Monday, October 03, 2005

Hello, Cleveland

The occasion of the latest Cleveland sports collapse is not all negative. Among the rubble, a positive sign: I'm adding the Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times to our list of blogs.

It's run by two college students, one of whom lives here in New York. Both were raised on the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers. It's strictly a sports blog, although the two brothers seem to share our love of minutiae (they're nearing completion on an occasional series on the greatest Cleveland players to wear each jersey number from 00 to 99.). Also, they keep the Buckeyes talk to a minimum _ which is welcome.

Despite their youth, and its attendant unpardonable optimism, I think they'll be a welcome addition. They're both fans of reality-based baseball analysis, rather than fable-based hokum, which is a major point in their favor. Also, they run a weekly feature called "Born and Raised on the Cleveland Browns." As someone who spent many, many Sundays at the old Stadium, it really resonates.

Make sure to check out this week's special edition, Born and Raised on the Cleveland Indians. Their criticism is especially trenchant down in "Idiot of the week." Whenever I hear those White Sox announcers on the baseball package, I think of Fred Willard's character from Best in Show.

Anyway, with a pivotal season in the LeBron James era coming up, as well as a potentially less-agonizing-than-usual Browns season, I know I'll continue to be a regular reader. Our regulars with Cleveland roots should consider doing so, too.

No comments: