Clevelander17

Not terribly concerned about the Youlikis trade. He's been struggling this season (injured, perhaps) and I'm not convinced that he'll turn it on just because of a change of scenery. He may be an upgrade for the Sox at 3B, but it's not a significant upgrade. I know it won't happen, but I would really like to see the Tribe throw a nice package at Minnesota to get Josh Willingham. Actually I wish they would have made a more legit offer to him in the offseason so they wouldn't have to give up prospects to try to get him now.

I know nothing about Cleveland now? News to me. The Browns home attendance is always one of the tops in the league. What has their record been lately? Off the top of my head: 2011: 5/11 2010: 5/11 2009: 4/12 They haven't won more than 5 games since 2007 I believe. Having a sense of pride about mediocrity is showing up to games to root for a team that consistently delivers a mediocre product. Cincinnati fans smartened up and curbed their direct spending with Mike Brown, gaining them leverage in ticket prices and other concessions the owner has made in the past 9 months. How many more 5-11's do Cleveland fans have to endure before they boycott the stadium? This post is rich with irony. Cleveland is a Browns town. Always has been and always will be and fans will support the franchise through thick and thin. Additionally, the NFL is the most popular professional sports league in the Americas, and since there are only eight home games in each market, you can pretty much guarantee that unless you have a team in a place like Miles City, Montana (i.e. the middle of nowhere), the stadium is likely to be 90% full no matter how good the teams on the field are. Now all of that being said, if you were paying close attention, you'd know that over the past season or two, there have been about 2-3 home games that were in danger of being blacked out because not enough tickets were sold. Luckily in those cases the local media purchased the tickets so the games would be able to be televised, but by no means do the Browns have any kind of a sellout streak through the lousy football of recent years.

As much as I'd love to agree, what's this based on?

Oh, I almost forgot, Carson Palmer was the local hero from Middletown, Ohio who was going to save the city from their 70 year title drought. Except for the part about him being from Middletown. And the part about the seven decade drought. Really though, as someone else pointed out, it's that last statement that is the key here. Out of all of the cities with at least three major pro sports franchises, none has had to deal with almost a half-century without one winning a title. If some of us "feel victimized," it's a pretty legitimate feeling. While Cincinnati's luck may not be the greatest, at least most Reds fans can remember what it's like to see a team lift the hardware. Ultimately as I've said time and again, most of the Cleveland sports fan's psychopathology, most of the way we look at past defeats, is built around not having a recent championship. And to bring this discussion full circle and back on topic, it's why watching the best player in the NBA who we drafted win a title in another city is a difficult pill to swallow. If we had a few titles under our belt, the anger and sadness towards James would still be there, but the intensity would be nowhere close to what it is with the current situation.

Right, things definitely fell their way this season, like Derrick Rose going down in game one of the playoffs. My point was not about LeBron wanting a title while in Cleveland. I have little doubt that he want to win one here. My point has more to do with him being really committed to actually doing what was necessary off (and to some degree on) the court to get that title. Things like meeting Michael Redd at the airport when he visited with Cavaliers management (and helping to recruit players in general). Or signing a long-term to indicate to guys like Trevor Ariza that he was in it for the long haul. Little things like that that his ego prevented him from doing here, he's gladly been doing since going to Miami. As I said upthread, everyone wants to blame Paxson and Ferry for failing to surround James with the pieces to win it all, but the truth is that James did not make their jobs any easier, which made it more difficult for the entire organization to get that title. I guess I'm just a little bitter that he wouldn't sacrifice a bit of his ego for the betterment of the franchise while in Cleveland, but he's had no problem doing so for Miami. On second thought, maybe you're right, maybe that is a sign of maturity.

Well, at least it wasn't Steve Bellisari.

Absolutely not true as a general rule. You're equating the LeBron James situation to Carson Palmer? Personally I think that's a huge stretch. I think that any city with a large, passionate fanbase that had to deal with what Cleveland has had to deal with (either the James situation specifically or the numerous crushing sports defeats over the years) would react as we have reacted.

He "deserved" it? This is semantics to some degree, but I don't think that anyone "deserves" a championship. Though if there were a list of players that "deserve" a title, I would think that there would be many others in line in front of him. However he definitely put in the work and effort and earned it, but he didn't deserve it. And I don't understand anyone having sympathy for him, either. Most of the crap he's had to deal with he's brought upon himself for being arrogant, self-centered, conniving, and disingenuous in words and actions. To be clear, he was never fully committed to winning a title in Cleveland, he may have wanted it and he tried at it, but he had a sense of entitlement that prevented him from doing what was necessary to get it. If there's one area where's he matured since moving to Miami, it's in that he's changed his attitude and understanding in what is actually necessary to win himself a ring. He definitely stepped his game up on the court, but off the court, as a person, he's still as arrogant and self-centered as ever. I really don't see any improvement out of him in that area, especially after reading what he apparently said last night. He may have a ring now, but I don't he'll ever not be a tactless jerk.

I think part of the issue is that we haven't had a title here in any major sport in almost half a century. There's little doubt in my mind that the passion of sports fans in Boston, Philly, Chicago, etc., etc. is right on par with the passion we have here. However I think that the main difference of course is that they have watched their teams win championships in recent years while we have not. It's a little bit easier to get over the defeats and see it "as a bonus" when you've seen titles in your lifetime and are likely to see more. Our intensity and love for our teams is not the problem. The problem is that our teams haven't brought home any hardware since 1964. We, as fans, don't own that flaw, we just try to deal with it as best as we can and as fans in other city certainly would were they in our shoes. But we're not fundamentally any different than they are.

So is this really only a Cleveland problem? And are there not a lot of other cities that take their sports seriously that are doing well in other civic areas? I understand what you're saying, but I hate it when people make the mistake of framing this infatuation with professional sports as something that's unique to Cleveland.

Based on PER, Irving had a significantly better rookie season than Rose did (though Kyrie did play quite a few less games). Ultimately, however, I think Irving's impact and style of play will be more in the realm of a guy like a Deron Williams or maybe even a Chris Paul...meaning that for the Cavs to be competing for championships he's going to need to be paired with the type of star wing player that I don't think will just be sitting around for the taking. At the very least I definitely don't think that that player is in this year's draft. As a general rule, while it's nice to have a great point guard (and Kyrie is well on his way to fitting the bill), in today's game I think you almost always still need a big-time scorer at the SG or SF position to win a title. That's why I have a hard time getting overly excited about the future.

Come on, those teams won 60 games in back-to-back seasons. Average teams, heck even teams that are only a little better than average, just don't do that. Those were championship-caliber basketball teams that underachieved in the playoffs for myriad reasons. But if you want to argue that those teams didn't have enough to win a title, then I believe that "couldn't" is the word you're looking for...and a big part of that was because James let his ego get in the way of committing to the franchise and assisting in recruiting stars to play with him. That's not to say that the management under Paxson and later Ferry didn't make any mistakes, but James didn't make their job any easier, especially for someone who supposedly wanted to win a championship so badly. That being said, as much as I'm optimistic about the Cavaliers getting better in the coming years, I just don't see any scenario (short of James returning, which I think would be ridiculous on so many levels) where they're anything more than a Jazz or Blazers type of a franchise. Consistently in the playoffs just about every year without any real superstars and consequently little chance of winning a championship--and what fun is it if you know that your team realistically likely won't ever win it all? The odds are so highly stacked against smaller/less glamorous markets in the NBA that I don't see the point. I don't blame others for enjoying the game and getting behind the franchise, I just don't know if I can do it anymore.

Is there any statistical proof of Miami being more aggressive? I believe I saw some analysis of one game during the Boston series which showed the Celtics actually got to the rim more often than the Heat, but Miami still got more calls. I don't really know what's going on, but what I do know is that between the officiating during the postseason and coming to grips with the reality that James is going to be rewarded for what he did to us, I'm pretty close to giving up on the NBA...including the Cavaliers. Sports are supposed to be fun and entertaining, and for a fan of a small market team, it's just not anymore. The league has changed too much. I'd almost rather have an NHL team at this point (actually I think I'd much rather have one).

Gotcha.

To get back on topic a little bit, am I understanding correctly that brownstone apartment buildings were located on the land where Wolstein currently is?

They were probably complimented for the modernization of that "derelict" structure of yesteryear. If anyone has ever seen the movie "Fortune Cookie," I believe the area where Cleveland State currently is, is the home of Jack Lemon's character. Many street scenes from the film if you've never seen it. Oh wow, it's been a couple of years since I've seen the movie, but now that you mention it, I can definitely see that.

I don't know if it's a conspiracy (as much as I'd love to believe that), but the officiating was horrible last night again. The NBA needs better referees, period. For as bad as OKC played, they still had a very legitimate shot at winning the game and the refereeing may have cost them that. And further, that was a huge momentum-shifting game that has changed everything about the series. How can any fans of NBA really enjoy the game when the guys with the whistles are so significantly impacting the game? This is precisely why, outside of the Cavaliers, I can't be bothered to follow the league too closely even though I like the sport.

No obviously it's not a mystery, but the fact is that the numbers have dropped significantly. He should still be putting up a PER in the 21-22 range.

I still don't get it. Anyone can gain an advantage or game the system by wearing shoes with higher platform cushion. I think it makes the most sense to just measure these guys at their natural heights so you always know exactly what you're getting.

I don't know, the change of scenery overall seemed to help him. But I still think the fact that he's a jerk really hindered his early development.

Josh Willingham is tearing it up for the Twins...I really wanted the Tribe to trade for him last year and/or sign him in the offseason. Duncan's numbers are impressive, but I'm not at all convinced that he can be consistent. Come on, a big part of that was Phillips' own fault. He was an immature jerk. He was convinced that he had to play shortstop and he constantly swung for the fences. I don't entirely blame the Tribe for getting rid of him (even for peanuts), I only wish they hadn't sent him to a pseudo-rival where they'd have to face him in two series every season.

I simply disagree with the premise that Bosh is a better player right now. If you want to argue that a few years ago he was a better player than what Ibaka is now or may become in the future, I'd agree. But for whatever reasons, Bosh's career seems to be on a downward trajectory. And even at the height of his career, he wasn't carrying Toronto anywhere. He was still more of a Robin-type player who needed a true Batman. Also, give Harden his due. His PER of 21.1 blows Bosh's number out of the water and really shows that he had a bigger impact on the game. He's already "there."

Sorry, I just don't think of S. Euclid as a true inner ring suburb. Setting that aside, what plagues S. Euclid is decades of poor development choices by the City, which continue to this day (e.g., Oakwood, Cedar Center, all of Mayfield Road, and pretty much every other major thoroughfare). Giving S. Euclid a small chunk of the casino money isn't going to make a dent in the problems plaguing that city; nor is it going to do anything to attract jobs to S. Euclid. We need to be doing things that will cause employers and people to be drawn to the region as a whole; the best way of accomplishing that is fixing up the core. If the core is dead folks, the vultures will come swirling around the outer ring in short order. I pretty much agree with this post, though I would argue that South Euclid is actually an inner-ring suburb. However that's not to ignore SE's self-inflicted wounds that apparently she thinks the rest of the county should also pay for, many of which Councilwoman Simon herself played an active role in creating. If that's not reason enough to disqualify SE from funds, the fact that it's poached businesses from neighboring suburbs and played games with semantics to try excuse this behavior should be. In fact, it would be nice if this money were used to put some actual teeth into the anti-poaching agreements, and South Euclid should be the first to be made an example of for its recent anti-progressive (small "p") actions. And if Sunny is trying to get funds for some of her other constituents, particularly those in Beachwood or even Lyndhurst, pffffff. Get real. That would be a terrible waste.

I don't think he's at all overrated. In fact, if anything, he may be quite underrated. He had a PER of 19.0 this past season while Bosh's PER was 18.9. For those who aren't familiar, PER is a stat that measures a player's all-around contribution to his team. It's a bit esoteric and far from perfect, but it does seem to indicate that these players are closer to one another in what they bring to the table than a lot of people would like to believe. It should also be pointed out that Bosh's PER has dropped pretty significantly since joining the Heat last year, which could be due to a lot of factors (injuries, surroundings, aging).

Truthfully I don't see how the suburbs have any legitimate claim to that money. That being said, if it's going to the suburbs, the inner-rings should indeed be getting the largest chunk.