1978: The Final Two

It was 1978 and a ten-year-old Shawn was enjoying the summer of playing baseball and hanging around the neighborhood.
Fifth grade was looming at Fountain Rock Elementary, which might be the best year that a person can have at school- which is being the oldest kids at school, yet young enough to still be able to relax, have fun, and enjoy still being a kid,

However, I had a problem.
And to me, it was a huge one-I was close to finishing my first ever Topps baseball card set.
Now, one wouldn't think that would be an issue, but it was one for one reason, but first some background.

From the beginning of Topps' start to make baseball cards in 1952, Topps would release their set in a few different series, which enabled them to add players that were traded, late rookie arrivals, and stars to make them still worth buying.
This helped stretch Topps's product to last the entire summer and kids always needed more cards.
The problem with that was that by the last series, kids were going back to school, the baseball season was winding down and football season was starting, which meant demand was less and fewer stores ordered them, which resulted in all those sets having the now dreaded high numbers, where even common players aren't inexpensive in those sets.

In 1974, Topps changed policy and released their entire set all at once, figuring that with a huge set all at once, kids would need more time to complete the set and it wouldn't hurt sales.
That part was true, but in my case, something unforeseen occurred- My dad knew I was down to two cards and decided to quit buying cards for me!
The logic was sound as the set had 726 cards in it, so my chances of gaining one of the two cards that I needed were a cool 363 to 1 per pack.
In 1978 dollars, the packs were either 20 cents (or 25, I cannot remember) and Dad felt he was tossing money away along with accumulating extra cards against those odds.

It wasn't like I needed big money stars out of the set-I had all the stars of the day, but needed two outfielders-Sixto Lezcano of the Milwaukee Brewers and Jerry Turner of the San Diego Padres.
Lezcano was thought of as a coming star and he was coming off his best year to date with 21 homers in 1977.
Still, it was a common card because Lezcano's rookie card was the year before.
Turner, on the other hand, was the epitome of journeyman outfielder having hit .246 with a career high of 10 homers in 1977.
Those cards being commons meant little because this was the day before card shops and card shows, so I was limited to the one or two people that I could trade with and if they didn't have them, it wasn't looking good for the finished set.
There was still hope though, the one person in the neighborhood who had more cards than me (By a huge margin) likely had Lezcano and Turner, so I cut my way through my grandmother's yard to reach his house.

I mentioned the numerous games of basketball that I played against Chris Mullin in my post a few years ago on the Kentucky Colonels and when it came to cards, everything in the neighborhood ran through him.

I had one thing going for a decent stash of 1960s stars that had been given to me by my grandmother's nephew and those helped me get some good stuff in return at times.
The object of Chris Mullin's desire on this day? My 1962 Brooks Robinson and Chris was willing to part with Lezcano and Turner for Brooksie!
Even at 10, I knew that was a bad deal, but I felt cornered in, so I did what most kids did -ran home and asked Dad for his advice.
His advice? "Do it, in the long run, the set will be worth more".
So I did and was then laughed at by Chris, who did pull a fast one for himself, but I still was thrilled to have finished the set.

Let's look back 39 years later at Beckett and see if Dad was right.
Keep in mind the set was not mint and neither was the 1962 Robinson, but for the purpose of this, we'll assume that they are.

Doug Hopkins sent these with the warning they are rough averages from different sources.
1978 Set:100.00
1978 Jerry Turner and Sixto Lezcano combined .70
1962 Brooks Robinson ranging from 12.50-20.00

All things considered, Dad was right, but the story has a sad ending.
Dad got into baseball cards and my collection was communed with his and when he sold his stuff years later, my 1978 set went along with it.
The funny part is that I never forgot Sixto Lezcano or Jerry Turner along with the story and when I bought Strat O Matic for the PC and those two players appeared, I made sure to use the pictured cards from 1978....

Devils Deadline Deals

The New Jersey Devils weren't expected to be major players at the deadline,but thoughts were that they could get a little something for a role player or two.

The Devils did send out two players,but the return was nothing to be excited about as the team sent defenseman Kyle Quincey to Columbus in return for defenseman Dalton Prout and forward P.A.Parenteau to the Nashville Predators for a sixth round draft pick.

I was disappointed with both trades for different reasons.
Parenteau,who scored 13 goals with 14 assists for the Devils,I would have thought would have been worth more than a sixth round pick,although if someone offered more,I'm sure that Ray Shero would have taken it.
I'm usually in favor of getting something (a 6th rounder in this case) for nothing (Parenteau is a free agent at the end of the season),but in this case,such a low return for a player that has helped the team be competitive only makes sense if the Devils intend on tanking the final weeks of the season to move up in the draft.
If that's the case,I can see it-for any other hockey reason-Not so much.

I do have one theory though-Since Parenteau went to the same team as Vernon Fiddler and the Fiddler deal brought a higher than thought return (2017 4th rounder),the Devils could have given Nashville Parenteau because there were no other suitors.
Had the Fiddler trade not happened before and this deal happened today-Fiddler/Parenteau for a 4 and 6,we might have thought a bit better of the deal...

The Parenteau trade is one that I wonder about for the low draft choice,but the other trade baffles me.
Kyle Quincey was a free agent at the end of the year and would have been off the books and cap.
Quincey scored 4 goals and had eight assists in his one season in New Jersey.
Instead of a pick in 2017 or even 2018,the Devils added another journeyman blueliner as the Blue Jackets sent Dalton Prout to the Devils.
Prout has a year remaining on his contract at a little over a million and a half (which seems a little high) and I doubt he gets any higher than the sixth defenseman at best.
Prout had played for just 15 games in Columbus this year and notched three assists,but played more under past Blue Jacket coaches than under John Tortorella,
Prout is a physical player that isn't afraid to throw the gloves off and bang away (102 penalty minutes in 2015-16),so he may have some entertaining,if not good moments for how ever long Prout stays in Newark.

All in all,a disappointing day.
I didn't expect 1's and 2's,but I did expect more than a borderline defenseman and a sixth rounder and for the first time since Ray Shero took over the Devils,I can't understand what the end goal was with these trades..

Cavaliers bring in Andrew Bogut

The Cleveland Cavaliers and General Manager David Griffin had one more card to play before the deadline for playoff eligibility as the team added another missing piece with the signing of center Andrew Bogut.

The 32 year old Australian native faced against the Cavaliers last season in the finals as a Golden State Warrior,but when the Warriors needed to clear cap space for their free agency signing of forward Kevin Durant,Bogut and Harrison Barnes were traded to Dallas in the off-season.

Injuries hampered Bogut in Dallas as he played just 29 games as a Maverick before being traded to Philadelphia in the Mavericks trade with the Sixers for young center Nerlens Noel with various issues,but is reported to be currently in good health.
Bogut doesn't bring a lot of scoring to Cleveland ( three points per game in Dallas),but he rebounded the ball well (8.3 boards as a Maverick) and brings the type of big body that the Cavaliers lack.
Bogut is almost instantly a good fit defensively as a rim protector and defensively will help against opponent's big men.
Bogut was being chased by other various contenders,but chose Cleveland as his best chance to add another championship ring to his collection as one would think the road to the finals is easier with the Cavaliers than with any team in the Western Conference and that includes the Warriors.
With the injury to Kevin Durant last night possibly derailing him for quite a while,I'd think barring a major of their own,the Cavaliers would be considered the favorites to repeat as champions.

I wrote in the Deron Williams post about how I felt about the ring chasers.
I can understand wanting a title at any time,especially if you have never won one,but this trend in the NBA is starting to make me wonder if its worth it for some players.
I mean joining a team this late in the year,asking for a release from your team and then basically playing with a team for six weeks and the playoffs-is that really the way that you want to win a championship?
I can buy the argument of signing with a contender when you have fulfilled your obligation to a team and want to spend your free agency wherever you want,but even then I wonder if we have gone too far with the "superteams".
I'm not crazy about those unless you drafted into them,but the role players that are late season hired guns are even worse,especially in the case of Deron Williams,who left Dallas and the Mavericks received nothing for their services other than a little cap space.
Once again,my team is using the system to their advantage (as well as others),but that still doesn't make it right...

Browns release Andrew Hawkins

The Cleveland Browns saved some more money by releasing veteran slot receiver Andrew Hawkins.'
Hawkins caught 33 passes for the 2016 Browns,three of those for touchdowns..

The smallish 5'7 Hawkins was due to make 1.8 million in 2017 in the last of his four year contract that he signed before the 2014 season.
The receiving corps was extremely young last season with the exception of Hawkins,so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Browns dip into free agency for a receiver,not necessarily for the slot position played by Hawkins,but to add some sort of veteran to the group that has two second year receivers as the starters there (If Terrelle Pryor is able to be retained) in Terrelle Pryor and Corey Coleman.

Hawkins is one of the dwindling amount of players that I could still use the classic Browns uniform pics instead of the current eyesores having been around from 2014 or before,which shows the turnover on the team.
I liked having Hawkins around,his story was a nice one as he bounced around looking for a chance and he was a hard worker/great teammate,but for his production over the last two seasons was overpaid.
I can understand why the Browns decided to let him go,but he'll need to be replaced either by a signee or a younger player,but that money needs to be spent somewhere.....

Cavaliers sign Deron Williams

The Cleveland Cavaliers apparently are bringing in someone to address arguably their biggest need-someone to run the point when Kyrie Irving is on the bench and can add some scoring off the bench and it's a big addition as Deron Williams has cleared waivers and has told the team that he will sign tomorrow.
Word is that he will join Cleveland tomorrow,but is unlikely to play in the Cavaliers game vs the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 32 year old Williams was averaging 13 points along with just under seven assists a night for the Dallas Mavericks and was released in order to "Chase that ring",which is another issue to write about another day (maybe that day comes in a few days when another player may arrive in Cleveland),which the Mavericks allowed in a classy move.
Williams is shooting 43 percent from the floor and just under 35 percent from three,so he's not a one dimensional penetrator.

Williams isn't quite the player that he was a few years ago,age and extra miles on the legs will do that to you,but he has experience playing with LeBron James on team USA and I think going from thirty minutes (29.3) to likely around twenty is going to increase his productivity..
What I also like about Williams is that he offers the Cavaliers a chance to test a theory that I've had for a while-Williams can play the one guard and allow Irving to play what might be his best slot-off guard.
I've always thought that even in limited times that Irving could flourish as a hybrid guard (similar to that fellow Curry in Oakland) that isn't a true point,but not always a true off guard either.
I'm open to being wrong,but I think that a Irving/Williams backcourt in situations could be very interesting to watch opposing teams attempt to stop..

What I will say is that once again I have mixed emotions about these types of Cavalier additions.
On one hand,for once in my life,it is nice to have an owner for a team of mine that will go over and beyond what it takes to win financially.
Dan Gilbert wants to win,is willing to pay for it and knows that he only has a window of opportunity with LeBron James to go for it.
Let's face it-Deron Williams isn't coming to Cleveland to enjoy Lake Erie in spring,he's going for the ring and the chance to play with LeBron James and when the day comes that LeBron is either finished with basketball or at least on the downside of his career,the Cavaliers will return to being a typical Cleveland team with its problems of attracting top notch free agents.
I cannot tell a lie here,it's nice having this on my side for once.

However,I feel like somewhat of a hypocrite for not minding this as much as it should bother me.
I'm always critical of the Yankees,Red Sox and Dodgers for spending so much more than anyone else in baseball (although there is a little bit of an apples and oranges argument with farm systems etc) because of competitive balance issues.
The NBA is a little different though in another area as the cap does allow smaller markets to have a better chance (although,they can still leave town) to keep their own free agents compared to baseball,as the "Bird Rule" enables teams to exceed the cap in order to re-sign their own free agents.
Still,I feel a little uneasy about it anyway,it just doesn't feel right and I wish there was a more level playing field,but I'll be back with the underdog soon enough,so I should enjoy this while I can...

Wilder stops Washington-Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica hit the round correctly on two stoppage wins,outscored me 8 to 5 on the night and moved into the lead over me in the boxing challenge 18-16...

The biggest (literally) fight of the night saw Deontay Wilder retain his WBC heavyweight title with a fifth round stoppage of late replacement Gerald Washington.
Washington had his moments in the fight and I had the fight even when Wilder dropped Washington out of nowhere in round five.
Washington rose,but was battered around the ring before the referee ended the bout.
Wilder didn't do much to answer any questions that I have about his viability against the top heavyweights when he was fighting evenly against the untested and inexperienced Washington.
I'll continue to look at him with a raised eyebrow until he defeats a top 10 contender at minimum.
Ramon scored three points to my two for the Wilder victory.

The co-feature saw Jarrett Hurd wear down Tony Harrison after giving away the first four rounds and stop Harrison in the ninth to win the IBF junior middleweight title that Jermall Charlo vacated last week.
I thought Harrison won the first four rounds and had him ahead after eight rounds,five to three,but you could clearly see things swinging Hurd's way and with Hurd landing the bigger shots,you had a feeling how this was going to end.
Hurd still needs some refining,but his uppercut is top notch and I see him having a chance to be a power broker in the 154 pound division.
As for Harrison,his meltdown occurred just as it had in his previous loss to Willie Nelson-building a lead and running out of gas before the finish line and his world title hopes look to be questionable at this stage until he can prove that he can complete an effort against top competition.
In this bout too,Ramon earned three points to my two.

In the PBC opener and non-challenge bout (Had I know it would be televised,I would have put into the challenge) you saw as good of an action bout in the heavyweight division that you could ask for as Dominic Breazeale stopped Izuagbe Ugonoh in the fifth round of an absolute bomb fest.
Breazeale knocked Ugonoh down in the third,then Ugonoh would have put Breazeale down,if not for a stunned Breazeale's tackle of Ugonoh on his way to the canvas.
Round three of this one is the clubhouse leader for round of the year.
Ugonoh looked on his way to the win when he floored Breazeale face first in the fourth and pounded him after that along with almost closing his puffy left eye,but as Howard Cosell used to say-BUT NO!!
Breazeale then sent Ugonoh down in the fifth,Ugonoh got up but was sent down and out along the ring apron to end an explosive bout!
Breazeale's punching and lesser chin is always going to make exciting fights,but not sure he's going to win against top 10 level opponents,while Ugonoh looks to be a little overmatched size wise and if it's possible,I think he should consider trying to fight at cruiserweight,where I think he'd be a tough out for anyone down there.
If you missed this one-catch it on youtube!!

In the non-American challenge bouts,Ramon would earn two points to my one as Rey Vargas won the vacant WBC junior featherweight title via a majority decision over Gavin McDonnell in England and Eliezer Alvarez knocked out Lucien Bute in the fifth round of their light heavyweight fight in Quebec City...

Browns add compensation picks

When you are a Cleveland Browns fan,draft news and to a lesser extent free agency news is about as good as it gets as far as hope,growth and opportunity goes.

In that vein,I'll drop this note on the Browns receiving four compensatory picks in April's draft.
The Browns only get to retain two of those picks,which teams are allocated by the league,which judges the worst losses in free agency and gives those teams something to somewhat handle their loss.
The Browns were awarded a third,two fourths and a fifth rounder at the end of each of those rounds.

Cleveland sends the third to New England for Jamie Collins,which is a pretty good deal since they signed him to a new contract,but even if Collins had not re-signed,if the Browns would have likely been given a 2018 3rd round compensation pick had they lost him,so a very low risk and high reward for the third rounder.

The fourth goes to the Eagles as part of the Carson Wentz trade last season.
The trade was written that the Browns would give up a fourth round compensation pick,but in the event that the Browns were not awarded one in that round,the Browns would have to send their own fifth round pick to Philadelphia.

The picks that the Browns have kept are a fourth rounder at pick 142 (three picks after the one sent to the Eagles) and a fifth rounder at pick 183.

Cleveland will enter the 2017 draft with eleven picks,three less than in last years draft.
Cleveland has 2 1st rounders (Theirs and Philadelphia),2 2nd rounders (Theirs and Tennessee), 1 3rd rounder, 2 4th rounders (Theirs and Comp),3 5th rounders (Theirs,New England and Comp) and 1 6th rounder.

Look for lots of coverage of the NFL Draft here and on the podcast over the next two months leading up to the draft....