Very quickly ...

The Browns have led in the second half of all three games this year. They have lost them all. Is this a failure of the offense? The defense? The kicking game? The coaching staff? I don't know, but if this keeps up, Eric Mangini's going to be looking for a job soon. Whether others will join him, I don't know. But Mike Holmgren isn't going to put up with this for long.

Never mind the impressive offensive performance in yesterday's 24-17 loss to the Ravens. (Impressive it was, against that Baltimore defense.) It doesn't matter if you don't win.

Seventy-three points! But ...

OK, the Buckeyes beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles by 53 points yesterday. I predicted they'd win by 50, and Vegas predicted they'd win by 44 1/2, so hooray and what not. It was certainly an impressive showing by the Ohio State offense, but let's not forget this happened against a team that hasn't won a game since 2008. When you're the #2 team in the nation playing a team that can't even win in the MAC, you should dominate, which they did.

Terrelle Pryor was nearly flawless, completing 20 of 26 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns, rushing for 104 yards on just seven carries, and even catching a touchdown pass of his own from Joe Hall on a throwback trick play. Pryor's four touchdown passes all went to Dane Sanzenbacher, who tied an Ohio State record with the four catches for scores. Kudos to those guys, and the entire offense. They did what they should have done, which is tear that EMU defense to shreds. I'm sure everybody who cares enough to read this blog already knows this, but OSU hasn't scored this many points in a game since 1950, when I was -21.

The thing that concerns me about this game is the 20 points allowed. The Eagles even tied the Buckeyes in the second quarter, 14-14. The Eastern Michigan offense is not nearly as pathetic as its defense -- they scored 27, 21 and 14 in their first three games -- but still, they shouldn't be able to put up 20 against the #2 team in the country, whose defense had only allowed two touchdowns in three games coming in. But the Eagles put together three long scoring drives out of four possessions in the second and third quarters -- nine plays, 75 yards; seven plays, 73 yards; and six plays, 80 yards. They were three-and-out on all but one of their other possessions (the other one went five plays and ended in a fumble), so at least those were the only times they got something going, but still, that's reason for some concern.

But never mind all that. The Buckeyes are 4-0 heading into the Big Ten portion of their schedule, and that's all that really matters. They have one truly impressive victory under their belts (the 36-24 win over Miami on Sept. 11), and there's not much reason to believe they can't run the table. They've got Illinois next week, then Indiana before their next real test on Oct. 16 against Wisconsin. That's going to be a toughie.

Of goofy hats, line drives and promising pitching

The Indians suck. Everybody knows that. There are a few teams that suck harder (Seattle, Pittsburgh, and possibly Kansas City), but this is a bad Indians team. Nonetheless, they managed last night to beat the aforementioned Royals 7-3 for their 63rd win of the year -- meaning, with eight games left in the season, that they have clinched a two-digit loss total for 2010. For anyone who's curious, the Indians haven't lost 100 games in a season since 1991. And if they go at least 3-5 the rest of the way, they'll beat last year's record of 65-97. And they're a half-game behind the Royals for fourth place in the AL Central. It's not much to cling to, but it's at least something.

Josh Tomlin pitched a complete-game four-hitter for the win, his first career complete game in his 11th career start. Tomlin was a 14th-round draft pick who started the season in the bullpen at AAA Columbus, and has been a very pleasant surprise since getting added to the rotation in Cleveland in late July. He's now 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA, and has gone at least five innings every time he's taken the mound at the big-league level.

During last night's game, there was an elderly man sitting in the front row near home plate on the first-base side who was in the shot whenever the camera focused on a left-handed hitter. In the first inning, he was wearing a bright yellow ballcap that ensured that the viewer's eyes landed on him whenever he was in the shot. By the third inning, he had switched to a hot pink cap with Chief Wahoo on it, and later in the game, he was wearing a blaze orange cap. He may have changed his hat more often, but I didn't watch every inning. I can only guess what he might have been up to. Maybe he was just trying to confound people. Who knows. But I thought it notable.

Another incident in last night's game underscored the very real necessity to pay close attention when you're at the game. A line drive off the bat of Drew Sutton screamed into the seats along the third-base line, and went into the last four or five rows in the lower seating area. Several fans tried to catch it, but it was too hot, and wound up hitting a woman in the face. The fans around her alerted an usher, who immediately started waving for help, and then the screen went back to Sutton. Announcers Matt Underwood and Rick Manning were completely oblivious, as they continued their discussion about Royals pitcher Gil Meche, and I have not found any references to the woman in the media reports, but she could have been seriously hurt. You've got to pay attention at the game. A baseball can seriously injure you. That's today's lesson.

Unintentional hiatus

This post is simply meant to explain the lack of posts over the past little while, and over the next little while. I have recently made a career change, which includes going back to college and taking Calculus II at Cleveland State. I took Calculus I in 1989 at Miami University, so my skills are a bit rusty. OK, a lot rusty. Many of my classmates were not born yet the last time I took a math class. So I've been spending all my free time trying to catch up. This trend is unlikely to change any time soon, so you might have to go without my keen insights for a while.

This blog will not die, it will merely hibernate for a time. Thank you in advance for your understanding. You are beautiful people.