Thursday, December 9, 2010

Musings

Greetings Hebrews and Shebrews. A lot has been happening in the world of sports so here is my take on some of the goings-on:

-I don't rather care for LeBron James. After seeing that on a sign during the Cavs/Heat massacre last week, I figure I'll take the high road and find a new way to describe my feelings for Prince James. I don't even care that we got trounced in the game, or that the Heat went on a 16-0 run in the first half or even that coach-for-now Erik (Erik with a K? Seriously?) Spoelstra decided to play his starters waaaaaay after the game was already out of reach for the Cavs. My favorite part of the evening were the different signs and chants that were prevalent at the recent Cavs/Heat skirmish. My favorite sign has to be the one that said "Like Father, Like Son". Hilarious. The "Sco-ttie Pip-pen" chant was pretty great too (Sorry, Scottie...You know I love you...). Here's to more home games against the Heat complete with extremely clever anti-LeBron signs and chants.

-After reading the OTL Believeland piece by Wright Thompson, I almost cried. It was a truly amazing story, and most of my friends that read it thoroughly enjoyed it, even though they may not like the city of Cleveland. My one issue is that upon reading it, one of my friends thought it would be appropriate to say something like "Man, NOW I know how you feel!". No, no you don't. Not at all. Just by reading a well-written article about the trials and tribulations of Cleveland sports do think you know how it feels to have been stabbed in the back on live television? To have your shame be made a spectacle of in front of millions of people, under the guise of a charitable fund-raising event? As MTV's diary used to proclaim, "You think you know, but you have no idea"--because you don't.

-Last thing about LeBron. I read somewhere about LeBron "feeling for" Brett Favre going back to Lambeau for the first time, and the story pretty much compared Favre's going back to Lambeau to LeBron's sojourn back to the Q. These two events couldn't be more different. While LeBron's not returning Dan Gilbert's calls is as unprofessional as Favre's leading Green Bay on a wild goose chase as to whether or not he indeed wanted to return, that's about it to me in terms of the similarities. Let's not forget--even though Green Bay had a young QB who was being groomed by Favre to be the next franchise guy and had been given the green light as the starter only to have that job yanked away on multiple occasions, GREEN BAY STILL TRADED FAVRE TO THE JETS! Would the Cavs have ever traded James away? Not up in here!

-The Ohio State Buckeyes Men's Basketball team is for real. They were great last year with Evan Turner at the helm, who is, by the way, following in the other Buckeyes-that-turned-pro's footsteps by sucking (Is Kosta Koufos in the league anymore?). This year's more complete and rounded Buckeye team is downright scary. The Bucks, after having a MONSTER recruiting season, landed many highly coveted assets on the court, highlighted by PF Jared Sullinger. With the addition of DeShaun Thomas, complemented with the talent of sharpshooting Jon Diebler, David Lighty, and the rest of last years team, I think the Buckeyes are a legitimate Final Four lock. Even though I don't see them beating Duke (even if Kyrie Irving's toe injury is bigger than being portrayed right now), don't you dare count out the Buckeyes.

-It must suck for Tampa Bay Rays fans. Sure, you're team made it to the World Series a few seasons ago, and you've had some good times. So when your GM said that you weren't going to pursue bringing everyone back next season, I hope you savored those last few months with guys like Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. I mean, sure, Pena is going to the Cubs and you're never going to have to see him. But not only did Crawford sign a fat deal with another American League club, he signed with division rival, perennial playoff contender Boston Red Sox. Sucks for you, Rays fans. Oh wait, there are no fans in Tampa except for Dick Vitale (Evan Longoria Baby!). It's a shame, you guys deserved a real fanbase. It's not fair that terrible teams like the Mets have such a huge fanbase (or maybe it's just because there are a lot of New Yorkers so it seems like there are a billion Met fans), and your citizens wouldn't even fill the park to see you clinch a playoff spot. Sorry.

-Seeing these Winter MLB moves makes me even more depressed to be an Indians fan. Every team is making deals except for us, our best player is going to be hauled back to his home country to do a mandatory 2 years of military service before he turns 30 in another year, and I'm sure we're going to trade away our best players other than him for absolutely nothing. At least the Dolans made something of the stadium during the offseason.

-As a Browns fan, I know they suck. Regardless, this season has gotten me so pumped up. Right now, the Browns are 5-7, and with their remaining games being against Buffalo, Cincy, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, there is a legitimate chance of them finishing 7-9. Insane! Love Colt McCoy. Like Seneca. Don't like Delhomme. Like Haden. Like Ward. Don't really like Brian Daboll or Rob Ryan, but I'd rather see Ryan stay because he totally looks like Zeus. Love Love LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Peyton Hillis. I remember watching him briefly in Denver last year, thinking he was a total beast. I was a little sad that we parted ways with Brady Quinn, but the way that Hillis has played this year has turned my frown upside-down. If we can just get a good receiver, whether it be through free agency or in the draft, I think the Browns will continue to improve.

-Brett Favre said he was going to retire at the end of the season, and now that Brad Childress is out as the head coach of the Vi-Queens, I think he means it. NOT. Favre is going to keep flip-flopping on returning until someone physically removes his arms and/or legs. I know it. You know it. The American people know it Maybe Jen Sterger will do the dismembering. The world will thank you, Jen.