New Year’s Resolution Time

We’re going to try to back off on the following people this coming year:

We start with Cavaliers’ GM Danny Ferry, who we’ve described as being MIA for the past two years.

There is Browns’ quarterback Derek Anderson, who has established himself as a Vinnie Testaverde clone. The only difference is Vinnie rarely had this kind of protection and firepower around him.

Of course there is the 2007 NBA MVP Dirk Notwitzki, who has made taking fade-aways over shorter defenders an art form.

We will lay off those who use one of our favorite terms - “system quarterback.” There is no such thing. If you can play, you can play.

Here is the other beauty that gives me the shakes - "franchise player." I only want to see that term associated with a first ballot Hall of Famer, not some guy who just had a very good year.

We will also back off Z, Gooden and Hughes – who combine to take up a huge chunk of the Cavalier’s salary base, even though you rarely see all three on the floor at crunch time.

It is time to give Romeo Crennell a break – since he will be spending the better part of the off-season trying to improve what is supposed to be his forte – his defense.

I will not complain about the BCS anymore. Anyone who still defends that system is missing the basic gene the rest of us were provided with – the one that allows you to comprehend that titles are won on the field of play, not in a computer ranking devised by some of the same people who created Madden 2008.

We must avoid complaining about the hypocrisy in baseball – from the owners to the players and the networks included – all of whom played “hear, see & speak no evil” when guys were juicing up to the point where softball scores were the norm in MLB. Now they want the guilty to come forward while they play judge and jury.

It is time to lay off coaches in major college football & basketball, who hop like gypsies from one lucrative job to another, all the while telling their current players and future recruits they can be trusted.

I will try, although it will be very difficult, to refrain from complaining when I see a hitter swinging away early in the count with his team down three, as he leads off the bottom of the ninth, when it’s clearly appropriate to take a strike.

We try to go one year without calling Kobe Bryant the most selfish player in sports - the one who wanted “Big Deisel” out of town when LA was winning titles, then demanded more talent around him and since has asked to be traded.

It will be difficult, but I will resist calling Grady Sizemore an underachiever at the plate for striking out as much as he does when he could compete for a hitting title if he ever decided to shorten up some, especially with two strikes.

We will leave Pronk alone. He’s a good guy. It’s not his fault the Indians offered their DH $14 million a year while he was having his worst season ever. You would accepted it too.

I will not belittle the Yankees and Red Sox for having a huge resources advantage over the large majority of ML teams. Just please don’t tell me how bright Cashman and Epstein are. A blind monkey could run those clubs and they would still win 90+ with that kind of cash advantage.

I will try to abstain from saying anything negative about Mr. Happy, Bill Belichick. This resolution will be next to impossible to keep.

Of course the above is all subject to change if the mood hits me.


Now here are a few things I look forward to watching in sports in 2008:

I truly enjoy the unselfishness that is the Cavaliers’ #23.

Watching Victor Martinez make adjustments at the plate is worth the price of admission.

Seeing K2 snatch a football from midair is special.

I would pay to watch, pound for pound, the best player in NBA history do his thing – AI. He’s a warrior.

Observing Peyton Manning run the no huddle reminds me of what the sport was like before all the specialization - quarterback head sets, offensive coordinators calling the plays, scripting the first 15 plays, players studying photos of defenses prior to the snap, the Patriots cheating, etc… etc…

Watching a very ordinary looking (6-0/175 pounds) Steve Nash dominate the basketball floor against the world's best athletes is something to behold.


Here are things I will try to forget for 2008:

My prediction that the Broncos would be in this year's Super Bowl seems a bit off right now.

I wanted Michael Vick calling plays for the Browns if Brady Quinn was not available in the draft. How did I know he had a canine issue?

I thought the Indians would likely wilt down the stretch in ’07 like they did in 2004 & 2006, without Shapiro's help prior to the trading deadline.

I wanted to deal Butterfingers (Braylon Edwards) for a #2 pick prior to the ’07 draft. Yea I know, he set a Browns’ single-season record for TD receptions (15 and counting with one game to play). One reminder - he also likely set a team record for drops (14). The league probably has him at eight. Right.

I firmly believed some NBA team would tender Anderson Varejao an $8-10 million a year deal. If Larry Hughes is worth $12+ million a year, then AV is underpaid.

I thought Ohio State would lose at least three football games this season. Perhaps had they not played Kenyon, Oberlin and their third in-state rival, Mount St. Joseph, they would have. Hiram had no open date.

Those are just a few of our misses in 2007. Remember, when you get on record, you will swing and miss occasionally - even at a get me over fastball.

There is no need to remind you of the ones we nailed. They are too numerous to count of course. Niceeeeeee.

Browns 34 49ers 17
For what it is worth, we have the Browns handling their business against the 49ers next Sunday and the Colts taking care of the Titans. We love Vince Young, but figure the Colts at home will prevail - even with Manning wearing a ballcap in the second half. It will be interesting to see how Young plays in the biggest pro game of his young career.

That prediction probably means they (Browns) will be cleaning out their lockers on Monday.

Till next year you geeks, freaks and $#@!