Connect with us

Cleveland, OH

NE Ohio business partners capitalize on licensing deal with Joe Flacco (photos)

Published

on

NE Ohio business partners capitalize on licensing deal with Joe Flacco (photos)


CLEVELAND, Ohio – Some people might have thought signing a 38-year-old quarterback was a longshot idea when their team was on the cusp of the playoffs. But Columbus-based Where I’m From, an apparel company with roots in Northeast Ohio, saw an opportunity, and they signed him, too.

The company is run by Ryan Napier, a self-described “lifelong Browns fan” who has season tickets and makes it to about half a dozen games a season, and his business partner Andrew VanderLind.

Because of how quickly Joe Flacco has become a favorite in Cleveland – his fourth NFL team – Napier and VanderLind had to work extremely fast to get the deal in place.

“This has definitely been my favorite one – the most challenging to put together, the most hectic, and the most fun to be a part of,” Napier said.

Advertisement

They have about 15 to 20 Flacco items, which include fleece, shirts and others with assorted designs and graphics like “Flacco Fan Since ‘23.” Flacco is the only current Browns player in their apparel roster, which has included Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Collin Sexton and others.

Most of the time, those deals involve discussions that can last months and involve a long-term contract of a year or more, Napier said.

“Obviously,” he said, “we didn’t have that luxury with Joe Flacco.”

Sales are tied to the success of Flacco, who stormed into Cleveland and seamlessly fit in with teammates as he picked up a new offense. With the Browns, he has thrown for 13 touchdowns in five games. In all likelihood, Flacco will top 44,000 career passing yards when the Browns face the Houston Texans this Saturday in a Wild Card matchup.

“Despite how well things are going, we know there is a cap on the time, how long the runway is going to be,” Napier said. “It might end this weekend, or it might end in the middle of February.”

Advertisement

That means Napier and VanderLind have had to communicate, negotiate and allow “enough time to capitalize on this magical moment. It was a very heavy lift and a very big challenge, but very worthwhile.”

Northeast Ohio is a huge sales location, said Napier, who said other Flacco shirts exist through licensing deals through the NFL Players Association, but Where I’m From is the only company that has a deal directly with Flacco and his representatives.

“That’s what makes us different,” he said. “We are officially licensed with Joe. We collaborate and have been on Joe’s Instagram and Twitter. We run everything by them and obviously have a lot more leeway to do things with his likeness.”

The arrangement avoids cease-and-desist orders from a celebrity’s people to unlicensed sellers, so the business can be kept on track.

Where I’m From is closing in on a 10-year anniversary. Napier and VanderLind grew up in Canton and went to Ohio University. Both shared an entrepreneurial spirit.

Advertisement

“We were always kicking ideas off each other and seeing if there was ever an opportunity to do something together. One day we said, ‘Why not take the leap?’ “

The initial necessary capital was fairly limited for a localized-apparel company, he said. They got a website and checked out potential sales markets. The first year and a half saw slow but steady growth.

They started with kiosks, then expanded to seven full stores throughout the state. They carved out a large distribution footprint via retailer deals with Dick’s Sporting Goods, Rally House and DSW. Those collaborations have put Where I’m From in more than 600 stores across the country.

The Flacco items have been on the market for about 10 days, and the end is, well, no one knows.

“We’ll keep producing them as long as the demand is there,” Napier said. “It’s a little trickier than a lot of the other relationships. There’s not able to be as much planning or able to see what the long term looks like. We’re flying a little bit by the seat of our pants to see what the demand is and take it day by day.”

Advertisement

That means walking a tightrope of having the right amount of inventory – not enough means missed sales. Too much and a Browns loss means the company gets stuck.

But Napier is keeping a hopeful, optimistic outlook on the outcome of Saturday’s game. Maybe, just maybe, the ride extends to February, a time when Browns fans usually watch other teams play.

“Oh my gosh,” Napier said, “that would be an absolute dream come true.”

Sports betting is now legal in Ohio. Bets can be placed at sportsbooks, including DraftKings Ohio Sportsbook, BetMGM Ohio, Fan Duel Ohio, Barstool Ohio, Caesars Ohio, Bet365, PointsBet and Tipico.

Related coverage

Advertisement

Gambling 101: Everything you need to know about sports betting in Ohio

Get ready for some football – wagering, that is: A guide to betting

Browns merchandise for sale: Find hoodies to hats, socks to tumblers, wall décor, jerseys and more – including sales and next-day shipping.

I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. For my recent stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursdays. Twitter: @mbona30. My latest book, co-authored with Dan Murphy, is “Joe Thomas: Not Your Average Joe” by Gray & Co.

Get a jumpstart on the weekend. Sign up for Cleveland.com’s weekly “In the CLE” email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to do in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings – an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Click here to subscribe. Cleveland.com newsletters are free.

Advertisement

Like cool local food + drinks photos and videos? Follow @DineDrinkCLE on Instagram.





Source link

Cleveland, OH

Many dealing with damage after severe weather rolled through northeast Ohio

Published

on

Many dealing with damage after severe weather rolled through northeast Ohio


CLEVELAND — A line of storms blew through northern Ohio Tuesday night, spurring Tornado Warnings, especially in the Cleveland area.


What You Need To Know

  • Gusts of 74 miles per hour were recorded hitting the region
  • The storms prompted a Flood Warning overnight, which has since expired; high water remains to be an issue in some areas
  • More than 30,000 people were without power as of Wednesday morning, mainly in Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties

Gusts of 74 miles per hour were recorded hitting the region, and many are waking up without power on Wednesday morning, with some debris to clean up. 

The storms prompted a Flood Warning overnight, and high water remains to be an issue in some areas. 

As of Wednesday morning, more than 30,000 people were without power, mostly in Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties. Cleveland Metropolitan School District announced some schools are closed due to power outages as well. 

In an update early Wednesday, Cleveland Public Power said it has worked through the night and restored power to approximately 75% of customers.

Advertisement

“Our crews are facing challenges such as uprooted trees and aluminum siding as well other debris blown into powerlines. We appreciate your patience as they work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power,” Cleveland Public Power wrote in a post on Facebook.


To submit photos of storm damage, click here.


The National Weather Service reported multiple trees down, including a tree that went through a house in Wayne County. There are also massive trees blocking sidewalks and roadways, including in Shaker Heights. 

Over in Willoughby Hills, fire and police warned of high water from the Chagrin River, creating flood hazards. Some roads were closed in the area, including Bishop Road and White Road. Flooding was also reported along SOM Center Road. The river crested at about 15 feet at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

“Police, Fire and Service Departments are actively working to address these issues and assist residents,” Willoughby Hills Police said. “Please use extreme caution while driving. Do NOT attempt to drive through water of unknown depth.”

(Willoughby Hills Fire Department)

Advertisement

To the western side of the state, Toledo also faced some damage from the strong storms.




Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Cleveland, OH

Cuyahoga County takes a beating during Tuesday night’s severe weather

Published

on

Cuyahoga County takes a beating during Tuesday night’s severe weather


CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Tuesday night’s storm ravaged various parts of Cuyahoga County, including Shaker Heights, Cleveland and North Olmsted.

Tornado Warning issued for 3 Northeast Ohio counties

During our travels throughout the county, we saw a massive tree uprooted out of a field near Woodbury Elementary.

The tree stood inches from South Woodland Road and luckily snapped in the direction of the field rather than the residential homes on the other side.

Advertisement

Over in Cleveland on West 54th Street and Courtland Avenue, police blocked off a section of that intersection due to a downed tree that fell near a playground.

There was also a telephone pole that snapped and was hanging over the top of the road.

In North Olmsted on Birch Circle, there were several downed trees in front yards.

“Oh, it was a mess the second, I mean, coming down and seeing those four trees lying up. There’s three in the front here just lying on their side all over the driveway, and all the neighbors outside, wondering what to do, you know, where to start,” Taylor Wright told me.

Wright wasn’t home at the time of the storm. Neither was his partner, Candace Kepler.

Advertisement

Kepler said she was down the street at Target when the store started making announcements to take shelter.

“They made an announcement saying that everybody needed to be escorted to the tornado hall, and they made us all just leave our shopping carts and everything. We all went to the back of the store and huddled in this little metal hall in the back of Target,” Kepler said.

For 35 minutes, Kepler said she was stuck inside the store, worrying about her teenage daughter who was home alone.

“She was pretty scared because she saw the trees come down,” Kepler said. “I wanted to leave, but they wouldn’t let me leave, so I just kept her on FaceTime and tried to see if our neighbors… they came over and grabbed her, so that was good. Just keeping her safe was really just a priority.”

Luckily, their daughter is safe and sound, and so are they.

Advertisement

“Had you seen anything like it before?” I asked Wright.

He said, “Not this bad, especially not around here. This was the worst I’ve seen it over here with trees for sure.”

As of 8:30 p.m., Kepler and Wright were without power.

They were anticipating that it would come back on by 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, neighbors are already acting fast to chop the downed trees into pieces.

Advertisement

“They were in the neighbor’s driveway, so I grabbed my chainsaw, and then Sam, our neighbor, his kid came over with one, and we just got them all picked up, chopped them all up, and put them all in the tree lawn,” Wright said.

Stick with News 5 as we continue to monitor the latest on storm damage.

We Follow Through

Want us to continue to follow through on a story? Let us know.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers prediction, pick for Monday 3/30/26

Published

on

Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers prediction, pick for Monday 3/30/26


Keagan Smith gives you a preview, prediction and pick for today’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday’s MLB slate.

The opening days of the 2026 MLB season have been an absolute blast to watch, and as we roll into the second week of action on the diamond, there are plenty of games for fans and bettors alike to choose from.

On Monday night in the late window, the Cleveland Guardians (2-2) head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers (3-0). It’s a story of David vs. Goliath that certainly favors one team over the other given the nature of both lineups and their respective payrolls, but the beauty of this sport is that anything can happen on any given night.

Come fight the Monday blues with us! Here’s a betting prediction and pick for tonight’s Guardians vs. Dodgers matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Advertisement

Guardians vs. Dodgers prediction, preview

The Guardians made the postseason in 2025 with a surge over the second half of the campaign, and now they look to get back to the playoffs once again. They split the opening series of 2026 2-2 with the Seattle Mariners, and while an ugly 8-0 shutout did ruin the vibes to close things out, there were a couple of positives to glean. The biggest storyline by far was Chase DeLauter, the 24-year-old who debuted last postseason and has now started his first regular season by going 6-for-17 with four home runs. He’s been at the center of the production for a lineup with 13 runs in its four matchups, with the team slashing a combined .195/.262/.338. The biggest weakness of the Guardians thus far? A 32.4% K% that ranks third worst in the MLB, but obviously, it’s very early. Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan are bound to get rolling eventually though, so there’s no reason to panic while the bats heat up. The pitching staff has more reason to worry though, giving up eight home runs in four games with a high K% at 28.6%, but also an elevated BB% at 13.6%. Not a great way to start the year, now is it?

Out in the National League, the Dodgers went a perfect 3-0 to open their own season after taking all three games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was expected given the massive payroll of the back-to-back World Series champs, especially after adding Kyle Tucker to their embarrassment of riches over the offseason. They’re scoring over five runs a game through the first three outings with a slash line of .222/.320/.422, but the interesting part is a .200 ISO that ranks fifth in the MLB after hammering five deep balls along with a league-high hard-hit rate of 46.7%. The Dodgers are driving the baseball already, which doesn’t come as a shock to anyone. However, an 0.73 K/BB ratio ranks third best in the sport and is a little more surprising. Oh, and did we mention that Shohei Ohtani is just 1-for-8 at the plate to start the season? The pitching staff holds a 2.67 ERA that ranks sixth to go along with the fourth-best WHIP at 0.89 and the second-lowest BB% at just 5.0%. Los Angeles is scary so far.

On the mound for Cleveland is lefty Parker Messick, who threw just seven starts in his debut campaign last season. He amassed an impressive 2.72 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP, punching out 38 hitters in 39.2 innings. While he didn’t qualify for most grades per Baseball Savant’s advanced metrics due to sample size, he would’ve been in very high percentiles for BB%, barrel rate, hard-hit rate and more.

The Dodgers will roll out righty Roki Sasaki, who threw just 10 games for Los Angeles last season with eight starts. He ended with a 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP, striking out 28 hitters in 36.1 innings of work. it was a pretty uninspiring result, all things considered, but he brings nice velocity with a 96.1 MPH average on the fastball. He had some serious command issues in Spring Training though, which we’ll work with for out best bet.

Guardians vs. Dodgers pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Dodgers as -199 Moneyline favorites at home this evening, while the Guardians hold +163 odds to win outright. The run total sits at an even nine.

Advertisement

Best Bet: Roki Sasaki over 1.5 walks allowed (-174)

The odds probably won’t do much for you at -174 unless you use this pick as a builder in a parlay, but there’s a ton of reason to feel bullish about a cash tonight. Sasaki allowed 15 walks in Spring Training. Now guess how many innings he pitched. Don’t look it up! No, it wasn’t 15-20 as you probably expected. It was 8.2. Again, he gave up 15 walks in 8.2 innings of work. The recent form is capital B Bad. You get it, but for the record, he had a 13.7% BB% last season as well. Command is not his strong suit.

Strong Lean: CLE Guardians +1.5 (-126)

Maybe things get dangerous for Cleveland with a young pitcher out there against such a star-studded lineup, but Los Angeles’ hurler isn’t particularly formidable. After the Guardians competed with the Mariners in their last series with two wins and a cover at +1.5, I like their chances to keep things feisty this evening on the road.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending