Leadoff with Lee 3.11.15 #NFLFreeAgency #Cavs #LeBron

By @cleeverizon

Move over Cedar Point, the NFL was America's roller coast yesterday. This was the most active first day of free agency that I have ever seen. We had trades,players retiring and unexpected signings. All I have to say in the morning is "Ya betta have my donuts." Here we go:

-The blockbuster of the day came when the Eagles traded Nick Foles, a 4th round pick in 2015 and a 2nd round pick in 2016 for St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford and 5th round draft pick in 2015. Here's the kicker, The Eagles will surrender a 2016 2nd-round pick to Rams in the trade no matter what. But will get back a conditional 2016 pick from the Rams. It will be a 3rd if Bradford does not play at all and a 4th if he starts less than 50 percent of plays.

- Here is the other blockbuster trade of the day: the Ravens traded their multiple time pro bowl, star lineman Haloti Ngata and 7th-round pick to Detroit for a 4th and 5th round pick in 2016. Nice steal for Detroit.

- Blockbuster trade number 3. Seattle Seahawks trade C Max Unger and a 2015 1st-round draft pick to Saints for pro bowl star tight end Jimmy Graham and a 2015 4th-rd draft pick.

- The Kansas City Chiefs signed SS Tyvon Branch to a one-year, $2 million contract. The Chiefs will release WR Dwayne Bowe today.

- The New York Jets signed Buster Skrine to a four-year,$25 million contract, including $13 million in guaranteed. But it didn't stop there. Cornerback Darrelle Revis signed a 5 year year deal worth $70M, $39M fully guaranteed. He gets $33M in first two years, and $48M in first three. WoW! They also released receiver Percy Harvin.

-The Colts signed running back Frank Gore to a 3 year deal with $7.5 million over the first two years. They also brought in former Houston Texans wide out Andre Johnson and re-signed S Mike Adams to a 2-year deal. Along with those moves, Trent Cole signed a two-year deal with the Colts for $14M, $8M guaranteed  $2M signing bonus, $3.75M 2015 roster bonus, $2M 2016 roster bonus; salaries $2M (guaranteed), $4.25M; $1M incentive.

- The Carolina Panthers released RB DeAngelo Williams.

- Linebacker AJ Hawk signed with his favorite childhood team, the Cincinnati Bengals.

- The Denver Broncos signed tight end Owen Daniels to replace Julius Thomas, who agreed to a deal with Jacksonville earlier in the week.

- The San Francisco 49ers signed former Ravens receiver Torrey Smith to a five-year, $40 million contract.

- The Raiders signed ex-Seahawks linebacker and Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith. Oakland also signed running back Roy Helu, formerly of Washington.

- The Tennessee Titans signed former Falcons receiver Harry Douglas.

- The Cardinals signed linebacker LaMarr Woodley.

- Tennessee Titans free agent QB Jake Locker shockingly retired after only 4 years in the league. Locker, 26, was the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft, but suffered from injuries and inconsistencies in his time with the Titans. Locker was expected to be one of the top free agent quarterbacks available this offseason.

- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis retired after 9 years due to health concerns with feet, along wanting to leave the game on his own terms.

- Steelers free agent linebacker Jason Worilds has also decided to step away from playing football, announcing his decision via a series of tweets on Twitter. Worilds, 27, had 15 sacks the past two seasons in Pittsburgh and was expected to get offers up to $15 million in guaranteed money.

- Lastly, the Cavaliers went down to Dallas and hung the biggest home loss of the season on the Mavericks, smashing them 127-94. LeBron James led the Cavs with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. This was the third time this season that all five Cavaliers starters scored at least 17 points, with James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and JR Smith all above 20 points. Timofey Mozgov had 17. On the Mavs side, Monta Ellis had 17 points while Dirk Nowitzki struggled with 13 points on 3/10 shooting. In the game, LeBron James also became the team's all time assist leader, passing Mark Price. The Cavs have off tonight while they prepare for their TNT nationally televised game versus the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Tip off will be at 9:30 pm.

Leadoff with Lee 3.8.15 #NFLFreeAgency #Kentucky #Boeheim #Browns

By @cleeverizon

- The Green Bay Packers and WR Randall Cobb agreed to a 4 year, $40 million contract. While he was offered more from other teams, like the Raiders, Cobb decided to stay in Green Bay and catch passes from the MVP, Aaron Rodgers.

- Cornerback Kareem Jackson and the Houston Texans agreed to a 4 year, $34 million deal, that includes $20 million in guaranteed money. The soon to be 27 year old Jackson has 10 interceptions and 50 passes defensed in his career with the Texans. If Kareem Jackson can pull in this type of contract, what will be offered to Browns (or former Browns) cornerback Buster Skrine?

- Mary Kay Cabot of Northeast Ohio Media Group reported 8 teams have expressed interest in Browns cornerback Buster Skrine in the first 3 hours of the negotiating window on Saturday. With so many teams involved, I don't see the Browns getting into a bidding war to re-sign Skrine. Ray Farmer has said multiple times he wants to build a team through the draft. It seems as if Farmer has his eyes set on another slot/nickel corner in the draft. And with the emergence of K'Wuan Williams and the depth of Pierre Desir, Skrine becomes expendable.
- According to a league source 4 teams have showed interest in quarterback Brian Hoyer, including the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills.

- The Browns announce they resigned punter Spencer Lanning and running back Shawn Draughns. Recently released former Eagles defensive end, Trent Cole, is scheduled to meet without the Browns on Sunday. Cole has played defensive end in the 4-3 and outside linebacker in the 3-4 schemes.

- The Chicago Bears trade the often troubled wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets for a 5th round draft pick. In 13 games last season with the Bears, Marshall had 61 receptions for 721 yards, scoring 8 touchdowns.Prior to the 2014 season Marshall had 7 consecutive seasons with 1,000 plus yards receiving. The Jets are expected to cut ties with wide receiver Percy Harvin, who is rumored to sign with the New England Patriots.

- Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch agrees to a 3 year, $31 million dollar contract extension. Lynch will receive $12 million this year, in the form $7.5 million signing bonus and a $4.5 million fully-guaranteed base salary. In 2016, Lynch  will receive a base salary of $9 million dollars, and  In 2017 a base salary of $7 million in addition to a $3 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the 2017 league year.

- Former Colts safety LaRon Landry suspended 10 games for violation of the Performance Enhancing Drug policy. In the 2014 season, Landry was suspended 4 games for the same violation. Indianapolis released the veteran in February.

- Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski has signed his franchise tag tender worth $4.59M for the 2015 season.

- The New Orleans Saints and wide receiver Marques Colston have agreed to restructure his contract and will remain with the team next season. The Saints were debating releasing the teams all-time leading receiver if the two side couldn't come to terms. Colston was set to make $9.7 million next season and it would have went against the Saints low salary cap. Details on his restructured contract are expected to be made public as early as Monday.

- The Saints also agreed to a new 4-year, $16 million deal with running back Mark Ingram.

- The Colts have announced they won’t re-sign wide receiver Reggie Wayne. The 14-year veteran of the team had 64 receptions for 779 yards in 15 games and scoring only 2 touchdowns last season. Wayne ranks 7th in all-time NFL receptions and 8th in all-time receiving yards.

- The NCAA suspended Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim for nine ACC games, took away 12 scholarships, and ordered that 108 wins be vacated as a result of a multiyear investigation into the university's athletic programs. The following article by Emily Jones from NCAA.org details the infractions and penalties for the university. Click here to read that

- The University of Kentucky men's basketball team and number one team in the country finishes the regular season 31-0. Kentucky is the first team from a major power conference to complete the regular season unbeaten since Indiana did it in 1976. This is the Wildcats first unbeaten regular season since 1954. The Wildcats wore t-shirts after the game that read "31-0 Not Done". With nine more wins Kentucky will finish 40-0 and be crowned "National Champions" (Alcorn State was also undefeated in the 1976 season but didn't make it to the national tournament. The field at the time was only 32).

- Cavaliers forward LeBron James tied Mark Price for the Cavaliers' career assist record of 4,206.

Leadoff with Lee 2.27.15 #AdrianPeterson #DezBryant #Browns #CBJ #EarlLloyd

By @cleeverizon

- A judge had overturned the NFL's ruling and reinstated Adrian Peterson Thursday afternoon. Within a hour of the ruling, the NFL has appealed the court decision and will keep open the option to go through the CBA appeal process too.  In the meantime, Peterson has returned to exempt list. Peterson could be traded to another team as soon as March 10.

- The Dallas Cowboys are expected to franchise wide receiver Dez Bryant if a long term deal can't be reached. But a alleged video tape has emerged between Bryant and his girlfriend in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Dallas police have said they have no video of what took place in the parking lot. But I have found out that ESPN has footage and is ready to roll with the package as soon as new infotainment is available. I do find it strange that a Cowboys owned media group was the first source to report this. But here is the police report. You be the judge. 

- Yesterday morning it seemed as if the Buffalo Bills were negotiating a contract for free agent quarterback Josh McCown . As of late last night, league sources indicated that the Browns are still in the fold to sign him. McCown is expected to make a decision sometime Friday.

- Buster Skrine is expected to command anywhere from about $5 to $7 million dollars a year in free agency. The Browns are interested in resigning the cornerback. Skrine will wait until March 10th when free agency starts to determine what his actual market value is . As a restricted free agent the Browns can match any offer made to him by any other team.

- The Falcons have released RB Steven Jackson, the move will save the Falcons 3.7m against the salary cap this season. Since the emergence of quarterback Matt Ryan, Jackson wasn't relied upon as the number one back as he was in St.Louis. Jackson should be able to make it to someone's training camp. But the question is, does he have what it takes to return to the fantasy football dominance he once had?  

- The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forward Nathan Horton to Toronto for forward David Clarkson. Clarkson, 30, signed a 7-year, $36.75 million contract with Toronto in 2013, but hasn't become the impact player that they expected. Horton, 29, has been on the Jackets non-roster injury list for most of the season with a threatening back injury.

- The Florida Panthers acquired Jaromir Jagr from the New Jersey Devils for two draft picks, one in 2015 and one in 2016. Jagr has 11 goals and 18 assists in 57 games for New Jersey this season. Jagr is sixth in NHL history with 716 gores, seventh with 1,068 assists and fifth with 1,784 points in 1,530 career regular season games. Over his 22 years in the NHL, he has played for Pittsburgh, Washington, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston and New Jersey.

- The winner of the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight on May 2 will be given a new belt. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman says he would like it "to have emeralds or platinum." If boxers are allowed to keep the belt, I would just retire after the fight.

- Finally and sadly, NBA pioneer and first African-American to play in the NBA Earl Lloyd died Thursday at the age of 86. Lloyd came into the league in 1950 for the Washington Capitals, debuting before Sweetwater Clifton and Chuck Cooper. Along with helping the Syracuse Nationals win the 1955 NBA title, Lloyd averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 560 games played, over nine season with Washington, Syracuse and Detroit. He served in the U.S. Army during the 1951-52 season, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 as a contributor. Thank you Earl Lloyd for EVERYTHING you have done.

On The Mark 11.7.14: #Browns Recap

Browns Dominate Both Sides Of The Ball, Destroy The Bengals 24-3, Tied For First Place
By @MarkW2112

The Cleveland Browns are now tied for first place with a 24-3 pounding of the Cincinnati Bengals that wasn't even close.  Brian Hoyer, now 9-3 as a Browns starter, was sharp once again, throwing for 198 yards while the running trio of Terrance West, Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell each scored a rushing touchdown and combined for 170 yards rushing with West leading the way with 94 yards.  Even without Andrew Hawkins or Jordan Cameron as well as fighting the wind at Paul Brown Stadium, Hoyer was able to get the ball to Miles Austin, Travis Benjamin, Taylor Gabriel and Gary Barnidge when needed.

On the other end, the Browns defense was dominating from start to finish against Andy Dalton, who may have had one of his worst games a pro.  He threw for 3 interceptions,  2 of them to Buster Skrine, and was off all night.  A.J. Green, covered by Joe Haden for most of the night, was a non factor and Greg Little, for all of his "someone will pay" comments, was once again plagued by stone hands and was hit with a personal foul for head butting.  Tashaun Gipson also caused a fumble on Jeremy Hill which was recovered by Joe Haden so the Browns had 4 turnovers all together as well as keeping the Bengals to 3 points in 4 quarters.

My take: The Browns are for real.  They brought their A game to a Thursday night national audience on the road.  Mike Pettine, Jim O'Neil and Kyle Shanahan all had great coached games tonight with the players absolutely ready for this important division series.  It also ended their 17 game AFC North road losing streak.  Ironically, their last AFC North win on the road was to Cincinnati in 2008.  Even with the wind and rain, Brian Hoyer showed his leadership on offense while the Browns were absolutely dominant on defense.  The Browns are a viable playoff team at this point.  Damn that feels good to type!

Next up: A long 10 day stretch until they face the Houston Texans back in Cleveland.  The Browns fans will be pumped for that game.

On The Mark 10.6: #Browns & #Buckeyes Recaps

Blow Out By The Bucks & Amazing Comeback By The Browns
By @MarkW2112

For this weeks On The Mark, I will be recapping both the Buckeyes and Browns in one article!

First, the Buckeyes.  Ohio State made quick work of the Maryland Terrapins with a 52-24 blow out in College Park.  J.T. Barrett is opening eyes all over with his poise and precision, going 18-of-23 for 267 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Ezekiel Elliot lead all rushers with 139 yards on 24 carries.  Barrett ran for 71 yards and a touchdown to go along with his impressive throwing yards.

The defense was mostly solid with 4 interceptions.  Maryland was never really in it and while C.J. Brown started the game, Caleb Rowe came in the second half to try and spark their offense.  And while they were able to get 24 points, it seemed the Bucks offense were always able to respond with a touchdown of their own.  The Buckeyes, as expected, were the better team all around, a nice way to go in to another off week with their first Big Ten win.

As for the Browns, all you can say is perhaps these are the 2014 version of the Kardiac Kids.  The Browns defense were as bad as they have been the first 3 games, giving Jake Locker a ton of time to throw the ball and providing holes for their running backs to scoot through for big yards.  One of those runs by Locker was for a touchdown, in which he was hit in the helmet by Chris Kirksey.  This hit had an effect not only on Locker, but his teammates for the rest of the game which killed themselves with penalties later on.  Locker was knocked out of the game for good after hitting his throwing hand on Buster Skrine's helmet who was then penalized for roughing the passer.  Enter Charlie Whitehurst, who then threw a touchdown to Kendall Wright.  Whitehurst,before the end of the first half, threw a 75 yard touchdown to Justin Hunter, who beat Skrine by a long mile to make it 28-3.  The offense also couldn't get it going though were able to get a touchdown for a 28-10 deficit before halftime.  That's when the real fun began.

Brian Hoyer, 21-of-37 for 292 yards passing, is proving that he belongs as the Browns starting quarterback, leading back from 25 points down, which is not only a Browns record but a road team record.  Travis Benjamin had both touchdowns for the Browns in the second half, including the game tying TD with 1:09 seconds left in the game.  Ben Tate throughout was a beast, rushing for 123 yards on 22 carries.  The other big play of the second half was a blocked punt by Tank Carder, making the game 28-15.  The safety was a huge turning point for the team as the Browns defense buckled down in order for Hoyer to lead his offense back.  It was a thrilling win for a franchise in desperate need of wins.

My take: the Bucks are on their way to winning their Big 10 division while the Browns are still in the thick of the AFC North division with this huge comeback win today.  To go along with the Cavs first preseason game, it was a great weekend for Cleveland sports fans.  That said, the Browns defense needs a lot more work.  If Locker had not been knocked out of the game, it could have been a loss for the Browns.  But a win is a win.

Up next: the Buckeyes are idle next weekend while the Browns play the hated Steelers in Cleveland next Sunday.  It would be nice if the Browns could put together a full game.

Leadoff with Lee 8.21.14

-Tuesday afternoon Mike Pettine wasn't prepared to name a starter, but that all changed Wednesday morning when he told the world Brian Hoyer was going to be the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback. Johnny Manziel didn't seemed fazed that he was going to be a backup and simply said, "I'm not ready to be the Browns starting quarterback". In my opinion, it's either lack of leadership, lack of composure or lack of knowledge of the playbook. Either way, he needs to get mentally tough and grasp the playbook and study with Rex Grossman so he can wrap his head around this situation and earn his place.

-Defensive end Desmond Bryant may miss the season opener against Pittsburgh. Bryant had surgery on his wrist Monday and his status will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks to check how well it heals.

-Another Browns player was under the knife Monday in Buster Skrine. Skrine had a fractured thumb and will be re-evaluated weekly.

-Since we are talking surgeries, Nick "Brohio" Swisher had surgery on both knees yesterday to alleviate pain and hopefully prolong his career. Swisher, 33, is obviously out for the remainder if the season. Swisher hopes to make a strong comeback for the 2015 season. I'm sure he's not happy about his 2014 season, besides the paycheck he's getting.

-Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavs will invest $23 million dollars into Quicken Loans Arena for the upcoming basketball season. Upgrades will include a new scoreboard, sound system and video production room. A new roof is also on deck for the 20 year old structure.

-The US Men's National Basketball team destroyed the Dominican Republic, 105-62 in FIBA exhibition play last night at Madison Square Garden in New York. Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving shot 5 for 5 for 12 points and also had 5 assists. Irving got the start over Derrick Rose who was resting his knees. The current 16 man roster is expected to be reduced to 12 for World Cup play later today. Irving should be a lock to make the team.

-The Indians won their second straight game, besting the Minnesota Twins 5-0. Starter TJ House got the win for the Tribe, going 5.1 innings, giving up only four hits with all of them being singles. He also struck out five. Mike Aviles went 3 for 4, hitting a home run and knocking in 2, with a run scored and a steal. New Indians fan favorite Zach Walters also hit a homer for the Tribe. Every player in the Indians lineup had at least one hit, except Michael Brantley who went 0-4. The Indians improve to 64-61 and remain 4 1/2 games out from the last wildcard spot.

-Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount were pulled over early Wednesday morning and charged with possession of marijuana (20 grams to be exact), while Bell was also charged with DUI. It's going to be interesting to see how Roger Goodell handles this one.