Growing up a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, there was only one rule in life:  Despise the New York Yankees and anyone who pulled on their uniform, although strangely enough, this rule applied only to active players.  For the most part, it was an easy task, even if the Yankees of the late ’80s and early ’90s weren’t particularly good.  From 1989 – 1992, the Yankees averaged only 72 wins per season, bottoming out with 67 in 1990 (good for last place in the then 7-team A.L. East.)  Those were joyful times.  Sure, it had been 6 decades since the Red Sox had won a World Series, but they were at least competitive in the here and now.  The Yankees were abysmal, and that made hating them all the more fun.

The one exception to the rule was Don Mattingly, who along with Kirby Puckett always seemed to be in contention with the Sox Wade Boggs for batting titles.  He was a class act, and a guy that I would have wanted to play for the Red Sox, which at that time was the highest praise I could offer a player.  When he tied Dale Long’s streak of hitting a home run in 8 consecutive games in 1987 (and when he set the record for most grand slams in a season), there was no hatred for him, only admiration.

Donnie Baseball was one of the great players of my youth, and someone who I am confident would be a Hall of Famer if not for injuries.  When the Yankees selected Joe Girardi as the man who would replace Joe Torre as the Yankees’ manager following the 2007 season, I was surprised.  Picking Mattingly seemed like the easiest thing in the world to do.  He would eventually would get his chance to manage when Torre retired from the Dodgers after 2010 season.  His first two years as manager have been less than spectacular, but there was improvement in each season of his tenure.  If not for the antics of  Melky Cabrera last season, it’s plausible the Dodgers may even have made the playoffs.

This season has not gone nearly as well for the Dodgers, as they have stumbled out to a 17-25 record, tied for worst in the N.L.  Nonetheless, I was still surprised to see FoxSports’ Ken Rosenthal say yesterday that he expected that the Dodgers would give Mattingly the axe ‘tomorrow’ (today.)  He begins his article like this:

I’ve seen the Dodgers twice in person this season, and both times came away thinking that the team would be OK, that manager Don Mattingly would survive.

Now I’m convinced that Mattingly is going to get fired. And the sooner it happens, the better.

A little later in the article he writes “Watching Sunday’s meltdown on television, I thought, Mattingly might be gone tomorrow.”

Now, it’s possible that Ken is just throwing that out there so that he could make the claim that he knew it was going to happen if and when it does occur.  He claims to not have any insight in to what the Dodgers might be thinking, so it may just be Ken’s words.  I’m here to say that if his words are correct, and the Dodgers were to let Mattingly go, it would be a huge mistake.  A guy like Mattingly will find another job without too much difficulty.  The Dodgers, on the other hand, may not be as lucky.  As a Red Sox fan, I know of where I speak.

Following the Red Sox meltdown in 2011, the Red Sox decided to send manager Terry Francona (the most successful manager in the history of the franchise) packing.  Although they technically didn’t fire him, they made sure to put him in such a position that his staying would have been untenable.  Just as there is no heir-apparent for the Dodgers now, there was not one for the Red Sox then.  In the end, they ended up with MLB retread Bobby Valentine, and 2012 was the worst Red Sox season in living memory.  After taking a year off, Francona is back managing, this time with the Cleveland Indians who currently sit atop the A.L. Central with a 25-17 record.

Perhaps that is not the fate for the Dodgers if they chose to fire Mattingly.  Maybe they’ll get lucky, and the guy they bring in will spur the Dodgers in to the post-season.  It could happen, but even if it does, the Dodgers let a great baseball man walk away from their franchise, and not only that, a man who is a great ‘player’s manager’.

I hope that Rosenthal’s thoughts were just an easy way to grab page views, and that it’s not advice that the Dodgers would actually follow.  If they let Mattingly go, it might be a mistake that haunts the franchise for years to come.

What are your thoughts?  Should Mattingly be fired?  Or should the Dodgers wait and see how their players respond?

Let me know what you think:

Matt@morethanafan.net or @tbone44444444

Also like More Than A Fan on facebook, and follow More Than a Fan on Twitter@MTAFSports

The post It Would Be a Mistake for the Dodgers to Fire Don Mattingly appeared first on More Than A Fan.

by Ryan Isley

Before I jump into this week’s edition of “Two Cents”, I wanted to clarify something I wrote in my column earlier this week regarding fan behavior at Indians games. In suggestion No.4, I said that fans should avoid the idle chit-chat that is not game-related. I need to clarify that statement a little bit. I mean that it should not continue for the entire game, not that there should be zero talking throughout the game. My issue is with those who go to a game and spend the entire nine innings talking about anything other than the game and ignoring the game going on in front of them.

Now, on to this week’s topics:

On Gio Gonzalez:

Last week, I wrote in “Two Cents” about Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and his act of kindness towards a Dodgers fan in San Francisco who is ill. Well this week, it was Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals who deserves praise for his fan interaction.

When the Nationals were playing in Los Angeles against the Dodgers (ironic), Gonzalez found a fan before the game that was wearing a Nationals shirt. He started playing catch with the young kid in what will ultimately be a day that one young Nationals fan will never forget.

This is just another example of a professional athlete doing something that they didn’t have to do, but taking a few minutes out of their day to make someone else’s day that much better. Gonzalez may soon forget about playing catch with a random kid at Dodgers Stadium, but that kid will be a Gio Gonzalez fan for life. Well done, Gio.

(H/T to Andy Baskin for posting this story on Twitter on Wednesday)

On Josh Gordon:

During game five between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns tweeted the following:

Of course, some Cleveland fans immediately started tweeting negative things at Josh and ripping him for liking LeBron James. Because, well, that’s what Cleveland fans do. But they shouldn’t.

We all know how some Cleveland fans still feel about LeBron following the former Cavaliers superstar’s departure from Cleveland for Miami following the 2010 season. However, that is no reason to go after other athletes who play for Cleveland teams every time they say something positive about the four-time NBA MVP.

Remember – Josh Gordon only plays in Cleveland. He isn’t from Cleveland and was not in Cleveland prior to LeBron leaving since he was selected in the supplemental draft prior to last season. Just because someone plays in Cleveland doesn’t mean that they have to hate LeBron. Athletes usually enjoy watching the other athletes perform at a high level, especially when they are one of the best in the world – which LeBron is, like it or not.

Cleveland fans need to stop going after their own just because they enjoy watching LeBron James.

On Kevin Durant:

A couple of weeks ago in this space, I touched on Kevin Durant and his distaste for always being second. Well it looks like this season he won’t have to worry about that. His Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated from the NBA playoffs on Wednesday night by the Memphis Grizzlies in one of Durant’s worst performances of the season.

In the 88-84 loss, Durant scored 21 points on 5-for-21 shooting and was 0-for-4 from three-point range. With the Thunder trailing by two and only 11 seconds left, Oklahoma City got the ball into Durant’s hands – exactly where they wanted it. Durant shook free from his defender, pulled up from around the free throw line and tossed up a jumper that bounced off the rim. It was the latest in questionable shots for Durant, as the lane looked open and he could have gotten to the rim – or at least closer to the rim – had he just taken a couple dribbles.

This series showed just how far Durant has to go in order to carry a team. While others were busy making excuses for Durant, I was thinking back to the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers. That team by all rights had no business being in the NBA Finals, but they made it there because LeBron James put them on his back and carried them there.

But maybe it isn’t Durant’s fault that he couldn’t carry the Thunder past the Grizzlies. After all, he has never had to do it before. When LeBron took the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, it was in his fourth season in the league and he was already used to being the focal point of every defense, as the Cavaliers didn’t have another go-to guy – as much as LeBron tried to turn other guys into viable options. While Zydrunas Ilguaskas was an all-star in 2005, Ilguaskas wasn’t striking fear into opponents with the game on the line.

On the other hand, Durant is in his fifth season and has had Russell Westbrook for all but one of those years. He also had James Harden for the three years prior to this one. Westbrook has been an all-star in each of the last three seasons for Oklahoma City and was All-NBA second team last season while Harden was last season’s Sixth-Man of the year.

So Durant is used to having help, whereas LeBron wasn’t.

When Harden was traded prior to this season, Durant still had Westbrook and vice versa. When Westbrook got hurt in the first round of the playoffs, Durant found himself in a position with which he was unfamiliar – on an island by himself.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Durant is free of criticism or blame for the Thunder’s inability to get past round two. LeBron never was, so it is only fair Durant not be either.

Comments? Questions? You can leave them here or email Ryan at ryan@morethanafan.net

The post My Two Cents on Gio Gonzalez, Josh Gordon and Kevin Durant appeared first on More Than A Fan.

The MLB season is only a month and a half old yet the Texas Rangers have found a way to separate themselves from the rest of the American League West division. Every other division in the league has a race that is within three games and most teams are still within a few games outside of that. But in the West, the Rangers have opened up a six game (this is being written early Wednesday evening) lead between their club and the Oakland Athletics only forty games into the season. The rest of the division close behind the A’s with the Mariners trailing by seven, the Angels by ten, and the Astros by fifteen. But are the Rangers that good or is the rest of the division off to a slow start?

Many, including myself, though that the Angels would be out in front all season long with their stacked lineup and strong pitching. It is quite the contrary, though. Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, and Mike Trout have all gotten off to slower starts than they would hope for, but after Tuesday’s game where all three homered maybe their lineup will start cooking with gas.

Te defending division champions in Oakland are struggling to stay around .500 right now, but they did the same thing last season and came on stronger as the season went on. I am sure that is not their plan, but it just may be a part of their team’s make up.

Texas is also doing what they did last year and that is dominating early. The Rangers had an epic collapse in September and ended up losing in the Wild Card playoff to the Orioles to end a disappointing season. Ron Washington and Texas are certainly hoping this hot start is not going to end as it did last year, but with a World Series ring. Boasting one of the best records in the league along with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinal, the Rangers are in the driver’s seat and that is due to a top ten lineup and pitching staff.

The Rangers are in the top six in the league when it comes to earned run average, WHIP, and opponent’s batting average. They are eleventh in quality starts, so that means their bullpen has been the strongest part of their staff. That does not take anything away from the starters–Darvish nearly had a perfect game in his opening start of the season.

Most fans would have assumed the lineup would suffer greatly from the absence of Josh Hamilton this year, but they have done very well after losing all of that power. They were certainly better with Hamilton in the lineup, but they are still a top ten hitting club. The guys swinging the lumber have the second highest slugging percentage in the league and the third highest batting average. So, not only are they hitting for power they are hitting to manufacture runs as well. That combination along with the ninth best on-base percentage is going to be lethal if they can keep it up.

So I think it is safe to say that Texas is one of the best, if not the best, in the league after the first quarter of the season. We will probably have a better understanding as to who the best team is when the All-Star break approaches. But it took about the whole season last year for the Rangers to prove they were not the best in the West. So maybe we should speculate until the race is over. But where is the fun in that?

Who is the best in the MLB? AL? AL West? Let me know in the comment section or on Twitter @Believelander.

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Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for the MTAF Podcast too. It’s on iTunes!

The post Are the Texas Rangers Really That Good? appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Here’s all you need to know about the difference between Cleveland and Boston sports fans:  entering last night’s game action, the Red Sox and Indians were both 22-17, tied for the second wild card in the AL.  From all that I could see, everything was mostly well with the fans in Cleveland (save the fact that Cleveland fans needed an etiquette lesson from Ryan Isley.)  Boston fans, on the other hand, were on the verge of abandoning the bandwagon (not all, but a substantial segment of non-pink hatters were.)  I’m here to say this:  there’s no reason to panic.  It’s barely the middle of May.  It’s not even Summer yet.  There’s still plenty of baseball left.

Of course, the argument could be made that how the two franchises arrived at 22-17 was a bit different.  While the Indians were making quick work of Justin Verlander, the Red Sox were dropping 3 out of 4 to the Minnesota Twins and 9 out of 11 overall, while the Indians were 10-4 in the month of May (11-4 after last night’s whomping of the Phillies.)  That makes a difference, for sure.  Teams heading in opposite directions are not necessarily teams that are on the same plane, record notwithstanding.

Also, there is reason for concern:  heading in to last night’s game, the Red Sox were something like 3 for their last zillion with men in scoring position.  The back end of their bullpen which many had thought would be a strength, has completely fallen apart with Andrew Bailey spending a considerable amount of the front part of the season on the DL and Joel Hanrahan’s Boston career potentially over (he won’t pitch again this year) and no one has stepped up to handle that role yet.  If reports are to be believed, Bailey is only a rehab stint away before he comes back to close games for the Sox.  If* he can remain healthy, then the bullpen falls right back in to line and there’s nothing to worry about there.

Even if Bailey’s return isn’t imminent, I’m not concerned.  Why? you may ask.  Because I remember 2012, quite vividly.  Waking up on May 15th, 2012, the Boston Red Sox were 16-19, and in dead last place in the A.L. East.  It didn’t get much better the rest of the way, even if the Sox did manage to sneak over .500 briefly.  This year’s Sox started out 20-8, and everyone (myself included) was quickly back on the bandwagon and dreaming of another World Series championship.  Why not?  Baseball (and life) is much more fun when you can imagine your favorite team winning instead of dreading each new game.

It turns out, we may have jumped the gun a little bit.  Yes, John Farrell and Juan Nieves have turned around Clay Buccholz and Jon Lester (to say nothing of the job they’ve done with Ryan Dempster and John Lackey) and restored them to the upper echelon of baseball’s great pitchers.  If the reclamation goes on throughout the course of the season, the Sox are in good shape.  This may not be a World Series championship team (at least not quite yet), but it is a team that should make the playoffs, and from there, anything can happen.

As a fan, I’d rather my team have a skid earlier in the year then as the season is coming to a close.  In recent years, across all sports, we have witnessed teams that get hot at the end of the season and find a way to sweep through the post season.  As great as it is to win games in April and May, it’s more about keeping pace while saving the best for later in the season.  The Sox have more than done that, and if last night’s 9-2 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays (a game in which the Sox went 5 for their first 7 with runners in scoring position), the American League best pay attention.

The Sox are coming.  You’ve been warned.

Which franchise would you rather be in charge of, the Red Sox or the Indians?  Which team would you rather see win?

Let me know what you think:

Matt@morethanafan.net or @tbone44444444

Also like More Than A Fan on facebook, and follow More Than a Fan on Twitter@MTAFSports

The post There’s No Reason To Panic appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Several years ago I had a roommate who had played Division 1 soccer.  Prior to meeting him, the game of soccer was useless to me.  I grew up playing baseball, basketball and football; never once had I participated in an organized soccer game.  While we were roommates I purchased the game FIFA Soccer for XBOX 360.  He and I spent hours playing this game and over the course of this, I learned a ton about the game itself.  Before, it was just a bunch of guys running around kicking a ball; once I learned how the game was played I found watching it wasn’t nearly as boring as it had been in the past.  I could see plays develop and understood the strategies employed on the field.  Needless to say I became a casual fan of the game.  It wasn’t uncommon to watch a little bit of a game on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Fast forward to this past weekend, I received a text from a friend that there was a Buckeye starting in the FA Cup championship.  Knowing how few US collegiate players have had an impact on the world game, I knew the significance of this.  Also, I take any chance I can to cheer for someone because of their Buckeye roots.  I picked up the game in the second half and had a blast watching it.  Every time Roger Espinoza (he’s the Buckeye) touched the ball or had any impact on the game I cheered.  In the end Wigan shocked the world securing the FA Cup.  All the talk on the American telecast was about this Buckeye.  It wasn’t about Ben Watson (no, not that Ben Watson) scoring the game winning goal; it was about the kid who was born in the Honduras, moved to America and chose the greatest school in all the land to play his ball at.  Needless to say, as hard as it was for ESPN to build up a Buckeye, I sure enjoyed it.

The next day I was flipping through the guide on my TV and found the NCAA Lacrosse tournament.  I don’t follow lacrosse closely whatsoever, but they take it pretty serious here in Maryland.  The Terps played for the title last year and Johns Hopkins is routinely in the title picture.  So I turned it on to see who was playing, much to my surprise it was the Buckeyes.  Not only that, they were a 3 seed.  I had no idea that the Bucks fielded a competitive lacrosse team.  So naturally I cheered like a diehard and enjoyed watching the whopping that they placed on Towson (which is a school located in a Baltimore suburb).  

On top of the Tribe travelling to the state up north to take two of three from Detroit, it was a pretty satisfying sports weekend.  Although I don’t follow soccer or lacrosse closely, being able to watch the Buckeyes have success somewhere other than the football field or basketball court is always great to see.  What was better was Sunday evening when a local radio guy was wondering how in the world the Buckeyes were good at lacrosse.  The quote was “They already have football and basketball, do they have to be good at lacrosse too?” 

It’s nice to see our hometown team good at all levels at all sports.  Not many schools can watch their team be legitimate title contenders in both football and basketball.  To see the Bucks as a factor on the smaller scale in sports that are not nationally marketed can’t do anything but excite the fan base.

Keep up the good work Buckeyes, where ever you are and whoever you’re beating.  We’ll find you and cheer you to victory!

The post When fandom takes you somewhere you’ve never been. appeared first on More Than A Fan.

A fond adieu from this year’s NBA Playoffs to the Thunder and the Bulls: two teams who easily could have been matched up in this year’s Finals, and who are the top 2 contenders to unseat Miami as they attempt a three-peat next season.  It’d be tough for either team to advance to the next round of this year’s playoffs, but both teams could use a strong finish as they look hopefully toward a healthier 2014 playoff season.

Obviously a TON can happen between seasons.  Last year at this time we thought OKC would be running James Harden out there next to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.  We were also pretty sure Derrick Rose would be ready in plenty of time for the playoffs (especially after Adrian Peterson’s “miraculous recovery” from a similar injury).

Bearing that in mind, let’s take a look at some learnings from this year’s playoffs that should carry into next year.

Joakim Noah is a top 15 NBA player – who would you rather have at center in the NBA playoffs?  Maybe Marc Gasol, and I think that’s it.  It’s always possible Dwight Howard finds his game and his brain, and becomes a dominant force again.  It’s always possible Anthony Davis takes some giant steps forward in his sophomore season.  But if I’m Chicago, I wouldn’t trade Noah straight up for any other big man in the league.  He’s a willing passer, he’s an elite defender, and he pisses off opposing teams and their fans.  As an unabashed Kevin Garnett supporter, I can tell you that those 3 things are real nice to have in a big man.

Serge Ibaka can’t play without a point guard.  Yet. – This might be one of those learnings that never matters again.  Presumably Westbrook will be back and healthy for next year’s run, and he and Ibaka can get OKC back to their fast breaking, secondary breaking, pick and roll offense.  They had better, because Durant still doesn’t look like he wants any part of being the 1 superstar on this team

Paul George can lock down Carmelo Anthony; LeBron James is a tiny bit nervous about that – Tyson Chandler is crying about the Knicks not passing, Ray Felton has disappeared against the Pacers, and JR Smith has some crazy flu that aggressively attacks the body’s shooting percentage, but none of those are why the Knicks are going to lose this series.  They’ll lose as long as Anthony doesn’t figure out Paul George, and right freaking now.  Unless everyone’s bombing 3’s, the Knicks are run of the mill when Carmelo doesn’t get going – they’re a pouty, whiney bunch without him bailing them out with 1 on 1 moves late in the shot clock.

My fervent hope is that George provides the blueprint on shutting down Anthony, then he doubles down and slows LeBron in the Eastern Conference Finals.  This should inspire more teams to work on finding themselves a long, wing-defender who can shut down guys like James, Anthony, and Durant.  It’s really pretty simple at this point – acquire an elite small forward defender or give up on making the Finals for the next few years.

Big Men aren’t quite as obsolete as a lot of us thought – the time of the small-ball 4 has arrived, or so I thought coming into these playoffs.  It seemed like the league had really shifted toward a world where guys like LeBron, Carmelo, Durant, Jeff Green, and Harrison Barnes would play power forward for the upper echelon teams.  Memphis and Indiana are slapping us in the face with that false logic, though.

George’s work on Anthony has been fantastic, but it’s much easier to lock down a shooter / slasher when you know Roy Hibbert and David West are right behind you.

Speaking of Big Men… – Marc Gasol is the NBA’s defensive player of the year, but doesn’t make first team all defense?  Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler both made the first team over him.  Um…ok.  I guess this is pretty low on the list of WTFs from the NBA, but it’s pretty freaking strange.  I understand why it happens (coaches vote for the teams and writers vote for the POY), but there shouldn’t be this big a disparity (If Noah and Chandler hadn’t exactly tied in the voting, Gasol wouldn’t have made even the second team, which is strange on multiple levels).  It makes both awards seem like a joke.  Either writers think they know more than they do (never, never) or the coaches don’t take it seriously.  Fix that, David Stern.  Right after you hire a legitimate officiating body for the country’s 3^rd biggest sport.

Paul Pierce has played his last game in a Celtics uniform – it seems like the national press is starting to pick up on what a few guys in the local Boston press have been saying for a few days now.  Paul Pierce appears resigned to the fact that he’s not coming back to the Boston Celtics.  I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this if (when) it is official, but it’s the right move for one big reason: the 2014 draft.

Flagner willing, I’ll be with MTAF long enough to write more than my share about next year’s draft, and if my Celtics can swing themselves a decent pick I’ll be insufferable. I’ve talked about Andrew Wiggins in this space before, but he’s moved towards the forefront of the NBA world this week with his decision to attend Kansas.  From all I’ve read over the past year, this guy is the next great thing.  The Celtics probably won’t be downtrodden enough to contend for the #1 pick, but I think they need to figure out how to get into the top 10 – whether it’s because they were able to trade Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett for cap fodder and a pick that turns into something, or whether it’s their own, Rajon Rondo needs a running mate and 2014 is the draft to find him.

Pierce is a truly great Celtic, possibly top 5, and that means more in Boston than anywhere else in the NBA (Masshole alert).  But I’m not interested in going back to the era of futility that immediately followed Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.  I’m not looking for Dino Radja, Michael Smith, or Antoine Walker.  I’ve had another taste of winning basketball in New England, and if the quickest way to get it back is to trade two of the greatest players this town’s ever seen, that’s business.

Make the deal.  Take the cannolis.

The post Learnings From the NBA Playoffs appeared first on More Than A Fan.

by Ryan Isley

Days like this past Monday are the ones where I love being a baseball fan. The Cleveland Indians had a traditional doubleheader against the New York Yankees thanks to Mother Nature, who postponed two games between the teams earlier this season. Because the league scheduled the games to start at 12:05pm, many fans were not able to attend – meaning there were tickets available. Of course, I snatched one up for a great price on the Indians website and got myself ready for an entire day of baseball.

The crowd in game one was fantastic for the most part. They were into the game, cheering at the right moments, not out of control and overall reminded me of why I like going to games. Of course, they had reason to be engaged in the game – Justin Masterson was in the midst of tossing a complete game shutout and the Indians beat the Yankees 1-0.

The second game? That was a completely different story. The actions of some (not all – not even most, but some) fans reminded me of why I prefer to watch games at home sometimes. With that in mind, I thought maybe it was time to address some of the issues with fan behavior at games.

1 – People need to stop getting out of their seats in the middle of an at-bat. This is a pretty simple unwritten rule of going to baseball games that has seemingly become obsolete in the past few years. If you need to go to the concession stands or the restroom or out to smoke, at least wait until the current at-bat is over. In a perfect world, people would wait until the inning change to get in and out of their seats, but first we need to take baby steps.

If I need to get out of my seat during a game (which I hate to do anyway), I always wait until an inning break. And then if I return to my section during play, I wait at the top of the section until the half inning is over. I did this on Monday and do it at every game I attend. To me, it is just an issue of common courtesy. Then again, anything that has the word “common” in front of it usually isn’t so common in today’s society.

2 – When the entire crowd is sitting down, don’t stand up at your seat and just stand there during play.

This actually happened late in the second game Monday. The girl in front of me and to my right (in my direct view of the field) stood up during a random at-bat. Now never mind that she wasn’t there for the entire first game and her and her boyfriend and kid showed up in the third inning of game two.

People were yelling for her to sit down and she just continued standing there. She eventually turned around and pointed to her ears, prompting some of us to think she might be deaf. She responded with “I can hear you.” Seriously? That is how you act at a game?

She finally sat down a couple of minutes later after making everyone miss two batters. And of course the ushers at Progressive Field never came down to say anything. If it doesn’t involve telling people they are in the wrong section or being the ticket police, Progressive Field ushers are pretty much useless. Then again, if people would just use simple etiquette, none of this would happen.

3 – If you can’t handle yourself when drinking, don’t get hammered at a baseball game. I know this sounds like such a stupid thing to have to tell people, but you would be amazed.

Early in the second game, I had a guy trying to get into the seats in my aisle and he couldn’t even walk straight. He almost fell on a couple of people and then he stumbled against a seat before regaining balance and sitting down. And we still had seven innings to go. And he wasn’t even the guy who disrupted things the most.

The longer the second game went – and the alcohol flowed – the fans got more rowdy in the left field stands and started harassing Yankees left fielder Vernon Wells. It was a constant verbal abuse that was starting to get on the nerves of the people sitting around them who were actually still trying to watch the game and enjoy their day.

4 – Limit the idle chit-chat that isn’t game-related. The people sitting next to you don’t want to hear you talking to your friends about every little thing going on in your life. If you are talking about the game going on in front of you, that is one thing. Talking about work or your niece’s graduation party or whatever else? Save it for outside the ballpark. If you want to sit and socialize about life, grab a bar seat at your local establishment and just watch the game on television. It will be more enjoyable – for you and the fans who wouldn’t then be sitting next to you.

These are just four simple things that all fans can follow to make the experience of going to a game more fun for everyone. And don’t be surprised if you are greeted with an attitude from other fans if you continue to go against these suggestions – they all (or most of them anyway) paid their money to get into the game just like you did and they might be there to actually watch baseball.

Going to a game to watch the game? I know it is a crazy concept – but more people should try it.

Comments? Questions? You can leave them here or email Ryan at ryan@morethanafan.net

The post A Simple Guide to Attending Games for Cleveland Indians Fans appeared first on More Than A Fan.

It has been noted every time the Cleveland Indians face Detroit’s Justin Verlander that he has struggled against the Tribe in his career. Well, in fact, his worst winning percentage is not against the Indians. There are not many teams that Verlander has a losing record against, but there are a couple. The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels are the only ball clubs that have beaten Verlander more than he has beaten them. The Indians are very close with  a. 500 record in Verlander decisions (I did not count games where Verlander did not get credited for a win or loss). Cleveland has fourteen wins to fourteen losses in Verlander’s career, which began against the Indians in 2005. The New York Yankees and New York Mets are the only two other teams to win half of the time against Verlander.  Other than those five teams every other club that Justin has a decision against has a losing record against him.

His division competition besides the Wahoos have been especially unsuccessful over the course of Verlander’s career. Minnesota is 7-15 when he earns a win or loss. Chicago is 11-13. And Kansas City barely puts the bat on the ball against Verlander only beating him twice in seventeen decisions. That is just one reason why the Tigers have been a top team in the division and in the American League for a few years. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder may also have something to do with that success. But enough about them.

In Verlander’s eight year career he has beaten twenty-four of the thirty teams in the MLB (one of the teams he has not beaten is his team Detroit). So he has only five more teams to beat them all.

But I am getting away from the point.

Justin Verlander is a future Hall-of-Famer and has a Cy Young under his belt and fares well against almost every team in the league. BUT, he only beats the Indians half of the times that he gets a decision against them. I will take those odds in the American League Central Division. A .500 record could contend for a division title if the Tigers struggle. With that being said, I don’t think just beating Justin will get Cleveland a division title. They have to beat any other Tiger pitchers that they face as well as the rest of the teams in the division and AL. Only time will tell if they are capable of doing so.

Can the Indians win the Central? What role does good success against Verlander play in the Tribe’s playoff chances? Let me know in the comment section or on Twitter @Believelander.

Also, don’t forget to like More Than A Fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MTAFSports.

Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for the MTAF Podcast too. It’s on iTunes!

The post Cleveland is NOT Justin Verlander’s Least Favorite Team appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Yesterday, Browns General Manager Mike Lombardi gave a sort of state of the Browns speech to the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club. In summary, he basically said the team is looking towards 2014 and beyond, with low expectations for this year. If you were Mike Lombardi, would you have said anything different?

I know this is something that gets said over and over again, but the Browns are in the midst of a regime change, and depending on what happens with Jimmy Haslam, they could be looking at new owners in the near future as well. So, the question is, what are your expectations for the Browns this year, and are you upset or bothered by what Lombardi said about looking towards 2014, and not the upcoming one?

Honestly, my expectations are low, but that’s because I saw what the Browns did in the offseason with changes in the front office, coaching staff, and team personnel. I then realized not much positive can come from next season (for your sake, I hope I’m wrong). The personnel on the 2013 Browns is certainly better than the 2012 Browns, and the team will certainly perform better with coordinators that have more experience, even if the head coach isn’t awesome.

I have no problem with head coach Rob Chudzinski, but he wasn’t exactly awesome at his last job, but that means nothing in Cleveland. This is certainly a city and team he’s familiar with, so there’s no reason this cannot be a reclamation project for himself.

So, where do Browns fans go from here? You’ll have to be patient, for at least another year. The team owes its quarterback at least half the season to determine if he’s the right person to lead this franchise for the next few seasons, or decide if another quarterback will be needed.

Honestly, neither Brandon Weeden nor whomever the team drafts or acquires through free agency is the biggest problem in Berea. The problem doesn’t reside inside Browns headquarters, but maybe it’s with the fans themselves.

Browns fans have been incredibly patient since 1999, and while the organization has done nothing to make them feel appreciative the fans come back year after year. No matter what else happens in the city Browns news will always get top billing.

So, knowing this, as Mike Lombardi does, aren’t you appreciative of the fact that he’s telling you right now that the team is likely looking forward to making waves in 2014 and not necessarily in 2013?

I know I’d rather be told the truth about this season than be led to believe I need to reserve hotel rooms for the Super Bowl.
tl; dr is a tech nerd term for too long; didn’t read. the purpose of these posts is to provide a quick summary and analysis of something interesting in the sports world.

Follow @damienbowman

The post [tl;dr] What Would You Say if You Were Mike Lombardi? appeared first on More Than A Fan.

According to my More Than a Fan pal, Damien Bowman (@damienbowman), there are rumors swirling that Dwight Howard could be entertaining the idea of staying in LA, but moving to the Clippers rather than staying with the Lake Show.

While I don’t know if this is a great move for the NBA as a whole, it would certainly make the Clippers a team to look out for.

When the whole Dwight Howard saga began, I thought the Clippers would be a logical place to begin with. Now, with the Clippers in tremendous need of an extra couple of pieces, it would be an even better fit for both sides.

Imagine a starting lineup with the league’s best point guard, the league’s most athletic player, the league’s most dominant center, and a bench with tremendous depth. It sounds a lot like another roster that has taken the NBA by storm.

The NBA would truly turn into a two team league if Howard somehow finagled his way into the Clippers organization, but the match-ups Dwight Howard could create would be well worth it.

The Heat and Clippers would create rosters that mirror each other in efficiency, but are opposite in style-of-play.

When you look at Miami, you have a decent point guard, an average shooting guard, the best player in the game, an average power forward, a center who can stretch the floor, and the best role players in the game. They play small, hit the perimeter hard, and when you triple team LeBron, they’re going to make wide open shots.

When you look at the Clippers, it would be much the opposite. The Clippers would dominate the paint with the tremendous size and athleticism of Howard and Griffin, and would have the perfect facilitator to do so in Chris Paul.

Neither team would have an answer for the other’s style, and that is what makes this matchup so intriguing.

While the Heat and Clippers would make for an incredible rivalry and NBA Finals, the rest of the NBA would be, quite frankly, screwed.

Much as was the case in Miami, LA would find great role players willing to play for the minimum just to chase a title, and would create the league’s second dominant team. The talent these two teams would amass would be enough to create a couple of great teams. It would surely take away any competition between the league’s other teams.

With two dominant teams, the official “Super League” would be under way, but that might be okay, if only for a year.

I could definitely deal with a two super teams for a year, especially if LeBron was going to come back to Cleveland or at least leave Miami.

Dwight to the Clippers and LeBron’s final year in Miami would create a basketball-lover’s dream, and wouldn’t get annoying and ridiculous thanks to it’s brevity.

For a year, the Clippers and Heat would eclipse the entertainment of any other matchup in sports. The personalities, the talent, and the big markets would all help these teams to go down as two of the best in NBA history.

So mark it down on the record, I am officially on the Dwight to the Clippers bandwagon. In being on that band wagon, I’m also on the LeBron better leave the Heat in 2014 band wagon, or I’m going to get really upset.

Clippers:

Chris Paul PG

Eric Bledsoe SG

Caron Butler SF

Blake Griffin PF

Dwight Howard C

Bench:

Jamal Crawford PG

DeAndre Jordan C

Matt Barnes SF

Lamar Odom SF

Grant Hill SF

Willie Green SG

Chauncey Billups PG

Heat:

Mario Chalmers PG

Dwyane Wade SG

LeBron James SF

Udonis Haslem PF

Chris Bosh C

Bench:

Ray Allen SG

Shane Battier SF

Norris Cole PG

Chris Anderson PF

Joel Anthony C

Rashard Lewis SF

James Jones SG

The post Dwight Howard to the Clippers? appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Last Thursday, Damien Bowman penned a great article detailing the umpiring deficiencies shown by one Angel Hernandez in the Cleveland Indians-Oakland Athletics match-up last Wednesday night.  Damien made a great argument for how replay (if it is going to be used) should work, not only in MLB, but all professional sports.  Short of calling for the elimination of all replay (which is the right thing, IMO), it was a perfectly crafted argument.

However, I happen to think he missed just one little point:  Karma.

Last October, I wrote an article documenting how MLB’s two Bay area teams had employed players that failed PED tests during the course of the season.  For the San Francisco Giants, it was Melky Cabrera (amongst others, if memory serves, but Cabrera was by far the most prominent Cheater.) and for the Oakland Athletics, it was Bartolo Colon.  Each of those players played an important role in their team’s success in 2012, while denying other, more deserving teams an opportunity to advance to the post-season.  There was no correction made by Selig at that time, nor at any other important moment when he was given that opportunity.  Selig wouldn’t deign to get his hands that dirty, even if he had the power to do so.  Instead, he simply issues a release saying that the wrong call was made in this instance, and ignores the PED issue in other examples.  End of story.

For me, there is another explanation:  the baseball gods are belatedly issuing retribution to the Oakland Athletics franchise.  While it’s unfortunate that Adam Rosales was caught up in how everything played out, that is often how these things work.  There must be a sacrifice, and it rarely is the person who has committed the atrocity that is made to pay it.

Now I know that there are many who do not believe in the gods of baseball, that they watch over the game and in some manner or another keep track of the wrongs that occur.  I happen to.  Human beings are far to fallible to be fully entrusted to take care of the game in a proper way at all times, and the game is too important.

While it’s true that in this one instance the Athletics got jobbed, in the broad scheme of things, they’re still way behind on their Karmic payments.  This is the same franchise that employed (and continues to employ) Colon, despite the fact that he has failed a PED test.  They are also the same franchise that also employed the modern day original juicers- Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.  While I can’t lay claim to having known at that time that McGwire was juicing, everybody knew that Canseco was, and nothing was done by MLB or the Athletics.

While it could be argued that the Athletics paid for their late ’80s sins because they only won one World Series during that stretch, it could be argued that even that one is more than they should have.  Those Athletics teams were loaded, but much of what they accomplished was predicated on the booming bats of Canseco and McGwire.

Having said all of that, is it conceivable that this wasn’t Karma, but rather it was just a gross case of incompetence on the part of Hernandez and his cronies?  Of course, but in the end it all amounts to essentially the same thing.  The Oakland Athletics have a debt to pay, and this may have only been a down payment.

Would a central replay station solve the woes that plague replay?  Should replay be eliminated from MLB?

Let me know what you think:

Matt@morethanafan.net or @tbone44444444

Also like More Than A Fan on facebook, and follow More Than a Fan on Twitter@MTAFSports

The post Did Angel Hernandez Simply Carry Out Karma’s Sentence? appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Cleveland Indians play for a mostly empty Progressive Field.

It’s nearly mid May, and the Cleveland Indians are just one game out of first place in the American League Central Division.  Very exciting stuff!  So why aren’t Clevelanders flocking to Progressive Field to watch this team?  Can we classify baseball fans in this city as fair weather?  I say no.

However, based on conversations I’ve had with fellow Indians fans; and the outrage I’ve seen via twitter over the last few weeks, you’d think it was a crime not to attend Tribe games.  I’m sure if you surveyed hundreds of Indians fans, there would be a myriad of reasons for the low attendance.  I don’t have the time or patience for any of that, so I’m just going to focus on a couple of factors.

First of all, this is baseball.  When the season starts, we’re just starting to see signs of spring.  When it ends, snow is starting to fall again in Cleveland.  I was there last weekend on a perfect 70 degree day during a winning streak.  The place was empty.  My point is the season is really long.  Unless you have a star-studded team, which is a lock for the post-season; it’s difficult to stay charged up for 81 home games.

No one can expect 40,000 plus Clevelanders to be riled up from April through September for baseball.  The sport just isn’t built for that.  I love baseball.  I enjoy low scoring pitcher’s duels.  I like sacrifice bunts.  I wish the DH was banned from the sport.  If I had no job, and unlimited means, I’d go to the ballpark several nights a week.

But most fans don’t feel that way.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t good Indians fans.  They just aren’t going to invest the time and money it takes to go night after night.  The baseball season is a marathon.  People want to wait until they’re pretty certain their team has a chance to win the race before they’ll give their undivided attention to it.  This brings me to my main point.

There are very few “die-hard” baseball cities.  I don’t care which MLB city you live in, if you don’t have a guaranteed winner, people just aren’t going to pack the stadium every single day or night.  It’s just that simple.  I don’t know if fans are hedging their bets so they don’t get hurt or what.  Unless your team is loaded with All-Stars, and you’re pretty certain they’ll be playing in October, it’s tough to devote a lot of time to them.

Since the ALCS meltdown in 2007, the Indians have barely been competitive.  Can you blame Cleveland fans for approaching this team with guarded optimism?  While the addition of guys like Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds, and Michael Bourn did improve this team; it certainly didn’t make the Tribe a shoe-in for the World Series.

I refuse to hold it against Indians fans for having a wait and see attitude.  I can’t say for certain that is why people aren’t showing up, but it would make sense.  When this team proves it can make it to August, and still be in the playoff hunt, I suspect attendance will rise significantly.

I don’t blame people for withholding their hard-earned dollars until this Cleveland Indians team proves they are a true contender.  Why invest your time, money, and more importantly your emotion on a team that hasn’t proven they’ve earned it?  Especially when you can flick on the TV and get a feel for the team from the comfort of your own home.

If this Indians team looked like the mid ‘90’s Tribe, with a lineup that included Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, etc.; and a pitching staff with Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez, and Jose Mesa; then I could understand the outrage over attendance.  But this team is not that.

I hope the 2013 version of the Cleveland Indians is legit.  If this team is fighting for a playoff spot or divisional title in late August or early September and the fans still aren’t showing up, then I’ll understand the outrage.  Until that happens, no one in this city should be telling anyone else how to behave as a fan.

The post Indians Fans Get a Pass for Low Attendance appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Fishing bobbers image from BassFishingandCatching.com.

The equipment is important as well. It’s okay to get them a Barbie or Sponge Bob fishing rod, but there are some other things to get also. If you will use live bait, forget about the round red and white bobbers. They are hard to see for a little kid.  I like to use a long balsa style bobber. These are the kind with the ends that stick about 2” above the water. This makes it much easier for little kids to see, and they are more sensitive to a bite.

The post Outdoors with Joe; Fishing with Kids appeared first on More Than A Fan.

by Ryan Isley

It seems to be a common thing these days – another week with a lot of different stories in the world of sports worthy of being mentioned. The Indians have won 10 out of 11 games, the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing and the Chicago Bulls proved the Miami Heat are not invincible (and the Heat responded).

Not to mention that in Cleveland, the story that has captivated the world has been ongoing as Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were rescued and Ariel Castro has formally been charged with kidnapping and rape.

Here are the three other stories that had my attention this week:

On Matt Kemp:

In case you haven’t seen the video or heard about the story yet, make sure to check it out.

These are the stories about athletes that we just don’t hear enough. We see the stories on the front pages of newspapers or on websites of athletes getting arrested or abusing women or basically setting a bad example for their legions of fans – some of whom are impressionable young people.

And I get it – Charles Barkley once said he is not a role model. And some other athletes live by that credo – or at least act as if they do. But in a society when fans could use a great story, Kemp delivered in a huge way. He didn’t do it because there was a camera rolling (he didn’t realize it was being taped) or because he was getting paid to do something (there was no money involved) – he was doing it because it was the right thing.

What a novel concept. An athlete doing something because it was the right thing to do. This wasn’t some production put together by ESPN for Make-A-Wish (as phenomenal as those segments are), this was just an impromptu meeting that came together because a father told Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach about his son, and Wallach told Kemp.

Kemp took it from there.

He could have signed a baseball. He could have taken a few pictures. But Kemp took it a step further. He gave the young man his hat, and then his jersey, and then his cleats. It is something this fan will remember for the rest of his life – as unfortunately short as it may be – and something his family will remember forever as well. And all it took was a few minutes from Kemp.

And Kemp? He did it because it was the right thing to do. That is how it should be.

On NBA Playoff Scheduling:

I am sitting here writing this on Thursday night while watching the NHL playoffs on television. Of course, I should also be watching the NBA playoffs.

But that’s the issue – there aren’t any games on tonight. I understand that it happens in the playoffs that there are nights where games might not be scheduled. Some series end in four or five games and their scheduled slots are empty. But of course that excuse only works when we are at least four games into each series, which we are not.

We are in the second round of the NBA playoffs, with each series having played two games. There were doubleheaders on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and each series is now tied 1-1. Instead of the NBA capitalizing on the momentum they have gained in the first few days of this round, every series finds themselves idle on a Thursday night – a night which is always reserved for a doubleheader in the regular season.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers each played Sunday and Tuesday and are now off until Saturday while the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors played on Monday and Wednesday and will resume their respective series on Friday night.

It is completely inexcusable that the NBA would have an oversight this major and go a night without a playoff game when all four series are still alive. The obvious reason for this is because of television – of course it is – and ESPN is scheduled for a doubleheader on Friday night. The NBA could have allowed ESPN to have that doubleheader and still not missed a day with a game. There is no reason to have a doubleheader every night. They could have played single games Tuesday or Wednesday and therefore would have had a game to play on Thursday night as well.

This might have been the worst turnover in the postseason.

On Stephen Curry:

Every season during the NBA playoffs, it seems that a new “America’s darling” breaks out. This season, there is no doubt that player is Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

Curry – the seventh player selected in the 2009 NBA Draft – has thrilled basketball audiences throughout the Warriors’ first eight games by averaging 26.5 points and dishing out 8.9 assists per game. But it is the way Curry does it that makes him a must-watch player for the remainder of the Warriors run this postseason.

Curry can shoot it from 30 feet without a second thought and he can drive to the hoop and toss up a floater or a lay-up. Then again, he can just dribble around a defender until the defender has completely lost sight of what is happening. After that, he will pull up for a jumper or take the lay-up. As if that isn’t enough, he can also dazzle the crowd with his behind-the-back or no-look passes that lead to open jumpers for backcourt mate Klay Thompson or dunks for guys like center Andrew Bogut.

His signature moment of these playoffs came in game four of round one against the Denver Nuggets. Slowed by a sore ankle and with head coach Mark Jackson thinking about pulling him from the game, Curry scored 22 points in the final 6:22 of the third quarter, hitting five three-pointers along the way.

And then in game one of their second round series against the San Antonio Spurs – in San Antonio – Curry again used the third quarter as his personal highlight reel. He scored 22 points – including the last 14 of the quarter – to give the Warriors what looked to be an insurmountable 18-point lead after three quarters. The shot that most will remember from this flurry was a three-pointer from the top of the key in which Curry was standing almost on the “S” in the Spurs half-court logo. Or then again, it could be the one where he lost control of the ball, picked it up and launched a jumper that found the bottom of the net.

I don’t have a rooting interest in the Western Conference, but I will be hoping the Warriors can keep winning so that I can keep watching Curry amaze crowds.

Comments? Questions? You can leave them here or email Ryan at ryan@morethanafan.net

The post My Two Cents on Matt Kemp, NBA Playoff Scheduling and Stephen Curry appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Last night, Angel Hernandez did the Oakland Athletics and Major League Baseball no favors, but Bud Selig has a chance to correct his egregious mistake. In the ninth inning, a ball, which at first glance didn’t appear to be a home run, was a home run, and the umpires with the assistance of instant replay got the play wrong twice. There is no excuse for this in an era of high definition and instant replay.

I’ve written many times before about not being a fan of instant replay, not only because in general I don’t think it holds officials accountable, but because I believe the systems are setup incorrectly.

After the game, Hernandez said he didn’t have enough evidence to overturn the call. There are but two explanations for this statement: Hernandez is blind or the replay system in the umpires locker room at Progressive Field doesn’t have access to the all the video feeds that everyone else does.

If he is blind, which he obviously is not, it is time for him to retire or move to a position as a supervisor. If the feeds he has access to aren’t the same as everyone else, whomever is responsible for that needs to be held accountable today.

Time date of the incorrect call shouldn’t matter, but imagine if last night’s error had occurred during the playoffs? Oh, right it has.

The only obvious solution to this problem, which is one that big three sports leagues need to adopt, is the same one in which NHL uses: move ALL instant replay functions to a central location. This is the easiest solution because the people in the central location have no bias for or against the call they just made, and it takes all the pressure off the on-location game officials and puts it squarely where it belongs: on the league office.

It’s become obvious in the high-stakes, and big money pressure situations that on-location game officials miss these calls when they count the most. Last night’s game in Cleveland was just the latest example, but imagine if supervisors in New York had the opportunity to review the call in Seattle that cost Green Bay on Monday Night Football last season? In both cases, it is almost a certainty the calls would have been reversed and the correct call would have been made.

Along with this, Major League Baseball needs to, through immediate cooperation with the umpires union, make available all disciplinary information on umpires on their game decisions. I honestly, don’t care if umpires goad players into arguments that result in ejections, but more important to me is how accurate their calls are at the plate and bags. Those calls have an effect on every play of every game. Along with making this information available, we need to start to see the transition from unqualified umpires to those who are better and rate higher. Age is no factor in this argument.

If you’re 65 and rate in the highest percentile then you get to keep your job. Make no mistake, some of the worst game managers and umpires are those that are newer and younger. Being a younger umpire doesn’t make you a good umpire.

The bottom line is, Angel Hernandez got last night’s play wrong, and it likely cost the Oakland Athletics the game last night, but as any official will say the most important thing to them is getting the play correct.

The post Indians Get Lucky; Selig, MLB Should Do Right and Award Home Run appeared first on More Than A Fan.

So far in this “Face of the Franchise” series, I’ve looked at the A.L. East (where I got killed for not picking Ted Williams to lead the Red Sox), and the A.L. Central (where I found out that Cleveland is still Bob Feller’s town.)  Today we’ll head out west, to see whose face we associate with which franchise.

The Anaheim Angels should be an easy team to pick a face of the franchise for.  The franchise isn’t that old, nor is it particularly storied.  It should be Mike Trout, and there shouldn’t even be any competition.  However, part of this debate takes in to consideration the expected longevity the Face will have if he is still active.  As I wrote back in March, the Angels may have made a big mistake when they decided that Trout was only worth 4% over the major league minimum.  Perhaps a big-money, long-term deal is in the works, and at that time, Trout becomes The Face.  Until then, it’s Danny Glover.  Yes, the actor.  Yes, Angels In the Outfield.  Yes, they really were known as the California Angels back then, and yes, only ‘angels’ or some other power could have helped the ’94 Angels win games (they finished the strike-shortened season in last place at 47-68.)

Next up is the Houston Astros, and their top two contenders are Cooperstown guys:  Nolan Ryan and Craig Biggio.  What?  The HOF voters got cute and decided that Biggio wasn’t a first ballot kind of guy?  I’m shocked*.  Well, Biggio is a HOFer in my book, and soon enough, he’ll get the call to Cooperstown.  I’m pretty sure that Ryan could still pitch a couple of times a week if he wanted to, and perhaps if he wasn’t part of the ownership group in Texas, I would name him here, too. (In the initial conversation I had about this topic, I did choose Ryan as the face of the Astros.)  It might not be much consolation, but in a year that Biggio’s 3,000 plus hits couldn’t get him in to the Hall of Fame, they are enough to garner him the Houston Astros’ “Face of the Franchise” designation from me.  That and a nickel will give him 5 cents.

The Oakland Athletics can trace their history all the way back to beginning of the American League in 1901.  Of course, they played in Philadelphia at that time, and Connie Mack ran the show from top to bottom for half a century.  He has to be in the running for the face of the franchise, simply on longevity.  That’s some serious devotion.  Reggie Jackson gets a thought, but he eventually moved on to the Yankees, and became “Mr. October” there, so his candidacy is short-lived.  Ricky Henderson was always a favorite of mine, but I can’t see Ricky as the face.  Right now, and for the last decade or so, I would say the face of the Athletics’ franchise has been GM Billy Beane, and Brad Pitt’s portrayal of him in Moneyball locks it down for Beane.

The Seattle Mariners Face of the Franchise could be taken care of in one word:  Junior.  Ken Griffey, Jr. saved baseball in Seattle, and he was the greatest MLB player in the 1990s, bar none.  There might be those who try to make a case for Randy Johnson, or Jay Buhner, but it’s superfluous.  The only other possible consideration might have been Ichiro, but that would only have been to play to the Japanese market.  Ken Griffey, Jr. is the Seattle Mariners, now, and for always.

If the Texas Rangers had only remained in Washington, D.C., perhaps I could have made things right with fans of Ted Williams.  The Splendid Splinter did guide the ‘new’ Washington Senators to their only winning season in Washington, but then the team moved to Arlington, and he retired from his post.  There has been offensive firepower a-plenty with players such as Rueben Sierra, Dean Palmer, and Ivan Rodriguez passing through town, just to name a few.  Michael Young’s name could be brought up in conversation, but as with the Mariners, there’s really only one choice:  Nolan Ryan.  True enough, he only spent 5 of his 26 full big league seasons as a player in Texas, but he did win his 300th game there, he also garnered his 5,000 strikeout in a Rangers’ uniform, and tacked on his 6th and 7th no-hitters to boot.  To cap it off, he returned to the Rangers in 2008 as team president, before leading a successful bid to purchase the Rangers in 2009.  The name of the group?  The Ryan Express.  Yeah, Nolan Ryan is the face of the franchise.

Even if none of the above was true, I haven’t forgot what a then-46 year old Nolan Ryan did to an in-his-prime Robin Ventura on August 4th, 1993.  For those who don’t recall, or are perhaps too young to have seen it, this video is a must-watch.  If you’re only interested in the best hits of the 6 minute plus video (it’s worth watching the whole thing to see how angry Gene Lamont gets when Ryan isn’t tossed, and for the Bo Jackson cameo) forward on to the 5:15 mark.  Ryan grabs Ventura in a side headlock, lands four punches to the top of Ventura’s head, and then gets in a clean uppercut to Ventura’s chin before they’re dragged apart.  Nolan Ryan may be 66 years old today, but I’d still wager he could whomp me if he felt like it.  There’s no doubt he’s the face of the Rangers for as long as he chooses to be.
That’s how I see the West, who are your Faces of the Franchise on the left coast?

*Not really, though.  I wrote about the HOF process for the first time on MTAF back in December of 2011.  Voters haven’t got any smarter since then.

Let me know who you’ve got:

Matt@morethanafan.net or @tbone44444444

Also like More Than A Fan on facebook, and follow More Than a Fan on Twitter@MTAFSports

The post Face of the Franchise – A.L. West appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Off-Base Percentage is a weekly post about the lighter side of sports. Whether it occurs on the field, in the locker room, or in the media, if it is a little ‘off-base’ then it is fair game. If you are looking for analysis of a player, team, or sport it won’t be found in this post. This is for the sports fan that wants to take a step back and look at sports from a ‘different’ angle. Enjoy.

Tim Tebow Most Influential

Well, this edition of OBP has nothing to do with baseball. It is also short and sweet. This week, Forbes released a poll that did not have anything to do with finance. It actually pertained to athletes’ influence in society. In Forbes’ poll, one which included more than a 1,000 participants, people were asked which athletes they viewed as ‘influential.’ Twenty-nine percent of poll-takers said that newly-released quarterback, Tim Tebow was an influential person. He topped the list and was trailed by Michael Phelps (25%), Usain Bolt (23%), Derek Jeter (22%), and Tebow’s replacement in Denver Peyton Manning (21%). Beyond Tebow, it is interesting to see Phelps at number two. An Olympic gold medalist, Phelps was in the news for smoking marijuana. It says a lot for his image that he can recover from that bad publicity and now be regarded more for his gold medals than his drug usage. Jimmie Johnson, failed to make the top five after topping the list the last two years.

Carrie Underwood and Sunday Night Football

Tebow being influential may be buzzworthy, but the breaking news is that next season on Sunday Night Football we will not be graced with a performance by Faith Hill week in and week out. The ageless, and still drop dead gorgeous country singer will be stepping back from the mic, much to the dismay of all guys that follow the NFL; but sleep easy gents her replacement could be a long-term jaw dropper for years to come–as long as she ages as well as Faith. The NFL stayed within the country genre signing Carrie Underwood to be the new voice of the opening SNF song. Though she may be married into the NHL, she will strutting her stuff and stretching her vocal chords for one of the NFL’s top prime time events each week. Fred Gaudelli, SNF’s producer noted that Underwood was his first and only choice to fill Hill’s role. No offense to Faith, but I expect a spike in the pregame ratings next year for Sunday Night games thanks to Carrie Underwood. Well done SNF and NBC.

Which news is bigger? More surprising? Let me know in the comment section or on Twitter @Believelander.

Also, don’t forget to like More Than A Fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MTAFSports.

Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for the MTAF Podcast too. It’s on iTunes!

The post Off-Base Percentage: Tebow Most Influential; Underwood Moves to SNF appeared first on More Than A Fan.

It’s allergy season in the Great Northeast, and these lilacs outside my window have declared a 7 Days (so far) War on my head and throat.  Because of this, you get a quick hitters column on the NBA Playoffs for this week.  Most of these thoughts are in the infant stages, so feel free to call me out as a whack job in the comments section or on Twitter.

NBA Playoffs Quick Hitters

Bulls v Heat

Is there a more deadly combination of player and coach in the NBA than Joakim Noah and Tom Thibodeau?  A coach whose philosophy relies on hard work, passing, defense, hard work, and hard work and the player who most embodies that philosophy.

The Heat had better win this year’s title because the remaining 6 LeBron James promised are looking murkier and murkier these days.  Chicago isn’t going to win this series, but no one who watched game 1 thinks they’d be underdogs with a healthy Derrick Rose.

LeBron’s MVP

Hayden and Josh have written some interesting stuff on Carmelo getting a first place MVP vote, and I’ll side more with Hayden*.  It’s a sportswriter trying to make a name for himself by being a contrarian.  It isn’t an opinion, it’s a stunt.  Ron Borges and Michael Felger have made damn good livings doing crap like that in Boston.

That said, the unreasonable side of me is glad LeBron wasn’t unanimous.  That side is still bitter about arguably the most talented player in basketball history asking for help in order to win.  I know, I know, it’s a free country and players do it all the time, but I hold LeBron to Michael Jordan / Magic Johnson / Larry Bird expectations, and that decision did not live up to them.

I’m guessing that’s the 1,289^th time someone’s made that argument on a website somewhere.  Leave me alone, I’m sick.

Spurs v Warriors

I’m the biggest bandwagon Warriors fan on the planet right now, but I can’t see them beating San Antonio.  They needed to pull out game 1, but got veteran-move’d to death in the late stages.  Tim Duncan on the bench and a 16 point lead with under 4 to go?  You can’t pass on an opportunity like that and expect to beat Greg Popovich and the Gang.

Then again, and maybe it’s the lilacs talking, great shooters have short memories and Stephen Curry is a GREAT shooter.  Not to mention that Klay Thompson was also on the bench for most of the end of that game.  Dare to dream?

Here’s the obligatory section where the writer goes on and on about Curry’s shooting.  It really is the story of the playoffs so far, but I don’t think I have anything original to add.  Reggie Miller in ’95 or Steph in ’13?

The Subjects That Shall Not Be Named

Here’s the part where I don’t talk about the Knicks / Pacers series because screw the Knicks.  I’ve not yet made my peace with them realistically ending the Kevin Garnett / Paul Pierce era in Boston.  I’m just a fan on this particular topic – not more than a fan.

Thunder v Grizzlies

Ryan wrote what I thought was excellent stuff on Kevin Durant last week, and a lot of that’s shown through in the first two games of the Grizzlies / Thunder series.  It’s clear that he’s not a “the guy” type of guy just yet.  His stats have been out of this world, but when he’s the only scoring option, he’s got to shoot worse than 50% from the floor.  Take more bad shots, KD.  It’s what The Guy does.  I’m not saying he won’t eventually become that (as LeBron James did), but he’s not there yet.  Great second banana.  Maybe LeBron calls him to team up in OKC when he opts out of Miami next year.

That said, Durant is not the reason the Thunder are going to lose this series to the Griz.  Sam Presti is.  I’ve been a Presti defender to this point – I was a big proponent of the James Harden trade – but Durant’s going to have to win this series with Derek Fisher, Kendrick Perkins, and Hasheem Thabeet all playing big minutes.  That’s on the GM.

Harden would certainly make a difference in this series for OKC (understatement alert), but so would Jeff Green, and I don’t think anyone’s talking about that.  Presti dealing Green for Kendrick Perkins was done specifically to counteract Dwight Howard (remember that no one knew where Dwight was heading at that time; we just knew he wouldn’t be in Orlando).  It’s the one thing Perk does well.  Now the team’s hamstrung with the Perkins contract and doesn’t have anyone to go to for a basket besides Durant.

Hey Thunder Fan – let me be the 657^th person to point out that you could be running a crunch time 5 of Russell Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Green, and Serge Ibaka in these playoffs.  That lineup beats Miami, right?

Point guards who can get to the paint are so huge in playoff basketball.  We learn that almost every year around this time, and then it seems like we forget it.  Golden St lost game 1 because they couldn’t get easy buckets in the lane and Tony Parker could.  Memphis won game 2 because of Mike Conley.  Nate Robinson is the reason Chicago beat Miami in game 1.

With point guards in mind, here are my picks for the rest of round 2:

-          Miami in 6

-          Memphis in 7

-          San Antonio in 6

-          Knicks in 7

My prediction of Miami’s 4, 4, 4 through the Eastern Conference ended the other night, but they’re still going to win the title without much resistance.  The Superfriends had to earn the title last year, so I won’t take anything away from them in that respect, but this year’s will be won on the backs of injured opponents and salary cap trade moves.  The playoffs so far have illuminated the fact that this should have been the year of either the Thunder or the Bulls.

One Last Thought

I think it bears mentioning that I’ve gone through about 1000 words on the NBA playoffs without once mentioning David Stern and his desperate need for game 6s and 7s in big markets.  Either the refs have not been as blatantly in the tank this year or these allergies are worse than I thought.  I think Stern is a little more focused on his legacy than on money these days (a little), so I’m going with the former, which is bad news for Dwyane Wade.  He might actually get called for a foul when he dislocates someone’s elbow this time around.

Still bitter.

* Editor’s Note ~ Josh was probably right.

The post NBA Playoffs Quick Hitters appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Just to preface this piece, it has no sporting influence. It was simply a piece I felt needed to be written about a true hero. A man who needs no introduction, but does need some thorough explanation. He is Charles Ramsey. He is Cleveland’s hero.

I was with my grandfather in the front seat of a Cadillac Deville, riding through Broadview Heights, Ohio. We were listening to the Indians game, as we are big Indians fans. The broadcast was interrupted by a WTAM 1100 correspondent, (maybe Carmen Angelo), with breaking news. “A remarkable story”, he called it. “Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus have all been found alive on Cleveland’s West Side.”

Admittedly, I knew nothing about these girls, as I was a ten year old boy when they went missing. I mistook the story for a recent kidnapping, and thought, “oh, that’s great.” The Indians came back on, and I was in a slightly better mood than the thirty seconds before the story broke.

When my grandfather and I returned home, we turned on the Indians game and nothing came of the story. He knew nothing about it, I knew nothing about it.

I started gleaning more information through Twitter and began to understand that his news that this news was, in fact, a tremendous, tremendous deal.

I turned on CNN, rather than the Tribe game, and started learning as much as I could about this horrific story. Immediately, I was reminded of horror movie, but a horror movie beyond my wildest imagination. I started to pray, just thanking God for returning these girls home safely. But I prayed, furthermore, for their mental health and a smooth journey ahead. Surely, the nightmare is over, but the aftermath is just beginning.

It was as I was scrolling through Twitter that I saw former Ohio State Buckeye defensive back and current Cleveland media personality, Dustin Fox, tweet this: https://twitter.com/DustinFox37/status/33157938191703654.

Immediately I was struck. I knew that Cleveland had a hero. Cleveland was about to be the center of an incredible amount of national publicity, and a once in a generation story. Not a sad story. Not a scandalous story. Not a pitiful story. Nothing involving angry Browns fans or hoodlums. This story was going to be good for Cleveland. Finally.

It’s beginning to turn out differently than I imagined it would. Ramsey has become an overnight sensation, as I knew he would. But when I first saw Ramsey, I thought he was a jokester. He was the perfect person for this age of media: real. Now-a-days, you don’t see many people that say what they feel all of the time. Ramsey tells it how it is. There’s no bs. There’s no political correctness. He’s Charles Ramsey, you can sell him how you want.

As this situation has evolved over the last 48 hours, I am incredibly proud but somewhat disheartened with what has occurred.

Ramsey has turned into a laughing stock. His extraordinary interview on Monday night was internet gold. He was eating a Big Mac at the time he rescued Amanda Berry. He ate ribs and danced salsa music with the alleged kidnapper, Ariel Castro. He has a somewhat unconventional appearance, rocking the “skullet” or half bald, half mullet hybrid.

It’s not so much we’re laughing at him, but we’re incredibly entertained that such an unrefined and “real” person has made his way into the number one spot in popular culture at the moment. There is no one bigger than Charles Ramsey, and that is a fact.

What we need to recognize about Charles Ramsey is that he is so much more than just a crazy-looking, hilariously honest, and internet-friendly man. He is the definition of a good human being.

I’ve tried to catch every Ramsey interview that I can. I am so intrigued by Ramsey, the human being. Ramsey the sideshow is entertaining, but not at all interesting in my opinion.

With every word he says, I am more and more impressed and proud of Charles Ramsey.

Here is a man who is truly a hero. He saved the lives and freed three women from who knows how many more years of horror and abuse. He saw an opportunity to help a fellow human being in a time of tremendous trouble, and did so without hesitation. It’s how I would expect most humans to act. As Charles would say in an interview, “it’s all about cajones. It’s about cajones on this planet”.

While it’s a frankly odd opinion, I would want my children to look to Charles Ramsey as a role model.

Now, I could see where you, the reader, would be shocked.

“Hayden, just a week ago, you said you wanted your children to look to Tim Tebow as a role model. Now you want your kids to look at Charles Ramsey as a role model? You’re crazy man.”

Ramsey seems to be a man who has fallen on hard times. He seems to have financial issues, as he says that’s what made him lose sleep at night. He doesn’t seem to be the most educated or most well-kempt human on the planet. He seems to enjoy McDonald’s maybe more than he should.

None of that matters to me. Ramsey, on the exterior is rough around the edges. Ramsey on the interior is thoroughly whole.

In every interview I have watched, Ramsey has brought up a point that I hope to hammer home to any potential children I may have. Ramsey continually states, when asked about his title as a “hero”, that he doesn’t like the name.

“I’m an American. I’m just like you. We bleed the same blood. We put our pants on the same way.”

He views all people equally. No matter race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, he is a true bastion of equality. Tolerance isn’t the word. He doesn’t simply tolerate his neighbors. He loves them. He fights for the love of the human species, and that is evident when he is asked about his neighbor, Ariel Castro.

He won’t tolerate people who don’t view their fellow human beings with the loving eyes that he does. Those are the only people he won’t view as equal.

In a world in which the slightest bit of fame will get to someone’s head, Ramsey doesn’t want it. He feels he isn’t heroic, he did what any other human being should do. He doesn’t want the attention, he doesn’t want the fame, he just wants other humans to do the same thing when faced with these types of situations.

Inadvertently, he’s a fighter for equality and a fighter for love of thy neighbor.

When asked about the potential reward he could receive, Ramsey immediately retorts and says, “Give it to them. I have paychecks coming, although they might not be much. They need it more than I do.” Again, just the sheer lack of selfishness astounds me.

Something that could help him tremendously, and he won’t even accept it. He’s that giving, that loving, that caring.

We shouldn’t be laughing at all at Charles Ramsey. Sure we should laugh with and celebrate Charles Ramsey, but laughing at him would be entirely inappropriate. Charles Ramsey is something that many of us are not. Charles Ramsey exhibits the most fundamental qualities that help this world to go round. He loves his neighbor. He expects the best from his fellow humans and from himself. He gives with all of his heart.

I am so proud and ecstatic that Charles Ramsey is a Clevelander. Cleveland often takes a harsh hit in the national spotlight thanks to it’s economic downturn and laughing-stock sports status. Cleveland needed a big time hero in the wake of LeBron. In my opinion, Charles Ramsey makes LeBron look like a chump.

Charles Ramsey is the hero Cleveland needed. Charles Ramsey is the hero the world needed.

Let’s make sure he never buys a drink or meal in this town again. Let’s make sure we tell our children the tale of this heroic, but more than that, human, man. Let’s make sure that Ramsey stays out of the laughing stock, but is instead a towering oak of love, equality, and justice that will weather the tremendous storm of media-hype that tends to bring even the strongest down.

Thank you Charles Ramsey, for your tremendous bravery. It was worthy of everything you will receive.

However, I appreciate even more the impact and love that you have spread throughout this world. Through your actions and principles, the world has become a better place.

Thank you Charles Ramsey, for telling us what it means to truly be a good human being.

The post What We Should Learn From Charles Ramsey appeared first on More Than A Fan.

A couple weeks from now my wife and I will be heading to Boston to take in a game at Fenway Park.  We have a goal to take in a game at every major league stadium and all we have left on the east coast is Fenway Park and Citi Field.  Living in Baltimore, you are centrally located to a lot of baseball towns with mass transportation easily available.

Not coincidentally, the Red Sox will be taking on my beloved Cleveland Indians.  When the schedule came out, this was the game I circled to go see. While we don’t make it a priority to see our favorite teams in each stadium (my wife’s a Cubs girl), it’s always nice when it works out that way.

As recent as couple weeks ago I was starting to lose my Tribe excitement.  The active off-season brought a ton of hype to a normally quiet team.  Winning a couple series early in the season really got everything going.  Then the pitching and hitting both went cold.  The toughest thing as an out-of-town fan is when your team lays an egg and walking out of the stadium in the face of the home crowd.  My wife and I have seen either the Cubs or Indians in multiple stadiums and if you know anything about their recent success, a loss was not an uncommon occurrence.  It’s always nice when you team is legitimately competing to be an out-of-town fan.

So as the Indians started to falter, my mind began to go towards the game in Boston.  I know a decent amount of Boston fans, and if they love anything it’s bashing the other team’s fans (they are proud of their team and can’t fathom how you could root for anyone else; I feel the same about mine).  This isn’t a big deal, except when I have no argument.  From my experience the diehards are pretty respectful, but it’s the other groups that feel like they need to live up to some expectation (Cubs in Philly, beer poured on wife, argument ensued). 

Just like that, the bats started hitting again.  The pitching wasn’t giving up huge innings and a winning streak began.  A couple sticks got healthy and found their stroke and here we are.  With Bourn likely coming off the DL soon, the ball is rolling.  My attitude is much changed now heading into the weekend trip to Boston. 

As excited as I am to take in a day game at the historic Fenway Park, watching the Tribe put a competitive team on the field has me just as excited.  I look forward to interacting with the Boston faithful.  They love their team through and through.  It’s been a tough month for them with the events that took place at the marathon.  Can’t wait to share my support and root against them.  See ya in a few weeks Beantown. 

The post Headed to Fenway, to catch the Tribe appeared first on More Than A Fan.

by Ryan Isley

The worst thing an NFL quarterback can have is rabbit-ears when it comes to hearing what is being said about him or reading what is being written about him. Apparently Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden has a set. If this is true, he may not want to read this.

Last Friday, I saw a tweet from @ccgamesceo that Weeden had blocked him for simply mentioning on Twitter to a friend that he would trade Weeden for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Upon reading this, I thought maybe it was a bit unfair to Weeden. So on Saturday morning I checked Weeden’s Twitter account and tried to follow him.

First, I tried to follow him on my phone. I got an error message that I was unable to follow the user at that time and to try back later. Thinking maybe it was an error with the app, I tried to follow from my computer when I got home. That is when I got this message:

Immediately I tried to rack my brain for any tweets that I might have sent that would lead Weeden to block me. Of course I knew that I had never tweeted anything negative at Weeden, nor had I tagged him in any negative tweets. The only thing I could come up with was a tweet I sent during the NFL Draft.

Of course, Weeden doesn’t follow me, so he would not have seen the tweet unless he did a Twitter search for his name. Believe me – it wouldn’t be the first time someone saw something I tweeted about them by searching for themselves on Twitter. Just ask ESPN’s LZ Granderson. Even if Weeden did search for his name and find that tweet, is that really an offense worthy of being blocked? Not even close. If anything, most people saw the humor in my tweet.

So I went back even more on my Twitter account to see what may have gotten Weeden up in arms enough to decide I should be blocked. That’s when I came up with this:

Again, not really a tweet that I would think Weeden would take as a negative one – at least not enough to block someone. If you actually read the tweet, it is more of an indictment of Jason Campbell than it is of Weeden.

The part that gets me is that I have not been overly critical of Weeden. Hell, I have written exactly ONE column about him for More Than A Fan. And it was a positive one – BEFORE he was a Cleveland Brown. In fact, I even joked that Weeden should start for the Cleveland Indians over Ubaldo Jimenez based on Weeden’s former career in pro baseball.

And so what if I would have been critical of Weeden on Twitter? Would it not have been warranted?

In 2012, Weeden completed 297-of-517 passes for 3,385 yards and threw 14 touchdowns with 17 interceptions and finished his rookie campaign with a quarterback rating of 72.6. Of all the starting quarterbacks in the NFL, Weeden was just 19th in yards passing, 27th in completion percentage and 29th in quarterback rating. He was also just one of four quarterbacks who threw more interceptions than touchdowns – joined on the list by Ryan Tannehill, Mark Sanchez and Jake Locker.

And in the most important stat of them all, Weeden was 5-10 as a starting quarterback. So yeah – there is going to be criticism. And it is understandable.

Maybe this is why Weeden’s baseball career didn’t pan out – he couldn’t handle the criticism and the hard times.

After being selected in the second round of the MLB Draft in 2002 by the New York Yankees, Weeden spent two season in the Yankees organization, two seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and one season in the Kansas City Royals organization where he compiled a record of 19-29 and an ERA of 5.02. He never made it out of high Class-A with any organization.

If Weeden thinks the criticism in Cleveland is bad, could you imagine how he would have responded if he would have made it to the majors with the Yankees and failed? It might be to his benefit that he never made it out of Class-A. So maybe I was overly optimistic that Weeden would have been an upgrade over Ubaldo.

What Weeden needs to do is learn to ignore the criticism and focus on improving his game and in the process, his team. As a quarterback, you are going to get more blame than you deserve when the team struggles and more praise than you deserve when the team wins.

If Weeden can’t understand that, he has a couple of options. He can quit football and try another sport – there just aren’t a lot left for him to try. Or he can ignore the newspapers, blogs, social media, etc. and concern himself with playing football and only playing football. That is the best way to get rid of the criticism and start turning it into praise.

If he decides to continue worrying himself with what everyone is saying on social media or blogs, his progress will be stunted and the Browns will be looking to take a quarterback with one of their first picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. And there will be a few from which to choose.

So now it is up to Weeden. The ball is in his court – just hope he doesn’t throw an interception.

Comments? Questions? You can leave them here or email Ryan at ryan@morethanafan.net

Writer’s Note: If there was a miscommunication or just a mishap and Brandon Weeden didn’t mean to block me, I will be more than willing to write a complete retraction and offer an apology to the Browns quarterback. That being said, it still won’t mean that I think he needs to be less sensitive.

The post Browns Quarterback Brandon Weeden Needs Thicker Skin appeared first on More Than A Fan.

More Than a Fan’s Joe Swinko. He loves selfies.

I grew up out in the country. When I was a little kid, I would spend the entire day out in our yard playing. We had a river down at the bottom of the hill, and I could often be found wading barefoot in the water, flipping rocks over. This was an age of discovery for me. I caught crayfish, snakes, fish, pretty much anything that I could. I would spend hours in the school library, reading every outdoor magazine and book they had.

The post Outdoors with Joe, an Introduction appeared first on More Than A Fan.

The 68th More Than a Fan Podcast is Damien Bowman, Ryan Isley, and Josh Flagner talk Cleveland Indians baseball and the NBA Playoffs.

Cleveland Indians Rock

• Nick Swisher’s value and leadership
• Can the pitching staff keep up with a busy schedule?
• Yankees double header hurts both teams
• Can the culture in the clubhouse withstand Pestano’s DL stint?
• See you next Tuesday

Dan Gilbert is the King of Cleveland

• Really?
• Why?

NBA Playoffs

• First round playoff breakdown
• Conference Semifinals predictions

Follow the More Than a Fan Players!

Damien Bowman

Ryan Isley

Josh Flagner

The post MTAF Podcast #68: Cleveland Indians, Dan Gilbert, NBA Playoffs appeared first on More Than A Fan.

The News

As I’m sitting in the More Than a Fan Studio thinking about the NBA Playoffs that I’m about to biased-ly observe, news is breaking about Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight being found alive in Cleveland, Ohio. (The link is a twitter search so whenever you click, it will be the latest news and thoughts) Before today, Amanda was last seen in 2003, Gina in 2004, and Michelle in 2000. I am so incredibly happy and relieved for those girls and those families. Amazing.

Mental Toughness and the NBA Playoffs

It seems NBA fans get caught up in perpetual arguments; what is the definition of MVP, who is the greatest player of all time, and do championships mean more than talent and numbers when ranking legacies. Those are the easiest debates.

If you smoosh all of those debates together, you end up having the mental toughness discussion. Teams and players that might not have the most talent, or be flashiest, but that manage to regularly overachieve under the brightest of lights; the NBA Playoffs.

The cream of the crop is easy to define; Michael Jordan led a team of world class talent by the force of his will, Kobe Bryant won championships with fierce determination and preeminent big men, and Red Auerbach and Bill Russell got together in the 60s and decided they just weren’t going to lose. So many great players have won championships that listing them all would be ridiculous, but those three players define the values of mental toughness, physical dominance, and most valuable players more than any other players in the NBA.

Unless you’re one of those transcendant three players – soon to be transcendant four players, once LeBron James cements a couple of more championships – winning in the playoffs is rarely about being the most talented team. And as the Chicago Bulls proved in their Game 1 upset of the Miami Heat Monday night, toughness and determination can even get you somewhere when you’re playing the most talented team.

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the LA Clippers, the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets. Those series pitted great players against each other, but make no mistake that effort and guts have ruled the NBA Playoffs so far.

The Miami Heat are the most talented team, the San Antonio Spurs are the most seasoned team, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the hard luck favorite after Russell Westbrook tore his meniscus, and the Indiana Pacers could be the defense first party crasher. Whatever these NBA Playoffs bring, we’re either going to see the emergence of a G.O.A.T. or fortitude, experience, and guts spoil the party.

All that talent on the rosters of the teams that lost in the first round didn’t mean a thing without that extra something.

LeBron James’ Not Unanimous MVP

LeBron was one vote shy of being the unanimous MVP of the NBA. Boston Globe writer Gary Washburn voted for Carmelo Anthony. I think he’s wrong. I also don’t think he should get his vote taken away, nor do I care at all about any player being the unanimous MVP. Hell, the Baseball Writers Association of America refuse to vote together to allow any MLB legend to be a unanimous, first ballot Hall of Famer. THAT’S stupid, and I’ll never believe that one guy’s NBA season is more valuable than another guy’s entire body of work when it comes to deciding which vote would mean more to be unanimous.

LeBron is the MVP, and he deserves the honor. Truly. But I wouldn’t have been surprised at all to see a couple of votes go to Kevin Durant, so even though Carmelo Anthony isn’t the guy I thought would grab a few votes – he doesn’t deserve the one that he got – I’m not surprised at all at the news of some ballot dissension.

Also, I question anyone who gets really worked up about this. It’s a non-story. A sports writer had an opinion that lots of people disagreed with. That’s sort of the nature of opinions.

The post NBA Playoffs in Biased Observer appeared first on More Than A Fan.

My apologies to those who read the headline and expected Josh’s witticisms to be laid out in front of you, but I couldn’t go on another day without laying out my three MLB pet peeves.  Oddly enough, PEDs doesn’t make this list of three, not because I’m absolutely sick of them destroying the purity of the game, but because they have such a malignant effect on everything else, when it’s time to talk about them, it always requires a minimum of 1,000 words.  Below are the three MLB pet peeves of mine that don’t result in ballooning hat sizes.

Not Charging Errors on Double Play Blunders

Every time I hear an announcer say “Well, you can’t assume a double play, so there’s no error charged” I want to punt kittens across the street.  Of course there are times when you can assume a double play, regardless of whether or not the double play is turned.  There’s a reason that the phrase “tailor-made double play ball” exists.  It’s because they are plays that are so basic, that it shouldn’t require any extra effort to complete it.  A double play is simple enough:  field the ball, make the throw.  It’s the fielder’s job who makes the initial catch to then relay it on to first base.  It’s really quite simple, honestly.  In fact, the MLB rule book addresses this on at least two separate occasions:

10.12 Errors
An error is a statistic charged against a fielder whose action has assisted the team on offense, as set forth in this Rule 10.12.
(a) The official scorer shall charge an error against any fielder:
(1) whose misplay (fumble, muff or wild throw) prolongs the time at bat of a batter, prolongs the presence on the bases of a runner or permits a runner to advance one or more bases, unless, in the judgment of the official scorer, such fielder deliberately permits a foul fly to fall safe with a runner on third base before two are out in order that the runner on third shall not score after the catch;

Then later in the same portion of the rule book, it reads thusly:

Rule 10.12(d) Comment: When a fielder muffs a thrown ball that, if held, would have completed a double play or triple play, the official scorer shall charge an error to the fielder who drops the ball and credit an assist to the fielder who made the throw.

The problem I have with fielders not turning double plays that they should is that it by necessity means their pitcher has to throw more pitches and also can cost their team a game, but they’re given excuses for their failure.  Further, it inflates a pitcher’s ERA without reason, while protecting a player’s fielding percentage.  The time is past for official scorers to follow the rule book and assign errors as they should be (while shutting the mouths of ignorant commentators to boot.)

Always Run Up the Score

There was some talk about this when Mexico and Canada scuffled in the WBC when Team Mexico thought that Team Canada was running up the score on them.  Of course, they were grossly misinformed about how the rules of the tournament worked, but for this argument, that’s beside the point.  The point here is that there is never a reason to stop scoring runs if there is an opportunity to do so.

I learned this lesson as a fan a long, long time ago.  On June 4, 1989 the Boston Red Sox were leading the Toronto Blue Jays 10-0 after 6 innings.  In 1989, that may as well have been 100-0, or so it seemed.  It was following the 6th inning that my family and I traveled to my grandparent’s house a couple of towns over.  By the time I walked through their door and made my way to the television, the Blue Jays had taken the lead 11-10.  True enough, the Red Sox would tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, but they would go on to lose 13-11 in extra innings.  To all those who make the argument or purport that teams should lay down once they have a big lead, I point them to that game.

These aren’t 6 year old kids playing t-ball.  They’re professional athletes.  If they don’t want the other team putting up crooked numbers, they should do something about it.

Ex-Player Loudmouths

Blow hard former big leaguers who glom on to stories that have no basis in reality, and then attack current players.  In this instance, I am speaking of one Jack Morris who took great liberty in accusing Clay Buchholz of cheating, based on a picture posted on Twitter by a former minor leaguer.  I won’t have any part in giving that hack any more play than is necessary, but I do highly recommend watching Dennis Eckersley’s pre and post-game takes on the subject.  His evisceration of Morris is worth the 3+ minutes of video required.

What are your MLB pet peeves?

Let me know:

Matt@morethanafan.net or @tbone44444444

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The post Three MLB Pet Peeves appeared first on More Than A Fan.

I really didn’t know what to write about this week. I have some big things happening on other sites, and last week I spent the week telling you what I wanted and didn’t want in Cleveland sports. Today, however, I figured I’d pick the most high-profile happening in sports at the moment: the NBA Playoffs.

First, I would like to comment on the imbecile that didn’t vote LeBron James as the NBA MVP. You sir, or ma’am, should have your vote taken immediately. Either you had a grudge, don’t take your vote seriously, or are flat-out unequipped for such responsibilities. I don’t think there has ever been a player more deserving of the NBA MVP than LeBron James this season, and that is evident by the historic number of votes LeBron received.

Unanimous or not, LeBron won the MVP by the most votes in the history of the award and garnered his fourth career NBA MVP Trophy. With that being said, here are some thoughts on LeBron and the Heat.

People believe it is a foregone conclusion that the Heat will win the NBA Title and I believe that they are essentially correct. I truly don’t see any team beating the Heat four times in a series, (or maybe even once for that matter.) Rather than watching to see whether or not the Heat will make it, we should be focused on who will give the Heat the best run, who will take a stab at shutting down the league’s best player, and who can stop the Heat from sliding through the postseason undefeated.

I know the Bulls ended the Heat’s winning streak, but the Cavs almost did too. It’s hard for me to see Chicago winning a game in this upcoming series. With Hinrich on the mend, Deng fighting a horrible flu, and Derrick Rose trolling the free world, I just don’t see Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer beating the Heat. It’s too hard to fathom. We’ll see if they can squeak a game out, but I find it doubtful.

When it comes to the other NBA Playoff series, the matchups are MUCH more interesting.

I am absolutely intruiged by the Pacers and the Knicks series. The Knicks have struggled through the first round and the first game of the second round, but I can still see them putting up a fight and making this series against the Pacers a close one. I wasn’t old enough to remember, but back in the day, the games between Reggie Miller and the Pacers and John Starks, Patrick Ewing and the Knicks were incredible. It was a rivalry like any other, with Reggie’s constant chirping and his incredible shooting backing up his talking. I think this Pacers and Knicks rivalry is starting to heat up again, as I believe these two teams will be facing each other in the playoffs for a few years to come.

In the Western Conference, you have two great matchups as well.

First of all, in what I find to be the lesser of the two series, you have the Grizzlies and the Thunder. While I said it was the lesser series, it is a phenomenal series nonetheless. In last night’s game, Kevin Durant and the Thunder were able to squeak by Memphis, thanks to a few missed free throws by Quincy Pondexter, but I could see Memphis squeaking by and winning games like that at home as well. The only thing I don’t like about this series involves Russell Westbrook.

As we all know, Westbrook went down with a torn muscle in his knee and could be out for the remainder of the playoffs. This is a TREMENDOUS blow to the Thunder and the chances of any team beating the Miami Heat. Many Clevelanders, and NBA fans alike, are comparing Durant’s Westbrook-less Thunder to the Cavaliers team LeBron James took to the Finals. It’s a fair comparison and it doesn’t bode well for the Thunder. LeBron played the most dominant playoff series of his career to get to the Finals, and once he got there, he was swept by a tremendously better San Antonio team.

If Durant can get his team to the Finals, I don’t see how they would compete against Miami without Westbrook. If Memphis wins this series, Miami will have a cakewalk to another ring.

The most intruiging matchup of the playoffs, thus far, is the Spurs and the Golden State Warriors. It’s a matchup of two teams with the opposites in terms of mantra. For Golden State, it’s shoot, shoot, shoot. For San Antonio, it’s rely on fundamental, defensive basketball. Golden State has a great young coach trying to prove himself. San Antonio has one of the best ever trying to add to his collection. The Warriors are a bunch of young guns. The Spurs are bunch of old veterans who know the game better than anyone. The opposite styles of each team will create a great matchup. San Antonio has the edge, just in terms of experience and coaching, but Golden State has the athleticism and the best player on either team in Steph Curry. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in this series. Can Golden State shoot their way to an appearance in the Western Conference Finals? Can San Antonio defend the perimeter and wear down the Warriors with their experience? It’s a matchup more than worthy of watching.

Here’s my prediction as to what will go down in the semi-final round:

Heat beat the Bulls 4-0.

Pacers beat the Knicks 4-2.

Memphis beats Oklahoma City 4-3.

Golden State beats San Antonio 4-3.

This is the worst case scenario in terms of a battle against the Heat, as neither Golden State nor Memphis have a chance in the NBA Finals, but it would create a tremendous opportunity for a Finals run for the three great fan bases in Memphis, Oakland, and Indianapolis.

Obviously, anything can happen. LeBron could tweak an ankle and be ill-fit to play the rest of the way. Steph Curry could have a playoff run, worthy of legendary status. The Spurs could drink from the fountain of youth and take home another NBA Title. You just never know

I’m just hoping that the Playoffs are more exciting than they should be.

The post Some Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs appeared first on More Than A Fan.

The city of Los Angeles is one of America’s largest markets. It is known for having the hottest celebrities, the best weather, and some of the best sports teams in the USA. However, it seems as though the city is running out of powerhouses to root for. They may have two basketball teams, two baseball teams, a soccer team, and a hockey team but all of them have hit a bump in the road, besides the LA Kings on the ice–and even they may soon be on the decline.

The Los Angeles Galaxy have been one of the best teams in Major League Soccer for a few years, but their most famous athlete left after the season. Yes, the ageless David Beckham decided to leave the Galaxy after a long run with the club and winning the city an MLS Cup. Now they must fill that void in order to stay atop the league that has so much parity within it. Soccer is not the most popular sport in the country and losing your most notable player does not help ticket sales, right?

The Clippers made it a couple games further than the Lakers in this year’s NBA Playoffs, but their result was the same–booted in the first round. The Clips lost Blake Griffin to injury against Memphis and never fully recovered as a team to move on to the second round. Now, while they was must sit at home in May and June while the rest of the teams left in the playoffs fight for the chance to lose to the Miami Heat the Clippers must also try to keep their star point guard, Chris Paul. Paul is ready to be a free agent and has made it very clear that making it to the playoffs is not enough anymore. He is looking for a deeper run into June and eventually that coveted ring that eludes many of the game’s best players. Without Paul, I’m afraid the Clippers lose the ‘Lob’ in ‘Lob City.’ Luckily for them, the Lakers look to be falling backwards faster than the Clippers.

Speaking of the Lakers, they stumbled into the playoffs without two of their top players in Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. With only Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol to carry the load against the dominant Spurs they were no match and were swept off the Staples Center floor in Game 4. They too face an uncertain offseason with the possibility of Howard jumping ship after one season and trying to create his own Big 3 in another city. Maybe Brooklyn? The Lakers also have Kobe Bryant recovering from an Achilles’ injury and may not see him suit up until the end of 2013. As if all that was not enough, because the Lakers made the playoffs as the number eight seed they lost their first round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers per a trade involving Ramon Sessions. We could see a whole new look Lakers for the upcoming 2013-14 campaign.

The city’s MLB teams have not seen much success in the first month of the season either. Two of the biggest spenders this past offseason–along with Toronto–the Angels and Dodgers are off to slow starts with both teams posting sub-.500 records and their stars like Josh Hamilton have been less than impressive in the early going. The Dodgers finally got Hanley Ramirez back into the lineup only to lose him to yet another injury. The Angels sit at a record of 11-20 and in the tough American League West, they cannot afford to get too far behind the Rangers and Athletics. These two clubs still have plenty of time to turn things around, but they better start soon before the deficits become insurmountable.

After a long NHL lockout the hockey resumed and now we are in the middle of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The defending Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings find themselves in the familiar role of upset specialists. After falling behind in the series with the St. Louis Blues 0-2. The Kings got one back Saturday night in a 1-0 victory at the Staples Center. The Kings still have a lot of work to do if they want to bring joy back to LA, but they did last year when no one thought they could, I don’t see why they can’t do it again this year.

I am not rooting for another large market team to win a championship, and there is no sympathy from this Clevelander. I just wanted to point out that even big markets go through little droughts of success. They need to feel our pain every couple of years.

The real question we should be asking here is not, “why won’t our teams win,” it should be, “how long before LA gets an NFL team again?”

Will the Dodgers or Angels turn things around? Will the Kings win the Stanley Cup? Let me know in the comment section or on Twitter @Believelander.

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The post The Kings are All Los Angeles has Left appeared first on More Than A Fan.

Progressive Field….where are all the “fans?”

Over the last few days I’ve noticed a growing trend of people complaining about poor Wi-Fi coverage and cellular reception at Progressive Field for no reason other than to hear themselves complain about something. Can We Stop Complaining about FREE Wi-Fi and Enjoy the Indians? I don’t think you understand how difficult it is to increase Wi-Fi and cellular coverage at stadium-sized venues.

Consider this; Progressive Field is an open-air stadium that can seat roughly 47,000 people at any given time. In order to increase its Wi-Fi coverage the Indians (read: taxpayers) would need to spend millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to get basic coverage; to increase cellular coverage wireless service providers would need to spend similar amounts.

Why would the organization or the wireless providers spend to increase coverage when the capacity will be utilized less than half of the year and would only be focused in a specific area?

Many claim teams need to provide Wi-Fi coverage, for free, to help increase attendance and the “fan experience,” but are you really not going to Indians games because the Wi-Fi isn’t good? I thought you went to Indians games to watch a winning team and enjoy time with your friends and family.

Side note: based on attendance it doesn’t appear fans care about winning baseball in Cleveland either. Home attendance is down 33.4% this year and the weather has been generally spectacular the entire home stand.

For Super Bowl XLII, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome installed 700 Wi-Fi access points with hopes of allowing up to 30,000 simultaneous connections. These aren’t the same consumer grade access points you likely have installed at your house, but are much more sophisticated and powerful, and of course more expensive.

Why can’t you spend four hours watching baseball without the need to tweet every pitch or take a picture of your shit-tastic $1 hot dogs?

As someone who tweets nearly 40 times per day, which for some of you is a bathroom break, I can tell you I enjoy going to events with my friends and actually enjoying their company.

In March, Ars Technica profiled the San Francisco 49ers installation of a large Wi-Fi network in their new stadium with hopes to provide coverage to nearly 70,000 people simultaneously. The two engineers on the project explain the difficulties of installing such a network while constructing a new building versus retrofitting an existing structure. If you aren’t sure which path is cheaper, easier, or more efficient it would be option one. The story doesn’t provide costs, but no matter which path you chose to go with, installation of neither is cheap.

I’ll give y’all credit for one thing, the Indians have the longest current winning streak in baseball and y’all still find something to bitch about. I hope you’re complaining about free Wi-Fi when the Browns are losing this fall.

Do yourselves a favor, stop complaining about free Wi-Fi an enjoy the Indians and you friend and family.

tl; dr is a tech nerd term for too long; didn’t read. the purpose of these posts is to provide a quick summary and analysis of something interesting in the sports world.

Follow @damienbowman

The post [tl;dr] Stop Complaining about FREE Wi-Fi and Enjoy the Indians appeared first on More Than A Fan.

As many of you know, I took some flack for my opinions on Tim Tebow on Monday. If you hadn’t heard, click that link and read all about it, or click this link to hear me and Josh Flagner talk all about it.

Today, however, I am going to write about a figure who, in some ways, is just as polarizing as Tim Tebow. His name is Dwight Howard.

There have been some rumblings from the Cavs camp that Dan Gilbert is looking to go after Dwight Howard to solidify this team as defensive-minded contender. While talks are nascent at this point, and we have no idea just what Dwight and the Lakers will do, if Dwight becomes a free agent, I could honestly see the Cavs making a run at him.

Dwight Howard in a Cavaliers uniform would be disastrous.

First of all, we’ve all seen Kyrie Irving develop, and while he has the talent to be an NBA All Pro player, he needs to mature. Be it throwing his coach under the bus, or darting for the locker room on Fan Appreciation Night, Kyrie needs to grow and mature if he wants to be at all special for this franchise. If you bring in Dwight Howard, he would be the model of inconsistency and immaturity for Kyrie Irving.

Dwight whined constantly during his time in Orlando, got his coach fired, and made a mockery of the city of Orlando, the Magic organization, and the fans. While LeBron was certainly the most hated player in the NBA for quite a while, Dwight Howard took over that role thanks to his childish and incredibly immature departure with the Magic. Dwight made LeBron seem like the most selfless person in the NBA.

I certainly would not want to see the influence Dwight would have on Kyrie. Kyrie needs a strong mentor, someone with great character and a great work ethic, someone who is focused on the team. Dwight Howard would be exactly the opposite of that persona.

Dwight’s post presence would also hurt a guy like Tristan Thompson, who is just starting to come into his own. Thompson began to flourish on the offensive end and banged the boards with incredible athleticism when Andy Varejao went down with injury. Although Tristan may be a bit undersized, he’s much more comfortable playing with a guy like Tyler Zeller who is more effective shooting the mid-range jumper rather than posting up. Howard would more than make up for Thompson’s numbers, but why slow down Tristan’s development if this Cavaliers team is really building for the future?

Then comes the LeBron James issue.

I want LeBron back. You want LeBron back. The Cavs want LeBron back. While LeBron tore our collective heart out a couple of years ago, Cleveland fans are already clamoring for his return, and with good reason. LeBron is the greatest player of our generation and may contend with Michael Jordan to be the greatest player of all time. If you’re a Cavs fan and you wouldn’t like to see LeBron James back in a Cavaliers uniform, you clearly value pride over wins, and as I’ve said before, I am ok with that. However, the Cavs have seemingly been working towards this goal of a major push for LeBron in 2014, whether he wants to come back or not. Dwight Howard would certainly ruin any chance the Cavs would have of bringing LeBron back to Cleveland.

Dwight certainly wants to be one of the higher paid players in the NBA and would not be willing to take a paycut to come to Cleveland. If the Cavs signed Dwight, they would have little to no money to sign other players and definitely would have insufficient funds in terms of LeBron. I would be willing to bet that almost any NBA fan would rather have a chance at LeBron than a chance at Dwight Howard, and I would definitely be included in that group.

Finally, if you thought Tim Tebow would be a distraction, wait until the Dwight Howard show comes around. While Tebow is often talked about on ESPN and in different sports media outlets, he rarely ever offers opinions himself. Dwight, on the other hand, is pretty vocal and voices his opinions pretty openly. If ever Dwight has a problem with Mike Brown, we’ll know about it and the team will have all kinds of distractions on their hands. Tebow’s a distraction because his presence draws in the media like hound dogs. Dwight Howard is a distraction because he brings the media in thanks to the words that come out of his mouth.

Dwight Howard is a dominant NBA player. There’s not a doubt that he is the best and most athletic center in the NBA. He brings a defensive tenacity that is often unparalled and would certainly make this Cavaliers basketball team better immediately. However, Dwight’s dominance on the court isn’t worth the attitude and harm that he will bring to the franchise.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, for the next three to four years, if you want to win an NBA Championship, you’re going to have to beat LeBron to do it. No matter what team he plays for, LeBron will either play in or win the next three or four NBA Finals. He’s that dominant and that good. Dwight Howard and the Cavaliers still can’t compete with LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh, and the amazing role players that the Heat have assembled. For Cleveland to win a championship, it’s going to take a trip back to Cleveland from LeBron James.

I love what Dan Gilbert did in bringing back Mike Brown. He admitted his mistake, was more than a man in doing so, and moved this organization forward by taking a step back in time. Bringing in Dwight would hinder this organization and it’s chances at a title run. Keep Dwight and all of his garbage away from Cleveland. Continue to build through the draft, help Kyrie to mature, add a couple of role players, and make that push towards LeBron. Those are the steps the Cavs need to take to compete for a championship.

Dwight Howard should not be included in the Cavalier’s plans.

The post Why I Don’t Want Dwight Howard to be a Cleveland Cavalier appeared first on More Than A Fan.

I’m not fan of Jim Tressel as a person based on how he handled his players and compliance officers while at Ohio State, but one thing about the man is that he is a good coach, even if he isn’t a good person. If the gray-haired dudes that run the College Football Playoff are looking for former coaches to sit on their first selection committee they should start with Jim Tressel.

Tressel, while at Ohio State, appeared in nine BCS games including three national championship games, and though it’s he likely won’t coach another game in college football he’s the perfect fit to sit on a committee that will determine the makeup of the new playoff system.

I imagine Tressel is itching to participate in some way in college football, and this would be perfect opportunity for guys like him who have tons of experience to have a voice in its new system. Is there someone else who has as much experience as him that would be better on the committee, of course there isn’t.

Teamed up with other former coaches such as former Alabama coach Bill Curry, and current Pacific-12 commissioner Larry Scott as Bleacher Support suggests, these three could anchor a committee that will quell the fears of many college football fans.

I don’t have a lot of confidence in this new system because I don’t believe it is inclusive of enough teams, but having these three on the committee and leaving SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany off the committee will give the appearance of transparency the sport hasn’t seen in a long time.

I’m not suggesting that Slive and Delany can’t be objective, but it’s likely their two conferences will dominate the post-season conversation yearly, and instead of having to recuse themselves when their teams are discussed it would be better for the committees workflow to leave them out.

The Big Ten and SEC will have plenty of representation, and people like Ohio State’s Gene Smith along with Tressel and Curry are representative of each conferences past, present, and future. Smith’s time on the basketball selection committee makes him a natural fit to be either the chairman or co-chair for the first committee.

Tressel’s time at Ohio State along with his nice BCS appearances makes him the most obvious choice to be on the committee, and frankly there isn’t a former coach who’s alive that’s more deserving of chance to sit at the table than Tressel.

tl; dr is a tech nerd term for too long; didn’t read. the purpose of these posts is to provide a quick summary and analysis of something interesting in the sports world.

Follow @damienbowman

The post [tl;dr] Akron’s Jim Tressel Should Be on the First Selection Committee appeared first on More Than A Fan.