What could be more useless than watching a press conference that has Randy Lerner, George Kokinis or Eric Mangini standing there answering the questions?
The only think I can think of is that's more useless is my annual wish that April 15 won't turn out as bad as it usually does.
Let's be honest that most folks associated with professional football these days aren't the most forthcoming.
You could watch interviews in the 60's, 70's and even 80's and get some substance but today?
Today their media coaches have media coaches.
Everyone is really good at giving the pat answer. The other team is always great, they have many options with this pick, were just listening to trade offers, we are happy in our current stadium....etc etc.
I get that you rarely can glean anything useful coming out of the mouth of a player, coach, GM or owner when they have a bunch of mikes, cameras and lights in their face.
However.
The crew in Cleveland has taken useless information to a new level.
If I were a member of the Cleveland media I don't think I'd ever bother again to ask Lerner, Kokinis or Mangini a thing.
Who cares what they have to say because they are saying nothing? Worse, they seem to be irritated that they're getting asked to begin with.
I know there has to be a certain level of secrecy as you don't want to give other teams your whole offseason blueprint but it seems as if the Cleveland media (and by extension their fans) are viewed as an irritant at best and an enemy at worst.
It's kind of a shame. Just punch in around the Scout.com network. The hunger Cleveland fans have for information is crazy.
You can access TheOBR.com by also punching in www.cle.scout.com and you can do that for every team. As I write this, 634 fans are online in the forums. The great Pittsburgh fans? Let's see. www.pit.scout.com ----66 fans online. Indianapolis? http://ind.scout.com ----15 fans. San Francisco? www.sfo.scout.com ----5 fans online.
Just take a tour around. Cleveland fans are there most every hour of the day in the hundreds, sometimes over a 1,000.
Our reward? A complete closure of any useful information from the team delivered sometimes with what seems like arrogance and/or hostility.
I do not like the way this management team of Kokinis/Mangini has conducted themselves as far as communication with the paying customers, us the fans.
A lot of people will say, "well, winning will cure all that" and I guess to a certain extent they have a point but I also don't like being disrespected and I feel that's what this management team is doing.
I'm sure their response would be, "find something else to watch/do if you don't like it."
Maybe I will.