Pics from 2013 Cleveland Browns Training Camp

No real blog entey here... just a bunch of pics I snapped.
I thought you might like to see what you are missing if you haven't been to camp yet!

Go Browns!

@PumpkinNation

@CleSoldier2011 and @Me_Miss_C

Day 2 Training Camp Diaries - Cleveland Browns

Dear Diary,

2013 Cleveland Browns Training Camp Day 2 comes to a close and still no serious injuries!  Wahoo!  NT Phil Taylor didn’t practice again (strained calf) but #12 WR Josh Gordon was back on the field.  He OWNED it yesterday but today, well, not so much. I hope he was just taking it a bit easy and it’s not a reflection on his cramp/injury at the end of practice yesterday.

I spent today in the sunshine (yeah, no sunscreen. don't ask.) watching the receivers work against different combinations of defensive backs. One of the big questions for Ray Horton's new defense is who will work the opposite side from #23 Joe Haden.  With #43 TJ Ward in the middle and Hade on the right, we're looking for the answer to the combination 23-43-??.  

A number of guys had their reps today, but #21 Chris Owens looked the best to me. While most experts feel Browns 3rd round draft pick from San Diego State #29 Leon McFadden is the top candidate for the starting CB job opposite Haden, He's got about 15 pounds on Owens, but I think Owens is making the most of his reps in camp.  

When the 23-43-21 combo is on the field, they seem to work well as a unit already.  At 5'9, 180, Owens went to San Jose State and was a 3rd round draft choice in 2009 of the Atlanta Falcons. He's only got 3 interceptions from his time there, but when you've on a team with Assante Samuel and Desmond Trufant, you aren't seeing a lot of the field. 

As for the Tight Ends, I'm liking #82 Gary Barnidge and #87 Dan Gronkowski (yes, he's related to Rob). With off-season signee #81 Kellen Davis out with a knee sprain, #84 Jordan Cameron has some competition for starting TE.  We've all seen what Norv Turner likes to do with a RB and TE in his offensive scheme (Hello?  Ladainian Tomlinson? Antonio Gates? Ring any bells). So these guys are all interested in being the next great fantasy football TE. And look - they are TALL!  6'5" and 6'6", you gotta love a target that Brandon Weeden can see over the top of his linemen. Whichever one gets the nod, I'm good with it and excited to see what blocking and crossing patterns can do to get the Browns some TD's this year!

I saw quite a bit from RB #28 Dion Lewis. The Browns acquired him in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, sending them Emanual Acho. He stands 5'9" and weighs in a 190. He's quick, let me tell ya, really quick to hit the holes and move through the lines. Catch-and-run out of the backfield is also something I see being in his wheelhouse. I felt a bit like I was watching Gerald "The Ice Cube" McNeil. Yeah, he's that quick. But he's little so he has to rely on sliding through and passed the defenders. With top man #33 Trent Richardson back and healthy, Lewis could provide a nice change-of-pace the Browns have been missing.

Final note: Saturday camp is first day of Full Pads. This should be great - time to get a look at the Front 7's and see how they deal with a little pounding!  If you'll be going to camp, two tips:  #1 wear sunscreen. #2 check out the scissor lifts and see which ones have the video equipment setup on them. They'll play on that side of the practice field so you can pick a spot to sit and be closer to the action.

Respectfully Submitted,
Cleveland Kate

Day 1 Training Camp Diaries - Cleveland Browns

Dear Diary,

2013 Training Camp for the Cleveland Browns started yesterday.  The practice facility at 76 Lou Groza Blvd in Berea looks excellent!  Very "fan friendly" with some bleacher seating, cool-off tents, food vendors, autograph stations, and kids games.  While running 11 on 11 and 7 v 7 drills, the team did a nice job of moving around the field which gave everyone there a chance to see what was going on.

Injury Report:

Thankfully, no one was carted off the field today on a stretcher. After LeCharles Bentley’s injury in 2006, that’s always a good thing!  But there are a few minor injuries worth mentioning.

#98 Phil Taylor: he played only 8 games last season due to a torn pectoral muscle. This year in the new Ray Horton 3-4 defense, he’s been moved to Nose Tackle. I looked for him on the field and… nothing. Turns our he has a strained calf and is listed as “day-to-day.” Coach Rob Chudzinski says it’s nothing to worry about. I’d like to see Phil get off the Bike Brigade and onto the field…

#12 Josh Gordon: while he has to serve a suspension for the first two games of the season, he is fully participating in training camp – or at least he was until he went up to catch a pass near the end of practice and landed awkwardly. At first I thought ankle injury but when he stood, he buckled at the knee. A trainer came over, got him up and moving again, and he sat out the rest of the day. Browns are reporting it was just a cramp and he should be fine.

Players to Watch:

#08 Brandon Bogotay. One of the big questions for Browns fans is “Who will replace Phil Dawson?” Yeah, we worry about kickers here. And yes, Shayne Graham was signed this off season. So maybe it’s just the fact that he did me no favors as his Fantasy Football owner a couple season ago, but I don’t have much faith in him. I watched quite a few kicks from Bogotay yesterday and he looked good to me. The 6’3” K is 24 years old and posted solid numbers at UGA. We’ll have to see how he handles wind and snow…

#40 Abdul Kanneh – at 5’10” and 185, this rookie comes from New Mexico Highlands University where he had 9 interceptions, returning 4 for touchdowns. He seems small, but he’s quick and he’s aggressive. He was all over the receivers in coverage – but in a good way. He got five blocked kicks on his resume and is an early favorite of mine to make the team. If he keeps up the energy during camp, we could see him on special teams to start the year.

Well, that’s it for now.  It was only the first day after all.  Yes, Jimmy Haslam addressed the media.  Yes, Coach Chudzinski greeted some fans and signed autographs. And yes, we are only getting started… can’t wait to watch some of the defenders tonight and get a look at the team in full pads on Saturday!

Respectfully Submitted,

Cleveland Kate

Sports Tub Time Machine

I'm one of those people who is fascinated by the idea of Time Travel... not just visiting another time and place, but the possibility of changing one small thing and what the ripple effect of that change would be. I love TV shows like Sliders, Quantum Leap, and especially Dr. Who. Movies have also done their share of time traveling - Back to the Future or Mr. Destiny being two of my favorites.  I like to ponder the idea of going back in my own life and changing something. But what to change?

As I get older, I realize that I wouldn't change anything in my life. What impact would that have on my family? Would I have married the same man? Would my daughters be the amazing women they are today? Dunno. And don't want to ever find out.  I like them just fine the way they are.

But as a sports fan.... Hmmmm. What if I could go back in time and change one single play in a sporting event..... That's something to think about!  I posted this question on twitter last night and got a ton of answers.  Most were exactly what I expected, but there were a few surprises.  And yes, you have to pick just one!

Quite a few of the responses surrounded the Cleveland Indians, Game 7, 1997 World Series... apparently we all think Jose Mesa should have thrown the change-up!

But, as you can imagine, it was mostly Cleveland Browns Football moments that people want to go back and change....  There are 3 big moments that we all remember.  No, Kelly Holcomb almost beating the Steelers isn't one of them.  Come on - you can name them.... Red Right 88, The Drive, and The Fumble. Yeah, we all know those, whether we lived through them or just heard about them from our parents. 

Red Right 88 - Mike Davis does NOT intercept that ball and Ozzie Gets it!

The Drive - Just like @Dwvork says, the prevent defense doesn't give up the huge 3rd and 18 play!  OY!

The Fumble - This one got the most votes and it absolutely gets mine. Now I know what you are going to say, it was just the AFC Championship Game. It wasn't the Super Bowl or the World Series. It's not as big as the others. But I maintain that it is. That this single event not only added to the problems Cleveland Sports Fans have endured, but became the 3rd strike (if you will) in our football history and paved the way for dreadful season after dreadful season.

And out of all the events that people would change, The Fumble touches my heart not just as a football fan, but because of Ernest Byner. That man suffers over that play just like we do. It haunts him to this day. I don't think Jose Mesa gives the '97 series a second thought. I haven't heard another player involved in any other Cleveland Sports Catastrophe talk about what happened the way EB does. He would give anything to go back and change that one single moment. 

And for that reason above all others, so would I. 

God Bless you, Ernest. As a Browns fan, I'll always love you. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Cleveland Kate

Sports Times - they are a changin'

It's time for me to have a little heart-to-heart chat with my fellow sports fans - Cleveland fans in particular. Don't worry - I'm not about to tell you how to behave on twitter, what to say/not say. It's a free country - for both fans and athletes... However, Sports Times, they are a changin'. And if you don't accept those changes, you are in for frustration, rage, twitter battles and maybe a little heartbreak. Our expectations regarding the off-the-field behavior of athletes are unrealistic and outdated. I blame Bernie Kosar.

Today's professional athlete's aren't like your father's players. To misquote John Rambo, "they don't love us as much as we love them." And it's really not their fault.  While Free Agency in baseball started in the 70's, it didn't hit the NFL until the late 80's. Fans didn't see too many changes in the cultural aspect of fandom at the time. It was just too new. But an entire generation has been raised with only FA as the model, seeing athletes as "Property" with a monetary value that goes to the highest bidder. They weren't born when athletes spent their whole career in one team's uniform.

But in Cleveland, we have Bernie Kosar... a football player who, in effect, "gamed the system" so that he could play for the team he grew up loving - the Cleveland Browns. As fans, there is NOTHING more flattering than a top prospect not only dreaming about playing for your team, but making sure every other team out there knew he wouldn't be happy anywhere else. Our shared fandom connected us, made us proud, gave us hope. And spoiled us for the next generation of athletes.

As fans, we expect a loyalty from our players that has become unrealistic. Oh, you can make the argument that we pay their outlandish salaries so they should think about our needs 24/7, but come on. These players don't get any loyalty from us or the team. We scream and yell when they make a bad play or get injured. We talk to them on twitter like we actually KNOW them, and we can be very cruel. (not judging, just saying). The team can cut or trade them at any time. It's all part of the deal they sign on for when they accept the contract. The money may be big, but careers are fragile. Athletes cannot be blamed for looking out for themselves.

And consider this: for some athletes, their own families put unreasonable pressures on them. During last
year's OSU scandal involving players selling memorabilia for money to help out their families, I felt sad and a bit enraged. I admire their sense of responsibility in wanting to help out back home, but as a parent, I was enraged that these kids couldn't just attend to their school/sport. It is MY job as a parent to take care of my family and I would never put that burden on my children's shoulders. I see far too many college and pro athletes these days who have been RAISED to believe they were the financial future of their family. I can't fix that, but I can lament that it has come to be true.

Now, none of this changes the fact that it ticks me off when Phil Taylor or Josh Gordon share twitter love for the Miami Heat. At the very least, they should KNOW that it's going to rub a lot of Browns fans the wrong way. Should. Hmmm. Maybe they don't.  Maybe they really truly honestly don't understand us. Maybe we are still just the angry ex-girlfriend who thinks everything revolves around us. But I think it's more than that, more than just saying CLE fans are too sensitive, have low sports-self-esteem, whatever.

I think it's simply that athletes today do not connect with fans because they were never fans. Not the way we are.  Bernie Kosar grew up as a fan, with the hope that one day he could play pro ball for "his" team. There are tons of examples of players who were raised as fans of the game first, who are truly appreciative and humbled by the opportunity to play a game they love and get paid.

And then there are today's 20-something athletes who were never really fans but were raised to see sports as a Career Opportunity like being a doctor or a lawyer. They don't really love the game like we do. Once you accept the fact that it takes a fan to understand a fan, you can see why these athletes don't understand us.  It's not personal. For them, it's just business. And that's ok.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cleveland Kate

It's time to fix the NBA draft...

"The #1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft goes to.... The Cleveland Cavaliers!"

After the announcement was made, I've never seen so many unhappy fans about being awarded the #1 pick in a professional sports draft.  Everyone keeps saying how this draft is weak at the top, but deep.  Huh?  There's no marquee player to take at #1, no guy that EVERYONE wants.  So what?  By getting the #1 pick, you are GUARANTEED to get the guy you want.  If you are afraid of the pressure involved in making a pick that better not be a bust, you shouldn't be an NBA GM.  Pressure is part of the business. Deal with it and make the pick.

Instead, fans and media members alike are all calling for the Cavs to make a trade... package that #1 pick with something else and get a plug-n-play vet from another team.  Sounds good on paper, but you need a trade partner for that. The Cavs have to decide what is a reasonable amount of time for this latest rebuilding process - new coach Mike Brown should play heavily into whatever decision they make. Trade, take Otto Porter to fill a need, or take Nerlens Noel as a project with amazing potential..... time will tell what they do. But this brings up the thought in my mind that perhaps the entire NBA Draft process - even the NBA itself - is flawed.  If I was in charge of remodeling the NBA, what would I do?  I'm glad you asked...

First and foremost, I'm a Football Chick.  While I don't like everything that goes on in the NFL, I at least understand it, how it developed into today's system, and why not much really needs to change.  The draft itself works for me (although I do miss my Saturday and Sunday draft marathons of the early rounds). Players whose high school class is 3 years past graduation are eligible for the draft. There are two reasons for this waiting period.
           1 - guys physically mature in their early 20's. That's just a fact. They need the extra couple years to reach a better physical condition to deal with the size/strength of opponents who have been in the league for a while and "beasted-up."
           2 - staying in college for 3 years strengthens the NFL minor league system.  And let's face it - NCAA football is the NFL development league. Period. And it's a superior product because the guys stay for at least 3 years and there is consistency for teams who can count on that when recruiting.

In hockey, players are eligible for the NHL entry draft between the ages of 18-20. However - PAY ATTENTION HERE - if they do NOT get an agent, the NCAA still gives them amateur eligibility and they can go to college. The pro team actually drafts the "right to sign" the player.  They have 2 years to sign the player, during which he can play in college.  If he is not signed and stays in school, the team has until 30 days after his last college game to sign him.  Hmmmm.  Very interesting.  So they let players finish developing - if they need further development.  Nice. That's what the NBA needs to consider.

Very few players are "Day One NBA Ready" when drafted. I'd like to see the NBA change up the draft process to look something like this....  Any player age 18 or older is eligible for the draft. If the team wants to sign him now, he gets an agent, they do a deal, and he's in the NBA.  If not, team has two choices:  let player go to college or sign to D-League contract. If he goes to college, he commits to 2 years. At the end of that time, team can either sign him to D-League contract, NBA contract, or pay him a buy out amount and release their rights to him.

This model keeps the college system strong, lessens the impact of years like this one where there is no one worth "#1 money" and also helps in further developing players that need it.  I don't see why the players association would argue - these draftees aren't players yet and have no vote. I don't see why the teams would argue - they don't have to drop big money on a guy they aren't 100% sure of.  And I don't see why the NCAA would argue - they allow hockey players to have a draft status and it would only strengthen the college hoops game.

Yeah, I'm probably dreaming.  But it's something the NBA should consider.  With the exception of a few weeks in March, NCAA Basketball is irrelevant. With this model, the NCAA could sell jerseys with the players names on them for their Draft Team instead of their College... think of the money to be made!  Heck, the NBA team could even set aside some jersey sales money for the player to have AFTER he's done with college... The marketing possibilities are endless.  But most importantly, it gives us fans a better product, in whatever basketball format you love.

Respectfully Submitted,
Cleveland Kate

A Cautionary Tale for CLE Sports Fans

I've never blogged about a blog before.  Or an essay.  Or an opinion piece on a website.  But today is different.  A friend sent me a link to an article on Deadspin from 2010 that touched me in such a way that I wanted to share it with anyone who reads my blog, especially Clevelanders.  The article is called "Taunting Tony Horton The Day After He Slit His Wrists: A Cleveland Fan Repents."  Now, I could have simply tweeted out a link to it and been done.  But I feel the need to add my own commentary, thus you get a blog post from me, a few paragraphs of my thoughts, and a link.

Today may be Mother's Day, but before I was a mom I was a Cleveland Sports Fan. Sometimes, my "mom-ness" shows through in my blog posts or my tweets. I say that because I, too, get frustrated with our teams performances and struggle to make sure that I vent that frustration on the team and not individual players. I get after people on Twitter who get after players. It's not nice. Any that's my mom-ness showing. Athletes are people too and with social media like Twitter, people seem to think it's ok to say whatever they want and not consider the consequences.

Going through my time-line after a Chris Perez "Save" opportunity says it all.  People are mean.  And rude.  And the mom in me wants to send them to their rooms with no supper, while the sports fan in me understands their feelings.  BUT I really, really try not to go there with a player. Yes, I've sent messages of unhappiness to players in my time. But I've tried to be constructive or even humorous.  NEVER with anger or hate. It's just not my style.

I would like you to click the link below and read the Deadspin article. I am hoping that it will touch a chord in you like it did with me. I am praying that maybe, the next time you get really pissed off at a bonehead move by a player, you will take a moment before venting your frustration at someone who already feels bad enough about what happened.

As it says in the article, "One of the worst parts of being a devoted fan of any crappy team, in any sport, is the sense that you're truly only rooting for the laundry, that the players in the uniform bearing the name of your town don't care half as much as you do."  But I think they DO care.  And our pain and rancor are weights that they shouldn't have to carry - no matter how much they are paid to play a kid's game.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cleveland Kate

Taunting Tony Horton The Day After He Slit His Wrists: A Cleveland Fan Repents