RIP Art Modell

Bob Slydell · Sep 6, 2012

Drip said:

Chef2 said:

Drip said:

Chef2 said:

Drip said:

proudpittsburgher said:

Drip said:

YankeeFan said:

Drip said:

YankeeFan said:

Drip said:

RIP Mr. Modell.
The man picked up a dinner tab for me and about 8 other greedy scribes a few moons ago in Cleveland. He didn't have to do that.
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Why would you let him?
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When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."
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Jesus. Forget the ethics for a minute, that's just tacky as hell.

I hope you at least left the tip yourselves, and were generous.
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I keep forgetting your elevator gets stuck. There's not a damn thing tacky and nothing unethical. The guy picked up a dinner tab. It was a nice gesture and yes, there was a generous tip.
What's the problem?
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It is if any of the 8 scribes were Browns beat writers.
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None were Browns beat writers.
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The tackiness comes in when you added more drinks and a bottle of wine.
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No it wasn't. We were told to do so by the waiter, courtesy of Mr. Modell.
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Rubbish. Pick up the extra drinks out of your own pocket. While you were at it, the 8 of you should have gotten 3 or 4 Filet Mignons..a couple of T-Bones...Maybe a lobster or two to go......
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Dude, the guy treated us for dinner and told the waiter that we could add drinks. No need to act like a freakin pig, ya know what I mean?
It was a genuine and generous offer that I have never forgotten. And the times that I had seen him since, he was always very cordial. I've got nothing but respect for the man.
RIP.
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Hope he's in hell with Paterno.

Chef2 · Sep 6, 2012

Drip said:

Chef2 said:

Drip said:

Chef2 said:

Drip said:

proudpittsburgher said:

Drip said:

YankeeFan said:

Drip said:

YankeeFan said:

Drip said:

RIP Mr. Modell.
The man picked up a dinner tab for me and about 8 other greedy scribes a few moons ago in Cleveland. He didn't have to do that.
Click to expand...

Why would you let him?
Click to expand...

When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."
Click to expand...

Jesus. Forget the ethics for a minute, that's just tacky as hell.

I hope you at least left the tip yourselves, and were generous.
Click to expand...

I keep forgetting your elevator gets stuck. There's not a damn thing tacky and nothing unethical. The guy picked up a dinner tab. It was a nice gesture and yes, there was a generous tip.
What's the problem?
Click to expand...

It is if any of the 8 scribes were Browns beat writers.
Click to expand...

None were Browns beat writers.
Click to expand...

The tackiness comes in when you added more drinks and a bottle of wine.
Click to expand...

No it wasn't. We were told to do so by the waiter, courtesy of Mr. Modell.
Click to expand...

Rubbish. Pick up the extra drinks out of your own pocket. While you were at it, the 8 of you should have gotten 3 or 4 Filet Mignons..a couple of T-Bones...Maybe a lobster or two to go......
Click to expand...

I've got nothing but respect for the man.
RIP.
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Oh no. Release the hounds.
Literally.

JackReacher · Sep 6, 2012

YGBFKM said:

Ok, let's get to the real question: Shittier town, Cleveland or Baltimore?
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Oh God.

I suppose the harbor pushes Baltimore ahead of Cleveland, but just barely.

Drip · Sep 6, 2012

Bob Slydell said:

Drip said:

Chef2 said:

Drip said:

Chef2 said:

Drip said:

proudpittsburgher said:

Drip said:

YankeeFan said:

Drip said:

YankeeFan said:

Drip said:

RIP Mr. Modell.
The man picked up a dinner tab for me and about 8 other greedy scribes a few moons ago in Cleveland. He didn't have to do that.
Click to expand...

Why would you let him?
Click to expand...

When we went to pay for the tab, the waiter said "Mr. Modell is picking up the bill. Don't worry about a thing and enjoy yourself." We purchased another round of drinks and tacked on a bottle of vino.
When I saw him the next day, I personally thanked him and he said "No problem."
Click to expand...

Jesus. Forget the ethics for a minute, that's just tacky as hell.

I hope you at least left the tip yourselves, and were generous.
Click to expand...

I keep forgetting your elevator gets stuck. There's not a damn thing tacky and nothing unethical. The guy picked up a dinner tab. It was a nice gesture and yes, there was a generous tip.
What's the problem?
Click to expand...

It is if any of the 8 scribes were Browns beat writers.
Click to expand...

None were Browns beat writers.
Click to expand...

The tackiness comes in when you added more drinks and a bottle of wine.
Click to expand...

No it wasn't. We were told to do so by the waiter, courtesy of Mr. Modell.
Click to expand...

Rubbish. Pick up the extra drinks out of your own pocket. While you were at it, the 8 of you should have gotten 3 or 4 Filet Mignons..a couple of T-Bones...Maybe a lobster or two to go......
Click to expand...

Dude, the guy treated us for dinner and told the waiter that we could add drinks. No need to act like a freakin pig, ya know what I mean?
It was a genuine and generous offer that I have never forgotten. And the times that I had seen him since, he was always very cordial. I've got nothing but respect for the man.
RIP.
Click to expand...

Hope he's in hell with Paterno.
Click to expand...

Man, I don't know what to say about this post other than I guess you didn't like him.

Double Down · Sep 6, 2012

TSP: I'm seeing a bunch of it on Twitter and Peter King was retweeting it, which is what annoyed me. If you say its a minority sentiment I believe you.

Lets now return to our regularly scheduled episode of: Drip Is The Forrest Gump of Sports Journalism.

Azrael · Sep 6, 2012

Zelig!

TheSportsPredictor · Sep 6, 2012

Double Down said:

TSP: I'm seeing a bunch of it on Twitter and Peter King was retweeting it, which is what annoyed me. If you say its a minority sentiment I believe you.

Lets now return to our regularly scheduled episode of: Drip Is The Forrest Gump of Sports Journalism.
Click to expand...

Yea, I see more "Ding, dong, the witch is dead" on Twitter than the other. I listened to WKNR sports talk radio this morning for a bit, and no one talked about only Cleveland feeling such pain. Tony Grossi was on there for an hour this morning. He was great. The PD will miss him heavily for this coverage. I'll have to check out Peter King's feed.

And, Drip, did Jerry Sandusky ever buy you dinner?

Drip · Dec 15, 2014

MisterCreosote said:

Drip and friend await their free dinner:

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More like Drip and friend awaiting their free drinks. Remember, we had already eaten the meal. LOL

Chef2 · Dec 15, 2014

MisterCreosote said:

Drip and friend await their free dinner:

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You just don't see the 5 doggie bags filled with their treasures.

Drip · Sep 6, 2012

TheSportsPredictor said:

Double Down said:

TSP: I'm seeing a bunch of it on Twitter and Peter King was retweeting it, which is what annoyed me. If you say its a minority sentiment I believe you.

Lets now return to our regularly scheduled episode of: Drip Is The Forrest Gump of Sports Journalism.
Click to expand...

Yea, I see more "Ding, dong, the witch is dead" on Twitter than the other. I listened to WKNR sports talk radio this morning for a bit, and no one talked about only Cleveland feeling such pain. Tony Grossi was on there for an hour this morning. He was great. The PD will miss him heavily for this coverage. I'll have to check out Peter King's feed.

And, Drip, did Jerry Sandusky ever buy you dinner?
Click to expand...

Never had that pleasure but I'm trying really hard to get an interview with him in the joint. Perhaps we can share a coke or two if we do.

Drip · Dec 15, 2014

Chef2 said:

MisterCreosote said:

Drip and friend await their free dinner:

Click to expand...

You just don't see the 5 doggie bags filled with their treasures.
Click to expand...

Naw, just see a guy with a glass of skunky beer. LOL

pseudo · Sep 6, 2012

TheSportsPredictor said:

Double Down said:

Norrin Radd said:

RIP?

The man's historic impact on the game itself was minimal....
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If not for Rozelle, Mara and Modell, there would be no revenue sharing, and that socialist principle is probably what made the NFL what it is today. Modell also came up with the idea for Monday Night Football, which played a huge role in the growth of the game. Hate him all you want, but his impact was not minimal.
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He only volunteered the Browns for the first MNF contest on ABC ni 1970. He did not come up with the idea of MNF. That credit goes to Pete Rozelle and Roone Arledge. Hell, the first MNF game was played in 1964.
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Glad I kept reading through the thread before typing my own correction.

http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2010/12/upon_further_review_art_modell.html

Network television contracts, for which Modell always took a lion's share of the credit, are the underpinnings of his candidacy. Yet the critical move of later years, which ratcheted the revenue higher when it seemed to have plateaued, was the NFC's 1993 move to the Fox Network. This was done against Modell's wishes and advice. Fox at the time was a newcomer, an aggressive broadcasting company that sought the young adult male audience through football.
Modell wanted to give rebates to his cronies at the traditional "alphabet" (ABC, NBC, CBS) networks. The Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones, the dominant member of the Broadcast Committee by then, swung the vote to Fox, thus legitimizing that network, exiling CBS to the wilderness for a time, and making millions for himself and his fellow owners.
Today, networks have decided the damage to their affiliates and their other programming is too high to refuse to pay NFL rights fees, no matter how exorbitant. The engine of that recent growth was fueled by networks whose potential Modell never realized.
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Actually, Pete Rozelle was the closer in the TV deals. This included another one for which Modell accepts kudos, Monday Night Football. Modell's Hall of Fame backers always say he saved Monday Night Football by agreeing to make the Browns the home team for the first game in 1970.
But the idea was not new in 1970. Rozelle had previously scheduled Green Bay to play Detroit on a September Monday night in 1964. Although the game was not televised, it drew a sellout crowd of 59,203 to Tiger Stadium.
In 1966, Rozelle and the NFL began a four-year experiment of playing on Monday night, scheduling one game in prime time on CBS during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, and two contests during each of the next two years. The rival AFL followed suit.
When NBC and CBS were reluctant to disrupt their regular programming in 1970 for Monday night games, Rozelle strong-armed low-rated ABC into buying a prime-time package. He threatened to sign instead with the independent Hughes Sports Network, an entity bankrolled by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. It was the same ploy Jones actually used with Fox and CBS in 1993.
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For the non- cleveland.com version, there's no mention of Modell here, either: http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-10/-monday-night-football-in-age-of-cosell-part-2-mark-ribowsky

Or in the AP version from 1979: Rozelle Spotted Potential of Monday Night

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RIP Art Modell

Bob Slydell Active Member

Chef2 Well-Known Member

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Drip Active Member

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Drip Active Member

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RIP Art Modell

Bob Slydell Active Member

Chef2 Well-Known Member

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Drip Active Member

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Drip Active Member

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