Last years Browns savior, the ageless Joe Flacco got a new job this week with the Indianapolis Colts and is not coming back to the Browns.  I love what Flacco did last year as he took us on a fun ride that got us into the playoffs.  I am also glad for Browns nation that he is not coming back.  Don't get me wrong, he could be on my team, but I don't run the Browns. Guys that are trying to stay employed are.  And their future is 100% tied to Deshaun Watson.

When the Browns were convinced to give Watson all that guaranteed money, they lost all previous recent identity and took on a new one.  Giving up and at the same time restarting the short term future by banking on Watson.  Flacco made us fans happy and made the Browns team look great.  He made the front office look real bad.  His ability to make this offense look that good in a week or two was a real wake up call for all.  The same players, same game, way different result with a real adult at the helm.  We've haven't looked that good with anyone in 20 years.  His remarkable play, made a lot of people very nervous. A guy off the couch, 39 years old, paying him NFL pennies.

Having Flacco back has no benefit.  This fan base would be screaming at the stadium for Flacco to play the first sign of a struggling offense.  It would divide the fans loudly, the locker room quietly, coaching staff privately, and the local and national media endlessly.  And that would only be because of how well Flacco played and made us look, and how he made us feel.  You see, with the Browns job keeping seekers leaders, it's not really about winning.  It's about winning with Watson.  They're firing successful coaches for it, and making everything just so.  So a new backup has been signed and the pressure is off.  We, and he, won't be hearing Flacco's name being chanted by 70,000 when we don't play well.

I'm not saying Flacco is the answer because he's 39 years old, and does have a limit.  But here I feel there would be no mentoring wanted, accepted or even tolerated.  Joe is too good a dude not to be respected and looked up to, he is a Superbowl Champion, and a very good human.  He now is in a great place, backing up a very young QB who needs mentoring and needs to learn to stay healthy, as he too is coming off shoulder surgery.  I feel there's a very good chance Flacco plays a lot for the Colts this year.  Flacco, indoors, warm, on a fast track with some nice young players, could be fun.  If he would have signed here, he would never, ever see the field unless we had the same situation as last year.

And that's what this year will be about.  Watson will play every single game, even if we are the worst team in the league.  That won't happen clearly, but this is where we are. The Browns will ride with him no matter what, and now they can with no Joe on the sidelines.  The path has been cleared.  If a backup is needed for most of the season, the Browns are not going anywhere.  BUT if a backup is needed for a few weeks to win important games that could get you in the playoffs?  There's no Joe.

The Browns have put themselves in a very tough situation. Almost everything they are doing is just buying more time for themselves.  New coaches, new offense, be patient, new way of doing things, these things take time, all that word salad stuff they are famous for.  Many, just trying to stay employed and hoping they haven't wasted a quarter of a BILLION dollars on a single guy and traded away the teams future.  There is only one way out for them.  A Superbowl title - especially before the Texans who we have done an amazing job rebuilding.  If that doesn't happen in the next three years, they will all be out.  For the next three years, here it's not about winning per say.  It's about them being right.

Sadly for fans, Joe had to go.  Good luck Joe, and thanks!

Keep On Lovin' You  - Steel Magnolia  - 2010

 I liked this when it was out, and I liked them a lot too.  But in music, many times artists don't get to stay for the whole party, but merely a cup of coffee.  That's what happened to Steel Magnolia.  We did a few shows with this duo, including a promotion at Put-In-Bay as I think that was our first show there.  This song was a real breath of fresh air.  Megan and Josh, who made up this duet were engaged in real life and their voices blended together perfectly like DNA siblings can.  There was a real edge to them, especially Megan whose voice I have admired for years.  So bluesy, and full of that muddy water Louisiana sound. This great song written by Trent Willmon and a then unknown Chris Stapleton landed in the right place with SM.  This single went to #4 on the charts on an album with Big Machine Records their future looked great.  Sadly, the award nominated duo split up both on stage and in life as many of life's circumstances caught up to them.  I remember emceeing them at the Wayne County Fair in 2011, and there was no doubt there was something wrong there, as they both were very different than the many times I had worked with them before.  But they had a cool look, image and sound and I was sad to see this not work out.  I thought at the time, they had the stuff to contend. Megan still is a very cool vocalist and they have both since pursued solo careers.  But here  - what a song!

Last Weeks Selection

 As we get older entering different stages of life, things change.  Some are physical, some mental, and some are the things outside of those.  Possessions. Stuff you've had for years and now it's time to let go.  And as silly as this is going to sound, that's where I am with an old couch I have.  I know it's time, and I'm fine with it.

But in fairness, this to me isn't an ordinary couch.  It has a story as I look back on that's pretty cool and that's why it's been with me all these years.  You see in 1983 I was a very young broadcaster who moved to Columbus just starting off on my own and had zero money.  So I built this couch, because I couldn't afford to buy a real one, and it served me well for the next 40 years or so.  As I look at it today, it amazes me that I made it.  I made a matching chest too and that's in Florida at my house there full of pool toys.  But the couch was first.  It's what I could  - sort of afford.

I designed this humble couch as a day bed type of thing, and it was measured to fit the dumpy apartment I was living in.  I drove to my moms farm house in Berea late one Friday night and spent the weekend with her.  I used her -  I think -  70 year old table saw in the scary basement that was my "Grandpa Doc's" for the majority if not the entirety of the 20th century that I'm not sure was at all safe.  I cut all the pieces and there was a ton of them, labeling them with pen.  That took most of the weekend, then I loaded all the pieces up in my Buick Skyhawk and drove back home to my one bedroom apartment in the worst part of town along with some tools. I assembled it in my living room while watching the World Series over the course of a few nights with wood glue and nails.

Every Piece Was Labled

I belt sanded the entire thing, completely trashing my place for a couple of days. After the frame was together I nailed and glued on the platform, only to discover I had nailed in a drop cloth that was an old table cloth to the under frame and it's still there.  I bought an expensive piece ($15) of 4" foam that has lasted wonderfully. (The guy said it would and it did)  After I stained the couch, I covered the foam with a piece of tan herculon I stapled on that's still on there.  That was it.  Whole thing I think cost me $45 to make as that's what I could afford, if I even could then.  Sheesh!

Drop Cloth Nailed And Glued Under By Accident

That couch has been used for all these decades, mostly as a window sill couch after the first few years. My friends kids have slept on it, I have slept on it, company has slept on it, it survived party's, in short it has done its job.  That couch moved with me to Richmond, then to Jefferson City (2 addresses) then to Lakeland (2 addresses) then back here, (3 addresses). A few of the decorative pieces have had to be re-glued back on a few times.  Movers have loaded it on and off trucks and been in storage sheds and now it sits in the basement, warm and dry where it's been for the past 4 years.  The truth is, it just outlived its time. It's still in great shape, and I hate to part with it. But I get it, it's the memory of a different time that's the issue.

Am I proud of it?  I guess, it's not a classic piece of work, but it was my work as a broke 22 year old.  I had zero idea in 1983, I'd be writing about this is 2024, I guess I should be proud it lasted all these years and lived an exciting life - for a couch.

When I think about it, it lived my life too.  - Thanks old couch.  Maybe you'll find a new home.  (BTW it's PERFECT as a window sill couch)

In case you missed any of my articles this week from WQMX.com , here is a recap. Grab a coffee and earbuds anbd let's get you caught up.

BROWNS - People Are Different

Eat Of The Week

50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today #40

Forgotten Jukebox - CM-02

CMML - Terri Clark (Revisit)

Wynn At The Movies And More

Box Office Results - Kung Fu Panda 4 - (59 Million)

#2 – Dune 2  -  (46 Million)

#3 - Imaginary  -  (10 Million)

New This Week - Arthur The King  / Knox Goes Away / Snack Shack

Oscars - Oppenheimer wins 7

Razzies - Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey 2 (sweeps)

Neve Campbell – Will be in Scream 7 – got the money worked out she skipped Scream 6

The Batman Part II, - With Robert Pattinson, postponed a year, It will now open on October 2026 instead of October 2025

WOW! - Screenwriter Simon Stephenson accusing the makers of Holdovers of plagiarism. Says he has evidence Holdovers screenplay was "plagiarized line-by-line" from his screenplay for a movie script called Frisco

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane (link)

Also - 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980 – Today #40 (Link)

March is Women's History Month.  And all March on Thursdays, in my Memory Lane articles I will showcase and revisit some of our greatest female vocalists. These women are among the biggest stars our format has ever had.

This week let's revisit -

Terri Clark

She's live in concert tonight at Temple Live In Cleveland if you want to go!!

Country music is story telling and has been for generations.  "Story songs" are a huge part of our story and some of the biggest hits we've ever had.  But ones telling an "actual story" are not as prevalent as they once were.  When the gifted song writer Hardy wrote and recorded this song, he in essence brought back the story song in a contemporary way, and that's what makes this song important.  This is dark and heavy, as that seems to be where we are right now musically.  But this is very powerful, highly emotive and very close the bone for many of those listening as it's sadly very real for some.  This is a long way from The Gambler, as it has more of a The Thunder Rolls  vibe (long version).   This was a gamble in itself to release as was The Thunder Rolls years ago.  This deals with a tough subject and the willingness to do so adds to its importance.  It also was given a boost by two newer artists at the top of our format right now and their popularity brought this to those in and out of country.  This is big, bold, brave and pulls no punches. It also bucks trends being very long at over 4:41, and for some may be a bit overdone, but that shows you how great this song is.  Will this jump start the "story song" longer term?"  It may, time will tell.  But it'll be tough to out do this strong, topical song and it's equally terrific video.  It took us back in time, without sounding so -  while still staying in the now.  Well done.

Last Week #40

We have an air fryer and it get used on a regular basis. I'm not sure it gets used the way it could be, the microwave still reigns supreme around our place.  But after reading this, and after trying a couple, this is a cool way to go!  So, if you're like us and under use your air fryer?  Give This a GO!

Obsessed With Your Air Fryer? Great Recipes

Box Office Results - Dune 2 - (82 Million)

#2 – Bob Marley

#3 - Ordinary Angels

New This Week – Kung Fu Panda 4 / Imaginary (Freddies / Megan)

Jamie Foxx - Says he'll tell us soon what his health emergency was

Here We Go - There will be a sequel to Freaky Friday!

Some - Are calling Madame Web the worst modern superhero films ever made. It has a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fox - Has picked up the Baywatch reboot series. Lara Olsen (“Spinning Out”) will serve as showrunner.

Adam Sandler - Was the highest paid actor last year in Hollywood, about 73 million

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane (link)

Also - 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980 – Today #41 (Link)

March is Women's History Month.  And all March on Thursdays, in my Memory Lane articles I will showcase and revisit some of our greatest female vocalists. These women are among the biggest stars our format has ever had.

This week let's revisit -

Trisha Yearwood