Questions about the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Proposed Cuyahoga County Sin Tax Extension

August 29, 2013

Thanks to some lobbying by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, “one of the largest chambers of commerce in the United States,” a proposed 20-year extension of Cuyahoga County’s “sin tax” — an additional tax on alcohol and cigarettes that’s set to expire in 2015 after 25 years — could hit the ballot as early as next […]

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We’re all Detroit

August 1, 2013

“At least we’re not Detroit” might seem like an especially comforting idea these days. Here’s Dave Zirin at The Nation on some “mind boggling headline juxtaposition” from the erstwhile Motor City: You have, on one day, “Detroit Files Largest Municipal Bankruptcy in History.” Then on the next, you have “Detroit Plans to Pay For New […]

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Andrew Bynum is a man who doesn’t lie to people at airports

July 11, 2013

And Cleveland Frowns is a website that’s two for two with breaking news from the airport: @ClevelandFrowns Andrew Bynum just told me he’s playing for the cavs next year! pic.twitter.com/TL5sddASi8 — Lee Van Cleef (@MSchieman) July 8, 2013 Per @MSchieman on airport run-in: “I was like, ‘Andrew! [Bynum] Are you coming to Cleveland?’ He looked […]

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Haslam family leveraging University of Tennessee ties, etc., for fracking profits

June 27, 2013

The more one learns about Jimmy Haslam, the harder it is to believe that the truck stop magnate didn’t purchase the Cleveland Browns with an acute awareness of Dan Gilbert’s success in leveraging the public trust of a local major professional sporting franchise for private gain at the ballot box. Of course in the Cavaliers owner’s case it was the […]

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FBI alleges fraudulent scheme by Pilot Flying J, “with the knowledge of” Jimmy Haslam, to target unsophisticated customers

April 18, 2013

This afternoon, the FBI released an affidavit that was used to obtain the warrants for Tuesday’s search and seizure executed at Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s Pilot Flying J headquarters. The 120-page document contains allegations that company employees have, for “many years,” with the knowledge of Haslam and other top executives, engaged in a scheme to defraud […]

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Cleveland Indians President Mark Shapiro: “Chief Wahoo isn’t going anywhere.”

April 11, 2013

As much as some folks would like to believe that the Cleveland Indians are in the process of phasing out Jim Crow/Third Reich relic Chief Wahoo as an official symbol of the franchise, the highest ranking representatives of the organization keep saying that Wahoo is here to stay. Most recently, Indians President Mark Shapiro was […]

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Tribe Town: Hitler’s favorite baseball team is back, and as potentially slightly above average as ever

April 2, 2013

Back in the 1920’s, the Nazis figured out that if you showed folks enough pictures of a race of people looking like something less than human, it would be easier to get away with treating that race as something less than human. White people in the United States had picked up on the same idea since […]

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“You can’t write the history of Pro Football without Art Modell”

February 1, 2013

“There is an oft-used phrase in the annual Hall of Fame discussions — that one ‘cannot write the history of the league without including’ certain candidates — that might be appropriate to Modell.” – Len Pasquarelli, Sports Illustrated “You can’t write the NFL history without Art.” – Ozzie Newsome “He left a huge imprint on […]

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“I’m not about to rape this city as others have done. You’ll never hear me say, ‘If I don’t get this I’m moving'” (The Document that every Pro Football Hall of Fame Voter should see before deciding on Art Modell)

January 30, 2013

One significantly under-remembered fact about Art Modell is that he was sued by Browns season-ticket holders when he moved the franchise to Baltimore after the 1995 NFL season. The plaintiffs were a class representing all 1995 Browns season ticket holders, and they sued Modell and the Browns for fraud, breach of contract, and violations of […]

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Art Modell was no Al Davis

January 29, 2013

Art Modell’s acolytes in the Baltimore press are at it again and the latest might be the worst yet. ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, former longtime Ravens reporter for the Baltimore Sun closes his column with a tug at the heartstrings. “I still believe Modell will end up [enshrined, but t]he moment will be bittersweet,” Hensley says. “[B]ecause […]

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