The 2007 Cleveland Indians came one game away from the World Series. A year later the Indians return over 90% of their 2007 roster having not lost a single major piece of their puzzle. As a result, the Pro Baseball Fans 2008 Cleveland Indians preview expects big things from the ‘08 Tribe but also has a few questions about the Indians. Check out the Indians preview as well as all of the 2008 MLB previews online at ProBaseball-fans.com

Alright all of you Ohio sports fans, we have a great lineup for you on Saturday, March 1st on FSN Ohio! At 4 pm on Saturday #22 Washington State tips off @ #8 Stanford in a game that has all kinds of Ohio ties! In fact, after a review of the roster of both teams, neither has a single player from Ohio. So someone please tell me why on Earth FSN OHIO would air this game? Don’t get me wrong, #22 @ #8 in the nation is a nice college basketball match-up, but why can’t we get Ohio teams on TV more often?

Saturday also features several Ohio college baketball teams in action including #24 Kent State @ Bowling Green, Ohio @ Miami, Akron hosting Buffalo, Toledo hosting WMU, Dayton @ Fordham, GW @ #11 Xavier, Ohio State @ Minnesota, Wright State @ Valpo and Cleveland State @ YSU. Now I realize there are TV contract issues to be worked out, but what the heck is the problem that keeps FSN Ohio from televising a game that Ohio sports fans really care about?

Sorry about your luck Brady Quinn. The Cleveland Browns and Derek Anderson agreed to terms on a 3-year deal to keep the Pro Bowl QB in Cleveland and keep fan-favorite Brady Quinn on the bench. On Thursday the Browns offered Anderson a 3-year deal worth $20 million with approximately $10 million guaranteed, but Anderson turned that offer down. The new deal that Anderson accepted is expected to be 3 years for at least $24 million and approximately $14 million guaranteed.

If I was Brady Quinn, I think I would fire my agent about now. Quinn came into Browns camp late thanks to his greedy agent, and ended up well behind Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson last season when he may have had a chance to start or at least begine the season above the #3 QB spot. But his holdout cost him valuable time with the coaches and time learning the Browns’ playbook, and today Quinn can only wonder what could have been.

The Warren District Division III Boys basketball Tournament Championship Game is set as #2 Newton Falls advanced by defeating #3 Champion 62-48 on Thursday. Newton Falls rode a balanced attack to the victory with three players in double-figures scoring led by 6′11″ Marcus Fowler’s 17 points. Newton Falls jumped out to a 34-21 halftime lead and was able to fend off Champion (17-5) for the 14-point victory. 

With the win, Newton Falls sets up a rematch with Pymatuning Valley, the #1 seed in the Warren District. Newton Falls will look to avenge last season’s 61-38 loss to PV in their Sectional/District game last March that saw Pymatuning Valley open the game 15-2 after the 1st Quarter. The winner of Saturday night’s game will advance to Regionals in Canton to face the Salem District Winner.

> View all of Ohio Sports Time’s High School Boys Division III Tournament coverage

Cleveland, OH - A local TV station in Cleveland, Ohio, is reporting that the Cleveland Browns will sign off on a deal to send DT Corey Williams to the Browns in exchange for Draft Picks. The details are not clear yet, but shortly after midnight the Packers are expected to franchise Williams and sign him to a 1-year deal then turn around and trade the 6′4″ 320-pound DT to Cleveland where the Browns will sign him to a multi-year contract. Williams had 7 sacks and a interception in 2007.

Buy Cleveland Browns jerseys & apparel online from DFN Sports sites.

The Warren District Division III Tournament resumed on Wednesday night at Howland High School as the Pymatuning Valley Lakers defeated the Garfield G-Men 73-60. After Garfield scored the game’s first bucket, the Lakers went on a 19-4 run to jump out to a 25-10 lead after the 1st Quarter. PV then expanded their lead without much trouble to 41-21 at the half. In the second half, Pymatuning Valley appeared poised to run away with the game before two early 3rd Quarter timeouts by Garfield shifted the momentum. Garfield outscored PV 13-4 to close the 3rd Quarter at 50-34 PV. The 4th Quarter was much like the 3rd Quarter as Garfield continued to clowly chip away, cutting PV’s lead to just 8 at 63-55 with just over 2 minute remaining. But Garfield began fouling before the clock hit 2:00 and the stratgic move backfired. Pymatuning Valley went 10-12 from the free throw line to outscore the G-Men 10-5 in the final two minutes as PV won the game 73-60.

With the win, the #1-seeded Lakers advance to the District Championship game to be played on Saturday night @ 7 pm at Howland HS against the winner of Thursday night’s #2 Newton Falls vs. #3 Champion game.

The Lakers were led by seniors Steve Savel (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Corey Shontz (20 points, 7 steals, 10 assists).

Game Notes:

• It is still unclear to most what “G-Men” are. The Garfield students copied cheers made popular by Atlanta Braves and Florida State fans (Indian war chant) and the Florida Gators’ “Gator Chop.” They also used the “Hook ‘Em Horns” symbol made popular by the Texas Longhorns.
• Newton Falls, the #2 seed in the bracket, had a scout on the court the entire game as the father of one Newton Falls player is also a member of the Athletic Department of Howland High School.
• Pymatuning Valley and Newton Falls met in the District Semifinals in 2007 with PV coming away with the victory over the Orange and Black.

> View all of Ohio Sports Time’s High School Boys Division III Tournament coverage

2007 was not a good year for the Cincinnati Reds. A 72-90 record, their promising rookie starter gets rocked, their superstar OF gets hurt, again, and they fire their manager only to then replace the replacement at season’s end. Yes, it was indeed a rough year for the Reds in 2007. But the beauty of sports is that there is always next year, and next year is here for the Cincinnati Reds. In their 2008 Cincinnati Reds preview, Pro Baseball Fans likes the Reds’ added starting pitching depth, the bolstered bullpen thanks to the signing of Francisco Cordero and the young stars coming up through the Cincinnati system. Will the Reds win 90 games and take the NL Central? Or will Cincinnati once again be below .500 and disappoint the best fans in baseball? Find out for yourself in the Pro Baseball Fans 2008 MLB previews and in the meantime, find Cincinnati Reds hats & merchandise online through DFN Sports sites.

VanDelay Sports, a popular fan site for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), has released their annual MAC Recruiting analysis. The 2008 MAC Football Recruiting Report includes team capsules for all 13 MAC football programs including the 6 Ohio MAC schools - Ohio, Bowling Green, Miami, Toledo, Akron and Kent State. The annual recruiting report also ranks the MAC football recruiting classes each year. Last season the Miami RedHawks topped VanDelay’s 2007 MAC Football recruiting report as the top class of recruits. This season, Miami’s MAC East rival Kent State took the top spot for the first time since the VanDelay Sports MAC Recruiting Reports were first launched in 1999.

Thanks to heavy snow in Northeast Ohio all games played in the Howland/Warren District Division III High School boys basketball tournament have been puched back a day. Tuesday’s Pymatuning Valley vs. Garfield game will now be played Wednesday night at 7 pm and the game scheduled for Wednesday between Newton Falls & Champion will now be played on Thursday at 7 pm. Because of the change in schedule, the District Championship game has been pushed back to Saturday night @ 7 pm @ Howland High School.

> View all of Ohio Sports Time’s High School Boys Division III Tournament coverage

Another great weekend of college basketball has passed, and while the major media attention was on the state of Tennessee, the state of Ohio continues to fly below the radar in terms of national attention. On Saturday, Kent State and Ohio picked up big wins in Bracket Buster games with Ohio topping George Mason in Athens while Kent State scored a huge road win @ #20 Saint Mary’s. Cleveland State also picked up a Bracket Buster weekend victory as they picked up their 19th win in defeating Marist.

Meanwhile, Sunday featured a key match-up as Dayton hosted rival Xavier. The #12-ranked Musketeers improved to 12-1 in A10 play as they topped Dayton 57-51. With the loss Dayton falls to 5-9 in A10 play and is just 3-8 in their last 11 games. Despite a RPI ranking of #38, it seems unlikely that the Flyers will be a good candidate for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

When looking at the 13 Ohio Division I college basketball teams and their NCAA Tournament resumes, Xavier & Kent State are the two that seem to be poised to play in the Big Dance. Ohio and Ohio State could be bubble teams, but need to convince the committee in the next two weeks that they can end the regular season hot. Ohio will likely need to win out and advance to the MAC Championship game to make a strong case, while Ohio State needs 3-4 wins in their final 5 Big Ten regular season games and possibly a upset in the Big Ten Tournament. Wright State’s 20-6 record and 12-4 mark in Horizon League play are impressive, but a RPI ranking of #74 is not strong enough. With three road games and two against RPI Top 50 teams, the Raiders likely need to win all three heading into the Horizon Tournament to have a legit at-large chance.

> Buy Xavier clothing & apparel, Kent State shirts, and Ohio Bobcats merchandise online through DFN Sports partner sites.

Dayton’s play over the last 11 games has dug the Flyers a hole, but Dayton is not the only team on the outside looking in. Cleveland State has had a solid second year under Gary Waters and will be a Horizon League contender in the near future, but we’re too early in Waters’ campaign to make them a true NCAA Tournament team. Akron’s recent losses at home to VCU and Northern Illinois and weak RPI ranking means Akron will be home during the Big Dance unless they can win the MAC Tourament. Miami had a strong early-season RPI, but a 7-6 MAC record has taken the RedHawks out of contention.