Weeken Warriors: Link Dump

I apologize for the lack of activity this week, as the whole "real job" thing gets in the way at times. Anyone willing to pay me to do this, please email to the address in the sidebar, and I'll ensure that your RSS readers are filled up daily. Now, here's what a few others have been saying while I've been a working man...

- I wish I had more time to discuss this whole Patriots/Steelers video-taping issue. Thankfully, Ryan Wilson has loads of time and resources over at the FanHouse. Go check it out there. [FanHouse]

- I continue to love Terrell Owens. I think that this may have just made it that much better. [Awful Announcing]

- For those of you that wonder what on earth happens to all of the t-shirts for the losing Super Bowl team [JetsBlog]

- Fantasy Football fanatics may want to adjust their Tight End rankings a bit. Alge Crumpler is no longer in the ATL. [AJC]

- A quick reminder that the world is a very, very unfair place [Sports Illustrated]

- I sure hope to come up with some time in the near future. I think the upcoming NFL draft needs some more blogging [Free Press]

- And while this has nothing to do with football, and I'm a few days behind the curve, this story about Cat Gaffney (Mighty Ducks fans know what's up) deserves some love [Rumors and Rants]

Weekend Warriors: Link Dump

It's that time of the week again. A crisp 30-something degrees outside in Cleveland with nary a football game to watch. And I guess I have to count that whole Pro Bowl game as something to watch for tomorrow as there are a handful of my Browns "representing" the AFC. But until then, check out some of these places in the meantime...

- Someone obviously isn't as excited to watch the Browns in the Pro Bowl as I am. Understandably. [Rumors and Rants]

- S2N is holding down SportsByBrooks during this lovely Saturday. Pay him a visit. [SportsByBrooks]

- While I didn't touch on the discovered treasure that was the Chris Berman video (as about 100 other blogs did), there are a few more that are worth some attention. BallHype has the goods here, here and here. [BallHype]

- KSK digs up an actual petition from Pats fans to replay the last 1:40 of the Super Bowl. And boy do they ever. While Pats fans should be ashamed of themselves, they got what was coming to them by these guys. And Hines Ward. [KSK]

- And finally, the story of the Giants fan that got into the Super Bowl party. Needless to say, he was pretty excited. [Deadspin]

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Spagnuolo to Washington: Crossing Boundaries, Again?

If you have ever visited any of the key NFC East blogs (i.e. The 700 Level, Mr. Irrelevant), you're likely aware of the disdain that these fans have for the other three teams within their division. In fact, even when they are happy for the other team, they still find a way to crowbar in a little backhand or two. All of us football fans do it, it’s in our blood.

Which is why this piece from the New York Daily News caught my eye. No unit was more heralded in this past weekend's Super Bowl than the defense of the New York Giants; led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Why it was news that the championship team's defensive coordinator was at their celebration parade is beyond me. But the part that followed rang even louder.

Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was at the parade, but afterwards he was expected to board a flight to Washington where he will meet with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder tonight. He’ll meet again with Snyder and his lieutenants tomorrow morning before returning to New Jersey.

Oddly enough, Spagnuolo was with the Philadelphia Eagles as a linebacker coach before taking the gig with the Giants. Its one thing to take advantage of success, but when curious to see what Giants fans think of this development regarding yet another NFC East team, I put on my detective hat and went to work. Big Blue View, a Giants fan blog had the following to say:

Losing Spagnuolo, whose passion, energy and aggressive style turned a porous defense into a dominant, championship-caliber one, would be a devastating blow
to the Giants. The Giants' defenders, who took so well to his aggressive style and executed his complicated blitz packages to perfection, certainly don't want to go into next season without him.

And the Giants General Manager agrees.

Giants GM Jerry Reese understands what he has in Spagnuolo. "We’ll make every effort to keep him," Reese said. "We sure don’t want to play against him with the Redskins because we know what he’ll bring to the table. If he gets a shot at a head coach’s job, Godspeed."

As a Browns fan, I can understand where the G-men are coming from in the fact that it was rumored that Rob Chudzinski was being sought after by the Baltimore Ravens. The quick fix was GM Phil Savage locking Chudzinksi up with a two-year extension, hoping that he can continue to help Cleveland’s assent in the AFC. Perhaps Reese needs to break out the check book, and pronto, if he intends on holding on to the one defensive coordinator that was able to stop the vaunted New England defense. And just happened to do so on the biggest stage possible.

Of course, they can just let him go to the Redskins, only to have him complete the circle by ending up in a front office job with the Cowboys...

Everybody's Working For The Weekend: Link Dump

This may be all you hear from me until Monday. So after you check out my marketing ideas and thoughts on Capitol Hill below, I suggest you scope out some of the better works around the sports blogosphere. After all, this is why we get paid the big bucks. From other places.

Enjoy the game tomorrow. Or the commercials. Or just the beers and taco dip. Your choice, really.

- Jeff George, the Damon Jones of the NFL, has called it quits. But that won't stop him from teaching your kid how to have an incredibly overvalued rookie card. No I'm not bitter. [Sports Agent Blog]

- Deion Sanders can now be found placing his blue snake skin boots firmly in his mouth. Figuratively speaking. They may not be blue. [Rumors and Rants]

- At least I'm not alone in the whole "Bug Off, Congress" camp. [Signal to Noise]

- Chad Johnson keeps mentioning Bill Parcells and Miami. But could he go to Washington? Some fans wouldn't mind. [Mister Irrelevant]

- Get your Ryan Pontbriand Pro-Bowl jerseys at NFL Shop today! [Kid Cleveland]

- And finally, for those that have wondered why the city of Los Angeles is sans football. [On the 205th]

Take care, all.

For The Weekend Warriors

What has two thumbs and is heading to Hawaii?

We may not have any football this week, but we do have some good stuff to read...

- It appears that we have moved into the the era of one-year trial periods for coaches. First, Cam Cameron. Now Lane Kiffin? [Signal to Noise]

- It looks like a three-horse race between the fans of the Packers, Raiders and Eagles for "best" fans in the NFL. At least per Fox. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

- Pete Carroll likes them young. [Rumors and Rants]

- If its Super Bowl prop bets that you're looking for, look no further. I'll be adding this one to my bookmarks. [You Been Blinded]

- Jeff Garcia is back in the Pro Bowl. Cleveland, it looks like that season was more your fault than his. [NFL]

- And finally, while magazines out there want you to frill up the Super Bowl, thankfully we have some Ladies... with their heads on straight. [Ladies...]

Have a good weekend, all.

Returning The Favor

It takes quite an effort to run a blog. If you're one who just needs a place to jot down idea, vent about current situations, or even throw out some calculated predictions, these places are great. As Jamie Mottram said best, "Anyone can have a blog, but not everyone can have an audience."

With that said, the audience that I have been able to gather (as little as it may be) is much attributed to Will Leitch over at Deadspin. In fact, the most read item on this blog was the piece on Brady Quinn, and there is a good chance that it would not have been circulated as much as it was had it not been for Will giving it a shot. If anything put this blog on the map, this was it.

Today, I hope to at least return the favor - at least as much as I can. As you may or may not know, Will's book God Save The Fan is being released today, thanks to Harper Collins publishing. Dan Shanoff has already labeled it a "must read" for any and every sports fan. Even if you're not a fan of Shanoff's opinions regarding sports (as most Ohio State fans are not), I think his opinion on the book should be very well respected. Anything that gives you the "I wish I had written that" feeling is worth it.

Thus, the book hits major bookstore shelves today, and is also available on Amazon if you don't feel like braving the elements - especially in the Cleveland area. Now get out there and buy the book!

Bloggers Blogging Their Blogs

Greetings, all. I've been putting in a bunch of time over at CSM, so that's why this is the first post of the week. For today's minute, click here. But just because I'm not pumping out a ton of NFL love here, it doesn't mean you shouldn't get to check out what others are saying...

- By now, you've likely heard about the Kelly Tilghman/Tiger Woods fiasco. How she didn't know that the words "lynching" and "Tiger" shouldn't go together is beyond me. But Rumors and Rants thinks Kelly's a softy, and offers some advice. And yes, I know it's not football related - it's just a good post. [Rumors and Rants]

- Clemson's Aaron Kelly is reportedly leaving for the NFL. Let's just say he won't be pulling a 99 in the strength category for next season's edition of Madden. [NFL FanHouse]

- BallHype is rolling out a series on tortured franchises. While I await the Cleveland [enter team here] edition, check out today's version on the Philadelphia Eagles. [BallHype]

- The Jaguars are apparently jumping on the "New England Cheated" bandwagon. Do we really need to get them riled up for the playoffs? [Awful Announcing]

- Niners Nation weighs in on the hiring of Mike Martz. Too bad their first round pick goes to New Englad this year, they could have drafted a nice receiver. Right, Charles Rodgers? [Niners Nation]

That's it for now. I hope to weigh in on some thoughts regarding the Colts and Jags in the next day or so. Come back soon!

Come With Me...

Alright, folks. Here's the deal.

As many things have cultivated into a lack of time for blogging, this site has turned into more and more of a Cleveland-focused diatribe. Coupled with the winding down of the NFL season, it's just been very hard to keep producing quantity.

With that said, I have decided to do two things:

1) All of the Cleveland-based sports talk will now be done over at The Cleveland Sports Minute. Update your bookmarks, RSS feeds and whathaveyou. In fact, today's "Minute" is right here.

2) The posts here at First and 10 Inches will be fewer and further between, but will be more focused on quality as opposed to quantity.

All in all, this will result in fewer posts per week, as CSM will be limited to one post per day. I simply have to focus my efforts elsewhere - especially in the short term. Combined with FA10I, we'll see where this takes us; but it would be very much appreciated if you can at least give CSM a shot - I aim to not disappoint.

Thanks in advance.


(Editor's Note: I've fixed the links as it was brought to my attention that they were not working properly!)

Recaps Galore

I know that many of you just happen to stumble upon this site thanks to linkbacks by a few bigger fish, but if you're actually one that comes by here on your own, not only would I love to shake your hand, I would love for you to check out what you're missing at some other places.

Thanks to Jason Gurney over at BallHype, we have a few Top-10s to close out the year. Enjoy

BallHype's Top 10 Sports Blog Stories of the Year About ... Sports Blogs (BallHype)

BallHype's Top 10 Sports Videos of 2007 (BallHype)

I highly recommend Miss Gossip's interview with Greg Oden. Definitely something that you won't see on the WWL any time soon.

Take it easy...

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

A few things I learned this weekend:

1) American Gangster is a pretty sweet movie - even in bootlegged DVD form.
2) Your quarterback can be pretty good all year, but it is always the one game that matters most
3) My sister is pretty freaking creative. More on that later in the week.
4) My fiancee is very generous - even in tough times
5) White Christmas' are nice and all, but man is it great driving to and from holiday get-togethers on dry roads
6) LeBron's kids likely had a decent Christmas

With that said, here's a quick recap of what some others are saying around the net to catch you up to speed...

- CBS, NBC and the Fans: 1. NFL Network: 0 (Signal to Noise)

- A slew of bloggers more important than myself chipped in for a Year-in-Review of sorts. (Yahoo! Sports)

- Philip Rivers apparently forgot that he's not a good quarterback. (NFL FanHouse)

- Maybe the Mario Williams pick wasn't so bad after all. (Jim Rome)

- Another long year for Jerious Norwood on the docket? (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

- Could Derek Anderson be heading to Miami? (PFT via FanIQ)

and finally...

- Thanks for all of those fantasy points down the stretch, Reggie. (The Big Lead)

More to come later.