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.
Parity unattainable in the NBA: “There is only one LeBron James. Last offseason every team and their mother made an attempt to get him on their team. The team that got him made the finals. The teams that missed out on him were visibly upset. In the lockout a lot has been said about parity. In the NBA, a few great teams rule the league with an iron fist. How are small market teams to compete (San Antonio is conviently left out when this point arises)? There will be a lot of talk about hard caps and contract set ups to ensure that the talent in the league is distributed so that one team can’t buy all the best players. I want to reiterate a point though: no matter what changes happen to the salary cap, no matter what changes happen to player contracts, and no matter what happens with revenue sharing…PARITY IS IMPOSSIBLE IN THE NBA.” [Dre/Wages of Wins]
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Good interview with TJ Ward: “T.J. was only my second “professional” interview, and I must say – I was extremely impressed. The thing that I’ve noticed recently about the players on the Browns roster, is that they all seem to embrace the city of Cleveland. Ward is no exception…Imagine, in a few years, if Ward and Haden really do become the dominant players they are shaping-up to be, that would be scary for opposing offenses but satisfying for Browns fans. If Buster Skrine, Dimitri Patterson, Usama Young and Mike Adams can continue to improve and take their game to a higher level, the Browns will have, quite possibly, the best secondary in the league – for years to come. (No disrespect to Sheldon Brown, he’s a great player – outstanding player – but is approaching the end of his career.) Browns fans are lucky to have such a passionate player in Ward on their team. Browns wide receivers are extremely lucky that he doesn’t play for the opposing team.” [Derek McQuaid/Browns Gab]
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DBN goes behind enemy lines with a Dolphins insider to preview Sunday’s game. [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs by Nature]
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Converting as a home favorite: “For the second consecutive home game, the Browns are the favorites. It’s an unfamiliar position and one that does not bode well, with week one’s loss to Cincinnati being the most recent and obvious example…Entering this game, the expectations are the Browns should win. We’re all aware that does not bode well for the boys in orange and brown. But fear not Clevelanders. If you are leaving the stadium downtrodden after another Browns loss this Sunday, at least you’re not returning to a city of unemployment, crime and hurricanes. Well, at least we know there won’t be any hurricanes.” [Don Delco/Orange & Brown Report]
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NBA lockout apathy settling in: “The thing is, we’re not sure we really care.It’s not that we don’t enjoy rooting for the Cavs. And we’re eager to see how coach Byron Scott works rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson into the squad. It’s just that we have a serious case of labor fatigue at this point. After going through the NFL lockout and all that it entailed, we just don’t have room any more to care about another labor issues involving millionaires and billionaires fighting over the money pie. The league and its players don’t really care about the fans and, as fans, there is not much we can do about the ongoing labor issues. That’s also contributing to our feeling of ambivalence toward the whole lockout.” [Red Right 88]
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The great Rob Neyer on ‘Moneyball & Me’: “What does it mean, though? For most of the world, it’s just a movie. While Michael Lewis’s book actually had a profound impact on the way business is conducted (or conducted, ideally), both within sports and without, the movie simply can’t have that sort of power. Because while the book was about an idea, the movie is necessarily about a compelling character named Billy Beane as portrayed by Brad Pitt. In the hands of talented filmmakers, it would actually be sort of hard to screw up that combination, and they didn’t. Hey, this is veering into Reviewland. Which isn’t my intention. But why is the movie about Billy Beane, necessarily? You tell me: When’s the last time you saw (let alone enjoyed) a movie about an idea?” [Rob Neyer/SB Nation]
