Daily Archives: October 6, 2022

The Cleveland Cavaliers 2022-23 season has begun somewhat similarly to how it ended in defeat. Thankfully, for Clevelands sake, these games dont count right now.

With a 113-112 preseason road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in preseason play. Sure, there isnt much to glean from the final score since, lets be frank, its the preseason. But, there are some interesting subplots within the main event could be worth monitoring as Cleveland shifts focus to hosting Philadelphia at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Amidst the endless speculation on who will be the teams starting small forward, Caris LeVert got the first crack at things for the Cavaliers. Looking to shake some of the notions surrounding him based on how last season ended, LeVert played well. He finished the night with 7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and a block. LeVert primarily played as a complimentary piece on both ends of the floor to Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, not looking to dominate the ball. All in all, not a bad look for LeVert and now has a few more chances to audition for the starting job.

After LeVert, Dean Wade got a shot with the starting lineup to begin the second quarter. He didnt do much with the starting group he connected on a single three-pointer and forced one Philadelphia turnover. Wade finished the night with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. You could tell that at times Wade is still getting the hang of playing small forward he had 2 fouls. But, for what Cleveland needs as a starting three, he fits the bill.

Following Wade off the bench were Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman, who were both a bit of a mixed bag. Okoro finished the night with 7 points, 3 rebounds and several misses from beyond the arc. Osman, meanwhile, had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Osmans was a bit more of a contribution stat-wise compared to Okoro. But, Okoro looked much more composed within the new offensive scheme Cleveland is rolling with, with his non-shooting deficiencies being covered by how bombs away the Cavaliers were elsewhere on the floor.

As a team, Cleveland connected on 14-33 three-point attempts. Kevin Love looked like his usual self out there hitting on 3-6 attempts from beyond the arc. The tandem of Mitchell and Garland, meanwhile, individually took advantage of the gravity their backcourt playmate possessed. Mitchell was able to connect on 3-4 three-pointers while Garland was able to move the rock all over the floor due to the sudden lack of defensive pressure. Garland finished the night with 4 assists along with 12 points on 4-7 shooting. Mitchell, meanwhile, had 16 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Not a bad debut for Clevelands new star backcourt. Again, its just the preseason but seeing these two looking so comfortable with one another already is a great foundation to build upon. Its going to be a process for the Cavaliers all season long but it feels like theyve at least gotten the bitter taste of last seasons end out of their mouth already.

Up next: The Cavaliers have their annual Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday at Cleveland States Wolstein Center. After that, they host these same 76ers on Monday night for more preseason action.

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Final Score: Cleveland Cavaliers preseason begins with a 113-112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers - Fear the Sword

For the latest NFL odds, click here.

Brandon Anderson: What was once a potential AFC playoff preview now feels like an early elimination game. The Colts have the worst offensive and rushing DVOA in the league, and now Jonathan Taylor is an injury question mark. Denver has been almost as bad running the ball and just lost Javonte Williams.

Could that weirdly end up helping the Broncos? It might force them to pass more, and thats where Denvers been better. This is the sort of game you get Russell Wilson for. Hes 29-18-4 ATS (62%) after a loss and 15-7-2 ATS (68%) at home in primetime. Its also a bad spot for the Colts as a road Thursday underdog coming off a multi-game home stand (35% ATS).

I lean Broncos but prefer the under. Indianapolis unders are 4-0 and the Colts have little chance against a good Denver defense. Broncos unders are 3-1 themselves after going 12-5 last year, and Denver isnt exactly scoring well either. Thursday night unders are 3-1 after 11-5 last season. These teams have only gone over 43 once in their eight games this season.

Chris Raybon: Gordon has a lot working against him clearing his rushing prop tonight.

First and foremost is his fumbling issue, which could have an impact on how much he sees the field even with Javonte Williams lost for the season with a torn ACL. Gordon has already put the ball on the ground four times this season, and seven times in his last 13 games dating back to last season. His most recent one came just four days ago and got him benched for third-stringer Mike Boone, who out-snapped Gordon 19-10 against the Raiders.

Even if Gordon starts the game, as expected, its highly likely that Boone enters early and often to form a committee just as Gordon did with Javonte Williams. Boones snap count has every week (3, 7, 14, 19), and hes averaging 6.2 yards per touch to Gordons 4.2.

If you read between the lines of offensive coordinator Justin Outtens so-called endorsement of Gordon, you can see that he immediately brings up Boone in the next breath and then goes on to wonder aloud who else he can use in place of Gordon.

With Melvin hes going to carry the load obviously, Outten said. Well have a mix of Boone and after that, weve got to figure out who can spell and who feels best in that position.

If you trust a guy to carry the load, youre not openly wondering aloud to the media about a theoretical replacement thats not even on the roster yet (the candidates are the newly signed Latavius Murray and practice squadder Devine Ozigbo).

On top of the uncertainty about Gordons planned role, theres also the possibility of another fumble, which will almost certainly plaster him to the bench for the remainder of the game.

And even if Gordons seizes the opportunity and protects the rock all night, this is still a brutal matchup. Per Football Outsiders, the Colts rank second in run-defense DVOA (-28.4%), third in stuff rate (26%), and second in second-level yards allowed per carry(0.50). Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who ranks eighth of 124 qualifiers in PFF run-defense grade (76.8), practiced in full this week and was left off of the final injury report after playing just 35% of the defensive snaps last week due to an elbow injury.

Gordon is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry with a long of 13 this season. The Denver offensive line has afforded its halfbacks just 0.97 yards before contact per carry this season, which is 27th in the NFL.

Im projecting Gordon for under 50 rushing yards tonight and would take this down to 50.5.

Nick Bretwisch: The Colts have already had a horrific time generating offensive production (32nd in overall Offensive DVOA and 32nd in Rush DVOA). Theyre simply going to need to move the football in creative ways to stay in this game.

Denvers defense almost exclusively runs Cover-3 and Cover-4 zone defenses, but it also has a top-five blitz rate in the NFL. When faced with Cover-3, Cover-4 and blitz-heavy opponents, Matt Ryan leans on his lower Average Depth of Target (ADOT) pass catchers in Michael Pittman, his running backs and tight-ends.

Yes, well likely see some Kylen Granson, but over the past two weeks, Mo Allie-Cox has been the clear-cut TE1 on this team. In that time period, Allie-Cox has over 20% more snaps than Granson, while running 20 more routes not to mention big Mo has led this entire Colts team in Yards After Catch since Week 2.

This number at 18.5 receiving yards at -110 is simply a price bookmakers should have thought twice about before posting.

Sam Farley: When Javonte Williams went down on Sunday, it was a hammer blow to the Broncos. The running back has been hugely impressive since being drafted in the second round of last years NFL draft. Since the injury the Broncos have swooped to grab Latavius Murray, who will form a committee along with Gordon and Boone.

The focus will be on Denvers backs but the most important thing to remember in this game is how good the Colts run defense is. Indianapolis has allowed an average of just 89.5 yards along the ground, the sixth-lowest total in the league. Combine that with a running back room consisting of a fumbling Gordon and a newly acquired Murray, it makes sense for the Broncos to target the passing game.

Jerry Jeudy erupted for 102 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 before an injury slowed him down for the next two weeks. Last Sunday, fully healthy he was targeted five times, hauling in four for 53 yards and a TD.

I expect Jeudy to be targeted more on Thursday night and to eclipse the line of 51.5 receiving yards. Id take this bet for anything up to 56.5.

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Colts vs Broncos Picks: Our 4 Best Bets for Thursday Night Football - The Action Network

Sebastian Rubino / sebastian@thereflector.com

Billy Blues Bar and Grill in Vancouver will raise money for families in the area who have autistic children to help lessen the financial burden of the holiday season during a fundraiser dubbed Rock For Autism on Oct. 15.

This will be the sixth year co-owners Kodi and Billy Gianukakis will host the event. The duo is personally connected to the autism community through a friend of theirs.

All day for Rock For Autism we will be raising money for ARRO, (the) Autism Research and Resources of Oregon and Southwest Washingtons holiday assistance program, Kodi said.

The event will include live music, a 50/50 raffle and other raffle items that include a stay at the Skamania Lodge and a round of golf for two.

Kodi said they will have T-shirts, collectible pint glasses and other items for sale as well. All of the proceeds from the sales will be donated. There will be multiple beers on tap from Windmer Brothers in Portland and Bale Breaker. Sweetheart Bakery will also provide cake pops for $6 each.

For anyone who opens a tab at the bar from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., Kodi noted 25% of the final bill will be donated to ARRO as well. The event will also include live music from Shoot to Thrill, an AC/DC tribute band, as well as PDX Rock All-Stars.

ARRO is a 501(c)3 that basically benefits area families with one or more children on the autism spectrum disorder, Billy said. This is their holiday assistance program, and what they primarily do is theyre working for families with one or more autistic children, primarily single parents, who basically cant essentially afford a holiday, and what it does is it gets them some money during the holiday season so it allows them to have a holiday they might not otherwise have.

Billy said parents of autistic children can struggle with holding full-time employment while also taking care of their kids, which is why the fundraiser is helpful.

We have a very good friend who is involved with this. Hes the one that approached us originally, he said. Their youngest son, who I believe is now 17, he basically needs 100% full care every day. These individuals that are by themselves that are single parents, its a lot for them, and so this is just basically something that comes in right at the holiday season, lifts them up (and) allows them to do some things that they might not otherwise be able to do.

During their previous fundraiser, Billy said the event was able to raise just shy of $25,000.

As each year has gone, our event has grown more and more and more, so even this year, we did some corporate sponsorships where ilani stepped up and partnered with us on this, which allowed us to do some things, which is huge for them to reach out to another business thats doing charity work and to collaborate together to make this whole thing happen, Billy said.

With the holiday assistance program, Billy specified the fundraiser will help provide funds for food and gifts the family wouldnt be able to afford otherwise.

Kodi said the event is sponsored by ilani, Integrity Machinery Moving and Jacqueline Moore.

Billy Blues is located at 7115 NE Hazel Dell Ave., Vancouver. Entry is $15 at the door.

The event will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15.

See the article here:

Billy Blues Bar and Grill to host 'Rock For Autism' fundraiser - The Reflector

Long ago, Community was the lesser-loved child of the NBC sitcom lineup. The Office, Parks and Rec, and 30 Rock all had their glory days with various NBC tie-ins and one-off reunions, but Community was often left out of the conversation. Which, to be fair, is a very Community thing to happen, so it kind of works! NBC effectively canceled the series in 2014, before a sixth and final season was ordered by Yahoo! Screen (remember that? Probably not.)

One of the long-running jokes from the series was that it would never fully be complete until there were six seasons and a movie. When the final episodes aired in 2015 on the abandoned Yahoo! Screen, it seemed like the prospect of a movie was long gone. While the cast and crew would often mention the shows mantra and tease the potential movie, it seemed like nothing was really going to move forward. UNTIL NOW!

This morning, Peacock announced they would be reviving the series once more for a movie to finally fulfill the prophecy. Most of the original cast seems to be on board, including Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong. The very dedicated fan base finally came out of hibernation to express not only their excitement but also say that they knew the movie would happen all along and they never once doubted it!

The Community movie currently has no release date, but maybe there is time to bring back Yahoo! Screen for another quick runaround!

Excerpt from:

'Community' Fans Are Hyped Up About The Movie Getting Made - UPROXX

Oregons 45-27 victory over Stanford is just the latest showing of how good the Ducks can be.

A week after Bo Nix threw for a career-high 428 yards at Washington State, he showcased his legs, running wild for 141 yards, while still throwing for an efficient 161 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-29 passing.

At the end of the first quarter the Ducks had 161 rushing yards to the Cardinals 30 yards of total offense.

MarKeise 'Bucky' Irving who has solidified himself as the Ducks'premier back alongside other backs like Noah Whittington and Jordan Jamesand ran wild for 78 yards in the first quarter alone.

The Ducks cruised into the red zone on their first possession before a plethora of penalties stalled the drive, forcing the Ducks to settle for three.

On their second drive Irving once again gashed the defense, moving Oregon into threatening position before penalties once again killed the momentum, forcing Nix to do one of his newly practiced punts which pinned Stanford in their own 10-yard line.

On the Ducks' third possession they finally broke into the end-zone with a 49-yard screen pass to Chase Cota, his first touchdown as a Duck.

From there the Oregon offense began heating up, displaying the capacity to be highly lethal.

Before the half Nix and the Ducks drove into the red zone, where on third-and-nine Nix stepped up in the pocket, then bought time, rolling out to his right, before finding his new favorite target Troy Franklin who toe-tapped in the end zone for six.

The Ducks then forced a turnover on the first play of the next Cardinal drive as Bennett Williamsknocked the ball loose from Benjamin Yurosek, giving the Ducks another chance to capitalize from good starting field position.

This time Nix opted to score it himself, as he craftily used a variety of pass fakes to slow down his pursuing defenders and find a hole to the end zone.

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The play of the night was Nix's 80-yard breakaway run in the second quarter which ballooned the Oregon lead to 28.

After successfully pounding the rock all night resulting in 351 rushing yards, Nix pulled a zone handoff, then checked his targets before darting into an opening in the middle of the field for what looked like a potential 20+ yard gain.

However, instead of sliding as defenders closed in, Nix stepped on the gas, picking up blocks from Franklin and tight end Terrance Ferguson as he left everyone in the dust.

The Oregon defense also shined in the win. Brandon Dorlus, Defensive Line coach Tony Tuiotis preseason Alpha of the defense, had two sacks and three tackles for loss.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalezcontributed with two pass breakups, furthering his case as one of the best cover corners in the country.

If it werent for a handful of early turnovers the Ducks couldve put this game away significantly earlier, which is incredible considering the score was 31-3 at halftime.

The Ducks will look to play a more complete and disciplined game when they travel to Tucson to face Arizona next week.

Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricBerniker

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Oregon Shows Signs of Greatness in 45-27 Win Over Stanford - Sports Illustrated