CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) – Hello, Cleveland Browns fans!

Three days until the NFL Draft. Three. Days. My coffee is strong, my patience for mock drafts is not, and somewhere out there, a draftnik is writing his 47th “why the Browns should definitely pick X at 6” piece. We have arrived at the point in the calendar where every possible permutation has been considered, rejected, re-considered, and published. And yet, here I am, starring articles and talking about them, so who am I to judge?

THE DEFAULT SOLUTION: Over at the Chronicle-Telegram, Scott Petrak profiled Carnell Tate as the king of contested catch – the latest in a long line of Ohio State receivers, and it ties in nicely with a topic we talked about during last night’s Gang of Three.

At this point, there’s no consensus among the draftniks and the mock drafters on who the Browns will take at #6. There have been at various points, but now you’re getting random answers. “Trade down” seems to be the leader, but that may not happen because other teams above the Browns are thinking the same thing, which could screw things up for Andrew Berry and crew. The fallback then seems to be WR Carnell Tate (according to media consensus), but I sense that the massive ecosystem of draft “experts” and wannabe experts has long grown bored with this idea and decided that the Browns shouldn’t “settle” on Tate. So, we’re seeing defensive BPAs and others show up frequently.

But let’s go back to something I’ve said before – mock drafts are often more accurate earlier in the process than later, when the people writing them get bored with the obvious and start throwing curveballs into the mock drafts to keep themselves amused. At the end of the day, if the NFL trading game isn’t cooperating with the Browns, there’s still a very good chance that Tate will be the selection.

So, I advanced this notion last night, and we came back to the original thought that Tate was still a damn good pick at that point, even if one of our crew has been advocating for Makai Lemon for months. As an unabashed Buckeye fan, I’m coming full circle on this idea.

CAMP MONKEN STARTS: Let’s start with the one piece of actual new news: Todd Monken’s voluntary minicamp wrapped with plenty of questions, especially at QB. I’ll spare you my fatigue on that particular topic – we’ve been over the QB situation enough times that my keyboard is starting to file a grievance. Suffice to say: the Browns do not have their quarterback, and the draft is unlikely to fully solve that.

What we do have is a different philosophy on the QB competition, where the facade that all contestants are treated equally is being discarded. This will also give us our first look at the post-Achilles Deshaun Watson, to see if he looks in any way different from the Watson of recent years, who offered little after kickoff in real games. We’ll have Fred Greetham and Pete Smith out at practice today, and expect to hear from them later this afternoon.

Gang of Three, Three Days Away edition is available on YouTube if you missed it. Thursday, we light up the Draft Cave for the full first round. Strap in – we’re almost there.

Have a good one! GO BROWNS!

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I had computer problems this morning, and the stories I saved for the Lift were lost, a tragedy so intense that I’m struggling to write about it. Suffice it to say, somewhere there’s a human being awesome to animals, or a dog returning that favor. One article I do remember was about a sequel to the 1980’s underrated sci-fi movie “The Last Starfighter” being developed as a graphic novel. That movie looked like a Star Wars rip-off when it came out, but turned out to be a surprisingly fun movie. Not sure if I’m the only one who remembers it, but I have fond memories of seeing it in the theater.

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By Anash.org reporter

Rabbi Yehuda Leib (Leibel) Alevsky, longtime shliach to Cleveland, Ohio, who directed the local Chabad institutions for decades, passed away on Monday, 3 Iyar.

He was 86 years old.

Born on 1 Sivan 5699 in Chernigov, Ukraine, to Reb Chaim Boruch and Mrs. Sima Chaya Alevsky, his father was drafted into the Russian army to fight the Nazis when he was two years old, never to return. He was raised by his mother and his maternal grandfather, Reb Gavriel Kagan, a tomim from Lubavitch.

After the war, the family joined the mass escape from Russia under false Polish passports. After time in a displaced persons camp in Germany and then in France, the Frierdiker Rebbe directed his family to move to Eretz Yisrael. He enrolled in Tomchei Tmimim in Lod, where he studied in the zal under the mashpia, Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman.

In 5718, after receiving the Rebbe’s permission to travel to New York, he arrived on his nineteenth birthday, Rosh Chodesh Sivan, and enrolled in Tomchei Tmimim at 770. He quickly distinguished himself and was among the first bochurim chosen for the Shivas Knei Hamenorah (“Kanim”) – a group of fourteen select students, seven in Chassidus and seven in nigleh, designated to deliver shiurim and pilpulim before the entire yeshiva.

Beginning in 5722 and until her passing in 5725, he merited to serve Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe’s mother, assisting her in numerous ways and spending many hours in her presence.

That same year, he became the first official employee of Tzach, the Lubavitch Youth Organization, under Rabbi Dovid Raskin. He ran the organization for a decade, taking responsibility for hakhalas kehillos, tahalucha, Shabbosim in outlying communities, shiurim, and the printing of the first four volumes of Likkutei Sichos. He also spearheaded the global Keren Hashishim campaign in honor of the Rebbe’s 60th birthday.

During those same years, he developed a close working relationship with Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Eizik Chodakov, the Rebbe’s secretary and chief of staff, whose yahrzeit also falls on 3 Iyar. In an interview with Anash.org, Rabbi Alevsky recalled how Rabbi Chodakov would summon him late at night during yechidus evenings and offer suggestions for Tzach’s activities. He initially did not always act on them – until he once found that the Rebbe himself referenced those same suggestions during a yechidus, making clear to him their true source.

As the neighborhood of Crown Heights began to change, he also acted as a liaison for Tzach to city officials, securing grants and property to stabilize the community.

He merited rare closeness with the Rebbe, and on several occasions, he was called upon to drive the Rebbe to the Ohel. Recognizing the need for the Rebbe to have communication from the Ohel to 770, he arranged for a car phone to be installed in the Rebbe’s vehicle—a luxury that cost $900 at the time—which the Rebbe utilized to send out hora’os. He also arranged for the permanent “No Parking” zone in front of 770 so the Rebbe’s car would always have clear access.

He married his wife, Devorah, daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Schneur Zalman Kazen, one of the Rebbe’s pioneering shluchim, in Cleveland on Chai Elul 5722. At the yechidus before the wedding, the Rebbe told the young couple: “Az ir vet machen lichtig arum eich, vet der Aibershter machen lichtig bai eich” – when you spread light around you, the Aibershter will illuminate your own space as well.

At the same time of their Chasuna, the Rebbe held a surprise farbrengen in 770, announcing the upcoming “Shnas Hakan” (150 years since the Alter Rebbe’s passing). The Rebbe had Rabbi Hodakov phone the wedding hall so the Chosson could repeat the Rebbe’s words to the assembled guests.

In 5727 (1967), during a yechidus for his 28th birthday, he asked the Rebbe if his mother and sister should leave Eretz Yisroel due to the looming threat of the Six-Day War. The Rebbe responded prophetically that there was no need to worry, as the war would be over in ten days.

In 5732 (1972), he began his shlichus in Cleveland, joining his father-in-law in expanding Chabad activities in the city.

Over the following decades, he led the community and oversaw immense growth. He built a replica of 770 in Cleveland to serve as the headquarters for the Chabad activities there.

He organized groups of mekuravim who would travel together by bus to receive the Rebbe’s brochos by Sunday dollars.

During the events of Shemini Atzeres 5738 (1977), Rabbi Alevsky was instrumental in the efforts for the Rebbe’s health, helping to urgently bring a doctor to 770.

When the bank threatened to foreclose on the Chabad building in 5744, he flew to the Rebbe and submitted a detailed report on the situation. The Rebbe responded, “Azkir al hatziyun,” and within days the full amount was raised in what he described as an open miracle.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Devorah Alevsky, and their children: Sarah Freedman – Bahia Blanca, Argentina; Chani Glitzenstein – Maaleh Efraim, Eretz Yisroel; Kaila Sasonkin – Akron, Ohio; Rabbi Chaim Boruch Alevsky – Cleveland, Ohio; Miriam Greenberg – Solon, Ohio; Dinie Greenberg – Shanghai, China; Estie Marozov – Pepper Pike, Ohio; Rochie Sudak – London, UK; Rivky Friedman – Brooklyn, New York; and Rabbi Mendy Alevsky – Cleveland, Ohio.

The levaya will take place today in Ohio at 4:30 p.m. at the Waxman Chabad Center, followed by kevura at Anshe Sfard Cemetery.

Boruch dayan hoemes.