According to Browns' quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains, owner Jimmy Haslam pulled the trigger on drafting Johnny Manziel after Manziel sent the Browns a text. That's not the story GM Ray Farmer told on draft night? Why?
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Because there's always something to spin in Cleveland sports...
• Browns' quarterback coach Dowell Loggains told ESPN Arkansas that after Johnny Manziel sent a text midway through the first round of the draft prodding the Browns to take him, owner Jimmy Haslam gave the order to "pull the trigger, we're trading up to go get this guy."
So, all you people suggesting the Browns were swayed by a homeless man, stop it right now.
Johnny Manziel is not a homeless man.
• Loggains also said the Browns had Manziel rated the No. 1 quarterback on their board and had discussed going up earlier in the draft but had been unable to pull off a trade.
So the owner pushed the Browns in the direction they were heading anyway, right? Maybe shoved them?
Could you argue Haslam even dictated the pace?
OK. He's the owner after all.
But given the chance to tell the story of the text and Haslam's excitement, the Browns told a different story.
Why? Probably because Haslam is fighting the perception that he's the next Dan Snyder.
After the Browns picked Manziel, I asked Ray Farmer what role Haslam played in the selection of Manziel -- given the obvious importance of the quarterback position, speculation the owner was a big fan and the fact the move involved a trade-up .
"At no point during the draft did Jimmy try to influence the decisions that were made," Farmer said. "He was well aware – obviously he was in the room – but at no point did he try to push, shove or dictate the pace of what we were doing.
"He definitely added some interest level behind the discussions that were happening but nonetheless he was allowing us to go to work."
Well, that settles it then.
He didn't shove, push or dictate. He shoved, pushed and dictated?
• Haslam is certainly entitled as owner to do all of the above. But he told a Hall of Fame gathering in Canton that, "At the end of the day, Ray's the one that decided to make the trade. Ray's the one who decided to pick Johnny."
At the end of the day is when we talked to Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine about the selections of Manziel and Justin Gilbert.
During the night, according to Loggains account, Haslam had the say.
• The text Manziel sent:
"I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to wreck this league together."
That suggested, Loggains said, Manziel really wanted to be in Cleveland.
And that's the story unless we hear he sent similar texts to Kansas City and Minnesota.
• Maybe it's 23 years in Cleveland as a sportswriter, but why do I get the feeling "I want to wreck this league together" might end up falling into the category of Famous Last Words.
Like "Don't come to me for extra tickets to the playoffs."
• Peyton Manning spoke at a sports banquet in Omaha and promised to stick with "Omaha" as one of his calls at the line of scrimmage despite being lobbied by other cities to use their name instead.
Maybe it helped that the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce wrote a $70,000 check to Manning's foundation for at-risk children.
The Omaha zoo also named a newborn penguin Peyton in his honor.
After which the penguin immediately beat his time in the 40-yard dash.
• Jets' coach Rex Ryan says of his team, "I'm not sure there would be too many people that want to play us. And that's the truth."
Yes. Who looks forward to playing a team that's chalked up three straight losing seasons.
They'd rather measure themselves against a winner.
• Nicole Holder, the girlfriend of Greg Hardy, is accusing the Carolina Panthers' defensive end of domestic assault.
She says Hardy picked her up and threw her more than once. She says she landed on a couch "covered in assault rifles and/or shotguns."
There are better nicknames to have in such instances as Hardy's "Da Kraken."
Conflicting 9-1-1 calls muddle the situation. In one, Hardy claims he is the one being attacked.
Surprisingly, police say both parties were intoxicated during the incident.
• Embattled Clippers' owner Donald Sterling won't pay the $2.5 million fine levied against him by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Sterling is considering legal action against the league, claiming "one mistake in 35 years" isn't grounds for his dismissal.
"It's a terrible mistake and I'll never do it again," Sterling said.
He'll just stop thinking what he thinks.
Problem solved.
• Sterling bought the team for $12.5 million in 1981. The Clippers are valued at $575 million, but industry experts believe it could sell for three-quarters of a billion dollars.
By the way, the terrible mistake he should never do again is agree to another interview like the one he gave Anderson Cooper.
When your idea of damage control is to attack Magic Johnson for contracting the AIDS virus, you might need a little PR help.
• A high school pitcher in Washington went 14 innings and threw 194 pitches before his manager relieved him with two on in the 15th inning of a 1-0 victory.
The story prompted a reaction from Tampa pitcher David Price:
The pitcher, Dylan Fosnacht, said he wouldn't want any other manager than Rochester's Jerry Striegel.
He would shake Striegel's hand in thanks for keeping him in the game.
If he could lift his arm.
• The oddsmakers at the online betting site Bovada listed Chicago Bulls' assistant Adrian Griffin as the 2-1 favorite to get the Cavaliers head coaching job.
Last on the list at 600-1?
Mike Brown. So they're saying there's a chance.
Which is ridiculous.
I think.
• St. Louis Rams' draft pick, Michael Sam, the first openly gay player chosen in the NFL draft, has agreed to be the subject of an Oprah network docu-series.
So when he said (more than once) that he only wanted to be treated as a football player, he forgot to add, "Just kidding."
• Former Cavaliers' guard Steve Kerr chose the Golden State Warriors over the New York Knicks.
Two teams competing for a guy with zero coaching experience. Crazy.
Especially when Mike Brown was available to be fired again.
For more of Bud Shaw's "Spin," read "You Said It"
