Friday, July 25, 2008

Curb your enthusiasm?

No, I'm not talking about Larry David's HBO masterpiece. I'm referring to the need for us as Browns fans to keep our excitement in check. But damn it, with the lost summer courtesy of the Tribe it's just impossible. This city's thirst for a title is so unquenched that a 10-6 team that just missed the playoffs has us chanting "Super Bowl!" during the first two days of training camp. And obviously, Cleveland has always been a football-first town, which helps ramp things up during training camp anyway. So optimism is now in full swing and I have no choice but to dive in too and soak it all in.

DA spending some time with fans on Day 2 of training camp

K2 has vowed to not be a distraction and so far is living up to his word. This is good news and I think the guy still takes a lot of heat from some fans for things he said when he was a young, dumb kid in college. And obviously the motorcycle incident was a complete bonehead move. But the way he has handled himself since then has been exemplary. I'm glad he's a Cleveland Brown and can't wait to see him catching everything thrown his way again this season.
"I'm sure [the media] thought I wasn't coming, but I'm not that type of guy," Winslow said. "I don't want to be a distraction. My job is to just help this team win and come out here and play to the best of my ability."
Tony Grossi reports that Ryan Tucker is getting healthy and itching to return. I think one of the most amazing things about Phil Savage's reign so far as Browns GM is the fact that we aren't devastated by Tucker's hip injury. He has built such depth on the offensive line that Tucker doesn't have to be rushed back and a guy like Rex Hadnot can be plugged in and the line won't miss a beat. That's what happens on winning football teams and is something we have been waiting for as Browns fans since the new incarnation of this franchise.

One of my favorite parts of the start of football season is Peter King's annual "Postcards from Training Camp" series. Yesterday he gave us his thoughts on the 2008 Browns. He did correctly predict Jamal Lewis's huge year last summer, so let's hope he's right this year about the Rogers/Williams combo helping to shut down the run. And if nothing else, we know our chefs are some of the best in the league. King's visit also hinted at a possible SI cover story featuring the Browns. Let's hope the SI cover curse doesn't hit this town again...

Tribe Update: Just a couple things to note today... apparently the team has 'rebounded emotionally' from the C.C. Sabathia trade. Let's just hope that translates to more wins on the field. And the Mets may be interested in a trade for Casey Blake.

The Indians return to action tonight at the Prog against the Minnesota Twins, with Cliff Lee going against that bastard Livan Hernandez (remember the '97 World Series?).

Cavs Update:
Not much to report today, just a strange story about the possibility of Delonte West heading to Russia. I doubt this has any legs and I'm hoping it's just a negotiating ploy from West's agent. He doesn't have much leverage as a restricted free agent so we'll see how this plays out.

2 comments:

sportsgirl132 said...

Good stuff here and on Windhorst.

I like Winslow. He's done everything right to redeem himself to fans and the organization so far. There's not much else we could ask for from the guy. I hope the Browns and Winslow can find some common ground as far as his contract goes.

We see the whining and hold outs a lot in this league.The truth is if these guys want tons of money for little production, they should have played baseball--where teams like New York can pay someone like Jason Giambi $20+++ to sit on the bench.

I worry about too much hype on the Browns. They're not far removed from totally rebuilding. It's kinda like finding a kid that can ride a bike pretty good and then expecting him to ride a motorcycle with no learning curve. The Dallas game could set the tempo for the season. If they knock off Dallas first thing--the Browns media train will be in full swing. I can't decide if I like that --or hate it.

LOL--about Livan Hernandez. Ah--where in the world is Jose Mesa these days?

chiefwahoo56 said...

I'm a little worried about all the hype too. But I will love it if they knock off Dallas in that first game. I think that will give them a world of confidence in Week 2 to finally get over that damn Pittsburgh hurdle.