The Airing of the Grievances

This has been an especially difficult sports year and, quite frankly, I have a lot of problems with a lot of people and they're going to hear about it:

1. To Gene Smith: For failing at the entire essence of your job, which is to ensure compliance with NCAA rules and understand basic principles associated with the potential penalties. And don't think I didn't notice that your ass sat as the Chairman of the NCAA tournament committee that stuck our basketball team in a region with North Carolina, Syracuse and Kentucky. Go back to South Bend where you belong.

2. To Scott Arniel: For continuing to suck at your job that you are still so lucky to have in a bad economy. There are crack addicted hookers in line for unemployment that could coach the Blue Jackets to a better record.

3. To Mike Holmgren: Look, we know you wanted to hire someone who would be your puppet and wipe your ass when you get off the shitter. We were all just hoping that person would be better than Pat Shurmur. Speaking of...

4. To Pat Shurmur: It's not your fault you suck as a head coach. Some people are born with the ability to lead and make difficult decisions in the heat of the moment. You're just not wired that way. But please just admit it and go back to coordinating.

5. To the Walmart Wolverines of Ohio: We didn't miss you at all from 2001 -2010. And yet one win at home when your defense sucked against the worst Ohio State offense possibly ever brings you back out of hibernation. Meet Urban Meyer and crawl back into your hole. Now. Right now. And when you're gone, stay gone or you'll be gone. Understand?

6. To James Harrison: I agree suspending you was a mistake. The proper punishment would be to take your helmet away and go back to those leather things they used to wear decades ago. You obviously don't know or seem to care about the long-term effects of concussions on the brain. You'll find out and you may also learn to form tackle in the process. Good luck.

7. To Alex McLeish: For accepting a position you are so clearly unqualified to have. For not being able to figure that Emile Heskey is about 76 1/2 years past his prime. For ignoring Super Marc Albrighton for almost half the season. For playing the most pussificated form of European Football I've ever seen.

8. To Chris Antonneti and Mark Shapiro: For trading your top two pitching prospects, former #1 draft picks, for a strictly fastball starting pitcher that had one good year and two years left on his current contract. No, seriously, that deal made no fucking sense unless you are secret agents for the Colorado Rockies. We Indians fans were satisfied with building slowly the right way. Then the 2 of you got desperate to win now to save your jobs. Congratulations! Now please find new ones.

9. To Lebron James: Please stop apologizing to Cleveland. In fact, never mention Cleveland or the Cavaliers again. Just keep their names out of your mouth and be a Miami Heat. Somes sins are just unforgiveable.

10. To ESPN: For destroying anything that resembled journalistic integrity. For your conflicts of interest. For continuing to employ Craig James, Mark May, Lou Holtz, Chris Berman, Colin Cowherd, Chris Broussard, Bob Ryan, Woody Paige, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, Desmond Howard and every other mouth-breathing blowhard in sports entertainment.

11. To the Columbus Crew: Nothing. Keep on being the hardest working team in America.

The Calm After the Storm

I am often a perpetrator of sports fan irrationality.

• After Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, I took my replica Florida Marlins helmet from my collection to the backyard and smashed it with golf club.



• When the Zombie Browns (Read: Ravens) beat the New York Giants to win the Super Bowl, I threw a drunken conniption fit.



• When the Cavs traded Mark Price to the Washington Bullets, I cried a little. (Come on, I was just a kid!)
  


• I’m not even going to get into my feelings about Lebron James.
  
  Earlier today I let out some anger and venom towards the NCAA for their ruling on the Ohio State case. I was upset. I thought OSU’s level of cooperating (as detailed in a prior post) would save them from the dreaded bowl ban. I think the ban ultimately ends up punishing players in the future that had nothing to do with the NCAA violations rather than the players who were responsible. I think the scholarship reductions have a trickle-down effect of ultimately denying an educational opportunity to nine future high school kids that otherwise may not be able to afford college.
  
  I was upset because I was already anticipating the high-quality entertainment from the national media’s Butthurt Symphony if there had been no bowl ban.
  
  As usual, my anger was misplaced. The Marlins just played better. The Ravens were playing for another scorned city who had lost their football team in heartbreaking fashion. The Cavs were just preparing for the future. And the NCAA was just doing its job by imposing penalties that will encourage schools in the future to strictly monitor and enforce their rules. It takes time to see these things. (and no, I’m still not over Lebron James, so don’t ask!)
  
  The people that really messed up deserve the venom:
  


• Jim Tressel for placing winning over doing the right thing.



• Gene Smith for his amazing miscalculation in assuming there would be no bowl ban and for believing that the Gator Bowl was somehow worth the risk that he could be wrong.



• Bobby DiGeronimo, for being a jocksniffing piece of shit.



• Terrelle Pryor, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, Daniel Herron, Solomon Thomas, Jordan Whiting, Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, Corey “Pittsburgh” Brown. For not recognizing that “rules are rules” and that a couple hundred bucks here or there aren’t worth the damage to your reputation in a community that “takes care of” former Buckeyes.
  


• Ohio State fans. For every rant-filled, non-sensical email, phonecall, tweet, text or otherwise that you’ve sent to ESPN, Sports Illustrated and other members of the national sports media that have caused them to have it out for us. And they do have it out for us. Yes, this probably includes me.
  

I’m over it though (and a lot quicker than I thought I would be). The NCAA did its job. Ohio State deserved what it got. Their cooperation probably saved them from USC-type punishments.

If you’re still angry about the one year bowl ban, remember this: Michigan had a self-imposed two-year bowl ban during the Rich Rodriguez Error. So it could be worse. #perspective

Keep on preachin' on @CavsDan

Listening to Mike and Mike this morning on the way to work, I could have been absolutely convinced that Dan Gilbert single-handidly shut down the Chris Paul-to-Lakers trade.

Except, of course, that I'm not an idiot. I know he doesn't wield that kind of power. And I don't trust any spin from ESPN. I mean, they had Chris Broussard on the radio trying to give an objective opinion about an issue involving a Leon Rose-represented client when anybody that's been paying attention for the past 2 years knows CB loves him some Leon Rose.

So please spare me.

If you're one of the two or three people that actually read this blog, you've already seen the Gilbert email that was sent at 10:00 p.m. last night calling for an owner vote (Note: Not a rescission) on the Paul trade; since, you know, the owners and the NBA kind of own the Hornets and Paul's rights. I'm not sure how it got leaked, but we all know how much of a lightning rod Gilbert can be for controversy. So it seems clear to me that someone in the league office leaked it to put the heat on @cavsdan, as opposed to David Stern, who actually deserves it.

The problem with the "Gilbert is the devil" narrative is that the trade had already been nixed before the email was sent. ESPN failed to pick up on that; or maybe they just thought they didn't have enough corroborating evidence since they are so concerned about running reckless stories - except for, well, stories about free tattoos and autographs.

Plus, can anybody really tell me Gilbert is wrong when he compares a majority of the league to the Washington Generals? I'm not saying there's necessarily anything that can be done about it now with the new CBA failing to address the problem. But players are still going to want to team up and copy off the Miami Superfriends. That isn't going to change. Paul is still going to leave New Orleans (which is why blocking the trade was non-sensical). We will still only have 5-6 teams theroetically capable of winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Everyone else will just exist to fill out the 82-game schedule.

Gilbert's letter, although ill-advised, at least gives me some comfort that there is someone out there that sees what is going on AND IS NOT AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT. And what is going on is this: the players don't care about the fans. They really don't. How else can you explain a guy like Lebron James leaving loyal fans in Cleveland to go play for bandwagon, late-arriving, hand-sitting, front runners on South Beach? Carmelo pushing his way out of Denver? Howard getting ready to bail on Orlando? Chris Paul pissing on the fans of New Orleans? Come on man! Can't you see what's going on? Dan Gilbert does.

You know, whatever. Maybe I'm just blind to the realities of the business because of my rational hatred for Lebron James. Maybe I'm still feeling a little jilted. That's possible. But you know what? Give me a reason to believe the players give a shit about the fans that keep putting money in their pockets. Then I'll feel sorry for the Chris Pauls of the world. Until then...

Go Cavs! Screw the players, David Stern and the rest of the league. And keep preaching the truth Dan Gilbert. Some of us appreciate it.