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
Judge pauses Ohio’s plan to fund new Browns stadium with unclaimed funds
CLEVELAND — Ohio’s plan to use unclaimed funds to help fund construction of a new domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns was temporarily blocked in court on Monday.
In her preliminary injunction, Franklin County Magistrate Jennifer Hunt found that plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann are substantially likely to win their case on the merits. Her order pauses the plan while the case is heard.
The class-action lawsuit argues that provisions of Ohio’s two-year, $60 billion budget that took $1 billion from the state’s Unclaimed Funds Account to pay for the stadium that Haslam Sports Group is planning for suburban Brook Park, south of Cleveland, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking people’s private property for government use, as well as citizens’ due process rights.
The strategy was among several hotly debated topics during Ohio’s budget planning last year.
Dann and former state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, both Democrats, filed the legal action on behalf of three named Ohio residents, as well as all other individuals whose unclaimed funds were being held by the state as of June 30, 2025.
The litigation challenges specific budget provisions that diverted more than $1 billion in unclaimed funds to create an Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and designate $600 million for the Browns as its first grant.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office said it was reviewing the decision and determining next steps.
Before ending his bid for governor last year, the Republican spoke out against using unclaimed funds for such a purpose, having gone so far as to urge DeWine to veto it. However, the state’s top lawyer has further said that he believed the plan was legally sound.
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland mother accused of burying daughters in suitcases prompts new focus on parenting bill
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Cleveland mother was charged with two counts of murder after her daughters were found in suitcases partially buried in a park near E. 165th and Midland Ave last week.
In the days that followed, we spoke with DeShaun Chatman, who is the father of 8-year-old Mila Chatman.
He said he’s been trying for years to get access to his daughter but felt the courts and Child Protective Services (CPS) weren’t working with him.
There is a law in Columbus working its way through the process trying to clarify parenting roles and rights.
Senate Bill 174 (SB174) was passed in November and is currently sitting waiting in a House committee.
At the time the bill was passed one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) said, “No one is a winner in parenting disputes. But if anyone is, it should be the kids. By passing this legislation, the Ohio Senate is taking the first step toward encouraging cooperation between separated parents.”
The bill has a number of provisions looking to make it easier for a judge to give equal rights to both the mother and father.
For example, it would prohibit a judge from giving preference to a father or a mother based on a person’s financial status or gender.
It also requires a parenting plan be filed that shows parenting and decisions will be a shared responsibility regardless of marital status.
There is also a prevision that would allow unmarried parents to file a complaint at no charge, requesting the allocation of parenting rights and responsibilities upon the father establishing parentage and provides an expedited hearing and temporary orders.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers – Cleveland Today
Rocket Arena
One Center Court, Cleveland, OH 44115
Witness the excitement of NBA basketball as the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Philadelphia 76ers at the Rocket Arena. These two Eastern Conference powerhouses will battle it out on the court in what promises to be a thrilling matchup.
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