32. Cleveland First, the Cavs choke in the 2009 playoffs. Second, the best two starters on the 2008 Indians start Game 1 of the 2009 World Series for two teams not named "Cleveland." Third, the Browns clean house and hire Eric Mangini, who takes that same house and sets it on fire with a flame thrower. Fourth, what could end up being LeBron's final Cavs season is distinguished early by Shaq looking like a bald Aretha Franklin and LeBron's body language occasionally lapsing into "I can't wait to find a new team; I am tired of playing with crap teammates" mode. And fifth, there are two nights of star-studded concerts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- located in Cleveland, as you know -- and those concerts happen at Madison Square Garden.
Here's my question, God: What did Cleveland do to you?
He's not totally wrong (hasn't been a good stretch for Cleveland sports)... but I'm not as down on Shaq as he seems to be. Right now the Cavs are 13-5 and last season they were 15-3... everything is OK. I'm pretty sure this team has a higher ceiling. (For what it's worth, I'm enjoying Simmons' book and I'm almost finished. I'll post a full review when I'm done. He has some nice shout outs to the 90s Cavs).
I guess there's one (kinda/sorta/not really) bright spot:
The year-old New York City annex to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will shut down Jan. 3.
A news release issued Thursday by S2BN Entertainment, a partner in the venture, gave no reason for the closing.
Rock hall CEO Terry Stewart tells The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland the decision was made by corporate partners who had backed the $10 million annex in downtown Manhattan.
So it looks like the Rock Hall won't be moving anytime soon (the NYC annex felt like a trial balloon to move it out of Cleveland). It's really stupid that all the 'real' rock hall ceremonies aren't held in Cleveland.
The guy is a diva who acts like he is the GM. He couldn't co-exist with established high-scoring volume shooters like Ricky Davis, Larry Hughes, and Dajuan Wagner. If you remember correctly, Wagner, who was supposed to be the future of the franchise, was only 20 when James was drafted. Wagner was instantly moved to the end of the bench and his career was ruined. Davis was shipped out because James couldn't co-exist with him. He hated playing with Eric Snow. He drove out Drew Gooden, so his buddy Anderson Varejao can land a huge contract. He dominates the ball and clogges up the lane, so Larry Hughes couldn't slash.
Yup.
(Inside all the stupid there's a point that James shoots too much and can dominate the ball too often. I don't necessarily disagree. Though the entire post could be one giant joke. Let's hope.)
See, I just dropped my cable. Can't afford it. Hours at work got cut, living alone... I simply can't afford cable and DVR (this may come as a shock to none of you, but I don't make any money from this site). And really, I rarely watch TV. I record a few shows like Venture Bros, 30 Rock and Always Sunny, but those can be downloaded (both legally and illegally) and I mainly want/need the cable/DVR combo for LeBron and the Cavs.
So I look into NBA League Pass Broadband. Looks sweet enough: pick 7 teams, watch them live (with DVR) and there's a full season archive available (which is nice, because I work nights and miss games live- like tonight). But here's the problem: the blackouts. If I get the league pass, every Cavaliers game (regardless if home or away) is blacked out (since I live in Cleveland). Every. Single. Game (including the archives). So.... sweet.
That's where I am at the moment. I really have no clue what I'm gonna do about Cavs games and this blog (well, game recaps. I'm still gonna post my same infrequent bullshit). Despite my absences here and there, I really do enjoy writing this blog but I'm not sure how I'm gonna be able to write about Cavs games without, you know, actually seeing the games.
So I have no idea. Maybe call Time Warner (yet again) and see what cheap package I can get that has FSNOhio and then mess around with a VCR. Maybe I'll become an alcoholic and hang out at bars every night. Or maybe I'll get the second job or a fulltime position at CCPL and be able to afford cable/DVR. I dunno. At the very least, I get to reacquaint myself with the wonderful(ly cranky) Joe Tait. So there's that (which isn't terrible).
Anyways, I did not see the Cavs demolishing of the Suns and I missed seeing my favorite uniforms (from the Price-Daugherty years). Ilgauskas led the Cavs in scoring (with 14) while six other Cavs scored in double figures (plus Varejao had 9 and both Delonte and Jamario had 8 apiece).
The main story is the fact Z became the franchise's leader in games played (and third in scoring, behind Daugherty and LeBron) but didn't seem particularly happy afterward:
“I was very disappointed,” said Ilgauskas, “that I didn’t play in the last game. I know I’m a good player and I could have been impacted the outcome. What made me more disappointed were some acts that followed … I’m not going to go in any details. I know when I got to bed at night my conscience is clear.”
Sources told The Plain Dealer Ilgauskas was so upset about not playing in the first half that he asked to sit out the second half. Probably not a good move by him, but Mike, you started this.
You got caught up in the flow of the game and how your little lineup was performing. But even when the massive O'Neal played, your team outscored Dallas by five points in his 25 minutes.
You certainly could have found some time in the first half for Ilgauskas.
Mike, you are one of the best coaches when it comes to dealing with the feelings and egos of your players. This is your fifth season with the Cavs, and rarely is there any controversy between you and the players.
That doesn't happen by accident. You usually are smart about these matters.
So you should not be surprised that there is fallout from Ilgauskas receiving the first DNP-CD (Did Not Play, Coach's Decision) of his career. Or that your big man would be hurt, especially since this was not a matter of him being disciplined. It was just your call.
Nor should it have been a shock when James stepped up to defend his teammate. Other than his buddies from St. Vincent-St. Mary, no teammate has meant more to James than Ilgauskas.
After Monday's practice, you said: "[Sitting Ilgauskas] wasn't planned. Even as the course of the game went on, I didn't expect to not play him. You can call it a mistake, you can call it a coaching decision."
I call it both a mistake and a bad coaching decision -- and I suggest you say the same to Ilgauskas when you meet privately.
This is not a crisis, it's not something that divides a team or alienates them from the coaches. But it is a distraction, one that you created and also could have easily avoided.
In the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal. However, it would've been nice to honor Z and have him break the franchise mark at home at The Q.
If you're itching for more Ilgauskas, Smooth over at Cavalier Attitude has a nice collection of Zydrunas YouTube highlights. I suggest you go take a gander.
What an all around awful game. The defense was terrible, the offense was abysmal and the special teams were non-existent. I really hope I don't see people defending the defense (since they only gave up 16 points). The Bengals ran for 210 yards with Cedric Benson on the bench. Terrible.
Brady Quinn did not look good. He rarely threw downfield (for what it's worth, the playing was horrendous) and his quick throws were wildly inaccurate. Not that his inaccuracy mattered, since the Browns' receivers couldn't catch the simplest of passes.
Neither Quinn nor Derek Anderson have gotten any favors from the receiving corps. Patrick McManamon:
Quinn is throwing to a rookie, a guy who was acquired via trade four games into the season, and a special-teams returner being forced into a receiver's role.
Ya, that about sums it up.
Also, what does Offensive Coordinator Brian Dabol have to do to get fired? What a terrible game plan. To his credit, the Browns ran some nice plays on their one scoring drive (a Cribbs-to-Quinn pass and a QB draw for the TD) but he followed it up with a drive that consisted of 3 horizontal passes to Cribbs for no yards. Just awful.
While it hasn't always been the case, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday; nothing else even comes close. How can you top a day full of football, family, friends and food? You can't. Other holidays have their perks but none are as perfect as Thanksgiving. .
Fourth of July is pretty awesome and, along with Thanksgiving, it's a holiday that I appreciate more now as an adult. So you're telling me I get a day off to drink outside and grill with friends and family? What's that? And we get to blow stuff up? Awesome, but not better than Thanksgiving (I mean, how many cookouts do you go to over the summer? At least a few).
New Years Eve? When is the last time that a New Years Eve went the way you wanted it to go? Anyone? Maybe it's just me, I dunno.
Halloween? Don't get me wrong, Halloween kicks ass from ages 1-14 (trick or treating) and then from 18-24 (college girls). I like Halloween and all but at this point I feel a bit goofy dressing up (there's only so many costumes that go with a full beard/mutton chops) and I can only get drunk in an uncomfortable costume so many times. It's not like Halloween is bad but it's certainly no Thanksgiving.
Then there's the big one: Christmas. Like Halloween, Christmas was awesome as a little kid (presents!!) but I've grown away from it as I've gotten older. There's just too much going on with Christmas; there's the pressure of buying the right gifts, dealing with the insanity of shopping malls let alone the religious aspect that barely gets mentioned. I'm not even religious and this offends the hell out of me.
(short aside: back in Christmas of 2004, I worked at the Barnes and Noble in Easton Town Center. At the time, I was still getting emails being called UnAmerican (I had a column in Ohio States paper and wasn't a fan of one George W. Bush) and the American news media still reported on the Iraq War. Now, if you've never been to Easton, it's fairly ritzy shopping plaza and I can't even begin to tell you how elaborately decked out the mall was. I swear to God, there entire place was covered in gold and meanwhile, I'm reading stories from Iraq like this. America: where there's enough money for two story Santa villages made out of high-end German chocolate but not enough to properly armor the vehicles of our troops. Priorities).
Simply put: there's just too much Christmas. It's a month long orgy of shopping malls, lame television specials, sugary treats and greed (with only a token nod to the Baby Jesus). Hell, with Black Friday, we're now letting Christmas attempt to ruin Thanksgiving weekend.
But despite our best efforts, Thanksgiving is still somewhat pure. Yes, Black Friday is threatening to spiral out of control but you can ignore it if you'd like. The essence 0f Thanksgiving is still there. The reason of Thanksgiving is fairly simple, hell, it's right in the name. Thanks-giving. A day to give thanks.
It's so simple but yet so beautiful. A (uniquely American) day to reflect on all the things you're grateful for. How great is that? A day not to look at the negatives in life but to accentuate the positives. Be thankful for your friends and your family, your job and your health. It's my favorite day of the year.
Every Thanksgiving day since 1999, I've played in a pickup football game dubbed (very originally) Turkey Bowl with various friends from High School and a random assortment of their cousins, in-laws or friends-of-friends.
Is it cold and wet? Of course (it's Ohio in November). Do I hurt for 5 days after? Hell yes. Is it worth it? Abso-fucking-lutely.
This is the one time a year I see a lot of these kids. Some are home from college while others are simply back in town for a weekend before going back to Real Life. The games are somewhat competitive and there's usually at least one or two dumb/awesome laterals thrown in there for good fun. It's a couple hours of trash talk, laughing and hitting amongst old friends. What's not to love?
After I crawl home from football, there's the Thanksgiving meal with my extended family. Turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce? Yes yes and yes. Seriously, sitting down for a giant meal with family members I rarely get to see is not a bad way to refuel after a couple hours cold weather football. Plus after dinner, I can fall asleep on the couch watching (mediocre) football.
As you can tell, I adore Thanksgiving. Easily the day I look forward to the most each year. Too often we focus on what we don't have rather than what we do. Thanksgiving is a day set aside to correct this oversight. I'm thankful for my loving parents and my brother and sister, for all of my friends and co-workers and yes, quite grateful to those of you reading this right now. I'm definitely not a big blog (or, heh, your most reliable blogger) but I know more than a few of you keep coming back. I'm still very much blown away that people who I've never met visit this place (or give me a forum) to read my incoherent ramblings on the Cavaliers and Cleveland sports. Thank you.
I hope everyone has a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving.
What a game. No sarcasm, I mean seriously mean it: What. A. Game. I'm not even mad that they lost. Well, not quite, I am pissed. But at least this game wasn't awful to watch. I enjoyed myself watching the Browns. And not the "wow this team sucks lets rip on 'em" fun I had on Monday night. This was a fun Sunday.
The fact that the Browns managed to blow this game doesn't even phase me. I'm in the Anchorman/wheel of cheese state right now. You managed to blow a 21 point lead, give up a 78 yard game winning drive under 2-minutes to go, to a team that's 1-8, has no timeouts and is playing a rookie quarterback? I'm not even mad, that's amazing.
It's not like I'm happy with the outcome but I'm not exactly pissed. It's the Browns! They're now 1-9 rather than 2-8. Oh noes! It's not like this game actually meant anything (besides who's landing the first overall pick- Cleveland baby!). Plus, ya gotta give the Browns credit, they keep finding new and interesting ways to lose every week.
The real shame is the fact that the Browns (especially the offense) played really well. The offense looked good (if not great): Brady Quinn threw for 304 yards and had 4 TDs. The defense wasn't great (Stafford had 5 TDs and threw for over 400 yards) but they had their moments; a couple picks and safety.
Though despite all the fun, when you lose to the Lions, you know there were mistakes. First mistake: No Jerome Harrison (who was inactive). Jamal Lewis ran the ball 24 times and got 75 yards. Awful.
With 3:40 to go, the Browns had a six point and the ball but only managed to run a minute and forty off the clock. The their last play was an incomplete pass on 3rd and 5 (and their previous first down was on a 3rd and 6 pass). If the Browns had any semblance of a running game, the Lions shouldn't have had enough time to muster a 78 yard touchdown drive. (If you want to argue that the Browns should've run on 3rd and 5 anyways, simply to run time off the clock, I'm open to that. But if it's 3rd and 2, you take the pass out of the equation).
And Coach Mangini... what can ya say. For as much as Jamal Lewis sucked, he was the guy who kept calling his number on first and second down. Yes, the Browns were whistled for a pass interference in the endzone with no time to go. That sucks. However, they managed to injure Matt Stafford's shoulder and the Lions were charged with an injury timeout (but they had no TO's left, shouldn't have there been a 10-second run off?), taking Stafford out of the game. What's Mangini do? Call a timeout, allowing the Lions to take out Dante Culpepper (who was not warmed up and ice cold) and allow the Lions to re-insert Stafford. Well done sir. Can't lose to the backup (in Mangini's defense, I was scared of the QB sneak with Culpepper).
and finally, the defense... what happened? The Lions first play from scrimmage was a 60 yard pass to their running back and it never got any better. The defense's stats haven't been great this year but they've played pretty good games (even if they got tired by the end). But 38 points to the Lions? Unacceptable.
Though, again, for what it's worth, I had fun. I watched the Browns and had fun. How often can we say that? They scored (a lot) points. They threw down field. They even converted 2-point conversions. It was enjoyable to watch.
