Cleveland Indians “Issue 7” denial story takes a big hit
April 27, 2014Tribe weekend wrap: Swept away in San Francisco
April 28, 2014
Terry Pluto skewered WKYC station manager Brooke Spectorsky in his Sunday column, and it was beautiful if not deserved. The debate of Bernie Kosar and his absurd ousting from the preseason broadcast booth has likely drawn more attention than anyone would prefer, but this entire situation falls squarely in the lap of the man who is attempting to play Cleveland Browns fans for fools.
Spectorsky, in his infinite wisdom, claims that the station has other plans for Kosar, yet has not claimed what those plans are despite days of discussion surrounding the ver topic. Instead, he decided to use the fact that the Browns are “rebuilding” (which is news to me), thus the broadcast booth should do the same. One could argue that the team has been “rebuilding” for a few years now, yet Kosar has remained, dropping detailed knowledge of Xs and Os mixed with some mispronounced names and non-filtered commentary about both teams.
Let me be clear: No decisions of this magnitude get made without the Browns rubber stamping that bad boy. Regardless, Spetorsky, in his attempt to treat the fans like incompetent fools, comes off looking like the biggest one of them all.
***
There is nothing I could say in this spot that would do justice to the Donald Sterling story that has permeated the news all weekend. I wanted to give you all a place to discuss the fallout in the comments (kudos to the Clippers for their logo-free warm-ups), but am like many of you who are waiting to see what—if anything—the NBA does. It was no secret that Sterling is one of the scummiest owners in all of professional sports. This weekend may only serve to transcend those boundaries.
***
Good to see Jermichael Finley working his way back from the brutal spinal injury he sustained against the Browns last season. While it can be debated as to whether or not someone who suffered the type injury he did should even consider jumping back into the same gig that put him where he is, but being “on track” is undoubtedly better than the alternative. Even if Finley doesn’t return, I hope it’s by choice and not by chance. The fact that several teams are interested in his potential return speaks volumes to his talent.
***
Danny Salazar may have bought himself some time this weekend, but if I’m Carlos Carrasco, I’m testing the slack on my leash because Trevor Bauer continues to be straight filthy. On Sunday afternoon, Bauer went seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. On April 17, Bauer threw six shutout innings, striking out nine and walking one, touching 96 miles-per-hour with his fastball. Last Tuesday, Bauer notched his second win of the year, allowing six hits while striking out three and walking three in 6 2/3 innings. In four starts (25 2/3 innings) with Columbus, Bauer’s 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA. A bit erratic last season, he has 28 strikeouts with just seven walks. It’s exciting to think that this is all (finally) coming together for the 23 year old. It’s even more exciting to think of what it could mean for the Tribe if he can carry it to the big leagues.
***
I don’t have a link for this one as I’m pretty sure it’s embargoed for a bit, but the new issue of GQ focuses on a huge interest of mine in discussing the 15 funniest people (mostly stand-up comics) in show business today. And yes, while lists like this can be debated forever, the one comic that GQ (and anyone really) refuses to debate is Louis C.K. Louie is on the cover and is, as intimated by said cover, the subject of a lengthy profile which is both informative and hysterical. As someone who enjoys profiling athletes, I’m not sure I could cover someone like Louie without falling into a trap of admiration.
But while everyone would expect Louis CK to be featured, the other names were very interesting—starting with Amy Schumer. Like many comedy fans, I first saw Schumer on Comedy Central when she was roasting Charlie Sheen. While Anthony Jeselnik stole the show, it was Schumer who impressed me the most. Her show (“Inside Amy Schumer”) is a huge hit and is littered with laughs that range between uncomfortable all the way to pause-and-restart-you’re-finished.
Others on the list include Key & Peele, SNL’s Kate McKinnon and John Oliver. I won’t spoil the entire thing, but will recommend any fan of comedy pick this issue up. You could spend $6 in worse ways.
***
And just because: PEGGYFACE
46 Comments
I grew up with Bernie as the football god. The first football I ever knew was the Bernie-led Browns. I love the guy and what he means to this town. I love his commentary, too.
However, (I guess I’ll be the one to say it) Bernie is off the broadcast because he’s a risk. He’s had high profile problems that would get anyone fired in that line of work. Spectorsky, in my opinion, tried to take something of a high road by not saying as much.
I also think it’s interesting that Jim Donovan is mum on the subject. There’s no way that an anchor with Donovan’s influence and tenure had no say in the decision.
And the moral of the Sterling story is…you can illegally defraud companies out of millions of dollars and you’re good…get popped for DUI and be in possession of illegal drugs, no problem… but, be a douche bag, wellll…
After the Browns walked Bernie off the plank, one of the front office members was heard saying, “Nyuk nyuk nyuk.”
Haslam and Channel 3 are joining farces to buy the West Side Market and turn it into a Starbucks. Spectorsky says we’re going to love it.
After shooting himself in the foot so often, you gotta wonder if Haslam has any toes left.
But seriously folks . . .
The NBA has tolerated this clown for a long time, and truth be told, it isn’t against the law to be a stupid bigot. But this should be the last straw. We’ll see if the new NBA commish has grown a pair yet.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was thinking along the same lines. He didn’t do anything ILLEGAL – which is probably the only negatively connotated adjective that doesn’t apply here – so I’m curious to see how the NBA proceeds.
Exactly. The guy is a complete dirtbag, but if Silver tries to force him to sell the team, you’d think Sterling would take the NBA to court and extract a massive amount of cash from them there.
bode took shazier at 35 today. just FYI.
I think the reason for this is twofold.
To borrow from the great OG Bobby Johnson; “If you steal a man’s goods, you can repay that man, but if you spend a lifetime hating people for the color of their skin you can never prove that you’ve changed.”
Point is if Habscram stole a billion he seems scummy but he gives a billion back and doesn’t do it again, there is a tangible quality to his redemption. If Irsay gets clean and spends his time and money helping others get and stay clean he too has a redemption that people can believe in. After 70 years of being and practicing racist beliefs and policies what could Sterling do that would make people believe that he truly has had a change of heart?
The second part is that unlike personal failing such as adultery, or addiction or fraud in another area of business, Sterling directly insulted the customers of his business. Its simply more damaging because its directly tied to the game. Its why players are punished more severely for punching fans in the stands as opposed to shooting at people in strip clubs after games (see; Jack, Captain)
well, he could buy another NAACP award?
and I agree with what you said. but, I would add that he is also insulting, demeaning, and opening the league up for potential litigation from their employees.
In addition, NBA players have more leverage than any other league (at least the top players). I did love the silent protest (black bands & socks + throwing the logo’d warmups in a pile at center court). But, I think the bigger repercussion is coming in the months and years ahead. If the NBA cannot force Sterling to sell (and I don’t think they legally can though they can make things uncomfortable), then the players have the ability to drop the Clippers back to being a terrible team. But, they could have no hope of recovering.
I’m imagining the best players on their team demanding trades (along with Doc), the best players refusing to sign there (some players will because limited supply of NBA jobs and all), and the Clippers becoming a wasteland again. Sterling has shown he won’t mind owning the team through such times, but he might more when he loses the fanbase that are not only disgusted, but have lost hope of recovering from it.
One thing is for certain, whatever the intention of the rant (and I think it was more about Sterling trying to intimidate his girlfriend than anything else), Donald has shown the world his true ugliness.
Silver will likely go the Marge Schott route. Make things so painful and ludicrous to continue owning the team that he’ll eventually give up and sell. The NBA might not have the same abilities to do so though and Sterling is more entrenched as a NBA owner, so it’ll be interesting to see how that gets done.
I don’t think anyone disagrees with what you said. But, if that is the case, then don’t treat us like idiots by giving him a reduced role without a real explanation. Tell us that sadly his risks outweigh the rewards of his commentary and it was time to let him go. Don’t tell us that you still love him and he is going to do pre-game and post-game and don’t ever give us a reason for taking him off the games.
if we call up Bauer and he continues what he is doing, then would it be bad form to ask the Reds how Choo is doing for them (signed elsewhere as we all expected) or the Diamondbacks how Gregorious is doing this season (lost job to Chris Owings in spring)?
That was some pretty impressive research by mg.
I enjoyed the entire draft. Kanick, your draft board took this seriously and put a lot of effort into it. Nice work.
This is different. Race is and has been the third rail of the NBA’s attempts to grow and maintain popularity. The players and fans know it. It was the barely concealed and stage-managed engine behind the Magic-Bird rivalry that pulled the league out of its dark days. Jordan became the league’s popularity rocket by treating any racially-charged issue (such as social issues) like kryptonite. Sports Illustrated photoshopped Allen Iverson’s neck tats in an era when they still looked too thuggy for mass consumption.
Sterling’s (alleged) comments reflect an attitude that is a direct shot to the NBA’s groin, that pressure point where players and fans with wide cultural gaps do the delicate dance. Silver cannot ignore it, and won’t.
I would also add intentionally losing to Golden State as another option to retaliate against Donald. Still the option to demand trades would be very tasty. Blake Griffin to the Cavs?
I think Sterling did that to himself. Golden State is good enough that this was a tough series for them anyway. Add in the conflicts of their heart and I do not see them winning. This issue is not one that will likely force them together in unity no matter how much Doc tries (that gets shattered by the thought of a reporter asking after a game “so, how does it feel knowing that you’ll be putting millions of dollars in Sterlings’ pocket by going to round2?”).
great point here. many of the aspects of urban/african-american culture are no longer counter-culture aspects that people unwittingly fear (such as the tattoos), but it is still a huge issue that the NBA fights by trying to not be a topical issue and people will not be able to ignore this one.
Don’t forget Sterling had a legal issue with regards to this that he settled. A few years back, he settled a lawsuit for discriminating on race on regards to his real estate developments in the LA area (I think he almost got booted as owner then). Link: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80025335/
All that research and he drafted a safety. lol
http://i.imgur.com/NQczy.gif
bodie contributed ~8000 words last two days (roughly 15 pages when laid out on MS Word). it was fun to get the first look and to get to edit (and just do just a little editorializing) on it. but yes, the whole thing turned out great with a nice breadth of opinion. we’ll have to get you on board for a pick next year, mr. c. 😉
Hell of a job putting together writers on the whole thing, Kanick. Been a great follow throughout.
Thanks, Kanick, but I’m thoroughly intimidated by guys who have actual knowledge of players. I don’t dive that deep.
BTW, since we’ve (STILL) got lots of time before the draft, how about doing a Winners and Losers column? (He said half-facetiously).
the thing is the perceived risk regarding bernie:
1. manifested itself in rare broadcasting honesty (kellen clemens still sucks.) and,
2. created must-see tv.
a very by-the-book and corporate maneuver for a town and market that is neither. in short: a gross and chicken-you-know-what move. remember this next time alec scheiner is getting a tongue bath from local media/blogosphere.
as far as pluto still categorizing kosar’s non-controversial ‘bless me father for i have sinned, i have to watch kellen clemens’ comment controversial: it seems pluto wants to have it both ways on kosar and is playing it safer than WKYC. if you were offended terry, say so. if you werent, say so. the namby-pamby equivocating is dreadful and tedious.
David Stern was keenly aware of this and always suspected that he chased internationalization – and an influx of lighter-skinned players – so hard as a way to change the combustible fan dynamic. He saw the overtones to the fan blowback to Sprewell choking Carlesimo, Artest going into the stands, Arenas’s gun in the locker room. I don’t have the stats but it sure looks to me like rosters are “whiter” now than 30 years ago.
lol, it was very easy. if i had your email, i asked if you wanted to take a turn. (through cheddar and the odd registration i have a decent number of emails.) definitely wouldve invited you and many commenters here.
Derek Anderson for a first round draft pick. Sh$t ain’t funny. I take this Stuff seriously
What’s the URL of your site and I won’t hold it against you that I wasn’t invited to draft?
We already knew mgbode = poindexter but thanks for the confirming it! 😉
http://webdevs.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ComputerNerd_062513.jpg
dang. mgbode’s two-parter series is found:
part 1 (who would clark-davis-savage-mangini-heckert-banner have taken?): http://jimkanicki.com/2014/04/27/mgbodes-browns-pick-at-35-prologue-krm/
part 2 (shazier and why): http://jimkanicki.com/2014/04/28/at-35-browns-select-krm/
All WKYC had to do was move Bernie to the pregame and spin it as if they were better utilizing his overall skills at dissecting the team.
BTW, Scott, LOVE the Peggy face.
I agree candor would have been best in this situation, as it usually is, but that candor would have sounded something like this (note, no organization ever says anything publicly like this):
“Bernie continues to struggle with personal conduct issues, including drunk driving charges. While his on-air analysis is superb, his commentary is unpredictable and has, at least once in the past, proven unprofessional. On a personal level, we have an affinity for Bernie and respect his importance to the City of Cleveland. We hope, with his input, to establish a continuing role for him with the Browns. At the present time, however, Bernie represents too much of a liability to remain on the pre-season broadcasts.”
Bear in mind, I love all these things about Bernie – his honesty and human frailty – but, as devil’s advocate, I still believe this was an inevitable direction.
me too. Heard an interview with Matthew Weiner where he was asked why there’s so many tense elevator reaction shots. He said: limited budget, cheap place to shoot.
Either mgbode has way to much time on his hands or clearly the family he mentions from time to time isn’t his favorite thing!
agree. And still a little shocking the Sacred Cow status we give Bernie when we’re talking about a few exhibition games, and during most of his on-air minutes he’s commenting about players who won’t make the roster. No network has hired Bernie, we don’t know how hard he is to handle, and I doubt WKYC or the Browns wanted the blowback unless he’s been a problem. If the Browns had a competent QB and winning team since Bernie I doubt it would be such a big deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-fkSYDtUY
I think the globalization was purely to gain as much financial gain as possible. It’s why he abandoned much of his European plans for heavier investments in China once they were deemed to be the next cash cow.
I would never wear red frames. Brown frames with orange tint please.
Kids go to bed and wife likes her reality TV. I have to do something and if it’s on the laptop, we at least sit next to each other 🙂
and to think how much longer it would have been if I didn’t use so many acronyms (sorry Mr.C, I’ll work on it).
omg yes!
Once upon a time I’d have Photoshopped but not now sorry.
Hey I don’t wanna hear what you and Mrs. ‘bode do in the boudoir!!! I’m kinky but I ain’t that kinky.
well, statistical analysis and historical research of our sports teams is the same as to what you are referring. Right? Anybody? Just me?
these guys are professionals, they aren’t going to intentionally lose. The game checks and playoff shares are not small potatoes, especially to those guys making less than millions of dollars.
History certainly remembers protests, but they also remember champions; and sometimes, there’s a little team like Texas Western that can kind of do both.
not to mention Baylor’s racial claims on Sterling when he fired him.
NYTimes does a decent job highlighting Sterling’s more often cited transgressions:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/sports/basketball/clippers-owner-donald-sterling-has-public-record-of-bad-behavior.html?_r=0