Land of the CLE is our Cleveland-focused sports blog maintained by both Bob and Chris. We use this area to expand upon topics that we can't fully cover in our CLE Talk podcast.
Less is usually more, but there are always exceptions. And expansion could solve some of Major League Baseball’s problems. Commissioner Rob Manfred said at a luncheon with the Baseball Writers of America in Cincinnati during All-Star week that he was open to expanding the league in the future.
Read MoreI don’t like All-Star Games. Despite baseball being the closest to an actual game, I can’t get around the pitching. Tons of relievers get to be named All-Stars because no team wants to stress out its starter in an exhibition game (and rightfully so). Which is why the All-Star Game should not decide what team gets home field advantage in the World Series.
Read MoreSerena Williams can’t carry the torch forever. Right now she is the only relevant name in U.S. tennis — men’s or women’s. And as impressive as her career has been, with 20 Grand Slam singles championships and a shot at a Grand Slam in 2015, at 33-years-old it is in the twilight. Soon she will fall from the rankings and head into retirement.
Read MoreNote: This post has been updated with post-draft comments for each sleeper.
The NBA Draft is usually pretty boring. By and large, the top five picks come and go without many surprises. Especially in a draft like this one with four clear-cut Top 5 guys — Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay.
Read MoreEvery year, in every sport, there are inevitably two kinds of MVP contenders — the best player on the best team, and the player who is most valuable to his team. Most of the time, the MVP goes to the best player on the best team as long as that player had a great season.
It all comes down to how one defines “value.”
Read MoreNow that the Bulls have predictably fired Tom Thibodeau, the NBA’s coaching carousel is going to spin a lot faster. The best job on the market — Oklahoma City — already filled its vacancy, but there are others out there with a lot of upside. I break the remaining openings down and rank them.
Read MoreAt least I’m not alone in picking the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series. Then again, perhaps I should have seen the writing on the wall when Sports Illustrated anointed them as the 2015 champions. And while things look bleak in Tribe Town, the silver lining is there are five more months left in the baseball seasons.
Read MoreThe NBA had it perfect in 1983. Back then, only six teams from each conference qualified for the NBA Playoffs. The top two seeds earned byes while the remaining four were locked into a best-of-three series. The next three rounds were best-of-seven.
Read MoreThe inconsistent logic applied to coaches is often times worse than that used to evaluate player’s greatness, especially in the NBA. Coaches are often in a no-win scenario — they can’t win without elite talent, but once they’re surrounded with elite talent receive little to no credit for winning and are often the first to be blamed when a team goes south.
Read MoreOpening Day, like the Super Bowl, should be a national holiday. It’s one of my favorite days on the sports calendar and signals the changing of the seasons, from winter to spring. Bob and I broke down the two leagues in our podcasts, starting with the National League and finishing with the American League. Here is who I think will win it all, you can check out Bob's picks here and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Read MoreAfter 12 years, and 10 bracket pools, I picked the Final Four! Hopefully my bracket won't collapse at the finish line, especially since Bob and I have been talking about Kentucky/Duke as the best possible championship matchup for more than a month now. But I can check this off my life to-do list. See how Bob did and check out our latest Bonus Edition March Madness podcast for a preview of the Final Four.
Here's my bracket heading into the Sweet 16. I'm pretty proud of the decisions I made with it, but I also didn't see a couple of these games turning out the way they did. Let me know what you think, and how you're doing in your own bracket. Also, check out Bob's bracket to see how we match up.
Here's my bracket for the tournament. We talked about a lot of our picks on this week's Bonus Edition of What Are You Talking About. Head to Bob's page to check out his bracket as well. Don't forget to leave a comment.
During our Feb. 22 podcast, Bob and I debated whether or not Duke vs. UNC or Kentucky vs. Louisville was the best rivalry in college basketball. We agreed that the two are a cut above the rest, but what else is out there? It got me thinking about some of college basketball’s other great rivalries, and the next five after the two premier showdowns. Here are the five best rivalries after Duke vs. UNC and Kentucky vs. Louisville.
Read MoreThe All-Star break may not be the true midpoint of the NBA, but it's a good time to reflect on the season so far. So I decided to hand out some awards for the unofficial first half of the season. Some of these races will be very tight down the stretch, but if the season ended today here is who I would honor.
Read MoreBob and I gave our top five NBA point guards in our second podcast. Plenty of these lists like this have sparked debate over the years. Head over to his page to see how ours differ and listen to our podcast, What Are You Talking About, to hear us discuss.
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