I pretty much had the same reaction as Meck Deck when I read that Jake Delhomme had signed with the ‘fake Browns,’ a totally dysfunctional franchise that has little hope of winning anytime soon. Jake’s last two years in the NFL will not be pleasant.

Jon Morgan’s excellent book on the whole Browns-to-Baltimore saga, Glory for Sale, describes Browns fans’ passion as they tried to prevent Art Modell from stealing their team:

(Modell’s) revered position within the NFL, a fraternity of wealth and celebrity, would also be shaken. His place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame —he had been nominated for the class of 1996 —- was in jeopardy. And he would no longer be able to go out in public without a bodyguard for fear that a zealous Browns fan would carry out one of the numerous death threats already pouring in by fax, phone and letter.

..The Internet would crackle with derisive commentary on Modell; one World Wide Web home page would offer visitors the chance to download color photos showing the mock executions of Modell, his son David, and Browns coach Bill Belichick.

As for this lifelong ACC hoops fan, I can’t remember when the quality of play has ever been so low. As the N&R describes it, the tournament was indeed a “bevy of ugly, low-scoring games.”