By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Editor
QUARTERBACK Brady Quinn looked solid in his debut for the Cleveland Browns Thursday night. Now if he could only play defense as well.
As I sat in the Cleveland Dawg Pound Thursday with son Alex, grandson Garrett and brother Paul, there was disgust all around as the defense twice let leads slip away in a loss to Denver. But even though everyone realizes that the season is over for the Browns, the fans — at least those who weren’t comatose from hours of tailgating then drinking at the game — still were somewhat upbeat because they knew they had seen the future.
Quinn actually looks like a quarterback. He feels the rush pressure, he moves around, he can scramble and he doesn’t always lock in on one receiver like his predecessor Derek Anderson. Actually make it several predecessors since the Browns returned to Cleveland.
The only knock was that the coaches didn’t call any deep patterns to let him throw down the field. Of course that may have something to do with the fact that many of the receivers — at least Braylon Edwards — have a tendency to drop passes.
But while Quinn is the future of the Browns, Romeo Crennel isn’t. Cleveland’s coach and his staff seem to be clueless on both offense and defense. And some of the game-time decisions leave fans scratching their heads.
Bill Cowher, are you busy the rest of the season and the next 5 years?
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking like one of the teams to beat in the AFC. Despite a slew of injuries to key players, the Steelers take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. (Hey, that might make a good slogan for a watch company.)
However, and this is a big HOWEVER, the offensive line has been so porous that Ben Roethlisberger may have few body parts left after the season. The good news is that Pittsburgh has a solid backup in Byron Leftwich.
The Steelers today are going up against another team hampered by injuries, the Indianapolis Colts. Former Sharon High star Marlon Jackson, the talented young cornerback of the Colts, is out for the rest of the season and other Colts are sidelined.
Pittsburgh owns the Colts. The Colts are unable to run the ball, so all the pressure is on Peyton Manning. And that pressure will be great. He could take a Big Ben-like pounding today.
Watch for the Steelers to roll, 27-13.
My predictions this season are as bad as the Browns defense. Maybe that 10-second study on each game isn’t quite enough. Last week the picks went 5-9 for an overall mark of 64-65. Here are the rest of this week’s pick (betting line in parentheses just for fun):
Philly (-3) over NY Giants
Chicago (plus 3) over Tennessee
Buffalo (plus 41/2) over New England
New Orleans (plus 1) over Atlanta
Minnesota (-21/2) over Green Bay
Baltimore (plus 2) over Houston
NY Jets (-8) over St. Louis
Miami (-9) over Seattle
San Diego (-14) over Kansas City
Detroit (plus 61/2) over Jacksonville
Carolina (-81/2) over Oakland
Arizona (-91/2) over San Fran
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SPORTVIEW: Browns fans get glimpse of future
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WM baseball, Sharpsville and Wilmington softball playing for D-10 titles
Sharpsville and Wilmington softball teams and the West Middlesex baseball squad return to the diamond today to compete for District 10 championships.
SOFTBALL
Class A Championship
Coach Bob Zikovich's Sharpsville Blue Darlings (15-2) battle a tough Saegertown (18-2) squad at 2 p.m. today at Penn State-Behrend in Erie. -
PIAA Track Notebook: KC's Wareham made round trips to "The Ship"
The most impressive race during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships did not take place at Shippensburg University, nor will you read its results in any newspaper on or any web site.
To be sure, it was a race against time, but not in the sense of being defined by a coach’s hand-held device, nor Seth Grove Stadium’s scoreboard clock. -
Hickory girls grab PIAA Class AA Track team title
SHIPPENSBURG — This news bulletin just in: Mercer County athletes dominated during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships.
Nothing new there, you say? Well, perhaps you’re correct, considering how well the area aggregation annually accounts itself on Memorial Day Weekend at Shippensburg University. Therefore it was not surprising how much hardware was hauled home — once again. -
PIAA Track: Hickory's Bell, Lubarski, Regginello grab gold
SHIPPENSBURG — There’s a big difference between being seeded 1st and finishing 1st — Matt Bell can attest to that.
After settling for silver last year, the Hickory High senior put the shot 59 feet, 6 3/4 inches Friday afternoon to garner gold at the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University. -
WM to play for D-10 baseball title; GC, Sharon, Sharpsville lose
Four area baseball teams were in action on Friday in the District 10 semifinals as the squads battled to compete for District 10 championships on Monday.
West Middlesex rolled past error-prone Linesville, 8-0, in Class A action at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.
In Class AA, both Sharon and Sharpsville suffered 2-1 losses. The Tigers fell to Saegertown at Ainsworth Field in Erie while the Blue Devils lost to Titusville at SRU.
In Class AAA, the Grove City Eagles were denied the chance to defend their D-10 crown after suffering a 6-3 loss to Warren at SRU. -
Farrell volleyball falls in D-10 semifinals
The Farrell High boys volleyball team suffered a 2-0 (25-15, 25-12) loss to Saegertown on Thursday night in the District 10 semifinals at Meadville Area High’s “House of Thrills.”
“This was the first year we made it out of the first day (pool play) of the playoffs,” said Steelers’ coach Dan Dragicevic. “I’d like to cite my seniors (Eric Demus, Anthony Perkins, Jaylen Chambers and Lawrence Hughes). -
Locals ready to go for gold at Shippensburg
Now that Mercer County is on the map, it’s incumbent upon the area aggregation to chart a course for the ultimate destination — Seth Grove Stadium’s medals stand — during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships.
Led by West Middlesex High sprinter Clay Allen, many Mercer Countians are seeded at or near the top of their respective events for the annual 2-day marathon at Shippensburg University, which commences 9 a.m. Friday. It will continue beginning 9 a.m. Saturday. -
D-10 Playoffs: Local teams go 6-for-6
ä Grove City 1, Harbor Creek 0 — At Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park, what the Grove City Eagles couldn’t accomplish themselves, the Harbor Creek Huskies unwittingly did for them.
Unable to plate runs themselves, Torin Smith scored the Eagles’ only run when teammate Tyler Devine’s seeming inning-ending pop-up to left field was dropped by Harbor Creek’s Chris Merritt in the bottom of the 7th inning of Tuesday’s tourney opener. -
Great year for WM track; local qualifiers listed
It’s been a big year for the Big Reds.
Though there’s no official documentation, the 2011-12 academic year may be the most successful in West Middlesex High’s athletic annals. -
SPORTVIEW: Local names Kroko, Lutz, Kareklas in news elsewhere
IT’S ALWAYS GOOD to hear of former area people who have gone on to athletic success in other areas, or the family of former area residents. Following are a few of those stories:
ä Bob and Betty Kroko of Sharon are avid followers of professional baseball. No, not necessarily the Pittsburgh Pirates or Cleveland Indians like many local fans.
The Krokos keep a close eye on the Austria Major League! - More Sports Headlines
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