Leadoff with Lee 5.1.15 #Shelton #Browns #NFLDraft #BillyDonovan #Game7

By @cleeverizon
- With the 12th pick in the draft the Cleveland Browns went with run stopper Danny Shelton from Washington.

Here's what we need to know about Shelton courtesy of NFL.com:                               
COMBINE RESULTS
40 YARD DASH: 5.64 SEC
BENCH PRESS: 34 REPS
VERTICAL JUMP: 30.5 INCH
BROAD JUMP: 95.0 INCH
3 CONE DRILL: 7.99 SEC
20 YARD SHUTTLE: 4.65 SEC

STRENGTHS
Bends well for a big man and has ability to play with leverage. Space-eater who is able to maintain good positioning against double teams. Consistently gets his hands inside offensive linemen first. Controls, sees it and sheds to make tackles. Surprising ability to swat cut blocks and chase stretch plays laterally. Played a high percentage of Washington's defensive snaps. Has the strength and athleticism to dominate in the running game.

WEAKNESSES
Despite girth and leverage potential, can be a little inconsistent at getting push off snap. Dominates lesser centers but doesn't seem to look nearly as dominant against more talented centers. Will quit on a play when he's blocked. Produced eye-catching sack numbers for his position in 2014, but much of it was against lesser competition. Must work to keep weight in check.

NFL COMPARISON
Vince Wilfork

BOTTOM LINE
With his thick frame and powerful upper body, Shelton has moments where he can dominate at the point of attack. He was forced to chase sideline to sideline due to the nature of Pac-12 offenses, but when he faced downhill competition like Stanford, he stepped up. Shelton is an above average interior pass rusher for a man his size thanks to his surprising athleticism. He is a fit in a two-gap scheme and could benefit from playing fewer snaps than he was forced to play at Washington.   

- With the 19th pick the Browns chose offensive lineman Cam Erving from Florida State. Erving is a versitle lineman who will compete for a job on the right side of the offensive line,and may be the Browns center of the future considering Alex Mack will be a free agent after next season.  

HT: 6'5" WT: 313LBS.
POSITION: C
SCHOOL: Florida St.
ARM LENGTH: 34 1/8"
HANDS: 10 3/8".

He came to Florida State as an unheralded defensive tackle from Colquitt County (Ga.) and redshirted in 2010 after a back injury. In 2011, had 20 tackles and a sack as a backup defensive tackle. Switched to the offensive side of the ball to help shore up Seminoles' pass protection in 2012 and started all 14 games at left tackle, protecting future first-round QB EJ Manuel's blind side. In 2013, started all 13 games at left tackle and was named first-team All-ACC for the national champion Seminoles. Two-time winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy given to the ACC's top blocker. Named first-team All-ACC tackle and third-team All-ACC center after making switch inside toward the end of the 2014 season. Was very close with grandmother (Lillie Lewis), who passed away in the spring of 2014 after one-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

- Jameis Winston became the number one overall selection in the NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Winston is considered the most NFL ready quarterback in this years draft. His off-the-field incidents, which include an alleged rape in 2012, shoplifting, a gun complaint and the use of vulgar language have raised concern among the teams who might draft him. With the 2nd pick, Tennessee selected Heisman Trophy winner and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.                               

- Billy Donovan has been named the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. His contract is 5 years worth $30M. He spent the past 19 years at the University of Florida and compiled a 467-186 record over that period. While in Florida he won 2 National Championships, made 4 trips to the Final Four,16 straight 20 win seasons,3 30 win seasons,17 trips the the NCAA tournament,6 S.E.C championships,and has mad the Elite 8 in six of the past ten seasons. Billy Donovan became the front runner to become head coach after Kevin Ollie withdrew his name to remain at the University of Connecticut.

- Andrew Wiggins the number one overall draft pick who was selected by the Cleveland Cavs in the 2014 NBA draft then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves to obtain Kevin Love was named the Kia NBA Rookie of the Year. Wiggins received 110 out of a possible 130 first player votes. He averaged 16.9 points per game and 4.6 rebounds. Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic came in 2nd place, with Philadelphia's Nerlens Noel finishing 3rd.

- The Los Angeles Clippers went down to San Antonio and have forced a Game 7 against the reigning champs after their 102 - 96 win last night. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin came up HUGE, with 19 points and 15 assists for Paul and 26 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks for Griffin. J.J. Redick added in 19, while DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 14 rebounds of his own. On the Spurs side of things, Marco Belinelli led the way with 23 points, while Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard only had 12 apiece. Tony Parker finished the game with just 8 points, but had 7 assists. Game 7 of this first round series will be Saturday night at 8pm.

- On the Eastern Conference side of things, Chicago put the Milwaukee Bucks out of their misery after a 120 - 66 beatdown. The highest scorers for the Bucks was Zaza Pachulia with 8. Ersan Ilyasova and Jerryd Bayless both had 7. This is definitely not how Bucks fans expected to end their season, but it was good experience for the young team and can only help next season when Jabari Parker returns from injury. All 5 of the Bulls starters on the other hand were in double digits with Mike Dunleavy leading with 20 points. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler had 15 and 16 points, respectively. Next up, the Bulls will be taking on the Cavaliers, Monday night at 7pm.

- Deryk Gilmore the Agent for LSU's La'el Collins petitioned the league to pull him from the NFL draft allowing him time to clear his name then enter Supplemental Draft.

The NFL rejected Collins' request to be removed from draft until police complete murder investigation. Collins arrived in Chicago on Tuesday poised to be a first-round pick and had been taking part in pre-draft festivities and charity events. But after reports surfaced that Collins was sought by investigators into the murder of the woman believed to be Collins' former girlfriend — she was shot in the head at her house — Collins left the draft party reportedly to assist in the investigation. Authorities have not named Collins a suspect in the case, but they say he can help assist them in solving her death.

Leadoff with Lee 8.12.14

Good Morning my "Threats" Leadoff with Lee is back and here's what I got.

-The NBA and ABC want a 5pm start for the Christmas Day home game featuring the Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers. What the networks and NBA want, is what they get. The NBA schedule will be released on Wednesday.

-Andrew Wiggins wants to be traded to Minnesota, according to his college coach, Kansas' Bill Self. The trade has been out there and I guess Wiggins is going to take what he can get. Wiggins and his college coach feel he can make more of an impact in Minnesota than Cleveland. Well duh, try to outshine LeBron, Kyrie, Love, Waiters or Thompson.....? Good luck!

-The Cavs signed 7' 245lbs center Alex Kirk. Kirk has a good chance of making the team this year, as Anderson Varejao and Brendan Haywood have been somewhat injury prone.

-Shawn Marion hasn't signed with the Cavs yet...why not? He may re-sign with the Mavs. But the Indiana Pacers can sign him for more money because of the injury exception they received after the Paul George injury.

-Ray Allen is still making up his mind if he will play this year. It has been reported he wants to play with a contender, which would make the Cavs the front runner. But Allen has four other choices. Sign with the Cavs, remain a free agent and sign with a team that's in contention, retire, or from my "SOURCE" become a coach with UCONN.

-I'm not going to break down Browns pre-season games but will tell you what I liked. I liked the multiple fronts that Pettine ran. From one down lineman to everyone standing up, all the way to your basic 3-4 and 4-3 defense. Pettine seems to like his nickel and cornerbacks blitzing. And I like that. The D-line had hurries that are just as good as sacks to me. Paul Kruger, Barkevious Mingo and Desmond Bryant will have big years this year. It will be good to see what Justin Gilbert will offer this season. The passing game by opponents should be in lockdown. Well that, as long as Buster Skrine does his thing.

-Just wait and see who is going to start next Monday. Mike Pettine is in no rush to name a starter vs. The Washington Redskins next Monday. From what I have been told, both quarterbacks will see action with the first team offense and even more playing time than last week. Browns QB Brian Hoyer isn't going down without a fight. He stated "I am the guy until proven otherwise". We really do have a "TRUE" QB competition.

-The Tribe was off yesterday.... thank God.

Leadoff with Lee 8.8.14

-It seems as if the Kevin Love to Cleveland deal is about as official as it comes. The news hit the wire yesterday morning about the trade of Kevin Love to Cleveland in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a protected first round 2015 draft pick. Cleveland has received word that Kevin Love will opt out of his 2015 player option and re-sign with the Cavs for the max deal of 5 years, $120 million dollars.

People have said why would he do that when LeBron only signed a 2 year deal with a player option for the second year? Real simple. The NBA television contract renewals are coming up. LeBron will opt out and re-sign for a max deal. After "The King" signs his deal, Kevin Love will sign his max deal. Well what if LeBron doesn't want to re-sign? He didn't come home to go somewhere else. Remember he's from here, his wife's family is from here, his mom is here, he wants his kids to go to Akron schools and don't forget about that nice ass house in Bath Township in which he's barely lived in. Interesting tidbit I received from a source in Minnesota today, was that the Wolves gave the Cavs permission more than 3 weeks to negiotiate with Kevin Love and secure a trade. Andrew Wiggins also has known about him being involved in a trade and his agent has already negotiated sponsor deals with Minnesota businesses. Once Wiggins gets traded this will only be the 2nd time since the NBA/ABA merger that a player will be traded before playing a game for the team that drafted him. The first time was the Golden State Warrior (Anfernee Hardaway) and Orlando Magic (Chris Webber) trade in 1993. Talk about a flashback Friday!

- Kevin Durant withdrew from USA Basketball. Durant is citing physical and mental fatigue from the lengthy season. Personally, I'm saying he fears of being injured after watching Paul George's gruesome, season ending injury last Friday.

-There is now a "Big 5"! The 5 largest conferences in college sports (ACC, Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and PAC-12) will create their own governing body with a 80 person committee including 15 athletes. Some of the changes that will be made within these conferences are increasing the amount of scholarship money, health care for student athletes, agent jurisdictions (agents can start interviewing prospects while juniors), decreased time demands allowing student athletes more free time and paying for families of student athletes to post season play plus a player stipend. These by-laws will be voted on by members in January of 2015 and will take effect the same season. Just imagine if this was in effect during tattoo-gate. We would have had another trophy in the case down in Columbus.

-Wow! That's all I could say when I seen the artist renderings of the renovation plans at Progressive Field. A stadium that was built 20 years ago will look like it was built in 2015 after it gets a facelift. The upgrades will include the LONG awaited Larry Doby statue, a new kids clubhouse, an upper deck bar, feature local area foods from the Tremont and Ohio City areas of Cleveland, a new team shop, new social area, bullpens that will be redesigned (so we won't have 2 balls on the field like we did Tuesday), a brand new Gate C and many more upgrades. The first phase will be complete by the beginning of the 2015 season using "Dolans Dollars" and the second phase will be paid for by the "Sin Tax" money.

-In Browns training camp news... LeBron James attended camp with his kids. In a practice that was closed to the public and obviously a secret that was kept between Browns brass and LBJ, LeBron and his crew watched the last hour of practice. After practice, many Browns players scrambled to their lockers to get their phones so they could snap a picture with LBJ. Joe Haden and Phil Taylor had the second best picture besides the Lebron and Johnny Manziel picture. Head coach Mike Pettine had a chance to talk to James and refrained from having James lineup on offence so Manziel could throw him a pass.

-One key note that was said during practice is that WR Travis Benjamin will be the Browns kickoff and punt return specialist this season. Benjamin is returning from a season ending ACL injury last year and is 100% ready to take on the challenge.

-My Grandpa, I mean Greg Oden was arrested Wednesday night for battery. No weapons were involved so this will be a misdemeanor case. When police arrived, they found a woman lying on the ground with blood on her face. Police said she also had swelling on her nose and cuts to her forehead. The victim refused medical treatment. A witness and relative tried to hold Oden back but his arm got free and struck the victim. Oden was calm, apologetic and cooperative during his arrest. Greg Oden and the his ex-girlfriend broke up about 2 months ago. It is not known what started the argument at this time.

-The Indians lost 4-0 to Cincinnati. And that's all I will say about that.

-The Tribe traded Vinnie Pestano to the Angels for class-A right hander Michael Clevinger, the Angels 4th round pick in 2011. Clevinger is 23, with a 4-3 record and a 4.31 ERA in 18 starts this season. The 6'4" 220 pound righty has 85 strikeouts and 42 walks in 79 1/3 innings pitched.

-Can I dunk on my momma? Jeremy Lin did. Check the video below...lol.

Leadoff with Lee 8.5.14

This feels good right about now. Everytime I turn on any random show on ESPN, NBA TV, Fox Sports 1, MLB network or any other media outlet, Cleveland is the lead story. And for once, it's not all bad news. So let's start here..

-According to ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers have all reached a "handshake deal" on the worst kept secret in the NBA, Kevin Love to the Cavs. Additional details were provided by Windhorst yesterday on ESPN radio and the trade scenario goes as follows: Kevin Love to Cleveland in exchange for Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to Minnesota. Bennett then will be traded to the 76ers in exchange for Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young going to the Timberwolves. If this is a true trade scenario as reported, the Cavs will not need to trade a 2015 first round draft pick and I'm down with that. I didn't want to trade any future potential talent that could help the Cavs create a dynasty for years to come.

-Where's Johnny? If you weren't paying attention, he was running the first team offense all day in Browns practice yesterday. It seems as if the city of Cleveland is split on who will or should be the starter for Week One against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau stated yesterday "I'm expecting Manziel to be the starter." LeBeau continued saying, "I think he's going to be a handful for all of us". To me, it's obvious that LeBeau will fine tune his defense to Manziel or create a "Johnny package", as Brian Hoyer is more of a pocket passer and won't deviate from the base defense that the Steelers run.

-A camouflage Porsche arrived at the Browns training camp facility yesterday morning. Who's car was it? Who can afford a camo Porsche? Yes it was Josh Gordon and his car. Gordon did practice with the second team offense but was dismissed around 11:15 AM so he could attended his appeal hearing via phone. The phone hearing lasted around 3 hours and was submitted for a desicion. According to a source close to Plain Dealer Browns reporter, Mary Kay Cabot, a desicion could take from one to three weeks. In my opinion, if the Gordon appeal to the NFL is so cut and dry why would this hearing take over 13 hours to complete? And if it does take three weeks for a judgement, this puts the Browns at a serious disadvantage next if his suspension is for one full calendar year. Personally, I believe Gordon and his lawyer Maurice Suh presented arbitrator Harold Henderson with either compelling information about the testing, the testing process or they were working on a reduced suspension.

-Browns good guy and former offensive lineman Jason Pinkston will sit out the rest of the season and possibly retire due to blood clots in his lungs. Pinkston, just 26 years old, missed the last 10 games of the 2012 season with the same condition. Clotting in the lungs is life threatening and Pinkston had symptoms of the clots during training which included spitting up blood, fatigue and shortness of breath. Jason was at the Browns facility yesterday and reached an injury settlement . Jason Pinkston was a true class act and volunteered a lot in Cleveland and northeast Ohio in general. We wish Jason Pinkston nothing but success and hope he stays involved with Cleveland and surrounding communities.

-It's clear the Corey Kluber is the true ace of this Cleveland Indians staff. He improved to 12-6 on the season with his 2.55 era to help lead the Tribe to a 7-1 win against the Cincinatti Reds last night. Kluber pitched 7.1 innings giving up 6 hits, 1 run and 7 strikeouts. Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez each had two hits for the Indians. With Lonnie Chisenhall and Yan Gomes going yard. Chisenhall recorded 3 RBI, with Gomes and Brantley with 2. The Indians and Reds close out the 2 game set tonight at 7 PM, with Josh Tomlin on the rubber for the Tribe, and Johnny Cueto going for the Reds.

Leadoff with Lee 8.2.14

-During last night's USA Basketball intrasquad scrimmage game at UNLV, Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George suffered a VERY gruesome broken right leg. While getting back on defense, George went up in the air to defend a James Harden lay up and landed at the base of the basket stanchion. George's leg buckled and snapped, breaking the skin. Teammates reacted immediately, sickened and doubled over with great concern for their fallen friend, teammate and basketball brother. Medics rushed to the fallen George, stabilizing his leg in an air cast before taking him to a Las Vegas hospital where he was accompanied by his family. Needless to say, U.S. coach and Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski announced that out of respect for Paul and his family, the game was over.

Almost two hours after the incident, Paul George tweeted this out:

Thanks everybody for the love and support.. I'll be ok and be back better than ever!!! Love y'all!! #YoungTrece

— Paul George (@Paul_George24) August 2, 2014

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo would not speculate on the severity of the injury and asked the media to be patient and not to ask when Team USA roster cuts would be made. Along with all members of both scrimmage teams, players around the league reacted, sending out their well wishes and prayers to Paul and his family.

George, only 24, has emerged as the leader of the Pacers and one of the best players in the NBA and a two-time All-Star. George signed a 5 year $90M extension with the Pacers last season that was ready to kick in this season.

USA Basketball it announced that he had successful emergency surgery of a right leg open tibia-fibula with no ancillary damage and is expected to remain in a Las Vegas hospital for about 3 days. Recovery time could range anywhere from 6 to 12 months, at minimum. A very sad time for USA Basketball, the NBA, the Indiana Pacers and Paul George and his family.
-Chris Williams, The Raven Report

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-Even though we all know Andrew Wiggins has been involved in the trade talks for Timberwolves big man Kevin Love, I have "may" have further proof of the trade details that were made in principal. After looking at Cavs.com jerseys, Andrew Wiggins' jersey has been labeled discontinued. Could this be a internet error? I for one, don't think so. Remember when LeBron was drafted? His jersey was labeled sold out and wasn't labeled discontinued until he signed with the Heat.

-Josh Gordon's appeal hearing appearantly went longer than I first reported. From the same source I talked to yesterday morning around 10:22 to be exact, called me at 5:45 and told me "That was just a recess at 10:30am. Gordon's appeal hearing will resume Monday afternoon. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will review all the details and I will still say we will hear something Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. In my opinion, sample A was positive and samble B was negative. 1 positive + 1 negative = 0. I was horrible at math but I'm sure that is correct. But according to the NFL CBA, Sample A is the main test and sample B is to confirm the drug was in the system. But I have heard and seen false positive tests.

-Who knew golfers get tested for drugs? Dustin Johnson tested positive for cocaine. He also failed tests for marijuana in 2009, and two more tests for coke in 2012. Johnson has been suspended for 6 months by the PGA. Friday he stated, he will seek treatment for his "personal challenges" I.E his drinking, drug and sex indiscretions.

-The Cleveland Indians romped the Texas Rangers 12-2 on Jim Thome statue day. Danny Salazar pitched 6 innings, giving up one run, 4 hits and 4 strike outs. "Dr. Smooth" Michael Brantley went 3-4 with 2 RBI. Right fielder David Murphy went 4-4, scoring 2 runs and 2 RBI. It was just an all out hit fest as the Indians scored 12 runs on 16 hits. Danny Salazar goes to 4-4 on the season. They will take the field again tonight at 7 PM, with TJ House on the bump.

-Support Triple Threat Podcast by liking and following us on Facebook and Twitter, @triple3xthreat. Also, tweet and follow Chris Williams here @nevaRWilliams and myself, Chris Lee here @cleeverizon.

Leadoff with Lee 7.31.14

-Corey Kluber needed just 85 pitches in his complete game shutout of the Seattle Mariners and lead the Tribe with a 2-0 win yesterday in Cleveland. Kluber improved to 11-6 on the season while recording 8 strikeouts and giving up only 3 hits. The Indians only had 4 hits on the night, with the biggest hit coming from catcher Yan Gomes with his 2 run single in the bottom of the 6th inning. The 3 game series comes to a end tonight, as Zack Mcallister getting the start for the Tribe and Chris Young for the Mariners.

-Justin Masterson was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfield prospect James Ramsey yesterday. The trade deadline is over today at 4 PM. The Indians dodged a bullet by not signing Masterson to a $43 million dollar extension prior to the beginning of 2014 season, and did get a top prospect in return. Masterson will become a free agent at the end of the season. Masterson will join his new team on Friday and is scheduled to make his first start on Saturday. The right hander was 4-6 on the season with a 5.51 era in 19 starts with the Indians this year. James Ramsey is a former first round draft choice and will report to Triple-A Columbus. Ramsey, 24, was considered one of the top prospects in the Cardinals organization. Ramsey was the 23rd pick in 2012 draft out of Florida State. He is hitting .300 with 13 homeruns and 36 RBI.

-Trade talks are heating up between the Timberwolves and Cavs in a deal that would send Kevin Love to Cleveland. The Cavs have emerged as the front runner to land Love as Chicago has backed out of trying to acquire Love. As it stands, it looks like the Cavs will need to part ways with lasts years first round pick Anthony Bennett, this years number one overall pick Andrew Wiggins and a first round pick in 2015. A third team, possibly the Philadelphia 76ers, may also be apart of the deal to make this trade more appealing and to make all the salaries meet NBA requirements for trades. Neither Minnesota or Cleveland can comment on any trade until August 23rd when Andrew Wiggins' 30 day no trade clause expires for signed NBA rookies. Wiggins was signed last Thursday and may not don a wine and gold jersey when the regular season starts. Anthony Bennett was pulled from Team Canada by his agent fearing he may get injured and to protect his client from any trade that maybe in the pipeline.

-74 year old NBA official Dick Bavetta will be retiring. Bavetta's first game as an NBA ref was December 2, 1975 at Madison Square Garden in a game between the Knicks and Celtics. In April 2014, Bavetta worked his 2,633rd consecutive regular season game. By comparison, legendary Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken's "ironman streak" was 2,632 straight games.

-The Browns had a much needed day off yesterday and resume training camp today in Berea. All the live action will begin as the Browns will actually be tackling. 

Leadoff with Lee 7.12.14

-"I'm coming home" is the theme in Cleveland, Akron and Canton right now. My friend Wayne Allgood and I made a trip to Akron yesterday and the digital billboards on I-71 all read the same. He's back! 9 of the top 10 trends on Twitter read #welcomehome #LebronJames #Cavs #Wiggins #Cleveland #for6iven #anthonybennett #rayallen #kingjames. The news broke around 12:15pm on Friday. You heard it on the radio and you seen it on all the tv shows. It went from soap operas to Lebron coverage. Program directors went from regularly scheduled programming to a Lebron media circus. ESPN's Josina Anderson was in Cleveland just moments after the announcement standing in front of the "Q" and fans were rabid and excited. Bron' is expected to sign a full 4 year $88 million dollar max contract. Sportscenter literally turned into LebronCenter. Cleveland is the hottest city in the United States right now. With Johnny "F'N" football and LBJ in Cleveland, "What's not to like?" to quate Nick Gilbert. So what's next for the Cavs? Mike Miller? Kevin Love? Ray Allen? Trading Andrew Wiggins? Who knows but Cleveland looks like a pretty good place to play in right now. How will the Cavs react with the Princeton style offense that Byron Scott tried to implement and it failed? It can't be any worse than Mike Brown's "stanky leg." Oh yeah Cavs season ticket sales have obviously seen a spike in prices and fans are asked to deposit $200 per season. Will Lebron's personal reporter Brian Windhorst make a comeback too? The Cavs are 4-1 odds of winning the NBA championship this year. The biggest increase in NBA history. Season tickets were sold out in 8 hours up hearing the news of Lebron James' return.

-Nick Swisher and the Indians rolled past the Chicago White Sox 7-4. Swisher went 2-4 with a 2 run home run. David Murphy also went yard for the Tribe. The Indians are playing .500 ball for the first time since June 30th, improving to 46-46. Cory Kluber made the start for the Wahoos and gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings pitched. Kluber improved his record to 9-6 with Cody Allen recording his 11th save on the season.

-Former Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb wants to see a healthy Brian Hoyer be the Browns starting quarterback for the 2014 season. Will Hoyer's knee be healthy enough to win the job? Or will Johhny Manziel's swag be to much for Hoyer to handle?

-The deal to acquire Mike Miller for the Cavs should be finalized by Monday. Chris "Birdman" Anderson and Ray Allen are also targets that LBJ is recruiting.

The Raven Report, 6.27.14: NBA Draft Review

"And with the first pick…"

The Cleveland Cavaliers made history last night, selecting Kansas Jayhawks guard Andrew Wiggins with the first pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. In Wiggins freshman season at Kansas, he set a freshman-record scoring 17.1 points per game. The pick was met with all around excitement in the city of Cleveland. While "some" fans may have preferred to draft Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid, Wiggins appears to be the better fit for Cavs GM David Griffin and new head coach David Blatt.

In Round 2, the Cavs selected 6'6" shooting guard Joe Harris from Virginia. Harris,22, averaged 12 points per game in his senior season while shooting 40% from 3-point range. Later, the Cavs made a trade with the newly renamed Charlotte Hornets for the 45th overall pick Dwight Powell of Stanford, and the contract of Brendan Haywood. While not official yet, it is said that the Cavs will be sending Alonzo Gee to Charlotte in return. Wiggins and Harris to go along with Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and the upcoming free agency period can make the Cavs and VERY good team in the 2014-2015 Eastern Conference.

Other notable picks seen Duke forward Jabari Parker going 2nd to Milwaukee, Joel Embiid taken 3rd by Philadelphia, Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon to Orlando at 4, Australian point guard Dante Exum to Utah at 5, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart to Boston 6th, Kentucky forward Julius Randle to the Lakers at 7 and Creighton small forward Doug McDermott taken by Denver at 11, then traded along with Anthony Randolph to Chicago.

On a side note, the classiest, most emotional moment of the NBA Draft was Commissioner Adam Silver coming out to honorarily select Baylor center Isaiah Austin. Austin was said to be one of the top centers in the draft, but will not be able to play basketball again due to having a genetic disorder called Marfan Syndrome, which was just found days ago. Marfan Syndrome is a disorder of connective tissue that affects the skeletal system, cardiovascular system, eyes, and skin. Great job by Adam Silver and the NBA to give this kid his spotlight moment.



The U.S. Men's National Team will continue on in the World Cup! They lost to Germany 1-0 in awful, soggy conditions Thursday. But with the blessings of the points system and Portugal's defeat of Ghana, the team will advance on to play Belgium Tuesday afternoon.

The Indians will open up their weekend series late tonight on the West Coast, against the Seattle Mariners. Trevor Bauer will get the start Friday night versus the M's Chris Young. Start time is at 10 PM.

Lastly, opening in theaters this weekend is Transformers: Age of Extinction. A great way to close out the month of June with a BIG Summer blockbuster action movie.