WaitingForNextYear

Kyrie Irving Unburdened By Comparisons To LeBron

May 19, 2012 by Brendan · 1 Comment

Cavaliers’ franchise point guard Kyrie Irving was the king of Cleveland this week. It started on Sunday with news leaking out that he would be named the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year. The leak, of course, did not bring unexpected news, as it was only a matter of where and when he would accept the award. Irving received the award on Tuesday in Independence, gregarious and reflective. The Jersey native then put a bow on the week on Friday, with the release of a funny short mockumentary commercial where Irving played the sage old “Uncle Drew.”

Later on Friday, GQ published an interview with Irving that was both goofy and enlightening, switching and balancing tones perfectly as he did throughout his acceptance press conference. Irving was candid in the interview, directly addressing the persistent comparisons to LeBron James and their respective chases for an NBA championship. [Read More]

Kerry Wood…The Tribe Years

May 18, 2012 by TD · 9 Comments

Some out of nowhere news has come from Chicago this morning. Kerry Wood, the one-time can’t miss phenom of the Cubs, will reportedly retire after tonight’s Cubs/White Sox interleague game. The man they once called “Kid-K” bursted onto the baseball scene as a 21-year old rookie from Texas who had unhittable stuff. You recall his one hit, 20-strikeout game against Houston Astros in his second month as a Major Leaguer of course. The future looked unbelievable bright for Wood.

But with his violent delivery, came a rash of injuries. Wood missed the entire 1999 season after needing Tommy John surgery. Other than the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he was never able to make the standard 30 starts regularly. The inability to stay healthy had the Cubs thinking the best move for him was a change. So in 2007 after starting the season on the 60-day DL with elbow soreness, the Cubs made him a middle reliever. A year later, he became the Cubs closer where he save 34 games in 39 opportunities and posted an ERA of 3,26 while striking out 84 in 66.1 innings. Kerry was mpressive enough to hit the free agency market and cash in.

It was the 2009 offseason. Your Cleveland Indians, a year removed from being a team that was one game away from the World Series, thought they were still contenders after a 81-81 season. Cliff Lee was heading the rotation. You still had Victor Martinez , Grady Sizemore (coming off a 33 homer season), Asdrubal Cabrera, and Johnny Peralta. A trade to add Mark DeRosa to play third base was made. [Read More]

Colt McCoy Through the Lens of Brady Quinn

May 18, 2012 by Craig Lyndall · 67 Comments

Browns fans are understandably terrified of a QB controversy. The days of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn (not to mention Charlie Frye) will do that to you. I’ve already been on record that I think it is a possibility that Colt McCoy might beat out Brandon Weeden, at least initially, because of his experience in the Browns’ offense. Still, despite all the moving parts and an ultimate desire to win ASAP, some Browns fans are so bitten by the Brady Quinn past that they think the only option is for Colt McCoy to be gone.

They might be right. I might be missing the boat completely on this thinking that this mix of quarterbacks can coexist. It does seem similar to Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn in some ways. On the one hand you have the somewhat smaller guy with questionable arm strength with Colt McCoy and Brady Quinn. On the other you have a guy who fits the stereotypical QB mold in terms of height and ability to hurl the ball like Derek Anderson and Brandon Weeden. And other than that, there just isn’t much similarity between the controversies of the past and potential conflict now.

One of the biggest problems with the D.A. vs. B.Q. situation was that Browns fans kept echoing the sentiment that “we need to see what we have in Brady Quinn.” That phrase became so common at one point that it made me want to scream just because everyone was using the same exact phrase. Is there anything worse than a localized cliché that peppers sports talk radio and website comment sections? I digress. The current situation with Colt McCoy is totally different than when we had to see “what we have in” Brady Quinn. [Read More]

The Terrelle Pryor era in Ohio State: Was it all worth it?

May 14, 2012 by Scott · 14 Comments

Patrick Maks is back, this time with a take on a former Ohio State player who has recently been in the news due to lengthy profile in Sports Illustrated. Patrick asks, was it all worth it?

Before he’d ever taken a snap as a college quarterback, Terrelle Pryor received a standing ovation on a brilliantly sunny day against Youngstown State in Ohio State’s cakewalk of an opener in 2008. Months before that, Sports Illustrated called his college decision “the most anticipated signing day announcement in history.”

Talk about hype. A look at just the numbers suggests he lived up to the most of it.

Key word: most.

[Read More]

While We’re Waiting…Browns Quarterback Competition, Calling Up LaPorta, Joe Carter Bobbleheads

May 19, 2012 by Brendan · Leave a Comment

Plenty, I’m sure: “Personally, having watched both players a number of times, I don’t think that Weeden has the tools to beat out McCoy unless the competition is rigged. The only advantage I see Weeden having over McCoy is height. In saying that, it will be interesting to watch how it unfolds this summer in both camp and the preseason. My money is on McCoy. Any takers?” [Greg Gabriel/National Football Post]

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