There's a darn good movie on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Monday night at 6 p.m. "Seven Days in May" is a favorite of mine because one of the co-authors of the novel, Fletcher Knebel, was a reporter for The Plain Dealer in the 1950's. Rod Serling took his best-selling novel and wrote a thrilling screenplay.

I've heard complaints about my silence recently, so let me get this off my chest.

Brent Larkin was so right in the Sunday Plain Dealer about the proposed passenger train linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.

I've been stupefied ever since the governor started touting it about a month ago. Strickland truly is out of touch. A sage once said, "You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy."

It will be available for viewing in a few weeks, but I don't want to put it on the back burner of my mind. I might get distracted and neglect to tell you about it later. If you're a fan of high school sports -- especially wrestling -- you'll want to see the 90-minute documentary "Pinned."

It chronicles the St. Edward wrestling team of 2005-06 with an interwoven parallel story about Lakewood High wrestler Matt Curley. It follows the St. Ed wrestlers on each step of the season which culminated in the state championship and a fourth straight state title for St. Ed werstler Lance Palmer.

That's what often happens after a change at the top in the NFL. The new guy installs his own bugs -- secret, illegal listening devices in offices and meeting rooms. That's how paranoid the NFL has become. The boss wants to know what the assistant coaches, scouts, etc., are saying when they think nobody is listening.

I don't blame Josh Cribbs for running out of patience with the Browns' foot-dragging. He plays the most dangerous position in sports, with the possible exception of Alpine skiing.

Kick, returners don't last long because they are involved in the most violent collisions in the game -- ball carrier and tackler running head-on at full speed. Only on kick returns do you see this.

The secret to Cribbs' success is his start. He doesn't hesitate as some kick returners do, looking for an opening, cautiously dancing. His first step is straight ahead at full speed. It's a game of chicken. The faint-hearted need not apply.

This is what I think. The Browns expected him to get hurt, which is the reason they misled him, deceived him, lied to him, until that time came. After that, he wouldn't matter. Cart him off and cancel the remaining years of his contract. They had no intention of sweetening his contract. For Pete's sake, they had 18 months to re-work his deal. The organization is insenstive. It is non-caring.

As you know by now, former Plain Dealer sportswriter Dick Zunt died of cancer Saturday morning. The final week was not easy, so it was a blessing when he took his final breath. The visitation will be Tuesday, Jan. 5, from 2-4 and 6-9 at Chambers Funeral Home, Rocky River Drive and Puritas Rd., Cleveland. Funeral Mass is Wednesday, 10 a.m., St. Patrick's Church across, the street from the funeral home, the church where Dick ushered for over 40 years.

For my out of town readers, both of you, you probably didn't see the terrific sendoff Dick got in The Plain Dealer. Terry Pluto did a terrific column on him and Mike Peticca wrote a wonderful obit. Their themes reinforced Dick's personna -- the nicest guy in the world. There were two words he could never utter. He could not say "no" and he could not say "goodbye."

I've been asked to deliver the eulogy, which is a great honor, but Pluto and Peticca already used the good stuff.

Just learned of the passing of Mary McCrone, first producer of the Sports Page TV show at Channel 8 which I co-hosted with Mark Schroeder and John Telich in the mid-1990's. She was found dead in Los Angeles the day after Christmas. What a piece of work she was, and I say that with affection and admiration. She was imaginative and dynamic. She discovered Tony Rizzo on radio and opened doors that led him to television on Fox 8. In a previous life she was married to Michael Stanley.

That's just the start.

Bob Nold, baseball writer for the Akron Beacon-Journal in the 1970's, died last week. A wonderful fellow. I remember him as the most accurate reporter I ever went up against. He was a student of the game and a gentleman.

Earlier this week network sportscaster Dave Diles died in Athens, close to his beloved Ohio University. Dave anchored the Progressive College Scoreboard every football Saturday on ABC TV in the 1960's. His son is athletic director of Case-Western Reserve and his grandson played high school football at Chagrin Falls.

Our old pal Dick Zunt, 77, who covered high school sports for half a century at The Plain Dealer, has moved from Fairview Hospital to the Hospice of the Western Reserve. It's located at the north end of E. 185th Street on the lake behind Villa Angela-St. Joe High School where Dick covered many basketball games. The move was made Tuesday night by ambulance.

Went to Crocker Park Sunday night to see the rugby movie, "Invictus," which was sold out. That says something about the movie. People are flocking to see it. I've heard good reports.

So, we went to another hyped-up movie, "It's Complicated." The theatre was only half full and there was a reason for that. It's not complicated. It's a stinker. Steve Martin is a comedian but he didn't have one funny scene in this movie which dragged along in slow motion. The movie rarely made me laugh but it often made me feel uncomfortable. Tell your friends not to waste their time. I'm interested to hear R.J. the Movie Critic's opinion on the Rizz show.

I just read that the U. S. Transporation Department adopted a new two-hour rule for domestic flights delayed at the gate or on the tarmac with captive passengers and nowhere to go.

When the delay reaches two hours passengers must be offered food, water and restroom facilities, the same amenties available to inmates in most federal penitentiaries.

If three hours pass and the plane still hasn't taken off, passengers must be allowed to leave the plane.