Cuban Soccer Defectors

I've told a few people about the Cuban soccer players that defect whenever Cuba comes to the US to play soccer. I follow the US Mens Soccer team, and they're currently in the qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup. Currently they are in the group stage with 3 other teams, Cuba, Guatemala, and Trinidad & Tobago, the top 2 teams advance to the next round.

Back in March the Cuban Soccer Team was in Florida to play Honduras in an under-23 Olympic qualifier. 7 players escaped from the hotel they were staying at, seeking political asylum. Again last weekend Cuba was here to play the US team in the World Cup qualifying and 2 more players defected.

Its a very sad situation, i feel, that Americans tend to take their freedom for granted, demanding more of this great country when they already have so many blessings. These players are all risking their lives to escape a country that has a terrible past, and their stories are very remarkable. Please read the links, they're very interesting.

"Of course, my heart will be in Cuba with my family, but I want to have the freedom to better my life, to play professional soccer, to be the best I can be, and for that we had to make this sacrifice," Bermudez said in The Herald. "The key now is to get the legal paperwork out of the way as quickly as possible so we can get on with our plans."

Brady Quinn, When?

People are always asking me if i think Brady Quinn will be playing QB for the Browns anytime soon, and I, just like other Browns fans, don't know why he hasn't started playing yet.
But i think i figured out what might be holding the Browns staff from pulling the trigger on Quinn, here's an excerpt from an article by ESPN's James Walker:

"There is a lot of money involved between these two players as it pertains to playing time.

Anderson signed a three-year, $24-million contract before the season with incentives that could increase the deal to $26 million. The Browns gave Anderson $7 million up front in a signing bonus and their immediate returns would look feeble if Cleveland permanently benched him five games into the season.

Meanwhile, Quinn is sitting on the bench as one of the lowest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL this year. After the 2007 NFL draft, he signed an incentive-laden deal that could pay him up to $30 million over five years as the No. 22 overall pick. But through almost a year and a half of inactivity, Quinn has not met any of those incentives and the overall value of the contract continues to plummet. This year he is making the second-year minimum of $370,000. Quinn's salary would increase significantly to $1.693 million -- more than quadruple the original amount -- if Quinn plays 45 percent of the snaps this year.

It should only take Quinn eight starts to reach those playing-time incentives."

Browns Prediction

So, after a terrible start (1-3) the Browns might only win 2 or 3 more games. Romeo Crennel has destroyed this team, Derek Anderson has shown that he can't hang with the big boys, and Braylon just dropped his paycheck, among other things. After the first 1/4 of the season, the Browns have lost 3 games against pretty good opposition in DAL, PIT, and @BAL, and squeaked out a win @CIN.

i think i will start prepping my brown bag because the rest of the schedule is brutal. my prediction for their record is in the parenthesis:

NYG (1-4)
@WAS (1-5)
@JAC (1-6)
BAL (2-6)
DEN (3-6)
@BUF(3-7)
HOU (4-7)
IND (4-8)
@TEN (4-9)
@PHI (4-10)
CIN (5-10)
@PIT (5-11)

awesome, 5-11, thats just great, after a 10 win season we're going 5-11. ugh. Could we have gotten a tougher schedule? this is what happens after a season where the Browns played the NFC West, then this season we got the ridiculous NFC East. When's the draft?

JWill Retires

Jason Williams has called it quits. I can't say i'm surprised, but i am disappointed. Jason was my favorite player while i was in high school, and i followed him through Memphis and Miami. It's obvious that he has to retire earlier than he anticipated, but his body just seems to be breaking down faster than usual.

Jason was drafted by the Kings as a sort of unknown player, a gamble since he'd already been in trouble a few times in college for pot and other things. He instantly became a fan-favorite with his ridiculous ball skills and a sense for the dramatic with his 3-pointers which he would launch anytime he felt like it, even on fast breaks. His run-n-gun style quickly spread throughout the Kings roster and a year later we were playoff bound with what Sports Illustrated called the "Greatest Show on Court", the lineup included JWill, CWebb, Peja, Christie and Vlade.

Jason found himself on Sportscenter almost every night with his fake behind the back passes to himself, pop-up 3's, and creative dribbles, his high-point coming in the Rookie Game with a behind the back - off the elbow pass to Pau Gasol. But with the highlights came the criticism. Jason was pinned as a guard that took too many chances and had too many turnovers. He was later traded to Memphis for Mike Bibby. There, under the direction of Hubie Brown, Jason was slowly molded into a typical boring point guard, stressing defense and control. For the rest of his short career Jason would never really open up his game, though improving his assist/turnover ratio greatly, Jason appeared to give up his need to showboat and entertain people, instead just trying to get along with coaches like Hubie Brown and Pat Riley, in boring systems that didn't allow for creativity.

I don't think we ever really got the chance to see Jason in a great situation after Sacramento, where Rick Adleman's system allows players to flourish and score, sacrificing defense. It seems like the NBA sometimes forgets that its entertainment first and suppressing one of the most entertaining players ever has to be regrettable.

Check these highlights out, you'll see why Jason
was amazing! After you watch the elbow pass, just keep clicking on links of Jason Williams highlights, you'll get the idea (search Jason Williams Gary Payton and watch JWill cross-up Payton).


Elbow Pass:

Best NFL Fans

ESPN just posted a story ranking the best fanbase in the NFL. As much as it pains me to see Pittsburgh as #1, i'm happy the Browns are in the top 3, thats pretty impressive considering how bad the Browns have been.

Now it's time to see some playoff success to make this fanbase happy!

Browns Prediction

i just want to go on record here before the season starts and state that if the Browns are terrible this season, it is because of Romeo Crennel.

This guy is a terrible coach. he was almost fired at the end of the 06-07 season, and then was saved only by the miracle that was Derek Anderson last season. You didn't forget that yes the Browns started Charlie Frye at the beginning of last season right. If Derek Anderson doesn't come out and shock the world, Romeo Crennel doesn't have a job. seriously, how are you going to fire a guy after the best season Cleveland has seen since they were reinstated?

on paper, the Browns are one of the best teams in the league. But after a disappointing preseason i can conclude that Romeo is holding this team back. We have a QB who has proven he can go crazy, a backup who's better than some teams starters (arizona, chicago...) an offense that can throw the ball down the field and then slam it in behind the best O-line in the league. a top-flight receiver, the best tight-end, solid running back, dependable number 2 receiver. we have a reliable special teams with a good FG kicker and the best return guy in the league.

We have an okay defense, which was improved in the offseason yet has failed to show any real improvement on the field. we have good coordinators, especially Mark Chudzinski as the offensive coordinator.

so whats left? the head coach, and he's terrible, and yet he has the final say on everything that happens. if we don't make the playoffs this year we have totally under-acheived. heck, if we don't win in our first 2-3 games i'd fire Crennel right there.

Seriously Done with the NBA

i'm not joking when i say i'm over the NBA. after Tim Donaghy brought to light that the Kings/Lakers series of 2002 was fixed, i decided that was the last straw.

i wasn't so upset about the betting scandal, i mean, you have to think that this is happening in most sports on some level. But a team i spent my young life following, loving them even when the going was bad (it was never good), and for them to finally make the playoffs was awesome! the fact that we got to the Western Conference Finals and were playing against our rivals, the Lakers, and had the series lead 3-whatever, all we needed was a win and to lose was bad enough. through all of the bad calls, Robert Horry 3's, and media bias i was heartbroken, seriously, ask anyone around me that year, Kass, Tahoe, Isaac, my dad, anyone.

but now, after all this time wondering why Bibby was called for a foul after being hit in the face by Kobe we find out that the fix was in. its too much to take. the fact that this happen to my team, in my once in a lifetime chance to go to the Finals (and be the favorite) and to find about this scandal is too much. i hate the NBA. i hate the longer season, the playoffs setup, i hate slacker players, i hate the Spurs, i hate the ego's and gangsters, and now i really hate the history. there is no way to fix this, the NBA did a permanent thing in fixing this series and Kings fans, who could lose their team any time now, also lost out on a finals berth, among a million other things.

NBA, eff you.