May 24, 2013

Cleveland Sports Quick Hitters

December 2, 2011 by 14 Comments

What do you do with those little pieces of news and information that really don’t warrant a full blown post? You bundle ‘em. I give you my Cleveland Sports Quick Hitters for the week-

- Josh Cribbs is in the local news again, for comments about being sick of losing after the Cincinnati game. This is of course the second time this season he’s made comments like this. Despite the coach saying yesterday he has no beef with Josh, sports radio types want to hang Cribbs out to dry for causing chaos in the locker room.

My take: You can’t have it both ways. You can’t want a guy to be honest and feel the same as the fans do, and then call him out for expressing that same opinion. Cribbs has built up a tremendous amount of respect around here for being a guy willing to do whatever it takes to win games. He gets the benefit of the doubt here.

- Scott Fujita needs surgery on his hand, and was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said Maiava will likely start, and that he believes Maiava has a chance to be a starter down the road in this defense.

My take: Of course he said Maiava has a chance to start down the road. He has to show confidence in the player. If Maiava is your starter going into next season, then we haven’t solved the LB issues.

- NBA free agency is upon us. Several outlets have posted their top free agent lists. Teams can’t officially sign players yet, but they can talk, meaning unofficial deals can be struck.

My take: Wow. What a lack-luster group. The top free agents are Nene, Tyson Chandler and David West? Aren’t these guys we were rumored to be looking at the last couple of years and nobody seemed too excited about? (Ok, I wanted Tyson Chandler when we failed to trade for Shaq or Amare.) The number 9 free agent is really Tayshaun Prince? The Cavs don’t have the cap room to go after any of these guys. Thank goodness. Hey owners- do yourselves a favor and don’t overpay these guys this time around. You can’t sign Nene to a $48 million dollar deal and then amnesty him next year. Think.

- The Indians announced that Mike Sarbaugh will return to coach the Columbus Clippers this season.

My take: This is great news for the Tribe. All he’s done is take the Clippers to back-to-back AAA National Championships. That’s all. With a roster that changes like the wind with call-ups and Luis Valbuena. Truth be told, I thought he’d get a spot in someone’s major league organization. He deserves a shot. Hey Indians- you better find a spot for him with the big league club next season.

- Local media poke fun of the LeBron James/Kevin Durant flag football game, but cover and live-tweet it all the same.

My take: I’m sorry, we don’t cover the Heat or Thunder.

- Jason Kipnis and Chen-Chang Lee were named Cleveland’s minor league players of the year.

My take: Kipnis claims his second Lou Boudreau award given to the organization’s top minor league position player. The other two Indians to win the award twice? Jim Thome and Victor Martinez. Good omen for the kid’s future. At least that he should be a player, not the whole leaving Cleveland part. He does have the fan favorite thing going for him as well. (The award began in 1990.)

-Braxton Miller won the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year award.

My take: Of course he did. Was there even another candidate? Michigan’s Brady Hoke was named Coach of the Year. Jim Tressel won at least 5 coach of the year awards from institutions not named The Big Ten. This is sad.

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  • MrCleaveland

    Josh has every right to sound off. Everyone knows he’s a team-first guy. Trouble makers don’t typically beg to be put on the kick-off team so they can run down and make tackles. They used to call that the suicide squad.

    And let’s not forget St. Ignatius going for its 11th state championship tomorrow night. Iggy a rare ray of sunshine in the vast darkness of Cleve sports. Can’t wait.

  • Mark

    Rick – I enjoy the quick hits. Each isn’t big enough for a whole post but together they might be enough to spark a good discussion.

    You are right on the Browns LB situation. It needs to be addressed next year, probably through the draft. Its been a while since we’ve seen a real impact player in our LB corp. The d-line s shaping up nicely and the secondary as held up pretty well so giving some attention to the linebackers. I watch Von Miller and just think, “why can’t we get one of those?”

  • Matt

    So Mark, we have two first round picks next year and three “major” positions of need (WR,RT,LB).

    Which two do we go with in the first round and which falls to round two?

  • Matt

    BTW, I think the linebacker has to fall to the second round. If the defense can keep our opponents under 20, the WR and RT could put us over the top on offense, meaning we score more than 20 pts.

  • Mark

    @Matt – I tend to agree with you, especially as I’ve read (somewhere – can’t remember where though) that the linebackers aren’t the strongest in the 1st round in the 2012 draft. That being said, I really have to trust Heckert to make the right call. I’d lean to best player available with the caveat that the player fall into the 3 positions you noted. With all the picks that the Browns have collect, you can’t overstate the importance of the 2012 draft. I think it will make or break the future of the Browns.

  • MrCleaveland

    Aaahhh, the calendar turns to December, and football talk in Cleveland traditionally turns to the draft and how high we might pick. Kinda sad.

  • Mark

    Actually we were discussing needs and filling them, not how high the Browns will be drafting.

  • MrCleaveland

    Oh, excuse me.

  • Mark

    @MrCleaveland – No worries! I can see how you were confused:)

  • C-Bus Kevin

    I know this might not be the most popular opinion, but I think the Browns defense is good enough right now. Sure, they get beat up on the run every now and then, but they don’t give up 20 points per game.

    The upcoming draft and roster moves should be all offense (with maybe the odd defensive secondary player).

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Rick

    The draft is not the only way to fill holes on a roster…

  • Yngwie

    @10 I hope your opinion is popular.

    I think WR, RT, OLB in that order are the needs, but really I would prefer WR, RT, best available. If we don’t come out of the offseason with either a 1st round or proven veteran WR1 then I would be really disappointed.

  • LaundroMat

    “- Local media poke fun of the LeBron James/Kevin Durant flag football game, but cover and live-tweet it all the same.

    My take: I’m sorry, we don’t cover the Heat or Thunder.”

    Well, actually, you cover a lot of what LeBron does despite his being on the Heat. I imagine that the reason local media poked fun at this is the same as a reason WFNY covers stories on LeBron: he’s had a serious effect on us as sports fans, and most of us felt or feel burned by him. Having a cheap laugh at his expense makes some of us feel a bit better. This particular story seems to be a stretch in this regard, but I really don’t think that WFNY is immune from giving attention to LeBron beyond LeBron’s time as a Cavalier, and at least sometimes for related reasons.

  • -bobby-

    I do not agree with your assessment of the LBs. And looking at Heckert’s history, we wont be trying to get a linebacker high anyways. But as it stands, Fujita and Gocong are in for next year, and I believe I read they want to get DQ extended. If not, Titus Brown steps in for DQ. As for Maiava, he showed good speed and the ability to get to the los to make plays when Gocong was out early in the season. I think we dont see too much of a step off.

    As for the overall needs of the D, a RDE (opposite of sheard) is needed, and then another playmaker in the secondary. I wont target CB specifically because a ball hawk FS would help too. I think those are both more important then getting another LB. Also getting Phil Taylor to play with the same consistency and intensity as Rubin.