NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs linked to potential deal for Omer Asik
December 13, 2013Metal music, Christmas gifts, EZ Pass, and Internet friends – Casual Friday with Denny – WFNY Podcast – 2013-12-13
December 13, 2013Cleveland sports fans are waiting. Thus, while we’re all waiting, the WFNY editors thought you might enjoy reading. Because you never know how long we might be waiting. So here are assorted reading goodies for you to enjoy. Send more good links for tomorrow’s edition to tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Remember this guy? “The majority of Indians fans and the media as a whole are somewhat overlooking Trevor Bauer’s candidacy for the Cleveland starting rotation. It seems to me as if we’ve forgotten him a little bit, that we are leaving him off our ‘who I’d like to see in the 2014 rotation’ lists. Trevor is always in the mix, but most of the time I see Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco mentioned ahead of Bauer, while I think Bauer has more talent. He could yet prove to be a key contributor to the Indians in 2014.” [Ash Day/Let’s Go Tribe]
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Could the Tribe be interested in this long-time Cincinnati Red: “On the field, Bronson brings a much needed commodity to the table in his durability. He throws 200 innings every year, making more than 32 starts and always pitching at least relatively deep into games. The stats aren’t mind blowing, but they get the job done. His last five years he’s got a 4.05 ERA working out to a 100 ERA+, meaning he’s been a dead average pitcher over that time. That’s better than Corey Kluber (98) and Kazmir (93) were a year ago, and both of them missed time on the DL.” [Merritt Rohlfing/Wahoos on First]
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Brady Anderson. Remember him? The guy who once hit 50 homers for the Orioles and had a cup of coffee with the Indians? Well, he was challenged to a foot race during the Winter Meetings. This story is too good not to share. [Tim Anderson/Eutaw Street Report]
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Thorough article on ups and downs of Tristan Thompson: “When he gets it on the right side, Thompson is pretty good at creating his right-handed hook shot and converts it. Unfortunately, Thompson has struggled badly around the rim, with his field goal percentage of 45.7 amounting to a full 10.8% below the league average. A good amount of these misses come from awkward tip ins or blocked shots that are a result of his own offensive rebounds, but that only excuses so much; if Thompson deserves credit for creating possessions for his team, the times they lead to his own misses detract from his signature skill.” [David Zavac/Fear The Sword]
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Harsh words on the Cavs’ latest No. 1 pick: “The list of problems plaguing Bennett is long. For starters, we can look at Bennett’s lack of aggression on offense. His size and skill level suggest he should have at least some success at drawing fouls inside. Doing so would be a great way to begin playing efficiently and productively. In November, though, he played 133 minutes total and made just one free throw in four attempts. Michael Carter-Williams had eight free throw attempts in his first NBA game.” [David Thorpe/ESPN Insider]
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Thoughts on how NFL GMs have a smaller margin than ever, with notes on the Browns state of affairs: “Meanwhile, the Browns go into the 2014 preseason knowing that they are a quarterback and a few other pieces away from legitimate contention, and the 2014 draft will be far richer at the game’s most important position than the 2013 version was. By staying patient and stockpiling picks — the game’s most valuable currency by far — the Browns are in a catbird seat, and the Colts could be on the outside looking in sooner rather than later.” [Doug Farrar/SI.com]
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Surprise key matchup for Sunday’s game: “Josh Gordon versus Tim Jennings/Zachary Bowman — Although Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall will be facing off against Joe Haden, that matchup is less important because Haden can’t cover both receivers at the same time. If the Chicago Bears can stop Gordon, then the Cleveland Browns have little chance of winning the game.” [Cian Fahey/Bleacher Report]
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The language is vulgar in the classic style of this site, but there are fair points on rooting for tanking: “Anyway, I watched Vikes-Ravens from beginning to end even though, superficially speaking, the Vikings had ‘nothing’ to play for. They were 3-8-1 with a lame-duck coach and three lame-duck quarterbacks. In theory, the only thing at stake when the Vikings played the Ravens in that snowstorm was their draft position. Their precious, precious draft position.” [Drew Magary/Deadspin]
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Worthwhile article on Knowshon Moreno and NFL running backs, especially as it relates to the Browns’ post-Trent Richardson era: “The lesson here seems to be that the route to being a productive NFL running back is more undefined than it is with any other position. There are obvious exceptions, but they’ve become rarer now than ever before. Adrian Peterson’s path is now the outlier.” [Robert Mays/Grantland]
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Video breakdown of how Connor Cook and the Spartans tore up the Buckeyes defense: “After a season of troubling signs from the Ohio State pass defense, the dam broke Saturday. Once again, an opposing offense set season high in passing yards against the Buckeye defense and, once again, the Buckeye defense was undone by fundamental breakdowns.” [Ross Fulton/Eleven Warriors]
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Finally, I’m pretty pumped for Saturday’s showing of “Youngstown Boys.” Here’s a transcript of a Q&A with Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett via ESPN. [Ed Sherman/Sherman Report]