The 2015 Cleveland Indians ZiPS projections have arrived
January 26, 2015
Audience with the King: Cleveland State Loses Before LeBron
January 27, 2015
Happy Tuesday WFNY!
Hopefully all your balls are fully inflated as we begin this Tuesday journey. Speaking of segues, how about this deflate-gate b.s.? Here we are, just a few days away from the biggest sporting event in American culture, and all anyone wants to talk about is how much air pressure was in some footballs. It seems crazy to me.
I get it, there are rules and teams and players are supposed to follow the rules no matter how asinine a rule may be1. But still, the outrage over this has completely caught me off-guard. Personally, I see this issue much like batters using too much pine tar or pitchers trying to sneak substances under the lid of their cap to help them grip the baseball better. It’s gamesmanship more than cheating to me. And I say this as someone with an impeccable record as a Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and New England Patriots hater.
I think that last sentence is what this is all about more than anything. The Patriots are an easy team to hate. Especially after Spygate2. I think people are latching on to this so much because they just want any excuse to further vent their anger toward the Patriots franchise. I say this because I refuse to believe that reasonable adults are seriously this upset about how much air was inside some footballs.
As for the Super Bowl itself, I’m excited for this one. I have truly felt that the Patriots were the best team in the AFC this year and that the Seahawks were the best NFC team (especially without an Aaron Rodgers at 100% health). This feels like a true heavyweight fight, and I hope beyond hope that it lives up to the billing as such. We don’t get many close games in Super Bowls, but when they happen to occur, they are pretty much the best thing ever. I’m looking forward to this one.
*****
The Cavaliers are still good
So yeah, it’s hard to believe just two weeks ago it seemed like everything was spiraling out of control. Now here we sit with the Cavaliers playing their best basketball of the season and riding a six game winning streak and everything feels right in the world today. I’ve been preaching all season long that winning cures a lot of what ails you, and we’re seeing that play out here. Of course, LeBron James coming back cures a lot of illness as well.
Now that Iman Shumpert is back from injury as well, we’re pretty close to seeing a lineup and rotation that represents more or less what this team will be come playoff time. There are probably two things that could/might/probably will change. One is the question of whether Shumpert or JR Smith starts at the SG spot, and the other is the question of whether the Cavaliers are able to trade Brendan Haywood’s unique contract.
On the Shumpert vs Smith part, I have pretty mixed feelings. On the one hand, starting Shumpert and bringing Smith off the bench seems like the obvious, logical choice. Shumpert helps bolster the perimeter defense with the starters and allows LeBron James to not always have to guard the most explosive wing player on the other team. And JR Smith coming off the bench gives the Cavaliers some of that much needed bench scoring that has been lacking all season. Smith’s offensive bursts can help mitigate the typical offensive falloff we’ve seen when the starters rest on this team.
So done deal, right? Well, here’s the thing. The offense is really clicking right now with Smith in the starting lineup. The movement is really flowing and JR’s catch and shoot ability is opening up the spacing and giving LeBron and Kyrie a little more freedom to create not just for themselves, but also for teammates. There seems to be some really good chemistry working with this team with Smith in the starting lineup.
That’s not to say Shumpert is a bad offensive player. He’s not. He’s a very capable offensive player. But his fit with the starting lineup is very different from JR’s fit. They are very different players. And there will absolutely be a chemistry adjustment with Shumpert in the starting lineup. In the long run, it might be for the best. It probably will be. But if I were a coach, I would be somewhat uneasy about disrupting the momentum the current starting lineup has. I’d probably be more inclined to wait for this unit to hit a rough patch and then make the change to re-charge the lineup. For now, David Blatt doesn’t have to make that decision, as Shumpert is still working his way back to full strength. But in a week or two, we’ll see how Blatt decides to handle the situation.
In many ways, it reminds me a bit of the decision Urban Meyer has to make with JT Barrett and Cardale Jones. Logic tells me that JT Barrett is the best QB and the player who should start next year. But how do you disrupt the momentum that the team has with Cardale? Decisions like these are part of the reason why head coaches are so highly paid.
The other issue for the Cavaliers is the trade market. We keep hearing over and over again that the team is looking for a backup PG and is willing to use Haywood’s contract to go out and secure one. However, I’d much rather see the team try to find a backup center who is also a rim protector. The Cavaliers are playing great right now. But they are also a Timofey Mozgov injury away from going back to defending like we saw all season long. In the Thunder game last Sunday, when Mozgov went to the bench with foul trouble, the Thunder abused the Cavaliers inside again. Once again they had free reign over the paint and Kevin Love more or less stood and watched like always while Tristan Thompson was slow in rotating on help defense like always. It was dizzying seeing how quickly the defense can fall apart with Mozgov on the bench. That’s how important he is to this team.
That’s not to say the Cavaliers couldn’t use a high quality backup PG. A guy like Shaun Livingston would have been a luxury on this team3. But I don’t think it’s quite as big of a need as a backup rim protector is. JR Smith is capable of running the point in some situations as is LeBron James. JR Smith isn’t a natural PG or distributor, but in a pinch, he can bring the ball up and get the team into their offense. Matthew Dellavedova isn’t great when asked to play big minutes, but I’m more comfortable with him getting playing time than I am with the prospect of the Cavaliers playing without Mozgov.
The good news is, these moves aren’t of dire need right now. Thankfully the Cavaliers have begun to figure things out and they are starting to look like a real threat in the Eastern Conference. These moves we’re talking about are only things that will help bolster the depth and the player rotations and matchups.
*****
Northeast Ohio music is thriving
The Cleveland music scene is on fire right now. Last year, Cloud Nothings put out my favorite album of the year, and another Cleveland band, Herzog, put out an album that landed on Craig Lyndall’s top five list. And last Friday, Craig mentioned Ohio Sky in his WWW segment. And he’s spot on, that album is awesome and something definitely worth checking out.
Today, I want to talk about another Cleveland/Columbus band4, The Sidekicks. The band is signed to Epitaph Records, which would logically lead one to expect them to be a punk band. But this band is anything but. Their new album, “Runners in the Nerved World”, came out last week and by all accounts is a major departure for the band.
I was previously unfamiliar with the band, but this is their fourth album. And I guess their roots do indeed lie with punk music. But you wouldn’t know it from listening to this album. The most logical comparisons you will hear for this band are Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket, and The Shins. A lot of that is due to the vocals. But the album is also an eclectic mix of songs that play around with post-punk stylings and more traditional American rock sounds.
The band seems to getting some bigger attention with their new album from national media and some of the bigger music sites out there. Which is just another great thing for the Cleveland music scene. The Cleveland scene may not be a close group of friends and bands like the Seattle scene was, but right now it seems like every other week I’m discovering another great Cleveland band or artist.
I hope you guys enjoy this band, and I hope you all have a great rest of your week!
- I mean, come on…why is there a rule on how much air has to be in the football? Tom Brady can use fully deflated footballs if he wants to for all I care [↩]
- Which was an absolutely egregious case of real cheating [↩]
- I still really wish the Cavaliers would have tried harder to keep Livingston [↩]
- The band seems to bounce back and forth between the two cities [↩]
41 Comments
I’d also add Built to Spill as a Sidekicks comparison. I little poppy compared to what I normally expect from Cleveland. Reminds more of Columbus bands like The Connections.
As far as Deflategate, the NFL does not really have clearly spelled out repercussons for clear violations of rules. I don’t see why the refs would not notice this if it in fact happened. Also, I don’t know why all teams provide their own balls, then have them inspected hours before the game, only to have them returned for handling and safekeeping during the game. The NFL could manage the balls and this would not be an issue. One thing to note, the Pats fumble the ball 1 in 186 attempts (i heard a stat somewhere don’t quote me) and the next closest team is 110. So not only does it help the passing game, it also helps the ball carrier. Either way, I am not too upset about it. It is another NFL problem. I am sure most teams skirt the line, maybe the pats just got a little too close.
I love the whole deflated footballs story. It is far more interesting than what we usually get during the annual two-week lead-up to the game.
I don’t care about Marshawn Lynch’s crotch or Richard Sherman’s mouth or Gronk’s party bus or any of the other extremely boring side stories that pass for news during this period. The air-pressure story has some real meat on the bone.
Yeah, in the big picture, air pressure doesn’t mean much, but the cover-up is always worse than the crime. So I can’t get enough of this. The intrigue. The mystery. The sight of Belichick giving a physics lecture.
You’re never going to see anything like this again, folks, so enjoy it. Because next year it will be back to sappy human interest stories and manufactured bulletin-board outrage and blah blah blah.
You make a great point. Belichick’s unintentionally hilarious press conference alone was worth this whole “scandal”. And I even agree that this story is way better than the typical inanity we get in the leadup to the big game.
I think you just changed my mind on this. And I’m completely serious.
Built to Spill is a great comparison, bringing that poppier sound to a post-punk foundation.
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/01/ballghazi_the_new_england_patriots_lose_an_insanely_low_number_of_fumbles.html is what you’re referring to.
I’ve long noted that other than final games of the season, the Patriots are so far better at home than the road it’s absurd. @AndrewWFNY:disqus I agree it’s overblown, but it’s still interesting: If they were cheating, why? Why the cover-up? That they did it in the first place is what’s more interesting than the minimal impact it actually has.
Welcome aboard, Andrew! Enjoy the ride.
I can’t believe that Belichick did that last press conference willingly. I get the feeling that Kraft told him, “Look, you weasel, I’m sick of this deflate thing taking attention away from me and my team during the frickin’ SUPER BOWL!!! So you get out there and you put this thing to rest once and for all.” And so Bill put on one of those illuminating dissertations that he’s so famous for and laid nothing to rest.
Now we have the mysterious equipment guy disappearing into a room with the balls for 10 minutes for unexplained reasons. And the investigators are looking for incriminating texts, emails, and such. And for good measure, the Pats may get hammered as a punishment since they’re repeat offenders.
This is good stuff.
Hopefully we get a Zapruder film of the missing 90 seconds. WHAT IF THERE WAS A SECOND DEFLATER!?!?!?
Why are they cheating, because they can, and the NFL will not be able to do anything about it. What are they going to do, take away a draft pick? The pats win 10+ games every year. They would love to have a 1st rounder, but is that worth giving up for a superbowl opportunity, if they think they need it to get in? Probably.
Jack over Livingston was a decision that contributed to Chris Grant’s firing, besides his dubious drafting.
RE: JR vs Shump in the starting lineup….
Seems like an opportune time to shut down KLove for two weeks through the All Star break.
His back is more of an issue than is being told to the public.
Starters; Kyrie, Shumpert, LeBron, Marion, Mozgov
Bench; Delly, JR, Miller, Tristan
Didn’t Marion retire?
Not yet…technically.
The NFL will deny ever seeing the elevator footage of Rice, yet, they’ll scour the planet for some bathroom ball footage.
So, which network will produce a demonstration seeing if 11 footballs can be deflated in 90 seconds?
I think it is more Nixonian. Why did he keep all those recordings that ended up getting him in trouble? Because he knew it gave him the slightest of advantages in situations he could control (as long as no one found out). Well, when people find out, the things that slightly helped you are the things that can undercut you.
The reason there is an uproar isn’t over the silly inane rule (as I think they should be able to use whatever inflation level they want as well). The uproar is because all NFL teams know that Belichick will skirt the rules and bend the wording to his benefit at every turn and they have found a case where he clearly stepped over the line. Of course, good luck proving it.
did you know that Jerome Bettis is from Detroit and he played in a Superbowl in Detroit?
and, you didn’t even get into the Kraft press conference where he took Goodell to task (who is a buddy of his and whom he defends during any non-Patriots scandal).
that was hilarious. seeing Kraft get all pompous and righteous demanding an apology if they don’t find anything reminded me of Judge Smails “I DEMAND SATISFACTION!”
Well, he sure plays like he already retired.
sounds like a Japanese game show
And Tom Brady says his “feelings were hurt”! O the humanity!
Check out SNL’s opening skit last Saturday on YouTube. It’s SNL at its best.
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/58523212.jpg
Louis CK speaks on Deflategate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6EGmhfXMLI
I hope to see a Shumpert more capable on offense. Maybe he’s rusty but I’m not too impressed so far – seems like a guy who turns the ball over a lot when he has to put it on the floor, not ideal for a starting SG going against the opposition’s first teamer.
JR Smith as starting PG when (don’t say if) Kyrie goes down? Hmm. I’m not sure I wouldn’t take a chance in Mozgoz staying healthy. The choice of where you want depth is not no-brainer, imo.
I haven’t listened to the Sidekicks in years, but a lot of my friends have been raving about the new album. I loved So Long, Soggy Dog.
Saw them in 2008 in a garage in Brooklyn, when the lead singer was about 17 years old, and he was a special front man even then.
Ballghazi is interesting because…
the Patriots have a history of gaming the system whenever they can.
the NFL has a history of slapping the Patriots on the wrist when they game the system.
many people are just realizing how incompetently run the NFL is.
it’s the dead time before the Super Bowl, a time that is always silly season.
If Kyrie were to get hurt today, I’m pretty sure Delly would start at the PG, not JR. Not that Delly is a great backup PG, and I know a lot of people don’t like him, but if Kyrie’s injury is brief, he can start with JR and LeBron sharing PG duties when Delly rests. If Kyrie’s injury is long term, well, then it doesn’t matter anyway. There’s not a backup PG in the NBA who can replace what Kyrie means to this team.
I’ll have to check out Built to Spill, but the Band of Horses comparison seems very apt, especially vocally.
That was a calculated move. Without his statement, Kraft is complicit (or appears to be). Instead, he comes out with mock outrage at the NFL, saying how dare you accuse “my boys” (yes, he used that term), and you better apologize when you find them innocent.
Now, if they don’t find any evidence, he’ll get his apology. If they find evidence, he is the innocent man betrayed by his “boys” whom he staunchly supported. He’s off scot-free either way.
“Perfect from now on” by Built to Spill is one of the best records of the 90’s, IMHO. “Stop the show” one of my favorites from that era.
http://open.spotify.com/track/1fcjNgC3VEFDGyclYrC7fw
or a back up available to replace what Mozgov’s doing now. If you respond that it’s easier to find a mediocre big replacement than a mediocre PG replacement, I’d have to agree. Just that I don’t think there’s a chance they get to the conference finals without both Mozgov and Kyrie.
Deflategate is important because the team that turns the ball over less wins the game 79% of the time. Tom Brady led the demand that away teams manage teir own footballs in 2006. Then from 2007 to 2013 New England had a turnover per possession rate so low as to be statistically improbable (1 in 16,234) that it occurred by chance. See http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/blog/2015/the-new-england-patriots-prevention-of-fumbles-is-nearly-impossible. Why do it – because you win when you cheat.
Kind of ironic the NFL can come up with so-called visual evidence of a ball boy but yet a video tape of Ray Rice knocking out his girlfriend went unseen.
Hopefully Love plays less due to large leads same applies to LBJ but I wouldn’t sit him unless it’s really really needed. This team hasn’t been anywhere near together long enough.
That being said if Marion’s in the starting lineup I’d prefer JR Smith to join him because his perimeter game would be needed. Bring Shumpert off the bench with TT.
Shumpert was never a shooter or scorer for that matter he’s a defensive/energy/athletic wing first and foremost. Before he injured his shoulder with the Knicks he was scoring more but a lot of that was because it was the Knicks and all they had was Carmello. I would expect Shumpert to improve as he returns to 100% and improves his conditioning. But he’s not a shooter/scorer that’s JR Smith.
Jason Grimsley is working as a Pats ball boy now?
I hope!!!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8YcPtdIQAErbQk.jpg
More than a few stats minded writers have shown why that analysis is silly at best.
Secret WFNY ninja cam footage at the Super Bowl pre-party hosted by Robert Kraft…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1itH3pexrE
http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o523/Dr_Doomsduck/Gif/Thinking.gif
Not one of Louis’ sharper bits, unfortunately.