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 Our expectations regarding the off-the-field behavior of athletes are unrealistic and outdated.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 

Momma - What's a gas rebate?

With everything going on in Cleveland sports lately, the topic of rebates for gasoline seems to be a recurring theme. People seem to have a lot of questions about how the process works and feel like it's a shady business practice.  I thought I'd take a little of your time this morning to explain fuel rebates; what they are, how they work, and why a company offers them.  I am not referencing any specific company or it's policies, but providing a general understanding of rebates so you can be more comfortable with the stories flying around in the media this week.

Most of us are familiar with product rebates.  Companies offer rebates as an enticement to you, the customer, so they will get your business instead of a competitor.  Whether it's a car, a set of tires, or a computer, the process is the same:  You buy the product, the company then gives you the rebate money. Sometimes it's done on the spot, sometimes you have to mail-in a form, but either way, you have to buy something first.

Seems simple enough and we are all familiar with these type of rebates.  Fuel, however, is a bit different.  The easiest to understand is the rebate you get by using points accumulated through a rewards program, like Speedy Rewards Points or Giant Eagle/Get-Go. You may not think of this discount at the pump as a rebate, but that is exactly what it is. An incentive from the company to shop at their store instead of someone else's by promising you a reward later. By shopping at their store, you earn points and those points are translated into cents-off per gallon. You buy merchandise from them and later you get a rebate in the form of a fuel discount.  The actual dollar amount is up to you:  did you fill up the tank?  only put in 10 gallons, forget to use the points and they expired? have your teenager use your points to fill up THEIR car?  (yeah, it's happened to me - dang kids!)

In the truckstop industry, it's a very similar thing. It's just a bit complicated because the driver who is doing the "shopping" isn't paying the fuel bill. If a trucking company is getting discounts from multiple truck stop chains, they are saving money each time the driver fills his truck with diesel so they don't care where the driver goes. Now, the driver is in control of where he does his shopping. Remember, these truckers are on the road nearly all year. They buy clothes, food, gifts, etc at truckstops. They spend quite a bit of their money in these stores. And they get to choose where they go.  Mostly.

Now if Smith Truck Stops offers the trucking company 2 cents off per gallon for the first million gallons and then increases that to 4 cents per gallon once they hit the million mark, the trucking company will be directing it's drivers to Smith Truck Stops. They promise this as a rebate, paid quarterly or yearly.  Drivers don't get a discount when they fuel, but the company gets the payment later on. Same as a typical rebate: buy first, rebate later.

If Jones truck stops offers them 2 cents at the pump on each purchase, they are equal for the first million gallons, but since the company wants to earn the double discount, they will encourage their drivers to fuel at the Smith sites.  This gets the trucking company a large check at the end of the year, and gets the Smith truck stops guaranteed customers who are spending money in their store.  And let's be clear on this: margin on diesel fuel is nice, but the big money is in things like twinkies, blue jeans, crystal figurines, etc.  When ANY gas station offers milk at $2.00 per gallon or gasoline at a 3 cent discount for the week, it's because they want you to come inside and buy the high-margin items. You really didn't think they were giving stuff away for free, did you?

Fuel Rebates at a national truck stop chain are designed to get more customers into the store. Just like any other business, they are incentivizing the fuel to get you inside to buy the good stuff. The problems come later during the accounting phase. With a simple rebate on tires, I mail-in the form and I get $60. With gasoline rewards points, every receipt I get tells me how much of a discount I've earned and when it expires. Unfortunately, in the truck stop business, accountants have to run reports and balance receipts and compare notes to see who is owed how much.  That's where things seem to be getting complicated.

This all being said, there is a certain amount of trust involved in the process. I trust that my grocery store receipt has the correct amounts on it.  Frankly, I've never held on to all of my receipts and added them up to make sure Giant Eagle isn't shorting me on my fuel perks.  They could be, and I'd never know.  Who would? And if it is wrong and I never noticed, is that my fault or theirs? Either way, it's small peanuts compared to other things.

Which brings me to the recent issue we are hearing about in Cleveland this past week. It involves one basic question:  Did a truck stop company make accounting mistakes and short-pay customers?  Or did they purposefully short-pay those customers hoping they would never "total up their receipts" and notice the mistake. That is the difference between an honest mistake and fraud.  Or between civil and criminal actions. I am not nearly qualified to judge. I just wanted to explain a bit about rebates to you, so as you hear more information in the coming weeks, you have a better understanding of the "whys" and "hows" of the rebate process.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cleveland Kate

"The Tappies" - NCSpeakEZ needs your votes!

After all the frenzy and excitement over the Oscars this week in Hollywood - NOT - my NCSpeakEZ barmates and I thought that Northeast Ohio should have it's own awards....

I present, for your consideration, the categories for "The 2012 Tappies!"   (Speak Easy - beer - on "tap" - get it?)

Please email me your votes at katerhar@yahoo.com by 5pm on Wednesday.
Votes will then be tabulated by the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe and announced LIVE on the NCSpeakEZ Show airing on NoStaticRadio and sponsored by City Tap Cleveland - Wednesday 02/27 between 7pm and 9pm.  You won't want to miss it!

And as they say in Chicago:  VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN!
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Best producer
1 Dan Gilbert
2 JH3
3 The Dolans

Best script
1 Tribe
2 Cavs
3 Browns

Best director
1 Francona
2 Chud
3 Scott

Best Special effects
1 The Q
2 The Jake
3 Cleveland Browns Stadium

Best Actor in a Head Coaching / General Manager position
1. Shurmur
2. Acta
3. Scott

Best Set Design
1. The Q
2. The Jake
3. Browns Stadium

Best Costume
1. Indians
2. Cavs
3. Browns

Leading Actress in a Rah-rah Role
1. That Mr Hero chick for the Cavs
2. That Katie chick for the Tribe
3. Browns Cheerleaders (equals "none of the above")

Most Impactful Injury
1. Varejao
2. Joe Haden
3. Travis Halfyear

Best Hairstyling
1. Varejao
2. Josh Cribbs
3. Chris Perez

Best English Speaker for a Foreigner
1. Varejao
2. Roberto Fausto Carmona Blah blah Hernandez
3. Shin Soo Choo

Best Theme Song - this category is your chance to shine:  tell us what their theme songs should be!

(and try not to be too harsh!)
1. Browns
2. Indians
3. Cavaliers

Respectfully Submitted:
Cleveland Kate

So, God Made Cleveland Sports Fans

Sometimes, ideas rattle around in my head - or should I say bang around - until I put fingers to keyboard and write them down. I was really moved by the Super Bowl 47 commercial featuring the legendary Paul Harvey reading a poem about Farmers.

This is my homage to that poem. I mean no disrespect to it's author or to farmers. But being a Cleveland Sports Fan brings it's own challenges and I'm convinced God didn't choose the faint-of-heart for this vocation.

Respectfully Submitted,
Cleveland Kate

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And on the 9th day God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need some fanatics.”
So, God made a Cleveland Sports Fan!

He needed somebody to get up before dawn and drive to the Muni Lot and set up a BBQ grill, put out coolers of beer, eat brats and then go to the stadium and stay past midnight at a game where their team will lose in the final seconds.  So, God made a Cleveland Sports Fan!

He wanted somebody with strong arms. Strong enough to flip off a Steelers fan, yet gentle enough to hold his children as they cry when they hear that the Browns are moving to Baltimore. Someone to bear witness to Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, and still renew their season tickets. Someone who will never know the Kokinis Story. Someone who can celebrate Draft day while the team picks Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, William Green, Gerard Warren, Chaun Thompson and yet another Quarterback, and still raise these strong arms to cheer on opening day…. Someone who can sit through a blizzard, lose repeatedly to their division rivals, say “We’ll get them next time” ...and mean it.  So, God made a Cleveland Sports Fan!

He needed somebody that could handle pain. The pain that comes from being the joke of major league baseball and then rising to greatness, only to lose game 7 of the World Series after Mesa chokes in the 9th. The pain of sitting in the parking lot outside the stadium, smoking a cigar and knowing that you’ll be back again next year…. Only you won’t.  So, God made a Cleveland Sports Fan!

He wanted somebody who would be a Witness. Who would welcome a native son, lift him up on a pedestal, make excuses when he chokes in the 4th quarter against Boston, and still love him. Who would wear Cleveland Cavaliers gear with pride, and boast that #23 is The King. Who would spend an hour watching TV to see their favorite player, a true star, one of the greatest to ever play the game, tell the whole world that he is leaving. Who would take that slap in the face and fight back, suffer through countless years of really bad basketball in the hopes that they would be good again.  So, God made a Cleveland Sports Fan!

It had to be somebody who'd be unbreakable; who would take the best and the worst that sports can throw at a person; who’s very job could depend on whether or not the sports team in town were winning or losing.  He needed a rag-tag group of misfits who would take whatever flavor crap sandwich they were handed and say “Thank you sir, may I have another.” Someone who would cheer and cry, talk smack and bleed orange & brown, wine & gold, red white & blue… and then respond with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life "rooting for dad's teams". Because to let their children root for any other team is unthinkable.  So, God made a Cleveland Sports Fan!

And as a reward for all of this hard work, determination, and pain, God would also make them Ohio State Buckeye Fans!

Browns: Song Parody - "Anything but Mine"

I've been feeling very melancholy lately. With the Browns playing the way they've been playing, well, who could blame me? And when I get into this kind of a "funk," I tend to listen to a ton of music.

I've been rolling some parody lyrics around in my head for a while and after today's game, I guess it's time to put them down on paper. I'm hoping this is just the first of many, since I have always had a fondness for song parody's.

Anyone who wants to actually take the time and put these little ditties to music, just credit me as lyricist and we're cool.

First up: Country Music Parody of Kenny Chesney's "Anything But Mine" from the perstpective of Jimmy Haslam III. Enjoy!

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Walking along beneath the lights of that Terminal Tower,
Die-hard Browns fans making their way up to the lake,
You can hear the cries at the tailgate sites,
“Here we go Brownies,” fills the night,
Brown and Orange gear is everywhere in sight.

There's a cold front coming in, off of Lake Erie
Bringing wind and rain and snow to chill the fans
Kids are carrying handmade signs in their hands
Cause they hope to be on camera from their seats.

And in the morning I'm leaving, making my way up to Cleveland
Selling off my shares of Pittsburgh on the way
Cause I don't see how the Browns could ever be, anything but mine.

I’ve always dreamed of owning an NFL franchise
And I got just enough cash to buy the Browns.
Running all these Pilot, and Flying J truckstops
Helped me get to where I’ve always planned to be.

In the midst of the season, I got their approval
Now I laugh cause I know just what to do
Browns Fans there’s some changes coming to this team real soon
And Berea’s gonna have some open rooms!

But in the morning I'm leaving, making my way up to Cleveland
Cause the Browns need help to win the AFC
And I don't see how they could ever win, with anyone but me!

Ooooooooo...

And in the morning I’m leaving, making my way up to Cleveland
Holmgren’s gone, and soon, Shurmur will be too
Cause I don’t see how they could ever win, with those Yahoos

You know I don’t see, how they’ll win the AFC, with anyone by me

Ooooooooooo... ooooooooooooooo...

Yes in the morning I’m leaving, taking over things in Cleveland
Bringing Banner in to help me reach my goal:
No, I won’t rest, until the Browns are best, Win the Super Bowl!