Cleaning out the Inbox

Time to clean the inbox out a bit before it overflows.

The Cleveland Browns hired an offensive coordinator in West Coast offense crony Brad Childress.
Childress is a past colleague of Pat Shurmur and Tom Heckert with the Philadelphia Eagles and of course was the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Childress is being hailed as a good hire due to his expertise in the WCO,but considering that Andy Reid called the plays for the Eagles and that Childress called the plays for just one of his seasons with the Vikings,one could argue that Pat Shurmur has more experience in that role than Childress.
That is a fact that needs to be considered as if Pat Shurmur continues to call the plays,than Brad Childress is just another assistant with a fancier title than the others....

The city of Cleveland will be spending five million dollars to renovate the past home of the Indians and practice home of the Browns-League Park.
The field at League Park is still intact as is the ticket building and a bleacher wall is still there,so much of the funding will go to restoring those two buildings and fixing up the field to "MLB size and standards".
I am glad to see the stadium saved,but I do wonder a bit about five million to fix a crumbling field when Cleveland has bridges so bad that my Aunt Becky refuses to cross them anytime that she goes to Cleveland!

Meanwhile,the Browns are asking for improvements to Cleveland Browns Stadium,which for a stadium that is not that old could use them,but wants their share of the funding that they receive each year (850,000) paid in a lump sum that covers the next six years (5.8 million) to fix things right now.
That raises this question to me-Do you think nothing else will be needed to fix for the five years after the payment? And where would that money come from?
Between the economy and the wretched on field performance,this might be the worst time to be asking to get an advance on your allowance!

Quick note on MASN's baseball coverage where Debbi Taylor has gotten the axe as the "reporter" for Washington Nationals games.
Nothing against Taylor,who was nothing spectacular nor horrifying in the role (like Pirate reporter Lacee Collins),but the role,as we have stated in the past,is just superfluous.
Taylor stated the the position was being eliminated and was not being replaced,which is a step forward in coverage.
No word on whether the position will remain on the Baltimore Orioles side of the network.

Sorry to hear of the passing of Robert Hegyes at the age of 60.
Hegyes was famed for his role of tough guy Juan Epstein on the 70's high school comedy Welcome Back Kotter.
The Epstein character was famous for his notes for any occasion (seemingly to be a variation of the Cpl.Klinger notes on MASH) and always signed Epstein's mother.
I have always thought that being an Elementary or Junior High teacher in the 1975-1980 era might have been among the most frustrating times to teach ever when Kotter aired.
From the Arnold Horshack "OOOO's" to Freddie Washington's "Hi There" to the Vinnie Barbarino's "What? Where etc" from half the kids in any class,I might have lost my mind!

Recently had the chance to watch the Phil Ochs documentary on PBS and their American Masters series and found it tremendous.
Whether your interest in music,politics,the 60's or protesting,the film entitled "There but for fortune",has something of interest for most and I give it my highest recommendation.
PBS tends to replay things often,so be on the lookout for it...



The latest story from the "ghost hunter" types is from a 1997 photo at Jim Morrison's grave that supposedly shows an apparition of the Lizard King in the background.
Supposedly it has been tested and called a legitimate photo,but my experience with these things is that they are all one big work....

Finally,two of my comrades are entering the blogosphere joining us and Battlin' Bob.
Ryan has occasionally penned (typed?) a few things at his blog Rebellious Jukebox,which is largely based on the music that Ryan cares about,while Corey is writing for the Fantasy Baseball Vision blog of someone that I don't know.
Check either or both out if you can.

Photo Credit
League Park:Thomas Ondrey-Cleveland Plain Dealer