Green is back.

It's good news, but still a long way until he gets back on the field (and plays effectively).

Soccer Stadium...

Wolstein lays it on the table. He's a businessman, and he's pushing for a deal that almost guarantees he is profitable. Can't blame him, but I wonder if a sensible solution lay somewhere in the middle. Anyway, the project is a great idea as long as the stadium is built around downtown Cleveland. If it's not, then the whole deal is suspect from a soccer/popularity perspective, and even more so from an economic one. The City of Cleveland should be ashamed if this thing gets built anywhere else.

Will the Wolf Survive?

Pardon the Los Lobos reference.... Ron Wolf is now officially on board. I don't think this is a GREAT thing the way some people do, but it's a good thing. Most significantly this is clearly part of the adjustments Davis and Policy have agreed upon -- Davis gets an experienced but apparently low-pressure voice, and doesn't lose any official authority. Maybe it will work out. I hope it helps.

Draft Wisdom/Folly II

Current Conventional Wisdom:

• Robert gallery won't be around for the 8th pick in the draft. Chance of the Browns having a shot at him: 10%
• Shawn Andrews is likely to, but it's far from a sure thing. Some drafts have him going ahead of Gallery. 50%
• Kellen Winslow is getting a lot of interest but there's no real concensus. I have a hunch he may slide a bit. 55%
• Who else? You know the Browns are looking at about a dozen guys for that 7th-8th pick.
• DT Tommie Harris has been suggested in some mock drafts, and would probably be a good pick if no help on the OL is available. But this draft isn't strong at DT, so Harris could be a hot commodity. 50%
• Frankly, there haven't been many other players suggested. Unless you count Kiper and Chris Gamble, which I don't.

Draft Wisdom/Folly I

A while back Larry Fitzgerald entered early. Now RBs Kevin Jones and Steven Jackson are zooming into the top 10 on quite a few draft boards. None are likely to be picks of the Browns, but could still help out -- the more players who are legitimate top-8 picks the better the Browns chances of landing OT Shawn Andrews, the one player at the one position the Browns need most (and have a plausible shot at getting). It also increases the chances of getting a guy like Winslow, should you prefer him.

Hmmmm

Reading this I can't help but wonder if the Browns have their next head coach on staff already.

It's just you Roger

Why does Roger Brown refer to himself as "we"???? Like, when he says, "Hey, we still think Modell should be in the Hall of Fame..." am I really supposed to believe there are multiple people sitting in the Office of Roger Brown coming to a concensus on critical Cleveland sports issues?

Butch Gets Two More Years

He gets extended. I guess this means that a 7-9 finish next season doesn't get Butch fired....

Favorite Time of Year

Why is it I like the offseason? No games to lose? One can pretend that Butch Davis is the greatest coach ever? Imaginary matchups in my brain? Free agency? Draft speculation? All of the above?

Short little article in the Canton Repository today with some minor insights. William Green's suspension is going "as planned." The renegotiation of Couch's contract has begun. It sounds like the Browns will definitely has a fullback. In other words, the things that are expected to happen are happening.

Draft News:

The Browns are apparently big fans of Ben Roethlisberger. Hmmmmmmm. It's not shocking the Browns would consider a QB, but still very interesting. Seems like a lot of teams love that guy though.

Most mock drafts have the Browns taking Robert Gallery or Shawn Andrews, but things seem to be trending towards neither of those guys being available. To a lesser extent the same is true with Kellen Winslow. That means just about anything could happen, including some things which average Browns fans would consider to be very bad (like picking Chris Gamble).

Sale of Nets... Off to Brooklyn

This is way off-topic, but does the proposed sale of the New Jersey Nets to move them into Brooklyn strike anyone else as a fantastic idea? Who cares about the thorny details... a team based in Brooklyn is a goldmine. I would be willing to bet that, 5-10 years after such a move, a team based in Brooklyn is a huge success from a marketing standpoint. With a decent new arena I think even the attendance would be quite good, becoming a sort of out-of-towners destination too.

Ohio NCAA

So far, the only two teams I see making the tourney are Cincinnati and Dayton. Xavier has the talent to, but they have work to do. Of course, I'm mostly concerned with UD, who's now 15-3 and 5-0 in the A-10.

Darius Shipped West

The Cavs sent Darius Miles to Portand for point guard Jeff McInnis and center Ruben Boumtje Boumtje. Like the Ricky Davis trade, this is about building a team that allows LeBron to continue to develop. I think it's a fine trade, especially considering that Miles was unlikely to be resigned by the Cavs. McInnis is a good pickup as he's probably a nice upgrade over Kevin Ollie, who he'll split time with. The trade should guarantee the Cavs win more than the 14 games they won in the season's first half. And I'm starting to really like the players on this team. It's not hard to visualize the next draft adding one more piece and next offseason bringing in a couple productive veterans, all of which should help the team make the next step to being a solid playoff team in the East.

UPDATE: ESPN Insider has a very detailed commentary on this trade. Definitely check it out. I don't know that it changes my overall opinion of this trade -- I still think it is a net plus -- but it does make me wonder about 1) whether McInnis will really be here after this season, and 2) if Paxson could have gotten more by trading Miles earlier as the article suggests. My guess is that Miles' overall dissappointing play but him on the trade-able list, and his continued flakiness pushed him over the edge. For the most part, I'm down with Terry Pluto on this one. People in Portland are sure what to make of the trade either.

Kiper Gambles

Huh? Mel Kiper's first mock draft the Browns picking Chris Gamble with the 8th pick. What is he smokng?

I suppose I could see the Browns going for a DB if Gallery, Andrews and Winslow or off the board, but even then I wouldn't think Gamble would be the guy. The Browns are going to go with someone who is ready to start. Right?

Roger With Real News

Some of it, anyway.

Former Force owner Bart Wolstein, awarded a 2005 Major League Soccer franchise, meets this week with area officials to discuss building a stadium in either Cuyahoga or Summit counties.

That's good to hear, but Summit county? Screw that. The 1) silence about real stadium progress, and 2) the fact that Summit county is still being considered can only mean that a downtown soccer stadium is becoming less and less likely. That sucks.

He also mentions that the Browns may wind up with another Monday Night Football appearance. That, I think, would be a fine idea since the city always gets up for the game and, considering the way the NFL currently is, the Browns have got to be better next season.

Also, former Ignatius lineman Jacob Bell (Miami of Ohio) could go as high as the 3rd round in the NFL draft. Good for him.

Cavs win w/o LeBron or Z

From the AP.... The Cavs, who won just 17 games a year ago, are 14-27 at the halfway point. They were 8-33 after 41 games last season.

I'd say that's a pretty good sign. And even better that it was one of the team's other "cornerstone" payers, Boozer, leading the team in James' absense. There is hope, for next year at least.

NFL Suggestions

While on the subject of "what is wrong with the NFL" let me just state that I like the NFL to a great degree. But of course I have some suggestions. Here they are:

• Let teams declare how to spread out a signing bonus. In other words, if it's a 5-year deal with a 5 million bonus, the team should be able to declare upfront in which years the bonus will hit the salary cap. Maybe there are some restrictions put in, like no one year can count for more than a certain percentage based on the contract length. Giving teams some flexibility would allow teams to better manage their rosters and perhaps avoid massive, unplanned roster purges.
  
• Reduce cap hits for trades. I like trades; most fans do. Right now a blockbuster trade is a rarity in the NFL because it's often prohibitive for a team to deal a player as any prorated signing bonuses are accelerated. This should change. Teams A and B make a player-for-player trade. Instead of both teams taking a one-time cap hit, allow the pro-rated signing bonus amounts charged against the cap to become part of the deal. Let's say each traded player has 2 million in signing bonus money spread over the next couple years. The teams should be free to negotiate against which team's cap it gets charged. As long as every cap dollar is accounted for the NFL and the players union should not have a real beef with this. Not as far as I can see anyway.
  
• Only one week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. Two weeks is too long. If teams need some extra time to account for the hype and unplanned travel, perhaps the conference championships can be played on Saturday and the Super Bowl on Sunday or Monday night. Two weeks is an eternity IMO, and it'd be great to encourage an even more tournament-like atmostphere.
  
• NFL should institute a policy of displaying the tv-feed on the in-stadium big screens. Yes, it might make for some raucous scenes when the home team is screwed on a close call, but it's grossly unfair to prevent paying customers from seeing the game as well as those at home. At the least, the same replays available to television viewers should be put up on the big-screen.
  
• Make preseason games a better value. Lower the price or give the fans something worthwhile for their money. NFL owners love preseason games cause they are a cash cow. But in many cities preseason games are not sellouts, and those that are have plenty of no-shows. There's an opportunity to both maximize revenue and to better satisfy hard-core fans.
  
• Monday night football kickoff at 8:30 EST.
  
• A Fan Appreciation Day, or something along these lines, should be mandatory for every team. The NFL should keep the relationship with core fans as healthy as possible as a nice counterweight to the imposing size of the stage on which the games are now played. Not to mention a good relationship with local fans would insulate the NFL from criticism that its stadiums have been built by bilking taxpayers.

Bashing the Super Bowl

Bud Shaw thinks it sucks, and laments the state of the NFL in the process. This past NFL season was probably the best season of Shaw's PD writing career -- he was critical, but thankfully he was accurate. But this column is one of those which was written in a vacuum of the columnists creation. He might want to consider why, if the NFL and it's championship game is in a sorry state, the league is so popular. There are pros and cons to the situation that Shaw can't/won't consider in his admittedly short space. I'd like to hear what Shaw's wide-lens view of the NFL is. I would bet it involves undoing a few things that, or better or worse, have made the NFL so popular.

Super Bowl

Well, my pick was the Colts over the Rams. I thought both teams would be able to prevail in physical playoff games, but both came up short. Patriots vs. Panthers, however, is a great matchup. The 2003 season has been dominated by physical/boring football over passing/exciting football, and this game pretty much proves it. The Patriots deserve their due -- it's hard to believe that team is so effective with the players they have. As interesting as that story is, the Panthers are even moreso. That team has quietly knocked off bigger-named competition for the last 1 1/2 seasons and it's culminated in a Super Bowl berth, a game that is winnable. Amazingly, it's Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith who have really elevated that team to such a high level. I'm rooting for the Panthers but would be hard-pressed to wager much on it.

Grossi's News and Notes

If Couch does not agree to a major pay-cut, the Browns will seek a quarterback in free agency, Policy said. This isn't news, but it does mark the beginning of the negotiating. Grossi also reports that if Couch is cut loose, then Holcomb will stay.

Also mentioned in the above article is that the Rams will likely franchise Orlando Pace again this offseason. Frankly, I'd be really surprised if they let him go considering that team absolutely requires good pass protection to be effective.

Ron Wolf's hiring on with the Browns is not yet sewn up -- the team trying to find the right role. In other words, Wolf wants to make sure he won't have to work too hard. We all wish we were so lucky!

Ron Wolf In the Fold

Hmm, interesting -- Former Packers GM has apparently agreed to serve as a personnel consultant with the Browns. This after he reportedly turned down an interview to be the Dolphins general manager. It seems to me that whatever capacity he may serve in Cleveland it will be a fairly significant role. This sounds like very good news to me. With the Browns having the cap room to go after some free agents a guy like Wolf could be a big asset.

Even if, as rumored, Orlando Pace is snagged as a free agent the Browns still will need help along the offensive line, for a fullback, at least one linebacker, and perhaps a safety. Depending what happens with Northcutt I'd expect a veteran receiver in the Bobby Shaw/Bobby Engram mode would be a priority too. Oh, and don't forget a backup QB. It's obviously overoptimistic to think Wolf could replicate his famous deal for Favre, but it would be nice to have a capable backup with some down-the-line promise as either a starter or as trade ammunition. Hopefully Wolf can help with all of these matters.

In the bigger picture, it is nice to see Policy and, presumably, Davis actively try to fix a situation that they appeared to deny was even broken. I think Davis is the type of coach who could really benefit from some capable help in the front office -- if he can only worry about coaching and motivating perhaps we'll see something come of it.

Cavs Winning Lineup Promising

You might not have noticed, and I wouldn't have blamed you, but the Cavs win in Seattle the other night was significant because Silas went with a 4th quarter lineup that included lots of guys you'd really like to see develop: Lebron, with Jason Kapono and Dajuan Wagner in the backcourt and Darius Miles and DeSagana Diop as the big men. This was a change of pace as Silas had preferred to play veterans like Battie and Williams when the game was on the line. In fact, it was that mostly veteran lineup who folded while the team lost 3 straight. Nice to see the young guys come in and put a team away. It's encouraging and hopefully a sign of things to come.

On paper this could be a good lineup cause it allows Lebron to pass the ball around to guys who can do something with it. If James can penetrate and/or draw double teams, he can choose from Wagner/Miles who can both excel when getting the ball while cutting to the basket, Kapono who can knock down shots, and Diop who is athletic enough to be on the receiving end of some creative passes. It's a great offensive lineup if Lebron is the focal point. Defensively it's perhaps not so great, but it could be respectable if the athleticism on the floor turns into some fast breaks.

In fact, if guys like Diop, Kapono and Miles are productive, the Cavs have a playoff caliber lineup. They may not be able to get back into contention but they should be extremely competitive. At the least, you can see how this roster might come together next season and really do some damage. And I think it's obvious now that the Cavs benefited significantly from the Ricky Davis trade.

Modell Not On Hall's List

Good. Frankly, I don't see why many owners should ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame because they don't play or coach the game. The idea that an owner would get inducted merely for holding onto a team for a really long time (in Modell's case, at a huge price) is just dumb. If you do that, why not also induct Johnny the Hot Dog Guy who's been selling frankfurters at the Meadowlands for the last 30 years? Heck, he practically invented the "tear it opn, put on mustard, fold it back up and toss it" technique that was so widely used for 20 years until lame mustard packets became the trend. Okay, enough about Johnny.... Inducting an owner raises serious questions about the criteria to judge HOF credentials. What makes for an impressive ownership? So often the success of the NFL involves raping local communities of tax dollars and pricing PSLs to the maximum bearable market price that fans could justifiably wonder why it is an owner should be honored when, in fact, a good owner has already collected so many spoils. It's simple, really -- owners shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame; Players and coaches only. Honor the talent, at least try to keep the impurities out. And let owners, the honorable and the sleezy alike, retire in style to Fort Lauderdale and enjoy the deep respect of fellow owners and businessmen. Or, if they want to enter the Hall Of Fame, create a seperate one for sports team owners. But please, not in Canton.

The Winslow Boy

I wonder if Butch unintentionally dropped a hint or was merely beginning the pre-draft misdirection when he said in yesterday's press conference, "The tight ends need to be utilized more, not only in the running game but also in the passing game." It just so happens that Miami TE Kellen Winslow is likely to go at about the point in the draft where the Browns will pick.

Chudzinski for Tight Ends, Hagen Moves to QB Coach

The team got a QB and tight ends coach yesterday. WR and RB coach is next. New TE guy Rob Chudzinski is a former player and assistant coach at U of Miami.

Yesterday's introduction provided a chance for Davis and Robiskie to talk about their offensive vision for 2004. It also is a chance for us to hear veiled barbs at Bruce Arians, and for Davis to perhaps revise hitory a bit. We got a little bit of everything. Key points: 1) The team wants an "identity" including some staple running plays, 2) in 2003 the team got too preoccupied with getting the ball to the wide outs, 3) Davis hinted that last year some players were confused about what the team was trying to accomplish offensively. And 4) a definitiive decision on the quarterback position is a few weeks away.

I'm down with all of these things, but would like to point out that Davis is fully culpable on points 1-3. He, afterall, hired Arians and was the guy's boss. Arians got fired, but now it is Davis who is on the line in 2004.

Not allowed to carry an open beer around but....

Soon you'll be able to bring your loaded gun to the MUNY lot. What do you think, Mayor Jane Campbell?

Until recently I was probably for gun control, but frankly I'm deeply annoyed with many BS restrictions we Americans often have in our lives. I've never owned, fired, or even held a loaded gun but the idea that I can does makes me feel good, especially in the light of all the laws that say you can't do things like drink a beer in a public place. [Reading too much Glenn Reynolds?-ed Yes, while drinking at home.]

In all seriousness, it's not too bad an idea -- the bottom line is, nobody is worried about the person carrying a gun who's actually, you know, licensed, trained and registered to do so. We worry about criminals, kids, and ex-girlfriends carrying guns. Er, you know what I mean. And if the emprical evidence says that communities which allow concealed have lower crime, well then why restrict it? As a general rule, why restrict ANYTHING if it doesn't infringe on other people's rights? This is the rational and most compelling evidence. And it more or less convinces me...

...but what really resonates is the fact that I CAN'T DRINK A BEVERAGE WHEREVER I FEEL LIKE IT. Or why it's a crime for me to drive my car after drinking when I'm less impaired/distracted than I would be if I was, say, driving while talking on a cell phone or driving with my dog in the car. Or why my Ohio driver's license is hologramed with "DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE" when any reasonable person should know it should instead say "DON'T DRIVE DRUNK" cause that's what really matters.

Why am I apparently obsessed with drinking-beer issues? Partly immaturity -- I'm 29 and for the last decade this was a persistant, annoying restriction that served no purpose -- but even more so it's the realization that this issue is just the one thing that my casual drinking, immature self tended to notice the most! For whatever reason (age, marriage, Sept. 11th, cumulative books read, whatever) it's apparent to me that there will always be someone, somewhere who will persuasively argue why people shouldn't be allowed to do something despite the fact that it is in no way harmful to others. And THAT'S CRAP!!!

I know somewhere there's someone from the University of Dayton Young Republican/NRA club snickering how I finally woke up and realized a great truth which should have been apparent 10 years ago. Or maybe not, I don't know, despite being able to hear and see those pricks doing just that. And really that's the only thing that bothers me about typing the above. Cause the shit is true, and I still hate those f*ckers for wearing ties, loafers and/or snide expressions. Or was it for being business majors?

Oh w/e. Go Browns.

Spellcheckin'

I type too fast. I mistype. I screw up. Often. I'm impatient. Blogger really needs a spellchecker. Or rather, I really need a spellchecker from Blogger. Or check that, YOU need a spellchecker fro Blogger. Sorry for the lame-o spelling. No jokes about that English degree I have either.

Robiskie is the Guy

No surprise, but now it's official that Robiskie is the new offensive coordinator. I think if he focuses on the trenches and makes sure the team has a capable fullback then we'll be okay. I really do think it's that simple. And resigning Northcutt would make things run much more smoothly, but I suppose that is not up to Robiskie.

Judging by the little talk radio I heard today it seems like this was a popular move with the players and acceptable to the fans. Really us fans have no way to adequately judge. One guy made the point that our wide receivers didn't exactly have a great year in 2003. That's valid, but then again nobody on offense had a particularly good season.

Next up, running backs, quarterbacks, and wide receivers all need positional coaches. I do hope all this turnover won't be a negative sign. Then again, we know it can't hurt.

WKNT Sacks 3

Favorite PD sports-gossip-panderer Roger Brown reports, "Local sports station WKNR AM/850 Monday fired longtime personalities Greg Brinda, Kendall Lewis and Ken Silverstein." Silverstein is a good reporter. Brinda I could do without. And Kendall.... that fact that he remained employed for so long was already a bit of a miracle. He was a guy who had NOTHING good to say EVER about ANY Cleveland sports team. Why the hell was he on the radio in the first place? What sports fan wants to listen to some blowhard tell you day-in/day-out that your team sucks and will never amount to anything?

These moves probably won't hurt KNR's already low ratings, and they'll pick up ESPN radio's early morning show, which can't hurt. In fact, what Cleveland sports radio really could use is to pick up the excellent ESPN radio more often. I'll take the Dan Patrick show over just about anything currently on the air. Jim Rome? Eh, he's entertaining sometimes but the sheer lack of intellectual stimulation coming from that show is deadening. Triv? He reminds me of so many manager/pitcher/first-baseman types on my father's old softball teams... Roda? He's annoying and sometimes okay, but just not insightful at all.

Speaking of ESPN radio, why is it that ESPN _radio_ is so much better than most of ESPN's television programming? The radio programming is markedly good, and you can go several hours without hearing a boo-yah. Too bad you have to be driving through another city to hear it.

Offensive Coordinator... Robiskie seems the guy

Terry Robiskie, currently receivers coach, appears to be the front-runner for the offensive coordinator position in 2004. It's almost a no-brainer, though of course nothing is ever guaranteed. But Robiskie does seem to be a popular guy with the players, appeared to be in the middle of the KJ ordeal and perhaps held the team together through that time, and if he had an active role in game-planning vs. the Bengals that's a pretty good recommendation. Since the goal is to find a guy who can mould the current players into an effective offense, that sounds like some good evidence in Robiskie's favor.

As I've harped on before, whoever is the guy it's clear that this team needs to focus on running the ball. We're keeping Couch unless there's a contract snag, so winning games will be dependent on fundamentals -- good blocking, effective rushing, and aggressive defense. It's really not hard to figure out the blueprint for success. Davis, though, needs to find the right guy to implement the offensive side of the plan. Oh, and draft an offensive lineman....

In hindsight we may really wish the Browns did not salvage the last game of the season when it comes to the draft. At their present position (7 or 8) the Browns have no shot at the concensus best OL prospect (Robert Gallery) and may be forced to consider TE Kellen Winslow (who probably won't drop that far) or OT Shawn Andrews (who probably will). After that the list is full of players the Browns could use but outside of their top needs -- DE, CB, LB. OL Vernon Carey from Miami is another top prospect, but not expected to go anywhere near the 7-8th pick. But you never know.

Needless to say, this would probably be a good year for a trade of some sort. The way the draft board now looks, the Browns may be able to move down by trading with a team looking for a top offensive skill player. The current outlook would seem to be -- Browns trade down for a low 1st round pick and an additional 2nd, then pick up 3 quality players in the first two rounds. Or they stand pat and get the best player they could use, but perhaps not the difference maker they need in the trenches.

MLS update

Since Wolstein's bid for an MLS franchise was accepted there's been a lot of silence on the subject in the media. One presumes Wolstein and Force president Paul Garafolo are hard at work looking for a location to build a stadium. I've heard on bulletin boards that Wolstein has set a deadline of about June 2004 to find a site and start construction, or else the whole project may get shelved.

Most of what we know came courtesty of Bob Roberts back around Thanksgiving:

• The stadium will be in the city of Cleveland (hooray!)
  
• Wolstein envisions the stadium to be part of a larger complex including additional soccer fields (and presumably the centerpiece for plenty of youth leagues and high school games)
  
• There's a rumor that the stadium would be shared for Ignatius football games. As an Ignatius grad that sounds pretty cool, but it might be sort of, uh, unfair. But still pretty cool IMO because it means the new team is trying to be active in the community.
  
• If a stadium is built, the team will work to attract about a "half dozen" international matches each year, and World Cup qualifying matches would seem to be likely as well. This is perhaps more exciting to me than the actual MLS team!

Since then things have changed a bit... Though the team is scheduled to start play in 2005, it could be pushed back to 2006 if a deal is made to build a stadium downtown. Well worth the wait IMO. Wolstein describes city and county officials as optimistic and sharing his view that an MLS franchise could be a nice economic gain for the city.

Other possible stadium sites? Orange Boulevard and Broadway Avenue has been looked at. The Boston Hills CC has been another.

All this makes me regret not posting something I wrote out back in August but never got around to putting up here. For what it's worth, he's an "archived" post and my original thoughts about a nice stadium location. Of all of them I'd like to see an Ohio City location because I think it offers the best combination of visibility, accesibility, nearby restraunts and nightlife, Cleveland personality, and housing. It's also one of the best "renewal" areas in Cleveland. Someplace visible from downtown or at least the west shoreway would be especially nice.

From Roger Brown today:

Why do plenty of informed folks think former Force indoor soccer owner Bart Wolstein, now trying to land a 2005 MLS outdoor expansion franchise, would just love to build a stadium in downtown Cleveland?

Interesting. Obviously the first question about a possible MLS team is where is would play -- and a possible downtown spot would be great, but I wonder if it'd be prohibitively expensive. Of course, the right location might also crucial to the possible success of the team -- having eateries and bars close by would be helpful. The most important thing is something soccer proponents often forget -- an MLS team will likely attract the diehards no matter where the stadium is, but the measure of success will depend on building an environment attractive to "regular" people who may be current sports fans but not soccer buffs. I really think if you meet the average guy even halfway then he'll show up for some games and give MLS in Cleveland a shot. And if going to an MLS game can be turned into a fun night out, then this could be a very big success. (I'd note that the excellent Crew Stadium in Columbus is marred by a suspect location in terms of non-soccer entertainment; little is within walking distance. It does, however, have a nice central location. Though it's a mixed bag, the stadium is considered one of two crown jewel MLS stadiums.)

Some possibilities:

• West Bank of the Flats -- back behind the Powerhouse there's enough empty space, and it'd be a highly visible location to weekend party-goers. The proximity to Ohio City would probably be a good thing. It'd also provide a reason to overhaul the Shoreway's West 25th street exit and perhaps even refurbish the scary housing just to the northeast of there. That's really all that's holding the neighborhood back.
  
• Ohio City -- a longshot, but there's some attractive land from when Ignatius bought up a few city blocks about 10 years ago. A facility here would allow the new team to latch on to the community in multiple ways -- great visibility with Market Street customers (Great Lakes, Market Street Wine Bar, etc), the West Side Market, the upper-middle class from all over the city at Ignatius, and the thriving neighborhood community in Ohio City that houses some of the most ecletic people in town, who, by the way, would probably be very receptive to giving soccer a shot.
  
• Tremont -- Build the Wrigley Field of American soccer stadiums. Seriously. Kind of like Ohio City, but a slightly better neighborhood but less exposure to people from other parts of the city. If they build a facility visible from downtown, however, that'd be pretty cool.
  
• East of Galleria -- This area does have a few things going for it, though there are lots of question marks. What will happen with the Galleria over the next 5 years? There's some thriving nightlife here, but not the mainstream kind (a huge gay bar and strip club, but drive by on Saturday night you won't believe the crowds). It's close to some other attractions. It's pretty close to a place like Reserve Square. There's land.
  
• Edgewater Park area -- this is a possibility because MLS plays in the summer. But there's not much in the way of eateries and the like.
  
• Euclid Ave East of Playhouse Square -- I'm split on this area. I like it geographically, but for years this has been the pet project of various pie-in-the-sky city council members and urban renewal types. It's nice to envision a beautiful corridor out towards University Circle, but it's a long stretch and there's no attractive housing anywhere nearby. Nevertheless, it could provide an interesting place for a stadium and there's a chance it would be part of a larger effort.
  
• Little Italy -- I think the best area on the near-East side, but I'm not sure what exact sites might be a possibility. It'd be nice for some of the Eastern suburbs and it brings back good memories of festivals in the neighborhood.

Cavs

So far so good. Since the Ricky Davis trade the Cavs are, if I'm not mistaken, 5-4. One sense that the rest of the year will not only be devoted to the continuing of Lebron into a full-blown superstar, but also the evaluation of the rest of the roster to determine who the other 2 or 3 guys to build around will be. I think Boozer is gonna be around for the long hall, though perhaps not always a starter. But everyone else.... Will Wagner turn out to be a nice scoring compliment at shooting guard? Or will be be a mini-Ricky Davis? Will Z consistently play with some intensity, especially on defense? Will Williams stick around after this season? Like all the Cleveland sports teams at the moment this team has lots of players with lots of questions -- but notably this team is at least becoming quite entertaining to watch. They're four or five games back from a playoff spot at the moment, and though the post season remains an unlikely possibility there is a chance the team can make it interesting down the stretch. Could be interesting.