Cleveland, OH
Hey, Cleveland, Nick Chubb plans to ‘pay ya back’ for all you’ve given him, beginning with his return on Sunday
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Hey, Cleveland, Nick Chubb has your back, but you already knew that.
He also knows that you have his. And his heart.
On Sunday, the Dark Knight will Rise again at Cleveland Browns Stadium, with Chubb making his historic return to the field after his second major knee reconstruction, the kind that would fell most non-super heroes. But not Chubb, who long adopted the Batman personna and made himself seemingly invincible.
Pouring out his heart in a Players’ Tribune essay, Chubb describes his two major reconstructions, and being raised by his mom in Georgia, who is his why.
He, of course, intended to come back and help a winning team get the Browns into the playoffs — not a 1-5 team try to salvage and almost-lost season.
But that’s what superheroes are all about, achieving the impossible.
Here’s the final part of Chubb’s essay, beginning after he tumbled out of the first round of the 2018 draft:
I had to go to bed that night not knowing who was going to call my name.
Next morning, I got to the high school for a workout, and Mike Worthington is on his phone … and we already established how Mike Worthington is a little crazy … so he comes up to me and shows me his phone. He’s got ESPN up.
It’s the draft order.
He’s pointing at no. 35.
All he says is, “Man, when they call you tonight, don’t pick up the damn phone.”
He’s pointing right at the Browns logo.
Now remember, the Browns had just gone Zero and 16. Zero and 16. I wasn’t hating on the Browns, but all I’m saying is, you weren’t exactly picking them in Madden. It was the dark days.
“Don’t pick up the damn phone.”
So of course, that night, we’re all back at the Buffalo Wild Wings, and a couple minutes into Round 2, I get a phone call.
216.
I see that Cleveland, OH pop up on my caller ID.
I go numb.
Honestly, can’t even really remember what the coaches said to me, because my family was all jumping up and down and screaming and I could barely hear anything.
I look up at the TVs, and I see the legend, the GOAT, Jim Brown coming up to the podium to announce the pick for the Browns.
Still can’t hear anything. Everybody going nuts….
Then I see my name flash up on the screen.
RB NICK CHUBB — GEORGIA.
216.
Cleveland, OH.
That was the best phone call I ever got.
I turned to my mom like, “You know as soon as I get a couple of those NFL checks, I’m retiring you, right?”
The Browns changed my life that night, but more importantly, they changed my family’s life.
Now I think you understand what I mean when I tell you I was meant for this city. I’ve tried to work my ass off every day to get us where we need to go, and even though we have gotten close, I feel like I have serious unfinished business. That’s why it hurt me so bad to go down last season. We were just starting to cook……
I can’t stop until I prove to everybody that I’m the undisputed best running back in this league, and I definitely can’t stop until we get the Browns back to the top of the AFC. It’s been too damn long. Thank God that I healed.
Thank God that I can continue to play this great game.
Thank God that I get the chance to run it back.
You want to hear what the Browns told my agent, by the way?
When my agent called me to tell me the news, he said, “I’ve never actually had a front office tell me anything like this. But they said that part of the reason they never entertained cutting you is because of how much you mean to the city.”
That really meant the world to me. Look, I know the deal. I had no guaranteed money left. The Browns had all the leverage. They could’ve left me high and dry, like so many guys in this league. But they had my back. You all had my back.
That’s enough talking for me. There’s only one thing left to do now. I gotta pay ya back.
These rocks ain’t going to move themselves. Let’s work.
— Nick
Cleveland, OH
Looking back on Bills’ last trip to Cleveland
The last time the Buffalo Bills played in Cleveland, they were still raw and hungry, which is way different than the grizzled, yet youth-driven bunch that’ll be heading there for the first time in six years on Sunday.
The Bills were in excellent shape at 6-2 in Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season and rolled into town to face a Browns team that had all the hype before the season, but had lost four straight and were at 2-6.
What happened last time Bills played Browns in Cleveland?
Baker Mayfield and the Browns drove down the field in six plays for a touchdown on the opening drive, with the rival from Josh Allen’s draft class finding Jarvis Landry for the game’s first points. Austin Seibert missed an extra point, and that turned to be critical late in the game.
TRENDING: Bills must slow down Browns’ record-hunting force on Sunday
Sandwiched around a run-heavy Bills touchdown drive, capped off by an Allen 10-yard scamper that gave them a 7-6 lead in the second quarter, was a very satisfying sequence for Bills fans.
On two of the Browns’ next three possessions following their opening drive, they had the ball inside the Bills’ 3-yard line for 11 plays. Cleveland had eight plays on the first possession, and even though there were a couple of penalties on the Bills, Buffalo had a goal-line stand.
The Bills stopped the Browns on three straight goal-to-go plays on the second such possession, and Cleveland lined up to go for it on 4th-and-goal. However, a false start penalty prompted them to kick a field goal and make it a 9-7 game.
Five questions before Josh Allen, Bills face Browns
Buffalo wasn’t as fortunate on the next drive, as Stephen Hauschka shanked a 34-yard field goal wide left with time winding down, leaving the Browns with their lead into halftime.
Out of the locker room, the Bills got an immediate spark. Corey Bojorquez downed a punt at the 7-yard line, then Tremaine Edmunds sacked Mayfield in the end zone for a safety on the next play to tie the game.
The Browns tacked on a field goal on their next drive to take the lead while the Bills’ offense was stuck in quicksand, with three punts and a turnover on downs on their first four second-half possessions.
MORE: James Cook chasing Jonathan Taylor and Bills’ rushing record
Allen got his act together and led a seven-play, 48-yard drive and ran in a score from a yard out to give Buffalo the lead back with 5:26 left. He finished the day 22-of-41 for 266 yards passing and scored twice on the ground, but was off that day.
Mayfield responded in kind, finding Rashard Higgins in the end zone to reclaim the lead after a long drive of his own. The Bills had one more shot, but Hauschka whiffed from 53, handing the Bills a 19-16 loss.
The Bills’ and Browns’ dynamics are much more different than they were in 2019, but there can be that lingering reminder of that game for Allen as the AFC playoff race nears its end.
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Cleveland, OH
Cleveland salt mine works year-round to keep Ohio roads safe
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Road safety across Ohio begins 1,800 feet below Lake Erie at Cleveland’s Cargill salt mine near Whiskey Island.
19 News made the journey under ground to Cleveland’s Cargill salt time.
Superintendent of production Andrew Staker describes the operation as a “mini-city” where about 250 employees produce the salt that clears our roads and sidewalks.
“We provide over half the salt used here in the state of Ohio. Our salt also goes all over the Great Lakes Region even Virginia,” said Staker.
Thousands of tons of salt pass through this belt, and 500-700 trucks are loaded with salt each day.
Staker said his team works nonstop.
“It’s a big misconception that the mine is only busy during the wintertime,” said Staker. “We prepare in the springtime, so it is full giddy up. We are making salt all year round.”
Just like everyone else, Staker and his time are feeling the effects of winter’s early arrival.
“We take a lot of it snowfall by snowfall, so as demand ramps up, our teams here will put in extra overtime days to be able to meet customer demand,” said Staker.
Copyright 2025 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Cleveland, OH
Semi-truck rips down power lines in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood for 4th time since July
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The city of Cleveland is looking into why wires are dangling from West 25th Street in Ohio City.
Sam McNulty, owner of Nano Brew, says trucks are ripping through wires at the intersection of 25th Street and Bridge Avenue.
“4 times that cable has gone down,” McNulty said. “We’re shocked that whoever is in charge of that cable hasn’t figured out a way to elevate it a little bit more.”
In July, Ring doorbell footage caught a semi hitting the wires. You could see the wires falling to the ground.
Luckily, McNulty said, it’s a communication wire, but that doesn’t make the problem go away.
“This is a very active street tons of pedestrians, bicyclists, families, people are here almost 24 hours a day,” said McNulty.
The most recent incident was Thursday morning. McNulty says a crew wrapped ropes around the fallen wire.
“I am definitely not a line engineer but when I see random rope tied with pretty sketchy looking knots holding the cable up I think that’s probably not Osha approved,” said McNulty.
19 News reached out to the city of Cleveland, which said it is looking into the issue.
Copyright 2025 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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