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How pathetic is it when one of the best sports towns in America has to put up with the following:

1) A loser like Trivissano who put a fat broad on his show with him who cackles like a moron — not even close to being a poor man’s Howard Stern show — it’s more like a car wreck. When was the last time he talked about sports?

2) A guy from Pittspuke on the city’s only all-sports talk station for drive time, no less

3) Even though the baseball season is only three weeks away, two measly articles about the Tribe in the brutal Plain Dealer.

4) Even though we have TWO writers for the Browns, we’re lucky to see TWO articles a week from them….

Can’t we go back to the days of WHK, Pete Franklin and Hal? Now THAT lineup is worthy of a sports town like Cleveland.

Joining Gerard Warren, Anthony Henry and Robert Griffith on the list of now ex-Browns players is Courtney Brown, who was cut Monday afternoon in a move that saves the team $2.5 million.

Along with Warren and Tim Couch, Brown symbolized everything that went wrong with the team under Chris Palmer and Butch Davis: poor talent evaluation, terrible decision making and plenty of bad luck.

ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli lays it all out very painfully in an article that will leave any Browns fan embarrassed and nauseous [LINK]. In fact, when I think about how the Browns blew two #1 picks, a #3 and a #16 choice on Couch, Brown, Warren and soon-to-be-departed William Green in back-to-back-to-back-to-back drafts, I simultaneously feel like crying and puking. It’s pathetic.

Let’s just hope we saw a trend reversal last year with the selection of Kellen Winslow and that the latest “new regime” will begin to erase the agonizing memories from 1999-2002 in next month’s draft.

It’s hard to get really excited about the trade for Trent Dilfer [LINK], but it’s not a bad move in light of the rebuilding strategy the new regime is taking. They need a solid QB who can make good decisions and throw the ball downfield, and Dilfer fits that perfectly. He has a knack for winning, and he’ll be a good transition to any young quarterbacks that Savage and Crennel decide to develop.

Some interesting news tonight.

First, the Browns have signed former Ravens starting cornerback Gary Baxter to a multi-year deal [LINK], a solid move but, considering the numbers involved, a move that could come back to haunt the Browns. Baxter is a good corner, certainly better than the guy he was brought in to replace, Anythony Henry. But like Henry, you’ve got to wonder if, in a free-agent class so deep at corner, Baxter didn’t command too much money. Reports say the deal is for six years and $30 million with a $10.5 million signing bonus, major bucks for a corner who tallied one interception last year. Still, he’s a big guy (6-2, 204 pounds) and, better yet, Baltimore’s loss is our gain, which is always a plus.

The more surprising development, though, is the Bills agreeing in principle to a four-year, $6.6 million deal with quarterback Kelly Holcomb [LINK]. Considering Romeo Crennel was apparently ready to name Holcomb his starter next year, the eight-year veteran’s decision to sign with Buffalo, where he’ll most likely back up 2004 draftee J.P. Losman, is rather shocking. Then again, with the roller coaster Holcomb’s been riding the past couple years in Cleveland, he may very well have been looking for a fresh start.

Now the big question for the Browns and their fans is: Who will be the quarterback in 2005? Trent Dilfer? Jay Fiedler? Brad Johnson? Something tells me Romeo and Phil Savage won’t hand the reins over to Luke McCown.

Following the signing of former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi and former Cincinnati punter Kyle Richardson, it’s encouraging to see the Browns continue to stay active with the Baxter acquisition. Hopefully they got the right guy, and hopefully they’ll get the right guy when they make a move for a starting quarterback.

Twenty-seven turnovers? The Cavs have now lost five-straight after falling to the 76ers 89-98 Friday night, a game that featured 27 Cavaliers turnovers. That’s disgusting.

There are times this team looks like one of the best in the East, but right now they look like pretenders, a team that can’t keep up with true playoff contenders and can’t beat anybody on the road. At this point, I’d be happy just to see the Cavs slide into the playoffs, let alone secure a top-four seed and home-court advantage.