Cleveland

Most likely, the Cleveland Cavaliers will take Nerlens Noel with the No. 1 overall pick. When you think about their needs, a big man who can run the floor and defend the rim fits that. Of course, Noel is a project, a couple years away from really contributing much at all to an NBA team.…

Cornerback Bademosi could help elsewhere, too. Family and friends of Oklahoma State's Cooper and Brandon Weeden were near Monday's tornado. More Browns story links and video of 6-10, 388-pound Rams player who sat on a chair during his college game, it breaking under him.

In the thread where the Muscle Buster is battling the Stone Cold Stunner for finisher dominance, there was a lively discussion about burials and rather or not Austin buried other wrestlers. When it comes to the topics of burials, Stone Cold Steve Austin is usually not the first person to come to mind for some wrestling fans. The term itself has become widespread and popular with the IWC, because we know everything there is about the wrestling industry and can do TNA's job better than they can. One of those things in the last sentence is probably true. So let's do it, let's talk about burials in pro wrestling. There is one man and one man only, who is always present in every burial that has occurred in pro wrestling. I think we all know who I'm talking about. None other, than the Undertaker. We all should have seen it coming. He was the Undertaker, he was obsessed with corpses and funerals and had some fat, pale guy with him carrying an urn. We should have known from when he first stepped out onto television. This man was here to bury other pro wrestlers. Sure, it all seemed innocent enough, a casket match here and there every once in a while. But underneath was the sinister urge to bury pro wrestlers, effectively ending their prosperous careers. He of course, would then bill the families for the funerary services he rendered. The first burial in pro wrestling took place on October 20, 1996. The person to be buried was Mankind. Evidently burying one wrestler wasn't enough, the Undertaker wanted to bury the entire species. Who could stop this madman and his evil schemes? He has supernatural powers! Those powers were used in the work of evil and Mankind was the first pro wrestler to ever be buried. Mankind's wife, who is still looking for him in Cleveland, says that her husband was a good man. She continued, "you might even say, he was a kind man." If there was anyone who didn't deserved to be buried live on PPV, it was certainly this lovable husband and father. Not satisfied with his perverse need to fulfill his gimmick requirements, the Undertaker attempted a second burial on December 13, 1998. This time, against the opponent of Stone Cold Steve Austin. In an ironic twist of fate, Austin managed to turn the tables on the demon. The Undertaker became the second wrestler to ever be buried in pro wrestling history. This obviously did not sit well with the "Phenom" as the Satan worshiping kids call him. The Undertaker would return with the Big Show and successfully bury the Rock and Sock Connection on September 9, 1999. This would make it the second time that Mankind has been buried on PPV. Why no one has ever thought to call the police to arrest this monster, has yet to be explained. There was a brief period of quiet on the burial front as the Undertaker was replaced by an alien who thought Limp Bizkit music was cool and badass. Upon seeing this nu-metal crap in his company, Vince McMahon had no choice. On November 16, 2003, Vince McMahon buried this bizarre creature and killed it for good. He was then hailed as a hero in both the wrestling industry and the music industry, as Limp Bizkit's career as rock stars were seemingly buried with it. Unfortunately, the real Undertaker returned to start is reign of burial terror anew. However it was not meant to be. Kane managed to bury his own brother on October 24, 2010. It was also broadcast on PPV. Fortunately, no one saw it because no one was watching wrestling anymore. Fans had a difficult time seeing their top wreslter John Cena and Randy Orton is boring. That was the last burial. No professional wrestler has ever been buried since. When you add it all up. No one in the wrestling industry has been buried more than the Undertaker with Mankind coming a close second. Still, the Undertaker remains the most buried wrestler in the history of the world. What an abysmal and uneventful career he must have had. This op-ed has been written and is sincerely signed by, Tyrion Lannist

via prod.images.vikings.clubs.nflcdn.com Leo Lewis Position: Wide Receiver College: Missouri Vikings Career: 1981-1990, 1991 Leo Lewis got started in the CFL in 1980, before joining the Vikings in 1981. Lewis didn’t have an immediate impact, but he eventually became a contributor. His best season came in 1984 when he caught 47 passes for 830 yards and 4 touchdowns, all career highs. Lewis left the team in 1990, for a brief stint in Cleveland, only to return to Minnesota in 1991, his final year of pro ball. Lewis has found a good deal of success off the field. During his career, he had been working towards his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lewis now works for the University of Minnesota as the associate athletic director for student-athlete development. Incase you missed the previous installments, here are the links. May 16, 2013 May 9, 2013 via prod.images.vikings.clubs.nflcdn.com Leo Lewis Position: Wide Receiver College: Missouri Vikings Career: 1981-1990, 1991 Leo Lewis got started in the CFL in 1980, before joining the Vikings in 1981. Lewis didn’t have an immediate impact, but he eventually became a contributor. His best season came in 1984 when he caught 47 passes for 830 yards and 4 touchdowns, all career highs. Lewis left the team in 1990, for a brief stint in Cleveland, only to return to Minnesota in 1991, his final year of pro ball. Lewis has found a good deal of success off the field. During his career, he had been working towards his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lewis now works for the University of Minnesota as the associate athletic director for student-athlete development. Incase you missed the previous installments, here are the links. May 16, 2013 May 9, 2013

The hurry-up, no-huddle style of offense that has torn through each level of competitive football has finally landed in the NFL.After some flirtations with NFL teams in recent years, former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly accepted the head coaching position of the Philadelphia Eagles on January 16. He also interviewed with the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns. Kelly and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn are two of the trailblazers who brought the up-tempo offensive style to college football. They are also two of the most successful offensive masterminds in the game. Because of that, the success or lack thereof that Kelly has in the NFL over the next year or two will directly impact Auburn and Malzahn. If Kelly experiences success at the pro level anything close to that which he experienced at Oregon (46-7 record in four years), NFL suitors will come knocking on Malzahn's door. Why wouldn't they? If they can't beat the Eagles, these teams should then copy Philadelphia by hiring someone who runs a fast-paced offense. Only time will tell if Kelly's prolific offense will be successful in the NFL. Former Eagles quarterback and current ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski doesn't think it will (via Chris Wesseling, NFL.com): I just don't see NFL passing concepts in this offense...It's a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run-action, off the read-action. A lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens. Very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts. To be fair, Kelly never had a QB at Oregon who can throw the ball down the field like he has with the Eagles in Michael Vick. Malzahn and Kelly's offenses are very similar in terms of tempo, which is the key to their offenses' success. Confusion within the defense leads to slow feet.The two coaches are also similar in how they expect their attacks to be executed. The offense of both Malzahn and Kelly uses a lot of inside- and outside-zone-blocking plays along with counter and power running plays. Both will mix in "gimmicky plays" as well. Here is a Statue of Liberty play that Auburn ran in Malzahn's last game as offensive coordinator against Virginia in the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl:And not to be outdone, here is Kelly's fake Statue of Liberty play in 2007:Malzahn has already made an impact on NFL offenses. He gets credit for the successful "Wildcat" formation that was formed when Malzahn was at Arkansas in 2006. The formation allowed for the most dynamic athletes to be on the field at the same time.According to The New York Times, former Miami Dolphins QB coach David Lee—who coached with Malzahn at Arkansas in 2006—took the Wildcat formation that Malzahn used with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones and incorporated it into the Dolphins offense with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in 2008. Some NFL teams continue to use variations of the offense. That just goes to show that in the NFL, if something works, teams will copy it. If Kelly's Philadelphia offense puts up Oregon-like numbers in 2013 and Malzahn turns around the Auburn offense for the second time since 2009, look for Malzahn's name to be tied to coaching vacancies in the National Football League next offseason. For Auburn fans, now may be a good time to join the Dallas Cowboys or New York Giants fan clubs.Follow @TrueBlueAU

Nick and Dan Gilbert (center) are ready to make the playoffs. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images) Moments after striking draft lottery gold by winning the No. 1 overall pick for the second time in three years, Nick Gilbert, son of owner Dan Gilbert, had already turned his attention to the Cavaliers’ next goal. “Whoever we pick can make our final push into the playoffs,” Nick declared. Dad agreed: “This is huge for us. It’s our third year in a row in the lottery. Hopefully it’s our last for a long, long time.” The 24-win Cavaliers jumped up from the third spot in the lottery order, claiming the No. 1 pick despite having just a 15.6 percent chance of doing so. As The Point Forward’s Rob Mahoney noted Wednesday, the future appears bright in Cleveland thanks to two first-round picks this year, a clean salary cap sheet making them players in free agency, and a young core centered around All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. But just how difficult is it for lottery teams to escape the roomful of ping pong balls and qualify for the postseason? What does recent history tell us about the likelihood of the Gilberts’ playoff dreams coming true in 2014? Making the lottery leap The face-value odds of making the playoffs are deceptive. Sixteen of 30 teams get in! That’s more than half! “This is the beginning of our annual right of renewal,” commissioner David Stern promised Tuesday. “The lottery into the draft into free agency, and those are sort of the ways, together with trades, that our teams get ready for the season.” Of course, the 30 teams begin next season with the same shot of qualifying for the playoffs in theory only. In practice, the haves and have-nots aren’t too hard to spot already, nearly 12 months out and before the draft or free agency cycles have even begun. We can all agree the Bobcats, Magic, Kings and Suns will all likely be back in the lottery again next year, correct? And we can essentially pencil in at least five teams — the Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Pacers and Bulls — into next season’s playoffs without blinking, right? And, wait a minute, haven’t the Spurs made the playoffs every single year since 1998? That begs the question: What exactly is the year-to-year turnover rate in the playoffs? How many new blood teams can we expect to qualify for the 2014 playoffs? How many open seats at the table are the Cavaliers realistically fighting for? Four of the 16 teams to qualify for the 2013 playoffs — Warriors, Rockets, Nets and Bucks — did not qualify in 2012. Turns out, that’s right about average. Examining the playoff teams since Michael Jordan’s sixth and final title in 1998 reveals that, on average, there are 3.7 new playoff teams every season compared to the previous year, yielding a turnover rate of 23.1 percent year-to-year. There’s slightly more movement in the Eastern Conference, where an average of two new teams appear in the playoffs every season compared to 1.7 new teams out West. Put simply: In any given year, roughly three-quarters of the league’s playoff teams can be expected to return to the postseason one year later, while roughly 10 of the 14 teams in the lottery in any given year can be expected to endure that shame again the following year. Going back to 1999, there has never been a season in which there were more than five new playoff teams — I’ll call them “leapers” from here on out– compared to the previous season. On the other side, there’s never been a season in which there was less than two leapers. Only once in the post-Jordan era has a conference returned all eight teams to the playoffs for a second straight year, which happened in the East following the 2011 lockout. Adjusting for games lost during the lockouts, the threshold to make the playoffs in the East is significantly lower than in the West. Over the 15 post-Jordan (Bulls) seasons, th

By Julian Benbow, Globe staff There wasn?t enough time for Terry Francona?s mind to wander. Not after sitting through two rain delays Wednesday night in Cleveland that stretched his Indians' 11-7 loss to the Tigers out over 3 hours...

After waiving QB Thaddeus Lewis, the Browns were down to three quarterbacks on the roster and had a space available to sign a player. Thursday morning, it was announced that wide receiver Tori Gurley was signed to take Lewis' place. Looking at Gurley's career, it is pretty astonishing how many teams he has been part of since entering the NFL in 2011 as an undrafted free agent. You could draw a spaghetti diagram with the number of teams he has bounced around to in two years of time. Here are the teams (in order) that Gurley has been with Green Bay: Things were pretty steady for Gurley at first. He signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2011, and spent all season on their practice squad. He came to camp in 2012, but did not make the final roster. Minnesota: After the Packers released him, the Vikings signed him to their practice squad in September 2012. He was released a few weeks later. Oakland: In late-September, Gurley joined the Raiders' practice squad. Tampa Bay: By mid-October, Gurley found himself on the Buccaneers' practice squad. San Diego: A few weeks later, Gurley was on the Chargers' practice squad, but was released prior to December. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens signed Gurley at the beginning of January to a reserve/future contract, but was released in mid-May. I would assume that he did not receive a Super Bowl ring since he was on a future contract. Cleveland: Now, Gurley will try to see if he can make some noise with the Browns. Gurley definitely has some size on him at 6-4, 232 pounds. Brent Sobleski of ESPN Rumor Central had the following to say about Gurley: Recent Browns pickup Tori Gurley is a big physical WR that always had questions about the type of separation he could create. — Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) May 23, 2013

BOSTON (AP) - Terry Francona is back at Fenway Park as an opposing manager for the first time since he left the Red Sox.Francona brought the Cleveland Indians to Boston for a four-game series starting Thursday night. He was let go by the Red Sox after eight years as their manager following a September 2011 collapse left them out of the playoffs.He was relaxed and spoke calmly for about 20 minutes ...

Watch Mary Kay Cabot's and Tom Reed's analysis of Week 2 of the Cleveland Browns OTA's in Berea.