Displaying items by tag: Bleacher Report

On this Tuesday edition of The Sam and Brad Show, the guys give their thoughts on Ben Simmons' possibly getting a 5-year, $170 million dollar extension from the Sixers (00:23), talk with Tom Withers of the Associated Press about the Cavs and NBA free agency (06:42), and talk with Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier about the plans for the upcoming Pro Football Hall of Fame class (18:27).

On this Wednesday edition of the Sam and Brad Show, the guys discuss the Browns acquisition of star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and the hype for next season with WKYC's Bud Shaw (00:21) and Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski (14:49). University of Akron basketball coach John Groce also stopped by to talk about the Zips' upcoming showdown with Buffalo in the MAC Tournament (27:40).

Scott Miller from Bleacher Report joined Justin McKinney and Bem Thomas on the Sam and Brad Show Friday to talk about the Carlos Santana deal to the Philadelphia Phillies. 

He also discussed the winter meetings in Orlando as well.

NBA and breaking news reporter Andy Bailey from Bleacher Report spoke with Sam and Brad Monday to talk about the big trade involving DeMarcus Cousins going to the New Orleans Pelicans.

For the full interview click here.

NFL reporter Jason Cole from the Bleacher Report joined Sam and Brad to talk about the winners of the AFC and NFC Championship games (Atlanta and New England respectively).

 He also talked about who had the best chance to win the big one in two weeks in Houston.

For the full interview, click here.

Adam Kramer from the Bleacher Report spoke with Sammy B to talk about college football starting with #6 ranked Houston and UConn tonight.

Brandon Sneed from the Bleacher Report joined Brad Russell on the show today to talk about the article he wrote entitled I'm Not The Lone Wolf' speaking about Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

The article chronicled Meyer and his mental health issues that he experienced during his coaching career.

You can check out the article here.

College football gets cranked up tonight with a few games here tonight, and then a blockbuster lineup Labor Day Weekend.

Adam Kramer from Bleacher Report chatted with our own Sam Bourquin on 1590 WAKR.

Another fall is approaching, and the Ohio State Buckeyes under the direction of head coach Urban Meyer are ready to to make another run in the Big 10 and another National Championship.

Ben Axelrod from the Bleacher Report joined Sam Bourquin to talk about the Buckeyes and how they stack up this season.

He says heading into Week 3 in Norman to take on Oklahoma and what it would mean for OSU.

"I think it would be a confidence boost moving forward," Axelrod said. "Since it's such a young team it would do a lot for a team to beat one of the teams that was in the College Football Playoff last year on the road in a hostile environment."

The Buckeyes will have a young team, but junior quarterback J.T. Barrett will be back under center for OSU this year, and a win over Oklahoma would not only be beneficial to him, but to the psyche of the whole team as the season goes on. 

The MLB Trade deadline is Monday, at 4 p.m. There's been some guys coming and going, but the hometown Cleveland Indians have stood pat...for now.

Scott Miller, National MLB Columnist for the Bleacher Report joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the Indians' thoughts heading into the deadline.

"They're ( the Indians) out there talking quite a bit," Miller said.  "The whole Jonathan Lucroy thing is very interesting, you know clearly he would be a teriffic fit for the Indians, and whether they can pull it off or not, nobody knows."

Lucroy, who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, has drawn interest from many teams including the Indians as of late, not only for his bat, but his work behind the plate as a catcher.

Training camp is set to roll from Berea, Ohio tomorrow, and the Hue Jackson era will officially get started.

Brent Sobleski from the Bleacher Report joined the Sam Bourquin Show. Thursday to talk about how the Browns will get their camp started, some of the injury news and notes, and how Hue plans on putting his imprint on the franchise.

"The reality is that this team, this office, and this organization is handling things well," Sobleski said. "All of that old baggage is gone."

When asked about the prospects of RGIII and what he's looking to do with his new team, Sobleski said that Jackson's support and knowledge of quarterbacks gives him confidence, which is a boost for any player, especially one who played scout team safety at one point for Washington.

For the full interview with Brent, click here.

With WrestleMania 32 coming up this Sunday, lots of wrestling fans are having their eyes on the WWE'S signature event down in Arlington, Texas.

Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod, a professional wrestling enthusiast himself, joined the Average Sports Show to talk with Brad about the key matches, unique storylines, and some of the surprises you might see Sunday.

One of the more intriguing matchups will take place between Shane McMahon and the Undertaker, which is big in the fact that if the Undertaker loses, it would be his last WrestleMania in his illustrious career.

The main event will be Roman Reigns vs Triple H, which has lots of fans excited.

Axelrod says the development of Roman's character is good for the WWE.

"I think a heel turn would be good for Roman Reigns, and I think the talent's there and I think he's a good performer."

After the first day of NFL free agency, the Browns have let four players go and have not added any new names to the roster, which has a lot of fans scratching their collective heads.

Brad Gagnon from the Bleacher Report joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show to talk about the action..or lack thereof from the Browns and how this reactive approach has put a sour taste in the mouths of many fans, who would like to see the team become more proactive in their mindset in trying to pick up some quality free agents.

 "They let four players walk yesterday, and I understand they're not from this regime,  I understand they are rebulding, but a rebuild in the NFL is not getting rid of all 53 players and starting from scratch," Gagnon says.

"You don't throw out the baby with the bath water."

Four free agants left including Alex Mack, who went to Atlanta, Tashaun Gipson went to Jacksonville, Mitchell Schwartz bolted for Kansas City, and Travis Benjamin departed for San Diego.

In the NFL, there is no offseason, and one of the NFL's biggest names is in the news.

Peyton Manning, two-time Super Bowl winner and Denver Bronocs quarterback was accused of sexual assault by a former trainer while playing at the University of Tennessee in the late 1990's.

Sobleski explains his stance on the issue, saying that nothing being reported here is new.

"We have one writer who basically stumbled upon this case for the first time in his life, and reported it from a first person perspective and it really wasn't," Sobleski said.

Manning has denied any wrongdoing in the matter. The university has been recently named in a Title IX lawsuit regarding sexual assault cases.

 Brent also touched on NFL free agency, saying that there's some things the Browns need to look at including Alex Mack possibly bolting or addressing wide reciever in free agency.

"One of the guys you might look at is Bengals WR Marvin Jones," Hue (Jackson) likes him, and he would be a good #2 opposite Josh Gordon," he explained.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are at the midpoint of the NBA season and there are many people who think that they need to maybe add one more piece to make their championship run.

Greg Swartz from the Bleacher Report joined the Average Sports Show Monday to discuss the Wine and Gold's season thus far. 

When asked about team chemistry and how that is at this point of the season, Swartz said he would be surprised if one of the Cavs' secondary pieces is still here after the trade deadline.

"I would be shocked if (Timofey) Mozgov is still on the Cavaliers after 3:01 Thursday afternoon," Swartz said.  "He's fallen out of the rotation and he loved playing for David Blatt who was the coach of the Russian national team."

Greg also spoke about  LeBron James and his status as a Top-5 player in the NBA, and how he needs to help lead his team to that next level.

It's been an interesting NBA Season thus far, and with the Golden State Warriors and reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry playing at a high level, it doesn't appear that they can be stopped.

Grant Hughes, NBA Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show to talk about Curry's 51-point outing on Wednesday night.

Hughes said the only way to slow Curry and the Warriors as a unit is to take them out of their game and slow down their transition game.

"You have to slow it down, muddy the game up a little bit, and be physical, Hughes said.

Hughes also commented on the Cavaliers' recent happenings, including their loss to the Hornets last night and their expectations as a team after the recent firing of David Blatt and the insertion of Tyronn Lue to the head coach position.

The Cavaliers have had an interesting couple of weeks, with the firing of David Blatt, Tyronn Lue stepping into the head coach role, a poor performance in Chicago last weekend, and a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. After all of that, the Wine and Gold must regroup and look to fire on all cylinders in preparation for a title run.

Greg Swartz from Bleacher Report joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about the new look on the court under Lue.

 "Ever since the news came out on Blatt's firing, it's been a whirlwind," says Greg. "Under Ty Lue, you're going to see an adjustment period, because he likes to play a different style than Blatt does."

While Blatt perferred the halfcourt game, Lue likes to get up and down the court and score baskets in transition. One thing that one can take away from Coach Lue's first win against the Wolves last night was the 30 assists and getting other people involved.

 "Come playoff time, I think it's going to be a good move for them, and they're heading into the right direction with Lue."

The National Championship game is just days away, and Alabama and Clemson are looking to hit the gridiron and claim college football's biggest prize.

Adam Kramer, college football analyst from the Bleacher Report joined the Sam Bourquin Show Thursday to break down the game, key matchups, and size up the coaching matchup between Nick Saban of the Crimson Tide, and Dabo Swinney of Clemson.

 "It'll be fun," Kramer said. "You'll have this year's Heisman winner (Derrick Henry) against next year's probable Heisman winner in Deshaun Watson, so it should be a good game."

There isn't a whole lot of buzz excluding Alabama and South Carolina for this matchup, but Adam said the story lines are aplenty.

"The question we all want to know is Alabama going to put Clemson in that vice and squeeze the life out of them," he said.

With Alabama's big, physical defense, Clemson will have to match that physicality.

It's New Year's Eve and that means it's the start of the College Football playoff and other big bowl games. The Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Fiesta Bowl Saturday. Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer talked to Sam about who will win the game against the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish. Kramer talked about his concern with J.T Barrett and Cardale Jones as they continue to be swapped as the starting quarterback for the team. He says if the Barrett and Elliot combination can get going the Buckeyes should be able to win this matchup.

With Brent Sobleski's NFL power rankings being released, the Browns check in at #31,with only the San Francisco 49ers behind them.

Sobleski joined me in the Average Sports Show as I filled in for Brad Russell.

He says that before going into the concussion protocol, Browns signal-caller Johnny Manziel had a disappointing outing throwing the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday in Arrowhead Stadium.

"Had there been more consistency in the passing game, they could have won the game," said Sobleski.

"He did keep them in the game with his feet."  No word yet on if Johnny will play Sunday against the Steelers, but coach Mike Pettine says Austin Davis will be ready if called upon.

The Wine and Gold will be squaring off against NBA Champion Golden State in Oakland for Christmas Day, and the Cavaliers will have a little extra motivation to go against the team that defeated them in the NBA Finals last June.

Greg Swartz from the Bleacher Report joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the contest.

He thinks LeBron will have a little extra juice himself for the Warriors, given their history and how they fought hard against each other in the Finals.

"You're not going to forget that (as a player), especially when you take winning so seriously as LeBron does," Swartz says.

"These guys were celebrating on your home floor, spraying champagne bottles just down the hall from you."

Aside from the Christmas Day game, one of the key elements for the Cavs is the depth at point guard with Kyrie Irving, Matthew Dellavedova, and Mo Williams.

"He (Dellavedova) has been that good, he's earned it, and he's been more agressive," Swartz says.

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday in a national televised game on TNT by a score of 104-100. LeBron James nearly had a triple double, putting up big numbers with a 33 pt, 11 reb, and 9 ast performance. Bleacher Report Cavs beat writer Greg Swartz joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about some of the highlights of the game, as Brad Russell of the Average Sports Show filled in for Sam. Swartz also talked about James crashing into pro golfer Jason Day's wife, Elle Day, on a loose ball, where she had to be taken to the hospital, leaving the game on a stretcher.

With his latest edition of the NFL Power Rankings on Bleacher Report, it's no surprise that out of 32 NFL teams, the Cleveland Browns came in 32nd. The situation is a mess and it seems as though there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

Brent Sobleski from the Bleacher Report joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show Wednesday to talk about the rankings and the frustrations surrounding the Browns, especially their lack of finding quality talent in the first round of the draft.

"The issues with the rookies are almost identical,  when you are talking technique and lack of functional football strength," Sobleski said, referring to Danny Shelton and Cameron Erving 

For the rest of the AFC,  Brent says the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers are propelling themselves into playoff contention, despite injuries to key players.

Adam Kramer from Bleacher Report spoke with WAKR's Sam Bourquin about the current landscape of college football in week 11.

Kramer gave his take on the upcoming game between the fourth ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Kramer also talked about what Notre Dame has to do to remain a top four team.

Kramer said "Style points are critically important if you have a loss on your schedule. Notre Dame is going to play Stanford and that is truly what matters."

Kramer went on to say that the match up between Notre Dame and Wake Forest is not ideal. Kramer continued with, "The Fighting Irish need to spread the ball out and rack up some style points."