When the Browns take the field against Baltimore this week and Pittsburgh next week, Eric Wright will not be in uniform. The third-year cornerback was placed on injured reserve yesterday after injuring his knee in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 19-17 loss to Cincinnati. 

Wright isn't the Browns most popular player, but one that will be missed in a shaky secondary. Fans and media blamed him for many of Cleveland's fourth quarter breakdowns, including the loss to Baltimore and the overtime loss to the New York Jets. After the Jets game, Wright lost his starting spot to first year cornerback and budding star Joe Haden. Wright was splitting time with Sheldon Brown at the other cornerback spot, but with Wright's injury, Brown's role in the defense should increase. 

Wright isn't expected to have surgery on the knee, but the recovery time for his particular injury will take longer than the two weeks left on Cleveland's schedule. 

Jordan Bastian is reporting, and the Indians official website confirms, that the Indians have re-signed OF Austin Kearns to a one-year deal worth at least $1.3M. Kearns, who hit .272 in 84 games with the Tribe last year, will likely be a fourth outfielder or potentially platoon with Michael Brantley. With Brantley's ability to play CF, the OF looks like it is pretty much set with Choo, Sizemore, Brantley, and Kearns.

However, if the plan is to use Kearns against LHP to spell Brantley or Sizemore, the 30-year-old Kearns hit just .252 against LHP in 2010. Also, his offensive statistics are skewed by his .373 average through April. After that, he hit no higher than .258 for a single month. Kearns hit just .246 at Progressive Field last year.

The Indians now have achieved one of their offseason objectives- adding a RH bat. Next on the ledger will either be a better solution at 3B or a veteran starting pitcher for the young, inconsistent rotation.

In other Indians news, the team signed Travis Buck to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

Following up on Dan Wismar's earlier wire report:

A 3:00 p.m. press conference has been scheduled at Kent State University, where Kent athletic director Joel Nielsen will announce the hiring of Ohio State assistant head coach/receivers coach Darrell Hazell as the Golden Flashes’ 20th head football coach, replacing Doug Martin.

Hazell has been with Jim Tressell and the Buckeyes since 2004, and has been coaching in the collegiate ranks for 25 years. He was one of four candidates for the position after Nielsen narrowed the field of candidates down last week. He was selected over Alabama receivers coach Curt Cignetti, Texas receivers coach Bobby Kennedy and Kent defensive coordinator Pete Reskas.

Hazell played college football at Muskingum.

Kent State will hold a 10 a.m. Monday news conference to announce their new head football coach, and there are multiple reports (via Yahoo Sports' Tom Dienhart)  Sunday night that Ohio State wide receivers coach Darrell Hazell will be named to the KSU job.

Evan Moore and Scott Fujita top the Browns list of inactives today as the team prepares to face the Cincinnati Bengals at 1pm.

Also of note for the Browns is Jake Delhomme is listed as the emergency quarterback while Seneca Wallace backs up starter Colt McCoy.

The full list of Browns inactives: Tight end Evan Moore, linebacker Scott Fujita, defensive lineman Jayme Mitchell, wide receiver Jordan Norwood, defensive back Coye Francies, defensive lineman Brian Sanford, and wide receiver Carlton Mitchell.

The Benglas inactives are rookie center Reggie Stephens, running back Cedric Peerman, tight end Chase Coffman, linebacker Vincent Rey, defensive end Victor Adeyanju, cornerback Jonathan Wade, and tackle Kirk Chambers.

Inactive lists are courtesy of www.profootballtalk.com

Many doubted it would ever happen again but the Cleveland Cavaliers actually won an NBA game last night at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavs, losers of something like 46 straight games (actually it was ‘only’ a ten-game losing streak), beat the NY Knicks in overtime 109-102 behind 23 points and 14 assists from Mo Williams and 14 points and 17 rebounds for Anderson Varejao.

The win moves the Cavaliers to 8-19 on the season and ended their longest losing streak in nine years.

The Cavs are home against Utah Monday night.

The undefeated Cleveland State men's basketball team faces its first major-conference test of the season today at West Virginia. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.

So far, CSU (12-0) have played a quality Mid-Major non-conference schedule with wins against Iona, Kent State, Akron, St. Bonaventure, Robert Morris and Sam Houston State.

"This year our direction was to play quality mid-majors then go into the high majors," said CSU men's basketball coach Gary Waters. "What we are hoping is that those quality mid-majors have prepared us for West Virginia."

WVU (7-2) is the first of two straight Big East Conference opponents for the undefeated Vikings. The Mountaineers are 4-0 at the WVU Coliseum this season and have won 33 straight at home against non-conference teams. Their only losses this season have come against Minnesota and Miami (Fla.).

The Vikes are 5-0 on the road this season.

"We don't even consider it to be a road game anymore," Waters said. "We just consider it to be another game."

The Mountaineers are led in scoring by senior guard Casey Mitchell (17.8 points), junior forward Kevin Jones (12.6) and junior guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant (12.3).

Waters said there are two areas that he's concerned about WVU, "their rebounding and their defensive percentages."

Currently, WVU is 35th in the nation in rebounding, averaging 39.6 per game. The Vikes will have to find a way to keep WVU's starting frontcourt of Jones (6-8, 260), John Flowers (6-7, 215) and Deniz Kilicli (6-9, 270) off the boards.

"They can get to the glass," said Waters. "That's one thing they have over us."

With WVU's size advantage, Waters said that CSU will need freshmen reserve forward Luda Ndaye (6-9, 230) to play today. Ndaye is averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game.

As for WVU's defense, they are holding opponents to .380 (48-for-185) from the field and .259 (153-for-214) from 3-point distance.

"We will have to find a way to score on this team," said Waters. "(However,) we can still shoot in the 40s and still be in the contest."

When asked what CSU needs to do to win the game, Waters said, "We got to play harder then our opponent and we got to play tough."

FSN to televise CSU-WVU: Fox Sports Ohio will televise today's CSU-WVU game via The Big East Network.

John Sanders will handle the play-by-play and Anthony Buford is the color analyst.

The game is also available on ESPN3.com.

Tough schedule: The Mountaineers will be the seventh team in the RPI 100 that CSU has faced this season.

Good company: There are currently 12 undefeated teams still left in major college basketball. They are Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, CSU, Connecticut, Duke, Kansas, Northwestern, Ohio State, San Diego State, Syracuse and UCF.

Injury update: Waters is hoping to have D'Aundray Brown (right index finger) back by the first or second week in January.

Waters is also hoping that sophomore point guard Anthony Wells (knee) could be back in a week.

Brown has missed the entire season after having surgery in the preseason and Wells has played in only one game after knee surgery.

CSU women's update: The CSU women's basketball team are also playing in the state of West Virginia today. The CSU women (6-2) are in Huntington to face Marshall (2-6).

More women's basketball: Kate Peterson Abiad's squad has replaced Kailey Klein, CSU's all-time leading scorer, with a more balanced scoring attack.

The Vikes have four players currently averaging in double-figures. They are Shalonda Winton (13.9 points), Janelle Adams (13), Shawnita Garland (11.1) and Destinee Blue (10.4).

"It's very different then what we had in past couple of years when one player scored a whole lot of points," said Peterson Abiad. "I'm really pleased that we can count on these four girls game in and game out."

King update: Sophomore guard Honesty King (8.1 points), who missed CSU's last game at Akron with a sprained ankle, could return to the line-up against the Thundering Herd.

"I anticipate she will be at 100 percent by the weekend," said Peterson Abiad.

Next up: The CSU men host South Florida on Wednesday at the Wolstein Center. The CSU women are at Ohio on Tuesday.

The first fallout from the Urban Meyer resignation benefits the Buckeyes, as Ryan Shazier, the #4-rated outside linebacker in the country, and previously a Gator commit for the class of 2011, announced Friday night that he has committed to play at Ohio State. Shazier (ranked #8 at OLB by Scout) is 6' 2", 210 lbs, and projects as a speed pass rusher at OLB in college. He is planning to enroll early (Jan.) and go through spring ball.

Shazier had to like the depth chart situation at OSU. Outside of Jonathan Newsome and Dorian Bell, the Bucks are thin at OLB, and there is no one on the roster with the combination of length and speed that Shazier brings to the Buckeyes.

The coaching change at Florida could further help the Buckeyes, as star cornerback Jabari Gorman is down to OSU and Florida, and could be swayed toward the Bucks by the changeover in Gainesville and/or the Shazier commitment.  5-star linebacker Curtis Grant is another recruit who is looking at OSU now that Meyer has left. Stay tuned.

"Joy to the World" 

In 2011, the Akron Aeros will be serving the "Three Dog Night" during each and every home game. It's a hot dog stuffed inside a brat stuffed inside a kielbasa, placed on a hoagie roll and then slathered with sauerkraut and spicy stadium mustard.

Just one more good reason to go to Canal Park.

Here's an idea. How about dumping the stupid new Big Ten division names..."Legends" and "Leaders"?

Such has been the universal scorn and ridicule heaped on the new handles, that Jim Delany admitted the conference is reconsidering the names.

Duh.

"We've had enough experience with names and expansion and development of divisions that we know that you rarely get a 90 percent approval rating," Delany told WGN AM-720. "But to get a 90 percent non-approval rating was really surprising. It showed that we didn’t connect with our fans in a way that we wanted to. It’s humbling, to say the least, because we’re trying to build fan bases, not push them away.

"I've been around this business a long time, and I would say it’s one of the more surprising things. There’s a sensibility there that we did not connect with, did not read well."