Archive for April, 2016

2016 NFL Mock Draft

Posted: April 28, 2016 in Browns, Football
Tags: , ,
0

nfl-draftjpg-378f5ebfae38ab00This mock draft was done by myself and Sean Rhodes, from Phil Steele Publications. With the No. 8 Pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select….

  1. Los Angeles Rams (trade via Tennessee): Jared Goff (QB) – California
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (trade via Cleveland): Carson Wentz (QB) – North Dakota St
  3. San Diego Chargers: DeForest Buckner (DL) – Oregon
  4. Dallas Cowboys: Joey Bosa (DL) – Ohio State
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jalen Ramsey (DB) – Florida St
  6. Baltimore Ravens: Myles Jack (LB) – UCLA
  7. San Francisco 49ers: Laremy Tunsil (OL) – Mississippi
  8. Cleveland Browns (trade via Philadelphia through Miami): Vernon Hargreaves (DB) – Florida
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ronnie Stanley (OL) – Notre Dame
  10. New York Giants: Ezekiel Elliott (RB) – Ohio State
  11. Chicago Bears: Jack Conklin (OL) – Michigan St
  12. New Orleans Saints: Sheldon Rankins (DL) – Lousiville
  13. Miami Dolphins (trade via Philadelphia): Eli Apple (DB) – Ohio State
  14. Oakland Raiders: A’Shawn Robinson (DL) – Alabama
  15. Tennessee Titans (trade via Los Angeles): Taylor Decker (OL) – Ohio State
  16. Detroit Lions: Reggie Ragland (LB) – Alabama
  17. Atlanta Falcons: Leonard Floyd (LB) – Georgia
  18. Indianapolis Colts: Darron Lee (LB) – Ohio State
  19. Buffalo Bills: Shaq Lawson (DL) – Clemson
  20. New York Jets: Paxton Lynch (QB) – Memphis
  21. Washington Redskins: Ryan Kelly (OL) – Alabama
  22. Houston Texans: Corey Coleman (WR) – Baylor
  23. Minnesota Vikings: Laquon Treadwell (WR) – Mississippi
  24. Cincinnati Bengals: Keanu Neal (DB) – Florida
  25. Pittsburgh Steelers: Mackensie Alexander (CB) – Clemson
  26. Seattle Seahawks: Jarran Reed (DL) – Alabama
  27. Green Bay Packers: Andrew Billings (DL) – Baylor
  28. Kansas City Chiefs: Will Fuller (WR) – Notre Dame
  29. Arizona Cardinals: Karl Joseph (DB) – West Virginia
  30. Carolina Panthers: Robert Nkemdiche (DL) – Mississippi
  31. Denver Broncos: Chris Jones (DL) – Mississippi St

 

Note: The New England Patriots forfeited their 1st round pick due to penalties handed down from “Deflategate.”

Previewing the Opening night of the Cleveland Area Golden Gloves

Posted: April 19, 2016 in Boxing
Tags: , , , , , ,
1

cropped-Golden-Gloves-New-Logo1

The 88th annual Cleveland Area Golden Gloves boxing tournament begins this Friday and Saturday, April 22nd and 23rd from the Brook Park Recreation Center (17400 Holland Rd).

Friday’s preliminary bouts feature 12 matchups in six weight classes, including four in the 152 pound Novice Division and three in the 165 pound Open Division.

Half of the bouts on the opening night will be filled by Open Division boxers. Of those six bouts, three will feature former Cleveland Area Golden Glove champions.

The opening bout of the competition is in the 123 pound Open Division and promises to set the stage for what the night has in store. 2014 Novice Division champion Uriel Huerta, from Cal Crowell Boxing, will look to become an Open Division champion this year. It won’t be easy as standing in his way will be the 2015 Lake Erie Association Jr Olympic champion, Jibreel Hawkins, from ABA Boxing.

Two former 165 pound champions will compete in separate bouts.

For those that attended last year’s tournament, Tyrel Ross, from MLK Premier, should be a familiar name as he was crowned the 165 pound Novice Division Champion. Ross will be taking on Mardell Halas, from Salem Boxing Club.

Levi Patterson, from Empire Boxing Club, won the 2011 Open Division championship at 152 pounds. He will be taking on Jose Rodriguez, from Rodriguez Boxing Club in what should be an entertaining scrap in the 165 pound Open Division.

The remaining Open Division bouts taking place on opening night will be Elmer Dennis against Henry Gaston at 141 pounds, Kevin Cole against Solomon Howell at 165 pounds, and Rashad Chisolm against Keith Fairchild at 178 pounds.

Six Novice Division bouts are also on tap, with the four aforementioned 152 pound matches, along with one apiece at 165 pounds and Super Heavyweight (201+), which will conclude the opening night festivities.

 

13 Former Champions highlight the 2016 Cleveland Area Golden Gloves Tournament

Posted: April 11, 2016 in Boxing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

cropped-Golden-Gloves-New-Logo1

It’s April in Cleveland and along with the start of the Major League baseball season, comes the Cleveland Area Golden Gloves tournament. 2016 marks the 88th edition of the annual tournament, which will again be held at the Brook Park Recreation Center, 17400 Holland Rd in Brook Park. The preliminary bouts will begin Friday, April 22nd at 7PM, the quarterfinals will be Saturday, April 23rd at 7PM, with the semi-finals & finals taking place the following Friday and Saturday respectively.

There will be a total of 13 former Cleveland Golden Glove Champions competing in the Open Division (10+ bouts of experience) in this year’s tournament, highlighted by Aurel Love from Bob Davis Boxing Club, who will be attempting to become a five time champion!

The Open Division winners will be able to represent Cleveland in the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Salt Lake City, Utah, which starts on May 16th.

Love was the 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Open Division champion at 114 pounds, but will be moving up to the 123 pound weight class this year. Attempting to dethrone Love will be another former champion in Uriel Huerta, from Cal Crowell Boxing, who was the 2014 Novice (between 1-9 bouts of experience) Division champion. Also in the mix is Jibreel Hawkins of ABA Boxing, who will be making his first appearance in the Golden Gloves. While Hawkins is a newcomer here, he has vast experience in the ring and was the 2015 Lake Erie Association Jr Olympic Champion in the 125 pound weight class.

Both the 132 and 141 pound Open Division will have three former champions each competing to add more hardware to their trophy case.

Eric Miller, from Blue Steel Boxing Academy, was the 123 pound Open Division Champion in 2014 and will move up to 132 pounds this year. Among those standing in his way will be Ryizeemmion Ford, from Common Ground, who was the 2013 Novice Division Champion and Frank Brown, from the Westside Boxing Club, who was the Sub-Novice (no experience) champion in 2012.

At 141 pounds, Armond Richard, who trains at Empire Boxing club, should be familiar to those who attended last year’s tournament as he was the Novice Division Champion in 2015 and has now moved up to the Open Division. He’ll be joined by two-time former Champion William Flenoy from Thurgood Marshall, who is attempting to win his third championship in three weight classes after winning the 2008 Open Division Champion at 125 pounds as well as the 2011 Open Division Champion at 132 pounds. Zi Stalnaker, from Terminator Boxing Club in Akron was the Novice Division Champion in 2014 at 132 pounds and will also look to become a multiple time Cleveland Champion.

The 165 pound Open Division features a pair of former champions in Tyrel Ross, from MLK Premier, the Novice Division Champion at 165 pounds last year as well as Levi Patterson from Empire Boxing Club, who was the Open Division Champion at 152 pounds in 2011.

At 178 pounds, Kato Montgomery, from Bob Davis Boxing Club, will be looking for his third Cleveland Golden Glove Championship, but first in this weight class. Montgomery is the defending Open Division Champion at 201 pounds, and was also the Novice Division Champion in 2012 in the 201 pound weight class. Among those looking to knock him off will be Matthew Brown, who was the Novice Division Champion at 165 pounds in 2009.

In the Super Heavyweight division (201+ pounds) Alante Green will look to become a four time Cleveland Golden Glove champion as he is the defending back-to-back Open Division champion and also was the 2012 Sub-Novice division champion.

For a full listing of the boxers in this year’s tournament as well as the brackets, visit www.clevelandareagoldengloves.com.

Bakers Dozen – 13 things I know that you should know too

Posted: April 3, 2016 in Boxing, Indians
0
  1. Sure D’Angelo Russell violated the ‘Bro Code,’ but Nick Young is a soulless creep. Congrats on the soap opera Lakers. Why is Nick Young on your roster anyway?

 

  1. Five years ago Buddy Hield, the Naismith player of the year, would have had a tough time being more than a role player in the NBA. Fast forward to now, however, and Hield will be able to fit into the threecentric era that the league is currently in just fine.

 

  1. The Indians home opener has a chance to be the coldest in history. The forecast at the time of the first pitch is calling for a temperature of 34 degrees. All the way back in 1907, the coldest on record, the temperature was 36 degrees. No, I didn’t forget 2007, when it was 28 degrees and featured a blizzard. The game was actually cancelled and played in Milwaukee three day later.

 

  1. Speaking of the Indians, there will be a new scoreboard above the left field bleachers this year. The previous scoreboard had been in existence since 2004.

 

  1. Because I’m a fan of food, just as much as sports, I figured I should let you know the new food options available. The Indians have continued to add more local flavors to the Progressive Field lineup. After adding Barrio, Melt Bar and Grilled, Sweet Moses, and Happy Dog last year, Momocho, Fat Head’s Brewery, Dante’s Inferno, the Brew Kettle, Cleveland Pickle, Happy Dog, and Ohio City Burrito are new this year.

 

  1. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a team as focused from start to finish as Villanova was in their 44 point thrashing of Oklahoma. While up 20, the Wildcats were playing like it was a single possession game. When up 30, they were playing as if they were down by five. Even when they led by 40, the effort level by the players was as if they were down by bucket with seconds left. Impressive to say the least.

 

  1. Michael Brantley AKA “Dr. Smooth,” will begin the season on the disabled list, meaning he will not be in the opening day lineup for the first time in seven years. Brantley normally is the No. 3 hitter, but that spot will be kept warm by super sophomore and rookie of the year runner up Francisco Lindor, while playing Brantley’s spot in left field will be veteran newcomer Marlon Byrd. The 14 year veteran Byrd hit .247 with 23 home runs last year with the Reds and Giants.

 

  1. Did you miss the knockouts that the “Sweet Science” provided this weekend? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

 

 

 

  1. Speaking of boxing, on this day, April 3rd in 1998, a 25 year old Felix “Tito” Trinidad knocked out Mahenge Zulu to retain the Welterweight Championship of the World.

 

  1. Also on this day in boxing history, Marco Antonio Barrera stopped Paul Lloyd in the first round to retain his Super Bantanmweight title, in 1999.

 

  1. Speaking of world titles, Cleveland’s Willie “The Great” Nelson will be one step closer to achieving a shot at one, as the top contender is scheduled to take on undefeated Demetrius Andrade on June 11th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. Andrade was a member of the 2008 USA Olympic boxing team. Nelson is coming off a 2nd round knockout victory on March 25th at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.

 

  1. Speaking of USA Olympians, congratulations are in order for Cleveland’s Charles Conwell, who qualified for the Olympics after winning a Gold Medal at the Americas qualifier in Buenos Aires on March 18th. Conwell is the fourth straight Cleveland boxer to make the USA Boxing Olympic team joining Terrell Gausha (2012), Raynell Williams (2008), and Mickey Bey (2004).

 

  1. The show I look forward to watching the most every week is Dr. Ken. If you like to laugh, I highly recommend it.

With the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft the Cleveland Browns…

Posted: April 2, 2016 in Browns
Tags: , , , , ,
0

nfl-draftjpg-378f5ebfae38ab00