NBA Free Agency: Cavaliers Interested in Chris Copeland
July 3, 2013Delayed and defeated. Indians couldn’t keep the road streak alive in Kansas City.
July 4, 2013“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.
Wow. A really good read. “Frank earned the sheepskin about six months after he’d quarterbacked the Cleveland Browns to a rout of the Colts in the NFL championship game of ’64. The final was 27-0, which is not a prime number. But he threw three touchdown passes, which is. The Browns haven’t won it since — but they haven’t had any other Ph.D.s. Then again, no other teams have, either.
And it was three years later when, scrambling from the pocket, he butted heads with Dick Butkus. Frank’s neck crunched. He left the game. The doctor cleared him to return for the second half. Well, the chiropractor cleared him. Art Modell, the Browns owner, didn’t have an actual M.D. on the payroll.
Frank didn’t mind going back in. After all, he’d already been having recurrences of those “bright slashes of lightning-looking things” in one eye that started when he was hit in the head in high school. Just part of the game he has long left behind.” [Richmond/Sports on Earth]
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“When I look at that list of agreements, there aren’t really any deals that I’m upset the Cavs didn’t make. I wanted Budinger or Webster, but both guys re-signed with their former team. How much more would the Cavs had to overpay in order to pry them from those teams? C.J. Watson and Eric Maynor are nice players and would fill a need for the Cavs, but they aren’t must-have players. Personally, I’m fine with the Cavaliers’ approach. I’d rather sit back and let teams make bad signings than join in just because we have cap space. Often times if you wait until the end of free agency, you can get some pretty nice deals if you’re one of the few teams with cap space remaining. Of course, you run the risk of things playing out the opposite way and being one of several teams that need players from a very limited pool of remaining talent. More often than not, however, I think the worse deals tend to be agreed upon at the very beginning of the free agency period. I remember Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall and I’m fine not going down that road again. You don’t have the make the biggest signing or the earliest signing, just the right one.” [Kaczmarek/Fear the Sword]
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“When the signing of Jason Campbell was announced, there was talk of a quarterback competition in Cleveland. There will be a quarterback competition but it is going to be graded on a sliding scale and while Campbell could end up as the starter, he is more likely to end up as the third string quarterback behind the object of Mike Lombardi’s affection, Brian Hoyer. The fact of the matter is that while Brandon Weeden is fighting for a sixteen game audition to be the future of the Browns, there is little or no upside in having anyone else play the position this year, so unless he falls on his face completely in training camp, he is going to the starter. The winner of the Campbell/Hoyer competition will have to outplay Weeden by a decent margin for there to be any reason in having either of those two start. Browns fans should be hoping that Weeden is the starter, unless they want to draft another quarterback early in the draft. because short of divine intervention, that is the direction the Browns will be going in the upcoming draft if Weeden cannot win the job and then distinguish himself as a good starting quarterback this season.
Weeden is the only chance the Browns have any long term starter on the roster. If there are fans who want to hold onto the ‘what if’ idea of having Campbell or Hoyer turn into a long term answer, more power to them but that is more fantasy than anything resembling reality. Campbell has proven to be nothing but a good backup and stopgap player who can start in a spots. His career average is just a speck under one touchdown per game and he is 31 year old. While that is only barely older than Weeden in age, Campbell has been in the league nine years and played 76 games. He is a good backup but not a realistic starter for any real length of time. There is definitely value in having a good backup quarterback but that is all he can be if the Browns have any hopes of competing.” [Smith/Dawg Pound Daily]
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Tons of Kipnis facts from June– “Kipnis is the first Indians player to enjoy a month with at least nine stolen bases, 17 extra-base hits, 20 walks and 25 RBI. If you remove the stolen bases, a 17/20/25 month has been done just eight times by a Tribe hitter: Kipnis, Travis Hafner (Aug. 2006, Sept. 2005), Jim Thome (July 2001, June 1998, May 1998) and Manny Ramirez (Sept. 2000, May 2000). Kipnis’ .419 average is highest in a single month (min. 20 games) by an Indians hitter since Aug. 1986 (Pat Tabler, .463). Kipnis’ 61 times on base are most in one month by an Indians hitter since July 2001 (Thome, 61). Kipnis’ .517 OBP is highest in one month (min. 20 games) by Tribe hitter since Sept. 1999 (Ramirez, .524) Last Indians hitter to match Kipnis’ slash line in one month: Tris Speaker (Sept. 1923). Only others are Speaker (July 1923) and Joe Sewell (Aug. 1923). Kipnis’ 38.5 runs created and 1.216 OPS (min. 20 games) best by an Indians hitter since Hafner in Aug. 2006.” [Bastian/MLB.com]
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“Weeden could arguably have a better supporting cast than Anderson did that season with the emergence of the running game led by Trent Richardson and the receiving corps with Greg Little, Josh Gordon, Travis Benjamin, Davone Bess, David Nelson and a strong offensive line. Kellen Winslow had a big year at tight end in 2007 and it’s unclear if the trio of Jordan Cameron, Gary Barnidge and Kellen Davis will be able to produce as much as Winslow did. But all considered, Weeden does have weapons at his disposal.” [Greetham/The OBR]
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1 Comment
The idea that Weeden has an equal or superior supporting cast to Derek Anderson is classic Cleveland wishful projection. Richardson is not yet Jamal Lewis of ’07, and he doesn’t have St. Lawrence opening holes for him. Neither Gordon nor Little are yet the Braylon of ’07. Is Best as good, as great a mismatch, as Joe Jurevicius? We’ll see. Not only does Weeden not have a TE like Winslow in his best year, he doesn’t even have Steve Heiden.
Crazy talk.