Maybe it's just me emerging from the post-holiday haze of gunpowder residue from neighbor Joe's fireworks display Friday night but is there something amiss when most people are talking about Sabathia rather than police shooting a father of 12 to death?
With coverage pushed for the most part to the Monday following the holiday, there are still many questions to be answered in the shooting death Saturday morning of 42-year old Jeffrey Stevens and getting to the bottom of just what happened and what went wrong on Celina Avenue.
The Beacon Journal reports over the weekend paint the picture of a man who was worried about his son, reports of gunfire and a summer night filled with fireworks. APD is holding back on statements, unlike the Vinson case this year when early observations turned out to be either wrong or misguided (depending on your own personal bias) and led to hard criticism of the Department. Chief Matulavich tells reporter Larry States there will be no statements until all the facts are in, something City Council President Marco Sommerville is happy to hear.
Whatever happened it's a tragedy, for the Stevens family and for the officers first responding to the call then feeling cause to use their guns. Most accounts back the first story that Stevens was carrying a weapon and that may have played a role in the shooting but we will have to wait and see; community observers of the APD, however, shouldn't be kept in the dark for much longer in hearing and seeing the timeline that led up to Stevens' death.
- - -
As I write this we're an hour away from C.C. Sabathia moving from Pierogi land to Bratwurst paradise. No real surprise, given the Indians horrible performance leading up to the All-Star Break and losing eight in a row to Central Division teams. We were supposed to be going to the World Series in October 2008, but then that's one reason why fans shouldn't pay attention to what the "experts" say in March. Good luck to Sabathia, who likely wasn't going to get a deal done to keep him in Cleveland -- and thanks to some hard thinking by Mark Shapiro in the front office for remembering when we lost Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez to free agency it didn't net the Tribe even one minor league prospect. At least C.C. has the good sense to help the Indians get something out of his time here other than memories.
- - -
My favorite fun on the web recently is the vanity campaign made possible by an enterprising bunch of webkins who figured out how to personalize your very own write in campaign, complete with TV news report and even a granny with your name tattooed in true "tramp stamp" favor proclaiming she's your biggest fan. My buddy Kevin from Nashville turned me on to this one complete with my name, ready to roll, and you can prank your pals with this. I can't wait to get Jody Miller and Eric Mansfield on the ballot. VERY funny use of "fill-in the blank" technology!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Brings to mind when the tribe traded Rick Sutcliffe to the Cubs in 1984. the two notables were Mel Hall and Joe Carter. Even though Joe Carter came back to bite the tribe in the backside in later years, he was traded for pretty much two key players-Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carlos Baerga- of the powerhouse teams of the 90's. Hopefully Matt LaPorta can make a huge impact in days to come.
ReplyDeleteAnother irony of the trade is the fact that Cliff Lee becomes ace of the staff. I say this because when Bartolo Colon was traded, C. C. became ace. Lee was a key player in the Colon trade.