November 2009
40 posts
1 tag
Cavs-Bobcats Bulletpoints
Not going to write much tonight since it’s Halloween and a Saturday night. But the big note for tonight is the man in the picture.
The newest things to watch will be what happens with Moon and Parker. Moon barely played (1:37), and Parker produced a lot better than he looked, shooting 75% from three with a 2-2-2 line of steals, assists, and boards. It may end up coming down to...
October 2009
37 posts
Happy Halloween from Eric Mangini
Transcript of coach Eric Mangini’s press conference, Oct. 30, 2009
(On what his kids are going to be for Halloween)- “Let’s see, we have Puss in Boots from Shrek. Yoda, that’s the one year old and Luke Skywalker, that’s Luke. Luke loves Luke Skywalker. The two oldest, they are big Star Wars fans. Jake is Han Solo and Luke is Luke Skywalker. I am usually either...
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Cavs-Timberwolves Bulletpoints
Not as much to say about tonight’s game as the past two because the Cavs were playing the T-Wolves and, therefore, everything should be taken with a grain of salt. Having said that…
The spacing on offense was definitely improved tonight. It seemed to me that Andy was playing on the opposite side of the floor as Shaq most of the time, which makes it harder for his man to sag off...
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Metrics & Performance: Chicken, Egg, or Coyote?
First off, anybody still think that we would’ve won the title last year if we would’ve dealt for Shaq at the deadline?
Anyone?
….
Didn’t think so.
OK, with that out of the way, let’s get down to business. Like everyone else who reads this blog, I’ve been dismayed by the Cavs’ abysmal performance thus far this season. Friend and frequent reader...
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Check Out The Photo of Alpha That The PD Is Using →
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Cavs-Raptors Bulletpoints
I miss Delonte.
Mike Brown’s rotations right now are a total mess. At most points it seems like he’s just running out whomever isn’t too tired and hoping something sticks.
Bron played a lot at the 4 tonight. In fact, he started the second half at that position, which is something I’ve been meaning to write about but haven’t. It’s looking more and...
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Cavs-Celtics Bulletpoints
Delonte was sorely missed tonight on both ends of the floor. Ray Allen, however, did not miss him in the first half because…
Boobie is a liability. On defense and offense. His only hope is as a spot up shooter. If Delonte is out for an extended period of time, Boobie may be this season’s Sasha Pavlovic for me.
Rasheed Wallace won’t shoot 50% from three every time the...
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Cavs Fan Confession
Please allow me to vent for a second…
My biggest fear about this upcoming season, at this moment, is that Delonte doesn’t get healthy and the Cavs trade for Stephen Jackson.
My biggest dream for this upcoming season is that New Orleans tanks badly and Chris Paul becomes available.
That is all.
"Hey Brah": In Defense of Shaq
It’s that time again: the beginning of basketball season. Not coincidentally, it’s time for another regular occurrence: me disagreeing with pop culture columnist Bill “The Sports Guy” Simmons’s latest bout of ridiculous claims.
Simmons’ analysis of Shaq consisted of ten ‘red flags’ that suggested that he had no shot whatsoever at being an asset...
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NBA Stats Breakdown: PER vs WP48
As the NBA season begins tonight in Cleveland, I thought I should breakdown two advanced statistical measures that you may read about it over the course of the year, either via this site or any others.
Stats can be particularly useful in basketball because players tend to be consistent from year to year. Large improvements or failings, statistically speaking, mostly come when a player is either...
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Don't Freak About Delonte Yet
As George Thomas of the Akron-Beacon Journal writes here please wait and see with Delonte in regards to this domestic abuse issue that WOIO chose to report on. The police say there were no signs of abuse or injury on Delonte’s wife.
I lived in Cleveland long enough to know that WOIO is crap news anyway.
It’s hard to be a celebrity anywhere, but it’s particularly difficult when...
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CC vs. Cliff Lee
The complaining has already started that two former Indians pitchers are likely going to go against each other in game one of the World Series Wednesday night. I’d like to, however, take a different approach to this.
1) One pitcher, even a Cy Young Winner, does not make a team a World Series Champion.
2) CC was drafted by the Indians and developed by them - this should give us a little...
What Is There To Say About the Browns?
Nothing.
Something drastic will have to happen before they’re worth writing about. That something “drastic”, at the moment, seems like it’ll be the draft in April.
Cavs Tuesday.
Let JoseMesaIsDead become basketball-centric.
P.S. Happy about Manny Acta.
Cause You Never Stay the Same
Even though it was a long time ago, I still remember quotes from my high school football coach - Wayne Diederich - who’s in the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame. He had a profound, positive affect on my life.
Anyway, one of his favorite comments went something like this; You either get better or you get worse every week - but, you never stay the same.
Our goal, as individual players and as a...
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Two Quick Things
Real quick:
Interesting story about Rajon Rondo that my boy Adlew Druz sent. For the record, if I’m doling out max contracts next season, I’m a lot closer to giving one to Rondo than I am to Chris Bosh. He’ll be restricted, but would look very good in a Cavs uniform playing alongside Bron.
Bobby Valentine sounds like a disaster. Why would the Indians want to hire a (basically)...
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NBA Prognostication '09
The ‘09-‘10 NBA season starts Tuesday.
Let’s all say, “Hooray!”
There’s some sense of anticipation that this could be a historically interesting season. The Cavs and Magic are stacked with players that have produced at a high-level in the past. The Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs aren’t very far behind. And depending on how many minutes Andre Miller gets in...
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CC's Postseason Success in NYC vs. Failure in...
Like my brother, I thought for sure that CC Sabathia would suck this postseason with the Yankees just like he did with the Indians and Brewers previously.
So far, we’ve been wrong.
The thought that I’m sure went through the minds of plenty of Clevelanders - regrettably, myself included - was that CC’s turnaround has something to do with him getting out of Northeast Ohio. The...
Dissecting the Wildcat
The Wildcat formation has been a hot topic in the Browns’ anemic offense all season. It’s easy to understand why: two quarterbacks with well-documented struggles, a keg of big play dynamite in ex-college QB Josh Cribbs, and a template for success from last year’s Miami Dolphins.
However, the Browns’ wildcat experience has been rocky. The formation is in the spotlight...
Pick Your Poison
For those of you not riveted to your TVs or laptop following the Indians’ search for their next manager, the word from Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer is that Shapiro and his assistant Chris Antonetti have narrowed the list down to somewhere between 2 and 5 finalists. The two known finalists are former Nationals manager Manny Acta and former Mets manager Bobby Valentine. Other speculated...
Dear Rex / Mark / Braylon: Meet the New York... →
The article above should make us all feel a little better about the Browns’ not hiring Rex Ryan or drafting Mark Sanchez or keeping Braylon.
I know it’s too early to make determinations on Sanchez’s entire career, but if he’s the type of guy that’s going to struggle in cold weather he wouldn’t exactly have worked out in the AFC North, and the AFC East...
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Static
This won’t be long. I came in to write a very similar post to the one that Dad.com wrote. The Browns are becoming difficult to watch. I know, I know. “Becoming, you’re thinking? They’ve been unwatchable.”
But I think that Week 6 may be the final nail…I’m now positive that this is entirely a re-building a year.
I didn’t think that the Browns would...
Be Slightly Concerned about Brownie
My “Fear the Elf” column last week was part enthusiasm and part hope the we could finally beat the damn Steelers. Well, it wasn’t meant to be - our lack of NFL talent was evident today. We just don’t have any play makers. We don’t have anyone - except maybe Joe Thomas and Shawn Rodgers - that would be a starter on a good NFL team.
Even with that very evident fact,...
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Bud Selig is a Relic
Not sure if anyone else is watching the MLB playoffs or not - I wouldn’t blame if you weren’t - but I know at least my dad and I had the TV tuned to TBS when the umpire on the left field line blew possibly the worst foul ball call I’ve ever seen. It was last Friday, the Twins were playing the Yankees, and the batter was Joe Mauer. The call was so bad, in fact, that I was almost...
Trade Rumors: The Ridiculous Epidemic
Did you hear about the Joe Thomas trade?
Yep, people are talking. The Packers — watching their Super Bowl dreams go up in smoke because of their porous O-line — are first on the list. Bringing in Thomas would immediately stabilize the left side of the line and allow Aaron Rodgers the time in the pocket he needs to go from a very good QB to an elite one. It’s a big move, and...
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Banned From TV: The Derek Anderson Story
This is my come clean post on Derek Anderson.
He is actually my long lost brother. That’s why I’ve shown support for him here.
Okay, so that statement may be b.s., but I really do intend this to be an honest and forthright piece about D.A.
I regret writing the “I Don’t Want To Say We Told You So, But…” article after the game against the ‘Nati....
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Peter King on the Browns →
In comparison to some of the other ill-informed things I’ve heard and read recently from the national media, this article is like a magic elf.
Alpha Draft: Mangini & Talent Evaluation
Anyone who watched Monday Night Football tonight saw the debut of Braylon Edwards in a Jets uniform. Considering that his first catch as a Jet went for a touchdown, I’m anticipating that there is probably some degree of bitterness out there in the fan base about the move - especially when you factor in that the receiver the Browns got in return ended up with nothing but drops this past...
Fear the Elf!!
It’s about time - time to fear the elf.
That’s right baby, that’s spelled E L F!
We finally won a game for the first time in about 11 months. Yeah, Buffalo sucks even more than we do — but we won the damn game. All that despite DA throwing for only 23 yards, the lowest number of yards through the air by a Brown’s QB since the year I was born, that’s...
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Self-Explanatory
5 Questions for Game 5: "Braylon's Gone" Edition
Since the Edwards trade early yesterday, there’s been no shortage of analysis. I feel like I’ve seen an article on every imaginable angle…Braylon’s attitude, his likelihood of success in New York, how he’ll take to the notorious NYC media, whether or not the Browns got shorted on what they received in return, how this trade is another reflection of Mangini’s...
How Much More Can We Take In One Week?
Braylon Edwards - gone. Brady Quinn - benched. Jason Trunsnik - who? Chansi Stuckey - where? Mark Shapiro - searching. Asdrubal Cabrera - healing. LeBron - objecting.
We’ve had a rather hectic week in C-Town sports.
However, the issue that concerns me most is the fact that Delonte is not practicing even though his absence is excused. We need him to get well soon, for his personal...
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InadeQuinn Might Be On His Way Out →
I think Brady wants out…
“Quarterback Brady Quinn said he was wearing Edwards’ shoes at practice as a tribute to him.
‘[Braylon’s] a great player, a good teammate and a good friend. I can’t do anything but wish him the best,’ Quinn said.”
Looks like an open act of defiance to Alpha Dog to me.
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Rating D.A.'s Performance: The Prosecution Rests
Isn’t that an awesome play on words? Huh? Huh?
I’m a little late on doing this because of some traveling, but I wanted to look a little bit more closely at how D.A. played on Sunday. I’ve seen a lot of comments at Cleveland.com assailing him for throwing the interception at the goal line without giving him any credit for the fade he tossed to Mohamed Massaquoi (who Tim has...
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"More Than a Game" - It's Also a Biznessssss
I had the significant pleasure of getting to see “More Than a Game” at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre in the Gordon Square Arts District on Monday with my entire immediate family. On a personal note, I’m proud of the strides being made in several neighborhoods around Cleveland to enhance the community and improve the economy. Hopefully some day soon, I’ll be able to...
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I Don't Want To Say We Told You So, But...
Today, the Browns looked like a real football team. They lost the game, but there was reason to be encouraged.
Yes, there were too many dropped passes. Yes, there was D.A.’s interception at the goal line. Yes, there was some conservative play calling when the team got a lead.
But the team moved the ball, they stopped the Bengals on multiple occasions, they scored touchdowns…
But...
Big Up to D.A.
I flew into C-town this afternoon for the historic nuptials of our good buddy Teets, which will be tomorrow. I was at Hopkins’s baggage claim with my dad when he pointed out that the one and only Derek Anderson was hanging out nearby, looking discreet in a sweater, cargo shorts, a Browns hat, and flip flops. Discreet, that is, except for the fact that the guy looks monstrously tall...