Timofey Mozgov undergoes knee surgery, expected to be out six weeks
July 2, 2015C-Cap Recap: Bald Heads and Broomsticks
July 3, 2015Good Friday to you people. It’s a getaway day on a holiday weekend and what better way to waste your morning than with me? There is none! So, while we’re waiting…
The Browns might be benefitting most from the Cavaliers…
As NBA Free Agency has dominated the news and the Cavaliers have won back all their players for the most part, I can’t help but think of the cover its provided for other teams in town. The Indians are obvious beneficiaries and I’ve already talked about how the Browns have benefitted, but I think it bears repeating. Here are all the things that we haven’t had to talk about thanks to good news from the Cavaliers overshadowing the Browns.
- Johnny Manziel’s return to the field from rehab
- Danny Shelton skips rookie camp in order to finish school
- The Browns fail to get big deals done with Tashaun Gipson or Craig Robertson
- The Browns sign Terrelle Pryor after he was cut by the Bengals
- Terrance West and his thoughts on Duke Johnson getting drafted
- Barkevious Mingo and whether he can beat out less drafted and heralded playersI’m not bemoaning any of this, by the way. I’m also not saying everything listed above “deserved” to be talked about or not. In many cases — especially Terrance West — I’m sure we would have talked about his completely benign statements and whether there was going to be a rift in the running backs. There would have been questions about whether the Browns need to “name a running back” and “who do you think should get more carries?” Browns fans and media end up creating problems sometimes. I’m not blaming the fans and media for the team’s lackluster performances over the years, mind you. I’m simply saying that this all might be for the better with the 2015 Cleveland Browns.
The coaches and this team come into a second year after what I think is a pretty good off-season with a chance to just work on themselves without any distractions. If “Hard Knocks” is a 10 out of 10 in terms of distraction to a football team, I think a normal, everyday Cleveland Browns media and fanbase can be a six or seven all by itself in most years. It just stands to reason that the Cleveland Browns might benefit from an off-season in which their controversy is a one and the scrutiny level on them is also hovering right around there as well.
Thanks Cavs!
Put down your torches… Comedians under fire…
I always want to have a comedian’s back because I think it’s one of the more confusing art forms that exists in our culture. If people say things to us in our lives, we consider that a statement and a representation of whom that person is. When a comedian says something that’s not always the case. They are practicing an art form to try and make people laugh and think, and think and laugh. Sometimes they do this by saying exactly what they mean and sometimes they say the exact opposite of what they mean. Sometimes they speak as themselves and sometimes they speak as cartoonishly exaggerated versions of themselves, or even by exploding the worst versions of themselves if that’s what they feel like exploring. They do this all in a live format that is supposed to straddle the line between scripted and unscripted delivery that becomes the comedy show. I know this sounds like common sense, but I’m consistently smacked in the face by fellow participants in our culture who don’t seem to get it.
I was listening to Bill Burr’s podcast this week and he tried to have fun, but couldn’t help but get dragged into a situation that occurred at a comedy show recently. He was onstage and someone started interrupting his show and he decided to take the heckler down. In doing so, Burr uncharacteristically used the word “retard” by accident and ended up insulting a couple in the audience. When Bill was approached by the couple after the show, he says he apologized to them, but that they wouldn’t accept his apology and wouldn’t let him off the hook.
From Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast… (Which by the way I didn’t even realize how casually he dropped f-bombs until I started transcribing it… Alas.)
“I talked about plane crashes. I talked about sinking cruise ships. I made fun of Bruce Jenner. So, I mean technically wasn’t all that offensive? No. It was just about the f***ing thing that was about your f***ing life. And not only that I just said a word. I didn’t even do a bit on it… . After 90 minutes of the guy (the heckler,) I said ‘Dude are you f***ing retarded?’
“I never say that word. And in that night I happened to say it in a moment of f***ing anger. And now obviously I’m not making fun of f***ing… what are you supposed to say? … mentally challenged people. Why would I ever do that? And I’ve said in the past that I wouldn’t.”
Bill Burr goes on to say that the couple called him a piece of s*** and handed the tickets back while showing a picture of their child. I loved Bill’s reaction too, because he owned his mistake and still refused to accept the angry, indignant response where people refuse to accept an apology.
“If they’re listening, 100 percent I apologize and 100 percent go f*** yourself. Let me guess you never said anything f***ed up. Right? You never laughed at something you shouldn’t have said? You never lost your temper and f***ing said something? If you’re going to dump your whole f***ing life on me like that like I’m the worst f***ing person ever, you know what, you were out of line. And not only that, once I realized what the f*** you were talking about, I said ‘Oh I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. That guy was yelling. I shouldn’t have said that.’ And you just wouldn’t accept it. You had to have your moment. So my apologies and f*** you. ”
Amy Schumer too finds herself in the crosshairs with her decidedly higher profile. Her TV show is huge and she has a big movie coming out — Trainwreck — with Bill Hader, Judd Apatow, and even LeBron James attached to it. She has also recently been taken completely and totally literally, seemingly one joke at a time, as if we shouldn’t try and look at the entire portfolio of what’s made Schumer a pretty popular and beloved comic. Hint: It’s not her blatant racism. But the fact that she does make jokes that occasionally talk about race and even reference well-worn stereotypes is now being described as a “large blind spot around race.”
Not surprisingly, I loved Schumer’s response. She tweeted “Put down your torches before reading this so you don’t catch on fire.”
“I am a comic. I am so glad more people are laughing at me and with me all of a sudden. I will joke about things you like and I will joke about things you aren’t comfortable with. And that’s ok. Stick with me and trust I am joking. I go in and out of playing an irreverent idiot. That includes making dumb jokes involving race. I enjoy playing the girl who time to time says the dumbest thing possible and playing with race is a thing we are not supposed to do, which is what makes it so fun for comics. You can call it a ‘blind spot for racism’ or ‘lazy’ but you are wrong. It is a joke and it is funny. I know that because people laugh at it. Even if you personally did not. I am not going to start joking about safe material. And don’t ask that of me. I love what I do and won’t let anyone take that away. I ask you to resist the urge to pick me apart. Trust me. I am not racist. I am a devout feminist and lover of all people. My fight is for all people to be treated equally. So move on to the next person who is more deserving of your scrutiny and not the girl in your corner. Sincerely Amy (a dirty half Jew)”
The point here isn’t that being a comedian is an armor that protects racists from being racist. It’s not protection from all criticism. What it should be is a job where your fans give you the benefit of the doubt. It should be a job where you are safe from being “picked apart,” as Schumer put it, or being taken out of context. What’s said from a comedy stage over the course of an hour-long comedy set is like a really long song. There are going to be some missed notes and if you focus your laser pointer on that, you’re missing the whole point.
Your weekly moment of soccer zen…
It’s way too long, except as a goalkeeper growing up, I never tire of any part of this video. Especially get to the second section where this goalie plays outside the box like an extra sweeper, or “sweeper-keeper.” So much fun to watch.
The Velvet Teen release All is Illusory…
I got to see The Velvet Teen play an opening slot at The Grog Shop this year and it’s been a long time since I’d seen the band. I loved them way back when and they were gone for four years or so before releasing an EP in 2010 called “No Star.” I had no idea whether they were an active band or not at that time, but as it turns out they are very much active now. The band just released a new full-length album called “All is Illusory” and it’s everything I want out of a band. It’s got soul, heart, melody, and yet technical detail straight out of a prog rock background. The vocals are incredibly challenging and the drumming is so tight that you might forget just how impressive and creative it all is. I could go on and on about this band, but you should just listen to them.
I’ll give you a pretty one and a rocking one. First the pretty one, “All is Illusory.”
And the rocking one, Sonreo.
Have a great holiday weekend. Be safe. Freedom doesn’t mean you have to blow a digit off your hand in celebration.
7 Comments
Agree how so many potentially overwrought or negative Browns stories were buried by the Cavs playoffs. And let’s not forget the Indians stinker for two straight months – how many Fire Francona/Fire Batting Coach talk radio hours were avoided.
Disagree with your take on comedians. I’m also a Schumer fan. But if you can’t take the scrutiny, even the misunderstandings, find a milder profession. You deserve no benefit of the doubt up there, you earn it with clarity, so stop the “trust me” stuff. If you want more general acceptance earn it by being sharper and more generally understandable. And regarding Burr’s whining, go back a few years and substitute Michael Richards striking back at a heckler with the “N” word. That wasn’t a riff either, just an angry reaction. You might say only one of those words is offensive to the majority. I’d say: your shtick is your words and created persona. Asking the audience to hang on your words, using words as a sword, and then obsessing when you’re not granted forgiveness for inadvertently cutting folks is inappropriate. Watch where you’re swinging, own it and move on.
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where he goes to the confessional:
Jerry: Father, I am offended that he is marrying this Jewish woman when he doesn’t truly believe.
Catholic priest: This offends you as a Jew?
Jerry: No, as a comic.
The back-story that he gets to use Jewish jokes if he marries in 🙂
O-line getting a boost…
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/OL-Michael-Bowie-fully-healed-ready-to-show-off-physicality-at-training-camp/0a97b0cd-1ce6-4102-ad1a-7008a0058fc4
Sorry if this doesn’t belong here but I have to vent. Snippet from story by Chris Haynes/cleveland.com about TT negotiations:
“But the longer this plays out, the longer LeBron James remains on the open market. The threat of him leaving is remote, but if a delay continues, uneasiness will start to set in. He was loud and clear when he said Thompson should be a Cavalier for life. He wants his offensive rebounding machine back in the wine and gold at all costs.”
There it is. Irrefutable proof that the local rag has no prob hiring mental deficients. That’s right, Chris, tell us that the FO should worry that Lebron pens The Letter and, after finally rehabilitating his “brand,” leaves again after just one year because TT is offered, say, $85M guaranteed but not $90. The PD could get anybody to cover the league’s star-studded team and Chris Haynes is their choice. As Paul Brown famously said to the lost team bus driver: “I don’t blame you. I blame the person who hired you.”
[Youtube bot activated.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qifwiNrVBFk
This is one that I have been keeping my eye on.