THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
I hope you all had a great weekend, and that all of you Fathers out there had a terrific Father's Day, however you chose to spend it. I spent mine doing what I do best - nothing, basically - hanging out with my family in my backyard, slowly cooking food and enjoying music and adult beverages. I'm a little worse for wear this morning, but I still managed to dig up five articles so we can do the well-established 5,4,3,2,1 countdown of OBR Newswire stories. This Newswire was delivered a little earlier than expected because my dog decided I would wake up at 5AM this morning.
But it's back at it today, readying the OBR for the 2024 season. There's lots to do, believe it or not. We've got some new writers lined up to join us, so we have to get them trained in our systems and get ready to introduce them to you all, as well as lots more we're planning to do. But yesterday was a day away from that, just clearing my mind and getting ready for this next big push over the coming 6-7 weeks to get ready for the Browns to head down to Greenbrier to start training camp.
With the Browns all going their separate ways until July, we're left to pick over the bones of the news, meaning I'll stretch the boundaries of what we typically cover here on the Newswire. With that in mind, here are some LINKS OF MODERATE INTEREST:
5. DAWAND JONES A BREAKOUT PLAYER?
2024 All-Breakout Team: Will Levis, Chase Brown, DeMarvion Overshown and more (PFF)
Yesterday, I wrote about how Pro Football Focus is struggling and might struggle more in the future as they fight off new entrants powered by AI. That's a shame, because their weird NFL-wide lists provide great fodder for downtimes like this for guys like me searching for something to talk about. Their latest, a starting 22 of "breakout players" predicted for 2024, contains one Cleveland Brown: Right tackle Dawand Jones. I thought he broke out last year, but these things are relative, and his "breakout" most not have happened nationally. Whatever. He still looks like a heck of a draft pick.
4. A SPECULATIVE 53-MAN ROSTER
Cleveland Browns roster projections 2024: Resetting 53-man depth chart after minicamp - (beaconjournal.com)
The ABJ's Chris Easterling is first out of the gate with a prospective 53-man roster after mini-camp, and there's a lot to debate in his final 53. For example, the five wide receivers he keeps don't include David Bell or Jamari Thrash (instead include James Proche for special teams). And that's just a start. I started up a Watercooler thread if you want to point out areas in which you might want to differ from Mr. Easterling.
3. MILLIONS IN REPAIRS NEEDED TO CBS
Cleveland Browns Stadium needs millions in emergency repairs, audit says - (signalcleveland.org)
When I first read these headlines, my immediate thought was that Cleveland Browns Stadium was about to collapse unless hundreds of millions in taxpayer cash were funneled in to save it. That's not the case. Immediate repairs will cost about a quarter million, and it will need about $10 million next year, mostly pretty mundane stuff. After that, things become more expensive, as scoreboards will need(?) to be replaced, as will some seats. There are some needed structural repairs. I'm still unsure what's included in the far more expensive renovation the club has in mind as an alternative to Brook Park JimmyWorld.
2. BIG EVENTS FOR MILLIONS MORE
Major Selling Point for Cities Pushing New Stadium Projects: Big Events - (frontofficesports.com)
With five NFL teams, including the Browns, clamoring for new fancy stadiums, one of the suggestions in each case is that the new palaces can attract headline events like NCAA football and basketball champions and, of course, the Super Bowl. Of course, there are only so many of those events to go around and, as Front Office Sports puts it, the fiscal impact studies supporting them "often need to be greeted with skepticism." In other words, the notion that you make back all the billions poured into these facilities with big events is, in my opinion, a pleasant fantasy. I think the bottom line is that taxpayers have to adjust to the notion that building these expensive stadiums means we love sports and want to spend our money that way. There's little other rationale.
1. HEYWARD CALMS THE YINZERS
The goal is to be a Steeler for the rest of my career…… anyways on a more important front happy Father’s Day yall
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) June 16, 2024
The other day, I wrote about how Steelers standout defensive tackle Cameron Heyward seemingly kicked an anthill of particularly toothless gibberish-spewing hillfolk ants by hinting he would leave Pittsburgh for Cleveland. Clearly, he sensed he was at risk of having empty cans of Arn CIty tossed at him at some future juncture because he took to Xitter to calm down the locals and assure them that he wants to be a Steeler for the rest of his career. Nothing, it turns out, is worse than a parade of black and yellow beater trucks lining the street outside your house filled with crying Steelerfans wailing things like "Yinz caint abandons us in our time of despahrate need".
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
Fatherhood changes men's brains, according to before-and-after MRI scans (Goodgoodgood.co)
For Father’s Day, 8 facts about American dads (Pew Research Center)
Yesterday was Father's Day, but I encountered a couple more Fatherhood-related articles I figured I would pass along today, including one that says that fathers spend three times more time devoted to children than they did fifty years ago. I believe it, especially with so many women joining the workforce. When my wife and I raised our first two, I often traveled on business during the week. When I returned home, I was promptly handed children and told to deal with them myself while Mom finally got some sleep. I was a pro at feeding a baby with a bottle while simultaneously operating a TV remote control. It involves using your neck and chin to hold the bottle and some upper body dexterity.
In any event, they've discovered that being a father actually changes men's brains, which I believe. For example, when my teenage kids walked into my office while I was walking, my brain had already formed the connections to look for my wallet or car keys because that's invariably what they wanted. When I hear my phone text message bell go off, I know I'm about to be asked to send my daughter a photo of the dog. The brain forms these connections and changes. Why those changes make us want to do things like play golf, putter around in the garage, and grill food in the backyard, I don't know, but they seem to have that effect.
OBR ARTICLES FROM YESTERDAY
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 6/16: Receiver Prices Go Up, Kickers Tackle, and Hype Returns - (Barry)
- (Jack)
FROM THE FORUMS
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THE WATERCOOLER
Happy Fathers Day - How many kids and What's the plan today?
OT: End of Field of Dreams
OT House of the Dragon S2
OT: Question of the Day??
OT: Quote of the Day
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When not slowly recovering from self-inflicted alcoholic trauma, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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