Enough offense and defense suited Amherst just fine during Monday's Southwestern Conference Tournament high school hockey championship game, played at North Olmsted Recreation Center. The Comets got a two-goal effort from Mile Dzoba and an 18-save performance from goalie Kevin Kuhn in a 3-0 blanking over the host Eagles.

Enough offense and defense suited Amherst just fine during Monday's Southwestern Conference Tournament high school hockey championship game, played at North Olmsted Recreation Center.

The Comets got a two-goal effort from Mile Dzoba and an 18-save performance from goalie Kevin Kuhn in a 3-0 blanking over the host Eagles.

Amherst reached the final with a 10-0 trouncing over Avon Lake, when Connor Morris and Kevin Burgett each accounted for a hat trick and Kuhn produced six saves.

Westlake 3, Brecksville-Broadview Heights 2: Nate Greenburg, Nabil Johnson and Adam Fife each tallied a goal for the Demons in another SWC Tournament game.

Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 7, Parma 0: The Royals won the Parma MLK Tournament game as Luke Sunden scored six goals and goalie Moe Sloan made 19 saves.

Garfield Heights 9, Nordonia 1: ChrisDeka's four goals paced the Bulldogs in another Parma MLK Tournament game.

Girls basketball

No. 5 Hudson 59, No. 10 Magnificat 48: Despite falling behind, 11-4, the Explorers (14-2) won their ninth consecutive game, thanks to Youngstown State recruit Hannah Boesinger (24 points), Kelly Gough (15) and Jackie Ulmer (10).

Bay 38, Keystone 23: The Rockets (6-8) held a 12-10 scoring advantage in the second half to salvage the nonleague victory. Claire Werblak scored 13 for Bay.

Boys basketball

Hudson 52, Youngstown East 48: The Explorers (9-4) overcame a 24-22 halftime deficit by outscoring East, 16-8, in the third quarter en route to the nonleague road win. Hudson's Steve Boslet and Zack Brandy scored 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Hawken 54, Cardinal 45: The Hawks (4-8) won the Chagrin Valley Conference crossover game by outscoring host Cardinal, 16-3, in the fourth quarter. Ian Bell's 19 points led all scorers, while Hawken teammate Warren Starks chipped in with 12.

Highlights include Iowa at Ohio State basketball and Celtics at Cavaliers.

CLEVELAND, Ohio

Today's TV and radio sports listings

CYCLING 

3:30 p.m. Tour Down Under, stage 1 (tape), NBCSN 

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL 

7:30 p.m. Edgewood at Jefferson, AM/970 

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 

6:30 p.m. Iowa at OHIO STATE, Big Ten Network; AM/850 

7 p.m. Michigan State at Wisconsin, ESPN; FM/92.3 

7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Providence, ESPN2 

7 p.m. South Carolina at Missouri, ESPNU 

8:30 p.m. Illinois at Nebraska, Big Ten Network 

9 p.m. Boston College at Maryland, ESPNU 

9 p.m. Kentucky at Alabama, ESPN 

NBA 

7 p.m. Boston at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, Fox Sports Ohio; AM/1100 

8 p.m. Philadelphia at Milwaukee, NBATV 

10:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, NBATV 

NHL 

7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at New Jersey, NBCSN 

TENNIS 

2 p.m. Australian Open, quarterfinals (tape), ESPN2 

9 p.m. Australian Open, quarterfinals, ESPN2 

3:30 a.m. (Wed.) Australian Open, quarterfinals, ESPN2 

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 

7 p.m. Georgetown at Rutgers, CBSSN 

9 p.m. Louisville at Marquette, CBSSN 

Anderson Varejao will miss the rest of the season due to a blood clot in his lung. CineSport's Noah Coslov and The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer discuss Varejao's future with the Cavaliers.

Cavs center Anderson Varejao will miss the rest of the season due to a blood clot in his lung. CineSport's Noah Coslov and The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer discuss Varejao's future with the Cavaliers.

In today's episode, NFL analyst and 1988 NFL MVP Boomer Esiason gives us his post-Championship Week take on Joe Flacco's fiery playoff performance, Terrell Suggs' outburst and sore loser Bill Belichick, then previews the "Har-Bowl," the first Super Bowl in history to put sibling rivalry on the sports world's biggest stage.

 

In today’s episode, NFL analyst and 1988 NFL MVP Boomer Esiason gives us his post-Championship Week take on Joe Flacco’s fiery playoff performance, Terrell Suggs’ outburst and sore loser Bill Belichick, then previews the “Har-Bowl,” the first Super Bowl in history to put sibling rivalry on the sports world’s biggest stage.

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

Terry Pluto tackles your questions today at noon.

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

Pluto will talk with cleveland.com's Glenn Moore about the Browns, the Cavaliers making a trade and the upcoming season for the Indians.

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

Former LSU standout trying to earn the trust of NFL teams. "You've got to learn when to do things and when not to do things, when to party and when not to party," he said.

View full size Former LSU standout Tyrann Mathieu, shown during summer practice in 2012, is trying to win points with NFL teams after being dismissed from the LSU program. AP  

FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- Former LSU star Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu is at the Senior Bowl attempting to repair his image and convince NFL teams that he has changed his ways.

The 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist was just a spectator Monday, watching ex-teammate Lavar Edwards and the rest of the Senior Bowl's South team practice. But Mathieu hopes to meet with interested NFL teams during his trip.

Mathieu knows he doesn't have room for more missteps off the field and said he'll understand if team officials react with skepticism.

"They have every right to do that," Mathieu said. "I'm not really looking forward to people trusting me today or tomorrow. Trust takes time, especially when you've done a lot of things for people not to be able to trust you. It may take two years. It may take five years, it may take until I'm 30 years old for people to start trusting Tyrann again. But the truth is, I'm doing the right things and just looking forward to being a football player."

Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU team last August for failing a drug test. He was arrested in late October along with three other former LSU players -- including quarterback Jordan Jefferson -- after police said they found marijuana at Mathieu's apartment.

He said his NFL ambitions haven't changed even if his days as the "Honey Badger" ended with his college career.

He has been training for the NFL combine in south Florida but was just in Arizona training with Patrick Peterson, a former LSU cornerback now with the Arizona Cardinals.

"I took a few days off from training just to come here and meet with a few coaches and just be back around football again," Mathieu said.

Mathieu, who didn't arrive with any meetings set up, said he knows his behavior will be scrutinized as much as his 40 time.

"This is my last shot," he said. "You've got to learn when to do things and when not to do things, when to party and when not to party. Every day is football. That's the biggest thing I got out of it. I'm just ready to live a football life."

He said his goals haven't changed even though his path to a football career has, and still feels he's a future Pro Bowler.

(Video: Ezekiel Ansah and Vance McDonald made the strongest impressions Monday at Senior Bowl practice. CineSport's Brian Clark and National Football Post's Russ Lande discuss the pair and Tyler Wilson.)

Mathieu, though, said the past few months have been "really just getting a grip on myself, personally, spiritually and emotionally."

He knows the kids hovering behind a fence calling out "Honey Badger" still think of him by that moniker that became a nationwide sensation.

"I definitely want to do it the right way this time," Mathieu said. "I think in my career at LSU, the Honey Badger kind of just came to an abrupt end. Hopefully, I'm going to give these kids something to look forward to growing up."

However he's known, Mathieu said he had to make changes in lifestyle, starting with the people around him.

Now, he has to convince NFL teams.

"Basically, I just had to take myself out of that situation that I was involved in and get away from all those kinds of people and just really starting hanging myself around positive people, people who are actually doing what I want to do in my life," Mathieu said. "And that's being a professional football player. I think everything's going very well right now. I feel real good about myself. I just try to keep a smile on."

He doesn't smile when talking about eventual national champion Alabama's winning touchdown against the Tigers in November, which essentially knocked LSU out of title contention. It came on a screen pass to T.J. Yeldon when freshman cornerback Jalen Mills blitzed.

"I would have given everything" to be on the field, Mathieu said. "That was a freshman on that blitz and I would have been a junior so I would have known that play was coming. I would have been able to do something.

"It hurts, but it's something that I've got to live with now."

Fans and media reacted to Shurmur going to Philadelphia on Twitter Sunday afternoon. These are some of the best tweets.

Fans and media react to Pat Shurmur being hired in Philadelphia as the new Eagles offensive coordinator. (Joshua Gunter/ The Plain Dealer)  

Tomasello's 93.34 in Tuesday night's free skate dropped him three notches in the 12-man standings, and he had a total combined score of 147.11.

Figure skater Troy Tomasello. Lonnie Timmons III, PD  

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Parma junior men's figure skater Troy Tomasello finished 10th at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Tuesday in Omaha, Neb.

Tomasello's 93.34 in Tuesday night's free skate dropped him three notches in the 12-man standings, and he had a total combined score of 147.11. He began the evening seventh after Sunday's short program. Tomasello, 18, placed seventh last year.

The champion was Vincent Zhou, a 12-year-old phenom from Palo Alto, Calif., who was last year's novice champion. His 138.95 free skate was nearly 20 points above short program leader Shontaro Omori, who finished second.

In junior dance, Hannah Rosinski and Jacob Jaffe, skating out of the Pavilion Skating Club of Cleveland Heights, were seventh following their short dance Tuesday with a score of 4.372, and their long program is Wednesday at noon. Novice dancers Kimberly Berkovich and Micah Jaffe, also based in Cleveland Heights, finished 10th.

Bedford clamped down on defense in the third quarter, and it paid off for the Bearcats as they defeated Lorain, 57-53, in a Lake Erie League boys basketball game Tuesday night. Leading, 32-27, at halftime, the Bearcats (8-5, 5-4) limited the visiting Titans (4-9, 3-5) to four points over the next eight minutes. Bedford scored 10 points in the...

Bedford clamped down on defense in the third quarter, and it paid off for the Bearcats as they defeated Lorain, 57-53, in a Lake Erie League boys basketball game Tuesday night.

Leading, 32-27, at halftime, the Bearcats (8-5, 5-4) limited the visiting Titans (4-9, 3-5) to four points over the next eight minutes. Bedford scored 10 points in the quarter to extend its lead enough to hold off a 22-15 scoring advantage for the visitors in the final quarter.

Senior Chris Carter led all scorers with 19 points, sophomore teammate Mike Smith adding 13 points for the winners.

No. 24 Maple Heights 63, Warren Harding 61 (OT): Senior guard Phil Black's jumper with 2.3 seconds left in overtime won it for the Mustangs (11-4, 6-3) in a Lake Erie League game. Black led all scorers with 24 points.

The visiting Raiders (8-7, 2-7) had built a 16-point lead late in the third quarter.

CVCA 75, Tuscarawas Valley 60: Senior Bob Peters scored 29 points to lead the host Royals (12-2) in the nonleague game.

Boys swimming

WRA 96, Benedictine 84: Johnathan Depew won the individual medley and the breaststroke, and he was on the winning 200 free relay squad as Western Reserve Academy held off the Bengals. Tom Pancak won the 200 and 500 freestyles and led off the winning 400-free relay for Benedictine.

Boys bowling

Coventry 2,298, Springfield 2,175: John Shaw rolled a two-game series of 387, with a 216 high, to pace the Comets. Jon Foreman had a 371 series for the Spartans in the Portage Trail Conference match.

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o has told Katie Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax.

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o admitted to lying about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist. Associated Press

 NEW YORK — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o has told Katie Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax.

Pressed by Couric to admit that he was in on the deception, Te'o said he believed that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua had died of cancer and didn't lie about it until December.

"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said in an interview to air Thursday on Couric's syndicated talk show. A segment of the interview with Te'o and his parents was broadcast Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

The Heisman Trophy runner-up said he only learned of the hoax when he received a phone call in December from a woman saying she was Kekua.

"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" Te'o said.

An Associated Press review of news coverage found that the Heisman Trophy runner-up talked about his doomed love in a Web interview on Dec. 8 and again in a newspaper interview published Dec. 10.

Te'o's father defended his son when Couric pointed out that many people don't believe the Irish star, suspecting he used the situation for personal gain.

"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.

On Tuesday, the woman whose photo was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Te'o's supposed girlfriend says the man allegedly behind the hoax confessed and apologized to her.

Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating a fake woman called Lennay Kekua.

"Great trade. You give up very little, pay $6M for a future 1st round pick and you get better with Spreights. Ellington and Selby have club options for next year and Spreights has on more year under contract. No harm done to the salary cap. Gibson to LA next for a future 2nd round pick." - bodipb

One cleveland.com reader says Chris Grant made a great trade with the Grizzlies. (Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer)  

"Great trade. You give up very little, pay $6M for a future 1st round pick and you get better with Spreights. Ellington and Selby have club options for next year and Spreights has on more year under contract. No harm done to the salary cap. Gibson to LA next for a future 2nd round pick."

John Wooten hopes Tuesday's letter to the NFL will help promote more diversity.

Lovie Smith, above, was fired as coach of the Chicago Bears, and John Wooten of the Fritz Pollard Alliance says he was disturbed that a coach who went 10-6 this season lost his job. Wooten and the Fritz Pollard Alliance want the NFL to step up measures to promote diversity in the head-coaching and NFL executive ranks. AP  

Nearly 70 percent of the players in the NFL are African-American, but only four of the 32 teams have a minority coach -- the lowest head-coach diversity numbers the league has seen in 10 years.

This fact moved the Fritz Pollard Alliance to send a written proposal Tuesday to the NFL requesting a change to the Rooney Rule to include coordinators, assistant head coaches and club president positions.

The Rooney Rule came into play in 2003 and was named after Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, who pushed for the rule.

Former Browns offensive lineman John Wooten - chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a  group of minority coaches, front office and scouting personnel established 10 years ago - hopes to see change.

In the letter, signed by Wooten and executive director Harry Carson, they explain in the how pipeline issues are a part of the reason there has been a reduction in head coaches of color.

"In particular, far too few minority coaches have been given offensive
coordinator and play-calling responsibilities, and in this quarterback-dominated era it seems clubs are increasingly looking for offensive coaches to fill head coaching positions. Without this expansion of the Rooney Rule, it is hard for us to see minority coaches in the league getting the head coaching opportunities they deserve."
 

"It wouldn't be fair to them going into their interviews, because the new coach wants to bring in the people that committed to him," Wooten said. 

The letter also proposes a league front-office and coaching symposium to train  coaches and front office candidates for future opportunities, with at least half of this group black.

Ozzie Newsome, general manager of the Baltimore Ravens, has been an example of what Wooten is looking for on a broader scale.

"Ozzie trains young guys to scout, and he trains guys to be executives," Wooten said. "Those guys who have been with Ozzie for four or five years can probably run a draft, because Ozzie trains them." 

Norv Turner introduced as new offensive coordinator on Rob Chudzinski's staff.

View full size Norv Turner, left, was introduced by Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski, right, as the team's offensive coordinator. Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer  

BEREA, Ohio - The Cleveland Browns held a press conference this morning to introduce Norv Turner as offensive coordinator on head coach Rob Chudzinski's staff.

11:32 a.m.

Press conference just ended.

Be sure to check back for more coverage later this afternoon from Plain Dealer Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot, as well as columnists Bill Livingston and Bud Shaw, who all were at the press conference.

11:30 a.m.

Norv Turner on whether defenses will ever catch up with the read-option trend: "I think people catch up with whatever you're doing. That's why I wanted Rob to come in and work for me. . . .I think the read option and some of this style of offense teams are doing now, I think it will be in the league for a long time. I do think defenses will get better against it."

Chudzinski on "changing roles" with Turner: "I knew Norv was the guy I wanted to bring here as the offensive coordinator. We have had a great relationship. . . . As an assistant head coach, I was sitting in there dealing with the same issues. . . I think we are close and I have that trust with him that I don't see the relationship as being awkward at all."

11:26 a.m.

Turner on Weeden: "I think he has a lot of the skill set we're looking for. Again, this is early. . . He does have a big arm and can throw the ball downfield."

Turner on Colt McCoy: "I think to get into the evaluation of players, it's not fair to them. I have watched Colt and seen him play. He brings a different style than Brandon. He's been a productive player when he's played."

Turner on dealing with Cleveland weather: "Some of our best passing games have come in real cold, what people think are tougher conditions. The day we were here, it was cold, rainy . . . That's why we talk about being a physical team, being a complete team so if you're in the conditions where you are not going to make a lot of big plays, you can be more high percentage and run the football. You look at the games played this weekend, I didn't see a limit of big plays offensively. I've never felt - other than when it gets real rainy and windy - that it limits you.

Chudzinski and working with new personnel executive Mike Lombardi so far: "He's getting settled in. We'll have more meetings as time goes on here . . . really sitting down, talking more personnel. Most of my efforts have been in putting together the staff. . . I've been taking my time with it. I want to make sure we do it right."

11:22 a.m.

Norv Turner on why he hired Chudzinski in San Diego: "We had a change of staff . . .a coach leave . . . I thought that one of the things I've always tried to do is continue to grow and stay relevant. I thought there were things Rob could bring that could really help us get better. He had been in the system, he had coached (Antonio) Gates before. . . I made him assistant head coach . . and Rob brought a lot of things that I had not been exposed to offensively. The first year we were together we were 13-3 . . . we were in the top five in plays over 20 yards. . . .Bringing him in gave us a different look."

Norv Turner: "The excitement of what's happening in Cleveland, Rob really got to me. . . . The biggest thing for me, you want to be a team that's exciting, a team that fans love to watch. If you want to be that team, you have to score points and make big plays, you have to be a team that plays hard and physical. . . . I'm excited to be here and excited to work with Rob."

11:18 a.m.

Rob Chudzinski on why he will not call plays: "First, Norv is outstanding at it. . . Second, it will allow me to be more involved with special teams, more involved with the defense. . . One of the things as a head coach, I don't want to be classified as just an offensive guy. . . Being involved in those other things is something I want to do and will help me shape the direction we want to go."

Chudzinski on current roster: "You have to focus on the guys you have, find roles for them and put them in situations so they can have success. The first thing we have to do is look at the guys we have here, see what they can do and where they fit in . . . and then go from there."

Turner on Weeden: "Whoever you're coaching, whether it be a receiver, quarterback, whatever it might be, you're looking for ways for him to improve. Certainly there are things I look at with Brandon is there are things he can improve, and you get excited to get out there and help him improve. The other thing is to get the players around him playing at a high level. . . because they really do feed off each other. . . .I love working with young guys. Rob and I both have had a lot of success with young players."

11:12 a.m.

Norv Turner on Trent Richardson vs. LaDainian Tomlinson: "I always compare production more than types of players. I got to see Trent first-hand. He made an explosive run against us in the game here . . . He's an impressive young man. I've been fortunate in most of my stops to be with outstanding running backs, guys who have characteristics like Trent. I've been fortunate to coach five backs who have led the NFL in rushing. That experience will help me in determining what we need to do.

Norv Turner on Brandon Weeden: "I always am reluctant to be too quick to evaluate a young player. Brandon is a young player in terms of experience . . .he did good things in our game and in the games we looked at in getting ready for that game.

"Rob and I both have been fortunate to be able to develop young players. We'll look for what the guys can do best, and hopefully they can continue to grow as players. I look at what Rob did with Cam (Newton) at Carolina. . . .for me to give you a big evaluation of Brandon wouldn't be fair. First, I haven't met him, and second, I haven't looked at any tape."

11:06 a.m.

Chudzinski: "Our offensive philosophies, in working with him, mesh very well together. . . . I'm looking forward to working with him and putting together the Browns offense. . . . Norv will be extremely valuable in having him as a sounding board, having someone down the hall I can bounce stuff off of. . . Norv will be calling the plays; I will be involved in that process and overseeing that, and involved in the offense. Norv also will be coaching the quarterbacks, and I think that will be a real asset for us."

11:04 a.m.

Reporters are milling around at the Browns' facility in Berea; press conference expected to start momentarily.

The Baltimore Ravens owe some of their success to the state of Ohio.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The San Francisco 49ers owe some of their success to the state of Ohio, because of players Ted Ginn Jr., Alex Boone and Donte Whitner.

But reporter Steve Doerschuk writes on CantonRep.com how the Baltimore Ravens can also thank the state of Ohio for their second trip to the Super Bowl.

Doerschuk starts off with Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees, who used to be the head coach for Kent State:
 

Guess what. That little scheme he whipped up? The one Tom Brady couldn’t beat with his hands or his feet?

The Browns hire three more assistants (Cleveland.com).

The curious hire of Michael Lombardi (Cleveland.com).

Chip Kelly's indecision pushed the Browns in another direction (The News-Herald).

Are the Browns looking for another starting quarterback (Fox Sports Ohio)?

Check out photos from Instagram of the Cavaliers' 95-90 win over Boston on Tuesday night at The Q.

Kyrie Irving scored 40 points against the Celtics Tuesday night. Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer  

"Last season, people were talking like the rotation was a strength of the team - Jimenez, Masterson and Carmona were supposedly one of the best top 3 starters in the central. See how that turned out? Thus, all this doom and gloom about how bad the rotation will be this season is a "wait and see." - FastNBulbous

One cleveland.com reader hopes the starting pitching is better this season. (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)  

"Last season, people were talking like the rotation was a strength of the team - Jimenez, Masterson and Carmona were supposedly one of the best top 3 starters in the central. See how that turned out?

Thus, all this doom and gloom about how bad the rotation will be this season is a "wait and see."

Here are what blogs from Cleveland and around the country are saying about the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians. Featured today are Bleacher Report, Wahoo's On First and Stepien Rules.

Here are what blogs from Cleveland and around the country are saying about the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians.

Will Brandon Weeden be the starting QB in 2013? (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)





 

"Another year, another brand-new Cleveland Browns team, complete with a new offensive philosophy. It was obvious that Pat Shurmur’s version of the West Coast offense did not suit quarterback Brandon Weeden very well in his first season, but now he will be part of new head coach Rob Chudzinski’s offensive system.

Or will he? Chudzinski certainly likes to air it out, which is something Weeden is well-suited for. But that doesn’t mean the new coach won’t want to bring in his own quarterback.

Weeden deserves the chance to improve as a starter in his second season, especially in a better offense. One hopes that Chudzinski will see that and maintain some level of consistency on an offense that will be going through yet another major transition. Weeden has developed a strong relationship with his wide receivers (especially Josh Gordon and Greg Little) and it would serve the Browns well to build upon that."

Terry Francona brings excitement to the city. (Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer)





 

"I knew he was a legitimate manager when he was hired—two World Series rings will give a man a lot of credibility. But his attitude was contagious and Francona could not hide his excitement for being a Cleveland Indian.

“Since I came back to Cleveland,” Francona said, “(I’ve met) so many genuinely nice people. Everybody this weekend has been coming up to me and saying ‘thank you’ and ‘we appreciate you coming back’, but let me tell you something…I’m the one who feels lucky. This is where I wanted to end up. When the season was over and I saw that Cleveland made the decision to move on and Chris (Antonetti) called me—this is where I wanted to be. If I didn’t end up here, I was going to go back to ESPN. Going in, this was the place that I wanted to consider home.”

When was the last time a manager or head coach ever considered Cleveland “home”? When was the last time that it was “Cleveland or Bust” for the most decorated coach available in any sport? What was it about Cleveland that was so attractive to a man who could have had any available managerial job that he wanted?"

The Cavs made a great trade getting Marreese Speights. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)





 

"Speights a guy who should step into the rotation pretty quickly. He is 25, and is a good rebounder, especially offensively. The 6'10 250 pound power forward is also a pretty good shooter, and can run the pick and pop with success. He isn't a guy who should be starting or getting heavy minutes, but as a rotation big you can do much worse (and the Cavs have been doing much worse). I am interested to see how he would fit in with Tristan Thompson. Technically they play the same position, but Speights can stretch the floor a bit. Speights isn't very quick, and his effort level defensively isn't great, but maybe he can buy into Coach Scott's system. Lionel Hollins is known for preaching defensive intensity, so it is hard to hold out much hope that he somehow finds it in Cleveland. He also goes from being a youngish player in Memphis to being an elder statesmen in Cleveland, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. The bottom line is he represents a major rebounding and even defensive upgrade over Luke Walton and Tyler Zeller, guys who should see their minutes go down a bit as Speights acclimates himself in Cleveland. I would be happy, after 3 or 4 games to adjust, to see Zeller's minutes go down to about 25 per game, and Walton's to cease to exist entirely."

There's a lot of buzz about what the Cleveland Indians will do to fill their designated hitter spot in the lineup. And they may be calling on former Indians to fill the void.

Would you like to see Jim Thome come back to the Indians to be their DH in 2013? (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)  

"The best choice may Scott, who is 35. He was coming off shoulder surgery last season and got off to an awful start with Tampa Bay. He batted .229 (.734 OPS) with 14 homers and 55 RBI in 344 at-bats. He did hit .283 (.845 OPS) after the All-Star break. He can play a little first base. But he's terrible (.149 in 2012) against left-handed pitching."

"Part of me wants the Tribe to bring back Thome once more. He batted .252 (.786 OPS) with eight homers and 25 RBI in 163 at-bats for the Phillies and Orioles last season. He angered his cranky back by trying to play first base for the first time since 2007 (when he played first for one game). After being traded to the Orioles, Thome batted .257 (.744 OPS) with three homers and 10 RBI in 115 plate appearances, with 40 strikeouts. Obviously, the tank is close to empty."

"But Ramirez, who is aiming for a comeback, is not on the Indians' radar. He was hot in the playoffs for Aguilas in the Dominican winter league but has a hill to climb. He didn't play in thje majors last season after spending spring training with the A's and had only 17 at-bats in 2011 with the Rays."

Turner was impressed by Richardson's performance in a game against the Chargers this season.

Trent Richardson's 26-yard touchdown run against the Chargers left a good impression on new Browns offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer  

BEREA, Ohio -- The happiest man in town now that the Browns have hired an offensive coordinator in Norv Turner with a more illustrious name than anyone else on the coaching staff is going to be . . . Trent Richardson! And maybe not even in a photo-finish over Brandon Weeden.

While Turner lauded Weeden's big arm and ability to throw upfield -- also, I might add, to overthrow -- in his introductory news conference Wednesday, the recently fired San Diego Chargers' coach was much more animated when talking about Richardson.

Richardson -- limited by injuries and an offensive philosophy under Pat Shurmur that fed him between the tackles, like fallen tree limbs into a wood chipper, resulting in an ordinary 3.4-yard average and 950 yards gained -- caught Turner's eye early and often during the Browns' victory in inclement weather over the Chargers, 7-6, last season at the lakefront.

Richardson ground out 122 yards on 24 carries, one of them on a 26-yard run for the game's only touchdown. It was only seven fewer yards than Weeden amassed on an 11-for-26 passing day.

"I got a chance to see Trent first hand. He made an amazing, explosive run against us in October. It was a rainy day, and he's an impressive young player. I've been fortunate through most of my (coaching) stops to be with outstanding, great running backs, guys who have characteristics like Trent," said Turner.

In all, he has coached three different players (Emmitt Smith, who is from the same Pensacola, Fla., high school as Richardson, Ricky Williams, and LaDainian Tomlinson) who have led the NFL in rushing a combined five times.

Cavs may intend to be enough under salary cap to -- just in case -- make LeBron James a maximum contract offer in the summer of 2014. Memphis apparently wanted to avoid luxury tax threshold. More Cavaliers story links.

Guard Wayne Ellington, acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade with Memphis on Tuesday, has made 41 of 97 (42.3 percent) of his 3-point shots this season. Associated Press  

The Cleveland Cavaliers began the season with a 2-2 record. They then lost 21 of 24 games, to become 5-23.

They've gone 6-9 since. Nothing great, but at least representative of a competitive NBA team. And, the Cavs' four first-round picks from the last two seasons -- point guard Kyrie Irving, power forward Tristan Thompson, shooting guard Dion Waiters and center Tyler Zeller -- are playing the big minutes.

Irving, last season's Rookie of the Year, was spectacular on Tuesday night, scoring 40 points on 16-of-24 shooting and taking over the game in the last five minutes as the Cavs won at home over the Boston Celtics, 95-90.

The win made the Cavs 11-32. It's still the league's third-worst record, but after 5-23, it could be even worse.

The Cavaliers' next game is on Friday night, when they host the Milwaukee Bucks (21-18). Milwaukee has won three straight games and six of eight since former Cavs assistant coach Jim Boylan replaced Scott Skiles as head coach.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Cavaliers coverage includes Mary Schmitt Boyer's game story on the Cavs' win over the Celtics; Schmitt Boyer's story on the Cavs' trade of forward Jon Leuer to the Memphis Grizzlies for power forward Marreese Speights and guards Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby.

Rick Noland writes for the Medina County Gazette and Elyria Chronicle-Telegram that Cleveland's trade with Memphis does nothing to harm the flexibility the Cavs want to maintain with the summer of 2014 in mind:

Speights, who is earning $4.2 million this season and has a player option that will pay him $4.5 million in 2013-14, was averaging 6.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 14.5 minutes a game with the Grizzlies. Last season he averaged 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in a bigger role with Memphis.

If he exercises his player option as expected, the 25-year-old’s contract will come off the books in the summer of 2014, which is the earliest LeBron James can opt out of his deal in Miami and become a free agent.

Cleveland, which had been a league-high $10 million-plus under the salary cap, is currently about $4 million below it, but has the flexibility to grow that number significantly in the coming years if it desires.

That could potentially start with Ellington, a 6-4, 200-pounder from North Carolina who spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with Minnesota, which took him with the 28th pick in 2009.

The 25-year-old is going to have a hard time getting minutes with C.J. Miles, Dion Waiters and Daniel Gibson at shooting guard, but there’s a chance the latter could be dealt prior to the Feb. 21 trade deadline.

Cavaliers 95, Celtics 90. Game story. (By Bob Finnan, News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal)

The Grizzlies' make a salary dump, and what did they gain from it? (By Geoff Calkins, Memphis Commercial Appeal)

The Cavaliers make a trade with Memphis and maintain their salary cap flexibility at the same time. (By Sam Amico, FoxSportsOhio.com)

The Grizzlies make a trade with luxury cap threshold implications. (By Ronald Tillery, Memphis Commercial Appeal)

The Celtics' loss to the Cavaliers -- led by Kyrie Irving -- showed that they're still lacking consistency. (By Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston.com)

Kyrie Irving earns accolades and the Cavs show maturity in their win over the Celtics. (By Sam Amico, FoxSportsOhio)