June 19, 2013

2013 Browns draft with a baseball guy, Mad Men, Lost, Iron Man 3, sports strategy and more – WFNY Podcast – 2013-05-01

WFNY Podcast LogoJon and I ended up not talking at all about the Cleveland Indians offensive explosion tonight, but we had a good conversation just the same.

  • Mad Men, Stan and why they keep Betty Draper around at all
  • Roger Sterling’s likeability and charisma
  • Lost and getting spouses caught up on shows
  • Deadwood and its awful ending
  • Long runs for shows and short shows
  • The end of the Sopranos and the end of Lost
  • Louis CK’s most recent special on HBO
  • Is it time for a break for Louis CK
  • The NFL draft and the baseball guy’s perspective
  • Gauging the reaction to the draft
  • Balancing the draft vs. free agency
  • The opportunity to get a corner and a safety
  • Micro-managing physical attributes
  • Mingo and his lack of sack statistics at LSU his last year
  • The meaninglessness of those college stats
  • Justin Blackmon and his question marks biting the Jacksonville Jaguars
  • From Elway to Marino 30 for 30
  • Jim Kelly’s press conference when he was drafted to Buffalo
  • Randy Moss and how he quit on the Raiders
  • NFL GMs and their enormous egos
  • Setting goals and trying to figure out what success looks like
  • Personal over/unders vs. what Vegas might do
  • Pat Shurmur and whether or not he was actually good at anything as a head coach
  • The summer movie podcast
  • The sinking cultural relevance of movies as more movies get made
  • House of Cards and TV vs. movies [Read more...]

Stein: Kyrie Irving Could Make Team USA Roster

With the summer Olympics drawing nearer, things are heating up for Team USA’s men’s basketball team. Last week Team USA received their Olympic draw (oh joy, they drew Argentina). Now they are in the process of finalizing their roster.

The current roster includes Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams. However, with injuries to Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chauncey Billups, and Dwight Howard, the roster may need some tweaking before it needs to be finalized on June 18th.

With Rose’s torn ACL, he certainly will miss the Olypmics, opening the need for a PG. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, via Twitter, while the Wizards are lobbying hard for John Wall, he believes Irving may get the nod:

Some Team USA scuttle: Hearing Wiz lobbying hard to get John Wall added to roster, but have to believe Kyrie Irving is the guy IF a PG added

There is a bit of a twist here as Irving has previously said he would consider playing for Australia. Irving, whose father was playing professionally in Australia when Kyrie was born there, holds dual citizenship. After previously hinting at playing for Australia, Kyrie did say later in the season that he would focus instead on playing for Team USA. Originally aiming for the 2016 team, Irving’s Olympic dreams just might be realized sooner than he thought. It will be interesting to see what Team USA GM Jerry Colangelo decides to do with the roster over the next 5 weeks.

[Related: Sporting News names Kyrie Irving Rookie of the Year]

Cavaliers and Wizards Renew Rivalry, Only Over Draft Position Now

What a lovely tank you have there

It’s time to say goodbye to the men in Wine and Gold. For this season, anyway.

Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Washington Wizards in the final home of the season. What once was a fierce rivalry of sorts is now renewed as a Premier League-esque relegation battle. Although, instead of relegation, these teams are fighting for lottery position.

For Washington, the hard part is over. With New Orleans’ win last night, moving them alongside Cleveland and Sacramento with 21 wins, the Wizards, at 18 wins with two games to go, have locked up 2nd place in the lottery derby. They can win out and not harm their lottery position. [Read more...]