Despite Loss, Cavs Still Packing Punch

by Greg Kozarik

The Cavaliers fell apart late in the game on Wednesday and eventually lost to the Pistons, 96-89, and thus snapping their eight-game win streak. Despite this loss, the Cavs have a lot of to build on and are still one of the elite teams in the NBA.

During the win streak, the Cavs have seemed to take that next step that it needs to be a championship team. On Wednesday night, the Pistons opened up hitting 12-of-13 of their first shots of the fourth quarter and showed the poise that the Cavs have had throughout most of the season. This is what championship teams do!

A very nice surprise has been the play of guard Delonte West. West has been playing the two-guard and his game has improved mightily from where it was when he came to the Cavs last February. West is shooting 51% from beyond the three-point line and is shooting 52 % from the field.

Through 12 games, West has played tenacious defense for the most part and now fans understand why G.M. Danny Ferry had been trying to acquire the 6-foot-3 guard for the past two seasons. West has found a home and playing like the dynamic player he was when he played college ball at St. Joseph’s.

Most fans, including myself, were counting the days till the Cavs could trade forward Anderson Varejao without him having a say in where he went, it is a good thing Ferry didn’t try to trade him. Varejao is playing as good as he did two years ago with one major difference, he is now more consistent and playing in control.

‘The Wild Thing’ is playing like a man possessed. He has really developed that 15-foot baseline jumper and his defense has been superb. He is even hitting 70% from the free throw line. Head Coach Mike Brown can trust him once again down the stretch and does not have to be worried about Varejao playing out of control.

Finally, the Cavaliers are already reaping the benefits of having a second true scorer to go along with LeBron James and they have that in point guard Mo Williams. Williams has been playing well and his defense has been terrific. He moves around screens better than any guard in the Eastern Conference.

People in Milwaukee were so excited to get rid of Williams and they were even offering rides to the airport. Williams is only averaging 17 points-per-game along with a steal per game. He has been a true spark for this team and it shows why the Bucks are one of the sorriest franchises in the NBA. Thanks Milwaukee!!

Brown has been pushing the right buttons so far and of course James has been the MVP that we all know he is. If Ferry can add some depth in the frontcourt, then we can forget about the two other sorry franchises in this city and get ready for that parade downtown. The NBA championship is now within sight this year!

Good for Phil Savage

By Rick Morris

At this time when mindless negativity is so popular among the Browns fanbase (I know, I know, when is it unpopular in the fanbase?), somebody went over the top in an email to Phil Savage.

In that missive, the person blamed Savage for a great many matters that are the province of the coaching staff before comparing this front office unfavorably to that of BUTCH FREAKING DAVIS.

[Frankly, anybody who compares the talent on this roster to what Botch (he of the man-love for Kelly Holcomb and the goof who only drafted out of his Miami Hurricanes recruiting shoebox) left behind has been lobotomized. The depth is still not good and the linebackers and corners need to be upgraded, but there is nothing wrong with this team on paper by and large, especially compared to other rosters in the league. If Miami and Atlanta can win with their rosters, this team surely could win with the right coaching staff.]

Savage responded with an oh-so-appropriate F you to the fair-weather fan. I'm glad he did. There are legitimate criticisms to be made and my bet is that most of those (starting with Coach I'm Thinking Arby's) will be addressed this offseason. But the incoherence, the hysterical tantrums and the childish inability to see the progress along with the more obvious bad things ... I myself don't have patience for any of that and Phil Savage deserves credit for standing up for himself in the face of such idiocy. If anybody wants to cry about it, tough toenails.

Pluggin' Away

By Tony Mazur

Don't forget to check out "AM Mayhem" on Friday (11/21) and 10:30AM EST as "Punkass" from the TapouT Crew will give us a call to talk a little MMA and to promote their appearances at Great Lakes Mall, Great Northern Mall, and South Park Center Dillard's locations.

I will be sure to post updates when we confirm a guest for the show. If you happen to miss the show, you can always check out the STC Archives to hear past shows (Larry the Cable Guy called in on Monday's show).

2008 NWCA All-Star Classic Line-ups Complete

Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

I wanted to share this with everyone who reads our blog - we'll be talking about this on OHIO WRESTLING RADIO next Tuesday night.

Paul

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MANHEIM, Pa. – The line-ups for the 43rd-annual NWCA All-Star Classic Presented by the United States Marine Corps have been set. This is the fifth year the United States Marine Corps has partnered with the NWCA as the presenting sponsor of this premier event. This event this year will be hosted by Ohio State at St. John Arena Nov. 24.

The Buckeyes last hosted the event in 1981. Ohio State's J Jaggers will compete this year at 141 pounds, marking the first Buckeye wrestler to compete in the All-Star Classic since J.D. Bergman in the 2004-2005 season.

The selection of Maryland’s Hudson Taylor at 197 gives the Terps their first All-Star appearance since Gobel Kline in 1969.

Oklahoma State, Iowa, and Iowa State added to their All-Star totals this year, they now have had 81, 73 and 65 wrestlers, respectively, selected all-time for the All-Star Classic.

Prior to the NWCA All-Star Classic, a dual meet will be held between two Ohio club teams. Jeff Jordan’s Team Jordan and Miron Kharchilava’s Team Miron will square off at 5p.m. The All-Star meet will begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $10. Children 6 and under are admitted free. NWCA Members receive a complimentary ticket when showing their NWCA membership card. Call TicketMaster at 614-431-3600 to order your tickets today or visit www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. ESPNU will be airing the event on tape delay. Dates and times will be announced once they become available.

Full line-ups
125- #2 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) vs. #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa)
133- #2 Jayson Ness (Minnesota) vs. #4 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois)
141- #1 J Jaggers (Ohio State) vs. #2 Nick Gallick (Iowa State)
149- #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. #4 Darrion Caldwell (NC State)
157- #1 Jordan Leen (Cornell) vs. #7 Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State)
165- #1 Nick Marable (Missouri) vs. #2 Mack Lewnes (Cornell)
174- #1 Steve Luke (Michigan) vs. #2 Jay Borschel (Iowa)
184- #3 Phil Keddy (Iowa) vs. #4 Louis Caputo (Harvard)
197- #1 Jake Varner (Iowa State) vs. #2 Hudson Taylor (Maryland)
285- #1 Jared Rosholt (Oklahoma State) vs. #3 Kyle Massey (Wisconsin)

Honorary Coaches: Tom Ryan (Ohio State), Mark Manning (Nebraska), Jim Makovsky (Minnesota State- Mankato), Dave Malecek (Wisconsin- LaCrosse)

The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.

The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.

Could This Be The Last Season For Edwards?

by Greg Kozarik

Despite Braylon Edwards catching eight passes for 104 yards on Monday night’s win against Buffalo, questions remain about the receiver. This malcontent continues to draw the ire of most Browns fans with his consistent drops, bad route running and quitting when not involved in the play.

On Monday night, quarterback Brady Quinn hit Edwards at the Bills’ five-yard line and after he jumped up to catch the ball he looked to brace himself, as he fell he lost the ball. A couple plays later, Quinn threw a quick slant to Edwards but the ball sailed incomplete because Edwards was bumped at the line of scrimmage and quit his route.

These are many of the problems that swirl around this wide receiver diva. He thinks he is better than he is but in all reality he is not. Is this surprising? No it is not because he is the same immature player he was at the University of Michigan.

This is the same player that was suspended in his freshman year. Drops and having alligator arms were something that most Wolverine fans were used to from Edwards. The Browns were not in love with him before the 2005 draft and Savage made a comment to the media that it was the one year you didn’t want to be picking in the top 10.

After his first season with the Browns, which was an injury-shortened year, he told people close to him that he couldn’t wait to become a free agent and leave Cleveland. Now, after one good year, he thinks he is the second coming of Jerry Rice. He is good at one thing—dropping passes.

Edwards is more worried about other things other than being the best football player he can be. Remember when he took the helicopter down to see the Ohio State-Michigan game, thus missing curfew the night before a game? Romeo Crennel and the Browns did nothing and let him off the hook. Remember this training camp when this same buffoon is screwing around in his socks and then got cleated and needed stitches? Is he 10 years old?

Edwards still is counting the days to his free agency and now so are some Browns fans. He continues to never block, quit on routes and drop passes. Anyone can do that. But if the Browns are smart, trade him while he still has some value.

Could he be traded straight up for the Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin, who desperately wants out of Arizona? The one problem who have there is that Edwards has great size at 6’ 3” while Boldin is listed at 6’1” but that might be a stretch. Maybe he still can bring back a first-round pick come April but is it worth it?

The Browns do have some options in free agency this coming off-season. Some receivers that will be available that I would rather have than Edwards are the Bengals’ T.J. Houshmanzadeh, the Bills Lee Evans and Seattle’s Bobby Engram. Houshmanzadeh and Evans I would take over Edwards just to rid the Browns of the malcontent. Engram should be looked at to replace Stallworth, not Edwards.

If the Browns traded for a draft pick, they would have to trade into the top five to get the best receiver in the draft in Michael Crabtree from Texas Tech. There are some receivers that might be available later in the first round or in the second round. The list of quality receivers include Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin, Florida’s Percy Harvin, Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey, Penn State’s Derrick Williams and Oklahoma’s Juaquin Iglesias.

For some reason, wide receiver is usually the position that is hardest for rookies to really adapt to. More become busts than studs after being drafted. In 2005, six receivers were drafted in the first round and there are no studs in that list. Roddy White is having a season like Edwards had last year while Matt Jones and Mark Clayton are nice players. Troy Williamson is nothing more than a special-teamer and Mike Williams is out of the league.

The pampering that is needed for Edwards just is not worth it. Even though Edwards is better than former Brown Kevin Johnson was, Johnson was a better teammate than Edwards. We need to only look at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hines Ward and that is the way a receiver should play. He plays and contributes even when his number isn’t called.

Too many times Edwards quits or runs the wrong route just like a young Randy Moss. The difference is that Moss has more talent in his shoelaces than Edwards has overall. The reality for Browns fans is that the time is near to start cleaning house because this one is barely standing. Edwards should be shopped in the off season and addition by subtraction will be the Browns gain.