I'm BAAACCCKKK!

So I haven't posted in quite some time. Two months to be exact. But I realized I kind of miss writing these things, regardless of whether or not anyone actually reads them.

A lot has happened in the world of (Cleveland) sports. For awhile, I was too overcome with a Romeo hangover and a severe case of Browns sickness (not to be confused with Cavs fever, a completely welcome ailment) to care enough to post. Actually the entire sport of football started to make me sick to my stomach. As far as I'm concerned, the Superbowl and the events leading up to it didn't even really happen.

So I'm going to bring myself to date with a run down of significant (as decided by me) events that have happened since I last posted, with my 1-2 word reaction (because for some of these, more than one word was required to really express my thoughts, but 3 is way too much effort).

Romeo goes bye bye: YAY!

Savage goes too: F$#* you!

Lebron does something awesome: WOO!

Playoffs: BLAH

Mangini: Not Romeo...

Superbowl: Meh!

Lebron does more awesome things: YIPEE!

Anything dealing with A-Rod: Surprised?

George Kokinis: Not Savage...

Other Cavs do something awesome too: Chalupas!

Phelps and the reefer: Dude!

Knicks give up 113 pts, to 2 players, in 2 games- HA-HA!

Probowl: That happened?

Lakers @ the Q: :(

All-star game: Shaq = freak!


So yea, that's about it, and kind of brings us up to date. Anything I left off probably wasn't taht important anyway. Cavs don't play on national TV again until Sunday. But seeing as I live in NYC, maybe I'll throw up the obligatory "Lebron/NY" post between now and then since I wasn't back up and posting when the boys in blue (or yellow or wine or whatever the hell color they're wearing these days) came to town.

Things I'd rather think about

I really don't even want to talk about it. At all. You know what I mean, please don't make me say it. Instead, here is a list of things I'd rather discuss*:

- The economy
- Running
- Ponies
- What you would do for a Klondike bar
- Jock itch
- Shiny things
- The Louisiana purchase
- Oprah's book club
- Politics
- Advanced physics
- 2010
- Jack Bauer's torture tactics
- The effects of giving a hamster popcorn (on a piano)
- Anything while speaking on a landline
- "Air quotes"
- How the industrial revolution changed the face of the modern novel forever, citing specific examples
- The existence of Wyoming
- Japanese anime
- Toenail clippings
- Who invented cows
- Immigration
- The adverse effects of GLBC Christmas Ale on society


*please note, this list is not all inclusive, subject to change at anytime.

Cavs vs. 76ers

So it was suggested that I live blog this game... but things didn't really start off as planned. As I type this, there is about a minute left in the first quarter.

First, my ESPN-HD kept "skipping". It does this from time to time. I'm convinced Time Warner hates me, b/c ESPN is the only HD channel that does this. I have an HD-TV for a reason. To watch sports. I refuse to watch them in what I like to call "Regular D". So my first task was to try and remedy that. This was done by yelling at the TV and cursing TW out loud to no one in particular. In the process, I turned my internet off without realizing it. But now we're up and running. Here's my ADD-style live blog:

- What's the deal with the yellow jerseys? Ew! Not a fan.

- We've been rolling over teams left and right, and I've been giddy with excitement to watch this live. This game is close. What gives?

- I'm sad Booby is out. Not only are his 3 point skills being missed, but he's adorable. I want to be his friend so I can pinch his cheeks. And I have no shame in this.

- I love how effortless our passing looks. And I love the team work on the court.

- Is it me, or does this team just look HAPPY?! (and no sooner had I finished typing that did the announcers start talking about the team chemistry... I beat them to it though! You'll just have to take my word for that one)

- Z just made a hook shot from under the basket! Awesome.

- It's encouraging to see we can score about a gagillion (ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration) unanswered points. With LeBron resting on the bench.

- I normally don't find regular season basketball fun to watch on tv. I am having fun right now. Throwing the ball halfway down the court to Bron Bron for the score? That's just fun!

- Oh sh*t. (They just caught up! Oh sh*t is about the best I can come up with)

***HALFTIME***

- I'm a little upset we're not up by 57 points right now. I saw we take out the guy whose name I probably can't pronounce. He's hurting us.

- Start of the 2nd half... lets step it up boys!! I want ACTION!

- The fact that we're back up by double digits makes me somewhat happy. And now that we're up by 17, I'm even happier.... this is what I wanted to watch

- I just did a fist pump as Varejao tipped in LBJ's shot. I don't get "throw things and yell" excited and/or upset with basketball like I do with football... but I have found myself involuntarily doing the fist pump and mouthing "yes" several times during this game.

- Ok seriously? Goal tending? Again? I wasn't aware this was so common. The one in the first half was def not goal tending, the ball was still on the way up, I don't know if this one was or not, but I'm surprised this is being called.

***End of 3Q ***

- Aww! I didn't realize Donyell Marshall played for the '6ers... I miss him simply b/c I enjoyed the "Don-Yell" zone.

- ARRGHHH.... now Z is hurt??!! I was JUST reading an article earlier about how he hasn't been injured much lately... I feel like I might have jinxed him.

- Grrr!!! Our lead is slipping. I guess a win is a win as long as we hold on.

- Ok, I clearly can't do multiple things at once. I'm trying to juggle actually paying attention to the game, writing this, and talking to friends. This has suffered as game/friends have taken priority. And that's a lot of frustration in those last couple items for a game we're winning....

- Hello? Lebron? Are you still there??

- Ok, Williams seems to be picking up some slack, I'll take it.

- ANNND.... CAVS WIN! WOOOOOOOOOO


Ok. So this wasn't quite the game I was expecting. I was expecting to be wowed. Razzle-dazzled. (Visions of NBA Jam for Super Nintendo pop into my head whenever I hear that phrase). I wanted to see us blow away another opponent. Cement the fact that we are an unstoppable force. I'm not sure if they exactly accomplished that tonight, but it was still a good game. I'm not disappointed that I watched it, and I came away with a happy feeling.

Lebron aside, we are a solid team. Even without Lebron, this team would be a contender. With Lebron? Well lets just say we are a team to be feared! We've got a lot of depth. Injures may slow us down a bit, but they are not going to stop us. Still I hope Z and Gibson are back soon.

This is the foundation that championships are built upon. This is a Cleveland team that knows how to get the job done, and get it done well. Our other teams should take note.

A Bad Day for Football

So for all intents and purposes, Romeo's career and this season has been dead for awhile. Sunday was the final nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned though. I have flat out just stopped caring, and this isn't even fun anymore. And there's no way in hell that we don't have a new head coach next year.

We've gone beyond bad, we're now predictably bad. And I've seen it coming for awhile. I went back and read some of my old posts, which got me thinking about all the past games this season, and we keep repeating the same mistakes. Over and over. Mistakes are ok if you learn from them. Romeo and the Browns clearly have not. I'm thinking of applying for the head coaching job myself. If Mike Singletary can motivate the Niners by mooning them, imagine what me flashing could do for the Browns...

Watching the game on Sunday, I didn't even get mad or upset when we did something horrible. I just kind of shook my head, because I expected it. Anytime we got even got over the 50 yard line, I wasn't even thinking 'Maybe we'll score a touchdown', I merely thought 'Hopefully we can get close enough for Dawson to kick'. I don't even expect offensive touchdowns from us anymore. As far as I'm concerned, the job description of any football team's offense is to score touchdowns. We've gotten to the point that I'm not even expecting this team to do their job, the job that we are paying them millions to do.

I couldn't even get mad when Dawson missed a field goal. I think he's just sick of carrying this team. And I don't blame him. At one point during the 3rd quarter, I received a text message "We're only down by 4 FGs". Yep. Not 2 touchdowns, because I'm not entirely sure we know what those are.

On the rare occasion that the Browns did do something well (and I mean relatively speaking, I consider them doing routine things like completing simple passes to be "playing well" at this point), I couldn't even get excited. We couldn't string enough decent plays together to make anything happen, so why get excited?

Beyond the Browns, the rest of the NFL also disappointed me. If the Browns can't satisfy me, I count on other teams to put a smile on my face. I've become a pseudo Giants fan (not because they won the Superbowl last year, but because I occasionally will watch them play with various groups of friends who are lifelong Giants fans). They let me down as well. And I was really looking forward to them going undefeated the rest of the year so Browns fans could sport those really cool 18-1 shirts!

To top it off... the Steelers won (as the Cowboys choked, Browns style, giving up somthing like 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter). Yuck. At least the Lions lost. Some things will never change. I found myself a bit upset when I saw they were up at half time. At least they came through with a loss for me. So we've got that going for us....

At this point, all I can say is: Bring on the Cavs!

We now return to our irregularly scheduled programing

So life's been a little hectic the past two weeks or so for me, so I've been on a bit of a hiatus so to speak. I've been busy doing things like running a half marathon, turning 25 (yet pretending I was turning 21), and spending some quality time with the family for the Thanksgiving holiday. That and my mom has always told me if you don't have anything nice to say... don't say anything at all....

Being the die hard Cleveland fan that I am, I usually plan my trips home with the intention of working in a trip downtown to see one of my beloved teams play. Most trips home usually include either a Cavs, Browns, or Tribe game. Back in September when I booked my flight home for Thanksgiving, I made my return flight for 6am Monday morning with the intentions of going to the Browns/Colts game, but held off on getting tickets for the game (knowing I could probably play the birthday card with my brother...).

After watching Sunday's game, warm, dry and slightly hung over at Buffalo Wild Wings (aka "Bdubs"), I can safely say I'm glad I held off on those tickets. As the season has progressed, I have gone back and forth in my mind whether I wanted to attend this game.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fair weather fan. No matter how badly we play, how much the team disgusts me, or how big of a joke we become, I stand by my team. But I must say, I have never been happier NOT to be at a game. Regardless of the outcome, it was a BORING game to watch. Several times I forgot there was even a game going on. And I wasn't even drinking!

This season has gone beyond out of control. Our administration is a joke. Half our team is injured, the other half just doesn't seem to care. There is a disconnect between coaches and players. There is a disconnect amongst players themselves. And the biggest disconnect now seems to be between fans and the team as a whole. This season has seen a steady decline. From exciting and promising, to still a glimmer of hope, from just out of reach, to absolute hopelessness.

I mean we've now got to rely on KEN DORSEY and some random guy with a name more Polish than mine (and mine is pretty Polish....). The thing that us fans are most looking forward to is the day its announced that Romeo is gone.

Like today for example, while I was hard at work (aka wasting time on facebook) I noticed a friend of mine's status said something along the lines of "expecting a big announcement today". Now this particular friend is quickly making a name for himself in Cleveland sports, does locker room interviews, and basically is the kind of guy who would have inside knowledge of anything big. I was on the edge of my seat all day waiting for the 'No More Romeo' announcement that never came. And I'm sad because of it. It's really doesn't say much for the state of your team when the thing you are most looking forward to is the firing of your coach.

I was excited about watching how the rest of the season played out just to see how Quinn was going to develop, now we don't even have that. I'll watch the rest of the games, but pretty much because I like an excuse to be social (aka drink beer) on a Sunday.

And I will keep blogging because I need a way to entertain myself. And plus, the Cavs are awesome. (More on that soon). And at the end of the day, at least our players aren't shooting themselves in the leg.... So we've got that going for us.

You've been KOSAR'D!!!!!!

It's like being Rick Roll'd... only better! It's going to catch on... I swear.





I actually came up with this idea upon reading a really great article about Bernie. I'm not so tech savvy beyond the blogging basics and my awesome photoshopping, so I'm just hiding this in the archives.

Do your part to help this catch on! Tell your friends to check out the really awesome (whatever will make them click on it) you found http://tinyurl.com/m3b7yd, and they'll have "Bernie Bernie.... oooooohhhh babbby... SUPER BOWL!" stuck in their heads for the next week.

You're Welcome.

It's Friday and I don't want to work...

I've got typical Friday fever... aka extreme lack of motivation to do anything work related. Lucky for me, I can entertain myself with this here blog of mine.

So much has happened in Cleveland sports this week that my mind is in overload! There is really no way I could narrow my thoughts down to one topic to ramble about... so I'll throw them all out there.

In semi-chronological order, here's what I've been thinking this week.

Monday Night Game.
Well we won. I'll take it. But it sure as hell wasn't pretty. Other than Phil Dawson. That man in incredible. Wind at his back or not, a 56 yard field goal is an amazing feat (and is amazing feet too!). That being said, I can pretty much start writing about games before they even happen. Here's my recap for this coming Sunday's game against the Texans:

Texans kick off to Browns. Cribbs returns to about the 50 for great field position. The offense slowly moves the ball forward, actually converting a few times. It looks like we're going to go up 7-0 to start the game. Pass to Edwards in the end zone... DROPPED. Cue Dawson. FIELD GOAL. Repeat several times. By the end of the 1st half, the defense SOMEHOW manages to hold Houston, and Dawson proceeds to kick 8 more field goals. Three of them from behind the 50 yard line. The Browns are up 27-0. Cue the second half, where our guards proceed to hold hands with Houston's running backs and skip with them down the field, and the rest of the defenses stands and observes as their QB lobs pass after pass over our heads to the waiting receivers. Our offense pretty much shuts down. This continues for much of the second half. As the clock winds down to the two minute warning... the game is now 28-27, Texans. Panic mode begins...

Sadly, that is probably going to be a pretty accurate description of how things will go.

Hopefully that prediction doesn't spur an:

Angry email from Phil Savage.
This whole situation is one of those you shake your head and kind of laugh because really, you don't know what else to do. (Here's the actual emails that were exchanged back and forth) Only in Cleveland does a GM respond to fan criticism with an Go root for Buffalo- f#$!@ you! This is now my stock response for any disagreement I have with people. What's that, you don't like my blog? Go root for buffalo- f#@! you! My boss tells me he needs a report on his desk by 5 o'clock tonight? Go root for buffalo- f#&! you. You want me to pay my bills? Go root for buffalo- f$#! you.

But you know what...

At least the Cavs are good.
This just in. The Cavs are good this year. Really good. Really ridiculously good. I realize that we lost to Detroit on Wednesday. But that is irrelevant. That was coming off an 8 game winning streak, and back to back away games. Now I admittedly don't follow the Cavs as closely as I do the Browns. I'd seen that we'd been winning games and heard that we're a stronger team than last year. But I had to see it for myself to believe it.

And that's just what happened.

Tuesday night I had the pleasure of seeing LeBron light up the Izod Center. Even when we were trailing through the first half (never by more than a few baskets), I thought we looked like the superior team. We were grabbing rebounds like they were going out of style, and even though we were down, I could tell that we were in control of the game. Mind you this might have been a somewhat biased opinion, but not entirely inaccurate. But we EXPLODED in the second half. Now Bron Bron always impresses, and had a few of his signature razzle dazzle plays, but what really surprised me is how great his supporting crew looked. It seemed like every time I turned around West was making another 3 pointer. We looked tough on D. We had a quickness on the court. Mo Williams? Definitely added a presence to the team. And I love Gibson. I'm excited for this team. I still can't get too excited until post season starts, but I will definitely make an effort to catch a few more of the nationally televised games this year.

Insert witty and appropriate transition here...

Broken finger.
To top off all the other mess going on with the Browns right now, Quinn has a broken finger. Luckily its just the tip (sooo many jokes right there that I'm not even going to touch...). He's still supposed to play, and hopefully it won't really effect him. But still, knowing our luck, he'll end up with staph, DA will be back in, and we're right back to where we started. And if somehow DA manages to scrape together a decent quarter or two, then what? There are some scary possibilities out there. This article is just terrifying. We're bad, but we're just mediocre enough that we might not be able to do anything to fix it. I agree with the author when he says "Get me a Christmas Ale. Stat." And if you deny me my Christmas Ale, then you know what, "Go root for buffalo- f#!@ you."

Maybe the magic of Christmas Ale will be enough to lure:

Bill Cowher to Cleveland.
The rumors of Cowher as the new head coach in Cleveland have been flying for sometime. But they've been just that. Rumors. Until now. Its been confirmed, kind of (thanks to my friend Ryan for this link, since he's already yelled at me for not crediting it to him once) that there are at least talks between the Browns the the former Steelers coach. Now I used to loathe this guy. I have said he looks like he eats small children for breakfast. (You can't deny this...) Well I'm sure there's plenty of small children in Cleveland.... Seriously. I just hated him because he led the enemy to victory. I am more than willing to jump on the Cowher band wagon if he comes to Cleveland. But I can't get excited yet. Because for now we kind of have to weather out the storm that is brewing and see what happens....

I think that covers all the big things that have been running through my mind all week. So we'll wrap this up. And I really should do some work. Actually screw that... It's Friday... Go root for buffalo- f#!@ you. (and I've officially over used that...)