Cleveland Browns safety T.J. Ward has been fined $25,000 by the NFL for his hit on Dallas wide receiver Kevin Ogletree during Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

Ward reportedly plans to appeal.

The penalty came in the fourth quarter on the second play of the Cowboys last-minute drive to the game-tying field goal. On a deep pass down the right side, Ward hit Olgetree with his shoulder, forcing the receiver’s helmet to crash into the helmet of Browns defensive back Buster Skrine. Both Skrine and Ogletree left the game with concussions.

“I hit him in the chest,” Ward said in published reports after the game. “I may have rose a little bit, but I didn’t have any contact with his helmet. When you have helmet-to-helmet contact, you feel it even if you're the one delivering the hit.”

Browns coach Pat Shurmur addressed Ward’s play and what the coaches are doing to help the third-year safety in his Monday press conference.

“We talk to (T.J.) about the rules,” Shurmur said. “In those situations, let me be very clear and I know the rule here, a defenseless player, you cannot hit him with your head in the head. Either players head cannot be involved. I think that’s what he (Ed Hochuli) was saying based on what he was officiated. If you’re catching the football and I came to tackle you, I can’t hit you with my head and I can’t hit you in the head.”

This is the second time that Ward has been fined. He was docked $15,000 in his rookie season for knocking out Cincinnati receiver Jordan Shipley.

(Photo by ClevelandBrowns.com)

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without point guard Kyrie Irving for at least a month after it was revealed on Monday that Irving has a hairline fracture in his left index finger.

Wonderful.

Irving is currently fifth in the NBA in scoring at 22.9 points per game, is shooting 39 percent on 3-pointers, handing out 5.6 assists and pulling down 3.7 rebounds for the Cavs, who are currently at 2-8 on the season and riding a six-game losing streak heading into Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia.

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The NCAA Division I’s top ranked Akron Zips make one more run for the College Cup under head coach Caleb Porter. Their run begins Sunday afternoon at home against the Michigan Wolverines.

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The Midwest Regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournamnent in college basketball will be held at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. All the preliminary sites for the 2014 and 2015 tournaments were announced by the NCAA today.

Columbus will host a sub-regional (2nd and 3rd rounds) in 2015 at Nationwide Arena.

Jim Tressel will be in the Horseshoe for the Nov 24 Ohio State-Michigan game. The former OSU head coach will take part in the recognition of the 2002 National Championship OSU team commemorating the 10th anniversary of the title. Tressel confirmed that he'll be there in an interview with Dom Tiberi of Columbus' Channel 10 TV.

Ryan Shazier won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award for the second consecutive week for his 14 tackle performance against Illinois Saturday. Shazier also broke up a pass against the Illini, and recorded 11 solo tackles.

OSU running back Bri'onte Dunn was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his 13 carry, 73 yard, 1 touchdown showing against the Illini.

The full text of the OSU release on Shazier's honor follows:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 14-tackle performance, including a career-best 11 solo tackles and two tackles-for-loss, has earned Ohio State sophomore linebacker Ryan Shazier the Big Ten Conference’s defensive player of the week award.

 This is the second consecutive week that Shazier has been honored by the Big Ten. He was co-defensive player of the week after recording eight tackles, two sacks and intercepting a pass for a touchdown in the Buckeyes’ win over Penn State two weeks ago.

 Shazier’s play in the Buckeyes’ 52-22 win over Illinois marked his fifth double-digit tackling game of the season and leaves him two shy of becoming the first sophomore at Ohio State since James Laurinaitis in 2006 to top 100 tackles in a season. Shazier leads the team with 98 tackles, a total that ranks third in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally.

 Shazier was back to his typical jersey No. 10 vs. the Illini after honoring a late friend during the Penn State game by wearing jersey No. 48.

 The 10-0 and No. 5 (Associated Press) ranked Buckeyes are off this week. They play at Wisconsin Nov. 17 in a 3:30 p.m. EST game that will be televised by ABC and ESPN2.

The Travel Channel will feature the Cleveland Browns on a new series that, according to a press release, promises to “pull back the curtain” on the Browns current 2012 season.

Boy, wait until America gets a look at just how difficult it can be at times to be a Browns fan.

NFL Road Tested: The Cleveland Browns will premiere on Dec. 4 at 10 p.m. NFL Films will provide “unprecedented access” to show what it takes to transport the 150-person squad 20,000 miles a season. From feeding an entire team (how much do guys like Phil Taylor and John Hughes eat?) , to clothing and housing them, to how a stadium prepares and deals with “more than 70,000 rabid fans,” the cameras will capture this “massive undertaking.”

No word on whether or not they will show the “massive undertaking” that takes place each week when coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress put together the offensive game plan.

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The full text of the release from Jerry Emig, Football SID at OSU Athletics Communications follows, including the full revised 2013 schedule:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s 2013 football schedule has been finalized with the addition of a home game Sept. 7 against San Diego State University, director of athletics Gene Smith announced today.

 “San Diego State has a fine football program and we are happy to be able to add them to our schedule,” Smith said. “We have had an excellent relationship with SDSU over the years with three exciting, competitive games since 2001.”

 The Aztecs are currently 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in the Mountain West with a game at Boise State this weekend. Next year, both San Diego State and Boise State will become a member of the Big East Conference.

 Ohio State has won the three previous meetings between the teams (all in Ohio Stadium): 27-12 in 2001; 16-13 in 2003; and 27-6 in 2005.

 Game Changers II

The order of the 2013 non-conference home games had to be altered during the process of scheduling the Aztecs, and so game dates with Florida A&M and Buffalo were changed. The Sept. 7 game against Florida A&M will now be played Sept. 21, and the initially scheduled Sept. 21 game vs. Buffalo will now be the season opener on Aug. 31.

 “We are very appreciative that Buffalo and Florida A&M had some flexibility and were open to changing game dates,” Smith said.

 2013 Schedule

Aug. 31 – Buffalo

Sept. 7 – San Diego State

Sept. 14 – at California

Sept. 21 – Florida A&M

Sept. 28 – Wisconsin

Oct. 5 – at Northwestern

Oct. 12 – Open

Oct. 19 – Iowa

Oct. 26 – Penn State

Nov. 2 – at Purdue

Nov. 9 – Open

Nov. 16 – at Illinois

Nov. 23 – Indiana

Nov. 30 – at Michigan

The Cleveland Browns placed defensive lineman Brian Sanford on season-ending injured reserve on Friday.

Sanford is the second defensive lineman the Browns have placed on IR this week, following Emmanuel Stephens; at this rate they may not have anyone left.

Sanford spent the first seven weeks on the Browns’ practice squad before seeing action and subsequently injuring himself against San Diego.

The Browns filled the vacated roster spots by activating defensive tackle Phil Taylor off the Reserve Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and signing defensive lineman Ronnie Cameron off the practice squad.

Cameron was originally signed by Chicago as an undrafted free agent. He appeared in one preseason game for the Bears before the Browns claimed him on waivers. Cameron played in three preseason games with Cleveland before being placed on the practice squad.

“I was just happy, happy to have an opportunity to help this team,” Cameron said on the Browns’ website. “That’s all I’ve been waiting for, an opportunity to help this team get some wins, especially, this week. It’s a big week coming up and playing Baltimore. Whatever I can do, whatever capacity I could be in to help, that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.

“I’m a guy that can get up the field and, hopefully, cause some havoc, definitely help against the run game, especially this week. I’m ready and I’m available. If they include me in it, I’m ready to go.”

Welcome to Cleveland, Ronnie. Don’t hurt yourself.

(Photo courtesy of ClevelandBrowns.com)

With Terry Francona now in the fold, the Indians were expected to be aggressive this offseason and make some moves to improve the ballclub. On Saturday, they added some experienced infield depth by trading Esmil Rogers to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infielder Mike Aviles and Triple-A player Yan Gomes.

Aviles, 31, has 478 games of Major League experience under his belt, having played second base, third base, shortstop, and a handful of appearances in the outfield with Boston in 2011. Aviles has a career slash line of .277/.308/.408/.715. Aviles hit 13 home runs for Boston in 2011 over 136 games, a career high. Gomes, 25, has batted .287/.344/.484/.828 in 301 minor league games. A lot of his damage has come in the offense-friendly Pacific Coast League with the Las Vegas 51's. Gomes batted .204 in 98 at bats with the Blue Jays this past season.

The Indians picked up Esmil Rogers from the Colorado Rockies in June via trade. The Indians gave the Rockies cash considerations to complete the deal. Rogers made 44 appearances for the Indians, posting a 3.09 ERA and striking out 54 batters in 53 innings. The emergence of 2011 draft pick Cody Allen made Rogers expendable. Also, the Indians may have sold high on Rogers, who is still a bit of an unknown. He struggled in Colorado, posting a 6.77 ERA in 70 appearances, but, pitchers obviously have difficult conditions to deal with in the high altitude.

Overall, the Indians got some insurance behind Asdrubal Cabrera, who has worn down late in the season the last couple of years. Aviles also gives the Indians a right-handed option, with a  career .295 average and a .797 OPS against left handers.