With the announcement of the resigning of Donovan Mitchell by the Cavaliers, it got me thinking about how it’s a great time to be a fan of Cleveland sports. All three professional sports team are trending in the right direction. The best move the Cavs made was hiring Kenny Atkinson as their head coach. He’s an offensive minded coach who knows how to get the best out NBA big men. As for Mitchell, in an Instagram post he said, “All year I’ve been saying the same sh*t. I say how much I like it but everyday it’s like, Oh he gonna do this, he gonna do that. I’m glad I got this shit done man. I’m glad I got this shit done in Cleveland. Now we can focus—let’s get to it.” Sounds like someone is ready to go.
As for the Guardians, it started with their best player Jose Ramirez signing a “hometown” discount to stay with the team. The hiring of manager Stephen Vogt set the tone for this year. Two years ago, he was a player and last year he was a bullpen coach. He knows bench players don’t like to sit around and wait to play, so he makes sure players play and which keeps them sharp. Because he was a bullpen coach, he knows how to use a bullpen. The Guardians have one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball.
Over in Berea, the Browns have one of their most talented rosters. Their two best players, Nick Chubb and Myles Garrett, embody how important it is to win for the fans of Cleveland. Garrett won his Defensive Player of the Year last year and it well deserved. This year his focus is to get to the Super Bowl. Nick Chubb is defying the odds and trying to give the front office and medical staff a tough decision week one. He took a $9.9 million pay cut with incentives to play for the Browns in 2024 and told the local media he loves Cleveland. The front office resigned players who wanted to be with the Browns. Za’Darius Smith, Shelby Harris, Murice Hurst and Rodney McLeod. While fans were upset the team didn’t resign Joe Flacco, I’m very happy they signed Jamies Winston. Flacco was asked how he could help Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to be a better player, and he said he wasn’t there to teach but to be ready to start. While Winston said he came to the Browns to help Deshaun Watson be the best player he can.
National media will always dump on Cleveland and some fans have been programed to think the worst. I tell people I’m not an optimist nor a pessimist. I’m a realist. I believe what I see, the good and the bad and right now things are looking good in Cleveland. Stay safe and Go Browns.