Plain Dealer made columnist apologize to Cavs owner

The conversation ends once he lets out a 12-letter curse word. I don't get paid enough for that. If he want to talk, that's fine. If he want to curse, then I'm going to politely hang up the phone before I say something that will cost me my job.

 

It was hit or miss with this AD. There were times where I would write something and just brace myself for the aftermath and some times it didn't come. There were plenty of times where the call would come out of nowhere and I would be thinking, "You're mad about that?"

The timing of the call didn't bother me. I've always been a big believer of facing up to what you write. A lot of times I would get a call from someone and we'd talk it out and we'd be better as a result.

There was one time when an assistant called me up to chew my ass about something I wrote. After he said his piece, and made a very valid point, I said, "I never thought of it that way. I truly apologize."

I used that as an excuse to call him in the future and he verified some pretty big stories for me and I don't think that ever would have happened if I hadn't admitted to screwing up.

 

I block on Twitter for profanity, same as I hang up the phone and toss snail mail into the trash.
Not surprisingly, I end up rooting for the biggest jerks to "go there," because it makes my end of things easier.

 

Yeah, I swear enough on my own that I couldn't exactly play that card. When they make it personal, that's where I take issue, but that's a difficult one for some to interpret.

I will say this about the AD. I was so thick-skinned after covering that school that when I was covering the NFL, almost nothing fazed me. When Sean Payton tore into me over the phone and then the next day during postgame, I just started laughing.