The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page C001

CCYYMK taytuned for OSU basketball If anyone had told me a decade ago that Ohio State uck eyes hoops would be on the same level as its football program in terms of national recognition suggest that mental health counseling would be in order. No wthe football team is playing in the BCS championship game Ja n.8 and the basketball team is ranked third in the nation in the Associated ress poll and No the USA oday ESPN poll Are we in the Twilight one As highly touted as they are, it exactly been easy to find the basketball Buckeyes on the tube. The reason? (Mus tI? ustremember the messenger ESPN owns the area rights oBuckeyes basketball and Fox portsNe tO hio has the right to air the games when they with other events on the cable schedule his time of year, college football and the avaliers ports is a subjective kind of thing uhave to choose between college hoops and the face of the National Basketball A ssociationi nLeBr nJ ames hich one do you take? Wh a dyou say the Ca a what I thought akeheart uckeyes fans there still will be plenty of opportunities to see the uck eyes uch of their Bi gTen schedule will pop up on CBS, ESPN or one of its little siblings and that includes ednes a with the orthC arolinaTa rH eelsa t9 p.m. OSU hoops Part Deux uckeyes fans also can seek solace that Buckeyes coach hadM atta continues to recruit like a man possessed. A nthonyC rater 6-1, 1 6 5- pound point guard from lint Mi OSU an oral commitment onday according to couts com erecruiting service has Crater ranked as the third best point guard in the country orgetting his roots? uckeyes quarterback Troy mith was a conspicuous no- show at last OS UAlum iClub of Greater Cleveland 100 a platedinner was supposed to receive the Lo uG rozaA ward for best player from Northeast hio lease note that I wrote supposed nyone who knows Sm i can appreciate how he has evolved as a football player, but more importantly as a man.

If he had some sort of family emergency to contend with, his absence would be understandable date no explanation has been given. a long season eM ichigan game was probably emotionally and physically draining. However you do not blow off your college local chapter of the alumni club in your hometown right after the biggest game of the year. If lucky and allow collegiate success to go to his head a la another former OSU athlete currently sitting in a prison cell Smith will have a decade or so to act like some of the egomaniacal pro athletes out there. Until Ja n.

9, he needs to keep it all in check, and he owes about 600 people an apology ive on NFL Network Th eB rowns consistent mediocrity forced me to get Di- rec TV more than six years ago leasesee A iring Braylon, quit your wailing rowns receiver ought to spend time on bench for outburst in 30-0 loss to Bengals I want to hear how he really yelling at Charlie rye when he grabbed the rownsquarterback sjersey during the 30-0 loss Sunday to incinnati I want to hear that he was screaming at the overwhelmed offensive line to block better and keep Fr clean I want to hear that the receiver is a competitor that i that he a strying to make a hose were the words from oachRo- meo rennel hile rennelsaid thatdoesn make it right failed to say what he planned to do about it. hatI wanted to hear Monday is ray lon Edwards would not play in the next game, period. Maybe that will sCrennel said to Edwards again would not make public the outcome of the conversation. rennel is the coach. This is his team.

His future is on the line he wants to keep things private his call.H ehas to understand that fans think (for good reason) that things are not under control, that Edwards seems to be following his own agenda. Th a Edwards should have a week to spend on the bench eB rowns lost 30-0 to the Bengals with dwards so it a any worse with Dennis orthcutt and Jo eJurevicius in dwards place unday A week away from the game doesn doom his career with the rowns could save it if he responds the right way. Fo rE dwards this was not an isolated incident. Most fans know about the ridiculous comments he made last week about rianR ussell how Edwards didn like the hit the rowns defensive back delivered to Be n- gals receiver Chad ohnson hat game was nine weeks ago and Edwards implied something was wrong with Russell slamming into Johnson a move that draw a fine from the NFL or criticism from the Be n- gals receiver. Oh, Edwards also fired away at the play calling of new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson in that same interview.

Then he wondered why it became a headline ven a 23 year old ichigan man should be able to figure that out. leasesee dwards dwards explains tirade eceiverdoesn think he should be disciplined for showing passion about game By Marla Ridenour eaconJ ournalsportswriter EREA: naday when sweats usually suffice, Braylon Edwards came nattily dressed for a mea culpa earing a navypinstriped sport coat and jeans, his huge diamond earring dazzling in the camera lights, the rowns year wide receivere x- plained his sideline tirade and grabbing of quarterback Charlie Fr during unday s3 00 home loss to incinnati Bu teven while Edwards tried to offer an apology, said he has no issues with Frye andadmitted he embarrassed himself and the organization he think he deserves to be fined or suspend- d.Th a decision coach Romeo Crennel said would be kept in houseas the 3-8 Browns prepare forS unday home game against Kansas ity why I would be disciplined or suspend- dwards said onday I did was show I care about the game I mean, at that point we were losing 30-z i p. not likeI fought anybody, snot likeI gave the bird to somebody in the stands I just was showing passion about the game. a whole I think we need to show more passion. I believe throwing anybody under the bus by saying that.

You lose 30-z i enot leasesee rowns aseyC oleman slife reached beyond sports henC aseyCo e- man died Monday morning at age 55 from cancer I thought of so many of our talks. I still remember the veteran Cleveland sportscaster calling me naSunday afternoon in early une erry He started every conversation that way, never assuming anyone would recognize his clear, pure voice We talked for a while about the I ndians talked for a while about our trips to jail: He spent time working with addicts inmatesi nCuyahoga ounty I do the same in Summit ounty said. wanted you to know. They gave me six months He said it as if he were delivering a halftime score of a Browns game he said. feel bad for my wife and kids.

out to prove the doctors wrong but if I He paused just thank God for my 55 years he said. the last He meant the last eight since he was sober. asey was convinced God delivered him from alcoholism.I believe the same about what God did to take pornography out of my life.W etalked about how we couldn deny what we did and leasesee asey Ca onesranks among top reserves astyear woes blamed on shock of change in role By Brian Windhorst eaconJ ournalsportswriter CLEVELAN ooking back with the benefit of perspective, Damon Jones said he was operating in a state of shock for much of his first season as a avalier I nayear ones went from being a blue collar role player in ilwaukeeto the starting point guard on the flashy Miami Heat and a career season.I nawhoosh the undrafted former CBA player from Houston had a dazzling 16 million contracti nCleve land a lucrative shoe deal with a hinese company and all the status that came with it. At his news conference on the day of hissigning onesfamous ly claimed he was one of the top five shooters in the He showed up to games in leopard- skin sport coats and said he didn tbelieve in pregame warm- ups because he was wasting makes No tlong after, Jones lost the battle for the starting point- guard jobt oEric now started the season in a prolonged shooting slump that lefthim feuding with the home crowd, which booed him. ewas a shock of playing leasesee avaliers TERRY PLUTO TERRY PLUTO Airing ItOut GEORGE M.

THOMAS Sports www.ohio.com/sports Al l-Oh i ofootball organW illiamsof antonMcKi ordan abino fNordonia receive top honor. C5 SEC heB eaconJ ournal uesday ovember2 8,2006 nicksa tCavaliers Ti 7 p.m. Wednesday FSN TONY DEJAK A ssociatedP ress levelandB rowns receiver Braylon Edwards yells to the bench Sunday while trailing quarterback Charlie Frye off the field in the fourth quarter against the engals MARK DUNCAN A ssociatedP ress TONY DEJAK A ssociatedP ress leveland rowns quarterback harlieF rye talks with coach Romeo rennel as the clock ticks down in unday s3 0-0 loss to the engals incinnati defense sacked Frye four times and intercepted him four times. aseyC oleman throws the ceremonial first pitch at the I ndians 2006 opener nApril 7. oleman followed his father into sportscasting i nCleveland died Monday of cancer at age 5 5.

He won four local Emmys as a television sportscaster on WJW (Ch. 8) and radio awards on WTAM hiefsa tBrowns Ti 1 p.m. Sunday WOIO hannel1 9) Ne wleft fielder? ree agent David Dellucci reaches a preliminary deal 1.5million ,3 year contract with the I ndians C2 Story 11-28 c1 System AKRE by SFAGERST Time 22:31:55 Date Color layer: Black 14X Pg. Date 11-28 c1Topic: 11-28 spt Keyword 11-28 c1Page 1 C1, Black, EDITION 4X, DAY 28.