A pathetic epitaph for the 2008 Cleveland Browns

Today's game against the Steelers went pretty much as we all expected. Yeah, I think we all would have guessed that 31-0 would sound about right. If the first-, second- and third-string quarterbacks couldn't lead a touchdown drive, it was nearly a lead-pipe cinch that the guy who wasn't on an NFL roster a couple of weeks ago wouldn't manage it either.

So the Browns finished 4-12 for the second time under Romeo Crennel. They ended up last in the AFC North, after the Bengals managed to win their last three to best them by a half-game. They had the second-worst record in the AFC, topping only the 2-14 Chiefs. They lost their last six. During that streak, their opponents scored at least three touchdowns (off the top of my head) on plays the Browns started on offense, but the Browns did not score a single offensive touchdown in that time. Pathetic. You probably heard this, but that's the first time any team has ever rattled off that long a streak (the previous record was 22 quarters by the '74 Bears). The Browns will have a chance to lengthen it going into the first game of 2009.

I suppose I could go into recap mode, but other writers will do that, and I'm kind of lazy. I will mention that Jamal Lewis got to 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, and the third time a Brown did that in the expansion era. So that's cool. I loved Josh Cribbs all year, and of course Joe Thomas and Sean Rogers made the Pro Bowl. And hey, the Browns won four more games than the Lions. So we've got that going for us.

Cavs pull even with Celtics in loss column

It's generally accepted that there are three NBA teams that tower over the rest this season -- the defending champion Celtics, the defending Western Conference champion Lakers, and our Cavaliers. For weeks, the Cavs have been looking up at the Celtics for the best overall record, but after Boston fell on back-to-back nights to the Lakers and Warriors, we're essentially even with them now. Yes, they're 27-4, and we're only 25-4, but the important number is that 4.

There seems little reason to doubt that the Cavaliers and Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals in a few months, provided everyone stays healthy. And it seems to me the determining factor in who wins that series will be who has home court. Both teams have been nearly invincible at home: The Cavs are 15-0 at the Q, and the Celtics are 17-1 in Boston. Not that this means anything, but current tabulations on coolstandings.com predict that Cleveland will go 65-17 on the year, and Boston will go 62-20. (The Lakers are also projected at 62-20, which would give us home court for the Finals, should we face them in that series.)

It's definitely less than a 50-50 bet that the Cavaliers will be NBA champions in six months. But there has never been a better basketball team in Cleveland, and at this point, they have as good a shot as anybody. As Terry Pluto points out, there are only five players on this team who were here at this time a year ago. I used to think it took players a lot longer than that for a basketball team to come together. The '07-08 Celtics proved me wrong. I have a darned good feeling about this Cavaliers team.

Some random notes

I haven't had much time to post lately, and I don't have much time right now either, but I've got a few quick hits for you while I have a moment.

• Let it be known that the absolute low point, the very nadir, of the Cleveland Browns expansion era occurred on December 21, 2008. Losing at home, 14-0, to one of the worst teams in the NFL is just sickening. In theory, they could go lower, but they could lose 70-0 to the Steelers on Sunday and it wouldn't feel as pathetic as that loss to the Bengals did. It should be interesting to see how Bruce Gradkowski does. He can't do much worse than Ken Dorsey did against the Bungs.

• On the plus side, the Cavaliers are looking as good as ever, dispatching the 19-10 Houston Rockets in the second half last night after keeping it even at the half. Mo Williams was a big key to that effort, and LeBron had another one of his how-the-hell-did-he-do-that blocks from behind — this time on 7'5" Yao Ming.

• There's not much going on with the Tribe, but the Yankees just reminded us how much harder it is for everybody else to put a competitive team on the field, after signing Mark Teixeira. They now have the three most expensive contracts in baseball. I hope they choke on them.

• Joe Paterno's going to coach until he's 200 years old.

• I haven't had time to do a proper tribute to the late Sammy Baugh, but how amazing is it that he still, to this day, holds passing, intercepting and punting records?

May you and everyone you care about have a merry Christmas. And while I'm at it, have a merry December 26th too. I hope you don't spend the whole day returning gifts.

Kerry Wood to the mound

Before I start on Kerry Wood, let me apologize to both of my regular readers for the fact that I have not posted anything in a week and a half. I've been so very busy lately. Doesn't mean I haven't had anything to say, or that I don't love you.

My good friend Jeff Brown had this to say about the Wood signing, which as you may recall is two years, $20.5 million, with a club option for a third year at $11 million that kicks in automatically if he finishes a certain number of games in either '09 or '10:

Does Mark Shapiro know what he's doing?

They just gave over $20 million to a pitcher who has spent more time in the hospital getting surgeries and doing rehab than he has pitched over the past 8 years.

He'll go on the DL in early May, after missing most of Spring Training, then be on and off the DL all year (mostly on) and finish with 6 saves, a 5.97 ERA, and a record of 0-6.

Jeff could be right, of course, but I do not share his pessimism. There's some degree of gamble involved, just as there is some degree of gamble in signing any player, especially a pitcher. But Wood's is not a young arm anymore. He'll turn 32 on June 16. A lot of pitchers have been injury-prone during their 20s and then come around to be healthy through their 30s. In fact, I think such a pitcher might be slightly better off because all those years when he could have been putting strain on his developing arm by throwing 100 pitches every five days, he was sipping piña coladas and waiting for his arm to be ready to pitch again. The throwing arm isn't fully developed until it's been around for nigh on 30 years.

And Wood managed to stay healthy last year while pitching only the ninth, sometimes as many as three days in a row. I think his arm can handle that on an ongoing basis, and apparently Mark Shapiro does too. There's no guarantee he'll stay healthy, just as there is no guarantee CC Sabathia will stay healthy for the Yankees. But I think it's a good bet.

Anyway, the Indians introduced their new closer yesterday at Jaco ... er, Progressive Field, and Shapiro talked about what else the Indians are planning this offseason. He talked about wanting a second or third baseman to fill the hole created by the Casey Blake trade, and about how the starting pitchers who are out there are out of his price range. So we may or may not see another signing before the season starts, with Asdrubal Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta possibly each shifting one position to the left. Peralta's been working at third base in winter ball, and of course, Cabrera is a natural shortstop. So that could certainly work.

If there is no signing, we will see Jamey Carroll, Josh Barfield or Luis Valbuena playing whatever infield position is left over. I'd hate to see Carroll playing every day unless he's been hiding some hitting skills from us, and of course Barfield has been a flop the last couple of years but has actually been a good major-league hitter before. Valbuena, who came over in the three-team trade in which we gave up Franklin Gutierrez, is only 23, and his major-league experience consists of 18 games after the rosters were expanded on Sept. 1. But he hit .303 between AA and AAA last year, with 11 home runs in 452 at-bats. I don't know how his glove is, but he's got some talent with his bat.

Hall of Fame adds an Indian

The great Joe Gordon was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today, which surprised me only because I thought he was already in. He was a power-hitting, slick-fielding second basemen, which in his day was a far more unusual combination than it is now. And it's not common now either. There's Chase Utley, our old friend Brandon Phillips, ... and that's about it. AL MVP Dustin Pedroia hit 17 home runs and won a Gold Glove award this year, but Gordon routinely hit more than 20 a year in an era when that kind of power from a second baseman was almost unheard of. But Pedroia's only 25, so he's got a chance to become that kind of player.

Gordon played from 1938 to 1950, losing two prime seasons to World War II, as so many of his contemporaries did. He missed his age 29 and age 30 seasons, 1944-45. He was reportedly very strong in the field, and while they didn't have Gold Gloves in those days, the blunt defensive numbers support his reputation. He led the American League in assists four times and double plays three times.

"Flash" (a nickname anyone named Gordon is destined to be stuck with for all eternity) was the first American League second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season -- and he did it seven times! He finished with 253 career homers in 11 seasons, which works out to exactly 23 a year, on average. If you were to suppose he'd hit 23 each of the two seasons he missed, that would have put him at 299, which is an awful lot for a second baseman in the '30s and '40s.

Gordon, of course, is not around to enjoy the honor, having died 30 years ago. That's unfortunate, but at least his family and those who remember his career can enjoy it.

Joe Gordon will no doubt be wearing a Yankee hat on his plaque, as he played seven seasons for them and just four in Cleveland. He also won four World Series in the Bronx, and one on the shores of Lake Erie. So objectively, I admit he's got to have the Yankee hat on. But I don't have to like it.

Cavs keep a-rollin'

LeBron got to sit out the fourth quarter again last night as the Cavaliers made a mockery of the Charlotte Bobcats, 94-74, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. It was the Cavs' eighth straight win, each by at least 12 points. That ties an NBA record, which they now share with four other teams. They'll get a shot to break the mark on Tuesday against the 8-10 Raptors at the Q, and I like their chances. The wine-and-golders are now 17-3, the best start in the 39-year history of the franchise. As good as the Price-Daugherty-Nance teams were, they can't hold a candle to the '08-09 version.

This game was over before it started. The Cavs raced out to leads of 13-4, 23-11 and 27-12 on their way to a 30-14 lead at the quarter pole. Cleveland led 55-35 at the half -- the Kitties took until nearly midway through the fourth quarter to score as many points as the Cavs scored in the first half alone.

The way things are going, LeBron's not likely to successfully defend his scoring title, simply because he's not playing many fourth quarters. (At 26.5, he's currently second behind Dwyane Wade's 28.9.) James had 25 in his 28 minutes, and added a block from behind that's becoming a trademark of his. I've never seen a player who's so good at following an opponent on a drive to the bucket, then swatting the ball away from behind. It's a thing of beauty.

Boobie Gibson, who's started slowly this year, had his best game of the young season, putting in 22 points in 31 minutes. So that's good to see.

That these Cavaliers have to be taken seriously as a title contender is beyond question. Unfortunately, there are three dominant teams in the NBA this year. I do think the Cavs are perfectly capable of beating the Celtics and/or Lakers in a best-of-seven, but I'll feel a whole lot better going into either of those prospective series if the seventh game is in Cleveland.

How about those Cavaliers!

LeBron James has been named the NBA's Player of the Month for November, the eighth time he's won that award in his six-year career. More importantly, the Cavaliers are absolutely rolling, at 14-3 after winning four games in five nights by an average of 20 points each. Granted, all four games were against relatively weak teams, but still, winning four games in five days is never easy.

This very well might be the best team the Cavaliers have put on the floor in the team's 37-year history. The difference from last year is Mo Williams, who is putting up 15.7 a game, with 4.6 assists against 2.2 turnovers. Delonte West and Wally Szczqzxzerbiak have had some time to get settled in after last year's midseason trade, and 33-year-old Zydrunas Ilgauskas is quietly having a fine year, in his 11th NBA season, all as a Cav. Z is averaging 15.6 a game in just 26.6 minutes, and if he keeps that up all year (I know, there's still a long way to go, but bear with me), that would be his highest scoring output in three years.

The Cavs have the Knicks at home tomorrow night. They should win by a couple of dozen.

Ken Dorsey to the rescue

I haven't had a chance until now to post anything about the Browns' embarrassing loss Sunday to the Colts. I'm sure you all saw it. The defense was phenomenal, holding Peyton Manning's high-powered offense to three points -- they made plays and forced key turnovers, and if you can't win when you hold the Colts' offense to three points, you're not going to win very much. The offense, of course, was abysmal, putting up just six points and giving up seven, on Derek Anderson's fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

And now Anderson's out for the year, joining Brady Quinn in that status. We all know how Anderson went to the Pro Bowl last year and opened the season as the starter, and played as badly all year as he played Sunday. So third-stringer Ken Dorsey, who went 0-for-3 Sunday in desperation time, is left to play out the string. Former Kent State quarterback Josh Cribbs becomes the backup, which is very interesting -- that could mean that if Dorsey should go down, our quarterback could be the guy who returns kickoffs. I'm guessing he'd be relieved of that duty in that event, which would be a shame because he's one of the best special teamers in the league, if not THE best.

Romeo Crennel has declared Quinn the starter for 2009, which is an interesting decree by someone who's going to be a defensive coordinator in some city other than Cleveland next year. Crennel is reportedly out unless the team has a miracle finish, and probably rightly so. He's a good guy, and he knows his football, but this is a very talented team that's 4-8.

In an interesting side note, Romeo's old buddy Charlie Weis is also on the hot seat at Notre Dame. They were both highly hyped as Bill Belichick's top assistants in New England, and they have both largely failed in their first head coaching jobs. Belichick did too, of course, but Belichick wasn't in his 50s when he got his first top job.

One more thing: The Browns are STILL the only team to have beaten the Giants this year. If the Fighting Plaxicos win out and then take the Super Bowl title again, our Brownies will have been the only thing standing between them and joining the '72 Dolphins. And they're 4-8, and likely to finish about 5-11. Freaky.