Leadoff with Lee 9.8.16

By Chris Lee, @TripleThreatLee

- The New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees have agreed to a contract that will keep him with the Saints for the next two seasons. This deal is very unique to me. It is for five years and it automatically voids to two, and is worth $44.25 million guaranteed,(No trade clause included). The structure of the deal will let the Saints spread the salary cap hit over those five years. Brees led the NFL in passing yards in four of the last five seasons, and six times overall in his 10 seasons with the Saints. It looks like a good deal for both sides. And guarantees Brees will end his career with the Saints.

- Don't call it a comeback, but Tiger Woods announced via his website that he plans to play in the Safeway Open October 13-16,which will also open the 2016-2017 PGA golf season. Tiger who hasn't played since the 2015 Wyndham, also said he plans on playing in the European tour's Turkish Airlines Open in November and the Hero World Challenge. Which benefits his charity the Tiger Woods Foundation. Woods had two back surgeries in 2015 and has been rehabbing ever since. 

- After defeating Bowling Green last week 77-10, Ohio State moved up two spots in the A.P poll from 6th to 4th.

- Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly announced Wednesday that DeShone Kizer will be the starting quarterback against Nevada. Kizer started the game against the Texas Longhorns and played the entire fourth quarter and overtime went 15-24 for 215 yards and 5  touchdowns .He also rushed for 77 yards and a score. Senior Malik Zaire who alternated with Kizer completed just 2 of 5 passes for 23 yards and rushed for 11 yards. "As of now I’m expecting to be the only guy," Kizer said. "The conversation (with Brian Kelly) was just more to let me know I would be the guy. We’ll see how the game goes. From that statement it sounds like Kizer expects to the the starter for the remainder of the season. Like he said "We'll see how the game goes".

- USA swimmers Ryan Lochte ,Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen are expected to be suspended today over the Rio gas station incident that took place during the Olympics. Lochte's suspension will be 10 months and he will miss the 2017 World Championships. His suspension is also the longest of the other three swimmers' penalties according to reports. The official announcement will be coming from the  USOC & USA.

The Raven Report 11.2.15: #Royals #LeVeonBell #Brees #Broncos

By @nevaRWilliams


Well folks, its all over. The Kansas City Royals took the crown to become the 2015 World Series Champions.

Royals catcher and World Series MVP Salvador Perez drove in the tying run in the ninth inning, and singled to lead off the 12th inning, which set up Jarred Dyson's run on a pinch hit by Christian Colon. During the series, Perez hit .364, while anchoring the Kansas City pitching staff.

As they have done all season, Kansas City rallied and fought back, this time in the ninth inning against Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia of the New York Mets. Lorenzo Cain had a huge bases clearing three-run double that officially put the final nail in the Mets coffin.

All in all, it turned out to be a more entertaining series than people would have believed at first. Congratulations to the Royals and the people of Kansas City. Soak it up now, as pitchers and catchers report in just over 100 days.

Tough news for the Steel City. Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le'Veon Bell is expected to miss the remainder of the season due to a torn right MCL, suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon. Bell caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger, whom just returned from injury himself, when Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict tackled Bell, with his knee rolling awkwardly under him. Bell will be re-evaluated today, but it's expected that he will be confirmed to be out for the season. Bell had just 511 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season after getting a late start due to a suspension. Sources say that former St. Louis Rams running back Isaiah Pead will have a tryout for the Steelers to help with their roster issue.

Unfortunately, Le'Veon Bell was not the only injury from Week 8 of the NFL season. While facing the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens wide out Steve Smith was lost for the season with a torn Achilles. Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte had a knee injury of his own on Sunday, against the Minnesota Vikings. His status as of right now is still unknown.

Elsewhere around the league, Drew Brees and Eli Manning lit up the scoreboard in New Orleans, but the Saints came out victorious 52-49 over the Giants. Brees threw for SEVEN touchdowns and 511 yards, with only 1 interception. Tight end Benjamin Watson had 147 yards and 1 touchdowns while Marques Colston had 114 yards and a touchdown of his own. Wide outs Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead had 2 touchdowns each of their own. On the other sideline, Eli Manning had 350 yards passing and 6 touchdowns, with 3 of them going to star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Both the Giants and Saints are now 4-4.

Another game that stood out to me was the Sunday Night game of the week, which saw the Denver Broncos improve to 7-0 over the previously undefeated Green Bay Packers, 29-10. Peyton Manning had 340 yards passing, but the real story was the Broncos defense that held Aaron Rodgers to just 77 yards passing on the night. Along with that, Eddie Lacy only had 38 yards rushing. The Broncos defense had 3 sacks on Rodgers, to go with 7 QB hits. It should go without saying that this was Rodgers and Green Bay's worst played game of the season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are back in action tonight as they travel o Philadelphia, to take on the young 76ers. It should be a good game to help the Cavs continue to gel early on in the season, coming off of their 102-92 home opening win against the Miami Heat on Friday. Tip-off is at 7 PM on FOX Sports Ohio.

And in case you missed it, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett will be suspended for this week's game Nov. 7 against Minnesota. Barrett, 20, was cited with a misdemeanor charge for operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI). A breathalyzer test revealed Barrett had a BAC just above the 0.08 legal limit in Ohio for drivers 21 years of age or older. But, at 20, the legal limit stands at 0.02. When J.T. was released, it was teammate and backup quarterback Cardale Jones who picked him up and took him home. Barrett if eligible to return the following week for Ohio State's game versus Illinois.

Leadoff with Lee 10.31.14

By @cleeverizon

The atmosphere in Cleveland was electrifying yesterday. If I didn't know any better, you could have told me it was game 7 of the NBA finals and I would have believed you. It was a Cleveland Cavailier and Lebron James media day. International media, social media, local media... it was all about King James and his homecoming. But the New York Knicks stood in his way. The Cavs lost to the Knicks 95-90. Lebron James was obviously nervous and out of sync with the team. He was 5-15 scoring 17 points but also 8 uncharactoristic turnovers. Kevin Love had a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Cavs turned the ball over 19 times, which the Knicks turned into 26 points. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks shooting 9-17 for 25 points. The Cavs face the Bulls tonight who defeated the Knicks by 24 Wednesday night.

But let's relive this moment

The Cavs and Tristan Thompson are likely to sign a contract extension today. The 4th pick of the 2011 NBA draft will make $5.4 million this year under his rookie contract. His new deal is expected to be 4 years between $40-$48 million over that period. If no extension is signed by Friday, he will play for the qualifying offer of $7.15 million dollars for the 2015-2016 season and then become a restricted free agent.

Anderson Varejao is also expected to agree to a 3 year $30 million dollar contract extension with the Cavs today.

The NCAA sent out a simple tweet regarding Todd Gurley and the University of Georgia's appeal of Gurley's suspension. Which simply states: The membership committee upholds Todd Gurley suspension upon appeal. He will be eligible to play again November 15.

Last night, the Saints defeated the Panthers 28-10 to kick off Week 9 of the NFL season. Drew Brees went 24/34 for 297 yards throwing 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Saints running back Mark Ingram rushed 30 times for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with Jimmy Graham's 7 catches for 83 yards and a TD. Panthers QB Cam Newton finished with 10/28 passing for 161 yards with 1 rushing touchdown. Next week's Thursday night game will see the Cleveland Browns travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.

On The Mark 9.15.14: #Browns & #Buckeyes Recap

Simply Stunning: the Browns march over the Saints with a thrilling last second 26-24 victory
By @MarkW2112

It appears the Cleveland Browns of 2014 want to be the second coming of the Kardiac Kids.  After a thrilling loss to the Steelers last Sunday, they redeem themselves with a thrilling win against the New Orleans Saints 26-24 in front of a very loud and pumped crowd at First Energy Stadium for the first home game of the year.  The crowd really helped set the tone at the beginning of the game, as Drew Brees and his high powered offense couldn't seem to get it going early on.  Paul Kruger ended their first drive with a coverage sack as the Dawg Pound really let Brees know he was not welcomed there.

Brian Hoyer led the Browns to a touchdown to Miles Austin and helped set up a field goal for Bill Cundiff before the end of the first quarter.  The Saints made it 10-3 on their next drive with a field goal by Shayne Graham. After getting the ball back, the Saints were driving when Brees pass was intercepted by Tashaun Gipson and run back 62 yards for a touchdown, making it 16-3 after a botched extra point.  Before the end of the first half, the Saints drove again, this time with a Brees touchdown to Jimmy Graham who was no match for 5'11 Joe Haden. The Browns went in to halftime with the lead 16-10.

The Browns got the ball to start the second half but went nowhere with it.  The Saints  then drove down the field and scored on another Graham touchdown to take the lead 17-16.  The Browns, led by the rookie running back duo of Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell, helped the Browns get another touchdown, this time by West, to make it 23-17.

Once more, the Saints drove the field and scored on a Mark Ingram touchdown to give the Saints the lead once again, 24-23.  The Saints again were driving towards the end of the game when Karlos Dansby came up with a huge sack to take them out of field goal range, giving the ball back to the Browns with 2:46 left in the game.

Now it was Brian Hoyer's time to shine.  Going hurry up no huddle, Hoyer was able to execute a brilliant drive, with big time plays by Gary Barnidge (converting a 4th and 6th), Miles Austin (2 clutch catches, including one with 15 seconds left that was ruled out of bounds) and Andrew Hawkins, who's 28 yard catch when he was left all alone in the back field helped set up the game winning field for Billy Cundiff to make it 26-24 with 3 seconds left.  The Browns finally won the game after a squib kick and return to the Khiry Robinson was fumbled and recovered by the Browns.

It was coach Mike Pettine's first victory as an NFL head coach and only the 2nd home opener victory since 1999.

My take: This victory might have been the best the Browns have had in a very long time.  The Saints are a high powered offense and while they had their way with the Browns after being stopped in the first quarter, the defense came through when they needed to, including the Gipson interception and the game saving sack by Dansby, who is undoubtedly the leader of this defense.

On offense, Hoyer didn't look great but he was effective when he needed to be and somehow won this game without Josh Gordon or Jordan Cameron.  It also appears that West and Crowell might be one of the most dynamic running back duos since Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack each ran for 1,000 yards in 1985.  Their athleticism and vision were able to keep the Saints defense honest and have Hoyer be able to complete passes to Austin, Hawkins, Barnidge and Taylor Gabriel.

The Browns can't stop to enjoy this victory for long.  The hated Baltimore Ravens come in next Sunday before their 4th week bye.

But it's a sweet victory and one that we can hope inspires them for the rest of the season.

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That’s more like it: Buckeyes destroy Golden Flashes 66-0
By @MarkW2112

The Ohio State Buckeyes did not mess around this time.  They went right for the throat and stayed there all game as they went on to route the much less talented Kent State Golden Flashes 66-0 in front of an Ohio Stadium crowd that was treated to almost non-stop offense and a defense that deflated the Golden Flashes right from the start.  J.T. Barrett looked sharp, going 23-of-30 for 312 yards, 6 touchdowns and an interception, with 5 of those TD’s thrown in the first half alone..  He was able to throw at will to any of his receivers, including Devin Smith and Michael Thomas who combined for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns between them.  Curtis Samuel led all rushers with 15 carries for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns.  All in all, the Buckeyes offense tallied 628 total yards.

Meanwhile, for quarterback Colin Reardon and the Golden Flashes offense, there was simply no ball movement as the Buckeyes defense swarmed and took out all of their frustrations after last week’s embarrassing loss to Virginia Tech.  Reardon’s day ended with him going 14-of-27 for 76 yards.  It was a day the Golden Flashes will want to forget.

The Buckeyes have a bye next weekend before playing the Cincinnati Bearcats on 9/27 at 6 PM at the Horseshoe.