Word: clevelandism
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...suits and his blue Rolls-Royce, his honeyed voice and revival-meeting cadences. It is worth pointing out that even as he preaches justice for society's outsiders, he is himself the consummate insider, with a roster of clients that have included Michael Jackson, Snoop Doggy Dogg and former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown, and a circle of friends who are among the most politically connected in all Los Angeles. His courtroom charisma, however, cannot be copied, much less mocked. He holds a jury rapt and disarms opposing counsel with his smooth, unflappable charm. He works himself...
Modell declined the subcommittee's invitation to appear. But John Moag, the chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority that lured the Browns to Baltimore, did testify. Shedding crocodile tears, Moag said, "Marylanders have tremendous empathy for what Cleveland is going through right now. We have been there; we know the pain all too well." Moag went on to say that fan support was no longer enough to keep a franchise. A city requires "political courage" and a business sense of "what professional athletics means to a community's image and pocketbook." In other words, a brand-new stadium with lots...
...there is one aspect of baseball that Tagliabue would love to have: its antitrust exemption. Major league baseball, in part because of that exemption, hasn't had a franchise move since the Washington Senators went to Arlington, Texas, in 1972. Since then, the N.F.L. has faced 10 moves, counting Cleveland, Houston, Chicago and the two New York City teams to New Jersey. As far back as 1964, N.F.L. Commissioner Pete Rozelle argued that an antitrust exemption was necessary to safeguard "the league's ability to take measures which ensure survival of its weaker franchises...
...Cleveland was stunned when Modell made his surprise announcement at a Nov. 6 press conference in Baltimore. "I'll never forget the kindness of the people and the fan support over the years," said Modell. "But frankly...I had no choice." Modell was heavily leveraged in Cleveland, and he didn't want to sell the team because he wanted to pass it on to his son. But he harbored some resentment against the city for giving new playgrounds to the baseball Indians and the basketball Cavaliers. Still, local voters hoped Modell would change his mind two days after the announcement...
...Modell hasn't changed his mind, and in recent weeks things have got ugly in Cleveland. A bomb threat kept the owner away from the last two home games. He has been hanged in effigy and likened to a pig and one of the Three Stooges. Fans, meanwhile, have taken their anger out on the players, who are going nowhere on the field...