…ugh.

The Thriller will be upset if the White Sox are eliminated today.

RD – so sorry about your Cubs, my man. What’s 100 years between friends, eh? Blah. But, as Jim Hendry said last night, there’s always….nah, don’t say it.

Of course, I could join you in your misery swim, you know. The Dodgers can be added to the ever-lengthening list of championship teams whose rosters have players that the Cleveland Indians didn’t see fit to keep. Heck, Casey Blake just got a big quote on SI.com this morning. He’s out there in LA now, with his good friend Manny Ramirez.

And the Sox are going to need a little help from former Tribe player Jim Thome if they’re going to think about Game 4. As the Thriller is wont to say: “If they can’t hit ’em out of the park, they can’t win the game.” Ok, Jimmy, it’s time to do your thing, or I am going to have to make myself really scarce this evening.

Plans for the day: breakfast with BoomR, then off to the school house for some work, then go shopping to buy birthday presentses.

Fink out. Erm….go White Sox. Blech.

Who cares. Big whoop.

LeBron, LeBron, LeBron. Once again, “King James” (hork) makes the news here in northern Ohio, and not for what he does at Quicken Loans Arena. Last year, he showed up at an Indians playoff game against New York wearing a Yankees ball cap. He was booed. He didn’t care.

Then, last Sunday, to add insult to injury (yes, I know the Browns suck, shut up), he stood on the Dallas Cowboys sideline at Browns Stadium and hugged Jimmy Johnson and Terrell Owens, and schmoozed with the team in full view of Browns players (and honked off fans). More booing, followed by more not caring.

Feh.

He’s been called the “next Michael Jordan,” or even better. Well, wait a minute, pard. In all the years I watched Jordan play with the Bulls, never once did I see him show up at a Bears game wearing a Packers hat, or at a Cubs or White Sox game in a Dodgers jersey. (Didn’t he even play for the White Sox for a season or two? Can’t remember.) I didn’t know what his favorite team was, and it didn’t seem to matter; I don’t think he would have flaunted his awesomeness in such a classless way, regardless of  his personal preferences.

So, while it’s completely within LeBron’s rights to flaunt whatever it is he flaunts, don’t put him in the same category with Jordan. I’m sure James figures he does enough for the city of Cleveland by giving them exciting games to watch, and by putting his name on a foundation or two, so yay, he’s awesomely awesome and let’s get over it.

Hey LeBron…how about a foundation for doctoral students in need of help with their tuition? Now there’s a cause, gosh dangit.

But regarding the hat-sporting and Cowboy-hugging…it’s not a huge deal. I mean, money can’t buy class or personal discretion, and truthfully, just because he’s from Akron doesn’t mean he has to follow Cleveland football and baseball. If he wants to act like a dumb kid, I say rock on. Let him play out his contract, then good riddance to him. Could the rumors about his going to New York or New Jersey be all hype? It remains to be seen. Like the man says, the Benjamins will be the final deciding factor.

Fink out. Oh hey — you’re going to work today, and I’m not.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Props to New York Giants fans everywhere, but really, the Super Bowl champions (their benches, anyhow) got a bit more than they bargained for last night with the injury-plagued (already) Browns.

The Browns just keep *almost* getting it right. I’m not as disappointed about the 37-34 loss last night (I mean, it was a 30-3 Giants lead at halftime before the bench players came in and started cleaning up the mess) as I am about the unfortunate mistakes.

Unsporstmanlike conduct followed by false start followed by punt attempt ending in a safety: all in the first quarter. That’ll get the fans going, sweetheart. Then, as if pre-ordained by the football gods, after kick return by young Syndric Steptoe eventually put the Browns on the Giants’ 2, we were once again taken down Memory Lane for a painful reminder of The Fumble, as Derek Anderson and Jamal Lewis couldn’t make a hand-off connection, and the bad guys picked it up and ran it all the way back.

It was like an episode of Keystone Kops. Football is many things, but it should never be funny. Ok, maybe it can be funny from time to time, like highlight-reel-antics funny…but never slapstick. And that’s rather what the undercooked Brownies looked like last night, at least in the first half. In fact, Romeo Crennel should have his A-V guys speed up the highlight film and add a soundtrack of a player piano and yip- yippy sounding clarinet. It might lighten the mood in what is certain to be a less-than-fabulous team meeting in Berea this afternoon.

Still, the Goliaths suffered some blows, which may have revealed that the “David” team might have a few good tricks in its little slingshot. Whether or not that will be enough to get above .500 over the coming months remains to be seen.

There are those who say the Browns can’t win it all, and that they never will; it’s just not in the cards. Others doubt they’ll even make the playoffs. They might be right, but it was also generally accepted among football minds far sharper than mine that Phil Dawson didn’t have enough leg to kick a 56-yard field goal.

Hmm. Maybe “David” has a chance after all.

Fink out.

Photo credit: Abbott & Costello Meet the Keystone Kops – Universal Pictures

And some people think we theater types live for the histrionics. Take for instance the soap opera swirling around the “women’s” gymnastics team from China (gold medal winners over the Americans). US gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi called them “babies in diapers.” They called him “man chewing on sour grapes.” Regardless, breaking the rules is breaking the rules. If the IOC declared that the minimum age to compete is 16, it’s a rule that should be followed. No getting around that. But then, there’s the Chinese team…

But it is what it is, and griping about it won’t do any good. Team USA (who, on average, outweighs the Chinese team by 15 pounds and is taller by 6 inches) had a great showing winning their silver medal. And let’s face it, those little Chinese girls flew. No arguing that point.

Still…if these are 16-year-old girls (especially the three on the right), I will eat my hat.

I’ve read several blogs about it, many with long-winded responses from former gymnasts, Asian people in general, Europeans and other Americans. Everybody’s got a point (I’m paraphrasing here):

“If it was the Americans instead of the Chinese, they’d stop the Games and do an investigation.”

“If it was the Americans instead of the Chinese, no one would say a word.”

“Asians look younger.”

Ok, that last one gets an eye roll and a tongue cluck. The little (and I do mean little — she weighs like 68 pounds) girl on the far right is missing a baby tooth. I guess that could happen if you’re 16…Cha, and monkeys might fly out of my…

But, who’s going to bust China’s chops when they’re the hosts? So, when in Rome…or, like the Times article said, ” When in North America, do as the North Americans do — overreact. When in China, overlook.”

And remember Mark Spitz? He was totally an American hero back in 1972 (unfortunately, he swam his magic at the cursed Olympic games in Munich). He won seven gold medals, and is making news again now that Michael Phelps is looking to do the same, and one better.

But I read an article about Spitz this morning that was a bit disturbing — sometimes I wish people would just let me remain happily ignorant in my delusions.

Then there’s this. Whatev.

And while it’s not an Olympics matter, it’s olympic in its shame: there’s no excuse for this.

And that’s all I have to say about it. You have a lovely day. Whoa…it’s Thursday already. I lost 24 hours somewhere.

Fink out.

Photo credits: New York Times (Chinese gymnastics team), Richard Lim (Mark Spitz)

….when it will be my teams’ turn to go to the Big Party (or win it).

Of course, I’m talking about the Browns and the Indians. (Not much of a basketball fan, and the Cavs have “been there” once, but we won’t talk about that. *coughSWEPTcough*)

I know, I know. As my friend RD will say, “You should be a Cubs fan.” At least the baby bears have some company in the dungeon. And the opinions are many as to exactly why the Indians fell off the bike this year. And now, of course, when it doesn’t count, they win 5 in a row. Sometimes I want to hurt people.

I guess that’s what keeps people like me coming back to watch, season after season. Maybe *this* season will be the one.

Or, I could dust off that wonderful old adage that Browns and Indians fans have learned to memorize: There’s always next year.

Feh.