Cleveland Browns

Man's tongue-in-cheek obituary blames Cleveland Browns

Published Dec. 30, 2017 2:35 p.m. ET

HURON, Ohio (AP) An Ohio man's tongue-in-cheek obituary blames the winless Cleveland Browns for contributing to his demise.

The obituary published in the Sandusky Register says Paul Stark died Wednesday at a hospice facility after a brief illness ''exacerbated by the hopeless condition of the Cleveland Browns.''

The football team was 1-15 last season and 0-15 this year ahead of Sunday's finale in Pittsburgh.

Even so, Stark's obituary included a nugget of the optimism voiced by some long-suffering fans. It says the 80-year-old Mansfield native ''passed just before the Browns were prepared to turn the corner.''