Cleveland, OH

Ohio State cornerback challenging Maryland, everyone else to ‘Come at him’

Published

10 months ago

October 6, 2023

Ohio State cornerback challenging Maryland, everyone else to ‘Come at him’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Denzel Burke is not impressed with the way Ohio State’s defense has performed through four games this season and he’s not trying to hide it.

The Buckeyes are giving up just 4.1 yards per play (fourth nationally) and 8.5 points per game (second nationally). They’ve only allowed four touchdowns this year and none of them have been longer than two yards. One would think that sharing that information with one of the players most responsible for that quality start would get a reaction filled with a level of pride.

Nope.

“Two yards? Wow,” Burke said as he rolled his eyes with a tone of sarcasm. “That’s awesome.”

He’s also not that ecstatic about his own impressive numbers. He only has two tackles, with one being for loss, but the more important stats as a cornerback are the five pass breakups, the interception and the forced fumble that led to a defensive touchdown.

His numbers as a cover corner are even more impressive. His Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 83.6 ranks 10th nationally as he’s allowed just six catches on 18 targets (33.3%) for 73 yards. Only one of those targets came against Notre Dame as he spent the rest of the night shutting down his side of the field.

“It gives everybody confidence,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “Denzel is really playing at a high level. When you scheme up the coverages and you know you can just count on him and take that out of the equation it allows you to do some other things with the other guys. It’s a great thing for the defense and the team when you’ve got a guy playing like that.”

Burke knows what value that has for a defense trying to establish itself as elite. It also presents a new challenge for him. It’s easy to get bored out there when you aren’t getting any action because you are doing your job at a high level, which can often test your mental toughness.

“Especially when you’re playing corner you’ve gotta stay locked in every drive because you never know when that ball’s gonna come your way. You’ve got to be on your P’s and Q’s. Even though I didn’t get targeted it was still fun to be at Notre Dame playing in that environment and being with my bros.”

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He did his job so well against Notre Dame that even quarterback Sam Hartman had to tell him after the game how phenomenal he played. Praise from the media wouldn’t bring him joy but maybe getting it from a quality opponent would.

Nope.

“I don’t even care about that.”

OK, fine. What is piquing Burke’s interests these days?

“I’m really not impressed with anything we’ve done so far,” Burke said. “We’re trying to win championships, man. It’s gonna take a lot. It’s wide open this year. If we just do what we need to do week in and week out the sky’s the limit.”

All of Burke’s energy is focused on the long-term goal. He’s a three-year starter that’s never beaten Michigan, never won a Big Ten Championship and fell short in what’s been his only College Football Playoff game so far. Anything outside of that is just par for the course for a player who spent the offseason taking a more NFL-like approach to his work habits and preparation.

That is what matters most, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to enjoy the process along the way. The only way that can happen is if the one-target Notre Dame game is an outlier and not a sign of things to come. It’s cool being able to say you can shut down an entire side of the field. It’s even better to get a chance to make plays.

The latter is more Burke’s speed.

“At the end of the day, I want them to come at me,” Burke said. “I want production. I want to have fun at the same time. Be able to make plays on the ball. Make the crowd go crazy.”

Notre Dame played a style of offense that limited the number of times it challenged the Buckeyes downfield instead of relying on the run game to work the ball up the field. So did Indiana and Youngstown State, though doing so in a much less productive way.

Western Kentucky has been the only team to routinely try this secondary as the Hilltoppers are responsible for seven of Burke’s targets this season and three of the catches for 42 yards. There’s an expectation that Maryland will be more willing to throw it around and give Burke some action. And he’s hoping that the Terrapins won’t be the only team over the next eight weeks to do so.

He worked hard to become the player he has turned into this season. Now he just needs teams to give him the chance to show off all of the growth his game has seen.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Burke said. “They’ve gotta a good team this weekend. I’m really expecting some play out of this weekend. Hopefully, they throw my way.”

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Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

3 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…

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Cleveland, OH

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

Published

10 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – One man is dead after a shooting following reports of a large fight on the east side, according to Cleveland Police.

Police got reports of a large fight around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in the 1000 block of East 71st Street.

While officers were en route, they learned that two people were shot.

Police located a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who were both shot, according to a release.

Both of the men were taken to the hospital by EMS.

The 22-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The condition of the 24-year-old is unknown.

Cleveland Police homicide unit is investigating, according to police.

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Cleveland, OH

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Results: Winners And Grades On August 3, 2024

Published

18 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

WWE SummerSlam 2024 results

Credit: WWE.com

WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio advertised six championship matches. Among them was Solo Sikoa challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship, LA Knight challenging Logan Paul for the WWE United States Championship, Sami Zayn defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker and GUNTHER challenging Damian Priest for the WWE World Championship.

This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.412 million viewers on SyFy after being preempted by the Olympics.

WWE SummerSlam Results | August 3, 2024

Liv Morgan def. Rhea Ripley | WWE Women’s World Championship
Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn | WWE Intercontinental Championship
LA Knight def. Logan Paul | WWE United States Championship
Nia Jax def. Bayley | WWE Women’s Championship
Drew McIntyre def. CM Punk
GUNTHER def. Damian Priest | WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa | WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Ticket Sales

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Distributed: 55,858
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Available: 807

WWE Money In The Bank 2024 Winners And Grades

Liv Morgan Def. Rhea Ripley

Despite all the talk of The Judgment Day competing by themselves, Dominik Mysterio accompanied Rhea Ripley to the ring.

Michael Cole noted the last time Rhea Ripley lost a singles match was 26 months ago. To Liv Morgan.

This match started as a cat-and-mouse as Liv ran away from Ripley. Fans became frustrated and booed Liv loudly.

Rhea dominated this match until Liv Morgan dodged a charging Ripley and followed up by throwing her, shoulder-first, into the turnbuckle. Ripley could be heard (kayfabe) saying “it’s out, it’s out!”

Fans were split as they made dueling chants of “let’s go Rhea/let’s go Liv!”

Liv Morgan (kayfabe) popped her shoulder back into place by running herself into the announce table and fans went crazy.

Ripley hit the riptide, but did not pin Morgan. Instead, she grabbed a steel chair that Morgan brought into the ring. Mysterio grabbed the chair from her, which was the wise decision because she would have gotten herself disqualified. This led to an Oblivion for a nearfall and “holy s—t” chants.

Dom distracted the ref, leading to an Oblivion on the steel chair for the win. After the match, Dominik Mysterio kissed Liv Morgan and they left together.

Backstage, Damian Priest was furious with Dominik Mysterio for his actions. Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day vowed to go find him. I don’t trust them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan Grade: A-

Bron Breakker Def. Sami Zayn

Bron Breakker hit his always impressive Breakkensteiner early on, then he proceeded to scream “quit!” at Sami Zayn.

Bron Breakker cut Sami Zayn off with a Spear, then he hit ayn with another Spear for the win. This wasn’t necessarily a squash match, but it was definitely a dominant win for Breakker.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn Grade: B

LA Knight Def. Logan Paul

Logan Paul wore a Cleveland-inspired American Flag vest and greeted two security guards on his way to the ring. One of hte security guards turned out to be Cleveland’s own MGK.

LA Knight shattered the glass on Logan Paul’s Prime vehicle before making his way to the ring.

Paul cleared the table, but LA Knight got the better of him with a modified TKO, though the table didn’t break.

Paul won these people over with a springboard moonsault on LA Knight. Though they cheered the spot, they eventually came to their senses and chanted “you still suck!”

After jumping up on the top rope, LA Knight hit a scary looking superplex. Fans chanted “this is awesome” after a nearfall.

Logan Paul borrowed brass knuckles from MGK. After a shot to LA Knight, Knight countered with a BFT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight Grade: A-

Nia Jax Def. Bayley

Bayley relentlessly knocked Nia Jax off her feet early in the match.

Nia Jax took control of the match, to the point where she hit the Annihilator, but Bayley kicked out.

Jax called herself “reckless” and “clumsy” while trash-talking Bayley on offense.

Bayley hit an awesome power bomb on Nia Jax from the top rope. The fans were fervently into a match that struggled to follow Logan Paul vs. LA Knight.

A Tiffany Stratton cash-in was thwarted by Bayley, but the distraction led to two power bombs and two Annihilators for the win.

Nia Jax vs. Bayley Grade: A-

Drew McIntyre Def. CM Punk

Seth Rollins walked out in a long cloak, and what was under the jacket was certain to be even wilder.

WWE used ref cameras on the referee’s ear, and there were never more ref cam shots than during Seth Rollins’ entrance.

Rollins’ referee outfit were baggy, bedazzled pants and a cutoff shirt similar to Shawn Michaels.

Fans chanted “CM Punk” to start the match as punk donned pink gear in homage to Bret Hart.

Rollins did a great job working the fans into a frenzy before ringing the bell. When the bell rang, Punk and McIntyre brawled like crazy.

Instead of counting to 10 while Punk and McIntyre were outside of the ring, Rollins instead chose to tie his shoes. Rollins also took immense pleasure in seeing Punk and Rollins beat the hell out of one another.

During an Anaconda Vice on McIntyre, Punk secured his friendship bracelet and the entire stadium celebrated.

Punk stopped his GTS on McIntyre dead in its tracks and confronted Rollins about wearing his bracelet, which Rollins picked up off the ground did wear, but out of no malice.

After a ref bump and a nearfall (followed by a second visual pinfall), Punk and Rollins got into a heated argument. Punk hit a Go To Sleep on Rollins and took his bracelet back, but it cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Grade: B+

GUNTHER Def. Damian Priest

Finn Balor wished Damian Priest luck before the match. Famous last words.

GUNTHER already had chop marks on his chest before the match even started.

GUNTHER and Priest chopped the hell out of one another to the point where GUNTHER was bleeding from the chest.

Finn Balor hit the ring, presumably to save Priest, but he ended up costing Priest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by putting GUNTHER’s leg on the bottom rope.

After this match, Jelly Roll, The Miz and R-Truth took out A-Town Down Under.

GUNTHER vs. Damian Priest Grade: B+

Cody Rhodes Def. Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes ran into Arn Anderson backstage, and Anderson said he called in a few favors to a few allies of Cody Rhodes. Some of whom he knows, some he doesn’t.

For a full recap of Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in Bloodline Rules, click here.

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