Now that Hal Lebowitz is gone, the weekly “View from Pluto” is a must-read for all Cleveland sports fans. Terry Pluto is the best writer covering Cleveland sports, and his insights each week are informative and entertaining. This week’s installment has some great predictions on the Tribe’s 2006 season. He’s not worried about the bullpen because the Tribe has some great depth at the minor league level. The same can be said for the starting pitchers, and we all know that Andy Marte and Ryan Garko will be waiting at Buffalo to take over at third base and first base.

As for the Browns, Pluto points out some interesting comparisons to the Butch Davis era:

There’s a good chance the 2006 Browns will have only two offensive starters from the Butch Davis Era: receiver Dennis Northcutt and right tackle Ryan Tucker. And if Braylon Edwards gets healthy (not expected back until September) or free-agent signee Joe Jurevicius starts, then it will only be Tucker.

• If the Browns have a decent draft, there could be as many as 40 out of 53 players who are new this season compared with the end of 2004. On defense, the only returning Davis Era starters might be Orpheus Roye, Andra Davis and Daylon McCutcheon. Chaun Thompson and Alvin McKinley came off the bench in 2004.

That’s pretty amazing. Savage and Crennel have them going in the right direction.

Finally, Pluto’s story about LeBron is worth reading. This kid is amazing.

Over at ESPN.com Insider (subscription required), Mel Kiper is all over the Buckeye players as he discusses the latest rumors on the NFL draft:

Another interesting spot to watch is with the Jets’ second pick in the first round. They could go with Ohio State center Nick Mangold with the 29th pick, but don’t be surprised if they take outside linebacker Bobby Carpenter, also from Ohio State. Carpenter is in the same mold of Mike Vrabel, another Ohio State alum. Vrabel’s defensive coordinator with the Patriots last season was Eric Mangini, now the coach of the Jets. If the Jets don’t take Carpenter, don’t be surprised if the Steelers take him. Remember, before he signed with the Patriots, Vrabel originally was drafted by the Steelers.

I’ll be sick to my stomach if the Steelers get Carpenter. I’d love to see the Browns get him with their pick in the second round, but that might be wishful thinking.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will likely have Larry Hughes back in the next couple days. This will be a nice transition to get him ready for the playoffs. Hughes will have some time to again understand the offense and put in valuable minutes on the defensive end. This should be a great “shot in the arm” for Cleveland heading into the playoffs with home court for at least the first round. I look for LeBron James to get some well needed rest in the next couple weeks.

The Cleveland Indians started the season in Chicago and after losing another opener, they had to face more bad news. It’s likely that C.C. Sabathia will miss at least 2 starts as he recovers from his injury. This is not the type of start the Indians wanted considering they played catch up all last season and fell just short of the playoffs.

The 2006 season started the same way the previous one ended: a loss to the hated White Sox. The Indians tied it up 3-3 in the fourth inning before both teams were forced to wait through a nearly three hour rain delay. The Sox came out after the break and proceeded to put up seven unanswered runs in the next three innings to beat the Tribe, 10-4. Indians starter C.C Sabathia had to remove himself from the game in the third after an apparent abdominal strain. Tribe pitchers had trouble all night finding the plate, walking nine batters.

I guess the Tribe didn’t get the memo that the season has started already. Their play was about as sloppy as the field conditions. Let’s cross our fingers that C.C’s injury is not too serious and hopefully we can get our act together before Tuesday.

Barring a total collapse by the Cavs over the final nine regular season games, the fourth seed in the playoffs is all but theirs. LeBron dropped 35 points as the Cavaliers won their eighth straight, edging the Charlotte Bobcats 101-97 Sunday night. The Cavs sit 6 1/2 games ahead of Washington for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“We’re in the playoffs and we’re getting very close to locking up the fourth seed and we’re just going to keep playing the basketball we’ve playing lately whether it’s on the road or at home and try to come away with some wins,” James said.

Cleveland is on fire as of late and things may get even better, as Larry Hughes could possibly return to action as soon as Tuesday. Larry is coming back just in time. Hopefully he can use the remaining games to shake off the rust and get himself into prime shape for the playoffs. With him at full strength and Flip coming off the bench, the Cavaliers could be one of the most dangerous teams come playoff time.