The latest thoughts and opinions on Cleveland sports.
SB Nation is present at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere event in Los Angeles, catching up with all of the top picks from the 2012 NFL Draft. SB Nation Cleveland has already given you video of the Browns' second first round pick Brandon Weeden's interview with SB Nation's Amy K. Nelson and a quote from their first overall pick Trent Richardson about how he will continue to run 'angry' in the NFL.
Shortly thereafter, Richardson and Weeden decided to hone their own media skills at the event, taking turns interviewing one another for a bit of a different approach. We have a picture of Richardson holding the mic for Weeden after the jump via SB Nation's Joel Thorman.
SB Nation is getting to know some of the top picks from this year's 2012 NFL Draft out in Los Angeles this week at the NFLPA's Rookie Premiere event. Both of the Browns first round picks are in attendance, and SB Nation's Amy K. Nelson and Dan Rubenstein took part in the fitness challenge portion of the Premiere. Amy spoke with future Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden about his health, and days pitching in the minor leagues.
Video after the jump:
Fresh off his 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year award, Kyrie Irving and Pepsi released his latest commercial -- a longer mockumentary clip in which Irving is dressed up as an elderly "Uncle Drew" character who comes off the sidelines at a local playground to teach the youngins at thing or two. It's eerily reminiscent of "The LeBrons" commercial for Nike when James was made-up as Wise LeBron (yikes).
Pepsi also showed behind-the-scenes footage of Irving getting made-up as "Uncle Drew," a process that had to take hours. The Jersey native did a pretty good acting job as well, using an impressive old man voice full of sagacious loquaciousness.
Video of the commercial after the jump:
There's a report from Doug Lesmerises in the Plain Dealer this morning about a slew of secondary violations self-reported by Ohio State's Athletic Department. None of these violations are particularly alarming, and most of them are downright fatuous but, as the expert Lesmerises cited said, it would be a bad sign if OSU wasn't reporting these kind of minor transgressions. A snippet of the kinds of things we're talking about here:
Football coach Urban Meyer said "Good luck," to recruit Noah Spence before his state championship game in Pennsylvania in December. Contact like that with Spence, on his game day, is forbidden.
On Aug. 20, assistant coach Dick Tressel responded to a text message from the parents of recruit Warren Ball asking which gate to use to enter Ohio Stadium for a scrimmage. Texting the parents of a recruit was a violation.
Oh, and Mike Vrabel also apparently loves his dip on the sidelines - another violation.
For more on the Buckeyes, visit Land-Grant Holy Land.
Urban Meyer, along with some of his assistant coaches, held a town hall meeting this week at OSU. The head coach and Mickey Marotti demonstrated a new tradition they're hoping to start, via Luke at Land-Grant Holy Land:
Enter the high energy drill. At Tuesday evening's Town Hall Meeting with Urban Meyer, Luke Fickell, Mike Vrabel, Mickey Marotti, Zach Boren, and others, the group revealed what they hope will be a spirited new way to interact with fans before each home football game.
Video after the jump:
According to The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has been named to the NBA's new competition committee. The competition committee is taking on a new form for one reason or another. It used to consist of the 30 general managers in the league, but they're streamlining it a bit, with a new committee of ten.
It looks like the general managers will also have their own committee, but it does stand to reason that a more narrow group of ten will be a bit more dedicated and streamlined. Gilbert joins Joe Lacob of the Golden State Warriors as the two owners on the committee. The other members are general managers Bryan Colangelo of the Raptors, Mitch Kupchak of the Lakers, Kevin O'Connor of the Jazz and Sam Presti of the Thunder, plus coaches Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies, Doc Rivers of the Celtics and Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks.
The players association will name a representative of their's to serve on the committee as well. The committee can recommend rule changes for the league, which includes things on and off the court.
Kyrie Irving accepted his well-deserved 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year trophy on Tuesday, garnering 117 of the 120 first-place votes. Irving led all NBA players in crunch time scoring during his dynamic first season full of highlights. His work down the stretch, particularly in games on the road against the Celtics, Nuggets, and Thunder offered a glimpse of what's to come for Dan Gilbert's franchise point guard. There were plenty of highlights to choose from in a condensed season in which he played 51 games, and the NBA has culled and trimmed it down to his top ten moments of his impressive rookie season.
Video of his top ten plays after the jump:
Both Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan and Tom Withers of the Associated Press report that Dan Gilbert will make a bid with the NBA for Cleveland to host an All-Star Game in the next few years. The Cavaliers' majority owner apparently told the media of his plan on Monday afternoon at Cleveland Clinic Courts, shortly after the presentation of Kyrie Irving's Rookie of the Year award. Via Withers at AP:
One of the consistently awkward moments of the "Kia Performance Awards" presentations are when the winner of the honor receives a car that is quite clearly not targeted for his life of luxury. The NBA, and Kia, presented the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving with the 2012 Rookie of the Year award on Tuesday morning at Cleveland Clinic Courts. The Korean carmaker also gave Irving the keys to a brand new Kia Sorrento SUV, which he clearly does not need/want.
Like most players, however, Irving said he would donate the car and relayed a nice story about what he plans to to with the vehicle. He said he was giving the car to his former AAU program, the New Jersey Roadrunners, and told a brief anecdote about how his coach would pick up a young Kyrie and his teammates in a beat-up Windstar and cart them all around the New York metro area. Photo of Irving with his new Sorrento after the jump:
The Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team will travel to Durham to face the Duke Blue Devils in the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Buckeyes crushed Duke at Value City Arena in the 2011 Challenge, rolling to a 22 point win that was never in doubt. Thad Matta's club will head to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, November 28th for the rematch. Per ESPN, the telecast of last year's matchup was the highest rated game in the history of the two conferences' early-season clash.
Both Duke and Ohio State should be highly ranked at the start of the 2012-13 season. While they lose All-American Jared Sullinger, the Buckeyes do return the duo of Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas, who should ensure things continue to run smoothly on the offensive end. The Big Ten is going for its third straight win in the Challenge, after losing the first ten years. North Carolina will travel to Indiana in the other marquee matchup of 2012.
For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Buckeyes, visit Ohio State blog Land-Grant Holy Land.
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