The Canton Central Catholic Crusaders are making progress throughout the season, gutting out wins despite injury and illness.

Coach Matt Creamer joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about his hoop squad ahead of their matchup tonight against fellow Stark County nemesis Perry. 

"It's going to be an emotional backyard rivalry type game," Creamer said.

He said that if his team plays to their strengths, they can compete against anybody.

"We seem to do things methodically and by design to stay in the game, so if we have quailty ball possessions andget some stops defensively, we can beat a lot of teams."

The Crusaders will play Perry tonight and wrap things up against Northwest for Senior Night.

Friday night the Canton McKinley Bulldogs will be taking on St. Vincent-St. Mary in their regular-season finale at the Fieldhouse before tournament play begins.

Head coach of the Bulldogs' boys basketball team Rick Hairston joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about his team being prepared for the Irish and how his team is coming together on the hardwood.

"We got a lot done today," coach Hairston said. "We went through a little stretch where it was pretty tough for us."

The Bulldogs lost to Hoover and Lake, losing their shot at winning the Federal League title, but have reeled off five wins in a row, including an 89-74 win over Warren Harding most recently.

When it comes to STVM, Hairston says the young men are excited to play the Irish and are prepared for the challenge ahead.

 "They're an outstanding ball club, they shoot it very well, and they're very athletic," said Hairston. "We just have to make sure we get out and guard the perimeter."

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.

The Lake Blue Streaks are co-Federal League Champs, and they are playing solid basketball heading down the stretch of the regular season.

Tommy McBride, the heac coach of the boys' team at Lake, joined the Sam Bourquin Show Monday to talk about his club and what they've been doing this season.

"We've been really engaged, "said McBride. "We've had sophomores playing like juniors and seniors playing like college players, and when that happens, magical things take place."

The Blue Streaks are co-champions along with Jackson High School. They will have two big matchups with Louisville High School on Tuesday and Firestone High School on Friday.

McBride says the Blue Streaks are riding the hot shooting hand of Chandler Vaudrin, and he says that along with Vaudrin, some of the other young men are stepping up their collective game.

The North High School Vikings have a brand new football coach, and he is looking to instill toughness, discipline, and a sense of tying the program into the community.

Sonil Haslam joined the Sam Bourquin Show Monday afternoon to talk about how he's going to put his imprint on the program.

He said that he's ready for the challenge of being a head coach.

"I'm pretty excited," says Haslam. "We have to reach out and embrace what we have, and there's tons to do, trying to get things right for the kids."

The City Series is a grind, and with the schools, Haslam says the same group of kids walk the halls at North and the other schools within Akron, so it's all about garnering support and instilling pride in the school and in the community in regards to the football program.

"It's all about peaking interest and getting guys involved," he says.

 Coach Haslam also states that  support from the school, the North Hill community, and the district is important for building the program as well.  Haslam, graduate of East HS, has coached at St. Vincent-St. Mary, Firestone HS, and Archibishop Hoban HS as an assistant.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a good spot heading into the All-Star Break, and coming off their win last night against the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, things are on the upswing.

Cavaliers beat writer Rick Noland from the Medina Gazette joined Aaron Coleman in the Average Sports Show Thursday to talk about the Wine and Gold, and ways they can improve on their play on the court.

"The Cavs are good health-wise, Matthew Dellavedova missed a few games with the leg injury, but he should be okay," said Noland.

With Kyrie Irving, he seems to have his legs underneath him after missing 24 games with a leg injury, but after averaging 32 a game the last few games, Rick says Irving appears to be 100 percent.

"Tyronn Lue said after the game last night that Kyrie's all the way back," Noland said. "One of the encouraging things about his game is that he's only taking a few dribbles and then pulling up and shooting the ball."

Noland says he still has some worries about this team and he can't quite put his finger on it.

"Right now I just don't think they're good enough, consistently enough to beat the Spurs or Warriors in a seven-game series," Rick said.

"It just seems harder than it should be many nights."

Heading into the State Tournament, the Wadsworth Lady Grizzlies have been playing well and continue their dominance in the Suburban League.

Andy Booth, the head coach of the Lady Grizzlies joined the Sam Bourquin Show on a Thursday to talk about his club and their win over Nordonia last night 57=35.

"The mood right now is pretty good," Booth said.  "It was a great defensive effort from our kids, we played very well."

The Lady Griz are 14-0 in the Suburban League for the 2015-16 year and the seniors for this years class have never lost a Suburban League game.

"We're fortunate to just have a group of kids that just know how to play basketball," Booth said. "We know how to adjust on the fly and we're a cerebral team."

One of the teams to watch in area high school basketball is the undefeated Copley Indians, who are coming off a win against North Tuesday.

Mark Dente, the head coach of the Indians joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about his club and what they've been doing to stay healthy, keep improving, and look for ways to improve on the mental aspect of the game.

They will be playing the Aurora Greenmen tomorrow, but over the last couple weeks, many players have stepped up for Copley.

"Austin Brenner, our junior guard has been putting up some amazing stats, with 19 points against Highland," Dente said.

Even with an undefeated record, the Indians still have some more work to do.

"We're not very big, so we'll have to get out and run, work on our rebounding, and we'll be fine."

 Copley is currently the #2 seed in the Division I Alliance district.

The ongoing saga with Johnny Manziel continues, and it appears as though the former Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A & M will go down as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history because it appears he can't shake his demons.

WFAA's Dale Hansen joined me to talk about Manziel and the downward spiral that he's been on, and what can possibly save him.

Hansen says he doesn't quite understand the public's fascination with "Johnny Football."

"Johnny Manziel to me is the Kim Kardashian of the NFL," Hansen explained. "He's famous, but he hasn't done anything, and I happen to be one of those 'old guys' who doesn't understand it," he says.

He says that quarterbacks and other NFL players have struggled in their early years, but worked hard to be great. Hansen also says that the drinking and the partying for which Manziel has been known for has overshadowed what he's been accomplishing as a football player and he's the only one who can reverse his fortunes.

 Dale Hansen was one of the reporters who broke the story on SMU's cheating scandal in the 1980's. One of the players at the center of the scandal was David Stanley, who succumbed to drugs and alcohol abuse. Dale says he sees some eerie parallels between Manziel and Stanley.

The Northeastern Buckeye Conference announced this week that they will disband in 2 years and Louisville High School will be looking for a new home.

NBC Commissioner Jim Carmichael joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the move and what it means for the schools involved including Louisville.

 "The league bylaws say the league will be in place for two years, and then they will break apart," Carmichael said.

The other schools in the NBC are Alliance, Marlington, Carrollton, Canton South, Minerva, Salem, and West Branch.

Carmichael, who was not at the meeting when NBC officials made the vote to disband says he's not sure of the future of Louisville being in a new league. (Writer's Note) Calls to Louisville athletic administration were not returned as of Friday.

Carmichael said in talking to other league officials the main reason for the move was competitive balance across the sports, mainly football.