Resolutions for our favorite teams, athletes
- col-aaron-dorksen
- January 8, 2025
- 211
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
I hope all our loyal readers are doing well to start 2025.
Some of the pro, college and high school teams followed by area fans are doing really well, others not so good.
What can these teams do to continue their success or change their fortunes? I’ve identified some potential New Year’s resolutions for our coverage area’s favorite teams that I think will make 2025 great.
Cavaliers
Keep doing what you’re doing. Wow! It sure has been fun to watch the team-first Cavs.
Cleveland took a league-best 31-4 record into its nationally televised game against West-leading Oklahoma City (30-5) on Jan. 8 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The Cavs were 18-1 at home.
The Cavs were second in the NBA in scoring (122.5 points per game) and 10th in defense (110.7).
Donovan Mitchell (23.3 ppg), Darius Garland (20.5), Evan Mobley (18.8) and Jarrett Allen (13.7) are all deserving of being picked for the All-Star Game.
First-year coach Kenny Atkinson has done a great job of getting the Cavs to play as a team, move the ball around quickly and play top-notch defense. He’s helped elevate Mobley to the best season of his young career, calling plays for him much more than previous coach JB Bickerstaff. Mobley’s improvement to a 42% 3-point shooter has been incredible.
Seven Cavs are averaging double figures in points, and 12 are averaging more than six per game.
NBA
While Cavs fans are having a blast watching their team, overall, the league’s TV ratings are way down. The NBA needs to take a hard look at its product.
Some people point to too many 3-pointers, too many players and coaches talking politics, and load management turning off fans.
My New Year’s resolution for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: move the 3-point line back. It’s become way too easy to make for most players, and way too many are being hoisted.
Another idea: require players to be 20, not 19 before entering the NBA. It would in essence force them to play two years of college ball — like in football.
Players would be better upon entering the NBA, and it would help with fan interest because more would get to know them watching them play college hoops, especially during March Madness, for two years. With NIL payments the elite college players wouldn’t complain much because they’d be getting big checks.
Browns
Make sure Deshaun Watson never plays another down for Cleveland. The trade with the Texans and subsequent contract Watson signed are the worst in NFL history and probably the annals of sports.
Watson has been terrible on and off the field. The team needs to move on from the drama that surrounds him and get a fresh start(er) at quarterback.
After starting just six games in each of his first two seasons with the team (2022-23), Watson lasted only seven games in 2024 before tearing his Achilles tendon. He threw only five TD passes in 2024, a total matched in one game by banished Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield for the playoff-bound Buccaneers.
Watson has just a 9-10 record as a starter for Cleveland.
The Browns finished with a dismal 3-14 record in 2024, which defensive end Myles Garrett called more disappointing than the 0-16 campaign in 2017 because of the high expectations coming off a playoff season.
The Browns were so bad I’m adding one more resolution: blow it up and start over. Trade away a couple veterans with value and rebuild through the draft and free-agent signings.
(Sidenote: With the Browns home trying to figure out how to rebuild, I’m rooting for Baker and the Bucs and the Lions in the playoffs).
Guardians
Spend some money on the free-agent market.
Cleveland reached the ALCS and then promptly traded away two key players in second baseman Andres Gimenez (2022 All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner) and first baseman Josh Naylor (2024 AS). These were obvious cost-cutting moves.
Unlike the Browns, most of the Guardians’ moves wind up working out, so we can’t rip them for these trades, and there are some talented younger players waiting in the wings. Still, the Guards were a couple wins away from the World Series. Let’s hope owner Paul Dolan opens his notoriously tight pockets and reloads rather than rebuilds.
Ohio State football
Keep doing what you’ve been doing the last two games. Throw the ball to the wide receivers, especially freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith.
Smith has caught 70 passes for 1,224 yards and 14 TDs entering the College Football Playoff semifinal against Texas on Jan. 10. He’s drawn much-deserved comparisons to Terrell Owens, who’s one of the NFL’s all-time great wide receivers.
After coaching way too conservatively in the loss against Michigan, coach Ryan Day and his staff have allowed QB Will Howard to spread the field, and that opened up the running game in wins over Tennessee and Oregon.
OHSAA
The OHSAA does a pretty good job overseeing the state’s scholastic sports. If I were to be given the chance to make one change, it would be dropping the playoff brackets from 16 teams to 12 per region.
Happy New Year everyone. Hope it’s a safe and happy 2025!
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.