At Least This Was Cool...

While I would have preferred the outcome of the game to be a tad different, there is no denying that witnessing the hit below on Live TV was worth watching the entire 48 minutes.



Feel free to watch it over and over again. I sure am.

Recaps Galore

I know that many of you just happen to stumble upon this site thanks to linkbacks by a few bigger fish, but if you're actually one that comes by here on your own, not only would I love to shake your hand, I would love for you to check out what you're missing at some other places.

Thanks to Jason Gurney over at BallHype, we have a few Top-10s to close out the year. Enjoy

BallHype's Top 10 Sports Blog Stories of the Year About ... Sports Blogs (BallHype)

BallHype's Top 10 Sports Videos of 2007 (BallHype)

I highly recommend Miss Gossip's interview with Greg Oden. Definitely something that you won't see on the WWL any time soon.

Take it easy...

Your Halftime Entertainment Will Be...

If you had the chance to catch the Browns/Jets game from a few weeks ago, one thing you may (or may not) have noticed were the empty seats that littered The Meadowlands during halftime.

Typically, I try to get whatever it is that I need right before halftime, as I'm not a huge fan of shoulder-bumping thousands of fans while attempting to get a refill or whathaveyou. Not the case for your average Jets fan.

At least until this week.

A longstanding tradition of halftime harassment at Jets home games ended Sunday when the Jets and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority banned the sale of alcohol and blocked access to the two spiral ramps at Gate D during the season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Banning the sale of alcohol at a professional football game is nearly unheard of. Banning the sale of alcohol, something used to ease the pain of watching the Jets is a totally other subject.

Leave it to the New York Times to ruin something that was only shared by Jets fans with camera phones as well as those with a keen sense of YouTube navigation.

On Sunday, there was a beefed-up security presence at all eight of the stadium’s ramps, but only access to the Gate D ramps was blocked off by metal bicycle racks from five minutes before halftime until the start of the third quarter.

Reportedly, there was no warning of the alcohol ban, though sales typically end right after halftime. This is in comparison to other stadiums, most of which stop sales at the end of the third quarter. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief as this was only a "one game ban" and things should be back to normal come next season. Perhaps, aside from the ritual of Gate D.

A Few Guys You'll Need To Know

With the fate of the Cleveland Browns resting in the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, I thought it would be best to introduce you all to the actual Colts that will be held responsible with the duties this weekend, as a win over Tennessee cements a playoff bid for Cleveland - the first in quite some time.

But no, these will not be your typical Colts featuring Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Joseph Addai. Oh no, you'll have to dig pretty, pretty deep to find the jerseys of the folks you'll be rooting for. After this little exercise is over, maybe we will find that things might not be too bad. Or maybe this is all just wishful thinking. Without further ado, your week 17 Indianapolis Colts.

QB - Jim Sorgi


The Indianapolis Star has already confirmed that Sorgi will play "at least" a half in this week's game. Great news. Sorgi has thrown all of 12 passes on the season, completing seven of them for 64 yards. He has been fairly effective when given the chance to play, and was recently signed to a contract extension through 2010. After the Colts locked up a spot in 2005, Sorgi threw back-to-back games of at least 200 yards and a touchdown. While he won't throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, all is not lost when Sorgi takes over.


RB - Kenton Keith


It wouldn't surprise me to see Keith carry the load from the second quarter on this week as the Colts will have to ensure that Joseph Addai is good to go for the playoffs. Keith's season as a back-up has been pretty solid thus far, including the week five game against Tampa Bay where he racked up 160 total yards, finding the end zone twice. He has sniffed 100 yard several times this year and even racked up 60 on 10 carries last week against Houston. It could really be a lot worse in terms of a back-up running back. In fact, I'm sure there are teams out there that would love to have Keith as their starter. Yes, I'm looking at you, Chicago.

WR - Devin Aromashodu


Here's where it starts to get fun. Believe it or not, Aromashodu is right behind Reggie Wayne on the depth chart as the "second" receiver. He saw his first action of the season in the week 14 blowout of the Baltimore Ravens, and has recorded a catch in each game since. When Anthony Gonzalez left the game last week, Aromashodu hauled in three passes for 42 yards, making for a respectible game. He'll need to harness some Aretha Franklin this week and keep the respect going - the receiving game depends on it. Otherwise, it's all up to...

WR - Craphonso Thorpe


Good luck finding a picture of this cat in action. Thorpe is listed as "proabable" for this week's game, but will likely see a bit of action against the Titans. He was a fourth round selection by the Chiefs, but never really saw the light of day thanks to their stellar receiving corps. Thorpe caught five balls for 41 yards against the Chargers during week 10, but has not done much since. Here's hoping that one of the greatest names ever can actually ammount to something this week.

TE - Bryan Fletcher


With Ben Utecht not expected to suit up thanks to a shoulder injury, Indy will likely turn to Bryan Fletcher for the majority of the tight end duties. He's coming off of a strong game that saw him haul in five passes for 25 yards - part of his 17 catches and 138 yards on the season. In a game against Tennessee last season, Fletcher caught three balls for 56 yards so it's been done before!


The moral of the story is while this won't be last season's Colts championship team suiting up against the Titans this week, it could be a lot worse. In fact, given the way they played last week, I think this Colts team has a better shot to beat Tennessee than the Browns would at this point. I'm not sure how much that's saying, but Cleveland's fate will be determined soon enough.

The Q&A About DA

I've had some time to mentally digest the whole Browns potential choke as well as the pending quarterback situation. Note that I refuse to call the loss to the Bengals a full-on "choke" until this week is over. If Indianapolis beats Tennessee and the Browns make it into the playoffs, they will be lucky. If the Titans come out on top and Cleveland is sent packing, then I will whip out my best Spike Lee. But until that time, nary a word.

I received an email today asking me of my opinion on the Derek Anderson issue. Let me say first that not only will he start this coming week, but he should. Whether or not the Browns plan on re-signing the quarterback, or offering him up in a trade, you always want to maximize potential trade value. Starting Brady Quinn would not only spur a potential controversy, but it will further depress DA's value - as if the lawn chair job against Cincinnati wasn't enough.

I never thought I would say this, but Braylon Edwards could actually be a voice of reason. From the Plain Dealer:

"I can't see him doing that this late in the season and cause any controversy or anything like that [with] how we've played all year," receiver Braylon Edwards said. "There have been some chances for Quinn to get in, if that were going to be the case. He didn't take them then. I don't see him taking them now."

Now, looking forward to next year a bit - being that this game means relatively nothing in terms of the season as much as it does for individual player value - I say test the waters. The investor in me thinks that no matter what, flipping a sixth round draft pick into an earlier pick (first rounder? wishful thinking?) is a no-brainer. Three years ago, if someone told Phil Savage that he could do this, he wouldn't even think twice. Sell discipline is as key in investments as it is in sports - except there's no such thing as unrealized gains in football. (Eat shit, Uncle Sam!)

The Browns have a future quarterback, yet one of the worst defenses in the game. Yes, it is always great to have depth - just ask the guy who drafted Larry Johnson in fantasy football this year and took a bunch of receivers afterwords. However, you also want to maximize the potential that you put on the field. If the Browns have to settle for starting a defensive line that would struggle to make it on the field at all had they be rostered by a different team, they should reallocate some of their resources - assuming the price is right.

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

A few things I learned this weekend:

1) American Gangster is a pretty sweet movie - even in bootlegged DVD form.
2) Your quarterback can be pretty good all year, but it is always the one game that matters most
3) My sister is pretty freaking creative. More on that later in the week.
4) My fiancee is very generous - even in tough times
5) White Christmas' are nice and all, but man is it great driving to and from holiday get-togethers on dry roads
6) LeBron's kids likely had a decent Christmas

With that said, here's a quick recap of what some others are saying around the net to catch you up to speed...

- CBS, NBC and the Fans: 1. NFL Network: 0 (Signal to Noise)

- A slew of bloggers more important than myself chipped in for a Year-in-Review of sorts. (Yahoo! Sports)

- Philip Rivers apparently forgot that he's not a good quarterback. (NFL FanHouse)

- Maybe the Mario Williams pick wasn't so bad after all. (Jim Rome)

- Another long year for Jerious Norwood on the docket? (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

- Could Derek Anderson be heading to Miami? (PFT via FanIQ)

and finally...

- Thanks for all of those fantasy points down the stretch, Reggie. (The Big Lead)

More to come later.

Thanks, Munch!

Good morning, everybody. I just wanted to give a quick "Thank you" to Mark "Munch" Bishop over at 850 WKNR - Cleveland.

It had been brought to my attention that a caller mentioned Brady Quinn's kind act on the radio a few days back, but it had been discounted a bit due to the fact that the story had broke on a blog.

Understandably so, Mark preferred to fact check a bit before putting 100 percent of his emotion behind the story. Munch was kind enough to correspond with me via email yesterday, and even went as far to mention not only First And 10 Inches, but my name as well - a very classy move.

Of course, none of this would be possible if it were not for Brady Quinn himself. If I ever get the shot to meet him if only for a second, this will be surely conveyed. But for now, a big high five to Munch. Make sure to catch his show if you're in the Cleveland area on 850AM between 3-6p EST. If you're not able to get 850, you can stream the show on ESPN Radio. Whether it is an impromptu Bernie Kosar phone call you want to hear, or even Munch shooting the shit with former Browns tight end Aaron Shea, give it a shot! It is the perfect afternoon drive-time sports show.

Edwards and Cribbs: On to Hawaii

While the Browns still have two [regular season] games remaining, the Pro Bowl rosters that were released yesterday have this fan pretty excited. While I tried my best to lobby for both Braylon Edwards and Derek Anderson to be named to the squad, I will be more than happy to settle for Edwards and teammate Josh Cribbs as they were both named to represent the AFC - and deservedly so.

Yes, it would be nice to have more than two players recognized for the season that the Browns have produced thus far, but let's focus on the good stuff here - we the Browns haven't had a member named to this team since 2001. Kellen Winslow, Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach and Derek Anderson were all worthy of making the squad. In fact, each of these guys could likely play anyways as they were named as first alternates.

This should be the season that garners the O-Line and our quarterback some recognition. Next year, the media will finally pay attention from the beginning, opposed to just penciling in Ben Roethlisberger and Johnathon Ogden's names out of the gate.

Now let's focus on the Bengals...

(Side note: How stacked is the AFC this season where Wes Welker's 96 receptions for 1,000 yards and eight TDs isn't good enough to make the team?)

No Yelling On The Bus

Apparently, after getting shut out in a must-win game yesterday, the Buffalo Bills couldn't even get out of Cleveland in style. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that things didn't go so well for the team plane; some thanks to the weather, other thanks to a poor move by the pilot.

The pilot took too wide a turn from one taxiway to another at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the front wheel of the plane got stuck, airport spokeswoman Pat Smith said. The team was not on board the plane.

"It wasn't snowing at the time. We don't know why he did this," Smith said.

If the pilot was making odd turns without the team aboard, it may have been a blessing in disguise that they didn't hop on that plane.

Thank You, Brady

Thanksgiving is typically a time for three things: Family, friends and football. Every Thanksgiving in the past, I can assure you that all three of the aforementioned were fully enjoyed, as fewer things can break up a 40-hour work week better than a shit-ton of food sandwiched between two football games. Unfortunately, this past Thanksgiving was not the greatest, as I had found out that the younger sister of one of my very good friends had been killed that morning in an automobile accident en route to a family gathering. I am very close with the family, and for their privacy I will not discuss names or anything of the like, but the remainder of the weekend was somber at best as we all lost a friend - but they obviously lost much, much more.

One thing that can be said about my friend’s sister is that despite the weather, the record or the outlook of the season, she was one of the bigger fans of the Cleveland Browns that I knew. A bigger fan than most of my male friends, my buddy had actually gotten her to eat a dog bone when she was little by telling her that she couldn’t be a fan without the “rite of passage.” Never saying an unkind word about anyone – although I can remember a few choice thoughts on Charlie Frye, but in hindsight they may have been warranted – she was truly one of a kind.

This past weekend, I received a call from my friend whom I hadn’t talked to in a while, as I wanted things to settle down for he and his family. The conversation was short, but given all of the talks this season regarding Brady Quinn, his antics, and his lack of playing time, I felt that it needed to be shared with the rest of you.

My friend’s sister lived in Dublin, OH – the same town from which Quinn grew up, and his family still resides. While I won’t get into the transgression of how all of this took place, let’s just say that Quinn should be considered a class act on all levels.

Just days ago, my friend was presented with a box. And inside of this box was Brady Quinn’s game-worn jersey from the second week of the season. On it were words that would mean very little to others, but mean very, very much to my friend and his family.

"To the [Redacted] Family, in memory of [Redacted]. – Brady Quinn"

Quinn had caught wind of the story, and hand-delivered this jersey himself. He delivered something that obviously means a lot to him, but handed it over to someone that he had never met in his entire life with the assurance that it would be delivered to my friend and his family.

I hope that I can get a picture of the gift, so that it can be posted in the near future – but for now, you just have to take my word for it.

While things like this tend to be a drop in the bucket of emotion that has transpired over the past couple of weeks, my buddy can rest assured that his kid sister is looking down on this moment as something that happens very rarely, but happened because of what she meant to a lot of people – and this happiness can now be passed on to her family.

Thank you, Brady.

John Carroll University: Oops. Our Bad!

Yes, I know this is a football blog. But as it is just that, a blog, I'm taking my ownership and bending the rules a bit as this is entirely too much to pass up.

There is a Division III school in Northeastern Ohio called John Carroll University. A good school, especially considering the options in NE Ohio. In fact, when I was in college, our club basketball team got absolutely pissed on by their JV squad. It wasn't even worth the van ride up there. But anyways...

It has been brought to my attention that the University is hosting a Winter Formal for 2007. Not a huge deal right? Yes, the whole "Formal" thing gets played out a bit once you get in to college as there are more important things to do with your weekend once you hit college. But this one isn't just your average formal. It's themed!

The theme, you ask? What better than to play off of a favorite holiday tune then to use Bing Crosby's "White Christmas?"

Apparently, "Dreaming of a White Cleveland" has not gone over too well as the Student Union has had to issue an email to the entire University.

On behalf on the Student Union Programming Board and the Office of Student Activities, we would like to clarify any misunderstandings due to the theme of this year’s Winter Formal. “I’m Dreaming of a White Cleveland” was thought up by this year’s committee to go along with Bing Crosby’s widely known Christmas song, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” while excluding “Christmas” and going along with Cleveland’s typical snowy winters. There was never any intention for this theme to mean anything more. SUBP and the Office of Student Activities apologize to anyone who took offense to this title and hopes that those individuals can understand that nothing was meant by the theme except for a well known snowy winter here in Cleveland, the home of John Carroll University.

Thank you for your time and understanding,

Student Union Programming Board & The Office of Student Activities

I would love to know who exactly thought this was a good idea. Is Daniel Carver the Faculty Rep for the SU? I know that in today's society, we're attempting to look past all of these innuendos and all, as "recognizing" them is considered more racist (ahem, Jason Whitlock) than the actual statements. Regardless, the "theme" has now been changed to "Winter Formal 2007." And the logo that was used in the email? Looks like an attempt at disaster recovery to me...

Enough Already

First, many apologies for the lack of posts lately. The 'real job' has been pretty intense thanks to year end. I'll see what I can muster up this week!

The only thing that I really want to dip in to this morning is the NFL attempting to force a Colts/Ravens "rivalry" down our throats. Yes, I know that the Colts once played in Baltimore. I get that. Yes, I know that they moved the team overnight - queue the Mayflower Moving Company plug. I'll even give you that the Ravens were actually good last season, and that they were knocked out of the playoffs by Indy.

But I refuse to believe that these two teams have a rivalry. Even the AP Preview Report says that Ravens fans have "bad blood towards the Colts franchise." A quick peruse of Ravens fan blog RavensTD and all we get is the fact that they knew they were going to be "slaughtered." Not one mention of a rivalry of any sort.

While I'll give them that 44-20 isn't exactly a "slaughter" given a few other scores that I've seen this season, but you can bet that Ravens fans are more upset about losing than who they lost too. NFL, take note. The Ravens rivalries will stick to the AFC North - specifically, Cleveland.