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Archive for the category “NFL”

16 Mar 2011

Cleveland’s No. 1 newspaper, everyone

We were excited when we saw that Kent State beat St. Mary’s on the road last night in their opening game of the NIT.

But then we read the game article on The Plain Dealer‘s website.

The area’s largest newspaper couldn’t be bothered to send a beat writer to cover a local team playing in a national tournament (well, the NIT, but still) because, well we’re not sure why. Instead, they relied on the Associated Press for its coverage from the game at St. Mary’s McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.

We were surprised to find out, according to the article, that Kent State lost to Akron in the Horizon League title game and the Golden Flashes are apparently coached by someone named Geno Gord.

Give it up for Cleveland’s No. 1 newspaper folks!

It’s bad enough that someone from the AP couldn’t take 30 seconds to check the game notes to find out how to spell Gino Ford’s name correctly. But shouldn’t the PD have, we don’t know, an editor look at the story before it’s published? Especially since Kent State is a local team.

Maybe everyone on Superior Avenue is so tired from bashing The Cleveland Clinic, writing about themselves and chasing the ghost of Eric Mangini to actually care about getting the details right.

It’s clear, though, that at The Plain Dealer, God does not reside in the details. Jay Spry would be very, very disappointed.

Thankfully The Beacon Journal had its act together, as beat reporter Stephanie Storm put together an actual game story with the right names and everything.

Imagine that.

***

Do you have plans for the weekend? Grady Sizemore does.

Sizemore, the Tribe’s Gold Glove center fielder, could play in his first game in 10 months on Sunday.

“If everything continues to go well, and it’s going well, there’s a chance that Grady can start participating in games on March 20,” manager Manny Acta told The Plain Dealer. “I saw him [Tuesday] working on fundamentals, cutoffs, relays, chasing balls around in the outfield during batting practice like it was nothing. It was very encouraging.”

***

Bad day for sociopaths, as NFL vice president Ray Anderson said in a conference call Wednesday that the league will be even more stern in disciplining players next season, especially repeat offenders.

Bad news for the Steelers, who may now have to play football rather than playing to intentionally injure someone.

According to Anderson, many of those big hits that resulted in fines and personal fouls could lead to suspensions in 2011, which would hurt Pittsburgh in subsequent games.

We don’t see how that’s a problem. Do you?

***

Interesting response from Grant Hill, who didn’t hold back, to some of the comments Jalen Rose made in The Fab Five, a documentary shown Sunday night on ESPN.

We watched the program and thought Rose was pretty clear that his feelings about the type of black players that Duke recruits were how he felt as a freshman on the Michigan team – not how he feels now.

Apparently not everyone took the message that way.

Posted in bad reporting, Cleveland Indians, Fab Five, Grant Hill, Jalen Rose, NFL | Leave a comment
13 Mar 2011
3 Comments

NCAA gives Cinderella a shocker

Instead of fitting her for a glass slipper, the NCAA gave Cinderella a shocker on Selection Sunday.

Of the 37 at-large bids for the NCAA basketball tournament, only seven went to teams not in major conferences, one fewer than last year even though there were three more spots available in the expanded field.

St. Mary’s, which went 25-8, shared the regular season West Coast Conference title with Gonzaga and lost in the conference title game? Sorry. We need to see four teams that finished at .500 in the Big Ten (Michigan, Illinois, Penn State and Michigan State) instead.

Missouri State, also 25-8 and, at 15-3, the regular season champs of the Missouri Valley Conference? No room for you after your four-point loss in your conference title game. We need to see 14-loss USC, which suspended and then reinstated its coach this week for inappropriate behavior, instead.

And forget about Kent State. Regular season titles and overtime losses in your conference championship game don’t mean anything when you play in the Mid-American Conference. No sir, we need 11 teams from the Big East, including another pair of .500 teams in Villanova and Marquette (both 9-9 in conference play).

This year we’re stuck with five teams with at least 14 losses – all from major conferences – after only having six total make the tournament with that many losses from 1985 to 2010.

What a joke.

The game is obviously rigged to favor the big schools. If you’re from a major conference, you can play your way into the NCAA tournament if you play well in your conference tournament (see Penn State), but you can’t really play your way out (33 points total in a game Wisconsin? Seriously?)

That same opportunity doesn’t exist for the mid-major schools – one slip up and they’re gone.

By not even giving the little guys an opportunity, the NCAA robs fans of the best part of the tournament – seeing an underdog hang close and/or upset a higher-seeded team. Think about it: whenever a lower seed has a second-half lead, the crowd almost always swings its support to the underdog. Just remember Butler’s run to the title game last year.

Wait a minute … that actually may explain this year’s selections. After the Bulldogs came so close to pulling off the biggest upset in tournament history last year, the NCAA must have gotten scared of the thought of a team that’s not at the top of their preferred list winning it all.

Well, they did their best to ensure that won’t happen this year.

Gene Smith, Ohio State’s athletic director and chairman of the selection committee, tries to explain the committee’s “logic” here.

And here are some facts and figures about this year’s tournament.

***

Now that the NFL has locked out the players and the players have filed a lawsuit that makes us have to remember the Sherman Antitrust Act from high school history class, we’re left to wonder how much a prolonged work stoppage will impact the Browns.

ESPN’s James Walker believes the Browns will be one of the most affected teams:

Cleveland has a rookie head coach (Pat Shurmur) and a young quarterback (Colt McCoy) and will switch systems on offense and defense.

Cleveland hasn’t run a 4-3 defense since 2004. The team also has to make alterations in personnel to fit the scheme. With free agency delayed, the draft becomes even more important for the Browns to fix weaknesses, particularly on the defensive line.

A West Coast offense is all about timing, and McCoy will not get the usual amount of offseason preparation to learn the new playbook and work with his coaches and teammates. Whenever a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, Cleveland needs to make up for lost time ASAP.

Just another day in Cleveland sports paradise.

So instead of reading about mini-camps and OTAs, get ready for a bunch of stories like this one.

Posted in big team bias, Cleveland Browns, NCAA tournament, NFL
11 Mar 2011

Can’t we all get along?

Somehow, the NFL and the NFL Players Association were not able to decide after 16 days of work with a federal mediator how to divide up the league’s $9 billion revenue pie.

Now we’re left to wonder what’s next and when (if?) we will see the Browns and the rest of the league on the field again.

The players association has filed papers to decertify, effectively disbanding the union and giving it the chance to sue under antitrust laws if there is a lockout.

“They have chosen to choose another strategy, and that is their choice,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in published reports.

According to a statement from the NFL, the players’ union left a good deal on the table, including:

  • An offer to narrow the player compensation gap that existed in the negotiations by splitting the difference;
  • A guarantee to reallocate savings from first-round rookies to veterans and retirees without negatively affecting compensation for rounds 2-7;
  • Ensure no compensation reduction for veterans;
  • Implement new year-round health and safety rules;
  • Retain the current 16-4 season format for at least two years with any subsequent changes subject to the approval of the league and union;
  • Establish a new legacy fund for retired players ($82 million contributed by the owners over the next two years).
  • A reduction in offseason programs of five weeks (from 14 to nine) and of OTAs (Organized Team Activities) from 14 to 10;
  • Significant reductions in the amount of contact in practices.

Sounds pretty good to us.

The union responded:

The NFL Players Association announced today it has informed the NFL, NFL clubs and other necessary parties that it has renounced its status as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the players of the National Football League.

The NFLPA will move forward as a professional trade association with the mission of supporting the interests and rights of current and former professional football players.

So, for now, there is no free agency and no trades, and while there will still be a draft in April, drafted players can have no further contact with their new teams after draft day beyond the traditional congratulatory phone call.

Just great.

***

Oh, Stan? You won’t see him no more.

***

Some cool old program covers from the Indians.

We especially like the one of Chief Wahoo using his baseball bat as an arrow to aim at opposing American League teams. (h/t to UniWatch)

***

Finally, Phillip Morris at The Plain Dealer weighs in on the hypocrisy of the gumbo of lies Jim Tressel has been cooking at Ohio State:

In recent years, Ohio State has gone out of its way to project itself as a bastion of good sportsmanship. It has educated and encouraged players to demonstrate a respect for opponents, the law, the university and NCAA rules. It has made quite a show of doing this.

When the school hosted the U.S. Naval Academy to open the 2009 season, for instance, the teams lined up in the south end zone together. Tressel shook the hand of each midshipman, looked him in the eye and thanked him for his service to country. Then both teams ran onto the field together.

But it’s all been a farce. Two prominent players were then or subsequently breaking NCAA rules. They were consciously profiting from the sales of memorabilia that compliance officers had warned them against. They were consorting with at least one character who exposed the entire program to a high degree of risk.

What that means is the players were only pretending to be good sports. The same with the coach.

Tressel was only pretending to be a good sportsman. He knew what was happening. But he sat for months last year on information that he knew could cause serious harm to his 2010-2011 season. He sat on information that could harm his win-loss record and ultimately his financial future.

And Christopher Cicero, the Columbus lawyer who sent the e-mails to Tressel in April, revealed he’s received death threats since the story broke earlier this week.

Way to stay classy Buckeye fans.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Jim Tressel, NFL, Ohio State | Leave a comment
13 Feb 2011

Shedding some light on the Mangini Era

Starting with the release of six veterans this week – five of which were former coach Eric Mangini’s “guys” – the curtain has been pulled back a little bit on Mangini’s failed tenure as Browns coach.

General manager Tom Heckert explained that one the team decided to give Mangini a second year in 2010 the team owed it to him to give him the players he wanted – including Kenyon Coleman, Eric Barton, David Bowens, Robert Royal and John St. Clair

“Once we decided Eric was going to be the guy (and return), we knew that was going to be the case,” Heckert told The Plain Dealer. “And we were fine with that. We were trying to do everything we could to win and help Eric. And Eric wanted these guys, and that’s fine. We understood that. So there’s no sour grapes.

“If Eric was going to be the coach (in 2010), we weren’t going to say, ‘You’re the coach and we’re getting rid of these five guys.’ That’s not a good thing, either.”

It’s a very good sign that management is willing to give the coach what he needs and take a hands-off approach to let the coach do what he thinks best. But we’re left to wonder, in the wake of another 5-11 season, if Heckert and team president Mike Holmgren shouldn’t have taken a firmer hand in shaping the roster this past season.

Take, for example, running back Jerome Harrison, who the Browns traded to the Eagles in October. We didn’t mind the trade as it was obvious Harrison wasn’t going to receive playing time in Cleveland. But Mangini wanted Harrison gone, and Heckert gave in.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t have (traded him) because Jerome … he wasn’t begging to get out of here, but he was acting like he wanted to get out of here,” Heckert told The PD. “It wasn’t going to do us a whole lot of good to keep him here. Jerome was kind of going through the motions. I think he thought he should have been playing more.

“I think (the RB depth) was good for a while. When we had Peyton (Hillis), Jerome and a couple of other guys here, we were OK. But once Eric wanted us to get rid of Jerome, that’s when it started (going bad). Once you get rid of that guy then it’s just tough to find guys.”

We all saw how that played out as Hillis wore down by the end of the season because the Browns had no viable alternative in the running game.

And even when the coach signed off on the Browns picking someone up, that still didn’t mean the player would see any game action. Take defensive lineman Jayme Mitchell for example, who never played a down after the Browns traded for him on Oct. 6.

“He was by far our best pass rusher and never got on the field, so I can’t answer that one,” Heckert told The PD. “Eric watched him (on tape prior to the trade) and Eric liked him. So I don’t know what happened after that. He’s a nickel pass rusher on third down. We thought he could really rush the passer.”

So on a team that only recorded 29 sacks on the season, the player who was “by far our best pass rusher” couldn’t get on the field?

Heckert’s latest comments help crystallize the comments he made at new coach Pat Shurmur’s introductory press conference:

“Like Pat said, from the day he walked in the door, we were on the same page,” Heckert said at the time. “Everybody says they want the character and hard work and stuff, but we’ve been through it together and we’ve done it with getting those players. I think we are on the same page when it comes to players and what we are looking for, and we’ve done it together before. That can’t be a negative.”

So now, in theory at least, the Browns have a trio all working together with the general manager getting the players that the coach wants and – presumably – the coach will actually put those players on the field on Sundays.

And as Heckert said, if that happens it can’t be a negative, right?

Of course, with the way things have been going around here lately, who really knows?

***

For more on this, check out:

Tom Heckert Gets Loose at Waiting for Next Year

And Cleveland Frowns touches on it in When Eric met Tony

Posted in Cleveland Browns, NFL, Tom Heckert | Leave a comment
10 Feb 2011

Cavs on the brink of history

The Cavs can claim their place in the history books Friday night against the Clippers.

If they lose, the Cavs will stand alone among American sports teams with a 27-game losing streak, surpassing the NFL’s Tampa Bay Bucaneers, losers of 26 consecutive games in 1976-77.

While things are rough now for the Cavs, what with injuries and a roster of mostly not ready for the NBA players, coach Byron Scott is not worried for his job.

“I just have a lot of confidence in what I do,” Scott told The Plain Dealer. “I know I’m the right man for the job. We obviously need to keep improving as a basketball team, but I know I’m the right guy for the job.”We’re all unhappy when it comes to winning and losing, we’re all unhappy with the way things are going, but [there has been] no indication about job being in jeopardy or anything like that.”

It seems like an odd thing to even bring up to Scott. He’s halfway through his first season with a team that most people expected to be in a major rebuilding mode. If he was the right guy when he was hired six months ago, why would owner Dan Gilbert change his mind now?

Veteran Antawn Jamison knows where to lay the blame.

“I have no problems with what our coaching staff has been doing,” Jamison told The PD. “I think they’re going over and beyond. It’s hard now with certain guys injured and you’ve got a lot of young guys out there getting the opportunity to play. But our coaching staff has been phenomenal. They bring it every day, they expect us to do it and we’ve been doing it. They pick the right coverages, they talk about things we need to do. Sometimes it takes a while for us as a group and a unit to get to that point, but we get to it.”

The Cavs are going to get through this. Making a change at coach certainly isn’t going to accelerate the process.

No word on if members of that Buccaneers team will gather Friday night with bottles of champagne to celebrate if the Cavs lose.

***

While it seems as if NFL owners and players could figure out a way to split the $9 billion annual pie in a way that would leave both sides rolling on giant piles of money, that apparently may not be the case.

According to Dan Graziano, senior NFL writer at Fanhouse:

The likelihood that the NFL will lock out its players on March 4 now stands at an all-time high after Thursday’s scheduled negotiating session between the league and the players’ union was canceled. Multiple sources familiar with the talks said the owners’ side walked out of Wednesday’s meeting due to a disagreement over the talks’ most fundamental issue — the manner in which the players and owners will split the NFL’s approximately $9 billion revenue pie.

Having some kind of work stoppage obviously won’t be so bad in March and April, but if the labor problems carried over into the summer and the start of training camp, it will be a different story.

With the economy the way it still is in this country, we have to wonder how fans will react to a prolonged battle between millionaires and billionaires.

There’s still time to go and both sides have options to avoid a work stoppage. The owners can impose their “last, best offer” rather than lock the players out, as expected. According to The Huffington Post (h/t to Waiting for Next Year) that means:

After bargaining to impasse, labor law permits employers to unilaterally implement changes to the terms of the previous collective bargaining agreement. These changes must be “reasonably comprehended” within the employer’s pre-impasse proposals – in essence, this means that, after the impasse, the owners can implement their last, best offer as the new set of rules to govern the NFL and its relationship with the players. By implementing their last, best offer instead of locking the players out, it would force the players to either accept the terms while continuing to negotiate, strike, or decertify.

So while things may appear bleak right now, we’re going to remain optimistic.

Because the alternative, a year without Browns football, is just too depressing to even think about.

***

Speaking of big money, Saturday’s Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City will be the most expensive game – in terms of player salaries – in sports history.

According to The Wall Street Journal, based on analyst estimates, team statements and media reports, the players on the field and on the two benches in the Manchester Derby will have cost their teams roughly $850 million to acquire.

That top mark will fall next month when Manchester City and Chelsea meet – their combined salaries are about $900 million.

Now if we could just get a Russian oligarch to buy the Indians from the Dolans, we’d be all set. Unfortunately, we’ll have to settle for the Tribe signing 36-year-old Orlando Cabrera to play second base this year.

Posted in big money, Cleveland Cavaliers, Manchester Derby, NFL | Leave a comment
09 Feb 2011
1 Comment

Colt McCoy just had a good day

The Browns released six veterans on Wednesday, most notably defensive lineman Shaun Rogers and right tackle John St. Clair.

The release of St. Clair has to put a smile on the faces of quarterbacks Colt McCoy, Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme, as it means they don’t have to fear the turnstile brand of blocking that St. Clair employed over the past two years as he inexplicably was put in the lineup time and time again by the former coaching staff.

Also released were linebackers Eric Barton and David Bowens, defensive linemen Kenyon Coleman and tight end Robert Royal. The release of Royal and his stone hands made it a daily double for the quarterbacks.

Despite having a ton of talent, Rogers only played when he wanted to, plus he was hurt for much of last year. He finished the season with 17 tackles and just two sacks. While it would seem as if the Browns could use his talent, if he was unable or unwilling to make it on the field on Sundays, what value did he bring to the team?

It’s interesting to note that new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron coached Rogers in Detroit, so he obviously knew what the team had in Rogers. We think if Jauron would have really wanted Rogers to stay on the team the Browns would have figured something out.

Barton, Bowens and Coleman were “Eric Mangini guys” brought in from New York to teach the Mangini way.

With four of the players released coming from the defensive front seven, the Browns may be giving us a sign as to what their draft plans will be come April.

***

The Ravens are reportedly going to look for a backup quarterback in the draft.

Seems to us they could use a veteran quarterback as well; wonder if Jake Delhomme likes crab cakes?

***

Liverpool’s big win over Chelsea on Sunday set viewership records for Fox Soccer Channel.

Slowly but surely America seems to be getting it.

***

Finally, tonight marks the end of one of the best shows on TV, Friday Night Lights.

We read the book, which was very good; saw the movie, which was excellent; and remember being skeptical when we saw that they were making a TV version.

But we were hooked from the first episode and, despite the show completely losing its way in Season 2, stuck with it and were rewarded each week with quality writing and acting.

We’re going to miss the lights, for sure.

For more, check out:

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Friday Night Lights, Liverpool, NFL
04 Feb 2011

Super Bowl Pick

We’ve finally reached the Super Bowl and we’re sitting comfortably in first place of the The 2010 Cheddar Bay Invitational at Cleveland Frowns.

We’re 7-3 so far in the playoffs, but a slip up this weekend could drop us from the top spot.

As much as it hurts, we’re going with Pittsburgh +3.

We struggled with this pick for a while, but as soon as the line went to three points we knew what we had to do.

This way, when Green Bay wins on a last-second field goal, but doesn’t cover, we get the satisfaction of the Steelers losing and bringing home the cheddar.

***

Looks like Dan Gilbert and Quicken Loans may be in a spot of trouble.

According to the article on The Center for Public Integrity, “Lawsuits from borrowers and ex-employees claim Quicken’s day-to-day tactics are at odds with its squeaky clean image. They accuse the company of using high-pressure salesmanship to target elderly and vulnerable homeowners, as well as misleading borrowers about their loans, and falsifying property appraisals and other information to push through bad deals.”

A trial starts Tuesday in Detroit. (h/t to Deadspin)

***

No surprise here, as safety officials in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are advising female partygoers not to leave their friends behind with someone they barely know.

Officials said that the campaign — backed by the Safe City Commission, the Women’s Center, the RecoveryResource Council and local law enforcement — has been in the works for a while but that it made sense to launch it in conjunction with the Super Bowl.

We’re sure the fact that the Steelers are in town also played a role in the decision to launch the campaign. (h/t again to Deadspin).

***

While looking for something, we came across this NFL Game of the Week video of the Browns beating the Steelers 21-16 in 1973.

Enjoy.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Dan Gilbert, NFL, Super Bowl | Leave a comment
03 Feb 2011
2 Comments

Reading is Fundamental – Browns edition

Today we’re passing along some book recommendations for Browns fans.

Some of these books may no longer be in print, but if you can find a copy it will be well worth your time:*

  • Sundays in the Pound: The Heroics and Heartbreak of the 1985-89 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight: (This book) traces quarterback Bernie Kosar’s winding path from Youngstown to Florida to Cleveland, explains why there was so much more to running back Earnest Byner than one unforgotten fumble, and reveals how cornerback Hanford Dixon created a canine phenomenon in the end zone stands that has persevered to this day. Knight delves into the Drive and the Fumble; examines the fairy-tale performance of an aging veteran quarterback who directed the Browns through the snow and into the playoffs in his final game at the old, cavernous Cleveland Stadium; and recounts an epic playoff saga in which the Browns staged one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Cleveland sports.
  • When all the World was Browns Town: Cleveland’s Browns and the Championship Season of ’64 by Terry Pluto: The 1964 Browns were truly Cleveland’s team; Terry Pluto recreates this ear with the words, thoughts and reflections of the men – Jim Brown, Frank Ryan, Dick Modzelewski and Bernie Parrish, among others – for whom team pride was not just a slogan, and who gave their all for themselves, for their teammates and for the fans who loved them.
  • Classic Browns: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Browns History by Jonathan Knight: Classic Browns counts down the 50 greatest Cleveland Browns games, from unexpected upsets to incredible comebacks to titanic championship battles. The rich, six-decade history of the Browns is layered into these tales, tying together the gritty All-American Football Conference games played in the shadow of World War II to the sleek Sunday battles at shimmering Cleveland Browns Stadium today. Knight ranks heartbreakers like The Fumble and The Drive alongside championship duels and epic confrontations with heated rivals. Included in these pages are the heroics of Browns legends like Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Jim Brown, Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar to name just a few. Whether it was because of the score, the weather, or an amazing individual performance, each game included in Classic Browns is worth remembering and revisiting.
  • False Start: How the New Browns were set up to Fail by Terry Pluto: It was supposed to be the dawn of a grand new era of football in Cleveland. Instead, it was a rude wakeup call. When the new Cleveland Browns took the field in 1999, legions of loyal fans—once heartsick, abandoned, and disgusted at the loss of their team in 1995—were ready to forgive the past and embrace the future . . . a new owner, a new team, a new stadium. They just wanted their Browns back. They didn’t get what they bargained for. In the five years since a new team called the Browns arrived to play on Cleveland’s lakefront, this has become clear: Browns fans got a bum deal. The NFL traded one of the most storied teams in football history for a franchise mired in mediocrity. These were the fans who, after owner Art Modell skipped town with their beloved Browns, became the only fans ever to take on the NFL, demand their team back—and win. Yet while they were celebrating the supposed victory that kept “our name, our colors, our team” in Cleveland, fans should have been looking over their shoulders and keeping a close watch on the NFL. There would be few reasons to celebrate in the years to come.
  • Kardiac Kids: The Story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight: In Kardiac Kids, Jonathan Knight paints a portrait of the Browns storybook 1980 season and its impact on the city of Cleveland. Knight takes us through that unforgettable year from beginning to end, describing in great detail how the city simply fell in love with this team. It was the year long-suffering Cleveland sports fans finally had something to be proud of. Tickets were at a premium, players were pursued like rock stars and songs were written about their on-field heroics.
  • On Being Brown: What it Means to Be a Cleveland Browns Fan by Scott Huler: What is this madness all about? Ask anyone who has experienced it: being a Cleveland Browns fan is just different. Scott Huler looks at this 50-year love affair between town and team in 33 essays recounting his personal saga of “becoming Brown.” Searching out those special elements of shared experience that define what being a Browns fan has meant for us all, he also holds conversations with the true legends of Cleveland Browns history – Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Lou “The Toe” Groza, Brian Sipe, Ozzie Newsome and others – in which they share their own thoughts about just what made this relationship between town and team so special. This odyssey for Browns fans takes them back to some wonderful places. It revives some truly awful moments. And it looks to the future with great hope. Those who are truly Brown will enjoy the ride.
  • Cleveland Browns History by Frank M. Henkel: There was little fanfare when Art “Mickey” McBride flew into Chicago in 1945 to purchase a professional football team for Cleveland. But that act set in motion a tradition that has brought the city of Cleveland together on Sunday afternoons for (most of) the 60 years to follow. Cleveland Browns History is the story of championship seasons, legendary coaches and Hall of Fame players. Coach Paul Brown led his teams to seven league title games in their first 17 seasons. Running backs Marion Motley, Jim Brown and Leroy Kelley each rushed over opposing defenses and straight into Canton, Ohio, along with fellow Browns like Otto Graham, Ozzie Newsome and Len Ford. The Kardiac Kids in 1980 had too many nail-biters for some fans, but won the AFC Central in typical fashion – by three points in the final game of the season. All these stories, plus those of the many unsung heroes to don the NFL’s only logo-less helmet, fill the pages of this book, sure to delight any Cleveland Browns fan.
  • Things I’ve Learned from Watching the Browns by Terry Pluto: Here’s a question for any Browns fan … Why? Why, more than four long decades after your team’s last championship … despite a relentless pattern of heartbreak, teasing, and more heartbreak … capped with a decade of utter futility … do you still stick with the Cleveland Browns? Good question. Veteran sportswriter Terry Pluto gets a daily barrage of e-mail from fans letting their hearts bleed out orange and brown. So he decided to ask his readers: Just what is it about this team that makes you love them, hate them and still keep coming back for more? A thousand fans responded – in detail. Their stories – along with interviews with former players and Pluto’s own expert analysis – deliver the answer. Answers, actually. Because like any intense relationship, it’s a little complicated … Covering the Browns from 1964 through present day, this book does for Cleveland football what Pluto’s classic about the Indians, The Curse of Rocky Colavito, did for Cleveland baseball: It won’t make the pain go away, but it might help you remember why it’s worth enduring.
  • Glory for Sale: Fans, Dollars and the New NFL by Jon Morgan: Morgan, a sports business writer for the Baltimore Sun, believes the major factor behind the flight of professional football franchises from city to city is stadium economics. Items such as skyboxes, retractable roofs, concession contracts, and scoreboard advertising have replaced fan allegiance and municipal loyalty as the deciding issues in the relocation of teams. To illustrate his case, he chronicles in dollar-by-dollar detail the recent move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, an event determined in the end by the highest bidder. Like the league he targets, this study is more business than sport and thus is likely to frustrate traditional fans who cringe at the commingling of the two. Though the message he delivers may be depressing, it is also necessary for developing an understanding of today’s NFL. (summary courtesy of Library Journal)
  • Fumble! The Browns, Modell and the Move: An Insider’s Story by Michael G. Poplar: The author is the former executive vice president-treasurer of Cleveland Stadium Corp, a company formed by Browns owner Art Modell, to operate the stadium under a 25-year lease with the City of Cleveland. The book “Fumble !” chronicles the difficulties that went with operating the aging and obsolete city-owned stadium, as the writer describes from the many diaries and transaction summaries which he maintained since 1975. Along with the interesting tales of the conditions of the building and the other interesting events held there, Poplar also weaves in 20 years of Browns football memories under five head coaches … ranging from Forrest Gregg in 1975 through the end of the reign of Bill Belichick in 1996. The book is sure to rekindle fond memories of those exciting Kardiac Kids finishes, and the not-so-memorable climaxes, including the Drive and the Fumble, along with the terminations of those five head coaches.

If you do decide to check one of these out, you won’t be disappointed. And remember to shop at your local bookstore. If you don’t have one in your area and are in the Hudson area, it’s worth a stop at The Learned Owl.

*Summaries are all taken from the individual book jackets, except where noted.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, NFL, reading
01 Feb 2011
2 Comments

So … about those Browns coaches

Slowly but surely the Browns are filling out their coaching staff under new coach Pat Shurmur.

On Monday the team added Dwaine Board to coach the defensive line, Bill Davis to coach the linebackers, Mike Wilson to coach the wide receivers (he’s going to earn his money with this group) and Mark Whipple as quarterbacks coach.

Missing from that group is an offensive coordinator, a position that NFL teams traditionally find kind of important – the Cardinals had two last season, for example. Technically the Browns do have someone to coordinate the offense as Shurmur plans to call the plays himself.

We didn’t really like that idea when Shurmur mentioned it during his introductory press conference and we’re still a little uneasy about how this is all going to play out. Kansas City showed this season how having two experienced coordinators – Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel – can help a young coach. That’s the model we expected the Browns to follow.

Head coaches have so much to worry about on Sundays – injuries, clock management, etc. – that adding play-calling duties to the list would seem to be a bit overwhelming – especially for a first-time coach.

But who knows? Eric Mangini had Brian Daboll by his side the past two seasons and he still struggled with clock management and other issues on game day. Maybe going against the norm is just what the Browns need to do.

Because what they’ve been doing since 1999 sure hasn’t been working.

For more, visit Waiting for Next Year: Browns could go without offensive coordinator

And Two One Six Sports is less than enamored by the situation.

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We’re still struggling with Fernando Torres no longer being at Liverpool. We loved watching him play and really thought the new ownership group was going to find a way to keep him at Anfield and it’s going to be painful to see him in blue this Sunday.

Lots on this at:

And it just get worse because Andy Carroll, the club’s big signing in the wake of Torres’ departure, is still weeks away from his debut with Liverpool because of an injury.

Who knew we could carry Cleveland’s bad karma to a team thousands of miles away?

Oh well, this will make us feel a little bit better.

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Finally, why is Hines Ward dressed like one of the Village People?

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Fernando Torres, Liverpool, NFL, Pat Shurmur
31 Jan 2011
5 Comments

Reading is Fundamental – NFL edition

With the end of the NFL season just around the corner, we thought we’d pass along some book recommendations for anyone needing a football fix.

Here are some NFL and college football related books that are worth checking out (we’ll do Browns-specific books later in the week). Some may no longer be in print, but if you can find a copy it will be well worth your time:*

  • Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death and John Madden’s Oakland Raiders, by Peter Richmond. The Oakland Raiders of the 1970s were some of the most outrageous, beloved and violent football teams every to play the game. Peter Richmond tells the story of Oakland’s wrecking crew of castoffs, psychos, oddballs and geniuses who won six division titles and a Super Bowl championship under the brilliant leadership of coach John Madden and eccentric owner Al Davis.
  • Johnny U: The Life & Times of John Unitas by Tom Callahan. Johnny U is the first authoritative biography of Unitas, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches, family and friends. The depth of Tom Callahan’s research allows him to present something more than a biography, something approaching an oral history of a bygone sporting era.
  • Saturday Rules: A Season with Trojans and Domers (and Gators and Buckeyes and Wolverines) by Austin Murphy. No two programs are more storied than Notre Dame and USC. With the inside scoop on these top-ranked teams, Murphy closely follows their arcs through the 2006 season, up to their late-November showdown in the L.A. Coliseum. Murphy puts you in the field, in the meeting room and in the huddle as both teams fight to keep alive their national title ambitions.
  • Boys will be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty by Jeff Pearlman. In Boys will be Boys, award-winning writer Jeff Pearlman chronicles the outrageous antics and dazzling talent of a team fueled by ego, sex, drugs – and unrivaled greatness. Rising from the ashes of a 1-15 season in 1989 to capture three Super Bowl trophies in four years, the Dallas Cowboys were guided by a swashbuckling, skirt-chasing, power-hungry owner, Jerry Jones, and his two eccentric, hard-living coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Together the three built a juggernaut that America loved and loathed.
  • Going Long: The Wild 10-year Saga of the Renegade American Football League in the Words of Those who Lived It by Jeff Miller. From its inauspicious beginnings through its improbable Super Bowl victories and its ultimate demise, the American Football League had a colorful and sometimes bizarre 10-year history. Going Long takes you back to that thrilling decade with the men who made the AFL – and who made it great.
  • Take Your Eye off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look by Pat Kirwan. This is not a beginner’s introduction to football, nor is it a technical manual for only the most studious of fans. Instead, it clearly and simply explains the intricacies and nuances that affect the outcomes of every NFL game. Take Your Eye Off the Ball explains the pros and cons of different personnel groups, tells you what to look for when projecting a college quarterback’s success in the NFL and gives fans a simple, easy-to-remember checklist to help them understand the action on the field. Baseball claims to be America’s national pastime, but football is its passion. Take Your Eye Off the Ball will make fans feel like they’ve got their own personal head coach by their side each and every Sunday, enhancing the fan experience by making football more accessible, colorful, and compelling than ever before.
  • The Last Coach: A Life of Paul “Bear” Bryant by Allen Barra. The Last Coach traces Paul Bryant’s rise from a family of truck farmers to recognition as the most successful and influential coach in the game’s history. At the height of the Depression, football took Bryant to the Rose Bowl with Alabama’s 1934 national champions and on to a career as an assistant and, finally, a head football coach, where he matched wit and grit with the greatest coaches of two generations, men like Tennessee’s General Robert Neyland, Oklahoma’s Bud Wilkinson, Notre Dame’s Ara Parseghian, Ohio State’s Woody Hayes and Penn State’s Joe Paterno. Through it all, Bryant’s influence has not only endured but prevailed as his former players and assistants continue to define the best in not only college but professional football.
  • Perfect Rivals: Notre Dame, Miami and the Battle for the Soul of College Football by Jeff Carroll. College football is a sport of rivalries – and no two teams were ever more perfectly matched than the Miami Hurricanes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In Perfect Rivals, award-winning sportswriter Jeff Carroll takes us inside the locker rooms and onto the gridiron, as two storied programs with very different cultures battle for national supremacy, school pride and the soul of the game itself.

If you do decide to check one of these out, you won’t be disappointed. And remember to shop at your local bookstore. If you don’t have one in your area and are in the Hudson area, it’s worth a stop at The Learned Owl.

If you missed it, our basketball book recommendations are here and our baseball books are here.

*Summaries are all taken from the individual book jackets.

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Thanks to Scott at WFNY, who found this column by Clay Travis at Fanhouse.

After writing about how the Terrible Towel is Terribly Stupid, Travis posted a column with the response of Steeler fans.

We especially like the one hoople head who was considerate enough to leave their phone number in the death threat they sent to Travis.

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Speaking of Terrible Towels, we’re pretty sure this constitutes child abuse.

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Fox Sports Florida is the latest to pile on the Cavs.

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If we had known Liverpool were going to turn into the Cleveland Indians …

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Alex Mack thinks touchdowns, not field goals.

Posted in hoople heads, Liverpool, NFL, reading

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