Browns make it interesting but fall to Panthers 17-13
December 21, 2014Browns, Paul Rudd, Jewish Christmas traditions and more – WFNY Podcast – 2014-12-22
December 22, 2014Remember what Victory Mondays felt like? Seems like forever ago that we’ve gotten to celebrate one of those. Good news is that we’ll all be put out of our collective misery in about six days…At least until the entire AFC North (outside of Cleveland) gets to play for a Super Bowl berth. Fun, right?
We’ll have plenty Browns coverage over the coming hours and days, but While We’re Waiting…
The Cleveland Cavaliers have quietly won 11 of their last 14 games. I say this without much context as it continues to feel like the team is struggling into what is now their second full month of play. Struggling is relative, of course, and when you have three of the game’s 15 best players, perhaps we just had our expectations a tad too high—and this is coming from a guy who pegged this year’s squad to win just 55 games.
Not helping matters are the way that they lose when in fact they do. Getting your doors blown off by a shorthanded Atlanta Hawks squad does nothing for fan confidence. But on the flip side, the Memphis Grizzlies are a 21-win Western Conference team with one of the best defenses in the game and the Cavs beat them by 14. Sure, Zach Randolph didn’t suit up, but let’s not pretend that had he been on the floor, the game plan would’ve changed much from an offensive standpoint. Thirty-four assists on forty-six field goals? That’s a clinic, folks.
Let’s just hope they can keep it rolling throughout the week. Christmas Day’s game against the Miami Heat will have a gigantic audience. Can the Cavs capitalize?
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If you haven’t had a chance to check out our Holiday Movie Roundtable from this past weekend, I suggest you do so. We haven’t done a roundtable in a long time and this was a fun topic. Kudos to Kyle Welch for tossing it all together.
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Pitchfork released their Best Albums of 2014 and (Spoiler Alert) Run The Jewels was awarded the top spot. This is great for a couple reasons, chief being that it was a fairly bad year for hip-hop—it was great to see such a quality album get top billing despite the rest of the genre being a dud. This passage in the review perfectly sums up how great this album truly was:
In an era when the great rap group has become an endangered species, Run the Jewels have forged a truly collaborative partnership. This feels like the by-product of two best friends bouncing ideas off each other, buoyed by blunts and the occasional fistful of psilocybin. The effect reminds you of vintage OutKast, two unique and equal talents that became indivisible—accentuating each other’s strengths, curbing each other’s excesses, and finishing each other’s jokes.
it wasn’t that long ago that the Outkastian group was mentioned in a piece on WFNY. Funny how things work out.
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Embrace Debate? Good one. Here’s this week’s edition of #ActualSportswriting:
“The Vanishing Man: The Disappearance of Rico Harris” by Flinder Boyd (FOX Sports): “Three days later, the rescue efforts slowed. There was no body and few clues as to where Harris could be. The search team finally disbanded and everyone left the Capay Valley with the same question: How could a 6-foot-9, 300-pound man just simply vanish into thin air?”1
“I Can’t Breathe, Either” by Royce White (The Cauldron): “I’m not a psychologist; I’m a mental health advocate whose experience has afforded me a certain degree of visibility. (Or notoriety, depending on which NBA executive you ask, but that’s a story for another day.) But as someone who also deals with anxiety disorder every day, I know all about panic attacks and the inability to breathe. As a black male, I’m particularly attuned to that same feeling of being closed in and smothered — the African American community remains widely underserved by our vast national resources, viewed by a significant portion of our population as undeserving of basic regard.”2
“Did I Witness College Basketball’s Greatest Offensive Game Ever?” by Andy Glockner (The Cauldron): “In the aftermath of perhaps the most unexpectedly crazy game that will take place this college basketball season, Colorado State head coach Larry Eustachy was standing in the hallway outside the visiting locker room at the University of Denver’s Magness Arena. He was asked, bluntly, “What was that?!” in the aftermath of his Rams’ insane 85–84 win over the Pioneers that kept Colorado State undefeated at 10–0 on the year. “Bad scheduling,” he replied, half-joking.”3
“Wes Welker will not be denied” by Kevin Van Valkenburg (ESPN The Magazine): “Wes Welker says he’s going to be fine. Sometimes he forgets stuff — Where did I put my keys? What’s the name of that restaurant? — but who doesn’t? “My wife will be like ‘How can you not remember that? Is it the concussions?'” he says. “I’m like ‘No, babe, I just forgot!'” There are days when it’s hard to convince his wife, Anna, that those little lapses aren’t a harbinger of something more.”4
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Bonus #AcutalSportswriting: I stumbled upon a conversation between several writer types whom I follow on Twitter, and was intrigued (naturally) by the dialogue. As many of you may know, Serial published it’s finale, which (of course) led to countless takes on the series. The aforementioned Van Valkenburg started things off with a shot at the thoughtless critiques, and it went from there.
I love interactions like this. To me, this represents the best of Twitter—I imagine it being a conversation amongst peers in a hallway at work. This, of course, is stark contrast to the spewing of context-free non sequiturs. It also helps that I couldn’t agree more with KVV et al.
For those looking for even more #ActualSportswriting as we head into 2015, here are the “Best of” lists for 2014 from Longform and Longreads. Many of these should look familiar. I’ll have my Best of List for next Monday morning. Suspense!
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And finally, this week’s Brew du Jour: Goose Island’s 312 Pale Ale
Not to be confused with the 312 Urban Wheat Ale, this green-labeled version of Chicago’s 312 ditches the Blue Moonish thickness for a more crisp, slightly spicier ale. The first year-round pale ale for Goose Island, this ale pours a copperish tone with an off-white head. Like most of its peers, it provides a clean, fruity aroma. Unlike most of it’s peers, the head dissipates pretty quickly and doesn’t leave much froth around the glass. I’m a bit biased toward hops, an area where this ale left a little to be desired, but immediately recognize that this lightness might appeal to the more casual drinker. I’ve referred to Sam Adams’ Rebel IPA as a good “starter kit” for those looking to expand their beer horizons and would put this one right there with it.
Clocking in just a hair above five percent on the ABV scale, this American Pale Ale is also a little lighter on the hops when compared to come of its peers making it a perfect session beer. It won’t make you forget about some of the better IPAs out there, but you could certainly do worse when picking out a sixer for the weekend.
Have a great Monday, you guys. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
- Flinder Boyd had himself one hell of a 2014 when it came to writing. His story on Javaris Crittenton was one of my favorites of the year and this one stacks right against it. The reporting is top notch, the story is captivating. [↩]
- In what was easily the year of the first-person essays from athletes, this Royce White piece is the latest in a line of what could be the next big fad in sportswriting. [↩]
- Perfect for basketball fans and statheads alike. Not too wordy, Glockner mixes in a perfect array of supporting tweets and stats. Huge bonus points for being on location. [↩]
- KVV never cheats his readers. Every word counts, even when there’s a few thousand of them. One of the better football pieces of this season. [↩]
2 Comments
“Christmas Day’s game against the Miami Heat will have a gigantic audience” – probably mostly Lebron fans since we know the few bandwagon Heat “fans” have since jumped ship.
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