It was rumored for some time that the Cleveland Browns had put a price tag on the value of Kellen Winslow II this offseason, and it was no secret that Winslow had issues with the Browns’ front office in the past. The extremely talented tight end’s tenure in Cleveland ended on Friday as the Browns have reportedly dealt Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for undisclosed draft picks. Rumors online stated that Cleveland was looking for a 2nd and 3rd round pick for Winslow, who had 43 catches for 428 yards and 3 TD in 10 games last season.

So what is next for the Browns? With a new GM and new head coach in place, fans are uneasy about the future of this franchise. It did not seem that the Browns were far away from contending in the AFC after a 10-6 season in 2007, but 2008 led to yet another regime change in Cleveland. With their best defensive player unhappy (Shawn Rogers) and the new staff poised for yet another Cleveland quarterback controversy it leaves this fan lacking optimism but still hopeful that one day we will finally return Cleveland Browns football to the top of the NFL standings.

Last season Ohio Sports Time followed a local high school boys basketball team all the way to the Division III boys basketball Regional Tournament when the Pymatuning Valley Lakers advanced to the Elite 8. This season the Pymatuning Valley girls basketball team is breaking records. With their win @ Campbell Memorial last week the Lakers completed a perfect 20-0 regular season for the first time since 1996-1997, and entering tonight’s first round playoff game against Badger, the Lakers were just one win away from the school record of 21 wins. The Lakers did not disappoint on Monday night as they defeated Badger for the 3rd time this season to improve to 21-0 and advance to the Sectional Finals against rival Grand Valley, a team the Lakers defeated earlier in the 2009 season.

Next Game: Pymatuning Valley vs Grand Valley - Thursday @ 6 pm, Lakeside HS, Ashtabula

The deadline has come and gone and for all the early morning excitement the Cavs are sticking with what they have to make their playoff push.  For all the reports and talks the team had over the afternoon and the past few days they didn’t make a move.

ESPN is reporting that the Cavs are in talks with the Suns for the Shaqtus.

The Cavs would send Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to Phoenix for the big man.  The Suns are reportedly not savvy to give Wallace another shot, so they’re angling to get Wally Szczerbiak’s expiring contract (which the Cavs should dump anyway).   This deal would make a lot of sense for both teams, giving the Suns some financial relief and shoring up the Cavs D (Shaq has been solid this year).

As of now it appears that a deal is no where near being done.  We’ll see where it goes from here…

UPDATE:  Looks like the deal is now “highly unlikely” according to ESPN.com.  The issue all revolves around Szczerbiak or Wallace.  The Suns want Wally and his expiring contract.  The Cavs for some reason don’t want to give him away.  The deadline is at 3 p.m.  As of now the dream of Lebron and Shaq is not looking good.

The NBA Trade Deadline is today and the Cavs are expected to make a move to improve their already scary-good team.  Defense should be their biggest concern and the rumors seem to appear like the Cavs know it.  I’ll be posting updates today as they happen, so it’ll get a bit bloggy around here.

EARLY RUMORS

Early rumors have the Cavs being busy on the phones looking for a good 4.  Amare Stoudemire, Antwan Jamison and Marcus Camby have all been thrown around as possibles, but none have stuck.  ESPN has an blog saying the Cavs should make an offer to get Carlos Boozer back.  He’d be a great fit but I’m not sure if he’d fit in well with the team or how the fans would react to him.  He’s not exactly a popular guy in Cleveland.  Winning changes everything.

The annual MAC football recruiting report at VanDelay Sports is the single biggest traffic-driver each season to the popular MAC sports fan site, and the 2009 MAC recruiting report is now live. Luke Jernigan, Webmaster for VanDelay Sports, told Ohio Sports Time that this is his favorite time of the year. “We typically get ten times the traffic as a result of the recruiting report,” said Jernigan. “From fans who are eager to see how their alma mater or favorite MAC team did in recruiting for the year to rivals checking up on other MAC teams, it makes for some great traffic on the site.”

For some of these new recruits, those that have enrolled early or transferred, they will get a chance to show what they have as soon as March. For the rest, the summer practices leading up to the 2009 college football season are critical for these players to see time on the field. No matter when they join their respective schools, the VanDelay Sports evaluation of these talented youngsters is just one of the few ways that fans can follow their team and get an idea of what to expect this fall.

Like sand through an hourglass, thus goes the home winning streak for the Cavs.

Don’t expect anyone on the team to seem too upset about it, however.  Most are going to tow the party line like Lebron did after tonight’s 101-91 loss to the Lakers.  “I didn’t want it to happen, but I’m glad it’s over.” 

I realize that’s the PC thing to say after a streak, but 23 shouldn’t be happy when his team let Lamar Odom put 28 on them, with 17 rebounds.  He’s averaging 9.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg this year.  Even Lamar is surprised at Lamar’s line tonight.

 The bright side is that Big Z had a monster game (22 pts, 9 rebs, 2 blocks).  The big man was lighting it up from outside, which he needs to keep up to remain dangerous in the second half of the season.  Especially on nights like tonight when Lebron is pedestrian (for him) on the scoring side (16 pts, 8 rebs, but a game high 12 assists).  Mo Williams is still channeling his righteous fury about being snubbed for the All-Star game, scoring 19.

The Lakers, meanwhile, become the first team to win back-to-back road games against teams with .800 winning percentage this far into the season.  They’re playing hard and proving that even sans Bynum they’re a force to be reckoned with.  Kobe really gutted it out tonight, playing with the flu and getting an IV during halftime on his way to 19 points.

The Cavs had Wally Szczerbiak and J.J. Hickson on Odom, which goes a long way to explaining his big night.  The Cavs have a week and a half to improve defensively.  Let’s see if they get something done before the February 19 trade deadline.

Posted by AJ Paiotti