– The Cavs and Wizards continue their war of words; good thing for the Cavs, the Wizards have shown little bite on the court.

– The Browns received passing grades from most sites around the sporting world for their draft.

– Kyle Busch nearly wrecked like he usually has at Talladega, but he kept his car clean enough to end his day in Victory Lane. If continues his hot runs, folks at Joe Gibbs Racing will be asking, "Tony, who?"

– The Indians seem to be rounding into shape, thanks to slow starts throughout the division. C.C. definitely is rounding into form, too bad he ran into the Yankees ace Sunday.

– We are continuing are move into the Internet waters more each day. We are attempting to add more standings items to the teams pages and video from our reporters. The first one of note is Marla Ridenour's take on the NFL Draft. You can find that here.

– Patrick McManamon's blog is back, offering a lot of insight into the area pro teams. He has been with the Cavs since the playoffs began; take a look here.

– The TV talk this weekend will center around Tiger Woods and The Masters. This usually signals the beginning of golf season in NE Ohio. With temperatures in the 40s this weekend, maybe the Browns minicamp in May would be a better starting point.

– Is C.C. Sabathia struggling with expectations? Many thought that he turned the corner last season. But the playoffs. The contract talks. The slow start this season. Maybe it is all starting to add up.

– The NHL has to pleased with Alexander Ovechkin being in the playoffs. We get to take a look tonight on Versus and Sunday on NBC.

– I have seen a couple of folks saying Brady Quinn would be the No. 1 pick in this draft. Then how does he not beat out a player who was cut from his first NFL team and another player who becomes the backup with the Seahawks. I think Quinn still needs a lot of work, and obviously the Browns agree.

– Red Sox and Tigers coming to town early next week. We'll get an early indication of what to expect this year in the American League.

– Coming on Ohio.com on Saturday and Sunday, is Patrick McManamon writing about Fausto Carmona, free throw shooting and other random thoughts. Also we'll have coverage of the Masters, the Cavs finish of the season, the Tribe-A's series and a wrapup of the Zips spring football camp.

– Brett Favre got preferential treatment from the national media during his career but there is no doubt that the NFL is losing a unique athlete with his retirement. His gunslinger mentality was fun to watch, and his joy in playing was infectious. He will be taking his place in Canton in five years.

– Akron and Kent State are locked into the MAC Tournament slots but the game Sunday at Rhodes Arena should give a good feel for how the tournament will turn out next week. Don't count out the Zips, yet.

– The Browns have spent a lot of money and enjoyed a mostly positive view on the national stage for their moves in the free-agent market. The odd thing is with the schedule the teams in the AFC North face. The Browns could go 9-7 and win the division.

– LeBron James' pregame dunk was off the charts Wednesday night in New York. Take a look here at Yahoo! Sports.

– I don't know what is happening more often, snowy weather in Akron or another Penn State football player getting arrested in State College. I just don't know.

– Terrell Pryor, do you have an opinion on JoePa's control of his Nittany Lions program? I guess we will find out that answer is the next few weeks.

How much do you all want to read about Roger Clemens and steroids?

We go back and forth as to how much room to give this in the paper as it proceeds with Congress.

We will have two features and fact boxes previewing the UA-Kent State men's basketball game Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center.

As for coverage of the game, we will have Tom Gaffney, Stephanie Storm and Patrick McManamon providing insight to the key MAC East game late Wednesday on Ohio.com and in the Thursday edition of the Beacon Journal.

Here is a quick rundown of what is working in sports, what is not.

Romeo Crennel: working
Dolphins going on fifth coach in five years: not working

Winter Classic in NHL: working
BCS mess (Hawaii in game, Georgia didn't face USC): Not working

Jim Tressel: working
Bill Stewart at WVU: not going to work (these hires from within always seem to crash)

Big East football: working (3 BCS wins in a row)
ACC football: not working (No BCS wins since 2000)

SportsTime Ohio: working (And I am surprised)
NFL Network, Big Ten Network: not working

Indians: working
Cavaliers: not working

LeBron James: working
Larry Hughes: not working

Sprint Cup (Nextel Cup): working
FedExCup (PGA): not working

Stars of the 1980s: working
Roger Clemens: not working

As you guys can see I haven't blogged much in November. Partly due to vacation, partly due to some time to reflect on where to take this blog.

We have a Browns and Cavs blog, and our Indians writer has a weekly Q/A with readers, so I think it would be better for you guys to communicate with our writers on those subjects. We also have a great UA Zips blog that gives our coverage there some depth. We also have had great success with the high school blog, Varsity Letters.

The ideas I want to float are: should this be a blog that reflects on national stories or trends, or one that just offers a view of our thoughts inside the Beacon on local sports.

Comment or e-mail me with your thoughts.

Marla Ridenour looks at the call from some in the NFL that the Patriots should stop running up the score.

Patrick McManamon looks at the Browns rise, the Cavaliers fall and other random thoughts in his Beside the Point.

Brian Windhorst offers his view of the early going in the NBA as the Cavs depart on a six-game road trip.

Sheldon Ocker and George M. Thomas are covering the Ohio State-Wisconsin game.

Nate Ulrich, Ben Plassard, Michael Beaven, Tom Gaffney and David Lee Morgan Jr. will be covering high school playoff games in football and soccer.

Stephanie Storm will take a quick snapshot of the Kent State basketball team as it begins play with an exhibition game against Hiram.

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.