The Downtown report

Live and di-rect from my Downtown penthouse in Cleveland, it's a weekend version of the Downtown Report. Fine, I live on the 14th floor and not the penthouse, but anyone actually going to the penthouse has to wait for me to stop on my floor before they get home.

I'll say this for Green Bay Packers fans: they travel well. I was at Wonder Bar on E 4th on Friday night and, all of a sudden, the place is just overrun with green and yellow. Crazy. I talked with a few of them - they actually sound like those accents people had in Fargo. I informed them that they were really going to crush us on Sunday, which turned out to be true. Pack fans are a lot different than Steeler fans, by which I mean they aren't total dicks. They also know what "yellow" and "gold" mean They're actually a cheerful lot, though they were a bit too festive for me on Friday. I almost felt the need to invoke Brett Favre's turncoating to somber them a bit, but wasn't that far into the beer just yet.

Speaking of Favre, I saw a couple of Packers #4 jerseys today. Really? Really? I mean, how much does that guy have to sell you out before you spring for a Rodgers?

I like the Indians' hiring of Manny Acta as their new manager. I recall reading on FIRE JOE MORGAN that Acta generally eschews bunting and reads (and understands!) Baseball Prospectus. Welcome to Cleveland, Mr. Acta.

Buckeyes looked better on Saturday, though it took them a while to get going. The offense was sluggish in the first half, but they looked much sharper in the second. The D stepped up all game long - it's a shame they lost the shutout. The two chief culprits on the offensive side, as I see it, are the offensive line's inability to give Terrelle Pryor much time, and Pryor's shaky decision-making on throws. The Iowas and Penn States of the world are going to be quite a challenge if those things don't improve.

Loved watching Michigan get smacked around by Penn State in their own house. It's just such a good feeling to watch them lose. It gives me goosebumps. Matt Millen was the color guy for the game, and he's as inept at that as he was at GM'ing the Lions. He called Tate Forcier the best quarterback in the Big 10, when he was in fact by a wide margin not even the best quarterback on the field. How can you say Forcier is better than Daryll Clark with a straight face?

Went for a hangover-helper 5-mile run at about 11 am on Sunday and was really energized running around the stadium. It's a great atmosphere - too bad the on-field product dampens it so much. Any time you go for a run and high-five a traffic cop, it's a good run.

Let's just not even talk about the Browns game. That was ugly. As it happens, that contest was just one of three that I missed out on the Sunday slate, putting me at a robust 8-3 headed into the evening games. Rock and roll.

The most intriguing afternoon games to me were Cincy/Chicago and New Orleans/Miami. The Bengals looked very, very impressive in dismantling the Bears. Just a machine. If the Bears suck that bad next weekend, maybe we can take them out. Probably not, but maybe. The Saints rallied from down 24-3 (!) and, having not trailed all season, simply went on a 43-10 run to beat the Dolphins and cover the six-point spread. Wow. The comeback effort was helped by former Wolverine Chad Henne tossing two pick-sixes to the black and gold. Nice work, dummy. This Saints team is an exciting bunch.

I'll be out and about traveling the nation for the next week or so, so I won't get to see the Cavaliers begin their attack run from my typical lakefront location on Tuesday. Nevertheless: Go Cavs!