At the top of
today's
newswire, Ross Verba has permission from the Browns to
seek a trade elsewhere (PD). (Also,
Lorain Morning-Journal)
Verba got permission to leave as the ink was drying on Shelton's contract,
apparently, although Phil Savage hasn't shut the door on a return. William Green
was similarly given an opportunity to move on, but has since redeemed himself in
the eyes of the team.
For many Browns fans, Verba is a forgotten man already, because he wanted to
renegotiate his contract. Phil Savage is a hero who doesn't take any crap
because he went out and used L.J. Shelton to checkmate the player.
Ross Verba will be bounced from the Browns and most Browns fans will applaud.
The Akron Beacon-Journal's Tom Reed
will join the chorus. After all, he sounded pretty out-of-touch when he
talked about the need to make more than $3 million a year, and how he was one of
the league's best tackles. I wrote a
pretty negative take on it
when it hit the newswire.
Still, when a player's performance improves and he wants to re-negotiate,
he's usually cast as a selfish, greedy brat. If the players performance declines
and the team shreds his contract, oh well, it's business as usual.
It's a double standard that we all engage in, I guess, but I think I'm
starting to understand better what players mean when they talk about "fairness".
Since it's probably the Evil Media™'s
fault that there's a double-standard there, we might as well continue to display
the Fourth Estate at its most vicious.
This morning's newswire continues the blasphemy against the Chosen One via
two out-of-town newspapers (Richmond.com,
reg required &
Times-Record News) and one local one (Warren
Tribune-Chronicle).
Apparently, none of these people read the crushing expose we ran last weekend
detailing how the media was to
blame for everything. They're still tooling along as if nothing had changed.
I guess no one took me seriously. But one day you will. Oh, yes. All of you.
You'll be sorry you scoffed! Sorry!
Or not.
- BDMc