What SHOULD be a HOF owner passes at 87....

The NFL lost a true pioneer today as Art Modell, former owner of the Cleveland Browns and minority owner of the Baltimore Ravens, passed this morning at 4am of natural causes.  Art's memory will be a looked at differently by 2 cities, which is unfortunate in my opinion because one of those cities is the sole reason one of the MAIN influencers behind making the NFL what it is today is not in the HOF...

In Cleveland Art Modell is still public enemy #1 because he took the team he owned, and the city loved enough to not give them a new stadium, and  moved them from the shores of Lake Erie to the Harbor in Baltimore.  Art Modell did what was best for his family business, and what other owners had done in the past.  He took a team from a city not willing to provide the necessary upgrades and financial support and moved it to another city that was willing to help a man in financial hardship. The Cleveland Browns were ripped from their die hard fans because of a mutual business decision by Modell AND the city of Cleveland, yet somehow Modell is the only one to take blame here.  Modell mentioned time and time again to the city leaders he was going to need financial help to get a new stadium and drive more revenue, but the city ignored it.  So Modell wasnt bluffing...he was gonna leave.  May I also mention that the deal to move to Baltimore was done on a private jet owned by the man who brokered the deal.....Al Lerner.  Yes Cleveland, the same man you praise for bringing football back (the NFL had already assured Cleveland a team with its next expansion when Modell announced he was moving but I am sure that is forgotten in Cleveland to) is the same man that helped it leave...And so Modell brought football back to Baltimore....

Art Modell took the Browns after the 1995 season and moved them to Baltimore to become the Ravens.  He left the Browns name, legacy and  story to the city of Cleveland as a good faith gesture because he knew how important it was to the city.  (something not afforded the city of Baltimore 15 years earlier when Bob Irsay took the Colts and everything with him to Indianapolis, so think about that the next time Browns fans when you hear about a record you got to keep and team name and colors you still keep) In 2000 he won a Super Bowl as Majority owner and struck a deal with local business man Steve Bisciotti to eventually take over as majority owner.  In 2001 Modell was eligible for the NFL Hall Of Fame and was a finalist.  He has never received enough voted to be enshrined due to a ridiculous, subjective and opinionated voting system.

Hall of Fame voting is and should be based simply on merit of the honor.  The NFL Hall of Fame limits the number of members enshrined each year and each player is measured by a 39 member selection committee.  Candidates must then reach 80% of the vote to get in.  Real quickly here is Art Modell's resume:

1. Owned the Cleveland Browns from 1961-1995
2. Negotiated the first LUCRATIVE contracts between the NFL and the TV networks
3. Was NFL league President from 1967-1969
4. Chaired Negotiations in the very FIRST collective bargaining agreement with players in 1968
5. Was THE driving force behind the 1970 contract between the NFL and ABC to start up a little program called Monday Night Football

The NFL as we know it today owes itself to Art Modell and just a very select few other men, yet he isn't in the Hall of Fame because of the way finalists are presented!  Not because he isn't worthy but because of ONE MAN! 

The HOF finalists are reviewed by the committee with a very strange and subjective process.  The player is presented to the committee by the member of that same committee from the city they represent.  Modell was represented by Cleveland Plain Dealer writer Tony Grossi in 2001.  As the story goes, Grossi got up in front of the committee to present and began  not to speak about the above mentioned merits but how awful a person Modell was for taking the Browns from Cleveland (mind you not the first owner to move a team for financial hardship by a long shot) and the pain and misery it caused the city.  Rumor is the Grossi even shed a tear.....that's fine as a fan, as a spectator...but in a process such as this it is completely out of place and unprofessional especially 5 years after the event occurred and you had a team back.  It was unprofessional and just simply unfair because that speech and every year since has kept an unbelievably deserving man out of the HOF because of a broken process. 

Art Modell should have gotten to see his bust in Canton....now that is lost forever.  Cleveland you and Tony Grossi can stay angry if you want, but he did what any business man and NFL Owner would have done.  IT has been 15 years....Pay your respects.....Appreciate what you had and then got returned to you out of good faith by a man who built what you love so dearly. 

Rest in Peace Art...I bet your a HOF next year....


GOLDY

MLB Predictions

Alright ladies and germs (and I use that term loosely) we are almost a quarter of the way through baseball season and this is when I like to make my ridiculous predictions that are assured to be wrong.  Just like every other blogger and so called expert we think there is a chance we can tell the future, which is always not true but so much fun for discussion.  So with out further adeiu.....

HERE WE GO......

MY FINAL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS:

AL----Rays, Tigers, Rangers
AL Wildcards---Yankees, Orioles
ALCS---Rangers vs Tigers---RANGERS WIN in 6
Call me crazy on some of these but let me splain. The Rays have SOOOO much pitching on top of having, in my opinion, the best manager in baseball.  The Tigers will come out of their funk because they have too much talent, the 3rd best manager in baseball and the weakest division of all 3 (Sorry Tribe fans it ain't gonna last).  The Rangers need no explanation...they are the best team in baseball..PERIOD. 
On to the Wild cards...Yes I chose 2 teams from the AL East, not because of bias but because it is top to bottom the best division in baseball.  Every team will be within 5-6 games of each other.  If the Rays are 1 the Yankees are 1A.  Even without MO they will be able to make a run just on talent and experience.  Now on to the one everyone will tell me I am wrong on, but HEY I am enjoying the ride and I don't think its a fluke.  As I commented during the offseason, I love what Duquette and Showalter were doing.  Bringing in ballplayers, not just guys to fill holes.  They were also adding depth that is already paying dividends.  Everyone on this Orioles team is contributing and they have the ABSOLUTE right leader for the job.  Go back and look at Buck's 2nd year with every team he has coached. HERE.  This team will make the playoffs, and quickly lose their play in game. 

NL---Nationals, Reds, Dodgers
NL Wildcards---Atlanta, St Louis
NLCS---Nationals vs Dodgers----DODGERS in 5

The Nationals are for real.  There is enough pitching on that team to last 4 lifetimes!  They are young but have a very experienced and WINNING manager in the dugout. The Reds have enough talent that they should overtake the LaRussa less Cardinals finally, and the Dodgers are the BEST team in the NL.  With perennial contenders for both Cy Young and for MVP in Kershaw and Kemp, Donny baseball will finally get to show teh NY brass why Girardi was the wrong choice. 

WORLD SERIES---Rangers vs Dodgers----RANGERS WIN IN 7
This is going to be weird to say but ultimately the Rangers will have too much PITCHING for the Dodgers to beat them....

POST SEASON AWARDS---
AL CY Young---CC Sabathia---he will finally get a chance to deserve one because he is the ONLY dependable starter the Yankees have and has shown he knows it so far
AL MVP---Josh Hamilton---As if I could be wrong here---the only thing that derails this is injury, which is a big possibility.   Here is a BONUS PREDICTION--If healthy Josh Hamilton will put together the finest offensive season we have seen since Ted Williams 1941 season (.406BA 37 HR 120 RBI).  HE WILL WIN THE TRIPLE CROWN!
AL MANAGER of the YEAR--Buck Showalter---How could it not be if I am correct????

NL CY Young---Gio Gonzalez---This guy has become the NL worst nightmare---better than Strasburg right now...
NL MVP---Matt Kemp---Should of won it last year and will this year by competing for his own triple crown but falling just short.
NL MANAGER of the YEAR---Don Mattingly--to go through all the organization has over the last 12 months and still get them to the level they are is something only special managers can do...

What are your predictions for the year?  What do you think of mine?
Follow me on Twitter @stevegoldbeck

GOLDY!

MLB Realignment

Last night I heard that Joe Girardi and Buck Showalter are going to present MLB with their own versions of a re-alignment plan.  So I have decided that I would like to pitch my own realignment plan to all of the bar mates here at Goldy's.

Both Girardi and Showalter are looking at eliminating the AL and NL to make regional divisions.  I am not a big fan of the idea as a whole because I am a baseball traditionalist.  I like having the 2 separate leagues, however if we are going to make changes it has to make sense and keep the structure of what drives baseball in place. (My one disclaimer is that the most simple fix to all of this is happening in large part next year with the return of the balanced schedule)

Here is my plan......

Create new divisions using Payroll.  This would not be very hard to figure out...You set base lines for each division and adjust with inflation. This also levels the playing field with no salary cap anywhere in the future.  It sounds crazy at first but look how each division is matched up....

AL Division 1:                                         NL Division 1: 

Yankees                                                     Phillies

Red Sox                                                    Marlins

Tigers                                                        Giants

Rangers                                                     Brewers

Angels                                                       Cardinals

AL Division 2:                                        NL Division 2:

Orioles                                                       Dodgers

White Sox                                                  Mets

Mariners                                                    Cubs

Twins                                                         Braves

Indians                                                       Reds

AL Division 3:                                         NL Division 3:

Rays                                                          Nationals

A's                                                            Diamondbacks

Blue Jays                                                   Padres

Royals                                                       Pirates

Astros                                                       Rockies



As teams spend more and less the divisions can change.  This will allow teams that are rebuilding to build the confidence of their younger players in a more competitive environment.  An environment that is going to push each team as it matches up against their division opponents more evenly. 

Schedule

I would eliminate inter-league play all together.  It has run its course.  I would cut back from 162 to 140.  That was a great number and will make the playoff scenario more exciting because of the importance of 20 less regular season games.   I would however then keep the schedule unbalanced so that the division games meant that much more.  Here are my bullet points

--Each team plays 20 games against their division
--each team plays 6 games against everyone outside their division
--All Star game would stay where it is and would go back to meaning nothing
--Every Monday would be an off today for everyone.  This is the lowest attended day across baseball and will keep each team fresher with a guaranteed day off each week.

Playoffs:

This is the fun part....

--It would be set up exactly like the NFL..3 division winners and 2 wild cards per league...Top seeds (best record) get a bye
--Wild Card Round would be best of 3
--Divisional Round would be best of 5
--Championship series and World Series best of 7.

What do you think?  How would you tweek this?  What does your realignment plan look like?

Share this with your FB friends and Twitter followers to see what they think ...

GOLDY

NFL Round 1 Draft recap

So last night was eventful.....

So I missed on 2 things last night..The Dolphins and Jets didnt budge because the Dolphins found out no one else considered Tannehill the 8th overall pick so they were good to stand pat, and the Jets were able to bolster their pass rush by sitting still.  The other miss I had was with the Browns. 

LOSERS:
 
Cleveland-- had a chance to fill a lot of holes on a team that, at times, was flat out horrid. They had a ton of picks and were all in good spots.  Last night they had a chance, in my opinion, to solidify big time play maker spots on both sides of the ball. They did it with Richardson, and before you go crazy saying they gave up too much if they hadn't moved up they would not have gotten the best offensive player in the draft not named Luck or RGIII.Tampa wanted Richardson bad and that made Cleveland pony up to get their man.  I applaud them for that move because it was something they would not have done in the past.  At pick 22 they needed to take an Alabama product in either OLB, and possibly the best Pass rusher in the draft, Upshaw or a LEADER like ILB Dont'a Hightower.  Brandon Weeden was a sign that the Browns are still stupid and still will be stuck in medeocrity.  Colt McCoy is fine at QB with a running attack, solid o line and young receiving core that will make strides.  Little will not drop that many balls again,and this draft has a ton of WR help in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  Ultimately you don't take Weeden at 28 to not be a starter. The Colt McCoy era never got a real chance and is gone too soon.  Weeden isn't better, but will be the starter week 1.  They wasted a golden opportunity.  Instead they showed the league they still don't know what they are doing.....

Atlanta---Julio Jones wasnt worth not picking last night.  That team needs Defense help and there was some big time talent that could help them. I expect a run on Pass rush when they do draft.

Seattle---I don't know what to even say about this pick.  Pete Carroll and his choices are mind boggling....This kid is a one trick Pony on a team that needs a lot---Tavaris FREAKING Jackson is your starting QB for pete's sake.....Not a good job and an absolute "Al Davis" like waste pick!

WINNERS:

Cinncinnati---They helped their Defense and o-line last night by taking the 2nd best DB and beating the Ravens to Wisconsin Guard Zeitler.  Cincy and Marvin Lewis are building something special....Watch today for them to add another WR to help AJ Green and possibly the addition of a pass rusher

Dallas---Their secondary was terrible.....Plain and simple.  SO Jerry Jones did what Jerry needed to do and moved up to get the only shut down guy in the draft.  No 2nd rd today for Dallas but my guess is their are more defensive picks coming for the Boys Saturday

New England---Damn you mad genius!!  The one player I hoped the Ravens would take, was scooped away by Billy B in a brilliant move.  Their pass rush was laughable, and the defense as a whole wasn't very good.  Yet they somehow got to the Super Bowl (Thank you cards and candy still being sent to Lee Evans by Pat's fans).  Belichek added a tremendous pass rushing DE in Jones and picked up what many people believe is the next great ILB with Alabama's Dont'a Hightower.  With Hightower and Mayo running the middle of the field, the Patriots just got a WHOLE lot better.  Watch for them to add a lot more today on D and possibly a WR.

St Louis.---A team with a ton of holes and a great head coach know that they have to fill the holes in the draft.  They kept trading back and stock piled a ton of picks so Jeff Fisher can fill the holes and surround young Sam Bradford with as much talent as possible....THIS IS WHAT CLEVELAND SHOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE

RAVENS---Yep I put them here because once again Ozzie made the ABSOLUTE right decision.  They wanted Zeitler or Hightower to fall to them.  It didn't happen and the other players they wanted were going to be available later.  SO Ozzie did what he should have and got more picks by trading back.  My guess is they take Upshaw with the 35th pick and WR Randall later in the 2nd rd.  In Ozzie we trust.....

Redskins/Colts---I honestly believe both teams are set for the next 10 years at the QB position.  It is hard to imagine but Andrew Luck may actually have the Colts fans saying "Peyton Who?" in 5 years....RGIII Will be better than Michael Vick and Tony Romo which puts the Redskins in a great position within the division.  RGIII and Cam Newton are about to change the way the game is played....

Who were your winners and losers last night?

Dont forget to follow on Twitter
@stevegoldbeck

Goldy