Back in Action: Happy October

Well, hello, blog world, my have I missed you...

The dozen people in this world that actually care about what I have to say probably thought I disappeared for good, or that with LeBron's departure was the end of my inspiration. But unlike he, I am no sell-out. My hiatus was merely because of two reasons.

First, summer is a slow sports month, and after "The Decision", there really wasn't much of importance going on, at least not anything I was paying attention to. I will admit, I tuned sports out of my life for about two weeks following LBJ's display of douchery. Then, I wrote a post, and tuned out again until football season.


Second, I was trying to do as little thinking as possible so I could rest my brain for what I was about to take on for the next to years: graduate school. Six weeks in, I think I've gotten my new routine in order and have found the time for free time. Also, I can count my number of friends in this area on both hands and the number of bars on one so there are far less distractions than in Columbus. Of course, I am already counting down the days until I get out of here. I love the program, the people, and the campus isn't bad, but it's far from the city life I thrive on. And no one really cares about football. The night Ohio stayed played Marshall, Kent also had a game, against Murray State. But, you would never know because there were more people in Scarlet and Gray than Blue and Gold, and all the "college" houses were silent. The black squirrels weren't even running around; they're usually ALWAYS running around. I guess that's how it is at MAC schools. Every day I think of how lucky I was to not go anywhere besides OSU for my undergrad. I imagine my life would have turned out much differently, which probably would have been for the worse.

But, now that I have my life in order, or at least the illusion of having it together, I can get back to my art. And, what better time than October?

If you are sports fan, it's hard to argue against October being the best month of the year. For me, it is actually my second favorite. The first is March because that is when I celebrate my birthday-which for the past 4 years has fallen on spring break, and will do the same for the next 2, giving me an extra reason to sacrifice my dignity for a week.






If it weren't for all the horror film previews, October might take the top spot. If I was to try to write about the awesomeness that is October I would be on the verge of a small novel. Baseball, football, basketball, soccer, hockey and even golf are all in session, giving ESPN more than five stories to dwell on 24 hours a day. Wait, what am I talking about, they do that regardless.

This year, I'm a little irked at all my sports. Usually, this is only because the Indians did not make the playoffs. This time, it's more than that. But, it's still October so for every negative there is at least one positive around the corner.

The one irking me the least: Ohio State football. The only thing I'm annoyed about is how they almost lost to Illinois. Why do they almost lose to Illinois every year? In 2007 they DID lose to Illinois, but the Illini weren't exactly terrible. They weren't ranked, but they had a winning record in a year where only OSU and Michigan represented the Big Ten in the AP Top 25 at that point of the season. As far as Pryor's injury, I'm not too concerned. I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass but facing Indiana before they head to Wisconsin should give him some time to heal. So as long as he stays healthy, something clicks with the special teams and they don't have another October upset, it should be smooth sailing into November (arguably our toughest month of the season).

The no-brainer annoyance: The Indians failing to make the playoffs, or even have a chance. I really don't need to say anything more except I'm with the rest of the country and hope the Yankees blow it (besides Yankees fans, of course). The bright side to baseball this season: There is an Ohio team in the playoffs. Yes, they were shutout by Roy Halladay, but at least they made it. That's something the Tribe can't boast, 3 years and counting.

The team starting off October right: The Cleveland Browns. So far, the Brownies have a winning record in October. Despite T.O.'s 200+ yard game, the Browns held-off the Bengals 23-20. And I have fallen in love with a running back named Peyton Hillis. Every time I see his face after he makes a play I learn what a Bieber-obsessed 12-year-old feels like when the words "Baby, baby, babyyy" come on the radio. The only bummer about the Browns so far is knowing they should be undefeated. Instead, they decided to turn into a junior varsity football team in the second half of all their September games. The most ridiculous play was (against the Ravens, I believe) when Seneca Wallace through the ball BACKWARDS TO NO ONE! I don't know what that was, but it's irrelevant now because an 0-3 September is going to turn into a 4-0 October.

What irks me the most: The Heat Index. In case anyone is unfamiliar with ESPN's latest coverage stunt that goes against everything we're taught in journalism school, please refer to the following link:

http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2010/10/espn-com-to-launch-%E2%80%9Cthe-heat-index%E2%80%9D-oct-11/

I never really thought ESPN favored LeBron this much until he took his dignity to South Beach. Then again, this could be one of those situations that is comparable to a bad relationship: everyone tells you he's a douche but you don't want to hear it and then when it's over you wonder why you never realized how bad it was while it was still going on.

With the Heat Index, Cleveland fans can be slapped in the face every time they check ESPN.com. It's a fantastic move by ESPN. Everyone is sick of Brett Favre so to spread out their time they put more focus on Miami. What's even more genius is that they got former Cavs beat writer, Brian Windhorst, to be one of the main contributors for the special site. In his defense, he always hoped to take his talents to ESPN and faced the music when the critics came calling. It is also good to know that he will crank out more critical pieces about LBJ than any other journalist who didn't see first-hand how bad he hurt an entire city. It's okay though. The Cavs are 1-0 in preseason play, showing they haven't totally lost themselves.

The Heat are also 1-0, but I don't really care at the moment. I've already put enough time into thinking about them for one day. I can't waste too much time dwelling about bad things happening in October when there is so much good all around. I will be at the Cavs second pre-season game tonight. I think it will be a reassuring experience knowing that Cleveland fans always bounce back and look on the bright side. It's just in our nature.