliver
the keynote address before Green Bay faces Pittsburgh next Sunday night,
just as he did prior to the previous three postseason games.

In 12 career indoor starts, Rodgers has thrown for 25 TDs with six interceptions. His 111.5 indoor passer rating since 2008 is No. 1 in the league.

'You can't do anything but smile' at playing indoors, said Pro Bowl wide receiver Greg Jennings, one of five Packers who caught at least 40 balls.

Former Philadelphia starter would be worth a look if the price is right, says PD reporter. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Welcome to today's edition of Starting Blocks TV, our Web morning show about what's happening in Cleveland sports. Today's show is hosted by Branson Wright and Chuck Yarborough, who surfaced from his diving vacation in Belize just in time to do the show.

Today's guest is Plain Dealer reporter Dennis Manoloff, who is asked his opinion on today's Starting Blocks poll: Should the Browns make a run at trading for Eagles QB Kevin Kolb? What do you think? Cast your vote now.

Dman also talks about what can be done to put the Pro Bowl out of its misery; the Browns' hiring of Mark Whipple as their quarterbacks coach; and if he had to win one game, whether he would pick the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger or the Packers' Aaron Rodgers.

SBTV will return Tuesday with PD columnist Bud Shaw as the guest.

Columbus feeling slighted by the Indians, who opted against taking winter press tour to capital city.

View full sizeChuck Crow,
The Plain DealerLen Barker is coming out of retirement to pitch for the Indians. Well, he's not pitching FOR the Indians; the author of 1981's perfect game is pitching the Indians ... to crowds at the club's annual winter press tour.

The Indians conclude their winter press "tour" with a stop at Southpark Center mall in Strongsville from 5 to 9 tonight. Scheduled to appear at the freebie are, among others, former manager and recent hire Mike Hargrove, current manager Manny Acta and players Shin-Soo Choo, Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta, among others.

Len Barker, who pitched the a perfect game for the Indians in a 3-0 win over Toronto on May 15, 1981, is among the former players also slated to attend. After which, if recent history is any clue, he will be traded to New York where the retired Indian will become a retired Yankee.

The scaled-down tour -- last year's version had 14 cities on its itinerary, as opposed to four stops, all local -- is raising some hackles, especially down in Columbus. Bob Hunter, a columnist for the Dispatch, has some ideas on why the Tribe skipped the capital city. One presupposes that Indians management was actually doing the Clipper faithful a favor. Given the number of Class AAA players on the big league club roster, Columbus fans might've been confused about which team's winter press tour they were attending, had the Tribe stopped there.

Two of his other thoughts:

• The Indians aren't really a major-league team after stumbling to a 69-93 record last season, so they aren't required to act like one in the offseason. There's no denying that last year's squad was a poor excuse for a major-league team and that ownership owed its loyal fans a better product. But that doesn't mean that the Indians shouldn't try to sell their product to their fan base in the offseason. People buy terrible products every day. The Indians drew almost 1.4 million fans last year, didn't they?

• Shin-Soo Choo is the team's only star, so having an extensive winter caravan would be self-defeating unless Choo could be cloned and appear in two of three places at once. While it's true that the team is embarrassingly star-deficient, Travis Hafner or Grady Sizemore could have assumed the role formerly occupied by the late Bob Feller and talked about the good old days, such as they were.

The 6-5 34-year-old righty tweeted yesterday, "This Italian Stallion is FIRED UP about the City of Brotherly Love! Balboa workouts paid off and READY TO GO!!!" Sounds like Grilli could be close to signing a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The fourth overall pick in the 1997 draft by the San Francisco Giants missed the 2010 season after signing a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians and then sustaining a quad injury. In 2009, he pitched for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, striking out 49 in 45.2 innings pitched and earning a 5.32 ERA, for the Tribe after suffering a severe knee injury in 2010.

You can live or die with your team. For real.

View full sizeAP FileHere's a happy scene, at least for Cleveland fans: a Steelers fan reacting to a 2009 loss. It turns out, the loss can be devastating physically as well as emotionally.

(Dr. Robert) Kloner (a Southern Cal medical school professor) and colleagues had previously reported in April 2009 an increased incidence of heart-related deaths in Los Angeles two weeks after the city's 1980 Super Bowl loss. The group has now taken a closer look at who was most vulnerable in a study published in Clinical Cardiology, released today.

"We've known for many years that there are chronic risk factors for cardiac death, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking," Kloner said. "But we're becoming increasingly aware of certain acute risk factors, such as emotional stress. I think that these stressors may add up."

Despite being sixth-seeded in the National Football Conference playoffs this year, the Green Bay Packers are favored going into Sunday's game in Dallas. But Steelers fans might be less suited to handle a Super Bowl loss, according to a national survey.

Of 185 U.S. cities, Pittsburgh ranked 66 in emotional health, 123 in physical health and 106 in healthy behavior, according to Gallup-Healthway's 2009 Well-Being Index. Green Bay scored better, ranking 33 in emotional health, 25 in physical health and 84 in healthy behavior.

Robinson was accused of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer on the eve of Super Bowl XXXIII when he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Wilson went on a cocaine binge the night before he was supposed to play for the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.

But with a young team that has three players who have been on Super Bowl teams — Woodson with the Oakland Raiders, Ryan Pickett with the St. Louis Rams and John Kuhn as a practice-squad player with Pittsburgh — McCarthy plans to make sure his message is clear.

"Youth is something you need to keep an eye on," McCarthy said. "They're human. They need to understand the limits. We're going to educate them like we always do."

Players won't be prohibited from going to parties or bars. McCarthy said he couldn't tell players not to drink but would discourage them from doing so, especially near the end of the week.

Don’t think America’s team will be ignored during the biggest week in Dallas in decades. Jones will make sure the spotlight is on his guys, despite the fact he knew by Week 5 it wasn’t going to be the first team in NFL history to host the Super Bowl while playing in it. With a new coach in Jason Garrett and a more disciplined approach, the Cowboys hope to return to the NFL’s grand stage next year. For now, they’ll have to settle for being the other team everyone is talking about this week.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Steelers averaged 5.9 yards per carry during the regular season when they ran behind right tackle Flozell Adams, the second-highest total in the NFL. And for reasons that will be hard to pinpoint, the Packers' otherwise strong run defense allowed 5.2 yards per carry in that same direction during the season. That number placed them No. 26 overall among NFL teams in that category.

The Indiana Pacers may show interest in former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.

(Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer)Former Cleveland Cavaliers' coach Mike Brown could return to coaching with the Indiana Pacers.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown could return to the coaching ranks with the Indiana Pacers.

Brown, fired by the Cavaliers following the 2009-10 season, was an assistant coach with the Pacers from 2003-05.

The Indiana Pacers fired coach Jim O'Brien last weekend, which opens the door for Brown to return.

Indystar.com reporter Mike Wells writes:

Former Pacers assistant and Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is one of the candidates the team will likely pursue this summer.
 

Buckeyes, at 22-0, are the nation's only undefeated Division I team. They're about to begin the most challenging part of their regular season schedule.

Associated PressStrong rebounder Dallas Lauderdale (52) and outside shooting ace Jon Diebler (33) are also superb defensive players for Ohio State.

(Associated Press) -- Ohio State is again the runaway No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll, receiving all but two first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel.

Pittsburgh jumps from fifth to second and Duke moves up one place to third. Both received one first-place vote Monday.

San Diego State moves from sixth to fourth and Connecticut jumps three spots to fifth.

Kansas, which lost for the first time on Saturday, fell from second to sixth followed by Texas, which beat the Jayhawks, Villanova, and BYU and Syracuse, which tied for ninth.

The Big East, which matched its own record with nine ranked teams last week, is down to seven with West Virginia and Cincinnati falling out. Saint Mary's also dropped out.

Vanderbilt, Florida State and Florida are the newcomers.

                                            ------------------------------------

The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com continues its Ohio State coverage. A look at the Buckeyes' schedule shows that they are about to begin the most challenging segment of their regular season. Also on cleveland.com, the AP, ESPN/USA Today and RPI rankings.

A report on the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, on ESPN.com, includes:

With 17 teams in the ESPN/USA Today men's college basketball coaches' poll and seven in the top 10 losing at least one game last week, there were bound to be changes up and down the Top 25.

Syracuse and Villanova, both in last week's top 10, plunged down the rankings in the poll released Monday. Kansas and Texas both rose five spots, to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Pittsburgh, Duke and previously unbeaten San Diego State all slipped two spots after losses, while Notre Dame and Purdue climbed into the top 10.

The only constant at the top? Ohio State is still undefeated and still No. 1. The Buckeyes (22-0) were a unanimous choice, receiving all 31 first-place votes from the poll's panel of Division I coaches. The Buckeyes face Michigan and No. 20 Minnesota in Big Ten play this week.