tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98104502024-03-07T18:50:45.152-05:00Erik Cassano's WeblogCleveland and general sports commentaryPapa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.comBlogger1080125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-74736809716799559792014-07-29T17:16:00.001-04:002014-08-06T17:18:07.712-04:00Four years later<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrptoUpyy-EDYuXLmGobbJcao08YKSY1KVN2D4c5rBn3h-WhMAD5VAD9-L95mK1TJEQ4R1Q9ZCqlq4yGWyw5ASIWAwi6xK5gqj-6qQL2tRGBFBR38J4X5VFbvB7e7utc1c8QcOzQ/s1600/LeBron_coming_home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrptoUpyy-EDYuXLmGobbJcao08YKSY1KVN2D4c5rBn3h-WhMAD5VAD9-L95mK1TJEQ4R1Q9ZCqlq4yGWyw5ASIWAwi6xK5gqj-6qQL2tRGBFBR38J4X5VFbvB7e7utc1c8QcOzQ/s1600/LeBron_coming_home.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Four years later, I’m back where I was.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Just like that July day in 2010 when I <a href="http://papacass.blogspot.com/2010/07/summing-it-up.html" target="_blank">sat down to pen my thoughts</a> on LeBron James leaving for Miami, I don’t have any way to sum up
LeBron’s return in a nice, neat package. It covers so much ground, means so
much on so many levels, it’s difficult to find a broach point for it all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But if there is a point of entry, it’s probably one word
long: Change.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A lot has changed these past four years. In 2010, I was a
single apartment-dweller who counted sports blogging as his primary hobby. In
2014, I’m married, a homeowner, and have pushed sports blogging far into the
background to concentrate on other endeavors – namely running and <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/artbyerikcassano/" target="_blank">artwork</a>. (Oh
yeah -- I<a href="http://goodjobairplane.com/" target="_blank"> co-authored a book</a>, too).<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 2010, LeBron was still a work in progress. He accepted the burden of
his talent – carry the team, carry the city, carry the region, and take the
game-deciding shots – but deep down, I think he resented it. He longed to belong, like
he did in his happiest of basketball times, when he was winning state
championships at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, with teammates who
would become lifelong friends and business associates.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He resented the pedestal he had to occupy, with thousands of
eyes looking at him as the ultimate antidote who could neutralize every flaw on
the Cavs roster, and above all,
the emotional baggage of an entire region, wrought by half a century of sports
heartbreak. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the 2010 playoffs, LeBron decided
he’d had enough. Maybe he didn’t overtly quit, but he played like a man
defeated. Like a player who was tired of lugging everything around on his
shoulders. He wasn’t this region’s savior – he was its Atlas. And he didn’t
want that anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So he left for Miami. Dwyane Wade was still in his prime, as
was Chris Bosh. LeBron was no longer a chosen one; he was a member of a chosen
three. It took a year of discord to iron out the wrinkles. The 2011 Finals, and
the subsequent summer, was LeBron’s nadir. But it helped forge him into a
champion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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LeBron has <a href="http://papacass.blogspot.com/2012/06/lebron-was-right.html" target="_blank">done a lot of growing</a> these past four years. He reached
the NBA’s summit twice, among four straight trips to the NBA Finals. He learned
what it truly takes to be a champion, what it truly means to be a champion. And
perhaps in the process, he learned that title banners don’t make the man. They
don’t even make the player.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The 2010 version of LeBron seemed to be obsessed with accumulating
championship rings. His holy grail was to meet or surpass the six rings won by
personal idol Michael Jordan. Six, for him, was a magic number. Get to six and
cement your image on basketball’s all-time Mount Rushmore. That was the end
that justified all means.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The 2014 LeBron still wants to win as many rings as his
career will allow, but it appears that he no longer views six as his pass/fail
line. You can win two titles, or three, or four, and still have one of the
greatest careers of all time, and – even more importantly – have a career that
fulfills you personally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Which brings us to LeBron’s essay, co-authored by Sports
Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins. It materialized on SI.com at about 12:15 p.m.
Eastern Time on July 11. Four years and three days after “The Decision” wounded
this region unlike any event had wounded it since the Browns moved to Baltimore
in 1995.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I had just finished setting up my booth at the Cain Park
Arts Festival in Cleveland Heights when my phone started going berserk with
text messages. After two solid weeks of false leads and red herrings and
Internet trolls and rumors about clandestine private flights to Miami, I was
initially hesitant to believe the news. Surely it was a fake site or a fake
Twitter account “breaking” this story which hadn’t broken despite the vigilance
of thousands of fans for days on end.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But there it was, legitimately, on SI.com. The 2012 SI "Sportsman of the Year" cover photo of
LeBron smiling, wearing a black suit with his first Heat championship ring prominently displayed on a finger. Laid over the picture, a three-word headline: “I’m coming
home.”</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The headline <a href="http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers" target="_blank">linked to the 12-paragraph essay</a>. I read it
over several times, just processing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was hard to not feel some tears welling. It’s everything
we ever wanted LeBron to say – to feel – about our embattled, often-ridiculed
region. Everything we thought he didn’t feel in 2010, he actually did feel, and
quite profoundly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He was coming home, and not necessarily because he felt the
Cavs offered him the best chance to win more titles in the short term. He was
coming home because he wants to serve as a leader and a source of inspiration
for Northeast Ohio. Because our region “needs all the talent it can get.”
Because he wants the children of the region – our future doctors and lawyers
and entrepreneurs and artists – to follow his example and build their careers
here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Because nothing would satisfy him more as a basketball
player than to win one ring for us -- to be the curse slayer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He left not because he was a cold-hearted mercenary, but
because he knew he could never learn what he needed to learn by staying put. He
had to go to an organization that had been to the top. He had to get scorched
by the spotlight. He had to become the villain. Everything that he never had to
face in Cleveland, he knew he was going to have to face – and overcome – in
Miami.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Over four years, he was broken down and rebuilt into a
player who returns home as a mature leader and mentor – someone who not only
knows his role and the burdens that come with it, but has grown to embrace it
and is eager to pass on what he has learned to younger players like Kyrie
Irving.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Four years later, LeBron has reached a point where he
really, truly and completely understands what he means to this area. We want to win a championship, of course.
But his relationship with this region means so much more than just basketball.
And that’s what we were in danger of permanently losing in 2010.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The pain caused by his departure, and how it was carried out
on national TV, caused him to become a local pariah. LeBron was all but erased
from the concourses at Quicken Loans Arena. You seldom found any evidence in
the community that LeBron once played for the hometown team.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sure, LeBron came home to Akron every summer. And yes, he
gave -- and still gives -- much in the way of time and money to community causes in the area. But we didn't view him as someone who was really on our side. Not when he left every fall, pulled that Heat
uniform back on and administered several annual beatdowns on the young Cavs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If that was the final chapter in LeBron’s relationship with
Northeast Ohio, it would have <a href="http://papacass.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-crying-shame.html" target="_blank">been downright tragic</a>. The greatest basketball
player this region has ever produced, and the greatest player in Cavs history,
a virtual nonentity, persona non grata. Reviled, not revered, in the area where
his legacy matters the most.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The only way to real repair was for LeBron to come back to
the Cavs while he could still play at a high level. A diminished 38-year-old
LeBron returning during the sunset of his career wouldn’t have done
much to repair the relationship. For the public to buy in, LeBron had to come back while he was still in
his prime, still at or near the top of his game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s exactly what happened. LeBron, at the age of 29, is back,
and it would appear he intends to finish his career here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s a new beginning with the best possible goal: A happy
ending.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-40305861084826057012014-01-07T17:10:00.001-05:002014-01-07T17:16:19.177-05:00Doing it wrong, all along?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWELF9xFHUj8W6MOCEStr3-eWfGDFBDaolcgi5cmlHMhkRBmnooc5ajdO4hAryuM5JSvqpVrl-7VQic3jW7_UZXwBhVNIMZ3FHpndJM_9PCwj3_-t6ITnUWuphrjejf6uT52LGQ/s1600/00_Chris_Grant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWELF9xFHUj8W6MOCEStr3-eWfGDFBDaolcgi5cmlHMhkRBmnooc5ajdO4hAryuM5JSvqpVrl-7VQic3jW7_UZXwBhVNIMZ3FHpndJM_9PCwj3_-t6ITnUWuphrjejf6uT52LGQ/s1600/00_Chris_Grant.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Maybe Cavs GM Chris Grant really is lousy at drafting. Maybe
Tuesday’s trade that brought Luol Deng to Cleveland is Grant’s acknowledgement
that his drafts have been lacking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Or maybe it’s an acknowledgement that the system is flawed,
and no team lives on drafting alone. In fact, if you want a championship
parade, history says you do what Grant just did and peddle future assets for
established talent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, as Cleveland shivered
in the clutches of the coldest night in two decades, Grant shipped Andrew Bynum
– or more accurately, Bynum’s non-guaranteed contract -- and three draft picks
of lesser importance to Chicago for Deng. Chicago made the deal for future
flexibility, as they prepare to retool their team around the currently-injured
Derrick Rose. The Cavs made the deal because they simply need more talent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So why Deng? He’ll be 29 in April. He’s a high-mileage
player who led the Bulls in minutes per game each of the past two seasons, and
led the entire league in minutes played two seasons ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He’s a good player, not a great player, and common wisdom
says you need a great player at Deng’s position of small forward in order to
contend for a title in today’s NBA. Deng is averaging a career high in points
per game (19) and nearly a career high in rebounds per game (6.9), but he’s
really the definition of “good at everything, master of nothing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is definitely a place in the league for players like
Deng, but nobody is going to confuse him with a franchise-caliber talent.
Contrast that with the 2014 draft, which is supposedly to be loaded with
franchise talent and difference-makers. Thanks to Deng, the Cavs will be too
good to garner a high lottery pick.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grant punted away a shot at a stud prospect like Andrew
Wiggins, Jabari Parker or Marcus Smart for four guaranteed months of Luol Deng.
How insane and/or stupid can an NBA GM be?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Or maybe Grant is out-foxing the fox. <o:p></o:p></div>
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History says that the draft can do a lot for you, but it’s
probably not going to win you championships if that’s your primary means of
laying a foundation. Veteran teams win championships, not young teams. And
thanks to the restrictions of the salary cap, young teams don’t stay intact
long enough to mature into veteran teams.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No team has done a better job of building through the draft
than the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the start of last season, finances forced
their hand into trading James Harden to Houston. Harden quickly became an elite
player for the Rockets, and the Thunder felt the sting of his absence when
Russell Westbrook went down with an injury right before the playoffs last
spring. Instead of getting over the hump, the Thunder were set back a season.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Indiana Pacers have done a great job of building through
the draft – all through mid-to-low first-rounders, no less. They still have yet
to make the Finals with this group, thanks to the Miami Heat, who were
store-bought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s a recurring theme over the past decade-plus. The Lakers
have won five titles dating to 2000. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher were the two
key players who arrived in L.A. as rookies. Everyone else arrived via a trade
or free agency. The Heat have won three titles with acquired players such as
Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The Mavs won their 2011 title
with home-grown Dirk Nowitzki supported by an army of ringers including Shawn
Marion, Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Celtics drafted Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. The other
half of their 2008 championship core – Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen -- arrived
via trades.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 2004, the Pistons started one of their own draft picks –
Tayshaun Prince. Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey
Billups were all traded for, or signed as free agents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the wake of all those teams? Teams that tried to scale
the draft mountain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the 21<sup>st</sup> Century, only the Spurs have won
championships with a completely home-grown backbone. And much like the Patriots
with Bill Belichick, the Spurs exist in their own mad-scientist laboratory,
concocting potions that only they can produce. If you, as a mere mortal, try to
replicate their ways and means, it’s a recipe for failure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, should Chris Grant have waited on the 2014 draft? After
three years of tanking? Needing to show the best of his draft picks, Kyrie
Irving, some sign that the team is committed to winning? Knowing that Irving is due an extension offer
this summer, and if he tables it or turns it down, it will make for a very
nervous 2014-15 season?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Any more, it’s not about drafting the best players. It’s
about acquiring the best players that other teams have drafted – that other
teams have done the dirty work of developing into quality veterans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Go for Wiggins and his greenhorn brethren, and you’re stuck
waiting for him to develop into a veteran star – if it ever happens. By then,
Irving and Tristan Thompson will have been due extensions, Dion Waiters will
have been due an extension and you’ll have likely needed to make a call on
whether to invest more money and years in Anderson Varejao. You can’t keep the
whole house of cards standing that long. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Trade for an established veteran like Deng, and while you
might have shortened your possible window of contention, at least you’ve
started to define the window. Add another quality veteran before the February
trade deadline, and – if you re-sign Deng this summer – you can possibly jump right
into the May/June basketball conversation next year. Especially considering the
low overall quality of the Eastern Conference.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The draft has value, but perhaps not the value we think it
does. The current NBA system positions successful-drafting teams as banks to be
robbed. If I’m running an NBA team, I’d rather be wearing the mask than
guarding the safe.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-40566534434840644142013-12-30T00:47:00.001-05:002013-12-30T00:49:43.777-05:00Only the names change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWrWZQGMeLAY8EW6PWw6kJjTOXGotv8H_V4ICTN3Sli5CrXE7ISvLJoCcrXsgysDm2xLktz27qog_jhNV3YWW79_l38BXyVnSZ_WLqHzqKrvQ5gIIxKMPnIUwCDuU1KSPPVUe6w/s1600/00_Banner_Lombardi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWrWZQGMeLAY8EW6PWw6kJjTOXGotv8H_V4ICTN3Sli5CrXE7ISvLJoCcrXsgysDm2xLktz27qog_jhNV3YWW79_l38BXyVnSZ_WLqHzqKrvQ5gIIxKMPnIUwCDuU1KSPPVUe6w/s320/00_Banner_Lombardi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In Cleveland, we've become experts at identifying failed
football leadership. A decade and a half of being exposed to it will tend to
have that effect.</div>
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Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi, you fail. Please exit to the
right, and continue collecting your paychecks for the ensuing five-odd years, per
the particulars outlined in your lucrative contracts.</div>
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But ... They've only been on the job a year -- this is still a
work in progress, right? </div>
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No. They've failed. It might not become evident until a few
more losing seasons have accumulated and they actually receive their walking
papers, but they've failed. This regime will end like all the others. With the
main characters sitting at home, collecting ownership's money to not coach, not
general manage and not preside, and the Browns once again looking for the same
answers that have eluded the franchise for 15 years and counting.</div>
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They failed to hire a big-name coach last winter. Then they
hired Rob Chudzinski, which they now admit was a failure by firing him after
one season. </div>
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The firing itself was the result of a failure to step back and
look at the situation from a global standpoint. Obsessed with the win-now
culture that has infested the NFL, angered by the team's late-season swoon, and
perhaps possessing delusions that the same types of big-name coaches that
turned the Browns down a year ago will now beat a path to Berea, Banner and
Lombardi -- with the blessing of Jimmy Haslam -- gave Chud the quick hook five
hours after finishing a 4-12 rookie season as an NFL head coach.</div>
<div class="Content">
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<div class="Content">
That would be a 4-12 season in which Chud was forced to start
three different quarterbacks due to injuries and ineffectiveness. A season in
which the starting tailback was traded three weeks in, and replaced
with a rotation of has-beens and never-will-be's.</div>
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A season in which Greg Little and Davone Bess couldn't hang
onto the ball, and even budding star Josh Gordon had his share of drops.</div>
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A season in which Gordon didn't even know if he'd be a Brown
all year, until the trade deadline safely passed in October.</div>
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A season that, in spite of all that, was actually more
competitive than the final record indicates. The Browns were flat-out robbed of
a win in New England by poor (or biased?) officiating. They held late leads
against the Jaguars and Bears before losing at the end. They put a scare into
the then-undefeated Chiefs before losing by six points at always-hostile
Arrowhead Stadium. They held halftime leads in each of their first six games.</div>
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Yes, there are no moral victories in the NFL. But Chud's perpetual-underdog
team competed most weeks. They had their low points, to be sure -- the 41-20, Week
11 loss to Cincinnati started the second-half slide, and counts as the worst
loss of the season in terms of both margin and impact -- but Chud's teams
competed, and with this roster, what more can any rational observer expect?</div>
<div class="Content">
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<div class="Content">
Reading between the lines, what does that say about the
rationality of the executives currently running the ship?</div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
By firing Chud after 16 games, Banner and his crew wanted to
send a message: no excuses, no compromises and total accountability. Perhaps in
their ivory ego-tower, they truly believe that's what they did.</div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
But the message they really sent was all about their
willingness to toss their coach under the bus, deflect criticism from the
shortcomings of the roster they assembled, and their lack of desire to pay
anything more than lip service to the ideals of continuity and stability. You
know, those odd, foreign principles that have seemed to help out organizations
like the Patriots, Steelers and Ravens over the years. </div>
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<div class="Content">
And they didn't just send that message to the ticket-buying
public. They sent it, loud and clear, to the guys in the locker room. Veteran
team leaders Joe Thomas and D'Qwell Jackson were among the most vocal in their
criticism of the firing. </div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
When a free agent is considering contract offers, and he wants
to get a real-deal picture of what the organization is really like, do you
think he's going to take Banner's or Lombardi's words at face value? Of course
not. He's going to get in touch with the likes of Thomas and Jackson. And what
are they going to say? Let your imagination run wild with that one.</div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
The Browns have their own free agents, too. Most notably, Pro
Bowler Alex Mack and Pro Bowl alternate T.J. Ward. If Banner is arrogant enough
to think a better coach can do more with his roster, he's probably arrogant
enough to think he can replace Mack and Ward through the draft. So maybe this
is a moot point. But if the Browns did want to try and re-sign either, the next
Browns coach will be Coach No. 4 for Mack (drafted in 2009) and Coach No. 3 for
Ward (drafted in 2010). </div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
New coaches mean new playbooks and new coaching styles, which
are long, difficult, macro-level adjustments in the world of football. You
probably couldn't blame them if they preferred to continue their career in a
place with a bit more consistency -- or any consistency, for that matter. </div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
Everything about Chud's dismissal reeks of a startling
disconnect in the minds of club leadership between how they perceive things and
how things really are. Even measured by the long, sorry, limp, tepid, foul,
rancid precedent that the Browns have set since 1999, this firing is bad
medicine.</div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
This won't end well. But that probably depends on your
definition of "well." If "well" means 18 holes of golf at
an exclusive country club while you're cashing seven-figure checks to not work
for the team that fired you before your contract was up, "well" is
actually quite well.</div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
If "well" means enduring a deepening spiral of loss-splattered
football misery that only seems to get worse no matter how bad it already is,
well … you'd have Cleveland.</div>
<div class="Content">
<br /></div>
<div class="Content">
That's the great thing about being a pro sports executive.
Even if you fall flat on your face and damage your team for years to come,
eventually it just becomes somebody else's problem. And you always come out
smelling like greenbacks in the end. </div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-10384965587941916362013-12-20T12:19:00.001-05:002013-12-20T12:19:37.812-05:00Waiting on Waiters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsvpDUZdMLLlIyp3oA7W7cy0HzGvWAeD00gN-Fe7UG88W1d3XNkIxugF6bT0xXBnvkpk2V2U6u5t0xQyZejrejPXVEB6a7oKtbIxVVHu0W-iRjLNm7fvnN-hztDThmutEOJ7t5g/s1600/00_Dion_Waiters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsvpDUZdMLLlIyp3oA7W7cy0HzGvWAeD00gN-Fe7UG88W1d3XNkIxugF6bT0xXBnvkpk2V2U6u5t0xQyZejrejPXVEB6a7oKtbIxVVHu0W-iRjLNm7fvnN-hztDThmutEOJ7t5g/s320/00_Dion_Waiters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dion Waiters is the widget of the Cavs roster. If he were a
mechanical device, he’d have a lot of lights and buttons that indicate he can
do many different things. But he didn’t come with any type of instruction
sheet, so you’re left to randomly press buttons, hoping to find the sequence
that powers him up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What can he do? Does he fit your needs? If so, where? All
legitimate questions that don’t really have any solid answers through the first
100 or so games of Waiters’ professional career.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He came off the bench in his two years at Syracuse. The Cavs
drafted him fourth overall in 2012 because, despite the fact that he was
relegated to a sixth-man role, his scoring talent was apparent. Perhaps
envisioning a better version of the Mo Williams and Delonte West backcourt that
helped power the Cavs to 66 and 61 wins seasons in LeBron’s final two years
here, the Cavs wanted to pair Waiters with Kyrie Irving in the starting
backcourt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much like Williams and West, Irving and Waiters were both a tad
undersized, but both could create their own shots, and both are adept passers.
A backcourt comprised of a pair of point guard/shooting hybrids could be very
versatile and very dangerous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there is only one ball. Only one player can create the
shot per possession. Kyrie, being the anointed franchise player, would
essentially get the right of first refusal, forcing Waiters to play off the
ball. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It didn’t really work. Waiters never seemed comfortable
taking kickout passes, curling off screens, and all of the other
catch-and-shoot rhythm play that is expected of a shooting guard. Last year, he
finished second among rookies in scoring behind Rookie of the Year Damian
Lillard, but his 14.7 PPG came on 13.4 often poorly-selected shots per game. He
converted 41 percent of his shots as a rookie, but most of his converted shots
were around the basket. He shot 31 percent from three-point range, exhibiting
no ability to stretch the floor – a must-have skill for any starting shooting
guard in the NBA.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This season didn’t begin much better. As the Cavs careened
to a 4-12 start, Waiters continued to struggle in his starting role. Then the
rumors started. He reportedly wanted out of Cleveland. He allegedly accused
Kyrie and Tristan Thompson of playing “buddy ball” with each other, leaving him
comparatively starved for touches and shots. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as Mike Brown spent November searching frantically for
anything that would stop the bleeding, one of the moves he made was perhaps one
that was a year in the making: He shuffled the starting lineup. C.J. Miles
became the starting shooting guard, and Waiters moved to the same sixth-man
bench role that made him a top-five draft pick at Syracuse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So determined was Brown to keep Waiters in that role that
when Miles went down with a calf injury, Matthew Dellavedova – who will never
be confused with an actual starting shooting guard – started in his place. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waiters reportedly wasn’t happy with the move – who wants to
lose their starting gig? – but since moving to the bench, the progress has been
palpable. Since Nov. 27, Waiters has notched five 20-point games and a 30-point
game. There have still been a few clunked in the mix (1/10 FG and 3 PTS versus
the Clippers), but the good games have outpaced the bad games. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waiters is playing with more confidence, even swagger at
times. But even as Waiters starts to show signs of developing into a productive
player, there are still a circus’ worth of elephants in the room.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did the Cavs really burn a No. 4 pick on a guy who was
destined for a bench role? If Waiters needs the ball and Kyrie needs the ball,
can they ever play together in the same backcourt and be successful? Even with
the renewal of hope spawned by his recent uptick in performance, will we simply
come to the conclusion that Waiters is a mismatched part in Cleveland, and
bound for the trading block?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is an odd development to have a high level of redundant
scoring in the backcourt – Jarrett Jack can also chuck it – while small forward
languishes, occupied by the underwhelming trio of Alonzo Gee, Earl Clark and
Anthony Bennett. But scoring is scoring, no matter where it comes from. And
with a roster that appears to finally be stabilizing itself after a November of
horrendous turmoil and blowout losses, now might not be the time to answer the
questions regarding Waiters’ future in Cleveland.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the players on this team can continue settling into their
roles, absorb Brown’s complicated defense well enough to execute it at a
reasonably high level and score enough points to win more than they lose, the
best course of action might be to let the Jell-O set for the remainder of this
season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a far cry from several weeks ago, when it looked like a
transformational trade was the only thing that might save the season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris Grant will almost certainly address the small forward
position this coming summer, one way or another. And if the Cavs can sign or
trade for a quality scoring forward, Waiters’ presence as a bench scorer could
add first-string scoring punch to the second unit – a luxury that a lot of
teams don’t have.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A fan base like Cleveland’s, starved for a championship –
and recently, just starved for winning seasons and playoff appearances –
doesn’t want to hear about works in progress. Fans don’t want to hear
front-office buzzwords like “process” and “upside.” But that’s exactly what the
Cavs are. They’re a work in progress, and all the holes and roles won’t be
completely filled or defined this season. Even if the Cavs roar back to claim a
top-four seed in the weak Eastern Conference, all the questions won’t be
answered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That includes how to best utilize the undefined widget that
is Waiters. Starting shooting guard? Backup combo guard? Trade bait? Those
questions will have to be answered at some point. But not right now.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-90227201098930628502013-12-04T16:33:00.000-05:002013-12-04T16:41:29.531-05:00The tackle that ruined a season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwPBY3lCUVAyk3qPPslaWdZsEHTxi6BM9lUIsAZkAnYU-6kY3mNvi1l1LeVkzxsKE6_G5peni8wityD0qw2LTdWw2LKTBLAvUDj2qZqXHjfnTJRwjGtgOMcoImXI8Dt_Z7I61vw/s1600/00_hoyer_knee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwPBY3lCUVAyk3qPPslaWdZsEHTxi6BM9lUIsAZkAnYU-6kY3mNvi1l1LeVkzxsKE6_G5peni8wityD0qw2LTdWw2LKTBLAvUDj2qZqXHjfnTJRwjGtgOMcoImXI8Dt_Z7I61vw/s320/00_hoyer_knee.jpg" width="221" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I generally don’t like to dwell on the past. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What would have happened if Earnest Byner hadn’t been
stripped of the ball? If Jose Mesa had gotten a ground ball from Charles
Johnson or Craig Counsell? If Joel Skinner had sent Kenny Lofton? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It didn’t happen. That alternate reality will never exist.
So what’s the point in lamenting it? We have what we have, so let’s make the
best of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet, in those quiet moments of lucidity, I can’t help but
dwell on a small portion of the recent past. I can’t help but wonder what might
have come of this Browns season if Brian Hoyer’s knee had stayed intact.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heading into that Thursday, Oct. 3 game against Buffalo,
Hoyer had been the freshest breath of air Browns fans had experienced in six
years. The Browns didn’t look like world-beaters, but they certainly resembled
a confident, competent NFL team since he had taken the reins and led the team
to a come-from-behind Week 3 win at Minnesota.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hoyer had been the third-string quarterback on the depth
chart. Rob Chudzinski surprised a lot of people when he vaulted over
second-stringer Jason Campbell to give Hoyer the starting nod after Brandon
Weeden had injured his thumb in a second-week loss to Baltimore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Hoyer quickly made Chud look like a genius. He seemed to
be a hand-in-glove fit to Chud’s offense. He made quick reads, quick throws,
moved the ball and scored points. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the span of two weeks, the Browns went from resembling
their same old sorry selves to resembling a team that could make some noise in
the AFC playoff picture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That Thursday night game capped a crescendo of a week for
Cleveland sports, after the Indians had clinched a playoff berth that Sunday,
and hosted their first playoff game since 2007 that Wednesday night – the first
playoff game Cleveland had hosted in any sport since May 2010.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Indians lost under the national prime-time lights, but
the following night, the Browns put the city right back under the national
spotlight. And this time, we had a football team worth showcasing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, barely five minutes into the game, Hoyer was flushed
out of the pocket. He scampered for the first-down marker near the sideline,
but his knee buckled as Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso tackled him, rolling over
him in the process. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The initial reports said Hoyer might have a ligament sprain
in the knee. Maybe he’d only miss a few weeks. Then we heard he might have torn
a ligament. Maybe a partial tear? Maybe, hoping against hope, it wasn’t a
season-ending injury? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the next day, we found out he had torn his ACL and was
done for the year. And all the air went out of the Browns season. All of the
losing, negative inertia that has provided the wind for this franchise’s sails
for the past decade and a half was jostled back into place. We were destined
for more of the same old Browns.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was more devastating than your typical season-ending
injury to a key Browns player. It was more devastating because the various
Browns leadership regimes have been on a 14-year quest to solve the quarterback
position. Nothing has dogged this franchise more than poor QB play, and Hoyer,
at the very least, offered a glimpse of what this team could be when not
sabotaged by lousy QB play.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hoyer’s two games and change as the Browns starting QB was a
much-needed corrective lens that allowed us to view the rest of the team in a
realistic light. When healthy, motivated and not assailed by the endemic “here
we go again” losing culture that has anchored itself in Berea, the Browns are
actually a decent football team. They’re not ready to contend for a Super Bowl
by any means, but they have quality talent at some key positions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is not a barren roster. But it’s a roster that is going
to play well below its potential if it has a low-performing QB at the helm. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that we’ve seen it, it’s encouraging and agonizing at
the same time. We’ve seen what the Browns can be, but we’ve also seen how much
it hinges on finding a quarterback who can play the position at a relatively
high level. And we’re not talking Tom Brady or Peyton Manning here. Hall of
Fame credentials aren’t necessary. We’re talking about someone of the Andy
Dalton class. Just good, not necessarily great.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Hoyer had stayed healthy, maybe we’d have found a
solution at quarterback. Maybe the Browns brain trust wouldn’t feel the need to
roll the dice on drafting a QB in a 2014 class that is being touted as one for
the ages, but looks kind of iffy when you get down to it. Marcus Mariota’s
decision to stay at Oregon next season isn’t helping that cause.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Hoyer had stayed healthy, maybe the Browns are 7-5 and in
the thick of the AFC wild card race, instead of 4-8 and playing out the string.
You’d certainly have to think that the Browns could have beaten the Lions and
Jaguars with better QB play. Maybe they could have stunned the Chiefs, who only
defeated them by six points. Maybe one of those divisional blowouts against the
Bengals and Steelers turn out differently with better QB play buoying the
confidence of the entire team.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Hoyer had stayed healthy, maybe this would have been a
season of real progress, if not a playoff berth. Instead, we get the usual doses
of opacity and uncertainty as the Browns stagger toward free agency and the
draft, to be followed by minicamps, until we arrive at training camp at the end
of next July. Hoyer will be there. Who knows what shape he and his knee will be
in after nearly a year of rehab, but he’ll be there to compete with whomever
the Browns trade for, draft or sign in an effort to create a quarterback competition
in camp.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And we’ll begin the cycle all over again, hoping to find
answers where there have only been questions, fortune where there has only been
misfortune, wins where there have only been losses. <o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-85415956908421983282013-11-27T11:28:00.001-05:002013-11-27T11:37:57.467-05:00Just enjoy the show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvk_ZVtE1zbPNUPJKSKtD41pSgqtqpmFY2W1UzgcgwbpPjF5gUkHhXMWPNxbxL68T8_X_KYpIWqiFzpVSlwg1Ym3-FkFxSTche7MRDmLA31v7_le-iDAd9bg3CsBetf633YoHBQ/s1600/00_LBJ_billboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvk_ZVtE1zbPNUPJKSKtD41pSgqtqpmFY2W1UzgcgwbpPjF5gUkHhXMWPNxbxL68T8_X_KYpIWqiFzpVSlwg1Ym3-FkFxSTche7MRDmLA31v7_le-iDAd9bg3CsBetf633YoHBQ/s320/00_LBJ_billboard.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Miami Heat are in town to play the Cavs. You don’t even
have to look at the schedule to know it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All you have to do is click on a local sports website, turn on
the TV, open the paper – and all the evidence is there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LeBron is back in the news. People are talking about him.
People are talking about him coming back to the Cavs. People are talking about
him not coming back to the Cavs. People are printing t-shirts and handing them
out. People are spending money on billboards outside of his old high school in
Akron.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe someone will jump out of the stands at tonight’s game
and beg LeBron to come back, as happened two seasons ago. Maybe that person
won’t get leveled and cuffed by security. Maybe they will.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe the Goodyear blimp will hover overhead bearing a
LeBron-themed message. Maybe someone will fork over the money for a plane
banner, though it might be kind of hard to see against the typical gray
November sky in Cleveland.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is certain is that LeBron never comes back to these
parts under cover of darkness. Every time his Heat play the Cavs, we undergo an
intensive, self-funded feasibility study regarding the chances of him ever
suiting up for the Cavs again. Usually, those studies end in tears as we talk
ourselves out of the possibility – which is especially easy right now, with the
Cavs off to another slow start – and the Heat seal the deal with a double-digit
smackdown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Invariably, the lead-up to Cavs-Heat games always serves, in
the end, as an excuse for Clevelanders to feel sorry for themselves, which is a
time-honored tradition around here. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re not over LeBron. Heck, the Cavs organization isn’t
over LeBron. We want him back. If you say you don’t, it’s your defensive
mechanism talking. The Cavs were fun when LeBron was here. They won. They
played deep into May, every year. They won 60 games twice. They got to the
Finals for the only time in franchise history.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These Cavs? They’re not really all that fun. They lose all
the time. They often get blown out when they do lose. They probably need some
kind of earth-moving trade to save this rebuild attempt from the scrapyard. But
they’ll protect their 2014 cap space at all costs. Because LeBron can opt out
of his contract after this season and become a free agent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Call it desperate, call it anything you want, but the Cavs
are going to make a run at LeBron next summer. Laugh all you want. If the best
player on the planet decides to become a free agent, you’d be crazy not to make
a run at him. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Will the billboards and banners and t-shirts and vocal love
make any difference when LeBron looks at his options this summer? It certainly
won’t make his decision for him. But at least he knows there is a percentage of
the local population here that doesn’t hate his guts, that enthusiastically wants
him to return. It’s a far cry from what he probably ever expected again in
2010.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As fans, what more can we do beyond expressing our opinion?
Richer and far more powerful people will chart the course of history.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe the key to negotiating the LeBron maelstrom isn’t to
let LeBron himself go, but to let go of the rudder. Become a spectator. Be
accepting of any outcome. Just expect entertainment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If nothing else, that’s why you tune in. That’s why you pay
for the ticket. To watch the sum total of what unfolds in and around a big
sporting event. It’s as much about the signs and the chanting and the sound and
the colors and the emotional, visceral response as it is about the mathematical
outcome of the game – and certainly when your team is hopelessly overmatched,
as the Cavs almost certainly will be against Miami.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LeBron’s latest return to Northeast Ohio, and the
accompanying tidal wave, is some cayenne pepper mixed into what would otherwise
be a bland, boring blowout of a game between the two-time defending NBA
champions and a young, struggling team still trying to figure out how to tie
the drawstrings on their shorts. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As long as you tune in with that mindset, and not
perpetually cognizant of LeBron’s rejection, you can derive satisfaction from
the experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just tune in, sit back and enjoy the show. <o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-26008518120177834622013-11-21T12:32:00.001-05:002013-11-21T12:33:14.059-05:00Where to go from here?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIR2J0YiounkE1upcYrgnAeIgfNqec3gg-UfLXntMFDm23ppSwsY4wDSbhlERj0l1Ys8mVYk3Phsq8lKeOOgE0deivm4A52VhvmBMnSnZE95B3m8fVObLk_5yojKoMv1Ms0x_1iw/s1600/00_Brown_Kyrie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIR2J0YiounkE1upcYrgnAeIgfNqec3gg-UfLXntMFDm23ppSwsY4wDSbhlERj0l1Ys8mVYk3Phsq8lKeOOgE0deivm4A52VhvmBMnSnZE95B3m8fVObLk_5yojKoMv1Ms0x_1iw/s320/00_Brown_Kyrie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We’ve been patient with the Cavs. We – or at least most of
us – bought into the idea that the team was in needed of a complete rebuild
after LeBron left. We knew it would take a few years. We knew there would be
losing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been a few years. A few years that included two No. 1
overall picks and two No. 4 overall picks. Few teams get the chance to draft
four top-five picks in the span of three years. Few teams win the NBA draft
lottery twice in the span of three years. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But the losing? It’s still there. And it might be worse than
ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After 166 losses in three years, Byron Scott was shown the
door as Cavs coach. Mike Brown re-entered, ostensibly to rebuild a team culture
centered on staunch defense. It would be worth any of the offensive
shortcomings that typically plague Brown-coached teams if it means a defense
that clamps down on passing lanes and challenges every shot the other team
takes. Because you simply don’t contend for an NBA title without elite defense.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Twelve games into Brown’s second go-around as Cavs coach,
and the Cavs are 4-8. The record is bad enough, but then you actually watch the
team play, and you realize they’re lucky to even have won four.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Wednesday night’s loss to the Wizards, the Cavs didn’t even
try to play for three quarters. The only player who gave max effort on every
play was Matthew Dellavedova – an undersized, undertalented and undrafted
rookie who has to play all-out unless he wants a seat on the first bus to
Canton.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Wizards – a team that won’t be confused with the Miami
Heat any time soon – rolled up a 27-point third-quarter lead. The Cavs didn’t
play defense, they didn’t play offense, and they committed brain-dead unforced
turnovers, which has become a staple of the season thus far. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A furious fourth-quarter rally cut the deficit to four, but
you almost didn’t want the Cavs to win the game, lest it reinforce the idea
that you can jerk around for three quarters and pull a win out of your nether
regions in the end. They ended up losing 98-91.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday’s no-show came one week after a blowout loss in
Minnesota that prompted a players meeting. The meeting was reportedly a heated,
contentious affair that should have served as an airing of grievances, and
above all, a wake-up call.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two nights later, they looked flat in a home loss to
Charlotte. Saturday night, they needed a late rally and overtime to win their
first road game of the season in Washington.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other words, that meeting did little to spark the team’s
competitive fire.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Cavs are pulling out all the stops at every level to try
and find a solution. Players meetings haven’t worked. Lineup-shuffling by Brown
hasn’t worked. It makes you wonder how deep the rabbit hole goes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What is wrong with the Cavs? And where do they go from here?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The lack of effort would seem to be symptomatic of discord
behind the scenes. Either players aren’t getting along with each other, Brown
isn’t connecting with them or, worst of all, there is a mutiny in progress
against Brown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brown isn’t the easiest coach to play for. Much like former
Browns coach Eric Mangini, he’s authoritarian, he values heavy-handed
discipline and he doesn’t really care whether the players like it or not. When
he finally brainwashes the players into his line of thinking, he’ll get results.
But initially, players don’t really like playing for him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Secondary to that, Brown developed contentious relationships
with the two superstars he’s coached in his career – LeBron and Kobe
Bryant. They are, arguably, the two most influential players in the NBA.
Knowing that there is a massive social network among NBA players, it’s easy to
wonder who has said what to whom via texts and phone calls. Is Kyrie receiving
negative feedback on Brown from very high places in Miami or Los Angeles? Is that
coloring his opinion on playing for Brown? Maybe or maybe not, but it’s at
least worth bringing up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But players are ultimately paid millions of dollars to be
professionals and play for the coach that the team has hired. If they’re not
even trying to compete for large stretches of games, that’s a poor reflection
on them, not the coach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a problem with two solutions. Three, if you count
standing pat and waiting for things to improve organically, but that seems like
an option that is rapidly disappearing over the horizon. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The two active solutions are to fire the coach or execute a
major trade that turns over a significant portion of the roster. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Brown was hired last spring and signed to a five-year deal.
Brown certainly has his warts and caveats, and it’s understandable that he’s
highly unpopular with the fan base right now, but he’s probably not going
anywhere for at least several years. That leaves a large-scale trade.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Former GM Danny Ferry made that kind of trade in February
2008. It was a three-team deal with Seattle and Chicago that sent away Drew
Gooden, Larry Hughes, Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall, and brought in Ben
Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith. The Cavs struggled in
the short term, but that deal – along with a deal to acquire Mo Williams in the
summer of ’08 – paved the way for the Cavs team that won 66 games the following
season.<o:p></o:p></div>
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High-volume trades often involve more than two teams, and as
such, are difficult to assemble and execute. It could take months of prep work
and hours upon hours of phone calls to put the pieces together – and even then,
large trades have been known to fall apart at the last minute.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But if GM Chris Grant wants to get proactive about improving
this team, it might be the only option. This roster is apparently struggling to
stay motivated. It’s a roster that is, overall, too young to contend and
contains a fair number of mismatched and/or nonproductive pieces. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are no scoring swingmen on the roster save for
sporadic outbursts from C.J. Miles. Irving, Dion Waiters and Jarrett Jack look
like redundant players – all undersized backcourt volume-chuckers who need the
ball in order to impact the game. Andy Varejao continues to do a poor
impersonation of a rim-defending NBA center – but he has to, because Andrew
Bynum can’t even play 20 minutes a night right now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Both 2013 first-round picks are bringing absolutely nothing
to the table – Anthony Bennett because he’s a hard-boiled hot mess between the
ears and Sergey Karasev because he needs to spend about a year living in the
weight room before he’ll have anything approaching an NBA body.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Everything – the attitude, the makeup, the remedial learning
curve for Roker’s Ph.D.-level defensive schemes – all of it seems off. The only
solution could be to try and find players with better attitudes who can bring
more complementary skills to the table.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brown, Bennett, Irving and company might serve as the
whipping boys in the court of public opinion, but ultimately, the person with
the most heat on his neck might be Grant himself. This rebuild was his vision.
The draft picks, trades and signings are all his. The coaching hire was his. If
this team doesn’t win, the buck stops with him. And it could be his job on the
line if the Cavs trudge to another high-lottery finish this season. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Armed with that knowledge, don’t be surprised if this roster
undergoes a transformation sometime between now and Valentine’s Day.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-12183868403263993202013-10-30T10:56:00.001-04:002013-10-30T10:57:00.176-04:002013-14 Cavs: The wild cards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTMi3WJjy7uF3ZjROY0-sxZ2_RwpUz0rhp-8zGJRG8k4FIP7eYY3o_mGjrI-Xa811B1Y0sOhAlVDD595AOrnpPPoW9LCTf2taiFsBAesHyx0u7Cntj0XQxVeQv8eLtkNumPS9QQ/s1600/001_Brown_Irving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTMi3WJjy7uF3ZjROY0-sxZ2_RwpUz0rhp-8zGJRG8k4FIP7eYY3o_mGjrI-Xa811B1Y0sOhAlVDD595AOrnpPPoW9LCTf2taiFsBAesHyx0u7Cntj0XQxVeQv8eLtkNumPS9QQ/s320/001_Brown_Irving.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What if?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s the most Cleveland of questions. The Indians liked it
so much they turned it into their advertising slogan for several years. But
this year’s Cavaliers team might have every right to snatch that slogan for themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps no team in the NBA presently has a bigger factor of
variables than the Cavs. We know the Heat, barring a catastrophic injury to
LeBron James, are going to be the league’s best team. We’re almost certain the
76ers are going to be the league’s worst team, fronting the Andrew Wiggins
lottery derby in 2014.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But the Cavs? They could fall just about anywhere in
between.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What if Kyrie Irving takes the next step to superstardom?
What if injuries limit him to fewer than 65 games again?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What if Andrew Bynum recovers to his 2011-12 form, when he
had the best statistical season of his career? What if his knees can’t keep him
on the floor?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What if Andy Varejao once again flourishes in Mike Brown’s
defense? What if he keeps adding lines to his rapidly-lengthening injury
history?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What if Dion Waiters really is Joe Dumars to Kyrie’s Isiah
Thomas? What if he’s a chronic shot-chucker who consistently sabotages
offensive possessions, and he never gets any better?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What if Tristan Thompson’s right-handed shot doesn’t work?
What if it does? What if Anthony Bennett’s recently-revealed sleep apnea and
asthma caps his conditioning level, relegating him to a part-time role? What if
Jarrett Jack starts to play like a 30-something? What if his veteran leadership
is exactly what the doctor ordered? What if small forward is a black hole of
non-productive suck all season long? What if Alonzo Gee really can become
Cleveland’s version of Bruce Bowen?<o:p></o:p></div>
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And what if Brown’s offensive acumen hasn’t improved since
he last patrolled the sideline for the Cavs in 2010?<o:p></o:p></div>
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If the majority of those questions have positive answers,
the Cavs could win upwards of 50 games and find themselves in the battle for a
middle playoff seed in April. If the majority of those answers are bad news,
the Cavs could be a 30-win team in the lottery hunt for the fourth straight
year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the Cavs season set to tip off Wednesday night against
the Brooklyn Nets at The Q, this is a closer look at what we know about the
2013-14 Cavs:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Starters<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>PG Kyrie Irving:</b>
When the media starts talking about Kyrie needing to make the third-year leap,
it’s the height of praise. LeBron made the third-year leap in 2006 and took the
Cavs to a hard-fought, second round exit against the Pistons in his first
playoff appearance. Kevin Durant made the third-year leap for Oklahoma City in
2010. Chris Paul is a member of the third-year leap club. Now Kyrie has to do
the same.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kyrie has the goods to put himself on the outskirts of the
MVP conversation in his third year. He’s not unseating LeBron and Durant just
yet, but he could make his presence felt. He has arguably the best handle in
the league, a reliable outside shot and a knack for making incredible finishes
in traffic. And if the preseason is any indication, he’s already paying more
attention to defense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The one caveat with Kyrie is his body. Brittle bones and
joints have already cost him significant chunks of his lone college season at
Duke, and his first two NBA seasons. The injuries have been of a freak nature –
nothing chronic or degenerative – but missed games are missed games. He has to
stay on the floor for at least 70 games this year if the Cavs are to make
significant progress. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>SG Dion Waiters:</b>
His offensive talent is undeniable. Despite being a controversial No. 4 pick in
2012, he finished second among rookies in scoring last year. The problem with
Waiters is harnessing that talent. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Waiters doesn’t have the best basketball instincts. He tends
to hoist up the kind of jump shots that wreck possessions. But he appears
willing to learn, and Brown is willing to teach. If Waiters can master playing
in the flow of an offense, he could blossom into an 18-19 PPG scorer with a
significantly elevated field goal percentage. If not, he’s going to become nary
more than a poor man’s Stephon Marbury. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>SF Earl Clark/Alonzo
Gee:</b> The mere fact that there’s a slash in the name doesn’t bode well for
the position. Clark and Gee are interchangeable parts at this point. Both have
some length that can help with perimeter defense – not that either of them are
going to earn a spot on the NBA All-Defensive Team. Neither brings much in the
way of offense. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The popular theory, of course, is that whoever mans this
position is merely a placeholder until the Cavs make a run at LeBron next summer.
But regardless of whether LBJ returns or not, this position will need an
upgrade after this season. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>PF Tristan Thompson:</b>
Give TT credit – he’s worked his tail off the past two years. He came into the
league as a raw athlete with little in the way of skill. Now, you could make a
case that he’s the most fundamentally sound of the Cavs’ five starters. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He’ll never pour in 20 points a game. He doesn’t need to. TT
needs to defend, rebound and make the few open shots he gets – in that order.
If his new righty jump shot lets him do that, there are few, if any, real
questions about him. And that’s a great place for a third-year player to be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>C Andrew Bynum:</b>
He’s the guy on this roster who really makes your stomach churn and your heart
pitter-patter. You really, really don’t want to place a lot of hope in the idea
that he’ll recover to be the interior force he was with the Lakers. But if he
does, he could be the ingredient that turns this team into something truly
special. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Bynum, with his knees and head on straight, is the best
post-playing big man in the league. Yeah, you have Pau and Z-Bo and an aging
Tim Duncan – I’ll still take a healthy, motivated Bynum on the block. He’s big,
strong, nimble and adept at shooting with both hands. He’s virtually impossible
to stop if he gets deep position on his defender. He has to be double-teamed in
many cases, which opens up shots for the other four guys.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A healthy Bynum paired with a healthy Kyrie? You can see why
the defense mechanisms go up if you dwell on it. It’s too heartbreaking to
think about it not happening.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Bench<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>F/C Anderson Varejao:</b>
In lieu of Bynum, Andy is the starting center. And that’s far from ideal, both
because the increased workload of the past few years likely contributed to his
recent string of injuries, and because Andy is at his best in a super-sub role.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Andy needs to be allowed to roam the floor, harassing
players on the wings, drawing charges and being an all-around nuisance to the
other team. As the starting center, he needs to stay close to the basket and
play a much more static role. That’s just not his game, and it showed over the
past few years. Despite Andy’s prodigious rebounding totals, the Cavs interior
defense was quite porous when Andy was out there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>G Jarrett Jack:</b>
He’s going to be expected to be a human glue stick for this young team. He can
bring scoring off the bench, but even more than that, his presence needs to be
felt in the locker room by Irving and Waiters, both of whom need a role model
who is still in uniform.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The primary worry with Jack is that he’s 30, and that’s
right about when players start to trend downward in terms of production. Jack
needs to bring a reliable 9-12 PPG off the bench, and if called upon to start,
he has to still be able to shoulder a starter’s workload. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>G/F C.J. Miles:</b>
He’s a gun for hire. He never met a three-pointer he wasn’t willing to take.
That probably makes him worth the minutes, because when he gets hot, he’s a
candidate for a 20-point quarter. But he brings little else other than those
brief spasms of white-hot production. He’s a horrid defender, and that might
cost him a spot in Brown’s rotation, despite his standing as a veteran player.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>F Anthony Bennett:</b>
There are a lot of expectations riding on the first-ever Canadian taken with the
No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and he’s facing a steep learning curve. Offseason
shoulder surgery robbed him of his conditioning, and the recent revelation that
he suffers from sleep apnea and asthma has raised questions about his ability
to recover his conditioning to the point that he can play 30 to 35 minutes a
night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As it is, nobody outside the Cavs organization is really
looking for Bennett to win the Rookie of the Year Award, which seems to already
be gravitating toward Orlando’s Victor Oladipo. Unlike Oladipo, playing for a
strip-mined Magic team that can afford to give him all the minutes he needs,
Bennett will be fitted to a much more narrowly-defined role on a deeper Cavs
team that has playoff aspirations. He won’t get the minutes that other rookies
might.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Despite the conditioning issues, Bennett is a talented
scorer. He’s already demonstrated his shooting touch throughout the preseason,
and his fourth-quarter outburst to beat Oladipo’s Magic early the preaseason
offered a tantalizing glimpse of what Bennett could become.<o:p></o:p></div>
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His first NBA season could be a tough one, though.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>C Tyler Zeller:</b>
Sometimes, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed in the morning. Zeller did
everything that was asked of him this summer. He bulked up, adding a
significant amount of muscle to his slender frame. He worked on his game,
preparing to fight for a rotation spot on a roster that contains two veteran
centers ahead of him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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His reward? Injuring his hip in the club’s first scrimmage,
then having to undergo an appendectomy less than a week later. Zeller’s entire
preseason was washed out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Given the injury histories of Bynum and Varejao, Zeller
still figures to be an important part of this team. But due to his preseason
misfortune, his role is kind of undefined at the moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>G/F Sergey Karasev:</b>
The Cavs’ other first-round pick from this past spring has a lot worth liking.
He’s less than a week removed from his 20<sup>th</sup> birthday, but has
already played professionally in Russia. He’s a heady player with a rangy
jumper and underrated passing skills. He comes from strong basketball pedigree.
His dad is Vasily Karasev, who was one of the best players in Russia in the
1990s, and later became a coach who has had a major hand in his son’s
development. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The junior Karasev has said he models his game on that of
Spurs great Manu Ginobili. If he becomes a next-generation Ginobili for the
Cavs, I think we’ll take that without a lot of argument. As for now, he’s
extremely skinny and not used to the physical nature of the NBA game. Let’s see
what happens over the next few years, once he has a chance to fill out his
frame and refine his game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Canton shuffle:</b>
Carrick Felix, Matthew Dellavedova and Henry Sims round out the Cavs roster.
All three figure to log some major minutes playing for the NBDL’s Canton Charge
this season, but depending on how hard the injury bug bites the Cavs, we could
see some or all of them in action at The Q. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Felix is a second-round pick this past spring from Arizona
State. The swingman is Brown’s kind of guy – a nose-to-the-grindstone worker
who values defense. If he shows any scoring potential, Brown will find a place
for him with the big-league club. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dellavedova is an Australian import who played for the
Aussies in the 2012 Olympics. The point guard is an undrafted product of St.
Mary’s College in California. He doesn’t possess much athleticism, but comes
with the reputation of a high basketball IQ and providing great court
leadership, with enough of a jump shot to get by. His lack of athleticism,
however, figures to be a major hindrance at the defensive end, where he’s
already shown that he has trouble staying in front of other NBA point guards.
He’ll have to compensate somehow, if he wants to carve out an NBA career.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sims was the last man standing in the battle for the 15<sup>th</sup>
roster spot. The center is an undrafted product of Georgetown who looked solid
during the preaseason. The best thing you can probably say about Sims as a
long-term NBA prospect is that he’s willing to do the dirty work of defense,
rebounding and dishing out fouls. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Coaching:</b> Mike
Brown returns to the Cavs sideline for the first time since LeBron quit and/or
choked his way out of the 2010 playoffs, and subsequently out of Cleveland. In
the interim, Brown had a forgettable year and five games as coach of the
Lakers, where he struggled to manage Kobe Bryant and the Lakers’ arsenal of
mercurial talent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown’s Lakers tenure wasn’t a success by any macro-level
measurement, but he did have a positive impact on Bynum, pushing all the right
buttons and enabling the often difficult-to-manage center to compile his best
statistical season. Brown enthusiastically endorsed a Bynum signing to GM Chris
Grant over the summer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bynum is the type of project Brown loves – a young player
who tends to thrive when given a high degree of structure and discipline. The
same can be said for the remainder of the Cavs roster.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown is, at his heart, a teacher. He’s at his best when
molding wet clay. And the Cavs will provide him tons of wet clay this season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Defense does win championships. The best teams in the league
are almost always the best defensive teams in the league. For the past few
years, the Cavs have been in desperate need of the type of structure and
defensive fundamentals that Brown will provide.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Brown also comes with the deserved rap of enabling poor
offensive execution. He tends to let bad habits develop at that end of the
floor, failing to eradicate them at the root the way he would at the defensive
end. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The object of the game is still to put the ball in the hoop,
and if Browns’ second Cavs tenure is to be longer and more successful than his
first, he has to cultivate this team’s offense the way he does its defense. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To that end, he has compiled an intriguing coaching staff
that includes NBA coaching stalwart Bernie Bickerstaff – Brown’s first mentor
in the NBA – and Igor Kokoskov, a well-traveled assistant coach who will serve,
in effect, as the team’s offensive coordinator.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Training:</b> The
Cavs underwent another sea change this summer by rebuilding their entire
training staff. Gone is longtime trainer Max Benton, replaced by the
newly-named “Cavs Performance Team.” The performance team will be led by Alex
Moore, the former strength and conditioning coach for the U.S. Ski Team.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Results have yet to bear out the wisdom of the decision, but
it’s an attempt by the Cavs to address the fact that they have a number of key
players with long injury histories by building a training department much
closer to what you might see in Europe or Australia. The Aussies are often
credited as world leaders in sports training, rehabilitation and injury
prevention.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The creation of the performance team is the result of months
of research by the Cavs brain trust, comparing the common practices of American
sports training with those in other countries. What Grant and his staff
concluded from the research is that American sports training methods lag behind
the rest of the developed world. Hence, the development of the new model.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it keeps Irving, Bynum and Varejao on the floor and
producing, it’s a great move. We’ll know a lot more by midseason.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-83591065573748974012013-10-11T15:21:00.001-04:002013-10-11T15:56:36.803-04:00Retiring Wahoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6A6OWx6t5GmfvCqKOIMpKMOIESjkF23ZH4r6ySpkiWj-ZKpng0iEytYjUZysMdECv9-P0T10PU7a-8fQ9Wo-id60paqBL4jEteeHRAei3mg068k8AK9_zt5z0W_YfRmjV0mZaA/s1600/001_Wahoo_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6A6OWx6t5GmfvCqKOIMpKMOIESjkF23ZH4r6ySpkiWj-ZKpng0iEytYjUZysMdECv9-P0T10PU7a-8fQ9Wo-id60paqBL4jEteeHRAei3mg068k8AK9_zt5z0W_YfRmjV0mZaA/s320/001_Wahoo_logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chief Wahoo has been the face of Cleveland baseball for more
than 60 years. Originally designed in 1947 by 17-year-old draftsman Walter
Goldbach, Wahoo was the brainchild of former Tribe owner Bill Veeck, one of the
greatest marketers baseball has ever seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Veeck wanted a unique image for his team, something apart
from the statuesque Indian heads in profile that had served as the team’s logos
up to that point. Goldbach devised a grinning cartoon Indian with a large nose
and yellow skin. That version of Wahoo was perched on the left sleeve of the
Tribe’s uniforms when they won their last World Series in 1948.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1951, the logo was redesigned to its current form.
Wahoo’s red face, white teeth and eyes, and blue hair correspond to the team colors.
Since then, Wahoo has been somewhere on the Tribe’s uniforms at all times. He
was perched on the cap, encased in a wishbone-C for much of the 1950s. He moved
down to the left breast on the Tribe’s sleeveless uniforms of the 1960s. He was
given a body in a 1970s logo revision that featured a leg-kicking Wahoo about
to swing a bat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the early 80s, the head-only logo returned to the left
sleeve, where it has stayed ever since. For the 1986 season, the logo returned
to the cap, unadorned. Along with the Orioles and Blue Jays, the Indians were
one of the few teams to place their logo on the team caps instead of a
city-initial monogram.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Indians wore Wahoo on their caps exclusively until the
2002 season, when a script-I version debuted. That cap was eventually retired
in favor of a block-C cap, reminiscent of the early-‘80s caps. For the past
several years, the Indians have alternated the Wahoo cap with blue-on-red and
red-on-blue versions of the block-C cap.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Wahoo has always been there. And it’s easy to see why.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a sports landscape dominated by logos that feature balls
and shields and ferocious-looking animals, Wahoo is something that stands out.
Veeck and Goldbach set out to create something unique, and they did exactly
that. Wahoo is instantly identifiable with the Cleveland Indians, and Wahoo-adorned
merchandise still sells, both in Greater Cleveland, and among the large
footprint of Cleveland expats who have fanned out across the country and globe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there is another side to Wahoo, and no matter how much
we as a fan base want to dismiss it as a hot wind from politically-correct
extremists, it’s something the Indians, their fans, the city of Cleveland and
Major League Baseball will be forced to address at some point – and quite
possibly sooner rather than later.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wahoo is the product of a different era, with different
social mores. At the time of Wahoo’s creation, it was still socially acceptable for cartoons to portray African-American, Asian, Hispanic and Indian characters with exaggerated
features and mannerisms. Bugs Bunny in blackface? A Tom and Jerry cartoon
featuring a slanted-eyed cat or mouse wearing a cymbal on his head like a rice paddy
hat? Speedy Gonzalez stealing cheese for his lazy, shiftless, tequila-chugging
Mexican mouse friends? No censor batted an eyelash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as America became more integrated over the ensuing
half-century, the “we” and “they” of 1950 became the “us” of the 21<sup>st</sup>
Century, and the culture shifted. A new
imperative developed: start viewing people as individuals, and not members of a
generic race that possess a common set of lampoon-worthy characteristics.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wahoo belongs to the old line of thinking, with his red
face, big nose and prominent feather sticking up behind his head. As the
decades have passed, people around the country have started to find less and
less favor with the Tribe’s longstanding logo. The movement against Wahoo is
growing, and soon, the Wahoo supporters will comprise little more than a small
island of defiance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The opponents of Wahoo are no longer limited to Native
American protesters demonstrating on Gateway Plaza. Powerful people in prominent
positions are aligning to retire Wahoo – by force, if necessary. The full force
of the hurricane hasn’t hit yet, but it will.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the Indians are determined to hang onto Wahoo until the
bitter end, they can hide until the powers that be are done wrestling with the
Washington Redskins. Recently, President Obama <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9772653/president-obama-washington-redskins-legitimate-concerns" target="_blank">spoke out</a> against the Redskins
nickname – viewed as a blatant racial slur by many Native Americans – and NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell is on record saying the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/8/roger-goodell-nfl-must-do-whats-right-redskins-nic/" target="_blank">NFL has to do “what’s right”</a> regarding the club’s nickname.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Redskins nickname will likely be the first domino to
fall. After that, they’re coming for Wahoo. Once the Washington Redskins are no
longer the Washington Redskins, the next-most-blatant example of
racially-stereotypical Indian imagery in professional sports is Chief Wahoo. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is, unless the Indians take the initiative and retire
Wahoo of their own free will, before having to face the judge, jury and executioner
in the court of public opinion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There would be life after Wahoo. Plenty of teams change
their logos and color schemes. Every year, it seems like some team in some
sport is debuting a new look. Even stalwart franchises like the Lakers,
Cowboys, Celtics and Red Sox have been known to tinker with their uniforms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re worried that giving up Wahoo might lead to a
slippery slope that ends with the death of the Indians nickname, those fears
are probably unfounded. It should be a reasonable condition to request the retention of the
Indians nickname. Plenty of Native Americans refer to themselves as Indians, so
the nickname can’t be retired on the grounds of racism, like the Redskins’
nickname can. If I were running the Chiefs, Braves or Blackhawks, I’d dig my
heels in on the nicknames, too. If the name isn’t explicitly derogatory, it’s
defensible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But imagery is another topic, and mascot-imagery is the real
hot button. Nobody has raised much of a fuss about the Braves’ tomahawk icon,
which has adorned their jerseys for much of the past 65 years. But when the
Braves reportedly made plans to resurrect their “Chief Noc-A-Homa” screaming
Indian logo on their 2013 batting practice caps, the idea was <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/18085/braves-shelve-screaming-indian-logo-cap" target="_blank">quickly shelved</a>
amid public pressure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Could the Indians get away with a logo that features a bow
and arrow? A teepee? A head dress or feathers that don’t adorn a human head? There
isn’t a solution that will satisfy every person with an opinion on the matter,
but a human face is the definite line in the sand. Any logo that renders an
Indian person as a mascot will draw enough fire that the idea probably won’t
get past the drawing board.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are difficult discussions to have. Native American
tribes and nations have their heritage, but Wahoo is a part of our baseball
heritage, and when we are forced to give up a part of that heritage, it doesn’t
seem fair -- especially when there are so many other pressing matters in the
world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But these are necessary discussions. Society has permanently
changed, and any time stereotypes are shattered, it’s a change for the better.
The burden is on us as a community of Cleveland baseball fans to have a
long and frank discussion about the future of the Tribe’s image. The longer we
put it off, the harder we’re going to make it on ourselves. Because it’s only a
matter of time before Wahoo rides off into the sunset. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The debate is no longer about whether the logo is racist. It
is to what degree the Indians need to alter their image to remain marketable
amid current societal norms. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Either the Indians brass is going to take the initiative and
update their image on the club’s own terms, or it’s going to be a sloppy,
embarrassing procedure that involves lots of unwanted attention and pressure
from bigwigs in Washington and the Office of the Commissioner. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it’s going to happen, one way or another. It’s
inevitable.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-65772830104711922602013-09-25T17:15:00.003-04:002013-09-25T17:15:30.570-04:00The gravity of the situation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_5VemDysOjFUqv11zJfNnc2V3e6TblyyHnSr6TaEpRgsI38Wh7UUyZkhjmrfk0j3D4XVwhS0JFIdkKT-4UxTdhtTmIc2GunGGCDoDc3k8W5FpaPp-_E_2S-mTqe_jBEYJXXrYA/s1600/001_Giambi_arms_up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_5VemDysOjFUqv11zJfNnc2V3e6TblyyHnSr6TaEpRgsI38Wh7UUyZkhjmrfk0j3D4XVwhS0JFIdkKT-4UxTdhtTmIc2GunGGCDoDc3k8W5FpaPp-_E_2S-mTqe_jBEYJXXrYA/s320/001_Giambi_arms_up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every playoff race has its moments. Tuesday night, the
Indians had their moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jason Giambi’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth
inning might have been the single most important hit for the Indians as a
franchise since Tony Fernandez lofted an extra-inning solo shot over the right
field wall at Camden Yards in Game 6 of the 1997 ALCS, providing the Tribe with
the run that sent them to the World Series.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, it was that important.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sure, there have been other memorable hits in memorable
games since 1997. In 2001, Omar Vizquel lined a three-run triple into the
right-field corner, driving in the tying runs during the Indians’ epic 12-run
rally against Seattle. In September 2007, Casey Blake all but sealed the division
title with an 11<sup>th</sup>-inning blast against Detroit. In the 2007
playoffs against the Yankees, Travis Hafner wrote the final verse of what has
become known as the “Bug Game” with an extra-inning RBI single.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But none of those hits carried the gravity that came with
the situation Giambi faced when he stepped into the batter’s box with a 4-3
deficit to the last-place White Sox, two outs, Michael Brantley on second and
the smog wrought by a Chris Perez blown save still thick in the air.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a fork in the season road. The Indians were wedged in
between Tampa and Texas in the wild card standings, one game’s worth of room on
either side. Hundreds of miles away, those teams were winning their games. And
the number of games left on the schedule was slipping away like fall’s evening
daylight. The Indians had five more games after Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A stumble, a slip-up, a several-day swoon, and the season
could be over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everything about the 15 minutes leading up to Giambi’s
at-bat had been migraine-inducing. Perez had coughed up two home runs in the
top of the ninth, the first blowing the save, the second giving Chicago the
lead. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The single that put Brantley on base was sandwiched between
swinging strikeouts by Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles. On Aviles’ second strike, he
swung wildly – as he often does -- then grimaced and shook his head, as if to
say “Why did I swing at that?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That was the story of the ninth inning to that point. The
Indians were watching opportunity slip through their fingers. They were
complicit in their own demise, but there was nothing they could do about it.
It’s as if they had been taken over by some self-destructive compulsion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Giambi strikes out, if he lofts a lazy fly to the
outfield, if he beats one into the ground to second, everyone – including the
players in the clubhouse – goes home remembering the Perez flameout and the
swinging hack-fest in the bottom of the ninth. The players leave the ballpark
with their heads low and come to the park Wednesday with perhaps more tension
than they would have otherwise. More pressure to right the ship, to make the
perfect pitch, to get the hit, drive in the run.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Baseball is a sport that gives you a lot of time to think.
And sometimes thinking can be your worst enemy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Giambi makes the final out, Tampa is two games up for the
first wild card position. The Indians are tied with Texas and potentially a
one-day swing from finding themselves back in the chase pack and no longer
steering their destiny – not a good place to be with nary more than a weekend
to play.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Giambi was the fulcrum upon which all 156 previous games
teetered as he stepped into the batter’s box Wednesday night against Chicago
closer Addison Reed. He waved at the first pitch, which caused our throats to
tighten just a bit more. He took the second pitch, a ball. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Reed left a slider high and dry on the third pitch,
Giambi heaved his still-beefy 42-year-old shoulders into motion,
lumberjack-chopping the night air and making solid, square contact. When the
ball left his bat, it was instantly apparent he had sent it on a season-saving
flight to the visitor’s bullpen beyond the right field wall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And for a few moments, 21,000 in attendance on a cool late
September night sounded like the crowds of 42,000 from years past.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe Giambi didn’t put the Indians in the playoffs with his
heroics, but he very well could have kept the window from slamming shut under
the crushing weight of tension, pressure and lament.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the celebration had died down, Giambi told reporters
that he made Perez give him a hug. It was a pick-me-up for an embattled
teammate who, largely due to his own actions, is finding it increasingly
difficult to pitch well in front of the home fans. But it was symbolic of
everything that was made right by Giambi’s home run.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The season could have started to spiral out of control on
Tuesday. Perez could have all but punched his ticket out of town. We, as a city
and fan base, could have taken a turn down the familiar path of blame and
bitter resentment. It could have all been yet another dark, depressing chapter
in Cleveland sports.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it wasn’t. It was all salvaged, rebuilt and buffed to a
mirror-shine by Jason Giambi and his timeliest of timely hits.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-28667460516022297542013-09-19T12:26:00.001-04:002013-09-19T12:27:01.004-04:00A carousel of insanity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-AbVMTdRrwFbUp2Gcp3HAyXEHP3eGxS9UmHfug1jQKn07jFZw6AklA5BwURC79sBxB6L8m-x6NeLKsEQeakRDXp94V4b1YnbAtiC52hmZ1mXSsHrU-5jii5sDnACWkdS6H1UKHA/s1600/001_haslam_banner_lombardi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-AbVMTdRrwFbUp2Gcp3HAyXEHP3eGxS9UmHfug1jQKn07jFZw6AklA5BwURC79sBxB6L8m-x6NeLKsEQeakRDXp94V4b1YnbAtiC52hmZ1mXSsHrU-5jii5sDnACWkdS6H1UKHA/s320/001_haslam_banner_lombardi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’re a Browns fan. You hate owner Jimmy Haslam, the slimy,
crooked huckster who is trying to stave off a federal indictment by playing
dumb about his company’s rebate fraud scandal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You hate CEO Joe Banner, the squinty-eyed, lock-jawed little
Napoleon who got run out of Philly and views the Browns gig as one big ego
trip. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You hate GM Mike Lombardi, the sniveling, shadow-lurking
weasel who has a vastly overinflated opinion of himself as a talent evaluator. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You hate them all. And if you have any interest in giving
the Browns a fighting chance to chip away at one of the most firmly-entrenched
losing cultures in professional sports, you’d better hope that you get to hate
them for a long, long time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For 15 years, the Browns have been on a nauseating,
ever-spinning carousel of high-level turnover – really, a carousel of insanity
– and it has to stop.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wednesday’s trade of Trent Richardson to Indianapolis is
symptomatic of everything that has been wrong with the Browns since 1999. You
can agree or disagree with the move itself – for what it’s worth, I’ve seen
enough of Richardson to agree with Jim Brown’s original assessment of “ordinary.” Not bad, but certainly not the
franchise-caliber game-changer you’d expect to get at the third overall pick.
But what makes the trade so troubling is the underlying causes, which stab
right at the heart of why the Browns have been so bad for so long.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 14 seasons since the club’s 1999 relaunch, the Browns
have been led by six distinct leadership regimes. Six different brain trusts,
with six different leadership philosophies, in 14 years. Carmen Policy and
Dwight Clark from 1999 to 2001, Butch Davis from 2001 to ’05, Phil Savage and
Romeo Crennel from ’05 to ’08, Eric Mangini in ’09 (the only year he was in
charge of the entire front office), Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert from 2010 to
’12, and Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi for the past year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The math whizzes can quickly figure out that 14 divided by
six is 2.33. That’s right. The average tenure for a Browns leadership regime
since 1999 is two years and four months. If you don’t include the just-launched
Banner-Lombardi regime, the average balloons to a rocksteady two years and 10
months.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a suicidal level of turnover. In any other industry,
the Browns would have gone out of business quite a while ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s because when new leaders come in, they’re brought in
because the old leaders, at least in the sample size they were given, didn’t
perform at a high enough level. No brain trust comes into a situation like the
Browns present thinking that the old regime did anything resembling a good job.
Is it realistic to ask that of them?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
New leaders will always arrive with their own ideas and
philosophies, which are usually starkly different from what came before. That’s
why they were hired. They think differently. They’re supposed to be a breath of
fresh air. They’re supposed to strip away what hasn’t worked and replace it
with a system, and talent, that does work. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those factors are compounded in the ego-driven world of
professional sports. No roster architect worth his seven-figure salary wants to
win with the last guy’s players. Then, then previous guy gets all the credit as
the “real” brains behind the success. In the world that Banner and Lombardi
occupy, that doesn’t compute.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To peek inside their heads, Banner and Lombardi – and every
president/GM who has come before them – haven’t come to Cleveland to win games.
They’ve come to Cleveland to realize a vision. The wins will come as a byproduct
of that vision being realized. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It likely makes you want to put your shoe through the screen
to read that, but – welcome to the world of big business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is why it is painfully essential that Haslam not follow
in the footsteps of former owner Randy Lerner, caving to fan and media pressure
for change as the losses mount. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter what you think about Haslam, Banner or Lombardi,
they need to stay here for the balance of a decade, or longer. They have to be
given the space and time to see their vision through to fruition. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The majority of fans and media, and apparently Lerner,
seemed to operate under the pretense that it’s better to cut bait with a
leadership team that isn’t producing immediate wins than to continue on a
treadmill to nowhere for years on end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But all that does is produce an ongoing stream of executives
making short-term moves to save their jobs, with no attention paid to the
overarching problems that continually plague the franchise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the losing seasons continue to mount and the region-wide
frustration with the Browns reaches a boiling point, the pressure to win now
grows ever more urgent, leading to a snowball effect. If the latest brain trust
can’t reverse the losing in Year One, we want them gone. Because it’s been long
enough, and we, as a fan base, are simply fed up to the back teeth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again, this is the problem with perpetual reboots. Every few
years, the Browns bring in new leaders who want to start from square one. They
can only be held accountable for what happens on their watch. But beyond the
gates to the Berea complex is an entire region enduring the sum total of 14
years of losing with no end in sight. We end up with the divergent goals of a
leadership regime that wants to craft an organization in its own image, from the
ground up, and a fan base that is beyond desperate for someone to end the
losing as soon as possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is bigger than the latest 4-12 season. This is bigger
than an 11-game losing streak to the Ravens or going two-and-a-bazillion
against the Steelers over the past decade. Turnover is the fatal, systemic flaw
that is leading to all the other problems that are destroying this franchise,
eroding the fan base and suffocating what was once one of the great football
towns in America.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do Banner and Lombardi have the answers? Do they comprise
the brain trust that can finally turn the Browns around? Only time will tell.
But that’s exactly it – time. More time than any previous regime since 1999 has
received.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You might hate Haslam. You might detest Banner and loathe
Lombardi. And maybe they aren’t the perfect football brain trust. They do come
with a very prominent set of questions attached. But these are the guys who
found the seats when the song stopped in this latest game of musical chairs. And
we have to move forward with them for a good, long while – even if the wins don’t
come this year, or next, or the year after.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The phrase “stability for stability’s sake” carries a negative
connotation when it comes to the Browns and their various leadership regimes.
But without stability and consistency, you have what the Browns have become.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Browns very much need stability – and for stability’s
sake.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-6040539282938641612013-09-13T17:00:00.003-04:002013-09-13T17:01:11.543-04:00It's still worth it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq5Dh2mQm5MLef4JbFJqfi0Hy849kmC7BlETF9kpx8PV10Ec8IuJSfFI4jYqPnjE3poLlAn3hl6bgw71YQFweXizFSRW6Ut0Q8Smbi7mFWMfTTW0GxsT6l7VLYuc2vNpbmkAucQ/s1600/001_Bourn_Kipnis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq5Dh2mQm5MLef4JbFJqfi0Hy849kmC7BlETF9kpx8PV10Ec8IuJSfFI4jYqPnjE3poLlAn3hl6bgw71YQFweXizFSRW6Ut0Q8Smbi7mFWMfTTW0GxsT6l7VLYuc2vNpbmkAucQ/s320/001_Bourn_Kipnis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is Cleveland a bad baseball town?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently, we don’t like what we see in the mirror at the
moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heading into play Friday, the Indians were 78-68, 1.5 games
out of the second wild card spot, 3.5 games out of the wild card lead, and in a
deep but still-scalable six-game hole in the division.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They’re in the midst of a series in Chicago against the
last-place White Sox. The remainder of the season includes three games against
the third-place Royals, a four-game home series against the last-place Astros,
two more games against the White Sox and four games to close out the season
against fourth-place Minnesota.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is exactly what we wanted in March, right? September finally
matters for the Indians, and it’s one of the softest September schedules the
team has ever faced.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We should be oozing confidence as a fan base. We should
believe that the Indians not only could make the playoffs, they <i>should</i> make the playoffs. They should be
able to tear through the remainder of the schedule at an .800 clip and, at the
very least, end up on the doorstep of the top wild card spot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But we don’t believe that. We’ve voted with our attendance
at Progressive Field, where four-figure and low five-figure weeknight crowds
are still the reality of the situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first playoff-contending season in six years, and the
Indians might as well be 20 games out to look at Progressive Field on most game
nights. Much like the team stock that former owner Dick Jacobs issued in the
latter part of the 1990s, people just aren’t buying it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not the economy. Not when the perennially-inept Browns
also make a perennial killing at the season-ticket sales window. Not when
nearly every decent restaurant in town has a 45-minute wait on a Saturday
night. People still buy what they want to buy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not endemic hard feelings toward owner Larry Dolan.
Maybe the fans really are cooler toward Dolan than they ever were toward
Jacobs. It’s tough to follow an act like what the Indians put on the field from
1994 to 2001. But fans aren’t staying away in droves to spite Dolan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The biggest culprits in the short-circuiting of the Tribe’s
attendance are the numbers 6 and 27.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That would be the Indians’ combined record against the
Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees. The three highest-profile teams on the schedule,
and the Indians completely wet the bed against all of them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other words, this team might make the playoffs, but
nobody believes they have chances of making much noise once they get there. In
a city that hasn’t seen a championship trophy in 49 years, the prospect of
making the playoffs just isn’t enough to excite the fan base, because all it
means is more heartbreak and embarrassment if they do get there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In baseball, the small-market war cry is “Just make the
playoffs, and anything can happen.” That’s true, but when you are all but
assured of seeing at least one of the teams that combined to beat you 27 out of
33 games this year, the dreams turn to nightmares in a hurry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the Indians were in or near first place, if they had
battled the Tigers to a draw this year, if they had the look of a 95-win team
that could do some damage in October, chances are the hometown stands wouldn’t
be a field of green silence. But that didn’t happen. We have the situation we
have. Far from hopeless, but with enough negative warning signs to scare off
the region’s emotionally-battered fans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So is it worth it for this team to even make the playoffs,
with the odds so heavily stacked against them once they’re there?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It depends on your definition of “worth it.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you just want the ring, you’re fully within your right to
feel that way. Forty-nine years – with three teams for most of those years --
is a long enough drought for any city. Nobody in this space is going to tell
you to just be happy with making the playoffs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then you really take a look and see how bad it can get.
And in baseball, the postseason droughts
can reach legendary status.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Indians themselves went 41 years without a playoff game.
The Pirates are working on ending a 20-year drought that included no winning
seasons from 1993 until this year. The Royals haven’t made the playoffs since
winning the World Series in 1985. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Orioles broke a 15-year playoff drought last year, and
the Nationals broke a drought that dated to 1981, when they were the Expos.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bear in mind, we’re just talking playoffs. No mention of the
Cubs’ 105-year World Series title drought, the Red Sox’s 86-year “Curse of the
Bambino,” the White Sox’s 88-year drought that ended in 2005 or the Tribe’s
drought, at 65 years and counting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
World Series title droughts have their own poetic verse.
They almost always involve episodes of failure and foreboding under the bright
lights. They become so well-known, they get reduced to names and phrases: Bill
Buckner. Steve Bartman. The Black Sox. The black cat at Shea. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Curiously, in a town that loves to attach “the” to every
sports misadventure, the Indians’ meltdown in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series
never really received a widely-accepted nickname. Even the main antagonist of
that fateful ninth inning, Jose Mesa, has become little more than a minor
sports villain in local lore. It would take 100 Jose Mesas to equal the rage
inspired by one Art Modell or LeBron James.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The lack of resentment toward Mesa is a curious anomaly –
good for Mesa, and probably good for our collective blood pressure, but still
curious -- because he scraped closer to a World Series title than Modell ever
did to a Super Bowl title or LeBron to an NBA title during their time in
Cleveland. If you’re going to get mad at someone, it’s probably going to be the
likes of Mesa. Those are the rules of the game when a world championship is at
stake.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But playoff droughts? Failing to even make the postseason
for years and decades? Those are just pathetic. Playoff droughts don’t make villains
or tragic characters. They simply produce an endless, numbing parade of
forgettable players and forgettable teams.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Indians have been playing baseball in this town for 112
years. They have made the playoffs in 10 of those seasons. That means roughly
92 percent of the time, an Indians season has ended on the last day of the
regular season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regardless of how much of a buzz they’re able to create
around the region, regardless of their record against other contenders,
regardless of whether they make the playoffs with room to spare or squeak in on
the last day of the season, it’s better for the 2013 Indians to become the 11<sup>th</sup>
Tribe team to make the playoffs than the 103<sup>rd</sup> Tribe team to miss
the playoffs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There have been enough dark Octobers in our past. There will
be more dark Octobers in the future. This year – even if it’s for a moment – we
can have October baseball again. Maybe it won’t possess the electricity of
1995. Maybe it won’t possess the magic of 1997. Maybe it won’t become a
surprise ALCS gift dropped in our laps like 2007. But it beats the
all-too-familiar alternative.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-72011867098962950342013-08-15T17:17:00.002-04:002013-08-15T17:28:35.732-04:00Et tu, Kyrie?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLhyphenhyphenvU8u0S2zQaHL9PIny6s24VtNP-9LIkfygzqoAJ0iX2H-joJeWS69O5jEzEo1g7tRos67aXo_tF-BAANTPKv6FzfPmAQ4CpfxJgzz4IM3KuvQ2phhH1tRZo73ukZ_xF4xcxQ/s1600/001_kyrie_arms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLhyphenhyphenvU8u0S2zQaHL9PIny6s24VtNP-9LIkfygzqoAJ0iX2H-joJeWS69O5jEzEo1g7tRos67aXo_tF-BAANTPKv6FzfPmAQ4CpfxJgzz4IM3KuvQ2phhH1tRZo73ukZ_xF4xcxQ/s320/001_kyrie_arms.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where have we heard this before?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavaliers’ franchise player is cornered on the subject
of his future by a press corps eager to stoke the flames of intrigue by
further-moistening the already-sweaty palms of a fan base that knows “fate” as
the filthiest of four-letter words.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The player does nothing to allay the anxiety of the fans. He
plays it coy, sidestepping the question with ambiguous generalities, such as: “I’m only
focused on right now. I’ll worry about the future when it gets here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LeBron James tap-danced like that for seven years as a Cav.
He now plays for the Miami Heat. Kyrie Irving tried on his tap shoes this past
Saturday when reporters questioned him on his future plans at a basketball camp
he was conducting in Independence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Irving can sign a max extension next summer – five years and
about $80 million – and the Cavs will almost certainly offer it to him. The
only reason “almost” is even worth discussing is due to any unforeseen
catastrophic injuries that could threaten his career, life-altering criminal
charges or an irreconcilable falling-out with Cavs management. The statistical
equivalent of being flattened by the remnants of a satellite falling to Earth,
but you at least have to put it on the table.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other words, he’s getting the offer. Now, whether he’ll
accept that offer? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Right now I’m a Cavalier,” he told the assembled reporters.
“This is where I am. All that future stuff, I’m not really worried about. I’m
living in the moment right now and I’m just trying to get better with the
teammates I have now and make the playoffs for Cleveland. That’s the only thing
I can do right now is give it my all as it stands right now and that future
stuff, I’m not really worried about it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you read it, the Cleveland parts of your mind start to
squirm. You see all the negative space around the words – everything that
wasn’t said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Has he been taking advice from LeBron? Is he planning to
hook up with LeBron? Is he planning to hook up with LeBron in a place other
than Cleveland? Is Kyrie going to be another burgeoning superstar who ditches
Cleveland right as he’s rounding into championship form?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nobody can give you a cure for that bellyache. If Irving
wants out of Cleveland at some point, he’s going to get out, one way or
another. That’s how the game is played. When it comes to stars and superstars
in the NBA, they get what they want. GMs can be strong-armed, coaches can be
fired, rules can be manipulated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star power is the fuel that drives the NBA. The owners don’t
run the league. Their best players do.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, despite all of that, and despite the fact that New
York-based radio gabber Brandon Tierney tweeted a few weeks ago that Irving is
not long for Cleveland (which, to be fair, was rebuked by Irving himself),
there are some concrete reasons to not panic just yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First of all, the Cavs hold Irving’s rights for three more
years. That’s important not just due to the competitive window that Irving
could allow, it’s also because it gives the Cavs a breathable window to make
any decision that might be necessary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Irving were to turn down or table an extension offer next
summer, or try to negotiate an early opt-out that would drastically shorten his
commitment to the Cavs, the Cavs would have from the summer of 2014 to, at
least in theory, the trade deadline in February 2016 to decide what to do. If
they decided to trade him, they’d have ample time to shop around and find the
best deal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, that approach could backfire if Irving keeps suffering
nagging injuries, or is felled by the aforementioned career-threatening injury,
but nowhere does it say that the only guarantees in life are death, taxes and
NBA players staying healthy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that’s if he were to turn down an extension next summer.
While Cleveland sports has a well-documented history of setting negative
precedents, it is unheard of to this point for an NBA player to decline an
extension coming off his rookie deal. The whole reason the media questioned
Kyrie about his future is because the Wizards’ John Wall – one of Irving’s contemporaries
in rising crop of young NBA point guards -- recently inked a five-year
extension. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even LeBron extended with the Cavs once, in 2006. When a
player is only three years into his career, he still has to wade through so
many checkpoints to get to unrestricted free agency – his base contract, teams
options, qualifying offers – that it’s easier to take the money sitting right
in front of him, even if the team isn’t positioned to make a Finals run at the
moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is possible for Irving to be planning an exit strategy
from Cleveland as we speak. It is possible that he’s eyeing star-laden rosters
and warmer climates, dreaming of rings and bling on South Beach, or Hollywood
Boulevard. It’s also possible that Irving is quite happy in Cleveland – right
now – and has no overt intention of leaving unless circumstances force his
hand. To that end, there is a lot of pressure on Dion Waiters, Tristan
Thompson, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Bynum to become the supporting cast LeBron
never had here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What we do know is seven years of LeBron made us, and the
Cavs, smarter, more streetwise and a heck of a lot more clinical about the NBA,
their superstars and their culture of entitlement. No more talk about family
and loyalty. This is a business. Every party acts in its own best interest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dan Gilbert has said it, and Chris Grant has repeated it, in
so many words: The Cavs are not going to let themselves be held hostage by one
player again. If Irving turns down an extension or tries to negotiate an escape
hatch after two or three years, he’s obviously not committed to the Cavs over
the long haul, and as such, is not a reliable franchise cornerstone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No more waiting around to see if his loyalty increases. No
more letting your best player coast all the way to free agency while you have
your fingers and toes crossed, hoping that he re-signs. That’s a recipe for
disaster. That is the summer of 2010 all over again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Irving balks, Irving gets traded. That’s the bottom line.
And, yes, it sucks. Because all we want in this town are great players that are
motivated to stick it out and try to win us our first title since the height of
Beatlemania. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But that emotional response gets in the way of good
business. It’s better to punt away a good player for draft picks than to lose
him for nothing. And when a Cleveland player turns down an extension, it’s not
because he wants more money. He wants more money from a team in a bigger city.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As soon as they discover an ocean of oil under Cleveland and
we can start building zillion-dollar skyscrapers like a Great Lakes version of
Dubai, that will change. Until then, we have our reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, this is all pre-emptive. There is a season of
basketball to be played between now and next summer, and for the first time in
three-plus years, the Cavs look like they might be worth watching, even for
casual fans that tuned the team out as soon as LeBron skipped town.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kyrie’s words are actually quite wise: Enjoy now. Let
tomorrow brings what it brings. Most likely, it will bring a five-year contract
extension, negotiated with little drama. But if it doesn’t, the Cavs have a
backup plan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s more than we could have said for them during the last
superstar’s reign.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-38950401226269781752013-08-12T22:53:00.000-04:002013-08-12T22:53:56.754-04:00The mouthpiece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9o9yOo5j3bEZwjbkPl8NPTvJNtJCUYsP5QsUZBzMemKEhlyaAqvfFpU35bfPBwz5a5aNNGVBpB8cr7x6BT15CB7QKLRXlyL6McJMOVgX_ljPhcxK1pkPBjcvMoQLinCzjyiGFg/s1600/001+Kosar+radio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9o9yOo5j3bEZwjbkPl8NPTvJNtJCUYsP5QsUZBzMemKEhlyaAqvfFpU35bfPBwz5a5aNNGVBpB8cr7x6BT15CB7QKLRXlyL6McJMOVgX_ljPhcxK1pkPBjcvMoQLinCzjyiGFg/s320/001+Kosar+radio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the Browns debuted their underwhelming sequel in 1999,
Bernie Kosar has been the team’s most conspicuous extra.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He’s never been given even a supporting role in the
organization, but despite his lack of any official football-governing capacity, he’s been active
and involved. He frequently appears on local radio and TV stations from the
start of training camp through the end of the season, offering his analysis and
opinions. You can find him at the stadium on many a Sunday, chatting with
players, coaches and executives, obliging media requests – doing anything to
stay close to the game he lived and still loves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fans reciprocate Kosar’s devotion to the Browns and
football. Despite never leading the Browns to the Super Bowl, despite the fact
that his career prime lasted all of two years – he was never the same after his
elbow was injured in the 1988 season opener – despite the fact that he is quite
possibly the fourth-most-accomplished quarterback in Browns history behind Otto
Graham, Frank Ryan and Brian Sipe, the fans have elevated Kosar to folk-hero
status.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of it is his local ties, having grown up a Browns fan
in Boardman, Ohio, just outside Youngstown. Part of it is the fact that he
declared for the 1985 supplemental draft specifically so the Browns could
select him. And part of it is grasping at the strands of what little we have
had to cherish about the Browns over the past quarter-century.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other than the Kosar years, it’s been quite ugly, which
makes those gritty Browns teams that were thrice eliminated by Denver on the
Super Bowl’s doorstep look all the more legendary.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s why Browns Nation is so quick to circle the wagons
around Kosar, deflecting criticism and assailing detractors. And now it’s
happening again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kosar has been the primary color commentator on Channel 3’s
preseason telecasts since 2007. Despite the fact that his concussion-induced
slurred speech and his appearance – often appearing something like haggard or
sleep-deprived – drew criticism and jokes, Kosar’s intellect has remained
unquestioned. He is extremely knowledgeable and perceptive about football, and
can break plays down like a coach reviewing game film. You are a better fan for
having listened to Kosar talk football.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there is that other part to Kosar. The part that might
explain why, despite his very obvious football acumen, he has never been given
the opportunity, by any of the revolving-door Browns regimes, to take a more
prominent role in the organization.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s the part that has dealt with post-concussion brain
trauma, an embattled personal and business life, and the effects of alcohol
abuse. It’s that aspect of Kosar that should have people stroking their chins
after his behavior during last Thursday’s Browns-Rams telecast, wondering aloud
if it might be in the best interest of Kosar and the team to keep their
relationship strictly casual moving ahead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In ripping the quality of the Rams receiving corps, he was
stating the obvious. Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt are not walking through the
door in St. Louis. Those salad days went limp and brown a long time ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And maybe Kosar was simply delivering a raw truth when he
knocked the play of Rams third-string QB Kellen Clemens. His first name isn’t
Roger. His last name isn’t Winslow. The only way he’ll get into any hall of
fame is with a purchased ticket. That’s not breaking news.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe he was just trying to be funny when he mocked an
apocryphal story about Clemens autographing the mitre of Pope Benedict XVI,
which was tied to a true story about Clemens' daughter receiving a blessing
from the pope, relayed by Kosar's broadcast partner, Jim Donovan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And maybe Rams coach Jeff Fisher was just being a big
crybaby about all of it during his postgame remarks, when he said he "lost
a lot of respect" for Kosar. Fisher's team did lose, after all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Besides, what's the big deal? So many talking heads mindlessly
gush superlatives and sing high hosannas to athletes, it's refreshing to have
someone in the booth who gives you his blunt, unvarnished opinion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But every facet of that argument sidesteps the fundamental
truth that Kosar was working on behalf of the Browns. One would assume that,
like every other team broadcaster in sports, he was on the payroll, therefore
acting in the capacity of a team employee on a team-sanctioned broadcast.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Kosar made his remarks on the air, he wasn't just
speaking on behalf of Bernie Kosar. He was speaking on behalf of the Browns
organization. That changes the rules a bit, and mandates a bit more respect be
shown the opponent. It's not an afternoon talk show. It's a game telecast.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joe Banner, as is often the case, gets cast as the bad guy
for reprimanding Kosar. But that's Banner's job. If he thinks his organization's
reputation has been sullied, he needs to take steps to make it right. He's the
one who has to meet face-to-face with other team executives at league meetings,
not Kosar.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kosar wasn't removed from his perch. He'll remain the team's
TV color guy for the remainder of the preseason. But after that, Banner will
have another decision to make: Defining Kosar's role with the team moving
forward. And that's a prickly topic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kosar would likely jump at the chance for a role that allows
him real authority within the Browns organization. Plenty of people around
Northeast Ohio think it's a travesty that the Browns have never given him that
chance. But football head knowledge is only part of the equation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kosar has always been an opinionated person. But there is a
time to express an opinion, a time to soften the blow and time to keep your
mouth shut. Navigating that hair-trigger minefield can mean the difference
between focusing your attention on your job, and lost man-hours cleaning up
public relations blunders and attempting to repair your organization's
reputation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's not outside the realm of possibility to question
whether Kosar's personal and professional history, which have not been kind to his
brain, have clouded his judgment to the point where you can't trust him to make
the right call with regard to decorum.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heck, it's hard enough for some people to hold their tongue
when they haven't been subjected to repeated brain trauma. Remember the email
that ultimately cost Phil Savage his job?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Banner has to decide whether he wants Kosar representing the
Browns in any official capacity after the preseason ends. Knowing that Banner
is generally unsentimental and extremely bottom-line driven, Browns fans and Kosar loyalists might not
like what they're going to hear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But perhaps it's for the best. Kosar will still be free to
appear on local TV and radio, talking football while speaking on behalf of
himself, and only himself. The Browns will be able to protect an image that has
already been dragged through the mud way more than necessary over the past
decade-plus, and still isn't out of the woods, as Jimmy Haslam continues to deal
with a large number of justifiably-angry trucking companies down in Tennessee.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you can't say anything nice … save it for afternoon drive time. </div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-78842014280091810762013-08-09T12:48:00.001-04:002013-08-09T12:57:35.499-04:00The comfort zone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-XqWMmYQpaevJ1nvCgXpEJQXdWdKefGYXW8KNeM7ksnE8BkM5xP5pbeN8JL0GQBqUShk5Piiae5L6KDabO9HFCM1qHcNJzKsNrS3xmK0rK4CjIG5JvoxC1uv2zjpT_yCp571yQ/s1600/001+Weeden+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-XqWMmYQpaevJ1nvCgXpEJQXdWdKefGYXW8KNeM7ksnE8BkM5xP5pbeN8JL0GQBqUShk5Piiae5L6KDabO9HFCM1qHcNJzKsNrS3xmK0rK4CjIG5JvoxC1uv2zjpT_yCp571yQ/s320/001+Weeden+closeup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brandon Weeden left a five-year baseball career behind and
returned to football, ostensibly because football is his comfort zone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though Weeden was a second-round pick of the Yankees in the
2002 MLB Draft, his baseball career never took off. In a second round that
included Joey Votto, Jon Lester and Brian McCann, Weeden was one of the
comparative duds, never rising above Class A.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He bounced around several different baseball organizations,
struggling to climb the minor-league ladder, attempting to master pitches other
than a fastball – only to end up as a farmhand in his mid-20s, riding the bus
for the A-ball High Desert Mavericks, then an affiliate of the Royals. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The High Desert Mavericks play their home games in Adelanto,
Calif., located in San Bernardino County, on the edge of the Mojave Desert.
It’s a place where ERAs go to die in the heat and thin air.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weeden racked up more than 2,800 passing yards in a season –
second in the state of Oklahoma – while in high school, so a college football
career was always a reliable second option as he toiled away in the minors. By
the time he quit baseball after the 2006 season, returning to the place where
he had last achieved any real athletic success had to have sounded pretty
appealing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dodging pass rushers and hitting receivers in stride 30
yards downfield? Piece of cake compared to keeping the ball in the yard at a
place that has only slightly more atmospheric pressure than the Moon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Weeden enrolled at Oklahoma State in 2007 and made the
football team as a walk-on. The adjustment wasn’t easy, but he progressed from
redshirt to backup to starter to record-breaking NFL prospect. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He re-wrote the school’s record books as a senior in 2011,
setting single-season records in total passing yards, completed passes and
completion percentage. In the process, he was named a finalist for the Manning
Award – the top quarterback-specific award in college football – and won the
Fiesta Bowl in January 2012.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weeden was most definitely back in his comfort zone. There
were probably more than a few moments when he wondered to himself why he wasted
half a decade playing minor-league baseball.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then the Browns made him the 22<sup>nd</sup> overall pick in
the 2012 NFL Draft. And Weeden, who had gone from no-name baseball farmhand to
the golden-armed big man on Oklahoma State’s campus, was about to get another
serving of humble pie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe in a parallel universe, Weeden ends up in a more
fortunate situation, like Ryan Mallett, another big-armed quarterback who was
drafted by the Patriots, and is now being groomed as a possible successor to
Tom Brady on one of the league’s most successful teams.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Weeden ended up in Cleveland, with an organization that
has turned losing, instability, turnover, and ruining careers into a way of life
over the past 14 years. An organization constantly and desperately searching
for saviors upon which to place the crushing burden of eradicating a losing
culture, restoring the team to prominence, and ultimately winning the city’s
first major pro sports championship in half a century.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brian Sipe couldn’t do it. Bernie Kosar couldn’t do it. Kenny
Lofton, Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez couldn’t do it. LeBron James
didn’t want to do it. And here was Weeden, in the next wave of Marines to storm
the beach.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He wasn’t in Oklahoma anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a 28-going-on-29 rookie, Weeden quickly discovered that
football wasn’t his comfort zone. Winning football was his comfort zone. What
Weeden had here was a mutant product comprised of the remnants of several failed
roster reboots, led by Pat Shurmur, who coached more like a programmed
computer, as opposed to a carbon-based life form who could think, feel, react
and adjust. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weeden rebounded from an abysmal debut against the Eagles to
have a halfway-decent rookie season. He threw for almost 3,400 yards while
completing 57 percent of his passes. He threw 14 touchdowns, but they were
outpaced by his interceptions (17). His QB rating was a
modest-but-not-humiliating 72.6.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And he did it all while playing in an ultra-conservative
offense ultimately aimed at shoehorning him into a Colt McCoy mold. In a setup
designed to benefit undersized, scamper-happy QBs who can dodge, dink and dunk, Weeden was a
bullwhip-armed, stone-footed, ship’s mast of a QB. He was coached to look
underneath first, play the percentages, and take very few risks downfield.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You might as well try to teach a dog to meow. It went
against everything in his DNA, both in a metaphorical football sense, and in a
very real genetic sense. Big guy, big arm, tiny offense. The fact that Weeden
even put up the numbers he did is a minor miracle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We know what happened from that point. The Browns limped to
their fifth straight season of five wins or fewer. New owner Jimmy Haslam
bulldozed the front office and coaching staff. Out went Mike Holmgren, Tom
Heckert and Shurmur, in came Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi and Rob Chudzinski.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chudzinski and new offensive coordinator Norv Turner pledged
to install an offense that will play more to Weeden’s strengths – a vertical
passing attack that embraces the idea of home-run throw and treats the 20-yard
out pattern as a staple instead of a seldom-seen change of pace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the playbook only matters if Weeden can make it happen
on the gridiron. In the NFL, the quarterback is the player who most influences
his team’s level of success. A great QB, or QB who gets hot at the right time,
can lead his team to great things. Joe Flacco proved it this past winter, as
the Ravens won the Super Bowl. An underperforming QB can short-circuit the
best-laid plans of coaches, and undermine rock-solid performances by the line,
backs and receivers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Teams with good QBs put the ball in the end zone. Teams with
bad QBs don’t. It’s really that simple.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s where Weeden is now, as he enters his second year. He
appears to have better tools at his disposal, with a pass-friendly offensive
scheme, an offensive line anchored by Pro Bowlers and better talent at the
receiver position than perhaps at any time since the Browns rebirth. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the pressure is still there. Weeden still has the
expectations of a battered franchise and hopes of a desperate city on his
shoulders. And now, he’s no longer a rookie. The kid gloves are off. It’s time
for Weeden to render a verdict on himself. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weeden came back to football because it was always his first
love. It was always the place where he felt most capable of success. Or that’s
the story. Now we get to really see how comfortable Weeden can be manning
football’s most demanding position while attempting one of the most challenging
tasks the NFL can offer to a player, coach or executive – turning the Cleveland
Browns into a contender.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hopefully he’s not wishing, at some point, that he was back
in Adelanto, watching home runs sail over the fence.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-19293650229621815822013-08-06T16:56:00.001-04:002013-08-06T17:01:29.993-04:00The big letdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPndDNXQZaM-GYAF0eC58IiKeeb04Ib9to2Pb2G7bJk6H5jFbBuBYMiXOW-Z2Msf7-rUbpyDmZkHFzPDgy-eUD6v2Fn6cYaQgTBUuwJ4TOOvTCXympS-aTBvDAFtcFbBWlTVIfg/s1600/001_Perez_Avila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPndDNXQZaM-GYAF0eC58IiKeeb04Ib9to2Pb2G7bJk6H5jFbBuBYMiXOW-Z2Msf7-rUbpyDmZkHFzPDgy-eUD6v2Fn6cYaQgTBUuwJ4TOOvTCXympS-aTBvDAFtcFbBWlTVIfg/s320/001_Perez_Avila.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday night’s Indians-Tigers game was one of those moments
that often lead to other moments. One of those moments that you -- down the
road however far – realize was the finger that flicked the first domino.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s only the first week of August. There is still a lot of
baseball left to be played. The Indians were still only four games out as of
Tuesday morning. They’re in the thick of the wild card chase. They still have
another series left against the Tigers, at the end of the month in Detroit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yet….in those moments of postmortem lucidity, when you
look back at what this season ultimately became, you can’t help but think you
might finger Monday’s game as the point when the division slipped away. The
point when the Indians went from a fight for homefield advantage in the
division series to, at best, the wild card and a first-round date with the Red
Sox, who won six of seven against the Indians this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Indians came into this week absolutely needing no worse
than a split with Detroit. Maintain your three-game deficit, and the division
is still quite winnable. Let Detroit take three of four, and their lead swells
to five games. Let them come into your house and sweep four games from you, and
their seven-game cushion all but signals the end of the division race.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jhonny Peralta’s 50-game doping suspension, Miguel Cabrera’s
bum hip and the good fortune of sidestepping Max Scherzer, Detroit’s
ace-du-jour, in the rotation would seem to work in favor of the Tribe chances
of at least clawing out a split. But the concrete evidence of the season series
to date (a 9-3 Tigers advantage), and the Tribe’s often-combustible bullpen,
can rot wood faster than you can build a raft out of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday’s game was a winnable game. More than that, it was a
game they should have won. It was a game they needed to win. It was an
important confidence-boosting toehold to carve in the midst of the torrential,
scalding lahar the Tigers had poured out upon the Tribe thus far this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the Tigers took three of four from the Tribe in early
July, you could make the case that Detroit had successfully gotten in
Cleveland’s head. The Tigers’ beefy offense is enough to send shivers down the
spine of just about any opponent. But the way the Indians melted like Velveeta
in the microwave in losing eight of their last nine to Detroit would seem to
indicate another level of intimidation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But that was a month ago. Plenty of time for the Indians to
clear their heads and reset themselves for a final push in the last two series
against Detroit. And through eight
innings, it looks like the Indians had smacked the cobwebs out of their skulls.
Corey Kluber looked masterful in holding the Tigers off the scoreboard through
seven-plus. Joe Smith finished off the eighth, and the Indians entered the
ninth inning with a 2-0 lead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On came Chris Perez, the Tribe’s always-volatile, often-polarizing,
never-a-dull-moment closer. Somehow, since returning from a DL stint in late
June, he had managed to convert 11 straight save chances, all the while dealing
with the fallout from drug charges, stemming from the reported undercover
delivery of marijuana to his house in early June.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But toking up was among the least of Perez’s problems Monday
night. The sporadic nature of save chances, combined with a thin setup corps,
had forced Terry Francona to go to Perez perhaps a bit more than he would have
liked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday was Perez’s eighth appearance in 11 days. That
included two sets of back-to-back-to-back games. He was credited with either
the save or win in every game he had appeared in since July 27 against Texas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perez’s command tends to fade in and out from pitch to
pitch, batter to batter. You could call him “effectively wild.” But as soon as
he threw a few pitches to Prince Fielder, Detroit’s leadoff hitter in the
ninth, you could tell that the recent workload had taken a toll.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perez did manage to snap off a crisp slider to Fielder, but
his fastball looked fat and flat, and prone to drifting. Fielder, with one of
the best hitter’s eyes in the game, managed to stay with an outside fastball
and deposited it just inside the foul line in deep left for a leadoff double.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perez always makes your stomach dance to his beat, but there
was something wrong beyond the protracted angst typically wrought by a Perez
save. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One batter in, and you could easily see that didn’t have it
tonight, and he wasn’t going to find it. Not with an exhausted arm, against
this heavy Motown artillery. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Victor Martinez followed with a sharp single to left.
Fielder looks and runs like an elephant, but he was able to rumble home with
the run that broke the shutout.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every brain wave you could possibly send in the direction of
the third-base dugout at Progressive Field was imploring Francona:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Get Perez out of
there! Get him out NOW! You can’t squeeze this save out of him! Don’t try! This
game is too important tonight – go against the book and take him out!”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as the old saying goes, managers who listen to fans are
doomed to sit in the stands with them, and Francona would have to be the one to
look Perez in the face and tell him “I can’t trust you to finish this game off
tonight.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perez has 124 career saves and an all-star appearance that
say he <i>can</i> close the game out. What
message does it send to the team if Francona pulls Perez with the save still
intact? What message does it send if he inserts Cody Allen with the save still
intact, and Allen blows it?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are so many ways it could go wrong. But it was going
wrong – horribly wrong – with Perez out there, flailing away at Detroit’s heavy
lumber with his exhausted chicken wing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perez walked Andy Dirks. Still nobody out. Allen was warming
up in the bullpen at a furious pace. But the save was still out if Perez could
wriggle off the hook somehow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Perez didn’t have a deeper reservoir of energy or
resolve to tap. Not on this night. When Alex Avila deposited a three-run homer
in the stands to put the Tigers ahead by the final margin of 4-2, it was a
realization of the inevitable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Monday’s game indeed flicks the domino line that ends the
Tribe’s hopes of a division title, we might look back and realize it was
Francona, in a rare instance of bad judgment, who cost the Indians their shot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Francona likes to pride himself on managing with his head,
not his heart. But perhaps Francona’s heart won out on Monday, and he couldn’t
bring himself to quick-hook his all-star closer when the game was still in
hand. Perhaps he was concerned about wearing the goat horns if he left the game
in Allen’s hands, and Allen failed him. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There really was no sunshine-bathed route for Francona to
take. Every path had thunderclouds. But the darkest path was to let an
exhausted Perez continue to twist in the wind toward the inevitable outcome. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Francona tried to squeeze one inning too many out of Perez,
and he got burned. Hopefully the scorch-marks aren’t still visible in late
September, but as Yogi Berra was once purported to have said, “It gets late
early around here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-59859165036691246412013-07-11T13:01:00.000-04:002013-07-11T14:38:06.322-04:00Meet the new Shaq<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_H235Vr8wFajnW0wSpDOK57iXeajrRvdQ8m1NKQxKTStNvqGGTs0phYG22r3l5GcnbkliagdtyHVov384d1hpHtqH11w_gurYg3hYF6qTjG4BE_bY5Evn-ofD9bMKEpWTLbjmw/s1600/001+Bynum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_H235Vr8wFajnW0wSpDOK57iXeajrRvdQ8m1NKQxKTStNvqGGTs0phYG22r3l5GcnbkliagdtyHVov384d1hpHtqH11w_gurYg3hYF6qTjG4BE_bY5Evn-ofD9bMKEpWTLbjmw/s320/001+Bynum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of June 2009, the Cavs acquired a former Lakers
center. He was, at one time, widely regarded as one of the best – if not the
best – centers in the game. But at the time the Cavs acquired him, those days
were long past. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When he arrived on the Cavs’ doorstep, there were questions
about his durability. Even in a best-case scenario, the Cavs would have to
remain extremely vigilant about capping his minutes, conserving the wear and
tear on his ravaged joints, carefully milking whatever ability remained in his
bones and muscles for maximum effect over the span of 82 games and playoffs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And even if they did all that, he was a near lock to miss
games, weeks, and perhaps months, due to the simple fact that his body was
already permanently damaged.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the price was right, because on a good night, he could
still show flashes of brilliance, still remind you why he won those
championship rings in L.A. And even if he couldn’t do it night to night
anymore, the prospect of him at his best was still tantalizing enough to take
the risk and bring him aboard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there was that little matter of LeBron James. He could
become a free agent the following summer, and the Cavs had to pull out all the
stops to try and show him that Cleveland is a place where he could win
championships and continue to build his legacy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the story of Shaquille O’Neal four years ago. It’s
the story of Andrew Bynum now, after he agreed to a two-year, $24 million contract with the Cavs Wednesday evening. $6 million is guaranteed, and the second year is a team option.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shaq’s caveat was based on age. He
was 37 at the time the Cavs traded for him. Bynum comes to town at the green
age of 25, but with the knees of an 80-year-old. Over the course of his
eight-year career, both knees have been operated on multiple times. He has
suffered ruptured ligaments, bone bruises, cartilage damage and one would
assume significant scarring within both joints. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the fact that Bynum was the starting center on two
Lakers world championship teams in 2009 and ’10, despite the fact that he had
his best statistical season in 2011-12, averaging more than 18 points and 11
rebounds per game, his knees paved his path out of L.A.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With two healthy knees, Bynum is a Laker for life. But last
summer, with Bynum’s contract set to expire within the year, the Lakers decided
they didn’t want to commit franchise-player money to a player with such damaged
knees – a player who has played in barely more than 60 percent of possible
regular season games over the course of his career. So after some complicated
negotiations, they moved Bynum to Philadelphia as part of a four-team trade
that brought Dwight Howard to L.A.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bynum never played a dribble of basketball for the 76ers. He
was diagnosed with bone bruises in both knees before the start of training
camp, further injured his left knee during a now-infamous bowling game over the
winter, and ultimately had arthroscopic surgery on both knees in March, ending
any chance he would have had to suit up for the Sixers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the time Bynum declared for free agency after the season,
the Sixers, and their fans, enthusiastically showed him the door. The Sixers
had given up veteran cornerstone Andre Iguodala and promising young center
Nikola Vucevic to get Bynum. Bynum gave them nothing in return.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bynum’s attitude often further complicates matters. He has a
long history of immature behavior. He swears during live interviews. He’s been
known to jack up random three-pointers during games. He’s dished out a few
violent fouls that can only be described as punk behavior – most notably in the
2011 playoffs, when the Lakers were on the verge of being swept by the eventual
champion Dallas Mavericks. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the Lakers trailing by a few touchdowns late in the
game, Bynum blatantly threw his elbow into the rib cage of then-Dallas guard
J.J. Barea, as Barea was driving to the basket. Barea crumpled to the ground
and Bynum was swiftly ejected, throwing off his jersey as he was escorted to
the locker room.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
None of that is so bad that it’s unforgivable. Bynum
committed a far greater infraction when he put off a knee surgery to attend the
2010 World Cup after the Lakers won their most recent championship. Bynum had
already played through a torn meniscus in his knee for the duration of the
playoffs. The delay in seeking medical treatment after the season (he didn’t
have surgery until the tail end of July) caused him to miss the start of the
following season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Missing games due to knee injuries is one thing. Missing
them due to irresponsibility is another.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the package that is Andrew Bynum. He’s immensely
talented, and he’s accomplished a lot in his career thus far, but between knees
that Sixers doctors reportedly referred to as “degenerative” and a history of
sideshow-acting, most of the league views him as more trouble than he’s worth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So why did the Cavs want this guy? Are the Cavs that
desperate? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Desperate? No. Scavengers? Yes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seven-foot, 290-pound, 25-year-old centers with an all-star
appearance and two NBA titles on their resume don’t hit the open market all
that often. Seven-foot, 290-pound, 25-year old former all-stars and NBA
champions willing to give the Cleveland Cavaliers the time of day? Virtually
unheard of.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only way a talent like Bynum ends up in a town like
Cleveland of his own free will is if fate throws a monkey wrench into his
career. For the Cavs, Bynum’s knee injuries, his waste of a season in Philly
and his threadbare market value comprised a perfect storm of sorts. Bynum needs
a chance to resuscitate his career. The Cavs were reportedly the only team
willing to give him $6 million guaranteed to give him that chance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do the Cavs get out of it? The opportunity to just
maybe give Kyrie Irving the one thing LeBron never had in seven seasons as a
Cav: A legitimate second all-star for a teammate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if this all works out while the situation in Miami
starts to decline, the Cavs can finagle the numbers enough to extend Kyrie,
pick up the second-year option on Bynum and still have enough space left to
offer LeBron a max deal next summer. That would be the most perfect of perfect
storms: A “big three,” right here on the North Coast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For $6 million and no guaranteed salary past this season,
Bynum is worth the risk for a Cavs team that has to pull out all the stops in
order to try and make the playoffs with room to spare this coming season. If
Bynum can once again achieve the heights of his Lakers career, he is arguably
the best low-post scorer in the game. He has an extremely rare combination of
Brahman-bull strength, upper-body coordination and a feathery shooting touch
that allows him to fight through defenders, spin around them and flick the ball
over them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It should be noted that Bynum’s career-best 2011-12 season
came with Mike Brown at the helm. Bynum and Brown butted heads at the outset of
Brown’s short Lakers tenure, but after Bynum bought into Brown’s
defense-begets-offense philosophy, Bynum was a force. Brown has brought out the
best in Bynum before; the Cavs are counting on him to do it again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But in order for that to happen, Bynum’s knees have to let
it happen. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The knees that drove him out of L.A. and out of Philly are
the knees that made him desperate enough to sign with the one team willing to
give him another chance. This is the fact of life in Cleveland. Unless they’re
drafted, star players come here with warts, or they don’t come here at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Four years ago, the Cavs tried to squeeze one more year out
of an aging Shaq in an effort to win a championship and keep LeBron. It didn’t
work out in the end. But give the Cavs credit: They keep trying, they keep
looking for creative ways to pad their talent, in a market where the means are
limited.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three years to the day after “The Decision,” the Cavs, with
a franchise history much longer on heartbreak than triumph, were willing to
sign Bynum, warts and all, and dream of a pathway, however uncertain, to better
days ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-6148546851187131992013-07-02T16:59:00.003-04:002013-07-02T17:01:22.462-04:00The gatekeeper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnwoqjLOiOKHpotsK475TCCbS8gifE4yKNJCSUuDd5u6WWLLJfzsgJ4xKxBr9WPk4B1HZDy3hgXxij8No_7Tdo0jZilUGjnxd1JwDVouU2ZDAZim_WDbPN3WHbCkGHvp0RkO7Gg/s352/001+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnwoqjLOiOKHpotsK475TCCbS8gifE4yKNJCSUuDd5u6WWLLJfzsgJ4xKxBr9WPk4B1HZDy3hgXxij8No_7Tdo0jZilUGjnxd1JwDVouU2ZDAZim_WDbPN3WHbCkGHvp0RkO7Gg/s320/001+Banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joe Banner. You just don’t like the guy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe it’s his demeanor. He just seems abrasive and blunt
when he appears in front of the media. Maybe it’s his hardball management
style. When he took over as CEO of the Browns, he made it clear from the outset
that the organization would be run his way, with his judgment final, and if you
don’t like it, go suck an egg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe he lost you when he brought former Browns executive
Mike Lombardi back to town, to reign as the top football executive in the
organization. Or maybe it’s because, despite your reservations about Lombardi,
he actually isn’t the top football guy. Banner is, because he reserves veto
power over all decisions, including who gets signed and who gets drafted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe you chalk that up to Banner having a massive Napoleon
complex, eager to bask in the glow of his own organization-building
awesomeness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or maybe you just don’t like the fact that Banner looks like
every school principal who wrote you a detention slip during your formative years.
With his narrowed eyes, perpetual sneer and craggy complexion, he looks kind of
like an angrier, more spiteful version of comedian Lewis Black – without the
comedy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You don’t like Joe Banner. But you might learn to like him,
or at least accept him, in a crisis-alliance sort of way. Because Banner, with
his absolute leadership style, is the one person standing between the Browns
organization and the tempest surrounding Jimmy Haslam and Pilot Flying J.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember the many valleys and sinkholes of the Randy Lerner
years (How could you forget)? Remember how we all wanted a more involved owner?
Someone who would pace the sidelines like Jerry Jones in Dallas? Someone who
wouldn’t be afraid to get his hands dirty running the organization, to shake
things up when complacency set in and the losses piled up?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, you don’t want any part of a more-involved owner. As
Haslam continues in his seemingly-futile effort to furiously scrub the
scandal-stains off his company, you don’t want him and his federal-investigation
circus anywhere near the delicate sapling that is the rebooted Browns
organization.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thus far, Haslam has been able to deny any involvement in
his company’s alleged rebate fraud activities. He has denounced the reported
criminal activities as the actions of a few bad apples in Pilot’s sales
department, who are now ex-employees. But as investigators continue to get
persons of interest to cooperate with the investigation in the name of punitive
leniency, there remains the distinct possibility that the fingers will point
all the way to the top. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Haslam is directly connected to the criminal activity,
either through knowledge or action, and subsequently indicted on federal
charges, you most definitely do not want him anywhere near the Browns. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, if that happens, that might be right about the
time the NFL steps in and seizes control of the Browns, if Haslam hasn’t sold the
team beforehand. But that’s another discussion topic.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haslam is too much of a lightning rod to make more than the
occasional on-field cameo appearance. He does not belong in front of the
microphones in the capacity of Browns owner right now. If Haslam can emerge
from the scandal unindicted, not in prison and with his company intact, that
might be the time for him to resume rebuilding his profile as Browns owner. And
those are a lot of very iffy “ifs.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For now, Cleveland being the bizarro-sports town it is, we
want Haslam to act the part of Randy Lerner, the most shriveled of shrinking
violets. We don’t want there to be a reason for him to expand his involvement
in the Browns organization at the moment. We want him, and his scandal, to stay
firmly planted in Tennessee.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Banner, for all the reasons you’d cast him as a villain in
any movie, is the guy who can keep Haslam away. You might not like his steel
grip on the organizational throttle, his need to be in control at all times or
his brusque demeanor. But those qualities are also useful for maintaining order
and enforcing standards, both of which are critical to building a well-run
organization, and subsequently a team that can take the field and win.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Banner keeps the organization organized, clearly defines
roles, demands excellence and either shapes up or ships out those who aren’t
performing up to snuff, Haslam doesn’t need to set foot in the Browns complex
in Berea, save for the occasional status check-ins. And that’s a best-case
scenario right now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like it or not, Banner is rapidly becoming a very pivotal
figure in Berea. Haslam owns the legal property that is the Cleveland Browns,
but this is Banner’s organization, Banner’s team. And Banner has to own it,
grow it and protect it. Unfortunately, that means protecting it from the owner
himself at the moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After an acrimonious departure from the Eagles organization,
which included a falling out with Eagles owner and one-time best buddy Jeff
Lurie, Banner came to Cleveland to prove he could build a winning football
organization himself. Of course, every new figurehead who has walked through
the doors in Berea over the past 14 years has wanted to prove that. But for
Banner, the stakes are now higher than what he signed on for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There really doesn’t seem to be an in-between for Banner
anymore. He’s either going to go down in history as a failure, another
chewed-up, spat-out victim of the Cleveland curse, or as one of the great
executives the Browns have ever had.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Either he’s going to successfully protect the Browns from
the trials and tribulations of an embattled owner, while building the type of
organization the Browns haven’t had since the late 1980s, or he’s not, in which
case the Browns could very well end up as collateral damage in the instability
wrought by the Pilot scandal, and Banner’s tenure will go into the history
books as another Browns disaster.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You might not like Joe Banner, but you’re relying on him
now. He has the future of your football team in his hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-13633104160010043252013-06-28T11:57:00.001-04:002013-06-28T12:10:42.303-04:00The road to Anthony Bennett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmRKSv5kjF3C37aAARa70rp3NYsp_SgVPUIgY5_9yqEHXUs-1Qib-W8dR8cmOJdFwbkia8RqZT4azTWy6Y_xUFRT6lb2KmFkPAd9YGDLPHaVdBGVLrBusvs3A_bIlHbDm01mExQ/s320/001+Anthony+Bennett.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmRKSv5kjF3C37aAARa70rp3NYsp_SgVPUIgY5_9yqEHXUs-1Qib-W8dR8cmOJdFwbkia8RqZT4azTWy6Y_xUFRT6lb2KmFkPAd9YGDLPHaVdBGVLrBusvs3A_bIlHbDm01mExQ/s320/001+Anthony+Bennett.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What have we learned about Cavs GM Chris Grant on draft
night? He might take a guard, he might take a forward, he might take a center.
But he will never, under any circumstances, be predictable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In <a href="http://www.theclevelandfan.com/cleveland-cavaliers/4-cavs-archive/9702-the-guessing-game" target="_blank">this article</a>, penned a year ago, I took note of the fantasy-sports
culture that has grown up around draft prognostication. In the weeks leading up
to the NFL and NBA drafts, fans absorb mock drafts, scouting reports,
soundbites and tweets to the saturation point. By the time the draft rolls
around, the advance intelligence has delivered us a consensus-designated group
of prospects that so-called “experts” have rubber-stamped as appropriate
selections if your team should hold a top pick.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your team reaches outside of that sphere to make their
selection, doubting Thomases flood message boards, Twitter feeds and call-in
shows with a collective reaction that is anywhere between sweaty palms and
outright anger. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2011, three picks after taking Kyrie Irving first
overall, Grant passed on Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas to take raw Texas
power forward Tristan Thompson. Last year, Grant left North Carolina’s Harrison
Barnes, Connecticut’s Andre Drummond and Kansas’ Thomas Robinson on the board
to take Syracuse combo guard Dion Waiters, who didn’t even start for Jim
Boeheim in his sophomore season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The picks were largely panned at the time. In both cases,
our fears have calmed to an extent, as Thompson showed marked improvement from
Year 1 to Year 2, and Waiters finished among the rookie leaders in scoring this
past season. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Which brings us to Thursday night, and what is supposed to
be the last high draft pick the Cavs will have – or need – for a long time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the second time in three years, the Cavs owned the top
pick. The trouble is, the top of the draft was so murky, even the people who
analyze the draft for a living had a hard time figuring out who should be in
the conversation for No. 1. Rumors persisted that the Cavs would try to trade
out of the spot, rather than use the pick.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the Cavs did keep the pick, the threads of available
intel seemed to indicate that the players in the conversation for No. 1 fell
into two classifications. If the Cavs wanted to go big, they could select
Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel or Maryland’s Alex Len. If they wanted to go for a wing
player, the best candidates were Kansas’ Ben McLemore or Georgetown’s Otto
Porter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most fans and media types seemed to agree, based on a
collective hunch more than anything, that big was the way to go. Noel is
recovering from surgery to repair an ACL torn in February, Len is recovering
from a stress fracture in his ankle, but in this dartboard of a draft, you’re
probably best-served slinging your darts at the guys with size.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So at about 7:30 on Thursday night, we settled in and waited
for the pick. Noel or Len? Len or Noel? If Grant threw us a curveball, it would
likely come in the form of Porter or McLemore. But few among us were thinking
any farther outside the box than that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then David Stern stepped to the podium. This was his final
draft as NBA commissioner, so he was having some fun with the selections.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“With the first pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Cleveland
Cavaliers select….”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Dramatic pause. Sly glance toward the crowd, just to get
the notoriously-cantankerous New Yorkers at the Barclays Center grumbling.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“….Anthony Bennett, from UNLV!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, with that, the legend of Chris Grant, riverboat
gambler, grew.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Cleveland, whether we realize it or not, we’re getting
used to this. There is a gut-check moment, a furrow of the brow. You meditate for
a second. Then you come to a conclusion. Some are cool with it. Some hate it.
Some reserve judgment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bennett has been compared to former UNLV standout Larry
Johnson. The man they called “Grandmama” carved out a pretty productive career
for himself after the Charlotte Hornets made him the first overall selection in
1991. He played a decade in the NBA with the Hornets and Knicks, scoring over
11,000 career points and grabbing over 5,000 career rebounds, before back
problems forced a premature retirement in 2001.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like Johnson, Bennett is billed as an undersized power
forward. He’s 6’-7” and listed at 240 pounds. Like Johnson, Bennett is a
scorer. In 27.1 minutes per game in his lone (freshman) season at UNLV, he
average 16.1 points per game, shot 53 percent from the floor, and with a 37.5
percent conversion rate from beyond the arc, he is a true “stretch four.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bennett does come with some areas of concern, apart from his
stature. After having postseason shoulder surgery, he’s reported to have put on
about 20 pounds. He’s not known as an adept defender, and his low-post game
needs work. Considering the fact that he’s going to be playing against
seven-footers in the NBA post, he’s going to have to get creative about finding
his shot near the basket, which means his post game might need a <i>lot </i>of work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then there’s the question of redundancy. Why draft an
undersized power forward when you have already put two years of time and
resources into developing Thompson? Thompson and Bennett are very similar, in
terms of physical dimensions. Or does the arrival of Bennett in Cleveland
signal the arrival of Thompson on the trading block?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, in the end, why Bennett? This might have been what Grant
was thinking:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Cavs need more scoring
around Kyrie Irving<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More than anything, the Cavs need to avoid a LeBron James
redux. In his seven years in Cleveland, LeBron became increasingly fed up with
the constant need for him to shoulder the brunt of the scoring burden, night in
and night out. Mo Williams became a legitimate second option during LeBron’s
final two years here, but he disappeared in the later rounds of the playoffs,
and the offense regressed to all LBJ, all the time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s the main reason he left to hook up with Dwyane Wade and
Chris Bosh. And if you let the same dynamic develop around Kyrie, it’s only a
matter of time before Kyrie is planning his exit strategy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavs need more go-to scorers around Kyrie. More
teammates who can shoulder the scoring load on a given night. Waiters has shown
some potential to develop into that kind of load-bearing scorer, but the Cavs
need more. Bennett appears to have the tools to become that kind of scorer, as
does Russian sharpshooter Sergey Karasev, selected by the Cavs at No. 19.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The more scoring options available, the better the
foundation of the team, and – at least in theory – the more secure Kyrie will
feel in building his career here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Defense is team,
offense is individual<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, why would a team that just re-hired their LeBron-era
defensive stickler of a coach draft a player who has a poor defensive
reputation? Wouldn’t a rim defender like Noel, or a human wall like Len, be a
better selection for a Mike Brown team?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer is, Brown’s defense doesn’t rely solely on
individual defensive acumen. Just like the Spurs teams of his mentor Gregg
Popovich, Brown’s defense relies on levers and pulleys, blocking and tackling.
On the defensive end, the players are coached to operate as a five-man machine
– trapping along the sideline and baseline, rotating from the weak side to
double-team, flashing to the perimeter to bother a guard before recovering to
the post to contest a shot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Defense is primarily based on effort and technique. A great
offensive player can be taught to play defense. Offense is primarily based on
talent. A great defensive player can’t necessarily be taught to become a great
scorer. In fact, many great defensive players focus on defense because they
can’t score. Defense is the only way they stay in the rotation. Ben Wallace,
who won four Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Pistons before his
cups of coffee with the Bulls and Cavs, is a prime example.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what is the better route? Teaching Bennett to defend, or
teaching Noel to put the ball in the hoop? If you believe in Brown’s
philosophy, it’s the former. And if Bennett resists playing defense, you can
bet Brown will staple him to the pine until he rethinks his priorities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thompson and Bennett
aren’t all that redundant<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If anything, putting a scorer at the four frees Thompson to
focus on rebounding and defense in the paint, effectively becoming a center. With
Bennett in the fold, Thompson no longer has to morph into a 17 PPG/10 RPG
all-around force. If focusing on defense and rebounding means he can become a
hard-nosed interior defender who can grab 11-12 rebounds per game while his
offense consists mainly of dunks and stickbacks, there isn’t any pressure for
him to become more than that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, the goal is to develop a roster and playbooks
that takes advantage of everyone’s strengths, while neutralizing individual
weaknesses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But having said that, I still think there’s a significant
chance the selection of Bennett increases the possibility that Thompson will be
involved in a major trade later this summer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Bennett’s advanced
stats check out<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grant doesn’t get the headlines that noted stat-head GMs
like Houston’s Daryl Morey and Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti get. But Grant loves
himself some metrics. And Bennett’s advanced stats grade out well, which
certainly didn’t hurt his cause.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bennett’s player efficiency rating at UNLV was 28.3, meaning
that in stat-head-speak, he did a great deal to help his team win. A PER of 15
is considered average in the NBA, and a PER of 30 is MVP-level production. Of
course, you have to adjust for the fact that UNLV competes in the Mountain West
Conference, which isn’t exactly a basketball powerhouse. Bennett probably won’t
jump to the NBA and start posting 28.3 PERs out of the gate. But the advanced
stats say he is an impact player.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A little bit of
Sergey<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As mentioned, the Cavs did make another first-round
selection. It turned out to be a brilliant non-move, as rumors persisted in the
hours leading up to the draft that the Cavs would have to burn assets and trade
up to the low lottery to have a chance at Karasev, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Dallas shuffled the mid-round deck several times, and
ultimately, Karasev was there for the taking at 19.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Karasev is a 6’-7” swingman known primarily as an outside
shooter. He comes with the rap of average-at-best athleticism, but scouting
reports seem to indicate that he has a developing handle, and might be a
smoother athlete than you’d think. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Currently 19 years old, he averaged 16.1 PPG playing for
Triumph Lyubertsy in the PBL, the top basketball league in Russia -- a league
that employs ex-NBA players such as Primoz Brezec and Lonny Baxter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavs will have to buy out Karasev’s contract with
Triumph Lyubertsy in order to sign him, but reports say the Cavs’
decision-makers don’t think that will be an issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-90454471337050183132013-06-21T14:10:00.003-04:002013-06-21T14:15:40.078-04:00A crying shame<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOvoOafA_AlDdETvREij_SDr38Bc6Xq7YS0JMuqJ1X_KFr27iXvl09BAHH1bu5IJOyQrEphIRx3RjTYUKNR5Olh8V7ibTG30n_brJK8ncc5y4-HijYNb-tFlvIxuw_geaXdTEog/s1600/001+LBJ+ring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOvoOafA_AlDdETvREij_SDr38Bc6Xq7YS0JMuqJ1X_KFr27iXvl09BAHH1bu5IJOyQrEphIRx3RjTYUKNR5Olh8V7ibTG30n_brJK8ncc5y4-HijYNb-tFlvIxuw_geaXdTEog/s320/001+LBJ+ring.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the summer of 2010, LeBron James has been dead to the
Cavaliers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Any and all references to LeBron’s contributions to the
franchise have been obliterated at Quicken Loans Arena. Other than the banners
hanging in the rafters that commemorate the 2007 Eastern Conference title and
the Central Division titles in 2009 and ’10, any vestige of the LeBron Era has
been erased by a very bitter organization, likely at the behest of Dan Gilbert,
who still finds it hard to refer to LeBron by name.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the Cavs were busy wallpapering over any evidence that
LeBron once wore their team’s uniform, LeBron has been creating a new legacy in
Miami, where he has won two additional MVP awards, and now two NBA titles. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LeBron was a villain to the nation when he kicked Cleveland
to the curb on national TV three years ago. But since then, he’s regained his
throne. He’s back to reigning as one of the most popular – and now one of the
most decorated – athletes on the planet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Attitudes soften, particularly for the vast majority of
people in towns that had no skin in the game. Now Cleveland, once a sympathetic
character in LeBron’s production, is becoming a lone pocket of LeBron-spite in
a nation that is once again learning to love and celebrate LeBron.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LeBron is positioned to go down in American sports history
as an icon. He’s positioned to go down in local history as a scoundrel. And
it’s a crying shame, because Northeast Ohio is one of the few places where
LeBron’s legacy should truly matter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He’s the best basketball player our region has ever produced
by a wide margin. He was drafted by our local team. He led that team to its
only Finals appearance to date, and its only two 60-win seasons. In 43 years of
play, the Cavs franchise has won 12 playoff series. Eight of those series wins
came on LeBron’s watch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No player has mattered more to the Cavs franchise, or to the
Northeast Ohio region. But if the present prevailing attitudes stay anchored in
place, we’ll never acknowledge it. The best player in Cavs history, and one of
the several greatest players to ever wear a Cleveland uniform in the
approximately 140-year history of professional sports in this town, will stay
frozen in time as a pariah. The Cavs will find themselves in the uniquely
terrible position of being completely estranged from their greatest alumnus.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The question of how to repair that relationship is a dicey
one, however.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the outside looking in, it’s easy to tell Clevelanders
to suck it up and get over it. LeBron gave us seven years of his career, he
gave us some great memories, and then moved on to the next phase of his career.
He’s won two titles in Miami, so no one can question whether it was the right
move. As for “The Decision,” broadcast on national TV? It was certainly
self-aggrandizing and ill-advised, but it’s not like LeBron shot puppies or
clubbed baby seals in front of the nation. At some point, we’re making too big
a deal out of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s true ... to a point. But for a fan base that wants
nothing more than a single world championship parade down Euclid Avenue, the
fact that a native son left, and did so in the fashion he did, then justified
it by starting a dynasty in his new town, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. LeBron
is doing for Miami what we wanted him to do for us. Miami’s dream-come-true was
supposed to be ours. And we promise we would have stayed until the final
buzzer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LeBron gets rings, Miami gets parades, and we get a 50-year
championship drought that doesn’t appear to show signs of ending anytime soon. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, to the rest of the country – it might be a simple as
“get over it” in another city that hasn’t been pushed to this level of
dysfunction by sports. Here, it’s another shot to the collective groin in a
city that has received way too many over the years.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The high road is a hard road to take, and maybe a road that
we’re not ready to take just yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only way this situation might get completely rectified
is for LeBron to return to the Cavs. For LeBron to give us another stretch of
contending basketball while he still has some decent tread left on his tires –
and then, when he takes off the Cavs uniform for good, he does so on amicable
terms, whether he’s won us our long-sought championship or not.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a mouthful to ask: LeBron returning with some prime
years left, teaming up with Kyrie Irving, who is more than seven years his
junior, and once again lifting the Cavs into the NBA’s stratosphere. But
knowing that the Heat’s roster – particularly Dwyane Wade – figures to be in an
ever-increasing state of age-related decline over the next several years, and
the fact that the NBA’s new escalating luxury tax penalties are lining up to slam
high-payroll teams like the Heat, the Cavs, with a young, low-cost and
financially-maneuverable nucleus might be far from the worst option for LeBron,
should he decide to test the free agency waters in 2014 or 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Admittedly, there is some selfishness at work. I’m not too
prideful to admit that I miss the buzz that surrounded the Cavs when LeBron was
here. I miss deep playoff runs. I miss analyzing playoff matchups. As much as I
want to believe Kyrie is capable of piloting the Cavs to that type of success
himself, I know it would be a near-certainty if LeBron came back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But taking it a level or two deeper, the relationship
between LeBron, the Cavs and the region needs repaired. It’s too important of a
relationship to have the events of the summer of 2010 stand as the final
chapter. LeBron deserves to be revered in his home region, not reviled. And we
deserve to have a superstar’s legacy worth celebrating. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But that’s not going be his Miami legacy. It has to be our
own.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-7444383254309036982013-05-22T17:19:00.002-04:002013-05-22T17:30:51.321-04:00A farewell to bowties<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-g3M7ockZizofpbU8yF8ub8Yuo76z9phd6fm75UOI5K4tu98NV9nWbxDtgdqC55wEnLyfwo-SsMvnKH4SB8efI0C6aHIwau7iJnmJdXJyy7IhW8zZHZ7zp-Y2j-HQQVHj2dkzjQ/s1600/001+Nick+Gilbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-g3M7ockZizofpbU8yF8ub8Yuo76z9phd6fm75UOI5K4tu98NV9nWbxDtgdqC55wEnLyfwo-SsMvnKH4SB8efI0C6aHIwau7iJnmJdXJyy7IhW8zZHZ7zp-Y2j-HQQVHj2dkzjQ/s320/001+Nick+Gilbert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The world loves its yearly dose of Nick Gilbert. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s become an annual ritual, at the conclusion of every
abysmal post-LeBron Cavs season – three in all. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert rounds
up a contingent of famous Clevelanders and heads to New York. At the center of
the contingent is Gilbert’s son, Nick. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A 16-year-old who suffers from a disease called
neurofibromatosis, Nick Gilbert has used his series of 30-minute turns in the
spotlight to raise awareness about his disease. Which was kind of the original
reason for Dan Gilbert to put his son in the Cavs’ chair for the 2011 lottery.
Nick gets to ham it up like all teenagers love to do, a worthy cause gets some
much-needed publicity, and maybe the Cavs sell a few extra t-shirts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, things happen. And things happened for Nick Gilbert. He
posed a philosophical question to the world on the subject of likability. Then
the lotto balls turned a midseason trade with the Clippers into the No. 1 pick
that would become Kyrie Irving. And Dan Gilbert, with his marketing radar
ever-rotating, apparently made a silent declaration that his son would become
the Cavs’ Mr. Lottery from that day forward.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last year and this year, everyone in the Cavs contingent
wore thick-rimmed glasses and bowties to match Nick’s trademark lottery look.
To be fair, results are results. Last year, the Cavs were a coin flip
(ironically, a flip they won) away from winning the lottery. They ended up
picking fourth, where they took Dion Waiters. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday, Nick Gilbert got to celebrate in front of the
cameras again. For the second time in three years, he was on the stage for a
Cavs draft lottery victory.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey, it’s fun. It’s worthwhile. And maybe, as his father has
repeatedly said, Nick is a walking good-luck charm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it’s also getting old. Father and son Gilbert both said
as much on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nick Gilbert was 14 at the 2011 lottery. He’s 16 now. It’s
going to be a lot less fun if college-age Nick is still popping up to represent
the Cavs at the lottery, still sporting the bowtie and glasses. Once Nick is
fully an adult – it’s just going to be creepy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The solution for that, as anyone with ties to the Cavs
organization mentioned this week, is to make sure the Cavs are not back in the
lottery for a long time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The burning question is, how can they do it?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The news of the Cavs lottery victory was met with a very
Cleveland response among the fans and media, as countless armchair pundits
started concocting scenarios in which the Cavs could get rid of the first
overall pick, hours after winning it.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s because the 2013 draft is, according to widespread
opinion, going topless. There are no apparent franchise-changers in the draft
this year. The top prospects all come branded with large question marks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, at the top of a lot of draft
boards, is recovering from ACL surgery, and likely won’t be ready to play until
December. Even with two healthy knees, he’s going to need some substantial
muscle gain and some kind of offensive game to succeed in the NBA.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The top wingmen prospects – Kansas’ Ben McLemore,
Georgetown’s Otto Porter and Indiana’s Victor Oladipo -- all have size and
skill issues that are worth red-flagging. Anthony Bennett of UNLV has an NBA
body at 6’-7” and 240 pounds, but he’s a textbook ‘tweener who might be too
slow to play small forward and too short to play power forward.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In short, all of the top prospects in this year’s draft are
either projects, or have some kind of physical limitation that is worth noting.
That alone shouldn’t chase the Cavs away from using the pick. But GM Chris
Grant also has to consider his team’s situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavs have lost 166 games in three years since LeBron
left. They’ve finished with the league’s second-worst record once and
third-worst record twice. That’s a lot of losing for ping pong balls. In the
process, through a series of trades and careful financial management, Grant has
amassed an extensive collection of draft picks and cap space. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With Irving blossoming into a star, and Waiters, Tristan
Thompson and Tyler Zeller rounding out a solid – at times impressive – core of
youngsters, it would appear that the time is now for Grant to make some impact
moves to put the Cavs back on the NBA map.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rookies generally don’t make the kind of impact the Cavs
will need next year. But if the Cavs were to trade the No. 1 pick, they can’t
force-feed a trade in the name of getting their hands on whatever veteran
players they can find.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s still the first overall pick. It still has to pay big
dividends, no matter how Grant uses it. Therein lies the inherent problem with
the Cavs’ current situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowing that his team needs to make a big splash for win-now
talent this offseason, Grant will almost certainly hunt big game. He’ll call
Minnesota about Kevin Love. He’ll call Sacramento about DeMarcus Cousins. But
both of those franchises are undergoing regime changes, and neither figures to
peddle major assets in the near future. The Timberwolves even sent Love to
represent the team at the lottery, perhaps an olive branch from new GM Flip
Saunders to his star player, who had developed a strained relationship with the
club’s former leadership.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grant will make phone calls. The odds of those calls
yielding the type of blockbuster trade he’s looking for? Virtually nil.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grant could fall back and take a more conservative approach,
perhaps pawning off the first pick for supporting-cast players and/or future
picks. Assets are assets. But if this draft is as weak at the top as all the
scribes and talking heads think it is, what incentive does a team have to pay
the price to move up? If the distance from Porter to Oladipo is barely
noticeable, the teams sitting between Nos. 6 and 10 aren’t much worse off than
the lotto’s big winners in the top three.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next month could consist of Grant exhaustively exploring
every avenue that doesn’t involve phoning in the first overall pick to David
Stern on draft night, only to stare down an endless series of dead ends.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, Grant might have to use the pick and simply take
who his scouts and metrics say is the best player on the board, which is likely
Noel. Certainly, you could do worse than take Noel at 1. He could be in for a
rather steep learning curve in the pros, but he’s a tremendous defender who
averaged nearly a double-double for Kentucky this past season, and blocked
shots at an unreal clip -- almost four and a half per a game. A Year Three or
Year Four Nerlens Noel, with 30 pounds of added muscle and some clue of what to
do at the offensive end, could be a force in the league.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as far as making the playoffs in 2014, Noel probably
isn’t going to help much, if at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The good news is, the fate of the No. 1 pick isn’t
necessarily tied to the moves the Cavs need to make in order to bolster the
roster for a playoff run next season. Grant could take Noel, Porter or anyone
else at the top of the draft, and make short-term moves later in the summer –
or even later on draft night. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once the first pick is accounted for, the Cavs will still
have Nos. 19, 31 and 33 to utilize in subsequent trades. They also have three
potential first-rounders in 2015 (their own, Memphis’ and Miami’s), and a
Sacramento first-rounder that is still floating around out there, provided it
gets used before 2017.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Using the first overall pick on a longer-term project player
isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given the additional bartering pieces Grant has
at his disposal. And using the first pick on a high-upside player is always
better than trading it for pennies on the dollar in the form of players with
less upside.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s as long as Grant somehow, some way, spends the
remainder of the summer making the moves to ensure that Nick Gilbert, and the rest
of his dad’s band of merry lottery men, can retire the bowties and glasses for
good.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-51526721603057711602013-05-16T16:41:00.002-04:002013-05-16T16:43:12.400-04:00Silent turnstiles<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNRBULoRFqK4bJWNPnLI8bvD3kTqnHbptVehriE3w4NO65hcT2Auej7tLn-EaqB1Qag3XyJh2CTvePASgXTw9NlIegoifY1M7-d6Ujy_V7qKDKTMFzshLc1vPU54wDgmwyxR3lA/s1600/001+Prog+Gate+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNRBULoRFqK4bJWNPnLI8bvD3kTqnHbptVehriE3w4NO65hcT2Auej7tLn-EaqB1Qag3XyJh2CTvePASgXTw9NlIegoifY1M7-d6Ujy_V7qKDKTMFzshLc1vPU54wDgmwyxR3lA/s320/001+Prog+Gate+A.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Indians probably owe their very existence in this town
to their die-hard fans. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the decades of the mid-20<sup>th</sup> Century, when
losses outpaced wins on a yearly basis and postseason contention was a 35-year
fantasy, someone had to form the small rind of humanity that barely clung to
the dugout wall at Cleveland Stadium. Somebody had to be in that crowd of 3,000
on a chilly April night. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you polled 100,000 people on who was at the Stadium to
witness Len Barker’s perfect game 32 years ago, some percentage would actually
pass a lie detector test. They were honestly there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Various ownership groups at various points toyed with the
idea of moving the franchise to Minneapolis and New Orleans. If the Gateway
project had died on the vine in the early 1990s, the Tampa-St. Petersburg area
would have likely made a play for the franchise. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But somehow, through all the strain that decades of losing,
coupled with regional economic decay, put on the relationship between the
Indians and the city of Cleveland, the franchise stayed put and hardy fans kept
showing up in small, but passionate, numbers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then Jacobs Field opened in 1994, and the team started
winning. Not just winning – winning with drama, brashness and arrogance. For a
city that had, for so long, meekly submitted to its circumstances, it was a
seven-year catharsis as the Indians made the walk-off home run a calling card,
winning two pennants and six division titles in the process. Albert Belle might
have departed in free agency after the 1996 season, but his pitcher-melting
scowl was the team’s iconic image for the duration of the era.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the fans fell in love. Did they ever. Tickets were
harder to come by than they would have for a Beatles reunion tour circa 1976. Between
1995 and 2001, the team sold out 455 straight games. The Indians like to remind
you of that every now and again, in case you’ve never noticed the giant “455”
among the retired numbers in the right-field mezzanine at the now-named
Progressive Field.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the balance of the ‘90s, Tribe games were the place to
be. Even if you didn’t like or understand baseball all that much, it’s what
your coworkers would be talking about at the water cooler, so you paid
attention. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the best of times for the Tribe. They might not have
won a World Series, but they won just about every other conceivable accolade.
And the turnstiles nearly spun off their hinges in the process. It paved the
way for some fat payrolls as the 1990s gave way to the new century. For the
first time ever, the Indians’ payroll eclipsed $90 million.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as quickly as the love-fest started, it ended. Dick
Jacobs sold the team to Larry Dolan in 2000. GM John Hart bolted town shortly
thereafter. The team started to operate much more like a small-market outfit –
bargain-conscious, spend-thrifty and, ultimately, talent-deprived. It was a
bitter pill to swallow for Cleveland fans so used to winning and the
accompanying spoils. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some might say the fan base has yet to fully come around.
Sure there have been some spikes in performance. The Indians won 93 games in
2005, losing out on the playoffs after a final-week meltdown. They held a 3-1
series lead over Boston in the 2007 ALCS, before crumbling to pieces and losing
the series in seven games. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But consistent success – and even more fundamentally,
franchise players to sustain consistent success – has and have eluded the
Tribe. The 2005 and ’07 seasons remain their only winning seasons since 2001.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fans have voted with their apathy. And maybe “apathy”
isn’t a strong enough sentiment. This fan base is resistant, and maybe outright
refuses to believe, that any uptick in performance by the Tribe is more
valuable than fool’s gold.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once again, we’re back to the Cleveland Stadium era, with
the hardy few occupying a sea of otherwise-empty seats. As they were for much
of last year, the Indians are dead last in Major League Baseball in attendance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The so-called “casual” fans -- the fans that make the difference between a crowd of 10,000 and a crowd of 35,000 -- simply don’t trust this organization
anymore. Even after a winter-long spending spree that brought quality veterans
Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and Michael Bourn to town, even after landing
intriguing pitching prospect Trevor Bauer in a trade, the Indians are still
background noise to a fan base that had once learned to fall in love all over
again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have to make mention of the obligatory difference in
circumstances between then and now. Then, the economy was in better shape.
Then, we weren’t in the midst of a massive Innerbelt construction project that
limits access to downtown. Then, the Indians weren’t competing with a casino
for the public’s disposable income.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But that’s all antimatter in the end, because if the fans
truly believed the Indians were a title contender, they’d show up. Nobody around
here needs any prompting to remember the significance of the year 1964.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, these 2013 Indians are dealing with the skid marks left
over by flameouts in 2011 and ’12. Those were first-place teams around this
time, too. They were both sucking wind by July and completely out of contention
by September. But they’re also saddled by a 13-year legacy of distrust between
the fan base and the club’s ownership. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They’re paying for the sins of years past, for two winning
season in 12 years, for the heartbreak of ’05 and ’07, for the disastrous C.C.
Sabathia and Cliff Lee trades. For the broken-down body of Travis Hafner,
seemingly right after the club signed him to a massive extension. You can’t
blame Hafner’s physical breakdown on the organization, but it get lumped in
there with everything else, fair or not.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They’re paying for an endless string of quiet winters while
the Tigers and White Sox spent handsomely to improve their clubs. The Indians
do deserve credit for the biggest spending spree in franchise history this past
winter, but one offseason of spending simply isn’t enough to reverse over a
decade of little to no spending, and often making fruitless decisions with what
money they did have – the Kerry Wood signing comes to mind, in addition to
Hafner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not fair, because this is possibly the most talented
team the Tribe has put on the field since the Jacobs-Hart era of contention
ended after the ’01 season. So far, all of the Tribe’s offseason additions have
contributed. Terry Francona is proving nightly that he’s still one of the best
managers in the business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This team, far more than the teams of the past two years,
and maybe even more so than the ’07 team, has the ability to play contending
baseball all year long. This is a playoff-caliber team.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the Tribe’s reputation is in shambles around the region.
It didn’t get that way overnight, and it’s not going to be repaired overnight.
The only thing the players can do is keep winning, keep providing evidence to
the fans that this team is for real. Beyond that, it’s a waiting game. We’re
going to find out in August and September, and in the coming years, if the
bridge between the Indians and the ticket-buying public can once again stand as
strong as it did more than a decade ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-49555766442223774942013-04-23T20:14:00.000-04:002013-04-23T22:14:02.431-04:00The right hire<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMQGmFL90w_msBSic7mAKTh6wtYGWUjBvVgE7-1BWJj6Mqat3Y6IdeGBUYIIy293naA4lzkyYdYUqYSrGyluswCF8Q5h1JnGCcItfnGXB7umfUUirQ8ZR-f5ToeskKNQdMxZ1_w/s1600/001+Mike+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMQGmFL90w_msBSic7mAKTh6wtYGWUjBvVgE7-1BWJj6Mqat3Y6IdeGBUYIIy293naA4lzkyYdYUqYSrGyluswCF8Q5h1JnGCcItfnGXB7umfUUirQ8ZR-f5ToeskKNQdMxZ1_w/s320/001+Mike+Brown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You always think you can do better than Mike Brown. Maybe
that’s why fans around town have been resistant to the idea of Brown returning
as head coach of the Cavs, which reportedly will be made official on Wednesday.
Brown and the Cavs agreed to a five-year deal on Tuesday.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown’s coaching style is far from Showtime, which is
perhaps why his brief stint on the Lakers sideline seemed to have an oil/water
dynamic to it. He preaches defense as the be-all, end-all in the game of
basketball. In Brown’s system, the offensive opportunities you get are predicated
on converting defensive stops into points. Offense is still the end, but
defense is the means, and to Brown, the end justifies the means.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His offensive sets are generally lacking in creativity. He
tolerates stand-and-dribble stagnation for way too long at times. He lets the
offense stall out. He relies on star players to freelance their way to points,
as opposed to running intricate play sets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In short, offense simply matter less to Brown. He’s
primarily concerned with keeping the other team off the board. He figures if
that happens, it will lead to transition points, and the offense will take care
of itself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For five years, it was a maddening approach to basketball
for a fan base that wanted to see LeBron James unleash the full wrath of his
talents on the opposition. For a fan base that wanted to see what the most
talented player in the history of the game could be like in the hands of an
offensive visionary. Or at least a coach who would run the offense through a
point guard and force LeBron to move without the ball.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s why you always think you can do better than Mike
Brown. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2010, with the Cavs reeling from a stunning second-round
playoff dismissal at the hands of the Celtics and LeBron’s free agency merely
weeks away, the Cavs brass thought they could do better than Brown, too. They
fired Brown, and Dan Gilbert set about wooing Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, a
flirtation that lasted for about a week, before Izzo pulled back and returned
to East Lansing, probably because he sensed that LeBron’s defection was likely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown’s termination was a last-ditch effort to appease
LeBron by attempting to hire a big-name coach – an effort that failed
miserably, and was probably doomed to fail from the outset. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But even after LeBron made his departure official, the Cavs
still thought they had an improvement over Brown. A week before “The Decision,”
the Cavs hired Byron Scott, a coach who took the Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002
and 2003, a coach who is credited as a major influence in the development of
Chris Paul into an elite point guard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the Cavs drafted Kyrie Irving in 2011, we all thought
they had the perfect coach to groom him. Scott was a former star guard with
three rings as a player, who had been in the huddle with the likes of Paul and
Jason Kidd as a coach. If anybody could speak the same language as Kyrie,
surely it was Scott.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scott was fired last week after 166 losses in three years.
Kyrie has begun to develop into an elite point guard, but his repeated
injuries, lack of defensive intensity and early-season admission that he takes
plays off at times would seem to indicate that he doesn’t yet have a full grasp
of what it takes to become great in the NBA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So where would the Cavs look to find the coach who can get
the most out of Kyrie and the other youngsters on the roster? Nobody outside
the Cavs organization wanted to look at Brown. The dreamers among us wanted the
Cavs to go all-in on Phil Jackson. But Jackson reportedly doesn’t want to coach
anymore, and even if he did, he’ll turn 68 in September and has proven
everything he could possibly prove in his career. What are the odds the Cavs
would get more out of him than the Browns got out of Mike Holmgren? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fifty percent of semi-retired Phil Jackson for two or three
years isn’t enough to vault the Cavs into contention. He was a “be careful what
you wish for” candidate, no matter what the record-setting resume might say.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavs thought differently about Brown. After having one of the best
defenses in the league for the balance of the LeBron years, the Cavs -- albeit
in a rebuilding phase with a much younger roster -- regressed mightily in the
three years Scott ran the team. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dan Gilbert and Chris Grant, always good friends with Brown,
perhaps started to realize what they were missing. They were missing a
defensive mindset, but more than that, they were missing a team identity. Brown,
if nothing else, can forge that identity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The irony is, as soon as the Cavs fired Brown and LeBron
defected to Miami, the Cavs set about building the type of team that could have
used Brown's steadfast focus on fundamentals. Brown, at his heart, is a
teaching coach, and he's at his best when molding wet clay. That was the state
of the team at the outset of his first tenure, and it's the state of the team
now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From 2005 to '08, Brown was the right coach for the Cavs.
Thanks in no small part to Brown's tutelage, LeBron is now one of the league's
best defenders. LeBron would never have become a dominant two-way player if not
for Brown.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown's defense set the stage for the Cavs run to the Finals
in 2007, with a roster that was nowhere near Finals-caliber. In subsequent
years, he took an eclectic mish-mash of players who were anything but great
on-ball defenders -- Mo Williams comes to mind -- and molded them into a
top-three defensive team. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Under Brown, the Cavs were an excellent interior defensive
team, despite the fact that he was working with the slow, aging and plodding
legs of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace and Shaquille O'Neal. The special sauce
to his interior defense was Anderson Varejao, who figures to be the only
holdover from Brown's first tenure after Daniel Gibson most likely departs via
free agency this summer. Varejao blossomed into one of the best help defenders within
Brown's help-and-recover system, which Brown learned while serving as an
assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown is simply one of the best defensive tacticians in the
game. But the Cavs job evolved away from him over the final two years,
highlighting another of his weak areas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where Brown has shown a shortcoming, other than in his
offensive playbook, is in his management of large egos. He isn't a dominant
enough personality to rein in the likes of LeBron, and he certainly didn't
exert a commanding presence with Kobe Bryant, or any of the Lakers' complement
of stars, during his year and five games at the helm in L.A.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the 2009-10 season, the Cavs were full of veteran egos,
and the coaching job was best-suited for a psychologist-coach -- one who could
play politics, massage egos and rebuke challenges to his authority by
world-famous superstars. Brown couldn't hold that type of team together. The
same was true in L.A. It cost him both jobs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the idea of the Cavs getting back to that point, with a
contending, veteran, star-laden roster, is strictly a matter of "if."
If Kyrie continues to develop into a superstar. If LeBron at some point finds
himself in a Cavs uniform again. If Grant can pull off a major trade to land
impact veteran talent.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavs have to hire a coach for the team they have right
now. A team with a talented, but very young and still fairly raw backbone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You always think you can do better than Mike Brown. But
here's guessing Gilbert and Grant realized, over the past three years, that
it's an assumption based on image, and a dash of familiarity breeding contempt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brown hasn't won a championship as a coach. But there are
only four active coaches who have. What Brown does have is a virtually-unbroken
record of success in six seasons as a head coach. He's won 65 percent of his
games (314-167 career record), and has two 50-win seasons, two 60-win seasons
and a Finals berth on his resume. His teams have finished with a winning
percentage above .600 in five of the six seasons -- the lone exception being
the 45-37 Cavs of 2007-08 (.549). You could try to give LeBron the lion's share
of the credit for those numbers, but even LeBron can't lug a team that far
without a system that works.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you can do better than Brown, you can't do much better.
And for a battered Cavs franchise still looking for post-LeBron daylight, Brown
might prove to be the best possible hire they could have made.</div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-13835615031870173512013-04-18T17:21:00.001-04:002013-04-18T20:24:10.468-04:00Identity crisis<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMkWokXQoWcGg9_SAN9-H-u5dwvLcN8jtId00bV2E_sCoglPfa979zF0wnCTld6IT-IujCEgoyIhHQZrHY5xYVirGLvPWXOECzJvFudKOhoWOGF7Vr7ZyTnVedmkAdBAs7X6LCQ/s1600/002+bscott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMkWokXQoWcGg9_SAN9-H-u5dwvLcN8jtId00bV2E_sCoglPfa979zF0wnCTld6IT-IujCEgoyIhHQZrHY5xYVirGLvPWXOECzJvFudKOhoWOGF7Vr7ZyTnVedmkAdBAs7X6LCQ/s320/002+bscott.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Byron Scott’s coaching record in three Cavs season was
64-166 – a .278 winning percentage. It is the worst winning percentage for any
Cavs coach who patrolled the sideline for at least one full season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s worse than Bill Fitch (.412), who presided over a
half-decade of expansion-era futility in early ‘70s, before the Miracle of
Richfield gave the franchise its first taste of respectability. It’s worse that
Bill Musselman, a Ted Stepien hire (.287). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s worse than Randy Wittman (.378), John Lucas (.298) or
Paul Silas (.473).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The NBA is a business driven by wins and losses, and if
you’re a coach who has too much of the latter and not enough of the former,
you’re not going to hang onto your job. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the simplest explanation for why Scott was fired on
Thursday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though the Cavs were most definitely in a rebuilding
mode, where talent acquisition and player development takes precedence over
winning for winning’s sake, wins still equal progress. If a young team wins
games, it means the players are doing enough right to get leads and hang onto
them until the final buzzer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scott’s teams raced out to leads, but repeatedly fell apart
in the fourth quarter – most infamously after holding a 27-point second-half
lead against Miami in late March, a loss that certainly rubbed the fan base the
wrong way, and probably didn’t win Scott any additional support in the Cavs
inner sanctum.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Way too often, the Cavs were caught with a collective
deer-in-headlights stare when the time came to prove their mettle and put a
game in the win column. And if you peel back the onion layers on Scott’s
tenure, that’s the real reason why the Cavs will be searching for a new coach
this spring.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s three years post-LeBron, and the Cavs are still
searching for an on-court identity. Scott tried to install some form of the
Princeton ball-motion offense, but too often, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters
were left to freelance. Tristan Thompson seldom, if ever, had plays run through
him. The center position was an offensive black hole once Anderson Varejao was
lost for the season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scott tolerated random barrages of three-point chucking,
even when the shots weren’t falling. Big men seldom tried to establish position
on the left block. In short, the playbook might have had plays worth running,
but the offense lacked a rudder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the offensive woes were nothing when compared to the
utter lack of defensive presence Scott’s teams exhibited. Even when Varejao was
healthy and snagging 15-20 rebounds a game, the team defense was shoddy. The
Cavs defended the paint with nary more than a swinging saloon door. Kyrie
received ample flack for his lack of defensive instincts, but his problems were
symptomatic of a larger condition. Perimeter players frequently used poor
judgment, gambling on steals in passing lanes, playing off their man for fear
of getting burned, but leaving way too much operating space in the process. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The defense was quite simply a fundamental train wreck. And
it was getting worse, not better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mike Brown (who ironically might emerge as a candidate),
understood the basic concept of defense creating a product that is better than
the sum of its parts. A team with overall mediocre talent can win games, make
the playoffs, and even advance deep into the postseason, if they play great
team defense. If you need any evidence,
I present to you the 2007 Eastern Conference champion Cavs, with a starting
lineup of LeBron James, Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas
Ilgauskas. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, that team got to the NBA Finals on the coattails of an
epic Game 5 performance in the conference finals by LeBron, and Bucky
Dent-esque performance from Daniel Gibson in the Game 6 clincher, but that
team, with those players, won 50 games and three playoff rounds because they
played defense at a high level. That was not a 50-win roster, let alone a
conference championship roster.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You want the quickest way to return the Cavs to
respectability? It’s probably by stopping the other team from putting the ball
in the basket. And it’s something that Scott’s team simply wasn’t doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone in the Cavs front office knows it. If Dan Gilbert’s
statement to the media on Thursday is any indication, the next Cavs coach will
be a defensive stickler:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It has been our strong and stated belief that when our team
once again returns to competing at the NBA's highest levels it will be because
we have achieved our goals on the defensive side of the court.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, this isn’t all on Scott. Young teams are highly
inconsistent and frequently stumble backwards as often as they stride forward.
Compound that with injuries, which relentlessly assailed the Cavs over the past
three years, and Scott wasn’t put in the best position to succeed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the basketball truism says defense travels with the
team. So does a well-orchestrated offense. The backups play the starters in
practice every day, so the guys coming off the bench are as grounded in the
system as the guys who run onto the floor amid smoke and pyrotechnics during
the opening introductions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe Scott was burned out by coaching the team through loss
after loss. Maybe there was friction in the locker room. Maybe Scott’s
personality is more tailored for coaching a self-starting veteran team instead
of a young team that needs constant maintenance. Whatever the reason, if he had
a grand vision for what the Cavs could become, it was never realized. It never
really hatched out of the egg, for that matter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cavs now embark on an extremely important offseason.
They need to find a coach who can reach this team’s collection of
impressionable young players and put them on a path to becoming a well-oiled
offensive – and especially defensive – machine. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They need to add more talent, and not all of it straight
from the draft. There isn’t much value in making this team even younger. GM
Chris Grant probably needs to orchestrate at least one major veteran
acquisition this summer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the Cavs take the floor with their new coach and their
tuned-up roster next fall, they need to be a playoff team from the first game –
and a fairly strong playoff team at that. At this stage, after three years of
putrid basketball, squeaking in as the eighth seed on the last day of the season
doesn’t cut it. The Cavs need to become an above-.500-and-rising team, capable
of competing for a middle seed, and maybe even make some noise in the race for
homecourt advantage in the first round. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And to do that, they need an identity. Dan and Chris, it’s
your move.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9810450.post-70398392498991395762013-04-16T12:22:00.000-04:002013-04-16T12:23:08.722-04:00In the back of your mind<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjIe35US1yn5ju-FDc4ko8az83bjrnJYs01T-g6ybwPjB7y9sOd1LfKM4X4YFDmp6f-eCp_K5Wu__QczkbNBy-2zKKvq_jdUWFYLVhle0zhsfHl9lEHMQ-YOsSIYng3Wqxg6p_g/s1600/001+Boston+attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjIe35US1yn5ju-FDc4ko8az83bjrnJYs01T-g6ybwPjB7y9sOd1LfKM4X4YFDmp6f-eCp_K5Wu__QczkbNBy-2zKKvq_jdUWFYLVhle0zhsfHl9lEHMQ-YOsSIYng3Wqxg6p_g/s320/001+Boston+attack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whoever plotted and carried out Monday’s bomb attack near
the finish line of the Boston Marathon did their homework. If you’re going to
attack a large sporting event, it’s hard to find an event more vulnerable than
a marathon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The vast majority of sporting events take place within the
confines of a venue. Stadiums, arenas, even golf courses, have gates and
gatekeepers. Security officials can keep a reasonably close eye on who comes in
and who goes out. Bags can be checked, metal detectors can be installed,
suspicious items can be confiscated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marathons take place in the streets. In the case of very
large marathons, like Boston’s, hundreds of thousands of spectators line the
streets to watch tens of thousands of runners. The crowd condenses near the
finish line, as spectators pack into any available space to watch the winners
break the tape, and watch friends and family members cover the final few
hundred yards to the finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They stand five and 10 deep or more. They climb onto benches
and light pole bases to get a better view. Children sit on the shoulders of
their parents. It’s a celebration. It’s also a nightmare for anyone in charge
of ensuring public safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With countless people packed into a small space, the
opportunity is readily available for a person with nefarious intentions to hide
in plain sight, plant a device, and slip away down an alley or through a
building. That is reportedly what happened Monday, as the perpetrator (or
perpetrators) allegedly dropped shrapnel bombs in garbage cans lining the
race’s home stretch on Boylston Street, near Boston’s Copley Square. Two bombs
detonated in rapid succession around 2:45 p.m., about an hour after the winner
had crossed the finish line. Two more explosive devices were reportedly found
nearby, undetonated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The explosions injured hundreds of spectators, many
critically or seriously. As of Tuesday morning, three people had died. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The attack was a manifestation of physical violence, but we
know that terrorism is, at its bare essence, psychological warfare. It doesn’t
matter if the perpetrator is of foreign or domestic origin, the intent is
clearly stated in the root word: terror. And when we’re jolted out of our
relatively peaceful American existence by an attack like this, the terrorists
accomplish their mission. We may go on with our daily lives as usual, but our
hearts beat a little faster, we tread into unsure situations with more caution,
we worry more about the safety of ourselves and our loved ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can’t fly on a plane anymore without the suggestion of
9/11 slithering around somewhere in your gray matter. It’s because you now know
there are organizations out there capable of hijacking planes and flying them
into buildings. Though you also know our national airline security procedures
are much more sophisticated than they were prior to Sept. 11, 2001, the “what
if” still lingers.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can’t see your kids off to school without thinking, at
least now and again, about Columbine or Sandy Hook. You can’t watch your
college student depart for the new semester without remembering Virginia Tech,
even if it’s only for a few minutes before you chase the thoughts away and get
on with your day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now the same thing has happened in the sporting sphere, and to
the running community in particular.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a runner. I’ve been running in organized races since
2009, and have six half-marathons to my credit since 2011. I’ve never run a
full marathon and have no plans to, and even if I did, I wouldn’t come close to
qualifying for Boston – a race prestigious enough that you can’t merely sign up
for it. You need to post a “Boston qualifier” time at another sanctioned race
in order to even toss your hat in the ring for the Boston Marathon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the shockwaves from Monday will almost certainly reverberate
at races throughout the country from here forward. Next month, I’m registered
to run the Flying Pig half marathon in Cincinnati, and two weeks later, the
Rite Aid Cleveland half. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No other race has publicly responded to the events in Boston
as of yet, but I’m anticipating much tighter security at next month’s races.
I’m anticipating a much more prominent police presence, complete with
bomb-sniffing dogs. I’m anticipating mailboxes, trash cans and other sidewalk
collection devices to be locked down, removed or otherwise guarded. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m anticipating a zero-tolerance policy regarding
unattended bags and coolers. If you want to see a pack of runners approaching
from up the street, you had better take your belongings with you, even if
you’re only moving 100 feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the finish line, I’m anticipating far more stringent
crowd control – security shooing people away before large crowds can develop
and a drastic increase in the amount of restricted area. Metal detectors? Not
out of the question.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Runners, usually herded through the finish-line corral
quickly in order to prevent bottlenecks, might be sped along even faster,
receiving a terse warning from race security if they linger for more than a few
seconds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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All in all, I anticipate the runner’s high of the finish
line to be replaced by something more white-knuckled, much like what has
happened to the experience of flying. It used to be a luxury. It used to be a
fun way to travel. Now, you proceed through the TSA checkpoint, proceed to your
gate, get on the plane, fly, get the off the plane, collect your bags and get
out of the airport as quickly as possible. Most people do not count flying as
an enjoyable experience anymore. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Monday’s bombing was designed to shed blood and kill, and it
did. But more than that, it was designed to plant the seeds of fear and doubt
in our heads. And it did that, too. For runners and spectators alike, races
will be more controlled, more policed, burdened with more procedures and more
rules, more inconveniences, more things you’re not allowed to do, bring or say,
and overall, deliver an experience that is all the less enjoyable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s what the perpetrators of Monday’s attack have taken
away from us. Terror attacks won’t make us hide under our beds, but they fill
our lives with more fear and more rules. That contributes to the degradation of
our society as much as anything. And that’s exactly what terrorists want.<o:p></o:p></div>
Papa Casshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04647758309861590871noreply@blogger.com0