Farewell, 2025

Farewell, 2025- you won't be missed.

There's been worse years- 2001, obviously.  COVID in 2020.  There have even been worse years on a personal level.  But 2025 may be the most unpleasant year I've experienced.  The entire year just felt emotionally exhausting.  Like I lived next year to the Hatfield and the McCoys in the middle of their feud.  Even if I wasn't in the fight myself, it was constant nonstop brawls, screaming matches, and garbage that ended up on my lawn.

Economically, it feels like we're in a bad bubble that's about to pop.  There's such a focus on AI, and the stock market is so top heavy with the "Magnificent Seven" companies, that it feels we're right on the edge of a recession.  And maybe my fears are overblown- but the Buffett Indicator shows the stock market is so overvalued that a recession could be devastating for the country.

Worse, the checks and balances we use to save the country from our worst impulses seem to be going away. I'm a process person- Even if the rules aren't ideal, they were placed there for a reason, and we shouldn't just ignore them to get a short term advantage.  Well, we're bombing Venezuelan boats (I don't recall Congress issuing a declaraction of war, or even apssing a bill authorizing the use of force), cancelling funds already authorized by Congress, and having Congress keep the government shut down, to try and hide the fact that the President was buddies with the devil himself.

I've been an optimist by nature.  Eventually, we do the right thing.  But 2025 has tested my optimistic resolve.  Here's hoping that as the calendar changes, things get better for all of us.

The Cleveland Sports Curse

Indulge me in a bit of self-whining, if you please.  There are far more important things to focus on in this world, and in my own life personally.  But I am a sports fan, and have attempted to use sports as a way to bring me joy when the rest of reality is feeling dismal.  Unfortunately, I am a Cleveland sports fan.  And for all of the cliches you may have heard about Cleveland and their dystopian sports teams, let me assure me... it is far worse than you think.

First, let me start by saying this- I love living in Cleveland.  The city has an undeserved reputation, and is a great city to live in.  It has all of the benefits of a large city while still being affordable.  Traffic is nothing compared other cities.  We're within a day's drive to about half the United States.  The weather can be cold, and the East Side gets a lot of snow- but I'll take a Cleveland winter over a St. Louis summer any say of the week.  There's an art deco look about the city that really is amazing to look at.  Cleveland's not "cool" and hasn't been since the 1950's- but I'm not in my 20's; "cool" is overrated.  Cleveland is a great place to live.

Cleveland:  Love the city, hate being a sports fan

But it's hell being a sports fan in this city.

Let me give you a few bullet points about why it sucks to follow Cleveland sports:

• We will start with the Guardians (and by the way, Guardians remain an awesome team name, and much better than Indians).  They have only won two World Series- 1920 and 1948.  That's tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the fewest World Series among the teams that have been in baseball since the World Series Started.
• They last won the World Series in 1948.  Except the five expansion teams that have never won the World Series, that is the longest drought among the MLB franchises.  The second longest is the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the World Series in 1979- over thirty years later.
• And, due to the current structure of baseball, where teams can practically spend as much money as they want for their salaries, the teams with the biggest payrolls have the best chance to win.  And the Guardians currently rank 28th in MLB payroll- with no sign of that improving.  The Guardians are a smart team, but I see no hope in them winning a World Series in my lifetime.
• Next, we come to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have a 15-13 record.  Two games above .500.  That's promising, right?  But then we look further...
• They currently have the highest salary in the NBA, and are above the second apron- which means they cannot make any moves.  This team- the one that is barely above .500- is what they are locked in for the next few years.
• Plus, they have given up their 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks, and have swapped (get the worst version) of the 2026 and 2028 first round draft picks.  
• So this is their team.  And in a year where most of their competition has been decimated by serious injuries, they are playing horribly.  Their best chance to win is right now, and it does not look good.
• But the Guardians and the Cavaliers are awesome compared to the travesty that is the Browns.  
• Pre-1995, the Browns were a good team that seemed curse to be unable to win the big one- sort of like where the Buffalo Bills are now.  Too many tragic games, all with shorthand nicknames:  "The Fumble" , "The Drive", "Red Right 88".  Just a barrage of events with the team coming up short
• Mind you, in the 1950s and 1960s they were great and won several titles- that ended right before the Super Bowl Era started, and most modern fans don't look at those.
• But in 1995, Art Modell moved the team out of Cleveland so they could become the Baltimore Ravens.  Four years later, the NFL gifted Cleveland with a new team.  And that team has been mind-boggingly awful.
• Since 1999, they have averaged 5 wins a year.  Imagine going 5-12 every year for 27 years.  That is what the Browns have gone through.  Now imagine having your fall and winter dominated by this news.  Every.  Single.  Year.  
• There is a meme showing how many QBs the team has gone through since they have returned (and needs to be updated with Sanders):

    

• How bad are the Browns?  Put it this way- The greatest football coach of all time couldn't win with them.
  
  
• At least the Cavaliers have the 2016 NBA Title- the only one that has happened in my lifetime.  If you want to make an argument that LeBron James is the GOAT of basketball, the argument is this:  He won Cleveland a sports title.  That's something no one else can possibly say.

Look- it's sports.  Nothing important.  I know this.  I've given up asking the teams to give me joy.  Just don't give any more misery.  Is that too much to ask?

Thoughts with Whiskey: 2025-12-10

Still drinking Buffalo Trace- just nursing my bourbon as we head into the Holiday Season.

Various thoughts:

NFL- I'm no longer a Cleveland Browns fan, and I doubt I will be again in the future.  However, the city of Cleveland loves the team, so I learn about the ins and outs of the franchise by osmosis.  I'd much rather learn about the Cavaliers or Guardians, but right now the most interesting team is the Browns.

They've hit a particularly nasty catch-22.  They drafted a QB in the fifth round (Shedeur Sanders) who they didn't really want, only all of the QBs ahead of him were either traded or injured.  He's played all right- not great, but the team has a poor offensive line and even worse receivers.  The Browns are currently 5th in the draft and will likely get one of the top two QBs in the draft if things don't change.

So, if they decide that Sanders is good enough to lead them to the playoffs, they can trade down and pick up several picks that can help them.  If they decide Sanders isn't good enough, they can draft one of the top QBs and start over.  Sanders has played just well enough that it's not an easy decision either way.

Regardless, the one thing we know is that whatever decision the Browns make, it will be the wrong one.

MLB- The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires at the end of next season, and people are fearing a lockout between the owners and the players.  I've changed my mine- I no longer think a lockout will happen.  

The system is broken- look at the salary disparity.  It's well over 10-1, even worse when only looking at active players.  The top tier teams outspend the small market teams.  And when a small market team developes a great player, the market forces pushes them to a larger market and larger salary just as they are in their primes.  

The system is broken- but who wants to have a lockout to change it?  Not the large market owners, who get a ton of money from their local sports stations to justify the expense.  Not the small market owners, who get a profit from the luxury tax without having to spend a lot.  Not the players, who earn a fortune in their salaries.  Not MLB, who love 'Great Teams'.

Really, the system only sucks if you're a fan of a small market team, knowing the only way you'll see your homegrown players contend is to leave your team for one of the big markets.  And no one really cares about them...

Merry Christmas, everyone!  We'll wrap up 2025 and make predictions for 2026 soon.