Because I need something else bad in my sports fandom ...

After the Cavs sweep ...

In the midst of another Indians Summer Slump (patent pending, I do believe) ...



Steely McBeam

I'm debating not even acknowledging his existence.

I Hate the ****ing Yankees

I Hate the Yankees.

And, yes, I grew up being told to not use the word "hate" unless I really meant it.

And, yes, I still say I hate the Yankees.

I went to my first baseball game of the season on Friday night (been to at least one game every season since I was born). Got the "pleasure" of sitting in a section with a bunch of Yankees fans. And ... I say this as someone who grew up in Cleveland as a Stillers fan ... Yankees fans really need to learn etiquette for being in a visiting ballpark.

It's OK to have fun little chants. It's great to have playful banter with the other fans around you. It's fantastic to talk smak.

It's stupid to act like the home team. It's bad to stand and cheer for the closer when the final batter comes up, and act like you're the home team. And it's pathetic to start and/or crush "The Wave".

One more thought: my team may have gotten swept, but at lest my name isn't Melky.

I hate the ****ing Yankees.

ugh

1.0 IP 7 hits 8 runs 8 earned runs 2 BB 1 K 2 HR

And this is why you almost never want to have players from your favorite team also on your fantasy team.

ugh, indeed

The NHL

So, I really didn't understand the clamor in the media back in 1995. After the baseball strike and the canceled World Series. Perhaps it was my youth, or perhaps it was my living in a city going through a baseball craze. But I didn't get how one nasty experience, even as nasty as a canceled World Series, could drive you away from watching a sport.

Until it happened again. No, not in baseball. But in hockey. An entire season canceled. No Stanley Cup awarded. And now, here we are, two years later, and I still don't give a crap about the NHL. I watched exactly one game this year: when the Cup was in the building. I watched because I wanted to see the Cup awarded, not because I wanted to watch hockey.

However ... if Bill Simmons covered the NHL season like he did the NHL Draft, I'd be much more likely to watch. Classic Simmons humor. Awesome.

NBA Draft

So, the NBA draft is coming up. There's a ton of buzz surrounding it. Durant, Oden ... two possible cornerstone players.

I just can't get excited. My team doesn't have a single pick in this draft. Not a single pick. In what's being touted as one of the deepest drafts ever.

I want to get excited for it, but it seems like I'm just waiting for every team but my own to get better.

*sigh*

At least I can go enjoy Jiri Welsch, since he's really our first round pick this year.



Crap.


Thanks a lot, Jim Paxson

hmmm ...

Does this mean I need to start following NASCAR a little closer?

Questions I Can't Answer

Let me start his off by saying that this year of sports will only be complete when the Indians get swept in the World Series, and the Steelers lose by 4 touchdowns in the Super Bowl.

Seriously, look at the year my teams have had:

Ohio State football: rolls through the regular season, gets whomped (completely and totally, the actual whomping may have been illegal in a few states) by Florida in the National Title Game.

Ohio State basketball: have a good-if-not-great season, have thrilling tournament victories, and then can't hit a shot to save their life in the championship game against Florida.

Cleveland Cavaliers: have a good-if-sleepwalked-through regular season, sleepwalk through two playoff rounds, dominate Detroit, and then never get a complete game together in a sweet at the hands of the Spurs.

At this point in time, I'm checking to make sure the Avs didn't get swept in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (after I check to make sure the NHL still exists)

So, this begs a few questions:

1. Is it better to make the championship game/series and get blown out, or to not make it at all?




My inclination here is to say it's better to make the championship game/series. If you can't be #1, #2 isn't a bad place to be. But it hurts more this way.

It hurts more this year to get swept by the Spurs than it hurt last year to squander away victory in the second round against Detroit. It hurt more to lose to Florida in 1997 than it did to lose to Seattle in the first round the year they won 100 million regular season games. No loss in the Wild Card or Division Round has felt as bad as the losses for the Steelers in the AFC Title games, or in Super Bowl XXX.

At the same time, it hurt a lot less to get whomped by Florida this year than it hurt all those years the Cooper-lead Buckeyes choked away a shot at a National Title by losing to Michigan or Michigan State.

So, I guess this question is up for debate, but totally leaning towards better to get there. At least you can talk some smak to 28 other teams (or whatever)




2. Is it better to get whomped in a championship series/game or lose a nailbiter?




I can directly compare two things here: The 2007 NBA Finals (Cavs swept handily by Spurs) against the 1997 World Series (Indians lose a heartbreaking game seven to the Marlins).

And I can say without a doubt that the 1997 World Series hurt more, was more devastating, and just without a doubt sucked more. But, I think there are some other factors to consider that keep this question from being answered:


• This Cavs team is young, ahead of schedule, has a bright future, and should be back. That Indians team was nearing the end of their window of opportunity, never got back, and had the "veteran " experience edge over Florida.


• The Spurs are a team built the right way, and have been there before, and handle business properly (for the most part, cheap shots by Bowen and Horry not withstanding). The Marlins bought that championship, then fire sold it away, and for the most part felt like a completely undeserving franchise and fanbase.


• Baseball has always been my first love. Basketball has always been at best third, though I'm not sure if the Cavs rank higher than the Steelers, for reasons of my hometown being attached to one and not the other



So, I'm leaning towards saying it's better to get whomped, but I'm not able to say for sure.

So, two questions, no real answers. Anybody got any thoughts?

One Win

... at a time.

What we always say, right?

Helps us keep the faith, keep perspective on the long seasons.

When the tip comes tonight, the Cavs and their fans have to leave the mindset of "we're down 3-0" behind, and have the mindset "this game is 0-0". Right?

And we can get this win, right?

I'm certain we can.

I'm hoping we see a lineup something like: Snow, Sasha, LeBron, Gooden, Z to start the game, with Boobie first off the bench (spelling either Sasha or Snow, depending on if we need more offense or just a fresh look), followed by Marshall (much higher basketball IQ than Gooden) and AV (much more energy than Z).

One win ... one game at a time ... it's not 3-0 Spurs, it's 0-0 in Game 4.

Hope ... springs ... eternal?

Mama said they're be days like this

1-0.

12 innings.

ugh.

When you're starting pitcher throws nine innings of shut-out ball, you need to win that game. Period.

+16 in the 4th quarter

-11 for the game

ugh.

When you play like crap for three quarters, you can't win a game.

Any truth to the rumor the starting line-up for game 3 is: Boobie, Jones, James, Marshall, and Andy?

if that's the case, I'll stop calling (in Charles Barkley-like nicknames) Marshall the Large Splot of Missed Shot and Jones the Tall Stiff whose shots just whiff.