Vrabel, a former Ohio State great and a key player on 3 Patriots' Super Bowl winners, was arrested for theft at the Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana.

Chuck Crow, The Plain DealerMike Vrabel (left), then with the Patriots, knocks the football out of Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb's hand in a 2003 game.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, a 1993 Walsh Jesuit High School graduate and a key to three New England Patriots' Super Bowl titles, was arrested for theft at a casino in Indiana early Monday.

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio reports the story about Vrabel's arrest, including the following update:

UPDATE:  Via agent Neil Conrich, Vrabel has issued a statement acknowledging the arrest.  “It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I take full responsibility for the miscommunication,” Vrabel said.  “I feel comfortable that after talking with the appropriate parties, we will resolve this matter.”

ProFootballTalk had earlier reported that Vrabel, 35, was arrested for theft at the Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana.  

Florio wrote. referring to Jail Commander James LaPine: 

The charge, under Indiana law, is a Class D felony.  LaPine had no information regarding the thing that was allegedly stolen.

In Indiana, theft of anything, regardless of value, is a Class D felony.  It carries a sentence of six months to three years in prison.

Vrabel, who also is a member of the NFLPA Executive Committee, was booked at 5:28 a.m. local time.  He was released at 10:39 a.m. after posting $600 bond.

The jail had no further details regarding the specifics of the alleged crime.

Vrabel is one of 10 NFL players, including Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. The lawsuit follows the league's lockout of players after the labor contract between the NFL and the NFLPA expired.

As a plaintiff in the lawsuit, Vrabel is scheduled to be in court on Wednesday.

After his brilliant high school career at Walsh (Cuyahoga Falls), Akron-born Vrabel achieved similar success at Ohio State, being named as the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year in his junior (1995) and senior (1996) seasons.

Vrabel played four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1997-2000) before signing with the Patriots as a free agent prior to the 2001 season. He helped New England win Super Bowls following the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons, and was named to Sports Illustrated's All-Decade Team (2000-09).

Patriots coach Bill Belichick occasionally lined up Vrabel at tight end. Vrabel has caught 10 touchdown passes in regular season games and two more in the Super Bowl.

With New England behind the Carolina Panthers, 22-21, in the 2003 season Super Bowl, Vrabel caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brady with 2:51 left in the game. The score and a 2-point conversion put the Patriots ahead, 29-22, and they went on to a 32-29 win.

New England traded Vrabel to Kansas City after the 2008 season.

Prosecutors say witness has found tape of recorded conversation with Bonds' doctor, sparking fight between government and defense lawyers over whether the new material can be included in trial.

Associated PressBarry Bonds arrives today at a federal courthouse in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Prosecutors in the federal case against Barry Bonds say a key witness has rediscovered the tape of a secretly recorded conversation with the slugger's doctor, sparking a fight between the government and defense lawyers over whether the new material can be included at a trial years in the making.

On a day when there was no testimony because a juror was ill, the government said Monday that former Bonds business partner Steve Hoskins found a cassette recording of his conversation with Dr. Arthur Ting.

Prosecutors, hoping to counter Ting's testimony last week that he never discussed Bonds' alleged steroid use with Hoskins -- who insisted they had -- said both men might be recalled to the witness stand.

"This will never come into evidence," Bonds' lead lawyer, Allen Ruby, told U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.

The trial began March 21, and prosecutors had planned to rest their case Monday with Dr. Don Catlin, former head of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory. But they now plan to call three lab workers, raising the government's witness total to 25. That, plus the new evidence, makes it likely the case won't go to the jury before next week.

Hoskins, the government's second witness, testified he recorded a conversation with Ting discussing Bonds and steroids in 2003 or 2004, after federal agents raided the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). BALCO was found to be the center of a steroids distribution ring, of which Bonds' personal trainer was a part.

Ting testified last week that he had only one, general conversation with Hoskins about steroids and he denied Hoskins' testimony that the two had as many as 50 discussions about Bonds and performance-enhancing drugs.

Hoskins, a childhood friend of Bonds, testified that he had recorded a conversation with Ting but the recording had been lost. Prosecutors said he located it last weekend and sent an email at 11 p.m. on Sunday notifying the defense of the find.

"He found [it] on the B side -- this is a microcassette," Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella said. "He located a tape of himself discussing with Dr. Ting soon after the BALCO search warrants were executed."

Parrella, who did not offer more details on how Hoskins located the tape, said the government may ask to recall "either Steve Hoskins, Dr. Ting or both in order to nail down this issue, so there is an accurate presentation of these conversations that went on."

Defense lawyer Cristina Arguedas said the recording had been subject to a grand jury subpoena in 2005 and questioned why it hadn't been turned over to the defense until now.

The defense planned to send the microcassette, along with the recorder and a government representative, to its expert lab. Parrella gave a preliminary transcript, which he said was incomplete, to the defense, along with a digital copy of the recording, but neither was publicly released.

Arguedas and prosecutors already were clashing over the prosecution's failure to disclose notes of a 2006 interview with Ting, two days before his grand jury testimony. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nedrow maintained last week the meeting wasn't substantive, but the defense gave the court a statement from Matthew Jacobs, a former lawyer for Ting, stating the session "was substantive and lasted approximately three hours."

Illston wanted to know "why a report wasn't generated?" Nedrow maintained it would be duplicative to take notes of meetings prior to testimony.

Bonds, baseball's season and career home run leader, is charged with four counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice for telling a grand jury in 2003 that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs and received injections only from physicians.

The eighth day of testimony was postponed because juror No. 66 -- names won't be revealed until the day after a verdict -- was sick with kidney stones. The Antioch resident, age 60, is a father of four and former helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War who works as a data center engineer for Amazon.com.

He had a doctor's appointment Monday afternoon, and the court was to reconvene late in the day for an update on his health.

There are only two alternates, and the first alternate -- juror No. 110 -- is a woman who works part time at a restaurant. If the juror is replaced by the alternate, there would be nine women and three men on the panel.

When testimony resumes, presumably Tuesday, Catlin and the labor workers will testify and portions of Bonds' grand jury testimony will be read to the jury.

The Indians' young starting pitcher will give the power of positive finesse a test against the Red Sox on Tuesday.

View full sizeChuck Crow / The Plain Dealer"I know (the Red Sox) have a lot of lefties in their lineup, so I'll just try to do my best to keep them off-balance and try to give our team a chance to win," says Tuesday's starting pitcher for the Indians, Josh Tomlin.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians' first win of the season Sunday was a primer in the power of positive pitching.

Hard-throwing starter Justin Masterson, with the emotional lift of a quirky triple play, limited Chicago to a run over seven innings before the bullpen finished it.

When right-hander Josh Tomlin tries to even the Tribe's 1-2 record against visiting Boston Tuesday night, he'll give the power of positive finesse a test. Accuracy with a decent menu of pitches, not how he lights up a radar gun, is why the 26-year-old Texan is in a big-league rotation.

Managers, pitching coaches and fielders love when control pitchers like Tomlin are right. They don't have to stand by helplessly as a pitcher walks himself -- and everyone else -- into trouble. When they're on, hitting all four quadrants of the strike zone at will, the ball stays in play, but hitters don't beat it to a pulp.

Tomlin's arsenal features a two- and four-seam fastballs and a cut fastball that rides in on left-handed hitters and down on righties. Then he's got an overhand curve and a sweet change-up.

But when Tomlin is off target, he's prone to the long ball. That's the trade-off with finesse.

"He'll make a mistake out over the plate and it'll go a long way. It'll go 450 feet," said Indians pitching coach Tim Belcher, who has watched Tomlin throughout his professional career. "I guarantee that'll happen at least two-dozen times this summer if he makes 34 starts in the big leagues."

But where the 6-1, 190-pound Tomlin saves himself, Belcher said, is he doesn't usually walk batters before that mistake. It's how he proved himself again this spring after being promoted from AAA Columbus to the Indians on July 27 last season and stayed.

"It takes a lot of solos to beat you," Belcher said.

Tomlin knew if he was ever going to reach the majors, it wasn't because of a rocket arm. He was pitching for Angelina Junior College in Texas when San Diego drafted him in the 11th round in 2005. One of his friends and teammates there was Boston's Clay Buchholz, who allowed four Texas home runs on Sunday.

Tomlin didn't sign with the Padres, choosing instead to transfer to Texas Tech because he felt he needed more seasoning against better competition.

A year later, the Indians plucked him in the 19th round (581 overall). By 2009, he was 14-9 at Akron, leading the Eastern League in wins and finishing second in strikeouts. Last season, Tomlin complied an 8-4 mark with a 2.68 ERA for Columbus under pitching coach and former Tribe ace Charlie Nagy.

Tomlin, a fan of the Dallas Cowboys and country singer George Strait, said his first AAA start was horrid, allowing something like six or seven runs in the first inning. Nagy propped him up with his typical low-key approach.

"He just kind of came to me and was like, 'Don't try to do too much. Don't try to overpower guys. There's a reason why you're here. Just pitch your game and try to get guys out,'" Tomlin said. "He's like, 'Don't try to change anything because you're here.'"

Nagy, now pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, never messed with Tomlin's mechanics. But during the season, he would occasionally offer a suggestion: "Hey, throw your curveball more," or "Try to work this guy inside."

By late July, with the Tribe's pitching staff struggling, Tomlin got the call. At the time, his parents, two best friends and a cousin were in Columbus to watch him pitch. So they stayed the night in his apartment and drove to Cleveland the next day for his major-league debut. It was worth the drive.

Tomlin and the Indians beat the New York Yankees and CC Sabathia, 4-1. He went seven innings, allowing just three hits and didn't walk a batter. He finished the second half of the season 6-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 12 starts and outdueled Detroit's Justin Verlander for one of the wins.

That's another trait the Indians are apparently impressed with besides great control. He doesn't rattle.

Belcher, perhaps borrowing a Clark Kellogg-ism, calls it "pitchability" -- knowing your strengths and sticking to them, no matter the situation.

"He doesn't pitch any different than he does in a minor-league camp game two weeks ago in Goodyear than he'll pitch against the Red Sox on Tuesday," Belcher said. "It's a professional discipline that you have to have to be that kind of pitcher, for sure."

With Boston, though, Tomlin pulled another untimely short straw.

Many consider the Bashers of the Beanway the team to beat this season, with a lineup made even stronger with the addition of sluggers Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego and Carl Crawford from Tampa Bay. But the Red Sox land in Cleveland after being swept in Texas. They can't be pleased.

"That's the way it goes," Tomlin said. "You've got to be prepared to pitch against the best teams or the worst teams. I know they have a lot of lefties in their lineup, so I'll just try to do my best to keep them off-balance and try to give our team a chance to win."

Off-balance, maybe, but not by overpowering them. The radar gun doesn't usually tilt past the 80s when Tomlin's on the mound.

"To me, he's the poster child you want to show all your minor-league pitchers who are not big pedigree guys, high draft choices, guys that light up radar guns," Belcher said. "He's the perfect guy to emulate because he's proved that you don't have to throw mid-90s to get to the big leagues and pitch effectively."

Rookie forward will play the season's final six games with a sore right wrist that will require surgery to repair torn ligaments.

View full sizeChuck Crow / The Plain Dealer"Opportunity comes but once," Cavaliers forward Samardo Samuels said Monday in explaining why he'll play the final six games despite a painful wrist injury. "You never know what next year brings. Why not take full advantage of it?"

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- In a little more than a week, after six more games, Samardo Samuels will have plenty of time to rest his injured right wrist.

He'll need surgery, most likely, to repair torn ligaments that have been bothering the rookie forward since he suffered the injury in a game against Atlanta last week. In the meantime, he'll focus on the fundamentals and try to play as effectively as he can.

Playing the final six games of the season, including Tuesday's home game against Charlotte, might earn him some nods of approval for his toughness and will definitely be noticed by those in charge for the Cavaliers. And he knows it.

"Opportunity comes but once," Samuels said Monday. "You never know what next year brings. Why not take full advantage of it? A lot of people would like to be in the position I'm in right now. If I can even play a little bit, I'm going to play."

When he logged 28 minutes against the New York Knicks on Sunday, the injured wrist hurt most when he attempted free throws -- the 15-foot set shots being the farthest the 6-foot-9 player generally will aim at the basket. Only one of his four attempts fell in the basket against the Knicks, and that one banked in off the backboard.

"I don't think he called 'bank' or 'glass,'" coach Byron Scott said with a laugh.

While he knows his shooting touch is affected, Samuels said he will focus on other parts of his game -- rebounding, defense, boxing out.

"It forces me to be more fundamentally sound so I don't really hurt it," he said.

It also forces him to warm up substantially before each game, since the wrist is at its most painful before it loosens up with activity.

"You've got to give him a lot of credit," Scott said. "He really wants to play and he went out there and battled the best he could. There is going to be a little bit of an issue for the rest of the year."

Even so, Samuels managed nine points and nine rebounds against the Knicks, and was 4-for-7 shooting. Although the wrist injury is most painful when he attempts jump shots, he said any ideas that he might finish the season as a lefty quickly were dismissed.

"That thought came and passed and is never gonna be brought up again," Samuels said with a laugh.

Erden update: Of the three players the Cavaliers obtained at the trade deadline, only the abilities of center Semih Erden remain a real question as the 6-foot-11 player has logged just 11 minutes for Cleveland.

A hip adductor injury and conditioning issues have kept Erden out for all but a short stint against New Orleans on March 6, but Scott hopes that Erden will be able to play in a couple games before season's end. To that end, Erden participated in 5-on-5, full-contact play in Monday's practice, the first time he has been able to endure such extensive participation in weeks.

"The progression of him getting to this point has been slow but good," Scott said. "You can tell his wind isn't there, his conditioning isn't really there. But it's a good thing for us to just see him out here partaking in that situation."

One focus: For the final games of the season, the Cavaliers have simple goals -- further develop team chemistry and knock off opponents fighting for playoff seeding or positioning.

Charlotte, a team battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, is one such team.

"At this point, the teams we are playing, we can be the 'upset team,' and knock people out of playoff seeding and also out of playoff contention," point guard Baron Davis said. "[But] we have to approach it and worry more about us and not so much about anyone else. We've got to concentrate on just giving it our all for these last six games and forming the chemistry we need."

When a player has hit .300 with 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals in consecutive seasons, he earns wiggle room.

View full sizeMark Duncan / Associated PressDespite just one hit and six strikeouts in 12 at-bats this season, Shin-Soo Choo will still be the Indians' No. 3 hitter when the Red Sox arrive to start a three-game series on Tuesday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians are hitting .318 with four homers, 20 RBI and 20 runs in three games -- and have gotten virtually nothing from their best player.

Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo is 1-for-12 with six strikeouts. He has walked twice and scored once. He has come to the plate with 10 runners on base; none have scored.

If Choo is at .083/0/0 in three weeks, manager Manny Acta might be concerned. But not now. When a player has hit .300 with 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals in consecutive seasons, he earns wiggle room.

"It's still very early," Acta said. "We're not worried about Choo. At all."

A review of Choo's at-bats in the series against the White Sox showed he has been caught in-between. He has been fooled by breaking stuff and late on fastballs. The vast majority of pitches that have gotten him out are in the 80s.

Chicago pitchers took advantage of Choo's indecisiveness and pounded the zone early. Of his six strikeouts, four have come on 0-2 counts and one on a 1-2 count. Choo is 1-for-9 with one walk and three strikeouts against lefties, 0-for-3 with one walk and three strikeouts against righties.

Pro-Acta: Acta never would acknowledge it publicly or privately, but he had a terrific game Sunday as the Indians won, 7-1. His moves kept working.

Acta started Carlos Santana at first base; Santana commenced a triple play with a diving catch and went 2-for-4. Lou Marson, subbing for Santana, was 2-for-3 with an RBI double.

Marson's double in the seventh inning came on a 1-0 count, moments after Acta switched the sign from sacrifice bunt to hit-and-run because he smelled a fastball coming from the White Sox. Marson drove in Jack Hannahan to make it 3-1.

In the eighth, Acta pinch-hit for the left-handed Jack Hannahan, who has been swinging well, with the right-handed Shelley Duncan. In his first at-bat of the season, Duncan hit a two-run single off lefty Matt Thornton for a 6-1 cushion.

Wipeout: Potentially lost in the shuffle of Santana's triple play and Justin Masterson's superb start (7 IP, 1 R) were the performances of lefty Tony Sipp and closer Chris Perez. In their season debuts, the pair combined to retire all six batters on 21 pitches. They threw 16strikes.

Perez owns a scoreless streak of 19 2/3 innings, during which he has given up five hits, walked six and struck out 21 in 18 games. He has allowed two earned runs in 34 appearances since June 28, 2010.

Ignition: In 26 plate appearances leading off innings, Indians hitters are 6-for-24 with two homers and two walks. Leadoff man Michael Brantley only has gotten three opportunities, going 1-for-3. Hannahan, who has batted eighth or ninth, is 2-for-5 with a homer and walk leading off an inning.

No go: The exhibition game between the Class AA Akron Aeros and Class AAA Columbus Clippers scheduled for Monday night at Canal Park was canceled because of the weather. Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore (left knee) and reliever Joe Smith (abdomen) were supposed to play. Both are on the disabled list.

The Aeros open their regular season Thursday against Binghamton at Canal Park.

A Fox Sports website comments: "Clevelanders are known for rallying around their sports teams, and the aftermath of The Decision has only strengthened their bond with the Cavs."

John Kuntz, The Plain DealerCavaliers fans have stayed behind their team and coach Byron Scott (right).

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's one thing to support a team when it's winning.

It's quite another to maintain enthusiasm for a young, injury-hobbled, under-manned squad that was subjected to national embarrassment when its two-time NBA MVP left in the least gracious way imaginable.

FoxSportsSouthwest.com recognizes how Cleveland Cavaliers fans have continued to support the team. Fox includes them in a photo gallery of the 10 best fan bases in the NBA.

The text that accompanies a Cavs fans photo:

Admittedly, it’s a little suspect that the Cavs’ attendance took a noticeable spike once LeBron James came to town and the numbers have stayed high this season by selling season tickets before the King fled town, but it doesn’t change the fact the building is packed every night for the worst team in the NBA. Clevelanders are known for rallying around their sports teams, and the aftermath of The Decision has only strengthened their bond with the Cavs. After owner Dan Gilbert was docked $100,000 for criticizing James’ departure, some little girls were seen selling lemonade to help him pay the fine.

Three home games and three road games remain for the 2010-11 Cavaliers. The first of them is on Tuesday night at home, against the Charlotte Bobcats, who trail the Indiana Pacers by two games in the battle for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot. Charlotte is coached by former Cavs coach Paul Silas, and its majority owner is former Cavs nemesis Michael Jordan.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Cavaliers coverage includes Jodie Valade's report on Cavs rookie big men Samardo Samuels and Semih Erden; Mary Schmitt Boyer's game story on the Cavs' 123-107 road loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday; her Cavaliers Insider.

Pick and rolls

The Bobcats-Cavaliers game is previewed by Brett Huston for STATS and the Associated Press.

The Cavaliers' draft strategy, on The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com.

Cavaliers notes and Cavs-Knicks game story, both by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.

The Cavs are not last in the new NBA team power rankings on ESPN.com and on NBA.com.

Who should the Cavaliers draft? By Sam Amico and Zac Jackson on FoxSportsOhio.com.

Video of interviews with Samardo Samuels, Baron Davis and coach Byron Scott following today's practice. On NBA.com/cavaliers.

Comments on the Cavs-Knicks game by John Krolik of Cavs: The Blog.

A News-Herald beat writers roundtable, including some Cavs talk.

The Knicks make the playoffs by defeating the Cavs, by Brian Lewis for the New York Post.

Golden Flashes are the first MAC program to ever reach the national finals, to be held April 15-17 at the Wolstein Center.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In true NCAA Tournament fashion, the underdog rose to the top.

Only this time, the sport was women's gymnastics; and the underdog was Kent State.

The Golden Flashes, seeded sixth last weekend in the Ann Arbor Regional, finished second behind Michigan to qualify for the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, which will be hosted by Kent State at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center, April 15-17.

KSU coach Brice Biggin said Monday afternoon that what may be viewed as an upset by others was no flash-in-the-pan effort by his team.

"Fortunately for us, our girls competed with great confidence," he said. "It was an upset, but we felt we had a decent chance."

Key was the thought of performing one more time before family, friends and fans, particularly for seniors Christina Lenny and Christine Abou-Mitri. The two Broadview Heights natives have competed with each other since they were 8, and now have one last opportunity to shine in Cleveland.

"Believe me, we drilled that into them," Biggin said.

Abou-Mitri was the Mid-American Conference Gymnast of the Year in 2010. Then Lenny stepped up and won that honor this season.

In the process, Kent's gymnastics program has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history, and became the first women's gymnastics program in MAC history to do so, as well.

"They have elevated [the program] to where we are right now," Biggin said of the two All-Around gymnasts. "They did their mission."

The 12 teams slated for the NCAA championships include the top three finishers from last season. Defending champion UCLA is seeded second. The No. 2 team last season, Oklahoma, is seeded third, and Alabama is the No. 1 seed. Kent State is seeded 12th.

NIT pickin: The MAC has its first postseason National Invitational Tournament championship, thanks to the Toledo women's basketball team.

The Rockets used their homecourt advantage to defeat USC last weekend, 76-68, and win the title.

They likely could have not landed the title without an assist from guard Naama Shafir's rabbi.

An Orthodox Jew, Shaffir was given permission by her rabbi to play basketball on Saturdays, which is the Sabbath in her faith. Shafir scored a career-high 40 points Saturday in the win over USC.

Sooner than later: That's the hope for Kent State athletic director Joel Nielsen to end the search for the next men's basketball coach.

Less than a year on the job, Nielsen is facing his second major sports hire. After the 2010 season, he hired former Ohio State assistant Darrell Hazell as football coach.

Nielsen said he has sought advice from Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters and TCU head coach Jim Christian, both former KSU coaches, and is in the second round of interviews with as many as six candidates, though he did not name them.

While he said on-campus interviews could still happen, Nielsen also noted, "We are happy where the process is to date, and hope to have a resolution by the end of the week."

Interim head coach Rob Senderoff is the only confirmed candidate, but other names believed to have interviewed include Syracuse assistant Rob Murphy, Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals, CSU associate head coach Jayson Gee, Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey and Michigan State assistant Dwayne Stephens.

Murphy is a former Kent assistant; Boals played in the MAC at Ohio and coached at Akron; and Gee coached at OU. Kelsey and Stephens have no ties to Kent or the MAC.

Hauser, who announced his retirement Saturday, was a cut-throat competitor who cared about kids with equal fervor.

View full sizeAs a player and then a coach, Padua's Doug Hauser brought intensity to everything he did on and around a hockey rink.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I'll miss Padua hockey coach Doug Hauser.

Hauser, who announced his retirement Saturday, was a cut-throat competitor who cared about kids with equal fervor. As a Padua player and coach for 31 of the past 36 years, he was the face, heart and soul of one of the area's most successful sports programs. During his 28 seasons as coach, Padua won three state finals (played in seven), three Baron Cups and 561 games.

What many don't realize is his real job is sixth-grade teacher at Parma's Ridge-Brook Elementary School, and young coaches and teachers can learn from both Hauser's career arc and the reasons he hung up his whistle somewhat unexpectedly at 51.

Hauser is a part of a small fraternity of coaches who helped build Greater Cleveland high school hockey, including fellow 500-game winners Mike Bartley of Shaker Heights and Hauser's retired former rival at St. Edward, Bob Whidden.

Hauser didn't like Whidden at first, and they engaged in some legendary gamesmanship and antics. The two hotheads jawed at each other during games while baiting the refs and screaming at their own players. It was Whidden who ultimately taught Hauser a valuable lesson.

"Part of my young competitiveness changed a little bit when we won our first Baron Cup in '88 and we beat St. Eds, 5-4," Hauser said. "That was a great thing, and I remember thinking, 'I can go and shake Bob Whidden's hand now.'

"He was so gracious as far as congratulating me and saying how good a job I did. That's when I started to realize that other coaches are just like me. They want to do what's best for their kids. It's not necessarily personal toward another coach."

High energy was Hauser's style, from his days as an undersized Kent State forward to his relentlessness behind the bench. His teams rarely were out-skated.

Hauser always had high expectations, especially of himself. In the end, teaching sixth grade then scooting off to hockey practice in Strongsville took a toll. With the growing demands on teachers -- longer days, larger classes -- and the immense amount of time associated with running a premier hockey program, he realized something had to give.

"I kinda felt my sixth graders weren't necessarily getting the best teacher they could get, and my high school kids weren't necessarily getting the best coach they could get. Where do you go with that?" he said.

I asked University coach Bill Beard, a former Padua assistant, why Hauser was so successful. Beard answered in two words, "He cared."

Coaches like that should be missed.

Bulldogs, though, have hit five 3-pointers to none for Huskies.

Associated PressButler's Matt Howard (right) guarded by Connecticut's Charles Okwandu.

Guard Shelvin Mack swished a 3-point shot at the buzzer to give Butler a 22-19 halftime lead over Connecticut in the men's college basketball national championship game.

(Statistics and play-by-play)

The Bulldogs (28-9) are in their second straight title game. They lost to Duke, 61-59, last season.

Connecticut (31-9) led, 13-8, but Butler's defense held the Huskies to six points in the last 12:34.

Butler is shooting 22 percent (6 of 27) from the field; Connecticut, 29 percent (9 of 31).

The Bulldogs, though, have hit 5 of 14 3-pointers, while Connecticut has missed all of its five tries from beyond the arc.

A concern for Butler is that the bigger Huskies own a 26-18 rebounding edge.

Mack (seven points), guard Chase Stigall (six) and forward Matt Howard (five) lead Butler's scoring.

Guard Kemba Walker, with seven, is the only Connecticut player with more than four points.

Why do KSU's coaches keep leaving? And how do the Flashes keep winning?

View full sizeMichael Chritton / Akron Beacon JournalCoaches such as Geno Ford and players such as Rodriquez Sherman may come and go, but Kent State basketball has been able to maintain its status as a Mid-American power through the years.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kent State's men's basketball program has won at least 20 games in 12 of the last 13 seasons. And for the fifth time since that run began, the Golden Flashes are looking for a new head coach.

Therein lies a double-edged story: Why do KSU's coaches keep leaving? And how do the Flashes keep winning?

On the business side of things, Kent struggles on practically every level, beginning with its inability to pay competitive salaries. While KSU's salaries compare to the rest of the Mid-American Conference, they're below other programs on Kent's level of success.

KSU has seen Gary Waters go to Rutgers of the Big East; Stan Heath to Arkansas of the Southeastern Conference; Jim Christian to Texas Christian of the Mountain West; and now Geno Ford to Bradley of the Missouri Valley Conference, where he more than doubled his salary from $300,000 to $700,000 a year.

Kent State plays in M.A.C. Center, which at nearly 60 years old, is the oldest facility in the MAC.

There is no basketball practice facility. Coaches share an office with the women's basketball team. Both teams share a secretary. Two assistant coaches share a converted 4x10 hallway for a workspace. Basketball budgets have been cut for at least the last three seasons. Marketing efforts are practically nil.

Yet Kent wins, consistently, which makes it a coveted job. Clearly, coaches can move up from Kent.

There are two reasons for Kent's success in finding coaches: internal knowledge of what makes KSU a winner; and one core goal -- winning MAC championships -- that fuels all the others.

Staying strong by promoting from within

Kent's strength -- and the strength of every top MAC program -- is that it has been led by a coach hired from within the program. Keith Dambrot at Akron, Charlie Coles at Miami, Steve Hawkins at WMU and, before he left, Ford, all served as assistants. Those programs have been the MAC's best for the last seven years; and seven of the last eight MAC Players of the Year have come from those four teams.

In an era when the five-year building plan is obsolete, being able to walk in the door and win is essential.

"Being familiar with the league, from the inside, is very important," Coles said. "The MAC is so different. We're so close [geographically], for the most part. It is not the normal league. You have four or five rivals, and the way it's set up now with divisions, you play most of them back-to-back.

"Unless you have gone through that, just knowing the lay of the land, knowing what you're up against going into Ohio University or Kent, or Akron, there's a tough go of it.

"I've seen a lot of guys come in over the years [who] underestimated what it took to win in this league. You have got to know what you are getting into; you can't just think you know."

Kent's first 20-win coach, Jim McDonald, was hired from Toledo. Kent's first two coaches in its current string of success, Waters and Heath, had deep MAC roots at Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green. Kent hired Christian (a former Miami assistant) and Ford (a former OU assistant) was hired from within. All were assistants.

Winning tradition fosters loyalty

What also has made Kent a consistent winner is an uncanny ability to bond each team to the next, even as the coaches and rosters have changed. There is a thread of allegiance at KSU that you just don't see with other programs.

At the end of the season, after Kent had clinched its MAC regular-season title with a homecourt win over Akron, assistant Rob Senderoff -- currently the favorite to replace Ford -- was asked to explain KSU's ability to win, despite all of its obstacles.

"When you see Rod [Sherman], a grad student, raising his framed jersey before a packed house on national TV, and [former players] sitting behind the bench, that's what we sell," Senderoff said. "Graduation, winning, and having a chance to play after college if they are good enough to do that.

"We have 17 guys currently playing overseas. When they can, they all come back. At the championship game, Gary's guys were there, Stan's guys, Jim's guys, our guys. We have built a program.

"Are we Duke? No. But we have fostered an environment where our kids have an allegiance to Kent State. They have left something here they want to come back to. They like seeing their names in the locker room. They wear their rings. They point to the banners."

Yet through all the changes, the core goal from coach to coach has been constant.

"From day one we emphasize winning the MAC," Ford said after winning a second straight league crown. "That is at the core of what we do. If we win the MAC, you will see a 20-win team, a postseason tournament team, and NCAA Tournament appearances will come as part of that."

Kent has won five of the last 10 MAC regular-season titles. No other team has won more than one. It has been to the NCAA Tournament three times in 10 years, five times over the last 13, with six National Invitation Tournament appearances.

Kent has notched nine NCAA or NIT victories in that time. No other MAC team comes close to those numbers.

By following this blueprint, it is not hard to see Kent continuing to be a consistent winner, even with its shortcomings.

If the business side of Kent basketball ever measures up to the product on the court, then coaching stability and perhaps even greater success could come its way.

Kemba Walker scored 16 points, but it was the Huskies' defense -- holding the Bulldogs to 19 percent shooting -- that made them the national champions.

Associated PressConnecticut's Kemba Walker (left) and Alex Oriakhi in the final minute of the Huskies' 53-41 national title game win over Butler.

HOUSTON -- The only thing that could stop Kemba Walker and Connecticut’s amazing run was the final buzzer.

On a night when the massive arena felt like a dusty old gym, UConn made Butler look like the underdog it really was, winning the national championship Monday night with an old-fashioned, grinding 53-41 beatdown of the Bulldogs.

Walker finished with 16 points for the Huskies (32-9), who won their 11th straight game since closing the regular season with a 9-9 Big East record that foreshadowed none of this.

They closed it out with a defensive showing for the ages, holding Butler to a 12-for-64 shooting. That’s 18.8 percent, the worst ever in a title game, which made for an ugly overall night but turned into the kind of game a grizzled old coach like Jim Calhoun could love.

“It may be the happiest moment of my life,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun, a Hall of Famer who has won the three titles in four Final Four appearances, joins John Wooden (10), Adolph Rupp (7), Mike Krzyzewski (4) and Bob Knight (3).

He did it by accepting the reality that the rim was about as wide as a pancake on a defensive-minded night in Houston, by making his players pound the ball inside and insisting on the kind of defense that UConn played during this remarkable run, but which often got overshadowed by Walker’s theatrics.

Connecticut outscored Butler by an amazing 26-2 in the paint. The Bulldogs (28-10), in their second straight title game and hoping to put the closing chapter on the ultimate “Hoosiers” story, went a mind-numbing 13 minutes, 26 seconds in the second half without making a field goal.

During that time, a 25-19 lead turned into a 41-28 deficit. This for a team that never trailed Duke by more than six during last year’s epic final.

That time, Gordon Hayward’s desperation halfcourt heave bounced off the backboard and rim, barely missing. This time, UConn was celebrating before the buzzer sounded, Calhoun pumping his fists and hugging an assistant while the Huskies ran to the sideline and soaked in the confetti.

The version of “Hoosiers” with the happy ending is still available on DVD. UConn, meanwhile, gets the real celebration.

Joining Walker in double figures were Jeremy Lamb with 12 points, including six during UConn’s pullaway run, and Alex Oriakhi with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

It’s been a rough year for the Huskies and their coaching lifer, whose season was tarnished by an NCAA investigation that found Calhoun failed to create an atmosphere of compliance in the program. He admitted he wasn’t perfect and has begrudgingly accepted the three-game suspension he’ll have to serve when the Big East regular season starts next year.

Then again, given this performance, it’s clear UConn does its best work when it’s all-or-nothing, one-and-done.

Counting three wins at the Maui Invitational, Connecticut finished 14-0 in tournament games this year — including an unprecedented five-wins-in-five-nights success at the Big East tournament, then six games — two each week — in the one that really counts, one of the most unpredictable versions of March Madness ever.

They don't award national championships on style points. They award them on scoring more points than the other guys, even if that isn't very many.

View full sizeDavid J. Phillip / Associated PressButler's Shawn Vanzant can only watch as Connecticut's Huskies began their celebration after completing Monday's 53-41 national championship victory over the Bulldogs in Houston.

Bob Ford

The Philadelphia Inquirer

HOUSTON -- It was a game for the record book but not the video library, as Connecticut won the national basketball championship Monday night with a nearly unwatchable 53-41 victory over Butler.

At least the ending wasn't as painfully close for the losers as was last year's attempt at the title for the mid-major Bulldogs. It wasn't one missed shot that cost them the championship, but a raft of them. Butler scored just 19 points in the second half and went more than seven minutes between field goals as UConn took control of the game for good.

What the evening at Reliant Stadium before a crowd of 70,376 lacked in artfulness, it made up in intensity, as these games tend to do, but that was a lot to make up for. The combined 41 points scored by the teams in the first half were the fewest in a championship game since 1946, back when it was hard to control the ball because the laces kept getting in the way.

But they don't award national championships on style points. They award them on scoring more points than the other guys, even if that isn't very many. Give the Huskies that much, and give them the trophy.

Connecticut's victory, and its third championship with Jim Calhoun as head coach, might not have totally erased the stigma on a program that played all season under the threat of NCAA sanctions, but it didn't hurt. Calhoun will still be suspended for the first three games of the 2011-12 Big East season because of recruiting violations. Those transgressions, and UConn's role in the title game as the big bad guy paired up against whistle-clean little Butler, didn't seem to dampen the celebration.

One thing the win certainly accomplished was some satisfaction for the Big East conference itself. The league placed 11 of its 16 teams in the NCAA field, but only two -- Connecticut and Marquette -- survived until the second weekend. A washout in the Final Four for UConn, which nearly happened in a narrow semifinal against Kentucky, would have added volume to the chorus that believes the conference was overrated this season. A national championship tends to change that kind of thinking.

Since Connecticut's last title, in 2004, only four Big East schools had made the Final Four before this season, and none advanced to the championship game.

The next obvious question is whether the 68-year-old Calhoun will seize this as an opportune moment to slip into retirement. It is a question Calhoun has dodged for the most part, but he says his desire to coach basketball has not seriously waned.

"The moment I lose my edge, I can guarantee you now I'll say, 'That's it,'" Calhoun said. "The edge is what keeps me going."

Imparting that edge to his team is what kept the Huskies going when they lost four of their last five regular-season games and faced a daunting task in the Big East tournament. UConn won five games in five nights, closing out that run with wins over three of the top four seeds in the league -- Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Louisville.

That run made it possible for the Huskies to be rewarded with a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and now, six wins later, with the biggest reward of them all.

"My assistants kept telling me, 'We're this close,' and I think we finally closed that gap somewhere in the Big East tournament," Calhoun said.

The gap between UConn and Butler took a while to become apparent, but it eventually did. In the first half, if you believed the popular story line leading up to the game, there was, indeed, the good, the bad and the ugly. The good was little Butler, representing all the little guys in college basketball. The bad was Connecticut, which barely avoided those NCAA sanctions that might have kept it out of this tournament in the first place. And the ugly? Well, that was the game itself.

Maybe the two teams were tight. Maybe there was some great defense being played out there. That isn't what it looked like. Whether in November in a half-filled gym or in April in a sold-out football stadium, bad basketball looks about the same.

Connecticut came back from a three-point deficit at the half to take control midway through the second half as Butler went cold and didn't make shots for the longest time. When the score got to 46-28 with just more than five minutes to play, it was over except for the scorekeeping and the sweeping up of the stadium after all the confetti fell.

Connecticut might still be bad, but the Huskies are national champions. Butler might still be good, but the Bulldogs weren't on Monday night.

Buddy Schultz's future was born on a Little League baseball diamond in East Cleveland. That experience propelled him onto a Shaw High state championship team, paved the way for a college career and a five-year gig with the St. Louis Cardinals. That is why Schultz is working to bring a long-absent Little League baseball back to his hometown.

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer Buddy Schultz, an East Cleveland sports hero who helped lead the Shaw High Cardinals to a state baseball championship in 1968, is working to return Little League play to his hometown.

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Buddy Schultz's future was born on a Little League baseball diamond in East Cleveland.

That early experience propelled him onto a Shaw High state championship team where he hurled back-to-back shutout games.

It paved the way for a college career at Miami of Ohio where his unbroken NCAA record of 26 strikeouts in a nine-inning game still stands.

And it got him a five-year gig as a major league baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

"Baseball gave me everything," Schultz said. "I was a C+ student that got a four-year college scholarship."

That is why Schultz is working to bring a long-absent Little League baseball back to his hometown.

Schultz is the force behind the new nonprofit East Cleveland Baseball Charities, which will pay for the essentials kids need to play: balls, bats, gloves and a safe field.

The gregarious local sports hero was back in the Cleveland area this week from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., to meet with a group he's put together to serve as board members for the charity.

Supporters include area business officials as well former coaches and teammates, such as local radio personality Mike Snyder, who played on his champion little league team in the 1960s.

Also pitching in are John Hicks, the head coach of Shaw's 1968 championship team; Yellow Cab President Brian McBride, grandson of Mickey McBride, the first owner of the Cleveland Browns; John Christie, the past chair of the Miami University Board of Trustees and past CEO of Worthington Steel; and Ryan Cipriani of the city's Angela-Mia Pizza.

Schultz, who now lives in Arizona, helped establish a youth baseball charity there nearly 20 years ago that has raised millions for the youth baseball programs.

East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton

East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton, who recently met with Schultz on a spruced-up baseball diamond at Forest Hills Park, said emotion on the pitcher's face during that conversation told him everything he needed to know.

"You could see what baseball meant in his life by the look in his eyes when he talked about his coaches and teammates," Norton said. "Buddy seems like genuine guy with all the heart and the skills to make this happen. East Cleveland can use all the Buddy's we can get," East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton said.

Schultz said he wouldn't be spearheading the effort if he hadn't met and been impressed by Norton's dedication to reviving the embattled city.

"I've been sizing people up from 60 feet my whole life," Schultz said.

Norton said that East Cleveland -- despite tough economic times -- is trying to bolster its recreational opportunities.

"We are a place where we want kids to have things to do, to be able to build character through sportsmanship," he said.

Parks and Recreation Director Greg Bell said that it's been more than two decades since there was an active Little League in the city, like the one that yielded Shaw's  baseball state championship team in 1968.

Buddy SchultzBuddy Shultz pitching in the 1968 state championship game for the Shaw Cardinals.

That year, Schultz, Shaw's outstanding fire-balling left-hander, pitched two shut-out games, a feat that can't be trumped because shortly afterward the Ohio High School Athletic Association changed the rules as to how many innings a player could pitch in one day. Some call it the "Buddy Schultz" Rule.

The team was a point of pride for the rapidly changing city.

But Bell said baseball fizzled in East Cleveland, like it has in many urban communities around the country.

The diamond Schultz played on, located in the manicured historic Forest Hills neighborhood in a park donated to the city by oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, went mostly unused.

Last year, with help from Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities -- RBI -- program, East Cleveland fielded a 22-kid team that played in Cleveland's league.

Police Chief Ralph Spotts -- who followed Schulz a decade later as a pitcher for the Shaw Cardinals -- coached the team, Bell said.

This year, they the recreation department hopes to have a citywide league broken into two age brackets, including one for elementary-aged kids. From those ranks they plan to pull the strongest players for a traveling team.

Bell said that the charity is looking to current and former East Clevelander's to donate to the effort.

The timing, Bell said, is right.

"It's the city's centennial," Bell said. "It's the right time for those who have these great memories to give some back and support the future."

If Willie Nelson is worried about the biggest fight of his young career, the undefeated Cleveland welterweight is not letting on.

Read Joe Maxse's boxing column every Tuesday.

If Willie Nelson is worried about the biggest fight of his young career, the undefeated Cleveland welterweight is not letting on.

Nelson, 23, puts his 16-0-1 (10 KOs) record on the line Friday in Laredo, Texas, when he squares off against Vincent Arroyo (10-1, 7 KOs). It is one of the featured bouts on Showtime’s nationally televised “ShoBox” series at 11 p.m.

“No, I’m thinking about it as a regular fight,” said Nelson, who trains under Renard Safo at East Cleveland’s MLK Premier Gym. “He’s a banger and supposed to be a power puncher. He comes straight forward with no head movement.”

While his credentials show power, Arroyo has not faced opponents with any notoriety. The same can be said of Nelson, who stopped Quinton Whitaker (7-8) in the first round on Nov. 20 in Atlantic City, N.J.

It’s why getting this national exposure is huge for both fighters. “It’s been a bumpy road, but it’s coming along,” said Nelson, who turned pro at 18.

“Different managers and promoters have made promises they didn’t fulfill. I paid some dues. I never got to that point [of quitting]. I love boxing too much.”

Like fellow undefeated Cleveland welterweight Shawn Porter (18-0, 13 KOs), Nelson knows this can be a big year when it comes to wins and paydays. Nelson said Friday’s opponent gets “careless with his hands” and makes mistakes.

He can’t afford either of those miscues himself. He said his game plan is somewhat simple.

“I just want to land my big shots,” said Nelson. “A lot of people don’t know I can hit.”

Good start: The 83rd Cleveland Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament got off to a good start at the Brook Park Recreation Center. Marc Haire, president of the organization, said the first two nights of the tournament had the best turnouts in recent memory, with attendance at approximately 500 fans each night.

Twelve semifinals are set for Saturday, with all three divisions represented. They are at the recreation center, 17400 Holland Road, in Brook Park at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 reserved, $15 general admission and $10 12-and-under. Call 216-662-7445.

The finals move to the North Hall at Cleveland Browns Stadium on April 16 at 6 p.m.

Fearsome foursome: Three former Golden Gloves champions made up the super heavyweight (201-plus pounds) open division in this year’s tournament.

Marc Ward was the heavyweight open champ in 2009 and 2007, the sub-novice champ in 2006. Wesley Triplett was the 2008 super heavyweight open champ.

Enam Danley won the novice division super title in 2008. Triplett defeated Danley on Friday, and Ward won two bouts to reach the April 16 final. Franklin Barnes, last year’s sub-novice heavyweight titlist, lost to Jerrell Brown in a novice match on Saturday.

This date: Jess Willard stopped Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the heavyweight title in Havana, Cuba, in 1915.

Friday: The ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” are in Montreal, where David Lemieux (25-0, 24 KOs) faces Marco Antonio Rubio (49-5-1, 42 KOs) in a WBC middleweight eliminator at 9 p.m. Rubio was no match for Kelly Pavlik when they met in Youngstown in February 2009.

Saturday: You will have to shell out pay-per-view television dollars to watch former champion Erik Morales (51-6, 35 KOs) take on Marcos Maidana (29-2, 27 KOs) in the featured 140-pound bout at 9 p.m.

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

What was your most memorable NCAA Division I Men's Basketball title game?

View full sizeEric Gay,
Associated PressKemba Walker soars through the air en route to a Connecticut victory and an award as the tournament's most valuable player as the Huskies won the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball crown over cold-shooting Butler, 53-41.

Last night's Connecticut win over Butler was either really ugly or a thing of defensive beauty, depending on your allegiances. Still, it's got to go down as one of the more memorable NCAA title games.

So we were reading this morning's Plain Dealer about the win (or loss, again, depending on allegiances) and noticed the list of title game results dating back to 1939. And that got us to thinking (which, admittedly, is not our strong suit): Which of those games is our MOST memorable?

It's time to 'fess up and admit that your friendly neighborhood Starting Blocks author graduated from San Jacinto College outside Houston and attended the University of Houston. Naturally, the Phi Slamma Jama contest against N.C. State tops it for us, mainly because we won a bottle of scotch betting another Texan that the then-dominant ACC would end up with the crown. (Weasel never paid up, either, but what can you expect from a boss?)

So, how about you? We're gonna list a few games in the poll, and leave a blank spot for you to fill in yourself.

Get your questions ready and join Terry Pluto today at noon as he talks Cleveland sports. The Indians season started this past weekend. We'll look back at the White Sox series plus look ahead to the NBA and NFL drafts.

Terry Pluto tackles your questions live every Tuesday at noon.

Get your questions ready and join Terry Pluto today at noon as he talks Cleveland sports.

The Indians season started this past weekend. We'll look back at the White Sox series plus look ahead to the NBA and NFL drafts.

You can jump in the chat room and ask your questions as well as interact with other users and respond to Terry's remarks, or you can just listen. The chat will also be made available shortly after its completion in mp3 format.

"Part of building a team, especially one with an extremely young pitching staff, is building confidence. The Indians staff is loaded with ground-ball pitchers (although you wouldn't know it after two games) and they need a solid defense to give those pitchers that confidence. ..." - sadsamjones

View full sizeChuck Crow | The Plain DealerJack Hannahan has provided some stability defensively at third for the Indians.

In response to the story Terry Pluto's Talkin' ... about three young infielders, rising stock on the NBA draft board and where top NFL receivers can be found, cleveland.com reader sadsamjones thinks a strong infield defense is good for the Indians' pitchers early in the year. This reader writes,

"Part of building a team, especially one with an extremely young pitching staff, is building confidence. The Indians staff is loaded with ground-ball pitchers (although you wouldn't know it after two games) and they need a solid defense to give those pitchers that confidence. Having Orlando Cabrera at second and Hanahan/Donald at third to start the season is the smart move. Chisenhall, Kipnis and Phelps will get their shots soon enough. This team will score some runs if healthy, so getting the pitching staff rolling is far more important than sticking a 22-year-old kid with no AAA experience out at third."

"Most every publication I've read lists Derrick Williams as a small forward, and from what I've seen, this guy has elite athleticism. I see absolutely no reason he couldn't be a NBA three, and he's got range easily out to 3-point land. I can't believe for a minute the Cavs would take an underdeveloped Harrison Barnes over Derrick Williams." - randyosu

View full sizeAllen J. Schaben | Los Angeles TimesArizona's Derrick Williams is intriguing to some Cavaliers fans.

In response to the story Terry Pluto's Talkin' ... about three young infielders, rising stock on the NBA draft board and where top NFL receivers can be found, cleveland.com reader randyosu think Derrick Williams would fine at small forward in the NBA. This reader writes,

"Most every publication I've read lists Derrick Williams as a small forward, and from what I've seen, this guy has elite athleticism. I see absolutely no reason he couldn't be a NBA three, and he's got range easily out to 3-point land. I can't believe for a minute the Cavs would take an underdeveloped Harrison Barnes over Derrick Williams."

"The fact is, Josh Cribbs is going in to his 7th NFL season and we are still debating whether he is a RB, WR or DB. This further illustrates the ridiculous nature of Cribbs being anything other than an outstanding special teams player. After he is retired, we still won't know what in the world his position was." - war+waste=200posts

View full sizeJoshua Gunter | The Plain DealerJosh Cribbs has made his mark in the NFL as a kick returner.

In response to the story What's the latest draft buzz for the Cleveland Browns? Hey, Tony!, cleveland.com reader war+waste=200posts thinks Josh Cribbs is a great special teams player and nothing more. This reader writes,

"The fact is, Josh Cribbs is going in to his 7th NFL season and we are still debating whether he is a RB, WR or DB. This further illustrates the ridiculous nature of Cribbs being anything other than an outstanding special teams player. After he is retired, we still won't know what in the world his position was."

Plain Dealer columnist also says Monday night's Butler-UConn championship game 'set college basketball back years.' Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Welcome to today's edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Chuck Yarborough and Bill Lubinger, as Branson Wright is "on assignment."

Last night's NCAA championship game was a clunker, as Connecticut held off Butler in an game that saw both teams offensively challenged. But on to happier memories: What is your most memorable NCAA championship game? Cast your vote in today's Starting Blocks poll.

Today's guest on SBTV, Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston, says the 1985 upset by Villanova over Georgetown is his most memorable.

Livy also talks about Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and whether he believes Sullinger will return to college next season; which player the Cavaliers should take in this year's draft; and whether Fausto Carmona of the Indians can bounce back after Friday's rough start on opening day.

SBTV will return Wednesday with Plain Dealer Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot talking about the Browns and the NFL lockout.