Cleveland, OH
Alabama hire weakens Ohio State’s Big Ten opponent but stabilizes national power
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Which would benefit Ohio State football more — one fewer Big Ten championship challenger, or the long-term weakening of the sport’s most elite program of the last two decades?
Neither outcome is guaranteed after Alabama’s hire of Washington’s Kalen DeBoer to succeed Nick Saban on Friday. Other big-time coaching candidates — Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Florida State’s Mike Norvell — reaffirmed their commitment to their programs after their names came up in the wake of Saban’s retirement Wednesday.
DeBoer, though, pulled the trigger on Friday — four days after coaching the Huskies against Michigan in the national championship game. He built a pristine 104-12 record over nine seasons at Sioux Falls (with three NAIA championships), Fresno State and Washington.
Now he succeeds the best to ever do it.
Washington must now replace one of the profession’s rising stars as the program moves into Big Ten membership later this year. We don’t yet know the effects of extra travel and the repercussions for recruiting for the Huskies and their fellow West Coast additions. We can assume someone with DeBoer’s background helped the chances for a smooth transition.
Ohio State is already engaged in a battle for Big Ten supremacy with Michigan — one it is currently losing. Penn State looms as a potential power waiting to be taken for granted in the wrong season. Oregon, USC and Washington enter the league as nationally relevant programs with proven abilities to find and develop quarterbacks at or near the same level as the Buckeyes.
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If DeBoer moving to the SEC forces Washington to regroup or stalls the momentum of this playoff run, that on the surface looks good for Ohio State.
However, what if DeBoer passed on Alabama, which then had to look farther down its candidate list after all of the above pulled out of contention?
What if Alabama went the way of Texas and USC for the next decade — once mighty powers seemingly happy to nap as sleeping giants? Ohio State’s recruiting took full advantage of those deficiencies in recent years, pulling in numerous major prospects from those states.
If a weakened Alabama opened up more prospects from the deep south, that could arguably help OSU more than Washington taking a hit. With no Big Ten divisions to worry about, and an expanded College Football Playoff on deck, maybe tougher early levels are preferable en route to facing a softer final boss.
The less compelling the hire at Alabama, too, the more likely significant Crimson Tide players would enter the NCAA transfer portal. (A new 30-day window opens for any players whose team loses its coach.) With 2024 recruiting essentially wrapped up, DeBoer’s first order of business is making sure talents such as safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Keon Keeley stay in Tuscaloosa.
Washington players can enter the portal now, too. Two defensive backs did so as outlets confirmed DeBoer’s departure. Perhaps that last point becomes a wash.
Regardless, Ohio State will feel the effects of this game of musical chairs. it plays Washington in Seattle in 2025 and at home in 2028. It is also scheduled to play Alabama in 2027-28.
Does this switch lower a hurdle to a Big Ten championship, or does it stabilize — or even bolster — an impediment to a national championship?
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Cleveland, OH
Republican Ohio gov. candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to make ‘special announcement’ in Cleveland
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Republican Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy shared he will make a “special announcement” in Cleveland on Wednesday evening.
The event will be held at Windows On The River in the West Bank of the Flats at 2000 Sycamore St.
The doors open at 6 p.m., and the program is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Details of this campaign stop have yet to be released.
The announcement comes on the same day the Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio campaign shared it raised $9.88 million during the second half of 2025, which surpassed the previous record breaking $9.77 million raised during the first half of the year, “marking the strongest fundraising performance by a gubernatorial candidate in Ohio history.”
Ramaswamy has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, more than 70 legislators, and 65 sheriffs, the campaign listed.
On the other side of the aisle, Dr. Amy Acton is running as the Democratic Ohio governor candidate.
Acton served as the Ohio Department of Health director during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic before becoming Chief Health Advisor.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Even as the Cleveland Cavaliers begin to turn their season around, rumors of making changes are going to follow them through the trade deadline.
The obvious names mentioned have been the underperforming stars in Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, but it turns out, those may not be the only names on the trade block.
One name who has been named in trade rumors has been long-time Cavaliers Dean Wade, who is currently serving as a fringe starter amongst injuries in Cleveland.
“I’ve been told that Dean Wade on the Cleveland Cavaliers is very likely to be moved, and he’s kind of preparing to be moved before the trade deadline,” Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints said.
In his latest NBA intel video, @BrettSiegelNBA said this about Dean Wade at the 26:00 mark:
“I’ve been told that Dean Wade on the Cleveland Cavaliers is very likely to be moved, and he’s kind of preparing to be moved before the trade deadline.”https://t.co/oYiZVZbEII — RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) January 1, 2026
Siegel added he believed Wade had some value in the offseason, but the Cavaliers opted to keep hold of him into the regular season. Teams have kept their eyes on him though, and have checked if he’s available.
He added the Houston Rockets as a team that has done their research on adding a stretch big like Wade, while also naming the Denver Nuggets as a new team that could be interested after facing recent injuries.
Wade has been a member of the Cavaliers since the 2019-20 season. He has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, acting as a serviceable stretch big in Cleveland’s rotation.
He has briefly cracked the starting lineup from time to time, making 134 starts in his career so far, but hasn’t been able to hold down a long term spot in the starting unit. He has never started more than 32 games in a season.
This year, Wade has been one of the few consistently healthy players. He’s played in 33 games, starting 12, and averaged 5.9 points. His shooting splits are currently under his career averages as he’s hitting on just under 40% of his shots.
Wade fills a slightly unique role in Cleveland as a 6’ 9” big who specializes in three point shots. If he leaves, guys like Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Larry Nance Jr. will need to step up to fill those big minutes, while a guy like Max Strus would need to comeback from injury and be productive to make up for the shooting.
Wade’s time in Cleveland has been memorable. Fans will remember his historic game in 2024 where he scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Boston Celtics 105-104. If this is the end of his time here, he should be remembered as one of Cleveland’s best role players this decade.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Some northeast Ohio Spectrum customers are experiencing outages on Wednesday afternoon after a plow truck hit a utility pole.
According to a Spectrum spokesperson, Spectrum customers in the Cleveland area are experiencing a service disruption after a salt or plow truck hit a utility pole and damaged fiber lines in Cleveland Heights.
“Our teams responded immediately and are working diligently to make the necessary repairs to restore services for our customers,” Spectrum said.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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