Dave has been one of the the most consistent players on the team (along side Phil and Josh). To be fair, Dave, Phil, and Josh also got PLENTY of opportunities in games over the past few years. The reality is: we punt a lot, we kick a lot of field goals, and we return waaaaay to many kickoffs.

Midway through last season Zastudil hurt his planting foot’s knee and was put on the IR. He tried his best to come into camp healthy this year, but the knee was still an issue; the Browns were forced to put him on the IR for the season. He is in the final year of a 5 year contract, so it isn’t clear whether he will be back next year or not.

I don’t know what the hope for. On one hand I want our new punter, Reggie Hodges, to have a good year and do very well for us. However, him doing well would almost guarantee that Dave wouldn’t be back for the Browns in 2011. I guess the best possible situation for Dave and the Browns is that we simply don’t have to punt this year – ever. Honestly though, if we make it out of the first quarter of the first game without punting I will be surprised.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Usually for the draft I will sit down and pretend to be studying or working on something with ESPN on in the background, but this year I did things differently.  My parents were able to get 3 tickets to the club seat draft day party at the stadium.  I have said before that I am not sure that I am cut out for the club seat area – I am more of a normal guy who doesn’t care much for luxury stuff, but I have to stay the club area is growing on me; the reality is it is nice to get special treatment.  Anyways, Emily, my dad, and me all drove down the stadium together to check things out.

We arrived and parked right in front of the stadium – I have to say it is an odd feeling only have to walk twenty feet to get to the stadium doors…I am used to walking from the East 13th lot.  We walked up to the club area and walked around a little. The had the stadium decked out with posters and hanging flags for all of the 32 teams.

The Browns also had some previous and current Browns players signing autographs.  Although I didn’t recognize their names, it was really interesting talking to the old timers.  They told me that they actually were still working.  I have a lot of respect for that – these guys played a game, didn’t get paid a whole bunch, and when it was all over, went back to their jobs.  You just don’t see that very much today – getting drafted by the NFL is like wining the lottery.  You immediately are given a lifetime worth of money without the need to prove yourself.

Next, we found that they had a photo area setup so you could pose in front of the press room pattern.  Emily and I took a picture as though I had just bin signed by the Browns.  Of course, I was holding up my Kosar jersey.  I will really enjoying sharing that picture with my friends for years to come.

We still had a fair amount of time before the drafted started so we decided to go on a locker room tour.  There were 90 people in our tour and our tour guy, Larry, was quite overwhelmed.  Somehow he managed to keep us together as we went through the depths of the stadium.  I learned something I never knew before – the Browns have 2 away locker rooms.  Why?  So that when non-NFL games are being played in the stadium the “home” team does not use the Browns locker room – that is something reserved only for the Cleveland Browns.  That, is just plain cool.  Also, we were allowed to get on the warning track of the field, but heaven forbid we touch a blade of grass (so Larry told us understanding our desire).  Being down on the field level was really a cool experience.

After the tour wrapped up we headed back up to the club area to get some food.  To our surprise the Browns MCs announced that Mike Holmgren would be stopping by to address us.  What?  Really?  There isn’t anything else you could be doing with this time? After the initial shock wore off it was clear to me that the Browns had a definite plan for the first day of the draft and there was nothing else that needed discussion.  There is no way Mike would be at the stadium if there was still a loose end in the plan.  When he did arrive he gave the typical address – mentioning how he wanted to improve the team by adding quality players, how important the fans were, etc. etc.  He ended by instructing us to shout out who we wanted the Browns to draft; naturally, I shouted BERNIE KOSAR…

After Mike left, we grabbed some food and sat down to watch the draft.  My heart pounded as the Rams were on the clock – were the Browns going to trade up and get Bradford or not?  After the Ram’s picked the top QB in the draft, I looked over to Emily and my dad and said, “I hope we don’t remember this moment 5 years from now.”  Honestly, I really hope we don’t.  I hope Sam doesn’t turn out to be yet another example of how unlucky Cleveland is.  As the sixth pick came up, the reality of us drafting Berry got closer and closer…then taken away in a moment as Kansas City drafted him instead.  There were boos coming from all corners of the room as he walked up to get his new jersey.  We all knew what was happening next – the Browns picked Joe Hadden from Florida.

As Joe was on the phone with the Browns right before the pick was announced the camera did a close up of his entire family.  They were all crying; some would say that they were tears of relief and simply letting their nerves out.  Honestly though, everyone at his table looked somber…I still don’t know exactly what to make of this.  I look forward to hearing from him and getting the story.

Much like someone marrying into a family, Joe is instantly a Brown.  Now comes the time that we really get to know each other.  Reading articles about a player or a fan base is one thing, but actually interacting with one another is a whole different story.  Joe has a lot to learn about being Brown, what it means to Cleveland, and how crazy we are.  Soon enough, we will also learn many things about Joe as well.  I just hope that this new family member gets along with everyone…

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

For whatever reason I got it in my head that I wanted a push reel mower.  I am kind of a green person, but I wouldn’t consider myself an extremest or anything of that sort.  I just make sure to turn lights off, keep my furnace lower than average, things like that.  I mentioned this idea to my girlfriend, Emily and got nothing but positive feedback (she definitely is more of a green person than me).  My brother-in-law also supported my decision to go green.  That is where the support ended – when I brought this up to my Uncle Ange and my dad over Easter I got some funny looks and was highly encouraged to reconsider.  My father and I share a common outlook on things: we both have a tendency to be perfectionists.  Although, he actually values his free time and goes about things the most efficient way.  I, on the other hand, enjoy doing things my way – it just so happens that my way is typically the hardest possible way…go figure.  I will admit though, once it became apparent to my dad that I really wanted to try this, he did give me his full support (at least that is what he said as he laughed).

Being an engineer I wanted to make a spreadsheet to compare all the different models, analysing even the smallest differences between brands and models.  I quickly realized that there wasn’t all that much to compare.  With a push reel you don’t have to worry about how much horsepower it has, what type of gas it uses, special oil, etc.  You basically have to decide – how wide do you want it and do you want a grass catcher.  For any sane person the answer to those questions are: As wide as you can get and YES to a grass catcher.

After all of ten minutes of research I decided to go with the Craftsman 18′ Push Reel Mower; I wanted this one since my brother-in-law is the brand manager for Craftsman and I wanted to support the brand.  Unfortunately, after making a few calls it seems that the model does not have a grass catcher as mentioned on the website.  Also – the one universal grass catcher I found had several reviews mentioning that it didn’t work with the Craftsman.  Regretfully, I went back to my searching and settled upon the Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower.  I stopped at Home Depot to pick it up on my way home.  One of the employees saw me carrying the box towards checkout (yes, I could carry it…fairly lightweight) and gave me an odd look.  I told him I wanted to give this a shot – he laughed and said good luck (He probably thought I would be returning it tomorrow).  I drove home and brought the box inside.

When you have something basic, it turns out it also is extremely easy to assemble.  There were just a few bolts that I had to put in to assemble the handle; I was ready to start mowing within 15 minutes of getting home.  This was a great change of pace from the more complex assemblies Emily and I took on over the past few months – a TV stand and a dining room table.  It was refreshing to have something light weight and easy to manage alone.

Once I finished the assembly it was 8:00, but still light enough.  I carried the mower outside and mowed my entire yard.  At first things were a little rough, but once I got the hang of how fast to push it and handling the uneven ground things really started to click.  I don’t have the biggest yard it the world so I managed to get everything done within half an hour or so.  I definitely worked up a sweat – push reel is no walk in the park, that is for sure.

I should mention that a push reel mower is not for the faint of heart (literally and figuratively).  In all honesty you have to be slightly insane to even consider such a thing – you have to be somewhat of a masochist and also really, really, really enjoy some physical labor (seriously).   I must say, once I finished, I got a sense of accomplishment that I never got with a motor mower.  Also, since this mower doesn’t make any noise, I can mow early in the morning or late at night without worrying about annoying my neighbors with noise pollution.  After one cutting session I have to say that I am really enjoying my push reel mower.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I am not a huge fan of messing around with gas and fire – it is a recipe for disaster.  Unfortunately, that is what was required to get the pilot light lite again.  Emily stopped by with her Dare-to-Repair book for women.  It completely outlined the steps to relight the pilot light.  Each water heater is a little different, so I won’t give instructions here – I would encourage you to buy a repair book or look at the manual for your water heater.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

As I was finalizing the order the salesman said, “Electric dryer, right?”.  I was midly flustered and was unaware that there was even an option.  Without really thinking I said yes…

My delivery date came and they showed up with the washer and dryer.  The delivery man went to the basement and asked if I was going to have an electrician come out and install an outlet for the dryer.  Now I was really confused.  Apparently, gas is the other option – and that is what my house was setup for!

I asked the delivery guy which was more efficient – he said electric without missing a beat.  Emily (my girlfriend) and my parents did some massive googling on it while I called the store.  As it turns out, GAS IS MORE EFFICIENT.  At times, it can be up to 50% better.  I don’t blame the delivery guy for misleading me – he simply didn’t want to drive back.

HHGreg returned the next day with a gas dryer, but apparently I didn’t have a shutoff-valve close enough to the hookup and they were not authorized to do the work.  One quick stop at homedepot – I picked up a gas line sealant and a shut-off valve.  The installation is simple enough:

1. Shutoff the gas to the area of pipe you are working on
2. Remove the cap
3. Line the inside of the shut-off valve with the sealant
4. Twist the valve into place – use a wrench to make sure it is tight
5. Connect the dryer line to the shut-off valve
6. Turn the gas back on – if you smell gas turn it off and make sure your connections are tight.

Lesson Learned:

1. There is a difference between a electric and gas dryer.
2. Installing a shut-off valve is not to hard.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I picked up the pizza and made it home just in time for the intro video from channel 3.  The four of us were sitting in front of the TV watching to video when we all said “Oh My God!  Where is the remote?”  We frantically looked around the room searching for the remote…Emily was horribly confused because she didn’t see what my parents and me did.  I just kept saying, “You will see…”  Searching for the remote seemed to be one of those moments in life that seemed to go on for hours, but in all reality was just a few moments.  Eventually we found the remote stuffed between two of the cushions of the sofa.  I restarted the show on the TV and we all watched again.  This time though, we paid special attention to what was on the screen.  Emily now saw what we saw…we were all in awe of what was before us on the screen.

I am sure everyone reading this has seen an intro video or two before the game – they are a collage of player shots and a couple fans mixed together to a high pace, country style music – the kind of stuff that gets you pumped up before a game.  Last week was no different except for one thing…we were on the screen!  The video was centered on Emily and I holding up our “THIS YEAR” sign that we brought to every game last year.  We were only on the screen for a moment, but it made our day.

Sadly, that was the high point of the game for us (before it started).  The Browns looked like more of last year’s team than a newly formed team under Mangini.  The team is much like our economy right now – you can’t fix it overnight, there is no “one solution” and things will just take time to turn around.

That being said, when will THIS YEAR be?  I don’t know, none of us do.  All I can control while we wait is how I feel about the team and what actions I will take while waiting.  I can tell you this though – the THIS YEAR sign will be at every game until THIS YEAR is over and we can all celebrate for years to come.

Madden Prediction for this week:

This year I have decided to play the Browns game of the week on Madden before it happens and see what the outcome is.  This week, the Browns were winning 17-0 going into the fourth quarter, but some late interceptions and poor defense resulted in 21 points for the Lions.  The Lions went ahead with a couple minutes to play and managed to hold the lead.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

You must think I am insane to even bring up such a meaningless game (that we lost anyway).   I have good reason, believe me…

A couple weeks before Christmas I was informed by Emily that her mom got me “a very thoughtful” gift and I needed to put some serious thought into what I would get her.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Hamburg is a lot like my mother – impossible to predict what she wants.  I thought about it for awhile and could not come up with anything; I turned to Emily.  Of course she had no idea either, her mom is, after all, impossible to shop for.  At this point I figured I should ask my mom what to get her – she suggested a book on Obama.  I quickly purchased the book and felt good about it.  I left to visit my sister in Chicago the next day.

I returned from Chicago on Sunday morning, right before the game.  My parents were still in Chicago so we got their club tickets and I gave mine to my friend Rich and his brother Brian.  They don’t get to go to the stadium much so I think they appreciated seeing a game – even if it was freezing cold and meant nothing.

Emily picked me up at the airport and we began to drive back to my place so I could get my Browns gear.  On the ride home she told me that I had to open her mother’s gift to me before we went down to the game.  I was completely dumbfounded as to what it could be.

Once we got home I brought the large box into the kitchen and placed it on the counter.  It was a regular brown box – not giving any hint as to where it came from or what it contained.  Before I was allowed to begin opening the gift Emily had to get her mom on speaker phone so she could her my reaction.  At this point I was really wondering what it was, but remained calm.

I got the signal from Emily and began to cut open the box.  I used grandma Shields precision while opening the box – I carefully cut the tape so cleanly that it could be used again .  As I pulled the flaps open I was overwhelmed with a brightness…it was glowing orange (that is how I remember it anyway).  I quickly lifted the felt fabric from the box and held it high – I immediately knew what it was.

It was every grown man’s dream (Clevelander anyway)!  Apparently Santa Claus needed another helper in the Cleveland area and commissioned Mrs. Hamburg to make me a suit.  What made this suit so special is that it was not just any suit – it was a Cleveland Browns Santa Suit.  I immediately got changed into it, making sure that all my accessories were in order – my hair, beard, and glasses were all perfectly aligned.  It was glorious and hilarious all at the same time.  Rich and Brian came by to drive down and were in awe at the sight.

As we drove down to the stadium I felt this wave of responsibility come over me.  I was working for Santa Claus today – This was serious business…I had a reputation to hold up.  As we walked to the stadium I found myself yelling “Merry Christmas” and “Ho Ho Ho” to the best of my ability.  I got a few happy responses and people seemed to enjoy it.  Watching the kids reactions to Santa Claus was the best hands down.  Their eyes would widen and they would get so excited that they couldn’t even move.  As I would pass by I would hear their parents say “Look, even Santa Claus is a Browns fan.”

Emily and I tried to sit in our seats once we got into the stadium.  There was a problem though – it was cold outside, the game meant nothing, and I had a suit to show off.  We made our way back inside to the club area.  We walked in circles around the area – groups of women would take their picture with me and I would shout Merry Christmas on occasion.  Something I did notice as we walked around is the amount of respect that Santa Claus gets.  Usually at Browns games you need to lower your shoulder like as though you are Jim Brown and try to push through people to get where you needed to go.  Things were a lot different with the suit – people would say excuse me, and get out of my way.  Grown men would ask me for a win for Christmas.  Sadly, even Santa Claus can’t control such things – he specializes mostly in toys and ponies.

As we walked around we came across this one boy.  He must have been about 4 years old.  He stood as tall as he could and looked straight up at me.  He was in such shock he could not move.  I simply smiled at him and said Merry Christmas as I walked by.  As Emily and I rounded the club section again we came across the same little boy, again I smiled and walked by.  A couple minutes later I felt this tug on my pants.  Sure enough this little guy tracked us down (with mom’s help).  I knelt down to hear him ask, “Can I get a picture with you Santa Claus?”  As we were taking the picture I passed on my information I received from the boss in the north pole: All good boys are Cleveland Browns fans.  Before parting ways, I made sure to get his wish list and passed it a long to the boss.

Looking back at that game, I have to say it is among my top 5 most memoriable Browns games.  Sure, I will be working for Santa Claus again next year, but there is something about that first day on the job that makes it so special.  It won’t be to long before I forget about the actual game played that day, but I will remember opening that box and that little boy for the rest of my life.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I feel horrible for DA. Was he the answer? Was he the guy who would lead us to our first championship since 1964? No, he wasn’t. Would he still be our starting QB today if BE hadn’t dropped 14 passes? Probably yes…but he still would not be the answer. He would not be the guy to lead us to a championship. But, he was a descent QB that did everything he could to win every game. He never blamed anyone else for the offensive’s troubles – he took it on himself. I respect that. I respect him. I hope there is a way for him to stay as a backup, but I don’t think he will be able too. I get that.

Here comes Quinn. He has a short week to prepare for his first meaningful playtime as a pro. Will he win? Will he be everything we hoped he would be? What will happen? I have no idea. No one does. If they think they know how this will play out – they are lying to you and to themselves. There is no way of judging how someone will perform under pressure until their back is against the wall. We will see what Quinn can do tonight.

I will admit I am a huge fan of him being an Ohio guy. I am a big fan of anyone who wore a Kosar Jersey before they could ever write “K” “O” “S” “A” “R”. Is he the next Kosar? No. There will never be another Kosar.  The only thing Quinn and Kosar have in common – playing the Broncos in games that matter.  If Quinn can beat the Broncos in his first start…that would a good start.  If Quinn turns out to be great, he will be the next great Browns quarterback – he will stand alone in history just like Otto Graham, Brian Sipe, and Kosar (admittedly, I am leaving some out) – you can not compare them. They all played at different times, for different reasons, under different circumstances. All you can say is that they were all great and that, of course, were all Brown.

So what happens if Quinn is bad? We already know the answer to that. Look at this morning’s paper. He is the 11th quarterback the Browns have started since their ‘return’ in 1999. If he is bad he will become a trivia question for the die hards 30 years from now. He won’t be forgotten, but he also won’t be remembered.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

So what errands were we running exactly?  Well, in short – the fun kind.  Here is a little history for you:

I had an idea last year to dress up in a Cleveland Browns Santa outfit for some of the games late last season.  I quickly found out that one could not buy an orange Santa Claus outfit – they simply did not exist.  If I wanted to be the Browns Santa I was going to have to make it myself…

So we planned on going out and buying the material to make a Santa outfit.  As we were talking about it Emily wondered how she would dress up – then it came to us…the Browns Brownie.

We stopped in Jo-Ann Fabrics at Warrensville Center and got most of the things we needed – bright orange felt for the shoes, black and white felt for the belt, and of course, some flesh color felt for the elf ears!  We then dropped by Target and picked up a stripped undershirt and also an orange top to finish out the outfit…or so we thought.  My mom called us from the stadium (where she was dropping off some tickets for will call); she had bought Emily the perfect striped Browns hat.

When we got home Emily and my mom worked hard on making the outfit look amazing while I got things ready for our Sunday tailgating.  This was only our second attempt at tailgating, but we were better prepared this time – I bought a 15 dollar char coal grill and a big container of lighter fluid.  We bought some burgers and hot dogs to cook up as well.  Emily’s friends were bringing some chips and such – it was a team effort.

The last time we tailgated I got a whole bunch crap for not having Bud or Bud Light available by some fellow tailgaters.  I would not make this mistake again, so in addition to my Heineken Light, I bought a case of Bud Light.

On Sunday morning we got up extra early and Emily put on her costume – she looked just like the Browns Brownie…it was crazy!  On our way over to pick up Emily’s friends we realized we didn’t have a lighter for the grill – we had to stop in Dave’s.  Let me tell you: whether you are dressed like an elf, or walking next to someone dressed like an elf you command…attention.  Everyone looked at Emily and would give one of a few responses: confusion (non Browns fans), approval (die hards), or laughter (somewhere in between).

Tailgating this time really was a whole new experience for us.  It was a lot of fun to just hang out and throw around a football for a few hours.  I was nervous at first because we really were just winging it – my parents never really tailgated, so I didn’t have any personal experience to work off of.  I was just trying to imitate what I would see as we walked by the Munni Lot to the stadium.

As we walked by my parents would say things like, “that is where the crazy fans are before the game…getting ready.”  I remember as a child I always wanted to be one of those crazy fans, which is funny if you know me because it is completely against my nature.  It wasn’t until I got much older that I understood ‘getting ready’ meant drinking like crazy…

That being said, I think we did a great job.  We had our grill, a fold out table, a table cloth, a football, beer, char coal, and lighter fluid.  I had no idea how popular we would become because of our lighter fluid.  There were at least a couple people that came by begging for some.  Oh course, we were happy to share.  There was also another fellow who came by in need of buns.  He insisted on paying, but I told him I couldn’t take money from a Browns fan.  He finally agreed and just took the buns…only to return a couple minutes later with two bud lights as payment.  Great…I started with 12 bud lights on the day and now I had 14.  I had no idea that bud  light is an accepted currency while tailgating – I guess I did learn something on Sunday.

The game itself was typical DA…inconsistent.  We came out flat…down 10-0 before we even knew the game started.  People were falling asleep – we had all seen this show before…we knew how it ended.  Cribbs, though, was not so fast to concede the lose.  Following a Raven’s touchdown he returned the kickoff 90 some yards for a touchdown.  Let me tell you – that woke us all up.

The Browns were alive again.  They began to move the ball well and started to stop this rookie Joe Flacco.  We managed to get a 14 point lead heading into the forth quarter.  It was at this point a guy on the field started to point at us.  I was initially thinking we were in trouble…

I had gotten into a little verbal altercation with the people behind us during the third quarter.  I was saying something to Emily and he said, “Hey Kosar, your wrong!” (Ok, so I am paraphrasing it a little to keep things clean).  I immediately turned to him and told him he could say whatever he wanted to about ‘Rob’, but do not bring Kosar into this – he is, after all, King.  I don’t like fighting with our Browns fans, but I will defend Kosar at all costs.  I quickly won the battle (even his friends admitted it)…

The guy kept pointing.  Then, he picked up his camera.  I got it.  I picked up my sign and was waiving it all around.  Emily and I looked over at the big screen and saw in big bright letters, “THIS YEAR.”  It was amazing.

The sad thing is that none of this mattered.  In the forth quarter we blew the lead.  The loss was solidified by a late pick-6 thrown by DA.  The crowd instantly starting chanting for Brady.  I felt horrible for DA.  Emily and I didn’t cheer.  (More on DA/Quinn in my next post).  It wasn’t DA’s fault – it was a team loss.  BE had a dropped pass that would have been a 50 yard gain, the defense missed a lot of tackles, a lot of things went wrong before that interception.

I am putting this last part in here out of order because of its importance, so bear with me…

After packing up the car we began our walk to the stadium.  Emily was doing her best impression of a ‘mascot walk’ and I was holding our sign high and proud.  Again people would look at Emily, but since most of them were ‘now ready’ instead of smiling they would shout things like “Hey its the Brownie!” or “Come over here!”.  What struck me the most though is when other couples looked at us.  I could see a sense of jealousy in the eyes of the other men and a look of disbelief in most of the woman’s.  I overheard one guy say “That is awesome” only to have his girlfriend reply, “That is intense.”  At this point I felt such a sense of pride for Emily.  At this time a couple years ago she was not a Browns fan.  Heck, she wasn’t even a football fan.  But now, she had spent her entire weekend preparing for a game, tailgating for the game, watching the game.  She became a Brownie, she became Brown.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In grade school it was clear who the good/amazing athletes were – they dominated everything. Once I got to Ignatius, it appeared that things kind of evened out, and only a select few stood out as great players. One of those players was Tony Gonzalez… he played cornerback and wide receiver for the Wildcats, and performed both jobs well. I was certain he would be a great player. (He eventually went on to play for the Colts – I wish I liked his coach, but that is a different story.)

Once I left for UC (Cincinnati) I started to follow college football more. There are so many schools and so many athletes, but ultimately only a select few are honored with a nomination for the Heisman Trophy. Think about that – there are thousands of players and only a handful are considered to be the best… these guys have to be really amazing to stand out.

6’4, 360 Lbs, and a Mr. T Mohawk: Shaun Rogers stands out just about anywhere. Every time we see him Emily tells me how scary he looks – I will admit he is on the second half of my “People who I want to upset” list. Last Sunday, he stood out amongst other professionals – it was quickly apparent he was playing at a different level. We had Good DA, Edwards with some tape on his hands, and Jamal running with a fresh oil change, but none of them compared to what Rogers willed his body to do on Sunday.

I typically don’t like to point out one guy as the game changer because I realize that the entire team causes a victory. He had 9 solo tackles, a sack, a few hurries, and a FG block. That being said, there are only a few certainities in life: 1) There is a God . 2) I am not him. 3) Shaun Rogers is why we won against the Jaguars.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites