Ailing Modell misses Ravens' finale

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Art Modell missed his last regular-season game as an NFL owner Sunday night, skipping the Baltimore Ravens' finale against Pittsburgh after becoming ill earlier in the day.
"He's got the flu and some bronchitis," Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne said. "Mrs. Modell had a doctor come to the house and he recommended that he not come to the game. Art said he will be watching from home."
Modell, 78, was to be honored at halftime, but the ceremony was pushed back to Saturday when the Ravens host Tennessee in an opening-round playoff game.
This is Modell's 43rd season as an NFL owner -- and his last. He sold 49 percent of the team to Stephen J. Bisciotti in 1999 with the understanding that Bisciotti could purchase the remaining 51 percent in January 2004.
Bisciotti has said he will finalize the acquisition soon after this season ends.
Modell spent most of his career as an owner in Cleveland, but became a hated figure there after he moved his team to Baltimore before the 1996 season.
He contends to this day that poor treatment by Cleveland officials left him in a financial bind and gave him no choice but to leave. It's an assertion that is backed by Ravens coach Brian Billick.
"The political powers-to-be forced Art Modell and the NFL out of Cleveland, and ought to be ashamed of doing it," Billick said earlier in the week. "At some point the day will come -- I don't know when that will be -- when the great fans in Cleveland, the great people in Cleveland, will recognize, admit and see that they were scammed."