OBR News-o-rama

Posted: 28 Jan 2008 09:36 AM CST

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)

Browns News-o-Rama: 1/27

Posted: 27 Jan 2008 06:59 PM CST

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.