Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer are both coming back from injuries and Steve McNair is starting with a new team. As for the Browns, an injury-free young Charlie Frye will get his opportunity to be the man behind center this season. Romeo Crennel enters his second season as head coach of the orange and brown and things are looking bright in Cleveland. In his AFC North preview, SI.com writer Don Banks spotlights the Browns as the “team on the rise” in the division.

They’re not quite ready to give the Steelers and the Bengals a run for the top rung of the AFC North, but the Browns are finally starting to put some pieces together on the personnel front.

Offensively, much depends on what Cleveland gets from second-year quarterback Charlie Frye and two injury-plagued former first-round picks — tight end Kellen Winslow and receiver Braylon Edwards. But Reuben Droughns has supplied a legitimate running game, and the Browns have upgraded their offensive line again with the addition of Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley.

On defense, adding veterans Willie McGinest and Ted Washington will definitely help in the locker room, but don’t expect either one to perform as if they were in their prime. The draft, however, supplied two future playmaking cogs in Crennel’s 3-4 defense: end Kamerion Wimbley and inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. How quickly they develop may determine the level of improvement of Cleveland’s defense this year.

When speaking of rising stars in the AFC North, Banks declares Kellen Winslow II as a prime candidate.

A phenomenal talent at the University of Miami, Winslow has prototypical tight-end skills in the NFL’s pass-happy era and could quickly emerge, if healthy, as Frye’s favorite target. Until Edwards proves ready to return from his own knee injury, in mid-October or so, Frye’s only proven receiving option figures to be Joe Jurevicius, making Winslow even more attractive as a target.

K2 is finally healthy and has had an outstanding off-season, both in the weight room as well as with Charlie Frye building chemistry. I can hardly contain my excitement and can’t wait to see him on the field again.

As for the team itself, everything looks great on paper now but much of our success this season will depend on Frye. Our improved defense should be able to keep us in every game and it’ll be up to Charlie to manage the game effectively. While he doesn’t have to be a star and win games by himself, he will have to limit his mistakes on the field. After all, opening day will be just his sixth regular season start. Secondly, will he even last the entire season? He bulked up in the off-season in order to prepare his body for the 16-game NFL schedule and if he goes, so will the Browns’ offense.

Cavaliers’ 2006 draft picks Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson are playing summer ball in Las Vegas and are getting rave reviews thus far. Terry Pluto gathered quotes from several NBA league sources on their progress.

General Manager Danny Ferry said: “I watched him play full-court defense one game, and he did it with a smile. He really got after his man. It was great to see.'’ Cavs coach Mike Brown praised the coaching his top rookie received from Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Cavs coaches were especially impressed with how Brown handled the pick-and-roll, a major part of the Cavs’ offense. That play was rarely used at Michigan State.

Rick Kamla had this to say on nba.com: “Brown had a dunk where he was literally looking into the basket before he brought the house down. His hops are off the charts, and his arms dangle all the way down to his knees. Good luck making a clean pass against the Cavaliers this season, with the athleticism and length of perimeter players like LeBron James, Larry Hughes and Brown.”

A 6-2 guard from Texas, Gibson averaged nine points in 31 minutes, shooting 54 percent from the field. In college, nearly 70 percent of his shots were 3-pointers, but he took only four in Vegas. That’s a positive, because he’s more effective if he looks for medium-range shots and doesn’t just stand on the 3-point line. His defense was considered above average.

The Cavs compare Gibson to a player such as Lindsey Hunter or B.J. Armstrong, a small guard with good shooting range and a pesky defender.

Both should provide solid perimeter defense and will improve the Cavaliers’ outside shooting. Brown and Gibson were nearly 40% shooters from beyond the arc in college and the Cavs seem to feel that the combination of the two should help alleviate the loss of Flip Murray. Murray was a good defender and could drive the lane, but his outside shooting was suspect. The Cavaliers needed help in that area from the backcourt and that was one reason why they chose to draft Brown and Gibson.

The offensive woes continue for the Tribe, who lost for the third straight time after winning the first game after the All-Star break. After Sunday’s 5-2 loss, they have now scored two runs in each of their last three games. Going into the game, it could have been assumed that a slugfest would be in order. Jeremy Sowers and Carlos Silva took the hill, both of whom had ERAs in the near sevens entering Sunday’s action. The Tribe were unable to find any rhythm off Silva, who gave up only five hits in six innings. Sowers surrendered all five of the Twins’ runs in seven innings. The young lefty also allowed three home runs, two of which were to Luis Castillo and Rondell White, who have four homers on the season between the two. The Tribe got their two runs on a Grady Sizemore first inning homer and a Casey Blake RBI single.

“It seemed like all series long we couldn’t get any mojo at the plate, any momentum,” said Todd Hollandsworth, who went 0-for-4.

“When you put yourself in a position to get a leg up early on in a series, you need to take advantage of it,” Wedge said. “Our pitching was pretty good this series, but they shut us down offensively.”