Not bad, considering ... but still a loss

With the Cavaliers in Milwaukee last night to play the 32-29 Bucks, and already playing without Shaquille O'Neal, Mike Brown decided to sit LeBron James and start Jawad Williams. He surely knew he was giving away the game, but felt that it was worth it to get LeBron some rest. Was he right? I don't know. LeBron did roll his ankle in Friday night's game against the Pistons, but Brown says it had nothing to do with that. But I'll bet there were a lot of pissed-off Milwaukee fans who paid good money for tickets expecting to see The King. (Not that that's Brown's problem.)

In any case, the remaining Cavs did a pretty decent job hanging in there, though it obviously wasn't good enough. Antawn Jamison had his best game as a Cavalier, pouring in 30 points, and Delonte West added 27. Williams, in what was probably his first NBA start (I'm too lazy to look it up) contributed precious little, tallying six points and three rebounds, and putting up a +/- of -29 in 24 minutes.

When your team is playing without its two future Hall of Famers against a plus-.500 team on the road and only loses by seven, you have to be just a little bit pleased with the effort. But still, it goes on the ledger as a loss. They said on SportsCenter that Brown is considering sitting LeBron again on Monday against the Spurs. Of course, the Spurs just lost Tony Parker to a hand injury, so maybe they can still beat them, but I'd feel better about it with LeBron in there. We're in a race with the Lakers for home-court in a theoretical Cleveland-LA Finals, and I don't think that's a small matter.

A few thoughts

* I'm glad the Cavaliers beat the Pistons last night, but the outcome of a basketball game is a lot less important than human health. When Rodney Stuckey collapsed near the bench area, it reminded LeBron James of Hank Gathers, about whom he'd recently watched a documentary. For those not old enough to remember, Gathers was a star on a very talented Loyola Marymount team who collapsed during a game and died on his way to the hospital because of a heart defect. And then there's Reggie Lewis, a former Celtics star who died the same way, albeit in an off-season practice. Stuckey's apparently OK, but that collapse was very frightening.

* That said, it was an impressive comeback by the Cavaliers. They overcame a 21-point deficit to win that game, effectively running over the Pistons in the late third and fourth quarters. But it's worth noting that Detroit was ahead when Stuckey went down. The Pistons were obviously shaken by their teammate's collapse, and played like it. They started to get it together toward the end of the game, but it was too late.

* Josh Cribbs is back in the fold. I'm glad; he's one of my all-time favorite Browns. I still think he was acting like a baby with his contract demands, but the story has a happy ending.

* The Indians won their first spring-training game yesterday against the Reds, 9-2. The Indians tattooed Cincinnati pitching all game, while holding the Reds' hitters to just two hits until Joe Smith's tough run through the eighth inning. Or maybe it was the ninth. Anyway, Smith wasn't good, but the rest of the pitchers were. In any case, it's wonderful that there's Cleveland Indians baseball again, preseason or not.

* The Buckeyes are being discussed as a potential No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament after having won the Big Ten's regular season title. Ohio State is ranked No. 7 in the country, and should go far in March Madness.

Tribe plays first intrasquad game

I know that to the average fan, the first intrasquad game is a darned good reason to start yawning. Not me. It wasn't on TV, and the box score isn't printed in today's paper, but I'm reading what I can about it. Apparently Jensen Lewis and Jordan Brown were among the game's stars.

Brown, who's a longshot to make the team as an outfielder/first baseman, singled and homered in the game. At 26, Brown has yet to make his major-league debut, and players who haven't reached the show by 26 tend not to make much impact. But Brown did hit .336 in Columbus last year, with 15 home runs, and put up an OPS of .913. And while playing for Akron in 2007, he was named the Eastern League MVP. He's got some credentials.

Lewis, who pitched a 1-2-3 second inning yesterday, was expected to be a key setup man for Kerry Wood last year, but suffered through a 2-4, 4.61 season that saw him also spend some time in Columbus. Lewis struck out 62 hitters in 66.1 innings, but also gave up 13 home runs, and that's what cost him. If he can limit the long ball, he can help this team.

The Indians have their first real spring training game on Friday against the Reds. Yay!

Knickerbockers destroyed; Cavaliers cooking again

The Cavaliers dominated the 20-39 New York Knicks last night in a way we hadn't seen this year. The game wasn't as close as the 124-93 final score would indicate — and when a 31-point victory understates the way the game went, you know it was a whitewashing.

How thoroughly did the Cavs embarrass the Knicks? Just look at the quarter-by-quarter scoring: The Cavs won the first quarter, 38-26; the second, 36-22; and the third, 27-11. In the same game, our guys scored 74 points in the first half and held the Knicks to just ELEVEN in an entire quarter. The Cavaliers led by as much as 49 in the second half. The Knicks did outscore the Cleveland scrubs in the fourth quarter, 34-23, which was more or less irrelevant.

After losing three straight out of the All-Star break, the Cavs are now riding a four-game winning streak, and seem to be just fine without Shaquille O'Neal or once and future Cavalier Zydrunas Ilgauskas. In the game in which Shaq got hurt, they beat the fellow Eastern Conference power Celtics by 20 in Boston; then they beat the above-.500 Raptors in Toronto, albeit needing overtime to do it. And now this destruction of the admittedly bad Knicks.

The subtext of this game, of course, is that the Knicks are expected to go after LeBron James as a free agent this coming offseason. If this performance was any indication of what LeBron can anticipate after going over there, he's bound to say no. But who can guess what lurks in the mind of LeBron.

After surgery on his sprained thumb, Shaq could be back in about two months, or around the second round of the playoffs. It doesn't appear there's any reason to worry about what will happen between now and then.

Silver not quite so precious as gold, but what a game

That gold medal hockey game between the U.S. and Canada was a thing of beauty. I've never been a very big hockey fan (except for Miami RedHawks hockey), but I sat transfixed on the TV watching that game yesterday. The Americans came this close to scoring a goal in the first period, but the puck stopped just short of the line, and the Canadians were able to take a 2-0 lead.

But there was no quit in the Red, White and Blue. Playing against the nation that invented ice hockey, on its own soil, the Americans got within a goal in the second period on Ryan Kesler's rebound shot, then pulled off the nearly unbelievable when Zach Parise scored with 24.4 seconds left in regulation, with goalie Ryan Miller pulled in favor of an extra skater, to send it into overtime.

The star-laden Canadians controlled the puck for most of that overtime period, and it came as no surprise when 22-year-old phenom Sidney Crosby finally broke through for the gold medal-winning goal 7:40 into the extra session. But it was a fantastic performance by the young Americans, who should hold their heads high after coming away with the silver.

Incidentally, that silver medal was the 37th for the USA in the Vancouver games, setting a new record for total medals by any nation in any Winter Olympics. But Canada's was the 14th gold medal for that nation, which was also a record. It was a very enjoyable Olympics, and I'm just a little bit sad that it's over.

Branyan to the rescue

So the well-known strikeout machine Russell Branyan is back in Cleveland, this time with the promise of a regular job. Scandal! Horror! How could we give daily at-bats to this train wreck of a free swinger? Don't we remember what a failure he was? ... Or so the thinking seems to go among many Indians fans.

I'm not going to sit here and claim the 34-year-old Branyan is the second coming of Lou Gehrig. Or even Andre Thornton. And when you look at the numbers baseball people have traditionally looked at — .234 career average, 164 career home runs against 946 strikeouts (averaging 174 strikeouts per 162 games played) — it looks pretty ugly. But the fact is, Branyan was actually pretty productive last year in Seattle, if you look at the numbers that actually relate to run production. His on-base percentage was .347, good enough for 46th in the American League (one notch ahead of Grady Sizemore), and his slugging average was .520, which was 16th in the AL. And anyone who thinks his batting average and strikeout totals matter more than those numbers doesn't really understand the game.

Branyan hit a career-high 31 home runs last year for the Mariners in 116 games, the most he'd played in the majors in a season since 2002, when he was 26. It's true that he's at an age when most hitters decline, and it's true that he'd never produced in the majors like he did in 2009, suggesting it might be a one-year aberration. But given that our other first-base options were Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley — two guys who have never produced much at the major-league level — it's worth giving him a shot for a $2 million, one-year contract.

A new winning streak begins

The Cavaliers struggled to get past the New Orleans Hornets last night, but hey, when you come in with a three-game losing streak, any win is good. The Cavs roared out to a 12-point lead at the quarter pole, then gave up 40 points (!) in the second to trail by three at halftime. The Cavs took the lead again in the third, then the two teams traded the lead back and forth through the fourth, before the Cavs finally pulled away in the closing minutes. Mo Williams' three-pointer with 4:13 to go gave our boys a 92-89 lead, one they never relinquished.

Antawn Jamison played well in his first Cavs start, tallying 18 points and six rebounds. He also put up a +/- of +18, tops in the game. The great LeBron James only scored 20, but added 13 assists. Fellow future Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal also put in 20, with seven boards.

The fact is, this was not a strong effort. The Hornets are a good team, but are playing without first-team all-NBAer Chris Paul (who is also killing my fantasy team by being hurt), and the Cavaliers had a lot of defensive lapses in this game. That's not going to get it done tomorrow night in Boston, not to mention the playoffs.

Belated thoughts on the big trade

This is my first post since the birth of my daughter Savannah on Feb. 13; just thought you might like to know why you haven't heard from me in a while. I probably don't have to tell you this, but that's her in the photo above. Isn't she the cutest?

While I haven't been writing about what's going on in the Cleveland sports scene over the last couple of weeks, I have been noticing, and I do have some quick thoughts about the biggest local sports story to have happened in that time frame.

As we all know, the Cavaliers are 0-3 since they traded Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Antawn Jamison. That three-game skid followed a 13-game winning streak that was the longest in the NBA this season. The Denver loss in overtime, which broke the winning streak, would likely have been a win had Z been there. It's hard to say that about Charlotte or Orlando. Both those teams are clearly inferior to the Cavaliers, but both have seemed to have the Cavs' number lately. Jamison was god-awful against the Bobcats, but bounced back for a nice performance against the Magic. He might start tonight against the Hornets. Either way, I expect him to perform well.

The Cavaliers obviously took a short-term hit by trading away the guy who's been here the longest and had a good on-court rapport with LeBron James and company. It'll take Jamison some time to develop that with this team, and there are just 25 games left in the regular season. Jamison is clearly a better overall player than Z, but that intangible is an important factor. I hope his talent can overcome the lack of familiarity.

From a sentimental standpoint, I was sorry to lose Z. He was here years before LeBron, and suffered through frequent injuries while playing on some terrible teams early in his career, and it would have been nice to keep him here to help fight for a ring. He also appears to be one of the nicest guys in the NBA. But business is business. Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao can handle the center spot for the rest of the year. Whatever happens, I wish Z the best.

Rumor has it that Z might come back to Cleveland this year, and I'd love to see it. In the bizarro world of the NBA's salary cap, the Wizards traded for Z just to buy out his contract. Their main objective was apparently to dump Jamison's salary. After Gilbert Arenas got suspended for the rest of the year for having guns in the locker room, the Wizards are going nowhere. There was speculation that the league might block Z from returning to the Cavaliers, especially if there was any sign that such a signing was prearranged between the teams, but the latest news is that there will be no such block. Apparently the Hawks are interested too, but Z spent 13 years here, and is married to a woman from Cleveland. But we'll see, I guess.

Despite the three-game losing streak, the Cavs still have the best record in the NBA, at 43-14, half a game better than the Lakers' 42-14. Home-court advantage in a hypothetical NBA Finals with said Lakers is at stake, but the Cavaliers would have to get there first. They'd better get it together, and quick.

Hey, a win's a win

The Cavaliers sleepwalked a bit through last night's 104-97 win against the NBA's worst team, the 4-47 New Jersey Nets. The Cavs have the association's best record, at 42-11, and Tuesday's win was their 12th straight. The Nets have a chance to put up the worst record in NBA history, a record currently held by the '72-73 76ers, who went 9-73. You'd hope the NBA's best team would beat what could be the NBA's all-time worst team by more than seven at home. But hey, they came out with a W, and broke 100 to get everybody in attendance a free chalupa from Taco Bell. As the kids say (or at least did 10 years or so ago), it's all good. But if they hope to win their 13th straight on Thursday against the Orlando Magic, they'll have to play better than they did last night.

It's worth noting that the Cavaliers' winning streak has been achieved mostly without Mo Williams, who has missed the last nine games; or Delonte West, who has missed the last eight. Their absence has given Boobie Gibson a chance to start for a while, and he's done pretty well in that role. We've also seen more playing time for Cleveland native Jawad Williams, who hasn't disappointed. His 17 points off the bench last night were a career-high. If he can keep that kind of performance going, he'll be a key contributor to what could be Cleveland's first championship in my lifetime.

We're talkin' baseball, Indians baseball

As The Onion's Jim Anchower would say, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. And it's been even longer since I rapped at ya about the Indians. But the trucks left Cleveland yesterday on their way to Goodyear, Ariz., full of the equipment the Tribe will need for spring training. Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks, and while this figures to be a rebuilding year for the Indians, I'm excited to see how this season plays out.

Some early computer projections for how the season will play out have been completed, and I don't think it'll surprise any loyal Of Fair Hooker readers to find that the Indians are expected to finish third or fourth in the AL Central, with a sub-.500 record. This projection has our Tribe finishing third at 76-86, behind the Twins and White Sox; this one has them finishing fourth, behind those teams and the Tigers, but also 76-86. Unfortunately, coolstandings.com hasn't done its projections yet, but I would imagine it will be something close to the same.

As fans, we always want our team to contend for a title, but we have to accept that in Major League Baseball's financial climate, the Indians can't compete year after year. A team like ours has to rebuild and make a run for it every few years. They were able to stay one of baseball's top teams for a few years after the ballpark then known as Jacobs Field was built, but that stadium is no longer the advantage it once was. If they do finish 76-86, that would be a nine-game improvement over last year, and I'd be OK with that. Not happy, exactly, but OK.

Cavaliers continue to amaze

Last night at the Q, the Cavaliers did something you've never seen them do before: They hit 11 three-pointers in one quarter. That tied the team record for a half. The Cavs led the Clippers by 26 after that 46-point first quarter — again, 33 points of which came from beyond the arc — and coasted the rest of the way to a 114-89 drubbing. The Clippers actually outscored the Clevelanders by a single point over the last three quarters, but they had no chance to make it interesting.

At some point during the first quarter, my wife asked me if any team had ever scored 200 points in a game. I said no, and while I thought it outlandish to even consider the possibility, I couldn't help but wonder at that moment whether these Cavs had something like that in them on this night. It was an unbelievable performance. They would go on to hit 16 treys in the game — five by LeBron James, four by Boobie Gibson, two each by Jamario Moon and the little-used Jawad Williams, and one each by Anthony Parker, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the little-used Danny Green. It's always nice to see those end-of-the-bench guys coming in to contribute, even in garbage time.

For those interested, the record for most points in a game by one team was set on Dec. 13, 1983, by the Pistons against the Nuggets. They put up 186 in a triple-overtime game. The Nuggets on that night put up the second-highest total ever, 184. The record for a regulation game is 173, set by the Celtics against the Minneapolis Lakers all the way back in 1959, and tied by the Suns against those poor Nuggets in 1990. Special thanks to nba.com for its comprehensive records page. I was not able to find the NBA team record for three-pointers hit in a single quarter, but I did find that the most points ever scored in a first quarter was 50. So these Cavs really did something special last night.

It was the Cavaliers' eighth consecutive win, their longest streak of the season, and kept them a half-game ahead of the Lakers (who now play in Los Angeles, in case you didn't know) for the NBA's best record.

Staying hot against the Heat

The Cavs-Heat game last night was billed as a battle between two of the NBA's superstars, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. And it didn't disappoint. James and Wade both put on a heck of a show, especially in the second quarter, when they combined for 37 points (20 for Wade, 17 for James). Of course, it's worth mentioning that Wade had 30 points in the first half, but just two in the second. And Wade missed two critical free throws with 41 seconds left, after Boobie Gibson fouled him at the other end of the court while going after a loose ball.

Still, when Wade blocked James' eight-foot jumper with about 28 seconds left and his team up 91-90, it looked like the Heat had the game on ice. So with the Heat taking the ball down the floor, holding that one-point lead, and about a three-second differential between the game and shot clocks, the outlook wasn't brilliant for the Cleveland Five. The Cavaliers desperately needed a stop, and preferably fast, so they'd have some time to get a good shot off. For their part, the Heat just needed to run the clock down and try to put two more points on the board, which would have forced the Cavs to hit a three just to send it to overtime.

But that's not what happened. Wade, with James guarding him, tried to make a behind-the-back pass to a teammate on the wing. LeBron sniffed it out, got the steal and took it all the way to the hole at the other end, where Wade fouled him hard. LeBron made both his free throws, and Wade missed a 19-footer at the buzzer.

And the Cavs won because our superstar was better than their superstar in the final minute of the game. It was a thing of beauty.

That was HUGE!

Check out those Cleveland Cavaliers! After completing a sweep of the season series against the defending champion Lakers last night, the Cavs are 33-11, just percentage points behind the 32-10 Lakers for the NBA's best record. And the Cavs have an easier schedule going forward, with just 16 remaining away games and 22 at the Q. The Lakers have 25 road dates left, 15 at home. And if they should finish with the same record and meet in the Finals, the Cavaliers have just taken the tie-breaker for home-court advantage.

And it bears mention that the Cavaliers won this game without Mo Williams, their second-leading scorer and an All-Star last year. If they can beat the full-strength Lakers without their second-best player, there's no reason to think these Cavs can't be NBA champions. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm darned excited about this team.

Here's something I'll bet you didn't know

The NBA a couple of years ago borrowed a statistic from hockey, known as plus-minus, commonly written as +/-. For those who don't know what that means, it's simply the net difference in points when a particular player is on the floor. Let's take last night's heartbreaker against the Jazz for the sake of example. LeBron James played 40 minutes, during which time the Cavaliers outscored the Jazz by seven, so his +/- for the game is +7. Anderson Varejao's, on the other hand, was -12 in 36 minutes off the bench.

(In case you're wondering, I didn't watch it, as it started at 10:30 p.m. here in the Eastern Time Zone, and I have a job. Too bad, because it was apparently a real thriller, in which Jazz rookie Sundiata Gaines hit the first three-pointer of his NBA career at the buzzer to win it 97-96.)

The NBA keeps its +/- stats on this page. And it doesn't just keep one-player +/- stats. You can search for the best two-player combo, the best three-player combo, etc. It's really quite fascinating.

But can you guess what individual player is leading the NBA in +/-? I'll give you a hint: He plays for the Cavaliers. Of course, your first guess is likely to be LeBron James, and that would be a very good guess. But LeBron is actually #2 on this list, behind teammate ... wait for it ... Anderson Varejao.

Even after last night's stinker, the Cavs have outscored their opponents by a grand total of 337 points with Andy on the floor this season. LeBron is next with +332, followed by Kobe Bryant at +319, then Lakers teammate Ron Artest at +299, and the Hawks' Josh Smith rounds out the top five at +292. Naturally, all the top names on this list are members of the NBA's best teams, but would you have expected the #1 guy to be someone who comes off the bench?

This obviously doesn't mean Varejao is the NBA's best player. Far from it. But it does indicate that he's been a huge factor in the Cavaliers' 30-11 record at the halfway point in the season, and he's going to have to continue to play at the same level if the Cavaliers are going to keep winning at the clip they've been.

Put the baby back in his crib

All right, I don't really think Josh Cribbs is being a baby; I was going for a cheap pun. But still, I think he's acting like a bit of a spoiled brat.

Cribbs is under contract for the next three years -- a six-year, $6.77 million contract he signed before he set an NFL record for kick return TDs, and before he reached two Pro Bowls. That's the risk you take signing a long-term contract, and the Browns are under no obligation to restructure it. Still, they've offered him a raise to $1.4 million per season. Cribbs calls that offer insulting.

Listen, it's his right to ask for a better contract, and given that he's been the Browns' best player the last few years, maybe he deserves it. But he signed that contract. I wasn't there when he signed it, but I'm pretty confident that there wasn't a gun pointed at his head when he did it. And for him to call $1.4 million an insult is itself an insult to the fans who buy season tickets with their $50,000 salaries (or whatever). OK, he wants more money. Who doesn't. OK, the Browns would be a lesser team without him, and maybe he's worth more than $1.4 million to them. I would imagine that once Mike Holmgren gets his bearings, he'll make a better offer, just to keep Cribbs happy. But he doesn't have to.

I just read that Cribbs uses Twitter, and tweeted the following, in two tweets: "Thanks for all the support everyone and your words of encouragement...wise man once told me..." "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

What a load of garbage. Asking for more money is not standing for something. It's just wanting more money. I love Josh Cribbs as a player, and I hope he stays here, but on this issue, I think he's full of something other than himself. (Though he's obviously full of that too.)

Good gravy, the Browns have won four straight!

Do you know how many NFL teams ended the 2009 season with at least four straight wins? Three. The AFC West champion Chargers, who have won their last 11; the Texans, who finished 9-7 and only missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker; and your Cleveland Browns. Do you know how many times the Browns have won four straight games since returning to the league as an expansion team? One. The last four games of the 2009 season.

And a team that was once 1-11 won their last four to finish 5-11. What are the odds of that? Has that ever happened before? I checked the Elias Sports Bureau's "Elias Says," and they don't have any information about that, but they do point out that Pro Bowler Josh Cribbs is only the second player in league history to score touchdowns on a kickoff return, a punt return, a reception and a rush (Brian Westbrook is the other); and with 127 rushing yards in Sunday's finale against the Jaguars, Jerome Harrison racked up 561 yards over the last three games, the second-highest total in league history (O.J. Simpson had 647 in 1976).

The Browns have known for months that they weren't going to get into the playoffs, but the visiting Jaguars went into yesterday's game with a 7-8 record and a chance, albeit a very slim one, of qualifying for the postseason tournament. But it was the Browns who looked as if they were playing for something yesterday. They closed the season with a 23-17 victory that would have been 23-10 if not for the Jags' meaningless final drive. There was never any doubt about this one.

The Browns won despite just 86 passing yards from Derek Anderson, probably in his last start as a Brown, possibly in his last game as a Brown. But Anderson only threw the ball 11 times, completing seven. He did throw a pick. But this game was won on the ground, with another fine performance from Harrison, plus 47 rushing yards from Cribbs and 38 yards from Chris Jennings. Jennings turned in a fine performance off the bench. Remember that run where he was trapped behind the line of scrimmage, then reversed course and wound up going for 11 yards? That kid's got talent.

And the Browns' defense played well too, holding the Jaguars to 328 total yards. Eric Mangini is a defense-minded coach, and should be pleased with the strides his defense has made this year. If he's back next year, presumably a new offensive coordinator will come in and run Mike Holmgren's preferred West Coast offense. I'd think they could work that out. If not, Mangini has made a case for his next job.

Either way, I can't wait to see this Browns team next year.

Buckeyes get the monkey off

Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes needed this one -- not just because it was a chance to finish strong, but for the long-term credibility of the Ohio State football program, and even the entire Big Ten. Ohio State came into the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi on Friday on a three-game bowl losing streak, and came out with an impressive 26-17 win over the #8 Oregon Ducks. And no Big Ten team had won a BCS bowl since January 2006, when the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and Penn State beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Terrelle Pryor was the obvious MVP, having played the best game of his two-year collegiate career. He threw for a career-high 266 yards on 23-of-37 passing. He threw two touchdown passes and one interception. He also rushed for a Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi-high 72 yards, and got some big first downs with his feet. There were times when he seemed too quick to run, and maybe should have tried to hit a running back on a hot route or something of that nature, but these are minor quibbles. Pryor played a heck of a game.

Give the Buckeye defense a lot of credit for this victory in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi. They gave up some big running plays to LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, but they held Jeremiah Masoli and the high-powered Ducks passing game in check. Masoli's numbers were terrible -- 9-for-20, 80 yards, no touchdowns, one pick. And while he did run for a touchdown, Masoli only gained nine yards on the ground, on six carries. Without an effective passing game to lean on, the Ducks only got 12 first downs in the game, to the Buckeyes' 26; and were just 2-for-11 on third down conversions. And the Buckeyes win their first Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi since 1997, when it was just called the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes have become the Big Ten's standard-bearer in the Tressel era, having won or shared six conference titles in Tressel's nine years here, including each of the last five. They've won the Big Ten's only national title in that time, and have won four of the five BCS games the Big Ten has won this century. (Iowa has a chance to add to that total in Tuesday's Orange Bowl.) With Michigan down and out the last couple of years, and nobody else stepping up to challenge them, the Buckeyes have dominated this conference. That has enabled Ohio State to play in eight BCS bowls, the most of any school since the BCS' inception in 1998. May it continue into 2010 and beyond.

You can't stop these Cavs

For the second time in less than a week, the Cavaliers beat one of the NBA's best teams on the road last night. The Atlanta Hawks came into the game with a 21-8 record and were looking like serious contenders for an Eastern Conference title. And they played our boys tough through three quarters. The Cavs were up just one point, 75-74, going into the fourth. But nearly nine minutes into that fourth quarter, the Cavs had scored 10 points, and the Hawks had scored ZERO. Zilch. Nada. Bupkis.

After a timeout, the Hawks finally found their offense, and scored 10 over the next two minutes, but the Cavs answered most of their scores and came out with a 95-84 win. Over that eight-plus-minute scoreless stretch, the Hawks took 10 shots and missed every single one. It was a singularly impressive defensive effort by the Cavs. Radio announcer Joe Tait said he'd never seen a team go scoreless that long before, and Joe Tait has watched an awful lot of basketball. And these weren't the Washington Generals — the Hawks are the Eastern Conference's highest-scoring team, averaging nearly 105 per game.

Another thing to note: The Cavs won despite just 14 points from LeBron James, on 6-for-20 shooting; and they won despite turning it over 18 times, including seven by Mo Williams.

After demolishing the Lakers in LA on Christmas and putting this effort together last night in Atlanta, these Cavaliers are looking unstoppable.

Oh, and the Cavaliers are rolling too

After falling behind 16-4 in the early going against the Rockets yesterday, the Cavaliers came back to outscore them 92-67 the rest of the way.

The Cavs have now won four straight, including a highly impressive 15-point win on the road against the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Cavs are now 24-8 on the season, after losing their first two; and have won nine of their last 10. They have the NBA's third-best record, behind the Lakers and Celtics, and have just proven they can beat LA on the road. Their first chance to prove the same about Boston comes Feb. 25, but whether they win or lose that game, these Cavaliers are a very strong contender for an NBA title.

Browns are unstoppable!

It's amazing how three short weeks can change the entire outlook of a football team. After losing to San Diego on Dec. 6, the Browns were 1-11 and looking like they might never win another football game. Three straight wins later, and suddenly our boys look like they might actually make a splash in 2010, and Eric Mangini looks like he might actually have some idea what the Sam Hill he's doing.

Yesterday's 23-9 win over the Raiders was not exactly textbook football, but hey, a win's a win. The Raiders lost that game more than the Browns won it. Both Browns touchdowns were set up by huge mistakes by the Raiders. Jerome Harrison's 17-yard run was pretty, and he went through a gaping hole the line made for him, but it only happened because Raiders quarterback Charlie Frye made a terrible decision that led to a David Bowens interception two plays earlier.

And Derek Anderson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi just before the half was a fine throw and catch, but that was set up by a pair of boneheaded Oakland mistakes that should embarrass the crap out of the Raiders. They provided them 30 yards via penalty on that drive: a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call against Richard Seymour, and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call against Stanford Routt that was so heinous it got him tossed.

Anderson was workmanlike in his return to the starting role, following Brady Quinn's injury last week. He completed eight of 17 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown, and didn't turn the ball over. When you've got Harrison running for 148 yards — about half what he got last week, but still impressive — that's plenty of production from your quarterback. The Browns were actually outgained by a fairly significant margin in this game (389 yards to 282), but the fact that Frye threw three interceptions and Anderson threw zero made all the difference.

The Browns finish up next Sunday against the 7-8 Jacksonville Jaguars, who were eliminated from playoff contention yesterday after a 35-7 blowout loss to the Patriots. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the Browns will win that game and finish the season on a four-game winning streak. That ought to set a nice tone for '10!

Quinn not so mighty

So it turns out Brady Quinn hurt his foot on that 24-yard scramble in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Chiefs, and his season is over. Quinn got the starting job out of training camp, then lost it at halftime of the third game of the season, then regained it a few weeks later after former Pro Bowler Derek Anderson was even worse. And so the Derek Anderson era begins again in Cleveland, almost certainly for the very last time. Unless Anderson gets hurt too, he'll start the last two games of the season, and quite likely never wear a Browns uniform again. If he is back next year, he'll probably be the third-stringer, behind Quinn and whoever else Mike Holmgren picks up in the offseason.

Quinn had an uneven year, to be sure. He completed 53% of his passes, throwing eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions. His 67.3 passer rating is 26th in the NFL, sandwiched between down-and-out veterans Marc Bulger and Kerry Collins. But he did improve over the course of the year, according to his coach. Eric Mangini says he was impressed with the way Quinn adapted the no-huddle offense, and of course he did go for a stretch of 150 passes without throwing an interception before having two picked by the Chiefs. And he didn't exactly have Jerry Rice and John Taylor to throw to. Guys like Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie may yet develop into stars, but they're rookies right now, and play like it most of the time. Quinn definitely showed some promise this year, and with just 13 NFL games under his belt, he looks like he could really become something.

Sunday's game against the Raiders will be Anderson's seventh start of the season, and there's precious little reason to expect much out of him. His passer rating of 36.2 would be dead last in the league by a wide margin if he had enough attempts to qualify, and it seems like eons since his Pro Bowl year of 2007. This is his fifth chance to be the starter. The Raiders are pretty bad, so it's possible that he'll luck into a victory the way he did against Buffalo, but I'd be shocked if he does very much.

Cleveland is Holmgren's new home

In case you haven't heard, Mike Holmgren is now running the Browns' front office. As my Chicago friend Mark Spencer put it, he's an accomplished football man, and I'm cautiously optimistic about having him here. I think he'll do a fine job.

I should mention that the new Browns have a history of hiring people who have had success in the NFL, but not in the roles they were hired for in Cleveland, and they've proven unequal to the task. That's not to say that will happen with Holmgren, but he's had his greatest success as a head coach. He took the Packers to two Super Bowls, winning one, and took the Seahawks to one also. When he was first hired in Seattle, he was executive vice president and general manager, in addition to being head coach. That position is probably somewhat analogous to the job he's taken in Cleveland, though at this time, there's no strong indication that he'll become the head coach (but that could certainly happen). He was fired from the front-office job after the 2002 season, but stayed on as coach. Maybe if he just does one or the other, he'll be successful. I guess we'll see. I look forward to finding out.

Two in a row? Yeah, that's right!

Never mind that the second win in the Browns' two-game winning streak came against one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Browns are also one of the worst teams in the NFL, so any win is worth celebrating.

The story of the Browns' 41-34 win over the Kansas City Chiefs obviously centers around Josh Cribbs and Jerome Harrison, both of whom set records in the game. Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, both for three-digit yardage, and they were his seventh and eighth career kickoff returns for touchdowns. That makes him, at age 26, the NFL's career leader in scores on kickoff returns; the previous record of six was held by five others. Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest kickoff returner in NFL history plays for the Cleveland Browns. Not bad for a guy who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Kent State in 2005. Just think of that! Any team in the NFL could have had him, instead of whoever they drafted in the seventh round that year. Without looking at the draft list, I'd wager every last one of them would trade that player for Cribbs.

But Harrison was just as good in this game, if not better. And his story is every bit as unlikely. Harrison came into the game with just 301 rushing yards this season, and just 750 in his four-year career, most of which has been spent as Jamal Lewis' backup. But he ran wild over the Chiefs yesterday, piling up 286 yards, the best single-game rushing performance in Browns history (any time you can break a record held by Jim Brown, that's got to feel pretty good) and the third-best in NFL history, behind the aforementioned Mr. Lewis and the Vikings' Adrian Peterson. Had the game gone into overtime, he'd have probably gotten the record — though I'm sure he's glad it didn't.

Harrison scored three rushing touchdowns, running it in from 71, 8, and 28 yards. It seemed like every time he was handed the ball, he was snapping off at least seven or eight yards. Harrison totally dominated the second half, much as Cribbs dominated the first half. He benefited from some great blocking up front — the same great blocking that allowed Brady Quinn to rush for 39 yards on just four carries — but credit Harrison for making the most of the opportunity.

Speaking of Harrison, I got this curious e-mail from regular Of Fair Hooker correspondent Jeff Brown:

What do you make of Jerome Harrison? Some game, eh? (third highest rushing total in the history of the No Fun League!)

However, what do you make of his "hot dogging" at the end of his last touchdown run, where he straddled the goal line and taunted the defender who was feebly trying to chase him down?

Jeff is a close friend, and I respect his observational ability, but I have no idea where he came up with that. Harrison was not hot-dogging, and I surely didn't see any taunting. With less than a minute left in the game as the Browns were scoring a tie-breaking touchdown, it seemed obvious to me that Harrison was just trying to tick a couple of seconds more off the clock, and give Matt Cassel just a little bit less time to work with.

Regardless, in this dismal season the Browns have had, this was one to remember. With all the talk of Mike Holmgren coming in and possibly taking over the coaching reins in addition to a hypothetical GM role, this must have felt great to Eric Mangini and his staff. And it's far from inconceivable that the Browns could make it three in a row next week against the 5-9 Raiders, though they're playing better lately too, winning three of their last five, including an improbable 20-19 upset of the Broncos yesterday. I sure look forward to watching that game, and I don't think I've said that about the Browns all year.

Moon those Nets

I'm not sure how the New Jersey Nets, a team that came into the game with a 2-22 record, managed to stay within 10 points of the Cavaliers last night at the Q. It was a lethargic effort by what is supposed to be one of the NBA's elite teams. The Cavs led by eight after one quarter, and then pretty much coasted the rest of the way. LeBron had an un-LeBron-like 23, though he did lead all scorers. The twin towers, Shaq and Z, each had 16, which was pretty big.

But the thing that stands out about this game was Devin Harris' mugging of Jamario Moon while Moon tried to go in for a layup on a fast break, after Shaq stole the ball from Harris on the other end of the court. Harris says he was going for the ball, and that may be true, but what he got was Moon's head. He clotheslined him down to the floor and was immediately grabbed by LeBron, with Shaq coming in from behind to join the fray. The officials called it a flagrant-2, which is an automatic ejection, then spent the better part of 10 minutes looking at the tape to make sure they were justified in tossing Harris. I can't imagine why it took so long — I mean, the guy tackled someone by the head, which isn't even legal in the NFL — but they did eventually make the right decision. By all accounts, Harris isn't considered a dirty player, but that was just plain ugly.

In any case, the Cavs have the 6-18 Philadelphia 76ers tonight. Five of the Cavs' seven losses this year have been to sub-.500 teams, so let's hope they don't sleepwalk through another one.

That actually happened

Yes, the rumors are true. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I might not have believed it. Our pathetic Cleveland Browns actually defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers last night, 13-6. Sure, these Steelers are not playing like the Steelers who edged the Cardinals last January for the title, as the Browns handed them their fifth-straight loss last night. Still, this was our first victory over Pittsburgh since 2003 (when Tim Couch was the quarterback!), and I don't know about you, but I intend to savor it. How did the Browns do it? There were two main factors: a fine defensive effort, and another overall outstanding game from Josh Cribbs.

The Cleveland defense was just phenomenal. Ben Roethlisberger, who had never lost to the Browns in 10 previous meetings, got sacked eight times. Eight times! Credit the pass rush, but even more, credit the coverage. Roethlisberger got sacked because he couldn't find anyone open, and the Browns' front seven wouldn't let him get out of the pocket. Roethlisberger put up decent passing numbers (18-for-32, 204 yards, no picks), but he was unable to make the big throw or big run that would change the game. The Browns stuffed the Steelers' running game too, holding Rashard Mendenhall to 52 yards on 18 carries.

And what can I say about Cribbs? That man was unstoppable. Not only did his 55-yard punt return set up the Browns' first field goal, but he kept snapping off big runs out of the wildcat formation. He was the game's leading rusher, going for 87 yards on just eight carries — including a 37-yarder, in which he broke a couple of tackles, that helped set up the Browns' touchdown near the end of the first half. Credit the offensive line, too — they opened up some nice holes for Cribbs and Chris Jennings, who scored that touchdown and rushed for 73 yards himself.

Brady Quinn was awful, throwing for just 90 yards on 6-of-19. He didn't turn the ball over, and the importance of that shouldn't be overlooked. But he really made some bad throws, especially in the second half, when things were getting tight.

But that's not important right now. What's important is that the Browns beat the Steelers last night. Sing it from the rooftops. Yes, we're 2-11, but right now, things seem OK in Browns Town.

Thanks for the memories, Jamal

Thanks to a concussion, the best offensive player in the short history of the New Browns has completed his sterling NFL career. Jamal Lewis, who ends his career 21st on the NFL's all-time rushing list, announced several weeks ago that he would hang up his cleats after this season, and he is now done for the season. He rushed for 10,607 yards in his career, the last 2,806 of which were for the Browns.

Lewis' best moment as a pro, as we all must remember, came in a Ravens uniform, in a game against the Browns. On September 14, 2003, Lewis ran wild over the Browns defense, going for an NFL-record 295 yards on 30 carries, including touchdown runs of 82 and 63 yards. He was busting long runs left and right, and the Browns were helpless to stop him. Lewis rushed for 2,066 yards that year, the second-best rushing season in NFL history, behind Eric Dickerson's 2,105 in 1984.

His career appeared to be slowing down when he came to the Browns in 2007, but he rattled off two straight 1,000-yard seasons in the brown and orange. His 1,304-yard total in 2007 was by far the best rushing season in the history of the New Browns, and the best total by any Brown in my lifetime. In fact, the great Jim Brown is the only one to top that total in a Browns uniform. Lewis will be joining Brown in Canton in a few years. I'm glad to have seen him on our team in the twilight years of his career, and wish him the best of luck in his post-career endeavors.

And so it continues

So you say you're dying to hear my thoughts on yesterday's Browns game? Here they are: It sucked.

What? You were hoping for more? All right, here's more: It really sucked.

Fine, I'll give you some thoughts, in no particular order.

• Losing to division rivals is always unpleasant, especially in this division. We have a special brand of hatred for each of our AFC North foes. Our hatred for the Bengals is probably an 8 or a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 — which makes them by far the least hated of the three, but it still hurts a little every time we lose to them. Still, would you rather they win the division, or Pittsburgh or Baltimore? By that logic, it's not so bad.

• Shaun Rogers' penalty at the end of the first half was typical of this Browns season. He tackled Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer from behind, by the shoulders, which is now called a horse-collar tackle and has been a personal foul in the NFL since 2005. This happened with no time left on the clock, and gave the Bengals enough yardage to kick a field goal. It didn't really affect the outcome of the game, but imagine if the Browns had managed to score another touchdown in the fourth quarter and lost 16-14. That field goal would have been huge.

• The Bengals out-gained the Browns, 306 yards to 169. The defensive effort was not bad at all, but once again, the offense was hideous. Brady Quinn, coming off his best game as a pro in last week's loss to Detroit, went 15-for-34 for 100 yards. Quinn did make a nice catch on a Josh Cribbs pass from the wildcat formation, and he also scored the Browns' only touchdown with his legs, but this was not a strong effort. And it was the seventh time the Browns have been held under 10 points this year.

• Speaking of the Browns' defense, they held Palmer to 110 yards passing on 13-of-24. But they did allow more than 200 yards on the ground, including Larry Johnson's first 100-yard effort since last year, when he was with the Chiefs. Still, the defense was good enough to win, had the offense done anything.

• The Browns are one of three 1-10 teams in the league, which of course is significant because they have a shot at the first pick in next year's draft. The Browns' remaining schedule includes two games they could conceivably win, against Kansas City and Oakland, who are both 3-8. The other two 1-10 teams — the Buccaneers and the Rams – have no real cupcakes left on their schedules. The Buccaneers' only win is against 7-4 Green Bay, which puts a win against someone like 4-7 Seattle or 4-7 Carolina within the realm of possibility. But the Rams' only win was against the 2-9 Lions. All but one of their remaining games are against sub-.500 opponents, but I can't see them beating any of them, even the 4-7 Bears. But we'll see, I guess.

Turkey day fun

Since I have nothing much going on today, I wanted to blog about something, but there's not much going on today in Cleveland sports. So I'm going to write about my Thanksgiving.

I learned a fun new party game yesterday at my wife's parents' house -- spoons, in which spoons are placed in the middle of the table, everybody gets four cards and passes cards around the table until somebody has four of a kind, then that person grabs a spoon, at which point everybody tries to grab a spoon. But since there is one spoon fewer than the number of players, somebody always loses. And if two people are grabbing a spoon at the same time, it becomes a battle of strength. At one point, I accidentally elbowed my mother-in-law in the face trying to pull a spoon out of the middle, then had to fight her for that spoon. I got it from her, by the way. There's something very strange about forcibly pulling something out of your mother-in-law's hand, even if it is just a game.

So it's kind of like musical chairs, but with spoons. And it's a fun way to mangle your friends and family. There were lots of broken fingernails and such, though nobody broke any bones, that I know of. There was biting, though -- and not a quick nibble, but a long, drawn-out "my teeth aren't letting go of your forearm until your hand lets go of that spoon" type of thing. And at one point, my pregnant wife, who was next to me at the end of the table and therefore had to stand to grab a spoon, knocked her chair over in standing up, but didn't realize she had knocked her chair over, and when she went to sit back down in her chair, fell all the way to the floor. I should add that nobody laughed at her until they made sure she was OK.

It's a rough game. And I look forward to playing it again soon.

1-15, here we come

Brady Quinn had by far his best day as a pro in yesterday's game against the Lions, and when he completed his fourth touchdown pass of the day to Michael Gaines, it looked good for the Browns to get their second win of the season. A Jamal Lewis run for a 2-point conversion gave the Browns a 37-31 lead with 5:44 to play. But ...

Phil Dawson's kickoff went out of bounds, giving Matthew Stafford and the Lions the ball at the 40. Fortunately, the drive ended with a Brodney Pool interception at the goal line with 3:40 left on the clock, giving Quinn and the Browns' offense the chance to put it away. The Browns managed to get one first down, taking the ball as far as their own 42 before they had to punt -- forcing the Lions to use the rest of their timeouts in the process.

Browns punter Reggie Hodges is no Dave Zastudil, but he sure did his job on this one, punting it 47 yards to the Lions' 11, where former Brown Dennis Northcutt fielded it and returned it one yard to the 12. So with 1:46 to go, the Lions had to go 88 yards with no timeouts. ... And the Browns employed what we all know to be the worst defensive scheme in the world, the prevent. It's intended to prevent big gains by allowing smaller ones. And in Eric Mangini and Rob Ryan's defense (no pun intended), it almost worked. The Lions did manage a few 11- to 17-yard gains, but their receivers were unable to get out of bounds to stop the clock, so at least in theory, the time off the clock was worth the yardage for the Browns.

When the clock got to 0:08 with the Lions having the ball at the Browns' 32, things were looking pretty good. They had one shot, maybe two, at the end zone. They might have been able to complete a quick pass to the sideline to get a little closer, but that's a risky proposition because the Browns were covering the sidelines pretty well. So they took one shot at a touchdown. The Browns put on a three-man rush and dropped everybody back to cover the end zone. It worked like a charm, as Pool intercepted Stafford's hail mary.

But Hank Poteat pulled the boner of the year, tackling a receiver who probably wouldn't have had a shot at the ball anyway. A defensive pass interference call in the end zone gives the offense the ball at the 1, and because the game can't end on a defensive penalty, the Lions got one more chance even though there was no time left on the clock. But Stafford got hurt on the previous play, meaning the Lions had to send out a completely un-warmed-up Daunte Culpepper to run the play. The Lions had no timeouts left, so there was nothing to be done about it. Presumably, Culpepper would just hand the ball off, since you can't expect a cold quarterback to throw the ball, or even run it himself.

And that's when Mangini pulled the coaching boner of the year, calling a timeout that gave the Lions a chance to evaluate Stafford and decide he had one more play in him. I understand that Mangini wanted to take a minute and make sure he had his defense set up properly, but it seems he totally failed to take into account the benefit the Lions would derive from a timeout. As we all know, Stafford came in and threw a touchdown pass that tied the game, and Jason Hanson's extra point ended it.

Hank Poteat feels awful for causing that penalty, and while it was a stupid thing for him to do, it was done in the heat of battle. Mangini has no excuse for calling that timeout.

The Browns have six games left. The schedule goes like this: Cincinnati (currently 7-3), San Diego (7-3), Pittsburgh (6-4), Kansas City (3-7), Oakland (3-7), and Jacksonville (6-4). The Raiders have looked terrible at times, but they managed to beat the Bengals yesterday behind backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. If he plays, the Browns will lose that game. Kansas City has had a bad year too, but they beat the Steelers yesterday. I have a hard time imagining the Browns managing to get another win this year. Yesterday's game was their best shot, and they blew a 21-point lead against one of the NFL's worst teams. This team is cruising for 1-15, which would make them the worst team in Browns' history -- even worse than Tim Couch's 2-14 expansion team in '99.

The Onion picks on LeBron

No doubt playing off LeBron James' recent announcement that he would shed the number 23 in honor of Michael Jordan, and asked other players to do the same, the fine satirists at The Onion have put up a story about LeBron deciding to stop jumping during games, because that's what MJ did best. And yes, he wants other players to stop jumping too.

It's a joke, of course, but like a lot of The Onion's content, the headline is funnier than the story. And it ends with a mention of LeBron going out after making this statement and scoring 38 points Wednesday against the last-place Wizards with his feet flat on the floor. He did in fact score 34 points in a loss to the Wizards. They might as well have gotten that detail right.

Countdown to The Game

Yes, Ohio State plays Michigan at noon tomorrow. Yes, in this part of the country, that's always a big game. But it's been quite a while since The Game has meant this little. In recent years, at least one of the teams has always been playing for a BCS berth, if not a spot in the National Championship game.

This year? The Buckeyes are going to the Rose Bowl, win or lose; and the Wolverines are just trying to get out of last place in the Big Ten. At 5-6 overall (1-6 in the conference), Michigan would be bowl-eligible with a win, but so the heck what? These are not the Wolverines of Bo Schembechler or Lloyd Carr. This is perhaps a slightly better Michigan team than the one that went 3-9 (2-6) last year, but Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has probably got one more season to turn this thing around.

The Buckeyes are 13-point favorites tomorrow, but if they don't win by at least 20, they should be embarrassed. And they do at least have a national ranking to play for. They could get into the top 10 in the nation with a win tomorrow in Ann Arbor. If they then win the Rose Bowl, maybe they get into the top five. It's not a national championship, but I'd take it.

I'm not sure how I feel about Michigan being so cruddy right now. Sure, it's nice that we get a chance to whale on them, but part of being an Ohio State fan is being involved in arguably college football's biggest rivalry. If Michigan sucks, what rivalry is there?

Cavs' streak ends

The Cavaliers' five-game winning streak came to an end last night in a 108-91 loss to a Washington Wizards team that broke its own six-game losing streak in the process. How can this be? Well:

• Antawn Jamison was playing his first game of the season, after missing the Wizards' first nine games with a shoulder injury, and returned with a vengeance, scoring 31 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. He was a monster.
  
• The Cavaliers were playing the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, while the Wizards had been off the previous three days. And it was pretty obvious that played a part, as the Cavs got off to a fast start — up 17 in the second quarter — but faded down the stretch.
  
• The Cavs were without Shaquille O'Neal or Anderson Varejao, which left them with a combination of a suddenly very old Zydrunas Ilgauskas, J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson to man the post. And they simply couldn't hang. Z and Jackson each scored 10 points, but Hickson had his worst game in recent memory.
• Mo Williams, a very hot-and-cold shooter, was cold as ice in this one, going 2-for-13 from the floor.
• The Cavaliers committed 26 fouls, to the Wizards' 15. Whether that's because the Cavs actually fouled more or because the officials were calling the Cavs more tightly in enemy territory, it was definitely a factor. The Wizards went 31-of-35 from the line, the Cavaliers 14-of-15. That 17-point edge is equal to the differential in the final score.
  
• And the man the folks all pay to see, LeBron James, had a bad second half. He put up typical numbers — 34 points, nine assists — but turned the ball over six times, committed four fouls plus a technical, missed some shots badly, and while he had some fine moments, he totally failed to take control of the game. He also hurt his left wrist on a dunk, though it seems unlikely that it will make him miss any time. Hey, even superstars have off nights.

Speaking of that technical foul, it came after one of the most ludicrously bad calls I've ever seen in my life. LeBron drove the lane and was practically tackled by DeShawn Stevenson, but the official called a freaking jump ball. I can't imagine what he was looking at.

The Cavaliers now stand at 8-4, half a game ahead of Milwaukee for first place in the Central Division. This is a very good team that had a bad night.

Whatever, LeBron

So LeBron James is going to give up his #23 next year in honor of his hero, Michael Jordan. That's all well and good. I thought it was kind of dumb for him to choose that number in the first place, given that it was already associated with a player that many observers consider the greatest of all time. I felt he should have chosen a different number and blaze his own trail. But he chose #23 to honor Jordan, and now he wants to give it up for the same reason.

But he isn't stopping there. He wants all NBA players to give up #23. And he has precedent to lean on, from other sports. Major League Baseball has retired Jackie Robinson's #42, and the NHL has retired Wayne Gretzky's #99, so why shouldn't the NBA do the same?

Well, if you ask me, both of those gestures were silly to begin with, but regardless, they're different situations. Robinson's number wasn't retired because he was a great player (though, of course, he was). It was retired because he was the player who broke the color line. Really, that example has no bearing on LeBron's idea.

Gretzky is a much closer comparison. There are very few observers who do not believe Gretzky was the greatest who ever played hockey, and that's why his number is retired. But the thing about Gretzky's number is that he was given #99 to begin with because everybody knew he was special. As far as I know, he's the only player ever to wear #99 in hockey. It would be sacrilege for any other player to even consider it. There have been dozens and dozens of #23's in basketball. Sure, everybody associates it with Jordan, but it's obviously far from unthinkable for other players to wear it, unless they're playing for the Bulls. And while Jordan may be the consensus choice for greatest ever, can we all agree that he was better than Oscar Robertson or Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain or Magic Johnson or Larry Bird or ...? I'm not prepared to make that judgment. And you can't retire all those numbers league-wide.

So I don't see any reason for the NBA to retire #23 for every team, but I do think it's a positive step for LeBron to give it up, so he can have a number that's not already associated with one of the all-time greats. The number he's switching to? It's #6, the number worn by his second-favorite player, Julius Erving. ... Oh, LeBron.

I just hope that whatever number he winds up with, it's on a Cavaliers jersey.

Browns sell out, Lewis pops off

So it seems the Browns sold out Monday night's game against the Ravens just in time to avoid a blackout. I guess enough people are eager to see Brady Quinn's triumphant return (OK, his return, anyway) to the starter's job. I don't have high hopes for him or the team in general, but as it turns out, I've got Tuesday off from work, so I'll stay up and watch it. That doesn't mean I'm happy about how late it will start, but I keep harping on that, and even I'm tired of hearing me say it.

In other Browns-related news, Jamal Lewis popped off yesterday about how hard Coach Mangini is working the team. Money quote: "You can work hard as you want. You can work all day, seven days a week all the way up to Sunday in practice. But at the same time, if you're going to work like that, then maybe on Sunday you're probably not going to get what you want out of your players."

Lewis went on and on like that. Lewis is frustrated, as well he should be. He's having the worst season of his 10-year career as an individual, and this is no doubt the worst team he's ever played on. I don't think he should be running his mouth to reporters instead of talking to his coach, but since he's planning to retire after this season anyway, he really has nothing to lose. I'd bet there are other players on the team who feel the same way, and maybe they're right. I liked the Mangini hire when they made it, but now I'm thinking he was the wrong guy at the wrong time.

We need mo' Mo

In a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers took the Orlando Magic to the woodshed last night, in a game that was never as close as the final score indicated. The Cavs' lead was in the 20s all night, until the Magic outscored them 25-14 in garbage time, aka the fourth quarter.

We were all anxious to see how Shaquille O'Neal would do against Dwight Howard, who manhandled the Cavs in the aforementioned series last spring, and he did not disappoint. Though Howard did not miss a shot from the floor, he only took three, and finished with 11 points. He was also in foul trouble for much of the contest. (As was Shaq, I might add.) Shaq only scored 10, but his job is no longer to be the offensive force he used to be — not on a team with LeBron James.

Speaking of the King, he was his usual self, pouring in 36 points to go with eight rebounds. And Mo Williams was just phenomenal in leading the Cavs to their big first-half lead — they were up 15 at the half, led by Mo's 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting, including four three-pointers. Mo cooled off in the second half, but still wound up with 28 on the night.

And J.J. Hickson, starting at power forward, made a real positive conribution. Hickson had nine points and six rebounds in just 23 minutes, and always seemed to be around the ball. Hickson's plus-minus for the game was +13, which was tops on the team.

Next up, the Cavs have Dwyane Wade and the Heat tonight. It'll be a tough assignment, coming on the second day of a back-to-back, but I look forward to seeing it.

A satisfying Belcher

New Tribe manager Manny Acta has begun assembling his staff, starting with new pitching coach Tim Belcher. Belcher grew up in Sparta, Ohio, about a two-hour drive from Progressive Field down I-71. He pitched 14 seasons in the bigs, winning 146 games. He spent the last eight years with a much longer title in the Indians organization: special assistant to the baseball operations department. You don't know what that means? Well, according to Paul Hoynes' Plain Dealer article:

As a special assistant, Belcher worked with the Indians player development system in instructing and evaluating pitching talent at every level in the minor league system. He also scouted other teams, providing advance scouting reports for the last several years for the Tribe's big-league coaching staff.

It's hard to evaluate managers, and even harder to evaluate pitching coaches, especially pitching coaches who have never been pitching coaches before. We do know that the Indians have developed a few fine pitching prospects the last few years, with varying degrees of success at the big-league level, and perhaps Belcher deserves some credit for that. But perhaps not.

Who's the worst?

Now that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have erased the goose-egg in their win column, there are no winless teams left in the NFL. So there are now five teams tied with the worst record, at 1-7: Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, and ... well, you know who the fifth team is. So those teams are in a race of sorts for the first pick in the 2010 draft. If the Browns get that pick, it will surely rescue the franchise, as we've seen how well this organization has done with the first overall pick. (OK, that was unfair. The Tim Couch and Courtney Brown selections were made several regimes ago; even the owner has changed since then. Still, it goes to show that a top pick is far from a panacea.)

But the question for today's post is not which team is most likely to get the top draft pick. The question I wish to explore is, which is the worst team in the National Football League? Let's take them all individually, in no particular order, using the major stats along with a few lesser-considered ones:

1. Browns: Lose by an average score of 26.1 to 9.8 (-16.3); 31st in total offense; 32nd in total defense; 31st in third-down conversions; 23rd in opponents' third-down conversions; -11 in turnover ratio (which, by the way, is 32nd in the NFL).

2. Chiefs: Lose by an average score of 25.6 to 15.8 (-9.8); 30th in total offense; 30th in total defense; 32nd in third-down conversions; 22nd in opponents' third-down conversions; +1 in turnover ratio.

3. Rams: Lose by an average score of 27.6 to 9.6 (-18); 26th in total offense; 27th in total defense; 24th in third-down conversions; 32nd in opponents' third-down conversions; -7 in turnover ratio.

4. Buccaneers: Lose by an average score of 28.9 to 16.8 (-12.1); 28th in total offense; 29th in total defense; 25th in third-down conversions; 29th in opponents' third-down conversions; -2 in turnover ratio.

5. Lions: Lose by an average score of 29.6 to 16.6 (-13); 25th in total offense; 25th in total defense; 16th in third-down conversions; 16th in third-down conversions allowed; -4 in turnover ratio.

These are all dreadful teams, obviously. The Chiefs are the only ones who lose by less than 10 points a game, probably because they're also the only ones with a favorable turnover ratio. The Lions have the best rankings in the other stats I chose.

So that leaves the Browns, Bucs and Rams for the title of worst. The Rams have been outscored the most, the Browns take the cake for worst combination of yards gained vs. yards allowed. The Buccaneers have no such claims, so it's between the Rams and Browns. I think the Browns have managed to do slightly better on the scoreboard, despite the obvious inferiority of their main units, because of the superiority of their special teams. We all know about Josh Cribbs, and the Browns' one win this season was largely because of a great effort by Dave Zastudil and the punt team.

So the worst team in the NFL is the St. Louis Rams, with the Browns a very close second. Does anybody wonder why there are still tickets available to next Monday's game against the Ravens? Why would anyone want to stay out past midnight on a school night to watch the NFL's second-worst team most likely get clobbered? I'm kind of hoping that game doesn't sell out, because then it will be on TV, and I'll feel compelled to waste my evening watching it.

Pryor shines in homecoming

The Buckeyes are in control of their own destiny — at least in terms of winning another Big Ten title — in large part because of Pennsylvania native Terrelle Pryor's big game in his home state. Pryor passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one in Ohio State's commanding 24-7 victory over Penn State, and while his overall numbers weren't particularly impressive (8-for-17 passing for 125 yards; five rushes for 50 yards), he made some big plays and avoided any major mistakes. He missed an opportunity for a touchdown at the end of the first half when his throw to a wide-open Dane Sanzenbacher went long, but that was probably the biggest mistake he made, and you'll take that every time.

The Buckeye defense was fantastic, particularly against the Nittany Lions' running game. Evan Royster, who had averaged 95.4 yards a game coming in, went for just 36 yards on 13 carries yesterday, his lowest total of the season. They also held Daryll Clark to 125 yards passing, which was also his lowest total of the year; and got him for one interception, Ross Homan's pick midway through the fourth quarter, which short-circuited Penn State's attempt to mount a comeback.

If the Buckeyes can beat Iowa next week in the Horseshoe, they'll go to the Rose Bowl no matter what happens the following week against Michigan; the other teams that could tie them at 6-2 in the Big Ten would be Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin, which they would all have beaten this year under that scenario. And you have to like their chances against Iowa, as it appears Hawkeye quarterback Ricky Stanzi will miss the game after hurting his ankle in yesterday's loss to Northwestern. The Hawkeyes showed in that game that they aren't the same team without Stanzi, who probably would have led them to victory against the Mildcats.

Obviously, there will be no Big Ten team in the national championship this year, but if the Buckeyes get into the Rose Bowl and win it, they could get back into the top 10, and maybe even the top five. And if they do win the Big Ten, it would be the fifth straight year they've won or shared that title. That's definitely worth rooting for.

Baseball season is over

It had been nine years since the Yankees were able to spend their way to a championship. They came close in a couple of epic World Series — that 2001 series against the Diamondbacks was probably the best World Series I can remember — but fell each year to a team that had a lower payroll. Usually a much lower payroll. Last year, they didn't even make the playoffs, thanks to a bunch of young upstarts from Tampa Bay.

But these Yankees, the most expensive team ever assembled, would not be denied. All their high-priced stars contributed somewhere along the way, from A-Rod to CC to Jeter to Godzilla, the series MVP. (Speaking of which, they say he's got to go ...)

It's kind of hard for me to reflect on this series in any meaningful way, because (a) there wasn't much late-game drama, and (b) though I tried my best, I didn't manage to get through one single game without falling asleep, because they started so late and I get up early. I did wake up for the ends of a couple of them, including last night, but ... well, I won't belabor the point. (See my October 30 post for more thoughts about the time the games started; I would add that last night's game ended at almost midnight.)

And the New York Yankees have won their 27th title. I suppose we should be glad to have had eight seasons in there with someone else hoisting the trophy. May we go at least eight years before their next one.

Nice comeback

Last night's 102-90 win over the Wizards was the Cavaliers' first win over a good team this year, and was thanks in large part to the best performance so far of Shaquille O'Neal's five-game-old Cleveland career. The Big Witness put in 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, with eight rebounds, to nicely complement LeBron James' 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as the Cavs came back from a 39-21 second-quarter deficit to make the Wizards disappear.

It wasn't just the King-n-Shaq Show. Mo Williams knocked in 15 and Boobie Gibson added 14; and in fact, the Cavs pulled away in the fourth quarter, during which LeBron only played four minutes. But the main reason the Cavs won this game is because the Wizards had no answer to Shaq. That's the reason we got him, and it was great to see.

"Kokinis" rhymes with ... well, Venus

So George Kokinis' stint in Cleveland is over, after just eight games. The Browns are saying very little, but speculation is that even though Eric Mangini was instrumental in bringing Kokinis here, the two have not gotten along at all. So it seems Mangini won a power struggle against the guy he himself handpicked to be the general manager.

The GM is typically the guy who makes the personnel decisions, and the guy who discusses them with the media. When a trade is announced, for example, the GM usually makes the announcement. But who heard a peep from Kokinis when Braylon Edwards was traded? Did he actually have anything to do with that trade? Or did Mangini do it all himself? Did Kokinis, in fact, do anything at all for this team? Did he conduct the draft, or was that all Mangini? And if Mangini was the guy who put this dreadful team together, does Kokinis actually deserve to be fired? Probably, if all he did was collect a paycheck and stare out the window all day; but what about Mangini? Sure, it generally takes more than one season to turn a team around, but there is no question this team was better last year under Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel than it is this year under Mangini and Kokinis, er, Mangini again.

This Browns organization is rotten from the top down. I don't know how much blame team owner Randy Lerner deserves for this, but he did hire these guys. He says he's sick over the way the team has played, and I'm sure he means it. But he has more power to do something about it than anybody else in the world. And I've often said that the Browns, like the Chicago Cubs, don't have that much financial incentive to put a quality product on the field because they sell out all the time even if they're terrible. But guess what? Tickets are still available for their next game, Nov. 16 against the Ravens. I don't know about you, but I'm sure as shootin' not going to buy one, and I don't care that much if the game gets blacked out. Maybe Browns fans are finally going to insist that they get their money's worth, and maybe that will make some difference in the way the team is run.

I'm rambling a bit now; please accept my apology for that. Anyway, following this team at this point is a little bit like watching Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," because you know it's going to end in tragedy. The difference is, there's no poetic prose involved in this tragedy. Just some awful football.

Pathetic. Just pathetic.

Let me start off by saying I didn't watch the Browns' 30-6 loss to the Bears yesterday. It wasn't some sort of protest or conscientious objection, though if these Browns weren't so terrible, I might have chosen to stay home and watch. But my wife wanted to go to a Chinese auction that was being drawn at 2 p.m. at Windham High School, and that sounded like more fun to me than watching the Browns get the crap beaten out of them yet again. And it was! I didn't win anything, but my wife won a Windham football jersey (No. 8; and I wore it the rest of the day, just for the heck of it), a scrapbook set and a lunchbox set.

As the auction wore on, I was checking in from time to time on the Browns, who were predictably pathetic. They were down 16-0 at the half, by which time Derek Anderson was 2-for-9 for 13 yards with an interception and a lost fumble. He had also been sacked once for an 11-yard loss. Eric Mangini must be a very pig-headed man for not going with Brady Quinn to start the second half. As bad as Quinn was at the start of the year, Anderson has played about as badly as I've ever seen an NFL quarterback play, and I'd frankly rather see Brett Ratliff out there right now. The only thing Anderson has proven this year is that he's got no business running an NFL offense.

Anyway, Mangini stuck with Anderson, who rewarded him with a 4-for-8 passing performance in the second half, for 63 yards, and scored a rushing touchdown that was set up by a shanked punt and four Jamal Lewis rushes. Anderson never threw the ball on that one touchdown drive, which started at the Chicago 30.

Lewis announced after the game that this would be his last season, and if I were one of his teammates, I'd be tempted to join him. It can't be fun to play on a team like this.

Delonte's back

From a basketball perspective, it's good to have Delonte West back. The Cavaliers probably would have beaten the Charlotte Bobcats with or without him yesterday, but his 13 points in the second half certainly helped in the 90-79 victory.

But I have my doubts about Delonte West as a human being. I know, he's diagnosed with bipolar disorder and all that, and I can forgive him for carrying three concealed weapons, as long as he didn't actually hurt anybody. And while it was bad that he missed all of training camp and the first few games without giving an excuse, I can accept that he needed some time to get his head together. But his wife had him charged with domestic violence last week, and that's the part I have trouble overlooking. He reportedly grabbed her and tried to take her wedding ring and purse after accusing her of cheating on him. That's far from the worst thing I've ever heard of a man doing to a woman, but still, I have a hard time rooting for a guy who has apparently used his physical strength to overpower his wife.

On the plus side, the Cavs are now 2-2, and still seem like a strong bet to go a long way in the playoffs. Whether they're a championship-caliber team or not remains to be seen, as it will take them some time to gel. But I look forward to enjoying the ride.

It's an outrage! An outrage, I tell you!

Major League Baseball and the Fox network seem bent on keeping as many kids as possible from being able to watch the entire World Series. The games are all starting at 8 p.m., which means that if they go relatively smoothly, the earliest we can hope for them to end is about 10:45 or 11. How old were you when your parents first let you stay up until 11 on a school night? And would you be a baseball fan today if you hadn't been able to watch World Series games to their conclusion when you were a kid? (Probably, but maybe less so?)

I myself usually go to bed around 10 these days, and through the first two contests of the '09 series, I have thus far failed to stay awake until the conclusion of a game. Wednesday night, I just went to bed, but last night, I dozed off on the couch and later woke up to see the last couple of innings. But I slept through one of the most unusual plays you'll ever see, the line drive that Ryan Howard (allegedly) caught before turning it into a 3-6 double play. I did see the replay, but it's never the same as seeing it in the moment.

And you'd think that after having games one and two on school nights, they'd at least have games three and four on Friday and Saturday so everyone can stay up without worrying about getting up the next morning. But no, today's an off day. Saturday's game starts at 8:20, and then — and I think this ticks me off the most of all — Sunday's game, which could start at just about any hour, starts at 8 again, ensuring that people like me don't get as much sleep as we'd like that night, and that school kids don't get to see the ending. Game five is set for 8 p.m. Monday, followed by an off-day Tuesday, and then, if necessary, games six and seven start at 8 on Wednesday and Thursday nights. So even if the series goes the full seven, there will be only one game that does not end past 10 p.m. on a school night in the Eastern Time Zone, the time zone with the nation's largest population, not to mention both cities whose teams are involved.

I love major-league baseball, but I hate Major League Baseball, for many reasons. This is a very big one.

Oh, yeah

It probably hasn't escaped anyone who cares enough about Cleveland sports to read this blog, but just in case it has ...

Tonight's World Series opener pits Cliff Lee of the Phillies against CC Sabathia of the Yankees. I've defended those trades, but still, that's just a little bit depressing.

Cavs won't go 82-0

The King-n-Shaq Show opened last night at Quicken Loans Arena, with a 95-89 loss to the Boston Celtics. OK, big deal. The Cavaliers blew a 14-point first-quarter lead, which the Celtics turned around to a 15-point third-quarter lead, before the Cavs made it interesting late.

Sure, I'm a little disappointed our boys didn't win, but the Celtics are a darned good team too. This doesn't mean they're better than we are, it just means they were better than we were last night. Give Shaq and LeBron some time to get used to each other — not to mention newcomers Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, etc. — and they'll be OK.

Quick hits

Before I get started on sports, I'd like to get sappy for a moment. This is my first blog post as Lisa's husband, and I'm so happy about that, I just want to share it with the world. (Or at least that tiny percentage of the world that will read this.)

Now then, quick thoughts on Cleveland's three teams:

1. The Browns were utterly and totally dominated in all phases of the game Sunday in that 31-3 loss to the Packers. They were outgained 460 yards to 139, they lost the turnover battle 2-0, and even Josh Cribbs only made one decent return. Derek Anderson went 12-for-29 with an interception. The only drive that looked promising stalled when Anderson fumbled the snap inside the Packers' 5, leaving the Browns with a field goal when they should have had a touchdown. There weren't any dropped passes that I can remember this time; Anderson just plain stunk. My question: Why didn't Brady Quinn get in?

2. The Indians have hired Manny Acta as manager, just as I was hoping. Acta has not had any success in 2 1/2 seasons as a major-league manager, but he has had considerable success as a minor-league manager, and nobody could have managed those pathetic Nationals into the playoffs. Among the other candidates, only Bobby Valentine has had success at the big-league level, and I would have been OK with that pick, but I like the 40-year-old Acta's chances a little better than the 59-year-old Valentine. It's not that older men can't be good managers, I just think a younger man has slightly better odds. I look forward to seeing how this team responds to Acta.

3. The Cavaliers open the season tonight at home against the Boston Celtics. With Shaquille O'Neal on board to complement LeBron and the gang, I haven't been this excited to see the Cavs open the season since ... well, probably ever. We all know this may be LeBron's last season in Cleveland (though I believe he'll stay), but regardless of what he does next summer, we can enjoy the show this year. I think they'll go a long way.

Method Acta visits Cleveland

I admit it. When I first heard that the manager of far and away baseball's worst team this year (not to mention 2008) was in town to interview for the Indians' manager job, my first thought was, "Good lord, why?" Manny Acta got fired by the Nationals in mid-season after 2 1/2 years in Washington, during which his best finish was a 73-89 record in 2007 that earned them a fourth-place finish.

But the more I read about this guy, the more I like him. He understands sabermetrics, which not very many managers do these days. He understands, for example, that a sacrifice bunt in the third inning isn't going to increase your odds of winning a game. He said as much in a 2007 interview I just read. He's only 40 years old, so he's likely to get better as a manager. And frankly, I don't think Tony La Russa or Joe Torre could have done much better with the Nationals' collection of "talent" than Acta did.

Acta, of course, is just the first to interview for the job. They're apparently going to talk to Torey Lovullo, who's been managing the Tribe's AAA team in Columbus; Bobby Valentine, who has had some success as a major-league manager and has spent the last few years managing in Japan; and a fourth candidate, who is believed to be Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly. I admit I haven't read up on those guys like I just did with Acta, but I'm kind of rooting for Acta right now.

Catching passes

I'm busier than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs these days (just changed jobs, and am getting married this Saturday), but I wanted to make a brief observation about the Browns. We all knew they would lose to the Steelers on Sunday, but they made it somewhat respectable, thanks in large part to Josh Cribbs' return TD.

For the second straight week, Derek Anderson put up ugly passing numbers (though not even in the same neighborhood of ugly as the previous week against Buffalo). But, for the second straight week, Browns receivers dropped an appalling number of his passes.

I thought we got rid of the guy who can't catch. The Browns can't win if the receivers can't make receptions. It's as simple as that.

A win for the punt team

Thanks to Dave Zastudil and the punt team, our Cleveland Browns are winless no longer. The Browns' 6-3 win over the Buffalo Bills was due in part to a strong effort from the defense, in part to a strong effort by Jamal Lewis, and in a much larger part to the most outstanding overall effort I can remember off the top of my head from a punt team.

Billy Cundiff's 18-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the game was the decisive play, but it came after the punt team got the offense the ball at the Bills' 16. The play was more a mistake by Buffalo punt returner Roscoe Parrish than it was a great play by the punt team, but still, once Parrish muffed it, Blake Costanzo was right there to fall on it. This followed a 57-yard punt by Zastudil.

The Browns did a lot of punting in this game, and the punts produced the following results:

1. First quarter: Zastudil punts 25 yards, Parrish fair catches at 17. Sure, it wasn't a strong punt, but it gave Buffalo the ball inside the 20, and the coverage was good enough to force the fair catch.
2. Zastudil punts 31 yards, ball goes out of bounds at the 11. No complaints there; Bills were given bad field position.
3. Zastudil punts 54 yards, Parrish fields at the 25 and returns it 22 yards before Nick Sorensen pushed him out of bounds at the 47. Not a great result, but a fine punt that results in a respectable 32-yard net.
4. Second quarter: This is where the fun really started. Zastudil punts 44 yards, and Mike Adams first touches it at the 2, then feels his momentum pulling him into the end zone, so he hands the ball to Josh Cribbs, who is safely outside it. Buffalo ball at the 2.
5. Third quarter: Zastudil punts 42 yards to the Buffalo 13, where the ball goes out of bounds. You'll take that every time.
6. Zastudil's next punt was the punt team's second-finest moment, after the muff recovery at the end of the game. Zastudil punts 43 yards, and Parrish receives it at the Bills' 42. Surrounded by Browns, he tries to get some space by running sideways -- and backwards. Unable to find an opening, he continues to go backwards, the Browns' special teamers in hot pursuit. Raymond Ventrone finally tackles Parrish at the Buffalo 27, for a "return" of -15. The net was 58 yards. Like the fourth-quarter play, this was only made possible because of a serious error by Parrish, but still, give the Browns' punt team credit for making him pay.
7. Fourth quarter: With the game hanging in the balance, Zastudil and his mates continued to turn in some fine work. Ventrone downs Zastudil's 45-yard punt inside the 1, setting up a possible safety situation. (There was no safety, of course, but that's how safeties happen.)
8. Zastudil's 45-yard punt gets the Buffalo offense starting at the 4.
9. Zastudil's ninth punt of the day is muffed by Parrish and recovered by Costanzo.

The box score will say that Zastudil only averaged 42.7 yards per punt, and that's true. But on nine punts, he pinned the Bills inside the 20 on seven; and inside the 5 on three. And the punt coverage guys sure earned their stripes, rescuing two punts before they went into the end zone and only allowing one return for positive yardage.

Derek Anderson was awful -- but he wasn't as bad as the box score indicates. For the game, he went 2-for-17 for 23 yards, which is just pathetic. But the Browns receivers bear the lion's share of the responsibility for that, as they dropped at least eight passes that they should have had. Anderson definitely made some bad throws, but he also made a whole lot more than two good ones.

I don't know what the NFL record is for fewest completed passes by a winning team, but I'll bet the Browns came close today. There probably were a few who completed zero passes in the early days of the league, when there was very little passing, but I'll bet it's been at least 40 years since a team has won without completing at least three. I'm sure someone will have looked that up very soon, and I look forward to seeing what they find.

Bye-bye, stonehands

I'm even busier than usual right now, so I only have a couple of minutes to comment on what I just found out, courtesy of a text message from Of Fair Hooker's loyalest reader, Jeff Brown. The Browns have traded Braylon Edwards, the man who couldn't catch a pass with a mosquito net, but can apparently throw a punch at a member of LeBron James' entourage.

According to rumors, Braylon goes to the Jets for two draft picks, wide receiver Chansi Stuckey and linebacker Jason Trusnick. I've heard of Stuckey, but know very little about him; and I haven't even heard of Trusnick. And I don't know what rounds the draft picks will be in either. But despite everything I don't know about this, I say the Browns fleeced the Jets.

Edwards was absolutely maddening in his four-plus years in Cleveland. He's always been able to get open, but he's had an enormous mental block when it comes to catching the ball. And punching a friend of Cleveland's biggest sports star is just plain stupid, and speaks to his character in a very negative way. And let's not forget he's a Michigan guy. I say, good riddance.

Better, but still a loss

The Browns played so much better in yesterday's loss to Cincinnati than they had played the first three games of the season, it's almost hard to believe it was the same team. The bottom line is that it goes in the loss column, but there's at least reason for hope.

The Browns and Bengals played five full quarters yesterday, so the numbers have to be regarded with that extra time in mind. Still, Derek Anderson's 269-yard game on 26-for-48 passing is a ray of sunshine. Anderson was a long way from perfect, of course — the interception he threw in the end zone that stopped the Browns' first drive of the second half was a killer, and he misfired a number of other times. And it was disappointing that he couldn't get much of anything going in the overtime period. Still, he moved the offense far better than Brady Quinn ever dreamed of. And the Browns scored two offensive touchdowns in a game for the first time since god-knows-when.

It bears mention that without Shaun Rogers' two blocks of Shayne Graham kicks (a 23-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter and an extra point attempt in the fourth), the game would never have gotten to overtime. Rogers was the Browns' lone Pro Bowler last season, and remains their top talent on defense.

And how about Mohamed Massaquoi? He caught eight passes for 148 yards, giving Anderson a much-needed weapon going forward. Massaquoi got open and made catches, which is more than can be said for embattled would-be superstar Braylon Edwards, who didn't catch a single pass in the game. Edwards had the ball thrown to him a few times, but those dropsies that have plagued him throughout his career surfaced again. I can't help but feel for the guy, since he's always been good at getting open, but dagnabbit, he's got to catch the stinkin' ball.

There were other bright spots too. Jerome Harrison got 121 yards on 29 carries, and Josh Cribbs' 58-yard kickoff return and 50-yard punt return gave Anderson and the offense some good chances to put points on the board.

Yes, a loss is a loss, but this effort against a now 3-1 Bengals team gives us hope for these Browns. I look forward to their next game (Sunday against Buffalo) a lot more than I looked forward to this one going in.

Commendable Carmona, Masterful Masterson

On Wedge Firing Day, Fausto Carmona and Justin Masterson turned in some fine performances on the mound in yesterday's doubleheader against the White Sox. Masterson's was one of the finest outings by an Indians pitcher this year, even though he lost.

Fausto, making what was no doubt his last appearance in a disappointing season, opened up with a seven-inning, one-run, five-strikeout performance that gives us some hope he can turn it around next year. The guy who won 19 games in 2007 must be in there somewhere. Maybe he'll show up in 2010. He ends 2009 with a 5-12 record and a 6.32 ERA. Not really anywhere to go but up.

Masterson went the full nine in the nightcap, striking out 12 White Sox, walking two, and surrendering four hits. Unfortunately, two of those hits were in the same inning, the sixth, in which Paul Konerko singled home DeWayne Wise, who had doubled. Still, Masterson became the first Indians pitcher to strike out as many as 12 hitters in a game since CC Sabathia fanned 13 two years ago. Masterson's 4-10 record this season is a bit misleading; his 4.52 ERA is a little high, but he sure showed us something last night. He's been very inconsistent since we got him in the Victor Martinez trade, but he's also just finishing his first full season in the bigs. I look forward to seeing him toe the rubber for us in '10 and beyond.

So it's Anderson

I don't have a whole lot to say about the decision to start Derek Anderson instead of Brady Quinn against Cincinnati that I didn't say in my previous post in which I wondered if it mattered much. But I'll give it a shot.

As I first contemplated this, it seemed to me it would be a better idea for Eric Mangini to just keep running Quinn out there unless and until he determines that Quinn is never going to be the quarterback the Browns thought he was when they drafted him. If he's already reached that conclusion, it's a hasty one; if not, my first inclination is to say, give the kid a chance. It's not like the Browns are going anywhere this year.

Anderson's had his shot. But there's a case to be made for him to get another one. As the primary starter, he's produced one Pro Bowl season and one sub-par season. The sub-par season was more recent than the Pro Bowl season, which is why it sticks in our minds more. But this is still the same guy who led the Browns to a 10-6 record two years ago. I don't know where he's been hiding it, but we definitely won't see it again if he never gets another chance.

So I don't know. Wishy-washy enough for you?