Knucklehead of the Week
Browns running back Isaiah Crowell posted on Instagram a depiction of a police officer being stabbed in the neck by a hooded man. The social media slip-up was Crowell’s response to two black men being senselessly killed by police. Many Browns fans want the team to cut him. To his credit, Crowell quickly deleted the post and said he would donate $35,000 to a fallen officers’ fund in Dallas. He later posted a thoughtful apology on Twitter. I hope Crowell was the one who wrote it, not his agent. Regardless, I’m sure the kid learned a lesson.
Three things you'll never catch me doing: drinking a wine cooler, cheering for the Texas Longhorns, or joining in on this strange Pokemon craze. We are doomed when our stupid smartphones are being credited for getting people off the couch to exercise. Nothing wrong with a good walk, but you're not going to drop 30 pounds looking for a "gym."
The good ol' boys who run high school sports finally are getting around to requiring pitch counts for prep baseball. This should have been done years ago. Most coaches seem to be able to count to 100, but I've heard way too many horror stories and have seen too many teenage boys left on the mound for seven innings and 130-plus pitches.
Then there are the kids who get rushed out to the mound on one or two days of rest. Little League isn’t perfect, but its pitch-count rules are right on.
The Broncos are paying Super Bowl MVP Von Miller big money — $114.5 million over six years. That includes $70 million guaranteed. The numbers are eye-popping, but they illustrate the power gap between the football and baseball player unions. Yes, Miller is now super rich, but he's still making less per year than Joe Mauer and Ryan Howard.
Todd Frazier lost the finals of the Home Run Derby when he had to bat second. That meant no pressure for Giancarlo Stanton, who "led off" and put on a memorable show (61 dingers in three rounds). And once Frazier hit a couple just beyond the fence in the finals and they're weren't counted, he was done mentally.
Made the huge mistake of watching some of the All-Star celebrity softball game. A swimsuit model hit a ground ball and ran to first. She ran past the bag, missing it to the right by about three feet. She couldn't figure out why she was called out. I turned off the TV shortly thereafter.
Trending up: Portugal soccer, Andy Murray, Jeff Mercer. Portugal upset France, in France, to win that big soccer tournament in Europe. I flipped over late in the match, because I heard it was a big deal. The score was 0-0. Shocking. I missed Portugal's lone goal, which must have been quite a thrill. The highlight of that tourney was the great welcome home for Iceland's squad.
Trending down: Draymond Green, Brock Lesnar, Tom Brady. The Warriors star is in trouble for punching or slapping, depending on who you believe, a Michigan State football player at a bar. Green's entourage apparently played a role in the incident. Green should have enough self control to walk away. Surprised he didn't jump up and try to kick the guy.
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