Cleveland Rox!

12:17:23 AM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

Time and time again, I have said that I would update this blog more often, but I just haven't found the time to do so. But, with baseball season here and the Indians in first place, I think I will start posting on here from now on.

The Indians, after a 7-2 victory today against the Tigers, are in first place in the Central. They are 7-4 and hold a one-game lead over the Tigers and the ChiSox. It looks like this could be a good season for the Tribe. They're hitting the ball better this year than they did at the beginning of last year. Travis Hafner is on a home run tear (big surprise). So, this could be our year! Yet, I'm not getting my hopes up. Remember a few years ago when the Indians started, like, 11-0 and ended up missing the playoffs? I believe the year was 2000 and they missed the playoffs by one game. So, hopefully they can keep this run going. I (and about everybody in Cleveland) want to see the Tribe make the playoffs this year. I thought they were going to make it last year until they had that little falling-out at the end. I also want to see Pronk take the home run title, but maybe I'm going out on a limb on this one. I'm just flippin' excited about this season.

I'll post more tomorrow because it is getting way too late.

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5:24:06 PM EST
Feeling Chillin'

The NFL regular season is over and the playoffs are well under way. Recently, talk about the NFL is moving away from the playoffs and talking more about the upcoming draft. The Houston Texans have the #1 pick in the draft and people are saying that picking Reggie Bush is a no-brainer for most teams. Then today, there was a story that said that taking Bush at #1 was not a sure thing for them since Vince Young declared for the draft. I have been thinking about this the last few weeks and came up with some reason for the Texans NOT to draft Bush.

Right now, the Texans need help. Since their expansion year in 2002, they have won a whopping 18 out of 55 games. But in three of those four year, there is one guy who has been impressive. That's their running back, Domanick Davis. In his first two season with the Texans, he has rushed for 1,000+ yards in both seasons and had a two-year total of 21 TDs. Last year, although he only played 11 games, he still rushed for 976 yards. He only scored 2 TDs, but the Texans were one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. Bottom line, if the running back on the team is the best thing about the team, why draft another running back to risk a battle for the starting spot?

I think the thing to fix on this squad is David Carr. This guys was the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft. He has spent 4 years in the league and, from what I've seen, is still playing like a rookie. He has yet to have a break out season and lead his team to the playoffs. His stats (48 TDs, 53 INTs in four seasons) have been mediocre at best. This isn't the guy that is meant to be the leader of any team. What's worse is that their second and third string QBs aren't worth starting either. That why the Texans need a quarterback and, unless they can pull off a big steal in the offseason, should draft Vince Young or Matt Leinart. Don't be surprised if they draft some offensive linemen later in the draft (68 sacks allowed in 2005).

New Orleans has the next pick, so you'd think they'd draft Reggie Bush, right? Well, wrong. See, the Saints are in about the same shape as the Texans are. Good running back, mediocre quarterback. Deuce McAllister has been one the most productive running backs and, if he wouldn't have gotten hurt last year, probably would've rushed for 1000 yards for the fourth consecutive season. Similar to the Texans' situation, they might spark controversy if they draft Bush.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: The Saints will not go anywhere with Aaron Brooks at quarterback. Even though his stats are a lot better than Carr's, his team hasn't shown much production. It's the QBs job to not only get stats, but to lead his team to victories and the playoffs. But listen to this: six season with the Saints, 2 winning records, one playoff appearance (that was way back in 2000). Since 2000, they have missed the playoffs again and again. Last year was just a disgusting season. If they get rid of Brooks and draft one of the prominent QBs in the draft, it might be the piece of the playoff puzzle that they've needed for years.

So, maybe this changed your mind about the draft. Maybe it didn't. Hopefully, it made you think about the draft a little differently.

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10:48:35 PM EST
Feeling Chillin'

What up, y'all. I just wanted to write an entry to get you caught up on what's going on in the world of Cleveland sports.

Indians: The Indians recently signed former Tribe pitchers Danny Graves and Steve Karsay to minor league contracts. These guys were good for the Indians a few years ago, but since then, their careers have gone into a down spiral. Graves was one of the best closers in '04, but was booed out of Cincinnati. Karsay was great for the Indians in 1999 when he won 10 games, most of them coming out of the bullpen. However, he's been seeing limited action for the last three years. I would like to see these guys back in an Indians uniform, but who know when they will be salled up to the majors. The Indians will probably want to use a lot of their young pitchers, like Fernando Cabrera and Jeremy Guthrie.

With Elarton signing with the Royals and Millwood still a free agent, Mark Shapiro wasted no time in signing their replacement, veteran Paul Byrd. Byrd has hopped from team-to-team in the last 10 years and he hasn't been an ace in the league, but he is a good replacement for Elarton and will be an affective 3rd, 4th, or 5th starter.

Browns: The Browns were able to survive the game against the Raiders on Sunday, 9-7. Charlie Frye once again looked impressive and showed all Browns fans why he is considered the future of the Browns. Oh, and let me just give a heartwarming thank-you to God's gift to the NFL, the instant replay. Whoever called that fumble late in the game must have lost his contacts during the same game. I mean, how bad was that call? Well, the Browns have a chance to knock the Squealers...I mean Steelers out of the playoffs on Sunday.

Cavs: Okay, the good news: the Cavs have won their last three games and are 14-9 (whic, by the way, is only good enough for fourth in the tough Central division). The bad news: Larry Hughes did not practice today. Don't worry. He isn't hurt. He had to go home to deal with some family matters. He didn't travel with the team to Chicago and is listed as questionable for Thursday's game. If he doesn't go tomorrow, I expect either Damon Jones or Ira Newble to get the start.

So, I hope that covers for my absence. I will update my other blogs shortly.

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10:11:08 PM EST
Feeling Chillin'

Yes, people. It is true. An entry for Cleveland Rox! I've been concentrating on my other blogs and my basketball team that I just didn't update this. I've been covering the Cavs and the Browns on my other two blogs, so they only team left to talk about is the Tribe and things are going pretty slow as of late. But I will try to cover a little of the free agency rush and the state of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Indians suffer a couple of losses in the free agency. One of the their best relievers, Bob Howry, signed a contract with the Cubs worth $12 million for three years. I don't know why Shapiro and Dolan didn't put out the money to pick him up, especially after the season he had. But then again, when was the last time Dolan actually pulled out the checkbook and wrote down the 6-digit numbers? Another "apparent" loss was Kevin Millwood. An article said, and I quote, "Moreover, even though it's not official, Millwood surely won't be back in Cleveland, what with his agent, Scott Boras, demanding $60 million for five years."Apparently, three teams have already offered him the money, neither of which were the Yankees, which may or may not surprise you.

Meanwhile, the Tribe lost out on the B.J. Ryan sweepstakes, since he decided to become the A-Rod of relieve pitchers. I'm sorry, but who is this guy? I've heard he's a pretty good pitcher, but come on. Was he really worth $47 million? Unless he's related to Nolan Ryan, I wouldn't take a chance on this guy.

Sorry. Couldn't talk about the Bucks tonight. But I'll try to cover them later, as well as other Cleveland and other sports-related stories as Cleveland Rox Reloaded continues.

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4:01:33 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

Today is my birthday. I turn 14 today. Though, today is not my best day. I came down with bronchitis on Sunday and have been coughing my lungs out since then. It sucks. But at least I got to stay home from school and eat cake, so some good came out of this today. I hate being sick, though.

Today is also Pedro Martinez's birthday. He's was born exactly 20 years before me, so he's 34 today. Happy birthday to the Mets' ace.

For my birthday, I will get Madden 06 on Friday. It's awesome. I can't wait.

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4:22:55 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'
I realize I haven't updated this blog for a long time. I been working on my other blogs so much that I kind of ignored this one. I would like to apologize to my readers who have checked here regularly and have seen no new material. I promise, starting tomorrow, I will start updating this blog more often.

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6:38:11 PM EDT
Feeling Worried
Hearing Rev Run

I can't believe it. Another one-run loss? You've got to be kidding. The Indians were shut out by the Devil Rays for the second time this year last night, 1-0. They have now lost three straight and have fallen three games behind the White Sox in the Central.

Last night's loss proved a couple of things. For one, other than Coco, the Indians don't have a single player on the team that can bunt. They really need that bunt in the eighth inning when they had a runner on second and nobody out. Second, they still have trouble getting hits with runners in scoring position. I still think the Indians need

Another thing, does anybody else notice that everytime a Cleveland team, whether it be the Indians, Cavs or Browns, has a chance to make the playoffs or have a good season, it always ends with either the team going on a slump or someone getting hurt (note: the Cavs in their last two seasons)? It's almost like there's a curse on Cleveland sports; like there's a black cloud hanging over Cleveland that just won't go away; like God doesn't want us to have a winner. I don't know who to blame, the players, the coaches, or both. Sooner or later, we have to have a championship, right? I mean, the last time any Cleveland team had a championship, LBJ (not LeBron) was the President. Ever since then, there was something, or should I say someone, standing in the way. If it wasn't for Michael Jordan, the Cavs might have won a NBA title in the late '80s and early '90s. If it wasn't for John Elway, the Browns could've at least made it to a Super Bowl. And I think the Indians should've rolled over the Marlins in the '97 World Series. But it still remains to be seen when Cleveland will be ridden of this so-called curse. We'll see what the Indians do tonight against Tampa Bay. If Cleveland loses and Chicago wins, then the White Sox clench their division.

Curses!!!

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6:35:28 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

Could Travis Hafner be any more in the zone? He's had 6 HR's and a slugging % of over 1.000 in the last 5 games. Unbelieveable! And the Indians' offense seems to feed off of his success. Cleveland avoided a disaster and came back to beat the Royals 11-6 last night. Cliff Lee didn't have his best outing by far, but once again, he got plenty of run support. I think Lee could become the next big ace for the Indians. It gets better for the Tribe. Chicago continues to choke when they suffered an extra inning loss to the Twins last night, 4-1. The Yankees held on to a 7-6 win against Toronto. Tonight, the Red Sox travel to Baltimore to face the depleated Orioles. So, here's how the Standings look:

AL Central

Chicago: 91-61 --

Cleveland: 90-63 1 1/2 GB

AL Wild Card

Cleveland: 90-63 --

Boston: 88-63 1 1/2 GB

This is getting interesting...

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7:00:40 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

The Indians finished off the sweep of the Royals with an 11-0 beatdown. Yankees lost, too, meaning Cleveland is now 1 1/2 games over New York in the wild card. But that's not all. The Tribe comes in to this series with Chicago tonight only 3 1/2 games behing the Sox in the Central. In June, Chicago were 15 games up on Cleveland. But since then, they have had a major falling out. This has the potential to become the biggest downfall in Major League Baseball history. Meanwhile, the Indians' race to the playoffs has gained a lot of attenion by the media, anywhere from the Daily Quickie on ESPN to Woody Paige and Skip Bayless on 1st and 10. Heck, even Alex Reimer (a.k.a Alex the Blog Phenom) is amazed by the turn of events of the past few months. Ah, it's nice to finally get recognition. People actually know we exist.

As eveyone knows, the Browns upset the Packers yesterday, 26-24. Their defense finally seems to be shaping up. For more on the Browns, I'm about to enter a review to that game on my Pigskin Blog, Browns Town.

The Cavs just signed their back-up center, Alan Henderson. He becomes the first Henderson since Cedric. Not really who I wanted, but Henderson will do well. He'll do exactly what the Cavs want him to do: Play defense and grab rebounds.

I just got my tickets for the Cavs' Wine & Gold Intra Squad Scrimmage, which is being held at Rhodes Arena on the University of Akron campus on Thursday, October 6, 2005. I can't wait. Getting to see LeBrons James, Z, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, and Damon Jones and you even have to pay. Now that's sweet.

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4:26:04 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'
The Magic is back! In a crazy night, full of errors, great plays, and power outages, Ben Broussard produced all the Indians runs. He hit two homers and Wickman got his 40th save as the Tribe keeps the lead in the wild card. 5-2 was the final score. The Yankees destroyed the Rays last night, so they are still in the hunt. Jake Westbrook will face Barry Zito in a matchup thats sure to entertain.

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