RIP Jack Tatum

Sad news today, Ohio State great Jack Tatum has passed away at 61 years old.

Tony Grossi on Youtube

Glad to see the always insightful Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer now publishing his views onto You Tube. For anyone who wants to be informed about the lastest inside rumblings of our Cleveland Browns, Grossi's articles and now his You Tube videos, are a must.

Cleveland Browns 2010 Training camp opens

Training camp has opened for the Browns. There are a lot of questions to answer and a lot of players whose progress we are all eager to follow. Our first preseason game is on August 14 in Green Bay. In the meantime, it will be fun to follow the various soap operas of holdouts, see which underdogs rise and which players fall from grace, all in the battle to win a final roster spot on the 2010 edition of the Cleveland Browns.

Ohio's Football culture: 1981 Canton McKinley Bulldogs

Ohioans are steeped in a culture of football that is reinforced by decades of tradition that cannot be matched by any other state on the vast American landscape. For a young football player in Ohio this starts as early as 5th grade but where success really begins to take shape is at the high school level where some of the nations greatest high school programs exist. There are countless examples: Warren Harding, Sandusky High School, Massillon High, Lakewood St. Eds, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Boardman High, and on and on. But no high school in Ohio better symbolizes the high school football tradition than the school that resides near the Professional Football Hall of Fame, Canton McKinley.

Anybody with a pulse who lived in Ohio in 1981 will recall Canton McKinley's remarkable '81 team including the defeat of Cincinnati Moeller in the State Championship game. From 1976 until 1980, southern Ohio's Cincinnati Moeller had come to dominate the Ohio big school scene and everybody in the state, except folks in Canton, viewed Moeller as the overwhelming favorite in 1981. All of Ohio watched that '81 state championship game closely, as this remarkable group of young men from Canton claimed the state championship for Canton McKinley and just as importantly for those of us from northern Ohio, McKinley brought home the mantle of high school dominance to it's proper place in northern Ohio.

Why is Ohio football special? Tradition. Starting in 1916 when pro football's first team, the Canton Bulldogs and their star player Jim Thorpe began a long and dominating championship run, to legendary Paul Brown and the dominance of "his" Cleveland Browns in the 40's and 50's. During the 50's, 60's and 70's Woody Hayes was coaching and winning national championships at Ohio State as was Baldwin Wallace's Lee Tressell, who had a remarkable 23 year run in division III college football with the Yellow Jackets. Tressel's son Jim won four division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State from 1986 until 2000 and then ascended to the head coach position at Ohio State, where he has led our Buckeyes back to their proper role as a perennial division I football national powerhouse, including another national championship for OSU in 2002.

The attached video provides a sneak preview of a documentary all about McKinley's '81 championship run. For anyone that wants to understand why Ohioans are so passionate about football you should watch this sneak preview video and get the documentary upon it's release in the fall. Above all else, this preview gives a sense of the tradition that drove the players on the '81 McKinley team from a very young age to believe that their destiny was to be a great football player at McKinley. It's understandable why Northern Ohioans crave a return to excellence for the Cleveland Browns. Plainly stated, in Northern Ohio football and winning are in our blood.

Browns great Milt Morin passes away

Today we share a very sad news, Brown's great Milt Morin has passed away
The Brown Log had done several features on Morin, and personally he was one of my first heroes on the Browns. It's really sad to see this once great warrior pass away and even more sad that he died only one week before he was to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

RIP Milt.

Vintage Browns: 1980 Browns at Oilers

One of the most important games in Brown's history, the 1980 win on the road vs the Oilers. Notice who is in the middle of the action during the Oilers fumble on the opening kickoff, backup linebacker on the 1980 Browns, number 53 Bill Cowher.

For once I agree with Art Modell

Cleveland hate debate: LeBron or Modell? It's still Art | jacksonville.com

Bye Bye Cleveland, Hello Miami!

Well that’s that. The Brown Log was the first to report that LeBron is gone. And now it is a done deal. Just moments ago James announced his decision to leave the Cavaliers organization and join the Miami Heat. He made his announcement from ESPN’s studios in Connecticut. The King was originally going to let the world know about his decision from The Brown Log’s worldwide headquarters. But we were busy. So he’s gone. Fukkem. In Cleveland, we know that nobody loves us but us so no need to look back.

For all intents and purposes Cleveland is down to one major league team, the Browns. What about the Tribe you ask? While they are technically a “major league” team, MLB has devolved into a pyramid-shaped farm system. The Yankees sit atop at the pinnacle; the Red Sox are just below them, while the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers and a few others reside on tier three. All the rest of the teams develop talent so that they can one day compete in a World Series for championships. You need not recall back any farther than last year’s World Series where Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia squared off in game 1. They both played for the Indians and won Cy Young awards in consecutive years before the training wheels were taken off and they went to play for big boy teams.

That brings us to the Browns. Our Brownies are now the Cleveland team closest to winning a championship. Given the fact that they rank 30th or lower in every category by every "expert" demonstrates how low Cleveland sports has fallen in 2010. What you witnessed tonight on ESPN was the public execution of a professional sports franchise. The above picture says it all. Will this be the all time low point for Cleveland sports? Naaaaawwwww! We will somehow sink much lower in the coming years.

Colt McCoy is getting hitched

Browns quarterback Colt McCoy to wed in private ceremony this month If his taste in women is any indication of his quarterbacking skills, I'd say that there are a few Super Bowls in the Cleveland Browns near future.

Cleveland Browns release public practice schedule

Cleveland Browns release public practice schedule

BREAKING NEWS: LeBron James to leave the Cavs

BREAKING NEWS: The Brown Log is reporting that LeBron James is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers organization. Do we have inside sources? No. Do we know what team he is defecting to? No. But we here at the Brown Log do have something that the national media can never understand. We have lived and breathed Cleveland sports for the past forty years. And we know that Cleveland fans get the shit-end of a shitsicle every time. Always. Every single time. This instance will be no different. We are confident in being the first to report that LeBron is gone. We would like to extend a big brown log to David Stern, Dan Gilbert, Danny Ferry, LeBron and the rest of the Cavs for getting our hopes up once again. Thanks for nothing fellas. On a positive note, I personally will not have to pretend to enjoy NBA basketball. I will never watch the sport again, not one single dribble. The Cavs will probably skip town too within the next five years. Can you say Las Vegas Cavaliers?

For those of you new to the Brown Log, we started this blog last fall out of sheer frustration and disgust with the incredible ineptitude and dysfunction of the Cleveland Browns organization. We call ‘em like we see ‘em. Starting 1-11, baaaaad. Hiring Mike Holmgren, goooood. Retaining Eric Mangini, TBD. So now that basketball season is over in Cleveland, and I mean really over, like permanently, we can now focus on our other major league team – the Browns. Be sure to check back often to get our less-than-mainstream take on everything Cleveland Browns.

Browns poll

Here is an interesting poll in the Plain Dealer assessing the Browns off season moves. Vote while you have a chance. I voted good, and would have voted excellent had the Browns rid themselves of Coach Mangini. Only time will tell if Holmgren is able to raise the youthful Eric Mangini's performance to Super Bowl caliber. One thing is for sure, the player personnel decisions made in the last 4 months will leave no excuses for Mangini. if he doesn't win, it will be 100% his responsibility as the players the Browns have drafted, signed and traded for are excellent.

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Here is a good blog on the Browns, "Dawg Pound Daily" that poses a very interesting question about the 2010 season