Leadoff with Lee 3.31.15 #Browns #Indians #Cavs #Packers

By @cleeverizon

- On Monday, the NFL handed Ray Farmer and the Browns their severe punishment for "Text-Gate". Farmer will receive a non-paid four game suspension and the Browns will be fined $250K. The suspension will start on midnight of the Sunday before the Browns' first regular-season game and will end immediately after the Browns' fourth regular season game. Many thought, including myself, that the Browns would lose draft picks as well. But since the text messages were not made to gain a competitive edge, the teams' punishment was only monetary. This was easily the best case scenario the Browns could have imagined. I'm under the assumption the Browns knew what the outcome was going to be since NFL meetings last week. Did you notice how the NFL released it's statement about the punishment, followed by a statement by the team? So the Browns are free and clear of all the scandal and issues right? WRONG! There also could be fines handed down against Cleveland for its roles in unapproved NFL activities. These activities are the result of how the team handled it's own free agents and free agents that they wanted to sign. Another announcement is expected today.  

- Former Browns receiver Miles Austin signed a 1-year, $2.3M contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Austin's salary could reach $3M as he has $700K worth of bonus incentives available.

- The Atlanta Falcons will lose a 2016 5th round draft pick and be fined $350K for piping crowd noise into the Georgia Dome during home games the past 2 seasons. Falcons President Rich McKay will be suspended from the NFL's competition committee from April 1st to at least June 30th for failing to ensure the team complied with NFL rules. After the June 30th date, McKay can apply for reinstatement to the competition committee.

- Defensive tackle BJ Raji and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms for a 1-year, $3.5M contract. Raji missed the entire 2014 season with a torn right bicep. Raji will also transition back to his original position of nose tackle this season.

- The Indians 2015 starting pitching rotation is set. Last years Cy Young winner Corey Kluber will be the opening day starter. Followed by Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Zack McAllister and TJ House.

Opening day lineup should be as follows:
1. Michael Bourne
2. Jose Ramirez
3. Michael Brantley
4. Carlos Santana
5. Brandon Moss
6. Yan Gomes
7. Jason Kipnis
8. Nick Swisher
9. Lonnie Chisenhall.

- What do the Cavs want to do? Rest starters and get the 3-6 matchup in the playoffs? Or maybe play the starters and fight for the 2-7 matchup? With 7 games left, it makes sense for the Cavs to start resting the guys and get them ready for the playoffs. There is no need for the team to risk fatigue and injury heading into a post season run. Even though the Cavs don't play until Thursday of this week, if a injury would happen to Shumpert or Mozgov, that would be a HUGE blow to the team. And at this point the talent pool is little none and who knows what the Canton Charge players could offer.

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 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.

Leadoff with Lee 5.17.14

Guess what's back? Leadoff with Lee!

Well the Cleveland Browns have been more active than a teenager going through puberty this past week.

-On May 12, the Browns released QB's Vince Young & Alex Tanney, DB Brandon Hughes, DL Brian Sanford and RB Fozzy Whitaker

-On May 13, the Browns inked pro bowl cornerback Joe Haden to a long term deal. Haden has been with the team since being picked 7th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. His new deal will keep him in Cleveland through the 2019 season. It's said that the deal is for $68 million, including $45 million guaranteed.

-On May 15, the Browns signed 2 time pro-bowl wide receiver Miles Austin, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, and former Chicago Bears wide receiver Earl Bennett on Thursday.

-On May 16, Cleveland released WR Greg Little. Little had little success after his rookie season when he recorded 61 catches for 709 yards.

-Oh I can't forget about Josh Gordon, who is facing a season long suspension for testing positive for marijuana. This is not the first go round for Josh Gordon, he entered the league in the drug program coming out of college. Then he tested positive for the "Purple Drank". He was only suspended for 2 games with no pay and 2 additional games, but was able to play because the "Drank" wasn't on the banned substance list. Did you notice Josh deleted his twitter account?

-Oh and Johnny Manziel? You mean the guy who put Cleveland back on the map after LeBron left? So word on the street is, Johnny texted the Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains and said "I wish you guys would come and get me.", "And hurry up and draft me because I want to be there" and "I want to wreck this league together". His statements were quickly forwarded to Browns owner Jimmy Haslem and he said "Pull the trigger". Therefore, prompting the trade up with Philadelphia to get Johnny. As I stated before, any first round quarterback will start for the Browns regardless if people say this is Brian Hoyer's job to lose. Act like a backup? Please, this is Johnny Cleveland time now. If it's not, why does he have the #1 selling jersey since he was drafted? Show me the money!

- The Cleveland Cavaliers made interim general manager David Griffin the permanent GM this week. Griffin, who is 41, took over as interim GM on February 6, 2014 when Chris Grant was fired from the position. His first move as GM was....

-Mike Brown was fired as the Cavaliers head coach on May 12. Brown was in his first season of a 5 year deal, in his second stint as Cavs coach. Do you think he cares? No, he's still getting paid about $20 million to sit at home. Did I say show me the money yet?

-Tribe pitcher Danny Salazar was optioned down to Triple A Columbus yesterday. The struggling Salazar is 1-4 with a 5.53 era. Trevor Bauer was brought up to replace Salazar and will make his first start on Tuesday to complete the 25 man roster.

-The Indians got molly-whopped by the Athletics Friday night, 11-1. Oakland put up 8 runs in the second inning on starting pitcher Zach McAllister. The Tribe's lone run cam in the first inning on a Nick Swisher solo shot. Hopefully they can turn things around tonight at 7 PM. Oakland is sending out Scott Kazmir against the Indians Josh Tomlin.