Angus
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Sorry, but no beer here
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
Long-time Pittsburgh Steelers beat writers lament the days when coach Chuck Noll would let down his guard after a round of two-a-day practices at training camp, pull up a chair in the media room and talk about his squad for background. Everyone had a cold beer in his hand.
I recall reporting on Bernie Kosar's initial days in Dallas when the Cowboys signed him after he was cut by the Browns in the middle of the 1993 season. After a long day of cramming the Cowboys' offensive playbook into Kosar's brain, coach Jimmy Johnson and coordinator Norv Turner stopped into the Valley Ranch media room to share their observations. Johnson brought the beers.
Those days, of course, are long gone.
NFL owners and executives were informed this week that alcohol is banned in any club setting, "including in locker rooms, practice or office facilities, or while traveling, including on team buses or flights."
The ban, effective immediately, is the next step of Commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on player - and organization - misconduct. In his new personal conduct policy, Goodell made the emphatic point of applying it to all members of an NFL organization, not just the players.
The alcohol policy, Goodell wrote, "extends not only to players, but to all team personnel, as well as to other guests traveling with the team or who have access to club facilities."
That means beat writers, too. As late as last year, several public relations directors would offer pizza and beer to the stragglers banging out game stories in the press box late into the evening. No more.
"Clearly, Roger has made a real statement on player behavior and the Browns are very supportive of that, and I think [the alcohol ban] is an extension," said Bob Kain, Browns vice chairman.
"It's a consistent message and the right message, and there's no reason we shouldn't support it 100 percent."
The Browns have not served alcohol on their team charter since they returned to the NFL in 1999. But it was not difficult for a player to smuggle in a can, or three. No more.
The ban also removes the option of coaches popping open a can at the conclusion of a 14-hour day of game planning. Executives, even owners, are not exempt. Gone are the days of former president Carmen Policy tapping into his private wine cellar at the end of a work day.
The ban does not apply to team functions outside the team facility, such as a charity golf outing, according to an NFL official.
* * * * * * * * *
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/pla...sports/1180859574294501.xml&coll=2&thispage=2
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
Long-time Pittsburgh Steelers beat writers lament the days when coach Chuck Noll would let down his guard after a round of two-a-day practices at training camp, pull up a chair in the media room and talk about his squad for background. Everyone had a cold beer in his hand.
I recall reporting on Bernie Kosar's initial days in Dallas when the Cowboys signed him after he was cut by the Browns in the middle of the 1993 season. After a long day of cramming the Cowboys' offensive playbook into Kosar's brain, coach Jimmy Johnson and coordinator Norv Turner stopped into the Valley Ranch media room to share their observations. Johnson brought the beers.
Those days, of course, are long gone.
NFL owners and executives were informed this week that alcohol is banned in any club setting, "including in locker rooms, practice or office facilities, or while traveling, including on team buses or flights."
The ban, effective immediately, is the next step of Commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on player - and organization - misconduct. In his new personal conduct policy, Goodell made the emphatic point of applying it to all members of an NFL organization, not just the players.
The alcohol policy, Goodell wrote, "extends not only to players, but to all team personnel, as well as to other guests traveling with the team or who have access to club facilities."
That means beat writers, too. As late as last year, several public relations directors would offer pizza and beer to the stragglers banging out game stories in the press box late into the evening. No more.
"Clearly, Roger has made a real statement on player behavior and the Browns are very supportive of that, and I think [the alcohol ban] is an extension," said Bob Kain, Browns vice chairman.
"It's a consistent message and the right message, and there's no reason we shouldn't support it 100 percent."
The Browns have not served alcohol on their team charter since they returned to the NFL in 1999. But it was not difficult for a player to smuggle in a can, or three. No more.
The ban also removes the option of coaches popping open a can at the conclusion of a 14-hour day of game planning. Executives, even owners, are not exempt. Gone are the days of former president Carmen Policy tapping into his private wine cellar at the end of a work day.
The ban does not apply to team functions outside the team facility, such as a charity golf outing, according to an NFL official.
* * * * * * * * *
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/pla...sports/1180859574294501.xml&coll=2&thispage=2
