Powerade intramurals..next stop Vanderbilt

On over 50 campuses across the country, CBS College Sports and POWERade have collaborated to enhance the average student's intramural athletic experience.

Lucky for us, their next target is Vanderbilt.

"We're very excited to have Vanderbilt University on board this year and build the program up," said Lindsay Codd, regional marketing coordinator for CBS College Sports. "Vandy was a natural fit for the program with its school spirit and geographic location."

The program began in 2007 when CBS College Sports and POWERade teamed up with the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. Their goal was simple: to sponsor and enhance intramural programs while generating brand awareness for POWERade. After a successful opening year, the program grew immensely.

"What began as a test pilot on seven campuses, POWERade College Intramurals has grown to be a national program on over 50 campuses," said Codd, who oversees the Vanderbilt initiative. "Our program has come a long way in the last few seasons and we're excited to see where it will go in the future."

Although intramural basketball only started a week ago, the impact of the sponsorship has already been felt by many of the participating athletes. In addition to providing new jerseys and free POWERade to Vanderbilt's Recreational Center, the program also features a newly launched social networking site designed to be the central hub for campus intramurals.

With 125 basketball teams registered for this season, enthusiasm and participation is high, but team-to-team communication is incredibly limited - important information like league standings or scheduling changes are often only provided to each team's captain. With the Web site providing this information to every registered athlete, Codd believes it has the potential to make the intramural experience more organized and interactive.

"Our hope is that intramural departments and athletes will use (the site) as their main forum for all things intramural. Each season the site grows stronger as intramural departments use the website to post schedules, standings and upcoming events," Codd said.

In addition to essential intramural basketball information, the site also features photo and video updates from events throughout the week. According to Codd, athletes will be able to log into the site and see highlights of their games as well as others around the league.

"We wanted to create a space for those athletes to come together to view game footage, talk about the leagues and connect with other intramural players from across the nation."

While CBS College Sports and POWERade raise brand awareness on Vanderbilt's campus, the intramural experience grows stronger. Increased interaction on the new social networking site makes each league more competitive and each game more meaningful.

"WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone" Tonight At 7pm

Tonight's event takes place at San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego and features a main event between WEC lightweight champion Jame Varner and undefeated contender Donald Cerrone.

The preliminary card begins at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT), and the VERSUS-televised main card kicks off at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

US Figure Skating Championship 2009 to be held in cleveland

The best skaters in the country are getting together in Cleveland for the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships which start this Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena. Twelve champions will be crowned in three divisions (Novice, Junior, and Senior) for Ladies, Mens, Pairs, and Ice Dancing. The top skaters will go on to compete in the World Figure Skating Championships later this year.

Unfortunately, the five-time U.S. dance team of Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto had to withdraw from the competition last Thursday because Agosto hasn't completely healed from his back injury. They were hoping to become the first six-time dance champions in U.S. Figure Skating history. They are currently tied with four other couples with five. Belbin and Agosto are also Olympic silver medalists.

Cleveland State take on Green Bay

The Vikings (13-5, 4-2) face Horizon League front-runners in their next two games on the road when CSU takes on Green Bay Thursday night and Milwaukee Saturday night. A week from Friday (Jan. 23) the Vikings play their third straight road game with a trip to Youngstown State to battle the Penguins. CSU has won seven of their last eight games and are ranked ninth in the Mid-Major Basketball Poll. Green Bay is ranked 18th, while Milwaukee is in the 25th spot.

The Vikings are really starting to mesh and their defense, which is really tenacious, gives them a chance to be in every game. If the improvement continues until the Horizon League playoffs start on March 3, the Vikings have a great chance to make the NCAA tournament also known as March Madness.

Tribe signs Shoppach to one-year, $1.95 million contract

The Tribe avoided arbitration by signing catcher Kelly Shoppach to a one-year, $1.95 million contract. That is over a $1.5 million raise over his 2008 salary. Shoppach led all American League catchers with 21 home runs and finished fourth with 55 runs batted in, while hitting .261. Shoppach, who came to Cleveland along with Andy Marte from the Boston Red Sox for Coco Crisp, is a very good defensive catcher who handles pitchers well, but was never known for his hitting until he became the Tribe's full-time catcher when All-Star Victor Martinez when down with an injury. Shoppach took advantage of the every-day opportunity by getting clutch hits and handling the ptiching staff with expertise. He is the perfect back-up for Martinez and deserves as many opportunites to get him in the game as possible throughout the year.

The ill-conceived notion that the Tribe is cheap should be wiped out because the Indians have committed over 75 million dollars this year to 15 players on their roster. Of course, Cleveland can't compete with either New York teams or the Boston Red Sox with regard to money, but neither can most of the Major League teams. Cleveland can compete with anyone in baseball. They proved that with the second best record in the second half of 2008, with a patch work front-line pitching staff after C.C. Sabathia was traded and Jake Westbrook went on the disabled list for the year. The 2009 season will come down to the bullpen. If Kerry Wood and Joe Smith come through, the Tribe will be in the hunt for the playoffs until the last day of the season. Throw in a healthy Carl Pavano and the Tribe might win the division.

Cavs take on the Hornets friday night

Cleveland is in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies tonight at 8:00p.m. and then in Chicago Thursday night to battle the Bulls. The Cavs come home Friday night to play the New Orleans Hornets. As insurance until Zydrunas Ilgauskas returns next month, Cleveland signed hometown hero Jawad Williams to another 10-day contract. If Williams is offered a third 10-day contract, the Cavs must sign him for the rest of the year.

A message could be sent to the Western Conference starting next Monday as LeBron James takes on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. That game is followed by three more road games against the Portland Trailblazers, Golden State Warriors, and the Utah Jazz.

King James and his court must stop a two-game losing streak on the road and establish that they are an NBA power at home or on the road. The Celtics got the message over the weekend. The Western Conference will get a personal message next week.

The King has been honored off the court. GQ Magazine has James on their cover for February. James, as a teenager, remembered his old coach saying- "If you look good, you play good." The Cavs superstar takes that approach on and off the court. It's official- the King is a fashion plate

Cleveland Browns -hiring this week

Lebron James on the February cover of GQ

BROWNS- Although Rob Ryan, former defensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders, and Brian Daboll, former quarterbacks coach of the New York Jets, haven't officially been hired by the Cleveland Browns as defensive and offensive coordinators, both coaches have been working closely with new head coach Eric Mangini here in Cleveland.

It is assumed that the Browns will officially announce their hiring this week. As a side note, Rob Ryan's twin brother Rex is the defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens and is a favorite to be hired as the Jets new head coach. Both coaches are the sons of Buddy Ryan, who was the genius defensive coordinator behind the 1985 Super Bowl champions Chicago Bears aggressive, stingy defense.

This should reassure Browns fans who feel that Cleveland may lag behind other teams who have general managers while the Browns are still waiting to officially hire George Kokinis as their GM because the Baltimore Ravens are still in the NFL playoffs