Jimmy Haslam firing Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi isn't Dysfunction, It's the realization of Dysfunction

Since returning in '99, the Browns have been so bad that even when they cut out a couple of cancers like Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi, it's STILL seen as Dysfunction when in reality, it's the realization that there is Dysfunction and they were the source of it.



Mike Lombardi (Left) and Joe Banner were the Cause of the Dysfunction under the Haslam
Ownership. Anyone with common sense should be happy that these two have been
run out of town. Photo courtesy of ESPN Cleveland
Browns Fans kept hearing stories about how bad it was there. I personally heard from friends of mine in the Philadelphia Area nothing but bad things about Banner when he worked for the Eagles. Lombardi was never a popular hire with Browns Fans because of his previous tenure in Cleveland when he worked under Bill Belichick and seen by many Cleveland Area Observers as a Back-Stabbing Snake. It got so bad that there were executives with other teams that simply refused to do business with the Browns and potential Head Coaching Candidates would walk out of meetings because they were disgusted with Banner. It got to the point where Banner and Lombardi turned on each other. After Haslam fired Banner and Lombardi, the NFL Team Executives who wouldn't do business with The Browns came out (Anonymously.) and stated that they will again do business with the Browns now that they are gone.


Ray Farmer has taken over as the new General Manager. Farmer is highly thought of around NFL Circles.


The Following are various articles written about the firing of Banner and Lombardi:

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on having to part ways with Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi: "I underestimated this"



written by Mary Kay Cabot (Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer) on 2/11/2014



Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi ended on bad terms with each other, and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam wiped out both written by Mary Kay Cabot on 2/13/2014



Cleveland Browns and NFL Links: Peter King explains why Jimmy Haslam made changes written by Branson Wright


(Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer) on 2/13/2014. Includes a link to the Sports Illustrated "MMQB" Article written by Peter King


Transcript from news conference with new Browns GM Ray Farmer
by Nate Ulrich (Ohio.com/Akron Beacon-Journal) on 2/11/2014



New Cleveland Browns General Manager Ray Farmer. Let's hope that he is the right man for the job.
Photo courtesy of Ohio.com/Akron Beacon-Journal via AP

In Honor of The 50th Anniversary of The Beatles' first appearence on the Ed Sullivan Show... My Ten Favorite Beatles Songs

Tonight (February 9.) Marks the 50th Anniversary of The Beatles' First Appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. In honor of this, here are my Ten Favorite Beatles Songs (...by the way, it's not easy narrowing it down to just ten.) Oh, I was NOT named after George Harrison


10. Across The Universe



9. Penny Lane



8. Yesterday (By The Way, That was my Mom's Favorite. She used to sing it sometimes.)



7. I Am The Walrus


6. Nowhere Man



5. A Day in the Life



4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends



3. Hello Goodbye



2. Help!



1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

The Browns can't find a Head Coach. The REAL Problem is Banner and Lombardi

So, The two men that were on the top of my list to be the new Browns Head Coach: Ken Wisenhunt and Mike Zimmer both either rejected the Browns or Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi were too damn stupid to either think of talking to them. When will Jimmy Haslam realize that it's Banner and Lombardi are the problem?




Banner and Lombardi (ESPECIALLY Banner.) are a couple of Egomaniacs who think they know more about football than they actually do. Chudzinski was in a situation that even Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi and Bill Walsh couldn't have won games in.
 


Recently in a previous blog, I called for the NFL to take the team away from Jimmy Haslam http://thejamsessionbyjamdawg.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-nfl-needs-to-take-cleveland-browns.html (Considering the Federal Investigation of his company: Pilot/Flying J. they still may have to.) but if Haslam comes to the realization that Banner and Lombardi ARE the Problem, I may retract that statement.




The Browns are losing support within the state that it once ruled. Here is an eye opening article from the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and in their website; Cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/01/browns_battleground_how_can_th.html


God Help Us All!

If I could redesign the Cleveland Browns Uniform

The Browns are considering a uniform change. Too bad the lawyers get in the way and you have to be legally solicited by someone (In this case, The Browns, the NFL or Nike.) just to show someone something. I'll bet that this will be better than anything they will come up with. (I used the Nike Combat Uni Template for this.)

 

To see this in the Original Size, Click Here

 

Browns Fans as a group tend to be very conservative when it comes to the uniform. You will get dirty looks from Browns Fans if you suggest that the helmet needs a logo. As you can see, I'm using elements of the Classic Browns Uniform and brought back the Two Color Drop Shadow Numbers that the Browns used in 1946. (Their first year of existence.)

 

Yes, I have been trying to get Legally Solicited to show these.


EDIT: Here is the ONLY Change I would make to the Browns Helmet.

Five Actors who were robbed at the Oscars

Tonight is the 85th Academy Awards. Of course, there have been instances where the winner is announced and you're left saying WHAT THE HELL? and other instances where a deserving Actor, Actress and Director aren't even nominated.
I will now list the five actors (two of whom are mentioned TWICE) who were either robbed of the Oscar or even were robbed of being nominated for one.

Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles (1974).
While Blazing Saddles did recieve four Academy Award Nominations (Madeline Kahn for Best Supporting Actress, Film Editing, Music and Original Song.) Korman was shut out. Ironic since the most famous line by Korman actually uses a reference to Best Supporting Actor. (Click Here to see this.) He was brilliant in this movie.

Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993).
Many Actors have portrayed Doc Holliday, including Cesar Romero, Victor Mature, Kirk Douglas, Jason Robards and both Quaid Brothers but many consider Val Kilmer's version to be the most badass. In my opinion, he was the most interesting character in the movie which by the way is my favorite Western of the last 30 years. Tombstone did not recieve one single nomination in any of the major catagories.

Edward Norton as Aaron Stampler in Primal Fear (1996).
At least Norton was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar (as well as all the other Major Best Supporting Actor Awards.) for this. He lost to Cuba Gooding, Jr. for his role in Jerry Maguire. Many people consider this one of the worst Miscarriages of Justice in Oscars History. The Aaron Stampler Character is far more interesting than Gooding's Character, Rod Tidwell. If you've seen Primal Fear, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, RENT IT and be sure to watch it until the end.

Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991).
Tombstone wasn't the first time that Kilmer was robbed out of even being nominated for an Oscar. Many agree that he pulled off one of the most accurate portrayals of a Music Icon. I consider it right up there with Jamie Foxx's accurate portrayal of Ray Charles.

 

Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men (1992).
Nicholson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but was also up against Al Pacino (Glengary Glen Ross) and Gene Hackman (Unforgiven, he won it that year.) so this was as strong a competition as you could find in Oscars History. This was a classic case of a Supporting Character absolutely stealing the movie as Nicholson did here.

 

Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard in American History X (1998).

Like Val Kilmer, Norton shows up on this list again. This time as an Ex Neo-Nazi named Derek Vinyard. He goes to prison for Voluntary Manslaughter but then changes his beliefs over time and then after his release, tries to keep his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) from going down the same path and making the same mistakes that he did. (As you can see, Norton obviously hit the weights so he could look like a scary Neo-Nazi.) Norton was up against Nick Nolte (Affliction), Sir Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters) and Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan) but the Best Actor Oscar went to Roberto Benigni for playing Guido Orefice in Life Is Beautiful.

 

Who are yours?

Four Pre-Super Bowl Era Hall of Famers that should be in everyGreatest-of-All-Time Debate

Yes, we have all heard and/or participated in "Greatest of All Time" discussions when it comes to Pro Football. However, with the "If it happened before The Super Bowl Era" Mentality that is all too prevalent in our society, Greats from the Pre-Super Bowl Era are rarely, if ever included in these discussions. The only Pre-Super Bowl Era Player that is in any of these debates on a regular basis in Jim Brown.

So with this in mind, here are 4 Pro Football Hall of Famers who should be in every "Greatest of All Time" debate.

1. Otto Graham: Quarterback - Cleveland Browns (1946-55)
Graham is the player that comes up the most by Historians and others when they point out how most "Greatest of All Time" lists leave out Pre-Super Bowl Era Players. Simply put, Otto dominated his Era (1946-55) by leading The Browns to ten straight trips to The League Championship Game, four in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from '46 to '49 and Six in the NFL from '50 to '55, Winning all four AAFC Championships and the NFL Championship in '50, '54 and '55. He compiled a 114-20 Record in his Ten Seasons. Even if you leave out the AAFC Years, his record is still impressive.

2. Paul Brown: Head Coach - Cleveland Browns (1946-62) Cincinnati Bengals (1968-75)
I personally consider Paul Brown to be the most important Coach in the Post WWII History of Football (Both Pro and College.) Click below and see why.
http://thejamsessionbyjamdawg.blogspot.com/2013/02/top-five-reasons-why-paul-brown-is-most.html

When you consider all the Championships he won, his innovations that are now common practice and all the men that played or coached under him that became Championship Coaches themselves, he has to be considered one of the builders of the game. The fact that all of his Championships came before the Super Bowl Era is the main reason why you rarely hear Paul Brown's Name in "Greatest Coach of All Time" debates. Recently, ESPN to honor Vince Lombardi's Birthday, put together their list of the greatest Pro Football Head Coaches of all time and list Paul Brown SIXTH on the list. A lot of people who know football history ripped ESPN in comments on their website saying how he's ranked too low. Most saying that he's no worse than No.2

3. Don Hutson: End - Green Bay Packers (1935-45)
He was listed as an End, but he was really the first modern Wide Receiver. At the time of his retirement, Hutson held just about every receiving record in the game, some of which he still holds. He also is credited with creating many pass routes used in the game today. When he was drafted out of Alabama in 1935, many people thought he wouldn't have much of a career because of his size (6'1" - 183 lbs.) but he had the speed and ability to avoid defenders on his way to long gains.

4. Sid Luckman: Quarterback - Chicago Bears (1939-1950)
Luckman was the first T-Formation Quarterback and after his career, taught other QB's how to play it. He led the Bears to Four NFL Championships (1940, '41, '43 and '46.) He led the NFL in Yards-Per-Attempt seven times, including five straight years between 1939 and 1943. Also in 1943, he threw 28 Touchdown Passes. An amazing number in itself but even more amazing when you consider that it was a 10 Game Schedule in '43.

Art Modell. What the media WON'T Tell you.

Art Modell has passed on and of course, a lot of The Media and The NFL is spinning it as if he was the greatest owner in the History of The NFL. (Now granted, some in the media are also bringing up his shortcomings and controversies.)

Now, you're about to hear the WHOLE Truth about him.

Yes, I am a Browns Fan, and this is A LOT more than just him moving the team to Baltimore.

This is a man who after purchasing the Browns in 1961:

1. Fired The Team's Namesake, Paul Brown after the 1962 Season. All Paul Brown did was Coach The Browns to Ten Straight League Championship Game Appearances between 1946 and 1955. Four in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1948, '47, '48 and 1949. (The 1948 Browns went Undefeated, 24 Years before The '72 Dolphins pulled it off.). Make it to Six Straight NFL Championship Games between 1950 and '55, winning it in 1950, '54 and 1955. (The Modern Version is making it to six straight Super Bowls.) and come up with many innovations that are now common practice in football.


2. Outside of listing them in the Official Record, Refused to acknowledge the Browns Past Championships won in the ways an owner can acknowledge them all because The Man he Fired, (Paul Brown) built and coached those teams. (...and none of them took place while HE owned the team.) Later, this policy was adopted by The NFL after the NFL/AFL Merger judging by the League's treatment of most things from the Pre-Super Bowl Era.


3. De-Emphasized the one NFL Championship he did win in Cleveland (1964) all to adhere to the NFL's Culture of "If it happened before The Super Bowl Era, It doesn't count." because he was a "Good Company Man" when it came to The NFL. (Translation: He cared more about The NFL than he did The Browns.)


4. Crippled the Browns with Bad Trades, Bad Drafts, Bad Decisions and Incompetent Meddling in General, and ran The Browns into the ground for years. Not to mention The Financial Blunder known as The Stadium Corporation.

You would swear that The Browns were always a sorry, moribund franchise from Day One, when in fact, they were at one time, THE Model Franchise of Pro Football. (...and a Top Franchise in all of Pro Sports.)

Their first decade of existence (1946-1955) can be categorized as a True Sports Dynasty. Of course, Modell screwed all that up denying generations of Browns Fans Championships that they could enjoy.

Memo to The Media and The NFL: This Weasel

doesn't deserve any praise and respect, just

condemnation. Him winning The Super Bowl in

Baltimore is proof of three things:

1. God does not care who wins ball games.

2. Karma is a Myth.

3. Sends a bad message that "Crime Does Pay".

So, how did an owner who is this incompetent and smarmy gain so much Political Power within The NFL?

1. Because they were of the same Generation, and the fact that he was The NFL Commissioner, Modell sidled up to Pete Rozelle and they remained friends until Rozelle's death in 1996. Yes, I know that any team owner needs to have some type of relationship with the League Commissioner.

2. Because of his business background, which was predominantly Television Production. (Along with Advertising and Public Relations.) He was The NFL's Lead Negotiator in the Television Contract Talks with The Networks. These Contracts reaped Hundreds of Millions, (...and eventually, Billions.) helping The NFL to become one of the most profitable businesses in The World.

If he were as good in running The Browns as he was negotiating The TV Contracts for the NFL, The Browns wouldn't have become a moribund, snake bitten laughingstock that they became under his watch. Maybe he wouldn't have moved to Baltimore and maybe have some Super Bowl Titles in Cleveland and not seen as a Pariah.

It's also amazing how he ran that Illegitimate Bastard of a Franchise known as The Ravens in a manner that is the complete opposite of the way he did  The Browns when it comes to On The Field. Off The Field, Same Crap, Different City. In spite of the fact that The State of Maryland paid for virtually everything and the NFL is very profitable, he STILL LOST MONEY so he had to sell most of the team to Daniel Biscotti. (Modell still owned 1% just to stay in.)

MODELL AND MONEY

When he bought the Browns in 1961, officially, he bought them for $4 Million (Around 29.2 Million in 2011 Dollars.) which was then a record. However, he only used $250,000 (Around 1.82 Million in 2011 Dollars.) of his own money while Borrowing $2.7 Million (Around 19.7 Million in 2011 Dollars) from The Bank and finding partners for the rest.

To finalize the Merger in 1970, three of the old school NFL Teams had to move to the newly formed AFC so that the AFC and NFC would each have 13 teams. After a lot of discussion, The Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns agreed to move to The AFC. The NFL makes it sound like they did this for the good of The League when in fact, The three Teams were paid $3 Million each to do so. (Around 16.8 Million in 2011 Dollars.) So much for the "Doing it for the good of the NFL" Propaganda.

Modell's biggest Financial Blunder was the "Stadium Corporation" which he formed in 1973. The Stadium had become a debt ridden liability to The City of Cleveland. In this deal, he would rent the stadium from the city for One Dollar a year and assume all operating and repair costs of the stadium and sublease the stadium to both The Browns and The Indians. (Making it where The Browns were essentially paying rent to themselves.)

Modell built Loges in the Stadium, but the Indians didn't see a penny of that money, and what profit Modell did get from them did not go towards offsetting The Stadium Debt. (...and those Loges were always used during Browns Games, which usually had great attendance at the Old Stadium.)

MOVING THE TEAM TO BALTIMORE. HOW LONG WAS HE REALLY PLANNING TO DO THIS? (...AND ALL THE DECEPTION ALONG THE WAY.)

One Myth that Modell Apologists love to tell is that Modell was never offered a piece of The Gateway Project which was formed around 1990. (The Project that led to the building of what is now Progressive Field, QuickenLoans Arena and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)

Not true. He in fact was offered a piece of this (Which was to be a Domed Stadium.) but Modell instead asked the City for more money for the old Cleveland Stadium.

Around 1992 when The NFL expanded with The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers, there were of course other cities bidding for an Expansion Team. Among them of course was Baltimore. Art Modell went out of his way in using his Political Power within The NFL to ruin it for The Baltimore Expansion Effort (The Team was to be known as "The Bombers".) and smugly stated "The NFL has no business being in Baltimore". Was he saving it for himself?

In the Browns Media Guides dating back to the early 90's, the mailing address for the Browns Backers Headquarters (Where people could apply to form an official Browns Backers Chapter.) is in MARYLAND.

With all that, Modell still managed to persuade The City of Berea Ohio (Home of Baldwin-Wallace College, where The Browns practiced for years.) to build a brand new practice and administrative complex at this time. (...and yet, they still didn't move the headquarters for the Browns Backers Clubs into the new building.)

HOW I FINALLY CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT MODELL WAS PLANNING THE MOVE FOR YEARS.

This is the Logo I designed for what would have been The Cleveland
Browns' 50th Anniversary in the 1996 Season. Something that
Browns Fans never got to celebrate thanks to Art Modell.

Okay, you have the events with The Gateway Project, The Mailing Address of The Browns Backers being in Maryland, NFL Expansion and the building of the Facility in Berea OH, all while many believe that Modell was planning the move to Baltimore.

Well, what I am about to tell you really happened in February of 1995 (About Nine Months before Modell officially announced that he was moving the team to Baltimore.

In February of 1995, I went to a charity event in Strongsville OH hosted by Debby Belichick and "The Browns Wives". (Bill Belichick at the time being The Browns Head Coach.) This was attended by The Browns Front Office, Coaches and their Wives. Art Modell and his Wife were there briefly as well.

Me, being a bit of an artist, decided to create a logo for the 1996 Season as it was to be The Browns 50th Anniversary of coming into existence in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) along with The San Francisco 49ers who also began in the AAFC. Both The Browns and The 49ers went into The NFL in 1950.

So, the NFL does not recognize the AAFC and will not allow
a team that started there to Commemorate their beginning in
the AAFC? Really? Then explain this 49ers 50th
Anniversary Logo they wore on their jerseys in 1996.
(Courtesy of Sports Logos.net)

I showed the "Browns 50 Logo" (as I call it, and seen above.) to Kevin Byrne, who at the time, was Vice-President of Public Relations with the Browns. (and retained that position with the team when they moved to Baltimore.) Byrne told me that the NFL does not recognize the AAFC Years and wouldn't allow The Browns to commemorate this. I took Byrne at his word since The NFL does have a history of not recognizing certain aspects of Pro Football History that did not involve them.

Of course in October of 1995. Modell made The Announcement.

So The 1996 NFL Season comes around. I'm watching an Exhibition Game involving The 49ers and what do I see. A 50th Anniversary Patch on the 49ers Jerseys. (You can see that to the left and above this text.) The same 49ers who like The Browns, began life in the AAFC in 1946 and went to the NFL in 1950. This after being told by Kevin Byrne (Who is a Higher Up in the Browns/now Ravens Front Office.) that the NFL would not allow it.

This is what convinced me once and for all that Art Modell was planning the move for years and only certain high ranking members of the front office also knew he was planning to move the team.

I am also willing to sign a Legal Affidavit stating that what I have stated above is true.

The Irony is that Modell is a native of Brooklyn. Remember the Dodgers?

Now, I don't lay all the blame on Modell. But I do blame him for the overwhelming majority of this.

Some (ESPECIALLY Modell Apologists.) blame the local and state politicians in Ohio. I blame them a little, but nowhere near the level that others do.

I also put a big part of the blame on then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Before Modell moved the team to Baltimore, Tagliabue stopped then Seattle Seahawks Owner Ken Behring from moving them to Los Angeles, forcing him to sell the team to Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen. This means that if he wanted to, he could have stopped Modell from moving the team and forcing him to sell them.

In my opinion, the reason why Tagliabue did not stop Modell is because Tagliabue wanted all the teams to build new stadiums and I think he was looking for that one excuse where he can say "This is what will happen if you don't have a new stadium." and the Browns were that excuse. Huge, Loyal Fan Base with a National Following, etc. So Tagliabue in my opinion was an enabler. Believe me, Tagliabue isn't highly thought of among Cleveland Fans.

As the late Paul Harvey would say: "Now You Know THE REST of The Story."