Crazy Mandy Talks Sports

Dear Cleveland Browns...

2010-11-28T16:54:00.001-08:00

Season after season I have sat idly on the couch trying to read while my husband screams at the tv. He gets pissed off when you do something stupid and extremely happy when everything goes right and you manage to win a game.

This season, I’ve actually started watching the games. And joining in the yelling (sometimes.) I’m starting to like football. Now I want my team – you, the Cleveland Browns - to win just as badly as everyone else does.

I threatened today that if you lost this game against the Panthers that I would “black out” the rest of the season and refuse to let my husband watch any of your games. You wouldn’t get any ratings from my living room.

Thankfully (for him) you won, albeit barely.

So I’m writing this letter to ask: how can you be so awesome against the Saints and the Patriots (and the Jets, although you lost), yet so sucky against a crappy team like the Carolina Panthers? How could you have let the Jaguars beat you? They aren’t having a good season either.

Your next three weeks should be a cakewalk. Please don’t make me hate football again.

Disrespect and unsportsmanlike conduct reign during OSU vs Michigan game

2010-11-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

I understand that it was the BIG GAME. Ohio State versus Michigan. Our big rivalry. It's like the Browns playing the Squeelers, only larger and with more hype. And a winning streak.

But the conduct on the field was shameful.

I understand that Ohio State was excited and full of adrenaline and ready to kick some butt on the field, but once they had the lead, they should have stopped the celebrating.

You'd think that after the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty they would have learned their lesson. That wasn't the case, however, and they received penalty after penalty for celebrating completed catches and touchdowns.

Just how obnoxious was that big "O" they made with their hands after a touchdown? Very, if you ask me.

Once they had and retained the lead, they should have respected their rivals a bit. A few high fives with their teammates would have sufficed. Instead they played up to the cameras as if they were already the NFL-ers several of them are destined to be.

I know that we're talking about 20 and 21-year-olds here, but they need to realize that they're setting examples for all of the little kids watching the game. The ones who think that these guys are hero's and dream about being college football players themselves.

You wouldn't want them to be a textbook example of "sore losers." And the same goes with being "sore winners." Shoving Michigan's face in it when they had no hope of winning simply wasn't the way to go.

The Browns just didn't try hard enough

2010-11-21T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Browns have no one to blame but themselves. Sometime throughout that CRAZY second half of the game, they should have scored. They received the ball on fumbles and interceptions, but their offense just couldn't come through.

I'll give them credit for being troopers though. Quarterback Colt McCoy was limping, but playing through the pain. Heck, half of his line up was probably nursing strains and pulls. They tried, but the Jag's defense tried harder.

Although it was nice to see that Stuckey managed to remember to run out of bounds this time. Especially after last week's fiasco against the Jets. If he'd stopped trying to be a hero during that overtime, the Browns probably would've pulled it off. But, as my mom used to say, "If wishes were horses then monkey's would fly." Or something like that.

Still, I do give the Browns credit for plaing better this season than they have in the past. Each game they seem to give it their all (even if it just wasn't enough) and the games that they do lose are knuckle-biters. They haven't lost in a total blow out.

The problem isn't coaching or lack of skill or injuries - it's that the other teams are just better. They've played together longer and it's more of a team effort. If the Browns can keep something close to this roster next season, watch how much better they do.

I have to have hope; I'm a Clevelander.

NFL Cleveland Browns Mr. Potato Head

Why do all of the ref's hate Ohio?

2010-11-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else see that blatant facemask the occurred with about a minute and a half left in the Ohio State game against Iowa earlier today? You know what I'm talking about - the one that left Corey Brown down on the field after the play. The one that a penalty WASN'T called on, even though a ref was standing ten feet away and looking directly at it?

Add that in with the helmet-to-helmet offenses that occurred when the Cleveland Browns played the Pittsburgh Squealers, I mean, Steelers, that went practically unpenalized (a slap on the wrist fine after the game isn't a penalty) and it kind of makes you wonder why everyone hates Ohio.

Face it, anyone playing a game against an Ohio-based team can pull all of the dirty moves that they want, and they will get away with it. It's like the ref's pull their blinders on and say, "Hey, the Brown's are going to lose anyway, so why bother."

If it were a Browns player tackling one of the Steelers and knocking him unconscious, watch how quickly that player would be penalized both on the field and off. If one of Ohio State's players tackled an opposing teammate by brutally grabbing his facemask and whipping him to the ground, see what consequences would unfold.

If it's against Ohio, however, they can get away with it. What, do we not offer fancy enough catering or fitting accommodations? We're like the underdogs of the country. What do they have against us? Your thoughts?

In the beginning...

2010-11-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

...there was Crazy Mandy.

Why am I called Crazy Mandy? Well, because that was my radio handle in college. Unfortunately, like my reputation as an extremely opinionated person, it stuck.

Why sports? That's an easy one. I've always liked sports. I went to my first Tribe game when I was six. Sure, I was more into buying souvenirs (a giant inflatable baseball bat!) than the game, but it stuck. I've been to a Cavs game, a Browns game, a bunch of hockey games (Lumberjacks and Barons), several Aero's games, and more Indians games than I can count.

I'm not particularly athletic (unless I'm on ice skates) so I can't speak from the point of view of someone who's been on the field, but I do have my own personal opinions about sports. And if you're reading this blog, that means that you're interested in reading them.

This isn't going to be a play-by-play blog. There are plenty of other bloggers that cover every move every player makes throughout a game. This is going to be a fresh perspective on the sporting world: what I think about bad calls (or good ones), obnoxious things the players do that end up in the news, and other such nonsense.

I hope you stick around for the ride!