Somehow, every game recap I write manages to be about an even more abhorrent game than the last. Tonight might take the cake for by far the worst game I have ever had the displeasure of watching. Just an unbelievably awful game start-to-finish. On the bright side, since coming to Minnesota, the Guardians seem to be at least losing a new type of game. Not just your average 1-run loss anymore, we’ve ascended to a new plane of suffering.
Cleveland, OH
From Isabela Merced to Jerry Siegel’s home, Superman’s local ties bind him to Ohio
VIDEO: ‘Superman’ flies high in James Gunn re-imagining | Review
James Gunn’s “Superman” proves to be a movie ripped straight from a comic book in tone, humor and action. It’s definitely worth a look.
Courtesy of the James Gunn movie, the iconic pop culture character Superman is having a super-sized moment right now. By extension, so is Ohio and, in particular, the city of Cleveland.
What took so long? Given the long run of the character across television, animation and film, it feels odd that Superman is just now giving the area the spotlight given his connections to the state and city, which are numerous.
Does it ultimately matter? Given that Gunn chose to film in Ohio – Cleveland and Cincinnati, specifically – probably not to rest of America. But to Ohio movie fans? More than likely. After, all the Man of Steel has come home.
It helps that the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit is in place, but the efforts of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission were instrumental in luring the production to the area. Call it a homecoming that’s deserved for a number of reasons:
‘Superman’ was born in Cleveland, Ohio – it’s that simple
Metropolis, Ill. makes its faux claim to be home of Superman, but the reality is that two Cleveland teens — Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel — created the character in Siegel’s home in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. It feels rather strange that fact is just now, seemingly in this moment, being embraced nationally and — to some extent — locally.
It’s a drumbeat that started slowly when then-Plain Dealer reporter Michael Sangiacomo, who wrote a weekly comic book column, started asking the simple question: why weren’t Superman’s creators honored by their hometown. Given the character’s impact since its creation, it was a legitimate one and led to the formation the Siegel & Shuster Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the creators and their character’s legacy.
After agreeing to a deal with National Allied Publishing which was eventually acquired by Detective Comics, Siegel and Shuster signed a 10-year contract to write and illustrate the character for Detective Comics, signing away their copyright in the process just to get the characters, which they developed over the course of six years. Their first published version of Superman appeared in the book Action Comics #1. At a 2024 auction, a highly rated version of the book sold for $6 million.
Superman became an immediate phenomenon.
“He was the first superhero,” Gary Kaplan, president of the Siegel & Shuster Society, and a cousin to Jerry Siegel, said.
Less than two years after publication, the character was appearing in assorted media, with Roy Middleton becoming the first actor to portray the character at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and the legendary Fleischer shorts coming in 1941. Over the course of eight decades, he’s appeared in film, television and animated projects.
Cleveland will be home to Superman Plaza at the Huntington Bank Convention Center
The Siegel & Shuster Society has been working diligently to create a permanent memorial to Superman in the city’s downtown, and on Aug. 2 their vision becomes reality with the unveiling of Superman Plaza of the corner of St. Clair and Ontario in front of the center.
The tribute plaza will feature Superman soaring through the sky on an 18-foot pylon. It will include life-sized statues of Shuster, Siegel and Joanne Siegel, who was the inspiration for reporter Lois Lane, along with a phone booth, which served as an impromptu changing point for Clark Kent to slip into his alter ego. The exhibit is being created by Cleveland artist David Deming.
The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Laura Siegel Larson, Jerry Siegel’s daughter, in attendance.
The group has worked to raise more than $2 million for the project. They are still short funds, but have received permission for the installation to go on and will continue to fundraise.
It’s the type of attraction that can add to the roster of reasons to tour downtown Cleveland. To a degree, Kaplan is surprised about the lag in fundraising and lackluster support from the business community.
“People can come in from Pittsburgh or Columbus or wherever and see the Plaza, and while they’re there, they may stay at a hotel if it’s just a day trip,” Kaplan said. “I mean, they can have lunch. They can spend their money here and that’s good for the economy.”
The only local politician to enthusiastically embrace the effort has been Cuyahoga County Councilman Pernel Jones Jr.
Kaplan recognizes there are more pressing priorities in Cleveland – especially given it often ranks in the Top 10 for poverty in the U.S.
“It’s a totally different category, but you can’t say we’re just going to focus on these certain things and nothing else,” Kaplan said.
Jerry Siegel’s home where Superman was created remains standing
Jerry Siegel’s boyhood home remains standing, if not a bit anonymous, when compared with another Cleveland movie home from “A Christmas Story.” The reason: the film that featured Ralphie and his friends was purchased and restored. Siegel’s home is occupied by owners who didn’t know its legacy when they purchased it, Sangiacomo said.
People would drive up, snap photos and the couple could not understand why until a group of Japanese tourists explained the home’s legacy.
“She finally went down and said, ‘OK, what’s going on? Why are you taking pictures of my house?’ And then they told her that this is where Jerry Siegel created Superman. And she went, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea.’”
People still drive by and take pictures, but the potential to make it a museum in the future is there for whomever wants to take on the task and bolster the Man of Steel’s legacy in Ohio.
Until that moment comes, the society has helped keep the property updated, including an online auction that raised featuring noted author and comic book writer Brad Meltzer that raised more than $100,000 in 2009.
Sangiacomo said the couple who lives there embraces the legacy.
“They’ve been really, really, really good about taking care of the place,” Sangiacomo said.
The importance of the home was recognized by actor David Corenswet recently, he added.
“He took his family and just as the filming ended, his family came to Cleveland to visit and they asked if they could go over,” Sangiacomo said. “They went over and they got the tour, the place where Superman was created, and he signed the guest book.”
Hawkgirl, Isabela Merced, was born in Cleveland
As Hawkgirl, Isabela Merced doesn’t get an abundance of screen time, but she makes the most of it. Not only does she get to kick some heiney, but she manages to fire off a few well-timed and, based on audience reaction at a recent screening, well-received one-liners as she plays off Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern/Guy Gardner.
For a 24-year-old actress, Merced has a long list of credits going back as far as 2013 and including films such as “Transformers: The Last Knight,” “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Alien: Romulus.”
Cincinnati’s Union Terminal appears in ‘Superman’ as the Hall of Justice
You won’t see Superman visiting the hangout of the corporate superhero crew that includes Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Lois Lane receives the honor of visiting the infamous Hall of Justice made famous in the ABC “Superfriends” cartoon from Hanna Barbera in the 1970s. In the movies, she seeks out the help of the trio in assisting to find Superman who has been taken by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and his merry band of Gen Z xenophobes who have a problem with Superman’s alien origins.
Its facade is featured prominently.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
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This game had everything!
Do you like lackluster starting pitching? Come on down!
Do you like walks? We’ve got a near unlimited supply at a discounted price!
Do you like using every single reliever in your bullpen but one? Stop on by!
Do you like walkoff losses? We’re running a 2-for-1 special!
Fan of all the above? Then come on down to the Chris Antonetti and co.’s House of Horrors! Unfortunately located on a television set near you.
I’m just going to do everyone a favor and eschew the video evidence that I usually attach to my recaps so that those who either missed the game or wanted to rewatch a pivotal moment could catch up. No one deserves to experience this game once, let alone twice. We’re going to stick to just good old words tonight.
Cecconi was bad today! That’s about all I’m going to say.
The Guardians scored 3 runs in the top of the 4th on back-to-back homers from Rocchio and Hoskins. If you’ve watched more than 3 Guardians games this year, then I’m sure you can guess what happened next.
Speaking of the 4th inning, Cecconi didn’t manage to get out of it! Final line: 3.2IP 6H 3ER 4K 1BB. Gave up the lead right after the Guardians took it.
Holderman had to pitch in the 4th (yes, fourth) inning to clean up his mess. Holderman was fantastic, and is one of four (I’ll get to the other three in a second) players today who are blameless. He cleaned up Cecconi’s garbage, and then pitched a scoreless 5th on 6 pitches.
Herrin pitched a relatively uneventful 6th, but unfortunately left the game when he was hit on the elbow off a comebacker from Royce Lewis. Shawn Armstrong got the last out of the inning.
All was quiet until the 7th, when beautiful, sweet Chase DeLauter had his 2nd of 2 hits and 2nd of 3 appearances on base tonight. He drove in the go-ahead run with that hit. Then, Rocchio squeezed home Kwan on a great surprise bunt, and even managed to get to first off bad defense from the Twins.
Then, Armstrong pitched again! Our beloved Armstrong walked Keaschall and Kreidler, only recording one out in between the walks. Sabrowski came in in relief. In what is maybe the worst relief outing I have ever witnessed with my own two eyes, Sabrowski walked THREE batters. Included in 3 of those walks are TWO RBI walks. TWO (2). Dos. Deux. Zwei. Due. Two. TWO. Two of THREE RBI walks issued by the Guardians tonight. Three. Tres. Trois. Drei. Tre. THREE. I cannot emphasize how abhorrent of an evening Sabrowski had tonight. He threw 14 pitches, 2 of which registered as strikes. None of his other 8 pitches were close. He did not record an out. Him being broken isn’t something this team can overcome so he needs to figure it out.
Hunter Gaddis came in and cleaned up that mess, but then left a mess of his own with runners on 2nd and 3rd two batters into the 8th. Enter Cade Smith who had to clean up that mess. And, as a matter of fact, he did so. Brilliantly, I might add. Came in with Twins on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and did not surrender a run. Not a one.
Anyway, we headed to the 9th tied. The Guardians didn’t score. Shocker. So, because of how empty the bullpen was (Aleman having never pitched in back to back days), Matt Festa pitched. In what was, truly, a “put me out of my misery inning”, Festa almost wiggled out of it but, luckily, the defense behind him had our back for a short night. I’m not even mad at Festa. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… Bazzana misplayed a rough hop in the rain and the dirt, and Hoskins failed to scoop what could only be characterized as a play my late 100-year-old grandmother could make. Once again, the Guardians defense gave away easy outs to the Twins. Alan Roden walked it off for the Twins later that inning.
Quick recap of the pitchers used tonight, along with their final lines:
Cecconi: 3.2IP 6H 3ER 4K 1BB
Holderman: 1.1IP 0H 0ER 0K 0BB
Herrin: 0.2IP 0H 0ER 0K 0BB
Armstrong: 0.2IP 0H 2ER 0K 2BB
Sabrowski: 0.0IP 0H 0ER 0K 3BB
Gaddis: 0.2IP 2H 0ER 0K 0BB
Cade: 1.0IP 0H 0ER 2K 1BB
Festa: 0.2IP 3H 1ER 1K 1BB
Cade, DeLauter, Rocchio (1/4, HR, 3 RBI), Hedges (2/4), and Holderman are the only Guardians that I’m not presently pissed at. Everyone else should try meditating, or yoga, or solidcore, or literally anything to prevent this game from ever happening again.
Hope you enjoyed this recap. Goodnight and good riddance to this awful game. See you Friday!
Cleveland, OH
Ohio ICAC Task Force’s “Operation Guardians’ Watch” Results in 25 Individuals Arrested and Charged for Attempting to Meet with an Underage Child to Engage in Sexual Activity
The defendants, ages 20 – 63, engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover officers posing as children. Contact was initiated through popular social media applications. The defendants expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the purported children. Some of the defendants disseminated images of their genitals and others offered to pay for sexual activity during the online conversations.
Initial charges – ranging from third-degree to fifth-degree felonies – were filed against the defendants, which include:
- Compelling Prostitution
- Attempted Unlawful Sexual Conduct With A Minor
- Disseminating Matter Harmful To Juveniles
- Importuning
- Possessing Criminal Tools
The arrested individuals include:
- Brian Ferguson, 38, Cleveland
- Andre Johnson, 37, Maple Heights
- Luca Ascione, 31, Strongsville
- Doug Matheson, 51, Berne, New York
- Timothy Rankin, 37, Elyria
- Glen Martin, 52, Eastlake
- Christopher Docy, 28, North Ridgeville
- Dominick Craig, 37, Logan
- Gerald Rhome, 51, East Cleveland
- Deandre Anderson, 24, Warrensville Heights
- Tai’rez Jackson, 24, Cleveland
- Esteban Baltazar, 63, Springfield, Tennessee
- Oscar Aparicio, 24, Houston, Texas
- Mohammad Mabrouk, 29, Cleveland
- Michael Sullivan, 20, Cleveland
- Brett Musselman, 33, Kent
- David Whitfield, 35, Geneva,
- Delwin Ortiz, 29, Cleveland
- Samuel Kanyaruginga, 35, Cleveland
- Domonic Delvalle, 35, Cleveland
- Clyde Sweeney, 46, Fairlawn
- Jason Kopco, 27, Westlake
- Zachary Brodeur, 37, Flynn, Massachusetts
- Vishwatej Nath, 45, Berea (charges will be filed in Lake County)
- Klajdi Vrapi, 27, Fairview Park
“Operation Guardians’ Watch was coordinated by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio ICAC Task Force with the assistance of the Newburgh Heights Police Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Parma Police Department, Sheffield Village Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations Cleveland, U.S Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation Cleveland, Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, Kirtland Police Department, Lyndhurst Police Department, Amherst Police Department, Warren Police Department, Perrysburg Police Department, Kelleys Island Police Department, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, and Portage County Sheriff’s Department.
This is the seventh undercover operation the Task Force has led since 2018. The total number of arrests from the Task Force’s operations stands at 160 offenders arrested.
*Ohio ICAC Task Force:
The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is run under the direction of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and funded in part by a grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The task force conducts proactive and reactive investigations dealing with the online exploitation of children and provides training and technical assistance to more than 385 local, state, and federal criminal justice-affiliated agencies throughout the state of Ohio.
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