Another week, another Cleveland Browns milestone.

First it was the expansion Browns’ return to the NFL after a three-year absence two weeks ago in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

Now comes the team’s debut in its new home Saturday night. When the Browns take on the Minnesota Vikings at 72,000-seat Cleveland Browns Stadium, the noise level might rattle a few dog bones.

From the "Dawg Pound" – the 10,000-seat section in the east end zone with those barking Browns fanatics – to high up in the third deck, the place will be rocking.

"It will be a tribute to the fan," says Browns President CARMEN POLICY. "The return of the Browns to Cleveland is a fan’s victory."

The game Saturday is the culmination of a series of "Welcome Back, Browns" events that began last Saturday.

That day and the next – with a can of food for a hunger drive doubling as a ticket – fans toured the new stadium. On Monday, LOU GROZA Boulevard, named after the Browns’ Hall of Fame kicker, was dedicated in front of the team’s complex in Berea, Ohio.

Wednesday, it’s an NFL Flag Football Clinic…Thursday, the stadium dedication and ribbon-cutting and an NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition…and Friday, a welcome home parade and pep rally. Added to all these doings, Cleveland native and Browns fan DREW CAREY, whose TV show is situated in Cleveland, will tape his program around the ceremonies.

Finally, the reason for it all comes on Saturday – game day.

Browns head coach CHRIS PALMER can’t wait. "As an outsider, you knew Cleveland had outstanding fans," he says. "But once you’re in the environment, it’s truly amazing."

Of course, that can be said for a lot of NFL cities, including one in the limelight this week which is not an NFL city – Madison, Wisconsin.

Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be the site of a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII – the Denver Broncos against the "hometown" Green Bay Packers on NFL Monday Night Football (ABC-TV, 8:00 PM ET).

The game was sold out by mid-June. The last Green Bay preseason game at Camp Randall – on August 22, 1997 against the New York Giants – accounted for the largest attendance ever for a Packers game in Wisconsin – 76,704 fans.

Can that record be topped? Packers President BOB HARLAN is hopeful.

"I think Denver’s very attractive, and we’re still a playoff team," Harlan says. "I think the interest is very high."

Green Bay will be trying for the first win in its past three games against Denver. The Broncos triumphed in Super Bowl XXXII (31-24) and last year in preseason in Denver (34-31).

Other notable games this week:

• SEATTLE at SAN FRANCISCO (Thursday, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET): New Seahawks head coach MIKE HOLMGREN makes his lone visit this season to San Francisco, where as a 49ers assistant from 1986-91 he helped the 49ers to Super Bowl XXIII and XXIV victories.

• PHILADELPHIA at NEW YORK JETS (Friday): The teams will play on a temporary grass field at Giants Stadium (as will the Giants the next night against Jacksonville, and the Jets and Giants on August 28), as the facility plans for permanent grass installation in 2000. "We’re aiming for the best grass we can get," says Jets President STEVE GUTMAN.

• INDIANAPOLIS at NEW ORLEANS (Saturday): Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING makes his first appearance in his hometown, where his father ARCHIE starred at quarterback for the Saints.