The Cleveland Browns have scored just six touchdowns in Baker Mayfield's last four games. What are opponents doing to the rookie quarterback?

PITTSBURGH -- Scribbles in my Browns notebook after their 33-18 loss to the Steelers.

1. Keep Baker Mayfield passing from the pocket. That is the new game plan being faced by the Browns rookie quarterback. The first to mention it publicly was   coach Anthony Lynn after his L.A. Chargers beat the Browns, 38-14, in Week 6. It came up again after Sunday's loss in Pittsburgh.

2. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said: "I thought we could have done a better job keeping him (Mayfield) in the pocket." Tomlin said the Browns were moving the ball early in the game because Mayfield was "creating plays for himself when he was escaping the rush and extending plays. Once we got that under control, I felt comfortable with where we were."

3. What is Tomlin talking about? Mayfield is only 6-foot. There are times when he has trouble seeing over the rushing defenders -- and his own blocking lineman. He is effective throwing on the run -- when the defense is scrambling after him.

4. Obvious question: Why not create more plays for Mayfield to throw on the run -- and out of the pocket? One of the impressive aspects of Mayfield's game has been his willingness to stay in the pocket under pressure. It's why he has a chance to be a good NFL quarterback. But he's been sacked 17 times in the past four games. He's taking a lot of hard hits. And he's not being very productive.

5. Mayfield said Pittsburgh was showing him a lot of different formations and movement on defense: "They did a good job bringing the right blitzes...they bring one guy and make it look like they are bringing someone else. That's just good coaching and execution on their part."

6. Mayfield was sacked just twice. But he was hit on five other occasions, nearly as effective for the defense as a sack. Many times, Mayfield seemed like he couldn't throw the ball downfield -- his first preference.

7. Mayfield is a rookie quarterback seeing something painfully new nearly every game. Mayfield didn't play in the opener, a 21-21 tie with the Steelers. Tyrod Taylor was the starter. Mayfield never has played so many games against so many quick, talented defenses.

8. I also doubt Mayfield ever has played this poorly. He is 1-3 as a starter with the Browns. His team has scored only six TDs in the past four games. Mayfield added: "It's very frustrating...we have to learn from the situation and learn from the mistakes...we have a better team than we showed today."

9. Mayfield's final stats: 22-of-36 passing for 180 yards, 2 TDs and one interception. Not awful. But he was 15-of-27 passing for only 105 yards before the Browns' final drive of the game -- when Pittsburgh was playing soft coverage just to let the clock run out.

10. Eye-popping stat: No Browns player had more than 39 yards receiving. Jarvis Landry had 39, and he needed eight catches to do it. The Browns had a 24-yard TD pass to tight end Seth DeValve near the end of the fourth quarter. That was their longest passing play.

11. That shows a few things: a) Mayfield didn't have much time to throw long. b) Receivers were not getting open. c) Mayfield had no real flow to his game, and part of that is his confidence being shaken.

12. NFL teams not only scout heavily in person and on tape, they also have analysts studying where quarterbacks throw...from the pocket...rolling left...rolling right. They are putting together a book on Mayfield. He'll have to adjust, and the coaching staff must help him.

13. I know that scouts from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City were at this game. No doubt, there were others. A big part of their job is looking for weaknesses and tendencies in Mayfield.

14. In 2016, Jared Goff was a rookie. He lost all seven of his starts. He looked completely overmatched. In 2017, he became a good quarterback. Now in his third season, the former No. 1 draft pick is an elite quarterback. Browns fans hate to hear this, but it takes time with rookie quarterbacks before you know what they can do in the NFL.

15. There was a lot of major negatives for the Browns beyond Mayfield and the offense. At the half, Pittsburgh had a 14-6 lead. I thought the defense played reasonably well for the orange helmets. But Pittsburgh chewed up the Browns in the second half, especially on the ground.

16. Steelers running back James Conner rushed for 113 yards on 14 carries in the second half. Some of the holes for him were wide. At other times, he ran over Browns tacklers.

17. Just like Carl Nassib haunted his old team with two key sacks for Tampa Bay last week, this time it was former Brown Joe Haden with a big interception. That was with 7:20 left in the second quarter. The Steelers had a 7-6 lead. Haden picked off a pass on the Pittsburgh 13-yard line. Then the Steeler offense steamrollered 87 yards to score a TD right before halftime.

18. Greg Joseph opened the game with field goals from 34 and 45 yards for the Browns. At that point, he was 10-of-11 on field goals for the Browns. Then he missed a 41-yarder. On his next kick, he missed an extra point.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's firing of coach Tyronn Lue doesn't solve the team's problems.And Lue never got the respect his record deserved.

(This column was revised at 12:17 p.m.  to correct the date when  David Griffin left the Cavaliers.)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Almost as soon as the Cavaliers failed to defend their NBA championship in 2017, owner Dan Gilbert began turning the throne into a three-legged stool.

He let David Griffin walk away after the five-game loss to an absurdly stacked Golden State team that was bolstered by the addition of former NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant. Griffin was the first Cleveland general manager to assemble a championship team since 1964.

Cutting down the Big Three

Before the 2018 season, Gilbert ignored the wishes of LeBron James, who wanted to bring the littlest egomaniac, Kyrie Irving, to camp and try to work out his unhappiness. Instead, the Cavs traded Irving to Boston for injured Isaiah Thomas and some magic beans.

The stool had two legs and was rickety.

James, with family and business interests in Los Angeles - and the still lingering memory of  Gilbert's late night email full of resentment and accusations after The Decision - left too for the Lakers.

What was left was a useless one-legged stool.

What's left wasn't nearly enough

Winless and almost hopeless, the Cavs have been routed at almost every turn. Kevin Love, the last leg of the stool, has struggled against swarming defenders.

An owner has to blame somebody besides himself, though, so it all apparently was coach Tyronn Lue's fault.  

Sunday the Cavs fired Lue, who led the team to three straight NBA Finals and that memorable championship. They did so after a preposterous trial of six games. 

Loyalty and respect

Always loyal to David Blatt as his top aide, Lue saved Blatt from eternal Hall of Shame membership by yanking Blatt to the bench when he was trying to call a timeout the Cavs did not have against Chicago in the second playoff round in 2015.

Like anyone who coaches James, Lue, after he was promoted to head coach at midseason in 2016, never got the respect he deserved. 

But he had that of James, which meant more.

James never publicly overruled any Lue play on the last shot. But he did that to Blatt on the same possession as the abortive timeout call in the Chicago series.

James did not wave Lue back to the bench as a season circled the drain, as he did Mike Brown at Boston in the second round  in 2010.

Players respect former players. And Lue was more contemporaneous than James' first Cavs coach, former Celtics' mainstay Paul Silas. 

Perseverance and a parade

Lue was a journeyman NBA player from a football school (Nebraska) out of a hometown (Mexico, Missouri) that was known mainly to Rand and McNally.

Players on the roster margins survive on their IQ for the game and their grit. Lue brought that mindset to the Cavs as head coach. 

He was defiant when the Cavs were down, 3-1 in the 2016 Finals, a deficit never overcome before on that stage. They faced the monumental task of winning three straight games, two of them on the road, against the defending champion  Warriors whose 73-9 record was an all-time best.

"If you don't think we can win, don't get on the plane," Lue said of the flight to Game 5.

Victory has many fathers

The 2016 triumph was James' championship, the one he bequeathed to Cleveland's fans as he promised.

It was Irving's and Love's for their big plays, too.

But it was also Lue's.

In the locker room, the players gave him the 16th and last golden segment of a mosaic they were assembling after each playoff win. It depicted the championship trophy. Lue was literally the last piece of the puzzle. 

Now those glittering pieces have been fed to the chipper.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised their third-year option on center Ante Zizic, a source tells cleveland.com.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised their third-year option on center Ante Zizic, a source tells cleveland.com.

The Cavaliers had until Oct. 31 to make the decision. This keeps Zizic, 21, with the Cavaliers through the 2019-20 season. 

Zizic was acquired from the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2017 -- part of the Kyrie Irving package. 

The second-year man is averaging 3.4 points on 66.7 percent from the field to go with 2.0 rebounds in 7.2 minutes.

He played double-digit minutes in the first two games of the season against Toronto and Minnesota, but hasn't logged more than four in a game since. Zizic could receive more playing time in the next weeks, especially with Kevin Love staring at a possible lengthy absence because of what a source describes to cleveland.com as "significant pain" in his left foot. 

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley was asked at his weekly Monday press conference if he's ever thought about jumping to the NFL.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shortly after Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired by the Browns, Baker Mayfield's Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley was asked if he'd be interested in the job if the Browns came calling.

"No, not right now,'' Riley said during his Monday press conference. "You sit here and answer these questions and I always want to be truthful. The truth is for me is I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here, I love college football. I certainly don't have that itch right now. I don't know that I ever will, but I'm never going to be a guy that's gonna stand up here and say 'No how, no way will any of these things ever happen.' I don't know that. I know right now I couldn't care less about the NFL."

The Browns have fired Jackson and Haley

NFL teams have picked Riley's brains on his high-powered Air Raid offense, and he's considered one of the up-and-coming candidates for NFL jobs. Teams are looking for the next brilliant offensive mind like the Rams' Sean McCoy, and many think Riley fits the bill. 

Lincoln Riley's full comment on coaching in the NFL and #Browns rumors. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/yE2eesL7Gu

-- Dylan Buckingham (@DylanBuckingham) October 29, 2018

Williams has been named interim coach of the Browns, and Kitchens has been promoted from running backs coach to offensive coordinator. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been named the Browns' interim head coach by team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam. Cleveland.com first reported that Williams would be given that title.

Freddie Kitchens, the Browns' running backs coach, has been promoted to offensive coordinator, news that cleveland.com first reported as well.

Williams replaces Hue Jackson, who was fired Monday along with offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

The Browns informed the staff and players in a meeting around 2 p.m.

Williams presides over a defense that leads the NFL with 22 takeaways this season.

Williams has coached in the NFL since 1990. He was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2001-03, where his teams went 3-13, 8-8 and 6-10. He was named the Browns' defensive coordinator after the 2016 season.

Jackson and Haley fired after 33-18 loss to Steelers  

Kitchens, in his 13th NFL season, came to the Browns as running backs/associate head coach on Jan. 24, 2018. This will be the first time in his coaching career at any level that he holds the title of offensive coordinator.

Kitchens was with the Arizona Cardinals for 11 seasons before joining the Browns, serving as running backs coach, quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach.

During his time as Cardinals quarterbacks coach, Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer set single-season team records for passing yards (4,671), touchdown passes (35) and passer rating (104.6). 

For too long, Cleveland was the victim of a coach who earned every bit of that 3-36-1 record. Let him wear that record as a tattoo of his time here.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hue Jackson, at long last, is finally the victim he always made himself out to be.

He's the victim of a franchise with hope that couldn't stomach his ineptitude any longer; a victim of owners who finally stared their obvious mistake in the eyes and acted; the victim of a city tired of the excuse-making of a failed leader who always fell short, whatever the standard was.

In the long, dysfunctional history of the Browns, what Jackson perpetrated on this city for 40 games, 36 losses and 33 months was an abomination.

A few months ago I sat in Jackson's office and he vowed the Browns would win. I told him I'd write it when it happened. He promised I'd be writing it.

Instead, we're here.

Hue Jackson has been fired. No coach has ever deserved it more.

Note this now, because soon enough Jackson will find a friendly writer and his take on what went wrong in Cleveland will come out. With Jackson, it always does.

He'll take direct shots at the front office, the media and parts of the roster. He'll take veiled shots at ownership and maybe even the fans. He'll claim no coach could have done any better than 3-36-1 with what he was handed, just like he declared no coach could have avoided 1-31.

Here's the pre-emptive response:

Anyone could have done better.

For the 2016 season, the Haslams adopted a plan to try something different, to tear down and rebuild, and from the start Jackson was more interested in saving himself than doing what was best for this team. There were mistakes along the way, there always are, but Jackson couldn't tolerate the missteps of others - Sashi Brown, DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler - while piling his own gaffes on top of each other.

Jackson, surely, will take this attack as personal. He was always concerned with the idea of lines being crossed, wanting to differentiate the coach from the person and bristling whenever he believed his character was questioned.

When it comes to Jackson the person, it's not personal. Why would anyone have anything against Jackson on that level?

But in a city like Cleveland, with fans as loyal and as beaten down as Browns fans, of course it's personal when it comes to his job. Jackson wasn't just a leader of the locker room, he was the leader of a nation of Browns backers hoping and praying this would be different than the coaching failures of the past, of two years of Eric Mangini and two years of Pat Shurmur and a year of Rob Chudzinski and two years of Mike Pettine.

It was different. It was worse than all of them.

Jackson didn't have a winning roster for his first two seasons. But he didn't have a 1-31 team. As I said before, he took a losing team and made it historically awful. He took a difficult job and made it impossible.

Now, with a competitive team, he was doing the same - underachieving again.

There are problems in Cleveland. Ownership is a problem. The receivers are a problem. The offensive tackles are a problem. The game plan from the coordinators are problems.

Every single problem Jackson faced for 2 1/2 seasons, he took and made it worse.

Without an answer at quarterback, he overhyped his options and then benched them.

After wiping out basically his entire coaching staff, he hired veteran coordinators in Todd Haley and Gregg Williams and then couldn't work with them.

Facing a long and taxing rebuild, he panicked last season when he didn't need to, nearly gave away draft assets in a desperate QB move for AJ McCarron and then led the Haslams to dump Brown, the GM he couldn't work with.

Brown, who has plenty of detractors, at least always took a long-term view that he believed was the best chance for the Browns to win.

Jackson never worried about more than what could get Hue Jackson through the day, no matter the cost to the team.

With the Browns taking the longview, Jackson had built-in job security that he never realized he had. No one, including the Haslams, held 1-31 against him. In the face of failure, there was a greater goal in mind.

But Jackson couldn't avoid making everything worse. It wasn't just 1-31. It was how Jackson handled 1-31.

Every news conference was a chance for Jackson to stake an unnecessary claim or pledge an unneeded promise. He chose bold words, and never backed them with actions.

It's why the man wound up in a lake.

That will be a lasting memory from this dark time in Cleveland football history.

But Jackson's greatest legacy will be his everyday failings, the time after time he sat before a microphone and spouted platitudes no one bought.

Browns fans had to watch their team lose on Sunday. And then they had to watch Jackson explain it and excuse himself on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I thought letting Jackson finish this season was fine, as long as he wasn't hurting Baker Mayfield. Fears that he was thwarting the development of the rookie QB played into this call. 

The future of the Browns is brighter today because Jackson isn't part of it. But before looking ahead, we owe it to ourselves to bury the past.

For 40 games, Browns fans had to call Hue Jackson their coach.

For 40 games, Jackson did little but lose and worry about Hue Jackson.

For too long, Cleveland was the victim of a coach who earned every bit of that 3-36-1 record. Let him wear that record as a tattoo of his time here.

Cleveland will try to forget.

Drew, like the rest of the assistant coaches on the staff, are in the final year of their contracts. Watch video

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Larry Drew wanted to make something perfectly clear following Monday's practice: He is the "voice" of the Cleveland Cavaliers and will continue to run the team like a "substitute teacher" in the aftermath of Tyronn Lue's abrupt firing. 

But that's it. Any other characterization is inaccurate. 

"I'm not the interim coach," Drew said emphatically. "I'm the voice right now. I'm sure you guys are aware that there are some talks that are going on. I don't know if any type of agreement or settlement will be made. I am prepared either way. I'll continue to do my job, but right now there's not been any type of agreement."

The Cavs fired Lue on Sunday morning after an 0-6 start to the season where the lack of competitiveness was glaring, losing four of the six games by double figures and never leading after halftime. 

That move has led to some ambiguity with the coaches on staff. Drew, like the rest of the assistants, are in the final year of their contracts.

Along with his agent, Andy Miller, Drew has been in frequent discussions with general manager Koby Altman about restructuring his deal -- a necessity for Drew to take on this bigger role full time. 

According to Altman, having Drew in charge for the rest of the year is one option. But Altman didn't want to get into the specifics of those conversations. 

"It's not fair to get into negotiations, especially doing it publicly through the media. That's not fair to Larry, it's not fair to his representation," he said. "But again, he's an asset and we're happy to have him right now."

The communication between the two sides has been characterized by the parties involved as "open and honest." There's a mutual understanding. But it's also been lengthy, spending a big bulk of Sunday afternoon -- when he wasn't watching the Cleveland Browns closely at Lue's house in Bay Village or reflecting on their time together in NBA -- and the early hours of Monday morning trying to get a deal done.

Drew said he had to correct numerous friends, family members and peers that were sending him congratulatory text messages about being named the interim coach. The last call with his agent happened shortly after midnight, without any deal.

"I don't know if one will be made, to be perfectly honest," Drew said.

While the Cavaliers aren't going into tank mode just yet, Kevin Love's potential absence -- a stretch that could become extended -- may force them into that direction sooner rather than later. There's already been a push-pull about playing time for veterans vs. youngsters, as player development remains at the heart of what's considered successful this season.

Before making that blow-it-up decision, Altman said he wanted more time to evaluate the team under this new leadership.

Drew, meanwhile, is looking for assurances. 

"The way I look at it, it's not a very complicated situation," he said. "It's obvious this team is going in a different direction with the group that we do have and with the decisions that have been made with the organization. I would like to be part of it long term, to be perfectly honest. I've been through the rebuilding process as a player and as a coach and I feel I know what it takes. Certainly when you talk about rebuilding, it's not an easy thing to do. It's usually something that takes a little time.

"If it's going to take some time, I'd like to be part of that. I made the organization pretty aware of that, that this is something that's not going to happen overnight. In order to be a part of that, I feel that it's going to have to be something done with a little bit more security."

Drew staying in his role of associate head coach/lead assistant while the Cavaliers conduct an outside search is still a possibility. That's just not the focus. 

If the Cavs go that direction and start eyeing assistants on other staffs around the NBA they would have to be granted permission to interview those candidates. 

For now, Drew will continue to do his job. He's not operating from a position of leverage. He is under contract, after all. The associate head coach under Lue, Drew was always considered the obvious fill-in if anything happened.

When Lue struggled with health-related issues, Drew steered the team to a stellar 9-1 mark. At 60 years old, with four seasons of head coaching experience in Atlanta and Milwaukee, Drew has the most seniority on the current staff. And with Lue gone, Drew's the logical pick to guide them out of this poor start. 

On Monday afternoon, he was running practice. After a sluggish start, one to be expected following the dismissal of a head coach, Drew did something different to ignite the group. After that, everyone noticed a different energy level on the court.

"It was out of the ordinary," Drew said of his tactic. "Just a drill that most teams do, it's a 3 on 0 drill, but it starts with a 3 on 0, and builds up to a 13 on 0 and you do it full court, everybody touches the ball. They have to be organized. They have to be together. They have to communicate. They have to have spacing and you can see while they were doing, they were all chatting, the wheels were turning and they were engaged and that's really what I wanted out of it."

After practice, Drew was planning to go home and watch film of the first game against Atlanta -- a 133-111 loss in the home opener. He will conduct shootaround Tuesday morning and put in a game plan, with a few changes on both sides of the ball and more "unpredictability," according to him. He will then coach against the Hawks -- with or without a new deal.

Beyond that, it gets murky. 

Drew and his agent talked at length Sunday about a deadline for some resolution. He doesn't have one, but hopes if it doesn't work out with him things can be cleared up "sooner than later." 

"Right now my competitive juices are still flowing, and as long as they flow I'm going to be out there instructing," he said. "I've been blessed. I have my health, I have my strength. I still feel I have that competitive fire. I still enjoy teaching. I like teaching the young guys. I'm committed."

But before he makes that commitment, he wants the Cavaliers to step up and give him the same -- an agreement that extends beyond the 2018-19 season. 

"I would love that. And I would love my players to know that's how it's going to be," Drew said. "But this business is what it is.

"It's kind of like being a substitute teacher until we find out what happens."

Three wins in 40 games meant the only possible reaction to Hue Jackson's firing is a sense of frank wonder that the inevitable took so long.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - It is almost a shame that long-suffering Browns fans, in the event someone shouts "Boo!" at them on Halloween, can't reply in snappy fashion, "Boo who - Hue?"

The Browns fired Coach Hue Jackson on Monday, one day after the much less deserving Tyronn Lue, who coached the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals and one championship, got the gate across town.

Hue at long last wouldn't do

All I can say of the Browns owner -- formerly known  in this space as Jimmy "Hotspur" Haslam for his sacking of coaches and general managers in a manner reminiscent of Myles Garrett with opposing quarterbacks - is: "What, pray tell, took you so long?"

In the years of  Manny Inacta  (OK, OK, his name was actually Acta) Indians  fans got used to the franchise recycling mediocrity and worse, then calling it stability.

In the first interregnum after LeBron James left, Cavs fans could accept misery because tanking in 2003 was the path to more lottery ping pong balls and sudden return to relevance with LeBron James.

Indeed, Kyrie Irving arrived via the lottery one dreadful season into the four-year famine.

But Jackson set records for consistency in terrible, horrible, no good, very bad seasons and, given his 21/2 year, 3-36-1 record, in longevity that might never be lowered without using a backhoe.

His 1-31 record inspired mirthless "Hue Jackson Day" celebrations last Jan. 31 (1-31, get it?)  

His 0-16 second season inspired a mocking parade in the team's dishonor.

Who could've won more? 

I admit that I could not resist the muse of poetic doggerel after two seasons of this mess, giving Hue his due in such labels as "One Will Do," "No Clue, " and "Should Be Through" Hue.

It is, however, my sincere belief that in a league devoted to parity, even with more front office tanking than at a scuba divers' convention, any NFL coach lively enough to respire could win more than one game.

Maybe he had laryngitis

Supposedly a "quarterback whisperer," Jackson must have been silent as a Trappist monk in his dealings with DeShone Kizer. The rookie quarterback was in and out of the lineup while saddled with Jackson's "bombs away" offense. It was sadly unsuited to his poor protection and inexact accuracy.

The cat never got Jackson's tongue, though. 

Saying goodbye

He knew how to placate Haslam, unspurred as the owner was by his franchise's dismal performance.

Jackson was unimpressed enough by Isiah Crowell's 59-yard run in the winless season to say to a knot of reporters, "Me and you, all five of us, could have run through that hole."

To which I personally say Jackson could certainly beat me, although I am a decent bet to dust anyone in a leg cast, on crutches, or using a walker.

Things got so bad before Jackson's last game that he said he might have to "infuse" himself in the offense his coordinator,  Todd Haley, was running. With the vim of Jacksonian infusions permeating their veins, the Browns lost lopsidedly in Pittsburgh Sunday. Haley was fired Monday too, for what it's worth, which isn't much.

There weren't enough angles to the firings to gratify a pool shark. It's enough that the Browns aren't behind the Hue ball anymore.

Bill Livingston is a retired Plain Dealer columnist who writes occasional columns for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.

Ohio State's football coach has dealt with several issues lately, but only one really matters.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Everyone is watching Urban Meyer.

On the sideline, they are watching every grimace, and in his news conferences they are watching every time he brushes his hand over the left side his head.

If the Buckeyes were 8-0 instead of 7-1, the looks would be less intense, because winning, as always, solves almost everything.

But the Buckeyes lost their last game at Purdue by 29 and then entered a bye week filled with speculation about the future of Ohio State's football coach. It wasn't just fans, or the usual national pundits. Kirk Herbstreit, the measured and respected former Ohio State quarterback and long-time ESPN analyst, told Dan Patrick's radio show that Meyer seemed anguished on the sideline.

It felt to me like the loss kicked into high gear a game of connect the dots based on Meyer's past at Florida and recent issues in Columbus. There were four issues at play that I think the fifth item - the Purdue loss - brought into focus.

But before I delved into those, I wanted to ask Meyer about those looks, and the couch doctors and sofa psychologists peering from afar at what seems to be a stressed-out coach.

"I appreciate it, and I'm fine," Meyer said at his usual Monday news conference, with the Buckeyes set to host Nebraska on Saturday. "I want Ohio State to be successful in the worst way. Working extremely hard to make sure that's happening.

"I love Ohio State, I love our players, so the issue ... I don't want people to worry about me. I want to make sure we're getting some things right around here, and that is what the effort is. That is 100 percent of what my focus is on."

As for the sideline anguish referenced by Herbstreit, Meyer said, "The games have gotten to me for 30 years."

And I believe that to be true. For good and for bad, Meyer is tightly wired into every play, but given what has happened, we're noticing it more.

"We're not playing well, and, you know, I'm one of those guys that I want to help fix the issue, like all coaches do," Meyer said. "So I'm not sure what anguish means. Like pissed or upset? And you know when you see some things that we're doing, it's really uncharacteristic of our teams.

"So that might be what it looks like. I'm not sure what that exactly means and who said that? Kirk you said?"

Yes, Herbstreit. This was part of what he said with Patrick last week.

"If you watch him on the sidelines ... he looks, the word I've used is anguished. He looks frustrated. He looks very emotional and erratic," Herbstreit said.

Other coaches look that way. But why are people keyed in on Meyer right now?

Here are the four reasons I referenced earlier.

1. The arachnoid cyst in Meyer's head that sent him to his knees during the Indiana game on Oct. 6. Meyer has a known issue that has flared up at least once this season, so people wonder about his health. It's why he rubs the left side of his head, where the cyst is, at times.

2. The Zach Smith firing and Meyer's three-game suspension that resulted from his mishandling of Smith. Having a veteran coach sidelined like that is unusual. Whatever you think of Meyer's action with Smith, and Ohio State's actions with Meyer, that was a volatile situation for a month and led to a strange start to the season. It also led many to question Meyer's relationship with Ohio State president Michael Drake and athletic director Gene Smith, who was suspended along with Meyer.

3. The way Meyer's tenure ended at Florida. After six seasons, Meyer was clearly burned out. He resigned, then came back, after he thought he was having a heart attack after the SEC Championship at the end of his fifth season. Critics still view Meyer as using his health as an excuse, and his end with the Gators was messier than would have been expected after winning two national titles in his first four seasons.

4. The way Thad Matta's career ended at Ohio State. This maybe isn't at the front of most fans' mind, but the former OSU basketball coach dealt with severe back problems that many theorized might eventually end his career. Then one day in the summer of 2017, athletic director Gene Smith met with Matta, and after previously deciding Matta would stay, Smith changed his mind and fired him, based on the idea that something with Matta didn't see right. So there is proof of a coach with health issues eventually losing his job to them.

All that is true.

Then the Buckeyes lost.

And you saw a coach with a health issue ...

who is coming off a suspension that theoretically may have affected his relationship with the university ...

who left Florida after different health issues ...

and who is coaching at a school that let go of a basketball coach with back problems 16 months ago.

And you connect the dots to reveal a question mark about Meyer's future.

He was asked directly about that Monday by Dave Biddle of Bucknuts.com.

I've seen some people in the media implying that you could retire after this season. I'm sure if that's not true you would like to respond to that. What is your response when you hear things like that?

MEYER: I plan on coaching.

You plan on coaching?

MEYER: Yes.

Can you say for sure you'll be back next year at Ohio State?

MEYER: Yes.

It was a question that needed to be asked, and an answer that Ohio State fans wanted to hear.

But beyond the question, there are the dots.

I don't think they connect as much as some people assume they do.

I don't think the suspension or Meyer's relationship with Ohio State will drive him out. I don't think the way things ended at Florida truly affect anything happening at Ohio State. I don't think Matta's fate means Meyer will be handled the same way.

And I don't think he's extra stressed over the red zone offense or the big plays allowed on defense, at least not any more stressed than in past years after losses.

But I do think it's fair to wonder about Meyer's health as it relates to his cyst. That's the one dot that matters. When what is happening in your head knocks you to your knees in the middle of a game, that's something more than anguish.

That's pain.

Meyer had surgery in early March 2014 to drain fluid from the cyst, which he previously revealed had been an on-and-off issue for him since 1998. 

"Not great, I feel good," Meyer said in 2014. "I've had it for several years. It's a cyst, an arachnoid cyst. It surfaced a couple of times, once in '98 and once in '04 and a couple of other times. It's just something you've got to manage."

Meyer said then that doctors advised him to watch how much he screamed and blew his whistle, knowing short busts of stress like that can increase problems with the cyst.

Meyer seemed to downplay the health issue then, but any recurring issue regarding something near Meyer's brain is serious. As Meyer said then, it's something he must manage. 

The rest of it Meyer can handle. He's a 54-year-old that wants to coach football. He's also a 54-year-old with an ongoing health issue that is maybe more serious that most of us realized. 

While the 2018 team's stats are good, people still love the 2004 World Series team for breaking the Curse of the Bambino with a cast of unforgettable characters. Watch video

The Boston Red Sox climbed the MLB mountain and find themselves alone at the top after winning the World Series. The championship caps off one of the most dominant seasons of Red Sox baseball ever, winning 108 games and going 11-3 in the postseason. Many are saying this is the best team the Red Sox have ever had. While the stats are good, people still love the 2004 World Series team for breaking the Curse of the Bambino with a cast of unforgettable characters. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

2004 was a fun time for Red Sox fans who saw the Curse of the Bambino lifted, but 2018 is the far superior team and it's not even close. That 2004 team didn't dominate the league for the entire season like the 2018 squad. The Red Sox had a combined 119 victories, tied for third-most ever in MLB history. They only lost three games in the postseason and never lost two consecutive. This is one of the best teams period!

Red Sox World Series: Boston's 2018 title team will go down as one of the greatest in MLB history

BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL. MOST WINS IN FRANCHISE HISTORY. AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION CHAMPIONS. AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS. THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM IN RED SOX HISTORY. FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN 15 SEASONS, THE 2018 BOSTON RED SOX ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!! DAMAGE!! #GOLDBOTTLES pic.twitter.com/7h52MxuIUd

-- Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) October 29, 2018

2018 might have had the more dominant team, but no team comes close to the 2004 squad. That squad took Boston on a magical ride, coming back from 3-0 to beat the hated New York Yankees in seven games and swept the St. Louis Cardinals to break an 85-year World Series drought. With watershed moments like Dave Roberts' steal, the Bloody Sock game and Big Papi's huge hits, that group of "Idiots" in 2004 will never be forgotten. They are the most memorable team in Red Sox history.

When I think of Red Sox World Series winning teams, 2007 is inevitably stack ranked third after 2004 and 2013. Obviously 2004 beats all, but is it because 2013 rallied behind the city when we needed it? Is it because the 2013 squad was more endearing? Probably a little of both.

-- Red (@SurvivingGrady) October 28, 2018

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.

Then, when it was time to break practice, Drew capped the session with a specific message. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The reasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers' dismissal of Tyronn Lue are numerous.

Near the top of the list: general manager Koby Altman believing this group -- an unusual mixture of veterans and young players -- needed a new voice.

In the short term, that's Larry Drew. He's literally the "voice."

At least, that's how he referred to himself since he's not yet ready to take the interim coach title without a new contract and some added security. That power play added a stunning wrinkle to Cleveland's post-Lue plan. But he doesn't really have much leverage in this scenario.

The two sides still need to work out the finer points of Drew's role and have been talking since Lue was fired on Sunday.

But for now, it's up to Drew to turn around a winless team that has underachieved in the first six games of the season.

Drew led the team through practice on Monday afternoon. He used an unusual tactic -- a 3 on 0 drill that turns into full-court 13 on 0 that demands organization, communication and attention to detail -- to stimulate the team. It's no coincidence those areas are considered weak points during the horrific start.

Then, when it was time to break for the day, Drew capped the session with a specific message.

"Let's turn the chapter. Let's start with kind of a new slate and let's not really concern ourselves with those first six losses. Let's see if we can come out tomorrow night and let's be different," he said. "I think they understood exactly what I was saying. With all that has happened within the last 48 hours, it really is a new chapter.

"Whether things do work out with me or not, still enough has taken place for this team to say, 'OK, let's sweep those first six under the rug and let's start a whole new slate.'"

That's the approach the Cavs are now taking. It's their only choice.

Just like they couldn't dwell on LeBron James' departure, they can't get caught up in their feelings over Lue's exile -- no matter how much it stung when first receiving the news.

"Guys play for coaches that are (expletive) and (expletive) and hope they get fired and they don't care, but T Lue is a guy that everyone loved," Tristan Thompson said. "From the medical staff to the front office to the security guards and everything. T Lue, he was very a respectful man, polite, he was happy to be here, especially with his health condition and being able to fight those battles. Everyone loved him and it was definitely sad that he was gone and we had to let him go. At the same time, just have to keep pushing forward."

The fresh start began Monday. But, really, it's about Tuesday night against the Hawks -- a two-win team that embarrassed the Cavaliers a little more than a week ago in the home opener.

Drew inherits a team that has yet to lead in the second half. A team that has trailed by at least 16 points in every game. That ranks 29th in defensive efficiency after entering the season with a perplexing plan to switch everything despite lacking the personnel to execute that scheme effectively. That has maddeningly fallen in love with the mid-range jumper while abandoning the 3-ball. That will be without leading scorer Kevin Love for the foreseeable future because of soreness in his left foot that has been characterized as "significant pain." That has talked repeatedly about playing fast, only to rank 27th in PACE.

A team that's been an abject failure in the season's first two weeks.

"I wish I could demand wins. That would be awesome if I could demand wins," Altman said. "But I think we need to have chances to win and I think that with this team and this talent, we have a chance to win every night. And notwithstanding Kevin's injury. Kevin is a big part of that and I understand that. But I think this team has enough talent, enough veteran leadership that we can compete for wins. Demanding wins is a tough thing to do. This is a hard business, this is a really tough league. We're demanding being better night in and night out in terms of competing and having a chance to win."

Drew also said the first thing he wants to see from the players is competitiveness every night. The acting coach also said he has some specific changes in mind even though he won't get into specifics.

He plans to make changes on the defensive side of the ball, adding a few wrinkles and taking some away. He hinted that the team will go away from switching, challenging the guys to be tougher on the ball. The same goes on the offensive end.

"I'm always preaching about making sure to keep the opposition guessing," Drew said. "I don't like being a predictable team with what I do. I think if you can take out the predictability on both ends of the floor, I think you become a tougher team to defend and I think you become a better defensive team. I've just been contemplating, thinking about some things I want to do a little bit differently."

He also pointed to the need for younger players to learn in game situations as opposed to practices. Even though there haven't been any direct conversations about rotations and playing time -- Drew wants to hold those chats until his situation is resolved -- he compared this setup to the one he dealt with in Atlanta.

"Had some young guys, had some veteran guys," he said. "Some decisions had to be made as far as who is going to play, who isn't going to play. Do you put them all out there together? Do you sprinkle them in? But no real dialogue I would say about exactly how we want to do it."

Numerous challenges still lie ahead. Firing Lue doesn't fix all of Cleveland's problems.

The next question that requires an honest evaluation from Altman is whether the Cavs are sticking with their preseason approach of fighting for a playoff spot. He couldn't answer it Monday.

"That's evolving and that's probably a week-to-week evaluation as I look at this team and as I see us moving forward," Altman said. "We haven't played our best basketball yet. I wanted to give ourselves a chance to actually play our best basketball and see what that looks like, but my job is to evaluate our talent level and make decisions and that's going to evolve as the year goes on."

The decision may come sooner than anyone anticipates. The Cavs are the only team without a win. They may not have Love, their best player and leading scorer, for what could be about a month. They look to be playing a game from the wrong era, getting destroyed by opponents in 3-point margin. It's hard to see the defense getting better with a dearth of quality defenders. They weren't competitive with two teams -- Atlanta and Brooklyn -- which were supposed to be a realistic barometer. 

If the wins don't come soon, it would be hard to justify keeping this group together. It would be hard to believe the playoffs are a realistic goal.

The Cavs are adamant they aren't ready to make that call just yet. Thompson said they have shown "a lot of flashes" and stretches where they put together quality basketball. Those moments allow them to think they are better than this mess of an 0-6 team.

Altman agreed with that assessment, pointing to players in the locker room as his reason for belief.

"My talent level, seeing these guys compete not only for our team but for teams in the past," he said. "We had a pretty good preseason that I thought I saw some good things. But I think we have a talent level that has underachieved this year."

Drew will get the first chance to change that.

"He's been through a myriad of different situations as a head coach and as an assistant," Altman said. "Winning programs, losing programs, he's done a lot of different things for us and in this league and we're relying on him right now and his experience right now to push this thing forward."

When Drew was at Lue's house in Bay Village to watch the Browns game on Sunday afternoon, the two didn't talk much hoops. They reminisced about Finals runs and the 2016 championship. Drew reflected on all the teams they've been on together, the coaching staffs they've been a part of. He found himself getting emotional a few times. That's how close they are.

When Drew was blindsided by the Bucks, fired after a 15-win season in 2014, the first call he received was from Lue. Drew wanted to take a year off to recharge. But Lue insisted that Drew join him in Cleveland.

The two have been joined at the hip ever since.

When Lue left the arena late Saturday night for what turned out to be his final stroll down that long hallway leading to the exit, Drew was right next to him.

In the hours after Lue learned his fate, Drew was there again.

Now, with the Cavaliers at a crossroads, he will need to be there more than ever. Only this time, without Lue by his side, as Drew tries to rewrite the story of the 2018-19 Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (0-6), with acting head coach Larry Drew, will try to avenge a home-opening loss against the Atlanta Hawks (2-4) on Tuesday night.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers (0-6), with acting head coach Larry Drew, will try to avenge a home-opening loss against the Atlanta Hawks (2-4) on Tuesday night.

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Quicken Loans Arena

TV: FoxSports Ohio 

Radio: WTAM 1100 AM; WMMS 100.7 FM, La Mega 87.7 FM.

Online: FoxSports Go apps

Last meeting: The Cavs lost to the Hawks 133-111 in the third game of the regular season. 

Cavs minute: The Cavs will play their first game since firing head coach Tyronn Lue. ... Drew, who filled in during Lue's absence last season, led the team to a 9-1 mark. ... Drew has a 143-169 career record as head coach, spanning four full seasons with Atlanta and Milwaukee. ... The Cavs have six players averaging double figures this season: Kevin Love (19.0), Jordan Clarkson (16.2), George Hill (12.3), Rodney Hood (12.0), Cedi Osman (12.0) and Collin Sexton (11.2). ... Tristan Thompson (4,430) is five rebounds away from passing Anderson Varejao (4,434) for the fifth-most boards in franchise history. ... In Saturday's loss against Indiana, Cleveland finished with a 39-24 (+15) edge on the glass, their biggest rebound margin this season. The Cavs have outrebounded opponents in five of their six games so far. ... After scoring 54 points against the Pacers on Saturday, the Cavs' reserves are now averaging 47.8 points, which ranks second in the NBA. ... Sexton has tallied double-figure points in three straight. ... Sexton is sixth among rookies in scoring.

Hawks minute: The Hawks have lost two straight games, being held under 100 points in both. ... Atlanta made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in the first meeting against the Cavs. ... The Hawks hit eight 3s during Monday's loss against the Sixers, ending their streak of double-digit made triples at five games. ... Trae Young leads all rookies in points per game (19.8) and assists per game (6.8). ... Young scored 35 points and dished out 11 assists in the first matchup against the Cavs. ... That night, he became the eighth first-year player in NBA history to score 35 points to go with 11 helpers in one game, joining Oscar Robertson (12 times), Michael Jordan (twice), LeBron James, Steph Curry, Allen Iverson, Sherman Douglas and Kelvin Ransey. ... Omari Spellman is No. 1 among first-year players in 3-point percentage (45.5) and eighth in rebounds per game (4.3). ... Spellman scored a career-best 17 points on Oct. 21 in Cleveland. 

Probable starters:

Cavs

F Sam Dekker

F Cedi Osman

C Tristan Thompson

G Rodney Hood

G George Hill

Hawks

F Taurean Prince

F Vince Carter

C Alex Len

G Kent Bazemore

G Trae Young

Check here for live scoring from the 2018 U.S. Open -- the fourth and final major of the Professional Bowlers Association Tour season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kristopher Prather led after the first round of match play at 2018 U.S. Open at Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kan. The final two rounds of match play unfold Tuesday; Round 2 begins Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.

• U.S. OPEN SCORING VIA PBA.COM

• U.S. OPEN SCORING VIA BOWL.COM

Jakob Butturff, Dom Barrett, Jason Sterner and Ryan Ciminelli were Nos. 2-5 entering Tuesday. Match play features the top 24 from a starting field of 144.

The five finalists will be determined by conclusion of competition Tuesday; the finalists will have bowled a total of 56 games (32 qualifying, 24 round-robin match play).

The CBS Sports Network-televised finals air live Wednesday night beginning at 8 ET.

The U.S. Open is the fourth and final major on the 2018 PBA Tour schedule.

MAC mid-week football has a full slate of TV games Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Everything is on the line in Mid-American Conference Football from the penthouse to the outhouse as mid-week football gets a full slate of action, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

At the top of the chain, tonight, the Miami RedHawks (3-5, 3-1) get a serious road test at league-leading Buffalo (7-1, 4-0), 8 p.m. on ESPN2. Miami can give its MAC East Division title hopes a boost with a road upset over the Bulls, who lead the division and are closing in on clinching the title. One more victory for UB would make the Bulls a hard team to catch down the stretch.

At the opposite end of the chain, Kent State (1-7, 0-4) is at Bowling Green (1-7, 0-4), 8 p.m. ESPNU, where the loser of this game will quite likely end the season winless in MAC play.

The Golden Flashes have struggled under first-year head coach Sean Lewis, while BG has already fired its head coach, Mike Jinks. The Falcons, who have the ability to score with most teams in the league, gave the interim job to defensive coordinator Carl Pelini. Bowling Green has been the worst defensive team in the league all season.

Wednesday, Ball State (3-6, 2-3) is at Toledo (4-4, 2-2), 7:30 p.m. ESPN2, where the two teams do not have any title hopes. Yet both are still viable to become bowl eligible if they can get to six victories.

But the big night of the week is Thursday with a pair of cross-division games that can impact both division races as well as locking down bowl eligibility.

Ohio University (5-3, 3-1) is at Western Michigan (6-3, 4-1) 7 p.m. ESPNU, where the Bobcats and Broncos are contending for MAC East and MAC West division titles, respectively. Both are one game out of their division lead with head-to-head matchup still to play vs. the leaders.

Also Thursday, surprising Northern Illinois (5-3, 4-0) is at Akron (4-3, 2-2), 7 p.m. CBS SportsNet. The Zips are in the statistical hunt for a division title, but just as important coach Terry Bowden's team needs two more wins to become bowl eligible.

NIU, coming off a road upset over BYU, sits first in the MAC West but still has critical games left with Toledo, Miami and Western Michigan.

MAC Football This week

• Tuesday
• Miami at Buffalo, 8 p.m. ESPN2
• Kent State at Bowling Green, 8 p.m. ESPNU
• Wednesday
• Ball State at Toledo, 7:30 p.m. ESPN2
• Thursday
• Northern Illinois at Akron, 7 p.m. CBSSportsNet
• Ohio University at Western Michigan, 7 p.m. ESPNU
• Saturday
• Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan, Noon.

While Roger Goodell said the sport's biggest game is not in London's immediate future, some think having London as a host city would globalize the game and help the league grow outside of the United States. Watch video

After winning the against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said the games played in England's capital are comparable to the Super Bowl. While Roger Goodell said the sport's biggest game is not in London's immediate future, some think having London as a host city would globalize the game and help the league grow outside of the United States. Others think having the Super Bowl overseas is an abomination. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

The NFL might not be thinking of a Super Bowl in London now, but the league would foolish to squash the idea. The games in England's capital have been wildly successful and that kind of momentum needs to be maintained. 

Other sports have globalized, while the NFL is still lagging behind. Hosting one of the most watched events in the world in London would build the league's international status and grow the game overseas. This is a no-brainer decision. There should be a Super Bowl in London.

Football is an iconic American sport. Hosting the sport's biggest game on foreign soil would be a travesty. 

Regular season games in London have been successful enough; the NFL shouldn't need to make a big splash by hosting the Super Bowl there. Sending teams to England has been exciting, but fans in the United States shouldn't be forgotten. The Super Bowl needs to stay on American soil.

I'm from London and I don't think a SuperBowl should be held here. As grateful as I am to have games over here, this is your sport so the big game should remain your side of the pond.

-- Graham (4-4) [?] #FinsUp (@Grummy1976) October 29, 2018

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.

A few weeks, later Lue was also gone. Fired by general manager Koby Altman following a horrific 0-6 start to the season.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Collin Sexton tossed on his Cleveland Cavaliers gear -- a new wine-colored hat -- for the first time on June 21 and was immediately asked to make a pitch for LeBron James to stay in Cleveland.

A little more than a week later, James was gone.

Sexton made his NBA regular season debut with the Cavaliers on Oct. 17 in Toronto. His head coach was Tyronn Lue, the man who had built a strong bond with the Sexton family, helped guide Sexton through his college recruitment and was expected to do the same in the NBA.

Nearly two weeks later, Lue was gone. Fired by general manager Koby Altman following a horrific 0-6 start to the season on Sunday morning. 

Welcome to the NBA, kid. Or, more appropriately, welcome to Cleveland.

"He's getting a lesson in the NBA very, very fast," Altman said on Monday. "But listen, this is part of it. It's part of the business. He has to roll with it. This is a kid that has incredible work ethic. Shows up every day and works. He controls what he can control and that's a lesson that someone taught him very early on. He keeps his attitude, keeps his work ethic and it's the same guy every day.

"We're obviously excited to see how it unfolds for him this year and we're just excited to see him get better game after game."

But imagine being Sexton. He's 19 years old. Trying to find his way in a league filled with stars, legends and giants. The competition never rests. The grind never ends.

In his debut, he was matched up against All-Star Kyle Lowry and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Fred VanVleet. The next night came Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose. In Cleveland's most recent loss, the last of the Lue era, Sexton was opposed by All-Star Victor Oladipo and veteran lead guards Darren Collison and Cory Joseph.

Sexton's seeing new cities for the first time. He's learning how to deal with the cameras and media throng crowded around his locker every night -- reflecting on good performances and poor ones while at times still not being over the sting of a loss. His game is being picked apart by opponents, fans and analysts.

He's shooting to many mid-range jumpers. He's statistically one of the least efficient offensive players in the NBA. The Cavs should've drafted Kevin Knox or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Why didn't Cleveland trade up for Trae Young or Luka Doncic?

As if all of that wasn't tough enough, Sexton has been thrust smack dab in the middle of Cleveland's customary chaos -- without the only NBA head coach he had known, the guy he has leaned on since high school.

Lue's firing wasn't easy on champions JR Smith, Channing Frye, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Larry Drew, and NBA lifer and the new "voice" of the team, got emotional over it. Just imagine how tough it was for Sexton.

"Nobody envisioned it like this," Sexton said. "We try to come in and win games but we started off with a rough start. We just gotta pick it up."

The Cavs' heinous 0-6 record might actually be the easy part for Sexton. Losses happen in the NBA, especially an organization that's now without the NBA's best player. Everyone has to learn how to deal with defeat. Everyone has their own method. That's part of the gig. 

But for Sexton, he's getting an early crash course on the real NBA, the dark side of the league. Teammates come and go. Coaches are commodities. Fans love you until they don't. There's pressure, stress and frustration. In his case, everything is moving so fast and there's been no time to come up for air.

On Sunday, when Lue's future was revealed, players were surprised. Sexton included.

Given that it's first time dealing with something of this magnitude, he leaned on his teammates for guidance.

"They just said, 'Things happen, but we've got to control what we can control and that's what's on the basketball court,'" Sexton said of their message.

Soon, Sexton will learn Love's fate. The All-Star power forward and team leader in points and rebounds has been dealing with significant pain in his left foot that has kept him out of the last two losses. The pain has lingered since early October, when Love was shut down for the final three preseason games before attempting to gut through it during the regular season. It became too much and he's been seeking second opinions and alternate options. 

With Love expected to be sidelined for an extended period, that puts even more pressure on Sexton. No, it's not on him to shoulder that burden alone. It's too early to demand that. As Larry Nance Jr. said, no one in Cleveland's locker room can replace Love -- a walking double-double who commands a defense's full attention.

Just more disarray.

"We gotta pick up his load just because he brings so much to the game and so much to our team," Sexton said. "We just gotta make sure we step up and fill those shoes."

In a way, Lue's exile ties directly to the youngster. Altman felt the organization, which has put a premium on player development, needed to go a different direction. They needed a new voice, someone who is a better fit for this young group. The front office lost faith that Lue was the coach to oversee the development of this foundation -- with Sexton as the primary building block.

So in his first few weeks as an NBA player, Sexton has yet to experience a win. Heck, he's never felt what it's like to hold a lead in the second half of a game. He has played inside famed TD Garden. Been torched by fellow rookie Young and called out by his old coach for abandoning the defensive game plan in favor of a personal battle. He was at the center of tension between Dan Gilbert, Altman and Lue about roles and playing time. He watched his first coach get fired.

And yet, through all the tumult, Sexton is still finding a way to replace what should be a scowl with a grin. He's still finding joy in the journey.

"They've been pretty fun as well as a learning experience," Sexton said of the first few weeks. "I felt like coach Ty Lue, he helped me a whole lot, so, the things that he helped me with, I'm just going to continue to grow."

It's time for absentee ownership in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- First of all, Jimmy Haslam doesn't write the checks.

He cashes them.

Owning an NFL team is not a charitable endeavor. It is not an up-by-the-bootstraps small business. It's a pile of money.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam sit on the money and parcel it out to players and coaches and staff. But every time they give a bundle of cash away, the pile grows. They purchased the Browns for $987 million in 2012. The franchise, according to Forbes, now has an estimated worth of $1.95 billion.

Since officially taking over a 1-6 team in October of 2012, they are 21-75-1 as owners. They have hired five front-office decision makers and fired four. They have hired three coaches and fired four (after inheriting Pat Shurmur).

They have picked the wrong people, handled them the wrong way, set up an organizational structure doomed to fail and sowed dysfunction. And their investment has doubled in value. Six years of failure made them a billion dollars.

So don't give them credit for writing the checks, when the Haslam family in the end is going to cash one giant check and profit from the pain of Browns fans.

"He pays the bills," GM John Dorsey, seated next to Jimmy Haslam, said at Monday's news conference to announce the firing of Hue Jackson.

It was said as if making a ton of money for doing nothing, and then handing out some of it, is a skill. Haslam is Dorsey's boss, so of course he's going to say that. But no one else has to.

The Haslams are the problem with the Browns.

That doesn't exclude Jackson from being a problem or players on the field from being a problem or some bad moves by past and current GMs from being problems. More than one person can be bad at their job at the same time.

There's no point in asking the Haslams to sell. Remember the part about the pile of money that magically grows no matter how many bad decisions you make? 

So, in the name of doing right by Browns fans, we can ask the Haslams to do this, at least for a year or two:

Go away.

Jimmy Haslam said Monday he's around the Browns about half the time.

"When I am here," he said, "I am involved with the football and business people."

Let's make that none of the time.

Haslam repeatedly has hired a coach and a GM and made both of them report to the owner separately. In your "How to Create a Power Struggle" manual, that's Step One. Heck, it's practically the only step.

Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were both fired because Haslam said the Browns wouldn't tolerate internal discord. When asked why that discord keeps occurring in Bera, Haslam said it's on him.

"I will accept the blame because ultimately, it is the person at the head of the ship. I will take the blame as ownership," Haslam said. "I can't explain it more than that. We have had different situations with different people. I know that it is something that we are not going to tolerate moving forward."

OK, then. So this time, instead of just firing the people below you, fire yourself.

Keep the money. Lose the control.

Haslam's insistence on sitting not only on the pile of money but at the top of the power structure has set up the Browns to repeat their losing and their in-fighting. Now, if he has a GM in Dorsey that he trusts, he must put Dorsey in charge of the coaching search and in charge of every aspect of the football operation.

Go visit your friends in Tennessee, play golf with Peyton Manning and read cleveland.com. We'll keep you updated on your team.

Here's a solid bet -- the Browns will work better while you're gone.

Give it at least two full seasons. Check back at the end of 2020.

At the news conference to introduce Dorsey a year ago, I asked Haslam what he would do if he realized ownership was the real problem.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Haslam said then.

Let that bridge take you to the muni lot for the next 26 months. Act like a fan, not like an owner. But let's be clear about one thing. 

No one is asking Haslam to sacrifice. The argument for overly involved or disruptive owners is always the idea that it's their team, and they can do what they want. Don't give them that much credit or empathy.

Owning an NFL team is a privilege. Being an NFL fan is a birthright.

Fans get nothing out of this other than what their team gives them. Haslam gets the pile of money regardless.

If you think asking a billionaire to back off is too much of a sacrifice for the guy who pays the bills, think about what the fans have already sacrificed.

On the other side, there have been plenty of complaints from sports fans across the country about absentee owners who don't seem to care about their teams. Sometimes, we object to an investment of only money that isn't accompanied by any time or care.

But things have gone wrong for long enough under Haslam that absentee ownership is worth a shot. Remember that he's not really paying for anything. The Browns have been making money for the Haslams every day, while the Haslams have been making the Browns lose.

Keep the money. Don't sell, but pretend that you did. 

Leave for now, and finally, give your team a chance to win.

Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer revealed the severity of his health condition in an interview Tuesday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Conflicted, and concerned for his family and his football program, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer revealed in an interview Tuesday the severity of the arachnoid cyst in his brain.

First diagnosed in 1998, Meyer was known to have had brain surgery in the spring of 2014, but what he explained Tuesday was an ongoing issue that has flared up the last two years, triggering frequent pain on the left side of his head and an episode that dropped him to his knees on the sideline against Indiana earlier this month.

Monday, I told Meyer in his weekly news conference about those believing him to look anguished on the sideline and asked how he was mentally and emotionally. Meyer said he was fine and told fans not to worry about him.

Unhappy with that answer, and wanting to quell speculation, Meyer, 54, sat in his office Tuesday with me, Austin Ward of LettermenRow.com and Tim May and Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch in an effort to speak the truth and explain the seriousness of the cyst.

Surrounded by photos of himself with family, legendary coaches and four U.S. Presidents, Meyer's mood darkened as he delved into the details of his physical condition, unsure of sharing too many personal details but wanting a basic understanding of his health to be known to the public.

Along those lines, Ohio State also provided this statement from Dr. Andrew Thomas, Meyer's personal physician.

"The past four years, we've been working closely with Coach Meyer to monitor and manage the symptoms that have risen from his enlarged congenital arachnoid cyst. This includes aggressive headaches, which have particularly flared up the past two years."

It was difficult to pull quotes from Meyer about what has gone on, but several things became clear through the course of a conversation in which Meyer didn't want to overplay or underplay what is happening with him.

1. His condition is serious.

2. He has managed his health since the 2014 surgery, and these days that includes daily medication. The Buckeyes won the national title 10 months after his first surgery and are 56-7 in the five seasons since the surgery.

3. As with many medical conditions, the issue with his cyst is incurable and progressive. It has been managed by medication and that 2014 surgery, and Meyer may at some point have other treatment options to consider.

4. Ohio State is his dream job, and he has no desire to leave it.

"I am fully committed to Ohio State and the football program for as long I can," Meyer said.

Of course, the obvious next question is about Meyer's immediate future in his job. Meyer would not directly address that, because there isn't really a way to do so.

He does not feel very good right now. As a husband, father of three and grandfather of one, with another grandchild on the way, he is considering his quality of life beyond his coaching days.

But he's had a cyst in his head his whole life. If the 2014 surgery to remove fluid and reduce pressure in his brain followed most procedures for arachnoid cysts, he had two holes drilled in his head.

But since that moment, he has coached. He has won. He has proven he can live with this and through this, one day at a time. But every day can be different. No one knows what comes next.

Of course, there are implications for recruiting and the program at large that come with a revelation like this. But once he went down against the Hoosiers, and people started wondering what was going on, Meyer had reached the point where the mere speculation about his future could have an effect.

So he preferred these facts get out.

Yes, he has a serious medical condition.

Yes, he has coached with it.

Yes, he wants to continue to coach.

Meyer deals with regular headaches, but the symptoms worsen in singular moments of aggravation. That could be at home, in practice, or on the sideline during games. It is not the general stress of coaching college football that's the issue, but the moments of intense anxiety that have been part of Meyer's coaching style since he started.

There's probably no way to change who you are. So you stay yourself and deal with the consequences.

Meyer has his critics, and he has those who stand behind him no matter what. That was made clear through the Zach Smith saga. But there's not a side to this, regardless of what you think of Meyer or what you want to happen in his future.

The many swirling questions about Meyer and the Buckeyes can be narrowed down to this: There's a cyst in the left side of his brain. He's dealing with it.

"I put my life into this job," Meyer said. "I love Ohio State and I grew up a Buckeye, and I'm 100 percent committed to Ohio State and putting our players in the best position to win games and doing right by Ohio State."

For weeks, people have watched Meyer on the sideline and wondered.

Now, when you watch Meyer on the sideline, you will know. 

With numerous renovations done already and the project expected to be officially completed in August of 2019, a few months before the start of the '19-20 season, the NBA is satisfied that the game commitment can continue.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers will host the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at newly-renovated Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, league sources told cleveland.com.

An official announcement should come soon -- perhaps by Thursday. 

Crain's Cleveland Business first reported an All-Star return to Cleveland was imminent. 

The midseason exhibition will be held in Charlotte this season, followed by Chicago and Indianapolis in 2020 and 2021, respectively. 

The Cavs were in contention to host the 2021 game, but their chances were derailed because of delays in renovating The Q. At that point, the league said the Cavs would be back in the running for a future game provided the transformation project and its timeline were both confirmed and approved by the league well in advance.

With numerous renovations done already and the project expected to be officially completed in August of 2019 -- a few months before the start of the 19-20 season -- everything has been satisfied with the NBA on that front, according to a league source.

That paves the way for Cleveland to host in 2022, bringing the NBA's brightest stars back to the city. 

Cleveland last hosted the event in 1997.

Players such as Jamie Collins and Tyrod Taylor had been mentioned as possible trade candidates, but the Browns made no moves.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Tuesday's 4 p.m. trade deadline came and went without Browns GM John Dorsey making a move.

On Monday, during a press conference to address the firings of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley, Dorsey said he'd work the phones to try to improve the team.

"We will turn over every rock possible - you know that,'' he said. "We still have about 24 hours left [until the trade deadline] so we have plenty of time."

Are there enough rocks to turn over?

"There are always enough rocks,'' he said. 

The deadline passed without Tyrod Taylor or Jamie Collins being dealt despite speculation about both players.   

Two receivers were traded before the deadline:

* The Broncos shipped Demaryius Thomas to the Texas for a third-round pick and a swap of seventh-round picks.

"Demaryius had an incredible run here and we can't thank him enough for everything he's meant to the Broncos," Broncos general manager John Elway said in a statement.

* The Lions traded Golden Tate to the Eagles for a third-round pick in 2019. He led the Lions with 517 yards, three TDs and 44 receptions.

Several other receivers that were believed to be available didn't get traded: Tampa Bay's DeSean Jackson, Miami's DeVante Parker and San Francisco's Pierre Garcon.

It's not yet known which of the receivers, if any, Dorsey tried to acquire.

Former Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor is also set to sign as a free agent with the Bills. He was no longer an option for the Browns when Hue Jackson was fired on Monday.

There was also a report by Jeff Howe of The Athletic on Sunday that the Patriots might be interested in re-acquiring Collins, but that didn't happen. Collins, 29, leads the Browns with 55 tackles and 21 assists.  He's also forced a fumble and had two sacks.

Collins had also filled in at middle linebacker with Joe Schobert out with a hamstring injury.