No matter who you are, I'm hoping you found something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Work developments, a family situation, some personal accomplishment, your team making the playoffs, etc. Well, if you're like me, that last one is so laughable I need to get a towel to clean the coffee off my keyboard. I guess you can be thankful that the powers that be have indeed given Cleveland fans a true Hate Weekend to finish off Thanksgiving week, kicked off by Ohio State vs. that team up north, followed by Cavs and Miami Heat, and punctuated by the Browns vs. mighty Charlie Batch and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Ohio State has played well enough to coast through their Big Ten schedule, procuring tattoos for merchandise and a lying coach has ensured that today's game against the team in blue is their only bowl game. I don't really know how this Buckeyes team would match up against an SEC powerhouse, but it would be nice to have the chance. But not nearly as nice as it would be to play the over-shined helmet-wearing Notre Damers. Wow, did social media explode last Saturday when it became apparent they would jump into #1. I'm tired of hearing about them already. "How do you know when someone you're talking to went to Notre Dame? Because they already told you as soon as you met." Although even the Catholic Football Faithful have to be shaken a little bit with this curse-inviting SI cover that I found in my mailbox yesterday.
Unfortunately, having an overachieving Ohio State team who is disqualified from any postseason glory is as good as it gets for this fan.
The only race that the Cavs and Browns are currently involved in is the race to cover the Mendoza Line. The Cavs, at 3-9 (25%), are not showing the growth expected of them, and it's not going to get any better with Kyrie Irving out for a few weeks. Meanwhile, the Browns are right on the famous line, at 2-8 (20%), a clip that would get you kicked out of first grade. And the way they keep losing is just ridiculous. I mean how many games can they give away at the end? Brandon Weeden has alternated between shaky and solid, and the defense has suffered through missing personnel and boneheaded plays, but at the end of the day, the coaching situation is untenenable. Pat Shurmer Face is haunting me in my sleep right now.
Be thankful for all that you can this Hate Weekend. At least we have a team, right? Right?