Raiders hold off Browns 20-16

      A controversial holding penalty wiped out what would have been the game-winning touchdown as the Cleveland Browns were defeated by the Las Vegas Raiders 20-16 in Las Vegas.

The penalty on reserve center Nick Harris for holding Christian Wilkins nullified DeShaun Watson's eighty-four touchdown pass to Amari Cooper and an earlier missed extra point by Dustin Hopkins cost the Browns at the end as they were forced to try for a fourth down conversion at the Las Vegas nine with DeShaun Watson's sack ending the drive.

DeShaun Watson threw a touchdown pass to tight end Blake Whiteheart on the first drive of the game for the Browns only trip to the end zone with Rodney McLeod scooping a Raider fumble and running twenty-five yards for the remaining Browns touchdown.

Cleveland drops to 1-3 with the defeat and will travel to suddenly energized Washington next week.

Brownie Bits

1) DeShaun Watson hitting a wide-open Amari Cooper for the long score only to be called back for Nick Harris's holding penalty is typical Browns.

Commentator Ross Tucker was critical of the call at first and then backtracked to thinking the call was acceptable.

2) Here's my issue with the call, holding happens on every play and therefore could be called.

It isn't unless it's egregious and in this case, I didn't think it was that obvious and decided the game.

By the letter of the law, it was holding but by the code of consistency, it shouldn't have been called.

3) DeShaun Watson completed his first nine passes but for a measly forty-four yards.

Either Kevin Stefanski or Watson isn't confident in Watson's shoulder because Watson rarely looks downfield.

Other than the touchdown that was called back, Watson's longest completion was for only nineteen yards.

4) Watson's interception wasn't his fault either as Amari Cooper's hands failed him and the ball bounced straight to Tre'von Moerig.

While I don't see signs of the superstar quarterback that Watson was in Houston, he has been avoiding the big mistakes other than taking so many sacks.

5) While it's not Amari Cooper's fault that his score didn't count, Cooper was at fault for the interception and dropped another pass as well.

The veteran finished with four catches for only thirty-five yards.

6) DeShaun Watson does seem to be developing some chemistry with Jerry Jeudy and while this isn't resulting in big plays, it may eventually do so.

Jeudy finished with six catches for seventy-two yards and a team-high nine targets.

7) The Browns lost center Ethan Pocic for much of the game and even though the Raiders sacked Watson three times when the Browns were in crucial situations, the Las Vegas pass rush was in the face of Watson.

8) The defense did its normal strutting and woofing but allowed a team with Gardner Minshew at quarterback and missing its top weapon, Davante Adams, to score twenty straight points.

Much of this is due to some awful tackling which has crossed all over the game with players more interested in landing the punishing hit rather than taking the ball carrier to the ground.

The Browns do this often and when it backfires it can have consequences as it did on the touchdown scored by D.J. Turner as two Browns tried for the crunching highlight only to have the tackle broken and the touchdown scored.

9) The run defense wasn't stellar either as a Raider rushing attack that was at the bottom of the league finished with 152 yards and two scores.

The game reminded me of the 2022 Browns where teams suddenly realized Cleveland had run-stopping issues and then shoved it down their throat all season.

10) Isaiah McGuire hadn't seen the field often since being drafted in 2023 but it was his hit that caused the fumble which turned into a Rodney McLeod touchdown.

11) On the final drive, the Browns strolled along and allowed loads of time to roll off the clock as if they were trying to run the time to the end.

The tactic makes sense if you are waiting for a field goal attempt but not if needing a touchdown.

I found that quite needless.

12) Dustin Hopkins missed a key extra point but late in the first half, Kevin Stefanki chose to punt rather than have Hopkins attempt a fifty-eight-yard field goal.

Fair enough but Hopkins had hit earlier from fifty-six and the indoor stadium had perfect conditions, so I have no idea why the Browns didn't try Hopkins.

It was far from a sure thing but it didn't make sense to me.

13) This season is nearing the point where a hole is dug that the Browns cannot get out.

Road games at Washington and Philadelphia loom and I'd say a split of those games is paramount.

A few weeks ago, I would have felt that Washington would have been an easy win but the WFT has put things together the last two games and is rolling along well.

If the Browns return to Cleveland 1-5 and play as they are now, the three-game homestand vs the Bengals, Ravens, nad Chargers might put some people in the potential firing zone.

Just saying.

Ohio State Smacks Sparty 38-7

      Will Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Michigan State Spartans 38-7 in their first road game of the season in East Lansing, Michigan.

Jeremiah Smith ran for one score and caught another with the highlight all over social media with Emeka Egbuka with a touchdown catch and ninety-eight yards receiving to lead the offense.

Ohio State improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten with the win.

The Buckeyes will host Iowa next Saturday.

Olentangy Offerings

1) I am guessing here that few of you who read this are fans of the 2000s television show "Charmed".

While I wouldn't say I'm a fan, I'm not a hater either and there is one scene that while I don't remember the episode, context, or anything else, a scene where Holly Marie Combs's character literally sucks the life out of some poor schmuck popped into my mind during this game.

That's how Jeremiah Smith took this game over in the latter stages of the first half.

2) Holly Marie Combs and Jeremiah Smith may not have much in common, but they both just rendered their opponent lifeless.

Smith is double-covered as he leaps through two Spartan defensive backs to grab a Will Howard pass with one hand for a chunk of yardage, that's amazing enough BEFORE you watch the replay and see a Michigan State DB faceguard Smith AND grabs his facemask yet STILL catches the ball!

3) Then and THEN (cue Ray Stevens from his gimmick hit "Along Came Jones"), Smith snares another pass with one hand and just drives into the end zone for the score that broke Sparty.

You so rarely see a football team walk into a locker room that is clearly lifeless and deflated as Michigan State was after that display.

4) Will Howard did throw an interception but overall looked sharp and I'm impressed with his poise.

For now, Howard is what teams hope to receive from veteran transfer quarterbacks,

5) As spectacular as Jeremiah Smith is, you forget Emeka Egbuka at your peril and Egbuka might be the first receiver taken in next year's NFL draft- Smith may be the next great receiver but there is no way that Egbuka should be looked at as Smith's version of Alvin Harper.

6) Howard took a huge hit on the final scoring drive of the first half, so it was Devin Brown who threw the touchdown to Jeremiah Smith.

I'm really torn on giving Devin Brown playing time over freshman Julian Sayin as Brown deserves snaps for what he has gone through at Ohio State but it's Sayin who is the future of the program.

7) Michigan State was in this game for most of the first half, three times driving down the field into the red zone before the defense forced turnovers.

The Spartans fumbled twice and were stopped on a fourth and one at the OSU twenty-yard line.

Bend but not break defenses can break but the Buckeyes didn't in this one.

8) The offensive line still causes me to worry a bit and the protection (especially on the hit on Will Howard) hasn't been perfect.

Even more than the protection is in the run game where I didn't see the line pushing off the ball and opening holes against the Spartans.

Granted some of that is better competition but I would like to see a little bit of power football next week against Iowa, a rough and physical team.

9) The run game wasn't as spectacular as in non-conference play but it wasn't chopped liver either as TreVeyon Henderson averaged 9.9 yards on his seven carries and Quinshon Judkins 4.9 yards on his eleven.

I'm not worried about the running backs.

10) The pass rush provided four sacks, something that last season's squad accomplished only once.

Things are about to pick up as the returnees start to play more snaps and roll up those numbers.

Boxing Challenger: Mayer shades Ryan

        On a weekend when women's boxing had center stage over the men, the women continued to show that at the top of their game, they can produce fights that are equally exciting as the men as Mikaela Mayer narrowly took away the WBO welterweight title from Britain's Sandy Ryan in a fight that should be considered for fight of the year status.

Considering the pre-fight heat between the two camps over Ryan's trainer moving to her from training Mayer, it was hard to believe that the fight would live up to the level of anger the two fighters exchanged but it managed to and yet before the bell, things managed to get even stranger!

As Ryan was preparing to leave her hotel to go to Madison Square Garden, an unidentified attacker threw an entire can of red paint over her torso and legs with the can reported to have been thrown into her stomach.

Ryan's trainers were adamant that Ryan not fight but she insisted on defending her title and speaking to ESPN's Mark Kriegel, Ryan gave a pro wrestling-type interview where she cast the blame on Mayer, who naturally said she had nothing to with the attack.

After the fight, Ryan tweeted a thinly veiled accusation towards Mayer that she had the hotel cameras that would confirm the identity of her attacker.

For all the drama, the fight was better with swings of momentum throughout, and yet the fight was technically sound and not only an entertaining brawl with Mayer landing the straighter and sharper punches from the outside with Ryan walking Mayer down and landing the more powerful punches, especially in round six when Ryan buzzed Mayer with a right hand.

I scored the fight even at 95-95, as did one judge, and would have been the best verdict but two judges scored for Mayer 96-94 and 97-93.

96-94 either way is very acceptable but 97-93 for Mayer (or Ryan) is a bit excessive.

There is not a rematch clause but considering the closeness of the fight, the great action, and the conditions that Ryan fought under, a rematch is needed, even the WBO has to get involved to mandate it.

Mayer-Ryan will hopefully be remembered as a terrific fight and the problems away from the ring will fade with time.

Mayer's career rival (at least before Friday night) unified junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgartner returned to action after a fourteen-month absence due to PED problems at a television studio in suburban Atlanta.

Baumgartner didn't take an easy comeback bout either facing former lightweight champion Delfine Persoon and just as the fight was starting to warm up, the fight suddenly ended as in the fourth round, Baumgartner's head smashed into the right eyelid of Persoon and caused a cut bad enough to end the fight as a no-contest.

Had the fight continued into round five, the fight would have gone to the judges' scorecards, and Baumgartner would have been ahead on the scorecards with a first-round knockdown when a Baumgartner left hook caused Persoon's glove to brush the canvas.

Persoon was doing much better in the third and fourth rounds but even if a judge had given Persoon both of those rounds, the knockdown would have given the edge to Baumgartner.

Considering that Baumgartner's promoter (Matchroom) had lost a purse bid for this fight and the media production was on something called Brinx.TV, which I had never heard of before I was writing the fight preview, it was fair to consider how the winner of a major title unification fight (Baumgartner-Mayer) has disappeared from sight while the loser has continued to stay in the news and fighting.

Baumgartner has challenged Clarissa Shields to meet her at 147 pounds for what would be a meeting of two stars but Shields fought at heavyweight in her last match and would have problems making that weight.

There were two male fights as the supporting features in New York City for Ryan-Mayer with the publicized fighters each winning but one of them barely squeezing by a gritty opponent.

Junior middleweight Xander Zayas dominated Damian Sosa in the best performance of his career, doing everything but knocking down Sosa on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Zayas won every round on all three judges' cards and mine by scores of 100-90 against a veteran fighter who was expected to make Zayas work for his victory.

Zayas called for a "top five" contender after the fight but even after this bout, I think Zayas could use another fight or two before making the leap to the next level of competition.

Featherweight Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington has been bragged about by Top Rank as a future champion and even mentioned as an eventual opponent for Naoya Inoue if Inoue makes the move to 126 pounds.

Carrington has risen to the top spot in the WBA rankings despite not fighting a world-class opponent to date but Top Rank attempted to get some of that experience by slotting Carrington against Sulaiman Segawa in a ten-rounder.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 135 Pts (2)

TRS: 126 Pts (4) 
Vince Samano: 75 Pts (3)

Segawa upset Ruben Villa, who was ranked number one by the WBO, by decision in his last fight and was expected to give Carrington his toughest test to date and the veteran did just that as he pushed the local fighter to his limit with Carrington emerging with a majority decision win that some think he didn't deserve.

Two scores were for Carrington at 97-93  with the other even at 95-95, which was my score.

The problem for Segawa was that he gave away the final round and the close early rounds, Segawa didn't throw enough to overcome Carrington's hometown and promotional advantages.

Carrington should learn plenty from the severe test posed by Segawa and it will help him prepare whenever he receives his first title try.

As for Segawa, he will be a dangerous foe for anyone in the top ten after his win over Ruben Villa and the close loss to Carrington, so he should have few problems finding fights with his recent form.

PPM

     The football weekend rolls on as we finish the month of September with the PPM.

Last Week: 12-5 

Overall: 43-12

PPM
Ohio State over Michigan State 41-13

Texas Tech over Cincinnati 34-29

Boise State over Washington State 40-37

N.C. State over Northern Illinois 24-22

Texas A&M over Arkansas 27-24

Georgia Southern over Georgia State 34-28

UTSA over East Carolina 24-17

Bowling Green over Old Dominion 31-28

Memphis over Middle Tennessee State 35-10

Games of the Week

Georgia over Alabama 24-21

Penn State over Illinois 24-13

NFL
Browns over Raiders 20-17

Games of the Week

Bills over Ravens 30-27

Lions over Seahawks 27-20

Premier League

Manchester City over Newcastle United

Carabao Cup

Newcastle United over AFC Wimbledon

Championship

Norwich City over Derby County

Boxing Challenge

      To this day, there is controversy about who deserved the decision in the December 2022 junior lightweight unification between Alycia Baumgartner and Mikaela Mayer.

Baumgartner won a bitterly contested split decision. Despite a rematch arguably owning the status of the fight that many would love to see most in women's boxing, the rematch never happened. 

Baumgartner is now the undisputed champion at 130 pounds with Mayer moving up to welterweight where in her last fight, she lost another razor-close split decision to Natasha Jonas for the IBF title, so it's ironic that the two fighters who are rarely mentioned without thinking of the other will both fight on the same Friday night but not against each other or even fight in the same state.

Mayer will receive another chance at a welterweight title, against WBO queen Sandy Ryan in the smaller "ballroom" arena at Madison Square Garden on ESPN. At the same time, Baumgartner will fight former lightweight champion Delfine Persoon in near-obscurity in Fayetteville, Georgia with her fight on Brinx.TV,  something that I've never even heard of, let alone use!

Mayer's fight against Ryan has been surprisingly harsh in the buildup to their bout, especially compared to the chummy pre-fight press conferences between Mayer and Natasha Jonas. At the same time, Baumgartner has been asked more about her fourteen months away from the ring due to a PED suspension and drug testing in the sport than about Persoon.

Both have talked about other fights, Mayer with Katie Taylor or a Natasha Jonas rematch, Baumgartner with Claressa Shields but neither will escape the other, the question is will their second fight occur when they are at the top of their game?

There are two other fights in the challenge this week, both supporting bouts on the Ryan-Mayer card. 
Exciting featherweight contender Bruce Carrington will meet Sulaiman Segawa in a ten rounder and junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas faces Damian Sosa.

Carrington is closer to title contention than Zayas is and appropriately faces the more difficult challenge in Segawa, who upset Ruben Villa in his last fight, and knocked Villa from his top contender status in the WBO rankings.

Boxing Challenge

Women's World Junior Lightweight Title 12 Rds 

Alycia Baumgartner vs Delfine Persoon

Ramon Malpica and TRS; Baumgartner Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano: Persoon Split Decision

Women's WBO Welterweight Title.12 Rda

Sandy Ryan vs Mikaela Mayer

R.L: Ryan Unanimous Decision
TRS: Mayer Split Decision
V.S: Mayer Unanimous Decision

Featherweights. 10 Rds

Bruce Carrington vs Sulaiman Segawa

R.L and TRS: Carrington Unanimous Decision

V.S: Segawa Unanimous Decision

Junior Middleweights. 10 Rds

Xander Zayas vs Damian Sosa

R.L: Zayas KO 10
TRS and V.S: Zayas Unanimous Decision 

I Tell Ya' Herbie

     This edition of I Tell Ya' Herbie will stick with one topic.

I Tell Ya' Herbie: 

                                  The latest realignment news between the Mountain West, the resurgent Pac 12, and the American is enough to keep your head spinning.

It looked like the Pac-12 was about to raid the American for as many as four teams between Memphis, Tulane, UTSA, and South Florida, making the Pac-12 the deepest conference among the soon-to-be Group of Six.

The American fought back and attempted to add Air Force from the Mountain West.

The AAC kept their four but Air Force decided to stay in the Mountain West and things were swinging the MWC's way after their remaining eight schools all agreed to remain in the league.

Then the Pac 12 took over with the surprising announcement that Utah State was jumping to their side only to sway back to the Mountain West when UNLV and Air Force agreed to stay under conditions that would see those two schools receive a larger piece of the monetary pie.

This leaves each league with seven football schools (the Mountain West needs eight full-time schools as Hawaii is football only) and needs to add members to reach the NCAA's requirement of eight.

The best solution might be to just merge everyone into one league, which they could have done to start but it seems there are plenty of hard feelings, so it's unlikely.

If the movement between the leagues has ended (and it only takes one to jump) and the AAC has cemented its roster, who would be left to fill these three slots to maintain NCAA viability?

When you look around, two schools that have been traditionally shunned by the Mountain West might be the best candidates.

UTEP was an original member of the WAC but when most of the WAC spun off into the newly created Mountain West, the Miners were left behind.

New Mexico State has always wanted to be in the league but in-state rival New Mexico has always managed to rebuff the Aggies efforts, this time they may not have a choice.

The other possibilities could add a school that would move up from 1-AA.

North Dakota State and South Dakota have won six of the last seven national championships and they may bring their rivals (North Dakota and South Dakota State) if a league wants to be larger.

Montana, Montana State, and Idaho would be nice fits for the Pac-12 with proximity to Oregon State, Washington State, and Boise State

Sacramento State and UC-Davis aren't quite as strong as the aforementioned two but adding two California schools would appeal to the Mountain West with only San Jose State remaining in their league.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out and which of the two (and the AAC) proves to be the best of Group of Six.

It's pretty close at this time but I'd give the edge to the Pac-12 with Oregon State, Washington State, and Boise State at the top.

Oregon State and Washington State are still using players recruited as a Power Five school, can they sustain that recruiting at the G-6 level?

Still, this is far from the conference lineup that we will see for 2026, and short of an iron-clad contractual agreement, it could be completely different ten years from now.

Road Trip: Dayton

     Now that the Omaha road trip series is finally finished, I can move on to the other two trips of the summer.

The first of these was a three-day two-night trip that added three new stadiums to my ballpark roll call.

The plan was to visit Day Air Ballpark, the home of the Class A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, and then drive to our hotel for both days, located in Florence, Kentucky.

Leaving early in the morning to arrive in Dayton for the game, we stopped in Zanesville, Ohio for lunch at Roosters!

I've written about my love for the chicken chain based mostly in Ohio and Kentucky with one location each in Indiana and West Virginia.

Another great chicken sandwich at arguably my favorite chain in Ohio!

Day Air Ballpark was opened in 2000 and the hometown Dayton Dragons hold the pro sports record for consecutive sellouts at 815 and at over 8,000 person capacity, DAB is closer to a AAA facility than a High A stadium.

They have nice sightlines and big crowds but there are a few issues.

First, parking wasn't easy as we circled the stadium a few times before finding a space, and even that required an illegal turn (please don't tell!) to grab a space.

For all of its beauty, the park is still nearing twenty-five years of age and as with any groundbreaking stadium, they have its flaws because they are among the first to be built.

In Dayton, it's the strong attendance that causes the problems as I thought the concourse was very snug (reminded me of Akron's Canal Park), and when the urban parks have these problems it's very difficult to do anything about the issue because they lack the space to make them wider.

Dayton is a beautiful park to watch a game but all things considered, I wonder if it is worth some of the hassles in going to a game there.

The game was a sellout and after watching a bit, we made the decision to hit a few antique malls in the area, this would allow us to be finished here and concentrate on the Cincinnati area the following day.

Our first stop was in Dayton, with a stop at Antique Village, which is another repurposed former department store in a strip mall.

I always like those stores because it's good for the area to keep a building occupied rather than an unused eyesore but I also like seeing those because it means an expansive area with lots of things to see!

When we entered the store. Antique Village was having a promotion with 25 percent off every item sold in the store, which made me more likely to buy some items I normally might not.

I wound up with some interesting items that included a Bert from Sesame Street hand puppet from 1971, a plastic Bob's Big Boy from the 1960s, a bobblehead of former Reds pitcher and radio commentator Joe Nuxhall, and Super Toe, who you can see on the I Tell Ya' Herbie posts.

As we checked out, the gentleman at the counter asked if I was a collector, and of course, I said yes and he gave me a bobblehead of the Reds T. J.Friedl at no charge!

I'm planning a December return and Antique Village is a definite return trip!

Springfield, Ohio is a town in the news lately but they also have two terrific antique malls.

I had visited Heart of Ohio in the past, and when we were leaving that time, we had been told of another local mall that was almost as expansive.

The Springfield Antique Center was open for another forty-five minutes and we moved through as quickly as possible before finding a huge treasure trove of sports memorabilia.

I had to skim quickly but I did pull a few programs for the collection, two Cincinnati Reds programs, an Ohio State-Illinois program, and a program from the now-defunct Garden State Bowl from 1981 between Houston and Navy.

There was so much to look through and so little time. I saw plenty that I might have been interested in purchasing with more time, mostly something I didn't know existed- the game BASKET has existed in various boxes and designs since the 1960s from the Cadaco game company. Still, I didn't know there was a version with the TV show The White Shadow on the box.

It was the name and some artwork of series star Ken Howard as the inside was the same as the other BASKET games but it was a little overpriced for its condition and I reluctantly passed.

Our hotel in Florence, Kentucky was an hour away, and after arriving and checking into the hotel, we drove to a nearby Skyline Chili for dinner before hitting the bed for the night.

Next time, day two with more collection additions and my first trip to the Cincinnati Reds.

Giants Slam Browns 21-15

     The Cleveland Browns may have been heavily favored against the New York Giants but the Giants showed up to play from the start (almost) and by the time the Browns got started, it was too late and Cleveland was saddled with a stunning 21-15 defeat.

DeShaun Watson threw two touchdowns without an interception, although he lost two fumbles. 

Amari Cooper caught both touchdowns, finishing with seven catches for eighty-six yards to lead the Browns.

The Giants sacked Watson eight times and hit him seventeen times on the day.

Cleveland drops to 1-2 and will start a three-game road swing next Sunday in Las Vegas against the Raiders.

Brownie Bits

1) I wrote almost from the start because the Browns forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and on the first play DeShaun Watson hit a leaping Amari Cooper in the end zone for a twenty-four-yard touchdown eleven seconds into the game.

2) After the Cooper score, the offense was a disaster for the remainder of the first half with three punts, a Watson fumble, and a run play to end the half.

3) The offensive line was terrible in allowing DeShaun Watson to be sacked eight times but there were circumstances, Dawand Jones was forced to play through a knee injury and he wasn't quick enough to handle Brian Burns, Jedrick Wills wasn't very good in his return and he left the game to injury as did backup James Hudson, who is rarely even average at his best.

4) This left the Browns playing this line at the game's end an injured Jones at one tackle, Joel Bitonio moving from guard to left tackle, center Ethan Pocic shifting to guard, and backups Nick Harris (center) and rookie Zac Zinter (guard) as Wyatt Teller was injured as well.

It's not hard to see that is a makeshift line and injuries happen during every game but why didn't the Browns make Germain Ifedi active for the game considering Wills and Jones were slowed and Jack Conklin still not ready to play?

Ifedi isn't going to remind anyone of Orlando Pace, he is an actual tackle and could have allowed Bitonio to stay at guard.

5) The line will have to be addressed but with the injuries to the tackles (Jones, Conklin, and MRIs to be done on Wills- knee and Hudson- shoulder) and Wyatt Teller (MRI on knee scheduled) who knows how many of the linemen will be available for the Raiders.

There isn't a Bill Callahan to work miracles with backups and practice squad members this season, so the Btowns are in trouble.

6) It's not totally on the O-Line for the sacks.

DeShaun Watson holds onto the ball too long, and doesn't get the ball out fast enough to help his linemen, especially a patchwork line!

Some of the sacks were Watson refusing to get the ball out and avoid the rush.

7) The Browns offense is this ugly deformed mashup and it isn't working.

Watson holds the ball too long, waiting for his receivers to get downfield, which never happens because they are all too damn slow, and this leads to sacks.

They can't get the ball downfield and Watson doesn't want to settle for moving the chain, which leads to this inertia in the offense.

8) The Giants are one of the worst teams against the run (2023 and 24) yet the Browns didn't even try to establish any semblance of a running game.

Cleveland handed the ball to running backs only twelve times in the game for forty-three yards.

The Browns aren't even trying to balance the offense and with the problems at quarterback and pass protection, I'd think the coaching staff would be looking into trying something to balance the offense with more running of the ball.

9) On the final play for the Browns offense, I can't blame DeShaun Watson for the incomplete pass.

Watson put the pass exactly where it needed to be and Cedric Tillman dropped the ball.

Plenty of blame to give DeShaun Watson but not on the last throw, as that was as good of a throw that Watson made all game.

10) The vaunted Browns defense kept the team in the game by not allowing a point in the second half (the Giants did miss one field goal in the second half) but the defense didn't play very well in the first half.

While one touchdown drive was only thirty yards and could be excused, the Giants drove the ball eighty-one and ninety-three yards for their other scores.

Your defense may be excellent but it needs to be even better when your offense has scored fifty points in three games.

11) Watching the Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who scored two of the three New York touchdowns made me think of when the Browns had a receiver who was that talented and exciting.

Josh Gordon fell into their lap in the supplemental draft and gave them one spectacular season but was unable to sustain his ability to stay on the field.

Sidebar-Josh Gordon is still only thirty-three years old! 

The Browns have drafted a wide receiver in the first round only twice since returning to the league in 1999, Braylon Edwards third overall in 2005, and Corey Coleman fifteenth overall in 2016.

Edwards had one great season (2007) and three decent ones before he was traded to the Jets, while Coleman was gone after two undistinguished years.

The drafting of Coleman was after the Browns regime at the time believed in trading down to accumulate picks and my biggest problem with that tactic is that you miss out on game changers, the type of player that makes teams game plan for them when you trade out of the early picks.

12) The Browns have lost their first two home games, to teams that hold their only win over the Browns.

Three road games in a row, Las Vegas, Washington, and Philadelphia.

Two of the three are winnable and I'd take that right now but even winning one of those games would place the Browns at 2-4 and that's before the schedule starts to toughen!

Next week's game may not be a must-win but it's more important than the average game after the disaster of losing at home to a bad Giants team.

Boxing Challenge: DuBois Drills Joshua

     Daniel DuBois may have been lightly regarded as a heavyweight champion when the IBF handed him their title following his win over Filip Hrgovic and stripping the then-undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk but gained additional credibility with a devastating fifth-round knockout of two-time champion Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in London.

DuBois dominated the entire fight and scored knockdowns in rounds one, two, and four before the concussive final blow that ended the fight. 

Under normal circumstances, I'd say a win this conclusive that a rematch would be a hard sell.

I disagree this time for two reasons.

The first is that Joshua has done better in rematches, defeating Andy Ruiz after Ruiz knocked out Joshua, and came closer to defeating Oleksandr Usyk in their second bout, so it's reasonable to give Joshua a chance in a rematch, considering DuBois's chin is nothing to brag about himself.

The other is how Joshua was knocked out as Joshua had hurt DuBois, knocking him back into a corner Joshua moved in for what would have been one of the more sensational comeback wins in heavyweight "title" history, a dazed DuBois fired the bullet-like right hand that knocked out Joshua.

It could be promoted that Joshua could have been on his way to a win before the KO and it's plausible.

However, one thing makes an immediate rematch a problem.

The IBF doesn't allow immediate rematches and while normally, boxers would drop titles for the more lucrative fight to take place but in this case, after Oleksandr Usyk's win last year over DuBois, the IBF title is the reason for Usyk-DuBois II and without it, that rematch doesn't have the same importance.

On the undercard, undefeated middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz gave hope for some life in the division with his third straight impressive knockout as Sheeraz blasted Tyler Denny in two rounds.

Sheeraz dropped Denny in the first and finished him in the second with hammering blows to finish Denny, who upset heavily favored Felix Cash in his previous fight.

Sheeraz is the top contender in the WBC and WBO, so it's a question of whether Sheeraz and promoter Frank Warren would rather face Carlos Adames (WBC) or Janibek Alimkhanuly (IBF and WBO) for his eventual title opportunity.

Adames might be the easier fight, Alimkhanuly would bring more prestige and an easier fight to make with Warren's working agreement with Alimkhanuly's promoter Top Rank.

IBF junior lightweight champion Anthony Cacace wasn't allowed to defend his title against former featherweight champion Josh Warrington but he would lose his title should he lose the non-title fight, which defeats the purpose of the non-title fight but I digress.

Warrington won a few rounds in the first half of the bout but the smaller and older fighter wore down in the second half with Cacace dominating on his way to a unanimous decision.

Warrington tried hard but he may know the end of his career has come as he symbolically left his ring boots in the center after the decision.

Official scores for Cacace of 117-111 times two (my score) and 118-110.

Cacace must face mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez next or be stripped of his championship.

I haven't watched the light heavyweight eliminator between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson but it's been reported as a top-class battle with Buatsi winning only a split decision despite knocking Hutchinson twice and Hutchinson losing a pomt.

The story appears to be the terrible scorecard of Grzegorz Molenda, who scored Hutchinson the winner despite the knockdowns and point deductions, which from everything I have read was ridiculous.

Scores for Buatsi at 115-110 and 117-108 and for Hutchinson 113-112.

Butasi wins a minor title and will be in the hunt for a shot at the winner of October's Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol full unification of the division.

Editor's Note: I watched Buatsi-Hutchinson and while it was an entertaining fight, I can't place how someone scored this for Hutchinson.

My score 116-109 Buatsi

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica; 133 Pts (4)

TRS: 122 Pts (4)
Vince Samano: 72 Pts (3)

Ohio State thunders past Marshall 49-14

     The Ohio State Buckeye defense finally gave up a touchdown and allowed another one beyond that but still cruised past the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd 49-14 in Columbus.

Quinshon Judkins rushed for one hundred seventy-six yards and two scores while TreVeyon Henderson ran for seventy-six yards and two scores to lead the Buckeyes.

Will Howard threw two touchdowns and two hundred seventy-dive yards with an interception as Ohio State finished their non-conference schedule.

Ohio State will leave Columbus for the first time next week as they travel to East Lansing to battle the Michigan State Spartans.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Quinshon Judkins's day was aided by an eighty-six-yard touchdown run and anyone who thinks that Judkins lacked breakaway speed is certainly in error.

It's hard to believe that the Buckeyes have two backs as talented as Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson in the same backfield.

2) Henderson's day was solid with his seventy-six yards coming on only six carries.

Could Ohio State have the top two running backs selected in next year's NFL draft?

3) Will Howard threw one interception on a long pass to Jeremiah Smith that was slightly underthrown with Smith losing a tug of war for the football with Marshall's Josh Moten.

4) One thing that Howard hopefully learned from the throw?

If you are throwing to Jeremiah Smith, let it fly, and don't worry about an overthrow.

5) Will Howard's two touchdown passes were long ones to Jeremiah Smith (fifty-three) and Emeka Egbuka (sixty-eight) yards but it's amazing the speed that the Ohio State receiving room possesses to take a short pass and run to the house.

6) Give Marshall credit as they weren't afraid of the Buckeyes and played to win, going for it on fourth downs and their opening drive, where the Herd drove seventy-five yards for a touchdown.

7) I'm surprised someone in the Power Four hasn't come after Marshall's Charles Huff as their head coach.

Huff is on his way to one of those jobs shortly.

8) This is shorter than usual and I'll tell you why.

When Ohio State plays Noon or Three-Thirty games, I'm working and while I'm watching the game and know what's going on, it would be a lie to say I watch as closely as I do the Browns, where this season I'll be watching at home (other than the two Thursday games).

So I am considering doing things differently in the future, where I may do a recap on Monday after I can re-watch the game and detail it as I'd like.

Let me know anyone that reads this if you think that's a good idea.

Boxing Challenge: Munguia stops Bazinyan

     Jaime Munguia bounced back from his first career defeat with a tenth-round knockout of a valiant Erik Bazinyan in Glendale, Arizona.

Bazinyan fought well in defeat, landing the jab and straight right as he won four of the first five rounds on my card. Still, Munguia slowly wore down the previously unbeaten Canadian with subtle but consistent pressure.

Munguia began to turn the tide in the sixth and hurt Bazinyan in round seven with a left hook but Bazinyan managed to fight Munguia off with return rights.

That was the final stand for Bazinyan as Munguia grabbed control of the fight in the eighth and started quickly in the tenth hitting Bazinyan into a corner as Bazinyan attempted to fight back, he ran into the left hook that left him unable to beat the count.

For Munguia, it was a huge win in an exciting fight and will lead him to better things while Bazinyan performed well in defeat and I'm sure we will see him more in the future.

Even though there would be much more to be done before a rematch with Canelo Alvarez would be plausible, Munguia has several fights that could happen, and all would be exciting to see.

Munguia mentioned Bazinyan's stablemate Christian Mbilli, the number one contender for the WBC, and that would be easy to make with Munguia's new arrangement with Top Rank.

That would be a tremendous action fight that would be anticipated by boxing followers, although Munguia also mentioned possibilities that could include Edgar Berlanga (Matchroom) or Caleb Plant (PBC), each of which would be solid matches.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 129 Pts (2)

TRS: 118 Pts (1)

Vince Samano: 69 Pts (0)

PPM

   Another football weekend and I've made another decision to add two (sometimes three) British "football"/soccer games to the PPM.

I've selected my favorite team in the Premier League (Newcastle) and the team I've followed a little (Norwich City) in the Championship (think AAA baseball) to the PPM.

If there is a tournament game on a week for either team, it will be included in the PPM.

Last Week: 9-3 

Overall: 31-7

College

Ohio State over Marshall 52-10

Texas Tech over Arizona State 41-37

Clemson over N.C. State 31-21

Arkansas over Auburn 36-34

UTSA over Houston Christian 31-14

Duke over Middle Tennessee State 34-20

Texas A&M over Bowling Green 30-21

Ole Miss over Georgia Southern 46-24

Boise State over Portland State 47-17

Oregon State over Purdue 28-17

Games of the Week

Tennessee over Oklahoma 37-17

Oklahoma State over Utah 35-31

NFL

Browns over Giants 24-13

Games of the Week

Chargers over Steelers 20-13

Saints over Eagles 31-28

English Football

Premier League

Newcastle over Fulham

Carabao Cup

Newcastle over AFC Wimbledon

Championship League

Watford over Norwich City

Boxing Challenge

   The boxing weekend is based in the UK with another strong show from Riyadh Season, this one from Wembley Stadium with a key all-British heavyweight showdown with a vacant title at stake.

However, it's not everything as  ESPN/Top Rank's main event between two top two super middleweights from Glendale, Arizona on Friday night is very strong.

Jaime Munguia returns after his first career setback in a unanimous decision defeat to super middleweight boss Canelo Alvarez.

Munguia won't be facing an easy mark in unbeaten Canadian Erik Bazinyan in his first comeback bout.

Bazinyan's competition hasn't been the best and Munguia will be the best opponent he's ever faced but Munguia cannot afford to underestimate Bazinyan.

I'm looking forward to this one.

Wembley Stadium dominates the rest of the weekend with a massive main event for the IBF heavyweight title stripped from Oleksandr Usyk and handed to Daniel DuBois, a fighter defeated by Usyk just one year ago.

DuBois rebounded well from his loss to Usyk, stopping Jarrell Miller in ten rounds and pulling a minor upset when he stopped Filip Hrgovic on cuts in eight rounds, which gave him a minor belt and put him in line to be promoted when the IBF took away the title from Usyk.

DuBois will face a former champion and the biggest boxing star in the UK, Anthony Joshua.

Joshua will attempt to win a heavyweight title for the third time and is on a four-fight winning streak since his loss to Oleksandr Usyk and looked as strong as he has in years in those wins.

With two big punching heavyweights and with each showing vulnerability against big punchers, this has an above average chance of ending suddenly.

The co-feature will be for the European middleweight title but more importantly, the winner should become the top contender for any of the 160-pound division championships.

Tyler Denny has turned an average career around after the pandemic, winning six of seven, fighting to a draw in the seventh, and handed undefeated and heavy favorite Felix Cash, his first loss earlier this year.

Hamzah Sheeraz has won his first twenty fights and has beaten better opponents than Denny, battering unbeaten Austin Williams in eleven rounds in his last outing, stopping former title challenger Liam Williams in only one, and River Wilson-Bent in two,  the same Wilson-Bent who Denny beat by split decision and forced him to a draw.

This seems like Sheeraz big to me.

The next fight is more sanctioning body shenanigans with IBF junior lightweight champion Anthony Cacace facing former featherweight champion Josh Warrington.

Now I've ranted in the past about fighters receiving a title shot without a fight in a division, I did so last week with Danny Garcia but it's the lack of consistency as it happens so often, yet Warrington isn't deemed worthy of an opportunity.

I'd be fine with the IBF's refusal to sanction if they (or the others) do it all the time but they don't.

Cacace won the title with an eighth-round KO of Joe Cordina in May, while Warrington has lost his last two fights, stopped by Leigh Wood in seven, and his title in 2022 to Luis Alberto Lopez via majority decision.

If Cacace wins, he will not be stripped but he will have to face mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez in his next fight.

Should Warrington win, the title will be declared vacant with Warrington presumably to face Nunez for the title.

A light heavyweight minor title battle is also interesting as unbeaten Olympic silver medalist Joshua Buatsi meets veteran Willy Hutchinson.

Buatsi won a unanimous decision over Dan Azeez in his last fight while Hutchinson scored a minor upset over veteran Craig Richards, against who Buatsi also holds a victory.

Buatsi is the more talented boxer but the gritty Hutchinson will give him all he wants and I have a feeling that Buatsi may have a long night if he has underestimated Hutchinson.

Boxing Challenge

Super Middleweights 12 Rds

Jaime Munguia vs Erik Bazinyan

Ramon Malpica: Munguia KO 8
TRS: Munguia Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Bazinyan Unanimous Decision

IBF Heavyweight Title. 12 Rds

Daniel DuBois vs Anthony Joshua

R.L: Joshua KO 7
TRS: Joshua KO 9
V.S: Joshua Unanimous Decision

Middleweights.12 Rds

Tyler Denny vs Hamzah Sheeraz

R.Land V.S: Sheeraz Unanimous Decision
TRS: Sheeraz KO 6

Junior Lightweights 12 Rds

Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington

R.L and V.S: Cacace Unanimous Decision
TRS: Cacace KO 8

Light Heavyweights 12 Rds

Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson

R.L: Buatsi KO 9
TRS: Buatsi Unanimous Decision
V.S: Hutchinson Unanimous Decision

I Tell Ya' Herbie

   This week's version of I Tell Ya' Herbie and notes from the college football world.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The game that I'm most interested in without a rooting interest pits Utah visiting Oklahoma State with the two pre-season favorites to win the conference playing early in the season.

Both teams are undefeated but Oklahoma State owns the best win (an overtime win over Arkansas) and they have the edge of being the home team.

Utah will be starting true freshman Isaac Wilson at quarterback in his first road start and Stillwater can be a wild environment, so in a close matchup an inexperienced quarterback on the road just might make the difference.

I Tell Ya' Herbie;

                            I'm not shoveling dirt on the Georgia Bulldogs after their one-point win over Kentucky.

Georgia seems to avoid a close call every year against a team that doesn't look capable of a challenge (last season, it was Missouri). And yes, the Dawgs will play three teams that are currently ranked in the top ten, all on the road (Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas) this season.

Still, the Dawgs would have to lose all three of those games to even have a chance of missing the CFP and I think they have avoided their potential big slip-up.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The announcement by the Pac 12 (Two) that they have invited Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State to join them for the 2026 season has started the wheel of conference realignment spinning again.

The league needs to reach eight members by next summer to keep its standing with the NCAA, and some were surprised that the Pac 12 didn't take all six teams they needed from the Mountain West.

The Pac 12 desires UNLV but there are political concerns that UNLV would have to be linked to Nevada (Reno) by the state government.

That can be gotten around sometimes (Most notably, Oklahoma leaving for the SEC without Oklahoma State) but it may be a hurdle.

Memphis and Tulane are often mentioned as possibilities for the league.

Academically, Tulane is a great fit but I think Memphis is a better fit in the Big 12.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             Memphis and Tulane would be a loss for the American Athletic Conference but the AAC isn't standing passively as they are reported to be preparing an offer for Air Force to join their league.

Air Force would be a nice addition with a nationwide following but the selling point really would be finally placing Air Force, Army, and Navy in the same conference.

The issue that might be the largest problem is that Army and Navy are football-only members of the AAC and Air Force's locations could work against the other sports that Air Force participates in.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Another road win for the MAC as Toledo stormed into Starkville and smacked aside the Mississippi State Bulldogs 41-17.

Now, Mississippi State is expected to be at the bottom of the SEC but MAC teams aren't supposed to beat any SEC team on the road by 24 points.

Between the Rockets, Northern Illinois's road win over Notre Dame, and Bowling Green's near miss at Penn State, the MAC race looks solid with several contenders.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                               Illinois and Nebraska hasn't been a game with Big Ten implications since, well ever but this week's game between the Illini and Cornhuskers does pit two 3-0 teams with both ranked in the top twenty-five.

Nebraska is starting true freshman QB Dylan Raiola with success but Illinois passer Luke Altmyer's stats are close to those of Raiola.

The winner may not win the Big Ten but a victory would start the conference season strong and perhaps help the winner finish in the upper half of the league.

Cleaning out the Inbox

   The inbox cleaning starts with an interesting article from the Baltimore Banner, which discusses how working from home (when employers use it) can do more than save morning commutes, they can help revitalize cities and areas that haven't recovered from earlier tough times.

Decades ago, Cumberland, located between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, was the second largest city in Maryland, second only to Baltimore, and was an area with abundant industrial companies for their workforce.

Starting in the 1970s (similar to Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio), those industries began to move elsewhere and eliminate themselves altogether, which led to the decline of Cumberland and its population dropping to its current 19.000.

The article discusses the good parts (increased spending etc) and the bad ones (a rapid increase in housing costs and the inevitable issues between newcomers and longtime residents) and it's an interesting article on whether can growth happen too quickly in even the areas that need it the most.

The Retroist solves a mystery many older folks may have wondered about for decades- why do some quarters have red paint on them?

It turns out to have something to do with arcade games and while I won't spoil the ending, it more than makes sense to me and I should have figured it out long before now!

More from The Retroist as they write about the 1970s cycle, The Green Machine,.

Envisioned as the alternative to the Big Wheel or an upgrade for the next level in age group, The Green Machine never hit the sales number or popularity of its cousin, Big Wheel (I had a Big Wheel) but it looked cooler and must have been more fun to "drive".

What was especially interesting to learn was that apparently a version was made based on Batman called the "Bat Machine", which I never knew existed!.

Now that would have been cool to have!

BBC.com writes of the recent discovery that a portion of the bow railing of the sunken Titanic has been discovered to have fallen off and deposited on the ocean floor nearby.

The ocean liner is an interesting case of how things deteriorate in seawater with the ship now residing in those conditions for 112 years and counting.

What I found interesting was the re-discovery of a just under two feet tall statue of Diana of Versailles
in a debris field.

The statue had been found on one of the first trips after the ship was found in 1986 but its location was unable to be documented and it had been lost until this summer's explorations.

The statue had been in the center of a first-class lounge and there are plans to bring the statue to the surface in the future. 

Interesting note from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where for the first time in thirty years, according to Cleveland's Fox 8, a new Arthur Treacher's restaurant will open AND it will be at the same site that once operated a Treacher's.

The eatery will now bring the total of Arthur Treacher's to three- all in the Cleveland area.

The ownership stated that Treacher's is expected to open in December and that they have plans to open three more stores in 2025, which is good news for fans of the iconic fast-food fish establishment!

The Athletic catches up with former White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson a few years after retiring from broadcasting.

Harrelson worked on Chicago White Sox games for over three decades, earning either kudos or complaints for his "homer" stance for the ChiSox and his use of catchphrases.

The White Sox are on their way to the most losses in baseball history and Harrelson has thoughts on that along with another surprising take in the article.

Browns hold off Jacksonville 18-13

      The Cleveland Browns mashed together a touchdown, three Dustin Hopkins field goals, and a late safety on a sack by Alex Wright and it was enough to hold off a late Hail Mary and the Jacksonville Jaguars 18-13 in the rain in Jacksonville.

DeShaun Watson ran one yard for the only Cleveland touchdown and the Browns defense sacked Trevor Lawrence four times in the victory.

Cleveland improved to 1-1 with the victory and will host the 0-2 New York Giants next week in Cleveland.

Brownie Bits

1) Kevin Stefanski made a great call in this game and a call that I'd say was very questionable.

The great call came on the final drive of the first half on a fourth and one.

Earlier in the game, Stefanski had sent in Jameis Winston on a fourth and one to perform a sneak, which makes plenty of sense to me as he is bigger and bulkier than DeShaun Watson, and using Winston in that situation saves hits on Watson, who is coming off shoulder surgery,

Winston made that first down and when he entered the game for a second time, established that Winston would push forward with the snap, the Jaguars had to respect the sneak and a sweep with Jerome Ford gaining thirty-six yards for the Browns largest offensive play of the game and would end in a Dustin Hopkins field goal.

2) Late in the game, Cleveland faced a third and six with 1:37 on the Jacksonville thirty-eight.

Jacksonville is out of timeouts, so a first down essentially ends the game.

If the Browns don't gain a yard, the choices are Dustin Hopkins for a field goal from fifty-five yards or a punt from Corey Bojorquez but a run gives Jacksonville the ball with between forty and forty-five seconds in the game and no timeouts.

Stefanski calls a pass play with DeShaun Watson rolling out and the Jacksonville rush hits Watson as he throws incomplete, so when Jacksonville gets the ball back, they have 1:33 rather than around forty seconds.

Not a good call and it's the main criticism that I have of Kevin Stefanski- the constant need to win the mental battle rather than make the smart and often safe call.

3) But Jack Gorman, a Browns beat writer tweeted this and offered that Stefanski and Watson may have been victims of a miscommunication where Stefanski may have thought Watson knew to eat the ball to shave clock and Watson may have thought the higher priority was to throw the ball away to not lose yardage for the possible field goal attempt.

That's possible and makes sense but causes another concern such as why Stefanski and Watson weren't clear on what to do and why someone didn't make sure Watson knew the priority before the play started.

4) The big play was of course the safety when Alex Wright dropped Trevor Lawrence in the end zone to lift the lead to five points.

It's tough to blame Lawrence here as Wright blew by his blocker and gave Lawrence no chance to dump the ball off even in a desperate attempt to risk intentional grounding, the play occurred that quickly.

5) The sack and safety never have happened if not for the previous play when Corey Bojorquez punted the ball and watched it bounce straight into the air to be downed at the two-yard line.

Normally the ball would bounce into the end zone but the Browns caught a break on that bounce of the football.

6) DeShaun Watson showed some flashes, completing twenty-two of thirty-four passes for one hundred and eighty-six yards but only two completions of over twenty yards.

Watson ran for the only Browns touchdown and managed to avoid the big mistakes, only being sacked twice and didn't throw an interception.

7) Still, one thing that I've noticed from Watson in the first two games is the throwing motion.

Watson appears to have changed his motion a bit and watching him throw made me think of how one throws a dart at a dartboard.

Little follow-through and all arm without putting his body behind the throw.

The motion reminded me more of former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Juan Guzman than an NFL quarterback.

It's not as pronounced as Guzman's motion but it did remind me of the pitcher.

8) To follow up from last season, it's comforting to know the Browns have a reliable kicker in Dustin Hopkins, who nailed all three of his field goal attempts (38, 44, and 53).

Hopkins continues to be somewhat of a surprise as he arrived in Cleveland with the reputation of being consistent but wasn't noted for an especially strong leg.

Hopkins has connected on fifty-plus-yard field goals in each of the first two games.

9) The wide receivers are still dropping too many passes with Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore the main culprits.

Cooper is the surprise as he has always had excellent hands and this comes a week after dropping a sure score in the loss to Dallas.

10) The Browns activated David Bell for the game and Bell caught all three passes thrown to him but left the field on a cart after an injury in the second quarter.

Kevin Stefanski said Bell had suffered a dislocated hip and the severity was still unknown.

Bell had made the squad at 53, was later released, and re-signed to the practice squad before being activated for the Jacksonville game.

11) The Browns committed thirteen penalties on the day combined with eleven in the loss to Dallas, giving Cleveland an awful twenty-four in the first games.

For a team that constantly talks about discipline and playing smart football, these are huge breakdowns.

12) The new kickoff rule bit the Browns hard in the second quarter when Jacksonville's Tank Bigsby was wiped out and fumbled the ball with Cleveland recovering at the Jacksonville twenty-four-yard line.

However, the recovery was nullified when Dustin Hopkin wandered across the fifty-yard line before Bigsby caught the football, which isn't allowed under the new rule.

13) The win may not seem like a huge deal but it is when you consider the Steelers beating their second weak sister in a row (Denver) to improve to 2-0 and both Cincinnati (Kansas City) and Baltimore (Las Vegas) dropped to 0-2.

These games all count the same and the two divisional favorites falling to 0-2 may not mean anything eventually but it does give each a minor hole to dig out of. 

Boxing Challenge: Canelo batters Berlanga

   Is it possible to gain in stature without winning a round?

If so, then Edgar Berlanga did so against Canelo Alvarez as he lost every round on my scorecard and a unanimous decision as Alvarez retained his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles in Las Vegas.

Berlanga won a few rounds on the official cards (118-109 x2 and 117-110, my score was 120-107). He did exchange some with Canelo but like so many Canelo opponents that talked about attacking Alvarez, Berlanga mostly fought off the back foot and after his knockdown in the third round, the question wasn't about competitiveness, it was if Berlanga would make it to the final bell.

Berlanga never threatened Canelo but fought with courage and showed some skills that might have served him better had he been more experienced against decent opposition.

Still, the name of the game is prizefighting, and earning millions of dollars without taking a risk to reach that stage is excellent management if not proper preparation for the actual fight.

Berlanga could use a fight or two against a contender to prepare for his next challenge and should he face Jaime Munguia, Christian Mbilli, or Diego Pacheco, all would be entertaining affairs that would establish him as a title contender at most and a fun fighter to watch at least.

As for Canelo Alvarez, who really knows where he stands.

I don't see him trying low reward (Although 30 million plus a piece of the pay-per-view for Canelo isn't really low reward) and high-risk mandatory challengers such as Christian Mbilli (WBC) and Diego Pacheco (WBO).

He's refused to fight David Benavidez, David Morrell has moved to light heavyweight, and there is no one of name-value available to move from 160 pounds to face him.

That means it's the winner of next month's light heavyweight unification between Artur Beterbiev (WBC, IBF, and WBO) and Dmitry Bivol (WBA) as the last fighter standing.

Bivol decisioned Alvarez in 2022 and Canelo has stated a desire to avenge that loss.

Bivol might beat you but he's not going to beat you up, while Beterbiev would be an unlikely choice with a victory as he would meet Alvarez in the middle of the ring and fight him as the bigger stronger fighter, placing Canelo in the situation of preferring to face a boxer who has already defeated him

The co-feature was as dreadful as predicted as Erislandy Lara retained his WBA middleweight title when the corner of former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Danny Garcia stopped the fight at the end of round nine.

A fight between two faded fighters who threw few punches and landed fewer with Lara winning the first seven rounds, and Garcia winning the eighth when he stunned Lara before Lara sent Garcia wobbling to the mat similar to King Hippo in the ninth.

Garcia's corner was smart in ending the fight and Garcia should consider ending a fine career.

Lara continues a title reign filled with journeymen and has-beens and I would imagine he'll be back sometime in 2015 against someone else of that ilk.

Caleb Plant recovered from a slow start and a fourth-round knockdown to stop Trevor McCumby in the ninth round in a surprisingly raucous fight to win a minor super middleweight title.

McCumby won the first four rounds on my card and scored a knockdown with a right hand to the shoulder that knocked an off-balance Plant to the floor.

Plant picked up the pace after the knockdown and trailed by only one point (due to the knockdown) after eight rounds.

Plant finished McCumby late in round nine and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and competitiveness of a fight that I expected to be one-sided.

McCumby showed more than I expected and I would like to see him again against a similar level as for Plant, I was very critical of him during his IBF title reign for his pitiful opponents but I've gained respect for him since his first loss to Canelo Alvarez and his hard-fought defeat to David Benavidez.

I'd like to see Plant against some of these promising young contenders in the division such as  Berlanga, Munguia, Pacheco, or Mbilli.

I think he'd be the logical next step in opposition for any of them, and if they aren't up to snuff, Plant just might upset them.

Former WBC and WBO junior featherweight champion Stephen Fulton's move to the featherweight division almost ended in disaster as Fulton escaped with a razor-close split decision victory over Carlos Castro.

Castro knocked Fulton down in the fifth round and hurt him again in the eighth but Fulton managed to do enough early in the fight to build a lead on the cards and win the narrow decision.

Fulton won on two cards 96-93 and 95-94 with the Castro score at 95-94, I scored 95-94 for Castro and the fight was close enough to not complain about either fighter as the winner.

The fight was the first for Fulton since his July 2023 knockout loss to Naoya Inoue, where he lost both of his junior featherweight titles and it'll be interesting to see how Fulton looks in his next fight.

Boxing Challenge 

Ramon Malpica: 127 Pts (4)

TRS:117 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 69 Pts (4)

PPM

      The PPM returns with a full slate of college and NFL action! 

Last Week: 12-3 

Overall: 22-4

College

Texas Tech over North Texas 38-28

N.C.State over Louisiana Tech 24-14

Oregon over Oregon State 33-21

Arkansas over UAB 27-17

Georgia Southern over South Carolina State 44-20

Texas over UTSA 45-13

Middle Tennessee State over Western Kentucky 23-17

Games of the Week

Kansas State over Arizona 27-24

Washington over Washington State 30-24

NFL 

Browns over Jaguars 23-20

Games of the Week

Chiefs over Bengals 34-24

Lions over Buccaneers 27-17

Boxing Challenge

    The boxing weekend is in Las Vegas for an incredibly weak PBC pay-per-view on Amazon Prime.

The main event will have a WBA/WBC/WBO (the IBF recently stripped their title) Super Middleweight title defense by Canelo Alvarez against Edgar Berlanga, who is somehow the number one contender in the WBA ratings.

Alvarez retained his titles in his last fight via a unanimous decision over Jaime Munguia in May while the unbeaten Berlanga knocked out Padraig McCrory in six rounds in February, scoring his first knockout in six fights since his heralded seventeen first-round knockouts to begin his career.

Berlanga has never beaten a top-ten fighter in the division, although he does have a few wins over fringe contenders, Jason Quigley, Roamer Angulo. Marcelo Coceres (who knocked Berlanga down), and Steve Rolls.

None of those wins have prepared Berlanga for Alvarez though and for all the ballyhoo about Berlanga's punching power, he hasn't carried it with him when he fought better opponents and now he's facing arguably the best chin in the game?

Not a recipe for victory.

The main event isn't really PPV-worthy other than seeing the top star in the sport in action but the undercard is even worse.

The co-main event is uninspiring as Erislandy Lara defends the WBA middleweight title against former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Danny Garcia.

Lara is in the midst of perhaps the least distinguished middleweight title reign ever with win after win over non-entities, while Garcia has never fought as a middleweight at all, hasn't fought in over two years, and only once in the last four, so there isn't much to be excited about here.

The only glimmer of hope that I have is that with both on their last legs, perhaps the fight might be entertaining but I wouldn't bet on it.

Caleb Plant and Trevor McCumby battle for one of these minor WBA titles that they were supposed to be eliminating at super middleweight in a fight that would be fine on free television but isn't really up to snuff as the third fight on a pay-per-view.

Plant showed heart in his knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez and in his last fight, a unanimous decision loss to David Benavidez but his resume' was light despite a title reign as IBF champion and he hasn't fought for eighteen months.

However Plant's resume' looks like Sugar Ray Robinson's compared to that of the unbeaten McCumby, who notched his best wins against journeymen Christopher Pearson and Donovan George.

I've never thought of Plant as an elite fighter but he's a top-ten-level boxer and while I can't say that McCumby will never reach that level, he hasn't faced anyone of that ilk yet, so he'll have to prove it to me.

The other challenge fight is on the free portion of the show as former WBC and WBO junior featherweight champion Stephen Fulton returns to the ring against Carlos Castro in a featherweight ten-rounder.

Fulton has been off since last July's full title unification match against Naoya Inoue when Inoue stopped Fulton in the eighth round in Tokyo handing Fulton his first defeat.

Previous to the Inoue loss, Fulton had two impressive wins, unifying the WBC and WBO titles via a close decision to Brandon Figueroa in a terrific battle and then an easy decision victory over another former unified champion in Danny Roman.

Castro has lost against his best two opponents, losing a split decision that could have been given to either fighter, to Luis Nery, and being stopped in six by Brandon Figueroa but he's a solid fighter that should test Fulton after his long layoff.

Boxing Challenge

WBA/WBC/WBO Super Middleweight Titles. 12 Rds 

Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga

Ramon Malpica: Alvarez KO 4

TRS: Alvarez KO 6
Vince Samano: Alvarez Unanimous Decision

WBA Middleweight Title 12 Rds

Erislandy Lara vs Danny Garcia

All: Lara Unanimous Decision

Super Middleweights 12 Rds

Caleb Plant vs Trevor McCumby

R.L: Plant Unanimous Decision
TRS: Plant KO 10
V.S: McCumby KO 9

Featherweights 10 Rds

Stephen Fulton vs Carlos Castro

All: Fulton Unanimous Decision

I Tell Ya' Herbie

       Our weekly notes about the world of college football start with bad officiating.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:  

                            The spot of the ball late in the Northern Illinois upset of Notre Dame was the worst that I've ever seen.

Northern Illinois had a third and two and a first down would have allowed the Huskies to wind the clock down to a field goal attempt as the final play of the game.

Northern Illinois running back Gavin Williams appeared to easily pass the first down marker but was ruled a full yard short.

Northern Illinois kicked the eventual game-winning field goal but the bad spot allowed Notre Dame over thirty seconds and keep one timeout for a final drive.

Notre Dame attempted a sixty-two-yard field goal for the win that Northern Illinois blocked but the game should have been completed long before then.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Oklahoma has won its first two games but the Sooners and their fans have to be concerned after a 16-12 win at home over Houston.

The Cougars were predicted to finish next to last or last (depending on the source) in the Big 12 and for the Sooners to win by only a few points and score only sixteen may not bode well for the Sooners in their first season in the SEC.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            I've always rooted for both Iowa and Iowa State a little bit unless playing one of my teams and didn't really have a dog in the hunt for the Cy-Hawk trophy but I had to feel good for Iowa State and their 20-19 win with six seconds remaining.

It's always nice when the second team in the state wins a close one because when the second team wins the rivalry grows hotter and it's better for the game.

The win was only the second for Matt Campbell in eight games against the Hawkeyes and it may have re-established Campbell as one of the top head coach candidates in the 2025 silly season.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             Boise State took a top-ten-ranked Oregon team to the wall in a 37-34 Ducks win in a very entertaining game and brought two questions to mind.

The first is that perhaps Oregon may be a bit overhyped in their first season in the Big Ten.

We will know for sure when Oregon hosts Ohio State in October but close victories over Idaho and Boise State will make you wonder about the Ducks.

The offense scored only 24 pts against 1-AA Idaho and their defense allowed 34 pts to Boise State, so there are questions that need to be answered in Eugene.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The second concerns Boise State and the Group of Five slot in the playoff.

With a possibility of an undefeated Conference USA champion in Liberty, who plays in the softest conference in the nation, or Boise State with a three-point loss at a top-ten team as their only defeat, the stage would appear to be set for a controversy.

It would be a difficult choice but I'd think Boise State would have the edge under those circumstances.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The closest call that doesn't look so close came in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in Alabama's 42-16 win over the visiting South Florida Bulls.

Entering the fourth quarter, the score was 14-13 in favor of Alabama before the Tide outscored South Florida 28-3 in the final quarter.

South Florida battled Alabama close last season in the Tide's final season under Nick Saban, so this shouldn't be taken as a knock on new coach Kalen DeBoer but Alabama may be a step below their usual level.

Alabama visits Wisconsin this Saturday before an off week before a home game against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.