As Al Lerner's health worsened over the past nine months, he and Policy and Randy met several times to plan the future of the franchise. Policy said it was during this time that he developed a closer relationship with Randy.

"He grew up wearing Cleveland Browns pajamas,'' Browns President Carmen Policy has said. "He had Cleveland Browns sheets and pillows.'' While this may not be Lerner's favorite way of having his image put forth, he pledges allegiance to the famous orange helmets.

Randy Lerner was born in 1962, about two years after his parents moved to Shaker Heights from Brooklyn, N.Y., and about a year after Brooklyn native Art Modell bought the Browns. The two Lerner children, Randy and Nancy, were accompanying their parents to Browns games by 1969, when the team reached the NFL finals by clobbering the Cowboys 38-14. They lost a week later at Minnesota, a win short of Super Bowl IV.

"My desire to win is endless, like any Cleveland Browns fan. It's a burning, burning desire to be part of the Cleveland Browns I've always read about and known.''

In recent years, Randy Lerner has made his home close to his parents' Brooklyn roots. He lives on Long Island in the general vicinity of Steven Spielberg and Jerry Seinfeld. He and his wife of 10 years, Lara, have a daughter, Chase, 7, a son, Max, 5, and another child on the way. With his stake in the family fortune, including power roles with the Browns and the MBNA credit-card empire, Randy Lerner has traveled to Ohio as routinely as Cantonians drive to Browns games. He will maintain residences in Ohio and New York. A Columbia Law School graduate, Lerner has spent time as a Wall Street lawyer. He knows his way around Manhattan, where New York University Law School graduate Paul Tagliabue works as NFL commissioner.

• Saturday, August 9
  

  At Tennessee Titans WKYC-TV 8:00PM 6-10 L
  

  Friday, August 15
  

  Green Bay Packers CBS-TV 8:00PM 31-38 L

• Saturday, August 23
  

  At DETROIT LIONS WKYC-TV 7:30PM 17-38 L
  

  Thursday, August 28
  

  Atlanta Falcons WKYC-TV 8:00PM 20-9 W

• Sunday, September 7
  Indianapolis Colts CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, September 14
  @ Balitmore Ravens CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, September 21
  @ San Francisco CBS 4:15 PM

  Sunday, September 28
  Cincinnati Bengals CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, October 5
  @ Pittsburgh Steelers ESPN 8:30 PM

  Sunday, October 12
  Oakland Raiders CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, October 19
  San Diego Chargers CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, October 26
  @ New England Patriots CBS 1:00 PM

• Sunday, November 2
  Bye Week!

  Sunday, November 9
  @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 PM

  Sunday, November 16
  Arizona Cardinals FOX 1:00 PM

  Sunday, November 23
  Pittsburgh Steelers CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, November 30
  @ Seattle Seahawks CBS 4:15 PM

  Monday, December 8
  St. Louis Rams ABC 9:00 PM

  Sunday, December 14
  @ Denver Broncos CBS 4:05 PM

  Sunday, December 21
  Baltimore Ravens CBS 1:00 PM

  Sunday, December 28
  @ Cincinnatti Bengals CBS 1:00 PM