Leadoff with Lee 1.19.15 #SuperBowlXLIX #Paterno #Scherzer

By @cleeverizon

- Late last night, free agent pitcher Max Scherzer agreed to a 7 year deal with the Washington Nationals. Scherzer went 18-5 last season, with a 3.18 ERA over 33 starts for the Detroit Tigers. He's led the American League in wins the last two season and won the Cy Young Award in 2013. Terms of the deal are not yet known.

- The Seattle Seahawks overcame a 16-0 deficit at halftime, only to return to the Super Bowl with a 28-22 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks had 5 turnovers in the game and Russell Wilson threw 4 interceptions. Marshawn Lynch went #BeastMode and had plenty of 'Skittles' rushing for 157 yards and 1 touchdown. Russell Wilson finished 14/29 throwing 209 yards, 4 interceptions and 1 touchdown. Wilson's lone touchdown was a 35 yard game winning strike to Jermaine Kearse.          

- The Patriots rode the Colts into Super Bowl 49! New England defeated Indianapolis 45-7 in the AFC championship game. Tom Brady left the game to "Brady, Brady" chants and finished 23/35 for 226, 3 TDs, 1 INT. Brady is on to start in the record breaking 6th Super Bowl as a starter. LaGarrette Blount got "Fleeky, Fleeky, Fleeky" scoring 3 touchdowns and racking up 148 yards rushing. Julian Edelman was the leading receiver for the Pats, catching 9 passes for 98 yards. Bill Belichick simply said in his post game presser with this victory, "We're on to Seattle".

Belichick has passed Tom Landry for the most postseason wins with 21 by an NFL head coach in NFL history.                                  


- Previous to the Colts loss to New England, the Colts have been working on the details of a deal for QB Andrew Luck for a new contract. It could be the richest deal in NFL worth around $25 million per year.

- The Broncos are finalized a 4-year deal with Gary Kubiak to become their next head coach. With Kyle Shanahan going to the Falcons, Adam Gase becomes the front runner to be their offensive coordinator.

- The Falcons now have to wait two weeks to hire Seahawks DC Dan Quinn as their new head coach , but they will wait and he is their expected choice. The Falcons will also hire former Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan for that same position.    

- John Fox parted ways with the Broncos the day after he lost to the Colts, and has landed as the Chicago Bears new head coach. Dennis Allen, the one time Raiders head coach, is believed to be a candidate for defensive coordinator.        

- On the Browns Offensive coordinator search, Jim Hostler interviewed on Friday.  The 49ers are interested in hiring former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski to become their offensive coordinator. Currently "Chud" is with the Indianapolis Colts as a special assistant. The 49ers can now interview him for the position with the Colts being eliminated from the playoffs yesterday.                                

- Joe Paterno is the winningest coach in the NCAA for the second time. After the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, the NCAA wiped out 112 wins from 1998-2011 for Paterno and Penn State. On Friday as part of a settlement filed by Pennsylvania officials, the NCAA restored 112 wins. With his record of 409-136-3, built from 1966 until he was fired near the end of the 2011 season, Joe Paterno again becomes the major-college football coach with the most victories.                                        

- Along with Friday's Cavs victory against the L.A Clippers, LeBron James became the youngest NBA player is history to score 24,000 points. Kobe Bryant was 31 years, 75 days old when he set the record. LeBron broke the record at 30 years, 17 days. James scored 32 points, had 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals in his milestone game.                                        

- NBA and college basketball commentator Greg Anthony was charged Friday afternoon with soliciting a prostitute. CBS has suspended Anthony indefinitely, saying he will not call another game for the network this year. If I'm reading into this correctly, the spokesperson did say "this year". Which brings me to believe depending on the outcome of the case, he could return next year. Greg Anthony played for 6 NBA teams from 1991 until he retired in 2002. Anthony won a national championship with UNLV in 1990. If Marv Albert survived his scandal, I'm sure Greg Anthony will survive his.                          

- Ohio State coach Urban Meyer will appear on "Real Sports" on HBO on Tuesday at 10 PM with Andrea Kremer.    

Leadoff with Lee 1.9.15 #Browns #HOF #Olympics

By @cleeverizon

- Boston will represent the United States in its bid for the opportunity to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. The decision followed a spirited discussion and more than one round of voting. Ultimately, the Boston bid received the unanimous endorsement of the USOC’s board of directors.

The U.S. last hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 1996 (Atlanta). St. Louis hosted in 1904 and Los Angeles held the Games in both 1932 and 1984.

- The Browns will be in need of a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Browns will be parting ways with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Also, the club has relieved quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains of his duties.

The 35-year-old Shanahan and 34-year-old Loggains were with the club for just one season. The Browns finished 23rd in yards gained and 27th in points scored in 2014, and the club’s QB play was too often a weakness, with rookie Johnny Manziel’s subpar performance a disappointment.

The news of Shanahan’s departure comes two days after the Plain Dealer reported Shanahan was open to leaving the franchise because of tension between the coaching staff and front office. Kyle Shanahan had a interview with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching vacancy on Thursday.

If Shanahan doesn’t land a head coaching gig, it’s possible he could land elsewhere as a coordinator, especially if his father, Mike Shanahan, gets a head coaching job. Other possibilities would be for Kyle Shanahan to join the New York Jets or the San Francisco 49ers as a offensive coordinator.

Charlie Weis and former Bears head coach Marc Trestman have shown interest in becoming the Browns offensive coordinator.

- Newly acquired Cavs center Timofey Mozgov will change his number as #25 is retired (Mark Price). He will wear #20 like his father, a Soviet handball player.

- The Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists were announced. You can see the list below and find more information on the NFL's website here.

The semi-finalists include:

Morten Andersen, kicker (1982-2004, 2006-2007) NO, ATL, KC, NYG, MIN
Jerome Bettis, running back (1993-2005) STL, PIT
Tim Brown, wide receiver (1988-2004) OAK, TB
Don Coryell, head coach (1973-77, 1978-1986) SD
Terrell Davis, running back (1995-2001) DEN
Tony Dungy, head coach (1996-2008) TB, IND
Kevin Greene, defensive end/linebacker (1985-1999) STL, PIT, CAR, SF
Charles Haley, defensive end/linebacker (1986-1996; 1999) SF, DAL
Marvin Harrison, wide receiver (1996-2008) IND
Jimmy Johnson, coach (1989-1993, 1996-1999) DAL, MIA
John Lynch, safety (1993-2007) TB, DEN
Orlando Pace, offensive tackle (1997-2009) STL, CHI
Bill Polian, contributor (1978-1982, 1984-2011) KC, BUF, CAR, IND
Junior Seau, linebacker (1990-2009) SD, MIA, NE
Will Shields, guard (1993-2006) KC
Mick Tingelhoff, center (1962-1978) MIN
Kurt Warner, quarterback (1998-2009) STL, ARZ, NYG, OAK
Ron Wolf, contributor (1963-1974, 1976-2001) OAK, NYJ, TB, GB