OPINION —
I HAVE BEEN a Cleveland fan my whole life. So I may sound like a traitor to other fans, but I just can’t hate the late Art Modell.
Even though he picked up the Browns and moved because he couldn’t get the city to build him a new stadium, at least he put the team name, Browns, and the colors on hold so when a team returned to Cleveland, so did the name.
It wasn’t like what happened in Baltimore when the franchise snuck out of town in the middle of the night and headed for Indy. Every bit of Colts history was gone with the team.
Modell did a lot to help build the league into what it is today — the best sports group in the country. And even though baseball is still called “America’s Game,” the NFL is truly the king.
I disliked Modell when he fired coach Paul Brown, but I was only a kid, what did I know? And I definitely disliked him when he brought in Bill Belichick to coach and was OK with the benching of Bernie Kosar.
And when you consider in all the years he owned the team, they never made it to the Super Bowl, the owner had to take a great deal of the blame.
And on a good note, Modell helped negotiate the deal that brought Monday Night Football to life, even though many people thought it would be a joke.
I remember when former Sharon High athletic great Pete Molnar told me the story of how ABC gained that initial contract in 1969.
Molnar was executive director of sports at the time for CBS. But when he went to the company bosses about bidding for Monday Night Football, they were against it. Monday night was “I Love Lucy” night and that was the No. 1 show at the time.
Nobody really knew what a giant that MNF would become. Although you can still see reruns of Lucy on some channels.
Modell was a true power in the NFL. That’s why it was no surprise that the Browns played in the first-ever Monday Night game against the Jets.
Some Cleveland fans have a difficult time deciding who to hate more -- Modell or LeBron James. I don’t hold that kind of venom toward either. James gave the Cavaliers seven good years, he just chose a bad way to leave.
So therefore I say: Rest In Peace, Art Modell. Rest In Peace, LeBron James.
Oh, he’s still alive? I lost track of him after he left Cleveland!
ä The season opens today for both Cleveland and Pittsburgh. And they’ll both end up the same - losers. The Eagles will rip the Browns, 30-13, while Peyton Manning and the Broncos will whip the Steelers, 24-20.
In other games the results will be (betting line in parentheses just for fun):
Houston (-101⁄2) over Miami
Atlanta (-21⁄2) over Kansas City
Chicago (-91⁄2) over Indy
New Orleans (-91⁄2) over Washington
Arizona (plus 21⁄2) over Seattle
Green Bay (-51⁄2) over San Fran
NY Jets (-3) over Buffalo
Minnesota (-4) over Jacksonville
Detroit (-81⁄2) over St. Louis
Tampa Bay (plus 21⁄2) over Carolina
Baltimore (-6) over Cincy
Oakland (plus 1) over San Diego
Sports
SPORTVIEW: I'm one Browns fan who just can't hate Art Modell
- Sports
-
-
Herald-Tamie junior tourney set Thursday-Friday
THEY SAY THAT “The best things in life are free.” Well, one of those “best things” is the annual Herald-Tam O’Shanter Junior Golf Championships every summer.
The event, which has been free to boys and girls in the Shenango Valley since it’s inception in 1949, will be held Thursday and Friday at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Hermitage.
It has been the premier youth tournament for decades and some of the top players ever to come out of this area have participated. But you don’t have to be a great young golfer to take part. It’s a wonderful opportunity for every youngster to get a free round of golf on a great course, which is in immaculate shape this season. -
Hickory lists 2013 scholar-athlete award winners
Hickory High Athletic Director Barb Dzuricsko recently announced that a total of 213 students (grades 9-12) earned Don McKay Scholar-Athlete awards.
To be eligible, students must maintain an A (93 percent or higher) grade-point-average through the academic year’s third 9-week grading period and compete in a PIAA-sponsored sport.
A total of 375 students competed in athletics this past year, Dzuricsko noted, meaning almost 57 percent qualified for the McKay Scholar-Athlete Award. Since the award’s inception, this is the highest total number of students to earn the honors, she reported. -
SCHOLASTIC NOTEBOOK: Hearns to continue golf career in college; Petty to be honored
RECENT HICKORY High alumna Rosy Hearns will continue her education and golf careers at the State University of New York-Albany. Hickory links coach Craig Antush said Hearns recently signed a letter-of-intent.
Hearns’ Hickory career concluded as one of the finest on the links — male or female — in Mercer County annals. -
Bowlers compete in Senior Games
The bowling portion of the annual Mercer County Senior Games was held Wednesday at Grove City Bowlodrome. That followed horseshoes and shuffleboard competitions earlier in the week.
Following is the rest of the schedule: -
COLLEGIATE NOTEBOOK: Ex-Hickory great Richards has great spring track season
FORMER HICKORY HIGH standout Morgan Richards enjoyed a successful spring season for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte track & field team. The female 49ters won the Atlantic 10 Conference outdoor track & field team title.
“Morgan kept her stride as she transitioned into the outdoor season, running top times in several events among (Atlantic 10) freshmen and on Charlotte’s all-time top 10 lists,” assistant coch Edwin T. Schlichter wrote in a recent e-mail to The Herald. “Morgan finished just one spot (9th) out of scoring at the 2013 A-10 Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase, despite this being her first year ever attempting the event, and running 11:02.22 which was 2nd among all freshmen in the A-10 and 5th all-time for UNC-Charlotte.” -
SPORTVIEW: Hickory tri-athletes deserve special recognition
EVERY YEAR we receive a photo from the Hermitage School District of a group of student-athletes that I am thrilled to receive and run in the paper.
The photo is of Hickory High School “tri-athletes,” boys and girls who participate in sports during each of the fall, winter and spring seasons. But there is more to it than that. Each of these athletes also must maintain an 85 percent B average during the first three 9-week grading periods of the year. -
TIDBITS: Scurpas make college choices; Matthews, Norris, Bonner part of great Clarion recruiting class; Lewis earns national medal
SHARPSVILLE HIGH volleyball standouts Kristen and Paige Scurpa, who are cousins, will continue their education and athletic careers at California University of Pa. and Penn State-Behrend, respectively.
The duo, both of whom were named to the All-State team in Class A by the Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association, led the Blue Darlings to the District 10 title game in November. Sharpsville, Region 1 champs the past 4 years, suffered a 3-1 loss to Cochranton in that match and finished the season 16-4. -
Sharpsville falls in D-10 title game
SLIPPERY ROCK — Monday was a pretty good day for Saegertown High School.
Just mere hours after the Lady Panthers won the District 10 Class A softball championship, the Saegertown baseball team (19-2) captured its third straight D-10 Class AA title with a convincing 10-3 victory over Sharpsville (15-6) at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.
“We knew going into the game that Saegertown’s a pretty good team and they’ve been a pretty good team for the past few years,” Blue Devils coach Mike Sikorski said. “I think they’ve been in the District 10 Championship the past four years. They’re a solid team, a very good team. They’re very patient at the plate and when they get their pitches, they hit them.” -
STATE TRACK NOTEBOOK: WM seniors leave legacy of greatness
WEST MIDDLESEX High always has had a proud athletic heritage, and this past weekend’s PIAA Class AA Track & Field championship will only add lustre to that legacy.
According to available archives at The Herald, only the 1954 boys’ basketball team and Coach Bob Morris’ boys’ cross country team from earlier this decade previously had won commonwealth crowns. -
Allen wins 4 gold medals to lead WM to PIAA team title
SHIPPENSBURG — Clay Allen said he had to explode out of the starting blocks for his 100-meter dash showdown with Hickory’s DeShawn Coleman. But Allen — all afternoon — was getting the jump on his competitors during the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships.
By approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Shippensburg University, Allen annexed 4 gold medals — 100- and 200-meter dashes, long jump, and as part of the sprint-relay. The workload West Middlesex High’s senior exhibited enabled the Big Reds to record the Class AA commonwealth crown. - More Sports Headlines
-
Herald-Tamie junior tourney set Thursday-Friday
