Brodie Freakin' Coyle from Alabama is starting.  He wasn't htat great in college, I doubt he'll be much better as a pro.

It's good to see Eric Wright get off to a good start playing solid defense and a decent pass rush on a subsequent play, but if teams keep running for 17 yards on a third and 20 it ain' t gonna much matter.  A year later, that pass defense still resembles a sieve. 

I love seeing the parking lot at Muny Lot filled with smoking grills, pumping out the aroma of burgers, beer and brats.  Hell, on today - when football truly starts - I can even tolerate the occasional drunk with delusions of grandeur.

I"m blogging from the Browns v. the Chiefs.  Just something for Browns fans to keep their eyes on - Eric Wright makes the start at cornerback.  The Browns brain trust said that he had had first round talent - apparently they were right.

Frye apparently won the now infamous coin toss to see who starts.  Wonder if he knows ESPN and others have been raggin' on that for a day no.    To say he looks rusty is an understatement.  On the first drive he looks as if he's playing like someone in danger of losing his job.

All right, the life is back in order.  I'm in reasonably good spirits considering Mother Nature decided to relieve herself on my rec room carpet Tuesday morning.  And alcohol wasn't necessary to create that mood.  Shocking.  Simply shocking.

What's going on in the world of sports?  Oh, let us see.

Ahhhh yes, we have a new home run king in Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who boldly stated, after whacking No. 756 off of some nobody that the Washington Nationals called up to serve as a sacrificial lamb, that the record wasn't tainted.

I never thought I'd agree with that, but in essence he's got a point.  Why?  Bonds played in an era when performance enhancing drugs (such a wordy statement) permeated the game.  Almost anyone and everyone who put up gaudy numbers in the smash-em-bash-em '90s is suspect.  Some in the game and media will want to hold him to that higher ideal, but when everyone else doing, how can they single him out?  Logically, they cannot.

On a completely different note…

Brady Quinn is in town with a brand spanking new contract.  Gee…now was that so tough?  C'mon do you mean to tell me that the Cleveland Browns low-balled him so much that he needed to not sign his deal oh…I don't know…ummm…back in June? early July?  I'm not seeing it.  You can say a lot of things about the Browns since the team's return (like they stink, they can't block or tackle, quarterback, what's that) but the Lerner family has never been accused of being cheap…Sorry Brady (or is that Tom Condon), this one is on you.

And on a completely different topic…

I never ever wanted to get into the great racial divide that has become the Michael Vick Saga.  It shouldn't have even come to race, in my opinion.  I should have known better, however, given that I lived in Selma, Ala. for a year and it was quite evident that then and on a recent visit there that the racial wounds of the Deep South haven't come close to healing.  In some areas such as Selma that wound has an infection. In other parts, such as Atlanta, it's just a scab that keeps getting picked.

But there is a divide when it comes to Vick.  On one side we saw a bunch of white faces, animal lovers and although I didn't scan the photos completely, I'm sure there were some black ones.  On the other side, however, his most vocal supporters were almost universally black.  I could go into a deep philosophical reason why, but I couldn't do it with the depth, compassion and intelligence that Wright Thompson shows in this piece.

 Add end…

Lastly I haven't gotten the chance to thank those who posted kind words about the recent loss of my grandmother.   Perhaps I just didn't want to acknowledge that she's indeed gone, but to those who said a kind word, my warmest thanks.  A special thanks for a couple of folks who took the time to send a sympathy card to the paper.