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The Cleveland State Vikings have gotten their 2012-2013 season off on the right foot with a blowout victory at home over Grambling on Friday night and followed up the thrashing with a nail-biting win over Bowling Green last night in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. CSU, a team that features only one returning starter in senior Tim Kamczyc, are now set to face the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. The game will air on national television at 8:00 pm on ESPN2.

An upset win over the fifth ranked Wolverines would advance the Vikings to the semi-finals of the NIT that will be held at Madison Square Garden on November 21st.

With the Cleveland Browns slow start and the collapse of the Indians, Northeast Ohio sports fans need something to cheer about. Thankfully, basketball season is right around the corner and Cleveland State will be celebrating the start of roundball with Viking Madness on October 13th at the Wolstein Center.

Festivities start at 6:30 and is highlighted by an annual dunk contest. Viking Madness is free and open to the public will give the fans a sneak peak of the 2012-2013 CSU men's and women's basketball teams.

The Ohio State Buckeyes won a key Big Ten battle over Michigan State and the Spartans may have some explaining to do for one of their players following the 17-16 loss. Spartans offensive guard Jack Allen (#66) was caught on film gouging the eyes of Buckeye defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. Here is the video proof of the dirty football play on display in Lansing, Michigan, earlier today.

Two years from today, gay athletes from around the world will be competing on the shores of Lake Erie. The international sporting and cultural event, which is held every four years, released a promotional poster for the event which will bring thousands of tourists to Northeast Ohio.

The weeklong event kicks off August 9, 2014 and runs until August 16, 2014. The Cleveland games will mark the 9th Gay Games and participants of all sexual orientations are invited to participate. Over 11,000 athletes are scheduled to compete in events. If you or a loved one is looking to compete in event keep in mind you must be 18 or older.

Thistledown has added new events to Ohio Derby day this Saturday, a day already packed with fun and games for race fans.

Representatives from We Talk Music will be on hand in conjunction with the previously announced concert by national recording artists The Reggae Vibes Band. We Talk Music combines the universal language of music with motivational speakers and student participation to address violence and bullying among youth across the country. The group was founded by Patricia Young and is based in Twinsburg.

Slider, the Cleveland Indians' mascot, has appeared with We Talk Music before and will entertain fans at Thistledown on Saturday as well from 2 to 4 p.m.

In addition to playing the ongoing Thistledown Stakes Challenge Handicapping Contest and the track's popular Instant Win game, fans on Saturday can test their track and racing knowledge through a trivia contest.

The Kentucky Derby has the mint julep; the Ohio Derby has the Black Gold, a specialty drink named for the only horse to win both races. The drink combines rum, tequila, grenadine, and lemon-lime soda and will be served in an Ohio Derby souvenir glass. The glass also will be for sale without the drink.

If you are a horse racing fan, it is simply the most wonderful time of the year. The first Saturday in May is right around the corner and that means one thing in the Sport of Kings - Kentucky Derby. There is another thing special about the first weekend in May this year to Cleveland handicappers as it will the first time to see live racing in the area as Thistledown starts their racing meet on May 4th. Opening day features the $50,000 Classen Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares.

Trainers have started to occupy the grounds and half of the stalls of the facility are currently in use. All trainers will be required to show up to the grounds by Sunday.

Thistledown will present eight live races daily every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday through Nov. 10 and finish with a two-day wrap-up Nov. 16 and 17. Thursdays will be added to the schedule from Sept. 6 through Nov. 8. First post time each day is 1:50 p.m. ET.

Here is the schedule for the biggest races this live season at "The Big T".

Last week it appeared that the Cleveland State Vikings ship was sinking. Losers of five straight games and down 12 points to Detroit on Thursday night, Gary Waters' team could of folded its tent and played out the string the rest of the season. The team, which had been in the drivers seat for the Horizon League regular season championship for the majority of the season, refused to surrender and came back against the tough Titans for a resounding win and followed it up with a blowout win over Wright State to secure the second seed and a double-bye in the Horizon League Tournament that starts tomorrow. 

Now, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Vikings head to  Valparaiso, Indiana, as favorites to win the tournament and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Are star players replaceable in college basketball? To borrow a catchphrase from Sarah Palin, "You Betcha". Two key examples of this fact will be on display tonight when the Cleveland State Vikings battle the Valparaiso Crusaders, with first place in the Horizon League on the line. 

Many wondered whether or not the VIkings would be able to keep up their winning ways after losing superstar point guard Norris Cole to the NBA after last season. CSU has looked sharp all season long, and while CSU head coach Gary Waters has refused to come out and say that the 2011-2012 squad is better than last year's team that won 27 games, most observers think the Vikings will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament in March. That is something last year's team failed to do. One of the biggest hurdles that the Vikings (20-4  10-2) will face if they realize the dream of going dancing is Valparaiso who are breathing down the neck of the Vikings in the Horizon League standings at only a 1/2 game out first place. 

Spring is fast approaching and soon horse racing season will be in full bloom. Cleveland area thoroughbred track Thistledown released its 2012 stakes schedule which will include $903,000 in purses and will be highlighted by the 78th edition of the Ohio Derby on July 7th.

If you missed the 2011 edition of the Buckeye State's biggest race you missed up and coming 3 year old Caleb's Posse who nearly earned 3 Year Old Horse of the Year Honors after capturing 2 Grade I races, including a Breeders Cup triumph, after winning in North Randall.

"Last year’s edition of the Ohio Derby will be a tough act to follow," Racing Secretary Bill Couch said in a press release today. "I'll be scanning the country for horses the caliber of Caleb's Posse, those whose owners are looking for late-summer graded events with an eye on the Breeders' Cup. I'll be looking for horses that, like 'Posse early last year, are diamonds in the rough—young promising horses on the improve. Recruiting such horses to continue the tradition of the Ohio Derby is what keeps me going."

Live Racing will return just in time for Kentucky Derby weekend on May 4th with opening day featuring a $50,000 stakes race.

In the September 2010 issue of GQ magazine, which hit the newsstands about a month after his infamous “Decision,” LeBron James was asked if he would ever come back to Cleveland and play for the Cavs. “That would be a great story,” the Chosen One responded before going on to pepper the rest of the interview with third person references, most of which either extolled LeBron’s own humility or emphasized how LeBron had spoiled everyone with LeBron’s superlative performances both on and off the court.

And now, after a tumultuous season in which James failed miserably in the NBA Finals and became the most hated player in the league, rumors are bubbling to the surface that LeBron – upset with Miami GM Pat Riley’s heavy-handed tactics in, among other things, exiling James’ knuckle-headed entourage from the Heat locker room – will sign with the Cavaliers after opting out of his contract in the summer of 2014. And what a story that will be! The Prodigal Son returning and being welcomed by tens of thousands of forgetting, forgiving and fixing-to-be-forever spoiled fans. A dry eye will be impossible to find in the ESPN studios.