The Philadelphia 76ers are faced with a problem, Ben Simmons. Simmons is one of the most talented, versatile, and absolutely frustrating players in the NBA. He possesses all the skills in the world to be a game-changing presence in any basketball game where he steps on the court. He is one of the best defensive players in the league, can play any position ranging from point guard to small-ball center, and is a play-making magician. He's also passive, a non-factor on offense, and terrified to shoot the ball. After a lackluster playoff performance against the Atlanta Hawks, the 76ers fanbase turned on Simmons. The exact moment they turned on him is well documented. Simmons passed up a wide open dunk underneath the basket and passed it off to teammate Matisse Thybulle. I remember watching this game, and not only did this play suck the air out of the building, but out of the entire NBA. Now, Simmons wants a trade and refuses to show up to Philadelphia. On top of that, his playoff performance has tanked his value. Now the 76ers have to try and find a package that keeps their team competitive while also getting Simmons out of the organization. Training camp has already started and pre-season just beginning. As this drags out closer to the season, the leverage Philadelphia has is slipping away. The Sixers are trying to persuade Simmons to come back by withholding his checks. According to Justin Grasso from All 76ers Fan Nation, Simmons lost $300 thousand for missing the preseason home opener (2021). The loss of paychecks will continue to rack up the longer he holds out. Simply put, there has never been a situation like this in the NBA. Simmons has four years left on his contract, is a young and budding star with all of the potential in the world, and is currently holding out. This could be a paradigm shifting event that leads to a change in how a franchise manages its players. This season will be interesting to say the least. Stay tuned sports fans, things could get really ugly in Philadelphia very soon. Reference: Grosso, J. (2021, Oct 5). Ben Simmons Loses over $300k for Missing Preseason Opener vs Raptors. Sports Illustrated https://www.si.com/nba/76ers/news/ben-simmons-loses-over-300-missing-preseason-opener-raptors
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Yesterday was truly the day of the homecomings. Kevin Stefanski went back to Minnesota and brought Cleveland home with a victory. Despite my own personal excitement for that game, everyone knows the game of the day was in Gillete stadium. Brady v Belichick, GOAT v GOAT, the matchup with all eyes on it. The atmosphere surrounding the NFL was similar to high school drama, seeing who talks to who, who gets the better of the other, and if anyone cries at the end of this. The game probably did not go the way most fans would have liked it to go. The rain came down in waves of force. This lead to a game of dropped passes, and very stagnant offenses. Despite this, there was no shortage of memorable moments. The mix of cheers and boos throughout the stadium when Brady came onto the field. The silence from the crowd when he scored, and the never changing angry face of the Patriots head coach. This truly was a back-and-forth game, and came down to a field goal attempt the doinked off the left upright. The game ended Tampa Bay 19 to New England's 17. Then came the moment everyone was waiting for. Would Belichick embrace Tom Brady after the game, or even acknowledge him? The answer was yes, but if you blinked you probably missed it. The quick hug after the game may get social media stirring, but that's how New England is. They keep things in house, especially any public display of having a personality. Belichick was reported to have gone into the Tampa Bay locker room after the game to speak with Tom Brady (Davis, 2021). This is personal between the two of them, and they won't want the media standing there as they hold a conversation. While we as fans may not have gotten the drama fest we were hoping for, we did get to witness what may be the last game between these two legends. Soon Brady will inevitably retire, as will Belichick. Then all we will be stuck with is Belichick's son, Steve, entertaining the television audience by licking his chops the entire game. Reference: Davis, S. (2021, Oct 4). Tom Brady and Bill Belichick had a private 15-minute meeting in the Bucs locker room after their dramatic face-off. Insider. https://www.insider.com/tom-brady-bill-belichick-meet-bucs-locker-room-after-game-2021-10 The Cleveland Browns faced off this week against the high-powered offense of the Minnesota Vikings. Kevin Stefanski, reigning coach of the year winner and coach of the Cleveland Browns, returned to Minnesota today where he spent 14 years working as an assistant. This game had a lot of interest and held some extra meaning to it. The Browns and the Vikings were expected to put on a show as both teams had put up nearly 30 points in all of their games this year. However, today was all about the defense. This Cleveland defense is legitimate. Kirk Cousins was graded as one of the highest quality quarterbacks over the first three games. He had not thrown an interception in over two hundred pass attempts, and was getting the ball out of his hands quickly. The offense he led was bolstered by the likes of Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook. They ultimately were held in check by the Browns. Myles Garrett and the rest of the defense had themselves a field day. Pressuring the quarterback, deflecting passes before the receiver attempts to catch it, swatting passes at the line of scrimmage, sacking Cousins, and giving him his first interception in over 200 pass attempts (Bishop & Zegura, 2021). Yes, the defense came to play. The offense on the other hand did not look good. During the Bears vs Browns game I went to last week, the offense did not look effective either. It all boils down to one thing. Baker Mayfield is not himself. During the Texans game in week 2 he dislocated his shoulder trying to hit a defender who had intercepted him. Ever since that moment he has looked like a shell of himself. Passes were sailing out of the reach of receivers, one even hit the back of a lineman. For sure touchdowns sailed out of bounds and left every Browns fan palming their face. If he is injured there needs to be some plan to help him recover, because currently the team is only winning because of the defense. Eventually relying on the defense will not be enough, the pass game is going to have to find its footing in order to help this team ascend to its lofty goals. This may be the most interesting homecoming of the day (if you exclude the dramatic evening that lies ahead in Foxborough) References: Bishop, B., & Zegura, N. (Hosts). (2021, Oct 1). Cleveland Browns Daily [Audio Podcast Episode] During the COVID-19 pandemic there have been a lot of hurdles that people have had to overcome. Now, one of those hurdles for the NBA is having some players refuse to receive the vaccination against COVID-19. Prominent players such as Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, and Andrew Wiggins are refusing to get the shot. As different states are presenting different requirements when it comes to the vaccine, the NBA has decided to draw a line in the sand. They will not be providing exemptions to this rule. One example of this is Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins attempted to avoid vaccination by claiming that his religion prevented him from being vaccinated. The NBA wasn't buying it. They refused is request for the exemption. Now, people may be wondering why this is such a big deal for these superstars. After all, there are a lot of people who are not vaccinated yet. Well, for players such as Wiggins (Golden State Warriors) and Irving (Brooklyn Nets), they may not be able to participate in home games or practices at the home facility. This is due to the home market that their team is located in having a vaccine mandate. For every game that Kyrie Irving misses because of his refusal to get vaccinated, he will lose around $400,000 per game. Wiggins will lose around $350,000 per game that he misses from his vaccination status (Red, 2021). This mandate by the NBA is to serve and protect the players of the league. While the NBA cannot force players to get vaccinated, they are making a strong case for it by withholding those game checks. As the NBA season is around the corner it will be interesting to see if these stars are on the floor. As for teams such as the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets, they may find themselves questioning where they go from here. Both teams are currently considered viable options to compete for the NBA title. If their star pieces cannot participate, will these players be on the move? The next question to ask will be, "will anyone want them?" This is a migraine waiting to happen, and may set a precedent for other professional leagues around the country. We'll just have to wait and see if any of these players decide to be vaccinated by the start of the season.
Reference: Red, C. (2021, Oct 1). NBA draws line as stars like Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins balk at COVID vaccine. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/nba-draws-line-stars-kyrie-irving-andrew-wiggins-balk-covid-n1280586 Tonight started the week of homecoming games. Urban Meyer returned to Ohio for the first time as a head coach, this time as an NFL head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They ventured into Cincinnati to play against Joe Burrow, who also spent time at Ohio State when Urban was there. Despite Urban's homecoming the theme of the night was Joe Burrow vs Trevor Lawrence. This was number one pick versus number one pick. Both are considered generational talents, and both are on what most fans would consider bad teams. The game was back and forth and for a brief moment in time it looked as if Urban and Lawrence would both get their first wins in the NFL. They made one mistake, they forgot about Joe. Joe Burrow was the one quarterback in college football that put Trevor Lawrence and Clemson in their place. The final score of the game ended 24-21, seeing the Bengals win the battle of the big cats. Urban and Trevor were both sent home with another loss, putting the Jaguars at 0-4. The one fun statistic going around is that Lawrence has now lost as many NFL games as he has lost high school and college football games combined (Hill, 2021). The losses will continue to pile up and I questions about the organization and the team will begin to fly the longer this losing streak continues. The last time that the Jacksonville Jaguars won a game was September 13, 2020 against the Indianapolis Colts. That was week 1 of last season! They finished that year 1-15, meaning they have lost 19 in a row. The wins may not be coming any time soon, so fans will have to find comfort with moral victories instead. The bright side for the Jaguars is that Lawrence will be a star, Urban has the trust of the locker room, and they are probably getting the number one pick again this year. Heads up Jaguars fans, it can't get worse than this.
Reference: Hill, K. (2021, Apr 30). Jaguars' QB Trevor Lawrence Expects To Win and Dabo Swinney Shares How He Knows It'll Happen. Fan Nation. https://www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/news/jaguars-qb-trevor-lawrence-expects-to-win-and-dabo-swinney-shares-how-he-knows-itll-happen Photo Credit: USA Today. (2021, Aug 24). [Urban Meyer] [Photograph]. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2021%2F08%2Fjaguars-urban-meyer-are-a-mess&psig=AOvVaw1P7sfWe1iEpy69I2JhFRBC&ust=1633713343608000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCIjP4NHmuPMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD Really not sure how to describe today besides, AMAZING! I have been a life-long Cleveland fan. I have always supported the Cavs, Indians, and the Browns. I had been to Cavs and Indians games before, but today as the first time I had ever been to First Energy Stadium for a Browns game. This game was the perfect game to go to because it was the debut of former quarterback for The Ohio State University, Justin Fields. It was also the return of superstar, Odell Beckham Jr., since his injury in Cincinnati last season. The story of the game was how would the defense look and how would Justin Fields look in his first NFL start. Walking into the stadium I learned what it meant to have the best fans in sports. Every few minutes someone would start the chant of "Here we go Brownies, here we go!" which would be followed by a chorus of "woofs" and barks. Everyone was in such a great mood as they made their way into the stadium on a beautiful Sunday. The offense for both teams was underwhelming to start the game. The Browns moved the ball down the field but turned the ball over on downs on their first two drives. After that, Kareem Hunt and the offense started clicking. The first completed pass of the today was to Odell Beckham Jr. and the entire stadium erupted. Baker didn't play his best, but the rest of the team made up for him. The defense definitely made up for him. They totaled nine, yes nine sacks on the day. Justin Fields had one of the worst debuts in NFL history if I had to guess, as the Bears only had one net yard of offense. The man was running for his life, and mainly running from Myles Garrett. Garret put up four and a half sacks on the day, breaking the Browns franchise record. The stadium began chanting "Myles Garrett" and had a standing ovation for him as they cheered his name. Like I said, the best fan in sports are in Cleveland. The atmosphere and the love for this city and the team is something that is unique. The Cavaliers and the Indians don't have that type of love from the city (and they still get a lot of love). That city is truly a Browns town, and will always be a Browns town. As we left the game people were chanting, honking their car horns, and just taking in the victory. If anyone needs to know what the true meaning of being a sports fan is, go to a Browns game, and we'll show you how it's done.
Tonight, the Ohio State Buckeyes played the Akron Zips and the game ended in a beat down with a final score of 59-7. This sparks a lot of questions about whether the Power 5 conferences should break away from the NCAA and form their own league. This week is just another example as to why these conferences should. Conferences such as the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Big 12 should consider forming their own conferences to create a more competitive league. This would not only increase the level of competition, but also increase revenue during game days. As competition increases, popularity of the game increases, which then leads to increased demand. This would allow for teams to charge higher prices for tickets. Simply put, this takes away the weeks where the Power 5 schools are outclassing schools in other leagues. This could also lead to a new format for the college football playoffs. Schools like Cincinnati could finally receive the chance to make the playoffs without the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and many other schools vying for those top spots. From a business perspective, this makes too much sense not to happen. From a competitive standpoint it also makes sense. The biggest argument for making this move is from a sports governance standpoint. The NCAA has lost the trust of athletes as they prevented athletes from making money at all turns, and has shown signs of corruption and ineptitude when governing athletes, coaches, and programs. One reference to the ineptitude of the NCAA was the 2021 NCAA basketball tournament where the women's basketball teams were not given equipment similar to the men's programs. The National Collegiate Athletic Association then found themselves in the middle of a PR nightmare. I believe it is inevitable that a super conference/league is formed and breaks away from the NCAA. Until that league comes to be, just sit back and enjoy the weekly beatdowns. Tonight, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens took to the gridiron to battle for what could potentially be the top of the AFC. The game had a rough start for the Ravens when Lamar Jackson threw a pick-six to Tyrann Mathieu. However, the Ravens overcame the high power offense that the Chiefs bring to the table and took advantage of the horrendous defense that Kansas City rolls out onto the field on a week-to-week basis. The Cleveland Browns got back on track by defeating the Texans (despite the defense looking bad again), and the Packers smacked around the Lions. Best of all the Raiders gave Big Ben and the Steelers a loss on the season, hopefully many more to come. Week two is still early on, but as fans we now begin to see the signs of whether a team's week one performance was indicative of the rest of their season. Those who are winless, such as Jacksonville, should start to transition to a rebuild and develop young players such as Trevor Lawrence. Teams such as the Raiders are undefeated and beginning to turn some heads, which means they are turning from the hunters to the hunted. No matter the outcome of the the season for each team, there is one common thing each team has that was missing last year. The fans are back. They add so much life and energy to the game that was truly missing. They are able to be game-changers when they are loud enough to disrupt the opposing team's offense, motivators when their team is on the field, and most of all a reminder of what normalcy used to look like. Whether a team is racing toward the top of their division or tumbling towards the bottom, you can count on one thing. The fans will be there.
Photo Credit: Ravenswire. (2021, Sep 20) [Lamar Jackson] [Photograph].https://ravenswire.usatoday.com/lists/5-takeaways-from-ravens-36-35-win-vs-chiefs/ The future of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball is exciting. There are young players like Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, and Lauri Markkanen on the team who show the potential for high upside. However, the one I am intrigued by is Evan Mobley, the third overall pick from the 2021 NBA draft out of USC. He is a 7 foot power forward/center that made waves throughout college basketball. In this past college season Mobley was named Pac-12 freshman of the year, defensive player of the year, and player of the year. He is the second player ever from a major conference to win these awards all at the same time. The last person to do so was Anthony Davis (USC, 2021). Interestingly enough, Davis is probably one of the best comparisons for how Mobley plays basketball. Both are defensive anchors who also show versatility on the offensive side of the ball as well. Mobley was receiving comparisons to Davis, Chris Bosh, and even some Kevin Durant. The Kevin Durant comparison is a bit out of touch with reality, but that speaks to the upside that this man possesses. He can be the face of Cleveland, a city that has been missing a basketball identity since LeBron James left for Los Angeles. While he flashes copious amounts of potential, he does show some glaring weaknesses. He is very skinny. According to Basketball Reference (2021), Mobley currently stands at 7'0 while weighing in at 215 pounds. For context, the 6'5" small forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Isaac Okoro, weighs in at 225 pounds. He is seven inches shorter than Mobley but weighs ten pounds more than him. Anthony Davis, his draft night comparison, currently weighs in at 253 pounds. Despite his slim frame, it is important to remember that he is only 20 years old and will be able to fill out his frame now that he is in an NBA program. The future is bright for Mobley, but the present could have some bumps and bruises along the way as he continues to put on muscle. References Basketball Reference, (2021, Sept 18) Evan Mobley. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mobleev01.html Basketball Reference, (2021, Sept 18) Isaac Okoro. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/okorois01.html Basketball Reference, (2021, Sept 18). Anthony Davis. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/davisan02.html USC Trojans, (2021, Mar 9).USC’s Evan Mobley Wins Historic Haul Of Pac-12 Awards; Andy Enfield Coach Of The Year. https://usctrojans.com/news/2021/3/9/usc-trojans-mens-basketball-pac-12-awards-evan-mobley-player-of-the-year-andy-enfield-tahj-eaddy.aspx A lot of this blog has been very focused on professional sport or college athletics. While these are leagues that have the most attention on them, I would like to cast some attention to the minors. No not the minor league baseball teams like the Toledo Mudhens, I mean youth leagues. In my past experience, I volunteered as a youth basketball coach for a group of 9 to 11 year old athletes on a co-ed team. While this was an extremely rewarding experience for me, and hopefully for the kids, I did have one major takeaway from it. The parents are the worst. Granted, this statement is broad and does not apply to many of the parents at these youth league games. However, the ones the statement does apply to need a reality check. I saw this in action at Hedges- Boyer Park in Tiffin, OH during a fall youth baseball league. What I saw was disheartening and sad to be honest. Parents were yelling at their children for mistakes, at coaches for a variety of reasons, and even trash talking other parents over the performance of their children. While I am not a fan of having a silent crowd for youth sports leagues, I do think there needs to be a strict policy in regards to how crowds need to be conducting themselves during games. Strict policies of removing disruptive parents and fans need to be instituted in order to ensure the integrity of the games for the children. I think it's time that parents remember who the adults are supposed to be at the games, and why they are there. To support their children and watch them develop and have fun during a game. It's time to grow up for the sake of the children
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Dylan J. WorkI am currently an MBA student at Tiffin University and am a recent alumni of Heidelberg University with my B.S. in Sports Management and in Business Administration. The Sports Fan Blogs will be concerning Cleveland sports many times, but will venture into other topics as well. Archives
October 2021
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