Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Carlos Baerga, John Hart elected to Indians Hall of Fame

2013_02_carlos_baergaThe Cleveland Indians will induct former second baseman Carlos Baerga and former general manager John Hart into the team’s Hall of Fame this summer.

The duo were chosen on Wednesday by a 17-member committee of Cleveland baseball historians, the team announced on its website.

“Carlos and John are responsible for some of the best memories in Cleveland Indians history, and we’re proud to honor their contributions,” Indians president Mark Shapiro said in a release.

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Browns start paving the way for Phil Dawson’s departure

temp4X9E1954--nfl_mezz_1280_1024The Cleveland Browns officially began their efforts on Tuesday to win the hearts and minds of Browns fans over what looks to be the inevitable departure of longtime kicker Phil Dawson in free agency.

While it seemed as if the Browns could find a way to work out a deal with a Pro Bowl kicker who has made 14-of-15 field goals from more than 50 yards in the past two seasons and has missed just eight extra points since joining the team in 1999, that seems more unlikely after reading Vic Carucci’s latest on the team’s official website.

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Do the Browns really need a QB competition?

browns quarterback competitionWhile we have already made a solid case for why the Browns would be better served to give quarterback Brandon Weeden a year in Norv Turner’s offense to see what they really have at the position, the Browns have other ideas.

“I think Norv and (Rob) Chudzinski have been very open that they like a lot of what Brandon does, but we’re going to have competition at that position, and I think competition makes us all better,” owner Jimmy Haslam said earlier this month.

Now whether that competition comes in the form of current San Franciso quarterback Alex Smith, who was available a year ago following a 3,100-yard season with 17 touchdowns compared to five interceptions and drew zero interest from any team (which means something); career backup Matt Moore from Miami, a player that Turner is reportedly a “big fan” of for reasons not readily apparent; or a player that has not yet been identified (and we can’t help but think that Mike Lombardi just can’t wait to prove how smart he is and select a quarterback way too high in the upcoming draft), it looks like there will be a new face in training camp taking snaps against Weeden.

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Cavs reportedly eyeing All-Star Game in 2016 or 2017

nba_g_irving_gb1_400With visions of Horseshoe Casino chips dancing in his head, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert will reportedly ask the NBA to bring the All-Star Game to Cleveland in a couple of years.

According to a report in The Beacon Journal, Gilbert will submit a proposal to have the game at Quicken Loans Arena in either 2016 or 2017.

Adam Silver, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, was in town recently looking to see if Cleveland would be a realistic host and he gave Gilbert the thumb’s up to submit a bid.

“The league is very receptive and open to it,” Gilbert told the paper. “As soon as this (weekend) is over, we’ll start talking more seriously about it. The city would be unreal. It would be a great weekend.”

Especially for the bottom line of the casino, no doubt, which would be filled with plenty of high rollers from out of town. And if those out-of-towners don’t get to see anything else about Cleveland in the middle of winter? Well, that’s the way it goes.

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Hopefully, the kids are alright

12283455-standardIt’s nice that the Cleveland Cavaliers have four players taking part in this weekend’s All-Star Game festivities, but there is a small part of us that wishes it wasn’t so.

Because right now what Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller probably need, more than anything, is time away from the game to rest up. Especially Irving, who played 27 minutes in Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge, will take part in tonight’s 3-point contest and represent the Cavs in the actual All-Star Game on Sunday.

“They’ll probably have him do a bunch of stuff,” Cavs coach Byron Scott told The Plain Dealer earlier in the week. “So I’m a little concerned coming back he’ll be more tired. But that’s something we’ll deal with Monday when he comes back.”

We’re with you coach.

To find out why, head over to The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Talk of the Town (2/14)

sascle-130213-02Talk of the Town is a semi-regular look at what people are saying.

“It’s terrible, terrible feeling, man, just terrible man. I can’t even explain it. Nasty taste in my mouth.”

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters following the loss to San Antonio.

“Stuff wasn’t getting better with Manny as our manager. I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. He’s very stubborn and he doesn’t really use input well, so I was getting frustrated. I thought, ‘If we have the same guy next year, it’s going to be the same stuff.’ “

Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez on former manager Manny Acta.

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Talk of the town (2/13)

12057000-mmmainA semi-regular look at what people are saying.

“I don’t think anyone would question our passion, effort, intensity, or devotion to the Cleveland Browns and candidly to Northeast Ohio. Our family has a tremendous investment and we want to win as bad as anybody does up there and we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.”

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on concerns about his return to Pilot Flying J.

“My most comfortable position is center, but I understand when they have a chance to get a guy like Michael Bourn, he’s going to play center.”

Cleveland Indians outfielder Drew Stubbs, who hasn’t played right field since high school, on the Tribe’s signing of Bourn to play center field.

“Love people giving me stick … when half of the people on here haven’t got a clue what they’re on about.”

Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey to fans on Twitter after the team’s ugly loss to West Brom.

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What’s gotten into the Tribe?

Atlanta Braves v Pittsburgh PiratesSomething’s happening here … what it is ain’t exactly clear

We’re still trying to wrap our head around the thought that the Cleveland Indians are actually doing baseball things in the free agent market.

The latest being the signing of outfielder Michael Bourn to a four-year, $48 million contract.

Add that to the Nick Swisher signing (four-years, $56 million) and the Indians have invested more than $100 in a pair of over-30 outfielders (but who are still younger than Johnny Damon and Shelley Duncan, so that’s nice).

Just what is general manager Chris Antonetti up to and what has he done with the Dolans?

We look for answers at The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Thanks for the memories, Jimmy

haslamWell that didn’t take long.

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is returning to his “first love” – Pilot Flying J – announcing on Monday that he will resume his role as the company’s CEO just six months after stepping down.

“This is about me realizing my first love is running Pilot Flying J and wanting to return to that job,” Haslam said in a statement announcing that he was taking over for John Compton, the former PepsiCo president that Haslam hired in September.

That’s certainly interesting. Especially for Browns fans, who’s first love is clearly the Browns and kind of believe that the owner of said team should feel the same way. The psyche of the average Cleveland fan is fragile enough without having the owner of the No. 1 team in town tell you that he just wants to be friends so he can spend more time with his true love.

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Checking in as the Cavs near the All-Star break

cavs happySomehow, while we were not looking, the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the 50-game mark and, since the calendar turned to 2013, have been playing respectable and even, at times, entertaining basketball.

Starting with the Jan. 2 game against Sacramento, the Cavs have gone 9-10, a streak that includes wins in six of their last nine games heading into Monday’s game against Minnesota.

In the process, the Cavs have gone from battling Washington for the NBA’s worst record to being comfortably in the middle of the non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference.

With the All-Star Game on the horizon, it seems like a good time to go thumbs up and thumbs down on some things that have stood out to us so far this season.

We take a closer look at The Cleveland Fan.

(Photo by ClevelandCavaliers.com)

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