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In Cleveland, hope dies last

16 Mar 2013

Time for Liverpool to start thinking about next season

Well, that didn’t last very long.

A week ago, Liverpool pulled of its fourth consecutive win, an exciting victory against Tottenham Hotspur, to give fans hope that, somehow, someway, the Reds would find a way to grab a surprise fourth-place spot in the Premier League table.

On Saturday, Southampton – a team that is battling to stay out of the relegation zone – pretty much shut the door on that hope, posting a 3-1 win before a record Premier League crowd at St Mary’s of 32,070.

The loss drops the Reds seven points behind fourth-place Chelsea, which has two games in hand. Even if Liverpool were to win out, the most points they can finish with are 69, meaning Chelsea just has to win six of its final 10 games to keep Liverpool out of a Champions League spot.

Posted in Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool and tagged Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool | Leave a comment

14 Mar 2013

USMNT coming to Cleveland

The U.S. Men’s National Team is coming to Cleveland, as U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday that the team will host Belgium on May 29 in a friendly at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The match will kickoff at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

It will be the fifth meeting between the teams, but the first time that the U.S. has played the Red Devils as the home team. The U.S. won the first meeting – at the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay – but has lost the last three meetings, all in Belgium, without scoring a goal.

Posted in Jurgen Klinsmann, US soccer and tagged Jurgen Klinsmann, US Soccer | Leave a comment

14 Mar 2013

Browns continue to add talent and depth to the defense

The Cleveland Browns continued to add depth to the defense, coming to terms with defensive lineman Desmond Bryant late Tuesday night and outside linebacker Quentin Groves early Tuesday morning.

The moves mean the Browns currently have a six-man rotation on the defensive line where the oldest player is the 27-year-old Bryant, and a six-man linebacker group where the 30-year-old Groves is the oldest.

Not a bad start for the first two-days of free agency for CEO Joe Banner and head coach Rob Chudzinski.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns, Desmond Bryant, Quentin Groves | Leave a comment

13 Mar 2013

Browns open free agency by reaching deal with Paul Kruger

The Cleveland Browns jumped into the free agent pool with both feet on Tuesday, signing Baltimore linebacker Paul Kruger to a reported five-year deal worth $40 million (with $21 million guaranteed).

Kruger hit the national spotlight after recording 4.5 sacks during the playoffs, although people seem to want to overlook that he was shut out in the Ravens’ games against Denver and New England. And that the Ravens had to limit the time he was on the field in the Super Bowl because, as Pro Football Focus put it, he “has an awful habit of blowing contain in run defense when he tries to crash down on run plays.”

On the plus side, Kruger had nine sacks in 2012 during his first extended action in the starting lineup for Baltimore (he made six starts this season, bringing his four-year total to seven starts). Kruger earned a +7.9 grade from Pro Football Focus, the sixth-best of any 3-4 outside linebacker, and his 12.2 Pass Rushing Productivity was the highest score at his position.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns, Paul Kruger | Leave a comment

12 Mar 2013

The most important lesson of free agency for the Browns

If you only read one other story today Cleveland Browns fans, it should be this one by Bill Barnwell at Grantland.

In it, Barnwell writes about how more talent is becoming available at below-market rates in NFL free agency, which officially opens today at 4 p.m.

If you don’t have time to read the entire article, here is the most-relevant part:

“Almost nobody scouts well enough to overcome huge value gaps …, which is why the league’s smarter teams go out of their way to acquire additional picks and are happy to take 90 percent of the player for 50 percent of the price in free agency. What those smart teams will do in this new economy is — very simply — be patient. The true stars will disappear off the market early, and the dumber teams will pay a premium for talent to lock them up in the first 24 to 48 hours, but the smart teams will wait. Even if it’s just a week, antsy players will see the open slots beginning to fill up around them and settle for far less than they would have at the opening of free agency.”

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns, free agency | Leave a comment

12 Mar 2013

What can the Cavs do about their glass man?

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Monday that point guard Kyrie Irving will be shut down for three to four weeks with an AC sprain in his shoulder.

Are there any Cavs fans who are surprised?

In the short run, the Cavs plans for Irving should be pretty easy – with only five weeks left in the season, they should shut him down for the rest of the year. With the Cavs looking to maximize their draft position rather than battling for a playoff spot, there is little reason to bring Irving back this season just so he can play for a week.

It’s easy enough to make plans for the next few weeks; it is the long-run plan that may be a bit trickier.

We look for answers at The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving and tagged Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving | Leave a comment

10 Mar 2013

1 Comment

Liverpool finally gets it done; now it gets interesting

Liverpool finally earned a win over a top-four team under Brendan Rodgers, beating Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday at Anfield.

And in the process, the Reds made sure the final nine games of the season are going to be interesting.

Steven Gerrard’s goal on a penalty kick at the 81-minute mark helped Liverpool rally back for their third league win in a row and move within two points of Arsenal for fifth and within seven points of fourth-place Chelsea (although both the Gunners and the Blues have a game in hand).

Posted in Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool and tagged Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool

10 Mar 2013

Browns have plenty of options when free agency opens Tuesday

The AFC North is a harsh mistress; after all, it’s not known as the NFL’s Group of Death for nothing.

And that’s a lesson that Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner hopefully learned during the fall and one that he needs to remember as the Browns get ready for the official opening of free agency on Tuesday.

It takes a special type of player to be successful in this division; it’s not for everyone. Targeting players that you know can perform in the pressure cooker is a strategy that should be part of the decision-making process for the Browns. After all, that’s been a successful strategy for the Ravens and Steelers for the past decade.

To find out who those players could be (and, no, Jerome Harrison is not one of them), head over to The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo by U.S. Presswire)

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns, free agency | Leave a comment

09 Mar 2013

2 Comments

USMNT to feel the pain of Tim Howard’s loss

Goalie Tim Howard will be out of action for four to six weeks after it was revealed he has two broken bones in his back.

And that may put a serious hurt on the U.S. Men’s National Team’s chances to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

Howard was injured in goal for Everton almost two weeks ago in a collision with Oldham striker Robbie Simpson during an FA Cup match.

“Tim has two fractures, but they are not the bones which are supporting anything, it is off the spine,” Everton manager David Moyes told The Daily Mail. “They are not weight bearing. It just needs a bit of healing time. It is not like a pure fracture where need to wait to look at it. It is a question of whether he can cope with the pain.”

Posted in Jurgen Klinsmann, Tim Howard, US soccer and tagged Jurgen Klinsmann, Tim Howard, US Soccer

06 Mar 2013

1 Comment

Would the Browns consider signing Wes Welker?

With free agency starting next week in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns have an opportunity to start filling some important holes on the roster.

And while the defense would appear to be the primary area to focus on, when you are coming off yet another 5-11 season there are plenty of areas that could use help on both sides of the ball.

Which brings us to New England wide receiver Wes Welker.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

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