DUBLIN, Ohio - The Browns were only three days into training camp last summer when Jason Dufner stopped by, as scheduled but incognito, to shake some hands and watch his favorite team practice.
Two weeks later, Dufner won his first major, running away from the field at the PGA Championship.
It took the Browns a little longer to get rolling, but they've now won two straight and head into Thursday night's game vs. Buffalo in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC North. It's a big sports week in Cleveland with the Indians hosting a wildcard play-in game tonight vs. Tampa Bay, and Dufner -- who lived in Cleveland until he was in middle school -- will be watching as much as he can. He's busy with the Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village Golf Club outside of Columbus, which starts on Thursday.
"The Browns are like a roller coaster, man," Dufner said Tuesday. "You know, the season started out 0‑2 and they traded their star player, and you're thinking, 'Oh, geez, here we go,' and I'm off the bandwagon.
"And then they win two in a row and so now I'm on the bandwagon. We'll see how it goes. I know the guys around the front office, I met them this summer and they have a plan for the organization. They will probably take some lumps here with some decisions they make and some wins/losses and we'll see how it goes. I hope they can get it going, because football is probably my favorite sport to watch. It's been disappointing (in recent years) to not really care how the season is going after about five or six games."
Dufner joked that he might ask U.S. team captain Fred Couples if he can wear an Indians hat this weekend if the Indians are still playing.
It's possible that Dufner will be partnered with Tiger Woods when the Presidents Cup pairings for the four team rounds are announced on Wednesday. So, it really is a very big week for Cleveland sports -- and Cleveland sports fans.
