OBR News-o-rama

January 2008 - Posts

• Slandering Shaker Heights

  Which of these story leads is most accurate? A.) "The streets are empty. Trash rustles down the road past rusted barbecues, abandoned furniture, sagging homes and gardens turned to weed. This is Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland and a town ravaged by the subprime mortgage crisis roiling the United States." B.) "The streets are empty. Trash rustles down the road past rusted barbecues, abandoned furniture, sagging homes and gardens turned to weed. The fecal stench of fresh dragon droppings permeates the crisp winter air, as does the deathly rot of unicorn carcasses -- their magical horns poached by the few surviving humans, who will use them in self-defense against the roving packs of radioactive werewolves. This is Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland and a town ravaged by mystical monsters that have come to life in the apocalyptic nightmare roiling the United States." The correct answer, assuming that one's view of reality is suitably disconnected from Magic: The Gathering, is "Neither. They are equally inaccurate." But "Option A" is the Shaker Heights which exists in the deranged minds of worldwide news bureau Agence France-Presse. The French press agency recently did an article on the "ghost town" outside of Cleveland which had been created thanks to the collapse of sub-prime mortgages. The article was alarming enough to have gotten the attention of Matt Drudge, who cocked his porkpie hat, put down the Twinkie, and slapped a link to the story on his heavily-trafficked DrudgeReport.com web site (see image). Drudge claims to get over 20 million visits per day to his website, which consists mostly of links to key news items all over the web. The article was displayed on the website for several days. A casual estimate would put the number of page views while the article was displayed at 50 million (give or take a small European nation or two). How many clicked through to the alarming story about Shaker Heights? It's hard to say. The headline was attention-grabbing enough to divert even our politically somnambulant attention (at least briefly) from the pursuit of Browns news and free beer to ponder what the hell had happened to Shaker Heights. It was a fascinating tale. A glorious ride of financial folly, where easily obtained sub-prime mortgages had combined with foolishly extravagant consumers to crush a vibrant, well-to-do town into dust, seemingly overnight. One weird thing, though. It was completely wrong. Apparently the French news agency was later made aware of its mistakes: Here is the article as it appeared to people who linked through from the Drudge Report. And here is the same article as it appeared later on Yahoo. Here are some of the differences between the article which appeared originally, and was linked by Drudge, and the more accurate one which appeared later, as well as some general information regarding the inaccuracies. These were compiled by Sirk as he labored to keep his jaw from dropping: 1. The city in question turns out to be Mount Pleasant (in Cleveland), not Shaker Heights 2. "9422 Chagrin St." becomes "9422 Union Ave." 3. A search of public records reveals that the so-called "Sarah Evans" is likely another woman whose name we won't mention here, who lived the location for 32 years and recently had a foreclosure case withdrawn by order of the court. 4. "Eagle Fresh" does not exist in Shaker. A comment on first article notes that Little Eagle Food Market exists at E. 93rd, near Kinsman. The updated article now lists "Eagle Kinsman Fresh Market". (Close enough, oui?) The actual Little Eagle Food Market is at 3111 E. 93rd, north of Kinsman, and maybe a mile or so north of Union. 5. The real "Chagrin St.", Chagrin Blvd., doesn't even begin until Union and Kinsman merge at E. 140th....a full 46 blocks east of where "Sarah Evans" supposedly lives in "Shaker Heights." 6. In terms of Chagrin Blvd, Shaker Heights begins at the E. 156 block of Chagrin Blvd, a full SIXTY-TWO blocks from where "Sarah Evans" supposedly lives in "Shaker Heights." SIXTY-TWO BLOCKS!  7. According to the Plain Dealer, Cuyahoga County Treasurer James Rokakis, who was quoted as saying "Shaker Heights was the perfect storm", now says he didn't even mention Shaker Heights. The "perfect storm", apparently, was a once-in-a-lifetime (if you smoke heavily) combination of bad journalism, sensationalist websites, and French people who don't understand our 'Merakun accents round here. Y'all. Rokakis compared the article to that of a sensational murder article that "gets everything right except the name of the victim." (And the name of the witness. And the name of the supermarket where the murder took place.) The PD calls the article a "French reporter's faux pas". Some faux pas. The AFP, through Drudge, just called Shaker Heights a "ghost town" in front of tens of millions of people. Good luck with the property values, folks. Hope you planned on spending a few million to counteract that little chunk of bad publicity. The only way it could have gotten worse would be if the President talked about it during his State of the Union address while Lindsay Lohan sent out a press release saying she was moving there. Then again, more people visit Drudge than listened to the State of the Union. And Lindsay would be good for the local bar economy. This has to be more than a little thing to the folks in Shaker Heights. More than a faux pas, surely. I remember a huge fuss made a couple of decades ago when Shaker Heights put up traffic barricades between themselves and the City of Cleveland. The New York Times covered it then, dropping the term "racism" into the article at a number of junctures. I wonder if the Times will cover how Shaker was wrongfully blasted? Will we see a retraction featured on Drudge? Don't hold your breath, folks. Traffic barricades may keep cars from flowing from one place into another. Fences may be built to protect the huge homes in Shaker. But, in the digital age, there's no wall high enough to keep bad journalism and sensationalist headlines from ravaging your town.   (This one was slapped together by Sirk and Barry) Posted Jan 30 2008, 09:12 AM by barrymcbride with 7 comment(s)

• Browns News-o-Rama: 1/29

  One of the little challenges of doing the Daily Newswire is weeding out all the repetitive stories once the AP gets ahold of something. It's one of the reasons that automated tickers that you see on fan sites don't work all that well - they either report only stories from a single source, or they report everything, which means a lot of duplicates. We used to run something called The.Raw.Feed, which was sort of an RSS feed for all the stories we could find. It put together all the RSS feeds we had back then, plus a bunch of our own feed scrapers. The biggest problem with it was when the AP reported something - all of a sudden there would be a spasm of forty identical stories from papers running the AP wire. So, when we do the Daily Newswire (which is mostly John Taylor's work these days), we tend to only link AP stories once, from whatever the first source is that we find that hands the story, so we don't waste your time and ours. That's a factor, because the AP has reports on the two major Browns stories from yesterday: Romeo Crennel's two-year contract extension and Ryan Pontbriand being named to the Pro Bowl. Props to Scout's Adam Caplan for actually getting the Crennel story first, and still getting details you can't find anywhere else. BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss) Browns, Crennel Agree to Extension The OBR  Associated Press  News-Herald  Plain Dealer  Pontbriand Makes the Pro Bowl John Taylor  Associated Press  DDN  ABJ  Official Site  Other Stuff ABJ: Jamal Lewis wants to stay ESPN: To understand Belichick, look what he did with Browns ROCHESTER BROWNS BACKERS BANQUET This looks like a good one if you're in the Rochester, NY area. Here's the press release: BROWNSFEST '08 will be held on Saturday evening, April 19, 2008 at The Diplomat Banquet Center, 1956 Lyell Avenue,  Rochester, New York. Headlining this year's event:  Felix Wright and Shaun Smith Felix Wright ably manned the safety spot for the Browns from 1985 to 1990, which means he was there, in person,  for The Drive and The Fumble.  He should have some memorable stories to share!  He also had some famous dealings with David Modell, and he's promised to tell us "the REAL story behind the story" of his years with Art and David. If you read any of the season review stories by the beat writers, you noted that they recognized Shaun Smith as the Browns most versatile lineman this season, as he was moved back and forth from end to nose tackle throughout the year to help fill the void caused by injuries to Roye, Washington and Kelley. Shaun started 8 games at end and 3 at nose tackle, making 63 tackles with 2 sacks, 4 pressures, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. Tony Grossi wrote:  "Shaun had a breakout season ... should be moved to nose tackle ... could develop into a star." Festivities begin at 6 pm with a social hour and autograph session. A buffet dinner begins at 7, with the question-and-answer session beginning at 8 pm. "Advance Sale" Tickets are $45 for adults until March 1st, $50 thereafter, and  $25 for L'il Pups under 16.  At the door, tickets (if available) will be $60. Tickets can be reserved by calling 585-482-3641 (Howard) or by e-mail at BROWNSFEST@GMAIL.COM. Posted Jan 29 2008, 10:27 AM by barrymcbride with no comments Filed under: Browns, JamalLewis, RomeoCrennel, RyanPontbriand

• RAC Gets the Money

  It's been in the works for weeks, but it's finally done now (although not signed yet). Romeo Crennel has been given a two-year contract extension through the 2011 season. Adam Caplan of Scout.com broke the details of the contact. Click here for more via the OBR. Posted Jan 28 2008, 11:20 PM by barrymcbride with no comments Filed under: RomeoCrennel

• Earthwind Moreland: EMPLOYED! (Kinda)

  The new All-American Football League had its inaugural draft last Saturday. I didn't track it closely because, frankly, if there's not an Ohio team involved, it's a pointless league. It's as useless as International Lacrosse, or the American Curling Society. If it's not Ohio, it's crap. Especially if there's something involved called "Team Michigan". Blech. Still, I figured that there would be an opportunity here to watch the continuing antics of some of the many players who rampaged through Cleveland during the Browns' expansion years. Of course, there's no Ben Gay sighting because the league demands that all players have their four-year degrees. That's going to limit the talent pool right there. Maurice Clarett is, likewise, unobtainable. Scanning the complete list of AAFL draft choices reveals a handful of ex-Browns scattered amongst their number, with a huge focus on the many defensive backs who had called the Berea locker room home at some point in previous years. The AAFL is clearly looking to latch onto some of that Mel Tucker magic. Pete Hunter was the first ex-Brown taken, as he was picked in the fourth round. Since there are only six teams in the league, that made him the 21st draft pick. That's Brady Quinn territory there. Rarefied AAFL air. Jeremy Lesueur, another ex-Brown defensive back, was picked in the 18th by Team Michigan. A round later, one-time fourth-round draft pick and injured reserve phenom Antonio Perkins was snatched up by Team Arkansas. WR Kendrick Mosley was drafted in the 24th by Team (spit) Michigan, who also snagged S Ron Israel in the 32nd round.  Earthland Moreland, and ex-Brown and ex-Gladiator, shows up in the 36th round, picked up Team Arkansas. I think most of us could see that coming, Arkansas with their offense which uses the "forward pass" and all. I know I could. Peter Warrick, an almost-Las Vegas Cleveland Bulldog Gladiator, was picked in the seventh round by Florida. Frankly, I thought that he was signed by Florida last week. I remember writing about it... how could he be drafted if he were already signed? Weird. Something about this "draft" smells funny. Either that, or the dog's been eating garbage again. Another guy who some Browns fans wanted the team to look at in years past, Tennessee QB Tee Martin, was drafted in the 16th round. By "Team Tennessee", naturally. They're just sluts for ticket sales down there in Al Gore country. There was yet more weirdness scattered around, as Eric Crouch (QB, Nebraska) was picked as the third player in the first round, one-time Texas Tech wunderkind Kliff Kingsbury was drafted in the 20s and Rod "He Hate Me" Smart showed up in Round 36. Take that, XFL. They actually had 50 rounds (300 players) picked in this draft. Mel Kiper slept through the whole damn thing. Posted Jan 28 2008, 08:22 PM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Browns, Futility, TicketSluts, EarthwindMoreland

• OBR News-o-Rama: 1/28

  I'm not sure which is more grim: today's newswire or the depressing prospect that Meet the Spartans was tops at this weekend's box office. The former is a consequence of the calendar year. The latter I can't explain, except to say that either folks are either very bored or very easily amused. That thing looked awful. Anyhow, the combination of these two revolting developments has left me cranky and wishing I had stale Peeps whose heads I could bite off. But it's okay... (calming)... it's alright. Maybe making a bunch of tangential remarks while reviewing the wire will help. Here's what we could dig up for the OBR Newswire (rss): Scott Petrak's take on the best quarterbacks ever. Unlike most of the media, Scott remembers football was played before 1967 (Chronicle-Telegram) In yesterday's column, it was revealed that Tony Grossi gets HBO at his house. Somehow I didn't know this... maybe because he never asks me over to watch it. I don't get HBO, because it costs money. My kids call that "cheap", but they don't have those horrible childhood memories of Gerald Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" buttons (Plain Dealer) Can someone define for me what  "a source with knowledge of the situation" is? Maybe it's you. Did anyone ask you about Jamal Lewis' contract status recently? If so, maybe you're in the papers. Meanwhile, here's some speculation about Matt Forte. (DDN) Brady Quinn will soon read "Chica Chica Boom Boom". Will there be enough room? Film at 11. (Official Site) More observations on Super Bowl hoopla. I was snooping around the NFL Media site earlier today, where they were pimping the "NFL Network's Nine-Day Super Bowl Pregame Show". Apparently, the regular Super Bowl pre-game show just feels like nine days.  (Charlotte Observer) Hey Tony, can we chop these answers to emails up into more little mini-articles so we have to click through another six pages of ads? (Plain Dealer) OUT OF THE BLOGSPHERE "Rich, Talented, and Vulnerable": Expounding on the PD's Expose (Sirk - FREAKING HILARIOUS, read it) The 'fix' is in (Doc Gonzo) Browns News-o-Rama: 1/27 (Webdork) Signs that we are descending into the offseason (Dwayne Rudd's Helmet) No Hurry; Browns Not in a Rush to Extend Crennel’s Deal (Browns Gab) Posted Jan 28 2008, 10:36 AM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• Browns News-o-Rama: 1/27

  BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss) Jason Kline again gets a "We're Gonna Kick You Out of the Mainstream Media If You Keep It Up" Award for giving the OBR credit for scoops (News-Journal) Eric Wright, as it turns out, seems to have been a darn fine draft pick (Las Vegas Review-Journal) The Browns played a weak schedule last year. Now with new statistical terminology! (ABJ) Sixty years ago, Cleveland was called "City of Champions". Now we're the "City of Essentially Competitive Teams" (Chronicle-Telegram) THE WONDERMENT OF WRITERS Like all Browns fans, I hope to see my team in the Super Bowl, and soon. Like all Browns fans, I dread the mind-crushing over-coverage of the event and team should that happen. If there are 2,032 stories on Tom Brady's choice footwear, what's going to happen when they get a load of some of the guys on our team? If anything good has come out of six thousand sportswriters trying to chase two stories, it's that the Patriots unbeaten season has encouraged a couple to revisit the fact that the Cleveland Browns win undefeated in 1948. Oddly enough, they did play football before the final game of the season went all Nietzsche and slapped a Super in the title. A couple of fairly decent writers figure this out of late: Long-Forgotten Perfection by the Lake (New York Times) Among NFL's greatest teams, who is actually the greatest? (Dallas Morning-News) TRACKING OLD FRIENDS Terry Robiskie got caught up in the offensive coaching staff bloodletting in Cleveland last year, and the complete collapse of the Dolphins this year. He's got another chance to bounce back, however, as he's latched on with the Atlanta Falcons. I can't make a joke about this, because Robiskie seems universally liked. Hope that this stop works out well for him. FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DAVID KIRCUS OBR News-o-Rama readers will remember that the Browns tried out Kircus a while back, checking to see if they should take a chance on him should his off-field issues evaporate. He's still doing a tour of the NFL, and visited this week with the needy Miami Dolphins. SCARIEST HEADLINE OF THE DAY: ARM EDITION As someone with an adjustable rate mortgage (don't ask), scheduled for review next year, I couldn't find a news article more frightening today than this one. It talks about how Shaker Heights has turned into a ghost town. I'm not from Shaker Heights, but if you are, I'd be interested in your thoughts about how accurate the story is... are things really that bad? MORE COACHING CARNAGE From the home office in Novelty, Ohio, here are the coaching changes in the NFL from 1/21 - 1/26. It is a non-trivial list. ATLANTA - Jan. 23: Named: Mike Smith (Jaguars '07), head coach. Jan. 24: Named: Emmitt Thomas (Falcons '07), assistant head coach; Bill Musgrave (Falcons '07), QB coach; Brian Van Gorder (Falcons '07), defensive coordinator. Jan. 25: Named: Mike Mularkey (Dolphins '07), offensive coordinator. Jan. 26: Named: Terry Robiskie (Dolphins '07), WR coach. BALTIMORE - Jan. 23: Named: Cam Cameron (Dolphins '07), offensive coordinator. BUFFALO - Jan. 22:  Named: Ray Brown (Lions player '05), assistant OL coach. CINCINNATI - Jan. 23: Named: Jeff FitzGerald (Ravens '07), LB coach. DALLAS - Jan. 23: Resigned: LB coach Paul Pasqualoni (Dolphins); DB coach Todd Bowles (Dolphins); DL Kacy Rodgers (Dolphins). Jan. 25: Named: Todd Grantham (Browns '07), DL coach. GREEN BAY - Jan. 23: Resigned: Defensive quality control coach Eric Lewis (Louisville). JACKSONVILLE - Jan. 23: Resigned: Defensive coordinator Mike Smith (Falcons). Jan. 24: Named: Donnie Henderson (Lions '06), defensive assistant. KANSAS CITY - Jan. 22: Named: Eric Price (Texas-El Paso '07), WR coach. Jan. 23: Named: Joe D'Alessandris (Georgia Tech '07), assistant OL coach. MIAMI - Jan. 23: Named: Paul Pasqualoni (Cowboys '07), defensive coordinator; Todd Bowles (Cowboys '07), assistant head coach/DB coach; Kacy Rodgers (Cowboys '07), DL coach; David Corrao (Ole Miss '07), defensive quality control coach); James Saxon (Chiefs '07), RB coach; Evan Marcus (Falcons '07), strength and conditioning coach. Jan. 24: Named: Jim Reid (VMI '07), LB coach; Karl Dorrell (UCLA '07), WR coach. NEW ORLEANS - Jan. 23: Named: Ed Orgeron (Ole Miss '07), DL coach. SAN DIEGO - Jan. 22: Fired: WR coach James Lofton; RB coach Matt Simon. Jan. 23: Named: Charlie Joiner (Chiefs '07), WR coach. Jan. 24: Named: Ollie Wilson (Falcons '07), RB coach. SAN FRANCISCO - Jan. 21: Named: Mark Uyeyama (Utah State '07), assistant strength and conditioning coach. SEATTLE - Jan. 22: Named: Assistant OL coach Keith Gilbertson, WR coach. Fired: OL coach Bill Laveroni. Jan. 25: Named: Mike Solari (Chiefs '07), OL coach. TAMPA BAY - Jan. 25: Named: George Yarno (Washington State '07), assistant OL coach. WASHINGTON - Jan. 22: Named: Vice president, football operations Vinny Cerrato, executive vice president, football operations. Posted Jan 27 2008, 07:59 PM by barrymcbride with 6 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• OBR News-o-Rama: 1/26

  Not a lot of new information on the newswire today, as the local media isn't making a big fuss out of the Browns price increase, some mainstream folks note that the Browns have sent some offers to Anderson and Lewis, and Scout.com's team continues to go absolutely nuts at the Senior Bowl. BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss) Romeo had a great year, but Chud is waiting in the wings (FOX Sports/Jay Glazer) Browns put offers out for Anderson, Lewis (News-Herald) No, seriously, the offers are out there (Plain Dealer) Really. We're not kidding about this. Offers. Made. (ABJ) More bucks for Browns. Sux for you. l33t j0uRnA1i$ts g3t n 4 fr33, LOLZROFLMAO!!!1* (DDN) Two coolness points to Jim Ingraham for referring to Bill Belichick v1.0 as a "doofus-savant" (News-Herald) TRACKING OLD FRIENDS Linebacker Clifton Smith, ex of the Browns allocation in NFL Europe and practice squad, has signed a contract with Arena Football team the Philadelphia Soul. We hear that Peter Warrick is available as well. SCOUT.COM'S REPORTERS CONTINUE TO BE COMPLETELY MENTAL These folks have been working overtime to provide Scout with the most complete Senior Bowl coverage on the planet. I can't even make a joke here. Ed Thompson, Adam Caplan, Chris Steuber and Tom Marino rock. Saturday, January 25, 2007 UA Senior Bowl Q&A: WR Eddie Royal - Ed Thompson Under Armour Senior Bowl Preview - Chris Steuber Scouting the Senior Bowl Offensive Talent - Tom Marino Friday, January 25, 2007 Under Armour Senior Bowl Q&A: RB Matt Forte - Ed Thompson Trent Dilfer Evaluates the Senior Bowl QBs - Ed Thompson Scouting the Senior Bowl Quarterbacks - Adam Caplan Look Who's Talking: Friday Afternoon Update - Ed Thompson/Chris Steuber Standing Out From the Crowd - Adam Caplan Steuber's 2008 NFL Mock Draft: Round Two - Chris Steuber Under Armour Senior Bowl Q&A: TE Martin Rucker - - Ed Thompson Barton's Making Friends -- and a Change - Ed Thompson   OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE Here's the latest on Cleveland sports out of the already-massive-but-growing blogosphere. Some good stuff today. In Which I Introduce The Cleveland Browns To Two ESPN Sportscasters - Deadspin (great post) Media Smart, That They Is - John Taylor (Cavs/Tribe) Yippy? The weekend - J-Beanie (Cavs, etc) The Phoenix Suns Are Geniuses and I Hate Them For It - Sirk (Cavs) Gallery: Cavs Lose Close One - Cavswire (Cavs) Cleveland Sports Myths - Cleveland Sports Perspective Plain Dealer Condensed: Jan 26 - Dooshbag Dawg Low-Balling Derek Anderson Sessions Have Commenced - First and 10 Inches Are the Browns Gaining the Upper Hand on Anderson? - Browns gab LeBron's New Shoe: The Darth Vader Of Sneakers? - Blogcritics (Cavs)   * Writer of this blog has four season tix which he already can't afford. Me = stupid. Posted Jan 26 2008, 10:56 AM by barrymcbride with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• Press Release on Ticket Price Increases

  Here is the Browns press release on ticket price increases, for fans who enjoy reading about inflation in official language: CLEVELAND BROWNS ANNOUNCE TICKET PRICING FOR 2008 SEASON The Cleveland Browns today announced ticket prices for the 2008 season.  Twenty percent of the ticketed areas in Cleveland Browns Stadium will see no changes from the 2007 pricing structure, including the "Family Zone", a family-friendly, alcohol free section created prior to the 2007 season. Sections reserved for single game ticket sales (sections 524-526 & 541) will also see no increase. The seating areas that will have a pricing change will see increases from $5-$10 per ticket. This is only the second time the team has changed ticket pricing during the last five years. The club last changed its pricing prior to the 2005 season. The Browns will continue to have the lowest average ticket price in the AFC North Division and are expected to remain within the bottom five among all NFL teams. The Browns were 30th in the NFL in average ticket price in 2007. "We feel that this new pricing structure is fair and will allow the team to stay competitive with our division rivals and with the rest of the NFL," said Browns Sr. Vice President of Business Operations, Michael J. Keenan. The Browns are coming off their most successful home season ever, recording a 7-1 home record that included seven straight wins. The 2008 season at Cleveland Browns Stadium promises to be a memorable one, as the club hosts division rivals Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Baltimore, as well as the Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. Posted Jan 25 2008, 03:12 PM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• Browns News-o-Rama: 1/25

  BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss) There was enough happening yesterday to create an interesting morning newswire, as Todd Grantham moved on, the Browns did their part to help the cause of inflation, and Browns representatives wandered around Mobile, Alabama, saying nothing. Here's the latest: Browns win, crank up ticket prices. Because the economy's so darn good and we can all afford it. (Plain Dealer) Grantham. Hired. Not by Browns. (Associated Press) Grantham gets a gig (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Doesn't "The Underminer" sound like some sort of WWE wrestler? Just asking. (Dallas Morning News) A "source" says Browns and DA negotiating, LOL (Columbus Dispatch) Lerner says positive things about Crennel (Canton Repository) Cleveland Sports Awards addresses problem of lack of recognition for successful professional athletes (Associated Press) Crennel is down in Mobile, scouting players (Dayton Daily News) A scout talks about what he looks for in Mobile (Official Site)   CONGRATS TO BUTCH AND CARMEN! Butch Davis was named as one of the all-time worst head coaching hires by Jay Glazer earlier this month, which we missed for some reason. Policy and Davis left Cleveland with millions in their pockets to stomp grapes and recruit Tarheels, respectively. TRACKING OLD FRIENDS WR Maurice Mann, who tried and failed to latch onto a roster spot with the Browns, has been signed to a reserve/future contract by the Redskins. Another receiver who couldn't displace Tim Carter tries elsewhere.   OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE Grantham Hired; Wade Phillips in Peril - Munilot Online NFL Crime-o-Base - Cow Patties: The Blog (Must-Read) Cleveland Remains Warrick-Free - Munilot OBR News-o-Rama: 1/24 - Munilot It's time to stick a fork in Peter Warrick's career - Kid Cleveland Goodbye, Peter. We Hardly Got To Know You... - Cleveland Sports Animal Grab Bag Day - J-Beanie SCOUT.COM's INSANE SENIOR BOWL COVERAGE Our team in Mobile has been going absolutely bonkers covering the Senior Bowl like no one else. Here's what they've cranked out so far. Friday, January 25, 2007 Barton's Making Friends -- and a Change - Ed Thompson Thursday, January 24, 2007 Connor Makes His Presence Known in Mobile - Ed Thompson Senior Bowl Running Back Rankings - Chris Steuber Thursday's Senior Bowl Practice Notes - - Ed Thompson Steuber's 2008 NFL Mock Draft - Chris Steuber Player Interviews Continue - Adam Caplan Senior Bowl Q&A: DeMario Pressley - Ed Thompson Wednesday, January 23, 2007 Wednesday's Senior Bowl Notes: South Team - Chris Steuber Wednesday Night's Senior Bowl Blog - Ed Thompson Wednesday's Senior Bowl Notes: North Team - Chris Steuber Redskins Interview Five Prospects - Chris Steuber Player Interest Continues to Rise - Adam Caplan Trojans' Day to Shine - Tom Marino Tuesday Night's Draft Prospect Interviews - Ed Thompson/Chris Steuber Senior Bowl: QB Rankings - Chris Steuber Tuesday, January 22, 2007 Look Who's Talking: South Squad Players - Ed Thompson Tuesday Senior Bowl Notes: South Report - Chris Steuber North Scouting Report: Monday's Session - Tom Marino Tuesday Senior Bowl Notes: North Team - Chris Steuber Look Who's Talking: North Squad Players - Ed Thompson Team Player Interest Heating Up - Adam Caplan Tuesday Morning Senior Bowl Buzz - Adam Caplan Monday, January 21, 2007 Monday Morning Senior Bowl Buzz - Adam Caplan Brohm Pulls Out of the Senior Bowl - Adam Caplan Posted Jan 25 2008, 07:58 AM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• Grantham Hired; Wade Phillips in Peril

  Bill Parcells complex act of revenge on his successor Wade Phillips appears to be kicking into high gear. After having raided the Cowboys coaching staff by hiring defensive coordinator Tony Sparano and defensive line coach Kacy Rogers, the Dallas Cowboys turned today to ex-Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to backfill their coaching staff following Parcells' plunder. Prior to Cleveland, Grantham served as defensive line coach for the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. Grantham was highly regarded in Cleveland prior to this season, and received a two-year contract extension prior to the start of the 2007 campaign. Browns GM Phil Savage offered his opinion that Grantham would soon make a fine NFL head coach. Instead, Grantham would soon make a fine NFL unemployed coach. By the end of the season, the Browns defense ranked among the worst in the NFL, and reports of issues between Grantham and head coach Romeo Crennel were reported by the Orange and Brown Report. Grantham was fired less than 36 hours later. Several days after that, the Cleveland Plain Dealer echoed the OBR's reports. UPDATE: Reports of a "coup d'etat in progress" in the Cowboys training facility within hours of Grantham's arrival are unconfirmed as of this evening, although Jason Garrett's evil high-pitched laugh could be heard from at least a half-mile away. Sources: Associated Press DallasCowboys.com TheOBR.com Posted Jan 24 2008, 09:58 PM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• Cleveland Remains Warrick-Free

  If you run a Dillards in Cleveland, and were planning any 95% off bargain sales, you better re-think it. <cheap shot>You're down one customer. </cheap shot> A year after signing him alongside the customary media noise, the Las Vegas Cleveland Gladiators have dumped 30-year-old Peter Warrick from their roster. How Warrick showed up on the roster again is a bit of a head-scratcher, given that he signed a deal with the Gladiators back in January 2007, and then was dumped again six weeks later when he refused to report. It was hoped back in 2007 that Warrick would help reverse the Gladiators fortunes, but the WR opted instead to head to Atlanta to attempt to latch on with the Falcons.That didn't work out so well, apparently. Browns fans undoubtedly remember Warrick most fondly from when he competed with fellow NFL failures Courtney Brown and Lavar Arrington for the right to fail as the Browns top draft pick in 2000. Arrington had the most successful career of the three, none of whom made a significant mark on the league. Warrick's last NFL experience came in 2005 with the Seattle Seahawks, where he caught eleven passes for 180 yards. He tried out with the Giants in 2006 and tried to make the Falcons in 2007. Now it looks like Warrick is going to play for Team Florida in the new All-American Football League. Warrick is listed as a member of that team, along with some well-known names like Chris Leak, Fred Weary, and Elton Patterson. And, of course, he owns an Applebees. That's a good thing. Posted Jan 24 2008, 04:07 PM by barrymcbride with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Gladiators

• OBR News-o-Rama: 1/24

  Even with the Senior Bowl practices in full swing, things seem a bit slow around the NFL. Not even endless discussions about Tom Brady's foot can fill the hours. Perhaps it's because the Browns don't have a first-round pick, but things seem muted. Here's the latest, including a ton of blogs and reports from the Senior Bowl practices... BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss) Willie McGinest likes Romeo. Browns fans seem to as well, now that the team had a good season (Canton Repository) Bill Belichick was limited in Cleveland because he worked for a moron (Dayton Daily News) Definition of slow news day: Writing about a band named after a player (Youngstown Vindicator) Definition, Part 2: Writing about a story another writer wrote (Official Site) TRACKING OLD FRIENDS TE Keith Heinrich looks like he's going to go after a shot with the Tampa Bay Bucs, and OT Pete McMahon has signed a reserve/future deal with the Jaguars.   A BROWNS BLOGGER IN MOBILE Mark Leonard, an old friend of the OBR, is down in Mobile checking things out for Browns fans and updating his blog with what he sees. Here are two recent entries: If Browns were drafting strictly from Mobile... - Mark Leonard Making/losing money in Mobile - Mark Leonard SENIOR BOWL NEWS Scout's team at the Senior Bowl has been going nutzoid tossing out everything they hear and see from Mobile. There might be some other sites doing that sort of stuff, but I can't find 'em. Here are some articles about the Senior Bowl we've stumbled across, and after that's listed all of Scout's stuff from the last couple of days. If you're an OBR subscriber you can get into all the Scout articles. Plus, you're just way cool and all the chicks dig you. Or hot guys, depending on gender. Or both, depending on orientation. I'd better stop now. Gilberry driven to keep succeeding (Official Site) Stock on the rise (Mobile Press-Register) Quite the tandem: Cal duo has displayed offensive skills Crash course for Senior Bowlers reality (Mobile Press-Register) Player Interviews Continue Senior Bowl Q&A: DeMario Pressley Wednesday's Senior Bowl Notes: South Team Wednesday Night's Senior Bowl Blog Wednesday's Senior Bowl Notes: North Team Redskins Interview Five Prospects Player Interest Continues to Rise Trojans' Day to Shine Tuesday Night's Draft Prospect Interviews Senior Bowl: QB Rankings   OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE The more Belichick “changes”, the more he stays the same - Kid Cleveland Quinn is #1 (Not that there's....) - Dooshdawg Brian Tarcy Knows, Sees All - Webdork Missing Michael Reghi - Cow Patties: The Blog Browns News-o-Rama: 1/23 - Webdork Give me a Break - J-Beanie Sports         Posted Jan 24 2008, 11:25 AM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s)

• Brian Tarcy Knows, Sees All

  It started as a harmless, goofy prediction column comprehensible only by the same people who endlessly watch the Fish Slapping Dance (like me). What it's turning into is something that's a little bit scary. Not being eaten by giant monster whale-crab lice scary, but kinda scary. Like being talked into watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks" scary. Check this out: “I sense the unthinkable – a huge Brett Favre error at the end of the game. Eli’s coming… to the Super Bowl. Look for Peyton Manning commercials at halftime. Giants 24, Packers 21” That, um, came right after Tarcy correctly called all four divisional games, including the "shocking" Chargers win over Colts and the totally brain-inverting "shock" of the Cowboys losing to the Jints. Ignore Tarcy at your peril. Click here to get his off-week predictions. My guess is that a game won't be played Sunday. Meanwhile, enjoy the Fish Slapping Dance. Posted Jan 23 2008, 04:06 PM by barrymcbride with 2 comment(s)

• Browns News-o-Rama: 1/23

  The season is over, except for the obsessive coverage of the Super Bowl, which is already inundating us with pictures of Tom Brady's foot. The million yammering voices which were Browns experts a month ago have been silenced for a bit, and we can quietly focus on scouting college players and some other things of note. Here's what's going on as of today. BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss) Crennel Contract Talks Continue - The OBR Senior Bowl Through Orange and Brown Glasses - The OBR Crennel's agent, Savage talking - Plain Dealer That's it as far as Browns-specific stories are concerned.   WELCOME BACK, STEVERINO WR Steve Sanders has returned to the fold. After not signing a reserve/future contract after the season in order to look at his options, the Bowling Green receiver has re-signed with the Browns. Sanders spent all of 2007 just south of the Tim Carter line, unable to break into the Browns 53-man roster. 2008 is likely his last chance to break through as an NFL player.   SENIOR BOWL COVERAGE FROM SCOUT.COM AND THE OBR Here are the stories as of 7AM on Wednesday morning: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Tuesday Night's Draft Prospect Interviews - Ed Thompson/Chris Steuber Senior Bowl: QB Rankings - Chris Steuber Tuesday, January 24, 2007 Look Who's Talking: South Squad Players - Ed Thompson Tuesday Senior Bowl Notes: South Report - Chris Steuber North Scouting Report: Monday's Session - Tom Marino Tuesday Senior Bowl Notes: North Team - Chris Steuber Look Who's Talking: North Squad Players - Ed Thompson Team Player Interest Heating Up - Adam Caplan Tuesday Morning Senior Bowl Buzz - Adam Caplan Monday, January 23, 2007 Monday Morning Senior Bowl Buzz - Adam Caplan Brohm Pulls Out of the Senior Bowl - Adam Caplan   OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE Greetings from Mobile - Mark Leonard OBR News-o-Rama: 1/22 - Webdork Plain Dealer Condensed: Jan 23 - Doosh Give it to me Chris Berman.... - Cleveland Sports Torture Browns owner Lerner is a hit in England - MVN Worst time of the year in sports - Red Right 88 Posted Jan 23 2008, 08:20 AM by barrymcbride with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Browns

• Munilot.com: Sign Up Today!

  The Muni Lot is a completely separate website from the OBR, although it has a lot of the same people behind it. We post our podcasts there, and it features daily blogs from Browns and other Cleveland sports fans. Since it's a completely different site, folks who want to participate need to set up a new account there. Fortunately, it's a painless process - these simple steps will show you how. Once you've registered, you can customize your avatars for the Munilot's blog comments, receive emails when certain blogs update, and get more features which are on the way. It's painless, it's free, and you won't get spammed - the Munilot is entirely under the control of the folks behind the OBR and we won't spam you. Here's how you register: 1. Surf to the Munilot.com and click the "Sign Up" link at the top of the page.   2. Fill in this short registration form and Click Join Now   3. You're done. Have a beer. That should be it. For some old timers, though, you may get a scary-looking message in red. This means that you might have set up an account in the past, or one was automatically set up for you a couple years ago when we started messing with this place.   IF YOU GET THE SCARY RED MESSAGE     The first thing to do is click the "Log In" link and try your username and password that you use for Fox. Try an old one, since the account was probably set up long ago. If you can't guess your password that you used to have, try this: That will send your password to the email address registered on the Munilot way back when. If that doesn't work, then email me at barry @ theobr.com. Since I have lots of powers on the Munilot, I can reset your password in a flash and get you going. The Muni Lot is really something we're doing to "get back to our roots" as a bunch of snarky guys who just love talking sports. The OBR has really matured, and that's great, and we love doing it. We also love just doing this stuff for fun, and hope you encourage us by signing up and participating! Look forward to seeing you there! - Barry Posted Jan 22 2008, 03:43 PM by barrymcbride with no comments Filed under: Technocrap, Munilot