The Plain Dealer Scores a Touchdown

My general view of The Plain Dealer is that it makes a nice birdcage liner, but this morning's college and high school football preview section is so well executed that I almost find it impossible to believe that it actually came from people affiliated with the PD.

The preview contains the usual analysis of top local teams and week-by-week matchups, but what sets this year's preview apart is the paper's decision to build it around the theme of "Ohio's Football Machine."

In keeping with that theme, the PD tries to show how Ohio continues to crank out disproportionate numbers of top flight college and pro football players (including three of this year's top Heisman Trophy candidates). It has articles ranging from Northeast Ohio's youth football programs to the remarkable Glenville-Ohio State pipeline, and gives you a real sense for what football means to many people in this state.

The whole thing is just really well done, and you can read it all right here.