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.

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.