Random Thoughts from the Weekend

1. Troy Smith. Heisman.

2. Inevitable sappy story

3. Brady Quinn still considered a better draft choice

4. My buddy Nick is a Lions fan (that poor bastard) and he is dreading that they'll take Quinn. Just dreading. Which brings up an interesting question, is anyone out there excited at the prospect of their team drafting Brady Quinn? Lord knows, I'm not.

5. Should the Browns draft Troy Smith? Yes, I'm down for that. With their first pick? Umm...

6. I love Smith, don't get me wrong, but right now the Browns are drafting somewhere in the 4-7 range (and could move up depending on how bad they suck the rest of the year). Is taking a QB in the top 10 the right move? I say no. The Browns need so much (O-line, D-line, running back, another corner) that taking any QB that early could be a mistake. Now, say the Browns end up drafting 2 or 3 and they want to trade down for multiple first round picks and take Smith and a left tackle? Yes. Oh God, yes.

7. Dan Shanoff didn't think Smith should've won.

8. I used to read Shanoff in the early days of The Daily Quickie on ESPN.com. I liked the idea (a recap of the previous days sports) but I got sick of the constant Cleveland/Ohio bashing. Every once in awhile I'll catch myself getting pissed off while reading his blog. I'm not sure why. He's like a national Roger Brown.

9. Are you aware that Smith is the first QB from the Big 10 to win the Heisman? The first. Weird.

10. It's official. I now hate the Gators.

11. I didn't watch a whole lot of the Browns-Steelers game (new Scrubs and 30 Rock). Can you blame me?

12. Whenever I flipped to the game, I always seemed to tune in just in time to watch Dennis Northcutt drop a pass. I'm not exactly sure why he is still on the team.

13. I'd like to know how Derek Anderson wasn't sacked. For an entire game. And look, I know he's got a quicker release (compared to Frye) and all that crap, but Frye had a few plays where he got sacked on a handoff.

14. The O-line is the main reason I don't want the Browns to draft Troy Smith. Nothing in their recent history suggests that they'll give Smith the tools to help him succeed (you know, a running game, offensive linemen, receivers not named Dennis Northcutt, etc). I'd like to see Smith succeed in the NFL, not get destroyed once a week in orange and brown.

15. Terry Pluto says that Anderson should start versus Baltimore. I agree.

16. The Browns division record under Romeo? 1-10; if you're looking for a good reason to can the guy, I'd start with that. Via MMQB

a. The Browns are 1-10 against AFC Central foes under Romeo Crennel. That is unfathomable. They've now lost to the Steelers by 4, 20, 41 and 13 points, to Cincinnati by 15, 30, 14 and 3. Oh-for-8 against the Steelers and Bengals. Ridiculous.

b. Thought of this while watching the Steelers' rout of the Browns: You know what worries me about Crennel's teams? Even with injuries, there's enough talent there not only to be better, but also to compete against the best teams in the league. They were absolutely non-competitive for most of that game the other night. How does a Crennel team allow a running game to steamroll it like that?

17. Ted Washington. Good signing.

18. LeCharles Bentley is the John Smiley of the Browns.

19. AI to the Cavs? No thanks. I'll use Pluto's reasons:

• Some fans are suggesting the Cavaliers trade for Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. Some fans just don't get basketball. Or, that you can only play with one basketball at a time. That has been the wisdom of Danny Ferry, the Cavaliers' general manager who brings in players who can play with LeBron James and whom LeBron's fame doesn't threaten.

• Here's the deal with Iverson, he dominates the ball. He can't help it, he's just wired that way. This season, he's shooting only 41 percent from the field -- 22 percent on 3-pointers -- yet he's taking nearly 25 shots a game! That's close to his career average. Iverson just shoots -- a lot. By contrast, James is averaging 20 shots this season, making 48 percent.

• Yes, James said all the right things. He likes Iverson. And yes, he could play with Iverson. All of that is true, and James would try to make it work. James never will say anything critical about one of the league's great players. He's too smart and too respectful. But Iverson is the wrong guy at the wrong time for the Cavs.

• Iverson is 31, and he has a lot of miles on that skinny 6-foot, 160-pound frame. He plays enormous minutes. He plays extremely hard. He is one of the best in the NBA at getting open without the ball. But he's a scorer, and the team that trades for him should be a team that needs a scorer. The Cavs don't.

20. As a basketball fan, I'd like to see Iverson end up in Minnesota with KG. I wouldn't be surprised if AI lands in Chicago (for a combo like Ty Thomas, Ben Gordon and a draft pick).

21. I guess it isn't too shocking that the Cavs grabbed Gibson in the second round after all:

Gibson and his father, Bryon, saw it as an opportunity. Like buying low and selling high, the Gibsons formulated a plan that went against the grain.

``At first, I was like `I'm going to go to every workout with every team possible and I'm going to get into that first round,' '' Gibson said. ``But after a while you figure out that what you really want is to get into the right situation, a place you can flourish.''

Just when that epiphany came isn't clear, but it was probably after an afternoon in May when Gibson worked out for the Cavs at Quicken Loans Arena. After that workout, Gibson's father, who was acting as his agent at the time, called off a long West Coast trip he'd set up to showcase his son. It was decided that despite being a bubble pick -- anywhere from the late first round to undrafted -- no one else was getting a look.

Not even the hometown Houston Rockets, who repeatedly called him wanting to take a look after a preliminary workout. Gibson worked out for just two teams, the Rockets and the Cavs. And he wasn't returning the Rockets' phone calls.

``My parents and I sat down and decided we weren't going to work out anymore,'' Gibson said. ``Teams wanted me to come, but my father stuck to his guns. He told them they could draft me if they wanted, but they weren't going to get a workout.''

The Cavs had three picks in the draft last June and Gibson's family already had a relationship with Cavs assistant general manager Lance Blanks, who was formerly a star at Texas himself.

In fact, the Cavs had a 50-page dossier on Gibson. They knew all about him, his background, his family, and his game -- a game that perhaps was underused at Texas and then kept hidden from other NBA teams.

23. Did LeBron almost get cut during the Olympic tryouts? And look, even if he did show up with a bad attitude, look at how he played during the Worlds; he cut his game back more than anyone, passed the ball and set up his teammates. Even if he stunk it up the first couple days, he obviously turned it around.

24. One of the comments from the article on Gibson reads as follows:

ABJ a liberal leftist RAG. Look at the opinion on the Iraq council. Why don't you ever print the real news ask the soldiers what a threat radical ISLAMISM is to our country. You are not fair and totally biased keeping the public in the dark about the real issues. Instead of reporting all you do is Formulate leftist liberal opinions keeping the public dumbed down. You are not a service to our community.

First of all, nice comment on a sports article. Well done. Second of all, I knew there was a reason I liked the ABJ so much. I just figured it was quality writing, but nope, it's their liberal agenda that keeps me coming back for more.

25. I know what I'm giving out for Christmas.

26. Joe Biden... haha

27. Matt Stone and Trey Parker: Download the show

28. This is dumb. Stupid liberal media...

29. These videos are a delight.

30. I start a new job today. Wish me luck.