(taken from http://www.xkcd.com/- great comic; I highly recommend it)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
On the day of the retirement of the Space Shuttle
I show you one of more depressing images. Depressing in terms of how we've limited ourselves:
Monday, April 16, 2012
Browns on the clock
It's tough to be a Brown's fan. I mean, all of the sports teams in Cleveland are bad, but it's especially tough to root for the Browns for two reasons:
1) Cleveland is a football town first and foremost. The fans in Cleveland, given a choice, would OVERWHELMINGLY prefer a Super Bowl win to a World Series win of a NBA Title.
2) The Brown's results are far more self-inflicted.
The Cavs have made their share of mistakes, but when they make a move, 95% of the time it makes good sense. I have faith, based ont heir track record, that Dan Gilbert, Chris Grant, and their team is putting together a good team. And considering where they started (from the Rubble of "The Decision"), they have made good progress.
The Indians? They've made good and bad decisions, and have come close in the past. But every year, baseball is more and more a sport where the "Haves" beat up on the "Have Nots". It's only because (a) baseball is tougher to dominate and (b) they have added more playoff teams that baseball hasn't been wholly dominated by 3-4 teams. No thanks.
((On a side topic, sports is the one area I consider myself a Socialist.))
But football has enough factors to give every team a fair change to succeed. The Browns haven't because... well, the front office has made horrific mistakes.
Right now- offseason 2012- they have a decent defense, but no offense whatsoever. They desperately need a Running Back, Right Tackle, Wide Receivers... I have no idea if Colt McCoy is good enough to be a NFL quarterback. I do know that he has almost no help on that offense.
(There was talk of trading up to grab Robert Griffin III with the #2 pick. Considering what Washington paids for that pick, I'm glad the Browns passed. The Browns have far too many holes to be solved with one QB)
The Browns have the #4 pick in the draft. Assuming the first three picks go in the order everyone predicts (Andrew Luck/RG III/Matt Kalil), the Browns could go in several directions. Here's my preferred choice:
1) Trent Richardson, RB- the rule is, don't grab RB this high, because they are injury-prone. Normally, I agree. However, Richardson is both (a) highly touted (b) desperately fills a need and (c) there doesn't seem to be any good alternatives. People have compared him to Adrian Peterson, which is VERY high praise.
2) Morris Claiborne, CB- this helps the defense, not the offense. But this would give the Browns two excellent CBs to really solidify that defense. And most experts have Claiborne and Richardson ranked #4 and #5 overall in terms of talent. The Browns need help on offense, but picking the best player available is a smart strategy.
3) Justin Blackmon, WR- I like Blackmon, but most experts don't put him as an 'elite' WR. Plus, the Browns have picks at #22 and #37, and there are a lot of good WR in this draft (moreso than RB).
4) Trade down- I'm opposed to this. The Browns need talent, and there are good options here. Someone would have to REALLY overpay to convince me the Browns should move down.
5) Ryan Tannehill, QB- I don't have a problem with Tannehill. But this strikes me as a panic move. Again- the Browns might need a new QB. But they DEFINITELY have other holes that need to be filled, no matter who the QB is. Tannehill looks like a serviceable QB- but I'm not convinced he's better than McCoy. Give McCoy some help this year and let's find out if he's capable of the job or not.
We'll see what happens in two weeks.
1) Cleveland is a football town first and foremost. The fans in Cleveland, given a choice, would OVERWHELMINGLY prefer a Super Bowl win to a World Series win of a NBA Title.
2) The Brown's results are far more self-inflicted.
The Cavs have made their share of mistakes, but when they make a move, 95% of the time it makes good sense. I have faith, based ont heir track record, that Dan Gilbert, Chris Grant, and their team is putting together a good team. And considering where they started (from the Rubble of "The Decision"), they have made good progress.
The Indians? They've made good and bad decisions, and have come close in the past. But every year, baseball is more and more a sport where the "Haves" beat up on the "Have Nots". It's only because (a) baseball is tougher to dominate and (b) they have added more playoff teams that baseball hasn't been wholly dominated by 3-4 teams. No thanks.
((On a side topic, sports is the one area I consider myself a Socialist.))
But football has enough factors to give every team a fair change to succeed. The Browns haven't because... well, the front office has made horrific mistakes.
Right now- offseason 2012- they have a decent defense, but no offense whatsoever. They desperately need a Running Back, Right Tackle, Wide Receivers... I have no idea if Colt McCoy is good enough to be a NFL quarterback. I do know that he has almost no help on that offense.
(There was talk of trading up to grab Robert Griffin III with the #2 pick. Considering what Washington paids for that pick, I'm glad the Browns passed. The Browns have far too many holes to be solved with one QB)
The Browns have the #4 pick in the draft. Assuming the first three picks go in the order everyone predicts (Andrew Luck/RG III/Matt Kalil), the Browns could go in several directions. Here's my preferred choice:
1) Trent Richardson, RB- the rule is, don't grab RB this high, because they are injury-prone. Normally, I agree. However, Richardson is both (a) highly touted (b) desperately fills a need and (c) there doesn't seem to be any good alternatives. People have compared him to Adrian Peterson, which is VERY high praise.
2) Morris Claiborne, CB- this helps the defense, not the offense. But this would give the Browns two excellent CBs to really solidify that defense. And most experts have Claiborne and Richardson ranked #4 and #5 overall in terms of talent. The Browns need help on offense, but picking the best player available is a smart strategy.
3) Justin Blackmon, WR- I like Blackmon, but most experts don't put him as an 'elite' WR. Plus, the Browns have picks at #22 and #37, and there are a lot of good WR in this draft (moreso than RB).
4) Trade down- I'm opposed to this. The Browns need talent, and there are good options here. Someone would have to REALLY overpay to convince me the Browns should move down.
5) Ryan Tannehill, QB- I don't have a problem with Tannehill. But this strikes me as a panic move. Again- the Browns might need a new QB. But they DEFINITELY have other holes that need to be filled, no matter who the QB is. Tannehill looks like a serviceable QB- but I'm not convinced he's better than McCoy. Give McCoy some help this year and let's find out if he's capable of the job or not.
We'll see what happens in two weeks.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
So.... this is 40
40 years ago, I graced this universe with my presence. OK, technically I started about nine months before that, but we start counting from the birth date, so I'll stick with that.
A lot has happened in 40 years, both in the world and the little corner I inhabit. There's been ups and downs, but overall I've had fun in the first forty years- and look forward to the rest of my time.
And I'd like to thank all of you for coming with me on this journey.
Can't wait to see the next chapter.
A lot has happened in 40 years, both in the world and the little corner I inhabit. There's been ups and downs, but overall I've had fun in the first forty years- and look forward to the rest of my time.
And I'd like to thank all of you for coming with me on this journey.
Can't wait to see the next chapter.
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