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.

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

The world you once knew is gone.

We woke up today to a world gone indisputably insane, where our notions of right, wrong, fact and fiction have been turned upside-down. It is up to each of us to determine how to protect ourselves and our families in this new and completely-bonkers world.

You may ask yourself how one can survive in a world where our immutable physical laws no longer apply, and I honestly can't tell you. Fiction is now truth. Truth is now fiction.

I have to assume that fire no longer burns and that gravity is likely to be switched off any minute.

You see, when I woke up today, I noticed that a number of mainstream media types now apparently take Pro Football Talk seriously. They report on their stories with a straight face, as if PFT posts were something other than the deranged fever dreams of some guy in West Virginia.

You may remember Pro Football Talk from earlier this year, when they and Tony Rizzo insisted that Kellen Winslow would not play at all in 2007. Or, you may remember them from 2005, when they spent a year telling us that Randy Lerner was ready to sell the Browns. Or when they told us of fractures and problems with Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel's relationship. Or when they said Terry Bradshaw died in a car crash. Or, perhaps, when they said Ebenezer Ekuban was damaged goods right before he played a nice long season for the Cleveland Browns.

Yep. Those guys.

Earlier in the week, we got to see WKNR's Tony Rizzo, who is sort of PFT's local outlet, tell visitors that Bill Parcells - who hadn't even started his job on the Dolphins - was all a-twitter over the prospect of landing Derek Anderson. Now, PFT itself is saying that Parcells is in love with Romeo Crennel and has him at the top of his head coaching candidate list.

Parcells is apparently so in love with RAC, in fact, that one might think that the very top selection in the 2008 draft may be the Browns for the taking.

If Parcells is seriously interested in this, Phil Savage should knock both Anderson and Crennel unconscious (try a a light blow to their heads or chloroform), stuff them in the trunk of his car, and dump them on Parcells doorstep in the next 24 hours.

Work out the details later. Just dump them on Parcells door, take the first draft pick, and get out of there before Tuna sobers up.

Then again, of course, there's always the possibility that this is as accurate as the K2 story (which the OBR took the lead in nuking). I don't think the Dolphins know what to order for food after their game with the Bengals on Sunday, much less that they're going to do in two months.

Honestly, I'm not sure where this stuff comes from. My guess is that it's speculation that somehow mutated into fact in the murky world of unnamed sources and unverified assertions. But I don't regard it as credible. Call me back when there's a byline on it like "Grossi", "Schudel", "Greetham", "Adkins", or "Taylor".

Frankly, I don't blame PFT or Rizzo for running this stuff. It undoubtedly helps ratings and generates a lot of page views on the ol' web site. And they'll never get called on it. 

MSM seeming to take PFT seriously (chuckle)
Plain Dealer  Morning Journal  Yahoo!  Canton Rep  Tribune-Chronicle

The Colts will play backups quite a bit. Deal.
News-Herald  ABJ

Will Brady Quinn play? Well, uh, maybe, or maybe not.
Plain Dealer  Dispatch  ABJ  Chronicle-Telegram  Tribune-Chronicle  DDN


FUN WITH THE NATIONAL MEDIA: It's always a fascinating exercise to see what guys sitting in Bristol, LA, or whatever think of the Cleveland Browns. Here's the latest keen insight:

Here's the first "Derek Anderson might be overrated" story to appear in the national media. Cool! They're only three months behind some of the fans in the Watercooler. (Fox Sports)

Greg Garber reaches the conclusion that Derek Anderson exceeded expectations this season. You just can't buy that type of analysis. Oh wait... yes, you can. My bad. (ESPN)

CBS Sports looks at all the offensive rookies this year, and concludes that Joe Thomas just doesn't rate. Browns fans look at CBS Sports and conclude... (CBS Sports)

ROSTER MOVES: As Fred Greetham reported yesterday, the Browns promoted Melila Purcell from the practice squad, snagged Bobby Hamilton to help give them more old guys on the defensive line, and filled the gap in the practice squad with an ex-Patriot named Zach West. They also signed third quarterback and pseudo-coach Ken Dorsey to a three-year contract extension.

Of course, you probably know all that by now, so I look at this as simply a way to tell you that we've updated the roster page, practice squad page, and depth chart. We've also uploaded the Media Notes for the Browns-Niners game if you're interested in those.

OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

This 'N That - John Taylor

So Who Should Be in the Next Hall of Fame Class?  - Kid Cleveland

December 26, 2007 Show - Moohead Radio (podcast)

8 Things that Won't Happen in 2008 - Webdork

Titans at Colts Preview - Mistake by the Lake

The Q&A About DA - First and 10 Inches

Jensen Lewis Loves 'A Christmas Story' Too - Cleveland Sports Authority (Indians)

Cavs Have to Do Something - Cleveland Sports Perspective (Cavs)

Overstepping their bounds. - Sports Media Watch (Greed-Off 2007)

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On another topic, it's five days before Christmas and you know what that means. If you're me, it means it's time to start shopping. Oh crap oh crap oh crap.

OBR RADIO: 7-9PM TONIGHT ON SPORTSTALKCLEVELAND.COM

Join Jeff Schudel, Fred Greetham and myself from 7-9PM tonight on SportsTalkCleveland.com for the OBR radio program. I'm a dork, but Fred and Jeff bring over 50 years of experience reporting on the Cleveland Browns to bear each Thursday night.

Tune in tonight, call us at 866.453.4782, email us, or join the gang in the OBR chat room.

If you're sick of the same-old same-old from the mainstream media, I think you'll find the OBR radio program the most independent and accessible Cleveland Browns radio or TV program around.

BROWNS NEWS FROM THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss)

Today is a nice day on the newswire, because most of the stories fall into two handy categories: players who got (or didn't get) Pro Bowl invites and the start of prep for Cincinnati. This makes perfect sense, of course, because Wednesday was the first day reporters could talk to players who didn't get a Pro Bowl invite, and because the team starts installing their game plan fo the Bengals the same day.

While most of the newswire busies itself with those two topics, there are always those fun outliers like Kellen Winslow saying uniform changes are on the way (don't panic) or some overdue love for Joe Thomas. The PD relays an update on LeCharles Bentley.

Pro Bowl Love and Snubs

Tribune-Chronicle  Chronicle-Telegram  Morning Journal

Return to Bungleland

Tribune-Chronicle  Chronicle-Telegram  DDN  Columbus Dispatch  Morning Journal PD  ABJ

OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

The best fan takes from the Muni Lot and elsewhere on the web...

Passing the bar - Ace Davis

The Berea Chronicles - John Taylor

OBR News-o-Rama: 12/19 - Biff Finkleman

December 19, 2007 Show - Moohead Radio (Podcast)

Let it Snow - tdc productions (Video)

New uniforms in 2008? - Robert's Rant

The Jamal Lewis Question - Cleveland Sports Authority

New York 108, Cleveland 90 - Random Thoughts (Cavs)

ESPN's Chris Mortensen Reports That ESPN's Chris Mortensen Is Just F--king Guessing - Kissy Suzy Kolber (Media)

Your NFL Announcing Schedule Week Sixteen - Awful Announcing (Media)

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB

I pretty much kvetched about everything I wanted to kvetch about last night. I'm done for now, other than to say that I hear that the Steelers are playing football tonight on a channel I don't get. Go Rams.

Alright, so it's an evening edition rather than a morning edition. Frankly, the News-o-Rama was scared to be next to a John Taylor post in the Muni Lot, so I had to wait for a tdc video to show up and build a buffer zone. Taylor's posts tend to throw elbows.

BROWNS NEWS VIA THE OBR NEWSWIRE (rss)

After drowning fans in words following the team's 8-0 victory over Buffalo, the newswire took a breather today, with only a couple dozen stories appearing on the Known Universe's only 24-hour Browns newswire.

The team practiced today, which means there was time with head coach Romeo Crennel as well as some time to talk to players in the locker room. Fred Greetham reported on the day's events earlier today, as did the team's Official Site. Here's some more of the good stuff to be found linked today:

Last recorded Browns Pro Bowler Jamir Miller quietly puts away the bottle of champagne, sniffs sadly to himself, and gets a sympathetic call from the 1972 Miami Dolphins. (News-Herald)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are beaten up and reeling. Rams = slumpbusters (Pitt Tribune-Review)

Just beat the Bengals and everything's cool. (ABJ)

This week's first "Bungle" reference. Steve Doerschuck, your Rantatorium invite in the mail (Canton Rep)

Are the Steelers coming apart? (Actual article title) (St Louis Post-Dispatch)

LATEST FROM THE OBR

Linemen Not Alternates to Browns - Fred Greetham

Browns 8, Bills 0: Joe's Game Review - Joe Brownlee

Scout.com NFL Power Rankings - Tom Marino

Browns-Bills: Report Card - Scout.com

Bogus Deal; Thomas Not Named Pro Bowl Starter - Lane Adkins

Best Available Free Agents: Defense - Adam Caplan

Cribbs, Edwards named to Pro Bowl - Site Staff

Passan: Sunday's Unsung Hero - Rich Passan

OUT OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

The blogosphere got a bit more intense yesterday as the OBR's John Taylor began ravishing the Muni Lot. Hide the women and children. Lots of great stuff out there on the Muni Lot and elsewhere today:

tdc video: Let it Snow - Nonee

This 'N That - 12/19/07 - John Taylor

Snub Alert! Where are the rest of the Browns? - Kid Cleveland

This 'N That - 12/18/07 - John Taylor

Cribbs, Edwards Hawaii-Bound; Winslow, Steinbach Bent Over - John Taylor

Pro Bowl results - Mark Leonard

OBR News-o-Rama: 12/18 - News-o-dork

Edwards and Cribbs: On to Hawaii - First and Ten Inches

Browns Playoff Odds Report: 93% - Disappointment Zone

Offended by silliness - Dwayne Rudd's Helmet

A Long Time Coming... - Bitterfans

Crock & Roll Hall of Fame - Don and Tony Show (Cleveland)

Cavs scramble for 2OT win - Halftime Adjustments (Cavs)

Michigan spreads it out - J-Beanie (NCAA)

ESPN Continues To Suck The Boston Teet - Cleveland Sports Animal (Media)

OTHER THINGS I FEEL LIKE KVETCHING ABOUT

TUNA MELT: Awwwww.... someone wants attention! Look, he's going to Atlanta. No, he's not! Now he's going to Miami!! Maybe. Just lookit his sad little eyes. That's so cute. As long as it's far away.

MUST BE RATINGS WEEK: The very narrow line between the attention-whoring Dallas Cowboys football franchise and bad television soap opera just got a little thinner, thanks to Terrell Owens. Of course, the mainstream sports media will dive on that like it's raw meat. Really, it's just matter of time before ABC and NFL conspire on a cross-over episode of Desperate Housewives where Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross fight over Wade Phillips while Tony Romo gives Teri Hatcher a foot massage.

LEGISLATIVE SLAP-A-THON: Not too long ago, NFL Commish Roger Goodell sounded like he was begging for Washington to intervene in Greed-Off 2007, the epic battle of fan-screwing being waged by the NFL's in-house tame TV network and cable monopolies. Well, he may get that, just not the way he intended. Check this out: "Now that the NFL is adopting strategies to limit distribution of game programming to their own networks. Congress may need to reexamine the need and desirability of their continued exemption from the Nation's antitrust laws". Whoa.

EMAIL FUTILITY COUNT: Now 196 emails behind. I will catch up! (Eventually) (Perhaps)

LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND FREE AGENT LISTINGS: A couple of "free agent lists" have popped up on the web, and they're filled to the brim with inaccuracies. Scout team experts who have looked at them tell us that there are a ton of errors. There are simple reasons for that. This time of year, it's impossible to get a truly accurate free agent list because a number of players will become free agents (or not) based on incentives they achieve each year, and because some contract adjustments may have been made and not publicized. The official lists usually don't appear until around the time of the Senior Bowl. We're working on our listings but keep sweating about that whole "accuracy" thing.

THIS IS NOT A JOKE: There's actually a teaser for the joke-in-the-industry mega-delayed sequel to Duke Nukem. Man, I loved that game. Apparently, there's finally going to be a sequel called Duke Nukem Forever. Life is complete.