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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I think barely an inning went by where I wasn't thinking WTAF is happening. What a weird, stupid baseball game. But it's a win! #GuardsBall

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

By beating Cruz Azul 2-0 to win Campeones Cup, Messi has leveled up his game to that of the 2021 Columbus Crew. This is big news that should definitely overshadow everything and guarantee the Ballon d'Or for him. #Crew96

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Santi Rodriguez is the 24th player to score in his competitive #Crew96 debut (all competitions.) At the 22nd minute, he was the fastest starter to accomplish the feat. (Was Steven Lenhart 26th minute vs RSL in USOC.) Six subs under 22 mins.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Little League World Series was on at the restaurant and one of the kids named his favorite athlete as Michael Jordan. GTFOH. I tried to relate. That would be akin to asking me that when I was 11 and me saying, like, Norm Van Brocklin.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

After allowing goals at 90+3 and 90+5 to lose 3-2 in Nashville, tonight is the 2nd time in #Crew96 history they've entered second-half stoppage time with a lead and then lost in stoppage time. The first: 3-2 loss 9/15/07 at KC. Eddie Johnson PK 90+3 then Scott Sealy at 90+4.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Hear me out MLS… * 29 teams make playoffs. * TRIPLE elimination. * Miami advances directly to MLS Cup Final and visiting team can only dress 18 minus their seed. So, like, the 11 seed can only dress 7 players in Miami if they make the final, Regular season matters!

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Brais Mendez is the 23rd player to score in his #Crew96 debut in all competitions. The first since DeJuan Jones and Dylan Chambost both did it on 8/9/24 in a 4-0 win vs. Kansas City.

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Ted Masthay @tmasthay.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

An MLS game postponed by smoke? That’s football heritage. #Crew96

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Sarah Langs @slangsonsports.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Since Progressive Field opened in 1994, Cleveland has 103 walk-off home runs That’s 11 more than any other team in that span

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

First pitch! Cleveland’s Gavin Williams to Seattle’s J.P. Crawford.

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Ken Tremendous @kentremendous.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

A whole lot of stuff had to happen for the Knicks to win but if you are the Spurs you will be thinking about this moment in particular for a very long time. At this moment, there are like 50 ways you can win the game and maybe one or two ways you can lose.

De'Aaron Fox breaking into the open floor chasing a loose ball with no one between him and the Knicks basket. 14.1 seconds left, Spurs up 1.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

It's tough because I normally root for the more tortured fan base.... but New York sports fans are so insufferable and the Knicks finally winning after 53 years would be so overbearingly obnoxious. But the world needs some joy right now, and the Knicks are unquestionably providing lots of it.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I couldn't believe it. They had the game essentially won. (Blowing a 29-point lead notwithstanding.) They've gift-wrapped this series for the Knicks with some all-time gaffes. Absolutely astonishing how their brains just melt at the end of games.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

This Cavs team is so unenjoyable. They are capable of doing great things for stretches but are equally capable of being the worst team you’ve ever seen. You can neither trust nor enjoy anything with them. Even up 22 with 7+ left in the game.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

By my count, #Crew96 are 7th MLS team to allow hat tricks in consecutive league games. (And the second this year already!) 1998 NE 2011 RSL 2022 COL 2024 NE 2025 RSL 2026 ORL 2026 CLB

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

*Two guys have equal claim to the ball.* NBA: “Let’s do a farcical little ceremony that awards the ball to the team of the taller player.”

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The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Surround yourself with the kind of people who find the Oxford comma to be illuminative, beautiful, and necessary.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

NEW POST: Cleveland Astra Lighting the Way Cleveland's WPSL Pro team, debuting in 2028, now has a name and logo. And it turns out that @clevelandprosoccer.bsky.social CMO @ginaprodan.bsky.social and I thought of the same teacher as the brand came into focus. sirkbook.com/2026/05/04/c...

sirkbook.com

Cleveland Astra: Lighting the Way

The last few years, Clevelanders have had many reason to look to the heavens. We’ve witnessed the eerie majesty of a total solar eclipse, ogled the specter of the wondrously luminous northern light…

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

13-year anniversary of the greatest Tweet in MLS history

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I know a game is about to kick off, but I have been asked to share the sad news that longtime #Crew96 team ops legend Tucker Walther has passed away. I don't have the words right now.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The synthesis and sharing of hard-won acquired knowledge is the job. Philadelphians had 43 years to conduct dozens of in-depth interviews and do years of newspaper and magazine research in order to tell this specific story. Philly fans should thank the midwestern guy for doing it.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

That was a very aggravating baseball game.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Points: PHI 92, NYI 91, #CBJ 90, WSH 89, NJD 83 Real W-L-T hockey records w/o loser points: NYI 39-31-9, 87 pts WSH 38-33-8, 84 pts NJD 36-38-5, 77 pts PHI 31-35-13, 75 pts CBJ 32-38-9, 73 pts Loser points make the NHL standings meaningless for determining who is any good.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Arfsten's 61st minute goal (after #Crew96 conceded in 60th) was the 9th time in club history the Crew answered a conceded goal by scoring within the next "game minute." The first since Federico Huguain on 5/17/14 at Portland.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Feels good to hear that first Underwood-shouts-like-it's-a-no-doubt-about-it-long-gone-homer-but-the-ball-is-caught-like-30-feet-in-front-of-the-warning-track. It's officially baseball season now.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

On the bright side, the #Crew96 Banana Kits were GLORIOUS as always. Nice to see them again.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Tonight was the 18th stoppage-time game-losing goal in #Crew96 history. It's the third 1-0 stoppage time game-loser in club history. All at home. 6/12/11: Cristian Nazarit 91+ vs CHI 9/24/11: Chad Barrett 93+ vs LAG 3/14/26: Hany Mukhtar 94+ vs NSH

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Miami going 31-0 and then shitting the bed in their first conference tourney game against a team that went 7-11 in the MAC is a delightful, heart-warming sports story. A+++. 10/10. Five stars. The main plot was annoying and went on far too long, but the crescendo was <<chef's kiss>>.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Exciting news! @clevelandprosoccer.bsky.social has announced the identity and crest of the MLS Next Pro team that will kick off in 2027: Forest City Cleveland I wrote about why the club's branding resonates with me. sirkbook.com/2026/03/10/f...

sirkbook.com

Forest City Cleveland

This morning, Cleveland Soccer Group unveiled the crest and identity of its MLS Next Pro team, Forest City Cleveland. There will surely be plenty of chatter today about how it looks, with the art d…

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

It’s time to stake our claim, Cleveland. We need a statue outside the Jake of the Joe Carter and Cory Snyder “Indian Uprising” Sports Illustrated cover from 1987. (“Believe it! Cleveland is the best team in the American League.” They went on to lose 101 games. Not Joe Carter’s fault though!)

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

"Walmart Saturday Showdown" sounds like...a trip to Walmart on a Saturday.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

ANOTHER random find while doing Force research.... I had never seen the Toronto Towers logo! Here is Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien unveiling the team's logo at Maple Leaf Gardens in March 1983 as he intended to relocate the Cavs there.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Another random find: 8 English top-flight teams participated in an indoor soccer tournament in 1983, looking to reverse soccer's struggles in England. There was talk of shutting down outdoor in winter to play the indoor game. Lack of arenas was a hindrance. Opening paragraphs...

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Random thing I came across during Force research: In 1982, Art Modell was rumored to be selling the Browns to start an expansion team in LA to block the Raiders from moving there. NFL insiders said it was in the works, but he denied it. If only it had happened...

Art Modell quote: "I intend to stay in Cleveland with the Browns, and that my boys will succeed me when I retire-- in Cleveland."

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Well, not really. Totally different stakes. But it still sucks when what would have been an all-time classic moment is ruined to the point you wish it had never happened in the first place because all it did was give false hope and ratchet up the residual anguish forever.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Now Chicagoans know how the Rajai Davis homer feels.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

A QB heaving a ball from 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage to a guy in the corner of the end zone to tie the game in the closing seconds is a play so preposterous I can’t believe it didn’t happen against the Browns. Other teams must suffer when the Browns never make the playoffs.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Jose got six turns and still lost to the non-Joses at tic-tac-toe. I never thought it possible, but I guess we found something he's not awesome at?

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Codify Baseball @codifybaseball.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

imagine hitting 13 walk-off home runs

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Attn: @michaelarace1.bsky.social Guy being interviewed on local news in Cleveland kicking it old school Hartford.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Akron Beacon Journal readers' favorite athletes by team, circa June 1988: Kosar, Carter, Haaskivi, Price. That's a fairly representative mixed-franchise local Mount Rushmore of my childhood.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

A hazard of Cleveland Force research is that sometimes you catch strays...

Headline that reads "Eyes of a Tiger." Subhead is "Browns draftee Mike Junkin has a look that intimidates."

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Jeff Kent being in the HOF is really stupid when 2B like Lou Whitaker and Bobby Grich are not. Those two were comparable at the plate (Grich a little better, Whitaker a smidge below) when compared to their eras, but were so much better defensively. Kent is in b/c "most HR by 2B" in HR-inflated era.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

It remains stunning to me how even with Magic and Bird, the NBA still was not that popular in the 1980s. The NBA as we know it didn't really happen until the 1990s. Here's a clip from the ABJ in March 1983 looking at the Major Indoor Soccer League vs. the NBA. Look at even those "good" NBA numbers.

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Codify Baseball @codifybaseball.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Codify hot take: the introduction of an ABS Challenge System will increase Steven Kwan's batting average.

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Steve Sirk @stevesirk.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Seems you can make a pretty good living with consistent paychecks by being the person who writes those "The lottery prize is enormous, but the winner will take home less than that" stories. The people-who-know-how-to-read-but-have-never-heard-of-taxes demographic is highly coveted and catered to.

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