Category: Kenny Roda (Page 5 of 6)

Cursed or not cursed?

August 1, 2006 /

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

Are Cleveland’s sports teams cursed? I’m going to lay it out for you dating back to 1920. After reading this, you decide if curses exist and, if so, what did the city of Cleveland do to warrant such a thing. If you don’t believe in curses, then please explain to me in the comments section of this blog how all these things could happen to one city without there being a curse!

8-16-1920: Cleveland’s Ray Chapman is hit in the head by a pitched ball from Yankees hurler Carl Mays and is killed. It remains as the only on field death in MLB history.

1954 World Series: “The Catch” by Willie Mays. The Tribe wins 111 games during the regular season and ten gets sep in the Fall Classic.

5-7-1957: Indians pitcher Herb Score is hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Gil McDougal.

4-17-1960: The Indians trade Rocky Colavito to the Tigers. Thus the official “Curse of Colavito”. The Tribe would get Colavito back and then trade him a second time in 1967.

1961: Browns running back Ernie Davis never gets to play a game for Cleveland as he dies from Leukemia.

7-14-1970: MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati ends with the Reds’ Pete Rose crashing into Indians catcher Ray Fosse at home plate to score the winning run for the NL in a 5-4 win in 12 innings. Fosse broke his left collarbone and would never be the same.

6-4-1974: “10 Cent Beer Night”

1976: The Miracle of Richfield season comes up short when Jim Chones breaks his foot.

1-4-1981: “Red Right 88”

1983: This is the year that Indians 1980 Rookie of the Year Joe Charboneau was out of baseball.

1986: Former Browns #1 pick, safety Don Rogers, dies at the age of 23.

1-11-1987: “The Drive”

1-17-1988: “The Fumble”

5-7-1989: “The Shot” (The first of three buzzers beaters by Michael Jordan)

11-16-1989: The Cavs trade Ron Harper for Danny Ferry

3-22-1993: Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews are killed, while teammate Bobby Ojeda is seriously injured, in a boating accident during Spring Training on Little Lake Nellie in Winter Haven, Florida.

1994: Center Brad Daugherty plays his last season for the Cavs and then has to retire in his prime due to a back injury.

10-28-1995: David Justice hits a solo home run off Indians pitcher Jim Poole in Game 6 of the World Series to give the Braves a 1-0 win and a World Series title.

11-6-1995: Browns owner Art Modell announces he will move the Browns to Baltimore.

12-17-1995: The last Browns home game is played is played at Municiple Stadium.

1996-1998: No NFL football in Cleveland.

10-26-1997: Edger Renteria singles off Charlie Nagy, scoring Craig Counsil in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the World Series to give the Florida Marlins a 3-2 win and a World Series championship.

1999: Browns return to the NFL and lose their first game 43-0 to the Steelers on national TV.

12-19-1999: Browns tackle Orlando Brown is hit in the eye with a penalty flag thrown by referee Jeff Tripplet, seriously injuring his eye and ending his career with the Browns.

12-12-2001: “Bottle Gate”.

1-28-2001: Owner Art Modell and his Baltimore Ravens win Super Bowl XXXV.

Bill Belichick: Leaves Cleveland after helping to destroy the franchise and goes on to win three Super Bowls with New England.

Cavs’ 1st round flops: Dajuan Wagner, Trajan Langdon and DeSagana Diop.

2004: Carlos Boozer stabs the Cavs in the back and leaves through free agency for Utah.

Cavs’ injuries: Z’s feet, Luke Jackson’s back and Larry Hughes’ finger.

Expansion Browns disasters:
Dwight Clark and Carmen Policy

Butch Davis

Owner Al Lerner passes away during the 2002 season.

1-5-2003: Browns blow a 17-point lead in a playoff game at Pittsburgh and lose 36-33 to the Steelers.

1999 #1 pick Tim Couch is out of football due to injuries.

2000 #1 pick Courtney Browns suffers major injuries, now in Denver

2001 #1 pick Gerard Warren is the nicest guy Pittsburgh police ever arrested, now in Denver.

2002 #1 pick Wille Green allegedly stabbed in the back by his girlfriend, has off the field problems and is suspended by the league.

2003 #1 pick Jeff Faine has injury problems and is traded.

2004 # 1 pick Kellen Winslow Jr. breaks his leg in the second game of his rookie season covering an on-side kick and is out for the year. Then, before his second season starts, he tears his ACL in a motorcycle accident and comes down with a staff infection and misses the entire season again.

2005 #1 pick Braylon Edwards tears his ACL in game 12.

2005 free-agent signee Gary Baxter tears his pectoral musclein the fifth game of the season and is lost for the year.

2006 free-agent signee LeCharles Bentley tears his patella tendon on the first play of 11-on-11 drills and is lost for the season.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Cleveland Chatter, Kenny Roda

Are you ready for some football?

July 25, 2006 /

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

Baseball season is over in Cleveland…It’s time for football!

By dealing Bob Wickman last weekend the Indians put an end to a very disappointing baseball season. But then again, did we really need them to trade Wickman to tell us this season was over? But that made it official which can only mean one thing. It’s officially FOOTBALL SEASON in Ohio! With Cleveland being a football-dominant city anyway, fans can get out their Browns and Ohio St. gear and start making their Saturday and Sunday plans.

Ohio State eyeing national championship

The Buckeyes are picked by a number of publications as the preseason #1 team. The Browns, with all of their off-season moves, have fans excited about making major strides, maybe even getting back to .500 this year. And you know what, both Ohio St. and Browns fans have reason to be ecstatic.

Jim Tressel has a team that isn’t your typical Tressel team. It’s loaded with offense and has alot of holes to fill on defense. Both quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver/kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. are Heisman Trophy candidates, and will be called upon to put up a lot of points as the defense grows from losing nine starters from last year’s squad. That means for the first time in the Tressel era at OSU, the offense will have to carry the defense, which could result in Tressel opening things up. That should make Ohio St. fans everywhere excited and thrilled. But will it win them a national title? Who knows. But I will say this of coach Tressel.

When he was at Youngstown St. and won four national titles, he didn’t win them the exact same way every time. He adapted to the players he had and made the adjustments necessary in order to win and I expect the same from him this season at Ohio State. September 9th at defending national champion Texas will give us a good idea if the Buckeyes are serious title contenders. If they can do what the Longhorns did last year, go on the road early into a hostile environment and come away with a victory, then the Buckeyes will be considered the favorites to get back to the Fiesta Bowl in January and play for the national championship.

Regardless, it should be an exciting year for Ohio St. fans all across the country.

Browns looking for improvement

As for Romeo Crennel and the Browns. There was plenty of movement this off-season and most of it was positive. The biggest and best acquisition was signing free agent center and local product, center LeCharles Bentley. He will anchor what has been the Browns biggest weakness since they returned to the NFL in 1999, the offensive line. Adding a Pro Bowl center and a new left tackle in Kevin Shaffer, to go along with the remaining vets on the O-Line, should provide young quarterback Charlie Frye with the best offensive line this team has had in eight years. Frye will be under the microscope in his second season to prove he is NFL-worthy, but more importantly, Cleveland Browns fans quarterback-worthy. Like Bentley and veteran newcomers Joe Jurevicius and punter Dave Zastudil, Frye might get a break from the fans because he’s a local product. But that honeymoon period will last only so long. He must produce or the fans will be calling for the backup QB and you really don’t want that on this team right now because Ken Dorsey is currently second in command at the quarterback position. The other option might be 92-year-old Vinny Testaverde, and you really don’t want that, do you? The one loss that hurt the Browns in the off-season was Trent Dilfer. He would have been perfect in the role as Frye’s backup, but Dilfer would not accept that role here in Cleveland, so the team had to move him.

Other moves that should help this team get closer to .500 are the additions of more veterans on defense like Willie McGinest and Ted Washington. Their veteran presence and football ability, even at their age, will upgrade a Browns defense that needs a lot of improvement. They may be short term improvements, but it is money spent wisely. Add in a healthy Gary Baxter at cornerback and rookie linebackers Kamerion Wimbley, the team’s first-round pick, and second rounder D’Qwell Jackson, and things are moving in the right direction for Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 defense.

The other two factors that will make this a better Browns football team are the returns of tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and, eventually, wide receiver Braylon Edwards. And, if they can keep him out of jail, the return of 1,000-yard rusher Reuben Droughns. Both K2 and Edwards are coming off injuries from a year ago. Winslow should be ready from the get go, while Edwards will probably join the team at some point during the middle of the season, if not sooner. Droughns, who has had his off the field problems as of late, proved on the field he is worthy of being an every down back. These three players, along with that improved offensive line, should help take some of the pressure off Charlie Frye.

But what this season will all come down to is whether the former Akron quarterback can handle the position for 16 games at the NFL level. He won’t be called upon like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady as the focal point to win most of the games. His job will be to handle the position well, get better each week, and not try to do to much. If Charlie Frye understands that and can grow with each snap he takes in practice, in the preseason, and during the regular season, then getting close to .500 or better is a good possibility for this team. And even if he struggles, it’ll still be alot more fun than watching what we’ve had to endure at the Jake from Dolan’s Discounts this year!

Cleveland Browns, Kenny Roda, OSU Football

It’s time to sell for the Tribe

July 18, 2006 /

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

A 1-4 start out of the All-Star break to drop their record to 41-51 and 21 1/2 games behind first place Detroit proves what I’ve been thinking all along. The 2006 season is history. It’s time once again to start thinking about next year and beyond. So that means it’s time for Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro to raise the white flag on the season and start sending out the “For Sale” signals to all of the serious playoff contenders in the major leagues who might be looking for a few players.

What do the Indians have to offer to all the buyers out there? Actually, if one or two of these players end up in the right situation, like David Justice did a few years ago with the Yankees, they might flourish, or at least play a key role in helping a contender make it to the playoffs.

Ranked in order of desirability:

1) Paul Byrd – A veteran pitcher who has been to the post-season before. In fact, he was the only starter to beat the World Champion Chicago White Sox last year in the playoffs. Byrd, in 18 starts for the Wahoo Warriors this year, is 6-6 with a 4.26 ERA. He has one year left on a two-year deal that totals about $14.5 million dollars. The Indians would be getting rid of salary, which would make owner Larry Dolan happy. GM Mark Shapiro should be able to get something in return that could help their farm system and the team that deals for Byrd will get the starter they need. Teams in need of a starter like Byrd? Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays, A’s, Rangers and Cardinals just to name a few.

2) Ronnie Belliard – A versatile player who is being showcased, in my opinion, at third base right now by the Tribe. Why you ask? Because the Indians would love to trade third baseman Aaron Boone but who is going to take a corner player hitting .249 with only four home runs and 36 RBI, not to mention leading the team in errors? So enter Belliard, playing second or third base, hitting a respectable .287 with 8 dingers and 43 ribbies. The only drawback is that he’s a free agent at the end of the season. This is a reason the Indians would love to deal him, but it may hurt their chances because a team may not want to give up much for a player they may lose after this season. The Padres are in desperate need of a third baseman. If I were Shapiro, I say to San Diego, “How about I throw in Boone for free?. That way, if one doesn’t work out you can try the other?”. Here’s hoping the Indians dump Boone somehow, some way soon so we can get a look at third base prospect Andy Marte.

3) Bob Wickman – Another wiley old vet who the Indians I’m sure would like to get rid of, since he too will be a free agent at the end of the year and isn’t part of their rebuilding, I mean, growing process. Wicky is the Tribe’s closer, posting a 1-4 mark with 14 saves and a 4.33 ERA. Teams in need of a closer, set-up guy, or any kind of bullpen help would get a player who could serve in all of those roles. This again would allow the Indians to get something in return for Wickman, dump his remaining salary, and give an opportunity for Bobby Howry to be their…oh wait, they didn’t keep Howry to be their closer. They could see if they have a closer in the making in guys like Jason Davis, Fausto Carmona or Fernado Cabrera.

4) Ben Broussard – For whatever reason, Wedge or the organization just doesn’t believe in Broussard. Granted, he’s played mainly against right handed pitching, but he is hitting .321 on the year with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. He would fit nicely into a Yankee Stadium and that short porch in right field. Besides starting pitching, the Yanks are indeed looking for a first baseman! And the more I think about it, the Indians would love to get rid of Broussard and here’s why. He’s arbitration eligible after this season, the money again factoring in with Dolan’s Discounts. They have Ryan Garko down on the farm waiting for his chance in the bigs. Plus they have a catcher in Victor Martinez who may have to move to first because he can’t throw out any would-be base stealers.

5) Todd Hollandsworth – His numbers aren’t bad for a part-time player (.250 – 6 HR – 26 RBI). I’m sure the Indians would like to get Franklin Gutierrez more playing time to see if he can make it at the major league level. Plus Holly is another vet that could be helpful to a contender coming of the bench, but you won’t get much for him.

6) Jake Westbrook – Another starting pitcher that could peak some team’s interest with a 7-5 record and a 4.44 earned run average. The Indians might actually get something for him if a team is desperate enough for starting pitching. Again, he falls into that free agent at the end of the season category and is in the final year of a two-year deal. The Tribe holds a club option for next year at $5.6 million, which again with Dolan’s Discounts may be too rich to keep him.

So let the fire sale begin and get as much as you can for next year and beyond. And speaking of getting rid of guys, you might as well pull the plug on Eric Wedge. Grab one of the hot prospects now to be your manager of the future before somebody else does. My list includes Larry Bowa, Tony Pena, Bud Black, Lou Pinella, Orel Hershiser and Sandy Alomar. Heck, you could name one of these guys your manager and another one of them your bench coach and put together a real coaching staff instead of the cheap coaching stiffs you have now.

Cleveland Indians, Kenny Roda

LeBron thoughts

July 13, 2006 /

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

The Cavaliers’ signing of LeBron James. We told you it would happen in our last blog and it has. LeBron agreed to a three-year deal worth about $43 million with a player option for a fourth year that would make the total value of the deal worth $60 million. This isn’t totally what we were all hoping for. We were hoping for a five-year, $80 million deal. But as he’s done so far in his short but amazing career, LeBron has set a new trend.

He realized two things:

1) With a new collective bargaining agreement in the not-too-distant future, he could more than likely make more money then by accepting less money and years now. His good buddy Dwayne Wade has done the same thing in Miami. Yes it’s a risk, but a small one at that, considering how much money they take in outside of the NBA from endorsements.

2) It forces Dan Gilbert and Danny Ferry in the next four years to put a good team around Lebron. If they fail to do so, he could decide at the end of this contract, when he would be an unrestricted free agent after the 2009-2010, to take his talents elsewhere, having given the Cavaliers organization seven years to build a winner. When you look at it from that standpoint, as much as we may not like it, it’s a brilliant move by LeBron both on the business side as well as the basketball side. It’s a decision I don’t blame him at all for making.

Also, before you start panicking about the fact that LeBron didn’t sign the max contract, take a few deep breaths and relax. What you’re failing to realize is that we have LeBron in Cleveland for the next four years: the 2006-07 season, which is the final year of his rookie contract, and then three additional years as part of his new contract, which will run through the 2009-10 season.

That’s four years to build a championship team. Plus, even if LeBron decides to decline the player option for 2010-11, the Cavaliers will be able to offer him more money than any other team in the NBA because he will be their free agent. That particular deal could be worth from $150-$160 million. But because of how much money LeBron will have already made by that time, the most important thing in making sure LeBron will stay in Cleveland is winning championships. Memo to owner Dan Gilbert and GM Danny Ferry: get to work now. You’re on the clock and time is ticking away!

Cleveland Cavaliers, Kenny Roda, LeBron James

All-Star week in Pittsburgh

July 13, 2006 /

Kenny Roda will be writing a weekly blog on Cleveland Scores covering the entire Cleveland sports universe. Check back often for his updates!

As I attended Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in Pittsburgh many thoughts went through my head.

How can the best stadium in the big leagues be home to the worst franchise in the big leagues? What a waist. The city of such a historic franchise should be embarassed by it’s baseball team and call for Kevin McClatchy, owner of the Pirates, to sell the team to somebody who cares about bringing a winning tradition back instead of just stuffing his pockets with the revenue sharing money he gets!

Phil Garner, a former Pirate, screwed the National League out of a possible win. How do you not take advantage of the bat of the N.L.’s leading hitter, Nomar Garciaparra, as well as totally ignore Scott Rolen and Andrew Jones? I understand wanting to play the two hometown favorites, Jason Bay and Freddie Sanchez, but not as long as Garner did. This was for home-field advantage in the World Series!

The American League is now 9-0-1 (thanks to the Bud Selig tie in 2002) in the last 10 Mid-Summer Classics.

Bud Selig

As I was about to cross the street from the Westin Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh to the FanFest at the convention center, I was held up for about 10 minutes. Why? Because security was waiting for baseball’s so-called leader (yeah, that would be Bud Selig…LOL) to get into his van and drive away. That’s right, it was as if “George W” was there with his many secret service men, 12 motorcycle cops and other police officers making sure nothing happened to him. What a joke!

Derek Jeter, class act

After talking to both Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, it is more clear to me now that
Derek Jeter gets it and A-Rod doesn’t. The Yankee captain talked about how the All-Star Game should not determine home-field advantage for the World Series. Jeter went against what MLB was doing and said that the team with the best record in baseball at the end of the season should get the advantage. Rodriguez, on the other hand, sounded like a P.R guy or a spokesman for MLB trying to convince me and every other media member in the room that there was parody in Major League Baseball and that 12 or 15 teams have a legitimate shot at winning the World Series this year and that it’s only going to get better just like the NFL. This coming from a guy who makes more than the entire Florida Marlins team and about half of the Indians total team payroll!

The Wright stuff

David Wright could and I stress could be to the Mets what Derek Jeter is to the Yankees. I know that’s a lofty comparison, but after talking to him before the game and then watching him in the Homerun Derby and the All-Star Game, I came away saying to myself, “He’s going to be New York’s next superstar!” Like Jeter, he seems to get “IT” on and off the field.

Tribe All-Stars

Tribe skipper Eric Wedge and All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore both told me that the team hasn’t given up on the season even though they’re seven games under .500 and 18 1/2 games out of first. Both agreed as well on the fact that Wedge has not lost the team and is in total control. They may not have given up on this season…YET. But I disagree wholeheartedly about Wedge. I think the players have tuned him out. They’ve heard everything he can say more than once and it goes in one ear and out the other. If it were me, I would have canned Wedge at the break and picked from the likes of Bud Black, Tony Pena, Larry Bowa and even Lou Pinella to replace him. But, of course, that would mean Larry Dolan would have to spend some real money on a real manager and we all know that’s never going to happen with “Dolan’s discounts.”

Having said what I just did about Eric Wedge, like Charlie Manuel, he’s a great guy and a good baseball guy, but I just don’t think he’s best suited to be a big league manager. Manuel would be the first guy I would hire as a Major League hitting instructor and Wedge would be the guy I would hire to be in charge of the farm system, working with the kids to get them ready for the big leagues.

Homerun Derby

It was a blast to watch in person as Ryan Howard and David Ortiz were splashing balls 460-plus feet into the Alleghany River. Those two put on a great show, but so did the guy I mentioned earlier, David Wright. Sixteen homers in the first round of his first ever Homerun Derby. That’s sick! Some first-timers don’t even hit one out. Others may go yard only a few times. This guy went deep 16 times in his first at-bat. Let me say it again…STUD!

Big Papi, BMOC

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, garnered more attention during the All-Star Game festivities than Ortiz. A-Rod, a Yankee (sort of) said he was pulling for Ortiz to win the Homerun Derby and said, “How can you not like him? He’s like a big cartoon character.” The media hounded him everywhere he went and Big Papi didn’t disappoint. He wore diamond-studded sunglasses, diamond earings, diamond rings the size of strawberries and a white suit that probably cost $4,000. He was playing the part of Elvis at the All-Star Game and loved every minute of it, answering all questions and signing a ton of autographs. Maybe A-Rod was finally right about something!

Smokin’ Venezuelan reporters

I’d be remissed if I didn’t mention the other hot topic amongst the media other than David Ortiz. It was the female reporters from Venezuela. They would have made Maxim magazine’s Top 10 hot list, maybe even the Top 5. WOW! I’m going to be pushing for Bullz-eye.com guru Gerardo Orlando to take a trip to Venezuela to look for some Girls Next Door and feature models for the website. And by the way, Gerardo, I will volunteer my time to come along and do all of the grunt work.

Cleveland Browns, Kenny Roda

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Cleveland Teams at ClevelandTeams.com

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑