ABOUT US

Our mission began with a promise to console you after the latest Cleveland sports disaster. Seven years later, we've evolved into one of the most diverse blogs in town. While the Browns, Indians, Cavaliers and Buckeyes remain our creme de la creme, no topic is off-limits. Music, movies, media, politics, plus up-to-the-minute takes on local and national developments in the sporting world-- it's all fair game, here at CST.

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The CST Staff

Brian
Tom
Doug
Kevin
Samvox
Sean
Ryan

Brian (bri....@clevelandsportstorture.com or @Pucky22 on Twitter) founded CST in October of 2005 and serves as CEO and Co-Chairman. Hailing from the east side of Cleveland, he's a lifelong fan of the Browns, Cavs, Indians and Buckeyes. Disbelief and shock are familiar themes for him, ever since The Drive, The Fumble, and The Shot. He wishes he still had his Webster Slaughter-inspired spray-painted orange shoes from his childhood, and is glad he didn't get clocked in the dome during BottleGate at Browns Stadium in 2001. In early '08, Brian's career took him to Chicago-- where he still obsesses over his beloved Ohio teams on the "El" train daily. Sundays you'll find him at Red Ivy on Clark Street alongside the Red Ivy Browns Backers, with hope in their hearts and pain in their souls. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University.

Definitive CST Moment: (three-way tie) Having to drive back to Columbus for an 8am class the morning after the Indians blew the '97 World Series, and Shawn Springs' slippage during the Wolverines' upset of the Buckeyes are his most painful sports memories. Brian was in the Horseshoe on that heartbreaking afternoon in '96. Three years later, he was at the Jake when Pedro Martinez came out of the bullpen to shutout the Tribe and win the series for Boston in Game 5 of the '99 ALDS.

Favorite Brown: Bernie Kosar

Favorite Indians: (tie) Bill Selby, Pat Tabler, Sandy Alomar Jr.

Favorite Cavalier: Brad Daugherty

Favorite Force: Kai Haaskivi

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Tom (tom....@clevelandsportstorture.com) is our Chief Operating Officer, Co-Chairman and technology guru. He almost singlehandedly transformed CST from a shy little sports blog into a cult phenomenon. Most importantly, he is a member of the Llama Chasers-- possibly Cleveland's premier amateur Bowling team (three strikes in a row is a turkey, but four is a llama!). With the invention of the DVR, Tom admittedly has trouble watching games "live" and has developed a bit of a "Tape Delay" addiction ("Commercials and time-outs are a waste of time," he reckons). But he still loves attending games in person and counts Game 2 of the '07 ALDS as his favorite live sports memory, when a swarm of midges assisted in the Tribe's victory by notoriously bothering Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain in extra innings. On his honeymoon in Maui, Tom dragged his new wife to a Browns Backers bar (confused about the time change, they showed up an hour early). They live in Mayfield Hts. with their daughter. Tom is a graduate of Ohio Northern Univeristy and holds a degree in Accounting.

Definitive CST Moment: The Announcement of The Move. Tom watched a bleary-eyed (slightly toasted?) Casey Coleman, on Fox 8 News, report the Browns were relocating to Baltimore. "I was 16 and my football team was just ripped away. I lived and died with those Browns. " Tom explained. "Hasn't been the same since."

Favorite Brown: Michael Dean Perry

Favorite Indian: Charlie Nagy

Favorite Cavalier: Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Favorite Force: Hector Marinaro

Doug (dou....@clevelandsportstorture.com or @CSTdoug on Twitter) is CST's Senior Writer, known for his explosive vocabulary and eternal optimism. His tempestuous affair with the fickle mistress that is Cleveland Sports began oddly enough with the Force, a defunct professional indoor soccer team that played out of the equally defunct Richfield Coliseum during the 1980s. That love soon grew to encompass all three of his native city's pro sports franchises. Despite over 25 years of throat-punching agony and largely unreciprocated fandom, he doesn't regret the choice...much. It hasn't been all sackcloth and ashes, though. The Tribe's '97 World Series run and the Browns' legendary double-OT playoff win over the Jets are moments that Doug wouldn't trade for anything, despite the miserable way both of those seasons ended. Hoping for better days for our teams and city, Doug now lives on Cleveland's east side and works as a reporter for a weekly community newspaper. By night, he enjoys yoga, pick-up hoops and tennis, pro wrestling, reading, writing, music and the shamelessly nerdy trappings of "geek" culture. Doug has a degree from The Ohio State University's School of Journalism.

Definitive CST Moment: Mesa's Meltdown in Game 7. Pure devastation, and nothing else comes close in Doug's mind, as we were two outs away from that elusive Championship Parade down Euclid Avenue.

Favorite Brown: Brian Brennan

Favorite Indian: Carlos Baerga

Favorite Cavalier: Mark Price

Favorite Force: (tie) Keith Furphy and Kai Haaskivi

Kevin (kev....@clevelandsportstorture.com) is CST's most passionate contributor and renaissance man: Art Director, Writer, Pro Wrestling Aficiando, and self-proclaimed biggest Cavs fan. Kevin's hobbies include sports radio, playing basketball, working out, obsessing over his favorite TV Shows (Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Boardwalk Empire & Monday Night Raw) and watching our teams with his family and friends. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 1997 and has worked as an Environmental Graphic Designer for over a decade, helping design the signage at Ohio Stadium and Cleveland Browns Stadium with his future wife. He famously postponed the celebration of his five-year wedding anniversary, ditching his bride with their 2-year old son, to watch the Cavaliers beat Detroit in Game 6 of the '07 Eastern Conference Finals. "We'll be married for a long time, " Kevin told her, "but God knows when I'll be able to see a Cleveland team play for a conference championship again." Thankfully, Kevin and his wife remained happily married and live on Cleveland's east side with their two young boys. Kevin's only hope is that his sons won't have to write for a Cleveland sports blog that ends with the word "Torture." He's not holding his breath.

Definitive CST Moment: The Fumble. While The Drive was his first truly torturous sports moment (not counting the Force's annual playoff losses), those '87 Browns marked Kevin's initial all-in, fully-vested season with one of Cleveland's three major sports teams. At 13, he was nearly inconsolable after Ernest Byner was stripped of the football just a half-second away from the game-tying touchdown. It would leave an unshakeable imprint on his pysche; a perpetual ghost that Kevin cannot exorcise, repeatedly rearing itself in new terrifying forms such as The Shot, The Move, The Mesa Meltdown, and The Decision, just to name a few. So traumatizing, in fact, that Kevin often takes personal credit for The Curse, blaming himself for the sports misery bestowed on our city.

Favorite Brown: Kevin Mack

Favorite Indian: Kenny Lofton

Favorite Cavalier: Mark Price

Favorite Force: (tie) Carl Valentine and Kai Haaskivi

SamVox (sam....@clevelandsportstorture.com) writes the popular, critically-dismissed Vox in the Box column, exclusively for CST, and is our resident "premier handicapper." He fell in love with the Force and Bill Livingston nearly 30 years ago, and will never find contentment until our city finally reaches the promised land. Sam primarily focuses on rock-n-roll, film, gambling and politics; his sports takes are often off-color, and don't ask him to add to the vast, boring wasteland that constitutes the majority of other sports blogs. His literary influences include Livingston, Bill Simmons, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Butler Yeats, Bruce Springsteen and, of course, Bono. When he's not running, playing speed chess, or hanging with his two little girls, Sam can be found pretending to be Tony Soprano or any disillusioned character from an Ethan Hawke flick. He is a 1998 graduate of The Ohio State University, where he majored in English, sleeping, and rejecting the establishment.

Definitive CST Moment: 1985, MISL Eastern Conference Semifinals, Force vs. Blast. In a decisive Game 5 in Baltimore, the Force blew a 4-2 fourth quarter lead when the Blast scored five unanswered goals. A desperate and broken 10-year old Vox locked himself in his parents' bedroom closet and cursed God for being so cruel to the team he loved. His future as a Cleveland sports fan would certainly follow suit.

Favorite Brown: Reggie Langhorne

Favorite Indian: Dwight "Doc" Gooden

Favorite Cavalier: (tie) Terrell Brandon and John "Hot Rod" Williams

Favorite Force: Louie Nanchoff

Sean (had....@clevelandsportstorture.com), also known as the Hadman, is a hard-core fan of everything Cleveland. He's most famous for "surviving" the 1987 Volkswagen Van Jam at the Coliseum (he still has the T-shirt to prove it) and for stalking former Tribe utility infielder Bill Selby. He was in attendance for both of John Cooper's wins against That School Up North and the Cavs' Game 7 victory vs. Boston in the '92 Eastern Conference Semifinals. On the flipside, Sean made the expensive trip to Tempe to personally experience Florida's upset of his alma mater in the 2007 BCS Championship Game and also witnessed LeBron quitting in Game 5, as well as His infamous return to the Q seven months later. Besides attending sporting events, acting philanthropic, and becoming easily annoyed, the Hadman likes going "red-ass" on his friends in their tuesday night basketball league. He is a 1998 graduate of The Ohio State University. Sean and his wife reside in Aurora.

Definitive CST Moment: The Tribe's ninth inning World Series collapse in '97. Sean was a student at OSU, and his life revolved around the Indians. He made it home to watch Game 7 with some fellow CSTers, on the east bank of the flats. Downtown delirium seemed moments away when Mesa took the mound, but the dream slowly slipped away through our collective, ringless fingers. Sean lost a piece of himself on that crisp October evening. Thirteen years later, and he's still searching...

Favorite Brown: (tie) Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield

Favorite Indian: Sandy Alomar Jr.

Favorite Cavalier: Bobby Phills

Favorite Force: Craig Allen

Ryan (rya....@clevelandsportstorture.com) is CST's Chief of Sarcasm and biggest instigator. He unknowingly exists as the conscience of our blog, keeping our writers honest with his direct critiques and provocative comments. Credibility gives him the freedom to do so, as Ryan is arguably the most knowledgeable fan at CST...if not the most arrogant. Any conversation about Ryan must start with his unprecedented hero worship of Bernard Joseph Kosar, Jr.. Now Bernie has a lot of fans in northeast Ohio, but how many of them crashed a private party in the flats, finagled their way into the Kosars' inner circle (literally), and had their right arm about Babette's shoulder and their left around Bernie's? Ryan is also celebrated for his blind devotion to a career minor leaguer, following former Indian Bill Selby across the country with an ugly, cardboard "SELBY is GOD" sign. He is an integral member of the Llama Chasers, and writes weekly updates for his charismatic bowling team appearing on facebook and llamachasers.com. Ryan, an OSU alum, lives on Cleveland's east side with his wife, son and pet llama, Gepetto. It's worth noting that, at the young age of 12, Ryan realized he was already smarter than Hot Rod Williams.

Definitive CST Moment: (tie) The Shot and The Fumble, because of the sudden, jolting finality of both games.

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