May 21, 2012

While We’re Waiting… The Merits of Hero Ball, “Quad-A” players, & NBAvengers

May 6, 2012 By 2 Comments

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.

I hate watching “hero ball”. Hates it. Which is just another reason I’m so excited for the Kyrie Irving-era. “Anthony is a great scorer. He is not yet a great player, because he does not consistently elevate his teammates. He averaged a modest 3.6 assists per game this season, and has a career average of 3.1.

By contrast, consider his close friends from the 2003 draft class: Wade has averaged 6.2 assists per game for his career, and James 6.9. Both Miami stars can control a game through their playmaking alone. The same goes for Kobe Bryant (4.7 career average), when the mood strikes.

In Cleveland, James led his teams deep into the playoffs (including the 2007 finals) despite a lackluster lineup, proving that a selfless star is infinitely more valuable than a single-minded gunner.

Kurt Rambis — a former teammate of Magic Johnson and a former coach of Bryant — put it best in an ESPN podcast, saying of Anthony: “One of the things he has to learn is how to involve his teammates more. There’s a lot more to winning ballgames than just scoring points.”” [Howard Beck / New York Times] [Read more...]

Filed Under: Best of the Web, General

While We’re Waiting… Cavs year in review, OSU loses a recruit because of a twitter weirdo, Browns QB controversy and grading Boobie Gibson

May 5, 2012 By 1 Comment

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.

The Cavs found Alonzo Gee last year, but I’m not sure any of this D-Leaguer cast are long term pieces. “I applaud the Cavs for getting creative and trying to use the D-League to find players that can potentially help the NBA roster.  It’s been said on Fox Sports Ohio before that the Cavs would like to add one player each year from the D-League that can be a part of their rotation.  This is a great idea, but I don’t think it’s sustainable.  I think it is a perfect tool for a rebuilding team like the Cavs, but once the Cavs roster is built up, I highly doubt they will be still able to find one guy a year that can come into the Cavs’ rotation.

Playoff teams usually reduce their rotation to 8 guys and I am really skeptical that the D-League could produce a player that would be a Top 8 player on a playoff contender.  But for now, I think the Cavs are using the D-League perfectly.” [Cleveland DTR]

[Read more...]

Filed Under: General

While We’re Waiting… Grading Tristan, replacing Fujita and questioning Ubaldo

May 4, 2012 By 10 Comments

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.

“First, a few things that should be taken into account when judging Tristan against his 2011 draft peers. No serious fan, and certainly not Chris Grant, looked at Thompson with the idea that he would be an immediate difference maker that would show why he was worthy of a top 5 pick. He was a project. The Cavaliers, with Byron Scott, are a disciplined team that focuses on defense and smart play. As good as Tristan’s motor is, he simply wasn’t going to be able to play the type of basketball Coach Scott wanted right away. And this was part of the allure of Grant bringing him to Cleveland in the first place. A strong, disciplined environment, where winning wasn’t seen as immediately necessary, and he could be brought along slowly, was always the plan for Tristan.

Next, the lockout happened. There was no summer league, there was a shortened training camp, and for a long time Coach Scott wasn’t even allowed to contact Thompson. Thompson clearly worked out, and worked to improve, and it isn’t exactly a secret the areas in which he needed to get better, but without the Cavaliers staff working with him consistently, it was a wasted summer and fall.” [Fear the Sword] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

Junior Seau is more than just a concussion storyline

May 3, 2012 By 23 Comments

One of the big concerns I had yesterday as football fans everywhere mourned the death of Junior Seau was that it was immediately going to fuel the concussion storyline that has been building. The concussion storyline is an important one that has been on the back burner or ignored for too long. Players have been acting like gladiators, needlessly risking their health for the adulation of fans and profit of owners and coaches. It is a systemic problem in which every NFL stakeholder is involved. Coaches have historically preached toughness and playing through pain. Players have looked down on their peers for not doing so. NFL fans (probably this one included) have mocked players like Jay Cutler or LaDainian Tomlinson most recently, for not playing in big games due to injury. As someone who cares about the issue, the immediate speculation and conclusions being drawn around Junior Seau’s death were a concern to me. I know I can’t control the storyline, but I just didn’t think it would help anyone if this issue had a sudden face and potentially a self-created martyr.

What’s so bad about having a martyr if it leads to overwhelming good for everyone via awareness? This is where it gets tricky. As of yesterday, nobody really knew why Junior Seau committed suicide. In fact, as the investigation was presumed to be a suicide, even that wasn’t 100% conclusive. Yet all over the place, I saw people talking about how scary the concussion situation is and how fans might fear for the next generation of retired players because of Seau’s death. I just want to slow the entire thing down so we have a little bit of time to gain perspective not just on the concussion issue, but also suicide. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns, General Tagged With: , , , ,

While We’re Waiting… Seau remembered, Cavalier odds and Browns lend a hand

May 3, 2012 By 8 Comments

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.

The NFL mourns the loss of another star- “For years at a time, Seau was the only thing about the Chargers worth looking at. He was there in ’90 and ’91, when the Chargers were trying to overcome Billy Joe Tolliver and John Friesz. He was, of course, there in ’94 when Bobby Ross had helped right the ship and the Chargers became AFC Champions. He was there through Kevin Gilbride and June Jones. He was there when the Chargers pinned their hopes to Ryan Leaf. He was there for 1-15.

Through all of this, Seau’s energy level never changed. He didn’t play any harder on January 29, 1995, when 83.4 million people were watching him in Super Bowl XXIX, than he did on December 24th in 2000, when the 1-14 Chargers had to play out the string against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seau’s trademark energy and electricity were there on every play, in every game, whether a world championship was on the line, or one of Craig Whelihan’s two career victories. It never felt like Seau played for anything he might’ve gained from an outstanding effort — it looked like he played simply because there was football to be played, and if you get to play football on a given day, why not pour your entire being into it?

That’s what Seau was to the Chargers organization — the one thing they knew they could be proud of, no matter what else was happening under the lightning bolt banner. Seau was the light — often, the only light — in the organization. From 1990 to 2002, it never flickered.” [MJD/Shutdown Corner] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

While We’re Waiting… Struggling starters, keeping McCoy and Cavs future

May 2, 2012 By 22 Comments

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.

“Want to hear a depressing stat? Two of the top four walk rates among Major League starters, entering Tuesday night, belong to the Indians’ top two starters — Justin Masterson (12.7 percent) and Ubaldo Jimenez (13.3). Personally, I’m inclined to give Masterson the benefit of the doubt. He was dominant on Opening Day against the Blue Jays, and 35 percent of the earned runs against him came in a single inning in Seattle.

Ubaldo? Well, I’m not as confident, simply because his complicated delivery has proven so difficult to repeat over the years. He has a 4.50 ERA with 5.3 walks per nine innings. If we were to somehow remove his magical first half of 2010 from the equation (a 2.20 ERA in 18 starts), he has a 4.02 ERA and 4.05 walks per nine in his career (135 starts). So I would expect some improvement from Jimenez over the long haul of the season, but I wouldn’t hold out hope for a major surge into elite status, based on the bulk of his career.” [Catrovince/MLB.com] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

While We’re Waiting… Wrapping up the Cavaliers’ season and some optimism from a strange source

May 1, 2012 By 2 Comments

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.

“What makes this almost ridiculous to me is that Byron doesn’t even know who will be on his team next year. Say lightning strikes twice and the Cavaliers end up with Anthony Davis or Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist for crying out loud, they could be a 6-seed possibly. Even if they ended up with Bradley Beal or Harrison Barnes, I see no reason why they can’t at least compete for playoffs. Why could they not at least have the same goal that they did for most of this past season with Anthony Parker as the starting two-guard and Ryan Hollins getting rotational minutes? I’m not asking anybody to go Joe Namath on a playoff run next season, just don’t tell me it’s impossible quite yet. There’s no reason for that.” [Bowers/Stepien Rules] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

While We’re Waiting… Derek Lowe dealing, real life for McCoy and a little about Weeden

April 30, 2012 By 54 Comments

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.

“Derek Lowe smirked as he leaned against a post near his locker inside the Indians’ clubhouse. A reporter had just mentioned that Angels outfielder Mike Trout was born the same year that Lowe began his professional career. Lowe is never one to miss an opportunity to crack wise with the media.

“You guys said I was going to retire after this year!” Lowe said. “You said this was it!” Another reporter quipped: “No, we said last year was it.”

“Unbelievable,” Lowe said while laughing. “You’re unbelievable.” [Bastian/MLB.com] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

While We’re Waiting… NFL Draft Ends, Weeden’s MLB Career, Indians in 1st?

April 29, 2012 By 1 Comment

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.

Some QB insight after a rare interview with Holmgren: “Judging by Holmgren’s comments, the Browns either thought about taking Weeden in the second round or considered trading back in the first round to take him. They ultimately drafted Weeden with the 22nd overall pick because they didn’t want to risk losing him. … I get the feeling that Holmgren wants to keep Colt McCoy as the backup to Weeden. He doesn’t think it would be difficult for McCoy to adjust to that role because he ‘is a special young man.’” [Jamison Hensley/ESPN NFL Nation Blog]

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Looking back with a review for the Richardson pick: “There is some debate about whether it is wise to select a running back this early since you can find productive players at the position later in the draft. In fact, I am usually the first one to make that argument. However, if there is an exception to the rule it’s Richardson, who was one of the truly elite prospects in this class and the best running back to come along since Adrian Peterson. The Browns play in a rough and tumble division where the ground game is very important and Richardson will fit right in.” [Scott Wright/Draft Countdown]

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Here’s a nice Friday story on the Yankees’ relationship with now-Browns QB Brandon Weeeden: “There is no major league draft as famous as the 2002 session, which has been immortalized in both a bestselling book and an Oscar-nominated movie. … But last night the spotlight turned toward a high schooler from that draft who never rose above A-ball. That is because a decade after the Yankees took Brandon Weeden with their top pick — the next-to-last selection of the second round — he was picked by the Browns with the 22nd pick in the first round of the NFL draft.” [Joel Sherman/New York Post]

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Are the Indians for real? What’s next for the team? Stay tuned to look at what’s going on: “Are they tied for 1st Place? Are they tied for 1st Place? Yes…and it can certainly be argued that the Indians simply took advantage of a favorable schedule in the early going (and I’ll actually make that argument if you want to hear it) and that this is still ultimately a flawed team (again, no dissension on that point as they have a negative run differential)…” [Paul Cousineau/The DiaTribe]

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Yeah, sure, the Indians have had trouble getting their investment back from the Cliff Lee trade, but is another recent trade similar? “Time has proved that the Indians were burned to a crisp in the Cliff Lee trade. The Yankees, to date, have merely had their fingers singed in the acquisition of Michael Pineda from Seattle. Burned is burned, but the pain comes in degrees.” [Paul Hoynes/Cleveland Plain Dealer]

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And, finally, a new 11W writer picks up on the SEC’s impact on the NFL Draft and how Urban Meyer might bring that to Columbus: “Well, guess what? Urban is known to recruit at the same capacity as our SEC brethren and we have seen the high caliber talent he has scooped up in his 2012 class and the 2013 class thus far. OSU commits are beginning to choose the Buckeyes over the Alabamas and LSUs. It’s pretty safe to say that it is only a matter of time before Chris Berman starts dropping OSU and Meyer-bombs and the B1G begins to prosper at draft time because of The Ohio State Buckeyes. Wait, would ESPN really let that happen?” [David Sokol/Eleven Warriors]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

While We’re Waiting… Browns’ Curious Calls, Cavs’ Departures, Bryce Stowell Emerges

April 28, 2012 By 4 Comments

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.

Very strong arguments made in this recap of the Browns drafting so far: “Do you know what we found out today? The front office must be pretty content sticking with the likes of Greg Little, Joshua Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi, and Jordan Norwood at wide receiver for another year. … Position-wise, there is nothing wrong with taking a defensive tackle. Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin are the clear starters, but both of them, particularly Rubin, has been overworked in his young career.” [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs By Nature]

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Looking back to Thursday night, at least some optimism still reigns: “Giving up three “precious” mid-to-late-round picks for Trent Richardson was easy math. The Browns need quality over quantity, particularly on offense. Getting the best running back in the draft, an impact guy who won’t even turn 21 until July, is more than worth a few picks who would likely serve as depth for their first year or two of service, should they pan out at all.” [Doug/Cleveland Sports Torture]

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Byron Scott’s recent quote hesitation has a former WFNY weekend scribe thinking about what could be the future for two upcoming Cavs free agents: “It was that fourth “if” that had me standing there thinking that maybe it’s possible one of these two guys do come back next season afterall. Hopefully that’s Jamison then, I thought, in a reserve role off the bench where he provides a scoring punch and veteran leadership as a sixth or seventh man on a one-year $5 million deal. Because there’s now way he can be referring to the possibility of bringing Anthony Parker back next season with all those “if’s”, right?” [Brendan Bowers/Stepien Rules]

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Some instant analysis on what it means for the Cavs in winning the coin tosses Friday: “This may not seem like a huge deal, but to me, it is. In my opinion (which could be changed as I watch more and more film as the draft approaches), there are six really good players in this draft. Those players are Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Thomas Robinson, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Drummond. After that, it gets a bit murky. By having a top-6 pick guaranteed, the Cavaliers can draft one of those players if their board is similar to mine.” [Conrad Kaczmarek/Fear The Sword]

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One of my favorite basketball blogs makes a great point about ESPN’s role in stopping tanking: “However, television companies could take another route. They could refuse to put up with tanking. What if after a certain mark in the season (how about the All-Star break, we use it for everything) TV stations are allowed replace “bad games” and the team they replace doesn’t get paid?” [Dre/Wages of Wins]

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Great to read more about this prospect re-emerging with the Tribe: “It is early, but it looks like Double-A Akron right-handed reliever Bryce Stowell is back to the dominating pitcher he was during the 2010 season. Stowell, 25, has been near-perfect and flat out dominating in the early going at Akron where in four appearances covering 7.0 innings he has yet to allow a run and has given up three hits, no walks, and has 15 strikeouts.” [Tony Lastoria/Indians Prospect Insider]

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To end today, Kyle Dodson, an incoming freshman offensive tackle from Cleveland Heights, said the recent Sporting News report on Urban Meyer was filled with lies. This quote was particularly poignant: “‘No they did not. I do not know where they come up with these lies; they are probably making them up so they can attract readers for their publication.’” [Michael Chung/The Silver Bullet]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

While We’re Waiting… NFL Draft First Round Reactions

April 27, 2012 By 62 Comments

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.

This post makes a lot of solid points. While Morris Claiborne might have been favored by some, Trent Richardson clearly fills a big need for the Browns: “Richardson is considered an all-around back, and has been pegged by many as the best running back coming out of college since Adrian Peterson. Many people here at Dawgs By Nature had made it clear that we preferred that Richardson not be the pick, but it is what it is. I’m not disappointed that Richardson is a member of the Browns, as he definitely improves a position that previously featured Montario Hardesty, Brandon Jackson, and Chris Ogbonnaya. Were any of those guys going to get it done against the Steelers’ or Ravens’ defense? A concern about Richardson is whether he can live up to the hype at the NFL level. We shall see.” [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs By Nature]

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Some noteworthy facts and figures about Richardson being the Browns’ pick: “Richardson is the first running back taken by the Browns in the first round since William Green in 2002. He is the eleventh running back selected by the Browns in the first round in franchise history, joining Ken Carpenter (1950), Preston Carpenter (1956), Jim Brown (1957), Leroy Jackson (1962), Ron Johnson (1969), Mike Pruitt (1976), Charles White (1980), Eric Metcalf (1989), Tommy Vardell (1992) and William Green (2002).” [Matt Loede/Browns Gab]

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Then, of course, the real shocker took place at No. 22 where the Browns took Brandon Weeden: “It was interesting that Shurmur pointed out that the owner had input on this decision. The pressure is on, and the clock is ticking. At his age, Weeden has to start immediately. There’s no time to let him sit and learn. And, because of his age, the expectation is to win immediately. Browns officials shrugged off Weeden’s age as being an issue. The number they concentrated on is 22, which is Weeden’s wins in 25 starts in college.” [Jamison Hensley/ESPN NFL Nation Blog]

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As this states, many fans were wondering why the team decided to gamble on Weeden so early: “The biggest question about Weeden is his age. He’s 28, only coming to play football after washing out as a minor league baseball player. Some teams were put off by spending a high pick on a player six years further along than his peers. The Browns think that Weeden will be worth the gamble. There was a thought that they could wait until the 37th pick to draft Weeden, but that gamble obviously wasn’t too their liking.” [Josh Alper/Pro Football Talk]

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Some interesting Weeden tidbits in here. Yes, this is exactly how the long-tweet began: “Cleveland selected Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden. He will turn 29 on Oct. 14. For his 28th birthday, teammates at Oklahoma State presented Weeden with a cane and some adult diapers. Evaluators talked about his live NFL arm throwing into tight windows. Generates zip on the ball. Needs to work on foot work.” [Chris Mortensen/WhoSay]

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On the topic of Weeden one more time, here’s another look with a scouting/fantasy edge: “At 6-3½ and 221 pounds with a big arm, Weeden is built for a vertical offense more than a timing offense. The Browns will have to work with him on his game — especially since he ran a half-field simplified offense. His mechanics also need work as he relies on his arm too much with bad footwork.” [William Del Pilar/Pro Football weekly]

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Of local interest, Akron Garfield High School product Whitney Mercilus was taken No. 25 by the Houston Texas. The Cleveland Plain Dealer had a nice profile on the defensive end earlier this week: “The former Akron Garfield standout and Plain Dealer All-Star had started just two games with one sack as a sophomore, and recorded just one sack as a redshirt freshman. It wasn’t a cornfield. It was a weight room, and the football classroom, and intense training to improve his speed and pass-rushing technique.” [Bill Lubinger/Cleveland Plain Dealer]

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And, finally, for those unable to make it to Middleburg Heights for last night’s WFNY draft party, here’s a sneak peek at what you missed. Spoiler: Shawn Lauvao must have an awesome T-shirt collection. [WFNY/Facebook]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

While We’re Waiting… In which I promise not to link to a single mock draft

April 26, 2012 By 24 Comments

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.

“It will be up to the team’s owner, Randy Lerner, to determine if this is yet another abortive experiment, or whether a long-term winning culture is being established. Lerner, despite his carefully maintained low profile, is very sensitive to criticism of his team, and is particularly aware of criticism by passionate fans. He soaks it all in, and responds in some situations where he feels he can make his case fairly.

It is incumbent upon Lerner to ignore what is likely to be a firestorm of vitriol directed at his franchise throughout the 2012 season. Holmgren and Heckert need to have at least through 2013 to show progress with the franchise, given draft-oriented approach they’ve taken to building it.

The validity of the team’s draft orientation won’t matter if it loses the first five games. The airwaves will be full of nothing but negativity, and no excuses for poor performance will be tolerated. Local sports personalities will jockey for attention, attempting to out-do each other’s over-the-top rants as the team struggles.” [McBride/The OBR] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

Posting: Weekend Editor(s) Wanted

April 25, 2012 By 9 Comments

One of the things that separates WFNY apart from other Cleveland sports sites and blogs, is our commitment to continuing coverage on the weekend, when many, if not most sites and blogs go into hibernation. We are only able to do this thanks to our Weekend Crew, those special individuals that are willing to sacrifice a part of their weekend to post news and original features for our weekend followers.

Our Weekend Crew goes through changes periodically as life circumstances change. We’ve had six weekend editors since the sites’ creation. Some of our previous weekend editors have left after getting their Ph.D, getting married,  new employment and so on. Shortly, we will be losing another weekend editor in Brendan Bowers as his circumstances have changed for the better as well.

We decided to post the position on the site and see who might be interested in joining the weekend team. Here’s what the position entails: [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With:

Chris Perez, Carlos Santana and fun with captions

April 25, 2012 By 9 Comments

Last night on the WFNY Facebook page I posted the following picture, asked for captions and told everyone to “keep it clean!”

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Greg Pennypacker ‎
“hey chris…this crowd thinks we’re going to win this game easy…”
“make it close?”
“make it close.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , , , ,

While We’re Waiting… Tim Couch on losing, Buckeye bro-fighting and too much Gruden?

April 25, 2012 By 10 Comments

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.

Be sure to check out Scott’s work on the WFNY Tumblr page- [WFNY]

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Good read on Tim Couch- “When you’re in it, you think completely different,” Couch said. “But when you get removed from it you realize. That was almost an impossible situation to be successful in. It really was. We just didn’t have a lot of talent. Every week was a struggle. Then I had my problems. I kept getting hurt. It was one thing after another.” [McManamon/FSO] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General
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