Podcast appearances and mentions of Scott Raab

Scott Raab is the Outreach Director of Move America Forward

A new book chronicles the long process of rebuilding the World Trade Center from the rubble of 9/11. Journalist Scott Raab, who followed the story for Esquire, and the official World Trade Center photographer Joe Woolhead join us to discuss their new book, Once More to the Sky: the Rebuilding of the World Trade Center.

The Author of "The Whore Of Akron" and "You're Welcome, Cleveland", and ESPN 30 for 30 producer of "Believeland" Scott Raab (@scottraab64) kicks off the first episode of my podcast where he talks writing for Esquire and GQ, his books, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, getting a tattoo with Dennis Rodman and more. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-binkowski/support

Scott Raab helped build this podcast with his appearances. He reached out recently, and we couldn't be happier to welcome him back to the podcast to discuss all things Cleveland sports. We talked about the Dolan family's ownership as well as the ownership groups of other teams and how they relate to fans and media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab has been an integral part of the WFNY Podcast for a long time. We're always happy to have him as a part of it whenever he has anything to talk about. This time, the futility of the Cleveland Browns and the Perfect Season Parade was the reason. Scott spends the better part of an hour on this episode talking about ownership, the team, the parade and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab has followed up his book, The Whore of Akron with a championship book called You're Welcome Cleveland. I put out a call to see if he would come on the podcast and Scott was willing. We are forever indebted to Scott for the weekly appearances he made on the WFNY Podcast and it's always great to catch up. We're on Patreon and you can support us! Subscribe: iTunes Stitcher Google Play Here's what else we talked about. You're Welcome Cleveland Are you still feeling the championship love? How long will the championship feeling last? Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson talking about the difference between the regular season and the playoffs LeBron saying he's addicted to the process Waking up and not liking football Expecting pro athletes not to feel real life Kyrie Irving flat earth and JR Smith When athletes and celebs go direct to the fans, what role does media have Figuring out how to add value in 2017 What's left of the newspaper? When was the last time you knowingly clicked on an ad? When will we talk about the death of radio? The Browns and trading down Finding talent period What's the difficult thing to do as the HBT? Who would we take instead?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I don't know if this was the best podcast we ever do, but it's definitely the best topic. Scott Raab joins the WFNY podcast after the Cleveland Cavaliers made history and made us all champions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recently-retired Esquire writer discusses his Cleveland fandom, writing his new book on the Cavaliers, Bill Murray's kind gesture, getting tattoos with Dennis Rodman and why Paul Newman was a challenging interview.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Get full access to JoeBlogs at joeposnanski.substack.com/subscribe

Scott Raab helped build this podcast with his Monday morning episodes. We will forever be indebted to him for spending that time with WFNY and we're happy to have him on whenever he feels like it. He is in town for the Cavs playoffs and wanted to discuss ESPN's forthcoming 30 for 30 documentary Believeland. It's showing March 14th on ESPN. We also discussed the Cavaliers, sports and life in general, and a little bit about life after Esquire magazine.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab was a very important part of the WFNY Podcast as a weekly guest and contributor for a long time. I've always left the door wide open to welcome him back any time he felt like he had something to say. It was a great conversation about a wide variety of Cleveland sports topics. The WFNY Podcast is sponsored by Audible.com and WFNY listeners can get a free trial and audiobook download by going to AudibleTrial.com/wfny Subscription information Also never risk missing an episode by subscribing to the podcast via iTunes Here's the rest of what we talked about. The gravity of Browns decisions Ray Farmer and the job he's done Trent Richardson and how his career has turned out Trying to justify the future that Browns fans think they're stuck with Winning the debates versus always selling Mark Shapiro's exit from Cleveland to Toronto The Indians and how many badasses there were in the dugout Mark Shapiro's executive of the year awards Other fans trying to convince me that I should enjoy what it is I'm watching Play Like a Brown and what that means Mike Pettine update heading into 2015 Johnny Manziel is not Joe Namath The Browns are partners with both sports talk radio stations It's a special breed that can host a three or four hour sports talk radio show The sports talk radio format doesn't make any sense to me Revisiting LeBron James Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You knew it was going to happen. Scott Raab joined me this morning to discuss the return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  We discussed the letter that LeBron wrote with Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. We also discussed the sourcing frenzy that led up to the LeBron article coming out. Scott talked about what it's been like for his son to welcome back LeBron James and also a little bit about what he'd like to see in terms of coverage of LeBron James from the region's biggest paper, the Plain Dealer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whenever the bat signal goes up and Scott Raab wants to go long-form on Cleveland sports I jump at the chance. This morning I talked to him for over an hour on the following topics. The World Cup and the USMNT's tie to Portugal Cleveland's "savior" complex Johnny Manziel and his personality LeBron James and his potential return Mike Pettine and Scott's forthcoming profile of the Browns coach for Esquire magazine The Cavaliers hiring of David Blatt  Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers and Joel Embiid Cleveland Indians attendance talk in the media Sports journalism and the use of anonymous sources There was even more than all that, but like so many of my conversations with Scott, it all just flowed pretty naturally. Until next time...   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot of people asked for it, and I got the fateful text last week that said Scott was ready and had something to say! In all seriousness, I loved talking to Scott Raab every week and I love talking to him whenever I get the chance to now. With the Johnny Manziel draft pick and the Josh Gordon rumors that cropped up, there was little doubt that he and I would get together on the phone and talk about the Cleveland sports news of the moment. We also found occasion to talk about the Sin Tax and Chief Wahoo briefly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Honestly, Scott Raab has been trying to get away a bit from the Cleveland sports thing. I've left this platform completely open to him for whenever there's something worth talking about, and a mere days after Chris Grant was fired and we fired up the podcast, Jimmy Haslam drops the hammer in Berea. So? We loaded it up again. There's no mystery about the things we talked about. The Browns, Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, Jimmy Haslam, Ray Farmer, Alec Scheiner, Mike Pettine and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's always great to have Scott Raab's perspective when big things happen. We spent about an hour talking about all the different dynamics surrounding the Cavaliers and their decision to dismiss Chris Grant from the team. As always, it was a discussion that went beyond what is normally covered in the rapid-fire sports talk settings we're normally used to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We don't do a regular Monday morning podcast with Scott Raab anymore, but whenever there's something that needs to be discussed, he's there for us. With the Browns' hiring of Mike Pettine and ending the lengthy coaching search, it was a good time to catch up. We discussed the Browns' search. We discussed Mike Pettine as a candidate. We discussed the challenges facing the Browns going forward and we even fit in a bit of Cavs talk with Chris Grant and Anthony Bennett.  Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First week in a long time without Scott Raab. First pinch hitter out of the gate was Andrew. We spent some time talking about the Browns and all their maneuvers along with how quiet it has generally been about Davone Bess. ------------------------- Scott's post on Davone Bess is an interesting place to start. - why is this topic going so under the radar? on the one hand we've heard that he has problems in his personal life, likely with his family. I understand the media not wanting to report that, but his pot pictures indicate some sort of meltdown.  - on the other hand, some of the reaction to Scott's post seemed to indicate, "what's the big deal? It's pot and it's basically legal now!" that's something we talked about with chris perez earlier this year. Even if you don't have an ethical dilemma about pot (and I don't) that doesn't mean that it isn't some sort of self-destructive meltdown to have it shipped through the mail / post pics on instagram  - does the Bess thing just have everything to do with the fact that the Browns are such a mess otherwise?  - As for the Browns, obviously confidence is extremely shaken in the entire organization now, but does that preclude them from being right? Is it even possible in your mind that their story is just 100% true and they couldn't work with Chud despite their reasons for hiring him in the first place? - if Chud was hard headed about playing McGahee, Little, Lauvao and others as opposed to moving on, would you consider those decent enough reasons for firing a guy? If they were so far off from being on the same page, isn't it the right move?  - Are you shocked that a first time head coach like Chud would seemingly be willing to push back on his superiors? Do you think it was guidance from Norv Turner - who reportedly blew up at Banner in his meeting - for standing his ground? - Lastly, we'll talk Cavs. What are the going to do with Bynum. I'm hoping it's done before we record, honestly. Otherwise, we can talk about Grant and how hot his seat might be at this point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab couldn't be finished with the WFNY Podcast for 2013 after what happened over the weekend, so we decided to do one more in 2013. We touched on all of the obvious topics including... Scott Raab talking about the Browns Dumpster fire's use in the mainstream Joe Banner and the ego that goes with firing Chud Jimmy Haslam's role in the firing The informational path from Mike Lombardi to the media How should fans react to this today? Was Rob Chudzinski the wrong guy for the job? Rob Chudzinski's own issues and how they impacted his own firing Tony Grossi's post about Chud refusing to cut Greg Little and Shawn Lauvao Professional sports leagues are cartels, not pizza parlors Scott: “We're prisoners, not customers” Is there anything Haslam and Banner could say for Scott? Media should have an adversarial relationship with the front office The Kyrie Irving situation is going to end the same way the LeBron one did The Art Modell move continues to haunt coverage of the Browns Andrew Bynum, the media and the Cavaliers' future Brian Windhorst continues to be one of the best Cavs beat reporters The Kyrie Irving scenario and how it's playing out Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There really wasn't much of an email to Scott yesterday as I was driving to Pittsburgh to see Mansions play at The Smiling Moose. So, here's the rundown. Scott and I talked about the Browns and what their season means in terms of what they are and accountability.  We talked about Scott going to see a play with Jeff Goldblum, who he is interviewing for Esquire. We talked the continuing infighting that seems to be occurring with Cleveland sports fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott and I had another good chat this week running down all the Cleveland sports stories worth talking about. As usual, here's the email I sent to Scott on Sunday night... --------------------- Hope you had a nice weekend.  Some thoughts this fine Sunday evening... The Browns should know conclusively that Jason Campbell is a nice backup and nothing more. Probably better than Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme, so not a candidate to be the long-term starter. Maybe they really did know this all along as he was consistently their last choice all year until they mercifully concluded that Weeden couldn't play either.  Edwin Baker ran hard and it didn't leave me impressed with him as much as I'm shocked that the Browns haven't been able to find guys to run the ball with that level of energy all the time. Even Brandon Jackson seemed to run with more urgency than Willis and Fozzy. Seems like it should be easy to find, although maybe it's confidence. Confidence is something rarer.  I loved Mike Brown getting himself run from the game while standing up for his guys against MIA. NBA reffing is whatever, of course, but it was symbolic for him as head coach. The Cavs are currently playing like they might not despise each other. That's a step up for these Cavaliers.  Do you remember a good CLE sports team that did well and seemingly despised each other? Albert Belle's time with the Tribe might be the closest thing I can think of in my lifetime, but I don't know that Belle's teammates disliked him.  The longer we go in the offseason, the more I think there's a chance Ubaldo will be back. Do you want him back, and if so how much?  Lastly non-sports... I'm currently reading the first fantasy book that I've read in a long long time. The Lies of Locke Lamorra by Scott Lynch is the first book in the Gentlemen Bastard series. I'm trying but it might not be for me. It takes place on a fictional planet and I get so bogged down in fake city, race and country names that I think I ruin it for myself.  Can you do fantasy / sci fi? Is there a specific kind of fiction that you seek out more than others when looking to read? Talk to you tomorrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a nice chat with Scott Raab today. As I expected, he refused to entertain any "loser talk" about referees and bad calls. He's right of course, but I tried to drag the conversation that way anyway! We also talked about the Indians rotation and whether they'll sign someone. We talked about the Cavs and their growing chemistry. We also talked about how he doesn't feel much of anything for the Buckeyes and how my generation does. As usual, here is the email I sent Scott ahead of the podcast... ------------------ I will have to formulate my thoughts about the Browns game over the evening. I hate to spend a lot of time talking about referees, I just don't think it can be avoided this week. Sometimes when a ref makes a meaningful call at a meaningful point in the game and blows it against the visiting team at the end of a game... It just can't be avoided. My only criticism for Chud today is that he didn't fire on all cylinders in post-game comments about the referees. He's got these guys still playing and he's obviously inspiring them. I think he's done a hell of a job as a rookie head coach and probably for any head coach. Still, I'd have loved him to earn his first NFL fines this week. We've never really talked about the Buckeyes, but whenever the Buckeyes and Browns lose in the same weekend it's tough. I'd kind of forgotten that the Buckeyes could lose, which is a testament to their last two years of play. Ohio State headed to the Orange Bowl to face Clemson. This little tidbit from 11Warriors had me thinking... "The game will be played nearly 35 years to the day from when former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman in the Gator Bowl, leading to Hayes' dismissal at Ohio State. That game, won by Clemson 17-15, is the only meeting between the two schools." I'd be interested in your thoughts on that if you have any to share. That's before my time, but I obviously was told the story and have seen it referenced numerous times over the years. Of course we can touch on the Cavs as well. The Indians are basically idle. That's what I've got so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a somber sports day on Sunday and this is what resulted.  The real highlights of this podcast for me are: 1. Talking about the Artie Lange book "Crash and Burn" that I'm reading 2. Talking about a Cleveland sports fan who lives in Colorado and has a really great rock band called Instant Empire. I closed today's podcast with his band's song, "Keep Up!" and hope everyone enjoys it half as much as I did. Here's the email I sent Scott yesterday -------------- After traveling to Indianapolis this weekend I don't have a long email in me. I did catch the Browns game on my phone on the way home via slingbox. The future is a pretty amazing place to be, really. I've had it with smug Browns fans who act like winning now isn't important with the offseason lined up with draft picks. Had it! It's nice and all to have hope via picks but you can't count on anything until they prove they can win. This team shouldn't be favored in any game the rest of the year. That's a disgrace no matter who is injured. We can talk about the Cavs too. We seem to know more about the Waiters / Thompson screaming match. I'm reading Artie Lange's book which is the most graphic addiction story that I think I've personally read. I'm unsure if there's any discussion there, but I thought I'd mention it on the chance. That's what I have for now. Talk to you tomorrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was another awful week in Cleveland sports. It was so bad in fact that I don't think Scott or I could even muster up any anger over it. When you get lulled out of anger and into straight depression, it doesn't mean it's any easier. It's just sadder. Anyway, here's the email I sent to Scott on Sunday night before we recorded on Monday morning... ---------------------- I was at the Browns game today. We don't need to spend too much time on that. It's over. The season is over. They'll be favored against the Jags, but I wouldn't bet on the Browns to beat any other NFL team right now.  I'm missing next week's game driving back from thanksgiving. I normally rally the family at 6 AM to leave Indy so we can make it home in time for kickoff. Not doing it for this team. It's the first time that I'm missing a game in a long time and I really don't even care. I don't hate this team but I've never been with less passion in my life.  Jhonny Peralta signed a 4 year deal for more than $50 million. Would Asdrubal get that today if he was working free agency? Plus this is the second straight year that a PED user went and got a deal after a suspension. Melky Cabrera last year.  Taking the anger out with regard to the Cavaliers, what do you do if you're Dan Gilbert? I know he's not a sympathetic figure really, but what do you think he's thinking and feeling right now? Last but not least, I saw a really great movie filmed in Chagrin Falls. The Kings of Summer starred Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and some great unknown younger actors. While Cleveland / Chagrin Falls wasn't really a character in the film, it still have me pride. Local producer doing good work. Surprisingly funny.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott and I touched on a lot of topics today, including the impending fight over stadium funding in Cleveland. We talked about the Browns loss to the Bengals and the mostly disappointing start for the Cavaliers. 12 Years a Slave by Steve McQueenPete Franklin and his history revolutionizing radioThe way Pete Franklin handled callersScott booing a live podcast of “Hang up and Listen”Mike Trivisonno, Tony Rizzo, and Ken CarmanThe Cleveland Cavaliers and the lack of criticism right nowPatience with talent is one thingPatience with losing and lack of effort?Dion Waiters and what happened with his “flu”Brian Windhorst's report that the player's only meeting got heatedChris Grant and what he can be held responsible for with regard to Anthony BennettThere's a good player in every draftCleveland Browns stadium improvements and how to pay for themThe sin tax and how regressive it isThe Browns game and how flukey bad it wasThe Browns defense is still good and so is the BengalsBrian Hoyer and Jason Campbell and how consistent either one of them can beThe Browns' draft needs Thank goodness ESPN hired Pat McManamon to cover the Browns for Cleveland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, with the Browns on the bye, Scott and I spent a lot of time talking about things that weren't specifically related to Cleveland sports. We talked about the ongoing story of the Dolphins. We talked about the word "bullying" vs. the actual harassment. We talked about Richie Incognito and his checkered past. We talked about the culture of football and the culture of fans. We also talked about the Cavaliers and the roster that Chris Grant has built. As it is undoubtedly early, there are still some real concerns over the roster that has been constructed by Chris Grant with the holes that are still left. Where will the roster go from here and how long will it take to find out exactly who they are? Finally, we discussed the Bengals and their end-of-game strategy to kick an extra point to tie it at 17 rather than go for two and go home either as a one point winner or as loser on the spot.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab ended this week's podcast telling everyone to go to the dentist, don't do drugs and stay in school. You should listen all the way to the end to see how we got there. As per usual, here's the email I sent Scott last night. --------------- They beat the Ravens. It was a "proof of parity" game for the Browns. The Cleveland Browns with Jason Campbell are no longer defying the rules of parity in the NFL! There's nothing like going into a bye week with a win. Love it. Love being consistently mediocre with a chance to win. I hate myself for loving it as much as I do.  Farewell Chris Perez. There was a lot of talk about Chris Perez' legacy this week in Cleveland and it seems like a waste of breath. I supported Chris Perez talking when he was in Cleveland because I kind of like it when athletes don't shy away from saying something real as opposed to a cookie-cutter phrase. But Perez is proof positive that you can erase anything good you did by being an asshole.  You look at Vinnie Pestano and how he imploded this year and how the fans stuck by him, and it kind of tells the tale. Pestano didn't have anywhere near the success for the Tribe that Perez did, and because he was such a nice guy they supported him even when he failed them on the field. There's a Josh Cribbs thought in here as well. Totally different case, but he seems to put all that good will in jeopardy from time to time with a quote or a tweet. Granted, I still don't understand why fans would be upset with Josh Cribbs for talking trash about his former teammates and coaches. It isn't like he said Browns fans quit at any point. But here were a bunch of Cleveland fans presumably getting bent out of shape as if they needed to spring to the defense of Mike Holmgren, Pat Shurmur, Eric Mangini Braylon Edwards, or Romeo Crennel. Lastly, I asked on Twitter, despite how early it is, what if the Cavs stink this year? How much rope does Chris Grant have? Again, I know it's ridiculously early, but Michael Carter-Williams and Ben McLemore (for example) are already showing things in the NBA. Anthony Bennett has two points in three games with those two points coming on free throws. Plus as you've noted time and again, he's out of shape. So, does Chris Grant get until after the presumed LBJ free agency if they fail to win this year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab was on his way to the airport and it was a perfect opportunity for us to do our podcast as he was driven through NY traffic. Here's the email I sent him the night before. Hope all is well. We'll obviously talk about the Browns. I'm not going to say too much, just that I wasn't horribly disappointed and that I'm looking forward to next week's game against the Ravens. I also really want to talk about Lou Reed. I'm sure lots of people will too, but I would guess your perspective will be as good or better than nearly anyone's. Even before Googling, I just assumed you had talked to Lou Reed at some point in your career and sure enough, I found this. http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/lou-reed-learned-0400 I was late to understand Lou Reed. The first time I ever heard Sweet Jane it was the Cowboy Junkies version from Natural Born Killers. The Velvet Underground came into my world in high school, but even then I wasn't sold. I couldn't escape Lou Reed in my travels as a music fan, but it was weird. I loved all the bands that Lou Reed influenced in indie rock more than I loved the originator. Most notably the Pixies name-drop Lou Reed in one of their songs. Can't remember which one right now. It's not right, but that's how it worked for me. I never questioned his importance to American music though. Kind of like even if you don't like Dylan, you can't deny his importance.  Ron and Fez close every show on Sirius XM with Satellite of Love and it's become my favorite Lou Reed song by a longshot. It makes me feel like a fraud though. I feel like loving that song makes me a Bowie fan more than a Lou Reed fan. Anyway, he should be talked about.  Lastly, I'd be interested to know if you're watching the World Series. Talk to you tomorrow! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Always good to catch up with Martin Rickman. Today we found ourselves talking about sports and media and college football.  Event at the Happy Dog Enjoying the interview style of Scott Raab and Zac Jackson The player interview  Trying to cover younger players Covering Jameis Winston and how much he has it in terms of talking to the media Interviewing vs. writing The targeting rule and Martin's opinion on it The yellow card red card scenario Roby's celebration and reaction Owning up to the head injuries Getting sick when hits like that happen Are you more basketball than football? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we talked about the Browns' loss to the Packers, but we branched out a bit. We talked about Robert Redford, movie criticism and passing pop culture down generationally. We also talked about Scott Raab coming home to speak at Cleveland State and also the Happy Dog on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM with Zac Jackson as well. Here's the email I sent to Scott in anticipation of our podcast this morning. We'll talk about the Browns. Specifically, I think I can say without hyperbole that the Browns should cut Brandon Weeden. It seems inconceivable that Michael Lombardi could be involved with the Browns cutting Bernie Kosar and yet can't find it in this iteration of the Browns to cut Weeden loose.  I really want to talk about Robert Redford. I read your movie review of All is Lost. Unfortunately I didn't catch the profile from April. Something you said in the review surprised me. Call it a product of our age difference, but I had no idea that Redford wasn't a critical success his entire career. Obviously I believe you, but I think it's fascinating that the translation of Redford from my father to me was nothing but positive and so I always just assumed he was like a George Clooney who was both popular and critically acclaimed. Is there an actor today that lines up with Redford in that way where he takes a little from the critics, but time will erase almost all of the criticism? I have one in mind, but I'll save it and run it by you "live" on the air. That's all I've got right now. I am looking to read some of the post-game quotes from the Browns to see if they have anything to say for themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I've done in previous (but not all) weeks, here's the Sunday night email that I sent to Scott. It largely saves you from hearing the tap tap tap of me taking notes during the podcast. Here we go... The Cleveland Browns lose not simply because Brandon Weeden had a bad day, but it's impossible to get over that embarrassing shovel pass he threw. In a week where Brandon Weeden was simply outplayed by someone like Thad Lewis in Buffalo, is it fair to hope we never see Weeden play again for the Browns? Is that an overreaction? Does Weeden still give the Browns the best chance to win even if we all know he has no future as a starter in the league? Is he even the best backup available to play for the Browns right now? I want to do some follow-up on Chief Wahoo. The debate raged on after we talked last week. You and I agree on the topic, but it's worth looking at a couple of the arguments. I don't represent these arguments/questions, but they are ones that I saw in the comments of a WFNY post this week in which Andrew from WFNY was saying it was time for Wahoo to go. It's not even unanimous among WFNY writers, by the way. 1. First of all, we've talked about political correctness. Why is it alright to bow down to the P.C. pressure on Native Americans with regard to Chief Wahoo but still hate political correctness in other arenas? 2. Following up on the first question, what is your response to the slippery slope argument that if you allow Chief Wahoo to go that all sports team names will be scrubbed next? 3. How much of this whole debate boils down to the fact that people really just hate to be told what to do? Now for some of my new personal enlightenment on the topic, here's what I've been thinking about since the Wahoo debate has been re-ignited among Clevelanders. I started thinking about the Redskins name and all the hubbub over Riley Cooper's use of an n-bomb. The NFL might be able to survive the Redskins name and just not care about criticism if they weren't also the same league that jumped through hoops whenever anything remotely racist was said by one of the players. The Riley Cooper situation further reveals a hypocrisy with the NFL's willingness to have the word Redskins as a team name. What would the Indians do if one of their players referred to someone as a "f***ot" in a post-game presser? I'm sure the player would be punished by the team, league or both like Kobe was in the NBA. If you're going to run a business that is so sensitive to controversial and discriminatory language by a player, you really can't stand by Chief Wahoo. Chief Wahoo is actually antithetical to MLB's business plan. Pro sports are built to be these big safe things for mass audiences. That's all the more reason that these antiquated names - now racist by most everyone's modern definition - have got to change. Did the world change around them? Did standards change? Yes. That observation doesn't allow you to ignore reality. I want to finish up on a positive note. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that I don't know very well right now, but I want to get to know them better. This team might be deep, but in the very very promising kind of way. They're not deep in the Miami Heat kind of way with proven stars only capable of playing 12 minutes per game because they are aged. These are up and coming depth pieces and the Cavaliers will get to choose the best of them over the course of this year. I'm simultaneously excited for the present and the future with these Cavaliers even though it's just pre-season. That's what I've got. Look forward to talking to you tomorrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here is the email I sent to Scott prior to our podcast this week. Indians year in review. The team was maddening. They finished great. They actually made the playoffs. They got shut out in the playoffs. Do you need a short-hand "good" or "bad" rating for the season? I'm curious if your son had a take on whether it was a good or bad season and how that conversation went. I still just talk "at" my three year old about sports so I told him that they made the playoffs and that it was a good year. Maybe next year they can have an even better one. I imagine the 14-year-old sports fan opinion is a bit more nuanced. Speaking of nuance, the Browns won to make it three wins in a row, but the biggest reason (other than the defense) for making it three in a row tears his ACL. I worked really hard to enjoy the win, but in the end, the feeling of gloom rose to the top. I never imagined it would happen when he was named starter, but I looked forward to watching Brian Hoyer play. I did a podcast with Sam Allard and Brian Windhorst last week and we talked about how the Mike Brown story should probably be much bigger in Cleveland. Because Brown was here once and people mark his exit as the same time frame as "The Decision," Mike Brown has largely been labeled a failure. Windhorst told me that he doesn't necessarily think that's fair and that Mike Brown's resume should have made his hiring in Cleveland a bigger deal. At the time, I thought Mike Brown should have been fired after the Orlando series, if I'm being perfectly honest. Maybe I was crazy, but it seemed to me that even though he won coach of the year that year he had coached badly against Orlando and even in the sweep of the Hawks before it. Maybe I'm too fickle though. I said the same thing about Eric Wedge when he won Manager of the Year in 2007. Later on in 2010 I said that those two coaching awards were some of the worst things that happened to the respective franchises because it made those two coaches untouchable. Am I nuts to have put Eric Wedge and Mike Brown in the same category? Lastly, I truly am excited to have Mike Brown back. That being the case, it occurs to me this is the most excited I've been about all the coaches of the respective Cleveland sports teams in a long time and maybe ever. It's hard to think we'll look back and regret Terry Francona. I think there's a good chance that Chud and his staff are the real deal. Am I jumping the gun? If so, how much? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott and Craig have their first of (hopefully) many really happy podcasts. I admit that I was practically giddy talking about the Tribe game on Wednesday. Can Scott Raab be happy when Cleveland sports enables him to do so?Criticism vs. love and all the emotions in betweenThe amount of hate in love and lifelong commitment“Please stay away, don't come back”Interviewing Patrick Stewart and racing home for the Tribe gameScott streamed the Browns even though he swore them offThe Muni Lot and the the 7 AM opening timeTailgating in your living room the night before the gameThe “here we go Brownies” chant and how it's been a parody because the team hasn't wonBrian Hoyer and his overwhelming competence on the fieldBrandon Weeden and the position he was put inThe effect of confidence and calmnessNaming the starting quarterback for ThursdayTrying to find long-term referendums from short-term resultsHolding the front office accountable for the Trent Richardson tradeI guess I shouldn't try to talk anyone out of being optimisticCraig thinks he was wrong about Buster SkrineDanny Salazar starting the Wild Card gameThe Jason Giambi era in ClevelandTerry Francona pulling all the right stringsChris Perez talking to the press yesterdayTrying to defend Chris Perez and how he's just immature in Craig's opinionWe all know we have holes in our gameJustin Masterson as a weapon in the bullpenSix seasons is a lifetime in baseballCleveland is not St. Louis, but it's definitely not Tampa eitherThe Indians sold out the Wednesday Wild Card gameThe loss of big name players and how they haven't been replacedScott prefers that the Indians get Texas over TampaChris Antonetti and giving him credit for onceFrancona and Brian Hoyer showing extreme competenceStipe Miocic's tweet to end the podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Browns won, the Indians won and I also forced Scott to talk to us about his writing process. I just figure to have a writer of Scott's stature on the podcast and not occasionally talk about the job of writing would be insane. He's nice enough to put up with the topic on occasion. Craig on vacation in Virginia BeachThe Cleveland Browns win against the VikingsThe Trent Richardson deal goes downRooting for the team but tuning out so you don't have to invest in itJoe Banner and his reputationMichael Lombardi's potential for floating rumors about Josh GordonThe franchise quarterback conundrumBernie Kosar and the Browns competing for Super BowlsThe media and fans congratulating the Joe Banner / Mike Lombardi front office for getting a first round draft pickTrick plays and gimmicking their way to a winChristian Ponder and when he was pickedThe AFC North and the lack of #1 quarterbacks in the divisionBrandon Weeden and when we should see him again“We've got to see what we have in….”Tony Grossi, Eric Mangini and the finger that needed to be pointed at LernerThe Cleveland Indians and Michael BournTechnical writing information on environment from Scott Raab Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's very little to say about this in terms of show notes. I wanted Scott's take on the Browns trade of Trent Richardson and I didn't think it should wait until the following Monday morning. Scott and I talked about the trade itself, the spin job that's brewing in the media and just how shocked that we're even shocked as a Cleveland sports fan base seems to be a way of life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sigur Ros show at Nautica LeBron's wedding on Yom Kippur The Cleveland Indians and their ability to grab the casual fans Michael Bourn and the attendance question Scott screams “I'm not done!” at Craig to continue his point. :-) The beginning part of the Bourn quote The Indians pitching staff with Kluber, Salazar and Ubaldo Jimenez Carlos Carrasco and his ability to be in the bullpen The Indians never sign one of their own guys so they don't have the leverage Grady Sizemore and his star power The Indians sold that they were the smartest in the room and people bought it Looking at the attendance from series to series and game to game The front office should initiate the conversation about year over year attendance Would the Indians sellout a home playoff game? Who asked the Michael Bourn question? The Cleveland Browns and the lack of entertainment The Cleveland Browns and how they don't have an NFL quarterback The pass to Chris Ogbonnaya and the sideline reaction to him missing it The Browns coaching staff and what's happening with the Browns offense What's the deal with Trent Richardson? Just how boring it is to watch the Browns The penalties and the delays of games and illegal formations, etc. The element of despair for long-time Cleveland sports fans Chief Wahoo and the Cleveland Indians name Being on the wrong side of history with your team name Cleveland fans as crabs in a bucket Barkevious Mingo looking good Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would Monday mornings be if there was a bunch of happy stuff to talk about? Someday I hope to find out during the run of podcasts with Scott Raab. This week, though, we discussed the Browns' loss to the Dolphins yesterday and also the conitinual shaming of Cleveland sports fans by the media over attendance issues. Scott Raab drives into NYC to hang with a local chapter of the Browns backers Cleveland Browns Andre Rison jerseys The prediction culture in the NFL Predictions vs. holding the team accountable Brandon Weeden and who gives them the best chance to win The Browns absolutely will be looking for another quarterback Ryan Tannehill and his battery with Brian Hartline Are you a real fan? The media pointing at fans and blaming them for attendance The attendance and the factors that lead to this Stability is a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing The failure loop of the Cleveland Indians Terry Francona's arrival bought Shapiro and Antonetti one last chance with Craig, but not with Scott Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I've been doing the last few weeks, I'm passing on writing notes as the podcast goes along so that I can be "in the moment." So, here's the email I sent to Scott on Sunday night that sparked the rest of the podcast. --------------------- Tebow is cut. Nobody makes a waiver claim. Is the NFL finally free of Tim Tebow? More importantly, we know Bill Belichick is great, but can we stop pretending like he can turn dog poop into gold? He has a track record of finding good players and finding ways to use them to their maximum. He's never been known for taking non-players and doing anything with them other than cutting them... which is what he did to Tebow yesterday. Good news! Buster Skrine rose up and won the second cornerback job opposite Joe Haden. Maybe these guys know what they're doing, but they've really left their chins open on this one if Buster get burned early and often this season. Same with kicker. I got a Facebook message from a friend who went into his fantasy draft and took Shayne Graham because USA Today had him rated as the fifth best fantasy option at kicker. Apparently not so much for the Browns who still don't have a kicker after having a punter kick field goals in the fourth pre-season game. On the bright side, the Browns do have a #1 running back and they attempted to use cuts to get better at the position by bringing in a couple of Dion Lewis types from Baltimore and Houston in Bobby Rainey and Dennis Johnson. Running back is the perfect position to try and improve via undrafted free agency and roster cuts. No sarcasm. Even with the Browns' history involving Ben Gay, I believe this to be true. Finally on the Browns, they did a couple things that were notable merely because the Browns haven't been very competent in the past. The Browns not only hit the deadline for cuts but they almost immediately had coach Chudzinski available for comment. They don't deserve an award or a prize for it, but this level of competence to talk instead of being talked about is novel for Berea even if it shouldn't be. I was taken aback by my own feelings on Sunday. After the Tribe stinking up another series with Detroit, somehow I still found myself eager to see the Tribe and their newest addition Jason Kubel on Sunday. I know that's kind of silly, but it's true and I couldn't help it. They reward us with a huge grand slam win in extras. I listened to the end of the game because we were going somewhere, but I can only imagine what Chris Perez' outing looked like. That's all I have for now. I also wanted to briefly talk about Cleveland Magazine's football issue in which you had a brief section. I'm going to talk to Jason Brill later in the week about the rest of the issue as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Again this week, I thought I'd skip the bullet points and just send you the email I sent to Scott the night before the podcast. Wherever we end up is based on this email and the conversation that ensues. We ended up talking about concussions in football, Tribe attendance and any number of other topics including some from my Sunday night email below. -------------- I'd love to spend some time talking about a packed pre-season game in a dome with cheerleaders and their fans wearing irrelevant jerseys. Because they've been so good for so long, save one bad year, even their dead jerseys aren't embarrassing. Dwight Freeney is gone but they still wear his jersey. Jeff Saturday is retired, but he was well represented. Peyton Manning, of course. Edgerrin James. Meanwhile I saw a Tim Couch jersey on the way in. Took a photo for evidence as if anyone would question it. As for the game itself... Brandon Weeden stares down receivers. He's going to get Jordan Cameron murdered this season. I'd love to know your thoughts from TV. I feel like I missed a lot from being live. Josh Cribbs cut by the Raiders. Is this the end for Mr. Cribbs? Now that he's not on the Browns anymore it makes it easier to be sympathetic toward him. Just a perfect example of how brutal the NFL is when it spits out 30 year olds, even if they have made a nice amount of money first. It isn't Cleveland related, but Mark Sanchez and the Jets have been a favorite topic of mine for years now. I'm guessing you're close enough to that team (geographically) that you might have a take or two about Rex Ryan and all that went down this weekend. I can't help but get some interest out of the fact that Sanchez was the Browns' slotted pick and now MoMass threatens Braylon Edwards' roster spot in NYJ-land. Love that team for all the wrong reasons. I know it's unbecoming to pump yourself up by dragging others down, but it's sports. Indians 1.5 back of the wild card as I type this. A's headed to Detroit. Indians have ATL, DET, BAL and NYM. I'm still disappointed that they didn't do more at the deadline than Zep-Chin-Ski, and I didn't get to watch a ton of live action this weekend, but I'm really focused on the Tribe anyway. I go back and forth between loving it and feeling salty that they haven't addressed enough needs. I think it might be me and not them at this point. And then I don't think it's my fault at all. I'm pretty schizophrenic about my feelings for the Tribe. That's all I'm thinking of right now, but driving 6 hours to Indy on Friday and 6 hours back on Sunday with two kids is a pretty good reason why I might have missed a big topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I'm going to save you the bullet points. Instead I'm going to share my pre-show email to Scott Raab (@ScottRaab64) with my ideas to discuss on the show. Doing this enabled me to stay in the podcast a bit more without typing notes as I went along. So here (with very few edits) is what I sent to Scott the night before we were ready to talk. I enjoyed the Q&A with Andy Samberg. I just wanted to talk a little bit about how big he would have been in a different era with all his different talents around comedy. Just like we can't have another Beatles because of the change in the music business, it's increasingly difficult - even with the same TV show as a launching pad - for there to be another Bill Murray or even Sandler or Will Ferrell. I enjoyed your Freedom Tower piece too. I wanted to discuss how anything 9/11-related is such a difficult "sell." World Trade Center movies haven't done particularly well. Kathryn Bigelow wins awards, but largely doesn't blow anyone away with box office receipts. And here you are telling an important story about the political dynamics of what should be the most important part of the re-development at the WTC site, and I still get the feeling that nobody wants to talk about it. What is it? Is it a defense mechanism? Fatigue? Something else? Do the blustery politicians from your piece prefer it that way? The importance of our developing language has never been more apparent than seeing the real legacy of the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. Not new safety rules for the game, but the media's incessant use of the term "cart-off" this pre-season. I don't remember "cart-off" being used so much prior to the Saints scandal, but now I see it on NFL Network and ESPN TV scrolls for injured player news. Why would they adopt something that they spent an entire year painting as completely dastardly? Indians have a stronger record this season, but it's still a fade. Is a drastic record improvement over last year good enough, or is a year without playoffs a total waste? Are there shades of gray in this conversation? Browns looked good, but Weeden still stares down his receivers. I'm heading to Indianapolis next week for the third pre-season game with my father-in-law, so let's talk about domes. Are you an outdoor football traditionalist? I'm not, and like the tailgating conversation, when I talk about domes I get into trouble with a percentage of the hardcore Browns fanbase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab (@ScottRaab64) and Craig Lyndall (@WFNYCraig) talk about all the Cleveland sports topics from Bernie Kosar to the floundering Cleveland Indians. Here's what else we talked about. Marketing 101 with Brian Spaeth (@brianspaeth) Bernie Kosar's comments about Kellen Clemens and the Pope When you take local comments national the context changes NFL AM hypocritically mocks Mark Sanchez after slapping Bernie Kosar's wrists Wolf Blitzer vs. Walter Cronkite Casa D'Barons memories from Scott Raab Peter King and Jeff Fisher sharing the same agent Nate Jackson's book and how they worked with the same editor Bernie's demons and how fair game they are Should Joe Banner have apologized for Bernie? Sports has turned into a reality TV show Johnny “Football” Manziel and Scott's thoughts on that The hatred for people with money from Manziel to Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton Exploring the nature of fanhood Scott Raab interviewing Michael J. Fox George Kokinis and what happened with the Browns is a mythical giant Tom Heckert and the stories of his drinking Eric Mangini's last season as a Jets coach The Indians and what happened in only a week since Scott and Craig talked Cleveland fans and their “Detroit's Bankrupt” chant Mike Polk's hastily made tourism video Away fans going to games Do you try to draw attention to yourself as an away fan? Jason Giambi's players only meeting after the Tigers sweep The Indians haven't added the one star in the past five years Choose disgust over anger The WFNY comment section and how we try to keep it better Why is the podcast uncensored when WFNY is not? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Mondays I talk to Scott Raab, but I don't talk to WFNY's own Scott nearly often enough. We found some time to do it up podcast style. We discussed Chris Perez, and the Browns' salary cap situation. Ariel Helwani and his awesome video blog show setup Jamison Hensley's video from Berea was an embarrassment Chris Perez and his meltdown against Detroit Scott Sargent is in the bag for Chris Perez Chris Perez loses games in big big spots Mariano Rivera and Craig Kimbrel Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Fausto Carmona as failed closers Craig thinks Jonathan Papelbon is good looking Chris Perez not talking to the media last night Did Perez let his teammates down by not talking? Francona has a history of taking up for his guys The Perez marijuana case and how that's impacting fans Perez' bed and how he made it Not wearing the scarlet letter and also not condoning bad fan behavior Alex Mack and his extension... where is it? You would take Alex Mack over Mark Sanchez 100 times out of 100 How hard would it be to replace Alex Mack? Browns extending Christian Yount for five years Are the Browns thinking about extending Joe Haden? Could this be the last season for D'Qwell Jackson in Cleveland? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab and I went on an audio journey this evening. It started very focused on Cleveland sports, but once we hit the Plain Dealer topic, things went all over the place. Enjoyed it just the same. J.G. Spooner's dislike of the cancer kid touchdown run Servicemen surprising their family on a football field P.R. stunts and whether or not they're harmful Roger Goodell's head injury youth football camp The NFL and head injuries compared with tobacco companies and cancer Should the media have asked anything but Jimmy Haslam questions? Could I have thought of anything to ask Roger Goodell? What's the dynamic between Jimmy Haslam and Roger Goodell? Danny Salazar and his potential to be better than Jaret Wright How important is it to make the playoffs for the organization? The Indians took the payroll down into the $40 million range Scott's dramatic pause makes me think he hung up The Plain Dealer dropping circulation and staff What does the future look like? Darwinism in capitalism Healthcare and government and dollars getting in the way of logic Riley Cooper and the “racism thing” Riley Cooper's apologies and how good they were Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week with Scott Raab talking Cleveland sports we talked about the trade deadline, the training camp storylines and Jimmy Haslam. Here's what else we discussed. The pear trees in my yard and the dogs that eat them False memory studies in MIT Training camp storylines Tape recorders vs. audio recorders Training camp storylines and how the “summer superlatives” have begun The obsessed sports fans and how little was available in the past Pat Shurmur's year-over-year change Pierre Garcon thinks the Redskins can be the best offense ever Over 4400 Browns fans at Training Camp yesterday Chris Antonetti's sales job to the Cleveland fans Lonnie Chisenhall's performance since being brought back up Defining “all in” at the trade deadline Lefty relievers and using Joe Smith against lefties The Indians are a good fun team and that's why they should add talent How much of this is Chris Antonetti's bad sales job? Managing expectations with the fanbase and what the Indians need to do Is this the last gasp of Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti? The NFL, and elusive parity with the Cleveland Browns The Browns cap space and what it means for Browns fans McFadden should be a player Dick Jauron can be good even while you pine away for Ray Horton Getting after the quarterback Joe Namath and his iconic figure status Frank Ryan and his PHD in mathematics Chip Kelly and giving all the credit to Pat Shurmur HGH testing and blood tests Biogenesis lab and how young people were to get in there Jimmy Haslam's cases and trying to settle everything Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab is talking this Monday morning about the Tribe mostly. The weekend series against the Twins, Matt Underwood, Superstition, Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall and getting excited about the Browns. Jinxes and whether or not we believe them Matt Underwood and why Indians fans hate him so much Superstition on the field and how it has leaked into the stands and in front of the TV Man rules and whether or not you're allowed to carry a glove to the game Gun culture and how it interacts with man rules People hate Nickelback for the same reason people hate gloves at the game Matt Underwood conspiracy theories Justin Masterson's no-hit bid Jason Kipnis blundering the next ground ball after the bloop hit The meaningful nature of the games out of the break What is the decision to decide whether to buy today vs. plan for the future Chisenhall for Matt Garza and whether it's worth it Is Lonnie Chisenhall the next Casey Blake? Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta making up for defense with offense Mark Reynolds and how excited people got interested in extending him Mark Reynolds bat control with two strikes vs. hitting free throws in basketball Would you rather trade Asdrubal Cabrera or Francisco Lindor? We vs. they in Cleveland sports John Oliver from The Daily Show noticing the Chief Wahoo tattoo Joe Banner and his aggressive play style Talent is going to win or lose, but how much does risk taking impact It's legitimate to get excited about the Browns on defense Phil Dawson and how embarrassing his dominance was to offensive coordinators Steelers home games in Cleveland Sports talk and how difficult it is to fill time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something a little different today to start. We talked about the business of writing, specifically Esquire's decision to experiment with asking readers to pay for a feature rather than giving it away for free. “The Prophet” by Luke Dittrich and the fact that Esquire was charging for it Scott has been at Esquire since 1997 How do you delineate between what's worth charging for? Tom Junod's three movie star cover story series with Matt Damon, and Leonardo DiCaprio My Rolling Stone subscription and my wall of covers Nate Jackson's book called “Slow Getting Up” about the NFL Nate Jackson's take on Eric Mangini and his reign in Cleveland Willie McGinest and what he would say about Eric Mangini and Romeo Crennel and Bill Belichick Andrew Bynum and the tone of the coverage How can you criticize the Bynum move without the alternative? The Jimmy Haslam story and the continuing coverage The Aaron Hernandez picture taken down in the Pro Football HOF The World Trade Center and the fetishization of tragedy The Indians heading into the all-star break Danny Salazar and his performance in his debut The four foul ball guy and the one in a trillion odds If a guy can catch four foul balls maybe we can all see a championship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been way too long since I caught up with Jon. So, naturally we talked about everything from TV and sports and stats to the Browns and whether or not Jon can ever be an NBA fan. Hint. Probably not. Old stores like Children's Palace, Kiddie City, Best, Fretter, Bernie Shulman's K-Mart, Wal-Mart and Target Would a drunk podcast worthy of listening to? Talking about everything but football when talking about the Browns Talking about optimizing strategies and contract language Barkevious Mingo and how it would be refreshing to just talk about him When your team doesn't make the playoffs you really get short-changed as a fan Enjoying the aesthetics of the sport vs. water cooler fandom Watching the end of a basketball game without watching the early part of the game Which sports are you willing to watch no matter who is playing? Watching sports as a stakeholder is a totally different thing Keeping timelines free and clear Kyrie Irving and if he's actually one of the superstar types How good is Kyrie Irving and how good will he be by the end of his career? Scott Raab's question about if the Cavaliers have a plan or not Would Dan Gilbert follow through with his feeling that he would trade a guy that wouldn't commit? The Indians and having actual athletes and baseball players on the field Kipnis = Pedroia = Eckstein Guys who put up numbers who are not entertaining to watch Guys who don't put up numbers who ARE entertaining to watch Moneyball and analytics The analytics of movements in basketball and soccer Do we ruin sports with the way we analyze them? Sports stats and analytics are like Bobby having a train set in the Sopranos Mad Men finale and Don Draper. Is he redeemed? Taking people down with the ship is the antithesis of redemption If you find yourself as an artist then you need to let the art speak for itself If The Sopranos are Nirvana then Ray Donovan is Limp Bizkit What will life be after Mad Men and Breaking Bad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Raab and I talked about all the weekly Cleveland sports news and so much more. How many shows aped The Sopranos? Mad Men and the distance between it and its authenticity David Chase left us involved with the humanity of his characters Jimmy Haslam and the Forbes and WSJ covering Pilot Flying J Breaking down the debt and bond rating of the company Aaron Hernandez and his murder charges being contrasted with Jimmy Haslam Guilty until proven innocent and whether we actually live by that The NSA warrants and wiretaps Anthony Bennett and Nerlens Noel and Otto Porter Nobody criticizes the Cavs Kyrie Irving vs. Kevin Durant and the Cavs building like Oklahoma City Rating Chris Grant on the deals he didn't make Paul Pierce and whether you could ever have him on your team The LeBron James projection in the starting lineup on ESPN's graphic LeBron James will forever be a part of the Cavaliers storyline until he retires Mike Brown and saying other teams would “feel” his team from the defensive end Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan Jerry Sloan was begged to stay according to Sports Illustrated Dan Gilbert admitted that he should have known when LeBron didn't sign the max max I didn't sign on for that We are the World video on Youtube The Tribe swept the Sox WEEI and how awesome The Big Show was Zac Jackson and Andre Knot and the good show they do on Fox Sports Ohio Jim Thome, the PED era and the statue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wow, did Denny and I cover a lot of ground. Or did we cover no real ground at all? I prefer to think the former, although the biggest news of the day - the 2013 NBA draft - went completely undiscussed. Still, there was a lot there, which is what we aim to do on casual Fridays. Potty training and how to teach the kid to go Coffee and Scott Raab calling my Keurig Brewing temperature of the Keurig Grinder vs. pre-ground coffee Joe Rogan and his Onnit coffee Buying raw coffee beans that are green About 20 minutes to roast the coffee, but 12.5 minutes of pure roasting time Using the Whirley Pop to roast coffee beans A French roast coffee bean and just how dark it is The Aeropress coffee maker Google Reader replacements Covering Mangini's NFL draft where they traded out of Mark Sanchez for Alex Mack Jacob and Denny played chicken with the NFL Draft weekend Beat reporters and whether or not they're born or created Applauding the Supreme Court is an odd phenomenon Steve Jobs was almost apolitical Washington D.C. residents don't have representation in Congress Having recall of what you said a long time ago UFC pay per views and what time they start Cutting the cable TV out of your life Not watching any filler on TV anymore Do you watch TV with others on Twitter? USMNT and the Columbus Crew soccer games Hector Marinaro, Otto Orf, and Kai Haaskivi with the Cleveland Force Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott and I had a conversation over the weekend prior to the podcast in which we decided it was time to see if there's a greater purpose that we can serve. With all the news of LeBron James, Josh Gordon, Greg Little and Tristan Thompson last week, we decided to discuss whether or not Cleveland fans need to redefine who they are. We've lost our way. Our organizations, from owners and players are more temporary than we are and it is time to stop letting everyone else define us. We need to define ourselves. LeBron and his legacy is secured now Can we let storylines unfold? Did this cement the Spurs legacy? Do the ends justify the means? Magic Johnson and how much butt he kissed of players during the finals Philanthropy and who the most generous people in the world are The word genius and the senior superlatives The quarterly earnings announcements and Apple Tax avoidance in corporate life and “branding” Josh Gordon and Greg Little hanging with the Heat and “branding” Let's assume that they were down there trying to do business Tristan Thompson and Rich Paul hanging out with the Heat Cleveland sports fans have lost their way Browns fans didn't lose their identity when the team was left We need to define ourselves and who we are as fans as something more than victims The fans and their fandom will outlive all the players and owners Scott Raab and his conversation with Dwyane Wade Cleveland internalizing the worst of their self-image Tom Brady and wearing the Yankees cap around Manhattan The symbol of Dan Gilbert's original sin was LeBron's Yankee cap at Jacob's Field You can't indict players for their personal relationships or who they want to associate with Josh Cribbs using Dan Gilbert's seats and tweeting about LeBron Jim Thome statue is pathetic and it defines Cleveland You can't define your ceiling as Jim Thome Devil's advocate, but aren't we being too overly sensitive? This doesn't happen in other cities Do the owners ever talk to each other? The letter that Dan Gilbert wrote was truly great Who's more important to you as a business? Employee or customer? Please let us know what you think. What can we do? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's the second part of my monday morning podcast with Scott Raab where we talk about some more sports. Please let me know if you appreciate me breaking it into episodes or if you liked just having one longer one. Michael Irvin hates Joe Thomas' rank on the top 100 The difference in opinion between ESPN and their misery montage The ESPN 30 for 30 on the negative Cleveland sports history Mike Polk and his hastily made Cleveland tourism video Michael Irvin anecdote from when Scott profiled Troy Aikman for GQ Danny Green and the fact that the Cavaliers didn't keep him Scott's article about Danny Green and how it's not a Cleveland story Danny Green and Coby Karl Using all this evidence to be wary of the Cavaliers and Mike Brown going forward Cavaliers draft rumors via Sam Amico and Jason Lloyd How will Dion Waiters feel if the Cavs draft Ben McLemore? Spoelstra starting Mike Miller Scott Raab on Esquire.com on the NBA playoffs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices