Inspired by ESPN scholar Gregg Easterbrook’s challenge to “write a clever haiku encapsulating your favorite team, and submit it to [email protected],” I penned not one but two of those nifty little poems (click here for a fuller explanation of the haiku form). But alas, the email address repeatedly rejected my contributions. You’d think that a […]

COLTS 9, BROWNS 6 All that offensive firepower, and only five field goals. As the curtain lifted on Butch Davis’ third season opener, most expected a shootout on the order of last year’s 40-39 barnburner against Kansas City. Instead, we got the same score as the previous year’s opener, the last-second loss against Seattle in […]

In a few short hours, the Browns kick off a new season. Everything is possible. Anything can happen. This might be the year of Kelly Holcomb’s honeymoon, as he wins the league’s MVP, torching defenses worse than Sipe or Kosar ever did. “Run, William, Run!” could be emblazoned on sweatshirts throughout the land, becoming a […]

The Browns today signed five players to the practice squad: OL Qasim Mitchell, LB Mason Unck, DL Corey Jackson, TE Keith Heinrich, and QB Nate Hybl. Here’s what TE Chad Mustard, who was cut yesterday, told a North Dakota newspaper: “It’s always disappointing, but I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Mustard said. “They have three […]

I’ve long considered money to be like water. Absolutely essential to consume some of it to survive. Too much too fast can drown you. Better to swim or sail along smoothly, going with the flow, enjoying the scenery along the way, as you head steadily seaward. And just like water, money is porous — it […]

It’s amazing that it’s been almost ten years since Vinnie Testaverde replaced Bernie Kosar as Browns quarterback. Of course, this was the controversial and ham-handed choice (especially since Testaverde was injured at the time) of head coach Bill Bellichick, who attributed it to Kosar’s “diminishing skills,” though it was actually more of a power play. […]

Looking over the waiver wire from around the league, I don’t see anyone whose name calls out to me, “Butch, quick, pick that dude up!” The biggest surprise was that the Steelers cut RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala, the bruiser who caused plenty of trouble for the Browns in seasons past, including scoring the winning touchdown in […]

I just listened to Butch Davis speak about his final roster and the decisions announced today. The area most likely to dominate the headlines is the offensive line, as the Browns try to cope with the season-ending injury to left tackle Ross Verba. Davis confirmed that veteran Barry Stokes will take the place of the […]

The verdicts are in, and, as always, there are a few surprises whenever the final roster cuts are announced. Ultimately, one has to defer to the coaches, who are the folks watch all the practices and get paid to make these assessments. All I try to do is follow along, watch the games, try to […]

Oh damn. Ross Verba’s bicep is ruptured. In addition to being a terribly painful injury for Verba to suffer through, this means that our best offensive lineman, playing the line’s most important position — left tackle — will miss the entire season. This bodes ill for both the passing game — because a lesser player, […]