Lots of work....

Hello everybody! There has been a lot going on in the world of Cleveland sports, and lets get crackin!

The Browns are still a mess
As most of you know, Browns owner Randy Lerner fired GM Phil Savage and Head Coach Romeo Crennell. This is not a surprise to any Browns fan, as they had a 24-40 record together. Savage did a good job of getting some talent on this team (Cribbs, Rogers, Thomas, Braylon, DA) but at the same time, he overspent on free agents such as Stallworth and Shafer. I feel that there was a disconnect between Romeo and Savage, and that Romeo wanted to play his guys, and Savage tried to force his hand by playing the guys he drafted and brought in. This brings me to the list of GM's and coaches who the Browns are looking at, and what I think of them.

Eric Mangini: I think Mangini would be an ok choice. He doesn't show much expression either, but he is someone who makes sure his players are disciplined, and it never looks as if his players are out of line, or doing stupid things. He seems to have a better knowledge of the game, thus his nickname "Mangenius". Although the Jets struggled last year, and missed the playoffs this year, some of his players recently said that it wasn't Mangini's fault that they missed the playoffs. The Jets spent a lot of money to bring in players, and they ran out of gas at the end of the year. The hesitation I have about him, is that he came from the Bill Belichick coaching tree. We have seen Charlie Weis, and Romeo struggle, and it shows you how much of a genius Belichick truly is. Mangini might do better his second time around coaching, but I believe there is one better option than him. To me, Mangini would be my second choice

Josh McDaniels: My prodigal son has returned. For those of you who do not know, I attend John Carroll University, and McDaniels is an alumnus of the school. He played wide receiver for the football. He is currently the offensive coordinator of the Patriots, and again he is coming from the unproven Belichick tree. Also, he is a very young coordinator (32 years old), and he has no head coaching experience. The Browns need a coach who will discipline the players, and a coach who the players respect greatly. This could be hard for a young guy with no head coaching experience. Personally, I wouldn't want him either, because of those reasons. One positive I can think of is that he was the coordinator last year when the Patriots had the greatest offensive of all time. Also, he took Matt Cassell (who hadn't taken a snap since high school), Benjarvus Green-Ellis, Kevin Faulk, and Lamont Jordan, and he led the Patriots to an 11-5 record. I don't think he really has a shot of being our coach, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Steve Spagnuolo: Spagnuolo is the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. He is a sleeper candidate and he has a better chance than any coordinator the Browns are interviewing. This is because he is more visible on the sidelines, he is a disciplinarian, and he coached perhaps one of the best defensive lines of our time (Strahan, Umenyiora, Tuck, Colfield, Robbins, and Kiwanuka). His defensive schemes helped the Giants beat the greatest offense in the world last year in the Super Bowl. He knows what he is doing out there, and he is someone who will command a little more respect than the average coordinator because he has won, and he has coached numerous high profile players with the Giants. He has continued his success this year as the Giants are the number one seed in the NFC, even though they lost Strahan and Umenyiora (there two best linemen). I like Spagnuolo, and he is third on my list, behind Mangini.

Mike Shanahan: This guy would be my number one choice, but under one condition, and that is he is strictly the head coach, and not a GM. This is the guy who signed Gerrard Warren and Courtney Brown, no thanks. Shananhan is an X's and O's guy and he knows what he doing out there. He won 2 Super Bowls, and his Broncos teams are ussually in the playoff mix, year in and year out. He has a 146-95 record as a head coach as well. Players will respect him just because he is one of the longest tenured coaches in the league, and his teams are ussually competitive. He is also a gutsy guy. Earlier this year he went for two to win a game after his team scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. I like guys who are not scared to take risks like that, and the Browns need a flair like him on our team. The chances of him coming are pretty dim though. He informed the Browns that he was taking a two week vacation, and numerous insiders have said that he will take a year off and probably coach next year.

Scott Pioli: Pioli is the Vice President of the Patriots, and he helped put together three Super Bowl teams in New England. He is great at finding unknown talent, and bringing in players who fit the system in New England. He does not try to bring in high profile guys, and fit a square in a circle. My concern with him though is that Bellichick has the final say in New England, and Pioli just makes recommendations to him. I am sure Pioli has made some great picks, but it makes me skeptical that it is just Bellichick making the calls. Also, he has never served as an actual "GM". We do not want another Phil Savage here. Savage was a guy who was constantly on the road scouting, and he never seemed to be a good public presence. We cannot have gaffes with players and fans as Savage did. We need a GM with some experience, and is visible to the fans. I am unsure with the visibility part with Pioli, but I have some confidence in his ability to bring in the right players. The chances of him coming here are pretty good, as Lerner has made an offer to him, and Pioli seems to be interested in the job.

Floyd Reese: Reese is the former GM of the Tennessee Titans. To me, Reese is a very good choice. From 1999 - 2006, Reese was 3rd in the league in draft choices that are still in the NFL and 7th in the NFL in draft picks still on the Titans' roster. Since 1997, he has brought the Titans to one Super Bowl, two AFC Championships, 2 divisional championships, 4 playoff appearances, and a 5-4 playoff record. He also had two 13-3 seasons and four 11+ win seasons. Reese had a league-high 56 wins from 1999-2003. He has drafted very good players throughout his career. They include Eddie George, Steve McNair, Vince Young, Jevon Kearse, Jon Runyon, Samari Rolle, Keith Bulluck, Albert Haynesworth, Justin Hartwig, Tank Williams, Pacman Jones, Lendale White, Cortland Finnegan, Michael Roos, and Roydell Williams. That is a pretty impressive list. He has been out of the league since 2006, and it will probably take a fat check, and a lot of freedom in the front office. To me, Reese is my number one choice because he has the experience of GM, and he consistently had good teams in Tennessee.

The Indians trade for a 2B
Not a bad deal by Shapiro. Previously, I listed Brian Roberts and JJ Hardy, but Mark DeRosa isn't a bad consolation prize. I am glad to see Shapiro give away some pitching prospects as well. DeRosa is very versatile in that he can play 6 different positions, and 2B being his prime position. He batted .285 last year with 21 HR and 87 RBI's. Only three times in his career has he hit more than 10 homeruns, so this might be DeRosa peaking right now, but the Indians are trying to win with this move. He is a much better option than Jamey Carroll and Josh Barfield. I am glad to see the middle of our infield being solidified. He will probably bat second, and the Indians to me could use a valuable lead off man, to bring Sizemore to third in the lineup. We are wasting Sizemore at the top of our lineup because he is a good power hitter. Kenny Lofton sounds so nice right now.... The Indians just need to get big numbers from Hafner, Martinez, Beatancourt, Fausto, and Garko. If that happens, watch out, this team will surprise some people.....

The Cavaliers are coming down to earth
The Cavaliers continue to win, but they are no longer murdering teams as they were before. They played tough games versus Miami, Washington, and Oklahoma City. In these games, the Cavaliers defense was somewhat lazy, and players weren't sharing the ball a lot on offense. Last night versus Chicago, with Z out, the Cavs went back to their old ways and they played tough D, with great ball movement. Lebron notched a triple double, AV scored 26 points, Hickson was active downlow, Delonte shot well, and Gibson slowly seems to be getting back into it. This team continues to bond, as they cheer for each other during the game. As I said earlier, the Cavs still need one more player, preferably a swingman or big man. I have already written a lot, so next time I post a blog, I will dedicate a good amount of it to players who might become available, the odds of them coming, what it will take to get them, and how they would fit with the Cavs.

Well folks this wraps it up. Thanks for reading, and I hope to write again soon! Good luck and go Cleveland!

-Raz