Indians to meet three playoff contenders, can still salvage season
August 3, 2015Will Johnny Manziel be good enough to be the Browns’ backup plan?
August 4, 2015
Happy Tuesday, WFNY!
It is officially August (well, it’s been August for a few days now, but this is the first day of August for my edition of WWW). August is a tricky month for me. I don’t really like the weather in August. I don’t like the sports in August. It seems like a mostly dead period for new music releases. Growing up, we’re conditioned to think of August as the back-to-school month. It signifies the waning days of summer. In almost every aspect imaginable, August is my least favorite month of the year.
But the one thing I like about August is that it is the precursor for my favorite month of the year, September. I love everything about September. The weather is amazing. We still have warm, if not hot, days but we get those nice cool evenings to balance it out. In late September we get the beginning of the leaves changing color. September marks the beginning of fall, my favorite season of the year. September always kicks off with a nice three day weekend. And yes, football starts in September! (I should probably mention my birthday is in September, which certainly helps make it my favorite month as well.)
So while I may not like August, I like that it represents all that is amazing in life is just around the corner. Today, I am excited. I could not be more ready for football season. While the teams are busy preparing in camp, my mind is drifting to thoughts of watching Ohio State defend their title and the eternal hope that maybe this year will be the Browns’ turn to defy all odds and shock the world and be the big turnaround team of the 2015 season. One can hope. Because hope is what August is all about to me.
*****
I am so ready to root for Terrelle Pryor again
I know I’ve discussed this topic several times on the WFNY podcast before, but I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned it in the actual pages of Waiting For Next Year. I love Terrelle Pryor. I know that’s not a super popular opinion. For reasons I can probably never fully understand, many Ohio State fans are predisposed to disliking Pryor. I’ve heard the reasons and the excuses, I get it. But it seems like so many people went out of their way to justify and rationalize disliking Pryor even before the infamous tattoo and memorabilia scandals.
Even before Day One, people were mad at Pryor for not announcing his college choice on National Letter of Intent Day. Nevermind that it is fully within the rules to do so. Nevermind that Pryor had actual real-life reason to not announce on that day. When you try to tell people why Pryor didn’t announce that day (supposedly he made a promise to his dad to check out Penn State before announcing), they don’t want to hear it. Their mind is made up. He did it because he wanted more attention.
When he then made his announcement, he nervously proclaimed that he was going to attend “The University of Ohio State”. It was awkward, sure. But Pryor didn’t grow up a fan of Ohio State. He didn’t live in Ohio where OSU culture dominates. He grew up in the shadow of Penn State. Sure, he should have known the proper nomenclature, but honestly, it’s not a big deal. He goofed. But I still vividly remember being just stunned at the outrage and vitriol that Pryor faced from some segments of the OSU fanbase that vilified a kid for saying something improperly.
And when Pryor was on the field, where he was at his best and where he could shine the brightest, people still only wanted to focus on the things Pryor couldn’t do, never happy with a guy who was poised to leave OSU with practically every QB record in school history.
I realize that perhaps I am going out of my way to defend Pryor. To rationalize why this player who some feel brought down the Jim Tressel regime1 meant so much to me. There’s probably some truth to that, too. I guess it just means in many ways Pryor was a polarizing figure.
I have a natural predisposition to support players who excel at Ohio State. I don’t get turned off by confidence and/or arrogance. I don’t expect players to not make mistakes off the field. I just want players who are good guys and who play hard on the field and make OSU a better team. Pryor passed my benchmarks with flying colors. And I always have felt sorry for him. For the way he was scapegoated into being the bad guy in all of this. Where were the campus bans for DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, Boom Herron, and Solomon Thomas? Not to mention all the other players who did the same thing but weren’t caught.
So sure, I like Pryor and I’m proud to have rooted for him for three seasons. Now, I’m getting excited at the prospects of rooting for him once more. This time, with the Browns Cleveland. Ok, horrible joke aside, I really am intrigued to see what Pryor can do at WR. I put Pryor in the same camp as LeBron James in terms of just pure, freak athletes. These guys have a natural gift that no amount of hard work or determination can give you. They are starting with a better hand of cards, if you will, than everyone else. It’s just up to them how to play them.
I hope Pryor can continue doing the right things and learn and develop and grow as a player. The things I’ve read, heard, and seen have all been promising and I think it’s ok to start to consider that maybe, just maybe, Terrelle Pryor might make this football team. I hope so. And I’ll be rooting for him. Just as I always have.
*****
That’s all I have this week. Yes, it’s incredibly short and yes this was posted late, too. I’m sorry about that. Real life interfered with me this morning and this was all I had written. You’re not missing out on much, though. My only other plans were to talk about CRISPR, a topic I’m sure would bore many of you. I’ll do better next week, I promise (unless the same thing happens again). Have a great rest of your week!
- In reality, the only person who brought down Jim Tressel was Jim Tressel. I loved Tressel, and in many ways I wish he was still coaching OSU. But at the end of the day, the coach is the one ultimately responsible for doing the right thing and making the hard choices. Kids will always be kids, and make no mistake, college students are kids. Football players have been cheating the system and breaking the rules from the very beginning of the NCAA. It was Tressel’s responsibility to take care of the matter when he got the email about his players, including Pryor. But Tressel tried to cover it up. His fate was ultimately the result of his actions, not Pryor’s actions or any of the other players involved. [↩]
50 Comments
I have a 6 pack bet on the Browns winning the SB with one of my friends. I have 240-1 odds. Could be a huge payday. Cmon Brownies
240 sixers is 1,440 beers. If you had one beer a day, they’d last almost four years.
That’s security.
It is a bet that I had to take. You never know. I figure $10 a six pack, so roughly $2400 for a $10 bet. Only one site had them at +24000, and I was trying to say I would take average of other sites (+10000, +8000, +10000) but he was quick to jump in and say NO, thinking I was trying to milk more. Maybe when I win, I will number all of the beers and keep track… lol
I have not heard any of the anti-Pryor sentiment, but maybe that’s because I’m so relatively far removed from Ohio. Pryor is worth cheering. He’s got some classic dumb quotations to his credit, and he traded his own property for a tattoo or tattoos (gasp!), and Penn Staters bitterly assert (with purely refuted evidence) that he received OSU booster help in High School. That’s all. There is simply no reason to hate this kid.
What position does your friend play?
Andrew, I agree that Tressel has no one to blame but himself for losing his job. From what we know about him — or what we think we know about him — that cover-up was completely uncharacteristic and self-sabotaging, and it’s still hard to believe he did that. It’s a real shame that he brought himself down like that.
Who picks the beer? Because 1,440 of some beers is not a good thing.
Read the transcript, though. Based on his own testimony, I can accept that it was within his character, but still a horrible decision. It was, more than anything, uncharacteristically simple-minded.
Did you see the Scientific American article this month cautioning about CRISPR?
Is that bet payable annuity-style or do you have to accept 240 six-packs as a lump-sum?
I love this!
IF I win, they will be my pick, but most likely will be in groups of 4×6 for the discount. Case discount is usally around 7-8 bucks. Will not be anything lite, and will not be singles.
I may try to take the cash payout, but I was also contemplating 2 per week for 120 weeks. That is a lot of trips to the beerstore though, maybe make him get me a giftcard haha
Pretty stupid stuff. I get they have to draw a line somewhere, but if someone offers the kid a free meal, or a free tattoo? Cmon.
Sure did. I first became interested in it from the RadioLab podcast, and since then it seems like I’ve seen it discussed everywhere. It’s so exciting and terrifying at the same time. I don’t quite know what to make of it. Something about great power and great responsibility.
you assume Ohio State fans are rational. I beg to differ
If you win, it sounds like you’ll need some help. Given that there will be nothing lite, I’m available.
Living in Columbus, the Pryor hate is still pretty strong here. Perhaps I overstate the animosity toward him because of my own anecdotal experiences.
No fans are rational.
Indeed, hence the term
I may also do a parlay on Cavs/OSU which would be 16-1
No kidding? That’s just stupid. I’m disappointed. Hey, Columbus: gaze at the National Championship banner and get over it already.
Give it time. I’d be surprised if some of the anti-Pryor sentiment doesn’t make its way into the comments here. It exists, and I’ve had plenty of debates with people on this. I think the hate is silly, but it also goes with the territory of being a fan. Everyone has different standards, I suppose.
Now I’m hoping the Browns/Cavs/Bucks win it all this year simply on your behalf. I want to read the story in SI about the guy who went bankrupt buying beer for his friend because of a crazy bet.
I suppose. Send ’em my way. I’ve got something for them . . .
so you are saying i need to also throw a sixer on Bro/Cavs/Bucks? I don’t think he will do that, let me calculate quick odds
It’s a no-lose option for you. The crux will be the Browns, regardless. Bucks and Cavs have as good a shot as anyone this year.
4066-1, pretty sure he wont do that.
Probably not.
maybe if I round down to 4000-1, but I don’t want to be cheating myself
I agree with you both. I think Tressel’s reasons for the cover up were true to his character. I believe him when he says why he did it. But I also think that stepping outside unconditional rules is against his character. It’s certainly outside the handbook he gives all of his players. It was a dumb mistake, and I have no doubt he deeply regrets it. I also think his punishment is insanely harsh, especially compared to the things we’ve seen happen at other schools.
I’m not even sure I get why they have to draw the line on stuff like this. I still say every college athlete, like every other American, like, ever, should be able to privately capitalize on their own name, likeness, and success.
Exciting and terrifying is exactly the term I’d use. CRISPR makes it so easy and cheap (relatively) that it opens up avenues to try all kinds of things through genetic manipulation. It is the biological version of AI, capable of changing the world for the better forever or of destroying humanity through careless or malicious application.
Well, you don’t want boosters paying players to attend the school, so there has to be a line somewhere.
I don’t hate him, but I never thought he was very good as a quarterback. His college numbers were record-setting for OSU, but comparing them to his peers or to an even average NFL QB, I was just never impressed. That is as far as my criticism goes, I hope he makes the team as a tight-end or WR since we need both.
Good point, I think; but I won’t commit.
That’s all fair criticism of any player. I just don’t get the hate due to what happened in 2010. Indeed, if an OSU fan thinks that Pryor was responsible for 2010, then they should shower him with gifts and praise for setting the table for Urban Meyer.
Tight end!
https://appfan.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/pottyhumor.jpg
That’s precisely why… Columbus =/= Cleveland.
If you’re a Browns fan, it doesn’t matter who is under the Orange Helmet.
You pull for them no matter where they’re from. If you can’t do that…
Go root for Buffalo.
Hmmm, I haven’t noticed any in my circles.
Most people thought it was stupid, the rules are stupid, and the NCAA is dumb (the actual organization).
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Seasons Ranking:
1) Summer, it is not winter
2) Spring, see you later winter
3) Fall, ugh winter is right around the corner
4) Winter, the worst
Okay, swig, I’ll play.
1) Fall: the absolute best; no other season comes close.
2) Summer: what’s not to like?
3) Winter: a wonderland
4) Spring: mud
There are good things about Fall (i.e. football), I was trying to think when in my life it would have been ranked high, but it was always dragged down by school starting (and Spring inflated because of school ending).
I think I need kids, then in 6 years I’ll come back and pronounce Fall the best and Spring the worst.
Switch 2 & 3, and I’m with you. I’m a winter guy. Spring is the worst, and people that are happy in spring irritate me. (Yes, that’d be nearly everyone.)
Alright! Yeah, I like winter too. Looking out the sliding glass door and watching the snow pile up, with a log in the fireplace and a big ol’ pot of soup on the stove. That’s sublime.
I even enjoy the hour or so it takes to snow-blow the drive and walks. I get all man-vs.-nature. And if it’s not too cold, I do the neighbors’ walks too just because I enjoy being out there. I’d much rather snow-blow than cut grass, pull weeds, trim bushes, and all that other green-thumb stuff I hate.
Not to mention, it’s so much easier to go to work every day in winter while your kids are busy with school than it is to go to work every day in the summer when they’re at the pool, etc. And if we want to get away to see the sun and beach in the middle of winter, we can still do that. It’s much harder to do the opposite in summer. Oh yeah, and Christmas.
Ugh, forgot about yardwork.
I do enjoy winter runs. I’d rather run in 20F (w/ no or light snow), than 85F.
The changing seasons are a much underappreciated phenomenon by the Sun Belt folks.