I'm Still Here

So... nearly three months later and here I am. I haven't been invisible... I pop up on a weekly basis on my live stream with my good friends @jongolson, Eliot "Big E" Lomba, Bob "The Beer Man" Pizor and Ken Costlow on a little show that we call The Sports Nerds. The one strick in my craw has always been being consistent with my blog, posts, articles, rants... whatever they may be, but no matter the name, they have been far and few in between. the rule of thumb is inaction leads to complacency, and that is what has happened to me. I have chosen to stay in my comfort zone for the last three months because in there I am safe, I am (of course) comfortable. Well, at least for tonight I am going to step out for a few paragraphs to see what can happen. A lot has happened in the three months I have been a quiet writer, not just in the sports world, but in the real world as well. I really don't know where to begin, but let's try and start with the shit show that IS the Cleveland Browns...

So, with so much promise and hype leading up to the season with the addition of OBJ, Kareem Hunt, new head coach who was responsible for Baker's success at the end of last season, they ended with a gigantic thud and finished 6-10 for the season, after being the darlings of the offseason, being anointed with a predicted 10-6, 11-5, or (gasp) 12-4 season by all of the talking heads on the boob tube, they fail miserably, yet no one saw it coming... wait.. no.. I DID... I was not on the bandwagon, didn't buy into the hype and instead decided to go with my 50+ year experience of following this team, knew too well that the result would not live up to the hype. I had hoped for 8-8 at best, and even then it was reaching. But alas, as with all of the "experts" I was disappointed in the end result. Jimmy Haslam is the owner of this franchise, he purchased it from the Lerner family, who were the ones that brought the Browns back into the NFL, but could not succeed, alas not for fear of trying... How can we forget the Draft Picks... Tim Couch, Brady Quinn, Kellen Winslow II, Trent Richardson, Brandon Weedon, and of course how could we forget Johnny "Johnny Football" Manziel. What a history this team has at drafting nothing but the best players over the course of the last 20 years.

Then we have the coaches... Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, Rob Chudzinzki, Eric Mangini, Hue Jackson, and this past seasons gem in Freddie Kitchens, who seemed to be more comfortable having a beer with the boys than he did on the sidelines. Yes, the Browns have been the worst franchise in the entire NFL since their return to the NFL 20 years ago. In that timeframe, they have made the playoffs ONCE, and have finished the season with a winning record just twice... in 20 years... think about that for a moment... how inept of a franchise do you have to be where you can only manage a winning record twice in 20 years? Well, all I can say is, welcome to my world. Despite all of the ineptness, no matter the bad draft picks and coaches, and no matter what happens on or off the field, I am still here a die-hard fan... win or lose, to the death, I will be a fan and bleed orange and brown.

Fast forward to the year 2020... We have just hired the 12th Head Coach since 1999 in the form of Kevin Stefanski, the former OC of the Minnesota Vikings (for one season) and once again the Browns have given us a glimmer of hope... they use words like "great fit" "positive influence" "he's different" "a great leader" "very detailed" "he's confident" and "attention to detail"... all of which are great on paper, but can he deliver when the whistle sounds? Who knows, but here we are, another year with a new coach, a new system, and the key factor being Baker Mayfield because this will be his 3rd head coach, his third offensive system and once again, we turn the page to a new outlook on the future of this franchise. I have been through many new regimes and to put it bluntly, I'm not optimistic. Like I have said MANY times on my show... don't tell me what you can do... SHOW ME... and that is how I intend to look at 2020 with this team. I will ho0ld my enthusiasm, my excitement, and my hopes because I have been time and time again, disappointed in the end result. So ends the Cleveland Browns segment of this post...

Moving on... On a personal note... for those that don't know me, I am a 53-year old white guy, living in Lakeland, Florida and have just recently been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes... to say this was a shock is putting it mildly. I am overweight, lead a stagnant lifestyle, and am addicted to pasta, rice, and bread. I have been told I need to give up all of it, and it is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I am just over a month into the diagnosis and to say the least, I have found t very difficult to not buy that Mac-N-Cheese dinner in the grocery, nor to buy the Rice-a-Roni when it is on sale as BOGO... but.. with a focused mind... and willpower that can be compared to the 300 Spartans ... I have managed to minimize my intake of pasta, bread, and rice... no matter how much it has tortured my palate. Wish me luck... I am currently at 290 pounds and have a goal of reaching 225 by the end of this year. I hope to beat this, and it is going to take every ounce of willpower and strength to see it through.

More personal issues... As I have said on-air and posted to this blog... I LOVE my job, I love the people I work with... I love going in every day, it has allowed me to work from home at times when needed... but recently I have become disillusioned... questioning whether or not all of my hard work is worth it... whether or not I am being taken for granted... If I am appreciated... If the sacrifices I am making (28 hours of OT in 2 weeks) are worth it... Recent events have caused me to question that... and only time will tell if all the hard work and sacrifices I have put in have been worth it... the jury is still out on this one... but who's to say what is happening behind the scenes... I am still waiting for the recognition, the kudos... and to be honest, with what has happened in just the last couple of days, I am wondering if I am as valuable to my team as I thought I was... I still love what I do... and I can't imagine doing anything else... I am here to the end... but still... Why am I here?...

There are several issues I can get into with this post, but it would take all night to type it all out. MLB cheating scandal... Butt slapping in New Orleans... NFL 100 HOF class... AFC/NC Championship games... And of course... the age-old question that has been escaping scholars for millennia... What is the purpose of referees, if they can't call a game correctly... NFL or NCAA... but for these topics... you will have to follow me on FaceBook (I know.. evil empire) and join me and a few of my friends as we discuss the world of sports each and every Sunday night at 7:00 pm Eastern time. The Sports Nerds have been LIVE for 9 years... and we don't care what the press of the public has to say about our opinions... because we don't get paid to broadcast, nor do we have any sponsors... so if you want unfiltered, off the cuff, unscripted sports talk... we are your huckleberry... join us each Sunday...

Goodnight all... and as I always say... Be good... but more importantly, be good to each other...

Peace...

Scott... "The Sports Nerd"

Twitter - @the_sports_nerd

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scottwright127