Browns sign two, release two

   With the opener approaching on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns felt that a few positions needed shoring up and they hope to have done so with two signings from the free agent pool.

The Browns signed tackle Joe Haeg and tight end Jesse James and to make space for the two additions, Cleveland released guard/tackle Drew Forbes and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk.

Forbes, a sixth-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2019 and then-GM John Dorsey, was claimed by the Detroit Lions who currently employ Dorsey in their front office.

Kunaszyk, who the Browns could shuttle on and off the roster over the course of the season, cleared waivers, was signed to the practice squad and is expected to be a special teams contributor when he is on the roster.

Joe Haeg was surprisingly cut by Pittsburgh after spending one year with the Steelers and apparently had several suitors for his services after his release.

The twenty-nine-year-old Haeg was a fifth-round draft pick by the Colts in 2016 and would spend four seasons with Indianapolis as an off-and-on starter before spending 2020 with Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl there before moving to Pittsburgh last season.

Haeg was rated by Pro Football Focus higher for his 2022 play than the Steelers starter., Dan Moore, and visited two teams before signing with the Browns.

Cleveland still hasn't announced if veteran right tackle Jack Conklin will be available for the opener against Carolina, and veteran backup Chris Hubbard played only one game last season after a season-ending injury.

Haeg appears to be perfect in a role as a third tackle that could occasionally rotate into the lineup and is good enough to help for the short term in case it takes a bit for Jack Conklin to return to the field.

As for the better-known former Steeler in tight end Jesse James, James is best known for his four seasons with the Steelers after being drafted by Pittsburgh in the fifth round from Penn State in 2015.

James moved to Detroit and played two seasons with the Lions before signing with the Chicago Bears for 2021.

James was used in a blocking role more often with the Lions and Bears than in his four years in Pittsburgh but James is a different type of tight end than David Njoku and Harrison Bryant, which could help with some diverse looks.

James did have some solid seasons catching the football with the Steelers as he caught 43 passes in 2017, averaged fourteen yards a catch in 2018, and at 6'7 James makes a very intriguing target for the Browns quarterbacks around the goal line and short yardage situations.

James isn't going to stretch the field like David Njoku or add yards after the catch like Harrison Bryant can but he will catch the ball as a check-down option and will block willingly.

James would be a mildly underwhelming player as a starting tight end but as the third tight end on your roster can be a productive player.

Boxing Challenge: Ruiz Decisions Ortiz

 Premiere Boxing Champions Sunday night PPV card from Los Angeles looked interesting before the card for a few different reasons and while the main event didn't quite live up to what it could have been, one contender moved towards a potential lucrative rematch, a former champion returned to the ring and might be better suited to end his comeback, and a prospect that seemed to be ready to enter contender status suffered a shocking defeat.

In the main event, Andy Ruiz knocked down Luis Ortiz three times but still barely earned a close unanimous decision in a WBC heavyweight eliminator.

Ruiz knocked Ortiz down twice in the second round and added another in round seven, but the fight played as follows- When Ruiz threw punches, he scored often and won the rounds that had more action, when Ruiz was reserved in his punches, Ortiz threw jabs and won the less than exciting rounds.

Ruiz won 114-111 on two cards and 113-112 on the final card to win the decision.

I scored it 113-112 for Ruiz as well, which means without the knockdowns, Ortiz would have won, and had he avoided one of the knockdowns, he would have salvaged a draw on my scorecard.

The fight wasn't filled with the toe to toe action that seemed likely in the pre-fight predictions and Ortiz certainly seems ripe for the picking by a younger heavyweight that will go after him and put some pressure on him but Andy Ruiz does just enough to leave you wanting more even in victory.

Ruiz looks very likely to face Deontay Wilder next in a WBC final eliminator, should Wilder defeat Robert Helenius as he is heavily favored to do in October and that would be an easy fight to sign with both fighters promoted by PBC and Wilder came into the ring after the fight to congratulate Ruiz.

The winner of the Ruiz-Wilder/Helenius bout would become the mandatory challenger in the WBC but considering the always questionable future of their champion Tyson Fury, it would not surprise me in the slightest to have that fight for what could be the vacant WBC championship.

In the co-feature, lightweight Isaac Cruz snuffed out the timed Eduardo Ramirez in two rounds in a WBC lightweight eliminator and called for a rematch with Gervonta Davis after the knockout.

Cruz knocked Ramirez down once in the second before ending the fight with a right hand that followed a big left hook to put Ramirez down on the floor without a count.

Rumors are flying about a Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia fight that could be in the works for December, which would be terrific if true but considering the rival promoters involved (Davis PBC, Garcia Golden Boy) I'll believe that when I see it.

However, Cruz is the one fighter that has fought Davis close, and considering the lack of PBC talent in the lightweight/junior welterweight division, should Davis-Garcia once again fall apart, Cruz would be the best option for Davis that would be easy to reach an agreement.

In the opener, rising lightweight star Jose Valenzuela was the victim of a surprising upset as late replacement Edwin De Los Santos stopped Valenzuela in three explosive rounds.

De Los Santos took the fight on a week's notice when former WBA junior lightweight champion Jezreel Corrales was unable to participate due to visa issues and with 13 knockouts in 14 wins and a two-round destruction of then-undefeated Luis Acosta on his record, De Los Santos was regarded to at least have a punchers chance of a major upset.

De Los Santos came out very aggressively in winning the first round and attempted to repeat that tactic in the second before Valenzuela caught him with a counter right that sent De Los Santos to the canvas.

De Los Santos wasn't hurt though and stormed back to drop Valenzuela later in the round, losing a point for hitting Valenzuela while he was down.

De Los Santos resumed his attack in the third and quickly knocked Valenzuela down for the second time and while a dazed Valenzuela rose to continue, he wobbled when hit by a De Los Santos left hook and the referee ended the surprising upset.

Valenzuela was thought to be nearing contender status so this defeat is a setback to his career and even if he returns with some wins, he will now have some chin questions to deal with for the remainder of his career.

As for Del Los Santos, with his style and power, I'd love to see him against Isaac Cruz if Gervonta Davis fights someone else and Cruz has a need for an opponent as that matchup is a guaranteed lock for action!

Former three-division champion Abner Mares returned from an eye injury and settled for a majority draw against journeyman Miguel Flores.

Mares started fast and won four of the first five rounds but tired badly in the second half of the fight.

I scored the same as two judges at 95-95 with the dissenting judge giving a 96-94 edge to Mares.

I don't see much of a future against top competition for Mares and at 36, it's easy to say what's the point in continuing at this stage with eyes that twice have been through retina surgery.

Boxing Challenge 

TRS: 156 Pts (3)

Ramon Malpica: 134 Pts (2)

Vince Samano: 124 Pts (2)

Boxing Challenge: Estrada survives Cortes

   Juan Francisco Estrada and most of the boxing universe expected his bout against Argi Cortes to be two things on Saturday night- a homecoming for the future Hall of Famer for what could be his final fight in front of his hometown crowd and a tuneup fight to be better prepared for a third fight against Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez later this year.

Instead, Estrada was given another fierce battle in a career of fierce battles by Cortes and won a close unanimous decision to retain his silly WBC franchise title and more importantly- the third fight against Gonzalez, which was announced for December third during Estrada's post-fight interview.

Estrada won 115-112 on two cards and 114-113 on the third in the fight that saw each fighter land heavy blows with Cortes bravely battling past a seventh-round knockdown after an Estrada left hook to the body that would have ended the evening for most fighters.

My scorecard was 114-113 for Estrada with the seventh-round knockdown the difference between the two.

Cortes scored often with his right hand during the fight and after six rounds, I thought that Cortes was leading and a massive upset was in the making.

Estrada then crashed his hook in the seventh and while Cortes continued to land in the second half of the fight, the more experienced champion took control of the fight albeit taking punches to do just that.

For Estrada, the Gonzalez fight should be another action fight that will likely come down to another close decision with possibly some controversy as with both of their previous fights.

The surprisingly stern test given to Estrada by Cortes will help him in December as he'll gain some sharpness rather than fighting off a long layoff but give Cortes lots of credit in defeat as he proved his worth and steps into a loaded junior bantamweight division as a legitimate championship contender.

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Cortes challenging for a world title in the near future.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 153 Pts (1)

Ramon Malpica: 132 Pts (1)

Vince Samano: 122 Pts (2)

Second Half Comeback Lifts Buckeyes over Irish

   C.J. Stroud threw two touchdown passes, including the game-winner late in the third quarter to Xavier Johnson of twenty-four yards, to help the Ohio State Buckeyes overtake the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and win their opener 21-10 in Columbus.

Stroud completed twenty-four of thirty-four passes but finished with a surprisingly low 223 passing yards.

Emeka Egbuka caught a thirty-one-yard touchdown pass among his nine catches for ninety yards while Treveyon Henderson and Miyan Williams combined for 175 rushing yards with Williams contributing a touchdown to lead the Buckeyes in the victory.

Notre Dame led 10-7 at halftime but never threatened to score in the second half and punted on all four of their second-half possessions.

Ohio State will next host the Arkansas State Red Wolves, who won their opener yesterday over Grambling State (and Grambling's new head coach Hue Jackson) 58-3.

Olentangy Offerings

1) The big news was the injury to standout wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was injured early in the first half and attempted to return a few times later in the half before sitting out the entire second half.

Smith-Njigba caught two short passes for a total of three yards before suffering the injury to his knee or lower leg.

Ryan Day spoke after the game and stated that he thinks Smith-Njigba could return to the field as soon as next Saturday's game against Arkansas State.

2) While the injury doesn't appear to be a long-term issue, it was a shot to the Heisman hopes of the junior wide receiver.

Notre Dame is the crown jewel of the Buckeyes non-conference schedule and easily the glamour game for the first Saturday of the season and the injury took the skills of Smith-Njigba away from the large national audience.

3) With Smith-Njigba out and Julian Fleming unable to start, the Ohio State passing game flowed through Emeka Egbuka, who grabbed a thirty-one-yard touchdown pass among his nine catches.

4) However, the feel-good story was another wideout in former walk-on Xavier Johnson, who caught the go-ahead score in the waning minutes of the third quarter and his two catches in the game were the first of his career for the fifth-year senior, who is better known for his manic play on the special teams' coverage units.

5) Johnson wasn't above his coverage assignments even after his touchdown catch as on the resulting kickoff, Johnson blew down the field and crunched Notre Dame's fastest player in Chris Tyree with a tackle in the open field at the Notre Dame thirteen-yard line.

Notre Dame would move the ball forward on that drive, crossing midfield for the only time in the second half before punting but the Johnson kickoff kept the crowd roaring and kept the momentum rolling toward Ohio State.

6) C.J. Stroud was pretty average until those final few drives but he did avoid making a big mistake (zero interceptions) that could have handed the Irish good field position or an easy score.

7) Give Notre Dame and their defensive coordinator, former Miami and Temple head coach Al Golden, plenty of credit as they came up with a game plan that rarely allowed Stroud to hit his receivers in stride and kept the yards after catch numbers low by keeping everything in front of the linebackers and defensive backs as C.J. Stroud's longest completion was the thirty-one score to Emeka Egbuka in the first half.

8) Jim Knowles is being paid lots of money to upgrade the defense from a poor season in 2022.

Knowles did his job as his defense didn't allow a point in the second half and other than on the first offensive play by Notre Dame when Tyler Buchner beat a blitzing Denzel Burke by just a second with his release and hit Lorenzo Styles for a fifty-four yard gain.

Styles is the son of former Buckeye Lorenzo Styles and the older brother of OSU freshman Sonny Styles.

9) The two players that clearly have benefited from the Jim Knowles system are linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and defensive tackle Michael Hall.

Eichenberg was a target of many barbs that were critical of the 2021 defense but he was all over the field on this night as Knowles used him in several manners, finishing with two sacks and three tackles for loss along with a total of nine tackles on the evening.

Hall, a redshirt freshman, has been the one player that has been mentioned in camp to Buckeye media members as the player that was going to surprise people this season.

Hall was regularly able to apply pressure up the middle to the pocket and his sack on the final drive of Notre Dame, deep in their territory forced a punt at a time that the Irish needed to go for it.

Notre Dame would never touch the football again.

10) The offensive line allowed only one sack of C.J. Stroud and the question dating back to last season about the line's physicality is shoved aside for now after the line wore Notre Dame down in the second half.

11) The line opened holes on the final scoring drive for the more physical Miyan Williams, who had more success in the second half than the more spectacular Treveyon Henderson, that pushed Notre Dame aside in crunch time.

Williams may not be the home run hitter that Henderson is but in move the chains situation, Williams's ability is equally as valuable.

12) This wasn't the offensive explosion that many expected and the Notre Dame defensive alignment will be one that will be copied for future opponents to try against Ohio State but this is the type of game that Ohio State lost twice last season and they grabbed a win.

I'll take it.

Boxing Challenge

 The boxing weekend starts on Saturday with the return of one of the top fighters in the world from a long absence and moves to a Sunday PPV with a crossroads battle between two veteran heavyweights on the top of a very intriguing undercard.

DAZN and Matchroom will showcase the return of arguably the top junior bantamweight in the world with a tuneup fight before his third fight against his bitter career rival.

Juan Francisco Estrada faces Argi Cortes in Hermosillo, Mexico in Estrada's first fight since his narrow and somewhat controversial split decision win over Roman Gonzalez in March 2021.

Since then, Estrada has twice watched his third fight against Gonzalez fall victim to cancellation with first Gonzalez and then Estrada testing positive for Covid-19 before a scheduled bout.

Estrada owned the WBA and WBC titles after his win over Gonzalez and now owns neither with only the ridiculous WBC "Franchise" title in his current trophy case.

Estrada vacated the WBC title in order to face Gonzalez rather than the mandatory challenger, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, and recently returned the WBA version in order to fight Gonzalez rather than their mandatory challenger, Joshua Franco, who would be promoted to the full WBA champion from his previous minor title status.

With the rematch agreed to, Estrada only needs to not suffer a cut or a loss to delay a Gonzalez fight that would reportedly take place before the end of the year, against Cortes, who has an impressive record of 23-2-2 but has never faced a top ten contender, let alone a fighter of Estrada's talent.

The Sunday PPV from the PBC has four interesting fights and for a PPV (and I am saying this for all companies) a strong undercard of various interests.

The heavyweight main event could be entertaining or ugly, depending on what versions of veteran big boys Andy Ruiz and Luis Ortiz appear for their Los Angeles WBC title eliminator.

Ruiz, who knocked out Anthony Joshua in seven rounds in 2019 to win three of the world titles before losing the rematch via decision in the same year, has fought only once since winning a decision in an action fight over Chris Arreola in May 2021 that saw Ruiz suffer a knockdown at the hands of Arreola.

Ortiz last fought on New Year's Day with a sixth-round knockout of former IBF champion Charles Martin but was knocked down by Martin in the first and fourth rounds before scoring two knockdowns in the sixth round to end the fight.

Ortiz, who is listed as 43 but is rumored to be far older, could be ripe for the picking as Martin isn't a big puncher but still scored two knockdowns which could show that Ortiz is showing vulnerability in taking punches as he ages. 

That might depend on the condition of Ruiz, who has been an excellent heavyweight when he enters fights in shape and very average when he doesn't.

I like this fight and it could turn into a toe to toe slugfest with both fighters willing to trade in what could be their last chance to have a chance at a final title shot as this is a semi-final eliminator for the WBC title, currently held by Tyson Fury.

The other fights are intriguing as well starting with the co-feature with Isaac Cruz facing Eduardo Ramirez in a WBC lightweight eliminator.

Cruz gave undefeated Gervonta Davis all that Davis wanted last December with Davis winning a close unanimous decision in the toughest fight of Tank's career.

Cruz returned in April as the latest young buck to knock out the husk of Yuriorkis Gamboa in five rounds on the Errol Spence-Yordenis Ugas undercard and will be a heavy favorite against Ramirez, who is on a five-fight winning streak since a 2019 decision loss to Claudio Marrero.

Ramirez is a natural featherweight and has fought most of his career at 126 pounds, so can he stand up to the power of Cruz, who is the naturally larger fighter and is known as a big hitter in the 135-pound division?

Former three-division champion Abner Mares makes his return to the ring after a four-year absence since losing his rematch to WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz in September 2018.

Mares, who once held the IBF bantamweight and WBC titles at junior feather and featherweight, suffered a second detached retina in 2019 while training for a fight against Gervonta Davis, which he may have been fortunate to avoid fighting, and has been retired since, working as a commentator for Showtime, usually while wearing sunglasses which makes me wonder about the wisdom of this comeback at the age of 36.

Mares faces Miguel Flores, who has lost two of his last three fights including a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Leo Santa Cruz in November 2019, a fifth-round KO loss to the aforementioned Eduardo Ramirez, and struggled to a split decision win over Diuhl Olquin in June 2021, who currently holds a record of 15-25-5.

If Mares is unable to look strong against Flores, I would have serious doubts about any future success in his comeback.

The opener is very interesting with a very promising prospect in lightweight Jose Valenzuela battling former WBA junior lightweight champion Jezreel Corrales in a ten-rounder.

Valenzuela crushed former junior lightweight champion, Francisco Vargas, in one round in April and faces another former 130-pound division champion in Corrales, who has won three straight since a decision defeat to Chris Colbert in 2020.

Corrales enters the fight after a unanimous decision in his native Panama over 27-0 Miguel Maduano, so Corrales still has some fight left in him but will it be enough to hold off the talented Valenzuela?

Editors Note: Jezreel Corrales has dropped out of this fight due to visa issues.

He was replaced by Edwin De Los Santos of the Dominican Republic, who holds a 14-1 record with 13 knockouts and knocked out undefeated Luis Acosta in two rounds in his last fight in March.

Boxing Challenge

Junior Bantamweights. 12 Rds 

Juan Francisco Estrada vs Argi Cortes

Ramon Malpica: Estrada KO 7

TRS: Estrada KO 9
Vince Samano: Estrada Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights 12 Rds

Andy Ruiz vs Luis Ortiz

R.L:  Ortiz KO 8
TRS: Ruiz KO 10
V.S: Ortiz Unanimous Decision

Lightweights. 12 Rds

Isaac Cruz vs Eduardo Ramirez

R.L:  Cruz KO 10

TRS: Cruz KO 3
V.S.: Cruz KO 6

Junior Lightweights. 10 Rds

Abner Mares vs Miguel Flores

R.L: Flores Unanimous Decision
TRS: Mares Unanimous Decision
V.S: Flores KO 8

Lightweights. 10 Rds

Jose Valenzuela vs Edwin De Los Santos

R.L and V.S: Valenzuela Unanimous Decision
TRS: Valenzuela KO 5

PPM

   Barbara Eden is clearly gasping at my awful start to the season in the PPM but there is always another week and now the games get firing with a regular heavy schedule, so hopefully, we can turn things around!

Last week: 1-3

NCAA

Ohio State over Notre Dame 45-20 

Texas Tech over Murray State 51-21

Boise State over Oregon State 30-26

N.C.State over East Carolina 31-19

UCLA over Bowling Green 45-17

James Madison over Middle Tennessee State 27-24

Houston over UTSA 34-24

Arkansas over Cincinnati 30-27

Georgia Southern over Morgan State 35-16

Games of the week

Pitt over West Virginia 26-24

Georgia over Oregon 36-24

Cavaliers Trade for Donovan Mitchell!

   The rumored suitors for Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell over the last few months were plentiful with the most prominent and likely contender in the New York Knicks supposedly close to a swap until earlier this week, the Knicks puzzled observers with a massive contract extension with R.J. Barrett that seemed to remove them from any hopes of obtaining Mitchell unless Utah had agreed to the extension before a potential trade.

Still, few saw Donovan Mitchell starting the season in October wearing a uniform other than the Utah Jazz or the New York Knicks but he will not be with either team as Koby Altman and the Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in to take advantage of the Knicks poker game with Utah to make the deal for themselves to land the three-time All-Star for their lineup.

The trade bolsters the Cavaliers a great deal and makes them contenders in the Eastern Conference as soon as next season.

Donovan Mitchell averaged just under twenty-six points per game last season in sixty-seven games and turns twenty-six next week along with being under his current contract for the next three years with a player option for a fourth campaign.

Mitchell shoots well (forty-five percent total, thirty-five from three-point range), can handle the ball and create his own shot, and isn't completely offensively devoted to himself as a good passer with over five assists per game last season.

Mitchell's best position is shooting guard and the hope is that Mitchell and Darius Garland can mesh together in the backcourt where Garland and the departed (in this trade) Collin Sexton never did.

Mitchell can play the point, so should a situation such as an injury to Garland occur, Mitchell is more than capable of running the team from the point.

The main deficiency in Mitchell's game is that he is well below average as a defender and while Darius Garland has made some defensive strides, Garland couldn't be considered a strong defender either.

Both Mitchell and Garland are only 6'1 and some of the issues with the backcourt of Garland and Sexton was playing two small guards together as a regular pair and size-wise, the Cavaliers didn't get bigger, so it's reasonable to wonder about the size issue and the defensive problems that are sure to come with a smaller backcourt.

Cleveland will hope that with solid defenders at forward in Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro and a rim protector in Jarrett Allen that with work, tutoring, and trying to funnel opposing offenses towards their waiting their better and larger defenders that they can camouflage some of the defensive weaknesses.

If Garland and Mitchell can improve even a little bit defensively to even a little below average to average, Cleveland should be thrilled with that result.

The cost was high for a player of Mitchell's caliber and Cleveland was willing to pay the tab with a package of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton (Sexton signed a contract with Cleveland so he could be included in the trade). recent first-round draft pick Ochai Agbaji, unprotected first-round selections in 2025,2027, and 2029 as well as giving the Jazz the option to flip first-rounders with Cleveland in 2026 and 2028.

It is difficult to look at such a package and not think that the cost was prohibitive but the cost of acquiring stars has become more expensive of late compared to the cost that Minnesota paid for Rudy Gobert (Also with Utah, Minnesota trading five players, four first-rounders and one option to swap first rounders for Gobert), Cleveland paid less for a better player.

I liked Lauri Markkanen and trading him away will move the team away from the "Big" lineup that helped the Cavaliers to their success that didn't go by the wayside until injuries at various times to Markkanen, Mobley, and Allen but Cleveland could be on the lookout for a similar player in the next season or and while Markkanen is a nice player, I think he could be replaced fairly easily especially when Cleveland gains cap space after next season when the contracts of Kevin Love and Caris LeVert could (should they decide to move on from both) open up almost forty-eight million dollars on the salary cap.

I was never as big of a fan of Collin Sexton as many Cavaliers fans have been and while I liked his scoring. Sexton was always a high-effort player, Sexton didn't appeal to me as a building block player and made me think of him as a player that would be a sixth or seventh man/instant offense performer on a good team or if you had to rely on him as one of your two top scorers that the odds were that your team wasn't a very good one.

Still, Sexton can score and there is always a spot in the league for a player that has a career scoring average of twenty points a game on the mark.

Ochai Agbaji was the Cavaliers first-round pick from Kansas, who Cleveland hoped could give them some help on the wing with some improved outside shooting but Koby Altman never seemed thrilled with owning a first-rounder after the Cavaliers late-season swoon (had Cleveland made the playoffs, the pick would have been shipped to Indiana as part of the Caris LeVert trade) and Agbaji doesn't appear to have the upside to be more than a situational player, so I don't think Altman was overly concerned about his inclusion in the trade.

I know that three first-rounders sound like a lot to throw in and it is but Cleveland hopes that obtaining Mitchell will make those selections late first-rounders and therefore worth less in moving them along.

My concern there is Cleveland trading so many down the road, especially the 2029 first-rounder which one has no idea what type of pick that could be as it will be used by Utah three years after Donovan Mitchell's current contract expires and he could very well be long gone from Cleveland by then.

I think this trade appears to be a good return for both sides and it is not often that I can say that.

Cleveland brought in a three-time All-Star at only twenty-six and did so without disrupting the three players (Garland, Mobley, and Allen) that are the core of their rebuilding process.

Utah receives two players that can be plugged into their starting lineup in Markkanen and Sexton to either use or showcase to continue to stockpile draft choices, adds essentially another number one in Ochai Agabji to develop, and all of that draft ammunition to either use themselves or move around to help them add other assets.

I do have a few questions mainly about the defensive problems that will have to be worked around with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland playing on the floor at the same time and wondering about how long it will take for Mitchell and Garland to develop the always-talked-about chemistry.

Still, for the various faults that Koby Altman has shown in personnel, one has to give him credit for being willing to take the big swing in making trades and he's taken a big swing with this one.