A shoutout to the great Dino Lucarelli

A shoutout to the great Dino Lucarelli

By STEVE KING

As the Browns continue to lose players to injury – the latest is cornerback Kevin Johnson, who was hospitalized with a lacerated kidney after a teammate fell on him in practice – and as they and the rest of the NFL continue on what can best be described as training camp light and, in my opinion, an eventual virtual disaster when the regular season begins – it’s time to take a breath and do something different.

That’s especially the case with the fact the Browns players had a day off on Friday, which meant no one else got hurt.

Whew! That’s good. Nothing is something in this case.

Anyway, have you ever heard of a guy by the name of Dino Lucarelli? Those media members who have covered the Browns a long time, and other longtimers in the overall Cleveland sports scene, know all about Dino and they love him. They absolutely love him. He is iconic, and that’s putting it mildly.

Dino, who, beginning in 1963, worked in public and media relations for the minor-league version of the Cleveland Barons, the Cleveland Indians and then the Browns for 33 years, celebrated a birthday recently. Now retired and living in Independence with his lovely wide, Angie, he turned 86.

As those of you who read this site regularly already know, I did a long series this summer about the various Mount Rushmore-worthy people, games. seasons, moments and various other things in Browns history. I had a notion to do one on the support staff as swell before running out of time and days in the offseason, but if I had done so, then Dino would have not only been on it but he would have headed it. He’s the GOAT in that group.

No one – not a single person – has ever said a bad word about Dino. In or out of pro sports, he’s one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. He’s helped more people in a variety of ways than anyone in Browns history.

In addition, he knows more people in the sports world, including those in Cleveland, than anyone I ever met. As a media person, when you really needed something done – and done correctly – you went to Dino. He never disappointed.

He is also a great storyteller. His best tale? It’s about going to the first-ever Browns regular-season game in 1946 as a wide-eyed 12-year-old from the Cleveland suburb of Garfield Heights.

Happy Belated Birthday, Dino Lucarelli! Be well.

Stefanski has the right skill-set for 2020

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski joked with media members the other day on a zoom press conference about having been a communication major in college.

That’s not why, necessarily, that the Haslams hired him, but, with the way things have turned out, it’s a skill-set that will likely serve him well.

Look, I don’t know – no one knows – if Stefanski will be a good head coach for the Browns. He’s never been a head coach before at any level, and there are a lot of good coordinators in the NFL head coaches graveyard who did a great job calling plays on offense, defense or even special teams but, for whatever reason, didn’t have what it takes to succeed at the next step.

Still, I think – I think; but again, I don’t know – that he has a decent chance to be good. And, more specifically, he might be a great choice considering what he is encountering.

Let me explain:

I think this NFL season will be, in terms of the quality of play, an unmitigated disaster, the likes of which pro football has never seen. With practices having been reduced to a precious few, there is simply not enough time for any of these teams to get ready. There just isn’t. The result will be false starts, miscommunication, blown coverages, injuries and all the things that makes the game ugly, and dysfunctional.

The teams that should do the best are the ones with veteran head coaches and veteran players who have been with their clubs for a while.

The Browns are at the other end of the spectrum on this. The coaches and many of the players are brand-new. They should wear name tags so they can get to know each other.

It will take a lot of patience, understanding, discipline, diligence and attention to detail for Stefanski and his assistants to steer these players through it. He seems to have these qualities. In fact, I know he does.

Plus, he’s a self-proclaimed communicator, and that will help, too.

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