Author: JEC (Page 45 of 46)

The Indians extended manager Eric Wedge’s contract through the 2007 season, with club options for 2008 and 2009. It really looks like Mark Shapiro is building something special with a young roster that’s potentially set up to compete for the next several years, and locking Wedge up now (along with many of his coaches, including Eddie Murray, Buddy Bell and Joel Skinner) gives the franchise a sense of stability as it transitions from a promising team to a contending one.

Of course, Wedge earned this extension because of the work he did during a two-year rebuilding phase. Now we’ll see how he handles the pressure of expectation. From the looks of it, this team plays hard for Wedge and responds well to his managerial style, and I would expect more of the same as the Indians continue to improve.

As an Ohio University alum (’99), I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the Bobcats’ first NCAA tourney appearance since 1994. Back then, OU was led by the Shaq of the MAC, Gary Trent, but the 2004-05 version boasts two of the best freshmen in the country, guard Jeremy Fears (11.1 ppg, 3.8 apg) and forward Leon Williams (12.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg).

Drawing the third-seeded Florida Gators in the Syracuse Regional, a team noted for its early round exits, the Bobcats found themselves down by 20 in the second half before going on a 25-5 run and knotting the score at 60-60 with two minutes left. Ultimately, though, the Gators proved to be too much for OU, pulling out the 67-62 win. It was a familiar story for the Bobcats, having fought back from 19 down to beat Buffalo in the MAC championship at the Gund last Saturday. Unfortunately, their latest comeback bid fell just short.

The MAC has been gaining respect over the years from the rest of the college football world, and it may soon be time to start paying attention to the conference during hoops season. Sure, teams like Miami and Eastern Michigan have made some tournament noise in the past, but this OU squad is young, with every starter except senior forward Terren Harbut returning next year, and they aren’t the only talented team in the MAC.

Keep your eye on Athens, Ohio, college basketball fans. The OU bars have always been top-notch, but now it looks like the action at The Convo may be just as appealing.

Cavs coach Paul Silas was fined $10,000 Thursday by team owner Dan Gilbert for his comments on turncoat Carlos Boozer. I guess the Cavaliers had to make a statement, but 10 grand is an awful lot of money, especially considering all Silas did was tell the truth.

“I’ve spoken to Paul about this and I’m confident he understands that it was completely inappropriate for him to speak in the terms that he did,” GM Jim Paxson said in a written statement. After what Boozer did to the Cavaliers, though, I’m sure Paxson found Silas’ comments perfectly appropriate and pretty damn funny too.

Joining Gerard Warren, Anthony Henry and Robert Griffith on the list of now ex-Browns players is Courtney Brown, who was cut Monday afternoon in a move that saves the team $2.5 million.

Along with Warren and Tim Couch, Brown symbolized everything that went wrong with the team under Chris Palmer and Butch Davis: poor talent evaluation, terrible decision making and plenty of bad luck.

ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli lays it all out very painfully in an article that will leave any Browns fan embarrassed and nauseous [LINK]. In fact, when I think about how the Browns blew two #1 picks, a #3 and a #16 choice on Couch, Brown, Warren and soon-to-be-departed William Green in back-to-back-to-back-to-back drafts, I simultaneously feel like crying and puking. It’s pathetic.

Let’s just hope we saw a trend reversal last year with the selection of Kellen Winslow and that the latest “new regime” will begin to erase the agonizing memories from 1999-2002 in next month’s draft.

Some interesting news tonight.

First, the Browns have signed former Ravens starting cornerback Gary Baxter to a multi-year deal [LINK], a solid move but, considering the numbers involved, a move that could come back to haunt the Browns. Baxter is a good corner, certainly better than the guy he was brought in to replace, Anythony Henry. But like Henry, you’ve got to wonder if, in a free-agent class so deep at corner, Baxter didn’t command too much money. Reports say the deal is for six years and $30 million with a $10.5 million signing bonus, major bucks for a corner who tallied one interception last year. Still, he’s a big guy (6-2, 204 pounds) and, better yet, Baltimore’s loss is our gain, which is always a plus.

The more surprising development, though, is the Bills agreeing in principle to a four-year, $6.6 million deal with quarterback Kelly Holcomb [LINK]. Considering Romeo Crennel was apparently ready to name Holcomb his starter next year, the eight-year veteran’s decision to sign with Buffalo, where he’ll most likely back up 2004 draftee J.P. Losman, is rather shocking. Then again, with the roller coaster Holcomb’s been riding the past couple years in Cleveland, he may very well have been looking for a fresh start.

Now the big question for the Browns and their fans is: Who will be the quarterback in 2005? Trent Dilfer? Jay Fiedler? Brad Johnson? Something tells me Romeo and Phil Savage won’t hand the reins over to Luke McCown.

Following the signing of former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi and former Cincinnati punter Kyle Richardson, it’s encouraging to see the Browns continue to stay active with the Baxter acquisition. Hopefully they got the right guy, and hopefully they’ll get the right guy when they make a move for a starting quarterback.