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Preview — Akron vs. Bowling Green
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Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
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Kent State @ Temple | Preview
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Gameblog: Cavs at Washington Wizards
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OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
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Bowling season starts today
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Attention Haters, Palin And Hannity Together
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Muslim McCarthyism & Death Prayers
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TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
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Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
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Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
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Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 07:14 p.m. EST, Nov 03, 2009
BEREA: Longtime season-ticket holders Mike Randall of Massillon and Tony Schafer of Sandusky met with Browns owner Randy Lerner for nearly two hours in Lerner's office Tuesday.
Randall and Schafer, aka ''Dawg Pound Mike'' and ''Mobile Dawg,'' are organizing a protest for the Browns' next home game, Nov. 16, against the Baltimore Ravens. They are encouraging fans not to go to their seats until after kickoff to voice their displeasure with the state of the franchise and Lerner's unwillingness to address them on camera.
Randall and Schafer said they will not cancel the protest unless Lerner speaks publicly, and Schafer put the odds of that happening at ''20 percent.''
The meeting was set up before General Manager George Kokinis was relieved of his duties Monday, a situation Lerner has not addressed.
Randall and Schafer came with an agenda packet that had a photo of them on its cover giving a football to a young Browns fan in Chicago. Randall said he got the ball from defensive coordinator Rob Ryan before Sunday's game at Soldier Field.
Randall said Lerner told them he was sickened about the 1-7 Browns and said: ''I'm going to get this right. If there's somebody else better, I'm going to spend the money and try to get this fixed for the fans.''
The pair also presented ideas and addressed issues at the stadium, like the lack of entertainment, the lack of championship banners and retired numbers displayed and the policy of having fans ejected for excessive standing. Randall said Lerner seemed shocked by the latter.
''I told him for the home opener next year I wanted the championship banners up, the retired numbers up and I want this place to rock,'' Randall said. ''Get the Michael Stanley Band to play Here We Go Again. We fought for this history, let's display this history. I don't care if the last championship was in 1964, put it up there.
''I want the crowd roaring. There's all this energy and we lack it. He said, 'I'm on it, I hear you.' ''
Barton injury serious
Browns inside linebacker Eric Barton has a serious neck injury that could jeopardize his season, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported.
Citing a source close to Barton, Mortensen said a spine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic diagnosed Barton with a bulging disc between the C3 and C4 vertebrae in his neck after Sunday's 30-6 loss to the Bears in Chicago.
Barton left late in the first half against the Bears with what was announced as a shoulder injury. He was seen in the locker room Tuesday.
The Browns have already lost their other starting inside linebacker, D'Qwell Jackson, who suffered a pectoral injury Oct. 18 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. He underwent surgery and is out for the season.
Coach Eric Mangini initially turned to rookie Kaluka Maiava, a fourth-round pick from USC, to replace Jackson. But on Sunday, outside linebacker David Bowens moved inside and Jason Trusnik took over outside. Bowens made the defensive calls when Barton left the game and Mangini praised the defense for its communication. Without Barton, Maiava played on running downs, with special teamer Blake Costanzo pressed into action in the nickel.
Barton, 32 and in his 11th season, leads the Browns with 58 tackles (36 solos). Bowens, 32, said he played all 71 snaps against the Bears and was feeling it Monday.
Lewis not at practice
Browns running back Jamal Lewis was not on the field for the first 30 minutes of practice open to the media. But because this is the Browns' bye week, there is no injury report, so his status was not clarified.
After Sunday's game, Lewis said he was planning on retiring after the season, even though he has a year left on his contract. Lewis, 30, is in his 10th season.
Brownies
Defensive back Anthony Madison and kicker Billy Cundiff were released. No moves were made to fill those spots. . . . Mangini was not ready to name a starting quarterback for the Ravens game, but said it would not be No. 3 Brett Ratliff. . . . Receiver/returner Joshua Cribbs worries that the ouster of General Manager George Kokinis could compromise his chances of renegotiating his contract. ''Just in terms of another GM coming in, I feel like [we're] starting over from scratch a little bit,'' Cribbs said. ''But we'll cross that bridge when it comes.''
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
