At a block party last Friday hosted by the Cavs to commemorate the 2016 NBA championship and christen the new Meet Me Here Plaza, Cavs fans relived the crowning moment ten years ago when LeBron James and company broke Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought.

“Oh, I remember it exactly,” Bless Warner, 34, told Scene. “I was at the West End in Lakewood. Kyrie Irving got the ball, it went in, and it was pure mayhem. Everybody was screaming, jumping. Bottles came out of nowhere. Champagne was popping. The whole city was on fire. We were all on the same page.”

“I will forever remember it like that,” she said. “For the rest of the night, everybody was just in pure bliss.”

In Cleveland, the summer of 2016 has been cemented in the city’s collective memory as a promise of what its downtown—and city spirit in general—could be.

“Really, I think in 2026, we’re recapturing some of that momentum that existed coming out of 2016,” Michael Deemer, the head of Downtown Cleveland, Inc., told Scene.

He nodded to the May grand opening of Sherwin Williams’ headquarters. To the Memorial Bridges Loop breaking ground. To Cosm going vertical in the distance. “I feel like this is the first year where we’re really recapturing that sense of optimism,” he said.

But for many Clevelanders who showed up Friday, to rewatch Game 7 or get merch signed by past players, June 19, 2016, was simply a capsule of good feeling. A time when Cleveland righted its self-esteem woes and earned its place in what became a global spotlight.

Mark Salisbury, 36, was an infantryman in the Marines at the time, stationed on the USS Kearsarge outside San Diego. He watched LeBron collapse in emotion on a “fuzzy TV” on a bunk.

“It was, like, insane,” Salisbury said, watching kids shoot hoops. “I was jumping up, cheering with my boy, Van Fleet. And he jumped on me like a little backpack, you know. And we’re running around the berth. It was indescribable.”

Jan and Pat Cassidy, a married couple in their early sixties, recalled the feeling of high stakes at the then-named Quicken Loans Arena. Both had been season ticket holders the majority of their lives and had grown up driving hours on end to see games.

But no memory over the decades compared to the collective want from Cavs fans around them.

“I mean, near the end of the first quarter” of Game 6, he said, “you couldn’t hear yourself talk. I was trying to talk to the guy next to me. We couldn’t hear each other.”

“And then LeBron did it,” he said. “Like, it was just very surreal.”

Could he do it again? James has teased the media about potentially bookending his 23-year-long basketball career in Cleveland.

When asked, Clevelanders interviewed on Friday jumped to thoughts of 2010’s flight to Miami, to jerseys being burned or thrown out in sidewalk trash. But most felt James coming home to end his career would be a storybook ending.

“It’s that fairy tale ending,” Darren Minor, 36, said, as Game 7 played on a screen in front of him. “It don’t get no better. You finish where you start and you go out.”

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Cleveland’s first women’s soccer team finally got its name and colors: the Cleveland Astra.

The Astra, which will play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, is the Cleveland Pro Soccer group’s second team set to play at what is envisioned as a future stadium in the South Gateway District downtown. Both squads, including the Forest City men’s team, are tentatively set to kick off games in 2028.

Astra — Latin for stars — is a brand awash in Lake Erie Midnight blue and Golden Era gold, said CPS chief Michael Murphy, and meant to convey a sense of hope for a city that’s gone far too long without a women’s soccer team.

Especially when MLS Next Pro, the league in which Forest City Cleveland will play, has expanded light years beyond any comparable lower division league for women.

MLS Next Pro “has a little more than 70 teams throughout the country,” Murphy told Scene in a call. “On the women’s side, there’s zero. There’s no lower division women’s professional soccer league right now.”

“That’s what we’re committed to joining,” he said.

Women’s soccer, and women’s sports in general, are having a spotlight moment. The celebrity of Caitlin Clark, popularity of the WNBA, and the record viewership for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four have ushered in new eyes for women’s sports.

Cleveland’s WNBA team, which is set to debut in 2028, is a sign of the times..

It’s a cultural shift in sports, Murphy said, that dovetails nicely with Forest City’s debut and plans for the $50 million stadium. (CPS has secured about $20 million of the funding needed for that project.)

Although Cleveland had a women’s basketball team, the Cleveland Rockers, in the early aughts, there’s been no sizeable push for a women’s soccer team on the same level as Murphy and crew.

It’s a reality Murphy attributes to infrastructure. Huntington Bank Field, Progressive Field, Rocket Arena, Nautica Pavilion—arenas have gone up downtown in the past few decades. But not of the right niche or size to host soccer of this level.

“And during that same time period? There’s been zero dollars spent on women’s professional facilities,” he said. “So, you ask what’s going on? Well, there haven’t been the same opportunities.”

“We’re trying to change that in a smart, scalable way,” Murphy said.

CPS has secured the site, just east of Bedrock’s new development on the riverfront, yet ground hasn’t been broken yet. The site does have its drawbacks: I-90 to the north could be bar to foot traffic, or even create a bottleneck on big game days.

A new RTA South Gateway stop on the Red Line, which runs to the north of the site, could help ease those logistics, Murphy said. (RTA has yet to confirm it’s actually expanding Red Line access.)

As with Forest City, CPS will be announcing team development and tryout details later this year.

“It’s why we chose the Cleveland Astra: we’ve always wanted to be the North Star — that point to look for when you consider what elite and professional soccer can be in Northeast Ohio,” Murphy said.

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After a regular season filled with up, downs and a monumental trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers began their playoff run against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Arena.

The Cavaliers won the game by a score of 126 – 113. Game 2 will be played on Monday night, again at Rocket Arena.

The post Photos: The Cavaliers Opened Their 2026 NBA Playoffs with a Win Against the Raptors appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

The second half of Derrick’s adult life began on March 27, 2025.

That was the day, at 33 years old, he decided to walk into a room at a church in Willoughby for a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. Before that was a decade of numbers: overs and unders, parlays, three credit cards maxed out to the tune of $10,000 each, some $20,000 in gambling debts.

Derrick’s body shook as his car idled in the parking lot of Grace Episcopal Church. This was one of two options — walk into the church or go home and try to handle the problem himself. But the problem had to be solved. After a decade of betting, ten years of the fraternity of The Game, the gravity of the situation was clear. He had a wife and two kids, and he might lose them.

“It was to the point where my wife felt helpless,” Derrick told Scene. “She was like, if you’re not going to go to GA, then you’ve almost given me no choice. I can’t have you in this house.”

“So, it was either go in or I lose anything in my life that is still important to me,” he said.

Ohioans wagered a staggering $10 billion in 2025, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission, with about 98% of bets being placed online compared to physical retail locations. Sportsbooks raked in $1 billion in revenue for the year on the backs of losses by those gamblers.

Sports betting is ubiquitious, as DraftKings, FanDuel and other companies pummel Ohioans with endless ads, sponsorships, and promos that promise fun, fraternity, and little risk. And it’s worked: 30% of young adults ages 18 to 24 engage in online gambling with high frequency, The Atlantic relayed in a deeply reported cover story on the industry and how it’s become a dominant and dangerous force in American culture.

A sentiment that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has belatedly come to just a few short years after putting his signature on a bill to legalize sports wagering in the stage, calling that decision the biggest mistake of his tenure.

“It’s a huge problem among young males up to 45. It’s a huge problem. And we have many of them addicted, many of them spending money that they do not have,” DeWine told Cleveland.com in January. He held up his cell phone. “They don’t have to go to a casino. They don’t have to go anyplace—they got it right here.”

As the industry has grown from $5 billion in wagers placed nationwide in 2017 to $160 billion in wagers in 2025, so too have the risks of addiction, financial ruin (only 3% of gamblers turn a profit in the long run), and suicide.

Gamblers Anonymous has been a refuge for those in the throes of addiction since the 1950s. States with legalized sports betting also have other sources of help. Roughly $15 to $20 million a year is spent by Ohio on treatment programs, a hotline, addiction specialists and Know Your Limit public service announcements, all funded from tax revenue collected by the state. Gamblers can even blacklist themselves and opt out from Ohio’s 11 racinos and casinos and the 18 sportsbook apps available.

Those tax-revenue funded programs keep expanding, both because of the growth of collections and need.

“Oh, we’ve definitely seen an increase of guys coming into the room,” Greg, a hotline operator and addict-in-recovery who once had six figures in gambling debt, told Scene. (Two out of every five of the 1,500 calls to the state hotline in January, records show, came from a Cleveland-area number.)

“It’s such a lonely disease,” Greg said. “Nobody knows what you’re going through. How much debt you have. You don’t see the physical aspects of it, like drugs and drinking.”

In 2012, when JACK Casino (then the Horseshoe Casino) first opened up in the Higbee Building on Public Square, 10 percent of Ohioans were prone to develop a gambling addiction, according to the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. By the breakout of legal sportsbook apps in early 2023, that at-risk population doubled to 20 percent.

“It’s all about this culture shift,” Derek Longmeier, PGNO’s executive director, said.

“We have accessibility, then access, then availability—and then acceptability,” he said. “And the acceptability of gambling has shifted over the last few decades where it was such a taboo issue. Now, you can’t go to a game without seeing an ad for a sportsbook.”

And you can’t watch sports without seeing one either.

“I think this culture is very structured towards men — men trying to create these bonds with people,” Pete, an accountant in his twenties who had to work Uber Eats part-time to pay off $50,000 in debt, said. “It’s just an easy conversation to have with the boys. ‘Oh, what did you guys put on that? Are we betting this game or what?’”

It’s frighteningly easy, Pete said.

Sportsbooks weren’t given enough guardrails when they were allowed to advertise—newcomer “free” bets or holiday deals—to those they could harm the most.

“I don’t think they did a good job in regulating it,” he said.

In Derrick’s mind, the act of weaning oneself off sportsbooks was a feat of self-reliance. After he walked into that Gamblers Anonymous meeting in Willoughby last March, he followed a suggested flowchart of options. He banned himself from public books. He stopped consuming sports podcasts. He installed a bet blocker, Gamban, on his phone. “I even called up my old bookie,” he said. “And told him to delete my number and never call me again.”

His wager on himself has paid off, but he felt he had no other choice.

“I had to. Because if I lose my kids, if I lose my wife, then I don’t—I don’t know what my desire is to keep going would be. I really don’t.”

“At this point,” he said, “that’s the only thing that matters to me.”

Anyone struggling with a gambling addiction can reach out to Ohio’s hotline at 1-800-589-9966 or find more resources for help here.

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Cleveland’s next soccer team will be Forest City Cleveland. (Yes, that’s FC Cleveland.)

That’s the name selected by Cleveland Pro Soccer for the MLS Next Pro men’s team tentatively scheduled to launch in 2027 following months of design drafting, focus group feedback and survey input from 3,000 fans.

The team and branding stem from Cleveland’s one-time moniker of the Forest City, a name whose origins are fuzzy but which picked up steam in the mid-1800s. A moniker best exemplified, Cleveland Pro Soccer said, in the Moses Cleaveland trees — weathered American sycamores across Northeast Ohio that have survived since the city’s founding in 1796.

And of course what’s blossomed since: the Emerald Necklace and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

“There are few cities that have as great park systems and as great, luck greenery as Cleveland,” Noah Toumert, the executive director of Cleveland Pro Soccer’s community foundation, told Scene.

“So, to be able to represent that through not just the name for a city, but the icon connecting it to something that’s a little known part of our history?” he said. “I think people will be interested to hear about.”

Which they certainly have before. Forest City has found its way into the names of a spattering of breweries, shuffleboard bars, hotels, banks, neighborhood parks and surplus stores. From 1868 to 1872, a decade after the city earned the moniker for its lucious woodlands, Cleveland bore a baseball team bearing that leafy name.

But as to whether or not Cleveland still deserves the nickname is harder to argue. 

Despite the efforts of advocacy groups and the Cleveland Tree Coalition, the city’s tree canopy coverage has been declining rapidly since the 1970s and 1980s. And although planting efforts might be stabilizing that decline, Cleveland’s still way behind its neighbors: Minneapolis’ trees cover 32 percent of the city; Milwaukee’s cover 31; and Columbus’ cover 23. Cleveland’s tree canopy, as of 2019, is about 18 percent.

“Forest City” is therefore a little more anachronistic than realistic.

“Are we still ‘Forest City’? That’s a great question,” Sara Tillie, the head of the Cleveland Tree Coalition, said. “I really think we are really trying to hold onto that title.”

Tree data is typically determined by light detection—lasers in the sky known as LiDAR—which is pricey and time-consuming. It’s why, Tillie said, Cleveland’s relying on seven-year-old tree counts.

But efforts are ongoing. Last year, the city hired a commissioner to head its new Division of Urban Forestry. And in February, the Cleveland Tree Coalition announced a $690,000 grant to plant over 1,600 trees across the region.

“We find ourselves in a place where I do not think the name is out of reach,” Tillie said. 

That’s how Toumert feels: a Forest City soccer team will only act as an optimistic push to restore what Cleveland used to be, with its leafy orchards and vast woodland. (Mostly in those heat islands: Downtown and the East Side.)

Even at the site of the stadium where Forest City will possibly play some day. Toumert said “many” trees will occupy the proposed South Gateway stadium when it’s built south of Progressive Field (if Cleveland Pro Soccer ever comes up with the tens of millions of dollars needed to buidl it). The team will play elsewhere if its not finished in 2027.

Toumert said that CPS is still working out the kinks as far as how tryouts for the team might work. The name and branding for the accompanying women’s team, set to play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, will be announced in May, he said.

But for now, Forest City has a new soccer team. One Toumert believes will tap easily into Clevelanders’ undying support for anything with balls and jerseys. As of February, CPS has thousands of pledged season ticket holders.

“Cleveland’s the last top 20 market in the country without soccer,” Toumert said. “There’s a long history of people trying and failing to bring professional soccer teams here.”

“We just know there’s a massive desire for this,” he added. “Cleveland just needed somebody to get it across the finish line.”

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The Haslams will soon build a $2.4 billion dome in Brook Park. And while the funding for that project is pretty much locked up—with the generous help of $600 million from the state of Ohio—one looming, lingering question is how exactly repairs will be paid for in the future.

It’s a question of timely importance. One need only look to the current situations at Rocket Arena and Progressive Field to pull the distant future into the present.

The Gateway Economic Development Corporation of Greater Cleveland, the nonprofit that owns and operates both facilities, recently shared that it expects $150 million in capital repairs at the arena and stadium in the next few years, and another $261 million in capital repairs through the end of the current leases. (2034 for Rocket Arena and 2036 for Progressive Field, respectively.)

But Gateway doesn’t have the money—not nearly enough. It’s already had to get creative to cover past bills, including landing bailouts from Cuyahoga County and Cleveland. The current sin tax revenue, the mechanism by which it has in the past funded all repairs, pales in comparison to the growing list of bills. And all sides admit there are no firm plans for future revenue streams.

Down on the lakefront, Cleveland Cleveland City Council in July approved $2.7 million for capital repairs on Huntington Bank Field, which the city owns and operates. That brings the total Cleveland has spent on repairs to the stadium in the last 11 years to $30.7 million.

The Brook Park dome is an entirely different beast. First of all, it would be owned, in theory, by a new community authority formed by the suburb with authorization from the state of Ohio. But that authority wouldn’t have recourse to collect or levy any taxes or fees outside of the footprint of the project.

There simply exists no structure to pay for repairs going forward as it stands, which has local stadium financing expert Ken Silliman worried.

“In my opinion, for Brook Park to not have tied down the responsibilities long term for routine maintenance and capital repairs at this late of a stage is a major problem,” he told Scene.

Silliman, the author of Cleveland Sports Facilities: A 35-Year History, spent years at City Hall negotiating deals with team owners, including the infamous tug-of-war around Art Modell moving the Browns to Baltimore in the mid-1990s.

“In my view, [we’re] at the team’s mercy as far as who’s going to pay for routine maintenance, who’s going to pay for capital repairs,” Silliman said.

It is part of the current talks between Brook Park and the Haslams, though.

“Mayor Orcutt and the City of Brook Park are in regular communication with the Cleveland Browns regarding all aspects of stadium planning, including long-term maintenance and management considerations,” Paul Marnecheck, Brook Park’s Commissioner of Economic Development, told Scene. “The question of capital repairs is a key component of the broader negotiations currently underway.”

“No final agreements have been reached at this time,” he added. “The Mayor remains focused on ensuring any arrangement is fiscally responsible and in the best interest of Brook Park residents.”

In Brook Park, the Haslams are intent on having the suburb create a new community authority, which would require state authorization, to own and operate the stadium. But that authority would have no legal mechanism to collect taxes or revenue outside of its footprint, or perhaps through taxes levied by Brook Park.

The Haslams, meanwhile, have expressed a desire to double or triple the county sin tax. But that proposal has its own litany of problems. While the state recently approved legislation allowing Cuyahoga County to go back to voters to seek a doubling of the tax rate, Executive Chris Ronayne has said he will not pursue that both because it would still not be enough to cover the capital repair bills at Progressive Field and Rocket Arena and because polling shows voters are unlikely to approve a new sin tax bump if part of the money is diverted to the Brook Park dome. Both the Cavs and Guardians have expressed similar concerns about the Browns being included in future sin tax referendums.

“There’s substantial doubt whether a measure submitted to the voters that includes the Brook Park stadium as an eligible recipient would pass given that hesitancy about move,” Silliman said.

Spokespersons for the Browns and Cuyahoga County either did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment.

Stadium authorities are seen today as the new golden model. It’s one the Browns are pursuing.

The Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium is owned by the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, which collects Clark County hotel tax dollars to fund maintenance and reapirs. In other words, Nevada owns Allegiant; Nevada’s tourists pay to keep the Raiders happy.

A similar model around Paycor Stadium—the Banks New Community Authority—uses a one-percent amenity tax collected on dollars spent in the district to pay for events and promotions.

In theory, a Brook Park Stadium Authority could do the same, with an okay from state legislators. Which would mean the financial responsibility would fall on anyone who visits the dome or surrounding development, paying more in parking, beverages, food and tickets.

Or, Brook Park could be on the hook, at least partially.

“Unless and until they get those terms tied down,” Silliman said, “the responsibility would presumably fall on Brook Park.”

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The post Who Will Pay for Capital Repairs at New Brook Park Browns Dome? It’s Entirely Unclear appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

Four years ago, Cleveland State’s Esports program was formed and had about 20 athletes competing in five games. Now, esports has grown to about 45 individuals in the varsity program and over 100 people in the club portion.

With the growth at CSU (and worldwide) of esports, the HoriZone Roundtable spoke with the Director of Esports at Cleveland State, PJ Farrell, to get the rundown on the ins and outs.

Ready Player One?

CSU’s program was initially a part of the athletic department and competed in five different games: VALORANT, Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and League of Legends.

With numerous students who play each game, one might wonder how they practice for events. 

“Our Smash Ultimate team will go to local events a couple days a week. There’s an event in Brunswick every Tuesday that happens for Smash Ultimate [where] a lot of professional players go.”

Each game has other people helping coach (some are even just the students), but VALORANT had some extra help recently. 

“For our VALORANT team, they have not had a coach traditionally, but we did hire somebody from a Tier-2 organization that came and watched us online and we gave them a little bit of a fee for just helping us last month or so.”

Overall, there are a lot of ways they prepare but each game has unique challenges. “We kind of prepare them for the tournaments but most of the time they just “scrim” [scrimmage] online. They find scrims online against other schools who are Tier-2 organizations that are also trying to make it professionally.”

Level Up

With the growing interest around campus and the growing community around the world, Farrell expanded the game lineup this year. 

“We have a lot of people on campus that are really interested in what we’re trying to do. We added another game this year. We added Street Fighter: 6. [It’s a] traditional fighter game and I know there’s a lot of interest in the community for that as well and a lot of the colleges are starting to pick up on it.”

The program has continued to expand not just in size and games, but also in talent. Better talents contributed heavily to the accolades CSU has started to gather.

“I think last year was probably our best recruiting year we’ve ever had. We brought in three freshmen for our VALORANT team[.] We also brought in a couple really good Smash Ultimate players last year and then this year was the year that we knew it was like the beginning of our window because those kids now have a year’s experience under their belt.” 

With younger players, as in any sport, the actual events can have added pressure as opposed to practices. “When you get to be in person and you get to be on stage and people are going crazy, for new people that are young, sometimes that can be very shocking so I think this year they had that experience. We tried to take them to some different trips so they could kind of get the jitters out and they came to play this year.”

“GG” (Good Game)

Not only is esports growing on campus, they’re also winning outside campus. CSU competes in the Great Lakes Esports Conference (GLEC) which includes teams from Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. Farrell noted that Cleveland State is the only D-I school in the conference.

“What we find is that a lot of the D-II, D-III schools are the ones that are putting more money into esports programs, so the smaller[,] lower conferences are actually some of the better ones that are out there.”

Competing last year, CSU pulled out a great win against a powerhouse in Smash Ultimate. “Last year was our first year taking it to Manchester [University]. They were our big rivals in the Smash community and so we ended up beating them in a really close set for our very first conference win last year.”

This season saw CSU repeat as Manchester was knocked out in an earlier round. “[Manchester] lost to Illinois Wesleyan [University] and then we competed against Illinois Wesleyan, and we won 3-0 against them in the grand finals.”

In VALORANT, CSU also took down Tiffin University and got a bid in Texas at the CECC Nationals. “That was a big win for us. We were 0-5 against them the last few years. Their team was just really, really good.”

Each semester the GLEC selects three games to compete in, and CSU won two out of the three. “We are one of the first teams in the conference to win multiple game titles in the same season, so that was pretty cool for us.”

“Both teams really were dead set on trying to win the conference and take down these kinda juggernaut teams that have won the last few years, and so this was kind of their moment. This was their year for it.”

Continue?

With an established footprint at CSU, the future for esports is bright. They are connected to the Washkewicz College of Engineering and no longer with the athletic department.

Moving forward, Farrell wants to get even more of the campus involved. “I would love for people to know how they can get involved because we are like a mini athletic department within ourselves.”

“It would be really great if we had people on campus that could help us by just joining our club program or they can add by helping coach, running our website or our social media, or just participating and trying out for our varsity program.”

In the short term, Farrell wants to expand not just the number of people involved but also the space they have. He wants this larger space to contribute not only to the varsity program but the fun club experience. “You don’t have to play varsity. You can just have fun and just enjoy video games.”

In short, check out the program. It’s got plenty for everyone. “We would love for more people on campus just to recognize what we bring to the university itself and that there’s just so many different ways to get involved in how it can help you in your careers.”

Originally published by the HoriZone Roundtable. Republished here with permission.

The post CSU’s Director of Esports on the Growth of the University’s Varsity Team, Club Program appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

CSU (3-6) completely tripped coming out of the starting gate to begin Horizon League play, but there are some explainable reasons. 

Injuries, illness, and a brand-new team all contributed to two lackluster games to begin conference play.

Away Game at Northern Kentucky (6-2) on December 3rd

With Josiah Harris still out and Dayan Nessah out with an illness, the Vikings were down two of their starters yet again. A lineup of Tre Beard, David Giddens, Jaidon Lipscomb, Priest Ryan, and Holden Pierre-Louis took the floor instead.

The Norse came out hot. They hit their first four threes and, combined with a few turnovers and fouls, the Vikings were already on their heels. After just five minutes, CSU was down 16-5 and looking for answers on offense and defense. 

A fast break layup by Ryan slowed the ascent of NKU as the Vikings scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to four. Another Norse three (three seconds after a Beard three) put it back up to seven but the Vikings were at least back in the game. 

NKU stretched the lead to ten a few times and never let the Vikings get the score within a few possessions before a pair of free throws and a basket put the lead up to 14.

Both teams traded points down the stretch (including Lipscomb draining all three free throws after being fouled), but the 14-point lead would hold going into the locker room. NKU 47-CSU 33.

A different Vikings team came out to start the half. A 14-2 run by the Vikings had the game within a single possession within 3 and a half minutes. This run was punctuated by eight points by Giddens. 

Just over two minutes later, Lipscomb sank three free throws again and suddenly the Vikings were leading by one. Alas, the Norse quickly tied it up and then took the lead on their own free throws.

CSU continued to match NKU until the 10-minute mark. A three, a steal, a dunk, and two free throws (due to a technical foul) had the deficit back up to ten and the Vikings had run out of gas. 

A 15-1 run put the game out of reach at 77-60. CSU had one last push with under two minutes to go and cut the lead back to seven, but the Norse made the free throws they needed to and the Vikings were unable to score again. 

NKU scored the last eight points to win 95-80.

Key Takeaways:

1. Obviously being without two starters is going to be difficult, but a bright spot the last few games has been Lipscomb. He led the way for the Vikings with 23 points (14-for-15 at the foul line). He needs to continue to be more careful with the ball (four turnovers to only one assist), but his ability to score is starting to peek through.
2. Tre Beard is one of the best three-point shooters CSU has ever had. He went 6-for-8 from three and finished with 20 points. Getting him back from injury was huge for the offense. After the Northern Kentucky game, head coach Rob Summers mentioned how other teams are starting to play Beard closer. “He’s wearing himself out a little bit because people are sitting in double teams and triple teams and I would do the same thing.”
3. Overall, the Vikings’ good three-point shooting finally showed its face. They went 14-for-25 in the game (56%!). They only shot 45.8% overall, so they shot considerably better from three. Giddens was a huge part, going 4-for-5.
4. New game, same issue. CSU lost the battle in the paint 40 points to 16. Even with their great shooting from deep, this discrepancy was impossible to overcome. 
5. On top of the issues in the paint, the Vikings lost the turnover battle as well. They finished with 20 (on which the Norse scored 26 points) and Northern Kentucky had 14 (on which the Vikings scored 16 points). Every starter had at least two turnovers. You can’t win if you can’t take care of the ball. This disparity plus having less rebounds led to the Norse getting 13 more shots on the game, which led to more points.

Home Game Against Detroit Mercy on December 6th

With everyone finally healthy, the Vikings started a different starting five of Lipscomb, Beard, Nessah, Ryan, and Pierre-Louis. 

Right from the start, CSU looked better offensively as Nessah started the scoring after a steal with a quick basket.

Ryan added a two and then a three (his first of the season) before Harris added a three of his own after coming off the bench. The first six minutes of the game saw barely any whistles, and the under-eight minute timeout didn’t occur until the 14:11 mark. By then, the Vikings held a slim 12-9 lead. 

A Beard three would be the only scoring before the second media timeout as the Vikings saw themselves ahead 15-9. This was when things started to take a bad turn for CSU. 

An 8-1 run by the Titans saw them jump out to a 17-16 lead right at the nine-minute mark, and the Vikings had completely stalled on offense.

Both teams had scored only 19 points by the under-eight minute timeout and the Vikings were stuck looking for answers. 

Although CSU was winning the battle on the boards, Detroit Mercy was running and getting to the basket much more often than CSU. Another Titan run had the score at 28-22 with under four minutes to go in the half. 

CSU closed this gap to three points with a few seconds to go in half but a long outlet pass and layup by Orlando Lovejoy gave the Titans a 36-31 lead at halftime.

A quick basket by Lipscomb to start the half got the deficit back to three, but former Viking Tyler Spratt equaled the bucket with his own. Another Lovejoy bucket followed by TJ Nadeau’s millionth three of the game suddenly had the gap up to ten points. 

Beard continued his good shooting this season with a three but the Titans hit another from deep and kept piling it on. 

Harris followed this up with a classic three-point play and Emery hit a true three-pointer, but the Vikings were not able to capitalize on the Titans slowing down on offense. 

For four minutes, Detroit Mercy didn’t score a point, but the Vikings only scored on the Emery three. Within that time Harris came down awkwardly on his ankle again, but he returned later. 

Turnovers by the Vikings and good shooting by the Titans created an insurmountable lead for Detroit Mercy that peaked at 18 points with about seven minutes to go. 

At this point, with almost no hope of winning left, the Vikings started to play fast and confident. They actually got the deficit down to seven with three minutes to go, but the comeback wasn’t enough. 

The final score sat at 71-59 and the Vikings dropped to 0-2 in the Horizon League.

Key Takeaways:

1. 59 points is not going to win a ton of games with the way the Vikings defend. They were outscored 32-18 in the paint and just can’t seem to stop teams from getting inside while also being unable to get inside themselves.
2. CSU and Detroit Mercy both put up 58 shots, but they were very different shots. The Vikings missed a lot of close range shots while also having long possessions and rushed shots throughout most of the 20 minutes in the middle of the game. They need to be more confident and take open shots earlier in the shot clock. Summers thinks this is definitely possible. “Sometimes we are just really focusing on one or two dribbles and getting off of it,” he remarked.
3. Ryan finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive). He continues to shine since the Harris injury. He only committed one foul, but had four turnovers. He needs to clean up some stuff, but overall, he’s been a key piece of the team lately. “He could be somebody that’s a focal point for helping our team kind of stay together,” Summers said. 
4. Injuries and sickness have ravaged the team so far. Harris went 2-for-11 and Nessah was 1-for-7. The Vikings need both to perform to win, so both coming back and clearly having to shake off some rust wasn’t fun. “I think it’s tough[…] to get Jo Jo [Harris] and [Nessah]  back and get them back in the rhythm,” mentioned Summers.
5. The way the Vikings played when they got down by 18 is the way they need to play all game. They were decisive and unscared. They made passes and put up shots. They need to be unafraid to make mistakes. Right now, they are playing like every possession is too important. “We just let different things affect us on different sides of the ball, and I’m just trying to get them to have quick, short-term memories. You know, be a goldfish.” The Horizon League will not have any cakewalk games. Summers briefly spoke about this post-game as well. “That’s the part about it. The parity is unbelievable. Anybody can lose and anybody can win every single game.”

Next up for the Vikings:

CSU (3-8, 0-2 Horizon League) plays NAIA Oakland City University at Woodling Gymnasium next Sunday at 2 PM.  

Originally published by the HoriZone Roundtable. Republished here with permission.

The post CSU Falters to Start the Conference Season appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

It was less than two years ago that Tristan Enaruna hit a jumper off one foot to send the Cleveland State Vikings to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Now, Enaruna is firmly set in the starting lineup for the G-League Cleveland Charge and has many people talking.

Just like his college career, his professional career didn’t start in Cleveland, but he’s getting his footing in the same town where he dominated as a Viking for two years.

The HoriZone Roundtable spoke with Enaruna after a Charge practice to see how everything was progressing.

From The Lands to The Land

Enaruna hails from Almere, Flevoland, Neatherlands. He played for the Almere Pioneers, Apollo Amsterdam, and then at Wasath Academy in Utah. 

A four-star recruit, Enaruna ended up committing to Kansas for the 2018-19 season. In his two seasons with the Jayhawks, he played in 55 games for an average of about ten minutes per game and scored about two and a half points per game (PPG). 

After these underwhelming first two years, he transferred to another Big 12 school, Iowa State. He averaged 14.4 minutes and 4.3 PPG in his one year there before his college career turned around.

Following the news that Iowa State assistant coach Daniyal Robinson was being hired as the CSU head coach, Enaruna followed him eastward. It was a match made in heaven from the start. “I almost want to say he saved my career,” Enaruna said. “I was mentally in a tough spot. I always dreamed of playing in the NBA, and then kind of going through my first three years of college that dream kind of felt like it was getting more and more distant.”

Enaruna started 70 games over the next two years for the Vikings and averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.5 rebounds per game (RPG), 2 assists per game (APG), and a block per game (BPG) while playing almost 33 minutes a game. 

“Obviously, I met [Robinson] at Iowa State, and he brought me to[…] Cleveland State, and […] that dream came back to life,” added Enaruna.

On a team with a new coach and a lot of new players, Enaruna established himself as a force in the conference. Both years saw him land on the All-Horizon Team, plus he made the All-Horizon Tournament Team in 2023. His career player efficiency rating is the third best all-time in the conference at 25.16. 

Despite only playing two years for CSU, his name is splattered across career and season leaderboards for the school and conference. His impact might not have always been flashy, but it was always there.

His game-winner in the CBI is probably his signature moment for fans, but he had plenty of great plays.

Thinking back to that shot, Enaruna had a lot to say. “We were tied, and we drew up that play designed for me to get the ball. It went a little bit off track. I caught it in a different space than I was supposed to, but I caught the ball and knew there wasn’t a lot of time left, so as soon as I got the space, ‘rise up and shoot it.’ I did, and it went in. It felt good, because obviously [in the] CBI, if you get eliminated, you’re done…your season is done. I think knowing that it was my last year in college, I just wanted to extend it as much as I could, and obviously helping [by] making that shot and giving us an extra game to play[…] felt great.”

The Main(e) Man Goes North

Although there was a small chance he was going to be drafted, the more likely situation of being signed after the draft happened for Enaruna. Following the 2024 draft, the Boston Celtics signed him to come to the Summer League and he eventually ended up playing last season with the G-League Maine Celtics.

Enaruna played in 49 games last season (22 starts) in the Tip-Off Tournament, Regular Season, and Playoffs. He averaged just over 11 PPG but never found his footing completely. He averaged over 30 minutes a game but the Celtics had a few other guys who were taking a lot of shots (J. D. Davison took almost 20 shots a game).

Enaruna did show some promise with a few 20-point games (including a 26-point game against the Charge) and three games with 13 rebounds. In the G-League, where the game plan seems to be to get up a shot as soon as you get the ball, his skill set was sometimes a bit lost in the shuffle.

With not much buzz around him at the end of the season, Enaruna was invited by the Cleveland Cavaliers to play in the NBA Summer League and things started to look up.

There’s No Place Like CLE, There’s No Place Like CLE, There’s No Place Like CLE

In five games with the Cavs Summer League team, Enaruna put up 13.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 24.4 minutes a game. He started to turn some heads with his ability to play basically every position and get blocks, steals, and assists on top of his scoring.

Impressed by his Summer League time, the Cavs traded for Enaruna’s rights in a three-team trade with the Celtics and Iowa Wolves. Back in Cleveland, he has seen extended playing time and a clear improvement from last season.

Going into the game Sunday, Enaruna is averaging 18.8 PPG while starting all nine games so far in the Tip-Off Tournament. He’s also averaging 5.6 RPG and almost two APG. He’s been in double figures every game but one and scored 29 points while making four threes in a game. 

“I think the biggest difference going into year two is [I’m] familiar with the league[,] the style of play [,and] the competition level,” mentioned Enaruna.

Showcasing his myriad talents, he had a game with four steals and another with 11 boards. He plays defense against anyone (including Victor Oladipo attempting to get back to the NBA) and is definitely turning some heads in Cleveland. 

“I think that’s the funny thing about the G-League. Sometimes, some nights you would just play against somebody that has great NBA experience. Like, [Oladipo] was an All-Star caliber player.”

Enaruna is currently third on the team in scoring, though his field goal percentage is above the two in front of him, and is fourth in RPG. He’s averaging 32.5 minutes a game and has turned into part of the core for the Charge.

Viking, Celtic, Charge, Cavalier?

Now that Enaruna has established himself as a good G-League player, the only step left is the NBA. Though numerous outlets reported Enaruna was possibly up for a two-way contract before the season, the Cavs went other ways. 

If he keeps playing the way he is, some team is going to give him a shot in the highest league. A perfect in-between player, he would fit in great with many benches. 

Right now, the NBA is still just a dream for Enaruna, but it’s clear that he’s more than capable of competing with anyone. 

“I came into Cleveland State kind of not knowing how to fit in, where to fit in. I came from a tough time at Iowa State, struggling, trying to find myself on the court and so I got to clean the slate, and I kind of learned to adapt with the help of a great coaching staff and great teammates. I figured out a way to navigate the unknown [and] find myself.”

For now Enaruna is happy playing for the Charge and visiting his old Cleveland hangouts. When asked what’s one of the places he’s happy to be able to visit again, Enaruna said The Fruit Stand on Euclid Ave for their açaí bowls.

Although Enaruna has played at the Wolstein Center and Public Auditorium, one might see him at Rocket Arena soon (hopefully in Wine and Gold).

Originally published by the HoriZone Roundtable. Republished here with permission.

The post Former CSU Viking Tristan Enaruna is Making His Mark With the Cleveland Charge  appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

After a in-person meeting and two Cokes at Jimmy and Dee Haslam’s home in Bratenahl on Friday, Mayor Bibb believed he came to a fair deal with the Browns owners he has been fighting against in court and public opinion since they announced their intentions to move to Berea.

Haslams Sports Group will pay to demolish the current Huntington Bank Field on the lakefront after the lease with Cleveland is up in 2029. They will also, Bibb announced in a press conference on Monday, pay the city $90 million combined through a lump sum and installments over the next 20 years.

All pending lawsuits between the Browns and the City of Cleveland, after years of complaints and filings, are now dropped as well.

“I think the fight we put up was the right fight,” Bibb said from a podium in the Mayor’s Office’s Red Room. “This deal shows that the fight worked. And we have a win-win for the city and a win-win for the region.”

Jimmy Haslam, coming off yet another embarrassing Browns loss, said the $100 million heading the city’s way is very much in line with Bibb’s vision for Cleveland.

“After such a bumpy time period, we’ll just describe it as this: How excited we are to make this investment in the City of Cleveland with Mayor Bibb. I think these dollars will be put to good use, [and] will make Cleveland an even better place to live, work and raise a family,” he said.

Cleveland will receive the first $25 million of the money this year. Starting on Jan. 1, 2029 the Haslams will pay Cleveland $5 million a year until 2033. That amounts to $80 million in cash.

The remaining $20 million will come in the form of a specific community benefits project paid in $2 million installments until 2045. Neither Bibb nor Haslam elaborated on details on that point.

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The post Haslams to Pay Cleveland $100 Million for Stadium Demolition, Lakefront Development appeared first on Cleveland Scene.