Has Cleveland Been Cursed?

No, this is not about the city being [the mistake by the lake].  For those days are gone.

Nonetheless, the misery still continues for the fans of at least two out of three major sports franchises located in [Cleveland], and it is arguable that it is just as bad for the fans of the [Cleveland Indians].  For it has been many a moon since the last time they won the [World Series], but they did play in three during the [90s].

Alas, the fans of the [Cleveland Cavaliers] and the [Cleveland Browns] have even less to cheer about, which I place most of the blame squarely on the management of the teams.  For the Cavaliers are owned by [Dan Gilbert], who acts like he truly [owns] his players, which is reflected in their play.

Now comes the news that the Cleveland Browns have been bought by [Jimmy Haslim], who is a very enthusiastic [Pittsburgh Steelers] fan, which would be like a diehard fan of the [Dallas Cowboys] buying the [Washington Redskins], and it will surely lead to even greater depths of mediocrity for the Browns.  For every move that Haslim could make to improve the Browns would eventually hurt his beloved Steelers—especially with them playing in the same conference division.

No, nothing personal—just business cannot be used to explain this away.  For owning a professional sports franchise has to more than just a business decision or you will wind up with a team like the...well…the Browns were, which I would think that the NFL would want to guard against at all costs for the good of the entire league.

Of course, maybe Haslim can keep his heart separated from his head without making too much of a mess out of things?  For he is currently the CEO of [Flying J], which was in direct competition with [Pilot], which is the company that his father founded.

No, I am not buying it, and it makes me a little angry to even be given the choice to.  For back during the early days of my over-the-road trucking career, a wonderful group of diehard Browns fans adopted me for a couple of days while a [lake-effect snow storm] shut down all travel in northeastern Ohio, and ever since, I have had a soft-spot for them.  Not enough to have me cheering for the Browns over my beloved Cowboys, of course, but one has to respect the devotion of someone who would stand in line while being covered by freezing rain just to buy a ticket to go see a team that was more than likely going to lose the game and [break] the hearts of their fans in the process.

Hey, maybe Haslim buying the Browns might actually be a good thing?  For it might not be long before the Browns are so obviously bad that there won’t be any expectations of them ever winning a game.  Hence, no more gut-wrenching losses!

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Aints Again

Despite being HUGE [Peyton Manning] fans, my wife and I were thrilled to see the [New Orleans Saints] win [Super Bowl XLIV]. For we were both very sympathetic about what the city had suffered on account of [Katrina].

Furthermore, it was a thrill to see the team’s longsuffering fans finally being able to realize the exhilaration of being on top of the NFL.  Yes, the team had come a long way from the days of the [Aints].

It would seem that the management of the Saints long for those days of absolute ineptitude.  For they allowed a [bounty program] to go on right under their noses, which has cost them the services of their head coach for an entire year.

Oh, but wait—THERE’S MORE!  For [Joe Vitt], who has been suspended for the first six games of next season on account of the bounty program, has been named as the [interim head coach] in [Sean Payton’s] absence, and Vitt is not at all bashful about acting like a jerk whenever he can.

Speaking of such, the Saints general manager, who has been suspended for the first eight games of next season on account of the bounty program, considers [Drew Brees] to be a very good quarterback, [but not great].  This was after Brees broke the record for the [most passing yards] in a season, and now the Saints are acting like they don’t care if he ever plays another down for them [or not].

Yep, it looks like the Aints have done come marchin’ in again.  [Who dat?]  Indeed.

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Another Idiotic Elitist

Link: [On ABC News]

The object of my ire this time is [Ian Drew] of Us Weekly.  Did you hear what he said, starting at the 2:15 mark?  If you were still bedazzled by the Mirror Ball Trophy, what I am pointed to is as follows.

“William Levy, Katherine Jenkins and Donald Driver all had a lot to prove because no one knew who they were.  So, they knew that they had to be nice, but they also didn’t have a reason to have an ego.  They knew that.  They knew that the show was going to make them a big star here.”

Yes, he was talking about [William Levy], who has had millions of women literally drooling at mouth whenever he has appeared on their television screen for years.  He was also talking about [Katherine Jenkins], who may not be all that well-known here in America, but with looks like that, she undoubtedly turns heads wherever she goes.  Last, but certainly not least, he was talking about [Donald Driver], who is a fairly big star in the NFL, which is just the most watched thing on television these days.

Alas, isn’t his attitude akin to a pompous New Yorker thinking of [Newark, New Jersey] as being little more than a hamlet on account of it being on the wrong side of the river?  Of course, I could have missed his point.

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Stay!

It is being [reported] that the Minnesota Vikings will be getting their new stadium, and I am glad.  For according to my wife, I am getting older and more decrepit by the minute, and if that is indeed true, it would only be a matter of time before I would feel compelled to start preparing for a Viking invasion of southwestern Missouri after seeing that they were now calling Los Angeles home some overcast Sunday afternoon in November a few years from now.

No, I haven’t already lost my mind.  For what I am referring to are the rumors that have been circulating about the Minnesota Viking becoming the Los Angeles Viking in the not-too-distant future if they didn’t get a new stadium built in Minneapolis.

Hey, it’s not like no other Minnesota sports franchise has ever packed up and moved out there.  Come on now, just how many lakes are there in and around L.A.?  So, doesn’t it strike you as being rather curious that their NBA team goes by the [Lakers]?

Okay, with the [Clippers] also being in L.A., I shouldn’t being acting like the Lakers are the only NBA in town—especially with the Clippers starting to play like they really are a professional basketball team this year.  Granted, it was easy to do before, but not now.  Well, at least not until this season is over, and then we’ll see what happens after that.

No, the Vikings were not the only NFL team rumored to be contemplating a move to Los Angeles.  For the [Chargers] have also been mentioned in not-so-hushed tones around certain water coolers.

Can somebody tell me what’s with San Diego?  For that is where the Clippers originated, and now the Chargers are thinking real seriously about making that same 125 (+/-) mile trip to the north?

Yes, I understand that teams have been moving here to there, and everywhere in-between, since the beginning.  For the [Arizona Cardinals] came from [St. Louis] after starting out in [Chicago].

Another situation for sports fanatics to geek-out about involves the possible future of the [Oakland Athletics], which is commonly referred to as being the Oakland A’s.  For there has been much talk of the A’s trading Oakland for [San Jose or Fremont], or [Sacramento], or a city to be named later.  All of this being after the team originated in [Philadelphia], and then made a 13 year stopover in [Kansas City] before moving to Oakland in 1968.

Yeah, I’ve hit on all of the major professional sports in America but hockey, and the NHL has been arguably the best at following Elizabeth Taylor’s [example].  For the [Winnipeg Jets] moved south to become the [Phoenix Coyotes], and then the [Atlanta Thrashers] moved north to become the new and improved(?) [Winnipeg Jets].

I do like the idea of teams changing their names when they change locations.  For the [Memphis Grizzlies] doesn’t sound right at all, but the [Oklahoma City Thunder] sounds perfect—certainly better than the [Utah Jazz].

No, I don’t like the sound of the [St. Louis Rams], neither.  For the Rams belong in [Los Angeles], and to be quite frank about it, the [Colts] belong in Baltimore.  At least the NFL had the decency to let the Browns name stay in [Cleveland], even though the actual team moved to Baltimore and became the [Ravens].  Oh, and don’t get me started on the [Los Angeles Raiders]!

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Tim Tebow

If you are not a fan of the [NFL], nor college football, nor caught an occasional sports segment on your local news broadcast, nor pay any attention to the comings and goings in the American Christian community, you may have never heard of [Tim Tebow].  To get you up to speed, he is the current starting quarterback for the [Denver Broncos].  Before that, he was the starting quarterback for the [Florida Gators], where he was part of two national championship teams.

He also won the [Heisman Trophy] while at Florida, and the following video helps to clarify why I find him so troubling.

Link: [On YouTube]

No, he is not a fake.  That is, at least not in regards to him truly being the epitome of what is generally considered to be a Christian in the eyes of the Christian community, but there is a BIG difference between merely having a semblance of knowledge about Christ Jesus and actually knowing Him in a very close and personal way.

Link: [On YouTube]

Yes, it matters, and he has been given a perfect opportunity to help as many as will to see that our Heavenly Father really is actively involved in our daily lives.  For it is minor miracle every time he completes a pass.

You see, Tim is really awful at throwing the ball most of the time.  In fact, he is so bad, the Denver Broncos have had to almost completely revamp their offense to accommodate his limitations.

Why would they go to so much trouble?  Well, he has proven to be a fairly consistent winner in NFL so far, and it would be most foolish of the Denver Broncos management to cut off their nose to spite their face (so to speak) by refusing to put him behind center.

Honestly, we are witnessing another David vs. Goliath situation here with Tim in the NFL.  For there is no way that he should be having so much success against the defensive schemes he has been facing, and if he had any sort of close and personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, he would be the first to make that clear.

Instead, he talks about God having a plan for his life, and that he doesn’t pay any attention to what others say about him, which is consistent with what has been so widely taught.  For far too many have been led to believe that our Heavenly Father couldn’t care less about what we think of Him and His righteousness while the absolute truth of the matter is exactly the opposite.  Granted, our opinions will not move Him to change His plans, but it grieves Him deeply that most do not understand, nor really want to.

Oh, but people are starting to notice, anyway.  For I heard several sports commentators asking if we might be witnessing a higher power at work through Tim, and he has had nothing to say about that so far.

Of course, if Tim really doesn’t pay any attention to what others are saying, he would miss things like that.  May he come out of the shadows of Spiritual ignorance before it is too late.

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Classless Acts

Despite the insipid [observations] of the more effeminate, football (American football, if you insist) is not meant to be a barbaric sport.  Granted, the opposing teams go out there to knock the snot out of each other until the whistle blows, but it is supposed to be done with good sportsmanship being foremost in mind.

No, this is not to deny that there have always been some dirty players and coaches involved.  In fact, the head football coach when I was going to high school would “suggest” that if the player across the line from you got knocked-out of the game, it would stand to reason that his replacement wouldn’t be as good, but this sort of thing was rarely openly spoken of.

Much has changed since.  For when Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of the [San Francisco 49ers], blatantly disrespected Jim Schwartz, the head coach of the [Detroit Lions] last Sunday, which is shown in the first video below, far too many did not see a problem, which is well represented in the second video.

Yes, just to make what you already probably think is an absolutely ridiculous thing to write about even more so, I am compelled to add that this is another clear example of our Heavenly Father withdrawing His goodness [Hosea 4:6].  For a great outrage should have erupted in the sports world over a 45 year-old head coach acting like a coked-up street punk, and the last two videos below display other classless acts that have gone largely unnoticed by those who have the power to help reign in this madness before it gets way out-of-hand.

Link: [On YouTube]

Link: [On YouTube]

Link: [On YouTube]

Link: [On YouTube]

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A Tale of Two Tonys

When good Tony takes the field, it is the best of times for the Dallas Cowboys and their rabid fans.  When bad Tony takes the field, it is the worst of times for the Dallas Cowboys and their rabid fans.  Such has been the conditions of this season so far.

It is arguable that it has been as such since Tony Romo became the starting quarterback, but it has been especially telling through the first four games of the current season.  For he has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the waning minutes of both losses.

Yes, football is indeed a team sport.  So, it sounds awfully unfair to make it sound like he is the sole reason for both defeats, but it is hard to argue otherwise when his fumbles and interceptions led directly to the points that put an L next to the final score when victory was all but assured before bad Tony replaced good Tony behind center.

Sandwiched in between the two losses are two incredible performances.  For in the San Francisco game, he suffered two broken ribs and a punctured lung on the third play of the game, but came back to engineer a thrilling overtime victory.  In the Washington game, he overcame several miscommunications with the center to gain a hard-fought win over a hated rival, which counts for more than just a victory, of course.

Quite frankly, I don’t know what should be done.  For good Tony is as good as any quarterback in the league, and he is a genuinely likeable guy, which I value as much as his talent on the field.  In a day and age where corner-boy behavior on and off of the field is not frowned upon as much as it should be, many more of him are desperately needed.

I used to jokingly blame bad Tony on [Jessica Simpson], but he didn’t go away when she did.  I hope his new wife, [Candice Crawford], is not just a really skinny version of her.

Yeah, there are still a lot of games to be played, but which Tony will be starting at quarterback?  The [Packers] sure are looking really good again…

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How You Play The Game

What matters most is not whether you win or lose,
but how you play the game.

Yeah, tell that to the [Pittsburgh Steelers].  For they were just beaten in [Super Bowl XLV] by the [Green Bay Packers].

Was this punishment for the sins of their quarterback, [Ben Rothlesberger]?  I haven’t heard anything from our Heavenly Father about the subject, but I do not believe so.  For the Pittsburg Steelers exemplify class from the top to the bottom of the organization.  Well, at least for the most part, and a definite change for the good has been seen in Rothlesberger’s attitude.

Of course, most do not believe that our Heavenly Father has anything to do with sports.  After all, does He not have more important things to attend to?