surfohio

The party of big government once again blatantly ignoring the whole "treat it the same as alcohol" mandate from the voters.

^ 90% chance according to SI. I like it. Great for women's sports and great for downtown.

reddit's r/cleveland has been brutal. In the end what fans think or care about is largely going to be ignored anyhow. This is the NFL. It's a loge leage.

I haven't listened to Baskin and Phelps in a while but even early on they never really sounded convincing. I thought it was pretty obvious they were being forced to support JimmyDome. Now Daryl on the other hand is just an annoying mindless parrot.

Yep. The main criticism you hear is "X team is not going to invest in a league where they could be relegated...." Hey, it's competition and you shouldn't benefit from being terrible or tanking...that's a loser mentality that plagues the other U.S. sports.

USL can best compete with MLS by differentiating itself. There are still way too many metros left out of the MLS universe, so there is ample opportunity for USL to grow into those markets. My prediction is there will be a few elite teams in USLD1 that will be as good if not better than MLS teams. But overall MLS is built and will continue to be a stronger league overall. Of course as you said it is big and established....they've done a great job!

^ I would welcome pro/rel. MLS has their way, and it works for them! But too many metros are left out of the equation, and are deserving of a local team. For USL to succeed they can't compete in the same way as MLS, they need a different route and I think they're on track for creating an interesting league that is best for all of U.S. soccer. If Tampa Bay Rowdies, Sacramento Republic or Indy 11 can't field a team to surpass FC Wooster then that's on them. It will be fun to see smaller markets compete vs. the big dogs, that brings a unique element to American pro sports.

^ Agree. I feel like NWSL is going the MLS route where they will price out cities and prospective ownership groups like in Cleveland. I don't think that the fans pledging to buy season tickets really caref which league they joined. Anyhow, here was a post on reddit just now that is interesting: Here is how I'm roughly grouping the different possibilities for D1 membership. Very Likely: Birmingham, Detroit, Indy, Louisville, New Mexico, Oakland, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio A big driving factor on who makes it in is the stadium, and no team really has a perfect stadium situation as-is but these are the clubs that I think can get there, either with new upcoming stadiums or ones where potential expansion is built into the plans. (The exception being Birmingham, which is already there but with a stadium where they are a tenant.) Maybe: Las Vegas, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Tampa Bay Four of these are major league markets that certainly have the potential but it's a bigger leap to get their stadium where they need. Rhode Island is the outlier of the group - they will have a nice new stadium next year but I'm not sure how expandable that site is or if they would be willing to do that so quickly. Current expansion candidates that might make the jump: Brooklyn, Buffalo, Dallas, Jacksonville, Milwaukee, Omaha, Oklahoma City Clubs that seem similar in a lot of respects to the "maybe" group - primarily that they are mostly major league caliber markets - but with more flexibility to adjust their plans if D1 is the goal. Interesting prospective expansion cities: Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, New Orleans, NY Cosmos 3.0 The perennial "what-ifs" for Championship expansion - all because they make some sense for a USL D1 if done right.

I am really looking forward to seeing what the ceiling is for USL teams in the future. If there continues to be no salary cap there remains the potential for things to get really interesting.

I do not have a subscription to The Athletic...but there's this: Move over, Major League Soccer. A rival top flight men’s league is coming to the U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6129972/2025/02/13/usl-launch-division-1-league-us-soccer-mls/ Okay here's a free version: USL announces plans to start new league that would rival MLS Lizzy Becherano Feb 13, 2025, 12:30 PM ET The United Soccer League confirmed plans to launch a Division One men's professional league in 2027 rivaling Major League Soccer and defined by the sanctioning standards of the U.S. Soccer Federation, the USL announced on Thursday. USL would operate completely separately from MLS, despite working under the same sanctioning by U.S. Soccer as a professional soccer league. "Today is a defining moment for the USL and the future of soccer in the United States," said Alec Papadakis, CEO of the United Soccer League. "Creating a Division One league is a bold step forward, expanding access to top-tier competition, deepening the connection between our communities and taking another step in aligning with the structure of the global game. By uniting people through soccer and bringing Division One to more cities, we're not just growing the sport-we're creating lasting opportunities while building a more sustainable and vibrant soccer ecosystem in the U.S." https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43827636/usl-announces-plans-new-league-rival-mls

My dad was on a troop transport in Vietnam and just before that he did his training on the Great Lakes near Chicago. I was wondering, does the US Navy still have some kind of presence in Cleveland? I thought I remembered seeing Navy officers and sailors all around the city back in the 1990's.

I'm not an avid radio listener as I once was, but I recall Dennis Manilov (sp?) on WTAM had very honest critical takes on the Browns. For all that stations faults they at least aren't beholden to Haslam and his ilk, like 92.3 and ESPN 850 have seemingly no integrity when it comes to anything about the football squadron.

I'll rest a lot easier when it's more clear that this will be more like the old rendering vs. a walled-off industrial park. I am sligthly more optimitistic as I am worried lol. But like KJP said there's a lot we don't know yet.

^ As far as being in Lakewodd goes, it would not take much effort at all to be better than Lakewood's Giant Eagle. But with Heinens on the Rocky River border and Lucky's on the CLE border I am not sure how another grocer pencils out, demand-wise.

I have doubts we will see any major investments until there is more clarity on Burke’s future. But it definitely wouldn’t hurt to start sprucing up the surrounding area e.g. @Cleburger’s greenway idea.

Yes please. But honestly, can we expect any better? The NFL is complicit in everything bad that has happened to the Browns since the Modell move. They stole 3 years away from the most loyal fanbase on Earth, they forced these ridiculously incompetent owners and even pushed league shills like Carmen Policy or lazy ass retreads like Mike Holmgren to collect paychecks for doing absolutely nothing. It is astounding. I can’t tell anyone what to do, but at some point everyone has to reconsider where you should be investing your time. The NFL does not deserve it.

Way to go Jimmy.....

It would be interesting to gauge the trajectory of filling in all the “gaps” downtown. How long is that going to take, and at what point does the growth become exponential?

Sounds reasonable to me, and somewhat similar to what I am hearing from other companies. My company just provides a lot of benefits that lure us into the office. I am hybrid with no set schedule of needing to be anywhere at any specific time. But I was actually concerned that if I never came in they would eventually place me at 100% remote and I would lose all those in-office perks.

At least "retro mall" is something unique that can be marketed, as opposed to the whole lot of nothing right now.

It is disheartening that even billionaire Dan Gilbert can’t even get things going…at least not on a timeline that suits my lifespan. At this point I would just go opposite world and make K-Mart the anchor and license a bunch of dead or near-death franchises like Arthur Treachers, Radio Shack, Rax, Hooters etc. Make it like a ghostly retail visit into yesteryear.

Anyone see the Crew were just valued at like a bazillion dollars!!!??? I was real happy for a second until I remembered who owns the team haha. GO CREW

^ that may have been speak in tongues

It is amusing that people on social media so often suddenly hate or misunderstand the free market when it comes to housing. Those same commenters would never consider selling their car or anything else for less, but housing definitely stirs up emotions. I get it.

You can’t fault the logic! 🦘