What an opening night in the playoffs for Lake County and Akron!  The Captains won 10-4, and the Aeros won 6-5 in 12 innings behind a HUGE night from mega-prospect Matt LaPorta.  In this latest edition of Happenings, Tony recaps the playoff wins and focuses on AA Akron, with all kinds of info on the Aeros and snippets from conversations Tony had with many of the players on a recent trip there.

The Tribe had a chance to deal a solid blow to the White Sox playoffs hopes and sweep them out of Cleveland yesterday afternoon, but alas, it was not to be.  The Pale Hoes (playing without five regulars) broke a close game open with a fifth inning home run from Nick Swisher and a sixth inning job from Alexei Ramirez.  In today's B-List, Buff breaks down yesterday's loss, and also offers up a thorough statistical analysis of Jeremy Sowers, who looked good before surrendering the two crushing home runs.

Three days Browns fans.  Three days and the season is here.  And the Browns winless preseason, Romeo's history in openers, and a very good Dallas Cowboy football team have Browns fans a little spooked as we head into Sunday's nationally televised opener.  But fear not, the voice of reason Bob Fergus is here.  He says not to read too much into the preseason.  And that while there are some things to be concerned about, this is a playoff football team.

It probably isn't wise to draw conclusions after one game, but if what we saw out of the Wolverines on Saturday is indicative of what we'll see the rest of the year, it's going to be a long and painful season in Ann Arbor. In its first game running Rich Rodriguez's zone-read offense, Michigan looked tentative, slow, and un-athletic. Neither of the two Wolverine quarterbacks who played on looked particularly suited to execute the new style of offense. The speedy playmakers that defined Rich Rod's teams at West Virginia are nowhere to be found in Ann Arbor.  Jesse thinks it's going to be a long year for Wolverine fans, and writes about it in his latest.

Cleveland Indians Single-A affiliate Lake County is ready to kick things off tonight in the South Atlantic League (SAL) playoffs.  On the hill making the start in the crucial playoff opener for the Captains will be 19-year old right-hander Joey Mahalic. Mahalic is a 32nd round pick in the 2007 Draft out of high school in Oregon, and in just over a year has moved swiftly through the system putting up some impressive numbers at a young age.  Tony had a chance to talk to him on a recent trip out to Lake County.

After an ugly weekend series with the Mariners that brought an abrupt halt to the teams ten game winning streak, the Tribe got things back on track in the spoiler rol this week with two nice wins over the White Sox.  Monday's game saw Cliff Lee get his 20th win with a five hit shutout.  And yesterday, the good guys banged out 13 hits and got five solid innings from Fausto en route to a 9-3 win.  In today's B-List, Buff talks about these games, and also how burnt out he is from covering this team all season for us.

Winning 20 games shouldn't be this big of a deal. But when Cliff Lee toed the rubber on Monday night with a 19-2 record, it was a big deal. A really big deal. A pins-and-needles in the ninth inning big deal.  It's been 34 years since an Indians starting pitcher has won 20 games, and doing it in today's environment for starters is a much more impressive feat.  Erik Cassano talks about Cliff Lee's landmark season in his latest column for us.

Re-signing Derek Anderson and Jamal Lewis, acquiring a new defensive line, the draft, OTAs, minicamps, training camp - it was all for the next 17 weeks.  Heading into the regular season and Sunday's big matchup against the Cowboys, Jeff Walcoff uses this week's column to tie up some loose ends.  He comments on the final roster cuts, talks about the Browns week one opponent, and makes some predictions for the coming season.

Clifton Phifer Lee.  20-2, 2.32 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 149 K, 27 BB in 194 1/3 IP.  Simply amazing.  And all this after being an afterthought to the Indians front office and to most of their fans heading into this season.  In his latest, Paulie C checks in from the in-laws in Milwaukee and takes a moment to appreciate what C.P. Lee has accomplished just one year after his disastrous 2007 campaign. 

Well, it's over.  The preseason is over.  For months and months, we eagerly await its arrival.  And, when it gets here, we can't wait for it to end.  And today, in his final preseason edition of The Browns Outsider, Hiko provides us comprehensive analysis of the Bears game, and also the preseason as a whole in hindsight.  Hiko also gives us his predictions for thie coming season and previews Browns/Cowboys for us.  I love this column.

When the Cleveland Browns entered training camp, it seemed like the stars were aligning more or less perfectly.  An armful of expectations borne of a 10 win season in which they didn't make the playoffs greeted them.  No first, second or third round picks assured them that they'd have no holdouts.  The starting quarterback already was firmly entrenched.  In short, quiet six or so weeks beckoned, allowing sufficient time for preparation for what is clearly a rough first few weeks of the season.  It's interesting how a winless preseason can change all that.

The Buckeyes rolled, but not without a scare, as Beanie Wells went down with a foot injury.  Michigan wasn't as lucky, as The DickRod Era started with a home loss to the Utah Utes.  And the Tribe, they had a ten game winning streak going into the weekend and proceeded to get swept by the worst team in the American League.  Peeks talks about all of these events in The Weekend Wrap, and also starts the countdown to Browns/Cowboys.

We've recieved a lot of positive feedback on Bob Fergus's installment of fantasy football pieces this August, and he finishes up the series today with his rankings for tight ends, kickers, and team defenses.  Bob also starts the piece with some notes on some of the latest transgressions at other positions in his quest to help prepare our readers for their coming drafts.

Yesterday's season opener for the Buckeyes had no shortage of drama.  The offense scored on each of its six first half possessions and the Beanie Wells Heisman campaign was off to a solid start as he rambled for 90 yards and a score.  The Terrelle Pryor Era had a very promising beginning as the talented freshman signal caller looked great in leading the team downfield with ease.  Then in the second half, Beanie was carried off the field with a foot injury and the Buckeye defense held in there for a shutout of YSU.  Buckeye Dan recaps the opener for us.

You'll likely hear a lot of "slate gets wiped clean" talk out of Berea in the next week or so, as the Browns are busy (and maybe literally) licking their wounds after the team's first winless preseason since 1972.  The games in the exhibition season aren't for real, but the issues surrounding the team are, and the consequences can be. With training camp over, the exhibition season crumpled up and thrown away and the Cowboys squarely in the crosshairs,  Erik Cassano gives us some other things to chew on over the next week.

For Mitch's latest assignment, we dispatched him out to the theaters to review "Tropic Thunder" for our readers.  The film stars Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film when their fed-up writer and director decide to abandon them in the middle of the jungle, forcing them to fight their way out.  What did Mitch think of the film?  Is it worth a trip to the cinema?  Find out in his latest review for us ...

It's the opening Saturday of the college football season, which means it's time once again for the Furls Preseason Craptacular.  This is by no means your typical season preview.  Furls doesn't make bold predictions based on incomplete depth charts and historical trends.  He keeps it light, keeps it fun, and tells us how he thinks this college football season will unfold.  Furls prediction track record has been great these last three years, and I hope he's on the money again this season.

Ohio State released its two/three deep roster for the Youngstown State game this last Monday.  With so many returning starters there really was not a lot of room for controversy or major shake-ups yet there was some.   On the morning of the Buckeyes first game, Furls takes a look at the Buckeye season opening depth chart, giving us his thoughts and analysis on some of the more controversial decisions made by Tressel.