GTFOH Tony Grossi
Tonight I want to address a few things. First of all, as I so frequently like to bring up ad nauseum, I am an occasional blogger, not quite got the hang of how I want to express myself, and my grasp of the proper grammar of the English language could be considered High school level at best. As a 53-year old overweight, twice divorced, no college education, nerd, lover of 80’s music, lover of the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NHL and sometimes viewer of the NBA, I consider my self pretty up to speed of whatever is going on in the world of sports. I am not a technical fan, meaning I really couldn’t tell you the best scenario to bring a corner off the right or left side, when to shift the infield, or when to pull your goalie, whether it be at 1:30 left or 2:00 in the 3rd period. I can't read a defense or understand the analytics side of the NFL or MLB. but I do know this… I love sports, I love talking about sports and the more I talk with people the more I can share what knowledge I have and more importantly, learn from those I talk to about whatever sport happens to be the subject of conversation. I am not an expert, I don’t pretend to be an expert, and as you can probably tell, no network is going to invite me onto their show and share my perspective on the prevent defense the Colts ran against Tom Brady on the last drive of the AFC Championship in 2000-whatever… but what I will do is say how I feel about an owner, a player, a commissioner, a rule that I feel is stupid, not to mention a member of the media being a total Jack-weed, and my favorite, be wrong about any subject at any time… I am not a guru, I am not an expert, and I am not waiting for a contract offer from ESPN. With all that being said, I am a Sports Nerd… I have that brand that I try and live up to on a daily basis, but I sometimes find myself slacking, deciding on a movie or a TV show I like as opposed to sharing what is on my mind in the world of sports. I like to compare myself to that armchair QB people always complain about, except I usually DO know what I am talking about, and although I may be a bit rough around the edges, I am not afraid to provide my opinion.
Soooo… after all of that rambling, I actually do have a topic I want to discuss tonight, and it is HEAVY on the Cleveland Browns. Today in Indianapolis, ESPN-Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi was caught in an open mic situation where he called Baker Mayfield a “Fucking Midget”. Now those of you that do not understand the history, Grossi has been a thorn in Bakers' side since before he was drafted first overall by the Browns in 2018. to say he has never been a fan is an understatement. Grossi has made it his mission in life to prove Baker is not worthy of a starting QB in the NFL, and for the most part, he has always ended up with pie in his face whenever he tries to prove his point. Baker, on the other hand, has always treated any confrontation with Grossi with class and tries not to allow himself to be baited in a conversation where he will embarrass himself. Now I admit, I do not live in NE Ohio, and haven’t lived there for over 40 years. But I have always had an eye on the Cleveland pro sports teams and have heard Grossi’s name come up more than a few times as to his confrontational method of trying to get under the skin of whatever sports figure happens to be in the room. ESPN has indefinitely suspended Grossi for his comments, and to be honest, they need to consider sending him on his way. Grossi has no class, always wants to be the most important person in the room, and honestly has nothing nice to say about anything Cleveland Sports-related and if LeBron James himself decided to leave LA the end of the season and come back to Cleveland, Grossi would be first in line to say how bad of an idea it was. So Tony, from this Browns/Indians/Cavs(somewhat)/Buckeye fan… why not go to NY and report on the NY teams for the remainder of your career, at least there you can be brash, condescending, and obnoxious and get away with it.
The NFL combine is this weekend, or as I like to call it, the NFL dog and pony show, where the NFL puts potential draft picks through drills and exercises that for the most part, have absolutely nothing to do with how they will perform on the field. I won't be watching, because it is not relevant to how these players will be come September. To me, the Combine is the most worthless judge of a player's talent that is out there. It is simply yet another reason for the NFL to be on TV and I get it, they want the exposure, but there have been quite a few instances in the past where players have got injured and missed their rookie season because they decided to attend and participate in the combine. I am not a fan of the combine, and I feel any scout worth his weight in knowledge knows how to judge players based on how they look on tape, they don’t need to see what they run in the 40 or how high they can jump in a controlled environment because none of that shit really translates to how they will perform at game speed.
Meantime, MLB Spring training is in full force and I can’t wait for the season to begin. I live in Lakeland, FL, spring training home of the Detroit Tigers, and it just feels like the traffic in this town has escalated and feels more like Tampa each day…lol, I am really going to try and make the effort to make it to a game this year, just so I can take in the atmosphere and enjoy a day in the sun. Once the season starts I will not make the trip to St Pete and go to a Rays game, first of all, its a PITA to get to the stadium and once there, it is the worst venue in MLB to watch a baseball game. nope… won't do it.
On a final note, I would like to selflessly plug The Sports Nerds… Each and every Sunday night four or five of us get together on FB live via Restream and talk about the week in sports. no topic is out of bounds (except soccer..not gonna happen). we are heavy on the NFL, but will also talk MLB, NHL, NBA, and even branch out into non-sports topics like movies and pop-culture. I invite you to come see us and join in on the fun as a few dirty old men sit together and rant and rave about how much our teams are better than yours! As of tonight, I am already gathering topics on what we can discuss… so if you have 90 mins to sit and listen to some old dudes whine and talk about how good they COULD have been back in the day…lol, join us!!
Have a great night!!!!