My Thoughts Exactly

First of all, I have to start this one off with a Happy Birthday wish to Luke Florence, who turns 22 today (Oct. 11). Barring any application problems, Luke will be joining all of us at Ohio University once again and the ensuing fun is immeasurable at this point. Also, a birthday wish to Steve Young, one of my favorite players to watch growing up because he was a southpaw who could scramble as well as he could throw the ball.

Secondly, thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals for having a bye week so I could watch the Cleveland Browns-New England Patriots game via webcam. Also, thanks to Travis Henry for at least starting the game against San Diego – it’s the least he could do for his fantasy owners (like myself) who didn’t think a prior marijuana charge and a number of kids for which he has to pay child support were reason enough not to take him in the early rounds. Who says players’ personal problems don’t show up in fantasy sports??

A few things about the Cleveland Browns’ game against the New England Patriots. It started off much better than the last time Cleveland played New England. I was in the stands for the Bethel Johnson return for touchdown on the opening kickoff, taking only 14 seconds for the Pats to take the 7-0 lead. I remember this mainly because of the comment by Alex Lucius, who immediately said, “They’re gonna score a million points. Someone do the math!!” Trips to Cleveland for bad games are only saved by good stories and/or quotes, so we had that going for us early on. To further prove how much this organization has changed in 3 years -- it was 21-0 before Cleveland quarterback Luke McCown hit Antonio Bryant for a 16-yard score. The only thing that didn’t change was the end result – Browns lost that game 42-15.

The Browns defense held up its end of the bargain by holding New England to a field goal on the Pats’ first possession Sunday. A Josh Cribbs kickoff return set Cleveland up with pretty good field position and the Browns drove right down the field and had 1st and Goal on the 1. At this point I said, “Four downs to get one yard. Give it to Jamal Lewis.” When Jason Wright took the first handoff for no gain, my only thought was, “Jamal Lewis better be hurt if he’s not in this game.” It’s really not a good sign when you think this at any point in a game.

Turns out Lewis WAS hurt and Cleveland didn’t score on that drive after a pass intended for Steve Heiden was tipped and intercepted by Junior Seau. The linebacker is ancient by NFL standards – he turns 39 in January. To drive home this point further, it was Seau’s first pick since 2002. He would add another INT that ended the next Browns drive. Anderson killed three Cleveland drives by throwing picks.

Dan Dierdorf made a great comment at the 10:40 mark in the 4th quarter when he said, “Wes Welker is 5-9 on a REALLY good day.” Sounded like something I’ve said about myself more than once, except for me it goes “5-6.”

In the late stages of this game it was one where people might randomly tune in and think, “Wow, Cleveland actually has a chance to pull this one off.” Taking over with 6:44 to play, it took just two Derek Anderson passes to find the endzone, hitting Kellen Winslow for a 14-yard score, moving the Browns to within 10 points. But in typical Browns (and Patriots) fashion, New England picked up key first downs on a 5-minute drive that left Cleveland with just 52 seconds to drive 96 yards after the Pats turned it over on downs.

Instead of hope, Browns fans were left hopeless after just one play. Kellen Winslow turned upfield after grabbing a pass and fumbled the ball away at the 15. Randall Gay scooped and scored to put New England up by 17. Gay either had money on the game or simply hates me and others who picked Cleveland to cover the spread because this score kept the Browns from doing so. A few meaningless passes moved Cleveland down the field on the ensuing possession, but Winslow couldn’t haul in a ball in the back of the endzone on the game’s final play. Browns lose 34-17.

After reading this post you might wonder why I didn’t start with the Cleveland Indians – my team in the post-season and the one actually winning. To be honest, it’s because Game 3 of the ALDS came right after the Browns game.

I was extremely happy to see the Indians take both games in Cleveland – and what Indians fan wasn’t. A 1-1 tie (or even 0-2 hole) going to New York would have set up possible disaster. Instead the bats picked up C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona was 2007 Fausto Carmona (as opposed to 2006 Fausto Carmona who went 1-10).

Game 1 didn’t hold too many thoughts from me, mostly smiles. Something I can’t figure out is the craze on this Indians team for the beard. I’m sure it goes along with the idea of team-building as well as not shaving ‘til you’re done. What concerns me is a possible return for Eric Wedge’s mustache.

Remember how it loomed in 2005, ever-so-obvious every time he was iso’ed on camera, twitching his nose?? Luke Florence, Matt Barnes and I begged for it to go (as most people did, I assume). After he shaved it that year, the team snapped out of a funk and played well until the last week of the season. Hopefully the loophole is that it cannot be a mustache alone. We’ll see.

Meanwhile beard brigade member and mountain man look-alike Casey Blake has just been sited carving a new set of bats out of some trees in rural northeast Ohio. Blake went just 2-for-17 in the ALDS with 2 RBIs in Game One, but chances are good that he’ll snap out of this funk. One must remember he had a 26-game hitting streak this season. (I was at the game with Matt Coleman, so typical result on my end.) Rounding out the beard brigade is Travis Hafner, who defied logic by finding a way to look like more of a huge ogre. An ogre that Tribe fans love – especially those in Pronkville.

Game 3 of the ALDS also brought to light exactly how money plays a part in what kind of jobs baseball general managers have. There were a few players that each team picked up at different points this year in hopes that they would help the team in a playoff situation. For the Yankees: Roger Clemens. For Cleveland: Trot Nixon and Kenny Lofton. A tip of the cap to Indians GM Mark Shapiro for the well-spent money in those two (to this point) because, if nothing else, they provide a “been there, done that” voice in the clubhouse for the younger players on the team. New York GM Brian Cashman’s choice to reach into the deepest pocket imaginable to grab The Rocket just looks ridiculous now. Those blaming injury in the Clemens situation have to remember an increased chance of getting hurt comes with age.

I fully agree with Luke Florence’s sentiment from a recent column when he said of Eric Wedge, “I’m still not a big fan of his, but I must admit, he’s a players manager. These guys enjoy playing for Wedge and it’s hard to argue with his results so far this season.” The fact that Indians players are on the Wedge Wagon has been no mystery throughout the year and it can even be seen in the dugout during these playoff games.

Maybe Ryan Garko is just a really happy dude, but even when discussing the current opposing pitcher with teammates in the dugout, he cracks a smile. Even with Jake Westbrook in trouble in Game 3, Carl Willis said something that made both men smile during a mound meeting. Westbrook didn’t exactly get out of trouble, but the point is that the atmosphere isn’t one of pressure, but one of “just another day at the office.” That, among other things, is why the measly Indians could beat down the Yankees, who were stoic in their dugout from beginning to end. Critics say Cleveland’s lax approach presents a lack of focus, but it’s more of the “Manny being Manny” theory in my mind.

Of course, you can’t get through a conversation with me on the ALDS without some mention of the broadcast itself, so here goes my rant. How bad did TBS want the Yankees to win Games 3 and 4?? Even when the Indians had one out in their at-bat, the comments from the broadcast team (namely Chip Caray, whom I really liked up until this series began) were about how New York had the 3-4-5 hitters coming up in the bottom half of the inning. I assume this was done to keep hope for the Bronx fan base watching TBS for as long as possible. Remember, the ALCS traveled to the FOX broadcast team, so the next Indians win took away that large viewing crowd from TBS.

My next complaint concerns the choice of the broadcast team. Chip Caray is the usual Atlanta Braves play-by-play man for TBS. Tony Gwynn played 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres. Ohio University alum Bob Brenly is part of the WGN broadcast team for Chicago Cubs games, spent four years managing the Arizona Diamondbacks and played about 8 ½ years playing for the San Francisco Giants. If you didn’t catch the common link, they’ve all spent their most recent careers in the National League, yet all join together to call an American League postseason match up. And it showed.

If I had a dollar for every time they mentioned how the viewers probably won’t see a bunt because the Indians-Yankees series was in the American League, I’d be able to beat out Mark Cuban for a share of the Cubs ownership. Then you have to add in the comments on how it’s harder to manage in the NL because of figuring out how long to throw your starting pitcher, how to pinch hit, etc. It’s one thing to mention it and another thing to beat it to death. Why wouldn’t you want a predominantly National League crew calling a National League series for reasons such as knowing the players better?? This crew has been pretty good overall, but these things bothered me. Next up: the ALCS with my beloved Tim McCarver, i.e. expect similar comments in the next blog.

I’ll finish by saying all people complaining about bugs affecting the New York Yankees in Game 2 need to stop. If this series had gone all five games, I would have begged for someone in attendance to have a sign that read, “Welcome to Cleveland – where smog doesn’t make our team lose like they did in New York.” Seriously, it’s along the same line. On a side note, thanks to TBS for getting as close as possible to the bugs on Joba’s neck, further driving home the idea that the bugs lost New York the game.

Congrats to Jeff Gordon on a win at Talladega, catapulting himself into the lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Additional congrats to Notre Dame, who surprised a lot of people by beating UCLA on the road. Two more big tests in consecutive weeks against Boston College and USC will really show if that win over the Bruins was a true upset or just a bad performance by UCLA. Should be a great weekend of sports (yes, weekend, considering the Tribe starts it off at 8:30 Friday morning).

That’s all for now. Love you all in the states. Stay tuned for what should be a GREAT story when I try to cancel my application for permission to work (I’ll be starting that process tomorrow) as well as some thoughts on that weekend of sports.

From the other side of the globe, I’m Kevin Hunt.

If you want to see me soon, ask for more patience because the return is about three weeks away.