Todd Grantham could be named head coach at Michigan State on Monday. Let me express my opinion on that: IT WOULD SUCK. I really like Grantham as defensive coordinator. While we haven't been good against the run, Grantham has often managed to squeeze out suprisingly good defensive performances. Sure, the team might not win much but it hasn't been the defense's fault very often these past 24 or so games. This despite some obvious shortcomings.
And while it's selfish of me to say Grantham shoudld stay, I think it really is in his best interest to do so. Another 4-5 years and some continued improvement of the Browns D and Grantham could get his shot in the NFL. And certainly along the way he could have his pick of plenty of prime college jobs as well. Don't both with Michigan State.
In a week where there are LOTS of mediocre matchups in the NFL, John Clayton again proves his own irrelevancy by not considering the Browns/Steelers matchup one of the
ten most significant games of the week. Viking@Dolhins?
Redskins@Bucs? Seahawks@49ers? Raiders@Chiefs? All are much more significant according to "The Professor." The last matchup Clayton even admits, "The only thing interesting in this one is the return of Trent Green." John, I think it is past time to retire.
The more ESPN seems to expand it's coverage of the NFL the less meaningful it gets. And at this point there is literally nothing worth watching on ESPN. Not interesting features. No inside info. No breaking news. Even the Monday Night game is tough to watch due to all the stupid crap they inject into the broadcast. There's nothing in the NFL you can't get better info from the OBR and PFT.
Despite a concussion last week,
Polamalu will play. This isn't necessarily bad nes for Browns fans. The long-haired one hasn't been playing that well of late. Perhaps his uncharacteristicly mediocre play will prove beneficial to Frye & Co.
"I'm in a place where I'm being protected. Up in Minnesota, I didn't feel like I was being protected in a lot of different ways." So says Dante Culpepper, now the benched/hurt QB of the Dolphins. He's right of course. Because Butch Dav--er, Nick Saban MUST insulate Culpepper from the truth. Because the truth implicates Saban and why he pursued and bid against himself for Culpepper.
Tribe.... I've been casually following the Indians song-and-dance about how they need to move their Spring Training location somewhere else. At first they wanted upgraded facilities over what they have in Winter Haven (despite the fact that a few years ago they were supposedly "upgraded"). Until recently that seemd to mean moving to another location in central Florida. Then last year they announced a deal to move back to Arizona. That strikes me as very strange. Isn't there a large population of Ohio snowbirds in Central Florida? Is the same thing true for Arizona? It seems counter-productive to move back West, but maybe I'm missing something.
Last spring I noted that Jhonny Peralta was probably the most important offensive piece for the Tribe going into the season, and this is importance to the team equaled that of Sizemore. AS everyone knows, Peralta struggled and so did the Tribe. This offseason,
the front office is saying the same thing. And they aren't being subtle about it either: "It would be an extreme challenge for us to be a championship-caliber team with Jhonny playing, offensively and defensively, the way he did last year." I'd say Peralta is squarely in the hot seat going into '07. "He has to be better."
MLS.... There's a buzz growing that former soccer uber-star
David Beckham could be in the MLS next season. It's an interesting dilemna -- Beckham is a very good but no longer great player. Certainly he's have to be paid mega-dollars to come to the US. But on the whole it'd be a great thing for soccer in America, something I'm eager to see develop further.
The real story, however, isn't Beckham, but the MLS policy change that will allow teams to sign European stars. It will inject some legitimate start power and excitement into the league, and it will happen whether or not Beckham comes. It's happening gradually, but the MLS is becoming more and more legit. Did you see the MLC Cup recently? The atmosphere at playoff games is real. We'll have to see how well that translates onto televison, which is necessary if the sport is ever to ascend to near-major sport status. My one suggestion there? Make sure venues are good ones (i.e. small, racuous stadiums) and night games on cable tv during the week so the games are in every bar & grill in the country.
Which leads me to the final note of this post, and perhaps the last useful thing Roger Brown will write in the Plain Dealer (and the only sort of item he was ever very good at):
"Former St. Ignatius star quarterback and onetime Houston Oilers backup Oliver Luck is a happy man these days. Luck is team president of the Houston Dynamo, which became Major League Soccer champions by winning the recent MLS Cup final. "
Luck used to run NFL efforts in Europe, among other duties, and has had a pretty interesting career from what I can tell from a far. Kind of cool.