In today's edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at the Cleveland Browns' backup center situation after a recent set of transactions, an update on the SB Nation Cleveland Regional website, and more.
Fans were so stoked when we signed former Bengals C Eric Ghiaciuc back in April, that the news generated 148 comments. And yet, with the Browns releasing him Tuesday, I don't think any fans were shedding a tear, as most of the comments in the initial post were along the lines of, "If we lost Mack, we're screwed," "Alex Mack is a beast," "Does he have stubby arms and a wide ass?," or, "He's just training camp fodder." Funny enough, the truth is that he was only mini-camp fodder.
In replacing Ghiaciuc, the team signed OG Paul Fanaika. At 6'5" and 325 pounds, Fanakia was a seventh-round draft choice for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. He started off on the Eagles' practice squad, but was picked off their practice squad in November 2009 when the Washington Redskins signed him. The Browns claimed him off waivers after the Redskins released him two days ago. According to his stats, it doesn't look as though Fanaika played in any games.
It is interesting to note that Fanaika was drafted by the Eagles when they had Tom Heckert. With the Browns working rookie Shawn Luavao at guard and center, Ghiaciuc was apparently expendable.
Remember, the Cleveland Regional site will officially launch on June 17, which is tomorrow. However, if you tune into the website around 10 PM tonight, I have a feeling you just might catch an early glimpse.
Also, if you are going to attend the Meet-Up Celebration Thursday, please remember to go here and RSVP. Even if you can't attend, still go to the link and RSVP, choosing the option that says you can't make it.
These are the type of stories I could honestly care less about, since it's really not analytically-related anymore (note: that has nothing to do with me thinking the suit was unjust or something). Nonetheless, if you're really desperate for Browns-related news, the Browns and the Cleveland Clinic reached a settlement with the former receiver after he sued over a staph infection that played a role in ending his career.
0 recs | 74 comments
Excellent World Cup so far. The rest of the group stage is going to be awesome.
Andrew Tolliver - June 16, 2010
I heard on NPR the other day (yesterday) that a lot of players both on winning teams and losing teams were complaining about the ball. Has anyone watched enough to be able to determine whether there are any oddities in the way the ball is moving around?
JustBob - June 16, 2010
I don’t pretend to know about that sort of thing, but I’ve heard that both strikers and keepers have complained that it gives the other the advantage. Sounds like people are looking to place blame on something other than themselves to me.
rufio - June 17, 2010
Yeah the ball has been about the top story so far this Cup along with the vuvuzelas (sp?) Look, I’m all for horns and cheering and singing and stuff, but its taking away from the game honestly.
Anyway, the ball takes some weird hops and it flies around a little more than previous ones. See: USA’s goal v. England. I think the ball had just as much to do with that goal as did the keeper not making a simple stop.
Andrew Tolliver - June 17, 2010
The players complain about the ball every, single World Cup though.
The horns, whatever they are called, are just sort of the experience of South Africa hosting, in my opinion. Soccer matches have always sounded funny to my American ears on TV anyway; the crowds just behave differently with the chanting and everything else in soccer compared to in the U.S.
Western Reserve - June 17, 2010
Some of the matches have been downright boring.
I hope now that it’s the 2nd round of the group stage teams aren’t so tentative anymore.
skipkirk - June 16, 2010
I am with you, I like soccer, but these games have been pretty bad mostly.
Roger Dorn - June 16, 2010
Not today :)
BuenosAires_Dawg - June 17, 2010
“Does he have stubby arms and a wide ass?,”I literally burst out laughing on that comment.
Kimble_79 - June 16, 2010
my bad, should have been this one….preview, preview, and preview some more
Kimble_79 - June 16, 2010
Like Luavao, Fanaiko also played guard at Arizona State.
gahnki - June 16, 2010
that spain-switzerland game was awesome. the swiss even had a few great chances to add another late in the game, but hit a post and had a few other near misses.
notthatnoise - June 16, 2010
The Ghiacuc signing thread was a classic. Good to read through it.
Roger Dorn - June 16, 2010
It was a hundred to one piece of luck for the US team. Won't happen again.
JUNGLEJOHN - June 16, 2010
It’s not like England badly outplayed the US. There was no travesty here, Altidore’s shot was an inch from being a goal.
Roger Dorn - June 16, 2010
I second this. I think our defense has to get a lot better, though, as Howard won’t be able to stop everything.
I thought the back 4 and some of the mids were way too relaxed at times. Then again, I don’t know a whole lot about soccer.
rufio - June 16, 2010
bross09 - June 16, 2010
I hate Howard. While his England game was impressive – he made a lot of huge stops in the second half – I’d rather get Tony Meola out of retirement and put him in goal again.
Andrew Tolliver - June 17, 2010
Howard was also terrific in the Confed Cup last year. Great goalie.
Roger Dorn - June 17, 2010
Have to give him some credit. Not many guys can take spikes to the chest and play after it. Hope he wears a catchers chest protector tomorrow.
Andrew Tolliver - June 17, 2010
I don’t understand how you hate him. Meola was good but howard right now is close to as good as Meola ever was. I like watching the premier league and its nice to see howard make the brits over there look foolish.
bross09 - June 17, 2010
What I mwant was 99 times out of a hundred he makes that play
I doubt it will happen again. Hey, I am an American. I am rooting for the US.
JUNGLEJOHN - June 16, 2010
I do think our strategy would have changed in the 2nd half if we were down as opposed to tied up. It looked to me like we weren’t making any serious runs to score and were content to keep it a tie. You can’t ever know what woulda/coulda/shoulda happened, though. A tie is a tie.
rufio - June 17, 2010
Yes, I agree. I thought their play was not as agressive as I would have liked.
But, that style also carries it’s risks. All in all I will take the tie but we were only one low percentage play from a loss. But soccer has only recently become a higher priority here in the US. Most other of the participating countries view soccer much differently. They play it like we play baseball. At this point I think we should be happy to hold our own. Maybe, like in skiing, we can develop.
JUNGLEJOHN - June 17, 2010
Not really, no. The US team is the 11th best team in the world, according to FIFA rankings. I don’t know why so many people think it was such a shocker. Ok, somewhat unexpected, but come on.
BuenosAires_Dawg - June 17, 2010
small correction: the US is ranked 14th
notthatnoise - June 17, 2010
and england’s ranked 8th. This isn’t tennis where the difference between several players is monumental (its extremely hard to beat someone ranked higher in tennies) but more like american football where upsets happen all the time. 14th in the world upsetting the 8th team in the world is like the celtics upsetting the Cavs. Surprising, but it shouldn’t be shocking.
bross09 - June 17, 2010
Don’t start that again.
rufio - June 17, 2010
okay…bad example.
bross09 - June 17, 2010
World Cup can suck it.
SpecialBrownie - June 16, 2010
Thrilled to hear Ghiaciuc was waved. Best news all day. Just one thought on the Jurevicius settlement. Are the doctors who were responsible for his and the other Browns’ staph infections the same doctors that gave Ward and Hardesty a clean bill of health? I hope they’re healthy and will stay healthy, but with the recent history of the Browns’ medical staff it could be a cause for concern.
dawgtribe - June 16, 2010
I am pretty sure the guys we pay to diagnose/predict injuries and the likelihood of future injuries of players are not the same guys we pay to sanitize things.
Plus, Hardesty and Ward’s major injuries were a while ago. Hardesty came back and rushed for 1300+ yards in the SEC as his team’s only offensive weapon after his major injury, and Ward came back for a few seasons after his and looked good.
The only thing to be even slightly worried about is another staph outbreak, which would have nothing to do with injuries guys had 2+ years ago.
rufio - June 16, 2010
Hey, I just noticed the ‘Great Lakes Offense’ reference in the tagline. Nice! But allow me to submit a rather obvious alternate suggestion: The North Coast Offense. If it’s been suggested before, shame on me. If it hasn’t, shame on you guys!
dawgtribe - June 16, 2010
I gave the world cup a try and hated it.
TheRealSlimShady - June 16, 2010
Same. I watched about ten minutes of the England / US game and that was all I could take. It didn’t surprise me in the least when I heard that no one won, and I was glad I turned it off when I did.
golanbatrac - June 16, 2010
It might be worth another try if the US is playing a game where they need a W to make it deeper into the tournament. Props to both of you for giving it a try.
rufio - June 17, 2010
The Spain-Swiss match up was great.
Bernie19Kosar - June 16, 2010
This.
Andrew Tolliver - June 17, 2010
No. Not this.
This revoked.
SpecialBrownie - June 17, 2010
World Cup has been exciting so far, but I think it will really pick up over the next week. I am glad some of the guys who follow the blog at least gave it a chance. I would recommend trying to watch it with a soccer fan. I have helped a couple of my friends enjoy the game more by explaining some of the strategy and gameplay. If you still hate it that’s cool, I’m just tired of media talking heads/people I know dissing it without actually attempting to understand the game. Plus, if one more baseball/golf fan tells me how long and boring a soccer match is I am going to die a little inside. Sorry if that was a little rant-esque, but football and football are my two favorite sports.
BiggieBrown - June 16, 2010
I love defense, so I’m with you. Who cares if there aren’t a lot of points.
rufio - June 17, 2010
Great idea! I think more people should do this.
Andrew Tolliver - June 17, 2010
I like soccer. I played soccer for ten years. But as a televised sporting event, it just doesn’t do anything for me. Ditto golf.
golanbatrac - June 17, 2010
Its definitely one of those things that is better live. I think my love for the sport…and my Crew season tickets…makes it easy to watch on tv…
Andrew Tolliver - June 17, 2010
Watch it on Univision, the announcers aren’t boring like golf announcers, and the commercials are funny.
North Coast Flea - June 17, 2010
I have watched every World Cup game so far. The only one I watched on ESPN was the England/US game — every other one has been on Univision. I love when they shout GOAAAAAAAAAALL forever, they are just way more into it. On ESPN, they don’t even say the word “goal,” which always forces me to hold my celebration since I don’t know if the ruling on the field is a goal, offsides, foul, etc.
Chris Pokorny - June 19, 2010
Tell me where to find one and I’ll get right on it.
gahnki - June 17, 2010
I guess some people just dont like Soccer. Still, I get sick of hearing Americans bash the World Cup. Bud Shaw tried to jump on that bandwagon. If you understand it, the World Cup is (arguably) second to March Madness in terms of tournaments. Since it is once every four years, it is truly a special event.
While the Round Robin phase is fun, the intensity of the knockout phase is unbelievable.
thelonius7 - June 17, 2010
Every time I read Bud Shaw I want to punch something. I stopped reading Bud Shaw.
rufio - June 17, 2010
I think you should read some Bud Shaw while standing in front of Bud Shaw.
golanbatrac - June 17, 2010
rec
TheDriveStillHurts - June 17, 2010
the problem with soccer in the US is that money attracts the biggest athletes to the NBA/NFL/MLB. the elite athletes simply arent going to play a sport with little money/fan base in the US. overseas they dont have a slew of other sporting events to compete with soccer (well rugby in a few areas i guess….thats good stuff).
i tried the world cup because i wanted to see if my 4 year old had interest in it after he finished his 1st soccer league over the spring. sadly neither of us were interested in watching it so we took his orange metallic soccer ball into the backyard & kicked cones over with it for drills….
sleepy042 - June 17, 2010
I follow premier league so I see a some of the american players often, because the best americans don’t even play in america.
bross09 - June 17, 2010
Can you imagine KG in goal? Chris Johnson striking? We’d be nasty if our best athletes played. Not sure why that’s a problem, as the guys we do have playing can do quite well despite not being our best athletes.
rufio - June 17, 2010
I ask everyone who’s gotten tired of the world cup to have a little patience and wait for the 2nd and 3rd fixtures. Players need to get used to the ball, the atmosphere, each other… we’re already starting to see a marked improvement in quality through Wednesday and Thursday.
BuenosAires_Dawg - June 17, 2010
I’m sorry, but I’ve had it with the blaming the ball. its the same ball they used in qualifying. I’m pretty sure its the same ball they used in all the other international tournaments last year. all of these players had multiple games with this ball prior to the WC. they need to stop complaining.
notthatnoise - June 17, 2010
I agree, and while I still love the world cup, this is why Americans hate the sport. Too much whining, complaining, and walking, not enough sprinting and shutting the eff up and playing ball.
rufio - June 17, 2010
Yes, there is clearly no whining or bitching in the NFL, where we devote entire months to malcontent players asking for trades or new contracts (or even teams moving cities!). Football players get paid much more and they talk a hell of a lot more than soccer players. The post above mine is a rather immature perception, which comes from the fact soccer is just not as violent as football.
The ball was not used in the qualifying rounds, so it’s a valid complaint.
BuenosAires_Dawg - June 17, 2010
Wow, defensive much?
The great thing about the NFL’s contractual bitching and whining is that you can completely ignore it and its press coverage and just watch the games.
RelapsingDawgCatcher - June 17, 2010
complaining off the field is completely different from complaining on the field. you almost never see a football player get into a prolonged argument with a referee. you also never see a football player go flying and writhing on the ground in pain without being touched. Americans hate the sport because its obvious to us that if you’re rolling on the ground screaming, and a little spray can makes it better, either a: you were faking, or b: this spray can has magical properties that have yet to make their way to the western hemisphere.
notthatnoise - June 17, 2010
This is why some hate basketball, they see all the players as crybabies and they are annoyed by flopping. However, at least for some that is a high scoring game.
bross09 - June 17, 2010
this is a big reason I dislike basketball more and more every day.
notthatnoise - June 18, 2010
yeah…I still like it but that part definitely annoys me.
bross09 - June 20, 2010
The magic spray is the bomb!
Villeslgr - June 20, 2010
I distinctly remember hearing multiple announcers mention that the ball was used prior to the world cup, maybe it wasn’t qualifying, but it had been used.
notthatnoise - June 17, 2010
I’ve done some looking on the internet and the data I’ve found shows that professional soccer players (at least in England) earn more than NFL players. The average salary in the English Premier League is $1.8 million and the average salary, with bonuses, in the NFL is $1.3 million. So you’re completely wrong about that. And I’m sure I could find plenty of articles about professional soccer players whining about their salary and demanding a trade.
Also, players complain about the ball during every World Cup so it’s nothing new. While I admit that I don’t know much about soccer, every person who has mentioned the whining about the ball says it’s NOT a valid complaint.
Buckeye Brad - June 17, 2010
Please.
The only reason we hear so much about NFL players’ contracts is because the US is rabid for NFL news and there is none right now. The media has to report something.
And aside from that, I’m talking about ON THE FIELD. Players flop in Soccer way more than in American Football. The announcers were making fun of Ronaldo for doing it as he fell down every time someone came in to contact with him.
It isn’t an “immature perception” to dislike flopping and whining and magical spray-can cures. I hate many of the same things when they happen in the NBA, though there is less of it. It isn’t the violence of American Football that does it, it’s the lack of flopping and faking injuries to get calls.
If you are injured, stop the game and get off the field. If you are only in pain, stand up and get the hell back in the game. Too much rolling around and looking for referees to complain to in this World Cup so far.
And this isn’t to knock the game itself—I am very interested in it when it is played with honor, toughness, and heart. It’s just that players far too often fail to live up to that standard.
rufio - June 18, 2010
I actually enjoyed some of the WC matches in the 80’s (or there abouts), but just haven’t been able to generate enthusiasm this time around. I’m sure the later rounds will probably provide better matches.
I tried playing when I was in high school, but I knew nothing about the game. After school I would go home and change and then run across town to the practice field. At first I was constantly getting called for off sides. When the penalty was finally explained to me, I found it a bit exasperating – mainly because I was getting penalized for outrunning a guy who had fresh legs after getting dropped of by his mom.
JustBob - June 17, 2010
but if you were just outrunning him, you wouldn’t have been offsides. if you got called for offsides, you had a head start.
notthatnoise - June 18, 2010
He’d be offsides if he was outrunning him without the ball.
Buckeye Brad - June 18, 2010
And that’s where I was, thinking “Look how easy it is to get open down here.”
JustBob - June 18, 2010
Eric Ghiaciuc and Hank Fraley would have made one helluva duo at the guard spots. Eric Steinbach could make all-pro at center. My choice for offensive tackles would still have been Shaun Lauvao and Scott Kooistra. We don´t even have to mention how I´m in a minority here. Just making my usual case, that some people do their own evaluations.
I´ll repeat it here as well, Alex Mack would make a heckuva defensive tackle in the 3-4 with defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin and Shaun Rogers at nose guard.
mooncamping - June 17, 2010
I thought Mack was your nose guard.
North Coast Flea - June 17, 2010
i want to see moon call out a WC soccer roster with browns players…..
sleepy042 - June 18, 2010
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