You can't stop these Cavs

For the second time in less than a week, the Cavaliers beat one of the NBA's best teams on the road last night. The Atlanta Hawks came into the game with a 21-8 record and were looking like serious contenders for an Eastern Conference title. And they played our boys tough through three quarters. The Cavs were up just one point, 75-74, going into the fourth. But nearly nine minutes into that fourth quarter, the Cavs had scored 10 points, and the Hawks had scored ZERO. Zilch. Nada. Bupkis.

After a timeout, the Hawks finally found their offense, and scored 10 over the next two minutes, but the Cavs answered most of their scores and came out with a 95-84 win. Over that eight-plus-minute scoreless stretch, the Hawks took 10 shots and missed every single one. It was a singularly impressive defensive effort by the Cavs. Radio announcer Joe Tait said he'd never seen a team go scoreless that long before, and Joe Tait has watched an awful lot of basketball. And these weren't the Washington Generals — the Hawks are the Eastern Conference's highest-scoring team, averaging nearly 105 per game.

Another thing to note: The Cavs won despite just 14 points from LeBron James, on 6-for-20 shooting; and they won despite turning it over 18 times, including seven by Mo Williams.

After demolishing the Lakers in LA on Christmas and putting this effort together last night in Atlanta, these Cavaliers are looking unstoppable.

Oh, and the Cavaliers are rolling too

After falling behind 16-4 in the early going against the Rockets yesterday, the Cavaliers came back to outscore them 92-67 the rest of the way.

The Cavs have now won four straight, including a highly impressive 15-point win on the road against the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Cavs are now 24-8 on the season, after losing their first two; and have won nine of their last 10. They have the NBA's third-best record, behind the Lakers and Celtics, and have just proven they can beat LA on the road. Their first chance to prove the same about Boston comes Feb. 25, but whether they win or lose that game, these Cavaliers are a very strong contender for an NBA title.

Browns are unstoppable!

It's amazing how three short weeks can change the entire outlook of a football team. After losing to San Diego on Dec. 6, the Browns were 1-11 and looking like they might never win another football game. Three straight wins later, and suddenly our boys look like they might actually make a splash in 2010, and Eric Mangini looks like he might actually have some idea what the Sam Hill he's doing.

Yesterday's 23-9 win over the Raiders was not exactly textbook football, but hey, a win's a win. The Raiders lost that game more than the Browns won it. Both Browns touchdowns were set up by huge mistakes by the Raiders. Jerome Harrison's 17-yard run was pretty, and he went through a gaping hole the line made for him, but it only happened because Raiders quarterback Charlie Frye made a terrible decision that led to a David Bowens interception two plays earlier.

And Derek Anderson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi just before the half was a fine throw and catch, but that was set up by a pair of boneheaded Oakland mistakes that should embarrass the crap out of the Raiders. They provided them 30 yards via penalty on that drive: a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call against Richard Seymour, and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call against Stanford Routt that was so heinous it got him tossed.

Anderson was workmanlike in his return to the starting role, following Brady Quinn's injury last week. He completed eight of 17 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown, and didn't turn the ball over. When you've got Harrison running for 148 yards — about half what he got last week, but still impressive — that's plenty of production from your quarterback. The Browns were actually outgained by a fairly significant margin in this game (389 yards to 282), but the fact that Frye threw three interceptions and Anderson threw zero made all the difference.

The Browns finish up next Sunday against the 7-8 Jacksonville Jaguars, who were eliminated from playoff contention yesterday after a 35-7 blowout loss to the Patriots. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the Browns will win that game and finish the season on a four-game winning streak. That ought to set a nice tone for '10!

Quinn not so mighty

So it turns out Brady Quinn hurt his foot on that 24-yard scramble in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Chiefs, and his season is over. Quinn got the starting job out of training camp, then lost it at halftime of the third game of the season, then regained it a few weeks later after former Pro Bowler Derek Anderson was even worse. And so the Derek Anderson era begins again in Cleveland, almost certainly for the very last time. Unless Anderson gets hurt too, he'll start the last two games of the season, and quite likely never wear a Browns uniform again. If he is back next year, he'll probably be the third-stringer, behind Quinn and whoever else Mike Holmgren picks up in the offseason.

Quinn had an uneven year, to be sure. He completed 53% of his passes, throwing eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions. His 67.3 passer rating is 26th in the NFL, sandwiched between down-and-out veterans Marc Bulger and Kerry Collins. But he did improve over the course of the year, according to his coach. Eric Mangini says he was impressed with the way Quinn adapted the no-huddle offense, and of course he did go for a stretch of 150 passes without throwing an interception before having two picked by the Chiefs. And he didn't exactly have Jerry Rice and John Taylor to throw to. Guys like Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie may yet develop into stars, but they're rookies right now, and play like it most of the time. Quinn definitely showed some promise this year, and with just 13 NFL games under his belt, he looks like he could really become something.

Sunday's game against the Raiders will be Anderson's seventh start of the season, and there's precious little reason to expect much out of him. His passer rating of 36.2 would be dead last in the league by a wide margin if he had enough attempts to qualify, and it seems like eons since his Pro Bowl year of 2007. This is his fifth chance to be the starter. The Raiders are pretty bad, so it's possible that he'll luck into a victory the way he did against Buffalo, but I'd be shocked if he does very much.

Cleveland is Holmgren's new home

In case you haven't heard, Mike Holmgren is now running the Browns' front office. As my Chicago friend Mark Spencer put it, he's an accomplished football man, and I'm cautiously optimistic about having him here. I think he'll do a fine job.

I should mention that the new Browns have a history of hiring people who have had success in the NFL, but not in the roles they were hired for in Cleveland, and they've proven unequal to the task. That's not to say that will happen with Holmgren, but he's had his greatest success as a head coach. He took the Packers to two Super Bowls, winning one, and took the Seahawks to one also. When he was first hired in Seattle, he was executive vice president and general manager, in addition to being head coach. That position is probably somewhat analogous to the job he's taken in Cleveland, though at this time, there's no strong indication that he'll become the head coach (but that could certainly happen). He was fired from the front-office job after the 2002 season, but stayed on as coach. Maybe if he just does one or the other, he'll be successful. I guess we'll see. I look forward to finding out.

Two in a row? Yeah, that's right!

Never mind that the second win in the Browns' two-game winning streak came against one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Browns are also one of the worst teams in the NFL, so any win is worth celebrating.

The story of the Browns' 41-34 win over the Kansas City Chiefs obviously centers around Josh Cribbs and Jerome Harrison, both of whom set records in the game. Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, both for three-digit yardage, and they were his seventh and eighth career kickoff returns for touchdowns. That makes him, at age 26, the NFL's career leader in scores on kickoff returns; the previous record of six was held by five others. Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest kickoff returner in NFL history plays for the Cleveland Browns. Not bad for a guy who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Kent State in 2005. Just think of that! Any team in the NFL could have had him, instead of whoever they drafted in the seventh round that year. Without looking at the draft list, I'd wager every last one of them would trade that player for Cribbs.

But Harrison was just as good in this game, if not better. And his story is every bit as unlikely. Harrison came into the game with just 301 rushing yards this season, and just 750 in his four-year career, most of which has been spent as Jamal Lewis' backup. But he ran wild over the Chiefs yesterday, piling up 286 yards, the best single-game rushing performance in Browns history (any time you can break a record held by Jim Brown, that's got to feel pretty good) and the third-best in NFL history, behind the aforementioned Mr. Lewis and the Vikings' Adrian Peterson. Had the game gone into overtime, he'd have probably gotten the record — though I'm sure he's glad it didn't.

Harrison scored three rushing touchdowns, running it in from 71, 8, and 28 yards. It seemed like every time he was handed the ball, he was snapping off at least seven or eight yards. Harrison totally dominated the second half, much as Cribbs dominated the first half. He benefited from some great blocking up front — the same great blocking that allowed Brady Quinn to rush for 39 yards on just four carries — but credit Harrison for making the most of the opportunity.

Speaking of Harrison, I got this curious e-mail from regular Of Fair Hooker correspondent Jeff Brown:

What do you make of Jerome Harrison? Some game, eh? (third highest rushing total in the history of the No Fun League!)

However, what do you make of his "hot dogging" at the end of his last touchdown run, where he straddled the goal line and taunted the defender who was feebly trying to chase him down?

Jeff is a close friend, and I respect his observational ability, but I have no idea where he came up with that. Harrison was not hot-dogging, and I surely didn't see any taunting. With less than a minute left in the game as the Browns were scoring a tie-breaking touchdown, it seemed obvious to me that Harrison was just trying to tick a couple of seconds more off the clock, and give Matt Cassel just a little bit less time to work with.

Regardless, in this dismal season the Browns have had, this was one to remember. With all the talk of Mike Holmgren coming in and possibly taking over the coaching reins in addition to a hypothetical GM role, this must have felt great to Eric Mangini and his staff. And it's far from inconceivable that the Browns could make it three in a row next week against the 5-9 Raiders, though they're playing better lately too, winning three of their last five, including an improbable 20-19 upset of the Broncos yesterday. I sure look forward to watching that game, and I don't think I've said that about the Browns all year.

Moon those Nets

I'm not sure how the New Jersey Nets, a team that came into the game with a 2-22 record, managed to stay within 10 points of the Cavaliers last night at the Q. It was a lethargic effort by what is supposed to be one of the NBA's elite teams. The Cavs led by eight after one quarter, and then pretty much coasted the rest of the way. LeBron had an un-LeBron-like 23, though he did lead all scorers. The twin towers, Shaq and Z, each had 16, which was pretty big.

But the thing that stands out about this game was Devin Harris' mugging of Jamario Moon while Moon tried to go in for a layup on a fast break, after Shaq stole the ball from Harris on the other end of the court. Harris says he was going for the ball, and that may be true, but what he got was Moon's head. He clotheslined him down to the floor and was immediately grabbed by LeBron, with Shaq coming in from behind to join the fray. The officials called it a flagrant-2, which is an automatic ejection, then spent the better part of 10 minutes looking at the tape to make sure they were justified in tossing Harris. I can't imagine why it took so long — I mean, the guy tackled someone by the head, which isn't even legal in the NFL — but they did eventually make the right decision. By all accounts, Harris isn't considered a dirty player, but that was just plain ugly.

In any case, the Cavs have the 6-18 Philadelphia 76ers tonight. Five of the Cavs' seven losses this year have been to sub-.500 teams, so let's hope they don't sleepwalk through another one.

That actually happened

Yes, the rumors are true. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I might not have believed it. Our pathetic Cleveland Browns actually defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers last night, 13-6. Sure, these Steelers are not playing like the Steelers who edged the Cardinals last January for the title, as the Browns handed them their fifth-straight loss last night. Still, this was our first victory over Pittsburgh since 2003 (when Tim Couch was the quarterback!), and I don't know about you, but I intend to savor it. How did the Browns do it? There were two main factors: a fine defensive effort, and another overall outstanding game from Josh Cribbs.

The Cleveland defense was just phenomenal. Ben Roethlisberger, who had never lost to the Browns in 10 previous meetings, got sacked eight times. Eight times! Credit the pass rush, but even more, credit the coverage. Roethlisberger got sacked because he couldn't find anyone open, and the Browns' front seven wouldn't let him get out of the pocket. Roethlisberger put up decent passing numbers (18-for-32, 204 yards, no picks), but he was unable to make the big throw or big run that would change the game. The Browns stuffed the Steelers' running game too, holding Rashard Mendenhall to 52 yards on 18 carries.

And what can I say about Cribbs? That man was unstoppable. Not only did his 55-yard punt return set up the Browns' first field goal, but he kept snapping off big runs out of the wildcat formation. He was the game's leading rusher, going for 87 yards on just eight carries — including a 37-yarder, in which he broke a couple of tackles, that helped set up the Browns' touchdown near the end of the first half. Credit the offensive line, too — they opened up some nice holes for Cribbs and Chris Jennings, who scored that touchdown and rushed for 73 yards himself.

Brady Quinn was awful, throwing for just 90 yards on 6-of-19. He didn't turn the ball over, and the importance of that shouldn't be overlooked. But he really made some bad throws, especially in the second half, when things were getting tight.

But that's not important right now. What's important is that the Browns beat the Steelers last night. Sing it from the rooftops. Yes, we're 2-11, but right now, things seem OK in Browns Town.

Thanks for the memories, Jamal

Thanks to a concussion, the best offensive player in the short history of the New Browns has completed his sterling NFL career. Jamal Lewis, who ends his career 21st on the NFL's all-time rushing list, announced several weeks ago that he would hang up his cleats after this season, and he is now done for the season. He rushed for 10,607 yards in his career, the last 2,806 of which were for the Browns.

Lewis' best moment as a pro, as we all must remember, came in a Ravens uniform, in a game against the Browns. On September 14, 2003, Lewis ran wild over the Browns defense, going for an NFL-record 295 yards on 30 carries, including touchdown runs of 82 and 63 yards. He was busting long runs left and right, and the Browns were helpless to stop him. Lewis rushed for 2,066 yards that year, the second-best rushing season in NFL history, behind Eric Dickerson's 2,105 in 1984.

His career appeared to be slowing down when he came to the Browns in 2007, but he rattled off two straight 1,000-yard seasons in the brown and orange. His 1,304-yard total in 2007 was by far the best rushing season in the history of the New Browns, and the best total by any Brown in my lifetime. In fact, the great Jim Brown is the only one to top that total in a Browns uniform. Lewis will be joining Brown in Canton in a few years. I'm glad to have seen him on our team in the twilight years of his career, and wish him the best of luck in his post-career endeavors.

And so it continues

So you say you're dying to hear my thoughts on yesterday's Browns game? Here they are: It sucked.

What? You were hoping for more? All right, here's more: It really sucked.

Fine, I'll give you some thoughts, in no particular order.

• Losing to division rivals is always unpleasant, especially in this division. We have a special brand of hatred for each of our AFC North foes. Our hatred for the Bengals is probably an 8 or a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 — which makes them by far the least hated of the three, but it still hurts a little every time we lose to them. Still, would you rather they win the division, or Pittsburgh or Baltimore? By that logic, it's not so bad.

• Shaun Rogers' penalty at the end of the first half was typical of this Browns season. He tackled Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer from behind, by the shoulders, which is now called a horse-collar tackle and has been a personal foul in the NFL since 2005. This happened with no time left on the clock, and gave the Bengals enough yardage to kick a field goal. It didn't really affect the outcome of the game, but imagine if the Browns had managed to score another touchdown in the fourth quarter and lost 16-14. That field goal would have been huge.

• The Bengals out-gained the Browns, 306 yards to 169. The defensive effort was not bad at all, but once again, the offense was hideous. Brady Quinn, coming off his best game as a pro in last week's loss to Detroit, went 15-for-34 for 100 yards. Quinn did make a nice catch on a Josh Cribbs pass from the wildcat formation, and he also scored the Browns' only touchdown with his legs, but this was not a strong effort. And it was the seventh time the Browns have been held under 10 points this year.

• Speaking of the Browns' defense, they held Palmer to 110 yards passing on 13-of-24. But they did allow more than 200 yards on the ground, including Larry Johnson's first 100-yard effort since last year, when he was with the Chiefs. Still, the defense was good enough to win, had the offense done anything.

• The Browns are one of three 1-10 teams in the league, which of course is significant because they have a shot at the first pick in next year's draft. The Browns' remaining schedule includes two games they could conceivably win, against Kansas City and Oakland, who are both 3-8. The other two 1-10 teams — the Buccaneers and the Rams – have no real cupcakes left on their schedules. The Buccaneers' only win is against 7-4 Green Bay, which puts a win against someone like 4-7 Seattle or 4-7 Carolina within the realm of possibility. But the Rams' only win was against the 2-9 Lions. All but one of their remaining games are against sub-.500 opponents, but I can't see them beating any of them, even the 4-7 Bears. But we'll see, I guess.

Turkey day fun

Since I have nothing much going on today, I wanted to blog about something, but there's not much going on today in Cleveland sports. So I'm going to write about my Thanksgiving.

I learned a fun new party game yesterday at my wife's parents' house -- spoons, in which spoons are placed in the middle of the table, everybody gets four cards and passes cards around the table until somebody has four of a kind, then that person grabs a spoon, at which point everybody tries to grab a spoon. But since there is one spoon fewer than the number of players, somebody always loses. And if two people are grabbing a spoon at the same time, it becomes a battle of strength. At one point, I accidentally elbowed my mother-in-law in the face trying to pull a spoon out of the middle, then had to fight her for that spoon. I got it from her, by the way. There's something very strange about forcibly pulling something out of your mother-in-law's hand, even if it is just a game.

So it's kind of like musical chairs, but with spoons. And it's a fun way to mangle your friends and family. There were lots of broken fingernails and such, though nobody broke any bones, that I know of. There was biting, though -- and not a quick nibble, but a long, drawn-out "my teeth aren't letting go of your forearm until your hand lets go of that spoon" type of thing. And at one point, my pregnant wife, who was next to me at the end of the table and therefore had to stand to grab a spoon, knocked her chair over in standing up, but didn't realize she had knocked her chair over, and when she went to sit back down in her chair, fell all the way to the floor. I should add that nobody laughed at her until they made sure she was OK.

It's a rough game. And I look forward to playing it again soon.

1-15, here we come

Brady Quinn had by far his best day as a pro in yesterday's game against the Lions, and when he completed his fourth touchdown pass of the day to Michael Gaines, it looked good for the Browns to get their second win of the season. A Jamal Lewis run for a 2-point conversion gave the Browns a 37-31 lead with 5:44 to play. But ...

Phil Dawson's kickoff went out of bounds, giving Matthew Stafford and the Lions the ball at the 40. Fortunately, the drive ended with a Brodney Pool interception at the goal line with 3:40 left on the clock, giving Quinn and the Browns' offense the chance to put it away. The Browns managed to get one first down, taking the ball as far as their own 42 before they had to punt -- forcing the Lions to use the rest of their timeouts in the process.

Browns punter Reggie Hodges is no Dave Zastudil, but he sure did his job on this one, punting it 47 yards to the Lions' 11, where former Brown Dennis Northcutt fielded it and returned it one yard to the 12. So with 1:46 to go, the Lions had to go 88 yards with no timeouts. ... And the Browns employed what we all know to be the worst defensive scheme in the world, the prevent. It's intended to prevent big gains by allowing smaller ones. And in Eric Mangini and Rob Ryan's defense (no pun intended), it almost worked. The Lions did manage a few 11- to 17-yard gains, but their receivers were unable to get out of bounds to stop the clock, so at least in theory, the time off the clock was worth the yardage for the Browns.

When the clock got to 0:08 with the Lions having the ball at the Browns' 32, things were looking pretty good. They had one shot, maybe two, at the end zone. They might have been able to complete a quick pass to the sideline to get a little closer, but that's a risky proposition because the Browns were covering the sidelines pretty well. So they took one shot at a touchdown. The Browns put on a three-man rush and dropped everybody back to cover the end zone. It worked like a charm, as Pool intercepted Stafford's hail mary.

But Hank Poteat pulled the boner of the year, tackling a receiver who probably wouldn't have had a shot at the ball anyway. A defensive pass interference call in the end zone gives the offense the ball at the 1, and because the game can't end on a defensive penalty, the Lions got one more chance even though there was no time left on the clock. But Stafford got hurt on the previous play, meaning the Lions had to send out a completely un-warmed-up Daunte Culpepper to run the play. The Lions had no timeouts left, so there was nothing to be done about it. Presumably, Culpepper would just hand the ball off, since you can't expect a cold quarterback to throw the ball, or even run it himself.

And that's when Mangini pulled the coaching boner of the year, calling a timeout that gave the Lions a chance to evaluate Stafford and decide he had one more play in him. I understand that Mangini wanted to take a minute and make sure he had his defense set up properly, but it seems he totally failed to take into account the benefit the Lions would derive from a timeout. As we all know, Stafford came in and threw a touchdown pass that tied the game, and Jason Hanson's extra point ended it.

Hank Poteat feels awful for causing that penalty, and while it was a stupid thing for him to do, it was done in the heat of battle. Mangini has no excuse for calling that timeout.

The Browns have six games left. The schedule goes like this: Cincinnati (currently 7-3), San Diego (7-3), Pittsburgh (6-4), Kansas City (3-7), Oakland (3-7), and Jacksonville (6-4). The Raiders have looked terrible at times, but they managed to beat the Bengals yesterday behind backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. If he plays, the Browns will lose that game. Kansas City has had a bad year too, but they beat the Steelers yesterday. I have a hard time imagining the Browns managing to get another win this year. Yesterday's game was their best shot, and they blew a 21-point lead against one of the NFL's worst teams. This team is cruising for 1-15, which would make them the worst team in Browns' history -- even worse than Tim Couch's 2-14 expansion team in '99.

The Onion picks on LeBron

No doubt playing off LeBron James' recent announcement that he would shed the number 23 in honor of Michael Jordan, and asked other players to do the same, the fine satirists at The Onion have put up a story about LeBron deciding to stop jumping during games, because that's what MJ did best. And yes, he wants other players to stop jumping too.

It's a joke, of course, but like a lot of The Onion's content, the headline is funnier than the story. And it ends with a mention of LeBron going out after making this statement and scoring 38 points Wednesday against the last-place Wizards with his feet flat on the floor. He did in fact score 34 points in a loss to the Wizards. They might as well have gotten that detail right.

Countdown to The Game

Yes, Ohio State plays Michigan at noon tomorrow. Yes, in this part of the country, that's always a big game. But it's been quite a while since The Game has meant this little. In recent years, at least one of the teams has always been playing for a BCS berth, if not a spot in the National Championship game.

This year? The Buckeyes are going to the Rose Bowl, win or lose; and the Wolverines are just trying to get out of last place in the Big Ten. At 5-6 overall (1-6 in the conference), Michigan would be bowl-eligible with a win, but so the heck what? These are not the Wolverines of Bo Schembechler or Lloyd Carr. This is perhaps a slightly better Michigan team than the one that went 3-9 (2-6) last year, but Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has probably got one more season to turn this thing around.

The Buckeyes are 13-point favorites tomorrow, but if they don't win by at least 20, they should be embarrassed. And they do at least have a national ranking to play for. They could get into the top 10 in the nation with a win tomorrow in Ann Arbor. If they then win the Rose Bowl, maybe they get into the top five. It's not a national championship, but I'd take it.

I'm not sure how I feel about Michigan being so cruddy right now. Sure, it's nice that we get a chance to whale on them, but part of being an Ohio State fan is being involved in arguably college football's biggest rivalry. If Michigan sucks, what rivalry is there?

Cavs' streak ends

The Cavaliers' five-game winning streak came to an end last night in a 108-91 loss to a Washington Wizards team that broke its own six-game losing streak in the process. How can this be? Well:

• Antawn Jamison was playing his first game of the season, after missing the Wizards' first nine games with a shoulder injury, and returned with a vengeance, scoring 31 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. He was a monster.
  
• The Cavaliers were playing the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, while the Wizards had been off the previous three days. And it was pretty obvious that played a part, as the Cavs got off to a fast start — up 17 in the second quarter — but faded down the stretch.
  
• The Cavs were without Shaquille O'Neal or Anderson Varejao, which left them with a combination of a suddenly very old Zydrunas Ilgauskas, J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson to man the post. And they simply couldn't hang. Z and Jackson each scored 10 points, but Hickson had his worst game in recent memory.
• Mo Williams, a very hot-and-cold shooter, was cold as ice in this one, going 2-for-13 from the floor.
• The Cavaliers committed 26 fouls, to the Wizards' 15. Whether that's because the Cavs actually fouled more or because the officials were calling the Cavs more tightly in enemy territory, it was definitely a factor. The Wizards went 31-of-35 from the line, the Cavaliers 14-of-15. That 17-point edge is equal to the differential in the final score.
  
• And the man the folks all pay to see, LeBron James, had a bad second half. He put up typical numbers — 34 points, nine assists — but turned the ball over six times, committed four fouls plus a technical, missed some shots badly, and while he had some fine moments, he totally failed to take control of the game. He also hurt his left wrist on a dunk, though it seems unlikely that it will make him miss any time. Hey, even superstars have off nights.

Speaking of that technical foul, it came after one of the most ludicrously bad calls I've ever seen in my life. LeBron drove the lane and was practically tackled by DeShawn Stevenson, but the official called a freaking jump ball. I can't imagine what he was looking at.

The Cavaliers now stand at 8-4, half a game ahead of Milwaukee for first place in the Central Division. This is a very good team that had a bad night.

Whatever, LeBron

So LeBron James is going to give up his #23 next year in honor of his hero, Michael Jordan. That's all well and good. I thought it was kind of dumb for him to choose that number in the first place, given that it was already associated with a player that many observers consider the greatest of all time. I felt he should have chosen a different number and blaze his own trail. But he chose #23 to honor Jordan, and now he wants to give it up for the same reason.

But he isn't stopping there. He wants all NBA players to give up #23. And he has precedent to lean on, from other sports. Major League Baseball has retired Jackie Robinson's #42, and the NHL has retired Wayne Gretzky's #99, so why shouldn't the NBA do the same?

Well, if you ask me, both of those gestures were silly to begin with, but regardless, they're different situations. Robinson's number wasn't retired because he was a great player (though, of course, he was). It was retired because he was the player who broke the color line. Really, that example has no bearing on LeBron's idea.

Gretzky is a much closer comparison. There are very few observers who do not believe Gretzky was the greatest who ever played hockey, and that's why his number is retired. But the thing about Gretzky's number is that he was given #99 to begin with because everybody knew he was special. As far as I know, he's the only player ever to wear #99 in hockey. It would be sacrilege for any other player to even consider it. There have been dozens and dozens of #23's in basketball. Sure, everybody associates it with Jordan, but it's obviously far from unthinkable for other players to wear it, unless they're playing for the Bulls. And while Jordan may be the consensus choice for greatest ever, can we all agree that he was better than Oscar Robertson or Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain or Magic Johnson or Larry Bird or ...? I'm not prepared to make that judgment. And you can't retire all those numbers league-wide.

So I don't see any reason for the NBA to retire #23 for every team, but I do think it's a positive step for LeBron to give it up, so he can have a number that's not already associated with one of the all-time greats. The number he's switching to? It's #6, the number worn by his second-favorite player, Julius Erving. ... Oh, LeBron.

I just hope that whatever number he winds up with, it's on a Cavaliers jersey.

Browns sell out, Lewis pops off

So it seems the Browns sold out Monday night's game against the Ravens just in time to avoid a blackout. I guess enough people are eager to see Brady Quinn's triumphant return (OK, his return, anyway) to the starter's job. I don't have high hopes for him or the team in general, but as it turns out, I've got Tuesday off from work, so I'll stay up and watch it. That doesn't mean I'm happy about how late it will start, but I keep harping on that, and even I'm tired of hearing me say it.

In other Browns-related news, Jamal Lewis popped off yesterday about how hard Coach Mangini is working the team. Money quote: "You can work hard as you want. You can work all day, seven days a week all the way up to Sunday in practice. But at the same time, if you're going to work like that, then maybe on Sunday you're probably not going to get what you want out of your players."

Lewis went on and on like that. Lewis is frustrated, as well he should be. He's having the worst season of his 10-year career as an individual, and this is no doubt the worst team he's ever played on. I don't think he should be running his mouth to reporters instead of talking to his coach, but since he's planning to retire after this season anyway, he really has nothing to lose. I'd bet there are other players on the team who feel the same way, and maybe they're right. I liked the Mangini hire when they made it, but now I'm thinking he was the wrong guy at the wrong time.

We need mo' Mo

In a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers took the Orlando Magic to the woodshed last night, in a game that was never as close as the final score indicated. The Cavs' lead was in the 20s all night, until the Magic outscored them 25-14 in garbage time, aka the fourth quarter.

We were all anxious to see how Shaquille O'Neal would do against Dwight Howard, who manhandled the Cavs in the aforementioned series last spring, and he did not disappoint. Though Howard did not miss a shot from the floor, he only took three, and finished with 11 points. He was also in foul trouble for much of the contest. (As was Shaq, I might add.) Shaq only scored 10, but his job is no longer to be the offensive force he used to be — not on a team with LeBron James.

Speaking of the King, he was his usual self, pouring in 36 points to go with eight rebounds. And Mo Williams was just phenomenal in leading the Cavs to their big first-half lead — they were up 15 at the half, led by Mo's 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting, including four three-pointers. Mo cooled off in the second half, but still wound up with 28 on the night.

And J.J. Hickson, starting at power forward, made a real positive conribution. Hickson had nine points and six rebounds in just 23 minutes, and always seemed to be around the ball. Hickson's plus-minus for the game was +13, which was tops on the team.

Next up, the Cavs have Dwyane Wade and the Heat tonight. It'll be a tough assignment, coming on the second day of a back-to-back, but I look forward to seeing it.

A satisfying Belcher

New Tribe manager Manny Acta has begun assembling his staff, starting with new pitching coach Tim Belcher. Belcher grew up in Sparta, Ohio, about a two-hour drive from Progressive Field down I-71. He pitched 14 seasons in the bigs, winning 146 games. He spent the last eight years with a much longer title in the Indians organization: special assistant to the baseball operations department. You don't know what that means? Well, according to Paul Hoynes' Plain Dealer article:

As a special assistant, Belcher worked with the Indians player development system in instructing and evaluating pitching talent at every level in the minor league system. He also scouted other teams, providing advance scouting reports for the last several years for the Tribe's big-league coaching staff.

It's hard to evaluate managers, and even harder to evaluate pitching coaches, especially pitching coaches who have never been pitching coaches before. We do know that the Indians have developed a few fine pitching prospects the last few years, with varying degrees of success at the big-league level, and perhaps Belcher deserves some credit for that. But perhaps not.

Who's the worst?

Now that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have erased the goose-egg in their win column, there are no winless teams left in the NFL. So there are now five teams tied with the worst record, at 1-7: Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, and ... well, you know who the fifth team is. So those teams are in a race of sorts for the first pick in the 2010 draft. If the Browns get that pick, it will surely rescue the franchise, as we've seen how well this organization has done with the first overall pick. (OK, that was unfair. The Tim Couch and Courtney Brown selections were made several regimes ago; even the owner has changed since then. Still, it goes to show that a top pick is far from a panacea.)

But the question for today's post is not which team is most likely to get the top draft pick. The question I wish to explore is, which is the worst team in the National Football League? Let's take them all individually, in no particular order, using the major stats along with a few lesser-considered ones:

1. Browns: Lose by an average score of 26.1 to 9.8 (-16.3); 31st in total offense; 32nd in total defense; 31st in third-down conversions; 23rd in opponents' third-down conversions; -11 in turnover ratio (which, by the way, is 32nd in the NFL).

2. Chiefs: Lose by an average score of 25.6 to 15.8 (-9.8); 30th in total offense; 30th in total defense; 32nd in third-down conversions; 22nd in opponents' third-down conversions; +1 in turnover ratio.

3. Rams: Lose by an average score of 27.6 to 9.6 (-18); 26th in total offense; 27th in total defense; 24th in third-down conversions; 32nd in opponents' third-down conversions; -7 in turnover ratio.

4. Buccaneers: Lose by an average score of 28.9 to 16.8 (-12.1); 28th in total offense; 29th in total defense; 25th in third-down conversions; 29th in opponents' third-down conversions; -2 in turnover ratio.

5. Lions: Lose by an average score of 29.6 to 16.6 (-13); 25th in total offense; 25th in total defense; 16th in third-down conversions; 16th in third-down conversions allowed; -4 in turnover ratio.

These are all dreadful teams, obviously. The Chiefs are the only ones who lose by less than 10 points a game, probably because they're also the only ones with a favorable turnover ratio. The Lions have the best rankings in the other stats I chose.

So that leaves the Browns, Bucs and Rams for the title of worst. The Rams have been outscored the most, the Browns take the cake for worst combination of yards gained vs. yards allowed. The Buccaneers have no such claims, so it's between the Rams and Browns. I think the Browns have managed to do slightly better on the scoreboard, despite the obvious inferiority of their main units, because of the superiority of their special teams. We all know about Josh Cribbs, and the Browns' one win this season was largely because of a great effort by Dave Zastudil and the punt team.

So the worst team in the NFL is the St. Louis Rams, with the Browns a very close second. Does anybody wonder why there are still tickets available to next Monday's game against the Ravens? Why would anyone want to stay out past midnight on a school night to watch the NFL's second-worst team most likely get clobbered? I'm kind of hoping that game doesn't sell out, because then it will be on TV, and I'll feel compelled to waste my evening watching it.

Pryor shines in homecoming

The Buckeyes are in control of their own destiny — at least in terms of winning another Big Ten title — in large part because of Pennsylvania native Terrelle Pryor's big game in his home state. Pryor passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one in Ohio State's commanding 24-7 victory over Penn State, and while his overall numbers weren't particularly impressive (8-for-17 passing for 125 yards; five rushes for 50 yards), he made some big plays and avoided any major mistakes. He missed an opportunity for a touchdown at the end of the first half when his throw to a wide-open Dane Sanzenbacher went long, but that was probably the biggest mistake he made, and you'll take that every time.

The Buckeye defense was fantastic, particularly against the Nittany Lions' running game. Evan Royster, who had averaged 95.4 yards a game coming in, went for just 36 yards on 13 carries yesterday, his lowest total of the season. They also held Daryll Clark to 125 yards passing, which was also his lowest total of the year; and got him for one interception, Ross Homan's pick midway through the fourth quarter, which short-circuited Penn State's attempt to mount a comeback.

If the Buckeyes can beat Iowa next week in the Horseshoe, they'll go to the Rose Bowl no matter what happens the following week against Michigan; the other teams that could tie them at 6-2 in the Big Ten would be Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin, which they would all have beaten this year under that scenario. And you have to like their chances against Iowa, as it appears Hawkeye quarterback Ricky Stanzi will miss the game after hurting his ankle in yesterday's loss to Northwestern. The Hawkeyes showed in that game that they aren't the same team without Stanzi, who probably would have led them to victory against the Mildcats.

Obviously, there will be no Big Ten team in the national championship this year, but if the Buckeyes get into the Rose Bowl and win it, they could get back into the top 10, and maybe even the top five. And if they do win the Big Ten, it would be the fifth straight year they've won or shared that title. That's definitely worth rooting for.

Baseball season is over

It had been nine years since the Yankees were able to spend their way to a championship. They came close in a couple of epic World Series — that 2001 series against the Diamondbacks was probably the best World Series I can remember — but fell each year to a team that had a lower payroll. Usually a much lower payroll. Last year, they didn't even make the playoffs, thanks to a bunch of young upstarts from Tampa Bay.

But these Yankees, the most expensive team ever assembled, would not be denied. All their high-priced stars contributed somewhere along the way, from A-Rod to CC to Jeter to Godzilla, the series MVP. (Speaking of which, they say he's got to go ...)

It's kind of hard for me to reflect on this series in any meaningful way, because (a) there wasn't much late-game drama, and (b) though I tried my best, I didn't manage to get through one single game without falling asleep, because they started so late and I get up early. I did wake up for the ends of a couple of them, including last night, but ... well, I won't belabor the point. (See my October 30 post for more thoughts about the time the games started; I would add that last night's game ended at almost midnight.)

And the New York Yankees have won their 27th title. I suppose we should be glad to have had eight seasons in there with someone else hoisting the trophy. May we go at least eight years before their next one.

Nice comeback

Last night's 102-90 win over the Wizards was the Cavaliers' first win over a good team this year, and was thanks in large part to the best performance so far of Shaquille O'Neal's five-game-old Cleveland career. The Big Witness put in 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, with eight rebounds, to nicely complement LeBron James' 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as the Cavs came back from a 39-21 second-quarter deficit to make the Wizards disappear.

It wasn't just the King-n-Shaq Show. Mo Williams knocked in 15 and Boobie Gibson added 14; and in fact, the Cavs pulled away in the fourth quarter, during which LeBron only played four minutes. But the main reason the Cavs won this game is because the Wizards had no answer to Shaq. That's the reason we got him, and it was great to see.

"Kokinis" rhymes with ... well, Venus

So George Kokinis' stint in Cleveland is over, after just eight games. The Browns are saying very little, but speculation is that even though Eric Mangini was instrumental in bringing Kokinis here, the two have not gotten along at all. So it seems Mangini won a power struggle against the guy he himself handpicked to be the general manager.

The GM is typically the guy who makes the personnel decisions, and the guy who discusses them with the media. When a trade is announced, for example, the GM usually makes the announcement. But who heard a peep from Kokinis when Braylon Edwards was traded? Did he actually have anything to do with that trade? Or did Mangini do it all himself? Did Kokinis, in fact, do anything at all for this team? Did he conduct the draft, or was that all Mangini? And if Mangini was the guy who put this dreadful team together, does Kokinis actually deserve to be fired? Probably, if all he did was collect a paycheck and stare out the window all day; but what about Mangini? Sure, it generally takes more than one season to turn a team around, but there is no question this team was better last year under Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel than it is this year under Mangini and Kokinis, er, Mangini again.

This Browns organization is rotten from the top down. I don't know how much blame team owner Randy Lerner deserves for this, but he did hire these guys. He says he's sick over the way the team has played, and I'm sure he means it. But he has more power to do something about it than anybody else in the world. And I've often said that the Browns, like the Chicago Cubs, don't have that much financial incentive to put a quality product on the field because they sell out all the time even if they're terrible. But guess what? Tickets are still available for their next game, Nov. 16 against the Ravens. I don't know about you, but I'm sure as shootin' not going to buy one, and I don't care that much if the game gets blacked out. Maybe Browns fans are finally going to insist that they get their money's worth, and maybe that will make some difference in the way the team is run.

I'm rambling a bit now; please accept my apology for that. Anyway, following this team at this point is a little bit like watching Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," because you know it's going to end in tragedy. The difference is, there's no poetic prose involved in this tragedy. Just some awful football.

Pathetic. Just pathetic.

Let me start off by saying I didn't watch the Browns' 30-6 loss to the Bears yesterday. It wasn't some sort of protest or conscientious objection, though if these Browns weren't so terrible, I might have chosen to stay home and watch. But my wife wanted to go to a Chinese auction that was being drawn at 2 p.m. at Windham High School, and that sounded like more fun to me than watching the Browns get the crap beaten out of them yet again. And it was! I didn't win anything, but my wife won a Windham football jersey (No. 8; and I wore it the rest of the day, just for the heck of it), a scrapbook set and a lunchbox set.

As the auction wore on, I was checking in from time to time on the Browns, who were predictably pathetic. They were down 16-0 at the half, by which time Derek Anderson was 2-for-9 for 13 yards with an interception and a lost fumble. He had also been sacked once for an 11-yard loss. Eric Mangini must be a very pig-headed man for not going with Brady Quinn to start the second half. As bad as Quinn was at the start of the year, Anderson has played about as badly as I've ever seen an NFL quarterback play, and I'd frankly rather see Brett Ratliff out there right now. The only thing Anderson has proven this year is that he's got no business running an NFL offense.

Anyway, Mangini stuck with Anderson, who rewarded him with a 4-for-8 passing performance in the second half, for 63 yards, and scored a rushing touchdown that was set up by a shanked punt and four Jamal Lewis rushes. Anderson never threw the ball on that one touchdown drive, which started at the Chicago 30.

Lewis announced after the game that this would be his last season, and if I were one of his teammates, I'd be tempted to join him. It can't be fun to play on a team like this.

Delonte's back

From a basketball perspective, it's good to have Delonte West back. The Cavaliers probably would have beaten the Charlotte Bobcats with or without him yesterday, but his 13 points in the second half certainly helped in the 90-79 victory.

But I have my doubts about Delonte West as a human being. I know, he's diagnosed with bipolar disorder and all that, and I can forgive him for carrying three concealed weapons, as long as he didn't actually hurt anybody. And while it was bad that he missed all of training camp and the first few games without giving an excuse, I can accept that he needed some time to get his head together. But his wife had him charged with domestic violence last week, and that's the part I have trouble overlooking. He reportedly grabbed her and tried to take her wedding ring and purse after accusing her of cheating on him. That's far from the worst thing I've ever heard of a man doing to a woman, but still, I have a hard time rooting for a guy who has apparently used his physical strength to overpower his wife.

On the plus side, the Cavs are now 2-2, and still seem like a strong bet to go a long way in the playoffs. Whether they're a championship-caliber team or not remains to be seen, as it will take them some time to gel. But I look forward to enjoying the ride.

It's an outrage! An outrage, I tell you!

Major League Baseball and the Fox network seem bent on keeping as many kids as possible from being able to watch the entire World Series. The games are all starting at 8 p.m., which means that if they go relatively smoothly, the earliest we can hope for them to end is about 10:45 or 11. How old were you when your parents first let you stay up until 11 on a school night? And would you be a baseball fan today if you hadn't been able to watch World Series games to their conclusion when you were a kid? (Probably, but maybe less so?)

I myself usually go to bed around 10 these days, and through the first two contests of the '09 series, I have thus far failed to stay awake until the conclusion of a game. Wednesday night, I just went to bed, but last night, I dozed off on the couch and later woke up to see the last couple of innings. But I slept through one of the most unusual plays you'll ever see, the line drive that Ryan Howard (allegedly) caught before turning it into a 3-6 double play. I did see the replay, but it's never the same as seeing it in the moment.

And you'd think that after having games one and two on school nights, they'd at least have games three and four on Friday and Saturday so everyone can stay up without worrying about getting up the next morning. But no, today's an off day. Saturday's game starts at 8:20, and then — and I think this ticks me off the most of all — Sunday's game, which could start at just about any hour, starts at 8 again, ensuring that people like me don't get as much sleep as we'd like that night, and that school kids don't get to see the ending. Game five is set for 8 p.m. Monday, followed by an off-day Tuesday, and then, if necessary, games six and seven start at 8 on Wednesday and Thursday nights. So even if the series goes the full seven, there will be only one game that does not end past 10 p.m. on a school night in the Eastern Time Zone, the time zone with the nation's largest population, not to mention both cities whose teams are involved.

I love major-league baseball, but I hate Major League Baseball, for many reasons. This is a very big one.

Oh, yeah

It probably hasn't escaped anyone who cares enough about Cleveland sports to read this blog, but just in case it has ...

Tonight's World Series opener pits Cliff Lee of the Phillies against CC Sabathia of the Yankees. I've defended those trades, but still, that's just a little bit depressing.

Cavs won't go 82-0

The King-n-Shaq Show opened last night at Quicken Loans Arena, with a 95-89 loss to the Boston Celtics. OK, big deal. The Cavaliers blew a 14-point first-quarter lead, which the Celtics turned around to a 15-point third-quarter lead, before the Cavs made it interesting late.

Sure, I'm a little disappointed our boys didn't win, but the Celtics are a darned good team too. This doesn't mean they're better than we are, it just means they were better than we were last night. Give Shaq and LeBron some time to get used to each other — not to mention newcomers Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, etc. — and they'll be OK.

Quick hits

Before I get started on sports, I'd like to get sappy for a moment. This is my first blog post as Lisa's husband, and I'm so happy about that, I just want to share it with the world. (Or at least that tiny percentage of the world that will read this.)

Now then, quick thoughts on Cleveland's three teams:

1. The Browns were utterly and totally dominated in all phases of the game Sunday in that 31-3 loss to the Packers. They were outgained 460 yards to 139, they lost the turnover battle 2-0, and even Josh Cribbs only made one decent return. Derek Anderson went 12-for-29 with an interception. The only drive that looked promising stalled when Anderson fumbled the snap inside the Packers' 5, leaving the Browns with a field goal when they should have had a touchdown. There weren't any dropped passes that I can remember this time; Anderson just plain stunk. My question: Why didn't Brady Quinn get in?

2. The Indians have hired Manny Acta as manager, just as I was hoping. Acta has not had any success in 2 1/2 seasons as a major-league manager, but he has had considerable success as a minor-league manager, and nobody could have managed those pathetic Nationals into the playoffs. Among the other candidates, only Bobby Valentine has had success at the big-league level, and I would have been OK with that pick, but I like the 40-year-old Acta's chances a little better than the 59-year-old Valentine. It's not that older men can't be good managers, I just think a younger man has slightly better odds. I look forward to seeing how this team responds to Acta.

3. The Cavaliers open the season tonight at home against the Boston Celtics. With Shaquille O'Neal on board to complement LeBron and the gang, I haven't been this excited to see the Cavs open the season since ... well, probably ever. We all know this may be LeBron's last season in Cleveland (though I believe he'll stay), but regardless of what he does next summer, we can enjoy the show this year. I think they'll go a long way.

Method Acta visits Cleveland

I admit it. When I first heard that the manager of far and away baseball's worst team this year (not to mention 2008) was in town to interview for the Indians' manager job, my first thought was, "Good lord, why?" Manny Acta got fired by the Nationals in mid-season after 2 1/2 years in Washington, during which his best finish was a 73-89 record in 2007 that earned them a fourth-place finish.

But the more I read about this guy, the more I like him. He understands sabermetrics, which not very many managers do these days. He understands, for example, that a sacrifice bunt in the third inning isn't going to increase your odds of winning a game. He said as much in a 2007 interview I just read. He's only 40 years old, so he's likely to get better as a manager. And frankly, I don't think Tony La Russa or Joe Torre could have done much better with the Nationals' collection of "talent" than Acta did.

Acta, of course, is just the first to interview for the job. They're apparently going to talk to Torey Lovullo, who's been managing the Tribe's AAA team in Columbus; Bobby Valentine, who has had some success as a major-league manager and has spent the last few years managing in Japan; and a fourth candidate, who is believed to be Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly. I admit I haven't read up on those guys like I just did with Acta, but I'm kind of rooting for Acta right now.

Catching passes

I'm busier than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs these days (just changed jobs, and am getting married this Saturday), but I wanted to make a brief observation about the Browns. We all knew they would lose to the Steelers on Sunday, but they made it somewhat respectable, thanks in large part to Josh Cribbs' return TD.

For the second straight week, Derek Anderson put up ugly passing numbers (though not even in the same neighborhood of ugly as the previous week against Buffalo). But, for the second straight week, Browns receivers dropped an appalling number of his passes.

I thought we got rid of the guy who can't catch. The Browns can't win if the receivers can't make receptions. It's as simple as that.

A win for the punt team

Thanks to Dave Zastudil and the punt team, our Cleveland Browns are winless no longer. The Browns' 6-3 win over the Buffalo Bills was due in part to a strong effort from the defense, in part to a strong effort by Jamal Lewis, and in a much larger part to the most outstanding overall effort I can remember off the top of my head from a punt team.

Billy Cundiff's 18-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the game was the decisive play, but it came after the punt team got the offense the ball at the Bills' 16. The play was more a mistake by Buffalo punt returner Roscoe Parrish than it was a great play by the punt team, but still, once Parrish muffed it, Blake Costanzo was right there to fall on it. This followed a 57-yard punt by Zastudil.

The Browns did a lot of punting in this game, and the punts produced the following results:

1. First quarter: Zastudil punts 25 yards, Parrish fair catches at 17. Sure, it wasn't a strong punt, but it gave Buffalo the ball inside the 20, and the coverage was good enough to force the fair catch.
2. Zastudil punts 31 yards, ball goes out of bounds at the 11. No complaints there; Bills were given bad field position.
3. Zastudil punts 54 yards, Parrish fields at the 25 and returns it 22 yards before Nick Sorensen pushed him out of bounds at the 47. Not a great result, but a fine punt that results in a respectable 32-yard net.
4. Second quarter: This is where the fun really started. Zastudil punts 44 yards, and Mike Adams first touches it at the 2, then feels his momentum pulling him into the end zone, so he hands the ball to Josh Cribbs, who is safely outside it. Buffalo ball at the 2.
5. Third quarter: Zastudil punts 42 yards to the Buffalo 13, where the ball goes out of bounds. You'll take that every time.
6. Zastudil's next punt was the punt team's second-finest moment, after the muff recovery at the end of the game. Zastudil punts 43 yards, and Parrish receives it at the Bills' 42. Surrounded by Browns, he tries to get some space by running sideways -- and backwards. Unable to find an opening, he continues to go backwards, the Browns' special teamers in hot pursuit. Raymond Ventrone finally tackles Parrish at the Buffalo 27, for a "return" of -15. The net was 58 yards. Like the fourth-quarter play, this was only made possible because of a serious error by Parrish, but still, give the Browns' punt team credit for making him pay.
7. Fourth quarter: With the game hanging in the balance, Zastudil and his mates continued to turn in some fine work. Ventrone downs Zastudil's 45-yard punt inside the 1, setting up a possible safety situation. (There was no safety, of course, but that's how safeties happen.)
8. Zastudil's 45-yard punt gets the Buffalo offense starting at the 4.
9. Zastudil's ninth punt of the day is muffed by Parrish and recovered by Costanzo.

The box score will say that Zastudil only averaged 42.7 yards per punt, and that's true. But on nine punts, he pinned the Bills inside the 20 on seven; and inside the 5 on three. And the punt coverage guys sure earned their stripes, rescuing two punts before they went into the end zone and only allowing one return for positive yardage.

Derek Anderson was awful -- but he wasn't as bad as the box score indicates. For the game, he went 2-for-17 for 23 yards, which is just pathetic. But the Browns receivers bear the lion's share of the responsibility for that, as they dropped at least eight passes that they should have had. Anderson definitely made some bad throws, but he also made a whole lot more than two good ones.

I don't know what the NFL record is for fewest completed passes by a winning team, but I'll bet the Browns came close today. There probably were a few who completed zero passes in the early days of the league, when there was very little passing, but I'll bet it's been at least 40 years since a team has won without completing at least three. I'm sure someone will have looked that up very soon, and I look forward to seeing what they find.

Bye-bye, stonehands

I'm even busier than usual right now, so I only have a couple of minutes to comment on what I just found out, courtesy of a text message from Of Fair Hooker's loyalest reader, Jeff Brown. The Browns have traded Braylon Edwards, the man who couldn't catch a pass with a mosquito net, but can apparently throw a punch at a member of LeBron James' entourage.

According to rumors, Braylon goes to the Jets for two draft picks, wide receiver Chansi Stuckey and linebacker Jason Trusnick. I've heard of Stuckey, but know very little about him; and I haven't even heard of Trusnick. And I don't know what rounds the draft picks will be in either. But despite everything I don't know about this, I say the Browns fleeced the Jets.

Edwards was absolutely maddening in his four-plus years in Cleveland. He's always been able to get open, but he's had an enormous mental block when it comes to catching the ball. And punching a friend of Cleveland's biggest sports star is just plain stupid, and speaks to his character in a very negative way. And let's not forget he's a Michigan guy. I say, good riddance.

Better, but still a loss

The Browns played so much better in yesterday's loss to Cincinnati than they had played the first three games of the season, it's almost hard to believe it was the same team. The bottom line is that it goes in the loss column, but there's at least reason for hope.

The Browns and Bengals played five full quarters yesterday, so the numbers have to be regarded with that extra time in mind. Still, Derek Anderson's 269-yard game on 26-for-48 passing is a ray of sunshine. Anderson was a long way from perfect, of course — the interception he threw in the end zone that stopped the Browns' first drive of the second half was a killer, and he misfired a number of other times. And it was disappointing that he couldn't get much of anything going in the overtime period. Still, he moved the offense far better than Brady Quinn ever dreamed of. And the Browns scored two offensive touchdowns in a game for the first time since god-knows-when.

It bears mention that without Shaun Rogers' two blocks of Shayne Graham kicks (a 23-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter and an extra point attempt in the fourth), the game would never have gotten to overtime. Rogers was the Browns' lone Pro Bowler last season, and remains their top talent on defense.

And how about Mohamed Massaquoi? He caught eight passes for 148 yards, giving Anderson a much-needed weapon going forward. Massaquoi got open and made catches, which is more than can be said for embattled would-be superstar Braylon Edwards, who didn't catch a single pass in the game. Edwards had the ball thrown to him a few times, but those dropsies that have plagued him throughout his career surfaced again. I can't help but feel for the guy, since he's always been good at getting open, but dagnabbit, he's got to catch the stinkin' ball.

There were other bright spots too. Jerome Harrison got 121 yards on 29 carries, and Josh Cribbs' 58-yard kickoff return and 50-yard punt return gave Anderson and the offense some good chances to put points on the board.

Yes, a loss is a loss, but this effort against a now 3-1 Bengals team gives us hope for these Browns. I look forward to their next game (Sunday against Buffalo) a lot more than I looked forward to this one going in.

Commendable Carmona, Masterful Masterson

On Wedge Firing Day, Fausto Carmona and Justin Masterson turned in some fine performances on the mound in yesterday's doubleheader against the White Sox. Masterson's was one of the finest outings by an Indians pitcher this year, even though he lost.

Fausto, making what was no doubt his last appearance in a disappointing season, opened up with a seven-inning, one-run, five-strikeout performance that gives us some hope he can turn it around next year. The guy who won 19 games in 2007 must be in there somewhere. Maybe he'll show up in 2010. He ends 2009 with a 5-12 record and a 6.32 ERA. Not really anywhere to go but up.

Masterson went the full nine in the nightcap, striking out 12 White Sox, walking two, and surrendering four hits. Unfortunately, two of those hits were in the same inning, the sixth, in which Paul Konerko singled home DeWayne Wise, who had doubled. Still, Masterson became the first Indians pitcher to strike out as many as 12 hitters in a game since CC Sabathia fanned 13 two years ago. Masterson's 4-10 record this season is a bit misleading; his 4.52 ERA is a little high, but he sure showed us something last night. He's been very inconsistent since we got him in the Victor Martinez trade, but he's also just finishing his first full season in the bigs. I look forward to seeing him toe the rubber for us in '10 and beyond.

So it's Anderson

I don't have a whole lot to say about the decision to start Derek Anderson instead of Brady Quinn against Cincinnati that I didn't say in my previous post in which I wondered if it mattered much. But I'll give it a shot.

As I first contemplated this, it seemed to me it would be a better idea for Eric Mangini to just keep running Quinn out there unless and until he determines that Quinn is never going to be the quarterback the Browns thought he was when they drafted him. If he's already reached that conclusion, it's a hasty one; if not, my first inclination is to say, give the kid a chance. It's not like the Browns are going anywhere this year.

Anderson's had his shot. But there's a case to be made for him to get another one. As the primary starter, he's produced one Pro Bowl season and one sub-par season. The sub-par season was more recent than the Pro Bowl season, which is why it sticks in our minds more. But this is still the same guy who led the Browns to a 10-6 record two years ago. I don't know where he's been hiding it, but we definitely won't see it again if he never gets another chance.

So I don't know. Wishy-washy enough for you?

Goodbye, Eric Wedge

The Eric Wedge era is over, after seven years. Well, OK, it's not over until Sunday. But it's official now that Wedge is gone at the end of this season, an extremely disappointing 64-92 (so far) year that began with the Indians expecting to contend for a division title. Despite being in baseball's most mediocre division, they never threatened to get into the race.

During Wedge's tenure, the Tribe went to the playoffs exactly once. That was in 2007, when they won the AL Central with a 96-66 record, tying the Red Sox for baseball's best mark, and losing to those same Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS. Had the Indians won that series, they likely would have rolled over the Rockies in the World Series, as the Red Sox did. But as we all know, that didn't happen. The Indians were up 3-1 on Boston, but didn't come close to winning any of the last three games. Was that Wedge's fault? A little, probably.

Wedge's only other plus-.500 season as manager was in 2005, when the Tribe overcame a lousy start (lousy starts were very common during the Wedge era) to finish 93-69 and threaten to overtake the White Sox for the division title, only to lose five of their last six and fall short of the division and the wild card. That was an epic collapse. Was that Wedge's fault? A little, probably.

Their next best season under Wedge was 2008, when they finished 81-81 after another cruddy start. They were expected to contend last year, but they didn't. They were expected to contend in 2006, but they didn't. As mentioned above, they were expected to contend in 2009, but they didn't. Was that Wedge's fault? I think largely so, yes. For whatever reason, he didn't have these guys ready to play.

Eric Wedge seems like a genuinely nice guy, and a pretty smart guy. I wish him well in whatever he does next (unless the Yankees hire him as a coach). But I'm glad someone else will manage this team in 2010.

Shaq is in the house

The Cavs' two-a-day practices start today, and the great Shaquille O'Neal showed up yesterday, which made for a bit of a media circus. Shaq knows he's not the player he used to be, but he hopes to augment the already talented team led by the NBA's reigning MVP, LeBron James.

Taken from this morning's Plain Dealer:

"I'm 37 years old; it isn't my time anymore," O'Neal said. "I had my time, and I did what I did. I'm not one of those players that always thinks it is his time. It would not be advantageous for me to take 30 shots a game when you have a guy like [LeBron]. We'll get him the ball and let him do what he does, and when he drops it off to me, I'll do my job."

Shaq is going to help this team; I don't think anyone doubts that. The Cavaliers won 66 games last year. I'm darned excited about seeing what they do this year.

My, but these Browns are bad

Browns coach Eric Mangini hasn't decided who's going to play quarterback on Sunday against Cincinnati. My question is, does it even matter?

Brady Quinn has been turnover-prone, as he's thrown three interceptions and lost two fumbles in the first three games of the season. He has thrown one touchdown pass, putting a meaningless score on the board late in the two-touchdown loss against Minnesota to open the season. He went 6-for-8 against Baltimore last week, but for a measly 34 yards. He hasn't been able to convert third downs worth a darn. His 62.9 passer rating is 30th in the NFL. He's still young, so maybe he'll find something if Mangini keeps putting him out there, but right now, this team is going nowhere with Quinn.

Derek Anderson moved the ball a little bit against the Ravens, leading the Browns' only scoring drive in that 34-3 embarrassment. But he also threw three interceptions. Maybe he was just rusty, and can put something together if he gets a chance. He is a former Pro Bowler, after all. But he put up a 30.3 rating in that game, which is obviously pathetic.

And that Browns defense is just as pathetic as the offense. They're giving up more than 30 points a game. They're 30th in the league in total yards allowed, at 412.7 per game. Couple that with an offense that is dead last in the NFL in total yards, at 218 per game. They might do just as well if they send everybody home and rebuild the roster with unsigned free agents.

Even the Lions have a win now. The Browns are in every sense the worst team in the NFL.

Double-digits and counting

In what surely came as a surprise to absolutely no one, the first-place Detroit Tigers kicked the crap out of the last-place Cleveland Indians last night. The 11-3 loss was the Tribe's 10th in a row, knocking our boys down to 61-90 on the year. At this point, a 2-9 finish that would allow the Indians to avoid a 100-loss season seems almost optimistic. As my friend Jeff Brown pointed out to me, the AAA team currently wearing Tribe uniforms is 3-19 in its last 22 games. That surely isn't all Eric Wedge's fault, but he just as surely will be looking for employment in a couple of weeks. These guys have just plain quit. Their 10-game skid is two shy of the franchise record, set way back in 1931 — three years before my dad was born.

These are not fun times to be a Cleveland sports fan. The Browns have failed to even get within smelling distance of a victory, the Indians are playing like the worst team in the world, the Buckeyes recently let a great chance to stay in the national championship hunt slip through their fingers ...

But on the bright side, the King-n-Shaq Show is scheduled to open October 27 at an NBA arena near you. (Provided you live near Quicken Loans Arena.)

Still losing

The Indians' 3-1 loss to the Tigers last night was their ninth straight. The Tribe fell to 61-89 on the year, on the day the freaking Yankees clinched a freaking playoff spot. They have fallen past the Royals into last place in the AL Central, and are just a game and a half ahead of the Orioles, owners of the AL's worst record. Things can't get much worse, if only because there are just 12 games left in the season.

The Tribe bats couldn't get anything going against Detroit starter Edwin Jackson, who shut them out for seven innings. They had a couple of chances, though. Matt LaPorta got thrown out trying to score from second base on a Trevor Crowe single in the second inning, and the Indians had runners in scoring position at least two other times, but couldn't bring them home. And they had a shot at a big inning in the eighth against the Tiger bullpen. But Jamey Carroll's bases-loaded walk turned out to be the only run the Indians would score.

The offense wasted another strong effort by Aaron Laffey, whose only mistake in 6 2/3 was a solo home run to Ryan Raburn in the third. Chris Perez gave up two more runs in the top of the eighth. At 24 years old, Laffey has had a pretty good season, and has shown a great deal of potential.

The Indians have to finish at least 2-10 to avoid losing 100 games. The way they're playing right now, that's hardly a sure thing.

Tribe skid continues

I know most of you aren't paying attention to the Tribe at this point. Honestly, even though baseball is my favorite sport and the Indians are my favorite team, I haven't been paying them much attention myself the past week or so. They've been on the West Coast, which means their games during the week started right around my bedtime. And the rest have been while I was at work or doing yard work or whatever. So I haven't watched an Indians game in several days.

And by the look of things, I haven't missed much. The Athletics' 8-4 win yesterday was the Indians' sixth straight loss. The skein drops the Tribe to 61-87, their low-water mark of the season in comparison to .500. Which I suppose is to be expected. They traded away most of their marquee talent, Grady Sizemore is out for the season, and a very large percentage of the current roster has spent time in the minors this year.

In fact, there are just two pitchers currently suiting up for the Indians who haven't spent a single day in the minors this year: Kerry Wood and Justin Masterson. And 2009 is Masterson's first full season in the bigs. And among the position players, it's just Kelly Shoppach, Jhonny Peralta and Shin-Soo Choo. Travis Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera both had rehab stints in the minors, so they weren't really minor-leaguers. So that's a grand total of seven players the Indians have right now who were never true minor-leaguers this year. No wonder they're struggling.

This team could be better next year, but unless they make some free-agent signings, don't expect them to win more than about 65 to 70 games. And I don't think they'll make much of a splash in that department.

Disappointing weekend

I know it's Tuesday, and the Buckeyes played three days ago, and the Browns played two days ago. I wasn't eager to write about them until now. For that matter, I'm not eager to write about them now either, but I do have a few thoughts I want to get down.

First, on the subject of the Buckeyes: The fighting Tressels should be proud of their effort against one of the nation's very best teams. But they should also be disappointed that they didn't close the deal. And no doubt they are. The defense played tremendously well over the first 3 1/2 quarters, with USC's only touchdown to that point having been set up by a long interception return. Really, the OSU defense's only weak moments were at the ends of both halves. Behind freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, the Trojans put together drives of 61 and 77 yards in the second quarter (the first resulting in a missed field goal; the second in a made field goal), and of course the 86-yard drive that led to the winning score with 65 seconds to go. The Buckeyes had numerous chances to stop that drive, but USC kept pulling out clutch plays. It would have been nice if they could stop a quarterback sneak up the middle when they knew it was coming, but all in all, it was a pretty good effort by the defense.

Terrelle Pryor made some big mistakes in this game. On the Buckeyes' last possession, Pryor looked totally lost trying to operate a 2-minute offense. Of course, he threw an interception on OSU's first possession that led to USC's first touchdown, and often chose to pass when it was clear he should have run. He went 11-for-25 passing, which just won't get it done without a strong running game, which the Buckeyes never did get going.

The loss puts a serious crimp in Ohio State's national title hopes, but doesn't dash them entirely. One-loss teams do get into the national championship. They're now ranked 11th in both polls, and there's still a long, long way to go on the season.

And the Browns ... Well, they looked good in the first half, but they pretty much fell apart in the second. But at least they scored their first offensive touchdown since their 10th game of 2008.

Day of reckoning for Buckeyes?

There's some reason for optimism as the eighth-ranked Buckeyes get ready for their big showdown tonight against USC. For example, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor is a better bet to have a big game than Trojans freshman Matt Barkley. OSU is playing at home. And ... well, that's about all I can think of.

After last week's egg-laying against Navy, I'm afraid I don't have high hopes for the Buckeyes tonight. Sure, Ohio State won that game, and that's the most important thing, but it should have been a blowout. A performance like that won't get the job done against a team like the third-ranked Trojans. They'll have to win the turnover battle to have any shot. I'll watch the game, and I'll always have faith in Jim Tressel, until he gives me reason not to. But I predict the Buckeyes' national title hopes will be dashed tonight.

Quarterback follies

I know this isn't exactly breaking news at this point, but I just moved over the weekend, so I've been busy. So sue me. (Actually, please don't. I don't want to pay a lawyer.) But anyway, Eric Mangini has declared that he has chosen a starting quarterback, but he won't tell us who it is. The idea is to make it that much more difficult for the Vikings to prepare for Sunday's game, because they have to allow for either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson to be running the Browns' offense.

The thing we all have to understand is that football coaches are not like the rest of us. They are paranoid men, constantly afraid that the other coach is going to outsmart them. As well they should be; the other coach is doing the same.

I would guess we're going to see Quinn out there on Sunday, but both quarterbacks had good training camps, and really, there is no wrong choice, unless he puts someone like Brett Ratliff or D'Qwell Jackson behind center. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing it.

September means debuts

The rosters expand to 40 every Sept. 1, which leads to teams who are out of the race (like the Indians) giving their young prospects a look against major-league competition.

Last night, that meant Carlos Carrasco making his major-league debut on the mound against the Tigers, and Michael Brantley making his major-league debut in left field. Brantley's debut went pretty well. Carrasco's was ... did I mention Brantley?

Carrasco, the first to debut of the four players the Tribe got for Cliff Lee, went just three innings and gave up six runs on nine hits, including three home runs. He walked three and struck out three. His career record is 0-1, and his career ERA stands at 18.00. That's obviously not going to get it done, but debuts can be that way. He's 22 years old, and he went 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA at Columbus after the trade. This kid's got potential, for sure.

Brantley had two hits. His first hit was a solid single the second of which was an infield single that he hustled to beat out. He was solid but not noteworthy in the field, though it should be said that in any individual game, most of the players don't do anything noteworthy on defense. Brantley's career average stands at .500. His on-base percentage is also .500, and his slugging average is .500 as well.

Andy Marte, who went nearly 60 at-bats before hitting his first home run of the season at the major-league level on Aug. 25, hit his fourth last night. Marte, like Carrasco and Brantley, spent most of the season in Columbus, but got called up after the Ryan Garko trade, and is finally starting to show the hitting talent he was reputed to have when they got him. Since Aug. 20, he's hitting .364 with the four dingers and 13 RBIs in 44 at-bats over 12 games. Obviously, we can't expect him to hit like that over the long term, but this is the first time he's produced anything like this, and it's great to see.

Thome to L.A.

Our old friend Jim Thome has been traded again. The White Sox sent him to the Dodgers to rejoin his former teammate Manny Ramirez. We all remember how devastating those guys were when hitting back-to-back in their 20s. Now they're both in their late 30s, and both can still hit the ball hard, if maybe not quite as often as they used to. It will be bittersweet to see them together again, wearing something other than Tribe unis.

But consider this: Unless Thome is ever hit with steroid allegations, he's a sure-fire Hall of Famer. He spent 12 years in Cleveland, three years in Philadelphia, and now 3 1/2 in Chicago. I don't know how long he'll be in L.A., but it won't be 12 years. He'll have Chief Wahoo on his Hall plaque.

I know, that doesn't change the fact that he left for more money after the 2002 season because the Phillies offered him more money, after saying he wanted to do whatever he could to stay in Cleveland. But as I said at the time (to friends; I didn't have a blog then), you and I would most likely have done the exact same thing.

Thome is currently 12th on the all-time home run list, with 564. Home run totals in this era don't mean as much as they used to, but if he's been clean his whole career, that's a very impressive total. Among those ahead of him are Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro, all of whom are known to have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Manny is behind Thome on the career list, but his numbers carry that taint as well. The only other recent player ahead of Thome is Ken Griffey Jr. If both those guys are clean (which we don't know and may never), we probably have seriously undervalued their careers because of the era in which they played.

Regardless, I wish Thome well, and will always remember his time in Cleveland fondly. May he have success in Los Angeles.

Tribe pulls one out

I know that many of you have hardly been paying attention to the Indians lately, and I certainly understand why. We all know it's been a lost season for the Indians, Browns camp has started, the Buckeyes are looking good again, the Cavs have made some big moves, etc., etc. But what a game the Tribe played last night in Baltimore!

Andy Marte is the one getting the headlines today, and not without cause. Marte's been a pretty big bust since he came over here in the Caca Crisp* trade, and that home run he hit off O's closer Jim Johnson was clutch. Marte has been hitting much better lately, and that was his second home run in his last three games, which is great to see.

But I'd like to point to the previous hitter, Matt LaPorta. LaPorta, up with two outs, nobody on base and the Indians trailing by a run, won an epic battle with Johnson. He worked the count full, then fouled off pitch after pitch before finally singling up the middle. (I want to tell you how many pitches LaPorta faced, but unfortunately, I've been unable to find that information, and I didn't count them. But it was a lot.) Without that great effort from LaPorta, the game would have ended right there, and Marte would never have come up to hit that home run.

LaPorta and Marte both spent most of the season in Columbus before the recent flurry of trades created opportunities for them. They were both hitting great down there, but had both struggled in previous major-league opportunities. I don't want to make too much out of a small sample size, but it's nice to see those guys swinging the bat well.

* For the record, I have nothing against Coco Crisp. In fact, I like him. I just think it's funny to call him Caca, much as I think it's funny to call a certain former teammate of his Feces Sabathia. This is my blog, and I can be as infantile as I want.

Clifton and Carsten

If it's time to dip into the mailbag, that means it's time to hear from Jeff Brown:

Cliff Lee is 5-0 with the Phillies with a 0.68 ERA!

This is about as dominant as you can be. So much for the Phillies "settling" for Lee instead of getting Roy Halladay -- even Halladay would be hard-pressed to pitch THIS well, even when he's on a hot streak.

Similarly, C.C. Sabathia went 11-2 with the Brew Crew in 2008 with an ERA of 1.65, 7 complete games and 3 shutouts.

And that was after slowing down a bit toward the end of the season, after he won his first 9 starts.

Steve, this is truly remarkable, and for a change, this is not hyperbole on my part.

There's no exaggeration necessary with these numbers.

So now my question for you -- why did each of them have such a lousy record with the Tribe immediately prior to joining their new teams and absolutely dominating everyone in sight?

First, Lee was far from lousy for the Indians this year. He wasn't as good as he's been for the Phils, but he was pretty darned good. In fact, he was pitching his best ball of the season just before he was traded. True, he was only 7-9, but his ERA was 3.14, and he suffered from poor run support in Cleveland this year. Similarly, if I remember correctly, Sabathia was pitching pretty well just before he got traded last year, after a lousy start. Like Lee, he had a losing pre-trade record (6-8) but with a 3.83 ERA; and the latter number had come way down over the past month or so before he was dealt to Milwaukee. So both men would figure to pitch well after the trades too. Of course, neither could have been expected, based solely on their Indians performances, to dominate as they have/did.

I have a trio of theories. One, the American League is simply a stronger league than the National League, as evidenced by the junior circuit's dominance in interleague play (not to mention All-Star Games) the last few years; therefore, anyone who moves from AL to NL can expect his numbers to improve. Two, Sabathia and Lee both left situations in which they were pitching for nothing but their next contract (and I realize that's an oversimplification, but you see what I'm saying) to situations in which they were/are pitching for October, and presumably responded to the added incentive. Third, there will be some random fluctuation in any player's performance, and I think some of that is in play here.

Still, what Lee has done since that trade has been eye-popping. Few pitchers have a run like that at any time in their career. It must be fun to be Cliff Lee right now.

A new team record ... for the Royals

There's something very bittersweet about seeing a record set against your team. On the one hand, you have to appreciate seeing someone do something nobody's ever done before; on the other hand, every success for one team or individual is a failure for the opponent, and when that opponent is your team, that means your team is failing badly.

Such was the case in last night's game between the Indians and Royals. Zack Greinke has been a monster all season — there's no secret about that. But he had never missed as many bats as he did last night. Greinke went eight strong innings and struck out 15 Indians along the way, setting a new Royals team record for strikeouts in one game. (The record he broke, incidentally, was set 21 years ago by Mark Gubicza. Thought you'd like to know.)

Greinke took advantage of the Tribe's reluctance to swing at curveballs early in the count. And he was putting all his pitches exactly where he wanted them, which meant he had no trouble getting ahead in the count. Then he'd punch them out with sliders and his mid-90s fastball. Some of his off-speed pitches were somewhere in the 60s, and that variability in speed makes for a tough evening for the other team's hitters.

Greinke struck out Kelly Shoppach and Shin-Soo Choo three times each; Jamey Carroll, Travis Hafner and Matt LaPorta twice each; and Jhonny Peralta, Luis Valbuena and Andy Marte once each. Asdrubal Cabrera was the only hitter in the Indians lineup to avoid being whiffed at least once; he drove in the Tribe's second run in the eighth, and then promptly got thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. Marte got a measure of revenge with a home run in the top of the sixth, his first of the season in the bigs. Peralta, for good measure, struck out a second time in the ninth against Robinson Tejeda, giving the Royals staff 16 total for the game.

Greinke is now 12-8 with a 2.43 ERA (tops in the American League) while pitching for a team that's on pace to lose 100 games. The Cy Young discussions tend to favor pitchers who get a lot of wins, and there are six AL pitchers who've won more games than Greinke, but it's not his fault the Royals suck.

Justin Masterson struggled in his fourth start as an Indian, giving up four runs on seven hits, including one home run, and two walks in six innings. He struck out four, which looks laughable next to Greinke's 15. He wasn't awful, but I'd sure hope he'd do better against the worst team in the American League.

And hey, how about that Valbuena?

As soon as the ball came off Luis Valbuena's bat in the bottom of the 11th of last night's game against the Mariners, I knew it was gone. The only question was whether it would stay fair. Of course, it did, giving the Indians a 4-3 walk-off win. It was the first walk-off home run Valbuena had ever hit as a pro, and you could see how excited he was as he tossed aside his helmet between third and home so his jubilant teammates could beat him up once he touched the plate.

Valbuena's long ball was the lead story, but the secondary story was another impressive start from Aaron Laffey. Laffey gave up three runs in the top of the first, and then settled down to put up zeroes the rest of the way. I've said it before, but Laffey is an ace in the making. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find him in the 2010 All-Star Game, and maybe making a run at a Cy Young in a couple of years.

And the bullpen came through too, as Chris Perez, Kerry Wood, Tony Sipp, Joe Smith and Rafael Perez put up four more zeroes to hold the Mariners off long enough for Valbuena to end it. Rafael Perez, in particular, has been pitching much better lately, after getting off to a terrible start this season. He had a couple of bad outings after being recalled from Columbus in early April, but has been rock-solid since then, giving up nothing over his last five outings, and getting the win last night.

Rolling over a bad team

There was a lot to like about the Browns' effort last night against the Detroit Lions, but of course, you have to take it with a grain of salt because the opponent was the first team ever to come off an 0-16 season. Still, it was good to see our guys dominate like that.

Derek Anderson got the start behind center, and did not disappoint. Anderson went 8-for-13 for 130 yards as he led the Browns to a 20-0 first-quarter lead (aided in large part, of course, by Josh Cribbs' 84-yard punt return for a touchdown). He did throw a pick, but was mostly very solid. Brady Quinn got his chance in the second quarter and looked pretty good too, though he only threw five passes, completing three for 29 yards. I'd say the spot is still up for grabs, but Anderson is probably ahead by a nose after this.

And the Browns made a number of big plays. Besides Cribbs' impressive runback, there was the undrafted James Davis' 81-yard TD run at the end of the third quarter, and Eric Wright's interception of first overall pick Matthew Stafford. Stafford telegraphed the pass a bit, but Wright still made a great read on it. And getting back to Davis, I don't know if he's a good bet to make the team, but he sure looked good last night, albeit against the third-string defense for the NFL's worst team.

The Browns take on the Titans this coming Saturday. The quarterback situation is obviously the biggest story line to follow, but I look forward to seeing how everybody does against a real NFL team.

Masterful Masterson?

On the surface, Justin Masterson turned in a pretty darned solid performance last night against an explosive offensive team in the Los Angeles/Anaheim/California Angels. Masterson, acquired in the Victor Martinez trade, went 6 1/3 innings, giving up just one unearned run on three hits. But Masterson only struck out three hitters while walking four. That's way too many walks. Usually, if you do that against a team like LA/A/C, you're going to get burned in the butt. Still, holding the Angels, who had eight .300 hitters in the lineup, to three hits is impressive, so I don't want to be too negative.

The real story last night was the Indians' offense, which has chugged along all season, no matter who is in the lineup. It was looking like a pretty good pitchers' duel until the sixth, when the Tribe hitters blew it wide open. The Indians hit four singles and three doubles in the inning, with a walk for good measure, in the course of batting around and putting a 7 on the board. Even the outs were pretty loud in the inning. Kelly Shoppach's sacrifice fly to deep center was the first out, and Shin-Soo Choo's liner to shortstop was the second and third outs, as Asdrubal Cabrera got doubled off second. Shoppach was the only hitter in the lineup who didn't reach base in the inning. The Tribe wound up putting 11 on the board for the game.

Lifelong Indians fans

Today, we're going to dip into the good ol' mailbag, from our most diligent correspondent, Mr. Jeffrey William Brown of Columbus, Ohio:

If you're feeling anything like I am these days, you are resigned and despondent about being a Cleveland Indians fan.

I mean, we trade away our best players and immediately they rock and roll with their new teams. The latest example: P Carl Pavano, who pitched 7 shutout innings in his first start with the Twinkies.

Also, Cliff Lee. Also, C.C. Sabathia last year, who not only "upped" his game, but pitched the most dominant 2 1/2 months of baseball I've ever seen.

Also, also, also... (and on and on and on).

Where does it end, Steve?

You and I are 38 years old, and let's just say for the sake of argument, we'll live to be around 85 years old.

That leaves us with 47 seasons to hope to see the Indians win the World Series, and realistically we've only got 46, because they already chose to be a last-place team next year.

Really -- and I ask you to be utterly realistic and honest -- do you believe and you and I will live to see a World Series champion in Cleveland?

For the record, Jeff and I were both born in 1971. I'm sure I don't need to remind Of Fair Hooker readers that none of Cleveland's three teams has won a title since the Browns in '64.

Let's keep in mind that these things tend to be cyclical. Two years ago, would you have said the Tampa Bay (not devil) Rays would even get into the playoffs over the next 10 years, much less win an American League pennant? Now look at them. They're not likely to get back in this year, but they're still one of the better teams in the majors, and they are still in contention for a postseason berth.

And look at what are the most pathetic franchises in baseball right now: You've got the Royals, who won a World Series 24 years ago; you've got the Pirates, who won a World Series 30 years ago; and you've got the Nationals, who have been to the playoffs once in their existence (as the Expos in 1981, the year the playoffs were expanded). The Nationals are a bad example, and I hope we can agree the Indians are a better bet than the guys in our nation's capital. The other two of those teams have won titles that I'm old enough to remember. (That '79 World Series is the first one I remember well, and hating Pittsburgh as I did even at age 8, I was rooting hard for Jim Palmer and the Orioles.)

The Dolans are clearly spending less money now than they did in 2007 and 2005, when they gave us a serious contender. The fact that they decided to cut expenditures right now doesn't mean they won't spend again when they think we have a real chance, possibly as soon as 2011 or 2012.

And that's just talking in the short term. Jeff and I will be 60 in 22 years, we'll be 70 in 32 years, and presuming medical science and/or our strong constitutions can keep us alive that long, we'll be 80 in 42 years. I say it's a strong bet the Indians, Cavaliers and Browns ALL win a title in that time. The fact that it hasn't happened in our lifetimes already is a statistical aberration; and all three have had championship-caliber teams that we are old enough to remember well.

So that's my answer. Yes, I believe Jeff and I will both live to see a World Series champion in Cleveland.