June 19, 2013

WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-02 – Scott Raab talks Patton Oswalt, sports talk radio, Cavs and Tribe

April 2, 2013 by 1 Comment

WFNY Podcast LogoAlways a fun time talking to Scott Raab. You never quite know where the conversation is going to go. I especially love talking to him about his Esquire Q&As. This time we talked about his recently published one with Patton Oswalt. Then we talked a bit about Louis CK as well.

  • Sports talk radio
  • Mike Holmgren and his defensive rant
  • Colt McCoy and his concussion
  • The act of incompetence of putting him back in the game
  • Patton Oswalt in The Fan
  • Ratatouille vs. The Fan
  • Oswalt and his hunger and desire to be good
  • Louis CK and his thoughtfulness
  • Kevin Ware and his injury
  • Kim Jong Un
  • Cleveland Indians roster not inspiring confidence
  • Tony Grossi and accountability
  • Mark Shapiro and his break
  • Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers

Check out this episode [Read more...]

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Mike Holmgren changes Browns public relations course

June 15, 2012 by 38 Comments

Chuck Booms holding a birthday cake for Mike Holmgren? Who saw that coming? (Photo Chris Allen / 92.3 the Fan)

Up is down. Black is white. Dry is wet. Most importantly screaming is quiet. That’s what happened this morning when Mike Holmgren visited Kiley and Booms at 92.3 the Fan this morning for an interview. You know Booms as the screaming lunatic that has accused Mike Holmgren of not caring and just looking to collect his huge paycheck in his nicer moments. Is it safe to call Mike Holmgren’s strategy switch a complete success if even Chuck Booms can’t muster a guttural grunt of disagreement when he had “The Big Show” sitting a few feet away from him in studio this morning?

Look, I don’t want to be too hard on Booms. I know he is a fan of the Browns and I truly think he is a funny guy. The fact that Booms referred to Mike Vick as just, “The Dog Killer” to Mike Holmgren’s face made me laugh. 1 Still, to think that this is the same guy who wanted to run every member of this staff out of town screaming about nepotism and everything else he could possibly think of, is astonishing.

In fairness to Kiley and Booms, Mike Holmgren walked into their studios today with something of an attitude adjustment. Long gone is the angry presser when he spoke of playoff tickets. Holmgren admitted that that whole presser was fueled by anger. He was angry that his team could not only be failing on the field but be steeped in controversy over something that he just couldn’t seem to get his arms around and control. I’m guessing that press conference was one of the key catalysts that led Mike Holmgren to his decision to change and really be out front more. [Read more...]

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  1. Of course Mike Holmgren had no reaction to the Mike Vick / “Dog Killer” reference. [back]

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A Farewell to Armond Smith

May 15, 2012 by 69 Comments

I don’t know if it is unique to Cleveland that Armond Smith could be such a big topic of conversation, but it sure feels that way. Smith was cut in favor of Adonis Thomas yesterday after apparently getting beat out in rookie camp with shorts on. This morning on Kiley and Booms I heard Bud Shaw once again mention that at least we wouldn’t see Pat Shurmur running Armond Smith on 4th and 1 again. It goes to show that the more I mature, just how far I still have to go because it made me angry. I know Bud was just going for an easy punchline, but let’s not re-write history here.

First of all, I need to talk about a comedy rule of three that I have been obsessed with lately. I heard Aziz Ansari talk about it and I think he was paraphrasing Joe Rogan. Or maybe he was paraphrasing Louis C.K.’s appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast? Anyway, I am continuing the game of telephone and paraphrasing the paraphraser. The idea in writing jokes is that you have to go three levels for truly good and original comedy. When a topic comes up, the first thought you have is the joke that everyone comes up with. The second joke is better than the first, but it is still probably a bit facile. The third joke will be truly original. It isn’t a hard, fast rule, but that’s the idea. References aren’t jokes and are rarely good punchlines. Using Armond Smith’s run on 4th and 1 is quite simply the first crack available and as I think I proved it is nothing more than just second-guessing the coach because it happened not to work.

So let’s get back to that play one final time as we bid farewell to a 4th string running back that won’t even be a footnote in Cleveland Browns history. [Read more...]

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Setting the standards for Browns debate

March 19, 2012 by 84 Comments

I don’t know if it would make some people happier if I just claimed that the Browns aren’t trying to win. I won’t do it. Despite Chuck Booms claiming Randy Lerner wants to wash out the fan base so he can move the team to London (Yes, he really said that this morning and if he was joking it wasn’t even half way) I am not one who thinks this front office is just in it for a paycheck.

So, what are they doing?

That’s a more than fair question. It is something that I’m constantly trying to figure out, by the way. I think sometimes I get a bad rap as someone who “co-signs” for everything the Browns are doing. The way I look at it, I’m just trying to figure out what the intentions are. For me, that starts with the basic assumption that the Browns desire to get better and do the what they think is best to accomplish that goal. If we’re starting anywhere else in the conversation, we just don’t have much to talk about.

So don’t mistake this as me saying I agree with everything the Browns are doing. I don’t. [Read more...]

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