Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

 The tributes never stop at TRS, and this edition features two big ones for us.

Goodbye to Kenny Easley at the age of 66.

The best defender in the history of the Seattle Seahawks, Easley was an All-Pro five times and made five Pro Bowls in his seven seasons before he was forced to retire due to severe kidney damage.

Seattle's first round selection (4th overall) in 1981 from UCLA, Easley was a fierce and physical tackler, combined with top-notch ball skills, and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1984 when he intercepted ten passes.

Easley finally received an overdue induction to the Hall of Fame in 2017 and was a long-ago entry in our Forgotten Superstars series.

Goodbye to Lenny Wilkens at the age of 88.

Wilkens was inducted into the basketball hall of fame three times, as a player, coach, and for his part in the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team." 

Wilkens was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams for his playing career (St.Louis, Cleveland, Portland, and Seattle) and was named as one of the league's fifteen best coaches ever.

Wilkens ranks third in league history in victories and led the Seattle Supersonics to the 1979 NBA Title.

Look for a longer feature on Lenny Wilkens in the future.

Goodbye to Bob Caudle at the age of 95.

Caudle, who worked for North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms as a legislative assistant from 1980-1996, was the long-time voice of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from the 1960s until the promotion was sold to Turner Broadcasting in 1988.

Caudle worked for the promotion through 1991 and was the lead commentator for Smoky Mountain Wrestling during its existence from 1992 through 1995.

Goodbye to Micheal Ray Richardson at the age of 70.

The fourth overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, and a four-time All-Star, Richardson might be better remembered for his several suspensions for illegal substances, which resulted in Richardson being the first player ever to be banned for life.

Richardson was reinstated after two missed seasons but never played in the NBA again. deciding to finish his career in Europe.

Known for his fierce defending, Richardson was named to the All-Defensive team twice and led the league in steals three times.

Goodbye to Randy Jones at the age of 75.

Jones won the 1976 National League Cy Young award and finished second in the voting in 1975 for the sad-sack San Diego Padres, winning twenty and twenty-two games, and was the first pitcher in team history to hit that mark.

Jones injured his arm in his final start of 1976 and was never the same pitcher after that, finishing his career with a record of 100-123.

Jones's number 35 is retired by the team, and Jones is the only player in baseball to win a Cy Young and finish with a career losing record.

Sanders debuts! Browns still lose 23-16

     Myles Garrett's four sacks weren't enough to overcome two rookie quarterbacks and an inept passing game as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-16 in Cleveland.

Dillon Gabriel played the first half before he was unable to play in the second due to a head injury.

Shedeurr Sanders made his NFL debut in the second half, completing four of sixteen passes for forty-seven yards and an interception.

Cleveland falls to 2-8 with the loss and will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Vegas next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1)  The Browns hung around in this game, mainly due to turnovers by Baltimore, one on an interception by Carson Schwesinger that ended a drive, a muffed punt which led to a Browns field goal, and a pick-six by Devin Bush.

Give the defense full credit for coming up big, but Baltimore's own errors contributed to the tightness of the game.

2)  Myles Garrett dumped Lamar Jackson four times to increase his league-leading sack total to fifteen on the season.

Garrett looks to have a shot at the league record (22.5) held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

3) The biggest issue that helped cost the game was the first half offense, which could have cost the game when the Browns had possession off turnovers two times and could come up with only two field goals.

Had the Browns scored touchdowns on both occasions rather than field goals, they could have won.

4) That was why I was screaming on Devin Bush's interception for Bush to get in the end zone (he did) because no matter how close Bush could get to the end zone, you can't count on this offense to get the football in for six points.

5) Dillon Gabriel's head injury puts him in jeopardy of missing this week's game against the Raiders.

Kevin Stefanski has stated that if Gabriel is ready, he will retain the position and start against Las Vegas.

Gabriel completed seven of ten passes for sixty-eight yards in the first half before being unable to continue.

6) And now, it's Shedeur Sanders and his long-awaited NFL debut.

First off, I was also looking forward to seeing Sanders, not because I thought he'd instantly turn the team around, but because he would at least bring the excitement that has been missing under Dillon Gabriel.

He did manage to bring some excitement.

7) However, he didn't bring many results, completing only four of sixteen passes for forty-seven yards and throwing an interception.

Sanders still brought more excitement, but he struggles against the rush, dropping back too far and turning his back to the rush.

Sanders had problems with this at Colorado, and if he doesn't solve it, it will hinder his chances in the NFL.

8) For all the terrible numbers of Sanders, he made a few throws that make you want to see more.

His completion to Harold Fannin early in the final drive was an absolute dart, and his throw to Gage Larvadain was almost a game-tying score if not for a terrific strip by Baltimore's Chidobe Awuzie.

Sanders can throw the football; it's the rest that he needs to work on.

9) Carson Schwesinger continues to make a case for defensive rookie of the year.

Schwesinger finished with eight solo tackles, a deflected pass, and an interception, but his most impressive play didn't count on the stat sheet.

On Mark Andrews's touchdown run for the winning score, Andrews ran around end, and once he was a yard or two clear of the line, only one Brown took off after him and almost made the tackle deep in Cleveland territory.

It was Carson Schwesinger, and this guy is a winner.

10) The Browns will have an interesting week with the possibility of Shedeu Sanders starting on the road against the equally awful (both teams are 2-8) Las Vegas Raiders.

With both teams and the Jets at 2-8 and future Cleveland opponent Tennessee at 1-9, the AFC seems very likely to own plenty of the first few picks in the 2026 draft.

For now

   I'm sure a few of you have noticed that my posts have decreased, and the length has at times as well.

It's partially due to a lack of time and partially due to a lack of energy.

I run short on time, and stuff like Ohio State blowouts are getting to find time to finish before the Browns can be blown out.

I've decided that when things get too hectic to be completed, I'm just not going to worry about it.

This will mainly affect Ohio State for now, as their games aren't close, and are often while I am at work, where I can't pay as close attention as I'd like.

The fun stuff is the feature stories, and they take longer to finish than they used to!

I'm older now, and as hard as it is to believe, TRS turns nineteen next year.

I'm not the guy I was then, and I get worn down easier, and while writing isn't physically difficult, it takes mental energy and concentration that I don't always have.

Bear with me, the few of you who do read, things will clear up shortly, I hope!

Boxing Challenge: Benn Avenges loss to Eubank Jr.

    The boxing challenge boasted two cards outside the United States this weekend, with one fighter avenging his only defeat and another retaining his world championship.

Conor Benn evened his series with Chris Eubank Jr with a dominant unanimous decision win in London.

Eubank, who won the first fight earlier this year in what might be the fight of the year, looked spent as Benn outboxed the older man throughout and avoided any counters.

Benn dropped Eubank twice in the final round and would have likely stopped his foe with even a few more seconds remaining in the fight.

Benn announced plans to return to welterweight for potential title challenges of either WBC champion Mario Barrios or IBF titleholder Lewis Crocker, both of which Benn would be favored against.

Eubank Jr should consider retirement, but likely will not, even if a third fight seems unlikely after Benn's easy victory.

On the undercard in a fight I have yet to watch, Jack Catterall knocked Ekow Essuman in the eleventh round of a welterweight eliminator.

Catterall was fighting in the division for the second time, while Essuman had scored his biggest career win in his previous fight over former champion (and Catterall foe) Josh Taylor.

In Mexico, Rafael Espinoza retained his WBO featherweight title when challenger Arnold Khegai was unable to answer the bell for round eleven.

Espinoza hammered the gutsy Khegai throughout the fight, rendering Khegai's face into a swollen mask.

I didn't see the co-feature, but most seem to believe Lindolfo Delgado was given a split decision in his junior welterweight eliminator against Gabriel Valenzuela

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 141 Pts (4)

Ramon Malpica: 133 Pts (3)

Vince Samano:  53 Pts (0)

Boxing Challenge

  A just-the-facts version of the boxing challenge.

I've had some time constraints and have limited my time here.

Middleweights. 12 Rds  

Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Eubank Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano:

Welterweights 12 Rds

Jack Catterall vs Ekow Essuman

R.L and TRS: Catterall Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano:

WBO Featherweight Title. 12 Rds

Rafael Espinoza vs Arnold Khegai

R.L: Espinoza Unanimous Decision

TRS: Espinoza KO 8

Vince Samano:

Junior Welterweights. 

Lindolfo Delgado vs Gabriel Valenzuela

R.L and TRS: Delgado Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano: 

PPM

 The PPM returns with another pigskin-filled weekend.

Last Week: 7-6 

Overall: 102-50

College

Ohio State over UCLA 35-10

Texas Tech over Central Florida 31-13

LSU over Arkansas 45-41

Miami over N.C. State 37-24

San Diego State over Boise State 35-29

Tulsa over Oregon State 21-17

UTSA over Charlotte 45-20

Western Kentucky over Middle Tennessee 34-20

Georgia Southern over Coastal Carolina 29-22

Games of the Week

Georgia over Texas 28-24

Alabama over Oklahoma 34-21

NFL
Ravens over Browns 24-13

Games of the Week

Bills over Buccaneers 36-34

Rams over Seahawks 31-28

Browns jolted by Jets

    The Cleveland Browns lost a game in which they allowed only 54 yards passing (42 on one play) to the New York Jets, and couldn't overcome two returns for touchdowns in a 27-20 loss in New Jersey.

Dillon Gabriel threw two touchdowns, Quinshon Judkins rushed for seventy-five yards, and Jerry Jeudy caught a touchdown pass amongst his seventy-eight receiving yards. 

The now 2-7 Browns return home to meet the resurgent Baltimore Ravens.

Brownie Bits

1) That wasn't a typo above.

The Jets finished with fifty-four yards passing, but forty-two came on one play, a Fields throw to running back Breece Hall early in the fourth quarter that broke a 17-17 tie and was enough to win the game.

2) The touchdown by Hall was the only touchdown allowed by the defense, but they still had their share of blame.

The Jets are trying to run the clock out, and they face a third and sixteen with 1:50 to go, and Justin Fields runs to keep the clock rolling or make the Browns use a timeout.

Devin Bush is called for defensive holding- automatic first down.

3) We progress a few plays later, it's fourth and five with fifty-eight seconds to go.

The Jets milk the clock for as long as they can and then either call a timeout or take the delay of game penalty and punt.

The Browns Cameron Thomas jumps offside-First Down.

Game over.

4) The Browns offensive line allowed six sacks, four of them by Will McDonald.

McDonald had three sacks in the Jets first eight games and eclipsed that number with one game against the Browns.

5) Much was made of the change of playcallers from Kevin Stefanski to Tommy Rees before the game, and the offense did look a little different in the passing game.

Rees moved Dillon Gabriel out of the pocket far more than Stefanski and they used some jet sweeps and misdirection more than Stefanski but I'm going to reserve judgement on consistent improvement.

6) The Browns have used Malachi Corley as the player who has handled the jet sweep calls, rushiing twice for thirty-two yards.

Corley, a wide receiver, has rushed four times this season for seventy-four yards, yet has caught only two balls for seventeen.