Stop The Season, I Want To Get Off.

I can't take it. I can't take the pressure of a Cleveland team being favored to win a championship. This is just too much for me to bare. When the Cleveland Cavaliers finished the over-drawn out NBA regular season with the best record, it was wonderful, but so bittersweet. I just wanted the season to end there. Hang up a banner and call them regular-season champs. Unfortunately that isn't the way it works in Cleveland. The expectation now is to win the championship and sweep through the even more over-drawn out NBA playoff season.

It's great to have expectations, but a championship has not been won in Cleveland for over 45 years. My generation has seen heartbreak after heartbreak. Cleveland is a city that has three major sports teams and a sad story to tell about each one. Now the CAVS enter the post-season with the expectation to win the championship. No problem. Well...maybe one problem: the Cavaliers are from Cleveland. I am just hoping nobody has told the players about this small glitch.

The Upset Nobody Knows About

One of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history happened yesterday, and hardly anybody even knows about it. If you didn't fill out a women's bracket this year (don't lie-I know you didn't), than you weren't paying attention. Yesterday in a stunning upset, Ball State of the Mid-American Conference beat defending champion Tennessee in the first round 71-55.

If you aren't familiar with the format of the women's tournament, there are few upsets compared to the madness on the men's side. The committee sets the games up so that the higher-ranked teams play closer to home to draw more fans. On top of that, there is a great divide between the great teams in women's basketball and the good teams. The parity doesn't exist. (See: Connecticut's undefeated regular season rampage.) If you aren't familiar with Tennessee women's basketball, they don't lose in the first round. They never have. They have a coach in Pat Summitt (See: Legend) that just won her 800th game this season, and they also happen to be the two-time defending champions of this tournament. If you aren't familiar with Ball State women's basketball than join the club. I didn't have much of a chance to follow women's basketball in the MAC this winter, but I do know Ball State wasn't even favored to win their conference tournament this year. Their prize for winning their tournament was getting shipped to Kentucky to play Tennessee in the first round. This should have been a blow-out for Tennessee. It wasn't and that is what makes March Madness so great.

I am blogging about this today because of the timing of it all. Yesterday I had a conversation with a gentleman who didn't even know there was a women's tournament. I know most people don't follow women's sports like I do, but why not try it out this March? You may just catch some upsets or a history-making win like this one. Happy Women's History Month Ball State!

Sports Socialism

If you are following the current landscape of the 2008 election, you would know that the new catch phrase is "Redistribution of Wealth," and it is being used against Barack Obama. This is a fun phrase that the GOP and Fox News like to use to scare people into believing this will be the first time in their life they will have to pay taxes, and that those taxes are going to go directly to a non-deserving population of people. They are even calling him a Socialist. To these people apparently a Socialist is someone who believes those at the bottom deserve a chance, and with that chance, a more competitive market place will occur at home and abroad. This is not Socialism, it's common sense. If you are a sports fan, you see this annually when your favorite team drafts a new player. To make this more relevant to Cleveland sports fans, I want to remind you of the 2002-2003 Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 2002-2003 Cleveland Cavaliers stunk. They tied for the worst record in the league. Thankfully for the Socialist mentality of the NBA, and other major sports leagues, the worst teams in the league draft first. They do this to create a more competitive league by giving the worst teams a redistribution of wealth. That particular draft brought LeBron James to Cleveland and the rest is history. If the NBA didn't believe in fairness, then LeBron would have gone to the Los Angeles Lakers who won the championship the year before, and they would have continued to win championships year after year. This would have become boring, and fans would have stopped attending games for small market teams. This most likely would have ended up in a bailout for these small market teams and perhaps an emergency plan-maybe even a 700 billion dollar emergency plan-to help out these small market teams who never received the chance at a top draft pick. Even in my fantasy football league, the worst team gets the first shot at free agents every week. I almost called the Commissioner of my league this week to complain and call him a Socialist, but then I realized he was just being fair. Because of this Socialist fantasy football policy my last place team two weeks ago, has now won two games in a row, and we have HOPE that we can make the playoffs. We were given a chance to do something with our team, whether we did or not was up to us, but at least we had a chance.

If hope, fairness and chances are how the GOP is going to re-define socialism, then count me in because I am a small-market sports fan that loves fantasy football and loves this country. For now on, just call me Jo-Anne Six Pack, the Socialist.

Sportygrrl Election Homework: read this article from the New Yorker to see how much McCain actually AGREES with Obama AND Biden's policy and comments on taxation.
This excerpt is from the article:
During the 2000 campaign, on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” a young woman asked McCain why her father, a doctor, should be “penalized” by being “in a huge tax bracket.” McCain replied that “wealthy people can afford more” and that “the very wealthy, because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes, really don’t pay nearly as much as you think they do.” The exchange continued:
YOUNG WOMAN: Are we getting closer and closer to, like, socialism and stuff?. . .
MCCAIN: Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.

Kansas City Has The Right Idea!

The Browns' loss yesterday was humiliating. They looked horrible, and for the fifth game in a row, Derek Anderson looked like his arm was broken. He couldn't complete a pass to anyone wearing a white jersey. If he can't pull it together for the Cincinnati game, then I think it's time to make a change. I am going to start the "Brady, Brady!" chants. What I just found out, is that these chants aren't just happening in Cleveland. Kansas City has also started an organization to try and pry Brady Quinn from us. The website can be found here:The screenshot from the site is above and these people mean business. They have apparel and petitions being sent around the city to try and take OUR quarterback. It is amazing that these fans seem to like him even more than the Browns' coaching staff, and he is on OUR team.

The Bright Side Of The Cavs Losing

Yes, it was heartbreaking to watch the CAVS season end yesterday. Yes, I wish they were going up against the Pistons in a conference finals rematch from last year. However I have to look on the bright side of yesterday's loss and think: At least I won't be walking around Ireland the next two weeks trying to find a CAVS score. I have a feeling their games are not front page news over there.

Five days until Ireland!

Happy Birthday To Me (6 Months From Now)

I was partially joking when I told Julie I wanted to go the Monday Night Football game between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants on October 13, 2008. By partially joking I meant it in that way when you hope someone takes you seriously, and if they don't, you can just say: "What? I was just joking-I would never really ask for something like that for my birthday six months away from now." Thankfully she took me seriously. Today I got my birthday wish six months in advance when she purchased this view for that evening:

I've Fallen And I Can't Get My Computer Up

I actually wondered out loud last night if anyone noticed I hadn't blogged in a while. It brought up that age-old question: If a blogger stops blogging in the middle of the woods, would anyone notice? I haven't exactly been in the middle of the woods, but I have been unable to find any time over the past couple weeks to blog. Today one of my favorite people, who I hardly ever get to see or talk to anymore sent me this message: "Just checking-there haven’t been any new entries and you usually don’t go this long before posting something and with March Madness and all I figure you’re busy but I just wanted to make sure."

Apparently my blog has turned into one of those necklaces older people wear to alert people when something is wrong. If I go three weeks without blogging, you may want to check in if you haven't heard from me just to make sure.

Speaking of March Madness, As many of you know, I always take the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament off from work, which I call my holy days (ironically Good Friday fell on MY holy day this year). On Friday afternoon I went to the gym to work out and watch the games. It was the perfect way to burn calories and stay up on the scores, and apparently a lot more healthy than sitting on my couch drinking beer. (If only someone had told me this 10 years ago!) I promised myself I would work out for the whole first game, which went a little longer than I had planned. I started working out during the Gonzaga-Davidson game which went down to the wire and lasted almost two hours, and then CBS immediately went to the Western Kentucky-Drake game which went into overtime. There was no way I could leave during an overtime game, so I kept working out on the eliptical machine. And working out and working out and working out. About 150 minutes later and 1200 calories burned, Western Kentucky won on a buzzer beater in overtime. I threw my arms up in excitement, or at least I think I did because at that point my body just kinda slumped over. It was almost as if I had played in the game, except it felt more like I needed one of those necklaces the elderly wear.

Browns Sign Clinton and Obama

You can't go anywhere in Northeast Ohio without seeing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. I mean this literally. In past elections, the Ohio primary took place so late that the candidates for each party had already been decided (see: John McCain). This year both Obama and Clinton can't seem to get out of Ohio. Just yesterday Obama was down the road at Valley Forge High School as Hillary was a little farther east in Youngstown before she came to Akron this afternoon. She will be holding a rally at Cleveland State University tonight. They will both be back in Cleveland next Monday and Tuesday before the election. This 2008 primary is really starting to overshadow the Browns' Free Agent signings-so much so that I am beginning to think the Browns signed both Clinton and Obama. Can you even imagine? Let's Try:

CLEVELAND - The Browns made two signings today to shore up both their secondary and receiving corps by signing strong safety Hillary Clinton and slot receiver Barack Obama. Both players were signed to four-year contracts with the option for four more years, though no money is guaranteed for either player.

Clinton, a strong safety out of Wellesly College, has promised to defend the long bomb against defenders. Her services will come in handy as the Browns secondary only had 17 interceptions last year and is one of the youngest in the league. Clinton has been tauted as one of the most fiery veterans available, but has never been seen as a team player. "I don't care if people like me," Clinton said. "My coaches know I can get the job done and I am here to do that."

Obama, a slot reciever out of Columbia University, has promised to prove his critics around the league wrong who say he is too young to start. He has yet to show much in his first three years, but the Browns were willing to take a chance on him based on scouting reports. "I really think I can surprise some people at this level," Obama said. "I have fought through adversity before."

Browns fans seem torn on this decision by General Manager Phil Savage. It seems that 51 percent of the fans are happy, 47 percent of the fans are unhappy and two percent of the fans are undecided. Season ticket holder Dennis Kucinch* had this to say: "I am really disappointed they didn't at least try me out for the team. I might be little, but I really know how to fake people out."

*The writer of this blog is hopeful people will vote Dennis Kucinich out next Tuesday. Please consider voting for Joe Cimperman!

Reality Resembling Fantasy Is Good For Cleveland

If you are anything like me, and luckily for you, you probably are not, then I know you are as excited as I am about the Cleveland Browns free agent signings and off-season trades. In the past, Browns fans have had very little to look forward to. When it came to free agents, we got the best of the washed up 30 something crowd that any fan could hope for. Not anymore. Apparently when you fail to make the playoffs on the last game of the season due to the lackluster play of Derek Anderson (who I really really really wish the team would trade for draft picks), the team thinks they should try to get better in the off-season. Low and behold, only two days into free-agency, the Browns have traded for two defensive lineman who are in their prime and yesterday they signed a wide receiver my dad and I have owned on one of our fantasy football teams in the past. This was a nice indication of how far management has come considering they are almost on par with The OC Herons when it comes to football drafts and free-agent pickups.

A Nice Leather Vase

Last week my co-worker asked me why my blog was titled: "So Now What". For those of you who never read my first post, I will tell you what I told her: These are the words I said after the Super Bowl ended in 2005. The day after the Super Bowl is a hard one for me. It means I will have to wait seven more months until I see another snap again. Hello my name is Michele and I am addicted to football. However today is also the three year anniversary of my blog. This anniversary is more like Thanksgiving than the Fourth of July. It doesn't always fall on the same date, but it is always the Monday after the Super Bowl. I was looking on-line to see what gift to give my blog for this three year anniversary. The traditional gift for three years is leather and the modern gift is crystal, so I am torn.

In other news, the Super Bowl last night was incredible, and I made the most of the event, which happens to be one of my favorite days of the year. We had my brother Mark over and the three of us all agreed the party was the perfect size. I found out last night that Mark and I have the same theories on Super Bowl party size, and creating the perfect environment in which to watch the game. Hello my name is Michele and I am addicted to football. If you saw the food we put out, you probably would have thought there were ten people there, not to mention the amount of beer that was consumed. We put out homemade spinach dip, a jalapeno cheese ball, shrimp cocktail, salsa and chips and this recipe for chicken legs, which turned out to be the perfect Super Bowl snack. The only problem with cooking these chicken legs is that they make the house really smokey, which obviously takes away from the perfect Super Bowl environment.

Free Stadium Mustard When You Meet Your Deductible

Two years ago my brother and I had a contest to see who could name the most sports stadiums that aren't named after corporations. (Yes we can make a competition out of anything.) The first stadium we both mentioned was Jacobs Field-the field our very own Cleveland Indians play on every summer. Next time we become sports dorks and decide to have this competition, Jacobs Field will no longer be on that list.

Sadly, Jacobs Field is now going to be called Progressive Field. When I first heard this I really hoped it had something to do with the changing political landscape in Cleveland. This was not the case. Peter Jacobs, Cleveland's richest man and the founder of Progressive Insurance, has bought the naming rights to Jacobs Field. Jacobs, who has his name on half the builings on the East side of the city, has now decided to move downtown. The whole thing is a little depressing like most sell-outs, and is enough to make me want to leave the country. Luckily, I got my passport yesterday, which makes that possible.

Goodbye Frye!

Early reports this morning from my friend Staci, a very reliable source, say that the Browns have traded quarterback Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth round pick. Keep in mind she told me this two hours before it was reported on cleveland.com. Apparently I have contacts that rival Deepthroat from the Watergate Era.

My only question now is: Why does he get to leave? After his performance on Sunday he should be made to stay here and watch every game this season just like the rest of us. After playing the worst game of his life, he is now on a playoff team. The only logical reason I could think of is that because he is from Ohio, they found the farthest destination they possibly could as punishment.

Marketing For Dummies

Last night as I was watching the NBA draft on Tivo*, I heard Julie say: "Where the hell do they think I live?" I looked over at her as she was reading her e-mail and said: "Who?" She then went on to tell me the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau (an extension of Cleveland+) had sent her an e-mail to enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Cleveland. The Grand Prize included: Two-night accommodations at the Crowne Plaza City Centre Hotel, four tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Tickets, four Ingenuity Festival One-Day Tickets, four Dew Sports Action Tour 4-Day Tickets, dinner at the House of Blues, and two roundtrip airline tickets on Continental Airlines.

While that package is great, I really think the braintrust behind Cleveland+ should at least start outside of Cleveland proper. Maybe try the suburbs next time. Those of us who live within the city limits, really don't need a flight.

*Watching the NBA draft on Tivo was one of the best sports draft experiences I have ever had. For an event that takes over four hours, I was able to watch the whole thing in less than an hour. I caught every pick and was able to stop for some key analysis and draft fashion, but other than that, I got to avoid all the useless information they dig up to fill up four hours of television.

Writers Block

Every year about this time, I get writers block. It isn't that I don't have things to write about-this past week alone I have kept myself busy with biking, going to Pride, Father's Day activities, dogwalks through the Metroparks and a fun night downtown, including dinner at Fat Fish Blue. There is something about this time of year, where I just don't get motivated to write. I think it is because it is my "off-season." As a sports fan, June through August is my off-season because there is very little going on in the world of sports to write about. I am not a big baseball fan, so I will watch what the CAVS do in the off-season to improve, but other than that I am sports-free for the next couple months, or so I thought... I checked my e-mail this morning and got this message: "Your Fantasy Football League is ready for 2007." So much for the off-season.

Maybe Next Year, Eh?

I hardly ever pay attention to the Stanley Cup Finals in hockey. This is true for many Americans. Canadians on the other hand are a different breed. They live and breathe hockey there as I found out on my recent trip to Toronto when I overheard a conversation at breakfast. What I heard was a conversation regarding hockey between an elderly woman and a gay man (see: everyone there loves hockey!). She was saying things like (sorry I cant do the accent on the blog): "We HAVE to do it this year. We HAVE to bring the trophy back here where it belongs." I was amazed by how she kept going on and on, while I, an avid sports fan, didn't have any idea who was even playing in the finals. Unfortunately for that woman and almost every other Canadian, the Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators last night to keep the cup here in America where it has been since 1993. I almost feel bad for all the Canadians who don't think Americans deserve to win hockey championships because we probably don't. With this being said, I think Canada should change its national anthem from O Canada to Aw Canada.

Leave Us Alone

I graduated with an undergraduate degree in public relations, which is going to make this next sentiment seem really strange, but the Cavaliers are getting too much press. I love the CAVS. This is no secret. Everyone in Cleveland it seems loves the CAVS, and now everyone in the country seems to love the CAVS, so what is my problem? The problem is if Cleveland is going to be a viable underdog, they can't do it with so much press. Everytime I turn around a so-called expert is picking the CAVS, interviewing LeBron James, asking the Spurs how they can possibly match up with the CAVS. We have moved from underdog, to trendy underdog to the trendy pick to win it all since our clinching victory over Detroit.

Give us a chance to be the underdog in this series. Nobody thought we could beat Detroit this year, which made that series victory so sweet. If people start picking us to win this thing, they curse us and they take away the glamour of Cleveland being the underdog. Let us be the Detroit Pistons of 2004. If you recall nobody picked them to beat the Lakers that year, and when they did they became everyone's favorite underdog. I even cheered for them and I have always hated the Pistons. At this point I would like the national media to just leave us alone, to not like us, to not pick us to win it all. Don't curse Cinderella before midnight even arrives. We already have enough curses to overcome just by playing in Cleveland.

*As a sidenote, I do not care what we do against the Spurs. Beating the Pistons in 6 games was sweet enough for me.

Cleveland+ Is Smiling This Morning

My Mom Always Hoped I Would Fall For A Good Catholic Boy

I will be the first to admit I was relieved when the Browns took Joe Thomas with the third pick in last week's draft instead of Brady Quinn. I didn't want Brady Quinn, but at that time I didn't know that I just didn't want him with the third pick in the draft. After watching Quinn get passed up by team after team after team, I began to feel for him, and then something even weirder happened: I wanted him to play for the Browns. As the seconds ticked down on the Dallas pick, I kept hoping Phil Savage would make the trade to get Quinn. When he finally completed the trade, I literally pumped my fist in the air. I couldn't believe it! I pumped my fist in the air for a quarterback from Notre Dame. What was going on here? I couldn't help it. He won my heart over as he sat there for four hours, so patient and calm as millions and millions of guaranteed dollars went through his grasp. I think during this time I even developed a little crush on the guy. Yesterday at work I had the following Instant Messenger conversation with my sports-talking co-worker (The names remain the same as there are no innocent people here to protect):

[17:44] Michele: i think i want a brady quinn jersey. do you think its too early?
[17:44] Bill: follow your heart...
[17:45] Michele: i might have a man crush on him
[17:45] Bill: really?
[17:45] Bill: You're already a Brady Bunch convert?
[17:45] Michele: i might be
[17:45] Michele: can't tell yet, but i like looking at his picture
[17:46] Bill: wow!
[17:46] Bill: I don't know what to say.
[17:46] Bill: have you blogged about these feelings, yet?

So now under my list of things to do, I can put a check next to: Blogging about my "unnatural" feelings for Brady Quinn.

A Potpourri Of Clubbing Clothes, Peacepipes, Lunch Diets And Binge Drinking

I had so many things I wanted to write about today. Let me just touch upon a few of the highlights before I move on to the truly blog-worthy idea I found online.

First off, I had an interesting weekend working events for the women's basketball tournament. On Saturday, I found myself blocking the view of Geno Auriemma at the high school All-Star game as I was sitting in press row, and he of course was sitting wherever the hell he wanted to be sitting. I also scored tickets to the WNBA/WBCA after-party, but decided I may stick out too much to go. The person who gave me the tickets told me to try and blend in by wearing the clothes I would wear to go clubbing. I skipped that event. My clubbing clothes were at the cleaners.

Another blog idea was that I should mention I have started the Subway Challenge. Goodbye mayonnaise and cheese and hello honey mustard. I have decided to follow in Jared's footsteps and see if this six grams of fat marketing campaign actually works for lunch. That's right, I am only going to do it for lunch. It will take off the guilt from the wings and beer I will be consuming at dinner.

My original blog idea got bumped, so I thought I would just shorten it by giving a quick summary. Did anybody see that the Cleveland Indians played the St. Louis Cardinals in the Inaugural Civil Rights Game commemorating the civil rights movement in baseball? To stay true to the game, the Cleveland Indians removed Chief Wahoo off of their uniforms...for JUST this exhibition game. Doesn't it seem like more of a slap in the face to do that for just this game, and then put it back on for the regular season--ya know...the games that actually count. I think someone in marketing was smoking the peacepipe on this idea.

And finally the idea that trumps all others occurred just a little while ago as I was surfing the internet trying to find out the fat and calories in alcohol, to keep an accurate measurement of my Subway Challenge. I found someone else was doing a similar search, and had posted their questions for all the world to answer. I love this open letter almost as much as I want to find the person who wrote it so that I can hang out with them sometime. Enjoy...

"My favourite tipple is a double vodka with diet coke (the coke filled to the top) in a average glass served by pubs in the UK.
1. Can anyone tell me the average kcal calories content of a glass? 2. If I drank an average of 8-10 glasses of these on a weekend nightout, how many calories would I be consuming? 3. Would adding ice help reduce calorie content or increase sobriety? Or no different? 4. What is the lowest calories double spirits and mixer? (But withequal strength of alcohol)? 5. Does an increase in alcohol strength mean an increase in calories? 6. Is eating food (e.g. kebab, chips) after a drinking binge harmfulor not? e.g. helps reduce hangovers, or increases nausea in morningetc. What is recommended? Should I drink water before eating food, orafter eating food? Or both or does it make no different? Tips will be given for thorough answers."

I think I may have found my British counterpart!

This Is Better Than The Republican National Convention Anyday

Remember when Cleveland had a chance to host the Republican National Convention and there was publicity everywhere because of all the money it would bring to the city? How is it that the NCAA Women's Final Four is going to be in Cleveland this weekend and you aren't really hearing that much about it? This event is even bigger to me, but on a different level, and not just because it doesn't involve a lot of republicans running around my city. On top of the lack of Republicans, it will bring a lot of big names to this city for speaking events, games and coaching conventions, it will increase awareness of Title IX, as that legislation will celebrate its 35-year anniversary with a three-day convention in Cleveland, it will also empower young women in Cleveland with events held everyday to increase knowledge of the sport and of women in sports, and most importantly major sports publications are writing articles such as this one to shed positive light on our fine city. If you love sports and you call Cleveland home, hopefully you will realize what a wonderful opportunity this is for our fine city. I am lucky to fall into both of those categories, and I am also lucky becaue I got a volunteer gig at the event for the weekend, so I may be a little biased.