NFL Network's Mike Mayock spoke with the media about his thoughts on this year's NFL draft class. Watch video

 

NFL Network's Mike Mayock spoke with the media about his thoughts on this year's NFL draft class.

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On a cool, windy day the Cleveland Indians outlasted the Reds in a pitcher's duel at Goodyear Ballpark

Omir Santos  

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Cleveland Indians won a pair of split-squad games in Phoenix on Sunday.

One group of Indians defeated Cincinnati, 3-0, in Goodyear, and another squad of Indians traveled to Phoenix, where they beat Milwaukee, 7-4.

In Goodyear, with wind gusts reaching 25 miles an hour, the Indians and Cincinnati Reds staged a pitcher's duel at Goodyear Ballpark on Sunday .

 The Tribe finally pushed across three runs in the seventh inning to end the scoreless tie.

 They broke the deadlock on a wind-blown two-run ground rule double by catcher Omir Santos. Carlos Moncrief followed with a run-scoring single to left in the 3-0 win.

 Mark Reynolds set the table in the inning with a double off the right-center field wall.

See a Plain Dealer big-picture photo gallery of Terry Francona in his first spring-training season with the Cleveland Indians.

 Seven Indians' pitchers, including starter Zach McAllister and Diasuke Matsuzaka, limited the Reds to only one hit -- a sixth-inning single by former Indians' infielder Jason Donald.

 McAllister faced seven batters, allowing only a walk.

 Matsuzaka, in camp on a minor-league contract, hit the first batter he faced and got a double play grounder on the next pitch. He faced seven batters, walking one.

In Phoenix, meanwhile, Carlos Santana and Ezequiel Carrera homered and Scott Kazmir, Trevor Bauer and David Huff pitched two scoreless innings each as the Indians beat Milwaukee, 7-4 , in a split-squad game Sunday at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Santana's two-run homer in the third pulled the Indians into a 4-4 tie. The Indians took a 6-4 lead with two runs in the fifth as Mike McDade hit an RBI single and prospect Tony Wolters scored from third on a wild pitch.

Carrera made it 7-4 with homer in the sixth.

Carlos Carrasco, who missed last season with Tommy John surgery, started and gave up four runs in the first. Kazmir, Bauer and Huff followed by combining for six scoreless innings.

The Indians play Oakland on the road Monday. Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez will pitch for the Tribe.

HIGH SCHOOL SWIM LEADERS (Through February 23)

HIGH SCHOOL SWIM LEADERS

(Through February 23)

Boys

200 MEDLEY RELAY

St. Ignatius 1:31.97

Solon 1:34.44

Hudson 1:34.82

University 1:35.68

Hawken 1:36.61

Chagrin Falls 1:37.17

Strongsville 1:37.43

St. Edward 1:37.63

Walsh Jesuit 1:38.25

Cuyahoga Falls 1:39.14

200 FREE

Mark Belanger, Firestone 1:39.22

Micah Simpson, Hawken 1:39.57

Mitch Delventhal, Strongsville 1:41.93

Michael Reilman, Walsh Jesuit 1:42.27

Zack Milenius, Mayfield 1:42.38

Justin Ciferno, Mayfield 1:42.75

Ross Palazzo, Hudson 1:43.66

Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls 1:44.09

Derek Hren, St. Ignatius 1:44.17

Ryan Hutcheson, Hudson 1:45.16

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

Ross Palazzo, Hudson 1:48.49

Austin Quinn, Chagrin Falls 1:49.51

Derek Hren, St. Ignatius 1:50.98

Henry Senkfor, Hawken 1:53.72

Alex Ivkovic, University 1:54.77

Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls 1:56.32

Will Ryan, St. Edward 1:56.59

Micah Simpson, Hawken 1:57.55

Mark Belanger, Firestone 1:57.59

Mike Pichette, Stringsville 1:58.26

50 FREE

Jack Nee, Orange 20.72

Mark Belanger, Firestone 20.91

Charlie Pophal, St. Ignatius 21.08

Ross Palazzo, Hudson 21.15

Nathan Christian, St. Ignatius 21.17

Mitchell Delventhal, Strongsville 21.27

Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls 21.33

Len Sterle, Mayfield 21.42

Ryan Charbonneau, Brecksville 21.44

Gabe Nock, West Geauga 21.45

ONE METER DIVING (6 DIVES)

Alex Obendorf, Hudson 331.00

Stephen Romanik, Nordonia 326.85

Nate Harper, Midpark 291.75

Noah Sterling, University 276.90

Ty Talley, Brunswick 272.50

Brandon Rosolowski, Cuyahoga Heights 271.90

Tyler Nock, Avon Lake 261.50

Blake Green, Strongsville 259.75

Jim McMahan, Lakewood 252.10

John Liber II, Lakewood 251.75

100 FLY

Mark Belanger, Firestone 49.54

Peter Simcox, St. Ignatius 49.88

Austin Quinn, Chagrin Falls 50.06

Micah Simpson, Hawken 51.00

Grant Pinchot. Solon 51.16

Ryan Carson, Solon 51.19

Mike Pichette, Strongsville 52.01

Drew Shepherd, Strongsville 52.08

Jeremy Preston, Harvey 52.36

Derek Hren, St. Ignatius 52.50

100 FREE

Mark Belanger, Firestone 45.03

Nathan Christian, St. Ignatius 45.78

Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls 46.04

Mitch Delventhal, Strongsville 46.45

Micah Simpson, Hawken 46.52

Jack Nee, Orange 45.95

Austin Quinn, Chagrin Falls 46.56

Justin Ciferno, Mayfield 46.77

Grant Gillenwater, Mayfield 46.92

Ross Palazzo, Hudson 47.50

500 FREE

Henry Senkfor, Hawken 4:38.13

Zack Milenius, Mayfield 4:38.16

Ryan Hutcheson, Hudson 4:38.25

Mark Lippert, Solon 4:38.65

Austin Quinn, Chagrin Falls 4:38.80

Mason Beck, St. Edward 4:44.73

Ross Palazzo, Hudson 4:45.36

Jason Quinn, Chagrin Falls 4:45.48

Micah Simpson, Hawken 4:47.57

Peyton Brown, Hudson 4:47.86

200 FREE RELAY

Mayfield 1:25.26

St. Ignatius 1:25.37

Strongsville 1:26.50

Hudson 1:26.70

University 1:27.91

Solon 1:28.12

Brecksville 1:29.35

Rocky River 1:29.65

Copley 1:29.79

Hawken 1:30.51

100 BACK

Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls 49.00

Austin Quinn, Chagrin Falls 49.04

Michael Reilman, Walsh Jesuit 50.83

Ryan Carson, Solon 51.28

Kyle Shurmur, St. Edward 51.67

Grant Pinchot, Solon 52.05

Alex Ivkovic, University 52.60

Kingsley Bowen, University 52.97

Mark Belanger, Firestone 53.01

Carter Ostrowski, Strongsville 53.29

100 BREAST

Ross Palazzo, Hudson 54.99

Derek Hren, St. Ignatius 55.57

Patrick Tippen, Solon 57.70

Ben Boshkos, Walsh Jesuit 57.80

Elijah Spiro, Hawken 59.22

Gordon Wong, University 59.23

William Ryan, St. Edward 59.41

Tad Resch, Gilmour 59.59

Miguel Poblete, St. Edward 59.76

Jacob Earle, Stow 59.95

400 FREE RELAY

St. Ignatius 3:04.86

Mayfield 3:09.10

Strongsville 3:09.50

Hudson 3:11.28

Solon 3:11.54

University 3:12.63

Hawken 3:12.81

Chagrin Falls 3:13.81

Brecksville 3:18.14

Rocky River 3:18.19

Girls

200 MEDLEY RELAY

Strongsville 1:45.98

Hawken 1:46.99

Hudson 1:47.16

Walsh Jesuit 1:47.35

Solon 1:48.21

Brecksville 1:49.15

Firestone 1:49.55

Copley 1:51.20

Orange 1:51.21

Kenston 1:51.26

200 FREE

Carrie Bencic, Hawken 1:48.22

Lauren Heller, Walsh Jesuit 1:49.49

Katie Miller, Firestone 1:49.66

Madison Myers, Copley 1:50.48

Paige Kelly, Hudson 1:51.93

Kathryn Babbin, WRA 1:52.34

Natalie O'Brien, Firestone 1:52.36

Sarah Koucheki, Hawken 1:52.71

Macie McNichols, Gilmour 1:53.41

Lauren Devorace, Rocky River 1:53.53

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

Katie Miller, Firestone 1:57.98

Sarah Koucheki, Hawken 2:03.27

Sam Lisy, Euclid 2:04.13

Kiley Eble, Gilmour 2:04.60

Laura Murphy, Hudson 2:05.14

Caroline Vexler, Hawken 2:05.88

Madison Myers, Copley 2:06.35

Andrea Bartel, Euclid 2:06.63

Emma Flynn, Rocky River 2:07.36

Maria Coy, Mentor 2:07.87

50 FREE

ONE METER DIVING (6 DIVES)

Sivan Mills, Solon 265.05

Alice Clark, Fairview 257.03

Julia Oppedisano, Strongsville 248.03

Kailey Francetic, Walsh Jesuit 246.50

Maddy Sand, Kenston 238.80

Erika Shane, Cuyahoga Falls 237.45

Michelle Moock, Brecksville 228.50

Amber Slavik, Amherst 228.36

Nicole Rozsa, Cuyahoga Fallas 225.75

Ryleigh Tuck-Macalla, Rocky River 224.39

100 FLY

Sarah Koucheki, Hawken 54.89

Katie Miller, Firestone 55.00

Elizabeth Auckley, Bay 55.56

Kaitlin Cerne, Hawken 56.24

Kiley Eble, Gilmour 56.68

Sam Lisy, Euclid 56.79

Connie Gan, Hudson 57.37

Carrie Bencic, Hawken 57.42

Lauren Heller, Walsh Jesuit 58.01

Caroline Vexler, Hawken 58.94

100 FREE

Sarah Koucheki, Hawken 50.61

Macie McNichols, Gilmour 50.89

Lauren Heller, Walsh Jesuit 51.24

Gabi D'Abato, Strongsville 51.93

Connie Gan, Hudson 52.45

Kiley Eble, Gilmour 52.49

Claire Savage, Brecksville 52.66

Kathryn Babbin, WRA 52.68

Mary Motch, Hathaway Brown 52.68

Jenna Barrus, Strongsville 53.06

500 FREE

Carrie Bencic, Hawken 4:49.87

Paige Kelly, Hudson 4:54.40

Katie Miller, Firestone 4:54.64

Kathryn Babbin, WRA 4:56.60

Maureen Rakovec, Hawken 5:00.58

Kaitlyn Cerne, Hawken 5:02.95

Natalie O'Brien, Firestone 5:05.40

Lauren Devorace, Rocky River 5:05.42

Madison Myers, Copley 5:05.68

Sarah Wolanske, Hudson 5:05.73

200 FREE RELAY

Hawken 1:34.99

Strongsville 1:35.82

Gilmour 1:36.10

Walsh Jesuit 1:38.24

Hathaway Brown 1:38.26

Hudson 1:38.48

Solon 1:38.82

Chagrin Falls 1:39.65

Rocky River 1:40.00

North Olmsted 1:40.32

100 BACK

Katie Miller, Firestone 54.04

Marissa Cominelli, Hawken 55.10

Madison Myers, Copley 55.28

Elizabeth Auckley, Bay 56.06

Anna Wong, Solon 57.60

Hallie McCue, Rocky River 57.66

Caroline Vexler, Hawken 58.03

Sarah Koucheki, Hawken 58.34

Claire Doerr, Hawken 58.52

Stephanie Boyd, Hudson 59.18

100 BREAST

Molly Washko, Strongsville 1:03.27

Danielle Margharet, Walsh Jesuit 1:03.28

Kennedy Herbert, Green 1:04.91

Laura Murphy, Hudson 1:05.10

Katie Miller, Firestone 1:05.77

Madison Myers, Copley 1:06.28

Andrea Bartel, Euclid 1:06.37

Maria Coy, Mentor 1:06.91

Brooke Delventhal, Strongsville 1:07.49

Gina Saxon, Hudson 1:07.68

400 FREE RELAY

Hawken 3:28.90

Gilmour 3:31.04

Hudson 3:31.80

Firestone 3:32.31

Strongsville 3:32.33

Rocky River 3:35.80

Brecksville 3:36.54

Solon 3:37.09

Hathaway Brown 3:37.66

Chagrin Falls 3:39.65

Kyrie Irving showed everyone what he can do at last weekends' All-Star Game. But he didn't show anything to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra he didn't already know. Spoelstra has been a fan of the Cavaliers point guard for some time.

Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving goes up for a field goal in the NBA All-Star game on Feb. 17 in Houston. Irving scored 15 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out four assists. Eric Gay, Associated Press  

MIAMI -- Miami coach Erik Spoelstra coached Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving during the All-Star Game last weekend, but he doesn't think it was Irving's coming out party.

"I've been impressed with him since he came into the league," Spoelstra said. "To be that productive for a young player says a lot about his talent, but he also must have a very good work ethic to be able to put that all together. Not many young players are able to do that, particularly at the toughest position in the league -- the point guard position, where you have to organize not only our own game but everyone else's game.

"He is a heck of a talent. He can dominate a game by scoring, getting in the paint and making plays. We have to make it tough for him."

Surgery for Casspi:  Omri Casspi missed his second straight game after having his appendix taken out on Friday night at an Orlando hospital. After the team's morning shootaround, Casspi began feeling ill and then was taken to the hospital before the game with acute pain. Trainer Max Benton was with him in Orlando and will accompany him back to Cleveland this morning. In addition, Daniel Gibson missed his second straight game to tend to a personal issue.

Glass half-full: One of the biggest plays in the first half on Saturday at Orlando got lost in the Cavs' big second-half rally.

Early in Friday's game, Irving threw a pass off the backboard for a trailing Alonzo Gee, who slammed it through the hoop.

"That was the first one of my NBA career," Irving said of the pass off the backboard.

Gee was only too happy to take advantage.

"He told me he was going to throw it off the glass," Gee said. "Just a little excitement for us. I was happy he did it. It was good."

Asked if he said thank you, Gee laughed and said, "Of course I did. That was a great pass."

Cole report: Spoelstra said he was happy with the progress of former Cleveland State point guard Norris Cole.

"He's an aggressive player," Spoelstra said. "That hasn't changed. From the very first day he stepped onto our court, he showed that he was an attacker, that he's aggressive and that he has that type of mentality. It's the other things that we've been trying to develop. That's what I'm encouraged about -- his decision-making, learning how to run an offense, getting us organized. That part has been improving."

The last word: From Spoelstra, on Mike Miller returning after a sinus/ear infection that prevented him from traveling with the Heat on the last trip: "He's back with us. He can't hear anything we're saying but he's back with us."

Cleveland State, Akron and Kent State all won their BracketBusters games, with Akron's win over North Dakota State the most meaningful in terms of playing in the post-season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -

Akron'€™s Demetrius Treadwell dunks on North Dakota State's Mike Felt in the first half of the BracketBusters game Friday at Rhodes Arena, in Akron. The Zips won the game, 68-53. Phil Masturzo, Akron Beacon Journal  

Epilogue to the final season of BracketBusters: Cleveland State wins, Kent State wins and Akron wins, with the Zips making the most of their opportunity on national TV.

•Cleveland State (14-16, 5-10 Horizon League): A quality BracketBusters road win, 60-54, against Western Illinois, the No. 2 team in the Summit Conference, should inspire the Vikings for the postseason, no matter if the Horizon League Tournament for them starts on the road or at home. The Vikings have a week to prep for their last HL game of the season, on the road at Loyola.

•Kent State (15-12, 5-7 Mid-American Conference): For Kent to have a solid stretch run to end the regular season, it must start beating teams it is supposed to beat. The 70-63 BracketBusters victory at Loyola was a good sign and a good start. Now KSU returns Wednesday for a critical home game against Buffalo, as the winner significantly improves its chances for a first-round MAC Tournament bye.

•Akron (22-4, 12-0 MAC): The Zips did as they were supposed to, dispatching North Dakota State, 68-53, last Friday. The victory extended Akron's winning streak to 18 games on the season. Time will tell whether that helps 'for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid -- if needed. That makes the prize in Wednesday night's game at Ohio the MAC title. The Bobcats (20-7, 11-1) are coming off a stunning 81-62 BracketBusters road loss to Belmont.

Win, and the Zips effectively defend their 2012 MAC regular-season title, as they will have swept the Bobcats, and by virtue of holding the tiebreaker, would hold a three-game lead with three to play on OU.

Last season, the Zips were in nearly the same position, but they lost to the Bobcats, 85-61, on the road. That isn't the game plan for this trip.

"Last year, it was more difficult because our chemistry wasn't as good then as it is this year," said Akron senior Zeke Marshall. "He [coach Keith Dambrot] was trying to find -- trying to do -- something new to build our chemistry off the court. We weren't in a good place at that time. He was trying to find anything that he could to build the team. That's why he did it."

Individual awards: Two weeks remain in MAC play, with some interesting decisions to be made down the stretch. The most obvious has Akron's Marshall earning a second straight MAC Defensive Player of the Year Award. There's not much debate about that. But the MAC Player of the Year vote will likely come down to Ohio guard D.J. Cooper, Akron forward Demetrius Treadwell or Marshall, with Buffalo's Javon McRea, Toledo's Rian Pearson and Kent State's Chris Evans likely to attract votes.

For those who haven't made up their minds, Akron coach Dambrot has called Treadwell Akron's clear MVP since January. But Cooper and Marshall have had strong seasons and are the faces of their programs.

Yet both have their detractors. Cooper is a hot-and-cold shooter, while Marshall doesn't dominate offensively, despite shooting 65 percent from the field.

The Coach of the Year vote will likely go to Dambrot, but Western Michigan's Steve Hawkins will surely get his share after leading the Broncos to a surprising finish.

The MAC's individual awards are selected by up to three media members who are picked by each teams' sports-information director.

All-MAC: The first team will likely come out of the above list, with one possible exception. Ball State 6-10 center Majok Majok has been a double double force in the post all season. He had a monster performance (26 points, 13 rebounds) on the road against Akron's Marshall (13 points, six rebounds) to solidify his claim as the best post man in the league. It would be no surprise to see him nudging somebody out of a first-team slot.

All-MAC selections are made by conference coaches.

Check out the highlights from our roundup coverage of Sunday's fourth day of the NFL Combine. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- What were the biggest developments from Sunday at the combine, when quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers took the Lucas Oil Field? Here you go.

1. He's ready to go (we think)

Following up on early news and Tweets from the morning, medical reports on Georgia's Jarvis Jones were apparently favorable on Sunday. Although some teams may remain skeptical of his spinal stenosis (narrowing of the canal), if the Browns buy into the report, he's a logical choice for them in April.

From Mary Kay Cabot: "I feel like I’m an impact player,'' said Jones, who didn't work out at the combine. "I make plays. I love the game of football. I’m a great leader. Not so much a vocal leader, but showing. I think I bring versatility to the team. I can play Sam (strong-side) linebacker. I can play Will (weak-side) linebacker. I can play 4-3. I can play a 3-4. I’m just gonna get after you. I’m gonna get after the QB every play.''

2. Winner of the day

Maybe he was edged out by Marquise Goodwin in the 40, but West Virginia's Tavon Austin looked like a breakout player throughout his drills on Sunday. It may not have had that much effect on his draft status, as he was already considered -- as Mike Mayock frequently said -- "a nightmare matchup."

Brian Billick points out that little is really changed in the evaluation of a player at the combine if no big problem issues arise. None arose, apparently, in Austin's case. Besides, scouts can just keep watching football porn like this.

Another blazer was Oklahoma's Kenny Stills, who got faster in his sprint, posting a 4.28 unofficial in his second effort after a 4.34 to start.

Finally, the official receiver times were released, and Chris Johnson's 4.24 is still the champion -- with apparently NFL Network's "unofficial" clocker having a fast trigger finger.

1. Goodwin, 4.27; Austin, 4.34; Ryan Swope 4.34; Stills 4:38; Josh Boyce 4:38; Cordarrelle Patterson 4.42; Corey Fuller, 4.38; Robinson 4.43;

From @Gil_Brandt: "Saw Michael Irvin after 40s, told him I wouldn't have drafted him No. 11 if he had to do all this stuff. He laughed, said, "You're right."

3. Bear market for quarterbacks

Kurt Warner liked Geno Smith during the throwing drills, and Syracuse's Ryan Nassib "showed a bigger arm than I expected," but no one was getting raves. Arkansas' Tyler Wilson "would be an interesting second-day pick" according to Billick, who notes the chaotic coaching situation surrounding the Razorbacks.

From Joe Fortenbaugh of NationalFootballPost.com: It’s been interesting to watch the draft stock of (Matt) Barkley, Wilson and (Tyler) Bray plummet over these last few months because all three quarterbacks share a common bond that everyone has failed to mention. Each prospect spent last season playing under a bad head coach.

John L. Smith was a dumpster fire lame duck at Arkansas, Derek Dooley was run out of Tennessee and Lane Kiffin, well, don’t get me started on Kiffin. It speaks volumes to a coach’s ability when he guides the Associated Press’ preseason No. 1 to a 7-6 disaster of a campaign.

From @GenoSmith_12: "4.56 40, 10.4 broad jump, 34 inch vert. Yet none of this defines me as a QB! The game is won between the ears, study the tape!"

4. If GMs are skeptical, so should fans

There are plenty of breathless pronouncements made during the combine. Alex Smith will not be released. Jarvis Jones had good medical tests. Chiefs want to trade down. Yada, yada, yada.

Should these stories be believed? Between now and the April draft, the pretty clear answer is ... not on your life. Packers GM Ted Thompson offers wisdom from personal experience.

"We have friends in different positions -- John Schneider, John Dorsey and Reggie McKenzie -- there's conversations going on so you kind of bounce things off," Thompson told NFL.com, "but nobody really tells the truth, so you have to discern what's truth and what's the untruth and what's the truth that he's trying to get me to buy into so I'll believe the untruth.

"It's all a mess. You don't know. So at the end of the day, you've got to think, 'Can this guy help us play or win games, or can he not?'"

 Former Syracuse coach Doug Marrone, the new field boss of the Bills, has learned quickly the league's credo: "We're in the information-gathering business, not the information-giving (business)."

5. It's not what players say, it's what teams believe

Saturday afternoon, Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree spoke to reporters and represented a remorseful and sobered athlete who understands that flunking drug tests and being arrested for DUI -- last week -- is not behavior that will encourage teams from paying him millions.

CBSSports.com's Clark Judge wasn't buying.

There are plenty of teams out there that can use someone of his ability, but it's not his ability that's an issue. It's his maturity.

He may not be moving forward in the draft. Ogletree is a potential first-round pick who is explosive, strong, quick, and instinctive, and he could be a high first-round choice. But his recent arrest will back off potential suitors, with one scout telling me it could cause his team to pass on the guy.

Dwyane Wade scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Miami Heat stop the upset-minded Cavaliers, 109-105

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller, left, and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade battle for a loose ball during the first of the Heat'€™s win Sunday in Miami. Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press  

MIAMI, Florida -- Dwyane Wade had 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Miami Heat held off the determined Cavaliers, 109-105, in a thrilling game on Sunday evening at American Airlines Arena.

LeBron James had 28 points for the Heat, 40-14, who were playing their fourth game in five nights.

Dion Waiters had 26 points, C.J. Miles 19 and Kyrie Irving 17 for the Cavs, who fell to 18-38. The Cavs have not won in Miami since Jan. 25, 2010, before you know who took his talents to South Beach.

But it looked as if Sunday might be different.

The Cavs trailed at halftime, 64-46. But thanks to 11 points by C.J. Miles, including a weird five-point play (a 3-pointer, foul shot and techical foul shot), Cleveland outscored Miami in the third period, 36-17, to forge an 82-81 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Cavs pushed that lead to 92-85 midway through the fourth quarter, and they were still ahead, 99-94, with about 4 minutes left.

After Mario Chalmers made two free throws, Wade scored back-to-back baskets to give the Heat a 100-99 lead, and then the Heat turned up the defense.

Cavs' recent improvement has been keyed by more efficient offense. Miami's Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh shrug off questions about James and Irving. More Cavaliers story links.

View full size The Cavaliers' offensive improvement has featured the contributions of several players, led, of course, by point guard Kyrie Irving. Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer  

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Cavaliers coverage includes Mary Schmitt Boyer's game story on the Cavs' 109-105 loss to the Heat on Sunday night; Terry Pluto's blog that the big story from the Cavs-Heat game was the continued fine play of Cleveland rookie guard Dion Waiters; Schmitt Boyer's Cavaliers Insider.

The Cavaliers are 18-38, but are a respectable 13-15 since they began the season with a 5-23 record. And, they have won nine of their last 16 games.

The Cavs' improvement can largely be attributed to a more efficient offense.

On the blog WaitingForNextYear, the Cavs' trade last month with the Memphis Grizzlies -- highlighted by Cleveland's acquisition of forward-center Marreese Speights and guard Wayne Ellington -- is referred to. And, writes WFNY:

Quietly, the Cavaliers have been one of the better offensive teams in the NBA over the last several weeks. Since trading Jon Leuer to Memphis in what turned out to be one of the best pre-deadline deals in the league this season, the Cavaliers have the fourth-most efficient offense and the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league. For the month of February, they’re averaging 112.2 points per 100 possessions. They have one of the best players in the league in Kyrie Irving, a progressing off-guard in Dion Waiters — who is shooting 51 percent during the month of February – and a second-year power forward in Tristan Thompson who has a higher PER (16) that everyone’s shoe-in for this season’s Rookie of the Year in Portland’s Damien Lillard (15.7).

If this young core and veteran reserves can in fact limit the mental mistakes as challenged by their head coach, these numbers should remain relatively sustainable — it is, after all, the defensive end that has been the perpetual struggle for this 14-man unit. The loss to the Heat is by no means a benchmark for where this Cavaliers team is as much a sign of what this Cavaliers team could be when the wrinkles become ironed.

A big part of the Cavaliers' offensive improvement is that they are taking much better care of the basketball. (By Jason Lloyd, Akron Beacon Journal)

Miami Heat radio announcer Tommy Tighe, on the Baskin & Phelps Show, talks about the Cavaliers' potential and what he thinks of the talk about LeBron James possibly returning to the Cavs. (cleveland.cbslocal.com)

The Heat surrender a big lead, then rally to overcome the Cavaliers. Game story. (By Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald)

Rumors that Cavs forward Omri Casspi, who had an appendectomy over the weekend, may ask the Cavs to buy out his contract, making him a free agent. (By Sam Vecenie, Fear The Sword)

The Cavaliers continue to nudge up in NBA team power rankings. (ESPN.com)

The Cavs, with some last miscues, don't take advantage of a great chance to win in Miami. (By Jason Lloyd, Akron Beacon Journal)

Omri Casspi has his appendix removed. (By Sam Amico, Fox Sports Ohio)

Reasons for encouragement during the Cavaliers' game at Miami, despite the loss. (By Brendan Bowers, Stepien Rules)

On today's episode of Sports Insider, The Plain Dealer's Branson Wright joined cleveland.com's Glenn Moore from the NFL Combine to recap the weekend in Indianapolis. Watch video

 

A new book, "The Perfect Game," about the 1985 Georgetown-Villanova NCAA championship game raises the question of how we account for genius in sports. Is it fatally compromised by human flaws like those of Villanova's Rollie Massimino, who later coached at Cleveland State?

View full size Rollie Massimino Plain Dealer file photo  

CLEVELAND, Ohio - At the zenith of his coaching career, Rollie Massimino dropped any pretense of being a regular guy and let his inner emperor strut his stuff.

In the last great upset that could be sprung almost entirely by coaching acumen and patient execution, Massimino's Villanova team, shooting 78.6 percent (22-for-28 for the game, 9-for-10 in the second half), beat Georgetown, 66-64, for the 1985 national championship. Twenty-one for 28 would have put the Wildcats in overtime.

I filed my column for The Plain Dealer on the upset, then saw Massimino walking alone out the media gate of Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Knowing him from my years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I tagged along. Outside, Massimino, who years later became the coach at Cleveland State, waited in the bright lights ESPN had strung along the sidewalk to begin an interview. Technical problems resulted in a five-minute delay.

During this time, the short, voluble coach showed me the lucky charms he had carried with him to the game and waved away well-wishers who, knowing his fondness for a good smoke, offered him victory cigars. "I only smoke Macanudos," said Massimino, dismissively.

While I wouldn't have trusted something from a complete stranger, either, I wondered how much it would have taken for him to accept the gifts, tuck them into a shirt pocket, and say "Thanks. I'll save them for later."

Former Philadelphia colleague Frank Fitzpatrick's new book, "The Perfect Game," examines the unique circumstances of the victory, the mistaken media perception of the two teams, the rapid plunge of Massimino's reputation afterward, and the inexplicable nature of genius.

The last is a mystery extending from Ray Lewis' recent Super Bowl victory and the 2012 NCAA championship won by guests at John Calipari's halfway house for the tall, talented and transient at Kentucky, through LeBron James' NBA title last year and the three Super Bowls won after the turn of the century by Spymaster Belichick, all the way back to Massimino's Macanudos.

The lesson is that many sports figures, just like people in the general population, are flawed and leaky vessels, even with the talent they have been given.

Excellence in basketball certainly does not turn a rim into a halo. When the TV cameras weren't around, Massimino was a different guy than when they were at CSU. He often barked at the two dedicated newspaper beat reporters then. His Vikings tenure (1996-2003) was marred by the imprisonment of two starters, Damon Stringer and Jamaal Harris, for the armed robbery of former Indians pitcher CC Sabathia. It was not the way CSU hoped to erase the memories of the scandals of Kevin Mackey.

Before that, Massimino failed to improve the reputation of Nevada-Las Vegas after the years of Jerry Tarkanian's feuds with the NCAA. A slush fund scandal involving Massimino's salary erupted there. The glitzy school was a poor fit for the rumpled coach, anyway, just as was the Runnin' Rebels' free-wheeling style for his set offenses. "Walkin' Rebels!" Villanova students chanted derisively the day he left.

And before that, Gary McLain, a starter on Massimino's national championship team, admitted in a cover story -- in exchange for $40,000 of Sports Illustrated's money -- that he used cocaine during the time he was at Villanova, including before a Rose Garden ceremony with President Ronald Reagan.

In retrospect, Massimino won the title just in time. By the margin of a single vote, the NCAA Rules Committee failed to institute a shot clock before the 1985 season. It was adopted the next year. A 3-point shot followed in 1987. More possessions put more of a premium on talent. The 3-pointer made a compact zone defense, the frequent resort of underdogs, a riskier proposition.

Massimino was never "Daddy Mass," the doting father figure of repute. The fiery little curmudgeon really wasn't as lovable as his press notices said either. But at the end of an era, under rules that soon were relics, he coached a heavy underdog to an unlikely victory. The defense was superb in concept and execution, the shooting was magic. It is no easier to explain why this occurred than it was for Massimino to cope with the celebrity it brought.

To reach Bill Livingston:

blivingston@plaind.com, 216-999-4672

Previous columns online:

cleveland.com/columns

Akron and Memphis are both on nation-long 18-game winning streaks.

View full size Chauncey Gilliam (23), Zeke Marshall (44) and Akron's Zips are on an 18-game winning streak. Associated Press  

  Indiana is No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25 for the fourth straight week, while Gonzaga moved to No. 2 for the first time in school history.

Ohio State's Buckeyes are 16th and Akron's Zips just miss the Top 25, with the 28th most voting points,

Akron, however, is 24th in the Coaches Rankings. Ohio State is No. 15.

The Buckeyes, 20-7, 10-5 in the Big Ten, defeated No. 9 Michigan State (22-6, 11-4) on Sunday in Columbus. Ohio State visits Northwestern (13-15, 4-11) on Thursday night.

The Zips (22-4) and the No. 19 AP Memphis Tigers (24-3) are both on nation-long 18-game winning streaks. Akron won at home, 68-53, over North Dakota State (20-8) on Friday night. The Zips face a tough challenge on Wednesday night, when they visit Ohio's Bobcats (20-7). Akron is 12-0 in the Mid-American Conference; Ohio is 11-1.

Gonzaga (27-2) was third last week, matching its previous best ranking.

"The polls mean a lot more this time of year than they do in November, December, even January," coach Mark Few said. "All of us are being judged on the true body of work. It's definitely rewarding.

"It establishes us as a national program, which I believe we have been for the last 10 years. This group has done a great job of competing at that level, winning games at the highest level."

While the West Coast Bulldogs made some news at the top of the poll Monday, Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs from Down South, moved into the rankings for the first time since a 13-week run in 1984-85, their only appearance in the poll.

Louisiana Tech, which is 25th this week, was led back then to a ranking as high as No. 7 by a forward named Karl Malone. Gonzaga at that time had a point guard named John Stockton. They went on to become one of the greatest combinations in NBA history with the Utah Jazz, were members of the Dream Team and both were inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Indiana's Hoosiers (24-3, 12-2 in the Big Ten), who have been ranked No. 1 for a total of 10 weeks this season, received all but one first-place vote from the 65-member national media panel.

Gonzaga, which got the other No. 1 vote, was ranked third for the final two weeks of 2003-04.

Duke moved up three spots to third and is followed by Michigan and Miami, which dropped from second after falling to Wake Forest, the Hurricanes' first Atlantic Coast Conference loss this season.

Kansas is sixth, followed by Georgetown, Florida, Michigan State and Louisville.

Saint Louis, which beat Butler and VCU last week, moved into 18th in the poll, the Billikens' first ranking since being in for one week last season.

Colorado State, which was 22nd and lost twice last week, and VCU, which was 24th, dropped out.

Report says, "Checking in smaller than expected at 241 pounds, Te'o needed to crack 4.75 to erase doubts about his athleticism and ability to play all three downs."

View full size Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine on Monday. Associated Press  

The time is slower than was expected for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker, expected to be one of the top players picked at his position in April's NFL draft.

Chris Wesseling writes for NFL.com:

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o made a great first impression during NFL Scouting Combine interviews over the weekend. One NFL coach went so far as to tell NFL Network's Kimberly Jones that Te'o was a "rock star" during his interview.

Te'o will need that good will after turning in a disappointing 40-yard dash in linebackers drills Monday. A stiff Te'o officially clocked in at 4.82 seconds in the 40-yard dash Monday after NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock opined that Te'o could lock up a first-round draft spot with a 4.70.

To put Te'o's run in perspective, recall that 346-pound Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe nearly equaled his time at 4.87 last year. Checking in smaller than expected at 241 pounds, Te'o needed to crack 4.75 to erase doubts about his athleticism and ability to play all three downs. Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was less than impressed.

Ohio State is 10-5 in Big Ten plays with games remaining at Northwestern, at Indiana and home against Illinois.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State moved up two spots in the AP rankings, from No. 18 to No. 16 today, after beating Minnesota and Michigan State last week. That's after falling five spots, from No. 13 to No. 18, after a 22-point loss at Wisconsin eight days ago.

So it's harder to climb up than it is to fall back. The Buckeyes did move up three spots in the coaches poll, from No. 18 to No. 15.

But all that really matters now is tournament seeding, not poll ranking.

Consider then the Big Ten Tournament, with the Buckeyes currently fifth in the conference standings at 10-5. That puts them a game behind in the loss column to 11-4 Michigan State and 10-4 Michigan and 10-4 Wisconsin. The top four teams get a bye in the tournament. The No. 5 team will open against No. 12 Penn State, which is 0-14 in conference play.

So it's not like the bye is that big of a deal. The Nittany Lions have played a few teams close, including a competitive eight-point loss to Michigan on Feb. 17. But that first-round game should really just serve as a good warmup for the No. 5 seed.

Impressively, the Buckeyes haven't played a first-round game since Thad Matta's first season in 2004-05. They were the No. 5 seed twice before, but until Nebraska joined the league to put the Big Ten at 12 teams, the No. 5 seed used to get a bye, too.

The Big Ten is divided into four clear tiers at the moment, with two-loss Indiana in control; then these four teams with four or five conference losses; then the mediocre four-team group, with Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue all with eight losses; and then Nebraska, Northwestern and Penn State all with double-digit losses.

So there are going to be some ties in those groups. Somebody between Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State is going to end up with the same record.

The good news for Ohio State is the Buckeyes are done with the teams in the group, finishing 1-1 against all three. But Michigan State plays at Michigan on Sunday, and then the Spartans host Wisconsin on March 7. So the group is assured of at least two more losses.

The first tiebreaker in any tie is head-to-head competition. So Ohio State would split a two-team tie with anyone. But if there's a multiteam tie, know that Michigan State is 3-1 against the group so far with two to play; Ohio State is 3-3 and done; Wisconsin is 2-2 with one to play; and Michigan is 1-3 with one to play.

If there's a three-team tie, the Buckeyes might be in decent shape.

The next tiebreaker is record against the first-place team. This is where Wisconsin's win at Indiana would be big. The Hoosiers and Badgers don't play again, and Michigan State is already 0-2 against Indiana; while the Buckeyes and Wolverines are 0-1 with one more to play against the nation's top team.

So there's a lot left to determine. But Ohio State needs help.

If we give the five best teams wins over everyone outside the top five, and give the games among the top five to the home teams, the final standings would look like this:

Indiana 15-3 (beat Ohio State at home, lose at Michigan)

Michigan 14-4 (beat Michigan State and Indiana at home)

Wisconsin 13-5 (lose at Michigan State)

Michigan State 13-5 (lose at Michigan, beat Wisconsin at home)

Ohio State 12-6 (lose at Indiana)

The best bet for Ohio State would be for Michigan to lose to both Indiana and Michigan State at home to finish with six losses. The Buckeyes and Wolverines are 1-1 head-to-head, and both would have lost both games to Indiana, so next would be the record against second-place Michigan State. And Ohio State's win there would give them the edge and the No. 4 seed.

Or the Buckeyes could win out, including at No. 1 Indiana, to forge a three-way tie at 13-5, and then wind up the No. 4 seed at worst because of that win over the Hoosiers. But don't hold your breath on that.

Akron Zips have been getting votes for several weeks in the national polls. Monday they cracked one, joining the Top 25 in the coaches poll.

Akron coach Keith Dambrot and his team are ranked in the USA Today Coaches' Poll for the first time in program history. The Zips are just outside being ranked in the AP Top 25. AP  

AKRON, Ohio - Say what you want about the demise of BracketBuster college basketball event, but it certainly served the Akron Zips and the Mid-American Conference well.

A highlight-reel victory against North Dakota State on Friday, 68-53, vaulted the Zips to No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 for this week, the first time in program history they have been ranked nationally.

However, the Zips remain off the pace in the AP Top 25, 11 votes behind No. 25 Louisiana Tech.

That could change after this week as Akron travels to play at Ohio on Wednesday at 7. That game could not only decide if the Zips successfully defend their MAC regular-season title, but also with a win it would give the Zips a coveted Top 100 road victory to impress the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

While Akron (22-4, 12-0) is working an impressive 18-game winning streak, tied for the best in the nation, the best road win in the bunch - and for the season - was over Kent State (15-12, 5-7) which currently has an RPI of 171. Akron's RPI is 48; while the Bobcats (20-7, 11-1) check in with an RPI of 72

"This is good for the program,'' Akron coach Keith Dambrot said Monday afternoon. "Now let's see if we can stay there."

The last MAC team to be nationally ranked in the regular season was Kent State in 2008, and that came off a BracketBuster victory on the road at St. Mary's, which was then ranked No. 20 in the coaches poll and No. 23 in the AP Poll.

The Flashes, who had just three votes the previous week in the AP Poll, and none in the coaches, vaulted to No. 23 in the AP Poll and No. 24 in the coaches poll off that BracketBuster stunner.

However, Kent lost its next game on the road and fell out of the national rankings. Now the Zips look to keep their standing for longer than a week, first with a road game at OU, then a road game Saturday at Buffalo.

"This week is a bear,'' Dambrot said. "There are very few teams in the country that can win at OU with 10,000 people. This game will be tougher than the conference tournament game. That environment will make you better in the long haul. So, we'll see what we're really made of."

Akron had its first competitive practice Monday since defeating the Bison, and welcomed back starting 6-5 shooting guard Brian Walsh, who sat out the North Dakota State game with a sprained ankle.

"He's not 100 percent, but he'll play,'' Dambrot said.

As he did in 2005, Brady, a league source told SI.com, is signing a contract with New England that will pay him significantly less money than the market will bear, in large part to help the Patriots stay competitive for the next five seasons.

View full size Tom Brady has been New England's quarterback in five Super Bowls, with the Patriots winning three of them. Associated Press  

(Associated Press) A person familiar with the contract tells The Associated Press that Tom Brady has received a three-year extension from the New England Patriots worth about $27 million.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the extension has not been announced.

The 35-year-old two-time league MVP was signed through 2014, and has said he wants to play five more years. By redoing his contract Monday, Brady also has cleared nearly $15 million from New England's salary cap.

The three-time Super Bowl champion will make far less in those three seasons than the going rate for star quarterbacks. Brady currently has a four-year, $72 million deal with $48 million guaranteed.

Sports Illustrated first reported the extension.
                                                         ...............

Peter King writes for Sports Illustrated's SI.com about the deal between Brady and the Patriots:

For the second time in his illustrious career, Brady is doing something players in this day and age simply do not do: As he did in 2005, Brady, a league source told SI.com, is signing a contract with New England that will pay him significantly less money than the market will bear, in large part to help the Patriots stay competitive for the next five seasons.

Amazingly, according to the source, the deal is for an eye-poppingly conservative $27 million, which is less than half his worth by any measure.

The extension will pay Brady a $3 million signing bonus immediately, in addition to salaries of $7 million in 2015, $8 million in 2016 and $9 million in 2017. Brady told Sports Illustrated five years ago he wanted to play until he was 40, at least, and this will accomplish that. He turns 40 on Aug. 3, 2017.

The upshot of the deal is to give the Patriots massive cap relief in a flat-cap era. He was due to count $43.6 million on the New England salary cap in 2013 and 2014. Now, his cap numbers will add up to $28.6 million in the next two years, a savings of $15 million in cap dollars at a time the Patriots have free agents they want to sign to help keep the team atop the AFC East, which they have dominated since Brady took over at quarterback in 2001.

Craft, considered by many the nation's top defensive guard, keyed win over Michigan State with his scoring. Big Ten, soon to be at 14 schools, will stay there for now, says Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith. More Buckeyes story links.

View full size Ohio State's Aaron Craft (left) guarded by Michigan State's Keith Appling during the Buckeyes' 68-60 win over the Spartans on Sunday in Columbus. Associated Press  

The Buckeyes (20-7, 10-5 in the Big Ten) play next on Thursday, when they visit Northwestern's Wildcats (13-15, 4-11).

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Ohio State coverage includes Doug Lesmerises' story on possible seedings for the Big Ten Tournament; Bill Livingston's column on how point guard Aaron Craft led the Buckeyes to the win over Michigan State; Lesmerises' game story on the Ohio State win.

Aaron Craft, regarded by many observers as the top defensive guard in the nation, matched his defensive excellence and usual steady playmaking with a big scoring game against the Spartans.

Austin Ward writes about Craft and the Buckeyes for ESPN.com.

The Spartans had no answer for the dual-threat Craft, who made it look routine to get to the basket off the dribble. He rarely took a wrong step on the pick-and-roll, either finishing on his own or setting up teammates for one of his six assists. He won one-on-one matchups to get easy finishes, dropped in contested attempts in traffic, and was almost perfect from the free-throw line on the way to a game-high 21 points.

As recently as a week ago Ohio State was reeling from a blowout loss at Wisconsin and Deshaun Thomas, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, was struggling with his shot. The Buckeyes couldn't have needed Craft to be at his best offensively more than this game. Considering that his previous career high had come against Albany in the season opener, Craft might never have been better with the ball in his hands than he was against the Spartans.

“Give Craft credit, he tore us apart in the second half,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “It was Aaron Craft, he beat us every way he could beat us.

“Aaron Craft was more aggressive than I’ve ever seen him as a scorer, and give him credit for that. … I couldn’t plan for something I’ve never seen before.”

.....Basketball.....

Buckeyes coach Thad Matta helped his team turn things around against Michigan State with a strategic timeout. (By Rob McCurdy, Mansfield News Journal)

Growing up, Aaron Craft was quite a competitor. (By Brandon Castel, the-ozone.net)

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo isn't pleased with his team after its loss to the Buckeyes. (Akron Beacon Journal/Associated Press)

Aaron Craft and the Buckeyes have a big second half to top the Spartans. (By Zac Jackson, FoxSportsOhio.com)

The Buckeyes get a big boost from Aaron Craft's offense against the Spartans. (By David Briggs, Toledo Blade)

Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the Michigan State Spartans, 68-60. Game story. (By John Porentas, the-ozone.net)

Academic All-America of the Year Aaron Craft keys a Buckeyes win with his scoring. (By Jeff Borzello, CBSSports.com)

Ohio State comes through with a significant win. (By Ari Wasserman, ohiostate.scout.com)

The Buckeyes get a Big Ten win over Michigan State. (News-Herald/Associated Press)
 
.....Football.....

Ohio State and Michigan both were best in recruiting specific position groups from the high school class of 2013. (By Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.com)

Update on the Cruise For Cancer, with coach Urban Meyer, his family and former Buckeyes players joining Ohio State fans. (By Brandon Castel, the-ozone.net)

Completing a countdown of the top 25 players in the Big Ten last season, Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller is ranked first. (By Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.com)

A few weeks before spring practice begins, how the Buckeyes stand at middle linebacker. (By Austin Ward, ESPN.com BuckeyeNation)

Final PD boys basketball Top 25 Last week's ranking in parentheses.

Guard Francisco Santiago, left, is one of the driving forces behind St. Ignatius being declared as The Plain Dealer's poll champion. - (Tim Harrison, Special to The Plain Dealer)

Final PD boys basketball Top 25

Last week's ranking in parentheses.

1. St. Ignatius, 19-3 (1): Plays in Division I sectional at Solon on Friday. Wildcats ride 10-game winning streak to poll title.

2. Shaker Heights, 16-6 (4): Plays in Division I sectional final at Solon on Saturday.

3. Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 18-4 (2): Plays in Division IV sectional final at Garfield Heights on Friday.

4. St. Edward, 17-5 (3): Plays in Division I sectional final at Brecksville-Broadview Heights on Saturday.

5. Mentor, 17-5 (5): Plays Chardon in Division I sectional at Euclid on Tuesday. Cardinals closed regular season in a funk, losing two of their last three.

6. Cleveland Heights, 15-6 (7): Plays in Division I sectional at Solon on Friday. Tigers closed season with a rush.

7. Garfield Heights, 14-6 (6): Plays in Division I sectional at Solon on Saturday. Bulldogs in the doghouse with four losses in last six games.

8. St. Vincent-St. Mary, 13-9 (8): Plays Navarre Fairless in Division II sectional at the Canton Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

9. Central Catholic, 16-6 (9): Plays in Division II sectional at Westlake on Friday.

10. Richmond Heights, 19-3 (10): Played Newbury in Division IV sectional on Monday.

11. Beachwood, 18-3 (11): Played at Lake Catholic on Monday.

12. Green, 20-2 (14): Plays in Division I sectional at Alliance tonight.

13. Nordonia, 19-3 (12): Plays in Division I sectional at Copley on Friday.

14. North Royalton, 20-2 (13): Plays in Division I sectional at Brecksville-Broadview Heights on Saturday.

15. Brecksville-Broadview Heights, 19-3 (15): Plays in Division I sectional at Midview on Friday.

16. Brunswick, 12-10 (21): Plays Cloverleaf in Division I sectional at Copley on Tuesday. Victories over Shaker Heights, Garfield Heights and Mentor in the span of 17 days too significant to ignore.

17. Hudson, 18-4 (16): Plays in Division I sectional at Copley on Saturday.

18. Glenville, 16-4 (17): Plays in Division I sectional at Euclid on Wednesday.

19. Archbishop Hoban, 17-5 (20): Plays in Division II sectional at the Canton Fieldhouse on Saturday.

20. Twinsburg, 16-5 (18): Plays in Division I sectional at Copley on Saturday.

21. Walsh Jesuit, 15-7 (19): Plays in Division I sectional at Copley on Friday.

22. Barberton, 17-5 (22): Plays in Division I sectional at Canton Civic Center on Friday.

23. Elyria, 17-5 (23): Plays in Division I sectional at Midview on Saturday.

24. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, 20-2 (25): Plays Revere in Division II sectional at Stow on Tuesday.

25. Brush, 13-9 (24): Plays in Division I sectional at Euclid on Wednesday.

Dropped out: None.

Ryan Tyna and 11 other men were arrested by Willoughby Police last week.

Ryan Tyna Willoughby Police  

Ryan Tyna, 42, of Hudson, was in his second year as head coach of the varsity team. He is also a social studies teacher at North High School in Eastlake. He has been placed on administrative leave from that job.

Tyna was one of a dozen men arrested Thursday and Friday when they responded to an ad placed on a website that is commonly used by prostitutes. The men believed that they would be meeting a 20-year-old woman at a motel, but instead they were met by police, according to a news release from the Willoughby Police Department.

Others arrested were Timothy D. Asberry, 53, of Willoughby Hills; Gill S. Gurinder, 31, of North Royalton; Bryan Hess, 51, of Cuyahoga Falls: Efren Romero, 41, of Painesville; Nagi J. Haddad, 55, of Rocky River; Richard M. Salajcik, 47, of Eastlake; Raymond T. Kern, 50, of Mentor; Bert M. Brown, 55, of Beachwood; Ramone A. Davis, 26, of Cleveland; Johannes Reinhard, 64, of Palm Beach; and Eugene Preston, 38, of Beachwood.

The men have been charged with soliciting and possession of criminal tools. They are scheduled to appear in Willoughby Municipal Court on the misdemeanor charges on March 7.

Plain Dealer reporter Bob Fortuna contributed to this report.

The first Skippers team in any sport to reach the state finals has a familiar, old feel in a town where times never seem to change.

View full size Fairport Harbor's bowling team shares a light moment during practice at Rich Lanes on Monday, one day after becoming the first team in school history to qualify for a state finals. Pictured, from left, is Jordan Johnson, Jake Morenz, Cody Zalar, coach Jerry Rich, Casey Cohagen and Nathan Vale. Lynn Ischay, The Plain Dealer  

FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio – The time warp enveloped me almost from the moment I walked through the canopied entrance to Rich Lanes early Monday morning. This is a common phenomenon in Fairport Harbor, where change comes, well, rarely.

The “Largest Bowling Center in Fairport Harbor,'' as Rich Lanes likes to be known, was jammed with late-shift workers hammering balls down its eight lanes.

Yes, eight lanes.

So, obviously, the slogan is a little bit of an inside joke. Fairport Harbor folks have a good sense of humor about their one-grocery, two-stoplight town. Rich Lanes is the only bowling house in Fairport and, quite frankly, the only place where there's anything to do once ice covers the Grand River and lakeshore that form most of its borders. The fact there's only eight lanes just seems perfect in a town where size has never mattered.

The sound of balls and pins crashing, people chattering and cheering filled the joint Monday. It was like stepping into 1955, the year Tony and Helen Rich opened the place and it rocked morning, noon and night with workers from the massive Diamond Shamrock chemical plant, which closed in 1976 and almost took the town with it.

A third generation of Riches run the place now. Brothers Jerry and Brian took the reigns 10 years ago from their parents and sunk nearly $250,000 into modernizing the place, according to Brian.

Seeing the 6-foot-7 Jerry extend his long arm and large hand to greet me Monday rocketed me back two decades to when he was pitching Fairport Harbor's baseball team to the 1993 state semifinals, the last time the Skippers went to state in any team sport.

Until this week.

Fairport Harbor's bowling team won the Northeast Ohio district tournament Sunday in Youngstown and, with Rich as its coach, will compete in the state tournament Saturday in Columbus as a legitimate contender.

Fairport Harbor has 100 boys in grades 9-12 and the team itself has just seven boys (and one girl), but the school has a great equalizer in the form of Rich and the biggest little bowling house in town.

''We have a talented bunch and they work hard at it,'' Rich said. “The school being three blocks away, our kids are here all the time – ALL the time. They live here.''

The starting five all play other sports, and yet it was a common sight last fall after football practice and even home games to see Jake Morenz, Casey Cohagan, Jordan Johnson and Nathan Vale practicing 7-pin pickups. “I'm here every night to watch or bowl,'' said Cohagan, a promising junior with a team-leading 222 average.

After the bowling team's first tournament Dec. 1 in Columbus, which the Skippers won, they arrived back in town late Saturday night and piled into Rich Lanes.

“We had some open lanes, and they all bowled, still in their uniforms, all night,'' Rich said. “There's some passion there.''

In a sport where all schools compete in one division, the cozy setup is an equalizer against bigger schools that have more kids, but also have to jump through more hoops to reserve practice times at large bowling centers and set up transportation.

“I'm in a very envious position by a lot of other coaches,'' Rich said. “I don't need for anything. I put the schedules together. So, we do have a program now, and this (district championship) is a huge step.''

Rich, who pitched at Cleveland State and took a brief shot at a pro bowling career, remains highly competitive and treats his bowlers as serious athletes. Fairport Harbor dropped out of its league last year because he wanted to schedule more state-wide competition and experience different lane oil patterns and conditions. The Skippers won six tournaments and were second or third four times this winter.

Rich hopes the success will convince Fairport Harbor middle-school kids on the fence about the sport to stay with it. He also noted one student-athlete who is not yet in the starting lineup transferred in via open enrollment because he wants to be part of the bowling program. Rich said he has heard from younger kids and their families who want to do the same.

View full size Rich Lanes is a quaint alley that fits the small town perfectly with its eight lane layout. One of the owners is Jerry Rich, coach of Fairport's district champion bowling team and a former baseball star for the Skippers. Lynn Ischay, The Plain Dealer  

Rich, who along with his brother logs more than 70 hours a week at Rich Lanes, also has the advantage of having known most of the bowlers since they first picked up a ball.

“I've known him my whole life, and to have him as our coach is awesome,'' said senior Cody Zalar. “This is like my second home. He's watched us since we were little kids and he knows our game, and that's a huge advantage.''

Four years ago, then-freshmen Zalar and Morenz and then-junior Heather Reho approached school officials about forming a team, Rich got involved and the program began. Reho now bowls for Notre Dame College on a partial bowling scholarship, and Zalar and Morenz are the school's first four-year bowling lettermen.

“We turned an idea into a state-caliber team. That means so much, it's mind-blowing,'' said Morenz, an All-Ohio lineman on Fairport Harbor's playoff football team last fall.

A mind-bending moment of a different sort occurred for me as I chatted with Rich in the side-room bar, away from the hectic bowling center. People who don't bowl or drink often drop by, more so now that there's something new the town can celebrate. Monday morning, Mike Mohner was one of many who came barreling in to congratulate Rich, his former player, and now coaching colleague.

Mohner coached the 1993 baseball team and left years ago to teach and coach at Harvey. He returns this week to coach Fairport's baseball team once again, but minus four players on the bowling team for one more week, thanks to Rich.

“I'm excited as heck for you,'' Mohner told Rich. “I was hoping we (the baseball team) would be the one to go back to state after 20 years, and you beat me to it.''

As time goes by in Fairport Harbor, even new beginnings have a way of seeming like old times.

With the Browns' new ownership, front office and coaches, Weeden will almost certainly have to compete for the starter's job.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A year ago at this time, Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden was preparing for the NFL draft.

His work paid off. The Cleveland Browns selected Weeden in the first round with the 22nd overall pick. The Browns front office, with president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert, and the coaching staff led by Pat Shurmur essentially gave the starter's job to Weeden, replacing incumbent starter Colt McCoy.

Now, the 2012 front office and most of the coaching staff, including Shurmur, are no longer with the Browns. Jimmy Haslam, who officially took over team ownership from Randy Lerner last October, has a new group in place including CEO Joe Banner, Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Lombardi and coach Rob Chudzinski.

And, Norv Turner has replaced Brad Childress as the offensive coordinator.

It all means that Weeden, under the new regime, is expected to have a serious challenger for the starter's job. Weeden, who was a minor league pitcher for five years, turned 29 last Oct. 14.

Plain Dealer Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot writes that Weeden said today during a visit to the Cleveland Auto Show at the I-X Center that he thinks he can beat out any competition to remain the Browns' starter.

Weeden started all but one game, but had an erratic rookie season. McCoy threw just 17 passes during the campaign. Both Weeden and McCoy missed the final game with shoulder injuries. Rookie Thaddeus Lewis played quarterback for the Browns in their 24-10 season-ending loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

Here, we ask you which quarterback Weeden would have the best chance to beat out, and remain the Browns' starter.

It's not a comprehensive list, just a couple NFL quarterbacks who might be available -- though Alex Smith is rumored to be headed to the Kansas City Chiefs -- and two college quarterbacks likely to be first-round draft picks. And, McCoy and Lewis.

One of them or, just as likely, someone else, will try to take the starter's job from Weeden.