To the handful of faithful readers out there, I apologize for the outage this week. I had to travel for work and really didn't have proper computer access to add any good updates. Spending a couple days in Madison, Wisconsin - as nice as it is - made me homesick for Cleveland. Call me crazy, I know. At least I got to miss the Tribe's slide in Boston (I can't stand the effing Red Sox). So we're back below .500 again, but with a chance for redemption this weekend in Chicago. I also got to miss out on the speculation regarding the Browns' brewing QB controversy. But now we know that DA will get the start, with BQ waiting in the wings for his chance to try to keep this sinking ship afloat. And has anyone else heard the Bill Cowher rumors? I briefly heard something on the radio last week about him buying a house in Strongsville. Then I even heard the same when I was in Wisconsin. I love all this speculation (probably based on the same unsubstantiated rumor I heard on the radio). Oh well, back to the grind...
Browns Update: The Browns take on the Bengals in Cincy on Sunday. And thankfully were finally a 1:00 pm start. The good news is if we keep playing like this, we'll have plenty of 1:00pm starts on the schedule next year. One of the more depressing things I did see when I was away from Cleveland is that this will be the fourth time since 1999 that both the Browns and Bengals enter their intrastate rivalry game winless. So four out of the last ten times we've met for the first time in a season, we've both been 0-and-something. Pathetic. But even worse if you're a Bengals fan, because at least we've had the expansion team excuse to lean back on. I really don't know what to expect anymore, especially out of either of these teams. My predictions have been woefully wrong all year, so hopefully I'm wrong again. I'll go with... Bengals 17, Browns 14. But win or lose this Sunday, it's really a win. A true win gets us back on track going into the bye week and some confidence in our preparation for MNF on October 13 vs. the Giants. But a loss probably means the Brady Quinn era will officially begin. And possibly the end of the RAC era (and inevitably more Cowher rumors). So all that should be fun to watch unfold. Although I don't think I'm ready for this franchise to start over again...
Will Sunday be Crennel's farewell?Other Browns Notes: Tony Grossi talks about Crennel working through the storm... And what is up with our special teams so far? I think most of it comes down to Josh Cribbs playing hurt, although that doesn't explain the terrible punting by Dave Zastudil... At least we now know the Browns aren't eye-gougers. I was really worried about that...
Tribe Update: I won't go into the details of the Tribe losing the last three to the Red Sox. All I can say is F Boston. At least we know that Jhonny Peralta will finally give third base a try this weekend. Hooray!!! Rookie suprirse Scott Lewis will be on the mound for the good guys tonight as they attempt to ruin the postseason plans for the White Sox.
Cavs Update: Only 32 days until the first game! We finally got to hear from Dan Gilbert and Mike Brown in a press conference yesterday. Terry Pluto says that we can count on the Cavs to not disappoint. And I agree 100%. And Brian Windhorst also reports on the opening of camp. Speaking of Brian... I have heard from a very reliable source that he will soon be the Cavs beat writer for the Plain Dealer, following in Terry Pluto's footsteps by leaving the ABJ. If true, this will obviously leave a huge hole for the Beacon Journal, but will be a big plus for Plain Dealer readers. Finally some good Cavs coverage from the PD! It's about time.
I'm digging Coach Brown's new look
