Random Thoughts from the Weekend

1. Ohio State hasn't impressed me... Yes, they're 2-0, so they're doing better than some teams, but damn a 3-2 first half versus Akron? Not good. They weren't exactly impressive against Youngstown State either. I'm not feeling particularly good about facing Washington next weekend.

2. I'm also not excited for some other games. Mainly the night games at Minnesota, Purdue and Penn State. Ohio State teams haven't exactly played well at night under Tressel and the team doesn't look that strong this year.

3. Their ranking confuses me too. Right now, they're 10 in both polls, which seems high to me (some people have them ranked 3rd. 3?!?! are you kidding me? I love me some Buckeyes, but God damn).

4. I was expecting more from Beanie Wells. Bill Livingston isn't impressed and says Wells needs to step up (though some of the problem has been play calling). I'm not too worried (yet) but I was hoping he'd run all over Youngstown State and Akron and he's been average thus far.

5. What's better than Michigan starting the season 0-2? Michigan AND Notre Dame starting the season 0-2. The Battle of Suck is next Saturday. Can both teams lose? Can Lloyd Carr be fired at halftime (Charlie Frye style)? What do I root for? A 0-3 Michigan or a 0-3 Charlie Weiss? Or do I simply root for injuries? So many questions...

6. Antonio Pittman got cut. That's not good. But he got picked up by St. Louis. Kinda surprising.

7. The Browns suck. This shouldn't exactly shock anyone, but I'm sure it will (though I didn't expect them to play that poorly against Pittsburgh, my lord).

8. That didn't work. Maybe they should've eased Eric Steinbach into the starting lineup eh?

9. When did we start referring to Romeo Crennel as RAC? This was all over the message boards yesterday and even in a teaser link for a Bud Shaw column.

10. Peter King has some Browns tidbits in his MMQB column:

Quote of the Week II

"BRAY-dee! BRAY-dee! BRAY-dee!''

-- The Cleveland Browns Stadium crowd, four minutes and 23 seconds into the new season. Literally. That's how long it took them to call for coach Romeo Crennel to make Brady Quinn his starting quarterback. But Crennel did not listen. He replaced Charlie Frye, all right, in the second quarter -- but with Derek Anderson, not the 22nd pick in April's draft.

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f. Teams that have to feel ridiculously depressed after Sunday: St. Louis, Buffalo, Kansas City, the Jets and Cleveland.

g. Wait -- give me a separate category for Cleveland. What I wonder after watching chunks of that game is, how can you work for an entire training camp and look like that? "If the gamut runs from A to Z,'' GM Phil Savage said last night, "that was a Z.'' Maybe a letter doesn't exist for what that was.

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3. I think the most overplayed story of Week 1 was the subterfuge angle of former players spilling the beans to the enemy. Just like Jason David's information on the Indy offense meant nothing to New Orleans' defense in the Colts' 41-10 beatdown of the Saints, the importation of former Patriot Reche Caldwell for a look-see and the Patriots bringing in ex-Jets Tim Dwight and Bobby Hamilton (on the QT Friday) meant nothing to the outcome of the Patriots' win over the Jets. Maybe the Jets learned a scintilla about the physical condition of Randy Moss -- maybe -- but as far as strategy or signals or audible signs ... fiction.

"It's the most overrated thing in sports,'' said Peyton Manning, who went on to give me a great example of how a foreign agent can actually hurt a team's preparation. "The classic was when we're playing Cleveland and they got [former Colts backup quarterback and offensive assistant] Kelly Holcomb and Bruce Arians. It's Tony Dungy's first year, maybe 2002. So the Browns grill Holcomb all week, 'You got to give us something' and he says, 'I'm telling you, Peyton's going to change it up. He knows I'm here, he's going to give you a dummy audible early. I'm telling you, he's not stupid. So, just play your keys.'

"They're up 16-3, I think, at the half," said Manning. "Second half, we get a good drive going and it's fourth-and-three. So we run our bread and butter play, a little five-yard under route. Well, I signal the play and Holcomb -- it's the same signal -- so he says, 'Ah, now I'm going to help them.' So he says, 'They're running the five-yard under play! Five-yard under play!"

"And so you can see it on the film -- they're going, 'Watch the slants, watch the slants.' So they load up, all inside technique, and they go into a man defense. Well, I see this and I see the defenders all change up -- that's the thing about the no-huddle, I can see this -- and I kept the receivers doing the same thing and I checked to a zone running play and it's only six guys who gotta know -- the linemen and the back [James Mungro]. And he goes 29 yards untouched for a touchdown. And so their guys go to Holcomb, all pissed off, 'So, they're running a slant, huh? Thanks a freaking lot, Holcomb.'

So, maybe that sums it up right there, be careful of what you think you know.''

4. I think, still, that Romeo Crennel has to stand strong and not put Quinn on the field. Not yet, anyway. Four of the next five games, before Cleveland's bye, come against teams that finished in the NFL's top 10 in defensive rankings last year. "Our whole thought was Charlie [Frye] and Derek [Anderson] keeping us functional through the tough part of our schedule,'' Savage told me. And now? "If you ask 70,000 people in our stadium today, the process got accelerated. We'll meet [Monday morning] and discuss it. But I think you run into trouble if you change your plans after one game. Back in 1999, we lost to Pittsburgh 43-0 in the first game of the season with Ty Detmer playing and we threw Tim Couch in there. You saw how that turned out. Once Brady goes in, that's it; there's no turning back. To do it after the first week ...''

Look, the Browns know this season's a wash. Frye got sacked five times in the first 23 minutes against Pittsburgh. Do you want the kid shellshocked in September, or do you want him to play after he's had more than 92 snaps (the real number) with the first unit since he signed his contract?

11. I'm not sure where I'm at with Quinn. Obviously, Frye and Anderson both suck ass. This can't be denied. Sure, we may prefer one over the other, but neither is a good option. Quinn is going to get his shot this year, it's only a matter of time. So what's the point of sitting him? I mean, would anyone be worried about him if he had to face the 'vaunted' Cincinnati defense next week?

12. Well, Quinn has one point in his favor... He led the Browns into the Post-preseason.

13. That's some fine coaching there Lou. I'm glad we had that quarterback competition in the preseason so they could scrap the guy by halftime. Good times (with coin flips!). And I know Frye sucked ass. He was terrible (Terry Pluto tries to defend him by saying that the Steelers didn't blitz Anderson nearly as much). It's not the losses that piss me off so much, it's the terrible coaching; these don't look prepared at all. The whole offense was a mess (again) and this shit is getting old.

14. Har. Livingston would've started the coin.

15. But hey.... at least Romeo won't name his starter for next week. I'm sure that gives the team all the confidence they need.

16. I know the Browns are going to be the big talk of the day, but... we're all aware that the Indians kick major ass, right? They just split a four game series with the Angels. These guys are good, they have a bona fide number 1 starter in Sabathia and they should be able to make some noise in the playoffs.

17. Grady Sizemore is awesome. Last night in the fourth inning he bunted for a hit, stole second base and then scored on grounder that didn't leave the infield. Well done young sir.

18. This annoys me:

The Tribe knocked around Jered Weaver (11-7, 4.00) for six runs on nine hits in five innings. The man who delivered the big hit - a three-run homer in the five-run fourth inning - was the last position player to make the club out of spring training. Ryan Garko hit Weaver's first pitch over the bullpens in left field for a 4-2 lead.

It was Garko's second homer of the series. His parents, Michael and Elaine, were in the stands. So was most of his senior class from Servite High School in Walnut, Calif.

"Garko had to make the club out of spring training," said Wedge. "Then we weren't sure how much he was going to play. But Andy Marte got hurt, Casey Blake moved to third and Garko has played better than a lot of people thought at first base."

19. Honestly? Has Garko really played that much better than people would've thought? Cause he's about where I'd thought he'd be. And look, I know that he had to earn his job and all that, but the fact that the Tribe's brass was prepared to sit Garko for Casey Blake scares me.

20. Speaking of really surprising things. People can't actually be shocked that Randy Moss put up those numbers yesterday, right? I know he's a 'locker room' problem and he missed preseason games and blah blah blah... but come on. This guy made Jeff George into an MVP candidate, I think he'll be okay with Tom Brady.

21. Ha. Kenny Lofton thinks he's putting finishing touches on Hall of Fame career. And I know it's a humorous article and all... but say Kenny had stayed with Cleveland all these years and started every day (rather than jumping around and platooning). I'm not saying he'd be a HoF'er, but he'd be though of rather differently at least.

22. AL MVP... I know A-Rod is going to win it (and he probably should) but I'd be willing to bet that if Victor Martinez played in Boston or New York, he'd be higher than 'rest of our top 10'.

23. Troy Glaus, really? I, for one, am shocked! Shocked I say!

24. When can the Brett Boone reports come out? Come on, he went from 'scrappy second baseman' to '140 RBI machine'. I've been pissed about this for years.

25. Faaaantastic. Alan Houston is 95% sure he's going to return. If he ends up taking time away from Boobie Gibson, I will be one pissed blogger.

26. Big day today. Yup, yup and yup.

27. It's really happening... with a logo and every everything.

28. Humpy poopy, just watch it. I know this guy.

29. About time. Help! is being released on DVD with a deluxe treatment. Now if we could get Let it Be...

30. Sweet concert tomorrow night. I'm seeing the Arctic Monkeys and the Coral. The Arctic Monkeys are the headliner (not surprising) but I more excited to see the Coral. They've been one of my favorite bands for awhile now and I'm really excited to see them live. I can't really describe their sound, because they change things up from album to album, but the song writing and performance is always quality; they're kinda hard to pin down. Their new one, Roots and Echoes, is a more stripped down affair and it is quite good (I probably still love their self titled debut the most, but that was my introduction and I've played that thing a ton). They aren't very well known (I've never met someone else who's even aware of 'em- well, besides people who've heard of them through me) and I hope that they'll get some stateside exposure from this tour.

The Coral - Roots and Echoes - Jacquelin:

Not Good

Under Romeo Crennel:

11/13/2005 - Pittsburgh 34, Cleveland 21
12/24/2005 - Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 0
11/19/2006 - Pittsburgh 34, Cleveland 20
12/17/2006 - Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 7
09/09/2007 - Pittsburgh 34, Cleveland 7

Also, it is my opinion that Brady Quinn didn't get any playing solely because Romeo doesn't want to have to answer "when does Brady start?" questions this week (and honestly, a blow out is the perfect time to get a rookie QB some reps).

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

More Cowher

This time from the Sports Guy (and hey, at least he doesn't have the Browns ranked 32nd):

28. Cleveland Browns
One year away from being turned around by Bill Cowher and his rejuvenated spittle.

Is it really that much of a lock? WKNR 850 plays a blurb from Jim Rome discussing this possibility.
Should I start preparing myself now? A team with a ND quarterback, a Miami tight end, a Michigan wide receiver and a former Raven (who gained 500 yards against the Browns in one season) at running back... all coached by a former Steeler?

But hey, if they win games.... I root for whoever.

Survival and Pick 'Em Leagues

I know this is late (since the season, you know, starts tonight) but if anyone is interested in joining a(nother) pick 'em or survival league, I'm hosting a couple through yahoo fantasy sports.

The info is as such:

Survival Football: Leauge ID:13453 password: firefight
Pro Pick 'Em: League ID: 37888 password: kitna

Good luck and all that.

Um, did Leigh Bodden not get the memo?

This is the year that the Browns aren't supposed to fuck up. This is the year the team takes off. Getting arrested during the first week of the season wasn't on the agenda:

Browns starting cornerback Leigh Bodden ended up in the Cleveland City Jail on Wednesday after being arrested at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport. He was accused of aggravated disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and various traffic offenses.

According to Lt. Thomas Stacho, public information officer for the Cleveland Police Department, Bodden was spotted about 6:30 p.m. driving a 2004 GMC Yukon the wrong way on the lower roadway for arriving flights. When a police officer instructed Bodden to stop, he didn't immediately, but complied with a second request, pulling his vehicle to the curb and walking away.

God dammit. I'm sure Romeo is loving this, he's only had a quarter back controversy and a first round hold out in training camp. Things were supposed to become kinda normal for the season. But he can't care for this distraction for Week 1, especially when the first week's opponent thinks that their former coach is going to take his job.

(On a semi related note: this is dumb and means nothing at all)

C.C.

Gammons:

But as you appreciate that the Indians beat Johan Santana five times this season and further realize that C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona won all five of those games between them, not only should one think about what the Indians may be like in a short series in October should they get there, but realize what Sabathia has done to help put the Indians six games ahead of the Tigers in the AL Central.

Click down the list of pitchers Sabathia has faced. He beat Santana three times. He was matched up with Justin Verlander twice in five days on May 26 and 31, and won both games. He has also lost to Verlander and dropped a 1-0 decision to Daisuke Matsuzaka.

He's first in the AL in wins (16) and innings pitched (211), second in complete games (three) and fourth in strikeouts (182).

Think what having the Indians go 5-1 in his starts against Santana and Verlander means to the Indians in the standings, and right now Sabathia also has to get consideration for votes in the top 10 in the AL MVP balloting.

They just keep winning games, it is actually kinda amazing at this point. And they win them in crazy ways; last at-bat walks and home runs, Garko hit taking a weird hop and even in spite of Casey Blake taking off on a fly ball with no outs.

They just keep winning. Hopefully Cleveland fans will notice.

This and That

Couple things...

I was hoping I'd be able to recap all of Team USA's games on here, but a few things happened: 1) classes started 2) the games are kinda boring so I'll only watch the first half to see if they're actually being challenged. So I haven't really watched many full games.

I'm not sure if you guys listen to the Bill Simmon's podcast B.S. Report stuff (they aren't bad IMO) but if you listen to one featuring Steve Kerr, not only do you get some good basketball talk, some sucking up to the Suns and an awesome Steve Kerr presence, but at the very beginning Simmons and Kerr discuss Mark Price and how much he kicked ass. So if you don't want to listen to the whole thing (I liked it), you can hear the Mark Price/90's Cavs stuff at the very beginning.

I wasn't sure C.C. was ever going to get that elusive 15th win but he did AND the Tribe is in first place. Here is Sabathia's run support since July 24th: 0, 1, 5, 4, 2, 3, 1 and 4. Over this time he is 2-3 with 3 no decisions (though the Tribe lost those 3 games) and he hasn't given up more than 2 runs since July 29th (where he gave up 3). It's not a stretch to say that he could very easily have 20 wins right now (and be cruising towards a Cy Young award, cause voters LOVE wins).

Ridonkulous

I know it's not against the best competition and the 3pt line is shorter... but damn, this is nice to read (emphasis added):

LeBron James soared for powerful dunks, pulled up for flawless 3-pointers. And when the halftime buzzer sounded, there was only one way to describe his play.

Perfect.

James was 11-for-11 from the field, making all four of his 3-point attempts, and scored 26 points in the first half Wednesday night to lead the United States to a 118-79 victory over Uruguay in the FIBA Americas tournament.

In a sensational display of speed and power, James raised his tournament-leading shooting percentage to an almost comical 79.7 percent (47-of-59). He is 14-of-20 from 3-point range, a 70 percent mark that also leads the event.

80% from the floor and 70% from beyond the arc. Those aren't even video game numbers. That's simply insane.

I wasn't sure I really wanted to see James play for the US this summer. I wanted him to rest up, work on some post moves and get ready for next season.

But he's looked good in Vegas; he ran the floor really well, played good defense and got to the rim at ease. But I was a bit worried because, at least early on, all of LeBron's shots were dunks and layups (which is fine for FIBA, where he can just run the floor and overpower the other team with his athleticism) and I don't think he even attempted a jumper until the 3rd game.

But that jumper went in. And more jumpers went in. Then Bill Walton informed viewers that only Jason Kidd and LeBron were practicing during Team USA's lone off day (now that I liked to hear). And more jumpers went in. Maybe he has found time to work on his jumper. I dunno.

But if he comes into next season with a reliable jump shot.... dear God...

Charles Oakley Wants to Play for Cleveland

Like Alan Houston, this would be great news.... if it was the late 90s. And like Alan Houston, I'm torn on this, because I think Charles Oakley (or a player like Oakley) is exactly what the Cavaliers (and LeBron James) need:

Oakley, a 6-9 power forward and center, said the Cavs could have used his knowledge and skills in the finals against the Spurs, who dominated the inside with Tim Duncan and with uncontested drives by guard Tony Parker. The no-nonsense Oakley, rumored to have smacked around a few players off the court, would not have any of that.

"They lost to San Antonio because guys didn't know the next step on defense," said Oakley, whom the Cavs drafted in 1985. "The Cavs are not a good help defensive team. . . . When I come back, I'm going to bring an attitude. I'm not coming back just to be on a team. I'm going to come back and go all out."

Johnny Clark, who was the assistant player development/shooting coach when Oakley was with the Toronto Raptors, said LeBron James would benefit from Oakley's presence just as Vince Carter did several years ago. Back then, Carter was fearless when he went inside for monster dunks. Carter knew who had his back if he was on the other end of a hard foul.

"Other teams need to know that a superstar has a teammate who will step up in their chest if the superstar gets knocked down or receives a hard foul," Clark said. "LeBron would definitely have that with Oakley as a teammate."

Would Oakley have changed the outcome of the Finals? Not really. Maybe Tony Parker would ended up with a few more bruises, but a 43 year old power forward doesn't tilt that series in the Cavaliers' favor.

But the thing is, the Cavs could really use a player like Oakley. They need a badass, they need an enforcer, they need that presence. For his part Oakley says he hasn't changed from his playing weight of 245 lbs and that he's in shape:

Oakley said he is still in great shape. "I run three miles per day, lift weights, take shots in the gym and I still play," Oakley said. "Everyone's going to get old, it just comes down to how did you take care of your body and I've taken care of myself. I guarantee, if I get into someone's training camp, I'll end camp as one of the top eight players. It just comes down to if you want to deal with me."

Honestly, right now, I don't particularly care how about the age of the players that the Cavs bring in, I just want to see new faces. They've had this roster for two years now and the only real additions have been the draft picks (and neither was picked particularly high).

Are Charles Oakley and Alan Houston too old? Maybe.... probably... but what do you got to lose at this point? Worse comes to worse they embarrass themselves, you cut 'em and the Cavs enter the season with basically the exact same roster as last season. And honestly, does anyone want to bet against Oakley's "I'll end camp as one of the top eight players" remark? I don't.

United States 112, Venezuela 69

Something is different... Oh, look Kobe Bryant. You'd think with a team of stars, no one player would stand out. Wrong. Kobe stood out. The most striking thing was his intensity, especially at the defensive end. He was a ball hawk from the get go, constantly pressuring opposing guards and forcing mistakes. He also hit an array of shots, including a weird loopy looking layup and a dunk of a LeBron behind the backer. And I don't know if you heard, he's slimmed down and dropped 18 pounds (this was mentioned just a few times in the broadcast). The announcers also mentioned how Bryant has been practicing a lot of catch-and-shoot jumpers to prepare for the tournament, since he's not used to shooting without creating the space himself- I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a big Bryant guy, but that is pretty cool. Bryant probably had the best overall line in the box score with 14 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and a block.

Dwight Howard is a beast. He had his way inside and often got punished for it (as did Amare Stoudemire, they shot 7 and 9 free throws, respectively). It seemed like Team USA was actively feeding Howard in the early going and they got the Venezuelan big men in foul trouble.

LeBron... some good, some meh. The good: LeBron was 5-7 from the floor, scored 11 points and passed the ball quite well. The meh: he didn't take a shot that wasn't a layup (of the two shots missed, one was a long alley-oop from Bryant and the other was a scoop reverse layup thing) and he missed his first free throw attempt (1-2 overall, I'm glad hosting the ESPY's paid off...). James also pitched in 3 assists, 3 boards and 3 steals.

Shooters! Mike Miller and Michael Redd are both on the team this time around and they made their presence known; they shot long ball early and often (Redd was 3-5 while Miller was a Larry Hughes-esque 2-8). Redd took the ball to the hole as well and tied for the team high in points (with 'Melo) with 17.

And point guards!? Jason Kidd started for Team USA, didn't attempt a shot but finished with 3 boards, 4 assists, a steal and a block. Yup, sounds about right. The US also played Chauncey Billups (meh) and Deron Williams (yay!). Right now Williams is third on the depth chart, but I'd like to see him get more PT over Chauncey (mostly because I hate the Pistons).

Tayshaun Prince played, but I barely recognized him. He wasn't whining during every stoppage of play, it was weird to see (har!). Not that it wasn't justified (sans the scoreboard of course)- the refs sucked pretty hard. There were a lot of weird calls and no calls; clean strips were called for fouls, but body checks... notsomuch. However, I don't believe there were any traveling calls (none that I remember at least), which has plagued the Americans in the past (and by 'plagued' I mean that the refs actually call traveling violations).

Bill Walton was in rare form. I think I'm going to enjoy Bill during the Tournament of the Americas, not just due to his normal "horrendous call" and "that was the worst pass in the history of Western civilization" schtick but he studied up with the world atlas and gave us a lot of 'fun facts' on Venezuela (he compared a LeBron dunk to Angel Falls, the tallest water fall in the world and located in Venezuela). He also went rambling on about Hugo Chavez and called this sports summer "the summer of madness". Good times.

and finally...

Tonight: the Virgin Islands. This should be a cakewalk as well. Neither Venezuela nor the Virgin Islands will give the US much of a test. The game to look forward to is on Sunday, when Team USA takes on Brazil.

This is a good sign for Larry Hughes

Yup. Confidence

John Clayton (emphasis added):

It's pretty clear in Cleveland that no one seems to know how to handle the quarterback situation. Coach Romeo Crennel used a coin flip to determine the starter of the first preseason game. After that, Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson made mistake after mistake. Heads or tails, no one looks like the winner there.

Then there's Brady Quinn. He came off the bench on Saturday to lead a frantic fourth-quarter rally against the Lions that excited the fans. His reward was being tabbed as the No. 3 quarterback in this weekend's preseason game. Folks, Quinn isn't ready to start, but the Browns aren't doing much to push the process. The new offense is taking time to mesh with the talent that's there. It looks like the Browns are in for a long season.

Anyone who thinks differently is fooling themselves. Will they be better than last year? Yes. Will they be good? I doubt it.

Yes, yes and yes!

I have a feeling that this might be filled with jokes that I've been personally making since the age of 13, but it still looks awesome (Jack White as Elvis? Paul Rudd as John Lennon?):

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

This and That

In an effort to get me to stop ragging on them, the Plain Dealer signed Terry Pluto (who is leaving the Akron Beacon Journal after 22 years). This is probably for the best (well, not for the ABJ, they better hold on to Brian Windhorst or they got nothin'), the more people who read Pluto the better and the Plain Dealer could use a sports columnist that actually enjoys watching the NBA.

RIP the ducktail 2006-2007.

This Alan Houston business.... I'm torn here. On one hand, the Cavs could use a veteran lights out shooter at the 2. On the other hand, I'd prefer one with two working knees. He's 'only' 36, but again, he retired because of injuries. Houston would be a great fit for LeBron... seven years ago. But now? I dunno (though this could be another Chris Webber type scenario. When he was making $20 million a year in Philly, Webber was regarded as trash. But making the veteran minimum in Detroit? A very nice player. My views on Houston could be tainted by his bloated salary from his latter days as a Knick). If he plays 15-20 minutes a game, that is fine, but who is he taking minutes away from? Boobie? Pavlovic? Hughes? Shannon Brown? Though, I'm not gonna lie, I do love the idea of crunch time back court of Gibson and Houston... double team LeBron now assholes!

Oh, Charles Oakley is also trying to make a comeback. He's another player I would LOVE to pair with LeBron... ten years ago (I mean, come on? With Oakley on the team who knocks down LeBron... ever? Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao just don't bring that same intimidation and toughness- I know, understatement of the year). That's the problem here, the Cavs don't actually need the 2007 version of Alan Houston and Charles Oakley- they need the 1997 versions. Put those guy with LeBron and you'd have something special. But the 2007 versions... I just don't know

A few observations from the first preseason game

Quarterbacks:

Charlie Frye looked really, really good.... until he made two costly plays. One wasn't completely his fault (the lateral that got returned for a TD) but the other one was (taking a sack/scrambling inside the 10 with 12 seconds left in the half and no timeouts. Not good). I like Frye a lot and I'm in his camp, but I'm starting to wonder if these big mistakes are something you can coach out of... It sucks, because Frye made a lot of good decisions throughout the first half (scrambling.... in order to pass? Wah?)

Derek Anderson didn't really impress me either. Both QB's dealt with drops, but Anderson simply missed guys. It seemed like whenever he made a good throw, he immediately followed it up with a terrible one. He almost got picked off a few times and didn't seem to handle the blitz too well.

Joe Thomas: some good, some bad. When he wasn't being called for holding, Thomas looked really good. Problem was, he was called for holding a few times. Overall, the o-line looked vastly improved- QB's had time to throw and running backs had holes. It was god damn beautiful.

The running backs looked pretty good. Both Lewis and Wright run down hill and into people, while Harrison skips around. They all looked pretty solid running the football.... but they all missed picking up some blitzes.

The defense was solid. Honestly, the defense dominated the entire game, no matter which unit was in there. I suspect that Wimbley will have a big year- that man is a beast. Eric Wright made a few nice plays as well- this could very well be the best secondary that the Browns have had since their return (I know, bold statement, right? Better than the Robert Griffith years? No way!)

Coaching... meh. I know it's preseason and all, but the Browns had, what, 4 redzone opportunities and didn't get a touchdown out of any of 'em. It's actually worse than that- the Browns had multiple plays inside the 20 and didn't once throw a pass into the endzone (or even make an attempt). I know it's preseason and that Edwards and Winslow played a combined 5 seconds, but still. Take a shot.

To end on a lighter note: I saw a commercial for Sports Time Ohio's "Morning Coffee" (which has all the articles from TheClevelandFan.com- which I write for, sometimes, when I actually have something to say).

Nooooooooooooooo

Scot Pollard will now be telling kids in Boston to do drugs.

And hey, this guarantees that the Cavs roster will change at least a little bit...

Thank the Lord

Bonds hits 756 and Brady Quinn ends his hold out. Now maybe we can focus on baseball playoff races (even ones that don't involve the Yankees!) or other such things.

Awesome

(how bout those Indians...)

They're Trying... Really!!

After the Cavs did nothing in the draft, sources said that the Cavaliers were this close to pulling off trades of Larry Hughes and Eric Snow but it just didn't work out. See, don't be mad that we didn't do anything. We tried! We were so close to trading the two players fans hate the most! (Cynical? Me? Nah...)

Well, the NBA offseason had been pretty lame (and the Cavaliers' offseason still is) until Boston landed KG. Erik thinks that Cleveland fans might get upset that the Cavs didn't trade for Garnett's services (and he's right, they'll get mad, even though the Cavs don't have the cap relief or a young talent like Jefferson to trade).

But don't get angry that Garnett was traded to another Eastern Conference team, the Cavs were trying... we swear:

The Cavaliers were one of a handful of teams that tried to get in on the Kevin Garnett Sweepstakes, an NBA source said, even in the hours before Minnesota finalized the mega-deal that sent Garnett to Boston.

Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers all tried to wedge into the trade with serious offers, the source said, but no team could compete with the Celtics' offer that included potential in Al Jefferson, salary-cap relief in Theo Ratliff's expiring contract and a possible lottery draft pick.

Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry declined to comment on specifics of the Cavaliers' off-season maneuvers, but said they are aggressively pursuing avenues to improve. Among those explored, a source said, is mild interest in a potential sign-and-trade deal for Golden State restricted free agent Mickael Pietrus, a 6-6 small forward.

You hear that Cavs fans? Mickael Pietrus! Sure you're mad that the roster hasn't changed. But don't blame Ferry for sitting on his hands, he's out there aggressively pursuing deals! He's trying really really hard! He was after KG too! Til the very end!

All snark aside, here's the thing: I really want the Cavs to mix their roster up this summer. I though it needed it last summer and they really need to do something this offseason. But they're stuck right now. They'll be up against the cap once they sign Varejao and they don't have any expiring deals to trade (and it wasn't like the free agents were all that attractive either). If they want to make a trade they'll have to get really creative, fleece somebody or end up taking some terrible contracts in return.

The problem is. Ferry blew his wad two summers ago on Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones. At the time, it didn't seem like that bad of a move, but you can't say that any of those guys have worked out. I can even defend those signings to a certain extent (I don't want to get into the whole Allen or Redd discussion again-they weren't coming here!) based on the Cavs need to show LeBron they were 'serious' about improving before he signed his extension.

They threw money around. They had to do something (I don't see how you can go in 2005-2006 with Ira Newble starting at the 2 and expect LeBron to re-up). It didn't work out. And they are stuck.

Am I expecting some kind of deal to be made this offseason? Yes, but I'm not sure on the size or scope. The last thing I want them to do is trade their current bad contracts for longer bad contracts. I don't want them making a move "just to make a move" (basically, I don't want them overpaying a mediocre point guard who is simply better than Eric Snow).

Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath. But maybe I should be, after all, the Plain Dealer says they're trying.