Getting the Cobwebs out of my head

I was on vacation the last week visiting my parents, reuniting with two of my three sisters, and since coming back I Have struggled to once again find my voice. My posts are sporadic because I struggle with putting my thoughts down in writing. I don’t know why this is, I love to write and I want to write but the motivation and the words are lost inside my brain and I have a hard time getting them out. I know I have a lot to say, but for some reason I struggle with expressing what is in my brain and the motivation to write what I am thinking. To go along with all of that, I am lazy, I come home from work most nights and decide to sign into Netflix and mindlessly watch old TV shows or a movie I have watched multiple times. I may sound like I am making excuses but it is true that while I really want to get to writing, I find myself not doing anything to change the behavior. If anyone can offer me some advice on this it would be greatly appreciated and with all of that being said, I actually do have some thoughts on sports related topics that I will attempt to get out.

First… The MLB All Star rosters have been announced, and I am proud to say the Indians have five All Stars for the second year in a row. Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, Corey Kluber, and Trevor Bauer will represent the Indians in DC next week as American League All-Stars. As a die-hard Indians fan, this makes me happy. The Indians join Boston and Houston with five players each named to the roster, along with the Yankees four selections. The Indians may be leading the worst division in baseball, but you cant argue how stacked that roster is. Lindor is having an MVP season, while Brantley is having what I consider a comeback player of the year warranted season as well. Granted, the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros all have stronger records, but if the Indians continue to play well, when the playoffs come, all bets are off, and they could surprise a lot of people and media pundits who think they have no chance of making the World Series.

Second… ESPN is force-feeding us the NBA Summer League – the network that makes most of its money off the NBA has decided that sub-par basketball, not worthy of NCAA talent, not worthy of mentioning, is supposedly more important than their MLB coverage. I refuse to watch such awful basketball, and I wonder how much the NBA is paying the network to air this god-awful stuff to the public. Can we please just focus on Baseball, Tennis (Wimbledon), Golf (Yes Golf) and the World Cup during the month of July instead of this farce for one month? It’s bad enough that ESPN pimps for the worst professional league in the world nine months out of the year do we have to have Seth Greenberg talking in July about players that will never see a roster spot in October? Yes the rookies are exciting to see, but the talent level they are playing against right now are not even close to what they will see in the fall, so please, get over it already.

Third… The ratings are in.. and NASCAR viewership was down by double digits this year compared to 2016 and 2017. I Tweeted about this last night. the reason NASCAR is seeing less viewership is because when they decided to go to “STAGE RACING” they ruined the sport for me. For fuck’s sake, let these guys race, don’t make them jump through hoops, change strategy, and put two fucking mandatory cautions in the middle of a 500 mile race just because you want to make it interesting for earing points. You want to know why I think Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon retired? Because they saw what a crap show NASCAR is becoming and decided they didn’t want to be a part of what will surely be the downfall of the sport. Its not enough that the sport has become OVERLY commercialized, but to now make the drivers race to a made for TV break in the action do they can sell more Monster Drinks is so bad, I cant watch it anymore. When NASCAR announced that MONSTER was going to be the TITLE SPONSOR of the TOP SERIES in racing, I threw up a little in my mouth, because it truly showed that all they care about is the money and not the quality of the racing. Monster Energy Drink is not only a gimmick, it is almost as unhealthy for the human body as Winston Cigarettes, who was the sponsor of NASCAR for decades. Die-Hard fans to this day will still call it The Winston Cup.. Not the Sprint Cup.. or the (uggh) Monster Energy Cup.. My advice to NASCAR is to go back to Basics, and put a more solid Sponsor in front of the franchise. Don’t sell out to the highest bidder and promote a drink that causes cancer and heart attacks in the fans that love the sport.

Fourth… The Taiwanese kids soccer team that was trapped in a cave for fifteen days have been rescued. This is truly a remarkable success story and I for one nearly cried when I heard that all thirteen members, including the coach, had been rescued. This is truly a feel-good story for the ages and I can’t wait for the movie to feel the warm fuzzies all over again (c’mon.. you know they will make a movie about this) Now.. (wait for it.. here comes the political portion of this post) If only the Trump Administration put the same effort in reuniting families at the border as the Taiwan Navy Seals did in rescuing these boys, I might have hope for this country, but alas… not getting my hopes up…

Fifth… the NFL promoting a flag football league is almost as bad as ESPN promoting the NBA Summer League… ALMOST.. I have not watched a game of this monstrosity, and could care less who wins. A bunch of has-been trying to hang on to the game that they have grown too old to play. nope..

Sixth… Who wants to see Federer vs Nadal in the Wimbledon final? MEEEEE!!!! Rafa is my favorite player in Tennis and I will jump for joy if he beats Roger in the final. All the injuries, all the critics saying he is only good on clay, I would love to see it happen again where Rafa beats the master in his favorite tournament. As for the women’s side… I am tired of Serena winning, and I am tired of how much press she gets, how the media’s love affair with her and her sister is dominating the Tennis world. Serena is all about Serena, and no matter what she says in her press conferences, she is a selfish player and looks down on al of her competition as not worthy. I hope she gets beat, I’m tired of all Serena all of the time. Retire already, raise your daughter, and go away. Her temper tantrums are legendary and yet ESPN and the rest of the media give her a pass because of her talent. I agree she is probably the best player on the women’s side of all time, but I‘m ready to move on.

Seventh.. The Open Championship will be played next week at Carnoustie, and I for one will be rooting for Rickie Fowler. It’s time this kid gets over the hump and finally wins a Major Championship. I have been following this kid since Tiger bowed out and became a shadow of his former self and I hop that he finally wins that elusive major.

Eighth… the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Nikita Kucherov to an Eight Year Extension worth 9.5 million a year. This solidifies him, along with Steven Stamkos, as the anchors of this team for years to come…. GO BOLTS!!!!

Finally… laugh at me if you like… make fun of me… tell me I’m crazy… But the Cleveland Browns have put together a solid roster going into 2018 and I am looking forward to a season I can be proud of as a Browns Fan. I foresee at least 8 wins.. maybe more. they finally have a solid QB (Tyrod) an excellent receiving corps, and for the first time in a lot of years I have hope for the future. I don’t have any hope they will win the division, but I firmly believe they will be the most improved team in the NFL this season. I know.. I’m a fan-boy, I’m a homer, but when I am right at the end of the season, you will give me props. I have a ticket for the Bucs-Browns game in Tampa October 21, and I will be in full Browns Gear rooting the Brownies on. GO BROWNS!!!

For someone that whined about not being able to put my thoughts down, I hope I did ok with this post… and hopefully there are many more to come. One day at a time…. Until next time..

The Sports Nerd