I heard a lot of jokes about the Browns' bye week. My favorite was John Telich's line: "The Browns were 20-point underdogs to bye week."

It was genuinely pleasant not having to worry about them. As painful as it is, in our racket we must watch because we might have to talk about them.

The Browns are sadder than a country song and after reading Randy Lerner's exclusive email interview with Tony Grossi in The Plain Dealer last week I have not one iota of hope. Randy is a very nice person, very likeable, but the poor fellow is clueless about football and he admits it.

In 11 years now the Browns have not had a general manager who had a track record. The only actual general manager was Phil Savage. It was his first crack at the position and he failed.

That's why the name Ernie Accorsi generated excitement. The same with Mike Holmgren. Too bad the Dolan brothers didn't get the Browns. They went up to $500 million but Al Lerner's pockets were bottomless with all the money he made on credit card interest rates. The Dolans' football man was Don Shula. The old Miami Dolphins coach was past his prime, but at least he had a prime.

One other thing about football and then let's move on. I knew I should have bet Navy against Notre Dame. Navy always is a good bet against the Irish because Navy always gets points, a lot of points, too many points, and they usually give Notre Dame life and death. Remember, Navy has only two emotionally-charged games each year -- against Notre Dame and against Army. It's a good rule of thumb to bet Navy against Notre Dame, especially when the point spread is in the high teens or more.

Enough about football. Sunday afternoon I went to the Playhouse to see "Inherit the Wind," one of my all-time favorite plays. You may have seen the 1960 black and white movie starring Spencer Tracy and Fredric March. The story is based on the historic 1925 "Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee, pitting Darwin against Genesis, evolution against Creationism and Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan. The names are changed but the story is real. Some of the crackling dialog was taken from transcripts of the trial.

Acclaimed playwrites Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee are from the neighborhood. Lawrence graduated from Glenville High School in 1933 and Lee from Elyria High School in 1935. In their day this sharp-witted duo ranked with the best in the world. Among their 30 major stage productions was "Auntie Mame."

And finally, meet Daisy. My son Joe, who got married just over two weeks ago, got his bride a birthday present the other day. A yellow lab puppy, seven weeks old.

"If somebody did that to me, I'd divorce them after two weeks," said Fox 8 sports producer Katie Rossborough.

"She wanted it. She's a dog person," I said, leaping to Joe's defense.

Anyway, the puppy, named Daisy, spent Saturday afternoon visiting at our house. Our own dog, Millie, a ten-year-old who's part lab, was curious and tolerant of this energetic young bundle of fur who wore out both of them.

When Daisy got tired, I allowed her to take a nap on the new family room couch. Millie is never allowed on the furniture, but we made an exception for baby Daisy. It was a one-time exemption.

She wasn't asleep for half an hour when she peed, soaking two cushions. Off came the cushion coverings. Into the washing machine. Getting them back on.

So, a word of advice to the lucky guy who someday will marry Katie. Get her a cat.

I'll post the high school playoff point spreads and odds on each team to win the state by 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Enjoy the nice weather. Let the dog out.

That's all for now.

This article reprinted from CoughlinUnplugged.com, through a partnership between Dan Coughlin and The Cleveland Leader. To read more of his writing, visit his website.