The Cavs Will Win It All; the Tribe and Browns, Not So Much

As I write this entry, the Cavs have opened up a 13-2 lead to start the season opener against Boston.

But that's not why I'm going out on a limb and saying that Cleveland will win the NBA title this year. Nor is it Shaq. Or Anthony Parker. Or Jamario Moon. Although, those three will make a huge difference, as I said last time.

It's because the Cavs lost to the Orlando Magic in last year's Eastern Conference finals. Face it, they didn't expect that to happen. They were supremely confident, and certain that they were going to make it to the Finals -- and win.

They didn't. It was a tough pill to swallow. But it was the last piece of humble pie that they needed to eat, apparently. I wrote about this in detail in an article on BleacherReport.com.

Acta Skips the 'Stros to Skip the Tribe

OK, so the Indians went ahead and hired Manny Acta as their new manager. I was skeptical about Acta last time, but, now that the deed is done, I'll be pulling for him to do well.

Acta -- unlike, say, Bobby Valentine (what was his deal, anyway?) -- said all the right things after his interviews. He talked like he was enthusiastic about the Indians and wanted the job badly, and then put his money where his mouth was.

He says the Tribe has great young talent. I'll take his word for it. No question, Acta's appeal had a lot to do with his Latino heritage, and the fact that the Indians' system is loaded with Latino players.

But Acta has his work cut out for him. Not only does he need to nurture the Tribe's young talent, he has to win over a cynical fan base in Cleveland. It seems like longer than two years ago that the Indians were on the verge of advancing to the World Series, but that's all it was -- two years ago, in 2007.

Cleveland fans are jaded. Add in the debacle that is the Browns, and it doesn't make the situation any easier for the Tribe's new skipper. It will be an interesting offseason and crucial spring training for Acta as he begins his tenure at Progressive Field.

Anderson? Why?

Derek Anderson followed up a pitiful game in Buffalo with equally pitiful games against Pittsburgh and Green Bay. To his credit, he got the Browns a win, somehow. But he's not exactly instilling confidence in the Cleveland faithful.

No point laboring the statistical comparison to Brady Quinn. Quinn's number's in 10 quarters of play are better -- significantly so, some would say -- than Anderson's have been in the 18 since.

The 31-3 loss to the Packers has been called by some the worst Browns performance since their return to the league in 1999. And Anderson was at the helm. Yet Eric Mangini won't budge in his commitment to D.A.

Apparently, Quinn's window of opportunity in Cleveland has been closed. If so, it was shockingly short. But why? Anderson is proving he's not the answer.

At this rate, Mangini would be better off cutting his losses and going to his third QB, Jets import Brett Ratliff.

Or, he could do something interesting and go with Josh Cribbs. Make it a wildcat offense on every play. Cribbs was Kent State's quarterback for four years. Could he possibly be worse than what we've witnessed? One thing's for certain: He wouldn't be as boring, and the team would likely score some points.

What a sad state of affairs for a once proud franchise.

Whatever. At least the Cavs are back, and for that, Cleveland fans can be grateful.

On Shaq, Phil, Brady, Josh...and Sweet Lou Brown

Caught the Cavs’ preseason game Wednesday night against Washington. LeBron James was out with flu symptoms, so it was up to Shaquille O’Neal to make things interesting, and he did, scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds in less than 20 minutes of action. You don’t get much from preseason games, but:

-- O’Neal looks good. If he averages 13 and 6 this season, he’ll match what Zydrunas Ilgauskas put up a year ago. If last night’s game was any indication, he’ll exceed that. He remains a force.

-- O’Neal is also entertaining. All eyes were on him, especially with LeBron out. He handles the attention and adulation with ease and is calm and unflappable. That will rub off on his teammates.

-- Ilgauskas looks lost. Sure, he’s adjusting to coming off the bench. But Mike Brown has to find a way to make Big Z feel like he’s an integral part of what’s going on out there. He was mostly on the floor with second, third and even fourth-stringers, and he didn't appear to be comfortable.

-- Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon are going to make a big difference. In fact, if this team stays healthy, they will be incredibly deep and versatile.

All that said, there was no real electricity in the arena last night, and that’s because LeBron wasn’t there. Anyone who doubts how much he transcends the sport today simply isn’t paying attention. It’s his team, his city, and, for that matter, his league. No one on the floor last night comes remotely close to James in talent. Dan Gilbert needs to do whatever is necessary to keep Number 23 in a Cavaliers uniform.

Browns fans can relax: Phil Dawson is on the mend! Let’s face it, the co-MVPs of this team are Dawson and punter Dave Zastudil (last week’s AFC Special Teams Player of the Week) -- at least, that’s how it seems. Dawson, who has been nursing a sore hamstring for two weeks, may not kick against Pittsburgh this week, but should be fine for the Packers the following week. I’ve said before that Dawson has quietly put up numbers that make him one of the all-time greats in Browns history. You can read my thoughts on the subject here. Maybe the new Browns marketing slogan should be, “We’re Kickin’ in Cleveland!”

So Brady Quinn has put his house up for sale. Wouldn’t you? All the right things have been said this week, by Quinn and the Browns. But the situation is curious, if not ominous. Reports say Quinn is unhappy with his benching. Ah, yet another young quarterback casualty in Cleveland. What a mess. Eric Mangini seems committed to Derek Anderson, who has steered the ship through two close games. Yet Anderson’s 2-for-17 performance against Buffalo was so astonishingly inept that it’s impossible to believe he’s the answer. But, as Terry Pluto pointed out in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns think their running game has improved because D.A. is a threat to throw deep. So Anderson it is, and, one way or another, Quinn will be moving.

Peter King of Sports Illustrated thinks Josh Cribbs is the best special teams player in the NFL. He’s not alone. I joked with a guy at the stadium recently that the Browns should line Cribbs up 30 yards behind the quarterback on offense, and then have Anderson turn around and throw a high lob pass back to him. In other words, simulate a punt or kickoff return on every play. The law of averages, not to mention recent evidence, says that Cribbs would return one for a touchdown more frequently than the rest of the offense would ever score.

Cribbs was an explosive offensive weapon at Kent State (right), where he played quarterback for four seasons, leaving as the all-time total offense leader with 10,839 yards. He also holds school records in completions, passing yards, touchdowns and total points. Twice, he rushed and passed for over 1,000 yards in the same season -- one of only four players in NCAA history to accomplish that feat. His senior year, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 2,215 yards and 17 touchdowns, against just six interceptions. He also rushed for 893 yards and nine TDs! He is the only player in NCAA history to lead his team in passing and rushing for four consecutive seasons.

And we’re lamenting the fact that he isn’t a true #2…receiver? The mind reels. All I know is, when Josh Cribbs steps on the field, there is hope. Make of it what you will.

Good one, Big Ben – very funny: Read an item that said when Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, an Ohio native, was passed over by the Browns in the 2004 draft – they traded up to take Kellen Winslow – Big Ben was upset. Now, he admits he “wouldn’t trade where I am now for anything. . .I’m kind of happy here.” No kidding.

The Indians are interviewing Manny Acta for their managerial position? Really? Acta went 158-252 in two-plus seasons managing the Washington Nationals. I mean, could we please bring in a proven winner? Is it that hard?

Then again, it is the suddenly moribund Indians. The mind wanders to the classic line from that wise sage Lou Brown (left) in the movie “Major League,” when fictional GM Charlie Donovan calls him at the auto shop where he's working and asks him if he’d like to manage the Tribe: “Let me get back to you, will ya’, Charlie? I’ve got a guy on the other line asking about some white walls.”

Till next time…

The Fun Was (Almost) Back in Browns' Town

Random observations after taking in the Browns’ 23-20 overtime loss at the stadium Sunday…

Who is Mohamed Massaquoi, and why are we just now hearing about him? It’s not just the fact that he caught eight passes for 148 yards. It’s the way he caught them. While being hit. While being held. Juggling and concentrating and refusing to be denied. If it was near him, he was gonna catch it. Braylon who?

Jerome Harrison…Jamal Lewis. Jerome Harrison…Jamal Lewis. After Harrison’s 121-yard day as the featured back, what’s to decide?

Staunch defender of letting Brady Quinn make mistakes and learn on the job that I have been, I must admit that Derek Anderson looked more comfortable, more in control than Quinn has. And his teammates looked more willing to play for him. I just wish Anderson would step up and be great, or at least very good. Show some swagger and don’t ever look back, D.A. Cleveland turns its lonely eyes to you.

Josh Cribbs is a force of nature. Simply a remarkable return man. He piled up 203 return yards on the day -- 58 on one kickoff, along with punt returns of 39 and 50 yards. There is an electricity in the air when he drops back to return a kick. People expect something big to happen. Add that to what he does defending on special teams, as well as playing receiver and occasionally carrying the ball on offense, and you have your team MVP.

Kudos to the offensive line. Cincinnati can bring pressure up front, and the Browns’ blockers did a pretty decent job. A friend of mine who played on the line for the Browns 20 years ago said he watched rookie center Alex Mack most of the day and came away favorably impressed. I’ll take his word for it.

Shaun Rogers? Two blocked kicks? That was impressive. Took four Bengals’ points off the board, all by himself. And the final one, on an extra point that would have given Cincinnati a one-point lead at the end of regulation, spelled H-E-A-R-T, in capital letters.

Eric Mangini may have lucked his way into a promising situation. If so, good for him. But he found something in the trifecta of Anderson, Harrison and Massaquoi. They were very good Sunday, all three of them, playing positions where -- let’s face it -- nobody was doing anything before that. That can turn a season around. I don’t see the Browns winning a ton of games, but I think they could win a representative number now. Couldn’t say that before yesterday.

Randy Lerner should put on jeans and a jacket, tell his front office staff to do the same, and then spread out and sit among the fans some Sunday. Wear disguises if need be. They need to see and hear for themselves how loyal and hopeful and forgiving Browns fans are. My son and I sat in the southwest corner of the stadium, and the fans were as entertaining as the game. They were knowledgeable. They were funny. They were passionate. They were loud. But, most of all, they were dedicated. They shouted criticisms when it was deserved, and rose to their feet as one and cheered wildly when the guys in the brown jerseys did something right. They exchanged barbs with Bengals fans seated in the same area. One guy had the audacity to stroll through our section wearing a Steelers jersey, and was greeted by a good-natured chorus of boos as he laughed and cooperatively egged his critics on. The atmosphere was fun and upbeat. It’s something you can’t appreciate watching a game on television. These people deserve better than what they’ve been given over the past eleven seasons. Lerner and company should give it to them.

It wasn’t a win. But it wasn’t a total disappointment, either. Fans were upbeat filing out of the stadium. The Browns looked like a professional football team for the first time all season. It’s about time. Thankfully, we came away with the hope there are more such times just ahead.

A Dark Day on the Lakefront

This is what it has come to.

In the same day, all three Cleveland sports teams dominated local news and garnered national media attention, each with bizarre twists that seemingly can only happen in Cleveland – at the same time, anyway.

The Indians? They fired manager Eric Wedge…but said he and his staff will stay on to finish the season. “In this game, situations often dictate decisions, and often the blame or the change occurs in one place when the reasons for that and the accountability for that lies throughout an organization,” said GM Mark Shapiro, stopping short of resigning himself.

The Browns? After spending five months conducting a quarterback contest between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, and choosing Quinn to be the starter, Eric Mangini reversed himself and switched to Anderson. Of his new starter’s 30-minute, three-interception relief appearance against Baltimore, Mangini said, “He did some good things.” Well, so did the captain of the Titanic.

The Cavs? Starting guard Delonte West remained a no-show at training camp, somehow knocking the LeBron James-Shaquille O’Neal pairing off the front pages for the second straight day. Because West continues to battle depression and various inner demons, I’m inclined to leave this one alone.

Nonetheless, for Cleveland sports fans this was – to borrow a phrase from my favorite funny man, Lewis Black – the “trifecta from hell.” Think about it: All in Cleveland? All in the same day? Really?

Some thoughts:

Regarding Wedge, Shapiro and team president Paul Dolan were correct in the vaguely describing the firing as, well, “the tried and true way of baseball.” Right or wrong, that is how it works. When the house is tumbling down around you and you need to give the impression of making a quick fix, you fire the manager – and they did. That’s not to say Wedge didn’t have it coming. His teams’ perennial slow starts, coupled with his frequently odd personnel decisions and lineup switcheroos, have a lot to do with the current mess. But, to his credit, Wedge conducted himself with class over the whole thing. He wanted to know his status now for next year, and they told him. Case closed. He’ll move on, probably to something better. And he’ll collect $1.25 million next year, regardless. Why do I get the feeling he’s getting the good end of this deal?

Regarding Anderson…who cares, really? I’ve been in favor of giving Quinn a chance, and am not persuaded that 10 quarters of football as the starter constitutes “a chance.” On the other hand, it’s becoming apparent that Quinn is not the kind of quarterback who is capable of rallying a miserable team to play above its skill level (think Culpepper, McNabb or Vick in their primes). Passes have been sailing behind or over targets, and others have been surprisingly wobbly. Perhaps his confidence has taken a beating playing for the Browns (who’s hasn’t?), but still, he’s struggled. So it’s back to Anderson, and…who cares? Honestly, being a Browns fan in Northeast Ohio has become surreal. Since 1999 they’ve been a shell of what the franchise was before the Modell move, and it’s not unusual anymore to see Steelers memorabilia worn and displayed in neighborhoods from Cleveland to Canton and all points in between. That never would have happened in the Jim Brown-Brian Sipe-Bernie Kosar eras. But it happens now, and, sadly, people care less and less and less.

Regarding West, as I said, I’m inclined to leave this one alone. He says he’s troubled, the Cavs openly admit it, so I believe it. Getting arrested riding a motorcycle (something banned by his contract) and carrying three firearms (something banned by common sense, if not a few laws or ordinances) is a clear warning signal. West was present for media day earlier in the week, then disappeared from view. All the Cavs are saying is that GM Danny Ferry has been in touch with West and had at least one long conversation with him. His teammates are expressing support and letting him know, publicly, that he’s always welcome back. It’s all you can do, and the Cavs – Cleveland’s beacon of hope in an otherwise stormy sports sea – seem, as usual, to be handling the situation with respect and professionalism. The question confronting them is, How long can they ride out this storm before it has a permanently negative effect on the team?

Anyway, I’m amazed at all that happened Wednesday. I don’t know if September 30, 2009, was a day that will go down in Cleveland sports infamy, or what. But it was some kind of day, that’s for sure.