Ernie Accorsi

Of course he has mixed feelings. Ernie Accorsi tried to help Baltimore get an NFL expansion team. He also was general manager of the Colts -- and then the Browns.And that's not the half of it.Accorsi, 54, grew up a Colts fan in Hershey, Pa. His roommate in the Army was from Cleveland -- an "obnoxious" Browns fan, as he recalls.This was in 1964, the year the Browns beat the Colts in the NFL title game. Two decades later, Accorsi went to work for the Browns, the memory still gnawing at him."

In the coming-of-age story of Eli Manning, the New York Giants quarterback who has led his team to the Super Bowl, there is a great measure of vindication for a football guy with strong ties to Baltimore and someone a lot of us in the sportswriting business have always rooted for. Ernie Accorsi, the former general manager of the Giants, who spent more than a decade with the Baltimore Colts, was the man who engineered the draft-day trade in 2004 that...

In the coming-of-age story of Eli Manning, the New York Giants quarterback who has led his team to the Super Bowl, there is a great measure of vindication for a football guy with strong ties to Baltimore and someone a lot of us in the sportswriting business have always rooted for. Ernie Accorsi, the former general manager of the Giants, who spent more than a decade with the Baltimore Colts, was the man who engineered the draft-day trade in 2004 that...

Bob Leffler started his career in marketing working for the most hated man in Baltimore. Today, more than 20 years later, he has moved on to working for the most hated man in England. As Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer continues his quest to gain controlling interest in the most well-known soccer team in the world - England's Manchester United - he has again called on Leffler's marketing firm in Baltimore to run interference. "They know me, they know what I can do," Leffler said of the 12-year relationship that began with Glazer's attempt to obtain an NFL expansion team for Baltimore.

John Elway and Ernie Accorsi are inextricably linked in NFL history because of what happened 21 years ago - the draft pick so stubbornly fought, the trade so capriciously made, the repercussions that lasted for so many years. Elway was the Stanford quarterback who wanted no part of the Baltimore Colts in 1983. Accorsi was the Colts' general manager who took him anyway with the first overall pick in the college draft. When Colts owner Bob Irsay surreptitiously traded Elway to the Denver Broncos a week after the draft, it set in motion a series of events that would ultimately haunt two cities - Baltimore and Cleveland.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke bTC met for nearly two hours last night in an unusual summit devoted to re-examining Baltimore's NFL expansion strategy.Neither political leader would comment after the session, which comes as pressure builds for action that will put the city over the top.NFL team owners last week awarded a franchise to Charlotte, N.C., and deferred a decision on the second team until later this month. St. Louis, a city whose bid is in turmoil, is expected to benefit most from the delay.

There's nothing like Baltimore. Nothing else comes close.Take the little luncheon we had this week in honor of Ernie Accorsi. It couldn't have happened anywhere else.A small bunch of local men go out to lunch two or three times a year. Jerry Hoffberger, the former Orioles owner, is one of them.So is Hank Peters, who was once Hoffberger's general manager. Peters has retired as Cleveland's GM and is living back in Baltimore."I'd like to host a luncheon in honor of Ernie Accorsi," Hoffberger said recently.

Former NFL executive Ernie Accorsi, a Baltimore resident and consultant to the Maryland Stadium Authority, says Charley Eckman's comments in Wednesday's "Sidelines" were "totally inaccurate."Glen Burnie's colorful Eckman, who has spent a lifetime speaking his mind, said, "Baltimore won't get an expansion team because the big man of the group [of owners] is Art Modell of the Browns. Modell fired Ernie Accorsi, you know, and he isn't about to have him back in the league."Upon reading Eckman's remarks, Accorsi said, "[Modell]

Did you know that Glen Burnie mayor Charley Eckman, the ex-NBA ref and coach, doesn't mince words when asked what he thinks of the NFL's awarding Charlotte an expansion franchise and putting four other cities, including Baltimore, on hold until later this month?"

Do you wonder if Baltimore will get back in the National Football League?Do you wonder if this city's NFL expansion committee can sell 7,500 club seats and 100 private suites by Sept. 3 for a team that may never exist in a stadium that, if it's built, won't be ready until 1996?Of course you wonder. Every sports-minded Marylander does.After attending an information update yesterday at the Gallery at Harborplace, I'm starting to think we should be worrying about something else, namely:Will you be able to get tickets if we do get a team?

John Elway and Ernie Accorsi are inextricably linked in NFL history because of what happened 21 years ago - the draft pick so stubbornly fought, the trade so capriciously made, the repercussions that lasted for so many years. Elway was the Stanford quarterback who wanted no part of the Baltimore Colts in 1983. Accorsi was the Colts' general manager who took him anyway with the first overall pick in the college draft. When Colts owner Bob Irsay surreptitiously traded Elway to the Denver Broncos a week after the draft, it set in motion a series of events that would ultimately haunt two cities - Baltimore and Cleveland.

TAMPA, Fla. - Ernie Accorsi will wear one to the Super Bowl on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. So will some writers in the press box. Anyone who has one of the ties John Steadman faithfully gave out as presents over the years should wear it Sunday when the Ravens and Giants play. If you don't have one, just wearing a tie, period, would suffice as a way of honoring Baltimore's sportswriting landmark, who died on New Year's Day after battling cancer for two years. Steadman was almost as well known for wearing ties and giving them as gifts as he was for his love of pro football.

Of course he has mixed feelings. Ernie Accorsi tried to help Baltimore get an NFL expansion team. He also was general manager of the Colts -- and then the Browns.And that's not the half of it.Accorsi, 54, grew up a Colts fan in Hershey, Pa. His roommate in the Army was from Cleveland -- an "obnoxious" Browns fan, as he recalls.This was in 1964, the year the Browns beat the Colts in the NFL title game. Two decades later, Accorsi went to work for the Browns, the memory still gnawing at him."

There's nothing like Baltimore. Nothing else comes close.Take the little luncheon we had this week in honor of Ernie Accorsi. It couldn't have happened anywhere else.A small bunch of local men go out to lunch two or three times a year. Jerry Hoffberger, the former Orioles owner, is one of them.So is Hank Peters, who was once Hoffberger's general manager. Peters has retired as Cleveland's GM and is living back in Baltimore."I'd like to host a luncheon in honor of Ernie Accorsi," Hoffberger said recently.

Former NFL executive Ernie Accorsi, a Baltimore resident and consultant to the Maryland Stadium Authority, says Charley Eckman's comments in Wednesday's "Sidelines" were "totally inaccurate."Glen Burnie's colorful Eckman, who has spent a lifetime speaking his mind, said, "Baltimore won't get an expansion team because the big man of the group [of owners] is Art Modell of the Browns. Modell fired Ernie Accorsi, you know, and he isn't about to have him back in the league."Upon reading Eckman's remarks, Accorsi said, "[Modell]

Gov. William Donald Schaefer and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke bTC met for nearly two hours last night in an unusual summit devoted to re-examining Baltimore's NFL expansion strategy.Neither political leader would comment after the session, which comes as pressure builds for action that will put the city over the top.NFL team owners last week awarded a franchise to Charlotte, N.C., and deferred a decision on the second team until later this month. St. Louis, a city whose bid is in turmoil, is expected to benefit most from the delay.

Perhaps no one is better qualified than Brooks Robinson to judge Jim Palmer's chances of making a successful comeback at age 45 after a layoff of nearly seven years.Here's what he said regarding the likelihood his longtime teammate and TV broadcast partner will pitch again this year:"It's a long shot, but you only have to be a five-inning pitcher these days."That, of course, is one of the major differences between today's game and baseball when Palmer was in his prime. Proof: The Orioles staff had only four complete games all last season; Jim Palmer went the distance 25 times in 1975, and in eight seasons had 17 or more complete games.

TAMPA, Fla. - Ernie Accorsi will wear one to the Super Bowl on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. So will some writers in the press box. Anyone who has one of the ties John Steadman faithfully gave out as presents over the years should wear it Sunday when the Ravens and Giants play. If you don't have one, just wearing a tie, period, would suffice as a way of honoring Baltimore's sportswriting landmark, who died on New Year's Day after battling cancer for two years. Steadman was almost as well known for wearing ties and giving them as gifts as he was for his love of pro football.

Did you know that Glen Burnie mayor Charley Eckman, the ex-NBA ref and coach, doesn't mince words when asked what he thinks of the NFL's awarding Charlotte an expansion franchise and putting four other cities, including Baltimore, on hold until later this month?"

Do you wonder if Baltimore will get back in the National Football League?Do you wonder if this city's NFL expansion committee can sell 7,500 club seats and 100 private suites by Sept. 3 for a team that may never exist in a stadium that, if it's built, won't be ready until 1996?Of course you wonder. Every sports-minded Marylander does.After attending an information update yesterday at the Gallery at Harborplace, I'm starting to think we should be worrying about something else, namely:Will you be able to get tickets if we do get a team?