MCDONOUGH'S COVERAGE OF BROWNS QUESTIONED OVER FAMILY TIE

     NBC's Will McDonough is being criticized by some Browns
observers for favoring Art Modell in his discussions of the team.
But McDonough, in speaking with the Akron BEACON JOURNAL, said
his coverage is "fair and accurate."  McDonough: "I have never
done anything in favor of Art Modell.  I just tell the truth."
Questions persist because McDonough's son, Terry, is an Atlanta-
based scout for the Browns.  Terry has scouted college games for
the Browns since '92, but McDonough said "if you play things down
the middle and tell the truth, there's no problem."  The BEACON
JOURNAL's R.D. Heldenfels writes of McDonough's coverage, "it
could be what McDonough sees as hard truths are simply
unpalatable to Cleveland fans" -- like the lack of city support
if the team was forced to stayed in Cleveland under Modell.  NBC
Sports spokesperson Ed Markey did not know if NBC had ever
mentioned McDonough's son's post on the air.  Heldenfels
concludes that both McDonough and NBC "would have been better
served" by making his family connection more "widely known"
(Akron BEACON JOURNAL, 12/22).