In these times when very little news from the sports world is available after the NFL Draft as the other three major sports are in the midst of a roster freeze, it can be a grind after a while to come up with topics to write about.
I've come up with an idea to kill a few columns if the people close to me that I've asked to participate choose to do so.
I'll have no idea how that will turn out, but it might be interesting at a minimum.
Here are a few notes and opinions on items that didn't quite make into Cleaning out the Inbox, but are newsworthy on their own.
Boy, I thought the Indians trade of Corey Kluber was light in its return as it was, but the 80 game suspension of the main piece coming to Cleveland in pitcher Emmanuel Clase for a PED, makes the trade even more questionable.
I know Kluber battled injuries last season, but he was on track for full recovery on the last time that I heard about his status and what looked to be a pure salary dump in December looks awful now with Clase's suspension.
With Clase on the sidelines, the Indians only have another light-hitting outfielder (Delino DeShields Jr) to show for a Cy Young contender as recently as two years ago.
The Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Myles Garrett and David Njoku, which would have been a mild surprise a few months ago in the case of Njoku.
The option doesn't mean more than the Browns will have the pair for the 2021 season, although the Browns are likely to work on a long-term extension for Garrett.
Njoku will be a wait and see candidate for an extension beyond 2021.
The Browns also made a popular move with the fanbase by agreeing to a one year contract with Rashard "Hollywood" Higgins to keep Higgins with the team.
Higgins had fallen deeply out of favor with former coach Freddie Kitchens and rarely saw the field after returning from injury.
Higgins took less money to remain with Cleveland, which will endear him to fans even more and will fight for the third wide receivers spot on the roster.
Since today is supposed to be Kentucky Derby Day and there isn't a Derby to run, Churchill Downs and NBC are running a virtual Derby involving all the Triple Crown winners that you can even bet on.
While I would bet on Citation, such races tend to favor the best known (Secretariat) or the most recent (Justify), but often the winner is one that you wouldn't expect.
I remember attending a computer race at Pimlico for the greatest horses of all-time and the winner in an upset was the great handicap horse Kelso.
What have I been watching during the Covid-Hiatus?
Been mixing up a few series from Netflix and the Roku Networks that aren't on the networks anymore, but I've never watched either at all or from beginning to end.
ABC's Once Upon A Time, CBS's Without A Trace and a Spanish Language mini-series on former middleweight champion Carlos Monzon have been my home viewing while I've been watching the various Star Trek shows at the road office and I'm now starting Deep Space Nine.
And the games?
Well, I've been in a basketball mode and I haven't played any of the other games of late, so it's been a lot of the 1974-75 Kentucky Colonels.
I've rallied the Colonels since the last notation and they have moved into a tie for first with the New York Nets with a record of 19-16, percentage points ahead of the Nets and a half-game ahead of the Spirits of St.Louis.
The Colonels had won five in a row before a blowout loss to the Spurs in San Antonio.
Artis Gilmore leads the team in scoring (25 PPG), rebounds (14.7), and blocks (3.3) while Ted McClain leads the Colonels in assists with 5.1 per game.
Dan Issel is averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds a game, while Louie Dampier is averaging 16 points and just under five assists a game.
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