The Grand Prize Game!

 If you are over thirty-five, you may remember the "BOZO Show" and their  Grand Prize Game, in which buckets were lined in a row, and one by one, each ball is tossed in a bucket until the player missed.

I'm going to use that premise and offer one recent nugget for each of the teams/sports that I follow closely.

I was surprised to hear that MSG Networks and the New Jersey Devils moved away from Erica Wachter as their studio host for Devils games.

I liked Wachter's work (she also appears on MLB and NHL Network), and she had good chemistry with her studio partner, Bryce Salvador.

No word on her replacement on the Devils broadcasts.

The Cleveland Browns reached out for a player from their past to help solve an injury issue when they traded a 2026 sixth-round draft choice to the Seattle Seahawks for center Nick Harris and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick.

Harris was the Browns' heir apparent at center but injured his knee in training camp in 2022, which allowed veteran Ethan Pocic to cement himself as the starter.

Cleveland drafted Luke Wypler at the position in 2023 and Harris signed with Seattle as a free agent in the past off-season but Wypler suffered an ankle injury in the preseason opener and Harris's Cleveland experience made him an attractive option to replace Wypler as the backup.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have re-signed the three core players of their franchise to contract extensions in the off-season, with the agreements with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, but one decision still remains- a decision involving Isaac Okoro.

Okoro is a restricted free agent, and some rumors have spread about a possible sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

Okoro could take the Cavaliers qualifying offer and remain with the team, which would be okay with me but Okoro's skills and below-average shot make him less desirable as more than a situational player off the bench.

Newcastle United start their season at home against Southampton, in what is the Saints' return to the Premier League after a one-year absence.

The drama around the Magpies is about their attempted signing of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace was asking sixty-five million (English Pounds) and turned down three offers for Newcastle before Newcastle offered the asking price, only to have the Eagles turn down THAT offer.

I'm all for negotiations but if Newcastle felt they were willing to meet the asking price of the player, why didn't they just offer it on the second try rather than the fourth?

I'm not knowledgeable enough to say if Guehi is worth this cost or not, but Newcastle might have to go all in for him or end with no considerable additions to a team that wishes to return to Champions League play next season. 

We wrap up with this thought from boxing.

With the IBF forcing their talented welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis to fight a rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian, it started me thinking about fights that didn't deserve a second fight that were forced by sanctioning bodies.

In their first fight in January 2023, Ennis won each of the twelve rounds in a fight that managed to do the unexpected- make Ennis look ordinary.

Chukhadzhian ran, Ennis chased, and after the decision, most thought that we wouldn't hear from Chukhadzhian again.

Chukhadzhian has won three times since against middling opposition but one of those came in an IBF eliminator against England's Harry Scarff and when Cody Crowley was forced to drop out of his scheduled title try against Ennis due to an eye injury (replaced by David Avanesyan), Ennis still needed to make a mandatory defense and now that man is Chukhadzhian, leaving boxing fans with a fight that no one asked for once, let alone twice.

This made me think of Marvin Hagler being forced to fight Fulgencio Obelmejias twice by the WBA.

Obelmejias was 30-0 in January 1981 against weak opposition when the WBA mandated his title chance and Obelmejias fought fairly well in his first attempt at Hagler before being stopped in round eight.

Obelmejias rebounded with eight straight wins, with the best win as an eighth-round stoppage of future super middleweight champion Chong-Pal Park to return to the top of the WBA rankings and another mandated chance against Hagler.

Twenty-one months later, the rematch no one wanted other than the WBA and maybe Obelmejias occurred in Italy with Hagler dominating before knocking Obelmejias cold with a fifth-round left hook.

Fast forward five years, and Obelmeijas finally became a world champion when he won a unanimous decision over old rival Chong-Pal Park to win the WBA super middleweight championship in 1988.

Obelmejias lost the title in his first defense to In-Chul Baek and won his final three fights before retiring.

Browns sign Ethan Pocic

  The Cleveland Browns don't have a lot of money to spend currently or at least until they can find someone willing to take Baker Mayfield for eighteen and a half million dollars.

However, the Browns still have holes to fill and Cleveland signed center Ethan Pocic to a one-year contract for an undisclosed amount.

Pocic was Seattle's second-round draft selection from LSU in 2017 and started ten games for the Seahawks last season, playing in thirteen games.

Pocic started forty games in his Seattle tenure and is reported to be better as a run blocker than a pass protector,

At 6'6 320 pounds, it is easy to see what Pocic could add to the offensive line should he start but the Browns announcement seems to lean towards Pocic, who started at Seattle, as the backup to Nick Harris, who backed up J.C. Tretter before Tretter was released at the start of free agency.

I'm a little surprised that Pocic isn't at least being announced as dueling with Harris for the center position but Harris has been thought of highly by the team since they drafted him in the fifth round in 2020 from Washington.

Pocic at best would win the starting job and at worst would be a quality backup in the event of an injury to Nick Harris.

Browns pound Giants 20-6

   The Cleveland Browns didn't need to look outstanding, they just needed to win.

Cleveland did just in a workmanlike fashion in a 20-6 victory over the New York Giants at Giants Stadium that put them in position to possibly clinch a playoff berth next Sunday in the very same Giants Stadium against the Jets.

Baker Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns with seven different Browns catching two or more passes.

The now 10-4 Browns will face the no longer winless Jets next Sunday and depending on how other games in the playoff picture go, could clinch a playoff spot with a victory.

Brownie Bits

1) Baker Mayfield continued his run of good play and what I've seen has been more than picking up his completion rate.

Mayfield has also decreased the high throws that his receivers have to reach for, allowing them to catch the ball in stride and increase the yards after catch.

2) The Giants didn't allow the Browns to rush for a lot of yards (106) because they were intent on forcing Baker Mayfield to beat them.

A rushing team threw the ball 32 times and ran it only 30 because the Giants just weren't giving them anything on the ground.

3) Myles Garrett finished with half a sack, but was reported to have had a coughing incident after the game in the locker room.

Garrett has said that he has yet to fully recover from his Covid-19 illness and he certainly hasn't been the same since he returned and understandably so.

4) The Giants did move the ball well against the Browns in the first half, but after three possessions inside the Cleveland ten, the Giants would have only three points to show for it.

5) The Giants first possessions ended with a fake field goal that saw Ron Dixon try to hit an offensive lineman for a pass.

Not sure that I would have called that...

6) The Browns have continued to use Jarvis Landry more and more and the veteran has came through.

In the win, Landry grabbed seven of the eight balls that were thrown to him.

Landry isn't going to beat you deep, but his hands are with the best in the game.

7) The offensive line again racks up another solid game despite missing Wyatt Teller entering the game and then replacement Chris Hubbard during the game.

I also liked the game of Nick Harris, who replaced Hubbard and kept things rolling along with a solid game.

Harris's main position is center, but had some guard experience at Washington and the Browns seem to value versatility along both lines.

8) The two Browns touchdown drives were each 95 yard marches,

Two of those in one game?

Not a common occurance.

9) The Browns questionable secondary was improved and not only because Colt McCoy was starting for Big Blue.

Denzel Ward returned to the lineup and that brings the Browns their best defensive back to the field.

Andrew Sendejo was inactive and Karl Joseph looked like he was playing for a new contract with ten tackles and two passes knocked down.

10) Sheldon Richardson left the game with a neck injury and did not return.

Richardson has played so well in his two seasons in Cleveland and losing him would leave a huge gap at defensive tackle.

Jordan Elliott would replace him and the dropoff to the rookie seems vast.

11) I was very late in writing this, but because of the delay, I was able to see that the Bengals have upset the Steelers and left the road for a possible division title opem.

However, there is also a scenario that an 11-5 Browns team (assuming they split the final two games) could stay home and not make the playoffs at all.

One at a time..

Browns Draft Recap

Everyone always says how much they hate the grading of drafts immediately following the draft and how unfair it is, half will be wrong, etc.

And those same people read them all and in many cases write them, so why is that?
Because it's speculation and with the draft, speculation is fun!

I could sum this draft up quickly and without detail and simply say it's an A-.

The Browns landed arguably the best tackle in the draft in Alabama's Jedrick Wills in the first and my top-ranked safety in LSU's Grant Delpit in round two without giving anything up and adding a fifth-rounder to a draft that lacked one when the draft started.
Both Wills and Delpit almost certainly will be immediate starters.
Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott is rated highly and should be a rotational player this season, and perhaps more for the 2021 season with both Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson eligible for free agency after the 2020 term.

One often hears the term "Overdrafted" when a player goes earlier than expected, but the Browns used two picks for receivers that use the seldom-used term "Underdrafted" with John Mackey Award winner Harrison Bryant of Florida Atlantic in the fourth round and Michigan wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones in the sixth frame.
Bryant should see plenty of field time in the Kevin Stefanski offense as a receiving tight end and Peoples-Jones may not break into the lineup at wide receiver as quickly but should have a chance to help with returning punts, which he did at Michigan, and perhaps kickoffs as well.

Some questioned the choice of Washington center Nick Harris due to his size, but Harris can play guard, fits the zone blocking scheme of new offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and could be the eventual replacement for J.C. Tretter, despite Tretter's contract extension that he signed last year.
LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips is an excellent tackler who has questions about his pass coverage.
At a minimum, Phillips should be able to be a two-down linebacker for Cleveland and even though I preferred Ohio State's Malik Harrison, who was taken one pick later by Baltimore, the worst thing that I can say about Phillips is that he might have been drafted a little early and it could be that new defensive coordinator Joe Woods might think that Phillips suits what he wants from his defense more than Harrison will.

Here are my kudos and concerns from the draft.
Please keep in mind that these are not projections on my mind, just some thoughts from each side of the ledger, and do not mean that I am predicting that either side is predictions on my part.

Kudos

1: When your guys fall to you- Don't get cute- take him.
The Browns did just that in the first round with Jedrick Wills and on day three with Harrison Bryant.
In the past, the Browns would get too clever, try to get something else, and wind up losing your guy.
This time they stayed put and took their player, now let's see if Wills is the best of four very good tackle prospects.

2: The draft did set up for the Browns at 41 in the second round with Grant Delpit, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Ashtyn Davis all available for the Browns to fill their need at safety.
With all three available when the Colts called to talk about moving up from 44, it made sense to take the free fifth-rounder as the Colts were unlikely to take a safety.
The Browns were then guaranteed that one of the three was going to be on the board for their pick.
That's a smart time to move down and add assets.

3: I've stated through the years that teams become playoff teams by accumulating players who can make impact plays and not by amassing multiple players that are average.
The Browns usually did this as part of the trading down process that the analytics people love so much but in this draft, Cleveland managed to grab who they rated as the best tackle, best safety, and maybe the best pass-catching tight end.
Impact players who make a difference will be the core of turning this organization around.

Concerns

1: I still wonder about the third-round selection of Jacob Phillips over Malik Harrison.
The Browns have noted that they like Phillips in passing situations as a good coverage linebacker, but when you watch his video, you see that Phillips doesn't have great lateral mobility and needs work in coverage.
I'm not the professional and I'm not knocking Phillips as a player at all as he has plenty to like, but I do find that a bit odd.

2) While I really like all three of the picks on the final day, I do wish that the Browns had found a way for another linebacker to be added.
The Browns linebackers are very young with only journeyman B.J. Goodson having experience beyond second-year men or rookies, so I'd be surprised if Andrew Berry doesn't go shopping for a veteran free agent either now or in June for a bargain cap casualty.

3) While I like the pick of Jordan Elliott for both value and talent, I do wonder about a pass rusher at defensive end.
It's clear that Olivier Vernon is going to return and should Vernon be able to stay healthy, he will more than provide the needed help for Myles Garrett off the edge.
However, Vernon's health is a fair topic to question as he has missed four or more games in each of the last three seasons.
Veteran Adrian Clayborn could help in limited situations and I guess the Browns can hope for Chad Thomas to show something, but if Vernon can't stay on the field the defensive end spot is a major concern.

There's a lot to like about this draft for the Browns and there isn't a clear scream at the TV selection here as even the best drafts in the past have possessed (Chad Thomas over Sam Hubbard, anyone?).
However, the other teams in the AFC North did quite well in the draft as well and it's fair to question how much the gap between the Browns and the Ravens/Steelers has been narrowed.
How well did they do?
I'll be back soon with a look at the drafts of the other divisional rivals and how well their haul worked out for 2020.

Browns select Nick Harris

The Cleveland Browns finished their draft in the fifth and sixth rounds with two interesting players.
I'll be back next time with the Browns sixth-round choice

The fifth-round selection was obtained from the Indianapolis Colts as the price for dropping three slots in the second round on the draft's second day and Cleveland used it on Washington center Nick Harris.
Harris was named to the All-Pac 12 first team for the last two seasons for the Huskies and started in his sophomore season at guard.
Harris stands at under 6'1 and weighs in at 305 pounds and the two position versatility could come in handy this season for the Browns, who may even decide to use Harris as another challenger for the starting right guard position as well as the backup at center for J.C. Tretter.

Harris seems to be a smart and strong center with the only issue seeming to be slightly undersized
(Isn't it funny that the game has reached the point that 300 pounders can be considered undersized?)
at 300 pounds and the lack of height is the biggest red flag for scouts on Harris.
Dane Brugler rated Harris as a third-rounder and writes that Harris might be a terrific fit in a zone-blocking system, which just happens to be the system that new offensive line coach Bill Callahan will be installing for the Browns.

In other words, the Browns drafted a player that they rated higher than others because they think the player suits their needs perfectly.
That is exactly what the Steelers have been doing for years in drafting players that may not be as talented as other players in a particular draft, but gives them the skills to slip right into what their system asks for.
Suddenly in what seemed to be a routine fifth-round draft pick, I have a little more faith in what the Browns are attempting to build.
Now, can Jimmy Haslam develop the patience needed to see things through?