The Browns

While keeping my ear to the ground listening to all the social and political rumblings, I suddenly heard dogs barking. Check that, Dawgs barking.

There's so much to be concerned about, but while we can still forget it all for a few hours watching the Cleveland Browns play football, I think we owe it to ourselves.

I'm listening to the game now on the hated NFL Field Pass, since the NFL keeps a chokehold on even internet radio broadcasts of its games. Ok, let's forget about corporate greed at least for now. Go Browns!

The Browns just kicked their 3rd field goal of the game to go up 9-7. Kansas City's only score was a freak, a pass from Charlie Frye to Jerome Harrison behind the line that was ruled a lateral, and the young Harrison forgot to protect the ball, allowing a Kansas City defender to pick it up and run 56 yards with the "fumble". Overall, the Browns have controlled the game, outgaining KC by a large margin and holding on to the football most of the game.

Still way too many dumb mistakes. Harrison needed to protect the football, Charlie Frye should never have tried to run at the end of the half with no timeouts, and there've been several other mental errors. But I'm pleased. Overall, Charlie Frye has looked good, and Derek Anderson didn't do badly, either. Ken Dorsey is quarterbacking now, so still no Brady Quinn. Whew, that's a lot of quarterbacks!

Kamerion Wimbley already has a sack. Jamal Lewis ran like a horse in a brief cameo, with 20 yards in 4 carries and 3 receptions, I believe.

They just showed KC's fumble return on the NFL network. It looked as stupid on TV as it sounded on the radio.

It sounded like Joe Thomas, the Browns' rookie left tackle, had a pretty good game, although he had at least two holding calls. His agility was noted by the radio announcers as he's been able to get outside to help the running game. Eric Wright, their rookie cornerback, kept things in front of him, and knocked away a long pass when he was tested deep.

There's been a pretty good feeling coming from the Browns announcers. Despite all the sloppiness and mental errors, it's a whole lot different when the Browns can control the clock. At least in the practice games, the Browns are more than holding their own, and depending on more than luck to win games. Things might be at least a little different this year.

Ok, so it's only the first exhibition game. So the players we'll actually be watching on Sundays averaged only 12-15 plays the whole night. I don't care. The Cleveland Browns have a very special place in my life. Nothing else matters to me when the Browns are playing. Dick Cheney can go bomb Iran while I'm watching the Browns. I'll worry about it later.

I played football in high school, but I was a small, slow guard/linebacker. I had no chance to continue playing in college, much less the pros. But when the regular season starts and the ball is kicked off for a Browns game, I devolve into a snarling, slobbering canine, shouting at the top of my lungs at the images playing across my tv screen. Don't talk to me during the Browns game. I'm not quite human.

As I said, there's a lot out there right now that's of great concern. It's difficult for me to predict the impact of all that's occurred lately on the political scene, and I'm meditating about it before committing my thoughts to the internet. But in the meantime, I hope all of you have something in your life that's just a little bit of mindless nonsense that you love passionately for no reason.

Stupid Dorsey got himself tackled in the end zone for a safety, so we're tied 9-9. Stupid Browns!