How About Some Bags for Browns Fans

Halfway over and the Browns have only won one game, how sad.  It's hard to watch week after week when they fail to put the ball in the end zone to score touchdowns.  The Monday night game was boring and I fell asleep during the 2nd and 3rd quarters.  I thought our defense played well though, at halftime it was 0-0!  Wonder if they can beat the Lions this week . . . I'd be pleasantly surprised if they do!  

The Browns fan with the bag on his head is at Napolean's Pizza on State Road in Parma.

Cleveland Browns Finally Win!

Yesterday the Cleveland Browns finally got a win over the Buffalo Bills! How they did it was amazing!  The Buffalo Bills really helped them out by getting a lot of penalties including 9 false starts!  Then one big mistake at the end when one of their players tried getting the punt and fumbled it.  The Browns special teams and kicker were fantastic!  That's why they won this game. 

The Browns offense amounted to a running game by Jamal Lewis (over 100 yards) and Josh Cribbs (30 yards).  Anderson only completed two passes the whole game!  Their kicker, Zastudil, had the Buffalo Bills starting from inside the 5 yard line three times! 

I was so glad to see the run the ball when they got down to the end zone in the last minutes of the game instead of trying to pass.  I was also happy for the substitute kicker when he made the winning field goal.  It was closer than it is when going for the extra point, but the wind was very strong and he was not as experienced as Phil Dawson.

Of course, the Browns had trouble scoring but managed to get two field goals which was one more than the Bills had, winning 6-3. This was a match up between two bad teams.  Even at the half, the sportscasters were joking about what a boring game it was to watch.

The Browns were ecstatic that they finally won a game and in the locker room afterward, gave Coach Mangini the game ball since it was his first win in Cleveland.  I think they actually played much better last week against Cincinnati when they lost in overtime.  Hopefully this will encourage them and at least they won't have to worry if they'll ever win a game anymore. 

Following the Browns game, we watched the Patriots lose to Denver.  Denver had the ugliest uniforms I ever saw!  They were brown and yellow with stripes all over the bottom half of their legs.  I think the Patriots were distracted by them--it's hard to play football when you're laughing so hard.  I was very surprised when the Patriots lost in overtime to Denver. 

So Long Braylon Edwards!

The Cleveland Browns traded Braylon Edwards to the NY Jets this week and I can't say I'm at all upset about the trade.  I know Braylon Edwards is a "big play-maker" but he really hasn't come through yet this season and last season he was noted for dropping passes more than catching them.  When I read about him assaulting a guy at a bar, I was disappointed in him.  I like Coach Mangini's philosophy about building a team who has character and are about teamwork. 

I was happy when they got rid of Kellen Winslow because I felt he had a bad attitude and I feel almost the same about Braylon Edwards.  I think the team will be better off without his whining and attitude.  I'd like to see our rookies get more opportunity to play and prove themselves and work at getting better.  It seems that with no "star" they all will be more likely to work as a team and the QB will be spreading the passes around which I think will help keep the defense honest and not just put double coverage on the one receiver like they did with Edwards. 

I wish Braylon Edwards a good season in NY and hope he is happier there.  Most importantly, I hope he matures and learns from his mistakes.  It will be interesting to see if the NFL suspends for any games.  I look forward to watching the Browns play Buffalo this Sunday and see what our offense will do with Edwards out of the picture.  I really think we'll have some fun this week!

Browns Come So Close to Beating The Bengals!

I actually liked watching the Browns game yesterday because they played very well and almost won it!  It was sad that they didn't.  Of course there are always the "what ifs" that would have made a difference.  It does bother me when it's 4 and short and they go for the field goal instead of a touchdown, but they did look good after the first quarter.  The beginning of the game, I thought "here we go again" when the Browns only had possession for less than a minute the whole first quarter!  For them to be down 14-0 and not totally collapse or quit is encouraging and to come back strong for the rest of the game was exciting!

The Browns actually dominated in the second and third quarters and pulled ahead 20-14.  I thought the defense played very well and the offense was so improved from their first three games this season.  Anderson did a great job leading the offense and it was fun to watch.  I was glad they were playing at home and our fans finally got to see a close game and one that had exciting moments in it.  I had to leave before it ended but when the Bengals tied it up 20-20 right at the end of the 4th quarter, I turned it off figuring the extra point was a given and we lost. 

I turned the car radio on and heard the game was in overtime!  I thought oh wow, they still have a chance.  Earlier in the game they blocked a field goal and now they blocked the extra point to take the game into overtime.  Unfortunately, the Begals scored a field goal to win the game the last 4 seconds of overtime but when I saw it on the highlights later, it looked wide to me. 

It was so nice to see the Browns happy and smiling on the sideline for a change during the game and I hope this will help them turn things around.  I loved seeing the Browns defensive coordinator congratulate his defense when they came off the field during the game.  It was so refreshing to see the Browns excited when they scored their touchdowns.  The looked like a real NFL football team out there yesterday and I was proud of them and wore my Browns jacket and hat proudly once again!

Mohamed Massaquoi had a great day!  He's a rookie who had 8 completed passes for 148 yards!  I felt so sorry for him though after he scored a touchdown and they reviewed it and decided he was down at the 1 yard line so it didn't count.  Fortunately, they did get it on the next play with a completed pass to Steve Heiden in the end zone.  I look forward to seeing more of Massaguoi because having another viable receiver will take some of the extra coverage off of Braylon Edwards.  

College Football--What Is Enough? by Gerard

On the average football Saturday most people have access to 15 college football games.  I would like to know what you think about this.  Which statement below do you agree with?

(A)  Is 15 way too many?

(B)  What's to complain about, it's great!

(C)  Five games would be enough.

How many do you usually watch on a Saturday?  How many would you like to see?

Here We Go Again--What's The End Zone?

Sunday we looked forward to watching our two football teams--The Patriots and The Browns.  Then the games started and so did a lot of yelling!  Why cant't they score touchdowns?  The Patriots were playing like the Browns last week and Gerard was furious!  So frustrtating when they get in the red zone and settle for a field goal because they can't get it into the end zone.  After the Patriots game, my husband went for a long walk with Abby, our dog, to cool off.

Manny, our cat, and I watched the Browns game together.  Also frustrating and very disappointing.  I actually bet on them this week for the office pool because I really thought they would get better from the prior week and fix what was wrong.  Nope, didn't happen.  Same old, same old. 

Quinn was terrible!  They get great field position right off and can't get a touchdown.  Right there set the tone for the game.  As it turned out, they only were able to score one more field goal for a total of 6 points!  This is unacceptable!!!!!  They were so close to Denver for 3 quarters, only down by 4 points until Dever exploded in the 4th quarter.  It certainly would help if our offense could keep possession of the ball longer than 5 minutes at a time.  I am so sick of 3 and out, 3 and out.  Can't our offensive coordinator see the plays are not working?  Why does he insist on doing the same thing again and again?  No wonder our defense is worn out by the last quarter of the game.  They get no help from the offense, nothing to encourage them on, no hope!

Quinn did not look confident at all.  In fact, he reminded me of Tim Couch looking like he just wanted the game to be over.  I determinted that I would not bet on them next week unless they were getting 20 points against Baltimore.  Baltimore always crushes us so I found out today the point spread is only 14--not enough for me to bet on the Browns.  They are so bad!!!  

After the Browns game, I joined Gerard and Abby for another walk.  This time I had to cool off.  I certainly hope the Browns offense can find a way to score touchdowns before the end of the season or it will be another very disappointing year.  So much for my 9-win prediction.  I think they'll be lucky to win 3! 

Will The Red Sox Be The Wild Card?

Happy Labor Day!  With less than a month to go in the baseball season, Labor Day finds the Red Sox with a 3-game lead for the wild card.  The new acquisitions:  Victor Martinez, Alex Gonzales and Billy Wagner are paying off.  The problem is that they only have one dependable starting pitcher--Lester; however, the bullpen has been doing well. 

Jacobs is playing GREAT--super speed!  I can't remember the last time a Red Sox player lead the league in stolen bases.  They are hitting well too, especially at home. 

What's up with Beckett?  He needs to start pitching good now!  Forget about catching the Yankees for first.  The Wild Card is our chance to make the playoffs.  Texas is the only team to watch out for.  It's going to be an exciting final month! 

Let's Go Red Sox!

by Gerard Zemek

Fall Means Football!

My husband and I both enjoy watching football, of course, he more than me.  He loves High School, College and Pro and looks forward to September when the football season kicks off. 

Thursday, I enjoyed watching the first half of the Browns preseason game against the Bears.  It was a good game, even though they lost.  I was again encouraged to see them hang in there when they were at 3rd down with something like 15 or 20 to go. Although they still got more penalties that I'd like to see, they seemed to be more resilient than they were last year.  I am looking forward to a good season with them.  Of course, the Patriots won again and Gerard is pulling for them again this year to go all the way.

Today we enjoyed watching the Ohio State Buckeyes.  It was a fun game, although kind of scary that it was so close!  Navy sure beat the spread on that one--congrats to all who picked them!  August 30th was our 12th wedding anniversary which according to our wedding highlight book said the modern gift was linen.  When I saw the OSU bed set in WalMart, I thought this would be the perfect gift for us to get and Gerard agreed so off we went this morning and bought it.  Spunky Doodle approves too as you can see in the picture!  She laid on it most of the afternoon.

What football teams are you pulling for?

Browns Gave Me Hope!

The first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers was not encouraging.  I thought, "same old story." 

Then last week, they actually beat the Detroit Lions.  Granted, not a powerhouse team, but hey, better than losing to them!  I had to give the Browns some credit now.  Already they are doing better than they did last year when they lost every preseason game they had.  I know it's only preseason, but at least they showed me some improvement.

Last night though against the Titans was impressive because that is a good team.  According to the announcers, they had the second best defense in the league.  I really enjoyed watching them play that game and didn't fall asleep on it like usual.  It was great to see Braylon Edwards making some fantastic catches (especially the one-hand grab) and not dropping the ball.  I loved the special teams performance and our defense actually came through big on several occasions.  The first half they had trouble running the ball but the second half they were able to apparently make some adjustments and were able to run it more.

I am beginning to really like Furrey.  I like his name for one thing, but even more than that is the way he comes through on 3rd down to convert. 

I thought both our quarterbacks did about the same and I really don't care which one gets to start.  I'll support whichever one is playing and hope other Cleveland fans do the same.  At least the Browns showed they can win--I look forward to the regular season!  Go Browns!

No More Wahoo Lion

I used to go by Leo, the Wahoo Lion, but as of Friday, I'm no longer a Wahoo Lion!

Trade of Lee and Martinez was the last straw for me.  Did not have to trade, traded because of money.  What did they get for two good players?  Poof!  Minor leagers.  The trade was made to fill Dolan's pockets.  Poof!!  to think just two years ago the Cleveland Indians were one game away from the world series, no team is a joke!  Is sad.  I used to like going.  Saturday night was bobblehead night for player no longer on the team!  Poof!  \

Hey, Dolan, when is bag night so I can wear a bag on my head?  Now I am Leo, the ashamed of Wahoos, Lion!!  Poof!!

I will now root for the Red Sox along with Gerard and Karen.  At least that's a team that cares about winning!

So Long Cliff Lee & Victor Martinez

One Amazing Kid--One-Legged Catcher

I came across this story about http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/2008/05/31/adam-bender/ Adam Bender while reading "It's OK to be Weird at http://sweetmummy.lifewithchrist.org/permalink/48691.html where she wrote about this kid who had his leg amputated because of cancer and who is a catcher in Little League.  He just hops around on his one good leg and only uses crutches when running bases.  Be sure to take a look at the video--you have to see this to believe it!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4LMBEBM1qc&feature=player_embedded.

Another Baseball Sign Post--How Is Your Team Doing?

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Leo and I are eager to give our opinions on any sports related question you may have, whether college or pro.  Just ask it in the comment section, and we'll get back to you. 

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