Sports, Society & Spirits

The last show of 2017 focuses on The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cotton Bowl and just how good this Buckeye program has been since 2002. It is truly and extended Golden age of Ohio State Football. We also briefly discuss the Cavs and spend a lot of time discussing this parade for the 0-16 Browns. Simply but, you don't celebrate historic failure, it makes you look like a loser.

This episode was recorded Wednesday, December 6th, before the firing of Sashi Brown. For thoughts on that, tune in next week. This week we discuss the Cavs win streak, head injuries and rule changes in football, and how in the world is Donald Trump dodging the sexual harassment allegation scandal.

Ohio State has once again defeated that team up north and now is headed to the Big 10 Title Game this weekend against Wisconsin. Ohio State is hoping to throw the committee into chaos by beating the Badgers and making the committee choose which of college footballs biggest brands watches at home from their couch. We also discuss LeBron James ejection and the Cavs nine game win streak, as well as Derrick Rose's absence from the team and potential retirement. Finally, starting around 55 minutes in, we discuss the Browns, progress being made and why Bob Evans is probably right and the baseball nerd and lawyer have laid down a solid foundation for this rebuild and that they should get at least one more year to turn this thing around. 

It's time once again for Ohio State to kick some Wolverine ass - and, the Browns still suck. This week we welcome Keith into the studio for the 1st time and discuss the Browns, The Game and the question on everyone's mind - what is the Trump plan? And Charlie Manson - burn in hell dude

It's a bad time to be a Cleveland sports fan. The Cavs can't play defense against a high school team, the Indians imploded in the playoffs, the Buckeyes lost to Iowa ending their national championship hopes and the Browns are well, terrible and that's the nicest word I could think of. This week TJ and Scott discuss the Cleveland sports landscape and why its not as bad as it might seem, with the exception of the Browns, that is worse than you think it is.

 ***I apologize for the low volume levels for TJ. I did not realize I had a faulty mic cord until about 40 minutes in - this will be fixed for the next episode***Oh Browns, will you ever stop Brownsing? Coaches emailing that they are unhappy with the front office, trades not being filed in time, 1-23 over the last two years, it truly has never looked worse from a fan's perspective. The Buckeyes however, are playing their best football since the national championship run and have battled back into the college football playoff picture. JT Barrett has made himself a Heisman Trophy candidate. Everything the Browns are not, the Buckeyes are.In this episode TJ and I discuss a game for the ages form Saturday and just how far the Browns have fallen. Also, TJ does not like Baker Mayfield.

Roger wrote a letter, Josh released a video and Tom Verducci says Kluber and the Indians might choke. Episode 18 discusses all this and the disaster that is the Cleveland Browns. This was recorded before game 5 and before Hue named Hogan the starter.

After the Browns terrible 0-4 start to the year I having loading up and firing the Hot Take Cannon on twitter and in last weeks episode of Sports, Society and Spirits and slowly sinking into a state that most devoted Browns know as - the regular season. Thankfully Bob Evans stopped by to attempt to calm me down and talk me off the proverbial fan ledge. It didn't work, I still think the franchise is a disaster and at won't see .500 until next decade but maybe if you need a pick me up Bob's rationality can help you get through to at least the bye week. The show isn't all negative though, we spend a good deal of time discussing the Cavs and their revamped lineup and why this team might just be better than it was last year and Bob breaks down why he thinks the Indians get the job done this year and win the World Series. Grab a piece of pie and enjoy CLE Hot Take Central: Everybody PanicYeah, I forgot I already used this title. I plagiarized myself. Creative fail. Sports, Society & Spirits RSS

After a 3 month break TJ and I decided to record again. Yeah, life happened. So lets set the table: In Charlottesville a group of neo nazi white nationalists protested the removal of statues to confederate leaders who rebelled against the country and resulted in a war that killed 620,000 American's. They ran over a woman and killed her. President Trump said there were some mighty fine people at that hate rally. NFL players are taking a knee to protest what they believe to be disproportionate use of deadly force by police against African American men. Mr. Trump said the sons of bitches should stop kneeling or be fired. Today we spend most of this episode talking about this issue, we also discuss the Browns for a bit.

Urban Meyer has to do some soul searching and self examination. Ohio State's offense has been broken for two seasons now and ultimately there are two people to blame - JT Barrett and Urban Meyer. JT gets blame for missing open receivers and simply failing to execute the playbook. Meyer is to blame for not recognizing JT's limitations and changing his playbook to suit the personnel he has.Ohio State has the talent to win a national title every year and to have the same offensive plague this team for 2 seasons is inexcusable.

A lot can change in a week. Last week we discussed the possibility of LeBron James leaving the Cavs and I was certain that even if he did, the Cavs had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love through 2020. Well, 11 days later and it is Kyrie who is out the door. What does this mean for the Cavs? Can they get equal value in a trade? Do they have to trade Irving? Does this improve LeBron's chances of staying in Cleveland actually? Was Kyrie responsible for the chemistry issues. Bob Evans joins me in studio as we discuss all things Cavs. We finish the show by discussing the latest CTE study showing that all but one donated brain from former NFL players showed signs of CTE. What does this mean for the NFL? Can better helmets actually solve the CTE issue?   

So after an almost three month break, TJ and I felt it was time to record again. Today's podcast is heavy on the Cleveland Cavs, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. We also spend some time explaining why Floyd Mayweather is going to destroy Conor McGregor. Towards the end of the show TJ goes crazy with R Kelly insults and we discuss Trump Jr's emails. Here's to hoping we have our scheduling issues worked out and this is the start of weekly podcasts again. For those downloading and listening still, thanks for sticking with us while we get the schedule hammered out.

Well according to NBA writers and talking heads there is an NBA arms race going on and LeBron is leaving Cleveland. Right, and Anna Kournikova is naked waiting for me in my bed. Neither is true. Despite all the free agent signings the Cavs are still the best team by far in the east and the Warriors are going to destroy the west. Nothing has changed. As far as LeBron watch 2018 - wake me when there is any evidence at all that he is thinking of opting out and testing the open free agent market. Until then, its all clickbait. The NBA and those who cover it don't want you to realize that everything leading up to the finals is 100% irrelevant right now in the NBA. There is no reason to watch the regular season or the playoffs until the finals, because in the end it will be Cavs Warriors again, for the fourth straight year. Also aware that Love and Kyrie are signed through 2020, mistakenly said 2019

LeBron James had an ungodly amazing game three against the Pacers. Instead of appreciating it the comparisons to Jordan are out in force again. Can we just stop comparing the man to Jordan. No one is Jordan, no one will ever be Jordan. LeBron is the greatest player of a generation, can we not just enjoy his greatness while he is still playing basketball at a high level? Got to work on my impressions, Carl in Cleveland ended up as Beavis by the time his call was done.

For the first time since around September we were able to whole crew back together to podcast. Episode 14 sees Bob Evans and Jason Snider joining Scott and T.J. in a throwback to the old NoStaticRadio days. We set out to do a podcast focused on the NFL Draft, what happened was and hour and 50 minutes of conversation about Aaron Hernandez, Steve Stephens, The Cavs and finally, the NFL draft. Crack open a drink and sit back an enjoy episode 14, lots of good draft analysis in here as well as discussions about the Cavs and the state of mental health care in the United States Make sure to check out Bob's website ClevelandSportsZone.com and go subscribe to his podcast The Cleveland Sports Zone.

Edwin Encarnacion is off to a slow start and some Indians fans are panicking. This edition of CLE Hot Take Central attempts to use logic and statistics to assuage the fear that joe average baseball has that EE is going to be a massive bust. My guess is no amount of logic or statistics will accomplish this and people will flame twitter anyway, but here is my effort to calm down over reacting fans.

Time for a new segment on Sports, Society and Spirits. Hot Take Central will address the hot take of the week in Cleveland sports and hopefully, with some comedic value, illustrate why said take is flaming garbage. For the inaugural episode I have selected a take I myself was guilty of flaming, anger over stars in basketball sitting out regular season games. I also freely admit my personal twitter account sometimes is so riddled with hot takes that it resembles the Cuyahoga River in the late 70's. Sports, Society & Spirits RSS

Consider this week a warmup for next week when we get the entire band back together, but in episode 13 I am joined by Bob Evans from the Cleveland Sports Zone podcast and ClevelandSportsZone.Com. This week we spend an hour talking about the Browns and everyone in Cleveland's favorite topic - the NFL draft. Bob really wanted to stay focused on defensive needs, I kept derailing that focus, it is what I do.

So it has been a little while since Scott and T.J. have recorded an episode, we are sorry, it was unavoidable. However, we are back and in episode 12 we are discussing the Raiders moving to Vegas, Wrestlemania, the Cleveland Browns quarterback issues, Paige's homemade videos and the Cavs recent collapse. No society this week as we wrong on sports, but I am sure 45 and crew will give us something to discuss next week.

It is that time of year again, NBA All-Star Weekend, and this year we were treated to one of the worst ever. No one played defense, the dunk contest was horrible, and overall the NBA All-Star Weekend was not worth watching, again. T.J. and Scott discuss ways to improve the NBA All-Star game, such as horse, or a two vs. two or one on one tournament. We also discuss Kyrie Irving saying the Earth is flat, T.J. rips Draymond Green and we discuss the impact of #FakeNews and dismissing facts because they don't support a certain point of view. Sports, Society & Spirits RSS

A tragedy occurred at Baylor. A new lawsuit alleges there were 52 sexual assaults by Baylor football players from 2011 to 2014. The Baylor coaching staff and university officials allegedly ignored the allegations when brought to there attention, or worse, tried to convince victims to leave the university or accept free tuition for being silent. Currently, the NCAA penalty is limited to loss of TV revenue. This is what happens when Penn State gets away with covering up Sandusky's crimes. There is a problem going on in America on college campuses and football program heads are feeding it by looking the other way when assaults occur. This week's episode also recaps the Super Bowl, the Cavs acquisition of Derrick Williams, the Browns recent roster moves and Charles Oakley getting thrown out of Madison Square Garden.

Charles Barkley has always been an ass. In this episode of Sports, Society and Spirits T.J. and Scott trash Chuck for taking cheap shots at Lebron James. We also talk about the Cavs problems, and how J.R. Smith is the key to solving everything, as the Cavs miss his perimeter defense. We also both predict the Falcons win the Superbowl. In the society portion of the show we discuss the Trump's immigration policy, and Carolyn Bryant admitting she lied about Emmet Till, which led to the murder of Till, then a 14 year old in 1955. We revisit events in our recent past and discuss how we tend to sanitize or ignore the deplorable occurrences of not only our distant, but relatively recent past.

Aaron Rodgers is not human. No way, no how. When he is at his best no one in the game has played the quarterback position at the level he does. In this week's episode T.J. and Scott breakdown round 2 of the NFL playoffs, make some predictions for the conference title game, as well as discussing the end of UFC Legend B.J. Penn's career. We also hit a little bit on the Cavs Warriors matchup, which at the time of recording on Monday had not yet been played. Yes, I still think that game has more importance to fans than players. In the society portion of the show we discuss Trump's impending inauguration and his twitter feud with Georgia Representative John Lewis.

In this weeks episode T.J. and Scott breakdown week 1 of the NFL playoffs, make predictions for week 2, discuss the Browns hiring bounty gate leader Greg Williams, the Cavs acquiring Kyle Korver, and in the society portion of the show, we discuss the brutal beating of an 18 year old with mental disabilities in Chicago.

The Indians lost game 7, The Buckeyes lost, the Browns went 1-15, Rosey looked like an amateur against a pro, Mariah Carey was a train wreck on New Years Eve. 2016 seemed to just rocket toward disaster at the end, but it is over now. In this week's episode Scott and T.J. breakdown the Buckeyes loss, where the Browns go from here, where does Rousey go with her career, and in the society portion of the show we discuss the ever evolving social media impact on our lives.  Please note this was recorded before the Buckeye coaching staff shakeup, which we feel was an excellent move.

Yes, Hail Dolan's. Cheap asses no more, the Dolan's have opened up the bank vault and signed Edwin Encarnacion. In this week's episode of Sports, Society and Spirits T.J. and Scott talk about the impact of E.E. for the Tribe, what Ohio State needs to do in order to beat Clemson, break down Cavs vs Warriors on Christmas day (Warriors blew a 14 point lead, it is what they do) and, the dreaded bane of sports talk, Browns draft. In the Society portion of the show, we discuss Donald Trump's public support for Israel, Obama finally growing a set and being hawkish, and ask the question, almost two months after winning the election what might Trump's foreign and domestic policy look like. Oh, and Scott is team Trubisky with the 1st overall pick.

Cleveland Browns fans are planning a parade if the team goes 0 and 16, and Scott and T.J. think this is a horrible idea that not only insults the team, but the city. Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey are sitting out bowl games, and it is the right decision for the player, but a terrible for the NCAA and the media which covers it. Finally, we wrap with a discussion of Donald Trump and Bill Clinton fighting on twitter, China stealing a drone, Trump calling Tawain, will Donald be a two term president and a shout out to our favorite conspiracy loving former science teacher...SCIENCE!

Yep, it is 2:30, December 5th, and Michigan still sucks, even with Harbaugh. In this week's episode T.J. and I discuss the Ohio State/Michigan game, make predictions on the college football playoff, break down why the selection committee got it right. and remind everyone not to worry that Cavs are struggling in early December. In the final part of the show we discuss the death of Fidel Castro, Obama's participation trophy worthy noncommittal statement and the truth that Castro was a tyrannical, oppressive who killed or exiled anyone who did not think the way he did.

In episode two of Sports, Society and Spirits T.J. and Scott discuss the Ohio State Buckeyes' playoff chances including a breakdown of The Game upcoming against that unmentionable school up north Saturday. Episode two also touches on the abomination that is the Cleveland Browns as well as touching on the election of Donald Trump and what this does and does not say about the state of America's society. Scott may or may not rant on Hadrian's Wall for just a few minutes longer than he should, blame T.J. for comparing America to Rome. ***There are some audio issues in the back part of this recording that I was unable to eliminate with editing. I am uncertain what is causing this and hope to have this resolved before any more podcast streams are recorded. My apologies, it will be resolved as soon as I isolate the cause. *** 

This week TJ and Scott discussed the Indians World Series run, predictions for the upcoming Cavs season, should the Browns trade Haden and Thomas if they can and the potential impact of a Trump or Clinton victory on November 9th.