Battle of the Bad: Two Browns Make History vs. Chiefs and Nobody Notices

On Sunday, the battle of the bad took place at Arrowhead Stadium. 

The now 3-11 Cleveland Browns defeated the 3-11 Kansas City Chiefs 41-34 in what was one of the most entertaining games of the week.

Josh Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns broke the all-time kickoff return touchdown record, and then decided to distance himself by returning another one just for good measure.

Jerome Harrison, yes the same Jerome Harrison who had rushed for 749 yards and one touchdown in his four-year career, blazed his way into NFL history by putting up an astonishing 286 yards on the ground while running for three touchdowns.

These two athletes placed their names among the NFL’s elite in the record books on Sunday, and the national media couldn't care less about their feats.

I figured this was going to happen. It seems like when a Cleveland athlete does something remarkable, the national media finds some way to rain on his parade. 

Every time LeBron James does something spectacular for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the national media drowns Clevelanders with headlines and endless talk about LeBron bolting for New York in 2010.

This treatment is why I was not the least bit surprised that Harrison and Cribbs’ feats were not in the first 20 minutes of ESPN’s SportsCenter .

I understand that both of these teams are not in contention for the playoffs, and that their front offices have more problems than the Pittsburgh Pirates are having in obtaining a winning season. But to not recognize two men for doing things that few have done before; that has taken ESPN to a new low.

Sure there was the little fantasy ticker that informed people across the nation that Jerome Harrison was the leading rusher for the week. I even saw Josh Cribbs running his kick back for a touchdown in SportsCenter 's “Ultimate Highlight.”

The problem for these two is that they play in Cleveland. If Adrian Peterson did what Harrison did on Sunday, the opening to SportsCenter would read, “AD chases history.” If Cribbs was playing in New York, the opening to the show would read, “Cribbs cruises into the record books.”

To say these two got robbed is an understatement. Should it make football fans around the nation upset that these two didn’t receive the proper recognition they deserve? I think so.

So to Josh Cribbs and Jerome Harrison, I would like to thank both of you for putting on an amazing show when you could have just coasted through the rest of the season on a losing team.

You both deserve much more than the national media gave you yesterday, and unfortunately this is the best that I can do for you.