10 Quarters

Alright Brady, you had your chance, now it's time for more interceptions!



This team is a joke. Apparently I have a different definition of 'nice job' than Coach:


Three interceptions in one half. He tripped over his own feet for a sack.

Nice job.

Really dude?

C'mon man!:

A day after he claimed he just wanted to focus on basketball following an arrest on gun possession, he couldn't even do that on the first day of training camp. West did not report to practice at the Cleveland Clinic Courts this morning and his absence was unexcused.

Dammit dammit dammit.

Cavs will get their first win before the Browns

This team looks worse than awful. Here's the Browns upcoming schedule, I see no reason why they won't be winless at the Bye Week.

Oct. 4th - Cincinnati
Oct. 11th - @ Buffalo
Oct. 18th - @ Pittsburgh
Oct. 25th - Green Bay
Oct. 27th - Cavs season begins (vs Celtics) <-------
Nov. 1st - @ Chicago
Nov. 8th - BYE WEEK

Ugh. I don't see which game they're gonna win. The best chance for a victory seems to be next week. That's it.

Sans injury, I'm not sure today's game could've been worse. I felt it was a little bit of a quick hook for Quinn (I mean, he gets what, 10 quarters?) but if Anderson had stepped up, it would've been fine. Instead, he threw 3 picks, sacked himself and threw a ball off of a running back's heel.

This is a mess.

Delonte Insurance

Brian Windhorst:

Even before Delonte West was facing a possible suspension after he was arrested and charged with illegal gun possession last week it was arguable the team could use another ball handler. Mo Williams and West are the only two players on the team that have proven they can play point guard. Daniel Gibson has done it but hasn't proven he can be effective. Last season the Cavs' third-string point guard was Tarence Kinsey, who was released in July.

It is believed the team had some interest in former Cav Flip Murray before Thursday when he agreed to a contract with the Charlotte Bobcats. There are several other veteran guards who are without jobs as the league prepares to open camps Monday.

The list includes players like Chucky Atkins, Juan Dixon, Bobby Jackson, Jerry Stackhouse and Jacque Vaughn. It is also possible the team will look to trade for a guard or simply stand pat.

I figure this has to be in response to West's arrest. Hell, I'm not against making Jackson or Stackhouse the 12th man anyways regardless of West. However, the Cavs haven't had the best of luck signing older vets for the end of the bench role (David Wesley, Scott Pollard). But if the Cavs think Delonte may miss some serious time, this could end up being a rotation player.

This is gonna be one weird season

At this point, Delonte West is a freaking cartoon character:

Cavaliers guard Delonte West is facing weapons charges after being pulled over on his motorcycle while carrying a small arsenal near his Maryland home late Thursday night.

Prince George's County police said West was carrying two concealed handguns and a shotgun when he was pulled over on Interstate 495 near his offseason home in Brandywine, Md. around 10 p.m. Corporal Clinton Copeland said West was speeding and cut off a police cruiser while riding on his three-wheeled 2009 Can-Am Spyder motorcycle.

After being stopped West informed police he was carrying a gun in his waistband, which was a 9mm Beretta. Police also found a Ruger .357 strapped to his leg and a shotgun inside a guitar case that was slung over his back. West was traveling alone.

A shotgun in a freaking guitar case. On a three wheeled motorcycle. What. The. Fuck. The legend of Delonte West grows and grows.

But in all seriousness, as much as I wanna make Antonio Banderas jokes, you gotta wonder whats going on and hope everything is alright (West has a history with depression). Obviously, I hope everything is on the up and up (I mean, it's not like like these guys aren't targets), but carrying three weapons (and getting arrested for it) will (deservedly) raise a few questions.

Cavalier players have been in the news a lot lately, but not for basketball reasons. LeBron has a book tour and two movies, Cavalier Center Shaquille O'Neal (it still hasn't really sunk in that Shaq is here yet) has his reality show, Mo Williams made a commercial and Delonte released his (in)famous KFC rap video.

Meanwhile, experts are picking the Cavaliers to win the East. I'll wish good luck to reigning NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown. Brown gets the luxury of coaching not only the most talented Cleveland team of my lifetime, but also the one with the most expectations and pressure to win (especially with LeBron's looming free agency).

Training camp starts in less than 10 days.

This small market thing is really holding LeBron back

LeBron James is set to star in a crappy movie:

LeBron James will play himself in another movie called "Fantasy Basketball Camp," a Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment comedy, according to Variety.

Brian Grazer is producing. Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel are writing the script. Shooting for the film is scheduled for next summer.

Fantasy Basketball Camp is a comedy about five guys from different backgrounds who come to Vegas to live out their fantasy by attending the LeBron James Adult Basketball Camp.

Good for LeBron, I guess.

Now, obviously, I'd rather James spend his time working on some post moves than making mediocre movies, but that's me. Now, LeBron could follow in Michael Jordan's footsteps and use the down time on set (which, from my limited experience on WSM?, there's a ton) and get himself in ridiculous shape:

Jordan spent hours away from the set inside a temporary indoor gymnasium Warner Bros. built near the studio especially for Jordan. NBA stars such as Reggie Miller and Magic Johnson stopped by for pickup games, and Jordan worked out with trainer Tim Grover. It was in that mini-gym where Jordan, committed to reshaping his body for basketball after a foray into baseball, would lay the groundwork for the Bulls' 1995-96 championship season.

Pytka called the gym the "Jordan Dome," and the director took great pains to stay on a strict production schedule that called for Jordan to start filming at 9 a.m., work till 1 p.m., break two hours for lunch and a workout, and end the day no later than 6 p.m.

One last thing, the filming is supposed to take place next summer. We're all aware of next summer, right? Summer 2010. Summer of LeBron. So, in addition to teasing every NBA market, he's also going to be filming a crappy movie. Awesome.

It's gonna be a freaking circus.

LeBron on the Daily Show

I thought the interview was pretty good and that James handled himself well with Stewart's 'come to NYC' shtick.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
LeBron James
www.thedailyshow.com
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Random Thoughts from the Weekend

1. In case you were wondering. The Cavs face the Celtics in 43 days.

2. Cause I know I was. Cavs face the Celtics in 43 days.

3. Wow. That weekend was filled with shitty offensive football. The offenses for both the Buckeyes and the Browns should shoulder most of the blame for the losses.

4. There's enough blame to go around. Terrelle Pryor says he and the offense should take the heat for their loss to USC. I don't disagree. You can't have four drive start in your opponents territory and only get 2 FGs. Especially against a team like USC.

5. Still not there yet. There are times where Pryor looks great. Then there are times he makes really really bad decisions (like his pick and his one ugly ugly ugly option pitch).

6. Speaking of blame. Jim Tressel. Outcoached? Yes. Wasting Pryor's talent? Meh, I dunno. But after seeing Barkley play so well, you have to wonder.

7. Inevitable. Ya, Denny is right. Was anyone surprised about USC's final drive? This game was too similar to the Texas game for my liking.

8. As for being proud... yes and no. Obviously, the loss sucks. Was I pleased to see Ohio State hang with USC (not getting blown out, showing they can hang with big powers)? Yes. But it's not a good sign when Ohio State fans start talking about a 'good loss'. At some point you gotta beat the other guy.

9. I'm sure the defense just feels sick. They played really well against both Texas and USC. Pryor didn't give them a chance on USC's first TD (though the Trojans consistently won the battle on 4th down).

10. No one in Columbus is scared of Michigan. And I'm sure they aren't better than Ohio State. Did anyone actually, you know, watch the Michigan-Notre Dame game? It was terrible; poor tackling, bad throws, blown coverages- just ugly. Yes, it was close and that made it an exciting game. But close doesn't equal good football.

11. Besides Michigan State, I think the Big Ten held their own. OSU wasn't embarrassed and Wisconsin and Michigan escaped with wins. Hell, Michigan is even back in the Top 25.

12. Here we go again. Brady Quinn did not have a good game, he was 21-35 for 205yrds with a TD and a pick. He and Edwards did not look in sync. Like Pryor, he's shouldering the blame.

13. If you coulda beat out DA early on... One of the stories lost over the whole training camp is the fact that since Quinn and Derek Anderson split time, neither had a lot of reps with the first team. Quinn did not look comfortable with the offense (now the Vikings' D may have had something to do with that as well). They had way too many false start penalties.

14. Maybe it's just that simple. The Browns don't have a lot of talent. They aren't that good. The end.

15. The defense wasn't too bad. Hell, they held a 13-10 lead at halftime (second half, ugh). They at least got some pressure on Brett Favre (oh, BTW- Brian Billick did his best John Madden impression. It was sickening. I'm pretty sure they almost passed out when Favre threw that TD). They ran out of gas (and ran into Adrian Peterson) in the second half, but the offense's mistakes didn't do the defense any favors.


16. I kept waiting for Favre to make a mistake. But he never did.

17. Josh Cribbs was once again the best part of the game. Cribbs took a punt to the house but was barely a factor on offense. For some reason the Browns lined him up under center for both second-and-goal AND third-and-goal. Not only did it not work, but it shows how little confidence Mangini has in his starting QB.

18. Great, not good. Adrian Peterson is pretty damn good. I know they stopped him in the first half, but is anyone REALLY surprised that he ended up wit 180 yards and 3 TDs?

19. Jay Cutler did not help my fantasy team. 4 INTs? Seriously?!

20. And the 15th man is... Rob Kurz! Maybe! Or Jawad Williams.

21. She might have some inside info. Gloria James says LeBron's a "hometown boy". Good, that's what this season needed, more tea leaf readings.

22. Remember, he needs that big market. LeBron's in London, doing some more movie promotions.

23. Speaking of 2010... Brian Windhorst:

Refer to the very important decision he made in 2003, when he potentially left millions on the table from Reebok because he ultimately wanted to be a Nike man. Also refer to the decision he made in 2002 to stay at St. Vincent-St. Mary instead of transferring Oak Hill Academy as was offered.

24. I did see that, right? Anyone at ESPN wanna mention Jordan's petty induction speech? I know I wasn't the only one who noticed.

25. More Galifianakis please. What? He's in a show with Jason Schwartzman and Ted Danson? On HBO? Called Bored to Death? Sign me up.

26. Um, not good. Philly is closing their public libraries.

27. Animals with light sabers. Tell me this isn't at least kinda awesome.

28. Leadership. My side if feckless, the other side is crazy.

29. Twitter is gonna get people in trouble. Twitter: the First Draft of History. I like it. For those wondering, you can follow my tweets or whatever at BenCox83.

30. One of my favs. Sondre Lerche is playing the Beachland Ballroom this Friday. His new album, Heartbeat Radio is getting good reviews (I quite enjoy it). Tickets are $13.

Here's the title track from his new album:

I'm just glad he didn't rip on Craig Ehlo

Maybe it's sour grapes, but I thought Michael Jordan came off as a dick. (disclosure: I actively rooted against MJ throughout my childhood. I HATED those Bulls teams and thought NBC favored them over every team in the league).



I wasn't the only one who thought Jordan came off poorly, here's (gulp)Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski:

This wasn’t a Hall of Fame induction speech, but a bully tripping nerds with lunch trays in the school cafeteria. He had a responsibility to his standing in history, to players past and present, and he let everyone down. This was a night to leave behind the petty grievances and past slights – real and imagined. This was a night to be gracious, to be generous with praise and credit.

[snip]

Jordan didn’t hurt his image with the NBA community, as much as he reminded them of it. “That’s who Michael is,” one high-ranking team executive said. “It wasn’t like he was out of character. There’s no one else who could’ve gotten away with what he did tonight. But it was Michael, and everyone just goes along.”

Jordan wandered through an unfocused and uninspired speech at Symphony Hall, disparaging people who had little to do with his career, like Jeff Van Gundy and Bryon Russell. He ignored people who had so much to do with it, like his personal trainer, Tim Grover. This had been a moving and inspirational night for the NBA – one of its best ceremonies ever – and five minutes into Jordan’s speech it began to spiral into something else. Something unworthy of Jordan’s stature, something beneath him.

Jordan spent more time pointlessly admonishing Van Gundy and Russell for crossing him with taunts a dozen years ago than he did singling out his three children. When he finally acknowledged his family, Jordan blurted, in part, to them, “I wouldn’t want to be you guys.”

[snip]

From the speeches of David Robinson to John Stockton, Jerry Sloan to Vivian Stringer, there was an unmistakable thread of peace of mind and purpose. At times, they were self-deprecating and deflective of praise. Jordan hasn’t mastered that art, and it reveals him to be oddly insecure. When Jordan should’ve thanked the Bulls ex-GM, Jerry Krause, for surrounding him with championship coaches and talent, he ridiculed him. It was me, Jordan was saying. Not him. “The organization didn’t play with the flu in Utah,” Jordan grumbled.

Ya, I guess I had hoped that Jordan's speech would've been more like David Robinson's or John Stockton's. They seemed generally humbled by the entire experience. (Stockton's in particular was really good, this was the first I've ever heard him speak for an extended length). But Jordan was just crackin on the likes of Jon Starks and Byron Russell. Awesome.

Anyone? Bueller?

Does anyone out there have a good feeling about the Ohio State-USC game on Saturday?

I'm not in panic mode just yet. USC's big first win doesn't really scare me. And I don't think Ohio States "close call" against Navy is all that much to worry about either (mostly because Navy has that weird offense and a couple fluky/big plays happened real close together).

But I'm not anywhere near what you would call 'confidant'. I mean, can any "real" (re: non-moronic) Ohio State fan be anywhere North of "cautiously optimistic"? I have friends who are absolutely terrified of Saturday's game.

This is a big game for Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel. They've blown some games (and gotten blown out) against top ranked out of conference schools (Florida, LSU, USC) and another loss could really hurt the school (and the Big Ten).

I guess you could mark me down for cautiously optimistic. USC is starting a true freshman against Ohio States defense. That has to count for something, right? (nevermind that USC may not even need to throw the ball- their running game DOES scare me). Pryor looks like he's the real deal (despite his Mike Vick love).

The big thing for the Buckeyes will be to get off to a good start. Don't get down 7-0 (or 10/14-0) and take the crowd out of it. If the crowd can keep the pressure on the Trojans and Pryor can make a play or two, Ohio State has a shot.

Has a shot.

That's not good sign, eh? If x, y and z happen, OSU has a got a chance. Awesome.

Anyone out there wanna tell me why Ohio State will beat USC? Anybody?

Things that are awesome

1. Al Franken draws a map of the United States:

2. You can read the first chapter of The Gathering Storm (book 12 in the Wheel of Time series) here. I've read it 3 times already.

3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia live on stage.

Wait, huh?

In an interesting article from SI about LeBron's movie, book and future, I find this:

The LeBron-Shaq marriage has just begun and already some are predicting a break-up.

James and O'Neal have known each other for eight years, but other than an All-Star game, they've never been teammates. That changed when the Cavaliers traded for Shaq in June, uniting two of the game's dominant players -- and larger-than-life personalities.

What's not to love?

"I'm so excited about Shaq," James said. "Something I haven't had in my career is a dominant force in the paint, a guy I can go to and he's going to get us something good. He's the most dominant force to ever play the game, and to have him on my team, I'm humbled."

Their pairing seems ideal, but it will be a test.

While O'Neal has shared the spotlight with Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, James' kingdom has never been shared like it's about to be.

Um, when was Shaq on T-Mac's team? Did I miss something? They meant Penny Hardaway, no?

Now THIS I can agree with

Yahoo called last season's Cavs squad the Best Team to Not Win the Title. I disagreed.

Now, they call the 02-03 Cavalier squad (1 yr before LeBron) one of the 10 Worst NBA Squads of the Past Decade:

4. 2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers

John Lucas was brought in to do one thing, and one thing well. Lose. Blow the whole season. Deal with awful uniforms, Dajuan Wagner as your lottery pick, Ricky Davis, Darius Miles, Smush Parker and all the ping-pong balls you can handle by May. This was one messed-up team.

Heh. I'm perversely proud to say that I saw one of that squad's 17 wins in person (vs Golden State). I still remember the ride home, for some reason Ron Harper was in town and was on WTAM's post game show chatting it up with Mike Snyder. Snyder asked Ron to show him one of his championship rings (Ron obliged) and then they lamented that Harper never had the chance to win one while in Cleveland (as the strong urge to vomit nearly makes me crash the car).

Good times, good times.

(that was also the game I got weird looks for yelling at Ricky Davis for getting either a half court or inbounds violation. I was quite loud and angry and I swear half the arena looked at me like I was crazy. You can't imagine how quite the Gund used to be).

Kinda Neat

Jim Thome has been reunited with Manny:

The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen the Rockies and Giants getting bigger in their rearview mirror, so they added some power to try to pull away.

The Dodgers acquired slugger Jim Thome from the White Sox and right-hander Jon Garland from the Diamondbacks on Monday after both players cleared waivers.

Add Thome to Casey Blake and Ronnie Belliard and the Dodgers look more and more like the Indians NL.

Hell, Manny said they wanted to play together again.