The Sunday Five: Getting Closer to Football Again?
"The Sunday Five" is a loosely-titled piece where I talk about five NFL- or Browns -related topics related to this past week. In today's edition, I take a look at some bright spots with the NFL and some dull spots in other sports.
This past week, details of the proposed CBA were unveiled by ESPN. The thing that will impact the upcoming season the most? The fact that tendered restricted free agents will be able to sign with anyone as unrestricted free agents. For Cleveland, Phil Dawson should be safe because he had the franchise tag slapped on him. I'll go back through and check who the Browns tendered prior to the lockout and have a post on that later.
I really feel the lockout is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. That probably stems from my always-optimistic attitude, but the major hurdles that held back negotiations in the past seem to be disappearing. The quotes from both sides seem more optimistic. This whole lockout has sucked the life out of offseason football discussions. For example, who wants to get into arguments about the merit of Greg Little's parking tickets? Mark your calendars -- I think one month from today, we're going to have our first session of Cleveland Browns training camp.
When the lockout started, there were positive stories in other Cleveland spots that kept some fans happy. The Cavaliers had a terrible season, but they looked on the right track for the prime spots they had in the NBA Draft. The Indians were off to an unbelievable start record-wise.
What has happened the past couple of days? I personally don't have an issue with the Cavaliers' draft, but the selection at No. 4 seemed to lead many fans to believe Dan Gilbert and company really dropped the ball. The Indians have had offensive woes, sparked by injuries to players like Travis Hafner , Grady Sizemore , and Shin-Soo Choo . They are still in first place somehow, but the confidence factor among fans has to be thinning. I was watching the U.S. soccer team in the Gold Cup tournament, and seeing them blow a 2-0 lead over Mexico last night was not a pleasant thing to watch. At least we can still be happy that the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat a couple of weeks ago!
Here's another prediction: Colt McCoy has been talking about a potential fullsquad workout coming soon, but a date has not been revealed. A fourth offensive camp is planned toward the beginning of July. If the players feel confident the lockout will end by July 15th, I don't see them rushing to get a fullsquad workout together before training camp. Once training camp starts, all the players will be moving back to the Northeastern Ohio area in all likelihood. I don't see all those players spending money on airfare and hotels for a workout that would basically end up being meaningless in another week or two when the "real" training camp begins. If a fullsquad workout was something the team wanted to do together, it should've been booked a couple of weeks ago.
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Mark your calendars -- I think one month from today, we're going to have our first session of Cleveland Browns training camp. When the lockout started, there were positive stories in other Cleveland spots that kept some fans happy.
The Cleveland Browns have gone a combined 14-34 in the last three years. They've been to the playoffs once since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, and they haven't won a playoff game since coach Bill Belichick led the previous
Is He Ready To Grab the Bull By the Horns and Lead The Browns Back to the Playoff Promise Land? (Picture source: coachincleveland.com) The Cleveland Browns haven't had a lot of success since returning to the NFL, but at least one man (Vic Carucci) that
The most frequent flier is Cleveland Browns Transportation, owned by the NFL team of the same name. Owner Randy Lerner, who keeps a large estate and owns a restaurant in Amagansett, has made 390 trips in four years, according to The Journal.
By MJD Colt McCoy(notes), Seneca Wallace(notes) and Jake Delhomme(notes) are the quarterbacks currently on the Browns roster, and no disrespect to those gentlemen, but you could understand why the Browns might want to do their homework on Pryor.
For Browns QB Colt McCoy, 2011 Will be Sink or Swim—Safety Net ...
His first four opponents were the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets. Without having a gunslinger's arm, McCoy's skill set was not well suited for former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's offense, yet he still managed to lead the Browns to a 2–2 record before succumbing to an ankle injury of his own. In his return, he was still visibly bothered by the injury, and the Browns dropped three straight games to the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers in embarrassing fashion to close the 2010 season. The opinions and views expressed on this site are definitely not the views of the Cleveland Browns or the NFL, except when opinions and views are clearly stated as such. The Cleveland Browns team name, logos and uniforms are registered trademarks of the Cleveland Browns. Other NFL teams’ names, logos and uniforms are also registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Both “Cleveland Browns” and the Cleveland Browns’ logo are official trademarks of the Cleveland Browns organization and the National Football League. This is an unofficial site which claims absolutely no rights to these trademarks. This site is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes, and is not affiliated in any way with the Cleveland Browns or the NFL and its teams.
Greg Little: Should Cleveland Browns Fans Be Concerned with Character Issues? – Bleacher Report 
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Report: Cleveland Browns Owner A Frequent Flier – Patch.com 
“@FannyHerda3787: Browns Franchise Ranked 21st – Football News Now 
The pains of being a sportsfan: RT : Browns Franchise Ranked 21st – Football News Now Cleveland Browns News - Bookshelf
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88. Byrne et al., The Cleveland Browns, pp. 80–81. 89. TJ Trout, “The Desert Dawg,” press release, 1993, in Browns News Illustrated collection, Berea, Ohio. ...Pro Football Guide
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