Bernie Kosar comes to Baltimore, makes up with Modell

If Bernie Kosar can make up with Art Modell, will the rest of Cleveland follow?

That's the question after reading Terry Pluto's terrific column about Kosar in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer. It starts off with Kosar making a trip to Baltimore to see Modell.

"Why not make up with him? Life is too short. We had a great visit," Pluto quotes Kosar as saying about Modell, who moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1995.

For those of you unfamiliar with Kosar, he was LeBron James before LeBron James was born. Kosar was raised in Northwest Ohio, was a superstar athlete at a young age, played for the hometown Browns and wanted nothing more than to bring a championship to Cleveland.

He was, and maybe still is, Cleveland's favorite son. Instead of leaving via free agency, he was unceremoniously waived by then-Browns head coach Bill Belichick. The city was crushed. Kosar was crushed. Yet he's made up with Belichick and he's made up with the man who allowed Belichick to waive him -- Modell.

I've never been ashamed to admit that I'm from Cleveland and I'm a huge fan of Cleveland sports. I've also come around to the view that Modell should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sooner rather than later, too. It would be nice if Modell was alive when he goes in.

 That doesn't mean I've forgiven Modell for moving the Browns. It was and still is despicable. But you can't discount the man's influence on the NFL. There are many in the Hall who did far less than Modell.

So Kosar has made peace with Modell. Will the faction in Cleveland that has fought to keep Modell out of the Hall come around to Kosar's thinking? Can Modell ever return to Cleveland?

Like Kosar said, life is too short.

Click here to order Bernie Kosar’s proCane Rookie Card.



(baltimoresun.com)