The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I may be weird, but I've never been a huge fan of Christmas music. It's the same songs every year, repeated time and time again for a couple months, mostly centering around a make-believe story most parents use as a lie in order to manipulate their kids into being "good" for 365 days, whatever that word really means. Having said that, though, after hearing about Cleveland's WDOK radio station banning the classic Christmas song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" due to its potentially sexist/ableist messages, even I said, "Isn't this going a little far?" After announcing its decision, host Glenn Anderson wrote this on the station's website: "I do realize that when the song was written in 1944, it was a different time, but now while reading it, it seems very manipulative and wrong. The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, th...

After a grand jury decided not to indict Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice last year, debates have sparked across all media outlets, emotions running high in the process. While I can understand that it's inevitable for there to be differences of opinion on the subject, I'm amazed at the large quantity of Tamir Rice trolls making their presence known on numerous websites. Here's a very condensed summary of what happened. On November 22nd of last year, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun in a park, a witness called the police about the matter, informing them it was "probably fake," yet the individual who took the call didn't report this information to the police, and two seconds after the cops arrived, Officer Loehmann shot and killed Rice. I've heard all the arguments from those defending the cop's actions: - "The kid should have known to drop the gun when the cops arrived!" ...

Like with the Chicago Cubs, I honestly feel bad for Cleveland Browns fans, and like the Cubs, I secretly pull for the Browns to make the playoffs each and every year. However, that's happened just once since pro football came back to Cleveland in 1999, and that was in 2002, where the Browns finished the season 9-7 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. That's right - ever since Cleveland welcomed back an NFL team, their Browns have made the playoffs once in fourteen years, and have an overall record of 73-152 (.324) in that span. Not only that, but their team has shown minimal signs of improvement in those fourteen years. In the past five seasons, Cleveland has amassed a record of 23-57 (.288). Sure, one problem has been the division in which they play. Playing alongside fairly recent Super Bowl winners in both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, to go along with the rising Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns have been lucky to finish 2-4 in those six inner-divisional games year in and ...

Last night, I discovered via Yahoo that there's a Major League baseball team in the state of Indiana. Oddly enough, after reading through this article, it appears as if the team is also from Cleveland with the nickname of the Indians. From this point forward in the world of Yahoo sports reporting, the team shall be known as the Cleveland Indiana Indians. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/four-homers-defensive-gem-carry-230041173--mlb.html

It was anything but a pretty start to the season for the Philadelphia Eagles and in particular - their offense, as with a late touchdown pass from Michael Vick to Clay Harbor, they were able to triumph over the Browns in Cleveland by the final count of 17-16. In the game, Philly turned the ball over five times, including four interceptions by Vick and were penalized 12 times for 110 yards. In the end, Philly has to be happy with the victory, but will need to improve a great deal, especially in the crispness of their offense if they want to have a shot at beating Baltimore at home next week. It's quite something to turn the ball over five times, commit over 100 yards in penalties and be able to win a game on the road. Quarterback Michael Vick played only 12 snaps in the pre-season and it showed. He was as rusty as meteorologists are wrong. He did wind up throwing for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with 32 yards rushing. The offensive line committed more penalties than Ge...