Every couple of years, the planets and schedule-makers align to where, in back-to-back days on the same weekend, Ohio State is playing Michigan and the Browns are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Throw in the Cavs travelling to Miami to take on LeQuit and his Heat on Saturday night, and you have the makings of a very intense weekend for a Cleveland sports fan.
One notable time you had OSU-Michgan and Browns-Steelers on the same weekend was in 2006.
No. 1 Ohio State hosted No. 2 Michigan in a game for the ages, where Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith improved to 3-0 against That Team Up North with a 316-yard, 4-touchdown performance in a 42-39 victory at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 18.
The following day, the Browns squandered leads of 10-0, 13-3 and 20-10 (in the fourth quarter), as the Steelers scored 21 fourth-quarter points and won, 24-20, at Browns Stadium.
I'm sure it's happened quite a few times in history. And I can't remember when the last time both the Buckeyes and the Browns happened to beat their archrivals in the same weekend (although I'm sure it's happened before). It surely hasn't happened within the last 35 years. On Nov. 25, 1973, the Browns beat the Steelers, 21-16, and Ohio State and Michigan tied 10-10 the day before.
Actually, according to some Joe Cleveland research just now, I did find the last time the Browns and Buckeyes won on the same weekend. On Nov. 24, 1962, Ohio State blanked Michigan, 28-0, at the Horseshoe. The following day, at the old Cleveland Stadium, the Browns handled the Steelers, 35-14, behind a big day from the great Jim Brown. So, it's been a while.
Saturday is the 109th meeting between the two flagship schools in the Big Ten. Michigan leads the series, 58-43-6, although Ohio State has won 9 of the last 11 matchups against That Team Up North (8, if you want to factor in the 2010 game was officially vacated due to NCAA sanctions against the Buckeyes).
Sunday is the 121st meeting between the two oldest franchises in the AFC, including playoffs. The Steelers lead the series, 64-56, and have won 18 of the last 19 games against our beloved Brownies.
I can remember back in 2006, someone asked me if I had to pick one team beating their rival -- Ohio State or the Browns -- which one would it be. I easily answered the Browns. Folks were shocked. Keep in mind, the Buckeyes were the No. 1 team in the country and playing for a berth in the BCS Championship Game, while the Browns were on their way to another non-descript 4-12 season.
My answer was the Browns in 2006, and my answer in 2012 remains the Browns, even though the Buckeyes are playing for an undefeated 12-0 season (their first unbeaten season since the 2002 National Championship team) and an unofficial Big Ten championship (NCAA sanctions prevent Ohio State from playing in either the Big Ten Championship Game or a bowl game this season), while the Browns are heading for another 4-12 season.
My first reason -- my name is "Joe Cleveland," not "Joe Columbus."
Sure, I love the Buckeyes and I hate That Team Up North with every fiber of my being. However, I didn't go to Ohio State. I never lived in the Columbus-area. I have a cousin that goes to Ohio State, but that's about the extent of my family ties to that great university.
Meanwhile, I've lived in Northeast Ohio my entire life. I've loved the Browns since before I could walk. And as much as I love the Browns passionately, I hate the Steelers even more passionately. I used to have a second-favorite NFL team (growing up, it was the 49ers). Now, my second-favorite NFL team is the team that happens to be playing the Steelers. And yes, that even includes those Theiving Modells from Colt-ville.
You don't see many Michigan fans around these parts anymore (most of them donated their Maize and Blue after Jim Tressel came to town and turned the rivalry on its ear. Translation -- most local Michigan fans are frontrunners, and quietly switched sides when Ohio State started winning). Meanwhile, there are Steeler fans all over the place around here (like the local Michigan fans, local Steeler fans are nothing but frontrunners who all were Browns fans during the Bernie Kosar years but switched when the Steelers started winning Super Bowls again and started dominating the Browns).
Local Steeler fans are the most annoying group of fans I've ever witnessed. They talk about the six rings. They sing praises about their rapist quarterback. They wear their Steeler gear everywhere or plaster it on their cars. You usually see them gather at a local sports bar because the Steeler game is blacked out for the Browns game. This is why I quit going to local sports bars to watch the games every Sunday -- it got too damn annoying and I really didn't want to get into any fights.
If the Steelers beat the Browns again, those front-running idiots will be out in full force, waving their little yellow towels and talking about how much their hometown team sucks and how us Browns fans are all idiots. Meanwhile, if Michigan beats the Buckeyes, sure, a couple of frontrunners will suddenly find that Desmond Howard Heisman Trophy shirt from the early 1990s up their attic in mothballs and put it on, but it's on a lesser scale.
My final reason -- Ohio State fans EXPECT to beat Michigan this Saturday. Browns fans HOPE to beat the Steelers this Sunday. There is a difference.
Sure, an Ohio State win and a Browns loss will be a nice consolation prize. There would be nothing worse than both of these teams losing to their most hated rivals within days of each other, so I'll take one over nothing. But, locally, a Browns win would trump a Buckeyes win.
On sports talk, all you'd hear during the week would be Browns fans finally talking trash to their Steeler counterparts. People would wonder if Pat Shurmur was finally turning the corner.
Eric Mangini saved his job in 2009 when his Browns upset the Steelers on a brutally cold Thursday night in Cleveland. A win over the Steelers this Sunday may not be enough for Shurmur. However, that 2009 kicked off four consecutive wins to end the season and propel some optimism (that went away late in 2010 when Mangini's team lost their last four games and he was fired). A win over a Steeler team -- even one that is down to starting their third-string quarterback -- 37-year-old Charlie Batch -- and is so banged up, they brought a 35-year-old Plaxico Burress out of quasi-retirement to play receiver -- would boost the civic pride and may propel this Browns team on a similar streak to end the season.
So, in a perfect world, Joe Cleveland wants to party like it's 1962 -- celebrating a Buckeyes win over Michigan and a Browns win over the Steelers. But, if I had to have just one, I'd choose the Browns 10 times out of 10 times.
And, if an injury-depleted Cavs team can beat LeQuit and the Heat, I'd be a very happy Joe Cleveland on this Thanksgiving weekend. But, let's not get too carried away.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Showing posts with label Troy Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Troy Smith. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Close to the Vest
Joe Cleveland would like to take the opportunity to apologize for the long droughts between blog updates. With high school wrestling season over and girls and boys hoops not too far behind, the man behind the alter ego seems to have a bit of free time, which allows me to put on my "Joe Cleveland" hat and pontificate on the state of sports.
Joe Cleveland had to come out of hiding today, as the legend that is Jim Tressel came crashing down today when he all but admitted that he lied to the NCAA and his own bosses about e-mails that blew the whistle on his players accepting cash and tattoos for memorabilia that they won or were given as members of his Buckeyes.
Yahoo Sports blew the whistle on this story yesterday, quoting a source as saying that Tressel received e-mails from the attorney of tattoo shop owner Edward Rife back in April. Ohio State didn't find out about it until December, when a federal raid on the tattoo parlor uncovered the stuff. The school and the NCAA suspended five players, including starting QB Terrelle Pryor, for violating NCAA by-laws by accepting cash and gifts for their various awards and jersies. The school and the NCAA agreeed to let the violaters play in the Sugar Bowl -- which OSU won -- and allowed for the suspension to start with the first game of the 2011 season.
Ohio State had been appealing the suspension's length for the five players. But now that their "squeaky clean" head coach wasn't complicent himself, they might as well quit while they're ahead.
I worked with a guy who covered Ohio State for many years (both before and after Tressel's hiring) and he was convinced that the Tressel the public saw, the conservative, sweater-vest wearing disciplinarian who has done nothing but beat the tar out of Michigan and get OSU into tons of prestigious bowl games, wasn't the real Tressel. He was convinced that Tressel was shady, but he just couldn't prove it.
Red flags propped up shortly after Tressel guided the Buckeyes to a shocking National Championship in 2002. Maurice Clarett, the star freshman running back on that team, was linked to accepting improper benefits from an OSU booster. Tressel and the school claimed that they had no idea this was going on. Meanwhile, Clarett was threatening to blow the whistle on Tress and the school. Unfortunately, Clarett's credibility was shot. He was dismissed from the team and the school, tried to challenge the NFL's draft laws (and failed), was selected by the Broncos in the third round, signed an incentive-laden contract that didn't guarantee him a DIME and then was cut in training camp. Oh yeah, then he robbed someone at gunpoint in Columbus and spent some time in prison. Nice going, Maurice.
After the Clarett debacle, Troy Smith was also found to have accepted gifts from a booster. He was quickly suspended for the Alamo Bowl (this was right after he engineered a huge upset of Michigan in one of his first starts) and his first two games of the next season. He came back for a huge No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash with Texas, but Tressel kept flip-flopping between him and Justin Zwick, and the Buckeyes lost.
Following that, Smith regained his job and embarked on a remarkable career that resulted in his winning the Heisman Trophy and getting the Buckeyes back in the National Championship game. They were blown out by Florida, but Smith's legacy was secured. He's been mostly a backup QB in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, with flashes of good play here and there while more than a few Browns fans clamored for their native son to be brought back home to play for their favorite team (not gonna happen).
Tressel got off scot free from both instances with his reputation in tact. Buckeye fans lauded Tressel, sang songs about him, named their kids after him, dressed up for Haloween as him. Unfortunately, die-hard Buckeye fans can be a tad bit obnoxious, but you get the point. As long as Tressel owned "that team up North," kept churning out top recruiting classes and had the Buckeyes in the national title hunt every single year, that was all that mattered.
Until today.
Before I get in on this rant, Joe Cleveland would like everyone to know that I am, in fact, an Ohio State Buckeye fan and a Michigan hater. I don't exactly bleed Scarlet and Gray, as the Browns have always been my first true-love when it comes to football. However, when it comes to college football, I root for Ohio State first and foremost; always have, always will. That being said ...
I took a listen to sports-talk radio on my way to an assignment prior to the press conference, and you should have heard the shilling going on for "Lord Tressel." Idiots went as far as to say that the two Yahoo reporters were from Michigan and "planted" the story to make Ohio State look bad (really? Are you that delusional, Buckeye Fan?) The hosts of the program lambasted anyone who tried to speak unkind of "Lord Tressel," even going so far as suggestng to someone to go to the NCAA with their allegations of what he was up to at Youngstown State if they had the "proof."
Take off your Scarlet and Gray glasses, folks. Your "Lord" is a sham, just like every other college football coach out there.
Ohio State decided to fine Tressel and suspend him for the first two games of 2011. So, they'll be without five players for five games and without their head coach for two of them. Way to get off to a great start, Buckeyes. And, they have no one to blame but themselves.
What's amazing is that Tressel can get away with decieving his bosses and still keep his job. And, if you think Tressel is going to resign, think again. Today was the perfect opportunity for him to leave, and he sat there, stoically steadfast, barely admitting he did something wrong.
No, the only way Ohio State is going to get rid of Tressel is if they fire him. And, trust me, they don't want to fire him. Not with the way he makes money hand over fist for the university. Not with the way he's turned their college football program into one of the best in the country. Not after he turned the name "John Cooper" into an afterthought, a "who was the coach before Tressel?" afterthought.
It's amazing how much Tressel is becoming like the guy he emulated, Woody Hayes. Woody was God, Jesus and Satan all rolled into one as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Woody was a cantankerous son of a bitch who was hated by his opponents, hated by some of his players, and hated by some in the media. But, everyone respected Woody. Woody hated Michigan. Therefore, Buckeye fans LOVED Woody. Woody pushed his car from Michigan into Ohio because he didn't want to spend any money on Michigan gas, as folklore has it. Nevermind the fact that he punched an opposing player on the sidelines during his final game, which resulted in his "I guess we have to" firing. Woody is a legend.
It appears that Tressel may have his "punching the opposing player" moment if more and more comes out about his deceptions and his underhanded tactics. For some Buckeye fans, it was their "Say it ain't so, Joe" moment. You would have thought someone kicked their dog and pissed in their Cheerios with the news that Tressel actually did sit on some e-mails months before the school found out and that they had to suspend him.
There are already rumors that Urban Meyer could be a possible replacement for Tressel when, and if, Tressel quits or gets fired or mutually departs. Meyer is from Ohio originally. And, of course, the Bob Stoops rumors could be out there again, or the Jon Gruden rumors (both were rumored candidates when Tressel originally took the job over from Cooper).
Then, there was always the rumors about Tressel's interest in coaching the Cleveland Browns. Something tells me he might have better off jumping off SS Buckeye when he had the chance three years ago, when the Browns were clearly angling to get rid of Romeo Crennel and Tressel's name popped up as a possible candidate. With Holmgren running the ship, there's no way Tressel would get hired now. Maybe as some type of assistant or advisor, but not as the head coach.
Just like many Buckeye fans were ready to throw Terrelle Pryor overboard following the revolations that he sold his Gold Pants trinkets (given to Buckeyes for beating Michigan every year) and his Most Valuable Player Award from the Rose Bowl for some new ink, some are ready to wash their hands of the guy they once idolized.
Tressel still has his job, and our society is, by and large, a forgiving one, so if Tressel can get back to the business of winning football games (especially against Michigan), fans will turn a blind eye to what happened. If Tressel becomes the "Straight-arrow Gennaro" that everyone envisioned him to be after this, more power to him.
Tressel could run for Governor of Ohio and win easily if he wanted. Today, not so much. The curtain has been pulled back on the Wizard of Oz. We'll see if it's truly a horse of a different color after all.
Joe Cleveland would like to shed a tear for the Miami Heat's recent woes, but they are only tears of laughter.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Joe Cleveland had to come out of hiding today, as the legend that is Jim Tressel came crashing down today when he all but admitted that he lied to the NCAA and his own bosses about e-mails that blew the whistle on his players accepting cash and tattoos for memorabilia that they won or were given as members of his Buckeyes.
Yahoo Sports blew the whistle on this story yesterday, quoting a source as saying that Tressel received e-mails from the attorney of tattoo shop owner Edward Rife back in April. Ohio State didn't find out about it until December, when a federal raid on the tattoo parlor uncovered the stuff. The school and the NCAA suspended five players, including starting QB Terrelle Pryor, for violating NCAA by-laws by accepting cash and gifts for their various awards and jersies. The school and the NCAA agreeed to let the violaters play in the Sugar Bowl -- which OSU won -- and allowed for the suspension to start with the first game of the 2011 season.
Ohio State had been appealing the suspension's length for the five players. But now that their "squeaky clean" head coach wasn't complicent himself, they might as well quit while they're ahead.
I worked with a guy who covered Ohio State for many years (both before and after Tressel's hiring) and he was convinced that the Tressel the public saw, the conservative, sweater-vest wearing disciplinarian who has done nothing but beat the tar out of Michigan and get OSU into tons of prestigious bowl games, wasn't the real Tressel. He was convinced that Tressel was shady, but he just couldn't prove it.
Red flags propped up shortly after Tressel guided the Buckeyes to a shocking National Championship in 2002. Maurice Clarett, the star freshman running back on that team, was linked to accepting improper benefits from an OSU booster. Tressel and the school claimed that they had no idea this was going on. Meanwhile, Clarett was threatening to blow the whistle on Tress and the school. Unfortunately, Clarett's credibility was shot. He was dismissed from the team and the school, tried to challenge the NFL's draft laws (and failed), was selected by the Broncos in the third round, signed an incentive-laden contract that didn't guarantee him a DIME and then was cut in training camp. Oh yeah, then he robbed someone at gunpoint in Columbus and spent some time in prison. Nice going, Maurice.
After the Clarett debacle, Troy Smith was also found to have accepted gifts from a booster. He was quickly suspended for the Alamo Bowl (this was right after he engineered a huge upset of Michigan in one of his first starts) and his first two games of the next season. He came back for a huge No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash with Texas, but Tressel kept flip-flopping between him and Justin Zwick, and the Buckeyes lost.
Following that, Smith regained his job and embarked on a remarkable career that resulted in his winning the Heisman Trophy and getting the Buckeyes back in the National Championship game. They were blown out by Florida, but Smith's legacy was secured. He's been mostly a backup QB in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, with flashes of good play here and there while more than a few Browns fans clamored for their native son to be brought back home to play for their favorite team (not gonna happen).
Tressel got off scot free from both instances with his reputation in tact. Buckeye fans lauded Tressel, sang songs about him, named their kids after him, dressed up for Haloween as him. Unfortunately, die-hard Buckeye fans can be a tad bit obnoxious, but you get the point. As long as Tressel owned "that team up North," kept churning out top recruiting classes and had the Buckeyes in the national title hunt every single year, that was all that mattered.
Until today.
Before I get in on this rant, Joe Cleveland would like everyone to know that I am, in fact, an Ohio State Buckeye fan and a Michigan hater. I don't exactly bleed Scarlet and Gray, as the Browns have always been my first true-love when it comes to football. However, when it comes to college football, I root for Ohio State first and foremost; always have, always will. That being said ...
I took a listen to sports-talk radio on my way to an assignment prior to the press conference, and you should have heard the shilling going on for "Lord Tressel." Idiots went as far as to say that the two Yahoo reporters were from Michigan and "planted" the story to make Ohio State look bad (really? Are you that delusional, Buckeye Fan?) The hosts of the program lambasted anyone who tried to speak unkind of "Lord Tressel," even going so far as suggestng to someone to go to the NCAA with their allegations of what he was up to at Youngstown State if they had the "proof."
Take off your Scarlet and Gray glasses, folks. Your "Lord" is a sham, just like every other college football coach out there.
Ohio State decided to fine Tressel and suspend him for the first two games of 2011. So, they'll be without five players for five games and without their head coach for two of them. Way to get off to a great start, Buckeyes. And, they have no one to blame but themselves.
What's amazing is that Tressel can get away with decieving his bosses and still keep his job. And, if you think Tressel is going to resign, think again. Today was the perfect opportunity for him to leave, and he sat there, stoically steadfast, barely admitting he did something wrong.
No, the only way Ohio State is going to get rid of Tressel is if they fire him. And, trust me, they don't want to fire him. Not with the way he makes money hand over fist for the university. Not with the way he's turned their college football program into one of the best in the country. Not after he turned the name "John Cooper" into an afterthought, a "who was the coach before Tressel?" afterthought.
It's amazing how much Tressel is becoming like the guy he emulated, Woody Hayes. Woody was God, Jesus and Satan all rolled into one as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Woody was a cantankerous son of a bitch who was hated by his opponents, hated by some of his players, and hated by some in the media. But, everyone respected Woody. Woody hated Michigan. Therefore, Buckeye fans LOVED Woody. Woody pushed his car from Michigan into Ohio because he didn't want to spend any money on Michigan gas, as folklore has it. Nevermind the fact that he punched an opposing player on the sidelines during his final game, which resulted in his "I guess we have to" firing. Woody is a legend.
It appears that Tressel may have his "punching the opposing player" moment if more and more comes out about his deceptions and his underhanded tactics. For some Buckeye fans, it was their "Say it ain't so, Joe" moment. You would have thought someone kicked their dog and pissed in their Cheerios with the news that Tressel actually did sit on some e-mails months before the school found out and that they had to suspend him.
There are already rumors that Urban Meyer could be a possible replacement for Tressel when, and if, Tressel quits or gets fired or mutually departs. Meyer is from Ohio originally. And, of course, the Bob Stoops rumors could be out there again, or the Jon Gruden rumors (both were rumored candidates when Tressel originally took the job over from Cooper).
Then, there was always the rumors about Tressel's interest in coaching the Cleveland Browns. Something tells me he might have better off jumping off SS Buckeye when he had the chance three years ago, when the Browns were clearly angling to get rid of Romeo Crennel and Tressel's name popped up as a possible candidate. With Holmgren running the ship, there's no way Tressel would get hired now. Maybe as some type of assistant or advisor, but not as the head coach.
Just like many Buckeye fans were ready to throw Terrelle Pryor overboard following the revolations that he sold his Gold Pants trinkets (given to Buckeyes for beating Michigan every year) and his Most Valuable Player Award from the Rose Bowl for some new ink, some are ready to wash their hands of the guy they once idolized.
Tressel still has his job, and our society is, by and large, a forgiving one, so if Tressel can get back to the business of winning football games (especially against Michigan), fans will turn a blind eye to what happened. If Tressel becomes the "Straight-arrow Gennaro" that everyone envisioned him to be after this, more power to him.
Tressel could run for Governor of Ohio and win easily if he wanted. Today, not so much. The curtain has been pulled back on the Wizard of Oz. We'll see if it's truly a horse of a different color after all.
Joe Cleveland would like to shed a tear for the Miami Heat's recent woes, but they are only tears of laughter.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
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