Today I wanted to talk about the national and local perspective of the Cavs and the Browns. It feels so paranoid, angry and negative locally, but that also can sometimes feel accurate. In various cases, that perspective is backed up nationally. So what's the right perspective?

I talked to Cleveland Scene's new owner Andrew Zelman and on of Scene's many resident sports fans, Sam Allard.

You should follow these guys on Twitter as well.

Andrew Zelman is @AZFromCleveland

Sam Allard is @SceneSallard

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While Denny is still taking care of his adorable baby in her first days, Brian Spaeth (@BrianSpaeth) and Ben Cox (@WFNYBen) stepped up to help out with the Casual Friday podcast. So, naturally we talked about sports and movies.

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I was very happy that Marla Ridenour was willing to come on the podcast today. She's always a great read, but her work has been particularly noteworthy in her coverage of the Browns since they decided to fire Rob Chudzinksi. She's pulled no punches as she put Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi on notice. We discussed that for most of the podcast before also touching on the Cavaliers, their trade for Luol Deng and Ridenour's belief that the Cavaliers will not send Anthony Bennett to the D-League.

You can follow Marla Ridenour on Twitter @MRidenourABJ.

Also, see some of her Browns coverage that I was referring to in the podcast.

Browns’ three-ring circus leaves Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi next in firing cannon

Also on the Luol Deng trade...

Young Cavs needed Deng trade for their battered psyches

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I wanted to catch up with Dan Parker to talk about the Browns, music and other stuff.

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This turned out to be a wholly depressing podcast where Ben talked down the idea of bringing in Pau Gasol because there's just no means to an end with what the Cavaliers have put together. At least that's how it felt on January 6th, 2014.

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First week in a long time without Scott Raab. First pinch hitter out of the gate was Andrew. We spent some time talking about the Browns and all their maneuvers along with how quiet it has generally been about Davone Bess.

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Scott's post on Davone Bess is an interesting place to start.

- why is this topic going so under the radar? on the one hand we've heard that he has problems in his personal life, likely with his family. I understand the media not wanting to report that, but his pot pictures indicate some sort of meltdown.

 - on the other hand, some of the reaction to Scott's post seemed to indicate, "what's the big deal? It's pot and it's basically legal now!" that's something we talked about with chris perez earlier this year. Even if you don't have an ethical dilemma about pot (and I don't) that doesn't mean that it isn't some sort of self-destructive meltdown to have it shipped through the mail / post pics on instagram

 - does the Bess thing just have everything to do with the fact that the Browns are such a mess otherwise? 

- As for the Browns, obviously confidence is extremely shaken in the entire organization now, but does that preclude them from being right? Is it even possible in your mind that their story is just 100% true and they couldn't work with Chud despite their reasons for hiring him in the first place?

- if Chud was hard headed about playing McGahee, Little, Lauvao and others as opposed to moving on, would you consider those decent enough reasons for firing a guy? If they were so far off from being on the same page, isn't it the right move?

 - Are you shocked that a first time head coach like Chud would seemingly be willing to push back on his superiors? Do you think it was guidance from Norv Turner - who reportedly blew up at Banner in his meeting - for standing his ground?

- Lastly, we'll talk Cavs. What are the going to do with Bynum. I'm hoping it's done before we record, honestly. Otherwise, we can talk about Grant and how hot his seat might be at this point.

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