Monday, September 4, 2006
This part of the site used to be called "Come Again," so if you came here expecting to find that, well, I'm sorry, but seeing as I have a bunch of sections all for the same kind of writing, it seemed like a waste, especially since I've basically ignored the fact that I love sports and could write about that all day.
This is the debut of this column, and while I may tweak it from time to time, the basic format is going to be easy to understand. I'll cover local sports, then the national sports scene as I see fit from the previous weekend. This means I'm talking about the things that I want to talk about, so don't get all bent out of shape if I miss something you think is important. I may go further back in the week too, but that should be rare. The last part will be a rants/raves section will usually be about the local teams, but not exclusively. For example, if Terrell Owens pops up in the news again, I'll probably rant about that.
So sit back and enjoy what the average fan sees.
Local Sports
Cleveland Indians
Everyone wants to talk about the Cleveland Browns around here, and that's fine. After all, this is a football town and the Cleveland Indians have long been out of the playoff hunt, but anyone still paying attention to baseball may have noticed that the Indians really have played much better of late and were riding a 3 game winning streak coming into their series with Texas. They won the first game 7-2, but suffered a painful loss when designated hitter Travis Hafner was hit on the hand by a pitch with the bases loaded. It drove in the final run, but it left the Indians without Hafner, who is their best power hitter.
Bring up Keven Kouzmanoff, a youngster from the minors who was batting just under .380 combined at AA and AAA to replace Hafner and what does he do? He hits a first-pitch grand slam 417 feet to straight-away center to give the Indians a 5-0 lead in the first inning of Saturday's game. He was the first player in the history of baseball to to do so on the first pitch and the third to do it in his first at-bat. The Indians won 6-5 stretching their streak to 5 games, a streak that was snapped the following day by Kevin Millwood, 5-2. Millwood took a perfect game into the fifth inning when Kouzmanoff again struck, this time a solo home run that gave the Indians a temporary 1-0 lead.
Monday the Indians fell again, 4-3, and the loss of Hafner in the middle of the lineup is being felt. Day-to-day, the hope is to have him back as soon as possible, but he was hit on his right hand, which is the hand that he grips the bat with to move it through the strike zone.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes romped to a 35-12 victory over Northern Illinois University Saturday and both Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. showed why they are both early Heisman hopefuls. Smith passed for 297 yards and Ginn caught two touchdown passes as well as two passes over 50 yards as the Buckeyes, despite giving up almost 180 yards on the ground, rolled to the victory.
Some concerns about the defense were raised coming into this game and those concerns were not alleviated by the win. The defense was plagued by missed tackles and assignments, and while there was plenty of pressure on NIU's quarterback, there was no stopping the running game. This is a concern going into the next game, which is against Texas, in Texas in a rematch of last year's stellar game at the Horseshoe in Columbus. Texas looked good in their opening victory in which they broke in a new quarterback to replace Vince Young, now in the NFL.
The hope is that the youngsters, while talented, will learn to play as a unit and correct the mistakes they made in the opening game. I'm not so sure they'll do it and wouldn't be surprised to see this one turn into a shootout. Texas' defense is good, but they didn't face Troy Smith last year and Antonio Pittman wasn't running as well as he is now. In short, the Buckeyes' offense will have to win this game because the defense just isn't experienced enough.
Cleveland Browns
Other than the release of Lee Suggs and placement of William Greene on an injury list, not much surprising came out of Berea this weekend, at least until the trade that brought center Hank Fraley from Philadelphia to try and solve the troublesome position.
The position had been an issue since LeCharles Bentley went down on the first play of practice back in July as the Browns tried a number of players, none of whom solved the dilemma. One center went AWOL and a number of others couldn't handle the job well enough in front of Charlie Frye. Fraley is an experienced back who will have every opportunity to put a stranglehold on the position for the rest of the season.
Around the Country
Old rivals meet again
As of this writing, the game between Miami and Florida had just ended, but it was no surprise to see that defense was the story again. It seems like every time these two teams play, it comes down to the very wire with both defenses doing a superb job of containing the other team. However, FSU came out victorious 13-10, thanks in part to the fact that the Hurricanes couldn't hang onto the ball when it mattered.
In their final two drives, there were two fumbles, an interception, and a dropped pass by a wide-open receiver that would've given Miami a crucial first down. Instead, Miami had to give the ball back to FSU twice and that sealed the deal.
Tiger strikes again
Tiger Woods continued his dominance this PGA season as he won his fifth straight tournament, making up a three-stroke deficit in a matter of three holes. He hasn't always looked great in his last two tournaments, but somehow, someway, Tiger finds a way to win, this time beating Vijay Singh.
Aggasi Bows out
Give the guys in tennis some credit; they know when to call it quits. Pete Sampras hung his racket up at the right time and you can now say the same for Andre Aggasi, bounced yesterday in the US Open. Every match he played was filled with emotion and drama, none more so than the last one which saw him break down completely into tears.
While not a tennis fan, Agassi has endured through the years and has always been known as one of the nicest guys around. I wish him well on his retirement.
Rants and Raves
Rants
It never fails, but it seems like fans in Cleveland are always looking for reasons to complain. When the Cleveland Cavaliers took the Pistons to the brink of elimination, everyone said that the Cavs choked. How do you choke when you went further than you were supposed to? Yet in Cleveland, that's how it goes.
It's taken an extreme turn this year however. After the last exhibition game against the Chicago Bears, all you have heard around town is how bad the Browns are going to be because they didn't look good in their last preseason game, games that don't count and mean little to those who have their jobs secured on the team.
The idea that the last game will dictate how the season is going to turn out is ridiculous for a number of reasons. One, the starters were only in for a couple of series with the exception of some of the defensive linemen and linebackers such as Kameron Wimbley. In fact, they didn't even start their regular secondary at all to rest them for the season opener. Yes, the first team looked bad, but it's still just a preseason game. Two, the last game was mostly a chance for other players to showcase reasons why they shouldn't be cut the following weekend. Three, it's preseason. Wait until 6 games in before you start flipping out.
Things aren't always as bad as they seem they're going to be.
Raves
This is a two-parter because it involves two teams, the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals. Both have been playing much better of late and have seemed to relish the opportunity to spoil the seasons of other teams. However, the Indians have finally given their minor leaguers a chance to shine and boy, some have shone brightly. Ryan Garko has shown why he's considered one of the best pure hitters in the organization. Joe Inglett has made the Indians look closer at him as an option for next year. Jeremy Sowers has been everything he was advertised to be, going so far as to having the lowest ERA in the Majors since the All-Star Break.
Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and the entire starting rotation have been solid for much of the season. The bullpen has finally settled down, mostly due to the biggest surprise thus far, Tom Mastny, who has been perfect in save opportunities. Yes, Jhonny Peralta has struggled most of the year, but he's been playing better as of late too.
While there are questions marks, the last month has been fun to watch as the younger players have come up and left a mark and helped the Indians to an 18-10 August and a 2-2 start to September.
Meanwhile the Royals have made life miserable for the teams trying to get in the playoffs, so my hat has to go off to Buddy Bell for keeping this team motivated and playing hard day in and day out. They may have the worst record, but they've shown more life than some teams ticketed for post-season play.