Displaying items by tag: WAKR

The City Series is one of the toughest leagues around Northeast Ohio, and the Garfield Golden Rams are ready to get things rolling into 2016.

Bob Sax, the head coach of the Rams joined our own Sam Bourquin during City Series Media Day to talk about his squad and how he plans on coaching his kids up and winning some games.

 "I'm excited every year," Sax said. "We have a lot of guys returning, about 5 on each side of the ball,  a lot of guys with playing experience, and we look forward to seeing what we have out there."

The Golden Rams will start out the 2016 season August 26 against the Lake Blue Streaks.

After an Ohio High School Athletic Association investigation into the Massillon Washington football program,  the Tigers will be on probation for three years due to alleged recruiting violations.

Director of Commuications for the OHSAA, Tim Stried joined Brad Russell Monday to talk about the situation, what that means for the team, and head football coach Nate Moore.

He said the sanctions affect the school and the OHSAA and their interaction.

"Whenever a school's on probation, there's a heightened awareness that the school's had some violations, and  there's an increase in communication between the OHSAA and the school," he said.

If the Tigers make the playoffs in 2016, Moore is suspended from coaching the team throughout the duration of the playoffs.  The school is also facing a $5,000 fine and some of the penalties extend to some student-athletes as well.

For the full interview with Brad and Tim Stried, click here.

The Ellet Orangemen will be ready to contend for the City Series Title in 2016, balancing toughness and competitiveness on the gridiron.

Longtime coach of the Orangemen, Joe Yost joined Brad Russell on City Series Media Day last week to talk about his team and their makeup heading into the season.

 Yost, who has been patrolling the sidelines at Ellet for 38 years, says the most rewarding part of his job is the relationships he's bulit over the course of his time teaching and coaching.

"It's been the thrill of my life and a great privlege in my life to spend quality time with so many great people," Yost said. 

Yost will have a solid amount of returning talent of of last year's 6-4 team including Marquise Bridges and Garret Haverstic, amongst others.

He says the team has been made aware of being good stewards in the community, and that being a role model for the young kids in Ellet and Akron as a whole is something to take seriously.

"They have that responsibility," he says.

The Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers are ready to lift the lid on the 2016 season, and the RGIII era will officially begin.

Browns beat writer Nate Ulrich from the Akron Beacon Journal joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about how much Robert might play and what the coaching staff is looking for from him.

"They want to see if he can face that live rush and they'll give him a couple series to see what he can do, especially after not playing quarterback for a year," Ulrich said.

Griffin was injured before playing scout team safety for the Redskins last season.

As far as the skill positions, 1st round pick Corey Coleman will not play due to a hamstring injury and former OSU Buckeye quarterback-turned-receiver Terrelle Pryor might not play as well. Ulrich said it'll be a good chance to see the young receivers play.

"They finally addressed the positiion, they have a bunch of young guys, and I like what Rashard Higgins has been able to do in practice."

The Browns and Packers play on 97.5 WONE at 8 p.m.

The Indians are preparing to face the Los Angeles Angels, and during the "dog days of summer" the Tribe knows to make the most of their opportunity to keep their division lead and make a postseason push.

Tribe catcher Chris Giminez joined the Sam Bourquin Show on a "Feel Good Friday" to talk about his role behind the plate and how the Indians have to display the mental fortitude to get past their little mini-slump and push forward.

 "We have an extremely loose clubhouse, we're able to shake off that streak we just had, and that's something I think is never going to go away."

He says that the starting rotation for the Indians is the best he's been around during his career, and they have the potential to dominate every fifth day.

The Indians and the Angels will play at 7:10pm on 1590 WAKR. 

For the full interview with Chris, click here.

The Buchtel Griffins are ready to defend their City Series Title in 2016 and are working hard to improve upon that mark this season.

Buchtel Head Coach Ricky Powers spoke with Brad Russell during City Series Media Days to talk about the Griffins and how they're going to stack up against the rest of the City Series.

"We want to win it all," Powers said. "That's our plan that's what we set to do and our opponents, we want them to know who they're playing against."

The Griffins are coming off a 9-2 season in 2015, in which they did not make the state playoffs. They will face Columbus Beechcroft in the opening week of the season on August 26.

With the NFL season starting up very soon, many people will be setting up their fantasy football lineups and looking to make some hay.

Fantasy football expert Zack Zander, the Original Football Nerd, joined Brad to break down the wide receivers and there's a lot of depth there, including the top of the list, which includes Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown, New York's Odell Beckham Jr, and Atlanta's Julio Jones.

Zack also mentioned some sleepers that could garner you some points in your fantasy league and if you draft them late, they could pay some big dividends down the line.

For next Thursday, Zack will preview the running backs.

The Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns will get the season started at Lambeau tonight for the first preseason game of the year for both teams.

Ryan Wood from the Green Bay Post Gazette/Packers Insider for WSSP joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the Packers as they get ready for the Browns and how the cancelled Hall of Fame game last week in Canton made things a little different for Mike McCarthy's team.

 "It's hard for me to see Brett Hundley playing (backup quarterback)," Wood said. "He's been dealing with a little injury and I don't see him playing and it's hard for me to see Aaron Rodgers playing."

The Pack has had a little bit of misfortune in the preseason as of late, with star receiver Jordy Nelson going down with a season ending injury in the 2nd week of the preseason.

The Browns and Packers will play tonight at 8pm. You can listen on 97.5 WONE.

For the full interview with Ryan Wood, click here.

One of the main stories going around in the baseball world is catcher Francisco Mejia's 48-game hit streak and his manager has a front row seat to a piece of history.

Mark Budzinski, the manager of the Lynchburg Hillcats joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about Francisco's approach as well as the kind of young man he is.

"He's a great young man," Budzinski said. "It's been fun to watch him compete, and he's got a gift of putting the meat of the bat on the ball."

The 20 year old Mejia was one of the Indians' most talked about prospects when he was drafted a couple of years ago, and Buzinski says not only he, but the rest of the Hillcats ballclub prides themselves on coming to the park each day looking to improve and work hard.

For the full interview with Sam and Mark, click here.

The Kenmore Cardinals are ready to roll in 2016, and under coach Kemp Boyd, they look to be competitive as ever in the City Series.

Coach Boyd joined Sam Bourquin during City Series Media Day and he likes what he's seen from his group of young men so far leading up to this season.

"I feel like we have a good football team,  I feel like they've bought in and have been working hard, and as a coach, that's all you can ask for."

Coach Boyd is looking for his team to display maximum effort on the practice field, on game days, and to show a good effort in the community and represent the school and the community with class.

The Cardinals start the season against Cleveland East Tech at home.

The sports world was saddened and shocked to hear of the passing of John Saunders Wednesday morning and one of his former colleagues gave his perspective on the kind of person and professional he was.

ESPN/ABC football analyst Todd Blackledge discussed the passing of Saunders on the Sam Bourquin Show Wednesday afternoon to talk about his time working with John.

"He made me a better broadcaster," Blackledge said. "He was always so calm when there was craziness all around, and he was a great guy to work with and learn from."

Saunders passed away at the age of 61.  Blackledge and Saunders worked together on studio coverage of college football for ABC. 

Blackledge also said Saunders was a good friend, a family man, and helping people in the broadcasting business including Todd, become more proficient at their job and become true professionals. 

The Browns will open up the preseason with the Green Bay Packers on Friday, and with Robert Griffin III being named the starter earlier in the week, one of the main questions out there is: How much should the former Baylor quarterback play in the exhibition season?

Sam, Ben "Heavy D" Genet, and I all kicked this idea around during the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about how much the first stringers, Griffin included, ought to play against the Packers, as well as the other three preseason games.

"I think you go a series," Ben said. "I feel if you go more than a series you're asking for trouble," he continued.  Ben pointed to Griffin's injury history as a reason for concern.  Sam and I looked at a 2-3 series sample of playing time for the first stringers given the fact that in order for an offense to jell, you have to have reps.

"You don't have to score, I don't care about that," Bourquin said. "You have to see what you have, and you can''t do that in three snaps."

Touchdown Tony Mazur, our Browns beat reporter, said that he has to at least get a few series in order for him to have a good sample size of film for the coaches to dissect and evaluate.

 As far as his observations from Browns camp, Mazur says he's seen coach Hue Jackson increase the intensity and hitting in practice.

The Cleveland Indians are prepared for a short series against the Washington Nationals before they begin an 11-game homestand at Progressive Field starting with the Angels Thursday.

Al Pawlowski from Sports Time Ohio and Indians Live host joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the Tribe as they head down this stretch in August.

 He says manager Terry Francona deserves a lot of credit for handling his starters and bullpen amongst other things.

"The other thing  he does extremely well is how he deals with young players," Pawlowski said. "Look at Tyler Naquin, and how he's developed this year."

Naquin is in contention for Rookie of the Year in 2016 after struggling with some injuries early on.

For the full interview with Al, click here.

The Indians will take on the Nationals tonight at 7:05pm on 1590 WAKR.

In Year 2 of the Dan Larlham era, the CVCA Royals are expected to be competitve, hard-nosed, and ready to make some strides in 2016.

Coach Larlham joined us for our Tuesday edition of Camp Days, and he said that 2016 will be a year where he will count on his veterans to lead.

"We're relying on our senior leadership, and finishing the right way, and following their example is something we'll pride ourselves on."

The Royals will have 5-6 returning starters on both sides of the ball, including some two-way players and some guys with a couple years of starting experience.

 He says the season will be dicatated by their effort and making themselves better each day.

The 2016 NFL season got off to a bizarre start as the annual Hall of Fame game was cancelled last night due to unsafe playing conditions at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Sam Bourquin, who was there last night in Canton offered his take on the situation and what his takeaways were from last night's events.

"It was embarassing," Bourquin said. "David Baker (Hall of Fame President) said it was embarassing, and I felt bad for David last night."

Baker made the official announcement to a chorus of boos last night at 8 p.m., with a crowd of over 23,000 in attendance.

Zac Jackson from ProFootballTalk.com spoke with Sam as well about what transpired and how the field looked that night.

"It (the field) looked beautiful, but it didn't look done," Jackson said. "It made a whole bunch of people look silly, including the city of Canton, and ESPN,and it's something that should and could have easily been avoided."

 The fans who attended last night's game can check out refund policies here,  and the Hall's brass says an investigation will be conducted as to what exactly went wrong.

Joe Scalzo from the Canton Repository joined in the discussion as well to offer his take on what happened Sunday and how the Hall and the City of Canton can recover from this.

For the full interview with Zac Jackson, click here.

For the full interview with Joe Scalzo, click here.

Two key members of the Indianapolis Colts organization will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend in Canton, and one former Colt offered his thoughts on the men he took the gridiron with.

Former Colts linebacker Gary Brackett joined the Brad Russell show to talk about Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison being inducted into football's greatest fraternity and what he's doing after a solid 9-year career in pro football.

Gary said that playing for Coach Dungy was a truly special time in his life.

"He had very good values and morals as a coach," Brackett said. "He was very mild mannered, but very prepared and effective, and we always had a great game plan for whoever we were playing."

Brackett helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears. He came into the league with the Colts in 2003. 

Now after retiring from pro football in 2011, Gary is involved with his restaurants and the Gary Brackett Impact Foundation. 

The Revere Minutemen are looking to have a strong season in 2016 and with added expectations and more kids coming out for football, they know they have to bring their A game each and every week.

Mike Murphey, the head coach of the Minutemen, spoke with WAKR at the Suburban League Media Days.

"We're in a good spot," Murphey said. "We've had more kids come out for football then we've ever had."

He says the Suburban League is going to be a tough slate.

"If we are fortunate enough to make it to the playoffs,  hopefully that level of competition (in the Suburban League) will pay off."

On this week's edition of Camp Days, we took a look at the Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders at the Suburban League Media Days last week.

Tim King, head coach of the Rough Riders spoke about what the expectations are for 2016.

 "We're going to be a young team this year, we'll have a lot of sophomores and juniors playing for us this year and we're excited to get this season started and make a run at the Suburban League title."

The Rough Riders are in their second year in the Suburban League and they appreciate the competition and natural rivalries that spawned from the joining of the 15 teams.

The Highland Hornets are coming off a strong 2015 season, and are ready to go in 2016.

Mike Gibbons, the head coach of the Hornets spoke with us at Suburban League Media Day and what it's like to be in such a tough, competitive league.

"You have to be ready to go," Gibbons said.

"Any time we tell our kids we can beat anybody, but if we're not prepared, anybody can beat us," Gibbons explained.

The Hornets will lean on a strong senior class, many of whom played during the 2015 campaign, when they went 6-4 in 2015.

Another famous name in broadcasting is this year's recipient of the 2016 Pete Rozelle Radio and TV Award.

CBS Sportscaster James Brown is this year's award winner, with his distinguished work on the NFL Today on CBS Sports amongst other programs.

Brown joined Brad Russell to talk about the honor, this year's induction class, and some of his memorable moments during his 30-plus year career in broadcasting.

 He even reflected on his time when the power went out in the Superdome during the Super Bowl between the Ravens and the 49ers, calling it "an experience of a lifetime."

Brown will receive the Pete Rozelle Award at the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony on Saturday.

This weekend one of the NFL's best quarterbacks will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and one of his former receivers reflected on this special moment in Canton.

Brett Favre, one of the best in Packer history will have his bust amongst the greats in Canton Saturday night after a 20-year NFL career.

Former NFL veteran, Green Bay Packer wide receiver Greg Jennings joined Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell live on site from Sluggers and Putters in Canal Fulton Wednesday to talk about his time as a teammate with Favre and his life goals post-football.

Greg says he's excited for his friend and former teammate making one of the most important speeches of his life.

"He's probably going to think about all he's experienced not only in his career, but in that span of life," Jennings said.

"I'm looking forward to it, I'm sure he'll do great."

Jennings recently retired from the NFL after a 10-year career, including a Super Bowl championship.  He's currently active with the Greg Jennings Foundation and spending time with his family.

For Greg's full interview, click here.

The Browns are fully immersed in training camp up in Berea, and with Hue Jackson putting his imprint on the team, you can see a change in the attitude and the intensity on the practice field.

Nate Ulrich from the Akron Beacon Journal spoke with Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell live from Sluggers and Putters in Canal Fulton.

Nate said that Coach Jackson will name a starter at quarterback in relatively short time, and Robert Griffin III has become more consistent with time.

"He  to continue to rise to the level of competition," Ulrich said. "He's been up and down, but he's made some plays and gotten a little bit better, but there's a lot that remains to be seen in terms of whether or not he's going to revive his career."

For the full interview of Nate and the guys, click here.

It's almost here, and the football world once again will be converging on Canton, Ohio.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Chief of Staff and VP of Communications Pete Fierle joined Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell to talk about the festivities including the enshrinement and the Hall of Fame Game on Sunday.

 The inductees for the Class of 2016 include former Packer great Brett Favre, Tony Dungy, and Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

Pete also talked about the new additions and changes made to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, and how the folks who will be coming to Canton will be impressed with all the changes surrounding the campus.

For more with Sam, Brad and Pete, click right here.

For Wednesday's edition of Camp Days, we're looking at the 2016 edition of the Copley Indians under head coach Scott Chouinard.

Chouinard joined us at Surburban League Media Days in Cuyahoga Falls last week, and he said that his team is excited to put on the pads and get after it on the football field.

 "One of our top goals is making sure we're healthy all the way through the season,  win one game at a time, an our ultimate goal is to win the Suburban League."

 The Indians won 9 games in 2015, and are looking to make a solid run not only in the league, put in the postseason as well.

 Chouinard also pointed to the tough Suburban League slate and how each week is a tough matchup between well-coached teams with talented and hard-working players.

On this week's edition of Tee it Up Tuesday, Brad Russell decided to head over to Hinckley and check out the Valleaire Golf Club.

Cindy Cole, GM of the golf club joined Brad Russell to talk about the course, how it is not only pleasing to the eye, but also challenging as a public course.

One of the signature holes on the course is 18, complete with the pond to add to its aesthetics.

"The scenic view that you get with the pond and the clubhouse in view, it's quite a beautiful hole," she said. 

The course was founded by the Knights of Columbus in the 60's.

You can find out more about Valleaire on their website.  It is part of this year's Player's Golf Card. 

The Wadsworth Grizzlies are determined to get back to the top of the Suburban League standings and first-year head coach Justin Todd will look to get them there.

Todd spoke during the Suburban League Media Day to discuss how his team is gearing up for the 2016 season.

 "When you see 6 of the 15 teams here were in the playoffs last year, it says it all," Todd said.  "You have to be ready to play each and every week or you'll be disappointed."

As a first-year head coach, Tood says he's looking forward to the challenge of leading the Grizzlies and helping the young men get better each and every day on the practice field and on game night.

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 Nordonia Knights are ready for another season of football in 2016, and he knows that week in and week out, it's going to be a grind.

Jeff Fox, the head coach of the Knights, caught up with Sam Bourquin to talk about his squad and what they're looking to do on the gridiron.

"We put all this time in June and July, and we need to see what we have and correct our mistakes early."

The Knights were 7-3 in 2015 under Coach Fox, and they know the Suburban League schedule readies them for the postseason.

 "We have the Mayfield Wildcats coming up in week 1 and we want to get better each week so we're prepared for Hudson in week 4."

Nordonia HS Preview Video with Sam Bourquin and Jeff Fox from Aaron Coleman on Vimeo.

A flurry of trade activity converged on Major League baseball over the past few days, and the Indians made some moves, acquiring Andrew Miller from New York and Brandon Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays.

J.J. Cooper, Managing Editor from Baseball America joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the big trades that not only went on with the Tribe, but with other teams as well.

The Texas Rangers also made some moves as well, including Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltran.  Cooper said the Rangers' agressiveness put them in position to make a move.

 "The Rangers just gave themselves a significantly better shot of making the World Series, which is the goal for everyone," Cooper said.

As far as the hometown Indians,  Cooper seems to think they have a clear path to the playoffs and they did enough to make a World Series run.

The Cleveland Indians have made a couple of moves in order to make a post season push and they almost acquired one of the game's better catchers in Jonathan Lucroy.

Paul Hoynes from the Cleveland Plain Dealer joined Brad Russell to talk about the deal for Andrew Miller to help bolster the bullpen.

Hoynes said the Miller deal was a great signing by the Tribe.

"This is a guy who can close, he can set up, this is the piece they were missing in the bullpen, and it's the perfect fit right now," he said. 

Hoynes also touched on the Jonathan Lucroy deal-that-wasn't and why that didn't go through as planned. You can catch the rest of Paul's interview here, and you can catch the Tribe and Twins on 1590 WAKR. 

The Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers are going to be leaning on their senior class to make some things happen during the 2016 season.

Sean Flaherty, head coach of the Black Tigers joined Aaron Coleman to preview his ballclub this season as part of the Suburban League Media Day luncheon.

He says his squad will be prepared for the physical and competitive nature of the league.

"Our goals and expectations as a team are to reach our full potential as a team and leave the field each day a better team," Flaherty said.

Some of the players expected to make contributions for the Black Tigers include Dakota Dobbins,  Sam Forbes, and Nick Siegferth, amongst many others.

Cuyahoga Falls High School FB Preview from Aaron Coleman on Vimeo.

The high school football season is just weeks away and many teams are looking to improve off of last year's success and one of those teams that is looking to do just that is the Barberton Magics.

Tony Gotto spoke with me during Suburban League Media Day to talk about his squad, the tough Suburban League slate, and some of the key young men who will be playing under the lights for the Magics this year.

 "We've had a great offseason and we're looking forward to the season," he said.

The Magics were 7-3 in 2015 and are continuing to build their program with tough kids who play disciplined football.

Barberton High School FB Preview from Aaron Coleman on Vimeo.

The excitement is in the air for baseball fans in Northeast Ohio as Andrew Miller was acquired from the New York Yankees via trade Sunday.

Sports Anchor Hakem Dermish from News Channel 5  chatted with Sam Bourquin Monday about the game-changing lefty and what he brings to the ballclub.

Hakem said he knows the Indians gave up a lot to get Miller, but in order for the Tribe to be playing in the postseason and succeeding in the postseason, they had to make a move.

In addition to Miller, the Indians picked up Jonathan Lucroy from Milwaukee, but he vetoed his no-trade clause and ended up staying with the Brewers.

With the trade deadline coming up at 4 p.m. Eastern, Dermish believes the Tribe's not done dealing.

"I'd love to see them add a bat like (Carlos) Beltran,  I think he adds pop to the lineup."

For the full interview with Hakem, click here.

Here's the complete list of high school football teams we are previewing for this week's edition of Camp Days! This week we take a look at the Suburban League! Schools and times are listed below!

Look for complete stories and videos of the coaches and players on WAKR.net.

Monday August 1

One of the area's better teams will be getting ready to strap it up and hit the gridiron for the 2016 football season.

Dan Reardon, the head coach of the Canton McKinley Bulldogs joined Sammy B to talk about his team and how they are preparing themselves for the season.

"We're going to be a pretty veteran team," Reardon said. "We have right around 30 lettermen coming back and we have 8 guys coming back on defense, so  that's going to be a strength."

One of the key returnees on offense is quarterback Dominque Robinson, who is committed to play his college football at Miami-OH.

Reardon says his signal caller is a good leader on and off the football field.

"He was voted as a captain as a junior and it will probably be a unanimous vote this season," Reardon said. "He's a good student and a good kid,  and he still has a tremendous amount of upside as a quarterback."

One of football's greats will be the keynote speaker for the 4th annual Wadsworth Youth Football scholarship dinner.

Former Buckeye, Massillon Tiger, and NFL linebacker Chris Spielman joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the event,  the message he likes to get across to young people, and a little bit about his new gig with FOX Sports as an NFL analyst.

Chris says its never too early for kids to learn great life lessons and implement discipline in their lives.

"We as parents and as coaches have to order and demand that standard as best we can," Spielman said.  "We have to point out when they fall short of that standard and when they meet it."

Spielman will be speaking at the Wadsworth Youth Football dinner at the Galaxy Restaurant beginning at 6 p.m.

For the full interview with Chris and Sam, click right here.

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.

Are the Indians a contender or a pretender as they approach Monday's trade deadline? Can they solidify themselves as a player in the AL Central division and make a deep postseason run?

Jordan Bastian, Indians reporter for MLB.com answered these questions and more with Sam Bourquin Thursday. 

He seems to think they're a contender.

"I think they would be great if they got their foot on the gas and made a move before the trade deadline (Monday)," he said.  The Tribe is currently in first place in the AL Central and could be looking for some bullpen help or another catcher.

The Indians have the day off today before starting a three-game set with the Oakland A's  at Progressive Field.

As the college football preview rolls along, Brad traveled down to Fort Worth, to preview the TCU Horned Frogs. 

Former Horned Frog letterman John Denton, color commentator for the TCU football team joined the Brad Russell show to talk about the Frogs in 2016 and what Gary Patterson's team is capable of doing in 2016.

One of the key positions to watch is the transition from Trevone Boykin to former Texas A & M Aggie Kenny Hill at the quarterback position.

"A lot of people forgot about him (Hill), Denton said.  "In his first game with A&M, he threw for over 500 yards, he got injured, got in Kevin Sumlin's doghouse, and got in some trouble and never saw the field again."

Now that Hill has transferred to TCU, Denton believes the signal caller can get back to his "Kenny Trill" days and put some points on the board. 

"He runs just as well as Trevone Boykin, and his arm is more accurate," Denton says. 

The Cleveland Indians fell to the Washington Nationals 4-1 this afternoon at Progressive Field, and with the trade deadline coming up Monday, the Tribe could be wheeling and dealing. 

Zack Meisel from Cleveland.com joined the Sam Bourquin Show Wednesday to talk about the quick series with the Nats and if they could make a move to bolster their roster as they try to make a deep postseason run.

 "I think they're still talking to Milwaukee about a whole host of players, either Lucroy or some outfielders," Meisel said.  "However, they're still in the market for a reliever, so they're talking to some teams about bullpen help."

The Indians have the day off Thursday and then they return to Progressive Field to start a three-game set with the Oakland A's

With top prospects Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier being sent to AAA Columbus, things are looking solid for the Indians farm system.

Carter Hawkins, Director of Player Development for the Indians joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the youngsters in the system, making sure they're on schedule with their development.

 "It's been a cool story for both of them, very similar in a lot of ways, very different in a lot of ways," Hawkins said.

"Both of those guys are moving relatively quickly for their age, relative to other players, and we feel like they're both in the right place developmentally to improve."

For the full interview with Carter Hawkins, click here.

The Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals will be squaring off at the corner of Carniege and Ontario tonight in what is going to be an exceptional pitching matchup between Danny Salazar and Gio Gonzalez.

Tribe broadcaster Jim Rosenhaus joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the two clubs and what the offense needs to do to get back on track.

"We need to see what we can do against quality starting pitching,"  Rosenahaus said.

 The Tribe was swept by the Orioles over the weekend, and after the off day, they are ready to roll with some home cooking.

 Tomorrow's matchup pits Carlos Carrasco against Steven Strasburg Wednesday afternoon. First Pitch tonight at 7:10pm with a 6:37 first pitch on 1590 WAKR.

For Jim's full interview with Sam, click here.

Today on the College Football Preview, we head to South Bend as Brad talks a little Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Mike Frank from IrishSportsDaily joined the show Monday to talk about the Fighting Irish and what Brian Kelly is looking to do in his seventh year with the program.

Frank said that the quarterback battle between DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire will be a key one, but Kizer could have the upper hand due to his big frame and dual-threat ability.

He said that replacing the skill postion players on offense is going to be tough, including former Golden Domer,  Will Fuller, who is now in the NFL.

"You can't replace a Will Fuller," Frank said. "You'll have to figure out a way to divide up his production, and it'll have to come from a bunch of players."

Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in January and are coming off a 10-3 season in 2015. 

One of the local athletes who will be competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics is former Jackson Polar Bear Carlin Isles, the fastest man in rugby.

Isles joined Brad Russell to talk about transitioning into rugby, his background in football iand track, and how he learned the sport and what's on his agenda as he heads to Brazil.

He says it's been a learning process as far as rugby, reading the pitchers and learning the tackling techniques.

 "I was so driven and dedicated to make it, and I'm still learning, and you're always learning when it comes to rugby," he says.

He says rugby gives him a platform to inspire people and tell his story.

The team will head to Florida tomorrow to get some preliminary matches in before they head to Rio to compete in the Olympics.