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The Indians already had their hands full with the Boston Red Sox. Now they’ll have the media and questions about Paul Byrd’s HGH to contend with as Game 7 looms.

In what can only be considered conspicuous timing despite the newsworthiness of the San Francisco Chronicle’s revelation that Byrd spent thousands on HGH, the Indians must find a way to top the Red Sox while problems with their pitching staff continue to mount. Why now? The story couldn’t wait until tomorrow? Or perhaps the story was ready sooner?

Update: According to FOXSports.com, Byrd acknowledged use of HGH to combat a tumor on his pituitary gland and states MLB was aware of his usage.

On the field, the Indians look lost. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona can’t seem to find the strike zone and Cleveland clearly appears rattled. The bullpen looks worn out. Perez isn’t trusting his stuff. Borowski is and always be a question mark in the ninth inning despite his ability to close out games.

Travis Hafner has barely put the ball in play and the defense has shown signs of shakiness. In all, it appears the Red Sox have made adjustments and now the Indians stubbornly stick to the plan despite being outscored 19-3 the past two games.

Tonight’s Game 7 will be all about adjustments. The Indians should count on a decent effort from Jake Westbrook, but should also count on him to get knocked around a bit as his groundballs have a tendency to find holes every so often. Of most concern for the Tribe will be how far they can ride Westbrook and get the game into the hands of the bullpen’s backend of Betancourt and Borowski.

On offense, Cleveland needs a spark. They’ve barely threatened against seeing Beckett and Schilling which again supports the theory that the Red Sox have adjustments and the Indians haven’t. After two duds in Games 5 and 6, the Indians should show up for Game 7. The problem being the Red Sox have already arrived.

Popularity: 72% [?]

Remembering Bill Belichick’s days as head coach of the Cleveland Browns harkens back to a time most Browns fans would rather to forget. Symbolic of Art Modell’s decision to move the team out of Cleveland to Baltimore, the Belichick years were the worst of times for a coach regarded as one of the best of his generation.

On the surface, Belichick seems to have escaped the failures of his time in Cleveland whereas Browns fans tend to mark his tenure as the beginning of the Cleveland Browns fall from among the NFL’s storied and respected franchises. In David Halberstam’s “Education of a Coach”, the most profound statement of Belichick’s failures with the Browns were succinctly summarized by another writer’s, Peter Richmond, comments:

“He is what he is. There is no pretense, and he is utterly authentic in a world where because of television there is more and more which is inauthentic. What is troubling about all this is that a lot of people are more comfortable with the inauthentic, if it reassuring, than they are with the truth, if it is not reassuring. He doesn’t play the role of the coach. He is the coach.”

It is the reason Browns fans should read this book. Not so much because it celebrates Belichick’s accomplishments or chronicles his failures in Cleveland. Rather it outlines what fans should expect in a head coach and how expectations – legitimate or not – interfere with the overall objective of winning championships.

This is not an easy read when Belichick talks about the departure of Bernie Kosar and his assessment of the Browns teams in the early 1990s. But also, in a way, it is a bit of an apology. Belichick recognizes mistakes were made along the way – notably the unceremonious dismissal of the Browns quarterback and leader. In the end, he viewed Kosar’s actions as a challenge to his authority – a necessary absolute authority requisite in creating a football team capable of playing together as a team and achieving unparalleled success. In his mind the end justified the means. But in retrospect, he admitted the entire situation could have been handled better.

Browns fans demand an aura of infallibility in their coaches – an infallibility often not present in the fan’s own behavior or assessment of the situation. We’ve begged for both Kelly Holcomb and Charlie Frye, and in both instances, received our just desserts. We’re critical until we are blue in the face, wanting nothing more than the championship teams we deserve. However, to some degree, we are also naïve to the sacrifice and commitments made by those entrusted with our teams. May this book serve as a painful reminder regardless of our desire to endure any more football-related hardship.

Popularity: 73% [?]