Sports Juggling

We live in a great time for sports.   I can watch every single Indians, Cavs, and Browns game. I even have the ability to stream my alma mater Kent State getting their clocks cleaned if I so choose.  It's great.  I pay a large bill to the good people at DirecTV each month for the privilege.  There is only one problem with this.  Where do I find the time to follow all of my teams as much as I would like?

 I work as a teacher for students with multiple disabilities, I have four kids, two of which are teenagers with full calendars filled with their own sporting events and no drivers licenses, the other two are twin hyperactive babies under two years  old, who don't want to spend their Sunday afternoons watching the Browns fail to convert on another third and long, and a wife who on occasion has been known to want to spend time with me.

Browns have lost #1 spot in fans hearts.

The Browns have long been the center of Northeast Ohio's hearts and minds.  The area has flowed the Browns with a die-hard passion since the 50s when Jim Brown and Otto Graham ruled the gridiron on the coast of Lake Erie.  The Browns have kept the attention focused on them ever since.  They have ruled above and beyond the Cavaliers and the Indians despite those two franchises having more success at various points over the past fifty years. 

This town is a Browns town but that has begun to change.  After years of the Browns being terrible on the field and mismanaged in the office, the fans have stopped giving the Browns their love and more importantly their eyeballs and money.  In years past, all the Browns had to do to draw a crowd at Cleveland Browns stadium was play a football game and show up dressed in orange helmets.  The fans were just glad to have football being played by their team.  Then something happened...

The Cavaliers and the Indians started having success.  They started making smart decisions that improved the team and the experience of the fans.  Cleveland fans spent their money on teams that break 52 year curses and teams that lead their division despite having a middling payroll.  

The fans have decided that a revolving door of general managers, coaches, and quarterbacks were not worth their time and money. The Browns are now dealing with lack of interest.  As the 2016 season begins, the Browns have a new general manager...again, a new coach....again...., a new quarterback...again.  This season however, I don't see or hear fans talking themselves into a season with false hope.  The season seems to be met with apathy.  Fans are still riding high on the Cavaliers championship, still enjoying the day to day fun of pennant raise with the #Windians.  The Cavs and Indians have usually been quickly dropped from a Cleveland fan's mind once the sounds of pads cracking hits the air. 

This season attendance at training camp is down. People aren't going to go spend their time watching an inferior product.  Attendance for the Indians has in fact risen since the beginning of the Browns training camp.  Fans in Northeast Ohio have now tasted a winner and they will not accept ineptitude and continue to fork over increasingly hard to come by dollars to support a team that brings them no joy.  Cleveland isn't the sports punching bag lining up for its next body blow.  Cleveland is the reigning and defending king of the sports world and doesn't want to spend it's time watching a team going through another awful season as the new regime brings in "their guys" to play "Cleveland Browns Football".  Whatever the hell that actually means.

Cleveland used to be a Browns town.  Cleveland is now a city of champions.  The Cavaliers have won a World Championship and the Indians are the betting favorite to make it to the World Series.  It's your move Browns.  It's time to produce an enjoyable experience.  An enjoyable experience in this town has changed from the last time you embarrassingly left the field.  This town demands winning.  This town demands progress.  In 2016 in Northeast Ohio, you have to win or the FANS go home.




Follow me on Twitter @FerrellComedy

   
pub-4556041276286460

What I am Thankful for in Sports

This time of year Americans sit down with family and friends and spend time to be thankful.  This is also the point in the sports calendar where there is constantly sporting events on television.  So it got me thinking what I had to be thankful for being an Ohio sports fan with a busy life and a wife and kids.

I am thankful that the 2014 NFL Draft is loaded with Quarterback prospects.  As the Browns head into the home stretch of another stink hole season ruined by bad quarterback play, Browns fans' attention turned towards the draft.  Fortunately this year is the deepest quarterback draft in a very long time.  Brandon Weeden, the Browns' first round pick in 2012, who came out of college at 28 as a project, is bar none the worst quarterback in the league.  Weeden is not just the worst starting quarterback, the worst quarterback period. He isn't the first terrible quarterback the Browns have tortured their loyal fans with.  Since the Browns returned as a cesspool in the NFL in 1999, they have trotted out the following collection of bums and mistakes at starting quarterback.


Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer, Jason Campbell.

I had to take a shower after listing off that rotten collection of turds.  The Browns have the Colts first round pick after convincing them to take the corpse of Trent Richardson plus their own surely high first rounder.  I am not opposed to the Browns using both picks on quarterbacks in 2014.  I mean one of them has to not suck.  I mean right? It has to happen eventually.  If the Colts can go from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck and the Packers can go from Bret Farve to Aaron Rodgers then the Browns can get one good quarterback every twenty years. I mean can't we catch a break?

I am thankful this is the last year of the BCS.  Ohio State seems locked into the 3rd slot and therefore outside of the championship game despite not having lost a game during the past two seasons.  I would love to see the Buckeyes get a chance to play for the national championship this year, however I am no dummy.  I have seen Alabama and Florida State and know that the Buckeyes are not in their class.  If this was next season in order to win a national title, the Buckeyes would have to beat both of them in a two week period.  Not happening.  You are just not putting together two perfect games back to back like that.  However since this is the last year of the BCS, if the Tide or Seminoles should happen to stub their toes in the last few games of the season, then Ohio State would only have to pull one upset.  They have an outside shot of doing that and I would love to watch them try.

I am thankful for the 2013 Cleveland Indians season.  It was a great season with tons of ups and downs like any good roller coaster ride season should be.  However I know this was probably as good as it is going to get for a few years.  The Cleveland Indians shot completely over their skis this season.  They hit gold with a few lottery tickets like Jason Giambi and Scott Kazmir.  However the mass exodus of players with talent that the Tribe can no longer afford has already begun.  Joe Smith a reliable middle reliever left for the Angels because a small market team just can't afford to spend 4 million a season on a setup man.  Ubaldo Jimenez who stunk most of his time in Cleveland finally turned it on the last two months.  Just in time to decline his player option and cash in big time.  Thanks for stinking for two years and then finally getting it together for a payday, Ubaldo.  This next season will be a disappointing one for the Tribe as they will take a step back in 2014.

I am thankful that at the end of this NBA season that Lebron James can opt out of his contract.  This will finally allow the closure that we Cavs fans need. There has been rumblings that Lebron may return to Cleveland after this season for a do over with the Cavs.  I know that would be great for the Cavs record and chances at a title.  But Cavs fans have been stuck in neutral ever since the Decision.  There were the two years of hate and the past year and a half as been hoping and pining for Lebron to return.  Cavs fans clapped and begged for Lebron to return when the Heat came to Cleveland to play on Wednesday and it saddened me to see what we have become.  It doesn't make me feel good to see my fellow fans turn into a jilted lover who is hoping for their ex to get divorced and come back.  It's pathetic.  I will be just be glad when the Cavs finally know that he isn't coming back and we can start actually moving on as a franchise.  That way we can build around the often injured Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson who after years of playing basketball realized he shoots better with his other hand, the black hole shooting guard who can't shoot Dion Waiters, Andrew Bynum who keeps talking about retirement, and Anthony Bennett who is on pace to be the worst number 1 overall draft pick since Kwame Brown in 2001.  It is only a matter of time until Bennett is a D-League all-star for the Canton Charge.  This team has some major issues and I doubt will seem all that attractive to Lebron so it seems like it will be another long, dark era for the Cavs.

What I am most thankful for this season with Cleveland sports teams is what they have done for my son.  He has learned that you love people unconditionally.  That you stick with them through the hard times even if you don't see good times on the horizon.  Being a Cleveland sports fans has taught him that you are loyal and hopeful even if you never get any sort of satisfaction in the end.  It has now been 50 years since a Cleveland team has won a title and he sees his friends, who obviously have no class or values and were raised by barbarians, pronounce their love of the Steelers, Heat, Yankees, Red Sox, and other teams just because they are winning currently.  He knows that is not how a person should be a sports fan.  People love sports for the escape that it allows from life, but I love sports for what it does for my life, how it teaches lessons, and how after every heart-breaking loss and devastating season that my son is becoming a better person through it.  I am thankful for that more than any championship my teams could bring. Although I feel that he has learned enough about perseverance and loyalty, so we could really use a Championship Parade.  I would be very thankful for that.

Follow me on Twitter @Ferrellcomedy


pub-4556041276286460

Player to be named later is the jewel of Sabathia trade.

Five years ago this weekend the Cleveland Indians traded away C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers for 4 prospects.  Pitchers Zach Jackson, Rob Bryson, Michael Brantley who was the player to be named later, and the jewel of the Brewers farm system Matt LaPorta.  Many thought the Brewers gave up a lot for a half season rental player.  It is impossible to break down a trade involving prospects in the moment.  Time must pass in order to properly evaluate a trade.  Let’s break this swap down.

Zach Jackson made his debut for the Tribe in August 2008.  In 9 starts for the Indians that season Jackson went 2-3 with an ERA of 5.60.  The next season Jackson started one game and appeared in two others.  The next spring he was traded to Blue Jays.  Jackson was a big zero for the Tribe. He is currently in Double A for the Royals.

Rob Bryson, who I had no recollection, is amazingly still in the Indians organization 5 years later.  Bryson has spent the bulk of his career playing for the Indians’ Double A team in Akron.  He has spent a small amount of time in Triple A spent mostly getting the tar hit out of him.  His Triple A stats are an ERA over 6.00 and WHIP over 2.  That performance quickly got him sent back down.  Bryson is minor league roster filler for as long as the Indians continue to mail him checks.

Matt LaPorta, a power hitting outfielder who the Indians converted to a 1^st basemen was called up the next season in 2009.  He spent parts of the next four seasons bouncing back and forth from the bigs to Triple A while playing a solid first base but nothing special with the glove.  He struggled at the plate and his WAR was basically zero.  Meaning that LaPorta was playing about as good for the Tribe as the average triple A first basemen would.  Not a lot of production from the crown jewel of the Brewers organization.  In fact the Indians released LaPorta from the 40 man roster and not a single team claimed him.  In a league where teams give multiple chances on tons of players to try and fix them and unlock potential, not a single team felt LaPorta was worthy of claiming off of the scrap heap.  LaPorta went back to Triple A Columbus, where his production this season looks like that of a man, who has given up on getting back to the bigs with the Indians.  He is batting .235 with 5 homeruns in 22 games. 

The player to be named, usually considered a throw away, Michael Brantley has become the Indians everyday left fielder.  Brantley, the son of a major leaguer, is arguably the Indians most consistent hitter.  He rarely slumps and is an above average major leaguer.  He made his tribe debut in 2009 and has been durable, an above average hitter who doesn’t give at bats away, plays superb defense, and is quick on the base paths.  On the five year anniversary of the trade he hit two homeruns to tie his career high for a season, and lead the Indians to win over division rival the Detroit Tigers. 

C.C. Sabathia would help lead the Brewers to the Wild Card that season and a first round exit in the playoffs. It was the Brewers first playoff appearance in almost 30 years.  Sabathia would leave for the Yankees in the offseason as the Bronx Bombers brought in a Brinks truck for a hefty contract for the hefty lefty. 

It sounds like the Indians got the worse end of the trade, but I say the Indians won this trade in the long run.  The Brewers got 2 extra home games and Sabathia got shelled in his lone postseason start because the Brewers wore him down using him on short rest down the stretch run to even make the postseason.  Then he was gone.

Although the Indians did not receive an All-Star as of yet from the trade, they have a very good left fielder in Brantley who seems to have moved into the role of clubhouse leader.  Sabathia wasn’t coming back to Cleveland and the Indians weren’t going anywhere in 2008, so the Indians got a very good player instead of letting Sabathia walk away for nothing.  Should the Indians have gotten more for one of the best pitchers in baseball? Of course/ Did they get more out of the trade then the Brewers? Yes they did.  

 

Please feel free to send any feedback below, email mattferrell75@gmail.com, or on twitter @ferrellcomedy

I'm a Blockhead for Loving These Teams

I was raised the right way. My father instilled in me what any good father should. I'm not talking about being honest, trustworthy, and respectful. I mean he taught me that a man loves his teams, he sticks with his teams for the rest of his life, and those teams better damn well be the teams for his town. I live in Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and sports heartache. In my 31 years of life the Cavs, Browns, and Indians have never won a championship. They have only made it to 3 championship series. Hell if the Indians don't win the World Series this year, it will be 50 years since any Cleveland sports team has won it all. No city with multiple sports teams has gone longer. Even cities with one sports team like Green Bay, Wisconsin and San Antonio, Texas have won multiple championships in that time frame.

 

I have seen a lifetime of fan pains in my short 31 years. In Cleveland we have a list of THE's. They all have names but they might as well be called THE Groin Punch. The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, The Decision..... All have hurt me deeply. Being a Cleveland sports fan is like being Charlie Brown trying to kick a football.  We tell ourselves that the team will change. They will stop pulling the football away and stop making draft picks like Gerard Warren and Vitaly Potapenko. We assume that for once when we trade a Cy Young winner we will actually kick the ball and get one actual All-Star. Our teams always seem to be in year one of a five year plan and we patiently wait as each new coach, general manager, and player will be the one to pull us out of this fifty year great depression.

 

This season the Cavaliers blew a 26 point lead against the lowly Suns. My 8 year old step-son had to go to bed before the end of the game. I tucked him in and we discussed how the Cavs were going to get a good win. The next morning I had to tell him that our team had blown the game. He seemed devastated to hear that the Cavs somehow managed to gag up such a big lead. I was not surprised. I had seen it countless times over countless seasons. The wound was still fresh for him. He then said something that made me realize that he was doomed to continue my fate, "There is no way they will ever do that again." The Cavs would go on to lose two more games this year after blowing leads of 20 plus points and had the worst winning percentage of any team in the NBA when leading after three quarters.  My Cleveland teams, OUR Cleveland teams had already turned an 8 year old into Charlie Brown! He was already telling himself that they would change and things would get better.  He was in a relationship where he gave love and received only pain. I have done to him what my father had done to me.  I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was raising him right. I now know that one day, many years from now, he will sit and think how much he loves these teams and how much he hates me for helping him fall in love with such terrible partners. “AAUGH!!!”

 

 

 

Feedback is welcomed below or at mattferrell75@gmail.com