BROWNS INJURY REPORT
As I relayed to the folks in the Watercooler earlier today, the Browns have listed NT Ethan Kelley and CB Eric Wright as "out" for the upcoming game against the Cardinals. Braylon Edwards is listed as "questionable", but the expectation is that he will play against the Cards.
Also listed as questionable are LB Antwan Peek and DE Orpheus Roye. Probable are Steve Heiden, Kevin Shaffer, and Robaire Smith. Wright, Edwards, Peek, Roye and Heiden had limited participation in today's practice. Shaffer and Robaire Smith participated in the full practice.
The Cardinals injury report is unchanged from previous days. Aaron Francisco and Jerheme Urban (listed as doubtful) did not participate in practice, Larry Fitzgerald was limited, and Kurt Warner fully participated in practice.
You can download the press release from the Muni Lot.
FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss)
Other than the limited injury news, there wasn't much coming out of camp today, although the tireless JT has linked about 20 stories this afternoon and evening on the wire. There are a number of game previews and the usual analysis-type-stories linked. Of note is an article a Detroit pseudo-blog saying that the Lions should chase after Derek Anderson. Also interesting is Pro Football Weekly's attempt to seriously analyze the prattlings of weekend NFL studio show analysts, which is sort of like looking for social commentary in Barney the Dinosaur's Extra-Huggy Holiday.
COOLNESS ON THE HELMET
I remember shortly after Marion Motley died back in 1999, this web site put together a petition asking the team to honor Motley with an on-field ceremony.
It was an amazing opportunity. It was back when Ku Klux Klan protesters were making in a stink in Cleveland around CBS that Sunday, for reasons I don't remember, and the Browns could have shoved that right back in their faces by honoring one of the men who broke the color barrier in professional football.
As was typical of the Policy years, the organization didn't want to have anything to do with a ceremony for Motley, and turned up their nose at the suggestion and names we sent in, refusing to even respond.
Well, times have changed. We got a press release from the team last night which said the following:
"The Browns will honor Hall of Fame defensive end Bill Willis by wearing a sticker on the back, lower left of the helmet next to the NFL Shield for the remainder of the season. The sticker will be black and have BW in white lettering."
Kudos for that. I wish you guys were around back in 1999.
BROWNS BACKERS DAY AT THE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
Got this earlier today from the team. I've put this on the OBR Web Calendar:
Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 15th as the Browns Backers Worldwide and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton (OH) have once again teamed up to offer you "Browns Backers Day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame"!
From 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Browns Backers will receive FREE admission to the Hall of Fame with their official Browns Backers Worldwide membership card.
From 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., you can meet former Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano!
Also in the world of Browns Backers, the Westerville Browns Backers are looking to help out "Westerville Caring and Sharing" during their get-together this Sunday. Also, the Middle Tennessee Browns Backers, have added pics from the Texans game to their photo album.
FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE
Aloha? « Cleveland Sports Authority - Cleveland Sports Authority
NFL Network Has Its Dates A Little Mixed Up - Awful Announcing
November 30, 2007 Show - Moohead Radio
OBR News-o-Rama: 11/30 AM - Slab Beefnoggin
What Will the Tribe Do in Nashville? - Cleveland Sports Perspective
11/29 Podcast: Dedicated to a Rabid Jerry Jones - OBR Radio Program
DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER, PART 39
I probably write about the decrepit state of sports journalism far beyond the interest of anyone reading this blog on a regular basis. I guess the reason for this is, as an outsider suddenly living in the industry, I find it fascinating, in of a bad way.
Sports journalism is a business, particularly at the local level, is an old-boy network taken to the extreme. It's full of incestuous relationships where individuals take money from teams and leagues one minute, and pretend to be objective commentators, or "just fans", the next.
If fans really knew what went on, I don't think they would ever take seriously what they hear on TV or read on their web browsers ever again. If they do now. The industry doesn't get a lot of respect, and there are good reasons why.
It's a different niche, but we saw again today what happens when journalism isn't separated from the business interests of the subjects of coverage. CNet, which operates the video game review site "Gamespot", today fired an editor who recently gave a negative review of a heavily advertised product. In this instance, if the firing was actually due to the review, it would basically destroy whatever credibility the site ever had.
There is a furor about it all over video game forums on the web. It's a big deal, at least in that particular niche.
Yet, in the world of sports journalism, we happily accept teams and leagues reporting on themselves and, in fact, slowly tilting the playing field to force people to their in-house offerings. We accept team and league-owned networks, and bloggers or fansites accepting cash from the teams they cover.
It's just amazing, but largely unquestioned. Except here. Ad nauseum.
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB
Stuff that might be associated with football. Or might not be.
Here are Eight Kick-Ass Movies You Didn't Know Were Based on Books. The subject is pretty standard fare, but the article is written in such an entertaining way that I found myself chuckling at a number of points. Whoever wrote that is a Grand Snarkmaster... Here's a nifty article trying to answer the question of why, if life is indeed common in the universe, we aren't finding radio signals from extraterrestrials despite searching for decades. Today's word is "attenuation". Or "snarkmaster". Your call.