Browns to be winners soon? Don’t bet on it …

On the other hand, perhaps betting against the Browns is exactly what you should do. I heard a Vegas gambling expert on the radio the other day who said that if you had bet a grand every week against the Browns versus the spread – for the last two and a half years – you’d be up something like $20,000 right now.

Wow. Losing hurts, but a few extra bucks would certainly help ease the pain, wouldn’t it? (This by no means an endorsement for gambling; I’m just making a painful point here). Personally, I could never do it – I feel stupid enough on the rare occasions I buy a Mega Millions ticket – but it puts in perspective just how pathetic this organization has been for the last couple of decades.

I also heard recently that tickets for some local high school football games cost more than what you might pay online for Browns tickets. Can you imagine that? I wonder how that sits with loyal Browns season ticket holders, who shell out a pretty penny for the “right” to witness Browns football. And to think some folks thought that the Christians versus the lions was one-sided.

It also got me to thinking about the countless number of times I thought that things couldn’t possibly get any worse with this franchise – only to be proven wrong  time after time by probably the worst organization in pro sports. I can’t count the number of times I begged Randy Lerner to sell the Browns ASAP, because the next owner couldn’t possibly be worse than Mr. Lerner. Man, did Jimmy Haslam teach me a thing or two.

On the other hand, I have also been wrong about other owners, but in a positive way. For a long time – maybe as much as a decade – I moaned about the Indians ownership and how I wished they would sell the team. I’m referring, of course, to Larry and Paul Dolan, who have quietly watched the Indians make the post season three of the last five years and have shown they are not afraid to spend when the situation warrants it.

The Dolans set up an organization staffed with baseball people, and then let the baseball people run the show. They promote qualified people from within the organization when possible; the majority of high-ranking officials have been with the organization quite some time. Continuity is the key ingredient here. The Dolans’ biggest fault may lie in the fact that they are perhaps too loyal at times (see Mark Shapiro) but – especially when compared to Jimmy Haslam and the Cavs’ Dan Gilbert – the Dolans look like choir boys. To that end, they may be a little too patient with things that need to be fixed, but after witnessing Haslam’s every-other-year annihilation of unqualified/underqualified front office/coaching personnel, you can’t argue with the Dolans’ results.

And, in spite of the disappointing early exit from the MLB playoffs this year, the lesson should be: Don’t bet against them.

Jeff Bing

Lifelong Westlake resident who dabbles in writing whenever the real world permits. My forte is humor and horror...What a combo!

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Volume 9, Issue 22, Posted 9:52 AM, 11.21.2017