Work hard, play smart, play tough, keep your mouth shut, and let things fall into place. There aren’t too many young athletes who heed this advice, but that’s exactly what Ohio State’s Junior leader Evan Turner did. Amazingly, Turner arrived at Ohio State somewhat under the radar.

In 2007-08 Evan Turner came onto the scene in Columbus as a freshman in the shadows of fellow freshman and highly touted recruits Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Dequan Cook. Those three highly touted recruits ended up leaving after one season at Ohio State to become first round draft picks in the NBA, with Oden being the first pick overall.
The talented but less hyped Turner became the leader of a fairly inexperienced Buckeyes team as a sophomore and has not only taken the wheel, but has floored the gas in that role ever since.

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will play in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship for the second time in the last three seasons when the 15th-seeded Vikings travel to second-seeded Notre Dame for an opening round game on Sunday, March 21, beginning at approximately 2:50 p.m. in Purcell Pavillion at the Joyce Center. The game, part of the Kansas City Regional, will follow Sunday's first game between No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 10 Vermont with the two winners playing for a spot in the regional semifinals on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Notre Dame. The Vikings enter the tournament playing their best basketball of the season, winning seven of their last eight contests, including three games last week to claim their second Horizon League Championship in the last three seasons. CSU enters the NCAA Championship at 19-13 overall, marking the third straight year that the Vikings have won 19 games, tied for the second most in a single season in school history. This will be the sixth meeting between CSU and Notre Dame with the Fighting Irish winning the previous five match-ups. UND is 27-5 overall and placed fourth in the Big East with a 12-4 mark.

(On the players on offense and how he is going to mesh with them)- “I will be honest with you, I am still learning people’s names. March 17, I got here Sunday night, I am just learning different guy’s names. I know there are a lot of young guys. (Mohamed) Massaquoi, (Brian) Robiskie, I do not know Ben Watson. I’ve met some of the other players. It’s still early in the process. I can leave it at that. To say this is going to happen, I don’t know. We’re still very early in the process.”

Derek Anderson is now a member of the Arizona Cardinals. Darren Urban, who writes for the Cardinals official website, tweeted an hour ago on the account Cardschatter:

QB Derek Anderson reportedly agrees with Cards.

With Kurt Warner retiring this off-season, Anderson will likely compete for a starting job with Matt Leinart. Leinart is a former first round draft pick out Southern Cal but has yet to fulfill expectations so far in the NFL. The Browns and Cards will not face each other in the 2010 season.

The Cleveland Gladiators of the AF-1 Arena Football League have signed former Cleveland Browns receiver Steve Sanders to a deal that will allow him to earn a roster spot for the upcoming season.

Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Browns in 2006, Sanders was an East High and Bowling Green standout. In his tenure with the BG Falcons, Sanders registered 156 receptions, 2,324 receiving yards and 25 total touchdowns.

When looking through individual achievements in Cleveland State Vikings basketball history, one name that you see over and over is J'Nathan Bullock. J-Bull is first in all time starts, games played, and minutes played. He ranks 4th in career points, 5th in field goals made, 6th in career rebounds, and 2nd in free throws made. Beyond all that personal glory, the one thing that makes "Number 35" the proudest is the fact that he helped change the culture of the CSU Basketball program from a losing one to a constant contender. Bullock is currently playing professional basketball in Australia and scored the game winning basket in his second game last week. I recently caught up with Cleveland State basketball legend an email interview. Here is what the Flint, Michigan, native had to say:

Q: You are now playing ball professionally with the St. Laurence Geelong Supercats. Is the playing style a lot different from the American game, and how does that translate to your playing style?

USA Wrestling and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission will host the ASICS University & FILA Cadet National Championships for the fourth consecutive year at the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House at the University of Akron, April 8-11, 2010. This tournament is estimated to bring over 1,200 male and female athletes from across the nation.

ASICS University athletes are 18 to 24 years of age (born 1986-1992) and will feature some of the nation’s top wrestlers from college wrestling programs and the U.S. Military team. FILA Cadet Nationals will feature many of the best high school wrestlers in the United States ages 15 to 17 years old (born 1993-1994 and 1995 with a medical certificate). Both age divisions will compete in the Olympic-styles of Greco-Roman and Freestyle.

The top seven place winners in the University Nationals in both men’s styles in the seven Olympic weight classes qualify to participate in the University World Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 28-29. The finalists in the women’s division qualify for the U.S. Senior Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa scheduled for June 11-12. The top three place winners at the FILA Cadet Nationals qualify for their state’s Cadet Nationals team above the state limit and will adhere to all state policies.

Ohio State's Evan Turner has been named to the first team All-American. The OSU superstar helped lead his team to a Big Ten title and a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Two pairs of teammates from the nation's top two teams headline the 2009-10 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's All-America Team. Senior guard Sherron Collins of Kansas and freshman guard John Wall of Kentucky pace the first team. Along with Collins, Notre Dame senior forward Luke Harangody returns to the All-America team as a second-team choice. Collins and Harangody were both second-team selections a year ago.

Each of the ten selections is among the 16 Oscar Robertson Trophy finalists. The USBWA's National Player of the Year Award will be announced next Monday and presented on Friday, April 2 at the 2010 USBWA College Basketball Awards Breakfast at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis.

Collins' Kansas teammate Cole Aldrich earned second-team honors, while Wall's Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins also earned a spot on the second team. A pair of Big East standouts - Wesley Johnson of Syracuse and Scottie Rodgers of Villanova - were first-team selections.

Joining Aldrich, Cousins and Harangody on the second team are James Anderson of Oklahoma State and Jon Scheyer of Duke.

Following is the complete 2009-10 USBWA All-America team:

Ohio State University has added two additional years to head football coach Jim Tressel's contract. Tressel had his original contract, which was signed in 2008, extended through the 2014 season.

During his nine-year run with the Buckeyes, Tressel is 94-21. Depending on incentives and additions, he makes roughly $3.5 million per year in Columbus.

On Tuesday, OSU athletic director Gene Smith said that Tressel told him he was satisfied with his salary. He was aware of the financial problems the athletic department is facing, and did not seek an increase in pay.

To offset some of the athletic department's losses, OSU ahs increased football prices by $7 to a face value of $70. They've also added $1 to the price of basketball tickets.

The Ohio State board of trustees will still need to approve the contract in May, but objections are not likely.

The Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers completed a trade for minor leaguers today. The Indians sent Chuck Lofgren, who was claimed by the Brewers in the Rule 5 Draft but didn't stick with the club, to the Milwaukee organization in exchange for Minor League Omar Aguilar. Aguilar is a 25 year old left hand pitcher who 3-1 with a 4.72 ERA and 14 saves in 41 relief appearances in Double A last season.

Lofgren Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus and went a combined 9-11 with a 4.15 ERA in 25 starts last season.