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.
Mark Titus with a must read piece on former Buckeye Greg Oden- “Dealing with another season-ending injury and now nude pictures circulating on the Internet, Greg sought out sports psychologist Joseph Carr. In the spring of 2010, Greg began seeing Carr regularly, and he paid for their sessions with his own money. Months later, when the season started, the Blazers also hired Carr, who started showing up at games and practices. Greg said he saw Carr talking to Blazers front office personnel on several occasions. This seemed like a conflict of interest, Greg said, and he couldn’t shake the suspicion that Carr was sharing details from their sessions with the team. In response, Greg stopped meeting with Carr and his distrust of the Blazers deepened.” [Titus/Grantland]
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Conrad’s season recap- “It was an incredibly hectic and eventful season that went by in a flash, even though at times it seemed to go on forever. We’re now two seasons removed from one of the most successful eras in Cavaliers basketball history. Give it two more years and this upcoming era might surpass it. The Cavs will add another impact player at the end of June and the playoffs are a definite possibility for 2012-13.
Two years ago, it was hard to get pumped to watch the Cavs. Now, I’m already counting down the days until the Summer League starts. No one truly knows what the future has in store for this franchise, but the 2012-13 season is going to be damn exciting. Believe that.” [Kaczmarek/Fear the Sword]
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Very interesting Cleveland attendance chart. [Let's Go Tribe]
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Transcript of Tom Heckert’s PFT interview- “MF: How much of the decision to go with Trent Richardson and install him as your workhorse, how much of that comes from the fact that coach Pat Shurmur had Steven Jackson in St. Louis and offensive coordinator Brad Childress had Adrian Peterson in Minnesota?
TH: Well, I think it doesn’t have a ton to do with it but it just, I think, the style we want to be as not only an offense but a team in general, obviously everyone knows our situation in this division, where it is, it’s a tough division and there’s a lot of weather that’s involved. Some days you’re not going to be able to throw the ball 40 times a game, you’re going to have to run the ball. So you know, I think it’s a combination of a lot of things, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot that those guys have been a part of those types of offenses, but it does help.” [Florio/Pro Football Talk]
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“This was the major takeaway from Dan Gilbert’s press conference for me. After replying to a question about what the organization has learned over the last couple seasons since “you know who left”, Dan first joked: “You mean since Zendon Hamilton left?” I laughed, because that was funny. What he went on to say from there was both interesting and revealing though, I thought. Dan Gilbert said that since that time, the organization has shifted their philosophy from generally “trying to build around superstars” to now trying “to build with them”. The “with”, he noted, as opposed to the “around”, was the important change in philosophy. I personally also think it’s indicative of a franchise that is learning from the past, growing, and maturing as well. But I don’t think most of my fellow bloggosists will ever give Dan Gilbert credit for something like that. Even though they maybe should.” [Bowers/Stepien Rules]
