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Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
Almost thirty years ago, Art Modell stood before a crowd and announced that the stolen team in Baltimore would be named "The Ravens." They're celebrating the event down in Baltimore next year.
That means it's been thirty years since something in 1995 triggered a response in me that changed my life. It tapped into my broken naivete and shocked me that bad people could do bad things and get away with it. Art Modell's selfish swiping of the Browns away from Cleveland was not a singular event but part of a pattern that shook a hapless mid-30s consultant into being angry about something he could not change.
I had to be very circumspect about my online activities regarding Baltimore and the Browns. I had no idea if I would be assigned to a client in Baltimore that would find out what I was saying about their football endeavors. It was best to play it safe, to hide behind an online alias, and to separate work life from my more venomous online existence.
It wasn't until 2003 or 2004 that I fessed up to my name online, registering surprise among followers that the infamous "Art Bietz" had a real-life moniker as dorky as mine. I'm not sure what they expected my real name to be. "Ostentatious L. Jerkwad" or something? I have no idea.
Hummingbird
Looking for hummingbird talk? It's in The Lift. (Photo: Unsplash.com)
All this time has taken its toll, and I'm writing to you now as a man in his early 60s who lacks patience with the notion of onrushing decrepitude and doesn't have time to mess around with slow days on the Newswire.
At certain times of the year, trying to get anything worthwhile out of what's being written about the Cleveland Browns is like panning for gold in a river or waiting for a fish to bite - both activities I lack the patience to pursue, although the peace of fishing in a quiet pond sounds pretty good to me at times.
The most worthwhile thing I found panning the media river this morning was this insight from Mike Florio, of all people, who is not buying the notion that the Falcons truly intend to keep Kirk Cousins on their roster in 2025:
Best evidence that a Kirk Cousins trade is still in play? The Falcons have not exercised their right to create nearly $21M in cap space by restructuring his salary for 2025. https://t.co/cFd07DWaP6
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 29, 2025
Good point, Florio. Once in a while, he says something smart. Credit where it's due.
Beyond that, it's mostly mock drafts and rehashed QB speculation this morning. I apologize for my fellow media members, who took Saturday off and didn't provide us with anything new.
At this point, I generally joke about just "making stuff up" to keep things interesting, but there's enough of that actually happening to keep it from being absurd these days.
In any event, enough wandering from me - here are today's links, presented in all their early Sunday morning glory.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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