Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said Friday from liuyt's blog

they are part of a group trying to buy the Columbus Crew to keep the MLS team in the city.The group http://www.thebrownsfootballauthentic.com/briean-boddy-calhoun-jersey-authentic , which also includes Columbus-area investors, said in a statement it is moving forward to acquire the team, which appeared headed to Austin, Texas, after this season. A new stadium in downtown Columbus is part of the plan, although no details were provided.The agreement also provides that Austin, whose city council had approved plans for a new, privately owned 20,000-seat stadium, will get an MLS expansion team no later than 2021."MLS is committed to keeping Crew SC in Columbus should we continue to make progress on these critical components and agree to key terms with the investor group," the league said in a statement.Anthony Precourt, the San Francisco-based investor who owns the Crew, had courted Austin for a potential move since last year, contending that the team was no longer financially viable in Columbus without bigger crowds and a new stadium. Precourt and Richard Suttle, the Austin lobbyist who helped negotiate terms of a stadium deal there, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.In Columbus Youth Genard Avery Jersey , the announcement touched off wild celebrations among Crew fans, who had been working to save the team since Precourt made his plans public last year."This is truly a historic moment," said David Miller, a spokesman for the Save the Crew group. "Over the last year, we've proven that a community of invested individuals has the power to make a big difference."Everyone involved acknowledged that there are many details still to be worked out. The league's statement said that success for the Crew in Columbus will require "strong local partners, long-term corporate support, a strong season ticket base and long-term plans for a stadium, practice facilities and associated sites."The MLS expressed its commitment to expand to Austin, saying "regardless of any scenario in Columbus, there is a clear path forward for (Precourt) to operate Austin FC as a Major League Soccer club."Austin is the largest metropolitan area in the country without a major league sports franchise."What a wonderful win/win/win solution!" Austin Mayor Steve Adler said. "The MLS commissioner and Anthony Precourt both reaffirm that Austin will have major league soccer opening the 2021 season in the new, McKalla stadium."Ohio and Columbus officials had sued Precourt and MLS to stop or slow down the move. Ohio law requires teams that use tax-supported facilities and accept state financial assistance to give six months' notice and give local investors a chance to buy the team. The law was enacted after the NFL's Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996.The Haslams, owners of the Browns since 2012, are still seeking on-the-field success in Cleveland. Their tenure in Cleveland has included numerous coaching and front-office changes as the Browns have been one of the league's worst teams for several years.Cleveland became just the second franchise to lose all 16 games last season, when the Haslams again swept out most of their management team but retained coach Hue Jackson despite his 1-31 record over two seasons. They brought in former Kansas City general manager John Dorsey to handle personnel, and the Browns are already showing major improvement this season.AP Sports Writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas http://www.thebrownsfootballauthentic.com/joel-bitonio-jersey-authentic , and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.Browns not content, looking to drive competition in camp BEREA — General manager John Dorsey and head coach Hue Jackson are not yet content with their offseason roster overhaul. Both veteran cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones and Bashaud Breeland are scheduled to visit the team on Friday, according to multiple reports.Breeland has met with the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City, and Indianapolis Colts in the last few days and is reportedly planning to make his decision following his visit to Berea. Assuming there is mutual interest following the workout, the Browns may be able to keep the talented cornerback from leaving Northeast Ohio at all.During his introductory training camp press conference on Wednesday, Dorsey said the team “love[s] competition” because “[i]t brings the best out in us.”“You have to talk about these things. I have talked about a lot of things,” the team’s newest general manager added when discussing the possibility of signing free agent receiver Dez Bryant. “There have been a whole list of players that we have talked about as a staff.”Jackson wouldn’t confirm which players were being brought in, but he did say the team is going to continue to look to improve any way it can, and that includes adding new faces to the mix as training camp progresses.“Obviously, there is an opportunity to continue to look at guys, so I am sure we will bring them in and take a peek at [Jones],” coach Jackson said.The coach also discussed the team’s overhauled secondary following Thursday’s opening training camp session.“There is competition. I said this yesterday, that is what is going to make out football team better,” Jackson said. “There is competition throughout our team. I do not know how it is going to shake out. “The players are going to decide that by how they play, but we have candidates out there that can play and that is the fun part http://www.thebrownsfootballauthentic.com/joe-schobert-jersey-authentic , so we will just let it all play out.”Before the draft the Browns traded DeShone Kizer and agreed to a pick-swap with the Green Bay Packers to acquire safety Damarious Randall. And after signing cornerbacks T.J. Carrie, E.J. Gaines and Terrance Mitchell, the Browns drafted Denzel Ward with the No. 4 pick, then selected safety Simeon Thomas in the sixth round.To say the group of signed contract players is growing crowded is an understatement. And that’s not including the group of undrafted players vying for roster spots. Every year one or two of those longshot-type guys makes a splash in training camp and makes it hard for teams to let them go.But that isn’t necessarily a problem. The Browns are compiling talented players at a crucially important position, a position group that truly hindered Gregg Williams’ ability to play the type of attacking defensive football he prefers.Whether the Browns end up adding Jones, Breeland, or no one, Jackson and Dorsey’s mantra about driving competition is an important one.No one, not one coach nor player should feel comfortable or content with their day-to-day achievements, especially on an 0-16 team. As much as the Browns want to ignore that embarrassing past, it has got to be nagging away at them beneath the surface and behind closed doors.Winning exactly zero games in an NFL season is unacceptable by any measure of success, so you know they are going to do whatever it takes to keep the ball rolling toward redemption in 2018.