– 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.

Here are some things that I find interesting:

– Why does Memphis coach John Calipari get no credit for being a good basketball coach? I know that he can recruit, that he took UMass to the Final Four and that his teams have never gone on probabtion. I know that he struggled in the NBA, but he knows what he is doing on the college level. He outcoached Ben Howland of UCLA, and I expect the same thing tonight against Bill Self and Kansas.

– We received our shipment of MLB media guides this morning, what team do you think produced the thickest book? Try the Tampa Bay Rays. 576 pages; it works out to nearly a page per all-time victories. Very strange.

– If the Cavs end up fifth and then lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Washington Wizards, we all know the calls will be loud for coach Mike Brown to be fired. My guess is that won't happen. I think it is more likely that GM Danny Ferry gets bounced, but even writing that, don't look for a cleaning out of the Cavs by Dan Gilbert.

– Browns GM Phil Savage says he isn't going to trade up in this year's draft. And that is the correct choice. First, I don't think he has anything to trade beside next year's No. 1 or Brady Quinn, and Quinn isn't going anywhere this year. Check back on that this time next season if Derek Anderson goes to the Pro Bowl again. Lastly, Savage has built this team to win now, so he should give it a shot and see what happens this season.

– The first week was choppy for the Tribe, but a heck of a lot better than the Detroit Tigers'. Talk about flaming out.

Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn or Joe Thomas? What about one of the guys on defense, Eric Wright or Kamerion Wimbley?

Who is the most important to the Browns?

What about Jamal Lewis? To me, there is no doubt.

With him healthy, he is the key to the Browns being an 8-8 team or better.

If he goes down, the backups are weak and, in turn, put too much pressure back on the quarterback.

With Lewis and a bend-don't-break defense, the QB can throw 15 times or so, and the Browns could win.

If it is not Lewis, the QB goes into throwing 22 times or more, and I think that is trouble, not only for the Browns, but most teams in the league.

Remember, that is how the Steelers brought along Ben Roethlisberger and how the Chargers brought along Phillip Rivers.

With a healthy and productive Lewis, that is the only way the Browns can have a winning season.

Brady Quinn plays two meaningless series against a prevent defense and now everyone wants him to start against the Steelers in Week 1.

I just don't see it. Most, if not all, of his passes were to guys who had little or no coverage.

He needs a lot of work in my opinion and with coach Romeo Crennel's job on the line, I think he needs to take a longer look at Frye and Anderson this week. Who is going to start this season? Who is going to give him the best chance to keep his job?

The last quarterback to get thrown into a bad situation and then grow into a top QB … Peyton Manning and before him Troy Aikman. That is two quarterbacks in the past 20 some years. Quinn is no Manning, and he is no Aikman.

So, unless the Browns want another Tim Couch or David Carr, Quinn needs to sit most of this season.

On the job training behind a leaky line is not the way to develop a long-term answer to a football team's most important question (Who is the QB?).

Just in time for the first game, Brady Quinn signs.

I still don't think he will see much, if any time, on the field in the regular season.

And if he does, then it won't be a good sign for the Browns.

It should make for an interesting subplot all season-long.

– I must admit that I am surprised how easy the Tigers and Indians have allowed the races to tighten in the American League. With the resent poor play by the AL Central leaders, the Mariners and Yankees are now only a half behind the Tigers for the wild card. And don't forget the Twins, who are just 4 1/2 behind the Tribe. Should make September interesting but it didn't have to be this way for either the Indians or Tigers.

– The Browns can point to good signs at camp, including big back Jamal Lewis seeming to have something to prove. But with Orpheus Roye getting hurt, Ryan Tucker getting suspended, Brady Quinn causing bad PR league-wide, something doesn't smell right, and I am not talking about the Stadium.

– Dario Franchitti's crash at Michigan International Speedway shows just how well all racing cars are built these days. Take a look at ESPN for the video.

– Dale Earnhardt Jr. draws the most fans to the race track and to the souvenir shop but right now, he would not be in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. It is kind of like the NBA not getting as much attention whent the Knicks, Celtics and Lakers all are not in the playoffs.

– Mike Tomlin won his first game with the Steelers on Sunday in Canton. He won't remind many of Bill Cowher, but astute observers might see a little Chuck Noll in the rookie head coach.

– Ohio State football is No. 10 in the coaches' poll behind Wisconsin and Michigan in the Big Ten. Seems about right for a team that doesn't know who will be quarterback.

– Tiger Woods … really, whatelse can you say? Maybe it is time for a statue next to the historic water tower at Firestone.

How long will it take for Browns fans to turn on Brady Quinn?

It seems to me that it already has started. There really is no reason for the 22nd pick in the draft to not be in camp, I don't care if he is a QB or not.

If Quinn, who obviously didn't impress too many folks in the NFL scouting ranks, believes that he will be a starter some day in this league, he needs to get to camp and start improving. He had a bad spring, and now, it is turning into a worse summer.

Maybe that first-round pick of next season would be more valuable than a fourth-string QB.

Three things that could determine the Browns' future:

1. Does the organization have the wherewithal to give Joe Th0mas and Brady Quinn time to become good pros? Most times offensive lineman sit out all, if not most, of their first year. Same goes with non-elite quarterbacks. Remember Philip Rivers sat for nearly three seasons. Now he is a Pro Bowl player for the Chargers. Although Drew Brees is not the Browns QB either.

2. It seems that this will be the last season for coach Romeo Crennel. More and more reports say that GM Phil Savage and Crennel don't get along or, at least, don't seem to be on the same page. Without a team president, can owner Randy Lerner get the two to work together? Also if the season only produces six wins or less, should he start over again with a new GM, who then gets to chose the new head coach. I would think that hiring a new GM would be a bad move, but if Savage continues to have spats with those working with him, should he really be the guy building your organization.

3. Should Derek Anderson be given the reins on offense? Charlie Frye has done nothing to say he should be the guy.

If these three situations are handled well, the Browns might finally be on the road to becoming a playoff team. If not, they will be back to the beginning, again.

I keep reading wire reports with Brady Quinn saying how good he is going to be and how he is the player to right the Browns.

I also know that he is performing poorly in workouts and that he is fourth out of four QBs on the depth chart. In other words unless there is a total disaster of a season or injuries, his best friend on the team is going to be the clipboard. And that could be for a couple of seasons.

It might help if Quinn made fewer public appearances/comments and made more plays in practice before he talks about being the Browns QB.

A look back at the weekend and what is ahead:

The Indians can't seem to get their hitting machine rolling. It is now the end of June and Travis Hafner still is not hitting. That is the bad news. The good news is the Tigers are only 2 games ahead and the Indians lead the wild-card race.

Juan Pablo Montoya won the Nextel Cup race in Sonoma, Calif. It was his first win, but more important for NASCAR, it was a minority driver who won the race. With Lewis Hamilton, a black man, winning twice in Formula One, NASCAR has been getting more questions about its minority program. Montoya's win shows NASCAR is making progress.

Does anybody really care to hear about Kobe Bryant every day? Enough already ESPN.

All indications are that Brady Quinn is going to need a lot of work to be of any good to the Browns this season. Now we see why most didn't think he was a high first-round prospect.

The Cavaliers have a lot of value with veteran contracts that are going to expire after next season. In today's NBA, those can be more valuable than gaining a real player.

Ohio State football is being talked about as being the fourth best team in the Big Ten this season behind Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State. I just don't see Penn State being better than the Buckeyes. The other two should be, but the Badgers will be like the Buckeyes, going with an inexperienced quarterback.

Greg Oden and Kevin Durant or should I say Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. I think Oden will go first, but the NBA, despite the players being on the West Coast, has to be happy that these two will be playing against each other in the same division for years to come.

As for the draft, I think the Cavs will pass on trading into the proceedings.

Paul Tracy, the Canadian driver, continues to race well in Cleveland. Kudos to Tracy.

Wimbledon gets started today …. wake me when it's over. Speaking of Wimbledon, when it was great in the 80s and 90s, we couldn't watch the early rounds because it was on HBO. Now that it is on ESPN, I see no reason to watch.

It doesn't register on most sports fans' radars, but it was good to see the United States win the Gold Cup this weekend, beating Mexico 2-1. It bodes well for Bob Bradley's plan for the National Team.