Some mistakes you never stop paying for
February 2, 200802/04 Morning Minute: We’ll Get ‘Em Next Year
February 4, 2008Does anyone else find it utterly ironic that on the same day that The Plain Dealer puts Bill Belichick on the front page is the same day that rest of the world is ablaze with the recent scandals? What Tony Grossi calls the “recipe for sports immortality,” the rest of the world is throwing out other adjectives. For instance, we have “habitual line-steppers.” We also have a thirst for a Mitchell Report-esque investigation, as Roger Goodell simply can’t seem to do anything himself. You know, aside from the low-hanging fruit like suspending players for biting strippers and shooting up bouncers. That sort of thing.
As my dislike for Boston sports have increased exponentially over the years (I was one of the biggest bandwagoners back when the Sox won their first Series in that epic come-from-behind – but now its just ridiculous), I’m not quite sure how to respond to the new allegations. In fact, I feel a bit robbed as I remember being younger and watching those St. Louis Rams and thinking of how cool their offense was and that it was mind-blowing that the game was even close. But to sit here and ask ourselves if this [run of Super Bowl appearances] would have happened had Bill still been here is a waste of an exercise.
What was considered Bill’s main weakness here is something that he gets praise for in New England – and Browns fans could not stand it. We loved our teams of the mid-to-late 80s and could not accept the fact that the players that were so successful years ago were in fact aging, and would not fit the mold of what the team needed to do to be successful in the future. New England is no stranger to getting rid of successful players, for a bevy of reasons: money (Deion Branch), age (Willie McGinest), or simple inadequacy despite history of success (Drew Bledsoe). Just think what would have happened to this New England team had Belichick stuck with the veteran quarterback after he came back from injury. We wouldn’t be talking about this epic string of wins, I can tell you that much. And there would be another supermodel up for grabs in the dating pool, to top it off.
Obviously, Bill will always be thought of as the coach that released Bernie Kosar. But just think. Had that not happened, Bernie would have never gotten that much-deserved Super Bowl ring – even if it was with a different team. Fans of Kosar the player should actually be pretty happy. But one look at the prized coach, and you’ll see that he hasn’t changed one bit from the person that he was chastised for being in Cleveland. Our ownership wanted him to “just coach the team,” while those in New England have actually let Bill be Bill.
I apologize for the lack of coverage on the other Cleveland Sports, so to try and keep this short, here goes nothing:
– I personally could not believe how close the Cavaliers game was last night. At least they came out on top, even it was against a beaten-down Clippers team on the second night of a back-to-back…on the road. LeBron James brings up a great point though, it was almost a road game for them as well given all of their recent travels.
– Now, coming from someone that saw both successful Larry Hughes alley-oop plays, should I really be surprised that he finished 3-of-10 from the floor? I’m not mathematician, but that means that he was 1-of-8 on field goals outside of, say, point blank range.
– While Bill Livingston appeared to be jumping to conclusions a bit, now that Johan Santana is signed, Terry Pluto appears to be on board with the same thoughts.
– And for all of you UFC/WWE fans, Brock Lesnar looked like a monster last night. Just too bad he couldn’t keep his ankle out of the grips of his opponent. How about that for a ‘finishing move,’ Brock?
Enjoy the Super Bowl, folks.
[print_file]