Larry Dolan said Friday that his group has sent in its
preliminary offer for the Browns. Dolan wouldn't say how
much his group had bid (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 8/8).
BROWNS DERBY: In San Diego, Jerry Magee wrote that a
"possible 11th-hour applicant" in the Browns derby could be
Bruins Owner Jeremy Jacobs (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/9).
In Akron, columnist Terry Pluto reported that he hears
Indians Owner Richard Jacobs "has not been especially active
in his pursuit of the Browns. ... [F]or now, Jacobs seems
like a long shot." Pluto also wrote: "We hear NFL
commissioner Paul Tagliabue plans to push for the seven
owners on the expansion committee to pick the new Browns
owner, but we hear the 30 owners never will approve it.
They want a voice, so they can squeeze out the most money
from Cleveland" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/9).
DAMAGE CONTROL? Pluto added that Carmen Policy "sent
out letters to every NFL owner" to downplay his statement to
the press that his and Al Lerner's Browns group had "at
least a 50-50 chance" of being awarded the team. Policy, in
the letter: "We believe we are competing against ourselves.
We would never offend you or your fellow owners, nor
embarrass the league office by making irresponsible
statements" (Terry Pluto, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/9).
