Art Modell is Dead

by Cleveland Frowns on September 6, 2012

Whatever else about Art Modell, he was the last major sports owner to bring a championship to Cleveland, even if it was all thanks to Paul Brown’s players. A 2003 USA Today profile noted that “the NFL [was] Modell’s life and livelihood,” which cuts an even sharper contrast with Cleveland’s sports owners of today. When Modell moved here from New York in 1961 he immersed himself in the Browns and Cleveland’s culture, and was well regarded as a civic leader.

All of which makes it especially disappointing that he moved the Browns to Baltimore the way he did. Modell always said he had no choice, blaming “the politicians and the bureaucrats [who] saw fit to cover their own rear ends by blaming it on [him].” But the power was always in Modell’s hands. Anyone in a position to make a $500 million deal like the one Modell got from Baltimore, and anyone with friends like Al Lerner (who helped broker the deal), was also in a position to put it to the people of Cleveland if the politicians were really forcing his hand. If the politicians were really forcing his hand, the worst part of Modell’s legacy might not be what we lost when he stole the real Browns away, but what we missed out on learning about City Hall thanks to Modell’s abdication and failure to use the political process to hold City leaders accountable.

And speaking of Michael White, here’s a good read from Frank Kuznik at Scene on the Plain Dealer’s recent “astonishing canonization” of the former Cleveland Mayor.

Which is all for today. Hope everyone’s Thursday is off to a decent start. The Cheddar Bay open thread will be up tomorrow, so picks for tonight’s college football action should be posted here. Also note that the Week 2 All Play is Eagles at Browns.

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RELATED: Washington Post columnist and NFL Hall of Fame selector Len Shapiro responds to Cleveland Frowns post on Art Modell’s Hall of Fame credentials

Bill Livingston remembers Modell and his finest hour

  • ChuckKoz

    the caption to that picture is going to keep me laughing all day

  • BIKI024

    Didn’t know Monday Night Football was Art’s baby, apparently he pitched the concept to ABC, and the first MNF game was in Cleve.

    • rodofdisaster

      Jets-Browns

  • nagelbush

    Art Modell could have gotten what he wanted from City Hall and the State of Ohio. Mike White and George Voinvovich were both willing (and, frankly, desperate) to do what they had to do to keep the Browns in Cleveland. They didn’t respond as quickly to Modell’s wishes as he would have liked, but when do politicians ever do things according to the optimal timetable? Remember that the Browns still had two years left on their lease when Modell bolted — while there was urgency to the situation, no one could have known that he would leave when he did, particularly in light of his repeated public pronouncements that the team would never leave Cleveland under his watch.

    Beginning in the summer of 1995, the City and the State put on a full-court press, asking Modell to tell them what he wanted and needed. He essentially refused to answer. Al Lerner bears significant responsibility for Modell’s intransigence. He counseled him to dump Cleveland for greener pastures and could have cured whatever financial difficulties Modell was facing from his lease of Municipal Stadium.

    You can blame City Hall for a lot of things. The Browns’ departure isn’t one of them.

    • st.chem

      To the extent that Gateway deprived Art of significant revenues from his subtenant, I guess one could argue that the City and County pols had some blood on their hands, but for me, the fact that Art even had such a sweetheart deal for as long as he had it completely undermines that line of thinking. Based on what I was told by those who were part of that full court press at the time, you are 100% correct. But that’s all ancient history now. With Art gone, I’d like to let go of the anger and bitter feelings that he inspires. What are the odds, I’ll be able to do that in the face of a campaign to enshrine him in Canton posthumously, which I have to assume is probably on the horizon.

    • jpftribe

      I agree. Modell and Lerner are both to be held accountable for a legacy of disappointment. There is no honor here.

      Let’s hope Haslam creates a new era.

      • bupalos

        >>>Let’s hope Haslam creates a new era.>>>

        Let’s hope the fans do. The continued failure is actually almost impossible to sustain at this level. This team will (I think sooner than later) be much improved. When that happens it will be interesting to see whether the city is still capable of falling for the team the way it did in the 80′s. That’s what I miss. Not so much winning as a city in love with its team. You can’t have the latter without a fair dose of the former, but there’s necessary and there’s sufficient. There’s been a lot of damage done. I’d like to believe Art didn’t kill what matters about the Browns, but a big part of that question is as yet unanswered.

  • GrandRapidsRustlers

    Week 2 Cheddar Bay Picks

    (Have to submit the picks early as I head off to Milwaukee for a wedding this weekend)

    All Play – Cleveland (+8.5) over Philly – The wedding robs me of the chance to be one of the first to get into CBS on Sunday and post a “Win one for Art banner” and sit back and grab some popcorn.

    Virginia (-10) over Penn State – Ohio did not even play that well Saturday.

    Kansas (-9.5) over Rice – I missed Charlie Weis.

    Kansas State (-6.5) over Miami FL – Only because Chris Perez is a dick and I want to send him a wildcat shirt.

    Notre Dame (-14.5) over Purdue – I really like the Irish this year…a good performance Saturday and it gives me essay material the rest of the year.

    Essay Pick

    New Orleans (-7) over Washington

    Rookie QB joins bad football team on one side. The other side “loses” their head coach but still has Drew Brees and a really good roster. The first thing the Redskins should do on Sunday is demand that Brees switches helmets so that his direct feed into Payton sitting in his living room watching is disabled. The Saints are about to go on a tear similar to the Patriots after Spygate. The defense is below average but they will force RG3 into a few key mistakes (that is something that rookies do at the QB position) and the Saints will roll on opening day. I am already looking forward to seeing Shanny and that bewildered look on his face when it’s 21-0 Saints and they are bringing the house at RG3 on every snap. It’s not the Big 12 anymore big guy…these guys will hurt you RG3.

  • actovegin1armstrong

    ****Cheddar Pick alert****
    Pitt + 4 over Cinn

    I think that I should throw away my “Burn in Hell Art Modell” shirt.

    • Beeej

      Are you going to switch it to present continuous tense?

      • acto

        Beeej,
        Huh…. Mongo just pawn in great game of life.

        • Beeej

          Sorry. I used to teach English as a Second Language. Your new shirt would read, “Art Model is burning in hell,” which implies that he is now burning in hell and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

          I am not happy Model is dead, but like the other people mentioned earlier, I don’t get how from one minute to the next people can go, “Art Model is a lying sack of monkey…wait…You say he’s dead? Oh…well…he wasn’t thaaaat bad.”

          • actovegin1armstrong

            I got it Beeej, I was just making a feeble attempt at humor.

            I could not reply to your question.
            “Code of the Woosters”
            “Jeeves and the Tie that Binds”
            and
            “Aunts are not Gentlemen”
            are my three favorites.

  • http://www.autismspeaks.org/ PML

    The whitewashing of his death on the NFL Network is making me physically ill.

    • nj0

      Nothing irks me more than the unfettered media praise that dead peoples-of-note receive. I remember being young and innocent enough to be completely befuddled by this phenomena when Nixon died. If people disliked you while you alive, they should continue to dislike you in death.

      Byron had it right when lamenting the death of Robert Stewart aka Lord Castlereagh:

      Posterity will ne’er survey,
      A nobler grave than this:
      Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
      Stop, traveller, and piss.

      • http://twitter.com/TDDeBord David DeBord

        Right. The dead (and I’ve had my share of delivering eulogies) should be treated with balance. People pissing on Modell are equally worth of contempt as those lionizing him.

        • nj0

          Just to clarify (if it’s needed, my quoting of Byron wasn’t to suggest that people should feel the same way about Modell, but rather to illustrate someone who didn’t let a person’s passing magically change how they felt about them while they were alive.

          I don’t have a problem with people lionizing or pissing on ol’ Art. Just be consistent with regardless of his mortal status.

      • acto

        nj0,
        Are you a P. G. Wodehouse fan?

        • nj0

          Can’t say that I am.

          I know who he is, but can’t say I ever really explored his work.

          Should I be?

          • actovegin1armstrong

            njo,
            Everyone should be a P. G. Wodehouse fan. He is one of the most masterful comedy writers ever, few people can turn a phrase with his remarkable aplomb and virtuosity.

            A couple of times you have; (I guess inadvertently) used some of his stuff.

          • Beeej

            Suggestions on what to read please.

          • nj0

            I’ll give him a read. His stuff must have trickled down to me through the great literarti-societal funnel by way of guys like Adams, Portis, Toole, and others.

      • Yahmule

        The last miserable bastard sports team owner to get a posthumous shine job of this sort was one George Steinbrenner. It seemed like few were willing to put in the work necessary when Al Davis croaked.

        • nj0

          To be fair with Al Davis, I don’t think Sith Lords actually die.

          • actovegin1armstrong

            Sorry, I could not reply to the other comment.
            You listed two of my three favorite authors, Douglas Adams and John Kennedy Toole.
            P. G. Wodehouse being the third.
            I actually started reading Wodehouse after I got to know Douglas Adams. (I was in the right place at the right time).

  • BigDigg

    Every time this shamockery of an organization plays the Ravens I can’t help but think what could have been. 16 years later the whole situation seems completely avoidable and unnecessary. With a bit of patience and grace Modell would have gotten everything he needed from the city. He owed the city and fans as much.

    Maybe someday this organization may again be considered credible, however it’s increasingly hard to feel the linkage to that bygone era the longer we walk in the wilderness. Ineptitude is now permanently part of the team history and DNA. Perhaps Haslam (gulp) can usher in a new era but the stain will always remain.

  • FSOhioZJackson

    Posting my Cheddar picks now because tomorrow isn’t good for me

    All Play is also my Essay Pick

    Eagles -8.5

    First of all, Vegas making an NFL team in Week One more than a touchdown road favorite is a sign that team should roll. If you don’t buy that, there’s the whole thing that the talented Eagles have a bunch to prove and the Browns just might be awful. If you don’t buy that, there’s rookie QB vs. maybe the league’s best pass rush, and if you don’t buy that there’s the Browns’ track record of opening days turning into depressing days. And if you still aren’t sure, look at who the Browns are starting on defense and look at who the Eagles are starting on offense. I still think Jamal Lewis in 2002 has the record for most yards in a game at Browns Stadium (could be wrong) and I think that’s in real danger with Shady McCoy on Sunday.

    Also

    Kent State + 7 – Because Kentucky has to show me it should be favored against anybody, including Kent Roosevelt

    Indiana -13.5 – If there’s a team giving two touchdowns at home to Indiana, I don’t want to see that team. Good luck, UMASS, and welcome to the MAC.

    Saints – 7 – Could have sworn I saw something that said RG3 said the loudest place he ever played was…UConn. That can’t be right. Still, the Skins can’t have much chance here, cant they?

    Florida +1.5 – Just a hunch that the flawed Gators are better at this point than the flawed Aggies.

    Arizona Cardinals +3 – Russell Wilson is like The Savior Of The Universe. He can show me.

    • GrandRapidsRustlers

      I now feel even better about my essay pick. He actually said it…

      http://www.dailycampus.com/sports/column-rg3-respects-the-rent-1.2809031#.UEjVxCKLeHM

    • ClevelandFrowns

      There should be another Couch bottle available for consistently solid Cheddar Bay work like Jackson’s. An MVP award that doesn’t necessarily depend on Ws and Ls. Which isn’t to say that such consistency doesn’t carry its own rewards.

      • Art_Brosef

        Also consistenty ignoring one of the basic rules of posting cheddar picks.

        • FSOhioZJackson

          which rule am I missing? I can be a team player, I just tend to whine about it first.

    • rodofdisaster

      I was at that UConn-Baylor game and if he thought that was the loudest, he really has a problem. It was loud but I’ve heard much louder in Austin, at the Rose Bowl and other places.

  • Beeej

    Speaking of Dahmer, for any RHS alum out there, “My Friend Dahmer,” by Derf Backderf is fantastic. It gives real insight to Revere’s most famous alum.

    • NeedsFoodBadly

      Ditto this. Fantastic work by Derf, as always.

  • The Cuuuuuuuugs

    Not going to lie, I expected a much bigger post here. So I’m a little disappointed.

    I also have to be brief though, because I’m typing this from my phone.

    So I guess I can’t be too angry… which I think perfectly summarizes how I feel about Art Modell on his death.

    I do admire all his civic contributions, concerns for minority players, business acumen, etc. He really was a good guy. But as we areget discovering in today’sto society, even good guys make bad choices. He’s no Joe Paterno or Lance Armstrong, but he did make a poor choice that is a level only just slightly bellow.

    We lost out on a Super Bowl, Bill Belicheck, and the millions of fans who converted or who followed the new next closest thing in Pittsburgh. No amount of philanthropic efforts can undo the damage he did to this football town.

    Yes, we have a team again, but it’s not the same. Modell couldn’t be the NFL genius that he was without realizing he was effectively putting the NFL version of the death penalty on Cleveland. And for that reason, I can not forgive his decision to move his AND my team to Baltimore.

    Does he deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame? Honestly, I’m not sure. History teaches us not to make the same mistakes, and after LeBron, maybe I’ve softened a bit on my hate mongering. As of right now, I’m not going to go to Canton and boo him; he’s done too many positives for me to dismiss him as a villian. But you won’t find me admiring his bust in Canton either…

    Art Modell’s legacy will be similiar to hose of Paterno, Bonds, Rose, and all the other men who forgot the one simple axiom: No one is bigger than the game.

    • nj0

      I think what’s so infuriating (and fascinating too) about Modell is the fact that he was (by all accounts) such a nice, generous guy.

      If he were more overtly villainous then it’d be easier to find some catharsis today. Instead, he’s the Peace Prize winner who tormented you back in high school. How do you feel about someone so beloved who also happened to cause you deep psychological trauma?

      It’s odd that the note Frowns hits here is very similar to those struck by Livingston and Pluto: not anger at what was, but frustration and disappointment over what might have been.

      It’s like, just once Cleveland wants some major figure to stand up for the city and – in both word and deed – show what a great place it is, was, and will be despite the personal cost it may demand of them. Instead we keep getting these flawed individuals who prove themselves all-too-human and take the safe, easy way out.

    • bupalos

      Subject to review by acto, I think modell falls considerably further to the side of evil than Armstrong. I forgive folks who are too young to remember what the browns used to be to this town for not understanding just how wretched and nasty a decision modell made. Its really not made any better by the fact that he otherwise seemed to have something of a moral compass.

      He will be in there someday. Its in the interests of the nfl to enshrine this principle of profit and the subservience of the old fashioned civic aspect of the game to the new mode. They’ll just wait until there’s no danger of controversy and everyone has forgotten and they can write it up the way they want.

      • actovegin1armstrong

        Modell did take away the team I loved, but he did not lead his friends, teammates and fiance on a path to cancer.
        Modell did not lie about almost everything in his life.

        But, football is more important than cycling, so it is a tough call Bupa.

        • bupalos

          He really broke the I’ve on holding cities hostage to build these guys stadiums. City after city paid hundreds of millions in tax dollars to owners to keep what should have been theirs in the first place right after modell shot the first hostage.

          • actovegin1armstrong

            “after modell shot the first hostage.”
            Poetic and frightening as well, kudos again Bupa.

    • actovegin1armstrong

      Cuuuuuuugs,
      Pete Rose may be the worst of all, two words, Ray Fosse.

  • munasrevenge

    Ugh been back and forth on this all day, but I might as well make it official and submit one of my Cheddar Bay picks:

    Pittsburgh (+4) over Cincinnati

    Pittsburgh can’t be that bad, and I don’t think Cincinnati is very good this year. Oscillated so much, but by this point I figure if I feel good about it I just gotta play it. Back tomorrow with my other picks.

    • ClevelandFrowns

      Curious why you’d force yourself into a dog of a game like this when there’s so much action left this weekend. You’re making me want to take Cincy.

      • munasrevenge

        Just think there’s value; Pittsburgh is a little underrated (Youngstown St. is a very good FCS team, it’s not like they lost to Eastern Wyoming Tech) and Cincinnati is overrated by way of not having played yet this year. Plus neither team’s offense should be lights out, so I feel like a mediocre-to-decent team getting more than a FG against another mediocre-to-decent team seems like a fine risk. I feel like this game is 20-17 either way.

        And other than the all-play (we’ll get to that tomorrow I suppose), there isn’t much that just screams out to me this week.

        • Art_Brosef

          I agree. There probably isnt one single week in which college teams improve more than between weeks one and two. Cincy has so many holes to fill on offense that they arent sure how are gonna pan out, especially initially. Pitt has the advantage of a week to improve and probably being undervalued after last weeks performance. Graham actually had a solid performance that should build confidence, despite his bad red zone fumble last week.

          Also, this line bopped around ALL day. I snagged it at +6. Non-cheddar though.

          Also, for Biki, 81% of the public is on Cincy. Whoaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

          • munasrevenge

            So of course it’s a 2-TD Cincy lead before I even flip over to check the score. Ooof.

          • Art_Brosef

            And dude, feel fortunate its only two TDs. Feels like it should be four…….

        • munasrevenge

          OK I lied, Pittsburgh IS that bad. Yeesh, what a dumpster fire. At this point losing Pitt and Syracuse for Boise State and a box of free kittens would be a net positive for Big East football.

  • Petefranklin

    CHEDDAR BAY pick#2 PITT +4 over CINCY

    • Petefranklin

      FBS schools that got upset are 4-2 ATS following week. 3 starters back from suspension. Cincy will be a mess on O without their QB and Pead.Pitt got the shit ran out of them at practice this week for looking forward to this game, or at least they should have. It all points to a Pitt victory who wont turn the ball over like they did last week. I bet this just now at +5 -109. And if the stats are indeed true the public wants no part of Pitt after last week. Put this one in the win column for me!

      • Petefranklin

        sticking to my guns and taking Pitt + .5 2nd half! Dont like it but its a must play.

  • thebearchoo

    Even Steve Buscemi hated the guy

    • thebearchoo

      Ah damnit I couldn’t get the photo to upload…kinda ruins that one.

  • rodofdisaster

    To be honest, one of the reasons I have gravitated to the Browns over the years was because I could sympathize with the pain of losing your team to another city at the hands of an owner who leveraged the fans. In my case, it was Bud Adams moving the Oilers. I’ve never been the same since.

    With that said, what I’ve seen today from Clevelanders on the subject of Art Modell’s passing is quite revolting. I know y’all will argue with and hate me for saying it but it’s really quite childish.

    I don’t know how good of a deal Modell could have gotten in Cleveland or whether or not he gave up on salvaging the relationship with the city and fans.

    What I do know that in 1996, my father was going to die because no one would operate on his heart; until we went to the Cleveland Clinic and his life was saved by one of perhaps only a handful of surgeons in the United States who could have done that surgery. He almost died on the operating table but, were it not for the Cleveland Clinic and the world class surgeon…my father never would have left the operating room with a pulse. He never would have seen any of his kids get married or see any grandkids….amongst many other things. The techniques used to save my Dad are now quite a bit more common thanks to The Clinic. Do you know whose name was above the entry way when we walked in there? Art Modell’s.

    I don’t begrudge someone resenting the man for moving the team but he left the name, records and colors so they could live again (unlike the Oilers or the Colts). He didn’t sneak off like the Irsays and he contributed far more generously to his community than many people in his position. What I don’t like is seeing people trounce the man in death because that’s just classless.

    Somewhere along the way, I stopped caring about Bud Adams…because I grew up.

    So, I’m sorry if I can’t give you sympathy but, as they say, you’ll find it in the dictionary between “sh*t” and “syphilis”.

    Just my .02.

    • Petefranklin

      Nice post, lets just keep him out of Canton, anybody could have managed to get a league “designed for TV” the contracts that were had. My wife called me up not knowing that I already knew and I said he was ALREADY DEAD to me FWIW. Im just pissed that the asshole outlived my old man by 6 months, nothing personal, but my old man HATED him even before he skated.

      • rodofdisaster

        Al Davis moved a football team how many times?

        Ask yourself this: Had Art Modell not moved the Browns, would he be worthy of the Hall of Fame?

        Other people could have invented manned aircraft, radio, the first computer. That doesn’t minimize the fact that certain people are credited with being the first.

        If you look at his credentials you realize that some day, he will be in the Hall whether Cleveland fans like it or not.

        Just sayin.

        • https://twitter.com/jimkanicki jimkanicki

          the al davis analogy falls apart when you compare accomplishments — three rings, five championships with an expansion team. modell bought the most successful pro football franchise ever, with the most innovative coach ever, and the best running back ever; he presided over its decline. davis created a distinctive brand; modell pissed away the preeminent one he bought. davis ultimately came back to oakland; modell burned his bridges.

          as i said above, most everyone who knew modell personally speaks highly of him. davis seems the proximate opposite. but one leaves of legacy of ‘Commitment to Excellence’ the other took the most successful pro football franchise and accomplished nothing of note before bagging the best fan base ever.

          • ClevelandFrowns

            This a billion times. Not only did Davis win multiples of the championships Modell ever won (with Paul Brown’s players), moving the Raiders back and forth between LA and Oakland is nothing to be compared to what Modell did to Cleveland.

        • https://twitter.com/jimkanicki jimkanicki

          another analogy to a probable HOF owner would be robert kraft. he was confronted with a similar situation as modell. i’m guessing you remember his flirtation with moving the pats to hartford. but at least he did everything publicly and then worked with a really intransigent state/local govt to keep the pats in mass. (eg, boston said no you cannot build a stadium on the waterfront and we’re going to piss and moan about giving you an off-ramp; cleveland said we’ll build it for you and give you the land plus parking.)

          i mean here are HOF credentials: took perennial losing franchise with worst stadium in league and got to five super bowls, winning three within 20 years.

          hall of fames are devalued if krafts and modells are in the same rooms.

        • bupalos

          >>>If you look at his credentials you realize that some day, he will be in the Hall whether Cleveland fans like it or not.>>>

          You’re right he will be in the hall someday. The reason is not his “accomplishments” for football or football fans, but football team owners. Yahoo had the absolutely stunning lack of sense and ethics and irony to write it up this way. See if you can spot the worst confusion between “but” and “and” in modern sportswriting history:

          >>>Modell was a pariah in Cleveland, but his move sparked a rush of new stadiums around the NFL, based on the threat of franchise relocation. It was, in retrospect, a galvanic moment for the profitability of NFL franchises.>>>

          That is why art Modell will be in the hall of fame. Because he fucked over fans, cities, and the game to funnel public dollars to billionaires. Because he cemented the idea that a valuable commodity of public trust was sitting out in the open unguarded and could easily be stolen. The owners owe him a lot. Almost everything. Check out the chart on this page and see if you notice anything funny happening right around 1996.

          http://law.marquette.edu/images/sports/Forbes.pdf

          • ClevelandFrowns

            Love you, bup.

    • CleveLandThatILove

      I’m sure you know that he went on to donate millions to Johns Hopkins after he left. The man lived a full life and shared his good fortune in so many ways.

      Any real success of the Browns post Modell would have mellowed the bitterness considerably, but instead it’s been compounded.

      • bupalos

        I agree that the failure of the new franchise to this point has made it worse. But the crime is the crime.

        BTW I think it’s established that Art could have taken an expansion franchise in B-More and left this one here, he had that option. He and his owner buddies PREFERRED to shoot the hostage and not only damage the browns for a decade but set up the situation that left all the other cities begging to shovel public dollars at the teams to prevent another killing.

    • bupalos

      Who asked for sympathy?

      All I’d like to see is for people to understand that the spate of owners holding cities hostage and playing them off against one another in order to enrich themselves was a kind of civic theft. It permanently damaged a few cities and made the football and hence life worse. People don’t tend to like people who steal from them, not even after they are dead, not even if they use portions of the proceeds to help others. I’m not sure what over the top fan anger you’ve consumed, but I imagine its probably more in the mode of editorial storytelling aka the jets fan tackle than anything very accurate. Seems like its mostly ho-hum here to me.

      • rodofdisaster

        bup,

        Luckily what you’re touching on has nothing to do with my disdain. Obviously, I should have included examples of the vitriol that exploded on twitter especially yesterday morning.

        Like I said, it’s ok in my mind to hate the man if you feel so inclined but I have a real problem with people who can’t acknowledge anything good that he did and more importantly with people who feel the need to figuratively dismember his carcass in death. I’m not saying he should be sainted in Cleveland but respect for the dead is something that is missing. If you don’t like the man, fine. No need to dance or piss on his grave.

        • bupalos

          >>>If you don’t like the man, fine. No need to dance or piss on his grave.>>>

          That’s the thing, it isn’t really about the man. I can agree that it would be good if Modell the man could be separated from his NFL legacy. Since it’s the man who died it would be best if somehow we just treated of the man I suppose. But the reality is that the only reason Modell is famous is because of the Browns, that’s the only reason he is something of a celebrity and the only reason anyone in the country outside his family and friends know he’s dead now or was alive then. So it seems a bit odd to ask for his history with the Browns and Cleveland to be relegated to his humanitarian streak. That streak may have been larger than normal for your average multi-millionaire macher, I’m not 100% sure*, but in any event it is objectively much smaller than the rest of his legacy.

          The media is doing a national shine job for him, and to combat that I see nothing wrong with pissing upon or dancing on the grave of Modell’s NFL legacy. From the point of view of 98% of the population, that is the only part of Art Modell that still exists on earth. And there’s nothing wrong with the idea of the man and the legacy paying a permanent price for his act of civic theft and precedent of civic blackmail that spread like wildfire through the sports world thereafter. There is a real moral hazard involved in overlooking that while shining this guy up.

          Would it be good if folks could keep in mind the distinction between the man and the legacy, and that there are billions of human beings as flawed and prone to destructive error (qualified by some good) as Mr. Modell? Sure. He was a man. Have some respect. But be realistic. You’re asking a lot for people who really only know him directly as a thief and liar that hurt their city and hurt them personally to not react emotionally to his posthumous media resurrection.

          *In my younger days I used to get my hair cut at Fratantonio’s barber shop near John Carrol. The barbers were really proud that he came there, they obviously liked having the connection and being able to do wink wink nudge nudge with Brown’s news. But I definitely didn’t get the sense that anyone thought he was just a great guy.

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/WEZ3PWTZHYEGNQ5NFAMWQ4IOHQ Mickey

      He left the name, colors and records because he wanted to avoid pending litigation against him. Not so “they could live again”. This is one part of historical revisionism that annoys me to no end. If it were up to Modell, Cleveland would be in the division with the Baltimore Browns.

      You are an outsider, so I really wouldn’t expect you to understand what kind of impact Modell leaving with the Browns had on the city. The truth is, nobody reading this wants your f*cking sympathy. What we do want is for people (and media) from elsewhere in the country to stop sanctimoniously telling people to “grow up”. Worry about yourself a little more, and worry about what others are doing a little bit less, especially since they aren’t harming anyone.

      I don’t agree with people dancing on Modell’s grave, but I’m not so obnoxiously self important to act like I’m in a position to tell people how to act or feel.

      • https://twitter.com/jimkanicki jimkanicki

        whoa nellie.

        i think it’s imminently reasonable to hold a different and more favorable view of modell if your dad’s life was saved in THE MODELL WING of cleveland clinic.

        would also point out that ive yet to see rod express an uninformed opinion.

        and rod is not considered an outsider here to me for sure. i mean he just authors a weekly beloved feature here all season long… i mean, geez.

      • bupalos

        >>>Worry about yourself a little more, and worry about what others are doing a little bit less>>>

        >>>I’m not so obnoxiously self important to act like I’m in a position to tell people how to act or feel.>>>

        uh….I, uh….hmmmm.

        Good point about the Baltimore Browns though. That’s what he tried to do. And if he was really into not hurting Cleveland, he could have sold the team and gotten an expansion in Baltimore. That’s obviously what should have happened and what would have happened I think if the owners hadn’t deliberately decided to shoot the hostage.

      • rodofdisaster

        Actually I know exactly how it feels and that’s not the point. The point was about dancing on his grave.

  • clayII

    Indiana (-13.5) / UMass
    Ball St (+27.5) / Clemson
    Oregon St (+8) / Wiscy
    Texas Tech (-18) / Texas St
    Eagles (-8.5) / Browns

    ARMY (+6) / SDSU

    This game is a money line play for me. SDSU looked very blah losing at Washington last week – even though they covered, I think thats more a function that Washington got up early and went into cruise control. The Army is playing their first game this week. An angle I like, Army get to watch Aztec tape, Aztecs look at some shit from last year. Senior QB Steelman is healthy and they return 15 starters from last year. Last year they lost by 3 to SDSU at home, even though they outgained them by over 150 yds. And this is a much better version of Army, and a more sucky version of SDSU. Nailed my essay last week (props Louisville), so lets keep this rollin.

  • ChuckKoz

    *Utah -7.5 (at Utah State)
    Eagles -8.5 (at Browns)
    Notre Dame -14.5 (vs Purdue)
    USC -26.5 (vs Syracuse – in NJ)
    Bengals +6 (at Ravens)
    Chargers +1 (at Raiders)

    Utah State’s stadium is called Romney Stadium.* Being associated with the Romney name is as ominous of a sign as possible for the Aggies 2012 season. You know there this guy named Mitt Romney is running for President and he is a total fucking trainwreck. He wants to turn Medicare into a program where old people get a coupon to go by private insurance, which is probably the worst idea possible. He has a tax plan that will cut taxes for the top 2%, while RAISING TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS (source: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/study-romney-plan-would-raise-taxes-on-95-of-americans.php). He is totally lying about welfare reforms in an effort to race-bait anxious white voters. (source: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/06/13705742-the-welfare-lie-makes-a-furious-comeback?lite) He had a god awful record for job creation as one term governor (47 out of 50 states). His big Olympic “success” involved him just getting a bunch more in government subsidies. His other business success involved a bunch of bullshit that I don’t want to even get into. And he has flip flopped on every social issue (and now is currently on the wrong side of each issue….i mean shit, if you are going to flip like that, at least get on the correct side dummy). And at the convention he signed off on letting some crazy old man talk to an empty chair for 10 minutes during primetime viewing.

    Oh, and Utah has beaten Utah State by more than 7 points basically every time they have ever played.

    *Apparently the stadium is named after some other guy named Dick Romney. Relationship not clear, but most of these things remain unclear amongst families that practiced polygamy in the recent past.

  • http://twitter.com/JRichTCF Jeff Rich

    *Purdue (+14.5) at Notre Dame*

    Did I get burnt picking against this Irish team a week ago? You’re damn right I did. Can we learn anything from Purdue’s victory and Robert Marve’s performance against the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky? Absolutely not; especially considering that Caleb TerBush is going to be “under center” (What? It’s an expression!), even though basketball on grass doesn’t involve anyone actually going under center. You may think that’s a Joe Tiller thing, probably because Danny Hope hasn’t had the tools to make it happen, losing receiver after receiver to injury the last few seasons. These Boilermakers are healthy right now with OJ Ross leading a talented corps of receivers against a Notre Dame secondary that’s still wet behind the ears, coming off a game against a non-existent aerial assault from that service academy in Maryland.

    Obviously, Purdue is bigger than Navy up front, and Kawaan Short is a real playmaker that will give the Irish running attack fits, and they come equipped with an outstanding secondary, featuring Ricardo Allen. Gone from Notre Dame is Michael Floyd, who lit the Boilermakers up for over 100 yards a year ago. Their biggest weapon in the passing game is Tyler Eifert, who isn’t a game breaker. The reality is that Notre Dame is probably as good as they’ve been under, and will likely win this game, even if Purdue turns it into a shootout, but probably not by more than 14.>/i>

    Vanderbilt (-3.5) at Northwestern

    Oklahoma State (-10.5) at Arizona

    USC (-26.5) at Syracuse

    Bills (+3) at Jets

    Eagles (+8.5) at Browns

  • actovegin1armstrong

    ****saints -7**** Super Terrific Happy Bonus Essay Pick

    As much as I hate to admit it, the Quarterback position can be somewhat important in the NFL. Drew Brees is a polished veteran who has proven his abilities to be a difference maker and win games. I like Brian Orakpo and the Redskin’s defense and they have a distinct advantage on the important side of the ball, but not a big enough advantage to overcome the problem that Washington will have starting a rookie Quarterback and for that matter the wrong rookie Quarterback.
    Kirk Cousins is a better Quarterback than RG3. The Saints Offensive Line may be the best in the NFL, so they can neutralize that vaunted Redskin Defense. Unless RG3 gets hurt early, like for example by trying to put one of his flashy head fakes on the door jam walking out of the locker room and gets a concussion by running right into it and Cousins plays this game, I see the Saints as having no problem covering the spread.
    It will not be long before Browns fans will stop complaining that the Browns did not give up all of their draft picks until the year 2525 to get RG3?

    Another moronic prediction that a bottle of cheap Mendoza Valley Malbec has convinced me to put down for posterity’s/posterior’s sake is the top five QB’s from the 2012 draft, in order:
    1.) Andrew Luck
    2.) Russell Wilson
    3.) Kirk Cousins
    4.) Brandon Weeden
    5.) RG3

    Florida +1.5
    Florida Int -23.5
    Kent State +7
    Browns +8.5
    Already lost with Pitt

  • https://twitter.com/jimkanicki jimkanicki

    pretty much indifferent to modell’s death. people who knew him personally speak highly of him.

    my issue is with those who find his career worthy of hall-of-fame. to review his legacy:
    * he helped get pro football on tv. five random posters to this blog could accomplish this.
    * he was an abusive landlord. five random posters from this blog would understand that you cant screw both your primary tenant and by extension the community who donated your property indefinitely.
    * he was unethical. no matter how you slice it, cleveland treated him pretty damn well for three decades and no matter how you slice it, he screwed his friends and neighbors.

    i dont have a whole lot emotion to give on the subject. but as a matter of fact, his primary accomplishment was longevity; his primary legacy is unethical greed. thus the hall of fame talk about him from uninformed national media and hypocritical baltimoreans does bother me.

    • manc

      I’ve wondered about the “TV pioneer” aspect of Modell’s HOF candidacy as well. A chimpanzee could’ve figured out, after the Colts-Giants 1958 championship, that pro football was the ultimate TV sport.

      The key to the NFL’s TV success was the Mara’s agreeing to share network revenue equally in the late 50s-early 60s; its the basis for the sports relative competitive balance.

      Modell had (apparently) the idea for Monday Night Football. Big whoop. Don Draper would’ve come up with it eventually.

      • https://twitter.com/jimkanicki jimkanicki

        1000% percent agree. wellington mara is greatest hero of pro football. i was going to come back to that point. thank you.

        so if youre keeping score,

        * modell purchased the best pro football team ever with $250,000 or a 6% share, and,
        * obtained nfl television contracts with wellington mara’s donation of the largest revenue share to the greater pot.

        the thing he deserves to be in the hall of fame for is persuading people he deserved to be in the hall of fame.

  • bupalos

    >>>If you look at his credentials you realize that some day, he will be in the Hall whether Cleveland fans like it or not.>>>

    You’re right he will be in the hall someday. The reason is not his “accomplishments” for football or football fans, but football team owners. Yahoo had the absolutely stunning lack of sense and ethics and irony to write it up this way. See if you can spot the worst confusion between “but” and “and” in modern sportswriting history:

    >>>Modell was a pariah in Cleveland, but his move sparked a rush of new stadiums around the NFL, based on the threat of franchise relocation. It was, in retrospect, a galvanic moment for the profitability of NFL franchises.>>>

    That is why art Modell will be in the hall of fame. Because he fucked over fans, cities, and the game to funnel public dollars to billionaires. Because he cemented the idea that a valuable commodity of public trust was sitting out in the open unguarded and could easily be stolen. The owners owe him a lot. Almost everything. Check out the chart on this page and see if you notice anything funny happening right around 1996.

    http://law.marquette.edu/image…

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