Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Art modell, in or out of the hall of fame.

     When I first started this blog I told myself I would post once a week, well that has not worked out so well.  It was not a new Years resolution that I broke, no that was getting in better shape again, and so far so good on that.  This was just something I decided to start to do because I finally joined social media last year with twitter and sometimes 140 characters are not enough to share my thoughts.  I do not have nor expect a large following but I love the direct interaction that I can have with those that I follow.  So here are my two longer thoughts and some shorter ones on what has happened since my last post.

     Art Modell, in or out.  Well I 've lived in Northeast Ohio my entire life and have always rooted for the home team, so it's painfully obvious that ripping this franchise from our hearts is a crime that can never be pardoned with his accomplishments in Canton.  Why does he deserve to be in the hall, because he was a major proponent of pairing the NFL and television?  Something tells me that marriage was going to happen soon with or without Art.  The fact that he made Ozzie Newsome the first African-American General manager in the NFL?  While I will admit I was surprised that it was 2002 when the first African-American became a G.M. we're still not talking about a Jacky Robinson barrier breaking here.  Mr. Newsome earned that job by being a successful executive for eleven years and being the most qualified candidate for the opening, his track record since being the G.M. reiterates that point.  One Superbowl victory, if that is why he shoud be in, he should be inducted with Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson.

     I know, those of you who support him getting in want a reason other then "the move."  Before I get there though, I want to be clear that I have no ill will towards the people of Baltimore.  I don't snicker at people from Baltimore like I do for those from Pittsburgh or Michigan.  Baltimore deserved a franchise after the way yours was ripped from you, and its not your fault that a backstabbing owner is the one who brought it back to you.  Had the NFL and the city of Cleveland not struck a deal to get us an expansion franchise we would have been ecstatic to get a franchise like you did, but I would not be endorsing the owner for the HOF.  Now to get back on track, why keep Art out other then the move, simple.  Only two names merit serious conversation as the greatest coach of all time, Vince Lombardi and Paul Brown.  Only one worked for and was fired by Art.  Now lets examine who we would consider the greatest coach of this era, yes one name will always rise to the top, Bill Belichick, for those of you who don't remember Art fired him too.  Even if you are of the opinion that his good outweighs his bad I doubt the case can be made it is by a wide enough margin to be honored in the Hall of Fame.

     I can go on about Art more but I will try to summarize some thoughts on things I have not posted since early January.  Did the hiring of Chip Kelly really give the Browns a black eye,  IMO no.  Sure Chip was on my wish list (although not on top) on 12/31 and now that all the positions are filled it turns out he was the only one on my list that is coaching an NFL team.  After his song and dance he did with all the teams only to end up staying and then end up going to Philly I say good riddance.  I do not want such an indecisive individual leading this franchise, I would choose Chud over Chip ten times out of ten.  Indians spring training is fast approaching and while this off season does not feel like it did when we signed Murry and Martinez, this is the closest it has felt to that since.  I just hope Francona wraps up his book tour soon.  Congrats to Kyrie Irving, you deserve that starting spot on the All-Star team, thanks for giving us Cavs fans a reason to be hopeful again.

     One last thing I want to write about is about Chris Fedor being fired from KNR.  I figure most people reading this are the same people who listen to sports radio whenever they have a radio turned on, and I am shocked by some of the venomous tweets I've read.  KNR has the right to employ who they want to, period, and for whatever reason they made the decision to part ways with Chris.  The joy that some of you are taking in his livelihood being taken away is dumbfounding.  I worked with Chris outside of the  radio business over 5 years ago.  The date is fresh because he and I left that company on the same day, me to take a similar position at a different company, him being promoted at KNR.  I always enjoyed "talking"sports with him back then, it usually revolved who was better, Kobe or Lebron, I don't think we ever agreed.  The Chris I talked to back then was the same one I listened to on the radio these past years, and when I disagreed, I would send a tweet or even stop listening, just like some days when I turn off the RBS.  Radio personalites get paid to create conversation and for those who keep tweeting that his firing is proof that "your take" was right and his was wrong just keeps reiterating that he did his job well.

     I think what cracks me up the most is that most of "those" people think they should be hosting a radio show.  Well go and do it then.  There is no law stating minimum requirements to be on the radio.  Some might get in through connections, some by being former athletes, and some by investing their college education in broadcasting.  So if your not in the first two groups, invest four years of college, work for free interning to get in the industry and good luck, if you don't want to do that, then shut up and quit saying someone deserved losing their job because your opinions were different.  I'm not choosing sides here, I will still listen to the RBS most days and Ken Carmen most nights but I now am having trouble deciding which side of the dial to flip to in between.   As for Chris Fedor, I wish you the best of luck and hope that you stay local, and if you do, yes I will turn the dial when you start talking about your man crush on Chip Kelly.

    

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Now what for our Brown's coach

Wow what a fickle town we live in.  Pure joy and elation Friday has turned into venom and anger by the end of the weekend.  Fans seemed to pick out their spots on Ontario already for the Super Bowl victory parade.  CALM DOWN!  I understand if you are disappointed because you thought he was the best guy, you weren't alone, but a hire this weekend only guaranteed that we hired the flashiest candidate so far, nothing else.

Chip Kelly has won conference championships, not national titles.  He has zero experience in the NFL, zero.  This is not to say he can't be successful in the NFL but why so many fans assume that him in an orange visor guaranteed an end to this city's title drought is perplexing.  He's had a small sampling to prove himself, but in that window he has not claimed the ultimate prize he could have.  Not that should be the end all, Tressel has a longer, proven track record with national titles but there is no way I want him roaming the sidelines in an orange sweatervest.  Some are great at the college level and that's where they should stay.  Chip was intriguing but I am fine with us not being the team to roll the dice to find out.

  This was not a slam dunk decision, many franchise and life altering decisions are not that clear cut.  If after the wining and dining Chip thought he is best served by staying in Oregon, then good for him.  If Jimmy Haslam truly thought that Chip wasn't "all in" and walked away then I am more convinced then ever that we will raise that trophy with him as the owner.  If that's just a pr spin and we struck out with Chip then at least we did it swinging instead of leaving the bat on our shoulder. 

    I still say talk to Nick Saban once he secures his third title with Bama.  For the pundits who say no because the coach needs to be here for a decade and Saban won't stay that long I say who cares.  I would rather have a Nick Saban who knows he has half that time to secure the ultimate prize that has escaped his grasp so far.  I want to see that team of orange helmets jumping for joy after they win the last game of the season as much as anyone else and think that Saban at the helm gives us a great chance to see that and to see it soon.

    If we miss out on any of the high profile guys does not mean we are doomed.  My dream scenario is still Jon Gruden, the levels he took two teams with solid but not elite Quarterbacks is impressive.  Maybe the best candidate is hired already, I never heard of Marrone until a week ago but maybe he does for Buffalo what Levy failed to do for four straight years.  If he does I guarantee no Bill's fan is upset that they did not hire the "it" coach this off season.  Maybe the coach who is hired this year that turns out to be the most successful still hasn't even hit our radar screens yet, only time will tell.  I will not judge Jimmy's hire by how much buzz he creates right now, I am going to judge him by how many titles he brings to this town.