Thursday's Thoughts

The dog days of the summer are upon us. Baseball is halfway through their season. The Women's World Cup is enjoying their global spotlight and tennis just crowned a new #1 in Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.

Let's analyze that first statement. Baseball has their usual grip on June and July. But why mention the Women's World Cup or a tennis champion of Serbian descent? I'll tell you why, because they are sporting events that are actually taking place on the pitch, and court respectively.

Turns out that both the NFL and NBA are in the midst of a lockout. These are initiated by the owners when they think they are getting the proverbial shaft. Basically, the owners say they are losing money and don't want to pay the players.


The NFL is almost four months deep into their freeze, although an agreement appears to be imminent depending on who the source is. The NBA however is not doing so well, as an overwhelming majority of the owners claim they are losing money. Fact is, we as the fans of these sports could really care less of the problems these sports are having. We know we want our football. Basketball just got done with what it seemed to be an 18-month season. I think we can do without that for a bit. Regardless, owners and players, get it together and hammer this out.

When the Browns return from their hiatus, it'll be another changing of the guard. New head coach Pat Shurmur has his hands full installing a new offense, let alone one with a young QB and WRs. Defensive Coordinator Dick Jauron is tasked with converting our defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3 without enough linemen. GM Tom Heckert is waiting for the green light on free agency so he can stock talent to fit our systems. All of this about a month before the first preseason game. It's a big undertaking, but Browns President Mike Holmgren has my confidence that we'll hit the ground running when an agreement is reached.

The Cavs selected Duke PG Kyrie Irving with the #1 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. No real surprise there. Tristan Thompson at #4 was unexpected, at least for me. Honestly, I'd never heard of him. From what it first sounded like, he was JJ Hickson with better D, but not as offensively gifted. This led to our trading of Hickson for swingman Omri Casspi from Sacramento. An upgrade from what we have, but the answer? We'll soon find out.

Thanks to the basketball lockout, GM Chris Grant is handcuffed from making further deals and talking free agency. His job is not to the scale of the Browns, but in a rebuilding season he's got to make the right moves when he pulls the trigger. We need a shooting guard and a small forward capable of defense and scoring. David West from New Orleans is a great fit for small forward. What say you Chris Grant?

Cleveland's Indians are still hanging onto first place in the AL Central. Starting pitching has been the surprise of the year, with Justin Masterson at an ERA of under 3.00, Josh Tomlin having 10 wins, and Carlos Carrasco developing into a viable front-end rotation pitcher. Hitting needs to pick up, as the Tribe can ill-afford to waste this effort from the pitching. With no one pulling away in the division, now is as good a time as any to make the big push. Lastly, congrats to Indians All-Starts, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, and closer Chris Perez.

Be sure to check out our July episode of Prime Time Sports, taped at Z's Cream and Bean in Hinckley, OH. We had a great time filimg and talking to the public. Tremendous service and product. I highly recommend stopping in for a cone or sundae. Thanks to Loralie and Greg for having us!

A more in-depth look at the Browns will be forthcoming, so keep checking out the site for new reads