Cleveland Browns Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas is hosting a celebrity fishing derby on July 18th. The event is being held at the Westlake Rec Center and runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

If you want to enter you better act fast. The fishing derby is limited just 200 kids and you must register ahead of time. You can do so online by following this link or by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE

Each child entered will receive a free fishing rod and shirt. The day of fun also includes food and entertainment.

The City of Cleveland annually now pays $202,700 more in property taxes on Browns stadium as the Browns pay the city to rent the stadium all year.

Isn’t that some kind of generosity or maybe gross corruption?

Although Browns Stadium is owned by the City of Cleveland it must still pay property taxes because it is used for private business. The Browns are owned by the Lerner family.

The city pays a total of $452,724 in taxes on the Stadium land. The land is valued at $5,588,170 for tax purposes. The market value of the land alone is $15,966,200, according to the County Auditor’s Real Property Information.

And we keep giving away lakefront land for pennies.

The city pays the property tax only on the land, not the stadium built during the administration of Mayor Michael White. The stadium has - as Progressive Field and Quicken Arena have - been tax exempted by state law. The law was lobbied in Columbus primarily by White and County Commissioner Tim Hagan in the early 1990s.

The Lerner family paid nothing for the land and nothing for the stadium. Nice work if you can get it. And they could.

We can thank Mayor White for this gift-giving generosity.

The draft picks from the 2009 Cleveland Browns will be at Legacy Village on Saturday to sign autographs.

Here is the event information if you plan on attending:

WHEN: Saturday, June 27, 2009 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (autograph signings begin at 2:00 PM)
WHERE: Legacy Village
25001 Cedar Road, Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124
COST: Free

Browns rookies scheduled to appear:

* Alex Mack - Round 1, Pick 21 (21st overall) out of Cal
* Brian Robiskie - Round 2, Pick 4 (36th overall) out of Ohio State
* Mohamed Massaquoi - Round 2, Pick 18 (50th overall) out of Georgia
* David Veikune - Round 2, Pick 20 (52nd overall) out of Hawaii
* Kaluka Maiava - 4th round out of USC
* Don Carey - 6th round out of Norfolk State
* Coye Francies - 6th round out of San Jose State
* James Davis - 6th round out of Clemson

Phil Dawson, who has been the Cleveland Browns placekicker since they rejoined the NFL in 1999, will be visiting Cedar Point on Wednesday, June 24. The 34 year old will meet guests and sign autographs from noon to 1:30 p.m. The festivities will take place near the Raptor rollercoaster.

Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown conducted an interview with South Florida radio show host Dan LeBatard yesterday. Brown unleashed a bombshell in regards to the Donte' Stallworth situation which he stated:

"This situation is a tragedy all around, but what was involved was alcohol and marijuana," Brown said. "On one hand, DUI is a very serious thing in America. Marijuana of course is against all the rules."

The 73 year old said he was citing inside information regarding the case but was not 100% sure if it was factual. Brown is an employee of the Browns and said his source was "very reliable".

The Cleveland Browns have released a public statement regarding Donte' Stallworth who was suspended indefinitely by the National Football League this afternoon.

A statement from General Manager George Kokinis said on the official Browns website

"The Browns are very conscious of the seriousness of the charges to which Donte' Stallworth plead guilty to today. We are continuing to evaluate the situation and will make the decisions that we believe are in the best interest of the Cleveland Browns."

The Browns are caught in a bit of a crossroads with the man who plead guilty to DUI manslaughter earlier this week. The team will not have to pay him as long as he is suspended, rumored to be two years while he is under house arrest, but will likely keep in officially as a Brown because they will take a big salary cap hit if they release him outright.

Donte Stallworth may have gotten off with an exceptional light sentence from the state of Florida - just 30 days in jail and 10 years probation - but the NFL has decided to dole out a much harsher punishment. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell notified Stallworth on Thursday that he is suspended indefinitely without pay, effective immediately.

Here are some excerpts from Goodell's letter to Stallworth:

"The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable. While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL Commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL."

"The conduct that led to your conviction plainly violates both the Personal Conduct and Substances of Abuse policies. Either provides me with full authority to take appropriate disciplinary action against you, including a fine or suspension without pay, and to impose appropriate conditions on your continued participation in the NFL. In this case, there is ample evidence to warrant significant discipline under both policies."

Cleveland Browns first year offensive coordinator Brian Dabool held a press conference yesterday in Berea. The The 34 year old who was the quarterback coach for the New York Jets the past two seasons had this to say about his new group of men:

(On what he wants people to see in his offense) – “I want them to see a smart, tough, tenacious group.”

(On how he can get that from his offense) – “We are going to do whatever we need to do try to win each particular week. One week it could be running the ball a bunch and the next week it could be passing the ball. In terms of our physical and mental approach, our aim is to be tough, smart, competitive and tenacious.”
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(On where he takes his offensive principles from) – “That’s a good question. I’ve learned offense from a couple different people. I’ve been in this league for about 10 years. Some of it is from Charlie (Weis), some of it is from Brian Schottenheimer, some from Bill Callahan, Dante Scarnecchia, Tater (Carl) Smith; there is a lot of guys. Our offense is kind of a conglomeration of a lot of different things. They are the things that we believe in as coaches on this staff to make up the Browns offense.”

Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Brad Seely met with the media yesterday to update them on how the team is coming coming along. Here is what he had to say in Berea:

(On if he brings over entirely different special teams schemes) - “I think it’s kind of like offense and defense in a sense. You will see some similarities from team to team, but it’s like offense and defense in the sense that we will have different terminology, different verbiage. Some of it may be the same thing they did here in the past and some of it will be different. I have my own way of doing things versus somebody else. Our scheme will be a little bit different than what they did here in the past.”