Just My Type
The Interview
Josh Cribbs
BROWNS RECEIVER
Three days before Cleveland upset the Bengals 23--20 on Sunday, Cribbs played himself in an episode of the FX fantasy-football series The League
Dan Patrick:Are you in a fantasy league?
Josh Cribbs: Not at all. I want to be, but I think it might be against NFL rules.
DP:But Maurice Jones-Drew is in a league. He drafted himself first. I think as long as you don't gamble....
JC: Yeah, I'm not in one yet.
DP:You guys hate the Bengals, right?
JC: Yeah, it's pretty much mutual. We love to hate.
DP:Do you get along with Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens?
JC: We're cordial during the offseason, and we hate each other during the season.
DP:But do you communicate on Twitter with either of them?
JC: Occasionally, but those guys, if you mess around, you can get caught up in a Twitter battle. Especially with Ocho. He came to Cleveland for a basketball charity event, and he was calling me out. I wasn't even in town! I owe him one for that.
DP:Why would he call you out? Just because he was in town and couldn't find you?
JC: Exactly. He said, 'I heard this was Cribbs's town.' He was calling me out on the basketball court. So now I'm trying to step into his territory. He says he's an actor, and he was on The League first. Now I'm on The League, and I'm going to try to outdo him. That's my plan.
DP:Do you want to go on to do Dancing with the Stars, or any of the other things he's been doing?
JC: I told you, I'm going to try to outdo him now! He's got me fired up, so I'm going to try to follow in his footsteps and surpass him.
DP:The Bears are playing Devin Hester at receiver. You're one of the best kick returners in the game—wouldn't you want to stay where you are and maybe be a Hall of Famer as a kick returner as opposed to being a wide receiver?
JC: I hear that all the time. But I'm going to do what I'm comfortable with.
DP:What if Eric Mangini told you, 'Josh, I only want you returning kicks'?
JC: I'm going to say, 'Coach, I respectfully decline. Don't forget who I am. Don't forget why I'm good. Let me stay doing this, and also a little bit of that.'
DP:Are you the best quarterback on the Browns?
JC: Not at all.
DP:Who can throw the farthest?
JC: I think I probably have the strongest arm, but that has absolutely nothing to do with talent.
DP:What are your thoughts on LeBron leaving Cleveland and relocating to Miami?
JC: He gave Cleveland seven great years. He'd been here a long time. It's easy for the fans to hate him now, but they've got to look back at all the great stuff that he's done for this city, and the chances that he gave us. We loved him when he was here. He did good. We wish the best for him.
DP:I think he could play wide receiver in the NFL.
JC: Oh, most definitely! He's probably a little rusty. I know he ain't played football in a long time. But he's a talented guy. He's got the hops already.
DP:He could be like Randy Moss.
JC: Exactly. You know, Randy Moss could probably go to the basketball court, too. But basketball is different than football. You've got to be cut from different stock to play this sport.
• Ray on Ray
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis says he won't tell his son, Ray Lewis III—a tailback who recently gained 504 all-purpose yards in a game for Lake Mary (Fla.) Prep High—to follow in his footsteps at Miami, but he hopes the boy, 15, will one day play for the U. When I asked who runs faster, Lewis didn't hesitate: "My son isn't outrunning me yet. No way. Ain't too many outrunning me, especially not out on the football field. Nowhere. Definitely. That's when it would be time for me to go."
• In Plain Sight
When he's out and about near his Denver home, former Broncos quarterback John Elway has come up with a novel way to travel incognito—he wears his own jersey. "I do that all the time here," the 50-year-old Hall of Famer told me. "I go to the mall that way. They know it's not me because they say there's no way Elway would be wearing his own jersey in the mall. So it actually is the safest thing to do."
• Line of the week
Toronto native Joey Votto, on ex--Phillies hurler Mitch Williams—who in '93 gave up the Series-winning homer to the Jays' Joe Carter—calling the Reds an unthreatening playoff team:
"I'd like to thank Mitch for giving me one of my favorite childhood memories."
Now Hear This
Listen to the podcasts at danpatrick.com/interviews
1. Quarterback Matt Ryan on the Falcons' 3--1 start.
2. Celtics coach Doc Rivers on his son Austin Rivers playing for Duke.
THE FINE PRINT: The Saints signed 46-year-old kicker John Carney—and they had to clear another roster spot for someone to hold his medication.
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MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (PATRICK)
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DOUG KAPUSTIN/MCT/LANDOV (CRIBBS)
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AL TIELEMANS (LEWIS)
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BRAD MANGIN (VOTTO)