Day 84

There is only one #84 in my life - the great former Browns WR Webster Slaughter. Growing up during the Browns heyday, Webster was one of the main cogs in the Browns wheel. He was by far MD's favorite player. He had a big "Web-Star 84" poster on his bedroom wall. The guy was so cool back then - always wearing the Jordan flight suits in public. The guy made so many big plays that I vividly remember. His game winning TD in overtime to beat the Steelers at home in '86 on Bernie's 21st b-day. His TD in the snow from Don Strock to clinch a playoff berth in '89. His cabbage patch touchdown dance after he would point to the crowd and then spike the ball between his legs. This was back in the days when the Browns REALLY mattered, and mattered to me for that matter.

I saw Browns GM Phil Savage's press conference the other night. It was the first time he has spoken to the press since the whole John Collins vs. Savage debacle. His confidence is clearly shaken, and my confidence in him for that matter is also shaken. He read a prepared statement about as well as an eighth grader would. He looks like Ron Howard and talks with a southern twang. The thing that really was strange was that in all of the B role tape, he was wearing a baseball cap. He's be in the owner's box in a suit and a hat. He was out scouting and wearing a hat. He was on the sidelines before the game in a hat. He is a guy who is balding a wears a hat all the time because he is clearly very self-conscious about going bald (know anyone like that, P?). Anyways, he doesn't seem sure of himself anymore and now I understand why there was trepidation about him in these contract negotiations. This organization is in disarray.

Then we move on to the Tribe. Two days ago, they made a big free agent signing of OF Todd Hollandsworth. Todd Hollandsworth? Is this a joke. We went into this offseason in dire need of a new RF and a new 1B. We have come out of this with Eduardo Perez and Todd Hollandsworth? Please. Perez is an upgrade on the platoon with Ben Broussard at first, but that is still very subpar. Hollandsworth is a 4th outfielder/pinch hitter at his best. He had his chance to play everyday last year and failed miserably in Chicago. GM Mark Shapiro has been quoted as saying that he has tried to make moves and that we have outbid teams on certain players and still lost out. We tried to get Brian Giles, Nomar Garciaparra, Trevor Hoffman, Reggie Sanders, and Rondell White and went 0-5. Shapiro says we didn't pursue OF Preston Wilson, who signed with Houston for 1 year at $4 Million, because he is injury prone, strikes out too much, and is a below average outfielder. Other than being injury prone, it sounds like Casey Blake to me. I despise our ownership. They have created a culture of being notoriously cheap and it seems to be scaring off free agents. What I don't get is a guy like Reggie Sanders who took a little more money with Kansas City rather than play in Cleveland and contend. To me, anyone who chooses KC over the Tribe is a loser and I don't want on my team anyways. Bottom line here is that I am very concerned about this season. There is no way we can ever repeat the pitching performances by our bullpen and our rotation from last year. The White Sox look better on paper and are primed for a repeat. They added Jim Thome and Javier Vazquez. We added Paul Byrd and Eduardo Perez. You do the math.

Then there are the Cavaliers. Larry Hughes just broke a finger and needed surgery meaning he is out 8 weeks. They depth at guard was suspect to begin with, and now we are stuck with a starting backcourt of Damon "all is do is shoot threes and I couldn't guard a chair" Jones and Eric "I am clearly a backup and only should play 18-20 minutes a night" Snow. Damon Jones is good for one thing, hitting three's and he is in a major slump. All the Cavs do is gun threes and play zero halfcourt offense. They stand around and wait for Lebron to do something. They just lost at home to the pathetic 11-21 Knicks, and now head out west for a 6 game road trip. I think this is danger time for them.

The only one of my teams that seems to be moving in the right direction are my Jayhawks. As I said earlier, we are improving game by game, winning 6 straight. We have a huge game tonight at 10-2 Colorado. The Big 12 is wide open as only Texas looks like a great team. Oklahoma, a preseason top 10 team, has lost two straight to open conference play to two average teams in Nebraska and Missouri (in Norman). Missouri picked to finish 11th out of 12 in the conference , beat Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the past 5 days. The door is wide open for KU to make a big run if we can continue with this momentum. I think we lose tonight in a tough game. It is really our first real road game, although whenever we play in Boulder, around 6,000 KU fans drive in from Western Kansas and it is almost like a home game for us. Colorado has everyone back from last year's team and our top 7 scorers are freshman or sophomores. Should be interesting.

Song of the Day: "When I Get Free by 2Pac"