A Little Late-Week Filler...

Alrightey, there's a lot I'd like to get off my chest and not a lot of time for me to do it, so let's just dive in to this week's version of the Filler...

Is Cliff Lee like LeBron James?
No.

I could stop right there and go onto my second topic now, but I've got too many feelings about it to let it go. This blog post from ESPN reporter Henry Abbott asserts that LeBron James and Cliff Lee are alike because they both went to teams where they could play with the best and presumably win lots of titles. Now, I've told many people why I dislike LeBron James, which is the same reason most other Clevelanders and other displaced Cavs fans dislike him - it's not that he left it's how he left. LeBron had every right to go anywhere he wanted to go and play with anyone with whom he wanted to play. I couldn't care less that he decided to team up with D-Wade and Bosh and that he's the ultimate front-runner. I mean, need I remind you that he was a Yankees and Cowboys fan growing up in Akron? He's just trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of being the front-running team that kids look up to.

But to get back to Lee, yes he signed with the outside-the-box suitor who already had three aces, but he did it in a classy way. I saw the first report that Lee was going to sign with the Phillies and it came from a source inside the Texas Rangers organization - the organization Lee was leaving. This means that either he or his agent picked up the phone, called the Rangers, told them "Thanks for the memories, but no thanks for the new contract," and then went on with his life.

To me, that's the complete opposite of a self-serving, one hour special where a player announces he's "taking his talents" to another team, and has a close adviser inform his former organization of this during the special. What Lee did and how he did it was done the way every professional athlete should handle themselves in a high profile, free-agent situation.

Maybe Lee is being so heralded because he didn't just sell himself to the highest bidder, the (Evil Empire) New York Yankees. Maybe people would like to see the Phillies dominate the league since they're not the Yanks or the Sox (who I think get way too much national television play). Maybe it's just refreshing to see a classy professional athlete in the aftermath of James' "Decision." Besides, it's not like Lee is going to be on the court with four other players every night. A lot of the time whether Lee will win or lose a game will depend on the Phillies offense and bullpen.

So no, Mr. Abbott, we don't think James is a "fraud" because of where he took his talents, it was how he decided to let us all know about it. James and Lee have nothing in common other than the fact that they began their careers in Cleveland, and neither got this city a title.

McCoy is Back
In an extremely out of character move, today Eric Mangini named rookie Browns quarterback Colt McCoy the starter for not only this week's game but for the rest of the season. I guess it's not really a surprise move, as the Browns offense has looked better under McCoy than anyone else whose been under center this year, but Mangini is notorious for playing the "who's going to be the quarterback this week" game.

I am a huge fan of McCoy though, as my eight loyal readers could undoubtedly tell you, and I'm really glad he's going to be back. I think he could potentially save not only Mangini but Brian Daboll's job. I know I'm a harsh critic of Daboll, but McCoy makes that guy look really good compared to the quarterback we saw last week. When McCoy was in the saddle earlier in the year, the coaches repeatedly said that the playbook was not limited. I really don't think they can say that about the last two weeks with Delhomme, as every passing play sort of looks like Daboll is afraid Delhomme will throw an interception. I'm not saying that those fears are unfounded, it's just clear to me that when the rookie is in there his accuracy and sheer ability to make plays opens things up.

Right now, our quarterback situation is sort of like having the teenager drive around grandpa because he's too old to safely drive anymore - and I think that's exactly what we need to do. McCoy has got the keys back to the car, and he can navigate this offense very well with Delhomme in the passenger seat (or in this case, on the sideline) giving the young kid guidance along the way. And if anything happens, Seneca Wallace can come in on the AAA truck and tow the car away - we really don't want Delhomme driving at any cost.

I know I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Delhomme brought the wide receivers dimension into the playbook, but a lot of what we saw from him in the last two weeks were all or nothing - meaning he throws pretty deep, or dumps it off to Peyton Hillis for about a 1 yard gain. What McCoy did well in his starts was get those mid-level throws, the ones that go for maybe 7-10 yards to the tight ends and running backs. Would I like to see more involvement of our wide receivers? Absolutely. But they've got to prove that they can get open before any of that happens.

I'll be back Sunday morning with the Browns Start Me Up as they travel down to southern Ohio to take on the 2-11 Cincinnati Bungles Bengals (I've got a lot of nerve, seeing as how we lost to Buffalo last week...). I'll see you then!

~MAS

The Break is Over

The blog has been on a hiatus for the last two weeks as I've been seeing Broadway shows, studying, traveling and home, but now I'm back to blog about a few mid-week topics before the game on Sunday between the Browns and Patriots.

Browns Big Win
First off, the Browns game I missed before the bye week was obviously a huge win for not just the team, but specifically for Eric Mangini who I believe is coaching for his job. I'm not going to make this too long, since the game is really no longer news, but it was great to see the highlights of the Browns dominating the defending Super Bowl Champions - again!

The Browns have a knack for beating Super Bowl champions, as they've done it the last three seasons. First it was the last great win Romeo Crenel coached for the Browns, a 35-14 Monday Night Football win on October 13, 2008 in which then QB of the Browns Derek Anderson threw for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns, and prima donna Braylon Edwards had 154 receiving yards and a touchdown reception. Wow. Last year, I'm sure you remember the great game the Browns put together against the Steelers to win 13-6 on a frozen night, Thursday, December 10, at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Now that game saw Josh Cribbs rush out of the wildcat for 87 yards, and Brady Quinn didn't lose the game, going 6/19 on throws for 90 yards. Chris Jennings was actually the feature running back for that game, with 20 rushes for 73 yards.

In any case, I just find it really interesting that the Browns have found a way to beat the defending Super Bowl champs the last three seasons. It must be because the Browns prepare well, and the opponent underestimates them, making it a textbook example of a trap game.

San Fran Wins World Series
I know I don't really blog about baseball on here very much anymore, but I figured I'd at least give the San Francisco Giants a shout out on winning their first World Series since 1954, when they were still playing in New York and beat the highly favored Cleveland Indians. Yes, highly favored and Cleveland Indians was something that actually existed at that time, since the Indians had just set a record for the regular season by winning 111 games. Wish I could have seen that...

The first game of that World Series was when Willie Mays made that spectacular over-the-shoulder catch that he became so well known for. So, that's the Cleveland spin on something that has pretty much absolutely nothing to do with Cleveland. Unless you want to say that Cleveland allowed San Fran to win the Series by Trading Cliff Lee to the Phillies...who traded him to the Mariners...who traded him to the Rangers where he served up a masterful choke job to Edgar Renteria. And there's another Cleveland connection , because he got the hit off of Charlie Nagy to win the '97 World Series for the Marlins! (Sure, it's a stretch, but go with it.) In any case, congratulations Giants; you're World Champions.

Randy Moss Cut from the Vikings, Claimed off of Waivers by Titans
Now this came as a pretty big surprise to me. I know Brett Favre is hurting right now, yet is still in line to start Sunday's game in Minnesota against the Arizona Cardinals - a game the Vikings will win if they have any shred left of self-respect. But I just can't see what in the wide wide world of sports was going on with Randy Moss to make that team release him. Of course, everybody is saying that he wasn't getting along well with Head Coach Brad Childress, and then there was the infamous expletive laden rant about the food in the  Vikings locker room, but was that really enough to release a hall of fame receiver? Apparently, yes it was. I don't really know enough about the situation to say whether or not it's a good decision at face value. It is common knowledge that Brett Favre was ecstatic about acquiring Moss, but in four games Moss only had 13 receptions for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. Still, the Vikings gave up a 3rd round pick to get this guy. That's a pretty steep price to pay for someone who was only with you for 4 games...

On the flip side, the Tennessee Titans now have picked up Moss which I think is a great move - especially if you're Chris Johnson. Right now last years NFL leading rusher has 721 rushing yards in 8 games, well below the 2000 yard pace he reached last year. However, just having Moss on the team and the threat of him going deep should allow plenty of underneath space where Johnson can run wild. It's debatable, but I'm not sure that there is anyone else that can turn the corner and get up the field as fast as Johnson can. The only question about Moss with the Titans will be if anyone can deliver him the deep ball. This is not to say that Vince Young is a bad quarterback, he's not. But he has not displayed the type of arm strength like that of Tom Brady. Kerry Collins, Tennessee's serviceable backup quarterback, also may not have the arm strength to get the ball down the field. We're just going to have to get these questions answered on game day, it's nearly pointless to over-analyze in speculation.

To Top it Off...
It's been a big two weeks not only in the NFL but all around the sports universe. The NBA is back as well, and the Cavaliers are looking to replace begin a new era of basketball without You-Know-Who on the right foot. So far they're only 1-3, but they play the 1-4 Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night in the city of Brotherly Love. Here's hoping Bryon Scott can coach them up to their second win. Until next time, Go Cavs and Go Browns!

~MAS