Super Bowl Friday

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AHH…  MEMORIES

Well here we go, at the time of this writing, it is 46 1/2 hours to kick off in one of the most anticipated Super Bowls in a long time.  The “Goat” vs the “Future Goat” Tampa Bay and Kansas City for football’s ultimate prize.  The Nerds and I have been talking the last two weeks leading up to this game, we all have our own opinions on how it will go down but the fact remains, this promises to be an epic game.  I remember 18 years ago when the Bucs were in the Super Bowl for the first time, I was a die-hard Bucs fan (Browns too) at the time and I actually lived across the street from Raymond James Stadium in a one-bedroom apartment that was part of an old converted military barracks paying $400.00/mo in rent.  The week before I was with my best friend at the time and we went to a local bar and watched the NFC championship game, and boy did we have a blast.  When Rhonde Barber intercepted Donovan McNabb on the 10-yard line and proceeded to take it 90 yards to the house to seal the victory we all went nuts.  Later that night he and I were standing outside the stadium as the team returned from Philadelphia…  (the plane actually did a flyover over the stadium on its way to the airport) celebrating the NFC Championship, it was cold, it was loud and I couldn’t care less. Of course, the Bucs won that Super Bowl vs the Raiders, and I was high as a kite.

THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED

Fast forward 18 years and here we are again, The Bucs are once again one game from reaching NFL Immortality Sunday when they face probably the most prolific offense in the NFL in a decade, the Kansas City Chiefs.  Patrick Mahomes has in just three years in the league become the face of the NFL and he has shown that he is capable of pulling off magic on a football field, getting passes to receivers that any other QB in the league wouldn’t dream of attempting, along with showing Poise and composure of players 10 years older than he is.  The task is daunting for the Bucs this time around, the foe is better than what they played in 2003, and they are the defending champs.  With all of that being said, here is the Kicker…  I am no longer a Bucs fan…  the post-Super Bowl years soured me on the franchise because of the way ownership decided they no longer cared, the fact that Jon Gruden tore the roster down and tried to make it in the image he wanted it to be, while still trying to get back to the playoffs and win another ring.  Gruden destroyed the roster, he is the type of coach that declares it is his way or no way, and that he was all-knowing and no-one else knew as much about football as he did.  they went 7-9 the following year and missed the playoffs…  they had two more playoff appearances under Gruden, losing in the wildcard round both times.  They then began a stretch of 12 years and six head coaches without a playoff appearance…  until this year.  Over the course of that 12-year stretch, ownership proved time after time that they did not care about the Bucs, as they are also majority owners of Manchester United, the premier franchise in European Soccer.  The Bucs were an afterthought and my loyalty waned and I quit rooting for them because I was disgusted that they did not honor the fans or the franchise itself by not even attempting to put a decent product on the field that could compete.  The Bucs were my adopted team because I lived in Tampa and with their history as bad as it was leading up to that point, it just felt cheap that they were satisfied with just one trophy and didn’t care about going after another one.

A NEW ERA… OR IS IT?

So here we are, so many years later and the Bucs have once again found themselves in the Super Bowl,  but it feels different this time.  Why, well I have always been a fan of building a team from the ground up, not going all out in free agency to pick up what I would call “ringers” and this is how I would describe this team.  they went out and got the best QB to ever lace them up, added his favorite target from his New England days just to chance a championship.  Bruce Arians was 7-9 his first season as the Head Coach, he didn’t build anything, he brought a bit of a swagger to the franchise with his fancy hats and his unorthodox way of approaching the game.  They refused to sign the QB they drafted #1 overall after the 2019 season and let him go in free agency to the New Orleans Saints and instead went head hunting aggressively for Tom Brady and his 6 Super Bowl rings in the offseason.  In retrospect, if they win on Sunday this will be one of the greatest free-agent signings in the history of the NFL but it feels dirty, it feels cheap and I would feel guilty as being a bandwagon fan to jump on the Pirate Ship and ride the success to the end with this team.  I watched after they ran up win after win, all because of this player that I have hated for 20 years because I was tired of seeing him and hit Head Coach win 6 Super Bowls…  I HATED the Patriots, and I still do, and I could not bring myself to root for these Bucs because of how they did it in the 2019 offseason.  Then comes the kicker…  They signed Antonio Brown, a player that had burned the Browns for years when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2010s.  Brown was a head case, he has been accused of sexual assault, he has no shame, he shows no remorse for any of his off-field shenanigans or acceptance that he is a sexual predator and a disgrace to the league.  I hated that signing and that was the final straw for me.  I made it my personal obligation to NOT root for this team because there was no route or move they would lower themselves to go after players that were hired guns or had no reason to be in the league in the first place.  I actually rooted for them to lose every game, to show that the best way was still to build off the draft and build a culture the fans could be proud of (See the 2020 Cleveland Browns).

SO HERE WE ARE…

With all of the above being said, I find myself in a difficult situation because I hate the Chiefs now more than I hate the Patriots, and believe it or not it is because of ONE PLAY.  Higgins definitely did fumble the ball through the endzone, but what burns me is that the refs missed the helmet-to-helmet hit by safety Daniel Sorensen on Higgins and erased any chance of the Browns comeback win in that game.  It was a dirty hit, he lowered his helmet and the refs missed it.  Because of that, I will once again be rooting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win it all on Sunday.  As much as it hurts, I am rooting for a Tom Brady-led team to win the Super Bowl (hey Tom, how much is too much?) Sunday and even though it makes me feel dirty to the point that if they win I will need a shower afterward to get the stink off me for compromising my principles, Go Bucs…

SPECIAL EDITION

The Nerds are looking forward to this game as is most of the world, so with that being the case, The Sports Nerds will be broadcasting a special LIVE  Pre-Game edition of our show on Sunday Afternoon 5 pm Eastern time for about an hour to preview and provide our predictions for Super Bowl LV.  I hope you will all join us for trash talk, trivia, and fun shit to get you through the start of the game at 6:30 Eastern.  So fire up the Grill, fry the wings, prepare the dip, and get ready for The Sports Nerds to give you fun and information leading up to Super Bowl LV.  You can watch via Facebook, Twitch, Vimm, and Twitter at 5:00 pm eastern time on Sunday.  Join us for all the fun, I hope to see you…

Scott “The Sports Nerd”

 

 

The Sports Nerd Show – 01.31.2021

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tonight was a great show, I started off replying to a friend of the show, Derek Lofland, but found out 15 mins int the show I was not recording.  Sad to miss that much but I did eventually record the remainder.  we discussed the blockbuster Goff-Stafford trade between Detroit and the LA Rams.  we went into a heavy discussion about Deshaun Watson and the show evolved into all sorts of NFL talk and what has been going on and what could happen moving forward in the NFL.  Jon had a lot to say about the AFC Championship and the entire panel (and audience) had a lot to say about the NFC Championship, including the future of Aaron Rodgers.  for the entire first hour it was all NFL… and it was glorious.  What followed after that was a discussion about MLB, NHL (Connor McDavid via Jon) and Mets Owner Steve Cohen, and the impact of the GameStop Stock Market issue – Jon once again promotes the value of the Blockchain and its aversion of Social Medial Censorship (great stuff).  We finish up with tributes to Hank Aaron, Larry King, and others that have left us,  Especially Eliot’s tribute and “where are they now” segment regarding the day Hank broke the record.  It was a great show and I hope you enjoy it.

Scott “The Sports Nerd”

Rumor Mill Gone Wild…

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So…  I am perusing the interwebs today…  mostly on Twitter, and all I see coming from #BrownsTwitter is “The Browns should go after Deshaun Watson” “He’s better than Baker, we should give up our 26th this year and number ones in 2022 & 2023 PLUS Baker and OBJ for JUST Deshaun…  I have been a fan of the NFL and the Cleveland Browns for over 45 years and in all of those years, I have never heard such bad takes, poor judgment, lack of knowledge, and utter stupidity then what I have heard out of the mouths and keyboards in that 45 years.  You wanna know why these couch potato wannabe front-office gurus aren’t working for an NFL team?..  Because they are wannabe front office gurus.  They would never make it with a real NFL Franchise and they would be laughed out of the building.  Baker Mayfield is the reason the Browns finished the season 11-5 and won a playoff game for the first time in 26 years.  He has single-handedly become the leader of this team, and to ruin the chemistry this team built the entire 2020 season would set them back years.  So I say to those armchair GM’s out there, just stop it, you’re embarrassing yourselves.  To be honest this is what got The Browns into the mess that was the 1999-2019 seasons, trying to go after the shiny apple on the tree that you think would look better than the shiny apple you already have in your hand.

A PARAGRAPH SIMPLY TO POINT OUT HOW STUPID IT IS.

To point out a specific reason here is one of the articles I am talking about.  Please read this nitwit post and then know I told him that if he was getting paid his employer needs to reconsider his employment and if he wasn’t getting paid then this is one of the reasons he isn’t.  This is stupid, nonsense, and complete naivety as to what made the Browns successful this season.

https://dawgpounddaily.com/2021/01/28/cleveland-browns-deshaun-watson-7/

It’s guys like this that give Cleveland sports a bad name and more reason to ridicule its fans and sportswriters.  Can we PLEASE have some common sense in writing about The Browns, please?

ON TO OTHER THINGS…

Aaron Rodgers is not happy.  After 13 spectacular years and only two NFC Championships and one SuperBowl win, last Sunday may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.  The Packers’ organization is to blame for the lack of success in Green Bay because they refuse to provide Rodgers with the necessary weapons to allow him to be successful.  The receivers are good but they only have one elite WR on the roster, Devonte Adams, and the rest of the receivers on the roster are good, but not good enough.  The other issue is the defense because Mike Pettine is the one to be blamed for the defensive alignment that allowed the last-second touchdown in the first half against Tampa Bay last week.  I honestly do not believe that Rodgers is going to leave Green Bay, but he has all right to be pissed off.  He played the entire season with a chip on his shoulder because the front office decided to draft a QB in the first round of the draft last year, a draft pick they actually traded UP to get, and that pissed Aaron off, as it should have.  This offseason promises to be one of the most interesting in years because of the amount of QB’s that are available or will become available, and I am here for all of the drama.

There is an issue in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger’s contract.  he is slated to earn $41.2 million next year and the veteran has stated that he “doesn’t care” what he makes next year, he is leaning to returning for one more season.  Per Dan Orlovsky fro ESPN he will need to have his salary at least cut in half next season to allow him to come back and allow the Steelers to still sign free agent’s JuJu Smith-Schuster and Bud Dupree, so the Steelers have some hard choices to make leading up to next season, to include contracts with Head Coach Mike Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert.

It was announced today that Washington Football Team’s head coach Ron Rivera is finally cancer-free…  Thank God…  Such a great coach and an even better person.  Congrats to “Riverboat Ron” on his diagnosis.

David Culley, an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens has been hired as the new Head Coach of the Houston Texans…  This guy was hired out of left field and was on no one’s radar in the head coaching search throughout the NFL.  To say this guy was hired over more qualified candidates such as Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy and Bills DC Lezlie Frazier is beyond my thought process as to what actually qualifies as a head coach in the NFL these days.  I could throw the race card out there, but of course, the pundits and experts would dismiss this thinking, but hear me out…  to think a 65-year old assistant who has never held a coordinator position his entire career in the NFL would get a job as a head coach over such other qualified candidates blows my mind.  The other option or reason that I have in my head that could be the reason this hire has happened is due to the fact the Houston Texans are such a shit-show of a franchise, honest qualified candidates wanted nothing to do with this position, basically because their current position outweighs the issues and headaches that would come as the head coach of this horror of a franchise.  When the franchise QB of the team demands a trade, and your star DE has done more for the community of Houston than any other individual or team rep, then you know there is an issue. Bieniemy and Frazier will be head coaches in the future, but maybe behind the scenes, they wanted nothing to do with this situation.

Thanks for reading

Scott “The Sports Nerd”

Eight Days between posts… not what I expected…

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EIGHT DAYS…

So I haven’t posted in eight days and I have no excuse.  I have been reflecting over this time about how well the Browns did in their run, how the fact they held the Chiefs to 22 points while the Bills allowed 38 points in the NFC Championship.  The Browns were one good drive from beating the Chiefs in the divisional round and based on the way the Bills played last Sunday, the Browns would have beaten the Bills and would now be in the Super Bowl.  but that is all hyperbole and hypothetical because in reality the Browns fell short and they are now in their offseason, beginning to prep for the draft, and trying to make sure they continue the success from this season into next season.  Eight days is a lot of time to reflect on what could have been, and eight days is a lot between posts, but it has been a remarkable season for the team I have rooted for since I was a little kid in the ’70s and to have experienced so much failure since then only to see it happen again is a lot to ponder over.

REFLECTIONS ON A SEASON I NEVER EXPECTED

The Browns exceeded everything I was expecting this year and to honestly believe that they would go from 6-10 with a front office and a coaching staff that was inept, had no idea what they were doing, a head coach that was in over his head, and a team that underperformed based on the talent on the roster to what we saw this season with 12 wins, beating Pittsburgh in a playoff game on their own home field for the first time in over a decade, along with coming within one drive of beating the world champs, is more than I could ever imagine.  I am proud of this team from the front office all the way down to the equipment managers for achieving all that they have accomplished in the 2020 season.  No traditional offseason, no mini camps, no training camps, virtual meetings, virtual implementations of a new offense, new defense, and overall implementation of a new culture by a first-year head coach and staff.  The players all bought in, they never questioned the goals laid out by Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff.  Despite all of the challenges, despite all of the hurdles placed before them, let alone the consistent cloud of COVID hanging over their heads, they never wavered, never lost sight of the goals placed before them, this team that was in disarray last year at 6-10, they exceeded expectations and made it t the divisional round of the playoffs.  I am proud to be a Browns fan and the future is bright and full of possibilities.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Green Bay and Tampa Bay was set up as the battle of the over the hill QB’s, specifically Brady vs Rodgers…  Turns out it was the Bucs defense that stole the show and not the QB’s so much.  The Bucs defense smothered Rodgers and basically dominated the game.  I had flashbacks to 2002-2003 when the Tampa defense was the most dominating force in the NFL.  They sacked Rodgers five times, intercepted him once, and overcame Tom Brady and his 3 interceptions, and prevented the Packers from capitalizing on those picks and only allowed 6 points off those turnovers en route to a dominating performance and handing Aaron Rodgers his 4th straight defeat in the NFC Championship.  As for the AFC Championship, it wasn’t even close.  The Chiefs dominated the Bills from the opening gun.  After spotting Buffalo 9 points, the Chiefs ran off 3 straight touchdowns and by the end of the half, it was pretty much over.  The Chiefs defense pressured Josh Allen for the majority of the game and confused, pressured, and harassed him causing a lot of mistakes and missed opportunities for the majority of the game.  Add to that a lot of questionable calls going for three instead of six for the better part of the second half, and it was no question that the Chiefs were the better team and deserved their spot in SB LV.

SUPER BOWL LV

Chiefs vs Buccaneers – For the first time in NFL history, a team gets to play for the championship in their own home stadium.  The Super Bowl is being played at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tampa is provided the opportunity of being the first team in NFL history to host the game in their home stadium.  This year the NFC is actually the “home team” and the Buccaneers will be in their own locker room and have a “home field advantage” despite only 22,000 fans allowed in the stadium due to COVID.  Since I live here in Lakeland, 30 miles from the stadium, I find myself rooting for the Bucs, but not just because of the hometown connection.  I watched the Chiefs last week be poor winners and they decided to be over the top winners.  they brutalized Buffalo, didn’t give them an ounce of respect, and pounced on them during and after the game, pouring salt on the wounds of the Buffalo Bills.  They have become arrogant, cocky and feel that no team is in their league.  I have a question for the Chiefs…  have you MET Tom Brady?  We’ll see what happens but despite the fact, the Bucs put together their team this year with paid ringers in the form of Brady, Gronk, and Bryant in order to get where they are, I am rooting for the Bucs…  Something I haven’t done since 2003 when they won Super Bowl XXXVII.

 

 

 

 

Late post… But I have been in mourning…

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A SEASON LEFT UNFULFILLED

Let me just say, I am hurting, I am disappointed.  The Cleveland Browns, the team I have invested 45 years of my 54 years on this planet were defeated by the defending world champs yesterday 22-17.  The end to the best season in franchise history in over two decades was bittersweet but yes, expected, despite what they had accomplished the entire season.  I truly expected the Browns to lose to KC, knew it was an inevitable result, but what I did not expect was that the worst back seven in the NFL held the Chiefs to 22 points.  Not only that they were in it up til about 4:00 to play in the game, and that shows the determination and never quit attitude this team has shown the entire season.  The number of hurdles this team had to overcome the entire year is unprecedented with COVID, injuries, and everything in between is nothing short of astonishing.

PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE

For the last 21 years, the Browns have not had much to look forward to after dismal seasons, including 33 starting quarterbacks, 12 head coaches, and a litany of below .500 seasons, they seem to have finally found the right guys in both roles that can lead them into the future.  Kevin Stefanski and Baker Mayfield have shown this season to be the right guys at the right time to bring the Browns back to glory.  It seems that the front office and the coaching staff are all on the same page and that they have a consistent goal for this team that will allow the Browns to be a perennial force in the AFC and the NFL as a whole.  I have not felt this good about this team since the 80’s when guys like Bernie Kosar, Kevin Mack, and Earnest Byner lead this team to 3 AFC Championships in that decade.

THANKFUL FOR A SUCCESSFUL SEASON

Despite the loss yesterday, I am hopeful for the future.  The core is in place, and with a front office that is smart and looks to the future, I foresee them being active in the offseason and plug the needed personnel into the defense we can expect the Browns to be a force in the NFL for years to come.  I am disappointed that they lost yesterday, I had high hopes for a Lake Erie AFC Championship since both Buffalo and Cleveland Fans have suffered most of their existence dating back to the 70’s, it would have been fitting and a great storyline for both franchises to meet in the game that would send one of them to the Super Bowl, but it was not to be.  So I go into the offseason with a grateful heart for an amazing 2020 season and excited for what 2021 and beyond will bring to this franchise

 

Scott “The Sports Nerd”

The Sports Nerds 01.17.2021

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Tonight was a good show.  Review of the divisional games this weekend.  I was in mourning and presented a “eulogy” as Eliot would call it, and Jon preened and strutted his bills pride and predictions of the pending showdown with the Chiefs.  Ken was the highlight of the show as I honored him and his brother Keven for their efforts in maintaining the collection of stats for the Arlington Independent School District football history dating back to 1986.  Overall a great show, and I hope you enjoy the replay here.

Motivation from a Pixie….

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So I am sitting here on Netflix watching the history of swear words, getting freaked out by Nick Cage’s beard and all of a sudden in the CTP Discord a post pops up from my good friend @pixiepost, a woman I admire, have a mad crush on, and someone I highly respect for her unconditional love for all breeds of humanity and animals.  Tonight the Pixie was a bit upset… so much so that she actually used a curse word in her daily video, which is highly unusual for her, as she is normally much more pleasant than that.  She had issues with the ugliness in the current environment, how people are being highly negative, complaining about this or that, as well as pointing fingers at other people and not taking responsibility for their own actions, or inactions.  The link to the video is here:

https://ctptalk.com/hive-148441/@pixiepost/laswjmlx

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE DO…

We are all responsible for our own actions.  This is a phrase that is timeless, has been said by many a philosopher, educator, politician, father, mother, etc.. the list goes on and on… after watching Jenn’s video tonight, this is the phrase that has come to mind the most.  Jenn is also right about making excuses for inaction or action.  Instead of pointing fingers at outside forces and people you have issues with, worry about your own inner self and circle and worry about what YOU can do to make yourself better.  These outside forces ultimately have no control over what you do, say or act.  You are ultimately responsible for what you do, not your coworker, family member, or friend…  just you… and if you decide to sit on the sidelines and do nothing, or point fingers, or blame someone other than yourself, then you are missing the point.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR…

Ultimately you are responsible for your actions, inactions, motivation, and inspiration…  What excuse are you making today for not making that post, video, or whatever content is needed to get you moving, to make yourself successful, to inspire others, to get involved…  whatever is in your head, whatever it is that you are passionate about, get it out there, no matter the subject, no matter how hard you may think it is, …  DO IT.  Stop making excuses, stop pointing fingers, get it out there, let the world know how you feel and if no one responds. do it again… keep going until you are noticed because eventually, people will notice, and then when they do, it will have more of an impact than you can imagine…  just do the work

IT’S THE HARD THAT MAKES IT GREAT

Content creation is hard… trust me, I know, I have been on this journey for 8 years, and it doesn’t get any easier despite how long you have been trying.  the point is to keep trying because eventually, it will pay off.  For a long time, I have been lazy and did not create any consistent content, taking weeks, sometimes months off, because I chose the easier route and decided that streaming movies or TV shows were a better option to occupy my time.  This is mindless time-consuming content, but I wasn’t accomplishing anything, but my brain didn’t care, because to be honest, I was afraid of doing what was the right thing to do… I made excuses to myself, not realizing that I was doing just what most content creators are doing…  nothing…  It’s a hard business, and the HARD is what makes it great… It’s a quote from “A League of Their Own”, but it fits.  The HARD is what makes it great, because if it was easy…  then EVERYONE would be doing it.

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?  The answer is to get out there, make yourself visible… create content… stop making excuses, and do the work.  there is a lot of ugliness going on in the world, but the truth is, only you can make the decision to begin to move forward and make the world a better place, because your co-worker, your neighbor, your friends, or your family aren’t going to do it for you.  Stop blaming the world and take responsibility for your own actions.  be creative, be visible, and above all else… be honest… it’s cliche, but to quote a famous company slogan…  Just Do It…  You’ll find that the more you create and get involved, stop pointing fingers, stop playing victim, the happier you will be…  I guarantee it…

thank you… and please…  be good to each other…

Scott “The Sports Nerd”

 

 

 

 

Monday night after the storm

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THE BROWNS BEAT THE STEELERS IN PITTSBURGH FOR A PLAYOFF GAME WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, I am on cloud nine…  The Cleveland Browns beat our heated rival of over 50+ years the pittsburgh steelers last night 48-37 in a dominating fashion and I am having emotions for this team that I have not had in over 30 years.  Its not the “Kardiac Kids”, nor is it the original “Dawgs” from the mid to late 80’s, but this team has unearthed emotions in me that I haven’t felt in a long time.  Complete team win… NO ONE thought they could do it… no one except the entire fan base of The Cleveland Browns.  For at least one year we have bragging rights over the steelers.  I am overwhelmed with emotions even 22 hours after that win.

BAKER MAYFIELD IS THE FRANCHISE QB THE BROWNS HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR

Baker has proven over the last few weeks that he is a franchise QB.  His ha matured right before our eyes under Stefanski’s system and he is the long-term solution for this franchise.  He has shown leadership, focus, and a will to win no matter the obstacles in front of him.  I admit I was suspect of the Browns drafting him #1 overall in 2018, and his performance last year put doubts in my head as to whether he was the answer to the future of the franchise.  Enter Kevin Stegfanski, and he has blossomed in this offense.  It is obvious that Baker and Stefanski have a bond and that bond will be what carries the Browns over the top, whether it be this year or next, or the year after.  The groundwork has been planted, and this is just the beginning of a run that will be as good or better than the run they had in the ’80s, and the run they started in the ’90s.

SHOWDOWN WITH THE CHAMPS

The reality is this… The Browns now have a huge hurdle to jump this weekend.  The Kansas City Chiefs wait in the Division Playoff this Sunday at 3:05 Eastern this Sunday…  The World Champs stand between the Browns and the AFC Championship… I won’t sugar coat things, the task is monumental… Patrick Mahomes is a freak, he is the best QB in the NFL and the Chiefs have an explosive offense, and the Browns statistically have one of the worst defenses in the NFL.  it doesn'[t look good, but this team has fought all season long against diversity, between injuries and COVID, they have won despite all of the disadvantages…  hell they just beat the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs, in their house, while not having their Head Coach on the sidelines, several other coaches out, and their best offensive lineman, all due to COVID.  They have overcome all obstacles put in their way and have come out on top.  All I have to say about facing the Chiefs is to rehash an old saying…  That’s why they play the games…  Go Browns

Scott “The Sports Nerd”

Super Wildcard Weekend..

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Just a quick post to provide my feelings on the games this weekend, I meant to write yesterday but I fell down the rabbit hold and got to carried away with all the good games we saw yesterday.  Currently watching Titans/Ravens with TN up in the 2nd qtr, but really quick lets recap yesterday first…

COLTS @ BILLS

This wasn’t a surprise to me, as I expected Buffalo to take care of business.  Good game by Josh Allen and I know my good friend and co-host @jongolson was happy with the end result.  Now if the Browns beat the Steelers they will host the winner of today’s Ravens/Titans, but if the Browns lose they get Pittsburgh.  Not sure the Bills or Jon care very much who they get.

RAMS/SEATTLE

The Seahawks looked lost all day and the Rams looked like they wanted it more.  Russell Wilson was running for his life all day long because of the Rams pressure and his anemic passing stats show it.  no running game, no passing game, and against that smothering defense, they had no chance from the opening whistle.  This was a bit of a surprise because of how Seattle played against them the last time, but it was not to be, Seattle needs to take a long look in the mirror for next season.

BUCS/WFT

Again no big surprise as to the end result here except for the effort of the WFT.  They gave Tampa a harder fight than I expected but it was a decent game, I went to bed halftime (OLD) but saw the highlights this morning.  Kudos to the new kid on the block Taylor Heinikie for his gutsy play after separating his AC joint in his left shoulder and came back after it was put back in place, his gutsy play will almost guarantee a roster spot on a team next season.  A quick not on this game, it was Tampa Bay’s FIRST playoff win since January 26, 2003 – Super Bowl XXXVII.

TODAY’S PREDICTIONS:

For today’s games, even though the early game has started, it is no currently tied 10-10 in the 2nd quarter, I still like TN to win this one, therefore facing the Bills next weekend.  For the middle game, I see NO, playing at home, though with no fans, Beating Chicago and moving on to face the Rams next week.  Tonight…  I BELIEVE…  No Head Coach on the sidelines, several other coaches out, no Joel Bitonio, no Denzel Ward…  who cares, it’s go time… let do this Brownies!!!  Browns win, setting up a showdown with KC next week at Arrowhead.

Looking forward to the games today, especially tonight when The Browns face the hated Steelers tonight on SNF, and of course our show The Sports Nerds tonight at 7:00 pm leading up to that game tonight at 8:15.  Enjoy the rest of youe weekend

 

Oh and as a postscript to this post…  Tomorrow night…  GO BUCKS…  beat Bama…

Scott “The Sports Nerd

The Dolans are the worst owners in MLB

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I know it’s football season and I am excited that the Browns are finally back in The Playoffs after an 18-year absence, but a thing happened yesterday and I just need to vent.

GOODBYE TO A LEGEND…

So yesterday The Cleveland Indians announced they were trading Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carasco to the NY Mets for a Zagnut, Snickers and a 3 Muskateers to be named later.  It is a sad day in Cleveland AGAIN because all Matt Dolan cares about is reducing payroll and not putting together a solid roster.  Sure they had a great farm system when it came to grooming Pitchers, but they never seemed to get it right when it came to the lineup.  This is a team that was a 3-1 lead away from winning the World Series (that still hurts by the way) in 2016 and it seemed that the Tribe was set up to win for years to come, along with probably the best rotation in baseball.  But after all of that success in ’16, the Dolans decided to start cutting payroll until 4 years later they now will have a payroll that is 100 million less than the Marlins next year.

Lindor was a legend to the fans of Cleveland, and we all knew that Lindor was going to be moved, but the shocker here is Carasco.  Carlos “Cookie” Carasco was a fan favorite, and after battling and beating leukemia in b2019 his comeback that same year was inspirational.  This one hurts, and it is all more evidence of the Dolan’s not giving a damn about the fans.  Attendance has suffered the last couple of years and it isn’t because the Indians were not competing, because they made the playoffs 4 out of the last 5 years, including 3 consecutive AL Central titles and one World Series appearance (the aforementioned 2016 WS).  Attendance has suffered because the entire fanbase hates the owners, they refuse to do what it takes to get this franchise over the top…  They play in the weakest division in Baseball… they have dominated that division but when it comes time to play the hated Yankees or the Cheating Astros, who play in much better divisions, they fail miserably.

The Dolan’s have ruined baseball in Cleveland because they are cheap, because they don’t care, and because they have no idea what they are doing.  OH if you happen to recognize the name, Dolan…  It’s because Matt Dolan’s cousin runs the NY Knicks.. so I guess failure runs in the family.  The overwhelming echos coming out of the fanbase is to not spend money on merchandise, tickets, or anything Indians related because if ownership doesn’t care, why should the fanbase.  The Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948, and so long as the current owners are in place that streak will continue to grow because they just don’t give a shit…

Scott “The Sports Nerd”