Bernie Kosar Unmasked

[gafin]

MANTUA, Ohio -- In a cup on an end table in Bernie Kosar's family room are three teeth, knocked from his mouth by Mark Gastineau, and two screws from an ankle surgery gone bad. He shows off the cup as if it is a picture of his kids. Football has taken so much from Kosar, making his life's journey more treacherous than any journey should be. Twenty-one years after his last pass for the Browns, Kosar remains as much of a rock star in Cleveland as anyone inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "He is the most loved person over multiple generations in Cleveland sports," said lifelong Cleveland-area resident Neil Cornrich, an agent who represents many prominent football coaches and players. "It's an honor to be his friend."

Kosar has no idea how many concussions he suffered in his 12-year playing career, but he estimates he probably lost consciousness from hits 20 times. "When we were playing, the concussion test was, 'How many fingers?'" he said. "They didn't give you one, because that was too easy. They didn't give you three, because you may miss it. It was always two, so you weren't wrong." Kosar carried smelling salts in a pouch in case he was knocked woozy. He has suffered from changes in his speech, ringing in his ears, amplified noises, sleep problems and anxiety. He gets more emotional than he can explain at times. He won't watch the motion picture The Notebook, for instance, because he gets too teary.

One of those friends is Valenti, a Cleveland entrepreneur who owns Valenti's Ristoranti in Beachwood. Kosar and Valenti got to know each other at golf tournaments in the 80s, and became frequent companions. On Sept. 28 of last year, Valenti was despondent. His nephew had died of a drug overdose the day before, and he didn't want to leave the house. Kosar, wanting to lift Valenti's spirits, insisted he join him to watch a college football game at a restaurant in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood. Kosar drove, and at the end of the night he dropped off Valenti and headed home. At 2:45 a.m., he was pulled over for going 74 mph in a 50 mph zone. Kosar refused to take a portable breath test and was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. The arresting officer cited Kosar's slurred speech.

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Bernie has slurred speech," Valenti said. "About 90 percent of the people know that it's not because of drinking. It's from concussions. He didn't have anything to drink that night. Me neither. We didn't want to drink." Kosar later pleaded no contest to a reckless operation charge, and prosecutors dropped the DUI and speeding charges. Kosar said he will enjoy a drink from time to time, but he does not keep alcohol in his house. "I don't know what he was doing in college, but I eat with him four nights a week," Valenti said. "It's iced tea, coffee, water. Maybe a glass of wine, but he doesn't even like it that much. He doesn't have a drinking problem."

Kosar never has been swept away by the storms in his life, because he learned how to stay the course long ago. Prior to a 1987 playoff game against the Jets, Kosar and backup quarterback Gary Danielson came up with the concept of faking a spike. Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer called it in the game against the Jets, but the Browns didn't score on the play. Because of Kosar's lobbying, the fake spike stayed in the Browns' playbook through three head-coaching changes. Kosar then convinced Jimmy Johnson and Don Shula to put the play in their playbooks when Kosar went to Dallas and Miami. Kosar practiced the fake spike every week, but the play remained in mothballs for eight seasons. Finally, in November 1994, Kosar urged Shula to call the play with 30 seconds left, with the Dolphins trailing the Jets by three. Dan Marino acted like he would spike the ball to stop the clock, and the Jets defense took a nap. Marino hit Mark Ingram for the game-winning touchdown.

http://www.sportsonearth.com/articl...nd-take-from-quarterback-bernie-kosar#!bBzNoi





Pretty good article on Kosar, rather long. Sounds like football really took a toll on him with all the concussions. I never knew he had anything to do with the fake spike.

 

[fishfanmiami]

I knew he had a major drinking problem but not about all those concussions. His name has came up over the years as a possible coach back at the U so this may explain why that never happened.
Always like Bernie from his UM days and the short time he spent with the Fins and hope he get some needed help.