An Open Letter to Colt McCoy

Dear Colt,

As I'm writing this today, I don't know what the future will bring for you. It's nearly impossible to tell what is in the mind of the Cleveland Browns front office personnel, so I don't know if you'll be given a shot to be our QB next year or if you will be traded to another team. I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with the Class you've displayed during a difficult situation.

The Browns have had one of the worst offenses in the NFL over the past couple years. At time, it was difficult - even painful - to watch as a fan. I can only imagine how it was for those players actually on the field. The changes in schemes, head coach, strike-shortened off-season, etc., led up to a miserable 2011 season for all of us. There was a ton of talk about bringing RG3 to Cleveland, of a trade gone bad where we "lost" him to Washington, of concern over our QB situation. And yet you remained silent. You allowed matters that were out of your control to stay that way, to refuse comment, to "lay low." And really, there was nothing good you could say during that time to make things better. When Shurmur announce that you were our QB "for now," I was worried about your morale, but figured that you would just use it as motivation to get better this off-season.

I've always believed in your abilities. I remember the New Orleans and New England games of 2010, the pride I felt when we beat teams we shouldn't have been able to beat. The pride of being a Browns Fan. While I understand the people who don't have faith in you, I always felt it was difficult to truly evaluate your NFL skills without some weapons, some play-makers. The Hillis illness, injury, and over-all mismanagement by Shurmur, didn't help at all. For me, the jury is still out on whether or not you can lead my Browns to the playoffs.

Through it all, I kept my hope alive. I kept thinking that somehow, some way, the team would use Free Agency and the Draft to improve and that I would be able to enjoy football again. Well, as you know, free agency didn't bring the blockbuster deal I was hoping for. The draft started off to be very promising with the Browns going after Trent Richardson and telling the fans - as well as the rest of the league - that we were willing to go after a player who would make a difference for the next 5-8 years. The Browns would once again have a running game that would force our division rivals to take notice and set their defenses on their ears. TRich immediately makes our offense better, makes you a better and more effective quarterback. Hooray!

But none of that seems to matter now. With the pick of Brandon Weeden at #22, the Browns have clearly stated that they don't believe in you. I hoped that you would get the chance to compete with him in the off-season for the starting job, but I just don't have a good feeling that will happen.

So, whether you are traded or not, I hope that you light it up on the field this year. I hope you get the chance to really show what skills you possess on the field. And I want to thank you for the class you've shown during this past year. You've been a role model for other players. Sometimes, it's better to say nothing at all than to say things that will get you in trouble, both with the team and the fans. I wish you nothing but success in the future and hope that this doesn't prove to be yet another decision the Browns end up regretting.

Respectfully Submitted, Cleveland Kate

Cleveland Gladiators: Arena Football Season is here!

If you are like me, all this talk about the NFL draft and what is going to happen in the off-season isn't enough to quell my "Football Jones." That's where the Arena Football League comes in! It's really a great game to watch and the Cleveland Gladiators are getting ready to start a new season of action-packed fun!

One of the cool things I get to do as the host of "Cleveland K8 Talks Sports" on www.csfradio.com is cover the Gladiators. I'll be at all the home games and watching the away ones from the comfort of my very own "wo-MAN Cave." Yeah, I got one of those. I'll post pics sometime. (Preview: Anderson Varejao fat head on the wall!)


So, every Saturday morning from 10am to Noon, I'll recap the prior weeks game and look forward to the next. They have a new blog section where all of the show hosts are writing great stuff, and I'll be posting player profiles, game recaps, etc., throughout the Gladiators Season.

The first one is available now at . Check it out, and remember to check back each week for new stories. I'm sure that if you aren't already a Gladiators fan, you will be soon!

Respectfully Submitted,

K8

It's "Trade Down" Time for the Browns...

Yeah. You heard me. It's "Trade Down" time. Since the end of the NFL season, and honestly all the way back to September, I've been hearing about Robert Griffin III and how the Cleveland Browns need to get him in the draft. He's the Quarterback of the Future. He's the man to turn this franchise around. And as much as I like Colt McCoy, I don't know how you pass up on someone as talented as RG3 when it's your turn to pick at #4. That would be crazy.

Enter the "Crazy Factor." All the talk now is about Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins. And how crazy he is. The St Louis Rams
are reportedly asking for the sun, moon, stars, AND your first born son to trade up to the #2 spot if you want to guarantee getting RG3. As much as I like RG3's potential, I'm not sure the Browns can give up that much to get him. Or that they could outbid the Redskins and Crazy Dan. So it's time for a new strategy.

We can apply basic business principles to this situation. I understand St Louis trying to get as much as they can for the #2 pick. However, they have to be careful they don't price themselves out of the market or they may be stuck keeping the pick. If they ask for too much, people (Washington) may go find a cheaper option elsewhere. That's when "Trading Down" time starts. And the Browns are in the perfect position to trade THEIR pick to Washington. Yeah, you heard me. I'm now willing to trade down.

I was firmly against trading down until today. I felt that whomever the Browns got at #4 would be a great asset to the team so why trade down? But every day brings new information and the ability for someone with a brain (like me) to rethink their stand. And I've rethought mine.

If we agree that Washington will do ANYTHING to get RG3 and that there isn't anything the Browns can do to get him, then it makes perfect sense to make a trade with Washington. We give them our #4 pick and get their #6 and #39 picks. It's a cheaper price than the one allegedly being demanded by St Louis, Washington still gets RG3, and we get another draft pick. Yes, we drop from #4 to #6 but it's not that dramatic a drop; basically, we get another 2nd round pick for moving down two notches.

No, we don't get RG3. But again, it looks like Washington is going to get him either way. Plus we screw up St Louis's draft. The Rams have a ton of holes to fill and are banking on getting two, three or more picks in exchange for just one. I won't go into the Browns QB situation without RG3 because this argument is solely based on the fact that there's no way we can get him. So it doesn't matter what we do with the #4 pick if he's not an option.

Sometimes you have to look at the reality of your situation and figure out "What's in it for me?" And this is the perfect time for the Browns to make a move. We've seen Heckert trade down in the past, with success, so I think it's possible. As fans, we just have to brace ourselves for the reality of this situation, find the positives, and embrace the future.

And maybe someday we fans will figure out "What's in it for US?"

Respectfully Submitted,

Kate

A Daughter's Rememberance: Caleb S. Neth

Today, February 9th 2012, my father's cremains were inurned with those of my mother at their church memorial garden in Norwalk, OH. This is the eulogy that I gave at his memorial service this morning.

**********************************************

We're here today to remember the life of Caleb Neth, my father. He was born in Pennsylvania on January 31st, 1934. He was the 3rd of six children, and has an identical twin brother named Phillip. There were 4 boys and 2 girls in the family and they were all very hard workers. Because they had to be. My grandfather was an alcoholic who couldn't take care of his family. Dad would tell us stories about living on someone else's farm where he and his brothers would milk cows and do chores around the farm in exchange for a place to live. Comedians today make jokes about these kinds of stories like walking to school in the snow with no shoes up hill (both ways) but when dad told them they were sadly true. He grew up during the depression and learned the value of hard work. This is something he taught to my brother, sister, and myself.

He graduated from Rostraver High School in 1952. He used his skill as a carpenter to work for the Admiral Home Company until he got his draft notice and entered the Army Reserves in 1956. He met and married Eleanor Crusan during this time. While mom stayed in Belle Vernon, PA, and helped look after my grandmother, dad became a member of the 101st Airborne. This was partly because of his love of airplanes, but mostly because if he completed 30 jumps each month he got an extra $50 in his pay that he could send home to her.

When he got out of the Army, he went to the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics to get his certification as an Airplane & Powerplant Mechanic and then went to work for United Air Lines. His first position with United was in San Francisco, CA, in 1963. He bought a brand new Corvair for around $2,500 and he and mom drove across country to start a new chapter in their lives. I still have that Corvair, and the original sales receipt. Someday I am hoping to get it back running and on the road but I think my husband Joe will end up doing most of that work.

Desmond Tutu once said "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." I've also heard people say "You choose your friends but not your family." Mom and Dad chose wonderful people to be their friends over the years, and also managed to choose some of their own family. My brother, sister, and I are all adopted. We were chosen. That is what they always told us and I believed it. I told people all of the time that I was adopted because it was no big deal to me. Once, in 2nd grade, another kid at school was teasing me because he said "my real parents didn't want me." I can still remember telling him that "his parents were stuck with him and that mine got to go to a big room full of babies and pick out the one they wanted and they Chose Me." That was how special they made me feel.

As dad's career with United progressed, we moved around a lot. Whenever there was a layoff, dad would "Bid" into another airport and if there was an opening, we would move. We left San Francisco and went to Salt Lake City, then Los Angeles, then Cleveland in 1975. We stayed here the longest but in 1988 dad moved one more time to Virginia to work at Dulles International Airport. It was there that he earned a Mechanic of the Year award in 1989 and then retired in 1993. Upon retirement, they came back to Ohio and settled in Collins to be closer to my family since we lived in Wakeman and I had the only grand kids at that time.

Dad was very proud of his work on airplanes loved them all of his life. We had toy planes and did science fair projects on them. We would go to the airshow in Cleveland every year over Labor Day Weekend to see the Blue Angels and sell pineapples that had just been flown in from Hawaii. When family members would come to visit we would take them to the United hangar at the airport and look at the planes, climb in and check out the cockpit, fun stuff like that.

One of the things my favorite things is Football. I'm a rabid Cleveland Browns fan and I blame dad for that. We rooted for the 49ers when we lived in San Fran, and the Miami Dolphins in the late 70's when my mom's cousin Doug played for them. When I was a teenager, I thought following football would help me get closer to my dad and since we lived near Cleveland, I started following the Browns. Little did I know, he was really a Pittsburgh Steelers fan at heart. Over the years, we spent many Sundays watching football - me wearing brown and orange and dad wearing black and gold. Over the past few days, many people have said to me "I'm sorry for your loss." Sometimes, it would make me smile just a little bit - because that is what dad would say to me every time the Steelers beat up my Browns. He would pat me on the back, smile, and say "I'm sorry for your loss."

In 2007, after 51 years of marriage, mom died of cancer. And some part of my dad went with her. It's always hard as a child to view your parents
as real people who were once kids too, who grew up and fell in love, who had a life that didn't revolve around raising you. But my dad loved my mom more than I ever realized and he was just lost without her. He carried two pictures of mom in his shirt pocket every day, one was her senior picture from high school and one was taken just a few years ago. When we would go to the grocery store, or the pet store, or anywhere, he would show her picture to people and "This beautiful lady is waiting for me in heaven."

It wasn't long after mom died that I realized dad was in the early stages of Alzheimer's. The biggest issue he had was short term memory loss, which made it seem to him like mom died last week, not last year, or 4 years ago. His pain was always that close by. As the Alzheimer's got worse, he was unable to live on his own. I am blessed that I have a supportive family and when I moved him in with us last March they didn't put up much of a fight. I wasn't always easy have someone as strong-willed and stubborn as I am living in my house, but I'm glad that I was able to have him with us.

There have been good times these last few years. He's gotten to spend time with my niece Holly, who was under a year old when her Grammie Eleanor died. And last year he got his first great grandchild - Gabriel. Whenever Gabe was really fussy, you just had to take him to PapPap who would smile and make silly noises and get Gabe to smile too. He loved all of his grandchildren very much. I'm extra lucky in that my daughters got to spend the most time with him. When they were younger, they would call him on the phone and ask if they could come over and he always said yes. He would take them on rides in a wagon pulled by his tractor, or on a moped, or even crawling around on his back like he was a horse.

This past Saturday, I guess mom got tired of waiting and decided it was time for dad to join her. Which is really all he has wanted since the day she died. I truly believe that he is with her now, happy and at peace, in heaven. On behalf of my sister Tricia, my brother Rob, myself, and our families, thank you all for coming here today to remember Caleb Neth. You were his friends, members of the family he'd chosen, and we truly appreciate your being here.

2012 NFL Hall of Fame Class

Edit: Added at the end are the six enshrinees chosen from the final ballots.
****************************************************************************

Voting to decide on the Enshrinees for the 2012 NFL Hall of Fame Class concludes today. After struggling for a couple hours this morning to find out exactly who was on the final ballot, I realized there wasn't one good place to find out about the process and the nominees... so here you go.



Eligibility:
Once a player or coach has been retired from the NFL for five years, they are HOF eligible. A "contributor" - owner, commissioner, TV Executive - can be nominated at any time.

Voters:
The Board of Selectors has 44 members. It is made up of one representative for each of the 32 NFL teams, plus 1 from the Pro Football Writers Association, and 11 at-large delegates. The PFWA delegate serves a two-year term, while everyone else serves an open-ended term. Allegedly, these other delegates only lose their vote through resignation or retirement. I find this odd since the Cleveland Browns rep was removed from his job as beat reporter and someone else was given his vote this year. I'm not sure being moved from Browns beat reporter to NFL reporter qualifies as retirement, but nobody asked me.

Senior Committee:
Nine members of the Board of Selectors comprise the Senior Committee. It is their job to recommend two players from the "old days" to make sure that players who made this game what it is today but didn't appear on our TV screens every week are considered for enshrinement. I wish there were more.

Process:
The Board of Selectors are polled by mail, three times during the year (March, September, October) in order to whittle down the list of eligible persons to 25. Then they vote in November to shorten the list to 15 + 2 seniors. Finally, they vote the day before the Super Bowl for the final enshrinees list. There will be a minimum of 4, maximum of 7, enshirnees selected. The final number is based on each person receiving 80% or more of the votes. If less than 4 get 80%, they take top 4 vote getters. If more than 7 receive 80% of the votes, they take top 7. Simple, huh?

2012 Semi-finalists:
Steve Atwater, S – 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets
Jerome Bettis, RB – 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
Tim Brown, WR/KR – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cris Carter, WR – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001
Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins
Don Coryell, Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers
Roger Craig, RB – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings
Terrell Davis, RB – 1995-2001 Denver Broncos
Dermontti Dawson, C – 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers
Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner – 1979-2000 San Francisco 49ers
Chris Doleman, DE/LB – 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers
Kevin Greene, LB/DE – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
Charles Haley, DE/LB – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
Cortez Kennedy, DT – 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks
Curtis Martin, RB – 1995-97 New England Patriots, 1998-2005 New York Jets
Clay Matthews, LB – 1978-1993 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons
Karl Mecklenburg, LB – 1983-1994 Denver Broncos
Bill Parcells, Coach – 1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys
Andre Reed, WR – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins
Willie Roaf, T – 1993-2001 New Orleans Saints, 2002-05 Kansas City Chiefs
Donnie Shell, S – 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers
Will Shields, G – 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs
Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League
Steve Tasker, ST/WR – 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills
Aeneas Williams, CB/S – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams
Ron Wolf, Contributor – 1963-1974, 1978-1990 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1975-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990 New York Jets, 1991 -2001 Green Bay Packers
George Young, Contributor – 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League

2012 Final Ballot of 15 + 2 Senior:
Jerome Bettis – Running Back
Tim Brown – Wide Receiver/Kick Returner
Jack Butler* – Cornerback
Cris Carter – Wide Receiver
Dermontti Dawson – Center
Edward DeBartolo, Jr. – Owner – 1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers
Chris Doleman – Defensive End/Linebacker
Kevin Greene – Linebacker/Defensive End
Charles Haley – Defensive End/Linebacker
Cortez Kennedy – Defensive Tackle
Curtis Martin – Running Back
Bill Parcells – Coach
Andre Reed – Wide Receiver
Willie Roaf – Tackle
Will Shields – Guard
Dick Stanfel* – Guard
Aeneas Williams – Cornerback/Safety


We won't know for a little while yet which of these worthy men will make it into the HOF this year, but I'll update this blog when announcements are made. If it were up to me, and since this is my blog I think it is (ha), I would vote for:
Chris Carter
Bill Parcells
Andre Reed
Dick Stanfel
Edward DeBartolo Jr

EDIT: Six enshrinees announced on Saturday, February 4th...
Curtis Martin, Cortez Kennedy, Chris Doleman, Willie Roaf, Dermontti Dawson, and senior Jack Butler.

Respectfully Submitted,

Kate

It's time for a BCS Playoff System

Well, I don't know about you, but the excitement of last nights BCS National Championship Game kept me on the edge of my seat and chewing my fingernails. Not. It was all I could do to stay awake. Don't get me wrong - I love a good defensive football game almost as much as I love an offensive shoot-out. However, as the game progressed, all I could envision was the great debates that would start today regarding who really is the #1 team in College football and how to fix the system in order to answer that question.

For me, it's easy: Playoffs. When this is mentioned to the NCAA, the BCS Bowl Committee, or various other's in "the know" they quickly point out all of the reasons why there can't be a playoff. But I call "Shenanigans!" I spent three hours this afternoon checking out this years bowl game schedule, the top 25 college rankings as of Week 15, and the champions for each conference and I worked out a very simple playoff bracket making use of the existing bowl game schedule. And if I do say so myself, I'm freaking brilliant. (Yeah, you're smiling)

I based my system on a 16 team playoff: 12 conference champions and four at-large teams. To pick the at-large teams, I simply looked at the top 25 and chose the four highest ranked teams that were NOT their conference champion. I also set up the brackets so that the at-large teams are on the same side as their conference champion because, frankly, I never want to see two teams from the same conference in the National Championship Game ever again. Ever. I mean it. Done.

The only real drawback is that the current system has 35 games which means 70 different teams. In using the existing bowl schedule, and a 16 team playoff, I had to eliminate a few teams and cut back to just 56. But really, isn't 56 teams playing in the bowl games good enough? Is team #57 going to call me and threaten to beat me up? I don't think so.


So: Here's my playoff bowl list. Let me know what you think!

First Round - left

12/17 R&L Carriers Bowl
SEC Champ LSU
WAC Champ Louisiana Tech

12/17 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
ACC Champ Clemson
Independents BYU

Winners 12/27 Little Caesars Bowl (winner to Semi-Final)

12/21 SD County Credit Union
Mountain West Boise State
At-Large #1 Alabama

12/20 Beef O'Brady's Bowl
Conference USA Southern Miss
At-Large #3 Arkansas

Winners 12/28 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (winner to Semi-Final)

Semi-Final 01/02 Gator Bowl
(winner plays for National Championship)********************************************************************

First Round - right

12/17 Glidan New Mexico Bowl
Big 12 Champ Oklahoma State
Sun Bel Champ Arksansas State

12/22 Maaco Bowl
Pac-12 Champ Oregon
MAC Champ Northern Illinois

Winners 12/27 Belk Bowl(winner to Semi-Final)

12/24 Sheraton Bowl
Big 10 Champ Wisconsin
At-Large #2 Stanford

12/26 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Big East Champ West Virginia
At-Large #4 Kansas State

Winners 12/28 Military Bowl (winner to Semi-Final)

Semi-Final 01/02 Rose Bowl
(and the chance for it to still be Pac12 vs B1G!)****************************************************************************

01/09 Allstate BCS National Championship Game
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Maybe we take the Gator/Rose options and alternate years with Fiesta/Sugar or something. I'm flexible. My point is simply this.... If I could figure this out in one afternoon, what the heck is stopping the BCS folks from doing the same thing?

Respecfully Submitted,
Kate

Help Wanted - Sheriff

"...there's a new sheriff in town. And his name is Reggie Hammond. So y'all be cool. Right on." - Eddie Murphy, 48 hrs

That is one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies. With all the swagger he can muster, a young Eddie Murphy strolls through a red-neck cowboy bar looking for information. He uses the strength of his personality to take control of the situation and get the information he needs - plus he gets out alive! It's also what Cleveland sports fans are looking for: a new sheriff.

In all of the great old Westerns, there's a town in trouble, a Sheriff, and a group of bad guys/outlaws looking to oppress the people of the town in some fashion. And the Sheriff is the hero of the film, saving the townspeople from the outlaws and wearing a white hat and getting to kiss the prettiest girl in town. Sometimes the Sheriff has been in office for a while and knows it's his job to save the day. But my very most favorites were the ones where just a simple cowboy, going about his business, was forced into a situation where he suddenly became the Sheriff. Where he was thrust into the position of saving the whole town. And he does!

We've had Sheriff's in the past here in Cleveland. Men who stepped up and, with their personalities and athletic talents, took control of this city. They are still (mostly) regarded with awe and respect even though their careers are over. You know some of the names... Jim Brown. Bernie Kosar. Sandy Alomar. LeBron James. (Yes, I said LeBron. Before the fateful decision, he was a Sheriff in this town. The fact that he joined the other side and became an "outlaw" doesn't change what he was to this town and Cavalier fans.) Browns, Indians, Cavaliers. We've had Sheriff's come from each team during different periods of time and in different ways.

The question now is: Who will be our next Sheriff? Which team will supply us townsfolks with the hero to save the day and bring our sports pride back?

It doesn't have to be a player. For a while, I thought perhaps Mike Holmgren could take on that job. He came to town and filled Browns fans with the hope & faith that he could build a winning team here, that he could put together the Super Bowl Champion that we've all been dreaming about. This season not only left us with a dismal 4-12 record, it also left Browns fans with little faith and less hope. We didn't see the progress that we expected which makes the losing record that much harder to handle. And it makes it very difficult to believe that the Browns are on the path to success.

If you ask me (and since this is my blog let's assume that you did), the Cavaliers show the most promise of providing fans with the Sheriff that will give us hope, make us feel safe, give us something to look forward to in trying economic times. Byron Scott, as head coach, is ruling with an iron fist. He is in complete control of the Cavs and is showing that he has what it takes to develop this group of young players into a really great basketball team.

And then there's Kyrie Irving. In his first five games as a professional basketball player, this young man has already exhibited signs of leadership many veterans don't possess. Admittedly, he has a long way to go towards becoming a great ball player, but with the little bit I have seen so far, he has promise and poise. He has the opportunity to take control of this city and it's fans. He has the chance to be the Sheriff of this town, to save us all from the oppression of bad sports teams, and to get the girl. Or the ring. However you want to look at it.

Respectfully Submitted,

Kate