What You Won't Get Elsewhere

You are warned - I'm not in a good mood as I'm writing.

Let's start on a positive note however.

I know you don't care, but so what. I'm 3-1 as head coach after a Saturday sweep, including a come from behind 3-point win against a solid squad. My sixth grade Catholic girls actually manned up, laid the wood defensively and executed down the stretch to earn the W. That's saying something when you are dealing with normally "soft" Catholic kids who are more concerned about getting an I-pod Touch for X-mas than putting a body on someone when rebounding.

I'm very proud of the little ones. Big one today - we play the league's version of the New York Yankees. Yes, I'm having a ton of fun. As I've said over and over again, I like working with children much more than adults. Perhaps that's why I'm anti-social unless you are paying me to communicate with others.

Gilbert & Bernie
Is it just me or is there something inappropriate about the owner of the Cavaliers (Dan Gilbert), and now an executive for the Cleveland Browns (Bernie Kosar), on all the local radio talk shows last week pitching the casino amendment in the state of Ohio?

I voted for the damn thing, but that’s not the point. It just isn’t right for individual in those positions to be publicly lobbying for such a proposition.

Regardless, I doubt their leagues’ respective commissioners will do anything about it. In Gilbert’s case, it looks like he’s angling to invest and make money on casino gambling in Cleveland. Why am I the only one who thinks that’s inappropriate as long as he owns the local basketball team in town?

Cavs
I am starting to fade on Mike Browns, and it has nothing to do with the Cavaliers’
3-3 record. It’s early and they will win a ton of games. My criticism of Mike Brown has a four-prong analysis attached to it.

First, you cannot play Z and Shaq together very often or for very long. You can’t defend quicker front lines that way, especially when they go pick and roll against you. Why he’s experimenting with this group confuses me.

Secondly, I agree with Charles Barkley when he insists, time and time again, the Cavaliers need to speed up the game. They have the game’s best open court finisher (LJ) – it’s not even close. This team should run as much as possible. Instead, they still walk it up too much for my taste.

Third, I am SICK & TIRED of watching screen/roll with LJ and Andy V. There is absolutely no reason to run it with Andy. He’s no threat to score unless he’s standing under the basket with no one around him. Therefore, when Andy sets the screen, all that does is bring a second defender to LJ. And when Andy rolls to the basket now, with Shaq in the line-up, the lane is clogged more than in the past, making the roll to the basket more difficult.

If you are going to run screen/roll, you HAVE to run it with someone who can score the basketball, otherwise it does no good. This is the third time I've brought this specific criticism up.

Finally, I refuse to let him (MB) off the hook for his match-up decisions versus the Magic last spring. His stubborness in keeping a smaller defender on Hedo T. made it easy for Orlando to run its half-court and get the exact shot they wanted time and time again.

James on Hedo T. was the right call. Period. All Brown did was get Hedo paid in the off-season.

Many Acta
Firs, I have no idea how this guy will do. I do assume they hired him for three reasons however.

He’s used to dealing with young (aka: bad) teams. He’s Spanish and that helps a lot these days. And finally, he comes cheap. Yes, I know he was prepared, did his homework and said all the right things in his multiple interviews with Mark Shapiro.

But something tells me Shapiro simply doesn’t have the make-up (aka: stones) to hire someone with clout.

You see, some people are more comfortable hiring individuals to work for them who won’t dominate them in any way. You know where I’m going. These bosses are “insecure,” to put it nicely.

More and more, I get the read Shapiro falls in this category. No, I didn’t want self-promoter Bobby Valentine. But an experienced winner at the helm would have been a better choice.

Here’s the question you have to ask – Did the Indians clearly upgrade in going from Wedge to Acta? There is absolutely no way of knowing the answer to that at this point. And that, my friends, is the problem.

Regardless, we wish Acta well. And again, it won’t matter until you get quality starting pitching. I keep repeating myself, don’t I? Remember, with repetition, come retention. Hopefully, some of this wit and wisdom is rubbing off on you.

Many Good Options
Never has there been so many qualified football people out of work and available. I've harped on three - Bill C., Marty S., and Mike S., time and time again. What's wrong with Tony Dungy? Absolutely nothing. Make it four.

Randy Lerner can't possibly screw this up again. Or can he? Read below.

Browns Mess
So it’s George Kokinis’ fault the Browns are a disaster. Then we are told that Eric Mangini will have a hand in picking his new boss. Amazing. Who the hell with any credibility would come here if that’s true?

My guess is Randy Lerner will come to his senses after talking to qualified individuals and realize no one will come here if part of the deal is Mangini absolutely stays in 2010.

Hey, some of the same media members who okayed the move to Derek Anderson now go on record as saying Brady Quinn wasn’t given enough snaps as the starter to find out if he can play or not. Nice.

Next, they’ll tell us unemployment seems to be high now that’s its reached 10.2%.

These are also the same morons who have decided the Browns will definitely have two new quarterbacks in town next fall instead of Quinn and Anderson without knowing who will run the show next fall.

Kudos to former Browns Head Coach Sam Rutigliano, who nailed it last week, when Browns’ television color commentator Doug Dieken echoed the current media line, stating neither quarterback has done the job and next year’s quarterback is elsewhere.

Rutigliano then responded by acknowledging Quinn’s poor play in the first 2 1/2 games, but made clear the Browns have well over two years worth of footage on Anderson to go by but less than six full games on Quinn.

If Randy Lerner wants a wise, old football man to lean on, he should contact Rutigliano and offer him a corner office in Berea. He can't do worse.

More Browns’ Mess
The more I think about the Browns, the more I get ticked off. These so-called experts sleep in their offices 24-7, fly all over the country checking out prospects in their underwear and watch film until they are blue in the face.

Why do these people make it more difficult than it should be?

Thus, I leave you today with the following - my thoughts, on record, in the order I wanted the Browns to go on the first day of the draft.

Remember, I’m no scout, have no GM experience and watched a lot less DI football last fall than your average drunk 35 year old wearing his Charlie Frye game jersey looking to get laid on the end of a bar stool in some wings joint, in heaven because he can watch six different conferences on large plasmas at one time will sipping his seventh Michelob Ultra.

Here were my exact words in print just after the draft.

“If you read my previous entry, you were aware I preferred quality over quantity in terms of draft philosophy and that I wanted Cleveland to come away with a minimum of two of the following five players (in order of importance), in the 2009 draft – Crabtree (TT), Maualuga (USC), Jenkins (OSU) Moreno (GU) and Wells (OSU). And yes, the way the draft evolved, they could have easily had a combination of the two considering Maualaga’s free fall into the second round, as well as other factors.”