Ohio State vs. Penn State Preview/Open Thread
November 7, 2009#16 Buckeyes Trounce #11 Nittany Lions 24-7: “Best Win in a Long Time”
November 8, 2009
While We’re Waiting is a solid feature here that serves as the collection of spectacular sports information for your early morning sensation. Storing something we should share here tomorrow? Send your stellar story summary to our smashing tips email address on the right sidebar.
What a week in the news for the Cleveland Browns franchise: “Is Browns owner Randy Lerner preparing for another implosion of his team’s football operations? That’s the question people in the NFL are pondering in the wake of the stunning and still-mysterious departure of General Manager George Kokinis on Monday and the team’s 1-7 record under coach Eric Mangini.” [Tony Grossi/Cleveland Plain Dealer]
It seems like there is no difference between a coach, a general manager and a so-called football czar when you are dealing with a team as bad as this: “Browns owner Randy Lerner wants to hire a ‘football czar’ to take control of the franchise’s football operations, NBC’s Peter King reported during halftime of the Notre Dame-Navy game today. King mentioned former Giants and Browns GM Ernie Accorsi, former Packers and Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren and former Packers GM Ron Wolf as potential hires for the position.” [The Trenches/Sporting News.com]
This is a must-read bye week editorial on the state of the franchise, the front office and the idea of the fan-driven MNF protest: “I have not wanted to comment on the proposed protest led by Browns fan Mike Randall for a number of reasons. Among other things, I’ve never liked publicly disagreeing with other Browns fans. I’ve always felt we were part of the same team, and needed to speak with as united a voice as possible. Plus, I and my friends here on the OBR depend on the kindness and support of Browns fans in order to exist.” [Barry McBride/Orange and Brown Report]
The daily article by some national columnist proclaiming that NYC and LBJ are the perfect match: “It felt like a recruiting trip, the one he never had when he bypassed college for the NBA. Only this process involved the world’s most glamorous arena, a 10-story Nike billboard out on Seventh Avenue and a hip-hop mogul like no other, ready to tell LeBron James that New York is a ‘concrete jungle where dreams are made of … there’s nothing you can’t do.'” [Jay Mariotti/AOL Fanhouse]
Thank you John Hollinger! This proposal makes any scenario where LeBron leaves quite strange: “Let me throw out an even crazier proposition — Minnesota. The Wolves will have the cap space to make a run at LeBron, depending on a few variables — or at the very least can get there fairly easily if they know there’s a chance for a player of this caliber” [ESPN Insider via The Big Lead]
Should have included this in yesterday’s WWW, but former Tribe ace CC Sabathia is doing all he can to bring LBJ to the Big Apple. Is he the new enemy No. 1 in Cleveland now? “Asked what he would tell James about what it’s like to play in New York, Sabathia gushed, ‘There’s nothing like winning here. There’s nothing like playing here. The fans and just the whole experience. There’s nothing you can compare it to. And I’m just happy that I made the right decision.'” [Mark Hale/New York Post]
Looking over the state of the Indians front office after the recent hires as well as the players eligible for arbitration this winter: “Kelly Shoppach, Rafael Perez, Anthony Reyes and Jose Veras are the Indians eligible for arbitration. Perez qualified as a super two player with two years and 157 days of service time. Indians who are out of options include Jeremy Sowers, Andy Marte, Carmona, Shin-Soo Choo, Perez, Reyes and Shoppach.” [Paul Hoynes/Cleveland Plain Dealer]
In your random local sports news of the week, congrats to the University of Akron men’s soccer team for finishing the regular season undefeated: “Trailing 2-1 at halftime, the Zips rallied for two goals late in the second half as the No. 1 ranked team in the country completed a perfect season (18-0) on Senior Night before 2,158 at Lee Jackson Field. It is the second time that the soccer program has had a perfect season. The last time was in 1968, when the Zips went 11-0.” [Akron Beacon Journal staff report]
(The above photo of Eric Mangini was found here and is via Chuck Crow/Plain Dealer.)
10 Comments
Gee thanks, CC. You fat slob.
CC you had your chances here but you choked. You could have been remembered here for all time, but now you’re just a name on a plaque with a bunch of other over paid sellouts.
I wonder if CC would say that if he wasn’t so ridiculously overpaid.
Honestly, F&%# CC. May you rot in piss.
I keep forgetting we still have Anthony Reyes.
I don’t dislike any sportswriter in the world more than I dislike Jay Mariotti for his horrendous work. Mariotti is a tardy, reactionary blowhard with horrible ideas and surprisingly little respect and influence.
To say that LeBron’s legacy would be higher profile in NYC is an undeniable fact. To suggest that this is ABSOLUTELY what LeBron should do and needs to do with his career is superficial and insulting to every American that lives between the coasts.
Like usual, another piece of excrement squirted out by Mariotti. Here’s a “column” title for you, Jay: “To Elevate His Legacy, Jay Mariotti Must Commit Hara-kiri.” It’s the only way you can redeem yourself.
Add him to the list with CC of people who can go [WFNY edit] themselves.
Isn’t CC the same guy that took out a huge ad in the Dealer the fans of Cleveland? So, CC, please explain to me how your statements DON’T make you a two-faced jerk?
What CC said was totally gratuitous; that’s what was irritating about it. He could have made a similar point without insulting all the people who support the team that nurtured his talent for years. He could have complimented Cleveland or its sports organizations–OK, minus the Browns–while saying that LeBron would flourish in New York, as well. But no, CC opted for showing no class.
Would anyone be surprised to hear CC in two or three years from now, wearing an Oakland A’s uniform for the first time, saying how Oakland is the best place in the world for any professional athlete?
After last Friday’s Cavs/Knicks game, I cam to two definitive conclusions:
1. Unless serious changes are made, the Cavs won’t be winning a championship this year.
2. There is no way in hell, Lebron James will be in a Knicks uniform last season. It’s a team that is bereft of talent, will, defense and an the ability to score. There will be better offers for LeBron around the league than what the Knicks can offer. I