Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Complaints against officer keep coming
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
'Tecmo Bowl' recreation of Super Bowl XLIV
See Jane Style:
WKNR's Tony Rizzo tries to be a voice of reason as Clevelanders go bonkers over loss to Cowboys
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008
Did you hear that the sky is falling?
The Chicken Littles screamed out in force on ESPN 850 (WKNR 850-AM) on Monday's Rizzo on the Radio show during the usual postmortem of the Browns-Cowboys debacle from Sunday afternoon.
Calls ran about 10-1 in favor of the team being completely useless, horribly wretched and godawful in the segments I monitored. And, of course, coach Romeo Crennel should be run out of town after being stoned, egged or tarred and feathered.
Yes, folks, after one game, the season is over. Time to pack it in and play for the draft next spring.
That was the rather facetious angle of Tony Rizzo's show as he parried with his sidekick and constant foil, Aaron Goldhammer.
This is why I like Rizzo. He has gone out on a limb, a rather thin and splintered one at that, and claimed the Browns will be in the Super Bowl. Most of that talk is in jest, but it points to something bigger. Having grown up in Northeast Ohio, he supports the home team and does so without being a homer.
Rizzo rather deftly talked folks off their respective window ledges while not pulling a single punch in criticizing the Browns for what could only generously be called a ''lackluster'' performance. The pass rush? He railed against it. The defense in general? Blah. The offense? He told some callers that the offense looked out of sync and not being together for much of the preseason certainly didn't help.
But here's where he parts company with most people you would label ''homers.'' Rizzo asked, ''Why should Browns fan settle for 'competitive?' '' We should be beyond competitive and expect more from a team that went 10-6 last year and that has carried itself with an air of confidence all preseason, he said.
Give Goldhammer credit, too, for rightly taking Crennel to task for settling for a field goal with his team down by 21 points and 10 minutes left in the game. He rightly said that in football that's not something you do with that much time left.
All eyes on Browns
With double-digit wins and fancy offenses come more eyes. As has been documented for much of the time leading up to the regular season, the Browns have five opportunities to shine in the national spotlight in 2008.
When you consider Sunday's game began at 4:15 and Fox sent its stud team of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck to call it, it might as well have been called a national contest, too.
The Browns have and will continue to attract closer media scrutiny. Such proved the case Sunday after that field goal, when just before going to commercials, Buck noted in a disbelieving tone that a team down by three touchdowns had settled for three points.
For the record, in his Monday afternoon news conference, Crennel said that even after sleeping on the decision, he would have done the same thing again.
Another shot
Check out what former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci said in the aftermath of the Browns-Cowboys game: ''On paper, we thought this was going to be an even ballgame. I guess we played on grass.''
Modest gains
Folks who pay attention to ratings have to scratch their heads and wonder how the NFL's viewership keep rising.
On CBS, the ratings are up once again to open the season.
It's a modest 4 percent, but given the penthouse the league lives in now with respect to popularity, any gain is going to be impressive.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/
Did you hear that the sky is falling?
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Naples, FL
Posted 07:17 AM, 09/09/2008
If RAC still feels the FG was the correct call in the 4th quarter, then Phil Savage needs to have a heart-to-heart with him. That whimmpy attitude showed in our blitzers all day as well; get a little chip block and fall on the ground!
Hiram, GA
Posted 11:38 AM, 09/09/2008
Did anyone see LeBron wearing a Yankee's hat again? He is a disgrace and should be run out of town! And he can take this pathetic coaching staff we have with him!
Posted 08:45 PM, 09/09/2008
Earth to Lerner: Get another corner! Did you see our little corner Wright trying to cover Owens? NO WAY! No way are these guys taking us to the Super Bowl with these people in the secondary...it's scarily obvious.
niles, oh
Posted 08:51 PM, 09/09/2008
what is going on with this site have the Russians taken over or is Crennel and Savage running it too no posts are showing up.
Posted 06:50 AM, 09/10/2008
I don't think anybody likes the new post setup....
Mayfield Heights, OH
Posted 07:03 AM, 09/10/2008
Well when you have people logging on using profanity and racial epithets, people will clamp down. Once again, the idiots ruin it for those who want to act like adults.
Posted 08:31 AM, 09/10/2008
The FG was a mistake, but Crennel will never admit it. I agree with the article. It's NOT the end of the world, and let's be realistic. Nobody expected them to beat the Cowboys anyway. The next game is a LOT more important than the last one.
Old Faithful, WY
Posted 11:19 AM, 09/10/2008
in a 16 game season EVERY game is important. there were no positive gains made in the cowboys game. if they beat pittsburgh i will eat my shirt.
Posted 12:50 PM, 09/10/2008
This team will be 0-5. I hope not, but that's how it looks.
cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 01:40 PM, 09/10/2008
as long as crennel remains coach we don't have a snowball's chance in hell
