Thursday Night Football

The Browns can sure put on a pre-game show. It’s the game itself where Browns fans have the problem.

There was much hype before the game about Brady Quinn taking the field. I heard people say “a look into the future of the franchise” I heard people cheer him on when he took the field. I heard the Browns play the “Mighty Quinn” as they called his name. In the end, Browns fans sat through a game that toyed with their emotions. For the second week, we sat watching a decent amount of points on the scoreboard dwindle away into a deficit. Browns fans left the game booing the team and the coaching staff. It was not a good Thursday night for football in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame city.

Check out the picture of Quinn in the style of an Obama-like “Change” image that has been circulating around the Internet. Browns fans will eternally have “hope” but it’s usually about “next year.”

Which brings me to another topic, the horrible Sprint service inside the stadium. Sure, you could look at my phone and see full bars of coverage. Try to send a text message or a picture through e-mail to your blog and you’ll encounter with the network. It won’t send a text message when you want, but at one point when the network catches up, you’ll get all of the text messages that were sent to you.

My Samsung Instinct won’t queue the messsages to an outbox. Instead, the “smart” phone simply tells you the message fails to go through and saves a draft. Of course, you never know when the network will catch up to you so you have a limited time to get the text message or make the phone call during the game.

I do see people with phones calling and texting, I’m sure they have different services with networks that aren’t overloaded during the game.

Does anyone else have a similar problem with their Sprint phone or with their cell phone service?

The Game Of Catch-Up

The week has arrived, the birthweek. At the risk of seeming cocky, I don’t celebrate just a birthday, it’s an entire week of fun. Hey then getting older isn’t as stressful and depressing. The last sentence was there to pacify anyone who would claim I had a big ego or something. Truth is, I don’t, get over it.

Friday night was a night of absolute rest. I loved it, every minute of it.

Saturday night was the Emmy’s you saw the update, I didn’t win, again it was just an honor to be nominated. The after-party for me was a lot better than the Emmy’s themselves.

During the ceremony, something went awry in the Marriott and the fire alarms went off. Everyone looked around wondering it was part of the show, then we got word, we had to evacuate the place. Half way to the end, everyone had to leave their table and head outside into the sticky Saturday night Cleveland air. Just as I hit the door, one of the worker told me it was okay to go back. I then walked back up the escalator and once again took my seat. NewsChannel 5 took several awards. I’m not going to list them here but congratulations everyone!!

Sunday was filled with sleep and then getting ready for the game. I wondered was Father Time effing with my clock because it was 5:00pm somewhere and that somewhere was Cleveland. That creeped up on me. My friend, Kevin, brought up some cornhole boxes and some beanbags. I’m now a proud member of the clan of people who own them. My grandparents made them for me. How awesome are they? Seriously!

We got some Rock Bottom (Sign Update: ROCK OTTOM) and I want to tell you the sliders are great on Gamedays. Shameless plug, if you haven’t gone to Rock Bottom, check it out, or check it out again. It’s got a great group of servers, great food, brews and management. Thanks Marco for the birthday present food. I love the Big Cuba Melt (you’ll find it on the menu as Little Havanna Melt, I have to be different) There several tappings coming up this week. Don’t miss them.

We headed down to the game, got to hang out with Rebecca, Rodger, Dave, Marie, Kevin and Nicole for a little tailgating. The game’s outcome wasn’t what I wanted. There are a fun group of people in Section 514. One woman’s thong was riding so far up I thought it was almost her bra. Thanks to the guys in the row below us for providing witty commentary.

During the night as Kevin slumbered on the couch, I got about 7 text messages and calls. Many of them about power. Having no power can be both scary and inconvenient. That’s why if you have a home phone, corded phones can be your friends. I hope the power is restored soon. It does give you an excuse though to be late for things. “My power was out!” Sometimes you just need days like these.

So here I am, sitting on my floor (I’m a big floor person) and thinking about the last year and all of the changes. That’s another blog. I looked forward to this week for weeks and I’m contently bored. There’s a strange phenonomen I experience I look at the clock a lot when it’s 9:20pm. That’s a special day… ‘tember 20! The countdown is on folks to the age of 36. It should be a good year. Hopefully one of the best, I’m ready to take it all on, sign me up, coach, sometimes it’s better not knowing what you’re getting yourself into and just going one step at a time. That’s my new motto, it’s good advice!

Football, Favre & Friends

Well by rights I should be sleeping right now. Heck, I should have been sleeping at 1:30pm when I woke up but I couldn’t resist my restlessness about tonight’s Browns preseason game against the NY Jets.

At least when I left work this morning, the Jets were planning a 6pm news conference with Brett Favre here in Cleveland. Yep, the days-old soap opera with one of the most beloved NFL players ends here in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame city. I’m sure there will be all sorts of satellite trucks set-up around Cleveland Browns Stadium tonight.

The news about the trade between the Packers and the Jets broke at 12:31 this morning. The Associated Press confirmed the deal had been done. It made picking the story of what our morning reporter, Joy Benedict, would “front” live easy. Cleveland is Browns Town and add in all of the drama surrounding the Favre saga and you got a story suitable for a morning show. I didn’t even say it was brand new for people, even those who watched any 11pm newscast. I talked to people from the Milwaukee ABC television station, WISN, overnight. They wanted Joy to do a live hit for them. It’s always great when you have a fresh story to lead the newscast.

I have to give continued props to Kevin. Without him, all of tonight’s festivities would not be possible.

Blog Blockage

I want to blog something today but I can’t decide what topic I want to post. I’ve taken several laxatives and eaten several bowls of raisin bran. I think the problem will work its way out naturally.

I could talk about going to the eye doctor today. It was one of the fastest exams I ever had. The doc got the prescription correct. My vision hasn’t changed in a year and a half. The strange part, my eyes are the exact same prescription. The interesting part of the story lies in the fact the doctor talked to me about my job for about 20 minutes then said we should do lunch. No plans were made.

I could talk about what an awesome friend Kevin is. He gave me a bike. He’s taking me to the Browns game tomorrow night and asks very little in return. I have to provide a couch for his accommodations.

I could talk about picking up “Family Guy” seasons 4 and 5 on DVD. I could talk about how late to the party I was in becoming an absolute fan of the show. There are so many pop culture references in the show I can’t even deal with it. The show makes me laugh out loud.

I could talk about how screwed up the lights are on West 25th street and why getting them in some sort of sequence could save time and gas for Ohio City dwellers.

I could talk about this new online game that I’m playing that consumes about 10-20 minutes of my day and I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. It’s called Travian. Please let me know if you’re playing.

I could talk about Friday night when a bunch of Cleveland bloggers are getting together to do dinner.

I could talk about the last funny line I heard on Family Guy involving uselessness, Debbie Gibson and her Playboy spread.

I could stop typing and let the blockage work it’s way out on its own,

Vacation?

I managed to take a lot of my vacation this month. I didn’t realize how much I would actually need it when I asked for it off. I’m just about finished getting my place ready for the move east to downtown Cleveland. Things are boxed up and only the essentials are accessible.

It’s my Christmas present to myself. It feels a lot like December 20th will be the big day for me. I’ll end up at Target that evening getting a TV stand and maybe a couple other things but it’s like that day can’t come soon enough for me. I’ll have pictures up during the big move and of the new place here on the blog. It’s going to be great.

I had a total sports weekend. My friend, Katie, asked me to the Cavs game. They lost but the seats were great and it was great hanging out with her and my other friend, Kevin. Things worked out that we were all able to sit together. Enough said on that subject. We braved the weather getting there and didn’t have to worry too much about the drive home. Thanks Katie for the ticket!

Kevin and I braved the weather today and went to the Browns game. They WON and on any other day, they wouldn’t have been the most preferable seats in the stadium but today, they were just the right ones. We were in the upper bowl and had a roof over our heads. It sheilded us from the snow for the most part. We still got socked by the wind and some of the snow it kicked around but I can’t complain one bit. It was a great game and Phil Dawson knocked another miracle kick through the uprights. Odd score: Buffalo 0, Cleveland 8. That’s the first time that score has hit since 1929. Thanks Kevin for the ticket. It’s great hanging out with him and I’m not just saying that because he reads this blog. He’s been a great friend for more than 30 years.

The countdown to the move? 4 days

You Win One… You Lose One…

The Browns didn’t get lucky like they did during their game with Baltimore. The final pass didn’t yield the touchdown pass we needed to win the game against the Arizona Cardinals. I was thinking about going to that game and now it doesn’t hurt so bad that I didn’t make the trip.

The bigger news: Ohio State is atop the ranks of college football and is going to the National Championship. Who would have thought it earlier this year? Now all we need to do is come away from the big day with a win!

Browns… In HD!

I was critical about CBS for not putting the Browns’ games in HD but today I got a welcome sight! A game in high definition. The Browns efforts right now aren’t so stellar. Phil Dawson just missed a field goal, that’s his second straight in the last two kicks.

Now, Sean Jones just caught an interception so we have to make something out of this now.

After last week’s horrible losses by the Browns and the Buckeyes, Ohio/Cleveland sports fans need a reason to get up on Monday. Let’s hope the Browns can end the game the same way the Buckeyes did.

Hey, how about Lloyd Carr? The Michigan fans who I talked with this weekend says it’s time for him to go. They love him but they’re looking forward to new blood to take on Jim Tressel. We’ll find out tomorrow!

Go Browns!!

Two Losses & A Win…

It’s taken me more than 24 hours to discuss what happened in Columbus Saturday. The undefeated Buckeyes lost to Illinois. No one expected it, no one wanted it, it just happened. Everyone was shocked. We couldn’t get past the Juice.

Fast forward to today and the loss that every Browns fan hates more than the loss itself. The loss to the Steelers. Bright spot, the unbelieveable punt return by Josh Cribbs. Romeo challenged the first call correctly but what the heck was he doing challenging the touchdown? That timeout could have changed the game. Everyone at the end just held their breath waiting for the referees to give the signal. It was one of those slow-motion sequences you see in the movies. The result wasn’t a Hollywood ending for Browns fans. Here’s to the “soft” schedule the Browns have for the rest of the season.

Here’s the win, Michael Symon, of “Lola” and “Lolita,” became the Food Network’s next “Iron Chef”. Can the masses get behind him for this win? Probably not, but we have to have some reason to push the covers down over our heads come Monday morning.

Here’s to the OSU/Michigan game. Go Buckeyes!!

No HD Again!!

Well, CBS Sports did it to Browns fans again. Today’s game is once again not being broadcast in high definition and WOIO is again running the crawl explaining that CBS is not producing today’s match-up between the Browns and the Rams. Of course, up to now, there isn’t too many hilights for Browns fans. The Rams are moving the ball up the field like champs.

More to come, but c’mon CBS, what’s with the trend of not broadcasting Browns games in high def.?