Sports columnist Bud Shaw takes a Spin through the 2010 NFL season and picks the Browns to go 7-9.
View full sizeThe Browns look to welcome the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger back with plenty of sacks.Thoughts and predictions on the 2010 NFL season, and how the Browns will go 7-9.
• After the Browns roll Tampa Bay, Gainesville pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center tweets about his tentative plan to burn 53 Buccaneers playbooks. No one protests.
• Brett Favre's consecutive games streak ends in Week 4 as John Madden solemnly stages a candlelight vigil for Favre's ankle.
• Capitol Hill Republicans finally support an Obama initiative when the President presents new stimulus package that will include portable oxygen tank and Segway for Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth.
• No playoffs for the Eagles. But three-week search for quarterback Kevin Kolb ends happily when rescuers hear a cry for help from under the rubble of the Philadelphia offensive line.
• No playoffs for the Steelers either. With Pittsburgh allowing 50 sacks in 2009, Ben Roethlisberger tells head coach Mike Tomlin he only will return from the suspended list if team adds personal bodyguard to backfield on passing downs.
• Reports of the Jets being overrated are not exaggerated. But despite disappointing season, Rex Ryan declares Jets "greatest 8-8 team in NFL history."
• Rob Ryan rallies his improving defense in 2010. Browns match their impressive 2009 sack total with 40, 39 of them against the Steelers.
View full sizeAn 8-8 season won't keep coach Rex Ryan from declaring his team's greatness.• Rocky labor relations between owners and players overshadow season. Browns and Buccaneers follow lead of Saints and Vikings by holding one finger up in the air at the start of Sunday's game, but gesture mistaken for union solidarity as players admit they simply had to use the bathroom.
• Worst Placement of the Year, Non-Referee Category: USA Today's Sept. 10 NFL Preview section carried the headline "Best opening-week performances" precariously close to a Viagra ad.
• Disgruntled backup quarterback Matt Leinart, seen on the Houston sidelines sharing a hot tub with Texans cheerleaders, tells head coach Gary Kubiak he thought it was "a time machine."
• Shaun Rogers, Brett Favre and Darrelle Revis announce plans for a collaboration on a book for young athletes -- "Training Camp Schmaining Camp."
• Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall and LeBron James hold joint news conference in Miami to announce Brandon Marshall and LeBron James will only speak of Brandon Marshall and LeBron James in the third person for the rest of the amazingly important lives of Brandon Marshall and LeBron James.
• Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens end short-lived radio show, citing severely strained vocabularies.
• Fifty-year-old Jim Kelly offered job of replacing Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards in Week 6 after Bills' brass sees him complete a pass in a Wrangler jeans commercial.
View full sizeTim Tebow could use a quicker release on his throws.• Scouts sound alarm on Tim Tebow's long throwing motion when the Broncos' rookie cocks his arm to unleash a pass in the first half of a game against San Diego and releases the ball late in the third quarter.
• Chiefs coach Todd Haley gives defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel additional title of Clock Management Coordinator. Chiefs show up at 2 p.m. for 1 o'clock game against Browns.
• Derek Anderson's first dump-off pass of the Arizona Cardinals season lands near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Coach Ken Whisenhunt says Anderson needs to "take a little off" his touch passes.
• The Ryans -- Rex, Rob and Buddy -- will break bread on the eve of Jets-Browns game in Cleveland for an episode of "Dinner For Five."
• Best Game of the Year, Talking Turkeys Category: Owens, Ochocinco and the Bengals at Rex Ryan's Jets on Thanksgiving night.
• Browns will go 7-9 with wins over Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Carolina, Buffalo, Cincinnati at home and Pittsburgh (twice).
No joke.
Dueling he said its
"There's just not a lot of talent offensively or defensively with the Cleveland Browns. With the last couple of years Jake Delhomme has had, I'm not going into this season with a great deal of confidence that he can be the guy who's going to turn around the Cleveland Browns." -- ESPN analyst Tom Jackson
Vs.
"He's got a real presence, and he's got a real control of the offense. He's got a lot of respect." -- Browns coach Eric Mangini, on Jake Delhomme
Recapping: Delhomme either gets tied to his horse or rides high in the saddle this season.
Other than that, Jackson and Mangini couldn't agree more.
He said what?
"[Otis Smith] made a stupid remark. He never made any kind of comment like that when he signed Rashard Lewis and he brought him down from Seattle with a $128 million contract." -- Miami Heat President Pat Riley, on the Orlando GM saying he thought LeBron James was "more of a competitor" than to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
I don't know from stupid. I just know Pat Riley becomes the first person in the NBA to put Rashard Lewis in the same sentence as LeBron James.
You said it (The Expanded Sunday Edition)
Bud: Does touching a football make a receiver 'wide open'? Does that explain why announcers keep saying that a receiver was wide open, rather than just 'open'? -- Jeff Witmer
Sorry, I wouldn't know. I only watch the Browns.
Bud: What would be more upsetting to us Cleveland fans? Derek Anderson winning the MVP, LeBron winning a title or Braylon Edwards winning a Super Bowl? -- Angelo, Cleveland
The outlawing of the beer bong.
Bud: Any truth to the rumor that you've been signed by STO to reprise the role of Carnac the Magnificent? -- Steve V.
I have agreed to do it only if Albert Belle, with that contagious laugh of his, can be my Ed McMahon.
Dear Bud: Will Terrelle Pryor wear his Miami Heat hat to Cavs games? -- Michael Sarro
Only if it does not draw attention away from his LBJ eye black.
Bud: What will the Browns do with their retired brown pants? -- Julie S.
Not surprisingly, Shaun Rogers has been asked to model them on "Project Runway."
Hey, Bud: In order to fulfill Shin-Soo Choo's military commitment, should the Tribe give South Korea Luis Valbuena and Andy Marte for two years? -- Gary, Wickliffe
Since the military goal of South Korea is to play defense against North Korea, scouts do not believe the Indians have the pieces to make a deal happen.
Bud: It's good to see Terrelle Pryor doing so well as an intern to Jim Brown. -- Jim Lovelace
First-time "You said it" winners receive a T-shirt from the mental_floss collection.
Bud: The Indians' Lou Marson was once minor league "Player of the Year." Is that like being Jamie Spears, or, say, Cooper Manning? -- Tom Hoffner
Repeat winners receive a one-way bus ticket to Columbus.
To reach Bud Shaw: bshaw@plaind.com, 216-999-5639