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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
New Ravens coach is no genius
We published this quote from first-year Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in the Wednesday edition of the Dayton Daily News. The sheer stupidity speaks for itself:
“Art Modell has become a mentor, and we’ve had a chance to spend some time with he and his wife Pat. So we’ve had a chance to go through some of the history, and I grew up with the history just like you (media) did.
“What he’s done for Baltimore, and the way that whole thing played out (moving the Browns team to Baltimore), I think it’s played out in a real positive way, in a way that nobody could have anticipated.
“It’s been so great for this city and for this region. And I think he’s a hero in so many ways. He did everything he could to keep the franchise in Cleveland, and providence didn’t make that happen. And so, he made the best of it, came here and made a bunch of people really happy.
“I’m proud to be a part of this organization now and be in Baltimore. He’s a hero in my mind.”
Now, I don’t generally use this space as a forum for name-calling. That would be wrong, generally.
That said, I didn’t realize the new coach of the Ravens was such a dolt.
My favorite line: “He did everything he could to keep the franchise in Cleveland, and providence didn’t make that happen.”
Once and for all, had Art Modell desired to stay in Cleveland, all he needed to do was hold open the possibility of moving the team. Civic leaders, state leaders and any other relevant leaders would have been tripping over each other making sure a new stadium with all the amenities was built somewhere. It would have happened because, if it didn’t, the politicians would have been the ones blamed for not getting it done.
Instead, the slimy Modell agrees to a renovation of old Cleveland Stadium, then places a moratorium on any further discussion, thus lulling the community into a false sense of security.
Meanwhile, he’s on a tarmac in Baltimore with Governor Hee-Haw (as the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston memorably dubbed Maryland Gov. Paris Glendenning) signing off on a deal to rip the hearts out of people who supported him in good times and bad for more than 30 years.
Here are the only relevant facts:
Modell wanted to move the team because he saw an economic windfall in his future and couldn’t wait to greedily grab it.
Actually, after that first fact, what else is there?
No genius, this Harbaugh. Guy needs a history lesson.
