For Cleveland fans, we go through a lot. In fact, there's only one other city who has had worse luck for this long as we have: San Diego. Poor SD...when things go bad, you just lay on the beach any time of the year. It's got perfect weather, beautiful people, and tons of things to do. In Cleveland, when things go bad...we freeze our bones off, spend time at the dirtiest of the five great lakes, and deal with unemployment. Plus, San Diego doesn't have horrible sports tragedies identified in two-word phrases: the drive, the fumble, the shot, the decision.
In light of all this, here are the current issues going on in Cleveland. As is often the case, most of the news is bad while some gives up some hope.
LeBron James
LeBron James is currently deciding whether or not he wants to return to Cleveland or stay in Miami. There are lots of good arguments for both sides. Ultimately I think he'll end up in Miami despite reports of him having already chosen Cleveland. These reports have been shot down since LBJ himself doesn't know where he's going. Most people think he'll announce it before he leaves to see the World Cup final on Saturday. If he comes back to Cleveland, it would pretty much redeem his 'decision' back in 2010. Most of the country is rooting for a return to his roots, and while it remains a good possibility, it'll be a little shocking to see him return to Dan Gilbert's team.
Josh Gordon
Probably the hardest hit of the off-season, Josh Gordon not only violated the NFL's substance abuse policy (again) but was recently arrested and charged with a DWI. This will most definitely get Gordon suspended at least for this year, possibly more. Gordon is the Browns best receiver, and arguably the best receiver in the NFL. He led the NFL last year on a rotating QB system and having missed two games. If he's not the best, he's up there and, this is the scary part, will only get better.
While it's hard to replace a guy like Gordon, the Browns have a tough decision to make: should they keep him or let him go? Cris Carter, along with many others, seem to think they should let him go. He's not worth the trouble. I think when you have a talent like this you have to work with him. If the Browns can get him rehabbed, he'll be an investment that could stay loyal to the dawg pound for getting him through a tough time. His problems stem more from depression and anxiety than they do anything else. Keep Josh Gordon. If he gets his problems taken care of, he could be the next Megatron.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are doing everything they can in order to lure LeBron James over from Miami. They've traded off Jarrett Jack (good move) and Tyler Zeller (even better move) to clear up some cap room to offer James a max contract. They've potentially got a trade in place for Kevin Love to come over. They'd be giving up Andrew Wiggins, possibly Tristan Thompson or Anthony Bennett, and potentially a second round pick. I would prefer to have Love over Wiggins as I wasn't sold on him as a potential superstar in this league. Kevin Love is a premier big man, plus having an all-star trio of a PG in Irving, SF in James, and PF/C in Love is a better fit. This also gives more minutes to Waiters, who is really good.
Johnny Manziel
Johnny Manziel has been a mistake from the beginning. I've already written an article on him here, but suffice it to say that in light of his recent events, he was not a good choice at QB. He lacks good judgement, both on and off the field. This has been going on for 4 years now. He was recently caught partying with Justin Bieber (that's a mistake right there), and when asked about it, told the media he "wasn't going to live in a shell." No one is asking him to live in a shell, but when the owner of the team who you are supposed to be the leader of comes to you and asks you to tone it down, that doesn't mean you go out and have another party for the media to throw on the front page again. "I've got too mcuh money in my f&^%$ hands" was caught on video. You're not in college anymore. You're the leader of a professional football team. Tom Brady isn't going out and doing things like this. Peyton Manning wouldn't get caught posterized all over the place. He hasn't beaten out Brian Hoyer off an ACL injury, and he is disrespectful to the owner of the organization. I don't care if he sells jerseys - get rid of him!
Jim Brown
Apparently, Jim Brown's championship ring from 1964 was stolen several years later. The ring has re-surfaced and is being auctioned off. Brown claims it was stolen in the late 60's but the auction denies it. It's been sold several times before now and is currently held by a family member. Brown thinks he filed a police report, but since this story is still not resolved, I'm guessing one wasn't since that would have ended the debate.
Cleveland Indians
Hey, some positive news! Kind of...The Indians are 7.5 games out of first place in the division and 4 games out from the wild card. The Tribe is in the top 10 for most of the offensive categories but has struggled with their pitching. With almost 70 games left to play, they are in a good position to make a run at the post-season.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Okay this isn't a Cleveland team, but it's who Clevelanders root for when it comes to college football. The 2015 recruiting class is currently 6th in the nation. This is pretty good considering they have the least amount of commitments (12) out of the top 13. So the more recruits we can get, the better the ranking. We have the #1 LB for the second straight year, a top-notch DE, and some great defensive backs. We also grabbed a 4-star QB to go along with some other linemen. Meyer tends to grab big recruits later than sooner, so this bodes well for the Buckeyes as we have one of the top classes again.
There's the rundown of Cleveland sports. Always hoping. I was surprised to learn there is a Dawg Pound bar that I will be checking out soon...in Salt Lake City! If your heart has been broken, if you find it hard to hope for our teams, if you feel like just giving up and not putting yourself through another torturous season again, then congratulations! You're probably a true Cleveland fan, and we need more people like you.
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