Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren talked about first round draft pick Brandon Weeden and the starting quarterback position during a news conference in Berea. Watch video
The fishing weather is improving, and should be very good this weekend for anglers chasing Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch and inland lake fishermen after bass, catfish and bluegill. The water levels at many inland lakes are dropping because of a lack of rain.
GENERAL FISHING REPORT
The local fishing had been put on hold this week in many areas because of high winds, but the forecast is for good fishing weather this weekend. The walleye have been biting all along the Lake Erie shoreline, and the yellow perch fishing is improving. Inland lake anglers are taking lots of bass, catfish and bluegill, with the walleye fishing warming up at Pymatuning and Berlin lakes. The water levels at many inland lakes are dropping because of a lack of rain.
CLEVELAND AREA
Portions of the inner Cleveland Harbor around Burke Airport will be closed to boating traffic today through Sunday for Marine Week Air Show events. The closure is today from 10-11 a.m. and 3-4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 2-3:30 p.m.
The walleye fishing is improving on Lake Erie as the wind and waves subside. Catches of walleye should be good in water a little shallower than 31 feet and deeper than 50 feet, with walleye suspended at 18 to 23 feet. Spinner rigs tipped with nightcrawlers and Reef Runners, both in pink and purple, have been the top lures, with a variety of spoons making headway.
Walleye have been caught this week off Cleveland Harbor and East 72d St. and the Chagrin River in 50 to 65 feet of water.
The yellow perch fishing has been good off both lighthouses in Cleveland Harbor, off Lakewood's Gold Coast in 36 feet of water and north of the Cleveland Crib in 64 feet of water. Perch are also being caught off Euclid Beach in 36 to 41 feet of water. Take lots of emerald shiner minnows, with large and small white bass and white perch feeding heavily right now.
The panfish bite is good all around Cleveland Harbor, including the pier heads, the breakwall at East 72d St. and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rock bass, bluegill and largemouth bass have been reported caught around shoreline rocks, weeds and humps on minnows and leeches suspended under a float or worked close to the lake rocks. Smallmouth bass, which must be released, are taking jig-leech, jig-minnow and tube jigs, as well as small soft plastic baits on drop shot rigs.
CENTRAL LAKE ERIE
Walleye are being caught from Huron to Vermilion in 25 to 35 feet of water, in 50 feet of water northwest of Lorain, 30 to 40 feet of water off the mouth of the Grand River and in 67 to 70 feet of water off Geneva. Yellow perch are being caught in 35 to 45 feet of water off Ashtabula and Conneaut.
WESTERN LAKE ERIE
The walleye fishing has been slow in recent days because of rough water. Some walleye have been caught on north and northwest of North Bass Island, and northwest of West Sister Island. A few walleye are moving up on the reefs, including the Niagara Reef complex, Gull Island Shoal and Kelleys Island Shoal. The best fishing has been around Pelee Island in Canadian waters.
INLAND LAKES, RESERVOIRS
Beware of lake levels that continue to go down because of the drought in northeast Ohio.
The muskie fishing is waking up for the summer, with good catches at Clear Fork Reservoir in the Mansfield area, as well as West Branch, Pymatuning and Leesville lakes. Anglers have been trolling large, brightly-colored plugs on heavy braided line, targeting muskies suspended 10 to 20 feet below the surface.
The largemouth bass fishing has been good most everywhere as bass fatten up after the spawning season. Top bass lakes include Mosquito, LaDue and West Branch, with good success reported on Turkeyfoot and East reservoirs in the Portage Lakes chain. Bass are taking plastic worms and wacky worm rigs, diving plugs worked on the points and drop-offs, and on surface baits over the emerging weeds early and late in the day.
Mosquito and Pymatuning lakes have been very good for catfish and bass, with a few crappie mixed in. Most walleye anglers are dragging spinner rigs and nightcrawlers or gold-colored Shad Rap and Hot-N-Tot lures. Berlin has been a good walleye lake, with a few crappie still biting.
The bluegill spawn is ending, but the panfish are still hanging around the near-shore areas of most lakes. Suspend jig-maggot combos under a float, or cast weighted ants and rubber-legged foam spiders with a fly rod. LaDue and Mogadore reservoirs are a tops for bluegill.
Wallace Lake in Berea is still giving up stocked rainbow trout, as well as catfish and bluegill.
FISHING TOURNAMENTS
Northern Open Anglers Association (Berlin Reservoir): 1. Nick Prvonozac and George Prvonozac, 5 bass, 12.17 pounds, $5,700; 2. Dino Rahas and Tim Matus, 5, 12.05, $1,938; 3. Nate Randolph and Gabe Cooper, 5, 11.73 pounds, $1,083.
Chagrin River Salmon Association Perch Contest (Lake Erie): 1. Jim Filby, 13.5 inches; Mike Flynn, 13.2 inches; 3. Barry Butera, 12.7 incxhes.
The Indians, with losses in 12 of their last 18 games, are 32-30 and in second place in the mediocre American League Central Division.
Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren recognized Bret Cantley as the 100,000th registered member of Browns Backers Worldwide before his news conference in Berea. Watch video
In Holmgren We Trust is a currency printed when Randy Lerner hired the Browns president, but one that has fallen out of favor. Winning is the only way to buy back lost faith. Watch video
BEREA, Ohio -- From a fan base grown weary of the wait, Mike Holmgren smartly didn't ask for blind patience as he announced his renewed intention to keep a more open dialogue about the team that moves the needle like no other in this city.
The Era of Good Feeling which Holmgren embarked upon Thursday wasn't all fluff, in other words. It could serve him well if the talent upgrade he says he sees results in a season of obvious improvement.
On the eve of his 64th birthday, he not only reiterated his commitment to seeing a turnaround through but gave Cleveland what it wants a lot more than an engaged and empathetic team president.
Brown jerseys at home? No. Well, yes, that, too. But more importantly a shared sense of urgency.
"As I told our coaches, I expect us to take a good healthy jump on the field," he said. "Of course, I'm talking about the record."
It wasn't a new challenge to his coaches. He has said before that 6-10 won't cut it. Sadly, that represents a fairly high bar in this city.
As the centerpiece in a press conference that was more personally revealing than anything else, restating his challenge to the coaching staff was a red-rose bouquet to those who see him as disengaged from the on-field product. Let's be honest, though. His legacy as Browns' president solely depends on whether he delivered the right head coach and quarterback before he retires.
If Holmgren is right about Pat Shurmur and Brandon Weeden, his "playoff tickets" comment won't matter. His out-of-town radio show appearances won't amount to a hill of Seattle's Best coffee beans if the Browns are primed to chase the playoffs on a fairly regular basis.
If he's wrong about Shurmur, whom he called a "great young coach," and if Weeden collapses under pocket pressure rarely seen in college, Holmgren won't get points for making himself available to fans through the media.
In the meantime, though, he has correctly concluded it can't hurt to add a more frequent voice to the face of the franchise. That's him. (Which is part of the problem.) Maybe someday it will be Shurmur or Weeden, but that day isn't close.
Holmgren said as a head coach he sometimes resented team presidents speaking on football matters. He says that's why he decided to stay in the background during Eric Mangini's last season and Shurmur's first. Understandable to an extent. But Holmgren's football acumen is what excited everyone about his hiring. When even the players still call you coach, people are going to look to you for reassurance and hope, especially when your record is 9-23 and the neophyte you hired has a terrible first year on the job.
If any fan base deserves to get catered to, kept informed, told why it's going to be worth the wait, it's this one. Holmgren said he's not "hard-headed" but that he has started to "listen to people saying they'd like to hear a little more from you."
So what did they hear Thursday? Team wise, not much new. He expects Weeden to help make the receivers better. That they were more open last year than people think. Reading between the lines, Weeden's the starter. He's the reason they think the receivers are good enough.
There are football issues behind the Colt McCoy-Weeden "competition" charade. Keep teams believing McCoy is a legitimate candidate to start. Don't risk Weeden feeling entitled. You guessed that by now.
Holmgren was most emphatic on the subject of his future here. "This is my last job," he said, admitting his sensitivity to the notion that he's a short timer. "If anything, I probably care too much. We like it here."
If he doesn't see the end of the five-year contract he signed, the only way he's off the hook is if he leaves a playoff team behind. In Holmgren We Trust is a currency printed when Randy Lerner hired him but one that has since fallen out of favor. Winning is the only way for him to buy back lost faith.
"If they feel that way," Holmgren said of fans who no longer believe in him, "it's a good reason for me to be [speaking publicly] more."
Hardly a game-changer. But it's a conclusion reached better late than never.
On Twitter: @budshaw
Roger Staubach, a 27-year-old rookie with a baseball past when he joined the Cowboys, discusses the challenges for Brandon Weeden, as well as those faced by Colt McCoy.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Roger Staubach started his NFL career after four years away from football. He spent them in the Navy, with one of the years in Vietnam as a supply officer. He used his Navy leave to attend "quarterback school," as he called it, which consisted of days of drills with the Dallas Cowboys.
"Don Meredith was the starter, with Craig Morton the backup. Jerry Rhome was there, too," he said.
Another time, Staubach took his leave so he could attend the Cowboys' training camp. Nobody complained about two-a-days around him.
In 1969, with the service commitment that came with graduation from the Naval Academy over, Staubach was a 27-year-old rookie. "The next thing I knew, they traded Jerry Rhome and Meredith retired. But Tom Landry didn't trade for a veteran quarterback behind Morton. Tom liked the maturity I had developed," said Staubach.
If anybody is equipped to talk about the Browns' presumed starting quarterback, 28-year-old Brandon Weeden, who spent five years in baseball's minor leagues as a pitcher before taking up college football, it is Staubach. The Pro Football Hall of Famer played center field at Purcell High School in Cincinnati and at Annapolis.
That said, Staubach, 70, is actually a fan of the demoted Browns QB, Colt McCoy. "I've watched him, and I've thrown with Colt McCoy. He has a strong arm. He's pretty fast. I think he's going to be a good NFL quarterback," Staubach said in a recent telephone interview. "As for the concussion controversy with Colt's father, [the Browns' front office] ought to be able to get over that."
The Browns' situation matters to Staubach. Although he played his entire career with Dallas, he grew up as a Cleveland fan. "I played in the College All-Star Game and [former Browns quarterback] Otto Graham was our coach. I met Dante Lavelli and Marion Motley. There was no Bengals team in Cincinnati when I was a kid. The Browns are in my blood."
Roger Staubach highlight package
As for the strong-armed Weeden, Staubach said, "Age is a factor. But if you can play at 21, you can play at 27. It's not like he's a running back [in terms of punishment]. He can have a 12-year career. He just won't play 18 years. I was in better shape at 27 than I was at 23. Weeden has to believe he's better at his age than he was younger."
Staubach was a reserve for Dallas as a rookie, though he started the 1969 season opener. "I started against the St. Louis Cardinals in the season opener because Craig was hurt," Staubach said. "We won, or Tom [Landry] probably would have traded for a veteran quarterback after all."
Staubach's situation was different than that of Weeden, who would have to fall flat on his face in exhibition season and training camp not to start, absent injury. "If you're ready, getting the job early is important. But sitting around is not that bad," Staubach said.
Staubach was a scrambler. "Roger the Dodger," they called him. "I never really curtailed my running. Sometimes it was hard to resist running downfield when I knew I could get the first down. If you know how to run, you can protect yourself," he said.
Staubach still took his share of punishment. He separated his shoulder trying to run over the Rams' Marlin McKeever, who outweighed him by 40 pounds, on the goal line -- in an exhibition game. "Obviously, not the smartest play on my part," Staubach said.
Staubach can identify with the head injury McCoy suffered against Pittsburgh last year because he himself suffered "six to eight concussions" over the course of his 11-year career.
"I never returned to a game after I was knocked out, though," he said. "I never had an MRI until my last year. The doctor in New York told me after it, "Your next concussion is going to be your biggest problem." I was 38, so I retired. [Dallas General Manager] Tex Schramm wanted me to play two more years. I would have if I had been 33 or 34."
By contrast, Weeden is relatively immobile.
"Troy Aikman wasn't a runner," Staubach said of the Dallas QB who won three Super Bowls. "But he could step up in the pocket and slip around in it. Arm strength is so important. You're throwing off balance, off your back foot, and the ball has to get there in a hurry because there are no weak defenders to pick on, like in college. Receivers aren't open for long.
"People raved about Dan Marino's release, and there are times you have to get rid of the ball quickly. But velocity is the biggest thing."
Staubach could sometimes be wild and high all game, then win it on the last drive. His mechanics were not as smooth as Weeden's, in part because of his baseball experience.
"I had a little hitch in my delivery because of baseball. You wind up a little when you're throwing it in from center field," he said. "Baseball actually helped me in my football career, though. At Purcell, I was playing defensive back until the football coach saw me play baseball and then put me at quarterback because of my arm."
As great a coach as Landry was, he had trouble deciding between Staubach and Morton, once alternating them from play to play. "It was against the Chicago Bears," said Staubach. "Craig and I thought Tom might have had a stroke. Seriously, we couldn't believe it."
Quarterback, Staubach said, is a position in which intangibles such as leadership ability can have a bigger impact than anywhere else in sports.
"It's a confidence thing," he said. "The quarterback has to transfer his belief in himself to the other players. You can't have two quarterbacks. It means you don't have any quarterback. You have a team divided. It's the most important position on the field."
On Twitter: @LivyPD
Breaking down Saturday night's matchup as the Gladiators look to get back above the .500 mark.
What: Arena Football League game, Gladiators (6-6) vs. New Orleans Voodoo (5-7).
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Q.
Radio: WKRK FM/92.3.
Series record: New Orleans leads, 2-0.
Last meeting: New Orleans beat the Gladiators, 34-33, in Cleveland last season.
Gladiators' last game: Took a forfeit home loss vs. Pittsburgh last week when the players chose not to play over a union dispute. It was the Gladiators' third straight loss.
Where they stand: The Gladiators are in second place in the American Conference East Division behind Philadelphia (10-6). New Orleans is in fourth place in the American Conference South Division.
About the Voodoo: Have dropped four of last six, including 53-46 loss to San Antonio last week. New Orleans is led by former Gladiator quarterback Kurt Rocco (271 of 439 passing with 74 touchdowns), who starred at Mount Union.
What to look for: The Gladiators rank first in scoring defense (44.9 points per game) and second in passing yards allowed (223.5 yards per game) and total defense (241.6 yards per game). The Voodoo own the second-most passing yards in the league (3,621) and are fifth in passing yards per game (301.8).
Muskie fishing around Ohio is an exercise in patience that is interrupted once in a great while by the incredible excitement of having a trophy fish on the line.
MANSFIELD, OHIO
Fred Lederer of Perrysburg has enough muskie fishing tales to fill a book, a good thing to have in your repertoire when you're trolling for the big, toothy fish on Clear Fork Reservoir, 971 acres of muskie waters in Richland and Morrow counties.
As veteran muskie fishermen know, it can take a mind-numbing amount of time to encourage a big muskie to chase a lure. Sometimes it's just hours, but it can take days or even weeks to get a bite.
Muskie fishing is about 95 percent social and 5 percent sheer excitement when a muskie savagely strikes a lure.
For the Ohio Huskie Muskie Club's recent Division Day event, I was on the water with Lederer and his son, Jake, 16. For both, muskie fishing is beyond an obsession. Fred has been the president of the Ohio Huskie Muskie Club for eight years and Jake is secretary of the club, created by Ohio wildlife officials in the 1960s to promote and protect Ohio's largest game fish.
The Division Day muskie fishing and a barbecue lunch lets club members rub shoulders with their Division of Wildlife partners, and give them the possibility of having their hands full with a wild and crazy muskie. This year's outing was a resounding success, with almost a dozen muskies caught and released.
Lederer was sure he had the secret weapon. He was trolling over-sized wooden Ziggie Lures made by retired auto worker Ziggie Obidzinski in Marine City, Mich. While an everyday angler may have wondered if the lures really worked after a couple of hours of dragging them through the water, Lederer was confident. One of the needed traits of a muskie fishermen is a firm belief a muskie will suddenly get hungry and, for some strange reason, will want to attack a lime-green, 10-inch long Ziggie Lure.
At about noon, Lederer shouted "Fish on!" He scrambled to bring in the other fishing lines and grab the over-sized net, all while providing a wealth of impromptu fishing suggestions to keep line and lure attached to the big muskie. The fish was on the surface, the colorful Ziggie Lure crossways in its mouth.
"I told you Ziggie Lures were the key," said Lederer, wearing a wide grin that would take an hour, or two, to go away. Having caught big muskies in the past, I suddenly realized I had a photo opportunity. Handing the net to Lederer, he turned over navigating the boat to Jake as I grabbed a camera.
"That's a 44-incher," said Lederer a few minutes later as we again swapped landing net and fishing rod. Lederer slid the big net under the fish, only to be splashed by its thrashing tail. Pliers removed the lure's treble hook from the muskie's jaw. A quick measurement showed our prize was 44 1/2 inches long. Lederer gently released the muskie.
"The other guys reported catching smaller muskies on the 6- and 8-inch Ziggies," said Lederer. "That's when I decided to go with the "A" game and tie on the 10-incher, though it is a little early in the year for bigger lures. The Ziggies might not look all that special, but they have a fantastic action muskies can't resist."
Lederer works hard to sell muskie fishing and the OHMC. The club hosts club and open muskie tournaments around Ohio. There is an open tournament on July 21-22 at Pymatuning Reservoir, a Nite Bite adventure after dark at Leesville Reservoir on Aug. 11 and a club tournament Sept. 22-23 at Piedmont Lake. For details, visit ohmci.org.
To be an honorary member of the club, simply catch a muskie. Full-fledged members must catch a "husky" musky stretching 42 inches. Any muskie comes with bragging rights, said Lederer.
Jake Lederer caught the muskie bug early, heading out with his father at just two years old and catching his personal best, a 49.5-inch muskie, when he was nine years old. His younger sister, Jenna, twice won the OHMC release award for girls under 16.
"My best is a 52 1/2-inch muskie caught last year," said Fred Lederer.
There is seldom a quibble about keeping or releasing a muskie.
"Club members release 99.8 percent of the muskies they catch, according to our records," said Lederer. "Ohio is one of the best states in the country for muskie fishing, and we all want to keep it that way."
Study to figure where Clear Fork muskies hide
MANSFIELD, OHIO
Ohio doesn't have the huge wilderness lakes or sprawling rivers usually associated with trophy muskie fishing, but Ohio Huskie Muskie Club President Fred Lederer rates the Buckeye State at the top for muskie catches. The Clear Fork Reservoir muskie fishing is rated at the top in Ohio, and might be even better if fisheries experts can figure out why muskies swimming here are seldom caught more than once.
The muskie statistics at Clear Fork show only 13 percent of muskies were caught more than once. About 3 percent are caught three times. Only 1 percent were caught four times.
"We're starting a 10-year study in 2013, putting T-bar tags near the dorsal fin of every young muskie we'll put in Clear Fork," said fisheries biologist Kevin Page at the Inland Fisheries Unit in Hebron. "We release fish with the hope they'll be caught again and again by sport fishermen, so it's important for us to understand what's happening."
Muskies could be escaping over the Clear Fork Reservoir dam, or dying of stress after being caught and released during the hot summer months.
At the same time, fisheries experts will be inserting PIT (passive integrated responder) tags into the muskies being released at Alum Creek, Leesville and Salt Fork reservoirs. Special electronic units will be able to detect the small tags in the muscles of fish, whether they're kept by fishermen or if the muskies swim over the dam in their home lakes.
"It's just my personal opinion, but I don't think Holmgren expected Browns fans to care so much about certain things, like going on Seattle radio, uniform colors, etc. I don't personally think he is slimy or detached, I think he is always 1 step behind in terms of PR. Fans get angry he doesn't do enough interviews, then he does more of them. Fans want him more visible, so he says he will be." - OnlyInCleveland
"It's just my personal opinion, but I don't think Holmgren expected Browns fans to care so much about certain things, like going on Seattle radio, uniform colors, etc. I don't personally think he is slimy or detached, I think he is always 1 step behind in terms of PR. Fans get angry he doesn't do enough interviews, then he does more of them. Fans want him more visible, so he says he will be. Fans, for some unknown reason, care about brown uniforms, so now they will use them some of the time. This shows me 2 things, one that he is not in touch with what Browns fans want and what makes them tick, but two that he does care and tries to rectify the situation as best he can."
The Indians welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates to town for their first game tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Get game updates on Twitter from Paul Hoynes, @Hoynsie.
The Indians welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates to town for their first game tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Get game updates on Twitter from Paul Hoynes @dmansworldpd or click here for a live game box score. You can also download our Cleveland Indians app for Android to get Tribe updates on your mobile device. Read on for a game preview.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "Large" Lenny Barker will forever be an Indians' fan favorite for the night of May 15, 1981 -- the night he tossed the 10th perfect game in major-league history. Barker, who pitched for the Tribe from 1979-83 and led the American League in strikeouts in 1980 and '81, lives in Geauga County and recently completed his...
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "Large" Lenny Barker will forever be an Indians' fan favorite for the night of May 15, 1981 -- the night he tossed the 10th perfect game in major-league history.
Barker, who pitched for the Tribe from 1979-83 and led the American League in strikeouts in 1980 and '81, lives in Geauga County and recently completed his first season as head coach of the Notre Dame College baseball team, which finished 17-31-1.
During the Indians' recent charity golf outing, Barker reflected on his new coaching job and his time in the big leagues, including who his toughest out was and how many times he makes his players watch the replay of his perfect game.
No player has punched more tickets en route to KSU than pitcher Ryan Bores, who will start the team's second game on Monday.
OMAHA, Neb. -- There aren't any ruby slippers, but Kent State baseball coach Scott Stricklin may well tell his recruits to click their cleats three times and repeat, "there's no place like home."
Not only do the Golden Flashes sport a roster of 27 Ohio-bred baseball players, but five arrived after starting their college careers at other schools. Pitcher Ryan Bores initially signed with Ohio University. DH Nick Hamilton began his career at Xavier, catcher Troy Summers started out at Akron, pitcher Michael Clark first journeyed to North Carolina State and pitcher Tyler Skulina turned his heels after starting at Virginia.
Kent, 46-18, makes its first appearance in the College World Series Saturday having been aided greatly by Strongsville's Skulina (11-2, 3.84 ERA) and Avon Lake's Hamilton (.353 BA). But no player punched more tickets en route to KSU than Bores (9-3, 3.85 ERA), who will start the team's second game on Monday.
"I signed to play at Ohio University my freshman year, but I didn't like it too much, and wanted to be closer to home," said Bores, a product of Strongsville. "Then I went to Tri-C and was drafted by the Texas Rangers. But I decided to wait one more year. In the fall, I signed to go to Cleveland State. But around the first of May, I got a phone call saying the program had been terminated.
"Now, I had no scholarship offers. I scrambled, last second, and I pitched pretty good one game when about 20 [college] scouts were there. I kind of blew up overnight. I talked to coach Stricklin and coach [Mike] Birkbeck, and they convinced me to come to Kent State. Three schools in three years, but it's paid off. It's been a pretty good ride. Now I'm soaking it all in."
Hamilton, Clark, Skulina and Bores are all key contributors as Kent opens CWS play Saturday at 5 p.m. against Arkansas. Transfers are not uncommon in college sports. But the key, Stricklin said, is not to have many transfer away from your program while being open to those interested in arriving.
"It's just going to happen," he said. "When you've got 35 kids on the roster, not every kid is going to be happy. You've got a lot of things that come into play, like homesickness. A lot of things when you go away from home, 18 years old, for the first time. It happens everywhere. You think you're going into a perfect situation, but when you get there, you realize it is not.
"The grass isn't always greener. Kids have found out, when they come back to Kent State, kids feel like they belong. You don't see players transfer out of our program very often. We have a low turnover rate, and I think a lot of that is because we are local."
He used the recruiting of Bores as an example.
"We talked to him a little bit, but he chose to go to Cleveland State," he said. "When that program was discontinued, he gave us a call and asked if we were still interested. Coach Birkbeck and I jumped in the car, and went to Battle Creek, Mich., to watch him pitch on a Friday morning, and we had a game that afternoon at Bowling Green. He was very good, and we offered him a scholarship that night."
Bores said by that time he was getting offers from Kansas State and numerous southern teams. But he opted to stay closer to home.
"My folks really enjoy seeing me play, so Kent was the best fit," he said.
"You're not going to get every kid you want in the recruiting process," Stricklin said. "From time to time, kids are going to make decisions to go elsewhere, but it doesn't always work out.
"One thing we've always done a pretty good job of is, when a kid decides to go somewhere else, we congratulate him, wish him luck, because you never know what's going to happen. We've had a lot of kids come back, because they enjoyed the recruiting process the first time around, and wanted to take a second look."
One big plus, Bores said, is when recruits visit, he and his teammates who transferred to KSU can be a voice for them to hear.
"They'll ask our stories, and some of our experiences," Bores said. "We can share a lot with them."
Now, with the Omaha experience, the Golden Flashes will have even more stories to share.
Video from Kent State's pre-Series workout in Omaha
It's hard to describe how big time this event is. How I qualified this year and all the attention I got, how could I top that?
(Editor's note: Canfield resident Dennis Miller completed his first U.S. Open with an 82 on Friday, after an 80 on Thursday. Miller, 42, qualified in his 12th attempt earlier this month. He is the director of golf at Mill Creek Park, a Metroparks course in Canfield.)
SAN FRANICSCO -- I didn't putt very well, even though I had a pretty good front nine. My short game let me down. But all in all, it was a great time out here this week.
I talked with Casey [Martin] quite a bit. He's in some pain and said he didn't sleep well. His first few steps out of the cart, you can see he's in pain. But he is one heck of a player and coach. (Martin finished at 9-over 149 and missed the cut.)
It was different playing in the morning [instead of the afternoon]. I lost about a club-and-a-half because of the air. I hit an 8-iron 135 yards.
The toughest part is you are always on a hillside. You literally have about a 30-foot wide window on some holes. If you are 10 feet off it's going to go into the rough. From there you can't hold the green. It makes for a long day when you are not in the fairway.
I'm going to stay at the tournament and soak it all in. Then I'll do some sightseeing with my family. Then it's off to Monterey [for the PGA National Club Pro Championship]. I'm going to hook up with my fellow NOPGA pros. I'm going to play practice rounds at Bayonet and Black Horse.
What a special event this has been for me. It was definitely a good way to warm up for the Club Pro.
It's hard to describe how big time this event is. How I qualified this year and all the attention I got, how could I top that? It's all been a lot of fun.
Thanks to the new basic agreement, the Indians and other teams are signing their top draft picks much faster than in the past. Watch video
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The last few years it's been a case of beat the clock with the Indians and their high-round draft picks. The signing deadline was Aug. 15 at midnight, which made for a lot of late nights, close calls and fast talking for Brad Grant, the team's director of amateur scouting.
The new basic agreement has changed that and a lot of other things about the draft. The result was evident Friday when the Indians signed their top two picks well before the new July 13 deadline at 5 p.m.
"We've never signed our top two picks this early before," said Grant.
No.1 pick Texas A&M outfielder Tyler Naquin signed for $1.75 million. He'll report to Class A Mahoning Valley on Saturday. No.2 pick Mitch Brown, a high school right-hander, signed for $800,000. He'll report to the Indians' rookie league team in Goodyear, Ariz., on Saturday.
In the draft's new slotting system, the Indians were allotted $2.25 million for their first-round pick. The money they saved allowed them to pay Brown more than their allotted $639,700 for their second pick. The Indians have an estimated $4.5 million to spend on their first 10 picks. No.3 pick Kieran Lovegrove, another high school right-hander, is expected to be in Cleveland on Saturday take his physical. He could sign in the next day or two as well.
Naquin, 6-3 and 190 pounds, led the Aggies with a .380 batting average this season, with 18 doubles, six triples and three homers. The Indians feel Naquin can move to center field and Naquin does as well.
"I've played center field all my life," said Naquin. "When I went to Texas A&M, they moved me to right field because they liked my arm."
Brown, the 79th player taken overall, went 6-1 with a 0.65 ERA in seven starts at Rochester Century High School just outside Minneapolis. Sometimes it's hard for players in cold-weather states to get a good enough look from teams to go high in the draft.
"Minnesota had a spring just like we did in Cleveland," said Grant. "Mitch got to make all his starts and we've been interested in him right from the start."
He had committed to pitching at the University of Arizona, but the 6-1, 195-pound Brown wanted to play pro ball. "It's something I've been dreaming about for a long time," he said.
Lovegrove pitched at Mission Viejo High School. The slotting price for him is $432,700.
He's back: The Indians activated Jack Hannahan from the disabled list and optioned left-hander Scott Barnes to make room on the 25-man roster. Hannahan has played one game since May 13 because of back pain and a strained left calf.
"I'm glad to be back," said Hannahan, who started at third base and was hitless in two at-bats against Pittsburgh on Friday.
Barnes had a 10.38 ERA in four games for the Tribe.
The Indians have three third basemen on the roster with Hannahan, Jose Lopez and Lonnie Chisenhall. They can afford to do that with DH Travis Hafner (right knee) on the disabled list.
Long-road back: In the spring of 2010, Jason Grilli was in camp with the Indians. He severely injured his right quadriceps muscle and missed the entire season. He made 28 appearances with the Pirates in 2011 and has become a big part of their bullpen this year. He is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 25 games. He has 39 strikeouts and 13 walks in 25 innings.
"I'm not surprised he made it back," said manager Manny Acta. "Players come back from surgery all the time.
"But I'm happy for him. He's a good guy."
Finally: Catcher Luke Carlin, designated for assignment when the Indians signed Esmil Rogers earlier in the week, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Class AAA Columbus.
On Twitter: @hoynsie
The players were initially charged with misdemeanors of obstructing official business and were suspended by OSU football coach Urban Meyer.
Updated at 11 p.m.
COLUMBUS - Ohio State football players Jake Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort have lost their scholarships for the summer, will pay their own way for summer school and will have a chance to return to the football team, and to their scholarships, after the summer session.
Ohio State released a statement from coach Urban Meyer about those plans to the Plain Dealer on Friday night after the players had their court case settled. The players entered guilty pleas Friday to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct, according to the Delaware Municipal Court website, after they originally were charged by Shawnee Hills police with obstructing official business on June 2. Police believed the players were urinating on a building and the players initially ran when confronted by officers early that Saturday morning.
Meyer had announced on June 4 that they were suspended indefinitely. Stoneburner, a senior tight end, and Mewhort, a junior left tackle, are both key starters for the OSU offense.
"We are disappointed with the decisions made recently by two of our football players," Meyer said in the statement Friday. "Jake Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort will each be removed from athletic scholarship beginning with the summer term, and they will continue to be suspended from team activities until stipulations are successfully met. They will have an opportunity to return to the team in good standing following the summer session."
According to Ohio State, both Stoneburner and Mewhort will be allowed to work out at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, but they will not be working out with any other Buckeyes. Stoneburner, for one, talked after spring football about looking forward to throwing often with quarterback Braxton Miller this summer. Now that won't happen, at least at the WHAC.
The players initially entered not guilty pleas for their scheduled arraignments this past Monday. The Delaware Municipal Court website now shows those guilty pleas to disorderly conduct, with the status of the cases indicating that they are finished. Both players are listed as owing $299 in fines and court costs.
The inaugural event for the local chapter will be a Tip-Off Breakfast on Oct. 31 in Cuyahoga Falls.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Getting five Division I college basketball coaches together on the first day of the summer recruiting period is just about impossible.
But when St. Joseph's (Pa.) University coach Phil Martelli was willing to fly in from Philadelphia, Cleveland State's Gary Waters, Keith Dambrot from the University of Akron, Rob Senderoff of Kent State and Jerry Slocum from Youngstown State answered the call to meet the National Chairman for Coaches vs. Cancer.
They met late Friday afternoon, along with invited guests, at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in University Circle to announce the formation of Coaches vs. Cancer of Northeast Ohio. The inaugural event will be a Tip-Off Breakfast on Oct. 31 in Cuyahoga Falls.
After listening to Martelli's commitment to the cause by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, its Ohio brethren stated their own.
"I was at an event in Philadelphia 17 years ago and the NCAA News came out with the top 100 schools for Coaches vs. Cancer," said Martelli, in his 27th season with the Hawks. "I told Fran Dunphy of Penn there was not one Philly school. That was a disgrace.
"We started a golf tournament. Last year we raised $115,000."
Martelli said the Philadelphia chapter also hosts a breakfast the day after Selection Sunday, a black-tie gala and a summer cocktail party by the shore. It also has a school initiative program that enlists the help of 115 grade schools and high schools that raised $330,000.
"Besides coaching and recruiting, I truly believe you are responsible to help people in need," said Martelli.
The disease has touched so many lives and the coaches related their stories. Dambrot wore three rubber bracelets on his left wrist in support of cancer-stricken friends, two deceased. Senderoff lost his grandmother five years ago and told of a third-grade classmate of his daughter.
Slocum said his mother, 87, has been a 37-year cancer survivor.
"I remember as a teenager her being sick," said Slocum. "It knows no gender, rich or poor, black or white. That disease is going to get you."
Waters, who came to CSU six years ago after five years at Rutgers, said he was treated for prostate cancer when he arrived in Cleveland. "I was very fortunate and I'm in good health," he said. "We're going to push this forward. I want to get the university involved and reach a lot of people."
Dave Heck, the sports initiatives director for the ACS, said Coaches vs. Cancer formed a Southwest Ohio chapter one year ago. The Tip-Off Breakfast among Cincinnati, Xavier, Wright State, Dayton and Miami raised $160,000.
Martelli said coaches are not the heroes in this endeavor. The corporate sponsors and contributors deserve all the credit, along with all those afflicted. He advised coaches to bring their teams for a dinner at Hope Lodge, one of 31 free national residences for patients.
"That's where you will see real-life toughness," he said. "We have to fight this as hard as any opponent on your schedule."
On Twitter: @JoeMaxse
Justin Masterson, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez combine on a five-hit shutout. Masterson goes seven innings for his third victory. Perez earns his 21st save.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Manny Acta sees this series between the Indians and Pirates as a race to the bullpen. The Indians want to get the lead to Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez before the Pirates get it to Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan.
Friday night, the first leg the race went to the Indians. Justin Masterson, Pestano and Perez combined on a five-hitter as the Indians ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory.
Pestano and Perez slammed the door as they have all season, but a lot of work was done before they made the scene. Masterson (3-6, 4.38) struck out nine and threw seven scoreless innings. Masterson did most of that heavy lifting protecting a 1-0 lead.
It certainly wasn't new ground for Masterson, who has rarely seen an outpouring of offensive support since he arrived in Cleveland from Boston in 2009.
"I would never say anything about that," said Masterson. "I've got to make sure no one scores. That's the job of the pitcher."
Carlos Santana gave Masterson a 1-0 lead against James McDonald on a slow-rolling double over a vacant third base in third. Asdrubal Cabrera scored from first as the Pirates' defense was over-shifted to the right side.
It was Masterson's third straight quality start and for a change he came away with the victory. He lost his last two starts despite allowing four runs in 13 innings.
"It was just an excellent job of pitching by Masterson and our bullpen," said Acta. "Masterson was the story of the night. That was the best slider he's had all year."
Masterson allowed four hits, walked three and hit a batter. He threw 64 percent (70-for-109) of his pitches for strikes. In his last three games, he's struck out 18 and walked six.
Pestano and Perez worked a scoreless inning each. Perez pitched the ninth for his 21st straight save.
McDonald (5-3, 2.32) struck out five and walked two.
After giving up an infield single to Neil Walker, the second batter of the game, Masterson went on a strikeout spree. In a 14-batter stretch, he struck out eight. He retired nine straight, six on strikeouts, when he lost command as quickly as he seemed to find it.
He walked Andrew McCutchen with one out in the fourth. Then he struck out Garrett Jones, only to allow a bloop single to Casey McGehee and a walk to Pedro Alvarez to load the bases. Masterson escaped by striking out Jose Tabata, his third of the inning.
"Most of those strikeouts came on sliders," said Masterson.
In the sixth, a fine play by second baseman Jason Kipnis preserved the Indians' lead and Masterson's victory.
Walker opened the inning with a double. He went to third on a groundout. Jones sent a fly ball to short right field with the infield pulled in. Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo had no chance to make a play because he was too deep. Kipnis sprinted out from second, caught the ball with his back to the plate and threw home to hold Walker at third.
Masterson ended the inning by getting McGehee on a grounder to second.
"Play of the game," said Acta. Kipnis credited infield coach Steve Smith with moving him back five or six steps just before Jones made contact.
"I got to show off some of my outfield skills," said Kipnis, a converted outfielder, with a laugh.
The seventh proved to be a sticky inning as well. Tabata walked with one out. After Rod Barajas flied out to center, Tabata stole second and Masterson hit Josh Harrison in the shoulder on a 2-2 pitch. Acta went to the mound, but left in his starter. Masterson retired Alex Presley on a fly ball to left, but first he threw a wild pitch to put runners on second and third.
"Right after Manny left, I threw the wild pitch," said Masterson, with a smile. "I'm sure that inspired a lot of confidence."
In the eighth Michael Brantley made it 2-0 with a two-out single. It extended his MLB-high hitting streak to 22 games.
"All I was thinking about was getting the run in," said Brantley.
When asked if he was worried about the streak ending, Brantley said with a straight face, "What streak? I don't know what you're talking about."
On Twitter: @hoynsie
The co-leaders are the only players who remained under par going into the weekend.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Just when this U.S. Open was starting to look like child's play, Tiger Woods led a trio of tested champions who took it back Friday.
Woods, another round closer to a serious shot at his 15th major, overcame three straight bogeys on the front nine for an even-par 70. Jim Furyk, nine years removed from his U.S. Open title outside Chicago, plodded his way around Olympic for a 1-under 69. Former PGA champion David Toms kept a steady presence in his round of 70.
They were the only three players who remained under par going into the weekend.
They restored some sanity to the toughest test in golf after a brief, stunning moment when 17-year-old Beau Hossler found himself alone in the lead. The kid went 11 holes without making a bogey until he got lost in the thick rough and the trees on the brutal front nine of Olympic and had to settle for a 73.
That wasn't the only surprise. Defending champion Rory McIlroy missed the cut for the fourth time in his last five tournaments. He set a U.S. Open record last year at Congressional with a 131 through 36 holes. He was 19 shots worse at Olympic, with a 73 giving him a two-day score of 150.
"It wasn't the way I wanted to play," he said.
Also leaving San Francisco far earlier than anyone expected were Luke Donald, the world's No. 1 player, Masters champion Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, coming off a win last week at the St. Jude Classic.
It doesn't take much at this U.S. Open to swallow up even the best players. Woods had to be close to his best simply to break par.
"Well, that was not easy," Woods said. "That golf course was some kind of quick. ... You had to stay as patient as possible."
They were at 1-under 139. Everyone else in the field was over par.
Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion two years ago down the coast at Pebble Beach, dropped three shots on his last four holes for a 72. Even so, he was very much in the hunt two shots behind at 141, along with recent LSU alum John Peterson (70), Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium (69) and Michael Thompson, the first-round leader whose 75 was nine shots worse.
"It's just tough to have fun out there," McDowell said.
The only regret for Woods was settling for a tie.
When he regained a share of the lead with Furyk on the 13th with a 4-foot birdie putt, Woods was coming up on a series of holes that allowed players to at least think of making birdie. In a greenside bunker in two on the par-5 16th -- shortened to 609 yards Friday -- Woods blasted out weakly and missed a 12-foot putt. With a mid-iron in his hand in the fairway on the par-5 17th, he went over the green and down a deep slope. Despite a superb pitch to 8 feet, he missed the putt.
With a wedge from the fairway on the 18th, he came up well short and into a bunker, having to settle for par.
Furyk rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from off the third green in the morning, the highlight of his 69.
"Plod, I think, is a good word," Furyk said. "You take what the course gives you and play the best you can from there."
Woods is coming off his second win of the year two weeks ago at the Memorial, and hasn't lost a step. It might not show it in the scores, just the leaderboard.
"A long way to go," he said.
Woods had won eight straight times when he had at least a share of the lead going into the weekend at the majors, a streak that ended at the 2009 PGA Championship when Y.E. Yang chased him down from four shots back. Woods hasn't seriously contended in the final hour of a major since then.
Sharing the lead with other major champions might not be a coincidence.
"Whoever wins this golf tournament is going to be a great champion, somebody that's probably won events before, that can handle the emotions and can handle the adversity in a U.S. Open, and somebody with experience," Toms said. "At least that's what I think. You never know. Strange things can happen, but I would think that you would see a lot of that on the leaderboard come late Sunday."
And a stern test waits on the weekend. Asked for a winning score, McDowell deferred to the USGA.
"They can have whatever they want," McDowell said. "If they want 5 over to win, 10 over to win it ... they can hide these pins away. I would have to imagine around level par."
On the other side of the course, the cheers of disbelief were for Hossler. The kid in braces, who didn't even win his state high school championship, rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the 520-yard first hole, putting him alone in the lead at 2 under.
"Unfortunately," he said, "I kind of lost it coming in."
It wasn't the pressure. It wasn't the size of his audience perched along the hills. It wasn't the sight of his name listed over three major champions.
It was The Olympic Club.
Hossler dropped a shot on the next hole, though the real trouble came when he pulled his tee shot on the fourth into the hay and made double bogey. Then, he hit into a bunker on the adjacent hole for another bogey, lost another shot on the sixth and only slowed the damage with a chip-in behind the seventh green for birdie.
He still gets to sleep in on Saturday with his late tee time, and what 17-year-old doesn't like that?
This place is so sinister, Olympic should change the signature wings in its logo to pitchforks.
Teddy Greenstein
Chicago Tribune
SAN FRANCISCO -- Justin Rose called it "sadistic fun."
Remove the word fun, and you'll get a feel for what Graeme McDowell thinks about slogging through a round at the Olympic Club.
"Just a brutal test of golf," said the winner of the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. "It's tough to have fun out there."
Imagine McDowell's reaction had he played poorly. At 1 over par after firing 69-72, he's in an enviable spot. "If you had offered me 1 over par starting on the first tee [Thursday] morning," he said, "I would have probably snapped your arm off for it."
This place is so sinister, Olympic should change the signature wings in its logo to pitchforks. There are only two prime birdie holes: the drivable par-4 seventh, which is way more uphill than it looks on TV and surrounded by bunkers and heavy rough, and the reachable par-5 17th, which played at 515 yards a day after Nick Watney's double eagle.
"It's kind of like a boxing match," Watney said after slumping to a second-round 75. "The course, for me at least, definitely won this round."
Luke Donald can feel his pain. Same for Rory McIlroy. Donald, the world's top-ranked player, missed the cut at 11 over. His birdie-free 79 on Thursday, coupled with Friday morning stumbles, left him trying to play catch-up.
It would be easier to make up ground on a treadmill.
"On 6 and 7, I hit driver," Donald said. "If I was playing my own game, I probably wouldn't have hit driver on those holes. But I was pressing to try and make birdie. And that's a tough thing about a U.S. Open; it's hard to be aggressive."
McIlroy opened with a comical 65-66 last year at soggy Congressional. He finished at a U.S. Open-record 16 under and missed 10 greens in regulation all week. He missed 17 in two rounds at Olympic. Likely needing a par or birdie on No. 8, his final hole, to make the cut, he ran a birdie putt 3 feet past. Then he missed the comebacker, drawing sympathetic groans.
"It's such a demanding golf course, and it punishes a shot that's slightly off line," he said.
Lee Westwood played Thursday and Friday with Donald and McIlroy. He at least had some fun in the second round. Shortly after popping up a drive on the second hole, he said to NBC on-course reporter Mark Rolfing, "Really hammered that one, didn't I?"
And after he sank a 50-foot curler for birdie on No. 5, he smiled and remarked, "How 'bout that one?"
McDowell had his moments, draining four birdie putts. But they could not offset six bogeys.
"There's a fine line between 68 and 78," he said.
What makes this place so rigorous? Here's a quick review: the trees and high rough that surround narrow, slanted fairways; the need to fade approach shots from "draw" fairways; fast greens; heavy sea air that makes almost every shot play a club longer.
McDowell predicted that "levelish" would win, adding: "There's no rain forecast. As this golf course gets firmer and firmer ... it's really up to the USGA. If they want 5 over to win it, 10 over to win it, they can hide these pins."
A year after McIlroy made it look easy -- too easy for most people's tastes -- USGA officials have achieved a measure of revenge.
"We all knew that the USGA would come out firing this year," Watney said. "They haven't disappointed."
Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy attempted to sing with country music artist Brad Paisley at Blossom Music Center Friday night. Didn't go so well.
