The NFL season fast approaches, and I haven't felt this much excitement for Training Camp since 1980.

At the beginning of the 1980 season, I was a 7 year old, and I had only a vague idea that the NFL even existed.  Unfortunately, that was soon to end, as the Kardiac Kids went on their storied run and I was immediately and permanently addicted.  I was also immediately and permanently indoctrinated into the repercussions of this addiction, as Red Right 88 taught me a formulative lesson on the pain that accompanies even the best Cleveland Browns seasons.  Had I been able to kick the habit then, I would've saved myself countless hours - nay, years - with that soulless needle in my arm.

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Joe Banner. You just don’t like the guy.

Maybe it’s his demeanor. He just seems abrasive and blunt when he appears in front of the media. Maybe it’s his hardball management style. When he took over as CEO of the Browns, he made it clear from the outset that the organization would be run his way, with his judgment final, and if you don’t like it, go suck an egg.

Maybe he lost you when he brought former Browns executive Mike Lombardi back to town, to reign as the top football executive in the organization. Or maybe it’s because, despite your reservations about Lombardi, he actually isn’t the top football guy. Banner is, because he reserves veto power over all decisions, including who gets signed and who gets drafted.

Maybe you chalk that up to Banner having a massive Napoleon complex, eager to bask in the glow of his own organization-building awesomeness.

Or maybe you just don’t like the fact that Banner looks like every school principal who wrote you a detention slip during your formative years. With his narrowed eyes, perpetual sneer and craggy complexion, he looks kind of like an angrier, more spiteful version of comedian Lewis Black – without the comedy.

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When we first heard the news about Chris Perez and Josh Gordon and their "indiscretions," our first reaction was, are you kidding?

Then, after we heard more of the details, our reaction started to change a bit.

Let's start with Perez, who has been charged with a misdemeanor, along with his wife, Melanie, after a package of marijuana was delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to their rental house earlier this week. According to media reports, the package contained less than 9 ounces of marijuana.

"Clearly, we take these matters seriously and are disappointed whenever there is any negative attention brought to the Indians organization or one of our players," Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said on the team's website. "We understand and respect that there is an ongoing legal process that we will allow to evolve."

OK, drugs are obviously bad and no matter where you stand on the marijuana issue, it is currently illegal to possess it in Ohio. Having said that, we have a hard time getting worked up about this latest incident with Perez.

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The announcement barely earned a mention in the Plain Dealer last week but Scott Fajita, the former linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, has officially retired. He signed a one-day contract with the New Orleans Saints so that he could officially retire from the franchise that wouldn't pay him enough to keep from becoming a free agent and signing with the Browns. He never much liked the Browns anyway, just their money.

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