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In Cleveland, hope dies last

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23 Apr 2011

Character still counts

We woke up this morning to the news that Miami wide receiver Brandon Marshall was in the hospital after being stabbed – allegedly by his wife.

This is not the first time Marshall has been in the news for off-field shenanigans:

  • On March 1, 2009, Marshall and his wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, were both arrested and booked on disorderly conduct charges after two officers saw them kicking and punching each other outside Marshall’s Atlanta condominium. Disorderly conduct charges were later dismissed.
  • The NFL suspended Marshall for three 2008 games under the league’s personal conduct policy, although no specific reason was given. He appealed, and the penalty was reduced to just one game.
  • In May 2009 he was profiled in ESPN’s Outside the Lines about the couple’s abusive relationships. The 911 tapes and police reports documented his checkered past.
  • He was arrested in November 2004 and charged with five misdemeanor counts of trespassing, resisting an officer without violence, refusal to obey an officer, disorderly conduct and assault on an officer. The charges were eventually dropped.
  • In April 2005, he was arrested again in Orange County on a misdemeanor charge of retail or farm theft, but was never prosecuted.
  • He made headlines in January 2007 when Broncos teammate and friend Darrent Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting by gang members in downtown Denver. The shooting took place after an altercation at a nightclub between the gang members and other patrons, including Marshall.

The latest problems for Marshall, who signed a $50 million contract with the Dolphins last year, making him the highest paid wide-receiver in NFL history, remind us that character still counts when teams are looking at players.

When the Broncos were looking to deal Marshall, there were some who wanted the Browns to trade for him. There was also a segment of the fan base that wanted the Browns to draft Dez Bryant last year and some who couldn’t understand why the Browns did not trade for Randy Moss when the Patriots grew tired of his act.

Of course, Bryant is currently busy defending himself against lawsuits claiming he failed to pay $246,000 for jewelry and Moss lasted all of four games before the Vikings released him.

While any of the three would have helped the Browns anemic passing attack, we’re glad they are not on the team. We bag on Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi from time to time because they’re not very good, but we’re confident we won’t wake up one day to a headline saying that they are in some off-field trouble.

It’s good, too, that the Browns are determined to shy away from troubled players.

“Those guys in the league that have had issues, those guys are going to be tough for us to mess around with,” general manager Tom Heckert has said in published reports.

So while it may not be true in other NFL cities, at least in Cleveland character still matters.

***

The bad Fausto Carmona showed up for the Indians on Saturday against Minnesota, giving up six runs, seven hits and four walks in just five innings of work as the Tribe fell, 10-3.

It was the first time this season the Twins scored more than five runs in a game (of course) as they entered the day with the lowest run totals in the majors.

But that didn’t matter as the Twins slapped around Carmona and then Chad Durbin (two innings of work, four runs, why is he still on the team?) to hand the Tribe its second consecutive loss.

But all is not lost as Carlos Carrasco will get the start on Sunday in an attempt to give the Indians a split of not only the series, but the six-game road trip. And that’s OK – when you are in first place all that matters is the teams behind you don’t make up ground.

The Tribe split with Kansas City and if they can earn a split with the Twins that’s six division games out of the way without letting the Royals and Twins gain anything.

And that’s not bad at all.

***

Maxi Rodriguez tallied a hat-trick, Dirk Kuyt and Joe Cole each added a goal, and Liverpool closed the gap on fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur with a 5-0 win on Saturday against Birmingham.

”Maxi is a very intelligent footballer. He’s not a direct replacement for Andy but he’s got more goals than him in that one performance,” Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said in published reports. ”Maxi has not played for a few weeks and came on and did a fantastic job for us.

”Joe also got his reward because he has trained well and he came on and got a goal. It won’t do Joe or Maxi any harm and the joy the players got from Maxi scoring his hat-trick and Joe scoring his goal reflects how close a group they are and that is great for the club.

”They are all playing for each other and the players are going to play better if they are confident and if they are happy going to work they will get better results.”

While the Spurs do have a game in hand, only three points separate the two teams. And Tottenham Hotspur still have to face Chelsea (2nd in the table) and Manchester City (4th) before the next-to-last game of the season against Liverpool against Anfield on May 15.

If the Reds can keep it close until then – they face Newcastle United (9th in the table) and Fulham (13th) – the game with Spurs should be the dogs bollocks.

Posted in character, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, dogs bollocks, Liverpool | Leave a comment
21 Apr 2011

Browns to draft someone next week

Breaking news out of Berea where Browns general manager Tom Heckert confirmed today the the team will select a college player with their first pick in the NFL Draft next week.

OK, Heckert wasn’t that vague, but he certainly played it close to the vest during a press conference Thursday to talk about the team’s draft plans.

“We have some holes to fill all over the place,” Heckert said. “We still have holes on defense and offense. We’re going to try to the best of our ability to stick with our philosophy of taking the best available player. I know everybody says that, but I think we’re in a better position to do that than some teams. Some teams may be one or two positions away from being really good. It’s probably a positive for us that we can take the best available player.

“I don’t know what the biggest need is. I know everybody has their opinion on that, but I think we’re in a situation where we can draft anybody and it will help us. I don’t know if it’s a ‘fill-a-need thing,’ but we’re not looking at it like that.”

So the Browns are going to draft someone that they believe is the best player for the team. Check.

What about LSU’s Patrick Peterson, who we are starting to really, really like at No. 6?

“He is a good football player. He is a rare guy just because of his size alone, size and speed.

“You are going to play close to 60 percent nickel so you are going to have three corners on the field 60 percent of the time. If you don’t have three of them they are going to find the one. They are going to and you have to roll coverage that way and then you are putting that guy on the island. The more cover guys you can have the better you are. You get a corner hurt, you can’t have enough corners.

“It’s the same thing with defensive and offensive linemen. Everybody talks about the starters and that’s great. On defense, the nickel guys, in the secondary and as pass rushers, it’s great to have an inside pass rusher or a nickel pass rusher. There are spots for that and the same thing with the offensive line. If one of your tackles goes down you better have someone who can replace him. That’s why those positions are so key that if you don’t have one you are going to be in trouble.”

All kidding aside, we wouldn’t expect Heckert to come out and specifically say who the Browns plan to pick – there’s no advantage for the team in doing that. From everything Heckert has said the Browns know what type of player they want and have done their homework.

Now it’s time to wait and see what happens with the teams picking before them in the first round. No matter what those teams do, the Browns are in a position to make the team better.

Just as important, Heckert doesn’t come across as someone who needs to use the draft to fuel his ego and show everyone how smart he is. He knows the time to do the work is now and then, on draft night, trust all the work the scouts did and all the time the coaches and front office put in evaluating players.

We get the feeling he won’t draft Gerrard Warren when everyone is saying Richard Seymour is the correct pick; nor will he fixate on just one player and then panic when it looks like that player will go off the board.

“If we end up staying where we are, we’re going to get a good football player,” Heckert said. “There are six guys and we’re going to get a good football player. That’s probably the nice thing. Obviously, you don’t want to pick up there all the time, but we know we’re getting a good football player. If we stay here, then we’re good. It’s really not going to affect us, what happens up there. It’s not a situation we’re that concerned about.

“You could try to get cute and say, ‘Well, maybe he’s going to be there later in the second round’ and then you lose him and you’re like, ‘How stupid was that?’ If you like the guy, take him. Don’t get too cute.”

Don’t get too cute. Now that’s a philosophy we can get behind.

***

Real Madrid beat Barcelona in the finals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, setting off a celebration.

Is this the best victory parade not involving a Cleveland team? Yes it is.

After ending an 18-year wait to win the trophy, Madrid defender Sergio Ramos dropped the 33-pound cup from the top of the team bus during the victory parade – and the cup was crushed under the wheels of the bus.

“It is not in good shape, evidently, it was run over by a bus,” Madrid spokeswoman Marta Santisteban told The Associated Press in what is probably the understatement of the year. “It has to be fixed.”

It’s going to be a long time before someone can top that one.

Posted in Barcelona, Cleveland Browns, Copa del Rey, NFL draft, Real Madrid, Tom Heckert | Leave a comment
20 Apr 2011

Waiting … and waiting … and waiting

We’re used to waiting here in Cleveland – we’ve been waiting our entire lives for a Cleveland team to win something.

But we have nothing on the fans of Stoke City.

The Premier League team earned a spot in the finals of the FA Cup over the weekend for the first time in franchise history – and that history dates to 1863.

The Potters are the oldest club in the Premier League and, despite periods of on-field success, have never lifted the FA Cup trophy.

“For 147 years, we have waited,” team chairman Peter Coates told the Stoke-on-Trent Sentinel.

“For me, this was without doubt the biggest win in the football club’s history because it puts us in the final of the biggest cup competition in the world,” Coates said on the team’s website. “To be honest, it really doesn’t get any better than this and going to the final is very exciting for us all.

Forget a lifetime of “waiting for next year,” how about generation after generation after generation after generation of waiting?

Kind of makes 1964 seem not that long ago.

The FA Cup was first held in 1871. The knockout tournament is open to all football clubs from the top flight all the way down to amateur teams – think if Major League Baseball held a tournament with every team down through the independent leagues – and drew more than 750 entrants this year.

The tournament is so much a part of English culture that it has been nominated as a cultural icon, along with Stonehenge, a cup of tea and the double-decker bus.

“The FA Cup has a unique place in English sporting culture and a magic all of its own,” said Brian Barwick, FA chief executive. “It has consistently generated some of the great stories and moments in sport and we are delighted that it has been recognised in this way.”

***

We know that Browns running back Peyton Hillis has made it to the finals of an online tournament to be the next cover athlete for the Madden NFL 12 video game.

We’ve also read and heard how EA Sports will never allow someone with a low profile like Hillis to be on the cover of the company’s flagship game.

But would Hillis really have a negative impact on game sales? Not according to this article from Sports Biz.

“What drives gamers to a particular title is that game’s review scores, gameplay and feedback from peers,” said David Riley of the NPD Group in the article. “While cover art can certainly enhance appeal and awareness, it’s hard to fathom that a gamer would drop $60 based solely on what appears on the cover.”

Riley said there is no hard research on an cover athlete’s ability to better sell a game.

“Great covers help practically sell everything, but can a cover alone sell a video game?” Riley asks. “Sure, some gaming consumers who stumble upon the latest title will be compelled to look the game over based on the cover, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to drive them to purchase it.”

The Madden cover spot this year is reportedly worth around $125,000, even though it does include some work—about a week full of commitments.

So while the Madden curse lurks for the winner of the tournament, it apparently doesn’t translate to game sales.

***

The NFL released the 2011 schedule and the Browns have an interesting year ahead of them.

Once again they will see familiar faces in news places as they take on Kamerion Wimbley (probably) and Oakland, Derek Anderson (maybe) and Arizona, former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and Miami, former special teams coach Brad Seely and San Francisco, Mike Holmgren’s former team in Seattle and Pat Shurmur’s old team, St. Louis.

After opening the season at home against Cincinnati, the Browns won’t play another division game until Nov. 27, when they see the Bengals again. They face Pittsburgh and Baltimore twice each over the last five weeks of the season.

Should be interesting.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Peyton Hillis, Stoke City, waiting for next year | Leave a comment
19 Apr 2011

It’s always good to have options

In life, it’s always good to have options. And the same can be said for Cleveland’s sports teams.

With the NFL Draft a little more than a week away, the Browns have plenty of holes to fill and options as they currently hold the No. 6 selection in the first round.

If they want to fill a hole at wide receiver, A.J. Green or Julio Jones should be there.

If they want to continue working on the defense, a defensive lineman – Robert Quinn, Marcell Dareus, Da’Quan Bowers or Nick Fairley – should be available.

You want a linebacker? Maybe Von Miller falls if the teams ahead of the Browns go quarterback heavy.

If the Browns want another cornerback, Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara will be available.

Options.

Or if general manager Tom Heckert believes he can move down in the draft and still get someone the team wants, they may find trading partners with Houston (No. 11) as the Texans reportedly want a cornerback or Miami (No. 15) as the Dolphins may be looking at a quarterback – if one falls to No. 6.

As long as the Browns don’t take a quarterback with their first pick, we’re confident they will make the right call. Based on last year’s draft, we have faith in the front office until they give us reason to doubt them.

***

The Cavs also have options as they prepare for this summer’s NBA Draft.

Holding two lottery picks (their own and the Clippers) means that, best-case scenario, the Cavs come home with the top two picks in the draft. Worse case, they take the 5th pick and the 11th.

No matter what happens at the draft lottery on May 17, general manager Chris Grant is ready.

“From our standpoint, we’re in a really good position: high picks, trade exception, flexible contracts,” Grant said in published reports. “Every year we know one thing: We know there’s 10-15, 12-15 good players. Our job is to figure out who those guys are. Those are the marching orders we give our scouts: Go figure out who those guys are.”

So while, according to draft “experts” this may be a bad year to be in the draft lottery – having Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones available certainly would have helped – if the Cavs do their homework they should come out of this alright. And having two lottery picks certainly increases the chances of finding solid – if not necessarily spectacular – players.

And we like what we hear from Grant. He seems thoughtful and we get the feeling that the Cavs are in good hands with him calling the shots. The fact he turned Mo Williams and Jamario Moon into a lottery pick can’t be understated.

Coach Byron Scott did his part in getting the team through a tough season. Now it’s Grant’s turn to step up and give the team some much-needed reinforcements.

***

Thankfully the Indians have options when it comes to their starting pitching, as Mitch Talbot is going to be out – possibly for a long time.

The Tribe called up Jeanmar Gomez to take Talbot’s spot in the rotation and Gomez is scheduled to start tonight’s game in Kansas City against the Royals.

Gomez made his major-league debut last year in July and returned to the Tribe on Aug. 1. He spent the rest of the season with the Tribe, compiling a 4-5 record and 4.68 earned-run average. In two starts this year at Triple A Columbus, Gomez posted a 2-0 record and 1.42 ERA.

Hopefully someone clued Gomez in to the fact that the starting pitching has been lights out so far.

***

We get why ESPN hypes Jon Gruden. He works for the network and they have a brand to sell, and Gruden is nothing if not a brand at this point.

His Quarterback Camp segment on ESPN is completely unwatchable and the five minutes we caught this morning where he was gushing about Blaine Gabbert’s shoe size and ability to wear a baseball cap backwards makes us so, so glad the Browns didn’t hire him as coach. (We think it was Gabbert, it was difficult to tell because our ears were bleeding from Gruden’s rambling).

What’s harder to figure out is why any media outlet not affiliated with ESPN continues to sell the myth that Gruden is some kind of quarterback guru, hanging on every word he utters.

Seriously, what quarterback did Gruden ever develop?

Former Tampa quarterback Shaun King, who played two years under Gruden, agrees, telling JoeBucFan.com that he won’t watch the program:

“I won’t watch it,” King said. “I disagree with the premise of the show. The premise is that Gruden is some kind of quarterbacks guru and that having him as a destination for a rookie QB is the ideal situation for a rookie and that just hasn’t proven to the case.”

Thank you, Mike Holmgren, for being smart enough to not let Gruden get his hands on Colt McCoy.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Jon Gruden, NFL draft | Leave a comment
18 Apr 2011

Sorry, but we just can’t do it

Browns running back Peyton Hillis has somehow made it to the finals of an ESPN contest to see who will be on the cover of the Madden NFL 12 video game.

ESPN.com’s SportsNation announced Monday that Hillis earned 61 percent of votes cast to “upset” Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Hillis now will face Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick in the finals.

Hillis’ campaign has grown with get out and vote calls from many.

But not from us.

We know it’s just superstition, just a coincidence, there’s no basis in logic or fact, but … the Madden Curse is real. Don’t be swayed by so-called “logic.”

The Browns and Cleveland sports have enough problems without going out and looking for trouble. Why not just start selling Hillis voodoo dolls in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati? Or have a gypsy come to the locker room and give him the evil eye?

With the way things work around here, if Hillis makes the cover he probably won’t even make it to training camp before being stricken by some fluke injury or strange, never-before-seen ailment.

This is Cleveland, after all.

And we’re going to sit this one out.

***

Another reason to like Cleveland is the upcoming opening of the Sports Research Center, which is scheduled to open April 25 in the Cleveland Public Library.

According to The Plain Dealer, the center, the only one of its kind in Northeast Ohio, will showcase the best of Cleveland sports history with more than 25,000 books and magazines and research materials, including old photos, scrapbooks, movies and movie clips.

“We will have more baseball-related material than any other building in the country” except the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., Tena Wilson, a library administrator, told The PD. “We’ll be revealing a lot of hidden treasures.”

“Sports are a part of Cleveland DNA,” Felton Thomas, Cleveland Public Library director, said in the article. “Clevelanders either love or hate the changing weather seasons, but they always embrace the start of a new sports season. And this [center] gives fans a chance to travel back into Cleveland sports history to reminisce about a favorite player or game or discover something new about their beloved sports teams and heroes.”

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland sports history, Madden Curse, Peyton Hillis | Leave a comment
15 Apr 2011

The week that was in our sports world

Even with the end of their eight-game winning streak, the Indians West Coast trip was a major success for the team.

Sweeping the Mariners helped the Tribe go 4-2 on the trip, even with two losses to the Angels.

Even in the losses the starting pitching was superb.

Fausto Carmona had another solid outing, going seven-and-two-thirds innings, giving up four hits and two runs in the streak-breaking loss. After the Opening Day abomination against the White Sox, Carmona has given up two runs and only six hits in his last two starts, covering 14 and two-thirds innings. That’s a 1.23 ERA.

Of course Carmona has received zero run support (literally) in his past two starts; if that trend continues he could turn into this year’s Kevin Millwood.

Carlos Carrasco was almost as good the next night, giving up just three earned runs in seven innings of work. Just like Carmona, Carrasco has rebounded from a poor first start to post a 2.77 ERA over his last two starts, covering 13 innings.

The Tribe will need that kind of starting pitching, especially with so much of the offense currently struggling. The team has scored just three runs in its last 28 innings, and Carlos Santana (0-for-20), Matt LaPorta (0-for-10), Jack Hannahan (0-for-8), Travis Hafner (0-for-9), Orlando Cabrera (0-for-11), Asdrubal Cabrera (1-for-10) and Travis Buck (0-for-7) are all currently lost at the plate.

While it’s unlikely the Indians will put together another long winning streak, their pitching and defense should keep them in most games. The important thing is that they don’t now go on a five- or six-game losing streak, negating all the good they have done so far.

If they can take two-out-of-three from Baltimore this weekend (weather permitting), they will head to Kansas City for an early-season showdown for first place.

Wait, did we really just write that?

***

The Cavs ended the season this week by winning four of their final six games.

Shockingly, the team didn’t finish with the worst record in the NBA, the Timberwolves somehow managed to beat them out for that “honor.”

So the Cavs probably weren’t as bad as their 19-63 record would indicate, even with a 26-game losing streak and a stretch where they lost 36 of 37 games. If injuries hadn’t taken Anderson Varajeo and Antawn Jamison away from them, those two combined with Baron Davis and J.J. Hickson would have certainly resulted in more wins.

But that’s OK. This team needed to bottom out before it could get better, and another 10 wins or so this season wouldn’t have meant anything in the grand plan.

Now the Cavs enter a summer that should bring many changes to the team.

With two lottery picks and two second-round choices, the team should have a new look next season.

“I haven’t really thought about that,” coach Byron Scott told The Plain Dealer. “I’m just trying to relax a little bit now. (General manager Chris Grant) and I will talk. Obviously, we’re going to sit down and start talking about the future of this basketball team from a player standpoint. But we haven’t talked as of yet. We’ll probably start talking some time early next week.”

Just as important, the team is now a year removed from the departure of LeBron James, which means they should be able to focus solely on rebuilding the team and not worry about parking spaces, which players are being too friendly, or any of the other subplots that dominated this season.

Just like last summer, it will be an interesting and important off-season for the team – but this time it will be for the betterment of the team.

***

The end of the Cavs season also meant the end of Joe Tait’s 39 years as team broadcaster.

There’s no possible way to do justice to how good Tait was at his job and how much he meant to Cavs fans everywhere. We’ll just add our one Tait story to the growing list of tributes:

While in college we worked in the Sports Department at The Beacon Journal as a part-time agate clerk. One night, while waiting for the West Coast scores to come in, the phone rang. We answered and the voice on the other end asked for the score of that day’s Mount Union football game.

He didn’t identify himself, but there was no mistaking that voice, it was Joe Tait calling in – the Cavs were on the road, if we remember correctly – looking for the score. (In the pre-Internet days, people called the local paper looking for information).

We gave him the score and he said thank you.

And that was our one brush with greatness.

***

With less than two weeks to go until the NFL Draft, the Browns reportedly have their draft board set.

“[Our draft board] is pretty much set,” General manager Tom Heckert said on a conference call with season-ticket holders. “There are obviously some tweaks. We’re not exactly sure exactly who we’re going to take with the first pick. It all depends on what happens in front of us. Right now, we’re just going through different scenarios. If we trade up, who do we trade up for? If we trade back, who can we still get? Those are the things we’re pretty much thinking of.”

We have some thoughts on who we would like the Browns to pick which we’ll save for later. For now, as long as they don’t draft a quarterback with their first pick – whenever that may be – we’re fine. Based on last year’s draft, we trust the front office to make the right selections on draft day and will continue to do so until they prove otherwise.

***

The Champions League semifinals are now set: Manchester United will face Schalke and Barcelona will take on Real Madrid.

Man U should go throw to the final comfortably, although Schalke did take out last year’s winner, Inter Milan.

Apparently Barcelona-Real Madrid is some kind of big rivalry? We kid!

Anyway, should be a fun round of games.

***

Finally, today is the anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster, when 96 innocent football fans tragically died when many of them were crushed to death at a FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough ground in Sheffield, England.

We don’t really feel comfortable talking about the tragedy as we have only been Liverpool fans for a few years, so if anyone is interested, EPL Talk is the place to go.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Joe Tait, Liverpool | Leave a comment
06 Apr 2011

Better to be lucky than good

Sometimes in sports it’s better to be lucky than good. Too often, the Browns have been neither, both on the field and on draft day.

We were reminded of that when we read an article by Bob Labriola at steelers.com about how Pittsburgh – thanks to the Browns, of course – landed Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson in the 1987 draft.

The Steelers owned the 10th overall pick in the draft because of their 6-10 record in 1986. The Browns had finished 12-4 and ended the season, of course, with the overtime loss to Denver in the the AFC Championship game.

On draft day, the Browns traded Chip Banks to the San Diego Chargers for the fifth pick of the first round. Since Banks was an outside linebacker, the Browns could have selected Penn State’s Shane Conlan, the highest-rated linebacker in the draft. But coach Marty Schottenheimer out-thought himself, and Cleveland used the fifth overall pick on Duke linebacker Mike Junkin.

Of course they did.

As the rest of the picks fell into place – the Cardinals whiffed by selecting quarterback Kelly Stouffer at No. 6 – Woodson fell to the Steelers.

So remember this story the next time you read that the Steelers win because the Rooneys do things “the right way.” Sometimes it just comes down to dumb luck. (h/t James Walker at ESPN)

***

We were understandably excited when we read that Liverpool plans to invest in some “top players” over the summer as the Reds continue on improving the club.

“There will be movement, that’s for sure,” Damien Comolli, the club’s director of football, told The Guardian. “We are very attractive for a lot of players because of what we did in January and a game like that [the 3-1 defeat of Manchester United] is fantastic publicity for us around the world. Since the day after I was getting phone calls from agents telling me that their player would love to come and that we are going to compete next year if we get it right. We are attractive to a lot of top players and we want to bring top players to this club.”

Despite the prospect of another season apart from the European elite, Comolli believes the club’s profile and the ambition of Fenway Sports Group will produce substantial investment this summer.

And then we saw this in The Wall Street Journal:

Basketball star LeBron James is joining forces with renowned hedge-fund manager John Henry and veteran Hollywood producer Tom Werner in a deal that brings together one of the biggest stars in sports and two of the world’s most renowned teams.

The deal between Mr. James and Fenway Sports Group will give Mr. James a minority interest in the soccer club Liverpool, which FSG owns. FSG, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, is partnering with Mr. James’s sports-marketing firm, LRMR Branding & Marketing to become the exclusive world-wide representative for Mr. James.

The deal marks the first time that a professional athlete at the top of his game has taken an ownership interest in a team with the size and reach of Liverpool, which is one of the most popular and powerful sports teams in the world.

Mr. James said he was “humbled” by the deal and looked forward to donning a red Liverpool jersey and visiting Anfield, the team’s legendary stadium.

According to Deloitte’s 2010 Football Money League report, Liverpool is the world’s eighth-biggest soccer team by revenue, with $320 million in revenue during the 2009-10 season. Liverpool and Manchester United have won 18 top division championships, the most among English teams, and both are wildly popular in Asia, where Liverpool will tour this summer.

“Eighteen championships,” Mr. James said. “I see myself trying to do the same things they have.”

Well that’s just great. We finally get over James leaving the Cavs and now he’s back in our sporting lives.

And forget about 18 championships – would it have killed James to give just one to Cleveland?

***

Just say no to Hate the Heat parties.

***

Dejan Stanković scored a sick goal for Inter Milan in its Champions League game against Schalke.

***

We obviously think Cleveland’s a great place, but sometimes we’re disappointed.

Posted in Cleveland, Cleveland Browns, LeBron James, Liverpool, NFL draft | Leave a comment
05 Apr 2011
1 Comment

Be thankful for what we have, Cleveland

We were in Chicago through the weekend which means we were exposed to a variety of Chicago sports announcers during the opening weekend of the baseball season.

Oh my.

With the Tribe taking on the White Sox we caught much of Friday’s and Saturday’s games; trust us when we say Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone are extremely difficult to listen to.

They openly root for the White Sox and took every opportunity to put down the Indians, at one point claiming that, “when the Indians have their fire sale this season, there really aren’t any players other teams will want.”

Sure, no one would want Carlos Santana, Shin-Soo Choo or Chris Perez, just to name a few, if the Indians were to put them on the market (which they obviously are not going to do).

As we were staying with Cubs fans, we watched some of the Cubs as well. While nothing to get excited about, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly were passable, probably because Brenly has some experience on the national level and hasn’t been infected yet with homerism.

Friday night brought the Bulls, with Neil Funk and Stacey King. While Fred McCleod and Austin Carr can play favorites at times, they could learn a thing from Funk and King about backing the home squad.

Although dinner at Portillo’s almost made up for the bad announcing.

The strange part is, you would think the bigger the market the more professional people would be. Big cities, like Chicago and New York, get a rep for being tough places for athletes but you’d never be able to tell from the fawning announcers.

We lived in North Jersey for most of the ’90s and it was just as bad, especially the nightmare pairing of John Sterling and Michael Kay on the radio doing Yankee games. We’ve never been able to confirm it, but we’re convinced we heard Sterling weeping on the air when the Indians beat the Yankees during the 1997 playoffs.

The trip just reconfirmed what we said last summer, that we really are spoiled with the announcers we have (and had) in Cleveland. From Joe Tait on the radio with the Cavs, to Tom Hamilton (radio) and Rick Manning (TV) for the Indians and Jim Donovan and Doug Dieken on radio for the Browns, we think we have it pretty good around here.

For an alternative take on the White Sox announcers, check out this post at Waiting for Next Year. Writer Mark Leonard watched the same games and came away with a different perspective. It’s a good read.

***

Nice work by Elton Alexander at The PD on the coaching carousel that is Kent State men’s basketball.

According to the article:

  • Kent struggles on practically every level, beginning with its inability to pay competitive salaries – Geno Ford more than doubled his salary with his move last week to Butler.
  • Kent State plays in M.A.C. Center, which at nearly 60 years old, is the oldest facility in the MAC.
  • There is no basketball practice facility.
  • Coaches share an office with the women’s basketball team. Both teams share a secretary.
  • Two assistant coaches share a converted 4×10 hallway for a workspace.
  • Basketball budgets have been cut for at least the last three seasons.
  • Marketing efforts are practically nil.

While the athletic department has a system in place that keeps working, we can’t help but wonder how much longer they can keep making the right call when it comes to hiring a coach.

We’re also worried that in the school’s efforts to try and pump up the football program – which hasn’t been relevant since Jack Lambert was a Golden Flash in the early ’70s – they are going to screw up the basketball team.

When athletic director Joel Nielsen hired former Ohio State assistant coach Darrell Hazell in December, Nielsen gave Hazell a significant raise over the salary of former coach Doug Martin. That apparently left little money for the basketball team.

The fact that Ford left Kent for Bradley – a school without a football program – says a lot about the current situation at KSU.

***

Sticking with our alma mater, congratulations to the women’s gymnastics team, which qualified for the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, which will be hosted by Kent State at Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center, April 15-17.

Not only is this the first time the Golden Flashes have qualified for the NCAA Championships, they are also the first women’s gymnastics program in MAC history to qualify.

Well done.

***

Tottenham Hotspur is in deep trouble in the Champions League.

Posted in Champions League, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Kent State
04 Apr 2011

What we know about the Tribe, so far

The Indians gave us a few takeaways from their season-opening series with the White Sox:

  • Travis Hafner hit the ball hard on several occasions. In addition to his first homerun of the season, Hafner hit a broken-bat flyout to the warning track, and had ball hit the bottom of the fence in right-center field. It’s not realistic to expect Hafner to return to the glory days of 2005-06, but if he can settle in at a reliable pace, it will help deepen the lineup.
  • Carlos Santana can hit. Three hits on opening day, another two in Sunday’s win. Having Santana on the big-league roster from Day one can’t be underestimated.
  • The starting pitching will end up being OK. While Justin Masterson’s seven innings and one earned run won’t be the norm, we also don’t expect to see many outings like Fausto Carmona’s in the opener or Carlos Carrasco’s five runs in the first two innings on Saturday.
  • The bullpen, especially Chris Perez, Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp and Vinnie Pestano, make us feel good. We especially liked Pestano’s inning of work on Friday.
  • Matt LaPorta is starting to worry us.
  • Jack Hannahan obviously won’t continue to hit .364, but if he can stay about .275 or so, especially with his glove, it will help as the front office doesn’t want to have to promote Lonny Chisenhall too quickly.
  • The attendance. Oh boy. Early season, cold-weather games are always a tough sell, but 9,853 on Saturday followed by 8,726 on Sunday doesn’t do much for the bottom-line. With summer weather still a couple of months off, the Tribe needs to start playing some competitive baseball real soon.

So, while the Indians are only three games into a long season, there are more positives than the 1-2 record would indicate.

***

As frustrating as the series against the White Sox was, the Red Sox come to town on Tuesday off an even worse weekend.

What The Boston Globe calls The Best Team Ever staggered through one of its worst opening weekends ever, giving up 21 extra-base hits and 11 homers in a three-game sweep at the hands of the defending American League champion Texas Rangers.

“Just a real bad series,’’ Theo Epstein told The Globe. “For this to happen in the first series of the year leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But we’ll be better than this. Maybe we crammed April of 2010 (11-12, six games out of first place) into three days. I hope so.’’

The Tribe might be catching the Red Sox at a good time. If Boston continues to struggle, the Indians have a chance to steady the ship before heading out west.

Plus, since Progressive Field will be over-populated with Red Sox fans the next few days, it would be nice to see the Indians not only beat Boston on the field, but take money from their fans in the process.

***

Remember a few weeks ago when we told you about Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed plans to unveil a life-size, color statue of Michael Jackson outside Fulham’s home ground?

Well, the statue was unveiled over the weekend and it’s just as strange and creepy as we feared.

Check out the video at EPL Talk.

***

Peter King weighs in with some not-so-good comments about Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers’ Pro Day:

I think Clemson pass-rusher Da’Quan Bowers was underwhelming Friday in his campus workout and will slip out of the top 10. In November, he looked all but sure to be a top-five pick if he came out, but after undergoing postseason arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus, he needed a great effort Friday. He was just so-so. And to show how far his star has fallen, only one coach (Ken Whisenhunt) and two general managers (Thomas Dimitroff, Buddy Nix) attended the workout. He ran two 40-yard dashes in the 4.95-second range. To show you how mediocre a time that is, understand that 11 of the 14 tight ends at the Scouting Combine in February ran faster than 4.9.

Not good.

If this is true, it seems doubtful the Browns will take a chance on Bowers with their first pick in the draft.

***

Finally, James Walker at ESPN shares the story about the day Colt McCoy crushed Blaine Gabbert.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Colt McCoy, Da'Quan Bowers, Fulham | Leave a comment
24 Mar 2011
2 Comments

The Browns don’t need to take a risk

The Browns may face a big decision on draft day if two of the top-rated defensive linemen – Clemson end Da’Quan Bowers and Auburn tackle Nick Fairley – are still on the board when the team picks at No. 6.

Both players come with red flags, but of different varieties.

Bowers, who some rank as the best pass-rusher coming out of college, is coming off knee surgery in January that caused him to cancel his recent Pro Day.

“There are legitimate concerns about [Bowers’] knee, and that’s going to be addressed at his pro day, which he moved back a couple of times,” NFL Network’s Mike Mayock told profootballtalk.com Wednesday. “He told a bunch of teams at the [NFL] combine that he was 100 percent healthy and couldn’t wait for his pro day. And then right before his pro day, he postponed his workout and didn’t even show up.”

But Bowers’ agent, Joe Flanagan, disputed Mayock’s report.

“Recently, inaccurate reports have surfaced regarding our client, Da’Quan Bowers, the health of his knee and the scheduling of his workout,” Flanagan told PFT via e-mail. “Bottom line: Da’Quan’s knee has progressed ahead of schedule, in every regard, since the day he walked out of his procedure. There have been no ‘setbacks’ or new concerns’, and Da’Quan is very much looking forward to his workout on April 1st.”

The questions surrounding Fairley deal with his attitude – he tends to take plays off.

ESPN director of college scouting Todd McShay, who previously described himself as “blown away” by Fairley’s March 8 Pro Day, now believes Fairley has the potential to be a colossal flop at the next level.

“The more you watch Fairley on tape, the more worried you get he’ll be a bust,” said McShay, who also questioned Fairley’s work ethic and consistency. “He has a chance to be a bust.”

Luckily, if the Browns share any of these concerns about Bowers and Fairley, the team is in a position to pass on them. With so many holes to fill on the team, someone – wide receiver A.J. Green or defensive back Patrick Peterson – will most likely still be on the board.

And while the Browns need all the playmakers they can find, sometimes the safe pick is the right one.

***

The NFL put together a six-minute video of the 2010 season. Check it out, but don’t blink or you’ll miss the lone Browns highlight at the 45-second mark.

***

This is a couple of weeks old, but Sports Illustrated‘s Grant Wahl put together an excellent profile of Real Madrid coach José Mourinho.

Mourinho has gone nine years without losing a league match at home – that’s 148 matches with four different teams – Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

What we wouldn’t give to have a coach like that here in Cleveland.

***

Interesting read at Slate on the growing trend companies promoting the propaganda of concern. (h/t UniWatch)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Jose Mourinho, propaganda of concern

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