With a lockout looming ahead of us, the Browns have not been standing still. The recent extensions to the existing CBA have not allowed free agency to kick off, but there has still been much to do. And for once I'm not even talking about the draft!
Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace was signed to a three year deal worth $9 million. I'm hoping this means that Seneca is fine with being the backup to starting quarterback Colt McCoy, but we shall see. His familiarity with Mike Holmgren and the West Coast offense surely contributed to this deal, and he could prove to be a good mentor to Colt McCoy.
D'Qwell Jackson was signed to a one year, incentive-laden contract that could be worth up to $4.5 million if he reaches his incentives. I'm all for incentive-driven contracts, it's a win-win situation for the team and it inspires the players to play their best. If Jackson is ineffective, he earns very little money. If he is a difference-maker, he gets every penny of that $4.5 million. What's not to like?
Cornerback Eric Wright was given a second-round tender by the Browns. To me, that means that despite his terrible season in 2010, the Browns are confident that Wright can get right and return to his previous form. GM Tom Heckert has expressed confidence in Wright and a desire to retain him. Wright himself has stated a desire to finish his career in Cleveland. I hope he is still here next year, and can return to form as one of the league's better cover corners. With Sheldon Brown's age starting to creep upwards, a tandem of Wright and young Joe Haden might be seen in Cleveland for a long time. If nothing else, we can at least be very sure that we have the most confident secondary around.
TE Evan Moore also received a second-round tender by the Browns. The two tender offers given by the Browns likely mean that Moore and Wright will be back, because I doubt too many NFL teams will want to give up a second-round pick to sign either of these players. Moore, when healthy, has shown that he has excellent receiving abilities and could be a great target for Colt McCoy in his development.
If you're interested in the ongoing CBA discussions, here is an article at WFNY that might suit your fancy. It's a two-parter, with the first part being linked to in at the top of that page.
While this is a football blog, I can't ignore the Buckeyes. They capped off their impressive regular season with a flurry of 3-pointers and buried Wisconsin (and everybody's favorite coach Bo Ryan). Jon Deibler (also known as 3-bler) has hit 17 of 20 three-pointers in the last two games, and has also led the team in fired-up snarls after a big make. He reminds me of a miniature Wally Szczerbiak with his pin-point shooting and exuberance, and I love watching it. This team will be fun to watch in the Big Ten tournament and the Big Dance. Go Bucks!
It’s February. I’ll let that sink in for a minute. For some, January seemed to inch by, causing the Internet to create dozens of Tweets like “30 days has September, April, June, and November, all the rest have 31, except for…January which has seven…hundred when will this god awful month end” (@SimplyTome). For others, the month flew by. Regardless, it’s done. Over. Leaving us to focus on the Continue Reading
In the last days of World War II a drama unfolded at an Austrian salt mine where more than 22,000 Nazi-looted works of art were stashed. As the Allies approached, those in charge were prepared to blow it all up. But plans were thwarted.
Several groups claim to have saved these treasures, amongst them the Americans portrayed in the movie, The Monuments Men. But who actually rescued the works by Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Vermeer? And what were the motives of all the players in the greatest art theft the world has ever known?
On Sunday, February 19 at 2 p.m. the Fine Arts Film Festival in collaboration with le Conseil des arts de Montréal en tournée will present the film Hitler’s Mountain of Stolen Art at Victoria Hall. As part of its full slate of art documentaries, in its description of the film FIFA writes “By way of Franco-German network Arte, and rather oddly translated from the French title “Les Oeuvres volées par Hitler ou l’incroyable sauvetage” (the film will be presented in German and English with French subtitles. Directors Petra Dorrmann and André Schäfer’s “Hitler’s Mountain of Stolen Art” asks who was responsible for rescuing the large part of the cache of works hidden in the Altaussee salt mine in Austria that Hitler had ordered destroyed as he realized the war was lost. The noted “Monuments Men” are in the frame, but only alongside art-loving Nazis and mine employees, a Viennese art historian and a member of the local resistance.”
The film will follow a short presentation by Catherine MacKenzie, professor in the Department of Art History at Concordia University, who teaches courses in Nazi art-looting and its aftermath. MacKenzie is also the curator of the travelling international exhibition, Auktion 392: Reclaiming the Galerie Stern Düsseldorf.. For more information 514.989.5226.
The China Challenge: 33 years of work and travel in the Middle Kingdom presented by Gabriel Safdie at Lunchtime Series →