Catch this!

Joe Cleveland sat in the Dawg Pound on Sunday and listened as Buffalo Bills fans made our Stadium sound like theirs in Orchard Park, N.Y.

It was embarassing, and if the players are hurt by that, so be it. It is on them to change the culture around here, and the only way they do that is by winning football games, especially at home.

It's kind of hard to cheer when your team gives up two quick first quarter touchdowns and then has to play from behind the rest of the game.

The Browns had to play from behind last week in Cincinnati and also had to play from behind in Week 1 against Philadelphia. Thanks to an opportunistic defense and an all-around poor game from Michael Vick, the Browns actually had the fourth quarter lead, but couldn't hold on.

One common denomonator for all three of these games is the wide receivers' inability to do the one fundemental thing that makes them receivers -- CATCH THE FOOTBALL!

If it seems like the Browns always seem to have the market cornered on receivers who do everything well except secure the football with their hands when it is thrown in their direction, you wouldn't be too far off.

You can see a Greg Little and raise him a Braylon Edwards.

You can see a Josh Gordon and raise him a Quincy Morgan.

And on and on and on.

Heck, ever since the Browns let Reggie Langhorne, Webster Slaughter and Brian Brennan leave the team as free agents in one fell swoop following the 1991 season, the team has collectively struggled to catch the football.

When the original Browns moved to Baltimore (who, coincidentally, the current Browns will be seeing Thursday night in Crabcake-ville) and the Browns were reborn three years later, the dropsies only seemed to get worse and magnified with each regime in charge.

Because the best way to deal with frustration is by simply poking fun at the problem, Joe Cleveland has decided to rank the Top 13 Worst Wide Receivers the Browns have had. Drops and attitude are the two biggest factors in this list, and the Browns have been rife with receivers with plenty of both. Draft position and starts were also considered.

I did not factor tight ends into this equation, or else Kellen Winslow, Rickey Dudley, O.J. Santiago, Irv Smith and Mark Campbell would certainly crack this list. I just stuck with wide receivers -- the list was bad enough.

1. Braylon Edwards: 4.5 seasons (2005-09), 238 catches, 3,697 yards, 28 touchdowns, 1 Pro Bowl -- With his numbers, you would think that a guy like Edwards, the third-overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, would be lower on this list, if not completely off it. However, Edwards was not only a notorious pass-dropper, his attitude was probably one of the worst a Browns player has ever had (and there have been plenty of divas). He was not happy to be here, and from Day 1, he made no secret about that. He carried himself with an undeserved sense of entitlement from the get-go, never blamed himself for his or his teams problems, got into visable altercations with his quarterbacks on the sidelines, undermined the coaches he played for, only seemed to play well on games that were nationally televised, took plays off, unintentionally spiked a teammate when he raced him during training camp while that receiver had stocking feet, and was out with that same receiver on the night that player drove drunk and struck a pedestrian, killing him (then, proving lessons aren't learned, was arrested for a DUI less than a year later). He ripped on Cleveland fans both before and after he was traded midway through the 2009 season. His 2007 Pro Bowl season proved to be an abberation. His attitude was too much for even the acerbic, trash-talking New York Jets and they let him leave as a free agent. Since then, he's had forgettable seasons in San Francisco and (currently) Seattle. Browns fans will never forget Braylon Edwards, and he will be booed every time he plays in Cleveland for the rest of his career.

2. Donte Stallworth: 2 seasons (2008-09), 17 catches, 170 yards, 2 touchdowns -- Stallworth was the 13th overall selection by New Orleans back in 2002, but he was essentially a journeyman receiver who was coming off a decent season in New England with the Browns invested in him as a free agent. He was the receiver who decided to race Edwards while Edwards was wearing cleats and he was in his socks and had to miss a few games with a wound to his heel. When he returned, he didn't do very much very well and was largely a forgettable free agent bust in 2008. But, during the offseason in 2009, Stallworth left a party thrown by his buddy Edwards drunk, drove home, and struck and killed a pedestrian who was crossing the street. Stallworth was suspended without pay by the NFL in 2009, and the Browns quietly released him following that season. He is currently out of football after bouncing around for a few teams. Stallworth was supposed to be a signing that put a 10-6 Browns team over the top. Instead, it sunk them.

3. Andre Rison, 1 season (1995), 47 catches, 701 yards, 3 touchdowns -- I thought about ranking Rison higher on this list, but at least he didn't kill anyone. Rison was the Dead Judas' final act in Cleveland -- a marquee free agent signing following a Pro Bowl season in Atlanta who was going to be the team's missing piece in a run to the Super Bowl. Of course, we all know Judas had to borrow from at least two banks to pay Rison's $5 million signing bonus (which only added to his impending bankruptcy and his choice to move the team). Rison talked a big game and acted like he was too big for Cleveland, which didn't sit well with the blue-collar fanbase. Rison liked to preen and pose, but dropped a few passes, didn't block for his other receivers or runners and didn't mesh well with his quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, or his buttoned-up head coach, Bill Belichick. When the team announced they were moving, Rison added fuel to the fire when he said he "couldn't want to play in Baltimore" and ripped the Browns fans who booed the team during the team's final few games. Almost fittingly, Rison was the first player the newly-christened Ravens released upon the move being granted. He did rebound to catch a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl the very next season and immediately followed that up with a Pro Bowl season in Kansas City in 1997. But, those proved to be fleeting moments. He retired in 2000, never playing a game in Cleveland again.

4. Quincy Morgan, 3.5 seasons (2001-04), 133 catches, 2,056 yards, 15 touchdowns -- Morgan was the poster-child for Browns receivers who couldn't catch a cold if they were standing naked in Siberia. He was drafted 33rd overall with a high second-round pick by incoming head coach Butch Davis, and Morgan displayed some big-play ability whenever he decided to hang on to the ball. He led the NFL with a 17.2-yard-per-catch average in 2002, the last year the Browns made the playoffs. But, his preening after a questionable fourth-down reception late in 2001 gave the replay officials enough to time to request a review of his catch (well, not really enough time, since the Browns got a snap off and ran a first-down play), and the ball just moved enough in his hands for the replay officials to overturn the call, knocking the Browns out of playoff contention and starting a bottle-throwing debacle that is still known throughout the town as "BottleGate." Morgan's attitude and propensity to drop passes finally persuaded Davis to trade him to Dallas for another petulant receiver named Antonio Bryant, and Morgan wasn't shy about telling everyone his true feelings for Cleveland after he left, even though he didn't amount to very much after he left. His claim to fame was catching a garbage-time, rub-it-in touchdown during a Christmas Day 2005 Steelers blowout at Browns Stadium and then taking a kickoff out of the end zone with Denver one season later and getting blasted at the 5 by the Browns special teams, and not playing another down the rest of the day. Morgan only caught two more touchdown passes and played two more seasons after the Browns gave up on him, although he does have a Super Bowl championship ring as a member of the Steelers in 2005.

5. Derrick Alexander, 2 seasons (1994-95), 63 catches, 1,044 yards, 2 touchdowns -- Alexander was the Browns' second first-round draft choice (29th overall) in 1994 and was expected to immediately be the starter opposite Michael Jackson, who was having a fine career after being taken in the sixth round back in 1991. Alexander held out and then had trouble grasping the offense in 1994, although the Browns went 11-5, qualified for the playoffs and won a playoff game (the last time they did that in franchise history). During the Browns' 29-9 divisional round loss to the Steelers, Alexander was whistled for a back-breaking unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after he caught a first down pass and flung it at the Steeler guarding him, and then didn't catch another pass the rest of the day. Alexander battled injuries and a loss of playing time to big free-agent signing Andre Rison in 1995, making the rest of his Browns tenure very forgettable (15 catches, 215 yards, 0 touchdowns). He rebounded with some standout seasons for the pass-happy Ravens (1996-97) and the Kansas City Chiefs (1998-2000) and was reunited with Rison in 2000 for his best season (78 catches, 10 touchdowns). But, that's where the saga ends, and retired as a Minnesota Viking in 2002. Like Braylon, Alexander was from the University of Michigan, which puts two former Wolverines in the top five.

6. Greg Little, 1.5 seasons (2011-12), 68 catches, 783 yards, 3 touchdowns -- Little will always be stacked up against Atlanta's Julio Jones, fair or not. The Browns traded the sixth overall pick to the Falcons, who took Jones, while the Browns received two first rounders, a second and a fourth in 2012. That second-rounder was Little, who hadn't played the previous season due to losing his NCAA eligibility. Little was second among rookies with 61 catches last season, but led the NFL with 15 drops. That hasn't changed during his sophomore season. He dropped a potential touchdown pass in the season opener that wound up becoming the first of four interceptions thrown by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden. Little redeemed himself with a good game against the Bengals, but drew fans ire with his excessive celebrations following the touchdown (which only cut Cincinnati's lead to 10 points) and for his Tweets afterward, in which he criticized fans who ripped him saying he doesn't care what they think. He then proceeded to drop several more balls during Sunday's game, made the overexaggerated Usain Bolt pose following his lone catch (a first down) and was yelled at on the sidelines by head coach Pat Shurmur and position coach Mike Wilson. Little has since said he wouldn't celebrate as much and would concentrate on catching the ball. However, it may be too late. Browns fans may have seen the next Braylon.

7. Darren Chiaverini, 2 seasons (1999-2000), 52 catches, 555 yards, 5 touchdowns -- Chiaverini was selected in the fifth round in the Browns' inaugural rookie draft. Not much was expected of him, but he wound up starting eight games as a rookie opposite fellow rookie Kevin Johnson and caught 44 passes with four touchdowns. He crashed back to Earth as a second-year player, starting only two games and only catching eight passes with a touchdown, and was sent packing by incoming head coach Butch Davis. Chiaverini caught 10 passes and two touchdowns as a Cowboys reserve the next season, but was out of football after a catchless season as a Falcon in 2002. He had no business being in the NFL, let alone starting for an NFL team.

8. Travis Wilson, 2 seasons (2006-07), 2 catches, 32 yards, 0 touchdowns -- Wilson, who was a third-round selection by then-GM Phil Savage in 2006, immediately put the target on him when he proclaimed that he was the best wide receiver in the entire draft class in his introductary press conference. He then had an ill-advised holdout and wound up only playing four games as a rookie (with one start), with those two catches. Wilson was deactivated for every single game his second year and was quietly released the following year, never playing in the NFL again. As far as his proclimations as the "best receiver in the draft," Santonio Holmes (first round) and Greg Jennings (second round) might take issue with that statement.

9. Brian Robiskie, 2.5 seasons (2009-11), 39 catches, 441 yards, 3 touchdowns -- Incoming head coach Eric Mangini acquired three second-round picks for his first (and only) draft, and proceeded to squander all three. The first one of those three, which was the second pick in the round, was spent on Robiskie, a Chagrin Falls product who had a productive career at Ohio State and is the son of a former NFL receiver and receivers coach, Terry Robiskie. Instead of showing everyone that he was the "most pro-ready receiver in the draft," Robiskie quickly became an afterthought. He only caught seven passes for 106 yards as a rookie, where he only played in 11 games and started one. He did better his second year, starting 11 games and catching 29 balls with three touchdowns. But it wasn't nearly good enough to show that he was worthy of being the 36th overall selection. After just three catches as a Brown in six games (two starts) last season, he was waived. He was claimed by Jacksonville but didn't catch a pass in six games and is currently out of football.

10. Andre Davis, 3 seasons (2002-04), 93 catches, 1,414 yards, 13 touchdowns -- Davis makes this list mostly because he could never stay 100 percent healthy during his brief stint with the Browns after he became the fourth-straight receiver selected in the second round by the team (joining Kevin Johnson, Morgan and Dennis Northcutt). Also, he wound up making his mark as a kickoff and punt returner and not as a receiver for the remainder of his career. A second-round receiver should be more than a good career kickoff guy. He was on the receiving end of the longest touchdown in Browns history -- a 99-yard pass from Jeff Garcia in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004. However, he was injured shortly after the play and wound up missing most of the rest of that season, only finishing with 16 catches. He caught 37 and 40 balls his first two years, but never caught more than 33 over the remainder of his career, which ended in 2009 as a member of the Houston Texans. He did have four kickoff return touchdowns (three with the Texans in 2007) in his career.

11. Patrick Rowe, 2 seasons (1992-93), 3 catches, 37 yards, 0 touchdowns -- Rowe was a second-round draft choice by Bill Belichick before he became a "genius." Belichick believed Rowe, who starred at San Diego State, would help the team overcome the losses of Webster Slaughter, Brian Brennan and Reggie Langhorne. He was WAAAYYY wrong. Rowe was lost for the season in his first training camp with a knee injury, and when he returned in 1993, he could barely get on the field. He only played in five games before he was released. Rowe never played another down in the NFL. Nice drafting, Genius!

12. Antonio Bryant, 1.5 seasons (2004-05), 111 catches, 1,555 yards, 8 touchdowns -- Bryant came into the NFL with a reputation of having a bad attitude, and that attitude festered in Dallas. After an incident where Bryant threw a towel in the direction of either head coach Bill Parcells or owner Jerry Jones, his days were numbered. He was sent to Cleveland at the trading deadline in 2004 for butterfingers Quincy Morgan. Bryant did well upon the trade, catching 42 passes and 4 touchdowns during his 10 games in a Browns uniform, and much was expected of him in 2005 when he'd be teamed with incoming rookie Braylon Edwards, free agent signing Joe Jurevicius and second-year tight end Kellen Winslow. But, Winslow injured his knee in a motorcycle accident, Edwards underachieved as a rookie and Bryant was counted on to be the No. 1 receiver. He caught 69 passes for over 1,000 yards, but he still dropped a few passes and his attitude was never that much better. He left after the season as a free agent, spending the next three seasons in San Francisco and Tampa Bay before retiring in 2009 at the age of 28.

13. Lawyer Tillman, 5 seasons (1989-93), 36 catches, 636 yards, 3 touchdowns -- The Browns braintrust, led by Ernie Accorsi, was so enthralled with the 6-foot-5 Auburn product that they traded Herman Fontenot and next year's first round choice for the right to take Tillman in the second round in 1989. Tillman responded with a lengthy holdout, spending more time in the training room and on the operating table than on the football field and not performing very well whenever he was healthy and playing. He only played three of the five seasons he was with the Browns, missing two full seasons due to injury. His best season was his comeback season in 1992, when he caught 25 passes for 498 yards, but by then, he had been moved to tight end. He played five more NFL games with expansion Carolina in 1995 before retiring for good, going down in history as one of the Browns' most colossal draft busts of all time.

Honorable Mention: Rico Smith (1992-95), Dennis Northcutt (2000-06), Leslie Shepherd (1999), Carlton Mitchell (2010-11), Michael Bates (1995), Frisman Jackson (2002-05), Mohammed Massaquoi (2009-12), Zola Davis (1999), Kevin Johnson (1999-2003), Josh Gordon (2012).

Paul Warfield would be ashamed of that list. This is why the Browns have struggled to have any semblance of a passing offense since they've returned. Sure, the revolving door at quarterback hasn't helped, but if a receiver could stay healthy, shut his trap and catch the ball when it's thrown in his direction, perhaps one of those QBs stays a bit longer.

Hopefully, one of the guys on the current team can blossom into a reliable receiving threat to help out Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy or whoever the next QB of the Browns winds up being (hopefully not Matt Barkley).

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

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!

'I had no choice'

"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." -- Mark Twain

Today, Joe Cleveland read the obituaries on one Arthur B. Modell with great pleasure. This will also be the last time I ever write or say his name. He is dead in more ways than one.

In one of my early blogs, I state the case as to why this man, the former owner of the Cleveland Browns who tore the heart and soul out of this region by cold-heartedly moving this franchise to Baltimore, should NEVER be elected to the Hall of Fame. That link is below:

http://joeclevelandblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/case-against-art-judas-modell.html

Unlike others, especially the Cleveland haters and history revisionists who work for that certain four-letter network, I will not try to give this man any more credit than he is due.

Sometimes, in death, folks tend to look at the bright side of people and point out the things they did right. Joe Cleveland, on the other hand, will call a spade a spade.

You want to see something gushy about the man I've referred to as "Judas," go to ESPN.com or the Baltimore Sun. If you want to read someone tell it like it is, you've come to the right place.

I've always said to my closest family and friends that the day Judas dies will be a day of great celebration in my house. But, I've got to say, when I woke up and and read all of the text messages I received from people, and then clicked on Facebook, I felt an odd sense of calm.

Did I celebrate? A little. But did my eyes tear up for some reason? They did.

They weren't tears of sadness directed at that man. Oh no, that man will never hurt me again. But, it brought me back to 1995.

What should have been one of the best years in a Cleveland sports fan's life -- thanks to the Cleveland Indians going 100-44 and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1954 -- was ruined in one fell swoop by a guy who owned the Cleveland Browns and four fateful words he uttered in a Baltimore parking lot on Nov. 6.

"I had no choice."

Bullcrap, Joe Cleveland says. You did have a choice. You had a choice to sell the team. You had a choice to try to negotiate further with the City of Cleveland. You had a choice to get in on the Gateway project when Cleveland came up with it. And, you had a choice to betray millions of people by making a sneaky underhanded deal with the people of Baltimore, Maryland.

You chose wrong, sir. YOU CHOSE WRONG!

I remember listening to the radio in the kitchen of my parents' house on Dec. 17, 1995. Two days later, I would turn 22 years old. But there was no celebrating on that day.

I listened as the Cleveland Browns, playing for nothing but pride, had one of their best all-around games of the season, beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-10. I listened as Earnest Byner, the man behind The Fumble, rushed for 131 yards in his final game in front of the best fans in the NFL at the old Pandemonium Palace.

I listened as Casey Coleman described some fans taking hacksaws to their seats. Some throwing them over the fences and onto the playing surface.

I listened, with my late mother, as Coleman described the impromptu gathering of the Cleveland Browns, wearing those orange helmets, brown jerseys and white pants, in the Dawg Pound, hugging fans and thanking them for their 50 years of support.

At that moment, we both hugged and cried.

"It's over, mom," I sobbed. "I can't believe it's over."

My heart, and the hearts of millions, were truly broken that day. That pain that I shared with my mom, and the pain I shared with my friends who were Browns fans, were the result of one man and his selfish, prideful reasons to move an NFL institution to a city that couldn't even keep their team over 10 years prior to that.

My eyes got misty because of that memory, and the fact that now, finally, after 17 years of frustration and hate for one man, I can finally put it to rest.

I look at the reincarnation of the Cleveland Browns, who have, by and large, sucked for the 13 years they've been back. I look at the fortunes of the franchise that he moved to Baltimore, which was rechristened the Ravens, and watch in disgust as they won a Super Bowl and have become a perennial powerhouse in the AFC (despite never getting back to the big game since the 2000 season).

Did we, as Cleveland fans, deserve this cruel twist of fate? No, we certainly did not. That man is to blame.

Joe Cleveland was among millions of you who called the NFL over and over to let them know that this atrocity would not stand. We flooded and crashed their switchboards. We made our voices heard. We filed class-action lawsuits against that man and what he was trying to do.

In the end, we forced the NFL to make Cleveland a promise (of course, we had to promise a new stadium would be built, which it was) -- a promise of a new football team in three years that would bear the proud name of "Cleveland Browns," complete with the Seal Brown and Burnt Orange colors and those orange helmets and that proud legacy of Paul Brown, Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar, Paul Warfield, Marion Motley, etc., etc.

Baltimore didn't get that, even though that man tried to bring it there. He tried to say later that he "willingly left the history behind," and the four-letter network tries to support that view, but that's a bunch of baloney.

I'm sure someone has a Baltimore Browns T-shirt or jacket somewhere. I know the team took ads out in Maryland papers selling tickets to the Baltimore Browns before NFL made them stop.

Thank God, they didn't get that from us.

I think, now, the spectre of The Move is away from the Browns franchise. I only wish the Browns would have gotten their act together sooner and won a championship while he was still alive. But, it wasn't meant to be.

Now that he's dead, the Baltimore Ravens are just another franchise, another rival to the Browns. That link to Cleveland has been severed.

Browns fans will never forget about The Move or the impact it had on them personally and professionally. Joe Cleveland will never forget.

However, will it be easier to digest now that the man is gone? I would like to think so.

You can hate and despise someone for a long time, but I celebrate the death because I don't have to hate and despise him anymore. The worms and maggots can take care of that for us. I don't have to be reminded of The Move anymore.

The man was close to bankruptcy because of shoddy business deals and poor decisions. He was a meddlesome owner who ran off the best coach in NFL history in Paul Brown and ran off any other coach that came to town besides Blanton Collier. Blanton Collier won him an NFL championship. Actually, he won CLEVELAND an NFL championship, but that man found vindication in that.

That man was viewed as a "carpetbagger" upon his arrival in 1961, and he never forgot it. He never put the best interests off Cleveland first. He put his own interests first, and that betrayed him.

I listened as a talking head on that four-letter network tried to justify the move to Baltimore as a "sound business decision," and I wanted to reach through my computer screen and punch that guy in the mouth. Really?

If it was so "sound," then why did he have to tuck tail and sell his beloved franchise less than three years after he moved them?

If it was so "sound," why was he consistently hemmoraging money?

If it was so "sound," why is Steve Bisciotti the owner of the Baltimore Ravens and not David Modell?

If it was so "sound," why are they not named the "Baltimore Browns?"

"Sound," my ass!

That man had a billionaire partner in Cleveland in Al Lerner who would have purchased the team from him and kept it in Cleveland. I believe that, inevitably, a new stadium would have been built to replace the decrepit Cleveland Stadium. I believe that, had he done that and holding a minority interest in the team, that man would have had a bust in Canton 15 years ago.

Instead, Lerner paid $530 million to buy the expansion Cleveland Browns, while that man spent himself back into the poor house because of all the money he had to pay. He had to pay the NFL and his fellow owners. He had to pay the City of Cleveland. He had to pay Lerner and Bill Gries to buy their shares of the team. He had to pay focus groups to come up with a new nickname and colors for his team and then had to pay for the trademarks.

I believe that, had he simply sold to Lerner in 1995, on Sunday in the Browns' season opener, they would have dedicated a moment of silence, and Browns fans would have obliged.

Instead, he never stepped foot in this town again after high-tailing it to Baltimore under the threat of death. And, his death led to several moments of glee.

A group of Browns fans gathered in front of Cleveland Browns Stadium Thursday morning and popped some champagne and drank a toast to the man's death. Good for them! Joe Cleveland wishes he could have joined them.

That leads me to my next request -- please, for the love of God, do not try to force the fine Browns fans to adhere to a moment of silence for that man.

I'm sure the four-letter network is gleefully hoping the NFL and the Browns attempt this, so they can air the sound of thousands of fans booing, or cheering, or flipping the bird, or whatever else they're going to do instead of bowing the heads in silence, and then deride us for our so-called "lack of class."

Did Baltimore adhere to a moment of silence when Robert Irsay died? I don't think so. They still roast the guy in effigy, and he's been dead for years. And, they got a team back and won a Super Bowl!

So, why should we have to? It's just another reason for that four-letter network to rub Cleveland's noses in crap and paint us all with an unfair brush.

Why should we have to turn the other cheek? Should Brooklyn fans do the same for Walter O'Malley when he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles? That happened back in the 1950s, and there are STILL people in Brooklyn angry that it happened.

If Robert Kraft decided to move the Patriots out of New England, you don't think that four-letter network would start a campaign to bring them back? Do you think they would dedicate hours of programming to him if he died, had he done that? Do you think they would force the fans of Boston and New England to have a moment of silence for him, and if they did, do you think they would crucify the fans for booing?

I highly doubt it. But, we're Cleveland, the nation's punch line, the backward-ass losers.

That network found a clip of two fans burning LeBron James' jersey and turned into an entire region of jersey-burners. They found one fan throwing a battery somewhere in the vicinity of James as he sat on the bench during the fourth quarter of the Heat's first game in Cleveland and turned it into 20,000 battery-throwers.

The four-letter network tells Cleveland to "get over it" when it comes to LeQuit. But, are they saying that to the fans of Orlando after the ringer Dwight Howard just put them through? I haven't heard them do it.

And, I'm sure the moment a Cleveland teams wins a championship -- and it will happen -- they will attempt to deride it by airing clips of all the Cleveland sports failures leading up to it, and then proclaiming that it was a fluke and that it won't happen again.

This is why I hope that Mike Holmgren and Randy Lerner and Jimmy Haslam or whoever politely decline to air any tribute to him. Cleveland doesn't need another black-eye, and you're going to have half the stadium doing anything but being silent if it happens.

It's bad enough that they are putting a decal on their helmets all season long. But, I can live with that.

Let the fans of Baltimore sing songs and try to give him the tribute he doesn't deserve, but will get anyway.

My tribute to him is in the above paragraphs and in the blog I wrote one year ago.

May you burn in Hell, Art Modell!

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

Are you ready for some football?

The Cleveland Browns -- or the latest reincarnation of a new era of a never-ending cycle that began back in 1999 -- will take the field a week from today at Cleveland Browns Stadium to take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

There was a lot of optimism from the frustrated fanbase when the Browns used their two first round picks on a pair of offensive playmakers -- Alabama running back Trent Richardson and Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden. There was a little more optimism when Randy Lerner sold the Browns to Tennessee truck stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III, and Haslam won over the fanbase with his down-home attitude and football-first mentality.

However, since then, the optimism has waned considerably.

Richardson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery just prior to the first preseason game and hasn't practiced since.

Scott Fujita's suspension over Bountygate wasn't overturned.

Linebacker Chris Gocong was lost for the season with an Achilles' tendon rupture.

Joe Haden reportedly tested positive for the drug Adderol, which would carry a four-game suspension. However, the NFL has not commented on the suspension and it appears Haden will play in the opener.

Weeden struggled with protecting the football, especially with fumbles.

A bitter battled waged on between Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace over who would be Weeden's BACKUP.

Rookie right tackle Mitchell Schwartz had a great game sandwiched between two miserable games.

Rookie Josh Gordon and second-year receiver Greg Little had trouble running routes and catching the football.

And, of course, speculation carried over about whether head coach Pat Shurmur would survive this season with a new owner and (presumably) a new team president in Joe Banner taking over.

Add it up, and suddenly there are some fans who think like some of the national pundits do -- that the Browns could be the worst team in the NFL this season and in line for the No. 1 overall pick.

Don't add Joe Cleveland to that list. Now, certainly, I don't think the Browns will be a Super Bowl contender. Not with 15 rookies making up the 53-man roster, including a 28-year-old rookie starting quarterback and a rookie running back whose status for Week 1 is still up in the air.

But the worst team in the league? I don't think so.

Like it or not, Shurmur is on the hot seat. The man who hired him, Mike Holmgren, is probably going to be gone following this year (Haslam can fulfill some of Holmgren's job duties as the "face of the franchise.") Tom Heckert worked with Banner in Philadelphia, but some of Heckert's luster is starting to wear off.

Don't think for a second Haslam and Banner wouldn't want to make a spalsh with a big-profile head coaching hire to try to turn the Browns' fortunes around. Shurmur will simply be fresh out of friends.

Anything less than a 7-9 season will likely send Shurmur packing. And, with the Browns' schedule and the new players, that might be tough to do.

The good news is that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens appear to be getting older and losing their luster. The Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs with a rookie QB, but they are the Cincinnati Bengals. If half of those rookies pan out, the Browns fortunes could very well be on the rise. Joe Cleveland will predict that they won't go winless in the AFC North this year.

Joe Cleveland will take his customary seat in the Dawg Pound this Sunday and for seven other Sundays this fall/winter to see if the Browns can take some more steps forward.

Here's a look at the 53-man roster and Joe's take (*-starter, R-Rookie):

QB (3) -- Brandon Weeden (R)*, Colt McCoy, Thad Lewis: Weeden will be the first true rookie to start in Week 1 since the Browns' inaugural 1946 season (Cliff Lewis is the answer to that trivia question). McCoy, who has suddenly become a fan favorite, was retained after a solid preseason and will be Weeden's backup. Lewis is a Shurmur project from his St. Louis Rams days that he feels is worth developing. Not a great group, but it could be worse (see McCoy, Wallace and Lewis from last year).

RB (4) -- Trent Richardson (R)*, Brandon Jackson, Montario Hardesty, Chris Ogbonnaya: The Browns kept four running backs because of Richardson's questionable knee. They also like the upside of Ogbonnaya, who bailed out the Browns' running game last year with the injuries to Hardesty and to departed Peyton Hillis. Hardesty was given the opportunity to start with Richardson's injury and blew it with four miserable preseason performances marred by fumbilitis and dropped passes. Jackson, Green Bay's starting running back in 2010 when they won the Super Bowl, will likely start Week 1 should T-Rich not be medically cleared.

FB (1) -- Owen Marecic*: Marecic, a fourth-round choice last season, beat out Alabama rookie Brad Smelley for the position. Smelley was since added to the practice squad, so he could still wind up getting activated if Marecic struggles. Tight end Alex Smith has also played fullback and could see time in the backfield as well.

WR (6) -- Greg Little*, Mohammed Massaquoi*, Josh Gordon (R), Travis Benjamin (R), Josh Cribbs, Jordan Norwood: Norwood beat out rookie (and Weeden's best friend) Josh Cooper for the sixth WR spot, but Cooper was added to the practice squad. Gordon backs up Little, while Benjamin backs up Massaquoi. Benjamin showed tremendous promise during training camp and the preseason, while Gordon appears to be a work in progress. Massaquoi, a former second-round draft choice, could be in his final chance to show the Browns something before he gets let go. Cribbs will be counted on more in the return game and special teams than on his receiving ability.

TE (3) -- Ben Watson*, Jordan Cameron, Alex Smith: Surprisingly, the Browns elected not to keep four tight ends, especially with the injury status of veteran Watson. Cameron, a second-year player, has emerged as a viable receiving threat and could very well be the starting tight end by season's end. Evan Moore, who was given a big contract extension by the Browns' braintrust, was released because he couldn't block and had been beaten out by Cameron for playing time. Dan Gronkowski (the brother of Rob Gronkowski) showed flashes in training camp, but was a victim in the numbers game.

OT (4) -- Joe Thomas*, Mitchell Schwartz (R)*, Oneil Cousins, Ryan Miller (R): Thomas is the best in the business and a future Hall of Famer. Schwartz had his ups and downs in the preseason but should only get better. Cousins is lucky to have a job after a miserable preseason, but his experience wound up saving him, as the Browns did not want a bunch of rookies at tackle along with Thomas.

OG (2) -- Jason Pinkston*, Shawn Lauvao*: Probably the weakest part of the line. I am not a Lauvao fan by any stretch. Pinkston had his struggles last year, but was aided by playing between a pair of Pro Bowlers in Thomas and Mack that helped cover some of his deficiencies. Backup center John Greco and Miller can also play guard.

C (2) -- Alex Mack*, John Greco: Mack was college teammates with Schwartz three seasons ago, which should help the rookie develop. Mack, a maligned draft pick during Eric Mangini's lone Browns' draft, has emerged as a Pro Bowler at center and a steady force. Greco, a Toledo product, is a veteran who will provide depth at other positions.

DE (6) -- Jabaal Sheard*, Frostee Rucker*, Juqua Parker, Emmanuel Stephens, Brian Sanford, Ishmaa'ily Kitchen (R): Rucker and Parker were the lone free agent signings from Heckert during the offseason. Sheard had a good rookie season and emerged as a pass-rushing force. The Browns expect him to only be better. Rucker and Parker are more run-stoppers. Marcus Benard was expected to help as a pass rusher but he is out for the year. Kitchen, a waiver claim following final day roster cuts, is a local product.

DT (4) -- Athyba Rubin*, John Hughes (R)*, Billy Wynn (R), Scott Paxson: Rubin is very underrated for his play. Last year's first-rounder Phil Taylor will start the year on the PUP list, and his absence will be felt. Hughes, a surprise third-round choice out of Cincinnati, beat out fellow rookie Wynn for the other starting defensive tackle spot. He and Wynn will be counted to pick up the slack until Taylor returns -- if he's able to this year.

LB (7) -- Scott Fujita*, D'Qwell Jackson*, Kaluka Maiava*, James-Michael Johnson (R), L.J. Fort (R), Craig Robertson, Tank Carder (R): Fujita will start the season on the suspended list, which will thin out an already depleated unit that is missing Chris Gocong (out for the season). Johnson, one of the brightest spots of training camp, would have likely started for Fujita, but he's batting an injury and his status is questionable. Carder was a fifth-round choice from Buffalo and claimed off waivers. Fort is an undrafted rookie who started a few preseason games and opened some eyes.

CB (6) -- Joe Haden*, Sheldon Brown*, Dimitri Patterson, Buster Skrine, Trevin Wade (R), Johnson Bademosi (R): Haden may still face NFL discipline for a reported failed drug test for Adderol, but nothing has been comfired about the report. For now, he's practicing with the team and is in line to start Week 1. Brown wasn't moved to safety this year and is a veteran presence in the defensive backfield not afraid to tackle. Skrine had a productive rookie season. Bademosi, an undrafted rookie, made his mark on special teams.

S (5) -- Eric Hagg*, T.J. Ward*, Ray Ventrone, Usama Young, Tashaun Gipson (R): Hagg, a seventh-round choice last year, beat out Young to start at free safety. Ward is a fearsome hitter who has battled injury problems in his brief pro career. Ventrone is a special teams force; a rare holdover from the Mangini days. Gipson made the team as an undrafted rookie, beating out fellow undrafted rookie David Sims, who was traded to the Eagles for a draft pick.

K (1) -- Phil Dawson*: No Browns player is more respected and revered as Dawson, the last remaining player from the expansion 1999 season. And, he's proven to be a reliable kicker from both short and long range, seeming to get better and stronger with age.

P (1) -- Reggie Hodges*: Hodges' absense last year from a torn Achilles hurt the Browns, as they were one of the worst punting teams in the league last season. He has had two punts blocked this preseason, but that's the fault of the punt team. He appears to be healthy and at full strength. Hodges will also hold on field goals and extra points.

LS (1) -- Christian Yount*: Yount quietly held down the fort at long snapper after respected veteran and Pro Bowler Ryan Pontbriand suddenly lost his abilities last season (and is now out of football). The Browns have always had a knack for finding great long snappers, and Yount continues the tradition.

KR/PR (4) -- Josh Cribbs*, Travis Benjamin (R), Buster Skrine, Jordan Norwood: Cribbs is one of the NFL's all-time best kick returners, still tied for the most kickoff return TDs in his career (8). Benjamin's speed makes him an asset if Cribbs gets injured or loses his job in both kickoff and punt returns. Skrine is a backup punt returner, while Norwood is a backup kickoff returner.

Practice Squad (8) -- Ronnie Cameron (DT, R), Josh Cooper (WR, R), Solomon Elimimian (LB), Garth Gerhart (OL, R), Ben Jacobs (LB), Jarrod Shaw (OL), Jeff Shugarts (OL, R), Brad Smelley (FB, R): All the rookies but Smelley were undrafted rookies. Shugarts, an Ohio State product, Gerhart and Shaw might have made the team if not for the overall inexperience on the offensive line. Smelley was a seventh-round choice who played well. Cooper displayed good hands and good route-running.

PUP (1) -- Phil Taylor (DT): Taylor will miss a minimum of six games with a torn pec muscle suffered in February. The Browns are hopeful he can return before the end of the season. They'll need him.

Injured Reserve (6) -- Emmanuel Acho (LB, R), Marcus Benard (DE), Auston English (DE), Chris Gocong (LB), Antwuan Reed (DB, R), Eddie Williams (FB): Gocong's injury will be the one that hurts the Browns the most. The rest are bit players who might have been lucky to make the roster. Benard and English were contributors last season, while Acho was a fifth-round draft choice out of Texas.

There's your Browns 2012 Opening Day roster. Hopefully, they can exceed expectations, because nobody has any positive expecations for these guys at all.

Joe Cleveland will predict 6-10, provided Richardson returns to health and Weeden develops quickly. Both are naturally gifted athletes for their respective positions and the team will go as far as they can take them.

***

Remember back in May, when Indians fans were fiercly debating about how "real" they were? Remember when Cleveland fans were chastised by guys like Chris Perez and some members of the media for not attending games when the team was in first place? Boy, how all of that seems like a distant memory.

Here's a what if ... What if championship trophies were awarded for being in first place on June 1? The Indians would be 2-for-2, and we'd be holding parade's down Euclid Ave.

Unfortunately, championships are awarded in October, and for the fifth-straight October and the 10th time in the 13 years Larry Dolan has owned the Indians, Cleveland will be on the outside looking in.

In fact, while once upon a time this team was in contention for the Central Division title, they now seem to be making a bee-line for 100 losses in a season and for fifth-place in the Central. Not many teams can go from first-to-worst in ONE SEASON! The Indians may do just that.

Head's will have to roll if this happens. Larry and Paul Dolan can do their "nothing to see here" routines until they are blue in the face. However, if they ever want to turn a profit in this town again, they'll have to do something.

Mark Shapiro (who is being called "Red Perm" by fans on message boards) made three terrible trades during his last two years as GM before being promoted to Team President. CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez were dealt and the Indians only have one viable major leaguer (Michael Brantley), one decent starting pitcher (Justin Masterson) and a bunch of journeymen reserves to show for them. Not good. During his presidency, the team has continued to struggle at the gate and in the PR department and continue to bungle baseball decisions.

Chris Antonetti, Shapiro's hand-picked GM, will be defined by the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. Jimenez has not been the Cy Young-calibur ace Antonetti believe he would be when he dealt the Indians' top-two pitching prospects for him. Sure, both Drew Pomeranz and Alex White have struggled in Colorado, but when you trade two guys with high ceilings (at the time), you need to get a bonafide star in return. He did not. Also hurting him was the decision to re-sign Grady Sizemore for $5 million, picking up Fausto Carmona's contract option, only to find out he was Roberto Hernandez and three years older and didn't have him for most of the regular season due to government issues, the decision to not pony up to sign Josh Willingham or Carlos Beltran and instead settle for Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon, and on and on and on.

Manny Acta appears to be dealt a terrible hand. However, no manager can survive two epic collapses in back-to-back years like the Indians have done under Acta's stewardship. It is likely not his fault. However, his lack of fire in the dugout shows a disturbing sign of complacency. Also, he was not a proven winner in Washington, who have turned things around after jettisoning him out of town three years ago.

For the Indians to truly move on, they need to do more than simply fire Acta and hire the immensely popular Sandy Alomar Jr. to be the team's manager. The Dolans need to sack up and realize that Shapiro's act has run its course and Antonetti has been a failure as the GM.

The Dolans need to clean house if they really want to show this fan base that they really want to win. If they don't, the fans will continue to believe they only adhere to the bottom line and will stay away in droves the next few seasons.

It will stay that way until they wise up and sell this team. But, because there doesn't appear to be a buyer emerging overnight (unlike what happened with the Cavs and Browns), the next best thing will be to send Shapiro, Antonetti and Acta packing and start from scratch.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

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!

Time is now for Tribe

With Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians were on the verge of swept at home for a four-game weekend series and also fell below .500 for the first time since April.

The "Friends of the Feather" were trying to drum up interest in attending the ballpark and give the lowest-average attendance in Major League Baseball a boost this weekend with tons of giveaways, including discounts on parking and deals with Cleveland's RTA system to transport fans to and from the ballpark. It worked, with an average of 30,000 fans for the three weekend games.

However, most of those fans may not come back after seeing the Indians struggle offensively against the Orioles and watch former Indians legend Jim Thome torment the team with his best games since Baltimore acquired him a few weeks ago from the Phillies.

With July 31 looming, the Indians' brass have to make a tough decision -- do they become buyers to salvage their dwindling playoff chances, or do they look at Detroit surging and the White Sox holding steady and decide to become sellers?

Larry Dolan, Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti have to know that, if they become sellers after promising the fans that they would "go for it" in 2012, the attendance for the remaining two months will become almost microscopic and general fan interest would disappear. However, with several contracts coming up (with little chance of re-signing those players) and with several holes needing to be filled -- and a minor-league system that is depleted once again -- the best business decision might be to start shopping those players for some young prospects.

However, Indians fans are tired of hearing about "good business decisions" and "bottom lines" and "market sizes." They are tired of seeing a team put together with shoestrings and bandages on the cheap with the hope that they can take some teams by surprise and slide into contention.

Last season, a skeptical fan base was won over by a 30-15 start that seemed to come out of nowhere. Those Indians quickly proved that the hot-start was a fluke, as they were lapped by Detroit for the Central Division crown and wound up finishing two games under-.500.

Last year, Antonetti decided to become a buyer (reversing a common trend by Shapiro of being sellers at the deadline) and gave up their two most recent first-round draft choices (Drew Pomeranz and Alex White), along with two other good prospects, for pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez was signed through 2012, and Antonetti tried to sell the fan base on the deal by saying that not only put them contention in 2011, but also in 2012.

Jimenez struggled upon joining the Indians last year, and has been Jeckyl and Hyde this season -- looking like Cy Young one game and like Micheal Young the next. He has been one of the reasons why the Indians' starting pitching has been mediocre at best.

The Tribe also did very little in the offseason to show the fans they were serious about contending in 2012. Supposedly, they pursued Carlos Beltran, Josh Willingham and Carlos Pena, but were either outbid or outspent for all three. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades, and Tribe fans don't want to hear about how "close" the front office came to spending their cash.

They thought they freed up $9 million when they declined Grady Sizemore's club option. However, they spent that money back on Sizemore ($5 million guaranteed) and on 39-year-old starting pitcher Derek Lowe (even though the Braves picked up $10 million of the $15 million he was owed). Sizemore hasn't played a single inning this season and may not play at all. Lowe got off to a terrific start in 2012, but has since crashed back down to earth over the past two months.

Besides those "riveting" moves, the Indians settled for Casey Kotchman to fill the first base hole and waited until after spring training to sign the aging Johnny Damon to fill the left field hole. Both have been disappointments.

Neither have added any butts to the seats.

If the Indians truly want to be contenders and not pretenders, they need to find a legitimate right-handed bat to play either left field, third base or first base (or two) and they need to find another starting pitcher, because the current crop -- Lowe, Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and the AAA-duo of Jeanmar Gomez and Zach McAllister -- have been disappointing and inconsistant.

With the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona being granted a work visa by the U.S. government and having to serve a three-weeks suspension by MLB for falseifying his identity, that does give the Indians a live arm for the stretch run. However, Carmona is the same guy that lost 15 games last season and, in reality, only had one good season -- 19 wins in 2007 -- during his major league career. How much help is this guy, at three years older than he was listed and under a different name, going to really be?

The additional wild-card team in each league has put a record-number of teams in contention for the postseason as July comes to a close. That includes the under-.500 Indians, who have the benefit of playing in the weakest division in the American League.

Shapiro foreshadowed a potentially quiet offseason when he Tweeted about how all the teams in contention limits the amount of players that could be available and limits the amount of "sellers" there will be. He quickly downplayed it, but it sent a loud signal that the Indians may not do much.

Players such as San Diego's Carlos Quentin and Chase Headley, Minnesota's Willingham (who the Indians refused to give an additional year to during the offseason) and the Cubs' Bryan LaHair and Alfonso Soriano are the big names that could be available. Either one would be a welcome addition to a lineup that has struggled and does not have an identity.

Pitching-wise, Chicago also takes the stage with Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza available. Philadelphia is also supposedly dangling Cole Hamels. Any of those three would immediatley vault to the top of the Tribe's pitching rotation.

Offense wins in the regular season, but it's pitching that wins in the postseason. Fans of the 1995 Indians know that all too well. This starting rotation will not win many postseason games the way it's currently constructed, especially since they've now lost more games than they've won in the regular season.

The back-end of the bullpen has been light's out. Even with Chris Perez's "foot-in-mouth disease," he's only blown two saves all season (both, however, were three-run saves; one was on Opening Day and the other was the final game of the first half). Set-up man Vinnie Pestano has inherited 11 runners this season, and none have scored. Pestano and Perez have formed about as lockdown of a back-end of the bullpen as you can imagine, and it's a big reason why the Indians have won as many games as they've had.

However, they may have part with one of those players (Perez being the front-runner) in order to make the rest of the team better, either for the short-term of the long-term. A closer like Perez becomes a luxury on a team that's no longer in contention. A team that's willing to deal a top hitter may want Perez to help their bullpen. Fortunately, Pestano seems to have the makeup and moxie (without the mouth and the gestures of Perez) to become a top-of-the-line closer.

Shin-Soo Choo's contract is up after this season, and there is very little chance he re-signs with the Indians. His agent Scott Boras is ruthless and can drive up a player's value by simple negotation tactics. The Indians will not afford him. Despite him being the best outfielder currently on the team, Choo could be dealt.

Another player that has value is Asdrubal Cabrera. The two-time All-Star shortstop has made some dazzling plays in the field that remind Tribe fans of Omar Vizquel (however, he lacks Omar's charm and affability). The Indians have a shortstop of the future in Francisco Lindor, who has opened a lot of eyes in the low minor leagues. Lindor is still a few years away from conrtributing, and Cabrera is under contract for a few more seasons after signing an extension. But, he could command an bounty.

However, if the team becomes buyers, Lindor is one name that other GMs will ask about. By far, he's the best prospect in the Indians' minor leagues, and he is still playing in Class A.

The Indians can hope that Matt LaPorta and Russ Canzler will command interest, but you can hope in one hand and crap in the other and see which one fills up first. The Indians' refusal to bring up LaPorta and Canzler, despite their offensive struggles, sends a loud signal to the other teams that they have given up on them. They would be considred nothing but "throw-ins" in any trade and not as the main bargaining chips.

If the Indians want to keep up fan interest, they may have to become buyers. They need to show the skeptical and angry fan base that they really do want to win. Sadly, most fans (including Joe Cleveland) believe the opposite.

Joe Cleveland does not envy the Dolans, Shapiro and Antonetti right now. They are, essentially, in a no-win situation.

Become buyers, and you risk giving up some future prospects for a short-term fix that may not be enough (as we saw last season). However, it shows you are proactive to the fans and gives your team a legitimate chance of making the playoffs and having a winning record.

Become sellers, then you risk turning off your fan base even more than it already is. However, you see that this season will be one in the red anyway and see a division race that is starting to spiral away, and you try to replenish the shelves that have been bare thanks to numerous squandered first-round draft choices and the recent Jimenez trade for another chance to make a run in a few seasons.

Or, you simply stand pat and don't do anything. You watch this team continue to spiral downward, while winning a few games here and there, but then watch in the offseason as Choo, Sizemore, Hafner and many others walk away with nothing to show for them.

Best of luck, Indians. You are caught between a rock and a hard place, and you only have yourselves to blame for putting yourselves in this position.

***

Speaking of trades, the Cavaliers are rumored to be in the mix during the on-going Dwight Howard saga.

Howard, who may have become the NBA's newest heel, replacing LeBron James, for the way he's dragged the Orlando Magic organization through the mud over the last two seasons, wants out. However, he claims he only wants to sign with the Brooklyn Nets (why, I have no freaking idea).

The Los Angeles Lakers, who recently added point guard Steve Nash to their already potent lineup, want Howard to give them a lineup that Miami can only dream about, even with the discounted signings of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. But, they do have, arguably, the second-best center in the NBA in Andrew Bynum.

Bynum, however, has worn out his welcome in L.A. with his frequent injuries and his constant butting heads with the coaching staff. He used and abused Mike Brown, the former Cavs coach who cow-towed to LeBron's every need and whim while he was here, last season with the Lakers, and Brown is fed up.

Orlando also has several big contracts that they have to unload to make things work. So, they need to find a team with a lot of cap room. That team is the Cavs.

Bynum, who supposedly expressed an interest in signing with the Cavs as a free agent in 2013 in order to play with up-and-coming point guard Kyrie Irving, is on the Cavs' radar. Anderson Varejao, one of the last remaining links to the LeBron Era and is a fan favorite based on his style of play, would be dealt to Orlando for a three-way swap of centers.

However, the agents for both Bynum and Howard are saying that they won't sign contract extensions for either of their new teams and want to test the free agent market after the 2013 season. The Cavs and Lakers, respectively, would be able to sign both players to more money and more years than other teams. However, we've seen in the past that that guarantee doesn't mean squat.

A lot of media members are advocating against acquiring Bynum. They think he's a cancer and injury-prone. They wonder if he would re-sign with the Cavs or if he would be the latest to make a decision to go elsewhere. They wonder how he would jive with a young lineup of Irving, Tristan Thompson and new draft picks Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller.

They wonder how he would react to playing for a strict taskmaster like Byron Scott, a coach who isn't afraid to challenge his players.

Joe Cleveland says, if you can make this deal, even without the guarantee of a new contract, you do it.

Bynum instantly makes the Cavs a playoff team and puts them in the top four in the Eastern Conference. He would easily be the best Cavs center since Brad Daughterty played (yep, that includes Zydrunas Ilgauskas). With  an emerging point guard in Irving to serve as a facilitator, Bynum could have one of the best seasons of his pro career.

Perhaps a strict coach like Scott, who Bynum supposedly respects, is what he needs to be reigned in. Some players will challenge coaches to see how long of a leash they will be given. Phil Jackson was not a disciplinarian, but he had the rings to command respect (it didn't stop Bynum, but Jackson believed in treating the players like "men"). Mike Brown came to the Lakers with the reputation of being LeBron's enabler, and he did little to change that perception.

And, to be honest, if Bynum decides to test the market, can you imagine what the Cavs could land in a "sign-and-trade" deal? OK, so they didn't get much in the sign-and-trade for LeBron James. However, the Cavs had their hands tied at that point. LeBron was going to sign with the Heat. If they wanted something, ANYTHING, to show for him, they had to give him that extra year Miami couldn't give him and make the deal.

Bynum won't be going on ESPN with any "Decisions" any time soon. The Cavs would have more freedom to pursue the best deal, whether it's re-signing him to keep him or re-signing him to acquire more assets.

I don't think Chris Grant has the cojones to make this kind of deal, especially after they balked at the earler three-team deal with the Nets that could have brought Kris Humphries to Cleveland. However, if they are serious about speeding up Irving's learning curve and putting the Cavs back in the playoff picture sooner, Dan Gilbert and Grant need to sign off on this deal and make it so.

***

With Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III signed and sealed, it's only a matter of time before Trent Richardson signs with the Browns, along with their other first-round choice, Brandon Weeden.

I expect Richardson to sign by Tuesday at the latest, and Weeden to follow shortly after. I would not be surprised to see the Browns announce the signing of both players on the same day.

Just in time for training camp to begin.

While the Browns didn't do much in free agency, they used the draft to do an overhaul of the offense that is more drastic than we've seen in quite some time.

The Browns could be starting rookie draft choices at QB (Weeden), RB (Richardson), WR (Josh Gordon), RT (Mitchell Schwartz) and FB (Brad Smelley). Rookies like Travis Benjamin and Josh Cooper could easily make the team and be immediate contributors at receiver, while guard Ryan Miller could be a regular contributor as he competes with incumbant starters Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lavaeo.

It is somewhat surprising that two respected football outlets aren't giving the Browns more due. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports predicts the Browns will go 1-15, while ProFootballTalk.com ranked the Browns 32nd out of 32 teams in the preseason.

We can take solace in the fact that most of the same media outlets were saying the same things about the Cincinnati Bengals at this point of the offseason, and the Bengals wound up finishing 9-7 and made the playoffs.

Joe Cleveland's ready for some Browns football!

Until next time, remember that Cleveland rocks!

Open mouth, insert foot

So, Indians closer Chris Perez was one of two Wahoos to be named to the American League All-Star Team, along with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Something tells me that Mr. Perez will be one of a tiny few on the AL roster who get booed by the crowd at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. In fact, he'll probably be the recipient of the loudest boos of the night for any player on any team.

I wonder how Perez will take it, considering how sensitive he is to being booed by a home crowd.

This is what happens when you run your mouth for no apparent reason, other than to rile yourself up. You suffer the consequences.

I wonder if Kansas City fans will do the "You can't see me gesture" to him if he enters the game and starts giving up hits. I wonder if someone will hold up a sign that says, "You drill us, we drill you!"

It appears the guy who calls himself "Pure Rage" isn't completely over the mentality of Cleveland fans and their long memories when it comes to his performances and the performances of his Indians' teams. His little popoff to the New York Times confirms it.

Perez seems like another Braylon Edwards. Edwards mostly dressed down Cleveland, the Browns organization and his teammates while he was here, and then lit into all of them the moment he was sent packing to New York to play for the Jets.

Browns fans booed Braylon, and booed him hard. And, they will continue to boo him ... that is, if he ever finds another NFL job.

The moment Perez leaves the Indians -- and it could happen sooner rather than later -- he will pull a Braylon and really let Cleveland know how he feels. He may stress that he doesn't want to go anywhere, but I believe that he's praying that the Indians fall out of contention so they will dangle him to the highest bidder.

Last week, while the Indians were in New York to play (and subsequently get swept by) the Yankees, Perez expounded on his earlier feelings about the fans.

He said fans seemed to care more about rooting against LeBron James and the Miami Heat than they do about rooting for the Indians.

“I don’t get the psyche,” said Perez, who grew up in Florida. “Why cheer against a guy that’s not even in your city anymore? Just to see him fail? Does that make you feel good? I could see if the Cavs were in the championship, but that’s their mentality.

“They’ve had a lot of years of misery. They say, ‘You just don’t understand because you don’t live here.’ O.K., maybe I don’t. But that doesn’t mean it has to keep going.”

The Indians drew more than 3 million fans for six seasons in a row starting in 1996, the year the NFL Browns moved to Baltimore. The new version of the Browns has not won a playoff game in its 13 seasons.

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Perez said. “Their whole thing is, ‘We want a winner.’ Well, why do you support the Browns? They don’t win. They’ve never won. They left. You guys blindly support them. I don’t understand it. It’s a double standard, and I don’t know why.

It's head-scratching. It's just -- they don't come out. But around the city, there's great support. They watch it in the bars. They watch it at home. They just don't come."

A few Cleveland fans claimed that Perez was "speaking the truth." About what, Joe Cleveland wonders?

So, Perez -- a University of Miami graduate -- thinks that the people who support his team in the city he plays should "get over" LeBron James. Apparently, it's OK for Perez to keep an entire city, region, fanbase and franchise in limbo for three years while he drops cryptic hints, gives up on that franchise during his final playoff series, not return any phone calls from the media (or his franchise) after the season, even after that franchise dumped the coach and GM to placate him, and then go on national TV and say you're taking your so-called "talents" somewhere else.

Sure, it's OK for that guy to make disparaging comments about Cleveland after he leaves and throw your teammates under the bus ... then again, this is exactly what Perez has been doing all along.

All of his comments and off-color on-field demeanor simply riles up his opponents. Meanwhile, he sits in the sanctity of the bullpen for 8 innings and only pitches if his team has a lead and only pitches one inning when he does. His teammates, which aren't that good to begin with, find out that other teams are bringing their best and not holding back anything because they've gotten the proper motivation to do so.

Perez likes to talk trash abour the Browns and Browns fans. OK, Chris, let me throw some cold, hard facts your way.

The Cleveland Browns have 8 championshps, while the Cleveland Indians have 2 (and the Cleveland Indians have been around almost 50 years longer than the Browns have).

The Cleveland Browns have won a championship more recently than the Cleveland Indians have -- 1964 (Browns) to 1948 (Indians). Even though the Indians have been in the World Series two more times than the Browns have been in the Super Bowl since 1964.

Going back 10 years -- to 2002 -- the Cleveland Browns have had the exact same amount of playoff berths (one) and winning seasons (two) than the Cleveland Indians have.

So, Chris Perez, why, exactly, is your franchise better than the Browns? Do your history homework, son!

There really isn't a scientific reason as to why Cleveland is more of a football town than a baseball town. You factor in 8 homes games for the Browns to 81 for the Indians, and you can see why people go more ape-shit for the football home games. Plus, it's actually cheaper to go to a season's worth of Browns games than a season's worth of Indians games, when you factor in parking, concessions, travel, etc.

Perhaps the move (and the way the fans responded and the end result) only added to the Browns fervor. The fans showed what loyalty can accomplish when they got the NFL to make a ruling they've never done and gotten concessions (the guarantee of a franchise within a certain time frame, the complete history of the franchise retained, the NFL to kick in on a new stadium) the NFL has never allowed. Yes, the team has been mediocre (by and large) since they've returned. But, quite honestly, haven't all the Cleveland franchises been pretty mediocre during that span?

The Cavs had five straight playoff berths from 2005-2010 with LeBron James in town, even reaching the NBA Finals once. If any franchise wants to call "scoreboard" to the town, the Cavs deserve it, even with LeBron tucking tail and going ring hunting in Florida.

The Indians haven't had a winning season since 2007 (which, coincidentally, was the Browns' last winning season). That year, they had a 3-1 lead in the ALCS over the Boston Red Sox, with Game 5 being played at Jacobs Field with Cy Young winner CC Sabathia on the hill. Somehow, the Tribe blew it.

Perez wants to crow about how his team is "winning," but pennants aren't awarded because you had a great April and May. The Indians had a phenomenal April and May last season, only to finish two games under .500 and double-digit games behind Detroit for the AL Central crown. This season, they had a good April and May, but have struggled ever since Perez went nuclear on his own fanbase.

Yes, the team's offense and the inconsistant starting pitching and some of Manny Acta's moves are all to blame, and Perez still hasn't blown a save since Opening Day. But it seems AWFUL coincidental that the team's overall struggles occurred when Perez popped off the media about a so-called "lack of support" from his fan base.

Perez doesn't seem to get it. Unfortunately, his comments have made him somewhat of a cult hero to a sect of the fan base. But, Joe Cleveland sees a fan base that has struggled to back the Indians because of their apparent lack of supporting a winning product, from ownership on down, and realizes that the Indians blew a lead last year that very few franchises blow and wound up with nothing, and knows that a guy popping off about THEM being the problem and not his manager, his general manager, his president and his owners being the problem (which they are), and most of THEM will sit on their money and not feel as motivated to make the trek to Carnegie and Ontario on a summer night.

The Indians were 12-15 in June. They were 23-17 when Perez first popped off, and 40-39 now, which is 17-22 since May 19. They are barely over .500 and first place in the Central (which is what they were on May 19) seems like a distant memory.

I want the Indians to succeed. However, Chris Perez, if you struggle, Joe Cleveland will not be shy about letting you have it or letting you hear about it.

You drill us, we'll drill you!

Hope you're somewhere else after July 31, Chrissy. Vinnie Pestano should get three measly outs in the ninth inning just as well at a fraction of the salary, without being a lightning rod for controversy.

***

After LeBron led the Heat to the NBA title a few weeks ago, someone argued that LeBron's last Cavs team, the 2010 team, was just as good, if not better, than his current Heat team.

Of course, the main arguement for the pro-LeBron, pro-Decision people is that Cleveland never gave him the proper supporting cast, yadda-yadda-yadda.

Joe Cleveland did some research, and you might be surprised just how evenly these two teams match up.

If you're a stats guy, look it up. If you're a basketball guy, consider this:

STARTERS:
PG -- Mo Williams vs. Mario Chalmers (advantage Cavs)
SG -- Anthony Parker vs. Dwayne Wade (advantage Heat)
SF -- LeBron James vs. LeBron James (I'll give the slight edge to the Heat James because he wasn't afraid to play in the post, unlike his time with the Cavs)
PF -- Antawn Jamison vs. Chris Bosh (even)
C -- Shaquille O'Neal vs. Joel Anthony (advantage Cavs, even with Shaq on the downside, he would eat Anthony for lunch)

Cavs Bench -- J.J. Hickson, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson
Heat Bench -- Shane Battier, Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Ronny Turiaf

Cavs get a major advantage here, even taking into account Miller's 3-point surge in Game 6. As Gibson showed in 2007, everyone catches lightning in a bottle sometime.

For you stat guys:

2012 Miami Big 3 (points-rebounds-assists)
Lebron James 27-8-6
Dwayne Wade 22-5-5
Chris Bosh 18-6-2

2010 Cleveland Big 3
Lebron James 29-7-9
Antawn Jamison 19-8-1
Mo Williams 15-3-5

Miami has a plus-4 advantage in points, but just a plus-1 advantage in rebounds, while the Cavs had a plus-2 advantage in assists.

To me, what this shows is that, if LeBron had shown half the gumption and heart he showed this year that he didn't show in 2010, the Cavs would have won a championship that season.

The key was LeBron himself. This year, he carried his team to a title. In 2007, he carried the Cavs to the finals. In 2009 and 2010 (and 2011 with Miami), he disappeared when it mattered, except for one fantastic buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron had the pieces around him here in Cleveland, regardless of what ESPN wants to revise in their own history books or what Cleveland-haters want to believe. It was LeBron who failed Cleveland, not the other way around.

I think that's what angers Cleveland fans more than anything. They know, deep down, that Miami's title should be theirs.

***

When the Cavs drafted Dion Waiters with the No. 4 pick last Thursday, Joe Cleveland's not going to lie -- I was pretty angry.

When the Cavs gave up their remaining three draft picks to acquire center Tyler Zeller, Joe Cleveland's mood didn't get any better.

How could the Cavs screw up this draft, I wondered? Why would they take a collegiate non-starter that they never worked out with their first pick, and then give up everything else for a white "stiff" center?

Well, I let it marinate for 24 hours, did some research, listened as the national pundits didn't lambaste the Cavs over an open spicket like I thought they would, listened as Byron Scott and Chris Grant beamed and boasted about the picks, and realized, well, I might have rushed to judgement.

Two of the Cavs' most glaring needs was an athletic 2-guard to team up with Kyrie Irving in the backcourt and an athletic, long center to clog up the middle. They may have filled those two needs with Waiters and Zeller.

Zeller is not a center like Shaq or Dwight Howard or Roy Hibbert. Zeller is along the lines of another guy named 'Z' that played with the Cavs for a long time, a finesse big man who has range. Unlike Ilgauskas, Zeller is more athletic and can get up and down the floor quickly while also disrupting things on the defensive end.

Waiters may be the most athletic player in this draft, in terms of skill set and intangibles. Waiters is confident in his own abilities. You need that to succeed in today's NBA. He can create his own shot while also meshing well with who he called "his brother," Irving.

All the Cavs were raving about the picks when they happened. The national media have given them high grades. Byron Scott can't want to get this young team out on the court for the 2012-13 season.

They are going to run, run, and run some more.

I'm still not 100 percent, but now I'm more anxious to see these kids in action than I was before.

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!