Much was made of the scheduled workout on Saturday between Bradley Beal and Harrison Barnes in front of Cavaliers executives.  As has been mentioned many times, it is uncommon for two top prospects to compete against each other in front of a team that has a high draft selection.  Little should be made of the workout being that Beal is a shooting guard and Barnes is a small forward, but there are rumblings that the Cavs brass walked away from that workout being more impressed with Bradley Beal.  

The draft is only in ten days.  The team should start getting an idea of what their draft board looks like sooner than later.  There have been reports that Harrison Barnes was definitely The Guy and a report from nine days later stating that Bradley Beal had "the edge" in the workout.  Not to be outdone, rumblings were rampant from today that the Cavs are intrigued by Andre Drummond and would consider taking him with their pick.  Joe Kotoch of ProBasketballDraft.com brought up the good point that Chris Grant has a long history of selecting players who have high athletic upside over the safe picks.  Chris Grant had a lot to do with the JJ Hickson, Christian Eyenga and Tristan Thompson selections.  Considering that two of those players did not pan out and are no longer with the team, one would hope that Grant would take a more conservative route.  

Andre Drummond is scheduled to work out in Cleveland later this week.  Little should be made of which players schedule workouts where because every single team with a high pick should be expected to do more than their fair share of their due diligence.  To have the fourth pick and not work out Andre Drummond, even if the odds of selecting him are slim, would not make sense.

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An iconic figure in both local broadcasting and Cleveland sports has passed away. Howie Chizek died of heart failure while flying to a Florida vacation Saturday.

Chizek’s day job- one he held for four decades- was as an arch-conservative talk-show host on WNIR in Akron, a polarizing predecessor to Rush Limbaugh who delighted in crossing swords with his liberal counterpart Joe Finan.  

For our purposes, he’s best remembered for his long-standing tenure as the PA announcer for the Cavaliers and Force. The sound of Chizek’s deep, booming voice (“Mark Price… for tha-REEEEE!” “Kaiiiii HAASKIVI!”), whether in person in a Coliseum seat or over the airwaves, was a part of our formative years rooting for our teams.

Jack Hannahan, 3B-LCC: 1-5, RBI, 3 K.

Hannahan finally got off the schnide in minor league play last night, collecting his first hit in 12 AB between AAA Columbus and low-A Lake County. He also struck out three times, bringing his total to 6. Striking out in half of your minor league at bats is less than encouraging, especially when four of those came in low-A play. Still, Hannahan is expected to be activated soon and will hopefully provide a shot in the arm to a suddenly struggling Indians offense. It will be interesting to see how manager Manny Acta, long a supporter of Hannahan, handles both Hannahan and Lonnie Chisenhall's playing time when Jack is re-activated.

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With the Kent State Golden Flashes baseball team in Omaha this weekend for the College World Series, the team is getting a lot of national attention.

The latest comes from Uni Watch, which took at look at the uniforms (naturally) at the eight teams playing for the championship.

The site called Kent’s cream-colored uniforms “gorgeous” and the “single best uniform” among the participants. Kent also received credit for its road throwback-style uniform.

While the bright yellow, gray and navy versions did not receive as high of a grade, it’s nice to see Kent receive as much national publicity as it can get.

The Golden Flashes, currently ranked No. 8 in the nation, have won 38 of their last 46 games, and went won their fourth straight Mid-American Conference title.

Kent State faces No. 6 Arkansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. The winner of that game faces the winner of the Florida and South Carolina game on Monday at 9 p.m.; while the losers play each other in an elimination game at 5 p.m.

The games are all televised by ESPN.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Although the NBA finals are knotted-up at 1 game a piece, the rumor mill is beginning to pick up steam for many teams who have gone fishing.  The Cavaliers are no exception to this considering that they are going to be significantly under the salary cap and because general manager Chris Grant has shown to be active so far in his tenure running the team.

According to a report from Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico, the Cavs are in the running to sign Jamal Crawford to a contract.  Crawford, who opted out of his 5.225 million dollar contract with the Portland Trailblazers is reportedly interested in signing with the Cavaliers, Heat, Clippers, Kings or Knicks.  The Cavs are in the market for a shooting guard after Anthony "Veteran Presence" Parker's contract ran out this past season.  Even if the Cavs draft Bradley Beal with the fourth overall pick, one can understand what the appeal is of bringing Jamal Crawford in to be a 6th man for the team.  Crawford's name is associated with 6th Man of the Year awards, big shots in the playoffs and his penchant for scoring.  However, he is 32 years old and his field goal percentage has dipped every year since 2009-2010.  Field goal percentages that dip with aging wing players should be a red flag.

Personally, I am lukewarm on Jamal Crawford being courted by the Cavs.  Cleveland is in dire need of talent, but he is getting up there in age.  Ultimately it would depend on what kind of contract he would sign for.  The length of the contract would be the biggest factor in judging it and not necessarily the dollar amount.  The last thing the Cavs need is a 35 year old wing player taking up a roster spot and shooting at a bad percentage.

Jamal Crawford was originally drafted by the Cavaliers 8th overall in the 2000 draft and was traded to the Bulls for Chris Mihm by GM Jim Paxson.  Sadly, this will not go down in history as the worst move Paxson ever made.

Nobody knows if this rumor has legs.  One would think that it would be prudent to try and sign a younger wing player who is under the radar than going after a guy on the downswing of his career.  Then again, Crawford is a guy who can really help the bench or even start. 

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According to Jim Callis of Baseball America, the Indians and 2012 MLB Draft first round pick Tyler Naquin have agreed to terms on an under-slot deal that should be signed later today, pending a physical. Speculation at the time of the Indians 15th overall draft selection was that Naquin was the choice, in part, because he would sign quickly and for a deal under the recommended slot salary. With the new MLB Draft rules this season, teams only had a set amount of money to spend on their picks in the first ten rounds.

Naquin, a left handed hitting outfielder from Texas A&M University, was "one of the best pure hitters and had one of the strongest outfield arms in this year's draft". The recommended value assigned to the 15th overall selection was $2.25M and the Indians and Naquin have reportedly agreed to a $1.75M signing bonus.

Naquin will likely head to either Single-A Lake County or Rookie League Mahoning Valley to begin his pro career. Naquin hit .380 in his junior season at Texas A&M.

Well, if Justin Verlander never picks up a bat again, and somehow that arm of his gets him a plaque in Cooperstown, he would be the very worst hitter in the Hall of Fame.  He wouldn't exactly be alone in that infamy; Venice, Ohio's own Walter "Smokey" Alston is the museum's only current occupant without a Major League hit.  In fact, the four-time World Champion Manager of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers struck out in his only plate appearance against the Cubs in 1936, but the fine print says he was inducted as a Manager.  Perhaps it isn't fair to compare to an exclusive group that does not include him, but his futility with the bat puts him in a place of his own among MVP's; he's the only one in a group that includes quite a few pitchers with a .000 batting average.  We went all the way back down the MVP list to Dazzy Vance and Walter Johnson, just to make sure that statement was accurate.

Despite allowing the hapless Cubs to score two runs over 8 innings on Thursday, Verlander did nothing to little to help his own cause at Wrigley Field.  The box score says he went 0-for-1 with two sacrifices, which could be interpreted as a respectable day at the plate, if they weren't two of the laziest sacrifice bunts these eyes have ever seen.  In his only official at-bat of the day, a 2nd inning Fielder's Choice, Verlander massacred a potential big inning when Ryan Raburn was dead to rights at third base for the second out of the inning on his lazy ground ball to short.  That appeared to be a devastating blow when Luis Valbuena evened the score at two in the bottom half of the inning with his first RBI since September 11, 2011 as a member of the Indians, but he was bailed out by his teammates' offense in this one.

Austin Jackson's RBI single in the bottom of the 7th inning gave Detroit 3-2 lead on the way to a 5-3 victory over the Cubs, boosting Verlander to 6-4 on the season, and 16-2 in 22 Inter-League games.  That doesn't change the fact that he's got the big goose egg in 22 career at-bats.  Even when you score this one on the bell curve, the lowly standards we hold our American League pitchers to offensively, Verlander doesn't make the grade.

With Cleveland and Chicago both losing, the victory puts the Tigers just 4 games off the pace in the American League Central Division Standings, two and a half games behind the Indians with about 100 games left to be played.

According to CBSSports.com, Harrison Barnes and Bradley Beal will work out against each other in Cleveland on Saturday.  This news comes as a surprise because the same news agency reported that Harrison Barnes was practically a lock to be drafted by Cleveland if he were available with the fourth pick.  Chris Grant and the Cavs front office are the type to do more than their fair share of due diligence, so it does not come as a surprise that they are both working out for the team.  What does come as a surprise is that they are reportedly competing against each other in the workout.  We are accustomed to guys expected to go high in the draft to work out against chairs, so the fact that Barnes and Beal are competing against each other is very excited.  

Another interesting point is that while both are wing players, they play different positions and have completely different strengths and weaknesses.  Bradley Beal is listed at a generous 6'5" and is known for his ability to create his own shot, penchant for rebounding and shooting.  Harrison Barnes is a polished offensive player but struggles with ball handling.  These are not two guys who come from the same ilk who want to make a case for which one is deserving of the higher pick.  They both play very different games and are competing mano y mano.  Something tells me that a lot of people would pay money to be able to witness this workout, but it will be closed to the public.  We will rely on the first-hand accounts of media members who will be in attendance.  

In other Cavaliers news, the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League schedule was announced today.  This is very excited news to basketball junkies.  The Summer League was cancelled last year due to incredibly wealthy men fighting over massive amounts of money and with complete disregard for the people who provide it.  If you cannot tell, I am still very bitter over the lockout and dread the redux in the summer of 2017 already.  

The Summer League will be exciting for Cavs fans because Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson are reportedly going to participate.  Kyrie Irving had a stellar rookie year and could easily opt out of the summer games, but he will be there hopefully working on chemistry with Tristan Thompson and whoever the Cavs select with the fourth pick on June 28th.

The schedule is as follows:

7/15/2012 Vs. Charlotte

7/16/2012 Vs. D-League All Stars

7/17/2012 Vs. Phoenix

7/19/2012 Vs. Minnesota

7/20/2012 Vs. New York

The Cavs should fare pretty well in these games due to Kyrie Irving's inclusion and two other top four picks.  These games do not matter whatsoever, but Cleveland fans should not be picky about what sporting event their team is favored to win in.  Hell, maybe the Knicks will finally beat the Cavs.  I know I'll be watching. 

The Cleveland Browns will two new members into the team’s Legends club this fall when they induct running back Ernie Green and defensive back Clarence Scott.

We have to admit we really don’t know much about Green, who played for the Browns from 1962 to 1968, but he was a starter on the 1964 championship team, still the last title team in town, and finished his career as the franchise’s seventh-leading rusher with 3,204 yards and has the third-best yards per carry average at 4.8 for his career. He made the Pro Bowl following the 1966 and 1967 seasons.

Green played halfback next to Hall of Famer Jim Brown and fullback next to Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly. That’s pretty good company.

“(Being selected is) a validation of the skills that I thought I had and had begun to wonder if they were as good as they needed to be,” Green told The Plain Dealer. “It suggests, well, you did a few things right, and I feel quite good about that.”

Scott is third on the Browns’ all-time interception list with 39. One of the biggest of his career came in a 1980 game against Houston when he picked off Oilers quarterback Ken Stabler with 1:17 left in the game (one of five turnovers the Browns forced on the day) and Cleveland holding on to a 17-14 lead. The win gave the Kardiac Kids sole possession of first place and helped them go on to win the AFC Central Division title.

Jack Hannahan, 3B-LCC: 0-3, K.

Get him back to the majors, quick! Hannahan isn't going to have any confidence left if he keeps having to face minor league pitching. He's a combined 0-7 with 3 K in 2 games in the minors, one with AAA Columbus and then last night with low-A Lake County. In the grand scheme of things, what does that mean? Well, pretty much nothing. It's just two games, after all. Still, I'm intrigued to see how Manny Acta uses Hannahan and Chisenhall once Super Jack is added back to the active roster sometime in the near future.

T.J. McFarland, SP-COL: L (1-1), 4 1/3 IP, 10 ER, 8 H, 2 K, 4 BB. Well, McFarland had to have a bad start sooner or later. This makes his overall AAA numbers look pretty ugly, but two of his three starts have been very good. This one was a clunker, as he gave up a pair of HR, and was clearly lacking in his command and control as he also issued 4 BB. McFarland is always going to be a guy who pitches to contact, and he's not going to miss a ton of bats in the show. If he leaves the ball up in the zone, he's going to have days like this.

Matt Langwell, RP-COL: 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 K. That's 6 2/3 scoreless in a row for Langwell, who's struck out 6 in that timeframe as well. He lowered his Columbus ERA to an even 2.00 in 18 innings of work on the season.

Cody Allen, RP-COL: IP, K. Another inning, another strikeout for Allen who now has 24 in 19 2/3 AAA innings, and 42 in 31 1/3 innings overall this season.

Jason Donald, 3B-COL: 2-4, 2 RBI, K. Donald is hitting a respectable .315/.413/.461 in AAA after going for a miserable line of .178/.188/.178 in 45 MLB at-bats this season. He's still got the potential to be a useful utility infielder at the big league level.

Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 1-4, 2B, R. Phelps has a modest 8-game hitting streak going, during which he's gone 11-27 with a HR and 5 2B. His season line continues to crawl upwards, and he's now at .268/.342/.439 in 63 games for the Clippers.

Will Roberts, SP-CAR: L (3-3), 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, BB. Roberts was the hard-luck loser in game one of the doubleheader last night, as he gave up a run in the bottom of the 7th for a walk-off loss. He's gone 12 1/3 innings in his last 2 starts, allowing 4 ER while striking out 7 and walking just 1. He's a command-and-control guy who doesn't have a crazy-high ceiling, but is a smart pitcher and can be effective as long as he's locating the ball well.

Michael Goodnight, SP-CAR: L (2-7), 5 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 K. In his last 4 starts, Goodnight has done a nice job missing bats while limiting free passes. He's struck out 23 and walked just 4 in 24 innings of work.

Tony Wolters, SS-CAR: 2-6, 2B, 3 K. The Mudcats only managed 2 runs in 14 innings of baseball yesterday, and Wolters was one of the few 'Cats with hits in both games of the double-dip.

Ronny Rodriguez, 2B-CAR: 1-5, 2B, RBI, K. Rodriguez is shoring up his pitch selection, and has struck out just 4 times in his last 30 AB for the Mudcats. That's a big improvement on where he was at earlier this season.

Jesus Aguilar, 1B-CAR: 2-5, RBI, BB, K. Aguilar snapped out of a 1-21 slump with a pair of hits yesterday, but has seen his season numbers drop to a still-solid .288/.374/.449.

Gio Urshela, 3B-CAR: 2-4, 2B, R. Dealing with some injuries this year, Urshela is hitting just .324/.286/.299 on the season. He's recorded just 8 XBH in 41 games (1 HR and 7 2B). He's a slick fielding 3B, but he's going to have to do more with the bat if he wants to make it to the next level.

Shawn Morimando, SP-LCC: W (2-1), 5 IP, ER, 6 H, 4 K.  It's always good to see a zero in the walk column for your starting pitcher. Morimando has started 8 games for the Captains, going 2-1 with a 3.89 ERA, striking out 22 and walking 13 in 37 IP.

Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 0-2, 2 BB, R, K. In his last 5 games, Lindor has gone 7-18 with 6 walks. What slump?

Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 1-2, 2 BB, R. Rodriguez now has an eight game hitting streak, during which he's gone 12-33 with 4 2B and 7 runs scored.

Bryson Myles, RF-LCC: 2-4, HR (2), 2B, 3 RBI, R, K. Since coming off the DL on June 6, Myles has gone 3-14 with 4 BB and 4 RBI. In 36 games this season, he's now hitting .262/.336/.410 with 2 HR and 11 SB.

Jerrud Sabourin, 1B-LCC: 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R. The former Indiana University walk-on and undrafted free agent is up to a solid .280/.354/.351 on the season. If you're not cheering for this kid, there's something seriously wrong with you.