The Ohio State Buckeyes continue to make a statement in the first round. Bobby Carpenter goes higher than expected with the 19th pick to the Dallas Cowboys. Bill Parcells knows Bobby’s father who also played in the NFL, so he knows he getting a high character player. With A.J. Hawk going with the fifth pick to Green Bay and Donte Whitner going very high with the eighth pick to Buffalo, the Buckeyes are off to a very good start. Three down and possibly three more to go in the first round.

The Browns really lucked out as Whitner and Ernie Sims unexpectedly went in the top 10. As a result, the three guys they were targeting (Ngata, Bunkley, and Wimbley) were all available at 12. Consequently, the Browns traded down a spot with the Baltimore Ravens, who grabbed Ngata.

With the 13th pick, the Browns selected DE/LB Kamerion Wimbley from Florida State.

The Browns picked up an extra sixth round pick from the Ravens and got Wimbley, a great pass-rusher who Mel Kiper continues to compare to Peter Boulware. With Willie McGinest on board, Wimbley has a great chance to pick the brain and learn a great deal from the former Pro Bowl Patriot.

Congratulations to Donte Whitner! He went to Buffalo with the 8th pick of the NFL draft. That’s huge. he deserves credit, and he obviously made the right decision going out early.

Reggie Bush was just drafted by the New Orleans Saints, who open their 2006 season in Cleveland against the Browns. Hopefully Andra Davis and the Browns defense will give him a rude welcome to the NFL.

The Indians won their third straight as they beat the Texas Rangers 6-5 Friday night. Jason Michaels had one of his best games of the season as he went 3 for 5 with two doubles and two RBI.

“J-Mike came through in a huge way tonight,” said Wedge

The Rangers almost doubled the number of the Trible hits but it didn’t matter as the Indians came away with the victory. Kevin Mench homered for his seventh straight game for the Rangers. Bob Wickman gave up a run in the ninth but got his fifth save of the season and his 129th as an Indian, tying a club record.

Jason Johnson gave up a lot of hits in his six innings of work but pitched well enough to keep us in the ballgame, which is all you can ask for of a #5 starter. The offense produced big hits and let’s hope we keep this winning streak going.

In a pivotal Game 3 in Washington, LeBron almost single-handedly guided the Cavaliers to victory in a down-to-the-wire 97-96 thriller. LB, who finished with 41, drove to the basket in the final seconds and muscled one in to give the Cavaliers the lead. With nearly five seconds remaining, Gilbert Arenas had a good look at a three but couldn’t knock it down. The Cavs fell behind in the first half but with the help of Larry Hughes and some good defense in the third quarter, they were able to climb back in the game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and 8 rebounds but fouled out in the fourth.

In his first career road playoff game, LeBron took it as just another game and was as impressive as ever.

“I said I wouldn’t have two bad games in a row,” said James, who had 10 turnovers and shot 7-for-25 in the Game 2 loss. “I watched Game 2 over and over, and I saw the adjustment they made on me from Game 1 to Game 2. Me being the player I am, I had to counterattack, and I was able to do that.”

With the win, we go up 2-1 in the series and regain home-court advantage. For us to win the series and possibly advance further in the playoffs, however, we need more production out of those players not named LeBron. Specifically, Marshall tonight contributed only four points in 29 minutes.

If you took a quick glance at the box score for Thursday night’s 15-3 win against the Red Sox, you might do a double-take when your eyes reach Ben Broussard’s name. That’s right, he went 4 for 5 with two home runs, including a grand slam in the first, and a career-high eight RBI. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, who has been hot to start the season, only managed to make it through 3 2/3 innings, giving up eight earned runs and five walks. Paul Byrd rebounded from his previous few outings and got the victory for the Tribe who won their second straight.

“Ben was unbelievable,” Byrd said. “He sure made me feel comfortable, giving me a four-run lead like that. And the crowd chanting his name was great. That was really cool.”

Wow, what a game by Benny B. Indians hitters hit everything that was thrown to them. They deserve a lot of credit the way they bounced back from the road trip and took the series from the Sox.

The Indians jumped on the Red Sox early with a three-run Jhonny Peralta homer off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the first. That’s all Cliff Lee needed. He got his second win of the season, giving up the one run in six innings as the Tribe went on the win 7-1. Aaron Boone drove home Victor Marinez twice in the ballgame with a double in the sixth and a single in the eighth. The Indians were also helped out as they scored two of their runs on passed balls.

“It’s a big win,” Lee said. “They’ve got a good lineup. To hold them to one run in six innings is pretty good.”

Yes, Cliff, that was a big win. He pitched a heck of a ballgame against a pretty tough lineup and he really was the story of the game.

The NFL Draft is almost upon us. It seems more that likely that the Browns will select a defensive lineman or linebacker with the 12th pick in the first round. While a few of the top players in those positions will be gone by the time the Browns are up, they still will be able to get a quality lineman or linebacker by the time they are on the clock. Here’s a look at the possible players who could be available for the Browns at the 12 spot:

DE/LB Kamerion Wimbley, FSU – A defensive end in college, Wimbley could be projected as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 for Romeo and the Browns. At 6′3″, 248, he has great speed and would provide the pass-rushing skills that the Browns have lacked over the years. He most likely would not start right away but would benefit greatly from playing behind and learning from Willie McGinest. He played in only 11 games last season due to injury but still recorded 7.5 sacks as a senior.

LB Chad Greenway, Iowa – He is your typical farm boy. Chad recorded 156 tackles in 2005 and was named first-team All-Big Ten his junior and senior seasons. He became a starter his sophomore season and was the leader of the Hawkeye defense ever since.

OLB Ernie Sims, FSU – As a sophomore, earned second-team all ACC honors. He’s undersized at 5′11″ but has decent speed on the outside. Character may be an issue with him as he was arrested for domestic battery last year.

DT Broderick Bunkley, FSU – Catching a theme? Yes, the Seminoles had some pretty darn good talent in their front seven. Bunkley, after an injury-riddled first three season at FSU, broke out in 2005, finishing with 66 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. A 300-pound nose tackle, he is projected to be selected as early as pick 9 so he may not fall to the Browns.

DT Halati Ngata, Oregon – At 6′4″, 338, Ngata is a load. He is your proto-typical nose tackle and was an All-American his senior season. Like Bunkley, Ngata is in that pick number 9 or 10 range so the Browns would be thrilled if one of those two were to drop to the Browns’ spot.

Considering the Browns probably will not trade up (and rightfully so, they don’t want to spend more money on a top 10 pick), I would have to first look at Ngata and Bunkley. It’s very possible neither of them will be available but if one were to fall…Bingo! Otherwise, I’d have to go with Wimbley with the 12th pick. He’d fit in well with the Browns as an outside pass-rusher.

With the score tied 5-5, Manny came to the plate in the eighth and ended any hope of a Tribe victory with a three-run homer over the right field wall. The Tribe roughed up four-game winner Curt Schilling for five runs in 6 2/3 innings but it didn’t matter as Ramirez’s home run off Mota sealed the deal for the Red Sox as they gave the Indians their third straight loss, beating them 8-6. Ben Broussard highlighted the Tribe by going 3 for 4 with a home run.

Pitching, pitching, pitching. Whether it’s the starters or the relievers, nobody can seem to form any sense of consistency lately.