THEY COULD ALMOST CHANGE THE NAME OF THE CAVS TO THE GLOBETROTTERS

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have the most bizarre international flavor of any team in the NBA.  Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and Tristan Thompson are all Canadian

And new head coach David Blatt almost forgot where the USA was.  As a child of the 80's I can't believe it is possible to have a guy who coached team Russia here.

MY NICK SWISHER CONUNDRUM

Very early on when I started posting my jokes on Cleveland Sports I was asked about what I was going to do when one of our teams was successful.  It made sense, because at the time I had Brandon Weeden and Greg Little to provide me with all of the jokes I could handle.  So yes most were negative, and I assured him that in due time I felt that the negative jokes would be aimed at the other team.

But as baseball season rolled around I realized that there was an issue with the 2014 Cleveland Indians, they are too likeable.  I love these guys.  There is Kluber and his serious face, Good Guy David Murphy, Tony Plush, Old Man Atchison, Yanimal, Carlos Santana, Lonnie Baseball, and Swisher himself.  What would I do if they didn't finish the business this year?  I can be more lenient to a baseball team.  Each game isn't as important as a football game.  It is much easier to give up on a football team's season 4 weeks in than it is a baseball team 4 weeks in.  But if it got bad, how rotten could I get?

I hate ragging on pro athletes.  I am not a pro caliber athlete in any sport, so when I pick on a guy it doesn't mean that I am saying that I could do any better.  But it is important to remember that us fans make professional sports possible.  We have to pay for tickets to see them perform, we buy overpriced food, drinks, and merchandise to keep the train rolling.  It is an entertainment industry that feeds on passion for winning and disappointment in losing.  So in my eyes that if I am going to praise our players for doing well, not commenting on failures would render that meaningless.  Being a fan means being there for the good and bad times. 

My first post of this blog explained why I was so hard on Brandon Weeden.  The Browns were easy to rag on, they won 4 games and looked horrible.  And I guess I haven't been totally nice to the Indians.  I got Carlos Santana this season...

I let Asdrubal Cabrera represent the horrible defense the Indians have played... 

But then there is Nick Swisher.  I love Swisher.  He gets the whole entertainment aspect of the game.  His attitude towards the fans is awesome.  He says the right things, his energy is infectious.  And as of the time I write this he has the 2nd worst batting average among league qualifiers.  He's not hitting for power, driving in runs, or contributing very much at all.  

The Bro-hio army is dwindling fast.  He's putting up numbers like he's a shortstop from the 80's.  He is perhaps the most obvious guy to be blowing up at on a team that can't stay about .500.  He has spend a fair majority of the season below the "Mendoza Line" 

In my eyes he is still below it... 

But all that isn't even ragging on him, those are just facts.  You can find facts on most other people's blogs. You come to me for my jokes, and I can't pull the trigger on the guy.  I'm getting soft I tell you.

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IS BRADY QUINN SERIOUS?

Before I get too far into this, I will be the first to admit I am not overly impressed with the Johnny Manziel party stories.  I think that Johnny probably could have skipped a couple of his party trips over the last couple weekends while the OTAs were going on.  And even though it is the offseason I could have done without the drunken money phone video.  It's not that I'm completely opposed to letting loose and having fun at all.  Johnny just made it to the pinnacle level of his sport, go out and have fun.  But stupid videos like that give ammunition to the people who want him to fail.  It damages his brand, it makes grouchy old men like me start to grumble, no good comes of it.

But in Johnny's defense he also has not been absent for any team functions.  He hasn't created any true waves within the organization that we know of.  As a football player he speaks humbly and tries to say the right things. And despite the national attention he brings, nothing in my opinion has been detrimental to the team.  Johnny is under contract, and ready for the beginning of training camp here in about a month and a half.

The fact is that anyone that cares about professional football seems to have an opinion on Johnny Manziel.  However one dissenting voice that I never expected to hear was from Brady Quinn.  Quinn was on Sirius XM radio the other day and expressed his disapproval for Johnny's antics.  He logic was that Johnny was being disrespectful to the veterans on the roster with his antics.

While in theory there wasn't anything wrong with what Brady said, there is the factor that Brady Quinn is probably the last person on earth with any right to criticize another athlete in that manner.  If you are asking why, lets have a little history lesson.

Brady Quinn was the Browns selection at #22 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.  The Browns spent their 2008 first round pick to acquire Quinn in a deal with the Cowboys, and looked to make Quinn the team's franchise quarterback.

The problems began nearly immediately.  When trying to sign Quinn, he was demanding a salary closer to what a top 5 pick would make.  Quinn and his agent tried to justify it by saying that not only was he projected to be picked that high, but the draft pick the Browns traded to draft Quinn would likely be in that range as well.  So essentially Brady Quinn said through an agent that he thought he was worth more than many of the guys picked before him, and wasn't planning on winning that many games for the extra money.

That drama lasted all the way through training camp, and Quinn finally agreed to terms the day before the opening preseason game.  By then Quinn had missed all of the season preparation, and missed the window for being considered for the starting quarterback job at all.

If someone can tell me exactly what respect for the veterans was shown there I would love to hear it.  All I know is that it was a bad look for fans like me.  I can honestly say that I was not a big Brady Quinn guy right from day one of him signing with the team because of the lack of respect for the team.  And no offense Brady, but Johnny just signed his deal yesterday.

2008 was even worse for Brady, as his absence allowed Derek Anderson to have a pro bowl season in 2007.  And although he still had a ton of fan support, Brady Quinn knew into the offseason there was no chance of him starting for the team in 2008.  That is the time Brady really tried to ditch his "boy next door" image.

So lets talk about some of the lesser known things about Brady Quinn.  While no matter how dumb the Johnny video looks, you can tell that he is having a good time.  I remember the Brady Quinn party story of him getting drunk at a bar and ripping off gay slurs and picking fights.  But Brady was quick to let Johnny know that a first round QB was the, "face of the franchise."  Probably a good thing the media wasn't as voracious as it is now huh Brady?

But that incident didn't really hurt the team, so fans didn't worry too much about it.  However the incident where Brady Quinn got into an altercation with defensive lineman Shaun Smith probably did.  So fist fighting teammates is another way to show respect for your team.

So guess what Brady, you can go ahead and shut up now.  You are making yourself look more foolish now than when you did when you finally stepped onto a football field for us.  Save the career criticism for people who are doing worse than you did.

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LONNIE BASEBALL

I love Tom Hamilton, part of it is his brutal honesty.  I remember last season when Tom really began letting Lonnie Chisenhall have it.  He wasn't alone, at times it looked like the MLB might be a little overwhelming for the former 1st round pick.  That's why this year feels great!

Lonnie Chisenhall came into the 2014 season with some purpose.  And now with his batting average approaching the coveted .400 mark this deep into the season, and a new found talent for hitting lefties Lonnie has been dubbed "Lonnie Baseball."

Now if he could only play defense he would be the "Goodest Guy" ever...

But when you are hitting like Lonnie is, who really cares?  All I know is that he has been scaring the tar out of pitchers.

Unfortunately, while he has been a standout, he has been overlooked on the All-Star Ballot.  So you may want to do your part and go give him a write in vote HERE.  I did, and since the Padres did their part in making me laugh I may have went a bit overboard...

So lets get this kid in the All-Star game!

HAS THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS FINALLY GOTTEN STARTED?

About a week ago I sat down and started work on an Indians article.  I was going to write a sad piece that proclaimed that my playoff hopes were officially dashed.  They had just completed a rotten road trip where they were swept by the White Sox, and were last place in their division.

My philosophy on baseball is that shortcomings in April can be forgiven  But April concerns that continue through May transforms into trends in my mind.  We weren't hitting well, certainly not fielding well, and we were wasting many great pitching efforts.

After that Chicago series the Indians had fell to over 7 games back in the division, and just looked flat.  With this year's team being such a likable unit, it was frustrating to see them struggle so badly.  I figured that I would see how they fared this past week and then proclaim my disappointment.

I was hoping for a bit of a miracle, and we got it.  The Indians won all three games of the Rockies.  The Tigers started losing.  Suddenly a red hot Red Sox team coming in seemed like the catalyst for killing the momentum, but the Indians won all three games in that series as well.  And the Tiger kept losing.  Suddenly a quick look revealed that the Indians owned the best home record in all of the American League, and were no longer in the divisional basement.

Suddenly the "Unfinished Business" that was falling out of reach seems back in our grasp.  Guys like Michael Brantley, Lonnie Chisenhall, David Murphy, and Corey Kluber have slammed the door on the early season struggles.  A shuffled lineup and inspired pitching have gotten the team back to a relevance.

So what next?  Well there is one area that needs to be quickly improved if the Indians plan on being in the post season.  Winning on the road.  The Indians are just 9-19 on the road which is the worst in the AL.  So a very big road trip coming up for the Indians.  But there are some encouraging signs.  Cleveland's defense was much cleaner in their recent wins.  So maybe they can avoid digging themselves deeper behind and start winning some ballgames.   Hopefully I won't just be rewriting the first version of this post by the time they come home.

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HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ON JOSH GORDON YET?

I've already gone off on Josh Gordon.  It is mean spirited, angry and has a link right on the sidebar.  But if you don't want to read the rants of an angry person, it was the moment that I gave up on having Gordon as an option for the Cleveland Browns.

People agreed with my anger, but remained hopeful he would keep his nose clean and get back on the field.  Until last weekend.  He was caught speeding, and guess what, there were drugs found in his vehicle.  Probably not the greatest look for a guy who is currently appealing a potential year long suspension from the league.  Truthfully, I thought Gordon had the traffic cop thing figured out after last year...

Since then I've noticed a few more of you have jumped off of the Josh Gordon bandwagon.  And I have said if he does somehow get back on the field for us, I didn't really like Kellen Winslow Jr. that much either.

So maybe the Browns will be able to get through to this kid somehow...

And if he never gets back on a football field, at least he is keeping the distractions away from Johnny Manziel.  Way to find a way contribute Gordon!

At least I can say I've been calling this all along... This is from way back when we signed the Free Agents.

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