Cleaning out the Inbox-Passings

    Time for more tributes to stars that recently passed away and the first is one that I had been expecting but hurts a lot nonetheless.

Goodbye to Paul Westphal at the age of 70.

One of my favorite players of all-time, Westphal was one of the top scorers of the 70s and averaged over twenty points a game for each of five seasons to end the 70s with the Phoenix Suns and would later coach the Suns to the 1993 NBA finals, where they would lose in six games to the Chicago Bulls.

Westphal was drafted by Boston in 1972 and during his three seasons as a Celtic, Westphal never averaged more than nine points a game or played more than twenty minutes a night for Boston and had many Celtics fans thinking that Red Auerbach had pulled the wool over the eyes of yet another team when he traded Westphal and two second-round draft picks to Phoenix in 1975 for Charlie Scott.

Scott had averaged twenty-five points a game over his three seasons in Phoenix and the trade seemed lopsided.

Instead, Westphal made the trade one-sided for Phoenix as the Suns made the playoffs four times in his five seasons in the Valley with the Suns making the NBA finals for the first time in their classic six-game loss to the Celtics.

It was Westphal who came up with the idea of calling a timeout at the end of the second overtime when the Suns were out of timeouts in order to give them a shot at tying the game with two seconds to go.

When Westphal called the timeout, Phoenix received a technical foul, Boston's Jo-Jo White hit the free throw to give Boston a two-point lead, and then Phoenix's Garfield Heard hit an off-balance toss to force a third overtime where Boston would win.

Imagine the headiness to think of that when you are in midst of such a crazy game.

For more on Paul Westphal, check our Forgotten Superstars feature on Westphal from 2014.

Goodbye to Floyd Little at the age of 78.

The first face of the Denver Bronco franchise and their first-round draft choice in 1967 from Syracuse, Floyd Little rushed for over six thousand yards in his nine-years with Denver in the days of fourteen game seasons, and when you combine his rushing with his twenty-four hundred receiving yards, Little had more combined yardage in his first six years in the AFL/NFL than any other back of the time.

Little never played in a playoff game in his career, but Little was "Mr.Bronco" as the first star for the moribund franchise's down years in Denver and was among the first inductees into the Broncos Ring of Honor.

A five-time Pro Bowler, Little made three All-Pro teams and led the NFL in rushing in 1971.

Little was named to the Hall of Fame in 2010.

Goodbye to Gerry Marsden at the age of 78.

Ryan sends word of the passing of Gerry Marsden, who was the lead singer and namesake of the British pop group "Gerry and the Pacemakers", who ranked among the top invaders of the time with several hits in the United States with one, in particular, receiving play in the current time.

Gerry and the Pacemakers were the second most popular group from Liverpool behind a group known as the Beatles and were managed by the Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

The Pacemakers had such hits as "I like it", "How Do You do it" and "You'll never walk alone", all of which hit number one in the UK.

The Pacemakers never hit the top spot in the United States but did hit the top six with "Don't Let the Sun Catch you Crying" (4) and the song I remember them best for "Ferry Cross the Mersey" (6).

"You'll never walk alone" has become the anthem for the Liverpool soccer franchise and for years was used by Jerry Lewis in the sign-off for his Labor Day telethon, which Battlin' Bob has a wonderful rendition I've been told...

Goodbye to Frankie Randall at the age of 59.

Randall held the WBA and WBC junior welterweight titles on two different occasions but will be remembered by most boxing fans for his magical night in 1993 when Randall became the first man to defeat Julio Cesar Chavez (officially that is, anyone that saw Chavez's "draw" with Pernell Whitaker) knows differently), knocking Chavez down in the eleventh round for the first time in his career.

Randall would win the split decision along with the WBC junior welterweight title from Chavez, but lose the rematch via split decision after eight rounds when Chavez was badly cut via a clash of heads.

Randall would later win, lose, and then regain the WBA version of the title from Juan Coggi before his skills began to decline after losing his title to Khalid Rahilou.

Randall would win only five of his eighteen fights after losing to Rahilou but did receive a payday for being selected by Julio Cesar Chavez to be his retirement opponent in Mexico.

Chavez won a ten round unanimous decision over Randall.

Goodbye to Wayne Radford at the age of 64.

Radford played one season for the Indiana Pacers after being selected in the second round in the 1978 draft, but his best memories were with Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers and Radford was a backup for the last undefeated NCAA champion- the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.

Radford might have saved the undefeated season when Radford entered a game against Michigan with Michigan having Indiana on the ropes for what would be the Hoosiers' first loss.

Radford hit six of seven from the floor, rallied Indiana, and when a fluky Kent Benson tip-in at the buzzer forced an overtime that Indiana would control, the closest call to the undefeated season was history.

Red Tide: Bama Rolls over OSU 52-24

 Heisman Trophy winner Devonte Smith and his Alabama teammates were just too much for the Ohio State defense as Smith and the Crimson Tide defeated the Buckeyes 52-24 in Miami to give Nick Saban another national championship.

Master Teague ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns and Justin Fields threw for another to Garrett Wilsom for the Buckeye offensive highlights.

The Buckeyes next game (assuming we have Covid-19 dusted by then) will be September 2nd in Minneapolis against the Golden Gophers.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Ohio State didn't play a perfect game for sure-BUT Justin Fields wasn't intercepted, no one fumbled the football, and there wasn't any serious breakdown in the special teams, so from that aspect you cannot say that Ohio State handed the game to Alabama.

2) SO what that does mean is this- that Alabama was a much better team and OSU shouldn't have any excuses. 

It's pretty clear that there were four tiers in college football above the field

Bama at the top, Ohio State at tier two, Clemson (with Trevor Lawrence) on tier three, with another handful of schools below them-Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Iowa State, Georgia, Cincinatti and then the rest.

3) Ohio State did make some things easy for the Tide though.

I have written many times about how you play- go for broke or play the perfect game.

Anything else- No good

To paraphrase Mr. Miyagi- Take big chances-Yes, Play tight to the vest- yes. Play so-so- No good.

4) An example of this was the defensive backs against Heisman winner Devonta Smith, who caught 12 passes for over two hundred yards and three touchdowns and he didn't even play in the second half!

Ohio State played Smith and the returning Jaylen Waddle soft in order not to get beaten deep, but instead allowed Smith to catch the ball underneath, get rolling in space and still rip off huge gains.

The end result is the same- so why try to throw Smith's pattern off a bit and rough him up?

I make no claims that would have worked any better, but Ohio State never varied in their coverages.

5) And with Alabama clearly throwing at will with their tremendous speed, why did the Buckeyes never try using an extra defensive back rather than sticking with their base defense?

I'm not saying that would have worked either, but what they were doing was not working, so why not?

6) Ohio State suffered a blow on the first offensive play when Trey Sermon's two yard carry proved to be his last as he injured his collarbone and was taken to a local hospital.

Master Teague is a quality back, but the Sermon of the late season is a completely different animal and his loss removed the home run aspect from the ground game.

7) Then the offensive line took a shot when their best offensive lineman in guard Wyatt Davis's second quarter injury.

When you lose your best back and best lineman, the running game is going to be weakened.

8) Ryan Day was surprisingly timid- Even to the point of comparing to the meekness of Mike Tomlin the night before in Pittsburgh.

Punting on a fourth and nine on Alabama's side of the field is arguable either way, but at that point the game was still an up and down the court scoring game.

I know fourth and nine isn't optimal, but it might have made sense to go for it there.

9) Then the field goal try on fourth and goal from the six.

I'm harsher on this call than the other because you know going into this game that field goals aren't winning it.

You need six- as many times as possible.

Bad call.

10) Remember earlier when yes or no is fine, but so-so doesn't work?

At the end of the half, Ohio State could either be safe or aggressive, but not so-so and so-so is exactly what they selected as they went three and out, giving Bama the ball back and time to score-which is what they did.

11) Ohio State really missed Tommy Togiai and Tyreke Smith on the defensive line and those two missing starters might not have been the difference in the Alabama running game and putting pressure on Mac Jones, but it wouldn't have hurt!

Replacements Jerron Cage and Zack Harrison combined for one solo tackle and one assist, both by Harrison.

12) All of that said- I don't know if changing everything would have made a difference.

This Alabama offense is that good- among the best I've seen and the defense is just good enough to get an occasional stop and that's all that offense needs.

The best team won and even at the top level of any sport, the best team usually wins.

Back later with both the Cavaliers game tonight vs Utah, combined with a mention or two from their Monday loss to Memphis.

Browns Stop Steelers in 48-37 Playoff Victory!

  The Pittsburgh Steelers were favored by almost everyone that didn't have a sentimental interest ( I know of one person only that fits into that position) in their playoff game against the Cleveland Browns.

After all, the Steelers had sat quarterback Ben Rothlisberger, the possible defensive player of the year in T.J. Watt, and several other starters in their season finale against the Browns on the bench. The game was in Cleveland, the Browns had lost head coach Kevin Stefanski and Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio for the playoff game and Pittsburgh had still lost by only two points!

Any thinking person would have picked Pittsburgh and all of that vanished on the first snap of the game as Pittsburgh center Markice Pouncey sent the football flying over Ben Rothlisberger's head like the pterodactyl in the Flintstones delivering an "Air Mail" with Karl Joseph falling on the ball for a stunning touchdown.

As I sat in my quarantine bunker watching this, I saw Ben Rothlisberger's body language and had a V-8 moment- Pittsburgh's not ready to play. 

No matter the reason- overconfidence, Pittsburgh's dominance for almost all the last fifty years dating back to the Nixon administration, Covid, Mike Tomlin's sudden understanding of his coaching being mediocre, JuJu Smith-Schuster's dance steps- Whatever. Pittsburgh didn't seem ready to play.

A short punt and two Ben Rothlisberger interceptions set up three more Cleveland touchdowns later, the first quarter ended with a 28-0 Cleveland lead with the game essentially over.

Pittsburgh didn't give up and made a gallant run, but even for Browns fans and all the well-earned angst from past Steeler encounters, you never felt like Pittsburgh was close enough to make the Browns feel the concern and get tight enough to blow this game.

The Cleveland 48-37 victory may not have eliminated every piece of baggage that the team has carried, but it took a step forward in exorcising a few demons in one swing of the blade.

Baker Mayfield threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns, Kareem Hunt ran for two touchdowns, and Jarvis Landry caught seven passes for ninety yards and a touchdown.

The Browns will face an even tougher test next Sunday in Kansas City against the defending Super Bowl Champions and Patrick Mahomes, but at this stage, the Browns are playing with house money.

Brownie Bits

1) Not only were Baker Mayfield's statistics solid, but what I liked was that every time in the second half that Pittsburgh appeared to be on the verge of closing the gap and making the game really interesting, Mayfield kept a level head, didn't get too emotional, and then led the Browns to an answering score.

2) Should you still think there is a question about the Browns picking up Baker Mayfield's fifth year, they moved out the door after this performance. I didn't think there was a question anyway, but any small questions should be answered.

3) Give a patchwork offensive line full credit- with Joel Bitonio out and Jack Conklin injured in the first half, the Browns were playing names such as Kendall Lamm, Michael Dunn, and Blake Lance, who was literally introduced to Baker Mayfield in the locker room! 

Yet, the Browns still managed to rush for 127 yards and didn't allow a sack to the Steelers normally stern pass rush.

I'm not sure they can do this again, especially without Bitonio and Conklin (no word on either player's status for Kansas City), but they kept it together for one game.

4) Nick Chubb is the Browns back that is known as the power runner, but Kareem Hunt is more than capable of putting his shoulder down as well.

On Hunt's first touchdown run, Pittsburgh linebacker Robert Spillane moved up to hit Hunt around the three to four-yard line.

Hunt drove Spillane well inside the end zone and had Spillane's head looking at the sky.

5) Jarvis Landry seemed to be the Browns answer every time a key play was needed and Baker Mayfield put the ball on the money as well.

Landry is the Browns most dependable pass catcher, but the Steelers seemed to be a step behind Landry all evening.

Of course that can happen when you commit to covering Landry most of the evening with linebackers...

6) Mike Tomlin has been a coach that I've always thought was overrated and if Pittsburgh had one chance to get back into this game, Tomlin threw that chance away.

In the third quarter, the Steelers had scored 16 points in a row, and on the final play of the third quarter, the Steelers had a fourth and one around midfield.

The Browns defense looked like the dam may be about to burst with the fourth quarter ready to begin.

Tomlin decided not to go for it, tried to pull the Browns offsides, took a five-yard penalty, and punted.

The Browns would take the punt and six plays later, Nick Chubb scored and Pittsburgh didn't seem to get close enough to sweat again.

7) Is Ben Rothlisberger finished? Well, he did finish with over 500 yards passing, but the Browns were playing very soft, giving the Steelers almost everything underneath, and under those conditions, passing yards can be rolled up when you have to throw every play.

I'd wonder about picking up a forty million (yes FORTY) option for a guy that's 39 next year and doesn't do either of the two elite skills that he once had (the medium to deep pass and avoiding pass rushers) nearly as well anymore.

BUT- could it be worse than starting Mason Rudolph or signing Cam Newton as a stopgap?

8) M.J. Stewart was beaten in this game. but Stewart also made a huge play with his first-quarter interception and he finished with ten tackles.

I thought Stewart might be best suited after the Browns claimed him from Tampa Bay as a safety/slot corner, but the Browns also used him in this game as a hybrid safety/slot corner and at times had him roaming the middle of the field in a freelance position.

It'll be interesting to see in the 2021 camp if Stewart is given more opportunities in that type of position.

9) The Browns didn't sack Ben Rothlisberger, but they did their share of harassing him.

Rothlisberger cannot make plays with his feet as he once did, so he counters with a quicker delivery of the football.

While this does avoid sacks, it stops the downfield passing games and that's just the ticket for the Browns with a battered secondary.

10) Can the Browns do it again in Kansas City?

I doubt it, but offensively they seem to fit what you need to do against the Chiefs- run the ball, use the clock, and try to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field.

But I fear Mahomes will pick the Browns defensive backs apart and this one could get ugly.

The Browns will score their share, but they are going to need help from the Chiefs to score another upset.

Bucks bounce Cavaliers 100-90

  The Cleveland Cavaliers' ailments may limit the number of players that they can use, but the final game of their six-game road journey found them in Milwaukee against the high-scoring Bucks, and the Bucks without the defending MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo weren't at full strength either.

Even without Milwaukee's biggest star, the Cavaliers didn't have enough to get by the Bucks in a 100-90 defeat to end a 2-4 trip.

Andre Drummond led the Cavaliers with 26 points and 24 rebounds with support from Damyeon Dotson's 21 points.

The Cavaliers are home Monday and Tuesday with games against the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz.

Swashbucklings

1) What I've liked most about the start of this season for the Cavaliers is how they have bought into the team/hustle concept.

They haven't used the injury excuse, although it could be justified to do so, and they never give up on a game and not in a "Steve Robinson" way either.

That's exactly how you make progress in building a future.

2) Andre Drummond almost singlehandedly kept this game in reach with his 26/24 evening. Drummond's 20/20 was the first for a Cavalier since Anderson Varejo in 2012.

3) Drummond has been even better than expected for the Cavaliers and during an off-season that had me wondering if the day of a more conventional big man was changing into an antique, Drummond has improved his shooting range and has worked hard every night.

4) Damyean Dotson played with 21 points and eight assists.

Dotson has been playing out of position during a time that the Cavaliers are essentially playing without a point guard and Dotson's play is even more impressive considering he's not a true passer and isn't playing with one either.

5) Larry Nance Jr. finished with 17 points, but also had four steals and maintained his lead as the league leader in steals.

Nance is excellent at getting into passing lanes, deflecting the ball, and seems to have an innate knack for finding the ball.

That likely sounds basic, but when you watch enough basketball you see players that can get to the ball but knock the ball out of bounds or get into a lane and not gain possession.

Think of it as similar to the shot blocker that leaps up to swat the ball away, but always seems to knock it out of bounds.

The point is to have a possession change....

Boise State to hire Andy Avalos

  The vacancy at the top of the Boise State football program appears to be filled with the reported hiring of Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos.

Boise State has a track record of hiring coaches with a past connection to the Bronco program and the hiring of Avalos is no exception as Avalos played and coached for Boise State before leaving for Oregon before the 2019 season to take the Ducks defensive coordinator position,

The thirty-nine-year-old Avalos was voted one of the thirty players in Boise State history in a vote in 2016 after his playing career that saw him lead the Broncos in tackles in three seasons from 2002-04.

Avalos was a defensive assistant at Boise State from 2012-18, holding the defensive coordinator spot for the final three seasons of his time at Boise under Bryan Harsin, Harsin's departure for Auburn opened up the head coach position for the Broncos.

Avalos was the clear choice after the other major candidate, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, decided to withdraw from consideration after signing a contract extension with the Cowboys.

Avalos will have to fill out much of his staff as many of Harsin's assistants and support staff have followed him to Auburn.

Normally, one would think that would be a given, but at a program such as Boise the connections to the program are more important than in many places, but with a newly hired athletic director (Jeremiah Dickey) that doesn't have a history with the university, many of Harsin's staff may have decided to head south and not wait for the hiring of the next head coach.

Boise State also usually hires coaches that don't have head coaching experience or very little if they do have a history.

If you move back to the beginning of Boise State's D-I era, only two head coaches had previous head coaching experience and in each case (Houston Nutt 1997 and Bryan Harsin), the newly hired leader had only one year of experience (Nutt at D-1AA Murray State and Harsin at Arkansas State) and the hiring of Avalos fits with that.

For all of the success that Boise State has had, they still aren't going to win battles for proven candidates even if they wanted to go after such a coach.

Andy Avalos seems to check the boxes for a Boise State, but he's coming into a program at a difficult time.

While Boise State has still had success in recent years, the Broncos haven't grabbed the coveted Group of Five spot in the New Years Bowl series since 2014 in Bryan Harsin's first season and despite winning their Mountain West division in each of the most recent four seasons, the Broncos have only won two of those four title games.

Boise State fans expect a little more from the program and while I wouldn't say that the Broncos have been underperforming of late, there hasn't been the occasional high point since 2014.

No matter the program's tradition, a G-5 school can never afford to stagnate and one hire that doesn't work out can set a program back for years and hurt a brand that few schools in the G-5 have.

I don't think that Andy Avalos is that hire that doesn't work out.

Avalos knows Boise, the community, the program, and what they need to do to succeed and that's a huge help to him.

However, if he would happen to not work out, at the G-5 level no matter your tradition, you can hit the floor with a thud- take a look at Bowling Green for an example of hitting that bottom and not bouncing back.

Back later with either a Browns preview against the Steelers, the Cavaliers in Milwaukee, or both.

We'll just wait and see. 

PPM

 It's the first Super Wild Card Weekend with three playoff games on Saturday and Sunday.

Plus the final game of the college football season and we have a nice three day of pigskin-If I can enjoy it that is.

Last Week: 5-7

Overall: 111-53

College

Alabama over Ohio State 45-40

NFL

AFC

Bills over Colts 24-18

Steelers over Browns 31-20

Titans over Ravens 24-21

NFC

Saints over Bears 31-14

Seahawks over Rams 30-17

Buccaneers over Washington 25-21

Cavaliers trap Grizzlies 94-90

   An undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers squad came rollin' into Mempho'-TWA and the news got worse as Cleveland's leading scorer in Collin Sexton tried to play on an injured ankle, but Sexton couldn't make it through warmups to leave the Cavaliers even lighter on the available roster.

Considering the Cavaliers had lost three of four on their current road swing and hadn't looked great in either of their losses in Orlando, one would figure that the Memphis Grizzlies would have a sizable advantage even missing their young star in Ja Morant.

One would figure wrong as the Cavaliers hung in the game all evening long, made the plays when they needed to, and squeaked out a 94-90 win over the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum.

Andre Drummond led Cleveland with 22 points and 15 rebounds with Larry Nance Jr. dropping in 18 more points in a night that saw Jr hit all seven shots that he took from the floor.

The Cavaliers travel to Milwaukee on Saturday night for a meeting against Bango the Buck before a rematch with these Memphis Grizzlies on Monday at Rocket Mortgage Field House.

Swashbucklings

1) This game wasn't the greatest piece of art in a basketball game ever, but the game was closely contested and hard-fought with the biggest lead being seven points held by Memphis for a few minutes in the third quarter. 

2) Some of that may be that with both teams playing at far less than full strength, players that are receiving more minutes than usual are hustling around to impress coaches to grab more minutes.

It's easy to forget that every player is a competitor and in situations that Cleveland and Memphis are currently in, players like Lamar Stevens and Dean Wade are getting chances to impress that they normally would not have and trying to take advantage of that time.

3) He didn't lead on the scoring sheet, but Isaac Okoro made the two pivotal plays of the game with under a minute to play.

The first came as Memphis rolled down the floor for what would have been a layup to change the lead from Cleveland's by one to Memphis by one.

As the ball was laid up, a racing Okoro caught the play and blocked the layup.

Okoro was called for a foul, but replays showed no contact and after J.B. Bickerstaff used his coach's challenge, the play was overturned.

4) After a jump ball was won by Andre Drummond, the Cavaliers saw the clock winding down with Drummond fifteen feet from the basket.

Drummond saw Okoro cutting to the hoop and hit him with a pass for a layup that gave Cleveland a three-point lead.

Plays like these two are made hustle in the case of the former and innate basketball sense in the latter.

The Cavaliers have found themselves the type of player that may not develop into a superstar, but one that all championship teams need to have.

5) Larry Nance Jr. stepped up with his perfect shooting night at just the real-time with the Cavaliers playing with only nine players.

Nance may not be this type of offensive talent every night, but the effort that Nance gives every night is again the type of players that winning teams always seem to find.

6) I really like the colors and logo for the Grizzlies, but their jersey backs had the player name below the numbers and I don't remember that style being used other than by the Knicks in the early 80s, and for some reason, I seem to remember the Kings using it in Kansas City for a year or two.

I'm not really a fan.