Browns finish season in Cincinnati, lose 31-14

    The Cleveland Browns had locked their playoff spot up and their seeding position was set in place entering their visit to Cincinnati on the final Sunday of the regular season.

The Browns sat as many of their key players as they possibly could and started a quarterback that had never dressed for the team in Jeff Driskel, so the result was a predictable 31-14 loss to the Bengals with the Browns allowing the first thirty-one points of the game before two fourth-quarter touchdowns allowed Cleveland to avoid the shutout.

Jeff Driskel threw two touchdown passes to David Bell along with two interceptions with Bell leading the receivers with four catches for sixty-eight yards.

Cleveland finished the season 11-6 and will travel to Houston on Saturday afternoon as the first game of the postseason.

Brownie Bits

1) I know I've been critical of teams in the past that benched their top players before the playoffs.

I'm not this time and not because it's the Browns in this case.

Cleveland had clinched their spot and seeding and Cincinnati had been mathematically eliminated before the game, so under those conditions, I'm okay with the decision.

2) I'm going to admit that I didn't watch this game as closely as usual.

I've been ill this weekend and considering the non-stakes in the game, I watched the first half and watched the rest later.

3) Cleveland hoped to avoid injuries but even when playing as many reserves as possible, players can get hurt that are contributors.

Shelby Harris suffered a shin injury but Kevin Stefanski said Harris will be "ok', Cedric Tillman left with a head injury and Pierre Strong had a back issue.

No word on their status on Saturday.

4) The win by the Bengals allowed them to finish 9-8 and give every team in the AFC North a record above .500.

The last time that happened? 

1935, when Franklin Roosevelt was in the first of his four terms as President.

5) Jeff Driskel didn't set the world on fire but one couldn't expect that from a player that had been a Brown for nine days.

I understand why Dorian Thompson-Robinson wasn't played, although the snaps would have been good for him but this shows just how little Kevin Stefanski wanted to play P.J. Walker.

Driskel allowed the Browns to get through a game that meant little without damaging the quarterback position so mission accomplished.

6) I was pleased to see David Bell grab the two late-game scores.

I've always liked Bell as a 4th/possession receiver and for one reason or another, Bell hasn't seen the field as much as I would have thought.

7) Perhaps Bell will play more against Houston with the uncertain status of Cedric Tillman.

Tillman has been coming along with his increased playing time since the Browns traded Donovan Peoples-Jones, so his absence would be a loss.

8) I'm not hanging too much weight on the Browns win on Christmas Eve over the Texans.

That was a Houston team without C.J. Stroud, who will be available for the Texans this time, and DeMeco Ryans, a defensive coach, has to be telling his team about the embarrassment of allowing so many yards to Amari Cooper in that game.

Cleveland may win but it's going to be a different team in this visit to Houston than the one three weeks ago.

Boxing Challenge: Tony Weeks Strikes Again

   The star of Saturday night's kickoff to the boxing year wasn't either victor of the two featured bouts. Still, referee Tony Weeks stepped up to draw attention to himself and why it could be time for Weeks to consider retiring from officiating.

In the Las Vegas main event from Golden Boy, Vergil Ortiz returned for the first time in over a year and stopped Fredrick Lawson in the first round.

Lawson isn't known for a stern chin and with Ortiz coming off a long layoff, one could easily see Ortiz scoring an easy stoppage but not this easy.

Ortiz was scoring with some punches and Lawson did buckle off the first right hand but Ortiz didn't seem to have Lawson in major trouble when Weeks stepped in.

Lawson was selected to make Ortiz look good and this didn't change the result but he was never given a chance thanks to Tony Weeks, who should be thinking about giving the game up if his recent work becomes a pattern of stopping fights too soon.

Ortiz called out WBO champion Tim Tszyu and Ortiz's promoter Oscar De La Hoya claimed that they would even travel to Australia for the encounter.

I think that is a very interesting fight and would be all for that deal to be signed.

Tony Weeks had a presence in the co-main event due to his past work.

Veteran Ismael Barroso was dominating Rolando Romero last year in a fight for the vacant WBA junior lightweight title when an ineffective Romero flurry caused Tony Weeks to step in and stop the fight, giving Romero the title, and the lesser connected Barroso the shaft that is still being talked about months later.

Romero has not fought since due to injury and in the rare case that I approve of an interim title coming into play, Barroso faced England's Ohara Davies, who looked impressive last year in a win over countryman Lewis Ritson to qualify for the title attempt.

Barroso would receive some justice as he floored Davies twice in the first round with right hands before the fight was stopped with the ringside doctor on the apron with Davies standing but in severe distress.

It's easy to feel good for Barroso, who was on his way to a win against Rolando Romero, at the age of 41, and the win over Davies should either earn him a rematch against Romero for the full title or he could be even given the full title should Romero vacate it to fight Ryan Garcia for a larger payday.

After all, if you are going to cash in, cash in for as much as you can.

Golden Boy also unveiled another junior welterweight for the first time under their banner as Arnold Barboza, formerly of Top Rank, dominated Xolisani Ndongeni, winning every round before Ndongeni's corner ended the fight after round eight.

Barboza might be a contender caught in the middle between as not valuable enough to draw a big payday for the best of the division but too risky to fight in an optional defense.

Boxing Challenge 

TRS: 5 Pts

Ramon Malpica: 4 Pts

Vince Samano: 1 Pt

Boxing Challenge

   Not feeling well, so a just the facts version of boxing challenge

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Fredrick Lawson, 12 rounds, junior  Middleweights

Ramon Malpica: ORTIZ KO 7 

TRS: Ortiz KO 3

Vince Samano: Lawson Unanimous Decision

Ohara Davies vs. Ismael Barroso, 12 rounds, for vacant WBA interim junior welterweight title R.L; DAVIES KO 10

TRS: Davies Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano: Barroso Unanimous Decision

Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Xolisani Ndongeni, 10 rounds, junior welterweights 

R.L: BARBOZA KO 11

TRS: Barboza KO 8

V.S: Ndongeni Unanimous Decision

PPM

Last Week: 11-3

Overall: 171-90

College National Championship

Washington over Michigan 24-17

Pro

Bengals over Browns 20-14

Chiefs over Chargers 31-27

Games of the Week

Bills over Dolphins 41-30

Texans over Colts 27-24  

Ohio State lands Will Howard

    With concerns about the quarterbacking situation at Ohio State, Ryan Day had to have some questions about dipping into the transfer pool before the Cotton Bowl.

After Devin Brown's ankle injury early in the game, the worries became larger and forced Day into making a decision for 2024 that could cost the Buckeyes both Devin Brown and potentially Lincoln Kienholz.

The decision to add transfer quarterback Will Howard, late of Kansas State, may have been one that Day didn't want to make but it was one that he had to make.

The 6'5 242 pound Howard threw for over 2,600 yards last season with 24 touchdowns against ten interceptions, completing sixty-one percent of his tosses for the Wildcats.

Howard also ran for 351 yards with nine rushing scores, so Howard is far more mobile than last year's starter Kyle McCord but he's not perfect with a tendency to force the ball into coverage.

I'm seeing some snarkiness that Howard is similar to Kyle McCord but I'm not buying that.

Howard is far more mobile and able to avoid rushers in the pocket than McCord but isn't quite as smooth as a passer in the pocket as Howard is better on the run  or with a moving pocket.

Ohio State had to make a move here mainly because they don't know what they have in Devin Brown, due to his injuries and lack of playing time.

Give Brown credit as he is indicating that he won't be transferring and will fight for the job in the spring and in training camp.

Should Brown win the job, Howard gives the Buckeyes a veteran arm in the event that Brown would be injured, and should Howard emerge with the starting spot, it buys a year for incoming freshman Air Noland to develop slowly.

Cleaning out the Inbox

    The cleaning of the inbox is overdue, so we'll start the new year by pulling everything out of the inbox to start fresh.

WTOP.com celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Capital Centre, the former home of the Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals, and Georgetown Hoyas, along with title defenses by Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, professional wrestling, ACC basketball tournaments, and many other events as well from 1973-2002.

The Capital Centre was the first arena of its era to have a closed circuit television feed on its scoreboard that could be seen from each side of the arena as well and was among the first of the move to the suburbs by teams for new stadiums/arenas.

The Capital Centre was closed with the teams moving to the new downtown arena in 2002 and now things are starting to swing back to the suburbs with the Wizards/Capitals announcing plans for a future arena in Alexandria, Virginia.

ESPN writes of the plans for the third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, to be moved to Saratoga Race Course for 2024 and possibly 2025.

Belmont Park is undergoing major renovations to the country's only one and a half miles course and Saratoga is a natural site to host the Belmont, although the mile-and-a-half classic will be shortened to a mile-and-a-quarter due to the configuration of Saratoga.

I've thought for years that the answer to the power hitters in golf making classic golf courses obsolete due to distance was to change the golf ball itself.

Slow-pitch softball has used two different types of balls for decades, the "blue dot" made as a normal softball, while the "red dot" is a restricted flight ball that doesn't leap off the bat for the stronger hitters and I've been a proponent of golf doing the same with their ball, rather than changing the length of courses that changes some of the history and charm as well as the costs involved.

The Athletic writes of the pros and cons of the move which will begin in 2028 for the professionals and 2030 for the rest of the golf-playing world.

The Athletic also writes of the troubles with the once-proud Louisville Cardinals basketball program under second-year coach Kenny Payne.

The former Cardinal star returned home to turn the Cardinals around but finished 4-28 last season and started 5-8 this season to date amid players leaving the program, struggling attendance, and questions about the program's future under Payne.

Problems in the Atlantic League just before Hagerstown opens their new stadium next season.

The problem isn't the league as much as one franchise, the Gastonia Honey Hunters, who have been ordered to vacate their home stadium and have their franchise revoked from the league.

The Honey Hunters have left a trail of unpaid bills to the Atlantic League and the city of Gastonia for use of the stadium that the city built for them.

The stadium opened in 2021 and the Atlantic League has announced their intentions to field a Gastonia team in the league in 2024, although I'm not sure if they will be the Honey Hunters or under a new nickname as I'm not sure if the owners of the team or the league owns the trademarks to the name and intellectual property such as logos etc. 

We wrap with The Athletic's story of how Tino Livramento left the Chelsea academy to move to Southampton before his eventual move to Newcastle last summer.

It's an interesting piece on how young players progress through a sports system that doesn't use either college or a minor league system like in the United States.

Livramento is one of the few Newcastle that is playing very well during a poor run of play from the Magpies.

Happy New Year

  A quick Happy New Year to anyone reading this and I hope it's a good one for you and yours.

2023 was not a great year for me, and I'm glad to bury most of it in the rearview mirror!

Enjoy the holiday and may your teams and interests prosper in the new year!