Chris Perez rejoined the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday in Detroit, opened his mouth in front of a microphone and let loose.
Of course, what he had to say is nothing new to Tribe fans, especially the ones who have been following the team longer than Perez has been in town.
This all sounds vaguely familiar.
John W. Henry, principal owner of Liverpool, wrote an open letter to the club’s supporters defending the club’s dismal performance in the recent transfer period. It is an interesting strategy, one that you don’t see every day. It is also a move that speaks to how strong the angst is among the club’s supporters.
For fans of Cleveland’s pro sports team, who know from angst, some of the elements will have a familiar ring to them. In fact, they could have easily come from the Indians, Browns or Cavs themselves.
Well that didn’t go as planned.
Clint Dempsey? He’s moving across town to Tottenham Hotspur.
Daniel Sturridge? Staying at Chelsea.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was nursing some bruised fingers Friday night after the transfer window slammed shut on him without the squad making a move to improve.
We finally had a chance to work our way through Sports Illustrated‘s college football preview issue and the article on teams working to imitate Nick Saban’s success at Alabama caught our eye.
Saban has developed what is known as the Process. According to SI:
In its most basic form, the Process is Saban’s term for concentrating on the steps to success rather than worrying about the end result. Instead of thinking about the scoreboard, think about dominating the man on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage. Instead of thinking about a conference title, think about finishing a ninth rep in the weight room. Instead of thinking about graduating, think about writing a great paper for Intro to Psych.
And it all started at Kent State, where Saban played and coached under Don James, the last coach to lead the Golden Flashes to a bowl game.
Liverpool finally cut ties with striker Andy Carroll on Thursday, sending him to West Ham in a season-long loan deal.
The Hammers got Carroll, who Liverpool paid £35 million for in January of 2011, for a £1.5 million loan fee and will have to pay his £80,000 per week wage bill. If they avoid relegation this year, they will owe Liverpool an additional £18 million to make the move permanent.
We’ve expected (and feared) that this day was coming for a few weeks now, but that still didn’t make it any easier when we heard the news
Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden will sit out Thursday’s game against Chicago, the final preseason friendly on the schedule as well as the last opportunity for Weeden and the rest of the rookie-infused offense to work together at game speed.
The Browns are betting that Weeden will be ready for the Eagles in Week 1 with the least amount of time possible to prepare.
Head over to The Cleveland Fan to find out if the gamble will pay off.
In his latest column, Grantland’s Bill Barnwell, a must read if there ever was one at ESPN, lists the 10 types of contracts that haunt NFL franchises.
And wouldn’t you know it, the Browns have someone on the list – linebacker D’Qwell Jackson.
The Browns resigned Jackson in the off season for five years and $42.5 million – $19 million of it guaranteed. Barnwell writes that deal falls into the category of “The Refilled Health Meter” in which a team signs “an injury-prone player to a long-term deal after a rare season of health.”
The new contract made Jackson one of the 20 highest-paid linebackers in the NFL. Browns linebacker Chris Gocong – who the team put on season-ending injured reserve on Monday – is also on that list.
Oh, and, as Barnwell points out, Jackson missed all of 2010 as well as one out of every three games as a pro since being drafted by the Browns.
Ouch.
Jackson accumulates a lot of tackles when healthy – an AFC-leading 158 last year – but there is some question as to the actual value of those tackles.
It’s so much fun being a Browns fan sometimes.
(Photo by Getty Images)
There are obviously lots of ugly numbers when you look at the Cleveland Indians, who entered Monday night’s series-opener against Oakland in fourth place, 16.5 games out of first in the American League Central Division.
For example, the Tribe has won back-to-back games just twice in their past 44 outings, and they haven’t won three in a row since July 3-5.
Here’s another one for you, Tribe fans.
Derek Lowe, currently in the New York Yankees’ bullpen, made his last appearance in a Tribe uniform on July 31 against Kansas City.
Lowe won his eighth and last game as a member of the Indians on July 4, a 12-3 win by the Tribe against the Angels (part of that long-forgotten three-game winning streak).
Despite all that, Lowe currently has the third-most wins by an Indians pitcher this season, trailing Justin Masterson (10) and Ubaldo Jimenez (9).
It’s been that kind of season.
(Photo by Getty Images)
It’s a fine line between hero and goat in professional sports.
Just ask Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel.
Defending Premier League champs Manchester City were able to get out of Anfield with a point they may not have deserved on Sunday thanks to one errant back pass from Skrtel.
Leading 2-1 off of goals from Skrtel and Luis Suárez, Skrtel tried play the ball back to keeper Pepe Reina, but his blind pass instead set up Carlos Tevez for an easy equalizing goal, denying Liverpool a much-needed three points in the home debut for manager Brendan Rodgers.
“My glass is very nearly full,” Rodgers told ESPN. “I thought it was a brilliant performance. We were asked a lot of questions and I thought the players were incredible. Some times the best team doesn’t win. Let’s remember we were playing a good side.
The National Football League’s regular season opens for the Cleveland Browns in just two weeks and, judging by what transpired Friday night against Philadelphia, the team has a long way to go to be ready.
Let’s start with the good stuff:
Red Right 88 