Out to Lunch

That's the name of the category in which SI.com's Mike Silver places Randy Lerner in his ranking of the NFL's owners. While Silver credits Lerner for being willing to spend money, he questions his commitment to winning, citing his decision not to live in Cleveland.

I can't argue with his ranking of Randy Lerner (#21 overall), but Silver's "he doesn't live in Cleveland" comment is a cheap shot. Yeah, Lerner lives in New York. So what? Dan Gilbert lives in Michigan, and so does Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, Jr. Last time I checked, Gilbert was doing back-flips trying to turn the Cavs into an elite team and keep LeBron in town, while Karmanos was hoisting the Stanley Cup.

The Butch Davis resignation fiasco and the Savage vs. Collins mess give fans and the media legitimate reasons to question Lerner's judgment on football matters, but I don't think where he lives has anything to do with his commitment to winning. In fact, I don't know how much more commitment an owner can show than putting his money where his mouth is, and Lerner did that in a big way during this offseason.