Outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Would you vote for this grin?
Our local ABC affilliate has a link on their page to have a photo vote. Each week they list a topic and you have a few days to upload your photo and then from the 500 submissions they receive, they pick the top 10. There were a few topics I had the "perfect" picture to submit but was to late. This week's topic "Goofy Grins". My children give me plenty of goofy grins all the time, but the most recent one I capture was my dear little Patrick. Well Patrick didn't make the top 10, but I still think its cute. What do you think?
Monday, September 24, 2007
Central Division Champs!!
YEA!!!!!!! Anyone knows where I could purchase a "It's Tribe Time Now" t-shirt - please let me know.
Great game! Great celebration! I'm looking forward to seeing where we end up - hopefully with the home field advantage. I'm glad they clinched at home because there would be no way in the world I could stay up for a Seattle game this week.
Great game! Great celebration! I'm looking forward to seeing where we end up - hopefully with the home field advantage. I'm glad they clinched at home because there would be no way in the world I could stay up for a Seattle game this week.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Who knew?
I was perusing Sports Time Ohio website when I checked out some of their Tribe gear. You wouldn't believe they are actually selling a cap care kit. If you don't believe me check it out?
http://www.footballfanatics.com/MLB_Cleveland_Indians/Cap_Care_Kit
What I think I find shocking the most is there is an 8 page guide that accompanies the kit.
Only in America.
http://www.footballfanatics.com/MLB_Cleveland_Indians/Cap_Care_Kit
What I think I find shocking the most is there is an 8 page guide that accompanies the kit.
Only in America.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
It's Tribe Time Now!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Cheating in the NFL
Ok – look who is apologizing now. I just saw on ESPN.com that before his regularly scheduled press conference that Bill Belichick issued an apology to his team on Wednesday and confirmed that he has spoken to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about his "interpretation" of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.
Here was his statement:
"At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling," Belichick said in a statement. "Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."
Does that sound like they are guilty or what??!!
This was an interesting side story on the same page:
In August, ESPN.com ran a comprehensive package on cheating in sports. Jeffri Chadiha wrote the NFL portion of the package. Among the ways NFL coaches try to gain an advantage was trying to descramble signals sent from coach to player: "When Marty Schottenheimer coached the Cleveland Browns in the late 1980s, he routinely sent a scout to watch the signals opposing teams used to relay messages from coaches to players. When the scout returned, Schottenheimer's staff would watch the game film and match the signals to the plays that followed. "[Herm] Edwards said the same is true today. It's common for coaches to watch standard game tapes (which include shots from the press box and end zone angles), sideline tapes (which usually wind up on highlight shows and include footage of players and coaches talking on the sidelines) and even the television shows of opposing coaches for tips."
Maybe the Browns should start stealing some signals again. Better yet we should get a new coach!
Here was his statement:
"At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling," Belichick said in a statement. "Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."
Does that sound like they are guilty or what??!!
This was an interesting side story on the same page:
In August, ESPN.com ran a comprehensive package on cheating in sports. Jeffri Chadiha wrote the NFL portion of the package. Among the ways NFL coaches try to gain an advantage was trying to descramble signals sent from coach to player: "When Marty Schottenheimer coached the Cleveland Browns in the late 1980s, he routinely sent a scout to watch the signals opposing teams used to relay messages from coaches to players. When the scout returned, Schottenheimer's staff would watch the game film and match the signals to the plays that followed. "[Herm] Edwards said the same is true today. It's common for coaches to watch standard game tapes (which include shots from the press box and end zone angles), sideline tapes (which usually wind up on highlight shows and include footage of players and coaches talking on the sidelines) and even the television shows of opposing coaches for tips."
Maybe the Browns should start stealing some signals again. Better yet we should get a new coach!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
From Peter Gammons
I copied and pasted the article in fear that because this is an "IN" thing on ESPN it could disappear at any moment. Amen Peter Gammons!
Halos and Tribe are dangerousposted: Monday, September 10, 2007 Print Entry
With three weeks and less than 20 games to play, the news on Jeremy Bonderman may have made the American League playoff races nearly as clear as a September Naushon Island morning. The Angels have crushed the West, and by Thursday, the Indians will have finished a brutal three-city, 10-game road trip and taken a deep breath after playing 23 days in a row. If the Tigers have run out of time, what remains to be determined is who among the league's final four plays whom, and when.
Somehow in the sheltered world of the Delta Shuttle, there is the presumption that October will come down to the Yankees playing the Red Sox for the right to play the Mets. But at the risk of bodily harm from Mike Scioscia for merely thinking about the playoffs, start with this: With the first-round games spread out more than in years past, the teams with the best 1-2 starters may have a big advantage, and right now, the argument can be made that the Angels with John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar and the Indians with C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have the two best pairs in the league. L.A. is 39-16 and Cleveland 39-20 in their duos' starts this season, after the two teams split a fascinating four-game series in Anaheim this past weekend.
There is a lot to be determined in this coming weekend's Yankee-Red Sox showdown at Fenway Park -- starting with Boston's need to get Daisuke Matsuzaka and Eric Gagne back on track for postseason legitimacy -- and how the two teams' young pitchers deal with the Indian summer during this series.
Right now, the Indians have a lot going for them. They have been able to win against their rivals' best pitchers (Sabathia and Carmona went 6-1 against Johan Santana and Justin Verlander, the pitchers the Tribe had to beat). They have put '06 behind them with their response to the 23 straight games, the emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera and the promise that Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner will get hot sometime. It seemed a given that their starters would lead the league in innings and quality starts, but watching the finale in Anaheim against the team with the best home record in the game was even more reason for optimism. Seeing Aaron Laffey (16-5 between Double-A, Triple-A and the AL), rookie Jensen Lewis and arguably the best left-handed reliever on the planet, Rafael Perez (one extra-base hit by a lefty in two years with a slugging percentage under .140), handle the Angels was the kind of sign the Yankees and Red Sox have seen in Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz.
Remember, being 23rd in payroll requires the Indians to be a constant work in progress. But that progress has happened during a season in which Carmona, Laffey, Lewis, Perez, Cabrera and Franklin Gutierrez all arrived from Buffalo to become significant contributors in building a six-game lead on the defending AL champion Tigers. Incidently, in the Indians' transformation, they have a team that loses no regular to free agency this winter, and can anticipate the 2008 return to grace of Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers.
But even after losing the last two games to Indians left-handers without Vladimir Guerrero or Chone Figgins, the Angels are emerging as the American League team to beat this fall. To begin with, please forget the October matchups and how home field is important if it's Los Angeles-Boston, or how Scioscia's Halos have always gone into Yankee Stadium with an intrepid attitude that has made them a thorn in Joe Torre's side in the 21st century.
To begin with, it's the style of play. During Scioscia's first spring training as manager, Shawn Wooten made a baserunning blunder and was thrown out at third base by what Scioscia estimates was "20 feet." Wooten slinked back toward the dugout, looking for a place to hide, yet Scioscia went up to him and said, "That's great. Never stop being aggressive. Don't worry about getting thrown out." By the manager's count, it happened to three or four other players that spring, and thus a style, philosophy and courage was born. "No one is afraid here," Figgins says. "We play a little differently than other teams, but no one's afraid."
In the media notes, the Angels have a daily total on the number of times they've gone from first to third on singles. Yes, they lead the league, by far, and in a sport where throwing has become a faded art, they force issues that few teams force. "A few years back," says Scioscia, "there was a stat where we went first to third 101 times and got thrown out six times, while the A's only got thrown out twice all season in 30 attempts going first to third. I prefer forcing the issue and not taking it safe. If we had a lineup of power hitters, would we play differently? Of course. But we play the way we have to play. I don't know where we rank in homers [12th in the AL], but we do what we have to do."
That includes leading the league in stolen bases for the fourth year in a row.
"They hit and run, steal, bunt and pitch out in the damndest of counts," says one AL scout. "They always rush opposing outfielders. They make contact and force opposing defenses to make all the plays. They always hustle. They're a very difficult team to play, and if they get their bullpen straightened out, they are a team that may be cut out for the postseason." Cue the 2002 ALDS, when they drove Bernie Williams to distraction by sprinting around the field as if they were doing spring training baserunning drills.
Now, there are issues to watch. Jered Weaver took a step back Sunday after a strong month in which his velocity had picked up 3-4 mph, and they have no idea what to expect when Bartolo Colon comes back. But the right people around Guerrero have morphed at the right time. Garret Anderson, who looked like a comeback player of the year candidate this spring before being sidetracked for nearly two months with hip flexor problems, leads the majors in RBIs since the All-Star break. Fire-starter Figgins, who missed more than three weeks with a bad wrist, is back and can start hitting right-handed this week. By the playoffs, he should be back to what Mickey Hatcher calls his Tony Gwynn imitation. Howie Kendrick, healthy, has hit close to .380 the last three weeks. Casey Kotchman, healthy, is emerging. Juan Rivera is back from his leg fracture, and Orlando Cabrera continues to play like the elite all-around shortstop he has become.
Scioscia has developed his two young catchers, Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis, and when the team was besieged by injuries, Kendry Morales (.325) and Maicer Izturis became critical role and depth players. "This is the most depth I've ever managed," says Scioscia. Now, he just needs Gary Matthews Jr. to be the player he was for 3½ months.
Scot Shields had imploded since the break, culminating with a game-deciding gopher ball to Hank Blalock on Sept. 2. Last Tuesday, he went out and threw a simulated game to work on his mechanics. It didn't go too well. "I got a little frustrated," says Shields, who at one point turned and fired a ball from the mound over the right-field fence. "That night, they put tape on the bench where it landed," says Shields, who pointed out it was right in the vicinity where Blalock's homer landed.
Shields' mechanics and stuff were back when he faced the Indians on Friday night.
Francisco Rodriguez also has been in a post-break funk with four blown saves and a 4.36 ERA. Pitching coach Mike Butcher took him aside to work on not being as pronounced throwing across his body. The delivery was slower Sunday night, and the stuff was K-Rodesque.
If the Tigers' starting pitching can hold up without Bonderman, any one of five teams could emerge from the ALCS and get to the World Series. If not, any one of four AL clubs -- especially with six of the leading Cy Young contenders (Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Chien-Ming Wang, Lackey, Escobar, Carmona) pitching -- have a chance to win the playoffs.
It is not an Inside Track/Page Six lock that the passage to the World Series goes through the South Bronx or Lansdowne Street. When these final three weeks are done and it's October, it is possible the Angels and Indians will finish with the best records in the American League, with the right players healthy and hot, with the least need for Giant Auto Glass Replacement, in comparison to the teams emerging from the final weeks of the Yankee-Red Sox border bumper wars.
There is life west of the Garden State Parkway, so watch the Angels and the Indians. They're good, they're fun, they pitch, they play hard, their self esteem is not at stake in October, and either one could still be playing on Halloween.
Halos and Tribe are dangerousposted: Monday, September 10, 2007 Print Entry
With three weeks and less than 20 games to play, the news on Jeremy Bonderman may have made the American League playoff races nearly as clear as a September Naushon Island morning. The Angels have crushed the West, and by Thursday, the Indians will have finished a brutal three-city, 10-game road trip and taken a deep breath after playing 23 days in a row. If the Tigers have run out of time, what remains to be determined is who among the league's final four plays whom, and when.
Somehow in the sheltered world of the Delta Shuttle, there is the presumption that October will come down to the Yankees playing the Red Sox for the right to play the Mets. But at the risk of bodily harm from Mike Scioscia for merely thinking about the playoffs, start with this: With the first-round games spread out more than in years past, the teams with the best 1-2 starters may have a big advantage, and right now, the argument can be made that the Angels with John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar and the Indians with C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have the two best pairs in the league. L.A. is 39-16 and Cleveland 39-20 in their duos' starts this season, after the two teams split a fascinating four-game series in Anaheim this past weekend.
There is a lot to be determined in this coming weekend's Yankee-Red Sox showdown at Fenway Park -- starting with Boston's need to get Daisuke Matsuzaka and Eric Gagne back on track for postseason legitimacy -- and how the two teams' young pitchers deal with the Indian summer during this series.
Right now, the Indians have a lot going for them. They have been able to win against their rivals' best pitchers (Sabathia and Carmona went 6-1 against Johan Santana and Justin Verlander, the pitchers the Tribe had to beat). They have put '06 behind them with their response to the 23 straight games, the emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera and the promise that Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner will get hot sometime. It seemed a given that their starters would lead the league in innings and quality starts, but watching the finale in Anaheim against the team with the best home record in the game was even more reason for optimism. Seeing Aaron Laffey (16-5 between Double-A, Triple-A and the AL), rookie Jensen Lewis and arguably the best left-handed reliever on the planet, Rafael Perez (one extra-base hit by a lefty in two years with a slugging percentage under .140), handle the Angels was the kind of sign the Yankees and Red Sox have seen in Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz.
Remember, being 23rd in payroll requires the Indians to be a constant work in progress. But that progress has happened during a season in which Carmona, Laffey, Lewis, Perez, Cabrera and Franklin Gutierrez all arrived from Buffalo to become significant contributors in building a six-game lead on the defending AL champion Tigers. Incidently, in the Indians' transformation, they have a team that loses no regular to free agency this winter, and can anticipate the 2008 return to grace of Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers.
But even after losing the last two games to Indians left-handers without Vladimir Guerrero or Chone Figgins, the Angels are emerging as the American League team to beat this fall. To begin with, please forget the October matchups and how home field is important if it's Los Angeles-Boston, or how Scioscia's Halos have always gone into Yankee Stadium with an intrepid attitude that has made them a thorn in Joe Torre's side in the 21st century.
To begin with, it's the style of play. During Scioscia's first spring training as manager, Shawn Wooten made a baserunning blunder and was thrown out at third base by what Scioscia estimates was "20 feet." Wooten slinked back toward the dugout, looking for a place to hide, yet Scioscia went up to him and said, "That's great. Never stop being aggressive. Don't worry about getting thrown out." By the manager's count, it happened to three or four other players that spring, and thus a style, philosophy and courage was born. "No one is afraid here," Figgins says. "We play a little differently than other teams, but no one's afraid."
In the media notes, the Angels have a daily total on the number of times they've gone from first to third on singles. Yes, they lead the league, by far, and in a sport where throwing has become a faded art, they force issues that few teams force. "A few years back," says Scioscia, "there was a stat where we went first to third 101 times and got thrown out six times, while the A's only got thrown out twice all season in 30 attempts going first to third. I prefer forcing the issue and not taking it safe. If we had a lineup of power hitters, would we play differently? Of course. But we play the way we have to play. I don't know where we rank in homers [12th in the AL], but we do what we have to do."
That includes leading the league in stolen bases for the fourth year in a row.
"They hit and run, steal, bunt and pitch out in the damndest of counts," says one AL scout. "They always rush opposing outfielders. They make contact and force opposing defenses to make all the plays. They always hustle. They're a very difficult team to play, and if they get their bullpen straightened out, they are a team that may be cut out for the postseason." Cue the 2002 ALDS, when they drove Bernie Williams to distraction by sprinting around the field as if they were doing spring training baserunning drills.
Now, there are issues to watch. Jered Weaver took a step back Sunday after a strong month in which his velocity had picked up 3-4 mph, and they have no idea what to expect when Bartolo Colon comes back. But the right people around Guerrero have morphed at the right time. Garret Anderson, who looked like a comeback player of the year candidate this spring before being sidetracked for nearly two months with hip flexor problems, leads the majors in RBIs since the All-Star break. Fire-starter Figgins, who missed more than three weeks with a bad wrist, is back and can start hitting right-handed this week. By the playoffs, he should be back to what Mickey Hatcher calls his Tony Gwynn imitation. Howie Kendrick, healthy, has hit close to .380 the last three weeks. Casey Kotchman, healthy, is emerging. Juan Rivera is back from his leg fracture, and Orlando Cabrera continues to play like the elite all-around shortstop he has become.
Scioscia has developed his two young catchers, Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis, and when the team was besieged by injuries, Kendry Morales (.325) and Maicer Izturis became critical role and depth players. "This is the most depth I've ever managed," says Scioscia. Now, he just needs Gary Matthews Jr. to be the player he was for 3½ months.
Scot Shields had imploded since the break, culminating with a game-deciding gopher ball to Hank Blalock on Sept. 2. Last Tuesday, he went out and threw a simulated game to work on his mechanics. It didn't go too well. "I got a little frustrated," says Shields, who at one point turned and fired a ball from the mound over the right-field fence. "That night, they put tape on the bench where it landed," says Shields, who pointed out it was right in the vicinity where Blalock's homer landed.
Shields' mechanics and stuff were back when he faced the Indians on Friday night.
Francisco Rodriguez also has been in a post-break funk with four blown saves and a 4.36 ERA. Pitching coach Mike Butcher took him aside to work on not being as pronounced throwing across his body. The delivery was slower Sunday night, and the stuff was K-Rodesque.
If the Tigers' starting pitching can hold up without Bonderman, any one of five teams could emerge from the ALCS and get to the World Series. If not, any one of four AL clubs -- especially with six of the leading Cy Young contenders (Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Chien-Ming Wang, Lackey, Escobar, Carmona) pitching -- have a chance to win the playoffs.
It is not an Inside Track/Page Six lock that the passage to the World Series goes through the South Bronx or Lansdowne Street. When these final three weeks are done and it's October, it is possible the Angels and Indians will finish with the best records in the American League, with the right players healthy and hot, with the least need for Giant Auto Glass Replacement, in comparison to the teams emerging from the final weeks of the Yankee-Red Sox border bumper wars.
There is life west of the Garden State Parkway, so watch the Angels and the Indians. They're good, they're fun, they pitch, they play hard, their self esteem is not at stake in October, and either one could still be playing on Halloween.
Are you scoreboard watching?
I'm not talking about the Tigers - forget about them. They are done. We need to watch what LAA are doing. They 4 percentage points better than us. Right now I'm guessing if the playoffs started today, it would be 1) Boston 2) LAA 3) Indians and 4) New York. That would mean we would face Boston. I personally would rather face New York first while LAA and Boston fight it out. I know you are thinking but JoyceK the Yankees beat us everytime this year. I think we will be a different team in the postseason where we can handle anyone of these teams. I would just rather not face Boston and then LAA to get to the World Series. I would rather have the cake-walk!!
A change at QB
I just read online that Charlie Frye is going to Seattle for a 6th Round Pick. The Browns are to sign Dorsey - who Seattle worked out last week and didn't want. 1) Hello Browns - we gave up our 1st Round pick to get Quinn - can we try and get at least a 2nd Round pick for Frye? 2) How bad is Frye that we only got a 6th Round pick? 3) We still stink even if they start Dorsey this week. Maybe we will luck out because the Bengals have a short week b/c they played last night.
I must agree with the Browns that something had to happen because you can't release the bad punter that bailed you out last week because your regular punter has a bad back and keep 3 mediocre QB's.
I must agree with the Browns that something had to happen because you can't release the bad punter that bailed you out last week because your regular punter has a bad back and keep 3 mediocre QB's.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Different Season - Same Clowns - I mean Browns
They said they made improvements in the offseason but I don't think they showed up yesterday. I will admit I did not watch the whole game but from what I saw they still stink. I hope the tailgaiters had a good meal! I don't think Quinn should be played yet - I think cut Frye or Anderson and let Dorsey play.
I do think this - if we played everybody's 3rd string we would be Super Bowl Bound!
I do think this - if we played everybody's 3rd string we would be Super Bowl Bound!
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Indians Fever - - Indian Summer Edition
The very warm temperatures here in Lake County obscure the fact that is will soon be Autumn. Although not technically Indian Summer, I got Indians Fever. I admit, I went through a little funk in early August. So did Eric Wedge, before he challenged the team publicly to prove they were tough enough to compete. Since then the Tribe has put it together.
Could this be THE YEAR?
Could this be THE YEAR?
Saturday, September 01, 2007
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