Remember when Jimmy Haslam came riding into town from Tennessee in the summer of 2012? Fans were excited that this truck-stop magnate billionaire with a passion for sports, that was endorsed by the likes of the Rooney family, Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones, would give the Cleveland Browns someone who would be more accountable, reputable and visible as an owner than Randy Lerner ever was.
Sure, Haslam has been way more visible than Lerner, albeit for less flattering things like ripping off his trucker customers on their rebates and getting hauled into federal court. But, it appears that the one thing Haslam has in common as Lerner and his father, Al, and even going back to Art "Judas" Modell, is the propensity for running a dysfunctional NFL franchise.
As the Browns prepared to kick off this past Sunday at Heinz Field for their season finale against the hated Steelers, rumors perpetuated the Twitter-verse that Haslam and his top deputies, CEO Joe Banner and the general manager-in-hiding Mike Lombardi, were prepared to fire head coach Rob Chudzinski after just one season coaching the team he grew up rooting for in nearby Toledo. Browns fans were aghast, especially when there were no signs that "Chud" was even in danger.
But, after a disappointing 20-7 loss to the Steelers, and just a few hours after arriving back at Berea, the Browns announced that they were, in fact, firing their first hand-picked head coach less than one year after hiring him.
Browns players, interviewed following the loss in the locker room, were incredulous that the questions about Chud's survival were even brought up. D'Qwell Jackson and Joe Thomas, in particular, were very vocal in their defense of their embattled head coach, even though the team slumped to a 4-12 season after seven consecutive losses and 10 losses in their final 11 games. By the time they arrived in Berea to clean out their lockers for the offseason, they had to be shocked.
Haslam, Banner and Lombardi, in firing Chudzinski, did something that neither of the Lerners, Modell or any other Browns owner in this franchise's storied history had ever done -- fire a coach after just one season. Sure, if Chudzinski's Browns would have gone 0-16 or 1-15 or even 2-14, perhaps you can justify the move. But 4-12?
And after he had to juggle three different starting quarterbacks at various times this season, due to injuries or overall inadequacy? And knowing that he had to give Brandon Weeden not two, but THREE different chances as the starting quarterback after backups Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell got injured while looking and performing considerably better than the opening day starter?
And after the starting running back and the 2012 No. 3 overall pick in Trent Richardson -- the team's only viable running threat -- was traded for a 2014 first-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts after just two games? And not finding an adequate replacement for Richardson (who struggled considerably in Indy, making the trade look genius) until there were three games left in the season, when an unknown Edwin Baker scored as many rushing TDs as the aging Willis McGahee did all season long?
And having a rotating field at the guard position due to injuries and inadequacy, as John Greco, Oniel Cousins, Shaun Lavauo, Jason Pinkston and Garrett Gilkey all got starts on the interior of the offensive line? And that line couldn't open up holes for a running game all season long and gave up a ton of sacks -- and that's even with two Pro Bowlers (Thomas and center Alex Mack) starting on that line?
And realizing that the rookies Lombardi handed you were underwhelming, to say the least? Barkevious Mingo looked like a playmaker at times, finishing with five sacks on the year, but had a quiet end to his season. Leon McFadden, other than his phantom pass interference penalty at the end of the New England debacle, couldn't get off the bench and then didn't play well when he was finally pressed into service. Gilkey only started the season finale and was taken to school by aging veteran Brett Keisel. Armonty Bryant, the one draft pick that everyone was against due to his checkered past, actually played the best out of all of them, and even he was a situational player.
And opening the year with the NFL's eventual leader in receiving yards, Josh Gordon, suspended for two games and allowing trade rumors to swirl about him until the deadline came and went? And also signing a possession receiver in Davone Bess who suddenly forgot how to catch a football and then was excused from the team for the final two games due to some off-the-field issues? And having to start Greg Little all season long?
Haslam was disgusted by Pat Shurmur for being too conservative and too predictable in his playcalling, and deservedly so. Chud was the antithesis of Shurmur -- he went for it on fourth down a lot (three times in the Steeler game inside of scoring position). He called for fake punts and fake field goals. He allowed his quarterbacks to throw deep (at least when they weren't getting killed or throwing horrible interceptions). But, in the end, in two seasons of Haslam's stewardship, the Browns have fired two head coaches, a team president and a GM.
According to longtime Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi, the decision was made to fire Chud prior to the Steeler game, and not even a win over the team's biggest rival would have saved him. This, despite Banner speaking as late as November in effusive praise of his young head coach.
Part of the problem may have been the disastrous seven-game losing streak. The Browns were 3-2 and 4-5 at various points this season. Coming off their bye week, believe it or not, the team controlled its own playoff destiny and seemed to have the inside track at the AFC North crown. But a 30-point second-quarter monsoon due to special teams breakdowns in Cincinnati led to a 41-20 loss to the eventual division champs (and lone playoff team from the North), and it spiraled from there.
The Browns had a propensity to break down either late in the first half, or in the fourth quarter, or even both. The Browns made two hapless offensive teams in Jacksonville and the New York Jets look almost unstoppable at times in two late-season losses. There was the debacle in New England, in which referee's questionable penalties and decisions allowed Tom Brady to score 13 unanswered points in the final two minutes to pull off an improbable 27-26 win. And there was another fourth quarter meltdown in the home season finale against Chicago that allowed the Bears to come away with a 38-31 victory. Oh, and let's not forget another season sweep by the Steelers after it appeared Pittsburgh was a team on the decline after an 0-4 start.
Another part of the problem may have been the NFL awarding the Browns five Pro Bowl players -- the most out of any other team in the AFC North -- and the opportunity for a sixth in safety T.J. Ward. It's never a good sign when a team has more Pro Bowlers than wins. It shows that there is talent in the building, but coaching isn't getting the most out of said talent.
Grossi goes even further by saying there was a dischord between Chud and Lombardi. Remember that Lombardi wasn't officially hired until AFTER Chud was named head coach, even though most insiders proclaimed that Lombardi was heavily involved with the process. The two butted heads over players receiving playing time all season long.
One of the biggest problems was with the quarterback position. Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner seemingly ignored Hoyer during training camp until Hoyer was pressed into service in the preseason finale against Chicago and played very well. Turner, at one point, said that the player of Hoyer "surprised" him and the coaching staff. As Weeden and Campbell combined to win only one game the rest of the season and underwhelm at times, you had to believe that Lombardi was throwing Hoyer's emergence and Turner's "surprised" comment around liberally to Haslam and Banner.
At one point, Banner urged Chud to "shake things up" and release disappointing players such as Little and Lavauo. Chud argued against such moves and stood up for his players. In Banner's eyes, it seemed that Chud wasn't holding the Browns players accountable for their mistakes, which led to the regression in the second half of the season.
The fact that every other new coaching hire had a better record than Chud's Browns -- while the Jaguars under Gus Bradley also finished 4-12, they improved in the second half of the season and also came to Cleveland and won 32-28 -- did not sit well with Haslam, Banner and Lombardi.
Also, keep in mind that Carolina (where Chudzinski was offensive coordinator), San Diego (where Turner was head coach) and Arizona (where Ray Horton was defensive coordinator) all improved in 2013 after those men left to coach the Browns. It may not be a coincidence.
So, while Haslam had many reasons to make the decision that he made, it opened things up for the Browns organization to look like a giant joke on the national sake.
It's another cycle of wash-rinse-repeat -- new coach, new system, new quarterback. This after Chud's predecessors Eric Mangini and Shurmur were only given two seasons before they were sent packing, partly due to the team's incompetence but also due to impending regime changes (Mike Holmgren with Mangini; Haslam and Banner with Shurmur). The Browns have now gone through Chris Palmer (1999-2000), Butch Davis (2001-04), Romeo Crennel (2005-08), Mangini (2009-10), Shurmur (2011-12) and now Chudzinski (2012) -- that's six full-time head coaches and one interim coach in Terry Robiskie (2004) -- that have coached the Browns since the franchise returned in 1999. Meanwhile, the Steelers have only had three different head coaches since 1969 and the Patriots have had just one -- Belichick, who was run out of Cleveland after the move to Baltimore -- since 2000.
Keep in mind that from 1946-70, the Browns only had two full-time head coaches in the legendary Paul Brown (46-62) and Blanton Collier (63-70). Not coincidentally, the Browns won eight world championships during that span and were a legitimate contender throughout. That's what continuity will get you, and this Browns organization has none. However, from 1971-95, Modell ran through six different head coaches. He ran two of them out -- Forrest Gregg and Bud Carson -- fairly quickly, with Carson only lasting a season-and-a-half.
Before the Browns moved away, the franchise had eight full-time head coaches -- Brown, Collier, Nick Skorich, Gregg, Sam Rutigliano, Marty Schottenheimer, Carson and Belichick. The "new" Browns are already dangerously close to eclipsing that number in far less time. Other than Schottenheimer and Belichick, none of the head coaches hired within the last 25 years have gone on to any type of success anywhere else in the NFL as head coaches. And Belichick is the only one who has won a Super Bowl after leaving -- not even Paul Brown won a championship after he was unceremoniously fired by Modell following the 1962 season.
What was also concerning about Monday's press conference was the lack of the third member of the Browns' triumverate -- Lombardi. Since his introductory press conference (and the disaster that it was), Lombardi has been kept under wraps by Banner and Haslam. Other than briefly during the 2013 draft, Lombardi has been the "ghost of Berea." You know he's there, but you don't see him or don't hear from him. Fans were already uncomfortable with Lombardi's return due to his handling of the Bernie Kosar situation and his status as one of Modell's chief lieutenants leading up to The Move. While he deserves credit for pushing for Brian Hoyer's arrival (although only nine quarters isn't that large of an example), most of his other moves have not panned out. His silence on the subject has only fanned the fires among a very frustrated fanbase.
A local TV reporter became a folk-hero of sorts when he, reading off fans comments from his station's Facebook page, gave Haslam and Banner an earful during Monday's press conference. At one point, he asked Haslam what would he say to calm down fans who believe that "The Three Stooges" were running this organization. Suddenly, hashtags mentioning The Three Stooges and YouTube videos of the comic trio were being linked to on-line accounts everywhere. Whether Haslam and Banner like it or not (and it appears they don't, judging by their facial expressions and responses during the presser), that moniker is here to stay.
The only way it changes is if the Browns hit a home run with their coaching hire (they need a Terry Francona-esque hire, seriously), spend their $30 million of salary cap space wisely to improve the team with more talent, use those 10 draft picks and two first-rounders on players that will make not only an immediate impact, but an impact for seasons to come, and -- bottom line -- WIN. Browns fans are sick and tired of the 5-11/4-12 dance that has permeated this franchise every year since 2008. Browns fans are sick of only one playoff berth since they've returned (2002) and only two winning seasons during that span. Browns fans are tired of coaching carousels, quarterback carousels, running back carousels, etc.
A fancy, schmancy scoreboard and restructured seating are nice, but the best way to improve the "game-day experience" is by putting a winning product on the field. You can gloss over those things at Quicken Loans Arena or Progressive Field with fire-breathing scoreboards and fun fan activities during the downtime. But Browns fans are a different animal. They'll even put up with a drumline over a cheerleading squad if it means the team will go 10-6, 11-5, 12-4 or even (gasp) better next season and in the seasons that follow. Browns fans are fiercely loyal to their team, but the constant losing is starting to test that loyalty. The botching of last season's head coaching search and the need for another new one is another loyalty test.
Already, Canton native Josh McDaniels, a former head coach of the Denver Broncos and long-time Bill Belichick disciple, is being mentioned as the leading candidate for the job. This is the same McDaniels who squandered a 6-0 start to his career by never making the playoffs and drafting Tim Tebow in the first round. He also ran off Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Peyton Hillis in one fell sweep (although Hillis wound up proving McDaniels right in the end), depleting his offense. McDaniels tries too hard to be another Belichick. And, like most Belichick disciples (such as Mangini, Crennel, Jim Schwartz, Scott Pioli and Charlie Weis, among others), people have come to realize that there is only one Bill Belichick and the rest should give it up.
Like Belichick, who struggled in his first coaching stop in Cleveland before succeeding in New England, Browns fans can only hope history will repeat itself with McDaniels. It didn't with Mangini, as we remember, so the bar is set pretty low.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is suddenly on the radar, after Chip Kelly (who turned down the Browns) recovered from a slow start to go 10-6 with the Philadelphia Eagles and reach the playoffs -- another offensive genius/guru from college and no NFL experience. Can lighting strike twice, especially after another college coach (Greg Schiano) gets run out of the NFL after two seasons?
Joe Cleveland will likely give up his Browns season tickets this season, but he'll still remain a Browns fan. A very frustrated and angry Browns fan, but a Browns fan nonetheless.
Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year. Hopefully 2014 is much better than 2013 was, not just in sports, but in overall life.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Showing posts with label Randy Lerner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Randy Lerner. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
A Banner New Year?
First of all, here's wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year. Hopefully 2013 is a better year for you than 2012 was.
Joe Cleveland wants to thank all of you for taking the time to visit this blog whenever I update it. I got a lot more readers in 2012 than in 2011, so hopefully, things can keep taking off for Joe Cleveland in 2013.
The new year is only a few hours old, but I felt it was worth doing my first update of the year about what transpired just 24 hours ago and what could transpire during this week for the Cleveland Browns.
Shortly after a 24-10 loss to the hated Steelers at Heinz Field, in a game that was started by practice squad quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and where the leading rusher was a guy who was only active in one other game during his two-year stint with the Browns -- Brandon Jackson -- and where the longest run from scrimmage was by a backup safety. Despite all of that, the Browns were competitive until the bitter end and didn't back down when the Steelers tried to intimidate them with some extracurricular activities as plays ended.
It was fitting that the final offensive play of the Pat Shurmur era came when a quarterback named Josh Johnson -- who had been on his couch the entire season before the Browns placed a desperate call to him last Monday -- was leveled on a blitz by Lawrence Timmons past a rookie guard, Ryan Miller, who had never even played a single snap before that possession started, and Johnson fumbled. So ended the tumultuious two-year tenure of Pat Shurmur as the head coach of your Cleveland Browns.
The ax came swiftly and decisively on New Year's Eve morning. New owner Jimmy Haslam III and Joe Banner, as expected, fired both Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert. Both were hired by departed president Mike Holmgren under the guise of absantee owner Randy Lerner -- Heckert a year earlier than Shurmur.
Joe Cleveland believes that both firings were the right choice. However, I've got to give Shurmur (begrudgingly) a bit of credit.
Shurmur's two seasons were held under difficult circumstances. Shurmur was a surprising choice by Holmgren in 2011 to replace Eric Mangini, and just a month after his hiring, the NFL locked out its players. That deprived Shurmur of an offseason, in which he was going to impliment a new offensive scheme (the West Coast offense). Believe it or not, the Browns had records of 2-1 and 3-3 under Shurmur before the bottom fell out in a disappointing 4-12 2011 season.
On the eve of training camp, news broke that Lerner had sold the team to Haslam. Suddenly, the "5-year plan" net and the security of having the Big Show in the building was going to be gone, with the impetus on winning if people wanted to retain their jobs. Despite that, Shurmur and Heckert trotted out a roster that was heavy on rookies and 1st-year players that were competitive in most games, but wound up a disappointing 5-11. The season ended on a 3-game losing streak, in which the Browns were outscored 96-43.
I still blame Holmgren for these last three years of 5-11, 4-12 and 5-11 ball. Holmgren was given a Brinks truck worth of money by an exasperated Lerner after the Browns stumbled to a 1-11 start under Mangini. It was expected that Holmgren would fire Mangini after the season and name himself as the head coach. However, Holmgren held on to Mangini for one more 5-11 season, despite a clash of overall philosophies, then "discorvered" the unknown Shurmur to be his hand-picked head coach one season later.
Halfway through the season, Holmgren was gone. By that point, Heckert and Shurmur were fresh out of friends, and only a miraculous finish to the regular season could save them.
It almost happened. A three-game win streak put the Browns at 5-8 and on the outer cusp of playoff contention. However, a dismal 38-21 loss to the Washington Redskins, led by fourth-round rookie backup QB Kirk Cousins, virtually sealed Shurmur's fate.
There was a mild push to retain Heckert because of some of the draft picks he had made in his three seasons. However, 14 wins in three seasons is difficult to ignore. When the teams in last year's NFL draft that picked first (Colts), second (Redskins) and fourth (Vikings) are all in the postseason while you, who picked third, are not, it's pretty indiciaitive of the job Heckert and Shurmur had done.
The trade of Julio Jones to the Falcons, the non-trade to obtain Robert Griffin III and the drafting of 28-year-old Brandon Weeden with the 22nd overall pick are the most heavily scrutinized moves, and Joe Cleveland actually supported all three of those maneuvers.
Essentially, Haslam and Banner had to do this to remake this once-proud franchise in their image. They want a "strong personality" at head coach, which is why they are hiring the coach first and the GM/personnel director second. You can say the Browns did that twice before and it failed both times when they hired Butch Davis and Mangini. However, the common denomonator in both of those hiring were the hand's-off, no-accountability Lerner family ownership.
Haslam is about as hand's on an owner as you want without him becoming meddling. Banner is a proven football executive that oversaw the rebirth of a Philadelphia Eagles organization that had fallen on hard times. I think they know what they're doing.
College coaches like Alabama's Nick Saban, Oregon's Chip Kelly, Penn State's Bill O'Brien and Syracuses's Doug Marrone are on the radar, as are NFL coordinators such as the 49ers' Greg Roman, the Falcons' Dirk Koetter, the Bengals' Jay Gruden and the Colts' Bruce Arians (who was once the Browns' offensive coordinator and may wind up winning the NFL Coach of the Year Award for the job he did helping Indy reach the playoffs in the stead of regular head coach Chuck Pagano). Ex-Bears head coach Lovie Smith is rumored to have been contacted by the Browns, and they may be interested in Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett if Jerry Jones fires him tomorrow or the next day.
All of the current assistants are under contract and can be retained by the new coach. They will be granted permission to interview for other jobs. There still is a chance that defensive coordinator Dick Jauron is retained by the new head coach.
Both the new coach and the new GM/personnel director will report directly to Banner, who will report directly to Haslam. Haslam and Banner want a coach who will command respect by the players, the media and the fanbase that will help mold this team into a winner. They will give the new coach equal say in the final roster, and he will be expected to work in concert with the new GM. Since Banner is the de-facto poobah and he and Haslam are conducting the searches, both decided it was imperitive to hire a head coach first.
If you think about, NONE of the models have worked for the Browns. Carmen Policy hired Dwight Clark as his GM, who then hired Chris Palmer as the team's first expansion head coach. Five wins and two seasons later, Palmer was out and Clark's authority was ursupped by the incoming Butch Davis.
Davis brought along his former University of Miami cronie Pete Garcia to be his Director of Player Personnel. Three-and-half seasons later, despite a 9-7 playoff season in 2002, Davis resigned and Garcia followed him out the door.
Next, Lerner hired Phil Savage to be his new GM, and Savage tapped Romeo Crennel, the Patriots' DC during their three Super Bowl wins in a four-year span, to be his new head coach. Savage barely lasted the first season due to a power struggle with then-team President John Collins. Four seasons later, Savage and Crennel were fired in one-fell swoop by Lerner.
Lerner was heavily rumored to hire former Patriots GM Scott Pioli as his GM. However, his love affair with fired Jets' coach Eric Mangini changed all that. Lerner quickly hired Mangini without hiring a GM, and most of the experienced GM candidates that were available (such as Pioli and Tom Dimitroff) passed on the job. Mangini reccommended George Kokinis to be his new GM, and one failed draft later, Kokins was fired and Lerner was willing to give ANYONE a boatload of cash to help save him from the mess his franchise was becoming.
I believe that if Nick Saban wants to leave Alabama, the job is his. I don't think he'd leave Alabama, but there are some sources that say that Saban could leave if his Crimson Tide win the national championship later this week. The only job on his radar is the Browns job, where he once served as the defensive coordinator with great success.
Chip Kelly has become the darling coach prospect. However, he runs a gimmicky offense with Oregon that I don't think can succeed in the NFL. Let the Eagles and Chargers fall over themselves to try to hire him. I'd rather have Bill O'Brien if you're going the college-coach route.
Josh McDaniels, the former Patriots offensive coordinator, already took himself out of the equation for any head coach openings (not many Browns fans were unhappy to hear that), and it looks like Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher aren't in any hurry to resume their coaching careers. If either them got hired by the Browns, I'd be surprised.
I'm anxious to see what happens these next few days. I'm willing to show Haslam and Banner my confidence as a Browns fan on what they can do. I really have no other choice.
Until next time, Happy New Year to you all, and remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Joe Cleveland wants to thank all of you for taking the time to visit this blog whenever I update it. I got a lot more readers in 2012 than in 2011, so hopefully, things can keep taking off for Joe Cleveland in 2013.
The new year is only a few hours old, but I felt it was worth doing my first update of the year about what transpired just 24 hours ago and what could transpire during this week for the Cleveland Browns.
Shortly after a 24-10 loss to the hated Steelers at Heinz Field, in a game that was started by practice squad quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and where the leading rusher was a guy who was only active in one other game during his two-year stint with the Browns -- Brandon Jackson -- and where the longest run from scrimmage was by a backup safety. Despite all of that, the Browns were competitive until the bitter end and didn't back down when the Steelers tried to intimidate them with some extracurricular activities as plays ended.
It was fitting that the final offensive play of the Pat Shurmur era came when a quarterback named Josh Johnson -- who had been on his couch the entire season before the Browns placed a desperate call to him last Monday -- was leveled on a blitz by Lawrence Timmons past a rookie guard, Ryan Miller, who had never even played a single snap before that possession started, and Johnson fumbled. So ended the tumultuious two-year tenure of Pat Shurmur as the head coach of your Cleveland Browns.
The ax came swiftly and decisively on New Year's Eve morning. New owner Jimmy Haslam III and Joe Banner, as expected, fired both Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert. Both were hired by departed president Mike Holmgren under the guise of absantee owner Randy Lerner -- Heckert a year earlier than Shurmur.
Joe Cleveland believes that both firings were the right choice. However, I've got to give Shurmur (begrudgingly) a bit of credit.
Shurmur's two seasons were held under difficult circumstances. Shurmur was a surprising choice by Holmgren in 2011 to replace Eric Mangini, and just a month after his hiring, the NFL locked out its players. That deprived Shurmur of an offseason, in which he was going to impliment a new offensive scheme (the West Coast offense). Believe it or not, the Browns had records of 2-1 and 3-3 under Shurmur before the bottom fell out in a disappointing 4-12 2011 season.
On the eve of training camp, news broke that Lerner had sold the team to Haslam. Suddenly, the "5-year plan" net and the security of having the Big Show in the building was going to be gone, with the impetus on winning if people wanted to retain their jobs. Despite that, Shurmur and Heckert trotted out a roster that was heavy on rookies and 1st-year players that were competitive in most games, but wound up a disappointing 5-11. The season ended on a 3-game losing streak, in which the Browns were outscored 96-43.
I still blame Holmgren for these last three years of 5-11, 4-12 and 5-11 ball. Holmgren was given a Brinks truck worth of money by an exasperated Lerner after the Browns stumbled to a 1-11 start under Mangini. It was expected that Holmgren would fire Mangini after the season and name himself as the head coach. However, Holmgren held on to Mangini for one more 5-11 season, despite a clash of overall philosophies, then "discorvered" the unknown Shurmur to be his hand-picked head coach one season later.
Halfway through the season, Holmgren was gone. By that point, Heckert and Shurmur were fresh out of friends, and only a miraculous finish to the regular season could save them.
It almost happened. A three-game win streak put the Browns at 5-8 and on the outer cusp of playoff contention. However, a dismal 38-21 loss to the Washington Redskins, led by fourth-round rookie backup QB Kirk Cousins, virtually sealed Shurmur's fate.
There was a mild push to retain Heckert because of some of the draft picks he had made in his three seasons. However, 14 wins in three seasons is difficult to ignore. When the teams in last year's NFL draft that picked first (Colts), second (Redskins) and fourth (Vikings) are all in the postseason while you, who picked third, are not, it's pretty indiciaitive of the job Heckert and Shurmur had done.
The trade of Julio Jones to the Falcons, the non-trade to obtain Robert Griffin III and the drafting of 28-year-old Brandon Weeden with the 22nd overall pick are the most heavily scrutinized moves, and Joe Cleveland actually supported all three of those maneuvers.
Essentially, Haslam and Banner had to do this to remake this once-proud franchise in their image. They want a "strong personality" at head coach, which is why they are hiring the coach first and the GM/personnel director second. You can say the Browns did that twice before and it failed both times when they hired Butch Davis and Mangini. However, the common denomonator in both of those hiring were the hand's-off, no-accountability Lerner family ownership.
Haslam is about as hand's on an owner as you want without him becoming meddling. Banner is a proven football executive that oversaw the rebirth of a Philadelphia Eagles organization that had fallen on hard times. I think they know what they're doing.
College coaches like Alabama's Nick Saban, Oregon's Chip Kelly, Penn State's Bill O'Brien and Syracuses's Doug Marrone are on the radar, as are NFL coordinators such as the 49ers' Greg Roman, the Falcons' Dirk Koetter, the Bengals' Jay Gruden and the Colts' Bruce Arians (who was once the Browns' offensive coordinator and may wind up winning the NFL Coach of the Year Award for the job he did helping Indy reach the playoffs in the stead of regular head coach Chuck Pagano). Ex-Bears head coach Lovie Smith is rumored to have been contacted by the Browns, and they may be interested in Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett if Jerry Jones fires him tomorrow or the next day.
All of the current assistants are under contract and can be retained by the new coach. They will be granted permission to interview for other jobs. There still is a chance that defensive coordinator Dick Jauron is retained by the new head coach.
Both the new coach and the new GM/personnel director will report directly to Banner, who will report directly to Haslam. Haslam and Banner want a coach who will command respect by the players, the media and the fanbase that will help mold this team into a winner. They will give the new coach equal say in the final roster, and he will be expected to work in concert with the new GM. Since Banner is the de-facto poobah and he and Haslam are conducting the searches, both decided it was imperitive to hire a head coach first.
If you think about, NONE of the models have worked for the Browns. Carmen Policy hired Dwight Clark as his GM, who then hired Chris Palmer as the team's first expansion head coach. Five wins and two seasons later, Palmer was out and Clark's authority was ursupped by the incoming Butch Davis.
Davis brought along his former University of Miami cronie Pete Garcia to be his Director of Player Personnel. Three-and-half seasons later, despite a 9-7 playoff season in 2002, Davis resigned and Garcia followed him out the door.
Next, Lerner hired Phil Savage to be his new GM, and Savage tapped Romeo Crennel, the Patriots' DC during their three Super Bowl wins in a four-year span, to be his new head coach. Savage barely lasted the first season due to a power struggle with then-team President John Collins. Four seasons later, Savage and Crennel were fired in one-fell swoop by Lerner.
Lerner was heavily rumored to hire former Patriots GM Scott Pioli as his GM. However, his love affair with fired Jets' coach Eric Mangini changed all that. Lerner quickly hired Mangini without hiring a GM, and most of the experienced GM candidates that were available (such as Pioli and Tom Dimitroff) passed on the job. Mangini reccommended George Kokinis to be his new GM, and one failed draft later, Kokins was fired and Lerner was willing to give ANYONE a boatload of cash to help save him from the mess his franchise was becoming.
I believe that if Nick Saban wants to leave Alabama, the job is his. I don't think he'd leave Alabama, but there are some sources that say that Saban could leave if his Crimson Tide win the national championship later this week. The only job on his radar is the Browns job, where he once served as the defensive coordinator with great success.
Chip Kelly has become the darling coach prospect. However, he runs a gimmicky offense with Oregon that I don't think can succeed in the NFL. Let the Eagles and Chargers fall over themselves to try to hire him. I'd rather have Bill O'Brien if you're going the college-coach route.
Josh McDaniels, the former Patriots offensive coordinator, already took himself out of the equation for any head coach openings (not many Browns fans were unhappy to hear that), and it looks like Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher aren't in any hurry to resume their coaching careers. If either them got hired by the Browns, I'd be surprised.
I'm anxious to see what happens these next few days. I'm willing to show Haslam and Banner my confidence as a Browns fan on what they can do. I really have no other choice.
Until next time, Happy New Year to you all, and remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Raising the White Flag
Sometimes, Joe Cleveland wonders why he so steadfastly roots for the sports teams in this city when so many of them do dumb things.
The Indians organization, for example, it a walking nightmare. It would not surprise me to see them hand out white flags to the 8,000 fans who show up to watch a game against the Tigers or the White Sox. You would hope, however, that they would be smart enough to not do it.
Unfortunately, sometimes the Browns organization IS that dumb. Like this Sunday, for instance.
The national media and some comedians (and I'm sure Steeler fans) are having a field day over the morons in the Browns' marketing department's latest decision -- to hand out inflatable white flags to all the fans who walk into Browns Stadium Sunday morning for their huge game with the hated Stillers.
As a Browns fan, I can't even try to defend this decision. It's moronic. It's stupid.
I can only imagine how this went down:
(Browns Marketing Department meeting, late August, discussing promotions)
"Well, we need a promotion for the game on Nov. 25. Who are they playing again?"
"Ummm, that would be Pittsburgh."
"Yeah, Pittsburgh. Don't their fans bring in little yellow towels to wave whenever that does something?"
"Yeah. I think they call them 'Terrible Towels.'"
"You're darn right those things are terrible. They terribly clash with our orange seats. They're terrible to watch. We need something that will clash with that."
"How about a flag?"
"Perfect. A flag is better than a towel. What color should that flag be?"
(The closet Steeler fan working in the department, silently taking it all in, seizes his opportunity)
"Well, how about a WHITE flag? You know, because white should blind out the yellow."
"A white flag ..."
(The Steeler fan, who barely suppressed his or her laughter while saying that last word, holds his or her breath as that person's sure the suggestion will be laughed out of the room)
"... BRILLIANT! I like it. How about you, Johnson?"
"White flag sounds good. Anyone else?"
(unanimous grumbling about how a white flag sounds perfect)
"I'm sure Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren will be pleased. Next game ..."
Well, unfortunately for the nincompoops that make up the Browns marketing department, Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren aren't around anymore. Mr. Lerner was barely around to begin with, and Mr. Holmgren didn't seem too concerned about any matters that weren't football related.
Now, it's Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner. And if Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner had any decency, even though 50,000 of these ridiculous white flags have already been ordered, they would keep those things locked away on palates and not hand out anything.
Because NOTHING is better than a national joke.
This is my third year of being a Browns season ticket holder. If someone tries to hand me one of those ridiculous things, I either throw it on the ground in front of them, or I keep walking.
Because when I think of finally beating the hated Steelers, I think of 50,000 fans waving white flags in the crow to combat the sea of yellow from the black jersey-clad Yinzers and Northeast Ohio frontrunners.
The craxy part is, this may not be an isolated incident when it comes to the Browns marketing department, and why the man who made his fortune creating multipurpose truck stops needs to run these idiots all out of town and hire his own people.
He'll be hiring all his own people to run the football team next year from the head coach on down, why stop there?
According to ESPNCleveland.com, a story has been circulating about why the marketing department didn't sell any game-day programs to the season-opening game against the Eagles.
The Browns marketing department is in charge of the editing and printing of the game day programs. A source told the radio station that just hours before kickoff, someone in the communications department noticed that on the main roster centerfold, the first page everyone opens to in the program, the head coach’s name was spelled “Pat Schurmur.”
Yes, the head coaches name was spelled wrong.
As the team was scrambling to figure out an easy fix, the marketing department had a brilliant idea. They decided they would add a separate one page insert with a corrected roster. At the top of that insert, in bold letters it said, “Please disregard the misspelling of Pat Shurmur’s name on the original roster."
You can’t make this stuff up folks. The marketing department misspelled the most important person on the roster’s name and then, to cover it up, drew more attention to the mistake.
According to the article, the communications department pushed hard and finally got all programs pulled from the game before fans arrived. If you somehow got a hold of one of those, it might be worth some money someday.
Browns players are hoping the white flags idea doesn't come to fruition.
“I try to focus on the Steelers but I’m not a fan of the white flags,” middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “That’s the simplest way I can put it. I’m not a fan of it whatsoever knowing that we’ll see the terrible towels flying and it’s just not a message I like and I’m sure other guys don’t approve of.”
“I think I’m going to let D’Qwell speak for all of us,” added long-time kicker Phil Dawson, who has (literally) seen it all when it comes to the Browns. “When your mom told you growing up if you don’t have anything good to say, probably better not to say it, I think I am going to follow those words.”
If there is one positive to that story, it's that it is never too late to pull a mistake. Let's hope Haslam (or anybody for that matter) pulls the plug on this one, too.
The Browns were able to avoid one embarassment when they were able to convince the NFL to exempt them from the league-wide mandate to have a moment of silence for Dead Judas the Theiving One prior to that Eagles game. Hopefully, they can avoid another.
***
Speaking of waving the white flag, that's exactly what Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and president Gordon Gee decided to do when they decided to accept a berth to the Gator Bowl so their 6-6 Buckeyes with the lame-duck head coach could play Florida.
Taking that bowl game (and losing to suffer the very rare under-.500 season) allowed the NCAA to hand down a bowl ban for this season when they officially announced their sanctions agaisnt Ohio State for Tattoo-Gate.
So, a 6-6 team with a meaningless head coach and meaningless lame-duck coaching staff played in a meaningless bowl and lost, so that a potential 12-0 team with a fantastic head coach and fantastic coaching staff (except for the defense) can stay home instead of accepting a potential berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
Take a bow, Gene Smith! Take a bow!
Smith incredulously refused to believe that, had he self-imposed a bowl ban last year, the NCAA would not have given them one this year. He still maintains he did the right thing.
How this man has a high-profile job at a Division I university is one of life's great mysteries. How he didn't get run out of town along with Lord Tressel in the wake of Tattoo-Gate has baffled me ever since the scandal broke.
Then again, we have a guy working for the Cleveland Indians who traded back-to-back AL Cy Young award winners and not only got bubkiss for them, but wound up with a promotion. We have a head coach for the Cleveland Browns who was only an offensive coordinator for one season, and it was for a mediocre team. We have a marketing department that believes it is a great idea to hand out white flags to wave for a game against your most hated and bitter rival.
This is why Joe Cleveland should have his head examined for rooting for these teams. Apparently, shit does flow upstream in Ohio.
Please, for the love of God, can the Buckeyes and the Browns just do right on the field Saturday and Sunday against the teams this fanbase loves to hate? All of the above will go away, even if for just one day, week or month.
Here's hoping for some great news on ALL fronts come Monday.
O-H ... I-O!!!
Here we go, Brownies! Here we go! WOOF-WOOF!
And remember ...
We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, cuz we're from Oh-Hi-O!
Finally ...
Only bitches wave little yellow towels! Beat Pittsburgh and the Three River Rednecks they brought with them!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
The Indians organization, for example, it a walking nightmare. It would not surprise me to see them hand out white flags to the 8,000 fans who show up to watch a game against the Tigers or the White Sox. You would hope, however, that they would be smart enough to not do it.
Unfortunately, sometimes the Browns organization IS that dumb. Like this Sunday, for instance.
The national media and some comedians (and I'm sure Steeler fans) are having a field day over the morons in the Browns' marketing department's latest decision -- to hand out inflatable white flags to all the fans who walk into Browns Stadium Sunday morning for their huge game with the hated Stillers.
As a Browns fan, I can't even try to defend this decision. It's moronic. It's stupid.
I can only imagine how this went down:
(Browns Marketing Department meeting, late August, discussing promotions)
"Well, we need a promotion for the game on Nov. 25. Who are they playing again?"
"Ummm, that would be Pittsburgh."
"Yeah, Pittsburgh. Don't their fans bring in little yellow towels to wave whenever that does something?"
"Yeah. I think they call them 'Terrible Towels.'"
"You're darn right those things are terrible. They terribly clash with our orange seats. They're terrible to watch. We need something that will clash with that."
"How about a flag?"
"Perfect. A flag is better than a towel. What color should that flag be?"
(The closet Steeler fan working in the department, silently taking it all in, seizes his opportunity)
"Well, how about a WHITE flag? You know, because white should blind out the yellow."
"A white flag ..."
(The Steeler fan, who barely suppressed his or her laughter while saying that last word, holds his or her breath as that person's sure the suggestion will be laughed out of the room)
"... BRILLIANT! I like it. How about you, Johnson?"
"White flag sounds good. Anyone else?"
(unanimous grumbling about how a white flag sounds perfect)
"I'm sure Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren will be pleased. Next game ..."
Well, unfortunately for the nincompoops that make up the Browns marketing department, Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren aren't around anymore. Mr. Lerner was barely around to begin with, and Mr. Holmgren didn't seem too concerned about any matters that weren't football related.
Now, it's Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner. And if Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner had any decency, even though 50,000 of these ridiculous white flags have already been ordered, they would keep those things locked away on palates and not hand out anything.
Because NOTHING is better than a national joke.
This is my third year of being a Browns season ticket holder. If someone tries to hand me one of those ridiculous things, I either throw it on the ground in front of them, or I keep walking.
Because when I think of finally beating the hated Steelers, I think of 50,000 fans waving white flags in the crow to combat the sea of yellow from the black jersey-clad Yinzers and Northeast Ohio frontrunners.
The craxy part is, this may not be an isolated incident when it comes to the Browns marketing department, and why the man who made his fortune creating multipurpose truck stops needs to run these idiots all out of town and hire his own people.
He'll be hiring all his own people to run the football team next year from the head coach on down, why stop there?
According to ESPNCleveland.com, a story has been circulating about why the marketing department didn't sell any game-day programs to the season-opening game against the Eagles.
The Browns marketing department is in charge of the editing and printing of the game day programs. A source told the radio station that just hours before kickoff, someone in the communications department noticed that on the main roster centerfold, the first page everyone opens to in the program, the head coach’s name was spelled “Pat Schurmur.”
Yes, the head coaches name was spelled wrong.
As the team was scrambling to figure out an easy fix, the marketing department had a brilliant idea. They decided they would add a separate one page insert with a corrected roster. At the top of that insert, in bold letters it said, “Please disregard the misspelling of Pat Shurmur’s name on the original roster."
You can’t make this stuff up folks. The marketing department misspelled the most important person on the roster’s name and then, to cover it up, drew more attention to the mistake.
According to the article, the communications department pushed hard and finally got all programs pulled from the game before fans arrived. If you somehow got a hold of one of those, it might be worth some money someday.
Browns players are hoping the white flags idea doesn't come to fruition.
“I try to focus on the Steelers but I’m not a fan of the white flags,” middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “That’s the simplest way I can put it. I’m not a fan of it whatsoever knowing that we’ll see the terrible towels flying and it’s just not a message I like and I’m sure other guys don’t approve of.”
“I think I’m going to let D’Qwell speak for all of us,” added long-time kicker Phil Dawson, who has (literally) seen it all when it comes to the Browns. “When your mom told you growing up if you don’t have anything good to say, probably better not to say it, I think I am going to follow those words.”
If there is one positive to that story, it's that it is never too late to pull a mistake. Let's hope Haslam (or anybody for that matter) pulls the plug on this one, too.
The Browns were able to avoid one embarassment when they were able to convince the NFL to exempt them from the league-wide mandate to have a moment of silence for Dead Judas the Theiving One prior to that Eagles game. Hopefully, they can avoid another.
***
Speaking of waving the white flag, that's exactly what Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and president Gordon Gee decided to do when they decided to accept a berth to the Gator Bowl so their 6-6 Buckeyes with the lame-duck head coach could play Florida.
Taking that bowl game (and losing to suffer the very rare under-.500 season) allowed the NCAA to hand down a bowl ban for this season when they officially announced their sanctions agaisnt Ohio State for Tattoo-Gate.
So, a 6-6 team with a meaningless head coach and meaningless lame-duck coaching staff played in a meaningless bowl and lost, so that a potential 12-0 team with a fantastic head coach and fantastic coaching staff (except for the defense) can stay home instead of accepting a potential berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
Take a bow, Gene Smith! Take a bow!
Smith incredulously refused to believe that, had he self-imposed a bowl ban last year, the NCAA would not have given them one this year. He still maintains he did the right thing.
How this man has a high-profile job at a Division I university is one of life's great mysteries. How he didn't get run out of town along with Lord Tressel in the wake of Tattoo-Gate has baffled me ever since the scandal broke.
Then again, we have a guy working for the Cleveland Indians who traded back-to-back AL Cy Young award winners and not only got bubkiss for them, but wound up with a promotion. We have a head coach for the Cleveland Browns who was only an offensive coordinator for one season, and it was for a mediocre team. We have a marketing department that believes it is a great idea to hand out white flags to wave for a game against your most hated and bitter rival.
This is why Joe Cleveland should have his head examined for rooting for these teams. Apparently, shit does flow upstream in Ohio.
Please, for the love of God, can the Buckeyes and the Browns just do right on the field Saturday and Sunday against the teams this fanbase loves to hate? All of the above will go away, even if for just one day, week or month.
Here's hoping for some great news on ALL fronts come Monday.
O-H ... I-O!!!
Here we go, Brownies! Here we go! WOOF-WOOF!
And remember ...
We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, cuz we're from Oh-Hi-O!
Finally ...
Only bitches wave little yellow towels! Beat Pittsburgh and the Three River Rednecks they brought with them!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Great week for Cleveland
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EUwjb6q3WLA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Today caps a fantastic week for Cleveland sports.
And the Browns snapping their 11-game losing streak just like they snapped their last 11-game skid -- with a home win over the Bengals -- was only part of it.
You can start with the Indians decision to fire Manny Acta and give Sandy Alomar the interim job for the last week of the regular season. He went 3-3 and his teams showed some fight that had been missing since ... well, arguably, since May.
Give the Indians credit for acting fast when it came to a new manager. They targeted two candidates -- Alomar and former Red Sox manager and Indians player/front office member Terry Francona -- interviewed them, made their decision, and hired who they feel is the best man for the job.
That man was Francona, who comes to town with two World Series rings on his fingers from his time with the Red Sox. One of those rings (2007) came at the expense of the Indians. Both of those ended a long streak of no championships for a town that lives and dies with their baseball team. The so-called "Curse of the Bambino," if you will, is no more.
With his seat getting hotter and hotter, Pat Shurmur (now easily third on the depth chart of professional coaches in this town behind Byron Scott and Francona) coached his beleagured Browns to a much-needed victory in their most complete performance since Shurmur took over. 34-24, and it honestly wasn't that close. A garbage TD pass by the Bengals cut the Browns lead from 17 to 10, and a cluch sack/forced fumble by Emmanuel Stephens with the Bengals in the red zone, which was recovered and returned 40 yards by Billy Wynn, thwarted any nonsense about a fourth-quarter meltdown.
The defense picked off three Andy "Ginger" Dalton passes. One of which was by the returning Joe Haden, whose impact was immediately felt in the defense. Another was a pick-six from veteran Sheldon Brown that cemented the Browns' victory.
Brandon Weeden, who you either love or hate (depending on which type of Browns fan you are), shut up a lot of his dectractors with a solid two-touchdown, 290-yard performance. His only interception came off a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage on the Browns' first offensive possession. He clearly outplayed Dalton Sunday.
Montario Hardesty, who many Browns fans were wondering why he even still had a job after not getting any playing time in the four previous games, had to spell an injured Trent Richardson and responded with 54 huge second-half yards and his first pro touchdown. Hardesty played his butt off.
The win has sent Cleveland fans riding a wave of euphoria not seen in a while, and that wave was only extended today when Jimmy Haslam III (see the above video) was unanimously approved as the new owner of the Cleveland Browns.
You can't help but love this guy. He's the first owner this team has had that truly "gets it" since Mickey McBride sold the team in the 1950s to David Jones. Say what you will about the Dead Judas, but I can't recall ever hearing him refer to the Cleveland Browns as "YOUR Cleveland Browns." His selfish move to the land of crabcakes proves that point.
Haslam has been a fixture at Browns headquarters since he first agreed in principle to buy the team from the Lerner Family in early August. He's been at every game. He's been in the locker room. He's been talking to everybody -- the media, the out-of-town media, the coaches, the front office, other NFL owners, you name it. You can probably count on one hand how many times Randy Lerner was spotted at Browns headquarters last year.
This is nothing about Randy Lerner, who I believe is a huge Browns fan and truly cared about the team. He just didn't want to be a team owner and didn't deal with the pressures of that, especially in a city and region such as this one that lives and dies with every Browns snap.
Simply throwing money at people to try to fix it became tiring. His lastest splurge -- five years and $40 million to Mike Holmgren -- will wind up being a wasted purchase.
Holmgren may have brought in some pieces, such as general manager Tom Heckert, to overhaul the Browns roster and add more talent and playmakers. However, his handling of the head coaching position -- from leaving Eric Mangini around for the first year when it was clear to everyone their philosophies would not mesh to hiring the untested Pat Shurmur and letting him twist in the wind for two miserable seasons -- will be his downfall here in town.
Holmgren's ego wouldn't allow him to bring in a head coach with cred. But yet, he didn't want to coach the team himself. Instead of helping out Shurmur, who clearly wasn't ready to be an NFL head coach, he disappeared to Seattle and was rarely around. He was more hands-on with Mangini was the head coach than he was his second year.
Holmgren essentially owned an NFL team without every having to purchase one. Hell, he was given $40 million to own a team. He had carte-blanche to do as he pleased because he didn't have any accountability. He was working for an absentee owner who didn't want to be bothered.
That changed when Lerner finally found a buyer in Jimmy Haslam. Haslam didn't need someone to go to the owners meetings for him or run the franchise for him. He plans on doing that himself.
Suddenly, Holmgren became expendable. Haslam's been around more than Holmgren has this year, and Haslam didn't officially own the team until today.
So, his retirement, which Haslam announced within the first minute of his introductary press conference, wasn't much of a surprise. He'll finish off the year working with the new CEO, Joe Banner, and helping Banner and Haslam transition to their positions of power. Then, he'll ride his Harley off into the sunset, or somewhere near the Puget Sound.
Regardless of what Haslam and Banner decide to do with Heckert and Shurmur in the offseason, it's apparent Haslam wants to turn the Browns into a consistant winning franchise. If he sees enough growth in Shurmur this year, he'll retain him. If not, he'll let him go.
If Haslam and Banner believe they can get a better general manager to be responsible for the makeup of this roster, they'll hire him and fire Heckert. If not, they'll retain him.
Heckert, of the three, has made more of a case to be retained by the new regime. But even then, what jaw-dropping maneuvers or signings has he made? His big splashes were the trade down the the Falcons for multiple draft picks (passing on wide receiver Julio Jones, who has done well with the Falcons) and the trade up with the Vikings to select Trent Richardson. The Weeden first-round draft pick has been scrutinized because of his age and because the Browns were in line to have the No. 1 overall pick (and their choice of either West Virginia's Geno Smith or USC's Matt Barkley) and because of his early-season struggles.
Joe Cleveland has thrown his trust behind Butch Davis, behind Phil Savage and behind Holmgren when they all came aboard. My trust has been crushed by all three of these individuals.
But, I trust Haslam. He's saying and doing all the right things. His presense has been a breath of fresh air in a town that has had it's share of terrible sports owners, including Lerner and Indians owners Larry and Paul Dolan. Dan Gilbert has enjoyed the top spot in Cleveland sports owner hirarchy since he rode into town from Detroit. However, he may have to vacate that spot for Haslam.
And, suddenly, the Browns schedule doesn't look so daunting. The Indianapolis Colts, with rookie Andrew Luck, look beatable, as does the underachieving San Diego Chargers, the Baltimore Ravens (who the Browns nearly beat a few weeks ago in Baltimore and are getting decimated on defense), the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs, the RGIII-led Washington Redskins ... heck, even the underachieving Dallas Cowboys look beatable at this point.
There is room for the Browns to salvage this season and for Pat Shurmur to salvage his job for at least one season. Holmgren's gone -- Shurmur and Heckert are fresh out of friends. They will be held accountable for their jobs, and the No. 1 judge for that is how this team performs (and wins) on the field.
***
As far as the Indians go, Francona was a smart hire. He was by far the top managerial candidate available, and he wanted to come here. When a guy with his credentials wants to come to town, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to screw it up.
Although, you can't put anything past Paul and Larry Dolan.
One thing that concerns me is the out-clause he put in his four-year contract that gives him the right to leave if the Indians decide to fire president Mark Shapiro and/or GM Chris Antonetti. Both of these guys are on shaky ground at the moment based on their mismanaging of the Indians' talent, draft and minor league system.
You want Shapiro and Antonetti to be more accountable for their jobs. But now, it seems that they have a four-year pass because they are married to Francona.
Do the Dolans want to lose Francona before that four-year contract is up? Or does player personnel decisions make it a gamble worth taking?
I can only hope that the money the Dolans forked over to bring in Francona (he certainly wasn't cheap) signals at least some type of hope that they invest some of those $30 million profits into bettering this roster. I'm not saying they need a $200 million payroll like the Red Sox. However, this $40 million payroll crap just ain't gonna cut it anymore.
If the Dolans weren't going to invest in their roster, it made more sense to hire the cost-effective Alomar. Alomar would have come cheaper than Francona and the fans would have given Alomar a longer leash than they gave Acta or Eric Wedge. The Indians could have sucked a few more years and the fans may have put up with it because of who the manager was.
While Francona is a credible name, he also comes in with high expectations from this fan base. They want to see results. That puts pressure on Shapiro and Antonetti to make sure those results happen, whether they want to believe it or not.
Yes, the Browns will always been No. 1 in this town. However, history has shown that this town can be a baseball town when the product is at least watchable. The anger and vitriol directed to the Dolans and Shapiro isn't because people don't like the Indians; on the contrary, it's because they still passionately care about the Indians and are tired of seeing this franchise that dominated the 1990s like no one has seen being drug through the mud based on terrible personnel decisions and horrrible decisions from an ownership group that is (fair or not) perceived as cheap.
Hopefully, the Francona hire signals a change in the mentality from the Tribe brass. Perhaps they do care about wins and losses instead of just about the bottom line. The funny part is, if you care more about wins and losses, the bottom line takes care of itself.
Joe Cleveland will keep a curious eye on the Indians this offseason to see what exactly they do. He'll also be keeping an eye on what happens with the Browns for the next two months and beyond.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Today caps a fantastic week for Cleveland sports.
And the Browns snapping their 11-game losing streak just like they snapped their last 11-game skid -- with a home win over the Bengals -- was only part of it.
You can start with the Indians decision to fire Manny Acta and give Sandy Alomar the interim job for the last week of the regular season. He went 3-3 and his teams showed some fight that had been missing since ... well, arguably, since May.
Give the Indians credit for acting fast when it came to a new manager. They targeted two candidates -- Alomar and former Red Sox manager and Indians player/front office member Terry Francona -- interviewed them, made their decision, and hired who they feel is the best man for the job.
That man was Francona, who comes to town with two World Series rings on his fingers from his time with the Red Sox. One of those rings (2007) came at the expense of the Indians. Both of those ended a long streak of no championships for a town that lives and dies with their baseball team. The so-called "Curse of the Bambino," if you will, is no more.
With his seat getting hotter and hotter, Pat Shurmur (now easily third on the depth chart of professional coaches in this town behind Byron Scott and Francona) coached his beleagured Browns to a much-needed victory in their most complete performance since Shurmur took over. 34-24, and it honestly wasn't that close. A garbage TD pass by the Bengals cut the Browns lead from 17 to 10, and a cluch sack/forced fumble by Emmanuel Stephens with the Bengals in the red zone, which was recovered and returned 40 yards by Billy Wynn, thwarted any nonsense about a fourth-quarter meltdown.
The defense picked off three Andy "Ginger" Dalton passes. One of which was by the returning Joe Haden, whose impact was immediately felt in the defense. Another was a pick-six from veteran Sheldon Brown that cemented the Browns' victory.
Brandon Weeden, who you either love or hate (depending on which type of Browns fan you are), shut up a lot of his dectractors with a solid two-touchdown, 290-yard performance. His only interception came off a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage on the Browns' first offensive possession. He clearly outplayed Dalton Sunday.
Montario Hardesty, who many Browns fans were wondering why he even still had a job after not getting any playing time in the four previous games, had to spell an injured Trent Richardson and responded with 54 huge second-half yards and his first pro touchdown. Hardesty played his butt off.
The win has sent Cleveland fans riding a wave of euphoria not seen in a while, and that wave was only extended today when Jimmy Haslam III (see the above video) was unanimously approved as the new owner of the Cleveland Browns.
You can't help but love this guy. He's the first owner this team has had that truly "gets it" since Mickey McBride sold the team in the 1950s to David Jones. Say what you will about the Dead Judas, but I can't recall ever hearing him refer to the Cleveland Browns as "YOUR Cleveland Browns." His selfish move to the land of crabcakes proves that point.
Haslam has been a fixture at Browns headquarters since he first agreed in principle to buy the team from the Lerner Family in early August. He's been at every game. He's been in the locker room. He's been talking to everybody -- the media, the out-of-town media, the coaches, the front office, other NFL owners, you name it. You can probably count on one hand how many times Randy Lerner was spotted at Browns headquarters last year.
This is nothing about Randy Lerner, who I believe is a huge Browns fan and truly cared about the team. He just didn't want to be a team owner and didn't deal with the pressures of that, especially in a city and region such as this one that lives and dies with every Browns snap.
Simply throwing money at people to try to fix it became tiring. His lastest splurge -- five years and $40 million to Mike Holmgren -- will wind up being a wasted purchase.
Holmgren may have brought in some pieces, such as general manager Tom Heckert, to overhaul the Browns roster and add more talent and playmakers. However, his handling of the head coaching position -- from leaving Eric Mangini around for the first year when it was clear to everyone their philosophies would not mesh to hiring the untested Pat Shurmur and letting him twist in the wind for two miserable seasons -- will be his downfall here in town.
Holmgren's ego wouldn't allow him to bring in a head coach with cred. But yet, he didn't want to coach the team himself. Instead of helping out Shurmur, who clearly wasn't ready to be an NFL head coach, he disappeared to Seattle and was rarely around. He was more hands-on with Mangini was the head coach than he was his second year.
Holmgren essentially owned an NFL team without every having to purchase one. Hell, he was given $40 million to own a team. He had carte-blanche to do as he pleased because he didn't have any accountability. He was working for an absentee owner who didn't want to be bothered.
That changed when Lerner finally found a buyer in Jimmy Haslam. Haslam didn't need someone to go to the owners meetings for him or run the franchise for him. He plans on doing that himself.
Suddenly, Holmgren became expendable. Haslam's been around more than Holmgren has this year, and Haslam didn't officially own the team until today.
So, his retirement, which Haslam announced within the first minute of his introductary press conference, wasn't much of a surprise. He'll finish off the year working with the new CEO, Joe Banner, and helping Banner and Haslam transition to their positions of power. Then, he'll ride his Harley off into the sunset, or somewhere near the Puget Sound.
Regardless of what Haslam and Banner decide to do with Heckert and Shurmur in the offseason, it's apparent Haslam wants to turn the Browns into a consistant winning franchise. If he sees enough growth in Shurmur this year, he'll retain him. If not, he'll let him go.
If Haslam and Banner believe they can get a better general manager to be responsible for the makeup of this roster, they'll hire him and fire Heckert. If not, they'll retain him.
Heckert, of the three, has made more of a case to be retained by the new regime. But even then, what jaw-dropping maneuvers or signings has he made? His big splashes were the trade down the the Falcons for multiple draft picks (passing on wide receiver Julio Jones, who has done well with the Falcons) and the trade up with the Vikings to select Trent Richardson. The Weeden first-round draft pick has been scrutinized because of his age and because the Browns were in line to have the No. 1 overall pick (and their choice of either West Virginia's Geno Smith or USC's Matt Barkley) and because of his early-season struggles.
Joe Cleveland has thrown his trust behind Butch Davis, behind Phil Savage and behind Holmgren when they all came aboard. My trust has been crushed by all three of these individuals.
But, I trust Haslam. He's saying and doing all the right things. His presense has been a breath of fresh air in a town that has had it's share of terrible sports owners, including Lerner and Indians owners Larry and Paul Dolan. Dan Gilbert has enjoyed the top spot in Cleveland sports owner hirarchy since he rode into town from Detroit. However, he may have to vacate that spot for Haslam.
And, suddenly, the Browns schedule doesn't look so daunting. The Indianapolis Colts, with rookie Andrew Luck, look beatable, as does the underachieving San Diego Chargers, the Baltimore Ravens (who the Browns nearly beat a few weeks ago in Baltimore and are getting decimated on defense), the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs, the RGIII-led Washington Redskins ... heck, even the underachieving Dallas Cowboys look beatable at this point.
There is room for the Browns to salvage this season and for Pat Shurmur to salvage his job for at least one season. Holmgren's gone -- Shurmur and Heckert are fresh out of friends. They will be held accountable for their jobs, and the No. 1 judge for that is how this team performs (and wins) on the field.
***
As far as the Indians go, Francona was a smart hire. He was by far the top managerial candidate available, and he wanted to come here. When a guy with his credentials wants to come to town, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to screw it up.
Although, you can't put anything past Paul and Larry Dolan.
One thing that concerns me is the out-clause he put in his four-year contract that gives him the right to leave if the Indians decide to fire president Mark Shapiro and/or GM Chris Antonetti. Both of these guys are on shaky ground at the moment based on their mismanaging of the Indians' talent, draft and minor league system.
You want Shapiro and Antonetti to be more accountable for their jobs. But now, it seems that they have a four-year pass because they are married to Francona.
Do the Dolans want to lose Francona before that four-year contract is up? Or does player personnel decisions make it a gamble worth taking?
I can only hope that the money the Dolans forked over to bring in Francona (he certainly wasn't cheap) signals at least some type of hope that they invest some of those $30 million profits into bettering this roster. I'm not saying they need a $200 million payroll like the Red Sox. However, this $40 million payroll crap just ain't gonna cut it anymore.
If the Dolans weren't going to invest in their roster, it made more sense to hire the cost-effective Alomar. Alomar would have come cheaper than Francona and the fans would have given Alomar a longer leash than they gave Acta or Eric Wedge. The Indians could have sucked a few more years and the fans may have put up with it because of who the manager was.
While Francona is a credible name, he also comes in with high expectations from this fan base. They want to see results. That puts pressure on Shapiro and Antonetti to make sure those results happen, whether they want to believe it or not.
Yes, the Browns will always been No. 1 in this town. However, history has shown that this town can be a baseball town when the product is at least watchable. The anger and vitriol directed to the Dolans and Shapiro isn't because people don't like the Indians; on the contrary, it's because they still passionately care about the Indians and are tired of seeing this franchise that dominated the 1990s like no one has seen being drug through the mud based on terrible personnel decisions and horrrible decisions from an ownership group that is (fair or not) perceived as cheap.
Hopefully, the Francona hire signals a change in the mentality from the Tribe brass. Perhaps they do care about wins and losses instead of just about the bottom line. The funny part is, if you care more about wins and losses, the bottom line takes care of itself.
Joe Cleveland will keep a curious eye on the Indians this offseason to see what exactly they do. He'll also be keeping an eye on what happens with the Browns for the next two months and beyond.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Raising the roof
So, the Cleveland media and the local sports-talkers were all abuzz the last few days over an observation made by incoming Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III when he met with members of Cleveland's City Council.
Haslam spoke about making improvements to Cleveland Browns Stadium and making better use out of it than it is currently. One councilman asked if those improvements factor in a dome or retractable roof. Haslam did not answer it directly, but did say that he will have three well-known archtect firms take a look at the stadium to see what improvements can be done in the future.
Suddenly, everyone in this town got Dome-Fever all of a sudden. There was no happy medium -- you either are for a roof on the stadium, or you are against it.
Joe Cleveland can only chuckle about this latest prospect of a dome on Cleveland Browns Stadium.
I can remember growing up in the 1980s and seeing signs posted in Downtown Cleveland proclaiming it to be the "future home of a domed stadium" that would have housed both the Browns and Indians. As we all know, that plan never came to fruition.
Eventually, Cuyahoga County taxpayers approved the Sin Tax to help build the Gateway facilities -- Jacobs (now Progressive) Field and Gund (now Quicken Loans) Arena. They also voted for an extension in 1995 that helped build Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Neither of the two stadiums were built with a dome or roof of some kind.
Back when the NFL came to their settlement agreement with the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore that paved the way for the dead Judas to relocate his football franchise while forcing him to leave behind the name, tradition, history and colors of the Cleveland Browns, part of the agreement was that Cleveland build the new team -- one that would be relocated or an expansion team -- a new football stadium. The NFL kicked in some of the costs and controlled the courtship over which teams could potentially move to Cleveland or if there would wind up being an expansion team (which the latter happened).
When Cleveland set to build the new stadium, the subject of a dome came up. A good portion of the fan base who were very angry about the move were dead set against a roof of any kind being put over the stadium. Browns Football was about the elements, damnit! It's not Cleveland Browns football without games being played on grass, outdoors in December and January, with low temperatures and swirling snow coming in off Lake Erie.
This is the Browns Football our parents and grandparents remember.
But, Cleveland went to the NFL and asked if it was feasible to put a roof over the new stadium. And, if they did, would the NFL consider staging the Super Bowl at the domed facility in Cleveland?
The NFL, at the time, was reeling from a PR-nightmare that was a Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Players and league executives complained about the outside temperatures and how it prevented them from doing fun things away from the game itself. So, they told Cleveland officials that there was "no chance" that a Super Bowl would be staged in ANY cold weather city, much less Cleveland.
Cleveland officials, satisfied with that answer, went ahead with the plan to build an open-air stadium.
The Browns situation paved the way for new stadiums to be built in Tampa, Indianapolis, Chicago, New England, Detroit, Seattle, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Houston, and led to extended talks in both San Francisco and Minneapolis. The Bucs, Colts, Bengals, Lions, 49ers, Bears and Vikings all flirted with moving to Cleveland before an expansion team was awarded in 1998. Pittsburgh, seeing what happened to Cleveland and having it hit close to home, wouldn't let the Rooneys make a similar decision with the Steelers and built Heinz Field, which opened in 2001.
Shortly after the Browns began playing in 1999, Detroit built a domed stadium in Downtown near a new baseball park and a new casino. The NFL promised Detroit a Super Bowl if they built the new domed stadium, and they delievered on their promise. Since then, the NFL has awarded Super Bowls to other cities with cold-weather climates, such as Indianapolis and New Jersey.
Now, Cleveland and Browns fans were a little angry. If these cities can get a Super Bowl, why can't Cleveland? And, it harkens back to the dome.
Now, everyone wants be a revisionist. Now, everyone looks at the "Crystal Palace" (as Jim Donovan calls it) and sees a "Factory of Sadness" (as Mike Polk Jr. calls it) that is only used 10 Sundays a year with a handful of other dates sprinked in for high school football, Ohio State football and the annual Black College game, and wonders why this beautiful facilty is festering away on the lakefront.
People think putting a dome, or at the very least, a retractable roof, over the place would rectify these things.
Joe Cleveland is saying to slow down for just a second.
You may build it, but they still may not come.
If Cleveland can get the NFL to promise (IN WRITING) that they will bring a Super Bowl here if the city puts a roof over the stadium, than I may be on board. However, the NFL is not going to do that.
The main thing seperating Cleveland from Detroit and Indianapolis is hotel space. Cleveland has some nice hotels in town and in the suburbs. However, the lodging would be inadequate for a huge event like the Super Bowl.
OK, then, what about things like the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, or the Big Ten Championship Game, or even the MAC Championship Game, or the Big Ten Basketball Tournament. Wouldn't a domed facility be attractive to hold those types of events?
Sure they would, but why would the NCAA and the Big Ten come to Cleveland? They can get a dome anywhere.
Once again, it comes down to hotels. Indianapolis, Chicago, San Antonio, Detroit and New Orleans have it. Cleveland does not.
Well, as a buddy of mine argued, don't you think that more hotels would come to town if a domed facility came to fruition?
Possibily, but let's point out one big giant fact here.
When the casino bill passed statewide, Cleveland was one of the locations. The plan was for a hotel and casino and restaurant to be built. However, all the other hotel and restaurant owners in Cleveland complained that it would hurt their businesses.
So, the city made Dan Gilbert build the casino without a hotel. He had to buy the neighboring Ritz-Carlton just to secure the hotel rooms for the Horseshoe Casino.
There was a golden opportunity to add to the hotel space in Cleveland, and Cleveland wouldn't do it. What makes you think that any other hotel operator would come here under these particular guidelines?
If Dan Gilbert, the golden goose of Cleveland, couldn't get a hotel built, what makes you think that anyone else would?
So, in the end, we'd be left with a giant albatross of a facility that would only bs used as much as it currently is.
And, who's going to pay for this upgrade, if it's even feasible? Do you think Haslam, after shelling out $1 billion to buy the franchise, would pony up for it?
Nope.
Will Cleveland pay for it? Hell no!
So, it would be on you and me, the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County, to furnish the money to build this roof that, quite honestly, we really don't need.
Ticket prices would skyrocket for Browns games to help fund this roof, retractable or not. You think fans would willingly shell out $120 for tickets that already cost $60? I doubt it, especially if the team doesn't start winning.
Honestly, it would be in Jimmy Haslam's best interest to try to get the Browns to PLAY in a Super Bowl and WIN a Super Bowl and not worry about HOSTING a Super Bowl.
You want more revenue? Schedule some summer concerts at the stadium. The old Cleveland Stadium played host to numerous memorable concerts -- Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, The Jacksons, The Who, the World Series of Rock, the Concert for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, the list goes on and on and on.
This past summer, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw staged a concert at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I don't know how well it drew, but that should just be the tip of the iceberg.
If the "Big 4" of Metal (Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax) want to do a stadium tour, bring it to Cleveland Browns Stadium!
If Springsteen wants to play the stadium again, bring him back to Cleveland Browns Stadium!
The Who, the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, etc. Heck, go the country route again. Cleveland has a big country music fan base.
One thing the dead Judas did (and did well) was allow concert promoter Jules Belkin free reign to stage events around downtime that the Browns and Indians weren't playing. Cleveland Stadium truly rocked back in the 1970s, 80s and even the 90s before it got knocked down.
For whatever reason, the Lerner family never went that route.
You don't need a roof to stage a rock or country concert at the stadium!
Does Billy Graham want to stage a revival? Let him rent out the stadium! Does he need a roof over his head to do it? Isn't the whole point of a Christian revival to allow God in on the proceedings? Wouldn't an open-air stadium be perfect for that?
There's plenty of ways to use the facility without putting a roof over it, if it could even happen.
Joe Cleveland just isn't feeling the whole Dome-Hysteria, and it's not just because I'm a football purist at heart. Yes, I want my football played in the elements.
But, I think everyone believes that a domed facility would be the answer to all of our prayers and be able to stage all of these fantastic events, and I think those people are wrong.
It just reeks of Cleveland being late to the party and trying to cash in. If they really wanted a dome, they should have built one in the first place instead of trying to finagle some way to put one on the existing stadium.
In the end, I think Cleveland will lose more than they'll win. They'll lose without the additional revenue. They'll lose with higher taxes. They'll lose with higher ticket prices. And, if that's the case, they may end up losing their team ... again.
Stop worrying about the stadium and start worrying about the product that uses that stadium. If you build a winner, they will come.
Do you hear Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Cincinnati complaining that they didn't put a roof on their stadiums when they built them? I don't hear anything.
Do you hear New York and New Jersey complaining that they didn't put a roof on their brand-new stadium? I haven't heard anything.
Do you hear Boston and New England complaining that they didn't put a roof on Gilette Stadium? I can't say that I have.
Only in Cleveland do you hear these complaints.
To be honest, if the Browns were winning, you wouldn't hear any complaints. It would be like the good-ol' days of Paul Brown and the Kardiac Kids and Bernie Kosar all over again, games that were won and lost in the snow and freezing temperatures of old Cleveland Stadium while loons in the Dawg Pound barked without shirts on.
Winning cures everything. I'd rather have a winning team play on a parking lot than a losing team play under a dome.
If that means I "don't get it," than I guess I never will. But, you won't hear Joe Cleveland ever clamor for a domed stadium in Cleveland.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Haslam spoke about making improvements to Cleveland Browns Stadium and making better use out of it than it is currently. One councilman asked if those improvements factor in a dome or retractable roof. Haslam did not answer it directly, but did say that he will have three well-known archtect firms take a look at the stadium to see what improvements can be done in the future.
Suddenly, everyone in this town got Dome-Fever all of a sudden. There was no happy medium -- you either are for a roof on the stadium, or you are against it.
Joe Cleveland can only chuckle about this latest prospect of a dome on Cleveland Browns Stadium.
I can remember growing up in the 1980s and seeing signs posted in Downtown Cleveland proclaiming it to be the "future home of a domed stadium" that would have housed both the Browns and Indians. As we all know, that plan never came to fruition.
Eventually, Cuyahoga County taxpayers approved the Sin Tax to help build the Gateway facilities -- Jacobs (now Progressive) Field and Gund (now Quicken Loans) Arena. They also voted for an extension in 1995 that helped build Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Neither of the two stadiums were built with a dome or roof of some kind.
Back when the NFL came to their settlement agreement with the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore that paved the way for the dead Judas to relocate his football franchise while forcing him to leave behind the name, tradition, history and colors of the Cleveland Browns, part of the agreement was that Cleveland build the new team -- one that would be relocated or an expansion team -- a new football stadium. The NFL kicked in some of the costs and controlled the courtship over which teams could potentially move to Cleveland or if there would wind up being an expansion team (which the latter happened).
When Cleveland set to build the new stadium, the subject of a dome came up. A good portion of the fan base who were very angry about the move were dead set against a roof of any kind being put over the stadium. Browns Football was about the elements, damnit! It's not Cleveland Browns football without games being played on grass, outdoors in December and January, with low temperatures and swirling snow coming in off Lake Erie.
This is the Browns Football our parents and grandparents remember.
But, Cleveland went to the NFL and asked if it was feasible to put a roof over the new stadium. And, if they did, would the NFL consider staging the Super Bowl at the domed facility in Cleveland?
The NFL, at the time, was reeling from a PR-nightmare that was a Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Players and league executives complained about the outside temperatures and how it prevented them from doing fun things away from the game itself. So, they told Cleveland officials that there was "no chance" that a Super Bowl would be staged in ANY cold weather city, much less Cleveland.
Cleveland officials, satisfied with that answer, went ahead with the plan to build an open-air stadium.
The Browns situation paved the way for new stadiums to be built in Tampa, Indianapolis, Chicago, New England, Detroit, Seattle, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Houston, and led to extended talks in both San Francisco and Minneapolis. The Bucs, Colts, Bengals, Lions, 49ers, Bears and Vikings all flirted with moving to Cleveland before an expansion team was awarded in 1998. Pittsburgh, seeing what happened to Cleveland and having it hit close to home, wouldn't let the Rooneys make a similar decision with the Steelers and built Heinz Field, which opened in 2001.
Shortly after the Browns began playing in 1999, Detroit built a domed stadium in Downtown near a new baseball park and a new casino. The NFL promised Detroit a Super Bowl if they built the new domed stadium, and they delievered on their promise. Since then, the NFL has awarded Super Bowls to other cities with cold-weather climates, such as Indianapolis and New Jersey.
Now, Cleveland and Browns fans were a little angry. If these cities can get a Super Bowl, why can't Cleveland? And, it harkens back to the dome.
Now, everyone wants be a revisionist. Now, everyone looks at the "Crystal Palace" (as Jim Donovan calls it) and sees a "Factory of Sadness" (as Mike Polk Jr. calls it) that is only used 10 Sundays a year with a handful of other dates sprinked in for high school football, Ohio State football and the annual Black College game, and wonders why this beautiful facilty is festering away on the lakefront.
People think putting a dome, or at the very least, a retractable roof, over the place would rectify these things.
Joe Cleveland is saying to slow down for just a second.
You may build it, but they still may not come.
If Cleveland can get the NFL to promise (IN WRITING) that they will bring a Super Bowl here if the city puts a roof over the stadium, than I may be on board. However, the NFL is not going to do that.
The main thing seperating Cleveland from Detroit and Indianapolis is hotel space. Cleveland has some nice hotels in town and in the suburbs. However, the lodging would be inadequate for a huge event like the Super Bowl.
OK, then, what about things like the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, or the Big Ten Championship Game, or even the MAC Championship Game, or the Big Ten Basketball Tournament. Wouldn't a domed facility be attractive to hold those types of events?
Sure they would, but why would the NCAA and the Big Ten come to Cleveland? They can get a dome anywhere.
Once again, it comes down to hotels. Indianapolis, Chicago, San Antonio, Detroit and New Orleans have it. Cleveland does not.
Well, as a buddy of mine argued, don't you think that more hotels would come to town if a domed facility came to fruition?
Possibily, but let's point out one big giant fact here.
When the casino bill passed statewide, Cleveland was one of the locations. The plan was for a hotel and casino and restaurant to be built. However, all the other hotel and restaurant owners in Cleveland complained that it would hurt their businesses.
So, the city made Dan Gilbert build the casino without a hotel. He had to buy the neighboring Ritz-Carlton just to secure the hotel rooms for the Horseshoe Casino.
There was a golden opportunity to add to the hotel space in Cleveland, and Cleveland wouldn't do it. What makes you think that any other hotel operator would come here under these particular guidelines?
If Dan Gilbert, the golden goose of Cleveland, couldn't get a hotel built, what makes you think that anyone else would?
So, in the end, we'd be left with a giant albatross of a facility that would only bs used as much as it currently is.
And, who's going to pay for this upgrade, if it's even feasible? Do you think Haslam, after shelling out $1 billion to buy the franchise, would pony up for it?
Nope.
Will Cleveland pay for it? Hell no!
So, it would be on you and me, the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County, to furnish the money to build this roof that, quite honestly, we really don't need.
Ticket prices would skyrocket for Browns games to help fund this roof, retractable or not. You think fans would willingly shell out $120 for tickets that already cost $60? I doubt it, especially if the team doesn't start winning.
Honestly, it would be in Jimmy Haslam's best interest to try to get the Browns to PLAY in a Super Bowl and WIN a Super Bowl and not worry about HOSTING a Super Bowl.
You want more revenue? Schedule some summer concerts at the stadium. The old Cleveland Stadium played host to numerous memorable concerts -- Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, The Jacksons, The Who, the World Series of Rock, the Concert for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, the list goes on and on and on.
This past summer, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw staged a concert at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I don't know how well it drew, but that should just be the tip of the iceberg.
If the "Big 4" of Metal (Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax) want to do a stadium tour, bring it to Cleveland Browns Stadium!
If Springsteen wants to play the stadium again, bring him back to Cleveland Browns Stadium!
The Who, the Rolling Stones, Van Halen, etc. Heck, go the country route again. Cleveland has a big country music fan base.
One thing the dead Judas did (and did well) was allow concert promoter Jules Belkin free reign to stage events around downtime that the Browns and Indians weren't playing. Cleveland Stadium truly rocked back in the 1970s, 80s and even the 90s before it got knocked down.
For whatever reason, the Lerner family never went that route.
You don't need a roof to stage a rock or country concert at the stadium!
Does Billy Graham want to stage a revival? Let him rent out the stadium! Does he need a roof over his head to do it? Isn't the whole point of a Christian revival to allow God in on the proceedings? Wouldn't an open-air stadium be perfect for that?
There's plenty of ways to use the facility without putting a roof over it, if it could even happen.
Joe Cleveland just isn't feeling the whole Dome-Hysteria, and it's not just because I'm a football purist at heart. Yes, I want my football played in the elements.
But, I think everyone believes that a domed facility would be the answer to all of our prayers and be able to stage all of these fantastic events, and I think those people are wrong.
It just reeks of Cleveland being late to the party and trying to cash in. If they really wanted a dome, they should have built one in the first place instead of trying to finagle some way to put one on the existing stadium.
In the end, I think Cleveland will lose more than they'll win. They'll lose without the additional revenue. They'll lose with higher taxes. They'll lose with higher ticket prices. And, if that's the case, they may end up losing their team ... again.
Stop worrying about the stadium and start worrying about the product that uses that stadium. If you build a winner, they will come.
Do you hear Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Cincinnati complaining that they didn't put a roof on their stadiums when they built them? I don't hear anything.
Do you hear New York and New Jersey complaining that they didn't put a roof on their brand-new stadium? I haven't heard anything.
Do you hear Boston and New England complaining that they didn't put a roof on Gilette Stadium? I can't say that I have.
Only in Cleveland do you hear these complaints.
To be honest, if the Browns were winning, you wouldn't hear any complaints. It would be like the good-ol' days of Paul Brown and the Kardiac Kids and Bernie Kosar all over again, games that were won and lost in the snow and freezing temperatures of old Cleveland Stadium while loons in the Dawg Pound barked without shirts on.
Winning cures everything. I'd rather have a winning team play on a parking lot than a losing team play under a dome.
If that means I "don't get it," than I guess I never will. But, you won't hear Joe Cleveland ever clamor for a domed stadium in Cleveland.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Dawn of a new day
It's a new day, Cleveland sports fans -- especially Cleveland Browns fans.
Hard to believe that just 10 years ago, the three Cleveland sports teams were owned by Randy Lerner (Browns), Larry Dolan (Indians) and Gordon Gund (Cavaliers). All three were pretty weak owners.
Today, only one of that "vaunted" triumverate is left, and it's the worst one of the three. But we'll discuss that later.
Earlier this week, Lerner -- who inherited the Browns from his father, Al, during the 2002 season -- sold controlling interest in the Browns to truck stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III for a price close to $1 billion. Lerner will retain a 30-percent interest in the Browns for the next four years before Haslam has the option to buy him out (which he likely will).
Haslam, a native of Knoxville, Tenn. and the CEO of the Pilot Flying J franchises of filling stations and truck stops, had been a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2008. While owning his minor shares, he described himself as a "1,000-percent Steeler fan."
Sorry to the four-letter "Worldwide Leader," but Haslam buried that statement within seconds of his first press conference as the Browns owner.
He referred to the Steelers as "that team from the other state" numerous times. He acknowledged the class of the Rooney family and what he took away from them, but also made it perfectly clear that, other than Pilot Flying J, the Browns are now Numero Uno in his heart.
If he was a 1,000-percent Steeler fan, he's now a 1 billion-percent Browns fan.
Of the three owners I referenced, I liked Lerner the best. Lerner was everything that Art "Judas" Modell wasn't -- a billionaire owner who liked to be in the background. Lerner grew up a Browns fan and would do anything to help the Browns. Unfortunately, he was ill suited to be the Browns owner, and it hurt the franchise.
Sure, it didn't hurt them in the pocketbook, but it hurt them on the field.
Lerner constantly threw his millions on people he believed would fix the Browns fortunes for the better. Butch Davis, John Collins, Phil Savage, Eric Mangini and (most recently) Mike Holmgren were given a lot of money to help the Browns start winning more games. Only recently has there been a sign of progression. But, starting from the team's lone playoff berth in 2002, it's been a forgettable tenure for Lerner.
First, Carmen Policy was bought out by Lerner, and Policy subsequently retired following the 2003 season. Policy was Al Lerner's closest confidant with the expansion Browns, but the younger Lerner knew Policy's rhetoric was turning off members of the media and fans.
Following the 2003 season, Lerner gave Davis a four-year contract extension. Davis was gone with five games remaining in the 2004 season.
Collins, who had been an executive with the NFL for 15 years, was given Policy's job as team president in 2004. Collins hired Phil Savage from the Baltimore Ravens as the new general manager and Romeo Crennel as the new head coach. However, Collins and Savage clashed from the get-go and Collins wanted Savage fired by the end of the 2005 season. Lerner sided with his GM, instead firing Collins. Collins has since done pretty well for himself, serving as the NHL's Chief Operating Officer since 2008.
Savage, meanwhile, struggled in the personnel department and was an absantee GM for most of his tenure while he was out on scouting missions. Finally, after just one winning season and a drop from 10-6 in 2007 to 4-12, Lerner fired both Savage and Crennel following the 2008 season.
Lerner ignored the advice of many within the NFL when he quickly hired Eric Mangini to be the head coach in 2009 without hiring his GM first (many GM candidates refused to work with Mangini and took other jobs, such as Scott Pioli). Mangini brought in his friend George Kokinis from the Ravens to be the GM, but Kokinis was run out midway through the 2009 season and Mangini was rumored to be fired by the end of that season after the Browns stumbled to a 1-11 start.
Lerner found Holmgren, fresh off his retirement as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, and hired him to be the team's president and de-facto "face of the franchise" in 2009. The Browns reeled off four consectutive wins to end the 2009 season, which saved Mangini's job for another year (even though his philosophies clashed with Holmgren's and his hand-picked GM, Tom Heckert from the Eagles). After another 5-11 season, Holmgren fired Mangini and most of his coaches and started bringing in coaches who shared his vision of a West Coast offense and a 4-3 defense.
The first year of Holmgren, Heckert and Pat Shurmur was not good. The team struggled to a 4-12 season and looked miserable in the process. However, Heckert had been drafting very well during his three seasons, and his most recent draft had the fan base buzzing with the selections of running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden in the first round.
This turned out to be Lerner's cue to sell. Supposedly, the NFL helped broker the sales talks between Lerner and Haslam, and the talks wound up going very smoothly. From the time Haslam met Lerner, it only took 31 days for the sale to be completed.
Lerner took criticism for owning the English soccer team Aston Villa, and supposedly "spending more time and resources" on them. He also took criticism for not being more visible for the fan base. They viewed his shyness being apathetic toward the Browns.
I don't think Lerner's heart was in the wrong place. In fact, I think it was in the right place. He really, really, really wanted the Browns to succeed, to make his late father proud. Unfortunately, he was ill-prepared to be an NFL owner and never really got it, or wanted to get it. He wanted to keep the team in his family for generations. But, in the end, he found a family with even more passion for the NFL and football, a family who would keep the Browns in Cleveland and use every available resource to turn the team into a winner both on and off the field.
If Lerner didn't care, he wouldn't have strove for the assurance (and gotten it in writing) that the team would not be moved by a new owner. If Lerner didn't care, he probably wouldn't have strongly suggested to Haslam that they don't put a logo on the iconic orange helmets.
Lerner cared, which is more than I can say for the other guys on that 2003 list. It appears he found a guy who cares just as much, but with much better resources, in Haslam.
And, that, my fellow Browns fans, is sweet, sweet music to our ears.
***
Haslam has hinted at changes. Such as, selling the naming rights to Cleveland Browns Stadium, which Al and Randy Lerner did not do (they sold naming rights to the four gates, though), and tweaking with the Browns uniforms.
How much tweaking, who knows. However, the Browns are one of the few NFL teams that have not changed their uniforms one iota. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a throwback Browns uniform, because they've, by and large, remained the same since 1946, although the helmet the first few seasons was white.
Sure, they've experimented over the years -- orange pants, brown pants, orange jerseys -- but the design has mostly remained the same.
Even the Steelers tweaked their uniforms a bit, changing the size of the numbers on the front of their uniforms to a more aero-dynamic font.
While I'm a very hardcore traditionalist when it comes to the Cleveland Browns, to be honest, if the team's winning, I don't care what they look like. Yes, I would prefer they keep the Brown and Orange colors (and I can't see why they wouldn't abandon them). But both the Indians and Cavaliers have undergone numerous uniform changes over the years. They don't have the same standing in this town as the Browns do, but you hear less sniping about the uniforms if the team plays well than if they stink.
You listen to Haslam talk, and you can't help but be won over by the guy. By the end of his press conference, I found myself nodding my head and clapping my hands. I was ready to run through a wall for the guy, and I just met him.
Imagine the impact that will have on a team of football players.
Haslam is a "hand's on" guy, but he won't be as intrusive as Modell was. He has way more money and resources than Modell ever did.
For now, he seems willing to let Holmgren, Heckert and Shurmur stay the course, but you can bet it's a must-win season for these three. Another step backward, and Haslam won't hesitate to clean house.
I can remember when Dan Gilbert bought the Cavs from Gund in 2005, and almost immediately, he fired coach Paul Silas and essentially fired GM Jim Paxson (although he let Paxson finish out the season). He sunk his own resources into refurbishing Gund Arena with new seats, a new scoreboard and more anemnities (and, a new name). The Cavs reached the playoffs in Gilbert's first full season of ownership and were in the NBA Finals his second.
Gilbert is widely recognized as the best sports owner in Cleveland, and he's the same guy who failed to re-sign LeBron James (although, the failure is not Gilbert's). Haslam's only been in town for a few days, and he's quickly vaulted up to No. 2 on the depth chart.
A new voice at the top may be just what this franchise needs. This town is a football-mad town with some of the most passionate fans in the world. Browns victories are a matter of civic pride around here.
Welcome to Cleveland, Jimmy Haslam. We're ready to welcome you with open arms.
***
This brings us to No. 3 on the depth chart, Larry Dolan.
The contract to purchase the Browns was barely dry when fans were already begging Haslam to look into buying the Indians. They had already been begging Dan Gilbert to buy the Indians for years.
Dolan may not be the worst owner in Indians history. He may not be the worst owner in Cleveland sports history -- Modell's got that space nailed down, and Ted Stepien is a close second. But, he's definitely not among the best.
If you look at the Indians history, they've been permeated by bad ownership. You had William R. Daley, who tried to move the Indians to Seattle in 1962. You had Vernon Stouffer, who quickly mismanaged his money, tried to play 30 home games at the New Orleans Superdome in 1972 (MLB quickly intervened) and then reneged on a handshake agreement to sell the team to a group headed by George Steinbrenner and instead sold it to Nick Mileti.
Mileti was a great owner for the Cavs and 1100-AM. He was not a good owner for the Indians, other than he saved the team from being moved.
In 1982, the Indians were owned by a dead guy. Seriously. Steve O'Neill, one of Steinbrenner's partners with the Yankees who bought the team in 1978, died. For four years, the Indians were owned by his trust and were in limbo.
When you factor in Modell was still in town in 1982 and Stepien owned the Cavs as well, that may have been the worst triumverate of Cleveland ownership EVER.
Heck, even the Indians' very first over, Charlie Somers, was so broke that he had to sell "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's contract to the Chicago White Sox and had to sell to Jim Dunn because of almost $2 million of debt (which was a lot of money back in 1916).
But Dolan deserves to be mentioned with all of those shady characters.
As the Indians continue to spiral downward -- remember when fans debated about whether Chris Perez had "a point" when the Indians were in first place in May -- pressure is on the Dolans to make some wholesale changes.
Manny Acta's lethargic managerial style is wearing thin on the fans, and it seems to be rubbing off on his lethargic players.
Chris Antonetti's moves (or lack thereof) show a big-league roster devoid of talent and a minor league system devoid of prospects.
Mark Shapiro, who proves that waste can flow upstream in the Cleveland Indians organization, continues to oversee an organization that is hemorraging money, not drawing fleas to Progressive Field and is getting the bejesus beat out of it on a nightly basis. He can see that the team only has two of its own first-round picks in their current minor league system and only has Michael Brantley to show for three trades that he pulled the trigger on -- the deals of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez (with Justin Masterson's terrible performance over the last month or so, I no longer consider him a "bright spot" among those three trades).
Shapiro and Antonetti decided it was a good idea to spend $5 million on a player who was so injured, that he hasn't even played an inning this season -- Grady Sizemore.
They decided it was a good idea to pick up $5 million on a 39-year-old pitcher named Derek Lowe who led the NL in losses. He teased the fans and the brass with a good first two months, but then he pitched like the 39-year-old guy he really is and is now out of a job with two months remaining in the regular season.
Despite their need for a right-handed bat with some pop, they continue to keep Russ Canzler and Matt LaPorta mired in Columbus. How much worse can they be from the litany of Casey Kotchman, Jack Hannahan, Shelly Duncan, Aaron Cunningham, Johnny Damon, Vinny Rottino and Jose Lopez the Indians trot out with a straight face night in and night out.
Shapiro and Antonetti decided that they didn't have the assets to make a splash at the trading deadline, and were too gun-shy to turn into sellers and deal Shin-Soo Choo, Chris Perez and Justin Masterson, so they sat on their hands and did nothing. The Indians have lost nine straight games in disturbing fashion since the front office gave them this ringing endorsement.
If Dolan doesn't find a buyer for his team (which he should have done years ago), he needs to sack up and clean them all out, because they're taking his money for a ride. Shapiro's ship has sailed long ago, and Antonetti is nothing more than Shapiro's puppet. Acta will never be anything more than a mediocre major league manager, and you have a PR bonanza waiting in the wings as his bench coach, Sandy Alomar Jr.
I guarantee the Tribe could do very little in the offseason, but if Alomar gets named manager, they will sell a few thousand more season tickets. Cleveland is loyal to its own.
The Dolans turned a $30 million profit last season and did absolutely nothing with that money. They'll never turn a $30 million profit in Cleveland again unless they go to the World Series or spend absolutely nothing on the product you see on the field.
Sell the team, Paul and Larry. If you can't man up to the fact that your baseball people are inept, than it's time to sell to someone who knows what the hell they are doing.
Fans want wins more than the so-called "bottom line." Fans don't care about market sizes and baseball economics. Fans would be happy if the Indians had a team like the Royals, filled with promising young talent, rather than the jokers they have here.
If Larry Dolan is truly a fan of the Indians like he claims he is, he needs to take a page out of Randy Lerner's book and sell them. Because Larry Dolan the owner is letting down Larry Dolan the fan.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Hard to believe that just 10 years ago, the three Cleveland sports teams were owned by Randy Lerner (Browns), Larry Dolan (Indians) and Gordon Gund (Cavaliers). All three were pretty weak owners.
Today, only one of that "vaunted" triumverate is left, and it's the worst one of the three. But we'll discuss that later.
Earlier this week, Lerner -- who inherited the Browns from his father, Al, during the 2002 season -- sold controlling interest in the Browns to truck stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III for a price close to $1 billion. Lerner will retain a 30-percent interest in the Browns for the next four years before Haslam has the option to buy him out (which he likely will).
Haslam, a native of Knoxville, Tenn. and the CEO of the Pilot Flying J franchises of filling stations and truck stops, had been a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2008. While owning his minor shares, he described himself as a "1,000-percent Steeler fan."
Sorry to the four-letter "Worldwide Leader," but Haslam buried that statement within seconds of his first press conference as the Browns owner.
He referred to the Steelers as "that team from the other state" numerous times. He acknowledged the class of the Rooney family and what he took away from them, but also made it perfectly clear that, other than Pilot Flying J, the Browns are now Numero Uno in his heart.
If he was a 1,000-percent Steeler fan, he's now a 1 billion-percent Browns fan.
Of the three owners I referenced, I liked Lerner the best. Lerner was everything that Art "Judas" Modell wasn't -- a billionaire owner who liked to be in the background. Lerner grew up a Browns fan and would do anything to help the Browns. Unfortunately, he was ill suited to be the Browns owner, and it hurt the franchise.
Sure, it didn't hurt them in the pocketbook, but it hurt them on the field.
Lerner constantly threw his millions on people he believed would fix the Browns fortunes for the better. Butch Davis, John Collins, Phil Savage, Eric Mangini and (most recently) Mike Holmgren were given a lot of money to help the Browns start winning more games. Only recently has there been a sign of progression. But, starting from the team's lone playoff berth in 2002, it's been a forgettable tenure for Lerner.
First, Carmen Policy was bought out by Lerner, and Policy subsequently retired following the 2003 season. Policy was Al Lerner's closest confidant with the expansion Browns, but the younger Lerner knew Policy's rhetoric was turning off members of the media and fans.
Following the 2003 season, Lerner gave Davis a four-year contract extension. Davis was gone with five games remaining in the 2004 season.
Collins, who had been an executive with the NFL for 15 years, was given Policy's job as team president in 2004. Collins hired Phil Savage from the Baltimore Ravens as the new general manager and Romeo Crennel as the new head coach. However, Collins and Savage clashed from the get-go and Collins wanted Savage fired by the end of the 2005 season. Lerner sided with his GM, instead firing Collins. Collins has since done pretty well for himself, serving as the NHL's Chief Operating Officer since 2008.
Savage, meanwhile, struggled in the personnel department and was an absantee GM for most of his tenure while he was out on scouting missions. Finally, after just one winning season and a drop from 10-6 in 2007 to 4-12, Lerner fired both Savage and Crennel following the 2008 season.
Lerner ignored the advice of many within the NFL when he quickly hired Eric Mangini to be the head coach in 2009 without hiring his GM first (many GM candidates refused to work with Mangini and took other jobs, such as Scott Pioli). Mangini brought in his friend George Kokinis from the Ravens to be the GM, but Kokinis was run out midway through the 2009 season and Mangini was rumored to be fired by the end of that season after the Browns stumbled to a 1-11 start.
Lerner found Holmgren, fresh off his retirement as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, and hired him to be the team's president and de-facto "face of the franchise" in 2009. The Browns reeled off four consectutive wins to end the 2009 season, which saved Mangini's job for another year (even though his philosophies clashed with Holmgren's and his hand-picked GM, Tom Heckert from the Eagles). After another 5-11 season, Holmgren fired Mangini and most of his coaches and started bringing in coaches who shared his vision of a West Coast offense and a 4-3 defense.
The first year of Holmgren, Heckert and Pat Shurmur was not good. The team struggled to a 4-12 season and looked miserable in the process. However, Heckert had been drafting very well during his three seasons, and his most recent draft had the fan base buzzing with the selections of running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden in the first round.
This turned out to be Lerner's cue to sell. Supposedly, the NFL helped broker the sales talks between Lerner and Haslam, and the talks wound up going very smoothly. From the time Haslam met Lerner, it only took 31 days for the sale to be completed.
Lerner took criticism for owning the English soccer team Aston Villa, and supposedly "spending more time and resources" on them. He also took criticism for not being more visible for the fan base. They viewed his shyness being apathetic toward the Browns.
I don't think Lerner's heart was in the wrong place. In fact, I think it was in the right place. He really, really, really wanted the Browns to succeed, to make his late father proud. Unfortunately, he was ill-prepared to be an NFL owner and never really got it, or wanted to get it. He wanted to keep the team in his family for generations. But, in the end, he found a family with even more passion for the NFL and football, a family who would keep the Browns in Cleveland and use every available resource to turn the team into a winner both on and off the field.
If Lerner didn't care, he wouldn't have strove for the assurance (and gotten it in writing) that the team would not be moved by a new owner. If Lerner didn't care, he probably wouldn't have strongly suggested to Haslam that they don't put a logo on the iconic orange helmets.
Lerner cared, which is more than I can say for the other guys on that 2003 list. It appears he found a guy who cares just as much, but with much better resources, in Haslam.
And, that, my fellow Browns fans, is sweet, sweet music to our ears.
***
Haslam has hinted at changes. Such as, selling the naming rights to Cleveland Browns Stadium, which Al and Randy Lerner did not do (they sold naming rights to the four gates, though), and tweaking with the Browns uniforms.
How much tweaking, who knows. However, the Browns are one of the few NFL teams that have not changed their uniforms one iota. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a throwback Browns uniform, because they've, by and large, remained the same since 1946, although the helmet the first few seasons was white.
Sure, they've experimented over the years -- orange pants, brown pants, orange jerseys -- but the design has mostly remained the same.
Even the Steelers tweaked their uniforms a bit, changing the size of the numbers on the front of their uniforms to a more aero-dynamic font.
While I'm a very hardcore traditionalist when it comes to the Cleveland Browns, to be honest, if the team's winning, I don't care what they look like. Yes, I would prefer they keep the Brown and Orange colors (and I can't see why they wouldn't abandon them). But both the Indians and Cavaliers have undergone numerous uniform changes over the years. They don't have the same standing in this town as the Browns do, but you hear less sniping about the uniforms if the team plays well than if they stink.
You listen to Haslam talk, and you can't help but be won over by the guy. By the end of his press conference, I found myself nodding my head and clapping my hands. I was ready to run through a wall for the guy, and I just met him.
Imagine the impact that will have on a team of football players.
Haslam is a "hand's on" guy, but he won't be as intrusive as Modell was. He has way more money and resources than Modell ever did.
For now, he seems willing to let Holmgren, Heckert and Shurmur stay the course, but you can bet it's a must-win season for these three. Another step backward, and Haslam won't hesitate to clean house.
I can remember when Dan Gilbert bought the Cavs from Gund in 2005, and almost immediately, he fired coach Paul Silas and essentially fired GM Jim Paxson (although he let Paxson finish out the season). He sunk his own resources into refurbishing Gund Arena with new seats, a new scoreboard and more anemnities (and, a new name). The Cavs reached the playoffs in Gilbert's first full season of ownership and were in the NBA Finals his second.
Gilbert is widely recognized as the best sports owner in Cleveland, and he's the same guy who failed to re-sign LeBron James (although, the failure is not Gilbert's). Haslam's only been in town for a few days, and he's quickly vaulted up to No. 2 on the depth chart.
A new voice at the top may be just what this franchise needs. This town is a football-mad town with some of the most passionate fans in the world. Browns victories are a matter of civic pride around here.
Welcome to Cleveland, Jimmy Haslam. We're ready to welcome you with open arms.
***
This brings us to No. 3 on the depth chart, Larry Dolan.
The contract to purchase the Browns was barely dry when fans were already begging Haslam to look into buying the Indians. They had already been begging Dan Gilbert to buy the Indians for years.
Dolan may not be the worst owner in Indians history. He may not be the worst owner in Cleveland sports history -- Modell's got that space nailed down, and Ted Stepien is a close second. But, he's definitely not among the best.
If you look at the Indians history, they've been permeated by bad ownership. You had William R. Daley, who tried to move the Indians to Seattle in 1962. You had Vernon Stouffer, who quickly mismanaged his money, tried to play 30 home games at the New Orleans Superdome in 1972 (MLB quickly intervened) and then reneged on a handshake agreement to sell the team to a group headed by George Steinbrenner and instead sold it to Nick Mileti.
Mileti was a great owner for the Cavs and 1100-AM. He was not a good owner for the Indians, other than he saved the team from being moved.
In 1982, the Indians were owned by a dead guy. Seriously. Steve O'Neill, one of Steinbrenner's partners with the Yankees who bought the team in 1978, died. For four years, the Indians were owned by his trust and were in limbo.
When you factor in Modell was still in town in 1982 and Stepien owned the Cavs as well, that may have been the worst triumverate of Cleveland ownership EVER.
Heck, even the Indians' very first over, Charlie Somers, was so broke that he had to sell "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's contract to the Chicago White Sox and had to sell to Jim Dunn because of almost $2 million of debt (which was a lot of money back in 1916).
But Dolan deserves to be mentioned with all of those shady characters.
As the Indians continue to spiral downward -- remember when fans debated about whether Chris Perez had "a point" when the Indians were in first place in May -- pressure is on the Dolans to make some wholesale changes.
Manny Acta's lethargic managerial style is wearing thin on the fans, and it seems to be rubbing off on his lethargic players.
Chris Antonetti's moves (or lack thereof) show a big-league roster devoid of talent and a minor league system devoid of prospects.
Mark Shapiro, who proves that waste can flow upstream in the Cleveland Indians organization, continues to oversee an organization that is hemorraging money, not drawing fleas to Progressive Field and is getting the bejesus beat out of it on a nightly basis. He can see that the team only has two of its own first-round picks in their current minor league system and only has Michael Brantley to show for three trades that he pulled the trigger on -- the deals of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez (with Justin Masterson's terrible performance over the last month or so, I no longer consider him a "bright spot" among those three trades).
Shapiro and Antonetti decided it was a good idea to spend $5 million on a player who was so injured, that he hasn't even played an inning this season -- Grady Sizemore.
They decided it was a good idea to pick up $5 million on a 39-year-old pitcher named Derek Lowe who led the NL in losses. He teased the fans and the brass with a good first two months, but then he pitched like the 39-year-old guy he really is and is now out of a job with two months remaining in the regular season.
Despite their need for a right-handed bat with some pop, they continue to keep Russ Canzler and Matt LaPorta mired in Columbus. How much worse can they be from the litany of Casey Kotchman, Jack Hannahan, Shelly Duncan, Aaron Cunningham, Johnny Damon, Vinny Rottino and Jose Lopez the Indians trot out with a straight face night in and night out.
Shapiro and Antonetti decided that they didn't have the assets to make a splash at the trading deadline, and were too gun-shy to turn into sellers and deal Shin-Soo Choo, Chris Perez and Justin Masterson, so they sat on their hands and did nothing. The Indians have lost nine straight games in disturbing fashion since the front office gave them this ringing endorsement.
If Dolan doesn't find a buyer for his team (which he should have done years ago), he needs to sack up and clean them all out, because they're taking his money for a ride. Shapiro's ship has sailed long ago, and Antonetti is nothing more than Shapiro's puppet. Acta will never be anything more than a mediocre major league manager, and you have a PR bonanza waiting in the wings as his bench coach, Sandy Alomar Jr.
I guarantee the Tribe could do very little in the offseason, but if Alomar gets named manager, they will sell a few thousand more season tickets. Cleveland is loyal to its own.
The Dolans turned a $30 million profit last season and did absolutely nothing with that money. They'll never turn a $30 million profit in Cleveland again unless they go to the World Series or spend absolutely nothing on the product you see on the field.
Sell the team, Paul and Larry. If you can't man up to the fact that your baseball people are inept, than it's time to sell to someone who knows what the hell they are doing.
Fans want wins more than the so-called "bottom line." Fans don't care about market sizes and baseball economics. Fans would be happy if the Indians had a team like the Royals, filled with promising young talent, rather than the jokers they have here.
If Larry Dolan is truly a fan of the Indians like he claims he is, he needs to take a page out of Randy Lerner's book and sell them. Because Larry Dolan the owner is letting down Larry Dolan the fan.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Ramblin on ...
Alright ramblers, let's get ramblin ...
Joe Cleveland has some takes to spew out on a few different things going on in the world of Cleveland sports. So, instead of doing a bunch of different blogs, he's only going to do one (if I got paid by the blog, I'd probably put ones with two sentances in it every hour on the hour).
So, here goes:
<> Fausto Carmona is not who is says he is, and he's not as young as he says he is. Gee, what a surprise, a Dominican player who lied about their age to get into the country? What's really surprising is the whole alias thing.
"Fausto Carmona" is apparently really known as Roberto Hernandez Heredia. He was picked up by the Dominican government and charged with identity theft, or something like that. Apparenlty, there really is a Fausto Carmona, and the real Fausto was getting paid by the fake "Fausto" to use his name. When he stopped getting paid, the story goes, Fausto decided to out "Fausto."
It might be a while before "Fausto" comes back to America and pitches for the Tribe. That sigh of relief you heard was from fans not wanting to watch him get torched anymore and lose double-digit ball games each season.
Yes, it's happened to a lot of different teams (Leo Nunez is not who he says he is, either). Heck, it's happened to the Indians in past when Bartolo Colon was revealed to being two years older than he already was in 2002 (he was traded a few months later). But, it's yet another black mark on the Indians and the Dolan-Shapiro-Antonetti leadership chain.
The Indians, who could very easily void the contract because, after all, it's with a player who technically doesn't exist. However, they seem to be holding out hope that he comes back and pitches? Have they not been watching him pitch every year since 2007? He's not a 28-year-old with upside anymore. He's a 31-year-old clearly on the downside of his career.
In typical Tribe fashion, they replaced a loser with another loser, trading for a pitcher who was winless last season and has a last name that doesn't necessarily inspire confidence from a pitching standpoint -- Kevin Slowey. How bad will this rotation be if "Fausto" Hernandez Heredia gets cleared to play -- Slowey, NL-loss leader and over-the-hill guy Derek Lowe AND "Fausto?"
Tribe Fever, got to catch it!
<> Joe Cleveland has a Twitter account, as does the person behind "Joe Cleveland." However, neither of us rarely use Twitter. I think Tony Grossi showed us why it's best to avoid the latest social media fad.
Grossi was one the longest-standing Browns beat reporters in town with the lone Cleveland paper in town. That gives him a lot of clout and a lot of respectability nationally. When the national folks want to confirm something that's going on with the Browns, they'll tend to look to Grossi. When a Cleveland representative is needed to vote on the Hall of Fame, Grossi was the logical choice.
Yesterday, Grossi was removed from the Browns beat for what they're terming an "inadvertant Tweet" concerning Browns owner Randy Lerner.
You see, Lerner -- who rarely meets with the media and prefers a hands-off approach to running his team, unlike the guy in town before him who decided to bolt to land of crabcakes -- decided to give an interview with the Browns' flagship radio station, WTAM 1100-AM, and it's popular afternoon host, Mike Trivisonno.
During Lerner's interview, Grossi sent out a Tweet that was supposed to go to just one of his followers that said, “He is a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world.” Instead, it went out to all of his followers in Twitter-ville.
Oops.
Grossi and the Plain Dealer apologized about the Tweet the next day, but Grossi remained pretty quiet. His last story, the game story from the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and the Patriots, had a very heavy Ravens slant to it (surprising, considering Grossi has led the charge against keeping a certain Judas owner out of the Hall of Fame ... although, then again, Grossi and Bill Belichick butted heads a lot during Belichick's tenure as Browns coach before the big move).
The Tweet basically confirmed what fans who have been reading his stuff had long believed -- Grossi had a bias against the Browns. He and Modell didn't get along because of some snafu that involved mislabeling Modell's not returning a call to comment into a flat-out no-comment on some story (and cost him the beat for a little while). Grossi had problems with Al Lerner, with Policy, with Butch Davis, with Phil Savage, you name it.
Grossi immediately pounced on Eric Mangini upon his hiring, supposedly saying in front of the entire media that Mangini "wasn't gonna get away with the same shit here that he did in New York." You could tell from the rip that Grossi was trying to get Mangini run out of town.
For whatever reason, Grossi didn't hit it off with Mike Holmgren, either. Holmgren's infamous "you're either with us or against us" quote was in response to Grossi, supposedly.
Grossi was snarky to readers who asked him questions in his "Hey Tony" mailbag. Grossi kept harping on the draft-day trade that allowed the Falcons to draft Julio Jones, even after Jones kept getting injured and dropping passes at inopportune times.
Fans were tired of him. And, a lot of them rejoiced at the news.
As a sportswriter, I respect Tony Grossi for what he brought to the table. I'm very happy he's kept Modell out of the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. However, the bias was apparent to even the most non-partisan fan out there. It got really old.
There's doing your job, and then there's going above and beyond to show that you're the top dog in this town, and if you're not with him, you're against him.
Hopefully, there will be more objective and fair Browns reporting in the future.
<> Reports have suddenly surfaced (coincidentally, as the Cavs were about to have their first matchup with the Heat) that LeBron isn't happy in Miami -- gee, what a surprise -- and would look to opt out of his contract after three seasons in South Beach.
And, supposedly, if he were to do so, his No. 1 choice to sign with would be ... wait for it ... the Cleveland Cavaliers.
ARE YOU (BLEEPING) SERIOUS?????
It's obvious to me that his LRMR team are probably leaking this info to their confidants in the media. The LRMR team are all from the Akron area and are a giant mess. They are essentially responsible for the debacle that was "The Decision" and turning LeQuitter into one of the most hated players in today's NBA.
The word is LeQuit is not happy that he's become a social pariah in his home region. I guess growing up here didn't clue him in to how Cleveland fans respond when one of their players quits on them and stabs them in the back. Cleveland fans root for the name in the front of the jersey, not the name in the back. Even if that player was a superstar while they were here, the moment that person leaves is the moment that person becomes Public Enemy No. 1.
LeQuitter must have not paid attention to when Carlos Boozer did the same thing on a lesser scale and was reviled every single time he touched the ball during any game here. How about when Brian Grant, who played at Xavier, turned down a chance to play for Cleveland and forced a three-way tride to Miami, and Grant was suddenly always booed here.
How about Albert Belle and how Cleveland fans showered him with Monopoly money the first time he played at The Jake as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Belle didn't help himself by continually flipping off the fans on the Home Run Porch all night and cursing at them.
Perhaps, now that LeQuit is setting down with his Baby Mama after she left Miami and decided to go back to Akron, he wants to come back home and be loved again. If he doesn't win a championship this season with the Heat, you can bet the vultures will be circling around that carcass.
I don't think Dan Gilbert would bring him back. It would be his turn to tell LeBron to shove it after LeBron went on ESPN and essentially told Gilbert the same thing. Even if it meant more money and a chance to light a fire with a young nucleus of Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and whoever the Cavs land in this year's draft.
And, how will the fans react? The fans gave Jim Thome a standing ovation when he returned to the Indians. However, that was about 8 years after he signed with the Phillies in the first place. Eight years is a long time, a long time for bygones to be bygones.
LeBron would only be gone three or four years if he decides to leave South Beach and take his talents back to the North Coast. The question is, would the North Coast allow it?
Joe Cleveland says, I hope to hell not. Let him stay out.
<> We can now say "Rest in Peace" to any chance the Indians had of winning the AL Central Division for the forseeable future, after Prince Fielder signed with his father Cecil's team, the Tigers, for nine years after our old friend Victor Martinez was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
The one saving grace for the Tribe is that MLB will be taking two Wild Card teams in the future. But, with Boston and the Yankees (and even Tampa Bay) emerging every year as a top team, will one of those berths even be out there for the Tribe to take?
Joe Cleveland's been very critical of the Indians' brain trust, especially Larry Dolan, for their inability to "keep up with the Jonses." Yes, MLB isn't set up to promote parity like the NFL is. Yes, there is no salary cap, which allows billioniares in big markets to spend to their hearts content.
However, this is the ocean that the Dolans choose to swim in. Once upon a time, the Indians were one of the winningest organizations in the Major Leagues, playing to a packed house every single night for 455 consecutive nights. That time was only 10-15 years ago.
If the ocean is becoming too deep, it's time for the Dolans to call for the life preserver to take them to shore. In other words, it's time for them to cash out and leave professional sports ownership to true businessmen capable of spending money to better the product, promote the product to the masses and show they are truly committed to winning.
The Dolans are not that description at all, and fans know it. Fans aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on a team that's not committed to winning. Fans aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on an atmosphere that, quite frankly, isn't very entertaining. Fans don't like being accused of being part of the perceived "problem" with decreasing payroll, which both Dolans and Shapiro have done over the course of a few seasons.
Another set of Dolans are running the New York Knicks into the ground as we speak. Two once proud franchises owned by people in the same family. One meddles too much and throws his money at the wrong things. The other overspent for his team and can't afford to spend any more money.
Either way, they both need to be put out to pasture ... and I hate the Knicks.
<> Finally, Joe Cleveland was so ecstatic to see the Thieving Bastards get there cumuppance last weekend with Billy Cundiff's missed chip-shot field goal that would have sent the AFC Championship game into overtime and Lee Evans' dropped TD pass that would have given them the win.
If ever a team and a fan base deserved to be shown how it felt to live thorugh The Drive and The Fumble, it's those crabcake-eating, Modell-apologizing theiving bastards, the Baltimorans ... with the exception of the Steelers.
The Steelers got theirs from Tebow. The Ravens got theirs probably even worse.
Both are at home watching the Super Bowl, just like Joe Cleveland is. And, Joe Cleveland is perfectly fine with that ... for now.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Joe Cleveland has some takes to spew out on a few different things going on in the world of Cleveland sports. So, instead of doing a bunch of different blogs, he's only going to do one (if I got paid by the blog, I'd probably put ones with two sentances in it every hour on the hour).
So, here goes:
<> Fausto Carmona is not who is says he is, and he's not as young as he says he is. Gee, what a surprise, a Dominican player who lied about their age to get into the country? What's really surprising is the whole alias thing.
"Fausto Carmona" is apparently really known as Roberto Hernandez Heredia. He was picked up by the Dominican government and charged with identity theft, or something like that. Apparenlty, there really is a Fausto Carmona, and the real Fausto was getting paid by the fake "Fausto" to use his name. When he stopped getting paid, the story goes, Fausto decided to out "Fausto."
It might be a while before "Fausto" comes back to America and pitches for the Tribe. That sigh of relief you heard was from fans not wanting to watch him get torched anymore and lose double-digit ball games each season.
Yes, it's happened to a lot of different teams (Leo Nunez is not who he says he is, either). Heck, it's happened to the Indians in past when Bartolo Colon was revealed to being two years older than he already was in 2002 (he was traded a few months later). But, it's yet another black mark on the Indians and the Dolan-Shapiro-Antonetti leadership chain.
The Indians, who could very easily void the contract because, after all, it's with a player who technically doesn't exist. However, they seem to be holding out hope that he comes back and pitches? Have they not been watching him pitch every year since 2007? He's not a 28-year-old with upside anymore. He's a 31-year-old clearly on the downside of his career.
In typical Tribe fashion, they replaced a loser with another loser, trading for a pitcher who was winless last season and has a last name that doesn't necessarily inspire confidence from a pitching standpoint -- Kevin Slowey. How bad will this rotation be if "Fausto" Hernandez Heredia gets cleared to play -- Slowey, NL-loss leader and over-the-hill guy Derek Lowe AND "Fausto?"
Tribe Fever, got to catch it!
<> Joe Cleveland has a Twitter account, as does the person behind "Joe Cleveland." However, neither of us rarely use Twitter. I think Tony Grossi showed us why it's best to avoid the latest social media fad.
Grossi was one the longest-standing Browns beat reporters in town with the lone Cleveland paper in town. That gives him a lot of clout and a lot of respectability nationally. When the national folks want to confirm something that's going on with the Browns, they'll tend to look to Grossi. When a Cleveland representative is needed to vote on the Hall of Fame, Grossi was the logical choice.
Yesterday, Grossi was removed from the Browns beat for what they're terming an "inadvertant Tweet" concerning Browns owner Randy Lerner.
You see, Lerner -- who rarely meets with the media and prefers a hands-off approach to running his team, unlike the guy in town before him who decided to bolt to land of crabcakes -- decided to give an interview with the Browns' flagship radio station, WTAM 1100-AM, and it's popular afternoon host, Mike Trivisonno.
During Lerner's interview, Grossi sent out a Tweet that was supposed to go to just one of his followers that said, “He is a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world.” Instead, it went out to all of his followers in Twitter-ville.
Oops.
Grossi and the Plain Dealer apologized about the Tweet the next day, but Grossi remained pretty quiet. His last story, the game story from the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and the Patriots, had a very heavy Ravens slant to it (surprising, considering Grossi has led the charge against keeping a certain Judas owner out of the Hall of Fame ... although, then again, Grossi and Bill Belichick butted heads a lot during Belichick's tenure as Browns coach before the big move).
The Tweet basically confirmed what fans who have been reading his stuff had long believed -- Grossi had a bias against the Browns. He and Modell didn't get along because of some snafu that involved mislabeling Modell's not returning a call to comment into a flat-out no-comment on some story (and cost him the beat for a little while). Grossi had problems with Al Lerner, with Policy, with Butch Davis, with Phil Savage, you name it.
Grossi immediately pounced on Eric Mangini upon his hiring, supposedly saying in front of the entire media that Mangini "wasn't gonna get away with the same shit here that he did in New York." You could tell from the rip that Grossi was trying to get Mangini run out of town.
For whatever reason, Grossi didn't hit it off with Mike Holmgren, either. Holmgren's infamous "you're either with us or against us" quote was in response to Grossi, supposedly.
Grossi was snarky to readers who asked him questions in his "Hey Tony" mailbag. Grossi kept harping on the draft-day trade that allowed the Falcons to draft Julio Jones, even after Jones kept getting injured and dropping passes at inopportune times.
Fans were tired of him. And, a lot of them rejoiced at the news.
As a sportswriter, I respect Tony Grossi for what he brought to the table. I'm very happy he's kept Modell out of the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. However, the bias was apparent to even the most non-partisan fan out there. It got really old.
There's doing your job, and then there's going above and beyond to show that you're the top dog in this town, and if you're not with him, you're against him.
Hopefully, there will be more objective and fair Browns reporting in the future.
<> Reports have suddenly surfaced (coincidentally, as the Cavs were about to have their first matchup with the Heat) that LeBron isn't happy in Miami -- gee, what a surprise -- and would look to opt out of his contract after three seasons in South Beach.
And, supposedly, if he were to do so, his No. 1 choice to sign with would be ... wait for it ... the Cleveland Cavaliers.
ARE YOU (BLEEPING) SERIOUS?????
It's obvious to me that his LRMR team are probably leaking this info to their confidants in the media. The LRMR team are all from the Akron area and are a giant mess. They are essentially responsible for the debacle that was "The Decision" and turning LeQuitter into one of the most hated players in today's NBA.
The word is LeQuit is not happy that he's become a social pariah in his home region. I guess growing up here didn't clue him in to how Cleveland fans respond when one of their players quits on them and stabs them in the back. Cleveland fans root for the name in the front of the jersey, not the name in the back. Even if that player was a superstar while they were here, the moment that person leaves is the moment that person becomes Public Enemy No. 1.
LeQuitter must have not paid attention to when Carlos Boozer did the same thing on a lesser scale and was reviled every single time he touched the ball during any game here. How about when Brian Grant, who played at Xavier, turned down a chance to play for Cleveland and forced a three-way tride to Miami, and Grant was suddenly always booed here.
How about Albert Belle and how Cleveland fans showered him with Monopoly money the first time he played at The Jake as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Belle didn't help himself by continually flipping off the fans on the Home Run Porch all night and cursing at them.
Perhaps, now that LeQuit is setting down with his Baby Mama after she left Miami and decided to go back to Akron, he wants to come back home and be loved again. If he doesn't win a championship this season with the Heat, you can bet the vultures will be circling around that carcass.
I don't think Dan Gilbert would bring him back. It would be his turn to tell LeBron to shove it after LeBron went on ESPN and essentially told Gilbert the same thing. Even if it meant more money and a chance to light a fire with a young nucleus of Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and whoever the Cavs land in this year's draft.
And, how will the fans react? The fans gave Jim Thome a standing ovation when he returned to the Indians. However, that was about 8 years after he signed with the Phillies in the first place. Eight years is a long time, a long time for bygones to be bygones.
LeBron would only be gone three or four years if he decides to leave South Beach and take his talents back to the North Coast. The question is, would the North Coast allow it?
Joe Cleveland says, I hope to hell not. Let him stay out.
<> We can now say "Rest in Peace" to any chance the Indians had of winning the AL Central Division for the forseeable future, after Prince Fielder signed with his father Cecil's team, the Tigers, for nine years after our old friend Victor Martinez was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
The one saving grace for the Tribe is that MLB will be taking two Wild Card teams in the future. But, with Boston and the Yankees (and even Tampa Bay) emerging every year as a top team, will one of those berths even be out there for the Tribe to take?
Joe Cleveland's been very critical of the Indians' brain trust, especially Larry Dolan, for their inability to "keep up with the Jonses." Yes, MLB isn't set up to promote parity like the NFL is. Yes, there is no salary cap, which allows billioniares in big markets to spend to their hearts content.
However, this is the ocean that the Dolans choose to swim in. Once upon a time, the Indians were one of the winningest organizations in the Major Leagues, playing to a packed house every single night for 455 consecutive nights. That time was only 10-15 years ago.
If the ocean is becoming too deep, it's time for the Dolans to call for the life preserver to take them to shore. In other words, it's time for them to cash out and leave professional sports ownership to true businessmen capable of spending money to better the product, promote the product to the masses and show they are truly committed to winning.
The Dolans are not that description at all, and fans know it. Fans aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on a team that's not committed to winning. Fans aren't going to spend their hard-earned money on an atmosphere that, quite frankly, isn't very entertaining. Fans don't like being accused of being part of the perceived "problem" with decreasing payroll, which both Dolans and Shapiro have done over the course of a few seasons.
Another set of Dolans are running the New York Knicks into the ground as we speak. Two once proud franchises owned by people in the same family. One meddles too much and throws his money at the wrong things. The other overspent for his team and can't afford to spend any more money.
Either way, they both need to be put out to pasture ... and I hate the Knicks.
<> Finally, Joe Cleveland was so ecstatic to see the Thieving Bastards get there cumuppance last weekend with Billy Cundiff's missed chip-shot field goal that would have sent the AFC Championship game into overtime and Lee Evans' dropped TD pass that would have given them the win.
If ever a team and a fan base deserved to be shown how it felt to live thorugh The Drive and The Fumble, it's those crabcake-eating, Modell-apologizing theiving bastards, the Baltimorans ... with the exception of the Steelers.
The Steelers got theirs from Tebow. The Ravens got theirs probably even worse.
Both are at home watching the Super Bowl, just like Joe Cleveland is. And, Joe Cleveland is perfectly fine with that ... for now.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
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