What's the only thing missing from the Browns' season? A calliope.
Now word comes that Brady Quinn is done for the season, that playing with that injured finger made it worse and he may need surgery to fix it. Naturally the Browns did not release this information. It leaked out in dribs and drabs from outlets outside Cleveland. No sense in letting the local fans know something right away, is there?
Quinn apparently aggravated a tendon in his finger playing against Houston. That made him throw some passes poorly and be afraid to throw others. Remember when the Browns and Quinn both said after the game that the finger had nothing to do with his being yanked? Guess again. It had everything to do with it.
This aggravated injury might not have been anyone's fault, but it sure has a lot of stink to it. Quinn is the franchise quarterback, and the Browns let him play with a hairline fracture on the tip of his finger with the dimmest of dim playoff hopes on the horizon. A specialist said he could play, but the team now leaves itself open to all manner of second-guessing about taking a chance with the index finger on the franchise player's throwing hand.
This happened on the same day that owner Randy Lerner said he felt the people he had hired were representing him well. Just a few hours later came the news the franchise quarterback made a finger injury worse by playing with it and might need surgery to fix it. The option of having him sit out three or four weeks really seems harmless in hindsight, but it had to be discussed prior to the Houston game. Why erring on the side of caution was not taken will be a question the Browns will have to answer.
Now the Browns turn to Derek Anderson, who gets to play in front of home fans who booed him and treated him like he had stolen their children's clothes. Lucky guy. And the team's quarterback situation seems more muddled now than it did when training camp started, if that can be believed.
And yes, it matters that the team and its leaders decided to fudge and/or not reveal this issue through the night on Tuesday instead of just releasing the news. Professional teams let the fans know this information right away. They don't leave it to the fans to find out from this web site or that one. They address the issue directly, honestly and immediately. Doing so speaks to their professionalism and their level of honesty, which leads to trust.
Injuries are treated in weird ways anymore, despite the best efforts of the league office to get teams to be honest. But when a guy is done for the year, there's no reason to fudge, hide or obscure the information. The fans who pay for the tickets deserve to know immediately, not the next morning. And the media that covers the team on a daily basis deserves to be treated with a level of professionalism — especially on important matters like this one.
The Browns didn't do that.
Who'd have thought that could have happened?
Check this out, even the team mascot who catches the staph-infected locker room mice is giving you the finger, Pat. Like Rodney Dangerfield said, no respect.
http://www.socialtimes.com.au/images/cat%20giving%20the%20finger.jpg
maybe rat modell can let randy lerner borrow a private jet to go broker a deal to move this team to any city that is willing to take them.
as senile as al davis is he doesn't even look as stupid as randy lerner does now.
As I recall, the specialist told it like it was. Quinn could play, and in so doing there was a small risk of further injury. No rocket science there. Further injury occurred, either from contact or just from being involved in the game of football.
Now Quinn can recuperate and be just fine for next season. It would be very proactive of the Browns to send him to New York to spend some time discussing football with his new coach, Bill Cowher.
Anyone have any old video clips of Fred Biletnikoff? I'd like to send them to Braylon Edwards as a Christmas gift. Seriously!
Reading the ABJ these last two years gave me the impression Quinn was no better than Charlie Frye or more recently Derek Anderson. Now he's a franchise qb who should be treated with kid gloves?
Quinn calls his agent, says "I don't trust this Cleveland Clinic clown the team sent me to see." So Quinn's agent secretly arranges for Quinn to take a trip to Alabama to see a real expert. The real expert determines that the Browns' Cleveland Clinic guy is indeed a clown. And Lerner gives one of his "rare interviews," and doesn't even tell the very people to whom he gives his "rare interviews" what he already knew at the time of this "rare interview?"
Pat, why are you protecting this guy? Really. O.K., so his management style is to delegate authority, and then let them handle business. Fine. But his credibility is now completely shot. He knew about Quinn, but didn't say a thing during his "rare interview." So how can you, as a sportswriter, trust any word that came out of his mouth then, or comes out of his mouth in the future?
alan, where did you see that story? about quinn and his agent going off on their own and getting another opinion?
terje, I don't recall who wrote it, it was from Monday night, before late Tuesday night's announcement that Quinn was done. He wrote that according to his anonymous source, Quinn was flying down to see Andrews on Tuesday without the Browns' prior knowledge or permission.
It just kills me, the Cleveland Clinic has such a terrific worldwide reputation. But when it comes to specific treatment of players with Cleveland's sports franchises, year after year after year, it's one bumble after another. This revealing paparazzi photo was taken shortly after Brad Daughterty's botched foot surgery.
http://www.blogdelossimpson.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dr-nick-riviera1.gif
with the way this franchise is being destroyed i have no doubt that the story is true. if it were to come out that phil savage was accused of being san francisco's notorious zodiac killer i'd be inclined to believe that too.