Haslam's Show Now

[AP1]

Another head coach. Another front office shake up. I just want the Brownies to win.

But now, there are no ifs or maybes. The Haslams are blowing this up. At the very least, we now know who is fully responsible for every decision. From this point on, they will shoulder the burden or accept the praise for every front office and personnel decision. 

[lodilobo]

Haslam is a moron, and continues to prove this over and over. I'm with the guy who turned in his fan membership a couple days ago. Screw the Haslams! I'll be back when they sell the team. 

[AP1]

I never gave an opinion on Haslem. I am disappointed and dissatisfied with the continued losing. None can dispute that feeling. But at least we know who is making the decisions and who can be praised or critiqued. 

[Dutch Oven]

This would be hilarious if it wasn't our favorite football team. 

The "new" Browns actually made it to the playoffs in their FOURTH season. 

Reflect on that when you consider where the franchise is 17 years later. 

[Zombo]

I almost wish Ghoolie was here.

Z

[tiamat63]

Just now, Zombo said:

I almost wish Ghoolie was here.

Z

Why? So we can remind him that having every WR in the world and a loud-mouth QB doesn't mean jack shit if the Oline and discipline aren't there...?

[AP1]

5 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

This would be hilarious if it wasn't our favorite football team. 

The "new" Browns actually made it to the playoffs in their FOURTH season. 

Reflect on that when you consider where the franchise is 17 years later. 

It truly would.

 

...and so many have so much disdain for Butch Davis.

[hx214]

[Dutch Oven]

3 minutes ago, AP1 said:

It truly would.

 

...and so many have so much disdain for Butch Davis.

Because Butch Davis the head coach got completely ran over by Butch Davis the GM. 

[tinythinker]

I wonder if this will get an update...

At 6:42 it gets into Haslam, and this season would definitely fit there. Basically refers to Haslam as a joke version of Jerry Jones

(Sometimes it pays to just laugh)

[lodilobo]

If we petition the NFL, with thousands of fans, would they consider terminating the franchise agreement with Haslam and offering it to the highest bidder?

[tinythinker]

1 minute ago, lodilobo said:

If we petition the NFL, with thousands of fans, would they consider terminating the franchise agreement with Haslam and offering it to the highest bidder?

nope

 

but it would make for another black eye headline for Cleveland

[The Gipper]

3 minutes ago, lodilobo said:

If we petition the NFL, with thousands of fans, would they consider terminating the franchise agreement with Haslam and offering it to the highest bidder?

Why not just make him an offer he can't refuse.      And, ergo, we could have Madonna as the Browns owner.

But not THAT Madonna:

UNITED STATES: MATTHEW MADONNA

When FBI agents arrested 19 alleged leaders and members of the Lucchese crime family in New York and New Jersey in May 2017, the news media played up its association with a pop culture narrative of America organized crime. The Lucchese retained the link – or “the source of inspiration” as the British paper The Guardian put it – with the plot of the 1990 mobster film Goodfellas. The news stories included references to some of the nicknames of those arrested, such as “Paulie Roast Beef” and “Joey Glasses.”

It was a good bust by the Justice Department, and as with previous disruptions of America’s La Cosa Nostra, a federal prosecutor used it as proof that the LCN still operates, even decades after its heyday from the 1920s to the 1990s.

“As today’s charges demonstrate, La Cosa Nostra remains alive and active in New York City, but so does our commitment to eradicate the Mob’s parasitic presence,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim stated in the news release. “The defendants allegedly used violence and threats of violence, as the Mob always has, to make illegal money, to enforce discipline in the ranks, and to silence witnesses. The Mob members and associates charged today will answer for their alleged misdeeds in a court of law.”

The remnants of the LCN still run crime operations in several sections of the New York-New Jersey area. Instead of only five crime families, the feds cite six – the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese. Columbo and Bonanno of New York and the Decavalcante of New Jersey. The “administration,” or management structure, of each family consists of a boss, underboss and consigliere, followed by the usual underlings: capos, soldiers and associates. The feds cut and paste these facts into each of their indictments of LCN members.

Last January, the “acting boss” of the Bonanno crime family, Joseph Cammarano Jr., 59, his consigliere John Zancocchio, 61, eight Bonanno captains and soldiers in their crew, one Genovese family soldier and a Lucchese soldier were indicted on alleged racketeering conspiracy charges that included extortion and assault with serious injury. Each of the 10 defendants could receive 20 years to life per count of racketeering.

But who are the LCN bosses these days? The prominent media “stars” are long gone.

Today, while there certainly are many intelligent criminals, there is no surplus of the kind of talent there was among those legendary bad men – Al Capone, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Costello, Genovese, et al – born in the late 19th or early 20th century in Sicily or Italy or as first- or second-generation American immigrants. Also, in the digital age, it’s getting harder to maintain a low profile. Plus, who wants to do “our thing” anymore in the first place? Not many. The smart kids of one-time LCN mobsters tend to go the legitimate, professional route.

Among the “bosses” or key figures in American LCN, there isn’t anyone consistently described in the headlines of the New York newspapers as the “Racket King,” as Vito Genovese was back in the day.

The traditional LCN families do exist in some fashion, and high-profile federal indictments and arrests of them still come and go in New York. And though reduced in scope and in political influence, they remain as villainous as ever.

Let’s give the American LNC boss of the year award to one of the old guys caught up in the criminal actions alleged in the Lucchese bust: Matthew Madonna, now 82 years old, described by police as the Lucchese “street boss.” His underboss, a worse character, is Steven “Wonder Boy” Crea Sr., 70. Their 82-year-old consiglieri is Joseph DiNapoli, and then there’s Crea’s son, Steven, who’s 46. All face life in prison from a list of felony allegations related to racketeering from 2000 to 2017. The charges, based on grand jury indictments, include one murder, two attempted murders, injurious assaults, witness intimidation, trafficking in illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, prescription opiates and marijuana), robbery, wire and mail fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering and selling untaxed cigarettes.

Madonna, Crea Sr. and Crea Jr. and two others, Christopher Londonio, 44, and Terrance Caldwell, 60, are charged with conspiring to murder Michael Meldish, a 62-year-old veteran hit man found shot in the head in his car in the Bronx in November 2013. Meldish, believed responsible for at least 10 Mob slayings, was a former member of New York’s Purple Gang, a 1980s drug-pushing ring out of the Bronx and Harlem once associated with members of the Lucchese, Genovese and Bonanno families.

Meanwhile, the feds have charged Crea Sr. with fraud in trying to enrich himself from a $25 million expansion of New York Hospital.

In May, federal prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty for Madonna, Crea Sr., Crea Jr., Londonio or Caldwell. However, it’s safe to say the LCN is not yet on life support.

[lodilobo]

19 minutes ago, tinythinker said:

nope

 

but it would make for another black eye headline for Cleveland

Like one more would make a difference....

[tinythinker]

Just now, lodilobo said:

Like one more would make a difference....

Why do it *just* for that, though?

[Neo]

Weren't the Haslam s minority owners of the Steelers? Could someone be giving the Haslams kickbacks to keep the Browns irrelevant? Not into conspiracy theories but no team can even accidentally be as bad as the Browns have been for the past decade. Boycott the Haslams.

[lodilobo]

Ok....my suggestion might be a stretch, but we have to be a topic of discussion with Goodell as we continue to embarrass ourselves over and over. By "we" I mean the organization....a direct result of the ownership.

[lodilobo]

2 minutes ago, Neo said:

Weren't the Haslam s minority owners of the Steelers? Could someone be giving the Haslams kickbacks to keep the Browns irrelevant? Not into conspiracy theories but no team can even accidentally be as bad as the Browns have been for the past decade. Boycott the Haslams.

I've considered that, but I don't think that even the Steelers could be that diabolical and evil. 

[flyingfooldoug]

It doesn’t make a bit of difference what the fans think or want. Haslam bought the team a few years ago for one billion dollars. Hasn’t produced squat and the team is now worth two billion dollars.  Face it, we’re fucked.  That’s what you get with a drunken hillbilly running things

[lodilobo]

23 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

Why not just make him an offer he can't refuse.      And, ergo, we could have Madonna as the Browns owner.

But not THAT Madonna:

UNITED STATES: MATTHEW MADONNA

When FBI agents arrested 19 alleged leaders and members of the Lucchese crime family in New York and New Jersey in May 2017, the news media played up its association with a pop culture narrative of America organized crime. The Lucchese retained the link – or “the source of inspiration” as the British paper The Guardian put it – with the plot of the 1990 mobster film Goodfellas. The news stories included references to some of the nicknames of those arrested, such as “Paulie Roast Beef” and “Joey Glasses.”

It was a good bust by the Justice Department, and as with previous disruptions of America’s La Cosa Nostra, a federal prosecutor used it as proof that the LCN still operates, even decades after its heyday from the 1920s to the 1990s.

“As today’s charges demonstrate, La Cosa Nostra remains alive and active in New York City, but so does our commitment to eradicate the Mob’s parasitic presence,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim stated in the news release. “The defendants allegedly used violence and threats of violence, as the Mob always has, to make illegal money, to enforce discipline in the ranks, and to silence witnesses. The Mob members and associates charged today will answer for their alleged misdeeds in a court of law.”

The remnants of the LCN still run crime operations in several sections of the New York-New Jersey area. Instead of only five crime families, the feds cite six – the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese. Columbo and Bonanno of New York and the Decavalcante of New Jersey. The “administration,” or management structure, of each family consists of a boss, underboss and consigliere, followed by the usual underlings: capos, soldiers and associates. The feds cut and paste these facts into each of their indictments of LCN members.

Last January, the “acting boss” of the Bonanno crime family, Joseph Cammarano Jr., 59, his consigliere John Zancocchio, 61, eight Bonanno captains and soldiers in their crew, one Genovese family soldier and a Lucchese soldier were indicted on alleged racketeering conspiracy charges that included extortion and assault with serious injury. Each of the 10 defendants could receive 20 years to life per count of racketeering.

But who are the LCN bosses these days? The prominent media “stars” are long gone.

Today, while there certainly are many intelligent criminals, there is no surplus of the kind of talent there was among those legendary bad men – Al Capone, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Costello, Genovese, et al – born in the late 19th or early 20th century in Sicily or Italy or as first- or second-generation American immigrants. Also, in the digital age, it’s getting harder to maintain a low profile. Plus, who wants to do “our thing” anymore in the first place? Not many. The smart kids of one-time LCN mobsters tend to go the legitimate, professional route.

Among the “bosses” or key figures in American LCN, there isn’t anyone consistently described in the headlines of the New York newspapers as the “Racket King,” as Vito Genovese was back in the day.

The traditional LCN families do exist in some fashion, and high-profile federal indictments and arrests of them still come and go in New York. And though reduced in scope and in political influence, they remain as villainous as ever.

Let’s give the American LNC boss of the year award to one of the old guys caught up in the criminal actions alleged in the Lucchese bust: Matthew Madonna, now 82 years old, described by police as the Lucchese “street boss.” His underboss, a worse character, is Steven “Wonder Boy” Crea Sr., 70. Their 82-year-old consiglieri is Joseph DiNapoli, and then there’s Crea’s son, Steven, who’s 46. All face life in prison from a list of felony allegations related to racketeering from 2000 to 2017. The charges, based on grand jury indictments, include one murder, two attempted murders, injurious assaults, witness intimidation, trafficking in illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, prescription opiates and marijuana), robbery, wire and mail fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering and selling untaxed cigarettes.

Madonna, Crea Sr. and Crea Jr. and two others, Christopher Londonio, 44, and Terrance Caldwell, 60, are charged with conspiring to murder Michael Meldish, a 62-year-old veteran hit man found shot in the head in his car in the Bronx in November 2013. Meldish, believed responsible for at least 10 Mob slayings, was a former member of New York’s Purple Gang, a 1980s drug-pushing ring out of the Bronx and Harlem once associated with members of the Lucchese, Genovese and Bonanno families.

Meanwhile, the feds have charged Crea Sr. with fraud in trying to enrich himself from a $25 million expansion of New York Hospital.

In May, federal prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty for Madonna, Crea Sr., Crea Jr., Londonio or Caldwell. However, it’s safe to say the LCN is not yet on life support.

Interesting, but not what I was looking for. Why don't you file a suit on behalf of all of us, seeking reasonable damages due to our poor mental state, caused by the actions of the Haslams?...should be good for a couple billion, right?

[mjp28]

35 minutes ago, lodilobo said:

If we petition the NFL, with thousands of fans, would they consider terminating the franchise agreement with Haslam and offering it to the highest bidder?

This isn't Green Bay.

[lodilobo]

1 minute ago, mjp28 said:

This isn't Green Bay.

I'm aware of that....it's colder here. 

[ATOM]

3 minutes ago, flyingfooldoug said:

It doesn’t make a bit of difference what the fans think or want. Haslam bought the team a few years ago for one billion dollars. Hasn’t produced squat and the team is now worth two billion dollars.  Face it, we’re fucked.  That’s what you get with a drunken hillbilly running things

hell look what he did with flying j Hell he almost went to prison and sold the company after paying how much in fines ? and others taking the fall for him Dude is a fucking brainless crook

[The Gipper]

3 minutes ago, lodilobo said:

Interesting, but not what I was looking for. Why don't you file a suit on behalf of all of us, seeking reasonable damages due to our poor mental state, caused by the actions of the Haslams?...should be good for a couple billion, right?

No, and No.

Extralegal measures may be needed.

[lodilobo]

1 minute ago, ATOM said:

hell look what he did with flying j Hell he almost went to prison and sold the company after paying how much in fines ? and others taking the fall for him Dude is a fucking brainless crook

Something I never wanted to accept, but after watching him continue to screw this team up, I'm convinced he's capable of anything.

[mjp28]

3 minutes ago, lodilobo said:

I'm aware of that....it's colder here. 

Besides someone would screw it up and buy the Bengals by mistake.

[lodilobo]

1 minute ago, The Gipper said:

No, and No.

Extralegal measures may be needed.

Come on...you must be up for one final challenge at your age. 

[mjp28]

July 2013, just for the hell of it.....   https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1690767-what-does-it-take-to-be-the-owner-of-an-nfl-franchise

As hobbies go, there aren't many more expensive than owning an NFL team.

Of course, for some owners, it's much more than a hobby. Some teams have been in the hands of the same family for decades, purchased many years ago for amounts so paltry that it makes their current value all the more staggering.

However, for owners that purchased their teams more recently, such as Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns, the investment is enormous.

That made it all the more surprising last week when The Wall Street Journal (via Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer) reported that Haslam's Pilot Flying J company, which operates gas stations and truck stops across America, has a staggering $4 billion in debt.   Wait, what?

How does a guy whose company has $4 billion in debt afford an NFL team? What exactly does it take to own an NFL team?

Well, to start with, it takes somewhere between 100 bucks and over a billion dollars, depending on when you bought the team.

As the chart above demonstrates, if you're one of the NFL's "new school" owners, such as Haslam or Stephen Ross of the Miami Dolphins, you're going to be writing an enormous check if you want to own an NFL team.

In fact, the $700 million that was the "first payment" made by Haslam is part of the problem at Pilot Flying J, according to The Wall Street Journal: ........ CONTINUED IN THE LINK.......

[CLEVELANDwantsPLAYOFFS]

It was either: Let Dorsey pick another HC or let him walk.. seems pretty simple here. He was not perfect. But he did draft us Baker and Chubb. 

[ATOM]

LBJ