Some missed opportunities in the late innings caused the Tribe to lose 4-3 Monday afternoon to the Blue Jays. It marks the first time the Indians have lost consecutive games since August 15 and 16, a testament to how hot they have been recently. They couldn’t muster any magic against the Jays, however. Starter C.C Sabathia wasn’t his best but kept his team within striking distance. With the game tied at two going into the bottom of the sixth, Vernon Wells hit a game-changing two-run homer to give the Jays the lead. The Indians would have their chances in the eighth as Ryan Garko homered and they proceeded to load the bases with one out off closer B.J Ryan. Perhaps a little too anxious, Andy Marte popped up on the first pitch and Grady Sizemore struck out to end a possible rally.

“We blew opportunities there at the end of the game,” said Indians manager Eric Wedge. “We had every opportunity to tie it and win it and we didn’t take advantage.”

The Tribe got another good outing from their starter but failed to come through in the clutch offensively.

The Cleveland Browns regular season starts this week and I believe the team will exceed the most common prediction of 6-10. This offense is capable of running the ball and connecting on short passes. Cleveland has improved their offense line and 1,000 yard rusher Reuben Droughns has a year of experience under his belt.

They also have two very talented possession receivers in Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards, both back from injury. These two factors will allow Charlie Frye to gain experience without putting himself in difficult situations.

Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage have once again put together a very strong defense that will be able to match most offensive units they face this year. So, I look forward to very competitive year.

Kenny Roda from WKNR SportsTalk 850 will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the sports world both locally and nationally. Check back often for his updates!

I was impressed with Ohio State’s offense in their 35-12 win over Northern Illinois. Not from the standpoint of the Buckeyes’ two Heisman Trophy candidates putting up the numbers they did. Troy Smith threw for 298 yards and 3 touchdowns and Ted Ginn Jr. racked up 123 of those yards on 4 catches, two for touchdowns. No, I was impressed that head coach Jim Tressel unleashed Smith and Ginn from the get go and then mixed in the running game to allow Antonio Pittman to rush for 110 yards and a score. Tressel also got true freshman running back Chris “Beanie” Wells into the game for 10 carries and 52 yards and a score on his second carry of his career. Yes, Wells did fumble later in the game, but he got the experience of playing in a Division 1 game so when he plays against Texas on Saturday in Austin, it won’t be such a shock.

There were two things that I didn’t like about the offense. The first was when Tressel substituted backup quarterback Justin Zwick for Troy Smith in the middle of a series down near the goalline. Zwick obviously wasn’t ready. He tripped over an offensive lineman’s leg and then fumbled the handoff with the Huskies recovering and keeping OSU from scoring its sixth TD of the game. Bad coaching move. The second area that concerned me was the kicking game. Both Ryan Pretorious and Aaron Pettrey missed long field goals. The kicking game is a huge part of “Tressel Ball”, so one of these two better step up and perform or the Buckeyes could lose a tough,close game late in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, the Buckeyes have a long way to go and not a lot of time to get there. In fact, the time frame is less than a week to get ready for Colt McCoy and the defending National Champion Longhorns. Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois’ All-American running back, racked up 172 yards rushing and 115 more receiving this past Saturday. If Ohio State’s “D” allows that to happen against Texas, the Buckeyes will leave the Lone Star state a .500 team and no longer ranked #1 in the country.

Defensive end Vernon Gholston and linebacker Larry Grant were the only two defensive players who really caught my attention in game #1. Gholston recorded 1 1/2 sacks and made his presence felt in the Huskies’ backfield. Grant, the junior college transfer, came up with a big interception in the red zone and made other plays throughout the game. Yes, senior defensive linemen Quinn Pitcock, David Patterson and Jay Richardson played well, but they’re going to have to turn up their intensity and performance a few notches against Texas if they want sweet revenge for last year’s 25-22 loss at “The Shoe” in Columbus.

If they can put pressure on Texas QB Colt McCoy, it will go a long way in helping out an inexperienced secondary of Jenkins, Mitchell, Patterson, Smith, O’Neal and the rest of the defensive backs.

But all in all, a 35-12 win over Northern Illinois showed that they weren’t looking ahead to Texas, which is a good sign of leadership and focus. So let the fun begin this week for one of the most anticipated games of the season. A showdown in Austin between this year’s #1 team, Ohio State, and last year’s #1 team and National Champion, Texas. My prediction?

The last team to have the ball will win in a high scoring affair. So here’s hoping Ohio State gets the ball last and Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. hook up on a fade in the endzone in front of thousands of Longhorn fans who will feel the same pain Buckeye fans felt last year. And then maybe that will pave the way for the Scarlet and Gray to accomplish what Texas did last year, hold that crystal football up in the middle of the field on January 8, 2007 as college football’s National Champions!