Timing Vacations, Talking Johnny, and John Oliver’s Latest: While We’re Waiting…

Gooooood morning, WFNY. How’d that weekend treat you? Or should I say—how’d that week treat you? First, many thanks to Jessica for filling in during my absence last week. I knew she’d kill it, and it was great to see such a fantastic response to her maiden WWW voyage.

With the way my life schedule typically falls, July is oftentimes the only month that is vacationable—to completely make up a word. I steer clear of June for several reasons, but this year was a nice throwback to summers of old thanks to not wanting to miss any of the NBA Playoffs. This has its drawbacks, of course. Five summers ago, I spent much of my pool time chatting with others about the way that the 2009-10 Playoffs unfolded, what with the mysterious elbow injuries and rumors of tension amongst the players and coaching staff and all of the noise that led up to The Decision. Last summer, vacationing during the first week of July was both a gift and a curse as the whirlwind of trades and rumors and plane tracking all culminated with The Essay being released while I was at the Cleveland Zoo. As it turns out, however, the second week of July may be the very best time to get away, at least if you’re a sports fan.

During the second week of July, you have most of the NBA Free Agency under wraps. Sure, there are outliers and crazy storylines—looking at you, DeAndre Jordan—but much of these negotiations are ironed out. NFL Training Camps do not start until the third week of July, so there’s no missed coverage there. And the second week of July typically provides one with the MLB All-Star break, the most friendly of vacation activities due to the national coverage (you get away from anything bound by regional networks) and the fact that any baseball fan—from the die hard to the casual—can appreciate an All-Star game. That you really don’t have to pay attention to any of it to know what’s going on is all a bonus.

Alas, back to reality. Browns rookies and select other players will report to Berea on Wednesday with veterans checking in by July 29. We are officially less than three weeks away from the Hall of Fame Game. Enjoy the rest of your summer, folks, because it’s going to fly by from this point on.

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Speaking of the Browns, two quick things:

Lisa Hanher/@CityGalSports

1) While Johnny Manziel was in the spotlight all summer last season, there has been nary a headline about any off-field issues at all this summer, and no one is talking about it. If there has been any proof to the proclamation that only the negative is news, this is it. Sure, Manziel is merely doing what he is supposed to do—and the fact that his rookie season was a bit of an abomination may have moved him to ancillary status—but if you’re going to try and tell me that he wouldn’t be in a headline somewhere if he was found covering an entire club in Ace of Spades, I’m not buying it for one bit.

Manziel moved out of his downtown pad and has done everything he can to stay out of the public eye. He’s been such a moving target this summer that his moving was actually news. There was a second where someone attempted to toss him back in the spotlight during a golf tournament, but that was all for naught. There’s no guarantee that his improved behavior will result in improved play on the field, but the silence surrounding his significantly altered lifestyle deserves some discussion.

2) For all of the attention that Manziel received last summer, I have a feeling it will be Terrelle Pryor this time around. I’m weirdly intrigued by Pryor, personally. I thought it was a bit of a PR play to pick him up, especially as he’d be playing a position that he had never played in his life (talk about an athlete). But the more I read into what Pryor is doing to improve himself, and quickly recall back to the days when he was referred to as LeBron in Cleats, it’s hard to not be at least a little bit curious about what this kid can do at an NFL level.

Pryor has a chance to make himself a watershed event—a story of not just career resurrection, but one of Holy Crap Why Didn’t Any Other Team Think Of This And The Browns Front Office Looks Like Geniuses Because Of It. If he fails, so what? That he went to Ohio State has no bearing on the fact that he was a waiver flier with incredibly low risk. If he makes it? Well I’ll be damned.

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I know I’m late to this, but the latest WFNY Podcast is well worth your time if you haven’t given it a listen. Not only does it discuss Trainwreck and all things LeBron James and Amy Schumer, but Craig and Jessica delve in to a topic which always piques my interest: Modern Media and the bizarre behavior of giving things away for free on Twitter and the like. The basis of the discussion is Mark Cuban and his public depantsing of ESPN’s Chris Broussard, but the ideas behind it can be extrapolated across a slew of content creation platforms. Go listen. Now. Please?

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It’s 90 degrees in Cleveland. Get inside, avoid those hot takes and check out this weeks’ edition of #ActualSportswriting:

“Out of Thin Air” by Peter Keating (ESPN The Magazine): “[Joe] Namath’s mission nowadays is to give concussion victims reason for hope beyond divine intervention. … The Hall of Fame quarterback has never been conventional, and he knows what he’s selling is a leap beyond the fringes of accepted science. To many experts, the endeavor raises serious concerns. But to Namath, the truth is as simple as the air we breathe.”¹

“Call Me Matt” by Mary Pilon (VICE Sports): “Overall, tremendous strides have been made in transgender acceptance in sports, notably Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner detailing her transition from man to woman in the pages of Vanity Fair. But Dawkins is finding out what it means to be a transgender athlete in a world that is devoid of the support of millions of Twitter followers, vast personal fortunes and teams of publicists, doctors and handlers: high school.”²

“DeAndre Jordan’s Round Trip” by Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon (ESPN.com): “The view was clear from DeAndre Jordan’s house in the Pacific Palisades on the morning of July 3. This time of year, the marine layer that keeps the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean cool burns off early in the day. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and forward Chandler Parsons arrived at Jordan’s house just after breakfast, ready to make one last pitch to the man they hoped would anchor their team for at least the next four years.”³

“Tiger Woods Weakened Under Weight of Expectations” by Kevin Van Valkenburg (ESPN.com): “When [Woods] took off his hat on the 18th green to shake hands with Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen, he looked as close to broken as I’ve ever seen a truly great athlete look. He entered this event thinking he had a real chance to contend. He wasn’t even close to making the cut. He doesn’t have the answers, and they aren’t right around the corner. This isn’t about “feels” or “baseline shifts” or any other nonsensical golf jargon he’s grown fond of. It is not about activating his glutes. He’s just mentally fried, and you can see it in his face. The weight of expectations – whether they are our expectations or entirely his own — is just too much. When he walked into the media tent to answer a few questions Saturday, he wasn’t defensive, angry or annoyed. He was just forlorn.”⁴

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And finally, here’s John Oliver who kills it once again—this time, on Americans and the absurd amounts of food we waste every year.

Stuff that food in that hole in your heart, people. Have a great Monday.

1. Easily the best story I read over the last few days. Well reported, well written, well produced and it discusses a very important topic. [↩]
2. Given all of the attention surrounding Caitlyn Jenner, this story is one that will go unknown by many. Kudos to VICE for taking the time to make sure this one was done with care. [↩]
3. Ramona Shelburne is easily First Team All-ESPN when it comes to her reporting. The way she crafts every ounce of her work into such a perfectly detailed story is something that every outlet could use more of. [↩]
4. As usual, I wanted to end with some commentary—it’s possible, you guys! I haven’t seen much of KVV in a while so was originally intrigued that he was sent to Scotland. I assume something bigger is in the works, but this certainly will help any fan of #ActualSportswriting bide time. [↩]