Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic: Behind the Box Score
March 15, 2015J.R. Smith shooting his way into Cavs record books: WFNY Stats & Info
March 16, 2015Happy Monday, you guys. We’re officially on Day 7 of the NFL Free Agency period and the Cleveland Browns are making the most out of each and every hour. They’ve managed to re-sign their punter, give a contract extension to their reserve defensive end and pay for a few guys to have some lunch while they ultimately sign with other teams. Isn’t life grand?
I’m not one to judge free agency periods as I do entire off-seasons. Let’s be honest: Acquiring other teams’ used goods isn’t exactly the most alluring thing. These guys are “free” for a reason. But with the number of holes this team has and the inability to address them all through the draft, I’m expecting them to not create new needs (as they have with letting Buster Skrine go) while partially addressing the ones which were preexisting. I don’t think asking a team to actually improve is that a high bar. But man—to be a fly on the wall of any of these visits…
We’ll have plenty of Free Agency and Draft coverage, a look at the Tribe out in Goodyear and discuss what—if any—chance the Ohio teams have in the NCAA Tournament. But While We’re Waiting…
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Given the inception date of WFNY and the time in which Mark Titus spent on the bench for the Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s no surprise that we were all big fans of what Titus did at Club Trillion (a BlogSpot site…#TBT) and his eventual jump to Bill Simmons’ Grantland where he was covering college hoops and penning terrific pieces on Greg Oden.
What we did not know during this entire stretch was that Titus was dealing with crippling depression. Amidst all of the incredible analysis, jokes and winking games with opposing cheerleaders, Titus was dealing with something that would ultimately force him to spend a significant amount of time in his pajamas, gaining 50 pounds and contemplating suicide on a daily basis. From Titus via Reddit:
The answer you probably didn’t expect: Everything. Everything makes me happy. I’m thankful just to be alive. I battled depression for 11 years. I contemplated suicide basically every day, I dreaded getting out of bed, I put on about 50 pounds after I quit playing basketball, and my marriage almost crumbled. I had a darkness in my soul for my entire adult life until about 7 months ago. Since then, I’ve learned to love everything about life, even the things that suck. When I got over depression, suddenly small things like birds chirping made me cry. I just never noticed them before. I never took the time to acknowledge all the beautiful things in this world because depression wouldn’t let me.. …
Depression is the absolute worst and the fact that I felt like I couldn’t really talk to anyone about it made it suck even more. Now that I’m hopefully out of that pit of darkness for good, it doesn’t take much to make me smile. Simply experiencing the human condition makes me happy.
Titus followed this up with a long and thoughtful description of what he was dealing with, what it led him to think, and, perhaps most importantly, why he didn’t go through with the darkest of thoughts. It’s a very heartfelt piece that—judging by the response it garnered on Twitter—resonated with a slew of individuals who have been impacted by this terrible affliction. I recommend you all read the entire thing here.
So Nike did up this really cool history piece in advance of this year’s #AirMaxDay on March 26. Technology has come so far in sneakers, yet the classics (Air Max 1 and Air Max 90) continue to get new releases in present day.
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Howard Stern or Sirius XM listeners will want to read this excellent piece from Bloomberg Business as the long-time radio legend debates as to whether or not he will sign on for yet another year (or more) in the wake of an ever-changing landscape in deliverable, exclusive audio content.
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It’s pieces like this one from Molly Lambert that continue to make Grantland the best repository for sports and pop culture storytelling on the web.
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Legendary Tribe slugger Al Rosen passed away this weekend. While nothing I can write will do his careers any justice, I will recommend this obituary of sorts from Cliff Corcoran.
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Hey! Here are some super sweet, source-free sports takes. Just kidding. Here’s this week’s #ActualSportswriting:
“Craig Sager’s Harrowing and Emotional Journey Back to the NBA” by Lars Anderson (Bleacher Report): “The sideline reporter walked out of his house in Canton, Georgia, a free man at last, intent on doing the things he’s missed oh so much in the last 11 months.”1
“Man on a Wire: The Legacy of Dave Goldberg, NFL Beat Writer for the AP” by Brian Curtis (Grantland): “Goldberg almost hovered over the other NFL writers. But not in terms of pure scoopage (that was Mort and others) nor pure celebrity (that was the Boston Globe’s Will McDonough, issuing papal edicts on network pregame shows). Goldberg was a kind of god of impartiality, someone who had sacrificed his various grudges and agendas in service of the wire.”2
“It’s overdue to see teams working this way” by Joe Banner via Jenny Vrentas (MMQB): “There is a tremendous emphasis put on continuity in the NFL. There is a tremendous emphasis put on people who know how to do what you want them to do. And that is important, but it can become overrated, and then teams become afraid of making moves.”3
And finally, those of you who know me professionally know that I’m very active with the Northeastern Ohio affiliate for Susan G. Komen. Those of you who were around these parts last year know that a group which i chair within the organization, a young professional-style group called the Associate Council, spearheaded an on-line event around March Madness wherein the winner of our bracket challenge won $1,000. This year, I’m please to announce that not only is Brackets for the Cure back, we’ve managed to bolster our sponsorships to the point where we are now paying out the top three spots—$1,750 in all—for the mere donation of at least $20.
If you’re looking to join an inexpensive pool, give yourself a shot to win some money, or simply want to support me or the cause to which I donate my time and money, please join the challenge—the instructions can be found here. And those of you looking to watch the first slate of games with some chill folks on Thursday night, the Council will be in the basement pub of Great Lakes Brewery from 5-8 p.m. where we’ll be partaking in Firkin Thursday and raffling off plenty of signed Browns memorabilia in addition to a set of Cavaliers playoff tickets.
Happy Monday, you guys.
- It takes a lot for me to link to anything from the Bleacher Report. This piece, on one of the most well-known reporters in sports, is worthy of your time. [↩]
- I’m a sucker for stories about sportswriters and this one is no different. The fact that it’s penned by Brian Curtis is just a bonus. [↩]
- Who would’ve guessed that Joe Banner is not only watching Chip Kelly’s every move, but was also totally OK trading away the best running back in football over the last three years? Shocked. Shocked, I tell you. [↩]
1 Comment
I think that one of the reasons that Robin’s death hit so big was that everyone suffers some form of depression at some point. Most of the time, it’s minor stuff and we snap out of it quickly, but it’s still so relateable, so scary, and a topic that is only recently been acceptable to talk about socially.