Ohio State QB Troy Smith has been cleared of NCAA violations by Ohio State and the NCAA following an investigation over his attendence at a football camp conducted by Steve McNair. This seemed like a very minor incident, so it should be a relief for Buckeye fans that Smith will not have to sit out any more games following the opener. Regardless of whether he starts, the Buckeyes will likely need him against Texas.
The Cavaliers reportedly wanted Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, but so did Larry Bird. Well, Larry got his guy. ESPN is reporting that Jasikevicius has agreed to sign a three-year, $12 million deal with the Pacers Sunday. Doug Neusted, Jasikevicius’ agent, told ESPN, “It really came down to who he could win a championship with next year. He saw a chance to contribute and win and couldn’t pass it up.” I guess you can’t blame the guy for picking a quality organization like the Pacers, but I’m surprised he chose to leave (reportedly) more money and more minutes on the table in Cleveland, not to mention the opportunity to play with his best friend, Z. That said, I wasn’t as sold on him as some other people were, not for the Cavs, anyway. After the Larry Hughes signing I thought Jasikevicius made sense because the team was still in need of a three-point threat, but with Donyell Marshall on board that became less of a concern. And considering Jasikevicius’ noted defensive shortcomings, he just didn’t seem like a great fit.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many appealing options out there for the Cavs now at the point. The ABJ is still talking about Marko Jaric, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve got enough cap room to sign him and, besides, Jaric is a restricted free agent. That may be good news for Cavs fans, though, as Jaric has been injury prone throughout his brief NBA career and may very well end up making more money than he’s worth. The guy who probably would’ve made the most sense right now, Antonio Daniels, has already come to terms with the Washington Wizards. Of course, a Drew Gooden trade can never be ruled out but with how thin the Cavs’ frontline looks at the moment, I doubt they’ll move him for a guard. Want a dark horse candidate? How about free agent Gary Payton? He’s way past his prime and he’s got a big mouth, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Danny Ferry was at least kicking GP’s tires. Considering the other options out there, it makes sense.
The Indians offense had scored a total of two runs in Kevin Millwood’s last four starts, dropping the right-hander to 3-9 on the year. But Sunday, the bats came alive for Millwood in a 6-3 win over the Mariners. Victor Martinez hit a big three-run homer in the seventh to put the Indians up by four while Jhonny Peralta, batting third again, knocked in his 41st run of the year. Millwood, meanwhile, improved to 4-9 by allowing an earned run on three hits in 7.2 innings, striking out five. The victory gave the Indians a 2-1 series win over Seattle, with a west-coast swing up next.