Cavs’ JJ Hickson Goes MIA for a Mandatory Practice, Results in DNP-CD
January 5, 2011Buckeyes Basketball Coverage Starting… Now
January 6, 2011
While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Struggling to find optimism within the early candidates for the Cleveland Browns head coaching position: “Each new name thrown out there is like another throbbing pain to an already immensely painful migraine: Mike Mularkey? Pat Shurmur? Perry Fewell?
Someone wake me when this coaching search is over, or when team president Mike Holmgren has a press conference to announce either Jon Gruden or himself as the next head coach of the Browns. And I don’t say that simply because I want to see the team coached by a high-profile guy.” [Steve DiMatteo/Dawg Pound Daily]
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Some poetic depression about those sad Browns: “The Browns make me sad. When I say ‘sad,’ I don’t mean the ‘Robin Williams-smiling-through-his-tears’ sweet, longing ache, which I understand can be therapeutic.” [Doug/Cleveland Sports Torture]
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Nothing shocking about this, it was bound to happen sometime soon: “The Panthers have requested permission to interview Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for their vacant head-coaching position, according to a report from PFW’s Panthers correspondent Darin Gantt, of the Rock Hill (S.C.) Herald.” [ProFootballWeekly.com]
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Evaluating what we saw from Colt McCoy this year: “He showed us something at QB that the Browns have not had since Bernie Kosar. He brings a winning mentality and strong leadership, he can make plays with both his arm and his legs.” [Zach/The Lake Erie Soldiers]
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Yet again, our very own Scott was first on the scene to capture a picture of the Cav Fanatic jerseys unveiled last night. These were not worn by the team Wednesday, but are available for purchase at the remodeled team store and online. [WFNYScott/Twitter]
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Knowing that Ted “Golden Voice” Williams has many offers to mull over, the Cleveland Cavaliers resorted to one thing that always works: fan websites. That’s right, the Cavs set up a place for fans to make their rallying cry to have the homeless Williams accept the team’s entertainment team gig and house. Already over 300 comments published; success is imminent. [We Want Ted Williams To Work At Quicken Loans!]
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Highly touted Akron defensive back Doran Grant declared his intent to sign with Ohio State Wednesday: “This is a huge pick-up for the Buckeyes as corner back is a position of dire need and Grant is ranked as one of the top three at his position in the nation. I actually have Grant as the #1 player in Ohio, ahead of Braxton Miller, so I’m certainly excited to see what he can do for the Bucks in 2011.” [Alex/Eleven Warriors]
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More about that uncharacteristic OSU Sugar Bowl performance: “With the entire sports world watching, with critics abounding, and with the added pressure of carrying the torch for the Big Ten, Ohio State held on to win a huge game in New Orleans. As big as every BCS Bowl victory is, this Sugar Bowl win was much more.” [Dave Thurman/The Silver Bullet]
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A fairly provocative expose critiquing Ohio State and the Big Ten for still losing the battle to the SEC, despite that New Orleans victory: “Unfortunately, there is now one thing you can’t do. Thanks to the events of the past month, you’ve forfeited the right to the moral superiority you’ve enjoyed over the SEC.” [Andy Staples/SI.com]
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Meanwhile, that Buckeyes basketball team has been awful good all season. More on this later today: “If predictions were always right they wouldn’t be fun. So, in that spirit, it’s time that we start talking about how good Ohio State is.” [Kellen Carpenter/Rush The Court]
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At least this is good news coming out of Cleveland this week: “The Indians’ projected lineup for Opening Day currently includes Grady Sizemore. The center fielder’s recovery from left knee surgery is going as expected and he has been cleared to begin expanding his offseason activity.” [Jordan Bastian/MLB.com]
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Speaking of the Tribe, two small moves to report over the past couple days. The Indians first made a minor trade for Joe Martinez and then signed Doug Mathis to a non-guaranteed contract. [Ben Nicholson-Smith/MLB Trade Rumors]
(Photo above via AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
16 Comments
the piece by doug was nothing short of brilliant.
After watching some sports shows on TV yesterday, you would think Arkansas won the game. It pains the natl media to admit that OSU played well (for a half at least) and won the game. Between Michigan making news yesterday and ESPN only able to talk about suspensions, even in winning the Buckeyes lost.
If I was Rob Ryan, I’d be carefull with that Panthers job. I’m not even a huge proponent of trying to keep Ryan with the Browns. While being head coach of any NFL team would be awesome, it’s pretty well known that the Panthers are looking to save money at every turn by hiring a cheap coaching staff and avoiding expensive players.
This philosophy could include trading out of the top pick in the draft to land in a cheaper slot. All I can say is…buyer beware!
Also, I love the photo collage on Doug’s web page. Misery indeed.
My only question when looking at that is “What picture makes me most miserable?” Of course, it’s the Marlins’ celebration.
So close…yet so far away.
Whatever coach we hire better be ready to go .500 in the division and bring us at least 11 or 12 wins.
I expected the number of wins we got from Mangini this year (though I was optimistic and hoping for more, and disapointed that we didn’t get them). Holmgren’s firing of Mangini, though, tells us Holmgren thinks the Browns were at least a 7-8 win team THIS year, even with the tough schedule.
I’m putting our coach-to-be on notice now: Any less than 11 wins and I want him fired after the season.
That Staples piece was trash. Someone, anyone, please explain to me what was “immmoral” about the Buckeyes’ Sugar Bowl win? I still don’t get it. If Tressel benches those five guys, nobody’s talking about “how good it was that OSU took the ‘high road.'” They’re only talking about what a beating OSU took and how we still can’t play with the SEC. So Tressel plays them (the only option that he had, considering pressure from the NCAA, Sugar Bowl, Big Ten, etc.), beats a good SEC team, and now the word is that OSU is a dirty or “immoral” program (forgetting the fact that what these 5 kids did during their Freshman year had nothing to do with the program or the university).
Staples’ “moral superiority” equivocation game is stupid. But playing it anyway, I’d still say that allowing 5 guys that sold personal property and got cheap tattoos play in an exhibition game before their half-season suspension, while maybe not the best decision in the annals of mankind, is probably less “immoral” than both (1) oversigning a bunch of kids that will never see the field or will have to transfer once their scholarships are revoked and (2) “allegedly” engaging in highest-bidder negotiations for star players.
@Garry: You don’t even have to use quotes around “allegedly.” The NCAA has already determined it happened.
That was my favorite part about the OSU commentary. Suspensions this, suspensions that – Oh, did we mention Cam Newton is playing in the title game?
@Chris
Holgren’s firing of Mangini, though, tells us a number of things. Perhaps Holmgren thinks that Mangini doesn’t fit with the system he would like to install. Perhaps Holmgren thinks that he deserves a chance to install his own system as he puts his reputation on the line. Perhaps Holmgren thinks that Mangini set us back a few years when he blew the draft by trading away talent for spare Jets and serving as de facto GM over the GM that he hand-selected. Perhaps Holmgren thinks that if the Browns have enough talent to dominate the Patriots and Saints, that they should at least be able to win one of two consecutive games against the Bills and Bengals. Perhaps Holmgren thinks that if the Browns really played hard for Mangini, they wouldn’t end the season on a four game losing streak punctuated by a 32 point embarrassment against an arch rival in our home stadium. Holmgren’s firing of Mangini might tell us a lot of things, but it does not tell us anything about your ability to put words in Holmgren’s mouth or to speculate without actual information.
But please, keep posting about Mangini when nobody even brought him up. I love it when you claim that you will accept Holmgren’s decision, then make unsolicited posts about the lack of support for an unsuccessful coach who was fired earlier in the week.
@sealed: a few things…
1) I’m talking about the coaching search and my expectations for the next coach, not about Mangini.
2) Holmgren COULD have been telling us all of that in firing Mangini, and i’d concede that those are all pretty good points (except the draft one, that would only have beeen a good point had he been fired LAST year). Unfortunately, if you listened to the presser, Holmgren said the reason he fired Mangini is lack of wins. The only logical conclusion is that Holmgren is being dishonest and decietful this year, and was dishonest and machiavalian last year, or that he thinks this team can win more than it has. I’m hoping Holmgren is a stand up guy and that it was the latter. I’m not sure, though.
3) I was holding Mangini to high standards for next year… wild card team or can him. If Holmgren says our team could realistically have won more than it did, then I’m upping my expectations, because evidently I was under rating the Browns this year. How is that not fair?
@Chris
You are right. Holmgren said plainly that we didn’t win enough games this year. That said, nobody would tell a coach that he has to “go .500 in the division and bring us at least 11 or 12 wins” or else he is fired. That was not the standard that Mangini was held to this year, nor does it follow that even if we won 7-8 games last year that we should automatically win 12 games the following year.
Unless you actually believe that a coach should be held to a 12 win minimum per year to keep a job, then your sarcasm indicates that you think Mangini was treated unfairly. You made a straw man argument to make your position look valid. I just think it is both hypocritical and asinine to claim that you will accept Holmgren’s decision, then post snide remarks implying that the next coach must win 12 games to keep his job.
Guys, its nuts to try and put a number out there for expected wins for next year. Just too many variables between now and then. But, I do think a noticeable improvement should be expected. Let’s see who is hired and drafted before talking win totals.
And please, let’s keep the snide remarks to a maximum.
Oh, Cavaliers. As if your play this season hasn’t been nauseating enough, now you bring out one that awful uni? What have we done to deserve this?
@Chris-
I like your reasoning. Makes sense to me. We should have been a seven-ish win team this year (implied by Big Mike’s rationale for firing Mangini). Since not improving results in a firing (again, thanks Mike!), not posting ten or so wins (I’m a little more charitable than you) means that the new coach (and maybe Holmgren) are not good and should be fired.
At the minimum, we should be with this new coach for the “long haul” which, based on when Holmgren invoked it in support of Mangini at the end of last season, means one whole season.
@sealed –
Holmgren himself shot down the “different philosophies” argument last year when he stayed with Mangini. Maybe he does think some of those things. Personally, I wish he’d, you know, TELL us what he thinks and why he really fired Mangini instead of blowing smoke.
@Garry –
Turned up to 11.
Coaching search continues. Yet again.
Thanks guys–Doug at ClevelandSportsTorture is indeed a poet, and a tortured soul. And Kevin did the fantastic artwork on the site. Believe me, narrowing down all the tortuous moments in our history isn’t that easy…