Cleveland Sports: Ten Reasons "Next Year" Is Just Around The Corner

Ten:  Derek Anderson vs. Brady Quinn.  C'mon now, no matter which of these two young stars-in-the-making you find yourself supporting, you've got to admit that this QB controversy is much more enjoyable than Spergon Wynn vs. Doug Pederson.  One of them just might be the guy that leads us to the promised land.

Nine:  the general managers.  When was the last time we had three GM's who all seem to have their heads screwed on right at the same time?  Danny Ferry has been solid for the Cavs and seems to be getting better as he learns the job.  Phil Savage has been nothing short of a miracle worker - the Browns won TEN games last year, people!  Mark Shapiro has made the Indians a contender on a budget that resembles the Reader's Digest version of the Reader's Digest version of the Yankees' budget.

Eight:  LeBron James.  NBA Champions have superstars on their rosters.  The Spurs have Tim Duncan.  The Lakers had Shaq and Kobe Bryant.  The Pistons had Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace.  The Bulls had Michael Jordan.  LeBron is a superstar without equal.  It's only a matter of time.

Seven:  The Law of Averages.  The "law" says that any event that could possibly happen eventually will happen.  This is the Indians' 60th season since their last championship.  This is the Browns' 43rd season since their last championship.  The Cavs haven't won a championship in their 38 years of existence.  We're due -- and soon.

Six:  great football teams are built from the lines out.  Meaning:  first, you must block and tackle.  The Browns finally have an offensive line that isn't offensive.  *PUN!*  It's one of the best in the league.  The defensive line, with the offseason additions of Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers, should be strong which will make the linebackers and the secondary better.  They won't constantly have eight men in the box trying to stop the run.

Five:  my wife wants me to shave.  I grew a playoff beard at the start of the 2007 American League Division Series, and I am refusing to shave it until the Indians win the World Series.  It's getting out of hand. 

Four:  ownership's willingness to get out of the way.  Say what you want about Mr. Dolan being cheap.  I used to defend him, but I've stopped.  He kept proving me wrong.  However, one thing we can say about all three owners is that they let their baseball/football/basketball people run the sports side of things.  They stick to the business side of things and write the checks.  For the sake of the W-L columns, that's just good business.

Three:  hungry fans.  Was there a louder, fuller arena than Cleveland during the NBA playoffs?  Maybe Utah... MAYBE.  When the Indians were great in the late 90's, the Jake was sold out nightly, twice before the season even began!  The Browns didn't win in Cleveland for a decade, it seemed, and 75,000 tickets got sold every Sunday.  All three teams are, at worst, competitive.  These fans will eventually WILL one of them to win it all.

Two:  the emergence of Grady Sizemore as a vocal leader.  I've enjoyed watching Grady Sizemore this year, and not just on the field.  Just the other night he took Asdrubal Cabrera aside for a big brotherly chat on the bench.  I knew right then that this guy was more important than any other guy on the team.  Most importantly, he doesn't just talk the talk.  He busts his butt on every ball he hits, he backs up his teammates in the field, and he is willing to break his neck to catch a fly ball.  What an example.

And finally, the number one reason that "next year" is just around the corner...

One:  the length of a year is twelve months.  As I write this, it's June.  We're looking at only six months and change until next year and another twelve months of ball-busting Cleveland sports fan-dom.  Really, you're never more than 366 days away from "next year."