Hts121

I don't know about bullying, but the fact that case was used (and still is) as perhaps the loudest rallying cry for tort reform is a classic example of how facts get overshadowed by headlines. Most people have no idea what that case was about and simply assume some old lady bought coffee from McDonald's, spilled it in her lap, and was awarded nearly $3 million. Furthermore, the very idea of tort reform (especially on a national level) is so contra to many of the GOP's stated principles, it is laughable whenever I hear them clamoring for it. I personally believe that tort reform is something we should look at routinely, but I happen to be one of the people who think that our representative form of government, as opposed to direct democracy, is a pretty good idea regardless if we now have the technological capability to do the latter.

^That was quick with Young. It still baffles my mind, with all the hype about converting basketball players and other athletes who have never touched a pigskin into NFL professionals, that no team has been able to find a fit for one of the most dynamic college players in my memory. It is not like measurable are an issue with him as they are with other college QB Heisman winners who never made it in the league. Remember, this means we are a pathetic, perennial loser city :)

^Lebron got one

^He's a bit of a tweener between a cover LB and a SS, although he'll never play safety in the league. I've heard him described by more than one analyst as a 'Ryan Shazier light' type. His numbers from college were not great, but Ferentz said that was totally because his position in Iowa's defensive system did not lend itself to piling up the sexy stats like sacks, TFLs, etc. I like that he was a two-time Captain. One thing I saw on film were a lot of big hits in which he laid his shoulder into the ball-carrier. That's not gonna cut it in the NFL.... they'll bounce right off those big hits. Kid needs to wrap up when playing in the league.

I haven't had any conversations at BarkingHard or OBR or any other site, but have talked a lot about it with my fellow fans, and I wasn't crushed at all that they didn't draft a WR. Farmer got an A from me for his draft. I was simply saying that you can't totally downplay the loss of Josh Gordon. He is our most talented player and the one guy on our offense who really put the fear of God into opposing defenses. Yes, SanFran, Seattle, and Carolina were all in the bottom half of the league in passing yards. Each one of them would have loved to have had Gordon last year. Weren't SF and Seattle two of the teams reportedly interested in acquiring Gordon mid-season? Even still, each had legit #1 WRs on their rosters to start the season. As for being below average in passing yards per game (not exactly the best way to rate it), so were Tampa, Buffalo and Jacksonville. At or near the top were teams like New Orleans, Denver, and Green Bay. And if you want to get technical, Seattle was #1 in pass efficiency ration, SanFran was #6, and Carolina #9. I'll take that stat over the more traditional method of ranking team passing

The great thing about the Old County Courthouse is that.... in addition to the occasional musical performance in the atrium.... if you walk out the right door, you wind up right on Public Square..... or in Germany.... or both!

^I know Jake (guy in the middle of the picture above and the lead singer). He is a one-of-a-kind character. The show should be as interesting and entertaining as Polka can get.

^I agree that the Browns want to be a grind-it-out team. That said, having a deep threat at WR, who puts the other teams DBs on their heels, dictates the defense's gameplan, and necessitates a good bit of film study, only helps with that effort. If teams are able to stack the box and walk up their safeties, it doesn't matter how much you want to be a running team, it will be increasingly difficult. It is impossible to downplay the loss of Gordon, if indeed he is lost for the year.

^It seems like a decent bike. I have nothing against Diamondback in general..... rather, only when you buy one from one of the box stores, for the reasons stated above with poor assembly. The component on that bike (shimano gears, kenda tires, etc) are what you will find on most any bike in that price range. The 'fit' of the frame for you is a highly subjective thing.

Put on your tinfoil hat, folks. Here it goes. ESPN Outside the Lines published the story about Gordon citing two anonymous sources. The NFL apparently notified "the Browns" in late winter about the failed drug test. The requirement is that the league notify the "top football guy" and can't notify the coaches or anybody else. What if the NFL notified the Browns when Banner/Lombardi were still in charge, albeit lame ducks. What if Banner/Lombardi were those two independent sources for the story, with the agreement that ESPN not release it until the day after Day 1 of the draft. I know that Farmer has said he knew about the failed test in advance, but he really had to say that regardless. Best not to appear like you were driving with a blindfold on. It's a long shot, but it's not totally implausible IMO..... especially with those two. Relative to the suspension, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but there are some slight slivers of hope. Slight being the key word there. The appeal has not played out, and Gordon was able to get his suspension reduced through that process last year. Given last year's reduction, there is some chance that he may not even have been in Stage 3 at the time of this latest failed test. There are also some whispers out there that the THC levels were so low that it would be indicative of second hand smoke. I also wonder whether there is any chance that Gordon traveled to Washington or Colorado during the 30 days prior to the test and whether the NFL has had reason to apply its substance abuse policy since the laws of those states were changed. If he does end up suspended, or worse, it will be a tragedy. Looking back at this 30 years from now, maybe even 10 years, it is going to seem so silly and such a waste of talent. Smoking weed has never affected Gordon's on-the-field performance in the league or as a team member of the Browns. There are so many wrong things going on off-the-field in the NFL, it is a shame to lose one of its true, young superstars over something as trivial as pot. I get that rules are rules....... but can you imagine us never getting to enjoy the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Walter Payton, Joe Namath, or any other number of NFL greats who had much bigger substance abuse problems than Josh?

I love the Joel Bitonio pick. That selection has Pettine written all over it. Commonly described as the 'toughest' guy in this draft. He is versatile enough to play OG or OT, the latter where he played in college and the former where most scouts predict him in the NFL. His versatility might allow us to dip our feet in the water with switching Schwartz to OG. Bitonio is a Day 1 starter either way. If Bitonio pick was surprising, for not taking a WR, the Christian Kirksey selection was a shocker. I think he has to add some NFL bulk and strength, but he's the type of LB we needed. Great coverage LB. He will compete with Robertson for the weakside ILB job...... which is probably the only position he can play outside of special teams. I fell asleep last night and didn't even realize to this morning that they traded back into the 3rd round to grab a RB, Terrance West out of Towson. Apparently, the Ratbirds really wanted this guy and were coming up on the clock when we jumped them. I had to do my homework on him. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but it looks like he has great burst through the hole and good vision, both essential in the zone blocking scheme. Still wondering when we are going to address WR, assuming the reports on Gordon are accurate. There's a few decent ones still left on the board, including my favorites Jared Abberderis (Wisconsin), Bruce Ellington (S. Carolina) and Martavis Bryant (Clemson). We only have two picks left and traded our first 4th rounder to move up to get West. It seems like the Browns are militantly sticking to their board. You do know what the derivation of the word "fan" is, right?

Still in shock. That was one helluva rollercoaster last night. The bar I was at went nuts when they picked Johnny. There is still plenty of first round talent (in any other draft) left for us at #35. We could go with Hyde there, one of the WRs KJP listed, one of three high quality OG's left, an ILB to pair with Dansby, or add more depth to he defensive line. There are some really good looking potential 3-4 DE's still on the boardd.

^^You'd be surprised..... very suprised I know for a fact that Philly is talking draft non-stop, despite the Flyers being in the playoffs and the Phillies starting their season. Charlotte too. I'd assume most others. It totally depends on whether it is a football crazy town. I would guess that Cincy or Miami for example is not talking draft all that much, and that is probably the case regardless of where they are picking any given year. In Miami, they aren't talking sports period. It has nothing to do with being one of the 'perennial loser cities', as you label us, and everything to do with how fanatical the fan-base is....

Slow down on the "we", champ. The great thing about the NFL draft, compared to the NBA draft for instance, is that you can get impact players beyond the top 10. It's a big deal no matter whether you are good or not. Assuming we won't care about the draft once we get good is like saying that OSU fans don't need to worry about recruiting (something which is monumentally gaining in popularity on the internet). It will always be interesting and exciting...... except for that year we didn't have a pick in the first three rounds :(

I'm heading to the Pub tonight and will spend tomorrow on the hammock.... recuperating

I also liked what I saw out of Julian Posey as an extra DB last year. I thought he really impressed the last few games and could be a sleeper candidate to win one of those jobs.

^They're not gonna trade up for Clowney. They'll take him if he is there at #4, but won't mortgage the future for him. ^^That's too much, even for this draft. I'd consider doing next year's 1st and either (a) our 2nd rounder or (b) third rounder plus another later pick....... but would wait of course to see who was there before making the trade. I'd like a CB too, but I do give some credence to what I heard Hanford "Top Dawg" Dixon say on the radio this morning suggesting that people should be much, much higher on Buster Skrine. I agree that people are a little too hard on him. Hanford pointed out that he actually played well last year, even though Haden was given more "over the top" help from the safeties..... mostly because Haden was guarding the #1 WR. People talk about moving Skrine to nickel, but he is actually much better on the outside. He struggled as a nickleback the year before last. He doesn't cover well over the middle for whatever reason. That said, I could see Skrine becoming the #3 if we either draft someone or McFadden turns out to be a player. But I still think he would play on the outside when he came in the game, with one of the starters shifting to the slot

I don't agree with the thought process that, if only the stadiums weren't there, the land would be put to better use. There is PLENTY of land to develop in and around downtown Cleveland which can be put to "better" and "more profitable" use. I would love nothing more than to move Browns stadium to a different location and open up that space for future development. However, I believe the life of the stadium is actually going to line up quite nicely with when the land is ripe for development due to actual demand.

^I came away with the stench of BS

Yeah.... but you REALLY cut down on the numbness when you get the geometry right. I was having a big problem with numbing fingers on my newest bike until I put an adjustable neck on it and cut down on the seat to handlebar length by an inch or two. It really is a "game of inches" getting fitted for a bike.

^It depends on how you are built. Height, by itself, is easy to deal with. You can always raise the seat and/or handlebars, even getting extendable stems if necessary. The more difficult 'geometry' for a bike is the length, which you can only tinker so much with. Your proportions from waist to knee vs. knee to ankle, and how long your torso is, is what might really dictate the size of the bike you want to get. Consult a pro when getting fitted. Since your arms and legs are generally the same proportionally (i.e. if you have long legs, you tend to have long arms.... for your height, of course), one weird little trick that I figured out is to take you elbow and rest it on the front edge of the seat..... if the knuckle on your middle finger is not touching the point where the handlebar connects to the stem, then the bike is probably too long for you. If your wrist is passed the handlebar/stem joint, then the bike is not long enough. (NOTE: this is my own stupid little test formed by tinkering with my own bikes and finding my comfort zone...... I have no idea how much validity it has). If a bike is too long for you, your lean while riding it is going to be uncomfortable as you will be putting too much weight on your hands (and you will feel your fingers going numb after a long ride). If the bike is too short, you won't be able to get a good lean at all and your weight will be too much on your back side. Go with a bike that is not long enough over one that is too long..... especially at our age with our backs ;)

^Context? What's that? (sarcasm)

Be careful about riding on the sidewalks anywhere near downtown. If it is considered a 'business district', you have to walk the bikes on the sidewalks. As for a helmet, have you tried the kids' sizes? Not the toddler versions (or at least I hope not ;))....... but there are helmet sizes between that and an adult size.

^I'm with you on Shazier. I am not as high on Dennard as most everyone else. Roby, Gilbert, and Fuller are all the better prospects IMO. Dennard is right there with them, but he would be fourth on my list. I'd be happy with any of those four at #26 Mack, Robinson, and Watkins, in that order, are my guys at #4. If they swing for the fences and take Johnny Football, I won't be mad

I have a lot of hesitancies about the prospects of 925 as a residential conversion. For example, how much does it cost to heat and cool that lobby, and what effect would that have on rent. It would also be a shame to close off such a great space to the general public. While I hated the idea of mixing the county HQ in with a residential conversion, I do imagine there will have to be some kind of significant mixed use component.