Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Kent State”

27 Dec 2011

Year in Review – First Quarter

As we enter the last few days of 2011, it’s time to take a look back at the past year in sports.

While it was another year without a title from any of Cleveland’s teams, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting.

January started off with Browns team president Mike Holmgren telling “super coach” Eric Mangini that he and his 10-22 record (2-10 within the division) were no longer needed in Berea.

Thankfully, Holmgren fought off the urge to hire the over-rated Jon Gruden before finally selecting Rams’ offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur for the job, with the biggest selling point being that Shurmur, Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert are all on the same page when it comes to football philosophy.

One thing that concerned us at the time was Shurmur’s desire to be his own offensive coordinator, which may have hurt the team as it looked to fill out the coaching staff. But the team looks to have gotten it right with the hiring of Dick Jauron to run the 4-3 defense.

The month also found the Cavs deep into a slump that would eventually reach 26 games as the team went from Dec. 18 until Feb. 11 without a win.

February brought spring training and the hope that the Indians would go with a youth movement.

The Cavs pushed their losing streak to the historic brink before finally beating the Clippers in overtime.

Cavs general manager Chris Grant scored the biggest win of the season, trading Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Clippers for Baron Davis and an unprotected lottery pick that turned out to be the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.

The team also helped its draft position when leading scorer Antawn Jamison was lost for the year with a finger injury. While we don’t like to see anyone get hurt, Jamison being out of the lineup helped the Cavs pile up the losses.

As the month moved on, we learned more about why the Browns parted with Mangini, first when they released several “Mangini guys” from an aging roster, and later when general manager Tom Heckert explained the team’s new direction.

Finally, March opened with the unraveling of the tapestry of lies that Jim Tressel wove at Ohio State. As the month continued, the spin coming out of Columbus was dizzying. Apparently they never taught anyone at OSU that a lie ain’t a side of the story, it’s just a lie.

Luckily we had the Kent State men’s basketball team, which showed everyone you can be successful the right way.

Sadly, the NCAA didn’t agree, as they gave Cinderella a shocker on Selection Sunday: of the 37 at-large bids for the NCAA basketball tournament, only seven went to teams not in major conferences, one fewer than the previous year. The mid-majors got their revenge, however, during the tournament’s opening weekend.

As the Cavs continued through the month and the losses continued to tally, we started to worry that the team had quit on coach Byron Scott. But the Wine & Gold closed out the month with a victory over the Miami Heat.

And even though they hadn’t played a game in almost two months, the Browns were still in the news.

First, the team resigned back-up quarterback Seneca Wallace as insurance for Colt McCoy, Mike Holmgren told fans to keep calm & carry on and we started thinking about every Browns fan’s favorite time of the year: the NFL Draft.

Coming Tuesday: The Indians find early success, the Browns continue rebuilding the foundation of an aging defense, the U.S. Men’s National Team looks for a Gold Cup and the Cavs grab a point guard.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
06 Jun 2011

Flashes can’t hook the Horns

The Kent State baseball team finally ran out of steam in the 100 degree heat on Monday, losing to Texas to miss out on the first visit to the Super Regionals in school history.

The Golden Flashes had two chances to advance, but lost to the host Longhorns, the No. 5 team in the nation, Sunday night, forcing Monday’s winner-take-all game, which Texas won, 5-0.

Kent made the Longhorns use six pitchers in the shutout, including their top two starters, but couldn’t break through against any of them.

“We’re disappointed to be in the position that we are in,” said KSU coach Scott Stricklin. “To have to be beat twice, it’s tough to handle, it really is. We felt like we were in good shape, and we were. We had a chance to be in both games, and we just couldn’t come up with the big hit. A lot of credit obviously goes to Texas’ defense and its pitching.”

The Flashes ended the season 45-17, becoming just the second team in school history to reach the 45-win mark, joining the 1992 team at the top of the school’s rankings.

They are ranked No. 24 in the nation, earned a No. 3 seed in the national tournament for the first time in school history, won their 11th MAC regular season title and ninth tournament title (their third in a row) and are the first team to win the regular-season and tournament titles in the same year since 2005.

And to think they did it without cheating or lying.

***

So linebacker Matt Roth is resigned to leaving the Browns as a free agent?

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out of town.

We’re sure the Browns can find a way to replace the personal fouls and silly penalties Roth committed on a regular basis last year (on second thought, let’s hope they don’t).

And there’s no doubt they can live without his 3.5 sacks (2 against Cincinnati in one game, 1.5 the remaining 15 games of the season).

Roth is one of those players who thinks he is better than he is; so if this is the end, farewell.

The Browns will be fine without him.

***

Now that Plaxico Burress is out of prison, people are going to try and put the Browns as one of the teams that should sign the wide receiver.

While there’s little doubt the team needs help at receiver, we just don’t see Burress as the answer.

He’s a 34-year-old receiver that hasn’t played the game in two years and who hasn’t actually been in a situation where he could stay in game shape. We remember when Jamal Lewis was released from prison reading stories about how prison diets are intentionally loaded with the types of foods that keep inmates sluggish.

And with training camps most likely going to be shortened this year because of the ongoing lockout, the last thing the Browns need is to wait for Burress to work himself into shape.

With a rookie head coach in Pat Shurmur and a second-year quarterback in Colt McCoy running the offense, the Browns don’t fit what would appear to be the right situation for Burress.

We just don’t see him as being worth the effort for this team right now.

***

Spain definitely taught the U.S. a lesson over the weekend in its 4-0 beating in a friendly at Gillette Stadium.

“Spain is a great team,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “It is a tough test to play them any time. We have always chosen to take these kind of challenges and to play the best teams and it is the best way, to see what the game at the highest level is like, and to improve.

“When you challenge yourself against the best teams, you have to expect difficult moments. If we couldn’t handle that, we wouldn’t play them.”

The U.S. opens group play in the Gold Cup on Tuesday against Canada, which should be a good cure for any hangover from the Spain game. The two teams haven’t played each other since 2007. Canada washed out at the qualifying stage for last year’s World Cup and the Canadians are not exactly a powerhouse.

With the tournament being held at home, the U.S. team has a good chance to right itself and build on some of the public attention it received during last year’s run in the World Cup.

Let’s hope they are quick studies.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Gold Cup, Kent State, United States | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2011

Flashes tame Texas; Tribe, not so much

It was a tale of extremes this weekend for two of the local nines as they battled in and against Texas.

After being so strong at home, the Indians finally crashed in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers.

As for Kent State, the Golden Flashes were loving the Lone Star state this weekend.

The Indians continue to struggle offensively, as the Tribe only put up six runs in the four-game series, and were shutout Saturday and Sunday.

The Tribe only put up five hits on Saturday – three from Asdrubal Cabrera – which means hitters three through nine in the lineup were a combined 1-for-23.

It was much the same on Saturday, another five-hitter by the Tribe, with five through nine in the lineup combining to go 2-for-16.

Sunday? Try three hits, with five through nine combining to go 1-for-14.

To recap: in the past three games, Tribe “hitters” five through nine in the lineup were a combined 4-for-45, an .089 average.

Is it really any surprise they were swept?

On the pitching side, things were just as bad.

Texas hasn’t shown much power on the road this year, coming into the series with just 16 home runs on the road. So, of course, they rip the Indians for six home runs on the weekend.

Actually, that may be a bit harsh as the starting pitching really wasn’t all that bad.

Friday night, Justin worked into the seventh and left with the Indians trailing 2-1. Tony Sipp came on with two runners on and Josh Hamilton, who was batting .179 against left-handers, hit a three-run homer and the rout was on.

Saturday, Fausto Carmona gave up two, two-run homers but pretty much shut down the Rangers. Sunday, it was Mitch Talbot going six innings and only giving up the two solo homers.

It was that kind of weekend for the Tribe, which is going through a really tough stretch right now. Over the past 10 games, second-place Detroit has made up three games in the standings and the Tigers now sit just 2.5-games behind – the closest anyone has been to the Indians since the end of April.

The good news is that the Indians now get last-place Minnesota (13.5 games back) for three games while Detroit has to go to Texas for three.

The Indians should be able to get things back on track against the Twins, and if the Rangers can keep the momentum going from this weekend the Tribe will see their first-place cushion get a little bit bigger again.

Kent defeated host Texas, the No. 1 seed in their regional and the No. 5 team in the nation, on the Longhorns’ home field Saturday night, 7-5.

“I thought that was just a wonderful ballgame all the way around,” said associate head coach/pitching coach Mike Birkbeck. “The Texas Longhorns did not give up. They got down to their last out. But we are thrilled to be in the position that we are in.”

The Golden Flashes rocked Texas ace Taylor Jungmann (13-1) for seven earned runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Longhorns (44-16). It was his first career loss at home.

The No. 3-seeded Golden Flashes (45-15) advance to a regional final for the first time since 2001. The 2011 squad becomes the second in program history to reach the 45-win mark, joining the 1992 team in achieving the most victories in program history.

The Golden Flashes were scheduled to take on the Longhorns again Sunday night, after Texas beat Texas State in the afternoon to advance from the loser’s bracket.

The Longhorns took it to Kent, however, beating the Flashes 9-3 to set up a winner-take-all game this afternoon at 2.

Win, and Kent earns a spot in the Super Regional for the first time in school history.

We have to worry, though, that the Flashes lost their chance Sunday night.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
03 Jun 2011

Indian Fever goes national

The rest of the country is about to be swept up in Indian fever, as three upcoming Indians games have been picked for a national TV slot.

Fox will televise the Indians game at San Francisco on June 25 and the July 2 game at Cincinnati in its Saturday national telecast position.

ESPN will feature the Tribe and Giants on June 26 in its Sunday night slot.

Get ready for plenty of references to Willie Mays and Dusty Rhodes, Cleveland.

***

Kent State won its opening game in the Austin Regional of the NCAA Championship on Friday, beating Texas State in extra innings.

The Golden Flashes won 4-2 as pinch hitter Jason Bagoly came through with an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning.

The 24th-ranked Golden Flashes (44-15) advances to Saturday’s regional semifinal, where they will face the winner of the Texas-Princeton game.

“We’re in great shape,” said seventh-year head coach and Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year Scott Stricklin. “Everyone assumes we’re playing Texas. Princeton is a good team, but I think we are prepared to play Texas.”

***

What did we learn from the hearing between the NFL and players that took place Friday morning before Judges Steven Collton, William Benton and Kermit Bye of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit?

Well, the lockout is still on, but Judge Bye informed both sides that the panel would reach a decision in “due course.”

He also warned the panel could reach a decision that “neither party will like.” He further added, with a smile, “We wouldn’t be all that hurt if you go out and settle that case” on your own.

Whatever.

***

Which team will be foolish enough to sign wide receiver Plaxico Burress when he is released from jail?

As long as the team doesn’t rhyme with “Cleveland Browns” we will be happy.

***

Finally, some rough news for anyone who likes the summer tradition of corn on the cob (and who doesn’t?)

Because of the seemingly never-ending rain this spring, it is still too wet for many farmers to plant their corn. Normally, about 93 percent of the acreage farmers devote to corn has been seeded by May 29; this year the number was 19 percent.

If we can’t get our weekly corn fix from Szalay’s, things could get ugly this summer.

Posted in baseball, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Kent State, NFL, summer corn, Szalay's | Leave a comment
03 Jun 2011

Flashes are golden on the links

Kent State continues to prove you can have a successful athletic program without cheating, as the men’s golf team is on the verge of its second-consecutive Top 20 finish on the season.

The Golden Flashes posted their best round of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship on Thursday, shooting a final-round 8-over 296. Kent ended the NCAA Finals with a 54-hole total of 902 (304-302-296).

“I’m extremely proud of this group, the wind picked up today and our guys went out and shot not only our best round of the tournament, but one of the best final rounds by the entire field,” said coach Herb Page. “All of the young guys played well today and senior (John) Hahn capped off a wonderful career. It was a great way to finish the year and I’m really happy for all the players.”

A Top 20 finish would be the sixth in the program’s history.

The men’s basketball team was also in the news this week, as ESPN.com’s Pat Forde named Kent State as one of the top 10 schools that get the most out of their basketball programs.

Ford wrote that: In a league full of boom-and-bust cycles, the Golden Flashes are remarkably consistent, riding a streak of 13 winning seasons. They’ve won at least 20 games in 12 of those seasons, one of just 10 programs that can make that claim during that stretch. The highlight came in 2002, when they advanced to the Elite Eight as a No. 10 seed.

Since 1998-99, Kent State is tied for 15th nationally with 306 wins which places the program ahead of more than 61 BCS schools and ranks 5th nationally among the 272 mid-major schools. Additionally Kent State, Kansas, Gonzaga and Creighton are the only four schools in the country to win at least 10 league games in each of the last 13 years.

During that same span, Kent State has put together the most outstanding postseason run in the history of the Mid-American Conference with 12 appearances in the past 13 years. The stretch includes five MAC regular season titles all while appearing in five NCAA Tournaments, six NITs and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Finally, the No.24-ranked baseball team is in Austin, Texas, where they will take on Texas State on Friday in regional play of the 2011 NCAA Championships.

With all the good things coming out of Kent recently, maybe Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith should take a ride up from Columbus this summer and take some notes on how to run a clean program.

They could certainly use some help.

Posted in Kent State, Ohio State, winning | Leave a comment
31 May 2011

Should we be worried about the Tribe?

The Indians have been rather ugly and disappointing of late on the field, losing four of their last five games.

During the losing streak, the Tribe has only scored eight runs, has a .213 batting average, is just 2-of-20 with runners in scoring position and have posted an ERA of 6.27.

The skid hit rock bottom (we hope) Monday night against Toronto when the Indians couldn’t figure out how to get to Blue Jay starter Jo-Jo Reyes, who came into the game with an 0-4 record, a 4.70 earned-run average and a losing streak (28 starts) that stretched to 2008.

Told you it has been ugly.

So should we be worried?

Probably not.

On May 1, the Indians were 19-8, a winning percentage of .704, which they obviously were not going to sustain for an entire season.

Heading into last night’s game with Toronto, the Tribe was 31-20, which means they have played .500 ball for the month of May.

But (and there is always a but) the Indians have increased their division lead during the month, from 4.5 games over second-place Kansas City on May 1 to to 5 games over second-place Detroit heading into last night’s game.

So they have made it through a month of mediocre play and still sit comfortably in first place.

But (there it is again) the past week has put the team’s shortcomings in the spotlight.

The team has been trying to hold down the fort while waiting for Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner to return from injuries. Their absence definitely thinned out the lineup. Sizemore is back and hopefully Hafner will return sooner rather than later so the bench players, like Shelley Duncan and Travis Buck, can go back to the bench.

So the lack of offense may correct itself.

Then there is the defense.

After being solid for the first month-and-a-half of the season, the Tribe defense has fallen off a cliff. In the last six games, the Indians have committed six errors. The one game they didn’t commit an error? Saturday’s 7-3 win against Tampa.

In the first 40 games of the season, the Tribe committed 16 errors; in the past 11 games the number is 12 errors.

The Indians have to have solid defense to have a chance to win, especially with the offense slumping the way it is. This team just can’t afford to give away outs.

Luckily defense is something that should be easily fixed (or at least we hope so).

So that leaves the starting pitching.

After being so good, the starters have struggled – a lot – recently.

From Mitch Talbot (3 innings pitched, 12 hits, eight earned runs vs. Boston), to Justin Masterson (5 IP, eight hits, seven earned runs) to Fausto Carmona’s stinkfest against Toronto (4 IP, nine hits, seven earned runs), the pitching staff is slumping just as bad as the offense.

The pitching staff has given up seven or more runs five times in the last 11 games – the same number they put up in the first 40 games of the season.

And that right there probably gives us the answer we are looking for.

With the offense, the pitching and the defense all struggling at the same time, any team is going to look bad. The Tribe is most likely not as good as they looked when they started 19-8, but neither are the as bad as they have been during the 12-12 stretch of the past month.

As we write this, the Indians are in the process of building a 3-0 lead in the third inning against Toronto. So maybe the past week – and month – are just a normal part of the ebb-and-flow of a long baseball season.

After all, the only number that counts is the one that says the Tribe is in first place by five games.

***

Lots to like as the alma mater participates in post-season play.

The Kent State golf team posted a team score of 304 (16-0ver) during the first of three stroke play rounds on Tuesday at the 2011 NCAA Championship at Oklahoma State.

The Golden Flashes finished the day in ninth place among 15 teams.

After winning its third consecutive MAC championship over the weekend, the baseball team drew a No. 3 regional seed in the 2011 NCAA Championship tournament.

Ranked No. 24 in the nation, the Golden Flashes will play in the Austin Regional this weekend, opening on Friday against the No. 2 seed, Texas State.

***

TV ratings for Saturday’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United were up 64 percent from last year.

***

Finally, Peyton Hillis’ Madden cover has been released.

Would it have killed them to show him steamrolling a Steeler?

Posted in Champions League, Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
27 Apr 2011

Oh boy, now we’ve done it

Well, we did it Cleveland – Peyton Hillis is the new cover boy for this year’s Madden NFL game.

Oh crap.

Hillis picked up 66 percent of the vote in the final of the 32-player tournament to easily beat Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick.

We tried to warn people – the Madden Curse is real. And now it’s going to roll through Cleveland like Godzilla through Tokyo.

And now Hillis is infected with something worse than the cheese touch.

The Browns better hope Montario Hardesty’s knee is OK and we have no doubt general manager Tom Heckert is hastily reordering his draft board now that the news is out.

Of course, there are some heretics out there who think this is OK. Check them out at your own risk here, and here.

***

The Browns are reportedly (emphasis on the reportedly part) in discussions with Minnesota to trade for the Vikings’ first-round pick (No. 12) in tomorrow night’s NFL Draft.

According to National Football Authority, the Browns are targeting two players and, if they land one of them with their own pick at No. 6, they will be interested in trading with Minnesota if unnamed player No. 2 is available when the Vikings go on the clock.

While that sounds good on paper, the cost of the reported deal is steep: the Browns would give up their second-round pick this year (No. 37) and their No. 1 pick next year.

Now, the Browns clearly need all the help they can get. But is adding a second player at the cost of next year’s No. 1 pick – which could be quite high again as the team is working with a new coaching staff installing a new system – a price worth paying?

We don’t think so. If the team was ready to win now and that one extra player would help put them over the top, we could probably get behind the deal.

But as the team is currently constructed, we’ll take a pass. And we expect the Browns to do the same if the Vikings actually do come calling. (h/t to Cleveland Frowns)

***

Congratulations to Clint Dempsey, who scored twice in Fulham’s 3-0 win over Bolton on Wednesday.

Dempsey is now the Cottagers’ top scorer in the Premier League era with 33 goals. He’s also just one of two U.S. players to score in multiple World Cups, scoring against Ghana in 2006 and England last summer.

You can see video of his two goals here.

***

More good news out of Kent State, as the women’s golf team will play in the 2011 NCAA Women’s Golf Tournament from May 5-7.

The Golden Flashes, winner of their 13th consecutive Mid-American Conference team title, will be one of 24 teams to participate in the Central Regional at Warren Golf Course where the Flashes placed second in October at the Notre Dame Invitational.

Kent State is the 11th seed in a regional where UCLA, Duke, LSU and Arkansas are the top four seeds. The top eight advance to the NCAA Championship at Traditions Golf Course in Texas from May 18-21.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Clint Dempsey, Kent State, Madden Curse, NFL draft, Peyton Hillis | Leave a comment
17 Apr 2011
1 Comment

Manny being Manny

We really didn’t think much when Manny Ramirez announced he was retiring rather than face a 100-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

But then we read Sheldon Ocker’s column in The Beacon Journal remembering the playful Manny that was in Cleveland from 1993 to 2000. That’s the Manny that we will always remember.

We’ve always been pretty ambivalent about baseball’s steroid era. The commissioner didn’t care, the owners didn’t care and the players association didn’t care, so why should we?

And, over the years, it has become obvious that, since no one was being tested, it’s impossible to know who was – and more importantly was not – using something.

While it’s easy enough to see the physical changes and improved performance from players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte taught us players used banned substances to recover from injuries and Jason Grimsley showed us not everyone turned into the Incredible Hulk when they used PEDs.

So unless someone has a time machine and can go back to test everyone who played in the 1990s, there’s really no way to be certain – its all speculation. So you either assume everyone was clean or you assume everyone was on something.

It may not be fair to paint everyone with the steroid brush, but it is also probably naive to think that just because someone’s head didn’t grow to the size of an overripe melon that they were clean.

It’s also unrealistic to think that baseball players weren’t using steroids before the 1990s. The San Diego Chargers were using steroids in 1963 and the Steelers probably owe much of their Super Bowl success in the 1970s to steroid use.

Does anyone really believe word of that didn’t spread to major league baseball teams?

It’s unfortunate that Ramirez had to leave the game this way. But he willingly broke the rules and there are consequences for that.

But we’ll always remember him for what he did on the field, rather than for the choices he made off the field.

***

Fausto Carmona picked up his first win of the season, Grady Sizemore homered in his first game action since last May and your first-place Indians swept Baltimore on Sunday for their 11th win in the past 13 games.

Carmona extended a streak of unbelievable starting pitching for the Tribe, going seven innings and giving up just one earned run.

Indians starters have thrown 87 innings over the past 13 games, giving up just 18 runs, good for a 1.86 ERA, and posting a 9-1 record. They have not allowed a run in the first inning of the past 13 games, and opponents are hitting just .095 (4 for 42) in their first at-bat.

It almost goes without saying that Tony Sipp and Chris Perez each notched another scoreless inning of work.

We hate to say the Tribe’s pitching is unprecedented, but really how else to describe it?

And then there was Sizemore, who homered in his second at bat and added a double in his third.

“I just wanted to go up there, have good at-bats, help the team and get a win,” Sizemore said in published reports. “I was definitely nervous.”

There’s no way of knowing yet how much of the old Sizemore the Indians will see this summer. But anything he can bring to the plate and the field will only be a bonus.

The Indians now head to Kansas City for a four-game showdown for first place.

We could really get used to this.

***

Hats off to the Kent State gymnastics team, as the Golden Flashes finished the season ranked No. 12 nationally, the highest ranking in the program’s history.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Grady Sizemore, great pitching, Kent State, Manny Ramirez
07 Apr 2011

Your first place Cleveland Indians!

After Thursday’s 1-0 win completed the Tribe’s sweep of Boston, the Indians are not only the second-hottest team in baseball (only Texas’ 6-game win streak tops the Tribe) but are in first place in the Central Division.

It’s the first time the Indians have been in first place at the end of the day since May 17, 2008.

And they did it in front of the largest crowd since Opening Day (according to Rick Manning).

Fausto Carmona bounced back from a horrific Opening Day start, where he gave up 10 runs and 11 hits in three innings of work, to shut down the Red Sox. Carmona held Boston to just two hits in seven innings of work.

The Tribe’s pitching the past few days has been absolutely phenomenal. Since the third inning of Saturday’s game, Cleveland pitchers have worked 43 innings and only given up nine runs – a 1.88 ERA.

The Indians needed that pitching today, especially with a lineup that included Austin Kearns (.000 batting average), Travis Buck (.143) and the struggling Shin-Soo Choo (.083). In fact, the Indians only had three hits on the day.

But one night after playing longball – with home runs from Asdrubal Cabrera, Matt LaPorta and Choo – manager Manny Acta showed the Tribe can also play little ball.

Adam Everett led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk and then stole second. Orlando Cabrerea sacrificed Everett to third and then Asdrubal Cabrera’s suicide-squeeze bunt put the Indians ahead in their fourth straight win.

“We did beat a very good ballclub – regardless if they’re struggling or not,” Acta said in published reports. “We won and it was a very well-played series. It wasn’t like they were sloppy and we got lucky. We played good baseball.”

Can’t argue with that. And we wouldn’t expect anything less from the longest-tenured coach in town.

We know it’s only been six games, and anything can happen when the Tribe goes out west for series with Seattle and Anaheim, but it’s sure been a fun first week of the season.

Most importantly, we’re ready to see more from this team.

***

Kent State made it official Thursday, promoting Rob Senderoff to the head coach position for the men’s basketball team.

Senderoff’s hiring is in line of KSU’s practice of promoting from within to the school’s flagship program.

The move should be popular with the players, more than half of which were recruited by Senderoff. That’s important as the team is only losing one player off this year’s 25-win team.

“It was good news to my ears,” guard Randal Holt told The Plain Dealer.

Leading scorer Justin Greene said the news was a relief, but also signaled some changes.

“Now it seems normal again,” the 6-8 junior said. “All the players feel comfortable, because we were all brought in by him. With the team we have coming back, we expect there will be some high expectations. But (Senderoff’s) best attribute is he will be tougher on us, held more accountable, than we have been in the past.”

The part about being more accountable is interesting. Plus the fact that the players don’t seem that upset that Geno Ford left.

Hopefully Senderoff is the right man to continue the team’s tradition of solid play. We’d hate to see the basketball team take a step back just because the school wants to emphasize football.

Some good reads on this from The Beacon Journal here and here.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, good pitching, Kent State | 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

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →