Would this Ohio State team beat last season's team? No

Is Todd Boeckman a better player and/or quarterback than Troy Smith? No

Were Antonio Pittman, Anthony Gonzalez and others of great value? Yes

With all of that said, this Ohio State is in a better position to win the title, particularly if Boston College manages its way to the title game.

Just another surprise of the college football season. Although if everyone else loses, we still might get LSU vs. Ohio State in the title game.

LeBron James said he will lead this Cavs team to great things no matter the holdouts.

That is going to be a tall order.

Not sure if Juwan Howard is the answer, but unless the bunch of no-names on the bench suddenly turn into top shelf performers, I see a first-round exit from the playoffs, if that.

GM Danny Ferry is probably earning silent applause from his brethren around the NBA for not caving into restricted players' contract demands, but at some point, he has to replace Varejao and Pavlovic.

And to top all of that, Mike Brown is putting into place a new offensive plan.

Folks buckle your belts this could be a bumpy ride

Coming off my recent post, here is how we are planning to attack the week.

Patrick McManamon will be with the Browns and Cavaliers this week, including covering the Knicks game Friday night.

Marla Ridenour (Browns) and Brian Windhorst (Cavaliers) are on their beats.

Sheldon Ocker will provide some opinions off the Wisconsin-Ohio State game Saturday.

George Thomas will be with Ohio State and at the Cavaliers opener Wednesday.

David Lee Morgan Jr. will cover several prep playoff events and go to Bowling Green game on Friday night with the UA football program.

Stephanie Storm will start the week with KSU basketball coverage and then help with prep coverage.

Tom Gaffney and Nate Ulrich will cover several prep events and provide insight into the football playoffs in Ready, Set, Play on Thursday.

Part of putting the newspaper and Web site together are questions of staffing and importance.

For us, the unquestioned leader is the Browns, followed by the Indians, Cavaliers and Ohio State football in no particular order.

After that is where it gets murky. High school football, Akron football and KSU football, the college basketball programs. Don't forget Mount Union, too. Are they good, do the readers care, do they only care if they win, are road games worth the expense?

That is the questions Rich Desrosiers and I ask ourselves everyday. This week we add high school playoffs for soccer, volleyball and football, too.

Then, we have part of the readership who want us to cover Cleveland sports like the Plain Dealer, to cover Ohio State like the Columbus Dispatch and then others who want us only to cover Akron and forget everything else.

It can turn your hair gray, but it also is what makes the job fun.

Like putting puzzle pieces in the right spot.

Sometimes they fit, sometimes they don't, sometimes pieces are missing.

For the Rockies fans out there, here is a good story to keep your head about yourself as you prepare to watch Game 2 of the World Series tonight.

The Cavaliers are getting dissed nationwide as the season is about to get started. Here is the SI.com view.

Anybody remember Mickey Monus? He has an original connection with the Rockies. Here is an ESPN.com feature.

Mark Sanchez, the new quarterback at Southern Cal, shows how real life plays a part in the mind-set of being an athlete. Yahoo! Sports write a well-done feature.

Sorry for the break in blogging but made a family trip to Denver last weekend.

What a beautiful part of the country. We saw the four seasons in four days. Friday, 60s with more sun; Saturday 80 and sun; Sunday 30s with 4 inches of snow. Monday back in the 50s with sun. Did you know that Denver averages more than 300 days of sun per year. I am not sure if we average more than 300 hours of sun here with all the clouds rolling off Lake Erie.

Also did some interesting reading on the Rockies (hard not to like), Nuggets (easy to hate with Iverson and Anthony), Broncos (a .500 team in the making) and Avalanche (Cup-worthy?).

Back to sports …

– I leave for the weekend and the Indians go from being a game from the World Series to at least another season away. What a meltdown!

It seems to me that the suddenly scared pitching staff and the overpaid DH in Travis Hafner did in the Tribe. Hafner finished the season as he started it. Not hitting, at all.

I still think that any chance of the Indians signing C.C. Sabathia ended the day Hafner signed his deal. Now neither was good in the postseason, but C.C. got the Tribe there.

– The Browns could be tied for first place Monday. Who would have thought that sentence would be written this season?

– Ohio State is still the inside favorite to make the BCS title game. Another sentence I didn't expect to write this season, especially in October.

– The Cavaliers are in trouble. I agree with GM Danny Ferry not spending the Cavs into oblivion, but if he sticks to his priorities and doesn't overspend on Pavlovic or Varejao, then he needs to make a deal to support the starting five.

– Rockies in 7. Not sure why. Just a feeling.

– Rick Reilly from Sports Illustrated to ESPN. In his place at SI will be Dan Patrick, formerly of ESPN. Well, that is like trading Tom Brady for Ken Dorsey. Advantage, ESPN.

By the way, Reilly gets $10 million for five years to write one column per week (one week in the magazine, the next for the .com) plus some TV duties. Hopefully SI doesn't continue Patrick's Q/A interviews that used to be on the back page of ESPN Magazine.

First, I want to start this take by saying that I enjoy reading Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.

But … this morning on the Mike and Mike radio show, it hit that we listen to all of these talking heads like they have some inside knowledge but in reality they really don't.

Stark said the reason that the Indians had turned the series was by throwing first-pitch strikes.

I am not saying this isn't true. In fact, it is very true.

My questions is why would a team not do this in the first place. Is Stark telling us that C.C. Sabathia's and Fausto Carmona's plan in the first two games was to throw first-pitch balls?

Of course not.

The reality is, that Byrd and Westbrook are pitching well right now. Byrd said he threw his first 90 mph fastball of the season last night

Now, I am not saying it is luck but it isn't this great new game plan either.

Right now, the Indians are playing well. Period. And the Red Sox aren't.

Nothing else

This is a well-done piece on the state of sports journalism.

Fox has a TV show, Kitchen Nightmares. … And we wonder why the rest of the world hates us. … Super Bowl in London? Don't do it, Roger.

I think with its victory over Kent State on Saturday, Ohio State won the MAC. … Nothing against the Buckeyes, but I am rooting for a Boston College-South Florida title game. … Maybe 15 people will watch.

Devon Hester is a special player. … Think Adrian Peterson would look good playing for the Browns? … Just like LT would have looked good for the Browns, too.

Indians-Rockies World Series. … Both teams are built in the image of John Hart. … Fans of the Texas Rangers want to know what is wrong in Arlington.

UA wants respect, wants excitement, wants more fans. … Well, don't lose to Temple.

The only team beside OSU ranked in the Top 25 is Michigan. That means one loss eliminates the Buckeyes from title game hopes.

Don't miss the announcement today, Arena Football is back in Cleveland. … Vinny Testaverde steps on the field Wednesday and leads a victory Sunday. … First player to be collecting Social Security and an NFL paycheck.

Why do 103,000 Ohio State fans let the school get away with playing Kent State, Akron and Youngstown State in the same season?

I just don't see why folks waste their money on these type of games, just go out and burn $200 in the driveway.

Kent State coach Doug Martin already has said that he is planning on playing a lot of backups not in the second half or second quarter, try the second series. This isn't the preseason! So if the teams don't care why should the fans?

I know this goes on at a lot of big schools, but three times in one season is weak.

Three schools with no chance to win yet more than 300,000 folks will have watched these games.

At the end of the day, Ohio State and Kent State will cash checks. And we will let them get away with it.

Go play with your kids, rake leaves, take walk or a nap, there has to be a better way to spend your time and money.