The Cleveland Fan on Facebook

The Cleveland Fan on Twitter
Misc General
Adam Burke

jeff-carterNearly two weeks into the 2011-12 season, the Blue Jackets have been able to accumulate one single point out of the twelve possible so far this season. Clearly not the start that they wanted to get off to and certainly not the kind of start you want in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. The team is averaging just two goals per game and is the only NHL squad without a win this season.

Shy of an injury to Rick Nash, any and everything that could go work has gone wrong for Columbus. Jeff Carter is on injured reserve with a fractured foot. James Wisniewski is still in the league’s doghouse. Steve Mason has continued to be inconsistent and the Blue Jackets do not have an experienced backup. Salary cap constraints forced the Blue Jackets to call up Mathieu Corbeil from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to back up Steve Mason. Injuries to Curtis Sanford and Allen York, the team’s minor league goaltending depth, were also partially to blame.

Read more...

Andrew Clayman

hillis-jumps-sharkThe quest to find the new face of Cleveland sports continues with another edition of the Star-Power Rankings-- a Top 25 list slightly less controversial than the BCS standings, but no less arbitrary and ridiculous. This week, despite coming off arguably the least exciting two-week period in recent Cleveland sports history, there have still been a few shake-ups on the Star Power board. Most notably, it would appear as though the PR nightmare brewing in the Browns' backfield may have already taken the Madden cover boy down a peg. But if Peyton Hillis has jumped the shark, just who the hell has done enough to jump over Hillis in the rankings?

For those that missed out on the first week of the Cleveland Sports Power Rankings, the concept is pretty simple (and oddly depressing). Ever since the so-called "King" abandoned his throne more than a year ago, the remaining characters in the Cleveland sports universe have been a tad hesitant to stake their own claims to the city's devotion. Mo Williams had his shot, and promptly fell on his sword-- eventually cast out of the city in shame. Shin-Soo Choo seemed primed for a run at it, but perhaps started his celebration a tad early. And then there was Colt McCoy-- the latest in a long line of golden boy quarterbacks to see his popularity hindered by happy feet and wounded ducks. So, how do we determine which sports figures currently rank as the Top 25 stars in Cleveland's post-apocalyptic, LeBron-less world? Well, by grading them in four made-up, completely subjective categories of recent success: On-Field Performance (OP), Local Recognition (LR), National Recognition (NR), and Marketability (M). Adding together these mini ratings (on a 1-10 scale), we come up with each man's STAR POWER RATING, which can fluctuate depending on events both on and off the field. So, let's see how things have changed this week.

Read more...

Andrew Clayman

prostarsWhen it comes to early ‘90s Saturday morning cartoons about pro athletes who fight crime, ProStars was easily among the best. Though the show only aired for a couple months in 1991, the adventures of the crudely animated Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Wayne Gretzky probably represents the pinnacle moment for the classic, sports hero archetype of the 20th century. Sadly, it’s a show we couldn’t possibly recast in the post-BALCO, post-sexting world of today. … Or could we?

Surprisingly, the original ProStars hasn’t gotten its long overdue Criterion Collection blu-Ray box set release as of yet, so there’s an outside chance that some of you might be a little hazy on the show’s critical plot points. Some of the less fortunate or elderly readers among you might not even be familiar with this television classic at all (for shame!). It would be an insult to ProStars’ brilliant writing staff to summarize the 13 episode series in one fell swoop, but here goes…

Basketball star Michael Jordan, hockey star Wayne Gretzky, and baseball/football star Bo Jackson are friends and possibly siblings who-- despite being grown men with ridiculous bank accounts--  spend all their time together at a small gym run by an old woman named “Mom” who may or may not be their actual mother. From their headquarters at Mom’s Gym, our ProStars receive video messages from kids in peril all over the world. Using their superhuman sports kills, they then seek and destroy the various cookie cutter cartoon villains who oppose them, all while imparting wisdom to the kiddos about self confidence, friendship, and recycling.

Read more...

Adam Burke

Rick_NashIt’s safe to say this is not the start the Blue Jackets envisioned for the 2011-2012 season. They sit 0-3 to start the year for the first time in franchise history and, if you have followed the team, you know that with how bad some of the teams have been, that’s quite a feat.

Mediocre goaltending, bad defensive zone coverage and a miserable powerplay have kept the Blue Jackets from gathering their first win of the season. The team is already left looking for answers and the NHL season is not even a week old. With a very tough schedule the rest of the month with games against Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, and Anaheim, the ship needs to get righted fast.

Read more...

Brian McPeek

hillis_stiff_armNot a real busy weekend in Cleveland sports which worked out really well given the weather and the outdoor possibilities it presented. But there's more than enough going on to squeeze out a Weekend Wrap. You have the on-going Peyton Hillis saga that needs to be discussed and you had a coming out party for Braxton Miller developing in Lincoln Saturday night until Miller hurt his ankle. That's when Joe Bauserman showed up drunk and belligerently bad at the party and ruined the whole night (with some help from the defense and coaches).

You also have to really start wondering who will be the Head Coach in Columbus next season and I have a name that's been bounced around Columbus that intrigued me a great deal when I thought about it. 

So let's do it:

Read more...

More Articles...

Page 33 of 98

33

The TCF Forums