OPENING DAY: TEXAS 9 - CLEVELAND 1

The Cleveland Indians opened their season yesterday against the Texas Rangers. Last year's Cy Young winner Cliff Lee started for the Indians and gave up 7 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings. Former Indian Kevin Millwood started for the Rangers and gave up just 1 run on 5 hits in 7 innings. He also got 10 ground-ball outs. For the Indians, their 5 hits were scattered throughout the game and in big spots both Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner grounded into inning ending double-plays. Last year's breakout player, Kelly Shoppach, went 0-3 with two strikeouts. Newly acquired 3B Mark Derosa went 0-3 with a walk.

Today is an off day for the Indians and tomorrow they send out Fausto Carmona. Hopefully he will show that last year was just an injury-plagued season and that he will bounce back this year.

San Francisco Giants 10 Cleveland Indians 7

The first game of the spring is over and the Tribe lost 10-7. Jeremy Sowers, who is looking for a spot in the starting rotation started the game and in 2 innings gave up 1 run on 3 hits with 2 strikeouts. Newly acquired Mark DeRosa hit a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning to give the Indians a 3-1 lead. In the top of the 6th inning with the score tied at 3, right-handed reliever Edward Mujica gave up 4 runs on two home runs to Travis Ishikawa; who went 3 - 3 with 2 home runs; and Nate Schierholtz who had 2 RBI's. The Indians tried to make it a game with solo home runs by Stephen Head and Michael Aubrey, but to no avail as it was too little too late.

Now I won't be writing after every game but I do intend on writing every once in a while and giving some inside the box-score information. So here it goes:

• Grady Sizemore went 1 - 3 with a run scored
• Victor Martinez started at catcher and went 0 -2
• Matt LaPorta (acquired last season from the Brewers in the C.C. Sabathia trade) went 1 - 3 with a run scored
• Rafael Perez pitched one inning and gave up a run
• Matt Herges struck out 2 batters in a scoreless 9th inning
• SF left 2 men on base while the Indians left 8 men on base

With off-season pick-ups Kerry Wood and Joe Smith, players like Mujica need a good spring if they want any chance of making the club. We'll see how they fare and in the words of Randy Quaid in the beginning of Major League II "This is the year we go all the way, ALL THE WAY! ALL THE WAY!"

GO TRIBE!!!!

2009 Cleveland Indians Preview

With the Indian's first Spring Training game starting in a little bit over an hour it's time to take a look at some questions that need to be answered for the Indians to be successful this upcoming season:

1. How will Victor Martinez & Travis Hafner come back from injuries?
2. How will the new acquisitions (Mark DeRosa, Kerry Wood & Carl Pavano) fare with their new teammates?
3. Will Fausto Carmona pitch like he did in 2007?
4. Who will be #3-5 in the pitching staff and how will they do?
5. Will Kelly Schoppach get the at-bats needed to have as good a season as last?
6. Will Trevor Crowe, Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley be able to make an impact on the Major League squad?

The Top Eleven African-American Quarterbacks

In honor of Black History Month here is a list of the top 11 African-American Quarterbacks:

1. Warren Moon
2. Doug Williams
3. Randall Cuningham
4. Donovan McNabb
5. Steve McNair
6. Daunte Culpepper
7. Kordell Stewart
8. Vince Young
9. Jason Campbell
10. David Garrard
11. Rodney Peete

Warren Moon

Randall Cuningham

Doug Williams



Daunte Culpepper

Best by the Number - Cleveland Edition

Below is a list of Cleveland sports players according to their jersey number. By some players I will be writing some stuff like other players who had a chance of being in that spot, or some information about the player. Please also note that since some players had multiple numbers in their tenure in Cleveland, there may be players next to numbers that don't seem to fit, but they do!

1. Terrell Brandon
2. Jhonny Peralta
3. Craig Ehlo - Also considered were Bob Sura, Matt Stover & Derek Anderson
4. Phil Dawson - The current Brown who has been on the team the longest
5. Steve Kerr - Many people are unaware that Kerr even played for the Cavaliers
6. Larry Nance - Also wore # 22
7. Kenny Lofton
8. Albert Belle
9. Dan Marjele - Also considered was Carlos Baerga
10. Brady Quinn - Never considered was Eric Zeier
11. Zydrunas Illguaskus - "Big Z" 'nuff said
12. Roberto Alomar
13. Omar Vizquel
14. Larry Doby - Most people here might put Browns QB Otto Graham, but Doby deserves to be on this list more than anyone else. Larry Doby was the first African American to play in the American League, and while it's true he started playing after Jackie Robinson he was the first African American to play in American League ball-parks
15. Sandy Alomar Jr.
16. Josh Cribbs - probably the most exciting player the Browns have had since Eric Metcalf
17. Brian Sipe - Even with "Red Right 88" he makes this list ahead of Braylon Edwards
18. John "Hot Rod" Williams
19. Bernie Kosar
20. Eric Snow
21. Eric Metcalf
22. Chris Dudley - No list would be complete without the worst free-throw shooter of all-time
23. LeBron James
24. Manny Ramirez - ManRam is still my favorite all-time Indian
25. Jim Thome - Others considered include Mark Price
26. Sean Jones
27. Jaret Wright
28. Leigh Bodden
29. Hanford Dixon
30. Andy Marte
31. Frank Minnifield - "Created" the Dawg Pound with Hanford Dixon
32. Jim Brown
33. Luke Jackson
34. Austin Carr
35. Danny Ferry - Former Cavalier is current GM
36. Paul Byrd
37. Jake Westbrook
38. Franklin Gutierez
39. Daven Holly
40. Bartolo Colon - Was traded to Montreal for Lee Stevens, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips & Cliff Lee
41. Charles Nagy
42. Paul Warfield
43. Brad Daugherty - My favorite Cavalier. I wore # 43 when I was on the Ashar Basketball team in honor of Daugherty.
44. Leroy Kelley
45. Jeremy Sowers
46. Lou "The Toe" Groza - Also wore # 76
47. Joe Borowski
48. Travis Hafner - "Pronk"
49. Edward Mujica
50. Tom Cousineu
51. Michael Doleac
52. C.C. Sabathia
53. Bill Cowher - Cowher was also an assistant coach under Marty Schottenheimer
54. Andra Davis
55. Orel Herschieser - "Bulldog"
56. Antwan Peek
57. Clay Matthews - Played in 232 games for the Browns between 1978-1993
58. D'Qwell Jackson
59. Mike Johnson
60. Shaun O'hara
61. Steve Everitt
62. Lennie Friedman
63. Rafael Bentacourt
64. Joe Delamielleure - Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003
65. Chuck Noll
66. Hank Fraley
67. John Jurkovic - Played for the Browns when they came back in '99
68. Gene Hickerson
69. J'vonne Parker
70. Alvin Mckinley
71. Walter Johnson - Not "The Big Train"
72. Jerry Sherk
73. Joe Thomas - Played well as a rookie
74. Andrew Hoffman
75. Simon Fraser
76. Marion Motley
77. Dick Shafrath
78. Dan Footman
79. Bob Golic
80. Kellen Winslow Jr.
81. Jack Gregory
82. Ozzie Newsome - One of the greatest TE
83. Mark Bavaro
84. Webster Slaughter
85. Kevin Johnson
86. Brian Brennan
87. Keenan McCardell
88. JaJaun Dawson
89. Gerald McNeil
90. Drew Gooden
91. Sam Clancy
92. Ted Washington
93. Jerry Ball
94. Gerard Warren
95. Kameron Wimbley - Lead the team in sacks during the '07 season
96. Don Shula
97. Ryan Kuehl
98. Anthony Pleasant
99. Orpheus Roye

Best by the Number

In an issue of The Sporting News from May 14th 2007 there are 2 numbers lists with the best players based on uniform numbers. One list is of current (as of then) players, while the second list is of former/hall of fame players. Rewritten here is the list of the former players.

1. Jacques Plante
2. Secretariat
3. Babe Ruth
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Joe Dimaggio
6. Bill Russell
7. John Elway
8. Cal Ripken
9. Hockey's Trinity: Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe & Bobby Hull
10. Pele
11. Isiah Thomas
12. Joe Namath
13. Wilt Chamberlain
14. Otto Graham
15. Bart Starr
16. Joe Montana
17. John Havlicek
18. Peyton Manning
19. Johnny Unitas
20. Barry Sanders
21. Roberto Clemente
22. Emmitt Smith
23. Michael Jordan
24. Willie Mays
25. Barry Bonds
26. Billy Williams
27. Juan Marichal
28. Marshall Faulk
29. Ken Dryden
30. Nolan Ryan
31. Greg Maddux
32. Jim Brown
33. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
34. Walter Payton
35. Phil Niekro
36. Meadowlark Lemon
37. Casey Stengel
38. Curt Schilling
39. Roy Campanella
40. Gale Sayers
41. Tom Seaver
42. Jackie Robinson
43. Richard Petty
44. Hank Aaron
45. Bob Gibson
46. Lee Smith
47. Mel Blount
48. Jimmie Johnson
49. Ron Guidry
50. David Robinson
51. Dick Butkus
52. Ray Lewis
53. Don Drysdale
54. Goose Gossage
55. Orel Hershiser
56. Lawrence Taylor
57. Dwight Stephenson
58. Jack Lambert
59. Jack Ham
60. Chuck Bednarik
61. Bill George
62. Charley Trippi
63. Willie Lanier
64. Jerry Kramer
65. Elvin Bethea
66. Mario Lemieux
67. Bob Kuechenberg
68. Jaromir Jagr
69. Larry Costello
70. Jim Marshall
71. Alex Karras
72. Carlton Fisk
73. John Hannah
74. Bob Lilly
75. Joe Greene
76. Lou Groza
77. Red Grange
78. Anthony Munoz
79. Roosevelt Brown
80. Jerry Rice
81. Tim Brown
82. Raymond Berry
83. Ted Hendricks
84. Sterling & Shannon Sharpe
85. Nick Buoniconti
86. Buck Buchanan
87. Willie Davis
88. Alan Page
89. Mike Ditka
90. Bob Kurland
91. Sergei Fedorov
92. Reggie White
93. Doug Gilmour
94. Charles Haley
95. Richard Dent
96. Bill Voiselle
97. Cornelius Bennett
98. Tom Harmon
99. Wayne Gretzky

So here is the list of the greatest of All-Time. Hopefully in the next little bit I will post more lists like this including a list of All-Time Cleveland Sports personalities.

The Real Descision '08

Cleveland Indians 2008 Season Recap

The 2008 season was supposed to start where last years left off, back in the playoffs and on their way to winning a World Series. Unfortunately many things did not go as planned. They ended their season in 3rd place in the AL Central with an 81-81 record. In this extremely tough and disappointing season in which long time ace C.C. Sabathia got traded; Fausto Carmona, Victor Martinez, and Travis Hafner spent a considerable amount of time on the DL and a bullpen which could not close out games with a large lead; there were a few bright spots.

1. Cliff Lee - Lee came back from a horrid 2007 campaign to win 22 games with an ERA of 2.54.


2. Grady Sizemore - Sizemore hit 33 home runs and stole 38 bases, and if he had protection from the likes of Hafner and Martinez those numbers could have been much higher.


3. Jhonny Peralta - Peralta batted .276 with 23 home runs and 89 RBIs.

But what can the Indians do to be contenders next season?

1. Let Jensen Lewis close games. He was 13 for 13 in save opportunities last season so just give him a chance.
2. Get rid of Ryan Garko. I love the guy but he isn't so good. Then move Victor Martinez to First base full-time and let Kelly Shoppach be the everyday Catcher. Martinez is only valuable if he plays and if he's catching he's more susceptible to injuries, plus Shoppach played well last year in Martinez's absence.
3. Get a lead-off hitter. Grady has done a great job, but just imagine how much more runs the Indians would score if Grady batted 3rd in the lineup.
4. Give Anthony Reyes a chance to start. Last year he played well in the six starts that he had.

Of course we'll have to see if the Indians will go after any free-agents, but they are not known for spending money, so we'll see what happens.

Cleveland Cavaliers' Coach Mike Brown on Jim Rome Is Burning

Coach Mike Brown discusses LeBron, the 3-team trade and winning a Championship.

Brett Favre Retirement Coverage

Inside the Huddle with John Clayton

ESPN's John Clayton goes inside the huddle and discusses Randy Moss, New England and the Cleveland Browns.

Chris Mortenson discusses the Cleveland Browns

After the Browns signed Donte Stallworth and trade for 2 DL over the weekend Chris Mortenson says he likes the moves and that Cleveland may make a Super Bowl run.