We have just rung in the New Year of 2025 and for Cleveland sports teams it should create another group of lasting memories. 2024 had many to remember as all three major sports teams made it to the postseason. Let’s look back at a few of the best moments for these teams.

No. 5 The Cleveland Browns made it to the playoffs behind the arm of QB Joe Flacco

Who will ever forget what quarterback Joe Flacco did to help propel the Browns into the postseason a year ago? The team won four games in a row to finish the season, and it earned them a playoff game against the Houston Texans.

Unfortunately, the celebrations ended as quickly as they had started as Flacco threw two interceptions in that game that led to touchdowns and the Browns have never been the same since.

No. 4 The Cleveland Cavaliers start 2024 season with a record-breaking 15-0 record

The Cavs are currently sitting atop the NBA with an amazing 29-4 record. They’ve won eight games in a row and started the season on a 15-0 tear that broke a franchise record for best start to a season. It certainly doesn’t look like the team is slowing down. The season is lengthy, but the Cavs are in great shape under the leadership of new head coach Kenny Atkinson.

No. 3: Lane Thomas HR to start the playoff run of the Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians made it back to the playoffs this past season and boy did they get started with a bang! Lane Thomas, a player the team traded for late in the season helped Cleveland get off to a fast start in Game 1 of the Divisional Series against the Detroit Tigers with a 3-run homer to cap a five-run first inning.

No. 2: The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a classic “Snow Globe” game

The current Browns team hasn’t had much to cheer about but the game against the Steelers this past November was a classic. It began snowing at the start of the game and continued throughout making for some fun in the snow highlights. Cleveland was able to come back late in this game after giving up the lead. The journeyman quarterback Jameis Winston made a heroic leap into the endzone to score the go-ahead touchdown to put an exclamation point on the win.

No. 1: David Frye mammoth Game 5 performance in ALDS against Tigers

David Frye had several huge moments during these past games of the Guardian’s postseason run. He won Game 3 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees with a 2-run homer in the 10th inning.

However, to reach that point in the playoffs, Frye had done even more in the previous series against the Tigers.

It was the top of the 7th inning in Detroit in Game 4 and the Guardians were down 3-2 facing elimination. With two outs and two strikes on him, Frye blasted a huge homerun to left that put the team on top 4-3. It saved the season for Cleveland. He later put down a squeeze bunt in the 9th to give Cleveland a needed insurance run. It was a moment that not soon be forgotten.

So, what are some of your favorite Cleveland sports memories for this past year?

The post Top 5 Cleveland Sports Stories of 2024 appeared first on NEO Sports Insiders.

It’s the battle of Ohio, as the Cleveland Browns will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Both teams have struggled this season. The Browns have a putrid 3-11 record, while the Bengals have a 6-8 record, still clinging to an outside shot at a playoff berth.

These two teams played several weeks ago in Cleveland. In that game, Deshaun Watson went down with an injury, probably ending his career as a Brown. Cincinnati won that game, so Cleveland will look for some revenge on Sunday.

Here’s this week’s first and goal report where we tackle more issues and questions for our beloved Browns. 

1st and goal: Myles Garrett speaks up and puts the Browns on notice

Myles Garrett, the Brown’s best defensive player and leader of the pack spoke the other day about his future with the Browns. He certainly indicated that he wants to continue his career as a Cleveland Brown, but emphasized the need for Cleveland to get on the same page as an organization and not go backward and have some type of rebuild. 

The elephant in the room, obviously is Deshaun Watson, whose contract has taken this franchise back several seasons. 

There was no mention of Watson by Garrett in his presser, but he wants to make sure that the Browns try to move forward and win now.

Garrett’s in his eighth season with the team and certainly a player that the Browns would need if they want to seriously contend for a Super Bowl.

There are a lot of indications that Watson will not be here with the Browns, or at least on the field of play again, even if he continues to be under contract with the team. 

So the next steps will be determining who the Browns bring in to help quarterback the team in the immediate future and what they do in this draft. 

Hopefully, owner Jimmy Haslem and general manager, Andrew Berry are hearing Garrett’s words of advice and will push to continue to win now.

2nd and goal: Will DTR be able to give the Browns offense a spark?

The Browns offense has been pretty pathetic for most of the season. They did get a spark temporarily when James Winston came in after Watson and the team started scoring more points.

But for this team to get over 20 points has been a chore all season long. So can Dorian Thompson Robinson help reverse the team’s fortunes? He’s propelled this team win games in the past. Can he do it again?

I think he can and will use his skill set including his ability to run with the ball and create positive moments on offense. 

The team will be without Nick Chubb, who broke his foot last week but they will have Jerome Ford taking most of the carries in this game. He did have a nice long touchdown run a week ago. Will he be able to carry that momentum into this game against the Bengals who have given up a lot of rushing yards to teams this season?

Also, this Bengals defense has given up 27 points or more over the last six games. So, what we’re saying Browns fans is that we got a chance!  If DTR makes good decisions and doesn’t turn the ball over and has time in the pocket then the Browns might win this one.

3rd and goal: Kirk Cousins anyone?

There’s been a lot of talk this week about the veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins potentially being available to the Cleveland Browns this off-season. Cousins has been the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons this season but had struggled the last few weeks. He was benched recently.

His contract could be one that the Falcons release later this spring and Cousins could come at a very inexpensive price of around $1 million if he were to consider coming here to Cleveland.

Cousins worked with Kevin Stefanski when he was the offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings several years ago. So there is a relationship between the two already

I would not be surprised if this actually happens and Cousins is the team’s starting quarterback. 

I also think the Browns will consider drafting a quarterback in the upcoming draft this spring.

There are other veteran quarterbacks out there too including Sam Darnold, the current quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. He could potentially could be available. Or Cleveland could bring back James Winston at a pretty inexpensive price so stay tuned!

4th and goal: A Domed Stadium in Brown’s future will be a franchise-altering moment for the good

There has been a lot of discussion about the new domed stadium projected to be built in 2029. It will be built in Brook Park a suburb of Cleveland. While there are many who oppose this next step in the franchise’s history it makes sense for too many reasons to not build it.

It’s getting built and Browns fans should try to unite around this new state-of-the-art facility

This past week architects of the planned dome described some of the unique features of the building. 

Among many things, it will have the masses of fans in very close proximity to the field in the lower bowl. The design contain an upper deck  but limited compared to most stadiums today.

According to the plans, this will allow for large concourses around the venue and then become a destination for many fans for a variety of events, including football.

The new Dawg Pound is said to be set at a 34° incline to where the fans are literally feeling like they’re on top of the players on the field. I’m not sure I’m prepared as a fan to sit in that location. But it should make for some intimidation and a benefit to the home team.

I hope the fans over the next several years can wrap their heads around this new beautiful venue. And continue to support the team that you’ve always loved.

The post Browns 1st and Goal Report: Myles Garrett speaks up…hope Browns are listening  appeared first on NEO Sports Insiders.

CLEVELAND, OH – The Baseball Writers Association of America today announced Cleveland Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt has been selected the American League Manager of the Year, beating out Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s A.J. Hinch with 27 first-place votes.

Vogt, 40, guided Cleveland to its 12^th American League Central Division title and second-best record in the AL, posting a mark of 92-69 (.571) in his inaugural season at the helm. Opening the season with the youngest roster in MLB (27.161) and seven players making their first Opening Day roster, Cleveland sported a 16-game improvement from 2023’s mark of 76-86, spending 177 days in first place, the last 169 consecutively after April 13. Vogt became the fifth Cleveland skipper to win 90-or-more games in his first full season as Manager, joining Terry Francona (2013), Charlie Manuel (2000), Al Lopez (1951) and Tris Speaker (1920). He also became the fifth Manager in MLB history to steer his team to the Postseason within two seasons of his playing career (excluding player-managers), joining Jim Fregosi (CAL 1979), Yogi Berra (NYY 1964), Al Dark (SF 1962) and Pat Moran (PHI 1915), per ESPN’s Sarah Langs/Elias.

The 2024 club sported winning records in five of six months during the regular season, using the Injured List a total of 21 times and utilizing 14 starting pitchers and 50 players along the way. The Guards finished with an AL-best 50-30 (.625) record at home – third-best in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (.642, 52-29) & Philadelphia (.667, 54-27). In the Postseason, the club advanced to its first American League Championship Series since 2016, besting Detroit in five games in the ALDS. This past season marked the sixth time in the last nine seasons (since 2016) Cleveland has qualified for the Postseason, sporting the third-best record in Major League Baseball (1013-826, .551) since 2013 behind only Los Angeles (NL) and New York (AL).

Vogt becomes the third Cleveland Manager to take home the AL Manager of the Year Award, joining Eric Wedge (2007) and Terry Francona (2013, ’16, ’22). He is the first AL Manager to win the honor in his debut season since Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli in 2019, the ninth in MLB history to garner the honor in their debut season since the awards inception in 1983.

 Guardians Official Press Release

The post Stephen Vogt Captures AL Manager of the Year Award in Debut Season appeared first on NEO Sports Insiders.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The year was 1984 when a talented and precocious wide receiver by the name of Cris Carter, out of Middletown, Ohio, set records for an Ohio State freshman with 41 receptions, 648 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Forty years later, Carter’s records were still intact. This despite talented receivers galore at Ohio State with 32 of them being selected in the NFL Draft, including 11 first round draft picks, and yet none of them had broken any of Carter’s records.

Joey Galloway didn’t. Neither did fellow 1990s circa receivers Terry Glenn or David Boston. Nor did Michael Jenkins, Santonio Holmes or Ted Ginn Jr. in the 2000s. And most recently, Garrett Wilson didn’t. Chris Olave didn’t. Jackson Smith Njigba didn’t. And Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t.

But Saturday against Purdue, Jeremiah Smith did. He caught six passes against the Boilermakers for 87 yards and one touchdown and moved ahead of the Ohio State All-American and Pro Football Hall of Famer Carter in all three major categories with career totals – nine-game totals, to be exact – of 45 receptions, 765 yards and nine receiving touchdowns. Smith had topped Carter’s yardage record last week and grabbed the reception and touchdown records today against Purdue.

Carter has 10 total touchdowns, including a 19-yard rushing TD vs. Michigan State.

Ohio State Freshmen Receiving Records

Receptions

45 – Jeremiah Smith, 2024

41 – Cris Carter, 1984

33 – David Boston, 1996

30 – Garrett Wilson, 2019

25 – Ted Ginn Jr., 2011

Yards

765 – Jeremiah Smith, 2024

648 – Cris Carter, 1984

450 – David Boston, 1996

432 – Garrett Wilson, 2019

359 – Ted Ginn Jr., 2004

Touchdown Receptions

9 – Jeremiah Smith, 2024

8 – Cris Carter, 1984

7 – David Boston, 1996

5 – Garrett Wilson, 2019

4 – Ted Ginn Jr., 2003

 Ohio State Official Press Release

The post Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith Does It! Tops Trio of Cris Carter’s Frosh Records appeared first on NEO Sports Insiders.