The NHL season was hanging in the balance when representatives from the NHL, the players' association, and a federal mediator burned the midnight oil deep into Sunday morning to reach an agreement and ensure that a 2013 NHL season would be played. Facing pressure from both sides, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr of the NHLPA found a way to salvage a partial season. The season is expected to begin within the next couple of weeks and proposals have been drawn up to fit a 50-game schedule or a 48-game schedule.

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Hard to believe that we’ve already made it to the NFL postseason and the final few bowl games. It seems like the fall absolutely flew by. I hope all of you were able to make some money this season, and if you didn’t, were at least able to learn a lot for your money. Handicapping is a process and the goal is to keep getting better, even if the results may not be there. The playoffs provide a clean slate for players who had a tough regular season.

Let’s be honest – NFL playoff lines are tight. Virgin tight. About the only edge that you might be able to find in the line is an over/undervalue of home field advantage. See the Seahawks/Redskins as an example. The Seahawks, who went 11-5, have to travel to the 10-6 Redskins, yet, the Seahawks, who went 8-0 at home and just 3-5 on the road, opened a favorite. Both teams come in playing extremely well, with 12 combined wins between the two in order to make the playoffs. The three road wins for the Seahawks are over Carolina, Buffalo, and Chicago. They even lost on the road to Arizona and St. Louis.

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So 2012 has come and gone without another championship from any of Cleveland’s teams.

While there were no titles to celebrate, there were still plenty of stories, from firings to trades, to too many losses and too few wins.

Our annual review of the year in Cleveland sports continues with the second quarter of the year. (In case you missed the First Quarter, click here).

Ubaldo Jimenez closed out spring training by hitting Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki with a pitch. It was the highpoint of Jimenez’ season as his poor performance in spring training – an ERA of 7.43 in 23 innings of work – left the Tribe wondering what to do with a problem like Ubaldo.

We welcomed the Tribe back for the 2012 season with hope – but also with fears for the Wahoos. And on Opening Day everything was right – up until closer Chris Perez entered the game.

Cleveland’s own Sean McLaughlin sat down with us (figuratively) for a Q&A about the joys of following Celtic football.

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By 1974, the Cleveland Arena was living on borrowed time.

Its owner was Nick Mileti, who also owned Cleveland’s baseball Indians, basketball Cavaliers and hockey Barons. Mileti had just built the 20,000-seat Coliseum at Richfield, which was about to open to rave reviews.

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