Monday, December 04, 2006

Random Thoughts from the Weekend

1. Suck it Michigan

2. There's no good answer here. Michigan has looked great and has 1-loss to the number 1 team in the nation. Florida has 1-loss and won the SEC. Both are deserving.

3. Florida got to number 2 in the coaches poll, with Jim Tressel not voting. Dan Shanoff has beef with Tressel and I'm not really sure why.

4. I can't really blame Tressel here. Of course, I'm a bit biased, but what is he supposed to do? Say he thinks Michigan is the better team, why should he vote for them? Wouldn't he then rather play Florida (or vica versa)? So if he wants to play the lesser team, shouldn't he vote at number 2? How is he supposed to vote here? Vote for the team he thinks he can beat? Or the team he doesn't want to play?

5. Playoff system. 16 teams. Do it.

6. #11 Notre Dame got a BCS bowl over 1-loss #5 Wisconsin. Not cool. I hate Notre Dame sooooo much.

7. So the Big 10 has three teams in the top five in the BCS and three teams in the top five
in the coaches poll. But I thought the SEC was teh greatest conference eva?

8. Was anyone else rooting for UCLA versus USC. By all logical reasoning, I should've been rooting for USC (to make sure OSU didn't have to rematch Michigan) but man, I hate USC. Of course I was rooting for the upset, consequences be damned.

9. You always root for the upset. Just like you always root against Michigan. I don't care if a Michigan bowl game loss hurts the Big Ten and in turns hurts OSU somehow. All season long I wanted a OSU-Michigan 1 and 2 final game. Logically, I should've wanted Michigan to win all it's games until Nov. 18th. But no, I wanted those bastards to lose every time they stepped on the field.

10. Ohio State is going to dominate Florida. Just destroy 'em. I think you'll see everyone picking OSU, like they did Miami in 2002. But Jim Tressel has been in Urban Meyers shoes, so he knows what to do and what not to do (and what Florida needs to do).

11. What the hell?

12. I give the Browns game ball to Braylon Edwards, for calling out the Browns O-line last week. It was about time someone ripped 'em. They gave the QBs time this week, and that seem to make a difference (crazy)

13. I'm only halfway kidding with the Edwards comment. He caused a firestorm last week and he hasn't exactly been the model of consistency either.

14. Did the Browns save Romeo's job? I kinda think that they did.

15. So, Browns fans can't complain about the coaching this week, at least we'll have a genuine quarterback controversy. (By the way, in case you were wondering, I still say go with Frye. Or at the very least make it a open battle next training camp. Also, I hate Kelly Holcomb)

16. If I hear a ton of calls for Derek Anderson I just might lose it. I know, he looked great, but how did Frye look before he got hurt? (side note: since the Browns returned, has a starting QB finished the season not injured?) But he was great for a half. One half. I mean, it's still too early to tell with Romo, let alone Derek Anderson.

17. Hell, he still has a ways to go before he's the best Cleveland athlete named Derek Anderson.

18. Why didn't KC blitz all game? Anyone?

19. Let's hold off on all the Anderson praise for a few weeks please. Wait til teams get some game film on the kid and actually prepare for him. Hell, start him versus the Steelers this week, see what happens.

20. No shit.

21. Windhorst: Don't expect that NBA lawsuit to do much besides send a message.

22. Also (from the previous link), should the Cavs trade for Channing Frye? I say know, they already have a young, inconsistent power forward. Drew Gooden.

23. One of the worst things about the Cavs recent slump? The calls for the return of Flip Murray. No. Nonononononono. I'm totally down with not having a guy who shoots all the time, takes bad shots, can't pass and plays so-so defense at best. I figure the Cavs don't really need that guy. Plus, you want to see more of the rookies? That means less vets.

24. Two Cleveland blogs added to the links sidebar.

25. This is insane.

26. Stupid liberal media.

27. I have no problem with anyone criticizing my blog, my opinions or my writings, because well, I really don't do this for you. If this blog sucks so bad that you feel like you have to leave a comment on how much it blows, I'm thrilled. I just wasted even more of your time. Suck it.

28. Also, if you're gonna rip me, at least be coherent about it.

29. Awesome:

30. The last 3 SNL hosts before the new year. I believe I've said this before, but maybe not here (I could search the archives, but Ben = Lazy): Stephen Colbert needs to host SNL. Now. It would be beyond amazing.

31. Awful.

32. More video:

33. I'm not sure which YouTube Springsteen video I find more amazing. This (real) old one:



or this one (which I've posted before, but I can't help it. I just break into a HUGE grin every time I see it. I just can't keep from smiling)



34. There was one other time I heard a song and couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Sophomore year I got George Harrison's last album, Brainwashed (I'm a huge Beatles fan and Harrison is probably my favorite). Anyway, I'm lying on my bed, listening to George Harrison's final album and it's full of mystic words and trippy slide guitars and then I get to the 10th track and suddenly I hear a ukulele and Harrison count off "one, a-two, a one two three" and I'm in heaven. Perfect. Just... I can't even explain it. God damned perfect. I played that track like 6 times a row, just grinning like a dumbass.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

More random responses:

1) I'm concerned about this Tressel thing. The NCAA is supposedly going to look into Tressel's future participation in the BCS poll.

I hope it's not going to get to the point where Tressel says "Screw you all, I'm going to go coach the Browns."

Romeo Crennel might have bought himself some time with Sunday's win, but if Tressel passed Randy Lerner a note saying "I want to coach the Browns," it would be really tempting. Like "Keira Knightley saying 'Want to come upstairs for a while?'" tempting.

2) Playoff system. Ten conference champs and six at-large bids.

3) KC didn't blitz all game because the NFL is a shameless copycat league riddled with Cover-2 defensive schemes. Even if they don't work, most coaches adhere to their play schemes like gospel.

Remember the Butch Davis years? The Browns, despite having purportedly quick linebackers, never blitzed. Davis ran a Cover-2.

4) The Cavs don't necessarily need Flip Murray back, but they really could use a starting-caliber swingman coming off the bench as the sixth man.

I've been a proponent of this since the Cavs signed Larry Hughes. You can't just say "dump Hughes because he can't stay healthy" (which is what some of the less-knowledgeable Cleveland fans have beens saying of late).

Hughes brings too much to the table to say the Cavs would be better off without him. But the fact of the matter is, he can't stay healthy consistently, and you need a viable backup plan for when he goes down.

Damn, would someone like Mike Miller look good in a Cavs uniform right now.

LargeBill said...

Cool blog and great collection of links. I wonder if Simon Fraser is aware of the university using his name?

16 teams is too many. Maybe modify it to give the top 2 or 4 teams a bye in the first round. That way a team that feels they lost because of a bad call (Oklahoma) can still play in but teams who won out get a benefit for winning.

I don't see Tressel as a pro coach. Not saying he couldn't do it, but it seems outside his area of strength. Makes me think of Jerry Faust leaving Moeller HS and taking over Notre Dame. Too big a jump with no prior experience at the higher level.

Derek Anderson does seem to have more zip on his throws. However, what I learned on Sunday is it doesn't matter who is quarterbacking. We can win with either of them if the line blocks, the receivers catch balls thrown their way and if the defense plays hard on every play. If those things don't happen we won't win even if we have Peyton Manning getting sacked instead of Frye.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to blather on some more, but I need to vent to another Cavs fan about what an ass Marc Stein is.

He dropped the Cavs to 14th in his power rankings. 14TH! At 10-7! When 3/4 of the league is somewhere between 10-7 and 7-10!

Ridiculous.

I swear. The Pistons lose three of four, and they drop maybe one spot with a comment about how Rip Hamilton still isn't 100 percent. The Cavs lose three of four, and they plummet five spots with absolutely no mulligan for Hughes being out.

Why doesn't Stein just admit it? Why doesn't everyone in the national media just admit it? They hate the fact that LeBron is in Cleveland, they don't want the Cavs to succeed, they want this team to fall apart and LeBron to demand a trade.

I get the feeling that if the Cavs fall to .500, Stein will drop them to 23rd and do it with a smug smirk. Ric Bucher, Dan Shanoff and Charley Rosen will all nod in approval.

Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em all.

Ben said...

Personally, I think 16 teams is perfect.

Tressel said something like he asked if he could split the vote for number 2, but they said no.

Personally, I kinda wish Tressel would've voted Florida 2 and when asked why say something like "ya, you know, Michigan is probably the better team. But I just can't bring myself to vote for Michigan". It could've been his own "I couldn't go for 3" moment. Just a big 'fuck you' to Michigan.

I guarantee that the Steelers will be blitzing this Thursday. Enjoy that Browns fans.

I really think you'll see Shannon Brown fill that 'Flip Murray void'. Hopefully, he'll pass Sasha Pavlovic on the depth chart sometime soon.

Bill, thanks. I don't think Tressel is pro coach material either. I think he has two dream jobs- OSU and the Browns. Right now, he has a chance to become a legend at Ohio State. If (when) he beats Florida he's going to have two championships, a Heisman QB and a ridiculous record versus Michigan. Another 5 years or so and he'd be a (bigger) God. Maybe one day he'll coach the Browns, but I don't think he looks up here and wants to be a part of the current Browns. Once the team is better/more experienced he may move up, but I just can't see it happening anytime soon.