Spring Cleaning

While March Madness is a tremendous time to be a sports fan, it is a little bit one-sided. If you do not like college basketball, then having CBS switch from its nightly lineup of CSI and Survivor to an evening full of NCAA hoops probably does not sit well with you. However, if you are any bit of a sports fan, then late April provides you with something that you will enjoy.

Think about it. Major League Baseball is in its first month of regular season action, and unless you are a Kansas City or a Washington fan then your team is still in decent shape. The NBA playoffs just got underway, and even though the first round drags on at times, there is a good chance of finding an exciting game on television for the next several weeks. The NHL playoffs have one round in the books, with the conference semi-finals gearing up in the next couple of days. The NHL gets a bad rap at times, but playoff hockey can provide some memorable moments, including multiple overtimes in a game seven to decide a series. Finally, the long anticipated NFL Draft goes down this Saturday. Fans of good teams like the Colts and Bears, who pick last in every round, are probably not as excited as a Browns fan like me is for the draft. Personally, I’ve been excited for every draft that I can remember. Welcome to the life of a Cleveland Browns fan.

I thought it would be appropriate, with so many different options to write about, that I would throw it all together and touch base with every one of them, adding some predictions at the end.
Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Good advice, giddy up.

Major League Baseball

Grady Sizemore started the 2007 season the best way humanly possible. He took the second pitch he saw and drilled it into the right field stands for a lead off home-run. Doesn’t get too much better than that. Sizemore went on to hit a homer in the first three games of the season. Only problem with this is that Grady bats lead off for the Tribe. While he is a good lead-off hitter, he would suit the Indians much better if he hit in the 3rd spot. The combination of Sizemore-Hafner-Martinez batting 3-5 would create an intimidating presence for any pitcher. If the Indians could put someone else, such as Josh Barfield possibly, into that lead-off spot, Cleveland could maximize its talent. Take a look at this potential line-up.

1) Josh Barfield - 2B
2) Trot Nixon - RF
3) Grady Sizemore - CF
4) Travis Hafner - DH
5) Victor Martinez - C
6) Ryan Garko - 1B
7) Casey Blake - 3B
8) Jhonny Peralta - SS
9) Jason Michales - LF

However, Indians manager Eric Wedge probably will never put a lineup like that into place. Wedge is what is holding back this Cleveland ball club. His refusal to bunt or hit-and-run is killing this team. Wedge relies too much on the home run. That is fine if you have a lineup like the New York Yankees, but Wedge does not. The Indians have one 40+ home run guy, one 30+, and maybe two 20 home run guys. Everyone else should be bunting and hitting sac flies to score runs. Once Wedge leaves this team, it truly will blossom.

Prediction - Indians win 80+ games but lose out on the division and wild card. GM Mark Shapiro finally gets his act together and fires his buddy Wedge. Whoever they replace him with will do a better job. Indians make a run in 2008. As for 2007, I like what the New York Mets are doing, so I’ll go with them to win it all.

National Basketball Association

Last year I wrote what the NBA needed to do to fix the playoffs. Well, the NBA did not take any of my advice and we are stuck watching the long dragged out first round again. My philosophy is “It is what it is.” Staying with that mindset, there are several interesting first round match-ups.

Starting off, my Chicago Bulls put themselves in a position to earn the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but lost the final game of the regular season to blow it. They dropped all the way to #5 with the loss and face the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in the first round. The Bulls lost to the Heat in the first round last year. This year, the Bulls have home court advantage, which will help, but they still have to deal with Shaq and Dwyane Wade. Over in the Western Conference the Denver Nuggets face the veteran San Antonio Spurs squad. A huge possible upset to keep an eye out for is the Golden State Warriors over the top seeded Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors are coached by Don Nelson, who used to coach the Mavericks.

Prediction - Bulls beat the Heat in 6 tough games, but then fall to Detroit by the same number in the conference semi-finals. Nuggets upset the Spurs, while the Mavericks barely get by the Warriors. When it is all said and done, the Phoenix Suns defeat the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. Steve Nash, who will more than likely get shunned in the MVP race to Dirk Nowitzki, will win the NBA Finals MVP instead. Sweet justice indeed.

National Hockey League

The Pittsburgh Penguins this year returned to a place where they had not been since 2001, the NHL playoffs. My many childhood memories included watching Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux winning playoff games for the Penguins. This year, with Sidney Crosby leading the way, the Penguins were back. They didn’t stay long, losing to the Ottawa Senators in 5 games. Now that the Penguins are done, my time invested with the NHL will fade until next year.

Prediction - Penguins come back strong and experienced next year and win the Atlantic Division. They will win 2 playoff series before bowing out in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2009 however, the Penguins will take home the Stanley Cup. It is a rule in the NHL where if you have the best player in the league, you will win the Stanley Cup. Good thing the Penguins have Crosby. Lucky me. As for this year’s Stanley Cup winner, well, Buffalo Bills Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas finally get to sleep easy as the Buffalo Sabres win it all.

National Football League

The NFL draft is upon us. The time where lousy teams have a chance to immediately upgrade their team to a possible winning franchise. Picking the right player could lead to winning records and playoff appearances, while picking the wrong player could lead to years of misery. Needless to say, there is a lot at stake for some of the teams picking on Saturday, the 28th.

The Cleveland Browns hold the 3rd pick of this years draft. Who will they take? Who should they take? Unfortunately for the Browns, the answers to those two questions are not the same. Looking at the Browns roster, they do not have too many great players. Who is their best player? That is a great question. Some could say Kellen Winslow Jr. Others could say newly acquired Offensive Lineman Eric Steinbach, or maybe Running Back Jamal Lewis. Either way, the player does not blow you away with their skills. What the Browns need is a great player.

This years draft has two great players. Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson and Running Back Adrian Peterson are the two great players. They both have the possibility to instantly make an impact on any NFL team. The Browns should take either player, as at least one of them will be available when they pick.

If the Browns were to draft any of those two “great” players, take a look at what their offense would look like. Draft Peterson and all of a sudden you have a great two back system that can win games in chilly November and December weather in Cleveland. Draft Johnson and you have the receiving core of Johnson-Braylon Edwards-Winslow which will be nearly impossible to defend. Either way, the Browns will be a much better team.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Browns are going to draft Quarterback Brady Quinn. Browns owner Randy Lerner is very high on Quinn, and Quinn’s college head coach, Charlie Weis, is good friends with Browns head coach Romeo Crennel. It appears as if Quinn is going to be the choice.

There are two different scenarios that will play itself out on Saturday. Note: These are scenarios that do not involve teams trading picks. The Detroit Lions should trade out of their #2 spot if they want Gaines Adams. If that happens, then the draft will shake out a little differently.

Scenario #1
1) Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell
2) Detroit Lions - Gaines Adams
3) Cleveland Browns - Brady Quinn
4) Tampa Bay Bucs - Calvin Johnson
5) Arizona Cardinals - Joe Thomas
Scenario #2
1) Oakland Raiders - Calvin Johnson
2) Detroit Lions - JaMarcus Russell
3) Cleveland Browns - Adrian Peterson
4) Tampa Bay Bucs - Joe Thomas
5) Arizona Cardinals - Gaines Adams

Prediction - Scenario #1 goes down, and the Browns struggle to a 4-12 record. Things get better at this point however. The Browns fire Romeo Crennel and then hire Bill Cowher. Cowher comes in and immediately turns things around. Playoffs in 2009. Go Browns.